On being Chris Earnshaw

Preface: Chris Earnshaw is a newly graduated senior and a young man I greatly admire. I've been his soccer coach since he was in sixth grade and one of his pastors. He has a great family and wonderful friends. He loves Christ and I look forward to what God will do with him in the future.  He is just 18, however, and manages some interesting feats. Tonight's story, which I relay below, is not necessarily a typical Chris event, but it's not all together atypical either. 


I was sitting on the couch tonight doing some late edits on my sermon when a frantic rap on the door shocked me out of my seat. At first I thought perhaps Shari locked herself out, but I knew she was in the bedroom. It was just about ten o’clock, who could that be at our door? Then the doorbell rang as I got to the tiled entryway. I confess some pause and wonder about what I would find when I opened the door, then I saw a face I recognized in the front window. As I opened the door, seeing it was Chris, I was still stumped by his appearance. “What’s up man”?, I asked opening the door as he helped himself in. With a giggle he slid by me to our kitchen saying, “I cut my finger pretty bad”. I could see the blood on his clenched fist and his good hand holding it tight. We got to the sink and I ran the water for him to rinse it off. It looked pretty nasty, but there was too much coagulated blood to see how deep the gash was. “What did you do?”, I asked. “I cut it on a fridge”, came his reply. I figured he was doing a moving job and cut it on the bottom of the appliance, or something like that. He said, “No, I was cutting it up and cut myself.” Before replying I was thinking what on earth he could have meant. “Am I crazy for asking why you were cutting up a fridge”? By then I could see his cut was pretty nasty so I got some hydrogen peroxide and bandages. On my way to fetch those, Shari asked what was going on and I pointed to the kitchen, “Earnshaw cut himself, he’s washing the wound in the sink.” When I got to him with the first aid stuff, he already bloodied a clean dish rag and it was still spouting pretty good. “Dude, what did you do?” “I saw a fridge so we threw it in the back of my truck so we could cut it up later.” Yes, you read that right. That’s what he said. I mean of course, you see a trashed fridge on the side of the road, what would you think? Certainly the first thought in anyone’s mind would be- “Hey, let’s pick that piece of junk up and cut it up with axes or something.” I knew I should have asked a few more questions, but I was starting to wonder if this whole interchange was actually a chocolate induced apparition. I haven’t been eating many sweets lately and Shari made this awesome chocolate lasagna dessert tonight. Maybe I was hallucinating this whole surreal story courtesy of the cocoa bean? Chris comes desperately to the door at 10pm, bleeding profusely from his hand, all because he was cutting up an old refrigerator? You can’t make this stuff up.

“Chris, who are you with, how’d you get here?”, I inquired.  “Ryan and Rudy are out in the truck...they didn’t come in because they were embarrassed,” the newly graduated HCA senior said blowing in his cohorts. Admittedly, I was glad to hear someone was embarrassed! Shari went out to the truck and invited them in. Sheepishly, two of HCA’s finest from last year’s graduating class and my former soccer players came in to our living room wearing strange bright yellow safety vests. Come to think of it, I never did ask them why they were dressed like highway flagmen. They were shaking their heads about all that had transpired as they reached in to a tupperware bin with Shari’s legendary chocolate chip cookies. “Have a seat guys”, I told them. “Let’s see if Chris’ cut stops bleeding.” “So, Chris, explain how this happened again”, I asked hoping to get the full story. “Well, like I said, we picked up this fridge and when I swung the pick-axe through the front door, the head went through all the way. I tried to jam the rest of the handle through and pick it up on the other side but my hand went too far and I cut my finger.” Well now. At least the picture is getting clearer, right? “You probably need to go to urgent care tonight, Chris.” “No way!!”, he responded immediately. “We told you Chris”, Rudy said in a vindicated tone. Ryan then started to tell a story about cutting the side of his pinky with a pocket knife, the upshot was he needed stitches and it didn’t look as bad as Chris’ cut. “Guys, there’s no way I’m going to urgent care. They’ll tell me I need stitches, that cost money, I’m not doing it”, Chris retorts. Then I took the towel off his finger to check on the bleeding. It wasn’t gushing anymore, but it looked like a wicked laceration to me.

