Bishop Talbert Swan
Bishop Talbert Swan @TalbertSwan “Calling a Black POTUS married 25 yrs to 1 wife with 2 children, no mistresses, affairs or scandals, ‘the antichrist’ but a racist white POTUS married thrice, 5 kids by 3 women, mistresses, affairs & scandals, ‘God‘s anointed,’ proves your religion is white supremacy.” @chamblee54 “This tweet indicates that your religion is sophomore logic.” I posted a screenshot of this exchange on facebook, and got a reply. “Luther I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here. Or maybe I just don’t want to know” Let the fun begin.
Bishop Talbert Swan is a professional Jesus worshiper, who uses the word “Bishop” as his title. BTS is the author of Closing the Closet: Testimonies of Deliverance from Homosexuality. Last year saw Bishop Talbert Swan permanently banned from Twitter for ‘hateful conduct’ “Although Twitter did not specify what Tweet got him banned, Swan believes it was a Tweet he sent out in May in response to someone asking him to follow Candace Owens … “I responded by writing ‘No thanks, I’m on the no coon diet’,” he said.” If you want to know more about BTS, google is your friend.
Lets break down the tweet that started this. I tried to find out who said both that BHO was the Anti-Christ, and then said that DJT was G-d anointed. This is a problem with twitter hypocrisy theater … there is seldom an actual person who said all these terrible things. If you google “Barack Obama Anti-Christ,” one of the results is from Snopes: Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?
“Calling a Black POTUS married 25 yrs to 1 wife with 2 children, no mistresses, affairs or scandals, ‘the antichrist’” The mixed race BHO is, indeed, married to his first wife. Either BHO did not fool around, or had the grace not to get caught. This neither proves, nor disproves, that BHO is the Anti-Christ. Nor is it the complete story. BHO did some good work. He also enabled America’s military to murder thousands of Muslims in Asia and Africa. Maybe any POTUS is the Anti-Christ.
“but a racist white POTUS married thrice, 5 kids by 3 women, mistresses, affairs & scandals, ‘God‘s anointed,’” BTS capitalizes Black, but says white in lower case, preceded by a value-added slur. Admittedly, DJT is a gnarly character, with an exuberant marital history. DJT is about as much God anointed as BHO is Anti-Christal. “Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
“proves your religion is white supremacy” The comments made by “you” about BHO and DJT indicate that “you” say foolish things. It does not prove anything. It certainly does not prove that “your religion is white supremacy.” Is WS a tax exempt organization? Does WS have ministers, a deity, rituals, prayers, and sunday morning traffic jams? Do you show your faithfulness to WS by saying stupid things about crooked politicians?
There is my response to consider. It is a satire of the preceding tweet. I said indicate, rather than prove, for obvious reasons. I said sophomore logic because fecal references are redundant. The word sophomore is derived from “Greek sophos (wise) + mōros (foolish.)” While the wisdom of the BTS tweet is obscure, the foolishness is obvious.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
#NationalDayofPrayer
Today is the #NationalDayofPrayer. This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Good Morning G-d. Please give me the slack I need to make it through this busy life. I have a birthday soon, and am getting older. Please give me less pain, both above and below the neck. Thank you for letting me get this far. Thank you for the gift of sobriety, and the memory of inebrience. The gift of moderation would have been helpful. Help me to overcome body chemistry telling me to be unhappy. If this doesn’t work, help me hide it better.
Please tell Christians to make less noise, joyful or otherwise. Help me to forgive Christians for their good intentions. Give Christians the gift of humility. Let us know that a real man keeps control of his temper. Please tell those praying today that it is better to listen than to talk.
Please find a happy medium for Atlanta water. Let us have neither drought nor flood. It would help if the developers would move to North Carolina, and the politicians would develop a conscience.
G-d, please try to get along better with Allah. This is important. Maybe if you and her got along better, then all those religious crazies would hate each other less. Help white people and black people get along better. Please be good to the people who have already lived, and are now deceased. Please understand that I am not in a hurry to join them.
Help Mr. Trump with the mess this country is in. Help Israel get along with her neighbors, and live within her borders. Help the world solve the carbon dioxide problem.
Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you for dogs, and dog owners who clean up. Thank you for earth, air, fire, and water. Thank you for people who enjoy this prayer. Help those who are offended to get over it. Namaste, amen, all my relations, Good Bye.
