Life when the wheels stop rolling
Living with a loved one in chronic pain, isn't easy. If you have a partner that has health issues putting them in chronic pain, and you aren't in love with them, RUN. They need to find someone that loves them. If you do love them, then that's what matters. guess what marine? you enlisted for the duration of the war! hopefully, whatever the cause of their pain, it can be treated or cured, My soulmate has Rheumatoid Arthritis. along with several other conditions, including PTSD. when we met, I had no idea what I was getting into. know what? doesn't matter. I love her!. if your loved one is in chronic pain, and it's new to you, let me share some things that will help. The first thing to remember is, it isn't their fault. they have good days, and bad days. and no control over which is which. you WILL have to be patient. on the bad days, they might get grumpy, even snap at you. remember they still love you, and it's the pain affecting them. be prepared with back up plans to pick up, or fix dinner on those bad days. keep a few snacks, little gifts and treats hidden, to help cheer them up. if you see they are hurting, don't ask "what's wrong?". the answer will be "I'M HURTING". as in, duh, dumbass. you knew that. you SHOULD have asked "where is it hurting", or "is there anything I can do?". Usually, if they are exceptionally grumpy, they will realise it and apologize the next day. do NOT hold it over, or against them. you wouldn't blame someone for cancer, don't do it for less visible diseases. be prepared for less intimacy. come on man, if it hurts her to HUG, do you think hard sex is going to happen? doesn't mean she wants you any less. and she'll probably be depressed about the situation too. remember, the fact you love each other, is the important thing.
some more tricks:
heating pads help. so do foot rubs. enough pillows to cushion joints, or help them get into a comfortable position. whatever your thoughts on cannabis, it DEFINITELY helps with chronic pain, and doesn't have the addiction issues that prescription painkillers do. nor does it do the damage to organs, that the opioid meds do. look into cannabis oil, and edibles. there are ways to use it, without the "high"./ though that helps with the PTSD issues, too,
Learn all you can about nutrition, and supplements. turmeric is an anti-inflammatory. so are several other herbs and supplements. baths with epsom salts help, My wife jokes with me, when I suggest a hot shower, as "what is a magic shower gonna do?", but still they seem to help. who knows. maybe it's just the physical sensation of the shower, distracting from the pain. who cares, as long as it helps.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Totally unrelated…
As part of my job, I often have to drive through Atlanta. And when I do, I listen to the local news station so I’ll know what part of 285 has the inevitable daily truck wreck or car fire. The other day I heard two news stories that to many people would have been completely unrelated. The first was for a “sleep in” being held at Covenant House. Covenant House is an organization devoted to helping homeless teens, and they were having the “sleep in” to bring attention to the fact that some nights, upwards off 600 teens in the Atlanta area are sleeping on the streets. Covenant House currently has a facility with 35 beds, but just found a new location that will let them expand to around 60 beds. A few minutes later in the news, was a story about the new stadium being built for the Atlanta Braves. And how the county was going to pay half the cost for the new stadium. $300million dollars. Of tax payer money, to build a stadium for a privately owned sports franchise. Now, any other type business would have to borrow money, or sale stock to raise money for expansion, or new facilities. Let’s say I want to open up The Samurai Sushi Chef restaurant and bait shop in beautiful ty ty Georgia, and I approached the city council and suggested to them they pay half the cost of the building and supplies. I would be laughed right out of the town hall. But somehow, this is an ok concept for sports teams. Without asking the taxpayers if they want their tax dollars spent that way. Instead of, say, school improvements. Hiring teachers. Improved utilities. Or even just a warm, dry and safe place for homeless teens to sleep at night.
