Existential Angst

I have recently read The Stranger by Albert Camus, and in fact have even done an oral presentation about it for AP English. To aid in the presentation, I rummaged through my notes from last year's philosophy class to find everything I could about Existentialism. Most of you reading this are probably very aware of the main tenants of the worldview, so I won't really go into detail.

Up until tonight, I have never fully experienced the "absurdity of life" that so permeates the existential view. I now know what the absurdity of life is. The absurdity of life is the fact that everyday you wake up, you go to work or school, and you go to sleep. The absurdity of life is the fact that, at least for me personally, I strive to create meaningful relationships with other people, specifically members of the opposing gender, but cannot find them. They fail -- almost all the time. Absurdity in life is standing on the sidewalk in front of your house while one of your best friends walks down the hill out of view with a plastic bag of clothes as he runs away from an overbearingly sadistic home. The absurdity of life, for me at least today, is a depressingly sharp reality.

Why go on? Seriously, why should I go on? That is the question posed by Existentialism. The only reason I can see to go on is that life was created to be absurd. We are born, we live, we die. We follow the same daily routine for ninety percent of our lives. We get turned down again and again when seeking a relationship. The most absurd things happen to us and our few friends throughout the course of the grind of life. Why does all this happen?

This happens because our focus is not meant to be on this absurd life. Why are we born, we live a short life, and then we die? Because we are meant to be motivated by this fact into searching for some other life. Why do our, especially my, relationships fail? Because we are meant to search for some higher relationship. To be quite honest, that knowledge is the only thing that is keeping me going.

Perhaps Plato's World of Ideas aptly fits this situation. Everything in this life is just a shadow of something else in some other plain of existence.

I now realize, to a very large degree, that Plato is more of a genius than I ever imagined, and that Existentialism hits the nail on the head much more squarely than I thought. The only road that I take that both of the aforementioned schools do not is that I believe in God. God is the only thing keeping me going right now. This life is absurd. Things in this life are just a shadow of some other plain of existence -- but I know that plain of existence is paradise. The one who made life absurd is God -- He did it so that we would search for Him. Why would a happy, content man ever want to seek God? All it would do is add suffering and responsibility to his life. We must be made not content, so that eventually we can become happier than we could ever imagine. I've seen that more clearly this weekend than ever before in my life, and I'm hoping and praying that I indeed can get back on track and be content in God.

~Tribal

But...I AM right

"You think you're right and everybody else is wrong. You're so arrogant." -- these are the words that are spoken to me on an almost daily basis by a good classmate of mine. We often end up in lunch table discussions over political or philosophical issues (rarely started by me, might I add). It seems like the two of us have entirely different views on absolutely everything ranging from belief in God, to whether or not the school's hotdogs really are made out of green fungus. It also seems, however, that everytime I try to defend my views against his, the above quote gets thrown at me out of anger, often accompanied by some mild profanity or obscene gesture.

So, I think that I'm right and that everybody else is wrong? Well, quite frankly, "duh." I mean, if one did not believe that one's opinions were correct on an issue, why hold any opinion at all on an issue? My response to my friend's often angry semi-relativism often runs something along the lines of, "Well, you think that you're right too and that I'm wrong, otherwise we would not be here discussing this." It is true. If a person did not believe himself to be correct, why would he have a firm opinion on anything?

There are some things that I know to be absolutely, one-hundred percent correct. For instance, I know that there is a God who created the world and created me, and has an ultimate plan for my life. I also know, though, that I have free will -- I have the ability to chose between right and wrong, following God's path or not following. I know that abortion destroys an innocent life, and is very comparable to the Jewish Holocaust. In addition to this, I also know that homosexuality is wrong -- it is not an "alternate lifestyle" and it is not how people are born. I know many more things that are absolutely correct as well, but this is just a small sampling of them.

So what's the point of all this? I think that the world is trying to tear down our beliefs and our moral foundations by throwing out labels like "arrogant" or "intolerant." They try to make us feel bad. If you say that it is wrong for gay people to be involved in a homosexual relationship, you are labeled a "hatemonger" -- "hate is NOT a family value" as one bumper sticker reads. In response to this, Christians tend to back away from such "controversial" issues because they want to be loved by everybody. Might I remind you that God's word tells us we will be hated for His namesake. It's not being "arrogant," it's merely recognizing the sin that is present in the world.

I do not exempt myself from any of this, however. I admit, at times I can come across as very overbearing. It is something I am trying to work on. However, we should not back away from what we know is right and wrong merely because some other human tells us he or she is offended at what we are saying. GOD says that homosexuality is wrong, not me -- I didn't make that rule, go read the Bible. If people are offended by the very things that God Himself says, why should we in any way attempt to appease their "hurt feelings" -- who are we to go out and apologize to them?

The band Demon Hunter has an amazing song off of their album The Triptych about this very subject. The title is "Relentless Intolerance." The name pretty much says it all. The song calls for Christians to stand firm for the things they believe in and not give in when "the foundations that we used to uphold" are "regarded as the madness of old." Right is still right and wrong is still wrong. Who are we to change that?

~Tribal

The Moron Files

Once there was a conservative (me) who got into an argument with a bunch of very liberal people who joined my facebook group "Non-racist Americans FOR racial profiling of Arabs" for no other reason than to harrass me. This is the bulk of that little back-and-forth. I post it here in it's entirety -- exactly the words that were said with the exception of editing out the obscenities. This is definentaly worth a read, as it illustrates the lunacy that has taken hold of some in America...an excellent example of liberal fallacy.



Pouria Almassi: oh yes, of course, this makes perfect sense, screen all the Arabs, because Arabs are always the ones who commit acts of terrorism, Oklahoma city? Thed Kaczynskiwait aka the "Unabomber" , wait a second, those were Americans!

Daniel Marchant (me): Absolutely correct, those were Americans! However, those were 2 isolated incidents. The attacks on September 11, the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and the numerous thwarted attempts by other Muslim Arab terrorists (shoe bomber, liquid bombs) were committed, as I said, by Muslim Arabs. Oh, that's not to mention all the groups fighting us in the Middle East in Iraq and Afghanistan. Oh, and even that's not to mention all the extremist Islamic groups that hate us and want to see us dead...

Shawn Singh Tucker: racial profiling arabs will make the situation even worse. so many people already hate muslims because of us media, and making it ok to profile gives people more of an excuse and an incentive to commit hate crimes. also, muslims come in so different races-black, white, brown, yellow,red purple everything u can think of, so to racially profile people who "look" muslim makes no sense. to a majority of americans even i look muslim, even though i am not. we need to unite and be together rather than profile and segregate. last thing-if you support racial profiling, you ARE RACIST whether u realize it or not. sorry

and daniel...i think white people kill more people in the US than arabs do, don't you? why doesnt the police racially profile you on the streets if it's just?

Daniel Marchant: We're still dancing around the issue here. Sure, more murders probably result from white people than they do from Arabs, but that is not taking into account the fact that there are more white people in America than Arabs. However, the number of murders and attempted murders commited on airplanes by Muslim Arabs far outweighs the number that have been committed by white people. Turn on the TV lately and hear about the latest KKK airplane rampage? No. Turn on the TV lately and hear about another threat by Muslim extremists? Yes. The issue is merely that you do not hear about five year old kids hijacking jetliners, and you don't hear about 90 year old grandmas flying planes into buildings, so why waste time and resources screening such people? It is absolutely rediculous to overlook the fact that the one thing that connects every major terrorist threat against our country is religion and ethnicity.

...as far as being racist? If there comes a day when white male Christians start blowing up airliners and flying them into buildings, I would hope that I would be stopped at an airport and examined with extra security measures...

AB Omar: "religion and ethnicity" so now it's not just muslims, but also ethnicity meaning. . . . . all arab looking people? Daniel, since you're so blindly ignorant, let's go with your line of reasoning and see if you can justify the means. when you see on fox news that 'a muslim bombed .....' do you ever stop to ask yourself, i wonder what made him/her strap on a bomb and die? just for kicks? don't think so. so there had to be a catalyst? . . . . . ok you know what, i'll make it simple for you since you seem to be too logically challenged to follow any thoughtful argument:say someone, a complete stranger, came into your house and took everything you had and insulted your very existence upon robbing you and then slapped your little sister around for no reason, would you sit there with your hands and head stuck up your fat racist a** or would you actually try to resist? all this fighting and 'bombing' and blood shed is a resistnce mechanism. people are resisting being occupied.

all they want is what was theirs back. all they want is a normal life that was taken away from them. and then stupid, unaware and ignorant people like YOU are made to believe that phalestinians and muslims are the problem. SINCE WHEN DID THE OPPRESSOR BECOME THE VICTIM????