Prayer For Entertainment
The facebook friend made a comment “Did you know that Christians are washed in the blood of the lamb? That sounds delicious!”. There was a link to a church message. And I was taken back to a visit to the bathroom, thirteen years ago. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
This post is written in first person. Religion is a personal thing. There is imagery that is very meaningful to some people. This same imagery began a trip to hell for me. This story has been told before, and might be told again.
My mother passed away on December 18, 1998. She was a Christian, I am not. Over the years, we had learned to look past this difference, and to understand some of the reasons for it. We were on good terms when she left. Losing her was tough.
Three weeks later, I was at work. A co worker was an aggressive Jesus worshiper. He played a little radio, tuned into an am Christian station. The radio was on a table, outside the door to the bathroom.
When I was washing my hands (I do not remember what I did before that), I began to think about my mother. I missed her, and felt sad that I would never hear her laugh again. When I walked out of the bathroom, a woman was praying for entertainment on the radio. “The blood of the lamb has cleansed my heart”. I freaked out.
Don’t yell about bleeding lambs. Bleeding lambs are gross. They may mean something to you, but I don’t want to hear your condescending explanation. Do not spray lamb’s blood on me when I am coming out of the bathroom.
I stormed out of the room, and said to the operations manager, “I hate Christian Radio”. He talked to the preacher, and the radio was turned off the rest of the day.
The next day, the radio was turned on. The preacher did not say anything. He also played a second sound device. He listened to a taped message with an earplug. During the seven years of struggle over the preachers need to be entertained at work, he never once said why he wanted to play two radios at the same time. As for asking him, I could never get a word in. Or, I was so weary, of the nightmare of listening to his hatred, that I was afraid to ask.
The radio played softly in the background. I could not hear it clearly, but could hear the sound of rice crispies all day, every day. The only break came at eleven thirty, when a preacher came on the radio to shout. I was operating a cranky machine at the time, and had to listen to the sounds it made. When you run a printing machine, you are always listening to it. The sound of rice crispies in the background was very annoying.
Finally, the day came when I had to confront the bully. I asked him to turn his speaker radio down, and all hell broke loose. He had a loud temper tantrum at me, talking about G-d, Jesus, and the bible. He used Jesus as a tool of his anger. He got on the phone, and told everyone who would listen what happened. He went to the management, and said he would file a lawsuit if he could not play two radios at the same time.
This conflict continued for the next seven years, until I was laid off. When I was cleaning out my workspace, after losing my job, a visitor stood next to me and shouted the word “Jesus”.
1- I learned to see Jesus in the way his believers treat me. There is the historic Jesus, and the spirit that lives in the hearts of his believers. The best way to know this spirit is through the words and deeds of his believers. What I see, and hear, does not speak well for Jesus.
2- Prayer should be a private, reverend communication with G-d. It should not be performed, for vulgar entertainment, on the radio.
3- The image of the blood of the lamb might mean something to Jesus worshipers. It might mean something else to others. To me, talk about bleeding lambs was the gateway to hell.
4- The emotions aroused by vigorous preaching are very powerful. To have these emotions used against you, over a petty personal conflict, brings shame to Jesus.
5- Another comment in the facebook thread was “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What about a man who is persecuted, in the name of Jesus, because he asked a Jesus worshiper to turn down his radio?
6- Jesus worshipers like to be forgiven. They do not like to forgive. There are exceptions.
7- You should not wrestle with a pig. You will get dirty, and the pig will enjoy it.
8- If you choose to pray for me about this, please keep it to yourself.
Did Joseph Think It Was His Kid?
NOTE: This feature was originally published in March 26, 2013. This is the day after March 25, nine months before Christmas. IOW, a crucial day in the most famous unconsummated marriage in history. PG began to ponder the traditional marriage of Joseph and Mary. The question of the day is “when did Joseph and Mary get married?” Facilities such as Liberty Gospel Tracts and Fish Eaters Traditional Catholic Forum have answers.
LGT (the B got kicked out for some reason) contributes a bible passage, Matthew 1:18-19. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
Put her away in the privy? That is some kinky business there. Maybe the Christians and Jews have it all wrong. The thirds Abrahamic religion, Islam, might have the answer. A site, TurnToIslam, has another point of view about the traditional definition of marriage.
