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While reading scripture with the family before bed I was blown away by something in Revelation tonight! Rev 12:17
The dragon, Satan, the devil, went to make war with the women and the rest of her offspring . Who are these people? What do they do? These are the ones that Satan, it says, he is “enraged!” And IS AT WAR WITH…. Her offspring. And how does God describe them? Rev12:17says….he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
This, at least expressed here, is who Satan see’s, as his enemy. I know lots of Christians with the testimony of Christ. My list is shorter of those who even think, his commandments apply today. Let alone can apply them as was common place 250-450yrs ago! No they didn’t get it all right. But they knew where to find the standard and it framed their thinking. Hundreds were burned at the stake for testifying that Gods word had precedent over the church and the King!
When I double taked on the verse, Kayla popped off…”to the Law and to the testimony!”
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
If you have not been wrestling with how to apply Gods Law to his creation around you…..you can sleep easy tonight, the war is with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Christ…..but I urge all….” to march to sound of the guns!”
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Orthodox III (foodfight)
Rob responds to me again...
And here you must have your history to know what has been understood to be orthodox.
Shall we exegete history first? Or shall we exegete Scripture first? Were the Bereans to study history to see if these things be true, or scripture? Shall I ask people to study the 1689 Confession of Faith … or maybe a biography about Luther, or maybe “Bondage of the Will” first… BEFORE they can understand Scripture… or start with Scripture? Hey… how about we tell people… “Here… read Rushdooney so that you will be able to understand Jesus.” “No, sir, just leave your Bible down for now… until Rushdooney gives you proper orientation on the Word… after all… the fear of Rushdooney is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge… **** Oooh… the crowd boos… that was below the belt… I have been given a warning… next time I will be docked a point!****
Watch out everyone… the spit is going to start flying J. Can you hear David’s war cry… oh to be a fly on the wall… wish I had the computer eye camara that the government probably watches us all with… David’s keyboard is hating me now! How long will I keep you awake tonight??? Beth… better get him some Lunesta J.
I respond to Rob.....
And here you must have your history to know what has been understood to be orthodox.
Shall we exegete history first? Or shall we exegete Scripture first? Were the Bereans to study history to see if these things be true, or scripture? Shall I ask people to study the 1689 Confession of Faith … or maybe a biography about Luther, or maybe “Bondage of the Will” first… BEFORE they can understand Scripture… or start with Scripture? Hey… how about we tell people… “Here… read Rushdooney so that you will be able to understand Jesus.” “No, sir, just leave your Bible down for now… until Rushdooney gives you proper orientation on the Word… after all… the fear of Rushdooney is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge… **** Oooh… the crowd boos… that was below the belt… I have been given a warning… next time I will be docked a point!****
Watch out everyone… the spit is going to start flying J. Can you hear David’s war cry… oh to be a fly on the wall… wish I had the computer eye camara that the government probably watches us all with… David’s keyboard is hating me now! How long will I keep you awake tonight??? Beth… better get him some Lunesta J.
I respond to Rob.....
Nathan, my two yr old son has developed a fondness for trains.
Last week Beth was building up the idea of potty training in front of Nathan. The girls and mom have prepped him for potty training. Now Nathan is all excited about “poddy traaaain!” he says it very loud, and he is excited too! But I have the feeling that when Nathan says Poddy traaaaain!.... what he thinks of, is like, a green train, or a red train and he is waiting to see this poddy train. Must be pretty special, everyone is excited about it too!
So Beth sits his Teddy bear on his potty seat and makes a hissing, ssssss, sssssss sound when it is sitting on his toilet, trying to make the connection in his head.
Tonight after dinner, I am working with him and we both are sitting on our toilet seats and he has a book on his lap and he looked up at me and said ssssssssss. A little later we are still sitting there with our books and he is looking at his book and said loudly, pointing…..cars! …..Train!.....even if he has seen the picture and said the word 50 times,(in one sitting!) he just has to do it again. So with his head down looking at his book I hear him say quietly ssssssss, sssssss, ……. And a second later loudly, pointing with his finger….plane!”
Now Nathan thinks, that this is what we want him to do. He has the correct words, and he is using them in the right room and sitting in the right place, but he is missing the real orthodox of what mom was communicating.
Rob…..I feel like you are in your room, sitting at your computer, going sssssssss, sssssssss,……..but missing the point.
Ok, more on this later, I have a different pot that just started boiling on me...
Orthodox II
Rob responds to me.... Not only do we not know our history… I don’t think we know our orthodoxy. I cannot encourage us all enough to “handle the Word, handle the Word, HANDLE THE WORD!” The ol’ illustration of teaching bankers to detect counterfeit money is illustrative J… excuse the pun. They teach them to handle good money so much, that when the counterfeit is introduced, they can detect it… “something just doesn’t feel right.” We will never run out of history to learn (and we should learn it). But the Word must be the primary source conditioning our minds to detect the counterfeits (Joshua 1.8).
I respond to rob....
You know I aggree with you about the Word....
As children of modernity it is hard to grasp, and we dont want to believe, that we bring convictions and presupposition's that control how we will see,and understand, the very Word of God. Until every thought, every presuppositions, every understanding, until we are like St Anselm with his confession of " I believe, that I may understand..." we are capable of altering the true meaning that God intended us to see in his Word. I can confess for myself right here,guilty and forgiven!
I use to say...But I am saved now.....
Since we are saved, let us press on to take hold of him who took hold of us, and heed the instructions given us , that we should no longer walk in the futility of our minds, that we must find out what is acceptable to the Lord, and to see that we are not taken captive to hollow human philosophies....(phil3:12,phil3:12, eph4:17,eph 5:10,) Is it pressuposition's, the world views, that we dont even know we have? That do not all automatically fall away after our salvation experience, or even after we start reading our bibles a lot? could these be part of the necessity of the warning given to...believers?
Exhibit A would be your spirtual father, who loved you like a son. But now, really would rather..... ? We know he reads and believes his Bible. But something keeps him from seeing what you see.
Something keeps him from seeing what was plainly seen as rivers of understanding that were embraced by Christians for over a thousand years. During the Reformation this same stream of thought exploded outward from the straight jacket that the Renaissance had tried to fit over it. Modern Science was some of the first fruit and our basic American governmemt an advanced example from it.
Freebie...I love this verse....We are supposed to ...test all things.... (those Bereans again!)...I thes5:21...but by what standard? Does this not mean we must judge? in some fashion? ( from the back row....judge not lest you be judged!) Why are we commanded to test all things? Is not this at odds with the normal Christian understanding of just...being led by the Spirit? Is that understanding biblical? Just asking.
great, now my keyboard has teeth marks all over it.
