I don't know if it's because it's October or if it's the election coming up and the incessant bleating about it. I don't know why but I am once again on my anti-American Church kick. Not that I'm going to stop going. Some of the same old things are starting to really rub me the wrong way again. Why do we read the Bible and, when it's hard enough to live up to the standards that are CLEARLY printed there, we add to it.

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:18-19 (KJV)

Most churches seem to apply these verses to the entire Bible. I think it is specifically for Revelation but let's assume it does apply to the whole Bible. God has told us, through His written word, what is required for salvation. Believe on Jesus and follow him by loving our neighbors and God. Easier said then done but there it is nonetheless. So what do we do? Add things to that.

If you are saved or a “good” Christian you don't smoke. We have preachers who from the pulpit will preach with great enthusiasm that smoking is a SIN. Not a bad choice. Not a bad habit. A sin. That means, no matter how they hem and haw about it, that these folks believe that smoking will take you to HELL. Haven't you read that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit? The Bible says it twice. One reference is about sex and marriage and the other is in a discussion of works and the judging thereof.

Of course, we don't apply this principal to other areas of our lives. Are you fat? That's fine. Skinny but sedimentary? Okie dokie. Eat red meat? With gravy. Extreme sports that lead to broken bones, concussions or worse? Rad. You can do anything to abuse your Temple you want to as long as it's not smoking, drugs or possibly alcohol; then it's a sin.

Then there's drinking. Since the late 1700's here in America and in England, there has been a segment of the Church that rails against drinking alcohol I all forms and in any amount. It was not always this way. Various abbeys were regarded as great breweries. Monks INVENTED champaign. The Reformation, which most of the anti-drinking crowd is a proud part of, was, in part, launched/discussed/debated in pubs and taverns. Luther himself said this of the Reformation: "I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached and wrote God's Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept [cf. Mark 4:26-29], or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it."

I can't find a single verse in the entire Bible that says “Do not drink.” Not one. The bible repeatedly condemns being drunk but never once mentions drinking. Jesus mad wine for the wedding party!! He drank wine at the Passover! What sort of twisting of things do we have to do to come to the conclusion that drinking is a sin? I've heard the arguments that the wine Jesus made was non-alcoholic. I've been told about the word in Revelation 21:8 is pharmakeus which comes from pharmakon which means a drug, i.e. spell-giving potion. It, and it's derivatives, are translated as sorcery or witchcraft. Somehow this means that drinking is wrong. Taking aspirin, or other legal PHARMAceuticals is fine, but drinking is wrong. To be fair, there is a group that has seen the logical problem with this argument and forbid taking all medicines (ie drugs) as sin.

Jesus very specifically said that what we eat or drink does not “defile the temple of the Holy Spirit”. Really, Jesus said that.

“10And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
Matt 15:10-11 (ESV)”

17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Matt 15:17-19 (ESV)

Not only does he specifically say that what we put in our bodies does not defile us or is not sin, he goes on to list out things that ARE sin and do defile us.

Then we'll go to Halloween. It's a pagan holiday. It's roots are in ancient pagan traditions, child sacrificing and such. So it's bad. The spring solstice is also an ancient pagan holiday accompanied by the same kinds of acts that came with Halloween. The winter solstice is also a pagan holiday of high order. We celebrate two of these in the American Church every year. Easter (the spring solstice) and yep, Christmas (the winter). Easter is a form of the name Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess of war and marriage. Why is one pagan holiday evil while using the trappings of two others for our own purposes is fine? Why do we have Harvest festivals and Fall Celebrations the week of, or actually on Halloween and call these good when we are still essentially celebrating Halloween????

Again, we stress out over these things while we allow divorce to flourish. We even appoint divorced men and worse, remarried men to the eldership or pastorship clearly against God's will. Our kids our having sex. We gossip like lonely old women, usually under the guise of a prayer request. “Could you pray for Bertha? She found out Tom was cheating on here and really needs God's grace.” “Pray for Bob. He really needs God's provision. They've cut off his power and they may come take his car next week.” We judge each other at the drop of the hat over both Biblical and not-so Biblical things. We covet after things of this world all the while claiming it's the promises of God. We don't tell the lost about Jesus.

Lord, Lord. I didn't smoke or drink and I sat locked in my dark house hiding from Trick or Treaters.

41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Matt 25:41-43 (ASV)

Are we offended by sinners?

Think about that question. Am I, as a good church going Christian, offended by the sinners I interact with every day?

The Jews of Jesus' time certainly were. Not only did the completely write off the Gentiles as lost but they considered the Samaritans unclean. They worshiped wrong, said the wrong things, did the wrong things. It was so ingrained in the Jews that they would rather travel AROUND Samaria than through it.

Who would you rather go around than deal with? What bothers you so much that you flee from it?

Most Christians I have met from the “Holiness” spectrum of things seem to spend most of their energy staying away from “worldly” things. By that I mean anybody outside of their church. If a sinner cusses, they get offended. If they make a bawdy joke, they get offended. If another Christian doesn't live according to their “holiness” rules they get offended.

It's not just the far wing either. The problem is, too many of us sit in our little comfort zones. We get used to hearing only "Christian-speak". No one smokes, no one drinks, no one cusses, every one is perfect. When we are forced, and it does sometimes take force, to go out among the "unwashed", do we take the Light with us? How many times have you seen Christians out protesting some show, song, book, or movie for being too whatever? They are offended by something that they will probably never see in the first place but want to make sure that others, sinners, don't get to see it either. Because then everything will be fine...if only the sinners, and everyone else, lives just like us.

A while ago a couple in Pennsylvania were taking a city to court to remove a billboard that deeply offended them. What was this billboard about, you ask? A porn shop? A strip club? Some atheist group? Nope. Sheetz Gas Station. Why? Because the sign read “Crispy Frickin' Chicken”. Let me spell this out clearly: this is NOT being light. This is being a moralist. This is trying to impose your beliefs on others not for their good, but for your's. Removing this sign does not get anyone closer to accepting Jesus. Removing this sign does not move anyone further away from Hell. All it does is piss people off or cause them to mock you, and your faith, for being a whiny little brat.

Jesus was never offended by the sins of the ignorant. He never condemned the woman at the well, the tax collectors, the whores. No, he condemned the priests and religious folk of his day for trying to follow the Law the way it was written (the letter of the law) while ignoring the whole point of the Law. That's what this guy is doing. His moral laws say cussing is wrong and so is fornication. There fore, all references to such things are to be done away with. Meanwhile, he's ruined his ability to witness to any number of people who hear about this. How many people may end up in Hell because they won't hear him, or another Christian, now because he's just another "religious kook"?

There are times to fight. Clearly, there are times to stand up and call sin sin. Cursing, foul language etc. is at best a gray area. Like drinking, gambling, smoking, rock music; I don't think you can make a case from the Bible that it is SIN. Not helpful, yeah, probably. But sin, no. Yet these things deeply offend so many Christians, not just when it's in the church, but when their lost neighbor does it. Do you know why the guy across the street gets so drunk he can't walk? Because he doesn't have Jesus. Do you understand why the girl down the road sleeps with every guy that she can? Because she doesn't have Jesus. Do you know why the guy at work is so full or bitterness and rage? Because the world has stomped on him, spit on him, left him broken and bleeding and he needs Jesus.

