I just watched this video. I am interested in the opinion of my readers on its content. Personally, I think he makes a great deal of sense. I fully agree with him on the tuition issue. What we have done to the younger generation in terms of higher educational costs is nothing short of unconscionable. This is turn is fodder for the obviously New Age "Occupy" revolution.
Let me know what you think and please, STAY TUNED!
Constance
The presenter is right on all accounts but there is nothing new in what he says. The question is how do we fix this mess - or more to the point, is it fixable or have we passed the tipping point.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we have passed the tipping point. Between greed, ignorance, and an intentional, evil push by the elite to collapse America, short of God's intervention, and why would He choose to save us, our course is more or less set.
The world economy does not generate enough money to repay the current debt. Either we default, create a new monetary system that reduces us all to a third world standard of living, or both. We can print enough money and manipulate things for a while yet until the right moment for the next opportunity for order out of chaos is reached. I love my country, but I grieve deeply over where we are as a nation and what we have become.
The only peace I have comes from knowing that no matter what happens, my Lord Jesus is in charge and will take care of all who put their trust in Him.
oops! Anon 9:44 is Dave in CA
ReplyDeletesounds good. Offhand, the only way to overhaul the healthcare system would mean what some would condemn as socialist, but would be merely enforcing the hippocratic oath doctors take, which incl. not charging set fees for services, only taking what gifts the patient can or wants to give.
ReplyDelete(a builtin doom of the medical profession, is that this oath, unless rewritten to refer to "God" refers to "apollo" as the deity the oath is made to. this of course stains the whole thing
and opens doors to occult influence.)
price caps and rollbacks and cessation of the charging of interest would be needed also. In the place of interest, a flat fee one time for a loan, interest was always condemned in Scripture and church laws east and west, and only got redefined as okay if not excessive, with usury meaning excessive interest instead of ANY interest because of the Venetians on the one hand, and Calvin on the other!
paul said... (on the previous subject/page, at 9:35 am)
ReplyDelete"I'm not so sure that some
form of reincarnation isn't Biblical.
The little jury in my head is still
out on that one"
Paul,
it´s appointed once for a man to die and then the judgment. Don´t fall into gnosticism. The golden rule with Scripture is, If it ain´t there, don´t add it ... & never take away from it!
A pal
""2 Cor 5:10 does not say anything one way or another about possible forgiveness after death."
ReplyDelete"Actually it does. It says that judgement proceeds on the basis of what was done (and believed) while in the flesh. Once you die you are no longer in the flesh."
So? it doesn't say believed it says done. And what was done in the flesh can be forgiven, on the basis of belief and request, though some punishment might accrue.
The place of waiting would seem to involve overt punishment as well, remember the rich man and lazarus. A foretaste of what waits.
But if prayer for the dead is pointless, and you never seem to answer this, why did not the early church teach this? why did Perpetua feel free to pray for her dead brother she believed to be damned?
Reincarnation is not supported in the Bible. Elijah never died so can't reincarnate.
Reincarnation also depends on the idea of the soul as something that is radically distinct from the body, which it isn't. The body is the most solid part of the soul. Nephesh incl. both the immortal part, and the denser physical part that drops off at death.
as for the abba and emmay thing, that is what I addressed them as like other kids would say dada and mama. not just babbling. But I don't accept reincarnation. Another explanation is easier.
Frankly a long time ago when I considered it possible, reincarnation struck me as horrifying, a loss of personal identity.
If it is real it would be like a punishment like the one I read of ancient Egyptian culture, where one punishment was to have one's name taken away. This was supposed to strip you part of your soul.
Reincarnation is pointless because all memory and identity sense is usually lost so how is one to gain or learn or whatever from it.
"I believe that we have passed the tipping point. Between greed, ignorance, and an intentional, evil push by the elite to collapse America,"
ReplyDeletei think this may be correct. The only solution is bankrupcty, renigging on the debt to the banksters and run them out of town, eliminate debt slavery by cancelling interest on all loans such as to students, and eliminating it in future. Flat one time fee only.
Wages to professionals like nurses, even bank and other workers, should incl. an option for lower pay and housing provided, not to be counted in income tax.
That bank bailout should have included proviso that loans and mortgages be cancelled in proportion to the amount received by the banks.
I doubt the desire to collapse America was the primary goal, more like it doesn't matter to them, lots of countries get collapsed, to make some people wealthier.
We also need to get back to farming to eat not just cash crops. zoning laws that interfere in backyard farming need to be modified.
