Opus 2025-548: Advent Calendar: Day 1, The Protoevangelium

The coming of the Messiah was not a last minute project.  In fact it begins right inside the garden of Eden as Adam and Eve are about to receive their eviction notice.  This verse has a fancy name which you saw in the title.  Break it down.  The proto is the first design as in prototype.  The second part is our word for evangelism which means “good news”.  This is a prophecy about the relationship between the serpent and the seed of Mary, Jesus.

(Gen 3:15 KJV)  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God plans ahead.  If he were living in Texas today He would already have His shopping done.  The message was that Jesus was coming.  For us it is that He is already here.  Merry Christmas.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-195: Gods

We have been introduced to pagan ideas of God.  Often we are not even aware of it.  I think of The Force from the movie, Star Wars, and how it is an expression of the eastern religions, and their idea of God.  To them God is not a person.  He is simply a force with no right or wrong, no good or evil, just a force.  How this force affects us depends on us, not upon the force.

We also have the Greek idea of gods.  We find this in Hollywood celebrities, Talking Heads and authority figures.  We look at those who are powerful.  We want to be like them because we want to be powerful.  It’s not because they’re righteous or holy, or worth looking up to but because they’re above us and we want to be like them.  Actually we want to replace them.  That goes back to the conversation Eve had with the Serpent.  

(Gen 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The Bible view of God is that he is omnipotent and all powerful and all those other things but he is still a person.  We may not be able to understand Him or the depths of His personhood, but He is still a person.  As a person, He relates to us as persons.  We have the example of Jesus to learn what God is like.  We don’t have to guess.  We don’t have to try to create a narrative.  God has communicated.  Now we listen.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-006: A Place for Law

If you are a Bible reader you may have been puzzled by the different attitudes toward the Law.  Usually this refers to the Law of Moses.  Part of that law is the Ten Commandments, which most people have heard of even if they can’t name them.  It would also contain instructions for the sacrificial system, eating kosher and treating common health issues.

Most Christians would say that the Law of Moses does not apply to us for at least two reasons.  First, we are gentiles and the Law applies to Israel.  Second, when Jesus died on the cross He paid the debt owed for the sins of mankind and we have moved into the age of grace.

As you read the New Testament you find that there is a lot of negative press for the law. There are two reasons people bad mouth the Law.

One is because you have embraced the glory of grace.  This is where Paul is coming from.  He teaches that salvation comes from grace.  All Christian agree with that.  We don’t need a sacrificial system based on the blood of animals any more.  Salvation is a gift based on trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus to pay for our sins.  It can be a tremendous source of liberty.

But there are others who have a different reason, at least in my opinion.  Some reject any call to righteous living or requirement for morality because they want to live an unrestrained life of personal gratification.  Their problem is not with the Mosaic law.  Their problem is with the concept that they need a savior.  They fall into the same trap that Satan laid for Eve in the garden.  

(Gen 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Self-centered ego is the condition of all human beings at birth.  Part of that is dealt with by adults who help the children mature.  Eventually it is a matter between the new adult and God Himself.  Most modern philosophies that reject the idea of a strick moral code do so becaue they think that they are gods and have the right to determine what is right.

This has many names.  One of the best is “narcissist”.  This can be hidden under many differnt covers.  Some people are known for their benevolence.  What most don’t see is that they expect some kind of pay-back.  If they don’t reap then they stop sowing in your direction.  Some are considered anti-social but often that is just an attitude toward people they think are below them.

This attitude is what we are seeing in the elites of the world today.  They think rules are only for the little people.  They think us common folk are bacteria infecting the world.  They really look down on you.  Law?  For their subjects.  Due process?  In your dreams.  The pursuit of happiness?  What have you been drinking.

The masses could bring them in line without violence if we would simply stop enriching them with our irresponsible spending and following their orders when they are clearly immoral.  I again urge you to use the power of the pocketbook.  Most of these people do nothing to bring wealth into the world.  They just manipulate paper and us.

Learn to discern and learn to resist.  Our lives depend on it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-142: The Problem of Intelligence

Do we need to worry about AI?  Is there really something to worry about or is it just another attempt to make us cry out for government regulation to make us safe?