As part of my job, I often have to drive through Atlanta. And when I do, I listen to the local news station so I’ll know what part of 285 has the inevitable daily truck wreck or car fire. The other day I heard two news stories that to many people would have been completely unrelated. The first was for a “sleep in” being held at Covenant House. Covenant House is an organization devoted to helping homeless teens, and they were having the “sleep in” to bring attention to the fact that some nights, upwards off 600 teens in the Atlanta area are sleeping on the streets. Covenant House currently has a facility with 35 beds, but just found a new location that will let them expand to around 60 beds. A few minutes later in the news, was a story about the new stadium being built for the Atlanta Braves. And how the county was going to pay half the cost for the new stadium. $300million dollars. Of tax payer money, to build a stadium for a privately owned sports franchise. Now, any other type business would have to borrow money, or sale stock to raise money for expansion, or new facilities. Let’s say I want to open up The Samurai Sushi Chef restaurant and bait shop in beautiful ty ty Georgia, and I approached the city council and suggested to them they pay half the cost of the building and supplies. I would be laughed right out of the town hall. But somehow, this is an ok concept for sports teams. Without asking the taxpayers if they want their tax dollars spent that way. Instead of, say, school improvements. Hiring teachers. Improved utilities. Or even just a warm, dry and safe place for homeless teens to sleep at night.
Friday, October 4, 2013
knock knock
"Knock Knock"
just heard a talking head on the MSM, while talking about the so called government shutdown, say that both sides are waiting to hear a message from the people. I think there are some very clear messages that the citizenry are turning against the administration. military officers are leaking videos and info on war crimes. government contractors are releasing and leaking government documents about domestic spying on the populace. a government contractor that works with "special weapons", claiming to be under the attack of the same type weapons, attacked where he thought the threat was coming from, at the DC navy yard. a woman with no history of violent behavior, talking about being spied on by obama, tries to crash her car into the white house gate, 2 million bikers showed up at to counter a "million muslim march (that only had 25 people show up). there is a similar trucker event coming up, where they are going to show up in washington. have you seen the banners hanging from the overpasses calling for impeachment? and now, in protest a man douses himself with gasoline and sets himself on fire, at the washington mall. a form of protest not really seen since the vietnam war. and given how much control there is over the news, I wonder what we aren't hearing about? federal agents being attacked? death threats to political officials? as I've written before, it's amazing what doesn't get reported. I think it's very clear there is a problem, that the "people" are NOT happy.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
pass the X
Pity party? It’s a fucking RAVE!
Ok, so blogs are kinda also meant to be a means which you can share with the world your mundane mortal life. So, here’s where I’m at. I drive for a living. My average pay is around 30k a year. (yea, I know. The myth that truck drivers make big bucks. That ended in the early 80’s). out of that I support myself, my soul mate and wife who has serious health issues and can not work. My child support (which was set when I was making about 40k a year, some 9 years ago, and is now about ¼ my current income). The mortage, which WAS 4 months behind, but we just got a modification, thank god (though we missed the first payment under the mod). I support my 2 step kids who live with us. Their dad doesn’t do a thing to help them out. They are 21, and had to put their educations on hold, while going to work. My stepson, at walmart. And my stepdaughter at krystals. Due to the wonderful economy, obummer-care, etc. their hours are cut way back, to the point where it’s barely worth driving to work. Oh, btw. We have one car, not counting my old (1969) pickup that everyone else is afraid to drive, and gets about 8mpg. On my wife’s disabilities. She has PTSD, a spinal injury, and rheumatoid arthritis. When the spinal injury happened many years ago, she was still with her first husband, who made good money. They decided that she would stay home and home school the kids. So, since she never filed for DB, and because she hasn’t worked in the past several years, we are being told by the social security office that she CAN’T file for disability now. The RA diagnosis just happened this year, btw. And she is in a lot of pain. We’ve been spending a LOT of co-pay dollars on getting tests done, doctor visits, and meds. Fortunately, they caught it early enough, that the meds can stop it from progressing. IF we can get her on the meds! The meds for rheumatoid arthritis are mostly immune suppressents. She has a sub clinical infection in her jaw/teeth. Dental work