Some thoughts, though not organized well because sometimes I just need to ramble.
Seemingly contradictory statements in Scripture are where most of the major Christian controversies are born. The most discussed in Evangelical circles are Calvinism vs Arminianism, the Atonement, and the Kingdom. The first two I may devote a post or series of posts too in the future, but today I'd like to tackle the third.
The contradictions that introduce the argument come straight from the teachings of Christ, so suggesting that they truly are contradictions is a gross misunderstanding and near-blasphemous misrepresentation of Christ Himself. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like..." beings several Parables which are given directly to His disciples. Couple those with the Sermon on the Mount and several statements Christ made to various people and you get a somewhat hazy but important theology of the Kingdom. Here's the Saxon Paraphrase Bible version.
So, open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3...
John the Baptist is preaching and he says "Jesus is coming" but he uses the words "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"
then in chapter 4
Christ preaches the exact same thing as John - "I'm here" but He also uses these words "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand"
chapter 5
He gathers a group of followers, people who were interested in Him because of His miracles, His words and probably curiosity. He describes to them how a Kingdom citizen is to live. He describes a moral person with a love for God and man. He describes someone interested in what God thinks and with a keen sense of the suffering of others. He describes someone who isn't selfish, isn't greedy, isn't blood-thirsty, and most of all isn't prideful. He uses contemporaries (the Pharisees) as an example of how not to be a Kingdom citizen. He is describing a culture, but a culture of ideas and paradigms not actions. When he says "blessed are the poor" He means "happiness comes from spiritual things, not material" when he says "love your enemy" he means "we are in a struggle for souls, not territory, we are not trying to conquer the world, we are trying to convert the masses". This is not a description of thousands of years from then. This is not Heaven in the sense of Zion with the elders, angels, beasts, and the golden streets. This is Heaven, Christ reigning over the people of His church, His own flesh and blood, the Body of the Living King. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
chapter 10
Christ commissions his "army" to go an preach the same thing "I'm here, your King has arrived" using those same words "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand"
chapter 11
The Kingdom of Heaven is filled with Saints, and those Saints are the most valuable things in God's Universe
chapter 12
Christ casts out demons either by Satan (illogical) or by God (logical) and then draws the corollary that if it is by God then the Kingdom is here
chapter 13
starting at verse 24,
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a group of people, some of which are followers of Christ, some of which are not --- and they won't be separated until its time to judge finally.
now at verse 31,
The Kingdom of Heaven is greatness born out of small, specific actions, thoughts and ideas
verse 33
The Kingdom of Heaven should (and will) permeate every aspect of your life
verse 44 & 45
The Kingdom of Heaven should be valued above all else
verse 47
The Kingdom of Heaven will be purified, and the judgement will make sure of it -- this and the sower shows that at first it will not be pure, and that it will need to be purified
chapter 16
Here's where you've got some "contradiction"
Christ hands Peter the "keys to the Kingdom" (seemingly future tense) and then declares that those present will "not taste death till they see the coming of the Son of Man in His Kingdom" (also seemingly future) I think these back me up from my previous claims in the Sermon on the Mount. Christ was telling them that His crucifixion, resurrection (the coming of the Son of Man in His Kingdom) and Ascension were very near (even could be described as "at hand"), so near the listeners would not have time to die.
How do you describe getting saved to a 5 year old? Jesus Christ is coming to live in your heart.
What is He doing there? Reigning. Unlike the sin that before had "reigned in your mortal body" He is King now. The Church is His body and the Kingdom is then/now/then. Or as my dad says (he didn't originate it, just "bleeds it" haha) already, not yet.
So, am I an amillennial, Heaven Forbid! The same common sense approach to Kingdom teaching allows for a common sense Eschatology suggesting that when John describes a 1000 yr period of physical a Kingdom with particular defining aspects (such as Saints judging Angels, the reinstatement of Israel, the bodily reign of Christ in Jerusalem, the binding and eventual loosing of Satan and the final judgment) he isn't drawing pictures.
Next time, possibly I'll address missions in light of the Kingdom mandates, or not I'll see how I'm feeling.
Braves are going through a bit of an up and down stretch. JUpton is mired in a horrible slump which has countered the emergence of Uggla's and BJ's production. It is becoming evident that the reason the Braves are good is because their starting pitching is phenomenal. That leads to a difficult query - who does Brandon Beachy replace? BB was the staff ace, no doubt about it, before he had to get TJ. Now Minor is the 2nd or 3rd best lefty in the NL (Kershaw, Lee, Corbin and Minor is some order), Medlen is the guy who started 25 straight wins last year, Maholm has been stellar, Huddy is a future HoFamer and Teheran has given up more than 2 runs only 3 times over his last 9 starts. I hate to say it, but either Juilo gets sent down or Maholm gets traded, but we better get half the farm and an impact now reliever or Frank's got some 'splainin to do.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Conspiratorialism
Some of my favorite conspiracies, you decide if they're legit.
All of the high profile assassinations and attempts, including Kennedy, Reagan, King, Lincoln etc, have been endorsed by at least a faction of the Federal Government in one way or another.
Sounds pretty far fetched until you start looking at the arguments. First Kennedy, the other shooter of course, but also the rest of the family. Its like a real life Final Destination they're all going to die unnaturally its just a matter of how and when. Which, by the way, is one of the stupidest movie series ever conceived of, but I must see them all. Is it not possible that war with Russia was on the horizon? The Cold War was in full affect. Kennedy side-stepped it nicely a couple of times but could he again? Maybe somebody knew he was done playing around. Maybe somebody knew the next time the Russians pushed he was going to push back. I don't know, just seems fishy.