Daniel Marchant: I actually have stopped and asked myself why these people do what they do, and interestingly enough, the conflict runs far deeper than you think it does. Do you honestly believe that they strap bombs to themselves and blow up innocent men, women, and children because they are being "occupied?" If by occupation you mean a free, Democratic Iraq replacing a murderous, dictatorship, then of course they are being "occupied." But these extremists hate us because they believe GOD tells them to hate us. Why would you try making up your own little excuse and defense for their actions when they themselves are very forthright about it? "Great Satan," "Little Satan," "Infidel" -- ring any bells? They attack us because they believe their religion tells them to attack us, and that they will be rewarded in the afterlife for it. Bush propoganda? -- no, the truth -- listen to any terrorist speak about why he does what he does.

Jessica Warner: So this "normal life" you're referring to....Your're criticizing Americans, claiming that we CAUSED the terrorism on our nation by going into other nations.Might I point out that we went into their nations in order to help them dispose of a tyrannical dictator who was killing, torturing, and mutilating their people?And, by the way, if you disagree with the group, DON'T JOIN IT! Joining a group for the sole purpose of dissing it is childish at best and (since you brought up this word) ignorant in all actuality. So either leave the blasted group or stop insulting those who are willing to diplomatically and legitimately stand up for their views.

AB Omar: Jessica, let me remind you because you seem to have conveniently forgotten the facts, WE the United States of America MADE Osama who he is now. US made Saddam Hussein who he turned into. So before you point the blame finger, stop and recount the facts. That's the least you can do. And Daniel, you speak of "Democracy". If you knew anything about history, you'd realize that the same form of government does NOT work all over the world. We tried it in Vietnam. Secondly, what's the difference between Saddam's regime and FORCING democracy on Iraq? They share a common denominator. They're both forced and unwanted. Let the people of Iraq decide what kind of government they want instead of shoving your politics down their throat. For both of you, if you honestly believe that the US's presence in the middle east is solely to 'liberate an oppressed people', look at the projected map of the gas pipleline and the current position of US troops in the middle east. too good to be true?

Daniel Marchant: Vietnam? Please...Democracy failed in Vietnam because the NORTH VIETNAMESE wanted it to fail, and the United States did not have the stomach for a fight. They "cut and run" as the saying goes, and left a fledgling government to fend off a much more powerful Communist force. Democracy will work in Iraq as well as long as we do not cut and run and leave them to face the terrorists alone just yet. It worked fine in Israel. In addition, what about all the elections Iraq has had since the removal of Saddam? Have you seen their voter turn out? It puts the United States to shame, so it looks like they love their democracy over there even more than some Americans do over here. Maybe I'm not the one who must examine the facts.

Hmm, U.S. troop deployments around gas pipelines in Iraq...go figure. I seem to remember that in the Gulf War, Saddam tried to burn the oil fields...American troops are there to guard the pipelines against such another action by the terrorists. Oil is the biggest player in the Iraqi economy -- if the oil and gas burns, so does Iraq's economy and democracy. Drive a car? Buy any gas lately? Realize that gas prices are higher than they were before the war? If we went into Iraq for oil and if we really wanted to take their oil, why is there still a shortage and why are we still paying insane amounts?

AB Omar: hahahaha. Daniel, please tell me you didn't just make those arguments? especially the one about oil? Please tell me you aren't THAT dumb?

Daniel Marchant: Well I'm glad no one here has resorted to the elementary school "I've run out of things to say therefore I am only going to hurl insults" -- I was worried there for a second that I was actually debating against somebody with nothing factual to say...

Jessica Warner: Okay, may I suggest that the fact that you are no longer reporting FACTS (as Dan happens to be.....) probably means that you're out of legitimate arguments? Sorry, AB, I think you're done on this one. Better luck next time!

AB Omar: try this one for facts
http://www.rense.com/general70/deathmde.htm

by the way Daniel and Jessica, i would like to see some of your FACTS? something credible. meaning FOX News doesn't count. i'm honestly interested in finding out what your source of information is.

here is an independent research for you. see for yourself. http://www.umrc.net/pdf/quantitative_analysis_afghanistan.pdfgoogle the paper if the full text doesn't pop up. that is you're interested in FACTS.

Shawn Singh Tucker: seriously...this group is just here to make people mad. why are people terrorists in the 1st place? bc they are upset abt something. by creating this group ur not helping anybody, just making things worse.seriously, think abt things before u do them. and if u think ur right in this group, express your views face to face to a muslim, arab, even another minority and then ull get a real responsealso, this group means jack s***. just cuz u made a group that has 20 members--half of which are here to help you realize how ignorant u are--doesnt mean that ur stupidity will become a reality. racial profiling goes against everything this country was founded for. i bet yall dont even give a d****cuz u think im an arab or a muslim. sayin that "oh i believe they are equal, but they should be searched" is b*******. dont force people to be treated as second rate citizens and separated and then say, "yea, they are equal." f***** nazis. im outta this lame a** group

Sunny Mummaneni: i joined this group not to criticize it in any way but to inform a few uninformed people, i am not a muslim but to say that Islam is telling these people to act out these horrible terroristic acts is completely ludacris, if you would just take a couple of weeks and read the Koran you would learn that Islam is probably one of the most peaceful religions in its true PURE form, these people that yell out Jihad and enact these terrible deeds are misinterpreting the religion completely and in all reality thats not their fault, a lot of them aren't educated enough to comprehend or they were forced to believe that is the true Islam since the day they can comprehend anything. We as Americans shouldn't put these people down, moreover we should embrace them and if we really wanted to help then help them learn the true meaning of their own religion, not convert them to the majorities belief. We as American are very lucky to have a good education system (no matter how awful some people think...

... it is) we are definately luckier than they are over there and for that we should be thankful and not full of hate for another religon, what ever happened to freedom of religion? seriously people i can't walk down the street without someone talking about "those damned muslims", alright there is a few groups of misinformed extremists, but in reality every religion has those groups of people. Hinduism is supposed to be peaceful but in India there are mosques getting burned down by Hindu extremist, during slavery Christians used to hold slaves and beat them (sometimes to death) in the name of their god, all these people were misinformed, and there are still some that are...now we shouldn't be arguing here or hating on all muslim arabs but we should be trying to figure out a DIPLOMATIC way to help these people because they are suffering from the worst disease that man knows of and thats HATE because of IGNORANCE..don't join them by saying arabs should be the only ones looked out for..

Daniel Marchant: Hmm, try this one for facts? Ironic that a few babies are born horribly deformed, and the blame automaticaly falls on the United States. Of course the small amount of uranium that is contained within these weapons so horribly used by U.S. troops would be enough to deform entire bodies such as those shown in the pictures *sarcasm*. As far as your other source, I think you conviently overlooked the last sentance of the paper..."The cause of our findings is currently being evaluated as part of our ongoing research." Sounds awfully conclusive to me.

...and actually, umm, if FOX News is the only one who reported the attacks of September 11, the bombings of the U.S.S. Cole, as well as the endless wave of terrorist violence committed by extremists in the Middle East, then sure FOX News is my source...but it's kind of shocking to me that you actually NEED to see some sort of proof for all of this. Have you been living completely out of touch with the world for the past, oh, 30 years? I don't care if you think this group is "jack s***" or not, I honestly do not care what anyone thinks about my group or my opinions. It's called having a backbone and not giving a crap what other people think of you. If all you are going to do is criticize the group, why join?

Sunny, I agree completely with your view on Islam. It is a peaceful religion, and Muslims are generaly peace loving people. However, those who have commited and want to commit terrorist attacks against the United States are very bold in their wrongful proclomation that God wants them to do this. Don't believe me? Turn on any TV channel or read any newspaper the next time a terrorist releases a propoganda tape. They are doing it in the name of their religion, even though their religion does not teach that. I do not hate muslims, I do not hate Arabs, but I do hate acts of terrorism committed in the name of God. Those are the people I do not like. Oh, and P.S., yes, since Christians are still beating slaves to death I think we should change this group's name to "Non-racist Americans FOR racial profiling of Arabs and Christians."

AB Omar: Sunny, i appreciate your point of view. however, i think you have been misinformed. you said that 'muslims are suffering from the worst disease ...." i don't think you're seeing the whole picture. if you look at one of my earlier posts, i posed the following scenario to Daniel and got no response. so here it is again:say a complete stranger came into your house, uninvited, and took everything you had. he/she insulted your very existence upon robbing you IN YOUR OWN HOUSE and slapped around your little sister for no reason, would you sit there and watch them absue everything you have and you are or would you at least try to resist? for one minute, let's forget about our biases as westerners and look at it from a humanistic point of view. Look at the progression of the map of Israel from 1946 to now. What was almost entirely Palestine once has now been reduced to little dots on the map. and none of this land was voluntarily given to Israel by the Palestinian people.

