Fair Trade or UNFAIR SCAMS?

Recently I have heard a lot about supporting fair trade which is supposed to support companies which give better prices to their workers.

The question comes up. How do you KNOW that workers are being paid unfair prices?

How do you KNOW that a bag of coffee which says it is approved by "fair trade" is not a downright lie?

Research Helps: However anyone can put anything up on the internet but when published in newspapers, there is some chance of legally being sued if a reporter falsifies information. So I take note especially of the information published in the Telegraph below.

I think perhaps asking missionaries who work closely with the natives in any country would be the most reliable source of information but I have not heard from them.

Here are some answers to those questions.

More about “Fairtrade is a fraud” – nice pamphlet by the Institute of Economic Affairs

22 April, 2008 · 2 Comments

David Davis
Last month one of our experienced writers said that “Fairtrade is a Fraud”.  While this IEA pamphlet here today does not deny the inherent and (very) inconvenient truth of this statement, it enlarges on some of the relationships involved in the whole “Fairtrade” scam, and explains why the entire “Fairtrade” flim-flam-branding exercise has the welfare of the “growers” as the least of its concerns.
http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-book408pdf?.pdf
Or you can see it here.
Here is part of the article on Fair Trade is a Fraud

Fairtrade is a fraud

18 March, 2008 · 4 Comments

Thankfully “Fairtrade Fornight” is now over. But if you want to remember why Fairtrade is not a good idea, especially if you are having it rammed down your throat by do-gooders and busybodies, here’s what Alex Singleton had to say in The Sunday Telegraph:

Despite Fairtrade’s moral halo, there are other, more ethical forms of coffee available. Most Fairtrade coffee is roasted and packaged in Europe, principally in Belgium and Germany. That is unnecessary and retards development. Farmers working for Costa Rica’s Café Britt have climbed the economic ladder not just by growing beans but by doing the processing, roasting and packaging and branding themselves.

But Café Britt is not welcome on the Fairtrade scheme. Most Café Britt farmers are self-employed small business people who own the land they farm. That is unacceptable to the ideologues at FLO International, Fairtrade’s international certifiers, who will accredit farmers only if they give up their small-business status and join together into a co-operative.

As Brian Micklethwait puts it:

Fairtrade is, in other words, a front organisation, crafted by unregenerate collectivists to con believers in nice capitalism to buy something which is neither nice nor capitalist. And the way to deal with cons is to expose them for what they are, so that only those who really do believe in the actual values being promoted here continue to support the thing.

The Truth About "FAIR TRADE" IS HERE.
OR

Big Surprise: Fair Trade Coffee is a Scam

September 21, 2006 9:14 PM by Justin Ptak (Archive)

The Financial Times reports that:
"'Ethical' coffee is being produced in Peru, the world’s top exporter of Fairtrade coffee, by labourers paid less than the legal minimum wage. Industry insiders have also told the FT of non-certified coffee being marked and exported as Fairtrade, and of certified coffee being illegally planted in protected rainforest.
This casts doubt on the certification process used by Fairtrade and similar marks that require producers to pay the minimum wage.
It also raises questions about the assurances certifiers give consumers about how premium-priced fair trade coffee is produced...
...Though certified coffee makes up less than 2 per cent of the global coffee trade it has become increasingly mainstream as large retailers such as Starbucks and McDonald’s adopt it."

[From http://blog.mises.org/archives/005654.asp]
Here is one set of intelligent comments from a gentleman in South America

• 
  
  
  Francisco Torres
  
  The thing is, those are developing countries, and almost by definition they lack the right sort of institutions to maintain equitable results during the development transition.
  What they lack is property rights. We in Latin America are drowning in institutions. However, even with the "right" kind of institutions, I fail to see how is it unfair to the peasants what others are doing with their own property, even if it is growing coffee.
  
  Subsistence farmers get displaced as land and/or water resources get taken up by export-oriented cash crops like coffee, and so on.
  Again, this indicates that the problem is one of property rights. The US should have the "right" kind of institutions (being a developed country) and yet private property rights are not assured either - I do not believe that not having the "right" kind of institutions is the problem here.
  
  with sound institutions already in place, they would have been bought out for fair compensation - but that doesn't happen.
  Only problem is that "fair compensation" is a subjective term. The only sound compensation is that which the market provides, and not some institution, the reason being that institutions fall into the economic calculation problem whenever they try to make decisions on what is "fair" and what is not.
  Growing coffee by itself should not displace peasants. If I own a piece of land and a coffee grower wants to have it, he or she should offer to buy it at a price I like. That is the market solution. The "Institutional" solution would be one of expropriation, a la Eminent Domain or through bribing a State bureaucrat.
  
  
  
  Published: September 22, 2006 10:31 AM
  
  
  
  

Or if that one didn't make you think, how about this comment?

