Believe

Ever notice the emphasis of the supernatural on believe?

Santa Claus---believe

Peter Pan--- believe

Just about everything Disney--- believe

See a connection?

Evolution--- come on now... you want to believe it so badly that you hold on to every claim of evidence like you are on Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest.

Why then is it such a crime for Christians to exhort you to believe? - John 3:16

I think the counterfeits are there as evidence to the validity of the original...

Merry CHRISTmas!!

Know your Molech

Hi Melissa,

I would like to point out a few things based on your insight.  First, art is not limited to the message  or intent of the artist.  It is through individual interpretation that art impacts throughout society.  In the case of “Howl”, there may even be a question of whether any of us have understood his intent.  We assume based on context, content, and our own accumulation of experience and knowledge, but who can say if he had something else or something more in mind.  This is the power of poetry.  I suppose that if he could give us his own explication, we might learn that we have been wrong, at least on a few points.  So, one of the sections that clawed at me from the pages of this work was section 2.  Ginsberg’s reference to Molech while is somehow related to the Bible, and by extension, the conservative world-view, has a specific parallel to our society in spite of its anachronistic timing.  The worshippers sacrificed their children.  Let’s not mince words, their children died a cruel and unusual punishment of death who had done no harm to merit such a doom on the whims of and devotions of their parents.  Like it, love it, hate it, or reject it, Our society has done the exact same.  I know that this is not the proper forum to discuss the semantics of this social issue, so I won’t argue the validity of the points.  I will simply say that millions of children have lost their lives at the hands of their mothers.  We have yet to see the full repercussions. 

The Time of Peace

This post was too good to pass up... sometimes I bring myself to tears...

Hi Su,

Thank you for your kind words.  Our 20th and 21st centuries (so far), with the exception of our Ted Roosevelt, are so obsessed with peace, and for good reason.  It seems, however, that so many think of peace as the absence of armed conflict.  What exactly is peace?  Is it not that inner rest that transcends our situation?  Nelson Mandela did not let his wrongful imprisonment rob him of his peace.  His purpose was set and his path was clear, he chose to not let his environment rob him of his peace.  Similarly, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of my American heroes because of his approach to solving the problem of racism.  He was determined while at the same time at a state of peace.  This is further evident in his method which garnered much more support than the use of violence.  In my own life, my time in the combat zone came with excessive stress due to the nature of my job.  Any time we came under fire however, I found myself at perfect peace.  For me it was a matter of knowing my end, of knowing that someday will be my last day on this earth and I know where I will be the day after that.  I did not know if my last day would be in Afghanistan, but I do know Him who gives peace with God and that meant that whenever my last day arrived, I would be ready.  It is actually a great relief of a great burden that many of us bear without sometimes even realizing it until we can lay it down.  I don’t mean to veer off topic except, I am convinced that this has more to do with the matter at hand than any other conversation.  The previous literary periods we witness society casting God aside and then we see society searching for what He provides everywhere else.  This unrest… whence does it come?  Shall we ever consider these heavier matters or will we ever scour the outer rim in search of what we can only find in the core?

My DejaVu Moment

Deja Vu is a creepy thing... I 'm having one right now... checking out the SW7 premiere red carpet event and checking the twitter feed while trying to cram in for a paper.  Yes, I know this sequence from another time, but is it a time that I have been before?  I find myself time and again remembering dejaVu events from actual dreams in my past.  So here is the next question... if we see in our dreams what we later recall in a DeJavu moment, what does that tell us of our dreams or better yet, their source?  I have my theory; what's yours?

met·a·phys·ics

met·a·phys·ics

ˌmedəˈfiziks/

noun

1. the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space.

   • abstract theory or talk with no basis in reality.

     "his concept of society as an organic entity is, for market liberals, simply metaphysics"

   
   

I also like to think of this term as a generic reference to philosophy.  Since I spend a whole heap of time thinking about how people think in terms of ideas and life in general, it was once upon a time of an instance when I gave this some thought that a spark of an idea (not quite a lightbulb) ignited for a brief instant.  I tried to make note of it because I knew I would want to post it here...

1) The prime thesis of Humanistic metaphysics is that new is better than old.  Man and logic and liberal philosophical perspective are always improving.  Traditional ideas are outdated and obsolete.

