Wednesday, May 9, 2012

WOMANOLATRY & THE BEAST (Part 1 Of 2)

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THE PREFACE BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION
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There are only two kinds of people who disbelieve that The Bible was Divinely inspired: those who have not studied it, and those who have not studied it enough.
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Nevertheless, many times over the years I have said that there is no such thing as a Bible scholar.
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Oh, I’ve read plenty of Christian apologetics – books by many highly intelligent writers who have engaged in very detailed studies of ‘The Word Of God’. I have even strongly recommended some of these books to others in various places throughout the Internet. (Currently I am halfway through the book ‘God In The Dock’ by the brilliant C.S. Lewis.)
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But I have always maintained that The Bible is too rich, too deep, too intricate for anyone to be thought of as a “scholar” when it comes to Biblical studies. Naturally, I also excluded myself, despite the fact that I do not personally know anyone who has read The Bible from cover-to-cover more times than I have. And I haven’t just “read” The Bible, I have “studied” The Bible, devotedly, doggedly and with, I believe, the help of God’s Holy Spirit.
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But I ain’t no Bible scholar and I knows it!

THE INTRODUCTION BEFORE THE PROS

Well, I’m about to change my tune – first time ever. There WAS a Bible “scholar”. He was an Englishman who died in 1913 (the year the Federal Reserve – a demonic agency if ever there was one – was established in the United States). The scholar’s name was Ethelbert William (or, E.W.) Bullinger, and he picked a good year to leave this planet!
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I first heard of E.W. Bullinger about 5 or 6 years ago from my good friend BR’ER MARC. You see, Bullinger is a hero of sorts to Br’er Marc, and my buddy had recommended a couple of Bullinger's books to me.

It took me quite awhile to get to them, but I have now read two Bullinger books – ‘HOW TO ENJOY THE BIBLE: 12 Basic Principles For Understanding God’s Word’ and ‘COMMENTARY ON REVELATION’ – and I have come to the conclusion that I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that in Bullinger I have found a genuine scholar of The Bible.

I read Bullinger’s ‘How To Enjoy The Bible’ first (despite the fact that I had already been enjoying The Bible for 18 years). I wasn’t even out of the Introduction when I already suspected I was going to like this English bloke. On page xxvi he writes:

“The majority of mankind think that they think . . . when they have actually grown to manhood, with scarcely a conviction that they can call their own.”

Bullinger may have written that well over a century ago, but I see things haven’t really changed any.

And it took only 20 pages before the author had my attention in a major way!

It has been said that "the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed".

In all my years of devoted Bible study, I have found that particular saying to be precisely accurate! Just the incredibly intricate foreshadowing of the details of Christ’s life and mission found in the Old Testament should be enough to convince any intelligent, rational human being that what you have in The Holy Bible is a remarkably interwoven work by multiple writers over multiple centuries that couldn’t possibly have anything less than a supernatural origin.

On page 20 of ‘How To Enjoy The Bible’ Bullinger writes:

“In the wood laid upon Isaac (Genesis 22:6), and not carried by the servants or on the ass, we shall see Him [Jesus] who was led forth bearing His Cross (John 19:17).”

WHOA!

Not “Whoa!” because that was news to me. (Many, many years ago I learned to read The Bible looking for foreshadowing symbolism and hidden clues to deeper meaning, so that “wood-on-the-back” connection between the Old Testament human sacrifice, Isaac, and the New Testament Divine Sacrifice, Jesus, had been revealed to me by the Holy Spirit long ago.) But “Whoa!” because I wasn’t sure if anyone else had ever picked up on that little detail. I couldn’t recall having ever seen it mentioned in any other Bible-related books I’ve read.

So, when I saw that the “wood-on-the-back” connection had not gotten past E.W. Bullinger’s mind, I realized instantly that this dead cat really knew his stuffs and his book was going to be well worth reading. (Right I was on both counts!)

Or how about these? . . . 

Bullinger remarks on the historical existence of the Nephilim (which I believe are demonic beings that now plague mankind in the form of UFOs and their occupants). 

He also provides the fascinating revelation that due to mankind’s fallen state, over time, word definitions ALWAYS degenerate, they never acquire higher meanings! 

And exhibiting a correct view of modern (so-called) "science", Bullinger states:

SCIENTIA means KNOWLEDGE, and nothing in Scripture will be found to contradict what we really KNOW, which is true science. Much that goes by the name of “science” is only hypothesis; and, in much more, supposition is so mixed up with knowledge that the result is vitiated.

