Plain and Precious Things

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Last night after work, I brought home two new pieces of furniture. I finally bought a dining set, which is the first real table I've had since I was divorced, and a couch, which is the first couch I've actually ever bought. Over the weekend, I got everything moved and cleaned in preparation, and while I think they look nice and will make the house feel more like a home, I'm not really about things. I'm more excited about the few pieces of collectable scrimshaw that adorn the bookshelf in the living room and a particular picture that hangs in the 'family room'.

I've had this picture for a very long time, at least since high school, and it is precious to me.

Now some people might think differently about it, and that's ok. Everyone can have their own opinions; they can also keep them to themselves if they like. The button was worn by my high school chemistry instructor on the first day of my senior year because teachers were supposed to help new students find their way (which is what teachers are supposed to do with all students, but I digress), and he didn't want to help anyone, so when I asked him for the button, he gave it to me.

Over this Christmas holiday season, I was able to reflect and discuss our morbid fascination with 'stuff'. I love this illustration of all the consumerism of the holidays when we go around telling ourselves that "all you need is lots more stuff":

I do own a lot of stuff. The things I keep mean something to me. I have a single lone shoe on the bookshelf, some lapel pins, an hourglass, a lump of coal, and a few other pieces of scrimshaw nobody else understands or would ever want. They are things I keep to remind me of events, experiences or people that mean something to me. They are precious to me.

For Christmas, my paternal grandmother, whose husband died in April 2011, gave us all books from grandpa's personal library. It was on that occasion that I told my father that I had grandpa's personal serviceman's editions of the Scriptures, which I have had since we ended up with his serviceman's trunk back when I was in high school and they liquidated stuff to sell their house and move into something smaller. Since they mean something to me, he told me to keep them, which was a small kindness. I actually do read them from time to time, as they fit nicely into the inside pockets of my suit.

In the end, the plain and precious things to me actually end up being things people can't take from me. Sure, they can take my books, my pictures, and my souveniers, but they cannot take my knowledge, my memories, or my faith. While my decor and furnishing accurately reflects my interests and activities (as well as the fact that I'm a single male who lives by himself), some of the items also indicate what matters most to me. I suppose those values were cemented at an early age when, as a scout, I learned to love God, Country, Family and Self. Those are really all the things about which I care and the order in which they matter to me.

For those of you who earned a way into my heart and memory, thank you for your company and contribution to my life. Even if you think you are plain, know that you are precious to me too.

Brings Me Great Joy

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The day after my paternal grandfather passed away, I paid my paternal grandmother a visit. Despite being over 400 miles from her, since I was headed up at the time anyway, I had planned on a visit before hearing of my grandfather's passing. We talked of many things, well, mostly she did the talking, and during the course of our conversation, she came up with a phrase I really liked.

For many years, I have been thinking about the concept of 'righteous pride' and wrestling with the notion. Years ago, I read this treatise on pride and decided that I wasn't comfortable with the concept that pride could be a virtue. Certain of my friends and relatives have their own opinions, which I grant them because I know they differ on how we define words. For my own part, I took to the word 'pleased' instead as a substitute.

My grandmother gave me an upgrade. In the wake of a new realization for what really matters, she turned to me then, as she has on every subsequent visit, and told me that my life, my choices, and my presence brought her great joy. I liked how she said that. It had an interesting energy about it.

I saw a post from a friend on her blog today and thought about how to respond. As I did, I thought about the commandment that exhorts us to honor our father and our mother. Over the past few evenings, I have been rereading Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics about honor and virtue, and I see how we can, by our choices, bring honor to the name of our forbearers. Aristotle's focus seems to be on doing what we ought rather than what we'd like.

There is a difference between bringing honor and being completely obedient. I know that my grandmother wishes that my father or I had made some choices differently in our lives. However, with the benefit of her experience weighed against our life thus far, she sees things in our choices that brought us to high ground that bring her joy.

