The Tomb Is Empty

The Buddha's body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth or Dalada Maligawa in Sri Lanka is the place where the right tooth relic of Buddha is kept at present.

Muhammad is buried in the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi ("Mosque of the Prophet") in the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. Non-Muslims generally consider Muhammad to be the founder of Islam, however, Muslims see him as the final prophet of the pre-existing primordial religion of humankind that he "restored." (Essential Islam by Diane Morgan, p. 101.)

The tomb of Jesus is empty. Many of the world's ancient religions believe in a bodily resurrection, but there is only one that has the proof to back up the belief. The early church also had relics and shrines of The Holy Rood (cross), The Holy Grail (cup), and the bones of the apostles. Some claim to have been "venerated" or verified, as those of Peter and Paul.  Whether they are true artifacts or gimmicks used by the Catholic church to swindle benefactors into providing for their upkeep, I surely cannot know, but what I do know is that none of those relics contained any part of the body of Jesus, cremated or buried.

The writings of the Roman Empire totally negate the premise that all claims of Jesus' existence were not "hear-say" and all of the writings from the first century are first-person, eye-witness accounts. That's like saying Homer didn't write the Iliad or the Odyssey. Yet we know that Homer did write it because OTHER people copied it, though there is NO manuscript in Homer's own hand that exists today.  Furthermore, there is MORE evidence in the first century accounts of Jesus than that of Homer writing the Iliad.  We know and accept that the Iliad was written in the Classical Period of Antiquity and that MOST scholars date it to about the 8th to 7th CENTURY B.C. yet the most fully extant manuscript of the Iliad is dated at the 10th CENTURY AD and was COPIED by Venetus A.

Even first century historians cite non-Biblical sources in their writings that still confirm the historicity of Jesus, the Apostles, and the persecution of first century Christians. Josephus and Tacitus were Roman historians of the first century. Tacitus refers to Christ, Pilate, and a mass execution of Christians by Nero after a 6 day fire that burned much of Rome.. He writes, "Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired." 

Later days,

Starr

Remember Who You Are: Ekklesia vs. Church

Prior to reading this post, I believe I may owe an explanation as to how it came about. On one of the many times within the past year that I was caring for my Mom, I happened upon a podcast from The Ramp by Louie Giglio of Passion City Church in Atlanta, GA. Ever inquisitive, I was intrigued and based on what I heard, I began independent study to see if there was anything at all to the premise he was making on "Ekklesia vs. Church" usage in the King James Bible. I am not, nor have EVER been a King James Only Bible person. I have NEVER believed the Baptist Bride doctrine nor that of Calvinism. I vehemently disagree with the "speaking" in tongues that so many of the Pentecostal denominations practice with impunity.   As with many of my, shall we say "religion" posts, this one is also in opposition to the religious status quo. Yes, I'll just admit right now that I must be a rebel at heart who does not like to conform.

"Monarchy is the greatest thing on earth. Kings are rightly called gods since just like God they have power of life and death over all their subjects in all things. They are accountable to God only ... so it is a crime for anyone to argue about what a king can do." ~King James I

And that statement alone is precisely the reason why the word ekklesia was mistranslated into the word "church" or "kirk" in the "authorized KJV" of the Bible when Jesus said that "upon this rock (meaning Jesus, NOT Peter) I will build my ekklesia (NOT church, or kirk).  Peter would have had absolutely NO idea what "church" or "kirk" meant as the New Testament church had not yet been established, but he absolutely would have understood ekklesia as it was very relevant to the time in which he lived.   The word ekklesia comes from the two Greek words ek, meaning "out" (Strong's #1537) and kaleo (Strong's #2564) which means "to call."  However, contrary to what is now taught in church, the ekklesia was much more than just an assembly of like-minded people.  The words agora and paneguris as well as heorte, koinon, thiasos, sunagoge and sunago can all mean an assembly but the Greek language is a very precise language and the words are very specific to the context in which they are used.  I don't claim to be a Greek scholar by any stretch of the imagination, but thankfully, I do have the ability to read and study for myself those who were/are Greek scholars and who have imparted their knowledge so that others may also learn truth.  Yes, I asked my Pastor (the only person I know who's actually studied Greek) about this very subject waaaay back on April 18, 2011 and he is very vocal about how many hours of Greek he studied in seminary, and, honestly, I'm disappointed to say that I am still waiting for his input, so what I share here, is pretty much the result of my own independent study. 

Why, you may ask is this such a big deal?  Maybe to you, it isn't.  However, to the world at large, and the church in general, it may make all the difference in the world.  Especially if you discover that the modus operandi that you've been conforming to for the last millennia and a half (1,611 years precisely) is false and not at all what it was designed to be.  Ironic or weirdly coincidental that it's 1,611 years since the 1611 authorized KJV isn't it?  I mean if the proof is in the pudding and the pudding were told it was something else entirely (no longer pudding) and it's behavior, lifestyle, or belief system became that which is totally contrary to what it was intended to be....well, then that would be a tragedy, wouldn't it?  It all comes down to the word ekklesia and if we understand it we will gain an entirely new perspective on what the church is supposed to be called out from and called out to.  You don't just call out someone to separate them from society.  We were never meant to live outside of the world, but in the world to be light (truth) and salt (preservative) and "little" Christs which is what the word "Christian" literally means.  As Mufasa in The Lion King says, "Remember Who You Are."  David Platt writes, "The Tragedy of the cross: over 6000 people groups still haven't heard about it. What in the world are we doing?"  (Mt. 28:19-20)  We've forgotten who we are and what we were called out FROM and what we were called out TO do.  Churches are hoarding up wealth, building kingdoms on earth rather than laying up treasure in heaven.  Oh, so what if you have internet, radio, or tv broadcasting your services?  Fact is the majority of the world is lacking in the devices with which to receive it.  The ekklesia was an equipped body that was "called out" and then "sent out" for a specific purpose.  A revolving door approach I've heard it called.  Instead we are relying on technology to do what Jesus said we were to do.  All other religions say "work, work, work."  Jesus said "love, love, love" and "go."

