Did men (and women, of course!) ACCIDENTALLY arise from the dust of the earth, or could it be that they came into existence because of the will of a GREATER BEING?
If we came to be because of the will of a greater being, then might not it be profitable to ask ourselves "who" and "why?".
Perhaps an Old Testament passage might shed some light upon this mystery?...
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall HUMBLE themselves, PRAY, SEEK MY FACE, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will HEAR from Heaven, FORGIVE their sins, and HEAL THEIR LAND."
And surely, we should not forget the following two passages, both from the New Testament...
"God is LOVE"
"Only three things will last forever... faith, hope, and LOVE... but the greatest of these is LOVE."
Might it be that a lack of love is the prime reason for the present degeneration of our culture?
The past , the present and future degeneration in my opinion is the fact that human don’t want to recognize the authority of Our creator and we want to be our on gods . And that since the apple want bitten .
Sadly, the verse you quoted has been copyedited to the point where you have come to believe God wants His creation to pray, and attempt to be perfect, while you have come to believe there is an Old Testament. The man who called himself by his Roman name or Paulos wrote in opposition to the very same God he claimed to have been inspired. The Hebrew term satan simply means to take the adversarial position. The one called Ha Satan by Christians 'ha' denoting the authentic item or 'The' in English The Satan, or the Adversary of God. For additional proof Paul was an adversary, God calls him out by his Hebrew name in Habakkuk noting he will be the 'plague of death' to the souls of his gentile victims.
A close examination of the Tanakh will reveal above all else God wants His creation to listen, by closely examining and carefully considering His teaching, instructions, guidance and direction. Only then to make a free will choice; His way or that of the world of mankind.
Above all with God's will is for all men to choose to be right, to walk upon the path He has set. But there's no money or power in that, and God knew the hearts of so men. He warned us all on the first tablet given to Moseh it reads from the Hebrew with amplification added for clarity: Exodus 20: 5 For indeed, I, Yahowah, your God, am a zealous and jealous God, Who is desirous of exclusivity in our relationship, reckoning the perversity and sin of twisting and distorting, of perverting and manipulating the way, by the fathers upon the children concerning the third and the fourth generations of those who are hostile to Me.
6 But I will prepare, perform, and deliver unmerited and unfailing mercy, unearned favor, and undeserved kindness to thousands who love Me, and who closely observe, carefully examine, revere, and keep My teachings, instructions, and prescriptions for living.
Mathematically, a thousand is one in a million, not billions attending to religious observances.
Those of us who are Boomers were fortunate to spend most of our lives when the American Empire was at its peak. The decline has started, but we will probably miss (I hope!) the final collapse -- the sacking of Washington DC by the "To Be Determined".
This is undeniably the case. For as long as humans have lived in organized societies, none have lived more lavishly than the Boomer Generation; this is an historical reality. I have to pinch myself (at least metaphorically) sometimes to remind myself of this if I am ever in a mood to "bemoan my fate."
OK, probably true, but what do I tell my knuckleheaded 31 year old twins and their soon to be born grandchildren? Don't misinterpret me, I love virtually all of your stuff, this included.
Very sage SE, but painful to the Dad and Grandpa that doesn't want it to be so difficult for his progeny. Maybe it's true that "struggle builds character". Maybe mine (character) is the problem.
One may dislike empires, but in the moment, there is the current empire, and, in its absence, what will replace it. Power vacuum is a real thing. The positives and negatives of what power will fill a vacuum is something to be contemplated.
I thought the Republican had a full glass, and wanted to drink it all, because he bought and paid for it.
The Democrat was thirsty, and decided to steal it.
The defunded police arrived four hours later, and found the republican dying of thirst, while the democrat complained that he shouldn't have to pay for water, because oceans are full of it.
The other democrats in the room started to riot because they could...
In the end, the republican died due to thirst.
The democrat died due to drinking too much fluorinated water.
The police lost their job because who wants it anyway.
