Opus 2026-316: What Is in a Name?

I am constantly surprised when I come across places which I think should be secure from the woke crowd and see that they are penetrated even beyond what I thought were strong walls.  What I’m looking at now is a hymnal that as a general rule I think it’s a great tool for worship and learning music.  It has a good spread of hymns and contemporary type music.  It’s in large print.  It has the chords above the line which helps us guitar players.

So as I turned the page this morning and looked at the song that was the next on my playlist.  It said, “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”.

Maybe you don’t see the problem.  That is the first line of the song which is common for naming them.  I’ve seen this before, and it didn’t register.  But this morning, as I was looking towards the Fourth of July weekend, I said to myself, “Isn’t the title of this ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic?’”   I looked at the bottom of the page where it tells you the name of the tune, and the tune is called Battle Hymn.  So I went, and I got an old hymnal off the shelf and looked it up and, sure enough, the title in the older hymnal is ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”  The new one is more politically correct, and made less offensive to those who are triggered by any reference to turbulence in life by calling it, “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”.

The political correct crowd strikes again.  I’ve noticed this in the wording of hymns where they remove offensive words or change the words to fit the doctrine of the editors.  I don’t know that I’ve seen it this blatant in a title before.

Be on the alert.  Keep your memory engaged because there are people out there trying to slowly transform you’re thinking until it matches theirs.

Get ready to celebrate.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-315: Who Decides?

The debate over the conflicting concepts of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will continue on many fronts.  People who believe in free will also believe in God’s sovereignty.  The other side claims that man is still responsible, which to me implies free will.  Some of the disagreement is over semantics.  Some is foundational.

All would agree that God makes provision for our salvation.  This involves grace.  If you are a Calvinist you may have the understanding that Arminians don’t believe in grace or the fact that we are saved by grace.  All Christians do.  I have even approached Roman Catholics and they have not problem with that.  God is the one who extends saving grace.  That is not the question.  The question is, “Why does He extend saving grace?”  The Calvinist believes that it is an arbitrary decision by God and the input of the sinner is determined by God.  Arminians believe that God, again through His grace and the work of the Holy Spirit, gives sinners the ability to chose to believe and desire to live as God wants them to.

I am responsible for the initiation of my salvation.  I am the one who must decide to believe.  I am the one who must continue to belief and live in obedience.  If God just plugs a faith chip into my brain and it takes over from there the results are the same that God could have gotten by having me be born in heaven without the mess of life.  In fact you could take four of the five Solas and put them back on the shelf.  If I don’t have to make a decision then let grace do the whole thing.

God is reliable for the implementation of my salvation.  He started it by creating the world and Adam in His image.  When Adam brought sin into the world God kept introducing steps that would lead men back to God.  For a long time the sacrifices in the temple were said to bring atonement.  I feel that was just a type as a shadow of Jesus shed blood on the cross.  God provided the perfect sacrifice.  He provides the indwelling Holy Spirit.  He has seen to it that we have the written word.  God is willing to take every step with us but we must be willing to take those steps. 

I am sure the debate will continue.  Ultimately it doesn’t matter if I am right or wrong as long as I am trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus to be adequate for purging my sins and understand that His resurrection was the promise of mine.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-314: Time for a Pilgrimage

It is that time of year where we pause and look at one of our founding documents, The Declaration of Independence.  I urge you to find the time to read through the entire document.  The middle complaints against King George can get confusing but try to get the general idea.  As you read, compare what was going on then to what you see being forced on you today.

Think about what you read.  Pray for guidance in how to live as a responsible citizen today.  Act on your insights.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-313: Not a Cosmic Engineer

Just the act of creation puts the God of the Bible outside the mold that Calvinists insist He fit into.  While all Christians would maintain that God is unchanging, too many don’t think through what that means.  In typical Biblical logic, unchanging does not mean unchanging.  It refers to His character and attributes.  It means that He will never morph from being a Mother Teresa figure into an Attila the Hun.  It does not mean that He will always prefer blue cheese to thousand Island.

Just creating brings about change.  When God created the heavens and the earth He was not just taking some play dough and reshaping it.  He was not Goodwill repurposing what was discarded from a previous creation.  At least we don’t think so.  He created the heavens and the earth out of nothing.  The entire process was bringing new things into the existence.  It caused change in God because it brought change to His before-time environment.

Without creation God is better defined as an engineer than an Omni. Without change He is coming up with nothing new just reassembling the Lego blocks.

Don’t let people distract you with technical terms like immutable.  You don’t need to read very far in the Bible to see God changing His mind.  Do your own research and don’t turn off your brain or memory.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-312: On the Street: Napoleonic Complex

Today in the parking lot I was getting ready to pull into an empty spot but just before I started in I noticed that there was one of those smart cars parked there.  That would have been bad enough, but whoever was driving it had pulled it so far forward that it went across the line into the space for cars coming the other way.

I don’t know if he was afraid of me behind him or just wanted to dominate whoever tried to park in front of him.  Do people who drive small cars have a case of Napoleonic Complex?  Are they like some short people who feel they must be angrier than anyone else?  

I don’t know but I do know that I almost had reason to exchange insurance information.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-311: John Adams Quotes Me

I have a number of long term reading projects that will take me until the end of my life or beyond.  They are either multi-volume works or big, thick books with tiny print.  I am adding another, The Works of John Adams.  It was a Fathers’ Day gift and it looks interesting but it will be a long haul.

The early parts of the book are from Adams’ diary.  One of my early observations was that it almost seems like I am often channeling John Adams.  Often I could have written this from 1755.

“I can as easily still the fierce tempest or stop the rapid thunderbolt, as command the motions and operations of my own mind.  I am dull and inactive, and all my resolutions, all the spirits I can muster are insufficient to rouse me from this senseless torpitude.  My brains seem constantly in as great confusion and wild disorder as Milton’s chaos; they are numb, dead.  I have never any bright, refulgent ideas . Everything appears in my mind and obscure, like the objects seen through a dirty glass or roiled water.”  p. 13

It is good to know that other people go through mental turmoil.  I will never be a founding father but there are common elements of humanity that I find encouraging.

Adams, John.  The Works of John Adams, Volume 1.  Norwalk, Connecticut:  The Easton Press, 1992.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-310: Sound Bite Religion

I have been attempting to listen to a debate between Steve Gregg and James White on Calvinism.  I am currently half way through the second of five sessions.  I am not sure if I will finish.  I find the Calvinistic view of God as Sovereign to be a caricature.  I agree that God is sovereign but that should be defined in the sense that God reveals Himself, not in a way that fits the box the Calvinists want to force Him into.

If there is no free will and salvation is totally a coin toss that God enjoys then what is the point of all this?  What keeps being ignored or twisted away is the fact that if God arbitrarily chooses who will be saved the other side of the coin is that He also arbitrarily chooses who will be doomed to eternal damnation and torment.  I think the term is “double predestination”.  If that is the way it works then having Jesus die on the cross is some sort of masochistic ritual that serves no function.  Why go through the agony of becoming sin on our behalf if you could just wave your magic wand and bestow salvation by fiat?  

I will concede that being a mere human what might seem arbitrary to me is carefully thought out by God.  At the same time He did make us different than the animals.  We are created in His image.  Adam and Eve were without sin.  God used to walk the garden with them.  I don’t see any way around the necessity of God making them sin if He is the sovereign that Calvinists describe.  In that scenario they had no choice.

I could probably set my phone up to greet me as Lord and Master every time I opened it.  I would find it amusing because I know I am not.  If I programmed it to do so and felt like somehow that brought glory to me I would become the God of the Calvinists.

White took John 6:36-40 and lifted out verse 37,

(Joh 6:37 KJV)  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Based on that he build a case that only those sent by God could be saved.  In the heat of a debate that sounds like a case but he totally overlooks that the verse gives no reason why God sent some and not others.  All you have to do is back up two verses and you find,

(Joh 6:35 KJV)  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Notice it is no longer a matter of whom God chooses but who comes and who believes.

