Source: Â Hostess to Seek Approval for Executive Bonuses – ABC News. Hostess Brands Inc. plans to ask for a judge’s approval Thursday to give its top executives bonuses totaling up to $1.8 million as part of its wind-down plans It seems in the upper echelons of the business world you get a big bonus if your workers work hard and the profits come in. Â But … Continue reading A Real Sweet Deal…
I think most people, especially those who call themselves Christian, are at least a little familiar with the third great rummage sale in Christianity which was the Reformation. Â I will only give a very brief look in this post. Martin Luther, a monk with an incredibly low self-image, started it in 1517 when he nailed his list of 95 complaints about the workings of the … Continue reading The Third Great Rummage Sale — The Reformation
source:Â Â Romney: Obama won by giving “gifts” to voter blocs – Political Eye – CBS News. In a phone call with his presidential campaign’s financial backers, Mitt Romney today said he lost the election to President Obama because of the “gifts” Mr. Obama gave to certain constituencies, like young voters and Hispanics, the Los Angeles Times reports. “The president’s campaign,” he said, “focused on giving targeted … Continue reading The Pit And The Pendulum….
Some call them sexy; some call them erotic. I call them gross!!!! I’m sorry ladies but I simply can’t understand why you torture yourselves so much? Do you think if you are six inches taller people will be more attracted to you? Â Do you really think they make you look sexier? Here is what I think and of course since I am just an old … Continue reading They know it is painful; they know it is damaging but….
Source: Sojourner Mail November 16, 2012 The day after the election, Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler said, âI think this was an evangelical disaster.â Not really. But it was a disaster for the religious right, which had again tied its faith to the partisan political agenda of the Republican Party â which did lose the election. But Nov. 6 was an even deeper disaster for the … Continue reading Those Words….
The Great Schism is basically when the Christian church split in the Roman Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This happened around 1054CE. Â What had once been a single church slowly separated into two distinct identities. Â Most of the differences that caused the split were almost nit-picking about what to believe and had little or nothing to do with how to “be” a Christian. This … Continue reading The Second Great Rummage Sale — The Great Schism
We are three billion in the hole and will be three billion more next year, and not a Congressman has got the nerve to ask voters to pay part of it. Â — Â January 29, 1933 Â Â Will Rogers Obviously this quote was said long before even Grover Norquist’s parents were born but it is equally true today as it was in Will’s time. The fact … Continue reading About The Debt…
source: Â Nonwhite voters and changing values make 2012 election pivotal – Los Angeles Times. The 2012 election marked the point at which a new American electoral coalition solidified its hold on politics, one built on the country’s growing nonwhite population and on cultural changes that have given younger voters of all races a far different outlook on political issues from that of their elders. It … Continue reading Power to the People…..
I know I promised to move away from politics but when I saw this bumper sticker last week I couldn’t resist showing it to you. Especially because it was in Indiana which is a very red State. It kind of surprised me like when I come across another deaf person. đ Â If anyone has something similar for Democrats I would love to see it. But … Continue reading Bumper Sticker Says It All…..
Source:Â Karl Rove on why Romney lost: Obama was ‘suppressing the vote’ – CSMonitor.com. âHe succeeded by suppressing the vote, by saying to people, ‘you may not like who I am, and I know you canât bring yourself to vote for me, but Iâm going to paint this other guy as simply a rich guy who only cares about himself,’ â Rove said. By his definition … Continue reading Karl Rove on why Romney lost: Obama was ‘suppressing the vote’
In this second post about the first major reconfiguration of the Christian church I will be covering some ancillary info about just who was affected by the Dark Ages and will be talking a little about the person “saved” the church for a later resurrection. First of all I have found that the term “Dark Ages” has many definitions and stated causes. For purposes here … Continue reading The First Rummage Sale – The Dark Ages (con’t)
Many times Will Rogers’ words are an inspiration to me. Of course he saw a lot of prejudice in his times. Maybe more so than even I do today. When I found these words from him about intolerance I found them indeed inspiring. Â No explanation is needed. These words stand on their own today as much as they did in Will’s day. I have sometimes … Continue reading Intolerance….
Metamora used to be quite an active tourist area in the 1960s and 70s but is now just a shell of what it was. Continue reading Metamora Indiana….
