"You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed, and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Morpheus, “The Matrix”

I believe far too many of us have settled for the blue pill.  We are happy with the reality the MSM and society have created for us.  We are content to vote the party line because our parents voted that way.  We want to believe that people are basically good.  In other words, we believe the big lie.

Reality is closer to this.

Neither the Republicans or Democrats, to borrow Bill O’Reilly’s phase, is looking out for you.  In fact, the only person looking out for you if you are over the age of 18, outside your family, is you.  Some of you will claim you got friends who do, but when the chips are down and it’s either you or them, I wouldn’t bet on it.  Heck, that would even be the case with some families I know (not mine, but others).

People are not basically good.  Do you think we have laws because they are fun to have around.  Hell no, we got laws because if they weren’t there and there wasn’t a reasonable chance folks would pay for breaking them, you’d see perversion and depravity which, quite frankly, would shock you.  In fact, after a couple of decades of schools doing all they can to deride the idea of absolutes, including absolute truth, we are beginning to reap the whirlwind.  Flip on television some evening and just take a look at what constitutes “acceptable” entertainment.  Or if you really want a shock, step into any post-modern oriented church and take a look at what constitutes worship and what they think are “issues” they think need to be dealt with.

Or look at the political arena.  The current financial crisis has been laid at the feet of both parties by the other.  And while neither will accept blame, the truth is this.  When Clinton and his cronies were pushing these high risk loan policies, the Republicans controlled the Senate and the House, and did nothing.  Over the last four years, the Republicans and folks like Alan Greenspan voiced concerns about Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae.  The Democrats like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd not only didn’t feel there was a need to do anything, Frank had a crony working for Fannie Mae making millions and Dodd got a sweetheart loan deal from them.  We won’t even take into account the Democrats claims of lack of regulation.  The last two years they’ve controlled the House and Senate and could have passed any regulations they wanted.  Instead they occupied their precious time passing non-binding resolutions about the Iraq War.

The McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill would be another joke, if it wasn’t the biggest attack on the freedom of speech we’ve seen in recent years.  They passed the bill because of the claim money was corrupting the poor politicians.  Here’s my take.  If you want to get corruption out of politics, get rid of the corrupt politicians who take the money.  The love of money is the root of evil, not the money itself.  And if you can’t resist being bought, you shouldn’t be in a position where you can.

But then, why criticize the politicians for something we do ourselves.  How many folks cast a vote based on something the politician tells them they’ll get he gets elected.  It’s not like government can give you a damn thing they don’t first take from someone else.  And I don’t see a Constitutional right to anything tangible (contrary to popular belief, there is no Constitutional guarantee of a standard of living, medical care or anything else you haven’t earned yourself).  And contrary to what the politician tells you, you don’t have the right to it and it’s not being paid for with the government’s money, it’s TAXPAYER’S dollars.  It’s one of the funny things both parties do.  It’s only a waste of taxpayer dollars when it’s the other parties program.  When their spending the money, it’s THEIR’S.

The biggest factor in the self delusion is that we are often ignorant of the truth.  Part of this problem is that we don’t pursue information except from sources we “like.”  Liberals don’t watch FoxNews or listen to Rush Limbaugh.  Conservatives shy away from CNN and Air America.  We know our sources of propaganda we are comfortable and stick to them.  Problem is, we don’t cross check whatever lies we’re being fed (and I’ll be honest, I’m conservative, and I don’t even trust “my” news sources).

And sad to say, many folks don’t pursue the information at all.  If ignorance is bliss, these folks have made their own little heavens here.  They’ve not only chosen the blue pill, they’ve swallowed the whole bottle.

Are You Ready For Some Baseball . . .

The baseball playoffs are rapidly progressing.  So we have the American League East vs the winner of the Phillies – Team which wouldn’t have finished higher than third in any other division in baseball.  Well except the American League West, and even there they’d be sixteen games behind.

Frankly the matchup I’d like to see would be the Red Sox – Dodgers, mainly because I’d love to see Manny Ramierez lead the Dodgers in a sweep.  Yeah, I know, not likely to happen, but it’d be neat if it did.

Actually, I’m expecting to see a Phillies – Rays (when did they stop being the Devil Rays?) World Series.  And I’d favor the Rays only because World Series seem to favor the teams with the best pitching, and of the teams still in it, I think the Rays do.  On the other hand, ya gotta like the Phillies lineup.  I’m just not too sure their pitching is good enough.

And I’ll have to go on record as being exceedingly happy both Chicago teams got knocked out in truly embarrassing fashion.  Guess we can shelve the talk of the “El” series now.  And I can rag Cubs fan about, “you folks spent 200 million and got swept by the Dodgers?”

Actually one other reason I’d like to see the Dodgers win it is I’d like for George Steinbrenner to spend the whole off season pondering how, if Joe Torre could take the talentless Dodgers to the World Series, what could he have done with the Yankees.  Much as I like Joe Girardi, I think he’s more of a “young building” team kind of manager.  I fully expect next season to be his last.

Cementing Control . . .

