tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943791620723167632024-03-05T10:53:20.700-08:00The Daily Crockthe crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-63946462547766011152021-02-10T11:14:00.002-08:002021-02-10T11:16:19.516-08:00Spiritual warfare: Intro and examples<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/FNyKwUxW2Ow" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Hey guys subscribe to my YouTube channel! </div><div><br /></div><div>God bless :)<br /><div><br /></div><div>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRiMRThjQmvnION4fWZD7_Q</div></div>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-30382819456282852892021-02-10T11:10:00.003-08:002021-02-10T11:10:58.904-08:00Spirituality' palm readers, horoscopes, fortunate tellers, "the law-of a...<iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fVWeYtPI__w/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/fVWeYtPI__w" frameborder="0"></iframe>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-13397393847881845182021-02-10T11:10:00.001-08:002021-02-10T11:10:27.228-08:00Political unrest today<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/THkwqTBJwn0" frameborder="0"></iframe>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-82255878668879263872020-07-11T12:44:00.002-07:002020-07-11T12:44:27.625-07:0011 Leftist Myths About American History<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div aria-level="1" class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{72}" paraid="1354228687" role="heading" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #2f5496; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 31.2958px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">11 Leftist Myths About American History</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559738":240,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 31.2958px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
<div aria-level="1" class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{72}" paraid="1354228687" role="heading" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #2f5496; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559738":240,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 31.2958px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div aria-level="1" class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{86}" paraid="925783726" role="heading" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #2f5496; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Left tells a story about America. It goes something like this: Once upon a time, a group of brutal white colonial Christians arrived in North America from a far-off land. They brought with them disease, murder, and rape. They savaged the natives, enslaved people across the earth, and founded a country based on racism and sexism. That country’s founding document — the United States Constitution — was an ode to the propertied class, to sexism and racism, to slavery itself. America has never been able to escape those sins, and only the growth in power of the federal government controlled by people of the Left has been able to carve away at that dark legacy over time — but that legacy will never be erased, except by a complete reshaping of American society and politics.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559738":240,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{108}" paraid="1406711044" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Conservatives tell a different story. European colonists arrived in America in order to establish a country founded on principles of liberty and religious toleration. America is guilty of many sins in its past — but the principles enshrined in the Constitution are eternal and good. The Constitution’s central natural law principles laid forth the notions of individual liberty and rights to one’s own labor — and over time, those rights would be perfected in the United States, not through centralized government, but through good people struggling to bring about change through blood and sacrifice and persuasion. The growth of an overreaching federal government now threatens those very liberties in the name of tearing away at the system upon which our freedoms and prosperity is based.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{115}" paraid="1943989965" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">There’s an enormous difference between these stories. It would be foolish not to acknowledge the sins of the past. But it would be far more foolish to throw away America’s glorious history in the name of wiping away the greatest system of government ever devised by man, and crippling the freest philosophy ever implemented in governmental form.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{123}" paraid="666361018" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 1: The U.S. Constitution is no longer relevant.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{130}" paraid="1966786819" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: The U.S. Constitution is a timeless document.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{137}" paraid="1021710070" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">On June 24, 2016, Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals — an appointee of Ronald Reagan — announced that he no longer thought studying the Constitution was worthwhile. He wrote, “I see absolutely no value to a judge of spending decades, years, months, weeks, day, hours, minutes, or seconds studying the Constitution, the history of its enactment, its amendments, and its implementation (across the centuries — well, just a little more than two centuries, and of course less for many of the amendments). Eighteenth-century guys, however smart, could not foresee the culture, technology, etc. of the 21</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun Superscript SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-fontsize="12.5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">st </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">century. Which means that the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the post–Civil War amendments (including the 14</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun Superscript SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-fontsize="12.5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">), do not speak to today.”</span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{150}" paraid="911560813" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">This isn’t rare in the legal world of the Left. Leftists who speak of a “living Constitution” generally mean that the Constitution itself is irrelevant, dated, a vestige of a different time and place. The founders, they suggest, would never have structured our government the way it is if they had only known about iPhones and wireless internet. In 2001, then-State Senator Barack Obama told public radio that it was vital for Americans to “break free” of the Constitution in order to promote government-created “economic justice.” Obama explicitly stated, “We still suffer from not having a Constitution that guarantees its citizens economic rights.” By this, Obama meant that the government was not empowered under the Constitution to do much beyond ensuring so-called negative rights: rights that exist because no one can violate them. He wanted so-called positive rights: rights to goods and services provided by others via the government.</span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{179}" paraid="139562552" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The founders recognized that, which is why the Constitution of the United States is a timeless document. The Constitution was created to deal with flaws in human nature, not to cope with technological advancements: we may have better means of communication than we did in 1787, but we don’t have better people. People are the same as they ever were.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{186}" paraid="1048238641" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The founders constructed the Constitution on the basis of three main realizations about human beings. First, they realized that human beings are imperfect, selfish, driven by self-interest. They will go to war with each other to assure the victory of that self-interest. The founders agreed with the central theory that without government, man reverted to constant warfare: “No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{186}" paraid="1048238641" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{193}" paraid="75487282" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The only way to solve this conundrum was a great and powerful ruler. They believed that such rulers were similarly capable of brutality in their own self-interest. They adopted this philosophy from John Locke, who wrote, and I'll paraphrase: "If rulers invaded the rights of others, they ought to be curbed."</span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{193}" paraid="75487282" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{200}" paraid="1325233917" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">So, how could society survive without an all-powerful ruler checking men? By a series of mutual checks and balances. As James Madison famously stated in </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Federalist #51</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{210}" paraid="1453648591" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Checks and balances were designed to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">prevent</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> government from overreaching its boundaries; only widespread agreement could overrule such checks and balances. </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{210}" paraid="1453648591" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e78e0dab-d0dc-4ac5-bbf8-83e981c632a8}{249}" paraid="213020730" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 2: America was founded on slavery.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{1}" paraid="1870533536" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: The Northern Founders wanted to abolish slavery.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{12}" paraid="1690814349" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">One of the most-uttered myths regarding the United States is that it was “founded on slavery.” This statement is used to justify everything from affirmative action to federal transfer payments to low-income minorities; it’s used as a scapegoat for elevated levels of black crime and for black educational underperformance. It’s also a wild overstatement.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{19}" paraid="1589536553" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Slavery was a grave moral evil. It was also common at the time of the founding. The United States did indeed tolerate slavery, and the southern states fought for the continuation of slavery during the Civil War. But virtually all countries in human history also supported slavery during that time, including African countries shipping Africans to the Americas in chains. The first European country to ban import of slaves to its colonies was Denmark in 1803; Britain only outlawed the Atlantic slave trade in 1807; the United States passed legislation banning the new importation of slaves beginning in 1808. Britain only passed gradual abolition of slavery in 1833; Denmark only abolished slavery in 1846, France in 1848, Brazil in 1851; and the United States in 1862. To pretend that the United States was unique in regard to its history with slavery would be historically ignorant.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> That does not justify American slavery (nothing does), but it does provide vital historical context.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{28}" paraid="591238800" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{35}" paraid="461273029" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Constitution of the United States is frequently seen as enshrining slavery, but the so-called three-fifths clause was an attempt to do the opposite. The whole question of popular apportionment rested on whether to count slaves as full people for purposes of representation. To do so would have put the slaveholding south at a significant </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">advantage</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">: they would have counted slaves in their population, not allowed them to vote, then used their increased representation in order to re-enshrine slavery. As James Madison noted, the delegates from South Carolina fought for blacks to be counted as whole people so as to include them “in the rule of representation, equally with the Whites.” The three-fifths compromise was designed to curb the South’s expansionist tendencies with regard to slavery by preventing them from stacking the electoral deck. The Constitution also allowed slave importation to continue until 1808 — but Congress moved in 1807 to end it there.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{35}" paraid="461273029" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{44}" paraid="1551567368" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Then, of course, the United States fought a great and massive Civil War to free the slaves, in which over 620,000 Americans died, nearly half the total number of Americans to die in all wars combined. The economy of the United States was not built on slavery — in fact, the South’s economic power was dismal compared to that of the north, which is why the north was able to overcome the south during the Civil War.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{51}" paraid="1804248356" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 3: Segregation was imposed socially.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{58}" paraid="2122570895" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: Segregation was imposed governmentally.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{65}" paraid="1652146519" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Left constantly repeats that government is necessary in order to stop discrimination between private parties. Government does intervene to stop uses of force between private parties, of course. But you have no right to my services and I have no right to your services. This argument leads leftists to say that if we don’t allow government to intervene in order to </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">force</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> me to serve you, widespread, rampant discrimination will break out. They often cite Jim Crow in defense of this notion.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{74}" paraid="827629394" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">That’s nonsense.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{81}" paraid="497904079" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Segregation was governmentally imposed, not socially imposed. The whole reason that government was necessary was so that those who would not abide by social racism were forced to do so. </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{120}" paraid="637799802" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 4: Hoover was a conservative.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{127}" paraid="1514537882" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: Hoover pursued the same policies FDR did.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{134}" paraid="390895071" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">One of the great myths of American economic history is that Republican President Herbert Hoover stymied a recovery from the Great Depression by pursuing conservative economic policies. That simply isn’t true. Hoover actually pursued substantially the same policies FDR did after Hoover lost the 1932 election — FDR just doubled down on them.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{141}" paraid="357785916" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">In 1930, Hoover imposed the so-called Smoot-Hawley tariffs, which crippled global trade; global trade dropped to a small fraction of what it had been when Hoover took office thanks to his protectionist policies, which were designed to boost agricultural prices. He also blew out the federal budget — in 1929, the federal budget was $3.1 billion; by 1932, he had increased it to $4.6 billion, a nearly 50 percent increase. In real dollars, Hoover actually doubled the federal budget, since the Great Depression came along with deflation; his deficits actually ran higher than FDR’s until World War II.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{148}" paraid="820750990" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<br /></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{170}" paraid="1688867217" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 5: FDR saved the American economy.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{177}" paraid="160029558" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: FDR made the Depression great.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{184}" paraid="1819057929" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">FDR is on the dime and was elected to four terms as president supposedly thanks to his legacy of single-handedly saving the American economy from the throes of the Great Depression. This is utter hogwash. In fact, FDR’s policies greatly lengthened the Depression and made it far worse than it otherwise had to be.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{191}" paraid="384208610" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">FDR’s own economic ignorance is legendary. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> The true reason Democrats think of FDR as a hero is because he was a brutal class warrior who jabbered about “heedless self-interest.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{199}" paraid="1104021227" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">But in reality, according to Professors Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian of UCLA’s Department of Economics, FDR’s policies prolonged the depression by at least seven years.</span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{199}" paraid="1104021227" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{221}" paraid="1757708785" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 6: The Great Society made life better for black people.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{228}" paraid="981793782" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: The Great Society significantly slowed economic progress for black Americans.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{237}" paraid="803084235" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">While the Left likes to blame the stagnant rates of increase in black prosperity on slavery and Jim Crow, the truth is that government involvement is far more to blame. The Great Society programs of President Lyndon Johnson, touted as a sort of reparations-lite by Johnson allies, actually harmed the black community in significant ways that continue to play out today. According to former Air Force One steward Ronald MacMillan, LBJ pushed the Great Society programs and civil rights bill out of desire to win black votes: “I’ll have them n*****s voting Democratic for two hundred years” he reportedly said.</span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{245}" paraid="2021650198" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">In essence, the Great Society drove impoverished black people into dependency. In 1960, 22 percent of black children were born out of wedlock; today, that number is over 70 percent. The single greatest indicator of intergenerational poverty is single motherhood. As Thomas Sowell writes, “What about ghetto riots, crimes in general and murder in particular? What about low levels of labor force participation and high levels of welfare dependency? None of those things was as bad in the first 100 years after slavery as they became in the wake of the policies and notions of the 1960s.”</span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{09bc14b9-99d2-4175-90fb-77b904cce311}{253}" paraid="287862959" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{7}" paraid="1199271344" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Despite the grand myth that black economic progress began or accelerated with the passage of the Civil Rights laws and “War on Poverty” programs of the 1960s, the cold fact is that the poverty rate among blacks fell from 87 percent in 1940 to 47 percent by 1960. This was before any of those programs began. Over the next 20 years, the poverty rate among blacks fell another 18 percentage points, compared to the 40-point drop in the previous 20 years. This was the continuation of a previous economic trend, at a slower rate of progress, not the economic grand deliverance proclaimed by liberals and self-serving black “leaders.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{15}" paraid="1903538568" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">As for the Great Society itself, poverty rates in the United States have remained largely unchanged: the government spends $9,000 per welfare recipient per year in the United States, and yet Americans had the same poverty rate in 2013 as they did in 1963. Living standards have improved, but dependency has not decreased — except when Republicans attempt to decrease it with acts like welfare reform.</span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{15}" paraid="1903538568" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{23}" paraid="1970594874" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 7: The Republican Party switched into the racist party.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{30}" paraid="1937036268" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: The Democratic Party remained the racist party.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{37}" paraid="2049383709" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">One of the favorite refrains of the Democratic Party, attempting to escape its history of racism, slavery, and segregation, is that in the 1960s, the Republican Party hijacked racism and the Democratic Party abandoned it. Citing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the turning point, Democrats point out that the formerly solid Democratic south moved gradually into the Republican camp, while the Republican north turned more Democratic over time. This, they say, was clearly the result of racism coming to the fore in the GOP.