One of the Least Jesus-Like Things

     I am in agreement with much of the "Christian Conservative Political Agenda." But the one "plank in the platform" that seems to be the "least-Jesus-like" (to me) is the insistence that gun-ownership is some kind of divine right, as if God has ordained us to possess and utilize guns. Guns that have no other practical purpose than to shoot another person.

     Remember, I'm in my mid-fifties, and from the extra-rural Midwest. So I'm one of the crotchedy old-dudes who says, "I grew-up with guns in the house and many of my friends brought guns to school and left them in their trucks on the gun racks. (I even built a gun rack in shop.) and we never shot anybody..."

     However, I think I'm missing my own point.  We have a Federal Constitutional right to "bear arms."  The concept (and practice) of citizens bearing arms was (arguably) a hallmark of revolutionary America, and possibly the single factor that led to our independence (arguably.)
     But ultimately the argument of the "civility" (as in; is gun ownership a civil right) and the "constitutionality" of gun ownership is inadequate (and quite besides the point) compared to the ultimate questions Christians should really be asking themselves, "Does Jesus want me to have a gun? Does Jesus want me to use a gun against someone else?"
     Let me point out up-front that on one occasion, Jesus interacted w/a Roman military officer and Jesus did not tell him, "Oh, by the way...stop being Soldier."  Jesus did meet a very rich young man and told him to give away all of his wealth to the poor to secure treasure in heaven.
     Jesus also said, "Don't you know, those who live by the sword, die by the sword."  He didn't necessarily say, "Give-up your swords." As a matter of fact, he asked how many swords they had.  He did point out the consequences of being armed...you die.
     Jesus made a point of illustrating over and over again that being self-less, and not holding on to your personal rights was the way to eternal life.  Giving up your life saves your life.  He went as far as to almost rub-it-in Pilate's by saying, "Understand, I have a devastating,  unstoppable army at my disposal just itching to vindicate me, but I'm not here for that. I'm here to pour out my life."
    So, you want to argue you have a constitutional right to own any and all manner of guns, go right ahead. I can't argue with you.  You want to say you have a civil obligation to keep yourself and your loved-ones safe with a firearm, again, I can't disagree.  But you can't convince me that Jesus is cool with it.  Those who live by the sword...

The Immigration Policy of Mexico (or Good for the Goose, Good for the Gander?)

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox slammed Trump's proposal to build a wall and told Jorge Ramos "I'm not going to pay for that f---ing wall,"

Fox then told CNN's Anderson Cooper in a phone interview that he will not apologize and said that Trump reminds him of Adolf Hitler.

"Today, he's going to take that nation (U.S.) back to the old days of conflict, war and everything. I mean, he reminds me of Hitler. That's the way he started speaking," Fox said.

Here is the Immigration policy of Mexico under former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, former Mexican President Vicente Fox and current Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto

From Mexico’s Ley General de Población (General Law of the Population):

·      > The Mexican government will bar foreigners if they upset “the equilibrium of the national demographics.”

·      > If outsiders do not enhance the country’s “economic or national interests” or are “not found to be physically or mentally healthy,” they are not welcome. Neither are those who show “contempt against national sovereignty or security.” They must not be economic burdens on society and must have clean criminal histories. Those seeking to obtain Mexican citizenship must show a birth certificate, provide a bank statement proving economic independence, pass an exam, and prove they can provide their own health care.

·      > Illegal entry into the country is equivalent to a felony punishable by two years’ imprisonment. Document fraud is subject to fine and imprisonment; so is alien marriage fraud. Evading deportation is a serious crime; illegal re-entry after deportation is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment. Foreigners may be kicked out of the country without due process.

·      > Law-enforcement officials at all levels — by national mandate — must cooperate to enforce immigration laws, including illegal-alien arrests and deportations. The Mexican military is also required to assist in immigration-enforcement operations. Native-born Mexicans are empowered to make citizens’ arrests of illegal aliens and turn them in to authorities.

·      > Mexico’s National Catalog of Foreigners tracks all outside tourists and foreign nationals. A National Population Registry tracks and verifies the identity of every member of the population, who must carry a citizens’ identity card. Visitors who do not possess proper documents and identification are subject to arrest as illegal aliens.

·      > Under the Mexican constitution, political speech by foreigners is banned. Noncitizens cannot “in any way participate in the political affairs of the country.” In fact, a plethora of Mexican statutes enacted by its congress limit the participation of foreign nationals and companies in everything from investment, education, mining, and civil aviation to electric energy and firearms. Foreigners have severely limited (if any) private-property and employment rights.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/229641/how-mexico-treats-illegal-aliens-michelle-malkin

10 Ways Trump & Obama are the same person…

10 Ways Trump & Obama are the same person…

1.) Both went to Ivy-League Schools:
Trump-Wharton
Obama-Harvard.

