Fools And Their Money Are Soon Popular!

Oh, my head.
sigh.
First sentence-the lil darlings are proud of the fact that, in THEIR Christian community you 'don't have to check your brain at the door'.  Morally superior to those other  Christian communities, the ones where brains are not allowed.
"We're a ministry of the United Methodist church, but you don't need to BE a Methodist to join us!" So...everyone is welcome?
Let's test that.
I believe that a person must be born again by the Spirit of God, having been brought to repentance through that Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.
I believe that all the population of the world who have not been born again by that Spirit, those who have not experienced Salvation through Jesus Christ are doomed to hell eternally.
Would I be welcomed in the Wesley Community?  If I got vocal about my faith in their meetings?
I know "what I think about the whole Jesus thing".
Eternal God. Jesus is not a thing. Things are created. Christ is the Creator.
"Whoever you are, and whoever you love, we believe that you are a child of God who is of sacred worth."
So...I know a few atheists who would take issue with being called  'a child of God of sacred worth'.
I have a feeling that the Wesley Community would embrace them before they would me.

Lives of Contradictorians

EVIDENCE!!! I WANT EVIDENCE!!!
So declaim SOME who reject God, who argue that Christians are
very, VERY mistaken, befouled creatures.
"They feel guilty, so they make up a god they can bow down before
so as to rid themselves of guilt!"
"I've asked Christians for PROOF of their GOD, and they have NONE!
Everything they put forth as PROOF they say must be taken on Faith.
Faith? I can't hold faith in my hand! I want concrete PROOF, something I can
perceive through  my senses-something REAL!"

Okay. I have such proof.
You are not insane, right? Righhhht?
Compos mentis- with a clear mind you perceive the world around you.
Christians (and pagans) state that we are 'spiritual creatures'.
Simple clay does not love.
Clay cannot hate.
It is a spiritual act to accept God, and it is a 
spiritual act to reject God.
So you are a spiritual being.
As for your compos mentis-it will someday fail.
The very faculties which you  are so proud of...someday will be dust.
And then, according to you...nothing? Void? You will no longer exist?
Prove that to me. I want to see your evidence. Please.

Datum Of This Date

Yes, indeed. I have no fear of Friday the Thirteenth. Superstitions arise from flawed theology and very flawed human beliefs/opinions.
Foofraw on it all.
Lucifer, for example. This guy.

From the comic book, not the Bible.
The show and its showrunners basically take the old Greek/Roman mythologies
and repackage them in a quasi-Christian rubric. Cubed, of course.
Which brings to mind another mythric anthology series from a few decades ago, which played fast and loose with theology/myths with a veneer of Christianity.
This one:

Ridiculous, sometimes gory, but never 'scary', except for that 80's wardrobe and
styling.
That was a fun decade. Just the other night I watched one of my FAVORITE renditions of Shakespeare's Danish prince ever filmed. This one:

The lovely lady in view, portrayed by Lynne Griffin, is the Prince. How cool is that?
The mustachioed gentleman on the far right is her Ophelia. Between the two lovebirds we have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, AKA Bob and Doug Mckenzie.
a strange brew, indeed, but more fun than six half dozen of the drecks polluting TV today. 
Doug says check it out.

SPOILERS! BE WARNED! SPOIL...never mind

In short, I noticed something while watching this film that no one in reviews or conversations online seems to have noticed.
I wanted to get it out of my system, but don't want to spoil it for those who haven't yet seen the movie.
I rarely use this website anymore, so here we are:
Holland March (Gosling) suffers more than just a fractured arm. His multiple brushes with death bring him at one point to say, "I think I'm immortal!"
Uh oh.
Towards the end of the film he captures the film reel which has the evidence winning the day for the nice guys.
Remember, he should have been dead at least a half dozen times. He sits down next to the car.
Here's the part that no one has mentioned:
Out of focus in the background you see a cop car pull up.
We hear: "He's not responsive." The assumption is that they are checking the killer laying in the street.
Actually we are experiencing the scene through March. His time sense doesn't match the cop car pulling up or the comment we hear because he is dying.
Holland March has already lost his wife, often failed his daughter; in his last few moments of life, he imagines a happier ending, where he and Jackson Healy go into business together. Healy, who has not imbibed throughout the movie is now drinking and smoking a big cigar.
Holland can't think of his daughter in the last moments as he feels that he has failed her for the final time; thought of her is so painful that he can't even face her-hence the scene in the bar with Healy. Ditto the scene with Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger) where she gets her comeuppance.
So, there it is. I think that Shane Black has March die.
Speaking of dying, Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley) seemed kind of invulnerable herself. Her yellow dress, the same yellow as Bruce Lee's outfit in "Game of Death" seemed to protect her, symbolizing Life...right up to the moment she approached that car.
A very good movie, and I expect that we will see Margaret Qualley and Angourie Rice quite often in the future.

