Why We Question

WHY WE QUESTION

            Several years ago I heard an imam who had converted to Christianity being interviewed about the true nature of Islam. This interview caused me to find a Qur’an and discover for myself if what he said were true. He spoke of many things but the one idea that is emblazoned in my brain is that Muslims are allowed to lie to “unbelievers” under certain circumstances and to “believers” if it serves their purpose of smoothing over differences.

            Today we hear much conversation about religious freedom and that anyone who opposes the mosque at Ground Zero is a religious bigot! I do not think I have heard of a Christian church being built on any Muslim land, but I have heard reports of Holy Bibles being ripped apart or even burned if they are discovered. I have found no examples of Muslim “tolerance” toward Christians.

            Here is what I have discovered: There are two forms of lying to non-believers that are permitted – taqiyya and kitman. This is allowed to advance the cause of Islam by drawing out vulnerability in order to defeat the enemy.

            Taqiyya means to say something that is not true.

            Kitman is lying by omission.

            Here are some examples of verses in the Qur’an:

Qur’an (16:106) – certain circumstances can “compel” a Muslim to tell a lie.

Qur’an (3:28) - warns Muslims not to take those outside the faith as friends, unless it is             to “guard themselves.”

Qur’an(9:3) – “Allah and His Messenger are free from liability to the idolaters...”.

Qur’an 40:28) – A man is introduced as a believer, but one who must “hide his faith” among those who are not believers

Qur’an (2:225) – “Allah will not call you to account for thoughtlessness in your oaths, but for the intention in your hearts.”

Qur’an (66:2) – “Allah has already ordained for you, (O men), the dissolution of your oaths.”

            From the Hadith:

Bukhari (49:857) – “He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good things is not a liar.”

Burhari (84:64-65) -   Speaking from a position of power, Alah confirms that lying is permissible in order to deceive an “enemy.”

            So any rationally thinking individual who has only a slight understanding of Islam would certainly wonder about the motives behind building this mosque at Ground Zero. Islam is spread by jihad and Christianity is spread by evangelism - one by fear and terror and the other by “renewing the mind”.

            All I ask is for any Muslim to simply state clearly what he believes and why he believes it. If Islam is such a wonderful thing, then people will be attracted to it.

(published in Marietta Daily Journal - letters to editor - Sunday, September 5th, 2010)

Job Oppurtunities

Now that the dust is settling after the passage of Obamacare and we are beginning to understand the financial implications for future generations this administration is imposing upon America, I now understand that there are some positive aspects to all of this.

There are jobs being created and we should recognize these opportunities where they exist. Our children and grandchildren, even with the financial burden they now shoulder, should be thankful to Obama for these opportunities for employment.

1. Taxation Brainstormer: These folks will be paid for their creativity in coming up with more adequate ways to extort money from productive, tax-paying citizens. After all, the cost of government is so massive that the present extortions are just not adequate .These folks will be busy!
2. Government Math Teacher: As many already know, in Obamacare, $500 billion was taken from Medicare and then spent in another program. This of course adds up to a $1 trillion savings! Explaining this to people with at least second grade math skills will certainly be an opportunity for employment.
3. IRS Agents: I have read that America, the land of the free, requires as many as 15 thousand more IRS agents to go out into the public with the “Sword of Statism” to make sure that all citizens are paying to the maximum. These agents, of course, will work hand-in-hand with the Taxation Brainstormers. They could have meetings at some of the many costal resort towns in our country. The old phrase that the Nazis used against the Jews in WWII could be reinstituted – “Your Papers Please”!
4. Printers: We will need someone to print the “Papers” that folks will present to the Statists and also, because we do not have nearly enough money, there is a dire need for more available cash. Printing money to pay the national debt will provide a long-term employment opportunity since the national debt grows faster than the money can be printed with our current presses.
5. Wealth/Asset Distributors: As we all know, there is certainly an uneven distribution of wealth in this country. Some folks have just won “life’s lottery” and are certainly not deserving of the riches bestowed upon them by good fortune. The fact that they have worked and saved all their lives and have lived beneath their means is not important – the important thing is that some folks because of life choices, just do not have enough money to be comfortable and it is unfair that those “blessed” folks enjoy their good fortune at the expense of the less fortunate.
6. Faith Healers: It only follows that adding millions of folks to the pool of patients needing health care will increase the need for health care providers. Because the process of becoming a physician is so expensive and time-demanding, why put oneself through this and pile up massive debt in order to graduate and make a modest salary in Obamacare. The quickest way to become a provider is to just be a faith healer and this would fill a vast need. After all, everyone knows that if one gets a terrible disease, he has but to “really believe” in healing and it will surely happen. Why waste all of that time and money on becoming a physician?
7. Law School Demolition: The passage of Obamacare has clearly shown us that the two-party system is outdated. The educated elite, who are thankfully in power, have shown us that their superior intellect is a thing that all citizens can trust to bring about the “change we can believe in”! The Constitution is most certainly outdated and their “progressive” thinking will provide the escape (from the confines of the Rule of Law) that this country needs and deserves. Since the Rule of Law no longer exists in this land, there is no need for law schools. The demolition of these hundreds of buildings throughout our land should keep many able-bodied folks busy for quite a while. Are these the “shovel- ready” jobs that your president so adroitly spoke about when he read the words from his teleprompter?
8. Courtroom Refurbisher: Because law schools will be no longer be needed and because the Rule of Law has been replaced with a Progressive Living Document there will no longer be a need for courthouses throughout our land. Local municipalities can simply refurbish these outdated buildings to be used as adequate housing for the homeless. Or they could be refurbished to be large day-care centers so that parents would be free to enjoy their lives while the Obama administration provides someone to take care of their children. This, in some small way, could assuage their feelings of unhappiness for making poor choices in life. Why not create a Statist Diner in one of these places – the possibilities are endless!
9. Self-Esteem Coaches: Since there is no such thing as right and wrong, it logically follows that there is not such thing as crime and punishment and therefore, no need for jails or prisons. People no longer would commit crimes but rather just make poor choices that cause pain to other people … like murder, rape, child molestation, robbery, assault and so on! If only these folks could learn to feel good about themselves there would be no more pain and suffering in the world. America would be a utopia and the world would live as ONE. Imagine!
10. Statue Carvers: Throughout our great land we would employ artisans to create statues of  Karl Marx, Obama – the Annointed, and of course a giant one to the “Gullability of Americans” (this could be a large tube of Astroglide)! These would be reminders of what 320 million Americans (give or take a few) allowed about 535 folks in Washington to do to us. We need plenty of these!

I hope this has enlightened many to the opportunities that are before us. I am so grateful to the enlightened that have provided these possibilities of employment.

George Goddard

Kennesaw, Georgia

On The Talent of Others

Since I retired, I get to spend a great amount of my time in the mountains. It is of utmost importance to me to have a place to worship on Sundays, but as we have visited around, I have found that most churches ARE surely involved in worship - the worship of themselves. The church in America (generally speaking) has gone mad.

Could you imagine going to a wedding because of your love of the bride and groom only to have the "service" interrupted by announcements, the singing of "Happy Birthday", special music (by grossly untalented singers), recognition of veterans, someone telling a funny story or maybe have someone stand up and give his or her "personal testimony"! Maybe one could come down front and tell about the latest "meeting" they had attended and what it meant to their "personal walk"! Could you? Certainly not! So why do we have to tolerate this crap in 99% of our churches. I had come to worship God - not to hear navel-gazers blab on about how wonderful they are.

