a thousand words

Thursday, July 26, 2012

FOR SALE: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS


We all know that the seven deadly sins are PRIDE, ENVY, GLUTTONY, LUST, ANGER, GREED and SLOTH. But did you know that we market each sin in societal policy?  

As I stated in my brilliant blog The Human Debt Ceiling, the unholy trinity of Materialism, Ignorance and Faithlessness is killing our nation.  Here is more specific proof of that theory.

PRIDE is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. While America has slipped to middling in every indicator as a world power, we are #1 when it comes to confidence. We go about stating that "America is still the best and talking abour "Exceptionalism."  And we say it, tweet it, text it and watch it on machines made in China. 

America markets Pride by being in denial about our slipping fortunes.  The day we stepped away from civility, humanity and caring for our fellow man was the day we ceased to be the best.  If pride does indeed cometh before the fall, then it won't be-eth very fucking long.

GREED is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual.  Wall Street and Washington are 24 hour Greed Machines. These two entites conspired to execute the biggest crime in the history of our nation.  

And we have all been suckered by "prosperity ministry."  For the last time people, God is not an ATM machine.

America markets greed to us by saying that greed is good and rewarding greedy people and never calling bullshit on the unholy connection between the church and covetedness.

ENVY is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.  This one is right in front of your face each day.  The reality show.  We envy celebrities because they seem to have a great life.  But we forgot celebrity was once attained with talent.  But since we lowered the bar, accepted greed and gave in to false pride, now everyone thinks they can and should be a star.

America markets Envy by promoting greed and pride which allows anyone to covet the status and life of another.  We used to accept our lot in life by the grace of God.  Now, we think if "I can just show my ass in the right place I can be famous and get paid." 

GLUTTONY is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.  Most people think of food when they see this one.  But most gluttony is in the form of consuming and indulging in everything to excess. 

America markets Gluttony in all things American.  Nothing can be too big, too flashy or too much.  We have to have the biggest car, house and fake breasts.  And it's okay because, you guessed it, we're the best and we deserve anything we can get by any means because God wants us to have it here on earth.

But if you insist on the old world definition, America is the second fattest nation in the world behind Kuwait.

SLOTH is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.  Lazy comes right after fat in this country. Americans used to have a work ethic that found us connecting our occupation in spirit and thankfulness. Now, we all just want to get paid without working or having talent. (seen Envy above)  And as for spiritual work, well, that's too hard.  It easier to believe that God wants to give you stuff.

America markets Sloth by talking about exceptionalism but promoting dependency and then blasting you when you become dependent.  It also tells you that solthfullness is a right and evil men are trying to take it from you.

LUST is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.  From bimbo news anchors to lingerie for kids, America had pushed its head into its genitals and will not come out.  But the best evidence of this is the Celebrity Ho.  How did Kim Kardashinan and Paris Hilton both screw all over the internet and then get to come into you child's bedroom at night?  Our young girls are sexualized at an early age and so inevitably pedophilia is now on the rise.

America markets lust by selling all other sins with it.

ANGER spurns love.  We hate each other.  For over thousand of years we've been trying to figure out how to love  each other and all we do is cling to the silly belief that one person is somehow better than another due to some superficial trait.  And because we hate each other, it has been easy for people to divide us and thereby sell us the other six Deadly Sins.

American markets anger buy turning its citizens toward prejudice and bigotry and away from God and while we fight, they steal the world from us.



Copyright 2011

OCCUPY HEAVEN


Millions Gather At Churches And Religious Landmarks to Protest The Rebuke Of A Reward In The Afterlife.

Along with the protest against greed has come a bigger movement. Occupy Heaven is upset that the new Christianity, Prosperity Ministry, has silently killed the idea that Heaven is your reward. For the last fifty years, the Christian church has become more interested in wealth than souls and as a result, it has been corrupted to its core.

One Occupy member said: "The only difference between Wall Street and the church is, your teenaged son might be safe on Wall Street."

So, In a startling move, God has closed Heaven.

The Almighty is upset that Christians now believe that their reward for good behavior is found on Earth and in things made by men and not in ideals proposed by The Word.

Occupy Heaven is trying to get God to change his mind and re-open Heaven by turning on a fallen church.

