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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On-The-Road Washington DC Day 2

RJ Walters

We got into our hotel room early today at 5:00pm. It, like yesterday, was pretty much a road day but we did get in two sites. We made an unscheduled visit the Flight 93 Memorial in central Pennsylvania this morning. There is really not much there to see but the placards strategically placed around the site gave it a serious feeling. For those of you who might not remember Flight 93 was one of the four planes that the terrorists hijacked on 9/11. It was the only one that did not make it to its target. It went down twenty minutes short of the … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day 2

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A History of the Church (but whose history??)

RJ Walters

I proclaimed when I started posting this study a couple of weeks ago that I would be giving you a history of the church. In studying this topic I was quick to learn that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different versions of the history of the church. If you are a Calvinist your history is quite different than if you are a Catholic or Lutheran and especially an Eastern Orthodox. Everyone looks at history from their own perspective. Some like to concentrate only on the inspiring parts; I will be showing you the warts as well. The … Continue reading A History of the Church (but whose history??)

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On-The-Road Washington DC Day1

RJ Walters

Well here we are finally settled into our hotel room at 9pm in Greensburg PA. Since this is the first bus tour we have taken I really didn’t know what to expect. The entire day was spent on the road. That is with stops every two and a half hours. The most noticeable first thing was probably if you did not have white hair you were the minority of this bus load and if you were a man you were most definitely in the minority. About two-thirds were women. When we were loading up this morning there were a lot … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day1

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Ashamed Not to be a Heretic…

RJ Walters

Source:Ashamed Not to be a Heretic: Harry Emerson Fosdick – QuakerQuaker. “If the day ever comes when men care so little for the basic Christian experiences and revelations of truth that they cease trying to rethink them in more adequate terms, see them in the light of freshly acquired knowledge, and interpret them anew for new days, then Christianity will be finished.” Here is an interesting post by a Quaker about a Presbyterian minister who was driven from the pulpit by fundamentalists in 1922 due to straying from the established doctrine of the time. He fought the first waves of … Continue reading Ashamed Not to be a Heretic…

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Says It All….

RJ Walters

I think this cartoon says it all for me. Am I being too optimistic to think that we could get out of all the problems generated by the previous administration in less than four years? I was hoping for better than this… But as far a net worth, which for most of us is the value of our homes, is concerned I think any idiot could have seen the housing bubble burst long before it did.  At least many of us didn’t go into big debt based on that false value…. Continue reading Says It All….

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On The Road….Again

RJ Walters

I wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow I will be doing a series of “On The Road” posts here.  For those of you who are not familiar with them they will be end-of-day posts about our trip to Washington DC and Baltimore.  Except for a one day trip in 1998 this will be the first time we have taken a tour bus. This will be a six day trip. Of course the first and last day of the trip will mainly be sitting in a hopefully comfortable air-conditioned bus and letting someone else do the driving for a change. I … Continue reading On The Road….Again

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Sing….Sing a Song…..

RJ Walters

I woke up this morning with a song attached to my brain. I know I dreamed about it last night but since I almost never remember what my dreams are I can’t give you the context. Here is the lyrics of the song;  I hope I don’t cause you to be humming it all day as I likely am: Sing, sing a song, Sing out loud, sing out strong, Sing of the good things, not bad, Sing of the happy, not sad . . . Sing, sing a song, Make it simple, to last your whole life long, Don’t worry that … Continue reading Sing….Sing a Song…..

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From Eleanor…

RJ Walters

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself –  Eleanor Roosevelt I have sure made my share of mistakes but haven’t we all? Sometimes I don’t but I like to believe that I learn from my mistakes and try not to make them again. But some mistakes creep up on me and I stubbornly refuse to admit that they are mistakes at all.  Instead I blame them on circumstance or outside factors or just plain dumb luck.  Let’s admit it, no one likes to admit mistakes. Eleanor Roosevelt was as most of … Continue reading From Eleanor…

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About My Sources…

RJ Walters

This post is about some of my sources of info for the study I am presently undertaking on church history and how we got to where we are today. I have read scores of books on church history the last few years and continue reading them for this study. I have mentioned already there is one that influenced me greatly and it is one of the reasons I am doing this study. That book by Harvey Cox and is entitled Future of Faith. Here is a small bio of him found from Wikipedia: Harvey Gallagher Cox, Jr. (born May 19, 1929 … Continue reading About My Sources…

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The next iPhone …

RJ Walters

Source:Rumor roundup: The next iPhone – Gadgetbox on msnbc.com. I will state up front here that after several failed attempts at having a cell phone I finally got and iPhone last October. It is everything I hoped it would be. My previous attempts at owning a cell phone proved less than expected. Since I am deaf almost all of my communications via cell is with text messaging. Sometimes my wife uses my phone for voice calls but not often.  One of my previous phones was so slooooow.., another insisted on losing its signal daily and then went into a battery … Continue reading The next iPhone …

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Thy Will Be Done…

RJ Walters

There are only two kinds of people in the end; those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done’ –C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis was one of my favorite authors and theologians in my early years. He had insight that few could match. I warmed to him maybe because he was a lay theologian, that is he had no formal training in theology. He was one of us who was unpolluted by the religious hierarchy. It all just came natural to him.  His writings gave me the courage to also … Continue reading Thy Will Be Done…

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Women Be Quiet!!!