I’m of the opinion that as of next year, the Obamassiah will be President.  Not something I’m looking for, but as McClown is doing a Bob Dole imitation  in running his, I don’t see any other outcome as a possibility.  Probably the pessimist in me coming out.

So what can we look for in the legislative agenda for a Dumbocrat controlled Congress and Senate.  Well, for one, we’ve already been warned the Fairness Doctrine will be reinstated.  What is the Fairness Doctrine?  Well, it is the notion that if a television or radio station gives airtime to a certain political persuasion, it has to give equal time to the opposing point of view.

So let’s say radio station “A” has Rush Limbaugh on for three hours a day, and Laura Ingraham on for another three.  It them has to have on an Al Franken clone for six hours a day to “balance “ things out.  So it has six profitable hours each day, it will then have to schedule six write off hours a day.  Why do I say this.  Mainly because as Air America demonstrated, folks just don’t want to tune in to listen to some liberal tell us how horrible the United States is.

So what does the radio station do?  Well, it could schedule the liberal programming during off hours, let’s say very late at night.  The local station here does that with the Alan Colmes show.  And he is one of the more “moderate” liberals which might even garner a decent audience.

On the other hand, it might just say the hell with it, dump talk radio altogether, and focus on alternative programming.  Music might return to the airwaves on the AM dial.  They could go sports.  They could go with an all medical/financial/home improvement format.  Whatever the case, odds are a lot of conservative talk radio would probably vanish.

Now the liberals already have a lock on the MSM.  And it’s highly unlikely that the Libs will force NBC, CBS, ABC, or MSNBC to suddenly hire conservative reporters or give an politically neutral slant to their reporting.  The only voice which will be silenced is the conservative one.

So Congress and the Senate can go back to passing legislation in private.  Let’s face it, a few years back another amnesty program would have passed had not conservative talk radio been the catalyst for inspiring popular opposition to it.  The sponsors of the bill so much as admitted that (and were infuriated that the “public” got involved in affairs that were none of their business!).  It’s the Limbaughs, Savages, and Ingrahams of the airwaves which do what we don’t have time to.  Monitor what is going on and telling us about it.  With the Fairness Doctrine in place, this won’t happen.  And it’s highly unlikely that we won’t have the time, working one and a half to two jobs to have the time to keep ourselves informed.

Representative government requires a informed electorate.  The Left does not like informed voters.  It likes emotional ones.  It likes fearful ones.  What is the greatest fear we have.  Often it is the unknown threat.  By restricting opposing views, it will increase the unknown.  It can put out all manner of fearful propaganda, and without conservative watchdogs of the air exposing the lies, it will get away with it.

For the record, I am no fan of either Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity (I do like Laura Ingraham, the few times I’ve actually gotten to listen to her).  But one thing I’ve found about them is that right wing slant aside, what they say is generally true.  So they exaggerate,  I’ve found that it is not to the point of the Left, and I have not yet found them pushing a lie, something I can’t say for the Al Frankens out there (like that lying slob, Michael Moore).

One thing I am waiting for is to see what they are going to do about the Internet.  I know that some Democrats have expressed a desire to rein that in too.  And let’s face it.  If the NSA can monitor emails, you think it couldn’t do the same for blogs and websites.  Google has shown a willingness to help the Chinese monitor and control access to the Internet in their country.  And a number of Arab states manage to do it on their own.  So don’t tell me that it couldn’t happen here.  Y’all could run to yer favorite source of info, the ol’ Underminer, to find the page taken down or blocked.

Those who fail to learn from history . . .

Thought I’d regale you by telling you about the Battle of Thermopylae.  You see, a force of Romans attacked the pass being defended by Antiochus the Selucid’s army.

“Wait a minute, Underminer,”  I hear you saying.  “I’ve heard of this battle.  It was three hundred Spartans and the Perisans.  I’ve seen “300” (and just as a side note, if you have, you know nothing about the “real” Battle of Thermopylae.  If you have to learn your history from movies, and I’d not recommend it, go find a copy of “The 300 Spartans.”  More accurate and a much better film).

But just as an example of how failing to learn from history dooms you to repeat it, in 191 BC, a Roman Army attacked the Selucid Army at the same location.  Failed in it’s first assault on the pass.  The Romans then followed the same route the Persians did in outflanking the Selucids and defeated them.  You’d think someone would have guarded the path used by the Romans, but they didn’t.  Failure to learn from history.  Ignorance/stupidity should be rewarded.

More On War, or more accurately, military tradition . . .

I’m a military historian.  Actually, I study military history and military science.  I not only want to understand the history of the war I’m looking at, but the reasons why they fought and the reasons why they fought in the manner they did.  But there is one thing that has always struck me as odd.

When I was in Europe, finding folks over there who could discuss matters like this were fairly common.  I remember in particular on interesting discussion I had one time at Todendorf, Germany, at the firing range there with a German sargeant and a British Lieutenant about, of all things, the Battle of Leipzig and Napoleon in general.