• 
  
  
  arya
  
  According to information published on Fair Trade Labelling Organization's (FLO) website www.fairtrade.net (Fair Trade's umbrella organization), the Fair Trade price paid to coffee farmers is set at $US 1.06 per pound or $US 2.35 per kg (inclusive of a Fair Trade "premium" of $US 5 cents/Ib to be used for development projects within the community).
  The same coffee - after having been processed in northern countries - is marketed and sold to socially-conscious (and naive) consumers under the Fair Trade label at an average retail price of $US 40- $US 50/kg, which means that the HUGE difference between the price paid to small-scale farmers ($US 2.35/KG) and the average retail price of coffee labelled, marketed and sold as Fair Trade ($US 40 to $US 50 per KG) generated from value-addition has ended up enriching the numerous mostly foreign economic agents within the supply chain(i.e. traders, exporters, shippers, processors, marketing agents, wholesalers and retailers, etc.)In this context, one wonders who is helping who...?
  Furthermore, the coffee has not been processed in the country of origin, thus failing to create much needed local employment and to generate income within the local economy. Processing the coffee in the country of origin would also enable coffee producing nations to break free from the dictate of the world market and from the vicious trap cycle of declining prices of coffee on the world market accentuated by increases in production to offset the initial price decline, thus further decreasing world prices and further impoverishing coffee and other primary agricultural commodity producers in poor nations. This is a vicious trap cycle, which the Fair Trade "business" is brilliantly using to its advantage...The Fair Trade "business" is capitalizing and prospering on both declining prices of primary commodities on the world market and on the good conscious and naivete on Western consumers...
  Fair Trade coffee statistics
  -The Fair Trade price paid to coffee farmers ($US 2.35/kg) only represents about 5% of the average retail value of coffee beans sold to consumers under the Fair Trade label ($US 40/kg -$US 50/kg).
  -1 KG of coffee makes on average 50 cups of coffee.
  -The average starting retail price for a cup of coffee in coffee shops or restaurants in the West is $US1-$US2: Thus, the equivalent price paid for a cup of coffee is $US 50/kg to $US 100/kg. The "Fair" Trade price paid to small-scale farmers only represents 2.5%-5% of the average retail price of a cup of coffee in the West.
  In this context, one wonders how "fair" the Fair Trade price paid to coffee farmers is and who is helping who...?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Published: October 9, 2006 7:50 AM
  
  
  
  

Or you may wish to check out or purchase the book explaining the Fair Trade Fraud

[http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Trade-Fraud-James-Bovard/dp/0312061935]

Or you may want to go to the source of a lot of this controversy and ask "IS FAIR-TRADE HELPING FARMERS OR HELPING THEMSELVES?"

Here is part of the article ...

Blogs Home » News » Alex Singleton

Alex Singleton

Alex Singleton writes about politics from a free-market perspective. You can get his insightful email bulletin (sent every few weeks) by clicking here and you can follow him on Twitter at alexsingletonuk.

The poverty of Fairtrade coffee

By Alex Singleton Last updated: February 23rd, 2008
41 Comments

“Fairtrade purports to work within the market economy but its rise has been largely based on marketing subsidies and public-sector procurement,” says Tom Clougherty, policy director of the Adam Smith Institute. Despite huge pressures on the public purse, local councils are squandering large sums becoming Fairtrade towns and cities, distributing posters and leaflets to nanny people into only buying Fairtrade. Meanwhile, the Fairtrade Foundation has received over £1.5m from the Department for International Development. It wants more. In December, reminiscent of 1970s-style industrial policy, it called for £50m of development aid to be spent as “strategic investment” on Fairtrade.

Fairtrade coffee is not actually the most ethical form available
Monday sees the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the time each year when we are hectored into paying more for a cup of coffee. Charities, politicians and primary school teachers will deliver the scheme as an undisputed good. With all this effort, it is a pity Fairtrade does not work.
Fairtrade’s supporters blame the plight of coffee farmers on world prices and ruthless multinational companies. But supporters ignore the real causes of poverty among growers. Farmers I interviewed in Kenya told me that the problems they face are not caused by global influences but their own government’s interference. They are forced to use milling companies granted regional monopolies, who fleece them. They want to boost productivity by using fertiliser, but they cannot afford the inflated prices demanded by the government fertiliser monopoly. Imported tools and machinery would transform their output but are subject to punitive tariffs. Police roadblocks slow their goods and involve money exchanging hands.
Brazil, conversely, pursued free-market reforms and the farmers have mechanised. This has enabled five people and a machine to enjoy the same output as 500 unaided farmers. Yet the Fairtrade Foundation, the lobby group behind the scheme in the UK, seems oblivious to this and admits it has no programmes to encourage the use of technology. Even worse, it is giving counterproductive advice to farmers, encouraging them mix different crops in the same field, thereby cutting productivity and making future mechanisation more difficult.
Despite Fairtrade’s moral halo, there are other, more ethical forms of coffee available. Most Fairtrade coffee on sale in UK supermarkets and on the high street is roasted and packaged in Europe, principally in Belgium and Germany. This is unnecessary and retards development. Farmers working for Costa Rica’s Café Britt have been climbing the economic ladder by not just growing beans but by also doing all of the processing, roasting and packaging and branding themselves. Shipping unroasted green beans to Europe causes them to deteriorate, so not only is Café Britt doing far more to promote economic development than Fairtrade rivals, it is also creating better tasting coffee.
But Café Britt is not welcome on the Fairtrade scheme. Most of Café Britt’s farmers are self-employed small businesspeople who own the land they farm. This is wholly unacceptable to the rigid ideologues at FLO International, Fairtrade’s international certifiers, who will only accredit the farmers if they give up their small business status and join together into a co-operative. “It’s like outlawing private enterprise,” says Dan Cox, former head of the Speciality Coffee Association of America. Many African farmers, organised along tribal lines, are similarly excluded from the scheme. Other producers complain that accreditation is needlessly bureaucratic and costs five times as much as organic certifications.
Café Britt accuses the Fairtrade scheme of failing to understand the cultural realities in countries like Costa Rica where many farmers simply do not want to become part of co-operatives. Unlike campaigners’ romantic vision of developing country co-ops, the overwhelming evidence is that they are breeding grounds for corruption and abuse of workers. Co-operative leaders, who routinely get re-elected in fiddled votes, rake money from ordinary farmers, keeping them in the dark about their output’s true worth.
While true that certification requires an annual inspection (for a fee) these can range from simple visits to requests for paperwork by post. The scheme does not verify wages paid to labourers. Those co-operatives who run free elections are little better, with leaders often unwilling to make tough but necessary choices for fear of losing popularity with their voters. Moreover, an independent investigation into Peruvian Fartraide farms found breaches of Fairtrade rules, with many workers being paid less that that country’s minimum wage and non-certified coffee being passed off as Fairtrade.
Meanwhile, Fairtrade has the effect of encouraging relatively affluent, but not very efficient, producers to stay in the market. Being more affluent, they find it easier to jump the bureaucratic hurdles the scheme imposes. Accordingly, Mexico is the largest single Fairtrade coffee producer, despite the country having free access to US markets and enjoying average wages eighteen times those of its coffee rival Ethiopia, which loses out as a result.
Unfortunately, the juggernaut of Fairtrade marketing has been extremely damaging by crowding out other ethical approaches. While Café Britt’s products are sold globally, its products have found competing in the UK very difficult. Its UK distributor, 100% Arabica, was recently forced out of business. Good African Coffee, a non-Fairtrade Ugandan firm that packages and brands its coffee in Uganda, has done better but has still only gained a very small part Britain’s ethical coffee market.
While high-street chains like Starbucks and Caffe Nero have encouraged consumers to favour higher-quality, speciality coffee, there is growing evidence that Fairtrade is damaging quality, too. Fairtrade farmers typically sell in both Fairtrade and open markets. Because the price in the open market is solely determined by quality, they sell their better quality beans in that market, and then dump their poorer beans into the Fairtrade market, where they are guaranteed a good price regardless. Moreover, because co-operatives mix every farmer’s beans together, farmers who improve quality receive the same payment as those who do not, which discourages improvements. That’s worth considering next time you pop out for a double espresso.
[From http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alexsingleton/4019311/The_poverty_of_Fairtrade_coffee/]
There are often two sides to "truth" and sometimes the side that claims to be on the side of the "poor", "developing nations" are actually more interested in destroying FREE TRADE not helping farmers in developing countries at all.
I guess you will have to decide. However I have been scammed myself too often to simply accept the word of a large organization that seems to be making MORE MONEY themselves than that which is HELPING the farmers they claim to help.
-Charles