It is always dangerous to start with your favorite paradigm and squeeze your Bible verses into that mold.  I assume that I suffer from the same malady but I am trying to start with the word and build my theology from that.  It is often a lonely road and it is worse when I am surrounded by people who love sound bite religion.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-309: My Ignorance Shows

At various times in my life I have found myself quoting these verses,

(1Ch 16:22 KJV)  Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
(Psa 105:15 KJV)  Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

Every time I quoted them I attributed them to David when he had Saul at his mercy in the cave.  It is true that the idea comes up but it is not expressed this way.  Instead you get one source being a song of Asaph written for David and the other an unattributed Psalm.  That is not the real source of my error.

The problem is that I am quoting a verse to prove a point that it does not address.  These verses are not proclaiming that we should leave pastors, priests and such alone.  It is not a protection for the leaders.  If you look at the context, they are addressing the believers as a whole as God’s anointed.  

This is a statement warning people not to attack the children of God.  In both of these contexts it refers to Israel but I don’t think it is too far to apply the principle to the body of Christ.  In both cases I think it is talking about the faithful remnant, the true Israel not the DNA Israel.  The true church, not just anyone who owns a Bible.

So watch out world.  Think again elites.  God has His eye on those who belong to Him.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-308: Universal Power Outage

One of the arguments for the universe having a designer is what is called Fine Tuning.  Last I heard there are about 200 very precise measurements that must be in place simultaneously in order for the conditions for life to exist.  Most of them regard physics that I have no clue on but one has to do with graivity.  Gravity I don’t claim to understand but I can wrap my head around it.  I have dropped things on my toe a few times.

A recent power outage in our neighborhood got me to thinking about Fine Tuning.  I began to reflect on all the possible reasons why we lost power.  I could think of many from a drunk driving into a power pole to a key employee not showing up to work to press a vital button.  What became clear was how intricate and complicated our power grid really is.  It would not take much to bring it to a halt.  When that happens the fans stop, ovens stop baking, A/C takes a break and the list goes on.  Unless you are half way through a delicate recipe or on life support the damage caused by a power outage are in the minor range.

There are Four Fundamental Forces
        Gravity
        The Electromagnetic Force
        The Weak Nuclear Force
        The Strong Nuclear Force

The only one I have any concept of is gravity.

What happens if gravity goes off.  If you are a believer in evolution, not God and the concept of random chance, then this should be a real possibility to consider.  You should be afraid, very afraid.  What if the great roulette wheel in the sky decided to take a nap for a few hours on gravity?  

The first thing you would notice, and possibly the last, would be that anything not tied down would go flying up into the air, including you.  Imagine a rock tied to a string 3,000 miles long spinning at 1,000 MPH.  It is possible this would be the last awareness you would have because you would go flying up against the ceiling hard enough to crush every bone in your body.  

What would be the next observation?  Let’s assume that you were secured in an electric chair so you would go nowhere.  You would not notice anything for long because the atmosphere you are breathing would begin to expand.  There would be nothing left to breathe.  The planet earth would make an immediate detour heading away from its circular orbit and heading straight out into space.  So would every other planet in the solar system.  It would be possible there might be a race between the earth freezing and being burned up as the Sun, without gravity, began to spread out into the universe.

Then what if the Great Jokester in the Sky decided it was enough and turned gravity back on?  I am afraid it would be too late for us and earth.

Basically it would be the end of all things as we know them.  That is okay.  We would not live long enough to mourn the loss.  So you had better hope that there is a God and that Jesus is paying attention as He monitors the universe.  Chance is a tricky thing.  If you have ever had one of those moments when someone runs a red light and almost takes you out, you will have an idea of how fragile things can be.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-307: Filtering Search Results

One of my recurring themes is truth.  What is truth?  How do you find it?  How do you recognize it when you see it?  These are age old questions which philosophers and Roman governors have been asking since men asked questions.

The first question that must be answered deals with what is truth.  This would have at least two responses.  For me and other Christians the ultimate truth is found in the Bible and in Jesus.  If you are a garden variety pagan the answer is a little more difficult but still something you would search out.

The other response would be found in what we might call the world of science, or what we believe the world of science is supposed to be about.  This would include bodies of knowledge like mathematics.  It is a search for statements that can be matched with real world observations.  Thus we might say that water freezes at 32̊.  You would then check it out to see if it was a true statement and in most cases would find it false.  Why?  Because the statement is not exact enough.  I would suggest “Pure water freezes at 32̊ Fahrenheit at sea level.”  There might even be a few other details I missed but you see the difference.  Scientific truth is when the statement matches the empirical evidence.  I hope that science gets back to that standard during my lifetime.

Truth in our culture is hard to find.  Now I am thinking about the things we hear and read.  It can be a conversation overheard on a park bench or a statement found in a respected reference book.  In our day and age it is almost impossible to correlate what we hear with what is.  The news media is bad enough but the problem extends even to such pillars of truth as dictionaries.  They are being rewritten on a regular basis.  Advances in computer science have made things like Photo-Shop obsolete and it becomes difficult to tell computer generated content from real living actors.

This is where it comes home to me.  How do I know if what I am being exposed to is true?  

There are different types of truth that I reject.

One rejection is for people who know they are lying.

One is for people who pass on false information because it is all they know.

The difficult sources who are accurate most of the time until it touches one of their hot buttons.

A variation of this is the frog warmer who starts off on target but slowly begins to tweak the truth to get you where he wants you.

It may be that I will never be able to cut through the clutter of deception in the news world.  I am not sure that I need to.  Did the apostle Paul need to know what was happening between the Roman Empire and the Parthians?  Did he need to know about the grain harvest in North Africa?  Not really.  It does not mean that I don’t keep looking for truth and recognizing lies but it does mean I leave the final analysis in God’s hands.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-306: Sometimes Simple

I am enjoying an approaching dawn which is being announced by driving rain, lightening and thunder.  As the rolling and rumbling thunder passed over my house I found myself thinking about the cause.  Does Thor cause the thunder with his hammer?  Ancient religions seemed to need to divide up the chambers of nature among many gods.  We Christians have one God who is understood to be big enough to handle it all.  

God causes the thunder, but how?  I dipped into my memory and came up with explanations tying it to lightening and air pressure.  I have no idea if my theory is accurate.  It was passed on to me as scientific but so has global warming and evolution.  Just because someone says it is scientific doesn’t mean it is.

For many things in life a simple explanation is all we need even if it isn’t accurate.  Recently I worked with the statement, “Water freezes at 32̊.”  I pointed out that a more accurate statement would be “Pure water freezes at 32̊ F at sea level.”  You do not need to know the second statement to know how to make ice cubes or let you water drip on a cold winter night.  You could go into the miracle of ice floating because of the expansion during phase change.  You could examine the difference in energy needed to move the needle one degree and make that phase change happen and how that energy transfer makes refrigeration possible.  If you don’t have a clue to what that means then rest assured that your freezer will still make ice.

In our theology we have the same kind of practical vagueness.  I refer here to the statement found in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by grace through faith.  That is enough of a summary to get a seeker into heaven.  A more accurate statement would be that God extends His saving grace to those who have faith in the shed blood of Jesus as adequate to cancel their sin.  From there you can move on to explaining what grace is, or trying to agree on a definition.  Good luck.  You can look into the meaning of faith and what it is you are believing.  You can write books about it.

Or you can simply say “Water freezes at 32̊.”

Sometimes the simple statements are more than enough to achieve the goal.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-305: The Beauty Facade

You are familiar with the cliches, “Beauty is only skin deep;” “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder;” “Beauty is as beauty does.”  They all apply.  I would add “Beauty has a time clock;” and maybe “True beauty can overcome superficial ugly;” “Beauty is a first impression that can go bad.”

I was watching some click bait of Anton Daniels.  You may have seen the video he was commenting on.  It has a young woman strutting across the stage at graduation, doing the “splits” and wiggling her butt at the audience and walking off, only to be denied her diploma.  In the wide variety of displays that you would see at graduations today I don’t see what the big issue was.  Respect and dignity are words that the younger generation does not understand and the adults in their lives don’t seem to have tried to teach them.

What really caused me to think was Daniels describing the young lady as attractive.  I am not here to argue with his observation.  I am here to ask what makes someone attractive?  In her case you could look at her regular features, well done make-up and flowing hair.  Those painted an attractive picture that was only flawed by her whining attitude.  The major aspect of beauty though, was her youth.  Often when I see a young attractive woman I try to imagine what they will look like at 50.  The results of my imagination are not pleasant.