One of the Christians highest callings, maybe THE highest calling, is to warn people of the judgment to come and point to Jesus as the ONLY way to escape from that judgment. To do this, we need to get out of our little buildings and go into the world. It means to not have only Christian friends but to have friends that wouldn't set foot in a church if you paid them.

How can we be "in and not of the world" if we are so offended by the world we can't stand to be around it?

I don't know exactly when it started. Right around the turn of the year, I think. I came across a video on Youtube called "Hell's Best Kept Secret". It's from a series of videos called "The Way of the Master", which is also a TV series though to be honest, TBN would rather you see "Your Best Life Now" than this show, which airs at about 2 am.
It's hosted by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron...yes, THAT Kirk Cameron.

God had been speaking to me, I believe, before that. "Be Fruitful." How God? How do I be fruitful? Go to church? Listen to "good" music only? Never have a glass of wine with dinner? Tithe?

"Do the work of an evangelist."

Ah, crap. I have a saying that I'm fond of: I'm really more of a preaching to the choir sorta guy...

Then I saw a video about doing just that, going out to the Lost and telling them the Good News. I was convicted of my own sinfulness, even while doing the "right" things, and that no one was out telling people that they were lost and had earned Hell but God, in his love and mercy, had made a way for them to escape.

So, I bought the book "The Way of the Master". That only made things worse. It convicted me like I had never been convicted before. I was sinful. Even as a Christian, I was every bit as sinful as the Lost. I had lusted after women, I had stolen without even realizing it (making copies of software that I never bought etc), I had lied. I needed to repent.

I bought the book "Why Revival Tarries". The author is right, we need to pray more, not just for revival, but for everything. He was also wrong on this one count: we can pray all day but if no one does the work we're still in sin.

God commissioned US, you and me, to go out into all the world and make disciples for Jesus. Every time we shrug off the urge to walk up to a stranger and tell them about Jesus we sin. Every time we fail to tell someone we know the truth about the sin in their lives, like living together, we sin. Every time we separate ourselves from or are offended by the very sinners God came to save WE SIN. That's a whole post in itself.

So here it is August. In a week my church starts the Way of the Master Basic course on evangelism. It gives you some tools to break the ice and start THAT conversation without having to beat someone over the head. I am reading "Radical Reformission", the idea that we need to be out among, friends with the lost in their culture, but different from it. Just like we do when missionaries go to Africa. We don't try to make them all white American suburbanites we meet them where they are...where Jesus met us.

I've said all this to get here: I have sinned. I have sought the approval of man before that of God. How? By being afraid of the rejection from folks if I tell them about their desperate situation and The Way out. I have chosen, repeatedly, to be liked or, at least, not disliked, instead of telling warning people to flee from the wrath that is to come. Are there people in Hell right now because I was afraid of them? And by that fear, ashamed of Jesus?

I never thought I was ashamed of Jesus. If anyone asks me a question about Him, I answer directly. I admit to being a Christian...it's no secret. Yet, every time I refuse to tell someone about Jesus I prove that I am, when the rubber hits the road, ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

I repent. I have no idea how to fix that flaw in me, but I will. I will pray because Jesus is the source of our strength. But just praying isn't enough. I need to find concrete ways to force myself to do things I am uncomfortable doing. Hopefully, this Way of the Master course will help.

I may not be the guy standing on the street corner today. Or even tomorrow. I will get there, however.

Here's the part of the video that really got my attention, there's three other parts before this one and I encourage you to watch all four. Watch how the kid's attitude changes from mocking and light-hearted to serious and concerned. The fields are ripe, my friends, over flowing in fact. If you aren't telling people about Jesus, repent. I'm not talking about street preaching, I mean just talking to the people you interact with every day. Now. Before it's someone you love who dies without Christ.

“Hey Brian, we have a problem.”

I look up from my desk to see Alan, my assistant leaning in the door to my office. What's new, I wonder.

“You need to see this. Now.”

Oh great, this can't be good. I wonder what the dimwits up stairs have done now. Sooner or later, the guys with initials in their titles will figure out that we actually have a clue about what we're doing and quit trying to make us “better” at our jobs. Better always means lots of meetings, some headaches and maybe a sleepless night or two before we sneak back to doing things the way we always have.

“Channel 13.”

I really wish they'd figure out a way to keep people from stealing code while still allowing the FEED into the building. I hate not being able to access my tech FEEDs.

I follow Alan down the hall to the conference room. He has the TV on one of the 24 hour news networks still around. Footage from one of the SecureCams of a man walking into a McDonald's with an AK 47. He hoses down the whole place. They follow this with a clip of the man being drug out on a stretcher. His eyes are wide open but clearly not seeing. He ticks his head to one side repeatedly like he was having a seizure; the same seizure over and over again. A terminal feedback loop?

“Any reason to think that's us? I mean, it's not like someone's real brain doesn't break every once in a while.”

“Keep watching.”, he responds coolly.

The next story makes my heart drop. A woman in Duluth had run her entire family through a wood chipper. The scene is something out of a nightmare. There's still a leg sticking out of the feed port of the chipper. Red and small chunks are sprayed all over the bushes on the other side of the machine.

“When did the last Update go out?”, I ask.

“Twelve hours ago.”

“That's an awful long delay.”

Usually conflicts are immediate. Even if they're not, we usually catch any bugs long before an Update FEEDs.

“Daniels called down.”, Alan informs me, “He wants us to find out if we've got a bug and quick. He didn't sound happy.”

Of course he didn't sound happy. His programmers screwed something up that may cost Ment-ronics real money. Now, he's going into full CYA mode...which means he's going to try to blame us. I will NOT let that happen.

Of course, if it was a bug, then one of my guys HAD missed it. We all had.

“Damn it.”

I go back to my office. I need to make some calls. It's Saturday and most everyone is off. I only came in to grab my sunglasses.

Resource Conflict

Huh? What's that?

Rebooting in ...3....2....1

Systems Check......Online

“What'cha need Alan?” I ask my assistant who is leaning in my office door.

He stares at me blankly for a moment. He looks like I just said something funny.

“The news?”, he finally answers.

What about the news? Oh, crap! Is that ours?



Five people. Out of a division of 30, five people could be bothered to show up to help with this. There are times I really hate people. Daniels called again. He really is near panicking. He's got all his programmers coming in to help. I already know this, however, since one of his guys, Debbie, is standing in front of me. She came down to help troubleshoot the Update. She's still new and doesn't know that Daniels' folks and mine aren't supposed to play nice together.

Still, I'll take her over Steve any day of the week. She's his replacement. Upgrade really. She's easier to look at and a thousand times more competent than he was. He was never what I would call Top Shelf anyway but he had gotten to the point where all he did was play WOW: D all day long. He was too stupid or smug to even pull up a programming window to open if a boss walked in. Daniels sent him packing six months ago. One of the few times I've ever agreed with Daniels on anything..