Ok, what about Reagan? Have you checked his ratings? What a boost that was, to be able to connect to the American people from a Hospital bed. Am I saying he lied to us about it? Maybe. Or maybe an aid thought it would help but kept him out of the loop. He was a professional actor, maybe he just played like he got shot. He was the President, he could fabricate some forms pretty easily. Just saying.
Sure....what about King? Listen, Malcolm X was the real threat. If King hadn't been shot he would've run for President. If he had run for President he probably would have won. If he had been President Malcolm's people would have been in the White House. If you're a CIA analyst and you see that scenario you act fast. Why not shoot Malcolm? They did. The also shot King because he was the figure head that would place the radicals in power. Not saying I would do it, I just see the thought process.
Whatever...you can't say they shot Lincoln? Well, that one is actually the easiest. Booth was a disgruntled individual. The South had been defeated meaning life as he, and anyone else, knew it was about to change drastically. Also, as I've highlighted in earlier posts, Lincoln had made a lot of enemies with his spit-in-the-face-of-the-constitution leadership style. How easy would it be to justify killing a man who was in many ways responsible for more American deaths than anyone in history, to this very day. Hmmmmm...
Convincing right? I don't believe any of that but it interests me when people do. The moon landing? Sure, they faked the moon landing, tell that to John Glenn or Buzz Aldrin and you'll be swallowing your teeth in a second. 911? No government, no matter how corrupt, kills thousands and cripples its own economy to start a land war in Asia (the biggest blunder possible, barely edging out a battle of wits against a Sicilian with death on the line).
Wow, if you finished reading this, you're awesome. Sorry I didn't have much today. Tuesday I'll explain my position regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. Hint, I'm not classic.
Braves swept the Pirates. 7 game lead on the Phils in the East (Gnats are in 3rd!!!!) and indisputable awesomeness. Gattis, JUpton, Freeman and Simmons all belong in the All-Star game. Kimbrel and Minor too. I can only imagine how good this team would be with Chipper, even at his advanced age most experts agreed he could be a valuable platoon candidate, DH or pinch hitter. Maybe he'll come back for the stretch run? I can dream anyway.
All of the high profile assassinations and attempts, including Kennedy, Reagan, King, Lincoln etc, have been endorsed by at least a faction of the Federal Government in one way or another.
Sounds pretty far fetched until you start looking at the arguments. First Kennedy, the other shooter of course, but also the rest of the family. Its like a real life Final Destination they're all going to die unnaturally its just a matter of how and when. Which, by the way, is one of the stupidest movie series ever conceived of, but I must see them all. Is it not possible that war with Russia was on the horizon? The Cold War was in full affect. Kennedy side-stepped it nicely a couple of times but could he again? Maybe somebody knew he was done playing around. Maybe somebody knew the next time the Russians pushed he was going to push back. I don't know, just seems fishy.
Ok, what about Reagan? Have you checked his ratings? What a boost that was, to be able to connect to the American people from a Hospital bed. Am I saying he lied to us about it? Maybe. Or maybe an aid thought it would help but kept him out of the loop. He was a professional actor, maybe he just played like he got shot. He was the President, he could fabricate some forms pretty easily. Just saying.
Sure....what about King? Listen, Malcolm X was the real threat. If King hadn't been shot he would've run for President. If he had run for President he probably would have won. If he had been President Malcolm's people would have been in the White House. If you're a CIA analyst and you see that scenario you act fast. Why not shoot Malcolm? They did. The also shot King because he was the figure head that would place the radicals in power. Not saying I would do it, I just see the thought process.
Whatever...you can't say they shot Lincoln? Well, that one is actually the easiest. Booth was a disgruntled individual. The South had been defeated meaning life as he, and anyone else, knew it was about to change drastically. Also, as I've highlighted in earlier posts, Lincoln had made a lot of enemies with his spit-in-the-face-of-the-constitution leadership style. How easy would it be to justify killing a man who was in many ways responsible for more American deaths than anyone in history, to this very day. Hmmmmm...
Convincing right? I don't believe any of that but it interests me when people do. The moon landing? Sure, they faked the moon landing, tell that to John Glenn or Buzz Aldrin and you'll be swallowing your teeth in a second. 911? No government, no matter how corrupt, kills thousands and cripples its own economy to start a land war in Asia (the biggest blunder possible, barely edging out a battle of wits against a Sicilian with death on the line).
Wow, if you finished reading this, you're awesome. Sorry I didn't have much today. Tuesday I'll explain my position regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. Hint, I'm not classic.
Braves swept the Pirates. 7 game lead on the Phils in the East (Gnats are in 3rd!!!!) and indisputable awesomeness. Gattis, JUpton, Freeman and Simmons all belong in the All-Star game. Kimbrel and Minor too. I can only imagine how good this team would be with Chipper, even at his advanced age most experts agreed he could be a valuable platoon candidate, DH or pinch hitter. Maybe he'll come back for the stretch run? I can dream anyway.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
At the Movies: Les Miserables *Spoilers*
This is a day late, and as always I'm a dollar short, but yesterday was a full day.
I LOVE the book and musical versions of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. So I was excited when I heard they were making a movie. I got more excited when I heard Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe were going to be in it. This excitement increased yet again when I discovered it was to be a motion picture version of the musical with full songs and orchestration. That excitement waned a bit when Anne Hathaway was revealed to be Fantine, but I never really liked Fantine anyway so no loss.