Ryan knew the closest urgent care but Chris was still resisting. Shari was threatening to call Chris’ mother if he didn’t call her himself. I still couldn’t understand his need to destroy the trashed fridge. He explained when he saw something like that he couldn’t pass up picking it up and destroying it. He made clear that he didn’t drive around looking for appliances to bludgeon, but if he happened upon one, it was a virtual necessity to throw it in the back and beat on it later. So what did the more reasonable Rudy and Ryan think? They acted like it was a dumb idea, but more or less agreed it was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. It brought me back to my late teen years. I was more in to explosives and blew a bunch of stuff up...but that’s a different story, this is about being Chris Earnshaw.

After about 15 minutes of bantering, Shari, Ryan, Rudy, and I thought we had convinced Chris to go to the urgent care to get it checked. Chris was pretty irked by the inconvenience of it all. After all he had things to do, like drive around and find a dishwasher or something, so he could take a sledgehammer to it, I suppose. The guys headed out around 10:30 or so and we threatened to call Chris’ mother again if he didn’t do it himself. I waited 10 minutes and called him to check, he had indeed called his mother. Dare I say Chris is responsible like that? That’s pretty funny to say, I know. All in all, what started as a quiet sermon editing Saturday night ended with a bit of Earnshaw excitement.

I readily confess to not looking forward to him, Rudy, and Ryan all heading to Manhattan for college at summer’s end. They are pretty funny guys, who strangely enough, I think will turn out just fine and be used of God in many ways. I just hope a fridge doesn’t get the better of them one of these days. At least Rudy and Ryan will be easy to spot with those goofy bright yellow reflector vests.

The complicated matter of church discipline

So I have come to the passage in 1 Corinthians where Paul tells the Church to remove a man who was living in sin with his stepmother.  It's not the sin that so outrages Paul, but the Church's apparent toleration of it.  The man is clearly unrepentant about his sin, which is the eventual reason for anyone being excommunicated from the Church.

I've been a pastor for 16 years and exercising wise, biblical church discipline has been the most difficult task.  I know some churches have cut and dry ways of dealing with this or that sin.  In my experience however, no situation has ever been "cut and dry" or in any way simple.  From a distance, to some in the congregation, I am sure situations look black and white with a clear answer.  Up close however, things are messy, details not known to all, and there is always the anxiety about making the wrong decision as elders.  Frankly, I wish the bible was clearer on specific situations.  I am guessing the bible isn't more explicit so as to keep church leaders humble and dependent upon Christ for wisdom.  Yes, one can adhere to the steps of Matthew 18 closely, followed with some Galatians 6 and a little 2 Thessalonians 3 and James 5.  In most cases, in time, a reasonable solution or resolution can be discovered.  There are enough cases where the complexities and uncertainties seem overwhelming.  Studying 1 Corinthians 5 led me across Dr. Rayburn's comments, which gave me assurance I wasn't wrestling with some unprecedented pastoral phenomenon-

"The entire matter of the discipline of the misbehavior of Christians is complicated by the treatment of this subject in the Bible itself. There is no "Manual of Discipline" in Holy Scripture. There are some broad principles and a few instances of case law and many questions are left unanswered. Godly elders must deal with specific cases for which there is no specific biblical instruction. What is more, characteristically, the Bible's teaching bearing on this subject leaves us with principles that are in obvious tension with one another. For example, later in this same letter, Paul addresses the fact that there are couples in the Corinthian church who have divorced when they did not have biblical grounds for doing so. We might well have expected him to demand church discipline in these cases as he had in the case of the man living in an incestuous relationship with his step-mother, but he did not. He took a different tack with them. It is not always an easy thing to know when a sin is a frailty that must be born by the church and when it is a scandal that must be disciplined. If you had been present when the elders of this congregation worked their way - not always without disagreement - to a final decision in certain cases of church discipline, you would appreciate how difficult a matter this can be and how complicated a business it can be to apply the teaching of the Bible to a specific case."  - Dr. Robert Rayburn on 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

I am grateful to be with a team of elders who are committed to the difficult practice of church discipline.   I wish there was some way to plug in the details of a given situation and have God give a precise course of action, but in His wisdom that's not how it works this side of glory.  The situation in Corinth came about because there seemed to be no real confrontation of the public scandal.  Because the sinful situation was allowed to persist, Paul was indicating a widening corruption in the community.  Discipline situations will often be complex, messy, and perhaps even mishandled on occasion. Nevertheless, I do believe God expects church leaders to confront such situations unlike the Corinthian elders.