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{37}" paraid="2049383709" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">There is little evidence to support this contention.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{51}" paraid="1627151006" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{95}" paraid="1005320530" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 8: Americans lost the Vietnam War.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{102}" paraid="515319811" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: Politicians lost the Vietnam War.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{111}" paraid="1773019562" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">In Vietnam, the United States beat the Viet-Cong soundly militarily. Then, at the Paris Peace Accords, the Nixon administration determined that it no longer wished to participate in the war, and decided to pull troops. They pledged further military assistance in terms of hardware for the South Vietnamese. Nixon triumphantly announced, in terms rather reminiscent of President Obama’s triumphant Iraq withdrawal announcement 38 years later, “Now that we have achieved an honorable agreement, let us be proud that America did not settle for a peace that would have betrayed our allies, that would have abandoned our prisoners of war, or that would have ended the war for us, but would have continued the war for the 50 million people of Indochina.”</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun Superscript SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-fontsize="12.5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">17</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{119}" paraid="881778455" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{128}" paraid="1412710834" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 9: The economy is better because of Democratic presidents.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{135}" paraid="5609073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: It’s difficult to credit particular politicians with economic benefits.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{146}" paraid="1128365776" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Democrats and leftists routinely state that they have a better record on the economy than Republicans. In 2016, Hillary Clinton declared that “the economy always does better when there’s a Democrat in the White House.” She has claimed before that Republican presidents are responsible for more recessions, and her husband claimed that since 1961, Democratic presidents have produced 42 million jobs, to just 24 million under Republicans.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{153}" paraid="1436085248" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">There’s some truth to these numbers, but they miss the central point: presidents </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">do not create jobs</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. The private sector creates jobs. The government’s impact on the private sector extends far beyond the executive branch. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The claim that Democrat presidents are good for the economy is a simplistic talking point.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> And if Democrats disagree, ask them why President Trump’s job creation record was so good in his first year. Will they give him credit, or rightly say that the economy is a bit more complicated than that?</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{171}" paraid="1318809429" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 10: George W. Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{178}" paraid="2096414938" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: Intelligence agencies gave Bush flawed information.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{185}" paraid="226259316" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The common wisdom now suggests that President George W. Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This silliness has been parroted by members of the Left (Michael Moore) and the Right (Donald Trump). The reality is more complicated: The entire international intelligence community was convinced that Saddam Hussein was pursuing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; Hussein himself telegraphed such intentions; there’s even evidence that WMD were smuggled out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks leading up to war.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW33115012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{192}" paraid="1601534814" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">First off, such a lie would presuppose a motive for the lie. If you wanted to invade a country with a serious record of human rights abuses and foreign invasions, would you really rely on shoddy arguments to do so, knowing they would immediately be debunked upon conquering that country? Those who scream “war for oil” never seem to acknowledge that the United States didn’t get any oil out of the deal, or that Bush could have come up with a far more plausible reason to invade than phantom WMD.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{f3f94937-0de9-4db5-b542-1698bcd5d62d}{199}" paraid="1331780944" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{fdc41d87-8ce5-47a4-b4ce-8c984361776e}{58}" paraid="570750432" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Myth 11: Barack Obama presided over a massive economic recovery.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{fdc41d87-8ce5-47a4-b4ce-8c984361776e}{65}" paraid="1525166539" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Fact: Obama presided over the weakest economic recovery in modern history.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW33115012 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{fdc41d87-8ce5-47a4-b4ce-8c984361776e}{74}" paraid="477472025" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Advocates for President Obama say that he inherited a rotten economy from George W. Bush, proceeded to save it, and then ushered in a massive boom in growth and prosperity. And while it is true that George W. Bush left Obama with a mess, the main driver in alleviating that mess — for good or ill — was not Obama’s stimulus package or auto bailouts, but the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) pushed by Bush into law in October 2008. By the time Obama took office, the economy was already bottoming out. By the second quarter of 2009, the economy was already on the rebound, and moved into positive territory in terms of GDP growth by Q3 of 2009.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Obama then proceeded to place heavy restrictions on banks and other financial institutions, raise taxes, increase spending, and create a wildly unpredictable regulatory climate. The result: the weakest peacetime recovery in modern American history.</span><span class="EOP SCXW33115012 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #141414; font-family: "Calibri Light", "Calibri Light_MSFontService", sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 21.5833px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-56483821588672572542020-01-30T13:43:00.002-08:002021-06-25T09:32:31.837-07:00Witchcraft today<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3px;">
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>This may sound archaic like medieval alchemy or even conjure up mental images of Harry Potter and broomsticks. But witchcraft is more prevalent than you realize. Palm readers, fortune tellers, tarot cards, oojie boards, horoscopes, zodiac signs etc are far more common today than other generations. Gods kingdom is one of light; you know where you’re at. Satans one of darkness; you don’t know what’s manipulating you. What’s controlling you, what’s driving you. There are 3 ways humans try to control others: dominate, manipulate or intimidate. And these 3 ways are very pervasive in relationships power structures and rulers today. Any spirit in operation in your life that is not the Holy Spirit is witchcraft. That is the basic definition. I want to briefly break it down for i don't have much time today:</b></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>There are 3 main branches in the occult: sorcery witchcraft and divination. I think that covers the whole field of the satanic supernatural. Witchcraft is the power arm. And it operates in such things as spells and curses. Curses being the single most powerful weapon. It may surprise us how many Christians are demonized today, not demon possessed. Possession refers to ownership but in one or more areas of the soul: (mind, will and emotions) there are areas/territories not controlled by the Holy Spirit and this does not infer ownership. This is the daily spiritual battle we fight. You may hear LBGTQ activists lobbying for “I was born this way” that may be true, I don’t think this is the case for everyone, but at some point in the infancy either a bloodline spell or curse got into that person so a “homosexual spirit” operated in their life from birth. You were born with a demon of homosexuality that convinced you were gay. And most likely they need deliverance. </b></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>The ancient Pharoahs has a list of 66 curses in which they cursed their rivals in order to beat them in battle. </b></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Before Goliath came against David he cursed him as if saying “my god can bear your god” why would he curse a shepherd boy if he knew it wasn’t a spiritual encounter? When God brought Israel out of slavery it said he judged “the gods” of Egypt. Not just the natural rulers or people. You see all throughout the Bible this subliminal underlying power struggle of the powers of evil against God. Elijah calling down fire to consume the sacrifice verse Baals gods was the definition of a old western quick-trigger duel, pistol in hand.</b></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Divination is the knowledge element of witchcraft. The fortune tellers and palm readers dip in this field. Almost everywhere Paul went there were fortune tellers, and satanic angels organizing riots in every town he went. I don’t know how many spiritual revivals you can have a/o riots. You just have to decide is it worth the price!</b></span></div>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Then you have sorcery; operating through objects, potions charms, anything that’s called “lucky”. Superstitious People that carry things that give them luck. Love potions are even common. “I want this man to fall in love with so they go to the witch doctor and get a potion. I mean this is not limited to Harry Potter reality. Drugs are directly grouped in this branch. A drug problem is a clear example of sorcery at work in our culture. This also combined with contemporary music: acid rock for examples there is a reason the music industry has so many lyrics devoted to drugs today...</b></span><br />
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: black;"><b>The more you dig into the personal biographies and on-stage testimonies of rock n' roll legends, you will be intriqued by the discovery that a large portion of the lyrics for famous rock n’ roll songs were accompliched through sorcery, channeling and automatic handwriting. Many composers will tell a similar story of a spirit taking over the writing of the lyrics, the stage and even the choreographed rhymthic movements of the performers as well. They will also give credit to that mysterious spirit who occassionally visits them in their homes to whisper "sweet nothings" in their ears for the next batch of successful composition. Many will admit to ethereal encounters as the blueprint for their notoriety and smashing success. The sad part is humanity is a mere illusional backdrop for them as they work behind the scenes. Many, if not all of these famous Rock n’ Roll “legends” are mere puppets/ mediums /conduits, if you will, for dark underworld gods to channel for their sinister purposes, all in order to promote an unbiblical demonic agenda. Lead Satanist Aleister Crowley’s “Do what thou will” motto, prominent through the hippie/psychedelic movement in the 60’s-70’s has deceived and influenced millions. The more psychedelic drugs one does, the more doors one opens for mental and physical manipulation. </b></span></span><br />
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<b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="vertical-align: baseline;">For example, even the Beatles were heavily influenced by Satanist "Aleister Crowley". Hitler (a Crowley disciple) and Crowley himself were both displayed on the Beatle’s “Sergeant Pepper” Album. The undercurrents can be found in the composition of the song “My Sweet Lord” (with the chorus headlining) "Hallelujah..Hare Krishna." Krishna is a dark underworld god/demon that is prominent in the Buddha and Hindu religions. It’s easy to get lulled into a spiritual slumber by the lyrics “my sweet lord” and “hallelujah” while feeling the pleasurable dopamine releases in the brain, not realizing you are unwittingly paying homage to dark gods. </span></b></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-39123704539471329842019-07-18T16:01:00.003-07:002019-07-18T16:04:30.335-07:00Finding Victory in Defeat: (The Souths surrender at Appomatox)<div class="m_-4432723124659469749p1" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"There is a way of losing that is finding. It is only when a man supremely gives that he supremely finds” </span></div>
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<span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">-Major General Lawrence Chamberlain, (upon receiving the Souths surrender at Appomattox). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Tall and slight of build but possessed of an iron constitution and indomitable will, Chamberlain </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">gazed ahead with eyes like flint. He </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">cherished a profound respect for those who had risked all for ideals they valued above life itself. It mattered not whither they wore the blue or the grey, won or lost. On the chill, overcast morning of April 12, 1865, the men in blue felt a deep sympathy as they observed their stubborn antagonists in worn out shoes and ragged uniforms turn in their dearly beloved battle flags stack their side arms and muskets and walk away; in this hour of heartbreak and grief not a dry eye could be observed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The dismal scene was fascinatingly grim beyond description. The landscape presented a scenic view, the loftiest thought of mind was far too low and insignificant to delineate, describe, or portray. It was as if a solemn funeral procession, hearse in tow was unfolding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Many shared their scant rations of hardtack and salt pork with their famished and exhausted foes. One confederate soldier wrote “we suffered no insult from any of our enemies. Never before was such goodwill exchanged to a once bitter foe" If only in our divided nation today could lay down our arms and battle axes, furl our rainbow flags and breach a gap of compromise between liberal and republican, conservative and democrat w/o having to endure the carnage of another long, grueling bloody war. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">In a postwar address Lawrence Chamberlain echoes a message of that profound moment: </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: x-small;">That Army of Northern Virginia—who can help looking back upon them now with feelings half fraternal? Ragged and reckless, yet careful to keep their bayonets bright, and lines of battle well dressed; reduced to dire extremities sometimes, yet always ready for a fight; rough and rude, yet knowing well how to make a field illustrious. Who can forget them—the brave, bronzed faces that looked at us four years across the flaming pit—men with whom, in a hundred fierce grapples, we fought with remorseless desperation and all the terrible enginery of death, till on the one side and the other a quarter of a million fell; and yet we never hated them, except that they struck at the old flag. Main force against main force—there was good reason why, when valor like that was exhausted, the sun should go down on thousands dead, but not one vanquished…</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">On they come with the old swinging route step and swaying battle flags. Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood. Thin, worn and famished, but erect and with eyes looking level into ours. Waking memories that bound us together as no other bond. Was not such manhood to be welcomed back into the Union so tested and assured. On our part not a sound of trumpet more nor roll of drum, not a cheer, nor word, nor whisper of vain glorying, nor motion of man. But an awed stillness rather and breathholding, as if it were the passing of the dead.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">There were many blunders that cost the South the war but none so disastrous as Picketts charge. The high water mark of the Confederacy had been reached and the cause of the rebellion died that day alongside the men who perished on that field. </span><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">For the rest of his life, Pickett would grieve for his men lost that day, and would blame Lee for the disaster. Thus, five years after the War, when Pickett and the Confederate guerilla leader John Mosby paid a courtesy call on Lee in Richmond, the atmosphere was less than cordial. On departing, Pickett launched into a bitter diatribe. "That old man," he said, "had my division slaughtered at Gettysburg." For an </span><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1">instant of memory, men in grey marched beneath fluttering flags up a long, grassy slope. Then Mosby broke the silence. "Well," he said, "it made you immortal."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s2" style="font-style: italic;">Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide</span><span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1">, Time-Life Books</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="m_-4432723124659469749s1" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In conclusion I have always found a striking allegory here I cannot help but share. The high water mark of Lucifers rebellion against Christ was cavalry, and what a desperate duel it was between Christ and Belial; his demonic forces continue to fight on in hopeless earnest still today, not unlike the South post-Gettysburg. The Confederacy would continued to fight for 2 and half more bloody years, yet the war was all but over. The death knells had sounded, on our sin, we have but one choice side with the one in whom victory has clearly already been won or fight alongside the hapless Satanic rebels whose doom is sealed. Eternity awaits.....</span></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-22986657416229378292019-06-26T17:26:00.002-07:002019-06-26T17:34:21.021-07:00Hoziers "Take Me to Church" Lyrics and Meaning – A Christian Analysis and Critique<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Often the most loving thing a person can do is tell the truth. I am afraid that the sermon preached through Hozier’s song that every person should just be allowed to do what comes natural is in actuality a very deadly sermon. In an effort to empower and “free” people, Hozier is actually contributing to their destruction by leading them astray.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Regrettably, the lyrics to “Take Me to Church” are pretty blasphemous. Here’s my theological analysis with my commentary in the red:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Verse 1]<br />My lover’s got humour<br />She’s the giggle at a funeral<br />Knows everybody’s disapproval<br />I should’ve worshipped her sooner <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(So this is the cue. The God throughout the song is a girlfriend.)</span><br />If the Heavens ever did speak <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(“If the Heavens ever” = revealed religion is cast into doubt)</span><br />She’s the last true mouthpiece<br />Every Sunday’s getting more bleak<br />A fresh poison each week<br />“We were born sick”, you heard them say it <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(“they” [Catholics] teach original sin)</span><br />My church offers no absolutes <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(So unlike Catholicism, there are no moral absolutes – only relativism)</span><br />She tells me “worship in the bedroom” <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(the liturgy is sex. It’s the place of union between him and the “god”/girlfriend)</span><br />The only heaven I’ll be sent to<br />Is when I’m alone with you<br />I was born sick, but I love it <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(acknowledges original sin – but he loves it)</span><br />Command me to be well <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(a reference to Christ commanding people to be well in the Gospels)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Pre-Chorus]<br />Amen, Amen, Amen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Chorus] (x2)<br />Take me to church <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(remember, “Church” here is sexual reference in this song)</span><br />I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies<br />I’ll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(confession reference)</span><br />Offer me my deathless death<br />Good God, let me give you my life <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(he hands over his life to her the “god”)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Verse 2]<br />If I’m a pagan of the good times<br />My lover’s the sunlight<br />To keep the Goddess on my side <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(the god/girlfriend is also a goddess)</span><br />She demands a sacrifice <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(here’s where the song gets “Eucharistic” with reference to sacrificial meal and hunger…)</span><br />Drain the whole sea<br />Get something shiny<br />Something meaty for the main course<br />That’s a fine looking high horse<br />What you got in the stable? <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(reference to the Christ Child “in the stable”)</span><br />We’ve a lot of starving faithful<br />That looks tasty<br />That looks plenty<br />This is hungry work</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Chorus] (x2)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[Bridge]<br />No masters or kings when the ritual begins<span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> (egalitarian ritual – sex)</span><br />There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(hey, at least he knows it’s sin – he’s Irish!)