What Denomination Are You?
The fbf put up a link to an internet quiz, What Christian Denomination Should You Actually Be a Part Of? As the reader(s) of this blog might discern, PG is an acknowledged non christian. His favorite denomination is the twenty. They are easier to spend than fifties and hundreds.
The first question is “What is the source of your beliefs?” The choices include scripture, uncertainty, conscience, and people who talk about scripture. This question presupposes the omnipotence of the belief paradigm. In other words, not everyone feels that what you believe is a big deal.
PG has three “fundamental” beliefs regarding xtianity. G-d does not write books. Jesus has nothing to do with life after death. It is none of your business. Are these concepts an allergic reaction to years of christian noise, both joyful and joyless? Is it a weary soul talking common sense? Who came first, the chicken, or the egg? Do you really need to know?
The second question is “how is one “saved?”” This is a big deal to Jesus worshipers. The xtian obsession with life after death makes PG want to run screaming. The seldom heard option offered here is “I don’t know/no opinion.”
One concept is that what happens to the dead is none of the living’s business. Maybe, if you have faith in G-d, things will turn out ok. When you devote every sunday morning to screaming about so called salvation, you advertise a lack of faith in G-d.
Third is “what are your opinions on war?” This is one of those contradictions. You just have to understand. An abortion is bloody murder. When Israel shells a school housing refugees, it is justifiable self defense. The reconciliation of beliefs and practices is a source of brain damage. This is not a spiritually uplifting practice.
In many questions, you must choose the least bad answer. This is typical. For what type of worship suits you, being home churched is not an option. For what definition of the trinity best describes your belief, there are no good answers. PG feels that the concept of a triune G-d is a grotesque violation of the First commandment.
The first commandment says to have no other G-d before you. In Jesus worship, this one G-d expands to at least six: G-d, Jesus, Holy Ghost, The Bible, Satan, and Salvation.
There are a few more questions. There is a Catholic slant to this quiz, with emphasis on the Virgin Mary. There is the concept that authority in today’s church was passed down from the disciples. Hopefully, Judas was not included. Finally, there is a question about Gay marriage. Maybe this quiz was designed by a Catholic divorce lawyer.
The answer was probably as good as could be expected. “You should really be Non-Denominational! You’ve never understood why people get so caught up with labels, creeds, and institutions. For you, faith is what matters. You have a personal relationship with God and you’re not so worried about being a member of any specific group or sect. You enjoy Bible study, casual gatherings, and a church where everyone is welcome regardless of theological labels.”
Whatever. Why study a book that teaches people to hate you? Maybe the advertisers at this quiz are getting a spiritual return on their investment. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
A Sad Event
It is with the saddest heart that I must pass on the following news. Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection, and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.
Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs.Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours. Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.
Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he was still a crusty old man and was considered a roll model for millions.
Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly dad, Pop Tart.
I am not clever enough to compose the above piece. Credit is hereby given to whoever wrote it. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. The spell check suggestion for Doughboy is Doughnut.This is a repost.