The necessity of church discipline is another reason I long for the return of King Jesus.

The truth about COEXIST

Bono chooses Grace over Karma

"I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity." - Bono

Chris Broussard does well in a tough spot with a difficult issue

Chris Broussard was put on the spot when analyzing the decision of NBA player Jason Collins to announce he was gay.

I think he did very well.

They raised their hand against everyone and everyone's hand was raised against them

This evening the second of two men who appear to be responsible for bombs that ripped apart innocent people at the Boston Marathon, we are told, has been captured alive. The first suspect was shot dead as he attempted a violent escape earlier today.

Like most people, when I saw the news reports from Boston and the live shots showing a bloody sidewalk, people missing limbs, and pathetic chaos, I was angry. My thoughts first went to justice and making the perpetrators pay.  I wondered if it was an act of Islamic terrorism.  I wondered if it was some domestic Timothy McVeigh like crazy person.  Whoever it turned out to be, I wanted them to die.

The death toll turned out to be three with close to 200 people injured, many of whom lost limbs or suffered serious damage to them.  In the manhunt today, another person died- a security guard at MIT.  Many lives have been radically altered and made so much more difficult because of the decisions and actions of these two young men.  Such a hateful, cowardly act.

When there are mass shootings, massacres, bombings, and other announcements of some crisis situation going on with a shooter or violent person loose, I never think- I wonder who she is?

As it relates to serial killers, terrorists, organizers of violent hate- how many are women? We men have fallen so far from God's calling for us in this world.

When the pictures of these two young brothers were broadcasted, my heart sunk. The younger boy, the one still alive, is only a few years older than my son.  There he was, casually walking with his hat backwards- with a weapon of mass destruction on his back, intent on mayhem.  What hatred has filled his heart at such a young age! What is so difficult about his life, that he thinks death and destruction poured out on others-including young children- is a worthy legacy to leave?  These two brothers made homemade bombs to do their evil deeds.  With personal, particular care, they packed common kitchen pots with nails and bb's.  Have you considered how conscientious they were in their planning? This wasn't a violent act done in a moment of fury or ill temper.  Quite calmly they must have looked up instructions about making such a bomb, and with great sobriety went about piecing the devices together.  When a person makes another person a meal, we call it a "labor of love".  When these men made their bombs, it was a "labor of vicious hatred".  The level of vitriol and rage that must have burned in their souls is difficult to comprehend, even for someone as wicked as I.  In my overt judgment of these two men, please understand my own self evaluation and acknowledgement of a personal capacity to do something as evil, save for the grace of God. I believe any person is capable of any evil deed, I really do.  Still, when things as calculated as the bombing we just saw or the Sandy Hook shooting or the Arizona theater massacre happen, it does set me back. The depravity of man and the distance it will take us really does rock me.

Really though, it is almost always men who do these things.  The entrance of sin in to the human race rendered spectacular violence to the image of God in men. The Genesis account of man's rebellion is no myth, certainly you know this?  People aren't generally or basically good- we have to stop propagating that lie. What limit does our evil have without the restraining grace of God?  These boys could be my sons, indeed, they could be yours.  Please Lord Jesus, intervene in all of our families.  We truly need Christ every hour, and in every member of our family's life.  I am very glad one of the terrorists is dead and the other has been captured, but I am also reasonably depressed about another instance of men exacting such hateful destruction.  Things aren't the way they're supposed to be my friends.  Such episodes should drive us all to Christ. He is our only hope for redemption.

It really is incredible the kind of havoc young men can reek. Men are called to be protectors, leaders, servants, and submitted to Christ. To see these two young men in Boston choose to destroy rather than cultivate grieves me. As a father of sons and a mentor of young men, seeing these terrorists go the way of Ishmael (Genesis 16:12) makes me shudder. May God give peace, through Christ, to their victims. May God give us assisting grace to raise up men who love and serve rather than hate and kill.


"He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” -Genesis 16:12

Dancing Queen

This lady is cool. She should bring a smile to your face. She's just waiting for the bus.

Triple Play Masterpiece

The Yanks pulled off a true thing of baseball beauty yesterday.

A triple play!!

Are we seeing America's undoing?

There is so much sick and wrong with our nation today.

