Today's rant - going MIA and not ranting

 

Glad to have you back Darin!

 

Today's rant: I heard this on the news today: "The schools are closed so these kids have nowhere else to go!" in reference to the terrorists burning Baltimore.

More bullcrap: "these"protestors" (terrorists) are simply 'frustrated'. They want 'answers'. They are simply tired of being killed by white people! They are looting because they don't have jobs! They don't havej obs because of racism!"



Crock. Of. Sh|t. Makes me embarassed of my people when I read stuff like that. It's condescending. It's patently false. It's political narrative - changing the argument. It's logical Fallacy.



"The schools are closed so they have nowhere else to go!" coupled with "They are looting because they don't have jobs! They don't have jobs because of racism!".



Go. The. *****. HOME. Stay there. That's ONE Place you can go. And what do you do there? Welp...maybe you burn your government-fundedhousing to the ground. OR.... Maybe take a course online to better yourself. Make yourself attractive to perspective employees. Still can't get a job? Stay away from being a criminal LONG ENOUGH - Only takes about 4 years of honest-living from the age of 13/14 to graduate HS. Then Join the military. The Peace Corps. LEAVE 'the hood'. Oh...wait...that's racist probably -demanding you take care of yourself? 'Demanding' you actually contribute to f'ing to the very SOCIETY who provideds your FREE school (your parents probably don't pay taxes, for a number of reasons); gives you and your parents 'FREE MONEY' for simply being alive. Must make me a racist, eh? It's not because you're "african american" that you're unemployed - it's because you show yourself to have little/no moral courage. It's because you show your lack of reason, responsibility, and display your love for destruction and violence. If I can make whatever career I have made -and on paper, I do pretty well, 'despite my african roots' (as if having ancestry in africa is some kind of a curse?), ANYONE can do it. IF we demand it.



" These "protestors" (terrorists) are simply 'frustrated'. They want 'answers'"



No. They want blood. They want to live their 'Grand Theft Auto' dreams. They are from broken homes raised by 'The system' - NOT by loving parents. They are living the outcome of throwing dollars at issues and allowing kids to 'express themselves'. These kids are terrorists for sure. Perhaps not in legal definition; perhaps not in noun, but they ARE terrorists in Verb. Maybe we need shotgun tasers, which shoot out a hundred barbs and incapacitates large groups? Then arrest and try them? Tell me how these *****-heads are functionally different than the Tsarnaev brothers?



"They are tired of being killed by white cops!"

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/21/police-kill-more-whites-than-blacks-but-minority-d/?page=all



(Shrug)

 

Extremely well said Darin!! In fact if you don't mind I am going to copy this and quote you.

It's not the hood, it's the mentality of the hood.....

 

Thank you very much ! Feel free to correct any typos; I kind of talk to think and that translates into my writing.

 

EVERY PARENT IN BALTIMORE SHOULD BE DOING WHAT THIS MOTHER DID!

 

Today's rant: Morgan F'n Freeman.

Through the wormhole has mind f'd me.

If i find plans for a time machine in an old chest, build the thing and travel back in time - to give the plans to my great grandpa thats cool. But if he is the one that put them in the chest for me to find....where did the plans originate???


Mindbomb.

 

Not so much of a rant but a theological question. If you don't have a christian background this may be of almost no interest.

I'm thinking about the Decent of Christ. The gist of it is this: Upon Christ's physical death, his soul entered Hades/death/prison/hell and he preached to the souls contained therein - bringing them from that place into heaven.
Many, Many highly educated people will argue various points of what the scripture "REALLY" means vs what is just written. Here's a key portion in a couple major translations:
1 Peter 3:18-22The Message (MSG) *Caveat - The Message is a paraphrase, not a translation. However, because of that fact it's often the best way to understand the broader point.

13-18 If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

19-22 He went and proclaimed God’s salvation to earlier generations who ended up in the prison of judgment because they wouldn’t listen. You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact—saved from the water by the water. The waters of baptism do that for you, not by washing away dirt from your skin but by presenting you through Jesus’ resurrection before God with a clear conscience. Jesus has the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies. He’s standing right alongside God, and what he says goes.