I'll address the movie and then the music. The scenery was awesome. The darkness that permeates the story was beautifully represented in the Gothic French architecture and grotesque costuming/makeup. The tragedy of the rebellion, its futility and the fanaticism of its participants was communicated clearly. At least two people related to me wept at certain scenes including the deaths of Gavroche, Javert and Valjean. The last couple movies I've seen Crowe in, he's been fair-to-midland. In Body of Lies he was not amazing and in Robin Hood he was decent but in Les Mis he didn't steal the show which Javert is very capable of doing. I'd give him a C-. This of course does not detract from his exceptional body of work including personal favorites Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind. Jackman was fan-tas-tic. He was not Wolverine, he was not Angier, he was Jean Valjean. Especially early in the film I lost him and was deep inside Valjean's damaged psyche. Great performance, A. Hathaway is not my favorite. Her only good role as of yet is Red in Hoodwinked, which if you haven't seen stop reading this and go watch it, its that good. She was ok as Fantine, definitely had the depression and despair down. At one point I wondered if she was channeling Gollom a little bit when Javert was threatening to arrest her.In any case, I wasn't weeping when she passed, B-. Marius, Enjolras, Cosette and Eponine were all decently cast. They each had strengths and weaknesses, the most glaring weakness being Cosette. As a group I'd say B+. Sacha Baron Cohen is one of those guys that leads me to investigate everything he does. So much funny, so much talent, so little conscience. He managed to be the only character in the film with a French accent which is obviously a plus seeing as every character is French. (Gavroche used cockney, an urban British accent, which is laughably stupid.) The Thenardiers fit the parts and did well in their limited roles, A. The only other character of interest was the priest, played by Colm Wilkinson. If you've heard the songs Jackman sang, you probably heard this guy singing them. He is one of the greatest singers I've ever heard and it turned out was a more than capable actor. Bravo production crew for getting one of the greats, A++.
Now for the music. It was, in a word, meh. However, I did not go into it thinking I was going to be getting the 10th Anniversary dream cast. Which is definitely worth the 2 hours. However, some of the music was well below snuff. Russell Crowe was horrible. Ok, we all knew that. Hathaway was also less than good, but she was emotive, for what its worth, so I tolerated it. Cosette was horrible and obnoxious. In the book and play you're supposed to fall in love with Cosette with Marius. Not happening here. Marius and the other revolutionaries were great. Enjolras in particular had a wonderful sound. I could listen to them sing for long stretches. The Thenardiers were better than I expected, Madame Thenardier (more famously Bellatrix Lestrange) was quite good actually. Cohen kept up. I already mentioned Wilkinson. That leaves Jackman. The whole movie hinged on whether or not he could handle telling the story in song. Not just any song, but some of the most beautiful and extremely challenging songs on the stage. He nailed it. His Who Am I? was breathtaking. His One Day More was very good and his Bring Him Home was good as well. The only complaint is he wasn't Colm and that's not fair to anybody.
So, in conclusion. Great movie, I loved it. Be aware the Thenardiers are dirty people and Fantine is driven to darkness.
On a philosophical note. The musical and now movie, have a cross agenda from the book. In Hugo's novel, contrast is the driving force. Contrast between Valjean and Javert, between Marius and Valjean, between Cosette and Eponine, between Fantine and the Thenardiers, between the revolutionaries and the criminals, and finally (and I believe ultimately) between Valjean and Monsieur Thenardier. Valjean and Thenardier start in the same place - the mud. Valjean asks for mercy, grants grace, gives love and receives blessing. Thenardier cheats, steals, kills, loots and eventually stands alone in the gutter with no one and nothing calling down curses on the God he thinks abandoned him. This powerful theme is completely lost on the comedic character in the musical but you can't have everything I suppose.
Haven't decided what's on the docket for tomorrow, tune in to find out! Now on to watch the Braves and Pirates play the MLB TV free game of the day!
I LOVE the book and musical versions of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. So I was excited when I heard they were making a movie. I got more excited when I heard Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe were going to be in it. This excitement increased yet again when I discovered it was to be a motion picture version of the musical with full songs and orchestration. That excitement waned a bit when Anne Hathaway was revealed to be Fantine, but I never really liked Fantine anyway so no loss.
I'll address the movie and then the music. The scenery was awesome. The darkness that permeates the story was beautifully represented in the Gothic French architecture and grotesque costuming/makeup. The tragedy of the rebellion, its futility and the fanaticism of its participants was communicated clearly. At least two people related to me wept at certain scenes including the deaths of Gavroche, Javert and Valjean. The last couple movies I've seen Crowe in, he's been fair-to-midland. In Body of Lies he was not amazing and in Robin Hood he was decent but in Les Mis he didn't steal the show which Javert is very capable of doing. I'd give him a C-. This of course does not detract from his exceptional body of work including personal favorites Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind. Jackman was fan-tas-tic. He was not Wolverine, he was not Angier, he was Jean Valjean. Especially early in the film I lost him and was deep inside Valjean's damaged psyche. Great performance, A. Hathaway is not my favorite. Her only good role as of yet is Red in Hoodwinked, which if you haven't seen stop reading this and go watch it, its that good. She was ok as Fantine, definitely had the depression and despair down. At one point I wondered if she was channeling Gollom a little bit when Javert was threatening to arrest her.In any case, I wasn't weeping when she passed, B-. Marius, Enjolras, Cosette and Eponine were all decently cast. They each had strengths and weaknesses, the most glaring weakness being Cosette. As a group I'd say B+. Sacha Baron Cohen is one of those guys that leads me to investigate everything he does. So much funny, so much talent, so little conscience. He managed to be the only character in the film with a French accent which is obviously a plus seeing as every character is French. (Gavroche used cockney, an urban British accent, which is laughably stupid.) The Thenardiers fit the parts and did well in their limited roles, A. The only other character of interest was the priest, played by Colm Wilkinson. If you've heard the songs Jackman sang, you probably heard this guy singing them. He is one of the greatest singers I've ever heard and it turned out was a more than capable actor. Bravo production crew for getting one of the greats, A++.
