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     “10:30 in the morning on 1030 AM and we’re live.” The man on the radio was shouting already. “The culture is changing!” he exclaimed. “And we’re not going to sit on our hands and let it happen.”

    Commercial break. Buy gold. Buy guns.

    “And we’re back,” more breathless than before. “’Blessed are the peacemakers’ you’ve heard them, the elitist, the Marxist, pretending she cares about the word. But there is no one who can make peace but Christ. There is no peace except in Christ. More after this…”

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    “We never lost power. The police get stronger all the time. Take trouble. Take time. Actual power no ethical intentions.”

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    “You can’t be too philosophical about it – we’re living at the edge of the next great extinction event. Say goodbye to the hummingbirds; we’re all going to die. And that’s our show. Tune in tomorrow.”

Light Rises in Darkness

    How can anyone prove/disprove the cold increasing threats without dismantling the government? Nuclear code phrase arms race. The volatility of secret tests and difficult decisions. The moral restraint of even moderate elements is disregarded. We need a new anthropology – one guided by smokeless gunpowder and heavy water. We need more guns for the flowering American manhood. A new crusader ethos. Do not tamper or destroy. Do not screw with us.

    The descendants, the generation of the upright will be blessed. Light rises in darkness when justice rules our lives.

    Couriers of peace are still agonizing – as they should be. Let them suffer. Let them bleed in this new, never-ending war. Let peace, we say, flow like blood from their veins. We will take action ourselves. God knows the weaponry available to us to drain away the spirit.

    But the righteous shall never be moved. They will be remembered forever. Light rises, justice rules.

    Kill someone! Someone who matters. Someone who presents a real threat. A credible threat. Today. Right now. Our allies? Greedy children with grasping, grabbing hands. Hollow out their abdomens and refill them with incendiary devices. Fire drills and evacuations. Some of them will believe eventually. What other choice is left to them? Can this wait till tomorrow? The audience laughs and applauds. Shall they blaspheme forever? Who’s to stop them?

    The righteous, their hearts are steady. They will not be afraid. Light rises… Light rises!

    We are prone to wander. Prone to fever. A wash of vertigo. Driving by memory and guesswork. Warnings ignored. Abrupt summons and secret enrichments. Alarming midnight rhetoric. Death and destruction far surpassing previous success. Explicit surveillance videocassettes. Can love be purchased outside the blast zone? Any survivors? Do we care? The profit or loss depends upon the audience. All is justified in the economic reports. We can leave your body in a valley of dry bones…

    Gnash their teeth and melt away! Can these bones be remembered? The desires of the wicked come to nothing. But light… Light rises! Light rises in darkness when justice rules.

The Owner of this Property Is Armed

 

For the past several months I have been working as a United States Postal Carrier in a rural community in central Iowa. It's hard work, but I enjoy it. I'm outside, working independently, and helping the community. It's good work. 

And I observe a lot as I carry the mail. All through the month of October I watched people putting up thier Halloween decorations. Now those are coming down and Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations are going up. 

One of the things that I've observed at a number of the homes that I deliver to are stickers at the front door that declare: The owner of this property is armed and prepared to protect life and property from criminal offense. There is nothing inside worth risking your life for.

Now - the question I have is is this: IF there is nothing in the house worth dying for AND the owner of the house is still willing to shoot and kill for it - what does that say about the owner of that house? 

If none of it is worth dying for - why are they willing to kill for it? 

Jesus Confronts the Gun Lobby

A certain lobbyist asked him, "Good teacher, what is the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun?"

Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered.

"That's right.. a goo.." the lobbyist stammered.

"No one is good," Jesus said.

"But a good guy... a gun..." the lobbyist faltered, his argument crumbling.

"No one is good except God alone."

Living with the Samwells

Honestly, I don’t know how we survived growing up in that neighborhood, on that street. Looking back at it now, I can’t believe that we accepted it as normal, as inevitable, as right. George Samwell and his family were a danger, a menace.

George Samwell and his wife, Martha, and their many children lived down the street from us, in one of the larger houses in the neighborhood. Grandmother said that she remembered playing with the children of another family that lived there before the Samwells. I asked Grandmother what happened to them, where they moved, but Grandmother didn’t say. She just got very quiet and told me to leave her alone for a while. I think she was crying.

The Samwell kids used to run around the yard, and up and down the street, shooting at each other with their guns – actual guns. They shot out windows and mailboxes, even shot each other occasionally. Sam just stood there, arms akimbo, chuckling. “What can you do?” he said. “It’s not like you can take away their guns.”

We were never able to prove it, and even if we could have, would we have said anything? We could never prove it, but I’m sure it was one of the Samwell kids who climbed over our fence one night, and killed our dog. They shot him.

George Samwell came into our house once, while we were sitting down to dinner. “Whataya’ eatin’?” he asked. “What is that? Lettuce?”

