A Sad Day in History

 Today is July 14.  It is my birthday and therefore I have always been sensitive to the fact that it is also in France celebrated as Bastille Day, the beginning of the French Revolution.  While the American Revolution turned out well, the French Revolution was a bloody affair and began the modern socialist movement that plagues us to this day.  S. David Sultzer has the story at the American Thinker entitled On Bastille Day we must distinguish the American Revolution from the French Revolution.

Today, July 14, is celebrated as Bastille Day in France. It should be a day of mourning across the rest of Western civilization.

Ten days after we celebrate July 4 as the symbol of the American Revolution, the pinnacle of the Enlightenment Era, the French celebrate Bastille Day on July 14 as the symbol of the French Revolution, an event that marked the end of the Enlightenment Era. These were the two titanic events of the 18th century, and all of world history since then can be analyzed as a competition to see which will win out, the Christianity and liberalism of the American Revolution or the atheism and socialism of the French Revolution.

There is no doubt that the Roman Catholic church in France was corrupt. According to St. Paul, the love of money (and power, one thinks) is one of the roots of all evil. And the church was very greedy, soaking the people in both rents and tithes. It laid a heavy burden on people, something Christ himself spoke against. The government was also too greedy, and in cahoots with the church, never a good arrangement. All this corruption gave an opening to the atheist revolutionaries to rile up the people to revolt. Like all socialists, they promised much, but delivered little relief to the people. It was a sham designed to grab power for themselves. As always, there are useful idiots to help spread the "message" but when they have done their work, they are disposed of. And we even have evidence of the revolution eating its own, for eventually Maximillian Robespierre lost his head to lady guillotine.

While the American Revolution rightly saw government as a necessary organization whose role was to protect the life, liberty and property of the people, the French Revolution sought to replace God with itself. In doing so, the revolutionaries committed the original sin, the sin of pride, of wanting to sit on God's throne.

It is not an overstatement to say that all the ills of modern society were born in the crucible of the French Revolution, just as it is not an overstatement to say that the American Revolution was the culmination of the best of the Enlightenment. All history since 1792 has been a competition to see which will win out in the West, the French Revolution or the American Revolution. Let us hope that it is Independence Day, not Bastille Day.

The Priestly Blessing

 When I started high school, my mother signed me up for the A Cappella Choir.  The very first piece of music we began working on was Peter Lutkin's The Lord Bless You and Keep You. The choir sang it at the end of every concert that we did, so it was the first thing we learned and the last thing we sang as seniors three years later. Today, our church choir sang this piece and it brought up so many memories. I remember Park Cooley, who has passed now, quite well. He managed to get more out of us than we knew we could do.

One thing I didn't think about as a pimple faced high school kid was how special it was. The piece puts to music the ancient priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 as commanded by Yahweh Himself. We were blessing the audience, and each other in the name of God. Today, no doubt, the school would be sued by some woke busy body. But back then teachers occasionally discussed God and felt no requirement to include Muslims or atheists in their discussion, for one is the religion of Baal-Zebub and the other isn't true.

Gentle readers are invited to listen the priestly blessing set to Peter Lutkin's beautiful music above and receive a blessing.

The Artist Who Captured Light

 I have often thought that those who can do, do, while those who can not criticize.  These thoughts occurred to me as I read the post today, at the American Thinker by Gregory Smith entitled Renoir derangement syndrome and the cult of obscurity. Gregory takes the art world to task for its belief in something called "high art" and the "difficult barriers normally raised" by it. For by being consciously obscure, so-called "artists" claim a status that they don't deserve. The truth is that the average Joe can see right through it.

A long time ago, I painted as a hobby. In the process of learning about the craftmanship of painting, I studied a number of styles and methods stretched my own canvases and applied gesso. One of the styles I studied, and which I attempted to imitate in philosophy of work was the Impressionist style. Renoir was not the leader of this school but was the most recognizable and longest lasting practitioner of impressionism.

Impressionists, influenced by the new art of photography, sought to capture a scene at a particular moment in time. Thus, the rushed brush strokes as they strived to capture the light before it changed. It was an exciting but short-lived time in art, and impressionism inspired artist such as Cezanne who is considered the father of modern art. I encourage gentle readers to investigate the impressionists because I think you might find it exciting too in its use of realistic colors and their ideas about how light interacts with matter.