Freedom of speech was originally about political stuff, not subliminal manipulation advertising and obscene (and excessively violent) art and entertainment. corporal punishment needs to be reinstated, and the whole greed and status and materialism focus altered.
here I go, dominating the blog again.
ReplyDeleteFor a hilarious picture of how far we have come downhill, catch "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" Southpark episode
http://tinyurl.com/29u72xv
which highlights how what in the days of book banning was considered awful is now considered mild. Also slammed is the tendency to read all kinds of special things and meaning into literature that is probably not there, or to interpret by your own grid (and assume a writer has some deeper purpose than what gibberish they are spewing lately) and the pop scene in general.
Is Jerusalem the Babylon of Revelation 18?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbgBkelmg74
Revelation refers to Jerusalem as Sodom. Babylon is something very different - a major importer of all kinds of things, an exporter of drunkenness on some kind of influence and a port city you can see burning from a distance.
ReplyDeleteA good argument has been made that it is the USA.
Antipas Ministries pursues this line of thought.
The antichrist is apparently going to be one of the nations that are in league with Babylon, but hate it and destroy it, or come out of one of them.
Others argue against this because of geographical issues.
If prophecy is fulfilled more than once, as sometimes happens, perhaps America might be in the dangerous position - unless we reform and opt out in time - of fitting the Babylon prototype. If we opt out, someone else will take our place as this, too bad for them.
The corollaries are based on the description of qualities of the Great City that rules over the kings of the earth in Revelation.
At the time, only Rome qualified and sits on seven hills. (The Vatican does not sit on any of these hills, and is outside Rome's city limits, and is now a separate sovereign nation city state itself, which is why it had diplomatic relations with many countries incl. the USA it has nothing to do with violating our church state issues.
USA is the only country with at least 12 cities that sit on seven hills each.
http://tinyurl.com/6ug4od5
ReplyDeleteLooks like Israel has decided to keep the USA out of the loop if they attack Iran so the USA won't be held accountable. Perhaps Obama has told them they are on their own if they do this.
Hopefully we will not end up in WW 3, and the American troops collecting near the Iranian border will find employment in dealing with Syria instead, though that could trigger Russian response, though that would be conventional, since they have positioned warships to protect Syria from American/NATO intervention.
It is interesting that in Revelation Babylon is a mystery so it might not be as easy to figure out as if it was the same literal Babylon in Iraq. It is interesting though for people that see the US as being Babylon that our military entered the literal Babylon. Sadam Hussein was obsessed with ancient Babylon and believed he was the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar. He was into a big project of rebuilding the city of Babylon right from it's origninal foundation. He revived some of the pagan festivals of the original Babylonian empire. He also built his palace so it overlooked the original palace of Nebuchadnezzar. It is also interesting that in Revelation the Euphrates River is mentioned as being pivotal in prophecy such as the Euphrates being dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the east. Maybe Iran? or China? Remember that Iran is the Persian Empire. Interesting that Iran is such a central point of discussion in these present days. I had chills literally run up my spine when I saw the part of the war in Iraq that the US military crossed over the Euphrates River to go into Bagdhad.
ReplyDeleteHappy 17 BD, CC
ReplyDelete(I know, I am 15 min early)
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI HAVE commented on prayer for the dead. I said that it *might* make a difference to them while they are in Hades awaiting the day of judgement (which lies ahead for both the living and the dead, who are conscious in Hades). But it can't alter their final destination after judgement, which was settled at their bodily death. All of that I gave scriptures for in earlier posts.
I'm holding out for resurrection, not reincarnation!
ReplyDelete"I HAVE commented on prayer for the dead. I said that it *might* make a difference to them while they are in Hades awaiting the day of judgement (which lies ahead for both the living and the dead, who are conscious in Hades). But it can't alter their final destination after judgement, which was settled at their bodily death. All of that I gave scriptures for in earlier posts."
ReplyDeleteThe Scriptures are ambiguous. After all, are we not going to be judged for our actions in the flesh, with the judgement being in some cases forgiven because of repentance and conversion to Christ?
Likewise, the dead are as guilty and unable to undo anything, to make it not have happened, as we the living are, but perhaps they might if God hears us and gives them repentance and conversion, be saved from the lake of fire?
Jesus describes the Last Judgement as a time when some among the condemned would have it worse and some better, Sodom and Gomorrah would have it better than Tyre and Sidon because they would have repented if given the opportunities that Tyre and Sidon had, and did not repent. Some hypocrites are described as to receive "the greater damnation" which implies there is a lesser damnation.
