View of Point

Winston Churchill once said something like: 'the vice of Capitalism was that very few shared in the riches and the vice of Socialism was that everyone shared the same misery.'

Much to my continued dismay, I'm still reading the book 'A People's History of the United States' by H.Zinn. Reader beware. He's not only overtly a Socialist, but he's such a feminist I'm suprised he's still a man. However much I dislike his point of view (humanist to the core), he records quite a bit of facts. I should note in the preface he spends quite a bit of time showing that history is only a person selecting facts that support their case.

I've also been listening to Rushdoony's history of the Americas (1492-1865) on MP3. Needless to say, Zinn and Rushdoony don't have much in common.

Unbeknowst to government school educated me, there was not a little unrest in America in the 1800s. Primarly revolving around worker's rights, wages, sufferage, etc. We all know that but only the tip of the iceberg. So I got thinking about it and where America is now (in my estimation, principally, not much different than 1800s or earlier) is scary.

I think Zinn is one of those purist who want to return to the old primative ways. I get a lot of that working in Ithaca. Well, news is, that ain't happenin'. But the desire behind returning to old times is provacative. The reason all has to do with...you guessed it money. We view primative cultures as free from the burden of earning money. Free from taxes. Free from auto insurance. Free from denistry, or whatever. Let's just barter and work with our hands, and make due with what we have today. Nothing wrong with that.

However the Bible speaks of laying up an inheritance for our childrens' children. I haven't quite figured out how to barter inheritances. Like the strikers of the 1800s, we're between a rock and hard place. We are married to the dollar whether we like it or not. Politicians have a strangle hold on all of us. They've got us cornered from every angle, womb to tomb.
Gotta wrap it up, time for suppah.

Let us work with our hands that we may have something to give to those in need.

From these truths it would appear that the soul cannot be successfully cultivated by patches. We cannot have the intellectual workman polish it at one place, and the spiritual workman at another. A succession of objects may be presented to the soul, to evoke and discipline its several powers; yet the unity of the being would seem to necessitate a unity in its successful education.
- R.L. Dabney 

In case you didn't know. 

Medium Message

Someone much more eloquent than I should be writing this, but, alas 'tis only me.

Have you ever thought about email. I mean really thought about it; it's wonderful capabilities and terrible shortcomings. As hackneyed as it sounds, we haven't quite figured out how to use this whole 'e' thing yet. Email, Econnect, Ebooks (how is that possible?) Eserver, Ewaiter, Efood ad nauseum. I'm not aware of any precendent of such debauchery of the English language.

What ever happened to the quill and parchment? What have we accomplished, what have we given up, by using email and other sorted gadgets, i.e. weblogs?

I've been keeping a journal on and off ever since I graduated high school. And like most boys in high school, I took mechanical drawing. In this class you must write in all capital letter, which I loved to do. My dad writes this way so naturally I wanted to. Recently however, in my journal writings I've made the executive decision to write in cursive. You wouldn't believe what came to follow! Instead of quickly writing according to custom, I had to think about what I wanted to write and how to write it. In essence, I had to think. Cursive by definition is superfluous. Heck, I suppose writing in general is too. But cursive trumps everything. Totally unnecessary, totally time consuming for our 'on demand' Egeneration.

I know certain individuals who wait with eager anticipation for snail (I bet the USPS didn't come up with that) mail correspondance. Like lil' kids around Christmas. Now we've reduced conversation to who knows what.

Neil Postman, who is (I believe he died a couple years ago) one of my favorite social critics, wrote this in Amusing Ourselves to Death concerning the boob tube:

What is television? What kind of conversations does it permit? What are the intellectual tendencies does it encourage? What sort of culture does it produce?...Thus, in answering the question, What is television?, we must understand as a first point that we are not talking about television as a technology but television as a medium.

He asked questions that nobody even thought of or bothered to think about. So I ask, why even bother with this computer thing?

Again, Mr Postman:

Although I believe the computer to be a vastly overrated technology, I mention it here because, clearly, Americans have accorded it their customary mindless inattention; which means they will use it as they are told, without a whimper. Thus, a central thesis of computer technology--that the principal difficulty we have in solving problems stems from insufficient data--will go unexamined.

Delectable Quotables

I just recently learned that my mother has a book full of quotes by famous people. Needless to say, I’m not in it (yet). So, I spent a little time going through it’s pages in search of the following gems:

For everyone (meatlovers, at least):

Alfred Emanuel Smith (1873-1944)

No matter how you slice it, it’s still baloney.

For our President:

Thomas Jefferson (1734-1826)

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to tome with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

For Mr.Terry:

William Cowper (1731-1800)

He likes the country, but in truth must own
Most likes it, when he studies it in town.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

Who loves not women, wine, and song
Remains a fool his whole life long.

For Mr.Owen:

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

And they think we’re burning witches when we’re only burning weeds.

Because it is only Christian men that guard even heathen things.


Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

There is a superstition in avoiding superstitions.

For all of you who think nothing good has come from a Baptist:

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

He who does not write, will never be written of; he who does not read, will never be read; and he that refuses to use other men’s brains proves that he has no brain of his own.

For Papist Pete:

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

For all you Elders out there:

Revenons a ces moutons. Let us return to our sheep.

For those who act like money is more important than children:

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk in babies.

These are my Great-great grandparents that bought the property where I grew up. I like his hat. Although one must wonder if she's barefoot. 

The sermon this week will be on either, 'lay not up treasure' or 'The lost science of Ark building'. 

Week Thots

This week was the craziest in a long time. At work I might be getting a promotion, but then again, maybe not. It's a long story. To boot, things at church are always interesting, too.
Which brings me to Scott's post.

I've been thinking this week (well, maybe every week) about how Christians look. We should be radically different and unmistakable from our heathen counterparts. Not in the sense of a snooty, holy roller, but rather distinguishable. I too, hope some day have what is being dubed ' a Christian community'. But that's just a fancy word for 'Christians living like they should'. Historically, people of a particular conviction always want to literally have a city on a hill. I'm not entirely convinced that in the long run it's a good idea (or biblical). It's difficult to convince heathens that we love them as neighbors if we're consumed with ourselves.

So, to solve all the aforementioned problemos, I submit the following. We need to return to a culture of Shoes and Hats. Allow me to explain.

Shoes distinguish a people. For example, if I said 'Dutch', you would say klompen (wooden shoes for you non-Dutchers). Now that you get the idea, you can be creative. Shoes represent the bare utility of a people and the resources that are given them. The footwear defines their everyday need. We as Christians need to develop unique footwear that shows our dominion over creation and our willingness to work in it. I like muck boots.

Secondly, and more flamboyant, Hats. Hats represent the shear luxury or imagination of a people. It represents what you really believe about the world and life. Amish don simple hats because they believe the world to be simple; black and white you might say. I have no suggestions for what kind of hats to wear but this topic is one that should be taken up in some sort of seminar.

Although the current Christian climate in America should be easy to see if you use my formula of 'Shoes and Hats'. We're a bunch of immature babies running around without our hats and barefoot, all against our Father's wishes.
After we get the Hat and Shoes thing down, then we can start to talk pipe tobacco.