After a long hiatus… The Earl is back! I’m writing this piece on Election Day. This is not a national holiday, but it is an important day nonetheless. It should rank second to Independence Day when you really stop to think about it. The rest of the world marvels at the spectacle that many Americans do not care about. In few other places… and I mean a SMALL FEW… does the change of power take place with such ease and efficiency. Today, either Barack Obama or John McCain will become the next President of the United States. Now, the president-elect will not take over for about 100 days or so, but he will assume that position without strife or conflict. On January 20th, 2009, the current leader of the most powerful and influential nation on the face of the Earth will calmly step aside, renounce his position and a new leader will assume that mantle... and that will be that!
Throughout history, leadership changes usually came associated with death. Either the incumbent leader would die and leave successors, or his/her position was taken by force. We have countless records of regimes and governments that were deposed at the point of a sword or at the barrel of a gun. Hitler, Nebuchadnezzar, Julius Caesar, and countless others are leaders who assumed power by force or were removed by force. The crazy thing is… this still goes on today! It doesn’t usually take place in the West, so we’re not as familiar with it. But it still goes on in the Middle East, Far East, and parts of Africa. Power and government are determined by the might of the winning side.
And that is why the American process of election is amazing! We exchange leaders relatively often (no longer than 8 years). We exchange leaders that may be opposed to one another’s viewpoints. We exchange leaders who come from different backgrounds, origins, wealth, and other various things. And we do this without hardly any problems. Of course, not everyone will vote for the same person, thus there will be many disappointed voters after tonight. There may even be protestors at the inauguration. But leadership will move on peaceably. In other countries, an exchange of leadership could lead to civil war, genocide, or worse!
I am writing this piece to say how much we as Americans really take for granted when it comes to government and leadership. We sometimes forget just how fortunate we are in this regard. Americans are bad for taking things for granted anyway (another blog, another time), but we should really be thankful we have a voice in choosing our leaders. We should be thankful that when the president-elect steps onto that podium and swears into the office of President, that he will not turn around and kill or persecute those who didn’t support him.
I am not going to tell you who I voted for and I don’t really care who you voted for. It really doesn’t matter. What does matter are these two things:
1) If you had the privilege to vote and didn’t, then you have no right, I repeat, NO RIGHT to complain, bemoan, or malign about who was elected. You had a chance for your voice to be heard and you didn’t take it. We don’t want to hear your voice now.
2) Whoever is elected needs our full support. We need to pray for him. We need to encourage him. We need to show him that America supports him. That is our civic duty. Whether we are pleased with the choice or not, he needs our support and we should support him simply because he is our President.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Fantasy Football, Video Games, and Life as We Know It!
Hi, my name is Earl and I am a Fantasy-Football-aholic! I said in my first blog ever that I was not a big fan of fantasy sports, but I have been changed! Converted! I am a different person now because of it. I have developed a theory as to why fantasy football and other fantasy sports have taken such a hold on people. How did I get here? For me, it has its beginnings from another source of entertainment.
With the myriad of problems facing people these days, its fun to have an escape. For some, its TV shows or movies or anything. There are many things to do. I like to think that I have a variety of ways to escape the everyday monotony and stress of life. But one of my favorite ways to escape is through video games. I have several games that I like to play.
Final Fantasy VII (that’s 7 for all of you not well versed in Roman numerals) is my all time favorite. It is a RPG, or Role Playing Game. This means that you play or control an active character in the game. This character/player fulfills a role throughout the game. It’s slightly different than just an action game. There is a distinct storyline that this character follows and certain actions determine later events in the game. So not only are you playing an active character, but you’re following a storyline as well. It’s like controlling a character in a movie. FF7 is considered by many to be the ultimate RPG, even the best of all time. While there are many RPGs that came before FF7 and many that have and will come after, FF7 is an icon among that style of game. It exceeded limits of RPGs that preceded it, yet is was instrumental in paving the way for immensely popular RPG games now such as Halo or World of Warcraft. It was an apex of storyline, drama, graphics, and gameplay. No other game before or since has combined all of these ingredients like FF7 did.
I remember my roommate and me seeing commercials for this game and getting extremely excited. Upon the game’s release, my roommate immediately bought a Playstation and the game. It’s worth noting that Playstation was a fledgling gaming system compared to Nintendo and Sega at the time. Squaresoft, FF7’s creator, had exclusively used Nintendo gaming systems for the previous Final Fantasy games. However, Playstation was the only system with enough CPU power to play this game and Squaresoft sold the rights to Playstation. Needless to say, this game put Playstation on the map for good… now that’s POWER.
Anyway, even though FF7 is my favorite, it has it drawbacks. I have played the games start to finish at least 5 times. I know every mission, every secret door, every little nuance of the game. Given my knowledge of the game, it stills takes at least 50+ hours to complete the game. That is 50+ game hours! And this only includes doing the minimum amount to complete it. FF7 has supplemental missions as well. These missions are not required to be completed to beat the game, but are extra missions if you want additional challenges. This lengthy game time means that you have to devote significant time to game or else you will become frustrated and eventually give up.
Thus, I have begun playing a new game: Madden! I have never really been a big fan of sports games, but once I began playing Madden, I was hooked! I especially enjoy franchise mode. Franchise mode lets you assume ownership of an NFL team and make decisions regarding the franchise. These decisions range from drafting players to building a new stadium. It is mad fun. But of course, being the nerd that I am, I have developed a theory as to why people love Madden and video games so much.
My theory: video games allow you to control that which is uncontrollable. I will stay with Madden for my examples. Earlier this season, my favorite NFL team, the Miami Dolphins, lost to the New York Jets. I hate when my team loses, but I ESPECIALLY hate losing to the Jets. I had absolutely no control over this outcome whatsoever. I was powerless to prevent this atrocity. So what did I do? I promptly turned on Madden and commenced to thrashing the Jets. Why? In my own way, I was atoning for the loss just experienced in reality. I could control the destiny of my team on Madden and therefore in a weird and limited way, prevent this loss from happening.
This is why I have become a fantasy football fan. I have that control factor again. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a control freak! But in the area of competitive sports, control gives you an edge. Control feeds that competitive urge that drives sports fans. If I do something to control my team’s destiny, then those competitive urges are satiated. I mean, this is why we even play sports to begin with. We all have a desire to win at something. I cannot play professional football, but I can control a fantasy team or a video game team. My fantasy team won for the first time last week. I didn’t control the actions of the players, but I did control my rosters. I sat the right people and started the right people. Fantasy football, along with Madden, allows our internal general manager to come out. We push the right buttons, make the right calls, or setup the right circumstances for our teams to win. And we feel the results personally. A win is exhilarating while a loss stings. In some small way, we are a part of the NFL and that is a great feeling!
I still play competitive sports that my body will allow me to play: golf, softball, some basketball. But fantasy sports allow people to be connected with pro sports outside of the regular boundaries of fandom. It is a new wrinkle on sports that increases love for the game.
How has this affected me? Well, I’m not the ultra-fantasy geek where my entire week hinges on games. But I do peer over stats, evaluate teams and match-ups, and look at making player deals. I review my team for possible trades and acquisitions. I am trying to control that which I cannot control. And in some small way, I am doing just that.
What can I say…? I’m hooked!
With the myriad of problems facing people these days, its fun to have an escape. For some, its TV shows or movies or anything. There are many things to do. I like to think that I have a variety of ways to escape the everyday monotony and stress of life. But one of my favorite ways to escape is through video games. I have several games that I like to play.
Final Fantasy VII (that’s 7 for all of you not well versed in Roman numerals) is my all time favorite. It is a RPG, or Role Playing Game. This means that you play or control an active character in the game. This character/player fulfills a role throughout the game. It’s slightly different than just an action game. There is a distinct storyline that this character follows and certain actions determine later events in the game. So not only are you playing an active character, but you’re following a storyline as well. It’s like controlling a character in a movie. FF7 is considered by many to be the ultimate RPG, even the best of all time. While there are many RPGs that came before FF7 and many that have and will come after, FF7 is an icon among that style of game. It exceeded limits of RPGs that preceded it, yet is was instrumental in paving the way for immensely popular RPG games now such as Halo or World of Warcraft. It was an apex of storyline, drama, graphics, and gameplay. No other game before or since has combined all of these ingredients like FF7 did.
I remember my roommate and me seeing commercials for this game and getting extremely excited. Upon the game’s release, my roommate immediately bought a Playstation and the game. It’s worth noting that Playstation was a fledgling gaming system compared to Nintendo and Sega at the time. Squaresoft, FF7’s creator, had exclusively used Nintendo gaming systems for the previous Final Fantasy games. However, Playstation was the only system with enough CPU power to play this game and Squaresoft sold the rights to Playstation. Needless to say, this game put Playstation on the map for good… now that’s POWER.
Anyway, even though FF7 is my favorite, it has it drawbacks. I have played the games start to finish at least 5 times. I know every mission, every secret door, every little nuance of the game. Given my knowledge of the game, it stills takes at least 50+ hours to complete the game. That is 50+ game hours! And this only includes doing the minimum amount to complete it. FF7 has supplemental missions as well. These missions are not required to be completed to beat the game, but are extra missions if you want additional challenges. This lengthy game time means that you have to devote significant time to game or else you will become frustrated and eventually give up.
Thus, I have begun playing a new game: Madden! I have never really been a big fan of sports games, but once I began playing Madden, I was hooked! I especially enjoy franchise mode. Franchise mode lets you assume ownership of an NFL team and make decisions regarding the franchise. These decisions range from drafting players to building a new stadium. It is mad fun. But of course, being the nerd that I am, I have developed a theory as to why people love Madden and video games so much.
My theory: video games allow you to control that which is uncontrollable. I will stay with Madden for my examples. Earlier this season, my favorite NFL team, the Miami Dolphins, lost to the New York Jets. I hate when my team loses, but I ESPECIALLY hate losing to the Jets. I had absolutely no control over this outcome whatsoever. I was powerless to prevent this atrocity. So what did I do? I promptly turned on Madden and commenced to thrashing the Jets. Why? In my own way, I was atoning for the loss just experienced in reality. I could control the destiny of my team on Madden and therefore in a weird and limited way, prevent this loss from happening.
This is why I have become a fantasy football fan. I have that control factor again. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a control freak! But in the area of competitive sports, control gives you an edge. Control feeds that competitive urge that drives sports fans. If I do something to control my team’s destiny, then those competitive urges are satiated. I mean, this is why we even play sports to begin with. We all have a desire to win at something. I cannot play professional football, but I can control a fantasy team or a video game team. My fantasy team won for the first time last week. I didn’t control the actions of the players, but I did control my rosters. I sat the right people and started the right people. Fantasy football, along with Madden, allows our internal general manager to come out. We push the right buttons, make the right calls, or setup the right circumstances for our teams to win. And we feel the results personally. A win is exhilarating while a loss stings. In some small way, we are a part of the NFL and that is a great feeling!
I still play competitive sports that my body will allow me to play: golf, softball, some basketball. But fantasy sports allow people to be connected with pro sports outside of the regular boundaries of fandom. It is a new wrinkle on sports that increases love for the game.
How has this affected me? Well, I’m not the ultra-fantasy geek where my entire week hinges on games. But I do peer over stats, evaluate teams and match-ups, and look at making player deals. I review my team for possible trades and acquisitions. I am trying to control that which I cannot control. And in some small way, I am doing just that.