Rob you are dead on about.... I don’t think we know our orthodoxy. And here you must have your history to know what has been understood to be orthodox.
Repent and Reform, Repent and Reform....
I respond to rob....
You know I aggree with you about the Word....
As children of modernity it is hard to grasp, and we dont want to believe, that we bring convictions and presupposition's that control how we will see,and understand, the very Word of God. Until every thought, every presuppositions, every understanding, until we are like St Anselm with his confession of " I believe, that I may understand..." we are capable of altering the true meaning that God intended us to see in his Word. I can confess for myself right here,guilty and forgiven!
I use to say...But I am saved now.....
Since we are saved, let us press on to take hold of him who took hold of us, and heed the instructions given us , that we should no longer walk in the futility of our minds, that we must find out what is acceptable to the Lord, and to see that we are not taken captive to hollow human philosophies....(phil3:12,phil3:12, eph4:17,eph 5:10,) Is it pressuposition's, the world views, that we dont even know we have? That do not all automatically fall away after our salvation experience, or even after we start reading our bibles a lot? could these be part of the necessity of the warning given to...believers?
Exhibit A would be your spirtual father, who loved you like a son. But now, really would rather..... ? We know he reads and believes his Bible. But something keeps him from seeing what you see.
Something keeps him from seeing what was plainly seen as rivers of understanding that were embraced by Christians for over a thousand years. During the Reformation this same stream of thought exploded outward from the straight jacket that the Renaissance had tried to fit over it. Modern Science was some of the first fruit and our basic American governmemt an advanced example from it.
Freebie...I love this verse....We are supposed to ...test all things.... (those Bereans again!)...I thes5:21...but by what standard? Does this not mean we must judge? in some fashion? ( from the back row....judge not lest you be judged!) Why are we commanded to test all things? Is not this at odds with the normal Christian understanding of just...being led by the Spirit? Is that understanding biblical? Just asking.
great, now my keyboard has teeth marks all over it.
Rob you are dead on about.... I don’t think we know our orthodoxy. And here you must have your history to know what has been understood to be orthodox.
Repent and Reform, Repent and Reform....
Global Warming
It's time to pray for global warming, says Flint Journal columnist John Tomlinson
by John Foren
If you're wondering why North America is starting to resemble nuclear winter, then you missed the news.At December's U.N. Global Warming conference in Poznan, Poland, 650 of the world's top climatologists stood up and said man-made global warming is a media generated myth without basis. Said climatologist Dr. David Gee, Chairman of the International Geological Congress, "For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming?"
I asked myself, why would such obviously smart guy say such a ridiculous thing? But it turns out he's right.
The earth's temperature peaked in 1998. It's been falling ever since; it dropped dramatically in 2007 and got worse in 2008, when temperatures touched 1980 levels…..
…..What's more, measurements of Antarctic ice now show that its accumulation is up 5 percent since 1980.In other words, during what was supposed to be massive global warming, the biggest chunks of ice on earth grew larger. Just as an aside, do you remember when the hole in the ozone layer was going to melt Antarctica? But don't worry, we're safe now, that was the nineties.Dr. Kunihiko, Chancellor of Japan's Institute of Science and Technology said this: "CO2 emissions make absolutely no difference one way or the other
... every scientist knows this, but it doesn't pay to say so." Now why would a learned man say such a crazy thing?This is where the looney left gets lost.
Their mantra is atmospheric CO2 levels are escalating and this is unquestionably causing earth's temperature rise. But ask yourself -- if global temperatures are experiencing the biggest sustained drop in decades, while CO2 levels continue to rise -- how can it be true?
by John Foren
If you're wondering why North America is starting to resemble nuclear winter, then you missed the news.At December's U.N. Global Warming conference in Poznan, Poland, 650 of the world's top climatologists stood up and said man-made global warming is a media generated myth without basis. Said climatologist Dr. David Gee, Chairman of the International Geological Congress, "For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming?"
I asked myself, why would such obviously smart guy say such a ridiculous thing? But it turns out he's right.
The earth's temperature peaked in 1998. It's been falling ever since; it dropped dramatically in 2007 and got worse in 2008, when temperatures touched 1980 levels…..
…..What's more, measurements of Antarctic ice now show that its accumulation is up 5 percent since 1980.In other words, during what was supposed to be massive global warming, the biggest chunks of ice on earth grew larger. Just as an aside, do you remember when the hole in the ozone layer was going to melt Antarctica? But don't worry, we're safe now, that was the nineties.Dr. Kunihiko, Chancellor of Japan's Institute of Science and Technology said this: "CO2 emissions make absolutely no difference one way or the other
... every scientist knows this, but it doesn't pay to say so." Now why would a learned man say such a crazy thing?This is where the looney left gets lost.
Their mantra is atmospheric CO2 levels are escalating and this is unquestionably causing earth's temperature rise. But ask yourself -- if global temperatures are experiencing the biggest sustained drop in decades, while CO2 levels continue to rise -- how can it be true?
This is Helicopter Ben in Action
From this link you can see how the fed has expanded, blown up, given steroids,monster sized the money supply. There will be inflation when this money starts to make its way through the economy. Who will borrow it? Using what for collateral? Will anyone care, or just assume if the loan goes bad theFed will absorb it too? We are going in a wrong direction.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/usfd/page3.pdf
The increase seem unbelievable. Gary North calls this sheer panic.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/usfd/page3.pdf
The increase seem unbelievable. Gary North calls this sheer panic.
Pondering about the voters
Via Lew Rockwell......
Who ARE These People?
by Paul Hein
…It’s hard to understand, however, how the people could elect someone they didn’t know. But it happens. A number of years ago, someone from the Libertarian Party (to which I did not, and still do not belong) called me and asked if I would allow my name to be placed on the ballot for the state senate, on the Libertarian ticket. I was assured it was simply to have a presence on the ballot; I would not need to campaign, nor would I receive any funding to do so, if I wanted to. I agreed, and did not give a single speech, distribute a single flyer, or post a single yard sign. After the election, the Secretary of State sent me the official results, and I had gotten 11% of the vote! I was amazed.
Of course, one isn’t likely to be elected with 11% of the vote. But how well do the voters know the winners? Do they know them at all? The question arose in my mind during the inaugural ceremonies of Barack Obama….
…Phooey! The players may be on different teams, but they’re all in the same league. A real transfer of power is not simply a new name on the door. The plantation owner may sell the plantation, but the slaves are still enslaved.