"This has got to stop!" says Bill Brown, 35, of Atlanta. "Each week, I go to church looking for salvation and wisdom and all I get is cynical sermons about "money blessings. Last week my minister's sermon was entitled The ATM of Faith. I wanted to strangle him with his shiny suit."

The movement is global, with protesters jamming the doors of cathedrals all over the world. More than 3 million people filled Vatican City last week for a vigil.

The Pope issued a statement saying that the Catholic Church has never abandoned the idea of Heaven. The Pontiff then agreed that as long as we foolishly place faith in men, money and material, we violate the First Commandment and Heaven should remained closed. He did not, however agree to Occupy's request to get rid of "that smoking purse and the shiny dresses."



St. Peter, guardian of the Gates To Heaven, had this to say: "It's a shame. After thousands of years, people all of a sudden back off faith for money, fame and status? It's ridiculous. By the way, I'm out of work now, what's up with that Jobs Bill?"

But some people believe Heaven is outdated. "Man, it's like that 17 virgins thing," said Reverend Curtis Currency of the Unity Church in Alabama. "Be good and go to some place with clouds and Angels? That's crazy talk. God wants you to be happy now and have the things that make you feel good now."  When asked what he thought happened when we died, Rev. Currency said: "I don't know but I'm sure there's some kind of nice car involved."

Millions in the Occupy movement called upon God to respond and he did through tweets he sends to an obscure writer:

"Heaven is the wellspring of eternity, the only thing worthy of your faith and soul. It is no joke-- and neither am I." - retweeted from God.

For now, Heaven remains closed and no one will pass into its eternal bliss as long as we continue to believe as we do.

Reverend Baker Donovan of Maine put it best: "We are free to worship as we like in America, but God's Nation is not a democracy and there is no amending His Constitution. Only in service of His Word can we truly Occupy Heaven.

copyright 2011

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

EVERYTHANG IS RACIST (Updated)


America Has Always Had Problems, But One Notion Seems To Always Be The Icing On The Cake.

The title of this piece comes from my old barber in Detroit. During a conversation about politics, he uttered the now famous line.

"Shut the hell up man, everythang is racist!"

He didn't mean it literally, of course.  What he was saying was that race is so intertwined, connected and fused to the bones of American life, that it seems to touch and concern every problem we have.

As I look back at our history and assess our current dilemmas, it is clear he has a point.

Slavery of course was the beginning of it all.  But before the evil practice, men and women of color held positions of power and authority and were integrated into society without much incident.  As we all know, the first President of the pre-United States was black. Also, little known is that President Warren G. Harding was the great grandson of a black woman. If Obama is Black then so is my man Warren G.

In the beginning, the connection of race was clear. Laws like the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas/Nebraska Act, Missouri Compromise, Dred Scott Case were all linked to race.  But some were more subtle, like the Electoral College. 

In his excellent book, A Renegade History Of The United States, historian Thaddeus Russell lays out documented proof that race and race relations have been and still are one of the predominant forces of American politics, economy and social structure.  

In successive and repetitive waves, Russell shows how one ethnic minority after another communed with blacks, "borrowed" their culture, then ascended into "respectability" where they assumed the intense bigotry of the dominant culture.

Over the years, our inability to address the sin of racism, even after a bloody civil war, has put us into a dangerous stage of denial wherein white America sought to have the benefits of murder and oppression without the guilt and the moral debt and Black America, even while attaining some socio-economic mobility, has never been able to push beyond the gravitational pull of self-hatred, self-destruction and disunity.

And so now we all hide behind euphemism, innuendo, suggestion and rhetoric when we talk about the ugly, sustained notion of racial inferiority.  Predatory lending, professional sports slavery, AltRight, Occupy Wall Street, The Help, Police shootings and The Hunger Games all have race somewhere in their core.  

And most recently, the election of a clearly non-white President unleashed a racial tidal wave like this country has not seen since the 1960's. The ugly depictions and statements about the President  made even some of his detractors cringe. And now after his departure, America has elected, under the guise of an outsider, yet another oblivious old white man who seeks to make America Great again by returning to the horrific practices that subjugated millions of people.

I ask you, if a simple barber saw to the core of our society's ills, why can't our leaders? Indeed, why can't any of us?

