God, Baruch, and Splendor

 

image from cgg.org I claim fair use

A Jewish fellow by the name of Baruch was the scribe for prophet Jeremiah.

Baruch also wrote a book, though it did not make the cut for our Old Testament, still some of the readings are part of the schedule of Scriptural readings through the year.

This is one reading suggested for preaching…

Baruch 5:1-9
5:1 Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.

5:2 Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;

5:3 for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.

5:4 For God will give you evermore the name, "Righteous Peace, Godly Glory."

5:5 Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them.

5:6 For they went out from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne.

5:7 For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.

5:8 The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God's command.

5:9 For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

Please note how verse 7 here very closely resembles verse 5 of chapter three of Luke…

3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;

And also chapter 40, verse 4 of Isaiah…

Every valley shall be raised up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
    the rugged places a plain.

Be very assured that whatever obstacles may seem to be in the way, God is working on removing those obstacles and leveling our path toward him.

This idea of leveling the path seemed important enough for God to inspire Isaiah, Baruch, and Luke…perhaps it is an important enough of an idea that we should cast our faith upon it!

Rejoice this day for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
Peace, Mike

 

Maintaining and Strengthening a Separation of Church and State

 

My thanks to Jerald Turner and Eric Settles for review and advice.

I write to advocate for the continuation of a well-defined separation of Church and State. This is in no way so that America will become absent of the Christian faith. It is to protect the integrity of the Church, and its divine mission, from political corruption.

It may seem among many Christians, and other faiths, that harnessing our government by religious faith would “set us right with God.” But I am convinced that erasing the line between state and Church would result in the Church becoming the lap dog of those in political power.

I strongly assert that the Church does not have the authority to abdicate Christ’s command for the church to make disciples.

Matthew 28:19-20 teaches, ^“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” (Common English Bible translation)

Christ never made any provision to outsource His Great Commission to any government or other authority. Nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Peter instruct His followers to write letters to the Roman Senate or Roman Emperor, urging the establishment of Christianity as the State religion. It is clear from the New Testament writers that the work of evangelism is solely within the realm of the Church.

I have heard many people claim that “America was founded as a Christian nation.” I assert that the religious condition in colonial, revolutionary America was more complicated than “everybody shared the same Trinitarian ideas of Christianity.”

From our beginning, deism was an idea held by many people of the day, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine, among others. Deism suggests a distant, detached God, without regard to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, or any of the writers of Biblical Gospels or Epistles. The terms “Creator” and “Nature’s God” used in the Declaration of Independence align closer to deism than Christianity.

Aside from those facts is the reality that on this continent, before Europeans arrived Original Peoples held their own religious faith, and continued to do so throughout the colonial period, thereby having a religious influence on arriving Europeans. More, when slave traders brought slaves from Africa, they brought with them many different religions that also continued throughout the colonial period, and even to this day.

So, in its infancy, and still today, America held numerous religious beliefs. But more to my point of maintaining a separation of Church and state is the fact that, whatever religious views the framers of our Constitution may have held, they did not incorporate any of them in the Constitution, even when they had ample opportunity to do so.

The Constitution was not a hastily thrown together document. From May 25 of 1787 to September 17, 1787, its text, ideas, and wording were carefully crafted. Yet, there is no language that indicates or establishes that we were to be a “Christian” nation.

Whatever sentiments of religion our framers communicated in their personal correspondence privately; as representatives of “The People,” they signed their names publicly to a document to be the Law of the Land, and that resides in the Constitution.

I point out a few areas of the Constitution where the framers had opportunities to set a religious baseline, yet chose not to do so: The Preamble, which serves to describe the scope and the intent of the Constitution, we encounter these three words: “We the People.” Not “God Almighty.”

This seems to me to be a direct accommodation of the clause found in the Declaration of Independence: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” Furthermore, regarding that revolutionary concept, while it is noble  and one to which most people in America would subscribe, it is in jarring conflict with, and disobedience to the New Testament teaching that governments and rulers are established by God and therefore we are to obey them (Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13).

Also in reference to the Preamble, there is no clause that has even a hint of any language or idea indicating the establishment of a “Christian” form of Government.

The framers of the Constitution could have easily inserted religious language, if they had chosen to do so. But, instead, the scope of the Constitution provided by the Preamble reads, in full, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

So, it seems the framers missed several opportunities to address religious influence in the Preamble.