What can I say…? I’m hooked!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
It’s the End of the World as We Know It, But Do I Feel Fine?!? Part Four: Conclusion
Its time to close up the loose ends of this discussion on end times events. My premise of this was to ultimately look at current events and relate them to the prophecies. There is an inherent danger to this, however. If you try to interpret too much into the prophecies, you begin to look like you’re trying to set a date. Jesus himself said that no man knows when Jesus will return to Earth. The Second Coming, as it is known, corresponds with the end times. Once Jesus returns, it will be for good and there will be no more sin and death. Jesus says no man will know the "date", but there will be signs of the "times".
So I preface this blog as a review of the signs of the times, and NOT as a calendar to lead to a specific date. I do not know and do not claim to know when Jesus will return. It could be this afternoon and it could be in the year 3256. I don’t know. But I DO know that there are signs present in today’s society that reflect some of the prophecies written about the end times. I will offer my viewpoints about modern times, using Biblical passages as a guideline.
What does all of this mean and why should I care? That would be the first question out of the mouth of anyone wondering about these things. First of all, the Bible says that all people will have to give an account of their actions at some point. Study of end times prophecy reveals that there is a point in the future when existence as we know of it will cease. There will be a new existence after that, but there is a fixed point around which the two states of existence hinge. The point of the prophecies is to direct us to be aware of that point and its impending approach. Think of it as a destination, not in physical dimensions, but in time. We are familiar with this concept. We do it for personal occasions in our lives: our birthdays, holidays, graduations, retirements, and so on. Our lives change around these points and we sorta count down to them… 3 years until I graduate… 2 years until I graduate… and so on. While we experience these personal turning points, the Bible says there will a point where all existence will change… we call it the "end of time". I know everyone doesn’t believe in the Bible and in Jesus. But if we think about what the Bible says and we can see hints of these signs coming true in modern times, then we should question whether we are ready for that ultimate existential turning point. What does it all of this stuff mean? It means we are heading towards a point in time where all humanity, yea, the entire universe will be changed. Why should I care about all of this stuff? We should care because we must be prepared for a change in our existence.
I’m not here to proselytize to anyone. I’m trying to make a correlation of modern events and phenomena to Biblical prophecies and scripture. Take from it what you will.
I discussed the three main areas of life that is focused on in end times prophecy. It involves the global centralization of government, economics, and religion under the banner of one man who is referred to as the beast in Revelation and the man of lawlessness in II Thessalonians. The first three postings I put up discuss how these events could take place and how our current global situations are positioned for these things to happen. But what other things mentioned in the Bible refer to the end times? There are several cases of Old Testament prophecies discussing the end. But the most famous end times prophecy, other than Revelation, is the Olivet Discourse.
The Olivet Discourse is written in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus took his disciples upon the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and He began to teach them. They asked Him to tell them about the time of the end. Jesus tells them of various signs of distress: wars, earthquakes, roaring seas, and famines. He also says that the time right before the end will be like the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37-39). This passage is very important because unlike many prophecies, there is nothing left for interpretation. This is very direct. There will be wars and the threat of wars. There will be earthquakes and famines. And the world will be as it was during the time of Noah. Wars, earthquakes, and famines are easy to see. But how was Earth during the time of Noah? Genesis 6 describes that the people were violent and wicked. So wicked, in fact, that only Noah and his family found favor with God. So wicked that the hearts of mankind only contained wickedness. Galatians 5 gives an outline of what that wicked consisted of: "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like" (Gal. 5:19-21). II Timothy 3 also outlines human behavior in the end "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power." (II Tim. 3:1-5). These two passages reveal how man will act and behave in the last days. Man will be wicked like those in the days of Noah, and that wickedness is described above in detail by Paul.
These signs Jesus lay out are not after His return, but before them. He even refers to them as "birth pains" (Matt. 24:8). These will be signs of life on Earth before the end arrives. That leads to the question: are these things, these behaviors present in today’s society? The answer is without a doubt, YES!
All you have to do is turn on the news or go to a news website to see these signs on full display. Yes, we know of wars and famines and earthquakes, but the wickedness upon the Earth is great. Some things are questionable depending on your standards of morality. Some people think homosexuality and abortion are evil and wicked… some do not. But putting those things aside, there is still wickedness that even staunch atheists would agree are wrong and needs to be dealt with. Let’s look at a few.
The Bible says drunkenness is a wickedness that will be prevalent in the end. I think everyone would agree that alcoholism is a cancer to any society. Lack of self control is also something that everyone could agree on as a problem with society.
There are also things that some things that reveal wickedness that many could not see before. Our current financial crisis stems from several wicked traits mentioned earlier: selfish ambition, lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lack of self control, treachery, conceit. The list keeps going. People gave in to greed and envy and now our entire economy is in shambles because of it. No one realizes that it wasn’t some weird or strange phenomenon that wrecked the economy… it was the wickedness of man. I read an article several months ago reporting that a teenager was arrested for hiring a hit on his own parents (disobedience to parents, if you’re keeping up). The reason: they would not buy him a Playstation 3! He wanted his parents killed over a video game system!!! Its complete lunacy. Just today, I read that a comedian was banned from an event because she made the statement that Republican VP candidate Palin would be "gang-raped" if she came to New York. Sounds like a great comedy act to me (I’m being sarcastic of course). It’s preposterous. The world is becoming more rancid by the minute due to the wickedness permeating society. It is getting more like the days of Noah every single day. And whether or not you believe in the Bible, you have to agree that SOMETHING needs to change. It’s the entire political platform of this election. People know something is wrong with something and they wanna make it right.
Let’s look at another way these prophecies correspond with modern times. Computer programmers have created programs known as spiders. Spiders are programs that search over vast amounts of data looking for things. Some spiders were created to look over investment and market data to look for trends to help investors or to spot possible problems in the market. Some spiders were created to help detect secret messages from enemy nations. The way these spiders work is they search over vast amount of written material looking for a variety of characters, words, or phrases that have commonalities. They compare this data with known resources to look for hidden messages. It’s like a giant cryptogram game. There is another theory about these spiders. Some folks believe they can go back in time with them and also predict the future using them. They assert that by looking at massive amounts of text from a society, they will have a sort of window to subconscious collective mind of society. They will scour our various types of material from news reports, advertisements, even blogs such as this. Again, they look for common characters, words, phrases, and other arrangements within a wide sampling of text material. The theory is that the subconscious collective feelings of a society will be expressed through individuals within that society through the writings of these individuals. They believe they can look into the past and gain an understanding of what that society was going through by the texts of that time period. For example, let’s say the people of 19th century France were concerned with impending war and economic problems. The theory says that written texts of that era will have those fears of economic hardship and war written within SUBCONSCIOUSLY, regardless of the nature and explicitness of the material. The theory suggests that all writing: love letters, business correspondence, advertisements, everything will subconsciously suggest the fears mentioned.
While looking into the past is a little easier (since we have some history), looking into the future is difficult. The theory suggests, however, that looking into various writings of the current era; these decoders will be able to pick up on subconscious ideas that are hidden within the text. Example: decoders will employ spiders to look at newspaper editorials of every newspaper in America over the past three years. The spiders will locate any number of specific patterns. Then by matching these patterns with various topics, such as economy, the spiders can then match that topic to the patterns. The idea is that people will have subconsciously left hints of how we felt about the economy by the style in which we wrote, the particular words we used, punctuation, grammar, everything.
Of course, this is very oversimplified, but you get the idea. A book was written a few years back called the Bible Code. It was about how a certain group of religious used this technology to peruse the Bible for hidden messages. Some things they found were simple, but some were very, VERY complex. It was claimed that the Bible produced information that was so specific; it narrowed down events to the date! They claim these codes predicted the World Wars and even predicted the assassination of JFK down the very date he was killed! They said that the Bible Code was so complex that it still could give up information about events hundreds even thousands of years in the future (kinda weird, because their were prophecies written in standard Hebrew and Greek language doing the exact same thing… IN PLAIN SIGHT… but you know how people can be).
Now I told you about spiders and stuff to make a point and it is this: society reveals its collective subconscious via its media sources, but not always explicitly. Why is this important? Because we can infer how society as a whole feels about things by simply reading or watching TV. Let’s look at some things. In the past 15 years, there has been a rise in the number of movies and TV shows involving spiritual beings interacting with humans: Touched by an Angel, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Crossing Over, Bless the Child, The End of Days, The Ring, The Sixth Sense and the list goes on. There have been several movies about alien interaction with humans: The Forgotten, The Arrival, X-Files, Signs, and many others. There have been several movies about the annihilation of human civilization, either by external forces or by our own making: Armageddon, Deep Impact, I Am Legend, Independence Day, and many more. What does this mean? What impression do you get from this? I’m no expert, but it would indicate that people are aware of or at least thinking about two specific things: beings beyond human understanding and the destruction of civilization.
People are aware of, thinking about, or fascinated by the idea that there are beings outside of the realm of the life as we know it. Aliens, spirits, ghosts, angels, demons; society has these things on its collective mind. This would indicate, at least to me, that people are concerned that there is more to life than what we experience physically. It indicates a concern about existence after death: how we get there, what it is like, and what it means for our lives while we are still living.
People are also thinking about the demise of civilization at least on some level. Society is concerned with how to maintain its existence in a dangerous universe. People are concerned with the survival of civilization at a small level. We are worried about economic and social issues. Will we be able to keep up our way of life? People are also concerned with the survival of civilization on a larger scale. Will a catastrophic event wipe humanity from existence? Will aliens or asteroids kill us all and would we be able to survive it? What can we do to maintain our way of life and not completely destroy the environment?
Allow me to wrap this entire discussion up by saying that these are perilous times. The Bible contains prophecies that let us know what will happen at the end of time and signs with which we can recognize its arrival. There are pieces currently in place in this world that allow for governments, economies, and religions to unite under the banner of the beast mentioned in Revelation. Prophecies of Jesus tell of the condition of the world prior to the end. He says it will be a wicked place as in Noah’s day. We see rampant wickedness in all areas of our society. Luke 21:26 that the heart’s of men will faint with terror, apprehensive with what lies ahead. The collective subconscious of our society tells us that our hearts are failing. People are stressed about life after death, the environment, and whether we can maintain our civilization.
I said earlier that I do not know the day of the return of Jesus and I will never say that I do. But the signs are evident of His eminent return. He told his followers to watch for Him, looking at these signs as marker of His return. I personally feel that time is like one of those coin funnels at the mall. Our society is like the coin. At first, it is moving slowly toward the end, but as it gets closer, we spiral faster and faster towards the end. The necessary events of the end times have increased in frequency and quantity within the last 100 years. I feel we are racing towards that turning point faster than we really know and people, including many Christians are not prepared. My goal was to write down my thoughts and ideas in order to raise awareness and provoke thought about these issues. I hope you have enjoyed reading this. Please leave comments as I would glad to answer questions and look at other issues involving this as well.
So I preface this blog as a review of the signs of the times, and NOT as a calendar to lead to a specific date. I do not know and do not claim to know when Jesus will return. It could be this afternoon and it could be in the year 3256. I don’t know. But I DO know that there are signs present in today’s society that reflect some of the prophecies written about the end times. I will offer my viewpoints about modern times, using Biblical passages as a guideline.
