Opus 2026-352: On the Road: Turn the Coin Over

I just returned from a road trip.  At the turn-around point I spent three full days in dialogue with my MAD (Mid-Acts Dispensationalism, his acronym not mine) friend.  I use the term “dialogue” a bit tongue in cheek but it will suffice.

It was three days of frustration and well as three days of stimulation.

The frustration comes from trying to understand someone who has a very narrow understanding of the Bible and who seems at times to be bordering on heresy if not fully commited to nonsense.  We have some basic foundational differences that are hard to get beyond.  I believe that the central point of scripture is the cross followed by the resurrection.  He is adamant that the entire Bible is about the restoration of Israel in the final age.  I believe that Paul meant all scripture in II Timothy 3:16 while he maintains that if Paul did not write it then it does not really apply to us.

The stimulation comes from being forced to reinvestigate my memory and assumptions.  So far I have not found myself in error on the foundations.  I have in the process had sudden serendipity moments when I see things I had not noticed.  This usually happened as he droned on after saying, “Will you let me finish my sentence?”  Unfortunately his sentence is a run-on that sets new records in how long you can speak without taking a breath.  I also found that when he would cast some pejorative accusation I would start by denying it and, as I found out what he meant, realized that his put down was a back handed compliment.  At first I denied being into “replacement theology”.  When I learned what he meant I embraced the concept and began to explore it.

My family wonders why I continue.  I sometimes ask myself the same question.  That is because they only see the frustration side while I have both.  We all can benefit by someone who does not agree with us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-039: The Yellow Snow May Be Lemonade

Thursday on a Zoom meeting we got to talking about the L.A. fires.  At least three of the group live in the ash strewn valleys.  One lives within the “no-go zone”.  He is in an interesting situation.  They are not forcing people to leave but they have turned off the electricity.  They were first told to boil their tap water then told not to boil it because that would release poisons that had been absorbed.  He can leave but he can’t come back.  It is typical California nonsense.

What struck me was the positive things he had to say about his situation.  He said it was bringing people out of their houses and getting them to talk.  He was encouraged by the spirit of community that was emerging.  He was getting to know people he had lived beside for years.  It doesn’t rebuild the homes or bring the dead back to life but it is an aspect of hardship that we overlook.  

Another guy on the call, who does not live in California, reminisced on the experience I shared with him in Boston during the Blizzard of ‘78.  Martial law was declared and you could not drive.  People came out of their houses and met in the snow clogged streets and got to know each other.  It was an unexpected benefit of the attack by Mother Nature.

So be encouraged.  The destruction is not over yet but life goes on and people are busy making lemonade.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-252: Precious Memories

Will our memory in eternity be perfect or selective?  If it is perfect, will all of the fog and distortion be removed so that we see everything with clarity?  That could be very painful, let alone embarrassing.  If it is selective, what is the criteria?

I believe that there are reservoirs within us.  Those reservoirs contain buried treasure, and to be honest, dead frogs.  There are many things that I will celebrate remembering.  There are many things that I don’t want to admit happened.

In this day and age as we get older and die later, dementia and mental problems become a real issue.  We look at loss of memory as a tragedy.  It can be if we forget who our grandchildren are.  It can be if we forget things that are treasures in our life.  At the same time we are probably able to forget some of our worst moments.  I don’t think I’m there yet, so I’m not sure how this works.  Some people may totally dispute this and say that they remember their failures with great clarity, and wonder if they were ever successful at anything.

As anything I ever say, having to do with eternity, I fall back on the belief that whatever God has for us is going to be so more glorious than what we have now that we won’t even recognize where we come from.  I picture harmony with 100 parts.  I picture delectable delights with no health issues.  I picture scintillating arguments with no anger and possibly no resolution.

There are times when I can hardly wait, but God says I have to.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-098: Silver Linings: Libraries

One of the benefits I am experiencing from the Chinavirus hysteria is the closing of the libraries.  The library is one of my big hang outs.  If allowed, I will go at least once a week.  When they closed down they had it set up so you could check out books on-line and pick them up curb side.  That has been cancelled also.  The website tells me that the employees are still working remotely and are available to answer my questions.  My only question would be why are they still getting paid when all the small businesses are being forced to go bankrupt.  Could it have anything to do with most librarians being Democrats?

But I digress.

The benefit of closing the libraries is that it is forcing me to look at all the books on my shelves that I have been intending to read someday.  Someday has arrived and I cannot put it off any longer.  So far I have finished two histories of World War II by Stephen Ambrose, Slouching toward Gomorrah by Robert Bork, a book on theology, and a book on Islam by Bernard Lewis.  To show the depths of desperation I am now working through some philosophy by David Hume.

I keep hoping the nonsense will cease and we can get back to not work.  If not, I still have several shelf feet of books to read.

homo unius libri