First of all, the term ekklesia was a political term, not a religious one.  Jesus is THE King and the Bible used the term ekklesia because in classical Greek "ekklesia" meant "an assembly of citizens summoned by the crier, the legislative assembly."  When the Greek city states found their governments had become too corrupt and oppressive, they would call for an ekklesia, an assembly outside the civil authority of the city. If enough people came out and refused to accept the existing centralized civil authority, that government would collapse. Non participation has been a successful and peaceful means to free mankind from oppressive civil authority throughout history. 

• Liddell and Scott define ekklesia as "an assembly of citizens summoned by the crier, the legislative assembly." [R. Scott, and H.G. Liddell, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 206.]
• Thayer's lexicon says, "an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating" [J. H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 196].
• Trench gives the meaning as "the lawful assembly in a free Greek city of all those possessed of the rights of citizenship, for the transaction of public affairs" [R.C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, 7th ed., pp. 1-2].
• Seyffert's dictionary states, "The assembly of the people, which in Greek cities had the power of final decision in public affairs" [Oskar Seyffert, A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, pp. 202-203].

John the Baptist had preached the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2).  Jesus preached the same method of self government and proclaimed that right for all who would remain faithful to Him. Jesus' procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was a call for the people to stand against a corrupt, oppressive government by offering them a legitimate government that operated differently than Herod the Great: a kingdom which was nothing less than a government operating by freewill offerings (Exodus 35:29), voluntary charitable participation (Luke 3:11), and the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25).  It was a powerful and non-violent movement of the people, by the people, and for the people to change the course of history by changing the hearts and minds of men, by altering their relationship with governments of the gentiles with their leaders who called themselves benefactors but who exercised authority.

Ekklesia: principal governmental assembly in Athens, Greece; responsible for declaring war, military strategy, electing military generals and magistrates.

The authority and function of the assembly is fundamental to properly understanding what Jesus inaugurated in Matthew 16:18 and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The implications are that every control center of Satan can be prevailed over by the church if God can find an ekklesia "a ruling body" under His Lordship.

Ekklesia: meaning the "Called out of" is used 118 times in the NT and translated "church" in all but 3 verses. The practice of ekklesia had been in use 500 years by the time of Christ and had specific, well-acknowledged connotations.  Peter would not have known what "kyriakon (doma)" was since it was not even used until the 14th century, but would have understood ekklesia: the "Called out" ones were to be the heavenly council above city council; rules over kings and renegade governments; a governing body with power.  I am reminded of Tolkien's writing in The Lord of the Rings where Sauruman is touting the combined forces of The Two Towers of Isengard and Baradur, and Gandalf looks at him and says, "There is only ONE Lord of the Ring, and he does not share power."  King James was just such a man and may have demanded that the word be "church" instead of ekklesia because he didn't want any governing authority over him since he was the "head" of the Anglican church of England and would not share power with an ekklesia here on earth.  In an account corrected with his own hand dated February 10, 1604, he ordained: "That a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches of England in time of divine service." He then set up rules that made it impossible for anyone involved in the project to make an honest translation, some of which follow:

1. The ordinary Bible read in the church, commonly called the Bishop's Bible to be followed and as little altered as the truth of the original will permit.  In other words,  since the common people preferred the Geneva Bible to the existing government publication let's see if we can slip them a Mickey (a superseding government publication onto their bookshelves) altered as little as possible.

2. The old Ecclesiastical words to be kept, viz. the word "church" not to be translated "congregation," etc.  That is, if a word should be translated a certain way, let's deliberately mistranslate it to make the people think God still belongs to the Anglican Church - exclusively.

3. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words, which cannot without some circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.

The KJV was, at the time of its writing, an attempt to deny believers the marginal notes in the Geneva Bible.  Good King James was a devout believer in "the divine right of kings" which, simply stated, that since a king's power came from God, the king then had to answer to no one but God.  Our word "church" comes from a different Greek word than ekklesia. The Koine Greek κυριακόν (δωμα) (kyriakon (dōma)) meaning Lord's (house) is the word we get the English word "kirk" or church from, meaning "the house of the Lord."  Kirk, meaning "church" is found in Scots, Scottish English other English dialects and which was borrowed into Germanic languages in late antiquity.  It is considered a loanword from Old Norse and therefore retains it's original Germanic consonants.

Joel 2:15 "a solemn assembly" uses the same word ekklesia in Greek Septuagint

Ekklesia declares war on renegade elements of the society in which it assembles:

Psalm 110:1-2

2 Corinthians 10:4

Ephesians 6:12

Jesus was recognized as the king by the existing world government when Pontius Pilate nailed his official proclamation of Christ's kingdom to the cross, which was sealed for all time in the blood of an innocent man. Jesus and His little flock of followers, the called out ekklesia were persecuted by the apostate church of that day who abandoned the house of David proclaiming they had no king but Caesar.  We see ekklesia throughout the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments.  God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever; He does not change.  Mankind is the same, sin is the same.  Abraham was called out and eventually brought out many souls, both Jew and Gentile. Moses was called back to Egypt and he and Israel were cast out of Egypt but had to learn the ways of liberty under God. Yet it wasn't too long before the people returned to sin with their golden calf and the Levites were called out to become the tabernacle in the wilderness.