Nothing is more sick and wrong than the legalized killing of 4,000 human beings each day in name of "choice" and under the label of "women's health" and in the category of "reproductive rights".  As a society, we have decided abortion and all it's grisly trappings is a worthy trade off to have sex as we please.

To be fair, sinful and depraved men are the reason abortion exists.  Certainly (in the majority of cases) it takes two consenting individuals to have sex, however one is far more personally impacted by a pregnancy.  If the men of our race were mindful and responsible about our protection of women, there would be no such thing as "unwanted" pregnancies.  Women feel they need the "choice" of abortion to safeguard against victimization and to be equal with men.  On a general societal level it is a shame men have forced women in to this position.  It is a further shame that women feel absolute equality with men is a wise pursuit.  Still though, it is important for those of a pro-life conviction, in all their hatred for the abortion procedure, to recognize why seemingly rational, civilized people, take a pro-abortion stance.  Most pro-choice/pro-abortion folks are focusing on what happens to a woman when she becomes pregnant and immediately has her life defined by that situation- while the man could potentially go on his way with little or no consequence.  Incredible pressure comes to bear on a young woman who finds herself in such a spot, especially if by no fault of her own she is in a family or social network that ignores or denies nascent human life at conception.  Once again, abortion primarily exists because of the epic moral failure of men.

The abortion epidemic at its root is a problem of self-worship and idolatry- the very ingredients that always lead to the decline of civilization and the hand of God's judgment. Abortion is clearly a human rights issue, but even more specifically in America, it is a civil rights issue.  Poor, African American communities are far and away the chief targets of the multi-billion dollar abortion industry.  How have civil rights advocates not focused all attention on the absolute assault against black communities by pro-abortion businesses?  There is no other big business as racist and lucrative as the abortion machine.  While the homosexual lobby has somehow successfully commandeered the civil rights movement to promote it's cause, voiceless and powerless unborn millions stagger toward their slaughter with barely an ounce of advocacy from the same folks.

There is a case being tried right now in Philadelphia, the ironic home of an historic bell called "Liberty",  that gives America yet another chance to confront her most evil demon- abortion.  

Please view this short clip below about the case now going on.  You simply must. 

If the slaughter of the unborn is not soon stemmed, I fear it will be too late and we will all suffer under the wrath of God. We may already be seeing America's undoing because of our wicked sin in this area.

Lady Thatcher dies at the age of 87

No matter what you think of her politics and governing, Margaret Thatcher was one of the boldest, most impacting leaders of our time.

On the occasion of her death today, I have been refreshing my memory viewing clips.  I was a young teen when she took office, but she was the British Prime Minister through the 80's right up until I went to college.  My memory of her and American President Ronald Reagan is quite vivid.  I didn't agree with some of her ideas and positions, nor with some of President Reagan's.  Compared to what we are witnessing today,  however, I would take them both back in a second.

It seems to me, and I acknowledge the tendency to romanticize such things, we have mostly politicians today, rather than statesmen and principled rulers.  I can certainly think of a few elected officials who swim against the tide of personal power grabbing and special interest pandering, but for the most part the Margaret Thatchers of world governance, are gone.  I hope I live long enough to see a few return.

Roger Ebert dies after a resilient fight against cancer

Roger Ebert died after a valiant fight against cancer today.  He often spoke in humble terms about his "battle" with the deadly disease.  I commend all those who suffer with chronic, painful illness, but Ebert's particular handling of a disfiguring and life-changing ailment(he had not been able to eat food in seven years) seemed extraordinary to me.

I don't watch too many films, but I have always read his reviews of the ones I was about to see.  Approximately half the time I think he hit the nail on the head.  In any case, his insights were interesting and he often spoke about the magic of a film not being what it told, but how it told what it told.

Roger Ebert was a very interesting, dynamic fellow.  I especially remember his reviews of various religious films and how he accurately explained the message of redemption contained therein. He definitely could articulate the Christian message of redemption and grace, yet never publicly embraced it.  He grew up Roman Catholic, and despite recounting some positive influences from nuns, negativity always seemed to accompany his recounting of his religious experience.  I do hope that we will find, through eyewitness accounts that emerge, Roger Ebert professed faith in Christ during these last months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes before he succumbed.  If not, no human being can definitively rule out his coming to Christ some time recently- he certainly had enough information about the person and work of Christ.