If Ron Paul had been elected, THAT would have been a change of power, so, obviously, it could not be allowed. The last thing that the president makers desire is a change, although they encourage the people, election after election, to expect some sort of gratifying change that will solve all the problems of society.
And, judging by the crowd at Obama’s inauguration, they’ve been right….
Who ARE These People?
by Paul Hein
…It’s hard to understand, however, how the people could elect someone they didn’t know. But it happens. A number of years ago, someone from the Libertarian Party (to which I did not, and still do not belong) called me and asked if I would allow my name to be placed on the ballot for the state senate, on the Libertarian ticket. I was assured it was simply to have a presence on the ballot; I would not need to campaign, nor would I receive any funding to do so, if I wanted to. I agreed, and did not give a single speech, distribute a single flyer, or post a single yard sign. After the election, the Secretary of State sent me the official results, and I had gotten 11% of the vote! I was amazed.
Of course, one isn’t likely to be elected with 11% of the vote. But how well do the voters know the winners? Do they know them at all? The question arose in my mind during the inaugural ceremonies of Barack Obama….
…Phooey! The players may be on different teams, but they’re all in the same league. A real transfer of power is not simply a new name on the door. The plantation owner may sell the plantation, but the slaves are still enslaved.
If Ron Paul had been elected, THAT would have been a change of power, so, obviously, it could not be allowed. The last thing that the president makers desire is a change, although they encourage the people, election after election, to expect some sort of gratifying change that will solve all the problems of society.
And, judging by the crowd at Obama’s inauguration, they’ve been right….
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy: right, true, soundness of faith, belief in the genuine doctrines taught in the faith.
We are surrounded today by people using the words of orthodoxy. But the actions with which they engage, in the name orthodoxy, are totally foreign to what was orthodox.
This is true for the Church and for what was has been our Nation's past.
This morning I was listening to Otto Scott in the third talk of his Christianity in 3 centuries series, that he gave to the "Basilians", somewhere back east in 1995. (Its downloadable from word.com but its two bucks per talk) It overlaps with the same sounding titles that are free at Sermon Audio) On the third talk he works with the 1800's to early1900's. He made the point that because America never had a central church, we never had a unified National Faith. So it was harder to identify heresy as it grew in the 19th century . His point being that when the Unitarian faith sprung up, most believers didn’t realize that it was a departure from the Christian faith at a core level. It spoke a language of orthodoxy.
Because we have for the most part, no teaching of the early creeds, ( that the early church brothers died over!) because doctrine is seen as divisive, because everyone knows that being a Christian is all about a relationship with Jesus, we are very vulnerable to error. Books like “the shack” become Christian best sellers.
Kevin Swanson in one of his talks from the conference here, made mention of the Gay and Lesbian church up the road form them in Colorado. That their statement of faith was orthodox!
Otto Scott has mentioned in other talks that, if you deviate from a orthodox position but don’t come out and say exactly what you are doing, you can go further. This was done to judges, law, government, family, christianity and to the schools in spades!
I would add that if you deliberately use the words of orthodoxy, while changing the orthodox applications you can go even farther!
When our new president today kept making references to historical America and how the greatness that was, can still be reached again. It was not acknowledged, that it has never been the government, that created, or was a source of the greatness. The historical connection’s to God, was missing. So the words of orthodoxy were used and they resonate with us emotionally like Mom and apple pie! But we are not supposed to ever reach the kitchen and see that "Hey...that’s not Mom!"
We have been bait and switched for some time now. No longer is it the engine of a free economy, but rather government spending that will bring back prosperity. Yes I know the economy has not really been free for very a long time and that is a root of today’s trouble.
We don’t know our history, what God has done in the Church, and then in a nation made up of those Church members. This distinction is huge. ( silent H)
We officially are sitting in Psalms 118 territory….Where unlike the author, much of the Nation doesn’t do this...... Psa 118:8,9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
A lot of confidence was placed in a prince today, in a man.
We are surrounded today by people using the words of orthodoxy. But the actions with which they engage, in the name orthodoxy, are totally foreign to what was orthodox.
This is true for the Church and for what was has been our Nation's past.
This morning I was listening to Otto Scott in the third talk of his Christianity in 3 centuries series, that he gave to the "Basilians", somewhere back east in 1995. (Its downloadable from word.com but its two bucks per talk) It overlaps with the same sounding titles that are free at Sermon Audio) On the third talk he works with the 1800's to early1900's. He made the point that because America never had a central church, we never had a unified National Faith. So it was harder to identify heresy as it grew in the 19th century . His point being that when the Unitarian faith sprung up, most believers didn’t realize that it was a departure from the Christian faith at a core level. It spoke a language of orthodoxy.
Because we have for the most part, no teaching of the early creeds, ( that the early church brothers died over!) because doctrine is seen as divisive, because everyone knows that being a Christian is all about a relationship with Jesus, we are very vulnerable to error. Books like “the shack” become Christian best sellers.
Kevin Swanson in one of his talks from the conference here, made mention of the Gay and Lesbian church up the road form them in Colorado. That their statement of faith was orthodox!
Otto Scott has mentioned in other talks that, if you deviate from a orthodox position but don’t come out and say exactly what you are doing, you can go further. This was done to judges, law, government, family, christianity and to the schools in spades!
I would add that if you deliberately use the words of orthodoxy, while changing the orthodox applications you can go even farther!
When our new president today kept making references to historical America and how the greatness that was, can still be reached again. It was not acknowledged, that it has never been the government, that created, or was a source of the greatness. The historical connection’s to God, was missing. So the words of orthodoxy were used and they resonate with us emotionally like Mom and apple pie! But we are not supposed to ever reach the kitchen and see that "Hey...that’s not Mom!"
We have been bait and switched for some time now. No longer is it the engine of a free economy, but rather government spending that will bring back prosperity. Yes I know the economy has not really been free for very a long time and that is a root of today’s trouble.
We don’t know our history, what God has done in the Church, and then in a nation made up of those Church members. This distinction is huge. ( silent H)
We officially are sitting in Psalms 118 territory….Where unlike the author, much of the Nation doesn’t do this...... Psa 118:8,9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
A lot of confidence was placed in a prince today, in a man.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Trying to see straight...
Doug Wilson wrote this out at his Blog and Mablog. He talks of making categorical mistakes which I think is still a struggle of mine all over the place. The Churches I grew up in tended to flatten everything out as he would say. (too much focus on inward piety and misunderstanding of our relationship to the world around us?) It touches nicely with the biblical self defense theme that we must understand correctly. Also his distinction with the attitude for our journey as compared to what we expect when we arrive, is desperately needed today. Take the link and read the whole thing, good stuff. A lot of his material has helped me to see how heavy the tint is on my glasses. I finish an article like this and I must ask the Lord, "what else is kitty whompus?"
