I'd like to quickly revisit a subject that draws much controversy from just about every corner of the political spectrum that one can think of, and that is the Biblical notion of "marriage" and human sexual activity.
In Leviticus 18 (the ESV is actually more precise than the KJV), it states that relationships are geared for male/female coupling, and are intended just for those purposes.
(For disambiguation, "man" is in reference to an individual with an XY pairing of chromosomes. An XX pair constitutes a "woman.")
Piggybacking off of Genesis 2, we see this pairing of a man and a woman.
What significance is this at all?
One masculine and one feminine combination within any permutation of XX and XY is all that matters.
This includes transgender individuals as well.
God is no respecter of persons, nor does he discriminate in any way, shape, form, or fashion.
The same rules and guidelines apply to us all, without exception.
Greetings, and thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Now that that's out of the way, I figured I'd wade back into choppy waters with a strong undertow.
I'm referring to medicinal practices that may have been utilized and relied upon just a few millennia ago; in the times of Christ and his apostles. The apostle Paul and his early church letters are one of the most convenient points of reference when discussing these topics.
In the letter, Paul lays out the ground rules (to his protege, Timothy) on how a healthy church body should function, and how believers should conduct themselves. Paul recommends using a measure of wine to help soothe gastrointestinal problems that may arise (from fasting), it seems.
In this letter to believers residing in Rome (approx. 55-57 A.D.), Paul instructs the early church (including many converts from Judaism) not to squabble or argue with one another over what one considers appropriate or edible in their own personal lives. He realized that some people had certain hang-ups, or were just plain uncomfortable following the same dietary guidelines (shellfish and pork are just fine, if it floats your boat) that others adhered to.
I would like to take a brief moment to analyze this passage for further clarification.
Namely the word "herbs" mentioned in verse two.
According to Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance, the word "herbs" translated from Greek (λάχaνОυ) , "denotes a garden herb, a vegetable, in contrast to wild plants."
Marijuana is known as a plant, or herb (vegetable).
By definition, Paul is certainly not referring to a plant that you would find in abundance out in the wild someplace.
It requires effort and elbow grease to do it right.
Would I rule marijuana out as a recommended treatment for stomach ailments as Paul recommended with wine?
No.
Conversely, I cannot say with any degree of certainty that marijuana is indeed one of the herbs (vegetables or plants) that Paul is referring to in scripture.
It's time we had a genuine discussion concerning marijuana, including its legality, its potential benefits, as well as its drawbacks.
Emotionally potent oversimplifications and propaganda are not going to lead us to the truth of the matter.
I wanted to wrap all of this up with a few prominent areas of concern that needed to be addressed urgently.
The first are the diametrically opposed hierarchical columns that exist inside the belief systems of Christianity and Islam.
Piggybacking off of an earlier entry (The Devil's In The Details), obfuscated behind the confusion and commotion, Satan lies atop the Muslim power structure, in direct opposition to Christ himself. The Anti-Christ is his right-hand man. The False Prophet, or "Jesus" is second in command. The prophet Muhammad is the tertiary human representative in the trio.
From the Christian faith, the corresponding representatives would be myself, John the Baptist, and the prophet Elijah.
Over the course of time, many unsavory characters have arrived on the scene proclaiming to be Christ, often twisting and perverting scripture in order to justify their erroneous and heretical views. Many don't seem to understand The First Epistle of John , and the nature of sin and grace. If they did, they wouldn't be mislead and arrive at the errant and outright dangerous conclusions that they do.
In order for us to confess (and thus be forgiven of) our sins, we must first be conscious of the fact that we are indeed sinners.
One of the points that John was trying to explain was that the Son and Father are a package deal, and that the spirit of Antichrist (a denial of the relationship between Jesus and the Father) was incompatible with church doctrine, and was in fact heretical.
Whatever mishmash of misinformation or rumor that may have been going around at the time that contradicted his divine origin and his sinless life either stemmed from the heathen or from well-meaning but tragically misguided members of cults.
Anyone who outright denies the fact that they need His salvation is in fact lost.
Anyone who claims to have a relationship with Christ and who does not mind his commandments is lost and is walking in darkness.
If we name the name of Christ, we would make an earnest effort to walk and grow in his grace.
What we are talking about is various forms of self-deception.
1 John explains the litmus test, or measuring stick by which we are judged.
Does Christ count you as his own?
Anyone who places these things above the Lord (idolatry) does not, in fact, serve the Lord.
The serve themselves.
Sin is, in definition, a failure to serve God's purposes.
It is to serve the desires of the flesh instead.
If we walk in the light, when we do sin, it is laid on Christ's charge.
It is as if we never did sin.
We dust ourselves off and keep moving.
If our conversion was insincere, we will be branded the hypocrites we are and Christ will one day tell us to depart from him.