Perhaps the greatest irony of my grandfather's passing is that I have somehow managed to, of my own free will and choice, lived his dream. It was only a few years before his death, as he returned to college, determined to graduate with a college degree, that he decided that if he had it to do again he would be a teacher. When I heard that, I had to laugh a bit, as one of my favorite movie exchanges is where Thomas More tells Richard Rich to become a teacher in "A Man For All Seasons". When I was in graduate school, I never thought I'd be a teacher, but I love it, and I think my paternal grandparents respect my choice the most because it's something they value. No matter how much they teased me, I know that they know what makes a good teacher and what strengths I have, and to see me in that capacity, especially if I could have been their teacher, was something that would bring them great joy.

I think the best way to bring joy is to do what you ought. Even if other people are unjust and irresponsible, the nice thing about people who are honest, earnest, and sincere, is that I know exactly how to handle them. With other people who misrepresent themselves, I react to the fake image they give, which means anything I do will be ineffective in general. It means I waste my time, my means, and my effort in catch-22 after catch-22. This way, everyone ends up doing what ought to be done given the truth, and even if things don't turn out happily after happily, at least I can rest easy knowing I did the best I could.

In the end, the best we can do is to repent. Every one of us will make mistakes; the trick is to not let our mistakes make us. As we learn and grow and become better, it will bring honor to our progenitors and bring them great joy.

PS: Bless the Food

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As part of our Christmas libations, we of course sat down to pray several times. In customary fashion, we ended the evening with a refreshment, and my sister took pains to mention it specifically in her prayer with the phrase “P.S. Bless the Food”. I found this interesting as I thought about prayers I have heard all my life. Too many people get caught up in fancy words, covering all the bases, that they sometimes forget the literal reason for which we pray- to talk to God.

Many people go through the motions of prayer. They talk at or to God without talking with Him. In too many cases, it becomes something akin to a visit to Santa where the petitioner presents his wish list to God and promises to obey if he gets what he demands. That’s not how it works, and it will not reap the benefits for which they hope. A burglar might well pray before breaking into a series of homes that “we’ll be protected and travel home in safety” with the kind of lowbrow hypocrisy that establishes in them a sense of entitlement to things they have not learned.

While our times for prayer have an ultimate and immediate goal, the reason for prayer is really to put us in touch with the truth. The fact of the matter is that God is greater than we are, and we petition Him in times of need and thank Him in times of plenty. It shows who serves whom. Perhaps that’s why so many people don’t really pray or don’t even pretend to pray. They don’t really want to talk to their Heavenly Father; that would require them to bring Him up to date honestly about the status of their affairs.

Did you think to pray? Do you think about what you say when you pray? Do you consider the real audience of your prayer? When you pray, you are talking with a God, who is willing to give you audience despite how puny you really are. That illuminates the entire experience. He delights to bless you. I don’t know why; I just know that’s true. If it’s important to you, it’s important to Him because YOU are important to Him. Pray to Him often. Tell Him how you feel, what you think what worries you, what you’ve done, where you’re stuck, about your troubles, your joys, your adventures, and your triumphs, and then thank Him for the role He played. He loves to hear from you. Our joy increases His.

PS, Bless the food.

They Made Haste

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While reading the Christmas story in Luke this year, I noticed a phrase I had not seen before. Although I have read this section many times, the phrase had not registered like other small snippets have from other sections of holy writ. Luke tells us that the Shepherds “came with haste” to see the sight proclaimed by the angel, and that got me to thinking.

When I receive commandments or inspiration from God, do I “go with haste”? All of us in the Christian world talk as if Christ is important to us, but sometimes, even the best among us drag their feet to come to the Master or to do or become what he requires of us. After all, it’s not a request or a suggesting or even an expectation; the Lord requires something of us, our hearts and a willing mind.

Several weeks before Christmas, my mother told me about some of the things that make the season special for her. She told me that for her Christmas begins with the Messiah. What she meant was the music of Handel’s Messiah, but I liked how the phrase had other meanings. In our festivities, we hasten for gifts, for food, and even to spend time with loved ones, but we sometimes brush by that page in Luke that talks about why this is special compared to any other day.

Jesus was more than a man. Some people, including many Christians sadly, consider him a great teacher, a lesser prophet, or a good moralist. That is not possible. Either he was a stark raving lunatic, or he was exactly what he said he was- the Son of the Living God. He did not leave that open to interpretation. He did not intend to.