How Pacifism Protects War Doug Wilson
…..At the heart of the full biblical ethic is this fundamental attitude:
"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:20-21).
But there is an easy mistake to make here, and it is the result of switching terms halfway through the discussion. "Do not return evil for evil" is not a nonviolent ethic, but rather a righteous ethic. If violence and evil were synonyms, then to return violence for evil would be disobedience. But some violence is righteous, as when God does it, or when men deputized by Him use it. And if nonviolence were synonymous with righteousness, then perhaps we could reason our way to the position that violence is excluded by the command not to return evil for evil. But it isn't -- there are many situations in which a refusal to use violence would be unrighteous.
The peaceful nature of the destination does not determine the ethic for the journey. The law of God determines the ethic for the journey. Until we get there, we are to do as we are told. We are not to do as we think we will be doing when we get there. There will be no sex as we know it in the resurrection -- that does not make sexual love in marriage now "anti-Trinitarian." The destination is one thing, and the journey another. The old spiritual puts it well, "Gonna lay down my sword and shield, down by the riverside." The fact that every believing heart longs for the day when we will lay down sword and shield is actually grounds for holding more tightly to both of them now.
But of course, there is a clinging to the weapons of war that is idolatrous and unbelieving. So what else is new? Unbelief does that with all sorts of things. Sex, wine, comfort, food, or guns -- the idolatrous use of a created thing does not outlaw the obedient use of that same thing.
If an intruder came into my home, and I fought him off, it would be beside the point to say something like, "You know, the Bible says not to return evil for evil." I would reply, "That's right. That's why I didn't return evil for evil.
With regard to the intruder, I returned unrighteous violence with righteous violence. Had I done nothing, that would have been evil. I would have been returning all the good my wife has done for me with the evil of cowardice. Returning evil for evil would have been bad. But I am sure you would agree that returning evil for good would have been worse."……
How Pacifism Protects War Doug Wilson
…..At the heart of the full biblical ethic is this fundamental attitude:
"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:20-21).
But there is an easy mistake to make here, and it is the result of switching terms halfway through the discussion. "Do not return evil for evil" is not a nonviolent ethic, but rather a righteous ethic. If violence and evil were synonyms, then to return violence for evil would be disobedience. But some violence is righteous, as when God does it, or when men deputized by Him use it. And if nonviolence were synonymous with righteousness, then perhaps we could reason our way to the position that violence is excluded by the command not to return evil for evil. But it isn't -- there are many situations in which a refusal to use violence would be unrighteous.
The peaceful nature of the destination does not determine the ethic for the journey. The law of God determines the ethic for the journey. Until we get there, we are to do as we are told. We are not to do as we think we will be doing when we get there. There will be no sex as we know it in the resurrection -- that does not make sexual love in marriage now "anti-Trinitarian." The destination is one thing, and the journey another. The old spiritual puts it well, "Gonna lay down my sword and shield, down by the riverside." The fact that every believing heart longs for the day when we will lay down sword and shield is actually grounds for holding more tightly to both of them now.
But of course, there is a clinging to the weapons of war that is idolatrous and unbelieving. So what else is new? Unbelief does that with all sorts of things. Sex, wine, comfort, food, or guns -- the idolatrous use of a created thing does not outlaw the obedient use of that same thing.
If an intruder came into my home, and I fought him off, it would be beside the point to say something like, "You know, the Bible says not to return evil for evil." I would reply, "That's right. That's why I didn't return evil for evil.
With regard to the intruder, I returned unrighteous violence with righteous violence. Had I done nothing, that would have been evil. I would have been returning all the good my wife has done for me with the evil of cowardice. Returning evil for evil would have been bad. But I am sure you would agree that returning evil for good would have been worse."……
The government is now running the show.
This is from the members side of Gary North. His $10 a month to read his stuff is the best bargain on the planet. Things are going to continue to deteriorate and he is offering suggestions on what to do in light of what is happening. This from todays comments, he thinks the truth is starting to sink in to some of the media...It is from the members side
From Gary North Friday www.garynorth.com/
Stage Three: The Idiots
....Lewis' article is really about Eisman and his two partners. These three Jewish guys -- two who grew up in New York City -- spotted the emptiness of the entire system, and they got very, very rich shorting it.
They did not just short the S&P 500, as I advised my readers. They figured out how the mortgage market had been sliced and diced. They shorted subprime loans. Even better, they shorted the bonds issued against the collateral of the subprime loans.
Eisman had contempt for the supposed geniuses, who did not understand the contracts their lawyers created and they signed.
In 1991, Eisman had been hired by Oppenheimer. He was a lawyer, but he hated being a lawyer. His story is a classic in entrepreneurship. He was there at the right time.
He was hired as a junior equity analyst, a helpmate who didn't actually offer his opinions. That changed in December 1991, less than a year into his new job, when a subprime mortgage lender called Ames Financial went public and no one at Oppenheimer particularly cared to express an opinion about it. One of Oppenheimer's investment bankers stomped around the research department looking for anyone who knew anything about the mortgage business. Recalls Eisman: "I'm a junior analyst and just trying to figure out which end is up, but I told him that as a lawyer I'd worked on a deal for the Money Store." He was promptly appointed the lead analyst for Ames Financial. "What I didn't tell him was that my job had been to proofread the documents and that I hadn't understood a word of the [!@#$%] things."
Oppenheimer handed the task of analyzing the Money Store and its mortgages. That was how he became the guru of subprime mortgages.
He and his two partners were convinced of one thing: that Wall Street was not interested in clients. The clients were the victims.
Danny Moses was one of the three. He knew the system. When he would negotiate a deal for the hedge fund with a large Wall Street trading firm, he always asked this question: "How are you going to [@!#$%^] me?" The trader insisted that this would not happen. No deal, said Moses. We both know what can happen. If you want the deal, tell me how you're going to be able to do it. The guy would tell him, and Moses would do the deal. He knew how much risk to accept.
You and I don't. The retirement fund managers didn't.
The three figured out in 2004 that there were major problems looming for the housing market, especially in the "sand" states: California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. The median home price had risen from the traditional 3 to 1 to 10 to 1 in Los Angeles.
Eisman realized in 2006 that the credit ratings agencies were ignoring this mess. The brokerage houses and investment banks would take low-rated BBB mortgages, slice and dice them, and the ratings agencies would rate the top end AAA. Now get this.