Impeach Nixon And Agnew
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“the arm chair activism is bullshit and does nothing for the charities they’re promoting” Not only that, it can do serious damage to your community. ~ One night, Bob Mould was rehearsing in Athens GA. The 40 watt club had a cancellation, and asked him to play. His band did not have a name. He was in a Waffle House in Athens, and looked on the table, and saw a pack of sugar. ~To begin with, he was at a house party, not a bar. Second, there is a good bit of uncertainty as to what happened. Some say it was an argument. Some say it was a discussion that got out of hand. Remember, this was early new years day morning. People at a party are liable to be drunk, and do stupid things. This includes Mr. O’Donovan. You also might wonder why Mr. O’Donovan brought a knife to a new years eve party. The articles I saw do not specify what type of knife. I suspect it was not a pocket knife.~ Joe.My.God. ~ “He was yelling. I was yelling, but it was not an argument. That’s the way we expressed our opinion.” Urica Bell Morrow GA ~30 We are going to run out of water someday ~ “In the scope of large-scale evangelical opinion, we are merely a whispered voice of dissent—and every effort will be made to silence that whisper. People who claim to be “Spirit-filled” and people who tout the virtues of tolerance are awfully quick to get angry, aren’t they? That’s because in a culture like ours where diversity, inclusivity, and tranquility are deemed higher values than truth, there will be strong resistance to any message that exposes the fallacies of popular opinions” It has been my experience that many professional Jesus worshipers are mean, angry people. They use Jesus as a tool of their anger. When you point this out, i. e. “expose the fallacies of popular opinions” they get even angrier. ~Maybe you should say what some Palestinians did. They are individuals. Also, that is East Jerusalem, not Gaza. ~ Asking for a link got me called a racist ~ The first time I went to XYZ mountain was my thirtieth birthday. ~ I don’t go there much anymore, and did not notice. So they left the front, and took out the back. I have mixed feelings. I was only inside once or twice, and it was not in good shape. ~ There is a house down the street from me that is being mcmansionized. Last night I rode by, and saw the oak tree in front being cut down. For some reason, that affected me more than the house being torn down. ~ The spell check suggestion for mcmansionized is simonized. ~ The twenty four hour syndrome. You are in a magical place, and beside yourself with glee. After a while, reality creeps back in. You realize that you still carry the same baggage as before. ~ You hear a lot about Israeli military superiority. In this country, we can see the overwhelming superiority of the Israeli PR machine. ~ Don’t be obtuse. ~ six words to eliminate just, should, but, always, actually, never, ~ i dont want to talk about it i have no influence on that conflict the children of gaza were not even born when 911 took place i am sick and tired of this confilct i support israel with my taxes and i am not going to give them my peace of mind ~ I am writing a post about facebook interrupting my sunday morning peace of mind. There will be historic pictures. They will be more enjoyable than the text. Neither the text, nor the pictures, will affect the conflict I am writing about. ~ the banker who puts the douche back in fiduciary ~ When you give a shit do you gift wrap it? Concern for your neighbor is a wonderful thing. To express this concern by using a vulgar word is puzzling. This vulgar word represents animal waste. There should be a way of expressing concern for your neighbor that smells better. ~ The english language has some quirks. So many people refer to anything and everything as *feces*. It is said that profanity is a substitute for thought. This is probably the case with the majority of *waste* slinging in everyday discourse. ~ “People may say I can’t sing, but no one can ever say I didn’t sing.” Florence Foster Jenkins ~ And the Arby’s is now a Starbucks. ~ I am surprised the Krystal/Starbucks on 7th street is still there, assuming that it is ~ I am curious to see what they do with the Starbucks on 7th since the red brick building behind it is designated as a historic building. I lived in that building when the Starbucks was a Krystal that brought all the scum of the earth to that corner. The building was designed by Neil Reed was the first residential building in Georgia with steel beam construction. The small garden in back had the only peachtree on (OK, adjacent to) Peachtree street. ~ Creem magazine called that Krystal the roughest hamburger stand in America. ~ And it was! The manager was a no-nonsense lady with a steel-gray bouffant hairdo with the demeanor of a prison matron. She was tough as nails and took no shit off anybody. I guess you had to be to manage that place. ~ 756 West Peachtree is a designated hysteric landmark. ~ The Fox network should change it’s name to wolf, as in the boy who cried wolf. After years of constant Obama bashing, few believed them about Benghazi. ~ I wouldn’t put my hand there ~ how long have we been, about seven miles… no its more like a quarter mile … thats why you see a lot of gays in real good shape ~ The Soviet Union declared war against Japan on August 8, 1945, This was accompanied by an invasion of Japanese occupied Manchuria. Many feel that this was a key factor in Japan’s decision to surrender. ~ Phil Ochs was included in the Great Southeast Music Hall’s autograph lobby wall. He said “Impeach Nixon and Agnew Phil Ochs” ~ Wow, Luther – that must have been very close to the time he killed himself. ~ Mr. Ochs died in 1976. Tricky Dick resigned forty years ago this week. The night of his resignation, I saw Rahsaan Roland Kirk at the Music Hall. ~ 0.01% used, leaves room for 54 million more emails. ~ It’s there as an option. As others have mentioned above if you go to your blog’s Dashboard and navigate to Posts > Add New it will load the traditional editor. ~ “Depression is a mental affliction, yes, but also spiritual.” For once I agree with you. I think of the misery that is caused by mean, agressive christianists. They think having an opinion about life after death makes the abuse worthwhile. It is profoundly depressing. I see Jesus through his believers treat me. Today a popular christianist blogger is trolling for traffic by exploiting the death of a man who brought joy to millions.