Luther chose to 86 Maccabees because it described prayer and sacrifice made for the dead, that they be forgiven in the resurrection for their sins they were discovered after death to have been doing. This he felt supported RC purgatory so he got rid of it. In fact, it shows that among the Jews loyal to YHWH there was a belief in the relevance of this.
Christine Cumbey-Erikson wrote (it´s her blogspot, after all!): "Revelation refers to Jerusalem as Sodom. Babylon is something very different -..."
ReplyDeleteWhy don´t you watch the video before commenting?
Christine Cumbey-Erikson wrote (it´s her blogspot, after all!): "Revelation refers to Jerusalem as Sodom. Babylon is something very different -..."
ReplyDeleteWhy don´t you watch the video before commenting?
Yes Christine Erikzion, why is Zionist Anti-Christian Freemasonic Israel so intent on wiping Iran off the map as it has done to Palestine?
ReplyDeleteOpen your eyes!! No, I´m not Anti-Semitic. No, I´m not Anti-Christian (I´m Christian) and no, I´m not Anti-Pauline Chrisitanity, unlike Thomas Jefferson (Illuminist-deist) & SMOM Stan Monteith!
"Why don´t you watch the video before commenting?"
ReplyDeleteBecause I already have heard of this analysis.
okay, i watched it. But there is still this problem. it is called Sodom, not Babylon, and the latter is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.
exactly when and how would that fit Jerusalem?
Sure there are parallels, but there are failures as well. Babylon is a major importer and consumer of goods, such that all the merchants of the earth are upset at her destruction, and the smoke is visible from far off.
And what are the ten nations or rulers that support Jerusalem?
That thing about when surrounded by armies and flee into the hills, was fulfilled in AD 70.
I suppose it is possible that someday by some disaster or artificial means, Jerusalem might become a major port city, a huge canal running from the coast to the city itself.
http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=8496&BA=2572&QR=117
ReplyDeleteI think this is an excellent letter written by Franklin Graham in his website on "political correctness gone amok". I think what he is saying is very true and I admire his courage to stand up on this issue.
I don't know what's going on here. The "collapse comments" feature is not a link as before. Did the OCCUPY MOVEMENT get ahold of the blog? Did it happen to all others?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm officially 17 effective today, February 29th!
Constance
Dear Constance,
ReplyDeleteHAPPY "17th" BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
Dear "a pal"
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment
and concern. I'm most definitely
NOT going to fall into Hinduism
or New Age hokum of any kind.
But you said that the Corinthian
quote ends all discussion about
reincarnation.
I'm just not so sure about that,
considering what Jesus said
regarding John the Baptist, plus
his question to his own disciples,
which implies that the notion of
reincarnation was commonly known
to them and that Jesus never
specifically disclaimed it.
Also I think that the events at
the Transfiguration: Moses and
Elijah stand there speaking with
Jesus, says a lot, though I don't
claim to know for sure, (as you do),
just what that does say.
Yes, it is appointed to men to die
once, and yes after this does come
the judgement, but exactly how is
judgement meted out ? Should I take
my cues from Dante, as practically
everyone has since the fifteenth
century ?
Science keeps telling me that time
itself is the biggest illusion of all.
Maybe there is only eternity and
judgement is ongoing.
I don't know. But I'm not an
Agnostic.
I do know the Truth. It's Jesus.
_But I'm not a Gnostic.
I believe the Bible. Word for word.
_But it's a huge book.
Gnostic/Agnostic= false dichotomy.
I'm almost sure of that.
Happy Birthday Constance! Wishing you many more!
ReplyDeleteDave in CA
Happy birthday Constance!
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeletePlease explain how Hebrews (not Corinthians) 9:27 does not necessarily rule out reincarnation; I can't make sense of what you are saying.
It is fashionable for some research physicists to say time is an illusion; but not the research physicist writing this. What they mean is that you get a better understanding of the physics by considering all time rolled out before you, just as you consider all space to be rolled out - after all, time and space are intimately connected, as Einstein taught us. But not even Einstein explained why time appears to PASS, yet space doesn't. And that is why I dissent from those other physicists.
I think Paul was saying that judgement that comes might involve reincarnation, which would make it a curse, "go thou be a disgusting pig or slimey disease laden whatnot for your sins!"
ReplyDeletebut still it says we die ONCE.
Now of course at this point you could argue, that since one who is resurrected such as those Jesus brought back to life, would have eventually died again, clearly, these did not die just once. neither did they reincarnate.
The pattern Paul showed was to answer questions presented to him without repeating the question, or not often. So it is likely that this curt standalone comment was in response to a question about reincarnation or transmigration of souls.
Happy 29th Birthday, Constance!! May the good Lord bless and protect you another 29 years!!