</span><br />In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(a reference perhaps to leaving earth into the “heavenly bliss” of sexual embrace)</span><br />Only then I am human<br />Only then I am clean <span style="border: 0px; color: red; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(he ends with a reference the sexual completion as a kind of baptism or absolution)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What’s amazing about his song is that it’s about as offensive as anything produced by Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, or Slayer <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">– yet hardly anyone recognizes it!</span> It takes rich Catholic sacramental language but re-signifies the imagery as a sexual encounter. And that’s the so-called “genius” of this song.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The music industry is now much smarter than it was in the days of Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Slayer. </span>Your daughter is not likely to love Marilyn Manson and erect an idol to Satan in her bedroom. Your son will not likely consecrate his baby to Lucifer and baptize him in goat’s blood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Overt Satanism is out of style. However, young people <em style="border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">are</em> likely to exchange their Christian faith for sexual license.</span> The stats show that young people will likely exchange the sacramental life and liturgy for the liturgy of sexual experimentation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And that’s exactly why this song has become an American anthem.</span> The devil doesn’t needs a league of heavy metal Satanists. He’d almost prefer to have people mocking the Christian sacraments and images.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If God isn’t real – “If the Heavens ever did speak” – then the only goods to be enjoyed in this life are the pleasures of food and sex.</span> That’s all there is left for humans to experience transcendence. Hozier gets it and he sings for us a catchy hymn.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In an interview with New York Magazine in March 2014, the artist Hozier stated:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">‘Take Me to Church’ is essentially about sex, but it’s a tongue-in-cheek attack at organizations that would… undermine humanity by successfully teaching shame about sexual orientation — that it is sinful, or that it offends God… But it’s not an attack on faith… it’s an assertion of self, reclaiming humanity back for something that is the most natural and worthwhile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there you have it from Hozier himself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">T</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">he “gospel” Hozier is preaching is that men and women should be allowed to pursue whatever comes natural to them. His “church” offers no absolutes (hello, postmodernism!). A church that does teach things like moral absolutes is, according to Hozier, only teaching shame.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hozier does get something right. His song does depict humanity at its most natural. The Bible teaches that all human beings were born sick; that “sickness” is sin (Rom 3:23). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129; white-space: pre-wrap;">At our “most natural” we are enemies of God. Yet, our God, while we were still His enemies, made a way for us to have a relationship with Him (Rom. 5:8). He loves us enough to know what comes “most natural” to us often leads to our own destruction. </span><span style="color: #1d2129; white-space: pre-wrap;">It may be easy for someone reading this to think, “Oh, there is just another Christian bashing alternative lifestyles.” However, that is not the case. I agree with Hozier that violence against a LGBT person is something that must be stopped. Any Christian harming another person for this reason is sinning—there is no other way to state it. However, for me to call homosexuality a sin is actually showing love. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of the day, Hozier’s religion is hedonism—the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good. He “worships in the bedroom.” Just like Paul pled with the church in Galatia not to be so easily swayed by a “different gospel” which is no gospel at all (Gal. 1:6-8), I pray that men and women will not be swayed by this “false gospel” proclaimed in Hozier’s popular song.</span></span></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-75620446183140337592019-03-27T21:47:00.002-07:002019-03-27T22:01:29.951-07:00Reflection: on tendencies for the cheap fix, vs the end goal.<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"I remember standing in a cold dark jail cell shivering with a blanket wrapped around me. Sick and cold. When I first arrived someone came up to me and said "You remind me of Edward in Twilight, you're far too good looking to be here with us. Why aren't you modeling somewhere?" I still remember those words, not the kind of greeting you want to first hear from a guy you happen to be trapped with in a cell block. But upon further reflection, that hellhole it was exactly where I<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> belong. And it felt like a portal to hell; in the tank every one was detoxing, puking, coughing..It was brutal. But you know it was good. Real good to go through that. I helped lead a bible study and was amazed at the amount of interest perked around our group as we went through a passage in Romans. The climate seemed to change and positive energy fluxed in. Everyone in the group was stirred in zeal within, feeling more hopefully about their case. It was during this moment I had an epiphany of sorts. Even the most hardened around seemed to relinqush their temperament.</span></span></div>
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I saw, in a sense; how life on this planet for Gods fragmented creation without a plea-bargain deal transpires. Guilty convicts, awaiting our final sentencing. We are all in the same situation, without Grace, trapped like prisoners in a cellblock hopeful for a lenient verdict. When all the allusionary veils of worldliness that enrapture our hearts and minds are peeled back. Utterly stripped away, we will see everything temporal we've chased was missing the eternal point. The essence of our predicament becomes more painfully clear and readily apparent. For me, allegorically, and personally, it was a microcosm of ‘us’, you and me. The eternal, yet fallen creatures present plight. Whither we are aware of this on an existential level or not, many I sadly confess are not.</div>
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Why is this though?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Emotions....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Feelings can quickly destroy our emotional health and spiritual balance. They can spiral us into either pride and self-absorbtion or nose-dive us into anxiety, depression and despair...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The worlds method for dealing with these "Pits of Gloom" these chemical and emotional imbalances to is to numb, mask and escape certain emotions; alcohol, drugs, social media, extreme sports, video-gaming, illicit sex...Not that many in themselves are bad, yet to some degree we all look for these cheap substitutes and it creates more of a roller-coaster ride of emotional highs and lows. We seem to be spending more time either, depressed, on an artificially induced high or oscillating up and down from one to the other. And for many people, myself included, it can happen many times throughout any given day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I found through personal experience over half of the addicts I corresponded with were suffering from some variation of an opioid addiction..Pain-relieving prescriptions that lead to an all-consuming addiction. It leads me to think most unsuspecting patients become addicts not by choice but rather by circumstance. A correct understanding of how profit-driven large-scale coorporations exist and how they manipulate the masses to keep spending money should be employed. This is a stunning reality. Why is it that more and more people who are just attempting to receive minor relief from back pains, lives soon spiral off the deep end; end up in rehabs, lose their family and marriage..the list goes on..I've seen it first hand. I am not saying all medicating drugs are bad. I am not advocating for that. If you have a severe migraine or headache take some Advil, maybe more than one. If you have urinary pain go to a doctor or maybe stop sleeping with 5 girls a week or use protection? Behavioral modification can be a good thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">However, a certain thought pattern develops, when we believe the relief from our problems to be rooted in emotional states of mind. States of mind, are fleeting and temperamental opposed to understanding some shame is normal, even emotional pain is normal, we can absorb, repress, forgive and grow but we cannot look for perfect relief from it. Otherwise it leads to a host of other parasitic chemical dependencies which can spiral to addiction which never promise what they promise; lasting relief but only short term profit driven promises which manifest themselves in our interpersonal lives..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The most miserable people in the world today are those who live their lives based on their emotions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">However that being said. I don't believe emotions are not bad or wrong. We don't "feel" the truth but we do feel our emotion. That is why we usually pay far more attention to what we "feel" than to what is true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What affects the root affects the plant. And us humans are spiritual creatures, looking for physical solutions solutions to chronic spiritual issues seems to work for the short term but never really grasps hold of the "root" of the matter. we think 'mental health' is as deep as it gets, but it goes deeper than that. This is not a popular, mainstream medical solution givin' out in liberal fashion today. Mainly because doctors will want you to keep returning for visits, psychiatrists for evaluations....But, there is a secret, confidential, simple solution that beats the breaks off medical marijuana for anxiety, depression and stress of mind...shhh, wait for it...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Repentance, you guessed it! esp of habitual sins...Connection with our Father in Heaven, a loving realationship that stems from a consistent repair of a fractured relationship to our creator, you see sin fractures, like trust issues in a physical one, the same echoes with an eternal one, one we were designed for one that explains the very reason we were formed, created and placed on this earth..the most important one, that should be our true focal point :)</span><br />
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<br />the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-90885324636777358052019-02-14T10:14:00.002-08:002019-02-14T10:14:55.603-08:00Valentines Day Surprise Ideas <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">8 thoughtful ideas for your sweetheart tomorrow:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">1) Make things easier for her this Valentine's Day by skipping the guessing game and telling her exactly what you'd like to eat that evening. She'll appreciate the directness and make your dinner dreams come true.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2) Let your honey know you care by stopping at Walmart and picking up a 3-pack of genuine nickel earrings. Tell her that you would have</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> gone to Tiffany's, but your beer fund is running low. Your honesty will make her fall in love with you all over again!<br /><br />3) Skip the clichéd flower bouquet and hand-pick some dandelions from the neighbor's backyard. She'll swoon at the bravery it took and reassure you that weeds are so much prettier than roses, anyway.<br /><br />4) Sprinkle a trail of rose petals leading all the way from the bedroom to the kitchen, where she'll find a box of cake mix on the counter, directions included. You've made this so easy for her! You hopeless romantic, you.<br /><br />5) Take her to her favorite restaurant and surprise her by saying you got her an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour by landing her a place on the dishwashing staff! She'll be thrilled to be able to see where the magic happens.<br /><br />6) Indulge your special lady with a box of fat-free, sugar-free chocolates. Say you've been hearing her complain about her weight lately and thought you'd help out. She'll be so charmed that you've been listening to her!<br /><br />7) If you're feeling extra generous, tell her you'll take care of dinner and pop a Lean Cuisine in the microwave. Half the time, half the calories, double the affection.<br /><br />8) Treat yourself to a new Corvette with an in-dash GPS and tell your wife you got her a brand new passenger seat. She'll be swept off her feet so quickly, she might just find the way to the ground on her own!</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-80243449213455909072019-02-05T20:52:00.002-08:002019-02-05T21:29:39.686-08:00Beauty In The Change Of The Seasons<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is something that has struck me as an odd sensation. How seasons have one thing in common. One central connection point. Beauty in change. Fall has always been my favorite season, upon further contemplation I asked: What is it about nature dying that gives beauty? What is it about transition that can be so indelibly endearing to the senses? Is this not a picture of the transient nature of all things physical? The beauty we see in the passing of the seasons, the nostalgic romanticism one attaches to the falling of the leaves is not the thing itself, they are only the scent of unmet desires we have not yet found, an unsatisfied longing for the unknown, echoes of a tune we have not heard, news from a faraway country we have never visited, perhaps it is akin to weaving a spell? Spells are used for breaking enchantments and maybe nature can be a strong spell to break us form the clutches of our home monitors and screens, away from the compelling vices that have been laid heavily upon us. Built up crutches of esteem, layered and pasted on by the peer pressures of our society. A constant bombardment of stimuli, stimuli, input, input, a data collection cesspit of noxious sedatives. The worldwide web, an all purpose medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows thought my eyes and ears and into my mind. A sordid matrix of facade part-like representations, blog posts, memes, emojis, hashtags and tweets, with angular limbs, jerky movements, dry, metallic noises, all suggesting either machines that have come to life or life degenerating into mechanism. A brain molded by the plasticity of the age, re-categorized and sculpted into the rapid fire, quick-scan process of internet thought, attempting to reach an end yet always missing the linear and concentrated whole.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet outside nature, with a soft compelling plea begs to whisk us away into that other dimension apart of fear and anxiety, distrust and vexing competition, almost all of our culture has been directed at silencing this shy persistent inner voice, almost all our modern philosophies have been devised that the good of man is to be found in the vast interlocking web of self-aggrandizement and political advancement. Yet my mind wanders to the wet leaf-strewn concrete of a college campus on a blustery fall day as the trees shed their summer foliage and the wind whispers through many a now leafless tree. Falling leaves hide the path so quietly, a sickening nostalgia now entangles my mind, like the sordid web-like matrix of the internet itself. When autumn comes kicking the long hot perverse summer out on its treacherous hindparts, as it always does one day, sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend you have missed. It settles in the way an old acquaintance will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you. I prefer Fall and Winter, that is when you feel the bone structure of the landscape. The loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it. The whole story doesn't show.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Autumn reminds us that our leaves too will die. The curse we inherited from our father-tree Adam means we have our seasons and then we go. Winter takes us all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is worth stopping to consider. My chlorophyll will break down; my limbs will turn brittle; one of these breaths I now take casually will be my last.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And what, then, when my tether snaps from this mortal coil?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Autumn can draw our attention to the one man who broke through winter into an unending summer. The one who spent three days brown and dead in the dirt and came back in an indestructible green. The one who wasn’t just a leaf; he was a whole new tree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Winter comes to us all. But winter isn’t the end for Christians, because our lives are joined to a tree that winter cannot touch. Death has no sting; winter has no bite. We will fall from the tree of Adam; but we will flower again in a spring of eternal, glorious growth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Holding this truth gives the hope to inoculate us against the persistent disease of worldly materialism, to understand the eternal realities behind the transient veil and to one day let death be swallowed up in victory so we may indeed beautifully.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I do believe it is within our natures to be resistant of change. Though we might enjoy each season for its change once its taken place, there's an anxi</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ety that comes with that build-up, it sparks a bit of nervous energy within us, making us feel like we need to prepare ourselves form something more severe or brace for impact--even though its as simple as allowing the seasons to turn. And though after a long harsh winter we may look forward with anxious eye to the budding of the green leaf and bloom of the flower, spring and soon summer itself we are yet still quick to let go of. And though we might be excited about sweater weather and Halloween parties, we know Christmas with its hullabaloo and enigmatic rush propelling many a profitable fortune earner into dispiriting debt and soul-cleaving New Years depression, looms large around the corner and we find ourselves at cross purposes as we all cant still but hesitate to embrace the new season. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, if we have the correct mindset and focus, setting our minds not on fortune, money, or the transient nature of things, because like the seasons and the years that pass us by they seem to be as fleeting as a leaf in the wind, hard to catch yet visibly detached. What is changing is merely the physical apparatus and worn out vestures of things passing away, like a snake shedding its skin, what is left is a representation of things eternal, like the seasons of change they give us a fleeting and passing glimpse of lusters yet to come if only to be enjoyed for a moment, for what is really you, is as changeless as the eternal nature of our being. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above not on earthly things. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. " Col 3:2</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal" 2 Cor 4:18</span></span></span><br />
