Wandering.

 

 Wordsmithing.

            Writing this blog has been quite a journey. I enjoy wordsmithing. The majority of my writings only shares to a few friends on social media. There are others outside of social media that have wandered in and follow along. Most are anonymous. If you are one of those that has been with my blog from the beginning--go you! Thanks for reading. Time is precious.

Treasure hunt.

            Throughout this piece I’ll provide links to previous posts. 

            I’m not proficient at Social Media. I do add to the litter. This piece will definitely be another that is full of word grenades. If you find value or enjoy what I’ve written please share it. Share it from the blog NOT Facebook. You can share from my blog back to Facebook. That works. (Read/scroll to the bottom of the blog post and from there click on the Facebook share button. Easy-peasy. You can also copy the URL of the blog post to paste elsewhere.)

            One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So I talk about aliens too because the truth out there. Gort is it you? I even waxed poetic.

 Ranging.

            The first post of the 159 listed at my blog was about religion. (Later I made a generic version of the first one for a wider application. This was during the time of Robertson’s heyday back in 2014. Since then I’ve written and posted a couple of hundred thousand words. They would make a 385 page book. (How do I know this? I put them all together in a single Word document and that’s how many pages it is!)

            I’ve written on a wide range of topics. The majority are political probably followed in number by the pandemic then religion. Under Trump politics, the pandemic and religion have become inseparable.

Hard on

            I am hard on Evangelicals and their Party. They have become one and the same. The Spawn of Satan has thrown in with their Chosen One antichrist. See, that’s probably a little harsh. So’s killing 300,000 people.

Happy days for Evangelicals. 

            Okay, the virus isn’t his fault, just how he didn’t handle it. Trump is only responsible for tens of thousands of needless deaths and his intentional killing. Evangelicals have helped him kill as best they can. They do occasionally take a break from spreading the pandemic to oppose abortion. Now that they’ve got Barrett in the bag they can get back to making women murders and punishing them.

Some of them are very fine people.

            I wonder if the Liar will try grabbing him some of that Barrett? He can do that you know. That may have been how he got all of his wives and women. It’s possible that a few in the Evangelical Party will realize that now that they have Jerusalem and Barrett they don’t really need the Liar any more.

            Do understand that I love me some Jesus. There are some excellent pastors out there. A LOT of them. Others, not so much. Jesus was a liberal, activist and socialist before the terms were invented. That Jesus was also biased is just icing for the cake that he would bake for gay couples. What’s not to like? So I covered Jesus and socialism. Easy to do.

            I do ponder some more serious issues regarding Jesus including his personal habits. So it isn’t all frivolity.

Marauding caravans.

            Immigration is covered as well. This was in the time before Trump. Those were halcyon times indeed. The time before the chaos and lying that has been the Trump Administration.

            To talk about immigration is to talk about Nazis since the Ducé is having brown people rounded up and put in camps. To talk about Nazis is to talk about the racists that comprise a huge portion of Trump’s and Republicans’ political base.

If he loses

            If Trump loses I’ll keep writing. It just won’t be as easy in the world of politics. Each day brings a bounty of new material from the Liar. I know that there’s a point spread but the undecideds are breaking for the killer of men, women and children. The same guy that turned his back on the Kurds. The undecided broke for him in 2016 as well. He’ll still be around tweeting, whining and complaining as always. The papers just write on autopilot.

            Seriously though, if you don’t like the way Washington works then work to change it. We’ll vote for Biden here in Missouri. He’ll lose Missouri but our votes will be counted with the rest of the nation’s votes. He may lose in the Electoral College but Biden will win the popular vote unless Trump’s supporters, the Russians, vote too often. (He would NOT say that he wouldn’t accept their help again.)

That’s a wrap.

            I think I’ll finish with a little humor though. 

 Stay safe.

Hang in there.

We’ll get through this!

Peace be with you.

If that last line upset you—Peace be with you, bless your heart.

How many people did the Church kill today?

“They will know we are Christians by our love.” Jesus-inspired lyrics. Wonderful sentiment. If only.

And here we are.
        Before I get into this very far I want to stress up front that there are churches trying their best to do the right thing during this pandemic when it comes to keeping their congregants and community safe. Unfortunately those actions don’t grab the headlines like the churches that are hell bent on bringing harm to others in the name of worshiping Jesus.

First, do no harm! Too easy.
        Wear a mask. Protect other people.
        Something as simple as wearing a mask during a pandemic to protect fellow human beings was and remains beyond too many “Christians”. Wearing a mask to protect others is asking too much of some supposed followers of Jesus Christ, a man that led by example. A man that told his followers to spread the good news and to love one’s neighbors.
        I guess that I missed the part in the bible where Jesus said go forth and spread disease. It must have been in the same section where he said to gather in his name to endanger and kill one another. Followed by the ever popular “and make sure that the little children suffer too”.