Don't Belive In Reincarnation...But

As with most if not all 'Wishes' common amongst the hoi polloi, Reincarnation doesn't exist.
But like follows after its kind, and the same mopes, dopes and types cur and
reoccur throughout history.
In case you are puzzled by how my goofy mind worked to assemble the picture above, Vanna and Alfred are shocked to discover that Hillary and Catherine are sisters from different mothers.
During this holiday 'break', if you want to better understand the motivations of Mrs. Clinton, read up on Kate and contrast the two.
Illumination will be a cartoon light bulb appearing over yon head.

Forgive, Please-Off Topic

This one caught me by surprise. I know, I know-holidays should be the focus. Cheer and gifts and fraterni with family and all.
Off topic, but I was perusing Reddit on break @work, and I came across this wrong picture of
Marilyn Monroe.
It is her picture, but I was struck by her face, one of the most recognizable visages from the past 50 years. Take a look.

Do you see it?
We know that she was troubled; this picture was taken three weeks before she died.
Here's what I mean-each half of her face doesn't match the other.

It's just...odd. Even the hair seems to be a different style in each half. And her eyes. 
I'm not a Monroe fan-I've had a few of her films through the years-but I appreciate that hers was a hard, short life.  Considering how hard the holidays are for some people, maybe I'm not so off topic after all.
By the bye-my life is fine; this isn't about me. But there are many who have a rough time around the holidays, who may need some of what Marilyn was missing. Peace. Friendship.

Meeting LOVE At The Corner Of Logic And Reason

For Truth Lovers

You can call me names, declare me hateful, whatever...the truth is in the image above.
If you consider yourself a compassionate person motivated by love...so am I.
I love God, respect Him and trust Him. If He declares something to be sin, even if the entire world calls it good...it is sin.
I have known His grace and compassion for over 30 years. I will know it into Eternity.
I am not motivated by hate or fear. If you hate or fear the very idea of God existing...I'm not the one with the problem.
That problem has but one solution-being reconciled to God though Jesus Christ.
You can't do that on your own terms, though a million religions have tried and failed.
Ask God to make Himself real to you, and the hate and fears will be washed away.
Mine were.

See Freedom In Action

Syrian women throwing off their outer garments as they leave Isis controlled areas, making their way into Turkey. Pictures and story are found at Sky105 dot com.
Appreciate the freedoms you have-here homosexuals can Parade with Pride-there
under Isis homosexuals are exterminated and women must cover up who they are or meet the same fate.
Here women have had the 'right' to vote for nearly 100 years-there, in some Islamic controlled countries they are not allowed to drive or have careers or even go out in public without a male guardian.
Sure, we have some troubles here. But the Syrian women pictured above would think our country to be Paradise compared to life under Isis.