I remember falling in love in 7th grade.  It was like that song, “Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer.”  One glance was all it took.  I was in love until I graduated from high school.  I thought she was awesome.  I never spoke to her.  She did not know I existed.  That had nothing to do with my star-struck status.  What I find really amusing was looking at my yearbook years later and wondering what it was I thought was so attractive.

Probably the most accurate of my opening cliches was, “Beauty has a time clock.”  There are two initial points to that.  First, we see a vision of loveliness and are struck speechless.  We are in awe at the initial picture, but the clock keeps ticking.  She may smile and show teeth that ruin the picture.  We may get close enough to see the heavy make-up.  Tattoos may make an appearance.  There are many ways in which time can downgrade the image.

The second point is the beauty of youth.  The young woman mentioned above had youth going for her.  There is something about the freshness of that time in life that is very attractive.  Sometimes it develops and delivers on its promise.  Too often it quickly fades.  I remember one 7th grade girl in my class who was truly beautiful.  It was a nature thing and obvious to anyone who saw her.  Her family moved and she went to another school.  About a year later she came back to visit and the transformation was jaw dropping.  She had gained some serious poundage.  Her complexion had gone the way of a teenager who eats too much chocolate.  The clock had done its job.

We also have cultural norms of beauty.  I remember seeing some paintings done by local Africans after they met Europeans for the first time.  The differences were exaggerated to the point where even I thought we were ugly.  Of greatest note were the long, straight noses on the faces.  It clashed with local standards.  We see this today in women getting silicone butt implants and shaving hairlines.  I remember talking to a Latina teacher that I got on well with and asked her if Latino men liked their women pleasantly plump.  It did not take her long to agree.

Ultimately the best type of beauty is that which comes from within.  I think we all know people who would never win a beauty pageant based on photographs but who radiate so much charm, warmth and general charisma that we never think about the shape of their nose.  We also know people who check all the physical boxes but we would not want to be on the same bus with them, let alone a desert island.  

Don’t get me wrong.  I plan on continuing to comb what hair I have left and wearing clean clothes.  More important I will try to develop my courtesy and kindness.  That is the real challenge.

Was that an “Amen” I heard?

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-304: Literally Test

I was reading through Psalm 72 this morning and I was struck by the picturesque language sprinkled throughout.  Early on I came across this,

(Psa 72:3 KJV)  The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

It is a nice picture but my mind started wandering how my Mid-Acts Dispensationalist (MAD) friend, who insists that the Bible be interpreted literally, would deal with that.  How does a mountain bring peace?

Most rational people have no problem with this verse or verses like it.  Even people who claim to be literal can see this is poetic.  The disclaimer offered here is “rational people”.  

As often happens my mind started to wander to passages of the Bible that are loved by millions and what would happen if you took the words literally.  My mind went to the 23rd Psalm.  Allowing for the fact that dispensationalists often reject the OT because it was written to the Jews and not us gentiles, I decided to comment on it a a literal work.

(Psa 23:1 KJV)  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In my mind this would require Yahweh, that is what LORD translates, to show up with a shepherd’s crook, flowing robes, sandals and one of those turban type head coverings.  I would say that He would be standing by my bed when I wake up except the next verse says,

(Psa 23:2 KJV)  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Evidently I am going to be sleeping in the grass.  That does not thrill me because I am aware that the grass is full of ticks, fleas, ants, scorpions and all the varieties of creation, but that is where He is going to put me.  Still waters I can handle.

Then I get down to,

(Psa 23:4 KJV)  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

If God is in charge and is leading me beside still waters, how did I get in this valley?

The next verse starts off well,

(Psa 23:5 KJV)  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

The table is set.  Good.  But wait a minute, what are my enemies doing here?  You would think we could have found a restaurant with a nice quiet, corner table.  And what is this about my cup running over?  I don’t think my wife would approve of that.

It finishes by promising I will live in God’s house forever.  Of course that is except for the times when I am laying in the grass or walking in deadly valleys.  

We obviously don’t read it this way but that is what a literal approach demands.  The believer who has all of the synapses that God gave him will realize that such an approach does not work.  Some verses are meant to be poetical and figurative such as rivers clapping their hands or God having wings and feathers.  Others are meant to be taken quite literally,

(Rom 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I think that we can tell the difference and not just keep changing our standard to make scripture fit our preconceived notions.  But who am I to judge?

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-303: Dulling Down as We Dumb Down

I think the subject got started with one of those questions of, “What color car will you want when you are able to drive?”  My granddaughter is only 8 and he father says she cannot date until she is 30 so I don’t know what the point of the discussion was, but she got excited when I mention cars used to come with more than one color of paint.  I never saw anyone get excited before about the idea of two-toned cars.

Life used to have a lot more variety.  Look at the cars coming down the road.  If you took out the black, white and silver there would be plenty of room to drive.  Think about all the sizes of notebook paper you used to be able to choose from.  Remember when shirts came in more than s,m,l and xl?  Remember picking your sleeve length?

It is called progress.  Most items disappear without a whimper.  Others require pages of comment.  They still disappear.  

If you want to see the ultimate expression of this go to East Berlin.  I don’t know if they have learned about colors yet but the city literally looked like a black and white film when I was there before the wall came down.  Socialism produces a drab world.  Government regulation and tax policy destroys competition and choices.  Some unelected administrator decides what choices you should have.  It is like Henry Ford has returned and is again saying, “You can have any color car you want as long as it’s black.”

That is one aspect of Utopia that we don’t think about.  There will always be a color or size that someone has decided it best and that will be the only choice you have.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-302: Redish Letter Day

My son pointed out that he was going to be gone over Father’s Day and was concerned about doing something before you left.  I’m afraid I just laughed at him.  We go out to dinner every week.  We see each other at regular family activities.  I am in no way neglected nor short of attention from my children.

Father’s Day is  conspiracy by mothers who want to justify Mothers’ Day.  They put it in there so that they would not feel guilty about demanding special attention.  That’s the way they think.  I think men on the hole tend to wish it was always ignored. I know I don’t like particularly celebrating birthdays.

If there is one prayer request that I might have for Father’s Day, it would be directed towards those people whose children are not honoring them.  I know they’re out there.  I see them and hear them speak on a regular basis.  The heartbreak is incredible.  Not only that the children haven’t turned out the way they wanted to on the bigger scale, but also the fact that they are ignored on the smaller scale.

So I hope Father’s Day is a day of celebration for your family and that if it’s not this year that the future will look better.
    
homo unius libri

Opus 2026-301: Ode to Old: Time to Get with It

I am on the verge of giving in to one of the current fashion trends.  I am ready to stop shaving every day.

One reason I am reluctant to go that route is that a decline in personal hygiene is one of the marks of old age.  Often old people stop bathing and even flushing the toilet.  Water costs money, you know.

For this I can thank the young men of today.  They spend great effort making it look like they shaved two days ago.  I think it might take more time than actually doing the deed but for some reason it is considered stylish.  Why should I suffer when simply by ignoring it I can look cool?

Or will it just make me look older?

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-300: Digital Applications

Three bits of information presented as the result of research have come together in my mind.  I say “presented” because I don’t know how valid the research was.  Just because I want something to be true does not make it such.

The most emotionally satisfying is the documentation of the stagnation and decline in the results of standardized testing since digital technology came into the classroom.  We all have made note of this.  I can remember when they dumbed down the SAT test to improve scores.  I witnessed the decline in the years I was teaching, 1987-2017.  Every time they issued new text books the vocabulary had to be lowered.  The talking heads claimed that research on this went back to 1962.

The most frightening is the effect of AI tools.  The research here was done in the computer industry.  Use of AI seemed to keep the lower levels from growing.  They could do their work using all the offerings of AI but they were stuck in a rut.  The upper levels seem to be able to advance.  Either they were old enough to have developed a deeper understanding of what they were doing or just having the experience let you keep growing.  It isn’t just a matter of productivity but of making advances in quality.

The personal concern came from a discussion of Bible study and the use of digital Bibles.  The talking heads seemed to feel that their learning was being weakened by dependence on the screen.  I think they said computer tools could help your research but the idea was that there was an acutual physical and mental decline.