Israel has taken the palestinians homes away from them. when everything one has has been stolen from him/her, he/she has nothing more to lose, so death by means of straping ona bomb is a natural progression in order to retaliate. so you see, while killing other people can never be justified no matter what the reason, scrutinizing the facts can help better explain these actions.

Daniel Marchant: Interestingly enough I've directly responded to your post all along, apparently you just never were able to figure it out. If you think that is the reason why the extremists are doing what they are doing, then you really are out of touch with reality. The extremists themselves do not say "well I'm doing this because people came into my land" they say "Allah be praised, kill the infidel, kill the great satan." Excluding Western bias as you said, that land does rightfully belong to Israel. The Kingdom of Israel once ruled an area of land much larger than what is there for them now...look on any ancient history maps.

AB Omar: Daniel, how many ways do I need to say it so it'll ring a bell in that empty head of yours. Read my post again about your sources of information. The government IS the media. So they give you what's on their agenda, not what's actually happening. Think about this, all the reporters that went to Iraq to cover the war, they stayed with US military, they wore US military apparel, they ate with US troops, they were protected by the US troops and they were transported in US humvies and they reported mostly from US bases. Have you heard ANYTHING from a reporter that stayed with the Iraqi troops, ate with Iraqi troops, was transporterd around by Iraqi military, and reported from Iraqi bases? didn't think so. come back when you have something worthwile to say.

Jessica Warner: C'mon, Dan.....Every time a civilized person is wronged, the immediate, natural reaction is to blow oneself up. Everyone knows this, Dan.What's your problem?

AB Omar: oh and your reply to Sunny's comment, saying that you don't hate arabs or muslims..... if that's so then why did you create this group? i mean look at the first sentence in the intro to this group, "This group is for every American who supports racial profiling against Muslim Arabs. "you really have no clue what you're talking about do you?

Daniel Marchant: LOL, this is really rather comical. Obviously the Republican controlled government (soley controlled by Bush of course, that ultra evil conservative) is secretly behind the incredibly liberal news media controlled almost exclusively by very vocal Democrats. How can you not acknowledge that? Turn on any news channel and you hear "Bush is a failure, Bush got us into a quagmire, impeach Bush." Yeah, government propoganda...o-kay. I like how news reporters being protected by troops and staying with troops is conclusive proof of your position lol. Of course, if the troops would not have protected them, you'd be outraged over that and condemn the military for not regarding innocent life. I can't believe you are still here arguing. Everything that you are saying is making you look worse and worse in the eyes of the intelligent people of this group.

Umm, Omar, look at the very FIRST part of the TITLE of this group...



I will continue to post this all as it unfolds further.

~Tribal~

Call for Prayer

I'm coming to you guys in desperation. A good friend of mine here at school has decided it is his duty to "convert" everyone he can to athiesm. I don't understand his motivation because there is nothing to gain from it, other then damning the souls of Followers of Christ. His goal is not merely to destroy individuals, but to tear down religion itself. My friend is very intelligent, and I fear for a great many Christians who may not be extra strong in their faith, or in their knowledge of the Word. Friends, I'm sure many of you think of angels and demons and things of the spiritual world as something that belongs in the Old Testemant and not in todays world. Whether you want to accept it or not, there is a spiritual domain in this physical world, where angels and demons battle over souls in vast array. Satin's hand is in this, I know this for certain. I am asking for you to join me in prayer. Pray for my friend's soul, because he needs it, desperately. Pray for me and my fellow Christians here that we might break through his delusions. Pray for all those who have, are, and will come in contact with this friend of mine that he will not be a stumbling block in their path, that they instead be a stumbling block to his misguided ignorance. Pray that God show himself in a very real and powerful way to him. Thanks, and God bless.

~AndyJams~

Voting Party Lines

Well, the Democrats won. Worse than that, Nancy Pelosi is now third in line for the presidency (pray very hard that Bush and Cheney don't decide to die in the next 2 years). Hey at least I got to go party at Heritage Hills with Todd Platts! One thing that annoys me almost more than anything regarding the election, however, is the deal that people are making over voting "party lines." Everywhere I go and hear people talk about the election, I hear someone being criticized for voting a "straight ticket" (hey, it's better than a gay ticket). I even had a teacher in school today talk about his mother always voting straight up Republican. He said he asked his mother one time who she would vote for if God ran as a Democrat and Satan ran as a Republican. Her response, obviously, was that God would never run as a Democrat -- and this teacher criticized his mother for saying that. But I submit to you, what is wrong with what she said? What is wrong with voting for only one party?

People often talk about voting for "the best man for the job." But why would anyone with any form of a backbone on any issue at all vote on anything BUT the issues? As a general rule, Republicans are pro-life, pro-war, and pro-tax cuts. Democrats are typically pro-abortion, anti-war, and for repealing the tax cuts and imposing higher taxes on the wealthy. Gee, do you think they're a member of the party they are a part of because they share common views on the issues? Therefore, if when you voted, you were mostly concerned about the war in Iraq, why would you not vote straight Republican? What is wrong with voting straight Republican? Now I can see why someone would not vote straight lines if a candidate differed from their party's views on an issue, but come on people -- if you're going to criticize someone for voting the way they did, it's almost more accurate to criticize those who did NOT vote straight lines. NOT voting straight party lines shows that you really do not care about the issues (unless of course, as I said, the candidate differs from his or her party). Grow a backbone! Take a stand!

~Tribal

John Kerry's View Of Our Fighting Men And Women

''You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.''

-- Sen. John Kerry

~Tribal

Iraq: The Real Story

Glenn Beck created an interesting video that details some of the more overlooked victories in Iraq. With the terms "Vietnam" and "quagmire" still being thrown around, I think it's worth a minute to see what else has been accomplished (as if destroying a murderous regime that tortured thousands of its citizens and then tossed their corpses into mass graves is not enough of a victory for some). Here's the link for the video. In addition to this, a while back Fox News had posted a series of articles regarding Saddam and his possible terror links. These are also worth a look for those who continue to be "nay sayers" (I won't even get into the Sarin nerve gas shells that troops found, but you didn't hear about that one in the Tokyo Rose media either). The links for these articles are as follows: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

~Tribal

One Nation Under God

Many people in America today do not realize the moral and religious foundations that their country was built upon. They blindly insist that our founding fathers intended for such things to exist as "separation of church and state." My personal favorite is "Oh, well the founding fathers would have meant for same sex marraige to be legal." In Brad Stine's words, "Yup. That was their master plan!" Citizens today have absolutely no concept of what the founding fathers believed in, and the majority of them won't even listen to the historical facts. It does not take much research to break through the swarm of BS that surrounds this situation. That is the purpose of this post: to tell all of our readers out there what it is the founding fathers believed...using their own words. To begin with, however, I would like to refute some pretty popular claims concerning the founders. Most people I talk to on a regular basis believe that the founding fathers were all either deists or masons...but yet no one can conclusively tell me what either one of those is. Classical deism holds that God created the world but takes no active part in its day to day operations -- He essentialy made creation and then stepped back to let it take its course. Freemasonry is, despite some wild claims, not an anti-religious group. It is, in fact, very closely tied to religious belief. They do not force their members to accept a certain set of religious principles, and the organization itself states that freemasonry is not a replacement for religion. Whether one agrees with freemasonry or not, one cannot coherently argue that freemasonry was or is anti-religious. While a certain number of founding fathers were definentaly involved with freemasonry, only a small percentage truly believed in deism. To much of the relief of many reading this, I am now going to shut up and let the founding fathers speak for themselves on the issue. These quotations can all be found here and here. Enjoy...

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John Adams

“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

"Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell."

"It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence."

Samuel Adams

“He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all.”

“Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.”

Benjamin Franklin (wow this sounds like one hardcore deist)

“God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel”

“In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?”

In Benjamin Franklin's 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach "the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern."

In 1787 when Franklin helped found Benjamin Franklin University, it was dedicated as "a nursery of religion and learning, built on Christ, the Cornerstone."

Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton began work with the Rev. James Bayard to form the Christian Constitutional Society to help spread over the world the two things which Hamilton said made America great: (1) Christianity (2) a Constitution formed under Christianity. “The Christian Constitutional Society, its object is first: The support of the Christian religion. Second: The support of the United States.”

