What's The Use?

post 057

2012, The End of the World!

I recently find myself often in conversation with my neighbors, regarding the end of the world, and their present concerns with the probable near doom of America.
With the very real, very scary changes taking place in our form of government, our current economic decline and the added scare that the world will end in 2012, a lot of these people are deeply shook up.
One common theme, or train of thought is as follows;
1. America is going down hill so fast, the common man can see plainly that it cannot continue like this for much longer.
2. There is nothing I can do to stop it.
3. So I don’t want to know the details because it scares me.

Now on the surface this sounds like a reasonable way of thinking.
Why stress over what can’t be helped?
My answer to them;

“If I had the foreknowledge that your house was going to burn down three days from now, and there was nothing you could do to change that,
wouldn’t you want me to tell you?
Wouldn’t you want to know, so that you could prepare yourself and your family to escape burning with it?”

There is always an immediate and confident “yes”.
Like, that’s a no brainer!

This reaction is because suddenly the focus has turned from; “There is nothing I can do.” To the new thought; “Actually there IS something I can do!”
But the deeper reason for the change of attitude is because they can now see, “This affects my wellbeing personally.”

I have gotten in the habit of asking these people who believe the world is going to end in 2012, this question:
“I have an old book that has hundreds of forecasts of near future events, that has never been wrong!
Over thousands of years, it is 100% accurate so far, would you be interested in reading it?”

I almost always get a very favorable reply, and the first guess is almost always Nostradamus. When I tell them Nostradamus has never been more than 40% right in his predictions they are surprised. But their interest in my book is only heightened as they see the dramatic increase in accuracy of my book over the acclaimed Nostradamus!

But I am continually amazed to see their sudden, though unconscious, change in interest when I tell them my book is called “the Bible.”
When I bring this to their attention I get all kinds of him-haw, back peddle, “can’t explain it”, kind of replies, but the clear truth is, there is a very complete, sudden lack of any further interest.
Why is that?

I believe the answer has many factors.
Let me attempt to expound on those I see;

First:
I believe America has been inoculated against Christianity.
The generation today was raised by children of “Christians”.
These children watched as their parents struggled with the internal war between the values of Christianity, and their own lusts for that which was in opposition to Christianity.
The Children were taught the basic values of Christianity such as right vs wrong, good vs bad, truth vs lie, but watching their parents struggle with their own desires, these children rejected the “Christianity” that their parents struggled against, yet retained the basic values there parents taught them. This transition generation benefited from the values, while rejecting the perceived undesirability of the religion. They did not see the connection, so “generally” accepting the one, they “generally” rejecting the other.
Now this present generation, has never actually been around Christianity, but was taught by their parents to despise Christianity for the oppressive restraints it placed on their own parents. Being at least intelligent, this generation began to question the values their parents taught them, But there parents had no valid reply because having rejected the God of the values, the values no longer have any foundation beyond “because I said”. So as the first generation was at odds with their children over the need of Christianity, so now the next generation is at odds with their children over the need of the values.
At this point, this generation does not know what the right answer is, but they are sure “Christianity” is not it.
Inoculation means; “a specified element can no longer affect you, because you have grown an immunity to it.”
This present generation has grown an immunity to Christianity.

Second:
A person under the influence cannot care.
Have you ever struggled with, or wondered why, a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol cannot be reasoned with? At best they might be steered as a mindless automaton but it is useless to try to use reason or logic to motivate them.
The very nature of the substance alters the brain, rendering them incapable of this level of thought.
I propose the basis of the substance that our subject people are under is
Mental Lethargy.
Some product examples, containing lethargy, are;
TV and movies
Music
Pleasure
Socialist values.
All these substances, when taken to extreme, alter the brain so that it cannot be reasoned with. They are under the influence of a spirit of lethargy that naturally is violently opposed to any stimulus against itself.
The imbiber finds it difficult and undesirable to think, and their system only requires more, to maintain the desired feeling of lethargy.
These people can be called; “Letherholic”

Third:
An acquired appetite.
Ask any 10 year old, American kid if he wants a steak, or a hamburger, and you can almost bet he will want the hamburger.
Why? The taste is greasy and fowl, it is not good for you, and makes you stink like greasy fat for days.
I spent some time in Korea where the common delicacy was Kim chi. This is a rotted cabbage with hot spices that both tastes fowl and makes everyone stink with bad BO.
But they love it.
My argument isn’t against these foods, my examples show that what foods we desire, are acquired tastes. Acquired tastes can be changed with effort…But the effort has to have a strong motivation.
Over weight people, or people with dangerously high blood pressure, are able to change their condition by altering their eating habits of acquired appetites. This is never easy, and does not happen in a short period. Many people fail at the attempt because they do not like the discomfort it creates. But those who are determined to reach the desired outcome will stay on target and push through the discomfort, and come out the other side with new acquired tastes that have a different result.
The same effect and results apply to all forms of acquired appetites such as; activities and fitness, social functions, books, excitements, etc.