What’s more, within the body of the Constitution…

The last paragraph in Article II reads in full…Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Please note that the phrase “So help me God” is not present here. While those elected President have chosen to speak those words while taking the oath of office, they have done so as a matter of personal choice and conscience. Neither those words, nor their sentiment, is required by the Constitution.

Clause 3, Article VI reads: “but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” This is an explicit prohibition of religious favorability within government.

And of course, the First Amendment to the Constitution also has obvious and explicit language regarding religion…

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”

Returning to the religious convictions of Native Americans, and Africans brought over on slave ships, there is no language to prohibit their free exercise of religion. Indeed, the Constitution is absolutely neutral as to religious matters.

If the framers had intended a “Christian” form of government, I count at least six missed opportunities:

·         Two missed opportunities in the Preamble.

·         The lack of address to God in the President’s oath of office.

·         The prohibition of religious test to hold office.

·         The first amendment with its explicit language regarding religion.

·         The absence of prohibition on non-Christian religions known to actively exist at the time of the writing of the Constitution.

All of this is not to say that individual Christians, denominations, and/or other religious groups should not advocate governments to improve the conditions of those living in poverty, those who suffer violence, those who are trafficked, or those who are oppressed in any way. Indeed, as people of faith, be it Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or others, we should feel compelled by our faith to advocate for the “least of these.” (Matthew 25:46)

Nowhere even in the Declaration of Independence is there any compulsion for anyone to subscribe to any particular expression of religious faith. Government cannot instill sincere religious faith in anyone. Government can only indoctrinate a people, and thereby cause them to be absent any genuineness of faith.

My appeal to Christians is to apply our resources of time, money, and social capital according to models present in the New Testament; models of conversion that are effective. The Church best achieves Christ’s Great Commandment by making its argument in the free market of ideas, as Apostle Paul modeled for us in Acts 17:16-34. 

If we want America to be a Christian nation in fact, not just electoral rhetoric, then Christians must actively try to change hearts, rather than be obsessed with dictating what other people must believe. We must avoid the danger of becoming a lap dog of those who hold political power, which is as fickle as musical tastes across generations. Christianity, as well as other religions, is a faith of personal invitation, not political coercion.

For these reasons, among so many others, I believe that we must maintain and strengthen a separation of Church and State.

Concord High School Honors Night 1974: A memoir

 

 

That's me, front row. The "C" stands for Charles, my first name.

     My 24, 1974, yes, fifty years ago, Concord High School held our Honors Night program.

Thank goodness for there being a Library for me to work in otherwise I would not have had opportunity to accept an award, as pictured below, before assembled classmates, their parents, teachers, and administrators on that stage in that affectionally-remembered auditorium.

Having no musical talent, I was not in band or choir, nor did I participate in sporting events which call for physical duration and strength, nor did I have the projection of voice for theater.  I have no high school trophies or framed newspaper reports to adorn walls, shelves, or tables so as to impress visitors with stories of glory. But, by golly gee whiz did I know how to navigate the Dewey Decimal system! I know how to get you to the book you want! “Need Cliff’s Notes for that Shakespeare play? Gotcha covered, brother!”. ”Seeking a biography of King Edward VII? Follow me, sister!” I can even find that obscure recording of Gloriana by Benjamin Britten if that is your musical taste!

 And therefore, I am happy to claim, and exalt, and present this pictured charm as my award for Library Service.

 Yes, fifty years I have held on to this memento.

But seriously, I offer sincere accolades to all my classmates who achieved academic, athletic, artistic, or other school disciple success that year!

You can read about them in this Elkhart Truth article which James Clouse recently posted on Facebook.

And let’s all recommit to our class moto:

Saxon...Legendary in the Metal Community

 

    I had known of Saxon only by their name on the cover of albums in records stores during my visits in the late 1970s. Not being a fan of heavy metal, I never invested in purchase of album or tickets. Not that I have anything against Heavy Metal. I was much more the Beatles/Simon and Garfunkel kind of appreciant.

When my son suggested this concert featuring Saxon and Uriah Heep at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart, of course I said “yes”. I love the gathering of music fans to just about any type of music and venue.

    Eric, my son, said, regarding Saxon…”These guys are legendary in the metal community.”

    I was impressed. This band is very precise in their instrumentation, timing, cadence, and more so than most performers I have encountered. Through the loudness, one can distinguish each guitar and vocal. The loudness is not merely for the aim of playing loud…the level of sound they create enables their music to ricochet from the walls in just the right directions for the listener to audibly consume each thrash-strum, slide-pick, and drum roll presented.