I love the KJV of the Bible for it's reverence and it is the one that I prefer for memorization.  However, King James was an evil, evil man and strict adherence to his "authorized" version of the Scriptures is just not legitimate when studying, considering the "source" as it were. King James' life was clouded in controversy because of allegations that he was homosexual. Although he fathered several children by Anne of Denmark, it would be more accurate to say that he was allegedly a bi-sexual. While his close relationships with a number of men were noted, earlier historians questioned their sexual nature.  However, few modern historians cast any doubt on the King's bisexuality and the fact that his sexuality and choice of male partners both as King of Scotland then later in London as King of England were the subject of gossip from the city taverns to the Privy Council. His relationship as a teenager with fellow teenager Esmé Stuart, Earl of Lennox was criticized by Scottish Church leaders, who were part of a conspiracy to keep the young King and the young French courtier apart, as the relationship was improper to say the least. Lennox was forced to leave Scotland due to death threats.  In the 1580s, King James openly kissed Francis Stewart Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. Contemporary sources of the day clearly stated that their relationship was a sexual one. When James inherited the English throne from Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, it was openly joked of the new English monarch in London that “Elizabeth was King: now James is Queen!” If there is still any doubt, it should also be noted that George Villiers, also held an intimate relationship with King James, about which James himself was quite open and called Villiers his “wife” and called himself Villiers' “husband”! King James died in 1625 of gout and senility. He is buried in the Henry VII chapel in Westminster Abbey, with one of his favorite male suitors on his right, and another on his left.  Go figure.

1599 Geneva Bible Footnotes:

1. Matthew 16:18 That is true faith, which confesseth Christ, the virtue whereof is invisible.
2. Matthew 16:18 Christ spoke in the Syrian tongue, and therefore used not this descanting betwixt Petros, which signifieth Peter, and Petra, which signifieth a rock, but in both places used this word Cephas: but his mind was that wrote in Greek, by the divers termination to make a difference between Peter, who is a piece of the building, and Christ the Petra, that is, the rock and foundation: or else he gave his name Peter, because of the confession of his faith, which is the Church’s as well as his, as the old fathers witness: For so saith Theophylact, That confession which thou hast made, shall be the foundation of the believers.
3. Matthew 16:18 The enemies of the Church are compared to a strong kingdom, and therefore by Gates, are meant cities which are made strong with counsels and fortresses, and this is the meaning, whatsoever Satan can do by counsel or strength. So doth Paul, 2 Cor. 10:4, call them strongholds.

The Geneva Bible preceded the KJV by some 51 years.  Religion then was not religion as we know it today.  Religion was controlled by the Government. If you lived in Spain you had three choices:  Roman Catholicism, Silence, or The Inquisition.  If you lived in England it was almost the same:  The Anglican Church, Silence, or The Rack, The Stake, or being Drawn and Quartered.  Henry VIII, once he had appointed himself head of all the English churches, kept the Roman Catholic system of bishops, deacons and the like for a very good reason. That system allowed him a "chain of command" necessary for any bureaucracy to function. This system passed intact to his heirs until Bloody Mary became Queen  of England in 1553, and then it just became downright confusing.  Mary had strong ties to Catholic Spain through her marriage to Phillip II.  Being determined to roll back the Reformation and re-instate Catholicism Mary burned some 300 people at the stake (hence her nickname of "Bloody" Mary) and induced Parliament to recognize the authority of Papal Rome and thus the persecution of Protestants and what became known as the Marian Exile began.  Miles Coverdale, John Foxe, Thomas Sampson, and William Whittingham re-located to Geneva, and with the protection of the Genevan civil authorities and the support of John Calvin and the Scottish Reformer John Knox, the Church of Geneva determined to produce an English Bible without the need for the imprimatur of either England or Rome.  The result of their endeavors was the Geneva Bible. 80% of the Geneva Bible is based on the earlier translation work done by William Tyndale.  However, it was the first Bible in which ALL of the Old Testament had been translated directly from the Hebrew text.

The greatest distinction of the Geneva Bible is the extensive marginal notes written by Reformation leaders such as John Calvin, John Knox, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Theodore Beza, and Anthony Gilby wrote in order to explain the scriptures. The notes comprise nearly 300,000 words, or nearly one-third the length of the Bible itself, and they are justifiably considered the most complete source of Protestant religious thought available.  Those marginal notes were called "glosses" and even today the members of the legal profession use almost the same system in the form of footnotes and case cites. Due to the marginal notes and superior translation it became the most widely read and influential English Bible of the 16th and 17th centuries.  It was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, John Milton (Paradise Lost), John Bunyan (Pilgrim's Progress), John Knox, John Donne, and Oliver Cromwell.  When James I became King of England in 1603 there were only two translations of the Bible in use:  the Geneva Bible was the most popular and the Bishops' Bible which was used in church. 

The Geneva Bible is also the Bible that the Pilgrim's brought with them to America on The Mayflower.  The marginal notes of the Geneva Bible enraged the Catholic Church, because it deemed the act of confession to men – the Catholic Bishops – as unjustified by Holy Script and stated that man should confess to God.  Catholics weren't the only ones infuriated by the Geneva Bible.  King James made it a felony to own a Geneva Bible.  Why?  Because the notes infuriated him since they allowed disobedience to tyrannical kings. He then proceeded to make his own version of the Bible, but without the marginal notes that had so disturbed him. Consequently, during King James’s reign, and into the reign of Charles I, the Geneva Bible was gradually replaced by the King James Bible. Another of the ironies left us from the 16th century Geneva is that freedom of religion and freedom of the press did not originate in England, as many people commonly assume. Those freedoms were first given to Protestants by the Dutch, who declared Religious Freedom for everyone.  Geneva, at that time was an independent city-state and did not become part of Switzerland until 1815.  England today does not have freedom of the press the way we in America understand it.  No such thing as the Freedom For Information Act.  To the contrary, there are things in England such as the Official Secrets Act that often land journalists in jail.

