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Our text has been revised. We no longer make frequent use of the he/she, his/her, himself/herself, etc., gender friendly and neutral terms. One of the major reasons for this change regards an effort to make expressions less interrupting; indeed, some readers find the frequent usage distracting. While we do seek to be accommodating to gender sensitivities, we now make use of the generic he, him, etc. without attaching any male chauvinistic slant to these terms. We trust that for the sake of simplicity and clarity, everyone will understand the merit of this change.

 

About Us

Most of the time you will find we as opposed to I used throughout these writings when the writer is referenced. The reason that such plural pronoun is most often employed regards the source. Philosophies, Christian views, and doctrine most frequently reflect the disposition representative of many Southern Baptist people. This does not suggest that all Southern Baptist embrace every expression. Rather, the we is used to reflect the views that many Southern Baptist do embrace, without my being so brazen to make myself a sure spokesman for any one of the Southern Baptist. Neither do I claim to be right and those who disagree with me automatically wrong. I readily confess that I do not have all the answers, but I sincerely portray what I perceive that most of us have in common. In those areas that I am merely expressing my own opinion or discuss matters that may or may not reflect Southern Baptist thinking or use personal stories related only to my experiences, I do use the pronoun I.

Having said that, we endeavor to deal with subjects of interest to readers and subject material which can provide each reader with a direction toward discovery. Of course, this Website provides a Christian-based approach without rejecting any person on the ground of religious orientation or cultural background or race or country of origin. While we make no apology for who we are, we believe in the free expression of love toward and unrestricted acceptance of all peoples. ...God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). This does not intend to suggest that we accept all that every religion, cult or philosophy embrace. Indeed, not every belief or action can be equally true to all other beliefs and actions. Furthermore, we do not subscribe to the disposition of arrogance; we believe that when the revelation of genuine truth shines into the darkness of ignorance, bigotry and self-centeredness and darkness will dissipate. Hence, we intend to deal more with right doctrines than the condemnation of wrong doctrines. This does not mean that we never point out evil, but even when such is necessary, it should be done from the light of the truth and the love for the ones caught up in such evil (See Reasonable Response).

More specifically, we are Southern Baptists, not as aloof and full of piety reflecting a better-than-you stance, but as blind people who have been given sight solely by God's grace, not because of who we are but because of Who God is. Moreover, such can never be presented on the basis of any merit on our part, for all glory must be given to God. The statement that Christ did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people live fairly well centers our focus.  When dead people are made to live, then the life of God ushers forth and produces fruits of righteousness!

  Anyway, it is never we who can claim goodness, but because Christ lives within us, He alone imparts what goodness there is.  Hence, Christ reflects His goodness through us, and His goodness transforms us into His Image such that we grow up into the fullness of His Stature (Ephesians 4:13).

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Our aim is to serve the needs of those who search together with us to explore with a desire to uncover a greater expanse of truth than we can ordinarily be aware of.  Of course, we make no claims with respect to cornering the truth, for no person can embrace total truth any more than the lowly ant can reach the sun and thoroughly explore the entire burning, exploding surface.  Truth will forever remain greater than the sum total of all populations of earth, past, present and future!

Notwithstanding, we move in a direction, ever growing, ever enamored and learning, ever expanding our horizons and encountering the reality enlightening the human soul.  Such a journey attests to much more than mere observations, more than meditations, more than speculations, more than just an adventure.  Certainly, these elements may well be a reflection of the journey in part, but ultimately, we shall discover that Reality can be no less than God Himself!  We believe that all of us can come to the dynamic conclusion that in Him all things consist (are held together with His meaning and purpose). --Colossians 1:16-17  

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Informative Interview

 A fictitious situation and characters depicting reality in the current Congress

 

Interviewer:  Congressman Rawhide and Congressman Wildside, I greatly appreciate your willingness to discuss a few issues with me.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Why, of course.  It’s a pleasure to have you interview us.

 

Honorable Wildside:  My sentiments exactly.

 

Interviewer:  Good, then we can bring to the table some of the… well, shall we say, the hard questions people are asking.  OK?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Really, sir, there are no such as hard questions—just hard-headed people who refuse to accept our expertise.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Again, my sentiments exactly.  You would think people would learn sooner or later that we Congressmen know what is best for them and stop questioning us.

 

Interviewer:  Hmm, I see.  Then, you would say that the constitutional rights for free speech and redress of grievances have little relevance?

