Chamblee54

There is a discussion brewing in the Jesus Worship blogosphere on the question of ” Is Christianity really monotheistic”. This is in response to a ten part “meme”, on the subject of the unquestioning Christian.
There is a “motivational” poster, with the headline “Ten signs you are an unquestioning Christian”. One of these ( either number one or ten) deals with monotheism. To wit: “You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of your God.” Some writers are promising/threatening to write about all ten of these arguments, and the features on monotheism are the first.
PG is a recovering Baptist, who is severely alienated from Jesus, and Jesus Worship. He does suspect that there is a G-d, and is in no way an “atheist”. The tracts linked to above tend to break down the discussion to atheists vs. christians, which is highly misleading.
In any event, PG has been knocking around for some time the idea of a post about the six G-ds of Jesus Worshipers. The appearance of this series…at blogs that ban PG from commenting…has spurred him into action. Whether or not there will be more comments (from PG) on this series remains to be seen.
Christianity (In this feature the expression Jesus Worship Religion, or JWR, will be used) claims to be a monotheistic religion. This means, there is only one G-d. In contrast, the Romans and Greeks had G-ds and G-ddesses galore, and the Hindus have literally millions of deities. In what was claimed by some as an advancement, the Jews worshiped one G-d. ( Zoraroastrians are said to be monotheistic, and did it before the Jews. There may be others.)
One of the sacred tracts of Judaism and JWR is the ten commandments. The first three relate to the concept of monotheism, and the proper way to talk about G-d.
1-Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2-Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3-Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
As a side note, PG has heard something about the use of Lord as a name for G-d. The riff is that “Lord” was an English nobleman. When the Bible was translated by James I, his workers used the L word as a synonym for G-d. The words for G-d in the Greek and Hebrew texts that comprised the Bible do not translate as Lord…that word was inserted by the anglocentric workers of James I. This is something that PG read in a book by Tom Robbins, and has no other source for. It may or may not be true. If it is, then it just might be a violation of the third commandment.
Getting back to monotheism, does Jesus Worship Religion (JWR) live up to the first commandment? This may seem to be a silly question when you consider the concept of the trinity. At some point in the early days of Jesus Worship, a decision was made top split G-d into three parts. We now had the father, the son, and the holy ghost. ( Which makes for a neat blessing…the father the son the holy ghost, whoever eats fastest gets the most ) The first commandment is still in effect, but, well, you just have to understand. The Jews continued to worship one G-d, and when Mohammed started his franchise a few years later, he changed the name to Allah. In that version, there is no G-d but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.
Meanwhile, the Jesus Worshipers were good at converting and reproducing, and soon had a very popular religion. But was it one G-d only? The faith had a book of ancient texts that they call “the word of G-d”. The fact that it was written, copied, edited and translated by man did not stop folks. The first commandment would seem to prohibit this custom, but, you just have to believe.
PG is willing to concede the point that he doesn’t understand the concept of the Trinity. He thinks it is a concoction of the Council of Nicea, and is a violation of the first commandment. This is something that seems to happen a lot with JWR…to proclaim one thing as a rule, to apparently violate that rule, but have a clever explanation that few seem to understand.