~ Some people may not be able to see this attachment because of its privacy settings .~ I don’t like the new interface. I have only used it once. 1- I don’t know if something is saved, or published. 2- You cannot preview the post in a separate window. I like to have both the edit page, and the preview, on my screen when I edit 3- I did not see the shortlink. This is handy for twitter. 4- Putting the various options in a sidebar, and drastically reducing the size of the edit window, is a bad idea. 5- This morning, I was in a hurry to get to work. I had a post prepared, and just enough time to get it posted. This was a terrible time to deal with a new interface. ~ @imPalestine Yesterday, I went to Gaza’s graveyard to visit my grandma’s grave. I didn’t find it. It was hit by a missile. I saw my grandma’s bones. ~ “He was yelling. I was yelling, but it was not an argument. That’s the way we expressed our opinion.” ~ Maybe the man is standing on the bridge because too many strangers have yelled at him. Sometimes your good intentions cause more harm than good. ~ The sunglasses mirror selfie ~ pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Market Research
A strange phone call just took place. “Amanda” asked for me by name. This is interesting, since I have a non published number. Maybe she has connections.
“Amanda” was taking a “survey.” There were going to be four questions. She was talking fast, so I may not get all the questions verbatim. I used to work in market research, although not for a firm giving it’s name as “Market Research.”
The questions were about media content, and children. “Amanda” asked me to think of my children, and grandchildren. She never asked me if they exist, which they do not. The first question was whether I thought parents should have some control over what their children watched. I said no. There were a few seconds of awkward silence.
There were two more questions. They were along these lines. Do I think that some programming is inappropriate for children. Since I don’t watch much tv, I said I don’t know.
I have forgotten the third, and final, question. It had something to do with protecting children from bad programming. I did not give the answer I was supposed to. After this question, “Amanda” thanked me for my time.
I had a couple of questions. She said “I am Amanda, with Market Research, calling on behalf of Kids First.” She then hung up. When I called *69, I got the phone number of Corporations for Character. It seems as though “Amanda Thomas” is a machine.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Every 36 Hours
The issue of black people killed by police is in the public eye. PG saw a tweet, saying that a black person was killed by the police every 28 hours. There was a link to a report, Report on Black People Executed with out Trial by Police, Security Guards and Self-Appointed Law Enforcers January 1 – June 30, 2012. The report looks at 120 POC between 01-01-2012 and 06-30-2012.
There is a list of cities where these incidents took place. Atlanta is on top, with 10 deaths. The 10 deaths is actually for Georgia, with one incident taking place near Savannah.
Here are the ten deaths from Georgia. Bear in mind that the information presented here is from the report. For eight of the men, a link is given to a news report.Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
1/1/2012 Canard Arnold, 17, Atlanta GA ~ A white security guard, alleged he felt his life was in danger when Arnold was involved in a shooting with another man, so he fatally shot Arnold. Witnesses say that Arnold was unarmed and running away from a gunfight that others were involved in. Also witnesses say that Arnold never confronted or threatened the security guard. He was shot in the back.
3/1/2012 Freddie Burton Jr, 24, Clayton County ~ Burton allegedly robbed a Jamaican restaurant of $200 at gunpoint. As he was running away from police, he discharged his weapon and escaped. Then he carjacked a vehicle and jumped out of it while it was moving resulting in the car crashing into a house. Burton finally barricaded himself in his sister’s house. A SWAT team failed at negotiating his surrender. A shootout resulted in his death.
3/24/2012 Ervin Jefferson, 18, DeKalb County ~ As he was trying to protect his sister, Jefferson was shot by two security guards who impersonated police officer.
3/27/2012 Tendai Nhekairo, 18, Cobb County ~ Zimbabwean teenager attended Campbell High School. There were conflicting reports about whether his bizarre behavior threatened anyone. Police shot him while he was naked. They alleged he had a knife.
6/16/2012 Marcus Bell, 26, Jonesboro ~ Officers responded to a call about a domestic disturbance. Bell barricaded himself in his apartment but allowed the woman to leave. She showed signs of assault. After a two-hour standoff, officers obtained a warrant for the woman’s assault and forced their way into the apartment. Bell apparently never fired a shot.