He called Standard & Poor's and asked what would happen to default rates if real estate prices fell. The man at S&P couldn't say; its model for home prices had no ability to accept a negative number. "They were just assuming home prices would keep going up," Eisman says.
These were the best and the brightest. These were the masters of the universe.
These were idiots.
The team went to Orlando in late 2006 to attend a trade show on subprime mortgages. They had expected a small, specialized group. There were 6,000 people there, Eisman says. It turned out that the show in Las Vegas was larger....
....We are witnessing the nationalization of what remains of American financial capitalism. The government is the owner now. The government promised the voters that nothing bad would happen. This guaranteed that something very bad would happen. Now it has happened.
On January 15, on the day of the announcement by Bank of America, a CNBC commentator admitted that this was a tipping point for him, after 22 years. The government is now running the show. It's not the free market any more. He asked two of the other commentators --one of them was the cute lady with the bags under her eyes, who was in the elementary school 22 years ago -- whether it might have been better to let the bad firms go belly- up, so that the good ones could rebuild. You have to see it to believe it. See it.
http://www.garynorth.com/public/4487.cfm
If they are beginning to figure it out on CNBC -- though in a moment of weakness -- then word will get out. The Federal Reserve System and the Treasury are running the show....
From Gary North Friday www.garynorth.com/
Stage Three: The Idiots
....Lewis' article is really about Eisman and his two partners. These three Jewish guys -- two who grew up in New York City -- spotted the emptiness of the entire system, and they got very, very rich shorting it.
They did not just short the S&P 500, as I advised my readers. They figured out how the mortgage market had been sliced and diced. They shorted subprime loans. Even better, they shorted the bonds issued against the collateral of the subprime loans.
Eisman had contempt for the supposed geniuses, who did not understand the contracts their lawyers created and they signed.
In 1991, Eisman had been hired by Oppenheimer. He was a lawyer, but he hated being a lawyer. His story is a classic in entrepreneurship. He was there at the right time.
He was hired as a junior equity analyst, a helpmate who didn't actually offer his opinions. That changed in December 1991, less than a year into his new job, when a subprime mortgage lender called Ames Financial went public and no one at Oppenheimer particularly cared to express an opinion about it. One of Oppenheimer's investment bankers stomped around the research department looking for anyone who knew anything about the mortgage business. Recalls Eisman: "I'm a junior analyst and just trying to figure out which end is up, but I told him that as a lawyer I'd worked on a deal for the Money Store." He was promptly appointed the lead analyst for Ames Financial. "What I didn't tell him was that my job had been to proofread the documents and that I hadn't understood a word of the [!@#$%] things."
Oppenheimer handed the task of analyzing the Money Store and its mortgages. That was how he became the guru of subprime mortgages.
He and his two partners were convinced of one thing: that Wall Street was not interested in clients. The clients were the victims.
Danny Moses was one of the three. He knew the system. When he would negotiate a deal for the hedge fund with a large Wall Street trading firm, he always asked this question: "How are you going to [@!#$%^] me?" The trader insisted that this would not happen. No deal, said Moses. We both know what can happen. If you want the deal, tell me how you're going to be able to do it. The guy would tell him, and Moses would do the deal. He knew how much risk to accept.
You and I don't. The retirement fund managers didn't.
The three figured out in 2004 that there were major problems looming for the housing market, especially in the "sand" states: California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. The median home price had risen from the traditional 3 to 1 to 10 to 1 in Los Angeles.
Eisman realized in 2006 that the credit ratings agencies were ignoring this mess. The brokerage houses and investment banks would take low-rated BBB mortgages, slice and dice them, and the ratings agencies would rate the top end AAA. Now get this.
He called Standard & Poor's and asked what would happen to default rates if real estate prices fell. The man at S&P couldn't say; its model for home prices had no ability to accept a negative number. "They were just assuming home prices would keep going up," Eisman says.
These were the best and the brightest. These were the masters of the universe.
These were idiots.
The team went to Orlando in late 2006 to attend a trade show on subprime mortgages. They had expected a small, specialized group. There were 6,000 people there, Eisman says. It turned out that the show in Las Vegas was larger....
....We are witnessing the nationalization of what remains of American financial capitalism. The government is the owner now. The government promised the voters that nothing bad would happen. This guaranteed that something very bad would happen. Now it has happened.
On January 15, on the day of the announcement by Bank of America, a CNBC commentator admitted that this was a tipping point for him, after 22 years. The government is now running the show. It's not the free market any more. He asked two of the other commentators --one of them was the cute lady with the bags under her eyes, who was in the elementary school 22 years ago -- whether it might have been better to let the bad firms go belly- up, so that the good ones could rebuild. You have to see it to believe it. See it.
http://www.garynorth.com/public/4487.cfm
If they are beginning to figure it out on CNBC -- though in a moment of weakness -- then word will get out. The Federal Reserve System and the Treasury are running the show....
Pagans and Christians
Otto Scott referenced a work by Robin Lane Fox called "Pagans and Christians" 780 pgs with foot notes, covers from the second to the fourth century. I don’t think he is saved, there is no hint of it in the intro or cover jacket and he is just matter of fact passing on what he has read as the contrast between Pagans and Christians. Tons of footnotes. (My help meet found me used copy for $6 bucks, whoo hooo! ) As a non- Christian he does understand that it isn’t Pagan (secular) and Christian but rather notes he is looking at two different religions. Pg19 He is ahead of many Christians.
Writing of Cyprian, who in the mid 240AD, walked away from his old life as he had become a "born again Christian." pg16 As a bishop he wrote letters to influence Christians from Spain, Southern Gaul, Rome and to the east. At home in Carthage "his advice was required on practical matters, the dress and conduct of virgins, the commemoration of martyrs, the diluting of wine at Holy Communion. He debated matters of great moment with fellow bishops in Church councils whose deliberations were believed to be guided by a "holy Spirit"..... They had the Holy Spirit but they had debates .....
Pagans did not have biographies written of them after their deaths Fox said, but the one written after Cyprian’s execution..."ignored the fierce arguments of Cyprians career" ( fierce arguments from a man of God?) and gave special prominence about his death and its approach. The crowd watching his execution had climbed trees even to see..." almost the last thing Cyprian saw was a little pile of clothes"…"thrown by the crowd to catch the martyrs blood and become a relic for the faithful" Fox points out that no Pagan notable ever saw such a site. pg17 (a pile of cloths to catch their blood)
When I first heard Pastor Morecraft, prior to a “History of the World” CD (two yrs ago?), mention the name, Otto Scott, as having authored the best and most interesting to read book about the Reformation. I had no idea what an understatement it was. I read two of his books and having listened to almost all of his recorded talks on Sermon Audio (some of them many times) and then scrounged around to find articles that he wrote that correspond to his talks ( harder to get), I think he should be recognized as one of the very best historians of Christian history. But the gate keepers of modern mainstream Christian thought and publishing will have none of this. They are too used to a Christianity that is seen and not heard in polite company.
