Photo by Frederick Meekins
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Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Monday, September 17, 2018
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Is Grief About Healing Or Group Compliance?
It was said that when a Christian dies, other Christians should naturally express sadness but that they should also rejoice that the person has gone home to glory.
Usually the interval between these emotional responses is placed on a schedule dictated not by a person’s own rate of healing but rather on a timetable expedient so as not to inconvenience other believers .
While one is glad that the person is no longer suffering, it often feels like one has been left with a consolation prize.
Given this sentiment holding in suspicion those having lost a loved one, it prompts one to ask are some afraid to express their true grief for fear of being hauled before some inquisitorial body?
“Sister So and So, you just aren’t your former self after the designated mourning period extended to you by the graciousness of your ecclesiastical overseers to whom you have pledged obedience and fealty. You are hereby summoned to confess before specified consistory of any doubts or reservations you might have harbored even momentarily. Failure to comply will result in the revocation of any formalized position or office that you hold in this organized fellowship. Confessions of doubt will also result in disqualification of said position or office.”
Yet if someone does express consolation that the departed loved one is in Heaven and that some degree of comfort is found in light of the knowledge they will again one day see their loved one, they should also expect to be slapped across the fingers for supposedly being presumptuous as to whom may or may not have been effectually called despite any profession of faith the departed might have made and regarding what knowledge of this transient realm we might retain in eternity.
By Frederick Meekins
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Friday, September 14, 2018
Thought Police Mobilize To Deplatform Comedian Over Ideological Noncormformity
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Thursday, September 13, 2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
How Much Control Should School Authorities Wield Over Urination Or Defecation?
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Monday, September 10, 2018
Sunday, September 09, 2018
Hit & Run Commentary #114
Charles Krauthammer is on the record as describing himself as a “Jewish Shinto” meaning that he worshipped his ancestors. Yet for simply wanting to protect America’s borders against a tidal wave of human debris this columnist was at the forefront of establishmentarians roundly condemning President Trump.
The Secretary of Homeland Security has been criticized by MSNBC propagandist Mika Brzezinski for the “tone deaf” decision to eat in a Mexican restaurant. So is this a form of cultural misappropriation? What this complaint is an example of is symbolism over substance. Does this network intend to renounce every public service announcement warning ever broadcast against the dangers of peer pressure? Failure to do so would be rank hypocrisy. For what is being condemned here is nothing more than failure to comply with riotous mobs.
A pastor lamented that neither party is willing to talk with one another on Capitol Hill in pursuit of compromise because elected officials must play to their respective bases. I know that sounds like sophisticated political analysis, but has the pastor making the statement actually contemplated the implications of what he is suggesting? For in terms of at least those on the right, are not Fundamentalist ministers the ones at the forefront of indoctrinating their respective audiences against the dangers of “compromise”? If you spend years conditioning people to avoid associating with Catholics and Charismatics in the name of separation and insist that women wearing pants are just a step away from lesbianism, transgenderism and abortion on demand, don’t be surprised when those that have taken what you say to heart don’t really want anything to do with those with whom they have profound worldview disagreements. So to these pastors that harp for the need for high standards when the standard being advocated is not really even something clearly spelled out in the pages of Scripture, just where is there anything left to compromise with the proponents of contemporary Progressivism?
In a discussion with Bill Kristol on the future of conservatism. Jonah Goldberg remarked that social media communities are not real communities. So what is to be done for individuals that find more fulfilling opportunities in the virtual over offline worlds? For example, churches that offer a single Sunday school class are not able to provide additional teaching opportunities. And frankly, being allowed to plop money into a collection plate as the soul extent to which one is allowed to participate in the comprehensive enterprise of Christendom doesn’t cut it in terms existential satisfied purpose.
At the Heritage Foundation Annual Leadership Conference in fielding a question assessing Donald Trump, syndicated columnist Cal Thomas lamented the he wished the President would not condemn people because such an act was inherently anti-American. But shouldn’t those professing to hold to values over party be willing to condemn people that do condemnable things? And isn’t the only reason the news-consuming public knows the name of Cal Thomas is because of his aptitude for biting amusing criticism? After all, did not Cal Thomas pull something of a John Kerry in opposing Donald Trump before supporting Donald Trump by contributing an essay to the Never Trumpers special edition issue of National Review condemning the prospects of a Trump presidency?