6/21/2012 name not released as of 6/29/12 Mount Zion Road, Clayton County ~ Police stopped a car with 5 passengers. One had outstanding warrants. When the officer asked him to step out of the car, suspect allegedly pulled gun from waist and started shooting. One officer and the driver of the car were shot before the suspect was killed.
6/26/2012 Deshone Lamar Travis, 20, Port Wentworth GA ~ Police went to Travis’ home to question him about a robbery. He was uncooperative. Officers “feared for their life” because Travis backed his car towards them. Officers fatally shot him. Witnesses said Travis was driving no more than 5mph and was no threat.
6/27/2012 Christopher Calhoun, 38, Atlanta GA ~ Calhoun was wanted on drug and theft charges in Mississippi. Based on a tip, police found him in the parking lot of an Atlanta mall. Police shot and killed him when he allegedly pointed a gun at them.
6/27/2012 Trevion Davis, 13, Clayton County ~ Police responded to a call about a residential break-in and found three young men in the backyard. The police alleged Trevion “presented that handgun. Subsequently officers fired upon that individual.” One officer shot Trevion in the head. Police later found that the “firearm” was a BB gun
6/28/2012 David Foreman, 31, Brookhaven ~ DeKalb County officers responded to a 911 call about a “domestic dispute”. When officers confronted an agitated Foreman, he held a pistol to his own head. Then he allegedly pointed the weapon at officers who shot him 3 times.
Mow The Lawn
Israel is mowing the lawn in Gaza, again. One of the weapons used is Hasbara. “In Hebrew it literally translates to “an explanation” but 972 Mag gives us the modern definition: “A form of propaganda aimed at an international audience, primarily, but not exclusively, in western countries. It is meant to influence the conversation in a way that positively portrays Israeli political moves and policies, including actions undertaken by Israel in the past. Often Hasbara efforts includes a negative portrayal of the Arabs and especially of Palestinians.”
One claim made is human shields. The story has Hamas storing weapons in residences. This claim was made in many recent wars, including Vietnam. If the enemy bombs an area, and civilians are killed, then the enemy looks bad. Mr. Netanyahu recently increased the semantic firepower. He claimed Hamas was using human shields to gather “telegenically dead Palestinians for their cause.”
Not everyone believes the human shields claim. Here is another report. “Some Gazans have admitted that they were afraid of criticizing Hamas, but none have said they had been forced by the organisation to stay in places of danger and become unwilling human-shields. The Bani Sobeila area, near Khan Younis, where the Abu Jamaa deaths took place received leaflets dropped from the air last week warning them to leave.
But almost all stayed. One reason for that was many of the houses belonged to the Abu Jamaa clan who felt there was safety in staying together. Another reason was given by a neighbour, Abdullah al-Daweish: “Where do we go to? Some people moved from the outer edge of Khan Younis to Khan Younis centre after Israelis told them to, then the centre got bombed. People have moved from this area to Gaza City, and Gaza City has been bombed.”
Amnesty International has a report on the conflict. “The Israeli authorities claim that Hamas and Palestinian armed groups use Palestinian civilians in Gaza as “human shields”. Does Amnesty International have any evidence that this has occurred during the current hostilities, and what obligations of Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups are relevant?
Amnesty International is aware of these claims, and continues to monitor and investigate reports, but does not have evidence at this point that Palestinian civilians have been intentionally used by Hamas or Palestinian armed groups during the current hostilities to “shield” specific locations or military personnel or equipment from Israeli attacks. As explained above, in previous conflicts Amnesty International has documented that Palestinian armed groups have stored munitions in and fired indiscriminate rockets from residential areas in the Gaza Strip, and available evidence indicates that they continue to do both during the current hostilities, in violation of international humanitarian law. During the current hostilities, Hamas spokespeople have reportedly urged residents in some areas of the Gaza Strip not to leave their homes after the Israeli military dropped leaflets and made phone calls warning people in the area to evacuate. However, in light of the lack of clarity in many of the Israeli warnings on safe routes for civilians to evacuate, the lack of shelters or other safe places in the Gaza Strip for them to go to, and numerous reports of civilians who did heed the warnings and flee doing so under Israeli fire, such statements by Hamas officials could have been motivated by a desire to avoid further panic. In any case, public statements referring to entire areas are not the same as directing specific civilians to remain in their homes as “human shields” for fighters, munitions, or military equipment. Furthermore, international humanitarian law is clear that even if officials or fighters from Hamas or Palestinian armed groups associated with other factions did in fact direct civilians to remain in a specific location in order to shield military objectives from attacks, all of Israel’s obligations to protect these civilians would still apply.”