And as bias becomes more the norm each day, I wonder if my humble barber may have been even smarter than he knew, for if I accept his premise metaphorically, I am left with a startling and logical conclusion:

If everythang is racist...

Then nothing is.

copyright 2012

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

TRAYVON MARTIN AND THE LIGHT


There is something in the Trayvon Martin case bigger than the death of an innocent boy, bigger than even the conspiracy that let his killer go free for 47 days.

The light is on again.  That mental radiance that illuminates the un-forgiven sin of our nation, the nuclear bomb of perceived racial inferiority, the subjugation of hearts and minds to the casual affliction of bias that permeates our culture.  For this, we all suffer without regard to race or color, culture or creed. 

I do not call for action, or prayers, nor do I ask for donations or pledges that are forgotten as soon as Facebook is clicked off.  I don't need to.  We all have skin in this game and no one can walk away from this after it becomes last week's "news-tainment" or a hyperlink at the bottom of an internet page.

I just ask for a moment to consider your place in the vastness of humaniy and know that we all make a difference-- if only we dare.  

Human beings have the greatest conviction of any species on the planet.  And Americans live in the nation with the most freedom and yet we abdicate that gift for the complacency of sheepish behavior.  Well, all I can say is, men eat sheep and make clothes of their skin.  We must stand against the cultural lies that give fuel to the Norman Wolfingers, Chris Lees and Judge Robert Zimmermans who in turn enable and protect the George Zimmermans to commit murder motivated by those same cultural lies.

I will not let the dead become a footnote to my humanity or the “snooze button” on the clock of my righteous indignation.

Trayvon is dead.

Zimmerman is arrested.

And I dare to challenge all the reasons why it happened.

I dare.

Copyright 2012

TRAYVON. O.J AND THE THE BLACK INCEPTION

In The Aftermath Of The Controversial Case, We Find That The Dangerous Notion Which Killed A Boy And Holds Us All Captive Still Lives. 

 I tried. I really did. I wanted to let George Zimmerman's arrest be the end of it for me, but in the wake of the case, a very disturbing thing has happened. Pundits have been discussing the case and many journalists, including Piers Morgan and the great Bob Schieffer have shown a remarkable ignorance when it comes to understanding why people are so upset about the death of this boy. 

And then Acura, making a car commercial with Jerry Seinfeld, calls for a black man but "not too dark." Then I realized that I couldn't do it-- Because of the idea. A notion has been planted in the brain of America, just like they did in the film Inception. It's an old idea, one that has been nurtured and supported by everything from ancient writings to Twitter. This idea that black people are inferior is at the heart of every other bigoted notion about us. 

 This lie was created to justify sin and fortified over the years. It is ingrained within the basic imagery of color, that anything dark is bad and everything light is good, which is sadly one of the basic building blocks of our mind's perception. In children's stories, no black knight ever wins and no white knight ever loses. 

The Trayvon Martin and O.J. Simpson cases show what a deep divide still remains in our culture and how under all of our civilized behavior, the inception lives and flourishes as we push ever forward to our future.

O.J. Simpson was a black man who was famous and was exalted by all races. Then he was charged with killing two white people. And the notion was that this violent tendency was always in him, dormant and born of natural causes.

George Zimmerman is a man with violence, recklessness and insecurity in his past. But when he killed a black man, the perception by many is he did this not because of his natural tendencies but because of his perception of the victim's natural tendencies. And his perception comes from the inception of the idea that black men are inherently inferior, violent and dangerous. In both cases, you have black men, one accused of murder, the other dead by murder but both held in contempt based on preconceived notions that have been supported by all of society (and yes, that includes us black folk). And just as dangerous as "the black man is always guilty" inception is the one that says all black men are somewhow or in some way, wrongly accused. 

In the end, we are left to our morality for these judgments and I must say we are sorely lacking in this area. To me at least, the field is in clear vision: Zimmerman is as guilty as O.J. and Trayvon was as innocent as Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. 

So to all the people out there who don't understand why people are upset, think just a moment before you embarrass yourself like Piers Morgan and Bob Schieffer did. Think about the fact that no man has a right to feel so threatened by the mere presence of another that murder is justified. And understand also that the racism and mistreatment of our people is never an excuse for criminal behavior. 