“Thanks for the help, Debbie.”

“No way I wouldn't be here. If this is us...we screwed up bad.”

Sooner rather than later she needed to learn that around here, as a programmer, you never, ever admit to a mistake. It just isn't done.

“Everybody here is going to get the Update...fresh and clean. Then we'll...”

Resource Conflict

“What now?”, I grumble.

Rebooting in ...3....2....1

Systems Check......Online

“Then we'll....what?”, Debbie from Programming was looking at me asking.

“Then we'll what, what?”, I have no idea what she's talking about. Programmers aren't really used to interacting with other people.

“You were just telling me how we were going to troubleshoot the Update.”

“Troubleshoot the Update?”, was she drunk, “On a Saturday?”

She stares at me like I've lost my mind. I just came in to grab my sunglasses. Why would I want to spend the day troubleshooting an Update that had already gone out? Especially with this head ache coming on.

“Brian, what's the plan?”, Alan asks me.

There's five of our Shooters standing in the conference room behind him. On the TV, images of a blood stained wood chipper fill the screen. Holy crap!!! I forgot where I was, what was going on. Talk about a brain fart.

“Everyone gets a clean install of the Update.”, some groans, “I know. Just back up your implant now and when we're done you can overwrite that image back to it.”

Most people had a lot of stuff loaded on to their implants. Music players, videos, photos of family members, some games. Deleting everything and starting from scratch sucked.

“After the clean install, we add the standard suite to two of us, the power user suite on two of us and the newbie suite on two of us. Debbie and I get nothing. She's not one of us, and at least one of us needs to be unaffected. Then we wait 12 hours and see what happens.”



We can't help but watch. After all, it isn't every day that the world goes mad. In Las Angeles there were riots spreading though Compton and Watts. Detroit was apparently burning to the ground, thousands were hurt or dead. In Texas, a refinery worker had rammed his car into the facility causing a massive explosion. It had even knocked down buildings in the nearby town. There were even unconfirmed reports of a company of Marines and a company of soldiers trading shots down at some military base in the south. The reports were overwhelming.

In just under 30 hours since our Update had gone live nearly twenty percent of the population, about Ment-ronics market share, had gone fruit-loopy.

“Well, anybody showing any problems?” I ask Alan.

“Nope. All our diagnostics are normal.”

“Then it can't be our Update, can it? By now, people were shooting up McDonald's and chipping their families. The worst we've had is an argument over what to put on the pizzas we had delivered.”

“Maybe we just don't have the right suites installed. There's a thousand combinations and any one of them could be causing this.”

Thanks for the pep talk, Alan.

“We have simulations...they're close. What's different here as opposed to the wild?”, I ask.

“Any number of things. It could be some badly programmed open source stuff. We update our suites from drive while most people use the FEED.”

“The FEED?”

“That couldn't cause this, could it?”

“There used to be viruses that lived totally within the protocols for the old Internet. It's possible to add a bit of data here...a bit there.”

“How do we find out? Send someone outside to use the FEED?”

“Not if I can avoid it. I know a guy over at InterMind. I'll give him a call and see what he thinks.”

I pick up the phone and search my contact list for Corey at InterMind. Do I even have a home number for him? Yes! Good.

Resource Conflict

Ring.

Rebooting in ....3....2....1

..ng.

System Check.....Online

“Hey, Brian!” a voice on the other end of the phone greets me. Who is calling me?

“Uhm, hey. How's your Sunday?”

I hate when people do this. I check the screen on the phone. Corey at InterMind? Why would he be calling me on a Sunday?

“I'm still alive and not in a riot. How about you?”

Not in a riot? What does that mean?

“I, uh, I've got a screaming head ache.”

There's got to be some aspirin or Tylenol in my desk somewhere. Oh come on!!!

I slam my drawer closed.

“Crap. Someone stole my painkillers.”, I think, out loud apparently.

“I bet you guys are really kicking yourselves.”

“Over what?”

“Steve Abati.”

“I don't miss him one little bit.”

“Really? You guys must have some really strong programmers if this is the type you let go.”

“You guys hired him!?”

“Steve's sharp. He comes in early, works late every night. He's even caught some problems with the other programmers code.”

I guess getting canned straightened him out.

“Is this stuff you guys?”, Corey asks.

What stuff? Can't people TALK and make sense anymore?!

“What stuff?” I ask.

Why is Alan standing in my office. Why are there Shooters here today? And a Programmer?

“There's a “glitch in the matrix” somewhere. Is it you guys?”

Glitch? The murders! The riots!!! How could I forget?! What a brain fart!!

“The FEED?”, Alan prompts.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Corey, we've been running tests here for the last 13 hours or so. We've got no issues either live or in the simulations.”

“So what do you think the issue is?”

“Well, we don't have the FEED in here...it's blocked.”

“You think it's us?!”

“I don't know. When was your last update?”

“I don't know, Brian. I don't have that stuff at home....at least not at hand. This is your mess. We're just the network.”

“There used to be TCP/IP viruses.”

“We've never even been able to create a FEED virus ourselves...and believe me we've tried.”

“Look, I know how it sounds. Could you just find out when the FEED's last download was? Please?”

“It was sometime Saturday. Wait a minute....let me look”, I can hear the clicking of a keyboard, “Yeah. It was 10 am Saturday.”

Two hours before Mr. Mc Donalds and Woody.

“Look, that was just two hours before this all started.”

“Brian...”

“It's possible, right? Not probable, but possible?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”, the tone in his voice is down, like the thought that I might be right just hit him., “I'll look into it.”

He hangs up on me. On ME?! Like I'm not having a bad enough day already!! People killing each other, locked into work on the weekend, a screaming headache and I keep forgetting things I ought to remember....

Three times. Three times in the last day I have completely lost track of what I was doing. No, four. Oh no. No!!! I've completely blanked out four times....since my Update. Is that even possible?

What was that? I look over at Alan who is staring at me like I'm Robin Williams. He looks up at the ceiling just as I'm about to think I'm hearing things.

“Fire crackers?” he asks the ceiling and the programmers above it.

“It wouldn't surprise me.”

It's not uncommon to hear Shooters cuss. In fact, it should probably be in the job description. I think nothing of hearing the Shooters outside my office let loose. Why is Daniels down here? What does he want NOW?!

“Brian.”, he says in monotones, staring at me wild eyed.

Is he bleeding?? Is that a gun?!!

Oh no!! He's infected! I start to dive under my desk.

“The programmers...my guys....”, he can barely speak, “I came back from getting some Chinese and found them....Tim...”

“Alan, take the guys and go upstairs. See what's going on.”

I can't believe this!! Just what I need right now!!

“Daniels, could you, uh, give me the pistol?”

Why does he even HAVE a gun?

“I shot him. I killed Tim.”, he walks, no shuffles forward and lays the revolver on my desk, “He killed them all. Tim killed my guys.”