What about Mary, Jesus’ Mother peace be upon both of them? How old was she when she got pregnant? Not only was it a custom in the Arab society to Engage/Marry a young girl it was also common in the Jewish society. The case of Mary the mother of Jesus comes to mind, in non biblical sources she was between 11-14 years old when she conceived Jesus. Mary had already been “BETROTHED” to Joseph before conceiving Jesus. Joseph was a much older man. therefore Mary was younger than 11-14 years of age when she was “BETHROED” to Joseph. We Muslims would never call Joseph a Child Molester, nor would we refer to the “Holy Ghost” of the Bible, that “Impregnated” Mary as a “Rapist” or “Adulterer”.
“….it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age….”Mary was approximately 14 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus. Joseph, Mary’s Husband is believed to be around 36. Mary was only 13 when she married Joseph. When she first was arranged with Joseph she was between 7 to 9 years old.”
According to the “Oxford Dictionary Bible” commentary, Mary (peace be upon her) was was 12 years old when she became impregnated. So if I want to be as silly and ridiculous as many of the Christians, I would respond to them by saying that Mary was psychologically and emotionally devastated for getting pregnant at a very young age. And speaking of “child molesting”, since most Christians believe that Jesus is the Creator of this universe, then why did G-D allow himself to enter life through a 12-year old young girl’s vagina? Please note that we Muslims love and respect Allah Almighty, Mary, Jesus and Allah’s Message to the People of the Book (The Jews and Christians). In other words, we Muslims would never make fun of Christianity through such childish topic like this one as many ridiculous Christians do make fun of Islam through our Prophet’s (peace be upon him) marriage.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Jeeziepoo
This is the story of a twitfest. The topic of discussion was the bible. If you are not interested, you can skip over the text, and look at the pictures. These pictures are from The Library of Congress. Jack Delano took the pictures in November, 1940. The pictures were taken in Connecticut.
@wartwatch The only thing that matters veto these churches is $$$$$. They must be sued and they must pay a penalty in order to make an impact.
@chamblee54 What would Jesus Sue?
@SimeonTheFool If only there was some way to know for sure whether Jesus would approve of causing financial damage on religious leaders who made money by exploiting others. Like, if He’d ever famously done it Himself or something….
@chamblee54 “only there was some way to know for sure”
Everything that Jesus did, or did not do, is legend. Everything.
The only things we know about Jeeziepoo are what the council of nicea chose to tell us.
@SimeonTheFool Tua eruditione praestantem es minus habens. Cede studere historia. (Your scholarship is not good enough. Please go to study history.)
@chamblee54 Your arrogance is not good enough. Please go to study humility.
@SimeonTheFool Το Συμβούλιο της Νικαίας δεν συζήτησε τον κανόνα της Βίβλου. Αυτή είναι η ταπεινοφροσύνη επειδή είναι αλήθεια. Η αλαζονεία λέει “Ιησούπου”. Σε ευχαριστώ για την προσπάθεια σου. (The Council of Nicaea did not discuss the Bible rule. This is humility because it is true. Arrogance says “Jesus”. Thank you for your effort.)
@chamblee54 you have been educated beyond your ability to use knowledge in a meaningful way
אַל־ תַּ֣עַן כְּ֭סִיל כְּאִוַּלְתֹּ֑ו פֶּֽן־ תִּשְׁוֶה־ לֹּ֥ו גַם־ את׃ (This is apparently backwards.)
@chamblee54 Do not give it to the people, but to the people of the land. I am throwing in the translator You win You will collect your winnings when the cardboard cookies are finished baking
@SimeonTheFool “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you become like him.”
@chamblee54 this religious argument has now moved into the personal insult phase I must be dealing with christians
@wartwatch I used to read over at ExChristians They do a pretty good job with insults as well. 😇
@chamblee54 This will teach me not to make a joke about a beloved xtian cliche
At this point I made a mistake. I went for a walk, and thought about this conversation.
@chamblee54 one point has not been challenged… whether it was the council of nicea, or the 7 ecumenical councils, there was a human gatekeeper Some humans chose the texts to include in the bible This is the primary source of stories about jesus christian insults cannot change that
@SimeonTheFool Sorry, but you’re misinformed. Basic history facts: 1. The Council of Nicea was one of the 7 Ecumenical Councils (the first), not “or.” 2. The canon of Scripture was not discussed at any of them. 3. Paul’s epistles as well as the four gospels predate all of them by centuries.
@chamblee54 ok who decided what texts go in the bible? was it man or g-d? there were many texts, other than the letters of paul, that were not included. Who made this decision?