has to be done before they can put her on the RA drugs. But we don’t have the money for the dental work! Like most truck drivers, our insurance isn’t that great. I’m also taking meds for gout, high blood pressure, and type2 diabetes. And since I haven’t been able to afford one of the gout meds, my npain levels are starting to increase. Oh well. I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past few years. Not really planned. It’s just that I have to chose between a couple of pb&j sandwichs or a 89cent can of chili, instead of the $8+ dollars it would cost to eat a “bought” meal at a truckstop. And every dollar I save, is money to feed my family. Juli (my wife) has lost 80 pounds in the past 7 years. Hurting too bad to eat will do that to you. My daughter has been steady dating a nice young man a year older than her (she’s 16). And he seems level headed. BUT, she’s been putting all kinda wedding stuff up on her interest account, and it’s got me worried that she won’t wait till after she finishes her education, before they marry. Dear god, what is her mom thinking? The boy is going into the navy, into be a medic. And now SHE’S talking about going into the navy. Meanwhile I see what’s going on in the middle east putting us on the edge of WW3. Sigh. A couple months ago, the engine on the riding mower swallowed a valve. My dad knew a guy who could fix it, and found another engine. And loaned us one of his mowers for the meanwhile. But now it’s fixed, and I owe the guy $150. And my dad is giving me a crappy attitude, because I couldn’t just hand over the $150. I had to call the power company this morning, to put off the cut-off date till next payday, called the phone company yesterday. And left a message with the mortage company today. And am a few months behind on child support. (not sure she is even still living with her mother). And he’s disappointed in me over a LAWNMOWER REPAIR BILL??? And through it all I HAVE to remain calm, act sane, and can’t cry. With juli’s ptsd, it doesn’t go well when I look weak in front of her. She depends on me. I’m the one that takes care of her. That makes things right. That keeps her safe. I’m her knight in shining armor, but I feel like a retard in a tin-foil hat. I thought I had a line on a better job, locally. That would get me out of trucking, and back into industry. But they’ve been dragging their feet on hiring for about 6 months now. And I was being kinda recruited by a guy with a 5 truck fleet, that pulls flatbed contract loads. Would have meant a LOT more pay. But haven’t heard from him in days. Starting to smell BS on that one. I hope not. The guy who was My dispatcher for the past several months is awesome, and did a great job of taking carte of me, keeping me running (I get paid by the mile, NOT the hour), and getting me home. Well, they moved him to night shift 2 weeks ago. And the new dispatcher is either new, or just not as good. Last month truck broke down one week, costing me a couple days pay. Then the next week a punk kid in Alabama blew through a redlight, and took the front end off the truck, costing me about a weeks pay (again, I get paid by the mile. Sitting means no $$$). hmm, what else? My skin cancer is getting worse, because we can’t afford for me to go to the dermatologist. Juli wants me to go, but I know we just don’t have the money to pay him. Lightning hit the wiring in the house last week, and the wiring going to the dryer fried. Couldn’t just be the breaker or the outlet. NOOOO, it had to actually be the wire in the wall. (when you pull the outlet out, and flip the breaker, you can see it short back up in the wall, when the breaker trips). And something is under the house. Could hear it chewing/scratching last time I was home. So next time I’m home, I get to crawl under there and see what it is, while I see if I can get to the wiring, to pull new wire for the dryer outlet. (and what am I going to buy the wire with?). And this is just stuff in my household. Not even going to start on how we’re being lied to by an administration that wants to go start ANOTHER war, supporting the same al-quada that supposedly caused 9/11. Or the FEMAcorp gangs, NSA domestic spying, main stream media lies, police brutality, abuse of authority, the damn bulldog from across the street that craps on our carport, or the many other eff’d up things going on in the world. My head hurts. Love y’all
Ok, so blogs are kinda also meant to be a means which you can share with the world your mundane mortal life. So, here’s where I’m at. I drive for a living. My average pay is around 30k a year. (yea, I know. The myth that truck drivers make big bucks. That ended in the early 80’s). out of that I support myself, my soul mate and wife who has serious health issues and can not work. My child support (which was set when I was making about 40k a year, some 9 years ago, and is now about ¼ my current income). The mortage, which WAS 4 months behind, but we just got a modification, thank god (though we missed the first payment under the mod). I support my 2 step kids who live with us. Their dad doesn’t do a thing to help them out. They are 21, and had to put their educations on hold, while going to work. My