Now for the music. It was, in a word, meh. However, I did not go into it thinking I was going to be getting the 10th Anniversary dream cast. Which is definitely worth the 2 hours. However, some of the music was well below snuff. Russell Crowe was horrible. Ok, we all knew that. Hathaway was also less than good, but she was emotive, for what its worth, so I tolerated it. Cosette was horrible and obnoxious. In the book and play you're supposed to fall in love with Cosette with Marius. Not happening here. Marius and the other revolutionaries were great. Enjolras in particular had a wonderful sound. I could listen to them sing for long stretches. The Thenardiers were better than I expected, Madame Thenardier (more famously Bellatrix Lestrange) was quite good actually. Cohen kept up. I already mentioned Wilkinson. That leaves Jackman. The whole movie hinged on whether or not he could handle telling the story in song. Not just any song, but some of the most beautiful and extremely challenging songs on the stage. He nailed it. His Who Am I? was breathtaking. His One Day More was very good and his Bring Him Home was good as well. The only complaint is he wasn't Colm and that's not fair to anybody.
So, in conclusion. Great movie, I loved it. Be aware the Thenardiers are dirty people and Fantine is driven to darkness.
On a philosophical note. The musical and now movie, have a cross agenda from the book. In Hugo's novel, contrast is the driving force. Contrast between Valjean and Javert, between Marius and Valjean, between Cosette and Eponine, between Fantine and the Thenardiers, between the revolutionaries and the criminals, and finally (and I believe ultimately) between Valjean and Monsieur Thenardier. Valjean and Thenardier start in the same place - the mud. Valjean asks for mercy, grants grace, gives love and receives blessing. Thenardier cheats, steals, kills, loots and eventually stands alone in the gutter with no one and nothing calling down curses on the God he thinks abandoned him. This powerful theme is completely lost on the comedic character in the musical but you can't have everything I suppose.
Haven't decided what's on the docket for tomorrow, tune in to find out! Now on to watch the Braves and Pirates play the MLB TV free game of the day!
BONUS POST: A's @ Brewers 6/4
Last night had the privilege of participating in the time-honored tradition of going to a ballgame with your dad. I get gas at BP for only one reason, and that reason is free Brewers tickets. I've already gone once this year (see my last BONUS POST) and hope to go at least 5 more times. Pops wasn't busy (at least comparatively) and so we decided to take in a game at the old ballpark.
When the game finally ended at 10:45 pm we were both glad we came. A brilliant pitching performance by AJ Griffin was ruined by some poor relief appearances and series of clutch hits by the Brew Crew. In the bottom of the 10th, Yuni Betancourt walked off with his gapper off of sidewinder Pat Neshek into right that scored the speedy Carlos Gomez from first. Had it not been for the game the 2nd basemen Erick Sogard wouldn't have even attempted to throw him out, it wasn't even close.
Several clutch things occurred to get the game to that point. First of all, Kyle Loshe didn't fold after giving up a pair in the first. For the second game in a row I was walking up the ramps while the opposing team was homering in the first inning. Yeonis Cespedes, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorites, drilled a ball into the right center bleachers with Coco Crisp on base. When we heard that as we found our seats, we figured Loshe would get shelled at that at least there would be a lot of runs. However, he went 6 strong only allowing one other run, an absolutely annihilated missile to right center off the bat of the same Yeonis Cespedes in the 6th. I tweeted "I've never seen a homer leave the ballpark as fast as Cespedes' 2nd, holy #crushed." Check this baby out. It doesn't look nearly as awesome in the video, but it left the park before he reached 1st and never really got higher than the bottom of the scoreboard. Destroyed. But, Loshe still didn't cave.
Secondly, Jean Segura hit a two-rbi triple off of lefty Sean Doolittle in the 8th. The ball barely sneaked by 6'8" 1st baseman Nate Freiman into the corner scoring Rickie Weeks and Nori Aoki. Then, after Ryan Cook blew Ryan Braun away, Am Ram blooped a broken bat single into center completing the comeback and tying the game at 3 apiece.
None of this would have mattered if the following pitchers hadn't completed scoreless innings; Tom Gorzelanny, Brandon Kintzler, Micheal Gonzalez, Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford. Essentially the whole Brewers pen pitched, a pen which is much maligned and for good reason. However, despite Gonzalez loading the bases, each pitched extremely effectively and gave Milwaukee (and Axford) a W.
Fun game. Next one I'm going to will be game 1 of the 3 game series with Atlanta. Marc Tanis should be joining us so that will be fun.
When the game finally ended at 10:45 pm we were both glad we came. A brilliant pitching performance by AJ Griffin was ruined by some poor relief appearances and series of clutch hits by the Brew Crew. In the bottom of the 10th, Yuni Betancourt walked off with his gapper off of sidewinder Pat Neshek into right that scored the speedy Carlos Gomez from first. Had it not been for the game the 2nd basemen Erick Sogard wouldn't have even attempted to throw him out, it wasn't even close.
Several clutch things occurred to get the game to that point. First of all, Kyle Loshe didn't fold after giving up a pair in the first. For the second game in a row I was walking up the ramps while the opposing team was homering in the first inning. Yeonis Cespedes, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorites, drilled a ball into the right center bleachers with Coco Crisp on base. When we heard that as we found our seats, we figured Loshe would get shelled at that at least there would be a lot of runs. However, he went 6 strong only allowing one other run, an absolutely annihilated missile to right center off the bat of the same Yeonis Cespedes in the 6th. I tweeted "I've never seen a homer leave the ballpark as fast as Cespedes' 2nd, holy #crushed." Check this baby out. It doesn't look nearly as awesome in the video, but it left the park before he reached 1st and never really got higher than the bottom of the scoreboard. Destroyed. But, Loshe still didn't cave.