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-2838974259795484032018-11-13T22:15:00.002-08:002018-11-13T22:23:32.943-08:00The Deception<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> It is my strong belief that God really is, the very definition of God is the intelligent existence holding the entire fabric of universe together, to the air you breathe around you, to the love you see in others; yet, you, I and everyone "living" is bound to this dying place and its broken systems in our biological bodies. Thus, your soul and your flesh are both struggling to go two very different directions. This system "negative energy" a separated (quarantined) system. It is a system under the control of the prince of this world and those with him whose time of CHOICE has passed. While unconnected and in this flesh, we are all under the thumb of the things we cannot see. the world around and even our own flesh can be compared to a bicycle going downhill that can and will gain speed until such point that it reaches a velocity, that without outside intervention, will ultimately meet with disaster of one form or another. This is the default setting. The automated direction that mankind blindly moves when God's light of all that is, was, or remains to come involving that indwelling connection to Him are willfully, or even subconsciously, cast aside in the great pursuit of the sin which may indeed summarize all sin: Self-will. In the grandness of all the stars, the solar systems, the world within worlds, the great beyond and all that which this feeble human mind would shutter to understand, we are such a speck; a tiny, tiny speck. We, and when I say we, I really mean I as well as everyone else have fancied ourselves as little kings, self-important, self-proclaimed gods to which all should bow to recognize our trite conquests, trials, problems and achievements. It is like a drop of water telling the ocean how important it is. But God despite all that still strives to connect with us, trying to undo this curse with incredible care and patience. The programmer is undoing the virus from within.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> This world is eternity's pit stop and heaven will make Disneyland look like a Honeybucket. God says I've made a place for you that will supersede even your wildest dreams and imaginations. But to understand a Way Out, in order to get there we have no choice but to understand where we are "NOW." Let me introduce you to the "spiritual ghetto," the dark end of eternity's street. This is simply the world you and I were born into, the "testing ground." Perhaps the place the Programmer sorts out the parts that He wishes to keep most. It was at our conception that we made the CHOICE that our Maker has tried to undo with incredible care, patience and self-sacrifice. You see, it was the first of our kind that invited in the virus that is this present darkness; turning our cradle into this quarantine. The program, once perfect, is now infected. It is a hollow shell, dying a piece at a time. Most things here will never escape. Worse still, there comes an hour on the horizon when this hollow cancer, and everything confined inside of it, will be herded into an even smaller cage. In that cage, those who were not pulled from this place by connection to their Creator will be as spiritual infants in the unfriendly claws of ancient things; pleasure puppets for condemned beasts. Make no mistake, you have been born into a very hostile and dangerous place</span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> A spiritual apocalypse is sweeping across our nation, the enemy is using deception and illusions, lulling many into a spiritual slumber, even in something as innocent as Disney; the more you look into it, the illuminatis warped illusions</span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and hidden agendas are clear. Basically, we're all not right in the head the sin virus has infiltrated our central nervous system. We only wish to devour another, and what I am telling you is this is not physical. We feast on peoples failures. It's mental, psychological not always tangible but we do attack others in order to gain ill conceived nourishment. In the pre-flood days there were giants and hybrid angels that would literally rape the woman and consume the men, this is not fantasy, this was reality. Without God we have a complete apocalyptic nightmare as it is quoted "watch out that you are not consumed by one another" I doubt this is referring to physical consummation. without a God given conscious of right and wrong we are all spiritual zombies.</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> We are all entering a time frame nowdays where many people are "ultra religious", where there is a good degree of superstition, everything is spiritualized. However being ultra religious isn't always a good thing. The Pharisees were ultra religious. This day and age there is extreme curiosity about things of supernatural origin. I've watched Trey Smiths recent documentaries on entities, and if you haven't seen it go to his YouTube channel and watch it. People really talk to these things. Not just "hey this guy said this I think I heard that", "I think there's a weird thing over there" "look it moved on the table" because as that cup is scooting across and we are on this side playing games, it's not. It's got an objective and the thing (entity) whatever it is you want to call it operates like a computer virus. It's trying to "plug in and make entrance" it's main motion isn't moving chips on a Ouija board or cups across a table. Now I think it's important to be said to find out the backdrop and interweave that into what they are trying to do. "What is it always saying?" Look at the correlations. The question is "why is it moving the cup?" It's main mode of operation is not cup sliding but through people --the human mind. The bible is redundant on this "bringing every thought captive" because the mind is like a computer box which outsiders can make entrance "hey, listen hey this is what you really need" and then we line that with what Christ says. Now the objective of a virus is for something to take control of the system and to destroy the property of the system-to subvert it if you will. That's what those pushy thoughts originate from, now why would your mind convince you to do something--why would you convince you?? Are you not you? So what's doing the marketing? There's more I could go into with this. But all I want to leave you with is this: spiritual warfare is very real. This isn't Genesis 6 stuff, they're influencing all of us and largely unnoticed. This is one of the first generations in history that doesn't understand this as common knowledge, I mean they've been practicing this stuff for centuries and lately the sales pitch has been "Gods not real this world and it's surface level materialism is all there is". Yet I want to tell you in truth, it is my hearts desire to lay this before your eyes and inform you that there is a daily struggle being waged over your mind your will your emotions and most importantly like the hard drive to a computer system "your soul". That thing on the other side that is making the cup slide is just thrilled to death we would even give it the time of day. Yet we KNOW the God of the universe the very thing it also fears the most and I'm telling you that thing has nothing to offer you--except side effects and more problems like a little 14 yr old in your house who keeps using the last of the toilet paper and won't go get a job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Lastly I wanted to share this: most psychologists would agree that we as people emulate the personality traits of those who we spend the most time around. If we spend alot of time with Jesus we will begin to behave and even act like him. This is why long distance relationships are hard. God isn't out there so far that you have to pick up the phone and hope don't get a busy signal or have to leave another voicemail, we send these quick text messages of prayer like requests without understanding every thought and desire you experience He is not surprised by. He already knows you yet he doesn't want a 'long-distance relationship, He wants a personal, deep heartfelt one, where every desire is cast at the foot of the cross and every ill-conceived thought of doubt, anger and fear is cast at the foot of the cross. Who wants us to experience a love so vast, so wide and so deep that all he says is "give me your sins" I will carry them myself all the way the way to Calvary all to cure your heart and minds. Do you know him? Because you got to have him. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"I want you to know...no matter who you are.. that God is very, very Real.... and He loves you more than you can even know.... As people we have trouble understanding what that love is, and also not fully understanding what the love of God Himself is" -Trey Smith. </span></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-42973396024088589892018-07-22T18:52:00.000-07:002018-07-22T18:52:29.668-07:00Little Sins<br />
By degrees men get familiar with sin<br />
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"the ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds"<br />
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"At first a little sin startles us, but soon we say is it not a little one? then there comes another larger and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill and then follows an unholy audacity we have not fallen into open sin, true we tripped a little but we stood upright in the main, we may have uttered one unholy word but as for the most of our conversation it has been consistent, so we palliate sin, we throw a cloak over it we call it by dainty names. Is it not a poison who knows its deadliness? Does not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks"<br />
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It can all start with a joke at the dinner table that may not have been all too offensive to ones ears, or a quick glance outside a window to notice the neighbors fine car. We are never far from coveting, envy or salacious desires.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">"Is it not a little one?" Men, with their eyes well opened by divine grace, have seen a whole hell slumbering in the most minute sin. Gifted with a microscopic power, their eyes have seen a world of iniquity hidden in a single act, or thought, or imagination of sin; and hence they have avoided it with horror,— have passed by and would have nought to do with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"> This is something that convicted me. It was always be degrees I have been </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">desensitized</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">to the harmful affects of sin. A drink here, a quick glance of lust there, a prideful thought here, a judgement towards other people spoken then and there and before you realize it you are ensnared and conditioned to think and feel in a way that seems normal to a worldly mindset. Desires which once seemed so harmful are now natural. Critiquing other peoples behavior, instead of praying and building others up soon becomes the norm. I'm writing this to myself as much as anybody it is so easy as Christians to fall into the traps the devil lays for us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"> I have noticed in my time working retail that Sunday is usually the day I receive the least amount of tips and notice the greatest degree of unhappiness in people. This fact has always puzzled and amazed me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-5793223926932428992018-07-22T15:56:00.001-07:002018-07-22T16:23:43.359-07:00My personal encounter with God<h2>
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Many people today: when they talk about God, they know alot about him
like an outsider looking in and observing Him than having just been with Him,
many times we are happy to hear from Moses. In society a Moses could be an
actor or influential artists, because we wanna be with "Moses", take
a selfie with him, rather than the God he represents, they can be connected to
him directly.. Really know him. we can get so into people and not realize we
can walk up that mountain ourself. You've got to go up that mountain, where you
come into the presence of God. There's something amazing when you
go up that mountain alone an its just you and God. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p>Lets snap back 2,000 years
real quickly: Oh, to see Jesus deeply moved and weeping outside Jerusalem's
walls right before he was about to be crucified. To see the deep emotion and
soul cleaving anguish in his tear filled eyes as he struggles to articulate his
sincere sorrow for their hard unrepentant hearts..Just forget about the rules,
the moral predicaments, the doxology, religious ideals, political debates
surrounding world crises today and take a moment to reflect on Jesus deep
emotion, knowing his impending belittlement and execution was at hand, weeping
over their sins. Yet how many of those are within those walls right now,
fortified, by physical securities: health, wealth, friends, education and a
litany of other freedoms. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p>Lets flash back to my
personal journey of faith. I got out and biked today for the first time in
months, the weather was hot yet somehow it didn't bother me, after biking 15
miles a day in the snow to get to work, spending the holidays: christmas and
thanksgiving alone, isolated on the Palouse like a sad recluse; yeah that was a
dark time in my life. The point of me saying this is not to garner self-pity,
for I ask it from no one, I took risks and made mistakes, and I will own my
mistakes. Ill fortune went against me no doubt, but the point I want to make is
my spending that time alone, isolated in inclement weather, fighting to survive
was time for deep soul searching. It built character and matured me a bit. I
always said "I would work out the hardiness of my soul on the undulating
hills of the Palouse". Little did I realize the extent of how much those
prophetic words came true. One day I'll look back at Pullman and say "that
was the best thing that happened to me" although a lot of the memories may
not have been great, it taught me what was important in life. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If
somebody asked me to stand up in the front of a room and give a speech to
inspire others to find their personal greatness I I would say something like
this "Don't do like I did, let myself get sidetracked..Wasted the prime of
my life pursuing relationships that weren't real. Is there nothing that will
not one day pass? We must find what is not fortune in this world. There is no
hiding place where trouble will not find you. The world lives by trickery, if
you wanna succeed, you can't be too good, it's the little things in life that
are worth focusing on, worth noting, worth cherishing, these are the only
things the world can't take away. From a financial and educational
standpoint my time in Idaho would seem like colossal failure, Yet
from a spiritual a maturation standpoint it was great success. Your
mentality is indeed everything. The times people took care of me and
looked out for me is what I love to remember best. I've taken risks, Iv'e
made mistakes, yet Iv'e also owned those mistakes. Life is tough. The question
is, what are you going to do about it? Moaning and groaning won't secure your
future. Neither will blaming Wall Street, the big bankers, corporate America,
or the government, Growing up my parents taught me the same formula for success
that you probably learned: Go to school, study hard, and get good grades so you
can get a secure high paying job with benefits and your job will take care of
you. But that's industrial age thinking and we're not in the industrial age
anymore. Your jobs not going to take care of you, the government will not take
care of you. Nobodies going to take care of you It's a new century and the
rules have changes. If you want a solid future...YOU need to create it. Don't
be distracted by modern day headlines there is always some idiotic buzz going
on that tries to pull your attention away from the serious business of building
your life. Whither its terrorism, recession or the latest election cycle
scandals, its got nothing to do with what you need to be doing today to build
your future. But what is your future? If it's this life alone then being a
"christian" and "having faith" is a great mistake. I'm not
trying to create arguments of persuasion to build a "better you" what
I am saying however, from my own personal experiences is that faith
matters. And divine help matters.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Plato
himself was quoted to say “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and
that is that I know nothing" What Plato realized was the starting
point we must all arrive at. Is this not the beginning of wisdom? Even Paul
himself agreed to the hidden truth of godliness being a mystery as to a riddle
needing to be solved. Beyond all question, the mystery from which true
godliness springs is great: The great eternal riddle..the mystery of the ages.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We must
"sort out the madness" so to speak. that is our goal, in order to
take hold of our eternal destiny by seeing what is real life. Those who desire
riches and $ in the next life will sell all they have here in order to
"gain" if we really lived eternally and saw death as a mere
transition to a higher form of life with greater cognitive reasoning skills and
a physical apparatus with built-in abilities to ascertain greater heights of pleasure,
we'd be doing alot more to live for that existence and not give it all away to
the current biological freak show of surface level materialistic decay around
us. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">For life
is a fickle thing. It seems life brings us more loss than success, more pain
than gain and yet, in spite of all that: we fight tooth and nail to hang on
'despite the hardships' to life for just another 5 minutes. Whatever the pain
that attends life, we desire to keep experiencing it. Because the other side is
shrouded in mystique we've never experienced, we would rather bear the ills we
have, than embrace the uncertainty of the unknown. He then says "Thus
conscience doth make cowards of us all" -Plato</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Author and film maker, Trey
Smith greatly influenced my current thinking, if you havent heard of him watch
his Youtube documentaries. Entities a no-nonsense account about the
machinery behind our current world...... and this exclusionary thing we call
reality coupled the current level of</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> deception, of evil ones
harvesting the souls of those creatures (humans) and the matrix --the
machine---<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">As was
once stated:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> "I once dreamed of a world unhindered by machines..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">That
world exists..just not in this dimension.."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
machinary are the demons behind the scenes manipulating the structures
surrounding us..they follow their leader Satan and their aim is your perdition,
we all have them, vile enemies of the soul...But they fight a losing war like
the CSA after Gettysburg, Calvary was their "Waterloo" or
"High Water Mark" of the rebellion..</span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I've felt like an ant with 6 legs, stumbling and struggling
with a heavy load six times heavier than my body weight. Such an ant was found
in the book "Till We Have Faces" in Oruals vision. To make a picture
of the pieces, you have to be a right piece in order to connect where God wants
to connect you, for we were all eternal beings, life does not end anywhere,
death is merely a transition unto that which is real life, a higher form of
pleasure, for we were designed friends, to co-author eternity with the most
high.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If we
are transformed into a new likeness, one like Jesus, then our desires will
change as well; a propensity to sin will be completely removed with a fervent
desire for good works. Can you imagine a world where joy will be
unending? Pain and selfish ambition done away with, forever and ever, where restrictions are removed
since our new nature and appreciation for God will be transformed. Free-will
was and always will be there but due to the understanding of the depravity of
sin that we are experiencing in this world, and that understanding is all in
order that we may appreciate Christ that much more in the next, when the
struggle will be ended. We will not be robots forced to obey his will but
newborn saints filled with deep appreciation and awe for what our Savior has
done for us. Without the cross, we could never understand the fullness of Jesus
love for us. Measures of restraint will be removed.</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">For what
is the Law? "It was added because of transgressions, and how would we know
what it was to covet, or to lust, or to steal without the law? This is
what Paul is stating in the New Testament. Now that the fullness of all our
transgression are removed through the power of the cross we can
"respond" to others in gratitude.</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I used
to think Jesus and the cross was an old story that happened 2,000 years ago,
about a man "Jesus" who did alto of good things, made some bold
claims and was crucified. But now I see a clearer picture as my relationship
with him grows. I see the cross and its power as ongoing, following his saints
throughout history with every drop of blood covering future transgressions,
even those we have yet to commit. It is not just some story in history, or some
ethereal experience. What happened on that cross 2,000 years ago still follows
us today, and the blood of Christ is continually pleaded over our sins by the
intercession of our Savior as I type these very words....kind of changes your
perspective a bit when you get to know Jesus in this way. </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-8420544852530105382018-06-17T17:47:00.000-07:002018-06-17T21:55:10.261-07:00"Thanatopsis"<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> "Yet not to thine eternal resting-place </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> Shalt thou retire alone, thou shalt lie down </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> with patriarchs of the infant world—with kings, </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> The powerful of the earth—the wise, the good, </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> all in one mighty sepulcher. The hills </b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"> rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun,—the vales </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline;"><br /> stretching in pensive quietness between;<br /> the venerable woods—rivers that move<br /> In majesty, and the complaining brooks<br /> that make the meadows green; and, poured round all,<br /> Old Ocean’s gray and melancholy waste,—<br /> are but the solemn decorations all<br /> Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun,<br /> The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,<br /> Are shining on the sad abodes of death,<br /> Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread<br /> The globe are but a handful to the tribes<br /> That slumber in its bosom.—Take the wings<br /> of morning, pierce the wilderness,<br /> Or lose thyself in the continuous woods<br /> Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound,<br /> Save his own dashings—yet the dead are there:<br /> And millions in those solitudes, since first<br /> The flight of years began, have laid them down<br /> In their last sleep—the dead reign there alone.<br />So shalt thou rest, and what if thou withdraw<br /> In silence from the living, and no friend<br /> Take note of thy departure? All that breathe<br /> will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh<br />When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care<br /> plod on, and each one as before will chase<br /> His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave<br /> Their mirth and their employments, and shall come<br />And make their bed with thee. As the long train<br /> Of ages glide away, the sons of men,<br /> The youth in life’s green spring, and he who goes<br /> In the full strength of years, matron and maid,<br /> The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man—<br /> Shall one by one be gathered to thy side,<br /> By those, who in their turn shall follow them.<br />So live, that when thy summons comes to join<br /> The innumerable caravan, which moves<br /> To that mysterious realm, where each shall take<br /> His chamber in the silent halls of death,<br /> Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,<br /> Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed<br /> By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,<br /> Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch<br /> About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>-William Cullen Bryant (circa)1817</i></span></span><br />