Or maybe you're the type of person who loves for your spouse to talk on the telephone or watch television while you are engaged in the physical act of love! I don't think so.

We are a Narcissistic culture and our churches have taken the bait - hook, line and sinker. Look at me! Look at me! Look Mom - no hands!

Worship is about God through the mediation of Christ - not about us!

On the Lord's Day the church bell rings and calls His people together. There is a Holy dialog taking place: God speaks - we respond! God speaks - we respond! We do not speak - only respond! Then through the "foolishness of preaching", God speaks to us through the exegesis of the Word. Finally we hear the benediction - the Good Word - and we leave to go back into the world to do our callings - Vocations! We don't worship out of fear of punishment or hope of reward, but out of gratitude! The Word kills us with the Law and then gives us life through the Gospel. The Gospel IS NOT something we do. The Gospel is what Christ did. It is all about Him and not about us. Can we not see this?

This Narcissism epidemic has caused us to not see our sinful condition. If we are wonderful, then we don't need a Savior. We're really nice folks who just need a little advice to help us be better! We don't need the ugliness of the Cross, we need self-help programs or 3 easy steps to being better at doing something!

I wish I had the talent to express my disappointment with the "rot" of the American church, but I will have to borrow the writing talent of others to make my point.

First from Frederick Buechner in "Magnificent Defeat":

There is little that we can point to in our lives as deserving anything but God's wrath. Our best moments have been mostly grotesque parodies. Our best loves have been almost always blurred with selfishness and deceit. But there is something to which we can point. Not anything that we ever did or were, but something that was done for us by another. Not our own lives, but the life of one who died in our behalf and yet is still alive. This is our only glory and our only hope. And the sound that it makes is the sound of excitement and gladness and laughter that floats through the night air from a great banquet.

Secondly a quote from John Calvin:

In short, the name of Christ excludes all merit, and everything which men have of themselves; for when he says that we are chosen in Christ, it follows that in ourselves we are unworthy.

And finally - a few words from Martin Luther:

There is no such thing as merit; but all who are justified are justified for nothing (gratis), and this is credited to no one but to the grace of God ... For Christ alone is is proper to help and save others with His mercies and works.

A MOUNTAIN EPITHET

A mountain epithet reads:

“Jacob Carpenter start colrado jul3 1888 com home Jan 1889”

His trip did not last long!

A friend of mine visited me at our mountain retreat a few years ago and gave me a used book he had found in an old book store in Florida. The book is: THE GREAT SMOKIES AND THE BLUE RIDGE by Roderick Peattie. It was published in 1944 by Vanguard Press. The author, Mr. Peattie, was a mountain lover and his book is a great description of the Smoky Mountains during the time of WWII. His writing style is quite noteworthy and entertaining, but the chapter about the mountain people in particular got my attention. He had found some old epithets and did some research about them. The point about the previously mentioned epithet was that one who has the mountains in his blood will never be able to really leave them.

Some folks have absolutely no understanding of this phenomenon!

My mountain-man buddy, Beau Brasington, and I often find ourselves sitting at “The Point” with an adult beverage and a fine cigar staring off into the serenity of the Smokies. During hours of conversations, we have never really been able to put our collective fingers on what it actually is that draws us to this place – one thing we have decided for sure is that we could never really leave for any long period of time.

Mr. Peattie has done an excellent job of capturing the thoughts that Beau and I have, so why not borrow his talent of descriptive writing (the following words are from pages 118 – 124 of his book and I have used his exact language where possible except for minor changes to update) and make an attempt to describe the “lure” of the mountains:

----------------------------------

Even though you are a mountaineer only by adoption, if ever you have once loved the ugliness of a small mountain village knocked up carelessly around a broad place in a bad road, you go back and back to it. And if ever you’ve gone camping or hiking in weather that would give you pneumonia if you had to be out in it in the city, you literally almost break your neck to go do the same fool thing again.

Weather somehow never seems to be a matter of slightest consideration in these camping parties. Somebody gets the idea for one – and the affair goes off with all the good and bad points of lack of planning. Everybody gathers whatever gear they think they can get away with without too much argument. The mood stays spontaneously high, but the food is apt to be uncertain. Refrigerators, grocery stores and bakeries are raided for whatever happens to be on hand. If it’s that time of year, there are roasting ears and tomatoes. It it’s later there are peaches and apples.

The crowd gathers at the store, and a harum-scarum check-up is made for whatever else might be needed. Then the party is off – in vehicles as haphazardly assembled as the other necessities. Any tired idea that nothing exciting would ever happen to you again departs speedily with the first half-mile.

You drive as far up the chosen mountain as you can, and farther than any outsider from the world of wide highways thinks possible. Finally, even the mountain driver agrees that he’s gone as far as his springs will take him, and everybody piles out, to park the car in oaks and boulders. Before you quite leave civilization altogether, some stalwart gathers up a little firewood to start the fire in case the wood gathered later is too wet or green to kindle quickly. He shoulders the load and leads the way.

Wind and mist and darkness, and mountains of white rock rising up out of the darkness. You go on climbing; clambering over an unannounced boulder in the path; by some miracle not slipping on pine needles off the narrow path down into a few thousand feet of fog before you’d hit the first treetop; coming finally to solid footing – a great rock not quite to the top. A stocky balsam, a wind-runted laurel, some huckleberries stand their ground in a crevice of the rock and the sound they make is single, lonely. But below, millions of trees are making the soft rainy noises that wind does in them when it blows the fog off leaves.

The mountain fog is not a dank fog that hangs heavy. It is swiftly moving, constantly changing – now revealing enough strange light to promise everything – the next instant wiping it out.

The fog in your face, not too cold. The smoke from the fire built is sweet to your nostrils. The night sky is stormy – but not so black, not so everlasting, not so almighty as the black peak.

Everything familiar and trite and tired is rolled up behind you some place. The world is new and raw and beautiful and there isn’t a mistake in it. You have come eagerly, needing this. You thought you had remembered. But you find you had forgotten. You had forgotten the power, the power and the peace; the uselessness of petty things. The freedom!

There are not always fogs in the heights. Sometimes the stars are near.

Nor do you have to climb to great heights. You can ascend the steeps of the mildest hill in sight – maybe the rise back of the village church, or by your lodge, which amounts only to a few steps. But, as the mountain woman said once when she had occasion to try to figure out all the sorry sense of the world, “A little height makes a sight of difference in the way a body sees things.” When you can get above the confusion and look to the quiet strength and calm beauty of the hills, with each going on into the next, and the next, and the next till they take on sureness and sweep – you grow somehow not afraid. It is as though you have ascended to some altitude of yourself, to some inner reserve of endurance you had forgotten about, or perhaps never knew was there.

And you can walk down a mountain road when the sky is glittering blue and the air is fresh or you can take a side road that leads by a creek with forget-me-nots along its banks – and you need not climb at all.

We know a man who, after looking the rest of the world over to the extent of two continents, came to the conclusion that the small part of the globe he would choose as his was back in the Blue Ridge in a place tourists don’t know they’ve gone through until the sign at the edge of the “town” tells them so. He has a farm he enjoys, but it doesn’t pay. He says he’s tried everything except hard work, and he’s thinking something of trying that next.