@chamblee54 you did not answer my question there were dozens of texts which were not included in the canon who chose these texts?
@SimeonTheFool Oh, but I did answer your question. The answer is, “Go do your own homework.”
This debate raged on, long past the point of being either educational or entertaining. St. Simeon the Holy Fool claims to have a PhD from a “large secular state university.” If you are interested, you can use one of the links in this feature to join in the fun.
One other celebrant chimed in. This is a recent convert to twitterism. They have a handful of followers, and have not made any original tweets.
@MRWiggins2 So if this is the case, if everything’s just pure legend, nonsense, myth, why do you even care to speculate as to who He would sue? I dare say, sir, you are a bit confused.
@chamblee54 that was a parody of “what would jesus do”
@MRWiggins2 When a fool gets rolling, just get out of their way. Luther’s one of these people not clever enough to realize he’s not clever. Dangerous thing, when you are essentially a combo platter of arrogance and ignorance.
@MRWiggins2 You can’t even communicate at a mediocre level. Mea culpas if you’re a 13 year old boy in the nascent stage of his rebellion phase. Otherwise, please learn to write & reason. Don’t just be a confirmation of the stereotype of the atheist not smart enough to see they’re not smart.
@chamblee54 as opposed to xtians whose conversation turns into puerile insults instinctively
@chamblee54 you talk pretty good for a person who has not tweeted yet
@MRWiggins2 I didn’t know that was a requirement. I’m not a big social media guy.
@MRWiggins2 Au contraire. I don’t claim to understand the workings of the universe,
I just know Jesus saved me–a small, ignorant thing who doesn’t even understand his teenagers.
OTOH, those who claim there is no God must be supernaturally knowledgeable to make such an extraordinary claim. (At no time in this discussion did I discuss the reputed existence of g-d.)
Non-Racist Or Anti-Racist
There is a tasteful bit of white guilt porn on the innertubes. The video is from the Guardian, a British enterprise. Are you racist? ‘No’ isn’t a good enough answer. The transcript has 365 words, one for each day of the year. The word for today is and. The most recent tally shows 4,714,039 views on facebook, which does not pay royalties.
The talk is an exercise in semantics. Either you are non-racist, or anti-racist. The possibilities that you are a known-racist is not considered, as is the concept that attitudes about race are nobody else’s business. The speaker, Marlon James, instructs the listener that you MUST be anti-racist. Nothing else will do. This means that you must take some type of action against racism. What exactly you are supposed to do is not specified, but you need to do something.
Mr. James lists five points that the mythical non-racist uses to justify their non-ness. “I’m not a bigot. I don’t sing that ’n’ word when my favorite rap jam comes on. I didn’t vote for that guy. I’m not burning any crosses. I’m not a skinhead.” From these five nots, a certain lifestyle emerges. “What you end up with is an entire moral stance, an entire code for living your life and dealing with all the injustice in the world by not doing a damn thing. That’s the great thing about “non-”: you can put it off by simply rolling over in your bed and going to sleep. So why are you sitting at home and watching things unfold on TV instead of doing something about it? Because you’re a non-racist, not an anti-racist.” Or maybe you are an uncle-racist, and auntie-racist won’t let you do anything.
At no point is a course of anti-racist action suggested. Should you go block traffic on the interstate? Should you vilify a member of your community who expresses incorrect opinions on facebook? Should you go to the state capitol, and talk to your representative about laws you are not familiar with? Exactly what are you supposed to do? Will this action do more harm than good? Is this action any of your business? Do you know what you are talking about? Maybe the effect of your action is not important, as long as you are doing something.
The monolog takes a strange turn now. “Now, do this for me: take the “c” out of racist and replace it with a “p”. “I’m not a rapist. I’m not friends with any rapist. I didn’t buy that rapist’s last album.” All these things that you’re not doing. Meanwhile, people are still getting raped, and black boys are being killed. It’s not enough that you don’t do these things.”
Ok, so now we need to take meaningless action against rape, and black boy murder. Again, what are you supposed to do? There is also the matter of privilege. Is it really the white person’s business that black boys are shooting other black boys? And what are we supposed to do about this? Maybe you can say rude things about police. Whatever you do, say #blacklivesmatter instead of #alllivesmatter.
The video comes to a merciful end with the words “We need to stop being “non-” and start being “anti-”. Or take action against glamorous issues that have no effect on most people, but make you feel good to talk about. The Academy Award nominations have been announced, and not enough POC have been nominated. We can take action on twitter, as this tweet illustrates. #oscarssowhite that pointed hoods will be included in the swag bags this year.
The pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These details are from picture #06666, documenting “First Internation[al] Pageant of Pulchritude & Seventh Annual Bathing Girl Review at Galveston, Texas.” It was taken in 1926. This is a repost.
More Talk About Racism
It is a cliche among certain pundits that this is not “Post Racial America.” No one seems to know what PRA would look like. PRA might be less noisy, with fewer odors, than the current model. The opinion that we do not live in PRA seems unanimous. After PG heard the denial of PRA one too many times, he began to wonder something. Who said America is Post Racial?
Mr. Google has 119 million answers to the question “who said america is post racial?” The short answer is nobody. The closest thing on the front Google page is an NPR commentary from January 2008. This was the early stages of the BHO run for the White House. The commenter said that the election of a dark skinned POTUS might usher in a post racial era in America.
This piece will not have any fresh opinions about race relations in America. That subject has been worn out elsewhere. If someone finds it to their advantage to denounce “racism”, there will be an audience. The truth is, very few people have ever said that America is Post Racial.
This is a double repost, on the subject that people can’t get enough of. If you can’t say anything good, you can always talk about racism. Pictures for this friday morning are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Some times you see something, and realize that you are being pushed over a line. Today’s straw, landing on the camel’s back, was a meme. It has pictures of a statesman-like BHO, and a goat smiling BS. The text was white comic sans letters, on a black background. “Regarding those who call Obama an illegitimate president because his father was born in Kenya, Bernie Sanders replied: “No one asked me if I was a citizen or not, and my dad came from Poland. Gee, what’s the difference? Maybe the color of my skin.” The comment was from a Las Vegas town hall meeting. Some things that are said in Vegas need to stay in Vegas.
No one denies that white people and black people often do not get along. Few deny that there is systemic inequality. The connection of “birther” speculation to systemic inequality is tough to see. Of course, the definition of racism is elastic, and can fit whatever situation the observer wants to critique.
Are we helping the cause of racial tranquility by making comments like that? Yes, it is foolish for “birthers” to whine about a birth certificate. But entertaining followers in a town hall debate does not mean you are going to be able to govern. Maybe BS should focus on his economic fantasies, and quit scoring cheap shots about racism.
The Color Of My Skin was originally published in February, 2016, when BS was taken seriously. As we all know, HRC eventually got the Democratic nomination, only to lose to DJT in November.
Mr. Trump was one of the original “birthers,” or people disputing the Hawaiian birth of BHO. In the general election campaign, Democrats liked to say that DJT was a racist, with birtherism frequently given as an example. The many other unappealing parts of DJT, like crookedness and mental instability, were brushed aside, in the mad rush to scream racist. Some even went so far as to say that anyone voting for DJT was a racist. When the electoral votes were counted, DJT won.
Jesus Gets A New Nickname
There is a video making the rounds now. The title involves Jesus, and a certain racial slur, delicately known as the N word. The video is embedded above. You can feel the magic for yourself.
Here is a story about the song, with the edgy language bleeped. “One pastor is trying to spread the word of God with an edgy rap song. The rapping pastor and his wife claim they have “Christian swag” while tossing around the n-word. … The video of the rapping pastor was recently uploaded to YouTube but it’s not clear when it was filmed. It was taken at a church in Iowa which closed in 2004.” Another helpful interneter has the lyrics.
In case you didn’t know, Pastor Jim Colerick, and Mrs Mary-Sue Colerick, are melanin deficient. They are, as Bette Midler once said about Karen Carpenter, so white they are invisible. It is not considered good manners for Caucasians to use this word, with or without salvation.
There is another angle to this equation. Many Jesus worshipers see not using cusswords as a sign of righteousness. As a result, many Jesus worshipers use the words G-d, and Jesus Christ, as tools of their anger. This violates the third commandment. Now, this use of a sacred name, as profanity, is being extended to using a sacred name as a racial slur. Someone is always ready to manipulate language to serve an agenda.
When you call a book “the word of G-d”, you give certain words too much power. When you designate the lazy way of saying black as a super duper naughty word, you give those six letters way too much power. Now, we see the convergence of these two taboos. Let the party begin.
This is a repost. Pictures of Pastor and Mrs. Colerick are taken from the video. The other images are from The Library of Congress. Jack Delano was the photographer in December 1942.