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Famous Last Words
There used to be a blog called Execution of the day. It is still available, but last put up material in September of 2011. The next to last post is about Troy Davis, who met his maker about that time. The last post is about the last words of those about to die, some of which are funny. EOTD published a feature in 2009, about an economical Englishman named John Christie, that was adapted for use here. Pictures by “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Electric Chair “I’d rather be fishing” Jimmy L. Glass 12 June 1987
“How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? ‘French Fries’!” James French 10 August 1966
“Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.” George Appel 9 August 1928
Firing Squad “Why, yes, a bulletproof vest.” Domonic Willard
“Take a step forward lads – it’ll be easier that way.” Robert Erskine Childers 24 November 1922
Poisoning “You guys doin’ that right?” Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams 13 December 2005
Hanging “Please don’t let me fall.” Mary Surratt 7 July 1865
“Is it safe?” William Palmer 14 June 1865.
“I’ll be in Hell before you start breakfast! Let her rip!” Tom ‘Black Jack’ Ketchum’s 26 April 1901.
“Hurry up. I’d like to be in hell in time for dinner.” Edward H. Ruloff 18 May 1871
“If anyone has a message for the Devil, give it to me – I’ll deliver it!” Lavinia Fisher February 18, 1820.
Baked Goods “Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l’ai pas fait expres” Translation: Pardon me, sir. I did not do it on purpose. Stepping on the toes of her executioner should have been the least of Marie Antoinette’s worries on 16 October 1793.
While eating breakfast, PG perused something called “execution of the day“. On July 15, 1953, John Christie was hung in England. He was 54. Chamblee 54, who is 55, sees a pattern. The original source says it all better: “Albert Pierrepoint was given the job of dispatching him, so Christie was hanged at Pentonville Prison on this day in 1953, aged 54.”
Mr. Christie lived at 10 Rillington Place, which was the title of a movie about his exploits. He was in the habit of murdering people and hiding the bodies in the house. He also had two middle names…his full handle was John Reginald Halliday Christie. He married a girl named Ethel Waddington. Do you have any trouble believing he was British?
The first known murder was in 1943. There was a war going on, and killing was quite the fashion. Mr. Christie had a girlfriend named Ruth Fuerst. She did not survive a nooner. In his eventual confession, Mr. Christie said “‘I left her there in the bedroom. After that I believe I had a cup of tea and went to bed”. … “The second was in 1944 – a neighbour, who was convinced he was a doctor. He didn’t persuade her otherwise and the 32-year-old was gullible enough to listen when he told her to inhale some gas scented with friars’ balsam. The carbon monoxide rendered her virtually unconscious enabling Christie to have his way with her. As with Fuerst, he strangled her either before or during the rape. You may be wondering what he did with these two bodies…he buried them both in the garden and in one report he may even have used one of their leg bones to support fencing.”
Things were quiet for a while…well not really, there was this family of three…but things were relatively quiet until 1952. At that time Ethel Christie met her maker, with the help of her husband. He wondered what to do with the body, until he saw loose floorboards in the living room.
Within a few weeks, more women passed away, with his assistance, and were stored in various parts of the house. John Christie moved out of 10 Rillington Place. The new tenants complained about the aroma, and before long John Christie had a noose around his neck. This is a repost.
Israeli Public Relations Machine
Israel is having problems. Rockets are going from Gaza into Israel. In response, a well armed, sophisticated army is attacking Gaza. There are lots of casualties, mostly civilians in Gaza.
There is another front to this conflict. The United States supports Israel. The weapons that kill children in Gaza are paid for by the American economy. Unless you make campaign contributions to politicians, your opinion does not matter.
