Disappointments

Life is full of disappointments. Promises are made and not kept, dreams are shattered by reality and we are often tricked, abused and manipulated.  So as we grow older we find that it is not so easy to believe all that we see and h ear. Especially during the political season believing is not so simple.

I think about the Disciple Thomas, whom we call the doubting Thomas, and I wonder if a bit of him is in all of us. He had not been in the upper room when Jesus appeared to the others. When they told Thomas that Jesus was alive he doubted their word. It was not until Thomas saw for himself and touched for himself that he believed.

There is that aspect of life that requires some of us to see for ourselves before we accept and believe. Faith is believing in what we can not see or touch by accepting the witness of all those who went before us. We do not let the disappointments of life distract us from our spiritual life of faith.

Wasted Votes?

It was suggested to me that a vote for a third party candidate is a wasted vote. The other way of saying it is that a vote for a third party is really a vote for the party some one else does not like. I strongly disagree!

Your vote and my vote is a political statement of personal preference. In that context no vote is wasted except for the vote that is never cast. If I do not like either major party then my political statement is to say so by voting for a third party that I do like.

Saying that because I choose to vote for Governor Gary Johnson is really a vote for President Obama or from the other side a vote for Governor Romney is just not true. Your vote counts for the one you vote for even if that person does not win. In the last presidential election Senator McCain did not win but one would not say that the people who voted for him wasted their votes.

I strongly encourage every citizen to vote for who ever you choose. You only waste your vote if you do not vote.  

Too Much Anger

Yesterday a man in my church went to a neighborhood association meeting to discuss issues. One man who was causing an issue suddenly pulled out a gun and began shooting his neighbors, including my friend who was shot in the head and arm. He is close to death as I write.

Uncontrolled anger plus a gun creates a lot of saddness in our country almost every day. This is nothing new as it can be seen all through our history. The real issue is how do we deal with anger in public meetings and organizations. Hot tempers and short fuses can have catastrophic results. I can immagin several people shouting at each other over something rather trivial. The anger builds in each of them and the words used become harsh and louder.

Is there some one in the room with a soft voice and a word of wisdom? If not anger grows and an instrument of death is used. On person dies and another goes to jail. What a waste of human life because of a loss of self control.

Prayers are needed and the way of peace must be followed.

No Creed But Christ

The men who helped develop the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believed that man made creeds caused divisions in the church. For that reason they determined that we should never adopt a creed as a test of faith. An early slogan of the church was "No creed but Christ, no book but the Bible."

Over the years some people have interpreted that to mean that we can believe anything we want. That is really not the case. What it does do is to put the responsibility on each one of us to study the Bible intently and with great care to discover what Christ wants us to believe. Our personal growth in faith and understanding of the scriptures is up to us. The church offers the tools and opportunities for growth, BUT we must take them and make the best use of them.

What you believe about God, Christ, and the church is very important. Believing anything is not acceptable. Discovering what Jesus says in the Bible is what counts. Growing in faith and understanding day by day is vital to our Christian life. Learning how to be faithful to Jesus the Christ is a life long endeavor. None of us is ever too old to study the scriptures and some of us may have forgotten some of what we did know. There is always more we can learn about the teachings of Jesus. Think you already know enough about the Bible? Then you should be teaching the rest of us. 

Are We Better Off???

Every four years we get asked the question, “Are we better off than we were four years ago?” The party in power says yes and the party out of power says no. Are they both right?

I remember four years ago September 2008 as being a very bad time for America. We were on the verge of a depression! The banking system was in collapse with many people loosing their homes to greedy bankers.  Wall Street was in a melt down with 401K’s loosing value. Millions of workers were loosing their jobs every month and two auto makers GM and Chrysler were about to close. The un-necessary war in Iraq was costing millions and pulling troops and money from the fight against ben-Laden. The trillions of dollars for that war was extra budget with no plan to pay for it. It is still costing us in veteran rehab cost.

So are we better off than that?

In many ways we are much better off than we were then. Every month more people have been going back to work. Wall street is almost back where it was and 401k’s are doing better. We are out of Iraq and ben-Laden is dead. GM and Chrysler are recovering and making a profit. The housing market is on the rebound.

In some ways we are not better off because the national debt is growing at an alarming rate and no one is talking about paying it off. Both parties are only talking about deficit growth reduction and that is not good enough. 

Subject: IQ Test

World's Easiest Quiz (Passing requires 4 correct answers)

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Alantic are named after what animal?
7) What was King George VI's first name?
8) What color is a purple finch?
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?






Scroll down for the answers






ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? *116 years
2) Which country makes Panama hats? *Ecuador
3) From which animal do we get cat gut? *Sheep and Horses
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
*November
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? *Squirrel fur
6) The Canary Islands in the Alantic are named after what animal?
*Dogs [in Spanish islas Canaris}

7) What was King George VI's first name? *Albert
8) What color is a purple finch? *Crimson
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? *New Zealand

What do you mean you failed? 

Science and Religion

Science is empirically based. That is it is based on observable, measurable, quantitative evidence.

A large part of science is theoretical based on prior knowledge that allows us to make reasonable inference. It is also changeable based on new observable, measurable evidence. One example is that we once called Pluto a planet but new information gathered by astronomers created a new classification called Dwarf Planets. What scientists know today may change with new information tomorrow.

Religion is revelation based and it is taken on faith. Abraham had a spiritual experience of God and he passed that on to his children. They believed him and had faith in his revelation. Many others have experienced spiritual a awakening, including myself, and shared their revelation with others.

Most of us receive our core beliefs about God from our parents and some receive a revelation experience of God for their core belief.

Science and religion do not need to be mutually exclusive even though their beginning points are very different. A scientist can not measure my personal revelation experience but he can examine the effect it has had on my life.  There is a place at the human table for both because we are all both physical and spiritual beings.