Can you say “Macro-Evolution” and “Anthropogenic Global-Warming” anyone?


THE PROS BEFORE THE CONS

Why do I contend that Bullinger is an authentic Bible scholar? Well, first of all, his powerful intellect is apparent on every page of his books; this is a man who thought deeply about The Bible and who approached it from nearly every conceivable mental angle. Bullinger made use of word studies, comparative dispensation studies, universal applications outside of specific dispensations, literary form, structural analysis of verses, Scriptural meanings based upon initial utterances, idioms or figures of speech, and many more tools, including even a basic form of gematria.

Yes, I was tremendously impressed by Bullinger’s nearly comprehensive approach to Bible study! This man was a true “scholar” and anyone who can make me think so deeply, reevaluate some of my own views or simply force me to dig deeper, question myself again, and find better, more satisfying arguments for my current Biblical world-view, or even alter it – now THAT is a person I appreciate being introduced to! (So a major “thank you” to Br’er Marc!)

Yes, I know, most Americans today do NOT want to think at all, let alone think “deeply”. Most Americans do NOT want to have their predetermined notions challenged, particularly when it comes to religion and politics. Americans today will not be remembered in future history books as seekers of truth. Sadly, we will be remembered as silly children who happily digested all the spoon-fed shit that our media and so-called “leaders” shoveled into our minds.

Well, that’s not me. I have ALWAYS enjoyed thinking. Thinking hard about things is – [gasp!] – F*U*N! How many times will I quote myself on this?: I would rather KNOW an unpleasant truth than BELIEVE a pleasant lie.

THE CONS BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE

Does all this mean that I kowtow to E.W. Bullinger? That I agree with his every utterance (or written word)? Not even close. It is my belief that no small number of errors and misunderstandings crept into the brilliant Mr. Bullinger’s Biblical assessments. And some of those mistaken ideas and concepts arouse in me a nearly violent vexation.

For example, it was not uncommon for Bullinger to make statements similar to the following:

It is surprising, when we really come to examine ourselves closely in this matter, how much of what we already believe has been “received by tradition from our fathers”. How little has actually been derived from our own direct personal study of the Word of God itself. We believe what we have received from man; and we do our best to get it confirmed by the Bible. When we are unable to get the confirmation we are in search of, then we find what we call a “difficulty.” But the difficulty is not in the Word of God itself; it is in our own minds. The real difficulty is in giving up our own views because we fail to make the Bible conform to them. It does not, at first, occur to our minds that we may have to abandon some of our views if we would get rid of the difficulty.
~ ‘How To Enjoy The Bible’; pages 184/185

Despite Bullinger’s astute observations like that one above, it seems to me that in arriving at more than a few of his theological beliefs, he himself was unable to follow his own advice.

For instance, probably nowhere did Bullinger make my blood boil more heatedly than on page 51 of ‘Commentary On Revelation’. After multiple admonitions throughout his writings that we ought to ALWAYS take God at his Word, that we do not twist, fold, spindle, or mutilate God’s Words in order to make them conform to the interpretation we favor, he then proceeded to write the following concerning the Old Testament promise that the prophet Elijah would precede and announce the arrival of the (New Testament) Messiah, Jesus:

John the Baptist was therefore invested with Elijah’s “spirit and power” (i.e., Elijah’s spiritual power), and was specially designated as “the prophet of the Most High.” Therefore our Lord could say in Matthew 11:14,15: “If ye will receive HIM [John the Baptist], this is (i.e., represents) Elijah which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

In other words, Bullinger took “this IS Elijah” to mean simply that “this REPRESENTS Elijah”. The word Jesus used, “is”, got retranslated into the word “represents” as a way for Bullinger to avoid the obvious Truth that Jesus was really expressing. That Truth being that John the Baptist IS (or was) quite LITERALLY Elijah: John’s soul and Elijah’s soul were one and the same soul; they were the same person born hundreds of years apart and inhabiting different human bodies.

This is a very old trick that Christian apologists still use today in order to avoid admitting that human reincarnation sometimes occurs. If they were to admit that inconvenient Biblical truth about reincarnation, “orthodox” Christian tradition would have to be rewritten. In order to avoid that predicament, Christian apologists old and new – including E.W. Bullinger – choose to accept the “tradition from our fathers” over the Truth that is revealed by God and His Son for those Bible students who “hath ears to hear” it. I have made this same point in some of my previous writings. [‘Reincarnation & The Holy Bible’]

Bullinger was also devoted to the Trinitarian concept, and I wonder whether or not he ever even attempted to test that standard Christian theological plank against the many Biblical passages that seem to clearly wipe it off the Christian map. (Even the astoundingly bright C.S. Lewis seems to have accepted it out-of-hand, direct from the palms of the early Church fathers.)

