It is with a mixture of amusement and fascination

That I read a variety of responses to my posts here and on face-crack.

Throughout the years I have written far more controversial material...it is not everyone who was willing to defend Ward Churchill in 2005 (and even harder to justify) and had far less response. I have written much more aggressive material...but never had so much feedback.


And the feedback really ranged widely, from the well thought out, nicely written e-mail from one individual to the bizarre text from not one but two people I have no idea who are...I was kind of surprised by those since my e-mail address is easy to find, my phone number...not so much.

Be that as it may, the wide ranging responses show a few things.

First and foremost, thanks to all of you who mentioned praying. I genuinely appreciate that at all times. Please make prayer for me part of your daily routine as I can genuinely say that most if not all of you are part of my daily prayer time. As are several people who did not respond to it and probably had no way of reading it.

At the same time, perhaps I should provide some more concrete examples since it was obviously not clear.

Today I was approached and asked why a couple things had been loaded in thus and such a way. In the interest of clear explanation, the question is intrinsically an accusation they were not correctly done and,. by extension, that I am doing things differently than other people.

In the past I would have asked what I had done wrong and taken the heat on myself.

Today, I whipped out my camera phone and showed the pictorial evidence that I had, in fact, merely echoed exactly what other people were doing, people who had a hand in showing me how I was supposed to load. If there was an error it was in my training.

That was the end of that issue.

So instead of allowing an accusation to pass unchallenged, I dealt with it on the spot. And far more aggressively than I would have done so in the past.

Yes, that is "merely" a work example, but it is also a clear indication of the type of thing I am discussing, though there are and will be many other examples from other areas of life.

One individual, whom I am about 97.3% sure was joking, responded with a line about "not liking Weasels in any form". I am pretty sure it was a joke since we know each other pretty well, my pic is on the side, and so forth.

But if not, that is the sort of comment I would have let fly by in the past. Nowadays, I would not let it pass without a swift, stern rejoinder regarding the casual, surface judgment with no applied basis.

Another interesting note is the new attitude, at least on Scriptural matters, is actually far more in line with Scriptural precedent from men such as Paul and the letters to the churches in Revelations.

As an interesting sideline, I think one of the e-mails I was sent has finally motivated me to do something I have been toying with doing for quite a while.

I am not sure if it was meant to be sarcastic or legit, the comment, but the truth is I do have nearly 40 years of in-depth study behind me. I have been blessed to hear numerous sermons from some of the finest minds to have preached during my life-time, including but not limited to Archie Word, Harold Buckles, Don Hunt, Mr. Holsinger, Ivan Norris, Chuck Haukaas, Clarence Eason, Jim Richardson, Don Pinon, Alan Walker, the Reymans, Bob Lentz, and dozens of others.

I remember the years when Coos Bay was truly a family camp and when afternoons were spent with a half dozen or more preachers sitting around discussing the finer points of the Gospel and approaching it from many angles. Some incredible teaching was being passed on then.

Now, that does not mean I agree with everything I heard from these men, nor that they would agree with everything I have to say. But I have been blessed in being able to hear them and in some cases attend more intensive classes under their tutelage.

And I do have some material worth passing on and presenting. It is quite clear to me that there is a need for someone to discuss some of the plainer points of Scripture. In reading some of the various works that I regularly access, I have been noticing there is a growing amount of teaching on some rather esoteric material and a lot of much more plain material that is still needed is being by-passed.

So I will shortly be starting a blog for passing on some of the subjects I believe need addressed in plain, Scripture-based teaching.

It should provide plenty of fodder for people to put forth their view points and hopefully be a place where all sides of an issue can be discussed in hopes the truth can be brought forth and people, whether I or others, can perhaps find areas we need to change.

With that said, a few clear-up points.

No, the new methodology is not about the "membership" thing nor is that the sole issue that has been of recent vintage.

Yes, the religious things of the past few years are part of it but not all of it.

No, work is not the only issue though it is part of it.

Keenan, I am sorry, still not sure who you are. I asked a couple people if they knew who you are and I am still unsure. Please enlighten me.