 

Honorable Wildside:  I, for one, can’t understand why John Q. Public would even concern himself about so-called free speech or petitioning Congress on anything.  He’s not in Congress and can’t see from the vantage perspectives of the politically correct disposition we have.  He has never climbed the political ladder and tends to interpret the Constitution literally, not as a living document to be interpreted in the spirit of the generation in which we live.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Well, my colleague and good friend and I see the situation a bit differently, though he is well-intentioned and has a correct spirit.  You see, I do partly, at least, understand why John Q. Public roars in protest.  He reflects the prodding from the radical voices of the fundamentalists Christian rightwing agitators.  They’re incessantly broadcasting what transpires in Congress and, of course, play on the ignorance of those peons, who can’t have a clue regarding the complex nature of issues and problems that only political experts can understand and deal with.

 

Interviewer:  Well, I see, Honorable Congressmen.  Hmm… but something bothers me about your take on this.  Let me put it this way:  I have noticed that some Congressmen would differ with you and a few would see things from the Christian perspective.  Now, is it not true that those politicians also came up the ladder?  Why do they not concur with your views regarding the Christian voices?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Why, I would think that to be obvious.  For political expediency and personal reasons, some sell out to the cause promoted by those radicals, but they have no care what happens to our nation.

 

Honorable Wildside:  And it would not surprise me if money or favors were somehow passed under the table to bribe those Congressmen!

 

Interviewer:  I see, I…

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Please excuse my good friend.  I think his statement was really just a slip of the tongue.  We…

 

Honorable Wildside:  Oh, yes, I reveal my thoughts too quickly sometimes.  There’s absolutely no solid evidence to suggest such a breach.  However, I make no apology that those Congressmen sell out our national interest by representing the special interests of the radicals.

 

Interviewer:  Curious.  Different people—even among politicians—tend to disagree among themselves as to what the national interest really should be.  And what is there among Christians and their ideology which disqualifies them from having a voice along with everyone else as to governing principles since they themselves are also affected by political legislation? 

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Intolerance!  That’s what.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Oh, yes, and exclusivity.  What makes them think they’re better than everyone else, anyway?

 

Interviewer:  Oh, by intolerance and exclusivity you’re saying that these Christians have intentions of silencing opinions and ideas of all others?  That they demand that only their voices alone be given sole right to speak out on issues?

 

Honorable Wildside:  Why, uh, yes.  I guess you could put it that way.  They’re pretty demanding, I’d say.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  I would… Well, I don’t fully go along with my colleague here, but these Christian radicals do have a lot of audacity to claim that they themselves alone are right and everyone else is wrong.  Oh, they really don’t mind for others to speak up if they can also counter with their voices, but they do stir up a lot of people who don’t think for themselves.

 

Interviewer:  Let me get the strait of this.  You say that these Christians are wrong for claiming to be exclusively right?  Does that mean that these Christians must judge everyone else also to be right that these Christians can be considered right themselves?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Oh, definitely.  That makes perfect sense.  Yet, even then, I’d suspect some trickery.

 

Interviewer:  Then I take it that you yourself consider everyone else to be equally right, even those who disagree with your philosophy or political views?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  I would say so—just as long as they all are tolerant of everyone else.

 

Honorable Wildside:  True, there could be no issue if everybody were tolerant of everybody else.

 

Interviewer:  Then, if everybody is right about everything, what’s the point of disagreeing with anyone else in—say—political matters?  After all, if everybody is right, why try to change the views of anybody?

 

Honorable Wildside:  Politically, everybody is right in his views just as long as those views serve him.  Each one needs to go his own way to serve himself in what is right in his own eyes.  But the problem is that we have these Christians who try to say that their views are the only ones that are right. 

 

Interviewer:  Suppose the Christian’s views serve him well.  What’s wrong with his faithfulness to his own understanding?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  I would say that if he keeps his views to himself, he has a right to those views.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Huh!  I can imagine his radical ideas being contained.  Hardly.  He wants to impose them on everyone else.

