Time for More Paintings

I was on one of the RV forums today, looking at an upgrade that someone had done with changing out the regular curtains for their RV for another, which looks to be a set of shades instead of curtains. They reminded me of the old timey shades that used to be in homes that rolled up on a roller at the top when retracted. In fact, I think these shades are very much like those old shades.

Anyway, in one of the photos that the original poster had put on the forum, they had a picture (or painting) on the wall of their coach. Seeing that painting/picture reminded me that I haven’t posted any pictures of Mother’s paintings in a while. So, I decided to take a break from The Truth Project and post some more pictures of paintings. Then, perhaps in a post this week, I’ll post some more of my photos.

Let’s start out with Richard’s nemesis, being a painting with critters in it. It is also a western theme. And yes, I “resemble” the critters.

On the subject of “western” themes, the next painting takes us to the Pacific Northwest, being somewhere in Northern California, Oregon, or Washington.

This next one is what I would refer to as an “earlier” painting because it doesn’t show the detail that Mother preferred in later works. Since the “mountain” in the painting doesn’t appear to be very tall, it could almost be located anywhere.

If you have read earlier posts regarding Mother’s paintings, you know that she was not good with drawing figures of either animals or people. An early picture of a couple out gathering wood shows the figures with their coat’s collars pulled up in such a way as to not be able to see anything of their faces. This painting, like an earlier painting of a Conquistador is definitely a departure from her normal paintings.

This one is a favorite because it is of a scene with fall colors. I even have a few photographs, which may or may not be shared here, with fall scenes.

And, in a way to further nibble at Richard’s nemesis, here is another painting with critters. If the reader remembers earlier posts, Mother had to trace images of critters and people onto tracing paper, and then transfer them again by tracing onto her canvas. While it was not her favorite thing to do, she would see an element of an image (such as geese) and feel that a work in progress or one planned really needed that element that she couldn’t draw. Thus, she would spend quite a bit of time tracing two different times.

Just to finish out the post, one of my photos taken at Natural Falls State Park in NE Oklahoma in 2008.  While this is NOT one of my favored photos, it is close to them, so I will share this with you.  Jo and I and our youngest son, Eric had taken a 2-day trip from OKC up to the Springdale, Arkansas area to look at a Mobile Suite model and then on south on one of the Arkansas highways to Mena.

Then, the second day, we drove across what is called the Talimena Drive, which is between Mena, Arkansas and Talihina, Oklahoma.  The road pretty much stays up in the higher elevations, so there were lots of places to stop and take photos.  Sadly, though, the second day’s lighting conditions weren’t so great.

So, while I won’t use this posting to talk about God and humanity, I will let his creation speak for him instead.

The Relationship of God and the State

After a night when I was distracted by other things, namely getting our Direct TV set up again, tonight I went again to The Truth Project for yet another lesson. This lesson may create some lively discussions were we all be able to sit and discuss the ramifications of government, and whether or not God has anything to do with a system of governing.

Daniel 4: 29 – 36 gives an insight in the story of King Nebuchadnezzar when he had his moment of grandeur. He stated, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” Yet, while the words were still on his lips, God admonished him and withdrew His authority as a king and was sent into the wilderness to live as an animal and eat grass like cattle.

It would appear obvious then that God does have all authority with governments. Even in the New Testament, when Jesus spoke of “rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s,” it was evident that mankind is to be subject to whatever form of government there is in that time and place. Romans 13: 1 - 6 gives a pretty good understanding of how we are to be subjective to government.

Thus, we have another divine imprint in that God is the head, the kings (government) are the “middle man” and citizens make up the lower level of hierarchy. Again, in the social system God has created, government then is of God, and citizens are directly related to both God and the government.

When considering government within this framework, it must be kept in mind that all will be fine as long as the government keeps God in the picture. Should government, whether in the form of a democratic style method or a monarchy, lose its acceptance of God as the head, then government becomes malevolent and bad things happen.

By the same token, if the citizens begin to lose their acceptance of God as supreme, then they will likely turn to the state for more and more to be provided by the state. What has history shown us when “leaders” fall from God and citizens cannot or will not persuade those leaders to remember God?

Joseph Stalin 42,672,000

Mao Zedong 37,828,000

Adolph Hitler 20,946,000

Chiang Kai-shek 10,214,000

Vladimir Lenin 4,017,000

Hideki Tojo 3,990,000

Pol Pot 2,397,000

All of the above done in the 20^th Century, making it probably the most bloody century of all time. Sadly, even the United States bears responsibility for a lot of that bloodshed, for through the practice of abortion, more than 50,000,000 babies have been murdered. Our government, in the form of judges ruled for a woman’s “right to privacy” and allowed them to do as they wished with their bodies, ignoring the consequences for the innocent.