Another entry from 2005

Monday, November 07, 2005

The Past Should Be

I had the opportunity awhile back to visit a part of my past. I was on the Mackinaw for nearly three years. It was during my tour of duty, back in 1979, that I accepted Christ, right onboard the ship. My life changed dramatically that day, and God has blessed me more abundantly than I have had any right to expect.
It reminds me of the difference between Grace and Mercy: Grace is God’s giving is the good things we do not deserve, Mercy is His not giving us the bad that we Do deserve. Both are evidence of His love for us.
The Mackinaw will be decommissioned next year, so when it opened for tours near here, my Dad and I made a quick trip to see it. I have mixed feelings about the experience, which is why it’s taken me a while to write this.
It was great to see the boat again, the scars and repairs welded in, all covered with red, white and spar paint. Spar is the brownish yellow color found on the smokestack. The tour was only of the outer areas and the bridge; I pointed things out to my dad, spoke with the crew directing tourists, took pictures and generally it was a nice experience.
What was unsettling for me was talking to the crew; there was an air of desperation and cynicism
that I remembered very well from my days in the Coast Guard. A young Coastie guiding tours, wearing a jacket not just because he was cold, but to cover up the fact that he was missing a few ribbons on his dress uniform. That would have been me in 1979. On the day in 1980 when I was supposed to appear in full dress uniform for the ceremony where I was awarded my “crow”-(see the cynicism?) where I was to be awarded my 3rd Class Petty Officers chevron (with an eagle, not a crow)-I was called from the galley in the middle of preparing lunch, wearing no insignia at all, and my ‘ceremony’ lasted about 10 seconds, long enough for the OOD to hand me my chevron, shake my hand, and then I went back to finish the meal.
During my recent visit I flagged down a cook who was passing by and introduced myself. She was doing my old job, in the galley where I had worked so many, many hours. She seemed bitter and stressed, and she had no good words for the school she had recently returned from, which I had gone through in 1978. What was unsettling was talking with someone going through the same routine, working the same job, having the same stresses and problems that I left behind over 20 years ago. I am now so far removed from military life that I hardly remembered what it was like. My visit reminded me of how happy I was to leave the Service. I am proud of having served, but am very grateful to God for setting me on a different path.

Posted by Doug at 8:54 AM

What If God Gave You Up For Lent?

Odd idea, right? Here's a thought-we do not please God by doing good works.
We do not please God by not doing bad ones.
The entire idea of "Lent", of our consciously working to honor God by modifying our behavior...stinks to high heaven.
God accepts us whom He Will based only and I mean ONLY on the righteousness of Christ, which was confirmed at the cross.
Christ's Righteousness imputed to our accounts is the truth which makes it possible for sinners to be justified As If Perfect before a Perfect God.
We cannot add to that righteousness OR diminish it in any way by our actions/choices/works. It is perfect as Christ is perfect.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can do anything good enough on your own to be pleasing to God. We stink.

More From 2005

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Coffee Enhanced Reality

My life has a coffee cup nearby. I know that some decry it as bad for me, but coffee tastes so good,
and I hope to continue to live the caffienated lifestyle until God brings me Home. Hopefully there will be coffee there, too.
As I am testing the tools on this blog, I've decided to post a picture to see how it looks.

Posted by Doug at 9:40 PM

                           ************************************************** 

Friday, July 22, 2005

Sholom Aleichem

“The World is a terrible place, and if you ask about my good nature, my humor, that is the reason. To spite Them, you won’t see me cry. To spite Them, there is going to be laughter.” Sholom Aleichem

The problem with opening a post with a quote from Sholom Aleichem is that any words that I use seem pale and weak after bringing his to mind. I have loved his writing for many years, and his insight into the sometimes ridiculous but always marvelous human condition is a treasure needed to be shared in these days.
You read his stories, and you know and come to love his people, even if you, like me, are only adopted into a Jewish family. (Jesus is a Jew, and I am Blessed to be in His family.)
Sholom Aleichem’s book, “Some Laughter, Some Tears” is next to me right now; the book I wish I still had was his wonderful “Old Country Tales” which, foolishly, I lent to a girl from Romania, who quickly disappeared. I’m going to order it again, probably from ABEbooks (plug).
I do not doubt that a little of his magic is lost in the translations to English, but rather than bemoan my lack, I appreciate what I have. And I encourage you to seek out and enjoy the works of Sholom Aleichem; you will be better for having read them.
Doug

FDW Run Agains

I've decided to use Finer Dry Wit as a sort of...well, I can't say "best of" site-a 'recycler' for posts from FDW written over the past decade or so. Most are probably new to just about everybody. Happy day, citizens.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Going to My Happy Place