This does not explain the other G-ds of JWR. For this discussion, we will focus on three…the Bible, Satan, and Salvation.
The Catholic Church had a conference to establish a consistent canon for their church. This conference became known as the Council of Nicea. (This conference is where the concept of the Triune G-d was formulated.) The texts in use by the church at the time were collected in one book. Some texts were not used, and there is a good possibility that the texts that were used were edited. This committee effort became known as the Bible.
During the protestant reformation, the new churches needed a source for their authority over the people. It was during this time that the concept of the Bible as the “Word of G-d” became known. This in effect made a G-d out of a book. This is in direct defiance of the First Commandment, which teaches to have no other G-d before you.
The book has been interpreted into many languages, and the interpretations have been interpreted. The star of the New Testament, Jesus, spoke Aramaic. His words were recorded, in Greek, many years after he *died*.Any quote from Jesus has been translated at least twice. This is from texts that were written many years after he lived. And yet, people talk about what Jesus taught, and have confidence, that they know what they are talking about.
At some point, the idea began to float around that the Bible was not only the word of G-d, but that it was inerrant…that is, without errors. This would presume that no scribe copying a text, no Catholic editor assembling a canon, and no one translating ancient languages made a mistake.
This one is too blatant to let slide. When you declare a text to be the “word of G-d”, you are making a G-d out of a book. There is a semantic argument to be made, you can say that this isn’t worship. Lets say it out loud…calling the Bible the “word of G-d” makes a G-d out of a book, in violation of the First Commandment. This is not monotheism.
A quick look at the way Satan is treated by the church shows a curious similarity to worship. Yes, it is backhanded worship, and lots of negative things are said about Beelzebub. He with the horns and tail is given credit for all kinds of powers, and needs to be fought ( with human collateral damage). Yes, Jesus Worshipers give the Devil his due, and then some.
The last “G-d” that we will look at today is Salvation, or the JWR scheme for life after death. Anyone living in the USA has heard this plan a thousand times, and many agree with it. Some do not agree with it. It is up to your imagination (and none of your business) how PG feels.
What is undeniable is the importance placed on salvation in JWR. It is discussed in every church meeting, often at top volume, and with dramatics that would shame a ham actor. Salvation is said to justify all the rudeness and verbal abuse that Jesus Worshiper inflict on their neighbors. If you do not agree with the concept of Salvation, you have no business belonging to a Jesus Worship Church.
Does this hysterical emphasis on Salvation make a G-d out of the concept? As with the Bible and Satan, it is a matter of perspective. A good argument could be made that Jesus Worshipers treat these three items with G-d like devotion, and make G-ds out of them.
The pictures illustrating this feature are from a hike on the Atlanta Beltline site on Veterans Day, 2009. The Beltline project is an act of faith…the idea that people can take a resource, and turn it into something of benefit to the community. It is an activity open to all people, regardless of their opinion about G-d(s). There will be a hike on the corridor in these pictures Saturday, March 6, at noon.

PG saw an announcement on Facebook, about a “Public Art Dedication”, in a park in SW Atlanta. He had never been to a public art dedication before, and hates to miss out.
When going to an unfamiliar neighborhood, it is a good idea to allow lots of time to find your destination. PG was cutting it close, scrambling along Cascade Road, wondering if this was the part they call the black Buckhead. Finally, Peyton Road appeared, and a parking spot was found at 12:31pm, exactly one minute after the event was to start.
The public art was a bright red metal sculpture, on a six sided brick base. The Artist said the hexagonal shape reminded him of the time he spent in the UGA law library, reading law books because of a legal matter. The title of the piece is “Yes We Can”, which a speechwriter fed to a Chicago politician once.
The MC was a lady, wearing a short skirt and knee high beige boots. There is a school next door to the park, and the students were there in abundance. The students were welcomed, and the kids who painted tiles for the base of the statue were noted.
The first speaker was City Councilman C.T. Martin. He said that Peyton Forest was the baddest school in the city. The next speaker was Mr. Webster. He was the husband of Isabel Gates Webster,the namesake of the park. Mr. Webster mentioned that he was introduced to Isabel Gates by a Divinity student named Martin Luther King Jr.
Mrs. Webster studied law, and became a civil rights lawyer. A fifth grader from the school read a story about Isabel Gates Webster. She sued the Georgia Power company, and got a $2 million settlement for some workers, who had been done wrong.
The next speaker was the guest of honor, the sculptor. PG is too slack to look up his name, but he was an art professor at the University of Georgia. Wearing a bright yellow scarf, he introduced the men who built the brick base. He was honored to make the statement that he did.
The principal of the school took the podium next, and led the students in singing “We will overcome”. This is not your daddy’s “We will overcome”. It is modernized, with several breaks for call and response raps. ” Lay down your knives and your guns. Everyone here is going to have some fun”. ( That is not an exact quote).
A catered reception was planned for the school, but PG had enough fun by this point. A few pictures of the public art, and it was back to Chamblee.