Before arguing that a fetus is only considered as an “unviable mass of tissue,” keep in mind it is God who will decide that issue and likely condemn those who believe that destruction of an unviable mass of tissue is not murder.

History has also given us another example of what has happened to previous governments. There were five attributes that marked Rome at its end.

1.  A mounting love of show and luxury

2.  An obsession with sex, including homosexuality

3.  Freakishness in the arts, masquerading as originality

4.  Enthusiasms pretending to be creativity

5.  An increased desire to live off of the state.

I shudder when considering that all of those attributes are prevalent in a number of countries today, including the United States. It isn’t a surprise when you consider that so many today try to alienate God from all forms of government, using the excuse of “separation of church and state” as a reason for their efforts. Yet those people ignore the actual reading of and understanding of the language of the First Amendment.

It also explains why so many try to belittle those who are believers of God and the teachings of Christ. However, there is still hope because I firmly believe that the God loving people of America will prevail. I won’t touch on it in detail here as it is upcoming in the next episode of The Truth Project, but there is the argument that America was founded upon the belief in God and the desire to further his kingdom, and that the Constitution is but an instrument to try to prevent usurping God.

Unio Mystica or The Mystical Union?

If you have begun reading my blog postings with this entry, I urge you to go to the entry just prior to this one. To some degree, this entry is a continuation of the one prior, and it would be beneficial to read about the “social order” that God has created.

Let me start with a scripture or two. First of all, here is John 14: 19-20:

¹⁹ Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also.

²⁰ In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Having quoted Jesus in this passage, I now want to go back a few verses to John 14: 16-17:

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.

Here, in these scriptures are the promise of a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that will abide with us and be IN us. Suddenly, we now have another perspective on God’s social order and how we fit into the picture. There is first the image of the relationship between the Father, the Son, and mankind.

In this diagram, we see that mankind, and specifically Christians, have a whole new relationship with God. It shows that we are “proceeding” from both the Father and the Son. In addition, Christ has promised us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and be a part of us. So, if we are “one” with the Holy Spirit, then we must also be “one” with the Father and the Son.

However, there are serious consequences with this relationship. Jesus has warned of those, specifically the Sadducees and Pharisees, who wished to receive the notice of men when they prayed or gave alms. He spoke of the religious leaders of the day “making their Phylacteries wide and their Tassels long” so as to be noticed by others. Phylacteries were small boxes with scripture within them that the faithful tied to their foreheads as a symbolism of having God’s word in the forefront of their minds.

Matthew 6, verses 1 through 4 give us this message as to how we are to conduct ourselves:

¹ Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.

³ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:  ⁴ that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.

In a previous entry, I wrote about why the world has (and still does) despised both the Jews and the Christians. I believe that the world does not like the idea of there being any “exclusivity” to any religion. Yet, the Bible tells us that there is no other way to Heaven except through Jesus Christ.

While we can take comfort in the knowledge that we have a close personal relationship with God, we must not flaunt any feelings we have around men. When I was growing up, there were members of the church of Christ that believed that if one wasn’t a member of that church, one was destined for Hell. However, I don’t hold with that philosophy simply because I am not God.

Far be it for me to try to say that someone does not have salvation, as I have no idea as to the manner those people live their lives. They may very well be living their lives better and closer to God than I am. The last thing I will say on the matter is that Christ stated that the way to salvation was through him, and there aren’t many other religions that can profess their closeness to God in the social order that He has created.

Forgive me, but there is so much more within the lessons of The Truth Project than what I’ve posted in my entries. I haven’t even scratched the surface of all the scriptural passages and logical thinking involved with coming to the conclusions that are made in these entries.

The Divine Imprint

Once again, I viewed another episode of The Truth Project, and it is one that starts to put goose bumps upon me, but it also at one point is such a downer that tears ALWAYS comes to my eyes when I view this lesson.

It begins with the understanding that God has created so many systems; our skeletal system, our circulatory system to carry blood throughout our bodies, our solar system, photosynthesis, wherein plants convert sunlight, and then there is the social order which is based upon God himself.

For those who might not be religious, God is to be considered as a Triunity. Many use the word “Trinity” instead, but I prefer “Triunity” because it better conveys the idea that God is three “persons” but one “essence.” Those “persons” of the “Triunity” are God (the Father), Christ (the Son), and the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Bible, all of those “persons” are involved, many times directly with humans.

