Plain Speaking

Some years ago, I saw an amusing wall a plaque for sale.  It read something like this:

I know you understand what you think I said,

but I’m not sure you understand what I think it was that I said.

I have found that one of the hardest things to do in life is to convey an idea intact from one human being to another.  We can say it, write it, and use pictures, graphs, charts, and illustrations, to name a few.  However, it takes a great deal of effort to communicate in a way that is fully understood; if that is possible.  The diversity of the languages and dialects we speak only makes things worse.

I have been taught that communication should be clear, concise, correct, and complete.  I have observed that the public schools no longer teach people how to write.

Jesus said:

But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'

For whatever is more than these

is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37 NKJV)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/matthew/5.html

Taken in context, Jesus was speaking about swearing an oath.  A more general application to cursing and forward speech has often been applied.  The idea that we should communicate carefully is supported by other scriptures:

If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man

 able also to bridle the whole body.

Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us,

and we turn their whole body.

Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds,

they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body,

and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

For every kind of beast and bird, or reptile and creature of the sea,

is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

 But no man can tame the tongue.

It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men,

who have been made in the similitude of God.

Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.

My brethren, these things ought not to be so.  (James 3:2-10 NKJV)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/james/3.html

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverted mouth, I hate.  (Proverbs 8:13 NASB)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/proverbs/8.html  

I am as culpable as anyone, and I will do better.  Forward, flamboyant speech depends on the reader or listener to be able to apprehend its intent and true meaning.  Consequently, it is often misinterpreted and misunderstood.  People like it because it is colorful and interesting.  At its root, however, we often find pride of opinion.

Hon. Brett Kavanaugh

There have been screams of anguish, wailings, and lamentations from “the Left,” since President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.  Predictable.  When Barack Obama nominated now Associate Justices Elena Keegan and Sonia Sotomayor, I felt the same way.

Many of the things I feared following the confirmation of President Obama’s nominees did not take place.  The world did not come to an end.  The court made some decisions that I did not agree with, but as President Obama said, “Elections have consequences.”  To quote Vice President Pence, we are watching “democracy in action.”

The Senate voted 68 to 31 to confirm Justice Sotomayor.  The Democratic vote was unanimous, and nine Republicans also voted for her. (www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/06/sonia.sotomayor/)

The vote for Justice Kagan was 63 to 37. Five Republicans supported Kagan.  One Democrat voted against her.  (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080505247.html?noredirect=on)

It is interesting to note that the Senate confirmation vote on Justice Gorsuch was 54-45.  One Republican did not vote.  Otherwise, the Republican vote was unanimous, and Justice Gorsuch was also supported by three Democrats. (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/07/us/politics/gorsuch-confirmation-vote.html)

The point is that these recent confirmation votes have been the result of partisan politics, rather than the candidates’ qualifications.  In my own employment history, I have been interviewed for jobs many times.  In most of these my qualifications were the primary consideration, and none of the jobs were nearly as important as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.  When we turn on our TV’s, or read the news on websites, how much of the discussion is about whether the Supreme Court nominee is qualified?  The bulk of the discussion is speculation about how confirmation would impact hot button cultural issues.

So, please tell me what is wrong with this picture?  Supreme Court Justices serve for a long time.  In some cases it seems like forever (Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg).  During their tenure, they have a huge impact on our country.  Maybe somebody needs to examine their qualifications; and not just the record of their decisions.

Following are a few of the salient considerations for deciding Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s qualifications:

•       He was born 1965 in Washington, DC, and he earned his bachelor’s and Juris Doctor’s degrees from Yale.

• ·         He served as a Law clerk for the Hon. Walter K. Stapleton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1990-1991; the Hon. Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1991-1992; and the Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, Supreme Court of the United States, 1993-1994

•      He was an Attorney, Office of the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1992-1993; and an Associate independent counsel, Whitewater investigation, 1994-1997, 1998

• ·         He was an Attorney in private practice from 1997-1998, and 1999-2001

• ·         President George W. Bush appointed him Associate counsel, 2001-2003; and Senior associate counsel, 2003

• ·         From 2003 – 2006; he served as Assistant to the President and staff secretary for President George W. Bush

• ·         In 2006 he was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  He also received two recess appointments to the same position.

 (https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/kavanaugh-brett-m)

I think that a reasonable person would conclude that Judge Kavanaugh has the qualifications needed to be nominated for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.  It is my position that barring any history of moral turpitude, criminal behavior, or malfeasance of office any qualified nominee put forward by the President should receive fair consideration for confirmation, without political bias or animas, by the U.S. Senate.  The world will not come to an end.

Further, President Trump has represented Judge Kavanaugh to be person who will make decisions that strictly adhere to the U.S. Constitution and the law.  We need a conservative majority on the high court to keep the Liberals from legislating by case law what they do not have enough support for in the Legislative Branch.  Like a lot of other Americans, I am sick of judges who legislate from the bench.

According to urban legend, a judge is a lawyer with an IQ of 70.  All I ask is that they stick to the letter of the law and also use some common sense once in a while.

I will leave you with some thoughts from Isiah:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!