No, I am not angry at anyone, do not dislike anyone, and most certainly am not out trying to spite anyone or...how was that phrased..."wreak vengeance at cross purposes with the Holy Writ"...on anyone.

I am simply not a wilting wallflower any longer.

I hope that clears some things up.

thank you all for your concern, much love back at you, and hopefully I will have the first piece up this weekend. Since I have read the NT upwards of 4 times in recent weeks in thinking about one specific issue, trying to find a way I could be wrong because it would make life easier in some ways, I guess we all have a pretty good guess what the first one will be. So sharpen your pencils, read the Word for yourself and come prepared to discuss what we who are Christians have as a responsibility.

A case of bad timing

Heads bent low over desks as the students worked at their tests. It was a tough test on phsyiology and confidence was not particularly high. Sweat beaded the brow as they puzzled out potential answers and deciphered the best way to navigate through a profusion of difficult questions.

But as difficult as the test was it could not compare for what happened in the middle portion. Suddenly the doors swung open, armed men entered and student Georghe Dimitrov found himself under arrest.

Seems George did not think he would do well on his test so he "borrowed" his Dad's Walkie-talkies and had a buddy sit in the bathroom reading off the answers to the test questions. It was a pretty good idea in one respect...his Dad's job as a secret agent gave him access to a communications device unlikely to be discovered by the school authorities. In fact, his cheating might have gone undiscovered if those same walkie-talkies weren't on the same channel the Secret Service agents guarding George Bush were using.

On the bright side George will not be charged with terrorism for deliberately attempting to disrupt security communications. On the dark side...he failed the test.

Maybe he could explain his lips instead?

Money making idea: Having a Mick Jagger autobiography. You know his fans would purchase it in droves.

Money losing idea: Paying him to write it before he writes it.

Outcome: Jagger says writing about his life was "too boring."

Living in the past is not for everyone. And frankly, even if he wrote it I would be quite unlikely to read it. I would be more likely to read Jenna Jamesons' autobiography (an opportunity I passed on despite encountering said tome in the library yesterday).

However, if he engaged in an explanation of why his lips look like that (add Steve Tyler to the mix) and I might think about a purchase...

What is the difference between graffiti and art?

Australians can't tell the difference either. Take, for example, noted anti-graffiti crusader Steve Pratt. He is so against graffiti that he summoned the media to watch him eradicate a particularly annoying bit of it on a local bridge. He was dedicated enough to spend about 5 hours working on it.

Too bad it was an expensive piece of "genuine" artwork....

There are certain segments of society that seem to think of themselves as having "better taste" than other people. They celebrate works by Jackson Pollack and Picasso, for example, while looking down their noses at those who "cannot understand this great art". You could extend that to certain conceptual music, interpretive dance/skating etc., slam poetry, and a host of other "art forms". The wise artistic community sneers down their noses at those of us who do not "get" (nor want to) the "greatness" of some piece of "art" such as a urinal hung on a wall. Yeah, thanks for that, thanks for nothing, great artists. I for one am extremely happy that I would rather look at something that actually looks good and is recognizable than at a mish mash of paint or twisted steel. Even if I DID understand why dropping various colors of paint in front of jet engine wash and letting it splatter against a canvas somehow held deep meaning...I wouldn't want to. You see, I actually USE my brain. I prefer enjoyable things to that crap.

And yeah, sometimes that means I think the graffit artists actually have some stuff up there a little better than the crap the city fathers want us to "enjoy". Long live truly talented, enjoyable artists. Jack the Dripper can go to WWII Germany.

How to teach your child to curse

Public Broadcast Television (PBT) is almost always elitist, claiming to put forth classier programming. For instance, PBS in the US often plays stuff like Lawrence Welk shows...theoretically classy, effectively insomnia curing. "Classy" is oft equated with "crappy" by much of the public.

Another facet of pbt is the educational programming they put on. Sesame Street comes readily to mind. You will be happy to know British PBT is pretty much the same. And they have a sign language program for young children. In typical government fashion, however, they pretty much decide to do their own thing. You know, like instead of using standard sign language they use a much less common form. And instead of greeting their viewers, they flip them off....