So the American Atheists have put their heads together and decided that it was a good idea to put a GIANT billboard in Times Square, NY that reads, “Who needs Christ during Christmas?” and then a hand sweeps across the board and crosses out "Christ" and writes "Nobody."

Mr. David Silverman, the President of American Atheists, says that "This season is a great time of year for a hundred reasons, none of them having to do with religion.  This year, start a new tradition, don’t go to church.  You hate it, it’s boring; you probably only go because you feel guilty or obligated.  Instead, spend more time with your family and friends or volunteer. There are better uses of your time and money.” “Most people don't care about any religious ties to the season because church and religion are not what Americans care about during this time of year—they care about family and friends and giving presents and food and having fun,” said Public Relations Director Dave Muscato.  “Many so-called ‘Christmas’ traditions celebrated by Americans have nothing to do with Christianity.  For example, the North Pole and Santa traditions come from Nordic and Germanic pagan traditions, and caroling, yule logs, mistletoe, holly wreaths all pre-date Christianity.  Christianity has been trying to claim ownership of the season for hundreds of years.  But the winter solstice came first and so did its traditions.  The season belongs to everybody.”

Some of the past billboards in New Jersey and throughout NY said things like, "Disaster victims need real help, not religion."  They need "real help, not bibles."  They need real help, not prayer."

Now then, I do not feel the need to express my thoughts regarding the purpose of the American Atheists organization. What I will say is that the same dude that says Christians go to church even though they hate it and instead they should try volunteering may not be the brains you want in charge of your operation.  Because everyone would rather volunteer instead of go to Church. Just ask the people who are in charge of volunteer organizations if their numbers are even close to the attendance of even the smallest town churches.  Silverman also mentioned that it is a great season for many reasons and not to do with religion. Tell that to nearly 1/3 of the total population which happens to be...yup, you guessed it, Christians. As far as the rest of the comments made by the representative of the American Atheists, in the interest of fairness, I have no comment. I wonder how many millions of dollars spent on billboards trying to debunk ONE religion could have been donated to charities or volunteer organizations.  I wonder how many Christians, after looking at those billboards said, "you know something, he's right." Probably not very many. Anyone wanna take a stab at how much Christian organizations help the homeless and disaster relief victims throughout the world? Yeah, it’s astronomical compared to what the American Atheists organization gives.  God saves.  Not man.  Get over it.  Living a life not believing in anything is a post for another day.

I Was Gone, Now I Am Back

It is time to revive the inner dimensions of my geniusness. I stopped blogging for a bit particularly because school and work were taking up an exorbitant amount of my time. While I will fully disclose at this time that much of what I pontificate both now and down the road is personal opinion, going forward I will be "re-purposing" my Blog. I understand that I may have previously sent signals that were not necessarily received as I intended them, but rather they were interpreted as misguided and/or close-minded. For shame! I am a Christian and as such I wish to emulate that behavior. I fancy myself the antithesis of close-mindedness and apologize to all whom may have consummated the notion. I will endeavor to consider the thoughts and positions of others whilst I postulate. My first post since August is forthcoming.