2) There is no rule or standard, no foundation for truth.  Truth is subjective and always changing, never the same.  The values of the progressive are the only values of value.  There are absolutely no absolutes.  Only those who embrace the progressive philosophy are tolerant.  All opposing views must be eradicated.

This is not much of a start... I will try to think on it some more and update...

Addendum to Justice

This thread came around to the highest order of atrocities.  You decide...

Re: Poetry and Political Activism
posted by EDDIE SLUSSER (you) , Oct 13, 2015, 6:11 AM


HI Kerry,
Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Justice Denied in Massachusetts" is a little challenging to follow even with the footnote.  It seems to embody broken hope as seen in the last line "With a broken hoe".  It is with this image that we can see the description of the rest of the poem.  Only after the passing of generations can we begin to rebuild.  The "[overwhelming] Evil" of the "Justice Denied" has broken hope for continuing to pursue the daily pursuit of life and happiness.  It is very reminiscent of the outcries of injustice of these past few years.  True justice can only be delivered with the pure truth.  Even then, we are dependent upon men to be honest and impartial, not blinded by political expediency or public outcry.  Justice can only be served when truth has preeminence.  Unfortunately, when all we have for a legacy is the views of contemporaries, we have no guarantee that we know what was based on truth or what was based on the assumptions of truth.  Herein lies another desperate conundrum of our society.
 Words: 181
Comment on Oct 13, 2015, 8:38 AMDefault Avatar
Message expanded.Message readRe: Poetry and Political Activism
posted by Judy Billing , Oct 13, 2015, 8:38 AM

I agree with you about this being a challenging piece to follow. I found myself reading it line by line interpreting as I went. The footnote explaining what the poem meant helped me to interpret it. But as soon as I knew what it was supposed to be about, I was able to explain each line. I agree that the lack of truth in our political system is part of the problem. Our government has the same problems now as they did back in the twenties. If our representatives would work for the people, instead of the people who grease their palms, the system would probably fix itself. Millay's poem was a protest against the issues going on in the court system as well as the other issues taking place during that time.
 Words: 133
Comment on Oct 13, 2015, 6:39 PMDefault Avatar
Message expanded.Message readRe: Poetry and Political Activism
posted by KERRY JONES , Oct 13, 2015, 6:39 PM

What is interesting in the poem, Eddie, is the position that Millay gives to the idea of "justice." The fact it was denied is what has caused the collapse of the natural order. This is an interesting poem for its time and marks a significant departure for American literature. While we see writers being part of the political scene - Twain is a good example - there was very little of the type of outcry that we find in this episode. Writers as diverse as Katherine Anne Porter, Sherwood Anderson and even John Dos Passos weighed in, along with such international names as Albert Einstein, to seek clemency for Sacco and Vanzetti. The case itself was somewhat questionable but it came to be a lightning rod for many of the anti-immigrant sentiments surfacing after WWI.

Kerry
 Words: 134
Comment on Oct 15, 2015, 4:27 AMDefault Avatar
Message expanded.Message readRe: Poetry and Political Activism
posted by EDDIE SLUSSER (you) , Oct 15, 2015, 4:27 AM

Hi Kerry,
Thank you for bringing to light the connection with the breakdown of justice and the breakdown of natural order.  It is almost reminiscent of the invasive influence of man.  Are we actually outsiders destroying nature or are we simply fulfilling our destiny in the process of natural selection and survival of the fittest?  This particular work makes so much more sense if one knows all the peripheral details.  However, this does not have to be an isolated expression.  The application can be made to any case of injustice.  While "Injustice" has particular significance only to those contemporary with the particular case, we can all gain appreciation of its claims and principles once we understand all the facts.  Furthermore, we see ourselves to have come so far since this time, but I would like to suggest that we are now under a far worse curse of injustice than ever imaginable in the early 20th century.  Am I always so political to continually mention hot button topics?  DO they not warrant discussion?  How many millions pass from this life without so much as a single tear shed in the name of "women's health rights"?  I know there is also too much to discuss on this topic.  Simply, the two positions are the rights of women to live the lifestyle of their choice vs. the right of the unborn to live.  To me the answer is clear and the injustice is ever before us.  Perhaps we are no longer fittest for survival.  Time will tell.
 Words: 254

Been a while

Hi folks,
I do not understand how or who reads (if anyone) these posts.  However, in case there are actually readers, I would like to mention that I do not follow trends or current events.  I tend to only write as the needs arises and when I have something to say.  If you are then disappointed, don't be.  By and large, I have no intentions of drawing a crowd.  There is far too much available if you need material.

until then, please stand by..