stepson, at walmart. And my stepdaughter at krystals. Due to the wonderful economy, obummer-care, etc. their hours are cut way back, to the point where it’s barely worth driving to work. Oh, btw. We have one car, not counting my old (1969) pickup that everyone else is afraid to drive, and gets about 8mpg. On my wife’s disabilities. She has PTSD, a spinal injury, and rheumatoid arthritis. When the spinal injury happened many years ago, she was still with her first husband, who made good money. They decided that she would stay home and home school the kids. So, since she never filed for DB, and because she hasn’t worked in the past several years, we are being told by the social security office that she CAN’T file for disability now. The RA diagnosis just happened this year, btw. And she is in a lot of pain. We’ve been spending a LOT of co-pay dollars on getting tests done, doctor visits, and meds. Fortunately, they caught it early enough, that the meds can stop it from progressing. IF we can get her on the meds! The meds for rheumatoid arthritis are mostly immune suppressents. She has a sub clinical infection in her jaw/teeth. Dental work has to be done before they can put her on the RA drugs. But we don’t have the money for the dental work! Like most truck drivers, our insurance isn’t that great. I’m also taking meds for gout, high blood pressure, and type2 diabetes. And since I haven’t been able to afford one of the gout meds, my npain levels are starting to increase. Oh well. I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past few years. Not really planned. It’s just that I have to chose between a couple of pb&j sandwichs or a 89cent can of chili, instead of the $8+ dollars it would cost to eat a “bought” meal at a truckstop. And every dollar I save, is money to feed my family. Juli (my wife) has lost 80 pounds in the past 7 years. Hurting too bad to eat will do that to you. My daughter has been steady dating a nice young man a year older than her (she’s 16). And he seems level headed. BUT, she’s been putting all kinda wedding stuff up on her interest account, and it’s got me worried that she won’t wait till after she finishes her education, before they marry. Dear god, what is her mom thinking? The boy is going into the navy, into be a medic. And now SHE’S talking about going into the navy. Meanwhile I see what’s going on in the middle east putting us on the edge of WW3. Sigh. A couple months ago, the engine on the riding mower swallowed a valve. My dad knew a guy who could fix it, and found another engine. And loaned us one of his mowers for the meanwhile. But now it’s fixed, and I owe the guy $150. And my dad is giving me a crappy attitude, because I couldn’t just hand over the $150. I had to call the power company this morning, to put off the cut-off date till next payday, called the phone company yesterday. And left a message with the mortage company today. And am a few months behind on child support. (not sure she is even still living with her mother). And he’s disappointed in me over a LAWNMOWER REPAIR BILL??? And through it all I HAVE to remain calm, act sane, and can’t cry. With juli’s ptsd, it doesn’t go well when I look weak in front of her. She depends on me. I’m the one that takes care of her. That makes things right. That keeps her safe. I’m her knight in shining armor, but I feel like a retard in a tin-foil hat. I thought I had a line on a better job, locally. That would get me out of trucking, and back into industry. But they’ve been dragging their feet on hiring for about 6 months now. And I was being kinda recruited by a guy with a 5 truck fleet, that pulls flatbed contract loads. Would have meant a LOT more pay. But haven’t heard from him in days. Starting to smell BS on that one. I hope not. The guy who was My dispatcher for the past several months is awesome, and did a great job of taking carte of me, keeping me running (I get paid by the mile, NOT the hour), and getting me home. Well, they moved him to night shift 2 weeks ago. And the new dispatcher is either new, or just not as good. Last month truck broke down one week, costing me a couple days pay. Then the next week a punk kid in Alabama blew through a redlight, and took the front end off the truck, costing me about a weeks pay (again, I get paid by the mile. Sitting means no $$$). hmm, what else? My skin cancer is getting worse, because we can’t afford for me to go to the dermatologist. Juli wants me to go, but I know we just don’t have the money to pay him. Lightning hit the wiring in the house last week, and the wiring going to the dryer fried. Couldn’t just be the breaker or the outlet. NOOOO, it had to actually be the wire in the wall. (when you pull the outlet out, and flip the breaker, you can see it short back up in the wall, when the breaker trips). And something is under the house. Could hear it chewing/scratching last time I was home. So next time I’m home, I get to crawl under there and see what it is, while I see if I can get to the wiring, to pull new wire for the dryer outlet. (and what am I going to buy the wire with?). And this is just stuff in my household. Not even going to start on how we’re being lied to by an administration that wants to go start ANOTHER war, supporting the same al-quada that supposedly caused 9/11. Or the FEMAcorp gangs, NSA domestic spying, main stream media lies, police brutality, abuse of authority, the damn bulldog from across the street that craps on our carport, or the many other eff’d up things going on in the world. My head hurts. Love y’all
