Those damn Voices are at it again! “God spoke to me!” says a Pastor…err, but I thought if you really do hear voices it’s called Schizophrenia? Not in Christian-land, LOL.
Here’s what the Voices are saying. I will warn you, they are heavily influenced by over-eating and way too much sugar from the Christmas carnage!
1. Nothing like watching the History Channel to remind you of how contrived our current American “Christmas” is, LOL. It’s a Tradition built upon the imagination of poets, songwriters, artists and advertising agencies pulling from Dutch and Catholic and pagan lore…thrown in a rhetorical blender…and out comes the American Christmas Santa soup! Mmmm, delicious!
Christians* will tout “the real meaning of the Season!” while participating with the unwashed heathen headlong in a consumeristic orgy of our own imagination.
Well, it’s fun. I love it. What a great holiday. Even the “War on Christmas” is part of its charm.
What a great example of the Yin and Yang of human existence. Greed, consumerism, philosophical disagreement, lies, mythology, sales hype, manufactured insecurity to sell more crap from China and make Wall Street richer, a time for family to disown each other or irritate the heck out of each other…and a time for family and friends to gather, show their love and appreciation for one another, a time of charity, a time to watch children in their innocence with such anticipation and glee, a time for many of faith to gather and celebrate their belief in the day’s religious significance. Truly the two sides of our human existence expressed in one gloriously pulp-human endeavor we collectively call “Christmas.”
Merry Christmas*! Let’s do it again next year!!!
2. Christmas*, ironically, is a big part of our current Economic System…in fact, it affects the whole World. The United States is the leading World Economy (for now, until China passes us in the next decade or two)…and a whopping 70% of the growth of the U.S. Economy is based on American Consumerism. That’s right, 70% of the growth of the U.S. Economy is dependent on Consumer Spending.
What may surprise you is that despite what the bible may say about Greed etc, Consumer Spending is the reason the U.S. is the number one economy in the World and the reason we have avoided another Great Depression (to date). According to Robert Shiller, nobel prize economist, in a New York Times article discussing how the U.S. and World will dodge another major financial crisis, Shiller offers this insight:
“For now, we must pin our hopes for a robust recovery on the willingness of millions of consumers to spend substantially more.”–Robert Shiller, Nobel Prize winning Economist.
That’s right! Spend more money you don’t have on stuff you don’t need and the Economy will be fine! Welcome to ‘Merica and our Current Economic System. Praise Jesus, get out of my way, I’m goin’ to Wal-Mart!
Our Federal Reserve and Government (both Bush and Obama) are fully on board and driving this dynamic. Debt/Creditism is the “cure” for whatever ills our Economy has. Prop up Wall Street, the Housing Market and Auto Market through unprecedented QE (Quantitative Easing) at the rate of $75 Billion a month, keep interest rates artificially low at Zero Percent (ZIRP) and perpetually increase the U.S. Debt Ceiling…basically just get a credit increase on the credit card each month rather than paying the bill (borrow the money you need to make the monthly payment to others, definition of a Ponzi Scheme…”illegal” for you and me, but not our collective Government System).
Give ‘Mericans more easy money to spend. Hey, it works*. Give a ‘Merican a dollar (and some credit) and he’ll spend three. Debt doesn’t matter…until it does.
The U.S. Economy (and defacto the World Economy) is built on piles and piles and piles of mind-numbing Debt and Credit. Currently, the United States is over $17 TRILLION in Debt and counting. We must raise the Debt Ceiling again this February to avoid yet another Default and Government shutdown. All the propaganda about “we’re decreasing the Deficit!” is a lie. Merely slowing the rate of increase is not a decrease, unless you’re a low information voter and idiot. We’ll never actually decrease the Deficit again. We can’t. We’ll keep taking on more and more Debt and Deficit to continue to drive this fake-economy built on Consumerism and Debtism/Creditism…until the next major crisis…until we blow up the Current System.