Secondly, Jean Segura hit a two-rbi triple off of lefty Sean Doolittle in the 8th. The ball barely sneaked by 6'8" 1st baseman Nate Freiman into the corner scoring Rickie Weeks and Nori Aoki. Then, after Ryan Cook blew Ryan Braun away, Am Ram blooped a broken bat single into center completing the comeback and tying the game at 3 apiece.
None of this would have mattered if the following pitchers hadn't completed scoreless innings; Tom Gorzelanny, Brandon Kintzler, Micheal Gonzalez, Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford. Essentially the whole Brewers pen pitched, a pen which is much maligned and for good reason. However, despite Gonzalez loading the bases, each pitched extremely effectively and gave Milwaukee (and Axford) a W.
Fun game. Next one I'm going to will be game 1 of the 3 game series with Atlanta. Marc Tanis should be joining us so that will be fun.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Participatory Government (UPDATE 6/5)
The following e-mail went out today to Senator Scott Fitzgerald, State Representative Mark Born, the Dodge County Supervisors and Horicon Alderperson Susan Hady. Parentheses have been added to explain things.
Senator
Fitzgerald (Or Representative Born or Supervisors or Ma'am),
*(Included only for the Alderperson) *You are receiving this message because 1) yours is the only e-mail address made public on the CoC's website and 2) there is no Aldermanic District Map for Horicon anywhere online so even if I could contact one of the others I wouldn't know who it concerned. Please disseminate at your discretion.*
(Beginning of the other 3 e-mails)
My name is Lance
Saxon. I am the Officer-in-Charge of the Lowell Post Office. I live on Lake St
in downtown Horicon. I drive about 30 min (exactly 28) to work each morning and this drive
includes crossing the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad tracks to get from one
side of town to the other. There are 3 options which remain in Horicon city
limits and all three cross the tracks, the north road (Lake St or Cty Rd B) the
middle road (Hwy 33) or the southern road (Valley to Washington). If I choose
to travel farther south out of town (Cty E to Cty S) I can avoid the tracks but
add at least 20 min to my trip.
Why should I be
avoiding the tracks? Because I, in the mornings and evenings delivering pizzas,
have been stopped at those tracks anywhere from between 4 min to a whopping 25! (Really, it sucks) Not only do trains cross the road there but the switch is located a few feet
from the intersection so any track switching results in a train being parked,
not moving, on the road while the technicians switch the tracks (technicians is being generous, guys in shorts with beards is more exact). This wouldn't
be a big deal if the traffic on this road was light, however it is a MAJOR
TRUCKING VEIN (yes I capitalized in the Senator's e-mail). This is insane (yep, said it). Semis and commuters alike sitting and watching
as train technicians fumble with switches losing valuable time and gasoline (in that order).
Not only the wait time, but the congestion created can make a 5 min jaunt from
the center of town to the intersection with 26 on the western edge take 30
solid min. (while my whole trip should take that long)
Solutions? I only can
conceive of a few and they sound costly. A bridge of course would allow traffic
to flow continuously without bothering the operations at WI&SOU (I shudder at the cost however). Another
possible solution would be posted times that the different intersections would
be blocked allowing drivers the option to divert their paths, something which I
have searched for in vain (it doesn't exist, and it would take a miracle to even try to make one, trains are ridiculously unpredictable...seems like they should be on a schedule but whatever). If you and your people can come up with any others,
I for one would support them wholeheartedly.
In any case, thank you
for your time and I appreciate any effort you put into solving this frustrating
issue. I have sent similar messages to Senator Fitzgerald, Representative Born and the County and
City leadership to whom it may concern. (I edited the list at the end depending on the recipient)
Sincerely,
D Lance Saxon Jr. (The "D" makes me look important)
UPDATE as of 1:30 5/30/13:I received the following e-mail from the Dodge County Board Clerk...
Recieved Yesterday 6/4, seen today 6/5 from Senator Fitzgerald's office.
UPDATE as of 1:30 5/30/13:I received the following e-mail from the Dodge County Board Clerk...
Mr. Saxon: I have received your letter addressed to the County Supervisors and will read it at the County Board meeting on June 18th. I will await further direction from County Board Chairman, Russell Kottke. Thank you.
Karen J. Gibson
Dodge County Clerk
UPDATE: Received 6/3 from Representative Mark Born
Hi Lance,
I have spoken to the WI Department of Transportation about the train switching issue. Concerns over the railroad have been elevated due to the Lake Street bridge closure. Unfortunately, the DOT does not have authority over the railroad and the timetables are determined by when the trains can get in/out of Chicago.
Wisconsin Southern recently met with the Horicon public works supervisor and the police chief. They will try to be more cooperative in the future and block the roadway less frequently, especially during peak times. We are continuing to explore possible solutions to this issue and I will keep you informed if there are any new developments.
Best,
John Cronin
Office of Rep. Mark Born
39th Assembly District
Recieved Yesterday 6/4, seen today 6/5 from Senator Fitzgerald's office.
4:13 PM (17 hours ago)
 | | |||
Lance, thanks for your email. You may have already heard from Rep. Born on this issue – he has taken the lead in working with the DOT on the train switching issue and will keep you updated. Sen. Fitzgerald has spoken with Rep Born and has also contacted the DOT on this issue and is aware that Wisconsin Southern recently met with the Horicon Public Works Supervisor and the Police Chief. According to the Mayor and the Dodge County Highway Commissioner, everyone is working together to try and ease the situation. Cindy Block/office of Sen. Fitzgerald
SeFrom: Sen.Fitzgerald
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 10:48 AM
To: Block, Cindy
Subject: FW: Question from Horicon
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 10:48 AM
To: Block, Cindy
Subject: FW: Question from Horicon
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
A New(?) Approach to Missions
If you talked to me for any amount of time about my goals in life you've heard about this. I still haven't found another person/group that is doing it this way, except in a history book. Doing things the same way over and over again and expecting different results is a classic definition of insanity. Its also on of the most frustrating tenets of traditionalism. "It was good enough for _______ its good enough for me!" (usually emphasized with hearty "guffaw"). I bristle at such inane argumentation and instead pursue the novel and creative ways to accomplish my goals. This concept is as such. If you are aware of someone doing things this way please let me know, I'd love to get in contact with them. Anyway, here's how I think missions should be done.