2.) Neither had any actual political experience:
Trump-0 months in Political office
Obama-46 months in Political office.

3.) Both claim to be Christians:
Trump: “I am a Christian ... I'm a total believer. I believe in the Bible. I believe in God.”
Obama: “In our lives, Michelle and I have been strengthened by our Christian faith.”

4.) Both kind-of sound like they are not Christians:
Trump: Isn't sure he has ever asked God for forgiveness, as he doesn't "bring God into that picture."
Obama: “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.” (and, like a million more quotes like that…)

5.) Both have talked about respecting women:
Trump: “I’m very much into the whole thing of helping people and helping women, women’s health issues are such a big thing to me,”
Obama: "We know we are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every aspect of American life, whether it's the salary you earn or the health decisions you make."

6.) Both have said some ugly personal things:
Trump: (Speaking about Rosie O’Donnell) Megan Kelly, "You've called women fat pigs, dogs, slobs, disgusting animals. Your Twitter account has several --" Trump raised his finger with a smirk to interrupt Kelly: "Only Rosie O'Donnell."
Obama: (In response to Sarah Palin’s comment about hockey moms wearing lipstick) "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig."
*You can’t get more Trump-like than that, although I admit, Donald has Obama beat-by-a-mile on the quotes about women.

7.) Both have/had catchy campaign slogans:
Trump: “Make America Great Again”
Obama: “Hope & Change”

8.) Neither revealed any real pre-election specifics:
Trump: “I know what I’m doing, and I listen to a lot of people, I talk to a lot of people, and at the appropriate time I’ll tell you who the people are,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday. “But I speak to a lot of people, but my primary consultant is myself, and I have a good instinct for this stuff.”
Obama: “Washington is broken. My whole campaign has been premised from the start on the idea that we have to fundamentally change how Washington works.”

9.) Both were/are loved by the masses during their campaigns:
Trump: “Trump is poised to set a new record vote total in Republican presidential primaries.” Washington Post
Obama: In 2008 Obama received 69,298,000 votes in the Presidential Election, the most in history.

10.) Both are Pop-Culture-Quasi-Media-Created Phenomena 
Trump: Popularity was created (and maintained) by his own celebrity and brand.  Millions (upon millions) of people already knew him and liked him. THE GUY HAS HIS OWN INTERNATIONAL CATCHPHRASE! (¡Estás despedido(a)!) He is not a “typical politician.” He “is a straight-shooter” and “isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said.” TV LOVES HIM, and you can bet the media/illuminati are begging for him to get nominated and elected. (That kind of news just writes itself!)
Obama: The mythos surrounding him WAS AMAZING.  He literally became a work of art. Was he the original internet meme? Where was he born? What does he believe? Hope and Change! That’s what I need! Changing Washington! Transparency! CHANGING THE WORLD!  (And then he ended up just being another crappy President…one of the crappiest.)

cg

"My New Hip Anniversary" or "Learning How Not To Limp"

On 05/28/13 I got a new left hip.

My previous hip had fallen apart over the previous years and I was no longer able to walk without the assistance of a cane.

So I got a new, ceramic, left hip.

The rehab process was interesting and my pre-surgery classes came in handy. They gave me a lot of good information and "tips."

Here was a pretty important tip, "Don't pop your new hip out of its socket...that would be bad.”

I’m assuming that is as painful as it sounds.  My new hip needed time to adhere to my femur, and the muscles and ligaments the surgeon had not-so-gently sliced, diced, and re-arranged needed time to heal and surround my new hip.  So here was what I couldn’t do:

1.) I could not bend over or sit at more than a 90 degree angle.  The stress of more than 90 degrees could…pop my hip out of its new socket. So I got some “assistive technology.” I got a sock-putter-onner. A plastic sleeve with a couple of ropes where I could slip my sock onto the sleeve and then put it on the floor and then slip my foot into the sleeve and then pull on the ropes and then slip my foot into the sock and then have the sock catch half-way on my foot and then the sleeve pulls out and then my sock falls off and then I cuss.  The other assistive devices I got were a “grabber” (I’ll never be without a grabber again…just sayin’), a toilet seat extender, a bench for the shower, a walker, gross non-slip shoes, and a sponge on a stick.

