Author: RJ Walters

I am an Independent thinking, highly functional person who is deaf and has some unique views and challenges in life. Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences and that is what I write about here.
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The Decrees of Constantine…

RJ Walters

I am going to start this post with an alarming story of Constantine’s involvement in the Council of Nicaea. It is from a book by Harvey Cox entitle The Future of Faith.   If this doesn’t cast out any doubt of man’s involvement in the change from faith to rigid belief nothing will: Constantine, not Jesus, was the dominant figure at Nicaea, and it is hardly surprising that almost all the bishops, to the emperor’s satisfaction, arrived at a nearly unanimous decision in his favor. Only Arius himself and three other stubbornly independent bishops withheld their approval. Constantine promptly exiled … Continue reading The Decrees of Constantine…

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Do Members of Congress and candidates know what you think???

RJ Walters

Source: Recent email from FCNL (Friends Conference on National Legislation – Quaker) Do your members of Congress and candidates know what you think about Pentagon spending cuts? What they hear from you now could influence their decisions this December and into next year. Urge them to support Pentagon cuts of $1 trillion over the next 10 years, as recommended by experts from across the political spectrum.1 39 cents out of every one of your federal income tax dollars is going to feed the Pentagon and its contractors, and the Pentagon budget has nearly doubled in the past decade. This is a bad investment for our … Continue reading Do Members of Congress and candidates know what you think???

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Is It Right????

RJ Walters

  Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?” Vanity asks the question, “Is it popular?” But, conscience asks the question, “Is it right?” And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  I spent a good part of my life not being concerned with much of anyone except myself and later my wife. It wasn’t that I didn’t have any empathy but I … Continue reading Is It Right????

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About Those Creeds…..

RJ Walters

Most Christians today only know of two creeds: The Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. In reality there were hundreds if not thousands of creeds generated during the 4th through the 10th centuries. It seemed that every time a bishop felt his power threatened he claimed to have another creed dictated by God.  Here is what Harvey Fox said about that in his book the Future of  Faith about the times after Constantine nationalized Christianity: Meanwhile the Christian bishops went on debating the fine points of theology. Now they argued over what homoousios really meant and the nature of Mary’s … Continue reading About Those Creeds…..

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Mr. Romney Doesn’t Seem To Have a Clue….

RJ Walters

via Romney ridicules Obama on ‘change’ remark – Political Hotsheet – CBS News. President Obama: “I think that I’ve learned some lessons over the last four years, and the most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t change Washington from the inside, you can only change it from the outside,” Obama said. “That’s how I got elected, and that’s how the big accomplishments like health care got done – [it] was because we mobilized the American people to speak out. That’s how we were able to cut taxes for middle-class families.” Mr. Romney’s attack: “Well, we are going to give … Continue reading Mr. Romney Doesn’t Seem To Have a Clue….

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There You Go Again….

RJ Walters

via Romney Reframes Donor Remarks to Refocus on Economic Issues – Businessweek. Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown, who is running for re-election in a close race against Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a former Harvard University professor, told The Hill newspaper: “That’s not the way I view the world. As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in.” While Romney said he was talking about people who don’t pay income taxes, his comments about Americans who feel “entitled” to government help prompted some Republicans to say that … Continue reading There You Go Again….

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Stumbling Forward….

RJ Walters

Jesus meant for us to look forward in the world to accomplish the tasks he gave us. If you read the red letters for what they are and not necessarily what others think about them then you will know that he didn’t intend for us to always be looking backwards to what he did for us. He gave each one of us who call ourselves his followers a mission to love each other, to help bring God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven, and to take care of the “least of these”. Those should be our primary tasks … Continue reading Stumbling Forward….

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That Bearded Guy Up There…..

RJ Walters

Many of us Christians never seem to give up our childhood views of just who God is. We think of him as that white bearded guy up in heaven. True, we do add some things to this vision as we get older we see him as that guy who spends his day saying “You go to heaven; you go to hell”.  We often view Jesus in the same childhood comprehension. Jesus is that long-haired, brown-bearded guy who sits around all day playing with sheep and always has children gathered around him. When we grow in wisdom of him and finally … Continue reading That Bearded Guy Up There…..

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I Guess I Am One Of Them…. Or Maybe Two Of Them….

RJ Walters

Source: Mitt Romney video fact check: Is 47 percent of US ‘dependent’ on government? – CSMonitor.com. That is one of the questions that has been raised after Mother Jones magazine on Tuesday released a video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaking to donors at a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser May 17. “There are 47 percent who are with him [President Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it,” Mr. Romney says … Continue reading I Guess I Am One Of Them…. Or Maybe Two Of Them….

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About Germany….