The Tongue: From Idioms to Idiocy

[Editor: I sometimes have a tongue problem. Do you? God has corrected most of it but I still give retorts when others insult or mock me. My prayer is that I can be like Jesus and give no answer to those who misuse their tongue against me.]

When we cut down or insult another person, what is it that is in us that wants to put someone else down?

Is that the only way we can feel lifted up by mocking others? WWJD?

If we are Christians, even if we think we are teasing, can you picture Jesus insulting his disciples or mocking their traits? Did Jesus ever mock Peter because he reacted too quickly and sometimes foolishly? Those that have an ear to hear know what Peter did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

For those who care, is it godly to insult and mock others for real or imagined characteristics? If God created and the Evil One destroys, whose side are you on when you mock or destroy a person's sense of self-esteem?

There is a fantastic TRUE book which illustrates very well the power of the tongue to build someone up or to destroy them verbally.

It is called "Positive Words, Powerful Results" by Hal Urban subtitled Simple Ways to Honor, Affirm, and Celebrate Life.

Hal Urban was a high school teacher for many years and also taught at the University of San Francisco. He is a well-known leader in the Character Education movement and is in constant demand as a speaker at national conferences and school and community events. He raised three sons as a single father, and now lives in Redwood City, California with his wife, Cathy.

Part One of the book has these telling chapters ...

1. Words Make Us Human
2. Words Can Change Lives
3. Words Can Hurt and Offend
4. Words Come from the Heart
5. Words are Choices

Then in Part Two he goes on to explain the WIN-WIN REWARDS OF POSITIVE WORDS

It is one of the best books I have ever read to explain the Biblical principles presented in excerpt below.


I found this article for your consideration. The article is presented in excerpts...
Here are the Excerpts that Apply Most Commonly



Sins of the Tongue

Much can be said of a person's character by the way they use their tongue. Sanaca once said, "Speech is the index of the mind." Jesus said that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Mat. 12:34)

According to Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." In James 3:6, the Bible says that the tongue is "a fire, a world of iniquity", and James 3:8 calls the tongue a "deadly poison."

As a fool would carelessly play and prank with a loaded gun, so many Christians today do likewise with their deadly tongue. If only we could fully realize the untold damage that we are doing to the body of Christ! If only we could see the full effect of the words we use!

Perhaps a closer look into the Bible can help. God made man, and God made man's tongue, so surely God should be qualified to comment on the subject. Surely God should have some good counsel concerning the use and misuse of the human tongue. Let us consider some sins of the tongue as we find them revealed in God's word.

The Lying Tongue

Proverbs 25:18 says, "A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow." So a lying tongue is a misuse of a deadly weapon. It can be used to harm others near at hand (a maul), a few feet away (a sword), or a great distance away (an arrow). Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), and God said that he hates a lying tongue (Pro. 6:17). All liars will have their part in the lake of fire, according to Revelation 21:8.


The Overused Tongue

Some people sin by simply overusing their tongue. Ecclesiastes 5:3 says that "a fool's voice is known by multitude of words." People think they appear smart by much talking, but the Bible states just the opposite. Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." God doesn't like a blabber mouth. You say, "Well, that's just the way I am!" Then REPENT! Confess your sin and repent. Stop justifying your wickedness and ask God to help you repent.

The Swift Tongue

Some people are guilty of speaking too swiftly when they really need to wait before saying anything. God's word says the following in Proverbs 18:13: "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him." How many times have you had to "eat" your words because you spoke too swiftly? James 1:19 warns us to be swift to HEAR and SLOW to speak. Why do you suppose God gave us two ears but only one mouth?

The Talebearing Tongue


Proverbs 18:8 says, "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly." Leviticus 19:16 says, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people. . ." Every Christian has the duty to deny his own desires and seek to edify other Christians (Rom. 14:19; Philip. 2:3). Talebearing runs wholly contrary to Christian edification. Talebearing (carrying and telling tales. or gossip) spreads all sorts of hurtful information around, and Satan uses such information to hinder and tear down God's work. A victim of talebearing, according to Proverbs, is a "wounded" person. God forbid that a Christian should wound another Christian, but it does happen all the time! Some Christians live as though they think God has "called" them to bear tales on other Christians. Many "Christian" newsletters are dedicated to informing the body of Christ on the latest news about someone's ministry or personal life. There are many nice words and phrases used to justify such conduct, but the Bible word is TALEBEARING.