On July 12, 1804 at his death, Hamilton said, “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy; pray for me.”

"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests."

"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man."

John Hancock

“In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God under the heavy judgments felt and feared, to confess the sins that have deserved them, to implore the Forgiveness of all our transgressions, and a spirit of repentance and reformation …and a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights [for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God]…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations."

Patrick Henry (my personal favorite)

"This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

“The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”

"It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains."

Thomas Jefferson

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.”

“ The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.”

James Madison

“ We’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the Ten Commandments with all of our heart.”

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

In 1812, President Madison signed a federal bill which economically aided the Bible Society of Philadelphia in its goal of the mass distribution of the Bible.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, James Madison proposed the plan to divide the central government into three branches. He discovered this model of government from the Perfect Governor, as he read Isaiah 33:22.

Noah Webster

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

“The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields.”

“Education is useless without the Bible”

George Washington

"...reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle..."

“ It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”

“What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.”

During his inauguration, Washington took the oath as prescribed by the Constitution but added several religious components to that official ceremony. Before taking his oath of office, he summoned a Bible on which to take the oath, added the words “So help me God!” to the end of the oath, then leaned over and kissed the Bible.

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This is just a sample of the fully documented information that can be found here. Please take a look at all of it and stop being stupid about "separation of church and state." It was meant to protect the church from the state's involvement (i.e. Church of England). I may post more about this topic sometime down the road.

~Tribal~

"Army Recommends Death Penalty for 4 Soldiers Accused of Murder"

Stories like this really eat at me. I personally have not heard too much about this individual case, but I have heard the details in other cases similar to this, and for the most part these are attempts to dishonor our soldiers and disrupt the war in Iraq. It is sickening. How can we expect our soldiers to win the war on terror when we keep trying them and jailing them for killing? Isn't that their job? If these soldiers really were told that the raid was on an al-Qaida base, of course they would have shot at people who were attacking them. That's what you do when you're in the Army and you get attacked! You attack back! What gets me with this particular story is that they're actually accusing the one soldier of stabbing another to make it look like they were attacked by the "civilians." If that actually is the case, these are some very mentally ill soldiers. Have we forgotten the enemy we are fighting? We are fighting against enemies that disguise themselves and walk around like civilians! If these soldiers were told before they went in that this was a terrorist base, and they were attacked by these men once they got there, how can anyone say with certainty that they were not terrorists? So why are we putting them on trial for the freaking death penalty??? Is this how America treats our soldiers, by telling them to do a job and then executing them for it? This story is absolutely outrageous. If I hear anything more about it, I will keep you all updated as to what is going on. If you have anymore information about this story other than what is in the link above, please leave a comment.

~Tribal~

The World Hates Christians and Americans - Part 2

Well now that the fury over me supporting Mel Gibson has died down, I think it's high time I publicly support another popular recipient of the world's hate: Tour de France champion Floyd Landis! I won't say much about this topic, I will let Floyd speak for himself. I fully believe that Floyd is innocent of the doping charges, and this is why:

"In the past week, I have gone from the 'Top of the World' to the depths of scandal. I have been thrust into the international spotlight and am being asked to defend myself against something that I did not do, for reasons that I do not understand. Although this has been a hard time for my family and me, we are confident that I will be vindicated. I am innocent of any wrongdoing and want to take an opportunity to clear up some misconceptions that exist regarding the situation.

It is widely known that the test in question, given as a urine sample after my victorious ride on stage 17 of the Tour de France, returned an abnormal T/E ratio from the 'A' sample. I want to be entirely clear about one point of the test that has not been fairly reported in the press or expressed in any statements made by international or national governing bodies; the T value returned has been determined to be in the normal range. The E value returned was LOW, thus causing the skewed ratio. This evidence supports my assertion that I did not use testosterone to improve my performance. I emphatically deny any claims that I used testosterone to improve my performance.

Much has been speculated about the presence of exogenous testosterone in the 'A' sample. Together with some of the leading medical and scientific experts in the world, we are reviewing the documentation about the 'carbon isotope ratio test.' All I can say at this time is that I did not take testosterone, so there must be another reason for the result, as leaked by the UCI.
Beyond the specifics of the testing, however, I am particularly troubled by the actions of the UCI. Information about an 'adverse analytical finding' was prematurely released by the UCI in order 'to avoid a known leak' within the lab. A direct statement followed from UCI President Pat McQuaid that left little to infer as to whose test was in question.

I was notified of the 'A' sample results while attending post-Tour criteriums in Europe. As a result of these breeches in protocol, confidentiality and disregard for due process, I view this as a clear violation of my rights as a professional racer licensed by the UCI.

I became the center of media attention with little time to understand the nature of the 'A' sample results, possible causes or explanations. As I tried to come to terms with the situation, my statement and attempts to understand the results were interpreted as 'excuses' before I had time to fully grasp the facts of the case. The inappropriate actions of the UCI has caused undue, and potentially irreparable, harm to my reputation and character. I feel I am being prosecuted without regard to my basic rights.

It is now my goal to fight to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve. I am a fighter. I did not give up during the Tour and I won’t give up now, no matter what the results of the 'B' sample are.

Keep the Faith,
Floyd "

Our prayers go out to Floyd and his family as they put up with all this crap. The world just cannot stand Americans winning, and they will do everything they can to see us lose. The same accusations were brought against Lance Armstrong multiple times, but multiple times he was able to prove that he fairly beat the competition. When will it end?

~Tribal~

Wallace! Wallace! Wallace!

Over the past few days I have grown very sick of hearing about Mel Gibson's DUI and "anti-semitism." Flipping through the channels on TV last night alone (a full two or three days after Gibson's incident) I passed three separate channels talking about nothing but Mel Gibson. One channel I passed had some Hollywood hotshot going on about how he would never work with Gibson again over this terrible outrage. In fact, many in Hollywood are saying just that. Ironic, because many of these actors have probably been charged with DUI themselves. Dr. Phil is probably the only person so far that I've heard support Mel. It's just ridiculous. You go on any news website and there's half a dozen stories about Mel Gibson. The world loves to hate Christians when they slip up and fall.

I have been a Mel Gibson fan for a good bit of my life. Braveheart is probably my favorite movie of all time next to the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films. The Patriot and The Passion also would make an appearance in my top 10 list if I indeed made a top 10 list. The point is, I am not going to stop watching these films because of this one DUI incident. Mel's actions that night were deplorable, but I still support Mel. I will continue to go see his films, and I accept the many apologies he publicly issued. I hope he faces the same punishment as everyone else in his situation would face, and I hope he overcomes his alcoholism. But that really is the only issue here to deal with. Despite what Mel may have said that night, he is not an anti-semite.

Like Dr. Phil said, you can't judge a man by what he says in a drunken stupor on the side of the road. Now granted the man is still in a drunken stupor, but for that see the above paragraph. Many like to point out how Mel's father reportedly said things about the Holocaust never happening. They then like to draw the connection that since Mel's father may have been anti-semitic, that obviously means Mel must be. Personally, I find any argument accusing Gibson of anti-semitism rather baffling. If Gibson "hated the Jews," why would he make a film about Jesus Christ, the most famous Jew in history? Why would he be working on a tv mini-series about the horrors of the Holocaust? Why would he himself repeatedly say that he does not hate Jews? Here's a bit of interesting information many of you may not have known: Mel's bodyguard is a Jew! Mel's publicist is even Jewish! Let me tell you, that is one hardcore anti-semite. I wish people would just shut up and let this man get on with his life of making great movies. I also wish that someone would videotape some of these people bashing Mel when those people are drunk -- it probably happens many more times and with harsher things being said.

~Tribal~

Congratulations Steve!

It is my pleasure to announce that Steve is finally going to graduate Army Boot Camp. It has been a rough road for him at times, but our best wishes and prayers go out to him and his family as he begins his career. I do not have any other information at this time, but keep him in your prayers as he graduates and progresses to his next stage of training. Congratulations Steve, and thank you for your service.

~Tribal~

Jungle Jump Off

Since last Sunday I have been on a journey..."A Journey to the Center of Christ's Heart." Every two years our church sends a group of youth to the Wycliffe/JAARS center in Waxhol, North Carolina, for a program that is known as Jungle Jump Off. For those of you who don't know a thing about Wycliffe or JAARS (a good bit of you), Wycliffe is a Bible translation organization comprised of missionaries from around the country. JAARS originally was an acronym for "Jungle And Aviation Radio Services," and was/is an essential support group to translators overseas in difficult areas. Jungle Jump Off itself is run by JAARS and is pretty much a week long simulation of missionary camp life, culminating in a realistic experience that spans from receiving the call to actually beginning translation for a foreign people group. Along the way, we had an opportunity to explore the different aspects of missions, the different roles of missions, the support that missionaries need, and we all grew closer as a youth group as well.