Never mind that a 712-page tome (‘One God & One Lord’) could be assembled to dispel the Trinitarian dogma and still not quite cover every single argument against it.

Another issue I have with Bullinger is his concentration on the study of Greek words and their often subtle shades of meaning when digging deep into the New Testament. As I have articulated in a few other places on the Internet, I stand with George M. Lamsa in his claim that the majority (if not the entirety) of the New Testament was orginally recorded not in Greek but in Aramaic, the language that Jesus Christ spoke and wrote.

Therefore, in my opinion, a devotion to studying the New Testament exclusively in the Greek language is unavoidably going to lead to multiple errors in understanding.

But the single most important issue I have with some of E.W. Bullinger’s interpretations stem from his strictly intellectual methodology of Scripture study. I found a website called WithCHRIST.Org that I believe nails down this contention solidly. Below are some excerpts:

Bullinger's copious notes contain vast amounts of technical information, typically overwhelming the average reader today.  He clearly and faithfully believed that the original canon of Scripture was the inerrant Word of God.  However, his views on biblical inspiration contained subtle error, which in turn caused anomalies in his views regarding interpretation.  While he acknowledged the Holy Spirit as "guide and teacher of His own Word", he did not believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for the new-creation believer and thus the biblical doctrine of the Spirit's illumination was conspicuously absent from his theology. 

At a time when German Higher Criticism had inflicted much damage upon Christians, he rightfully lamented the fact that believers were more steeped in religious traditions than in the Word of God.  However, his efforts to remedy the situation were deficient and focused on secondary issues.  For Mr. Bullinger, the problem for believers was exclusively one of interpretational methodology.

His answer to understanding the Bible, doctrinal truth, and resolution of ecclesiastical division was in applying appropriate methods of interpretation.  Due to his failure to clearly understand or articulate the truth of spiritual blindness, all could and would be solved by simply using his comprehensive and technical approach to reading and studying Scripture.  Again he states:

By the aid of these twelve simple canons or rules, other passages and subjects may be taken up and pursued both with pleasure and profit -- subjects which are even yet matters of controversy and of conflict.

Mr. Bullinger did not clearly acknowledge the necessity of the Holy Spirit's sovereign illumination of the Text. ... Approvingly he quotes a Bishop Butler, who said:

"...the only way to study the Word of God is the way in which physical science is studied.

"...it [study of the Word] must be in the same way as natural knowledge is come at, by the continuance and progress of learning and liberty ...

Again, not a word about the Holy Spirit's sovereign ministry of revealing truth (John 16:13) nor of the natural man's inability to understand spiritual things, as expounded by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2.

In light of his immense intellect, Mr. Bullinger appears strong on man's native ability and weak regarding the sovereignty of God -- the root cancer found in all forms of religious humanism...

He believed conflict would disappear and unity would be restored to Christendom if believers simply read their Bibles using "appropriate methodologies".

By contrast, we will do well to heed the words of dispensationalist Lewis Sperry Chafer:

There is not the slightest possibility that the most educated and brilliant mind can make one step of progress in the understanding of spiritual truth apart from the direct [sovereign], supernatural teaching to the individual heart by the indwelling [Holy] Spirit.

There is no didactic [pedantic] discipline in the world comparable to the teaching of Christ by the Holy Spirit, both because of the fact that infinity characterizes the themes which are taught, and because of the Teacher's method of approach by which He, by the Spirit, enters the innermost recesses of the heart [mind] where impressions originate and there not only tell out the truth of transcendent magnitude, but causes the pupil actually to grasp the things thus revealed.

All of that having been said, I still find E.W. Bullinger’s writings, his examination of The Holy Bible to be profoundly insightful, exciting, challenging, and valuable. I may have my disagreements with him – some of them being vehement disagreements that incite a good deal of irritation in me – but I nevertheless suggest that anyone who really wants to learn, and not only learn but have some of their precious theological beliefs severely challenged to see if they can withstand careful scrutiny, I recommend that person read some of Bullinger’s writings. In Bullinger we have the first Bible student I have thus far encountered who I think is authentically worthy of the label “scholar”. And again I thank my McBuddy, Br’er Marc, for making me aware of Bullinger’s works.