Alan runs past my office and I can hear him throwing up somewhere. Greg, one of the other Shooters stands in my door. He's pale and looks shaken.

“They're dead. All of them I think.”, Greg takes a deep breath, “I don't think most of them were shot...they were...it's bad.”

BAD?! No this isn't bad. Bad is a flat tire on the way in to work. Bad is a Tim Burton movie. This is a DIASASTER!!

“Call the cops. We need to let them... Is that thunder?”

The sky is bright blue and cloudless. It ss a beautiful summer day. Oh, no.

“Look! Over there!!”, Debbie says, pointing out a window to the east.

I had caught a glimpse of it as it rolled up over the top of the Frasier Building. Now, she and the others were seeing it. A black cloud filled with orange, pushing towards the sky. Some thing had exploded. I guess the cops won't be coming to us....no TV cameras in here, just SecureCams.

This has to end. Now. I don't care what Corey thinks. The FEED is causing this and it needs to stop now.

I flip through my contact list, there has to be someone who can help. My Dad was a HAM radio operator until they shut them all down. He knew a guy in the FCC....what was his name? We used to go fishing out on his farm? Tom!! Tom Koenig!!

Ah-ha!! A number.

He answers more quickly than I expect.

“Tom. Brian Tam here.”

“Brian!! How's your Dad doing?”

“He hates retirement with a passion. Look, I'm short on time. Have you been watching the news?”

“Sure have. It's awful isn't it?”

“I think I know what's causing it.”, I explain where I work, what the last 33 hours have been like and give him my prognosis.

“So, you want me to shut down the FEED? I don't have that kind of power.”

“Just shut it off for here. If it isn't the FEED, nothing's going to change. If it IS the FEED and we shut it off, they'll just sorta shut down.”

“Shut down?”

“I don't know exactly. I've only read some of the theories about a total FEED failure. The point is, if I'm right we stop the killing. If I'm wrong, a couple hundred thousand people don't get streaming video of it on their implant...they have to settle for cable.”

“Yeah, you're right. Let me see what I can do.”



We're all standing around the TV in the conference room. Tom had come through. The FCC was going to shut off the local transmitters for the FEED. If I am right, we should know immediately. As we watch, the growing mob of people here in town stop, one guy with a shopping cart raised over his head poised to go through a plate glass window. They stand there for a moment and then collapse to the ground like those goats that fall asleep when scared.

“It's the FEED. There is a bug in the FEED that corrupts our wetware.”, Debbie states the obvious.

It doesn't take long before the President is on TV. He announces that he has signed an executive order to shut down all FEED transmitters until a fix can be found. All over the country the images come in as transmitters go off. Rioters, fall to the ground, asleep with their eyes open. One man, braining a woman with a cobblestone stops. His eyes roll back into his head, he drops the stone from limp hands and he slumps off of her onto the bloody pavement.

“Is it over?”, one of the Shooters asks.

“Yeah, I think so.”, I answer.

My email is signaling. Who would be sending me an email right now? Save the country and I don't even get a moment to rest.

It's from Corey. He sent me some code. It's base code from the FEED!! Why would he send this to me? Oh, the Feds were raiding InterMind's offices. He needed to get this out. Why?

Wait. What's this line of code here? It doesn't do anything. Sloppy programming. Who did this, a drunk monkey? It should be digitally signed...huh. Steve Abati. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He's not such a catch now, is he Corey?


I send the Shooters and Debbie home. Not much we can do right now. Not with only one, rookie programmer. Daniels is sitting slumped against the wall of my office. Pouting, I think. So he killed Tim? It's not like the guy didn't need it? Sheesh. WHy am I thinking like that? I bowled with Tim sometimes.

Down the hall, I hear the music that the news channel plays for breaking news. I glance at Daniels, still pouting, and I head down to hear what there is to hear. It's the head of the FCC.

“Due to the strategic importance of the FEED to both the national infrastructure and national defense, the need for such a system is clear.”

NO!! They're going to turn it back on?!!!

“The current system, for obvious reasons, is incapable of performing the tasks that are crucial to recovering from this crisis. As a result, the President has accepted an offer from Ment-ronics to allow the use of their new, high security, FEED system. It is a completely new protocol and can not be affected by whatever plagued the old FEED network. At first, the use of the new network will be limited to government officials and first responders.

"The new system requires a patch from Ment-ronics. It will be installed by hand. Once it is installed in all affected citizens then FEED transmitters will be switched back on in a few trial cities. The “reboot” will be gradual. We ask for your patience.”

We are now the sole proprietor of the Wetnet. InterMind's not going to like that one little bit. We have a patch for the FEED transfer? Was that what Daniels had his guys working on during all this? Couldn't be. He's not smart enough or brave enough to think that far ahead without orders. It couldn't have been done in the last 8 hours, the programmers are all dead. The cops and the morgue will get here as soon as they can..that's what they told me at least. What does this mean?

It means I need to take a look at our code. I don't believe in happy coincidences or in programmers that plan for their own, or another's, mistakes. Both are pure fiction.

I can't get into the source code from down here. I'm going to have to go upstairs. Well, I can't say I haven't wanted them dead before...Stop that!

Wow. The brutality of it all stuns even me. Maybe if my head wasn't about to explode I'd care more but as it is, I just have to know when that patch was written.

It doesn't take long to get to a usable computer. I just have to be careful not to slip in the mess. Oh, here we go. It was written a week ago? By....Daniels? He hasn't touched a line of code since I've worked here. Why this?

A TV somewhere up here catches my attention. The lawsuits are already pouring in. InterMind is being sued for trillions,TRILLIONS, of dollars in damages. Their CEO has come out accepting responsibility for a glitch. They are claiming it was in the transmitters themselves. Sure they would. They're desperate to not go bankrupt and keep us from taking over the Wetnet. They're done. And they know it.

Things are not adding up. Why would you write a patch to fix a FEED virus a week before it hits? How could you? Maybe, it doesn't fix the virus as much as just over writes it and installs our protocols over it. It was meant to switch new users over to our FEEDs. Still...

I pull up the source code for our latest Update out of the server. It could take me weeks to go through it all, line by line. Why am I even looking?

That's why. Look at this mess of code. I scrolled through just glancing at the code when I came across a section that looked like a hoarder's living room. Who writes code this jumbled? Oh, yep, there it is. Steve again. I'm so tired of cleaning up his messes. Didn't he ever hear about deleting useless lines....

Resource Conflict

NO!!! Not now damn it!!!

Rebooting in....3.....2....1


Systems Check......Online



Huh. What is this? Wow, this is some really bad writing. All style no substance.

You know, this almost looks like programming. They showed us some in school. I wonder if I can still make it out...It's been awhile.

Hmmm. Why did someone highlight this line? That's odd. I don't think that does anything.

Wait. I KNOW that line. I've seen it before...

AHHHG!!! I can't think with this head ache!!! It feels like there's a dwarf in there with an air hammer!! It's like the time the FEED got a loop-back error...