The only thing we are left with, at this point, is a post he did just over a month ago.  In an article he wrote for the Chicago-Sun Times, entitled How I am a Roman Catholic, he basically dismantles Roman Catholicism.  Unfortunately, in so doing, he states-

I consider myself Catholic, lock, stock and barrel, with this technical loophole: I cannot believe in God. I refuse to call myself a atheist however, because that indicates too great a certainty about the unknowable.

He wrote this March 1.  I hope God breathed spiritual life in to Him and he embraced Christ before April 3.

Elementary students sing "Flight of the Icarus"

I'm no closet Iron Maiden fan, I admit.  I'm definitely no government school fan either.  Well, maybe I've been too hard on the public system?  This excellent rendition of Iron Maiden's "Flight of the Icarus" by some elementary students is certainly a step in the right educational direction!

I'm not Homophobic because I disagree with "Gay Marriage".

Here is a redux of an old post I did.  It comes in reaction to the latest round of culture war around the issue of homosexuality, particularly making "gay marriage" legal.  As usual, some who are promoting gay marriage and desirous of everyone to join them (complete with strange red/pink equal sign symbols), are throwing around the "homophobic" label to categorize those who oppose gay marriage.

So, I will post again on this subject.

I disagree with many things but I am not scared of them, nor do I hate them. To attach "phobic" to someone should mean a person has an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, situation, or practice.

For example, before 1995 significant heights didn't bother me, but after trimming trees in St. Louis for a full year something changed. I was roped in to a huge sycamore tree trimming the middle level of limbs when an inexplicable fear overcame me. I was suspended about 30 feet in the air, securely roped in with a harness, but something about my perspective changed and I could no longer climb and work at those heights from that day til now. As a hunter I utilize tree stands but I cannot set them higher than 15 feet or I begin to get a panicky feeling I can only describe as a phobia concerning heights. On the ground I have tremendous balance, it's hard to knock me over, but I have a sense I will lose my balance and fall when at heights over 15 feet. It's not logical or rational. The "experts" would say I have Acrophobia, Altophobia, Batophobia, Hypsiphobia or Hyposophobia. Bottom line, I'm scared of heights. I'll admit to being "phobic" as it relates to being way up there.

Not too long ago I received an anonymous post accusing me of being "homophobic". In my mind a proper definition of "homophobia" should be an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of homosexuals or homosexuality, right? Well, that's not me at all. In fact, I have friends I love dearly who are practicing homosexuals. I am not scared of them nor do I hate them, in fact, I love them very much. Further, I'm not scared of homosexual practice in general either. Sex between two people of the same gender doesn't evoke fear, freight, terror, or anything of the sort. Even the concept of two men or two women wanting the right to call their union "marriage" doesn't scare me. I don't become enraged when I hear the idea being proposed and I don't have visions of people I hate or even dislike when the matter is debated in print, on the radio, or on television. I am scared of heights. I am phobic about heights. I am not scared of homosexuality or those who practice it, therefore I am not homophobic no matter how diligently a person would strain to label me as such.

I disagree with a great many things but I do not fear them or hate them. I disagree with worldviews that put man at the center, but I do not fear such a perspective. I disagree with doctrine that insists man is responsible to choose Christ as if salvation rests on man's volition, but I do not fear such a perspective. I disagree with political ideology that sees government as having a widespread role in the lives of the citizens it represents, but I do not fear such an ideology or practice. I disagree with sexual practice that happens outside the bounds of a marriage, but I do not fear pre or extra marital sex. I disagree that marriage can be defined in any way other than between one man and one woman, but I do not fear people wanting to "marry" someone of the same sex or the notion of a person wanting to "marry" their dog for that matter. I'll never think of such unions as marriage, but I'm not scared of the concept or of people who disagree with me. I disagree with a great many things because I think they will lead in a direction that is harmful. In some of the cases I disagree because God calls them sin. I don't fear sin as such. I fear where sin leads. I fear what sin will bring about. But I do not fear sin itself because Jesus has ultimately conquered sin and it's final outcome by His victory on the cross for those in union with Him by faith.

Again, I disagree with a great many things, but I do not fear them. So why call me homophobic?

The label homophobic doesn't really mean what it says. By calling me homophobic I am being accused of ignorantly or hatefully opposing homosexuality. The label is applied in pejorative way to paint me as having an illogical or irrational disagreement with homosexual practice. Of course, I do disagree with homosexual practice (or any pre/extra marital sexual practice), but I maintain a logical and rational reason for my opposition (the subject of a different post). "Homophobic" attempts to paint a person as unthinking, bigoted, and scared of something he or she doesn't agree with. I simply contest such a label doesn't help the dialogue and the effort to understand each other.