I find I am watching more videos lately.  Does that have anything to do with my decrease in physical and mental energy?  It seems vaguely that the two correlated in my life.  Of course, correlation does not mean causation but it causes one to wonder.  I think of all the people confined to a bedroom with a TV and slowly sinking.

Does the increased use of technology have an effect on the dementia of Americans?  This would go back to the advent of television.  Is there any research for such a thing?  I know that the visual can effect people. When my son was young we didn’t let him watch a lot of TV but we noticed that when what he watched was animated as opposed to live actors, his behavior changed and the change was for the worse.

My son suggested that it might be due to decreased attention spans which is another area that researchers have noticed.

I am going to reduce my screen time and increase my time with physical books.  It can’t hurt and I am willing for it to help.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-299: End Times Wish List

We were reading through Jeremiah 32.  As is too typical of prophecy we had read a long recital of doom and gloom for Israel because of their rebellion and hard hearts.  Then there was a sudden change of topic.  We started reading in verse 23,

(Jer 32:23 KJV)  And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:

This continues to verse 36,

(Jer 32:36 KJV)  And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

and then, cold turkey, the narrative reverses itself.

(Jer 32:37 KJV)  Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

Then the rest of the chapter talks about all the wonderful things God is going to do with them.  Okay, that is what it says.  My problem comes when everyone talks about the Jews having a change of heart and God gathers and restores them.  I will concede that point is made other places, but not here.  There is not drop of repentance, no turning back to God, no ounce of desire to reform.  Instead you have God imposing this change upon them.  This is expressed several ways.  Here is one,

(Jer 32:40 KJV)  And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

I shared with the group that if this was the only passage I had to go on I would become a Five Point Calvinist.  God is taking a bunch of rebellious sinners, sprinkling some pixie dust, and turning them into God fearing robots.  Pardon the language.  That is a paraphrase.  Fortunately for me I have read other places in prophecy where it declares He will gather them when they repent.  I don’t really believe in pixie dust.

I do believe in reading what the Bible says and making my declarations accurate.  If you want to say this documents a forced conversion but other places bring in the free decisions of the converted, fine.  Just don’t act like this says something it doesn’t say or act like there are no qualifiers other places.

In deliberating on this issue a thought came to me.  Maybe we should interpret prophecy the same way we are told to understand the parables of Jesus: There is one main point and anything beyond that begins to stretch the truth.  Applied here that would point out that Jeremiah was warning Israel what would be happening to them because of their refusal to obey.  The emphasis was not on an establishment of an eternal kingdom at the end of time.

It is a good thing that our salvation is based on our faith in the shed blood of Jesus rather than our interpretation of prophecy.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-298: The Sloth Spectrum

I don’t consider myself to be lazy.  My wife would disagree with that, at least when she wants something done and wants it done now.  As the song of my youth says, “Manana is soon enough for me.”

The sluggard comes up frequently in Proverbs.  The word is used 14 times and only in Proverbs.  It is not a compliment.  My favorite is where the slothful is described as being too lazy to pull his hand out of the salad bowl to put food in his mouth.  I have never been that lazy.

I would suggest there is a spectrum of sloth-hood.  At one end you have the guy above.  I would think of the stereotype of the basement dwelling millennial who expects Daddy to pay for all his needs and Mommy to prepare and clean for him.  If he leaves the basement it is to go to a party.

I would think the lack of effort goes through various stages.  

As I said, I don’t consider myself lazy.  For at least 40 years I got up every day and went to work.  One time I had three jobs to try and pay the bills.  I may not iron my underwear but I also don’t expect my wife to do it.  My problem is I don’t like wasting my time.  I don’t like tasks that I know will be redone because my standards or skills are not high enough.  I don’t rush out to complete needs that don’t need to be done.  For instance, my wife has wanted me to rake the leaves under our oak trees for years so the snakes won’t get us.  So far I have resisted the raking and avoided the snakes.  Really?  Raking oak leaves in Texas Hill Country?  Nonsense.

Another problem that presents itself is that I don’t notice dirt and clutter.  I pick up my sox.  I make my bed.  I don’t notice the cobwebs in the corner of a room.  The dust tends to build up until my grandchildren come over and start drawing picture in it.  Leaves on the front porch will be replaced by the wind in a few minutes.  Life it too short to worry about some things.

If you have extra energy and want to come rake my leaves I will salute you from my chair in the shade.  I would not want to get in your way of an orderly world.

Color me energy efficient, not lazy.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-297: Firsts: They Really Exist

As I was out walking and on my home stretch I saw something moving on the pavement.  On closer examination it turned out to be something I have heard about and seen pictures of but never experienced in real time.  It was a dung beatle.  I am not sure where he got his burden or why he was trying to cross the road but I assume he saw a chicken and wanted to be similarly noticed.  

Maybe we can start a whole series of jokes about why the dung beatle crossed the road.

Will wonders never cease?

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-296: Figurative Is Inclusive

I was walking down the path of foods we can, or should, eat.  

Vegetables came early.

(Gen 1:29 KJV)  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Keep in mind that “meat” is basically food not steaks and chops.

Meat was added with Noah.  Up until this time you could be a vegetarian, but I have been down that road before.

(Gen 9:3 KJV)  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Then the Lord’s Prayer came, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Is that literal or figurative?  Yes.  The point that hit me here is that the figurative often includes the literal, it does not eliminate it.  The same is true from the other direction.  This where I am going today.

One of the debates I am always involved in when trying to understand the Bible is whether a statement is literal or figurative.  If you want to join the argument go to a church where the pastor uses the KJV and announce that the book of Revelation is mostly figurative.  You might want to have your will drawn up before you go because you might not be coming back.

Take the statement from the Lord’s prayer.  Does it mean that we are to eat bread every day and that God is supposed to make sure that happens?  If you lived in a day and age when bread was the major food in your culture then that would be a literal request.  You would not be asking for variety but for sustenance.  Today with our abundant choices in what we eat it could be understood just as well as getting enough calories.  If you are gluten intolerant then you definitely want it to be figurative.  

Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you seek to understand truth.  There is often a basic literal quality but that is often applied in many ways to your unique situation.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-295: Finding a Balance

As I sat down and looked out the window I noticed a solitary deer eating my flowers.  At least it looked like it to me.  I am always amazed at how picky these animals are.  They look constantly emaciated and yet spend their time looking around instead of eating.  Even now, standing in a corner with lots of grass, the deer spent most of its time looking around.  No wonder it looks like it is starving to death.

I am imagining the deer has different priorities than I do.  He has to worry about predators.  All I have to worry about is my wife coming up with a new project.  My looking around won’t do any good.  For the deer it might be the difference between life and death.  Picture a deer that focuses only on eating as much as possible.  There is a good chance it will miss that wolf that has deer steaks in mind.

Or take the other extreme.  What if the deer spends all of its time looking and none eating.  It will collapse from lack of nourishment and still end up as wolf fodder.  It is a tough line to walk.

Like so much of life, balance is the key.  When I read about diet plans that are based on just meat, I just shake my head.  Our bodies are designed for a variety of foods.  I will concede that we are all different so there might be some extreme cases but for most of us fad diets are a waste of time and generally unhealthy.  Or take exercise.  I keep seeing click bait that claims from one to five exercises will change my life and keep me young.  They can’t all be right and probably none of them are.

Use your head.  That is why God gave it to you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-294: OCD Theology

I make no claim to being a pyschologist or understanding all of the categories of human behavior they have developed to sell books and impress laymen.  My understanding of OCD comes from applying it to my daughter and her compulsive use of sticky notes to organize her life and the life of those around her.  To be fair she has made wonderful progress but the omnipresent sticky note was once part of our family tradition.  

My sense of OCD is someone who has to have everything in its proper place.  Variation is sin.  If the wind blows your note across the room and attaches it somewhere else it is immediately noted and dealt with.  Sometimes that dealing is with a smile, sometimes a frown, but it is dealt with.  

Too much of our historic theology falls into this type of mental condition.  I am not against organization.  I am all in favor of reason and logic.  The issue comes from the first sticky note.  Where do you place it?  Are you willing to move it if it becomes clear it doesn’t work as a foundation?  In this I am much more aware of the mistakes of others than I am of my own suppositions.  I am sure that mine are clear to you.  The biggest difference is, of course, that my foundations are solid and yours are rocky at best.  Maybe I should say “rocking”.