Europeans are familiar with their military history and traditions.  Every little wannabe nation there that ever existed has a military museum of some sort.  Most have some knowledge of their own military history.  And from what I’ve read, the same is true pretty much of other countries and areas.

Except here.  Americans in general are the most militarily ignorant folks I’ve encountered.  They don’t know their own military history.  In fact, for the most part, unless there is an immediate threat, the military is treated for the most part like an unacknowledged bastard most of them would rather just forget.

There is little military history taught in our schools.  We have no national military museums (if you get to England, you simply have to plan a day at the Imperial War Museum).  And oddly enough, our young are not raised to be proud of, or even knowledgeable of their military heroes (I remember having someone ask me after seeing “Gettysburg” if General Longstreet was a real person).

Part of this might stem from the general contempt we’ve had for standing, professional, armies.  For most of our history we got along, thank you kindly, with militias leavened with a very small, professional force.

Problem is, for most of our history the “elites” considered a military education part of their upbringing, and this class provided a strong core of leaders for the peasant masses.  And a history of our nation shows that we were fortunate in that we often were able to overcome initial disasters until our peasant levies shook themselves out and got the experience needed to win.

And this lasted until the Philippine Insurrection when the demands put on the State troops being used required our standing army to be tripled in size, because, quite frankly, the State militias wanted to go home before the fighting was over.

But I think a good part of the contempt stems from ignorance.  If our young, as the are everyplace else in the world, were taught about our military heroes and tradition, that might not be the case.  I’ve notice a slight change since the surge of memoirs being published by the “Great Generation.”  These folks lived for the most part in an age of threats by Imperial Japan and Germany, and the Cold War.  They know that it was a strong military that kept us at peace, and shielded our way of life.  Being strong, our enemies had to negotiate and come to an agreement.  The alternative would have been to fight, and lose to us.  Now we think a smile and compromise will accomplish the same thing.  All compromise guarantees is that sometime down the road you’ll have the opportunity to do it again.  Until that point where compromise isn’t possible, and then you have to fight, and possibly lose.  The usual outcome is compromise becomes surrender, at which you then know peace.

The Peace of the Dead.

Have a nice day!!!!!

Currently Reading The Military Maxims of Napoleon see related

On War . . .

Been reading “The Military Maxims of Napoleon,” by David Chandler.  Was going over the bibliography in the back and I noticed a curious point.  Of the books and texts on the study of war, every significant one was penned by participants in the Napoleonic Wars, or their contemporaries.  This leads me to ponder, hasn’t anyone added anything significant to the study of the art of war since then?

We have the Military Maxims.  Two of the other major works are “On War” by Clauswitz and “The Art of War” by Jomini.  There’ve been massive numbers of other books, but none have risen to the status of these two.  The only “modern” book I found to be mentioned was Liddell Hart’s “Strategy.”

Now we have a recent interest in Sun Tsu’s “Art of War” and “The Book of Five Rings,” but to my knowledge, these texts are really looked at as serious texts on war, but more like novelties (“The Book of Five Rings” actually, from what I’ve read of it, deals more with individual combat) because of their recent rise to interest.  Haven’t read more than a couple of exerts from either of them, though I’d like to look over “The Art of War.”  Now I’d also have to admit that Sun Tsu’s was written during ancient times, so maybe folks discount it as not being applicable to today.

But the same argument could be applied to Jomini, Clauswitz, and even to a lessor degree Napoleon.  All talk of the interaction of infantry, artillery, and cavalry.  Anyone taking a look a how those three arms were used in the Horse and Musket period would readily see they are used significantly different than armor, artillery, and infantry today.  I won’t even mentions changes brought about by air power and nuclear weapons.  The basic tenants of them might be similar on the strategic and grand tactical level, but the tactical precepts would almost entirely be irrelevant.

The “Maxims” probably has the greatest modern application, and Chandler does a good job of making them, taking examples of how they were applied in wars since Napoleon.  The original Maxims also were annotated by the author, who drew from other sources, all prior to the Napoleonic era.

I just guess I find it funny nothing of significance has come up since Clauswitz.  Is he really the final word on the subject?  I guess that what he wrote is still applicable in the nuclear age answers that.

Decline and Fall . . .

One of the biggest contributing factors to the current problems in the United States is unbridled immigration.  Each additional person entering this country to stay is one more user of public services, one more employee jobs have to be provided for, one more user of energy.

Problem number one, we are a service economy for the most part.  The majority of these people won’t have the job skills to work at the better paying jobs.  Hence, they will be at the lower end of the pay scale, and since they will work for what, in less politically correct age, were described as “nigger wages,” they further depress the wages these types of jobs will pay.  This makes these people, and those already here who compete for the same jobs, more dependent on social (government) programs.  Yes, Virginia, these are OUR tax dollars, which by the way, because of their income levels, or illegal status, they aren’t contributing towards.

In boom times, with plentiful jobs, this might not be a factor.  In times of recession, it becomes even more vital that we close the doors, and hunt down and get rid of those who are here illegally.  In fact, studies show it would actually be cheaper to find and deport them than any amnesty program to enable them to become “legal.”