In one sense we need to worry a lot.  The concern at present levels would not be with the AI itself but with the people programing and controlling it.  The computer operates under the parameters set by people.  People often have questionable motives.  We have seen this in the way that the social media has censored and controlled information based on the political views of the moguls.  Your best interest is not in their hearts.  We have computer hardware, software and algorithms that can either make sure your stove is not left on or cause the stove to burn down your house.  It all depends on who set it up.

In the future we might need to worry about autonomous AI but again that will be because the people developing it did not have humanity’s best interest at heart.  Computers tend to be really good at remembering and going fast.  Thus if they have your face on file they can go through the entire population shown on cameras and locate you quickly.  It could happen faster than you can exhale.  The problem is created by the human who labeled you to be on their radar.  The question is do they have the right to do that search?  

Autonomous AI is still a theme in science fiction.  Whether it will ever become a reality is questionable, but what if it is possible?  My question becomes, “Will God allow humans to create an equivalent of life?”

Satan asked it better in the Garden,

(Gen 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

See, it is nothing new.  Human beings, being made in the image of God, have a God complex.  We tend to reach for the stars, not because we want to learn about the stars, but because we want to control the stars.  What we have in AI is the same chorus.

We saw it again at the Tower of Babel.

(Gen 11:4 KJV)  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

In that case God confused their language, they started fighting and broke up.  Will God intervene again?  Will the natural selfishness we share cause the elites to begin the feast where they eat their own?  

You might remember the story of the fiery furnace.  The issue was a refusal to worship the king as a god.  As we look at our culture we don’t often hear people claiming to be gods but they still want us to bow down to them and their authority.  Years ago when I was in the Army I had real problems with many of the officers and senior enlisted men.  They seemed to think they knew what was best and I was there to obey.  It was kind of like our government today.

Do we have anything to worry about?  Of course we do.  Even if we didn’t we would find something.  I think of all the times I was sent to find the source of a noise that only my wife could hear.  The issue today is there are a lot of noises but people are ignoring them.

Let AI sort itself out.  What you can do is get off the electronic dependancy that we all suffer from.  Start by cutting back.  Siri can’t answer your questions if your phone is turned off.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-108: King Trumps Emperor

The Bible never says that God is president and yet I think that is how we Americans often think of Him.  When it comes to spiritual leadership, Americans would probably prefer the Parliamentary system.  That way they could have a vote of no-confidence any time their feelings got hurt.  Either way there is no suggestion that God’s place at the top of creation is negotiable or open to question.

At the other end, the Bible does not refer to God as emperor.  I find that interesting.  An emperor would be considered above a king.  It would seem a better title for God, yet it isn’t there.  Neither is the concept of dictator.

God does not fit into any or our creative niches.  He is eternal, outside time and the controller, not the controlled.  This is the one aspect of God that causes Him to be rejected by the materialists of the world.  It is the reason that Christian churches have been perverted into “Progressive” churches and why the Emergent Church was so welcomed.  It is at the core of the denominations that would be considered liberal.  It was the talking point in the Garden of Eden when Satan told Eve,

(Gen 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

We will never be gods.  It isn’t in the cards.  It isn’t just the fact that God will not put up with the competition.  We are finite.  We cannot exist outside time.  We cannot cause the Big Bang or introduce life into the universe.  We have a hard time being on time for work.

So we need to accept that He is God and has reached out to us through Jesus.  There is a spot open to us, we can become children of God.  Apply today.  It isn’t that the spots are filling up.  It is more that things are looking like time is running out.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-053: Dark Thoughts: Two Roads in the Woods...

Why do so many scientists refuse to believe in God?  It is nothing new.  You find the same issue coming up in the Garden of Eden.  Satan throws the oldest excuse around, because it was the first,

(Gen 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The temptation to be a god is a big one.  Modern scientists have swallowed the poison.  It is a two edged sword found in evolution.  First, they think they are the smartest product evolution has produced.  They are the acme of natural selection.  They are awesome.  In spite of the awesome factor, they can’t figure out how evolution could work.  Now for the other edge of the sword.  God could not have created the universe since they are smarter than God and they can’t figure it out.

I am probably being unfair but truth is often that way.

The reason Christians and other scientist believe in God is because of the increasing complexity and integration of everything they investigate.  They keep digging deeper and finding even more.  They know they can’t comprehend it and it is too awesome to be accidental so there must be a God.