The Cursing Tongue

Some people, Christians included, have a nasty habit of using their tongue for cursing. Romans 3:13-14 says, "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."

The Piercing Tongue

Another sinful tongue is the piercing tongue. Proverbs 12:18 speaks of this tongue by saying, "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health." Some people have a sharp piercing tongue which Satan uses to offend and insult others. The Bible commands Christians to have their speech dominated by GRACE (Col. 4:6), yet most churches have a few people who use their tongue like a sword to pierce their brethren in Christ.

It was Teddy Roosevelt who said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick," but the truth is that if you speak softly you won't need a big stick!
 
Titus 2:8 commands us to use sound speech which cannot be condemned. Friend, do you use graceful speech which cannot be evil spoken of, or do you possess a piercing tongue? Every Christian's prayer should be, "Lord, make my words gracious and tender, for tomorrow I may have to eat them."

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." (James 3:2)

Copyright © 2001 James L. Melton

Isn't it time for us to grow up and stop getting our jollies from putting others down? How childish is that? What effect does it have on you when others compliment you sincerely about something you do or something you are?

What effect does it have when others belittle you?

Which would you or I rather be remembered for? Building others up or tearing them down?

References

• Why Mock Others? http://livinforchrist.multiply.com/journal/item/2392
• Why Mock and Tease? 
• Dealing with Mockers 
• Put-Downs 
• Why Do Some Criticize and Put Down? 
• People Who Put You Down 
• Do You Put People Down to Boost Your Self-Esteem 
• Can't Stand People that Put Others Down
• Why Do People Put You Down?
  

Bashing Walmart

I just saw a video bashing Walmart because a mom and pop store is struggling.

Just go to Google videos if you want to search for it. I won't give you the address.
That is a sad story. It is unfortunate. There are a LOT of things that are worse because of our modern age.

It was probably also unfortunate that:

• We still do not use horse and buggies because blacksmiths and their families  are extinct
• There are no liveries in town so the liverymen are unemployed or have gone elsewhere
  
• There are no more shoemakers because we cannot get our shoes repaired and they are so cheap imported from China.
• That there are very few passenger trains so there are few jobs for firemen, trainmen, conductors and station hands
• Section hands that tend track are a thing of the past, not needed any more
  
• We import things from China because even though very poor Chinese people are employed, much poorer than any North American, Americans and Canadians cannot have those jobs because the Chinese have them
  
• General stores are a thing of the past so all the people that worked there are unemployed
• Tim Horton's has probably put many small restaurants out of business
• Unions have probably made cars so expensive by much higher than average wage demands that new cars are now out of the reach of one-income families
• Newspapers a long time ago put press operators out of business by computerizing
• GM used to hire more people until they brought in computers which take away men's jobs
• Barrel-makers have been out of business for some time since we started using separate boxes to put the crackers in
• Coopers who made the rings which hold the barrels together are unemployed for the same reason
• Are there any tailors in your town? Not in ours because clothes are so cheap we don't need to repair clothes any more
• When I was young there were icemen that used to sell ice on the street. Where are they now? Unemployed since refrigerators were invented and cheap enough for the average person to buy.
• Also there used to be junkmen pulling a wagon down the street asking for your old scrap metal and materials. Where are they now? Now they just all go to the dump.

• Yep. When you think about it we were a lot better off in the 1800's.
•  I think we should get rid of all our cars and buy horses, take off all our Chinese clothing, throw away our Chinese runners, crowd out the existing railway stations so that they will put on more trains, hire more firemen, engineers, trainmen and conductors and section-hands,
• We should stop buying newspapers until they go back to printing presses.
• We need to start getting a tailor to make all your clothes, throw out your refrigerator, energy star or not, and get an icebox, ask someone to collect your junk metal instead of putting it in recycling, ask if anyone can repair your shoes even tho it does cost a lot more just so a shoemaker can have a job.
• Some of us need to learn how to make barrels and let's get those crackers OUT of the boxes and back into the barrels.
• All coffee shops should be closed down within 2 miles of a small restaurant even if the coffee is worse, so those mom and pop restaurants can stay in business.
•  Yes sir, we would be so much better off, even if more people die because of the spread of germs from food in open barrels, it was a better day to which we should return.
• Or NOT.
  

Anybody can say anything about anything on the internet which does not make it true.

Anybody also can make a video and upload it to YouTube. I always reserve judgement whenever I see something like this since it is the agenda of the far left to belittle Walmart usually because they shop at the Gap or other high-class store and do not see that Walmart is for the average person, the poorer person who cannot afford Gap prices.

Walmart helps people in every community it exists in including Mexico and third-world countries.

I have not even looked at the video yet but I am assuming when I see the words "prepared for .... class" that some kid did this. Even if it was CNN, there have been notable errors in CNN, CBS [Dan Rather], and absolute lying in articles in the New York Times.

So even before I look at the video my suspicion level goes up. Liberals are taught that Walmart and stores like them are using people and treating them poorly and not giving them the same benefits as American citizens...

Well, duh of course! They AREN'T usually American citizens in other countries, in fact very few would be, and when Walmart comes to Mexico, as I learned when I was down there the Mexicans that are hired think they have died and gone to heaven. They can finally make a decent stable living whether the pay is $5 an hour [which is about $5 more an hour than they WERE getting] or $15 an hour.

Who stands to gain by discrediting Walmart? Would UNIONS be one? Do unions ever see Walmart as taking their jobs and giving them to people overseas like China because Walmart buys so much overseas?

Are unions always honest and upright?

Would they like to discredit Walmart so that people would go to stores that  ALWAYS sell American-made products?

And of course we know Walmart has no competition. There are no Target stores anywhere. No Ace or Value hardware, no Best Buy, no Radio Shack. No dollar stores.