Renoir had honed his craft painting porcelain plates and other products at a porcelain factory starting at the age of 13. He did not come from wealth, as did some of his contemporaries, and he had a wife and children to feed. He, unlike the picture painted of him by Kermit Champa, was a rather humble man. His idea of art was as something to decorate a wall. His true genius lay in his finely honed craftmanship. Renoir could say more with a single brush stroke than all the fake "arteests" making obscure mishmashes today. Today's art is filled with ugliness and all the inspiration of grey, Soviet style apartment blocks. Uggh.

I owe a big thank you to Gregory Smith for reminding me of my favorite impressionist. Renoir's art was innocent, approachable, and for the everyman.

Don't Worry. It's All In His Hands

 I publish a lot of stuff on this blog that I feel gentle readers need to know about, I know.  There's the fact that it appears that nobody is ever going to be charged with the crimes committed against conservatives.  Then there is the growing violence against law enforcement with police being murdered.  Indeed 10 people have been charged with ambushing ICE agents.  The Left grows more dangerous daily, and the Muslims are threatening to impose their own form of justice on us.  The list of bad news, horrible news, sad news and sometimes outright evil news is long.  What I don't do often enough is point out that the world is firmly in God's hands, and that (spoiler alert) He ultimately wins, and that means we do too.

But, J. B. Shurk does remind us that all will be alright in a post at the American Thinker entitled Do Not Fear the Future. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

It is good advice. Of course, if you can prepare for something you should. But we don't worry about things we can prepare for. Instead, we tend to worry about things over which we feel we have no control. Shurk reminds us that we have more control than we think we do.

What is more important — wealth or health? Do you prefer to be loved by adoring strangers or by close members of your family? When you depart this world, would you rather be remembered for your political power or moral courage? Is the cultivation of a virtuous character more valuable than the accumulation of material things?

I ask these questions to highlight how much power you have over your own life. I often receive messages from people who are worried about the future. Some sound despondent about the challenges ahead. Some are happy that President Trump did this and unhappy that he did that. Some seem so engrossed in the turbulent world of politics that they struggle to be upbeat about more important things.

I am an ordinary sinner with no special knowledge about our existence, and my intention is not to lecture others. I do wish to remind people, though, that they are in control. No matter how coercive governments and corporations are, we are still masters of our fates. We decide what we believe. We decide how we will act. We decide what costs we are willing to bear in defense of our principles.

There is something liberating in the acknowledgment of these simple facts. Surely our principles aren’t really our principles until we are willing to suffer in defense of them. Our earthly struggles are the grindstones that sharpen our moral virtue. Adversity is as much a blessing as it is a burden.

Shurk takes one item that is scaring people right now, AI, and breaks down why most of the things the media tries to scare us about it won't really happen. Shurk's reasons are based on human nature and human needs. The problems AI presents have been encountered before, and we have prevailed. We will prevail again. Shurk concludes with this:

For millennia, a good sword was expensive and required time and skill to wield well. Big, strong swordsmen had a distinct advantage. The handgun, however, quickly leveled the playing field. As was often said of Samuel Colt’s famous revolver, “God created men; Colonel Colt made them equal.” A lightweight AR-15-style rifle provides a small woman with the power to defend herself against a large man. Firearms have democratized self-defense.

Similarly, the printing press, radio, television, and personal computer have democratized communication. Although governments have had varying success in using these innovations to maintain power, there is no doubt that the information revolution of the last five hundred years has narrowed the knowledge gap between the wealthiest and the poorest more significantly than during any other period in history. And whatever happens with A.I. over the next few years, there is no doubt in my mind that a similar democratizing effect will accompany its proliferation — irrespective of the wishes of today’s “ruling class.”

In the midst of great change, certain things remain constant. We humans love and seek to be loved. We are remembered for our virtues and moral failings. We find sustained purpose in our relationships with God and our families. Let us hold fast to these truths.

Please go read J. B. Shurk's piece and stop worrying.