“THE FEED!!! That's where I saw that code!!”, I think out loud again.

"It's possible to add a bit of data here...a bit there." I can hear myself saying to Alan earlier. That's what they had done. Part of the code in our Update, the other part in the FEED's protocols!!

Oh no. Oh dear God no.

What was that noise? Ah, God that burns!!! Why...why am I bleeding?

Turning around, I see Daniels standing in the door way of the office I'm in. Ohhhh, this burns! He's holding that pistol...

“It was us.....WE did this!?”, I gasp as I fall to the floor.

He's walking towards me. I can see him but all I can do is lay here in this mess and burn.

Resource Conflict

Rebooting in....3....2....1

Systems Check.....Offline

Never quit.

Republican does NOT mean Christian.

I know. That comes as a surprise to some people. It borders on blasphemy to still others. It is, however, unarguably true. This is a fact that we have seen time and time again in the last year or so.

Start with Mark Folley, Republican Representative who got caught sending naughty emails to MALE pages. Then we have old Senator Craig who was "livin' the life", looking for a quick hookup in a public men's room. While , contrary to popular belief, most Christians don't hate homosexuals, we do condemn the act of homosexuality. Here we have two homosexual Congressman who got in trouble not because of what they were doing but because they got caught. Other Republicans knew what they were doing but kept it hush-hush. Not really a Christian sort of thing, to hide some one's sins...or at least it shouldn't be.

Now, we have dear President Bush telling the world that Muslims and Christians pray to the same god. He's a Christian remember. A follower of Christ. That's part of what made him a good President to a lot of evangelicals. Problem is, I'm not sure what Christ he is following. See, Jesus is the ONLY Son of God. He claimed to be "the way, the truth, the life." If he is, as Christians believe, then Muhammad can't be right 600 years later when he says Jesus was a prophet, not the Son of God, and did no redemptive work. The other alternative is that Muhammad was right, and we've been following a nutjob (at best) or a liar (at worst) for the last 2000 years.

There's really no middle ground. Either Jesus was/is the great I AM or he wasn't. Two contradictory statements can NOT both be true. Jesus and his disciples state uncategorically that he was God and claimed to be the ONLY way to Heaven. Muhammad wrote that his own teachings were from God and the ONLY way into Heaven. Only one can be true.

I could go write about the fact that we have at least four eyewitness accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus and a fifth eyewitness account of seeing the RISEN Christ. I could talk about the fact that when God sent messages and messengers throughout the history of Israel, they were ALWAYS accompanied by the miraculous. It was God's way of authenticating the message, sort of like the way kings used to seal their letters with a bit of wax and their emblem pressed into it. I could tell you how even the Jews admit Jesus did miracles, calling him "a magician who tried to lead Israel astray."

I could also tell you that the only eyewitness account of Muhammad meeting the angel and copying down the message is.....Muhammad. There were no miracles backing up Muhammad's testimony, in fact he even writes an explaination for the lack of the miraculous in the Koran. I forget exactly what it was but it amounted to "because I don't feel like it."

I could tell you that both religions of peace have always spread best by the sword. Christianity spreads best when it is under the sword. To confound the wise, the more you persecute the faithful the more numerous and stronger they become. We've tried it the other way around and it doesn't work well. Islam, has always been its most virile while wielding the sword. The great Muslim caliphate that stretched to Spain was almost entirely conquered nations and forced conversions...or the "not Muslim" tax.

To be honest, there is a group of evangelicals here in America that would like to see Christianity the legally enforced religion of the country, just as there are Muslims who want us all under Sharia law. Maybe that's where the President got confused.

Or maybe, he never really knew him in whom he had believed.

You can't have it both ways. It's either Jesus or Allah. Which one do you choose, Mr. President?

I recently visited GodTube; the Christian version of YouTube. Here, people from all over the world get a chance to post videos ranging from fun to informative to boring to insulting. The “Are You Ready?” video in my previous post is in the fun/informative category. This is in the insulting category. It's a ripoff of the Mac/PC commercials though this one pits the stuffy, suit wearing and incompetent Christian versus the hip and savvy “Christ Follower”. As a friend of mine said after watching it; just what the Church need, more division.

While I agree, as you know, that judging someone who doesn't wear a suit to church as less that saved is extremely wrong. Is it any less wrong to judge someone who DOES wear a suit as less Christian? Exactly where is the problem with putting bumper stickers on your car? The arrogance and condescension in these videos is more than annoying.

For the record, “Christian” MEANS “Christ Follower”. Get over yourselves. Are you, being an eye, more important or better that the guy in a suit, who is an ear? NO!! We are all ONE BODY and to condescend to another believer because he doesn't fit your mold, even if it is the slacker mold, is quite simply SIN. Don't believe me? Read Paul and his letter to the Corinthians.

This video is not an example of “Come, there is a better way.”. It is, however, a perfect example of “Hey, I'm better than you! Be like me!”

We, as the Church, can't keep our kids, heck our SELVES from committing things clearly labeled as SIN. Sexual Immorality? Check. Gossip? Check. Backbiting? Check. Theft? Yep. Living a life completely indistinguishable from those who are not saved? Oh, yeah baby. But we sure can get our panties in a bunch about whether you look or act like I do.

Straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.

I was reading over at the Evangelical Outpost, and discovered this:

I'm not really a Pre-Trib sort of guy, but this video is REALLY good.

There are times when I really despair for the Church. When I hear a preacher preach one message from a text that very obviously says nothing of the sort, when I hear how not drinking a beer or dressing in a suit is the way to salvation, or any number of other things that really make me wonder if we're paying attention.

Then there are other times that I see the Remnant.

Today, interestingly enough, fell into BOTH categories. I went to the early service today because I was up and ready. It had been awhile since I had been there, what with this being my busy time at work and all. One of the first things I notice is that the bulletin has no information in it other than the alter workers meeting time and three ads for things the place is shilling. Money changers in the Temple is a real sore spot for me, so this wasn't a good start.

Then I notice that they had removed the Bible verse that had adorned one wall and replaced it with some bland, but visually attractive "mission statement" of sorts. Why wasn't the Word of God good enough? Two strikes and the Praise and Worship hadn't even started yet.

There was a little worship, but even less praise. There were at least three songs about how "we" long to praise God. Yep, we really want to praise you. Can't wait to praise you. Oh yeah, listen to us wanting to praise you. I was ready to suffer through the service and get out.

And then the couple came in. No more than 18 but the guy was at least 16. She rubbed on him so much that I almost leaned forward to tell her to get a cat...or a room. She really did come just short of giving him a hand job then and there. Why would you even bother coming to church for that? The way they leaned into each other and such was too intimate for people who hadn't already been MUCH more intimate; you married folks know what I mean.

Then, old Pastor Troy preached on the Second Coming. He has a really annoying style but he does have a LOT of insight so I can usually deal with his pleading for our attention. This week he was really upset that people weren't standing on their chairs cheering about the eminent return of Christ. Then he covered the Blasphemy Project or whatever its actually called. To get a free copy of an atheist movie all you have to do is look into a camera and blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Apparently, 21,000 people have already done this. The church responded like you'd expect them too...stunned silence at best.

