Samuel Offs Agag

And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
1 Samuel 15:33

In this passage, we see Samuel has come a long way from the days when his mother made him a little garment for her yearly visits. Where is the rebuke for this action? There is none. Samuel acted before the Lord and as a minister of God in cutting up Agag.

Many would say that this is the "God of the Old Testament", a real meanie. Aren't we glad that God does not act this way any more?

As we proudly put medals on the shirts of men who send out drones to blow up innocent people in far away lands. Got another wedding party that might have included a "terrorist". Brave men, not at all like murderous Samuel.

The cognitive dissonance of those who say they live by the Sermon on the Mount, and shrink from the very idea of killing (unless someone else does it), shows how sick and confused we are. Praise to you, Samuel! You got the right man and wielded the sword yourself.

You really needed to know Agag, maybe by reading about him. But there is a way to "justify" God's sentence, and the man who carried it out. We'll just say that Agag was a terrorist!

The Security of the Unbeliever

Yes, I meant unbeliever. Not all of them, of course, but God's chosen, born as all people are, in sin and unbelief. I can speak personally of being guided and protected by God's hand while yet denying Him.

The wonderful story of Joseph is such a story on the grandest of scales. Not that Joseph was an unbeliever, but that he was protected while yet a youth. As Joseph was preserved, even through a plot on his life, so we are kept. I speak of the elect who are kept from the evils and perils of the world, from the devil himself.

In the story of Joseph, had he not been put into a pit, and later into prison, he could not have been lifted up to serve in the world's mightiest nation. His story is a guide to all of us. Have patience through our own versions of pits and prisons. Someday we will be lifted up.

But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50:20

Unspeakable Words

How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 2 Corinthians 12:4

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. Revelation 10:4

A young lady I know prayed that God would reveal to her the utterings of the seven thunders in Revelation. She promised not to tell anyone about them. She was not told, but I can appreciate her desire to know. With all the things that are revealed in this wonderful book, there are things, revealed to John, that we are not yet to know.

I am surprised that we are told of the seven thunders at all. But we can be certain that there are even greater things in store than those which have been revealed. The timing of the coming of the Kingdom (Mark 13:32) was not known even by Jesus during his earthly life. So much for those who set dates today. They claim to know more than Jesus did.

Santa Stole My Toys!

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded , you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. Matthew 23:15, NIV

Let's say some parents saved up to send their boy to college. Or a church took some of its wealth to send off a young man. Nothing unusual in this unless he is going to seminary.

I actually overheard an exchange from inside a church office about such a transaction.

"We're sending young so and so to seminary."

"Oh, which one?"

"I believe it is Gordon Conwell."

"Well at least it's not totally liberal."

By totally liberal I think they meant that this theological cemetery did not refer to God as "Her".

Amazing what you can hear while using a copier!

So why the reference to Santa? I am borrowing Mr. Claus for an illustration only. Imagine a family putting up a tree and sending their young one to bed with the expectation that he will soon get lots of toys. When the poor kid wakes up, he finds that Santa not only did not bring toys, but he stole the ones the child had.

This is what happens when some so-called outfits get through with a young preacher to be. What he once believed is taken from him and false ideas are implanted. Why, you hardly know the young man when he returns. Now he is prepared to make clones of himself by passing on lessons he learned in "How to lose your faith 101".

Think I'm exaggerating? Those inside the church know that places that once fitted men to take up the ministry, have become the number one place to lose your hope.

The church is the world's quietest battlefield. Example, Harvard. It was founded as a seminary, but soon became non or even anti-Christian. Yale was supposed to be its replacement, but followed the same course. Christian publications tell the story.

My drunken artist friend Vance said it well. "Take any religion as set forth by its founder, and you'll find it has been turned upside down."

Am I angry? I'm too sweet and loveable to get angry, but sometimes I make other people feel that way.

Unnatural Selection

Not that selection, but the process of evolving theology. It's very simple, really, and has been going on since Eden. Anyone can do it. In fact, almost everybody does do it.

First you choose a doctrine. Then as you study, or more likely, just run into things, like sermons and opinions, you collect the things that agree with your doctrine and throw out the ones that do not. Soon you will have a custom tailored, form-fitting theology of your very own. Then you can square your shoulders, look the world in the eye, and proudly declare, "I agree with everything I believe in."