What does all of this mean and why should I care? That would be the first question out of the mouth of anyone wondering about these things. First of all, the Bible says that all people will have to give an account of their actions at some point. Study of end times prophecy reveals that there is a point in the future when existence as we know of it will cease. There will be a new existence after that, but there is a fixed point around which the two states of existence hinge. The point of the prophecies is to direct us to be aware of that point and its impending approach. Think of it as a destination, not in physical dimensions, but in time. We are familiar with this concept. We do it for personal occasions in our lives: our birthdays, holidays, graduations, retirements, and so on. Our lives change around these points and we sorta count down to them… 3 years until I graduate… 2 years until I graduate… and so on. While we experience these personal turning points, the Bible says there will a point where all existence will change… we call it the "end of time". I know everyone doesn’t believe in the Bible and in Jesus. But if we think about what the Bible says and we can see hints of these signs coming true in modern times, then we should question whether we are ready for that ultimate existential turning point. What does it all of this stuff mean? It means we are heading towards a point in time where all humanity, yea, the entire universe will be changed. Why should I care about all of this stuff? We should care because we must be prepared for a change in our existence.
I’m not here to proselytize to anyone. I’m trying to make a correlation of modern events and phenomena to Biblical prophecies and scripture. Take from it what you will.
I discussed the three main areas of life that is focused on in end times prophecy. It involves the global centralization of government, economics, and religion under the banner of one man who is referred to as the beast in Revelation and the man of lawlessness in II Thessalonians. The first three postings I put up discuss how these events could take place and how our current global situations are positioned for these things to happen. But what other things mentioned in the Bible refer to the end times? There are several cases of Old Testament prophecies discussing the end. But the most famous end times prophecy, other than Revelation, is the Olivet Discourse.
The Olivet Discourse is written in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus took his disciples upon the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and He began to teach them. They asked Him to tell them about the time of the end. Jesus tells them of various signs of distress: wars, earthquakes, roaring seas, and famines. He also says that the time right before the end will be like the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37-39). This passage is very important because unlike many prophecies, there is nothing left for interpretation. This is very direct. There will be wars and the threat of wars. There will be earthquakes and famines. And the world will be as it was during the time of Noah. Wars, earthquakes, and famines are easy to see. But how was Earth during the time of Noah? Genesis 6 describes that the people were violent and wicked. So wicked, in fact, that only Noah and his family found favor with God. So wicked that the hearts of mankind only contained wickedness. Galatians 5 gives an outline of what that wicked consisted of: "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like" (Gal. 5:19-21). II Timothy 3 also outlines human behavior in the end "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power." (II Tim. 3:1-5). These two passages reveal how man will act and behave in the last days. Man will be wicked like those in the days of Noah, and that wickedness is described above in detail by Paul.
These signs Jesus lay out are not after His return, but before them. He even refers to them as "birth pains" (Matt. 24:8). These will be signs of life on Earth before the end arrives. That leads to the question: are these things, these behaviors present in today’s society? The answer is without a doubt, YES!
All you have to do is turn on the news or go to a news website to see these signs on full display. Yes, we know of wars and famines and earthquakes, but the wickedness upon the Earth is great. Some things are questionable depending on your standards of morality. Some people think homosexuality and abortion are evil and wicked… some do not. But putting those things aside, there is still wickedness that even staunch atheists would agree are wrong and needs to be dealt with. Let’s look at a few.
The Bible says drunkenness is a wickedness that will be prevalent in the end. I think everyone would agree that alcoholism is a cancer to any society. Lack of self control is also something that everyone could agree on as a problem with society.
There are also things that some things that reveal wickedness that many could not see before. Our current financial crisis stems from several wicked traits mentioned earlier: selfish ambition, lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lack of self control, treachery, conceit. The list keeps going. People gave in to greed and envy and now our entire economy is in shambles because of it. No one realizes that it wasn’t some weird or strange phenomenon that wrecked the economy… it was the wickedness of man. I read an article several months ago reporting that a teenager was arrested for hiring a hit on his own parents (disobedience to parents, if you’re keeping up). The reason: they would not buy him a Playstation 3! He wanted his parents killed over a video game system!!! Its complete lunacy. Just today, I read that a comedian was banned from an event because she made the statement that Republican VP candidate Palin would be "gang-raped" if she came to New York. Sounds like a great comedy act to me (I’m being sarcastic of course). It’s preposterous. The world is becoming more rancid by the minute due to the wickedness permeating society. It is getting more like the days of Noah every single day. And whether or not you believe in the Bible, you have to agree that SOMETHING needs to change. It’s the entire political platform of this election. People know something is wrong with something and they wanna make it right.
Let’s look at another way these prophecies correspond with modern times. Computer programmers have created programs known as spiders. Spiders are programs that search over vast amounts of data looking for things. Some spiders were created to look over investment and market data to look for trends to help investors or to spot possible problems in the market. Some spiders were created to help detect secret messages from enemy nations. The way these spiders work is they search over vast amount of written material looking for a variety of characters, words, or phrases that have commonalities. They compare this data with known resources to look for hidden messages. It’s like a giant cryptogram game. There is another theory about these spiders. Some folks believe they can go back in time with them and also predict the future using them. They assert that by looking at massive amounts of text from a society, they will have a sort of window to subconscious collective mind of society. They will scour our various types of material from news reports, advertisements, even blogs such as this. Again, they look for common characters, words, phrases, and other arrangements within a wide sampling of text material. The theory is that the subconscious collective feelings of a society will be expressed through individuals within that society through the writings of these individuals. They believe they can look into the past and gain an understanding of what that society was going through by the texts of that time period. For example, let’s say the people of 19th century France were concerned with impending war and economic problems. The theory says that written texts of that era will have those fears of economic hardship and war written within SUBCONSCIOUSLY, regardless of the nature and explicitness of the material. The theory suggests that all writing: love letters, business correspondence, advertisements, everything will subconsciously suggest the fears mentioned.
While looking into the past is a little easier (since we have some history), looking into the future is difficult. The theory suggests, however, that looking into various writings of the current era; these decoders will be able to pick up on subconscious ideas that are hidden within the text. Example: decoders will employ spiders to look at newspaper editorials of every newspaper in America over the past three years. The spiders will locate any number of specific patterns. Then by matching these patterns with various topics, such as economy, the spiders can then match that topic to the patterns. The idea is that people will have subconsciously left hints of how we felt about the economy by the style in which we wrote, the particular words we used, punctuation, grammar, everything.
Of course, this is very oversimplified, but you get the idea. A book was written a few years back called the Bible Code. It was about how a certain group of religious used this technology to peruse the Bible for hidden messages. Some things they found were simple, but some were very, VERY complex. It was claimed that the Bible produced information that was so specific; it narrowed down events to the date! They claim these codes predicted the World Wars and even predicted the assassination of JFK down the very date he was killed! They said that the Bible Code was so complex that it still could give up information about events hundreds even thousands of years in the future (kinda weird, because their were prophecies written in standard Hebrew and Greek language doing the exact same thing… IN PLAIN SIGHT… but you know how people can be).
Now I told you about spiders and stuff to make a point and it is this: society reveals its collective subconscious via its media sources, but not always explicitly. Why is this important? Because we can infer how society as a whole feels about things by simply reading or watching TV. Let’s look at some things. In the past 15 years, there has been a rise in the number of movies and TV shows involving spiritual beings interacting with humans: Touched by an Angel, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Crossing Over, Bless the Child, The End of Days, The Ring, The Sixth Sense and the list goes on. There have been several movies about alien interaction with humans: The Forgotten, The Arrival, X-Files, Signs, and many others. There have been several movies about the annihilation of human civilization, either by external forces or by our own making: Armageddon, Deep Impact, I Am Legend, Independence Day, and many more. What does this mean? What impression do you get from this? I’m no expert, but it would indicate that people are aware of or at least thinking about two specific things: beings beyond human understanding and the destruction of civilization.
People are aware of, thinking about, or fascinated by the idea that there are beings outside of the realm of the life as we know it. Aliens, spirits, ghosts, angels, demons; society has these things on its collective mind. This would indicate, at least to me, that people are concerned that there is more to life than what we experience physically. It indicates a concern about existence after death: how we get there, what it is like, and what it means for our lives while we are still living.
People are also thinking about the demise of civilization at least on some level. Society is concerned with how to maintain its existence in a dangerous universe. People are concerned with the survival of civilization at a small level. We are worried about economic and social issues. Will we be able to keep up our way of life? People are also concerned with the survival of civilization on a larger scale. Will a catastrophic event wipe humanity from existence? Will aliens or asteroids kill us all and would we be able to survive it? What can we do to maintain our way of life and not completely destroy the environment?
Allow me to wrap this entire discussion up by saying that these are perilous times. The Bible contains prophecies that let us know what will happen at the end of time and signs with which we can recognize its arrival. There are pieces currently in place in this world that allow for governments, economies, and religions to unite under the banner of the beast mentioned in Revelation. Prophecies of Jesus tell of the condition of the world prior to the end. He says it will be a wicked place as in Noah’s day. We see rampant wickedness in all areas of our society. Luke 21:26 that the heart’s of men will faint with terror, apprehensive with what lies ahead. The collective subconscious of our society tells us that our hearts are failing. People are stressed about life after death, the environment, and whether we can maintain our civilization.
I said earlier that I do not know the day of the return of Jesus and I will never say that I do. But the signs are evident of His eminent return. He told his followers to watch for Him, looking at these signs as marker of His return. I personally feel that time is like one of those coin funnels at the mall. Our society is like the coin. At first, it is moving slowly toward the end, but as it gets closer, we spiral faster and faster towards the end. The necessary events of the end times have increased in frequency and quantity within the last 100 years. I feel we are racing towards that turning point faster than we really know and people, including many Christians are not prepared. My goal was to write down my thoughts and ideas in order to raise awareness and provoke thought about these issues. I hope you have enjoyed reading this. Please leave comments as I would glad to answer questions and look at other issues involving this as well.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
It’s the End of the World as We Know It, But Do I Feel Fine?!? Part Three: Religion
In my previous two blogs, I have discussed two parts of an end times triad involving a global, centralized government and economy. My goal was to show how current events are preparing the way for this to occur. It’s obvious to see that global economy and government could happen and in fact, may happen very soon. But, religion is another animal altogether. A centralized religion seems not only unlikely, but impossible. There are too many obstacles in the way for this happen. There are fundamentalists, extremists, and other die-hards unwilling to surrender. There are atheists and agnostics who unwilling to believe. Despite the perceptions and difficulty, the Bible clearly states that a centralized religion abounds in the end times.
First things first, I am writing this from a Christian and Biblical perspective. If you do not believe in these things, then this will be harder to understand. My point is not to claim a "right or wrong" stance, but to indicate how the Bible illustrates end times events that are reflected within our modern times. As I said earlier, the religion portion of this end times triad will be the most difficult to come to terms with.
There are several passages which outline this singular religion. Revelation 13:4-8 says that both the dragon and the beast will be worshipped by all men, except those written in the Book of Life. This would indicate all true believers in the True God will not worship the beast or the dragon. I’ll elaborate on this passage later. II Thessalonians 2:4 says there will come a man who will sit in the temple of God and proclaim that he is not only greater than the things of God, but that he himself is God. Daniel 9 discusses a man who causes an "abomination of desolation" in the temple of God. Many theologians believe that the man discussed in Daniel and the man discussed in II Thessalonians are one in the same. Regardless, it would appear that at some point in the future, there will be a man who claims to be God on a large scale and that all men will worship two beings known as the dragon and the beast.