This last Christmas I stressed for my family some of the incredible fruit that came with Christ’s entry into our physical world. The reason for celebrating his birth! By next Christmas I should be needing a roller brush to give an even a bigger, but still only partial, picture of what Christ has done. Christmas has never been so glorious! If you think that the salvation of men, is the end all, then you are man centric. We have been trained well, to think this way.
We wind up leaving vast areas of the work of Christ and his glory left lying on the ground. The humanists never tire in claiming that any advance of man is due to mans great reason, and humanity towards one another. We are called to be HIS witness. So we had better see what HE has done.
Along the way I discarded (resold) what was claimed as an excellent History of Christianity. A big book. I made it up through and into the Reformation period with it, when I was just starting to dig into Scotts work, and so large were some things that Scott was pointing out, that were not even noticed in the other book, that I gave it up. The vision was too small, they didn’t see how any dots were connected, how ideas have legs, and lead to other ideas, and as important, to actions. The authors view of life mirrored modernity and imposed that view onto history. History and life were compartmentalized.
Francis Shaeffers in his "How should we then live" series, saw the big picture, but couldn’t see any solid tangible answers. Beth and I also watched two other historical series on the Church that were ok, but had no real details.
So I look on, and am also reading "How Christianity Changed the World" by Alvin J Schmidt. A Lutheran pastor. This has been good to show what Christianity brought forth in the West. On page 68 in passing, he made the statement that speaking of the Christians "...Given their adherence to the Old Testament scriptures..." stuck out at me. This was speaking of a time period between 81-96AD. He doesn’t foot note it, but I am guessing it is something he saw over and over. That would be keeping with Paul’s instructions!
I know nothing of this period. One thing I was wondering? Did the early church have the view that the modern Church has embraced? In which, as we are now saved, it means, we have an internal compass that the Holy Spirit turns on, and now we can discern how we should then live, by listening to the spirit? Is that what they thought? Is that how they lived? This idea just bugs me as there is not much from our lives to say that this is so, but it does have biblical truth to it. But the way in which most Christians apply it, it winds up colliding with, rather than harmonizing with, other scripture. It as an accepted paradigm, it’s just part of the lay of the land and it will need dynamite (Holy Spirit and Gods Word) to dislodge it. If someone asks me to flesh out what I mean in those three sentence’s I bet its good for two pages.
The second Christian talked of by Fox was Hilarion,( died 380AD) he was of the hermit variety. He exorcised "a friend of his grandfathers and turned the mans family to Christianity." pg18 Jewish and Pagan (Pagan!) exorcists had failed. (Someone figured out that about 20% of Jesus ministry dealt with the demonic realm. What happened to all the demons? Don’t pull your hair out, I am just wondering.)
People came to him for healing and even brought animals. It is said a prominent Christian "asked Hilarion to bless his horses, as his archrival in the city, a pagan magistrate" used a pagan sorcerer to help him. The Christian won the competition. The Author might be correct in his skepticism about the sincerity of the additional numbers that then flocked to the Christian position afterwards."The decisive victory in those games and many others later, caused very many people to turn to the faith"
They tried to kill Hilarion too, but he died an old man.
Writing of Cyprian, who in the mid 240AD, walked away from his old life as he had become a "born again Christian." pg16 As a bishop he wrote letters to influence Christians from Spain, Southern Gaul, Rome and to the east. At home in Carthage "his advice was required on practical matters, the dress and conduct of virgins, the commemoration of martyrs, the diluting of wine at Holy Communion. He debated matters of great moment with fellow bishops in Church councils whose deliberations were believed to be guided by a "holy Spirit"..... They had the Holy Spirit but they had debates .....
Pagans did not have biographies written of them after their deaths Fox said, but the one written after Cyprian’s execution..."ignored the fierce arguments of Cyprians career" ( fierce arguments from a man of God?) and gave special prominence about his death and its approach. The crowd watching his execution had climbed trees even to see..." almost the last thing Cyprian saw was a little pile of clothes"…"thrown by the crowd to catch the martyrs blood and become a relic for the faithful" Fox points out that no Pagan notable ever saw such a site. pg17 (a pile of cloths to catch their blood)
When I first heard Pastor Morecraft, prior to a “History of the World” CD (two yrs ago?), mention the name, Otto Scott, as having authored the best and most interesting to read book about the Reformation. I had no idea what an understatement it was. I read two of his books and having listened to almost all of his recorded talks on Sermon Audio (some of them many times) and then scrounged around to find articles that he wrote that correspond to his talks ( harder to get), I think he should be recognized as one of the very best historians of Christian history. But the gate keepers of modern mainstream Christian thought and publishing will have none of this. They are too used to a Christianity that is seen and not heard in polite company.
This last Christmas I stressed for my family some of the incredible fruit that came with Christ’s entry into our physical world. The reason for celebrating his birth! By next Christmas I should be needing a roller brush to give an even a bigger, but still only partial, picture of what Christ has done. Christmas has never been so glorious! If you think that the salvation of men, is the end all, then you are man centric. We have been trained well, to think this way.
We wind up leaving vast areas of the work of Christ and his glory left lying on the ground. The humanists never tire in claiming that any advance of man is due to mans great reason, and humanity towards one another. We are called to be HIS witness. So we had better see what HE has done.
Along the way I discarded (resold) what was claimed as an excellent History of Christianity. A big book. I made it up through and into the Reformation period with it, when I was just starting to dig into Scotts work, and so large were some things that Scott was pointing out, that were not even noticed in the other book, that I gave it up. The vision was too small, they didn’t see how any dots were connected, how ideas have legs, and lead to other ideas, and as important, to actions. The authors view of life mirrored modernity and imposed that view onto history. History and life were compartmentalized.
Francis Shaeffers in his "How should we then live" series, saw the big picture, but couldn’t see any solid tangible answers. Beth and I also watched two other historical series on the Church that were ok, but had no real details.
So I look on, and am also reading "How Christianity Changed the World" by Alvin J Schmidt. A Lutheran pastor. This has been good to show what Christianity brought forth in the West. On page 68 in passing, he made the statement that speaking of the Christians "...Given their adherence to the Old Testament scriptures..." stuck out at me. This was speaking of a time period between 81-96AD. He doesn’t foot note it, but I am guessing it is something he saw over and over. That would be keeping with Paul’s instructions!