God is Sovereign, not Arbitrary

Choose life. There are those who have muddied the waters of the river and rendered it undrinkable.
Free will is what separated us from God. Eve chose to believe Satan’s lie and she could not have foreseen the snowball effect it would have. In His sovereignty, God allowed this to be. However, He also assured us that the very same sovereignty that allows so many wrongs to occur in our world and separated us from God can, when combined with our ability to choose right from wrong, get us back into God’s loving arms. See, Acts 16:31.
Take a look around. There are 2 types of people, believers and non-believers. Personally, I argue that our very existence is evidence of God. Besides, science all but proves there are too many intricate coincidences for nature to have accomplished the formation of our world by happenstance and/or evolution. Now pause for a moment; think on the world, its problems, and its endless supply of atrocities. These actions by humankind show us that God has given free will and that in His sovereignty he allows these things to take place. Granted, judgment is coming.
Now think of the beautiful things that without Him are not, nor could not be possible. If you aren't going to believe, then you are just living to die. Where is your hope? What hope do you leave your children? He has given us the opportunity for the greatest hope of all, and freedom from the dreadful life we would lead were it not for His saving grace.
Self-awareness can be a blessing here because when you look at yourself in relation to the world you can see that, in fact, you are no different and do need a savior, that life everlasting is a futile endeavor without God. This part only makes sense if you believe there is purpose to our lives, which anyone who believes that God put us here to grow old, breed, and die is silly. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. See, John 3:16. He wants us in heaven and He wants us to tell others. That’s our purpose.
This world is full of people who are living proof that we may choose good or evil, life everlasting or eternal damnation. We must accept the grace of God as it is freely given. It will not be forced upon you by Him. I believe everyone is born with an inherent sense of right and wrong, otherwise the world would abound in chaos (it only seems like it does now). Those who do not possess this “inherent sense” are typically classified as "nutty”.
Society will shape you and mold you because you are in the world. Sin is ever present. Resist temptation to do wrong, pray for God's will. Do not conform to this world because it means that you have given up hope. God is not going to arbitrarily call some to Him and shun others. His will is that we all come to Christ. There's a narrow path that leads to eternity, find it. When you do find it, give glory and praise to the one who showed you the way.

God is Omniscient

God is omniscient.  He knows your struggles.  He knows your pain.  He knows.  He understands.  Believe in Him and persevere.  He will hold your hand through the hottest fire.  He will be there in your victory.  He will allow you to be tested beyond your wildest imagination and just when you think you're drowning in the deepest darkest pit of despair anyone has ever been in, He will whisper to you....because he loves you.   He wants you to throw down your life and choose Him.  He is there.  He knows your struggles.  He knows your pain.  He knows.  He understands.  He will be waiting for you at the end of the journey.  Just believe that He is your Savior and He will save you.  You will be persecuted for that belief but you will be FREE.


(Understand that everyone's pit of despair is different.)

Take it to the Bank

Went off the grid for a bit. Gained some perspective though.
Man, let me tell you somethin' man.  The Bank is amazing!  I learned this week that the smartest people in the world, including attorneys, work for the Bank.  Ruthless, cunning, and greedy.  So I'm analyzing loan docs and I come across the words "Participation payment."  Turns out, Participation payment is when one Bank (not the original lender) makes installments to another Bank (the original lender) in order to keep the loan alive even after maturity.  During the process of collection and if any funds are paid toward the payoff amount, a kickback goes to the participating bank.  The downside is that if no money is ever paid on the loan to the originating bank, the participating bank never makes a dime in return!  So they are paying money, in order to make money off of another bank's loan with the possibility of never making money!  Amazing.

Confusing the Children

The Boy Scouts are silly.  Homosexual children.  The Boy Scouts of America has decided to allow gay children to join, thereby showing children that not only will we accept you for "who you are", but we encourage you and will facilitate your choices. Homosexual children.  How ridiculous does that sound?  By displaying their "tolerance" they are telling kids its ok.  That it's ok to be homosexual.  Well let me tell you, it is not ok to be gay.  Are they so afraid of the backlash from homosexuality advocates that they are willing to compromise their values for it?  I don't want to sound so angry, but the truth is there isn't going to be any tolerance and grace from adolescents.  Imagine if you will, a group of 5 boys in a tent camping in the woods.  One of the boys decides this is a good time to announce his particular lifestyle choice.  Do you really think that what is going to follow is a nice insightful discussion on the differences between heterosexual and homosexual children?  Uh uh.  I remember being twelve and I can tell you that is not what's happening jack.  At twelve years old these children don't understand bigotry, tolerance, and hate.  They don't know that they are ignorant to so many things in life.  Sadly, it doesn't change much the older you get unless you have a propensity for learning and growing and open-mindedness is one of your stronger characteristics.  No, more likely what is going to happen is a constant and ferocious berage of insults and beratement.  Something he will have to live with and grow with because if he stays the same course he will need to get used to that kind of treatment.  As a society, we are not so tolerant as we'd like to think we are.  We are carnal, instinctive people.  And if we know that someone is different than us, our first instinct isn't to ask them questions about why they are the way they are, but to go on the offensive.  Seems almost cruel doesn't it?  Luring a child into a group by telling them they are accepted, then pitting them with others who are not like them.  It sounds like a ruthless science experiment.  Lets put this different thing in a group of things that are all alike and see what happens.  My main point here is that the Boy Scouts are now telling our youths that it is ok to be gay and I have said and will say again, it is not.  I don't condemn it, but I don't condone it.  It's wrong and it's sending a bad message.