OK, let’s look at the characteristics regarding this centralized religion possibility. In its essence, this is the final culmination of the plans of God’s antithesis. This is man’s ultimate expression of existentialism led by Lucifer. The Bible is replete with instances of man trying to replace God with something else. Whether it is a pagan deity or lust for power and money; sinful man has tried to replace God. This centralized religion will be the magnum opus of man attempt to accomplish this goal. This raises three very big questions right off the bat however. Number one: how does this affect those who do not believe in any kind of deity? Number two: how does this affect those who believe in a deity? Number three: how does this affect those who believe in the Biblical God? Question number three will be the most difficult to answer. Let us look at the entity being worshiped. That will shed some light on how to answer these questions.
If you look at the passages of scripture, each passage reveals something about the entity being worshiped. Daniel indicates that he will have some authority in the area of politics or religion. Daniel says he will confirm a convent with many (Dan. 9:27). This would hint at the idea that this man has power and authority to confirm the promises of many people. In other words, he will be someone of great position either religiously or politically. He will be a prominent person that many people will believe in and trust. II Thessalonians describes the man as one who will have supernatural power as granted by Satan (II Thess. 2:9). The man Paul is talking about will arrive on the scene with counterfeit miracles and signs. If the man listed in Daniel and II Thessalonians is the same guy, you’re looking at a man with supernatural abilities in a position of prominence, either politically or religiously… or possibly both. Revelation 13 indicates that the beast, who could be this man, will be given authority by the dragon and will be worshipped along the dragon. Revelation 12 reveals that the dragon is Satan. If you put these pieces of the puzzle together, all three passages would show that man with great authority and great power will arise in the last days and that his power and authority are such that all men are compelled to worship him saying "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" (Rev. 13:4, NIV).
We have established the character of the man being worshipped, but let’s now look at prevailing trends within belief systems currently in the world. I am not an expert on all world religions, but simple research can give us an idea of some themes and ideas. Several of the major world religions have a messianic figure. This messianic figure is the "Chosen One" of that particular religion. They range from the most famous (Jesus Christ) to the seemingly most absurd (Alien spacecraft hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet). Several religions do not have messianic figures, such as Buddhism. However, Buddhism teaches about reaching enhanced states of being, reaching an existence superior to our current state of existence. Then there are belief systems such as secular humanism, which do not worship a deity, but exclude supernatural phenomenon. Spiritual events are individual at best and ideals such as ethics and reason. You can argue that evolution is a belief system (another day, another blog). One central religion would have to accommodate the varying degree of beliefs and ideologies that are expressed by people. Let me run a quick scenario to illustrate a point.
Imagine a man who many would consider a perfect individual. He’s good-looking, wealthy, charismatic, connected, and educated. Now imagine if this guy was a leader, possibly of a powerful global government. He kept peace and prosperity for every person under his control. Now imagine this guy having the supernatural ability to heal sick and dying people. Imagine that he could lift heavy objects with mere thoughts. Imagine this guy and now think about how the world would perceive him… how would you perceive him?
What does this scenario mean? People can view this guy (the beast) as the perfect zenith of their particular belief system. Messianic religions will see this guy as their messiah (except Christians, but we’ll get to that in a minute). Religions without a messianic figure may see him as a deity, or just a man who has reached a superior state of existence. Evolutionists may see this guy as an evolved person, a state all humanity will evolve to someday (think X-Men). Some may see this guy as an alien, or at least involved with extra-terrestrial activity. If you have no belief system, he will make you believe or at least stir that desire in your heart and mind. The point is that the man described in the Bible passages will fulfill EVERY aspect of what EVERY religion will want to achieve. The big key is that now religions will have no "right or wrong" aspect. It will be acceptable to have one or multiple belief systems. You can be a Muslim Buddhist evolutionist if you wanna be… it won’t matter because this guy will fulfill it all. He will have both natural and supernatural characteristics that will appeal to the mass of civilization despite belief systems. He will be worshipped by all people, because he will complete the search for existence and self-meaning that all people experience. He will have that "something" about him that will make all people simply marvel at him and ultimately worship him. So to answer questions one and two: the man described in the Bible passages referenced will be the pinnacle of human existence to all humans. Whatever you wanna believe in… this guy’s it!
That brings us to question number three. What will people who believe in Jesus as the messiah think about this guy? Wow! You talk about a loaded question. There are more theories about this than you can shake a stick at. There are volumes of books written about this and there is no consensus about the topic, even among theologians. I could spend hours discussing this topic alone, but I will get this down to the nuts and bolts of it. Some Christians believe that we will escape the impending wrath brought upon the world and this man. Some believe that we will only partially experience the end times events and some believe that we will ride it out until the end. Some Christians believe that these events have either already happened or will never happen. There are scripture passages that would seem to advocate each of these thought processes. However one chooses to believe about this topic, one thing is perfectly clear. Jesus proclaimed he would return to Earth at some point. He said there will be signs of his impending return. Daniel was told to seal up his prophecies until the end. Those who are wicked would have no understanding and the wise will understand (Dan. 12:9-10). This means that as the end approaches, those who are wise will begin to understand what Daniel foretold and the return of Jesus will become eminent. With that being said, the man discussed here today would seem to have the power to coerce some people looking for the return of Jesus. Jesus warned of these people in Matthew 24. My honest belief is that true followers of Jesus will be able to discern the truth and that those who follow the delusion were not true believers in the first place. The folks that believe in the true Jesus will not fall for a fake and that Jesus Himself will give us discernment and wisdom. The folks that will be deceived will be the kind of folks that say "Sure, its ok to believe to Jesus, but its ok to follow Buddha as well", or "There are many roads to get to heaven, and Jesus is merely one of them". My point is that there will be people who may see this man as Jesus, and his rise to prominence will look to some as the "second coming" of the real Jesus. I will not attempt to argue one ends times view perspective over another at this point. All will say is that there will be people who will think the guy discussed above will be Jesus and they will be fooled.
So as you can see, one central religion is not quite as far-fetched as you might think. I have outlined a possible scenario for how all mankind will worship a being when so many people disagree on what to believe. There are other scenarios as well. The dragon and the beast may generate worship by force… a "worship me or die" kinda thing. A future religion may come on the market in the future that may be so universal and so enticing that everyone will simply abandon all other belief systems and follow that. Whatever means used to get there, the idea that a central religion system could one day exist is a plausible one. The next question is: do we see this trend happening in the world today? I say yes. The idea that many roads lead to one destination is a prevailing one within our society. People are searching for the meaning of their existence and they will try to use whatever means necessary to discover it, even if it means trying various religions. Many folks will try to blend aspects of many beliefs into a singular worldview. I read an article recently about a woman who claims to be both a Christian and a Muslim. I read another article discussing how the Catholic Church is advocating evolution. In this era, following a religious belief to the letter makes you hard-core and extreme. Fundamentalism is the new slander and people are wary of being tagged by it. We live in a salad bar religious society; pick what you want from various beliefs and throw it all in together. By doing it this way, so make yourself less likely to be offensive and labeled a fundamentalist. You can throw out the non politically correct parts and keep the less dangerous parts. Remember when I said that political lines are becoming blurry? Well the same thing is happening with religion. Beliefs and tenets are getting murkier and muddier everyday. It really doesn’t seem all that crazy that someday, a man with the characteristics I mentioned earlier could arrive on the scene and tie up the loose ends.
Part four will be a conclusion of this personal discourse. I will wrap up the details and blend the previous blogs into an outline of the end times world. I will try my best to take the three basic components and combine into a working paradigm of how the global system could really work. I will also take a look at several secular paradigms that reflect how society is gravitating towards this, even on a subconscious level.
First things first, I am writing this from a Christian and Biblical perspective. If you do not believe in these things, then this will be harder to understand. My point is not to claim a "right or wrong" stance, but to indicate how the Bible illustrates end times events that are reflected within our modern times. As I said earlier, the religion portion of this end times triad will be the most difficult to come to terms with.
There are several passages which outline this singular religion. Revelation 13:4-8 says that both the dragon and the beast will be worshipped by all men, except those written in the Book of Life. This would indicate all true believers in the True God will not worship the beast or the dragon. I’ll elaborate on this passage later. II Thessalonians 2:4 says there will come a man who will sit in the temple of God and proclaim that he is not only greater than the things of God, but that he himself is God. Daniel 9 discusses a man who causes an "abomination of desolation" in the temple of God. Many theologians believe that the man discussed in Daniel and the man discussed in II Thessalonians are one in the same. Regardless, it would appear that at some point in the future, there will be a man who claims to be God on a large scale and that all men will worship two beings known as the dragon and the beast.
OK, let’s look at the characteristics regarding this centralized religion possibility. In its essence, this is the final culmination of the plans of God’s antithesis. This is man’s ultimate expression of existentialism led by Lucifer. The Bible is replete with instances of man trying to replace God with something else. Whether it is a pagan deity or lust for power and money; sinful man has tried to replace God. This centralized religion will be the magnum opus of man attempt to accomplish this goal. This raises three very big questions right off the bat however. Number one: how does this affect those who do not believe in any kind of deity? Number two: how does this affect those who believe in a deity? Number three: how does this affect those who believe in the Biblical God? Question number three will be the most difficult to answer. Let us look at the entity being worshiped. That will shed some light on how to answer these questions.
If you look at the passages of scripture, each passage reveals something about the entity being worshiped. Daniel indicates that he will have some authority in the area of politics or religion. Daniel says he will confirm a convent with many (Dan. 9:27). This would hint at the idea that this man has power and authority to confirm the promises of many people. In other words, he will be someone of great position either religiously or politically. He will be a prominent person that many people will believe in and trust. II Thessalonians describes the man as one who will have supernatural power as granted by Satan (II Thess. 2:9). The man Paul is talking about will arrive on the scene with counterfeit miracles and signs. If the man listed in Daniel and II Thessalonians is the same guy, you’re looking at a man with supernatural abilities in a position of prominence, either politically or religiously… or possibly both. Revelation 13 indicates that the beast, who could be this man, will be given authority by the dragon and will be worshipped along the dragon. Revelation 12 reveals that the dragon is Satan. If you put these pieces of the puzzle together, all three passages would show that man with great authority and great power will arise in the last days and that his power and authority are such that all men are compelled to worship him saying "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" (Rev. 13:4, NIV).
We have established the character of the man being worshipped, but let’s now look at prevailing trends within belief systems currently in the world. I am not an expert on all world religions, but simple research can give us an idea of some themes and ideas. Several of the major world religions have a messianic figure. This messianic figure is the "Chosen One" of that particular religion. They range from the most famous (Jesus Christ) to the seemingly most absurd (Alien spacecraft hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet). Several religions do not have messianic figures, such as Buddhism. However, Buddhism teaches about reaching enhanced states of being, reaching an existence superior to our current state of existence. Then there are belief systems such as secular humanism, which do not worship a deity, but exclude supernatural phenomenon. Spiritual events are individual at best and ideals such as ethics and reason. You can argue that evolution is a belief system (another day, another blog). One central religion would have to accommodate the varying degree of beliefs and ideologies that are expressed by people. Let me run a quick scenario to illustrate a point.