First, get schooled. None of this backwoods "all I need is to be able to read my Bible" stuff. Take advantage of other people's work. Learn how to do your own work. Learn the original languages even if you don't do the balance of the preaching. Don't stop at an undergraduate degree especially if its from ________ Bible College. You need more.
Second, get a team. Don't go by yourself. You're not Hudson Taylor, you're not Amy Carmichael don't try.
-- Philosophical interjection: When discussing a method for anything Utilitarianism is the word on the street. We're looking for what works. --
Get a group of people, families and singles, that are committed to the ministry and committed to the method. A group that has received the call of God on their life and has been commissioned by a local body of believers. The ideal team in my opinion is 3 families and 2 singles/retired people. I'll say more about this.
Third, pick a specific target group. Jews? Not specific enough. Jews in Germany? Closer. Jews in Berlin and the surrounding area? Better. Jews in _______ section of Berlin? Perfect. This allows you to fashion your ministry for that group's needs. Yes, all people need ministers but ministers cannot focus on all people. My Pastor is specifically called to Columbus and the surrounding area. He doesn't concern himself with the day-to-day workings of the underground church in China. Can he help them? Of course. But his personal ministry is specific. Therefore he can pour his life into us and be effective. There are seeming exceptions (John Piper) but they still have specific ministries merely with more scope.
Fourth, support yourself. Up to this point, most people are doing what I'm suggesting. Here is the shake up. Don't go on deputation. Go to college. Huh? How will you garner support? How will you gain valuable experience? How will you get 12 kids? (just kidding). Remember the team? 3 families and 2 others. Each piece has a role to play. Family 1 gets a full-time job in the field and lives on 60% of it. Family 2 gets a full-time job and lives on 60% of it. Other 1 gets a part-time job and lives on it plus church support. Other 2 gets a part-time job and lives on it plus church support. Family 3 lives on 30% of Family's 1&2 while being full-time in the ministry. The remaining 100% is for the ministry. Sending churches for each send enough to fill-in the gaps. If everybody needs 80% of Family's 1&2 to live and a part-time job is 50%. The sending churches (preferably at least 2 but up to 4) send 100% (from 50% to 25% each) of a year's wages to be divided up, 50% to Family 3 and 25% each to the Others.
Are you familiar with the Moravian Church? They were missionaries in Western Europe that used this system. 3 men would enter an area, one would be a barrel maker, one would be a blacksmith and one would preach. The preacher would live on the other two's incomes. Why? Because the 5 years spent on deputation (your average these days) could be spent getting a Masters Degree. Because a business man with a 40 hour a week job will have more credibility than a religious nut being supported wholesale by a bunch a radicals thousands of miles away. I'm not saying any missionaries currently supported wholesale by a group of churches is a religious nut, I'm saying they can look like they are. A job visa is easier to come by in most cases and much easier to hold for longer periods of time. Finally, once the ministry is self-supporting and native they become a partner in the process. This is common but extremely effective in my opinion both for the health of the native ministry and for the missionaries.
Sound good? This is precisely what I want to end up doing. At this point I want to be Family 1, but things can change. If you want to be on a team together let me know.
Braves lost two in a row after winning 8 straight. Losing 4-3 in the 1st in Toronto as I type. Going to see Oakland @ Milwaukee next Tuesday, will be Chipper's first game...can't wait. Will have a "Bonus Post" from the game on the 5th.
First, get schooled. None of this backwoods "all I need is to be able to read my Bible" stuff. Take advantage of other people's work. Learn how to do your own work. Learn the original languages even if you don't do the balance of the preaching. Don't stop at an undergraduate degree especially if its from ________ Bible College. You need more.
Second, get a team. Don't go by yourself. You're not Hudson Taylor, you're not Amy Carmichael don't try.
-- Philosophical interjection: When discussing a method for anything Utilitarianism is the word on the street. We're looking for what works. --
Get a group of people, families and singles, that are committed to the ministry and committed to the method. A group that has received the call of God on their life and has been commissioned by a local body of believers. The ideal team in my opinion is 3 families and 2 singles/retired people. I'll say more about this.
Third, pick a specific target group. Jews? Not specific enough. Jews in Germany? Closer. Jews in Berlin and the surrounding area? Better. Jews in _______ section of Berlin? Perfect. This allows you to fashion your ministry for that group's needs. Yes, all people need ministers but ministers cannot focus on all people. My Pastor is specifically called to Columbus and the surrounding area. He doesn't concern himself with the day-to-day workings of the underground church in China. Can he help them? Of course. But his personal ministry is specific. Therefore he can pour his life into us and be effective. There are seeming exceptions (John Piper) but they still have specific ministries merely with more scope.
Fourth, support yourself. Up to this point, most people are doing what I'm suggesting. Here is the shake up. Don't go on deputation. Go to college. Huh? How will you garner support? How will you gain valuable experience? How will you get 12 kids? (just kidding). Remember the team? 3 families and 2 others. Each piece has a role to play. Family 1 gets a full-time job in the field and lives on 60% of it. Family 2 gets a full-time job and lives on 60% of it. Other 1 gets a part-time job and lives on it plus church support. Other 2 gets a part-time job and lives on it plus church support. Family 3 lives on 30% of Family's 1&2 while being full-time in the ministry. The remaining 100% is for the ministry. Sending churches for each send enough to fill-in the gaps. If everybody needs 80% of Family's 1&2 to live and a part-time job is 50%. The sending churches (preferably at least 2 but up to 4) send 100% (from 50% to 25% each) of a year's wages to be divided up, 50% to Family 3 and 25% each to the Others.
