Followers

Thursday, July 24, 2008

PBS attack on Bible

The liberal media is at it again. But this time their attack is so old that as we used to say in the Old Country, "It came out of the woods on petrified crutches." Note the following quotation about the program from AFA:

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS), probably the most liberal network in America, will present a program this fall that says the Old Testament is a bunch of made-up stories that never happened. "The Bible's Buried Secrets" says the Bible is not true. It is scheduled to air on November 18.

Producer Paula Apsell said: "...It's (The Bible's Buried Secrets) designed for intelligent people who are willing to change their mind. …it will give intelligent people who want to read the Bible in a modern way a chance. If we insist on reading the Bible literally, in 25 years, nobody will read it any longer."

Among highlights of "The Bible's Buried Secrets":

• The Old Testament was written in the sixth century BC and hundreds of authors contributed.
• Abraham, Sarah and their offspring didn't exist.
• There is no archaeological evidence of the Exodus.
• Monotheism was a process that took hundreds of years.
• The Israelites were actually Canaanites.
• The Israelites believed that God had a wife.

Bible scholars will recognize the antiquity of these arguments which have been successfully defended a long time ago. I will not waste my time or yours dealing with the specifics.

Instead, I would like to suggest that PBS, National Geographic, The New York Times, and the Washington Post do an expose of the Quran or the sacred books of the Hindus. The results would be horrific. Riots would occur around the world. American embassies would burn. Each of these agencies would be forced to apologize for offending Muslims and Hindus.

But it is kosher to attack Judeo-Christianity with all the zeal of an apocalyptic evangelist. Fortunately, our God is not so small that we have to kill, maim, and burn to defend him.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Ace Collins, Stories Behind Women of Extraordinary Faith

Book review of Ace Collins, Stories Behind Women of Extraordinary Faith, Zondervan, 2008.

Worthy of using as a devotional book.

Worthy of a textbook for a woman's Bible study.

Worthy of a reminder to us as to the value of women in the Kingdom of God.

Worthy of encouraging everyone to make good use of the gifts they have received in the Kingdom of God.

Worthy of recalling the power of God unleashed when people give themselves over to him.


 

Ace Collins has chosen 19 outstanding women to illustrate his points. It is a refreshing set of vignettes from modern church history in regard to the work of women. Some of these women gave from godly homes filled with prayer and devotion to God. They then lived out their lives at a higher level than they had experienced at home. Others abandoned position and fortune to accomplish what they recognized as a God-given call to ministry. Many like Catherine Booth recognized a serious social need and stepped outside the box to meet that need. One of these women is the founder of the Girl Scouts. Two giants of the faith included by Collins are Catherine Booth and Mother Teresa.


 

Collins challenges us to think of the value of women in the church in all of history. Many who read this review will relate to mothers, grandmothers, wives, and other godly women who helped mold them into the person they are today.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Great Sports

We are getting close to the Olympics in Beijing, but at the moment one of the greatest sports' events that takes place every year is happening in France--the Tour de France. We have a sports package on our television that has allowed us to watch the entire race in each stage as it happens. I am amazed at the physical exertion involved by these men. Of course there is a good deal of strategy involved as well. I marvel at the hill climbs that last for miles.

When I lived in Grand Junction, Colorado I used to go out to the Colorado National Monument and ride over the top. By no means did I fly like these guys do. But I do know the thrill of the wide open downhill runs. Several years ago some good friends at Zeandale took me out to Colorado. We biked down the Glenwood Canyon, and then down Shrine Pass (a steep dirt road from the top of Vail Pass to a little town called Red Cliff. I lived on Shrine Pass for a year with my parents and siblings while our father worked in the logging business. My dream from then until the opportunity came was to ride down Shrine Pass from top to bottom.

I remember the pass was a good deal steeper than I remembered. It also was very rough. We spent our time dodging rocks and pot-holes. the shock-absorbers on our bikes were bouncing at a high frequency.

But the Tour de France is far more than a trip down Shrine Pass. I consider these men real sportsmen. They produce the horsepower and by their skill one of them will win race the race in Paris.