Imagine a man who many would consider a perfect individual. He’s good-looking, wealthy, charismatic, connected, and educated. Now imagine if this guy was a leader, possibly of a powerful global government. He kept peace and prosperity for every person under his control. Now imagine this guy having the supernatural ability to heal sick and dying people. Imagine that he could lift heavy objects with mere thoughts. Imagine this guy and now think about how the world would perceive him… how would you perceive him?
What does this scenario mean? People can view this guy (the beast) as the perfect zenith of their particular belief system. Messianic religions will see this guy as their messiah (except Christians, but we’ll get to that in a minute). Religions without a messianic figure may see him as a deity, or just a man who has reached a superior state of existence. Evolutionists may see this guy as an evolved person, a state all humanity will evolve to someday (think X-Men). Some may see this guy as an alien, or at least involved with extra-terrestrial activity. If you have no belief system, he will make you believe or at least stir that desire in your heart and mind. The point is that the man described in the Bible passages will fulfill EVERY aspect of what EVERY religion will want to achieve. The big key is that now religions will have no "right or wrong" aspect. It will be acceptable to have one or multiple belief systems. You can be a Muslim Buddhist evolutionist if you wanna be… it won’t matter because this guy will fulfill it all. He will have both natural and supernatural characteristics that will appeal to the mass of civilization despite belief systems. He will be worshipped by all people, because he will complete the search for existence and self-meaning that all people experience. He will have that "something" about him that will make all people simply marvel at him and ultimately worship him. So to answer questions one and two: the man described in the Bible passages referenced will be the pinnacle of human existence to all humans. Whatever you wanna believe in… this guy’s it!
That brings us to question number three. What will people who believe in Jesus as the messiah think about this guy? Wow! You talk about a loaded question. There are more theories about this than you can shake a stick at. There are volumes of books written about this and there is no consensus about the topic, even among theologians. I could spend hours discussing this topic alone, but I will get this down to the nuts and bolts of it. Some Christians believe that we will escape the impending wrath brought upon the world and this man. Some believe that we will only partially experience the end times events and some believe that we will ride it out until the end. Some Christians believe that these events have either already happened or will never happen. There are scripture passages that would seem to advocate each of these thought processes. However one chooses to believe about this topic, one thing is perfectly clear. Jesus proclaimed he would return to Earth at some point. He said there will be signs of his impending return. Daniel was told to seal up his prophecies until the end. Those who are wicked would have no understanding and the wise will understand (Dan. 12:9-10). This means that as the end approaches, those who are wise will begin to understand what Daniel foretold and the return of Jesus will become eminent. With that being said, the man discussed here today would seem to have the power to coerce some people looking for the return of Jesus. Jesus warned of these people in Matthew 24. My honest belief is that true followers of Jesus will be able to discern the truth and that those who follow the delusion were not true believers in the first place. The folks that believe in the true Jesus will not fall for a fake and that Jesus Himself will give us discernment and wisdom. The folks that will be deceived will be the kind of folks that say "Sure, its ok to believe to Jesus, but its ok to follow Buddha as well", or "There are many roads to get to heaven, and Jesus is merely one of them". My point is that there will be people who may see this man as Jesus, and his rise to prominence will look to some as the "second coming" of the real Jesus. I will not attempt to argue one ends times view perspective over another at this point. All will say is that there will be people who will think the guy discussed above will be Jesus and they will be fooled.
So as you can see, one central religion is not quite as far-fetched as you might think. I have outlined a possible scenario for how all mankind will worship a being when so many people disagree on what to believe. There are other scenarios as well. The dragon and the beast may generate worship by force… a "worship me or die" kinda thing. A future religion may come on the market in the future that may be so universal and so enticing that everyone will simply abandon all other belief systems and follow that. Whatever means used to get there, the idea that a central religion system could one day exist is a plausible one. The next question is: do we see this trend happening in the world today? I say yes. The idea that many roads lead to one destination is a prevailing one within our society. People are searching for the meaning of their existence and they will try to use whatever means necessary to discover it, even if it means trying various religions. Many folks will try to blend aspects of many beliefs into a singular worldview. I read an article recently about a woman who claims to be both a Christian and a Muslim. I read another article discussing how the Catholic Church is advocating evolution. In this era, following a religious belief to the letter makes you hard-core and extreme. Fundamentalism is the new slander and people are wary of being tagged by it. We live in a salad bar religious society; pick what you want from various beliefs and throw it all in together. By doing it this way, so make yourself less likely to be offensive and labeled a fundamentalist. You can throw out the non politically correct parts and keep the less dangerous parts. Remember when I said that political lines are becoming blurry? Well the same thing is happening with religion. Beliefs and tenets are getting murkier and muddier everyday. It really doesn’t seem all that crazy that someday, a man with the characteristics I mentioned earlier could arrive on the scene and tie up the loose ends.
Part four will be a conclusion of this personal discourse. I will wrap up the details and blend the previous blogs into an outline of the end times world. I will try my best to take the three basic components and combine into a working paradigm of how the global system could really work. I will also take a look at several secular paradigms that reflect how society is gravitating towards this, even on a subconscious level.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
It’s the End of the World as We Know It, But Do I Feel Fine?!? Part Two: Economy
Part one of this series dealt a little bit with politics and how I feel about politics in relation to Biblical prophecy. The Bible says that during the end times there will exist a global centralization of three major aspects of life… government, economy, and religion. Part one delved into the political aspect of government and how the world, specifically, the political world is leaning toward centralization and collective thinking is the prevailing fad amongst politicians. Part two will explain a global economy existent in the end times and how current events are racing towards that end.
First, I think a brief explanation of economy is important. Economy is the term we use to describe the management of trade of goods and services for one another. We each experienced economy from an early age when we let a friend borrow a toy in exchange for something else. I’m sure every red blooded male who ever had baseball cards was involved in trading them. We placed a value on them and decided what we could get in exchange for them. This is the purest form of economy we can experience and possibly understand. I struggled through an 8 AM Microeconomics class my freshman year in college. My first college class experience was a crazy professor trying to explain charts and graphs involved the economics of apples and beer at 8 in the FREAKIN’ morning! Fun times! Anyway, trading things is what keeps everyone and everything going. Currency is the medium of exchange that we use. The amount of currency you possess indicates your trading power and thus, your wealth. In the beginning, man used land and livestock as currency. Then we upgraded to coinage. Paper money was next and then we decided to go cyber and do it electronically. This progression is extremely important to how Biblical prophecy is fulfilled.
Revelation 13:16-18 describes a case where at some point in the future, one entity will control the economy in such a way that no one in the world will be able to by or sell without the mark of the beast. This is only possible if there is a centralized economy. If every nation but one has a joint economy, then the citizens of that nation could trade with one another outside of the guidelines of the rest of the world. This scenario shows how a centralized global economy is the ONLY way that this prophecy can come true. The world is in such a way that now that the platform for this centralization is built. Allow me to explain.
When man was first trading land and livestock, trade was limited by distant. You could only trade so much land and livestock could only go so far. This was basically regional. Plus, a Himalayan yak would not be worth much to nomads in a desert region, so value was also regionally limited. Man decided that jewels and coins made of certain materials could be accepted. Gold coins could be traded anywhere to anyone because of the intrinsic value of gold. The gold is valuable in and of itself, thus it is universally acceptable. You could buy a certain amount of goods with a gold coin because the seller could then trade the coin for goods of equal value to what he just sold. This, however also has limitations based on quantity. There is only so much gold to go around and it cannot be replenished. Whatever gold came with the Earth is all the gold the Earth is ever gonna get! Plus, gold and silver is heavy. Imagine trying to carry around enough gold to buy stuff. It was burdensome to say the least. Paper currency came along as an exchange for gold. It was a system to where a paper certificate would be worth a certain amount of gold or silver or whatever. Traders could exchange these certificates amongst one another knowing that the value of the certificate was based on the value of gold thus these certificates could be exchanged for a certain amount of gold. The importance of this segment is that it gave trade measurable units to operate with. Gold would need to be weighed, measured, and so forth. Paper money was easily reproducible and was much easier to deal with. One certificate was worth one certificate… easy enough. This is the history of the American dollar. Once, it was backed in gold and silver. However, the dollar is now considered a free floating currency. This means the value of the dollar is based on the strength of how it trades with other currencies. It’s a bit complicated, but noteworthy nonetheless. More on this in a minute. Technology came about in such a way that allowed for currency to be recorded electronically. This allowed the transfer of currency to happen electronically. This latest addition took away the need for people to carry certain amounts of paper money with them. They only needed an access point electronically to make the transfer. In essence, you could trade for goods with only an electronic transfer of funds from one account to another without ever presenting "hard" currency to do it. Whoever receives the funds knows that they can be exchanged for the equivalent amount of hard currency. This was debit/credit based system that we use today.
As populations soared to new heights, demand for goods increased exponentially and trade between nations became inevitable. One nation could then produce a large amount of one good that could be traded to another nation for other goods. One nation could specialize in a particular good and setup exchange for a good that it could not produce as easily. For example, a nation that could produce large amounts of wheat, but not oil could trade with an oil rich country. This created trade exchange rates: so many units of wheat is equal to a certain number of units of oil. Larger nations such as the US were able to produce multiple goods in large quantities while smaller nations specialized. This led to international trade. Now, this is really noting new. This has been going on forever. In modern international trade, nations will hold reserve currency to buy certain goods. The most prominent reserve currency is the US dollar. It is used because it has historically been a strong and stable currency unit. Oil is an example of a good that is traded specifically with the dollar. No one buys oil with any other unit of currency except the dollar. This means that oil consuming nations must hold vast amounts of US dollars within their own treasuries to use when oil purchases must be made. There are several problems with this system, but that is for another discussion. The gist is that the currency of one nation is intrinsically important to the economics of many other nations as well.
What does all of this mean? National economic policies are determined by international factors is this era more than any other. The United States unpegged the dollar from the gold standard during the 20th century. This allowed the dollars to float freely against other currencies around the world. This means that the dollar is no longer backed by the amount of gold reserves the US held. A large amount of US dollars remain in other nations in order to buy oil. What would happened if say an oil producing nation stop accepting dollars as the universal standard and began accepting another currency unit instead (Iran has threatened to do this by the way)? First, the value of the dollar would plummet as nations would need to liquidate its dollar reserve to obtain the new currency unit. This would flood the market with cash. As the rush to trade the dollar escalated, the floating exchange would lead to lopsided values of say five to one or even worse. This means it would take 5 dollars to purchase 1 of the other currency units. Not only that, but some other nations peg their currencies against the dollars value. If the dollar drops in value, so does their own. If other oil producing nations follow suit, then the dollar would drastically lose its value causing economic chaos for many nations. The current economic crisis is being felt by nations all over the world. Trading in European and Asian markets has seen drops associated by the problems here in America.
The nations of the world are beginning to coalesce economically as the realization that solidarity in trading and currencies make for a more secure and stable marketplace. How much so would a common economic unit be? Imagine… trading with one common global currency… economic policies of individual nations converging to benefit the good of everyone. As mentioned in part one, in order for nations to come together under a global, centralized government, they need a good reason to do so. Economics is just as good a reason as any, if not the best. Centralization of economics would need a central body of government to maintain fairness and stability. In a sense, these two work hand in hand. One makes the other more palatable to all involved. Are we leaning in that direction…? Resoundingly… YES!!!
