A view of last week.

Today, the world is ending, according to Mayan Calendar believers...Obviously, they've been proven wrong.  But the world has ended for many people since 12-13.  I have kept my silence on the topic of last Friday since there was such a massacre at a school.  20 Children killed, senselessly, by a loon...or at least something had to be wrong, mentally, with the guy -- at least, AS I SEE IT.

I have kept my silence to allow the mourning of the people of Newtown, CT, and to permit the healing to begin...even though I know healing is a long way away and may never fully complete.  26 people, shot down,  20 not even out elementary school, a principal, a mother, and the killer all needlessly killed (As if killing could ever be needed!)

There have been too many massacres since 1999 (Which, in my opinion, started this current deluge of murders)... the first of which started in Littleton, CO.  A dozen lives here, a dozen there... what does it matter?

What matters is the victims (Except for the killers) had no choice.

Calls for gun bans, tighter laws, shouts of fury..they've all been heard.  So have the wails of the mourners.  I've not weighed in on the matter.  But I think the time has come to speak on the issue --

First off, when it comes to senseless murders, I realize that I cannot fathom the depth of the grief of the families.  I want to shout WHY with the rest of you. I want to demand justice and vengeance.  Yet, I know that the victims included the perpetrator AND his mother.  We cannot begin to understand what caused this man to snap when he did, and take 26 lives in the process.  But is it the weapon's fault?  Is the weapon maker's fault?  Is it the Ammo maker's fault?  If you are tempted to ban guns, remember:  ANYTHING can be turned into a weapon.  A knife (China, same day as Sandy Hook, people knifed to death in a school), a rope, a hammer, a chainsaw, a rock, Alcohol, drugs of all types,  forks, sticks, electrical cords, Appliances, nails... ANY and ALL of these can be perverted into a weapon.  Tire irons, crowbars, automobiles, motorboats, Gasoline... matches!  ANYTHING can be a weapon.

So, what is the answer?  Banning weapons?  Not when you realize that weapons can be anything.
Tighter security?  Sandy Hook School had a security system.  Armed guards?  Hey, we're not a police state, yet!

If you own a gun and someone steals your gun to go on a killing spree, are you ultimately responsible for its use?

If tighter security is not the answer, if banning weapons isn't the answer, does making everyone carry a gun the answer?  Kennesaw, GA, seems so think so.  Every head of household is required to own a gun.  But I believe that it will tend to faster tempers,   But this town's stats (only 4 murders in over 30 years and three of those in "Gun-free" zones) don't seem to bear it out.

Things started to go downhill when Madalyn Murray O'Hare decided "Devil take me" and fought the system to remove G_D from the class room!  This isn't to say that folks raised in homes of the righteous didn't go bad.  Jesse James did.

In these days, when information can spread around the world in the blink of an eye, We need ways to keep potential copycats from repeating the evil that has been done!

So, is RELIGION the answer?  I can't say that it is.  But neither is disarming the citizens because of the actions of some crazed loonies, nor constant surveillance.

We best have a balanced approach.  But you can't tell what's going to cause someone to snap.  You can't profile someone who's going to go insane.  You can't tell if some's religion is going to make them a self-appointed enforcer.  This is where the problem lies.

No, banning guns, knives, and anything else that could be a weapon isn't the answer.  I can't even see it in the equation.

We cannot shove our religious beliefs down someone else's throat.  We can't figure what will cause someone to snap.  And we cannot defend ourselves if our weapons are taken away.

What we need is knowledge...we need to be able to see the warning signs that so many miss.  And we need our guns to prevent this from happening again.  It makes no sense, but it's going to take knowledge, spirituality, training, and weapons... It's a volatile mix.  The wrong proportions will not solve the problem.  And if don't find that right mix, it's going to result in another conflagration -- one that we may not be able to stop.  It's an unfortunate time to experiment-- but it's got to be done -- as I see it!

Health issues, faith, and the atheists

As most of you know, I was in the Hospital last August, with a severe attack of COPD.  The reasons I have it are immaterial, because I do have it.  It began to develop about 15 years ago, then started to became less manageable after 2 years...and slowly went out of control.  I have been in the hospital (Not just ER), now, 2 times in less than 6 months, and a third time they wanted me to stay overnight.  I declined.

But this last time there was a CT.  They found "Suspicious spots" on my lungs.  They want to do a biopsy.  I have 3 options, 2 of which actually yield the same result.  1) I can have the biopsy.  2) I can decline it, or 3) I can delay it.  The last one is the same result as number 2.  It's not standing still.  It is impossible to stand still.

I've read about the biopsy procedure.  I know what it does.  I know what the results can be.  And the results are the same for all paths.  Ultimately, the path will end in a hole down the road.  The paths circle back. And the result is the same.

I have sought advice from family, friends, physicians.  Ultimately, I make the final decision.  And yet the result is out of my hands.  I think of the words I have often read, "Which one of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his height?"  (Luke 12:25)

Yet, each option gives two choices:
Having it will say if it is malignant or not.  Then the choice is treatment or non-treatment.  And the yes or no decision leads to a result that is out of my hands:  It works or not.  And sometime in the future after my decision is made, my body is dust anyway.  The other two routes just branch out into "yes or no" and finally the same result -- dust.  ALL choices ultimately lead to physical death.