Poor, Sweet Little North Korea

For crying out loud...North Korea.  As if all the attention they've got in the last few weeks isn't enough they have to go and uselessly fire missiles into the ocean.  Maybe I should have called this post "Poor, Sweet Little Ocean."  If you ask me, North Korea is crying out for help.  Like a child, but they have weapons and such.  If it's not a cry for help, then what is it?  Surely they know by now that shooting a few small missiles into the open sea is not going to scare anyone, right?  Ok, maybe it scares some of you, but they aren't fooling me.  Because as much as I will pray for them over the next few days, I am not concerned with the Koreans.  The media, however, would have you to believe that we are on the verge of nuclear holocaust if we don't stop North Korea soon.  I say it's all hogwash.  Kim Jong Un may not be a smart man, but he isn't crazy.  To even fire a missile in the general direction of South Korea or the United States would mean obliteration for the North Koreans.  So I am really not sure what this all about.  Mr. Un wouldn't martyr the entire country for the sake of proving a point, right?  For the life of me I can't understand why they have the look and feel of someone backed into a corner kicking, screaming, and throwing a tantrum.  Who's done anything to them?  All we did was tell them they can't build nuke plants and that they aren't part of the coalition so therefore they can't have nuclear weapons.  Get over it.  If you dont like it, sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and join the big boys (as if we'd let them sign that!).  Otherwise, quit spitting into the ocean breeze.  Because if they keep it up, North Korea is kinda small and it wouldn't take much to put that whole country right into third world status.  I believe that peace talks need to be at the forefront of this situation and I honestly think not enough is being done in that regard.  These people are getting dangerously close to doing something they don't fully understand.  Remember September 11, 2001.  We have destroyed entire countries for similar actions.  Look up how many people died from our hands following 09/11/2001.  I'll help out here just a little.  Over 1,000,000 Iraq civilians and combatants have perished.  Over 49,000 Afghans were slain.  And just a shade over 2,300 Pakistanis have died.  All for something a group of people did.  Imagine what the consequences would be if a country's military does that. Depending on which poll or research website you visit, these numbers vary, but you get the message.  Put down your weapons and back away slowly North Korea.  It can get very real, very quick.

Government Cheeze

The United States goverment sure seems to be losing its grip on things lately.  First, Benghazi.  Then the IRS scandal, and following that debacle, an American spy is caught red-handed trying to recruit Russian secret service agents.  Now, not to scare anyone, but these are things that have been going on for many years.  Many, many years.  So why now are things coming apart at the seams and these standard government operations being found out by Joe Schmoe?  Well, I will tell you that I for one have narrowed it down to a couple of reasons.  1) Carelessness combined with ineptitude.  The people in charge have become so comfortable that oversight became a reality.  It was only a matter of time.  Also, many of the positions of control within the government have changed over the last 10 years.  New leadership often means new obstacles and as we have seen, not all ivy league attenders are bright. :) FYI - The 17 people that were dismissed from nuclear bomb duty by the Air Force a couple of weeks ago were, "young adults."  Is it a bit scary that the ones in charge of nuclear holocaust are just grown child prodigies who were probably spending a majority of their time playing video games instead of running real life drills?  I am not sure why I never thought of it before now.  Of course high-priority military weapons would be in the capable hands of a savant, but a group of guys between the age of 18-26 with an average IQ of 150 is probably not the best idea.  Too much to talking and not enough stimulation leads to many hours of PlayStation and less hours focusing on our National defense.  Awesome.  2) My other theory is that maybe, just maybe, the end really is near.  Maybe these are genuine end time scenarios playing out for the world to see.  I am still looking out for more evidence of that, but I do think its a likely possibility.  When you really look at things, there's evidence that the world is slowly approaching global socialism. Deep stuff man, deep.