Part three will attempt to wrap up this commentary by looking at the most esoteric and divisive portion of the triad… religion.
First, I think a brief explanation of economy is important. Economy is the term we use to describe the management of trade of goods and services for one another. We each experienced economy from an early age when we let a friend borrow a toy in exchange for something else. I’m sure every red blooded male who ever had baseball cards was involved in trading them. We placed a value on them and decided what we could get in exchange for them. This is the purest form of economy we can experience and possibly understand. I struggled through an 8 AM Microeconomics class my freshman year in college. My first college class experience was a crazy professor trying to explain charts and graphs involved the economics of apples and beer at 8 in the FREAKIN’ morning! Fun times! Anyway, trading things is what keeps everyone and everything going. Currency is the medium of exchange that we use. The amount of currency you possess indicates your trading power and thus, your wealth. In the beginning, man used land and livestock as currency. Then we upgraded to coinage. Paper money was next and then we decided to go cyber and do it electronically. This progression is extremely important to how Biblical prophecy is fulfilled.
Revelation 13:16-18 describes a case where at some point in the future, one entity will control the economy in such a way that no one in the world will be able to by or sell without the mark of the beast. This is only possible if there is a centralized economy. If every nation but one has a joint economy, then the citizens of that nation could trade with one another outside of the guidelines of the rest of the world. This scenario shows how a centralized global economy is the ONLY way that this prophecy can come true. The world is in such a way that now that the platform for this centralization is built. Allow me to explain.
When man was first trading land and livestock, trade was limited by distant. You could only trade so much land and livestock could only go so far. This was basically regional. Plus, a Himalayan yak would not be worth much to nomads in a desert region, so value was also regionally limited. Man decided that jewels and coins made of certain materials could be accepted. Gold coins could be traded anywhere to anyone because of the intrinsic value of gold. The gold is valuable in and of itself, thus it is universally acceptable. You could buy a certain amount of goods with a gold coin because the seller could then trade the coin for goods of equal value to what he just sold. This, however also has limitations based on quantity. There is only so much gold to go around and it cannot be replenished. Whatever gold came with the Earth is all the gold the Earth is ever gonna get! Plus, gold and silver is heavy. Imagine trying to carry around enough gold to buy stuff. It was burdensome to say the least. Paper currency came along as an exchange for gold. It was a system to where a paper certificate would be worth a certain amount of gold or silver or whatever. Traders could exchange these certificates amongst one another knowing that the value of the certificate was based on the value of gold thus these certificates could be exchanged for a certain amount of gold. The importance of this segment is that it gave trade measurable units to operate with. Gold would need to be weighed, measured, and so forth. Paper money was easily reproducible and was much easier to deal with. One certificate was worth one certificate… easy enough. This is the history of the American dollar. Once, it was backed in gold and silver. However, the dollar is now considered a free floating currency. This means the value of the dollar is based on the strength of how it trades with other currencies. It’s a bit complicated, but noteworthy nonetheless. More on this in a minute. Technology came about in such a way that allowed for currency to be recorded electronically. This allowed the transfer of currency to happen electronically. This latest addition took away the need for people to carry certain amounts of paper money with them. They only needed an access point electronically to make the transfer. In essence, you could trade for goods with only an electronic transfer of funds from one account to another without ever presenting "hard" currency to do it. Whoever receives the funds knows that they can be exchanged for the equivalent amount of hard currency. This was debit/credit based system that we use today.
As populations soared to new heights, demand for goods increased exponentially and trade between nations became inevitable. One nation could then produce a large amount of one good that could be traded to another nation for other goods. One nation could specialize in a particular good and setup exchange for a good that it could not produce as easily. For example, a nation that could produce large amounts of wheat, but not oil could trade with an oil rich country. This created trade exchange rates: so many units of wheat is equal to a certain number of units of oil. Larger nations such as the US were able to produce multiple goods in large quantities while smaller nations specialized. This led to international trade. Now, this is really noting new. This has been going on forever. In modern international trade, nations will hold reserve currency to buy certain goods. The most prominent reserve currency is the US dollar. It is used because it has historically been a strong and stable currency unit. Oil is an example of a good that is traded specifically with the dollar. No one buys oil with any other unit of currency except the dollar. This means that oil consuming nations must hold vast amounts of US dollars within their own treasuries to use when oil purchases must be made. There are several problems with this system, but that is for another discussion. The gist is that the currency of one nation is intrinsically important to the economics of many other nations as well.
What does all of this mean? National economic policies are determined by international factors is this era more than any other. The United States unpegged the dollar from the gold standard during the 20th century. This allowed the dollars to float freely against other currencies around the world. This means that the dollar is no longer backed by the amount of gold reserves the US held. A large amount of US dollars remain in other nations in order to buy oil. What would happened if say an oil producing nation stop accepting dollars as the universal standard and began accepting another currency unit instead (Iran has threatened to do this by the way)? First, the value of the dollar would plummet as nations would need to liquidate its dollar reserve to obtain the new currency unit. This would flood the market with cash. As the rush to trade the dollar escalated, the floating exchange would lead to lopsided values of say five to one or even worse. This means it would take 5 dollars to purchase 1 of the other currency units. Not only that, but some other nations peg their currencies against the dollars value. If the dollar drops in value, so does their own. If other oil producing nations follow suit, then the dollar would drastically lose its value causing economic chaos for many nations. The current economic crisis is being felt by nations all over the world. Trading in European and Asian markets has seen drops associated by the problems here in America.
The nations of the world are beginning to coalesce economically as the realization that solidarity in trading and currencies make for a more secure and stable marketplace. How much so would a common economic unit be? Imagine… trading with one common global currency… economic policies of individual nations converging to benefit the good of everyone. As mentioned in part one, in order for nations to come together under a global, centralized government, they need a good reason to do so. Economics is just as good a reason as any, if not the best. Centralization of economics would need a central body of government to maintain fairness and stability. In a sense, these two work hand in hand. One makes the other more palatable to all involved. Are we leaning in that direction…? Resoundingly… YES!!!
Part three will attempt to wrap up this commentary by looking at the most esoteric and divisive portion of the triad… religion.
Monday, September 29, 2008
It’s the End of the World as We Know It, But Do I Feel Fine?!? Part One
As a Christian, I feel it is necessary to put current issues into a different perspective from time to time. I believe that everything happens to a certain purpose and cause, whether I agree or understand what those purposes and causes are. I believe that the world and existence as we know it is whirling rapidly toward the ending specifically foretold in the Bible. I believe that certain events must occur in order for those prophecies to come to pass. I am going to look at current events through Biblical lenses. Whether you believe in God or not, it is worth looking at how these times are forming right before our very eyes. Up first… politics.
I am not an overly political person. I do not live and breathe off of every breath from the mouths of Obama or McCain. I am a registered unaffiliated. I have been told this is because I am a fence rider, that I do not have the wherewithal to make the right choice. This notion, of course, is garbage. I, for one, feel that the two-party system is an archaic design that has outlived its usefulness. If you research a little into American History, you will learn that the two-party system originated to define how this government would operate. There were two parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. (imagine that, Dems & Reps were once THE SAME PARTY!!!) The Federalists wanted a strong national or central government and weaker state government whereas the Democratic-Republican party wanted a weaker central government and stronger state governments. The original two-party system came about because of the two major stances toward centralization of government. This was a big deal at the inception of our nation. And to some degree, at least when it comes to government programs and intervention into people’s daily lives, this still affects the parties today as Democrats tend to favor more government and Republicans tend to favor less. However, America has outgrown these simple boundaries. Today, we incorporate other issues into politics such as values. To be associated with a party today means to be associated with everything it entails. If you are a Democrat, you are assumed to be a slovenly liberal, whether you are or not. If you say you are Republican, then people assume you are a Bible-thumpin’ teetotaler whether you are or not. There are too many people who believe too many different things to be classified into two groups. It’s like saying elephants and dogs are the same because they are both mammals. Yes, they are both mammals, but they must also be classified very differently for obvious reasons. With the amount of diversity in the US , why do we continue to think that one of two people speak for everyone. It doesn’t make sense. Many people with differing ideas have to be classified under one REALLY big umbrella. What ends up happening is that lines don’t get crossed, they become blurry and indistinct. People have to choose sides that may or may not conflict with some or all of their values, feelings, and tenets. For example, what if a person is socially conservative (generally Republican), but favor strong government economic programs (generally Democrat). If this were you, who would you vote for? Does a candidate fit this mold? The edges are so blurry now, that standing firm to a particular side labels you a fundamentalist, or freak. What will become of this?
As mentioned earlier, I am doing this commentary, based on Biblical prophecies and how I see the “end of time” playing out. Various prophecies from Daniel to Revelation outline three major components of the world stage at the end times: a central global government, a central global economy, and a central global religion. Revelation 13 reveals the global economy and global religion (Rev. 13:4-7, 12 and Rev. 13:16). However, you must look to other Bible verses for references to the global government. Revelation 17:12-14 show that kings (rulers) will give up their authority to one central figure. Daniel 9:25-27 shows that “a ruler” will come to make peace with Israel .
What does that have to do with today’s political landscape?
Look at what is happening around the world. Russia is getting “buddy-buddy” with some of America ’s worst enemies: Iran , Venezuela , and Cuba . China is also befriending those folks along with North Korea . The Europeans have banded together to form the European Union. America is developing a superhighway to be used for commerce and trade between the NAFTA countries. India is threatening to develop nuclear ties with other countries if Pakistan doesn’t settle down. Today, governments are coming to the realization that cooperation can work to achieve everyone’s goals. While power is still the ultimate drug that drives these leaders, it’s the other two “end time” components working together that will culminate to establish the third component of the government. Commerce is what is driving most of this global togetherness. Governments are working together for common economic good. Political posturing drives the rest, with belligerent factions rattling the saber at each other. The real question is why would all these seemingly different groups be willing to relinquish power to another, more central player?
Let’s look to America ’s own turbulent political landscape. Americans are clamoring for change in Washington . They want less crap from Capitol Hill and more action. We want bigger houses, faster cars, more money in our pockets with much less work (another topic for another day). We want to be able to do what we want, when we want, and nobody standing in our way. We want a leader who will let us have the freedom to do whatever we desire, but the control to make it happen... on our terms of course. We want an Everyman who looks good, sounds good, and does good. Basically we want an umbrella figure that will make everything happen just the way we want it to. Some feel that Obama is the answer. Some feel McCain is the answer. Some don’t know and some don’t care. The point is that we want a leader who will make everyone happy all the time. As lines get more and more blurry, we see leaders who try to establish a commonality among everyone… basically trying to get everyone to meet on the same page. That means people have to make concessions on certain issues. A pro-lifer may have to concede on abortion issues in order to get more money in their bank account. A gay marriage advocate may have to concede on that issue if it means safer schools. This is happening all over the world. Countries are conceding certain issues going against their aggressive nationalism if it means a greater “good” in the end. Look at the European Union. For centuries, European countries squabbled and fought amongst each other, yet now they have a common governing body. While the EU doesn’t replace the sovereign governments of the individual nation, it does have some superseding precedents and powers. The individual nations are relinquishing power to the overseeing collective in order to obtain greater security and economic power. It is a model the world has been seeing for decades that is now looking like the way to go. We have witnessed OPEC, NATO, NAFTA, the EU, and the UN. Individual governments are coming to the understanding that collective thinking will bring greater rewards than individual lust. It is only logical and acceptable to assume that this paradigm will permeate the entire world. Lines are fading out of focus as collective thinking seems to be the newest style on the political landscape. Hard-edged leaders are being replaced by leaders willing to compromise with each other. It sounds good in a sense, but blurry lines often make you dizzy. Before you know it, you have lost too much and cannot regain the ground on which you once stood. All that’s keeping this from happening is one thing with which the collective can huddle around and build its stance upon… that’s for part two.