But here lies the root of the problem.  Since the 1950s, the preferences for immigrant visas have shifted from the traditional European sources and to the “third” world.  This has resulted in a problem.

Up until then, the emphasis was on bringing in immigrants in percentages which reflected those already here.  In other words, folks who shared the valves, and could readily assimilate.  And the number of visas was set at around 150,000 a year, the maximum the experts believed could be assimilated.

Now we are allowing between one to two million, legal and illegal, every year.  These people are not assimilating, they are not learning the language, they are not becoming Americans.  In fact, most have no interest in being Americans.  And yet, our government is constantly trying to find ways to bring in even more of them.

Now here is the critical factor.  If the Obamassiah wins, immigration reform will once again come to the front.  Why?  Because of one simple fact.  New immigrants vote overwhelmingly Dumbocrat.  Why?  Because they overwhelmingly use more of the services the Dumbocrats like to give away.  It’s one of the reasons Dumbocrats fight every attempt to restrict these folks using social services.  And if the Dumbocrats push through immigration reform (i.e. another amnesty), they stand to grain between 80-90% of the “new” citizens.  Think about it.  That means that if we have 20 million illegals here, as some estimate, that the Dumbocrats just added around 16 million voters, a significant number in states with the highest electoral votes.  They will essentially lock up national elections for the foreseeable future.

We will go from a two party system to a one party oligarchy overnight.  It will result in a massive change in this government overnight.  Combine a lock on the legislative and executive branch to the lock on the judicial branch they already have, and you can kiss your conservative values goodbye.  In fact, it might be hazardous to your welfare politically and career wise to hold onto them.

And what is the usual result of one party systems.  Those outside the ruling party resorts to violence, since the electoral process is now closed to them.  And those who suffer the most are the poor masses who the government can’t protect.

The sad truth is our immigration policy has seemed to be aimed at transforming this country into a third world nation.  Thank you Dumbocrats and Republijerks. It’s working.

Just an observation . . .

Saw a Lockheed Martin commercial today.  Basically a feel good piece.  But at the end it shows a father and son at the Jefferson Memorial with the kid looking raptly up at Jefferson.  I hate to ask this, but with the public schools pushing the notion our Founding Fathers were racists, slavers, and murderers, it’s more likely the kid would walk up the to statue and spit on it.  Our kids today do not look upon them as good examples to emulate.  They’d rather be the next Ludicrous or Lebron James.

Of course, maybe I was misinterpreting the child’s expression.  Maybe it was abject fear at coming face to face with such a monstrous individual.

Birds of a Feather . . .

Every day some new, questionable, association of the Obamassiah.  And every time this comes up, he claims he didn’t know about their personal views.  He didn’t know Jeremiah Wright was a racist.  Sat under his teaching twenty years, and never heard him say anything.  Didn’t know Bill Ayers was an unrepentant terrorist even though he knew him personally and professionally.  Doesn’t know that ACORN engages in voter fraud.

Frankly this brings me to wonder which of these is the truth.  That he can have associations and work with people without ever really getting to know them.     And to be honest, if the Obamassiah didn’t hear Wright’s sermons, his wife certainly did, and seems to agree with the bent of them.

I’d have to say one of two things.  One, the Obamassiah is a blatant liar.  Or two, he is the biggest ignoramus to ever run for public office.  Based on his political actions, I’d have to lean towards the former.

Political Bias . . .

Interesting thing I’ve noticed.  “An American Carol,” the current film making fun of Michael Moore and the liberal left was released with a film rating of “PG13.”  Yet most local theatres have the rating listed at “R.”  I checked online, and the rating there is still “PG13”. 

Now there is a new film making fun of George Bush, “W.”  It is being released at a rating of “PG13.”  Want to bet when it hits the theatres it stays “PG13.”

Tax Cut . . .

I’ve been wondering who the 95% of Americans who will be getting a tax cut are.  Let’s see, about 50% already don’t pay taxes.  In fact, due to the income tax credit poor folks get, they get a tax refund on money they don’t pay to begin with.

So that leaves only about 50% who pay taxes.  Around 5% make the $250,000 a year the Obamassiah want to pay more.  That leaves about 45% which will actually get a tax cut who actually pay taxes.

Only thing I can figure out is that the person writing it up meant “45%,” but had really sloppy handwriting.  The Obamassiah only thought the “4” was a “9” because that’s what it looked like.

On the other hand, when the economy tanks, and we all lose our jobs, I guess that will constitute a tax cut, since we then won’t be paying taxes.  That is, until they levy a new one on unemployment benefits.

Can’t do that, you say.  Well, never thought they’d tax my health insurance benefits, but apparently that’s what McClown wants to do.

Currently Reading State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America By Patrick J. Buchanan see related

Long Post, first part political, second part theological.  Have a nice ride.

So now that the Bailout has been passed, do you feel more confident?  Hate to say it (well, actually, no I don’t), I don’t think it will make a hill of beans difference.  And the reaction of the Stock Market I think shows that.  Plunged again yesterday below the ten thousand mark.