There should be laws against buying ANYTHING outside of our country so that more people in OUR country can work. Forget those Chinese, Koreans, Japanese and Taiwanese. Just because they don't have bread; let them eat cake!

As for those poorer people who obviously shop at Walmart because the prices are low, they should just wake up and get a higher-paying job so that they can afford to shop at the Gap.

Those lazy ...... protect MY $75 an hour job [including benefits]! I don't care about yours! So there!

Yup. I think the real problem is that CHANGE should be OUTLAWED! We should NOT ALLOW CHANGE! Look what it is doing to our country! Actually making things affordable! (:-)

And then we should protest in front of Walmart stores and prevent shoppers from coming in! That'll teach 'em!

Then when they close down and move farther away who cares about the lost jobs? It's all Walmart's fault.

(:-) Like I say, anyone can make a heart-rending video. However when your heart is rent you tend not to be able to use your brain.

EMOTION OVER THINKING makes you look like you've been drinking!

Love, acceptance and truth

[This was addressed to a "website" which had a lot of info about sexuality, homosexuality and acceptance. I could not find any statement of beliefs. It called itself a Christian Community but seemed to dwell on the love and acceptance of people the Bible would call sinners, as we all are, but not mention that God is not happy with sin of any kind. I wrote this to see if they would clarify their beliefs.]

LOVE? YES! ACCEPTANCE? YES! TRUTH? YES! YES! YES!

"Stumbled across your site by accident. I tried to find an "About" or "Contact" or "What We Believe" to no avail.

Your site disturbed me a little for the above reasons.

Why do you not just explain what your point of view is instead of hiding it. The only way I can see anything about what you believe is by looking at the book advertisements. So since that is the only info I have I felt I must write to you about that.

First I have to say, we are to love everyone. We are to love Hitler, someone who may have sexually abused us or raped us, or killed our kid.

The phrase "Church is a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints." is very appropriate.

I think your site is a reaction to the church ignoring these matters. And that definitely may be a failing. Perhaps they think that since the 60's teens have had "sexual education" and yet for many years the number of unwanted pregnancies kept going up. Not sure of latest stats. However there certainly are way too many single parent families which educationally and economically deprive the majority of higher educational or economic goals.

However certain phrases [in the absence of your beliefs] bothered me somewhat.

If you are a Bible-believing "church", indeed if you are a church at all, then you know that the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. We love the sinner, since we all are, but we hate the sin.

Romans 1 explain what happens to men who leave God's principles.

• God's wrath is revealed against godlessness and wickedness
• His principles should be plain to see
• His nature should be plain to see
• Knowing God doesn't mean we give him any credit for his principles
  
• "Knowing" stuff is not a substitute for knowing Him personally and his principles
• Wise can become fools
• Thinking can be futile
• We can worship ideas, images, people, instead of God the creator
• We can exchange truth for a lie
• We have sinful desires
• We can be sexually impure
• We can have unrighteous thoughts and lusts
• We can abandon natural sexual relations between a married husband and wife
• We can accept unnatural relations between women and other women and men and other men as "natural"
• We can have depraved minds
  
• We can have penalties of health due to our unnatural lifestyle
• We can abandon all Godly principles and do these unnatural acts or approve of those who do

When we leave God's principles behind we become foolish, thinking at the same time that we are just SO wise. But we are not wise but otherwise.

As one example, I taught Grade 8 science... I taught a section on living things, and the difference between life and non-living things that can look similar when you see some seeds and some pebbles.

Then the students had pictures of various natural items and were asked to tell if they were living or not. When looking at an unborn baby in the womb, I NEVER had even one student say that it was non-living. Students inherently know, unless confused to think otherwise, that life comes from life and rocks are not about to have babies, but seeds can when they grow up to be trees.

And yet when some of them get "higher" education in Secondary School or College, almost half by the latest polls think that a baby in the womb is a "fetus", not an unborn baby. I don't know why we don't call it a "headus", a "heartus", or a "handsus", or even a "feetus" because all of those are present in the womb. The heart beats. That is a living thing. When they were young they knew instinctively that an unborn baby and a baby are one and the same except separated by a months, a few weeks or a few days in time.

So in their "higher" education, they somehow started to rely on the "wiser", really "otherwiser" people who taught them to not believe their instincts.

That is how the wise can become fools as shown in Romans 1. Just one example. There are many more.

I don't know what you believe because I cannot find a place where you state it. However I do know that what I have said above is truth.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Pedley

Israel: The Promised Land

[This was written as an answer to a Pastor John who does not understand the importance of Israel.]

Pastor John’s Problem is the same as the rest of us. Ignorance knows no boundaries.

We are all ignorant of one thing or another. Some are ignorant about computers, others about music and many about Israel.

There are really ONLY TWO CHOICES..

1) Either you BELIEVE the God of the Old Testament when he makes a promise.

OR

2) You DON'T BELIEVE him when he makes a promise. Now if you don’t believe him, you cannot be a Christian because the founder of the church, Jesus, the Jewish Messiah believed him and believed the promises he gave in the OT.

It is a simple choice. This God also happens to be same God of the New Testament.

In the OT we see many promises reiterated over and over again to Abraham and his seed, the children of Israel.

If we won’t believe one, then we won’t believe many, so for simplicity I give you one.

Gen13:14 NASB

The LORD said to Abram, ..... "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

15for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. [referring to the land of Canaan] NASB

I looked up the meaning of forever and it means FOREVER! Eternal, not changing, to the end of the age, everlasting .... FOREVER.

This is what God promised Abraham and his descendants the Israelites. If you keep looking through the Bible you will see this was affirmed over and over again to his descendants.

Let’s suppose that God changed his mind about stuff like this. Then he can also change his mind about ETERNAL life given to those who believe in and follow him.

Imagine God saying “For those who believe in me and my son Jesus, I will give ETERNAL life UNLESS I change my mind later.” I hope you don’t follow that God!

Now I know that no pastor would make decisions about Israel based on political rather than spiritual considerations. However in case there are some reading this who do not know history, let us mention the political.