The Geneva Bible was also an imperfect translation, but at the time of it's writing it was considered the best of what was available and is still better than some of the more modern versions available today.  Example:  The Geneva Bible has Elhanah killing Goliath, when most of today's Sunday school children know that it was David.   KJV, NKJV, TNIV, Hebrew Names Version, Young's, Lamsa's, 1936 Hebrew Pub. Company version all state:  2 Sam 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew THE BROTHER OF Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.   Geneva Bible:  2 Sam 21:19 "And there was yet another battel in Gob with the Philistims, where Elhanah the sonne of Iaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite SLEWE GOLIATH the Gittite: the staffe of whose speare was like a weauers beame."  Yet there is a note that reads: "That is, Lahmi the brother of Goliath, whom David slew (1 Chronicles 20:5)." 

As far as I can tell there are those who claim certain translations as being the most accurate as in "thought for thought" like the NASB and those who say "word for word" as in the KJV or NKJV.  Bottom line is this:  regardless of the version of the Bible you ascribe to, God has promised that His word will bear fruit provided it is sown in the good soil.  Francis Chan writes, "Don't assume you're the good soil."  For soil to be good it has to be broken or plowed.  God uses broken people.  Not the prideful, boastful, or those who trust in themselves.  "When we in our foolishness thought we were wise, He played the fool and He opened our eyes.  When we in our weakness believed we were strong, He became helpless to show we were wrong." ~Michael Card, God's Own Fool. Unfortunately broken people aren't very welcome in churches today....it doesn't fit the persona they wish to cultivate and it absolves them of their Christian responsibility of being their Brother's Keeper.  Out of sight, out of mind and all that. 

Later dayz,

~Starr

Yeshua: The Passover Lamb

Before you read this post, I must preface that it is written in direct opposition to just about everything I hear in church. I don't know if that means I'm just a rebel at heart or if it's simply that I have such a difficult time conforming. Regardless of which, I often find myself at loggerheads with the narrow-minded ideologues so prevalent in my church and their refusal to consider any other possibilities. The use of the words "Because we've always done it this way...." or "Traditionally......" just don't cut it with me. That is the most colossal copout  I can fathom! It is equivalent to a parent telling a child, "Because I said so!" I question everything. Case in point: Easter Week.

Disclaimer: these views are mine own. I am not a theologian by any stretch of the imagination. However, I can read and I do have a very functional brain with lovely grey matter. Being so well equipped, I can research historical Jewish documents and traditions as well as those of secular historians such as Josephus, Tacitus, and Suetonius. Just because something has the words "church, religion, doctrine, or tradition" attached to it does not mean it's true or that it is written in the proverbial stone.

Today is Maundy Thursday, the historical day of Jesus' Last Supper as he celebrated The Passover with his disciples.  I say "historically" because that is the traditional view, which I personally do not hold to.  My belief is that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, not Good Friday. Why? Because there is a differentiation in scripture from High Passover and regular Passover.  High Passover would have begun on Thursday and Jesus would have had to have been crucified on Wednesday, the Preparation Day of the Passover and his body taken down from the cross PRIOR to the High Passover and placed in the tomb.  The Pharisees and chief priests went to Pilate and begged him to place guards at Jesus' tomb "on the next day (Thursday) which followed the Day of Preparation" and they were to remain there until the Third Day.  Little did the Roman soldiers know it would be the last post they ever guarded.  Even Daniel teaches that the Messiah would be "cut off" mid-week which would also point to a Wednesday crucifixion.

Thoughts on Passover by Rabbi Daniel Lapin

We have all become so obsessed with freedom, rights, and choice that we’ve forgotten how much of our success and happiness is owed to restraint, duties, and rules.  Learning to place ourselves under authority is one message of Passover. Today’s educational system largely fails to teach this important skill so necessary for obtaining and keeping a job.  By contrast, the military does a splendid job teaching that the only way to get to give orders is to learn first to accept them.  The road to promotion leads through obedience.

Many mistakenly believe that Passover celebrates liberation.  But Moses never told Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”  God’s message really was, “Let my people go so that they may worship me in the desert.”  God did not free the Jews from being servants; he just freed them from being servants to Egypt.  Henceforth they were to be servants to Him.

Being enslaved by a man or a government makes less of us.  However choosing to be a servant of God transforms us into free and independent champions. Passover celebrates accepting God’s rules rather than rejecting the idea of having a boss.

Passover is an annual inoculation against a false idea. We could think that people would thrive if left to their own devices, without any external system of rules. Like the small child who yells, “You’re not the boss of me,” too many adults think that freedom means indulging every personal desire.

Being enslaved by Pharaoh served a vital function.  It taught the embryonic Jewish people how to take orders.  Thus, Passover celebrates the years of Jewish slavery as much as it does the exodus from Egypt. While the Egyptians were certainly responsible for their cruel behavior, Jews from then on recognize that the experience was a valuable one. The slavery had a purpose, teaching that all people are enslaved.  One’s only choice is whether to be enslaved to God’s rules or to a variety of bizarre human ideologies.

On this Monday night, we’ll celebrate the Passover Seder.  We will pore over a lengthy and detailed account of the Exodus, taste tear inducing bitter herbs with matzoh and solemnly drink four cups of wine to commemorate both slavery and redemption.

Paradoxically, true independence comes not through the abolition of all rules but through the acceptance of Divine rules.  Moses did urge Pharaoh to let the people go.  Not to free them from all authority, but to allow them to serve the One Authentic Authority.  This way, by bringing rules and structure into their lives they would gain real freedoms and choices.  What marvelous training for a job as well as for all of life itself.