I know nothing of this period. One thing I was wondering? Did the early church have the view that the modern Church has embraced? In which, as we are now saved, it means, we have an internal compass that the Holy Spirit turns on, and now we can discern how we should then live, by listening to the spirit? Is that what they thought? Is that how they lived? This idea just bugs me as there is not much from our lives to say that this is so, but it does have biblical truth to it. But the way in which most Christians apply it, it winds up colliding with, rather than harmonizing with, other scripture. It as an accepted paradigm, it’s just part of the lay of the land and it will need dynamite (Holy Spirit and Gods Word) to dislodge it. If someone asks me to flesh out what I mean in those three sentence’s I bet its good for two pages.
The second Christian talked of by Fox was Hilarion,( died 380AD) he was of the hermit variety. He exorcised "a friend of his grandfathers and turned the mans family to Christianity." pg18 Jewish and Pagan (Pagan!) exorcists had failed. (Someone figured out that about 20% of Jesus ministry dealt with the demonic realm. What happened to all the demons? Don’t pull your hair out, I am just wondering.)
People came to him for healing and even brought animals. It is said a prominent Christian "asked Hilarion to bless his horses, as his archrival in the city, a pagan magistrate" used a pagan sorcerer to help him. The Christian won the competition. The Author might be correct in his skepticism about the sincerity of the additional numbers that then flocked to the Christian position afterwards."The decisive victory in those games and many others later, caused very many people to turn to the faith"
They tried to kill Hilarion too, but he died an old man.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
An aspect of what is happening to the economy
Take steps to minimize the affects of inflation on your life and family...
...Totally apart from deflation, falling prices are also a consequence of increases in the production and supply of goods, which are an essential feature of economic progress and a rising standard of living. In such circumstances, falling prices are not accompanied by any plunge in business sales revenues or profits, by any increase in the difficulty of repaying debt, or by any surge in bankruptcies. All of these phenomena are the result purely and simply of deflation, not falling prices....
...The government today has unlimited powers of money creation. And so it is highly likely, given its evident willingness to use those powers, and the overwhelming public support that exists for using them, that the increase in the supply of money it brings about will ultimately outweigh the present increase in the public's demand for money for holding....
....If the government delays too long in reining in its inflation, then when it finally does decide to do so, it may be confronted not only with prices rising as rapidly as they did in Latin America decades ago, but also with the massive unemployment rates that accompanied the efforts to rein in such major inflation. At that time, prices rising at a rate of 20, 30, or 50 percent or more were accompanied by comparably high unemployment rates....
....Falling home prices are not in fact responsible for bank failures, any more than falling prices of aging automobiles are responsible for bank failures. The fact that homeowners may owe more on their homes than their homes are worth has no more fundamental connection with defaults on mortgage loans than the fact that many or most automobiles purchased with installment loans are worth less than the outstanding loan balances owed on them. Indeed, the mere act of driving a new car off the dealer's lot is often sufficient to put its resale value below the value of the outstanding loan balance on the car.
What leads to defaults, whether on home loans or on automobile loans, is the inability or unwillingness of borrowers to honor their financial obligations, not the market value of the homes or cars.
Only decades of inflation and credit expansion could make it possible for people to think of the houses they occupy as an investment. In reality, a house is a consumers' good, just like an automobile or a refrigerator....
Economic Denial continues....
Here is the Problem with the bail outs. It does nothing to make a company profitible. All the banks and finacial houses have no way to make the profits that they used to. The paper shuffling game is over. So many outfits are dead men walking. In the bubble economy of fiat money we borrowed and loaned and spent, and now it cannot be paid back. So to hide the losses the people are forced to borrow and give to the Zombie companys via the Fed or the treasury.
Its prolonging what needs to happen.
J.P. Morgan profit falls more than 75%
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan Chase said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 77.6% amid continuing write-downs and a deteriorating consumer environment.
A $1.1 billion benefit from merger-related items helped the firm post a $702 million, or 7 cents a share, fourth-quarter profit, compared to a profit of $3 billion, or 86 cents a share, in the year-ago period....
Bank of America to get billions more in U.S. funds
Cash to help bank digest Merrill acquisition, report says, while shares hit 17-year low
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America shares lost more than a quarter of their value Thursday and traded at 17-year lows after a report that the government is dipping into its $700 billion bailout war chest to help the firm digest its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that the Treasury Department decided to use money from its Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to help Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America because it feared the deal's failure could affect the stability of U.S. financial markets, the report said......
Its prolonging what needs to happen.
J.P. Morgan profit falls more than 75%
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan Chase said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 77.6% amid continuing write-downs and a deteriorating consumer environment.
A $1.1 billion benefit from merger-related items helped the firm post a $702 million, or 7 cents a share, fourth-quarter profit, compared to a profit of $3 billion, or 86 cents a share, in the year-ago period....
Bank of America to get billions more in U.S. funds
Cash to help bank digest Merrill acquisition, report says, while shares hit 17-year low
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America shares lost more than a quarter of their value Thursday and traded at 17-year lows after a report that the government is dipping into its $700 billion bailout war chest to help the firm digest its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that the Treasury Department decided to use money from its Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to help Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America because it feared the deal's failure could affect the stability of U.S. financial markets, the report said......
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Some Economic Notes
Has everyone noticed....companies everywhere are cutting back but governments just see a need to tax more, to make up the difference! This will be a huge factor in keeping this economy from getting back on its feet.
I thought we had stabilized the banks! Even this mainstream news source is noting that its not adding up.
Bernanke Urges ‘Strong Measures’ to Stabilize Banks (Update7)
By Craig Torres
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned that a fiscal stimulus won’t be enough to spur an economic recovery and that the government may need to buy or guarantee banks’ tainted assets to revive growth.
“Fiscal actions are unlikely to promote a lasting recovery unless they are accompanied by strong measures to further stabilize and strengthen the financial system,” Bernanke said in a speech today at the London School of Economics. “More capital injections and guarantees may become necessary to ensure stability and the normalization of credit markets.”
Bernanke’s remarks indicate he may be seeking to influence deliberations among lawmakers and President-elect Barack Obama’s economic aides on how to deploy the next $350 billion of the financial-rescue fund approved in October. While some Democrats have focused on offering aid to troubled homeowners, the Fed chief’s comments show he’s more concerned about a continued choking off of credit to companies and households.
Bernanke “is waking up to the reality that it is worse than he thought,” said Janet Tavakoli, president and founder of Tavakoli Structured Finance in Chicago. “We don’t have any investment banks that are doing just fine. The whole situation is very tenuous.”...