I think that sometimes we don’t hasten to Christ because we’re afraid. We’re afraid of the Herods or the dangers along the road or what exactly Christ will do. Men do not desire true nakedness before God as much as they like us to think. When you stand naked before God, He sees all your flaws, all your deceptions, and all of your sins. The true miracle of Christmas is that “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth would not perish but have everlasting life.” When we yield to temptation, which was inevitable, we find there is a way back.

People who are released from bondage run together and celebrate. Whether it be after our Revolution, outside the Bastille, once a man is paroled, it’s a time where we hasten together. Perhaps the shepherds understood it that way. When He read before the Sanhedrin, Jesus told them that the scripture from Isaiah had been fulfilled in their ears that day that He was come to proclaim liberty to the captive and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Let earth receive her king.

And They Caved Again

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Obama likes to talk about how he never gets his way and how the GOP always stops him. Well, today, they folded again. If this kind of attitude had persisted at Gettysburg, the United States might actually be two countries today, one a tyranny and the other an agrarian democracy.

I am a fascinated buff of Gettysburg. When I was 14, my father acquiesced to my request and took a detour during our family vacation to visit the battlefield. Although I don't remember much of the visit, I have learned and read about it since then.

Forty two days prior to Gettysburg, Colonel Strong Vincent took command of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps. When Major General Sickles, Division commander of the III Corps, moved down into the peach field to counter Hood's assault, he left the Union left flank exposed. Brigadier General Warren, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, pointed this out to Vincent, who of his own volition moved his brigade up to Little Round Top to protect the flank. The 16th Michigan, 44th New York, 83rd Pennsylvania, and 20th Maine regiments took positions.

The rebels came in force, moving against the left of the Union line. When the 16th Michigan began to buckle, Colonel Vincent went to rally them and took a fatal shot to his groin. Colonel Chamberlain of the 20th Maine stretched his troops out to twice their normal distance and sent the brigade's detachment of sharpshooters out into the woods on Big Round Top. When they ran out of ammunition, the regiment fixed bayonets, and charged down the hill. In Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels Chamberlain points out "We can't retreat. If we stay here we can't shoot. We'll have the advantage moving downhill, so fix bayonets."

As Chamberlain charged, General Weed, commander of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, V Corps, arrived to plug the hole where the 16th Michigan married up against the other Union regiments. His men were able to repel a Confederate breech in the line and restore order, but Weed was killed by a bullet to the chest, probably by a sharpshooter, while moving the 3/1/V's artillery into a better position.

If Vincent Strong had not acted of his own volition, the battle of Gettysburg might have ended as a stunning defeat for the Union army. Hood's division of Longstreet's Corps had cleared the rocks and come up the hill, twice almost severing the line as they tried to flank the Union army. If Strong hadn't been there, they would have swept over the hill unopposed and taken the Union army from behind.

Every time the GOP holds its ground, they are either flanked or cave. The irony is that they don't even take the opportunity to point out the obvious. If, as Obama claims, the Payroll Tax will help people who are $80 short every month for the next two months, MAKE THE RASSAFRASSIN CUT PERMANENT. If it works today, it will be helpful tomorrow. Yet, they miss that, and Obama runs roughshod over them again. I see very little point in occupying the high ground and digging in if you don't actually intend to hold your ground to the last. What did the GOP get? A promise to look into things. It will never materialize, and the GOP will get blamed for everything anyway.

Unlike Vincent, Chamberlain, Weed, and Hazlett, nobody will remember these GOP nobodies who folded on the left. They weren't willing to stand their ground and defend the high ground in favor of what they ought to do. The Democrats are always looking for leverage, always looking for a way around, and they are probably not going to be stupid enough to mount a Pickett's charge against the center. If they do, will the GOP cave like the Irish Brigade almost did at Gettysburg? Obama has the lowest rating of any president in modern time. He is inviting us to defeat him. We must oblige.

It is always the right time to do the right thing. Who cares about politics? Just do the right thing.

Tax Sleight of Hand

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Mostly I ignore the discussion about a payroll tax holiday. As a NV state employee, I am social security exempt. However, that's not the only tax of interest or the most important one. Allow me to illustrate.