Who gave you the right...?

Seems like it's all about those rights... My rights are violated... It's my right... So, how do we get rights anyway? Who or what determines rights?  In my search for this answer, I found a post on quora.com...

http://www.quora.com/Who-determines-what-constitute-human-rights-By-what-authority

Who determines what constitute "human rights"? By what authority?

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Dave Hines

Dave has 20+ answers in Conservatism (politics).

Some think rights are granted by government.  That cannot be; in that case they would be privileges, not rights.  A right  can be neither granted nor legitimately restrained.

Rights proceed from the human condition -- or from "nature's God' in the language of the US founding fathers.  We live, hence we have a right to life.  We have speech and thoughts, hence we have the right to speak our minds.  We have our own opinions, hence we have self-ownership.

Other negative rights emanate from these.  Having self-ownership, we have a right to the product of our labor.  We have a right to consume it, exchange it, or give it away.  Having the right to life, we have the right to defend ourselves.

My right to free speech does not entitle me to a printing press or website paid for by somebody else.  My right to life does not come at the expense of somebody else's -- unless that person is attempting to kill me, in which case his violation of my right has abrogated his.

These are negative rights.  That is, they do not come at the expense of anyone else.  All are entitled to these basic functions.  An interference with any of these is therefore a constraint of fundamental rights.

Some imagine the existence of positive rights -- that is, rights that come at the expense of somebody else.  This opens a bottomless can of worms.  To force somebody else to pay for your "right" you must violate his right of self-ownership.  You deny him the product of his labor to pay for your "right" to birth control or whatever.

Positive rights are not rights at all; they're declarations of privilege.  They must come at the expense and constraint of negative rights.  Somebody's "right" must always come at the expense of somebody else's.  Here you have a recipe for eternal conflict.

Some would have it otherwise.  They imagine positive rights that trump negative rights.  They think that an invented "right" is sufficient reason to abrogate self-ownership, confiscating the product of other people's labor to pay for it.  This creates the situation wherein some are first-class citizens -- the confiscators of the product of other people's labors -- and second-class citizens -- the confiscatees.  There is a word for that: slavery.

Governments always grant privileges, often calling them "rights".  For example, corporations are granted subsidies at taxpayer expense, purportedly because of the "right" of the people to have a certain GDP number.  Rather than address these violations of natural rights people are tempted to posit conflicting positive rights.  That is, they gird for battle in the eternal conflict over antagonistic "positive rights", and fundamental negative rights be damned.

  

139 views • 2 upvotes • Written 7 Jun, 2014

This morning I was also thinking about our American source documents concerning rights.  The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights Amendments. I won't delve too much into the Bill of Rights since they stand very well on their own.  In the Declaration we find...

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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed 

To begin, I must call attention to the fact that rights do not come from the government, but the government must protect those rights already given.

If rights do not come from God, then where?  I will leave that alone for now.  As Dave mentioned above and as I see the meaning of Rights, Liberty is at the root of many claims of Rights.  Liberty gives each citizen the freedom to do and live any way he chooses with the exception of imposing upon or denying the rights of others.  This does not abrogate man's responsibility toward God in regard to His Law and His Gospel.  It simply addresses civil Rights among citizens that must be protected by government.  I would like to go on as to the rights of the unborn, but that would be redundant.  I will simply say that those who say they have a "Right" to choose do not have that "Right" because it infringes upon the unborn child's Right to live.

Tragically, those who would take our liberty, (liberals) propagate ideas that people have rights which simply do not exist.  No one has a "Right" to education.  Please do not misunderstand me.  I agree that education is an importance part of life.  My point is that in calling something a "right" somehow carries the idea that it is a guarantee to have it.  Soon, we will hear that having 3 square meals a day is a right.  It is not a right.  Rights are few and precious as mentioned above.  

Herein lies the problem, when people think they have a right, they will commit fraud against the rights of others in order to maintain or secure that right, so-called.