May you all have a joyous celebration of Passover and Easter!

~Starr

Grief

 

I am alive, but not living,

I am breathing, but dead inside.

A heart, still beating,

Yet no hope within is found. 

I can see, but have no vision,

With ears that hear no joyful sound.

Hands without feeling,

Feet with no direction, bound.

Aimless do I wander,

Through streets of sorrow and despair.

Seeking for a future,

But finding only memories there. 

Why can't I see the Light,

That leads me ever homeward?

Am I doomed to dark of night,

Because you are no longer here?

Lost In Translation

 

You know, I'm all for including contemporary songs in the church hymnal. But what I don't like is when, in their attempt at "modernization" they re-write the lyrics to the old hymns, and in the process lose the scriptural meaning and significance of the original lyrics and even the doctrine behind it. In my opinion they pervert the original to appeal to the dumb-downed theological illiterates the church has birthed. Sad. But true. The conundrum being that after decades of singing the original hymn I usually sing it the way I learned it and find I'm the only one singing the old words because I don't read the hymnal version. (0_o) 

Case in point: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. (We sang the perverted version in church last week.) Written in 1757 by Robert Robinson at age 22. Hard to imagine someone so young with such an understanding of deep theological doctrine in this day and age. What is even more amazing is that God used a bleary-eyed gypsy fortune-teller in the conversion of Robert Robinson. When Robinson was an 18 year-old teenager, the fortune teller told him that "You, young man, will live to see your children and grandchildren."  His gang of friends said the old gypsy was too drunk to know what she was saying, but for some reason the words lingered in young Robert's mind and weighed on his heart.  He began to think that if he was going to live to see his children and grandchildren, he had need of a change in his lifestyle.  On that very same night he and his friends attended an open-air revival service where evangelist George Whitfield was preaching with the intent to make fun of the poor Methodist preacher.  "We'll go down and laugh at the poor, deluded Methodist," he said to his buddies.  Two years and seven months after hearing Whitfield's sermon that night, Robert Robinson “found full and free forgiveness through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.”  He was later called to preach and was appointed by John Wesley to the Calvinist Methodist Chapel, Norfolk, England.  It was there, in celebration of Whitsunday (Pentecost) in 1858 that he penned his spiritual autobiography in the form of this beloved hymn.  Consider the ORIGINAL Text to this very old hymn:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love. 

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face,
Clothèd then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

What is lost in translation:
Eben-Ezer (Hebrew: אבן העזר, Even Ha'Ezer, lit. stone of help). In 1 Samuel 7:2-14), the Israelites defeated the Philistines, after which the Prophet Samuel offered a sacrifice. At the place of victory AND sacrifice, Samuel puts up a stone in memorial and names it Eben-Ezer, and it is THIS monument referred to in the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. In the Saxon Old English it was called a "henge". Think Stonehenge. Origin: back formation from Stonehenge, or Stanheng, equiv. to stan stone + -heng "hanging" or standing stones.

Also, "Praise the Mount I'm fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love" and "Interposed His precious blood" are left out of the "new" versions and I could go on about the significance of those as well, but shall save it for another time.

There. I've exhausted this Pet Peeve of mine and hopefully imparted enlightenment (knowledge + understanding) to the masses today.

One final thought:  If God can use a bleary-eyed Gypsy fortune-teller, He can use anybody!

Later dayz,

~Starr

Hope: The Path Through Suffering

This post came about as a result of  "it's too long for a status update" so Blog it instead.

...so, yesterday at church my Pastor referenced correspondence with someone who feels utter hopelessness and, I don't know why, but it's weighing on my mind. I guess it's because I too often forget that there are people like that. I've been in dark places in my own life, but I have always had hope that (as Miss Evelyn used to tell me, repeatedly) "this too shall pass" and that trials, awful circumstances, and even grief do not last forever. Joy comes in the morning! It may not BE THIS morning OR tomorrow morning, but it will come eventually. 

I understand grief, believe me. Yet even in the midst of it, I've never felt the hopelessness of death. The futility of it, the questioning, the anger, the separation, the sadness....yes. The bouts of spontaneous tears at a thought or memory....uncontrollable weeping at the most awkward of moments regardless of where they happen, be it the grocery store, standing in Walmart, or just driving down the road.  I'm rocking the Alice-Cooper-Runny-Mascara look so much that I've become accustomed to it.  But I've never experienced the hopelessness.  Nothing even remotely similar to that which was expressed by Richard in his email.  I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and have a good cry....tell him I know EXACTLY how he feels about losing someone he loved....to remember that weeping is a language that only God can decipher and tears speak words that only He can interpret.....that even now, in the midst of great sorrow, God is here with us, near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), numbering our wanderings, collecting our tears in a bottle and recording them in His Book (Psalm 56:8 NKJV).  Can he just imagine that there is Someone who loves him with a love so AMAZING that He wipes your tears even after you left Him dying on a cross for your sins? As Gideon Harris said, "No matter how bitter your life can be remember it's not as bitter as dying on the cross for someone undeserving."

As so many times before, I wonder how people get through that darkness without Jesus? He has been the only thing holding me together since my Mama died. I'd have willingly lost my mind completely....embraced it, actually, just to be rid of the pain of it all.  The weeping. The part of me that feels empty and void.  That room in my heart left vacant.  The desire just to talk to her, hear her voice, ask her questions, seek her advice.  To share with her the everyday happenings of my life. And a thousand other things that I wish I had said, and the guilt of not having said them when I had the opportunity to do so.  I can only say that I said the important things that really mattered in our long discussions about Jesus.....trusting HIM to keep his promise that His Word would not return void and that it took root and bore fruit in my mama's heart.  Still, the way that my mama looked at us and held our hands in those final hours haunts me, day and night.  And I cry every time I think of it.  It was almost like we were the tether that was keeping her here on this earth....as if by her watching us and holding our hands, we could keep her spirit from leaving her body.  If it had been within my will and power it would have been so, but not if it meant my mama would have to continue living in pain and suffering.