Honor Your Momma

Alright kids, you know what time it is.  It's Mother's Day.  Get her favorite flowers, a card, a cake and whatever else you know your mother needs (wants).  Mother's Day is clearly one of the most important holidays.  What would you be without your momma?  Don't over think it, just imagine for a moment the role your mother played in your life.  For some, that role may have changed over the years and that's ok.  For others, that role may not have changed all that much.  Regardless, moms are the best and deserved to be treated as such.  Tell your momma you love her today. Happy Mother's Day moms.

My back hurts, where's my doe spray?

I follow the PGA barely enough to know what I am talking about.  But that's all it takes.  Besides, I watched the entire Masters Cup this year and I'm pretty sure that makes me a professional golfer.  I can tell you who might not be a professional golfer for much longer.  Vijay Singh.  He was having a hard time keeping up with some of the younger players on the Tour and therefore it was time for a change.  This guy was literally quoted as saying he was "looking forward to some change in my body."  This after he tested positive for deer antler chemicals.  Mr. Singh didn't use any old steroid, he went for the good stuff.  Deer antlers, which purportedly have regenerative capabilities, were going to give him his zeal back.  This Post isn't even about how deplorable it is to take performance enhancing drugs.  Immediately after the results came back from Vijay's tests, the media laid into him.  Rightfully so some might say.  The substance was, at that time, on the Tours banned substances list.  However, the Tour decided to do some follow-up.  It sent the samples to the World Anti-Doping Agency to get more information.  Turns out, the levels in the chemical were so minute, the Tour subsequently removed the substance from its banned list.  The Tour released him from any wrongdoing and waived all his fines.  Vijay sued immediately thereafter.  Sued.  He was guilty of using a substance that was banned at the time, but then once it was deemed not banned, he sues.  Uh...  Do what now?  In the legal world, when something is deemed an illegal act after someone commits the offense, it is ex post facto (and you cannot be charged with the crime).  But when you sue after you were found guilty of the offense that WAS illegal at the time and is now not illegal, its called stupidity.  Your name was dragged through the mud because you are a public figure whom some children (and adults) look up to and you did something terrible.  Your embarrassment is warranted.  When your name was cleared that should have been the end of it, but no.  Now, instead of things dying down and you moving on, you decide to make it worse.  Pure geniusness.

It's Recreational Bro'

Let me preface this Post by saying that I am angry about this issue.  I am generally reasonable and understanding, but I am pretty upset about the idea of legalizing drugs.  I guess I don't want my children growing up in an America that caves in the face of adversity, rather than standing on high ground and saying "no, we will not make it ok to do drugs."  And now, the Post...Ok guys, here's what we can do whilst we figure out how to legalize weed in Colorado...we implement blood-level limits just like blood-alcohol limits for driving!  That way, we tell 'em they can get baked, but only this much, and they can infer that we are giving our best effort in getting these "recreational marijuana" laws passed in the mean time.  It's pure gold.  Dear God what is happening?  Are we so broke as a country that we are going to legalize marijuana in order to tax it?  Or is it that whole "everyone smokes it anyway we might as well legalize it" argument?  Either way, we are genuinely considering legalizing a DRUG as in Drugs Are Bad.  What sort of message does that send to kids?  They'll say, "Can't wait 'til I get old enough to smoke dodo."  Perhaps in the near future we will begin working on legislation to make cigarettes illegal.  Wait, are we already doing that?  The moral fabric of this country is tearing and it makes me sick.  Oh yeah, what if abortion is really just a means of population control?  Think about it.