Like it all never even happened.
There's that concept of forgetfulness once again.
Hijacking improper motives to reach this particular goal will get us nowhere.
In one of my last entries before my "birthday," I'd like to address some pressing issues concerning health care overhaul and "executive orders."
"Executive orders" are "laws" or decrees that are not legally binding, but they are indeed spiritually binding.
What does this mean to you?
In a minimally-invasive manner, these decrees are meant to discourage behavior that would cause harm to other individuals or to our children. Violation of these would mean that you would likely have to go under the knife or radiation to remove that tumor, receive an injection for that achy joint, or undergo lasik to cure your blindness. A premature death would also be permanent. I would no longer serve as the proxy between you and Jesus for access to these miraculous treatments.
These are a supplement to the laws that are already on the books on the the national, state, and local levels.
What are violations of "code" that would apply here (there is a 2-year rollout schedule)?
-Hacking.
"Follow the white rabbit."
-Piracy.
(The following will be enacted prior to the full implementation of the law.)
-Murder
-Rape, sexual assault, or knowingly spreading STD's.
(For youthful offenders, or those under 21, there is a threshold of one incident permitted for amnesty. For those over 21, a threshold of one incident will be in effect. If you were not able to learn from causing someone else much pain and suffering, you are a waste of resources.)
-Causing a pregnancy on purpose.
-Child molestation.
(Concerning those in positions dealing directly with children, they will not be eligible for any of these sorts of treatments. For those who do not deal directly with children, a limit of one occurrence will be enacted. Again, I do not like to waste money or resources.)
Also, those little flower vials (intended to smoke crack cocaine) that you find at gas stations will be considered subject to sanctioning as well.
An executive order will also apply to those in the pornography industry.
21+ and a non-promotional policy will apply or sanctions will apply.
I am trying to encourage ethical conduct and transparent disclosures and discourse amongst our citizenry.
If you don't like laws on the books in your jurisdiction, use your vote and change them.
On a related topic, one way to conduct transparent disclosures online would be to place all websites containing pornography under specific domain suffixes, for easy parental controls.
That being said, after my surgery and release from the hospital, I will immediately hand over my (canceled) New York State driver's identification card to trusted Christian colleagues for safekeeping until eyewitnesses can look it over and it can be and buried under the soil. This is the most responsible thing to do with it, so that no one can deny its existence or claim some sort of wild conspiracy that did not exist.
After my "birthday," there is going to be a 30-day deadline for all undocumented illegal immigrants (country of origin does not matter) to register at any U.S. Post Office, or they will be ineligible for the health care coverage that I have mentioned above. The social security number will be utilized when health-care overhaul takes place, so those using the social security number of another individual will eventually be caught. They will be deported when caught after the fact anyway, so a lottery system will be enacted for those who earn the right to stay.
* Considering an abortion? I will be forming a charitable foundation to aid and assist expectant mothers who are doing just that.
Anyone old enough to remember the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is old enough to remember the security crackdown that ensued not even two months later embodied in the USA Patriot Act.
When sudden, unforeseen, and tragic events like these take place, our cores are shaken, our world views are challenged, and our collective consciousness tends to be (for better or worse) altered in ways that we probably never imagined.
The question posed long ago and that still reverberates to this day pertains to whether or not this legislation is onerous and overbearing.
I am inclined to answer "yes."
What could we possibly do about it?
Here are a few sensible ideas for reform that might pique your interest.
1) Immediately move to seal the porous US/Mexico to prevent unauthorized access to the interior of the country. Also, take firm steps toward cleaning up the mess that is now scattered about the Alaskan tundra. These steps would actually provide the type of "shovel-ready jobs" that President Barack Obama once joked about.
Drones are simply not sufficient for these purposes.
2) Move to secure our border crossings and airport terminals with high-tech, molecule-scanning laser technology. Used only at the perimeter and sensitive areas such as airport terminals, illegal drugs and explosives could be interdicted before they ever have a chance to cause mass disruption.
3) Reform the way that the NSA obtains warrants for access to metadata.
Store data off of government premises (with our communications companies) and cease the sweeping, mass collections process that the Federal Government currently utilizes.
Trusted appointees (not lifetime political machine lackeys) should oversee the FISA court system.
"If you see something, say something" is a common maxim used pertaining to what might be perceived as suspicious activity in your local community. You should do this, and allow the formalized (separated, not nationalized) relations between local and federal law enforcement to operate in the most efficient, safe, and secure ways possible.
These notions entertained, I'd like to talk about a few other ideas concerning the themes of waste, fraud and abuse.
The first would be to flat-out eliminate the CIA.
The second?
Eliminate the civilian national security force that operates out of the DHS.
What happened to our national guard forces, and why aren't they good enough?
Why shouldn't we consider these possible excesses and ways to address them?