There is a path through suffering and it is one we all must take. A rite of passage, as it were. And there is only One who has walked it before us, who has experienced the darkness and knows the agony. Who better to guide me as I now journey this darksome road? As I write this, I'm reminded of just how much music ministers to my soul, and there are a couple of songs that came to mind. 

First, is the song "Mountain of God" by Third Day:

Thought that I was all alone

Broken and afraid.

But You were there with me. 

Yes, You were there with me.

And I didn't even know that I had lost my way, 

But You were there with me. 

Yes, You were there with me.

'Til You opened up my eyes I never knew 

That I couldn't ever make it without You.

Even though the journey's long,

And I know the road is hard.

Well, the One who's gone before me, 

He will help me carry on.

After all that I've been through now I realize the truth.

That I must go through the valley

To stand upon the mountain of God.

As I travel on the road that You have led me down.

You are here with me. Yes, You are here with me.

I have need for nothing more, 

Oh, now that I have found

That You are here with me. Yes, You are here with me.

I confess from time to time I lose my way,

But You are always there to bring me back again.

Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from

And the things I've left behind.

But of all I've had, what I possess,

Nothing can quite compare

With what's in front of me, with what's in front of me.

I thought that I was all alone, Broken and afraid.

But, You are here with me.  Yes, You are here with me.

Another song of encouragement and remembrance is:  "Joy In The Journey" by Michael Card:

There is a joy in the journey

There's a light we can love on the way. 

There is a wonder and wildness to life and freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it

A pardon for all who believe.

Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind.

To all who've been born in the Spirit

And who share incarnation with Him,

Who belong to eternity stranded in time and weary of struggling with sin.

Forget not the hope that's before you.

And never stop counting the cost.

Remember the hopelessness when you were lost.

There is a joy in the journey.

There's a light we can love on the way.

There is a wonder and wildness to life and freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey...

Recommended reading: A Path Through Suffering, by Elisabeth Elliot 

Laterz,
~Starla

America's Choice

America has a choice to make this upcoming election day in 2012.  The following are my thoughts, and mine alone.

I thought that President Obama was the first "post-racial" President and we could all come together where race isn't an issue any more, even when making jokes about the taco bell dog.  I have family members who have black spouses and cousins who are bi-racial just the same as President Obama, so racism isn't an issue with me, though I sometimes use the phrase "and they call me racist" to make a point...like I did with the buttons at the DNC because of the fact that most liberals accuse conservative people of being racist and the fact that if a white guy put a slogan like that on a button, he WOULD have immediately been called a racist. This week I was asked by a friend if I was “racist.”  I am not.  I was also asked if I thought President Obama was the anti-christ.  I don’t, and have never thought so.  Both of those questions came from a friend of mine who just happens to be black, just so you know.  Yes, I have black friends!  I also have Bulgarian, German, Korean, Japanese, and Mexican friends!  For some reason conservatives and Christian conservatives in particular are always labeled "racist" when, if you read ANY of the civil rights history, it's exactly the opposite. I mean, Abraham Lincoln AND Martin Luther King, Jr. were BOTH Republicans!!!  So, how’d that happen???

I've heard that there were even "SLUTS VOTE" buttons at the DNC.  When I heard that, I was like, "What self-respecting woman would wear that?" and then it hit me why that was even on a button in the first place and it was because of that Sandra Fluke woman who wants gov't and everybody to stay out of her womb, yet wants everyone else to pay for her condoms and contraceptives FOR her womb....and that radio guy, Rush Limbaugh, called her a slut and it was a terrible thing to call anyone, the same as Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin the "c" word. Both wrong in my opinion, but yet they had Sluts Vote buttons at the DNC. Which made me wonder if they were affirming what the radio show host called her in the first place???  BTW, I want the gov’t to stay out of my womb and fallopian tubes too!!!  I don’t want the gov’t to tell me how many children I can/can’t have or make me have forced abortions like they do in China.  The difference between me and Fluke is that I don’t expect other people to pay for the CHOICES that I make.

Here's a little known fact: Obama's father didn't march for the civil rights movement; Mitt Romney's father did. Mitt Romney's dad, although Mormon, was not a polygamist; Obama's father was, having 3 wives at the same time. Obama's father was a communist; as was his mentor, Frank Marshall Davis.  Communists don't believe in "civil" rights. Obama didn't grow up with the Pledge of Allegiance, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Apple Pie, or any other American tradition that makes him like us. You can read about his exotic life in Indonesia in his book. Based on his own words and policies, he is a Marxist socialist communist. 

Many of my heroes are black people: George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, Samuel Morris, just to name a few!  Condoleeza Rice is an amazingly strong woman that I admire greatly!  I am proud that such an intelligent and accomplished woman from Alabama is on the political stage!  George Washington Carver will ALWAYS be top dog because he invented PeanutButter!  And I absolutely love Allen West, Thomas Sowell, (Sowell's Writings) and C.L. Bryant! In my opinion, I think Sowell or West would have been better choices for the first African-American president....which, if you know the truth, Barack Obama isn't. His mom was white, his dad Kenyan. The "label" African-American is used for black people whose ancestors were brought over here as slaves by the British, French, and Spanish; not Americans! Barack's father was never a slave so his lineage does not hold true to the standard. 

