One Nation Under God

I recently heard a televised speech on by a prominent gun rights advocate regarding the school shooting at Parkland, Florida. He said that to stop a bad guy with a gun it takes a good guy with a gun. This is the same opinion of our president who suggests that we arm teachers with concealed weapons in order to "harden" our schools. In short, they are saying that instead of banning assault type weapons, evil must be confronted with evil in equal measure. The purpose of both the perpetrator and the defender is "shoot to kill." This particular speaker and many of his colleagues state that gun control is socialism and to them socialism is anathema. There is definitely some cognitive dissonance at work here. The same people claim to be Christians. They must realize that Christianity is socialism in the manner of Christian Humanism. The Gospels and the Epistles of the New Testament will bear that out. 

When I was a youth there was a simple moral dichotomy. It was called "right or wrong". Since the last presidential election cycle, however, we now have an "alternative right" and so it only follows that there must also be an "alternative wrong." In Deuteronomy 5:32-33 it says, "You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you possess." 

We should abandon the left and the right and come together in the middle where we belong as "One Nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. I believe that the brave survivors of the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, are on the right path. I pray that God gives them the strength and the wisdom to speak truth to power with one voice as witnesses for the victims of tragic shootings not only all over America but in the rest of the "civilized world" as well. Never again!

.

For My Valentine

Man pursues woman, striving to be
One flesh with her, as if to regain
A lost part of himself, ever since
The divine anesthetic reduced Adam
To an inert object while God
Removed his rib to form Eve.
Happy Valentine to my better half.

.

A Warning from the Ancients

The ancient Greek poet and philosopher Hesiod wrote the following about 2700 years ago regarding the fate of mankind and that sure looks the way we are heading if we don't address the issues in a truthful and rational manner.

"For now truly is a race of iron, and men never rest from labor and sorrow by day, and from perishing by night; and troubles shall lay sore trouble upon them. But, notwithstanding, even these shall have some good mingled with their evils. And God will destroy this race of mortal men also when they come to have grey hair on the temples at their birth. The father will not agree with his children, nor the children with their father, nor guest with his host, nor comrade with comrade; nor will brother be dear to brother as aforetime. Men will dishonor their parents as they grow quickly old, and will carp at them, chiding them with bitter words, hard-hearted they, not knowing the fear of God. They will not repay their aged parents the cost of their nurture, for might shall be their right: and one man will sack another’s city. There will be no favor for the man who keeps his oath or for the just or for the good; but rather men will praise the evil-doer and his violent dealing. Strength will be right, and reverence will cease to be; and the wicked will hurt the worthy man, speaking false words against him, and will swear an oath upon them. Envy, foul-mouthed, delighting in evil, with scowling face, will go along with wretched men one and all."

.