There's a comedic bit where someone who is super-stressed out is told to “Go to his Happy Place”-he shuts his eyes and imagines he is on a sunny beach, or in bed, comfortable and relaxed, miles from the neck deep doo doo he faced just a moment earlier. My variation, which I've done at work: “I wanted to go to my Happy Place, my favorite place in the whole world, I opened my eyes, and I was right here! At Work!”
My co-workers then tell me to shut up.
Going to a Happy Place...a dose of momentary unreality (a spoonful of sugar) to help one cope with a harsh reality (helps the medicine go down) is fine in moderation-but dangerous if one becomes addicted to Finding His Happy Place.
Some crank the music louder, or ‘get into’ Nascar/NFL/movies/TV/uh...blogging...--others go where the only bill they have to think about is the bar tab, and that's not due until they have to go home and face reality again.
You see, Reality happens, whether you're ready or not. Being comfortable with Reality makes wherever you are your Happy Place. Avoiding Reality makes wherever you are the Unhappy Place you want to be gone from.
I love my Happy Place. I also enjoy remembering other days, but not as an escape, but because I enjoyed my Reality, my Happy Place then, also.
I just sent a Thanksgiving card to a friend who was with me when I took the picture above-December 31, 2001. I included the URL for here, and hope that she stops by {Hi Vaida! Hi David!}. It was a wonderfully cold time, but it is one of my favorite memories, also; I’ve been waiting for Winter to come so I could post this picture. I hope that as you read this, you remember a great time in your life, and then look around and see that where you are right now, the Reality you face at this moment, can be your Happy Place. Today can be the great day you will remember fondly years from now. Go make it happen.

Dance Like Nobody Has An iPhone

Enough day to call it a day.
Was listening to 'talk radio' whilst working in the kitchen tonight-my workplace gifted us our choice of either a turkey or a ham-I was cooking my greatly appreciated ham-anyway, talk radio tonight reminded me of why I get so sick of politics.
Election is over, but the song remains the same: more them vs us, more 'this latest tragic catastrophe will overtake us if we don't DO something!' garbage.
The long/short of it: Man messes up, and the longer something man-made lasts, the more it devolves into entropic chaos.
Our Republic is about 240 years old. I shake my head and pray, hoping for the soon return of Christ, Who will rule Creation from Jerusalem. And do away with all liars AKA politicians.

NIMBY OH PLEASE! NO!!!!!

To make the blurb a little easier to read I jacked the contrast in the first photo, where it says that a cop who shot a suspected beheader was also a company executive. Like that's the focus point, not the man who cut a woman's head off.
In the next photo you have to look a little closer, but somewhere on the page it does say, whisper it! (oklahoma beheading).
This happened Thursday. A man who had converted to Islam...cut off a woman's head and tried to kill others. In Oklahoma, NOT Syria.
As the Alphabet News Media hide their heads in the sand, alternative media, in this case
the Breitbart News Network names the suspect, shows him in Islamic garb and in a short headline tells us of  his connection to the Boston Marathon murderers.
DON'T BELIEVE PRESIDENT OBAMA WHEN HE SAYS THAT ISIL/ISIS IS NOT ISLAMIC.
DON'T BELIEVE THE NATIONAL MEDIA WHICH HIDES/DENIES WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA.
In America. Our country. Islamic terrorism. More to come.

VIA, VERITAS, VITA

Found an amusing chunk of Latin the other day when reading from a brighter mind than mine-C. S. Lewis used the term "Odium Theologicum".
We see it all over the place, reverberating berations echoing hatred of God, hatred of theology, of those sharing true wisdom about the True God.
I am first and foremost a Christian. My identity is tied up with God, and that is wonderful for me, but is noxious for those who are not Christians.
"You can lie to yourself and say that it's not right
  to have to walk alone through the dark night
  But you never will admit that the Son rose
  And you've denied yourself the Light."  
Via, Veritas, Vita-Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life,
and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
If you hate Christianity, if Christians offend you...
ask yourself why.

American Political Rhetoric In The Year 2020

Republican: "My so-called 'Opponent' who is an admitted Democrat refuses to answer YOUR questions as to why child porn was found on his home computer!"

Democrat: "The G.O.P.'s alleged 'candidate' refuses to release the videos of his mowing down
school children with a machine gun! 