There is a comment in a recent thread at Obsidian Wings that says a great deal, both about the debate on climate change, and the way people view things. This was posted by someone called “Turbulence”.
I think what this analysis misses is the fact that for many people, policy questions like climate change responses are more about tribal affiliation than debates about facts. In my experience, lots of climate change skeptics aren’t amenable to information: every bit of information that doesn’t match their world view is disregarded or twisted. Besides, they “know” that climate change is just a crazy scam cooked up by the leftist elites. In my experience, trying to discuss these issues rationally is sort of like trying to convince someone to change their favorite football team. I mean, people argue about football teams all the time, but how often does anyone change their minds based on one of those arguments? Not very, because team loyalty has a lot more to do with tribal identification than it does with facts and figures.
In the post that preceded this comment, the writer said “Importantly, weather is not the same as climate” , to which someone called Chamblee54 replied “What is the difference between climate and weather?” It seems like this is a forest/trees thing…weather is the individual,local event that is part of the overall climate.
There is a law somewhere that you can predict what groups will do a lot better than you can individuals. The gambling and insurance industries ( no wise comments about them being the same thing ) are built on this premise. Yes, it may have snowed in Atlanta four times this winter, but the overall trend is, probably, for warmer overall temperatures.
Pictures from the ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”

The 57th Fighter Group Restaurant has been behind Peachtree Dekalb Airport for a while. The official site says it opened in 1985, but PG seems to remember eating there in 1982. What is not in doubt is that it was closed for a while, then bought by Pat Epps, from the oldest aviation family in Georgia. The building needed extensive work, but is back, looking much like it did before.
Another mystery is whether the building went up fresh in the eighties, or was a makeover of an existing building. PDK was a World War I boot camp, Camp Carroll. There are lots of leftover facilities from that effort. The idea is to look like a bombed out European farm house from World War II. The decor is a cross between Bennigans and the History Channel. Flea market merchandise is side by side with pictures of fighting men. Tapes from that era sometimes play on the PA system. ( PG thinks the WW2 theme is a bit tiresome, but that just one of his many opinions.)
PG reckons he has been to 57th a hundred times or so over the years. Many of these have been with the Atlanta Tall Club, formerly known as the Atlanta Sky Hi Club. A “social club for Tall people”, “the club” has been having friday night happy hour parties at 57th for at least twenty years. They usually meet either on the patio outside, or in the disco inside.
The concept of a neighborhood dance hall, like the 57th, is surprisingly unique in Atlanta. While the music is never “cutting edge”, there were usually at least one or two songs for everyone. You could see the chorus line of women for “Electric Slide” or “It’s Raining Men”. The dreaded “Macarena” was a harmless, fun song the first time anyone heard it, and saw people doing that dance to it.
57th is a bar, alcohol is sold and consumed, and you see some strange behavior. Office groups will go for a drink at happy hour, and at 11 o’clock are falling over each other on the dance floor. Exotic dancers from the clubs downtown ( and one nearby on Buford Hiway) will bring “dates” to 57th, often dancing rings around the confused looking older men.
The word is that the food is pretty good these days at 57th. This has not always been the case. It is a theme restaurant, with a patio beside the runway, and a cargo carrier full of atmosphere. The food can live up to this, but sometimes does not. PG remembers stopping for a happy hour buffet in 1988. There were these english muffins, with tomato sauce and melted cheese, that were supposed to be little pizzas. PG thought it was the worst food he had ever tasted.
So Pat Epps wanted to have the 57th open again, and he put his money where his dreams are. PG wishes him good luck, and thinks it is a mighty fine thing to do. A place the size of 57th probably has a killer overhead, and can only count on a large dance hall crowd on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant business is a tough way to make money. The 57th is an asset to the neighborhood, which can only wish it well.