Both paths have the same information and come to different conclusions.  We will either find out who is right or we won’t.  If God exists then we will find out on Judgement Day.  If God does not exist we will be snuffed out into the same nothingness that existed before the Big Bang.  That is sad for the God deniers because they will never even find out that we were wrong.  They won’t be able to say, “I told you so.”

Unfair.

homo unius libri

Opus 2022-318: Advent Calendar: Day 1

Do you remember advent calendars?  They are getting harder to find.  My wife was at Trader Joe’s and saw some, grabbed a few and headed for the checkout.  I don’t know what made her look twice but on examination she found that they were for dogs.  Advent calendars for dogs?  What next, advent calendars for adults?

So I thought I would try to develop such a bit of merchandise.  I don’t know if I will be able to stick with it an entire 25 days.  I don’t know if it will become an annual tradition.  I do know that I am ready to begin with day 1.

When you open the flap on day one you find a gluten free, vegan, organic chocolate question mark.  This is to direct you to the first mention of the process that began with the incarnation and ended with the disciples looking up into the sky.  On the back you will find Genesis 3:15 engraved in Gothic lettering.  It is called The Protoevangelium

(Gen 3:15 KJV)  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

We forget the whole reason Jesus was to come.  It is first presented in Genesis.  The serpent has brought down mankind.  God has some special words for him and the woman.  This is understood to declare that Satan would see Jesus to the Cross and Jesus would emerge from it victoriously.

Christmas is the first step toward the cross.  Do not take it lightly.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-141: Watch Out for Bathtubs

I saw another testimonial for the vaccine today.  It was another man who was nagged into the shot by his wife.  I am wondering how often this is the case.  In his defense, this problem goes back a long way.  Remember Adam and Eve.

(Gen 3:12 KJV)  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

The other big influence on getting the vaccine seems to be the children that people sent off to college to be brain mushed.  Yes, the same ones that are referred to as “snowflakes” and “millennials”.  The ones who don’t have any idea about the scientific method when they claim to follow the science.  The ones who think that global warming is going to kill us all.  The ones who can’t get a job that pays more than minimum wage.

What are we coming to?  We have a media that sees its first priority to brainwash the masses into submissive, fear-corralled sheep.  We have a government that is seeking the same goal with the coercive power of a growing police state.  Now we are listening to the ignorant to decide what to do with out lives.

From what I see, with all the reports of side effects, complications and even deaths, the vaccine is more dangerous than the disease.  And when I say that I acknowledge that most of what we hear is antidotal, deliberate lies or misinformation.  That is true about both sides.  What is clear is that the panic virus is not near as dangerous as everyone claims.  Keep in mind that people drown in their own bathtubs.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-082: What Is So Good About Friday?

Most people who bother to read my blog understand the significance of Good Friday.  I will throw in a little explanation in case it might be a mystery to you.

We are now in what Western Christians call “Holy Week”.  It began on Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on His way to the cross.  Friday is the day that He was crucified.  What is so good about that? 

Christianity and Judaism are grounded in history and have the same roots.  The Bible talks about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and whether you accept it as literal or think of it as some kind of allegory, the fact is that sin became a reality.  Before sin entered the world, God used to come and fellowship with Adam and Eve.  We can infer that from this verse.

(Genesis 3:8 KJV)  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Sin came between man and God and condemned human beings to hell.  Forgiveness was necessary.  This was done by the sacrificial system because

(Romans 6:23 KJV)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Historically the sacrificial system put animals in the place of the sinner.  Because the blood of animals was not sufficient, sacrifice was an ongoing event.

Than comes Jesus who was called the Perfect Lamb of God.  When He gave up His life on the cross, His death and shedding of blood was enough to pay the price of sin.  Thus, on what was a bad day for Jesus, we had offered to us the hope of forgiveness of sin and restoration in our relationship with God.  It was the ultimate good day for us, thus “Good Friday”.

Good Friday represents the possibility to escape hell and spend eternity in the presence of God.  The second great hope is realized on the resurrection, what has come to be called Easter.  That takes the fear of death away. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-336: Headlines: Partisan Politics at Its Best

Today is the day the president of the United States is chosen.  What has always been a forgone conclusion to those who believe in the rule of law and playing by the rules has become a moment of drama and tension because of the Progressives who want to rule the country by elite fiat instead of a system that has made us the most stable form of democracy for over 200 years. 

Some say the electoral college is a relic of the past and should be done away with.  Strangely enough the same people feel that way about the Ten Commandments too.  Just as they put themselves above the Constitution they put them selves above the Bible.  At least they are consistent and understand the import of God blocking the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.