Sometimes you mourn the loss of people like that to the world of affairs. Then again, in those drained, weary moments when you stop long enough to wonder ironically just what it is you’re struggling toward – you think those others are the only sane people you know.

Perhaps it is a yearning of the mind and body for a temporary suspension of all thought and feeling that takes you back to the mountains. Over after-dinner coffee recently a man much involved and harassed with international affairs, said that when the war (WWII) was over there was just one thing he wanted to do. He wanted to sit and spit. Everyone in the room laughed, with a mixture of understanding and wistfulness

Mountains are one of the better places to sit – and spit if you wish; but at any rate to sit and stare off over a valley and not think of anything much, and have a very good time at it.

If you need people, there are people – friendly people, hospitably willing to put themselves out for you. If you like your outdoors hitched to a sport, they will show you which place in the rocky river that goes shouting and bawling and singing between the mountain cliffs is the best to send a fly flashing and pull in a big trout. Or which are the best hiking trails.

If it’s the small aesthetics that need revival, for color, there’s the squander of it from May through frost. And even in white winter twilights, there are the rose and purple peaks.

For smell, if you’ve ever known the spicy aromatic smell of the cool mountain woods – laurel and galax and teaberry and pine, and old logs with their sweetness still in them – then you can understand the utterance that came from the heart of a returned mountain man, who fervently declared, “I’d ruther be a knot on a log up hyur, than the mayor of a city down yonder.”

Mountain people come back. They get homesick for friendly faces. “I was just a lonely boy in the streets,” said another, who tried it. “Lots of faces, but none I knew. Everybody busy with themselves.”

They got homesick for the sight of the mountains. There is a poem by Lillian Mayfield Wright that tells about that. It begins:

“I think that something in a hill child dies
When he is taken to the level lands”

If they can, they come back. Especially if they have gone to the lowlands to work. It is one thing to obligingly go help somebody out – but it is quite another to work steadily for someone who gives them orders. They have never taken orders from anybody in their history, except in time of war. Ordinary servility is intolerable to them.

Moreover the idea of plugging along steadily at a job for the sole reason of getting enough money ahead to be able to quit someday, does not strike their sense of reason. It seems to them much more sensible to work, when there’s work to be done. But when a pretty day comes along, stop and enjoy it. Why strive frantically toward something ahead, when you can have it as you go along?

They come back for earnest reasons. Many of those who have gone away to school, come back to give the people at home who have not been so fortunate the advantages of what they have learned. Thus an increasing number of the teachers, doctors, nurses, dentists and preachers who are responsible for the raising of the intellectual and physical and moral standards of the mountains are of the mountains themselves. They have gone out, and have come back.

They have come back from wars – from all that war is, to the peace of the mountains.

They come back – those with their roots deep in mountain rock and earth; and those who happened once upon the mountains at some magic time or place that took quick hold upon their thoughts and upon their life.


George Goddard
May 23rd, 2009

THE ONLY THING LEFT NOT TAXABLE

I begin every morning of my life with a pot of coffee and the Marietta Daily Journal. I love to read the opinion pages in the early part of the day before my brain is cluttered with the flotsam of the day’s activities and I applaud the MDJ for including articles that support both conservative and liberal thought.

As one who is losing interest in television news and the edited sound-bites, I see no purpose realized in having two people, whose images are placed side-by-side, barking their positions at each other as the moderator attempts to intervene and allows one or the other to have the “last word”! There is no debate – just shouting! Why not have each state his or her position and then attempt to show how that position is logical – at least that would cause the viewers to think!

In my years of reading, I have realized that our country’s citizens are consumed with a group mentality. Most folks tend to identify with a group ( blacks, whites, gays, straights, religious, non-religious, right to lifers and pro-lifers and etc.) and it seems that identifying oneself as an individual thinker is a relic of the past. Each group claims its legal or moral rights and then shouts those claims at each other either on television or in the print media.

Here is a thought to consider.

If one considers he has a right to commit a specific act, he should ask himself if his claim to that right is legal or moral. Dr. R.C. Sproull recently commented about legal versus moral rights and his words caused me to think.

If it is a legal claim, consider this! There was a time in this country when blacks were legally considered to be three-fifths of a person. It was legal to keep women and blacks from voting. If a white person boarded a bus and there was a black person sitting in the front, it was legal to force the black person to the rear of that bus. I could go on and one about our laws that made specific heinous acts LEGAL, but thank goodness, we the people had the common sense to CHANGE those laws – because they were WRONG! So it only logically follows that we should all realize that laws can be wrong.

Next, if it is a moral claim, then where does one get the “moral” right. Our Declaration of Independence informs us that, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights …”!
I am amazed that today, very few people believe in a Creator, so from whence do these “moral” rights arise? Why do folks claim a “moral” right when they have no idea of the origin of that right?

If the "rights" that many are so quick to claim are not really based on any legal or moral certainty - then are we not all barbarians?

So, the next time someone writes about their rights – stop for a second and have another sip of coffee. Think! It is about the only thing left that isn’t taxable.

RIGHT WING RADICAL

A few weeks ago, Janet Napolitano, director of homeland security, made a comment about the danger of our young men and women coming home from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq becoming involved with right wing extremist groups. She concluded that since they were trained in warfare, they could certainly be dangerous to the progressive thought to which she has subscribed and erroneously assumes that most Americans have subscribed to also.

Her comments first enraged me but after a little thought I just decided to vomit! How in the world did our country come to this?

This directed my thoughts to my father, Ed Goddard! According to this lady’s “progressive” and “superior” thought process, my deceased father would be classified as a right-wing radical.

Edward McCoy Goddard fell to this earth just a couple of years shy of 1920 ( February 7, 1918) and his first cries as new human being echoed through the winter cold of the middle Georgia town of Reynolds, Georgia. He was the second-born to George and Lucy Goddard.

Ed quickly grew up to be a strapping young lad who enjoyed life and spent a lot of time with his parents who instilled into him a joy of the outdoors – especially hunting and fishing. His father was an expert in both of these concerns and young Ed quickly followed suit.








After high school, Big Ed (or “Foots” to his friends) attended and graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelors degree in Psychology and his resulting employment sent him to south Florida on business. During his time in Fort Myers, Florida, Big Ed met and quickly fell in love with Naia Gonzalez, who was a receptionist for the local newspaper. He instantly knew that he wanted to spend his life with her. Naia’s mother, Mabel, had been widowed at a young age so Naia basically grew up without a father. Because of this, Mabel was not delighted with the idea of Big Ed’s marrying her daughter and carrying her off to wedded bliss in the middle Georgia sun, but as the years progressed, Mabel became Big Ed’s most passionate supporter – in other words – she worshipped the ground he walked on!




After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Ed joined the Navy and went off to serve his country. His first son, Mac, was born a few months later and his family was with him during part of his training period. After a short while, however, Ed had to depart for the South Pacific on his ship and had to leave his family behind. During shore leave a few years later, his only daughter, Kikky, was conceived but he did not get to see her for a while. One can only imagine how much Big Ed longed to see his family, but especially his daughter, Kikky, whom he had never laid eyes upon. Imagine this young navy lieutenant’s thoughts on the evening before April 1, 1945 when he was given top secret information about the Invasion of Okinawa that was to begin the next morning.




