Opus 2019-170: The Great White Hope, part 3 of 3

Just for fun I thought it would be interesting to take a quick look at the uses of choice colors in the Bible.  There was a song we used to sing in Sunday School before it became politically incorrect.

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

So you can see that kids who went to Sunday School were taught at an early age that skin color was not the issue.

First let’s look at red.  I found it was used 53 times in the Bible.  Most of them referred to the Red Sea.  The first time it was used it talked about Esau being born with a red, hairy arm.  That is the closest I could find to race.

There was one place that is of interest.

(Isa 1:18 KJV) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Notice that the comparison of good and bad is not between white and black but white and scarlet, a shade of red. 

One thing that is noticeable about the uses of colors in the Old Testament.  They are used in reference to the medical observations regarding leprosy. 

(Lev 13:30 KJV) Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

Again there is no mention of race.

White occurs most frequently in Leviticus and Revelation.  In Leviticus it usually is used on medical diagnosis of leprosy.  In Revelation it is most common used in regard to clothing.

Black is usually used to describe things you would expect to be black.  One point of interest is in Song of Solomon where the person of affection is described as black.

Interesting but not something to base national policy on.

So my general conclusion is that skin color is of no importance in the Bible and should not be for followers of Jesus.  Thus I reject the idea of white privilege just as I reject black power.  I reject Black Lives Matter if it implies that other lives don’t.  We should also understand that there is not shame or guilt in skin color.  The big difference is that some need to worry about sun burn more than others.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-169: The Great White Hope, part 2 of 3

Everywhere you look is doom and gloom.  The hate mongers are calling other people haters.  The elites are trying to keep everyone else from prospering so they can maintain control.  Educators are trying to dumb down the population so they will follow orders and be compliant instead of raising a generation of risk takers and innovators.  Government is moving toward the left which is hidden in the promise to make us more secure.  Race is becoming the mark of identity.

So what is a white, middle class male supposed to do?  The same thing as everyone else with different adjectives.  Substitute the color of your choice and the socio-economic level of your bank account.  Chose your gender and please base it on how you do number one.  We are all desperate and there is an answer.  If you know me at all you know I find it in the Bible.

First the promise.

(Pro 3:23-5 KJV) Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.  When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.  Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

Now that is a nice promise and in an era of fast food and instant grits we want it to be the one pill panacea.  Life doesn’t work that way.  Why can I assume I will walk in safety?  Why can I sleep well?  What does “safety” mean?  Notice that the end of the pass says “when” the SHTF, not “if”.  This is not a promise that the future is nothing but sunshine and bunnies.  It is a promise of shelter in the time of storm.  I guess you might call it a call to being a prepper, spiritual style.

As always, serious students of the Bible will look at the context and remember other parts that they have read.  Notice the next verse.

(Pro 3:26 KJV) For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Our hope is found in the Lord.  Not in government.  Not in NGO’s.  Not in counseling or safe spaces.  In the one true God.

What does all that have to do with the “Great White Hope”?  Obviously it was a title to get your attention but there is a basis for it.  To give you a clue let me throw in one more key verse. 

(Rev 20:11 KJV) And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

This is a picture of the final judgement.  Our great hope is not in white privilege.  Our hope is in who sits on the great white throne.  I guess you could call it “White Throne Hope”.  Skin color is inconsequential.  The condition of our heart and the object of our trust is what will make the difference.

To be concluded...

homo unius libri.

Opus 2019-168: The Great White Hope, part 1 of 3

I have never thought of myself as being white. 

When someone asks me, “What are you?” or “Who are you?” I have some things I come up with in order of importance:  Follower of Jesus Christ, husband and father, American and then I start down a path that eventually gets ridiculous:  Haver of big feet, hater of liver and so on.  I am sure that I could be put on a lot of lists based on certain preferences and characteristics but it would never have occurred to me to add the color of my skin. 

Never have I put being white on the list.  I would imagine that if you are white you are the same.