“Kale” my mother answered.

“I don’t like Kale. Don’t buy that no more. I like beef.” He opened our refrigerator and poked around its contents. “You should buy beef,” he said as he closed the fridge. “Be sure that you do.”

The worst thing though, the thing that really should have tipped the scales - the man had a howitzer in his back yard. A goddamn howitzer cannon in his back yard. He stood out there on summer afternoons, wearing flip-flops and swim trunks, polishing and waxing his big gun. “It’s for self-defense,” he chortled as he drank a beer and patted his cannon. 

You Are Gods

Scripture cannot be set aside
so it must be true:
You are gods, each of you

Grasping, gross, gaping numena,
trigger bullet idols,
strong willed, bull-necked, bastard gods
killing fathers to devour their sons

Naked divinities of violence,
demonic demi-gods, tarnished
eagles - carrion consuming
cannibal gods

Lords of flies,
shit-eating, vomit licking,
grotesque spirits
undeserving of glory

If the word of God cannot be laid aside,
then you are, indeed,
gods -
each of you, gods!

Rescue the weak
Defend the needy
Save them

Or accuse me of blasphemy
and, though you are indeed gods,
you will die
and fall to the ground as any son of Adam.


(Psalm 82)

One of the Disciples Interrupted Him

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain. And when he was seated his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak to them. This is what he taught them:

“You have heard how it was said, Take an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say this to you: Offer no resistance to the wicked.”

Then one of the disciples interrupted him. “But, Master, what if a bad guy breaks into our home, or tries to rape our wife and daughter? What about Hitler?”

Jesus looked at them and sighed, then went back down the mountain. They shouted after him, “The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, Jesus!”

Romans 13: 1 – 4 NRA Version

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities that faithfully keep the second amendment; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God to protect your guns. Therefore whoever tries to restrict your access to firearms resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear? Then do what is good - buy a gun and you will receive its approval, for a gun is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for a good guy with a gun does not bear the gun in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.

A Limerick for America

“We don’t have a gun problem,” they say
“but a sin flaw that won’t go away
 with restrictive new laws.”
That means America’s
the world’s most sinful country today.

If The National Motto Were Accurate

It would be:

The American Pantheon

Fight or Flight into Egypt

Behold, the Angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream saying, “Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”

But Joseph replied, “There is no need for flight. I am well equipped to defend my family, armed as I am with a Beretta 9mm handgun with M6 Tactical light with laser and Trijicon night sites.  With it I can respond to any threat that might come against the child or his mother.”

The Angel of the Lord spoke a second time unto him saying, “King Herod is exceeding wroth and will send his men of might to slay the child. Arise! Arise now and flee into Egypt…”

But Joseph interrupted him saying, “I also have a Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun with Winchester PDX-1 shotgun shells. I have no need for alarm; I am not afraid.”

Then the Angel of the Lord left him, for there is no reasoning with some people.

Christmas Home Invader Shot Dead

 (Fictitiousville, Oklahoma) “It’s terrible that something like this should happen, especially during the holidays,” Chuck Neale of Fictitiousville said, “but a man’s got the right to defend his home.”

Police are investigating a home invasion that led to the fatal shooting of a yet unidentified man.  The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. this morning.  Neale says that he was awakened in the early morning by noise in the house.  He retrieved his gun from under his pillow and went to investigate.

“That’s when I saw him, an old fat man rooting around in our living room, messing with the Christmas tree.  So I shot him,” said Neale.

Preliminary reports indicate that the victim was shot at least eight times. 

“I ain’t saying I’m glad he’s dead, but I’d do it again if I had to,” said Neale. “Ain’t nobody going to be ruining Christmas for my kids.”

The identity of the victim isn’t yet known. He appears to have been 60 -80 years old, with a full beard.  He was wearing a bright red outfit.  If anyone has any information about this unidentified man they are encouraged to contact the Fictitiousville police department. 

I Don't Think I Understand how this Meme Is Played

Maybe you’ve seen this meme starting to float around the interwebs – along with the accompanying challenge:

The American Challenge
Many of you have done the Ice bucket challenge. Let’s see how many of you will do the American Challenge! You have 48 hrs to post a pic of yourself with an American flag, a Bible, and a gun or post on your timeline why you do not accept the American Challenge! Let’s show the world that we are PROUD AMERICANS!

I decided to join in the fun, but I don’t think I understand how this meme is played.

(by-the-way: that's a book of Gustavo Gutiérrez's writings...)

War At Home - A Hymn for Ferguson, MO

If you want a Police State,
fight a war at home!
Government with no debate,
fight a war at home!
Rioters will be put down,
driven from our happy town,
‘specially if their skin is brown;
fight a war at home!

War at home! War at home!
Pave the way for tyranny,
fight a war at home!