I admit that RvW brought with it some ethical dilemma, to wit, hypothetically speaking, a woman becomes pregnant also discovers she has a form of cancer that requires treatment that will endanger the life of the unborn child.  Who gets to live? Who makes that choice?  I am not saying that the solution is to abort the pregnancy.  This is however a hypothetical wedge that has unleashed pandora's box.  Now what was once considered an exception to the rule has become a multi-million dollar industry of abortion on demand using the most horrific, cruel and unusual (punishment) of the innocent that the barbarian bloody butchers can imagine to maximize their profit and the bottom-line... 

Of Sophilosophicalality

Hi dear reader,
This is another short... The more I consider the creation vs evolution debate, the more I find that the evidence in simplicity.  I will name a few examples beginning with my most recent observation.  What is marriage? When and where did it begin? Why is it a world-wide rite?
#2 The Week: What is the origin of the 7 day week and why is it universally observed?
#3 The tiny: Single celled organisms are more complicated in their components.  How could the first one come to be? How did the first DNA molecule come together? If you say by chance, you should try getting rich in a Las Vegas casino.
#4 The dragon: Is it just coincidental that dinosaur and dragon are so similar? Why are dragon legends found all over the world?

I may have mentioned some of this before...

#evolutionIsAbeliefSystem #evolutionIsAreligion

Of choice

This post will likely be more like a tweet...

To those who claim the right to choose ...

You made your choice when you chose to have sex. Get it? Stop trying to make your child pay the consequences. How diabolical, wretched, pathetic, wicked, evil, and self serving you are. Circumstance? Ask your child about his circumstance. I have nothing else to say to you

Long time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLOqhpNkbaw&sns=em

I have been doing what I can about this issue longer than any other.  I have neve been able to understand how anyone can claim the "right" to take the life of an unborn child because that child is inside her body. You are a fool of the highest order if you deny that the baby is a human child. Fetus is a misnomer in that while describing the stage of a child's development, we have used it to redefine the child as its stage of development. The irony is that all the raging demand is over "rights" all the while denying the very first, fundamental right. This is nothing new. It is no epiphany. We have simply followed this path for so long that we have lost our way as a nation. Those of you who still deny God's existense do not have much longer to wait before He makes it all too real what he thinks about America. To the 55 million, I have wept for you, fought for you, prayed for you. Some day, I will hold you, and be thankful for your special place in God's heart.

What's more tragic

is the excusing made by the pro-choice crowd...
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/07/14/undercover-video-claims-planned-parenthood-uses-partial-birth-abortions-to-sell-baby-parts/

#SaveTheBabyHumans

Check out http://www.180movie.com - '180' - A shocking award-winning documentary! #180movie/

Can't Those People figure this out?

Here are some profound thoughts on Federal government over reach:

http://www.city-journal.org/2015/eon0701af.html 

Interesting Insight

This is a new thought for me... and while, I may not capture it well because I do not fully understand my thoughts, I hope to type fast enough to get the raw essence of what I am thinking...

I am reading about Native American literature and a little bit American history;  The battle of wounded knee was more of a massacre.... according to the reading material, White soldiers basically butchered innocent women and children along with men.  I have a sense of why the white man is so despised.. and Americans in general around the world.  One middle eastern young person categorically called American soldiers killers of innocent people.  In regard to the white man and American history, it seems to me that descendants bear the blame for the failures of the ancestors.  Isn't that a form of racism?  I am not my great great grandfather.  In the words of MLK, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."  Does this not apply to the white man as well.  
I totally agree that white people have done many horrible things for no good reason at all.... This can also be seen throughout history in Europe and etc.  There are those who call themselves peace loving Christians who have a History of killing people and specifically Christians all in the name of Christianity (enter Spanish inquisition, etc.)  
For those who blame white people today for the crimes committed by white people many generations past, have you not become the very thing you accuse of them?  
Yes I know there are still many white racists, but being white does not equal being racist just as one does not have to be white to be racist.  This is merely additional thoughts from previous posts, but of particular note is about past generations...
Not very organized... I might edit later...
thanks again

Hopes and Dreams

This is not my usual type of post.  I am in the middle of writing an assignment for class.  My thoughts continually return to my former hopes of writing poetry.  Once upon a time, A topic would pop into my skull and voila, there was a so-called poem.  Now, I hear only echos across the vast canyon of thoughts.  So anyways, I wanted to make a breakout attempt at a little poetry here... I might just do it in the form of comments.  I love reading poetry and I feel very intimidated by masters of poetry.  Maybe it is not about writing good poetry, maybe it's about being good at taking the leap.
Well, here goes:

exhibit 1
How do we express?
How do we explore?
How do we reckon?
What this life is all about?