Saturday, August 31, 2013
A hole in the water. main stream media, syria, and non-news
A hole in the water
Mainstream media, Syria, and non-news
Submarine sonar men in the navy have a thing they call “looking for holes in the water”. modern submarines, with their sound absorbing coatings and electric drives are so quiet that they can’t be heard when sitting still. So what the sonar man has to do is listen to the back ground sounds, and see if they are being blocked. Like something leaving a shadow. And by the absence of sound, the acoustic shadow, they can tell where the enemy sub is. In this day an age of CGI and manufactured video, where you can watch Forest Gump shake LBJ’s hand, it seems that what we see on the news isn’t nearly as important as what we DON’T see on the news. The mainstream news agencies act as if they don’t understand why their viewers/readers are leaving. But in this Internet age, people can compare the “alternative” news, with what main stream media is presenting. The current situation in Syria is a good example. We are being told how bad the Assad’s government is, and that they are committing chemical weapons attacks. But there is no proof being presented. But you can go to the alternative media and see documents of previous attacks by the rebels. We see videos and photos of atrocities being committed by the rebels. The main stream media doesn’t show all the dead Christians and churches being burned by the rebels, but if go to the web, it’s there. The rebels were so arrogant as to upload video of themselves loading mortars with chemical weapons shells and firing them, in the attack we are being told was Assad’s troops. There is video of a rebel leader that John Kerry met with, a couple of weeks later EATING THE HEART OF A CHRISTIAN! But only if you go to the web. The main stream media’s cloaked agenda is found by the shadow of their “hole in the water”. an Iraq muslim bombs a social security office in Arizona. It’s not news. A muslim man in California attacks a sheriff while yelling “alla Akbar”. not news. These, and the many other “terrorist attacks” on American soil are not news the mainstream media wants to present to us, and are obvious in their absence. You have to wonder why these stories are not carried, in fact almost suppressed, by the main stream media. What is this strange vessel hiding out there, in that hole in the water?
video of rebels launching chemical weapons attack
syrian rebels admit responsibility for chemical weapons attacks
iraq bombs SS office
sword wielding muslim attacks sheriff
other muslim attacks in America
Mainstream media, Syria, and non-news
Submarine sonar men in the navy have a thing they call “looking for holes in the water”. modern submarines, with their sound absorbing coatings and electric drives are so quiet that they can’t be heard when sitting still. So what the sonar man has to do is listen to the back ground sounds, and see if they are being blocked. Like something leaving a shadow. And by the absence of sound, the acoustic shadow, they can tell where the enemy sub is. In this day an age of CGI and manufactured video, where you can watch Forest Gump shake LBJ’s hand, it seems that what we see on the news isn’t nearly as important as what we DON’T see on the news. The mainstream news agencies act as if they don’t understand why their viewers/readers are leaving. But in this Internet age, people can compare the “alternative” news, with what main stream media is presenting. The current situation in Syria is a good example. We are being told how bad the Assad’s government is, and that they are committing chemical weapons attacks. But there is no proof being presented. But you can go to the alternative media and see documents of previous attacks by the rebels. We see videos and photos of atrocities being committed by the rebels. The main stream media doesn’t show all the dead Christians and churches being burned by the rebels, but if go to the web, it’s there. The rebels were so arrogant as to upload video of themselves loading mortars with chemical weapons shells and firing them, in the attack we are being told was Assad’s troops. There is video of a rebel leader that John Kerry met with, a couple of weeks later EATING THE HEART OF A CHRISTIAN! But only if you go to the web. The main stream media’s cloaked agenda is found by the shadow of their “hole in the water”. an Iraq muslim bombs a social security office in Arizona. It’s not news. A muslim man in California attacks a sheriff while yelling “alla Akbar”. not news. These, and the many other “terrorist attacks” on American soil are not news the mainstream media wants to present to us, and are obvious in their absence. You have to wonder why these stories are not carried, in fact almost suppressed, by the main stream media. What is this strange vessel hiding out there, in that hole in the water?