ReplyDeleteViva Christos Rey,
Catherine
Let's say for the sake of argument that John the Baptist was Elijah. However, Elijah was swept up in a whirlwind, never to be seen again. So...he never really died in the normal way people die. So...can this be considered true reincarnation? (As a side note, if God has the power to resurrect, He certainly has the power to reincarnate. However, the Bible just doesn't support God doing this.) I think, the reference Jesus made to John the Baptist being Elijah, or rather having the spirit of Elijah (which had passed on to the prophet Elisha), is somewhat of a mystery. Everything will be revealed in its own time! Or God's time, that is.
ReplyDeleteDear Anon 7:43
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of surprised that you'd even
respond to the very amateur likes of
me, so thank you.
My problem is that I've read the latest
cover story of Scientific American,
FOUR TIMES and each time I'm a little
more confused.
Let me try to explain what I've
gleaned from the article.
The two 20th century theories,
General Relativity, and Quantum
Theory, are both no longer considered
theories but rather established facts.
Okey. But these two established facts
are so far irreconcilable. Okey.
Meanwhile the new theory called The
Holographic Principle is also pretty
much accepted by everyone.
The Holographic Principle states that
everything in the universe emerges, in
three dimensions, from information
which is stored on the two-dimensional
"Light Sheet" which is described as a
bubble collapsing at the speed of light.
Furthermore, this light sheet, which
stores everything as information, not
only records everything, but in fact
everything emerges from it.
What ?
Oh, and the latest theory of the entire
cosmos is that space is not smooth
like the old notion of an ether, but
space itself is in fact made of tiny bits,
described as "foamlike"? and binary,
in other words, it's essentially all
based on information, or data, exactly
like everything in a computer. The
universe in fact is a hologram?
An illusion of sorts?
My Christian mind says okey, God
created the universe out of light.
I get that. In fact everything is made
out of light. I believe that too. Gerald
Schroeder explained that to me, and
it's beautiful. Gerald Schroeder is
deeply Theistic himself and I find
that comforting. He's into the Talmud
but, hey, what do I know ?
But the universe is a hologram?
Oh, and if you were to put one quantum
in a cube, which was one Planke length
on each side, it would weigh more
than a black hole....? What ?
Iy Yi Yi !
Doc, help me.
Paul,
ReplyDeleteMy postdoctoral research was on information theory and entropy in physics, and I don't believe any of the attempts to base fundamental physics on information. This is a fundamental category error. Information is epistemological, physics is about ontology. In everyday language, you have information about something, ie about a physical system. But the information you have about your car is not the car itself, is it? This kind of confusion could never have happened in the era when Western culture, out of which science emerged, was grounded in a biblical worldview that accepted objective physical reality.
It is true that general relativity and quantum theory do not go well together. My answer - admittedly a minority view - is not string theory, but a closer look at quantum theory. It was the first theory that physicists came up with in which the symbols in the equations were not in 1:L1 correspondence with observable quantities 'out there'. for the first time, as a result, the philosophical worldview held by physicists became important. Quantum theory was a great advance, which answered some otherwise unanswerable questions and in some areas permitted prediction to match experiment to better than 1 part in a thousand million, with no known error (the limits are technological, in the experimental apparatus). But it also answered some questions only probabilistically, ie it can tell you only the proportions of electrons going one way or another in a "Stern-Gerlach" experiment". 20th century physicists settled for "that's the best you can do." But I maintain that it is the task of physicists to ask questions such as "Where will the NEXT electron go"? To get an answer you need a "hidden-variable" theory in which the quantum answers are statistical averages over the hidden variables which decide what the next electron will do. In the 19060s John Bell showed that any hidden variables which reproduce the quantum predictions as averages have to have some weird properties, ie, they are all in contact with each other throughout the universe. In that case it is remarkable that we can isolate and partially predict what single systems will do. But that's the way it is. I am willing to bet that a hidden-variable theory will eventually be found - if anyone is prepared to look - which is consistent with general relativity in a very natural way. Unhappily, though, not many people are looking.
Anonymous 3:59 AM
ReplyDeleteRe: I am willing to bet that a hidden-variable theory will eventually be found - if anyone is prepared to look - which is consistent with general relativity in a very natural way. Unhappily, though, not many people are looking.
And during the time when not many people are looking in terms of valid scientific inquiry, in walks the New age with its myth of "Quantum Consciousness".