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-30106137209511237272018-02-28T17:23:00.000-08:002018-10-30T10:16:41.791-07:00Why we losing our generation of "Millennials" in Church.<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
-Only 2 in 10 Americans under 30 believe attending a church is important or worthwhile (an all time low)<br />
-59% of millennials raised in church have dropped out<br />
-35% of millennials have an anti-church stance<br />
-Millennials are the least likely age group of anyone to attend church.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PeYaI9Um4BAq2kAFf2kuDPv4fD-Ah73oR3nTnm4jLxLwm3zFUD75li3V3T1IZbfhSf76WiR6sUAlwxmBy0l9YB38qnkh2StKcaIFPBNjTP0JIewqkNLHIQGmCPRVulVsry0rzWkKdQA/s1600/160915-Kirchick-Blame-Millennials-For-President-Trump-tease_fuaacc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1480" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PeYaI9Um4BAq2kAFf2kuDPv4fD-Ah73oR3nTnm4jLxLwm3zFUD75li3V3T1IZbfhSf76WiR6sUAlwxmBy0l9YB38qnkh2StKcaIFPBNjTP0JIewqkNLHIQGmCPRVulVsry0rzWkKdQA/s320/160915-Kirchick-Blame-Millennials-For-President-Trump-tease_fuaacc.jpg" width="320" /></a>Despite the steep drop off in millennials. most church's seem to be continuing on with business as usual. Sure, maybe add a bowling night here or there but no one seems to be reacting with any level of concern that matches these STAGGERING statistics. Q: Where is the task-force searching for the lost generation? Where is the introspective reflection necessary when 1/3 of a generation is ANTI-CHURCH? I read a blog recently that offered solutions in chronological order: 1. Problem: Nobody is listening to us: Millennials value voice and receptivity above all else. Solution: create outlets: involve millennials in more regular leadership opportunities to serve the outside communities needs, opposed to creating an exclusive "clickish" hierarchy. Fraternities do a better job of this than many churches. 2. We are sick of hearing about values and mission statements: "Why does every church need its own mission statement anyway? Sweet Moses, people give it a rest. Jesus was insanely clear about our purpose on earth. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is love thy neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. "Love God, love others, task completed. Why does every church need its own mission statement anyway? Aren't we all one body of Christ serving one God? What would happen if the entire American church came together in our commonalities and used the same, concise mission statement?<br />
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The solution is simple. Stop wasting time on the religious, mambo jambo and get back to the heart of the gospel. If you have to explain your mission and values to the church, it's overly religious and too complicated. And when we enact "church membership" it becomes exclusive, and "cultish". Were not impressed with the hours you brag about spending behind closed doors wrestling with "Christianese" words on a paper. We're impressed with actions and service. Helping the poor has become not a priority anymore. Just clock the hours members spend in bible studies, meetings, groups, social functions, book clubs, church funding events vs....the hours spent serving the least of these........ugh awkward. If the numbers are not at least equal please check your bible for better comprehension "If our lives do not reflect radical compassion for others in need, there is cause to wonder if Christ is even in us at all" Lastly everyone is tired of the church blaming the culture. Perhaps its easier to focus on how terrible the world is out there than actually address the mess within. Put the "end times" rhetoric to rest and focus on real solutions and real impact in the immediate community while explicitly showing how our lives should differ from the mainstream cultures Example: Organize a group of millennials to visit the jailhouse once or twice a week and reach out to those people.</div>
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Most millennials want to be mentored not preached at. Preaching just doesn't reach our techno-savvy generation the same way it did our grandparents and great-grandparents. We have millions of podcast and YouTube videos for that reason the currency of good preaching is at its lowest value in history -- Millennials crave relationship, to have someone walking beside them through the muck. They are looking for mentors authentically invested in their lives, if we don't have real people who actually care about us, why not listen to a sermon from the couch with the ecstasy of doughnuts and sweatpants. Create a network base of mentors and younger millennial's looking for someone to talk with them about controversial issues, because people want to feel valued....Only then can real change to the public perception of the church as a whole begin to happen. I read Paul's blueprint in the New Testament on how a church should behave and I think...wow, in America...we aren't doing this.. We are failing at being the aroma of Christ because we've made it into an aroma of Doctrine, abandoned our spiritual moorings and drifted far from true religion which is described by James as this: looking after the orphans and widows in their distress, serving everyone in need regardless of culture, color, class or capactiy....end rant.<br />
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-63309631340274521672018-02-01T20:00:00.002-08:002019-04-04T10:29:03.854-07:00They sold their souls for Rock N' Roll" and the "Stairway to Hell"<span id="docs-internal-guid-5e9d86c8-548a-97ab-1d6a-226d192e788a" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> I recently watched all 5 episodes of the documentary and Youtube series: "They sold their souls for Rock N' Roll". It was pretty alarming to me how many famous artists did actually sell their soul to the devil for $ and fame. For example, even the Beatles were heavily influenced by Satanist "Aleister Crowley". Hitler (a Crowley disciple) and Crowley himself were both displayed on the Beatle’s “Sergeant Pepper” Album. The undercurrents can be found in the composition of the song “My Sweet Lord” (with the chorus headlining) "Hallelujah..Hare Krishna." Krishna is a dark underworld god/demon that is prominent in the Buddha and Hindu religions. It’s easy to get lulled into a spiritual slumber by the lyrics “my sweet lord” and “hallelujah” while feeling the pleasurable dopamine releases in the brain, not realizing you are unwittingly paying homage to dark gods. Even famous guitarist Jimmy Hendrix admitted to a spirit taking over his fingers and controlling his onstage movements. He notes after he dropped acid at Woodstock: “The guitar turned into a snake and my fingers were not my own”. A dark entity was evidently behind his rise to fame as he admitted to being possessed and not his own on stage and subject to violent and unpredictable mood swings. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Robert Johnson, who many call "The grandfather of Rock N' Roll" stands at the crossroads</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9iPA2kY41T6fU3M4KQt_oOIaXCn35tluu07byCDCDXM0jDTRaPcPWR3uUE0Xzd6TLvoYF3Z0qEPySTZEQbA82F61q5kFAk6Rhx2-uRlZAtO-5XjG-Io63BcWnzC0aeWlpIcjEpdWTYsU/s1600/16-1-56+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="640" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9iPA2kY41T6fU3M4KQt_oOIaXCn35tluu07byCDCDXM0jDTRaPcPWR3uUE0Xzd6TLvoYF3Z0qEPySTZEQbA82F61q5kFAk6Rhx2-uRlZAtO-5XjG-Io63BcWnzC0aeWlpIcjEpdWTYsU/s320/16-1-56+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> of American music, due in no small part to a popular folk legend that he once stood at a </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt;">Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for guitar-playing prowess. Yet this story has gained weight through his own family members saying overnight he turned from a "wannabe" with a screechy voice and terrible guitar skills to the most gifted guitarist the world had yet seen, equipped with an uncanny ability to play both rifts and cords simultaneously. Those who heard him perform live would say "It was almost as if two guitars were being played at the same time and the rare combination was beautiful". To who does he owe this powerful transformation? We can only guess he had aide..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The more you dig into the personal biographies and on-stage testimonies, you will be intriqued by the discovery that a large portion of the lyrics for famous rock n’ roll songs were accompliched through sorcery, channeling and automatic handwriting. Many composers will tell a similar story of a spirit taking over the writing of the lyrics, the stage and even the choreographed rhymthic movements of the performers as well. They will also give credit to that mysterious spirit who occassionally visits them in their homes to whisper "sweet nothings" in their ears for the next batch of successful composition. Many will admit to ethereal encounters as the bluepring for their notoriety and smashing success. The sad part is humanity is a mere illusional backdrop for them as they work behind the scenes. Many, if not all of these famous Rock n’ Roll “legends” are mere puppets/ mediums /conduits, if you will, for dark underworld gods to channel for their sinister purposes, all in order to promote an unbiblical demonic agenda. Lead Satanist Aleister Crowley’s “Do what thou will” motto, prominent through the hippie/psychedelic movement in the 60’s-70’s has deceived and influenced millions. The more psychedelic drugs one does, the more doors one opens for mental and physical manipulation. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For example, when Carlos Santana plays guitar it appears as if he were a man possessed, and that the guitar itself is a wailing spirit. It may sound ethereal to say that, but keep in mind, he DOES get possessed when he plays. So as much as it may seem silly, it is not something Carlos Santana denies. He very much considers himself a conduit for a larger being that chooses to play through him. Many would say he is just a vessel. He, himself, would admit to this. Let us start our journey on that note. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Now flash back a bit with me, to 1998. Carlos Santana is meditating. There are candles lit around him, and he is in a deeply meditative state. A being he refers to as Metatron comes to him in a very clear vision and says:</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">"We want to hook you back in to the radio air-wave frequency. We want you to reach junior high schools, high schools, and universities. Once you reach them – we are going to connect you with the best artists of the day – then we want you to present them a new menu. Let them know that they are, themselves, multi-dimensional spirits with enormous possibilities and opportunities. We want you to inform them with a new form of existence that transcends religion, politics, or the modus operandi of education today."</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I would love to tell you I made that up. That I just came up with that, but the fact is, it was in a Rolling Stone interview. As a matter of fact. Pretty much any interview or article you read about Santana will have references to Metatron and how the Supernatural album came to be. What I am telling you now is not private news. It is just news most people ignore or glance over. But I’m sorry. I tend to not glance over someone telling me something came to them and told him to win them teens over (and win them away from politics and organized religion?). I am sorry, but that is basic Antichrist stuff, right there. Why don’t we take a moment to really talk about the above quote?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">First off, he says his “angel” is Metatron. Sure enough, if you look up Metatron, there is a great amount of info about him being an archangel and, potentially, the ruler of the Tree of Life. But if you look deeper into demon possession, you will see in most cases the demon gives off a fake name. A name that will lull the person seeking them into a false sense of safety. It seems as Santana sold his soul in seeking riches, he was also blind to the fact that was being played by them like an instrument in the same way he plays his guitar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim Van Morrison, artist of the hit single "brown eyed girl" was quoted by his fellow band mates to have many different voices while performing on stage and his erratic behavior terrified them at times. In one of his biographies, and I quote "On stage (Morrison) came alive and was the most exciting and dynamic performer I'd ever seen. He would go through trips on stage, you woudn't believe the personalities that would come out of him. the intensity that would speak to the audience. 15,000 people would just be hushed, stopped, not even breathing. Man, when I was on stage with that guy I don't know who was playing the organ. Sure it was my fingers, but...? Implying that the same forces who took control of Jim Morrison took control of his fingers. Jim Morrison biographers in the book "The last Waltz" point out "he was opening himself to be used and abused by any spiritual entity that happened to come along. The result may have been some amazing inspirations, but also a tragically restless, misdirected life"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Bob Dylan as well during a nationally televised interview on 60 minutes admitted candidly in a cryptic message, to making a pact with the devil:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #241818; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ed</strong><span style="color: #241818;"> </span><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #241818; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bradley</strong><span style="color: #241818;">: Why do you still do it? Why are you still out here?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dylan</strong>: It goes back to that destiny thing. I made a bargain with it a long time ago, and I’m holding up my end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bradley</strong>: What was your bargain? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dylan</strong>: To get where I am now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bradley</strong>: Should I ask whom you made the bargain with?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dylan</strong>: With the chief commander.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bradley:</strong> On this earth?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dylan</strong>: (laughing) On this earth and the world we can’t see"</span><span style="font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-style: italic;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">And then there was the Beyonce' Super bowl 2013 performance where millions saw her</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">physical appearance transform onstage after she flashed several luciferean and </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj727ryVT6I-InQ3vDhHuyS0W76yL57xeyzHZzhWNKGlaR6dBYWREcZoLE1dUiGXLkh6f8zw2hqEeJqHMe-ib9WnWo1ilz7aFJtCBuyx0-ZoPUObH3KwefZMfcUWeuF7HgtCikNVtc63A/s1600/htabxdx9cpe7ew0iypcc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj727ryVT6I-InQ3vDhHuyS0W76yL57xeyzHZzhWNKGlaR6dBYWREcZoLE1dUiGXLkh6f8zw2hqEeJqHMe-ib9WnWo1ilz7aFJtCBuyx0-ZoPUObH3KwefZMfcUWeuF7HgtCikNVtc63A/s320/htabxdx9cpe7ew0iypcc.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">occultic </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">signs. Beyonce' herself admitted to being possessed onstage by the dark spirit "Sasha Fierce". As you can clearly see nobody home in exhibit A to the right.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even arguably, the most famous Rock N' Roll song of all time "Stairway to Heaven" was composed in a 10 minute span by Jimmy Page, who later goes on to say he was writing so quickly and without thought he doesn’t recall what he wrote. “The lyrics just came to me and my hands flew off the page. I didn’t write it. The idea was not my own”. The song is mere byproduct of the mystic, new age movement and promotes a false way to heaven. The song pays homage to the dark god "hamelin" displayed in ancient literature with a pipe in his hand. And a new day will dawn for those who stand with him long, the forests will echo with laughter. (the new-age anti-Christ is the piper that will lead all who will follow the tune of the devil into hell - the new day is the new-age - it's a counterfeit of the Bible verses that tell us those who stand for Jesus to the end will be saved.) Further lyrics in this song further illiterate the thick spidery web of deception, such as "Its just a spring clean for the May queen". (the queen of heaven again, mayday was an ancient pagan fertility celebration)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Your head is humming and it won’t go, In case you don’t know: The pipers calling you to join him. (once again, I reiterate, the piper is not your friend) </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, And did you know: Your stairway lies on the whispering wind. (the wind is a spirit - you can choose to follow the Holy Spirit or evil spirits.) </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven. (demons try to turn us away from God and toward sin through our thoughts.)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There's more lyrics about the evil lady however..."There’s a lady whose sure all that glitters is gold and she’s buying a stairway to heaven. When she gets there, she knows if the stores are all closed with a word she can get what she came for.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">(Occult alchemy. Some people live as though material things have lasting value. Some believe they can buy, with money or sex, whatever they want. An ancient fertility goddess called the queen of heaven - ancient devil worship. It's a blasphemy verse as money, material things and sex have no place or value in God's heaven.)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Lyrics (cont..) There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, And my spirit is crying for leaving. (in ancient times, the west, the direction of the sunset, was the direction of hell - sadly, children of darkness long to return home to their master where death and destruction awaits them)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The “Red HotChili Peppers” for one, publicly thanked Satan after winning a Grammy award.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s really quite tragic and sad at how deceived most of us are when you peel the layers back 😔</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQM1mkFlzjiaO889xZJT-md-U0yZAOxeqjxHol25Ul1tZyJ7d3_fL5nqgiHf5sOlxn3JMLbayjdiJu4Hz0LlDJTnvtFdKGBc7HfHOz3q3iyp97XYre-kFGJCxE_hXzTQfDu-ON9SS8yU/s1600/crit_rocknrollcovers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="471" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQM1mkFlzjiaO889xZJT-md-U0yZAOxeqjxHol25Ul1tZyJ7d3_fL5nqgiHf5sOlxn3JMLbayjdiJu4Hz0LlDJTnvtFdKGBc7HfHOz3q3iyp97XYre-kFGJCxE_hXzTQfDu-ON9SS8yU/s320/crit_rocknrollcovers2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-55375031088041446642018-01-04T21:06:00.001-08:002018-06-17T22:04:35.330-07:00The Saints are Coming Home<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometimes I’ll see in my minds eyes what I refer to as “The falling man” on a cold moonlit night, a lone figure:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Son of God...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Falling on his face almost unable to bear the crushing weight he was about to carry. The Rock of Ages planted in humiliating fashion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I see the image again after I sin egregiously - a man falling on his face- amid the moonlit glow, struck down in the line of duty for that very sin I committed. I see him carrying that sin all the way to the cross. I see him pleading before the father not to punish me for that sin as he’s pointing to his side and nail scarred wrist “that one, I paid for it too My Father”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I see a risen savior setting captives free in paradise, as comforting angels surround them...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All are echoing the same chorus: “he’s approaching, he’s coming soon, your sins are right now being atoned for, wait for it. “We are going to see The King”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A giant explosion rends the air...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The son of God himself, closely followed by the the ransomed thief on the cross ruptures the outer wall...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cries of joy rend the air...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> A loud voice splits the sky: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> “follow me!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Out the redeemed saints pour, led by their fearless leader Jesus Christ, the keys of death and hades anchored to his side...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Into the halls of heaven they pour...