Isiah 5:20-21 (NASB)

Inhumanity on the Border

On or about June 24, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legal right of the President of the United States to regulate immigration in the interest of national security.  Any reasonable person able to read the law could see that the law gave the President that authority before the matter was taken to court by the State of Hawaii and others.  It is obvious that Progressives took this matter court, not because they thought they were right, but because they were using the courts to delay and interfere with President Trump in the lawful exercise of his duties.

Defeated on this count, Progressives from the U.S. House and Senate ran down to the border with Mexico to stir up more trouble.  For some time, radical groups (with the help of the Mexican government) have been flooding the border with persons, primarily from Central America, claiming amnesty and demanding admission to the United States. These elected officials accused the Trump administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of treating these persons inhumanely because they were separated from their children while being afforded due process.  The Liberal media and various other groups made it a cause celebres.

President Trump said that his administration was just enforcing the law.  However, they changed the procedures by which the law was being enforced to reunite families and ensure that family separation would not happen in the future.

We applaud President Trump for rectifying problematic procedures he inherited from the Obama and Bush administrations.  We advocate for enforcement of all immigration laws … in a just and merciful way.

When I was in the U.S. Army, I was stationed in Germany in the early 1970’s.  Let me share with you what inhumane border enforcement really is.  I saw the Iron Curtain.  I saw what the Communists did to keep people from escaping their harsh, totalitarian rule.  I saw the armed soldiers who were under orders to shoot anyone, including women and children, who were trying to cross that border.  I saw the signs warning of land mines.  I heard and read the news reports of persons who were killed because they wanted to live in a free country like Austria, Germany, or the USA.  I saw what inhumane treatment really is.  Don’t tell me our border enforcement is inhumane.

I remember the protests against the Viet Nam War.  The protesters were howling about American aggression and how unjust the war was.  I’m asking, where were the protesters when we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Some said that we invaded Iraq under false pretenses, and that there were no weapons of mass destruction.  They said President Bush lied so that Halliburton could make money off the war.

So, where were the protesters?  There were a few, but nothing even close to the antiwar movement during Viet Nam.  What was the difference?  Could it be that we no longer have the draft?  Ya think!

Those kids in the ‘60’s were angry about the war in general, but the draft was “where the rubber met the road.”  They didn’t want to die in some rotten jungle.  So, they chanted, “Hell no! We won’t go!”

I think the protesters who are in the streets this very day are like the protesters of the ‘60’s.  They have convinced themselves of the morality of their position as a defense mechanism.  What this is really about is that they hate Donald Trump and anyone else who agrees with his policies.

I have news for them, and for the Liberal, main stream mafia … er, media.  When we go to the polls in November, I will remember the way they played politics with efforts to protect the national security, the American worker, and the safety of our communities.  I will vote for candidates who support President Trump’s efforts to secure our borders.  I urge everyone who agrees to do likewise.

In the Know

He Who Knows

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool, shun him;

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child, teach him;

He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep, wake him;

He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise, follow him.

Persian Proverb*

*The New Home Book of Best Loved Poems, Richard C. Mackenzie Editor, Garden City Books, New York, 1946

Mature Subject - If you are not 18 years old get your parents' permission to read this post.

I have spent no small amount of time writing and rewriting this post because same sex marriage has become another of the many divisive issues in our country.  The public discourse has become laden with anger and “push back.”  My goal here is to help us to see that we will all benefit from a little tolerance and understanding.

Our society was built on Judeo-Christian values.  Most of our people identify themselves as Christians, and many of these are invested in perpetuating “traditional” values.  Most other faiths teach that marriage is to be between men and women.  However, a growing number of people want to live “alternative lifestyles,” and they resent efforts to keep them for doing so.  Regardless, most people want to be accepted for who they are.

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976) defines a bigot as, “One obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his own church, party, belief, or opinion.”  From a certain perspective, when Christians, and other people of faith, site scripture to prove that God declares homosexuality to be a sin … they are “religious bigots."  People who support same sex marriage point out that scripture was also used to justify slavery, segregation, manifest destiny, and opposition to interracial marriage.

As a society we generally look down on obstinance and intolerance.  Given our history of the persecution of minorities, the label of bigot has acquired additional baggage … that is prejudice, hatred, and malicious intent.

Webster’s defines prejudice as:

1.    preconceived judgment or opinion

2.    an opinion or leaning averse to anything without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge

3.    an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics

Some supporters of same sex marriage believe that “religious” people are homophobic.  That is true of a minority of individual Christians.  It is also true that homosexuality is severely punished in many predominantly Muslim Middle Eastern countries.  True Christians understand that Jesus of Nazareth loved each one of us enough to die for us, and He taught us to love others as much as we love ourselves.

Christians do not have the right to force others to live according to the Holy Bible.  American History generally shows that attempts to legislate morality are doomed to failure.  That does not mean that Christians must relinquish our rights as American citizens.  We have the right to live our lives according to our beliefs.  We have a right to pass our beliefs on to our children without having those beliefs condemned when they go to public schools … which we support with our taxes.  We have a right to speak freely, and to advocate for our ideas in the public discourse.  We have the right to vote for candidates who will justly and fairly legislate and govern in ways that reflect our values.  Homosexuals and others who live alternative lifestyles have these same rights. 

