random thought . . . . no random walk

UPDATE BMT DAY +12

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:49:00 +0000

I'm at a new nadir. I am so weak if I fall I cant get up. I'm cannot go anywhere without assistance. (I'm not sure but this may be scam by the nurse's union.) I'm officially old now so I can be a regular viewer of Wheel of Fortune. My condition is "not unusual" according to nurses and doctors.

No pain, no nausea, just inconvenience and boredom. And it takes a lot to bore an economist!

Prayer that my blood counts go up to just being low. If you have faith for more, go for it.

Remembering this clip from Treasure Island helps me stay out of the doldrums (Trigger Warning: Thar may be Pirates!)

I'm shaky like the old guy who first discovers the fever but sans hair.

Waiting for God? DON'T!

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 20:36:00 +0000

We have all heard mature Christians state, "I'm waiting for God...." This is often followed by a sigh with or without a shrug of the shoulders. What does waiting for God produce in you? (Christian-speak translation: What is the fruit?)

Feeling impatient? Feel your time is being wasted?

Feeling bored, not knowing what to do?

Feeling rejected, forgotten or unimportant?

Maybe you don't have any of the reactions above. Then likely the best you can come up with is that it bears no good fruit. Either way there is no benefit, so why not stop saying, "I'm waiting for God"?

There is a another way that better communicates the waiting and produces good fruit. Instead just say:

I'm waiting with God.

Our minds have been trained to associate waiting for someone as that someone is not there. However, saying "I'm waiting with God" reminds you of the basic fact of New Testament Christianity that God is always with you. It reminds you that Christ abides in you. The Holy Spirit is not only always with you but always in you! Sometimes we do feel that God is somewhere else. This feeling is real but it is not reality. This feeling lies to you. You need to constantly and persistently remind yourself of the truth that God is always with you. That is why you need to say, "I'm waiting with God."

Furthermore, this produces even more good fruit in your soul when you also remember that God loves you. He is crazy about you and wants you to have good things. He wants good things for you that you never even thought of.

An all-knowing God wants these good things even more than you do!

So if the God who created you has to wait to fulfill His desire to give you the best with the best of timing, shouldn't you consider it an honor to wait with Him?

So let's all renew (i.e., retrain) our minds. Let's stop waiting for God and instead enjoy the privilege of waiting with God.

Just a suggestion . . . .

Democracy prevails

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 20:56:00 +0000

President Trump is an embarrassment. He and those supporters that are still disputing the election are enemies of democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitution. Quite frankly, they are no better than traitors. To those offended by this I suggest to prayerfully consider 1st Samuel 15:23a.

I agree with everything President-elect Biden said below on Monday evening, December 14th.

Want to see the year of jubilee?

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:14:00 +0000

Some folks asked me, an economist, to explain the relevance of the Year of Jubilee and the impact of applying it today. It may seem a bit pedantic, but I need to build up to the answer. First, let’s look at what Jubilee was in the Bible. Next, let’s explain what it wasn’t in the Bible. Third, how do we apply it today?

What’s the Bible say? The Year of Jubilee is explained in Leviticus 25:9-55. Please take a moment, click the preceding link, and read it. To see what is actually written in the Bible is of the upmost importance. You should want God’s Word, not what others want you to think it means.

STOP! Did you really read the passage?

Yeah, it is a long passage. I know it is hard, but you can do it. So MAN UP! (Grow a couple.) Click: Leviticus 25:9-55. Let’s do this right! If you can’t be bothered, then please stop reading this and go back to looking at cat videos and pictures of other people’s food on Facebook.

Highlights Concerning Property in Leviticus 25:

Land was an inheritance from God and could not be sold outright (v. 23).
Land could be “sold” but the owner or a relative could redeem it, or buy it back (v. 25).
The price of the land, and the price to redeem it, was based on how many years were left until the year of Jubilee (v. 26-27).
If no one redeemed it, then in the Year of Jubilee the land would revert to the original owner since it is his inheritance from the Lord (v. 28).
A house in a walled city could be sold in perpetuity but the owner had a right to redeem it only during the first year after the sale (v. 29-30).

Highlights Concerning People in Leviticus 25:

Lending or selling for profit to an Israelite in need was prohibited (v. 35-37).
A poor Israelite could not sell himself and his family into slavery to another Israelite. He must be treated as a hired hand and only required to serve until the Year of Jubilee (v. 39-40).
The Year of Jubilee did not apply to non-Israelites (sojourners and foreigners). They could be bought and sold as slaves and owned in perpetuity (v. 44-46).
A poor Israelite could sell himself and his family into slavery to a non-Israelite but only until the Year of Jubilee (v. 47, 54)
All Israelites could be redeemed, whether serving as a hired worker to another Israelite or as a slave to a non-Israelite (v. 48-49).
As with land, the redemption price was based on how many years were left until the Year of Jubilee (v. 50-52).

Financially, the Year of Jubilee applies to two things: the debts of Israelites repaid with labor, and the land that God gave as an inheritance to the Israelites. First, non-Israelite slaves were not set free. The Jubilee only applied to slaves who were Israelites. The Children of Israel belonged to God. They could not sell themselves into perpetual slavery because they were not their own, but God’s property. Second, the land was a gift from God, an inheritance, bequeathed with the unchangeable restriction that it was the permanent possession of the Children of Israel. In short, they could not sell it outright. It is like Canton’s Village Park which is actually owned by the Presbyterian Church. It was bequeathed to the church with a restrictive covenant that it could not be sold. The church cannot give the land title to the Village of Canton and be done with it, even with the guarantee of its continued use as a park. Neither could the Children of Israel sell their land in perpetuity.