1 Peter 3:18-20New International Version (NIV)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[a] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,

1 Peter 3:18-20King James Version (KJV)

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1 Peter 3:18-20Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

18 For also Christ once died for our sins, he just for unjust, that he should offer to God us [that he should offer us to God], made dead in flesh, but made quick in Spirit.
19 For which thing he came in Spirit, and also to them that were closed together in prison;
20 which were sometime unbelieveful, when they abided the patience of God in the days of Noah, when the ship was made [when the ark, or ship, was made], in which a few, that is to say, eight souls were made safe by water.
1 Peter 3:18-20Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT)

Because Christ Himself Suffered To Bring Us To God, And Is Now Glorified By God
18 Because Christ also suffered once-for-all for sins— a righteous One for unrighteous ones— in order that He might bring you to God, having been put-to-death in the flesh but made-alive[a] by the Spirit[b], 19 ... by Whom[c] also[d] having gone, He proclaimed[e] to the spirits[f] in prison— 20 ones having disobeyed formerly when the patience of God was waiting...

1 Peter 3:18-201599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

18 [a]For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, [b]the just for the unjust, [c]that he might bring us to God, [d]and was put to death concerning the [e]flesh, but was quickened by the spirit.

19 [f]By [g]the which he also went, and preached unto the [h]spirits that are in prison.

20 Which were in time passed disobedient, when [i]once the long suffering of God abode in the days of Noah, while the Ark was preparing, wherein few, that is, eight [j]souls were saved in the water.


Okay
While some differ slightly, what we have in essence is this: Christ died, preached to those imprisoned - those who at one point would not listen. Christ affected the souls of those long-since dead - in some capacity.
Some would believe Christ offered "salvation" to those who had died before his sacrifice. Others teach Christ went into 'that place' for one reason - because until Christ, "the righteous" would not be within the presence of God - but they were sent to a holding-tank of sorts. And it was to those who died righteously that he preached and brought into the REAL heaven.
As you read the following - I talk to think. That is to say when I am thinking about possibilities I express the thoughts verbally. Doing this serves to help organize my thoughts and help me reach the most-likely truth about a given situation.

Okay. Here goes.
Facts: Christ existed. God exists. Heaven exists. God loves mankind. God does not want ANYONE to "perish" (spend eternity in Hell, etc.). God operates outside 'time' - that is to say, God can be, and is at every point in time from the beginning until the end. Except to use those labels (beginning and end) presents a linear reference of time I think is not real but humans present time in that way to help keep our brains from exploding.
Assumptions: Time is measured correctly only by those perceiving it. However, each perception of time IS valid and true. As an example - the light from our nearest star - Alpha Centauri takes about 4 years to reach our solar system - to reach us. When we see the light we are seeing the light as it looked four years ago. If there was a planet, with people, near there, and we had a telescope, we'd see people moving and walking FOUR YEARS into their history - but for us, they'd be doing those things NOW. Right now. And vice-versa. That planet, looking at us, would see us four years into our past - although for them, they'd be looking at LIVE TV, so to speak. Further - when in Heaven or Hell the soul does not age. One "second" - let's say 'one moment' in either place could be a billion years on earth or 20 minutes. No linkage exists between the two places.

Follow me?
Back to God. Christ. All that.
I think Hell has to exist as taught or a lot of Christians will get PISSED. If folks "get to sin" and still get to heaven, what GOOD is it being a good/better person? Now - I'll addres that in another post - but just think about that for a bit...
Taking things at face value, Christ could have moved into hades/Hell and there found unbelievers and moved them away from their torment into a place of non-torment. If Christ did that, Hell - or the Grave - or whatever, should be empty. Yup. Christ would have moved every soul who ever existed or ever will exist because every soul that would exist or has existed is already there in Heaven or in Hell because those places do not exist within our constraints of linear time. That means when folks die and go wherever, they are immediately 'back then', too - at the point Christ came to do whatever he did. Because there's no 'time' there. So everyone was there that ever will be there. I'm getting a headache.
And think about this - WHY does God know the future for all mankind? Easy. He's already there. "Right now" (which doesn’t really make sense, but for the sake of communication) God is there - at the 'end' of everything - and he's at every point in between. So God knows what WILL happen because right now (again, cant be technically correct to use that term) God is there looking at it. SO....to those he FOREKNEW, he predestined to enter Heaven. That is to say, because God can already see who will accept him, he places situations and he drives actions and hearts in a way where people must choose the right path that brings them to the conclusion they are already at - in some point in time. (Mindbomb).