I am at a time in life where the words of Socrates in his Apology are digging in and not letting go.  He said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  Of course he did not really say that.  He spoke Greek and it probably had nuances that the English misses but we can get the idea and benefit from it.  

I am reflecting on a passage that was quoted on Sunday.

(Rom 9:15 KJV)  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Of course this was understood in the standard Calvinistic way.  It was supposed to emphasize the omnipotence of God and our total lack of input into salvation.  Understood correctly that is a foundation we need.  Understood in the standard way it is a blatant attempt to control the God who is claimed to be uncontrollable.  

What is the problem?  Take a look at the preceding verse,

(Rom 9:14 KJV)  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

Calvinists love the KJV because of the way it is translated.  Look at another translation to get a bit of a different angle,

(Rom 9:14 NAS77) What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!

I don’t know about you but I tend to connect righteousness with morality.  By definition God cannot be unrighteous since He is the one who sets the standards.  Actually that is a big philosophical/theological question that we don’t have energy for today.  Is murder wrong because God says so or does God say so because it is wrong?  

Justice is about making judgments.  It is about following the principles and apply a response.  To me that means that God is going to be a being of reason and use logic in His decisions.  He has a reason for whom He extends His grace to.  There is a basis for His choice.  It is clear that we do not earn it by banking enough merit.  Nothing we could do can atone for our sin.  Only Jesus could do that.  But I have a hard time accepting that a righteous or just God is going to decide to ignore blantant, in-your-face rebellion and just say, “Oh, well.”

Yes, God will extend Mercy to whom He wants.  He will not accept the limitations you put on Him.  He will not let you, or me, put Him in our own prepared box just because it fits our system of theology.  He is the great I AM.  As such He has the final say.

Eternity is going to be a glorious time of learning.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-293: Uncharted Revelation: Do Names Have Meaning?

Then in chapter 6 we finally start opening the seals.  The first four seals have a series of horses and riders going out and doing terrible things.  It might make a good fantasy movie but I am not sure what the moral of the story is.

The forth seal indicates to me the figurative quality of Revelation,

(Rev 6:8 KJV)  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

I can see calling the creature on the pale horse “Death”.  People and animals have some strange names.  The figurative part is how Hell follows him.  Hell is a place.  It is hard to imagine how it could pick up and follow a creature on a horse.  That is the point.  This is a product of the divine imagination.  It is not meant to be taken literally.  What it actually means is anybody’s guess and I imagine they all have an opinion.

Then look at the power given to this rider.  He is set loose to kill a fourth of the earth.  He is going to be in competition with the second horse who is already on its way to kill.  Then you have the thirds that will come in chapter 8.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-292: Thanks for the Silent Majority

I am going to divide government employees into three categories today.  I imagine there are many more and various ways to break them down but this is what I am looking at right now.  I do not have any recent experiences to stimulate this train of thought.  It just kind of emerged.

I am thinking of dividing government employees into workers, drones and queens.  Honey bees have my apologies for the comparison.

I think the largest group of government employees are the workers.  These are those usually unnoticed men and women who show up for work on time and do their job.  We don’t notice them because when they do their job there is no reason to notice them.  I know they exist because much of what I expect to happen just happens.  When I renew my driver’s license, it arrives.  When the electricity goes out, it comes on again.  Just because we run into that clerk who has it in for us does not mean that others are not doing their best and if this was not the largest group much of what we take for granted would cease.

Then you have the drones.  When they are in a back office the work seems to find a way around them because they don’t earn their paycheck.  When they are in contact with the public they make us want to join the revolution.  You have all been there.  You can see the piece of paper they need to get you on your way but they won’t turn around and look for it.  They keep quoting a non-existent regulation or mis-interpreting the rules because they get more joy out of your frustration that a job well done.

The third group is small.  It is a blessing that they are rare.  These are the ones who are really motivated because they literally get joy out of making you miserable.  It gives their petty existence meaning to stop you cold.  In too many cases they will actually go out of their way to be violent or betray the trust placed in them.

If this last type were really common we would all be living in chaos.  As it is the disasters seem to be rare enough that most of us don’t need to worry.  If you can, report them.  If they are reachable, vote them out.  Make sure that you don’t join them because much of our safety is in numbers.

And be thankful for the ones faithfully doing their job.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-291: How Big a Temptation?

Most Christians are familiar with Satan taking Jesus up on a mountain top and tempting Him with all kinds of things in order to get Him to compromise.  He held out.  He set the example for us.

However, I am wondering if He was ever tempted to create a bubble of air-conditioning around Himself.  He could have done it without anybody else noticing.  After all, He didn’t need compressors or anything like that.  He could have just temporarily changed the laws of physics.  I know I would’ve been tempted, knowing that someday air-conditioning would be invented and be available even to the common people.  I would have thought “Why not get started early?”

Just another reason why I am not Jesus.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-290: So There!

Recently I was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.  I was in a situation where I was forced to sit and listen to someone read.  Have I ever told you I hate being read to?  I hate being read to.  My mind wants to gallup and readers tend to trot at best.  I endured.  I hope I had a good demeanor because my grandchildren were watching.

The torture came from the opening chapter of Tom Sawyer.  It was well written.  I was caught up in the attempt by Tom to pick a fight.  It was a long series of “I dare you” and “Well, of yeah” Time and time again the debate went on about who would whip the other.  Older brothers were referred to.  Eventually it resolved in a slugfest.  What emerged in my mind this morning was how similar this is to the disagreements we have about theology and what we believe.

We like to take verses, throw them down in the dust and say, “So there!”  We think our enthusiasm is impressive.  We know we are right because someone told us it was right.  We don’t remember whom.  It was probably many whom’s.  We are standing on solid ground.  The verse in front of me today is,

(Rom 9:15 KJV)  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

This is supposed to prove several of the points to the TULIP theory.  Total depravity, undeserved election and irresistible grace come to mind.  It provides a powerful bit of ammunition.  It occured to me that it might be more beneficial to look at its foundations before we build a house of theology on it.

The cross reference given is Exodus 33:19.  Keep in mind that the little letters directing you to other passages are editorial additions, not the original inspired text.  They are subject to the theological biases of the editor.  In this case it seems like a solid referral.

(Exo 33:19 KJV)  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

This takes place in a context you will recognize.  Moses and God had been having a discussion.  The concept of grace was thrown around a lot.  Moses is asking for God’s assurance and God promises to be with him.  There is no reference to God making capricious choices of who will be saved.  In the verse before this you have the familiar words of Moses,

(Exo 33:18 KJV)  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

Moses is asking for a special favor.  He wanted to see the face of God.  He was denied because to see God’s face would kill him.  But God, whom the TULIP people want to portray as never bending to human will says He will let Moses see His back as He passes by.  

Then Moses proceeds to cut tablets of stone to remake the Ten Commandments.  

This is a great passage, but it has nothing to do with how God interacts with us.  The context in Romans is Paul pointing out that being born a descendent of Jacob did not guarantee them a place at the table in eternity.  It is the opposite of how modern theologians like to apply it.

So there!

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-289: Hello, Real World

One of the words that kept popping up as I was shopping the other day was “free”.  Personally, I get a little offended by such a silly concept.  There’s an acronym which basically translates, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” (TANSTAAFL)  That’s one of the great truths of life.

Nothing is free.

So the challenge becomes trying to figure out where you end up paying for it.  The item that set me off was a 5G phone.  I would conceive that you might actually get a physical communication device without having to write a check for the device, however, when you read the fine print you find that you have to subscribe to a certain phone service or some other commitment.  They make their money on that end.

Anytime I see the word free I wonder what I’m gonna be paying for, how I’m gonna pay it or who else is going to get stuck with the bill.

Another concept that I learned long time ago is you get what you pay for.

Consider that free advice.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-288: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 5 of 5, Time to Think and Apply

The word resist is not used but we might also reference Peter responding to the Council when he was told not to preach any more.

(Act 4:19 KJV)  But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

He was clearly ordered by the authorities not to preach.  He did not get a bad attitude, just explained his position.  In fact he did not say he would continue to preach, just said he would listen to God and not them.