While your Social Security withholding has dropped from 6.2% to 4.2%, my contribution to PERS (Nevada's version of SSA) has risen from 9.5% when I was hired to 12.1% this past summer. This means I never see one eighth of my pay because it goes to my 'retirement'. Actually, I only take home about 70% of my actual wage after taxes. Even if I were on SSA, the reduction over two months would be minimal, less than $19/week, or about $160 for the whole two months they extend it, far less than the $1000 Obama keeps using as a figure. This comes also at a time when they're worried about Social Security's solvency while they reduce the amount of money that goes into the fund. Brilliant.

Meanwhile, my FICA has gone up. This is that portion from which you hope to get extra money when you file taxes in April. My most recent paycheck, which came in last night, was taxed for FICA at a rate of 11.67% and Medicare at a rate of 1.45%. The state of Nevada conveniently stores all my pay stubs from forever online, so I looked back at previous rates. At the beginning of 2010, my FICA earnings were taxed at 8.76% and Medicare was still at 1.45%. My first paycheck after Obama was inaugurated was taxed FICA at 7.73% and 1.45%. So, from my personal example, my taxes have gone up under Obama. Not only does the state exact more for my 'retirement' but also my federal withholding has risen too despite the fact that I have taken a pay cut. That is a 51% tax HIKE under Obama, and that's just my paycheck, not including all the other fees for 911, car registration, my cell phone, utility compliance costs, etc., which have been passed on to me because he wants to tax companies.

I wondered why I had less take home pay than before. Now I know and so do you.

Do not let them own the information. They can bend the numbers as they like, but I wager if you look at your paychecks and bills and such you will find increases in what you owe in the sections associated with taxes. (Unlike you, I still have copies of bills dating back as far as 2003, for purposes of proving I am a paying customer, etc.) Meanwhile, Obama talks about how the rich haven't paid their fair share and about how he has cut taxes for 95% of Americans. The trouble with Obama is that, while it might be true that he cut A tax, there is a net tax increase. The Payroll Tax Cut will be paid for by people who take out mortgages. Green compliance is paid for by everyone who uses the service. Social security is paid for by those currently working. Obama's vacation is paid for by everyone except Obama.

Furthermore, most of Obama's tax 'cuts' are actually loans. I already started filing my 2011 tax return, and if you look at the form, if you claimed the Making Work Pay Credit, you now have a reduction in your refund or increase in your tax owed as appropriate by exactly the amount of the aforementioned credit. I was looking forward to a refund of about $400 but will only receive $47 because I have to pay that money back.

What they give you with their right hand they take away with their left. Then they fudge the numbers to assure you when you worry and stir up chaos when they want you to worry. It's amazing. It's magic. It's tyranny. Do your own homework. That's always good advice.

*In case you're wondering about how I end up with only 70% of my pay, here's the skinny: 12.1% PERS + 1.45% Medicare + 11.67% FICA = 25.22%. The other 4.78% reduction pays for things like health insurance, NV Health and Wellness programs, and my HSA, and is hence not money that I actually see on my check.

Good Hosts

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Over the weekend, I attended my first ever adults only Christmas party. The other thing about this party is that everyone was supposed to be single, not that you're not with anyone but that you're not married. It turned out to be mostly interesting as an example of good and bad hosts.

I arrived two minutes early and knocked on the door. It has never been my disposition to invite myself into homes where I do not belong. The fellow who invited me came down the stairs and greeted me, but it was at that point I learned that he didn't actually live in the house. Over the course of the evening, I never spoke with any of the three ladies who actually lived in the house despite the fact that they looked at me, interrupted conversations I was having with other attendees, and were people who had seen me before.

By and large, this was a GOBNet party. With rare exception, everyone there knew everyone else. Many of those who knew me knew of me; some of them had previous dealings. It served to hammer home just how little I fit in as one of the boys.

Beyond that, this wasn't consistent with the principles by which the attendees allegedly live. I only recognized songs that were covers of Christmas music I knew, and some of the music by its tempo and beat was inconsistent with the dogma of the Faith the attendees profess.