Continuing with our study of the “rummage sales” within the Christian church every five hundred years lets look at the first one. Â Before we start I will admit that I didn’t know much about this period of time before this study so I relied on several books on the shelves behind me and in my Kindle to help me understand. Â I will put those references … Continue reading The First Rummage Sale ….The Dark Ages…
I have some explaining to do here. In alignment with making a new design for this blog and this morning’s post about remaking ourselves I am making a new commitment to going back to the roots of this blog. Â In other words I am turning over a new leaf. (I got to figure the origin of that phrase sometime) The words of Will Rogers … Continue reading I Got Some Explaining to Do……
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world — that is the myth of the atomic age — as in being able to remake ourselves. — Gandhi
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood  behind me. — 1 Corinthians 13
Looking back on my life Gandhi’s quote above inspires me with its wisdom and the second quote from the Bible mirrors the same message. Â Being able to see the circumstances and the facts and then making changes is where the greatness lies.
This seems to be a very tough message in today’s world where gridlock and stubborn instance of being right is the norm. There are just too many in the world who are consumed by their current worldviews  and are totally unwilling to even consider that they just might not have all the answers. Continue reading “Remaking Ourselves….”
While this post is being automatically published I am busy working in the Backstreet Soup Kitchen preparing a Thanksgiving for those homeless and financially challenged in my area. Â I can’t think of a better place I would want to be. Thank you Lord for showing me my purpose in life. Caring for others is MUCH more rewarding than focusing on myself. Thank you for the … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving….
Anyone who has visited this blog in the recent past know that I am pinning great hope on the “emergent” church being able to rescue the current Christian establishments from their focus on believing things about Jesus as opposed to of “being” a Christian through our actions. I was very disheartened when I discovered the statistic that almost no one can tell the difference between … Continue reading A Giant Rummage Sale…
John, I can’t tell you how unhappy I am to see what you have become. I so admired you in the past. Â You were the self-proclaimed “maverick” in the senate. You were a moderate when so many of your GOP colleagues were turning to the right fringes of your party. Â You did not strictly tow the party line when so many other were afraid not to. Â I actually looked up to you as the person who would bring the GOP back to the center.
But then in 2008 you seemed to start unraveling. Â When you chose Sarah as your running mate I began doubting your wisdom. Â I couldn’t have dreamed of a worse choice, that is until Romney’s choice. (I just don’t understand why the GOP guys pick such radicals to be “a heartbeat away”?) Â Then came the campaign season where like so many others in politics you mutated into something completely unlike the original you. You seemed to bend in whatever direction your handlers instructed you. I couldn’t understand why you did not hold to your principles. Continue reading “What Happened To You John???”
The whole thing seems too good to be true, but the whole world is changing, so maybe they are going to turn human. â May 18, 1933 Â Â —Â Will Rogers
Sometimes I like to “talk” with my heroes. The following in my imagined soliloquy to Will Rogers about his quote for today:
Will, I must admit that I don’t really know where you are going with this quote? Maybe you are talking about how people came together with common support during the Great Depression when you said these words. Â I too see the whole world changing and probably more rapidly than you ever did. Â Although you did live through most of the Great Depression so maybe I am wrong in that regard. Â But I seem to see the exact opposite this time around in the changing world. Continue reading “Turning Human???”
Here is a quote by Philip Gulley in his book entitled The Evolution of Faith – How God is creating a better Christianity that will be used for this discussion. To be sure, if one believes Christianity is primarily about worshipping Jesus, a faith that incorporates other religious traditions will be considered heretical. But if one believes Christianity is primarily about following the example of … Continue reading Following the Examples of Jesus….
Source:Â Churches and Taxes – ProCon.org.
US churches received an official federal income tax exemption in 1894, and they have been unofficially tax-exempt since the country’s founding. All 50 US states and the District of Columbia exempt churches from paying property tax. Donations to churches are tax-deductible. The debate continues over whether or not these tax benefits should be retained.
Proponents argue that a tax exemption keeps the government out of church finances and thus upholds the separation of church and state. They say that churches deserve a tax break because they provide crucial social services, and that church tax exemptions have been in place for over 200 years without turning America into a theocracy.