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now arising from the Throne of the most High, in a welcome gesture toward his son who is now followed by myriads of angels and redeemed saints in tow is His Father “Well done my faithful Son, well done” What a greeting it was too as heavens gates swung open wide “Make way for the Kings Son! Is the cry, as angels jostle to get a better view of the scene unfolding...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Look! they cry in one accord: “The saints are coming home!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He did it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Son of Man has completed his mission..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After our sad procession following his exit from the Highest and descent to earth to become a man, surely we thought we’d never see him again. All the straining into the mysteries of His Divine plan, no longer rendered necessary ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All the constructs in heaven we’ve been making? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It makes sense now, those dwellings will now be filled...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">There had been a sad day in Heaven once before, when Satan fell, and dragged with him a third of the stars of heaven, and when the Son of God launching from his great right hand the Omnipotent thunders, dashed the rebellious crew to the pit of perdition...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"> But if we could conceive</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline;"> a grief in heaven, that must have been a sadder day, when the Son of the Most High left his Father's realm, where he had lain from before all worlds. "Go!," says the Father, "and thy Father's blessing on your head!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline;"> Then comes the unrobing. How do angels crowd around to see the Son of God take off his robes He laid aside his crown; he said, "My father, I am Lord over all, blessed for ever, but I will lay my crown aside, and be as mortal men are." He strips himself of his bright vest of glory; "Father," he says, "I will wear a robe of clay, just such as men wear." Then he takes off all those jewels wherewith he was glorified; he lays aside his starry mantles and robes of light, to dress himself in the simple garments of the peasant of Galilee. What a solemn disrobing that must have been! </span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />And next, can you picture the dismissal! </span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The angels attend the Saviour through the streets, until they approach the doors: when an angel cries, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and let the king of glory through!" Oh! methinks the angels must have wept when they lost the company of Jesus—when the Sun of Heaven bereaved them of all its light. </span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But they went after him. They descended with him; and when his spirit entered into flesh and he became a babe, he was attended by that mighty host of angels, who after they had been with him to Bethlehem's manger, and seen him safely, laid on his mother's breast, in their journey upwards appeared to the shepherds and told them that he was born king of the Jews. The Father sent him! Contemplate that subject. Let your soul get hold of it, and in every period of his life think that he suffered what the Father willed; that every step of his life was marked with the approval of the great I AM." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Countless mythical allegories pointing to this great day, litter our literature these days:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“The ring bearer completing his mission...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, only after covertly penetrating the heart of the dark lords kingdom..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In allegorical terms he was throwing the very mechanisms of hatred, greed and malice into the fires of destruction yet redeeming the prize...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harry Potter only after the means of laying down his life finally defeats Voldemort. Yet again..A sacrificial redemptive element.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Greek literature: Perseus, the half-God half man rescuing his captive bride andromeda (Christ’s church) from being consumed by the Kraken then returning with her and the beheaded Medusa in his hand. It all points to a bigger picture”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back to the story at hand however: the damned in hell see them leave paradise which was adjacent to their position separated by an expanse...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet sadly, it only adds to their despair. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All hope of ever being redeemed or rescued is lost...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">LOST! Forever! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Damned!!! Forever! Are the despairing wails that rend the hellborn sky..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus would soon after his horrific death culminating in crucifixion be descending to Hades..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His proclamation however was not one of redemption....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, a woeful one of judgement and eternal fire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After his 3 days preaching in the belly of Hell Jesus returned to reclaim his earthly body and encourage his followers. “As Jonah was 3 days in the belly of the whale so will the son of man be the heart if the earth” it says (eg. in other translations): Hades. The ABUSO: the inhabitation of the dead..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tombs were broke open on this great resurrection day...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And many saints were reunited with their bodies. They then walked among the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet... The earth was still dark at this hour....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A very catastrophic event was occuring within our whole timeline (BC/AD) gets shaken up...A great rendition is transpiring..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Possibly these saints were rewarded with their bodies before the forthcoming advancement of heralded multitudes... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prophets possibly?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The rest is conjecture, but I’d assume the resurrection of our bodies along with our spirits will not transpire til later, thus it would be a divine precursor to forthcoming events and means of strengthening their earthborn families left to linger until they transpire here on earth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The dead who were raised on this great day could have been a comforting show to their loved ones, revealing the marvelous truth - that they were indeed more alive and well than them on earth even.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This kindles my spirit with seraphic flames and gets me excited...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus is coming back accompanied with great pomp. Spiritual warfare is real and their is much fighting still to be done on this battlefield between the two eternal homes before we the redeemed are carried up into glory and receive our rest. Amen 🙏</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQM7DgOoRrj8Nz9o7IeXGJ9cbAvRNNu7-sRs51N1FCQnaQKyFRaVZg_vplAPWm9dFcmZup6dxlfL-SM-Np257i2qsoAEXbXjoQmrMVi0vTg63L59NNftRfpGUQdsqUahOP26tmGT51Jk/s1600/950dd245ac4b3a2a77604527c9526752--jesus-art-jesus-christ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="236" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQM7DgOoRrj8Nz9o7IeXGJ9cbAvRNNu7-sRs51N1FCQnaQKyFRaVZg_vplAPWm9dFcmZup6dxlfL-SM-Np257i2qsoAEXbXjoQmrMVi0vTg63L59NNftRfpGUQdsqUahOP26tmGT51Jk/s640/950dd245ac4b3a2a77604527c9526752--jesus-art-jesus-christ.jpg" width="473" /></span></a></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-13327176594104162732017-06-29T14:42:00.004-07:002017-06-29T19:12:41.548-07:00It's not about RELIGION<br />
<div class="fsm">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" style="display: inline;">
What are your ideas of christianity? A book filled with a bunch of
stories? A savior with fair skin and long brown hair holding lambs? Or a
building with institutionalized norms of how to live? All these are
mostly false representations of religion. It is my strong belief that
God really is, the very definition of God is the intelligent existence
holding the entire fabric of universe together, to the air you breathe
around you, to the love you see in others; yet, you, I and <span class="text_exposed_show">everyone
"living" is bound to this dying place and its broken systems in our
biological bodies. Thus, your soul and your flesh are both struggling to
go two very different directions. This system of "negative energy" is a
separated (quarantined) system. It is a system under the control of the
prince of this world and those with him whose time of CHOICE has
passed. While unconnected and in this flesh, we are all under the thumb
of the things we cannot see. the world around and even our own flesh can
be compared to a bicycle going downhill gaining speed until it reaches a
velocity, that without outside intervention, will ultimately meet with
disaster of one form or another. This is the default setting. The
automated direction that mankind blindly moves when God's light of all
that is, was, or remains to come, an indwelling connection to Him are
willfully, or even subconsciously, cast aside in the great pursuit of
the sin which may indeed summarize all sin: Self-will. And unless a saving figure intervenes and absorbs that inevitable shock at the bottom then we are destined to ride the downward spiral toward oblivion. In the grandness
of all the stars, the solar systems, the world within worlds, the great
beyond and all that which this feeble human mind would shutter to
understand, we are such a speck; a tiny, tiny speck. We, and when I say
we, I really mean "I" as well as everyone else have fancied ourselves as
little kings, self-important, self-proclaimed gods to which all should
bow to recognize our trite conquests, trials, problems and achievements.
It is like a drop of water telling the ocean how important it is. But
God despite all this still strives to connect with us. The programmer is
still at work salvaging a part of the program by interjecting His own
blood into a system infected with a deadly serum (the sin virus) it is
wildly contagious and affects is all. Yet the great architect behind all
things, is on the move, undoing this cosmic curse with incredible care
and patience. </span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've
often wondered with perplexity : if God is the all-consuming power, why
are so few are saved? Does he want this ratio? Jesus said MANY people
will seek to enter Heaven, but will not be able. Most of the people in
the world today want to go to Heaven, i.e., to go to a better place; but
they love their sin-habits too much to come to Christ for salvation...
"For every one that doeth evil hateth the ligh<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">t,
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." I've
heard people that say "yeah I beleive in God, He died for me, that was
real, but when asked if they've been born-again christian. They have
literally said, "I'm not ready for that." And the reasoning "I love the
women in my life, or I want to live life how I want, unrestricted,
basically, I'm not willing to change my lifestyle." Yet God doesn't
expect you to make lifestyle changes once you're saved because that is
impossible to do without him. The more you get closer to God, the less
desirable these worldly things become, the more you realize true freedom
is in following God because it is liberating and not oppressive. One of
the devils greatest lies was convincing mankind he was free while
forcing him to put the shackles on binding and controlling their
instincts to every corrupting way of the world. I'm not here saying I'm
the holy man, cause I'm not, in fact the reason I'm writing this is
because that was me and still many times is me. I was angry, angry that
God is just plucking a few out of the masses of humanity while the rest
suffer unending punishment, I was tired of the battle of self denial the
what I considered a self-flagellating lifestyle of denying your selfish
impulses. Essentially though I think that's the reason so few are
saved, because so few want to be saved, so many want to let their pride
govern their way of living and choose the praise of people over the
praise of God, Yet this world is a gift, your body is a gift, you were a
created being. God isn't up in Heaven masochistically
saying "oh praise me praise me" like He needs that. He's perfectly happy without that or you, but He knows you can only be
really happy with HIM, yet apart from him an exchange takes place. WE are inherently created to worship something. It's in our very nature, similar to a hose one cannot shut off, and when God is not the focal point, a horrid EXCHANGE transmits energy back to self. People worship the human-physique, music, motion pictures, news personalities, celebrity figures, all these are the EXCHANGE from GOD that takes place and pulls our desires away by redirecting the current of our praise into abasement. Now even the angry, unpleasant human beings that seemingly have all these gifts and wealth are benefiting from God. He showers out blessings on the earth like rainfall ,so that they'll have no excuse. We were created in a such a way, that we are INNATELY drivin' by desires to make much of and worship something else, either a
certain movie star, body type, personality, money, we strive for means of
happiness outside of ourselves because down deep we know we cant find
it in ourselves! </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">That should say something about us, even in movies you
see the need for a savior, (batman taking the grenade for helpless
gotham, Leonidas taking the famous stand, dying so that Sparta can be
free, Harry Potter dying so that Hogswart could be free) Well there was
one hero these stories, novels and values are pointing to and so
desperately attempting to understand the kind of joy and satisfaction
from a powerful force that sacrifices for the many. Even among the
pharisee's there were those who knew who this was they were crucifying
but they craved the praise of people over God, which is what so many of
us crave, so they got rid of him, Jesus was in the way of that. He
convicted them of their wrongdoing and this infuriated them, how many of
us are in that same exact boat? If more people really understood how
sickening and horrific sin is, more people would seek the all powerful
assistance of the Almighty God in their lives.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYw1waaw98PCT4DooJ_GY7V37Djzqx3bpCMVl3GJrTPz7xR1_rOvZjdjBYO51ZZvzHXplSl4xDpDA1uoKZGa9LN368PDWh6GyBUCg96KHsiWXc3hElME_fgX5E3bJfJGUI7bfZv4XBRu4/s1600/th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="178" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYw1waaw98PCT4DooJ_GY7V37Djzqx3bpCMVl3GJrTPz7xR1_rOvZjdjBYO51ZZvzHXplSl4xDpDA1uoKZGa9LN368PDWh6GyBUCg96KHsiWXc3hElME_fgX5E3bJfJGUI7bfZv4XBRu4/s400/th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-74990531573633842072017-04-24T18:34:00.000-07:002018-07-29T19:25:50.062-07:00Cpt. Kirk Sr's Sacrifice aboard the USS Kelvin: An allegory of Christ and Calvary <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcefDDE5RkRyJ-coZMGb_7u1Rbi7e-PAxzg0nzDGTfsh2KkQbf9syWrtIC-xfYnqxszXrFnG_QdmhKW7ayBf4Pxntm5kG2B2slMUcePghyyxYf6Otvw0e4AHl35c5hpGUKhUogh6Q2uY/s1600/original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcefDDE5RkRyJ-coZMGb_7u1Rbi7e-PAxzg0nzDGTfsh2KkQbf9syWrtIC-xfYnqxszXrFnG_QdmhKW7ayBf4Pxntm5kG2B2slMUcePghyyxYf6Otvw0e4AHl35c5hpGUKhUogh6Q2uY/s320/original.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the opening scene of
the newest Star Trek film, we were all witness to Cpt George Kirk, sensing an oncoming danger and forthcoming destruction of
his vessel, he eventually yells</span><span style="background: white; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">:
"Everyone get off of the </span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kelvin</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">!" and kisses his
super pregnant wife Winona goodbye as she goes into labor with his son James. She gives
birth as George sacrifices himself and crashes the USS Kelvin into
the Romulans, saving everyone's life but his own. It's a pretty busy, and
depressing, opening scene. Yet, while Captain Kirks father may have died
rescuing his family and friends </span>aboard<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> the Kelvin his legacy lives on,
emblazoned in all of our hearts. Yet what impacted me the most during this
opening scene is the manner in which George Kirk Sr. dies, it is the finest
picture of a selfless sacrifice. As the USS Kelvin hurtled toward impact, his
thoughts were toward his wife and newborn son. He is naming him and thinking
of the boys new certain and "safe future". We can all see
representations of Jesus looking toward his mother Mary and brother John on the cross as he tells them in
no uncertain terms to leave this place of shameful suffering and look after
their needs. His mind must have drifted in this moment to the joy set before
him, our new names and safe identity in Christ which are
written in his nail scarred hands. He is most likely visualizing the wedding
feast in his Fathers </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">kingdom, an eternal life of joy, the creation set aright
into an unfallen state, all of Satans lies exposed and done away with, forever. The new Jerusalem, his eternal bride composed of </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">every tribe every tongue and nation</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, washed clean with a new redeemed nature in whom he was bleeding for. It must have been the only thing
that comforted and sustained him in this shameful state of horror and morbid suffering.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I see Cpt. Kirks
sacrifice as a picture of Jesus. His earthly pod is heading speedily toward
incoming divine wrath and certain destruction. Yet his thoughts are toward us and our future lives we
would get to enjoy as our death would become his. It must have been these images which </span>comforted<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> his poor tormented tried and vexed soul as he endures the unfathomable crushing weight our sins are so deserving of. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"They are coming to you FATHER! I am bringing them to you". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A cup mixed with gall is thrust to his lips. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He refuses... </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He must taste the bitter pangs of death to the fullest.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If the weight of the fall is to be placed on the </span>redeemers graceful <span style="font-size: 12pt;">shoulders. He must drink that awful poisoned cup to the dregs. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was in the very words He spoke to the Roman contingent right after his
betrayal and before his arrest. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"IF YOU COME FOR ME, LET THESE MEN GO THEIR
WAY!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the same way Cpt Kirks mother was in labor, Jesus was
experiencing the birth pangs of our new spiritual lives. It would NEED to take
his sacrifice, a substitute in our place. An eternal redemption could only be
purchased by an eternal being and the awful price of sin could only be
understood by the death of the apple of God's eye: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">His own dearly beloved son. The God-man...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">JESUS mans the doomed vessels we are all on, whose trajectory is a collision
course for eternal destruction. In doing so the great exchange transpires as He vicariously interposes our broken and sorrow filled life for HIS perfect one...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The SON passionately yells at the adversary
the same way he yelled at Pharaoh through Moses 1500 years prior </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"LET MY
PEOPLE GO!" </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Out of slavery of sin and Satan the redeemed must come...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In every cell of the dungeons of Despair, the sound is echoed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> "</span><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let these go their way</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">," </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Satan hears the well-known voice, and lifts his foot from the neck of the fallen; and Death hears it, and the grave opens her gates to let the dead arise. </span><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </i><br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Their</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">way</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is one of progress, holiness, triumph, glory, and none shall dare to stay them in it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">By faith let us rejoice
that we shall still reign in Christ Jesus. The woman's seed in spite of the
decision of the first of her kind to taste the tainted fruit shall in the end
prevail.What dishonor to Satan to have his head bruised by human feet! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For Jesus, the ruling passion is strong in death. He resigns himself to the enemy, but he
interposes a word of power to set his people free... </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As to himself, like a sheep
before her shearers he is dumb and opened not his mouth, but for his disciples'
sake he speaks with almighty energy. Herein is love, constant, self-forgetting,
faithful love. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"No lion shall be on their way, neither shall any ravenous beast go upon them.