   I was impressed. Each song was acutely predictable. I don’t say that as a negative, contrary, this quality of predictability enabled the listener to know where the variations of the strums and drums was going and where the anticipated landing would be.

  At the beginning thrash-strum of one song my son leaned over to me and said “JFK”. Quickly, I Google-searched “Saxon JFK”. Well, that landed me where I did not want to go. Then I searched “Saxon song JFK”. Ah yes, that gave me the tilte of the song the band was playing (Dallas 1PM) and the lyric, which I present at bottom of this blog post.

Now, that fact made strong connection between baby-boomer me and this British new wave heavy metal band from South Yorkshire, England.

    I was impressed. The crowd that was there responded to each lyric sang as if the crowd knew the lyrics by heart. They were certainly well invested!

   I was convinced, as my son asserted, these guys are legendary in the metal community. They built upon that legend tonight at the Lerner Theater.

If you have never experienced a heavy metal band in concert and are interested in it as a “bucket list” item, for sure see Saxon.

I present the lyric Dallas 1PM in Fair Use as I do not monetize my blog…

[Verse 1]
A crowded main street, the scene was set
They check out the view, turn the radio on
Open the case, assemble the gun
Wait at the ready, for the president's run

[Chorus]
The world was shocked that fateful day
A young man's life was blown away, away, away-ay-ay
At Dallas 1 p.m

[Verse 2]
White hot lead, in the back of the head
Screaming confusion, shots rip the air
Cadillac racing, cops on the run
They couldn't believe the president's hit

*3 Shots*
[Radio Chatter]
"Something has happened here
We understand there has been a shooting
The presidential car coming up now, we know it's the presidential car, you can see Mrs. Kennedy in the pink suit
There's a secret serviceman spread eagle over the top of the car
We understand that governor and Mrs. Connally are in the car with president and Mrs. Kennedy
We can't see who is hit if anybody's been hit, but apparently something is wrong here, something is terribly wrong
[?] behind the motorcade [?] they're going to Parkland Hospital
[?]."

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
The shooting's done, assassin run
Is he dead? No-one will say
Around the world, the news was flashed
We sat and watched, your tragic history

[Chorus]
The world was shocked that fateful day
A young man's life was blown away, away, away-ay-ay
At Dallas 1 p.m
1 p.m

[Outro]
The world was shocked
In Dallas 1 p.m
We sat and watched
Tragic history

The world was shocked
In Dallas 1 p.m

 

 

 

Favoring the Spector Reproduction of "The Long and Winding Road"

 

Image from discogs.com I claim Fair Use

With a great deal of humility, I offer that my preferred version of “The Long and Winding Road”, released on May 11 in 1970, is the Phil Spector reproduction.

 I just sensed a disturbance in the gravitational field of all of Beatledom.

I was fourteen when I first heard the song on WLS radio station of Chicago. This was the formative version of the recording to which I was introduced. Other people may have had their first experience from the “Let It Be…Naked” album of 2003 which. I admit, had a simpler, more faithful to original recording production.

But the Spector reproduction to my fourteen-year-old self, having followed the Beatles since that first Ed Sullivan show, seemed like the Beatles at full maturity.

From the stage-performable “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, to the studio intense “Tomorrow Never Knows”, to trend-setting ‘Hey Jude”, this Spector reproduction of LWR, with his fullness of choir and orchestra, which seems to escort the listener from the end of one lyrical phrase to the beginning of the next, causes the group to rise above ordinary pop/rock music to unprecedented cultural apex.

Yes, those were my actual words that I wrote in my journal at the time of my first hearing the song. I was hoping to become a rock music critic.

As to McCartney’s lyric, I will say that the best phrase ever I have heard in a pop/rock song follows…

“The wild and windy night that the rain washed away has left a pool of tears, crying for the day. Why leave me standing here, let me know the way.”

Much respect to those who prefer the original recording done in January of 1969.

But to reinforce my argument, the Beatles pretty much shelved that music and left it somewhat abandoned. I see no transgression committed by Allen Klein or Phil Spector in making LWR an even better recording than the concurrent “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, which seems to have similar production value.

I mean no transgression in my preference for the Spector reproduction.

Peace, all.

 

The Beatles Success in Context of John F Kennedy

 

picture from jacobsmedia.com I claim Fair Use Doctrine
I do not monetize.

The Beatles success story began on Friday, November 22, 1963.

The assassination of John F Kennedy had thrust the adult population in America into an emotional preoccupation with fear, loss, grief. It was all over the news, whether radio, print, or television for months.