What’s NOT in the Bible? An implication of the above is that none of the following has anything to do with the Year of Jubilee:

Cancel all debts!
Stop the foreclosures!
Free those in financial bondage!

You might be thinking that although it may not literally be in the Bible, can’t the Year of Jubilee be an application of biblical principles that are indicative of God’s desire, his heart for social justice for those in financial bondage?

No.

Why not? The short answer is because such an application uses the Bible to deny, even pervert, the picture of God’s mercy, love and holiness.

(As you might suspect, the long answer is to follow.)

In Leviticus 25 the Jubilee requires neither the renunciation of debts nor the nullification of agreements or contracts. The agreement to the sale of land is not voided by the Jubilee because there never was a sale in perpetuity. It is very clear that both sides were to understand up front that purchasing use of the land was only temporary until a buyback (redemption) or until the Year of Jubilee. God said, “And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another” (v. 14) when outlining the amount of the sale and the redemption prices. Likewise, the obligation of a hired man or an Israelite slave to work was also known to everyone involved to be temporary until a buyback or the Year of Jubilee.

Of course there are numerous Bible verses concerning the forgiveness, including the forgiveness of debt. However, the admonition to forgive debts is always to the lender not the borrower. Forgiveness is voluntary, not imposed by a third party, and certainly not by God.

No one is entitled to receive forgiveness.

God is a promise keeper, not a promise breaker. He will not coerce a lender to accept another person’s violation of an agreement. God is all powerful but not unrighteous.

How Do We Apply the Year of Jubilee Today? The Year of Jubilee presents a beautiful picture of God’s love for his people. The Children of Israel received an inheritance of land from God. God guaranteed this inheritance would be restored even if someone purposed to lose it. Children of Israel may put themselves into slavery but God guaranteed they would be restored. They were His.

Today each of us was once part of a people who were not His people. With our sin, we each sold ourselves into slavery. We belonged to Satan and he was not about to forgive our sins and set us free. Rather, Jesus redeemed us. Satan was not forced to renounce his hold over us. We were not stolen from Satan as a result of the coercion of an all-power God. Rather, Jesus redeemed us. The price for sin was death but Jesus paid the price for our sins, life for life, with his own blood. There is no entitlement to receive such forgiveness. Rather, Jesus redeemed us.
.

Since Jesus redeemed us, we are now the Children of God by adoption. We are his and he can renounce the debt of sin because he paid for it. God owns us and we cannot change that even if we want to because we are not our own but were bought with a price.

In accepting Christ's redemption, we are co-heirs with Jesus. We cannot lose our inheritance.

Jubilee is not about a Get-Out-of-Debt-Free Card. It is all about Jesus. Jesus is our Jubilee.

Astros v. Dodgers and the randomness of baseball

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 21:19:00 +0000

At one win apiece for the Astros and Dodgers, in about three hours we have the start of what is a best three-of-five World Series. IMHO the best predictor of a winner between these two 100-plus-game-winning teams is a fair coin toss. If that is so (and it is) then there is a decent chance that this will end with Sunday night's Game 5. That decent chance is one-in-four or 25%. Why? Whoever wins tonight has the equivalent of two subsequent coin tosses coming up heads of being WORLD CHAMPION before ever having to leave Houston to play again in LA. If this happens then the talking-head analysts and commentators (i.e., blowhards) will explain why such a one-sided, 4-to-1 series was inevitable. How one team choked, blah, blah, blah, and how the other came through in the clutch.

A just as good or better explanation is that the championship was the result of what is, not to be too technical, called Dumb Luck.

Of course there is a 3-in-4 or 75% chance that there will be a Game 6 Tuesday night in LA. The dream of the dreams of Fox TV executives, the guaranteed high-ratings fall event, Game 7, has a better than 1-in-3 (37%) chance of also happening.

Again the expensive suit-and-tie wearing Big Boys, ex-players all, will pontificate as to why it all happened and do so with all the absolute certainty obtainable with 20-20 hindsight.

These well-paid, self-satisfied Big Boys with Big Mouths get the Big Bucks while Lady Luck only gets ignored. Talk about Gender Inequality!

So relax and take in two great teams playing each other. Take in baseball’s ultimate emotional roller coast ride with the thrills, disappointments, randomness, and joy called the World Series. It doesn’t get better than this -- especially if you don’t pay too much attention to the talking heads.

Just do what Mr. Puig #66 would do: Enjoy the game.

A little Q & A....featuring answer man Ernie Miller.

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 21:20:00 +0000

Q: So. What do you say to God when you're a total failure? What do you say to Him when you want something you don't think He wants for you? What do you say to Him when you don't even know if your thinking is correct or right? How about this: What do you say to Him when you know where you are coming from is wrong? How do you handle the anger? How do you handle the disappointment? You know the truth but you do not want to submit? I'm not asking you, because you don't know the answer. But, think of it. Have you been there? Have you been in the place where you KNOW what your doing or thinking is wrong, yet, you continue in it? Does that thing have a hold on you and you don't want to give it up? What do you do? You say you love God but you continue in doing that which He hates. Who are you? What are you? What are your choices in this situation? I can hear the answers of the legalistic. But what does God say? How does He handle someone who is in that place? It is easy to speak platitudes. But, in the end, the heart is evil and desperately wicked without Him. (OK, for all of you who don't acknowledge Him I am not quite sure what you would say.) So? What is a follower of Christ? What should that person look like? And further, what is the person that DOESN'T look like it? Jesus said that "His" road is narrow and that few go by that way.

