An Ancient Confrontation - A New Perspective

It was perhaps the greatest confrontation in history. An epic battle between good and evil. In one corner was a rough loner-used to living in the wild. In business terms he was a mere sheepherder, but that is only part of the story. As a baby he was adopted into the royal family and raised in the high courts of nobility. During those days he was on track for a stellar career. Perhaps even a contender for the throne. But he had shirked his responsibliities, committed murder and was a felon. That this man had the audacity to even return to these courts was enough to show he was a bit touched in the head and possibly insane. We know his name to be Moses.

In the other corner sits the refined establishment in it's glory. All of Egypt's religious and political power was embodied in a man considered to be a god - Pharaoh. Within the boundaries of his court was the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the world. They were versed in astronomy, astrology, mathematics, engineering, history, logistics art and language. These men were descended from those who built the pyramids. The Egyptian civilization reached back beyond recorded history. Their culture was the finest and most advanced in the world and concerning knowledge and wisdom - unassailable.

We all know what happens next. The series of events that unfolded there brought about the destruction of one nation and birthed another. Within a short time the fledgling nation of Israel would be camped before Mount Sinai and this same rough sheepherder would receive the greatest law ever given to mankind. The Ten Commandments.

The question I would like to consider today is this. Was the outcome of this contest inevitable? Was it decided before it even happened? Was Pharaoh already set on a course of destruction and he actually had no choice in the matter. To do this we must also enjoin the third player in this drama. God Himself.

From the very beginning God tells Moses that his mission was going to be difficult. Exodus 4:21 says "... I will harden his (Pharaoh's) heart so that he will not let the people go..." In the past I have had some problems with that statement. I had interpreted it to mean that in some way God forced Pharaoh to take the course of action he did. The implication is that Pharaoh might have repented and done the right thing had not God interfered in his heart and mind. To me this is a serious charge and it took me quite a while to figure it out. What actually happened? God gave the Egyptian ruler an 'out'.

I will explain what an 'out' is. Let's say you are getting ready to go to the gym. You're not into it today and part of you wants to skip the workout. Right before you walk out the door your phone rings. What to do? You can ignore the call and let it go to voice mail, or answer it and risk that the call is important enough to keep you from the gym. You take the call. It turns out to be nothing and lasts less than a minute. You wind up not going to the gym. You took the 'out'. That little interlude was enough to 'convince' you to skip out of your workout.

The scriptures record that Pharaoh took every 'out' possible. When his magicians were able to perform by trickery the miraculous signs done through Moses, he used this as an excuse not to believe. Further, he didn't listen to his own staff when they reached the end of their tricks and told him 'this was the hand of God.' Later, he would apparently relent, but as soon as the various plagues ended his mind changed back shortly thereafter. When he finally gave permission for the Jews to go he set conditions to assert his authority.

Pharaoh was hard hearted and obstinate yet at all times he had a choice. Every time he went the wrong way. He would rather have taken any 'out', no matter how slim the rationalization, than accept the truth.

In the book of Romans Paul makes a case about Pharaoh: "...What shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all. For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy..." (9:14-16) When I had read this statement before I took the part where he says 'it does not ... depend on man's desire or effort' to mean that somehow God decided the outcome beforehand and that was just too bad for Pharaoh. Sorry guy! Even though Paul says this is not unjust, I thought it to be so. Certainly (to me anyway) it was unfair.

Just a little later in verse 22 Paul clarifies: "What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath-prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory....". Let's define a couple of things. First of all, who are the objects of wrath? Pharaoh? No. That would be everyone. We are all flawed. We all fall under God's wrath. There is none who does good, not even one. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.

What about the 'objects of his mercy'? They would be all who repent of their sins and put their faith in God. These are the ones who are 'prepared in advance for glory'. Paul's argument here is beautiful. Yes, Pharaoh was hard hearted and bull-headed. God's judgment was destined to fall on him. He could have killed him outright. But He didn't. He was willing to show His mercy to this man. In fact, God gave him 9 chances to repent! (I'm going to believe that by the time they got around to the 10th plague, Pharaoh's mind was made up.) At the same time God was teaching a lesson both to the rest of Egypt and Israel. He was '...making the riches of his glory known....'. At the end of this ordeal everybody knew who the real God was!

One day this man will stand before the Righteous Judge and give an account of his actions. Will he be able to make an accusation against God? No. Will he be able to say that God in any way was unfair? No. There will be no 'out' in that courtroom.

Do You Know "The Secret"? Part 1

Recently I have had some exposure to a book titled "The Secret". It was originally recommended to me by one of the salesmen at the gym where I work out. I bought it last year and had not read it until this past week. At the time I had about 5 books ahead of it in the queue. It took me a while to get there.