As trouble breaks out no one has the money anymore to plug the dam with. Even Saudi Arabia will have a deficit this year. So who will buy our debt to allow Obama Nation to continue the spending spree?
Capitalism Freezes in Worldwide Winter of Discontent (Update2)
By James G. Neuger
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- As capitalism staggers through its first globalized economic crisis, the costs won’t be measured only in dollars and cents.
From newly rich Russia to eternally impoverished sub- Saharan Africa, social strains are threatening the established political order, putting some countries’ very survival at risk.
In the past month, Nigerian rebels threatened renewed warfare against foreign oil producers, Russia sent riot police from Moscow to quell an anti-tax protest in Siberia and China’s communist leadership warned of social agitation as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre looms.
The disillusionment and spillover effects of the global recession “are not only likely to spark existing conflicts in the world and fuel terrorism, but also jeopardize global security in general,” says Louis Michel, 61, the European Union’s development aid commissioner in Brussels....
I thought we had stabilized the banks! Even this mainstream news source is noting that its not adding up.
Bernanke Urges ‘Strong Measures’ to Stabilize Banks (Update7)
By Craig Torres
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned that a fiscal stimulus won’t be enough to spur an economic recovery and that the government may need to buy or guarantee banks’ tainted assets to revive growth.
“Fiscal actions are unlikely to promote a lasting recovery unless they are accompanied by strong measures to further stabilize and strengthen the financial system,” Bernanke said in a speech today at the London School of Economics. “More capital injections and guarantees may become necessary to ensure stability and the normalization of credit markets.”
Bernanke’s remarks indicate he may be seeking to influence deliberations among lawmakers and President-elect Barack Obama’s economic aides on how to deploy the next $350 billion of the financial-rescue fund approved in October. While some Democrats have focused on offering aid to troubled homeowners, the Fed chief’s comments show he’s more concerned about a continued choking off of credit to companies and households.
Bernanke “is waking up to the reality that it is worse than he thought,” said Janet Tavakoli, president and founder of Tavakoli Structured Finance in Chicago. “We don’t have any investment banks that are doing just fine. The whole situation is very tenuous.”...
As trouble breaks out no one has the money anymore to plug the dam with. Even Saudi Arabia will have a deficit this year. So who will buy our debt to allow Obama Nation to continue the spending spree?
Capitalism Freezes in Worldwide Winter of Discontent (Update2)
By James G. Neuger
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- As capitalism staggers through its first globalized economic crisis, the costs won’t be measured only in dollars and cents.
From newly rich Russia to eternally impoverished sub- Saharan Africa, social strains are threatening the established political order, putting some countries’ very survival at risk.
In the past month, Nigerian rebels threatened renewed warfare against foreign oil producers, Russia sent riot police from Moscow to quell an anti-tax protest in Siberia and China’s communist leadership warned of social agitation as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre looms.
The disillusionment and spillover effects of the global recession “are not only likely to spark existing conflicts in the world and fuel terrorism, but also jeopardize global security in general,” says Louis Michel, 61, the European Union’s development aid commissioner in Brussels....
Looking at Gods Law some more... no I dont get tired of it
wondering.....3 points while thinking about Gods Law
1) If Gods Law could only pertain to Israel, and were only meant for a redeemed people……. Why was God upset with Ninevah? Why did he send Jonah ? Did Jonah when he went through their town, point out they were violating their own laws or Gods. When God held back judgement was it because they repented unto their own man made laws….. or to His Law?
We can also see Sodom and Gormora . How about those people of Cannan whose ways were so wicked that He wanted them and their culture wiped out.
God when judges Nations has he ever shown us that he based that judgment on whether they were keeping their own relativistic Laws, or that they were transgressing the Truth of His eternal Laws that reflect the Truth of his eternal character.
I dont think whether a people group can keep his law, or not, has any bearing on it. He is God. Its his world. Dealers choice.
_________________________________
2) Psa 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
If we say…. the Law is not binding on us ….are we not saying that truth doesn’t bind us? How do we use this phrase and not mean it?
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life
Psa 119:104-106 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
______________________________________________________
3) If you have three Christians, (assume they are using their bibles) in front of you, and all are very sure that what they are saying is the truth, but all answers are very different…how can you know who is correct? Is the problem with the Bible or with the Christian’s, who have Jesus in their heart?
In today’s Relativistic Church all would be allowed to follow their heart. To actually try and discern from the Word who is correct would be declared divisive. Does God care? What sayeth the scritpures?
Psa 119:44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
Gods instruction to us was to use the Law, precepts, statutes, commandments judgments……..
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
This passage is reafirmed in the NT by Paul commenting on what the Bereans did.
This is what all the Church councils were about.
Psa 119:1-6 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
If we set aside his commandments,laws, precepts, statutes and judgments in the OT. Just what is left for the Bereans or us to use for correction and reproof?
1) If Gods Law could only pertain to Israel, and were only meant for a redeemed people……. Why was God upset with Ninevah? Why did he send Jonah ? Did Jonah when he went through their town, point out they were violating their own laws or Gods. When God held back judgement was it because they repented unto their own man made laws….. or to His Law?
We can also see Sodom and Gormora . How about those people of Cannan whose ways were so wicked that He wanted them and their culture wiped out.
God when judges Nations has he ever shown us that he based that judgment on whether they were keeping their own relativistic Laws, or that they were transgressing the Truth of His eternal Laws that reflect the Truth of his eternal character.
I dont think whether a people group can keep his law, or not, has any bearing on it. He is God. Its his world. Dealers choice.
_________________________________
2) Psa 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
If we say…. the Law is not binding on us ….are we not saying that truth doesn’t bind us? How do we use this phrase and not mean it?
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life
Psa 119:104-106 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
______________________________________________________
3) If you have three Christians, (assume they are using their bibles) in front of you, and all are very sure that what they are saying is the truth, but all answers are very different…how can you know who is correct? Is the problem with the Bible or with the Christian’s, who have Jesus in their heart?
In today’s Relativistic Church all would be allowed to follow their heart. To actually try and discern from the Word who is correct would be declared divisive. Does God care? What sayeth the scritpures?
Psa 119:44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
Gods instruction to us was to use the Law, precepts, statutes, commandments judgments……..
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
This passage is reafirmed in the NT by Paul commenting on what the Bereans did.
This is what all the Church councils were about.
Psa 119:1-6 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
If we set aside his commandments,laws, precepts, statutes and judgments in the OT. Just what is left for the Bereans or us to use for correction and reproof?
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