Make America Accountable Again

 Today, at the American Thinker Todd Gregory and Erik Gregory in a post entitled Axis of irrelevance express frustration with the recent announcement that the government doesn't have any Epstein client lists. They point out that this is only the latest frustration for conservatives who long for justice. But it is increasingly clear that there will be no justice.

The late billionaire pedophile and former FOB (Friend of Bill) Jeffrey Epstein had no client list, according to Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice and Kash Patel’s FBI.

Really? No three-ring binders, no Rolodexes, no paper trail, no computer records, no emails or phone numbers, nothing pertaining to any clients?

The DOJ does acknowledge that it has thousands of hours of lurid, revolting video depicting underage girls being sexually abused by men.

So are we to understand that none of the men’s identities can be made out on video?

...snip...

All talk of finally holding malefactors accountable is cheap when we can all see that nothing is being done.

No predawn raids with guns drawn. No frog marches in leg irons with the media’s cameras rolling. No indictments. No convictions. Nobody going to prison.

It’s why an incitement-minded Stalinist like James Comey can play “8647” games with his seashells on social media. He knows he has nothing to fear from the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, or anybody else.

The FBI’s surprise announcement on July 8 of a possible criminal investigation into Comey and Brennan invites skepticism when viewed in the context of similar empty public relations gestures in the past.

The conservative base is exhausted by all the broken promises and losses on the legal front. Tired of moving in for a breakaway dunk only to have our coach call a timeout to undercut our success. Tired of the useless complaining about the unfair officiating (district court judges with their universal injunctions, for example), but doing little about it.

No matter the happy talk and spin, we can all plainly see that Democrats are not being held accountable for their brazenly insurrectionary crimes over the past decade and more. In some cases, we also notice that the statute of limitations is being allowed to lapse without a charging decision.

Then there is Fast and Furious, for which no one has been held accountable. What about Ruby Ridge? The list of Democrat crimes is long. They can't get them all. But clearly there must be SOME people held to account. Otherwise, this will keep on happening.

The Bible Makes Clear Accepting Foreigners Should Not Be a Suicide Pact

 I want to highlight today a post by Andrea Widburg at the American Thinker entitled No, the Bible does not say conservatives must support illegal immigration. Whenever I have encountered Leftists attempting to use the Bible against conservatives, it is usually by taking an isolated verse disconnected from the whole passage around it and from the rest of the Bible itself. In this case, it is an isolated verse in the book of Leviticus. Widburg does a masterful job of taking into account the entire context and placing the verse in question into that context.

Widburg sums up the analysis with:

What’s fundamentally important here is that the Bible makes it clear that welcoming foreigners into one’s land must not be a suicide pact. Old Testament-era immigrants are welcome only to the extent that the Jewish nation thrives.

That’s the same way that conservatives, including those who take the Bible very seriously, feel about immigration to America: It’s not a suicide pact. Just as God told the Israelites that sojourners were to be treated well if they were not a threat to the institutions, we conservatives accept legal immigration, which, when properly applied, ensures that America is not conquered.

Thus, legal immigration means that we’re not swarmed by 10 million unvetted people in four years. It means we don’t give student visas and green cards to people open about their loathing for America and their loyalty to other nations and values. And it most certainly means that we don’t give people like Zohran Mamdani citizenship. Criminals, freeloaders, communists, caliphate-seeking Islamists, etc. all threaten our values and national security and today, as was the case approximately 3,400 years ago, they need to leave.

Just so. People who want to come here, pursue the American dream, and follow the Constitution are welcomed here with open arms. People who come here with the intent of destroying the United States, people like the anti-ICE rioters waving foreign flags, or, frankly, like Mamdani who is an avowed communist, should leave. One could argue that these people have loyalties to other nations and therefore should be deported. There are plenty of places in the world to practice their particular politics. In fact, anywhere else. America is the one last hope for humanity. It is truly exceptional, as was ancient Israel.

Please go read Widburg's post as you may encounter such stupid arguments yourselves.