Thus, in addition to there being a social order “within God” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, mankind also has a place in the social order, although much of it is as a creation upon the earth. God’s social order is made up of Him as the Father, Christ (the Son) out of God but still a part of God and submissive to Him, and the Holy Spirit that is out of both God (the Father) and Christ (the Son).

Oddly enough, this “threesome” is also evident in the world as well. There are three primary colors, three forms of matter (being solid, liquid, and gas), the atom is made up of three parts (being the nucleus, electrons, and protons), and there are three “realms” (being spiritual, physical, and social.)

The social realm, or order, is the primary focus of this posting. I should begin with an image of the Triunity of God, showing the relationships between the three parts of God.

Note that the Holy Spirit has a relationship, as defined by the lines, with both God (the Father) and Christ (the Son.) It is almost an example of one “entity” being subject to each of the others. Also of importance is the knowledge that God and Christ are also “One” with each other. John 17: 21-22 is the period of time when Jesus was praying to God before his trial and crucifixion, and He mentioned the fact that He and God were one:

“²¹ that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me.

²² And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;

Verse 21 starts out talking about Christ’s disciples as those referred to as “they.” Believe it or not, that will come into play at a later date.

But, God’s social order is reflected in the family. For in the family, we have the husband, the wife, and the children. Is this image not eerily like the first image, the one showing God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit?

Note that this order also has a “father” head in the form of the husband, the wife who is submissive to the husband, and the children who are “out from” both the husband and the wife and have a relationship with both. And, the Bible speaks of man taking woman, cleaving to her and becoming “one” just like God and Christ being “one.”

In each order, God and the Husband love the others within their respective social orders and the other entities are submissive to and respect the “head” of the social order. The Bible speaks of the husband being the “Head” over the wife just as Christ is the “Head” over the church. So, it is not a negative thing for Christ or a wife, being submissive to the “head” in each social order.

Speaking of the church, that social order is much the same, with Christ being the “head” and the church leaders being the “wife/bride” and the “flock” being the membership of the church, making up the children of God. Again, this image shows the similarity of those three elements of the church. The leaders of the church are in a sense “one” with Christ because they are accountable to God for the beliefs and worship performed by the “children of God.”

All of this is a reflection that God is a God of order. All of creation has an order of some kind; either within a social order, a scientific order, or a spiritual order, and sometimes in more than one order at a time. After all, do the planets of our solar system just run around space willy-nilly? Does there not appear to be an “order” to the fact that it requires a man and a woman to produce a child?

Even today, there are those in society that hate God’s order and actively attempt to disrupt that order in every way possible, even to the point of the destruction of people themselves. For this reason, mankind should be devoted to the idea that the family and the church are institutions in need of strengthening from those who are members of those two social orders.

Marriages that end in divorce because the couple didn’t really have a commitment to each other, and to their families, are an abomination because of the pain it inflicts on God and on each member of that family.

Commitment to God and to the family is essential. Let us all do our best to strengthen our commitments.

Reaffirming Beliefs

The last two evenings, I’ve again watched episodes of The Truth Project. Last night, I watched two episodes making up one lesson that was in regards to science. This evening, the lesson was about history.

In the episodes about science, the lessons examined the statements of Darwin himself about his theory of evolution, The Origin of the Species. They went on to explain that there has never been evidence presented that confirmed evolution. In fact, evidence was presented that showed that Darwin’s own statements spoke of what would possibly destroy his theory.

One was the examination of the basis of the cell and how its structure and processes are evidence not of chance, but of intelligent design. The series showed computer animation of those processes and to watch them was to learn that there is no way that “chance” had a factor in them.

Darwin also mentioned that if there was no discovery of “transitional” creature’s fossil remains, then his theory would break down. He defended his theory at the time (1859) that no fossil remains had been found because there just hadn’t been enough time to find those remains. Yet, scientists today are saying that there are still no fossil remains, and any attempts to present a “creature” as a transitional one has been proven to be hoaxes. Piltdown Man is one of those.

The lessons also touched upon what the elements of science are; that they are first a hypothesis, then a theory, and then after much experimentation and proof, there is the scientific law. Yet proponents of evolution, primarily humanists, speak of Darwin’s theory as “fact” and are afraid to use the much stronger word of “law” of science. This is believed to be so because they are unable to prove their own theories.

To be honest, the above 4 paragraphs cannot even begin to touch on all of the points brought out in that two hours of The Truth Project’s discussion of science. And, my memory is not good enough to fill in the blanks. It is a hope of mine that at some time, I will be able to share this video series with others, perhaps in the form of a study of biblical subjects and proving that the Bible is correct.