video of rebels launching chemical weapons attack
syrian rebels admit responsibility for chemical weapons attacks
iraq bombs SS office
sword wielding muslim attacks sheriff
other muslim attacks in America
I.F.D Improvised Freedom Device
I just read my umpteanth article about a citizen being snatched up and arrested for filming the police, and how his group is now trying to recover the data that the police erased off his camera. an idea occured to me. why not have an extra folder on your SD card, or thumb drive, that you NEVER open, that contains a trojan or virus. that when opened will post the 4th ammendment on the screen, and have a voice loudly coming from the speakers "this person is violating someone's 4th ammendment rights", and seriously lock up or screw up whatever laptop or workstation it is loaded into. name the folder PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL. DO NOT OPEN. if when being frisked, and the thumbdrive is found in your pocket, and you are asked what it is, honestly say it is a thumb drive, and contains PRIVATE information. if the file is on a SD card in your camera or other recording device, they would have to be violating your rights to get to it,, anyway. I seriously would like to start doing this myself. hello Annonymous? heres a tatical device for the infowar. I'm not very software savy, so if anyone could point me in the right direction to at least get something better suited than meatspin, please leave a comment. it has to be a file. preferably one that looks like an image file. that can be loaded into a folder on a thumbdrive or SD card. I'm thinking a file, in a folder, in a folder. so that someone can not say they "accdidentaly" opened it.
I just read my umpteanth article about a citizen being snatched up and arrested for filming the police, and how his group is now trying to recover the data that the police erased off his camera. an idea occured to me. why not have an extra folder on your SD card, or thumb drive, that you NEVER open, that contains a trojan or virus. that when opened will post the 4th ammendment on the screen, and have a voice loudly coming from the speakers "this person is violating someone's 4th ammendment rights", and seriously lock up or screw up whatever laptop or workstation it is loaded into. name the folder PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL. DO NOT OPEN. if when being frisked, and the thumbdrive is found in your pocket, and you are asked what it is, honestly say it is a thumb drive, and contains PRIVATE information. if the file is on a SD card in your camera or other recording device, they would have to be violating your rights to get to it,, anyway. I seriously would like to start doing this myself. hello Annonymous? heres a tatical device for the infowar. I'm not very software savy, so if anyone could point me in the right direction to at least get something better suited than meatspin, please leave a comment. it has to be a file. preferably one that looks like an image file. that can be loaded into a folder on a thumbdrive or SD card. I'm thinking a file, in a folder, in a folder. so that someone can not say they "accdidentaly" opened it.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
God, guns and the 501(c) Pharisees
There is a disturbing trend in this country. The “mega” churches. You’ve seen them. Giant buildings that cost millions to build. Grand sweeping architecture and elaborate sound systems as well as large telescreens. Some have even started using biometrics to document the children being taken into the daycare or Sunday school.(smacks of mark of the beast. Ironic) They take the special tax exempt status that makes them beholden to the federal government, which then tells them what they can and can NOT preach. Is the preachers primary concern the souls of the congregation, or the coin of Caesar? It seems that they have given the government dominion of what they can and can not preach. In the recent scandals regarding the I.R.S. it was revealed that Christians were even being asked what the contents of their prayers were, and congregations were being told what they were ALLOWED to pray about! These 501(c) Pharisees preach obedience to government, and even gun control. And it astounds Me that any preacher, and especially a Catholic priest, would allow a politician that supported abortion to set foot in their church. “Obedience” we are told. But to who? God, or the government? Much of the bible tells of struggle AGAINST tyrannically government. The Magi disobey Herod. Joseph takes his family to Egypt to flee Herod’s law. John the Baptist is beheaded for taking a stand that Herod shouldn’t sleep with his brother’s wife. Matt 10:17 Jesus warns his disciples to beware of those who would turn them into the local authorities (IRS,NSA, anyone?). Jesus actually took a whip to the moneylenders at the temple. And of course, Jesus was offered a deal by the “government” that would have saved his life. But my point is, the bible does NOT teach us to blindly follow man’s authority. And to preach that concept, is false. But My main focus in this blog will be gun control, and what I interpret as the New Testament’s support of the right to self defense.