    America had to become accustomed to a new President, who resembled the older generation rather than the younger generation as had Kennedy.

   America had to calculate anew the place it held in the world relative to the Soviet Union.

    And we, the kids and teenagers, were witness to this cultural depression.

    Many of us kids felt emotionally abandoned by adults, even at school, who were busy trying to figure out their new worldview and how they fit within it.

    Cartoons didn’t make up for our loss.

    When we heard the buzz about this fresh talent from England, we decided to watch the Ed Sullivan show on that musically tectonic night in American history.

February 9, 1964.

    There we were, a huge population of young people watching the same television channel, reclining on couches, propping our heads up with the palms of our hands, tapping our feet to the beat of Ringo’s drums, following the fresh, excited vocals of Paul and John, and tingling with that glistening sound of George’s electric guitar!

    We felt emotionally unleashed!

After months of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings (a magnificent and beautiful piece, though fixated in the depth of despair), we now had our own sound which provided us dispensation from grief and opportunity for celebration.

And we celebrated!

The very next day at school all the talk was the Beatles. Throughout that first week kids brought to school the 45RPM “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.

Within a month some kids had metal lunch boxes bearing the likeness of the Beatles.

By the end of the week, I had a ring from a “dime toy dispenser” at Woodson’s Grocery store in Lafollette Tennessee. This ring flashed the likeness of each of the Beatles as I moved it in the light.

I often wonder if that shot had missed John F Kennedy and landed harmlessly in the street or grass, had we kids and teens then not been subjected to a lengthy abdication of adult attention, perhaps the Beatles would have been on their way back to Liverpool, a mere ephemeral novelty from which we moved on to Rick Nelson.

Rainbo (Sissy Spacek) Sings About the Two Virgins Album

 

I claim Fair Use Doctrine/I do not monetize

This is another one of those “Why haven’t I heard this before?” moments…

It appears that our darling actor Sissy Spacek recorded a song in 1968, released in 1969, which would require the news of the day to understand or a solid knowledge of Beatles.

The title of Spacek’s song (recorded under the name “Rainbo”, how hippie cool is that) is “John You Went Too Far This Time’

There are many Beatle references in this song. I present ( claiming fair use) the lyric here:

Everything you asked of me, I did, John
From holding hands to living in a sunlit submarine
And you were something special when you said, John,
That you had more disciples than the man who was too green

John, I love you
But you went too
Far
This time

John, I love you
But you went too
The man with the foolish grin
Is you

I recall you turned me on with Pepper
The tour we took with Lucy was a trip I won't forget
And John, I loved you when we both wore flowers
But putting down your guru brought confusion and regret

John, I love you
But you went too
Far
This time

Now I gaze in awe before that picture
My mind retires to the place it was before you came
I love the things you showed me up 'til now, John
But since that picture, I don't think my love will be the same

John, I love you
But you went too
Far
This time

John, I love you
Alone on a hill
The man with the foolish grin
Is you

A few references:

   Holding hands   I Want to Hold Your Hand

   Sunlit submarine   Yellow Submarine

More disciples        more popular that Jesus

Foolish grin            The Fool of the Hill

Pepper and Lucy     Sgt. Pepper album

That picture            very likely the picture on the cover of John and Yoko’s

                              “Two    Virgins”

It seems that that particular step was a step too far for Rainbo.

Personally, Beatles fan that I am, I got past the cover.

It was the recording on the vinyl that I claim was John going too far for me.

The arrangement on this recording is cleverly done by Paul Harris, who successfully blends in backing music which sounds like the psychedelic  Beatles of the Pepper, Penny Lane, Magical Mystery Tour days.

I envy the writer of the lyric as it too is superb.

If you are a Beatles fan, moderate to intense, you will appreciate this recording.

Click the following Youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38YIMgtEMFU

Celebrating Religious Freedom, Personal Conscience, American Integrity

 

holiday focused postage stamps available at USPS

My patriotism rests, in much part, on the first amendment to the Constitution which provides “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

As a child living in Detroit during the 1960s, I was introduced to many different faiths. Of course, there were, as now, the many different denominational takes on Christian faith. But also, the kid that lived next door was Egyptian Muslim. A girl in my class at school was Saudi Arabian Muslim. I had Jewish friends.

I loved having discussions about our differing faiths. My faith grew richer and deeper by hearing their faith stories, traditions, and customs.

“This is America!” I excitedly thought.