Among the things we did while there, we actually served JAARS itself by doing various tasks around the compound. We also had class room sessions about Bible translation and missionaries, and we watched numerous movies. One such movie we saw was called something like "Ee-Taow: The Next Chapter." It chronicled the life of a native people group before missionaries arrived. It then traced the evolution and development of the Word of God written in this group's native tongue. When the translation was complete and the people received their Bibles, the response was overwhelming to watch. The entire village of thousands repented of their ways and turned to Christ. Celebration broke out in the streets, and for hours the natives sang, jumped, ran around, and praised God. It soon gave way to hysterical weeping, however, as the people realized that everyone from their village who already passed away were living in a dark, Christless eternity. About an hour later, the celebration resumed as the people would not let the new hope they had found be smothered. Keep in mind that this was not an acted out movie. This entire film was shot by camera men as these events actually unfolded. Nothing was scripted. Later on, the missionary was teaching these people out of God's word, and they were all sitting under their grass huts. The missionary got to a part in his Scripture reading about God sending a great earthquake as a sign, and the entire village was actually suddenly hit with an earthquake. The missionary ran around in a panic trying to get people away from the huts, but the people remained as motionless as statues without a shred of fear on their faces. The earthquake soon subsided, and the natives never flinched once. They knew it was their God showing Himself to them, and they knew they had nothing at all to fear.

Now I could tell you hundreds of stories from this week, either things I experienced or things missionaries told me in conversations, but I chose this specific story for a purpose. I think we have alot that we need to learn from these people groups. I am not trying to bash that missionary and I am not trying to criticize the church in more developed countries like America, but how come in America there isn't mass celebrating when people get saved? How come we don't cry for those who have died without Christ? How come the natives had the faith to remain calm and see the earthquake as a sign of God while the American missionary feared for the lives of those he was teaching to? It's just kind of heartbreaking I think to see these people who have never heard about God until just recently have such a strong faith and such excitement and dedication while we really couldn't care less in most circumstances. I'm not excluding myself from anything I'm saying here, I would probably have run during the earthquake and I really don't get as excited as I should when people get saved. It's just kind of ironic that sometimes the ones we go to teach can teach us more than anyone thought. We're so comfortable where we live that we really don't need God or faith...at least that's how it seems to us. We have an abundance of food everyday, we have electric, we have running water -- most of these tribes have to find their food to survive everyday, they have no modern conveniences, and most of their water sources are contaminated and unfit for consumption. Like C.S. Lewis says in The Problem of Pain, it's not when we're comfortable and content that we seek God -- it's when we're hurting, lost, and miserable. These natives have lived in constant fear of witchcraft, evil spirits, starvation, dehydration, and natural disasters all their lives (all of these things do exist). Our culture naturally makes us closed to God's Word, and it's time that we took a stand for God and for the Bibless people groups in the world.

~Tribal~

Love

I've been absent for quite a while, and there's been quite a lot on my plate, but I thought I'd throw this up there....love is a funny thing. I'd even say that love is a many splendid thing. Why, love lifts us up where we belong! All you need is love! Alright, so I didn't come up with that, and anyone who knows anything about any good music should know that. Hmm...but love's complicated and confusing...can bring you extreme happyness and extreme sadness. It drives people to do crazy things. Some people take their lives, others take others' lives. Love doesn't always drive people to murder though, cause if it did the world would be a pretty sucky place. Love can drive someone to work harder, to become better at whatever it is they do. Afterall, girls like guys with skills, right? That's my experience at least. So what's this all about? The mistake people make is they devote they're all and everything to another person. I can understand it. I've made that mistake before. Well, maybe mistake's a bad word for it...but whatever you want to call it, I've certainly been guilty of making a girl the most important thing in my life. Don't get me wrong, love is wonderful, and I for one am in favor of it. I'm a hopeless romantic, and there's no two ways about it. Whenever it is I finally am able to find that one girl who makes me sigh like listening to the Great Gates of Kiev (if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's an absolutely amazing piece of music that, well, makes me sigh because it's so beautiful), she's going to be the most important thing to me here on Earth. The point is, that out of this amazing love I keep dancing around, Jesus let Himself be slaughtered for us. He loves us more than I could possibly ever love a girl, and you know what? Jesus gets to have the number one spot. He's got to. There's just really no way around it. If He's not, then what's all the rest of this stuff worth? I don't know if any of this makes sense. Just something I thought about this evening while I was running.

Flag Burning and Free Speech

A few years ago when credit card commercials of the same format were popular on television, my uncle told me a joke:

"Lighter: $2. American Flag: $10. A**hole catching his shirt on fire while trying to burn the American flag: priceless."

I honestly can not understand why this whole flag burning issue is even an issue to begin with. I can't believe the amendment banning the burning of the American flag didn't pass, and I fail to recognize its controversy. In what way would such an amendment be a restriction of free speech? How is speech even related to the physical, non-vocal action of burning a national symbol? In case you all forgot what exactly our flag is, here's a refresher. Our flag is not made out of a piece of fabric with some artificial dyes that probably come from China. Our flag is made of the blood of every soldier who died while defending this country since its birth. Our flag is made of human lives -- hundreds of thousands of human lives to be more specific. Burning the American flag is not merely destroying a rectangular piece of cloth, it is desecrating the memory of hundreds of thousands of dead American soldiers. No man has the right to do that, no matter how much he think he does. Not only is the flag made out of blood, but the flag represents American freedom -- it is the definitive symbol of liberty. When one burns the flag, he essentially burns the symbol of his freedom -- he burns and desecrates his own rights to free speech, free press, etc. If someone wants to burn up the symbol of their own freedom, why should they be given any of the freedoms associated with the symbol? It makes no sense. One can think of it as a contract. Burning an American flag is essentially equal to rejecting America and America's freedom -- therefore one rejects his freedoms when he burns a flag, so lock him up and throw away the key! This is a sickening debate that shames our soldiers living and dead, and I pray that the government will stop toying around with the issue and do something.

~Tribal~

Who's Going to Hell?

A recent poll was taken among Beliefnet members that showed some...well quite frankly...not so surprising results:

"Conservatives are more secure in their beliefs that they will not go to hell and that they know someone who also won't suffer eternally, according to a June poll of 10,000 Beliefnet members.
Liberals expressed less confidence in their chances of escaping the underworld and in their ability to identify the damned, the poll shows."

Let's be honest folks, is this honestly some sort of breaking news headline? If i supported the gross murder of millions of babies, I would be pretty worried about where I was going after I died as well. If I supported banning God from schools, science, and oh, I dunno, even the freaking pledge of allegiance, for kicks and giggles, I would be very worried about being eternally damned to hell too. Why is this poll such a surprise? What should be surprising, or at least revolting, is that if liberalism has all of the answers, why are they the ones who think they're going to hell? Isn't that kind of a surefire sign that you're on the wrong path, you know, if you think that you might be going to hell and all? Oh well. You can read the full Fox News article about the poll here.

~Tribal~

BREAKING NEWS: WMD'S IN IRAQ

From FoxNews.com:

"WASHINGTON -- The United States has found 500 chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003, and more weapons of mass destruction are likely to be uncovered, two Republican lawmakers said Wednesday.

'We have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons,' Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said in a quickly called press conference late Wednesday afternoon.

Reading from a declassified portion of a report by the National Ground Intelligence Center, a Defense Department intelligence unit, Santorum said: 'Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.'"

More can be read of this article here. The site also contains a link to the declassified portion of the NGIC report detailing the weapons. I guarantee you that this story will never make the front pages of any major liberal news outlets, so pass this article along to everyone you know. I can hear Murtha and Sheehan and Kennedy now: "This is an outrageous piece of government propaganda! How dare the president lie to us again!" Oh well, maybe Ann Coulter is right about liberals being traitors. Or maybe Michael Savage is right and liberalism really is a mental disorder. Who knows for sure the insanity of the leftist mind?

~Tribal~

Red Fridays

I got this in an email today and thought it was very worthwhile to pass this on to all of you in a slightly modified form:

RED FRIDAYS -- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED. And it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday. WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

This sounds like a very worthwhile effort and I encourage you all to wear red on Fridays in support of our troops. Pass this on to everyone that you know, as well.