The greatest rider in the Tour was Lance Armstrong who won the race seven times. I admire this man because of the fact that his life was almost over due to cancer. But he fought through it and went on to become one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. Like a great quarterback on a winning football team, Lance will not soon be replaced.

The other sporting event that I faithfully watch is the Iditarod in Alaska, a dog-sled race from Anchorage to Nome that covers some rugged territory over snow and ice. Like the Tour, in the Iditarod, man and animal (and some women and animal) use their skill and strength to win the race. For some, the fact they finished means a great deal.

I watch and enjoy other sports, but the Tour de France and the Iditarod are several clicks above anything else I can think of.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The Demise of Miz Squeak

The Demise of Miz Squeak

I grew up in a home that always had dogs and cats. Even though we lived in the mountains of Colorado our animals all lived outside. There was a woodshed behind the house where they may have slept. I just remember they lived outside.

The dog I remember best from our time in Leadville Colorado was a large black, furry Newfoundland which was appropriately named "Blackie." Blackie was a female and a classic caretaker. I had a brother and sister six years younger than me (they were twins). Blackie believed it was her job to take care of these children. A playground was right across the street from our house. If the twins started across the street and a car was coming, Blackie crowded them off the gravel street and knocked them down in the ditch. They would come home extremely angry complaining about how Blackie had knocked them down again. On several occasions when I would be riding one of them on my bicycle Blackie bulldozed us into the ditch when she saw a car coming. The truth is that the twins lived passed early childhood because of the care Blackie provided.

Blackie had one serious problem. She liked to go into the woods and find porcupines. She would come home with a mouth full of quills. My dad would go to the pharmacy and get a bottle of chloroform, put Blackie to sleep, and pull all the quills. The problem with porcupine quills is that they are barbed. If they are not removed they can work themselves inside the victim and cause serious injury. It also means they were difficult and painful to remove. But Blackie never connected the pain of removal with the porcupines and was involved in a dozen or more episodes.

When my brother and sister reached an age where they no longer needed a protector, Blackie moved down the street on her own and began to take care of a little boy. We never saw her again at our house.

The next dogs I remember at home were dachshunds. My mother had several of them before she died. In fact, the last two she had became part of my younger sisters' family.

After I was married we had all sorts of pets. A selection of dogs and cats, an occasional hamster, gerbil, and guinea pig. The guinea pig came from Idaho where he was given to me while I was on a college tour for Intermountain Bible College. He had one brown eye and one blue eye. Among the dogs we had was a St. Bernard. We had to keep him chained up in the yard because he had no trouble clearing the fence.

One time Bernie got out of the yard. I knew something was up when I heard a high pitched scream. I ran out the door to see a tiny girl on the ground with Bernie standing over her, slobbering like he always did. I knew the family and I was sure that I would shortly get a phone call threatening me for being so careless with this dangerous animal. But the call never came. Days later I saw the little girl's mother. I asked her what her daughter told her. She said, "I thought he was going to eat me up in one gulp." But the dog never harmed except for the slobber.

The dog belonged to our oldest son. One day our son chose to hook Bernie to a sled. As our son got on the sled a cat crossed the street. Bernie set out in hot pursuit and our son hung on for dear life. Trash cans went flying as they went through yards and down alleys. When it was over Bernie was winded but our son unhurt.

When we moved to Cincinnati we didn't have any pets. Along the way in 1991 a family gave Arletta the pick of the litter of their latest batch of Schnauzers. Muffin came to our home at that time and she would be Arletta's special pet until 2005. Along the way Muffin developed cataracts and would spend her last years blind. When it was obvious she was too sick to live we had her put to sleep.

Shortly after Arletta got Muffin she was at the veterinarian for a checkup on the little dog. While there a little girl from England and her mother were there with a tiny newborn kitten. The little girl had seen a man place the kitten near the tire of a care so that when the car moved the kitten would be killed. She was stunned by such behavior. She rushed to the kitten and rescued it. But now they needed to know what they had to do to keep the kitten alive because it had no mother. Now she faced another dilemma. The family lived in married students' housing and pets were not allowed.