Further - I see implication Christ's actions brought salvation to the just and unjust. Said another way, Christ brought-right the sins of those living and dead and yet to be born. Those folks - whether they accept it or not - their "sins" are forgiven and the link between them and God has been and is restored.
Couple of wildcard questions:
...and if souls can be offered forgiveness - and remember, the bible uses 'spirits' - why can't satan? Why is God unable or unwilling to forgive Lucifer?
...Why does the sin of adam and eve damn all mankind forever without their knowledge or culpability yet Christ's atonement does not do the same?
....Further - Why is God such a loser in terms of numbers-of-souls? Traditional Christianity teaches only a FEW - relatively speaking - souls end up in Heaven as compared to Hell. Why would God let The Devil "win"?
...What about Hitler? Would he ever be 'forgiven'? Do we want God to punish the most-evil of mankind?
....Lastly - and related to above - if God is all-powerful, his will must reflect reality. For things to end up the way they end up things MUST happen that lead to the eventual conclusion. In that regard, we have little TRUE choice. So - If God says "I am willing that NONE should perish" - why do so many perish?

 

pretty intense. in the last couple months i have intended to look into alot of similar things myself. i don't feel my faith has dwindled, but i can say i have raised alot of questions and scenarios in my own mind that make we want to dig deeper. as an engineer-by-trade i tend to look for the nuts-and-bolts of things. that said, i've never cracked the bible, just been taught, so that will be step one; an unbiased, uninterpreted front-to-back read. maybe that will clear things up for me, or maybe it will complicate my ideological understandings more.... we'll soon see.

again, always enjoy your topics.

 

Thank you!

I grew up in the church - we went to ***.of God. I learned lots of stuff - went to church mostly 3 times a week (twice on sunday, and wednesday). I am thankful for the experience although now I'm facing things - questions - I was too scared or too naive to ask. In my early 20s I studied theology and doctrine of the Bible at a university north of Seattle.

Strange things happen when we realize what we've believed for so long may be more tradition than a factual representation of who God is.

Another neat thing - when science helps us in our understanding of the Creator.

When it comes to reading the bible - you might want to consider a few things. First thing - try reading The Message. I am convinced (you should reach your own conclusion) "What God is trying to say" is vastly more important than the words people decided should be in the Bible. Another aspect that helps Me (again, you should find your truth): Not every instruction of the bible was meant for everybody for all of time. Radical Islam - and the chuckleheads of Westboro Baptists etc - can't understand that simple truth. Understand there were legitimate reasons God asked people to avoid things back in the day - and not blindly obeying EVERY command will lead to a better understanding and less stress in your life. Lastly - and this one creates controversy - Everything you read in the bible about 'sin' and all that. Well, God asked people to avoid doing a lot of things ONLY because doing those things HURTS us. When we lie - we damage our lives in various ways, and hurt others. When we steal - same thing. When asked Christ said only two 'commandments' were vital: Love God and others as much as you love yourself. That's it. Good luck with your journey.

All this time-travel stuff - I tell ya, I'm glad i'm on vicodin or my head would be hurting!

 

is this someone's interpretation, though? i mean i'd certainly give it a look, but i just figured the raw Word would be a good baseline, as much sense as it may or may not make to me the first time through.

 

Everything is somebody's interpretation. The raw word probably doesn't exist outside the original greek?/Hebrew etc. Even then, the books were canonized at the council of Nicea. There representatives made deals and politicked to get certain books included and others excluded. People compromised. Thus - to me at least - the specific words I read matter a lot less than the point of the words. And context matters - context MUST matter. If context does not matter, believers would be killing babies, sacrificing animals, cutting off their hands, and voting democrat. Except that last bit already happens Without context, we read:


Biblegateway.com is very handy because it shows all the text in EVERY translation. Like above - shows different nuance and translations side by side.

Would do nobody any good to read the words but not understand the message the words are trying to convey.

 

You might try Youversion Bible App for your phone.

 

In my last Rant, I covered"God" - now I'll cover 'Country'.

Stolen Valor.

One benefit among many of being a Soldier is the vast amount of 'types of people' I got to meet and work-with. I met a guy one time who told me his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty - or, his Job code) was"Combat Commo."

"Combat Commo?" I asked, with the emphasis on 'combat'. "What MOS is that?"

"31C"he replied without batting an eye.