Now this doesn’t really bother me that much.  One, I think the Stock Market has been inflated for some time.  And it has always been manipulated by the business community for it’s own purpose.  Look at the number of times one hears an earnings report, then several weeks later a “revised” earnings statement is released, surprise, surprise, with much lower earnings that earlier stated.

One thing I think you’re going to find is that your current credit rating is going to see a significant adjustment downward.  Weaknesses will not longer be overlooked, and even those with good credit will be seriously looked at when applying for loans.  The days of living beyond our means are over, and it won’t necessarily be by choice.

One good thing that will come out of this mess is prices should come back down to more realistic levels.  Personally I think the ridiculously high prices we now pay are directly related to the absurdly easy credit which has been available up until now.  With folks being limited to what they actually make, the frivolous spending habits we’ve had up until now will have to change.

Now the bad.  We are going to have a serious contraction in jobs.  We are a service based economy, so with fewer people buying, there will be less need for those selling.  Folks in things like the medical field may not feel the pinch so much, but otherwise, be ready.  I think the day of “jobs Americans won’t do” is over, so you illegal immigrants out there might want to get tickets home.  Not only will your primary source of jobs be drying up, but you’re going to be the object of increase hostility from those you’re competing with for jobs.   Groups like the KKK which have switch their focus to foreigners are becoming more popular.

And a hint for you Christians out there.  You’d better be ready for handling an increased role in whatever church you belong to.  ‘Cause as things tighten up, giving to churches will also be coming down.  This means staffs will be getting cut, which means the days of the work of the Lord being left to “the professionals” will be over.  And to be honest, I don’t expect that to be a bad thing, or that it will  be changing in the future, because I don’t think things will be getting better in the near term (or long one, for that matter). I think far too many have been enjoying a free ride up until now, and the chaff being weeded out will in the long run make the church stronger.

I am going to be interested in seeing how the prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen are going to weather this situation.  If prosperity is somehow linked to favor with God, then what is going to be the reaction their followers will have when things blow up in their faces.  One thing is you are going to see a turn to alternative religions.  Things like Hinduism and Buddhism, where “reality” is ignored or discounted as an illusion will gain in appeal.  And unfortunately those pseudo-Christian pastors who are leading the way will be gaining in popularity.

The sad thing is with the passing away of so many doctrinally sound pastors, and the emergence into prominence by compromisers like Rick Warren, or outright false teachers like Brian McLaren and Rob Bell, the mainstream Christian Church is not prepared for the coming hard times.  Personally, I’d think that the popularity of these folks with the MSM and the population as a whole would be BIG warning flags about what these folks are teaching to the Church.  I guess I hadn’t fully grasped the extent of the turning away from the truth that has happened (and I’ve never been terribly optimistic about the Church to begin with, so I guess you can pretty much draw from that how bad I think things really are).

‘Cause I think something else is going to be happening.  We’ve enjoyed the ability to overspend here primarily because foolish foreign investors have been willing to buy up our bonds and finance our credit.  Those days are over.  The Chinese, in particular, have been doing this, and now they have us where they want us.  A lousy economy, and a shortage of ready cash.  They have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by cutting off the funds.  Let’s face it.  The Chinese are not our friends.  They should not have been granted favored nation trading status.  We should not have let ourselves become dependent on their cash propping us up.  And they gain by our economic collapse.

They are building up their military.  They are modernizing their military.  We will not be able to keep up.  And if anyone has ever paid attention to their military journals, they don’t think war with us is a possibility.  For them, it’s not a matter of “if”, but “when.”  They view war with us as a certainty, not a maybe.  And a time of economic crisis is the perfect time for them.  Look for them to become even more intractable than they have been.  And look for more Chinese weapons to show up where we don’t want them.  The Soviet block weapons you’re always seeing in the terrorist videos aren’t coming from Russia anymore, their Chi-com in their origin.  One of their journal articles specifically dealt with supporting anti-American groups around the world, including Al Qaeda and the Taliban.  Look for this to be ratcheted up.

I do think that we are going to be facing major crisis in the near term and down the road in this country.  I don’t think that we are politically, morally, or economically ready to face them, and I believe this country is going to come out of this period of time drastically changed.  Freedoms will be lost, permanently.  Government will control greater aspects of your lives, and choices will be being made for you by others.  The Republic which was founded here will be changing, and I don’t think most of us will recognize what will be emerging.  I do think that the Obamassiah is going to be elected.  He does not share the views of most Americans, and his feelings about this country (he’s NOT proud of it) have been adequately expressed by his wife and ex-pastor (whose views I, for one, do believe the Obamassiah shares).  And here is the scary part for you.  With a solid majority in both Congress and the Senate, and a Judiciary slanted to the left, he’s going to be able to institute pretty much whatever he wants with no opposition.  And one thing will be we will not longer be a two party system, ‘cause you can bet the Dumbocrats, with that kind of power, will be taking steps to cement it.