And the rest of the empire went on living and dying as empires do. It's just the natural behavior of man...
SE, Tim and GF: You guys are on fire today and made my day . . . thank you. (It's especially appreciated after a less than stellar day on the golf course.)
Then there are those of us that have been in all three categories and we keep on keeping on because we don't need any more money, but we care about those that do.
Your question, "Who will miss (our empire)?", suggests it's time that it fall like all other empires. To this sentiment, I have two replies
1. It Won't Be Soon: I believe its leadership will embrace an epiphany that will make it --
(a) abstain from invading other countries, a too-expensive undertaking and
(b) better reflect the purpose of its military might -- defense, a sentiment declared in the name of the Federal agency managing this military might -- the Defense Department, and
(c) share evermore its burden of defending free markets by relying more on regional partnerships (NATO, SETO, AFRICOM, etc)
2. Its Legacy Will Endure for All Time.
For all its missteps, it does provide teeth to UN resolutions to defend hapless member countries which are being invaded, currently Ukraine
But its enduring legacy will be the Free Market.
This economic dynamic succeeds in a democracy wherein risk-taking entrepreneurs produce wealth. It's this wealth that provides the tax revenue to pay for services governments provide.
The abrupt end of the USSR, our empire's most formidable foe, which collapsed after unsuccessfully trying for 70 years to have its government employees produce and distribute wealth, is our empire's greatest victory...to date.
I truly hope you are correct, but I see so many false premises in your list that I fear you are a too optimistic by leaps and bounds. Let's pray I am wrong.
Well Bill and Joel, thanks for this exceptional historical comparison to our present day conditions .. yes the world has changed and empires come and go, so today's message makes me think it's time to go and enjoy what's left of the world's empires in rapid decline .. I suspect that the Asian empires are more on the rise while the Indian subcontinent will continue to wallow in religious sectarianism and feudal/tribal conflicts .. the real game changer for all empires is nuclear power especially the latest destructive missile/bombs which vastly exceed the destructive forces of all the previous empires combined .. ironic that this same power is also the only force that could possible save our species from extinction .. so like Joel and Bill I think it might be time to join the travel brigades and see the planet before it disappears into nuclear dust cloud for a few millennia.
any travel suggestions would be very welcome as Joel provided before his last sojourn .. thanks!
You know it! My wife and I are big on "gourmet dining" all over the world and we've decided that pound for pound, there is no better cuisine and value that what we found in Italy (and we've tried to find better). As you said, the Italians know their beef!
But our fearless Editors might counter with that which is served in Buenos Aires, a place I have not yet been, is just as good or better. But, being honest, I can't abide by the Malbec from Argentina, even the best of the best. It just doesn't compare with a good Barolo or Tucscan vino from Italy. Every pallet is different, but the Argentinian Malbecs just don't float my boat. This is only one man's opinion to be sure.
Sorry for the delay, work intervened this week. Pio Cesare makes a pretty good Barolo. and Mantellassi makes a good Sangiovese. I find with Italian wines that decanting and allowing them to open up for a while renders a better tasting bottle.
Empires have a 'due date' because they forgot God, or never knew who He is. So they reach their inevitable conclusion, which is death. Not just empires, BTW - people too. Isaiah 45:22
P.S. Joel is incorrect, Constantine did not spread Christianity throughout the Roman empire, but rather counterfeit christianity. That's what led to the Dark Ages. The Enlightenment period started after the Reformation, when the darkness of the papacy began to be dispelled.
Empires sometimes transition into mostly peaceful organs, capable of peaceful, non-meddling co-existence. I would hold up Spain, Portugal, and Japan as fairly recent examples of empires that have had their ambitions curtailed, but came through humiliating defeats, not intact, but changed for the better.
I remember sitting in Grade 7, the first year where instead of having 3 o 4 different classes (Math, Geography, English and Physed), we suddenly had 7. One of which was history.