In Nigeria, Islamist herdsmen attacked ten largely Christian communities. Nearly two hundred were killed with a number of villages being completely burned to the ground. Did these poor souls attempt to defend themselves or were they pacified as a result of indoctrination in misinterpretations of passages regarding the turning of the other cheek? Perhaps it is about time they look to guidance from the movie The Untouchables.
So regarding the family allegedly kicked out of a church during a funeral. Were they behaving with decorum as one ought in a church or rolling in the aisles and leaping over the pews as some demographics are during fits of religious ecstasy. For how often are chalices broken in the course of normal use?
To placate special interests prone to loot property and rampage in the streets when not pandered to in regards to assorted public issues, President Trump has reversed his initial position and is now ordering flags lowered to half staff in honor of the slain Gazette journalists. So why is this beneficence not extended to all murder victims or do their lives not matter to the propagandists in the mass media?
Outrage eruptted over Corey Lewmandowski allegedly mocking a Down syndrome child separated from her mother at the border. The headline ought to have ben that liberals have finally met a sufferer of that affliction that they did not think should have been euthanized. For as unsettling as the Trump regime’s treatment of these individuals might have been, it’s still a whole lot better than that endured by Down syndrome fetuses in Iceland. So where is the leftwing condemnation of such policies in these European social democracies to which America is expected to aspire?
Attorney Alan Dershowitz has been ostracized by liberals on the grounds of being a Russian operative. Didn’t they used to adore him for similar reasons?
Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, has passed at the age of 90. One cannot help but admire Diitko’s approach to the craft. Unlike Stan Lee’s more affable and outgoing shtick, Ditko had not given an interview or made a public appearance in decades. Instead he allowed his body of work to speak for itself. And while fans of graphic sequential narrative owe a debt of gratitude to the role played (some might argue usurped) by Stan Lee as a sort of ceremonial head of an industry that was not always extended the respect it deserved as a legitimate art form, as much appreciation should also be bestowed upon the unassuming professionals that actually turn out this ongoing work.
Tolerancemongers are ecstatic about a number of nations having fallen to multiculturalst hooey such as Australia and Great Britain banning or expelling proponents of enforced border security. But if these leftist regimes should be applauded for guarding what remains of their soiled and fraying social fabric by barring those seeking entrance in accord with established procedures, why is the United States frowned upon for staking similar steps to preserve its own civic identity by barring those that did not grant this nation/state the most fundamental of courtesies of coming through the proper entrance in the manner that a sovereign people requests?
So why is it acceptable for Christians to admit to watching “The Greatest Showman” on home video but not in a movie theater? Doesn’t the purchase of a DVD still send proceeds into the coffers of producers? Don’t the costumes worn by lady circus performers usually show more flesh than women wearing pants? And why is it apparently acceptable for unmarried men and women to be grabbing all over each other on the flying trapeze but fundamentalist pulpit exegetes explicitly condemn ballroom dancing?
It was said in a sermon that it is not up to us to decide who is and is not a valid Christian. An insightful observation. Too bad it was contradicted by a significant portion of the homily that followed that proceeded to castigate and impugn those that garden on Sunday and not only women that wear pants but also have short hair.
ThinkProgress, the news portal for the Center For American Progress, is outraged that Pizzagate truther Jack Posobiec was issued press credentials to cover the Trump/Putin summit one behalf of One America News Network. For those that don’t recall, Pizzagate was the conspiracy theory that a Satanic peophile ring was masterminded from a DC pizzaria noted for its occultic decorative motif. However, it must be noted that the Center For American Progress was founded by John Podesta. Podesta is on the record of engaging in a serious email exchange with former astronaut Edgar Mitchell about the steps that would be required for the United States acquire zero point energy from a non-violent extraterrestrial intelligence from the “contiguous universe”. Sort of makes the Pizzagate allegations not seem so wild-eyes or off the wall after all, doesn’t it?
Nine times out of ten when a minister drones on about something not being in Heaven it is usually euphemism in his personal opinion as to why we should not be allowed to enjoy whatever it is here on Earth as well.