Guess what? The disciples were armed! Luke 22:36 he said to them “but now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one”. the disciples said “see, Lord, here are two swords.” “that is enough”, he replied. Now, you might think, so what, they had a couple of swords. But you have to put this in context of the fact that in the Roman Empire, it was not only against the law for Jews to be armed,. It was also punishable by death! Here is Jesus, telling his disciples to commit what we would now think of as a major felony! In the Garden, when Judas betrays him, and he is seized, one of the disciples (peter) pulls a sword, and cuts off the ear of one of the attackers. Jesus tells him to “put your sword in it‘s place” (matt 26) or “put your sword away (John 18). He DOESN’T tell Peter to throw his sword away forever. I mention this to show a pattern of the disciples being armed. Not for the sake of aggression, but for self defense. For how can you spread the word, if you are killed? If committing suicide is a sin, then don’t you have a duty to defend yourself? The Israelite Army was a militia. (numbers 1:3). Each man bore his own weapons. These modern Pharisees, with their token attempts at charity. Living in mansions and preaching in their great temples, while telling the slaves to obey Caesar. How many more might they be able to feed, and help were they to be a bit more humble?
There is a disturbing trend in this country. The “mega” churches. You’ve seen them. Giant buildings that cost millions to build. Grand sweeping architecture and elaborate sound systems as well as large telescreens. Some have even started using biometrics to document the children being taken into the daycare or Sunday school.(smacks of mark of the beast. Ironic) They take the special tax exempt status that makes them beholden to the federal government, which then tells them what they can and can NOT preach. Is the preachers primary concern the souls of the congregation, or the coin of Caesar? It seems that they have given the government dominion of what they can and can not preach. In the recent scandals regarding the I.R.S. it was revealed that Christians were even being asked what the contents of their prayers were, and congregations were being told what they were ALLOWED to pray about! These 501(c) Pharisees preach obedience to government, and even gun control. And it astounds Me that any preacher, and especially a Catholic priest, would allow a politician that supported abortion to set foot in their church. “Obedience” we are told. But to who? God, or the government? Much of the bible tells of struggle AGAINST tyrannically government. The Magi disobey Herod. Joseph takes his family to Egypt to flee Herod’s law. John the Baptist is beheaded for taking a stand that Herod shouldn’t sleep with his brother’s wife. Matt 10:17 Jesus warns his disciples to beware of those who would turn them into the local authorities (IRS,NSA, anyone?). Jesus actually took a whip to the moneylenders at the temple. And of course, Jesus was offered a deal by the “government” that would have saved his life. But my point is, the bible does NOT teach us to blindly follow man’s authority. And to preach that concept, is false. But My main focus in this blog will be gun control, and what I interpret as the New Testament’s support of the right to self defense.
Guess what? The disciples were armed! Luke 22:36 he said to them “but now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one”. the disciples said “see, Lord, here are two swords.” “that is enough”, he replied. Now, you might think, so what, they had a couple of swords. But you have to put this in context of the fact that in the Roman Empire, it was not only against the law for Jews to be armed,. It was also punishable by death! Here is Jesus, telling his disciples to commit what we would now think of as a major felony! In the Garden, when Judas betrays him, and he is seized, one of the disciples (peter) pulls a sword, and cuts off the ear of one of the attackers. Jesus tells him to “put your sword in it‘s place” (matt 26) or “put your sword away (John 18). He DOESN’T tell Peter to throw his sword away forever. I mention this to show a pattern of the disciples being armed. Not for the sake of aggression, but for self defense. For how can you spread the word, if you are killed? If committing suicide is a sin, then don’t you have a duty to defend yourself? The Israelite Army was a militia. (numbers 1:3). Each man bore his own weapons. These modern Pharisees, with their token attempts at charity. Living in mansions and preaching in their great temples, while telling the slaves to obey Caesar. How many more might they be able to feed, and help were they to be a bit more humble?
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