Me? My ancestry is Irish/Scots-American whose great-great-great-grandfather was the first white man on Sand Mountain who married a Cherokee woman. I have Cherokee and Irish from both sides of my family and Scots from my dad's side.  The Tinkers are called “wanderers” in Ireland, because that’s what they did, kind of like gypsies, wandering from place to place, repairing (tinkering) with things, hence the surname “Tinker.” But I've never been to Ireland a day in my life. I'm AMERICAN!  Have you ever been to Africa? If not, then you are just an American, like me! Teddy Roosevelt said that hyphenated Americans weren't American (paraphrase) so......I read a lot and I know that as horrible as slavery was to black people, my Native American ancestors were the targets of genocide to steal their land. Yet America is the only nation that fought a bloody war to end the practice of slavery, something our Founders found so abhorrent and reprehensible reprehensible they changed the wording in the Declaration of Independence from "life, liberty, and property to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" because they knew that many would consider slaves property. Slaves were brought here by the British, French, and Spanish, not Americans.  Most of our founders "inherited" their slaves and sought to free them, either upon their death or during their lives and many, like Thomas Jefferson, tried to do it while he was alive but the laws were such that they had to pay high sums of money to do so, and Jefferson was basically a pauper (poor) at the time of his death. It was Christians who began the Underground Railroad and opposed slavery.

America elected her first black president just 40 years after the Civil Rights movement. That is America's accomplishment! All of the American descendants of slaves have far better lives than those who still live in Africa, where slavery is still practiced and civil war is an every day thing. I recently watched the movie, Machine-gun Preacher, a true story about Sam Childers, who took on that Joseph Kony dude who kidnapped and enslaved children in Uganda and Sudan.  He forces the girls to be sex slaves and the boys to kill their parents and be in his army.  Oh and btw, Sam Childers is a Christian white guy!  It was estimated that in the early 60's Saudi Arabia had 300,000 slaves. Slavery wasn't abolished until later at the cost to the government of $2,000 each.  And do you know what happened to the guy who freed the slaves???  He was assassinated by his nephew!  And the murdering  nephew was beheaded in public in Riyadh in 1975!  Many Muslim countries still practice slavery. I just hate to see our people, black and white, red and yellow, enslaved to an out of control big government that seems bent on keeping us on the Plantation, providing the masses with food stamps, health care, and on the government teat, but not really free. There isn't freedom if you don't have a choice. We are all created with the same opportunity, but some are more talented than others and some just knock on the door of opportunity more often.

Everyone should vote. It's a right that many black men and white men, died to give you. Don't take it for granted. Black men were allowed to vote in 1870, following the end of the War Between the States and the ratification of the 17th Amendment. Native Americans weren't given citizenship or allowed to vote until 1924 (and not until 1954 in Maine, 1956 in Utah, and 1962 in New Mexico!) and women weren't allowed to vote until 1920 upon ratification of the 19th Amendment. I've voted in every election ever since I was 18, never forgetting the price others paid that gave me the freedom and privilege of doing so. Go register to vote! Exercise your right as an American! Do you realize that America has THE longest, consecutive form of government BY the people? Our founders blessed us with a constitutional bi-cameral Republic! US Constitution  We are not a democracy! A democracy is 3 wolves and 1 sheep sitting down to ask, “What’s for dinner?" Democracy is what you see in Egypt now, where after getting rid of the dictator, Islamic radicals are literally crucifying the Christians in that country and the last Jewish synagogue has been closed. There are many countries much older than ours but our government has out lasted theirs and has never been a monarchy where people were "subjects" or serfs. Our gov't is OF the people, BY the People, FOR the People (Lincoln's Gettysburg Address). Unique. Never been done, before or since, though some have tried. Monrovia, Liberia in West Africa was founded when freed slaves returned to Africa. Named after President Monroe and Liberty, but has been in the throes of civil war for decades. Read about it!

Anyway, it wasn't after until I read Obama's book that I began questioning his policies and the inconsistency of what he promised in 2008. I want to be more informed this go-round and so I'm seeking the answers to the concerns that I have about our deficit and the government getting bigger and bigger.  Our economy is a mess. Our debt is unsustainable. The fact of all that wasted stimulus money on Solyndra and green energy is painful no matter what side you're on. The billions sent to Brazil  Obama's Brazilian Oil Company to invest in THEIR off-shore drilling while closing ours and saying NO to the keystone pipeline just doesn't make sense to me, especially when coal is cheap and we already HAVE it! Sending $6 Billion to Muslim Brotherhood controlled Egypt Obama's Billions to Muslim Brotherhood Egypt doesn't make sense to me either. They are not our friends. Fast & Furious cover-up,  Beheadings in our own country and along our border, amnesty for illegal immigrants....they are ALREADY ILLEGAL! Failure to enforce immigration laws already on the books is pathetic. For the record, we NEVER occupied Mexico OR took their land!  After the Mexican-American War, in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hildago, we gave them back the land as far south as Mexico City, and paid them a $15 million lump sum payment, and the assumption by the U.S. Government of up to $3.25 million worth of debts owed BY Mexico to U.S. citizens for the territory that became the states of Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, California, Washington, and Oregon, as well as portions of what would later become Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, and Montana. It's almost like they pick and choose which laws they want to enforce while disregarding others. I don't get it!  That was all of our money that was wasted, that could have been spent to pay on the deficit. We get so used to hearing a trillion dollars....but have a hard time conceptualizing it, much less applying it in our REAL lives! I've never had a trillion dollars to just piss away on solar panels and when the company went belly-up those glass tubes were used as art in some liberal college in California! This is what HALF A BILLION WASTED DOLLARS LOOKS LIKE: Solyndra's Modern Art Stuff like that drives me nuts!!! And it was the same with George W.! His policies were no better, and it just seems that we've had 4 more years of Bush and then some. I just haven't seen any real change...not like what was promised in 2008.  Obama promised to take on big business, but big businesses like GM and GE didn't have to pay taxes...they were waived!  How about the other 1200+ BIG businesses that were exempt and got waivers for Obamacare?  How is that fair to small business owners or self-employed people?  List of Obamacare Exemptions