A: ...[T]hese things are not a surprise to the Lord ..actually they are the plight of every man . Somehow we decide what to allow in our lives, our thoughts, our hearts, and when a whole group of people agree on these things ...you have religion . Yet Gods standard is perfection. Thank him for being able to see in such a way, many cannot . But this is the very thing Christ died for. When we admit were not willing, our hearts are far from Him...this is the very truth He is looking for .

And what does a Christian look like...blameless before our God..for the blood of Christ is sufficient ..nay more than sufficient

So many preach holiness and righteousness and to that I say Amen. But even to those the truth is this...holiness and righteousness is not only a thing of the past , but of the present and of tomorrow..and what will a man do not for yesterday's sins, but tomorrow's? Shall his holiness save him ? Or will He call out for the mercy and grace of our Lord? There's no other way. For its by grace alone that we are saved and by grace alone that we stand...so no man may boast .

SOURCE: Copied and pasted without permission from a Facebook page without attribution. This does not constitute plagiarism since I do not claim authorship. I stole it!

fb the day after

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 03:43:00 +0000

I am so tired of all the anger, accusations, outrage, contrived victim-hood, and more. I thought it was just the election bringing out the worst in us. Now the election is over, but it is continuing. Now I am beginning to see that it is not the election, it is us.

What is the source of all the filth we see and hear? Jesus said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Mt 12:34). The problem with America isn't the media, the candidates, the President, the President-elect, or those in Washington. It is us. We are merely seeing some evidence, the tip of the iceberg, the overflow of the reservoir of filth within us.

This is not the way to act after an election. It is destructive to a democratic society. It is not only rude, but unpatriotic and un-American. "If we can't begin to treat each other in a more human way, this thing is going to go from bad to horrible."

"I'm Bob Blewett and I approve this message."

fb the day after

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 03:43:00 +0000

Voting for evil or voting for what American can be

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 04:37:00 +0000

The following quote is from a video I just watched:

“I will vote to oppose the loss of freedom. I will vote to oppose the loss of life. And I will vote to oppose the loss of the traditional family.”

~ Tommy Nelson, The Continental Divide

After some reflection I realize that the sentences above are each negative votes They are votes of opposition, even votes of fear. They are defensive. They are truly votes of protest rather than affirmations of what America can be as a country.

Maybe we should take a different approach to voting.

As for me, I will vote for one who will support and defend the Constitution. I will vote for one who will submit to the Constitution as written and to the rule of law. I will vote for one who does not wink at political corruption as the art of a deal or as a convenient means to an end.

Thereby I will vote to support freedom.

As for me, I will vote for one who values all human life since all human life is made in the image of God. I will vote for one who respects the human rights of all citizens and residents regardless of their race, ethnicity, or national origin, as well as regardless of their religious, political, or social views and beliefs.

Thereby, I will vote to value life and the dignity of people.

As for me, I will vote for a person of competence and character to have the job of President. I will vote for one competent to deal with Congress, to be commander-in-chief of the military, to be effective in both domestic and foreign affairs. I will vote for someone I can best trust to lead us through still dangerous times.

Thereby, I will vote to support a better America and a safer world.

After reading the above, you may think me an incredibly self-righteous ass. Be that as it may, I still have the problem of deciding for whom to vote. I want my vote to count, to be tallied or enumerated, as well as to count for something important, something positive, something bigger than myself.

Neither of the two leading candidates meet, neither fails to meet, all my criteria. All candidates are flawed human beings, but I sincerely believe those two are particularly appalling and clearly unfit for the office. Neither is someone for whom I could vote in good conscience. Neither am I constrained by the false dilemma of either Clinton or Trump. In my state I have the option of voting for one out of a total of 36 candidates (four on the ballot, 32 certified for write-ins).

There is one of the 36 that I think is fit for office. Evan McMullin appears to meet my criteria:

I am not throwing my vote away voting for McMullin. Throwing my vote away, as well as selling out my moral values, would be voting for Clinton or Trump.

This is not a “protest” vote. A protest vote is voting for Trump because you don’t like Clinton or vice versa. I do not have to vote for the lessor of two evils. I do not need to settle for voting for evil. I can vote for Evan McMullin without feeling degraded and ashamed.

In 2016 I do not have to vote for evil, incompetence, or corruption. I can and will vote for affirmation of what America can be as a country. I'm voting for Evan McMullin.

Be blessed!

FYI: Special NYS Rules for Write-in Votes for President

Special NYS Rules for Write-in Votes for President

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 19:36:00 +0000

What to do if you do not want to vote for one of the four candidates for President listed on the ballot in New York? Of course you can do a write-in vote. However it must be done correctly or the vote will not count. Since the President is not elected directly but by electors, rules are different for Presidential write-ins than they are for other offices.

