There, I said it.  I’m not sure I have ever brought myself to say it quite like that before.  It feels good to get that off my chest.  It’s not something one is supposed to say, or even think.  Maybe some would think I’m some kind of radical, nut-job wacko for saying it.  Please let me share some of the thoughts that brought me here.

1. At Christmastime ask any kid you like, even Christian kids, who it is that sees and knows every good or bad thing kids do, who brings kids good gifts if they are good and nothing if they are bad, whom they never see, and who lives in a far away place they have never visited.  How many do you think will answer with “Jesus” instead of “Santa?”  The parallels between the two are shocking.  Considering that Christmas is all about Christ, it seems suspect that the next most popular Christmas figure is nearly a direct replacement for Jesus Christ in the minds of children who have been indoctrinated with the Santa myth.
2. The story of the jolly old elf coming with gifts is a lie.  Do I need to add to that?  Why should parents lie to their children?  Is not the truth of Christmas more wonderful than the hoax of Santa Claus?  With the previous point in view, do you think that children will still believe in Jesus after they have been undeceived regarding the silliness of that whole Santa thing; after they have realized that their own parents have lied to them their whole lives?
3. In connection with the previous thought, I despise being expected to hide the truth.  Someone is viewed as a bad person if they tell a child that Santa isn’t real.  Why should telling the truth ever be such a dastardly crime?  It’s bad enough that the rest of our society lies to their children, but I refuse to be coerced into complicity.
4. Santa is a false god.  Yup, you read that rightly.  Parents are teaching their children that if they want something good they should ask Santa for it.  And when they get it they are going to thank him for it instead of thanking the real source.  I don’t know how that sounds to you, but to me it sounds like praying to a “magical” being that doesn’t really exist.  Sounds like idolatry to me.

I hate it when the world substitutes their own ideas for Christ.  I hate lying.  I hate the suppression of truth.  I hate idolatry.  I hate Santa Claus.

Pastor Paul Gibbesh

So, here is one entry…  Send me your own.

java instead of Jesus

You can expect a couple posts per week, and 3+ updates to the interesting articles area.  Also, if there is an issue or area that you need researched, please drop me a line.  I usually review hundreds of “Christian” articles weekly and may have some leads for you.

Having said that, have a great Lord’s Day.

By the way, I encourage you to keep abreast of current events.  It is not necessary to be a political junkie or newshound, but a grasp of current events will give you a never ending stream of sermon illustrations at any rate!

If I were the devil…

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man’s effort, instead of God’s blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one’s own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

(posted from ivmans blague)

While doing research on another topic, I followed some news links and stumbled across a very disturbing article in The Hour Online, a regional online news outlet in Fairfield County, Connecticut.  Apparently in the state of Connecticut there is a growing problem with an iconic symbol of our nation – the Canada goose.  The birds are no longer migratory, but are living year-round on the luscious lawns, parks, and waterways of the state leaving their unsightly droppings for all to despise. Alexis Cherichetti, senior environmental officer for the City of Norwalk, located in north-central Connecticut, has come up with a way to cull the obnoxious birds.

Cherichetti and other local environmental activists are urging local residents, especially those with waterfront property, to do their part in controlling the geese population through geese “family planning.[1]

The article continued by saying,

“We are trying to reduce their long-term growth rate by locating their nests and oiling their eggs,” Cherichetti said.[2]

Apparently the eggs, once oiled, are no longer viable and though Mother Goose (pun intended) still incubates them, the eggs simply do not hatch thereby reducing the influx of new geese on an already abundant population. Hang on now, this is the part that really irked me. The article continued,

Eggs are only oiled if they do not float during a float test. If an egg, submerged in water, floats it means it is in the later stages of incubation and the chick has fully formed, so the egg wouldn’t be oiled. If the egg sinks, in means it has been incubated for less than 13 days and the chick is not matured, so the egg is allowed to be oiled.[3]

So basically Cherichetti is saying that if the chick is (in their opinion) not fully formed, they will kill it. Now before I totally lose you, and ye think me an environmental wacko, realize that I have no problem with killing the over-populated birds.  God gave us the command to:

…Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that             moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28.