•   It is unfair, for example, when same sex couples are denied a legally binding     relationship that allows for the joint ownership of property and for the surviving   partner to inherit property.

•  Consequently, a legally binding arrangement should be available to same sex   couples.

• Since there is a collective moral responsibility for the actions of our   government, we believe that those who object to same sex marriage should   not be made to support it by having any form of marriage available to same   sex couples that is sanctioned by the government under law.  

In striving for social and legal acceptance, the advocates for same sex marriage seem to have targeted Christian business people, corporate executives, public officials, and others with legal action, protest, boycotts, and threats aimed at forcing them to act against their sincerely held religious beliefs or limiting their right to free speech.  As a Christian, I have serious concerns about recent events where Christians have been subjected to harassment and punitive action for acting in good faith to live according to what the Holy Bible teaches us.

If same sex marriages become socially sanctioned, nationwide, will Christian Ministers, Jewish Rabbis, or Muslim Imams be forced to preform same sex marriages?  Will persons of faith in the wedding industry be required to participate in same sex marriages by providing their services when it is contrary to their sincerely held religious convictions?  Will county and municipal officials be required it issue licenses and permits?  I support the First Amendment, which guarantees American citizens the freedoms of speech and religion.  I do not hate anybody.  I just think it is un-American to force people to violate their sincerely held religious convictions.

Recent news reports show that Christians have been persecuted in states where same sex marriage has been legalized.  People have lost their businesses.  They have been driven into bankruptcy defending themselves.  Some have been threatened with jail.

On June 4, 2018, the United States’ Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado cake decorator named Jack Phillips. The high court found that Phillips’ sincerely held religious beliefs were not given “neutral and respectful” consideration when the Colorado Civil Rights Commission punished him for refusing to decorate a wedding cake for a gay couple.  The court found that the Commission’s treatment of Phillips’ case “has some elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs that motivated his (Phillips’) objection.”  I think that freedom-loving people can be forgiven if they regard the court’s ruling as a victory for religious freedom.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/06/04/supreme-courts-same-sex-wedding-cake-decision-significant-victory-for-freedom.print.html

Read the court’s finding as you will.  To me, what it says is that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was prejudiced against Christian beliefs.  Progressives in front range cities have gained control of the state government by virtue of urban population growth, and that is one of the reasons why I moved from Colorado to Idaho.

So, now you know why I am opposed to same sex marriage.  Homosexuals don’t like being compelled to adhere to traditional values, and Christians don’t like attempts to force them to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.  Why don’t we all stop trying to run the way other people live their lives?

Out of Town

Sorry I haven't posted of late.  My wife and I have been traveling out of state; visiting family.  We had a wonderful time, but we got home tired.  I haven't progressed into the 21st Century enough to take a laptop or notebook along with me.  So, the blog was left until our return.

I have some ideas to share.  I'll get with it and post soon.

No Such Thing as a Secret

I heard a preacher tell an anecdote once, and somehow it stuck with me.  If I suggest that a passage of scripture might apply to a person or group, please know that I try to remember that it also applies to me.  The humorous story goes like this:

There was a little old lady who lived a block from church, and she attended every Sunday; without fail.  The preacher noticed her because her attendance was so faithful, and because she was the last to shake his hand at the door when the service was over.  As she was leaving, she always said, “You sure gave it to them today, Pastor.”

One Sunday there was a terrific snow storm.  It was so bad the preacher debated whether to open the church for services.  He decided to go ahead on the chance that a few people would make it in.  The only person who showed up was the little old lady, sitting in her usual place in the front row.  The preacher gave the sermon anyway, thinking that if she took the trouble to come to church, she should get to hear the sermon he had prepared.  He couldn’t help but wonder, however, what she would say on the way out.  As she left, she shook the preacher’s hand and said,” Well Pastor, if they had been here you sure would have given it to them today.”

With that said, my wife and I were doing our devotionals together this morning, and the scripture we were reading from seemed to be something that we wished our friends in Washington, D.C. might hear and take to heart.

1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, 

" Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

2 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered  in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

(Luke 12:1-3 NASB)*

Also, many today are being falsely accused. The accusers seem to believe that it is okay to bear false witness if they think it serves the common good (their own political purposes).  Some of these accusers are highly placed political appointees or elected officials.

If you are a Christian, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and you are being persecuted for being a Christian, or for standing up for what God says is right; the Spirit will give you the words to say in answer to your accusers.  In this fashion, the Way of Christ is proclaimed.  Like Steven the Martyr, there may be harsh consequences, but we are honored to be persecuted for our Lord. Jesus said:

8 "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God;

9 but he who denies Me before men will be denied before  the angels of God.

10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.

11 When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;

12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

(Luke 12: 8-12 NASB)*

Where there has been wrongdoing, we want justice to be done.  However, we do not want the process of justice (or the administration of government agencies) to be perverted into a political weapon.  The country has huge problems to deal with, and that is what we elect people to do.

* https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/