This really fired him off. Don't we care that these kids have doomed themselves to Hell for eternity? Yes, but there's not much we can do for them NOW. That could be your kid, or my kid, there doing that. Probably not if we're actually LIVING what we say we believe. You think you can drink whatever you want, look at what you want and it has no consequences...we need to get right with God...

And here was where I really wanted to have my say. :) Here this man is railing against having a beer when I've got two of his teens nearly making out in front of me instead of listening to the sermon. We get so caught up in this periphial crap that we turn a blind eye to SIN, real and actual. The reason why kids raised in church going homes were denying the existence (or worse) of the Holy Spirit had little to do with anyone having a beer or even watching porn. It did, and does, and always has, have to do with the fact that we say we believe in "Love thy neighbor" and then spit hateful gossip about him because he watched Desperate Housewives.

We lie, we cheat, we steal, we have affairs...all REAL sins, but bemoan the condition of somebody's soul because they wore jewelry to church, or wore pants or didn't wear a suit or has long hair or any number of pet doctrines that have only the scarcest Biblical foundation.

Pastor Troy then turned his back on us and threw himself down at the altar. I can't fault a guy for being so passionate about the state of souls ( and make no mistake, he is PASSIONATE about seeing people saved) that he feels the need to prostrate himself before God right then and there. I'll pray for that!! Were that more Elders and Pastors would do such things.

Time came for the second service and most of us were still there praying in some manner or form. There were people waiting out in the foyer, who were now let in. Church prayer is a great thing. Prayer is a great thing. Where two or three are gathered and all that.

Then I saw HER. She was a teenager, wearing a dress and some little jacket or something. What got my attention was not what she was wearing but what she did. She came in and looked around at the groups at the altar and those at their seats. She saw that we were praying...and she RAN to it. She dropped her Bible off in a chair and was praying by the time she hit the altar. She didn't ask why. She didn't stand and wait for directions. She just knew that prayer was needed and dove right in. I started crying...I'm crying as I type. THAT is what will keep our kids and other's from going to hell. That passion, that love, that realness.

And that's why I go to Kingsway Fellowship. There are people there who know Him in whom they have believed. It is also why I still believe revival is possible in the US. It is what I hope to be.

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not." : Matthew 24:23

The days are growing short, my friends. Wars, rumors of wars, "christs" popping up all over the place.

Just a thought for a Sunday.

"Freedom = The distance between church and state."

That's the bumper sticker I saw recently. Bumper stickers bug me anyway as the almost always reflect a deep lack of understanding of a subject or a trite one liner. This one was no exception.

One could make an argument that the sticker was commenting on ALL religions. It would be a false argument, though. By using the word church, we come directly to the idea of keeping Christianity away from government. In a way, I agree. The "church" can't even agree on things like baptism and sex outside of marriage and they get VERY angry and bitter over it. Do I want the "us four and no more" mentality with the full force of law behind it? Under no circumstances. That is one of the major dangers of "official" religions. Constantine tried it and we got the Catholic Church...pieces of pagan religions thrown in with Christian theology.

The idea here is distinctly anti-religion or, as I said, anti-Christian. The people who sport these sort of bumpoer stickers don't want to be told that you have to be a believer to be in office, and rightly so. They are, however, more than willing to be able to tell you or I that we are unable to serve because we ARE a believer. It also shows a profound lack of knowledge.

First of all, take a step back, Hippie, and look at the world. Big, green and blue, and mostly impoverished and/or oppressed. Most of the world falls under the control of people espousing religions OTHER than the much- feared Christianity. Hinduism, Islam and Atheist Communism rule over at least half of the world's population. Pagan religions and other minor beliefs rule over much of Africa and Asia that isn't Communist. One would be hard pressed to successfully argue that China, India, North Korea, Africa, or any of the Islamic countries are warm and fuzzy places to live.

The Chinese oppress ALL religions, and political dissent. They will shoot you in the head and then bill your family for the bullet. India has had mass removals of Christians and Muslims. This deosn't even touch the fact of the horrid, mind boggling poverty in that country. Burhma is targeting Christians. Try being an atheist in one of the sand box Islamic countries. Even in Post Christian Europe the idea of free speech is being increasingly squashed or dominated by the Muslim immigrants.

The simple fact is that the very religion that these people are railing against is the very reason they have the RIGHT to do so. For the last 2000 years, those nations who consider themselves "Chirstian" nations are the ones who have driven the progress of the human race. Air Conditioners? Yep. Cars. Yep. Flight? Yep. Microwaves, free speech, the printing press, the end of slavery (except in Muslim countries), private property, the single most economically successful country in the history of the world? Yep. Allthese things and more spring from Christianity. It may not be a direct source, but it was the soil in which these things took root and grew. Things which are noticably lacking in those places, like modern day Europe or China, where the more enlightened idea of atheism holds sway.

So, where would you, dear Atheist, prefer to live? Or, as the case may be depending on the country, die?

Well, my Canadian friends out there, it's about time to pick a side.

It seems there are those in the Snowy North that want allegiance from the church. The idea is that any religious organization that does not adhere to what the State considers "good" should have their tax-exempt status revoked. It seems to be aimed at the Roman Catholic church, and "orthodoxy" in all Abrahamic religions in general. The simple truth of the matter is that the cowards on the Left will, at best wag their fingers at Islam for treating women like cattle but will go out of their way to shut down Catholic churches for not ordaining women clergy. Why? Because Father Bob isn't likely to walk into city hall with a bomb strapped to his chest or to behead a member of parliament. Muslims may, as the murder of Theo Van Gogh and the "cartoon riots" of last year demonstrate.

If this does happen, and your chruch decides to acquiesce to the government...run. I don't care what reason they give or how reasonable it sounds. They may say they are just submitting to the authorities over them like the Bible commands, or rendering unto Caesar, or how ordaining women or homosexuals or dogs is the loving thing to do...they will be lying!!! If your church submits, flee for the hills, knock the sand off your sandals and don't look back.

"A man cannot serve two masters (God and money) else he love the one and hate the other." (Matthew 6:24 KJV, paraphrased)

Either they will relinquish their tax-exempt status and serve God or they will chase after mammon, forsaking God's heritage.

"Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve God."( Joshua 24:15 ish, KJV, paraphrased)

So much for updating a couple times every week.

I've been mulling this one over for quite a while. Where do we, those of us who are Christians, draw the line between holiness and legalism?

Last fall I attended fall convention at the bible college/school I went to in the early 90's. Their conventions are always interesting; four days of good preaching, seeing old friends and making some new ones. This one was no exception, I am glad I went.

The message one night centered around the idea that when some one comes back to the Lord, or just comes to the Lord, that we seem to feel the need to put extra requirements on their repentance. Sure, Bob said he was sorry and asked for forgiveness and has turned his back on his old sin, but we want more. Bob needs to work scrubbing toilets for awhile. Or sit in the back of the sanctuary during services or some other payment for his debt or "proof" of his repentance. It was a good sermon and touched a nerve with me on several levels.