(Genesis 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

But enough of theology. 

This is a day where we can glory in the robust nature of our republic.  We are a nation where liberty has promoted and nourished the ability to express our stupidest opinions freely.  We can agitate and demonstrate until dinner time.  We can live with out mommies and still think of ourselves as adults.  You can disagree with me and I can call you a fool.  It is called partisanship.  It is called freedom. 

In once sense I would welcome a significant number of electors to be faithless as long as they don’t pull off a coup.  I fear the results of such treason but I don’t expect it.  A serious defection from integrity and law would be a wake up call to the nation and possibly get us thinking again.  Jefferson talked about the blood of martyrs and tyrants watering the tree of liberty.  Perhaps if we get stirred up a little we can irrigate a little without the extreme of shed blood.

We should welcome the controversy.  It will hopefully stir the mush headed masses to start thinking because it will finally get their attention. 

Enjoy the spectacle.  You won’t see its like in Russia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, China or any other place you have the word republic without the freedom to be partisan.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-89: Hypocrisy in the Church, part 2 of 2

People stay away from church because they don’t like it.  It is like eating vegetables.  Most people will acknowledge that vegetables are good for you.  Their children are forced to partake.  They still leave them on their plate.  People don’t want what is good for them, they want what tastes good.  In a perfect world you will have both but that requires time and application. 

They don’t always reject vegetables because they hate them.  Often they have never tried them.   They know they don’t like but it is by default setting, not experience.  Some have never had veggies prepared well.  Broccoli is often a whipping boy.  Many people have never tried it.  If you get it in a trendy restaurant it is barely cooked and has no salt.  One taste of politically correct broccoli is enough to last a lifetime. 

You can take broccoli and smother it with cheese.  Everyone likes it that way but it sort of defeats the purpose of eating broccoli.  I personally like broccoli but I recognize there is nothing anyone can do to make broccoli something some people would want to have if their minds are made up. 

For me the ultimate evil is liver.  My mind is made up.  I am not open to experiments.  At least in my case it is based on experience.  Some people are so resistant that there is no way they will like something.  Liver does that to me.  I admit it.  I try other things.  It took me three attempts at menudo to concede it was not for me. 

Some people are that way about church.  They have multiple reasons for avoiding it.  They are so resistant to God that the Holy Spirit cannot get them to respond.  They want to be the gods of their own lives.  This was the selling point in the Garden of Eden.

(Gen 3:5 KJV)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The problem is not always the church.  The problem is sin.  Sometimes that is in the church as well.

Quit trying to water down the gospel because most people don’t want to hear anyway.  If they want a social club they can go to the megachurch down the street.  It has everything they want and little of what they need.  If you refuse to be the church then everyone loses.  You are a nothing but a hypocrite. 

Let the church be the church and the spa be the spa.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-149, Healthy Insights: Biblical Nutrition, Wheat Products

What other basic foods are on the growing list of anathemas in our health crazed culture?  I don’t know how new it is but I have been hearing a lot of concern about gluten lately.  I am not sure what gluten is.  I am not sure I care.  But it is getting a lot of bad press lately.  Increasing numbers of packages are labeled, “gluten free.”  Gluten is part of the kernel of wheat.  It is involved in the process that makes the bread dough rise.  Along with wheat it has become a supposed villain in our quest for the perfect diet. 

I was listening to a podcast by a survivalist and he came down hard on wheat and what a terrible thing it was for us to eat.  He gave the impression that it would destroy our digestive tract.  It should be no surprise that he was on a low carb kick. 

I have news for you.  Bread is one of the universal elements of human diet.  It may take different forms from tortillas to sour dough rolls, but it is basic.  So much so that Jesus could say this and be understood.

(John 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.

Everyone understood what He meant.  Bread is basic.  It is hard for bread to be basic and low carb to be healthy but the modern culture does not accept the teaching of the Bible.  It also seems to reject basic facts and logic.

We find bread from the earliest references.  When Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden we find bread being mentioned.

(Genesis 3:19 KJV)  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

I guess you could argue that Adam was doomed to eat bread because of the creation of sin in the Garden.  You might say that he was a salad and fruit man before that and I am not sure I could argue with you but I still see that bread is basic.

What other foods are given good press by the Bible?

To be continued...

homo unius libri