If the above is true, why do we try so hard to persuade or dissuade others for whom we have no respect in the first place?
Perhaps because...
Note: explanation for my recent absence from the blogosphere is below the fold.
1. The sudden loss of our beloved alpha cat Cameo to cancer. Mr. AOW and I — and Amber — miss Cameo so much.
2. My pain levels have soared. Out of control and debilitating! At any moment, I may end up in the hospital again.
So, my blogging takes a back seat right now and for the foreseeable future. My dear friend and blogging partner Warren will post as he is able to do so.
So sorry to hear AOW...you may enjoy my respite.
ReplyDeleteKNOW THIS: Things WILL improve, with time!
ReplyDeleteAMEN!
DeleteThere's nothing more to say, and no way else to think, Jon.
When too many things go wrong all at once, as they sometimes do, the best thing we could do would be to step back, close our eyes, take a deep breath, and "lay it all in the lap of the Lord."
Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
And He will sustain thee.
He never will suffer the righteous to fall.
He is at thy rght hand.
Thy mercy, Lord, is great,
And far above the Heavens.
Let none be made ashamed
That wait upon Thee."
~ from Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
ReplyDeleteHe maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake.
Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death
I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies.
Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over.
Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
~ Psalm 23 (KJV)
[May] the Lord bless you and keep you.
ReplyDelete[May] the Lord make His face to shine upon you,
And be gracious unto you, and give you peace.
Amen!
O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;
ReplyDeleteO Life Divine,that owns each waiting hour,
Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight!
Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.
Love is our refuge; Only with mine eye
Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall:
His habitation high is here, and nigh,
His arm encircles me, and mine, and all.
O make me glad for every scalding tear,
For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain!
Wait, and love more for every hate, and fear
No ill, since God is good and loss is gain.
Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing;
In that sweet secret of the narrow way,
Seeking and finding, with the angels sing:
Lo, I am with you alway, watch and pray. ...
~ Mary Baker Eddy
Amen to FT - may the Lord's face shine on you. Even a little 'light' would be so welcome in this darkness. Politics and blogging take a backseat to your restoration. Thank you Warren for stepping in, and my prayers with you each day, AOW.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Baysider. Though not a Roman Catholic I've been influenced by the Christophers, a Catholic organization whose motto is "It's better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
DeleteA lot of good common sense in that, but I believe the idea to have come directly from the Holy Spirit, which is the Source of all Truth, all Goodness, all Beauty, and all Right Ideas.
It's not 'fashionable' to talk that way anymore, and that may be the root of all that keeps going wrong in the world.
"With God all [good] things are possible."
Without Him –– well, Good Luck! ;-)
I like to believe that "All things work together for good to those who love God."
I no longer spend any effort trying to educate libtards. In almost 20 years of interaction with them on the interwebs, I've never seen one learn a single thing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you stopped the "libtard" boorishness it would go a little better.
DeleteMaybe you are so blinded that you have nothing to teach.
@Nostradumbass:
DeleteIf your self-aware ignorance is bliss you must be in heaven!
Q.E.D.
DeleteI can't remember you ever making a substantive statement.
It's all kindergarten ad hominem.
Ducky,
DeleteI have employed many a reasoned argument, blessedly bereft of Libtard, leftwing kook, communist, and other pejoratives. No dice.
Too many people on all sides cling bitterly to their ideologies and use them as a substitute for reason, logic and critical analysis.
And yet, you and I have come to agreement on issues.
DeleteWe agree on several problems that are harming the nation.
What we disagree on is the extent we need government. That's the primary sticking point.
We also give each other credit for having a reasoned point of view that is worth understanding even if it won't be embraced.
We don't consider each other jackasses.
@ Nostradumbass:
Delete"I can't remember you ever making a substantive statement.
It's all kindergarten ad hominem."
Alzheimer's?
I'm merely more direct. You, on the other hand, in an attempt to sound intellectual come off as an ignorant, self-righteous, socialist scold. (i.e. you get what you're worthy of)
Q.E.D.
DeleteAb irato.
DeleteHarley Goleitlee said
Delete"Communist" is not a "pejorative." In Canardo's case it is simply a FACT.
Duck, I don't know if you are a libtard or just a liberal. But I'm beyond giving them any credit for providing anything positive to society, hence I give them nothing as they busily go about destroying what was once such a wonderful country.
DeleteMany intelligent people have concluded that liberalism firmly adopted as an ideology is a mental disease. I certainly agree.
I was on FB on the page of a conservative friend and one of the comments was by a guy I worked with years ago.