"In order to run as a write-in candidate for President, a person must file a certificate with the State Board of Elections, in which they declare themselves to be a write-in candidate for the office of President" (NYS Board of Election). If you write-in another name, even a name already on the ballot's list of candidates, the write-in vote will not count.

Here is how it works. "As you sign in to vote, you will be handed a voting card that contains the various offices that you will be voting for.... You will then take this card over to a table that has partitions on it which helps to keep your choices secret. Upon looking at the card, you'll note that each office being contested has the list of the authorized candidates along with a circle next to each name. At the bottom of each list of candidates will be printed the word "Other" with a blank line next to it. Take the marking instrument provided and fill in the circle next to the word "Other". Then write in the name of the person that you wish to vote for. When you are finished, take the card up to the election inspector near the voting machine and give your card to him/her. They will run your card through the machine which will record your vote" (source).

Here is a list of the 32 NYS certified write-in candidates for President:

Arantxa Aranja 725 Ninth Avenue, #2A, New York, NY 10019
Neer R. Asherie 121 Reade Street, PH-H, New York, NY 10013
Mark Blickley 2728 Thomson Avenue, #202, Long Island City, NY 11101
Robert L. Buchanan P. O. Box 6151, Fredericksburg, VA 22403
Gary S. Canns 145 East 23rd Street, #5-D, New York, NY 10010
Willie Carter 5100 Turner Street, Fort Worth, TX 76105
Darrell Castle 2586 Hocksett Cove, Germantown, TN 38139
Ariel Cohen 449 Roy Street, West Hempstead, NY 11552
William J. Connolly 10953 State Route 32, Greenville, NY 12083
“Rocky” Roque De La Fuente 121 Nurmi Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
Jason Fried 757 Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11221
Zoltan Istvan Gyurko 35 Miller Avenue, #102, Mill Valley, CA 94941
Ben Hartnell 1025 Autumn Lake Court, Westerville, OH 43081
Tom Hoefling 101 Third Street, Lohrville, IA 51453
Michael Frederick Ingbar 174 Spring Street, #20, New York, NY 10012
Lynn Kahn 18 Lakeview Way, PO Box 562, Schroon Lake, NY 12870
Chris Keniston 2329 15th Street, Vernon, TX 76384
Gloria La Riva 3207 Mission Street, Apt. 9, San Francisco, CA 94110
Jeffrey Mackler 33 Mandana Circle, Oakland, CA 94610
Michael A. Maturen 3296 East Clemens Road, Harrisville, MI 48740
Evan McMullin 333 Second Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Monica Moorehead 37 Bentley Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07304
Jason Mutford 912 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12203
Clifton Roberts 9382 Willow Pond Circle, Elk Grove, CA 95624
Marshall Schoenke 21924 W. Linden Avenue, Lake Villa, IL 60046
Ryan Alan Scott 194 Vincent Circle, Middletown, DE 19709
Emidio Soltysik 11713 Avon Way, #15, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Tony Valdivia 11306 Candle Park, San Antonia, TX 78249
J. J. Vogel-Walcutt 1329 Tall Maple Loop, Oviedo, FL 32765
Esther Welsh 95-20 67th Avenue, Rego Park, NY 11374
Barbara Whitaker 149 West Fourth Street, Apt. 4B, New York, NY 10912
Robert M. Wolff 627 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206
(NYS Board of Election).

The Silence Is Deafening: Zero Support for Trump Among Former Presidential Economic Advisers

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 21:26:00 +0000

Today's Wall Street Journal (Friday 26 August 2016, p. A5) published a survey of all former members of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) going back to the Nixon administration. The CEA was created by the Employment Act of 1946 to advise the President on economic policy and consists of three members appointed by the President.

None of the 45 living former members are willing publicly support Donald Trump. That is NONE as in ZERO, as in NADA, as in ZILCH. (The results do not indicate whether the non-living former CEA members are, or are not, rolling over in their graves at the prospect of a Trump presidency.)

While no former member supported the opposition party's candidate, the silence on Trump by economists serving under Republicans is deafening. Among the Republican-appointed CEA members, all were silent except six, who all opposed Trump. These six included former CEA chairs who served under Reagan (Martin Feldstein) and Bush #43 (Greg Mankiw). It is very unusual for advisers to state opposition to the candidate of the party whose President appointed them.

“I have known personally every Republican president since Richard Nixon,” said Harvard University economist Martin Feldstein, who chaired the council under President Ronald Reagan. “They all showed a real understanding of economics and international affairs….Donald Trump does not have that understanding and does not seem to be concerned about it. That alone disqualifies him in my judgment.”

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/08/25/economists-whove-advised-presidents-are-no-fans-of-donald-trump/

The Groundhog Day Gospel

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 19:37:00 +0000

The Gospel of Christ is not a gospel of second chances. Yes, God gives second chances. However, we do not have a gospel of second chances. Let me explain. Many of us think to ourselves, “I have sinned and failed.” We come to Christ and he forgives our sin and failure. This gives us a clean slate. We have another chance. We go out and purpose to try to do better. When we eventually stumble then we have Christ to again forgive us, pick us up, and maybe give some coaching or teaching so we can live better lives. We go out clean, then stumble again, and then repeat the process. And then repeat the process. Again. And again.

We hope we have been improving, getting better, and becoming a better person. Maybe we are getting to be a better imitation of Christ? Maybe we can get closer to God? What else can a person do?