Are you familiar with the Moravian Church? They were missionaries in Western Europe that used this system. 3 men would enter an area, one would be a barrel maker, one would be a blacksmith and one would preach. The preacher would live on the other two's incomes. Why? Because the 5 years spent on deputation (your average these days) could be spent getting a Masters Degree. Because a business man with a 40 hour a week job will have more credibility than a religious nut being supported wholesale by a bunch a radicals thousands of miles away. I'm not saying any missionaries currently supported wholesale by a group of churches is a religious nut, I'm saying they can look like they are. A job visa is easier to come by in most cases and much easier to hold for longer periods of time. Finally, once the ministry is self-supporting and native they become a partner in the process. This is common but extremely effective in my opinion both for the health of the native ministry and for the missionaries.
Sound good? This is precisely what I want to end up doing. At this point I want to be Family 1, but things can change. If you want to be on a team together let me know.
Braves lost two in a row after winning 8 straight. Losing 4-3 in the 1st in Toronto as I type. Going to see Oakland @ Milwaukee next Tuesday, will be Chipper's first game...can't wait. Will have a "Bonus Post" from the game on the 5th.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Demons Part III: "...because their deeds are evil."
If you randomly clicked this link you may want to check out Demons part I and II first. If you've been following along, thanks.
I'll list a few more world religions and their connections to demons. I'm not a "demon behind every bush" type of guy but as far as the spirituality of non-believers goes I think its hard to ignore what kind of impact a malicious group of spirit-beings would have. In any case - onward!
4. Buddhism
This is probably the biggest stretch yet. Buddhist are typically classified as "non-theists" but I think more accurately are humanists. They believe in the "middle way" of moral living which will allow the soul to escape this world's suffering and achieve nirvana. Buddha was a real person who became "enlightened" and decided to abandon any worldly treasure and position and starve himself while wondering around ancient China. Not sure how that avoids suffering but he seemed to think it did. In a sense he is the original ascetic. This seems to have little or no connection to the demonic world; however, watch this. Creepy. Camera trick or no, this is an example of a phenomenon clouded in myth but consistent with other descriptions of meditative powers. Spiritual Transrelocation is one way to describe it and a quick google search will reveal thousands of "documented" cases varying from the ridiculous to the video-and-two-witnesses level of veracity. I mentioned Transcendental Meditation in my paragraph about Hinduism, most likely this is the same process. While eschewing the concept that spiritual beings would assist them in their pursuit of the middle way, a Buddhist would still believe he is tapping into his own soul and achieving some disconnect from the scientific parameters of nature. Read that sentence again, it totally rocks. In any case, a Buddhist who delves into the meditation proscribed by his faith will encounter the demonic world and in my opinion worship it, if not actively, tacitly.
5. Spiritism (aka, Shintoism, Pantheism)
Not a surprise here. The Native Americans and Japanese, interestingly enough, share a religious affection for their ancestors. They worship the dead that went before them and rely on these fallen forefathers for help in doing right and escaping difficulty. The Japanese are more philosophical, at least outwardly, and tend to mesh Confucius or Taoism with their Shinto. The Native Americans are typically more pantheistic, worshiping the Great Spirit along with the spirit of the trees and the spirit of the wind. Watch Pocahontas, its the leaves in the wind thing. Now watch it and consider the wind to be demon possessed, changes things (exactly the same for Avatar only the whole planet is demon possessed...really leads to some interesting ideas regarding naturalism and the goddess).
6. Islam
One of my life goals is to get a PhD in Islam from Berlin University. In the meantime I'll settle for "spoke to several Muslims while in Turkey" as my credentials for writing about it. As far as the origins of the religion, Muhammad (pbuh) said he received the Koran from the angel Gabriel. Could this have been a demon? Sure. Also, some Muslims have syncretized Islam with their pagan tribalism (not unlike European and Latin American Catholics). This has resulted in a well-developed demonology including wards and amulets designed to chase off evil spirits. I have several "evil eyes" in my house. Supposedly if one were to fall and break it would mean it had warded off a spirit of despair and I would need another one to stay protected. This is not demon worship, this is demonology. I had the opportunity to listen to a lecture given by a Mrs. Baker, widow of a long time missionary to Muslims in Germany. They had composed a defense of Allah being a misrepresentation of God but in fact the same person or being. I had several issues with the argument some historical some linguistic. I hold that the being Allah is like Baal. Merely much more successful. Therefore, any Muslim who worships Allah is worshiping a demon. Not a popular thought, please don't shoot me.
7. The Church of Latter Day Saints...and some other pseudo-Christian cults
Moroni is a demon or John Smith (what a boring name for a founder of a religion, Brigham Young is much cooler) made it all up. Take your pick, once the Mormon community was established the demonic powers took over. Benny Hinn is either possessed or a bodily manifestation of a demon, I truly believe this. The Masons have a disturbing amount of religious vibe to their community, I'd contend demonic (though I've yet to satisfy my curiosity regarding these guys). Name a cult and do some digging and you'll find a demon.
So what? Well, if you aren't already a bit apprehensive about witnessing to someone now you should be. You aren't just combating the cultural morays and individual experiences arrayed against you. There is a darker, more powerful enemy, lurking behind each soul, each system, each decision and each idea. Consider CS Lewis' classic Screwtape Letters, while not trying to be authoritative, Lewis suggests each person has a demon assigned to it and even conversion itself does not end the demon's influence. This knowledge and the apprehension that comes with it should lead us to better prepare. It should also lead us to not trust in our own power when facing this challenge. As Christ said, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29). We are in a war, and while we confidently stand on the winning side, we should understand Who gives victory and that everyday success is just as much His business as the ultimate victory.