Part of the American front is a campaign by the Israeli public relations machine. The IPRM is almost as well equipped as the IDF. The opinions of the non politician supporting Americans are meaningless. This does not stop the IPRM from mounting an American offensive. The word offensive is both a noun, and an adjective.
One of the fronts in this offensive is facebook. The supporters of Israel are posting memes and videos. Many of the points they make are easily taken apart by logical arguments. A meme is not a logical affair. It is the use of graphic images to influence emotions. They are usually posted by people who don’t know what the hell they are talking about.
This is a lovely mid summer sunday morning. People have the freedom to do what they want. If you want to go to church, no one is stopping you. If you want to drink coffee and look at the internet, that is your privilege. It is a time to have peace of mind.
This peace of mind was disturbed today. There was a meme. The picture shows the world trade center on fire. The words say: “America Remember this? Israel is fighting the same terrorists.”
This is ridiculous. The children being slaughtered in Gaza were not born in 2001. The 911 actors were primarily from Saudi Arabia, a country with close ties to Israel. Saudi Arabia, and the other Arab countries, are exploiting the plight of the Palestinians for it’s own advantage. To say that the children of Gaza are the “same terrorists” is a sick joke.
There are many things you can say about the current conflict. Amnesty International has investigated the affair, and issued a report. A.I. is leery of claims about human shields, and Israeli warnings to civilians. There are reports of Israel using vile anti personnel weapons. These weapons would have little impact on tunnels and rockets, and could only serve to hurt people.
PG participates in the American economy. He buys gasoline. The profits from the sale of oil possibly go to help Gaza buy rockets. Other parts of the American economy support Israel. This is the big government that so-called conservatives complain about.
America is going to support both sides of this brutal conflict, whether PG likes it or not. What he does not have to do is to let Israel take away his peace of mind. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Zealot
Most of you have heard about the Fox News interview with Reza Aslan. It was embedded above the first time this feature was published. Youtube is not eternal. Dr. Aslan is promoting a book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.
The interview created a fuss. It was a win/win situation. Fox News is seen as defenders of the Christian faith. Dr. Aslan sells books. The New York Times has a quote. ““I’ll be perfectly honest — I’m thrilled at the response that people have had to the interview. You can’t buy this kind of publicity.”
In the Fox/henhouse matchup, Dr. Aslan emphasizes his multiple degrees. It is true that he is well educated. It is also true that his day job, at the University of California, Riverside, is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing. (Appalling visual warning) Dr. Aslan has “a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction.“
There is a more civilized interview with NPR. It turns out that Dr. Aslan left Iran as a child. This was during the Khomeini revolution.The departure was a hectic affair. When Dr. Aslan was fifteen, he was “born again”. He spent a few years as an aggressive Jesus worshiper. At some point the Christian thing faded away, and Dr. Aslan went back to Islam. Whatever.
Many say that the book has few original ideas about Jesus. In other words, the book is old ideas, with a new marketing twist. Since Christianity may be the most successful marketing effort in history, this is somehow fitting. It is also beside the point. Jesus worshipers are more interested in the death of Jesus, than in his life. Zealot should have little impact on marketing the scheme for life after death.
There is a certain synchronicity in the current conflict. PG has wondered lately, why was someone so mad at Jesus that an execution was necessary? In other words, instead of What Would Jesus Do, the question should be What Did Jesus Do? According to Dr. Aslan, Jesus made trouble for the Roman rulers of Palestine. When it came time to compile the Bible, it was convenient to blame the execution on the Jews. There is also the possibility Jesus committed a more devious crime, which was dutifully covered up by the Bible committee.
The myth vs. history angle gets worked over. Many feel that the nativity story is not completely accurate. However, for many years, people were concerned about the birth of the Messiah, not the details about where the delivery occurred. As stated on NPR, “the truth of that story was more important than the facts of it.” This kind of talk makes PG dizzy. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Be Kind To Your Enemy
Did Jesus say to “Love your enemy” ? Some believe this, and do it. Some claim to believe this, and practice the opposite. There are others who claim to love their enemies, but you have to understand what they mean by it. It can be very confusing. This is a repost.