The above is not the Gospel. The above is a spiritual application of the movie Groundhog Day.

We don’t have a Gospel of Second Chances. Why not? Because we never had a first chance. Without the first chance, then how can there be a second, a third, or even a seven-times-seventieth chance?

Why no first chance? We were all born into a broken world, a world broken and dysfunctional since the Fall in the Garden. We were not only born into a fallen, broken world, we ourselves were born broken, born with a sinful disposition. This was not God’s desire, not at all what he intended, but we and all before us have been broken and have contributed to the vicious, downward cycle of dysfunction and brokenness in this world.

We never had a first chance because we never had a chance to live holy, righteous lives in the first place. Yes, God gave Moses the Law but the purpose was not to give us a manual showing us how to live lives pleasing to God. The Apostle Paul wrote that the purpose of the Law was to show us we do not, and will not, live sinless lives. The purpose was to show the world that we cannot fulfil the Law, to show that we can never, no matter how hard we try, never be holy, never be righteous, never be sanctified, and thus never be acceptable to God (Romans 3:19-20). We are guilty and already condemned. Showing us this is a good thing since the Law shows us the absolute necessity of God’s mercy. The penalty is death and without the Blood of the Lamb to pay that price for our freedom we have no chance.

The Gospel of Christ is that God through Christ Jesus came not to give a second chance to you or me, but to bring death to the old man and to bring to life a new creation in us. This new man, this new creation, this new person has the Holiness, Righteousness, and Sanctification of Christ. It is through the efforts of God, not the efforts of man; it is Christ in you or me, not you or me, that makes us a new creation.

Yes, we can act holy, but without Christ we cannot be holy. We can do righteous works, but without Christ we cannot be righteous. We can act sanctified, do the works of one who is sanctified, but only Christ can make us sanctified. Yes, in our own efforts we can act sanctified, righteous and holy, but we can’t keep it up. We can’t keep it up through our own efforts because it is only an act. I do not mean we are phonies or hypocrites; I mean these are merely acts, not who we are.

The Groundhog Day Gospel is a gospel of bondage, of endless repetition, of continual frustration. A gospel that does not bring us closer to God but lets us cling to the delusion that we can do better next time; the delusional that it is all about becoming better people. The message of the Groundhog Day Gospel is, “Not good enough” with the subtext, “Try harder, fail better.” Like the movie, each day we repeat the cycle. Unlike the movie, we never escape the cycle. Being better is not good enough. The word gospel literally means “good news.” This Groundhog Day Gospel is bad news. It is a false gospel. While this false gospel will not keep us from having our names written in the Book of Life, it can rob us of a lot of joy that God wants us to have in Christ.

What to do? How can we be freed from the slavery of this false gospel? How can we escape the living hell of not good enough and try harder, fail better? Christ suffered death on the Cross to free us; he never intended to settle for us just being better people. What God wants is more than we can give him though our own efforts. He died and rose again to make us sons and daughters of the living God. “Because of what God has done, you belong to Christ Jesus. He has become God’s wisdom for us. He makes us right with God. He makes us holy and sets us free” (I Cor 1:30 NIRV).

What to do? Jesus was asked by the people, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6: 28-29). Believe we are each a child of God if we have come to faith in Christ Jesus. Believe Christ did it all and that our standing as such is settled and will not change. God wants a close relationship with his children. How close? God wants to abide in us, to live in and with us, through the person of the Holy Spirit. Accept that the efforts of Christ brings this about, not our own efforts. So rest, take a Sabbath, take a permanent vacation from your own efforts. Rather than look to the efforts of our flesh, our human nature, look to God. (Romans 8:5-8). Follow God and let the Holy Spirit work in you and through you.

Rest from your efforts; abide in Christ; let the Holy Spirit do the work that he was given to do. You may be surprised when you realize your acts, your behavior, your inclinations will be changing, moving toward godliness. That God is working in you. You will find that being changed by God, by abiding in him, brings permanent change that could never be obtained by your own efforts.

Be blessed!
RB

An autumn tradition: Shakespeare in the North Country

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 02:51:00 +0000

It’s time once again for a favorite part of fall, the American Shakespeare Center performances, and your favorite duty, which is telling others that FREE tickets are now available at the Brewer Bookstore and the Sullivan Student Center. For those who shamelessly procrastinate, FREE tickets should be available at the door of each night's performance. Since they are FREE, I might be wrong, and if I am, shame on you!

If you’re new to St. Lawrence University, the American Shakespeare Center’s touring troupe, based in Staunton, VA, has visited us for nearly 25 years, since 1992 (we’re one of only 3 colleges in the country with such a long relationship). The actors bring us three shows a year, typically two of Shakespeare’s plays and one from his era, and offer workshops here as well. This year, however, we’ll get to see a late-Victorian comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, along with Henry V, and Julius Caesar. These are modified original practices performances: the house lights stay on, the actors do not perform on an elevated stage (you’re encouraged to stand up to see, as some in Shakespeare’s audience would have done), there are no microphones, and there is lots of music. It’s a lot of fun, particularly if you sit in the front row, where you might become part of the action.

All tickets are FREE this year, but as always I do recommend picking them up early, and arriving to the shows around a half hour early, to catch some of the pre-show music and to get a great seat.