I don't know if we can ever undo this inception, even as you read this, people are fortifying it in the media and pop culture and feeding it to their children. But we are the governor's of our hearts and minds and in this, we can do anything. In closing, let me plant the only idea that really matters: 

We are all just human. 

Copyright 2012

THE OBAMA INCEPTION


People have been stonily silent since the midterm elections. So I will say what everyone is thinking. The President has missed the mark. And here's why he missed it.

The idea.

In the film Inception, a mind-bending movie about the subconscious, a man says that a simple idea is the most powerful thing in the world. Then they set about implanting an idea in the mind of a powerful man.
Two years ago, something else powerful was implanted in the minds of America, especially Black America.
A symbol.
Symbol (symb’l) n 1. Something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction. 2. An object or act that represents an impulse or wish in the unconscious mind that has been repressed.
Dig the definition, “representing an abstraction” or “a repressed wish.” So a symbol is a vessel, which is filled with whatever an individual wants.
It is important to remember this definition, as I am about to talk badly about some revered symbols.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a symbol, a law that “freed slaves.” Of course it didn’t. Faith, determination, courage, politics, a war with 620,000 deaths did.
Jackie Robinson’s symbolic integration killed the Negro Leagues, ending the threat that the black teams; some partially owned by blacks would merge with the MLB.
The MLK Holiday became the symbol for the promise of continued equality and progress. It became law in 1983 and then the 1990’s saw the most devastating reversal of fortune in the history of Black America.
And then in the new millennium, we were given the greatest symbol in perhaps a century: the first Black President.
And now after two short years, the President has been hobbled and even labeled a failure by some. His party has lost political control by historic margins and he has been called out by such progressive stalwarts as Michael Moore, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, John Stewart, Bill Maher and George Soros. Even zen master Deepak Chopra has called him out. (I am waiting for Bambi and Papa Smurf to slam him next)
There have been a lot of theories about why this has happened. I of course, have the real answer and it has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with symbolism.
Obama was the symbol for all the things that Blacks and young progressive whites had been waiting for. He came with black skin and a "white" brain, a black wife and a white history. But he meant something different to each group.
To Blacks he was a warrior, the ultimate proof of equality, acceptance and an end to the theories of black inferiority. To whites, he was the essence of their subconscious presumption of black nobility, likened to the imagery of the Magic Negro, the man who carries virtue in his right hand and forgiveness in the other and who will break his back fixing your mess.
Obama was the perfect symbol: the abstraction of hope and the repressed wish of change.
But he did not deliver on either promise to either group by doing what every President before him did, playing the same D.C. game and not giving anyone the only thing that ever matters: to call bullshit on it all.
The President went on to accomplish many things but none of them resonated with young voters and Blacks who felt left out.
So what could he have done? Well, anything that guts the D.C. game would probably not pass in congress but in failure he would have won the hearts of Americans who want to stop spendthrift government and greedy, selfish corporate politics.
How about if you ship a job overseas, you have to create two here or we hit you with a penalty that goes to job creation? What about if a soldier dies in a war, we send his kids to college for free? Or maybe an actual, real discussion about race?
So maybe none of these ideas are good but that’s one of the hundreds of reasons I could never be President. But I do know this, all the people wanted was a sign, a gesture to hold on to.
Ironically, we needed a symbol.

Copyright 2010

Friday, March 30, 2012

TRAYVON AND THE MAGIC BULLET


The Rally For The Tragedy In Florida Runs To The Core Of Our Nation's Dark History And Stands Against Criticism With Unimpeachable Humanity.

There was an interesting (and nasty) discussion on another post on my page yesterday.  A poster took exception with the outpouring of anger and support for Trayvon Martin when we, the black people, don't do anything about the constant violence in our community each day against each other.  While I take exception with the way the thought was posed, it was nonetheless a provocative question.

My response is just as provocative.

The bullet that killed Trayvon Martin has also shattered any belief that a black man in the White House has really changed a nation that has been built on the bones of millions of dead slaves and native Americans and free black people. The bullet that it took three days to get out of Trayvon's body may have mysteriously turned him on his face, a feat that logic and physics cannot explain.

