Why Me
July 14, 2008
Why Me
As a Christian I feel the need to say some things and it may offend some. For one just because I am a Christian that doesn’t mean I am never allowed to get mad or upset. It doesn’t mean I am always going to be in a good mood, and it doesn’t mean you can run over me and I will automatically forget it. Why do I feel the need to express this to you? Because it seems when I have an issue or problem with some one they are quick to point out I am a Christian and am not supposed to feel?? Ok can you explain this?? I mean I am a human being with feelings, how can I not feel?
Choose To Be Happy
July 13, 2008
What if I told you that you have the ability to decide if you are happy or not. You would probably say that I’m crazy. 1. I’m not crazy and 2. Happiness is a choice.
You can’t depend on someone else to make you happy. That is a lesson I learned early on in my marriage. I realized that I couldn’t rely on my husband as my source of happiness. I learned that my happiness depended on me and not my husband’s actions. I learned that you have to choose to be happy.
You can choose your emotions. True happiness comes from within, it can’t be forced by outside forces. So how do you choose happiness? The same away you choose to smile or choose to wear a certain outfit. You choose it because that’s what you want to experience in your life.
You want to buy a new pair of shoes so you choose a pair that you like and feels good. You wouldn’t buy a pair of shoes that you don’t like or that don’t fit well, right? So why do we keep choosing emotions and feelings that don’t make us feel good?
Biblical Hermeneutics ? Part 3
July 13, 2008
Instead of being passive consumers of Biblical commentary, we can participate in the forming of a very particular, but no less authentic, commentary of our own. The only thing that should happen between text and commentary is exegesis, not homiletics. In other words, we should not become reliant on them. Continued dependence on commentaries will handicap or hinder the development of exegetical skills needed to do independent pre-commentary study. This is why it is probably safest to consult more than one commentary and to consult it at the end of the exegetical process and not the beginning.
Biblical studies is never truly complete until we have attempted to reflect in a careful and systematic way upon what we have learned, and in reflecting, make creative and responsible applications to the situation of the church universal today.
Proper hermeneutics then, play a vital role in the evolution of good homiletics. It not only provides the rule whereby an understanding of the text’s original context can be obtained, but it permits the context to be trans-culturally applied to modern times.
Is America Still Racist?
July 12, 2008
This is one entry in my Heroes and Villains Volume of an encyclopedia available at World-Mysteries.com.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES: - It was not until after the Nuremberg Trials that the rest of the world put the kinds of protections in place that had already been in place for a long time in Germany but we are found accusing Germans of the heinous crimes we actually lead. It is just like Mackenzie King in Canada who was backing Hitler and his programs in many areas, along with other blue bloods like the Bushes and their bosses the Merovingians. Oliver Wendell Holmes is considered to be a transcendentalist like Emerson who has strong ties to Carlyle and therefore the Goethe Illuminati of Weishaupt. His thoughts which are included in the following quote are not as bad as they might seem and I personally think there is merit in abortion and other forms of eugenics if done for the ‘Greater Good’.
Anointed versus Talented: Whats the Difference?
July 11, 2008
Talent is defined as: "Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality”. The word talent comes from a Greek word that also tells us about something of great value as described in Matthew 25:15-30.
Talent for artists is the skill and natural ability to create. It can be enhanced by training and practice. Being anointed is the very power of God that uses that talent to accomplish God’s purpose or plan.
In the scriptures the actual practice of anointing was to apply oil to a person or a thing. Anointing did have its uses for ordinary purposes such as with scented oils or protecting leather, and for medical purposes for the sick or the wounded (although not necessarily with oil).
Sacred anointing was to dedicate a thing or person to God. The oil symbolized the Holy Spirit, empowering them for a particular assignment in the service of God. “Messiah” from the Hebrew word “mashiah”, and Christ from the Greek “christos”, meaning “the anointed one” or the one who is empowered to do the assignment (in this case, redeem mankind back to God).
Happiest Person In America: Whats Sex Got To Do With It?
July 10, 2008
Who is the happiest person in America? USA Today featured Happiest Person in a cover story in its USA Weekend magazine. Bad news: it’s not you. Nor is it me.
Just how did they find Happiest Person and determine that he is indeed the happiest person in America? The USA Today research team appears to have used an elegantly simple three-step process.