Immediately after the service, I went with the crowd for the offered refreshments and to see who I could see. I ran into a very attractive young woman who I knew from my time living in the area. We started talking, catching up on friends that one of us had heard from and the other hadn't. I told her that a number of people we knew could be found on MySpace. She gave me "that" look; the disapproving one that some Christians seem to get.

"Yeah, I know.", I told her, "But there are some good committed Christians on there too."

I understood the initial response. Anybody who has browsed through MySpace understands. There are a lot of girls in skimpy clothing taking pictures of themselves in the bathroom mirror..and guys too. Interspersed in between these are people who are just using it to keep up with their friends, have a blog or just have some space of their own on the web. I found my chruch from a blog on MySpace, but that's a whole other story. It was her next comment that floored me.

"I don't think good Christians should be on MySpace."

I felt like asking why. There is smut on TV, yet very few would say that there shouldn't be Christians on TV. Radio is every bit as raunchy as MySpace, but if you shut down the local Christian radio station the out cry would be tremendous. People use cell phones to surf for porn, so no Christian should have one. Books and magazines contain filth but I hear no one calling for an end to Christian writing. Those that do preach such things are generally, and rightfully, considered nuts.

I wanted to ask her if she had been paying attention during the service. After listening to and probably "amening" the sermon about not putting extra requirements on repentance/salvation, she could sit there and in all earnestness, say that a person's salvation should be judged by their participation on MySpace. Why? Because she had taken the idea of holiness and crossed it over into legalism.

Is God, through his Holy Spirit, telling you not to go on MySpace? That is holiness. Questioning my walk with Jesus because I do go on MySpace...that's legalism. Don't drink because you feel God doesn't want you to? Holiness. Criticize Joe because he has wine with dinner or a beer every so often with the guys? Legalism. Dress up in a suit and tie for every service because you want to please God? Holiness. Won't go to church unless you're dressed up or you look down at somebody who isn't dressed up? Legalism.

The Bible speaks very clearly that God will write His law on our hearts. He is looking for people who will follow his voice, follow his law, not because they HAVE to but because they WANT to. When we look down on people who aren't dressing like we think they should, are listening to music we don't like, go places we don't feel free to go to, we are making a new law. The church places an extra burden on the believer. Sure, you believed and repented, but that's not enough. Never touch alcohol again. Don't listen to that sort of music. Don't go to eat at a bar. Don't associate with THOSE people. If you do these things, you must not be right with God, poor soul.

In the end, I think holiness is like a back brace. It supports you. It keeps you from injury. It helps you do more work. Holiness we do willingly out of love for the Lord.

Legalism is harder to define. It's like the back brace put on too tight; you can't breathe, it causes pain and may eventually be dangerous. But it is the same back brace, just used incorrectly.

Finally, any time we judge someone, or make them feel less accepted, because they are not walking the walk like we are or think they should, THAT's legalism. It's too bad to, because she really is beautiful.

Why are we still pretending that these people can be reasoned with? By quoting someone who said Mohammed was violent and evil, the peace loving Muslims go absolutely buggy. Sure we killed some people and we WILL kill you, but it's your fault for saying something we don't like. WHAT?!

The simple fact of the matter is that at least 110 MILLION of these rabid dogs are out there. How many more agree with them but don't have the guts to actually cut someone's head off so they just give money, shelter etc. to the nutjobs? Why do we hem and haw and do our best not to say the truth out loud? Islam is a religion of murder. It always has been. From the day it was started it was spread by war. Has anything changed?

The sheik is right about two things. We are afraid. And we are losing. We are afraid to admit that this is a religious war. Islam declared war on the US and Israel and anyone who will not submit to their rule. If they want a war, let's give them a war. Quit playing games in Iraq like not killing Al Sadr when we had the chance because it might make the locals angry. They were ALREADY angry, so off the guy. The military is around to kill people and break things. LET THEM DO IT. If you want to throw a rock at our troops..bang. If you want to shoot at our troops..bang. If you hide the people who are trying to kill our troops...bang. Why is this so difficult?

We are afraid of what the "international community" will say or think about us so we hold back, letting our people die needlessly while the Iraqis either kill each other or run away to another country. We refuse to kill those who need killing. The bad guys have no such problems; they kill anybody who's not them. This is why we are losing, and why we will lose, this war. Unless we realize what's really going on, get ready to convert to Islam, maybe pay a tax for not being Islamic, or die.

This shouldn't surprise me, but it does. What's even worse is the response of the crowd there at The View. They applauded Rosie's comments. When Jesus said that men would revile us and the Bible says that they love darkness rather than light, this is what He was talking about.

The idea that "radical" (that would be you, me and all who actually try to put action to their faith) Christians are as big a threat to our country as Muslims is one that I have heard before. On September 11 or 12th 2001 as a matter of fact. CAIR has tried repeatedly to equate Eric Rudolph and Timothy Mc Veigh with Islamic nutjobs to show that there are threats in any religion. Except that it is false.

Did Christians bomb US Marine barracks in Lebanon?

Did Christians blow a plane out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland?

Did Christians float a raft of explosives out to the USS Cole?

Did Christians detonate a bomb in a club in Bali?

Did Christians blow up a senior center in Rio Degenaro?

Did Christians incinerate women and children at weddings, restraunts, busses etc in Israel?

Did Christians attack hotels in Egypt?

Did Christians hijack 4 planes and fly two into the WTC, one into the Pentagon and would've put number four who knows where?

Are Christians raping and slaughtering people in Sudan?

Did Christians kill scores in the London Subway and a bus?

Did Christians bomb trains in Spain?

Did Christians just release a religious order to kill all homosexuals? (Yet Christians are mentioned in that post because saying it is wrong is EXACTLY like killing people.)

Did Christians hatch plans to blow up 10 or so airliners bound for America?

The answer is no. Yet we are constantly lumped into the same category or exalted as being WORSE than Muslims. Why? Because we follow the truth. We preach the truth. Every time they see or hear us they are reminded that they are in sin and, instead of repenting when confronted with that guilt, they lash out at us for "oppressing" them.

They did it to the prophets. They did it to Jesus. They did it to the apostles. Foxe's Book of Martyrs tells tale after tale of it. Revelation says "And it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to prevail over them."

Face it; we are not welcome here. This world is NOT our home. This is just where we work.

DD

It's hard not to stop and reminisce about where you were 5 years ago when you first found out what was going on. I was at Ivy Hills. We, the maintenance crew, had just finished preparing the course for the Ladies Member-Member (or Member-Guest) tournament. We were gathered in the shop getting ready to leave when the Super came out of his office.

"My wife just called. She said someone flew a plane into the World Trade Center.", he told us all.