If Discovery Channel’ Shark Week now intends to emphasize celebrity shark encounters over solid documentaries, this may be one programming block that has itself jumped the proverbial shark.
If Disney rehires molestation aficionado James Gunn, shouldn’t the conglomerate also rehire Roseanne Barr? After all, much of what she was terminated for was speculations about George Soros that are probably true. Doesn’t the advocacy of child abuse deserve greater punishment than ethnic humor that fell flat?
By Frederick Meekins
Saturday, September 08, 2018
Friday, September 07, 2018
Thursday, September 06, 2018
Wednesday, September 05, 2018
Tuesday, September 04, 2018
Sunday, September 02, 2018
Saturday, September 01, 2018
Friday, August 31, 2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Why Not Lady Church Ushers?
In the 5/23/14 edition of the Sword of the Lord, editor Shelton Smith lists those undersung yet essential ministries in the church in an article titled “The Preacher's Best Friend”. The first enumerated on this list are ushers.
Of these functionaries, Smith writes, “The men meet the folks coming in.” Smith then proceeds to list a number of responsibilities assigned to this position such as the distribution of bulletins, the finding of seats and the collection of offerings.
The wording itself raises a particular question. Must those filling this position be men? Why can't these individuals be a women?
In many independent and Fundamentalist churches, the deacons carry out these tasks. If so, such a gender specific pronoun would be understandable.
Such churches hold to the simplest interpretation of the text that the diaconal office should only be held by men according to I Timothy 2:12. However, by his own admission, Shelton Smith does not necessarily view deacon and usher as being synonymous.
He writes, “Our soul winners, bus workers, teachers, deacons should not feel left out here.” One might respond that in using the term “men”, Brother Smith was being a linguistic traditionalist in that the term “men” can grammatically include both men and women.
The other two church support ministries mentioned in the article are sound technicians and nursery workers. However, in connection with these, neither is referenced with gender specificity.
For example, sound technicians are referred to as “they” (a term that can include both men and women). Nursery workers are praised as “These men and women are the saints who attend other people's babies during Sunday school and church time.”
In defense of male-only ushers, it could be argued that these servants of the church might be called upon to carry out tasks best fulfilled by men. Ushers are on the front line of the church interacting with the public.
As such, limiting the position to men only cuts down on the possibility for hanky-panky on the part of flirtatious visitors or even sexual predators coming into the church. So if we are to be so uptight about untoward interactions between female ushers and male visitors, shouldn't we be as concerned about improper attraction or spats between a male usher and a female visitor or some lawsuit gold-digger attempting to make a buck off harassment or abuse allegations?
If the threat of this kind of scandal or outrage is to be a foremost preoccupation, then why would Shelton Smith approve of men being allowed to serve in the nursery? For is not molestation a greater evil than a momentary passing tingle or thrill someone might experience from a passing glance or smile in public with someone other than one's spouse.
If anything, wouldn't these potentialities necessitate female ushers to interact with female visitors and male ushers to interact with male visitors. Others will respond that only men should be ushers because it is commanded that women are to remain silent in church according to I Corinthians 14:34..
Verbal communication is at the heart of the usher's ministry as they great people and direct them to where they need to go. If that is the case, should women be forbidden from choir membership and (perhaps even more importantly) musical solos? For along with the pastor's sermon and Scriptural readings, music plays a pivotal role in conveying the doctrine and teaching of the church.
An additional argument could be made that only men should be ushers since these officers and volunteers are usually responsible for the collection of the offering. I am aware of no Scripture that forbids women from handling finances and currency. From the list of virtues and enterprises elucidated in Proverbs 31, it would seem that women of godly character would excel in just such an arena.
It will no doubt be retorted that money is dirty. As such, only burly, gruff men should handle something as filthy. If that is the case, why does it usually fall to women to toil in the kitchen before, after, and during the church suppers?
Scripture does indeed teach that men and women are distinct creations that each exhibit the creative nature and purpose of God in an unique manner. However, when determining what exactly that entails, the exegete must be careful to distinguish what exactly is there in the text from what may be a sincere yet single interpretation among several within a spectrum of acceptability.
By Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
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