Here was this big ‘ole country boy from Georgia with a wife, a young son and an infant daughter whom he had not seen who had just been told that as many as 85% to 90% of the brave Americans would be killed during the initial invasion of the beaches of Okinawa. Because Okinawa was only 340 miles from mainland Japan, they could expect that the Japanese would pull out all stops to block the success of this invasion. This last ditch effort of the emperor worshipers would be their most aggressive even compared to their previous efforts to stop other allied amphibious assaults. Big Ed piloted one of the landing crafts that took the marines to the island. Upon his first trip to shore, he was sure that he would not make it back alive. HE WENT ANYWAY – THIS RIGHT WING RADICAL!

Fortunately, things did not happen as expected. They landed without a shot being fired at them because the Japanese had fortified themselves in the mountains. It was a beautiful day and was truly a respite before the hell that was to follow a couple of days later and for a few months more. Between April 1st and June 23rd, it has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of people died as a result of this fighting. Two of Ed’s boyhood friends were in this assault and were killed in the fighting that followed. After the war, Ed, in his occupation as a funeral director, had the funerals for his friends. For the record: the allies (mostly U.S.) suffered over 50 thousand casualties and over 12 thousand deaths. The Japanese lost 100,000 troops and approximately one-fourth of the civilian population of Okinawa was killed as a result of this battle. The total number of deaths was somewhere between 200 to 300 thousand people.

After the atomic bombs were dropped in Japan, the Allied forces knew that no invasion of Japan would have to take place. Big Ed’s ship (the Mendocina) returned to the United States after a short while and Big Ed, the Right-Wing Radical, came back home to be with his family and friends and to get back to everyday life. I have all the letters that my father sent my mother from the war and every single one of them is signed, “all my love, all my life”! He meant what he wrote because they stayed married until my mother’s death on August 9, 1993 – 53 years! Ed died on January 9th, 1994 – of a broken heart!

During his time back in Reynolds, Ed was a pillar of the community as he went into the family business (grocery store and funeral home) with his father. He and Naia had 4 children: Mac, Kikky and after the war they were blessed with the births of George (me) in 1952 and Bruce in 1955.





Ed, the right wing radical, taught me how to hunt, fish and how to work. He told me that the world did not owe me a damn thing and that I would have to take care of myself. I never got an “allowance” but I was free to make all the money I wished bagging groceries at the family grocery store. He did not force me into the funeral business but introduced it to me – I went into pharmacy. He took me to “the country” with him when he went to work on some of the wells that he had installed for local families. Included in these families were kids who attended school with me that were not nearly as fortunate as I had been – he showed me that I should be thankful for my many blessings. He showed me how to be a friend to people! He showed me that being big and strong was a gift to me to be used as a source of protection for my loved ones and not for abuse. He showed me how to be a father and the proper use of a thundering velvet hand. He taught me how to take care of those the Lord had entrusted to me but mostly he showed me the richness of a life that is filled with laughter and the joy of being surrounded by family and friends. He showed me the value and meaning added to life by hard work. He taught me that life is a lot bigger than me – a lot bigger. He showed me what the fervent prayers of a big man can bring about. In his profession as a funeral director, he was truly a “mask for God” and instilled into me the desire to be a mask also.

I was in the second grade when my grandmother – his mother, Lucy, died! I remember vividly the scene of Big Ed, this rock of a man, sitting next to her casket and crying inconsolably for hours. I learned that day that mothers are pretty special, because I had never seen my father cry.

Because of his love for his mother, Big Ed did everything in his power so that we could have the kind of relationship with our mother the he enjoyed with his! He created the conditions needed for all of his kids to have the joy of a nurturing and loving mother

It worked! When my mother died in August of 1993, I cried inconsolably for hours also!

I do not know a thing about Janet Napolitano and have no desire to learn. She is totally clueless as far as I am concerned but of this one fact I am eternally grateful - she is not my mother!

On this Mothers’ Day in 2009, I thank the God of the Universe that He saw fit before time began to make Ed and Naia Goddard my parents. I am thankful that Ed Goddard was a Right-Wing Radical who created the family of which I was fortunate to be a part and I hope that I will always be a Right-Wing Radical also.






To my own family I would like to conclude with, “all my love, all my life”!

Happy Mothers’ Day!

CRISIS OF FAITH

Crisis of Faith


In the August 23, 2007 issue of TIME, there appeared an article by David Van Biema that explained to an unaware (and shocked) public the crisis of faith that Mother Teresa experienced in her life. A new book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday), consisted primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors. It was her wish that these letters be destroyed but her wish was overruled by her church. The book’s editor explains that for the last 50 years of her life she felt no presence of God whatsoever, “neither in her heart or in the eucharist”!

It seems this “absence” began at the time she began tending the poor and dying in Calcutta. While cheery in public, Teresa lived in a state of deep and abiding spiritual pain and in these letters she bemoans the “dryness”, “loneliness” and “torture” she experienced even comparing the experience to hell and at one point proclaiming it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. “The smile” is “a mask” or “a cloak that covers everything.”

After 17 years of teaching in Calcutta, she was traveling to a retreat in the Himalayas when she claimed she heard the voice of Christ speak to her. She was told to abandon teaching and work instead in “the slums” of the city, dealing with “the poorest of the poor”. “Come, Come, carry Me into the holes of the poor,” Christ told her. “Come be My light.” She was “to help them live their lives with dignity {and so} encounter God’s infinite love, and having come to know Him, to love and serve Him in return.”

As the mission work flourished and gained the attention of the world and her church, Teresa progressed from confessor to confessor the way some patients move through their psychoanalysts (words of Van Biema). She developed a kind of shorthand of pain, referring almost casually to “my darkness” and to Jesus as “the Absent One”.

AMERICA’S Martin says, “Who would have thought that the person who was considered the most faithful woman in the world struggled like that with her faith?” he asks? “And who would have thought that the one thought to be the most ardent of believers could be a saint to the skeptics?”

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As I read this TIME article, I was saddened by the fact that this lady who was the personification of “good works” felt the need to use her smile to hide her true feelings or to use her forced happy demeanor as a “cloak that covers everything”. I was reminded of a recent radio broadcast called THE WHITE HORSE INN that I tune in on a regular basis at www.whitehorseinn.org.! One of the members of the broadcast group went with microphone in hand to a “Christian” convention (I think it was Christian Booksellers) and asked numerous people: “If you die with unconfessed sin, will you go to heaven”? Not one single person that was interviewed had ANY assurance of their salvation. I heard comments like: “I’m a good person so I hope I will” or “I’ve tried to live for God so I hope the Lord will look favorably upon me”! Several were brutally honest and simply said, “I don’t know”! One often used comment was that “God looks at the heart” ( these folks had obviously overlooked Matthew 15:19-20: For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man)! Believe me, the last thing any of us should desire is for God to look at the heart … that is terrible news!

These were “Christians” mind you and they were at a “Christian” convention.

Reading the story of Mother Teresa in TIME caused me to have the same sickening and sad feeling I had when I heard the broadcast of THE WHITE HORSE INN!

Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic and the folks at the convention were Protestants yet when it all percolates down … there seems to be no difference! Each displays a crisis of faith or even more … a crisis of Biblical illiteracy. The symbol of the Roman Catholic faith is a cross with a dead Jesus still nailed upon it and the symbol of the Protestant faith is an empty cross because Jesus is resurrected. Catholic theology teaches that grace is infused by baptism and Protestants (at least some) understand that grace is imputed through faith. To a Catholic the instrumental means (causality) of salvation is baptism and to a Protestant the instrumental means (causality) of salvation is faith alone.