I believe that in accordance with this command we have total freedom to reduce animal populations to unobtrusive levels, especially since man is God’s highest creation.  Additionally, I have no problem with the chosen method of disposing of these birds; although it would be much easier to simply let some hunters with Remington® 870′s do the deed.  I do greatly disparage over the fact that politicians and environmental activists are willing to sacrifice an unborn baby on the altar of a woman’s selfishness; and then, in a similar “god-like” decree, spare some Canada geese from early termination because, “they are in later stages of incubation.” The total disregard for the sanctity of human life and the seemingly “caring” attitude for the birds is yet another example of despising the God-ordained order in Creation. Though the abortion debate is not new, this article about protecting geese eggs, is especially distressing since the recent “taking up of arms” against abortion opponents by the new administration in Washington, D.C. who are at this moment plotting the destruction of even more unborn babies, by preparing to attempt to rescind Roe v. Wade which would permit late term abortions.[4]

God’s Word tells us in Psalms,

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Ps 139:13-15

God cares for His animal creations, but there are no statements that I can find in Scripture, where God mentions the unborn animal, with such love and care as He does a human child.  We all know the above passage clearly references the uniqueness of a human being, formed (by God) in the mothers womb, and how “fearfully and wonderfully” a tiny baby grows and flourishes there. (See this article about the placenta, for a small glimpse of the remarkable miracle of life, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n1/placenta) The thinking of these “goose-savers” is so skewed that they are blind to the truth of God’s Word, and would much rather worship the creature more then the Creator, as God succinctly articulates in Romans 1:28.

Modern medicine has shown us that, given the proper care, an unborn baby is indeed fully formed (enough) to live outside the womb at 24 weeks,[5] and reportedly some infants have even survived at 21 weeks. Regardless of these facts, in our world today, animals have more rights then humans do.  If you kill an animal on the endangered species list and that animal happened to be pregnant, you can be charged with killing two endangered animals. Yet, abortionists around the world, daily kill hundreds of unborn children who are created in the image of God. Despite the breakthroughs in the medical field, like in utero heart treatments,[6] the God hating abortionists still persist at their murderous ways while “unborn” geese are given the “right” to live.  This is a sad commentary on life (or should I say death) in the 21^st century.

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/women/ Scroll down to the heading, “Reproductive Choice.”

[5] http://blueridgeobg.com/pregnancy%20timeline.htm

[6] http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Health/In-utero-cardiac-fetal-surgery-Laser-atrial-septotomy-in-the-treatment-of-hypoplastic-left-heart-syn.html

http://www.illbehonest.com/matt530.php

It only works with Firefox, but you should probably be using Firefox anyway!

and all through the house,

Not a sound could be heard,

but the click of a mouse!

Over there ‘neath the glow

of a large LCD,

hunts a lone web-surfer,

finding new sites to see.

Then from out of the dark

booms a voice from above,

“Go talk with your spouse!

With the children you love!”

“Pull out the plug,

and lock down the drive!”

“Make much of the time

So your family will thrive!”

So turn off the screen,

give that poor mouse a rest!

Spend some time with your family

and with those you love best!

CPH- December 2008

Merry Christmas to all!

When did the simple phrase “Merry Christmas” become so offensive? Does it really offend people who choose not to believe in Christ? I choose not to believe in Allah, but if a Muslim wants to say, “Praise Allah” that is their right and choice. I do not follow Astrology but if someone says, “Thank my lucky stars” go right ahead, but don’t stop me from saying “Merry Christmas”. The agnostic and atheist alike can come to work on December 25th and work all day long, if they want to. That is their choice. I choose to celebrate Christmas. These choices are not wrong, but they are diverse. Isn’t that one of the important aspects of Canada – diversity?

In my opinion one of the sweetest sounds at Christmas is the warm greeting people give when meeting around town. I love to hear elders blend the words “Merry Christmas” together dropping the enunciation of the three “r”s. I love the Joy that seems to linger waiting to infect anyone who accepts a “Merry Christmas” greeting. Like the flu, the Joy of Christmas does not need much exposure until you’ve got it. Before you know it you will reciprocate the greeting with a smile. If you choose to not say “Merry Christmas”, that is fine, that is your choice, however, my choice is to say “Merry Christmas”.

So there, I said it again. Merry Christmas!

Steve Donley