At this moment, anyway, my choice has been made.  Future options, or changes in the path all in involve risk and the YES or NO options.  And the result is still the same.

Yet, I am comfortable with my choice.  It is because I feel that God will guide me into the best choice.  And if that choice is a faster physical death, so be it.  I've had 52 years, there is still some more time ahead.  But I don't know how much.  In fact, NOBODY knows how much.  No mortal can!

Now, how do Atheists fit in here?  Well, I've met another (It's not hard to find someone on Twitter who doesn't believe.).  His questions are genuine, I can see that.  And I can see (Despite what he says) that he is actually struggling with his choice.   I do understand.  He wants to be convinced that he has made the right choice.  The questions he asks are not those of a closed mind.  He wants to understand.  I truly sympathize.  It is a matter of FAITH.    He asks "Will God burn those who do not find Him?"  I point out "Seek, and you shall find.  Ask, and it shall be given to you...."  So he says the Bible is wrong -- I say no, because it is not those who do not FIND, but those who reject.

It is a principle of law:  Ignorance is no excuse.  It is also a principle of the Bible.  But in FAIRNESS, God doesn't punish those who break the law knowingly with the same severity. Those who know the law but do not keep shall receive a severe beating.  Those who do not know the law will receive a light beating.

I don't claim to understand God's ways.  Nor do I claim perfection in Biblical interpretation.  We need to temper what we have read with our knowledge of what is.  For instance, The Bible says 6 days for the Universe...Or "heavens and Earth" if you prefer.  It also says that "A thousand years is but a day in thy sight when it is passed, or a watch in the night."    But consider:  Did anyone really know what a BILLION was at that time?  Perhaps the term THOUSAND meant BILLION.  When you do the math, it calculates to almost the figures that science has given.

People often misquote the Bible.  It's easy to do.

To the guy with whom I am speaking on Twitter:  Science and faith and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. They are complimentary.  It is sometimes difficult to see the connection.  We both want to be convince that we are right.  We seek out opinions, dwell on the past, try to perceive the future.

Thing is, I know where my physical future leads when my decisions are made.  While my spiritual existence is in doubt to many, it is not to me.  But really -- if there is no beyond, what is the point in our existence?  I don't think that you can answer that.  But consider this -- As far back as recorded history goes, there have been people who have worshiped gods, goddesses, nature, and the like.  Can the billions of people who ever lived on this earth ALL be wrong?

My decision, my choice, my responsibility.  Your decision, your choice, your responsibility.  And we will all share the same PHYSICAL fate.  You, and no one else, can deny this.  We can tell each other we're wrong. And in all fairness, what mortal is qualified to tell another that his/her belief is wrong?  We can share our beliefs.  But we must also accept each other's belief that we're right.  Until such time that your indisputable evidence arises for you, my evidence (which is indisputable for me) is going to be no more than hearsay for you.  I guess it's part and parcel of being human....AS I SEE IT.

American double-standards

The hypocrisy of the American people is so wide-spread that it is astonishing, and yet the biggest hypocrites can't see their own contradictions with-in themselves. Or, as Yeshua ben Yosef said it:, "How can you see the speck in your brother's eye, without noticing the beam in your own?" The Constitution is clear, but people don't see the problems. The same people who are crying out for freedom of the press in regards to Pornography want to silence those opposed to it. The same people who are yelling "Censorship!" when a TV station bleeps the "F-word", are the same ones who are trying to pull the plug on Rush. Those who are pushing for abortion are against the death penalty, or vice versa. It's "Black History Month," as most of you are aware. And so many are saying "It's about time!" But if I tried to establish a "White History Month," I'd be branded as "Racist." Last month contained "Martin Luther King, Jr." day. I ask "WHY?" I'm branded racist. To go a step further, you can point out his Religion, which was almost always a theme in his Civil Rights speeches. Yet, if I tried to establish a "Jerry Falwell" holiday, They'd be yelling for "Separation of Church and State." The meaning of this phrase has been lost. It means, "GOVERNMENT, KEEP OUT OF RELIGION." It means do not pass laws favoring one religion over another. And yet our "Esteemed Government" is prohibiting free exercise of religion by CHRISTIANS, favoring Islam, Judaism, witchcraft, Hinduism, or Atheism. The Christian is unfairly singled out. If I were in Congress and and a crucifix on my wall, or a Bible on my desk, they'd be yelling for "Separation of Church and State." Yet, if I were Muslim and had a copy of the Koran on my desk, these same idiots would be defending it as "Freedom of Religion." They cannot see the hypocrisy in their own statements, applying their own double-Standards as Gospel. My response to them is: IF my fellow congressman has a right to have his Koran on his desk, I have the right to have my Bible, Crucifix, or nativity scene. I wonder what Jefferson would say. Or Washington. Or Lincoln. EXTRA, EXTRA-- BY 5-4 Vote Supreme Court declares itself God! When the law of man is based on the Law of God, I have no problem. But when the Law of Man contradicts the Law of God, I will follow the Law of God. Tell me, how many of the commandments can you name? I can name ALL TEN. I don't have to look it up. I know I've fallen short. But the LORD doesn't demand that we kill ourselves. He's already paid the full price. We choose to ignore it. The FACT is: To eliminate our own double-standards, we must immerse ourselves entirely in the Law of God. That's our only hope: AS I SEE IT!