Opponents argue that giving churches special tax exemptions violates the separation of church and state, and that tax exemptions are a privilege, not a right guaranteed by the US Constitution. They say that in tough economic times the government cannot afford what amounts to a subsidy worth billions of dollars every year.
I am going to do a couple of posts here on a pretty controversial topic and that is church and State. I just finished three months worth of political posts so I thought I might as well tackle another difficult issue before my blood pressure  finally goes down to normal. Being a U.S. history buff I have read quite a bit on Jefferson and his … Continue reading The Separation of Church and State — The Founders Views…
Several years ago I came across a small book entitled Quaker Spirituality – Selected Writings. I’m still not sure what made me pause on the title but I am glad I did. Inside that book was an essay by Thomas R. Kelly (1893-1941) talked about the “Eternal Presence”. I didn’t know it then but this essay put me on the path to learning much more about … Continue reading Eternal Peace…
Several years ago I came across a small book entitled Quaker Spirituality – Selected Writings. I’m still not sure what made me pause on the title but I am glad I did. Inside that book was an essay by Thomas R. Kelly (1893-1941) talked about the “Eternal Presence”. I didn’t know it then but this essay put me on the path to learning much more about Quakers. … Continue reading Eternal Presence….
It is not everyday that you see such an assortment of eggs đ Â I discovered this one at the Historical Center in Des Moines in 2010. Thought you might find it interesting. Continue reading A Box of Eggs…..
I don’t know if everyone who reads my blog knows what a “blue-collar guy” is (or at least my definition of it)? In my middle years in the 1960s, 70s, and early 80’s that meant the guy who got out of high school and managed to get a good paying job in a factory. Â He could count of the company to payed pretty well for his work and to be there when he or his family had medical emergencies. He could count on being employed for years to come and then retiring with a manageable pension. Continue reading “I’m Just a Blue Collar Guy…..”
This is the fifth post on the book Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus  by Robin Meyers.  While I could go on and on I am going to stop this review here. The following will serve as the focus for this post: Some belong to churches that explicitly emphasize the hope of heaven and the threat of hell. Others … Continue reading Saving Jesus — (Part 5) Heaven and the Threat of Hell….
Here is a letter from my Quaker friends at AFSC that I thought you might be interested in. If enough of us speak out we might just be able to force some of the politicians to actually do some of the things that they campaign on. đ If you want to sign this petition click on this link   https://afsc.org Continue reading Mr. President, Keep Your Promises!
But every one of us write our own history. If it sounds better the way we want it than the way it might have been why that donât stop us any more than an amber light. – September17, 1933 Â Will Rogers Will’s quote here is still pretty much true today except to maybe change the word amber to red. The number one cause of … Continue reading Amber Lights…
Source:Â Boehner’s GOP Problems Complicate Deficit Negotiations – ABC News. House Speaker John Boehner is about to begin another attempt at a grand bargain deficit reduction deal with President Obama, a high wire act in which he will be buffeted by demands from the White House as well as from House Republicans It looks like total gridlock may again happen coming out the gate of the … Continue reading A Real Leader Leads……
This is the fourth post on the book Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus  by Robin Meyers: One thing every pastor knows is that knowledge is not redemptive. Indeed, sometimes we can know the truth, and it will not set us free…. One of the great divides in the church could be overcome if we got one … Continue reading Saving Jesus — (Part 4) Science is Not the Enemy…..
Here is my favorite cartoon about the 2012 election results. Whenever the minimum wage is raised there are those who claim it will cost millions of jobs and basically cause the end of the USA. Now that President Obama has been given four more years the same rhetoric bumped up by a factor of ten is echoing now. These guys just seem to be totally … Continue reading The World is Ending….
Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_form_of_government_does_the_US_have#ixzz24fhg3VC9 Thomas Jefferson said, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson, March 11, 1790: “The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind.” f Alexander Hamilton, in debate, said: “Real liberty is neither found … Continue reading Thank Heavens The U.S. Is Not a Democracy….
This is part three of my review of the book Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus by Robin Meyers. This is somewhat the continuation of the study of the pre-Easter Jesus and the after-Easter Jesus mentioned in the previous text. Here is the quote for this post: The simple fact, that the Bible came to us through a … Continue reading Saving Jesus — (Part 3) About the Gospels….
RJ's Corner 