We quote about resisting the devil but never put them together.  This is a common issue when trying to understand statements in the Bible.  We have what might be thought of as contradictions but at the same time believe that there are no contradictions.  My belief is that we can come to an understanding that works with both.  Some people, dispensationalists for instance, will set aside passages and claim that they don’t apply to us any more.  Sounds good.  Is easy to do.  Once you start down that road the real question is where do you stop?  How much of the Bible can you say does not apply to you and why are you really saying it?  Thomas Jefferson is famous for taking a pair of scissors to the Bible.  The Jesus Project is another example.

Nehemiah tells Jews to rebuild temple with a sword in one hand.  It is important to consider the whole council of God.  We tend to get fixated on one verse.  We also need to realize that what is the instruction for one time is not always the same when the situation is different.  Note that when Jesus sent the disciples out the first time they were told to go only to the Jews.  Later the instructions included the entire world.

Read and think.  Answers will come.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-287: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 4 of 5, Resistance

We all know the verse from the Sermon on the Mount which seems to go even deeper than turning the other cheek.

(Mat 5:39 KJV)  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

This seems pretty clear if you isolate it and take it literally, but notice the previous verse,

(Mat 5:38 KJV)  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

It would seem that this is not a blanket statement about letting evil have its way but instead personal revenge.  This is another one of those places where we get different instructions at different places and we need to put them together to understand what it means.

Lets take a look at the word “resist” in verse 39.

It is of no significance but this Greek word is where we get the medical term antihistamine.  I doubt if God meant it this way but I find it interesting that histamines are substances that cause allergies and other irritations in the body.  If I would preaching I would make an aside that we are not to respond to petty issues, but I am not preaching.

The word is used in 12 verses in the New Testament.  Four of them are of interest in trying to find a Biblical understanding of what Jesus is saying.

First we have Paul resisting Peter.

(Gal 2:11 KJV)  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

“Withstood” is our word.  I would not say that Peter was evil but he was certainly going against Paul.  Paul did not turn the other cheek.  There was an important spiritual principle involved.

Paul continues to use the word,

(Eph 6:13 KJV)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Again, “withstand” is the word we are looking at.  In this case it is a command to resist and “evil” is the same Greek word Jesus used.  Evidently there are times when it is expected that we are prepared to resist.

Then we have a well known verse,

(Jas 4:7 KJV)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

How many times have you been told to resist the devil.  It seems like good advice.

And then Peter chimes in,

(1Pe 5:9 KJV)  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

To be concluded...

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Opus 2026-286: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 3 of 5, Salute

Or consider Jesus talking calmly to the centurion in Matthew 8.  The centurion asks for help in healing his servant.  Does Jesus use this moment to reprimand the centurion?  No,

Matthew 8:13 (KJV) And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

For many people a centurion is a guy standing around in armor in a historical reinactment.  You need to understand that the centurion was the toughest of the tough.  He would have been the command sergeant major in a Navy Seal unit.  He would be the one that would get Rambo to back down.  Jesus ignored all that.

Then you have John the Baptist giving advice to the soldiers.  Did he tell them to turn in their swords and practice cheek turning?  No. 

(Luk 3:14 KJV)  And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

Then you have Peter accepting Cornelius who was also a centurion.  Did he demand that he embrace pacifism?  No.  

(Act 10:47-8 KJV)  Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

He baptized him and his family.  What you see is that these spiritual leaders did not condemn the soldiers or in any way indicate that they were out of line.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-285: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 2 of 5, Go Figure

If we are to turn the other cheek at all times how do you explain Jesus cleansing the temple.  People try.  I have heard some great attempts.  When I was in seminary I wrote a paper about the time Jesus cleansed the temple and made the comment that Jesus got angry.  My professor went warp 9.  “Jesus did not get angry!”  I guess I was supposed to assume that He was quietly walking from table to table asking for permission to turn them over.  I have had people tell me that the whip He made was just to get the animals moving faster and HE used it gently.

How about Jesus telling the disciples to disciples to buy a sword.  People like to quote this verse from early in His ministry.

Luke 10:4 (KJV) Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

That is fine but they seem to stop reading there.  Do they leave out the rest because they only know what someone taught them?  Do they ignore the rest because their mind is made up?  Later Jesus reminds them of this,

Luke 22:35 (KJV) And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

Then we get to the twitchy part that no one wants to see:

Luke 22:36 (KJV) Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take [it], and likewise [his] scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

Notice that the instructions have changed.  Why?  Because the situation has changed.  What get me here is that the scholars all seem to say He did not mean a literal sword.  I find that one of those convenient proclamations that are designed to back a person’s theological position rather than reflect what they are reading.  How do you interpret that figuratively?  

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-284: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 1 of 5, The Easy Mark

What happens after you turn the other cheek?  I don’t know about you but I am running out of cheeks to turn.  I want to take a look at how we as Christians should be responding to the trends in society.

I was taught early on to turn the other cheek.

(Mat 5:39 KJV)  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

As a child I tried to live by that.  It seemed to resonate with my personality and someone evidently laid it on heavy at a receptive moment.  Most of the time it worked well but there was a period in elementary school that it made my life miserable.  I was one of those kids who experienced ongoing bullying from a boy who had been held back several years, wasn’t the brightest on the block and knew an easy mark when he saw one.  I endured hell for a couple of years until one day I had had enough.

I pushed him back.  We had a “fight”. At this age it was not too dramatic.  We pushed and shoved.  Somehow we ended up wrestling on the ground.  No blood.  No bruises.  I don’t remember how it was resolved but I know one thing:  He never bothered me again.

Too often we are given one side of a complex issue and instructed to internalize it as normal in all situations.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-283: Embrace Your Inner Utopia

When people criticize the United States or someone like Donald Trump they always get into this trap of comparing reality to fantasy.  Utopia is a wonderful concept.  People who push socialism and think that this time socialism will work have this mind blowing fantasy that there is such a thing as a perfect society in which everybody only takes what they need and always gives what they can.  These people leave candy on the porch during Halloween with a sign that says, “Just take one.”  Such a world does not exist.  Such a world has never existed.  Such a world will never exist until we get to the point of eternal life.  Even there, I’m wondering how God is going to make that work.

That being said, utopia is a concept that we should strive for and work towards.  The place to begin the March to utopia is not at the ballot box.  It is not in Washington DC or your state government.  The place that utopia will begin, at least the seeds of it could be planted, is within each and every individual who is committed to making themselves fit for utopia.  Again, it’s an empty hope.  People being born sinners means that they will never achieve that kind of perfection, however, it is a worthy goal to have.

When you are faced with a choice of pointing out to the cashier that they gave you too much change, are you preparing for utopia or reinforcing the reality of our fallen society.  When you park your car, do you take two spaces instead of one?  Do you return your shopping cart?  Have you ever borrowed somebody’s handicap placard when you’re going to an event that you expect to be crowded?

I think you get the idea.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-282: Can Truth Become Monotonous?

I don’t require a lot of variety in my life.  I could go to the same restaurant every time I eat out.  When I end up at an Italian place I always get the same thing.  Breakfast is considered wild and crazy if I settle for 51 grams of oatmeal instead of 50.  I always put my left shoe on my left foot.  I can’t help it.  It is just the way I am.

Having said that, I do get tired of “turn or burn” sermons.  I realize that people need to get saved.  It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make but I have a feeling that they need to also grow in grace and be challenged to apply their faith to life.

One of the traits we have as humans is that if we have too much repetition we become desensitized.  Picture the difference between that first taste of pizza and how it hits you after you have eaten too much.  How boring would your birthday be if you celebrated it every day.  Do you really pay attention when people greet you with, “How are you?”  Why don’t advertisers use the same mantras forever?  How many home run records would be broken if every pitch was a fast ball right down the middle?

I find that as much as I like consistency I still throw in little variations.  I move my chair on the front porch for a different view of the horizon.  I turn my recliner a different angle just to be wild and crazy.  I buy a different type of cheese every once in a while.  You might need big changes.  Most of my family can’t stand the same restaurant two times in a row.  I get to go along for the ride.