The little girl named the kitten Evie and looking up at Arletta asked her if she could take the kitten home. So Arletta came home with Muffin, Evie, and a can of kitten milk that we would feed to the kitten via a hypodermic syringe. Arletta took the kitten to work in a box with a hot water bottle and fed it regularly. She kept Evie hid in a filing cabinet room until the kitten was strong enough to leave home alone all day. Evie became part of our family until 2008. I dubbed her "Miz Squeak" because she never meowed. In Russia the Russians enjoyed my name for her—"Malinki Squeak."

We brought Miz Squeak from Cincinnati to Manhattan where we have lived for the last 13 years. Miz Squeak lived and ruled the house for the duration. But last week she began to slow down and stopped eating and drinking. She lay on the floor softly breathing, not in any pain until she passed away. Miz Squeak was my cat, my buddy, and we were very close although everything had to be done according to what she wanted. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, "A time to be born and a time to die." Miz Squeak has completed her span. She will be missed.

Movie Manor Motel—Monte Vista Colorado

The Movie Manor Motel—Monte Vista Colorado

When Arletta and I made the decision to go the 50th wedding anniversary celebration for Jerry and Pat Pearson, I began looking for a place to stay. Needless to say I did not find a wide selection in Monte Vista and Del Norte Colorado. But I did find a motel outside of Monte Vista—the Best Western Movie Manor Motel, about two miles west of Monte Vista. The motel included a nice restaurant where we had breakfast every day, some great Colorado scenery, but the most interesting part—a drive-in movie theater. The rooms in the motel faced the screen of the drive-in and sound was piped into the rooms. That meant you could sit in a comfortable chair and watch the movie of the evening. We watched "Get Smart" and enjoyed the movie and the comfort of watching from inside our room. Here is the story of the Movie Manor Motel:

As a young man George Kelloff was fascinated with the concept of drive-in movie theaters. He has seen one in Brownsville Texas in the early 1950s. George made a promise to himself he would someday own his own. In 1955, George and Edna Mae Kelloff purchased the site of the old airport west of Monte Vista on highway 160 and built the Star Drive In Theater.

For several years the Star Drive In continued to grow with the Kelloff family providing a very personal level of management. As the Kelloff children grew George recognized that he needed a more secure, a year-round financial base. In the evening while working in the box office of the theater, he formulated a plan for a motel that would wrap around the theater and allow guests to view movies from the comfort of their rooms. In 1964 his dreams were realized when construction was completed on the first 14 units of the Movie Manor. Most units were equipped large picture windows facing the movie screen complete with piped-in sound. The concept was a success and expansion was soon needed.

Over the past 30 years the Movie Manor has grown to its current size.

In 2003 a second screen was added to the drive-in. Although the new screen is not visible from the rooms, guests are welcome to park their cars in the drive-in and get the real drive-in experience. They can even visit the snack bar and get their favorite snacks. From the information found in the room

My response—it is a great place to stay in Colorado. If you are going to the San Luis Valley, consider the Movie Manor Motel at Monte Vista.

Nihilism and Modern Media

The philosophical term Nihilism means "nothingness." The dictionary tells us that the word came from the German Nihilismus that is derived from the Latin Nihil nothing. One of the doctrines of Judeo-Christianity is ex nihilo, which means that God created everything "out of nothing." The dictionary continues on with the following definition of Nihilism:

1 "1 a: a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless

b: a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths

2 a (1): a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility

(2)capitalized: the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination."

Nihilism is the negation of all being or value. Most Nihilists will not reject all values, but they universally reject absolute values. "The only value that exists is what we create. There is no objective value to be discovered." Oddly enough Nihilists value their freedom to be nihilists while denying that anything has absolute value.

Nihilism is the idea that life has no meaning and no significant value. If one were to be a true nihilist his/her only real option would be suicide as there would be nothing to live for, no purpose for life. Of course this is the end result of atheism, naturalism, and any other system of thought that denies the reality of a creator God and a God who has left absolute values for people to live by. What is created is an emptiness of life that focuses on the hopelessness of the situation.