When I saw the movie 2016 Obama's America I realized even more, that he isn't like us; he wasn't raised "American." His life growing up and the influences that molded him are not like those we were raised with. Enlightening! It not only helped me understand his worldview but also understand how he views America. It really brought home to me that he's not like us at all! And he isn't even like most immigrants who want to come here, desiring to avail themselves of the opportunities America offers. It's really mind-boggling. And my one thought was "Who knew? Who knew in 2008?" we all thought he was just like us, but he's radically different in his perception of America. We aren't socialist in nature. We don't celebrate the collective. We celebrate those whose achievements inspire us. We celebrate the Heisman Trophy winners, the BCS National Champions, the World Series Champions, the fastest NASCAR driver (though I don’t like NASCAR...*gasp*  I know! it’s just ain’t in me folks!), the first man on the moon, winning the most Gold Medals at the Olympics, or bagging the biggest buck, or prize-winning fish we catch! We LIKE red, white, and blue and fireworks on the 4^th of July! We grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance and get teary-eyed singing the Star-Spangled Banner and we tie yellow ribbons around our trees until our troops come home! We are apple pie and baseball!  It's fundamentally WHO we are as Americans!

Sure, he was born in Hawaii, that makes him an American citizen, but he was raised in Indonesia by a communist mom and step-dad with communist ideals and values.  Big difference.  Even the guy he said was his mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was a known communist on the FBI's watch list with over 600 pages of documentation. He grew up worshiping Hanuman, the demon fighting Monkey god with the strength of 100 men who's never been defeated. (Just between you and me, I’d want a god MUCH stronger than 100 puny men!) Ironic that only 5% of ppl say they won't vote for a black man, but 18% say they won't vote for a Mormon. But we did vote for a black man who worshiped Hanuman. So, which is more bigoted? I'm not black or Mormon. I’m not a Democrat OR a Republican.  I’m an Independent with heavy leanings on the Libertarian/Constitutional Party side.  I’d even go so far as to claim kinship with the Tea Party since I could see myself dressing up as a wild injun and dumping His Majesty’s tea in Boston Harbor!  I just want to know which candidate shares my love for America and our Constitution and who wants life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans! I just don't think Obama "thinks like Americans" do.  He seems to think we're supposed to be some kind of remade European socialist country, but we aren't, we never have been. Look at Europe and see if all the socialist polices have been to the benefit of its people.  No.  One country after another is on the verge of collapse.  Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland, the UK.  Only Germany is solvent.  Keep in mind that it was America who rebuilt Germany and Japan after WWII.  If you haven't read his book, then you should...at least you'll know who you're voting for.  I thought he grew up just like I did; but he didn't. I can't think of one single communist that I knew as a child growing up. I can remember the "fall-out" drills and films we had in school that used to terrify me at the very THOUGHT of the communists attacking from Russia or China. Now, we also have Iran to worry about and I wonder why the President seems to have turned a blind eye to Iran becoming a nuclear power? Don't you? I wonder why he said that America would only be concerned with Syria if chemical or biological weapons were used?  Wouldn't it be too late then??? Why would we consider sending OUR sons and daughters AFTER chemical or biological weapons had been deployed???  Not that I want another war in another Middle Eastern country...I don't! I have a son who may be sent to Bahrain as support for the troops in Afghanistan, which to my way of thinking should have ended the moment we got Osama bin Laden. Why keep our guys over there when OBL was the reason we went there in the first place?  Didn’t President Obama promise in 2008 to end the wars and bring our troops home?  Inconsistency.  And now there's the tragedy and subsequent cover-up of the events that happened in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. I'll leave that topic for another day.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read and I'll appreciate any thoughts you might wish to share with me. I always like another perspective from people I respect. I've always believed respect was a two way street and a lot of the time we just don't take the time to cross it and see another person's point of view.

All That Is Possible

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All that is Possible
I try to eat the healthy food I need, and do the things I should. I don't use drugs or drink in excess. Yet life is too short, my friend! I, for one, hate missing out on something good or trying something new.

I've never been this old before and I’ll never be this age again. So, before I die, I've got to try those things that for years I’ve ignored or taken for granted:

~I haven't smelled all the flowers yet~

~There are too many books I haven't read~

~And kites to be flown overhead~

~I haven't cried at all the movies yet~

~Or walked in the morning rain~

~I want to fall in love again~

~There are vistas not yet seen; places I’ve never been~

~I need to feel wind in my hair~

~There are hot fudge cakes and banana splits to wolf down~

~I want unlimited long distance calls to the people I love the most~

~I have not laughed at all the jokes~

~Or tickled my daughter enough~

~I haven’t hugged my children too much~

~I want to wade again in water and feel the ocean spray on my face~

~I've missed a lot of Broadway hits~

~I want to sit in a country church once and thank God for His blessings and His grace~

Pardon me if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner. If perchance I should die before night fall, I can say I filled my heart's desire because I had that final chocolate hot fudge cake before I shed my mortal coil.

~~Live well, Love much, Laugh often, Be happy!~~
~~Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige...

    but on relationships with people we love and respect, and who love and respect us in

    return~~

And ALWAYS remember that while money talks…..CHOCOLATE SINGS!

~Starla~