Conversations were a mixed bag. Most of the guys I met were nice and actually conversed with me and acknowledged me afterwards at least with a nod. By contrast, most of the girls did not ask any questions or seem like they wanted to be in any kind of conversation whatsoever. As I said, although I had met two of the hostesses before through a religion class about a year ago, none of them ever greeted me, welcomed me, or engaged me in conversation although they did steal my conversation partner on several occassions for pictures or asinine exchanges.

Despite this, I am likely the only attendee who didn't enjoy himself. I took the opportunity after about two hours to slip out and drive home. Honestly, I would rather discuss Organic Chemistry or read about the Colonization of America than go to that kind of party. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, thought as a child and played as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things. Christ taught us to be child-like, not childish, and yet those in attendance who acted like people from whom 20 years might be subtracted from their ages are likely to be those considered fun, trendy, worth knowing, successful, etc., and mate, marry and multiply.

This was not my house. It was not my duty to introduce myself. It was not my duty to make myself feel welcome or to welcome other people. Many of the people there were people I had never met and probably won't see again, particularly since I probably won't attend any more of that type of soiree. This was their house, and these girls failed miserably as hosts.

I wonder what the people there may one day become. I wonder if there were any angels in attendance. Christ warned us during His carnation of those who see the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned, and the friendless who ignore them. We like to tell ourselves that if He came to visit us we'd be excellent hosts. Then we treat strangers meanly and ignore them, which shows just how much Christ is a stranger to us.

I find it odd that at Christmas when we're supposedly looking out for the other guy that some folks go overlooked and overshadowed. I know I was not the only person there left out. Malachi, a young fellow in a wheelchair, looked like he envied me as I slipped out the door. I spent most of my time talking to him, and although others at least acknowledged him, mostly they were elsewhere. So much for putting Christ into Christmas. Too often we draw near to Him with our lips while our hearts are far from Him. I know if we visited Him, He would be a good host.

Mountaintops

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Today was one of my state-mandated days off without pay. Most of my coworkers lovingly refer to the furlough days as FU-Days. I took the opportunity to go hiking. Since my friend and I have been up most of the normal trails, we set off up a random and unmarked canyon to see what we could see.

Like most hikes in Nevada, this one was deceptive from the trailhead. The distant peak was a lot further as the crow flies than the canyon bottom lead us to believe. It was cold and wet, slippery and foggy, and tough enough that we found very little trash and even fewer signs of man's incursion on nature.

ALthough we have no idea how far a distance we went, in total, we climbed 1100 feet to the peak. From there, we had unobstructed views across Red Rock NCA into Las Vegas. I could almost see the neighborhood where I lived. For all we could tell, the only frequent visitors to this height were the bighorn sheep whose scent still lingered near the covered areas as the peak's top. The area was relatively lush and diverse for the desert, signs that nature doesn't need man's help to take care of itself. The position was easy to defend, as most people would give up far before they came close to our position and turn around for the picnic areas and easy trails and warmer areas created by the sun and rocks that block the wind.

As the mountaintop is reserved for those willing to pay the price, the moral high ground is reserved for those who do what they ought. It was the historical behavior of prophets throughout the Old Testament to go to the mountaintops to speak with God. To be where God is, you had to go higher; to see things the way God sees them, you need to go to a place that approximates His point of view. It takes a lot of work to get to the top of the mountain, and it takes a great deal of discipline to get to the moral high ground. Perhaps that is why Christ had so few disciples; too many people, if they even get out of their cars, settle for the picnic areas and well worn trails of mortality in the lower valleys or give up when the terrain turns upward. However, if you do today what others won't, tomorrow you'll be able to do what others can't.

I have paid the price, seen the vision, and stood in high places. It was a beautiful day. Wish you'd been there. Come with me next time.

Believe it When You See It

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Barack Obama likes to talk about how he has saved us from the most dire times this nation has ever faced. He talks about how he saved the auto industry, decimated Al Qaeda, prevented predatory banking, established a health care system that will prevent you from going bankrupt for medical bills, and brought the economy back from the greatest economic slump since the Great Depression. "I would put our legislative accomplishments of the first two years on par with any president except perhaps Johnson, FDR, and Lincoln" he said.