It was a commandment not a suggestion.
        Love your neighbor. How complicated is that?
        Wearing a mask, if nothing else, is an act of demonstrating Christian love. But somehow it’s tearing communities and churches apart. They aren’t capable of caring enough for their own church members to wear masks and keep their physical distance let alone members of the community.

Typhoid Khristians.
        Since the very beginning of the current pandemic churches and church groups have been “hot spots” for spreading the plague to the rest of the community. Too many Christians have fought heroically to maintain this status. Let’s call them Khristians with a ‘K’ instead of a “C” in order to differentiate them from followers of Christ.
        Khristians are followers of the Liar. They are working for the Dark Angel. They are of the far-right Evangelical Party. Like the Liar they are perpetual victims. They are the Constitutional Khristians of the Amerika that they would recreate in their image. Their rights to endanger and kill in the name of Jesus come first.
        They are the death squads. They are directly responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. They work diligently to increase the body count every day—especially on Sunday.
        Like the Liar they accept no responsibility. Like the Liar they are victims. The Liar’s truth is their truth. It is the Liar’s vision that they spread. “We are Amerika!” is their guiding psalm.

The hoax that keeps on killing.

Ω How many people did the church kill, endanger or infect today in the name of Jesus?

Ω How many people in the community did the church spread the plague to today?

Ω How much damage to our Republic did the church do today in support of the Liar?

Ω How much economic damage did the church do today?

Ω What falsehoods did the church support and spread today in the name of Jesus?

        The above are not questions that should have to be asked at any time let alone on a Sunday morning yet here we are. Whether we like it or not these questions and worse are being asked by believers and non-believers alike.

Criminally negligent homicide.
        An ultra-conservative Christian group operates not far from where we live. Kanakuk Kamps has been in operation for decades. I copied the below statement from their web page.

“At Kanakuk, we live I’m Third—God First. Others Second. I’m Third. This foundational principle is integrated into each of our Kamp’s programming, equipping Kampers to be Christ-like examples who lead with responsibility and care.”

        They have been in the news because initially 40 of their “Kampers” and counselors tested positive for COVID-19. The number grew to over 80. In the end, the number of Stone County confirmed cases only went up one since all the rest were not from this area. They took the virus to their homes and communities across 10 states.
        In light of the above would you think that they stopped holding kamps at the outbreak? If you did you thought wrong.

“Others second” my ass.
        Holding a church camp for kids the middle of a pandemic should be considered criminal. (BTW their other camps are ongoing.) The kids and counselors interacted with others in the community. There is no way of knowing what the final toll or impact will be.

Leadership.
        How are pastors handling the mask question? How are they handling providing safe services for their followers? (I’m talking about the ones that aren’t openly flaunting their disdain for protecting others.) Are they going along to get along?
        Some aren’t. They are encouraging doing all the right things. Some are only having online services and holding meetings and studies using technology like Zoom. They’re using phone calls and emails and are wearing masks when necessary.

Others? Not so much.
        I’ve spent some time surfing religious sites and taking in some online services during pandemic time just to see what’s up. Pretty sad really. Some of the services that I watched are in areas where COVID-19 cases are increasing dramatically.
        If you think that I saw a lot of masks and people keeping a physical distance you’d be wrong. If you thought there wouldn’t be any singing you’d also be wrong.
        Why singing? What’s wrong with singing? Well, singing really projects the virus out there. It goes farther than 6 feet. It aerosolizes and hangs in the air longer and gets spread by the ventilation and movement in the air. It’s the churches’ way of really going the distance to spread the virus.

Ripples in the water.
        And get the virus out there they do. Time and time again we can read in local and national news where the virus was spread out into the community from churches. Pastors have died. Their congregants have died. People in the community have died. People also got sick and recovered. Some will have ongoing medical issues for the rest of their now shortened lives.
        One church leader, no name provided, wrote 1588 words about wearing masks. Whoever they were they were pretty worked up about it. Cited all sorts of scripture. Talked about congregants fighting with each other and how un-Christian it all was.
        Never took an actual position. 1588 words and couldn’t say something as easy and simple as “Wear a mask: it’s the Christian thing to do.”

Fear.
        Regardless of what happens we’re going to end up with fewer churches and fewer followers of the real Jesus as this pandemic runs its course. There will be pastors who, whether directly or indirectly, lead their congregations to dissolution. Some smaller congregations will simply lose too many people to COVID-19 to continue financially.
        There are already Christians leaving churches over the mask issue. Their fellow Christians won’t even wear a mask for bible study. Such a small imposition yet it’s dividing churches.
        Like it or not, if a pastor takes a position either way on masks and physical distancing there will be supposed believers alienated. People have already switched churches in order to go to a church that doesn’t treat the pandemic seriously and vice versa. Some just leave.

        WWJD?