PG talked on the phone to his friend Bradley. The two go back to eighth grade, and share a common world view. Here are a few of the items.
1- Global warming was discussed. Bradley is disposed to reading scientific stuff, and feels that a lot of the agw hype is overblown. This is not the same as saying it is disproven. As PG points out, there is a difference between prove and indicate.
PG considers the role Al Gore plays in this drama. What better person to present the information, if you want to not believe it…or, if you have a vested interest in the status quo? You choose for the movement posterboi a nerdy politician who is perceived as liberal. Immediately, the right wing is going to doubt what is said, because Al Gore is saying it. The carbon industries have a lot of influence over our government, and this suits their needs.
2-The Detroit underwear bomber drifted into the picture. A comment was made that our side always seems to catch the low lying fruit. Or in this case, fruit of the loom.
3- Bradley did not know that Ayn Rand was a speed freak, who got her pen name from a typewriter.
PG has heard stories about affairs with younger men, but cannot remember the details.
4- There was a man walking down the street with a bottle. Bradley was glad he was cutting wood, and had an axe. No, that was not a bottle, but an artillery Bible. The man was looking to save a soul. Bradley noted that slavery is mentioned several times in that text, and is never criticized. The man with the artillery Bible did not have an answer.
PG has heard several times that the Bible was used to defend slavery, but has never seen any examples. This might be a good reason to do an urban myth check.
5-Something that is not an urban myth is the Dunning-Kruger effect. This is where the neophytes think they are experts, and those who know a lot are humbled by how much they don’t know. This is a serious problem with newly saved Jesus Worshipers. It is also a problem with people who want to discuss the Dunning-Kruger effect, but cannot remember the names of the academics. No Freddie Kruger jokes were told.
6- One difference between liberals and conservatives is that one group is more open to novel thinking. PG observed that they might be more open to reading novels as well.
The ability to read, and to enjoy reading, makes a big difference. The high rates of illiteracy in Afghanistan were noted, with amazement that those people are considered a threat to the United States.
7- Why is Cuba still a communist country? Maybe the rest of the Caribbean is overdeveloped, and does not want to competition. Maybe there are advantages to the American Government, and it’s less than honorable associates, in having an outlaw state so close to our borders. And why do we have a gulag at Guantanamo Bay?
8- And so it goes. Attorneys are frequently incompetent, with the protection of the Supreme Court. The government is still trying the things that don’t work, often in homage to Ayn Rand. People seek out the information on the internet that reinforces what they already believe. Cell phone batteries do not last as long as a land line power supply. The pictures used here are from the ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.

On the last day of February
PG and Uzi went walking in Piedmont Park.
It was boring as expected.
Supper at Piccadilly saw the discovery
that chicken fingers have more meat than
white meat fried chicken but cost less.
March is tomorrow ready or not.

This is a repost from a year ago, with an update to follow.
The official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama was recently released. She is the prettiest First Lady in quite a while. She is, unlike her husband, a full blooded African American. She can trace her heritage back to her father’s great grandfather. Jim Robinson was a slave in South Carolina.
The First Lady is an important person. Laura Bush stayed in the background, which was a welcome change from the mediamania for Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan. It remains to be seen what sort of role Mrs. Obama will play in the next few years.
There is a bit of controversy over the choice of a sleeveless gown for this portrait. The second amendment does say something about the right to bare arms.
HT to transgriot, who has an interesting comment. It seems that looking over MLRO’s shoulder is a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson was a slave owner. He apparently had a romantic relationship with one of his slaves, a lady named Sally Hemmings. Yes, the image is ironic.
There are two parts to the job of President…style and substance. The business of presiding over the US government is messy, and will never be done without criticism. The show business part will have its critics, but is much smoother.
Michelle Obama has been an asset to her husband…and America…in the style department. Having a beautiful wife on your arm is a serious asset in the world image market. So far, Mrs. O has avoided controversy, and looked good. If only the same could be said for her husband.

A year ago, this blog posted about nuclear energy. The Georgia Lesterslature passed a bill allowing Georgia Power to raise rates to pay for a nuclear reactor, before the device went into service.
Ten days ago, the US Government announced a loan guarantee of 8.3 billion dollars for the project. The nuclear industry seems to have a problem with defaults and cost overruns. The help of big government is needed.
The plan is to build two more reactors for Plant Vogtle, in Burke County. The Savannah River presumably would be the water source. The Westinghouse AP100 is said to be the favored model. There are safety concerns about this reactor.
The cost of construction makes government intervention necessary. The volatility of nuclear fuel makes security critical, again making big government bigger. The safety of reactors is a manageable problem. The watchfulness to insure this safety will serve to make big government bigger. The issue of permanent storage of used nuclear fuel has not been resolved.
PG posted a comment earlier today at Obsidian Wings. The thread discusses the compensation of executives, at companies recieving federal bailouts. The outrage fatigue, and cheapness of PR, apply to the issue of two more reactors at Plant Vogtle.
“I guess I’m suffering from outrage fatigue”
I think this is what the “beneficiaries” are hoping for. If they wait it out,and ignore the outrage of the common people ( who they hold in contempt), then they get their big bucks.
You can only be angry at so many things. PR is cheap. You can buy a lot of deflection for what these insurance people are getting.
In red state Georgia, there is little outrage over this. While most conservatives whine over the size of government, they support nuclear energy, which IS big government. The support of BHO for this loan guarantee will not silence the hatred many feel for the President.
Nuclear Power= Big Government. Pictures from ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.