The secret of "The Secret" is simple. That would be what they call the Law of Attraction. At its most basic level the law says that 'what you think about, you get.' I do not have much problem with that in and of itself. But I do have one with this statement on page 10: "Thoughts are magnetic, and thoughts have a frequency. As you think, those thoughts are sent out into the Universe and they magnetically attract all like things that are on the same frequency. Everything sent out returns to the source. And that source is you."

As a Christian I don't think much of this idea and my response here is to attempt a rebuttal based on my world view.

Problem 1: What do they mean when they say "the Universe". I do not know, but our thoughts go there, and come back somehow. I noticed that they capitalize the term every time they use it, like it is supposed to be some kind of deity. The Bible clearly tells us there is only one Deity, God. We know from Exodus 20 that God hates idolatry. Anything that is worshiped which is less than God is abomination. We also know that the universe itself is a created thing. It is not personal, it is a work of art and engineering. It is finite and will ultimately wear out. The universe is not God. What becomes of thoughts that are sent to 'the universe?' They go nowhere. As a friend of mine said: Who's there to listen to them?

Maybe I am being a bit harsh by saying this. Maybe the writers are simply using the term 'universe' as a euphemism for God in order to reach the largest possible audience. I still have a problem. There seem to be a lot of people these days who have this idea that if you just believe something, it's true. And I believe that the moon is made of green cheese! Is it? Of course not. People can believe a lie. Beliefs, even religious ones, have to be tempered by reality. The implication here is either that god is created by my belief: Or that somehow, someway the true God will hear my thoughts, even if they are directed the wrong way. Both of these are incorrect. If I am going to send my thoughts anywhere, it will be to the true God, and in the form of prayer. Only He can hear prayer. Only He can answer prayer.

Problem 2: That wealth and material success can be attained by anyone who uses this technique. On page 4 we have this: "Religions such as Hinduism, Hermetic traditions, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and civilizations such as the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians delivered it through their writings and stories." Christianity? Really? The comparison is lost on me.

We do know that several of the great people in the Bible were rich. Abraham, Job, Moses, David and Solomon to name a few. But many were not. The founder of Christianity, Jesus drew large crowds and some of his followers were quite well off, but Jesus personally was not rich. He may not have even carried cash. Jesus' message was not one of wealth. It was one of salvation. The way to a right relationship with God was (and is) through faith in Him.

It's quite a stretch to imply that Jesus was some sort of 'prosperity teacher'. In fact Jesus exhorted his followers to 'deny themselves'. When a rich guy came to Jesus to inquire about eternal life he was told to 'sell everything and give to the poor and follow Me' (Jesus) . The man went away disappointed. He couldn't come to grips with giving away his money. Jesus also exhorted his followers to 'take up their cross'. The understanding for this was 'take up your cross and die'. This is quite different from the message of these 'life coaches' et al who exhort their followers to 'attract a new car, home or success', through sending happy thoughts out to some disembodied universe.

Jesus was the most personal man who ever lived. He dealt directly with anyone and everyone's spiritual condition. This was unsettling for a lot of people. Many believed, of course, but not all. Even when He was hanging on the cross, in extreme pain and near death he responded personally. On one side of Him was a man who had obviously not sent out very many happy thoughts in his life. He was a thief, probably a murderer too and in every sense of the word, a worthless individual. He, knowing his condition asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus responded personally, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Is there anything in this world that is better than that promise?

To be fair, there are some things in the book that are quite good. In my next article I will address some of them as well.

Preparing a Speech

I've just sat down to write a little piece for a class. Mental note: This is a speech, so write like you talk.
"Good morning everyone - it's always a pleasure to be able to speak in front of...."
Just then I hear someone coming down the stairs. It's my daughter Steph.
"I've got a quick errand to run, can you watch the children for about a half hour for me?"
"Of course" I say, "I'll just take my computer upstairs and watch them while I'm writing."
In a few minutes I'm up the stairs, the computer is on my lap and I'm ready to go.
"Bye" she says.

Let's see, where was I? "It's always a pleasure to be able to speak in front of a group...."
Just then the couch moves a little. Makenzie (age 5) is climbing on my shoulders.
Makenzie! Please!
"Can I ride a little bit..."
No - can't you see I'm working right now.
Ok.
I help her get down.
My hands go back to the keyboard ..... like yourselves....

Di wan two wide too!
That's Elijah, age 3.
"No Elijah, you can't ride too, I just got her down. Not right now."

Just then Faith (age 1) comes over and reaches out to me. I've got to take her. She wouldn't understand. I carefully set my computer on the couch beside me and pick her up. She smiles broadly and we make funny noises to each other for a few minutes. Then, I set her down near her toy box and pull out a couple of her favorite toys. She's happy.
"Great!" I think, "Now I can get back to...."
I feel the weight of Makenzie, who has just jumped on my back, laughing.
"Will you get down, please?" I say.
"Di wan two wide too!"
No Elijah, I just got her off my back.
"Pweeze! Do pwich ups."
"Well, Ok but just a couple."
I lay down on the floor. Elijah climbs on my back and I do a couple of puships. He's hanging on for dear life and squealing happily.
"Ok, I've got to work now..."
"Me too!" It was Makenzie. I do a couple of more pushups with her.
"I wan do lee logs!"
"I can't do Lincoln Logs right now, Elijah, I've got to get back to...."