2.) I could not turn my left foot or my knee out.  This is trickier than it sounds. I found that I really wanted to sit and sleep with my knee and foot turned out.  Apparently this would be like unscrewing my leg from my body and…of course…pop my hip out of its new socket (which was not a desirable thing to have happen…apparently.) So I had to learn to sit pigeon-toed, with my knee pointed in (which is the way that I am sitting right now as I type.)

3.) Stop limping! In our pre-new hip classes the rehab people said this over and over, “Stop limping! You have a new hip and it’s perfect.  You are as healthy as you have been in years. You are pain-free. You old hip is gone and you have a new, perfect hip that doesn’t hurt. You don’t need to, nor should you limp ANY MORE!.” This, also, was easier said than done.

Pain is the body’s way of keeping you away from things.  Physical pain is a signal, and your body will obey that signal.  Over the years, I had more and more pain in my hip; therefore I avoided certain activities, positions, and postures. And I developed a pronounced limp. My body then conformed to that limp. My muscles strengthened in areas they were not intended to strengthen. Other muscles were no longer used as much and I experienced atrophy.

So…

Technically speaking, the rehab people were right. I no longer had the pain of a white-hot ice-pick being jammed into my left hip socket. My “hip” no longer hurt. There was no hip left to hurt.  It was the rest of my body that started to get all achy (and breaky.)  All of those old muscles wanted to do what they had been trained to do for two-plus years.  I found my right leg was so tight from bearing all my (extensive) weight for two years. My back ached from trying to sit-up straight (as Amy constantly had to remind me.) Even a year later, I have to intentionally walk with an even gate or I will slip back into my old-hip swagger.

This all reminds me of some kind of Bible Verse….

But that’s no life (old hip) for you. You learned Christ!(new hip) My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him (new hip rehab instructions), been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old (hip) way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life (new hip)—a God-fashioned (hip) life, a life (hip) renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct (walk) as God accurately reproduces his character in you. Ephesians 4:20-24

That was a stretch (get it?)…but accurate.

cg

MOVIE REVIEW: Heaven is (for) Real

MOVIE REVIEW: Heaven is (for) Real

Here are some contributing factors into my opinion of the movie “Heaven is (for) Real”:

> I have not read the book,
> I have no problem with people seeing Heaven or being visited by angels or having visions of
    Jesus,
> Amy and I lost an unborn  baby after a minor car accident while she was pregnant,
> Amy’s Father died (suddenly) of a heart attack the beginning of the year and Amy’s mother has
    advanced ovarian cancer,

Not necessarily the way you want to start a movie review, but it’s my blog.

This true account is from a book of the same name.  Four-year- old Colton Burpo has a serious (life threatening) surgery during which he goes to Heaven, jokes around with angels, holds hands with Jesus, sees Jesus’ horse, and talks to a number of people.  He then wakes up, and in 4-year-old fashion, begins to talk to people about it.  This shakes up his town, church, and family, especially his struggling preacher- Dad, Todd.

Again, I have no-problem with Colton seeing Heaven and talking to Jesus.  In a way, I kind of wish John’s Revelation would have been seen by Colton, because he seems to do a better (possibly simpler) job of describing what he experienced. There is no shame, hesitation or awkwardness attached to him or his accounts. He says things like, “Hey, I like Spiderman” and “Hey, Jesus has a multi-colored horse” with interchangeable innocence.

It is the adult reactions that are so interesting.  They feel threatened, hopeful, doubtful, irritated, out-right angry, scared, amused...

People are confronted with their own beliefs about what happens when you die, is Jesus real, is Heaven an actual place or just a metaphorical/metaphysical state?

And then everyone holds hands and sings Kum-Ba-Ya.  The End.

In one scene the question of unborn children is addressed in a very personal way when Colton talks to his unborn sister in Heaven. I had not thought about Amy and my unborn baby for many years. It made me think, and consider seeing that child when we get to Heaven.

Also, sitting next to someone who will most likely be in Heaven in the near future also brought the theme of the movie more into focus. It made the movie “for real.”

Those folks who want to criticize some of the theological implications from the story, or some of the skill in the movie-making have pretty-much missed the point.

The point of the movie is: Heaven is for-real, Jesus is there, It’s a good place, and you want to go there.

If you still want to argue, you can shut-up…for real.

cg

500 to 50 IS BACK!

05/12/14

Lets see, 01/28/2013 was my last post and I noticed this month so far I've had 35 hits (16 months later.) I wonder if the one guy in Russia who kept reading my drivel will get back on-board?

So, I'm starting-up again.

Lets see how this goes...