Americas' Forgotten Questions: Introduction

America is a country infatuated by the media, especially by the news media. (To avoid confusion media is hereafter used in reference to the news media) If you have any doubt of this you have only to listen to a normal conversation. Chances are great that at some point you will hear the phrases, "I saw on the news...", or, "I read in the paper..." You have very likely said these yourself in the past few days. With the importance the news plays in our lives, there are two questions the media, and more importantly, the American people, have forgotten to ask. We do very well asking who, what, where, and how. Who is running for president? What does he intend to do? How does he stand on such and such an issue? Where is he coming from? The media asks these questions well, and usually get answers. The problem lies in the fact that they, and us, leave out two vital questions:
Why?
and
Is it True?
Can you imagine a world in which these two questions were incorporated into our list of scrutinies?
Why does he believe that? Why should or should not that become law? Why should "In God we trust" be removed from our currency?
The second question is almost beyond comprehension:
Senator so and so say he is not on drugs. Is it true? Drilling in Alaska for oil will destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile habitat. Is it true? Abortion does not have any negative effects on the mother. Is it true?
Do you begin to see what I am working at? How many times do we take at face value what ever the media spits out at us? Even if what they report is the gospel truth 99% (and it is not) of the time we still need to examine it to catch the other 1%. In a perfect world the media would report the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them God. But the world we live in is in fact far from perfect. For this reason we must examine what we read, see, or hear, and test everything to see if it is the truth.

Freedom...or Freedom's?

The question has long stood: what is Freedom? Is is the ability to do whatever you wish? Is it to know that you need never fear a tyrant, knowing you can worship as you please?

In fact there are two separate and distinct types of freedom.

Freedom From, and Freedom To.

Freedom From is the one freedom everyone wants, but nobody thinks about until they haven't got it. Freedom From grants people the freedom from terror, knowing they are safe to go to bed at night. The knowledge that they can safely walk the streets and send their children to school.
The Third, Forth, and Eighth Amendments give us an example of a Freedom From. The third gives us freedom from forced quartering of soldiers, the forth freedom from unreasonable searches or seizures, the eighth freedom from cruel or unusual punishment.

Freedom To is perhaps the most misunderstood and misused freedom. Too many people think this gives them the right to do whatever they want. They are right...almost. For example, the first amendment gives us the right to say whatever we want. Does that mean we should always say what we are thinking? If one is old enough to drink alcoholic beverages, does that mean one can go out and get roaring drunk? Yes, but that does not mean that it is the wisest choice for one to make. Freedom To gives freedom; However, it also gives heavy responsibility. We are given the freedom to make our decisions, how we exercise those rights can make an incredible impact on ourselves, as well as those around us. The ultimate example took place in the Garden of Eden:
God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to (notice the Freedom To) make their own choice concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He told them what would happen if they ate of it. God told them not to, but because He had given them a free will the choice was ultimately theirs to make. If they did not, they had freedom from (notice the Freedom From) death, illness, and sin. If they did they would die.

They chose the Tree.

This is why it is so important to show discernment in our choices. Not only because of the way it can effect us and those around us, (because of Adam and Eve we all face sin and death) but because sometimes if we misuse our Freedom To, we lose our Freedom From, and that is a sobering thought.

Joy

Have you ever experienced joy? Not the delight you feel when you receive an unexpected gift. Nor even the pleasure you get from reading a favorite book or watching a favorite movie. But real honest to goodness joy, the kind that is mixed with longing and even a tinge of sadness. Where it seems that the moment will and should go on forever, but melts away just before you fully grasp it. It leaves you wanting more, but in a strangely good kind of way. It gives you a hint of something wonderful, something more, some thing wholly satisfying. We are given a chance to see what lies ahead, but only for a moment before the curtain falls again, leaving us in the dark.
Joy, on this earth at least, will never bring complete satisfaction. Joy on earth is a glimpse of heaven, a chance to feel, if only for a moment, what it is like to stand in the presence of the Almighty God. While Joy leaves us with a sense of sadness, it also leaves us hope. The hope of our salvation, and the hope to one day see our Savior face to face. Come quickly Lord Jesus!

The Insensate Mind

I attended a book club last night and we were reading C.S. Lewis' book ,"The Screwtape Letters." In the book Screwtape, an older demon giving guidance to a younger demon, says that the worst thing that can happen to a human, and the easiest way to lead them to hell, is to get them to do things the find no pleasure in just so they do not have to think about God.

As we were reading that passage it gave me a vision of that kind of life, if an existence can be called such. The result is the following poem.

The Insensate Mind

Staring into the cold hearth

Long bereft of flames

The chill of the room

Unnoticed, unfelt

Thoughts, a perdurable loop

An infinite repetition of naught

Devoid of joy

Pleasure long since lost

Pain is meaningless

Nevermore felt

Apathies gelid fingers

Have quelled all emotion

Endless twilight of the mind

Stoic countenance

Light is a phantasmic vexation

Darkness espoused without pleasure

Unhasty,unnoticed

Time unmeasured

Carries the mind to nullity

The spirit to utter vacuum

What is life to such a soul

Unseeing, unfeeling, unhearing

Devoid of joy, bereft of love

Without even bitterness

Without even despair

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

I Am Old Glory

I stand at the head
of a band of brothers
courageous and honorable
I lead them down the street
marching in my shadow
bystanders wave and cheer
as I pass by
But not one stands
not one salutes
An old man in a wheelchair
tired and worn
his eyes light up when he sees me
he struggles to stand
he reaches his feet and totters
for a moment
Then as I pass by
his hand comes up
he salutes me
I snap straight in the breeze
and salute in return
he smiles
and falls back in his chair
I know him
he is an old friend
he carried me
on a battlefield long ago
tattered and worn
he rescued me
from the jaws of the enemy
he fought for my cause
had I asked
he would have gladly given his life
Who am I?
I am a symbol
of a great cause
a idea most precious
dearer than life
I am the first into battle
last to retreat
but never for long
what I represent
one cannot defeat
What cause do I stand for?
What symbolize I?
That jewel among jewels,
Freedom.

I Am a Pervert (?!).

Why is it that whenever a young man is not interested in meeting "hot chicks" or doesn't watch porn movies, the is instantly labeled as a pervert or a homosexual? Has our culture really slipped that far? Come on, when does because I am not looking to get laid or haven't watched the latest porn flick mean that I am a pervert!!!? Did you catch that? Let me rephrase that, I am a pervert because I don't watch porn, because I don't "get laid" with some girl. Give me a break!
"Okay, so you're not a pervert. Well you must be gay then. No, it's all right man, it's like, whatever is cool with you, I mean, it's your life man, you can do what you want!"
"God, what is happening to our country?"
I seem to remember something in the Bible about man calling good, evil and evil, good, or maybe it was wisdom and foolishness. Never thought I would experience it first hand. Maybe they are just trying to justify the sin they are committing.
Let us pray that our country will turn back to God and stop this foolish, backward way of thinking.

Lets have some fun!

Alright, I know it is all too often true that most blog sites are full to the brim with rants. I do not want mine to turn out that way. So every so often I will write a blog about something good that is happening, or perhaps a funny story, or even just some interesting facts or jokes.
So when you are feeling down and headachy with all the bad news you hear, just remember that it could be worse; the ancient Egyptions slept with pillows made of stone! Are you afraid of dying in a plane crash? Well, you are more likely to be killed by a donkey! Be glad you are not a snail, you would be breathing through your feet!