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15 1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of G-d over one sinner that repenteth. 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Text for today’s story is from Bible Gateway. Here is a commentary on The Power of Parable . Here is a discussion about this parable. This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Yesterday, this facility published the text of Luke 15, also known as The Prodigal Son. The titular phrase does not appear in the King Jimmy text. The story is a parable, that is, a made up story to teach a lesson. Those who say every word of the Bible is true somehow miss this detail.
The Prodigal Son is a popular story. It is well known, and speaks of forgiveness. Some unkind people say that Jesus worshipers like to be forgiven, and do not like to forgive. There is plenty of evidence for this observation. Lets just say that lots of people don’t want to take responsibility for their actions. If your pie in the sky hero to forgives you, then you can have a cleaner conscience.
PG was at a memorial service once. The guest of honor was a leather wearing pagan. The minister, who had met the deceased one time, told the story of the Prodigal Son. It made PG feel better.
The forgotten character in this story is the older brother. He was faithful to his father, stayed at home and helped out, only to see his wayward brother welcomed back with joy. The father never killed a fatted calf for the elder brother. Maybe the elder brother deserved it more. Sometimes, life is not fair. Some say this is more than a parable. Maybe it is three units of bull.
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”.
One History Of Religion
I was a southern baptist all my life. Arguably, I became a baptist when my mother converted in 1938, but really didn’t get with the program until I was born in 1954. The story is that Daddy called the choir director at six in the morning to sign me up.
First Baptist in Atlanta was a big church on Peachtree street, about a mile north of downtown. (A few years ago, they sold the land to a developer, and moved to the suburbs. I was working a block away when they tore down the building, and got some chips of brick as a souvenir.) I sang in the “cherub” choir. This was quite an experience when we performed in front of a full house. I have good memories of Sunday school, vacation bible school, and the choir program.
One thing I did not like, even at that young age, was the preacher. He was a greasy haired man who shouted a lot, and had a mean streak. Years later, I heard persistent rumors that he was gay. (I should note that this is not Charles Stanley. It is the man who preceded him.) One Sunday, we were watching him preach, and he shouted, “this is the word of G-d”. He then waved a Bible in the air, and slammed it into the pulpit. I thought, if that is the word of G-d, maybe he shouldn’t slam it down like that.
In 1962, mom and dad decided to move to a church closer to home. I liked Briarcliff Baptist. About this time, I first heard about being “saved from sin”, and thought it was a pretty cool idea. I also was in the cub scouts, and since their meetings were the same day as choir practice, I quit the choir. I attended church regularly the next few years, but never did join the church, and get baptized. The custom of pressuring children to make a “commitment of faith”, and get baptized, reflects poorly on Jesus.There are some other family issues that came up about this time. They are too personal to get into here, but they affected my attitude towards the church.
After a while, I was 17 years old, and working in a restaurant that was open until 1am on Saturday night. I decided one Sunday that I didn’t want to get up for church. I have only been back to that building once in the intervening 47 years. This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Jesus PTSD
Annabelle is a song by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. It is quite lovely. Annabelle is the daughter, and the one bright spot in a hard life. This life of toil lasts until we “go to Jesus.”
PG has had a tough time with Jesus. Rudeness, disrespect, verbal abuse, and humiliation have been landmarks on the journey. When you don’t agree with the plan for life after death, you wonder if the bad parts of Jesus are worth it. To PG, the negatives overwhelmingly outweigh the positives. Just hearing a passing reference to Jesus can set him to brooding.
This morning, PG wondered if it was always going to be like this. When people talk/sing/act out for Jesus, is it always going to remind him of the pain? The Jesus worshipers have so much fun with their noise, that they scarcely notice the discomfort of others. They usually don’t care. .
Some youtube listeners felt the same way. gotohellgoogle2223 i just wish the words weren’t religious. 001Bigred @gotohellgoogle2223 I don’t find this religious except in the aspect that it tells the TRUTH. You can’t have all things to please you til you go to Jesus. Hope you find Him.
PG has found Jesus, in the words and deeds of his believers. It has been one of the worst experiences PG has known. When you decide that Jesus was killed for being a trouble maker, and his death has nothing to do with what happens to you when you die… it takes away the one justification for all the abuse. Maybe one day there will be no Jesus, and PG will know peace.
This is a repost. Pictures from The Library of Congress.
Chamblee54 
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