~Tribal~

Da Vinci Code Cracking 5/25/06

The first topic I wish to discuss in my Da Vinci Code series deals with a statement made at the beginning of the novel itself. Page 1 of Dan Brown's book reads as follows: "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." With a little research (mostly cited from Josh McDowell's research) one will find, however, that this is not the case. For starters, there are not 666 panes of glass in the Louvre pyramid as Brown says on page 21, but rather there are 673. On page 131 of the novel, Brown says that "Madonna of the Rocks" is a 5 foot tall canvas painting. In reality, it is 6.5 feet tall and is painted on wood. Now, at this point, most of you have probably lost interest in this all together because there is no point in bitterly arguing about little details such as the height of a painting or the number of glass panes in the Louvre. Normally, I would agree with you, but this is actually an issue of importance. The problem arises because Brown uses these pieces of incorrect information to support his theory and storyline. It would not be a problem if he would not have included the "fact page" at the beginning of the book, but he did. He sells these untruths as fact and then uses them as actual, "historical" proof for his flawed viewpoints. Any respectable historian in the art world would also tell you that Da Vinci did not go by "Da Vinci," but rather his name Leonardo. Vinci is the town Leonardo lived in, "Da Vinci" literally means "of Vinci." No art historian or museum curator would ever refer to him as Da Vinci. It is basically the equivalent of referring to me as "of Albuquerque." That's just splitting hairs, however. An interesting aside. Check back soon for more updates about the artwork the book is centered around as well as some organizations that make an appearance in the novel.

~Tribal~

Da Vinci Madness

We all knew it was coming; we all knew -- okay, maybe just those of you who read this blog with some regularity (all 2 or 3 of you not on the writing staff) -- that I would eventually write a post about The Da Vinci Code spouting off my radical, intolerant, racist, biased, sexist, unfeeling, cruel, pompous, fundamentalist viewpoints on this holy work of fiction that no one can DARE to question. So, I'm gonna pull a one up on all of you. Rather than do just one post about this excellent, infallible, sacred, GOD INSPIRED novel by Dan Brown, I will take the pleasure of mercilessly ripping it to shreds in (hopefully) daily segments! This series, however, will most likely not begin until early next week, so make sure you check back then for some updates.

As for this post, I would like to explain the purpose behind why I am doing this, as well as inject my own thoughts about the work and Dan Brown himself. To start, I recognize that The Da Vinci Code is indeed a work of fiction. I am not one who is going to go lead marches down the streets of D.C. to get the book banned, because I know that our soldiers die to protect our freedom of speech -- no matter how false, slanderous, inaccurate, historically flawed, or RETARDED that speech may be, I know that if I expect people to not silence and ban my works, then I should not do the same to them. It's a matter of freedom as well as simple politeness. So, to get on with it, why would a recognized work of literary fiction be such a hot topic of debate anyway? Up until recently, I was under the impression that the author himself only professed it to be fiction. After reading several quotes from Brown's website, however, I am now under the very evident impression that he does believe in his theory, and he does claim that the theory "may hold merit." In addition to this, he makes a statement at the beginning of the text saying that all information about art, architecture, and the like is indeed fact. After a little research, that proves to be incorrect as well, and he uses these "facts" as evidence to his theory.

The problem with The Da Vinci Code starts when uninformed, unchurched, or unschooled people pick up the novel and begin to read it. It goes from "Wow, what a page turner!" to "Whoa! I never knew that about Jesus and Christianity!" People do not realize that in addition to being bad philosophy and bad theology, it is just horrible history. Hardly anything in the novel proves to be true besides maybe the occasional "Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa." People read this book and then suddenly absorb the inaccuracies with it, thinking that an overnight success author knows all the secrets to the universe. Now before I go further, I will admit that I have not read the book. Our family has a copy, however, and I intend to read it at my earliest opportunity. In addition, I will be going to see the film sometime in the near future. However, I have read very much about the book, and fact remains fact if I read the story part or not. I specifically know of claims the book makes (in the form of actual quotations from the book) and in what context it makes them. I can comment and research the correctness of these claims without having to have read the book itself, and not having read the book makes me no less of an "expert" than if I had read it. So check back often for updates on this issue. At the most, I have about 24 posts planned out, but I may end up condensing a great deal of those for time's sake. I will also turn on the comment feature of this site so you may leave me your love letters, hate mail, and anything in between. Feel free to leave us a message if you wish. Everything you say is welcomed here, even if you are an off the deep end liberal. We will still listen to what you have to say before we laugh. So, check back often and please leave comments! I hope this subject will prove to be a valuable weapon for those who know the truth.

~Tribal~

"Ethical Decision Making"

A few Fridays back, the junior class at the Dallastown Area High School embarked on what is known to be Ethical Decision Making day at the Penn State York campus. Now, when I first heard of this, I thought it might actually be something to look into, and it might actually be something good. Then I began to think...what is a public high school doing teaching young people about morality? These are the same public high schools that banned the longstanding tradition of morning prayer and rejected the scientific validity of intelligent design. These schools are trying to push God and religion out the back door while at the same time trying to keep a hand on the values that coexist with such belief. Well, their efforts are definentaly in vain. Rather than hearing what IS right or IS wrong, we were enlightened with the "truth" that the ethical code of conduct varies with every job or career. Kind of amazing what some of these "educators" can come up with.

~Tribal~

Conservative Insanity

Tonight marked the premier of Glenn Beck's nightly television show. It runs every weeknight at 7, 9, and 12 ET on CNN (though make sure you have the right CNN, there are multiple CNN channels -- with Suscom cable the one should be channel 40). The TV show works basically like his radio show. It's a "fusion of entertainment and enlightenment" -- very commical and entertaining while retaining its informational nature. You should all watch it...TONIGHT.

~Tribal~

Well, You Don't Look Christian To Me...

I would like to start this entry by saying that I am sorry if I come across has edgy or aggressive with this post. This is something that has been pent up inside of me for a long time. It all started when the P.O.D. promo team (of which I am a member) sent me a free copy of Risen magazine. This issue happened to have a picture of Sonny (P.O.D.'s singer) on the front cover, in all of his dreadlocked/tattooed glory. Well to get on with it, the first thing I heard when I pulled the magazine out of the box of promo materials was, "That does not look like a Christian man." This is actually a very old subject of tension between me and several elder members of my church, but this incident just happened to revive the fight. I deal with this kind of thinking on a regular basis. I am also criticized by many for "having friends that look like bums" and for even "dressing like a bum off the street" myself. Christians (and it is often the older generations) tend to have a problem with how people look, which is ironic if you ask me. We as teens are always taught by our pastors and parents to not be caught up in the aesthetic and shallow things in life. Yet at the same time, these same people often condemn others merely for looking a certain way.

Now let me continue here with some very relevant ancient history. You know, the funny thing about history is that it always contains a lesson for future generations. Well, enough rambling, I will get on with my point. In New Testament times, was Jesus wearing a tie and a suit? Well maybe that's a bit overdoing the question because ties and suits did not exist back then, but did Jesus wear the best of the best in clothing? Did he own several sets of "synagogue clothes" for His Saturday morning excursions to temple? Why, the answer to that question is a more than resounding NO. Did Jesus "hang" with the well dressed, "well groomed," clean shaven and fair faced people? Well, okay He hung with everybody, but if you look, He spent most of His time with those considered unclean and godless by the standards of the time. Did they have several sets of Saturday clothes? No. Now the interesting part is if you look at the ones who did insist on dressing well and being well groomed and keeping good hygiene. I'll give you a hint, they're the ones who wanted to crucify Jesus. Yes I'm talking about the Pharisees. They were too shallow to see through people's appearances and into who each person really was. Jesus, on the other hand, cared about the people, not how they looked or dressed.

The Bible says that God will not judge by how one looks, so why should we? If Christ does not judge by one's clothing or one's tattoos or hair, then what makes us think we have a right to do so? Do we honestly think we are that much better than God, that we know how to judge and He doesn't? As Montgomery Gentry sings in one of perhaps the coolest country songs ever, "you do your thing and I'll do mine...who are you to judge me? My Judge is going to judge us all one day." Did you hear that? MY JUDGE IS GOING TO JUDGE US ALL ONE DAY. Not Pastor so and so, not Deacon him, and not our parents. Someone with tattoos and dreadlocks can very much be a Christian man. There is no such thing as "looking Christian." That is such a shallow, plastic form of Christianity that I can't believe it.