"The hind of the morning (The Son of God)" has drawn the cruel
hunters upon himself, and now the most timid roes and hinds of the field may
graze at perfect peace among the lilies of his loves. The thunder-cloud has
burst over the Cross of Calvary, and the pilgrims of Zion shall never be
smitten by the bolts of vengeance. Come, my heart, rejoice in the immunity
which thy Redeemer has secured thee, and bless his name all the day, and every
day." -CH Spurgeon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">By his love, and pity,
and compassion, he is sure to remember you. A woman can sooner forget her
nursing-child than your God could forget you...Amen :)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-25379989879290701442017-03-15T20:18:00.000-07:002017-12-29T10:29:46.182-08:00Our Spiritual Father <br />
My understanding of the family of God as little as it it is is nowhere close to the appreciation of the grandeur it deserves. We have been brought into an heavenly family. God is our real spiritual Father. He is as connected as an earthly father in fact more so, because we share one of his sons X chromosomes. I may be poor but I have a brother in heaven who is rich. A brother in heaven where I am going and will one day meet.<br />
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Yet, if we look around we shall find we are in an enemies country. There are more spies, double agents, and deceptive forces than we realize. The mere act of looking out a window can cause the green sin of envy and jealous root of bitterness to shoot up within us. Therefore we should expect trouble, in God's regiments we are the mark of all the riflemen of the enemy.We must all be on our guard for the devil has deceived many soldiers of the cross by making them fall into sins that few thought possible at one point in their spiritual walk. We are strangers and sojourners in a land not our own, as Israelites seeking the promised haven, so we as Christians are today. The world is not our friend if it is then we are not God's friend. According to CH Spurgeon: "Be assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou sleepest, think thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou wakest, suspect an ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you. Lastly look within thee, into thine own heart, if thou hadst no devils to tempt thee, no enemies to fight, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble for thee".<br />
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I pray that we will remember that we are eternal beings, future-eternal not past-eternal and we will one day judge angels on thrones, judge angels? The seraphim and cherubum? It is impossible, surely angels are greater in power and might than us poor feeble mortal folk? Yet it says it scripture "we shall judge angels" how marvelous a picture this is. As humans we were all made lower than angels but Jesus through being made"a little lower than the angels" he has brought us up with him, and now through his efficacious blood we will reign with him and have his very righteousness attributed to us. Could these be the fallen angels Paul is referring to? Possible, he does not make this distinction. However, judge we will is all we are sure of in this present estate.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: "open sans" , , "helvetica neue light" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;"><b>In Ephesians 1:5 “we read that he predestined us to be adopted as his sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: "open sans" , , "helvetica neue light" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"> According to Charles Spurgeon: "I believe God has made many things that are not his children. He made the angels, who stand in an high and holy position, are they his children? "Unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my son?" I do not find, as a rule, that angels are called the children of God; No, beloved, it needs something beyond creation to constitute the relationship, and those who can say, "Our Father which art in heaven," are something more than God's creatures: they have been adopted into his family. He has taken them out of the old black family in which they were born; he has washed them. and cleansed them, and given them a new name and a new spirit, and made them "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;" and all this of his own free, sovereign, unmerited, distinguishing grace." </span><span style="background-color: white;">John Bunyan, in the first part of his "Pilgrim's Progress," describes Christian as a lonely traveler, pursuing his road to the Celestial City alone; occasionally he is attended by Faithful, or he meets with a Hopeful; but these are casual acquaintances, and are not of his kith or kin: brother or child after the flesh he has none with him." SO as we as Christians make our way through this weary world full of woe, we will find heavenly family members who are our brothers and sisters in the spirit. </span>I must hold that in the moment when Jesus Christ paid my debts, my
debts were cancelled—in the hour when He worked out for me a perfect righteousness, it was imputed to
me, and therefore I may, as a believer say I was complete in Christ before I was born.<span style="background-color: white;">I find this amazing truth in the gospel that states: It is in the souls of men that God delights. Angels have not souls as they are heavenly spirits and cannot sing in this same redemption song. But can only be partakers to gawk and wonder at the unfathomable love of their God. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> The legalist says "I don't see it. I cannot have it and I won't, if we are both equal in character, it cannot be fair that one should be lost and the other saved" and thus he mocks at free grace. This will always be unpopular and men will hate it. They cannot fathom how it could not be a show of works and instead a show of God's rich and free undeserving grace to us poor sinners. What? Popular to humble a mans pride, to abolish mans standing, and make him cringe before God as a poor sinner? No they grind their teeth at this. WE all fancy ourselves as little Gods, little deities in this vast universe, surely that cannot be the case. it is far too self-abasing No it will never be popular til men are born pure as angels, and all of us love the Lord with an appreciation unmatched, and that will not be seen just yet in this world.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> I wanted to close this with another inspiring quote from the prince of preachers: "</span>He who knows
himself will never think that he has much to recommend of himself to God. In cases of adoption, there
usually is some recommendation. A man, when he adopts a child, sometimes is moved thereto by its extraordinary
beauty, or at other times by its intelligent manners, and winning disposition. But, beloved,
when God passed by the field in which we were lying, He saw no tears in our eyes till He put them there
Himself! He saw no contrition in us until He had given us repentance; there was no beauty in us that
could induce Him to adopt us—on the contrary we were everything that was repulsive! And if He had
said, when He passed by, “You are cursed, be lost forever,” it would have been nothing but what we
might have expected from a God who had been so long provoked and whose majesty had been so terribly
insulted! But no, though He found a rebellious child, a filthy, frightful, ugly child, He took it to His
bosom and said, “Black though you are, you are beautiful in My eyes through My Son, Jesus. Unworthy
though you are, yet I cover you with His robe, and in your Brother’s garments, I accept you. “you are made a prince! You are adopted into the royal family, and you shall one day wear
a crown! You are now as much the son of God, as you are the son of your own father.” You can conceive
the poor creature fainting with joy at such a thought, that he whose neck was just ready for the halter,
should have his head now ready for a crown—that he who expected to be clothed in the felon’s garb
and taken away to death, is now to be exalted and clothed in robes of honor! So, Christian, think what
you did deserve—robes of shame and infamy—but you are to have those of glory. Are you in God’s
family now? Well said the poet—
“It does not yet appear,
How great we must be made.”
We do not know the greatness of adoption yet. Yes, I believe that even in eternity we shall scarcely be
able to measure the infinite depth of the love of God in that one blessing of “adoption by Jesus Christ
unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Let us think of the many of our brothers and sisters that are in the back streets of the world, that are in the dens and caves of Satan. "Think of the poor brothers and sisters that are intoxicated with the spirit of the evil one; think of him or her, led astray by pride, greed, lust and discontent, and perhaps to murder, pray for them, pray for us all and may God keep us all -- His eternal family, in the sovereign grip of His Almighty Grace" </span><br />
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<br />the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-62714879271414875812017-01-28T20:44:00.003-08:002018-11-26T10:57:04.874-08:00Light shining through darkness (Myth vs fact) <b><br /></b>
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<b> </b><b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> "A
believed idea feels different from from an idea that is not believed . And that
peculiar flavor of the believed is never in my experience without a special
sort of imaginative enjoyment" This struck me as very unique perspective,
yet there is another sense of the meaning C.S. Lewis goes on to describe
"On the contrary though, we spoil a mythology for imaginative purposes by
believing in it. Fairies are popular in England because we don't think they
exist. The contemplation of what we take to be real is always, I think
with a certain level of aesthetic satisfaction-a sort which depends solely on
its supposed reality. There is dignity and poignancy in the bare fact that a
thing exists" -Lewis. This is why mythology and spiritualism in my mind is
more popular than rigid Christianity. "It looks as if the confusion
between imaginative enjoyment and intellectual assent, of which Christianity is
accused, is not nearly as common as people suppose".</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jR2V2sKF1uWBZYyAe5LyXeV-_YjGZWLDaIZlK0h7sNF_GgrHj43FZ_y5Qx8dJed2heM4tPoyE7OY167wUOUjJhgC8xO2w3cIpcaURzXKV6p1N2WNk-JSuiVtI_zDs6mwGrp1OxFj0To/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jR2V2sKF1uWBZYyAe5LyXeV-_YjGZWLDaIZlK0h7sNF_GgrHj43FZ_y5Qx8dJed2heM4tPoyE7OY167wUOUjJhgC8xO2w3cIpcaURzXKV6p1N2WNk-JSuiVtI_zDs6mwGrp1OxFj0To/s200/images.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> For to
me a story resonates within the myth, that which was told became incarnate
(Jesus) or fact. A living breathing organism, no longer unbound by the
constraints of time, space and matter, but fused the divine with the mortal, to
share our fleshly fate. I mean is this not what we all wish for? Is this not
why Harry Potter, Star Wars and Peter Pan to certain minds become so
fulfilling. There is an enjoyment of that which is uncannily and strictly
imaginative which pleasantly suits our imaginations. This kind of free range
imagination without rules of gravity, laws and finite limitations is what we
all inherently long for. The undoing of a particular "unpleasant"
curse is the very idea we so nobly agree as heroism, (beauty kissing the
beast), the beast tells the princess of his life before the curse, of his noble
splendor before he was damned to his hairy fate. What motivated her in this
movie? Was it nothing utter than compassion? Michaelangelo was once asked as he
chiseled a small chink in each statue; why are you not focusing on just one
whole statue at a time? "Because he said, I'm trying to set the angel free
in each one" Like the grand artisian himself, God visualizes a perfect
angel inside all the covered up layers of sin, pride and narcissism, the real
you is a hidden internal beauty. Another example of heroism that has moved me
is Gandalf abysmal fall in the moria mines against the Balrog, and his
subsequent return stronger than ever. Darkness cannot quench out light however
hard it may try to do so, or how it appears, even the darkest blackness, the
black flame itself cannot hold the lightest light. Because when it does attempt
to quench, the light just comes back and shines brighter than ever.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">"The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-15989816280773771002016-12-18T22:06:00.002-08:002019-03-15T21:08:38.836-07:00Citing quotes against the greatest modern myth I have been receiving a fair amount of harsh criticism regarding my lack of citation and documentation for scientific claims made in my entry "Why Evolution is as ridiculous as it sounds" In lieu of this criticism I wanted to share some information I unearthed. My goal is for this to give some 3D dimensional filler to apparent abstract blueprint claims.<br />
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Let me start this off by stating the name dinosaur did not even come about til 1841, before this they<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6q9U5MCcwwtT0tUAMg4N7ztLLHuuVbi7tE5lUTpMFVw3cOodXhxZYPhflKC53RViT6NMdz4tZ0hPJximPB2VDUlGDMgkb6QNkW0Cezg-mM8fKui62fxaqyTAOVBMvQDDAW8lcm65nfs/s1600/GiantTurtle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6q9U5MCcwwtT0tUAMg4N7ztLLHuuVbi7tE5lUTpMFVw3cOodXhxZYPhflKC53RViT6NMdz4tZ0hPJximPB2VDUlGDMgkb6QNkW0Cezg-mM8fKui62fxaqyTAOVBMvQDDAW8lcm65nfs/s320/GiantTurtle.JPG" width="275" /></a> were commonly termed dragons meaning terrible lizards. Opposed to Eons of time periods spanning millions of years starting with the cretaceous period; there have in fact been accounts by Marco Polo of dragon sightings and slaying of these beasts described in detail throughout ancient texts. Claims made by Alexander the Great, and even Herodotus who is often called the father of all history. And accordingly we find soft tissue in these enormous animals. In a book labeled: Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences we find information regarding the inner tissues of these enormous beasts. This one of a triceratops fossil stating "hollow, transparent and flexible blood vessels.The presence of soft vessels is enigmatic".<br />
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Additionally, we are finding fossils of insects such as dragonfly's whose wingspan is measure to be 3 feet in length, clearly the atmospheric conditions pre-flood were vastly different than they are today, a dragonfly of those massive proportions in this day and age could not even get off the ground. Fossils of alligator skulls are being found to be 6x as large as the dimensions of current alligator heads today. A 16 ft in length turtle fossil was also unearthed in the 19th century and now resides at the Yale University museum which is further evidence showing organisms on a whole were far larger than they are today. Many human giant bones have been documented to have been unearthed throughout eastern america by archaeologists alluded to in the NY times. Giant bones that stood 12 feet fall. It was the 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln who in 1848 was quoted to have said "the eyes of that species of extinct giant whose bones fill the mounds of america have gazed on Niagara as our eyes do now"<br />
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The current "only" purported missing link between humans and apes is called "Lucy" a dead monkey in Africa. And what they are stating is this: that if she had "hands"which she does not, they would be human hands; also if "Lucy" had a complete skull we could further tell that it was a humanish skull. Finally, the pelvis bone if it was complete which it also is not, would show this small monkey walked upright. And really, it would not matter if it did because we see monkeys today that walk upright. You'd have an extremely hard time convincing me this is credible evidence. All we really know is "a monkey died". Nonetheless, this "Lucy" is reconstructed with missing bones now slapped on over a in thin layer of skin and appears in a museum inside a glass box like a....mud covered swamp thing, coming forth,from a late night...science flick.<br />
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Furthermore, I wanted to bolster some claims made in regards to the inaccuracy and crude science of radiocarbon dating. Humanitarian Dr. Robert Lee stated: "No matter how useful it is the <br />
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In regards to the reliability of our current methods of carbon dating it was Dr. Willard Libby, not only a noble prize winner but also a contributor to the Manhatten project who stated and I quote "You read books and find statements that such and such society or archaeological site is claimed to be 20,000 years old. We learned rather abruptly that these numbers, these ancient ages are not known (speculations and imaginative guesses) ; in fact it is about the time of the first dynasty in Egypt that the last (earliest) historical date of any real significance has been established"<br />
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I couldn't find it more appropriate to enter in to source documentation the words of Max Planck who is known as the father of quantum physics. He was quoted to have said "All matter originates and exists on earth only by the virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the <br />
existence of an conscious and intelligent mind."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizeLThjn-93Xf-9Az4abdZLYZ9_63bhlltVoOPwuoztCylWB7T1WkQ71exrB55wr7PfLJc0zOIOrDX2OC-Ttr1Lh9NwrQ5he-X04j1gGXeLCWYhHRhl8hXSEs1jbrPtHc4x3nI6oYzox4/s1600/Giants-Bones-New-York-Times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizeLThjn-93Xf-9Az4abdZLYZ9_63bhlltVoOPwuoztCylWB7T1WkQ71exrB55wr7PfLJc0zOIOrDX2OC-Ttr1Lh9NwrQ5he-X04j1gGXeLCWYhHRhl8hXSEs1jbrPtHc4x3nI6oYzox4/s320/Giants-Bones-New-York-Times.jpg" width="200" /></a> Now this is all credible evidence painting a far different picture than that of our current educational systems systematic way of pushing evolution. Just to give you an idea of how intricate we are made, the building blocks (or recipe) if you will, of life itself: the human DNA strand is made up of a quantum of information inside every single cell roughly comparable to 12 sets of The Encyclopedia Britannica, an amazing 384 volumes worth of detailed data. Yet their the size is only two millionths of a millimeter thick. A teaspoon of DNA has "all the information needed to build the proteins for all the species of organisms that have ever lived on the earth. Let me tell you that in our universe perpetual motion is everywhere and many of us lack even a crude understanding how complex motion is. It was Jewish nobel prize winner Neils Bohr who very famously gave us the actual model of the atom who was quoted to have said and I quote "Everything we regard as real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real" Our ‘universe’ owes it’s combined energy to something much more advanced. He also once said “I don’t know how the electrons got started spinning, and I don’t know how to stop them, do you?”<br />
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Let me also start by saying it was the noted attorney and advocate for american Indian affairs Vine Deloria who wrote in his book titled: Holocaust of the Giants "Some of these old country and regional history books contain real gems because the people were not subjected to a rigid indoctrination of evolution and were astonished by what they found and honestly reported it".<br />
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All of these sources show that the truth is not what many high practitioner (scientists) believe it is. With all the technology and bones, fossils and ancient text including the Bible, those who cling to evolution, do it to their demise, they are outdated and irrelevant. They will continue to lie to us. I and many others will present to them another point of view and let them decide what is science and what is a fairy tell. They call the Bible a fairy tell, while they hold to a theory that Darwin himself began to doubt. The truth is truly stranger than fiction. If you really follow the hard, outlined evidence, apply scientific methods and open your closed indoctrinated minds you'll see evolution doesn't have a monkeys leg to stand on. I could go on but in the end you're going to hold on to your belief as much as I am going to hold on to mine. The Creationists have a much better argument all around. There's a big difference between observational and historical Science. All Scientists agree on the observational side, but not on the historical because we weren't there. So the nonsense perpetrated about of billions of years by mans measuring standards, just doesn't hold water. The very fact that Evolutionists believe that by sheer numbers they have validity over Scientists who stand across the floor from them is the epitome of arrogance. What do you think the Creationists have been doing all along, if not also studying their craft for years on end? Their arguments just make so much more sense. The sheer number of complex organisms on our planet running and working in perfect motion together could not just have been born out of random forces in some primordial soup. Complexity of this level could have only come about from an Intelligent Designer. The logic of the human mind simply points in that direction.<br />
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<br />the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-27973552677996875322016-12-11T17:56:00.001-08:002017-06-29T13:45:07.365-07:00Til We Have Faces, "Cupid and Psyche" A myth retold <div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"> I
experienced stirring heart-rending sensations after I just finished C.S. Lewis
classic "Till We Have Faces" . The themes throughout the book
continue to haunt me causing me to feel deep emphatic emotion. It is a
retelling of the greek myth "Cupid and Psych" through the eyes of her
ugly and disfigured older sister Orual. Psyche is the youngest sister of a
tyrant king and so captivatingly beautiful that people worship her instead,
which incites the jealous anger of the gods, her father the king consults an
oracle who tells him to leave Psyche chained on a mountain since she is not
meant for any mortal man. Cupid is tasked with putting her under a spell to
fall for the worst of all men, but instead is smitten with her and Psyche is
stolen away. Orual, left grief stricken over the gods decision to take all that
was precious and beautiful out of her life vows to avenge. True to the Cupid
and Psyche of Platonicus's Metamorphoses, Psyche's new god-husband keeps his
face veiled, and only comes to her in the cover of night. Orual first takes her
sister for mad, but eventually is convinced (in spite of herself) that perhaps
she should leave Psyche to her newfound joy, to the love of her husband. But
here jealousy and obsessive love step in, grudging Psyche her happiness, her
love. Orual is unable to comprehend, much less approve, of any love for Psyche
that usurps her own. Orual, predictably, resents the gods for the gulf now so
plainly separating her from Psyche. "the world had broken in pieces and
Psyche and I were not in the same piece. Seas, mountains, madness, death
itself, could not have removed her from me to such a hopeless distance. Gods,
and again gods, and always gods . . . they had stolen her." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Psyche pleads with Orual to open her spiritual eyes and see what she could; the palace now
standing all around her in dazzling splendor; and Orual is indeed tempted but her (possessive) love for Psyche is too strong, it was pulling her to come back and stay with her in the physical realm. In
the end, though, jealousy wins the day. Orual delivers Psyche an ultimatum:
either expose this "god's" face this night, or I will kill myself. To
this threat Psyche reluctantly acquiesces, broken with sorrow. Everything, she
knows, is now changed, horribly changed, altered forever. She will betray her
god to satisfy her sister's love-need. "I know what I do," Psyche
informs Orual. "I know that I am betraying the best of loves and that
perhaps, before sunrise, all my happiness may be destroyed forever".