I am wondering if I am going to need to change that.  I am wondering if all of us are going to need to change that.  The people who are out to destroy America; Progressives, Liberals, Socialists, Communists, Democrats, Rinos; are doing everything they can to do away with E Pluribus Unum and Balkanize our thinking.  They want us to look at superficial details like the color of our skin as if they are significant.  They act like how we think is determined by melanin instead of synapses. 

To be honest I have not personally run into this lately.  When I was a teacher I got in before the anti-white, anti-male tide had reached its height and I was hired in a district that no body wanted to work in so I didn’t have to deal with it much.  It was the kind of place where we would joke, “What are they going to do, send me to here?”  At the same time I read about what is being written and screamed across the country. 

It may come to the point where I need to defend myself in some way.  I notice that blacks are moving themselves back into segregated situations.  You have black-only dorms on campuses and black student union buildings.  It seems retarded to me but if that is the only way you can feel non-threatened I guess it makes some kind of warped sense.  Are we going to need to go back to the days of white only communities?  I hope not.  I don’t feel any deep inner need to live next to any particular minorities but I don’t have any issues with it either.  I am more worried about whether they play loud music or have a barking dog.  It is a matter of freedom and if white people are forced to withdraw it will limit their freedom and remove their influence from society.  That would be a bad thing.

It is like all the men and women who have given their lives in the Revolution, The Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement were wasting their time. 

At the same time I am optimistic.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-167: Yes, Virginia, There Were Twin Towers

I don’t have a lot to go on about.  Many others are posting on the attacks of 9/11.  I just want to join the chorus reminding us to remember.

Remember what happened.  Remember what jihad wants to happen.  Remember according to the Koran you have three choices:  Convert to Islam, become a tribute paying slave of Islam, die.  Simple and basic.

Don’t forget.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-166: On the Street: That’s Life

One of the brain twisters I used to ask my middle school children was, “What happens when you cut down all the trees in a forest?”  To their reaction to such desecration I inform them, “They grow back!”  It is awe inspiring to suddenly realize how many seedlings there are hovering on the floor of a forest just waiting for a chance at the sun.  They grow.

I was reminded of the tenacity of life on one of my recent morning walks.  One of our neighbors had a large, vigorous tree blown down in the last series of drenchings and wind storms.  It was tragic, or so it seemed.  They cleaned up most of the branches and broken wood but didn’t seem to be moving too fast on the stump.  They leaned it back up and left it and I noticed something strange:  Green sprouts were appearing.  At this point the tree seems to be reviving itself from what seemed to be death.  There are several vigorous mini-trunks reaching for the sky. 

So I guess nature responds to its own attempts at suicide just as it does to man harvesting the bounty:  It grows back.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-165: New Terms: R.I.T.

With people like Robert Mugabe dying we need to come up with something besides R.I.P.  My understanding is it means “Rest in Peace”.  Many of the people passing on don’t deserve that.  If you want to get theologically correct, no one deserves it, but in real life some people deserve it quantitatively less than most of us.

Might I suggest R.I.T.  or Rest in Torment.  You have heard the expression about “a special place in hell for...”?  That is what we are talking about.  If you do a little homework and find out how many men, women and children were not only killed but tortured and mutilated by this piece of trash you know what I mean.

So, R.I.T. Robert.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-164: Thanks Thoughts: Never a Dull Moment

What will “heaven” be like?

I confess that in my present state I have a hard time conceiving singing hallelujahs for millions of years.  This morning as I was going over my blessings I wondered if not being thankful was a sin.  If it is then I am sure to be a great sinner, so I confessed that lack.

Which brings me to what people call “heaven”.  In eternity we will have glorified bodies.  I am assuming that one of the benefits of a glorified body is a mind freed from the scars and limitations of sin.  With that in mind I will probably become aware of the blessings I have missed and I will be overcome with a thankfulness that could go on for a long time.  Picture a time when you received a gift that was totally wanted and totally unexpected.  Try to remember the immense joy and gratification you felt.  Multiply and multiply again. 

I look forward to knowing what real thankfulness is like.  I will be so caught up in the glory of the blessing that I will forget to check my phone to see what time it is.

homo unius libri