The land of Israel [at the time a protectorate of Great Britain] by the Balfour Declaration of 1917 were given a MUCH LARGER ISRAEL than present. In fact the Arab representative agreed that this was the homeland of the Jews from ancient times.

Unfortunately, shortly after some other Arabs thought he was including too much land, he disappeared and Israel was pushed back to approximately its present borders.

In 1947, the United Nations, reaffirmed that Israel had been and was to be the homeland for the displaced Jews who somehow survived the Nazi holocaust.

“Resolution 181 laid a foundation within international law and diplomacy[9] for the creation of the state of Israel; as it was the first formal recognition by an international body of the legitimacy of a Jewish state, to exist within a partition of the territory along with an Arab state." Israel's declaration of independence soon followed on May 14, 1948.

So here we have two proofs that Israel has a right to its own land, both politically and by God’s spoken promise.

It was their homeland in ancient times, B.C., there were always some Jews who lived in the land, and it was formalized twice by Britain and by the United Nations.

Personally believing God should be good enough for those who call themselves Christians.

I believe that when God says ETERNAL LIFE, he means ETERNAL LIFE and when he says he gave the land to Abraham and his descendants, FOREVER, I believe he means FOREVER. If you don't I pray for you.

Charles Pedley
http://charlespedley.blogspot.com

Lost a Job?

This doesn't make the necessary grieving process any easier but it might make it more meaningful.

I am sure you already know this but when God allows hard times, it is always because he has something better for you to do.

Psalm 139 became so real to me after the loss of my daughter's first husband to Hodgkins. [See JoyfulMourning and BrokenClay ]

"13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be. NIV

Notice especially V 16 ... How could God "ordain" ALL MY DAYS before ONE of them came to be?. I know He can do anything but if you add up all the people in the world and multiply by 365 ... and that is only one year.... All I can say is that He must have a massively good computer to keep track of all those days!

But the biggest wonder is how he cares even for our DAYS. If you as a female live to the average age of 84, that gives you, I hesitate to say, ONLY 30,660 days of life. If that doesn't seem very long, then try seeing how much of MY life is left according to stats. Only 5475 days left! Yipes!

And yet God cares about every too-short one of them! And even has a plan for EVERY one of them!

God bless you!

Digsby. Wow!

Have you heard of Digsby yet? No? Yes you have I just mentioned it! Ok. Ok. I know pretty lame. Makes you feel superior doesn't it? Good that is the intention. Most people need more feelings to lift them up not put them down.

That has nothing at all to do with Digsby, my new discovery. I am sure you know what an instant messenger is right? You know, Yahoo Messenger, AIM [AOL Instant Messenger], Windows Live Messenger, the original messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, and so on.

Some of you also know that there are several IM's which let you tune in on one or more of the other messengers, just in case your friends do not use the same one as you. There is Trellian, Miranda, Pidgin, and others. Then I discovered that my favorite web suite, at Zoho.com, now includes Zoho Chat which can connect with most other messengers. But the most fun was yet to come. I discovered Digsby!

Digsby? Yes, Digsby. Digsby not only can tune in to all your friends on all the other IM's, but check your email, AND your social networking site, like Facebook, Twitter, etc. And yes it transfers files and can turn on your video camera so you can video talk!

I just tried it today. I am very impressed so far. Ask me next week if I love it as much. The constant facebook popups telling me what my friends were doing became a bit annoying. However I am going to turn that off. I don't WANT to know. I will find out all in good time if it is important.

So give Digsby a try. You may fall in love again, this time with Digsby!

Grandcentral becomes Google Voice

Hi

I always sign up for Google free stuff because if it looks the least bit interesting, Google will be changing it, modifying it and improving it. And sometimes combine it with something else to make it very powerful. That is what is just happening at Grandcental. It is becoming Google Voice.

So why would you care? Look at the features below. That may help you decide.

I signed up for gmail way way back. It is getting more and more useful all the time. It looks like it is about the merge soon with Google Voice. You can NOW email from Grandcentral, er excuse me Google Voice.

Here is the description when you go to www.grandcentral.com

Google Voice: Coming soon

Print

Google Voice is a service that gives you one number for all your phones, voicemail that is as easy as email, and many enhanced calling features like call blocking and screening, voicemail transcripts, call conferencing, international calls, and more.

Google Voice is currently available for GrandCentral users only, but will be open to new users soon. In the meantime, please leave us your email address and we'll notify you as soon as Google Voice becomes available. To learn more about Google Voice, check out our feature videos.

When can I sign up?
We expect to have the service ready for new users in a matter of weeks, and are focused on opening it as soon as possible.

What if I reserved a number on the GrandCentral site before?
We will be emailing you when Google Voice is open to the public to sign up for the service.

How much does it cost?
The service is free.

What do I do if I am already a GrandCentral user? Over the next few days, instructions will appear at the top of your inbox on how to upgrade your GrandCentral account to Google Voice. Thanks for your patience.

I think it would be very good to leave your email address with Google so they can let you know when the transition is complete.

Google is famous for its vast array of freebies. However the freebies can often be upgraded to Premium Quality by paying a small fee. If you don't need the premium support, then you just keep using the FREE version. Life is good.

Hope you had a good GOOD FRIDAY and will have a great Easter celebration !
Blessings and remember

He has promised "I will be with you always, even unto the ends of the earth"

Yes he is there right now!

Charles

Earth-Shattering News

Church Websites - Fun For All

Problems with Church Websites

[from personal experience and researched data]

1. Churches often believe they need a website but have not really thought out what they want it to do.
2. A techie does the site, but then leaves the church or becomes too busy. Site grows out-of-date.
3. This often gets repeated many times as it has in our church.
4. No one but the techie can change it, so soon it is not really up to date.
5. It does not encourage communication between members the way Facebook and other social sites do.
6. Often a professional is hired and makes a beautiful site for a BEAUTIFUL price. Seldom is it built for easy updating or communicating new info to members and the public.
7. If you want it updated the pro has to do it and that costs MORE money.
   