While I am on the issue, I would like to comment on some similar issues. People have this concept that when you go to church you must wear a dress shirt and tie and nice dress pants and shoes. HEAVEN FORBID that you even think about wearing shorts or jeans. That is a cardinal sin that will condemn you to hell forever. Okay, well this is the part where I tell you that what I just said was completely sarcastic in case you could not pick up on it. So, the main argument for dressing up for church happens to be that is shows respect for God (although I also hear a lot that it's just not good to show up looking like a bum...gee wonder what Montgomery Gentry would say to that). So, this would imply that not dressing up would be disrespecting God's holiness. As the father of a friend of mine has said, "Does that mean when I'm sitting at home in an undershirt and shorts that God doesn't like me praying or doesn't hear my prayers?" This man holds a high position in our church might I add. Anyway, his point is 100% correct. Does God care what you look like in church or does God care about what your heart looks like in church. "Come just as you are."

If any of these people that condemn for looking "unChristian" actually spent time with people on the street, they would realize that their actions actually drive people away from the church. I have prayed with numerous people on street corners in York city who tell me they go to very casual churches. Most of these people do not even have enough money to buy their food for the next week, so how in Christ's name are they to buy an overpriced, made in Indonesia, piece of fabric suit? I have had people tell me that people all decked out in suits with slicked back hair scare them away. No lie. They honestly feel not welcomed by churches because of HOW THEY DRESS. I have also held conversations with a very steadfast atheist who almost turned Christian at one point. This girl would be described by many as a "goth," and she said that the first time she walked into a church, they all kept away from her and cast very askance glances at her. So, for this reason she will probably forever see Christians as an exclusive group of people haters that are so blinded and narrow minded by their ignorance that they stop caring about people. Please tell me this is not Christ's church, because I feel it is. PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE PUSHED AWAY FOR THE SOLE REASON OF THE WAY THEY LOOK. If by the end of this post anything looks "unChristian," it should be those who are too set in their ways to see Christ's love. Wake up, people.

~Tribal~

The Mighty Face of Terror

American troops have recently recovered some new tapes that al Zarqawi was trying to film for propaganda purposes. The only problem, however, is that in the video, Zarqawi has trouble being able to correctly operate the machine gun he is using. He fires a few times, and it jams. An underling minion must fix it for the great warrior, though, because Zarqawi himself apparently appears too incompetent to understand the firearm he is using. To make matters worse, one of the terrorists who grabs the gun manages to land his hand right on the barrel...which is of course searing hot after Zarqawi's play time. As if that is not enough of a comedy, Zarqawi is wearing New Balance tennis shoes -- made by an American company. Hmm, I thought he was part of that little coterie that hated America. Here's the link where you should be able to access some of the video. You can't make this stuff up.

~Tribal~

Nuclear Jihad

A disturbing article pointed out by Glenn Beck on his website:

"A terrorism symposium featuring leading experts will begin with presentation of 'tangible proof' al-Qaida not only has developed an arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons but also has begun to deploy them for use in its jihad against the United States and Israel. "

You can access the entire article from the above link, and I highly recommend reading it. This is a terrifying situation if indeed al-Qaida has obtained such weapons. I will definentaly update on this scenario as more news becomes available.

~Tribal~

Happy Easter Everyone!

The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen Indeed!!!! Ok, so Jesus has been in a cosntant state or risennesss for close to 2000 years, but it's still wonderfully exciting to celebrate and remember that wonderful first Easter morning when the angels proclaimed the news that He was not in tomb but was risen! It makes me super excited and to smile loudly just thinking about it. Man oh man. This is my favorite day of the year...I'm just so happy and excited. Anywho, just wanted to wish all of you a happy and wonderful Easter, and may the Lord and Savior of us all bless you and keep you and bring a loud toothy smile to your face!

~AndyJams~

The Gospel of Deception

Being initially informed of the current "gospel of Judas" quagmire while at Liberty, I decided I should write a post regarding the issue. I did some research, and found it to be more beneficial to the reader to just post exactly what I found. Got Questions has the best explanation that I have thus far found. Here is the entire article about the false book.

"Sometime in the 1970's, in a cave in Egypt, a copy of the 'gospel of Judas' was discovered. The circumstances of the discovery have been described as shady, with those who possessed the copy asking for exorbitant amounts of money for the codex. For decades, no institution was willing to pay for the purchase due to its dubious origins. Eventually the codex of the gospel of Judas was purchased by a foundation in Switzerland. The existence of the gospel of Judas codex was made public in 2004, but the actual release of the content of the codex has been repeatedly delayed, with the now expected release date of April, 2006. The dating of the gospel of Judas codex is likely the 5th century A.D. Up to one-third of the codex is missing or illegible.

Prior to this discovery, the only reference to the gospel of Judas was in the writings of a 2nd century Christian named Irenaeus. Irenaeus essentially wrote that the gospel of Judas was the 'invented history' of a long line of heretics and rebels against God. The essential message of the gospel of Judas is that Jesus wanted Judas to betray Him because it was necessary to fulfill Jesus' plan. If it was Jesus' plan for Judas to betray Him, why would Jesus label Judas the 'son of perdition' (John 17:12), and state that it would have been better if Judas had never been born (Matthew 26:24). If Judas was simply following Jesus' instructions, why would he commit suicide once he saw that Jesus was condemned (Matthew 27:5)?

The gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel, espousing a Gnostic viewpoint of Christianity. The gospel of Judas is simply a heretical forgery, much the same as the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Mary, and the gospel of Philip. Just as Judas Iscariot rejected Jesus and betrayed Him with a kiss, the gospel of Judas rejects the true Gospel and truth of God with a fraudulent appearance of validity."

Honestly, would God really allow His church to continue on for two thousand years with an incomplete instruction book? A respectable manufacturer would include the entire manual with his product -- at least everything that a consumer would need to operate that product. Certainly God is more than a "respectable manufacturer" when it comes to creating humans, so would it not follow that a truly loving God would not lead us astray by allowing a book of the Bible to be excluded from the cannon of scripture for so long? The gospel of Judas is a lie, and Christians need to keep a closed enough mind that our brains don't fall out in matters of such importance.

~Tribal~

Politically Incorrect Since 1971

Well, I have returned from my long awaited College For A Weekend (CFAW) visit to Liberty University, and I must say I am quite impressed with what I have seen. I was able to get a very comical t-shirt with the title of this post written underneath LIBERTY. We also saw a car with a bumper sticker reading "Totalitarians for Bush" -- funny stuff. On a deeper level, everything on that campus really is for the spiritual edification of the students and the glory of God.

The first class I sat in on was the honors section of the philosophy department. We walked in and I expected a harsh, cold professor who did not care for individual students and their wellbeing, but rather merely for their academic qualifications; I was very gladly proven wrong. The first matter of business was PRAYER. The professor even asked if any students had specific prayer requests before he began. I knew Liberty was one of the nation's most outstanding Christian higher education centers, but I seriously was not expecting this. I later learned from a student that they actually pray before every single class, and that the teachers care for the wellbeing of students even if it does not involve the class! A guy like me could get used to a place like that.

Despite some shortcomings in the content of the philosophy class (although perhaps it is not appropriate to judge by only one class period), everything else I involved myself in this past weekend was highly enjoyable, informational, and uplifting. Each hall in the dorms has a sort of prayer/devotional time Thursday nights where students go into someone's room to talk, pray, read scripture, and just share what's on everyone's heart. The other class I shadowed while at Liberty was Terrorism. It sounded very interesting and proved to be highly intriguing. The class analyzes reasons for terrorism, forms of terrorism, and the history/current events of terrorist groups in the world.

The highlight of the entire weekend though had to be the time spent with friends, the Casting Crowns concert, and surprisingly enough, the campus church service in the Vines Center. There was lots of singing! And people weren't complaining! And people were actually into worshipping!!! Including myself, might I add, and I learned volumes about myself and my life from the pastor. I really felt conviction this weekend, and I felt God's presence on campus. The whole University was just amazing (despite a few less than kind students, but everyone has a bad day). I highly recommend a visit to this school if you or someone you know is about to enter college. Their website can be found here, but the campus is so much better than anything on the website could show you. I hope Liberty is able to continue its tradition of excellence in areas of academics and spirituality, and I hope to possibly one day add to that atmosphere by attending myself.