Homosexuality

previously posted on my facebook page on 3-26-13

Here goes.  This is sparked because someone compared gay rights to segregation, slavery, and civil rights.  There are certain people that would find that highly offensive.  Maybe when gays are being sold into slavery and considered three-fifths of a person...no.  Not even then.  It is not ok to be gay.  It is sin like any other sin.  Just because it has become socially acceptable doesn't make it ok.  I don't condemn it, but I don't condone it either.  You can repent, pray for forgiveness, and God will show you mercy.  Jesus loves EVERYONE.  That doesn't make it ok to sin.  About a year ago I learned that there are "gay" churches.  Perhaps we should allow murderers, adulterers, and those addicted to child pornography to worship in their own church also.  No.  That's not how it works kids.  Social acceptance doesn't make sin ok.  And for crying out loud, the Bible is the living word of God.  It is adaptive, but that doesn't mean that it changes as the world changes.  Take "eye for an eye" for example.  It's an old saying that became obsolete after the second covenant was made between God and us.  The Bible doesn't say if everyone starts accepting homosexuality, you can be gay and still get into heaven.  You can't believe in the Bible and believe it is flawed at the same time just because it was written humans.  It is flawless because it was written by instruction from the Holy Spirit.  Yes, I have gay friends and gay family members, and I love them as much as I love my own family.

Gun Control

previously posted on  my facebook page on 4-10-13

Gun Control. It's already in place. We have backround checks now and civilians aren't allowed to have automatic weapons (thank God). If the government wants to make the backround check a bit more intensive than it already is, that's fine. The concept of universal backround checks and a national gun registry, now that's gonna upset some people. Is it not a given that people who purchase guns go through legal channels and are subsequently entered into a national database that holds all their personal info, serial numbers, number of guns owned...etc, are going to be profiled? All this while Joe Schmoe criminal buys and trades guns with other criminals in a parking lot. Why would you need a national database if you didn't one day plan on seizing weapons from everyone whom you know has a gun? As far as the people in charge of writing the new gun laws, holy smokes! One politician said, "by banning high capacity clips the supply will dwindle as they are used up". In the interest of fairness I won't comment. We need legislators that are at least familiar with guns, gun terminology, and how they work. Most of these mass shootings are not being done with semi-auto rifles with high capacity magazines. Most of the people committing these crimes have not obtained their weapons through legal means. The government is coming dangerously close to tampering with 2nd Amendment rights. Of course people are for gun control, what monster isn't for safety? Finally, what if the zombie apocalypse happens and you've taken away everyone's defense except for the bad guys? No way Jose', you ain't gettin' my heater.

Holy Smokes

Mikey Weinstein.  Now here's a man that desperately wants people to believe in him.  He all but forced the Pentagon to defend itself against his gross accusations.  The Pentagon has clarified that "proselytization" is not going to be tolerated.  That is, you may not induce/force someone to convert to your religion.  Sounds reasonable to me.  The Pentagon stated (and I paraphrase), "of course you can profess your faith to other soldiers."  "Of course you can evangelize to other soldiers."  Yes, evangelize. These last bits were omitted in the recent ravings of Mr. Weinstein.  I am not going to go into Mr. Weinstein's past.  Please read as much as you can about this genius before swallowing what he's handing out. What I will say, is that we as Christians need to be much more careful about what and whom we listen to.  Don't just read every conservative news article available.  There is so much information out there that to only accept one or two sources as truth, is absurd.  Read up on the issue and educate yourself.  The media is powerful, but it's much worse if you let it steer you.  Example: When someone said to me, "Did you hear that the military is considering punishing soldiers for professing their faith?," the first thing I did was start looking for information relating to or regarding the topic of proselytization in the military.  If something doesn't sound right in your heart or in your head, look it up because you probably aren't getting the whole story.  I don't claim to know more than anyone else about this or any other topic, but I probably do. :)

Careful

Turns out, this blog stuff is tricky.  Most everything I want to say is offensive or seems forced.  It is going to take some finessing on my part, but I can do it.  I am naturally sarcastic so I am going to gather my thoughts and when I do, ...KABOOM!  Deep, thought provoking nonsense everywhere! Typically, I don't concern myself with other people's opinion of me because I am awesome.  In this regard I have to be subtle, and for that I am willing to bide my time until such reasonable and coherent thoughts come spilling forth.  Standby.

Good Ideas

This is definitely a good idea.  For all those who are dying to hear some of the thoughts rolling around in my head, this is gonna be great.  Most of you (facebook friends) have read my thoughts on homosexuality and gun control.  Writing those particular posts have given me the grand idea of starting a blog.  Stay tuned.