The U.S. Debt Clock is quite an amazing tool to see the insanity in action: http://www.usdebtclock.org/
What’s of particular interest to me that many will miss: The Shadow Banking System has now amassed a fuk-ishima amount of Currency/Credit Derivatives of over $713 TRILLION. You can’t even fathom how much that number is. It’s telling of how fake our Current System is…it’s all built on everyone looking the other way and playing along. When someone blinks, it’s Game Over.
But, hey, party on! It’s not a Problem if we all just keep spending! I’m doing my part, are you?
Eat, drink and be merry…for tomorrow we die.
3. Don’t put men on pedestals. Chris Peterson, recent Boise State Football Coach, went to the Washington Huskies for more money and a better chance to win a National Title. Peterson’s a great character guy…but he’s not the messiah some in Boise made him out to be. When push comes to shove, humans will do what’s best for them. Coach Pete is a Rock Star and Boise couldn’t deliver the Big Stage.
4. Christians* are an interesting subsection of Society. The Duck Dynasty Phil Robertson controversy illustrates the Power this Group has…when they decide to fully exercise it. Our Society and Culture and Government Construct is largely powered by Special Interest and the ability for a particular Group to fund, organize, make noise, disrupt, apply pressure and influence Business, which in turn influences Government. Smaller more vocal more focused and motivated Groups like the Gay Rights Movement demonstrate how to make the System work for you. Christians*, all their warts aside, have a huge amount of untapped Power…but fortunately for the smaller more motivated more politically savvy Groups who oppose them…Christians* is stupid and unmotivated…unless you f**k with the Duck, LOL.
Christians*…if you want to move the pieces around the board in our System in a more effective manner, you need to become more Pragmatic and you need to study up. Instead of wasting your time reading Ken Ham’s pseudo-science and listening to endless Prophecy Wonks get it wrong on who the next Anti-Christ is…may I suggest you read up on Social Movement Theory, the science of Social Movements, Political Theory and learn from those who have been successful in disrupting the status quo and effecting major shifts in our Socio-Political Landscape: Saul Alinsky, the Civil Rights Movement, Gay Rights Movement, etc.
You have the Power to define Morality and Consensus (to a large degree)…that’s how it works in our System. You are to blame for the ills you perceive in American Society with regards to Socio-Political issues. There is no reason, with the vast numbers and resource you possess, that you shouldn’t be able to shape America the way you want it, like the other much smaller Groups have.
Personally, I appreciate our Constitution and the Bill of Rights…and I exercise those rights and use them to help influence the Public Discussion on a range of issues that are important to me. Hey, just keep “leaving it to the Lord!”…the rest of us appreciate it, we’ll make the stuff happen while you complain about how your particular views and opinions continue to erode.
5. “We teach the whole counsel of God!” has got to be one of the biggest lies and pieces of propaganda perpetuated by Christian* Selective Fundamentalism. I was a part of Calvary Chapel for many years, as well as several other Evangelical churches. They teach out of about 25% of the bible, if that, and they trot out the same carefully controlled pick-and-choose narratives over and over and over. Repetition is a key part of indoctrination.
My eyes were quite opened when, years ago, I actually read the whole bible over and over myself. You’d be surprised what’s in there. The stuff doesn’t fit in a tidy little Box constructed by one of the 9,000 to 30,000 Christian* denominations. Sunday School would be a far different experience if the Christians* were more honest about the “whole counsel” of God as presented by the bible itself.
I missed this particular passage in Sunday School…and in the big services, I wonder why?
Judges 19
English Standard Version (ESV)
A Levite and His Concubine
19 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 And his concubine was unfaithful to[a] him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house. And when the girl’s father saw him, he came with joy to meet him. 4 And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there.5 And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law,“Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go.” 6 So the two of them sat and ate and drank together. And the girl’s father said to the man, “Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him, till he spent the night there again. 8 And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning to depart. And the girl’s father said, “Strengthen your heart and wait until the day declines.” So they ate, both of them. 9 And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day has waned toward evening. Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home.”
10 But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. 11 When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”12 And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.” 13 And he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.” 14 So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, 15 and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.
16 And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites. 17 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come from?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the Lord,[b] but no one has taken me into his house. 19 We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.” 21 So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
Gibeah’s Crime
22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.26 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.
27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home.29 And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”