Yes, it was only the history of Canada. How it came to be. Who had to be killed or moved aside to make room for the colonists. The white folk. Mostly from Western Europe. And the "workers," the ones who actually built the roads, the railways and the buildings, from mostly Asia but also from Eastern Europe.
I remember sitting there, wondering "what the hell am I ever going to need this class for?"
I figured the answer out, about a dozen or so years later.
So that our generation, remembers. And tries not to repeat the mistakes of the previous ones.
Tivoli: makes me think of Schloss Korb which, as I understand it, was once a Habsburg castle given to and now named after his chief steward, an ancestor of mine, when the official castle was relocated.
To note Rome added the word Cross to the narrative, the original manuscript says upright pole. Roman's did not crucify their victims on crosses but on reusable poles set along the highways as a warning to others. However, the Cross is the oldest existing symbol marking the rising and setting of the sun. Roman's at the time worshipped their gods on the day of the Sun or Sunday.
Terror always works; Muhammad said: "I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terro, and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand."
"But even the Roman Empire reached its sell-by date eventually – in 476. German warfighters, many armed by the empire itself, breached Rome’s walls…and began to do what barbarians do…raping, murdering, torturing, stealing, enslaving, destroying, and vandalizing."
Hmm... if this is more or less what the barbarians did, it doesn't strike me as appreciably different from what the Roman Empire did to peoples it conquered. It depends immensely on which end of the conquering one is.
Did men (and women, of course!) ACCIDENTALLY arise from the dust of the earth, or could it be that they came into existence because of the will of a GREATER BEING?
If we came to be because of the will of a greater being, then might not it be profitable to ask ourselves "who" and "why?".
Perhaps an Old Testament passage might shed some light upon this mystery?...
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall HUMBLE themselves, PRAY, SEEK MY FACE, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will HEAR from Heaven, FORGIVE their sins, and HEAL THEIR LAND."
And surely, we should not forget the following two passages, both from the New Testament...
"God is LOVE"
"Only three things will last forever... faith, hope, and LOVE... but the greatest of these is LOVE."
Might it be that a lack of love is the prime reason for the present degeneration of our culture?
Hmmmm............... Just thinking out loud ;)
The past , the present and future degeneration in my opinion is the fact that human don’t want to recognize the authority of Our creator and we want to be our on gods . And that since the apple want bitten .
C man. Amen.
Sadly, the verse you quoted has been copyedited to the point where you have come to believe God wants His creation to pray, and attempt to be perfect, while you have come to believe there is an Old Testament. The man who called himself by his Roman name or Paulos wrote in opposition to the very same God he claimed to have been inspired. The Hebrew term satan simply means to take the adversarial position. The one called Ha Satan by Christians 'ha' denoting the authentic item or 'The' in English The Satan, or the Adversary of God. For additional proof Paul was an adversary, God calls him out by his Hebrew name in Habakkuk noting he will be the 'plague of death' to the souls of his gentile victims.
A close examination of the Tanakh will reveal above all else God wants His creation to listen, by closely examining and carefully considering His teaching, instructions, guidance and direction. Only then to make a free will choice; His way or that of the world of mankind.
Above all with God's will is for all men to choose to be right, to walk upon the path He has set. But there's no money or power in that, and God knew the hearts of so men. He warned us all on the first tablet given to Moseh it reads from the Hebrew with amplification added for clarity: Exodus 20: 5 For indeed, I, Yahowah, your God, am a zealous and jealous God, Who is desirous of exclusivity in our relationship, reckoning the perversity and sin of twisting and distorting, of perverting and manipulating the way, by the fathers upon the children concerning the third and the fourth generations of those who are hostile to Me.
6 But I will prepare, perform, and deliver unmerited and unfailing mercy, unearned favor, and undeserved kindness to thousands who love Me, and who closely observe, carefully examine, revere, and keep My teachings, instructions, and prescriptions for living.
Mathematically, a thousand is one in a million, not billions attending to religious observances.