 

Interviewer:  I see something very interesting here.  You suggest that everybody’s views are equally valid except for Christians. A Christian’s views cannot be valid only because Christians insist that they believe them to be absolutely true, thus not false.  Do we consider that nothing can be both true and false at the same time?  Oh, I know the notion that what’s true for you may not be true for me and vice versa.  But is there anything beyond subjective truth?  Can I owe a bill and at the same time refuse to pay it because I think to myself that I am free from all bills?  Can I start across a street and decide I need not look, for to me, even without looking to make sure, no traffic is coming?  Can I allow anything to happen to me and even injure me without so much as a complaint because I concede that what happens to me remains the nature of others doing what benefits themselves at my expense and is all right because what they believe for themselves is right for them?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Oh, but we do recognize conflicts, opposing beliefs seeking to overpower our beliefs and vise versa.  There must remain an underlying philosophy of might makes right and only the strong deserve to survive, known as survival of the fittest.  Thus, we can strong arm in Congress to force a bill we support to pass, even if it means threatening to sabotage the efforts of other Congressmen or going so far as to cover up certain facts that could hinder our goals if they were known.  Our might makes what we do right because we are stronger.  In that way we show that we are the ones who deserve to survive.

 

Honorable Wildside:  That’s about the size of it.  We launch from strength, not from weakness, as do those Christian radicals who believe in the fantasy of absolute truth.  Yes, and what they call love can only be a weakness that opens them up for defeat. 

 

Interviewer:  What you two propose would create detached individualistic worlds in conflict at junctures of opposing ideas.  On the biological level we call cells that become highly individualized within the human body such that they break links of coordinated purpose within the DNA and RNA structure of governing genetic functions cancer cells.  In a society those who break ranks with the sociological links and structures that make societies function and survivable are similar to cancer cells within a society.  Such spread drives societies toward disintegration and anarchy leading to the demise of such societies.

 

In other words, there must be an overriding moral and spiritual navigational reference that every component within a society assumes moral, ethical and spiritual responsibility and accountability such that the society can thrive.      

 

Honorable Rawhide:  I’d say that your gibberish reflects a distinct fantasy; you have the fairy-tale mind of those believing in absolute truth.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Yes, indeed.  You, sir, speak just like the radical Christians.

 

Interviewer:  It’s amazing to me.  In your denial of reality you claim anything goes except the belief in absolute truth!  Would you venture so far as to say that it is absolutely true that there is no absolute truth?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  I would say that it’s subjectively true that there’s no absolute truth.

 

Interviewer:  Oh, then, suppose that someone subjectively believes in absolute truth.  Would that be true for him in his own subjective way of thinking?  In other words, the notion of subjective truth would make it true for him, would it not?

 

Honorable Wildside:  I would say that it’s absolutely true that there’s no absolute truth.

 

Interviewer:  Honorable Wildside, you’ve just contradicted yourself.  You’ve declared one absolute truth to deny that there is any absolute truth.  And you, Honorable Rawhide, have made the notion that there’s no absolute truth dependent upon the subjective idea of each person who believes there’s no absolute truth.  Can a person in his own subjective mind believe that there’s absolute truth?  If so, is that true for him?  It seems to me that you cannot evade the issue that there must be an overriding reality which either way you go in your belief leaves you in a dilemma!

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Rubbish!  Even if such a one believes that there is absolute truth, he is absolutely wrong.

 

Interviewer:  Did you listen to what you just said?  You are making a judgment call.  In other words, you determine that there must be an overshadowing reality which makes one’s own subjective truth wrong in this exception principle.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Well, in reality we choose to believe and act in whatever way we please, making our own rules, meaning in language that we choose, and anything else we can say and do irrespective of what others might think or say, simply because we have a position of authority and we’ll use and do all in our power to bring others under control.  We do not even recognize any independent truth other than what WE create for ourselves.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Wow!  That’s telling it like it is!

 

Interviewer:  This arbitrary and naive disposition does account for much of the notorious and sinister efforts in congressional introduction of bills that would destroy our liberties under the Constitution.  The inordinate introduction of Freedom of Choice Act, which would resort to Gestapo enforcement of women’s license to allow torture and murder of unborn children (and even infanticide through partial-birth abortion), Hate Crimes Bill, which rewards those who commit cold-blooded  murder with lesser punishment providing they do so without any hate involved.  That bill could allow the targeting of anyone who dared speak the truth which could place any protected group in an unfavorable light.  Fairness…

 

Honorable Rawhide:  We don’t need to listen to this nonsense!  Of course, we can use any enforcement we choose as long as we have the power to do so.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Yes, that’s true.  When we get all these bills enacted, you won’t be able to speak out irresponsibly this way.  Just wait and see!