How could the net result of belief (either Roman or Protestant) be the exact same thing: hopelessness and meaninglessness and a feeling that one must “smile” or act happy in order to hide how miserable Christ has made you!

This is why I have a blog … so that I can write down what is on my mind in the hope that matters will be clarified to me or that those who read this will at least think!

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I realize that many who read this are not believers … and that is great. Just please bear with me as I try (for my own sake) to work through this thing and try to figure out how so many “believers” can be so empty and uninformed.

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THE HISTORICAL JESUS:

Jesus was a real person of history. There are probably more historical writings to verify his existence than any other person who every lived. These sources are not just “Christian” but “non-Christian” historians also, e.g. the works of Flavius Josephus.

He was seen by many after the resurrection as is stated in Matthew 15:19-20: After that He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. One may disagree as to what He was doing, but one cannot disagree as to whether He was a real person of history.

I recently had a conversation with a highly educated person about Christianity. He informed me that he was an “agnostic”. I told him that I appreciated his honesty, but then I asked him if he were agnostic about any other event or person of history other than Christ. He looked puzzled! I asked him if he were “agnostic” about the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada (I don’t know how I remembered this from my history classes) or if he were agnostic about Alexander the Great. I explained that there are no persons alive who were eyewitnesses nor are there any DVD’s available to rent with “actual” footage. The only thing we have to verify most of history is the written word, I reminded him. I further explained that if he were “agnostic” about the Christ of history, then he would also have to be agnostic about ALL OF HISTORY, to be intellectually honest.

Christ is not a myth or fable. He is a real person of history! The apostle Peter (an eyewitness) writes in 2 Peter 1:16: For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses to his majesty.

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Let’s look at the basics of Christianity.

SIN

The big problem we all face is sin, but this is a word that no one wants to talk about … we would rather say “dysfunction”. Scripture teaches that when Adam sinned, sin entered the world. When sin entered the world, disease and death also entered the world. As a result, we are all under the dominion of sin and death and we are helpless in and of ourselves to fight it or to stop it. Look at yourself in the mirror today and then look at a photograph of yourself taken about 10 years ago. Do you notice the difference? You are growing older and you will eventually die. This fact can cause one to be severely depressed, whether one is concerned with one’s own death or all of the death and destruction we see everyday through the media. In Scripture, death is a curse of God and it is not a celebration (I have left strict instructions that upon my death if anyone is caught celebrating they are to be drawn and quartered)! I want people to grieve when I die … not celebrate!

Sin is described by the Shorter Catechism as “any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God”

Romans 14:23 says that: Everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Romans 3: 10-12 says: As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

The apostle Paul best describes the struggle a Christian faces with the power of sin: For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. And further: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice (Romans 7:15; 18-19).

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THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Here’s the part that no one likes to hear! God does not grade on a curve, he demands total righteousness and holiness. In the survey that I mentioned at the beginning, I think that all of the doubters knew this fact implicitly. Because of this, they were hesitant to say whether or not they would go to heaven if they died with unconfessed sin in their lives.

God says in His Word in 1 Peter1: 15-16: but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

One can see here that there is a major problem. God commands us to be holy and righteous (not just good) and we are helpless against our sin … even if we try to stop.

Keep reading, that bad news is worse than you thought!

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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
(THE LAW OF GOD)

In Scripture there are two things that we must differentiate. We must know the difference between the INDICATIVE and the IMPERATIVE. Simply put, the indicative is a statement of fact or doctrine and the imperative is law or commands. One states and one commands! Get the picture? Because of our sin, we hate doctrine and we love law. Like Mike Horton of Westminster Seminary jokingly states, “Just give us 3 easy steps on how to be righteous … we want more law”!

In Exodus 20 one finds a listing of the 10 Commandments (which is imperative) and I am sure that anyone reading this has seen the 10 Commandments posted in all sorts of places, but have you ever wondered why the indicative before the list is always left off?

Exodus 20:1-2: And God spoke all these words saying: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

This indicative is the doctrine or statement of fact as to why God has the right to speak to the nation of Israel the commands He is about to list. He brought them out of bondage and out of the land of Egypt. They did not bring themselves. When I read this, I am always reminded of my younger years when my father would not allow me to do something that I really wanted to do. Upon my asking why I had to comply with his prohibition, he would simply say, “ Because I am your father”! Now that’s indicative!

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself any graven image.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

Any sin you can think of is covered in these 10 commands. They are all inclusive!

But we’re right back to the same problem! How are we going to keep these commandments when we are helpless sinners? Good question!

God commands and demands total holiness for us to ever be in His presence, so the best I can figure is that we have two choices to ponder:
1. Our righteousness or
2. The righteousness of another.

If you plan to go before the Holy God of the Universe based upon your own righteousness, well then, good luck to you! Being a good person is not good enough. Being a nice guy is not good enough. Taking casseroles to widows is not good enough. Let’s look what Scripture says.

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Galatians 2:16 – Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW NO FLESH SHALL BE JUSTIFIED.

Even if you kept the Law (10 Commandments) perfectly, it is not good enough! By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Say this to yourself over and over so you will not forget it. In summary on this point, the purpose of the Law is to remove any pretense that you can earn your righteousness. Firstly, you cannot keep it AND, lastly, even if you COULD keep the Law (10 Commandments) perfectly, it is not good enough. Imagine the treadmill of a life that would be!

By now, I hope you see that choice #1 above (our righteousness) is the wrong answer and #2 is correct. The verse from Galatians 2:16 gave away the answer – faith in Christ! We cannot keep the law, but Christ DID it on our behalf. We are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3) and his righteousness is PERFECT and acceptable to God for He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1: 17). God sees Christ and not us!

So if you ever doubt that you are living the “Christian life”, you would be correct! That is why you should have doubt in yourself and your ability to be righteous. You are not and cannot be righteous before God except for the covering of Christ. It is Christ that is righteous, we are NOT! I am reminded of the young husband who was sulking around the house when his wife inquired as to what was the matter. He replied, “I feel like a failure!” She exclaimed, “But, Honey, you ARE a failure.” He then exclaimed, “Well, great then, now I’m cured.”

Remember, you are a failure! OK! Now you’re cured.

Remember … the Law (the 10 Commandments) removes all pretense that you can earn your salvation, but Moralism returns that pretense with a vengeance.

More verses to better clarify.

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Romans 3:21-23: BUT NOW the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified apart from the deeds of the law.

Romans 4: 5-8: But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Romans 7:6 : But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Romans 10:3-4: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Galatians 2: 21 : I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Galatians 3: 2 : This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Galatians 3:13 : Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”)

Galatians 4: 4 : But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 5: 1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 6:14: But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Now, having read through all of these verses, I am sure that one would wonder what is the purpose of the law.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW

Galatians 3: 21-25: Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

(When I was in grade school, my mother forced me to take piano lessons. My teacher, Miss Pendegrast, would sit next to me at the piano bench with a ruler in her hand. Whenever I made a mistake (which was frequently) she would slap my hand with the ruler and yell at me “get it right”! This is what I envision when I think of the law’s role as a tutor. It slaps our wrists with a ruler whenever we try to use the law as a tool to forge out our own righteousness.)