RJ Walters

1 Timothy 2:11-12 A woman  should learn in quietness and full submission.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;  she must be quiet.   I have always been troubled by these verses from Paul. I just don’t believe that God intended, especially for all eternity, that women to be quiet and not have any authority over men. Why would he deprive us of so much that women have to offer in almost every area?? Yes, I have heard that the majority of today’s theologians don’t believe that these words actually came from … Continue reading Women Be Quiet!!!

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Bob Dylan…

RJ Walters

msnbc.com Entertainment – Bob Dylan is honored by president with Medal of Freedom. I must admit that I was a big fan of Bob Dylan during my hearing years. I was a teenager when I “discovered” Bobby Dylan’s first album. He like me, at least in my mind, was somewhat of a rebel. His songs frequently railed against the establishments of the day. I learned to play the guitar because I wanted to play his songs. I, like Bobby, had a rather raspy voice so I thought I could pull it  off. Even now I can still recite many of … Continue reading Bob Dylan…

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Some Messy Stuff….

RJ Walters

I know most of us get just about all our knowledge about church history from our church run bible studies. It seems that most of the professional clergy, meaning those who earn money from their participation in church, only seem to want to give us the good side of history.  The old saying that “history belongs to the victors” is also true in the Christian church. It seems local pastor/priests, seminary professors, theologians, and such don’t really come out and tell the average layman just how messy Christian church history is, that is if they even know it themselves. They tend … Continue reading Some Messy Stuff….

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I Just Don’t Understand…

RJ Walters

Source: Charles Taylor Sentenced to 50 Years for War Crimes – NYTimes.com. I just don’t understand why the continent of Africa is so prone to these types of things.  Taylor was found guilty of atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during its civil war in the 1990s. I am ashamed to say that I only vaguely remember the Sierra Leone slaughter. I can make excuses like “I was just so busy in the 90s I didn’t have time” but that doesn’t excuse the fact that I along with millions of others stood by and just let it happen with hardly a peep from us. … Continue reading I Just Don’t Understand…

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Facebook followup

RJ Walters

Source: Stock futures up ahead of hopes of ECB stimulus: Fidelity. Facebook Inc is making it easier for advertisers to reach the growing ranks of users on smartphones and mobile devices, taking a significant step toward addressing one of investors’ most pressing concerns and broadening its appeal to marketers. Just a quick aside to update my previous post on Facebook entitled If You Are Not Paying For It. Now it looks like they want to direct their “customers” to your cell phones. Getting daily and probably multi-days ads ringing on my cell phone is not something I would tolerate. Maybe it is time to make the break … Continue reading Facebook followup

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The Keys…

RJ Walters

No one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys  – Unknown I don’t know about you but I think “Unknown” is a pretty smart fella. He seems to come up with all kinds of memorable stuff and this is one of the best. We all love to jerk each other’s chains once in a while. I can usually turn my wife around on a dime because I know where her keys are :) She usually reacts first and then realizes that I am pulling one on her. There was a guy I worked with for almost a … Continue reading The Keys…

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Aside…. What does Faith in Jesus Mean??

RJ Walters

Many people say they have faith in Jesus but I’m not sure they really know what they mean by that.  The  word itself has been so modified by man over the years.  Among other things I think faith means illumination..  When you have faith it sheds light on the meaning of your life and puts everything into clearer perspective…. It means loving God and loving your neighbor. Continue reading Aside…. What does Faith in Jesus Mean??

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Aside…..

RJ Walters

I am bringing up a new category here at RLL called an “Aside”. Anyone who has been on my other blog at RJsCorner.net knows that things frequently pop into my head that just must be released :)  The same goes for topics of this site. Asides will fill some of the voids between my twice weekly posts on church history.  When I have an aside for RLL I will try to make sure it is preceded by the above banner. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ As you maybe noticed I recently did some right brain work and created a new header for this blog. The one … Continue reading Aside…..

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Math… Now Spelling….

RJ Walters

I know I am going to sound like an “old guy” here but I seem to remember the same thing happened as shown by Mr. Stahler’s cartoon above with math. I was in college when the first calculators were invented so I remember the hours and hours I spent in my grade school days learning multiplication and long division. Although I was somewhat proficient at it I was never that keen on math so memorizing the multiplication tables was not a favorite thing for me but I did learn them. My teacher drilled me back and forth on them. When I went … Continue reading Math… Now Spelling….