All performances are in Eben Holden Center. The schedule is:

• Thursday, October 8, 7:30 pm, Henry V
• Friday, October 9, 7:30 pm, Henry V
• Saturday, October 10, 7:30 pm, Julius Caesar
• Saturday, October 10, Midnight, The Importance of Being Earnest
• Sunday, October 11, 5:30 pm, The Importance of Being Earnest

Do note that SLU’s traditional midnight performance (did you know we are the only campus in the country for whom the actors are willing to perform at midnight?)—my consistent pick for best show, year after year; there’s some adrenaline in that room—has moved from Friday to Saturday. Sunday’s performance, too, has moved later into the evening by popular request.

Finally, this year, we’re featuring two events in conjunction with the performances:
• a FREE lecture by Dr. Sarah Skwire of the Liberty Fund on “Political Economics in Henry V” in Sykes at 8 pm on Wednesday, October 7
• a FREE panel discussion on “The Economics of Performance and Production” featuring PCA’s own Zip Trainor, visiting ASC actor Andrew Goldwasser, and Dr. Skwire at noon on Thursday, October 8 in Eben Holden North (you’re encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch)

[Shamelessly plagiarized in large part from a campus email sent by Sarah Barber of the English Department and there is nothing you can do about it. So there!]

John Newton in the 18th C. on a 21st C. problem

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:52:00 +0000

I asked the Lord that I may grow

in faith and love and every grace,

Might more of his salvation know,

and seek more earnestly his face.

'Twas He who taught me thus to pray,

and He I trust has answered prayer,

But it has been in such a way

as almost drove me to despair.

I thought that in some favored hours,

at once he'd answer my request,

And by His love's transforming power,

Subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of that He made me feel

the hidden evils of my heart,

And bade the angry powers of hell

assault my soul in every part.

Nay, more, with His hand He seemed

intent to aggravate my woe,

Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,

blasted my gourds*, and laid me low.

"Lord, why this?" I trembling cried,

"Wilt Thou pursue this worm to death?"

"This is the way," the Lord replied,

"I answer prayer for grace and faith."

"These inward trials I employ

from sin and self to set thee free,

And cross thy schemes of earthly joy

that thou might find thy all in Me."

John Newton, Olney Hymns (London: W. Oliver, 1779).

Text Source: Treasures in Christ by Jean Oathout (7 July 2015).

Image: "Hymn 36" in A Selection of Favorite Conference Hymns with Historical Sketches of Church History: through every century of the Christian Era, edited by J.A. Burke (Albany, NY: A.N. Sherman, 1829), p.34.

*Alludes to the plant that provided shade in Jonah (4: 6-7, KJV).

Arminian v. Calvinist? Don't think so.....

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 23:02:00 +0000

This afternoon I read this exchange between an elderly John Wesley and a young Charles Simeon which occurred in the mid-1780's. I then found it reprinted online and did a cut and paste. Here Simeon writes of the meeting and refers to himself in the third person.

Wesley Simeon A young Minister, about three or four years after he was ordained, had an opportunity of conversing familiarly with the great and venerable leader of the Arminians in this kingdom; and, wishing to improve the occasion to the uttermost, he addressed him nearly in the following words:

Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions. Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?

Yes, I do indeed.

And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?

Yes, solely through Christ.

But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?

No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.

Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?

No.

What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?

Yes, altogether.

And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?

Yes, I have no hope but in Him.

Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things where in we agree.

Sources: here and there.

Abbot & Costello on Unemployment

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 16:38:00 +0000

The following is one of the clearest explanations I've read of alternative unemployment statistics. Someone sent me this so I do not know the original source. However I have updated the numbers to reflect the January 2015 unemployment statistics.

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.

ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 5.7%.

COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT: No, that's 11.3%.

COSTELLO: You just said 5.7%.

ABBOTT: 5.7% Unemployed.

COSTELLO: Right, 5.7% out of work.

ABBOTT: No, that's 11.3%.

COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 11.3% unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, that's 5.7%.

COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE! Is it 5.7% or 11.3%?

ABBOTT: 5.7% are unemployed. 11.3% are out of work.

COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT: No, Congress said you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT: No, you miss the point.

COSTELLO: What point?

ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.

COSTELLO: To whom?

ABBOTT: The unemployed.

COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.

COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment rolls that would count as less unemployment?

ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!

COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?

ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how it gets to 5.7%. Otherwise it would be 11.3%.

COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?

ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT: Correct.

COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT: Bingo.

COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an Economist.

COSTELLO: I don't even know what the heck I just said!

ABBOTT: Oh, now you're thinking like a Politician.

a year of big anniversaries

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 21:41:00 +0000

40 YEARS AGO we graduated from college, got married and moved across country so I could go to grad school at Virginia Tech. (The order of the previously listed events is based on chronology, not importance.)

30 YEARS AGO after completing a Fulbright Lectureship at a Nigerian university, we moved to a little college town in Northern New York. The Sunday before Labor Day I attended Christian Fellowship Center for the first time. Despite never having been in a church quite like it, I immediately knew it was home. It has been ever since. The next day (yes, on Labor Day) I taught my first class at St. Lawrence University.

20 YEARS AGO I visited a church, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, and experienced the so-called laughing rival (a.k.a., the Toronto Blessing, the Father’s Blessing). It had a huge impact on me. I have never, ever since questioned God’s love for me, no matter what has happened in my life. God's love was never an issue, not even during a period of severe depression.