The reformers (John Calvin) crystallized for the church’s benefit the threefold use of the law: ( this comes from the New Geneva Study Bible, pg. 259)

1. Its first function is to be a mirror reflecting to us both the perfect righteousness of God and our own sinfulness and shortcomings. As Augustine wrote, “the law bids us, as we try to fulfill its requirements, and become wearied in our weakness under it, to know how to ask the help of grace.” The law gives knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:13; 7:7-11) and shows us our need of pardon and our danger of damnation in order to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ (Gal. 3:19-24)
2. A second function, the “civil use”, is to restrain evil. Though the law cannot change the heart, it can inhibit lawlessness by its threats of judgment, especially when backed by a civil code that administers punishment for proven offenses. It secures civil order, and serves to protect the righteous from the unjust.
3. The third function is to guide the regenerate into the good works that God has planned for them (Eph. 2:10). The Christian is free from the law as a system of salvation (as I have argued previously), but Christ was speaking of this third use when He said that those who become His disciples must be taught to do all that He had commanded (Matt.28:20), and that obedience to His commands will prove the reality of one’s love for Him (John 14:15).

The reformers have shown us that in Scripture we see “The Law” and “Gospel”. The law kills, demands, destroys, removes all pretense that we deserve anything and brings us to total helplessness. But everything that the law demands, God gives freely in the Gospel. The law is written on our hearts ( we know when we do wrong), but the Gospel has to be declared. It has to be preached into us every Lord’s Day because it is so contrary to our nature! The Law is imperative and the Gospel is indicative, but there are preachers everywhere who try to convince their congregations that the Gospel is law (in other words we have to do something)!

We do not need programs in our churches, all we need is Law and Gospel! The Law kills us (and has our attention because it is written on our hearts – Romans 2:15) and the Gospel gives life through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Law without the gospel is brutality and the Gospel without the Law is silliness. We must know why we need the Gospel. I am not fabricating all of this, this is what the Reformers taught when they protested the abuses of the Roman church and its sacerdotalism (priest worship).

We do not need to hear sermons on how we can use the Gospel to give us recovery from our dysfunction (law). We do not need to hear sermons with three easy steps to being a better daddy, a better husband, a better manager of our finances or a better employee (more law). We do not need to hear sermons that warn us not to “smoke, dip, drink or chew or hang around with girls that do” (even more law). We do not need cute little talks about how we can have “Our Best Life Now”! We need to hear Christ and Him crucified. Period!

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THE OLD TESTAMENT IS ABOUT JESUS

The Bible is about Christ. Adam got it wrong and failed to hold up his end of the covenant of works in the garden and all of the other examples of characters (Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David) are just other Adams who got it wrong until the last Adam, Christ, finished what the Father sent Him to accomplish. We do not need to hear, therefore, sermons about how we should emulate these “characters”, but rather we need to hear sermons about Christ who is our Redeemer because of his life, death and resurrection and that He has ransomed us from our sin debt and has propitiated the wrath of the Father against us. His work was perfect and we rest in Him alone. “It is finished”!

It has been said that the New Testament is the world’s greatest commentary on the Old Testament. Christ is in the shadows in the OT but is brought to light in the NT. This is called the “type” and the “anti-type”! Whether one is reading in the OT or the NT, one should see Christ:

John 1:45 – Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
(Moses is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and the prophets are the rest of the OT). So in other words they were saying, “We have found Him of whom the Old Testament is about.”

Acts 9: 30-35 – So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not his mouth.
In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth”
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. (In other words, Philip explained that Isaiah 53: 7-8, part of the Old Testament, was about Christ.).

Luke 24:25-27 – Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (On the road to Emmaus when Jesus walked up to some disciples after His resurrection and they did not recognize him, he finally revealed Himself to them and then explained that the OT [Moses and the Prophets] was about Him).

John 5:39 – You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life: and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (Jesus in speaking to the Pharisees telling them that they are Bible centered but not Christ centered. Their Scripture was the Old Testament and Jesus explained to them that they failed to see Him in their Scripture, the OT).

These are but a few of the verses and prophesies of the Old Testament that show Christ. THE BIBLE IS ABOUT CHRIST. IT IS NOT CUTE LITTLE STORIES OF EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE THAT WE CAN USE IN OUR SEARCH FOR SELF-FULFILLMENT. If you see anything other than Christ … you have missed it!

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Polytheism

Have you ever heard it stated that “you need to choose Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior”? I heard this all my life as ministers in churches would work hard to manipulate the emotions of the congregation by singing dozens of verses of “Just As I Am” or “All To Jesus I Surrender”. They would keep on and on until finally someone came down front to “accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior”! I grew up thinking that this was the essence of Christianity and it wasn’t until I was much older that I came to a better understanding.

You see, America is very much like ancient Rome in that we are a polytheistic society and we are free to have our own “personal” gods. As a matter of fact, America is very much like ancient Rome in many other ways, but that is another story for another time! Many people in Rome had statues of gods in their homes … the more the merrier. Jesus (and the God of Abraham) was just another god to them. It wasn’t until they learned about the exclusivity of Christianity that things started heating up. For a while, Christianity was just a part of the religion of the Jews and did not seem to pose a problem, but later things got heated. Why do you think Paul was in chains for so long and wrote the majority of his work from prisons? The apostles died horrible deaths … not because they presented Jesus as just another deity from which to choose – as one of many ways, but because they preached that He was the ONLY way (Acts 4:12).

Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior. ( Isaiah 43:10b)

Of idol worship He says:

Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination. (Isaiah 41:24)

I have been studying Scripture and being instructed by great teachers for a long time now and I do not see ANYWHERE IN SCRIPTURE any language that presents Jesus as a personal Lord and Savior, but I see PLENTY of language that speaks of Him as THE Lord and Savior.

If you present Jesus as just another choice ( like shopping for detergent at Wal-Mart) then no one will be angry with you and you can keep all your friends, but if you present the Jesus of Scripture as the only choice … then you will have a fight on your hands. Don’t believe me … try it!

People are always telling me that I am opinionated! To which I reply, “Oh, is that YOUR
opinion!”

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THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS


My church recently had a missionary report to us that in a country in Africa where a Church had been planted, the Christians there are being heavily persecuted. After a service one Sunday morning, soldiers met them at the door and forced some of them to wear large baskets (that were used as portable toilets) on their heads and to march around in the hot sun. Others were placed in wooden crates in 100 plus degree heat and left in the heat for hours at the time. I asked myself why Christianity is so offensive to so many people around the world. These worshippers were then told that if they would just sign a statement stating that they would reject the name of Christ and never worship Him again, they would be allowed to go free and be left alone. Why, again I asked myself, do people hate Christianity so terribly much?

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:14)

First, I think, is the exclusivity of Christ. There is no other way to God except through the mediation of Christ. Because God is Holy and we are unholy (Rev. 3:17), we cannot approach Him based on our own righteousness. We are like gasoline and he is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The only way we are allowed to approach God is based on the righteousness of another (Christ)! Think about the difference in the words mediate vs. immediate (without mediation).

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:35-36).

Second, we Americans do not want to be told that we cannot do everything ourselves. We want to be responsible for our salvation – we want to “earn” our way into God’s presence. After all, we are all sweet, nice and basically good people and all we need is a little good advice to help us be better and then of course, God will have to accept us. We do not want to be told that we are “worms” or “sinners”!