As we moved into the break room to turn on the TV, I figured that some poor guys was drunk, out of control or suicidal and flew a Cessna into one of the towers. We turned the television on and the picture came up showing BOTH towers smoking. That didn't make sense to me. How does one plane hit both buildings, and apparently from different sides? Then they showed the replay of the second plane slamming into the tower. Oh.

We had just missed seeing it live by no more than a few minutes, maybe even just a few seconds. My first thought was that the Palestinians had figured out a way to hit us over here. We raged over what should be done to those responsible, and I am still NOT satisfied with what has been done. To sum it up, we have B-52's; let's use them. But I digress...

One of the guys was a volunteer fire fighter in a township just up the hill from where I live and occasionally in my little burg. At some point he mentioned the idea of all those firemen and police going into the buildings. Looking back, it seems almost prophetic.

I went home and watched the events unfold. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the first tower fall. Neither could Peter Jennings, the anchor I was watching at the time. "What? What just happened?", I remember him saying as the plume of dust rose into the air. I thought "At least there's one left." My heart really sank when the second one fell.

I'm sitting alone in my living room watching this happen live. There were reports of a car bomb going off near the Pentagon. We all know what that turned out to be, conspiracy nutcases aside...and I like a good conspiracy theory. My aunt lives a rifle shot or two away from the Pentagon and I was concerned. I called her. She called back later that night. She was fine.

An acquaintance of mine was attending Seton Hall at the time. We didn't hear from him for a few days. Finally, when we did, he told us he knew four people in the towers that day. Two made it out. Two didn't.

Some 2800 didn't.

200 or so never left the Pentagon.

40 more took fate in their own hands and died in a Pennsylvania field.


So, where were you at 9 am September 11, 2001?

DD

For many months now, I've been contemplating starting my own blog. I can't keep my mouth shut during any conversation about mundane topics, let alone the controversial. However, wanting and doing are two different things. If I was going to do it, I wanted to start it off with a post that sums up "me"; something that lets everyone reading know exactly what they're dealing with. I had less than no idea how this was going to happen. Then I found this. And so my problem was solved.

Where to begin? The fact that someone is THIS ignorant of the Bible is astounding. It is also embarrassing. How do we let this happen? Or are we simply so out numbered that we can't reach them all?

Jesus would be fiercely Independent. He was.

Jesus would love love, no matter who its between. Except that "I and my Father are One" thing and the fact that God pretty clearly spelled out in Leviticus that "love" between two men, and by extension, two women was BAD! Other than that, sure....

Jesus would support welfare and welfare reform. Jesus didn't seem to be waiting around for the government to do much of anything...other than kill him. Paul said something about "If a man does not work he shall not eat"...I guess that would be welfare reform. Now, as believers, we should be giving to the poor, but I don't think that's what she means.

Jesus would be against capital punishment. Really? The guy who spoke of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" and of a place where "the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die" and a lake of fire would be against the guilty being punished? Huh.

Jesus would understand there are varying degrees of life. In a way, she's right. There is Dead In Your Sins and Redeemed. Again, I don't think that was what she was talking about.

Jesus would appreciate style, but not fashion. And yet Jesus wore a costly robe. A King's robe even. He cares about neither. Thoughts and intents of the heart are more his er, style.

Jesus would value education. Yes, Jesus would think that sending your kids to public school to be taught that, at best, He didn't exist would be a wonderful idea. I mean, what's the kid's soul compared to being a good drone?

Jesus would protect the environment. Like the fig tree He cursed? In all his teachings, Jesus, nor his disciples, never once mentioned "Save the Whales". Subdue, yes, be wise, yes, sacrifice people to protect a Spotted Wood Owl...no. Now, there is some admonishment not to be cruel to animals but they still taste good.

Jesus would have friendly rapport with Muhammad, Buddah, Confuscious, etc. If by "friendly rapport" she means casting them into the lake of fire then, yes. When he was here in the flesh, he might have talked to them, warned them of the fate ahead but he would not have exchanged high fives with them.

Jesus would befriend a Jew. A good Jewish boy having Jewish friends? Like the 12 Apostles?!?!?! Like Lazarus and his sisters?

Jesus would enjoy sex. While he was involved in creating sex and declaring that it was "good", at least indirectly, and declaring, through Paul, that the marriage bed is undefiled, no he wouldn't. That whole fornication/adultery thing. The church is his bride.

Jesus would understand the advantages of socialism. One could make an argument for this one. The early church did share everything in common. Except that the church did it willingly. The one example of people doing it against their will didn't end well. Socialism, an authority forcing people to share by taking away their property, NEVER ends well. The fruits of socialism are atheism and murder...things not too high on Jesus' commandments.

Jesus would be scared of guns. Why? If he could call a legion of angels to help him, if he could simply tell a tree to die and it did, if he could RISE FROM THE DEAD, why would a gun bother him at all? Swords, staves, and spears never did.

Jesus would impeach Bush and imprison Cheney. This is just ignorant beyond belief. No matter what your view on this administration, or any other one, Jesus didn't care about the Roman Empire and their atrocities. He came for souls, not governments. As much as we Christians like to think that Republican=Christian, it does not. Does the Republican party at least pay lipservice to ideas that are the teachings of the Bible? Yes. And it ends there. God installs who He will on the thrones of this world, so in some way, Bush was ordained by God. Of course, so was Clinton. :)

Jesus would not drive an SUV. It would be awfully tough to get the disciples from place to place in a Prius. Plus, Peter was probably rich and maybe James and John too. All three were working men and Jesus had been a carpenter so maybe not an SUV...just a King Cab Pick Up Truck.

Jesus would not encourage hate. By "hate" she means telling people they are in danger of hell. We don't call telling our kids not to play in traffic "hate", but tell someone that they're in sin and need a savior...that's not just mean, but hateful. So, I guess when Jesus called men to repent, he was just committing a hate crime.

Jesus would not judge a man by his color, religion, sexuality, etc. Color? No. Religion? "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. No man comes to the Father except by me." What exactly do you think that means? Sexuality? "Thou shall not lie with a man as thou would a woman". Not a lot of gray area there. A man's deeds are what his is accused by.

Jesus would not be a capitalist. He was selling his carpentry work, wasn't he? Again, he wasn't really concerned by governmental ideologies. The idea that a thief should work with his hands to give to the poor, that no work= no food, and Paul working on tents even while preaching shows that God is not opposed to the idea of selling the fruits of your labor. There's no mention of price fixing either.

Jesus would not watch MTV or FOXNEWS. It's really kind of hard to argue with. He probably wouldn't watch ANY TV, not even PTL.

Jesus would not support war, but he would support troops. Politicizing a man who cared nothing about politics (Render unto Caesar...). It's recorded at least twice in the New Testament that either Jesus or Peter had an encounter with a Roman Soldier. Neither time does it record the soldiers being told to quit being soldiers. That's a telling fact. See, soldiers kill people and break things. We call that war. Not only does Jesus never tell a soldier to not go to war, God repeatedly send Israel off to war in the OT. Of course, a good number of those times are after a period of sin and idolatry by Israel but...


And there we go. Post Number One.