One of the best places to see the influence of nihilism is in the television media of today. Think about the popular sit-coms, Seinfeld and Friends. Did the people involved in these stories ever experience any real happiness? No matter what was happening, the story wound up ridiculing someone regardless of the position they held. Another area where this is prevalent is the daytime "Soapies." I confess that I occasionally watch a soapie while eating lunch with my wife. In every Soapie there will be a brief moment of happiness, a declaration of love forever, and then the other shoe drops. One person is bored with his or her partner, one has been unfaithful at least once, and all sorts of sad situations prevail. There is no such thing as a happy ending in a Soapie. Nighttime dramas are much the same. My wife and I have been faithful fans of ER. But there is little happiness on ER. Everything ultimately is presented as hopelessness and without purpose. The saving of lives and good medical practice is overshadowed by the recurring disasters that take place.

Millions of people are watching these nihilistic presentations. What does that do to their self-esteem and any hope they might have for the future?

The bottom line is simple. We cannot operate without absolute values. The only source of these absolute values is the Bible delivered to human beings by the creator God. Life does have purpose and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Recently we observed the 60th wedding anniversary of a couple in our church. This couple had been the struggles of life, but they never lost sight of the ultimate values. Their personal faithfulness to God now reaches to the third and fourth generation of their family. Christians are not perfect people, but they do have a handle on how to live effective lives.

Christian living is now more crucial than ever. We have to be "salt" and "light" in a world that is engulfed by the darkness of nihilism.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Jerry and Pat Pearson—50th Wedding Anniversary










Arletta and I abandoned our usual Fourth of July activity of going to the parade at Wamego Kansas, having supper with the Slagles, and watching the fireworks there. Earlier in the year we received word that Jerry and Pat Pearson were going to observe their 50th wedding anniversary at Creede, Colorado on July 5. Since the festivities started at 1:30 pm on the 5th I knew that even the Chrysler 300 could not get us there in time if we waited until the 5th to go.

So Arletta and I chose to take a weekend off from church and left town on the morning of the 4th of July. One thing about it—there wasn't much traffic in western Kansas. We drove for miles without seeing but an occasional pickup. One thing that did surprise us along the way was the obvious lack of any activities relating to the 4th of July. No family barbecues or picknicks, no parades or special events. We did learn later that over 13,000 people jammed the little burg of Creede for the big parade held there. The next day they had a traditional miners' competition, even though the mines around Creede have been closed for years. We enjoyed our journey through Western Kansas and relaxed a bit on our way to Colorado.

At La Junta we began the trek on highway 10 across Eastern Colorado to Walsenburg. The scenery was definitely different. Now we saw a car only about every 30 minutes. The road was straight and you could see for miles from one hilltop to the next. Not long after we left La Junta we saw the majestic Colorado Rockies and began to speculate on what peaks we were seeing. I am guessing that we were way off on our identifications. But it didn't matter. It was home and it was beautiful.

Leaving Walsenburg we took Highway 160 to Alamosa. A fabulous drive that we could not remember having been on before. In a while we were in the famous San Luis Valley. This valley has been famous for generations for melons and potatoes. When I was a small boy in Leadville, trucks would come to Leadville from the San Luis Valley selling potatoes. We could buy 100 lbs for $10.00. But you had to be careful. Sometimes the bottom of the bag was full of dirt. If we did get dirt my mother used it for her plants.

The history of this area is fascinating. I learned about the Baca Grant while studying Colorado History in high school. On the east side of the San Luis Valley is the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains. The name means "Blood of Christ." The mountains were dubbed that when the early explorers saw them in the alpine glow of sunrise and sunset. In the southern end of the valley is the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. The valley is watered by artesian springs. When I was a boy and we traveled this way, one could see geysers shooting 50 feet into the air of the water coming up from the tremendous pressure of the water underground. I did not see any geysers this time. I would guess that the water used to irrigate and raise those fabulous potatoes is being pumped.