~Tribal~

"Movie Star Jesus" on a Hillside

What I’m about to discuss is neither controversial nor terribly exciting in nature, so be warned. So I’m taking this History of the Catholic Church class…strange for a Protestant I know, but the subject fascinates me and for the first 1500 years or so the history of the Protestant church is that of the Western Catholic church, so it’s relevant, and hey, we’re all Christians, right? So anyway, each week in class we talk about a different aspect of Catholicism. It’s cool because the class is really a course in Catholic theology with a little bit of history thrown in here and there. A few weeks ago a guest speaker from Wisconsin was talking to us about Christology…the development of our ideas of Christ and how He has been different things to different people in different circumstances. All of this was told so you could understand what follows

A large question was inspired by a picture that the speaker had set up on the screen to act as “eye candy” in case we got bored with his speaking. It was a gorgeous picture of Jesus sitting on a hillside with the sunset in the background. Everything was glowing, everything was beautiful, looking very much like the way I would be sitting and how I would look reflecting upon creation sitting at a summit on the Appalachian trial. It makes me wonder....when Jesus sat and looked at creation, His creation, did he think, “Wow, Creation is beautiful and wonderful!” or did he think, “Wow, this is beautiful…I’m goooood!”

Just something to think about…

~AndyJams~

Final Afghan Convert Update (Hopefully)

Once again, from Fox News:

"Afghan Court Dismisses Case vs. Alleged Christian Convert

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence and he will be released soon, officials said.

The announcement came as U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai faced mounting foreign pressure to free Abdul Rahman, a move that risked angering Muslim clerics here who have called for him to be killed."

You can also read some of Rahman's comments on his situation before he knew he would be released here -- brave and inspiring words.

~Tribal~

Seussical the Musical

Just in case any of you do not know about the current Dallastown High School musical, we are doing Seussical this year. It really is a very good show and I highly reccomend everyone to come see it. The showtimes that are left are tomorrow (Saturday) at 7 and Sunday at 3.

~Tribal~

Afghan Convert Update

New article at Fox News:

"WASHINGTON -- Concerned about the fate of a Christian convert in Afghanistan on trial for his life, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday seeking a 'favorable resolution' of the case.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack reported that Rice underlined to Karzai the 'fact that the United States stands forthrightly for principles of freedom of worship, freedom of expression, and that these are bedrock principles of democracy around the world, these are principles that are enshrined in the Afghan constitution and they're principles that are enshrined in the U.N. Universal Declaration on Human Rights,' he said."

Attaining the support of the U.S. government is a big stepping stone in resolving this situation. Still keep this man in your prayers however, as there is much that still must be done.

~Tribal~

Present Day Martyrdom

From Fox News:

"KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan man who allegedly converted from Islam to Christianity is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death, a judge said Sunday.

The defendant, Abdul Rahman, was arrested last month after his family went to the police and accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told the Associated Press in an interview. Such a conversion would violate the country's Islamic laws."

Please keep this man in your prayers. This situation is a sad reminder that Christians are still martyred today just as they were 2,000 years ago. If I hear anymore about this case, I will share what information I have.

~Tribal~

National Security

I am very sick of having to listen to the whole UAE port deal issue. What annoys me the most, though, is that those who support the president's take call those who oppose it racist. As far as my stance on the issue, I wonder why anyone even allowed foreign countries to control such valuable access onto our soil. Specifically when it comes down to the UAE, I guess I would have to side with the Republicans opposing Bush. Europeans did not attack us on 9/11; Europeans are not fighting us in Iraq; Europeans are not seeking to violate United Nations resolutions in pursuit of nuclear proliferation; Middle Eastern Muslims are.

Now before you label me a racist in the typical democrat campaign fashion, I do not hate Muslims, I do not hate Arabs, and I willingly recognize that not all Muslims are terrorists. I also recongize that there have been white, western, caucasian men who have committed terrorist acts in the past. The point is, however, that the biggest threat to freedom lies in the middle east, the "Axis of Evil." In World War II, what ethnic group was sent to prison camps for fear of internal attack? Mexicans? Of course not, the Japanese were. Our enemies in today's world have a unique identifying factor that stands out as well...they are Middle Eastern and they are Muslim. How easy would it be for terrorists to get a job working at one of these U.S. ports controlled by other friendly UAE members? What if this terrorist has shown no past signs of militant involvement? What if the only talk of jihad he has uttered has been in the privacy of those he supports? Such a man would be absolutely unidentifiable in a working group of innocent Arabs.

I am in no way promoting racism and I am in no way supporting concentration camps with this post, but I believe the United States needs to strictly control all routes of possible access into our country. We need to get all of our ports back into our hands and we need to better patrol the Mexican border before we find ourselves with a smuggled suitcase bomb killing our people in our cities. If we are to make the world a safer place to live, we absolutely must start at home.

~Tribal~

Announcement

Sometime this evening, our fellow writer and friend Steve (Fiat volvntas tua) will be leaving for basic training. He made the final decision to join the Army just a couple of weeks ago. He hopes to be able to pass airborne training and ranger school as well, and we hope that he succeeds in all that he sets out to do. Please keep him in your daily prayers as we are. Godspeed Steve.

~Tribal~

Let's Play Dominos

Once again, from Fox News:

"JACKSON, Miss. -- A state House committee voted to ban most abortions in Mississippi, which already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.
The bill approved by the House Public Health Committee on Tuesday would allow abortion only to save the pregnant woman's life. It would make no exception in cases of rape or incest. The bill now goes to the full House, which could vote next week, and then to the Senate."

We as Christians need to be praying earnestly for this state to take a prolife stance as well. Obviously, Planned Parenthood will protest this too and take it to court, but taking it to the Supreme Court might be a blessing in disguise for us. While the courts in the recent decades have been of questionable wisdom in their decision making, Bush's new appointees may make a difference. If this case would wait a few years to roll around, Bush might even have another opportunity to appoint judges if some retire or pass away. An America that appreciates the value of infant life may be just around the corner. We need to keep working to get this done.

~Tribal~

Worldviews III

Welcome to our next installment of the much anticipated worldviews series. I hope you have all had time to ponder over the things we discussed in the previous two segments, and I hope you take them to heart. Today we will discuss a worldview that is dominant in America today, especially among scientists and philosophers. Of course I am talking about modernism. Let's begin with a little history. During the Enlightenment Era, people began to tire of the constant religious warring between Catholics and protestants (much as we here at Insense are today). This conflict between the two different sects caused many people to believe that if Christianity had so many internal struggles, how could it possibly solve the world's problems? This kind of thinking gave rise to an age of science where materialism ruled.

The first belief that the modern worldview holds is called naturalism. Naturalism basically says that everything in the universe can be explained in terms of physical processes. As a result, modernists tend not to believe in a soul or life after death. They also do not believe in God in the sense that premodernists believe in God.

The second part of modernity holds that there should be a "sacred/secular dichotomy" (as Mr. Rojahn puts it). Sacred is viewed as everything faith and values based. Secular is obviously viewed then as everything "factual" and scientific. Modernists believe that the two should never mix. The premodernists believed that everything should be centered around and contained within God in one's life, whereas the modernists believe that religion should only occupy one small area of one's life...if one so chooses.

Since the modern worldview believes in naturalism, it is only logical that it also states that truth, morals, and meaning in life are grounded in human reason. This is best exemplified in the works of Kant (Deontological Ethics) and Mills (Utilitarianism). As Protagorus said, "Man is the measure of all things."

The fourth point under modernism is positivism. Positivism is the belief that through reason, science, and technology the world can be made a better place for those who live in it. Modernists believe that through secular means, man can be relieved of his misery and suffering and brought into a state of utopia.

Individualism is the last point that the modern worldview emphasizes. Individualism is pretty much an excuse to be self centered. It says "I have rights, I think of the world in terms of me, my happiness, my goals, my desires, etc" (straight from Mr. Rojahn's notes).

There are obvious problems with this worldview. To begin with, it brushes off the existence of God as merely imaginary. It states that truth, morals, and meaning are all based around human reason, but human reason cannot account for truth, morality, and the like. C.S. Lewis writes about this topic extensively in The Abolition of Man and the beginnings of Mere Christianity (we highly recommend both). If there is no God and no ultimate judgment, then what makes an action wrong? Suppose I was on a desert island in the middle of the ocean, why would it be wrong for me to lie or kill someone with me if no one will ever find out? Another problem is encountered in relation to positivism. The world has taken a turn for the worse since modernism came in full force. We have been through two world wars, a nuclear arms race, a present day terrorist situation, the Vietnam war, the Korean war -- all stemming from the belief that the answer lies in science and technology. Advance in technology is what allowed the Nazi army to roll across Europe and raze it to pieces. I am not condemning technology, but technology, science, and reason in exclusion from God can lead, and has led, us down dark paths. Modernism is not the key. It reduces humans to merely graphable data; it says you are nothing more than a few cells clumped together by random chance. The next worldview we will discuss is postmodernism, and that is even scarier than modernism. Check back often for more updates and for Worldviews IV.

~Tribal~