There is a sculpture in Spain causing controversy. Created by Eugenio Merino, the work is titled ( in English) “Stairway to Heaven“. No, it does not have Jimmy Page, playing the bane of classic rock radio. It is an image of a Jew, standing on the shoulders of a Catholic, who is kneeling on the back of a Muslim. All three of the men are praying.
After writing the last sentence, PG decides to take another look to insure gender correctness. The Jew on top has a long beard. The Catholic is bald, and is wearing a priest’s outfit. The Muslim has it’s face to the ground, and could, in theory, be a woman. PG is going to take a chance, for the sake of clean writing, and call all three participants men. Like anyone really cares.
There are all sorts of implications and hidden meanings here. The Israeli embassy in Spain issued a statement, saying “The piece contains elements which are offensive for the Jews, the Israelis, and, of course, for others“. Considering the way Palestinians are treated by Israel, to say “others” is gushing with kindness.
Maybe a better word for the piece would be “Tower of Babel”. The three men are praying, presumably to the same G-d. However, they speak three different languages, and the content of their prayers is one of the reasons they fight each other so much. Maybe if they spoke the same tongue, they would understand each other better, and fight less.
PG was raised in the Jesus Worship tradition ( Jesus Worship is represented here by the Catholic priest. The division of Jesus Worship that PG is familiar with is a different one, arguably as different from Catholicism as Judaism is from Islam.) PG has become alienated from Jesus, and Jesus Worship. A casualty from this is the custom of prayer. While PG recognizes that this custom may have benefits for some people, the idea of “talking to G-d” seems silly at best, and like a huge ego trip at worst.
One thing about prayer… it is talking. There is a saying that prayer is talking to G-d, and meditation is listening. Maybe the three men in the tower would be better off if they would shut up, and listen.

Old people like to talk about things that were better back then. PG is going to talk about some things that are better today.
During the Vietnam war, there was talk about “back our boys in Vietnam”. In the current war in Babylon, the troops are an integrated fighting force of men and women. You do not hear these brave people referred to as “boys”.
A person who goes into combat, to kill or be killed, is not a boy. He is a man, or a woman. This is an improvement over the way things used to be. Of course, we still have wars, so mankind has not achieved perfection.
A second way society has improved is the attitude towards cigarettes. In older times, almost everyone smoked, and they lit up wherever and whenever they wanted. No one asked for permission.
Today, people routinely go outside to smoke.
Another way in which our attitudes about cigarettes is changing can be seen in the way two presidents are treated by the press. Franklin Roosevelt was never photographed with his leg braces, or struggling to walk. Many people did not know he was crippled. However, his cigarette holder was a part of his image, and he was photographed with that constantly. By contrast, has ANYONE seen a picture of Barack Obama smoking?
The election of a dark skinned man as POTUS brings us to our final issue of the day, racial ( and other) slurs. It is just not considered polite to use insulting terms that refer to race, religion, national origin, etc. etc. ( PG got an email at work once cautioning about discussing hair color) In many ways, this is like the thing with cigarettes…people have not changed the overall attitudes, they just go outside.
Political correctness can be a nuisance. The excesses are well known. However, the basic concept of having concern for the feelings of others is a good idea. Pictures for this discourse are from the ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”

This list was found on facebook. Thank you Martin. 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 because 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. 13. 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..’ 14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. 15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: ‘Keep off the Grass.’ 16. 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.’ 17. 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. Why don’t sharks eat comedians? Because they taste funny.

While putting off doing anything useful, PG looked at Gartalker‘s blog. There was one of those lists of “facts”, that is in email rotation at all times. It has been a while since PG recycled chain email, so maybe this is the day.
It did not take long for the ding ding ding, of the BS detector, to be heard. “Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented.. It was ruled ‘Gentlemen Only…Ladies Forbidden’.. .and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.”
Something seemed amiss here, and snopes the urban myth buster was called into action. It seems like there were lots of words that could have been used as a starting point for golf. There was a Scottish word “goulf”…a verb, meaning to cuff or strike. Since striking the ball with a club is an essential part of the sport, this is a possibility.
The concept of acronyms becoming words is a 20th century affair. It just wasn’t a popular practice before phrases like “absent without leave” became AWOL. This is one reason to doubt the popular story about “for unlawful carnal knowledge”
The second item on the Gartalker list is more likely to be true… “The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.” PG is too slack to investigate. The pictures for this feature are from ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”