10 YEARS AGO I experienced probably the worst day of my life. This caused me to seek professional counseling for depression. After counseling, after living most of my life with the illness, I have been depression free.

ZERO YEARS AGO I now know a great God and I am knowing Him better each day. I have a great wife as companion and friend and I find her more attractive in more ways each day. I attend a great church with over-the-top wonderful pastors for whom I am thankful to God each day. I have a great job (with tenure!) teaching great students at a great small college for which I am more grateful each day. I live in a great little village in the great undiscovered paradise of New York's North Country and I appreciate living here more each day.

As you can see from the previous great-full paragraph that I am grateful. I'm not bragging since I cannot really take any credit. At a minimum, that would assume I thought I knew what I was doing! I have been greatly blessed in a great many ways. The past decade has literally been the best years of my life and the last two years by far the happiest of those.

I know I deserve none of this and that realization makes me very grateful indeed.

Be blessed!
RB

for christians only (orthodox, catholic, evangelical)

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:37:00 +0000

If you consider yourself devoted to Christ, please watch the following short video:

Please consider signing the Manhattan Declaration after reading more:

http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/index.html#1

Thank you,
RB

unacceptable! obama's accommodation compromises religious liberty

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:00:00 +0000

The official position of the Bishops’ Conference signals that no compromise concerning the HHS preventive care mandate could succeed. It is not the government's role to define or limit the mission of a church or any other religious organization:

Unacceptable
February 27, 2012

The Obama administration has offered what it has styled as an accommodation for religious institutions in the dispute over the HHS mandate for coverage (without costsharing) of abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. The administration will now require that all insurance plans cover (cost free) these same products and services.Once a religiously-affiliated (or believing individual) employer purchases insurance (as it must, by law), the insurance company will then contact the insured employees to advise them that theterms of the policy include coverage for these objectionable things.

This so-called accommodation changes nothing of moral substance and fails to remove the assault on religious liberty and the rights of conscience which gave rise to the controversy. It iscertainly no compromise. The reason for the original bipartisan uproar was the administration’s insistence that religious employers, be they institutions or individuals, provide insurance thatcovered services they regard as gravely immoral and unjust. Under the new rule, the government still coerces religious institutions and individuals to purchase insurance policies that include the very same services.

It is no answer to respond that the religious employers are not paying for this aspect of the insurance coverage. For one thing, it is unrealistic to suggest that insurance companies will notpass the costs of these additional services on to the purchasers. More importantly, abortion drugs, sterilizations, and contraceptives are a necessary feature of the policy purchased by the religious institution or believing individual. They will only be made available to those who are insured under such policy, by virtue of the terms of the policy.

It is morally obtuse for the administration to suggest (as it does) that this is a meaningful accommodation of religious liberty because the insurance company will be the one to inform theemployee that she is entitled to the embryo-destroying ―five day after pill pursuant to the insurance contract purchased by the religious employer. It does not matter who explains theterms of the policy purchased by the religiously affiliated or observant employer. What matters is what services the policy covers.

The simple fact is that the Obama administration is compelling religious people and institutions who are employers to purchase a health insurance contract that provides abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization. This is a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand.

It is an insult to the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other people of faith and conscience to imagine that they will accept an assault ontheir religious liberty if only it is covered up by a cheap accounting trick. Finally, it bears noting that by sustaining the original narrow exemptions for churches,auxiliaries, and religious orders, the administration has effectively admitted that the new policy T2 (like the old one) amounts to a grave infringement on religious liberty. The administration still fails to understand that institutions that employ and serve others of different or no faith are still engaged in a religious mission and, as such, enjoy the protections of the First Amendment.

[Followed by 42 pages of signatures]

Source:

www.becketfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Unacceptable-2-27-11am2.pdf

ron paul and michele bachmann are marginal candidates

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:25:00 +0000

Jon Stewart and others have wondered why the media is ignoring Ron Paul. It is easy. He is a very marginal candidate with little chance of being nominated. Michele Bachmann is only marginally better as a marginal candidate.

This is not my opinion. It is in the polls and it is what the smart money is saying.

Check the Real Clear Politics poll summary shown above (click image to enlarge). Even though Bachmann is getting all the press, she is way down in the polls at 9.6%, way behind Romney (20.2%) and Perry (18.4%) and even trailing non-candidate Sarah Palin (10.0%). Bachmann is barely ahead of non-candidate Rudy Giuliani (9.3) and the rightfully overlooked Ron Paul (8.8). Ron Paul's support has been in single digits, steady, and not growing. Not a good trend. These folks are the minor candidates with Bachmann at best being the pick of a bad litter.

I do not pay much attention to political polls. If I want a good gauge of what is likely to happen, I go to the prediction markets. These markets are forward looking, in that they show what people bet will happen rather than looking backward to what potential voters were thinking last week. In prediction markets, people are putting their money where their mouths are, rather than just answering the phone and giving their opinion. Prediction polls have a much better track record of predicting outcomes than public opinion polls.

The smart money has Bachmann and Paul as even bigger losers. The bets at Intrade.com predict Perry has a 35.3% chance of winning the nomination with Romney following closely at 31.0%. Sarah Palin is a very distant third at 7.6%. Jon Huntsman is fourth at 5.8% followed closely by Bachmann at 5.3% Where's Ron Paul? At a lowly 4.0% and in sixth place.