THE APOCALYPSE BEFORE THE END

Despite my disagreements with some of E.W. Bullinger’s theological beliefs (a few of those disagreements being A-list blood-boiling) I have tremendous respect for him as a deep, serious, devoted, God-loving thinker. I don’t always have to agree with someone to appreciate them. Anyone who arrives at their beliefs honestly, critically – objectively willing to analyze and evaluate all the evidence available before coming to their conclusions (no matter how incorrect those conclusions may sometimes be), that person has my respect.

I don’t doubt that I myself am holding incorrect ideas about some things, religious and spiritual or otherwise, but I can only hope that those who disagree with me would at least respect and value the objective methods I applied and the careful study I undertook in arriving at these beliefs, be they right or wrong.

In one of the blurbs on the back cover of Brian Garfield’s book ‘WESTERN FILMS: A Complete Guide’, the New York Daily News says: Garfield is articulate and opinionated, a good arguing partner.” And that’s how I feel about E.W. Bullinger. If Bullinger was not a Biblical “scholar”, then surely such a thing does not exist. And I loved reading his writings, as he forced me to rethink ideas I held, to sharpen my mental arguments against his, and in some instances, to either alter my ideas or at least accept the possibility that other views, backed by good evidence, may be equally valid and possibly more accurate.

I LOVE IT when someone really forces me to think. But be forewarned: If you are generally highly entertained and enthralled by books and programs like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Survivor, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and any number of “Reality TV” shows, then the odds are that the writings of E.W. Bullinger are going to be too weighty to hold your interest. If you like silly, superficial stuffs, then you’ll find Bullinger to be ancient, boring, and painful – painful as in: “Ow! My brain, it hurts! He’s making me use it!”

Additionally, I don’t think I would recommend the reading of Bullinger to anyone who doesn’t already first have a basic understanding of The Holy Bible’s primary themes. That is to say, familiarize yourself with The Bible BEFORE you try to tackle Bullinger’s studies; at minimum, one must comprehend a simple overview of a subject before intricate complexities can be fathomed. (I remember how in late 1993 or early ’94, my employer gave me a copy of the Zola Levitt pamphlet ‘The Seven Feasts Of Israel’. I read it, but having never read much of The Bible beforehand, it made no impression on me whatsoever. A few years later, after having now read through The Bible a few times, I went back and reread Levitt’s ‘The Seven Feasts Of Israel’ and was utterly blown away by it.)

Therefore, you should have at least a general, if shallow, knowledge of the Biblical world-view prior to diving into the deep end of the pool with Ethelbert - as sometimes the lifeguard is watching the tanning beauties more than he is the floundering swimmers, and you don’t wanna drown in the details! (The ideal study guide for the novice, and perhaps even for some of the more knowledgeable Bible students, might well be ‘LEARN THE BIBLE IN 24 HOURS’ by Dr. Chuck Missler. I recommend it highly.)

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In my next and final installment of  WOMANOLATRY & THE BEAST’ (a satirical title inspired by an E.W. Bullinger term and by the story ‘Beauty And The Beast’), I will examine some of Bullinger’s views concerning the Biblical End-Times described in ‘Revelation’, illustrating the surprising and unique belief he held, and briefly comparing and contrasting his thoughts about the Great Tribulation period with my own.

Be here or be . . . . . . somewhere else.

~ Stephen T. McCarthy 

For PART 2 click HERE.

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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12 comments:

  1. I don't know if I can tolerate a book that makes me use that big spongy thing inside my head... can't you just review the latest episode of Jersey Shore?

    This is fascinating to me, though, and has introduced a lot of concepts I didn't know about. Such as the mention of reincarnation.

    Also, I didn't comment on it, but I did (and still am) enjoying the beer battle royale.

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  2. BRYAN or BRANDON (Whichever B You Be) ~
    Ha! I'm pleased to announce that no one is any less qualified to review the latest episode of 'Jersey Shore' than I am. ;o)

    Glad you're finding this interesting. The really wild stuffs will begin in Part 2 (whenever I find time to write it) in which Bullinger proposes a theory about the Biblical End-Times that had never even occurred to me, despite the many times I've read The Bible's concluding "book", 'REVELATION'.

    He may be wrong, but I find his view extremely intriguing. It gave me one of those rare "Ah-Ha!" moments.

