Obama's Health Care Plan!

In recent weeks the debate over government controlled health care has escalated.

I am amazed at how our society behaves. Currently, there are many people argueing, in political circles, that opposition to the new healthcare plan is rooted in racism. This is a ridiculous, malicious statement. How dare a group of people use such serious accusations, rooted in nothing more than manipulative behavior, to push their ideas. Racism is, and has been a serious problem in our society. It disgusts me that many, who are "so opposed" to racism and desire an end to it, continue to fuel its reality in order to further agendas.

Let me attest that what I say is not biased, because I support neither the right or the left. Both Republicans and Democrats alike, are in the pockets of the same people. These political parties divide society, fueling issues in order to gain support of one of those divided segments. Then, they play out their cleverly divised plan to make people feel as though they have that paticular group of people's best interest in mind. This is done in order fulfill a specific agenda. Its quite brilliant in that you make people feel like you are giving them what they want, or need, yet in the big picture the reality is to the contrary. Both roads, be it Republican or Democrat, lead to the same place along different paths (That would be a Globalized One World Government).

The reality is that any semi-educated person can see that the proposed healthcare plan is a bad plan. I will be the first to admit that we need healthcare reform in our nation. It's messed up, but replacing one mess with another mess is by no means a solution.

I encourage you all to read the plan carefuly, and then make a decision as to whether or not it is right for our nation. Do not allow yourself to be manipulated by the powers that be, Republican or Democrat, and their sick twisted tools of mind control!

When will America wake up and realize that Government from the Right, or the Left does not have the peoples best interest in mind. They just want you to believe they do in order to fulfill their agendas.

Albert Pujols

O.k. It could be said that I am a huge St. Louis Cardinal fan, and even bigger fan of the man known as "The Machine."

Over his career in major league baseball, it could be argued that Albert Pujols has been the most consistant player to ever put on a uniform. The guy's career numbers average out to a batting average over .330, 40 home runs, 100+ runs, and 120+ RBI per year. The amazing thing is that year in and year out these numbers are astonishingly similar.

This year is panning out to be no different than years past. The first half of the '09 season was probably his best to date.

This leads me to last nights game against the New York Mets. Albert came into the game in a pretty big slump that had all the experts talking. Well, it's the next day and they are quiet now! It appears the slump is over. Albert finished the night 4 for 5 with a double, 2 homeruns (one being an extra inning grand salami) and 5 RBI.

In an era clouded by the steroid scandal, Albert Pujols has given baseball back its honor. Not only is Albert quickly becoming one of the greatest of all time, he is a good man, and a disciple of Christ!

It's a pleasure to witness his accomplishments on the baseball field, and his bold profession of his faith.

Go Phat Albert!

Photography!

For most of my life I have had a huge appreciation and interest in the arts. From the time I was very young I have been exposed to many mediums through my own participation, and more important to my post, through my fathers great successes in gallery photography.

Although I have always admired his work and enjoyed others work through gallery displays, I never was involved myself, until just recently. I just aquired a nice camera several weeks ago as a result of my dads generosity.

I must admit that it has opened my eyes up to a whole new world! When you start puposefully looking at things from the perpective of a photographer, you appreciate the beauty of the simple things. A rusty pipe can become as beautiful as the prettiest of flowers.

I am so thankful that my father had such an appreciation all these years and passed it on to me!

Love ya Dad!

Calvinist vs. Arminian

These days there is much debate over these two lines of theological ideology. However, I'm just not sure that the two don't share more communication differences than theological differences.

The reality is that God is eternal. He exists outside mans concept of time. This means that God exists in the past, present, and future all at once. He does know which of us is going to heaven and which of us is going to hell before we are born. This gives credit to the calvinist line of theology. However, at the same time He has given us free will. Therefore, He is not choosing what our destination is, rather he allows us to choose on our own, following along with the arminian line of thought.

This is an extraordinary concept. Imagine you and your wife planning to have a baby, and knowing that the child you create will go to Hell, yet creating the child none the less. That's pain and suffering my friends. As much as He desires your love, He knows whether our not you will choose to give your love to Him. It must break His heart.

He does not damn us. We damn ourselves, and yet He gives us life anyway.

Then again, God can intervene if He chooses, can't He? What an amazing mystery it all is!

Whether you are a calvinist or an arminian we all worship the God of Isaac, Abraham, and Jacob. Sometimes our differences aren't so much differences, rather they are different explanations of the same thing. That "thing" is something we can't fully understand in the first place, because we are not God.

Two Covenants

Aside from Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul is the most important figure in the history of Christianity. Thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament are attributed to him. These thirteen books can be divided into three categories; undisputed, disputed, and pastoral epistles. Although Paul’s undisputed letters laid the foundation of Christianity, as we know it, most of the modern evangelical church has grossly misunderstood what Paul’s message really meant, particularly in regards to the righteousness of God. Paul’s writings, like the Gospels, had a specific genre, purpose, and occasion 2000 years ago. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a perfect example. By analyzing a specific passage from Galatians, we gain a clear understanding of what Paul truly intended, when writing this particular text.

Galatians, along with Romans, is considered to be one of Paul’s most important letters. The misinterpretation of this letter, along with Romans, was largely responsible for the Protestant Reformation( this is not to say that the reformation was a bad thing). It’s Paul’s most angry letter. He is writing in response to the Church embracing the message of Judeazires (Christian Jews), who argued that Pagan Gentiles must be circumcised, and follow the Torah, in order to be “ justified,” or have membership in the covenant community of God. They claimed that because Paul’s message argued to the contrary, he was a “renegade” that had broken away from the true Church. Within Galatians, Paul delivers an ingenious response, using Abraham’s covenant with the Hebrew God, proving otherwise.