You think your know better? Then put your money where your mouth is. If you are so smart then you can make a profit, but only if you are right.

integrity of the scripture: is what we have now, what they wrote then?

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:43:00 +0000

I love reasoning tested by evidence. I guess it is part of my training as an economist. That is why I love the following 48 min. video of a lecture by Daniel B. Wallace of Dallas Theological Seminary. He is one of the world's leading experts on NT textual studies -- trying to figure which, if any, of the current NT writings are accurate.

This lecture was presented to a lay audience so even I could understand it!

Guest Speaker :: Daniel Wallace from Antioch Church on Vimeo.

not nostalgic for jesus

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:11:00 +0000

If you could travel back through time and could visit one historical person, who would that person be? If you are a Christian, you would be expected to say Jesus. As a believer, what historical figure could be more important?

Personally, I would not want to go back in time to be with Jesus. I also think I have Scripture on my side in not wanting to go back to be with him.

[Okay. I think it would be really cool to go back and witness the Resurrection on that first Easter morning. But that would be merely a form of historical tourism. However, I would not want to stay there. I really don’t wish to go back to be with Jesus.]

Think of those who were with Jesus before the Accession, before he in his glorified physical body went to heaven (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9). Those who were closest to him, those who walked with him, they celebrated. Even after they came down from the adrenaline rush of witnessing Jesus disappearing in the clouds, they never looked back.

Something I find interesting is that there is no record of Jesus’ disciplines pining for the time they spent with Jesus in the flesh. Not even a hint of it in any NT writings. In John’s first epistle he starts out by recounting that he heard, saw, and even touched Jesus in the flesh (1 John 1:1-3) but this is just a statement of fact. A witness to something experienced, not something yearned for. Yet John was the apostle closest to Jesus, “the one whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). If anyone would have missed Jesus, it would have been John. Neither John nor anyone else seems to have been nostalgic about having been with Jesus.

Why didn’t they miss the good old days with Jesus? Because they had something better after Jesus ascended. At least they did after a ten-day wait for Pentecost (Acts 2:4). They had the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is better than physically being with Jesus? That is an idea that is very strange to most Christians. This is despite many having read of Jesus actually telling his disciples that it was to their benefit that he leave so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). What most folks now experience does not seem to come close to being better.

This disconnect between the Word of God and our personal experience is something that should be quite disturbing. Was Jesus lying? Maybe he was hyping the coming of the Holy Spirit so that his leaving earth would be more palatable for his friends and disciples? Jesus isn't supposed to lie so maybe the whole thing is all a lie then?

Maybe these promises were for the first century only and have ceased? Some Christians cite 1 Corinthians 13:8 to support this explanation. However, this only makes sense if the verse is taken out of context. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate the promises of God concerning the Holy Spirit have expired and are not valid anymore.

Rather than something being wrong with Jesus, or that his promises had an expiration date, an alternative explanation may be that that we are missing out. If we are not experiencing what the Bible promises then maybe we are missing out on something God has for us that is really big and incredible? Maybe our expectations for God are much less than what He wants for us? Maybe we should start seeking His gifts?

There are numerous verses concerning the Holy Spirit in NT writings which promise joy, comfort, wisdom, knowledge, personal transformation and more. They are too numerous, or rather I am too lazy, to mention or even cite. There are examples in these writings of people realizing these promises. The historical record since is also replete with such examples.

Maybe we should search the Scriptures for those promises and to seek something better?

Maybe it is time to dump the nostalgia? The good-old days with Jesus may have indeed been good, but they are not supposed to be better. I am grateful for what I have, but if there is more, then I want it. Come Holy Spirit. Come.

Be Blessed!
RB

magic is no blowhard

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:36:00 +0000

The usual "analysis" on sports shows includes a lot of yelling and opinions, almost all of it negative. All heat and little light, analogous to blue flame of flatulence ignition.

I watched this ESPN post-game "analysis" of the Mavs winning the NBA championship. It has the usual blowhards looking for someone to blame and put down (as if that takes any analysis). However, Magic Johnson is not the usual ESPN, loud-mouthed blowhard. He actually analyzes what went wrong and offers constructive advice as to how the Heat and James can move forward.

BTW, the Dallas head coach is a North Country boy! Rick Carlisle hails from from Lisbon, New York.

make plans for shakespeare in october@slu

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:54:00 +0000

American Shakespeare Center

2011-2012 Almost Blasphemy Tour

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES

All performances at 7:30 p.m. except where otherwise noted

VENUE: Eben Holden Hall @ SLU

Monday, October 24– The Winter’s Tale

Tuesday, October 25 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Wednesday, October 26 - ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore

(Thursday – day off)

Friday, October 28 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Friday, October 28/29 – ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore – MIDNIGHT

Saturday, October 29 – The Winter’s Tale

Sunday, October 30 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 1:30 p.m. Matinee

driving while female

noreply@blogger.com (RB) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:35:00 +0000

Just just coincidence? From Wronging Rights:

Re-ignition of protests against the female driving ban in Saudia Arabia occurs right around the same time as the re-ignition of a certain Summer blockbuster series. Will the history books cite the Arab Spring or Diesel Summer as inspiration?

When viewing note the gender inclusiveness of vehicle operation:

The 20% female participation rate is radically high by Saudi standards!