8. Does it really communicate what your church's purpose is to the world of cyberspace?
9. Does it connect your members?
   
10. All-in-one websites are very satisfying and accomplish many purposes.
1. Informing visitors and members about what is going on currently
2. Connecting people and groups within your church
3. Can be updated by anyone with very little training if you can use a word processor
4. Can inform members of sudden events between Sunday's such as the death of a senior member, the birth of a baby, a victory in someone's life so that all may celebrate
5. Appear to the general observer looking for a church that here is a church which is up-to-date, active and alive

Here are three of the sites I have found, each of which is a solution for most of the problems presented above.

Hosting, informing, domains, updating, newsletters, event calendars are all contained in one place.

Each of these sites have free trials.

Advanced Ministry ranges from free to so comprehensive that you can a store so that members can have access to purchasing materials and books being studied in various groups within the church. The price range is the best I have found anywhere.

Just recently I helped a small church here in Niagara to get a website that they could maintain themselves. If you are interested see WindMill-Point-Church

This Church has a different philosophy which gives you everything available on the site but just a bit less storage space for smaller churches.

More and more churches are turning to comprehensive all-in-one websites like those at Advanced Ministry, or This Church or ChurchFlock.com [a demo site for MyFlock]
Probably the MOST important use for these sites is that ANYONE with a little instruction can update the section of the site for their small group. The church secretary can update the event info weekly or as often as needed.

No professional is needed [with apologies to web pros]. A workman IS worthy of his hire.

Any discussion about this would be welcome. Constructive disagreement is NEVER disagreeable (:-).

I have spent many hours poring over sites on the web and forums and listening to the tribulations of churches with out-of-date websites which are not a good witness to the world about your church.

I have found sites which give excellent tips for effective church sites. Contact me directly at churchmedia@cpedley.com or through the group as you prefer if you would like individual help with this changing field.

We live in an age of connection. People are "crying out" to be noticed. If this were not true why is Facebook so successful EVEN among Christians? Why is there a Twitter? Why has GodTube changed to Tangle?

It seems that every time I do a bit of web searching I find new sites which tend toward social interaction. A few years ago Plaxo was a way to store your email addresses on the web so you could get them from anywhere. Now it too is changing into a social interaction site.

It is a phenomenon that a church which wants to minister to the current needs of society cannot ignore forever.

At the same time it solves the problem of static, out-of-date websites which do not represent your active church or which drain too much money from church coffers which could be used for the ministry that Jesus left for us.

The Great Commission

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." NIV Mathew 28: 16-20

Is there any better use for the Lord's money or your time?

Sincerely,

Charles G. Pedley
905-228-2161

URGENT for Mr. Kenney - RE JOB NEEDS -

Hello Senator Kenney!

After seeing your article in the National Post about the jobs that need to be filled, I am applying for a job or perhaps, JOBS.

My pension which is totally subject to market conditions went down a lot when Honourable Jim F. announced the change in income trusts. [I understand why he did this but our "pension" funds did go down and have not returned to previous levels.]

Also the current market conditions have knocked it down about another 20 plus per cent.

If it were not for my wife and I having planned ahead to become 65 in 2008, we would NOT have enough money to live on.

My wife mentioned that you are short of soldiers, cops, spooks and border guards.

Okay what do I have to do to apply?

I am in excellent health except for a bit of extra weight I am carrying around. However I am sure that it is NOT even as much as a soldier's backpack!

I have been told that I was "spooky" in the past by my students when I sneaked up on them inadvertently, of course. Also when a mere youth, I was one of the top "secret agents" when we played.

And border guards! I would have NO problem sitting on my duff in a booth and questioning people about their purchasing activities. Having been a teacher in charge of the security of classrooms full of VERY diverse individuals with NO deaths or even taser accidents, I assure you I am abundantly qualified for that job!

Soldier? Well depending on how strenuous the activity, that might be a "wee" problem as the Scots say. However I am excellent in customer relations, and computer skills and I am sure that would go a long way as most office people I have found when in business do not know much about computers, except "show me where to type".

Please forward the applications or tell me what is required so that I can apply for the most appropriate job to serve my country in its time of need.
Sincerely,

Charles G. Pedley

To see more EXCITING & INFORMATIVE INFORMATION and EARTH-SHATTERING NEWS, please click the EXCITING link!

Note: If you do not have your bullet-proof vest on, please put it on first. This letter will self-destruct within 60 seconds after you read it, so please stand back from your computer!

===========================
SAVE $20 PER MONTH?
www.Best-Canadian-HiSpeed.com
=======================
www.integrity-marketing.com
=======================
www.church-software-store.com
=======================

Jason's Comment and My Response

Jason commented on my post on not respecting atheists.

JASON: Not all atheists are so stupid as to state that there is no chance that there is a god. I, for one, am an atheist.

CHARLES: All atheists I have talked to have said that. Obviously I did not talk to you Jason. So you believe that GOD POSSIBLY EXISTS? Isn't that agnostic? Allowing the possibility of God?

JASON: I do not believe that there is a god as I have never seen enough proof that he/she/it exists.

CHARLES: How do you know Rome exists? How do you know that LOVE exists? Is it by the way lovers act toward each other? That is exactly the same as those that love God.

I cited only a very few of the things that Christians have done and started because they believe there is a God and they love Him by creating schools, hospitals, free public education, universities etc. and they continue that to this day. In India, we have all heard of Mother Theresa and the great work she did. Did you ever hear of Mark Buntain? Mother Theresa brought her sick to hospitals established by the Christian, Mark Buntain. One question. What hospital was established by atheism?

JASON: If I am wrong, I will accept the consequences. I try to live a honest, positive, and meaningful life and take responsibility for my actions. I do not thank "god" for good things that happen to me, nor do I curse "god" for bad things that happen.