Do we venture?
Do we play?
Do we work?
Do we Post?

Everyday draws us nearer
to drawing our last breath
Every year the elder
Evaluate their years

The cycle and repetition
in some ways is humorous
Youth never learn
Elder never succeed

We observe, account, reflect and harbor
We live, express, run and jump
We say goodbye in tears
We deliver in tears

Peace comes for some
and for others
the search
never ends

exhibit 2

Not so much poem is this

Indeed more of what I've missed

What's passed once I thought

Th'art more inspired wrought

Assemblage of words are these

...

I'm sorry, something just came up... I'LL Try to f?nish this soon...

Lest you Consider

me intolerant or a bigot, I would like to submit something I posted earlier this week in class... We are discussing Ethnic literature and this was in reply to the professor's response to an earlier post...

Very good point Zeke.  I know that in light of this topic, it is not exactly couth to say that on minor to moderate disappointment, positive, cheerful responses generate positive outcomes.  I was specifically directing these comments about Satchmo; however, as you mentioned, more serious issues such as slavery and civil rights require a more aggressive solution.  I love to defer to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because his approach to fighting for civil rights followed my philosophy of "don't be a part of the problem, but be a part of the solution".  His letter to area ministers in Birmingham, who published a newspaper article censuring King for his actions, is chocked full of valid and logical arguments as to the necessity of the rights of all men, not just white men. "A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law" ("Letter From A Birmingham Jail [king, Jr.]", 1963).  King was in town to protest and was arrested for civil disobedience.  Only when there are those who are willing to pay the price will injustice be made right.

Reference

Letter from a Birmingham jail [King, Jr.]. (1963). Retrieved fromhttp://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

Dear Skeptic part 2

Hi friend,

If you are reading this, please understand that I didn't ask for this kind of conversation and I have no intention of playing this game with you.  Consider this the only response I send to folks like yourself who like to bash Christians.  I have no expectations of you hearing or listening to what I have to say. I won't take time to describe how much of a hypocrite you are as you call me all kinds of names for my stand against wrong.  I won't take time to point out that you are not as witty as you like to think; Jesus Christ himself was ridiculed by people like you 2000 years ago Mat 27:39-44. I am interested in honest discussion, but I realize that is not your intention.  You reject the truth and choose to believe what you wish to be the truth. I like to consider you a friend because you have read this one response, you have given me an opportunity to pray for you, and because I know that some day you'll know the truth. Feel free to read additional comments on my blog, but please understand that this conversation has just ended.

Dear Skeptic part 1

Hi readers,
I am about to embark on a small experiment in philosophy, faith, and/or critical thought.  Here's why:

1. Ed Slusser ‏@eslusserjr  May 28

   Matthew 7:6 " Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest th..." http://olivetree.com/b2/Mat.7.6.KJV 

   View summary0 retweets0 favorites
1. Ed Slusser ‏@eslusserjr  May 28

   The Atheist Test http://store.livingwaters.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=88&category_id=8&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=199&lang=en … #iLoveThisSite

   7:13 AM - 28 May 2015 · Details

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   Tweet text

   Reply to @eslusserjr 
2. DragonHeart ‏@Atheist_DH  May 28

   @eslusserjr I like that site, it gives me a good laugh, I didn't know such stupidity was written but I learn new things every day

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3. Ed Slusser ‏@eslusserjr  May 28

   @Atheist_DH ..

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4. DragonHeart ‏@Atheist_DH  May 28

   @eslusserjr well ed you sent be a blank tweet

.

.

So Here I was, minding my own business, tweeting about something I ran across years ago and found it very relevant when some guy out of nowhere drops by to stir up trouble. When I read his message, my immediate impulse was to fall for his routine, but I thought better of it and instead responded with a "I'm not going to go there" blank response and promptly blocked the user. Instead I posted scripture as a separate tweet.

The more I think of this incident, the more I realize that this is not an isolated incident. As is usually the case, some good responses came to mind as I lay in bed. I thought to try to make a cookie cutter response to folks that call me out. This way, I can send them the link and consider it done. Of course this post is open for all reader.

This part 2 will take a little time, so you might not see it for a day or 20. Thanks for stopping by.