The die is cast: Rationalizing that she has gone mad and her husband was
nothing but a lecherous brute, a monster with veiled face. Orual thought
she was acting out of love and in Psyche’s best interests(so she convinced
herself) the next morning, as Orual begins, incredibly, to catch glimpses of a
great palace rising from the mountain, the valley is suddenly besieged by
rockslides, storms, general destruction, and Orual understands suddenly and
fully the extent of her guilt. Hearing in the distance Psyche's cries ringing
from the rocks. She has sentenced her beloved sister to a life of wandering and
toil, and herself to guilt, anxiety, and unutterable loneliness. She is left
desolate, to wander the earth always weeping tears of dismay. Orual prepares to
return to her kingdom to live the lonely life of the warrior queen. Her nights
henceforward will be haunted by phantomlike howls and clinking of chains, and
all her attempts to locate Psyche will fail. For Orual's sin of obsessive love,
for her fear of the dividing gulf, Orual is left alone to grow in power but
never in love, wearing a mask to conceal her hideous features, yet always
wonder at the silence of the gods. Searching always for her sister, torn by
what she had done, it was a life of inner agony and regret. Only at the end of
her life, in visions of her lost beloved sister, will she hear an answer. In
Queen Orual's last hours, when all the dead have gathered to hear her complaint
against the gods....she again meets Psyche.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"> After many years had passed she is
embittered and angry at the gods. Eventually she see's that her love was of a
possessive and harmful nature. Only at the end of a hard rugged life does she
find her beautiful sister Psyche who has "hungered and thirsted and tread
hard roads, and fought battles whom the gods could not fight, the victim to
malice and ill will thrust upon her. Cupids last words towards Orual are
now running through her brain "You woman, shall know yourself and your
work, you shall be called "Psyche". She had been misunderstanding the
decree, and believing it meant a sharing in her poor younger
sisters laborious exile. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Yet at the end of her years, as she removes the mask she
has been wearing to conceal her ugliness, she is swept away into vivid visions
of her sisters wandering. The real truth of the betrayal comes to
light. Psyche herself, like the mythical Psyche, has been sentenced to eternal
turmoil to all manner of impossible tasks. Orual is guided to a place
where she is shown images of Psyche performing these. She was tempted by
mortals on every side "I looked and saw Psych walking , alone in a wide
way under the earth-a gentle slope, a gentle slope but downwards always
downwards, I saw a (light opened up) and there a great table and rabble sat
"Istra" (as she was known on earth) princess! Stay with us! Be our
goddess, rule us! speak oracles to us" Psyche walked on and never looked
at them. Another figure that arose was the wise old fox who raised her
"Fie, child do you want to be a barbarian all your days? Come back
to me and I'll lead you out of all this darkness", yet onward she still
descended, colder darker, deeper it became until eventually a third place, an
image of a woman and when I looked at it I felt a pity that nearly killed my
heart, despair, humiliation, entreaty, endless reproach and now I trembled for
Psyche, for I knew the thing was only there to entrap her and turn her from her
path, she held out her hands to Psyche and I saw the left arm dripping with
blood, then came her voice so full of passion it would have moved you even if
it spoke of happy or careless things "Oh Psyche" it wailed. "Oh
my sister, my only love. Come back. Come back. Back to the old world where we
were happy together. Come to me, sister" Psyche bit her lip till the blood
came and wept bitterly. I thought she felt more grief in that instance than
wailing Orual. She however kept on, journeying always further down into death.
That was the last of the visions.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
"Did we really do these things to her?" I asked the fox (now
beside her in the vision) "Yes all here are true" the voice replied.
"It was those that loved her most; she had no more dangerous enemies than
us" And Psyche in that old terrible rime when I thought her cruel....she
suffered more than I perhaps?" "She bore much for you then. You have
bore something for her now" Even your life your pain, your sorrows have
aided her tasks, that poisonous bowl of regret, has now been filled, this
will be the final step of her journey." (to take that very bowl to the
gods) They say...but even I, do not understand but a few broken words of their
language. Only this I know. This age of ours will one day be in the distant
past. Nothing yet is in it's true form"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
<u1:p></u1:p> Many
voices were soon after heard shouting in glee "She comes! Our lady returns
to our house, the goddess Psyche is back from the lands of the dead. bringing
with her the casket of beauty from the shadows" Like having been reunited
with a long lost scent or desire, Orual soon after found herself falling at
Psyches feet "Oh Psyche, never again will I call you mine, but all there
is of me shall be yours, alas you know now what its worth, I never wished you
well, my love was a craver" Psyche now bent over to lift Orual up
then replied "But sister, dear sister, you must stand up, I have not given
you the casket, you know I went a long journey to fetch the beauty that will
make you beautiful. "Did I not tell you there would be a day you and I
would meet in a house with no mythical cloud between us" For in this
moment the divine met the mortal and looking at a glowing reflection, Orual saw
not one but 2 Psyches smiling back at them. She only now understood the true
meaning of Psyche's selfless love and Cupids decree "She goes to sojourn
in treacherous lands, You will be Psyche" </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"> When at last Oruals waged complaint
against the God's is heard, she finds herself filled with shame for now she
understands the silence, the misery, Psyches absence, her selfless and
true love all at once. It was all for her, although she understood it
naught. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"> C.S. Lewis considered this, although the most least
known of all his novels his finest work. It leads me to consider the complex
motives that underlie my actions — even the ones that seem most altruistic; it
raises the possibility that there are precious few who yet have faces. I ask
myself whether my holy places are dark like Orual’s or whether I am quick, like
The Fox, to explain with glib reason just what the “divine nature” is or is not
like.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-56183087952693611702016-12-11T16:04:00.001-08:002018-07-22T15:17:36.289-07:00Judge and Jury <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> I have a short story to share with you all. For those of you who don't think I share
enough...well I actually don't think those people exist. You can't say
my heart is not in the right place however. Here's my story: it was a dark and stormy
night when I was apprehended near Cle-Elum, WA and the rest of that night I
actually don't care to share, we can gloss over many details, those particulars I would
rather reveal with you at a bar over a pint of beer: I should have froze to
death that night. S</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">oon after that nightmare there were court dates, the first time I
showed up. I noticed a rag-tag group of people who looked lost and confused.
However when I walked in and said my name the attorney looked at me and said
"he's with me" I got this one. A fresh wave of relief spread over me,
the work was already done. You know I had a moment of realization, an epiphany of sorts; on that
great day when we are all are judged for our deeds in the body, we are going to
want a good lawyer to represent us. The best one is available at a free price
right now. For the time will come for me to give an account, when my life is
laid out before me I am sure I will be amazed at the list of transgressions. After a lengthy rendition in a long drawn out manner, my offenses are listed off by the accuser of the brethren before the most high. </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> After what seemed like an eternity of my standing before there, forced to re-live my many moments of shame when I lived in error--I was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable. I</span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">n this hour, there was no shortage of hideous things: In multitudes and dark masses, they had formed a barricade</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> around me, wedging me off from access to the throne in a direct affront of isolation. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was shaking with fear, the trial was not going well. Hells fires
were smoking in the background, and
my only option is to plead guilty, in this moment however a loud voice emerges from amidst the crowded courtroom "enough!" Jesus steps forward in that moment
with an "objection your honor", "He's with me" I got his
case, he was assigned to me before time began, he didn't even select me for his
representative, but I picked up the case, here "my perfect life" look
at my deeds instead of his, he'll have me represent him for his life because he
had faith, here's where he believed in me, here, and here and also here. It is
enough. He is innocent. I paid for his eternal life. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> We all get to choose who
we want to represent us on that courtroom day, ourselves, Satan, Jesus,
whatever law or moral code we live by will be our attorney to represent us. If
it's just you representing yourself, I'm telling you right now, that is not a
good idea and you are in trouble. The judge would look at these people in court and
say "you have no idea what you're up against, you need to be educated on
the nature of your crime, the lingo is heavy, and deep". When we are going
to give account of our lives, do you feel good with the one you've selected?</span><br />
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the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94379162072316763.post-72194884605116649922016-12-11T12:50:00.005-08:002023-04-15T21:03:35.844-07:00THE OKLAHOMA DEBACLE<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span>
<span face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 16.08px;"> So I'm having a misty moment now as I walk down memory lane. A blast from the past hits me, yet again reminding me of the fragility and malevolent nature of life. I'm going to share a feel good story now if you have time to read it. I recall my adventure to Oklahoma in the dead of winter with a shudder as I recollect on the many near death expierencs I underwent in order to help a friend. It was i</span><span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;">n November that an old friend contacted me, explaining her dire circumstances, she was on the streets of Oklahoma after she flew down to be with her mom whose ruthless step dad kicked her out. She had been on the streets now for nearly a year in the drug infested crime ridden town of Lawton, Oklahoma. She was now penniless and practically freezing to death in the cold. She found way to contact me however to inform me of her desperate plight and ask for solutions. Of course I had none, I had struggles myself I was dealing with driving a dilapidated beater of a car and barely making ends meet at Starbucks, yet I said I'd do what I could. I knew she was in the wrong scene and wouldn't make it much longer; her past and story was a rough one. She was homeless and already developed frost bite in places, if I didn't help, no one would. I saved up a small amount of cash and took off, misfortune and a high risk of failure awaited. </span><div><span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;">I knew the risks yet still I left. Once I found myself stranded off the freeway in a blizzard with a shattered S belt needing a tow, promptly blew a tire the next morning, which left me penniless after the repairs, the Stanhope clan in steamboat springs, CO offered me help and Jason a job washing equipment so I could continue to my destination. After driving 20 hours straight I arrived in the terrible town of Lawton, Oklahoma around 2 am. Crime, gang activity, drugs and unrestricted violence ran unchecked in this town. It took me hours to find her after searching the places in town where cops wouldn't even dare go due to the gang violence involved. This was literally Liam Neesan 'taken' style. Eventually I did. She was in shad shape to say the least, dirty, strung out and freezing, I showed up and said "grab your things, I'm gonna take you home".</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;"> There were people there however who did not want her to leave, surrounding unsavory individuals glanced at me curiously, I could tell you about the seedy people I encountered until the vomit welled up in the back of your throat. We started walking away and the surrounding lights fluttered then turned off. I heard activity and loud voices, a gunshot was fired in the distance, I began to feel intense adrenaline pumping through my veins and we began to run, however her feet were frost bitten and blistered and she couldn't run any further after awhile. I picked her up and still began to sprint, I didn't look behind I only heard loud voices. A cramp developed in my leg as soon as I glimpsed my car. "This is it I thought I'm going to get nailed in the back 20 feet from the extraction point" at any moment expecting to feel a bullet whizz past my ear. I made it to the car threw her in the passenger seat and peeled out of there like a bat outta hell. Driving as far as I could away from Lawton. She woke up soon after and asked me to pinch her so she wasn't dreaming which I did kindly. Yes we're in an automobile and I'm putting as many miles behind me, you and that shithole as possible, I've been in some seedy places, but Lawton was surely the armpit of the world no doubt. I parked in Amarillo as the sun rays began to perk over the flat terrain still gripping the steering wheel. I hadn't slept in 2 nights and was running off straight emotion and adrenaline.</span></div><div><span style="color: #141823;"><br /></span></div><div>We headed on I-40 westbound toward Vegas. It was about a 4 hour drive and we were both exhausted from a long day as we rolled into sin city. The lights and huge billboard displays were magnificent, just like I remembered it. I was a poor wayfarin' stranger, not loaded with cash or prepared to indulge in the full Vegas expierance, and things were not much different this time around. I had to make due with what I had which as this point was not a lot: a beater of a car and no money. While locating the strip I took a wrong turn into the Bellagio and found myself circling the roundabout I felt like an idiot. My car had a white hood, with chrome tape and I was maneuvering around fashion glamoured celebrities and limousines. I felt like a mangy animal out its natural habitat and wished to remove myself from the scene as quickly as possible. I found parking soon after and we frequented some of the sights and sounds on the strip. The first attraction was a fountain that shot jets of water into the night in rhythm with a symphony, it was located in the heart of a pool of water outlying the Bellagio Hotel.<span style="color: #141823;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman";">At one point while we were in Vegas I was pushing through dense crowds of people for awhile with Darien in tow all the while holding her lil' hand and steering her around the drunk, strung out masses of inebriated humanity. However, I accepted a vendors offer for a buy-one-get-one free alcoholic beverage. While inside the bar I began feeling uneasy now Darien was out of sight, I returned illegally supplying the minor with a foamy IPA. She was almost 21 so I didn't feel too bad about it. "Now you can say you had a beer in Las Vegas Darien" We sat down on a flower pot and chugged our beers with the city lights all around. We both agreed we were exhausted and upon leaving Vegas, Darien became sentimental, "I feel like a lost lil guppy in a large ocean." I smiled and said "it don't matter who you are or where you come from, you're never too poor, or too weak to set out on an adventure and see the world." That was my motto, hell I couldnt afford this, I'm a barista at Starbucks from a small eastern WA, town. People would ask me later how did you afford that trip? I'd just say, "I didn't"..</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;"> Long story short however we traveled up back to Vancouver, we were like Bonny and Clyde encountering cops, car problems and more adversity on the way, one time while in Vegas we we're watching the fountain display with music in the background and the bright lights of the Bellagio and Ceasars palace streaming down, I glanced over and she was mesmerized, emotionally breaking down "people don't do these kind of things for me, I'm just a gypsy girl in Oklahoma" I figured everybody gets a chance to see the world though. After seeing the Grand Canyon and Crater Lake we made it back to Vancouver, I left for Pullman, on the way I lost my car and nearly froze to death in 16 degree weather but that's another story. I made it back and found myself biking in the winter 15 miles to work on a sheet of ice and snow on some occasion yet I'm still standing. I would do anything for a friend despite the cost. And this time the cost was great. She has now been sober 4 months with good people and found the her first job of her life recently. I don't mean to toot my own horn here but despite the many ties, friends I've lost and adversity I've faced recently, from being the kid everyone thought would take the world by storm competing in Science events nationally, to the last 5 years of unraveled mistakes, this is what makes me feel I have purpose and a plan still and can not only save a life but change one too.</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" face=""helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; line-height: 16.08px;"><br /></span></div>the crockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09963392395732343119noreply@blogger.com0