If you are trying to convince someone of something important, like salvation, look for a variety of approaches so that you don’t wear them out.  Don’t be like the marines and charge straight up the hill every time.

As they say, results may vary.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-281: Where Do You Fit?

Asking questions is one of the ways we learn.  All questions are not vocal.  Sometimes they are just a matter of turning over a rock to see what is under it or sniffing the milk to see if it has gone bad.  Still, we grow by questioning.  My thinking currently comes up with three approaches to questioning.

You have the skeptic who questions everything and accepts what he finds is true.  The skeptic genuinely wants to know what it real, right and valid but he does not accept things just because some guru has made a declaration.  Skepticism is at the central core of real science because the scientific method is based on always moving on to another question.

The skeptic has nothing in common with the cynic except that questions are asked.

The cynic questions everything and rejects everything.  In its earliest, playful version it is the child who produces a continual string of why’s.  The child does not really want an answer, it is all a game.  The adult cynic also does not really want an answer.  When you have answers you are forced to act on them and the cynic does not want to be accountable or responsible.

Most people are naive.  The naïve questions nothing and accepts what he is told.  He may be afraid to ask a question.  He may be afraid to know the answer.  He may even be so out of touch that he doesn’t know there are questions to be asked.  The naive continue to vote the way their parents voted if they bother to vote at all.  They live in the same town and shop at the same stores unless some popular trend moves them to conform.

Our culture needs more skeptics and fewer naive.  Cynics we can deal with because they at least generate a response from thinking people.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-280: A Statement, Not a Question

The context was a discussion of emotion in worship.  My Mid-Acts Dispensation (MAD, their acronym, not mine) friend was reflecting the opinion that most emotion in worship was not worship but hormonal.  Not being an emotional sort myself I had a general agreement.  Most of what I have seen over the years that is called “sensing the presence of God” has been generated by crowd manipulation techniques.  At the same time I believe that you can sense the presence of the Holy Spirit whether you are in corporate worship or alone with the Lord.  My reason for that is I experience both on a regular basis.

As the Lord and I were in communion this morning I kind of threw it at Him.  He laughed and pointed out when He told Moses that His name was Yahweh, meaning I AM, He did not frame it as a question.  He made a statement that He is, period, or exclamation point.

He is the Great I AM.  Our opinion does not need to be offered.  He is whether we sense Him or not.  He is if only a few admit it.  He is even if every human denies Him.  I think the technical term is “aseity”.  It has the idea that God is not dependent on anything other than Himself.

He would love to have you respond to Him but that is for your benefit, not His.  Keep in mind that He is God and we are not.  Obvious, I know, but still we need to reminded at times.

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Opus 2026-279: Sola or Dei

Don’t be confused by the spelling.  I am not talking about DEI.  If you know your Latin I am also not referring to Imago Dei.  This is a simple Greek word which is usually translated as “must”.

I have expressed my frustration with the Five Sola’s of Reform theology.  The popular reading and understanding of them is shallow and misses the point.  If you spend time nuancing and tweaking the discussion you can make sense out of five different things modified by the “alone”.  In the world of reason and logic it doesn’t make sense to say, “Faith alone” alongside “Grace alone.”  It is possible for both to exist but not “alone.”

The foundational point is that all five sola’s are necessary.  We are saved by grace.  We are saved through faith.  That faith is in Jesus alone.  The scripture is our ultimate authority.  All is for God’s glory.  Well and good, but not a logical structure and I have a feeling that we serve a God of logic, not slogans or bumper stickers.

So I have a suggestion.  We need to substitute the concept of necessity for the idea of isolation.  I am suggesting the Greek word “dei”.  It is used 106 times in the NT and 58 times as “must”. For example,

John 3:7 (KJV) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Notice it is not optional.

You might even reverse the word order so that instead of “Grace alone” you would have “not without Grace.”  This would be much more accurate and keep non-thinkers from getting confused.

As the preacher’s wife told him, “KISS.”

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Opus 2026-278: What Is the Plural of Litmus Test?

Generally when we talk about a litmus test we are focusing on one specific variable.  I guess it would be a good term to use in describing genuine scientific research but we usually use it for more common observations.  For instance, if a politician says they are in favor of abortion on demand I don’t need to know anything else about them.  I would bet my mortgage payment that I could tell you where they stand on a host of issues.  

I have pretty much walked away from the denomination I was raised in.  It isn’t their official doctrine.  I still embrace that.  It is how they are heading down a slippery slope of compromise.  I could list a number of issues but the latest is a good indication of a litmus test.

I have remained on e-mail lists because I want to be informed of their stands on things.  The latest was an invitation to a workshop.  So far so good, but then we get to the topic.  They were inviting all pastors to sign up for a workshop on how to get out of paying back their student loans.  They worded it much more positively.  It was how to sign up for a federal loan forgiveness program.  

I don’t care how sweet your adjectives are or how legal it all sounds.  The point is that they are encouraging the spiritual leaders of the denomination to try to get out of their obligations.  As I read in Proverbs today I came across this,

(Pro 28:10 KJV)  Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

These pastors took out loans and promised to pay them back.  Now they are trying to get out of that.  Something about that just strikes me as wrong.  It smacks of deceit and cheating.  It sends the wrong message.  How can you expect people to not cheat on their wife if they cheat on their finances?

Slippery slopes generally start out quite manageable.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-277: It Comes with Age

It is amazing how many things you learn about as you get older.  They can’t be new since they are part of the human condition but I don’t remember ever hearing about them.

The topic of revelation today is “floaters”.

If you are older you know of what I speak.  If you are younger you think of root beer or leaves in a stream.  If you are younger it would never occur to you that such things exists.  I wonder if my elders never spoke of them or if I just ignored it.

Floaters are generated when small parts of your retina break off and begin to float around in your vitreous humor.  Many are little specks that your learn to ignore.  Others are large enough that you think there are mice running along beside your car.  At best it is irritating.  Think of being surrounded by non-existent mosquitoes.  At worst it can be dangerous.

I am told that they eventually dissolve.  Such a process is not obvious because they seem to keep getting replaced.

Put it in your file of things to look forward to along with arthritis and memory loss.  Try to have a happy day while you still can.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-276: The Other End of the Pencil

Recently in a Bible study focused on Jeremiah, the Book of Life somehow came up.  It was probably because it is easier to talk in platitudes and sound bites than to really dig into research.  There are times when it seems that everything comes down to “turn or burn”.  As important as that is to focus on, when you have the well established crowd at our Wednesday service seems a waste of time.

Does “book of life” appear in Jeremiah?  The only close reference is,

Psalm 69:28 (KJV) Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

And from there you jump to the NT. In the NASB this is “book of life”

There was a lot of enthusiasm about the topic.  We were told that it was a great witnessing tool.  Ask people if they are in the book of life.  It was supposed to be the final measure.  The problem is we won’t know until we are there.

My mind goes into overdrive when I hear boilerplate theology.  I know there is a book of life in Revelation.  I know the importance of having your name in it.  No problem there.  Where I run into issues is with people who do not think that God’s pencil has an eraser.  The once-saved-always-saved crowd love to proclaim that once you are in you stay in.

Let’s look at a few places that might bring you to question such thinking.  The first is at the beginning of Revelation.

Revelation 3:5 (KJV) He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

The promise is that Jesus will not “blot out” their name.  It would seem obvious to me that if someone promises they will not erase your name if conditions are met, they can do so if you don’t measure up.  The measure here is to “overcome”.

Now go to the other end of Revelation. Notice this,

Revelation 22:19 (KJV) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Again you have the clear knowledge that your name can be erased.

It is not something I worry about.  God is not looking for excuses to blot out names.  At the same time He is not a fool and does not play fool’s games.  It is summed up in the title of a well know hymn, “Trust and Obey”.

Keep in mind there is no other way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-275: Unexpected Treasures

Recently we were doing the tourist thing at the Alamo with my visiting sister-in-law.  It was an interesting experience which I would have never done on my own.  Since she was with us we hit the gift shop.

In the gift shop my son noticed one item we might have missed, roasted crickets.  He convinced her to buy some for her grandchildren.  Most people would not think of buying roasted crickets at the Alamo as a thing to do but we had a family tradition to uphold.