As a result,
Altering ones acquired appetites is nearly impossible once a person becomes a Letherholic who has been inoculated against the cure.
With the added complication of rejecting Christianity as an option, the motivation needed to make the change is no longer available, because Christianity is the scale that gives indication of a problem.

Ok, Lets boil this down to its simplest form:
The average American, though claiming to be a Christian, has rejected the actual practice of Christianity, as they know nearly nothing about it, but the basic religion masquerading in its absence.
They have acquired a taste for destructive elements such as; entertainment TV, a preoccupation with pleasure, Erotic music and music videos, and a desire for someone to provide for them.
The result is a lethargic life which violently resists all forms of mental discomfort that might obstruct the constant feed of Lethargy.
This is no different than alcoholism or a drug addiction.
The person caught in its clutches might know it will destroy them in the end, but they cannot break the acquired tastes they now have, and cannot swallow the unfamiliar, healing medication.
There is no easy, pain free, quick cure.

Conclusion:
Our founders gave us the greatest form of Government the planet has ever seen.
They based it on the values of Christianity.
For 150 years this nation quickly grew to provide the world with unprecedented inventions, industry, medicine, wealth, comforts, and peace.
Then came a generation which began to change our form of government, to become more like the other nations.
It cast off the core foundation of the previous generation, and began to struggle with the internal war between the benefits of its given values, and the desires for those things in opposition to those values.
We now have a new generation of leadership who have never known the foundation of our founders, have watched the struggle of their own parents generation, and see no support for the foundational values, so question the values themselves. Their acquired tastes are unhealthy to the system, but familiar and comforting. And this generation has become Letherholic.
Logic nor reason can reach them now, and although they have no idea what the right answer is, they are sure that what the founders gave them, is not the answer.

So what can we do now?
Like the person under the influence, we must gently guide them to a safe place.
We do this by taking back control of our Government and systematically washing out the destructive legislation, and repairing the dilapidated legislation based on our founder's core values. This will take a whole lot of work. This is not a party job, this is a job for those of both parties who are not under the influence of substances like Lethargy, Greed, and Power.
We should not be angry with them for the destruction they have done, because in their mental state, they are doing what they think is right, just like your drunk friend.
You do not argue with your drunk friend, you just do what you know is the right thing for them. They cannot be reasoned with at this stage of their depravity.
But someone who is not drunk, can see plainly that the drunk is not using logic or wisdom.
The thing that makes our efforts different from what they are doing now, is that we are sober and they are drunk.
My evidence?
Our desires are based on adhering to our nation's foundational laws, which have proven themselves successful.
But this present leadership is willfully violating our national laws, defying the voice of the majority whom they rule, and boldly working to change our foundations.

Who's Qualified to Lead?
Even a heart surgeon with a heart attack, is a patent, not a doctor.
We must elect people to office who are above reproach, not just a little better than the next criminal running.
What standard are we to use to judge their qualifications?
TRUTH.
If you are bitten by a King Cobra, orange juice, Pepsi, chocolate milk, whiskey, water, Tang, Red Bull, or any other of a bazillion drinks will not cure your ills. There is one cure. You need the anti-venom.
The nature of Truth is exclusive to EVERYTHING else.
You might like Tang, but the TRUTH is, that it will not cure your snake bite.
If you want to live you must find the anti-venom. It might be hundreds of miles away, it might take dozens of phone calls to even find it. It will probably take a great network of transportation to get it to you, or you to it, but all that must be done diligently, and timely, if you want to live.
Just because Whiskey is closer, abundant, and makes you feel better, is not reason to abandon the effort to get the anti-venom. The true and proven objective must be kept for a successful recovery.

It is for this reason that our founders were very clear in their knowledge that we MUST elect proven Christians into office.
The evidence for this truth is enormous,
There is a creator that made everything.
Things run well when done according to his rule book, the Bible.
Things go very bad when we violate his rule book.
Our house is burning down around us.
Those of us who have acquired a taste for the Bible encourage those of you who have not yet…Once you acquire a taste for it, the Bible is very appealing.
It is your only hope and salvation like the anti-venom!
Our founders knew it.
The evidence shows it.
Get signed up for a “Christian Jenny Craig” and get serous about changing your acquired tastes to something healthy.
It will be very hard at first,
don’t give up.
Once you get through it, you will feel like the hard bodies they show on those exercise advertisements. It will all be worth it then!
I look back at my own program to restore my thinking, It was hard to imagine it was even possible, or worth it.
I can say now, it was WAY worth it!

(are you still wondering what the Bible has to say about the earth ending in 2012?)