Jesus had the courage of his convictions.
        Unlike too many pastors of today Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak out and take a position to save lives. Now Jesus could bob and weave with the best of them when it came to politics but ultimately he took a position there as well, and died for it. Without getting into all of the theology, with that act he put everyone else first. That’s in keeping with the trinity. He put others before his own wellbeing.
        When alive he cured the sick, injured and lame. He didn’t kill people. He didn’t endanger people. He cured lepers. He didn’t spread leprosy. He wasn’t afraid of losing his church.
        Simply put, Jesus would have worn a mask. His followers would have worn masks as well. Jesus would have worn a mask even if it meant a personal sacrifice to his wellbeing. He carried a cross for us. Wearing a mask would have been easy.

Being thankful [RELIGIOUS]

        ^ I was up early this morning. As I headed down the hall towards the front of the house I noticed that the outside light that’s hooked up to a motion detector was on. I went to the front door and flicked on a section of porch lights as I looked out the window.

        ^ We have a LOT of porch lights since our porch goes around the entire house. Seriously, small planes could land in the field to the north of us we throw out so much light. There wasn’t anything on the porch, down the steps or in front of the house. Miss Winnie, a neighbor’s Beagle, will sometimes sit on the front porch steps until I come out and give her a treat. That would have been way early for Miss Winnie though. She doesn’t usually show up until the afternoon or at dusk. Her people don’t want me giving her too many treats since she has a bit of a weight problem.

        ^ There wasn’t anything there. The wind was blowing hard enough to be moving our wind chime and shade curtains that I was supposed to take down at the end of summer so much that the motion detector was responding. It was a cold wind too.

        ^ I was keeping a low profile so as not to disturb Kyra and Gadget.

        ^ If it’s technically morning and they’re up then they want to be fed and their feed time was still a couple of hours off. If we feed them early then that becomes their new feed time and they reset their little internal clocks. If I don’t feed them then I spend the next couple of hours avoiding eye contact with them as they try and use their doggie mind powers on me to guilt me into going ahead and feeding them since they haven’t eaten in days.

        ^ So I just sat down in my leather easy chair, got out the lapboard that I made for Dad when we were taking care of him and got my laptop from the table to do a little important work. After logging onto Facebook I read in a post where some friends lost a beloved pet. Immediately sad. Made me think of losing Old Fella and of course that made me tear up. Hey, I know combat veterans that cry when they lose a beloved pet like that. Shelley and I had just been talking about Old Fella last night before bed.

        ^ What I also noticed was that they gave thanks for the mercy extended by a stranger, knowing that their girl wasn’t suffering and that they didn’t have to always wonder what happened to her. Good times with their friend were also mentioned.

        ^ The train of life thought reminded me of when my dad passed away at a young age. I said then that we could be sorry at every future holiday that he would miss or be thankful for the holidays and time that we did have with him. We could remember his laugh. We could do what we’re supposed to do and keep on going the best we can.

        ^ We’re believers so we give thanks several times a day in our prayers. But you don’t have to be a believer to give thanks. And when I say believer I mean believer of any faith.

        ^ I usually start my prayer off with “heavenly Father”. It’s a habit of assigning gender to God from my Southern Baptist days. (I’m still in recovery.) Creator or Creator God works just as well. It’s immaterial to me if you use heavenly Mother. I’m starting to wander again. Anyway, a typical prayer for me goes:

        ^ “Heavenly Father, thank you for the many blessings that you have given us. Thank you for this day. Forgive us/my/our sins. Guide us and watch over us as we continue on our journey. Help us make the right decisions. (Shelley will often say “illuminate our path”. I really like that.) Thank you for this food before us. Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. Let us be ever mindful of the needs of others. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

        ^ When I’m praying for myself I will usually ask to be a better husband, friend, father, to make the right decisions in life, to listen better, to act better, to be more understanding and tolerant. When I pray for the President, any President, I pray for the same things that I pray for myself.

        ^ There are all sorts of variations and things that we add in our prayers. We will often give thanks for friends and family, specific events or people as well as ask for something for a particular person or group in need.

        ^ I believe that the important thing it to look every day for things to be positive about and thankful for even if it’s just having a roof over your head, food to eat or water to drink. I remember being taught to be thankful even when we were poor and living in three rooms. I remember being thankful that my older brother passed quickly and without suffering too much. Being thankful just isn’t about the material things that surround us. Being thankful should start with the basics of life and working from there.

        ^ You don’t have to be religious to be thankful during the day. Set aside times to think about where you are and where you need to go to get to place where you can be thankful if you aren’t. If you’re with beloveds then be thankful with them. Take the time to tell someone that you’re thankful that they’re in your life.

        ^ Since I am a believer I am thankful for the love I’ve known and for the life I’ve lived that brought me to this good place. I’m thankful for Shelley, friends and family. I’m thankful for a God whose son taught us that Love is what is most important.