"31C is 'commo'. There's no 'combat commo'MOS"


"Well" he began "I was assigned to infantry units. I was right there walking and driving beside the combat arms guys. It wasn't some wimpy job. I deployed to the gulf and went where they went!"

"So - you were in the Company HQ Platoon (with the mechanics or medics or supply guys), and deployed with the company (like the medics or supply guys or mechanics or whatever), and that some how makes you "Combat" Commo? I'm a STINGER guy (Man Portable Air Defense - essentially a missile shot off my shoulder at targets within about 3 miles). If I support and protect a field hospital, should I be "Medical Air Defense?"

Ya know what? I was a Stinger guy for 5 years, then I worked in Personnel for 3.5 years. I never deployed for combat. I deployed as a civilian for a tour in Iraq. I'm not ashamed of my service because I didn't single-handedly take down a regime. I left service when my feet and knees no longer worked right. I gave some. Others gave all.

What bothers me today - guys and gals who take otherwise honorable and just-fine careers in any of the military services and feel the need to embellish. It's never good enough they did their time -twenty years as a supply clerk - a VITAL position and - hell - serving AT ALL is more than what, 97% of the population? Nope. They have to go to the PX and buy rank and tabs and awards to become some super-Soldier. And it NEVER fails, when asked they use whatare - to real Veterans and Soldiers - CLASSIC and blatant tip-offs the person is full of ****.

"I can'tt ell you - it's classified."

Okay. Couple things wrong with this. First "Classified as WHAT?". Nothing - NOTHING is merely labelled "Classified". Things ARE labelled "Unclassified, FOUO, Confidential, Secret, Top Secret" etc. Now - did you catch that -"Unclassified" IS a security classification.

Further - IF somebody does some secret-squirrel stuff, they NEVER tell you "I can't tell you if I flew into (insert conflict zone) and assassinated (insert despot). That's classified!". What they tell you? Things like this: 'Yes, I served. I did my share. I gave some - some gave all". They tell you "I had a few deployments. A'stan was crazy. Lots of great men and women doing good work there" and stuff like that.

Next time a" vet" tells you "I can't tell you, it's classified" ask him/her "Classified as what? What level?" they will almost never say 'confidential' - they will go RIGHT to the stand-by "Top Secret!". If it's TS, nobody is talking about having done it in the first place.


The next big warning sign is "...but the Military lost my records..." for either awards or assignments.

Look chucklehead trying to get cool points for service - you're a moron. If you don't have the orders or documents DONOT CLAIM IT. You know better.

As an aside - I'd like to see people stop using "Huey" when talking about a UH1 helicopter. You guys know the ones I mean - with the rotors way high above the tad-pole lookin' body (I have a body like a tad pole too ). The army NEVER had a 'huey' - they are Iroquois. UH1 Iroquois.

I frequently reada site called This Aint Hell - but you can see it from here. The site is run by a Veteran and often highlights stolen-valor idiots. I encourage you to take a look - I have no personal stake in the site - but it'sa great source of info and insight into the minds of some veterans. Thisainthell.us.

 

Okay - did anyone see those idiots dressed to the nines in their Tacticool ****? I saw pics on another site - a bunch of doofs carying their camo-painted rifles - AKs and ARs.
Exhibit A:


We have two 'operators'. The fatter guy - reportedly a member of MEAL Team Six - Takes the cake. In another pic he's wearing even an ear-bud to complete the look.
I will never understand this stuff. And CPT Bars? CPT of what? CPT of DELICIOUS BACON??

What the HELL is wrong with people? If I were at the event I'd be as far away as possible from those fools. What were they expecting to do? Do you think it'd be smart to walk around with essentially TARGETS painted on them? At whom would they start shooting if they heard a boom or heard gunshots? Do you think they were a little sad they didn't get to kill anyone?
I simply don't get it. Guys like those pictured give gun owners and probably veterans a bad name.



Even has the bipod legs just in case he can get into a long-distance firefight!

Get a grip guys. You aren't helping. Sure - have your little tantrum protests and express all you like but how about stopping the dress-up and maybe fly overseas and actually FIGHT guys like ISIS. You guys are honestly dripping horny for a fight - I bet you really really REALLY hope a civil war happens. You guys probably think Israelis are 'lucky' they get to fight Islamic terrorists all the time!
:-/