    As for Reincarnation in The Bible... you won't find a lot of people making that claim. I'm one of the few, and I think I explored the concept fairly thoroughly in that 4-part blog bit I linked into my text here.

    Also, pleased to know you're still following the BEER BATTLES. Hopefully we will have determined our winner this next Tuesday night.

    BEER & THE BIBLE. I'm nuttin' if not "all-over-the-map".

    If you Beer Boys ever decide to conduct your own Blind Beer Taste Tests, I will want to know ALL ABOUT IT. I'd be interested to see how your results align or differ from the results my Brother and I are getting.

    Thanks for commenting and... Yak Later.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  3. This was a very interesting blog post. There are many things in it that have me thinking quite deeply about spiritual matters as well as how we approach our own faith.

    1) from withChrist.org: "There is not the slightest possibility that the most educated and brilliant mind can make one step of progress in the understanding of spiritual truth apart from the direct [sovereign], supernatural teaching to the individual heart by the indwelling [Holy] Spirit."

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    2) Bullinger states: "SCIENTIA means KNOWLEDGE, and nothing in Scripture will be found to contradict what we really KNOW, which is true science. Much that goes by the name of “science” is only hypothesis; and, in much more, supposition is so mixed up with knowledge that the result is vitiated."

    The implication here is that reality can be known, scientifically. It also indicates that what we term science is often just incorrect supposition: unreality. To me, Divine Love IS science, and the universe of God's creation is knowable by His children.

    But I think the two paragraphs quoted above are both needed to truly understand the Bible (and in other words to understand the nature of God and man.) It requires BOTH the inexplicable inspiration of Holy Spirit AND the application of a scientific approach to the universe of Spirit. If you are not inspired by some faith or power to look beyond the nonsense being presented to you, you will not get far applying a scientific approach. Satan does not come to us and say: "You think THIS (insert fallacy here)." Satan comes in the guise of our own thinking, saying "I think this!)"

    I agree that most people do not question a single aspect of what is presented to them about God, let alone anything else. They watch TV, seeing pleasant commercials about viagra, cialis, advil, heart meds, hospitals, etc. News stories bombard us with standard mantra and assumptions about the nature of illness and how it is to be treated. Anything different is not only not publicized, it is criticized and often even outlawed. Check stories about people who want to birth their babies at home. The State has unchecked power to govern us in all matters... just because they can. Some "scientist" has made assumptions about what is best for children, and if you don't want your newborn vaccinated (for example), they can jail you.

    This blog bit really has me introspective about my own curiosity. Thanks.

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  4. SHEBOYGANBOY 6 ~
    As a general rule of thumb, I don't approve and post a person's submitted comment until I have time to respond to it.

    In this case, I do not at this moment have time to respond, plus I want to reread your comment and think about it a bit more before I reply. I will, however, DEFINITELY reply before too long.

    But... I also wanted to post your comment immediately to give any other readers a chance to see it, and respond to it if they'd like to, even before I find the time to do so.

    Your comment is EXCELLENT, and it is THIS sort of dialogue that I have always wished my blogging would produce. Comments like yours here (regardless of how much I agree or disagree with it) is what I think blogging should primarily be about.

    Thanks A LOT for taking the time to read and mentally digest this, and submit such a thought-provoking comment.

    I will be back to add my own two cents worth in the next day or two.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  5. Sheboyganboy 6,
    I don't believe I have ever responded to one of your comments but had to here. For one, your point on vaccines is spot on. Not only is my state of Washington having a epidemic of whooping cough but a good number of them were vaccinated, and are now subject to the disease anyway. Two, given that they use antifreeze, imbalming fluid, aluminum, and mercury in them should give anyone pause. Third, the MMR, chicken pox, and Hepatitis A vaccines are all made with "Diploid Tissue." Diploid lung tissue is code for aborted fetal tissue that is cloned. Dr. Eisenstein stayed on hold for over 8 hours before he could get MERC to admit that. Just my two cents.