But that bullet did have one magical quality: it awakened the sleeping giant of millions of people with black sons whose greatest fear was just realized and millions of white people who are tired of ignorant, racist men like George Zimmerman and (former) Police Chief Chris Lee, being promoted as the representatives of what's in their hearts.

Yes, we have a lot of problems in our community but the kind of senseless, hate-driven violence that took that boy from this world is part of the reason why we suffer so much and why we can't get certain monkeys off our backs.  

Many times our ancestors lifted themselves up then cowardly, murderous men would come in the night and drive us back down, even if they had to kill us to do it.  Just ask the people of Rosewood. Murder justified by the law, covered up by police and in defense of racist laws has taken countless lives and contributed to a dispritited people who have at times only had their love for each other and their faith in God to sustain them. 

Emmet Till, Malice Green, Medgar Evers, James Byrd Jr. and Dr. King's names are etched into a wall of history that all Americans should be ashamed of.  Sadly now, Trayvon Martin joins them.

This of course does not justify men abandoning their kids or bad parenting or reckless personal behavior or any of the things black people do that hurt our community.  But what should we do, march against ourselves?  Well, we did that, a million men and women strong.  As feeble as it seems sometimes, black people continue to try to fix our problems and while we struggle with this most human of endeavors, we would appreciate people not murdering our sons because they are black.

So, if any person takes exception to the Trayvon rallies, I ask you if you have stood by your obligations to your kids and your spouse.  If the answer is yes, then I say thank you for helping our community and I appreciate your observation.  But if you haven't, then you are part of the problem you purport to condemn and you can tell your damned story walking.  

Because there are no magic bullets, just the ones that kill.  The outrage over Trayvon Martins murder is a collective scream from Americans that we will not go back into those dark days of our past and give truth the lie that all men are not created equal.  And if you can't understand that, then not only can I not help you.

I don't want to.

Copyright 2012

THE VAGINA DIALOGUES


The Nasty, Venal Conversation About Who Controls A Woman's Body Can Be Ended By A Simple, Profound, Yet Crazy Sounding Plan. 

There's a terrific BBC show called Downton Abbey.  It's set in England in the 1900's and it has no black people in it, so of course it has become a cult hit in America.  It is also set during the last part of the Victorian Age, when men owned everything and power and wealth could only pass through male heirs. Women were pretty much considered property.  

The current dialogue in our Congress and media about women's reproductive rights would fit right into Downton.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about respecting female time and how it was different from male time.  Well, female power is also different from male power and this is the whole problem right now. 

You see, when we attacked gender bias and disparity, we made a mistake. By and large, we tried to attain equality for women through the acquisition of male power.  But we didn't try hard enough to acquire equality through respect for female power. 

Female power.  Noun.  1. The ability to do something or act in a particular way that is uniquely tied to being born female, esp concerning human reproduction. 

What the hell am I talking about you ask?

I'm talking about the fact that there are things about men and women that are naturally different, anatomically, psychologically and anthropologically (if you wanna get into that).  So instead of trying to attain equivalency by giving women access to manly things, we should have fought harder to get support for those things which are uniquely female, things that our society often associates with shame or guilt.

Instead of making condescending jokes about reproductive cycles, outlawing and stigmatizing prostitution and burdening women with the blame for out of wedlock birth, we should have fought harder to teach subsequent generations to respect and admire the way a woman's body works.  This would have made it easier for men to let go of the property myth and stop fighting women for control of their bodies. (a fight we cannot win, by the way)  But instead, we spent a lot of time on equal wages, same sex bathrooms and hyphenating surnames.  All noble causes, but lacking the foundation of respect for inherent female power; they did little to change minds.

And now men are trying to put cameras where the sun don't shine. 

Honestly, the same culture that can bend radar waves around a plane, split the atom and teleconference with China on a tiny phone wants to force metal into a woman's womb?  It seems asinine at best and barbaric at the worst and aren't vaginal probes how these women got into this fix in the first place? (Rim shot)

At one point in human history, great civilizations worshipped women as the givers of life and sharers of God's greatest power: creation.  This was called The Sacred Feminine. This was written about in The Da Vinci Code.  The Hindus are one of the remaining cultures to worship God on earth through women.

There's an old joke that if men had periods, then there'd be a three day holiday with pay each month.  Babies would come with big fat tax breaks and bronzed placentas would be hanging from the grilles of SUV's.