Oh my. 
Seeing the repugnant rhetoric already spewing from political ads THIS time... 
my forecast of Rhetoric for the year 2020 might be an understatement.
I can't recall ever seeing as many candidates in ads bedecked in "Hunter Orange" carrying shotguns and rifles...this early in the season.
I have noticed a...reticence on the part of some Democrats to adhere themselves too closely to President Obama. Happens every eight years, no matter who is in power. Some of the ads don't mention party affiliation at all, and both 'parties' (misnomer) SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME.

I am becoming more of a pessimist concerning Mankind being able to continue much farther down this dark road before Chaos becomes the norm.
I am an Optimist that Christ will return someday and put an end to all sin and other components of 'politics'. In my lifetime? Yours? Can't say-I have no idea how many days any of us have left.   
May God Bless the earth by cleansing it of all that is wrong. Amen.


 

Let Me Know

When the world gets better. Here's a bit of inside thinking by Christians:
We know that there will be a 'taking up' of the Church by Christ, known as 'The Rapture'.
24 hours in a day. Roughly 16 hours awake, allegedly 8 hours of rest in a cycle.
So we Christians have a one in three chance of being asleep when the Rapture takes place-fall asleep in our beds and wake up in Heaven.
I like those odds.
But whether asleep or awake, I'm ready to go now. But I'll be here until God summons me.
Hope that your itinerary is set.
DV

Gone, Quickly Forgotten

"SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDANE"
Sure, sure-there will be plenty of tributes to Williams, tear-filled microphone grabs at his memorial service, Internet conspiracies abounding over each nibble of information.
Short and very sweet:
Troubled.
Suicide.
Gone.
I have compassion for his family and friends, but must point out that Robin Williams is responsible for their tears and heartbreak.
He did it.
To them.
The last selfish act of a cowardly selfish man who didn't care enough about his daughter to remain in her life.
Look back through the archives at the regular FDW and you will find a review of "August Rush", the last movie that I'd seen which he was in. I think I called him the 'worst part of the movie', so at least I'm consistent.
I was a teen in the 1970's-I watched his TV show, and liked him in "Popeye". That was about it-he wore out his welcome with me a long time ago.
I think that he probably decided to kill himself during a week when there wouldn't be any other "BIG" story to upstage his exit. I assume that that is how calculating he was. It all had to be about him.
Do I sound harsh? Maybe. But I see people every day throwing away the gift of Life that God has given to them. Many of them are slow suicides-still alive, but drinking/doping themselves out of existence. They say that Life is so horrible that whatever comes next must be better.
No, it's not.
Not unless you are a Christian, saved by God, headed for Heaven and here's a little nugget for you: while it is not impossible that some Christians might find Life unbearable, most of us living for God in the here and now know that Life is not bad but VERY, VERY Wonderful!
Sure, sure-I want to get to Heaven, but I'll get there on God's timetable, not mine. If I am to remain here until I am a very old man, Praise God! If my ticket is punched tonight before I finish this sentence...(waiting...)(waiting...) then...Praise God!

No Bell This Time

^"1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. "
Romans 8:1
I've written before about "The Division Bell" tolling, announcing Life for some
but a death knell for most.
This is another thing like that.
Right or wrong, fair or unfair, whether you like it or not, Christians will never be condemned for their sins, but everyone else will.
The verse above is a blessing to Christians who know that we are merely sinners saved by Grace, who fully deserve hell. Fair or unfair, we Christians rest assured that we will never be condemned by God.
Condemned by Man? Absolutely. Happens every day. But man is dust and returns to dust. God makes us free from His condemnation FOREVER.
" ¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 
¹⁵For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 
¹⁶to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?"
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
There is a very good reason why Christians congregate together, fellowship together-
God has put His Spirit in us, and we have a common life here with the most wonderful
of final destinations possible in our future.
When a Christian stands up and starts speaking about the Love of God and our common Salvation, it is an aroma of Life to us and we love it.
A non-Christian in the same room hearing the same Christian smells death, in that he recognizes that Christians may be going to Heaven, but he or she isn't.
Which is why this corrupt evil world and every corrupt evil person in it would rather hear
lies and false promises than the Gospel.
If that is you, if you hate to hear the Good News of Salvation:
1. Why are you here at FrDW?
2. If you can read this, then it is not too late to seek God and ask for that forgiveness for yourself.

Then Romans 8, verse 1 could apply to you, too. I would LOVE to meet you in Heaven!