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  6. Stephen,
    Glad you like ol' E.W... I have yet to read his commentary on Revelation. However, I can tell you I equally liked How to Enjoy The Bible and his book on Holy Spirit. Bullinger masterfully shows the differences in the use of the term Holy Spirit, holy spirit, ex. I agree with most of his conclusions in that book. He also has "The Witness of The Stars" which I attempted to start 10 plus years ago but it was a bit over my head at the time. That books premise is on the birth of Christ and how God had put Christs story in the stars (I can't do a book justice that I haven't personally read. I have read two other books on this very subject that quote Bullinger on this topic). Also there is a book I'm probably going to read next called, "A Great Cloud of witnesses." This takes a passage in Hebrews and shows how the believers in that passage were great examples and are truly inspiring to the rest of us. I've read the passage, heard teachings on it, but for one reason or another have yet to read it. Everyone I know who is a dedicated student of the bible (like you are) who has read that book tells me it inspires and challenges them to improve their personal walk even more (this is from believers who have read it who I respect deeply, and that is a short list). As a matter of fact "Great Cloud Of Witnesses" is said to be one of his most under read books, and most say that shouldn't be so. So I've ordered it because, well, I've only read two books by the guy and he's been one of my heroes for 10 plus years. I need to get off my seat and get into some more of his books.

    Lets talk by phone soon,
    Br'er Marc

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  7. BR'ER MARC ~
    Ya know what? I've actually heard of 'A Great Cloud Of Witnesses'. It must have been referenced a few times in other things I've read, but I never realized it was Bullinger.

    After you've read it, please let me know what you thought, because I'll probably want to read it also if it impresses you a great deal.

    Also, you recommended 'The Witness Of The Stars' to me some years ago, and I still have it in my shopping cart at BigBitch.com. I still wouldn't mind reading that one someday as well.

    Now I want to recommend one to you:
    I can't remember if you read and commented on my 'Ferret-Faced' blog bit about the book 'THE HARBINGER' by Jonathan Cahn or not. The blog bit was titled "Where Was God On 9/11" or something similar to that.

    Anyway... you GOTTA read that book! Every American has GOTTA read that book! It is a real mind-blower.

    The premise is that America has adopted the EXACT SAME arrogant, self-sufficient, God-ignoring attitude that Israel did in a certain Old Testament time period, and now America is reaping the EXACT SAME downfall that Israel did.

    I kid you not, you will have to pick your jaw up from off the floor! It's so incredible it's almost unbelievable! Oh, yeah, and The Bible is just a bunch of myths written by a bunch of drunken Jewish fishermen. Yeah, that's right.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  8. I will come by later and get that book title. Right now, kids wanting to take ride, jumping on my baaaack.

    Marc

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  9. Br'er Marc -

    Thanks for the comment on my own.

    But you DID comment on one of my comments once, a couple of years ago. It was a very helpful expansion on the debate about liberals and conservatives, with some focus on Glenn Beck, I believe. It clarified some issues that StMcC and I were debating.

    I was also interested in learning here that you live in Washington State, as I do. Yes, WA is suffering right now from a whooping cough epidemic. The arrogant WA bureaucrats and health care providers last year put through a liberty-violating bill making Washington State the only state to require a narrowly defined group of health care providers as the "gatekeepers" over religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions in our state. In order to claim their parental right to decide their own philosophical and/or religious belief for their children in regard to vaccines, Washington citizens have to first get a signature from a government list of health care providers stating they have received "vaccine education." In other words, you are too stupid to decide for yourself about these matters and have to go be intimidated by Big Brother. I am sure it is just the first step toward eliminating exemptions at all.

    When they do that, I am outta here. Not sure where to move, though!

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  10. Stephen;

    Thank you for an interesting and enlightening post that inspired so many well educated and thought provoking comments.

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  11. Six,
    I work in Oregon and live in Washington. A bit of a drive for sure, but I'm not quite right on the border. Lets just say Southern Washington to be safe since it's a public arena. Oh and interestingly enough if you look up the greek work pharmecious (I butched the spelling) you will see it is where we derive our word pharmacy from. It is in Rev. 18 I believe. Where it states something along the lines, "By your sorceries were all nations deceived" at least in the old King James version. The english word sorceries is the greek word for pharmacy. Which of course means drugs. Could it mean the pharm industry? Who knows. I would love to see what the aramaic word is but good luck finding a compatible aramaic resource.

    Br'er Marc

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  12. Came back to the start of the series--thought I'd already read this. You got me curious about this Bullinger so I went to put it on my wish list at Amazon (I know, I know--but it's convenient). Then I realized I have Bullinger's The Witness to the Stars right here on a bookshelf beside my desk. I was one of my father's books and now I'm wondering if maybe I have some more Bullinger books somewhere around here (I wish I had a better memory). Now I guess I'll have to read one of his books.


    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

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