Just then I realize Faith is nowhere to be seen. Crash! It's coming from the kitchen. I go in there to find that she has pulled out a couple of pans and is banging them together. She smiles at me. I pick her up, put the pans back where they ought to be and bring her back into the living room.
Again I set her down next to her toys. Again, while I'm bending over Makenzie jumps on my back.
"Will you get off!"
"Di wan two wide too!"
"No! You guys just chill. I've got something to do!"
I've notice that my voice has been getting higher in both volume and pitch.
In another moment I'm back at my computer.
....This is something of primary importance to any writer....
Again I feel the same bump. It's Makenzie again climbing on my shoulders, but this time she's got a plan.
"Can I comb your hair Babu?" (That's their name for me.) She's brushing my hair. It feels kind of good..... (I have a very dry scalp, so whenever anyone plays with my hair I like it.)
Thirty minutes later Steph comes in. We're all on the floor watching TV together. My computer is closed and sitting on the couch. Faith is happily messing with my cell phone....
"Thank You!" she says. "Did you get any work done?"
"A little", I say.
"What is your article about?"
"The Importance of Writing Without Distractions."

Political Suicide?

Do our representatives in Washington read the polls? Do they pay attention to protests? One would think not. They are pushing everything aside in favor of forcing a certain set of legislation on American citizens we do not want, or need. They seem to be blissfully ignorant of reality and no amount of reason can dissuade them.

Don't they know they will, if the polls are correct, suffer massive losses this election and the next? Of course they do. Then why pursue this course of action? It will lead to disaster for them. The reason is simple. They believe that, even if they lose this and the next election, the Republicans will not be able to muster the political will to repeal Obambacare and the rest of their agenda. At some point in the future they will again have the upper hand and can continue their socialistic ways.

They may have a point.

Remember about a decade ago when Bush Jr. was elected? didn't he enjoy majorities in both the House and Senate? They were free to pass or remove just about anything they wanted from the Federal Budget. The world of Washington politics was their oyster. And what did they do with this grand opporunity? They basically squandered it. They wound up spending money like the other party normally does. In the process they forced some of their own unconstitutional spending programs down our throat, like No Child Left Behind.

Did they have the opportunity to reduce federal spending? Yes. Did they do it? No. Instead they increased spending about a Trillion dollars. That is chump change compared to today. Did they have a chance to 'fix' Social Security? Yes. Did they do it? No. How about Medicare? No. Instead they voted into place the largest entitlement progrem to date. Did they have the opportunity to change our unfair tax structure into something that would truly be beneficial and fair to us citizens? Yes. Did they do it? No. You can see why I have some problems with the Republicans. When they got the power instead of doing the right thing they became politicians and ultimately made things worse for all.

With all due respect I believe they did a couple of things well. The best of them was to cut taxes. The resulting economic windfall from that piece of legislation was amazing. To give an example, take health care, about 15% of our total GDP. That one section of our economy grew more than the entire Chinese economy during the same period. It's great what free people can do when given the opportunity! But it was not enough by itself to overcome the other mistakes and wrong headed politics that were made. Which set the stage for the present Powers That Be and the disasters they have railroaded on us.

This is why the Tea Party movement is not, and should not be a Republican movement. It is a Freedom Movement. Oh yes, many of the values supported by the Tea Partiers are also that of Republicans. But that does not mean that any Republican candidate should be given instant approval. They should get the nod only after they have demonstrated their support for the Constitution of the United States. Do they know and will they defend our own laws? Will they work to defund or remove programs which are not authorized by this document? Will they stand for these principles without compromise?

This does not mean I am not going to vote. In spite of the problems I have with the Republicans, they are a whole lot better than the alternative. The goal of all free American citizens should be massive change in Washington. The more soundly we can defeat Democratic Socialism, the better message it will send that this is a failed idea and needs to be eradicated as completely as possible. It will also remind the new crop of legislators of their responsibility. Cut government drastically! Change the tax system! Fix the problems we now face without adding a host of new ones. Let us be free and everybody wins, including the government.

Our nation was founded on laws. The federal government's most important responsibility is to ensure those laws are enforced equally for every citizen. But once the government oversteps those bounds it becomes a dictator. This is the situation we find ourselves in today. If we value the freedoms we once had, the most important thing we can do is elect people who understand this and are willing to defend it by every possible means. Oh, yes, I know that politics is about compromise and all that. Fine. Quibble about small matters of budget allocation. Do not quibble about taking away my freedom under the lie that somehow it is good for me.