Much of Mt. Blanca (over 14,000 feet tall) and the area south of the dunes belong to either the Sangre de Cristo Grant or the Luis Maria Baca Land Grant #4. The history of this land begins in the 1530s when Cabeza de Vaca walked across the Southwest and claimed much of it for Spain. The Baca Grant was given to the heirs of Cabeza in 1821. After 1821 people began to settle on the grant without permission. In an effort to protect the settlers the U. S. government offered the Bacas land equivalent elsewhere. The Bacas chose two parcels in New Mexico, two in Arizona and one in Colorado, which became known as Baca Grant #4.

We stayed overnight near Monte Vista at the Movie Manor Hotel. In a separate blog I'll tell about the place.

On Saturday morning after eating breakfast we started for Creede, Colorado. Traffic was heavier because of all the people heading for the mountains for the day. We saw one family from Garden City, Kansas that brought 12 ATVs to ride. In that area there a myriad of roads designed for four-wheelers. We had not been to Creede before. The scenery was spectacular even according to Colorado standards. At one point we saw mountain sheep scaling a cliff going up out of the canyon. It was a sight to behold to see how effortlessly these animals clung to the side of the mountain and just kept going up. We saw the old rail lines that supplied equipment and supplies to the mines at Creede and hauled the ore out. An occasional railroad relic could be seen along the way.

Because we had two extra hours we decided to go on to Lake City, set deep in the mountains of southern Colorado. We had to climb two passes to get their. The second one—Slumgullion Pass—was steep both directions. We fell in behind a tourist from the flatlands that was obviously scared to death and driving along at 15-20 mph. Then it started to rain and these people simply panicked and pulled off the road. Again, spectacular scenery that stirred our hearts.

Around 1:15 we arrived back in Creede and the festivities were already going. Jerry and Pat were excited to see us. It turned out that I was the only relative on Jerry's side of the family that came. All of his children and grandchildren were there and several friends. I was the only family. We received the royal treatment as a result.

Jerry was one of my young boy heroes. He lost his own parents when he was a teenager. An old family friend, Gus Peterson, took him under his wing and helped him through high school. Jerry was drafted to go to Korea almost as soon as he graduated from high school. But before he left, he got a job at the Leadville Fish Hatchery. When he returned from the war he got his job back. Jerry would work for the Fish Hatchery system at Leadville, Creede, and finally Hotchkiss, Colorado. He retired at Hotchkiss where he and Pat now live. After my family left Leadville in 1952 I didn't see much of Jerry. I knew he got married. I knew his wife before he did and we have pictures to prove it. She was and still is a very sweet lady.

On the way home on Sunday, we stopped at Alamosa to go to church. We knew that we would surprise a special couple there—John and Gerri Del Tondo. We knew this couple from Grand Junction days. They were always active in the church and have been so while in Alamosa. They were stunned to see us. I have no idea how many years have passed since we last saw each other. They hadn't changed a bit.

Finally, after lunch, we began the trek back to Manhattan. The plan to wash the car was set aside when we saw the black rain clouds everywhere. Our plan was to stop in Ordway and see my aunt who lives there. But when we got to Ordway her name was not in the phone book. I did have the number on my cell phone and tried to call. The immediate response was, "this number is no longer in use. It has been disconnected." So sadly we started north to Limon where we would catch I-70 and go home. To the west the sky grew very dark and we knew we in for a storm.

There were times when we could barely see the road due to the heavy rain. Fortunately no hail was falling, but rain by the bucketful. We came to one bridge where the water was almost up to the road. I chose to go on, but I am guessing that it was not long until that bridge was gone. We stopped at Limon for food and petrol and then started east. Soon we hit another classic gully washer. Several times I slowed to 25 mph to be able to see ahead. It is not wise to stop or pull off the road because somebody may be following only your taillights and when you stop they plow into you. We did not get out of the rain until after Colby Kansas. At a rest stop near Colby Arletta took over the driving. We stopped next at Hayes for more fuel. I assumed the car would be a filthy mess. Instead it looked like it had been through a car wash, sparkling and clean from stem to stern.

We arrived safely in Manhattan at 1:30 am Monday morning. The zoo was glad to see us and we were glad to see our bed.