Those of us who are Boomers were fortunate to spend most of our lives when the American Empire was at its peak. The decline has started, but we will probably miss (I hope!) the final collapse -- the sacking of Washington DC by the "To Be Determined".
This is undeniably the case. For as long as humans have lived in organized societies, none have lived more lavishly than the Boomer Generation; this is an historical reality. I have to pinch myself (at least metaphorically) sometimes to remind myself of this if I am ever in a mood to "bemoan my fate."
OK, probably true, but what do I tell my knuckleheaded 31 year old twins and their soon to be born grandchildren? Don't misinterpret me, I love virtually all of your stuff, this included.
Hi Dave -
Maybe:
Find "Happiness" when and where you can. If that doesn't work, you need to make your own...
Very sage SE, but painful to the Dad and Grandpa that doesn't want it to be so difficult for his progeny. Maybe it's true that "struggle builds character". Maybe mine (character) is the problem.
The end started with Wilson who finished the work of Hamilton in starting a Federal bank.
DT. This was the third central bank.
The Empire is dead, long live the Empire.
One may dislike empires, but in the moment, there is the current empire, and, in its absence, what will replace it. Power vacuum is a real thing. The positives and negatives of what power will fill a vacuum is something to be contemplated.
Hi Fishin' -
I saw this recently:
The Optimist says the glass is half full.
The Pessimist says the glass is half empty.
The Opportunist drinks the water, leaving nothing in the glass.
The Conspiracy Theorist points out that the water had Fluoride in it...
The Democrat says the glass is Racist.
The Republican says the glass needs a Tax Cut.
STEM pro: The glass is twice as big as needed
LOL Star!
I thought the Republican had a full glass, and wanted to drink it all, because he bought and paid for it.
The Democrat was thirsty, and decided to steal it.
The defunded police arrived four hours later, and found the republican dying of thirst, while the democrat complained that he shouldn't have to pay for water, because oceans are full of it.
The other democrats in the room started to riot because they could...
In the end, the republican died due to thirst.
The democrat died due to drinking too much fluorinated water.
The police lost their job because who wants it anyway.
And the rest of the empire went on living and dying as empires do. It's just the natural behavior of man...
SE, Tim and GF: You guys are on fire today and made my day . . . thank you. (It's especially appreciated after a less than stellar day on the golf course.)
Then there are those of us that have been in all three categories and we keep on keeping on because we don't need any more money, but we care about those that do.
How come Joel gets all the cool assignments?
Bill,
Your question, "Who will miss (our empire)?", suggests it's time that it fall like all other empires. To this sentiment, I have two replies
1. It Won't Be Soon: I believe its leadership will embrace an epiphany that will make it --
(a) abstain from invading other countries, a too-expensive undertaking and
(b) better reflect the purpose of its military might -- defense, a sentiment declared in the name of the Federal agency managing this military might -- the Defense Department, and
(c) share evermore its burden of defending free markets by relying more on regional partnerships (NATO, SETO, AFRICOM, etc)
2. Its Legacy Will Endure for All Time.
For all its missteps, it does provide teeth to UN resolutions to defend hapless member countries which are being invaded, currently Ukraine
But its enduring legacy will be the Free Market.
This economic dynamic succeeds in a democracy wherein risk-taking entrepreneurs produce wealth. It's this wealth that provides the tax revenue to pay for services governments provide.
The abrupt end of the USSR, our empire's most formidable foe, which collapsed after unsuccessfully trying for 70 years to have its government employees produce and distribute wealth, is our empire's greatest victory...to date.
I truly hope you are correct, but I see so many false premises in your list that I fear you are a too optimistic by leaps and bounds. Let's pray I am wrong.