I was, and am, proud to be a citizen of a nation that respects personal conscience so deeply that it is written into our very fundamental social contract known as the United States Constitution.

Other nations assert a State religion. For the United Kingdom it is the Church of England, for Argentina, the Roman Catholic, for Denmark, the Lutheran Church. And of, course Muslim nations assert the Islamic faith.

But here in America, your faith and religion are a matter of your personal conscience.

Religion is neither imposed upon you nor is it prohibited of you.

This is America! I vigorously assert.

Oh, there are voices claiming that there is some sort of suppression of religion happening in America. I suspect those voices are merely stirring the pot of electoral politics.

Far from suppression, many faiths, positions of conscience, are affirmed even by The United States Post Office as you can see by the availability of holiday-focused stamps.

From my childhood in Detroit to this day, my patriotism rests upon the Constitution and especially the first amendment.

The Constitution is the national and social contract by which we all get along.

I pray that in 2024 we all get along like 1960s Detroit elementary school kids talking about our different faiths across a table at lunch time.

This is America! I proudly proclaim!

Veterans Day Sentiment

 

This last Tuesday I once again served as a poll worker at a Vote Center.

This is a long day, 5AM until the polls close at 6PM and then the closing administrative duties.

Of course, there is also the training one takes before election day.

Indeed, it is a dedicated service and I applaud all poll workers who served.

We each, at the beginning if the day, swore an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana.

I was very proud to do so, speaking the words with sincerity and determination.

I wore a name badge that identified me as an election official.

This is my way of serving my state and country.

But you know, all of that service seems seriously insufficient when compared to the service of people who wear, not a name badge, but a whole uniform to identify their service.

They serve, not for a very long day, but for three or more years, often in dangerous locations.

Instead of a few hours of training in a comfortable room, they undergo boot camp and other more intense training.

At the end of my day as a poll worker, I get to go home and back to my life.

At the end of a soldier or sailor’s service, they must rebuild a life interrupted by their patriotic service.

Thank you Veterans and all who currently serve!!!

Do Not Quench the Spirit

 

Greetings Sisters and Brothers always thirsting for more Spirit…

1 Thessalonians ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. 

Many soft drink companies promote their product by saying that it will “Quench your thirst,”

Unsurprisingly, Biblical advice is somewhat contrary to worldly advice as Apostle Paul teaches us to not quench our desire for the Spirit.

And, I suspect that a genuine search for the Spirit cannot be satisfied any more that real love can ever fully be satisfied…

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love;
    rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
    all the wealth of one’s house for love,
    it would be utterly scorned.

Each day as a follower of Jesus provides opportunities for discoveries in faith.

Allow the Spirit to disclose those discoveries. As you awake, eagerly anticipate the newness of the day and look for what God wishes to deliver.

Unquenchably yours, Mike

In Celebration of Article I Section 8, Clause 8

 

While the beginnings of Intellectual Property Rights reach as far back as the 1474 Venetian Patent Statute, I claim Article I, section 8, clause 8 of the US Constitution as the primary impetus of success of the United States in economics, business, capitalism, art, and all areas of value-transaction.

The clause reads:

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

The idea was to allow the creator of value the right to claim, own, sell, keep, receive credit, and otherwise be known as the originator of the work.

Without such right, many folk would be inhibited toward such creation, fearing others would take credit and payment for their work. That would have had a stunting effect on national progress.

Also, inherent in this clause is the idea that such a monopoly on intellectual property should not be forever. Such a condition also would inhibit progress by denying the right of adaptive usefulness.

This is but another example of just how important the Constitution is and why any citizen of the US should value the Constitution.

When you take an oath upon entering elective office, appointive office, even being a poll worker, your first and foremost promise is to the Constitution.

Article 1. section 8, clause 8 is one aspect of American idealism protected by the Constitution.

Be proud!

Called From the Cave

 

 

Greetings Sisters and Brothers called from the cave…

1 Kings 19: ¹¹ And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

¹³ And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Many hymns are inspired by Scripture.

This one, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” seems to have been inspired by these words from 1 Kings.

Give the hymn a listen, particularly the last verse.

Be encouraged that whatever may be chasing you into the cave, God is bigger and calls you from the cave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqOnjmr9Ah0

Peace, Mike

God's compassion for Animals

 

Greetings Sisters and Brother of Godly compassion…

Jonah 4:11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"

Today I assert God’s care and compassion for animals.