Acts 2:17  “And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;”

(NAS)

 I do not believe that anyone who is a believer and discerning, will not realize there is something unusual going on these days.  In fact, it is not uncommon to find people talking a lot about the fact we are in what Christians refer to as the “Endtimes” or “Last Days.”   And as stated in the above prophecy, God promises at this time He will pour out His Spirit in a special way upon us.

One of the blogs I read here on Xanga consists mostly of a lady posting the sermons of her pastor and other ministers of the Word who come to her church.  I’m not sure of the denomination she belongs to other than I can be sure it ain’t a Fundamental Baptist one like the one I attend.  I’m not going to say I agree with everything she writes, but I’m also not going to say that I haven’t seen a lot there that make me stop and go “huh.”

One recent post her pastor taught a message on the sons of Issachar.  What motivated the message was a dream that the pastor had which he believed was given by God and contained a message of warning to his congregation.  Frankly, if you want the gist of the message, you can go there yourself and read it (wondering04, http://www.xanga.com/wondering04, post was for October 2^nd), and it will be well worth your while.   However, that is not the purpose of this post, but a question.

Why do so many denominations believe God no longer works this way?

I’ll be blunt.  If I went to my pastor and told him I’d had a dream which contained a message from God for the members of my church, I can tell you without hesitation that I strongly doubt, in fact, I am certain he would not open up his pulpit for me to share it with the congregation.  In fact, as much as I like my pastor, I’m pretty sure he’d probably try and convince me I’m wrong.

Yet God promises He’s going to be working in this manner at this time.  He promises that we will prophesy, that we will see visions, and that we will dream dreams.  Plain and simple, He will convey truths to us in this manner.

The message given was one warning of financial troubles coming in the very near future, and that we need to be planning for it now.  Again, to be frank, I already knew that.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.  But truth being, if God were to look at the hearts and minds of that congregation, maybe He didn’t see that awareness.  And maybe He chose to send a warning to that congregation via a dream given to the pastor.

And I’ll admit that I, being the skeptic I am, at first thought, “What a flim-flam artist.”  But again, I stopped and thought.  He’s not claiming anything special for himself.  He’s simply telling his people to prepare for hard times.  He’s not asking for anything for himself.  He is simply, out of a belief he was given a message for the congregation he is responsible to, presented it in a spirit of love to that congregation.  Period.

It lines up with Scripture.  It came to him via a form God uses throughout Scripture.  It was not presented as a means of garner personal benefit to the prophet giving it (yes, I do believe there are prophets out there today).  And it is a message which I happen to believe is true.

But here is the rub, and my point of discomfort with my church, and those similar to mine.  If someone came forward with such a message, other than going to each member individually and giving it, in all likelihood, it would go unheard, BECAUSE THE LEADERS OF MY CHURCH SIMPLY WOULD NOT BELIEVE THE MESSAGE WOULD COME THAT WAY IN THIS DAY AND AGE.  Not because God hasn’t used it before.  Not because the message doesn’t line up with Scripture.  Simply because someone is claiming it came to them in a dream today.

No, I’m not saying I’m ready to dump my church and go Pentecostal.  They do have a number of theological and doctrinal issues I don’t agree with them on.  But why are mainstream denominations not believing that God can speak to them today in unique and special ways?  Why do they put God and the Holy Spirit in a box and say, “These are the acceptable ways for You to operate in our church.   These are the only ways You can speak to us.”

Why don’t mainstream denominations sent their elders to anoint the sick and pray over them for healing?  Why do we only believe He can heal by “directing the hands of the doctor?”  Why don’t we believe in God’s ability to effect miraculous cures?  He’s done so in the past.  Has He forgotten how?  Or do we simply not have the faith to believe He still can?  Let me advance the possibility that maybe He doesn’t because we simply don’t have the faith to believe He can or the obedience to obey His commands as to how it is done.  (and I see nothing about prayer lists or healing services as how it is done. We are to go to the sick, not work from a distance or expect them to come to us).

I guess this has been driven home to me by a couple of instances where in my church lately that we’ve had members enter into terminal stages of illnesses.  And it seems the church, more or less, simply gave up on them.  Prayers were for “comforting” the dying brother or sister at this time of “trial,”  not for a miracle.  The disease had won, and it was beyond God’s ability to do anything.

Think about that phrase, and whether it applies to where you are in life right now.  Do YOU believe there is anything in your life that is beyond God’s ability to affect?  If so, then please tell me what god you are currently worshipping, because HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!

Time for the rant.

I’M TIRED OF CHURCHES AND CHRISTIANS WHO NO LONGER BELIEVE GOD WORKS IN THIS WORLD, AT THIS TIME.  GOD IS IMMUTABLE, HE IS UNCHANGING.  IF HE DID IT IN THE PAST, HE CAN DO IT NOW, IF WE BELIEVE IN IT.  HECK, HE CAN DO IT IF WE DON’T, BUT HE’S NOT BEEN A REWARDER OF DISBELIEF IN THE PAST.  IT JUST TAKES A MUSTARD SEED OF FAITH, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME FAITH.