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Note: There are certain sects, for lack of a better word, of "Christians" who famously use isolated texts as so called "proof texts" for their own peculiar doctrines. One should not read the Bible this way. Instead, one should take the whole of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments together to determine God's will for us. Understand that He seldom directs people specifically. Thus, asking Him to tell you what to do is not the way to go about it. Instead, as an intelligent human being, you are to derive the right course of action from the whole text of the Bible.

For this reason, I suggest that one takes the entirety of the Bible and break it into bite size chunks every day such that at the end of a year, one will have read the entire Bible. There are many apps that will give you each day's reading, though of course you have to actually read it. Pick one and begin. I unfortunately started my journey late in life, but better late than never.

One other thing. The Bible is not a scientific text, nor is it a historical book in the sense of modern history, though archeology continues to show that the things mentioned in the Bible did truly happen. Rather, the Bible is a theological text, a narrative wherein Jesus truly is the main character and the hero of the plot. To make sense of the Bible, one must read it through the lens of faith. It makes no sense otherwise. And there are many odd things about daily life in ancient times that are not mentioned, so finding a church and a pastor who can fill you in on the social context can be important.

Americans Need to Wake Up

 Today, at the American Thinker Richard C. Crandall asks a very good question, to wit: When It Comes To Islam, Are We In The West Too Stupid To Survive? It often seems so as we keep electing Muslims to offices where they can more easily discriminate against those they consider "infidels." It must be understood that Islam is not the "religion of peace" for Jews, Christians, or for people who don't believe in any god. All of those are to be destroyed, or converted at the point of a sword. Even other Muslims are to be destroyed if they don't adhere to the Koran as interpreted by some. Thus, Islam is at eternal war with the rest of the world. And Islam, which means submission, is not compatible with the Constitution. How stupid, then, are we to allow another ideology that wants to destroy us into our country.

Putting aside the damage leftism does to American culture, we are also at risk from Islam, about which we still remain appallingly ignorant 24 years after 9/11. Instead, we have adopted the myth of “Moderate Muslims.” Before elaborating on Moderate Muslims, we must ask, “What other groups get to use the prefix “moderate?” During WWII, were there moderate Nazi members of Congress who claimed to only believe in the “good” parts of Mein Kampf, such as free health care. Were there moderate members of the KKK who only went out occasionally lynching, burning, and raping? And where are the moderate wife beaters who avoid hitting the face and who don’t leave visible bruising?

Crandall goes on to show how the supposed "moderate Muslim" does not really exist because to be what he calls "cafeteria Muslims" will bring death upon them by more observant Muslims. Throughout, he uses the term "Islam's god," which is entirely appropriate. For the "god" of Islam is not the same person as Christians and Jews worship, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. I do not know enough of demonology to be sure, but I suspect that the god of Islam is the ancient demon Baal, called Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron in 2 Kings and later Beelzebub in the New Testament. He is the snake who tempted Eve in the Garden and pretends to sit on the Throne of Yahweh.

Muslims say prayers because no one likes to be praised more than the Islamic god. Humans were only created so they could worship the Islamic god.

This is in contrast to what we find in Genesis, where God created the world and man in the world in order to have a relationship with us. Too bad that we broke that relationship by listening to that evil snake. But God has not abandoned us, no. He sent his only begotten son to repair that relationship. That is the Christian faith, and how joyous it is. In comparison, how miserable it is to be Muslim.

Exposing Islam’s evil is complex because it has splintered into many branches and schools, each of which accepts its version of the Quran, school of sharia, and specific hadith. According to Muhammad, Islam would splinter into 73 sects, only one of which would go to paradise, so the right choice matters. In his last speech in Mecca, Muhammad said that if Muslims looked to and followed his behavior and words, they would never go wrong, and reiterated the necessity of a jihad until there a global Islamic conquest. His own behavior in Medina showed that he meant it. The Arabs were forcibly converted. The ancient Jewish tribes ere slaughtered, enslaved, and expelled.

Islam is following Muhammad’s behavior and words. Moderate Muslims are either apostates going to hell or engaged in Taqiyya, which forgives their sins.

There can never be peace between God and the devil, between God's people and the devil's minions. If we do not wake up, the Republic is lost. Either we must convert them, or they must be deported to somewhere else. The same goes for Europe, which seems lost now.