This evening’s lesson on history touched upon the danger we face today with those who would revise our history in a way to leave out God. An example is in the document of The Mayflower Charter. The series showed that modern texts in schools show the beginning words of that charter, but leave out all the references as to how the settlement of America was to be for the glory of God.

The lesson showed how it is that if “historians” leave out pertinent information, then our descendants will lack the true perspective of history, thus rewriting history for the future. As an example, the president of Iran has said numerous times that the Holocaust never happened. While many of us today could very well travel to those terrible camps and actually see where human beings clawed at the concrete and stone walls while being exterminated, the youth of Iran and other Muslim nations may very well believe that it was a hoax.

Thus, generations to come could very well grow up with a wrong understanding of history. This is not a new phenomenon. One can go back to the Garden of Eden to find an example of “historical revisionism” that is put forth by Satan. From Genesis 3: 4-5:

“⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

⁵ for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.”

After Christ was released from the tomb, the soldiers left to guard it went to the Hebrew priests and told their story. But the priests paid them off and told them to tell others that Christ’s disciples carried him away in the night while the guards slept.

To this day, I suspect that the lies purposely proposed by those early priests are probably uttered today. Why else would it be that the Jewish religion does not recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah?

While I did not view the exchange on MSNBC with Chris Matthews, I read about it later. In that exchange of dialogue between Chris Matthews and the chairman of the Republican Party, Matthews wanted to know whether anyone on the right could have a meaningful and intelligent discussion about evolution, and he asked the Republican Party chairman whether any of the Republican candidates could even discuss such a thing. Sadly, the chairman of the Republican Party had nothing to say and rightfully so, as I doubt if he really knows the beliefs of all the candidates.

However, Matthews is one of those that constantly bring up topics in which he falsely accuses conservatives and Republicans. Another who has been devious was a fellow MSNBC host by the name of Ed Shultz. Shultz took an audio clip of Rick Perry talking about that “big, black cloud; that debt hanging over America” and cut it off after the words “big, black cloud” and presented it as Rick Perry being racist.

Fortunately, his audio editing skills are so terrible that he was called out about it and he had to issue a retraction, but he merely called it a “mistake” instead of saying that it was intentionally done so as to cast Rick Perry as a racist.

We all must be cautious of what we hear and read. There are those today who are actively engaged in historical revisionism. That is why it has been said that history may not be truly accurate until future historians who did not live in these times actually look at what was said and done and report it factually and without bias.

We must also be careful to observe and see for ourselves what it is that the biased media and politicians DON’T say. Has anyone heard of the media talking about Obama’s calling for the ousting of the Libyan leader? (Sorry, I don’t know the correct spelling for that leader’s name.)

If the media has been so blatant in their criticism of Republicans and their actions in being involved with wars and overthrowing despotic leaders, why are they ignoring Obama’s actions? To me, they are trying to write history as they go along.

Wrestling with reality.

Gazing Upon the Face of God

This evening, I watched more of The Truth Project. In the first hour (lesson 3) the study was about “Who is Man.” Watching that episode can leave one in a dejected state, especially when one considers the EVIL that man seems to perpetuate.

In year after year, decade after decade, century after century, mankind continues to do the same terrible things, in spite of the humanists of this age that want to tell us that man is “basically good” and that there are not any real evil things about man.

At the end of each episode of The Truth Project is a summary of that lesson and then a little bit of video from the next episode that serves as a tease. At the end of the dejecting episode 3, the tease for episode 4 informs us that the upcoming episode is going to ask the question, “Who is God.”

With the need for something uplifting before going to bed, I decided to watch episode 4 as well. In different places in the series, the moderator/instructor teases with the thought that in this series of lessons, we will have the opportunity, as much as God will allow us, to gaze upon the face of our Creator and God.

Of course, God has revealed Himself to us in his Word, in that the Bible has showed us what He is like and that He sent His Son to this earth to serve as our means of hope for salvation. It is up to us to look for Him and that hope. We live in the knowledge that we are made in his image, not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense. God is Spirit and our existence is part spiritual. Why else would peoples who have never been approached by missionaries seek to find gods?

It is in man’s nature to want to find God. Even though the Communist countries severely persecute those who wish to express a religion based upon God, the peoples of those countries risk torture and death go find God. If you have read back in earlier posts, I told the story of the Eastern European Mission ministry that started out as smugglers of Bibles into the Soviet Bloc countries.