Quantum mechanics is called on further to argue that the cosmic field, like
Newton’s aether, couples to the human mind itself. In Robert Lanza’s view, that
field is the universal mind of all humanity - living, dead, and unborn. Ironically,
this seemingly profound association between quantum and mind is an artifact, the
consequence of unfortunate language used by Bohr, Heisenberg and the others who
originally formulated quantum mechanics. In describing the necessary interaction
between the observer and what is being observed, and how the state of a system is
determined by the act of its measurement, they inadvertently left the impression
that human consciousness enters the picture to cause that state come into being.
This led many who did not understand the physics, but liked the sound of the words
used to describe it, to infer a fundamental human role in what was previously a
universe that seemed to have need for neither gods nor humanity.
If Bohr and Heisenberg had spoken of measurements made by inanimate
instruments rather than “observers,” perhaps this strained relationship between
quantum and mind would not have been drawn. For, nothing in quantum
mechanics requires human involvement....read more...
http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy
/vstenger/Quantum/QuantumConscious
ness.pdf
Susanna,
ReplyDeleteI am the physicist who just responded to Paul, and my own reply to the quantum mechanics/consciousness crew is simply that until consciousness is defined in terms of the variables which enter the equations of quantum theory then nothing has been said.
Their argument is no better than this: here's something we don't understand (quantum theory predicting only statistically); here's something else we don't understand (consciousness; THEREFORE they must be related. Very clearly a Non Sequitur.
Incidentally, victor Stenger, whom you quote, is one of the CSICOP people, ie a Skeptic of the supernatural. He has written harsh words against the Christian faith. Such old-style materialist modernists still have a role to play in combatting New Age postmodernists and although I am a Christian I will gladly ally with them for that particular purpose.
Dear anonymous 4:26 AM
ReplyDeleteRe: Such old-style materialist modernists still have a role to play in combatting New Age postmodernists and although I am a Christian I will gladly ally with them for that particular purpose.
This is exactly what I was thinking when I quoted the essay.
Truth cannot be invented. It can only be discovered. And if something is objectively true, it will be true no matter who discovers it - including the PSICOP people with whom I will also gladly ally for that particular purpose.
While it may be true that the subatomic "hidden variables" can be influenced by the physical instruments used in validly scientific observation, the Quantum Consciousness crew has invented the myth that they can affect the behavior and/or even the existence of "hidden variables" by exclusively observing them with their minds.....as if by a kind of subatomic telekinesis.
In other words, their minds, according to the myth, seem to be the "causal" factor in the existence and/or behavior of hidden variables.
To my knowledge, there is no solid evidence that the human mind naturally has this capability.
Once the Quantum Consciousness crowd gets away with this, it isn't long before they intellectually expand upon the myth to include the rest of "reality."
This is why the Quantum Consciousness crowd mustn't be allowed to get away with peddling their myth unchallenged.
The thing that I find especially infuriating is that some who are promoting the "Quantum Consciousness" myth are doing so while calling themselves "physicists."
Hey Doc,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your response.
I can't say I truly understand all
of it but I appreciate the effort to
explain some of these things to
a layman such as me.
I will say that even I can see through
the obvious esoteric bull crap that
constitutes the New Age attempts at
co-opting these theories and
discoveries for the magical
mystical wooley agenda that they
are busy trying to pull over everyones
eyes these days.
From Helen Blavatsky to Benjamin
Creme etc, etc, to this Quantum
Consciousness mob, they always
try to sound scientific when that's
the last think that they are.
sorry...the last THING that they are
ReplyDeleteIt seems hardly anyone here is replying to Constance's statement about the cost of higher education. This was true some time back when I last came to this blog. I will reply to Constance:
ReplyDeleteyes, higher education costs too much. I am not entirely sure why, but I suspect it has something to do with very expensive machines which are used in science research. I was in "higher education" and taught English, which does not usually use very expensive machinery, although the books are often quite costly. Many universities support not just "education" but research toward the Ph.D. and Post-Doctoral research, which costs lots. The graduate departments try to get government grants. Sometimes the grantsmen are paid highly....much higher wages than average. I never made much teaching community college, but I thought my salary was fine...until now, in retirement, with inflation, I cannot afford some things I need. The old fashioned concept of education, such as Harvard College, was to read the classics and divinity, and to know ancient languages to read these things well...this produced our great statesmen. But now the goal is ever-increasing scientific research and coddling of social historians who come as "fellows" and lecturers and get enormous fees.
These things I mention are not the whole of it but are some things I've noticed.
Mr. Santorum is right that not everyone needs to go to "university". My community college was a great place to get ready for a job and also gain some exposure to "culture". I was a better teacher than most of my own instructors at university. I say that not with hubris but just with observation of what I saw.
ed hardy
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