PG went to a source for documentation. Oh, the blessed conjunction of copy paste with public domain. When PG entered enemy (singular) in the search engine, 100 verses came up. When the request was made plural (enemies), 237 entries popped up. The last mention of enemies is Revelation 11:12 “And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” Loving your enemies does not include bringing them to heaven with you. There is also the star of the show.
Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
There is scholarly debate about what Jesus did, or did not, say. The words available to modern man have been copied by hand, edited, translated, and interpreted. PG does not know Aramaic from Alabama. Like anyone else, PG can only read and listen, and think for himself.
In a sense it does not matter what Jesus “really” said. The cult of Jesus Worship is going to believe what it wants. More important, it is going to practice what it wants. As far as the difference between what Jesus “really” said, and what his believers say and do…they can explain.
What follows is a humble suggestion. Maybe the translators and scribes got it wrong. Maybe Jesus did not say to love your enemy. Maybe what Jesus said was to show kindness to everyone. This is a practice thing, rather than a belief thing.
It is not as much fun to be nice to someone, as it is to scream about life after death. Kindness does not need to be justified by a quote from a magic book. You just need to do it.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Skimpy Evidence
#prayforhim ~ The opening story is of a history class. They are discussing the origins of civilization. They say Africa is not mentioned. Isn’t that the continent that contains Egypt? ~ That is just one problem with this article. It makes a lot of sweeping assumptions, based on skimpy evidence. I agree that cultural differences should be taken into consideration while teaching. I also suspect that it goes on a lot more than that correspondent sees. There is also the matter of what might be called the subtle bigotry of low expectations. Are black students held to the same standards as white students? Maybe they should not be. Or maybe we are cheating them out of a good education. I am not always smart enough to know the answer. I have been away from public schools for a long time, so I don’t really know what is going on. I just have a sense that this article is off target in a lot of ways. ~ I am also leery of displaying skeptical thought on facebook. This is the home office of ad hominem attacks. ~ Carmen Miranda ~ The broccoli issue reminds me of the jesus issue. People with christian privilege assume that you share their obsession with life after death. They think that telling you endlessly about it will change your mind. It is like yelling at a hispanic person in english. No matter how loud or insulting you are, they simply do not understand what you are saying. Just like I do not find ad hominem attacks to be refreshing. Either to my face, or otherwise. ~ leftover coffee – works better with a gas stove – microwave discharge – 26 mins · Edited · Like ~ You wrote a story once about what you wore to your “first gay party.” ~ Are the stairwells booby trap locked? In some buildings, the stairs are only for emergencies. It is a security thing that I do not understand. ~ ” Because you don’t go for cynical, boring, corporate marketing ploys.” That would mean not reading The Matt Walsh Blog ~ Time and again, ______’s efforts to find a pliant _____ partner that is both credible with _____ and willing to eschew violence, have backfired. Would-be partners have turned into foes or lost the support of their people. ~ Jodie did you mean “bionic in the spine”? A typo can change the meaning completely. ~ bionic in the spin sounds like a dance ~ You have been blocked from following this account at the request of the user. ~ The goat boutique sure has changed. ~ Maybe it is a rogue lone cell of the IDF which drops fragmentation bombs on a civilian population ~ A physical therapist told me, when my L5S1 was in disarray, not to sit down. This puts pressure on the lower spine. I am not familiar with your situation, and this might not apply to you. ~ I wrote a feature recently, The end of racism There was a quote from Dr. McWhorter. “When decrying racism opens no door and teaches no skill, it becomes a schoolroom tattletale affair. It is unworthy of all of us: “He’s just a racist” intoned like “nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!”” ~ we are all oppressed in certain ways, and we all occupy the position of the oppressor in other ways. But in some attempt to reconcile this contradiction, we want to believe that victimhood gives us carte blanche, that we are automatically on the more inclusive, aware, and equitable side of the curve. ~ The pictures for this feature are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
PU Is Short For Pun
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.
He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from the algebra class. It was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6.. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering..
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie..
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
14. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway.
One hat said to the other, ‘You stay here; I’ll go on a head..’
15. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
16. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: ‘Keep off the Grass.’
17. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital.
When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, ‘No change yet.’
18. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
21. A backward poet writes inverse.
22. In democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes.
23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
24. Don’t join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.
25. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
26. Stories are in the public duh-main. This is a repost.
Chamblee54 
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