And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:9)

Third, all of this Jesus stuff seems foolish to the enlightened minds of our age. We have college degrees and much understanding of scientific data. We are far too intelligent to fall for all these myths of Christ – like the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy!

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)

To the Greeks (pagans) the Cross was foolishness, to the Jews it is a stumbling block and to Americans it is both!

For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. (Romans 9:32)

This offense is not just exhibited in those protagonists of the Gospel, but even more so, I think, in those who are supposedly entrusted with delivering the Gospel … churches! As I have explained earlier, the Law is written on the hearts of mankind – so we know when we do wrong! We KNOW that we cannot keep the 10 commandments, so there is a tendency to create a set of laws that we know we can keep – such as the prohibition against drinking, smoking, playing cards and dancing! We even brag that we don’t “smoke, dip, drink or chew or hang around with girls that do”! This neo-nomianism is our way of snubbing the exclusivity of Christ, by once more thinking that our keeping of these new rules is what endears us to our Creator! We can stop smoking or drinking but we find it impossible to “love our neighbors as ourselves” (the summation of the Law)! I have seen many a so-called Christian boast of his or her “tea- totaler” righteousness. Of course, they can abuse prescription drugs like Valium, Xanax or hydrocodone, but they certainly do not drink or smoke. Are you getting the picture? We love law and are born opposed to Grace. We are forever opposed to anything that denies our fickle self-earned righteousness.

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (Colossians 1: 28)

You say, ‘ I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Rev. 3: 17)

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SAVED FROM WHAT

Have you ever been approached by someone who wants to “save” you? Next time this happens, simply ask the person “Saved from what?” and you will get a zillion different answers. I have often wondered why someone is trying to save me when they have not even taken the time to understand what they are trying to save me from. There are those who teach that Hell is the absence of God and Heaven is the presence of God for all eternity - don’t believe them! There will be many who will wish that they could be removed from the presence of God. The truth of Scripture is that we ALL have an eternal relationship with God – some will spend eternity in the face of God in His Wrath and others will spend eternity in the face of God in His Grace, but every person will spend eternity in the presence of God. You see, the truth of Scripture is that Satan is NOT your problem – God is your problem! If Christ did not bear on the Cross the penalty for YOUR sin, they YOU will bear it for all eternity. Read chapters 17 through 19 in the Gospel of John to get a good understanding of Christ and the Cross.

And he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)

Satan was cast from the presence of God and has no sovereign power so, as I stated, Satan is not your problem. Satan can only steal the joy of salvation but cannot take your salvation. God is your problem! At the end of time, Satan will be one’s brother in Hell – not one’s tormentor. He is a liar and the father of lies! He will be cast into the lake of fire like all other unbelievers.

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20: 14-15)

Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth. (Galatians 4:16)

Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1)

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WORSHIP




Maybe, by now, the reader of this could be thinking that this is all serious stuff but when I go to a church all is hear is silly stuff. I see rock bands, protracted amateurish efforts at entertainment and pretty much the exact same thing I get in the culture. Sadly, this discovery is true. The church is filled with rot and it nauseates me. I get sick and tired of hearing self-help sermons on how I can be better at doing or being something … i.e. good advice! I don’t want ANY MORE ADVICE! I need a savior! Dysfunction and recovery is not my issue – it is much worse! My problem is my helplessness against sin. I agree with the apostle Paul when he said that the good he desired, he didn’t do and the evil that he abhorred, he did anyway. We are wretched people living in these bodies of death. Who will rescue us? Certainly not loud music or snow cones and pony rides!
The law is seared into my consciousness but the Gospel has to be preached into me every Lord’s day. Most churches do not do this because they are so involved with programs and giving advice. They are telling the masses what their itching ears want to hear and people will surround themselves with these false teachers.

Keep searching for a true Church where Word, Sacrament and Discipline are rightly administered. Where every Lord’s Day, God’s people are summoned together to hear the Good News (not advice) and where there is a diversity of folks not drawn together by their felt needs, but rather by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Man has been attempting to climb up to God since our creation but this is not possible. So God dressed up like one of us in Christ and came down to us. Every Lord’s day, in true worship services, the same thing happens again when the Word (Scripture) comes to us through the sinful lips of man (preacher) and we receive it. We do not DO ANYTHING, we just receive. And through this preaching, Christ is proclaimed through the exegesis of Scripture.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3: 16)

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 22-25)

Then,

We receive this Word and then rise and go back to our vocations where we are a mask for God. We do our good works for our fellow man – not for God, as if God needed anything! “God doesn’t need our good works – our neighbors do”, so says Luther. Do not get hung up on trying to find your personal ministry. It is your pastor’s vocation to serve to you Word and Sacrament and it is your job to receive it. Try not to gum things up by stopping the flow of Grace with your dam of personal ministry fulfillment. It has been said, “Don’t just do something, sit there!”

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (Romans 8:1)

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REDEDICATION

There will certainly come a time when the Evil One will have you convinced that the righteousness of Christ is not good enough for God and you must add some of your own efforts to His finished work. Christ’s suffering on the Cross was a great sacrifice but your added efforts are really what makes it all worthwhile, or so Satan will inform you! Once again, don’t believe this.

This guilt placement will not come to you through some ugly creature with horns and a big tail, but rather through a “minister”! He will convince you with soft-music, soft-lights and 50 verses of “Just As I Am” to come down front to rededicate your back-slidden life to God, because after all, you efforts are really what matters.

Here are two words of the Christian faith you must understand to avoid confusion on this issue: Justification and Sanctification! I will define these words from The Shorter Catechism.

Justification: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all of our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

In other words, God has declared believers to be righteous – not their own righteousness but rather the righteousness of Christ. Believers are forever freed from the PENALTY of sin. This is a declaration of God and we are not involved in ANY WAY!

Sanctification: Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

This is telling us that we walk hand-in-hand with our Father and live the Christian life of gradually freeing ourselves from the POWER of sin. It is our desire to be more like Christ. It has been said that this is unanesthesized earthly surgery because it is so painful. We desire to live a life worthy of our calling! If you are a drug addict, alcoholic or whatever – you have been changed and your desire is now for the Lord. Mortifying our addictions and ruinous behaviors is hard work but it is the Christian life on earth. Sanctification is only what believers go through and in no way does this process nullify your justification. Remember, the work for your justification was done totally and completely by God through Christ and Christ is also the source of your sanctification process.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO REDEDICATE YOUR FICKLE EFFORTS AT BEING RIGHTEOUS! When you go through these times, just focus on the Cross and remember that He was the perfect and complete payment for your sin.

In addition, The Shorter Catechism defines sin as any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God. But remember, as a believer, your sin can no longer condemn you!

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BACK TO TERESA

Also, in the Catechism is asked the question: What is the chief end of man? The answer is that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. But most Christians spend more time glorifying themselves and their efforts and God becomes a tyrant instead of a source of enjoyment.

At the beginning of this writing, I explained that the article in TIME of August 23, 2007 about Mother Teresa’s crisis of faith was the motivating factor for my thoughts. I explained how she developed a kind of shorthand of pain and referred casually to “my darkness” and that Jesus was “the Absent One”!

As Martin stated, “Who would have thought that the person who was considered the most faithful woman in the world struggled like that with her faith? And who would have thought that the one thought to be the most ardent of believers could be a saint to skeptics?”

Teresa obviously did not understand the chief end of man (1 Corinthians 10:31) or (Psalm 73:25)!

