Dressed to the 3s

As difficult as this is to admit; today's wedding was actually pretty decent. Most of those who attended acted like they had been in a church before and there was not one young woman who was dressed like a street-walker.

Maybe it's just the part of the country where I live - perhaps it's happening everywhere... but, young, single women attending weddings have gotten into the habit of wearing almost nothing. I swear my grandmother wore silk scarfs with more fabric than many of these girls have on. I'm no prude - I'm a married guy and have seen everything there is to see... but some of these girls seem to be more than willing to show theirs to anyone willing to look. (Marketing 101: place the product in attractive packaging).

Back when I was a pup my mother would look at a well-dressed lady and say of her, "she's dressed to the 9s." If that was true then, than many of today's "ladies" have only managed to dress to the 3s.

ACC

Those Damn Red Curbs

Who would have thought that the bright RED curb in front of the Church wasn't meant for you to park your Porsche Cayenne? And when you found the pastor leaning against your outward display of consumption (after you had returned from wherever you'd wandered off to) you might have considered making eye contact with him and acknowledging that you were in the wrong... not making an excuse, "I'm only here to pick up my parents."

Really? You're only here to pick up your parents? Why the H weren't you inside with them? Or do you become uncomfortable when you remember that the Lord said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to get into heaven? Or that Jesus told the rich young man to sell all he had if he planned on becoming a disciple.

Having money does not give you the right to inconvenience other people. Having money does not make you better than others. Having money, according to the Lord, puts you in the position of having to care for others who are less fortunate than you... If you bothered to put your ass in a pew instead of a Porsche, you may have learned that.

Asshole.

Atheists

What is it with atheists (deliberately not capitalized). I don't care if you don't care. I don't lose sleep because you don't look at the Universe and see God working. It's your choice - period. You can stand before God at your judgment and have him say, "I don't believe in you, either."

In my years of ministry I've welcomed dozens of people into the faith. These are people who have chosen to join the Church and be baptized. In those years I've never knocked on doors, sent e-mail messages to strangers, or called people on the phone to endeavor to enlighten their puny little minds. But this is exactly what atheists do.

Today's atheists feel not just compelled, but obligated, to attempt to show Christians (Jews and Muslims fall here, too) the error of our ways through the employment of loud voices and name calling. The best form of the old atheism displayed great depth of thought. You could talk to an atheist. The worst form of the old atheism (those like Madeline Murray O'Hare) was marred by intolerance and a lack of table manners.

What I'm calling “today's atheism” is really nothing more than the triumph of the jerks. Unsubtle, unlearned (but pretentious), unreflective (but persistent). The shrill tones of today's atheism have been amplified because we live in a society that believes:

Loud wins.
Stupid and loud is even better.
Outrageously stupid and loud is best.

Again today I'm called a charlatan and a thief (anonymously as always) for leading people astray from the athiestic viewpoint. "Charlatan" would indicate that I don't believe what I preach. Let me firmly state that I truly do believe and teach what I believe. As for the title "thief" let's just leave it at this... I must be the worst thief in the history of mankind: My family lives off of the table scraps of society so that we can witness to God - who promised not earthly rewards but rather treasure in heaven.

In my best curmudgeon manner, let me answer the kind soul who felt it necessary to call me names via anonymous e-mail (whose link didn't work to respond personally), I will proudly stand before the Lord our God and point to those I've brought with me. You can stand before Satan and proudly boast of those you won for him.

ACC

Be Safe!

"Be Safe!" I don't know how many members of my congregation told me that as the left services yesterday morning.

"Be safe." What kind of holiday greeting is that? We're enjoined to have a "happy" New Year and a "merry" Christmas. Many wish each other a "blessed" Easter and a "good" Thanksgiving. But when it comes to Independence Day we recommend each other "be safe."

Of course, Independence Day is now called the "4th of July" and I'm certain that the majority of my fellow citizens no longer connect the events that led up to the American Colonies severing ties with Great Britain and the holiday which is celebrated.

Today the "4th of July" is associated with overindulgence in food and alcohol (mostly alcohol) and the desire to blow the living crap out of something. Great combination that. I don't profess to any understanding as to why blowing shit up is so damn attractive to people whose IQ may well be below the sum of the combination of their shoe size and age - but damn if it isn't.

Apparently there's enough common knowledge that the combination of alcohol and things that blow up isn't good that the Federal Government has the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) But that knowledge doesn't seem to extend to the multitude of "rocket" scientists who sent themselves and/or their children to Emergency Rooms around the country last night while having attempted to entertain themselves with inexpensive alcohol and illegal rocketry.

I'm fairly certain that most of the explosive devices I heard my neighbors exploding last night could not legally have be purchased in the state in which I live. A couple of the window-rattlers probably aren't legal in the USA at all - so these people of below average intelligence (who probably could have been as entertained by an evening of 'wrastlin' on TV or an old episode of the Jerry Springer Show) made interstate trips (perhaps international expeditions) to procure shit that explodes.

I'm certain that many of these fine citizens would call upon their "right" to do what they'd like without any knowledge of where those rights came from and the duties those rights call us to. The events that led to the Declaration of Independence stirred the souls of men of character to act - knowing that by pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor they were sacrificing their lives and fortunes for the benefit of others.

Those, who 234 years later think that the signers of the Declaration gave them the right to be stupid, would benefit from a short history lesson - if they weren't too ignorant to comprehend that from those to whom much has been given much is expected. Few in this world have been given the gift that the signers of the Declaration have given us.

Finally, God shed his Grace not just on the United States, but on all the nations of the world. We are not superior - if anything the actions of my neighbors last night touts our inferiority.

Be safe.
AFF