Was God being trivial when he mentioned animals to Jonah? I think not. The animals are mentioned right along with the city of Nineveh and more than one hundred twenty thousand people who seem to be ignorant of their sin or undirected toward righteousness.

And God cares about all of them!

To reinforce the idea that God cares about animals, let me remind you that they too are to be given rest on the Sabbath…

Exodus 20: but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals,

There are other instances, particularly in Psalms in which animals are mentioned in good regard.

Think about it, when you find a gift for a young child, often it is a stuffed animal, bear, bunny, chimpanzee, dog, cat. We seem to have a built-in knowledge that animals are creatures of consolation and protection.

From the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church (official position statements of the church), which I teach at Lay Academies…

Animal Life

We support regulations that protect and conserve the life and health of animals, including those ensuring the humane treatment of pets, domesticated animals, animals used in research, wildlife, and the painless slaughtering of meat animals, fish, and fowl. We recognize unmanaged and managed commercial, multinational, and corporate exploitation of wildlife and the destruction of the ecosystems on which they depend threatens the balance of natural systems, compromises biodiversity, reduces resilience, and threatens ecosystem services. We encourage commitment to effective implementation of national and international governmental and business regulations and guidelines for the conservation of all animal species with particular support to safeguard those threatened with extinction.

My pastory statement is this…a genuine respect for God and all that he has created, which he declared “good”, includes at least an appreciation and gratitude for the pets he brings into our homes, the various foods which nurture us, such as chicken, beef, fish, and the work animals such as horses. We still measure automotive force by “horsepower”.

Sherry and I have four cats.

It is appropriate to be thankful for our pets.

Peace, Mike

America: Roots in Greek and Roman Idealism

 

image from American Antiquarian Society (I claim Fair Use)

I tend to watch movies analytically. Of course, I pay attention to the plot, but I more closely focus on production aspects such as lighting, direction, camera angle and such. All such aspects inform me of the ultimate situation and setting of the movie which then gives more insight and enjoyment.

I tend to read analytically the materials I read in much the same manner.

Reading from the Book of Genesis one day when I was nine years old, I said out loud to my self “Wait a minute!” The thought occurred to me that this Hebrew book had a Latin title. “Genesis”. The question followed…”Why would a Hebrew book have a Latin title?”

The epiphany and question prompted me along an analytical journey of Biblical content, context, and scriptural compilation that eventually led me to preaching the Bible today as pastor.

As a teenager I had a similar epiphany regarding the Constitution of the United States. “Wait a minute, why is this document, written in English, constructed in major divisions according to Roman numerals? Why not just use common colonial numbering ( see date in picture at top)?

Well, my analytical brain was then set in motion.

It appears from my background study of the founding fathers that they, perhaps except for Washington, had a firmly classical education. I mean to say that they studied Greek and Roman history, philosophy, language, and statecraft.

I quote from an article on the website Memoria Press ( the link is found at bottom of post).

“When James Madison applied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton), he had already read Vergil, Horace, Justinian, Caesar, Tacitus, Lucretius, Phaedrus, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plato. Other key figures in the American founding received similar educations.”

Of course they would use Roman numerals to indicate the anticipation of a long-living document rather than an temporary disposable document like a newspaper.

Comparatively, the Declaration of Independence seems like an ephemeral news release item than a document of national formation as is the Constitution.

Another good source for becoming informed of the education of the founding fathers is found in the book “First Principles” by Thomas Ricks.

My point in presenting this information is to make the following assertion:

To truly understand the ideas and philosophy on which our nation was founded, a person must become somewhat familiar with those Roman and Greek influences.

As an example, it appears that Thomas Jefferson was influenced by Epicurus, known as a philosopher of “happiness”. Recognizing this influence helps to make sense as to why Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence “Life. Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” rather than “property” as a student of political theorist John Locke would write.

I assert that our nation was founded on more ancient, classical influences rather than anything-but-British reactionism.

For James Madison, good public order seemed to be a virtue influenced by Roman philosophers and statesmen.

American idealism didn’t just “pop up” in 1776. It is rooted in a classical education which seems long detached from our high school or college curricula.

I think, if we were to return more broadly to a classical education, we would then have a society with a more faithful and workable understanding of our foundational documents and how to move forward more productively in our society. I don't mean that we should require students to learn the Latin language. I do mean that students should learn how much influence Roman and Greek cultural attributes and thought contributed to American national identity.

My next journey of discovery regarding Roman numerals is to answer the question “Why does the NFL use Roman numerals to designate Superbowl games?”

https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/classical-education-founding-fathers/