 

Interviewer:  If I may, I’d like to reflect on what you are saying with respect to your constituents!  What do you suppose will be the response to what you are saying with the public at large, especially your constituents?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  How dare you!  This part of our conversation is NOT for public consumption, and should you be so foolish to insist on broadcasting it, both of us will vehemently deny your report.

 

Honorable Wildside:  I just can’t believe…

 

Interviewer:  Well, the truth is the truth, and should you deny it, I can produce the voice recording you both agreed to accept as conditions for this interview.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  ACCEPT?  We did not!

 

Interviewer:  Of course you did.  You did read the agreement, did you not?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  You know better than that.  We’re Congressmen.  We don’t have to read everything before signing.

 

Interviewer:  Calm down.  Of course, I intend to edit this report, but I do not intend to eliminate the essence of what is said.  I am more civil than to include some of the things you had obviously not thought through.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  We agreed to this interview because we felt that you were giving us an opportunity to show good will to the public, but obviously, you only intended to make us look badly, giving those radicals favorable support.

 

Interviewer:  Believe it or not, Honorable Rawhide, I initiated this interview in all good faith with you two.  I intended each of you to have opportunity to express your views on all issues, to bring to the table any aspect you may have in mind.  I assure you once more that I intend to be civil in what I do include for public information.  Having said this, I also believe the public is entitled to be informed on what is going on in Washington, both in the Congress and in the White House.  After all, they are supposed to be citizens exercising their freedom in a democracy.  

 

Honorable Rawhide:  But…

 

Honorable Wildside:  Trash it!  We’re not going to be insulted this…

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Just a minute, my friend.  Perhaps we did act a bit rash, and, to be honest, we should have read the conditions for the interview.  Maybe we can come to some sort of compromise for the sake of salvaging something from this interview.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Hmm… Oh, well, but we don’t need to be treated with less dignity than honorable Congressmen deserve.

 

Interviewer:  Sounds fair enough.  I’ll try to keep to the issues.  For instance, the provisions of the Grassroots Reform Bill; how can you justify placing restriction on free speech and the right under the Constitution for redress? 

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Why, free speech does have responsibilities associated with it.  We can’t just allow chaos by those who would interfere with Congress on flimsy interruptions designed to harass us, can we?

 

Interviewer:  Oh, I see.  In other words, you are saying that the people’s concerns about losing freedom to speak out and to address concerns to Congress constitute a flimsy basis for expressing themselves to Congress?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  No, but we must keep some order and protection.  I don’t think you would be suggestion that we throw the doors of Congress wide open to every Tom, Dick and Harry to barge in any moment and every time they desire to disrupt proceedings with bombardment of ideas and demands, do you?

 

Interviewer:  Hardly, but there is a difference between orderly procedures and locking out informational avenues.  Governments must be held accountable to the public within a democracy.  For that reason, voting becomes a powerful voice in governmental affairs.  But if the people do not have avenues to keep check on the actions and directions in government, they will be unable to make informed decision with respect to voting or any other recourse.

 

Honorable Rawhide:  Well, that’s simply your personal opinion.  We see things a bit differently.

 

Interviewer:  Be that as it may, The Fairness Doctrine would also be a heavy blow to the course of free speech.

 

Honorable Wildside:  Let me ask you something:  What’s unfair about giving every person a chance to express opposing views?

 

Interviewer:  They certainly already have that opportunity.  The opponents sometimes purchase air time for themselves. Thus, they are able to discuss their own opposing views.  But, again, what is fair about these opponents being given free time, free time paid for by the ones required to provide that time for them?  That allows these opponents the right to speak freely without any cost to themselves?  Such procedures can bankrupt and run Christian broadcasting off the air!  Is that fair in the least?

 

Honorable Rawhide:  It is indeed fair for those being attacked to defend themselves?

 

Interviewer:  The question does not relate to opportunity to defend self.  The Christian speaker brings up issues, to be sure.  But he pays for the opportunity to speak on the airways!  Indeed the opponents should also be given a right to speak.  But to be fair, they should also pay for their right to speak on airways that would sell them time. 

 

Honorable Wildside:  But the charges Christians make are radical!

 

Interviewer:  By whose assessment?  Christians consider some of the ideas of many politicians radical. 

 

Honorable Rawhide:  I guess we’re at an impasse here.

 

Interviewer:  In that case, I guess we’ll leave the final say to the voters.  I must fulfill my conviction by properly informing voters with respect to the way and manner Congress presents and deals with issues.

 

 

 

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