My life isn't really better because of Obama. In fact, the only indicator that Obama can influence, my economic standing, is down. The county sent my tax assessment results this weekend that show that I am now underwater in my mortgage, even though I paid less for my house than it sold for when it was new in 1998. I reminded my boss at my annual review in October that I am the only member of the department who is earning less now than when he was hired; they hired me, froze pay increases, and then gave us a paycut. I have hesitated for months getting a backup car because my gas expense, even though I get 38mpg on average over the life of my car, now costs me almost twice what it did when he was elected. The only reason I feel better under Obama is because of my attitude.

People in leadership positions of any heirarchy try to create an impression. See, they venerate the status quo even while they claim they fight against it. Usually, they draw power from the fear and dependency they can create; they do not want to solve your problems because then you don't need them any more. They have huge egos. They unjustly ascribe all the negative things to other sources and unjustly claim credit for all the accomplishments. For many months now, Obama has been claiming we are recovering while he claims he needs five more years to finish the job. You can't have it both ways. Either it has worked or it hasn't. From where I stand the conclusion is obvious.

Perhaps your circumstances are different. I do after all live in Las Vegas, which is one of the hardest hit areas of the country. We still have high unemployment and foreclosures which will continue if they pay for the payroll tax cut with new fees on mortgages. Obama acts like the farmer who thinks in order to get more eggs from the golden goose it makes sense to slay it. He will talk about shared sacrifice, living within our means, and being wise while his wife jets off with the most massive entourage in American history for vacations at our expense. Yet, he has probably been able to justify everything in his own mind. You see, it wasn't until after he was elected president that he was finally proud of his country. It's all about him.

I have warned for a good long while about causality and coincidence. If you have benefitted from Obama, unless you are his friend or useful to him somehow, I am 95% confident that it's accidental. Do not buy what the media tell you. They are trying to create an impression in your mind. The Ministry of Truth isn't concerned with Truth as much as they are concerned with what they want to be true or more importantly what they need you to think is. That's how they maintain control. When you own the information, you can bend it all you want.

Holy War

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I read a short summation yesterday of the conflict between Christians and Muslims. Many of you may even believe that the war was started by America, when it has actually been going on almost since the dawn of Mohammedanism. Not that all Christians or all Muslims believe in, support, or understand the rationale for this Holy War, but it is part of a longer protracted struggle between the church of Christ and the church of Lucifer.

Before you jump up and cry foul, I chose on purpose not to capitalize church, because it is not a particular church. It is about an individual man's faith rather than the Faith to which he happens to belong. Where this really began was in Heaven, when Lucifer, that son of the morning, rebelled against God and tried to enforce his will over that of his Father. Before Mohammed's vision, the Christians had other opponents. First, it was the Sanhedrin, then the Romans, then other Christians, and only then did Lucifer buy up whole armies and navies with which to slay the saints of God.

Holy war between Christians and their enemies was never started by the Christian Faith. It was started by a few sad souls among either Christian congregations or those of their enemies who took it upon themselves to exact justice upon those who knew not where to find truth. Peter was the first guilty of this, when he smote off the ear of the guard who came to take Jesus. Peter learned quickly after the crucifiction and corrected his course and became wise. Others were otherwise. If you watch "Barabbas", it depicts him during the reign of Nero I believe join in when he hears that the "christians are burning the city of Rome". Well, maybe some were, but it wasn't the Faith as a whole that started it.

By the time of the first Crusade, the Christians had been attacked for many centuries. Until Constantine, they were constantly involved in 'wonderful contentions' with people of other faiths. Even after the unification, there arose disputations even among the Christians- Henry VIII, Martin Luther, and many others who disagreed with philosphies of men mingled with scripture being taught by their leaders. However, by 1050 AD, the Mohammedans had launched several attacks of their own on Christians and were by no means any more innocent than popes of that same name. When the Christians made their Crusades, they gave up their high ground and hurt themselves, because when you pay attention to something annoying, you give it credence.