Oh, that she could have had the Gospel preached into her every Lord’s Day and that she could have really known that we live in a fallen world and that we are helpless against the wages of sin.

NEVER-ENDING BS

The super-intelligent Al Gore WAS scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday January 28th to testify about the urgent need to combat global warming. However, the appearance has been "put on ice" due to the recent snow storm in the Northeast! I, for one, am very disappointed that this bloated ignoramus will not get to show his recently cheeseburger-infused face on national TV. What a great loss for all of humanity!




Would this turn of events be classified as irony or coincidence?

Anyway, maybe soon the globe will heat up so we can get back to talking about global warming. Oh, I forgot - the new term is "climate change"! One has to be crafty when one hates capitalism ... gotta keep the debate going!

THE END OF A GREAT RIDE

In 1986, I was working as a pharmacist when a customer, who happened to be a district manager for a large pharmaceutical company, asked me to come to work for him. He wanted to rescue me from the confines of the pharmacy and the constant phone-ringing and question-answering. In addition, to further entice me, he enlisted the aid of two pharmacist-friends of mine who were also working for that company. Realizing that I would take a cut in salary, this master salesman convinced me to go to work for him anyway. This process took a while, but I left the practice of pharmacy. Today, there are so many folks vying for positions in "pharmaceutical sales" that no one would ever be "begged" to accept employment ... much less would a company get friends of a prospective employee involved in the process.

It was not a mistake! It was one of the best decisions of my life ... not just financially, but for many other reasons as well ... the chief reason being the friends I have made during the past 23 years. These relationships have had a profound influence on my life and will continue to do so as long as I live.

I went to North Carolina to my sales training class after weeks of home study. Contrary to what I had presupposed, the training was excellent and in many ways was as intense as my Pharmacy training at UGA. Also, my classmates were the BEST! Today, I am still friends with many of the fine folks from my original training class. These folks were extremely outgoing, intelligent, educated and attractive ... especially the ladies. What I will always remember about these fellow trainees is their inteligence and their collective zest for life. I loved being there ... a new career and a whole lot of fun to boot! I thought I had won the lottery.

I came back to my territory and hit the ground running. Once again, I was struck dumb with gratitude for the newfound freedom I was given. Why, I didn't have to eat lunch leaning over a dirty sink ... I could actually sit down, relax and read the paper if I wished. There were no telephones ringing every few seconds, no one blowing cigarette smoke in my face from across the pharmacy counter and nobody forcing me to work on holidays or weekends.

I began building real and lasting relationships with my physician and pharmacist customers and little did I realize at the time, but I would call on many of the folks for the next 23 years of my life. I also became acquainted with all of the other pharmaceutical reps from other companies ... some were competitors, but it really didn't matter ... especially if she were good looking!

District meetings, regional meetings and national meetings were held frequently and I realized that these meetings really were a sensible alternative to actually working. We were allowed to play golf and we were taken out to eat in the evenings to really wonderful restaurants. What a great idea for a company to treat their employees like royalty. I would have gone to the wall for this great organization! Why, they even took me to Hawaii three times. I worked diligently and was rewarded many trips and prizes for my efforts. I loved the folks I worked with and not just my district counterparts either, but many in other states that I would meet at those national gatherings. Things were wonderful because we had the number 1 pharmaceutical in the world and we were paid to sell it ... paid well.

Bright lights, big cities, fancy hotels and great folks. I was on cloud nine to say the least.

Then somebody, somewhere in the industry decided that if we had more representatives (a lot more) then it would follow that we would have a lot more sales $$$! Physician offices were saturated with drug reps and doctors could not turn around without seeing another rep standing in the hall. Dumb-ass district managers on ride-alongs with reps would force these employees to be someone other than themselves. Offices began to close down and it became increasingly more difficult to gain access to these offices and to get any amount of selling time with these physician customers. We made them feel as if they had targets on their backs. In general, the companies began to see phyicians as things to be manipulated rather than as human beings.

Pharmaceutical companies became political punching bags. Since we took physicians out to eat we charged exorbitant prices for our products ... or so they reasoned! Congress began to threaten to regulate the industry and certainly did so through their watchdog ... the FDA (which is about as political an organization as exists in the world)!

We were given more and more rules about samples, detail pieces and promotional literature and corporate lawyers would inform us what we could or could not say. The fun was beginning to disipate and micro or even nano-management became the rule of the day. Quotas, quotas, quotas! We would spend countless hours sitting in Cracker Barrell restaurants making list of physicians, having strategy sessions and drinking coffee ... all on company time. Cost cutting measures were put into place in all facets of the business. No more fancy hotels and 5 star restaurants - from now on it would be Motel 6 and RUBY TUESDAYS.

In a word, the industry lost its collective mind and gave in to the politics and pressures of fat-ass congressman who, all the while, were kept occupied spending our country into oblivion, drinking liquor, going on free junkets and having sex with congressional interns. Is there any wonder that these morons have an approval rating of less than 10%!

Here is a fact: WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE DISEASES AND HUMAN MALADIES THAT CAUSE MUCH PAIN AND SUFFERING AND THE MEDICAL WORLD WILL NEVER LOOSE ITS DESIRE TO HAVE MORE INNOVATIVE AND SPECIFIC TREATMENTS FOR THESE ILLINESSES. Go to any funeral home and ask the relative of a deceased person about their current thoughts on better medical treatment.

Here's another fact: THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT PRODUCE THESE DRUGS - THEY COME FROM AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES WHO RISK THEIR CAPITAL.

You don't have to worry anymore because it is over! Don't look for better antibiotics, pain meds or any other treatments that could possibly have a side-effect, because attorneys are chomping at their collective bits to file suit against Big Pharma and pharmaceutical company-hating judges are lined up to make sure this defendant comes out on the losing end. You will see a shift towards more cancer treatments (which EVERYONE knows will certainly have side-effects)and vaccines.

If I sound bitter - it is because I am!

Today, an outsourced company representative came to do my final check-out ... not even an employee of the company! I gave her my computer and totally cleaned out my storage unit and put everything in the back of her car. I signed papers and went through check-lists to be sure nothing was forgotten. I even had to give back my OFFICE MAX discount card. I didn't tell her I still have a STARBUCKS card for free coffee ... I got away with one there.




The previous sales year, I won one of the "highest awards" the company gives. I was good - even great - at my job and I loved and still love my customers and my counterparts. I just couldn't take the stupidity anymore! We spent more time talking about working than we did actually working and the Lord only knows how much money has been wasted on things that have no bearing on ANYTHING.

The process became more important than the object of our work!

Intelligent people, great friends, great customers, bright lights, big cities, 12 company cars with an average of 80,000 miles each - almost a million miles of driving, 12 physician calls per day for 23 years, 5 zillion cups of coffee, great food and fun and 23 years of a fantastic ride came to an end today (January 9th, 2009)! I couldn't help but remember that this date is also the anniversary of my father's death.

All of this took place at the O'Storage storage facility near my home. The lady who checked me out was extremely pleasant and even volunteered to take these pictures you see here. As I told her my story she laughed so hard she cried. She wished me the best as she drove away. Maybe I'll get a Christmas (Oh I'm sorry - Holiday) card from her next year.

Now that I'm retired from this phase of my life ... what's next, huh?

I think I'll go to Cracker Barrell and get a cup of coffee. Maybe I'll even make a list of the specials for the week.