I’M TIRED OF PASTORS AND BELIEVERS WHO THINK THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH IS TO BE A SOCIAL AGENCY OR CLUB.  THE CHURCH IS TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL, NOT WORK FOR SOCIETAL CHANGE.  JESUS DID NOT TRY TO REVAMP THE ROMAN TAX CODES TO BE MORE “FAIR.”  HE DID NOT MAKE FEEDING THE POOR OR HEALING THE FOCUS OF HIS MINISTRY, THEY WERE SIGNS POINTING TO HIS MESSIAHSHIP.  SOCIETY WILL CHANGE BY CHANGING PEOPLE’S HEARTS VIA THE GOSPEL, NOT BY PASSING SOME NEW SOCIAL PROGRAM IN GOVERNMENT OR ELECTING ANOTHER GODLESS CANDIDATE.  NOT BY SOME FORTY DAY EXCURSION INTO SELF AGGRANDIZEMENT.  YOU’RE NOT GOING TO ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF GOD HERE UNTIL JESUS COMES BACK, PERIOD.  BUT WE CAN MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE BY BRINGING FOLKS TO, AND DISCIPLING THEM IN THE ONE, TRUE, FAITH.

I’M TIRED OF PASTORS WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF GOD.  I’M TIRED OF PASTORS WHO WON’T PREACH THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE.  AND I’M ESPECIALLY TIRED OF JUDAS PASTORS WHO INSIST ON GOING TO PAGANISM FOR ANSWERS THE BIBLE ALREADY PROVIDES FOR THEM, OR FOR DIRECTING FOLKS TO THE LAKE OF FIRE BY IMPLYING THERE ARE PATHS TO GOD VIA OTHER FAITHS.  YOU DO THESE THINGS, QUITE FRANKLY, YOU’RE NOT FIT TO BE A PASTOR.  THE BLIND WILL ONLY LEAD THE BLIND INTO A PIT.

:: Panting :: 

I guess I’m done for now.

Currently Reading An Emperor for the Legion (Videssos Cycle) By Harry Turtledove see related

Can the silence be broken . . .

Have heard that a group of churches is challenging the Federal government ban on political speech from the pulpit.  Frankly, this step is long overdue, and I wish every church would take part.  At one time pastors had no qualms about speaking out against men they thought weren’t qualified to lead.

And I guess I would beg an answer to the question as to why pastors of churches should be the only ones in the country.  Actors do it,  athletes do it.  Newspapers and Mass Media endorse candidates all the time.  So why the discrimination against pastors.

And think rationally about it.  If a pastor is allowed to invite a candidate to speak at their church, isn’t that already a tact endorsement of them.  I fail to see the harm of a pastor doing it from the pulpit.

Think about it another way.  Imagine another Hitler coming to prominence and mounting a campaign for public office.  Wouldn’t you rather have your pastor have the capability to speak out against him from the pulpit.

It’s time for pastors to be able to stand in the pulpit and speak out.  It’s time for their First Amendment rights to be protected also.

So, who ya think won . . .

I guess I must be In the minority, because I wasn’t that impressed with Sarah Palin last night.  Can’t say Biden was much better.  Both will be very good, non-entities once their bosses are elected.  I guess all things considered, maybe it would be better for Biden to be the veep, since it will take that idiot out of the Senate where he can only continue to drag the country down.

I’ve noticed that while Palin continues to show the bumpkiness that seems to attract people to her, I also would have to say she is beginning to sound more like a typical politician, rather than what she is as governor, someone who gets things done.  In fact, Juliet was the one who notice she’s “changed.”  And Juliet says it isn’t for the better.  Doesn’t take long for the Congressional crowd to corrupt you.  I wonder if she could look back a month if she’d still say yes when asked to run.

Actually, like with the first debate between McClown and the Obamassiah, I didn’t really sit down and watch it.  When it began last night, I was visiting my mother.   Then came home, and flicked on the computer and played Civilization III for about 45 minutes, flipped through “Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome,” Armies of the Greek and Persian Wars,” then went to bed.  But like with the first presidential debate, all this morning I’m seeing clip after clip of what went on.

Frankly, Palin made more convincing arguments, since Biden time after time was caught supporting Obama’s positions he opposed while running against them during the primaries.  Same can be said, however, of Palin, since she and McCain differ on several points.

The more I hear, the more depressed I get that these two idiots are the only viable choices we have this year.  If it didn’t fly against the principles I have of voting as a duty, I’d stay home.

The Father of Lies . . .

A friend emailed me an article this morning detailing fourteen lies told by Biden in last night’s debate.  Granted, none of them were a whopper along the lines of his claiming FDR went on television back in 1929 to explain the causes of the Great Depression, but they were pretty good, just the same.

But what I found especially humorous were the number of time Biden implied McCain was a Bush cronie, then turned right around and said that McCain and the Obamassiah voted the same on the bills.  By inference, then the Obamassiah must also be a Bush cronie, right?

Let’s be perfectly straight and upfront.  Whether one votes for McClown or the Obamassiah, you’re going to be getting a good Dumbocrat for President.

Why I’m interested in Ancient/Medieval Warfare . . .