DeleteHe was a liberal who when we talked and discussed came across as condescending. But we talked.
He is now a fiery conservative.
I asked what happened and he said everyone's gotta grow up sometime.
Another guy I worked with at the same time was a lot of fun to talk to.
DeleteOne day I noticed that he was avoiding me.
I cornered him and asked why.
He said he used to enjoy talking to me, but lately he found that what I said made him challenge how he felt and it was too much for him to handle so he was just avoiding me to avoid the conflict in his head.
Ed,
DeleteThose are victories!
I've had a few such victories, but not in the past several years.
Might I ask the approximate ages of those whom you have persuaded? And a bit about their backgrounds?
Oh, that was 30 years ago, and they were, are, my age.
DeleteThe first guy called in to my radio show Saturday.
Ed,
DeleteI think it's more difficult to attain such victories now. Do you agree?
The conversion stories of Leah Abresco (from the debating society at Yale), J Warner Wallace (Cold Case Christianity), and Nabeel Qureshi (Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus) demonstrate that many change their minds when presented with rational arguments they have time to process, with and without 'helpful' friends.
ReplyDeleteUgh - typo! It's Leah Libresco
ReplyDelete"When you're young and liberal, you have a heart. When you're old and liberal, you have no brain." And no, it is not attributable to Sir Winston Churchill but it says a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.
Delete--- Dorothy Day
Human life and humanity come into being in genuine encounters. The hope for this hour depends upon the renewal of the immediacy of dialogue among human beings.
--- Martin Buber
In this respect fundamentalism has demonic traits. It destroys the humble honesty of the search for truth, it splits the conscience of its thoughtful adherents, and it makes them fanatical because they are forced to suppress elements of truth of which they are dimly aware
--- Paul Tillich
There was a time when I had all the answers. My real growth began when I discovered that the questions to which I had the answers were not the important questions.
--- Reinhold Niebuhr
"The Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.
Delete--- Dorothy Day"
Rubbish!
2 Thessalonians 3:10 American KJV
"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."
The letters of Paul describing the struggles of the early church equate to the Gospels?
DeleteDuck,
DeleteIn my view, Paul's epistles do more than describing the struggles of the early church; they help to give us a better understanding of the Gospels.
There is much more to the Word than the Gospels.
@ Nostradumbass:
Delete"The letters of Paul describing the struggles of the early church equate to the Gospels?"
Of the New Testament almost half, 13 books/letters and half of The Acts of the Apostles are attributed to or about Paul. The Gospels are Mathew, Mark, Luke and John and concerned with differing accounts of the birth and death of Jesus Christ.
If Paul's words are unimportant why is so much of the New Testament concerning Paul actions and words?
In can be said that all Gentiles are Paul's disciples. The rest of the Apostles believed that a Christian must first be a Jew.
And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.
DeleteThat's right, a call for "personal" responsibility. I see nothing about creating governmental bureaucracies that suck the lifeblood out of citizens pockets. You're free to do with your belongings any thing you wish. It's theft to take mine without my consent.
DeleteWarren... a specific command to a specific group of believers. Not a general command for eternity for all believers.
ReplyDeleteDave,
DeleteThe problems had by a specific group of believers are universal problems within all groups -- believers or not. Slothfulness is universal! Therefore, the command of if any would not work, neither should he eat applies universally.
Notice the use of "would," which denotes a choice and implies that there is at least one other choice available -- namely, the opportunity to work. The available work might not be to one's liking, but it is still work that could be done.
@Dave Miller
ReplyDeleteAlmost all of Paul / Saul's letters were to specific Christian communities. Since they were written to specific groups of believers should we ignore them too?
Subsidize that which you wish to increase. A body can tolerate only so many parasites and leaches, then it dies. I'm not even going to get in to being called to be a good steward of our gifts.
If you wish to throw your money away subsidizing all kinds of terrible behavior, go ahead. Don't ask me to subsidize addiction, sloth and sex change operations.
Warren,
DeleteA body can tolerate only so many parasites and leaches, then it dies.
Critical mass!
Or you can look at it in context:
DeleteIn the previous chapter of his epistle, Paul warned about those who were teaching that the second coming was imminent (2 Thes. 2:2), and this had apparently misled some in Thessalonica into ceasing from earning a living, since they expected the Lord to return at any moment. Paul made it quite clear in chapter 2 that such teaching was in error, and he details events that must first take place before Christ could return (2 Thes. 2:3-12). This is why Paul did not live off the resources of the church in Thessalonica, because he was setting an example, to reinforce his teaching that the second coming was not near.
Doesn't matter why they weren't working if they were able.
Delete