First, they identified “the world’s leading authority on happiness”, Martin Seligman … which must have come as a wee bit of a surprise to several of his equally well-known and equally well-respected peers. How they picked Seligman remains more of a mystery than how a land-locked nation of mountains and yodeling became home to the holy grail of yachting, but we are working feverishly to crack the code.
Next, they asked Seligman to name six principles of happiness. Seligman listed couple strengths, a win-win approach, savoring success, playing to one’s strengths, opening doors to opportunity and finding meaning in life.
Finally, they applied Seligman’s principles to determine who best matches them. Naawww, just kidding. That would make way too much sense. Instead, USA Today created a make-believe process of its own that stands out from Seligman’s list like the Jolly Green Giant at a dwarf convention. Here is the USA Today process.
Biblical Hermeneutics ? Part 2
July 9, 2008
Should we be tempted to believe that our system of interpretation is the only system that has ever existed, Ramm makes it very clear in his discussion of the "historical schools" that this is not so. The "Battle for the Bible" may have, in fact, been born as the second century Christian exegetes, who were influenced by Jewish Biblical scholarship, espoused a literal reading of Scripture which assumed its historical accuracy and included a healthy respect for questions of context. Around the same time these interpreters (referred to by Ramm as the School of Antioch) were not exclusively concerned with the Bible’s literal sense; they were equally concerned to interpret Scripture at a level that transcended its historical-literal dimension. This school of thought judged Scripture to be reliable and true on the basis of its conformity to orthodox Christian doctrine. In essence, Scripture judged the church, but it was the church who judged what was scriptural; and at this point the church was still involved in the process of assessing the value and authority of many Christian documents, only some of which made it into the canon.
Rules of Noble Succession
July 8, 2008
Let me first say that the rules of noble succession, as they apply to a specific noble family, can normally not be changed. They are determined either by:
1) the rules of succession laid down in the letter patent which was given to the family member who was first ennobled (for patent nobility)
or
2) the rules of succession in use at the time and the place where the family was first recognised as noble (for original nobility)
It follows that in the case of patent nobility the rules of succession could only be changed by the conferring authority, the reigning Monarch or his or hers successors (if the constitution would allow for such changes).
In the case of the original nobility in my opinion the rules of succession cannot ever be changed, not even by a successor of the reigning Monarch who once recognised the family as noble, because the rules of succession were in most cases not at the Monarch’s disposition to change. Hence, for all practical purposes and certainly for the study of genealogy, we may assume that noble families are bound by certain rules of succession that must be adhered to.
Religion has Served Its Usefulness for Mankind
July 8, 2008
As the world becomes closer and closer together, there seems to be a problem with the World’s religions. It is time to close them down. The hypocrisy in all religions is unnerving and shows a complete beak down of mankind’s mental capacity and inability to cope with the current projected reality.
We see in the news today hate crimes in Muslim world against Christians and Jews. We see the prison uproar over literary books labeled as Holy? A book is a book; that is what it is. If it is a symbol and you worship that symbol then you are a pagan and you are not of the faith your claim to be from. All this crap about flushing Korans down military Prison commodes is hog wash and simply ridiculous? Even if it were true; so what? If flushing a book down a military commode gets a prisoner to tell us information which can prevent Americans or innocent people of any nation from being killed that is water well spent. Whoooosh, bring me another one? Hel,l bring me a dump truck load of them and build some larger toilets.
The Three Schools of Business Ethics
July 7, 2008
G. Richard Shell, author of Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People, identifies three primary schools of ethics in negotiation. To me, they are equally valuable in examining ethics in the context of business in general.
1. The Poker School - “It’s a Game”
To poker players, business is a game and anything that can be done to gain advantage within the rules of the game (generally speaking, the laws of the land), is fair and just. If you love negotiating “gambits” (lowballing, goodcop/bad cop, red herrings, nibbling, etc.), and sales “tactics” (101 effective closing techniques, 30 tricks to getting past the gatekeeper,etc.) you may well belong to this school.
2. The Idealist School - “Do the right thing, even if it hurts.”
To the idealist, there is no seperation between business in life. If you would not lie to your loved ones, you do not lie to your clients. If it’s OK to tell a “white lie” to protect the feelings of a friend or prevent a tragedy, it’s OK to tell a “white lie” to protect a corporate ally or prevent a business tragedy. While two idealists may differ in the specific set of rules they live by, they share the rigidity of doing what they believe to be “right”, even when it seems contrary to their business goals.