Lucifer is founder and god of the great and abominable church. The "abominable church" isn't a specific church. It is really churches founded and led by men to get gain and deceive people. Far too many people, particularly preachers, "Clothe [their] naked villainy with odd old ends stolen forth from holy writ and seem a saint when most [they] play the devil" (Richard III Act I Scene iii). They draw near to God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him. They tell people that it's ok to commit a little sin and that either they can be forgiven for money or that in the end God will save all men regardless. They teach the philosophies of men mingled with scripture and proclaim doctrines that are pleasing to the carnal mind. They teach that salvation is easy (which it is), but not how it happens, because they have not set their hearts to understand the doctrine and therefore cannot teach it to others. When a man of God comes among them, they will call him a lunatic and cast him out and slay him if they can because he threatens their economic enterprise and position of power. Even if they cannot slay him with their swords, they will slay him with words, assaulting his character and slandering his standing in the Faith. It's very diabolical and inconsistent with the principles taught by Christ during His mortal ministry.

The church of Christ is His church if it is founded on His gospel and in His name. If the church be the Church of Moses, then it's Moses' church, or the church of Mohammed, then it's Mohammed's church, or the church of the holy sepulcher, it's the holy sepulcher's church. Only if it's the Church of Christ and is also founded on truth and teachings of Christ will it be Christ's church. While there are good people in every Faith and evil people in every Faith, a Faith that is founded on the principles taught by Christ that teaches men to come to, partner with, learn of, serve, and become like Christ is the only Faith that is endorsed by the Christ. Also, that Faith must be given authority by Christ to officiate in the saving ordinances. Just because men of a particular Faith profess to have the priesthood doesn't mean God licenses the practice of sacred sacraments; Paul told the Hebrews that no man taketh this honor unto himself save he was called of God as was Aaron.

The holy war is between the followers of Christ and the followers of Lucifer. As such, there are gorilla groups of both camps in every church.  Lucifer has bought and paid for false priests to deceive men, tyrants to oppress men, and armies to slay the saints of God. Christ teaches us to turn the other cheek, because His kingdom is not of this world. I think we do ourselves a great disservice when we get attached to the earth and try to establish on earth, which is fallen, the utopia that only heaven can sustain.

Even among Christian Faiths, the assault on faith continues. Their chief weapon is the Bible. Originally, they kept it from people so they could tell people who could not read it even if they were literate and call the priest's bluff. After Guthenburg (who did the world a great disservice by giving them the Bible without training them how to use it), the foist was over and people discovered deception by clergy. When it was written, it contained the fulness of the gospel. For various reasons and at various times, men have changed the actual content and context and connotation of the passages found in the current Bible. For my own part, I own several different translations in several different languages although I primarily read the King James Version. Even by that time, no matter how meticulous King James' scribes were, many plain and precious parts had been removed, because the Catholic Church in various councils and meetings prior to, during, and after the reign of Constantine decided what belonged and what did not. As far as I know, they did not ask God to validate their choices or guide their decisions. It was done democratically and politically. They censored the Bible in essence to serve their own purposes, to secure their own power, and to establish a tyranny over the mind of man. Even today, no matter how well-meant the efforts may be, people change the Bible to 'mean more to modern man'; I heard last night on the Dave Ramsey Show an excerpt from some version that used the word "cosign" which is not a word that Solomon would have used while writing Proverbs. I know what it means (first recorded use 1865 according to Oxford English Dictionary), but that might not be what Solomon meant when he wrote whatever Aramaic word it was that was originally put into the Bible.

This is why it is absolutely critical that you develop, live worthy of, and work to maintain a personal relationship with your Father in Heaven. That way, when men try to deceive you even if it's "for your good", you can check with Him and find out, and when you read what men write, you can discern through His Spirit between truth and speculation. As you learn to listen, He will speak to you about those plain and precious things and give you further and specific instruction to guide you where you need to go, because different things will help you to become Celestial (like God) than will help me get there, and His work and glory is your immortality and eternal life.

Ironically enough, good will win in the end. You see, God's aim is different from the devil's, and the devil cannot understand why He loves men and wants to populate the universe with billions of copies of Himself. Then again, Lucifer is only the father of lies, whereas God is our Father, and like every real father loves His children.