This goes back to my childhood when my brothers and I came across a bunch of chocolate covered bugs.  We bought a selection with the thought that Christmas was coming and we would have family get-togethers.  When the day came we mixed the chocolate covered treats in with the other items on the Christmas spread.  It was our contribution to the pot luck.  They were enjoyed by all until they found out what was covered by the chocolate.  We still enjoyed the experience but it went down in family history as evidence that we could not be trusted.

Fast forward to the next generation.  My children knew the story and found they could order a selection of chocolate covered bugs over the internet.  My son had a job which meant he had money, so the order was placed.  They were much more aggressive in their marketing.  They put them out on the buffet and then proceeded to solicit feedback.  Everyone had good things to say until they found out what was covered by the chocolate.

Now we have a third generation being initiated into the mystery of bugs.  I will have to wait to find out how it turns out.  My son bought some to try on his niece and nephew.  Trust is built over time and destroyed in a moment.

But the legacy lives on.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-274: Born Again…and Again

My younger brother died just a little over a year ago.  He left an awesome legacy in his children, all serious believers, and his grandchildren.  The funeral was inspirational and the time with family was refreshing.  This past weekend we had my sister-in-law down and continued the healing.

One of the topics that came up was the nature of eternal life and that opened the door to a lot of glorious attempts to understand the impossibilities.  In the conversation she shared a thought that had never occurred to me.  She equated the baby emerging from the womb with the resurrection.  You can carry any analogy too far, and I am sure we did, but the parallels were inspiring.

Picture a baby in the womb.  There is no light.  The concept of light is incomprehensible.  When the infant emerges his eyes are assaulted by a brightness and a variety that he has no way of understanding.  Slowly, over time, things begin to make sense and a whole new dimension is embraced.  I look forward to the visuals of heaven.

The newborn must deal with a greater clarity of sounds.  I remember talking to our children before they were born.  I know they could hear or sense the vibration of my voice.  They may not know the words but the timber was familiar.  Now they had to begin to figure out the words, melodies and sound effects.  I expect there to be music in heaven that would put me in a trance if I heard it today, or it might burn out my ears.

There will be freedom of movement.  In the womb the baby and kick, punch and squirm.  He has no comprehension of crawling and the idea of walking would really be strange.  What will our incorruptible bodies be able to do?

We can readily see parallels with what the resurrection will bring.

In between there is another required rite of passage.  In John it is called being born again.  Paul talks about three levels of spiritual condition at the end of I Corinthians 2 and into chapter 3: Natural, carnal and spiritual.  The natural man has no comprehension of spiritual things and the carnal Christian is limited to the milk of the word.  Only the spiritual man can begin to comprehend the great truths of God.  That is why the Bible continues to speak to us all our lives. 

We have come through a lot.  What is to come will dwarf the past.  Keep on the path for the final resurrection.  The third time is the charm.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-273: Simple Solutions

I have mentioned somewhere in the past an insight I got from a class in the Psychology of Education.  It came from Piaget and related how mental ability develops.  He demonstrated how young children can watch you poor liquid from a short wide container into a tall thin one and the child will claim the tall one has more liquid in it.  I saw this at work today.

We were experimenting with a new location for an inflatable pool in our front yard.  The ground looked level but when we started adding water it became clear that the water was building up in one end.  My six year old grandson decided to solve the problem by moving the hose to the other end and make it deeper there.  It did not work but it demonstrated the logic in a child.

Too often we run into adults who have this same lack of awareness.  In adults I always wonder if it is lack of ability, lack of training or just refusal to admit truth.  In other contexts I would use three words to define these conditions:  Stupid, ignorant or evil.  It sounds harsh but so is the effect they have on our world.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-272: Now That You Mention It

I spend time every morning being thankful for all the blessing that God has bestowed on me and mine.  After the usual things such as the attributes of God, knowledge of salvation, and just being in Texas I try to think of things I take for granted.  Here are a few that I have come up with.

The nose pads on my glasses
Glasses themselves
Coffee
Electricity
Running water
Laundry soap, or soaps of any kind
Zippers
Flashlights
Matches
Flush toilets
Toilet paper and Kleenex
Windows and glass
Cars and affordable gas
Ice cubes

I also like to add a bit of thanksgiving for the things I don’t even think about.  It is a good way to start the day.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-271: Click Bait: Tick Bait

Logic can be a dangerous thing.  At first I just scrolled by this bit of click bait:

“Farmers notice spike in ticks while Lyme disease vaccine is entering market by Pfizer.”

I think the idea that was being planted was that Pfizer has been sending teams into the fields of America releasing millions of ticks to create a need for their vaccine.  I guess it is possible.  It is certainly one explanation for the correlation.  I would suggest a bit more investigation is in order.  I will not do it because life is too short but if you are inclined, go ahead.

You might investigate if this is similar to winter coats being introduced in fall.  Or maybe if you are into bugs, mosquito repellent is ordered as winter is coming to a close.  What better time to market something that when people are concerned about an issue.

You might investigate to see if there is a spike in ticks every year at the same time.

You might investigate to see if this vaccine has been marketed this time of year for the past 50 years.

You might even look into whether the claim is true.

Keep in mind one of the principles of the scientific method:  Correlation does not mean causation.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-270: Uncharted Revelation: To Open or Not to Open

People talk about contradictions in scripture.  Revelation has its share.  As we go into chapter 5 we have a book no one can open.  It is not explained why anyone would want to but it is assumed it is needed.  This is a clear statement,

(Rev 5:3 KJV)  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

The older translations say “no man”.  The modern say “no one”.  

Then suddenly we have one,

(Rev 5:5 KJV)  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And so,

(Rev 5:7 KJV)  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

A thought occurred to me.  That often happens.  I assume the one sitting on the throne is Yahweh, God Almighty.  The lion is Jesus.  Where were they when it was stated that no one could open the book?

Then we have a lot more chanting and expressions about the greatness of the Lamb.  It seem like a lot of theater.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-269: Dream Heresy?

Do we have the right to make demands of God?  It is an interesting question that emerges from my dreams last night.  I often have vague memories of dreams that gradually lose their coherence as a wake up.  I don’t know if you have had that experience but things seem so logical and reasonable when I am asleep but don’t make any sense when I am awake.

Last night I was in an existence that had God experimenting with creation.  There was nothing ghastly or terrifying going on.  It was just that there seemed to be a gradual change in memories and beginnings.  At the end there was a stability and I remember wondering if we could make demands of God.

Strange.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-268: Reparations across the Board

I don’t understand the reasoning behind reparations.  How someone who never owned slaves could owe something to someone who was never a slave is a mystery to me.  But for today let’s go with that.  We have a principle that no matter how far back you go in history and whether you have ancestors involved or not, you have the right to pay people back or demand payment from them.

So let’s look back in history.  I just finished reading about how the Muslim victors would set terms for surrender, guarantee safe passage and as soon as the gates were open begin to slaughter everyone and steal everything.  They loved to ride their horses over infants and slice open pregnant women.  If we are going to accept the logic of reparations then we have the right to take a tank and a few 50 caliber machine guns into any Muslim neighborhood and start shooting.  It is only fair because centuries ago Muslims did it to Christians.  Point out the fallacy in my logic.

Perhaps we could look back to the Mongols sweeping over Eastern Europe, the Middle East, northern India and any other place in reach.  The Mongels at one time made up the ruling dynasty of China so it would only be fair if all the armies of the world would start rolling across the Gobi and not stop until they arrived at the Formosa Straight.  It is only reparations at work.

Maybe we should insist on the help of the US Army to support the Cherokee to reclaim their ancestral grounds.  I don’t mean in Georgia.  Before that.  Back when they were located up in New York and Pennsylvania.  Let’s kill everyone in those states or if we are really serious about reparations locate the descendants of the Indian tribes that drove them out and give them what they deserve.

I am sure we could find other examples.  If you go back in history you could come up with a reason to kill just about anyone and take their worldly goods.  What a world that would be.

Ultimately this just goes back to the Conan principle.  Conan the Barbarian was able to do anything he wanted to do if his muscles were bigger and his sword sharper.  In other contexts it is called the law of the jungle and if you are weak, you are dinner.

So sure.  Reparations sounds like a good idea if you have all the guns and no moral scruples.

homo unius libri