I am not an overly political person. I do not live and breathe off of every breath from the mouths of Obama or McCain. I am a registered unaffiliated. I have been told this is because I am a fence rider, that I do not have the wherewithal to make the right choice. This notion, of course, is garbage. I, for one, feel that the two-party system is an archaic design that has outlived its usefulness. If you research a little into American History, you will learn that the two-party system originated to define how this government would operate. There were two parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. (imagine that, Dems & Reps were once THE SAME PARTY!!!) The Federalists wanted a strong national or central government and weaker state government whereas the Democratic-Republican party wanted a weaker central government and stronger state governments. The original two-party system came about because of the two major stances toward centralization of government. This was a big deal at the inception of our nation. And to some degree, at least when it comes to government programs and intervention into people’s daily lives, this still affects the parties today as Democrats tend to favor more government and Republicans tend to favor less. However, America has outgrown these simple boundaries. Today, we incorporate other issues into politics such as values. To be associated with a party today means to be associated with everything it entails. If you are a Democrat, you are assumed to be a slovenly liberal, whether you are or not. If you say you are Republican, then people assume you are a Bible-thumpin’ teetotaler whether you are or not. There are too many people who believe too many different things to be classified into two groups. It’s like saying elephants and dogs are the same because they are both mammals. Yes, they are both mammals, but they must also be classified very differently for obvious reasons. With the amount of diversity in the US , why do we continue to think that one of two people speak for everyone. It doesn’t make sense. Many people with differing ideas have to be classified under one REALLY big umbrella. What ends up happening is that lines don’t get crossed, they become blurry and indistinct. People have to choose sides that may or may not conflict with some or all of their values, feelings, and tenets. For example, what if a person is socially conservative (generally Republican), but favor strong government economic programs (generally Democrat). If this were you, who would you vote for? Does a candidate fit this mold? The edges are so blurry now, that standing firm to a particular side labels you a fundamentalist, or freak. What will become of this?
As mentioned earlier, I am doing this commentary, based on Biblical prophecies and how I see the “end of time” playing out. Various prophecies from Daniel to Revelation outline three major components of the world stage at the end times: a central global government, a central global economy, and a central global religion. Revelation 13 reveals the global economy and global religion (Rev. 13:4-7, 12 and Rev. 13:16). However, you must look to other Bible verses for references to the global government. Revelation 17:12-14 show that kings (rulers) will give up their authority to one central figure. Daniel 9:25-27 shows that “a ruler” will come to make peace with Israel .
What does that have to do with today’s political landscape?
Look at what is happening around the world. Russia is getting “buddy-buddy” with some of America ’s worst enemies: Iran , Venezuela , and Cuba . China is also befriending those folks along with North Korea . The Europeans have banded together to form the European Union. America is developing a superhighway to be used for commerce and trade between the NAFTA countries. India is threatening to develop nuclear ties with other countries if Pakistan doesn’t settle down. Today, governments are coming to the realization that cooperation can work to achieve everyone’s goals. While power is still the ultimate drug that drives these leaders, it’s the other two “end time” components working together that will culminate to establish the third component of the government. Commerce is what is driving most of this global togetherness. Governments are working together for common economic good. Political posturing drives the rest, with belligerent factions rattling the saber at each other. The real question is why would all these seemingly different groups be willing to relinquish power to another, more central player?
Let’s look to America ’s own turbulent political landscape. Americans are clamoring for change in Washington . They want less crap from Capitol Hill and more action. We want bigger houses, faster cars, more money in our pockets with much less work (another topic for another day). We want to be able to do what we want, when we want, and nobody standing in our way. We want a leader who will let us have the freedom to do whatever we desire, but the control to make it happen... on our terms of course. We want an Everyman who looks good, sounds good, and does good. Basically we want an umbrella figure that will make everything happen just the way we want it to. Some feel that Obama is the answer. Some feel McCain is the answer. Some don’t know and some don’t care. The point is that we want a leader who will make everyone happy all the time. As lines get more and more blurry, we see leaders who try to establish a commonality among everyone… basically trying to get everyone to meet on the same page. That means people have to make concessions on certain issues. A pro-lifer may have to concede on abortion issues in order to get more money in their bank account. A gay marriage advocate may have to concede on that issue if it means safer schools. This is happening all over the world. Countries are conceding certain issues going against their aggressive nationalism if it means a greater “good” in the end. Look at the European Union. For centuries, European countries squabbled and fought amongst each other, yet now they have a common governing body. While the EU doesn’t replace the sovereign governments of the individual nation, it does have some superseding precedents and powers. The individual nations are relinquishing power to the overseeing collective in order to obtain greater security and economic power. It is a model the world has been seeing for decades that is now looking like the way to go. We have witnessed OPEC, NATO, NAFTA, the EU, and the UN. Individual governments are coming to the understanding that collective thinking will bring greater rewards than individual lust. It is only logical and acceptable to assume that this paradigm will permeate the entire world. Lines are fading out of focus as collective thinking seems to be the newest style on the political landscape. Hard-edged leaders are being replaced by leaders willing to compromise with each other. It sounds good in a sense, but blurry lines often make you dizzy. Before you know it, you have lost too much and cannot regain the ground on which you once stood. All that’s keeping this from happening is one thing with which the collective can huddle around and build its stance upon… that’s for part two.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The 7 Axioms of Good Driving
I remember cruising around Asheville with my friend Matt several years ago. As we were cruising down 240, a car ahead of us did something he didn't like... prompting him to cuss and make the following statement: "Man, if everybody drove like me, the world would be better place." Of course I laughed thinking, "I'm sure everyone feels that way." But it has occurred to me that while we have established laws for automobile usage, there needs to be a code... an understood set of guidelines to which all "good" motorists should adhere. I am typically very laid back and calm, but behind the wheel of a vehicle... I am anything but. In fact, few things will made me angrier. I often times wonder if I am projecting my personal driving inadequacies, but the more I think on it, I think other people just forget common courtesy when they drive. I believe people reveal their most hideous selfishness behind the wheel. Therefore, I have established a sets of rules, the unwritten code of driving if you will, that if everyone would take heed, then road rage would almost be eliminated. Hence, I give you,... "The Seven Axioms of Good Driving"
Axiom 1: Driving is a "Privilege, not a Right".
This is the most common sense rule of them all. Obey standard traffic laws and rules. DO NOT drink and drive. Drunk drivers should be suffer the same punishment as murderers and child molesters in my book. It is a heinous and foolish crime (but that is for another post). Keep your car maintained. Typical stuff. Keep to this rule and you should avoid eminent disaster.
Axiom 2: Pay attention to your surroundings.
This rule should be obvious, but alas, it isn't as much. At all times, you should know what is going on in front of you, beside you, and behind you. This rule applies to the people that run right up on the slow car in front of them, but wait until you are about to pass them, then swerve over in front of you... killing your momentum, causing you to kick off the cruise control, and then wait 10 miles before realizing they need to get back over to let you pass. It applies to the people who need to be in the exit lane... THREE lanes over, but wait until the last second to cut everyone off trying to get there. If you pay attention to what's going on around you, then you can avoid pissing people off and become a better driver.
Axiom 3: Adapt to your surroundings.
This is a CRITICAL rule. Living in the mountains of North Carolina, I see WAY to many drivers from up north or from Florida. The best way to describe most of these drivers is a clog. The maddest I have ever been in a car was when I was returning to school on a two lane road behind an old lady from Florida. She stayed well below the speed limit in the curvy parts, but when the opportunity to pass her came up, she would speed up to where I couldn't pass her. I have never yelled, screamed, cussed, or been more aggravated driving than I was that day. (Note to Floridians... YOU DON'T OWN THE ROAD... EITHER KEEP UP OR MOVE OVER!!!) Now that I got that off of my chest... adapting to your surroundings will keep people from thinking you are a tourist or foreigner. If traffic is moving at a certain pace, then keep up that pace. If you live in an area where people drive differently than you, DO NOT expect to change for you, you should change for them. There is no other way around it.
Axiom 4: Get out of the left or fast lane.
The Autobahn in Germany is renowned for its high speeds and even higher speed limits. They have a certain rule over there: no passing in the right lane. If you drive in the left lane, then you need to be driving faster than the folks around you, lest you make them angry and cause them to knock you off the road. Same goes for here in America. I have talked with people who have told me that they will get in whatever lane they want and stay there, it doesn't matter who or what is behind them. One piece of advice... move or get moved. One day that attitude will get them in serious trouble. Look, I like the left lane as much as anyone, but I move over if the car behind me is going faster than me. You DO NOT own that lane, you do not have to stay there. Switching lanes is legal, so try it sometimes. It is very simple, if you are in the fast or left lane, then you should be substantially faster than the other lanes. Not 3 or 4 MPH faster, like 10 MPH faster. And if not, move over... I promise it won't hurt you. Stop causing traffic to back up behind you.
Axiom 5: Get off of the cell phones.
After observing axiom 4, I have noticed that many of these drivers were going well with or above the traffic pace, but then the cell phone happens and they invariably slow down. And because they are not paying attention to traffic anymore, they forget to move over. Not only is it dangerous, but it is VERY annoying. This one is simple: get off the FREAKIN' phone or move the FREAK over!
Headset/Hands-Free corollary: If you have a headset, that is acceptable to talk, because you are not holding the phone to your head and thus have better driving concentration.
Emergency corollary: If you have an emergency or a similar urgent situation, then a call is permissible, however, typical conversation is unacceptable without a headset/hands-free device.
Axiom 6: Green means GO!
This is a simple rule also. When the traffic light turns green, you should go. There should NOT be a pause of longer than one second to get your car going when the light turns. Even loaded tractor trailers can get going that fast. If you take longer than one second, then you are not paying attention and this most likely means that you are not paying attention when the car is actually moving, a far more reckless and dangerous position. Simply watch the light, and when it changes... go!
Axiom 7: Have good judgment when pulling out in front of someone at an intersection.
This seems like a nit-picky rule, but it is a must-have rule. I experienced this even today. As I was driving along a road going the speed limit, a car comes to an intersection about 100 to 150 yards away. This may seem like a long ways off, but when traveling at 35 MPH, that distance closes in mere seconds. The dude in reality doesn't stop, just keeps rolling through the intersection. Of course, I hit my brakes and the dude proceeds to take 15 years to get up to the speed limit. My point is this... use good judgment when pulling out at an intersection. Of course this means an intersection with no traffic light, since the light usually regulates that sort of thing. You know how fast you are going to drive. When you come to an intersection and you see a car coming, gage how fast it is going compared to how fast you will go, allowing for turning and acceleration time and decide whether you can or cannot make it. While some have better depth perception and time/distance judging ability than others, it doesn't take a genius to figure this out. A good rule of thumb is: "If you have any doubt as to whether you can make it, then you should wait". The whole "I bet I can make it" philosophy should NEVER, EVER cross your mind.