Make it safe to walk your streets;
fight a war at home!
Make your armory complete;
fight a war at home!
Assault rifles, hand grenades,
you’ll be equipped to invade.
This is how your freedom’s made,
fight a war at home!




(hymn tune – “Love at Home” by John H. McNaughton) 

Enslaved

If I have a rocket, I must launch it,
and artillery I must fire.
If I build a warplane, the bombs will fall
or else, what’s the point?

A life measured out in megatons,
defined, and circumscribed.
I am enslaved by freedom’s firepower.

The Weapons of Our Warfare (Second Amendment Version)

I Can Tell You Which Parts They Aren't Reading

What part of "Love your enemies" requires an AR-15? What part of "turn the other cheek"?
What part of "you shall not kill"?
What part of "live at peace with everyone"?
What part of "my sword does not bring me victory"?
What part of "he makes wars to cease"?
What part of "wisdom is better than weapons of war"?
What part of "all who take the sword will die by the sword"?
What part of "overcome evil with good"?
What part of "God has called us to live in peace"?
What part of "the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world"?


Why is this church trying to - lure -  men to the church with the promise of firearms?
What part of the bible are they reading?

I can tell you which parts they aren't reading.

Biblical Limericks: Trumps the Second Amendment

The Bible describes proper treatment
of our enemies in its content:
give to them food and drink
but only if you think
Proverbs trumps the Second Amendment.

Proverbs 25: 21 - 22

What Is (and What Isn’t) In Sarah Palin’s Amazing America

It has been announced that former (quitter) governor of Alaska, vice presidential nominee, and political commentator, Sarah Palin, has a new upcoming television program on the Sportsman Channel called Amazing America with Sarah Palin.  The show will feature an “anthology of stories” focusing on “the original and inspiring people, places, and pastimes connected to America's outdoors lifestyle.” 

The theme song for the show has been released as part of early promotion for the program, but I’m a little disappointed in the way this “amazing America” is portrayed.

Now, granted the Outdoorsman Channel’s specific focus and the fact, of course, that one can’t explore every aspect of this sprawling multicultural, multivalent nation in a brief two minutes and fifty-five seconds, the depiction of “America” contained in this song (by the band Madison Rising - and its accompanying video) is still limited – very limited - even considering the time constraints.

Featured in the video are things like fishing, and guns, and pick-up trucks, and guns, and dogs, and horses, and guns, and rodeos, and guns and race cars and guns.  Seriously there are 8 separate depictions of guns (of various types) in this short video – more than any other subject (excepting shots of the band in the recording studio.).  The next most common subject in the video is racecars – with three clips in the video.  Guns, guns, and more guns are – apparently – what make America Amazing. 

But what is more problematic to me is what is not represented. This “Amazing America” apparently has nothing of Art. Nothing of Science. Nothing of scholasticism.  Nothing of music. And nothing of religion.  Most of this is attributable to the fact that the show is the creation of the Sportsman Channel.  But even considering the Outdoorsman Channel’s narrow focus, this last absence is striking.  Sarah Palin has made a name for herself by continually striking two chords – American Pride and God.  But there is very little of God in this song and video.  There is the one line of the lyrics, “nature provides and God gives the rights,” but what that means is not really clear.

And to make things even murkier is the fact that shown in the shots of the band in the recording studio are banners with the Yin-Yang -  symbol of Taoism - and the Om symbol representing the sacred syllable in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.   Is this the Christian nation that Palin has been so vocal in promoting? 

So…to sum up: America is Amazing because, 1- Guns and 2 –Outdoor activities (mostly involving guns).  The show premieres April 3 at 8 PM on the Sportsman Channel. 

Amazing America – by Madison Rising

We believe in the American way
and we built this country called the USA
and we fly our flags ‘cause we’re proud and free;
we’re Americans.

Red, white, and blue is our way of life,
and we never back down from a challenge or a fight,
nature provides and God gives the rights;
we’re Americans.

We make up America,
this amazing America.

We fish the waters and we hunt the lands,
and we forge the steel with our own two hands
with what we’ve got we do the best we can;
we’re Americans.

From the snowy paths to the desert sun,
the dogs, and the horses, and the trucks, and the guns,
mothers, and daughters, and fathers, and sons;
we’re Americans.

We make up America,
this amazing America oh yeah,
home of the brave in America
we’re an amazing America.

We might be a little crazy, get a little nuts,
but you can’t have the glory if you aint got the guts,
I stand for pride, and faith, and trust
as American.

We like the wildest things that you’ve ever seen
we make ‘em bigger, and faster, and louder, and mean,
tell me, who wouldn’t want to be
an American?

We make up America,
this amazing American, Oh yeah,
Home of the brave in America;
we’re an amazing America.

(I transcribed the lyrics from the video.  Any mistakes are mine.)