Amen
Well Bill and Joel, thanks for this exceptional historical comparison to our present day conditions .. yes the world has changed and empires come and go, so today's message makes me think it's time to go and enjoy what's left of the world's empires in rapid decline .. I suspect that the Asian empires are more on the rise while the Indian subcontinent will continue to wallow in religious sectarianism and feudal/tribal conflicts .. the real game changer for all empires is nuclear power especially the latest destructive missile/bombs which vastly exceed the destructive forces of all the previous empires combined .. ironic that this same power is also the only force that could possible save our species from extinction .. so like Joel and Bill I think it might be time to join the travel brigades and see the planet before it disappears into nuclear dust cloud for a few millennia.
any travel suggestions would be very welcome as Joel provided before his last sojourn .. thanks!
Oh so prescient!
You know it! My wife and I are big on "gourmet dining" all over the world and we've decided that pound for pound, there is no better cuisine and value that what we found in Italy (and we've tried to find better). As you said, the Italians know their beef!
But our fearless Editors might counter with that which is served in Buenos Aires, a place I have not yet been, is just as good or better. But, being honest, I can't abide by the Malbec from Argentina, even the best of the best. It just doesn't compare with a good Barolo or Tucscan vino from Italy. Every pallet is different, but the Argentinian Malbecs just don't float my boat. This is only one man's opinion to be sure.
Sorry for the delay, work intervened this week. Pio Cesare makes a pretty good Barolo. and Mantellassi makes a good Sangiovese. I find with Italian wines that decanting and allowing them to open up for a while renders a better tasting bottle.
Empires have a 'due date' because they forgot God, or never knew who He is. So they reach their inevitable conclusion, which is death. Not just empires, BTW - people too. Isaiah 45:22
P.S. Joel is incorrect, Constantine did not spread Christianity throughout the Roman empire, but rather counterfeit christianity. That's what led to the Dark Ages. The Enlightenment period started after the Reformation, when the darkness of the papacy began to be dispelled.
Hi Alex -
Somewhere, somehow, and unexplainedly - PGV's blood pressure just shot through the roof...
:)
Empires sometimes transition into mostly peaceful organs, capable of peaceful, non-meddling co-existence. I would hold up Spain, Portugal, and Japan as fairly recent examples of empires that have had their ambitions curtailed, but came through humiliating defeats, not intact, but changed for the better.
I remember sitting in Grade 7, the first year where instead of having 3 o 4 different classes (Math, Geography, English and Physed), we suddenly had 7. One of which was history.
Yes, it was only the history of Canada. How it came to be. Who had to be killed or moved aside to make room for the colonists. The white folk. Mostly from Western Europe. And the "workers," the ones who actually built the roads, the railways and the buildings, from mostly Asia but also from Eastern Europe.
I remember sitting there, wondering "what the hell am I ever going to need this class for?"
I figured the answer out, about a dozen or so years later.
So that our generation, remembers. And tries not to repeat the mistakes of the previous ones.
Seems we all need to go back to school.
Tivoli: makes me think of Schloss Korb which, as I understand it, was once a Habsburg castle given to and now named after his chief steward, an ancestor of mine, when the official castle was relocated.
Individuals await judgement in the next life. With nations it cannot be so. They must be judged in this life. It was ever thus.
To note Rome added the word Cross to the narrative, the original manuscript says upright pole. Roman's did not crucify their victims on crosses but on reusable poles set along the highways as a warning to others. However, the Cross is the oldest existing symbol marking the rising and setting of the sun. Roman's at the time worshipped their gods on the day of the Sun or Sunday.
Terror always works; Muhammad said: "I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terro, and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand."
"But even the Roman Empire reached its sell-by date eventually – in 476. German warfighters, many armed by the empire itself, breached Rome’s walls…and began to do what barbarians do…raping, murdering, torturing, stealing, enslaving, destroying, and vandalizing."
Hmm... if this is more or less what the barbarians did, it doesn't strike me as appreciably different from what the Roman Empire did to peoples it conquered. It depends immensely on which end of the conquering one is.
Agreed, I don't read him (Ring) every day, but my frequency is increasing.
Thank you gentlemen. I will be checking him out...
That interactive finviz link is a keeper...
I'm reminded of Bob Newhart.