RJ Walters

Why is it that Germany seems to be just about the only country in the world who is not struggling with a disappearing middle class? They are doing well in that regard because they are the most unionized country in the world and their increased wages drives their demand. How do they manage to keep their wages high in light of the pennies-on-the-dollar labor found elsewhere?  They do it by government regulations prohibiting companies from exporting jobs.  Of course this is something that the “free traders” among us say is impossible but it seems Germany didn’t know it was impossible … Continue reading About Germany….

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Who Wins???

RJ Walters

Here is a quote from a letter I recently received from my friends at American Friends Service Committee (AFSC.org) Who wins when our country goes to war?  Defense contractors! Who profits from the highest imprisonment rate in the world! For-profit prison corporations! Who benefits by cutting agencies charged with mine safety and the protection of workers rights? Mining companies! Each year a handful of corporations pour millions and millions of dollars into lobbyists and campaign contributions. Why? To push for legislation and procurements that increase their profits. Who benefits? Certainly not the average taxpayer! When the quest for bigger earnings … Continue reading Who Wins???

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Rules to Live By….

RJ Walters

I got the above plaque from a Facebook friend’s page and it struck me as being filled with wisdom.  I don’t know who wrote it but it is certainly worth making note of. If any of us just lived by these rules we would find a level of happiness we might not otherwise realize. Free your heart from hatred — The old saying that hatred consumes you I’m sure is true but I don’t think that I have ever really hated anyone. But it seems that during the current election cycle hate, or at least extreme anger, is abundant. So … Continue reading Rules to Live By….

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Romney’s America….

RJ Walters

Since Hank convinced me to get off my butt and get involved in this coming Presidential election I will occasionally be  bringing up what I call “A grossly blatant political ad”.  I promise I won’t become a raving lunatic and start calling everyone horrible names. I will be more civilized  than that. These ads will be tongue-in-cheek and one-sided so you have been forewarned. To my conservative friends, don’t take them too seriously and flame me. I likely won’t respond to your usual long parroted litany of reasons why I am wrong so don’t bother to send them. They would … Continue reading Romney’s America….

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Putting a Face on the Tea Party….

RJ Walters

My regular viewers you know that I have recently had some discussions with a commentor on this blog named “Hank”. Of course since the Internet is a virtual gathering place I really don’t know for sure if Hank is a male or female but for the sake of this and maybe future posts I will call him “he”. Now Hank made several comments to posts about the political conventions.  On each comment I got to know Hank a little better than before. In Hank’s last post ( which is his last comment by my choice not his) he gave me … Continue reading Putting a Face on the Tea Party….

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Maybe…. Just Maybe….

RJ Walters

Yesterday I got the below email from Sojourners with responses from both presidential candidates on how they will address the problem of poverty in America. Given that our current study is “our responsibilities to the poor” it came at a very appropriate time. I am tempted to make some remarks about the two approaches but will refrain from doing so in this post.  Click on any of the indicated spots in the email to see the videos (they are even closed captioned for those of us who are deaf). <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dear R.J., What happened today was unprecedented. Christian leaders from … Continue reading Maybe…. Just Maybe….

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The Love of God….

RJ Walters

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,  how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children,  let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  — 1 John 3:16 – 28 I am going to start off this series about the followers of Jesus responsibilities to the poor with one of … Continue reading The Love of God….

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Maybe We Vote For President For The Wrong Reasons….

RJ Walters

I pride myself in frequently looking outside my box in this world. Yes, my life’s experiences pretty much, like everyone else, defines who I am but we must also try to look at things from a different perspective on a regular basis. That brings up the topic of this post. The typical voter and that certainly includes me seems to want to elect a person for president who we think could be a “best buddy”. That seems to be the primary reason that Mr. Reagan was twice elected and it certainly was one of the critical factors that got Mr. … Continue reading Maybe We Vote For President For The Wrong Reasons….

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Christians Don’t Have Exclusive Rights on God…

RJ Walters

I am again an Apple computer guy so when I saw recently that Apple had won a court case against Samsung on their using things that Apple has patents on the thought of for the title above came quickly to mind. Many Christians seem to think that they have exclusive rights to who God is and what we are to believe about him. I believe I can say with some certainty that no one has exclusive patent rights on God. When I was a Catholic in my early years the nuns and priests that taught me about God insisted that … Continue reading Christians Don’t Have Exclusive Rights on God…

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The Church Is Not a Democracy….

RJ Walters

We in the U.S. know that one of the primary foundations of our democracy is freedom of speech. That is being able to say something different from our leaders and not suffer serious consequences. In my opinion this is what has allowed our country to remain so strong over the centuries. Many times criticisms lead to change and though we might not realize it at that time that is good for us. It makes us better; it makes us stronger. Without freedom of speech I doubt our country we even exist today. Anyone who has studied church history at all … Continue reading The Church Is Not a Democracy….