Within the context of Galatians 4: 21-31, we see a perfect example of this. One of the important terms in this particular section of the letter is the “The Law.” Modern Christians have grossly misunderstood this term, by not understanding its context. When Paul spoke of “The Law” he was referring to “Jewish Law” and the “Torah,” not modern day authority. He goes on, in this part of the letter, to describe Abraham’s two sons. He explains that the son born of his bondservant was born according to the flesh, or the world, where as the son born of Sarah, his wife, and free woman, was born according to the “Promise,” by faith. He does this to show that the two sons represented an earthly Jerusalem and a spiritual Jerusalem. He parallels Hagar’s son to the earthly Jerusalem and the “Torah,” which leads to bondage, and compares Sarah’s son to Gentile Pagan Converts, who are free from bondage of “The Law,” and members of the covenant community through acceptance of the resurrected Jesus. He describes this as two covenants. Whereas Hagar’s son, representing “The Law,” leads to a covenant in bondage, the son of Sarah leads to freedom in a Jerusalem above. This covenant is found in Jesus, who now sets on his throne in the heavenly realm, and leads to spiritual freedom. Paul develops this part of the letter in order to set the stage where he may prove that pagan gentile converts don’t receive justification through “The Law,” but through their acceptance of the resurrected Jesus. Therefore, by using scripture directly from the Torah, Paul proves that “The Law” itself describes how Pagan Gentiles are rightful members of the covenant community. In essence, they are not just members of God’s covenant community, but they have a better covenant through Christ, than Jews have in “The Law.”

In an attempt to keep order within the churches that he founded, Paul wrote his letters to specific churches and persons, desiring to address particular issues and problems. He never intended, nor imagined, that in the future, these letters would help to form the foundation of the New Testament Scriptures, as we know them today. As modern Christians, if we truly intend to grasp Paul’s message, as it relates to universal and timeless truth, we must understand who Paul was, who he was writing to, and why he was writing at the time his letters were created 2000 years ago.

Controversy

Americans love controversy! Whether it's an officer and his arrest of an older black man, or John and Kate, Americans are obsessed with taking sides and having opinions about circumstances that they in reality know nothing about.

The only source we use to make serious conclusions about such incidents are second hand accounts. These takes are filtered through news media and other persons who in reality are nothing more than distributers of hearsay. They weren't "there" to "witness" it, so why do we insist on developing strong stances and beliefs about people we don't know based on their information.

I fear that small incidents and the opinions we form surrounding those incidents could lead to a full fledged war someday if we are not careful.

Take this situation with the Cambridge professor and the officer who arrested him for example. Is it possible that in some sense neither of these people did anything wrong? Maybe due to the sad culural difference that have been created throughout our history between races puts the professor in a position in which he felt violated. At the same time is it possible that, because of how the situation developed, the officer was just doing his job?

The fact is that I don't know, and neither do any of you! The only people who have the answers are the two men involved in the situation. It's almost as if we just love for controversy to exist out of some twisted need for "drama!"

If you weren't there don't pretend or proclaim to know what happened. It's silly! Don't allow the media to make your opinions for you.

Miley Cyrus and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club!

O.k. So I am watching television this morning ( that was my first mistake) and I saw a sixteen year old girl performing on stage dressed like she was 30-40 and trying her best to act like she was 30-40. What!!@@**????

This increasingly common practice of children trying to appear, and act like adults has become one of the most disturbing trends in American culture.

Even worse is that these sixteen year old children and their marketing is targeted at 3-10 year old children! What!!##*@@????

What is going on in our society? Have we lost all accountability and reason?

We plaster the man accused of child molestation all over the television and act like we can't believe what "he" or "she" did. However, after the "Dateline" special ends, and we have our weekly fillup of "Can you believe its," we march our children out the local clothing store to buy clothing that would be best suited on a street corner in the Red Light District.

And don't get me wrong with these "teen" stars. It's not just what they wear, it's how they carry themselves. We are trying our best to help children be "all grown up!"

That leads to the next point, which is that the grown ups are now trying to emulate the teen star also! These kids don't need to grow up too fast, but adults need to have a little more class. Come on ladies and gents. Don't hold on to some romantic sense of the younger generation. Embrace your own!

Parents...make sure that you encourage your children to be children, and adults... you aren't a kid. Stop acting like one!

PISTACHIO ALMOND ICE CREAM!

Life doesn't get any better than this!

Pistachio Almond ice cream and 15 channels of MLB to choose from makes a man feel at peace with the world.

Maybe I could become Obama's Pistachio Almond Ice Cream Czar!

Home Ownership and the American Dream!

If you buy a house with a mortgage... is it worth it?

Consider this. Most mortgages today are 30yrs.

The argument for buying is that your home builds equity right? After a $500-$700 yearly insurance cost, $1000.00 + in taxes yearly, and $1500+ in maintenance and upkeep per year over 30yrs you have payed in $90,000.00+ in add ons.

Where is the equity, and why not just rent if you can't pay cash?

Idol Worship!

I was listening to a podcast the other day about idol worship. Something was said that really strikes a nerve about idol worship.

A sure sign that you are idolizing something is that you demonize something else. For example, if you idolize you political party, then you demonize another political party. Wow! It seems we all have a great lesson to learn. We all idolize things in some shape, form, or fashion.

The question is... what do we do about it?