I'm sure that I can probably add to this list in the future, but for right now, this is the best and most basic "Driving Code" I can develop. You know, if more people drove like this (like me), the world would be a better place.
Axiom 1: Driving is a "Privilege, not a Right".
This is the most common sense rule of them all. Obey standard traffic laws and rules. DO NOT drink and drive. Drunk drivers should be suffer the same punishment as murderers and child molesters in my book. It is a heinous and foolish crime (but that is for another post). Keep your car maintained. Typical stuff. Keep to this rule and you should avoid eminent disaster.
Axiom 2: Pay attention to your surroundings.
This rule should be obvious, but alas, it isn't as much. At all times, you should know what is going on in front of you, beside you, and behind you. This rule applies to the people that run right up on the slow car in front of them, but wait until you are about to pass them, then swerve over in front of you... killing your momentum, causing you to kick off the cruise control, and then wait 10 miles before realizing they need to get back over to let you pass. It applies to the people who need to be in the exit lane... THREE lanes over, but wait until the last second to cut everyone off trying to get there. If you pay attention to what's going on around you, then you can avoid pissing people off and become a better driver.
Axiom 3: Adapt to your surroundings.
This is a CRITICAL rule. Living in the mountains of North Carolina, I see WAY to many drivers from up north or from Florida. The best way to describe most of these drivers is a clog. The maddest I have ever been in a car was when I was returning to school on a two lane road behind an old lady from Florida. She stayed well below the speed limit in the curvy parts, but when the opportunity to pass her came up, she would speed up to where I couldn't pass her. I have never yelled, screamed, cussed, or been more aggravated driving than I was that day. (Note to Floridians... YOU DON'T OWN THE ROAD... EITHER KEEP UP OR MOVE OVER!!!) Now that I got that off of my chest... adapting to your surroundings will keep people from thinking you are a tourist or foreigner. If traffic is moving at a certain pace, then keep up that pace. If you live in an area where people drive differently than you, DO NOT expect to change for you, you should change for them. There is no other way around it.
Axiom 4: Get out of the left or fast lane.
The Autobahn in Germany is renowned for its high speeds and even higher speed limits. They have a certain rule over there: no passing in the right lane. If you drive in the left lane, then you need to be driving faster than the folks around you, lest you make them angry and cause them to knock you off the road. Same goes for here in America. I have talked with people who have told me that they will get in whatever lane they want and stay there, it doesn't matter who or what is behind them. One piece of advice... move or get moved. One day that attitude will get them in serious trouble. Look, I like the left lane as much as anyone, but I move over if the car behind me is going faster than me. You DO NOT own that lane, you do not have to stay there. Switching lanes is legal, so try it sometimes. It is very simple, if you are in the fast or left lane, then you should be substantially faster than the other lanes. Not 3 or 4 MPH faster, like 10 MPH faster. And if not, move over... I promise it won't hurt you. Stop causing traffic to back up behind you.
Axiom 5: Get off of the cell phones.
After observing axiom 4, I have noticed that many of these drivers were going well with or above the traffic pace, but then the cell phone happens and they invariably slow down. And because they are not paying attention to traffic anymore, they forget to move over. Not only is it dangerous, but it is VERY annoying. This one is simple: get off the FREAKIN' phone or move the FREAK over!
Headset/Hands-Free corollary: If you have a headset, that is acceptable to talk, because you are not holding the phone to your head and thus have better driving concentration.
Emergency corollary: If you have an emergency or a similar urgent situation, then a call is permissible, however, typical conversation is unacceptable without a headset/hands-free device.
Axiom 6: Green means GO!
This is a simple rule also. When the traffic light turns green, you should go. There should NOT be a pause of longer than one second to get your car going when the light turns. Even loaded tractor trailers can get going that fast. If you take longer than one second, then you are not paying attention and this most likely means that you are not paying attention when the car is actually moving, a far more reckless and dangerous position. Simply watch the light, and when it changes... go!
Axiom 7: Have good judgment when pulling out in front of someone at an intersection.
This seems like a nit-picky rule, but it is a must-have rule. I experienced this even today. As I was driving along a road going the speed limit, a car comes to an intersection about 100 to 150 yards away. This may seem like a long ways off, but when traveling at 35 MPH, that distance closes in mere seconds. The dude in reality doesn't stop, just keeps rolling through the intersection. Of course, I hit my brakes and the dude proceeds to take 15 years to get up to the speed limit. My point is this... use good judgment when pulling out at an intersection. Of course this means an intersection with no traffic light, since the light usually regulates that sort of thing. You know how fast you are going to drive. When you come to an intersection and you see a car coming, gage how fast it is going compared to how fast you will go, allowing for turning and acceleration time and decide whether you can or cannot make it. While some have better depth perception and time/distance judging ability than others, it doesn't take a genius to figure this out. A good rule of thumb is: "If you have any doubt as to whether you can make it, then you should wait". The whole "I bet I can make it" philosophy should NEVER, EVER cross your mind.
I'm sure that I can probably add to this list in the future, but for right now, this is the best and most basic "Driving Code" I can develop. You know, if more people drove like this (like me), the world would be a better place.
Remembering 9/11
I think everyone remembers where they where that fateful day. I was rolling out of bed to go to a 9:45 physics lab. I remember my roommates girlfriend talking about a bombing and it wasn't until later that I truly understood.
Today, let us not forget those who died on that day: the people on the planes, the people in the offices, the policemen, firemen, EMTs. Today we should celebrate those people and remember that in spite of everything that happened that day... WE ARE STILL HERE!
Today, let us not forget those who died on that day: the people on the planes, the people in the offices, the policemen, firemen, EMTs. Today we should celebrate those people and remember that in spite of everything that happened that day... WE ARE STILL HERE!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Inaugural Blog
The Earl's Inaugural Blog... freakin' sweet. I have join the ranks of about a bagillion bloggers, and I think this will be excellent fun. I am not one who shys away from expressing my thoughts, so this only seemed like a logical recourse. I have thought long and hard today about what my first blog should be about... politics... the economy... religion... then it occurred to me... SPORTS!
I will start out my saying that I am a huge sports fan. My favorite sports in order from most favorite to least are: NASCAR, football, baseball, golf, basketball, and then everything else. My favorite teams are: the Miami Dolphins, the Boston Red Sox, Appalachian State (my alma mater), NC State, and the #9 car with Kasey Kahne.
So as you can imagine yesterday was not a great sports day for me. The Fins lost, Kahne was knocked out of the Chase, however the Sox won and are gaining momentum for a playoff run. App lost to LSU, but rebounded nicely against Jacksonville University with a 56-7 victory. I pull for NC State mostly in B-Ball, so I'll have to wait a while on them.
I wish to discuss my latest venture involving sports... fantasy football. I have never played it and frankly, do not really care for the idea. But a colleague of mine asked if I wanted to be in a league, and I agreed. Now, I play sports alot and have played them most of my life. I have won exactly three championship of any kind in my life. One REC league basketball championship and two consecutive Church League Basketball Championships in 2007 and 2008. Usually, my contributions to these teams was to keep the bench warm for the starters. However, while my basketball skills are not that great, my love for sports is All-Pro. I'm an ESPN junkie, I read websites on sports, the whole nine yards. So I figured I'd give this fantasy stuff a try. I read reports on who to draft and who not to draft. Read and listened to opinion after opinion. SO when draft day arrived, I felt very prepared. Then I was dealt a tough hand. I got the second pick of the draft. The first pick would be easy... pick LT. However, the second pick is much tougher. Do I take a second year back in Adrian Peterson who has great upside, but only one year of experience... or do I take a proven commodity in Bryant Westbrook, who may not have the upside that AP does, but does give you consistent numbers... what to do... what to do?!? So, during the draft, I consulted with my brother and his friend Joe. These guys are sports nuts also, and my brother is a stat freak... he knows crap the average sports guy doesn't. Their advice: take Tom Brady... he'll put up huge QB numbers and you'll still get a decent RB with your next pick... (BTW, it is usually best to take RB's first, then take QB's). So... I take Brady and hope for the best.
Now to the average person, this doesn't seem like a big deal... but to the sports fan in-the-know, they would know that to pull for Brady's success, means to pull for a hatred rival of the Dolphins.. a team I have loved since I was a kid (hence my dilemma with fantasy sports... but that is for another day). So what do I do... well... here's the results for week one. The Dolphins are an improved team, but still not great yet, so we're probably up for another losing season. My fantasy team... with Brady... the top pick on my team... the ringer... gets his ACL destroyed in the first 5 minutes of the game... done for the season. SO, not only is my REAL team gonna be bad, but now my FANTASY team is gonna be bad. Back to the bench warming day again... welcome to my world!
I will start out my saying that I am a huge sports fan. My favorite sports in order from most favorite to least are: NASCAR, football, baseball, golf, basketball, and then everything else. My favorite teams are: the Miami Dolphins, the Boston Red Sox, Appalachian State (my alma mater), NC State, and the #9 car with Kasey Kahne.
So as you can imagine yesterday was not a great sports day for me. The Fins lost, Kahne was knocked out of the Chase, however the Sox won and are gaining momentum for a playoff run. App lost to LSU, but rebounded nicely against Jacksonville University with a 56-7 victory. I pull for NC State mostly in B-Ball, so I'll have to wait a while on them.
I wish to discuss my latest venture involving sports... fantasy football. I have never played it and frankly, do not really care for the idea. But a colleague of mine asked if I wanted to be in a league, and I agreed. Now, I play sports alot and have played them most of my life. I have won exactly three championship of any kind in my life. One REC league basketball championship and two consecutive Church League Basketball Championships in 2007 and 2008. Usually, my contributions to these teams was to keep the bench warm for the starters. However, while my basketball skills are not that great, my love for sports is All-Pro. I'm an ESPN junkie, I read websites on sports, the whole nine yards. So I figured I'd give this fantasy stuff a try. I read reports on who to draft and who not to draft. Read and listened to opinion after opinion. SO when draft day arrived, I felt very prepared. Then I was dealt a tough hand. I got the second pick of the draft. The first pick would be easy... pick LT. However, the second pick is much tougher. Do I take a second year back in Adrian Peterson who has great upside, but only one year of experience... or do I take a proven commodity in Bryant Westbrook, who may not have the upside that AP does, but does give you consistent numbers... what to do... what to do?!? So, during the draft, I consulted with my brother and his friend Joe. These guys are sports nuts also, and my brother is a stat freak... he knows crap the average sports guy doesn't. Their advice: take Tom Brady... he'll put up huge QB numbers and you'll still get a decent RB with your next pick... (BTW, it is usually best to take RB's first, then take QB's). So... I take Brady and hope for the best.
Now to the average person, this doesn't seem like a big deal... but to the sports fan in-the-know, they would know that to pull for Brady's success, means to pull for a hatred rival of the Dolphins.. a team I have loved since I was a kid (hence my dilemma with fantasy sports... but that is for another day). So what do I do... well... here's the results for week one. The Dolphins are an improved team, but still not great yet, so we're probably up for another losing season. My fantasy team... with Brady... the top pick on my team... the ringer... gets his ACL destroyed in the first 5 minutes of the game... done for the season. SO, not only is my REAL team gonna be bad, but now my FANTASY team is gonna be bad. Back to the bench warming day again... welcome to my world!
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