I find the art of war in the Ancient world interesting because of the variety of styles of armies.  You have the ponderous, slow, infantry armies of the Greeks.  The faster, tactically innovative ones of the Macedonia and Rome.  The sweeping, mobile ones of the Huns.  The field is filled with the wonders of the “what if.”  Alexander the Great’s Macedonians vs Cesar’s Romans is a well known and popular one.  I remember a couple of folks in the Confederation of the Rhine doing a whole campaign based on Alexander moving west against the Romans instead of east against India.  Or the Persians of Darius, fresh off a defeat of the Macedonians (not as far fetched a notion as one might believe) going up against the Indians instead of Alexander (a couple of WRG Ancient convention games pitted Persian armies against Indian ones).

But one thing that has attracted me to this, and the Medieval period is one thing, and that is when a King ordered his people to war, he went with them at the head of his army.  There was none of this bovine excrement of ordering the army into action, then following the war by telegraph, radio, or television from the comfort of your office.  The King was there, and the good one’s were sharing the risk, sharing the field bivouacs, and sharing the bad food.  And if the King did not fight, his army would often not either.  The Persians lost two battles against Alexander because Darius fled when things got dangerous, yet the outcome was still in doubt.

I know that in the “modern” periods, such as the Wars of Marlborough and Seven Years War, Kings went to the field with their armies, but they seldom put themselves at risk.  The Thirty Years War was the last time you saw Kings leading cavalry charges (and even there it wasn’t common) and being killed doing it.

Now it’s considered a sacrifice for a president to even visit a war zone.  Matter of fact, a politician will visit, be shielded from harm by a battalion of infantry detailed for that very job, never hear a shot fired in anger, and come away boasting of the feat.  And then later claim to have come under fire.  The whole matter is a joke.

Frankly, there are times that I think one of the requirements of being elected to office is to have served under fire.  One ought to have “seen the elephant” before one sends someone else into combat.

I’m a god . . .

No, I haven’t developed mental issues or become Emergent (I guess that’s redundant, since one can’t be Emergent without having mental issues).  No, what I’m talking about is another of my past-times.

I create worlds.

I used to run a fantasy role-playing game titled “Chivalry and Sorcery.”  What I especially enjoyed was sitting down and creating the “world” that my players moved about and interacted with.  The challenge, for me, was to create a unique setting that wasn’t just a copy of Tolkein’s Middle Earth, mythological Greece, or some other overdone theme.

I could have used a commercial setting.  There were a few good settings available.  One of the best was Columbia Games old “Harn” setting.  Very detailed and by the time they were done, actually complete (well, not the whole world, but the island of Harn itself.

Coming up with terrain is easy, though sometimes one is best off taking a real part of the world and altering it to fit what you want.  Too often folks forget there are “rules” as to what types of terrain goes where.  But that is actually a minor thing, since very few players would know either.

What one does need is a believable creation myth which makes sense.  Far too many GMs (gamemasters) would simply take the Greek or Roman pantheons, change the names, and plug them in without giving a thought as to how they interacted with their worlds.  I remember on GM who allowed characters from other campaigns into his Dungeons and Dragons game, and would even import the gods they worshipped into his campaign without even considering their place within his mythologies.

Personally, I always found polytheistic pantheons silly.  For mine, I chose a monotheistic setting based on Christianity.  I had Mitlanen (God), Olc the undying (the devil), a human avatar of Mitlanen (Caomb Ainner), and a host of “angels” and “demons” (which were the souls of the followers of the two “dietys”).

The hardest part is to come up with a reasonable explanation for multiple races of intelligent beings.  In my setting, the Maegen (my equivalent of “elves” were the only original inhabitants created by Mitlanen, all the others were imported via magical gates by the Maegen to serve as their armies during their revolt against Mitlanen (Olc was the greatest of the Maegen in power and led the original revolt).

I did include a set of elemental demi-gods which Mitlanen created to actually create my campaign world.  They also took part in the revolt against him.

The basic setting was a large Feudal kingdom surrounded by barbarian tribes with a rival Republic bordering it.  South of it were a number of lessor “Crusader’ states which were holding a line against an invasion of Saurians who had opened a gate to this world from theirs.  To the north was a large city state ruled by the surviving Maegen.  Most of this was to provide the conflict and intrigue one needs in a good fantasy setting.

Even though I don’t run the game anymore, I still enjoy sitting down and working on the setting.  Someday I’d like to do it again, though it would seem computers are killing the old paper and pencil roleplaying games like they’ve killed a good portion of miniature and board wargaming.  Most of it I created before I had my computer and I’ve been trying to get my notes typed into my computer in an intelligent format.  If I could come up with some cheap mapping software, I’d probably redo the maps too.

Actually, I’ve been toying with the idea of turning the campaign into a fantasy novel.  Would maybe do that after I get done making some sense of the notes.

See, I bet y’all didn’t think I could do anything but rant about religion and politics.  Wargaming yesterday, and roleplaying AND wargaming today.  There’s a whole lot I’m capable of, and not all of it would be crimes in most states.