I guess I got it all down in 3. Unless somebody asks a really good question I'll move on to something else Tuesday.
Brrrrrraves complete the 6 game double sweep! Evan Gattis is literally already a legend. I've never even considered penciling in a rookie 3rd string C to the all-star game but this guy deserves it. Also wondering if either Ramiro Pena or Paul Janish get swapped for a left handed reliever soon since we don't really need 4 backup middle infielders and JV and E Flo are out for the year. I would suspect we'd prefer to keep Pena but he'd definitely rate a better return. We'll see.
I'll list a few more world religions and their connections to demons. I'm not a "demon behind every bush" type of guy but as far as the spirituality of non-believers goes I think its hard to ignore what kind of impact a malicious group of spirit-beings would have. In any case - onward!
4. Buddhism
This is probably the biggest stretch yet. Buddhist are typically classified as "non-theists" but I think more accurately are humanists. They believe in the "middle way" of moral living which will allow the soul to escape this world's suffering and achieve nirvana. Buddha was a real person who became "enlightened" and decided to abandon any worldly treasure and position and starve himself while wondering around ancient China. Not sure how that avoids suffering but he seemed to think it did. In a sense he is the original ascetic. This seems to have little or no connection to the demonic world; however, watch this. Creepy. Camera trick or no, this is an example of a phenomenon clouded in myth but consistent with other descriptions of meditative powers. Spiritual Transrelocation is one way to describe it and a quick google search will reveal thousands of "documented" cases varying from the ridiculous to the video-and-two-witnesses level of veracity. I mentioned Transcendental Meditation in my paragraph about Hinduism, most likely this is the same process. While eschewing the concept that spiritual beings would assist them in their pursuit of the middle way, a Buddhist would still believe he is tapping into his own soul and achieving some disconnect from the scientific parameters of nature. Read that sentence again, it totally rocks. In any case, a Buddhist who delves into the meditation proscribed by his faith will encounter the demonic world and in my opinion worship it, if not actively, tacitly.
5. Spiritism (aka, Shintoism, Pantheism)
Not a surprise here. The Native Americans and Japanese, interestingly enough, share a religious affection for their ancestors. They worship the dead that went before them and rely on these fallen forefathers for help in doing right and escaping difficulty. The Japanese are more philosophical, at least outwardly, and tend to mesh Confucius or Taoism with their Shinto. The Native Americans are typically more pantheistic, worshiping the Great Spirit along with the spirit of the trees and the spirit of the wind. Watch Pocahontas, its the leaves in the wind thing. Now watch it and consider the wind to be demon possessed, changes things (exactly the same for Avatar only the whole planet is demon possessed...really leads to some interesting ideas regarding naturalism and the goddess).
6. Islam
One of my life goals is to get a PhD in Islam from Berlin University. In the meantime I'll settle for "spoke to several Muslims while in Turkey" as my credentials for writing about it. As far as the origins of the religion, Muhammad (pbuh) said he received the Koran from the angel Gabriel. Could this have been a demon? Sure. Also, some Muslims have syncretized Islam with their pagan tribalism (not unlike European and Latin American Catholics). This has resulted in a well-developed demonology including wards and amulets designed to chase off evil spirits. I have several "evil eyes" in my house. Supposedly if one were to fall and break it would mean it had warded off a spirit of despair and I would need another one to stay protected. This is not demon worship, this is demonology. I had the opportunity to listen to a lecture given by a Mrs. Baker, widow of a long time missionary to Muslims in Germany. They had composed a defense of Allah being a misrepresentation of God but in fact the same person or being. I had several issues with the argument some historical some linguistic. I hold that the being Allah is like Baal. Merely much more successful. Therefore, any Muslim who worships Allah is worshiping a demon. Not a popular thought, please don't shoot me.
7. The Church of Latter Day Saints...and some other pseudo-Christian cults
Moroni is a demon or John Smith (what a boring name for a founder of a religion, Brigham Young is much cooler) made it all up. Take your pick, once the Mormon community was established the demonic powers took over. Benny Hinn is either possessed or a bodily manifestation of a demon, I truly believe this. The Masons have a disturbing amount of religious vibe to their community, I'd contend demonic (though I've yet to satisfy my curiosity regarding these guys). Name a cult and do some digging and you'll find a demon.
So what? Well, if you aren't already a bit apprehensive about witnessing to someone now you should be. You aren't just combating the cultural morays and individual experiences arrayed against you. There is a darker, more powerful enemy, lurking behind each soul, each system, each decision and each idea. Consider CS Lewis' classic Screwtape Letters, while not trying to be authoritative, Lewis suggests each person has a demon assigned to it and even conversion itself does not end the demon's influence. This knowledge and the apprehension that comes with it should lead us to better prepare. It should also lead us to not trust in our own power when facing this challenge. As Christ said, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29). We are in a war, and while we confidently stand on the winning side, we should understand Who gives victory and that everyday success is just as much His business as the ultimate victory.
I guess I got it all down in 3. Unless somebody asks a really good question I'll move on to something else Tuesday.
Brrrrrraves complete the 6 game double sweep! Evan Gattis is literally already a legend. I've never even considered penciling in a rookie 3rd string C to the all-star game but this guy deserves it. Also wondering if either Ramiro Pena or Paul Janish get swapped for a left handed reliever soon since we don't really need 4 backup middle infielders and JV and E Flo are out for the year. I would suspect we'd prefer to keep Pena but he'd definitely rate a better return. We'll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)