This tried and true technique avoids the trauma of ever being wrong. Your ego remains intact. In fact it gets bigger and bigger with the passage of time.

"But what if I don't have a starting theology to build on?" you may say. Not to worry! You are born with a set of beliefs that are just fine. Plus, the Father of Lies will give you a set if you are still unsure. It worked with Adam and Eve. It worked with their son Cain too.

So you see, we all have a kind of "sourdough starter" theology to build on. We can give some of it to neighbors and friends, and soon they'll have plenty of it too. And this is just the beginning! You may have a desire to associate with those with similar theologies. These associations are called "denominations". They can be as varied as you want. So-called "sexual orientation" is no bar, and atheists can have theirs, too.

Building upon inborn and Satan-acquired prejudices works. Humanity and its history have proven that. You will find comfort and ease in this course of action. You will fit in. And, perhaps best of all you will not have to think, and nobody wants to do that.

Are there any who do not follow this natural process? Only a few. Poor, isolated souls they are too. Some follow and study the Bible alone, as if that was important! They claim that they commune with Christ, and that He has even promised to sup with them. Some believe that online evidence proves that their numbers are growing. Pay no attention to them. May their immortal souls "rot in hell", whatever that means.

Man's Almighty Free Will

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13

Almighty? Surely I exaggerate. But according to many--even most--Christians, God must await man's Almighty Free Will before He can save anyone. God, they maintain, wishes to redeem all mankind. The lack of missionaries prevents this in many cases. So God fails to fulfill His wish, mainly as result of just plain lack of funds. But as grievous as this is, even where the Word goes forth, God bows to man's free will thing.

Such a titanic struggle is proposed. God tries to save everyone, but despite His great desire, many turn Him down. So, reluctantly, God must cast them into an eternal flaming pit to suffer for eternity.

The Lake of Fire, which comes later, does not exactly fit this scheme--like, first the torment, then the trial. Hell then is merely a holding pen. Later, the tormented souls suffer even more in the fiery lake. All this because they did not exercise their (unfallen) free wills!

In this theater of the absurd, God is merely a spectator, helpless, while people make their decisions. Amazing what paganism can do to a Bible-based religion. Even more amazing is what the Bible can do to such paganism!

The Cause As Killer

One of the sorrows of being such an old cat is to have seen so many lives destroyed. Not all the casualties of this war on people are fatal, but some are. It is not really war I am speaking of, but murder--murder of people and their emotions. For unlike war, murder has no winners.

So who is this murderer I speak of? Not some violent attacker who could be fended off or evaded, it is the Cause. As a child during WW2 the Cause, was of course, the war effort. Everything was subservient to it. Lives were destroyed by it, even those of people who were noncombatants. Of course this was unavoidable, you might say. We must fight the banker induced wars. Debts must be settled and profits must be made.

So allow me to scale it down, way down to single households. We may eliminate international conflicts for the moment.

Causes come in all sizes. Many of the victims I speak of are children. Not shot or bombed, but assigned to second place as a sacrifice to the Cause. I think of so many causes as I reflect on this.

I have seen three children and a wife sacrificed to music. I knew them very well. I worked with the father and dined with the family many an evening. Upon returning home, do you think the father hugged his sons or swept his daughter up in his arms? His wife had the evening meal ready, which was quickly gobbled so he could stride to his hi-fi (as they were called then) and begin his evening of listening to music. For a friend of his, eight hours of music listening per day was not unusual.

In my childhood, Methodist church meetings were the dominant theme. The name "Methodist" was derived from such ordered busy work that could occupy all of one's non-work time. Only the Masons with Golden Dawn and DeMolay for women and children can approach the Methodists for their mania of meetings.

I could mention some more of the multiple Causes--sports, computer games (average age of players is 37), politics and of course, "religion". So what am I bitching about? I have seen the Causes destroy lives with their great message--you as a son, daughter, wife or husband are unimportant, secondary at best to the Greater Good.

My text for today's rant is, of all things, the movie Mary Poppins! This entertaining film has a chimney sweep straighten out a disfunctional family. He shows that Women's Lib, and a banking career, are destroying them. The children most of all.

I know of many such cases. I lived in one. For all who would "squeeze the last drop out of life", let me say that, rather, you are squeezing the last drop of life out of those you should put first. Israel had their Moloch. We have our Causes.