Crazy right?  But is it any crazier than five types of erection pills you can buy damned near over the counter but a morning after pill that you have to know the President to get?  Or being called a slut by a national radio host if you argue for your rights?

In a better world, a woman can do whatever she wants with her body and it's between her and God.  If she wants to sell it, rent it or mortgage it, it's her burden and society would give the same support to this as it does for anything that flows inherently from men.

By the way, I don't like this.  My initial reaction to this logic is one of rebellion.  The thought of women with sexual, reproductive, intellectual and financial power makes me feel a little inadequate.  But any argument against this humanist notion finds me embracing denial and ignorance or arrogantly throwing up bible quotes that I interpret to justify my position but which I don't really understand.  And so, I am forced against my manly nature to see the clear path of our progression.  And besides, being a man is still pretty  awesome too. 

Women are not going back into the chastity belts, fellas.  They're inventing Spanks and getting a cool billion for it.  And our daughters are not keeping their virginity by abstinence but by doing things you don't even want to think about. Sorry, but this genie is out of the bottle and it ain't going back in no matter what politicians spew.

So let's finish the dialogue and get to the real problems of our society before it's too late.

Okay, I have to go and watch another episode of Downton. Some poor girl is in need of a dowry.

© 2012.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

JESUS 2.0



A fundamental Shift In Christianity Has Changed The Promise Of God From Eternal Life To Earthly Guarantee.

When I was a kid,  my minister was a young man who was thought of as a radical.  He warned us young ones to resist those who would change the doctrines of God and he slammed all other religious men and women who asked for money first then thought of saving souls.

Souls.

Remember when Christianity was about your immortal soul? Now Christianity has taken a radical shift from heavenly reward to earthly blessing. This is supported by passages in the Bible but we know the Bible supports many things, some good others not so good.  

As Americans have become more self-centered, selfish and materialistic, so has our perception of God. The war that is going on now in society, culture and politics reflects this. Suddenly, we have the two camps of extremes. One that sees no limits on man's behavior and the other that sees only limitation. Most of us are right in the middle, just trying to be good and make it to Heaven.

Heaven.

Remember when that was our goal?  Now, it's something for old people. Young Christians talk about "blessings and prosperity"-- right now.

The New Jesus, wants you to have stuff more than he wants you to go to Heaven. He wants you to join the religious social order, march along, then claim your Bentley, hot spouse and vacation home. Jesus 2.0 wants your heaven to be here on earth.

And the corruption, the greed, avarice and boy rape doesn't mean there's a problem in the church. Life is complicated and the flesh is weak. So if you're waving a Bible but have your other hand up some boy's ass, I will not judge you. I'll pray for you while I'm asking for stuff. And if you sin but have money, well then it's a wash.

I could be wrong, but I don't think Jesus died so that I could have man's earthly inventions. I thought His sacrifice was a pact, a passage for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and life was the test of your faith.
Christianity is the safeguard, the firewall that is supposed to prevent us from forgetting this. Jesus 1.0 taught us that God is not convenient and you don't get to just change Him when it gets hard. You conform to Him or go to Hell.

Jesus 2.0, the convenient Savior, teaches a gospel made by weak people for weaker minds. It is a religious iPad with hundreds of apps that bring easy living and guiltless indulgence. These are Jesus 2.0's Ten Commandments:

1. Honor God and he will give you earthly prosperity.
2. People who have money are blessed.
3. Money erases sin and abates criticism of its possessor.
4. Thou shalt not covet when you can pray for what you want.
5. Thou shalt not commit adultery but you can fornicate your ass off.
6. Thou shalt not kill-- or snitch on a killer.
7. Thou shalt not lie unless it leads to a blessing.
8. Thou shalt not hate on another person for being blessed.
9. Remember the Sabbath, that's all, just remember it.
10. Honor thy mother and thy father. Thy children?-- not so much.

As we fall from grace, we do not grab God as a lifeline, we use Him to cushion ourselves against the hard ground of faithlessness. See, if we reinterpret The Word as we change, then it is always what we want it to be.  After all, no one really knows the mind of God, right? So then maybe He wants us to change doctrine every few hundred years to suit our changes.  

The question is, are you willing to bet your soul on it?

Copyright 2012