Should you be interested in that story, it was way back in March, and here is a link to that posting:

http://ignoringthebarkingdogs.blogspot.com/2011/03/in-praise-of-smugglers-now-gone.html

Anyway, looking for God is really easy. At the moment, I can’t remember the scriptures by book and verse, but the Bible speaks of the heavens declaring the glory of God and that all of creation reflects His glory. As a photographer, I have been blessed in that I can usually see God every day in something of his creations.

That evidence may be the smile of a child, a wide panorama of beautiful nature, or just the simple little flower at my feet. Some of the finest examples of beauty and grace are found in the “critter world.”

Ah, such diversity of creatures the earth has. I would venture to guess that each species has a distinct and sometimes unique relationship with other parts of nature. And each and every species of animal or plant displays God’s wonder and beauty.

Did you see the ant? Did you know that God has named all the stars? Don’t you suppose he also has a name for each of the creatures?

I may begin to be more likely to share some photos that I ordinarily wouldn’t due to the concerns of others that might wish to steal my photos for their own benefit.  It would not be the first time someone has “stolen” an image and entered it into a contest with the hope of winning a prize.

But, I should share my prizes, that being my photos, so that others can see the glory of God and not be deprived by my selfishness.  Since I am a work in progress and wanting to be more God-like, I probably should do more sharing.  I guess we shall see if I can succeed.

The Danger of Assumptive Language

From the opening clip of a popular series that even today is presented on television, but decades ago was presented in public schools and colleges:

“The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.”

Now, from II Timothy 2: 24-26, the Bible gives us as Christians some instruction as to how we should approach those we wish to introduce to God:

^“24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, ²⁵ with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Basically, it tells us to be gentle and careful in presenting a concept that is perhaps totally different than out acquaintance’s beliefs. But, another scriptural reference is directed at us, the Christians, to be careful of “gentle presentations of concepts” different from ours.

Colossians 2:8 reads: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

The power and danger of assumptive language leads to a dangerous form of knowledge. Assumptions are received and believed without an open, conscious dialogue and if one accepts a statement, one accepts its assumptions as well.

In honesty, a lot of what you read above is almost directly from Chapter Two of The Truth Project. I cannot claim any of this as original thought on my own. But, we as humans readily accept ideas and use them later, many times without giving credit to our sources. Again in honesty, I must state that some of us may have issues with even remembering the original sources.

In our day, we see the reporting of different polls that have been taken. While they serve to give us an idea of the percentages of those polled who believe a particular concept, they also lead us down a dangerous path. We tend to search for a truth in regards to a moral or ethical belief.

One must be careful with that search for truth, and we must know the difference between morals and ethics. As R. C. Sproul explained in The Truth Project, morals are those beliefs that are “normal” as based upon how a society or culture conducts themselves. In America, a large number of people accept abortion as normal. Thus, it becomes “moral” because it is accepted because of what that situation “is.” By contrast, ethics looks at the same given situation with an eye towards discerning what “ought” to be, not what that situation “is.”

Therefore, polls are sometimes conducted with the intent of determining what is normal, not what ought to be. If we accept that “the majority” believes in abortion, it becomes normal, but not ethical. What is normal can be determined by might, either in one’s physical strength, one’s weapons, or even, what 51% believe.

Now, going back to Colossians, we are warned against being taken captive by philosophy, empty deception, traditions, and the “principles” of the world. That takes me back to the quote from the series, Cosmos.

That statement that the Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or will ever be is a good example of assumptive language. By making that statement, Carl Sagan was basically telling Americans and others that “there is no God.” As a humanist, he knew that if he were to make the statement in his opening dialogue that God did not exist, his series would never have been accepted. That is because at that time, there was a lot higher percentage of Americans (and other country’s citizens) that held religious beliefs.

We, as intelligent individuals, must be careful that what we hear is truth. With so many false messages from the news media, the liberal entertainment world, and even our schools and colleges, it makes it even more essential that we not accept a statement as a fact.

Thomas Jefferson gave us a quote that fits this topic. He said: “Question with boldness even the existence of God; because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.”

I have long believed that when God created the world, He very well could have created man so as to blindly worship Him as He wished. However, He created man to have the ability to reason and to choose to worship Him freely and without force. Wouldn’t we all rather be surrounded by people who wanted to be with us, rather than have to be with us? We are made in God’s image, so it is not surprising that we feel that way.

So, in being careful as to believing what we see and hear, we are also to conduct ourselves so that others have the same opportunity to question what they hear. That is why gentleness and reason will have better results in seeking to further God’s kingdom than browbeating our subjects. And our caution in what we believe will prompt us to present God and His salvation to others in a way where they have the fuller understanding of what is offered.