Disagreement does not mean phobia therefore it is at least dishonest to label me a homophobe, at worst it's "hate speech" against me.

God's beautiful creation

What a treat this would have been to witness live at the Zoo!

Best Elvis Impersonator

I'm a sucker for good Elvis impersonations.  Ben Portsmouth is the best today.  He performed on Letterman yesterday and it was just superb.

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Rivera announces his coming retirement

In a day where egomania and arrogance run rampant among professional athletes, there stands one who is different- Mariano Rivera.

Major League Baseball's all time save leader and iconic pitcher for the greatest franchise in professional sports, Mariano Rivera, announced he will retire at the close of this coming season.

My favorite line from today's press conference- "I would like to start by thanking my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." Oh for more professional athletes and role models like Mo.


 

If Rome delays...

As a member of the "separated brethren", I should be eligible for Pope, right?  Historically there have been people named Bishop just barely after becoming a priest (Ambrose, for one).  Why wouldn't I be considered (being Reformed, married, and American, not withstanding) ?

Quite a few popes were married in the first millennium of the Papacy. Very interestingly in papal history is Benedict IX. He resigned the papacy in order to marry. Never mind the reports of Pope Victor III who said of Benedict IX "His life as a pope was so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it."

So, why not me? Well, if Rome delays too long...I'm going Eastern!! I think Eastern priests can be married.

More good satire: Choose your Pope

For those who have never identified with Roman Catholicism, some set up is needed to appreciate this latest satirical offering by the Lutheran satirists.

A pet peeve of most devout Roman Catholics is the way certain people will trumpet their Catholicism publicly while rarely attending Mass and living lives that show almost no care for the church's convictions and teachings. Now, when it's time to choose a new Pope, such dissident voices arise and demand this or that feature of the next Pontiff.  The woman in this clip represents that kind of "Roman Catholic".

John Knox vs Mary Queen of Scots

John Knox was a bold witness for Christ and His Word during the middle part of the Sixteenth Century. Knox had fascinating interchange with the oppressive Queen Mary. Despite a good chance he would be burned at the stake, when he had an audience with Mary, he confronted the errors of Romanism to which she somewhat blindly adhered. Here is just a small sample of the conversation.

Queen Mary:
Ye interpret the Scriptures in one manner, and they (Roman Catholics) in another. Whom shall I believe? Who shall be judge? 

John Knox:
Ye shall believe God, that plainly speaketh in His Word; and further than the Word teacheth you, ye shall believe neither the one nor the other. The Word of God is plain in itself. If there appear any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, which is never contrarious to Himself, explaineth the same more clearly in other places; so that there can remain no doubt, but unto such as obstinately will remain ignorant. 

Take one of the chief points, Madam, which this day is in controversy betwixt the Papists and us. The Papists have boldly affirmed that the Mass is the ordinance of God, and the institution of Jesus Christ, and a sacrifice for the sins of the quick and the dead. We deny both the one and the other. We affirm that the Mass, as it is now used, is nothing but the invention of man, and, therefore, is an abomination before God, and no sacrifice that ever God commanded. Now, Madam, who shall judge betwixt us two thus contending? It is no reason that either of the parties be further believed, than they are able to prove by insuspect witnessing. Let them prove their affirmatives by the plain words of the Book of God, and we shall give them the plea granted. What our Master Jesus Christ did, we know by His Evangelists; what the priest doeth at his Mass, the world seeth. Now, doth not the Word of God plainly assure us, that Christ Jesus neither said Mass, nor yet commanded Mass to be said, at His Last Supper, seeing that no such thing as their Mass is made mention of within the whole Scriptures?'

See the whole interchange here. 

Sequester Farce

We have the biggest spending government in the history of our nation. These same leaders have managed to manufacture fiscal crisis after fiscal crisis, with the latest being the so-called "sequester" amounting to $84 billion in cuts.  I know these cuts will be felt by many, but honestly, this should be just the beginning of a total restructuring of the nation's budgeting, spending, and taxing.  We need SO many more cuts.  Unfortunately, the current leaders, especially prompted by the executive branch, show no signs of responsible moderation.