CHARLES: That is good. Do you buy life insurance? [Or should it be called "death insurance"?] Why? I do not believe in God just because I want insurance about heaven. However if I am right, and the evidences abound, then I have preserved what is the fundamental me, my spirit [some call it a soul] and my life here has real meaning.

JASON: I know, by now someone has pointed out the fact that I used the term "meaningful" and are saying... ahh, you can't have meaning without god! I say BS to that. I found the basic objective to life that we should ALL strive for, religious and non alike... LEAVE THE WORLD A LITTLE BIT BETTER OFF THAN WHEN WE WERE BORN. That's it!

CHARLES: A person can have meaning without God and you obviously have picked a good meaning. However life has more meaning with God as he is the creator of LIFE. It is like enjoying a good book but have no respect for the author or enjoying a drive in a beautiful car but caring less about the builder.

JASON: Just remember, that I will go to hell for my beliefs if I am wrong and there is a god.

CHARLES: If that is your choice. You do have choices.

JASON: By the way, one thing that I always wanted to know about from those who believe... How do you know you are worshiping the RIGHT god? I mean the Bible is clear about worshiping false gods, what if somewhere along the line the story got messed up and you are actually worshiping Oden, Zeus, Satan, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Invisible Pink Unicorn or even the Great Green Arkleseizure? For that matter the Pope? What if your intentions are right, but the whole religion is wrong. Will you still be spending eternity in purgatory? As far as I am aware, God has not made any recent formal announcement to clear up all the different perversions of the bible, so how could god hold people to following it?

CHARLES: God has made it clear. Just like electricity or computers, or the internet are all understood by those who accept them and find out about them. If you choose not to investigate the knowledge of electricity, then you will be electrically-ignorant. So it is with God. Are you waiting around for him to show himself or are you actively looking at the evidence?

Have you read the Bible? Many atheists when they really decide to check out the evidence and PROVE there is no God ended up believing in Him.

Have you read "What's So Great about Christianity?" by Dinesh Dsouza? Have you read "The Case for Faith" by Lee Stobel? Have you read "More than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell?

What have you done to actually find out if there is evidence? If nothing, then you found exactly what you set out to find, nothing.

JASON: Perhaps I am wrong (but I doubt it) but with the massive number of interpretations of the bible and religions in general, the chances of you following the one, correct path to God are about the same as mine. I guess I will be seeing most of you in Purgatory... If I am wrong...

CHARLES: What book on electricity is right? Or are they all just explaining a different aspect of it?

The various interpretations are only ways of saying the same thing but in different ways.

The Bible was written over a period of 2000 years by over 40 authors most of whom did not know each other. But they all agree? Coincidence or God-incidence? They agree that man is inherently selfish because we look after ourselves before we consider others. They agree that man basically wants to do what he wants often without consideration of others. Check out your daily news!

You may be a step ahead of many because you exhibit a concern about making the world a bit better place. So what did you do to make it that way?

No religion but Christianity has a founder that said He WAS GOD. The others just claim they have a way to get to God. They are attempts to reach into that vacuum that says, "What is the meaning of my brief existence here?" The Judao-Christian belief tells what the meaning is. And for those who actually examine it, they find the true meaning to life. You have found a meaning to life too Jason. However you just have not read about the author of the book of "a meaning".

JASON: See you then, don't for get the sun block,Jason Barnett

CHARLES: So are we going to the beach? (:-)

CHARLES: I have talked to people who say they want to go to hell because that's where their friends will be. Cannot be true. Hell is the place of absence from God and all that is good. Friendship is good. Therefore there will be NO friendship in hell.

Oh and by the way, did sunblock ever help bacon? (:-)

BEAUTIFUL COLORADO 2008

Posted a mite after the event.

COLORADO - AUGUST 2008

Getting over my fear of NO guardrails and high dropoffs. Had to because once you start driving up over those mountains unless you ask ahead of time, you will likely be faced with them!

Last week, driving from Ouray [pronounced U-RAY], which is a beautiful town nestled by surrounding mountains except for one opening in them to the north. The exit to Durango to the south, is steep and treacherous. We climbed at least 1000 - 2000 feet before losing site of the town. Town is already over 8000 feet from sea level.

Then after the initial hairpin turns with guardrails we got to the road cut out of rock where only about 2 feet from pavement was dropoff hundreds if not 1000's of feet down!

I did a LOT of praying! Also letting people pass when I could and driving 15 - 25 mph which is the suggested speed around many turns.

Can you picture driving 15 mph? Well, often necessary. Then they have these steep descents up to 7% grade. Now I do not know how they calculate grade but I KNOW that is steep. You look down possibly a half mile to a mile and see the cars ahead of you way down there as little 'toys' and then of course, to top it off, after the grade comes the dessert, [no not desert], a HAIRPIN turn with perhaps a 1000' drop with you guessed it, NO GUARDRAILS!!. Braking all the time? Pumping brakes? Finally figured out how to use the Drive + and - after talking to another tourist who had a similar vehicle. That worked better!

But once we got through the worst ascents we were able to loosen our grip on the wheel and breathe again long enough to enjoy the snow-covered peaks of mountains from 10000 to 14000 plus feet. Also beautiful mountain lakes in colorful meadows surrounded by evergreens on the slopes.

Sorry can't send you photos yet because the geek that I am, brought the WRONG adapter for my notebook!! So it has been carrried around useless. However my 4gb memory card said I still had over 700 photos I could take before switching to the smaller ones. So I guess it's okay.

So overcoming the rest of my height phobia I guess was part of the God plan for me. I still cannot relax at those steep, unprotected ascents and descents but once you have done it 3 times in one day, it becomes just a bit easier.

Colorado has to be the most beautiful state. Even tho temperatures often are in the 80's, it is I guess much drier and feels comfortable to me and bearable for Ellen. Also we think they made a mistake in calling Denver the mile-high city. That is LOW compared to the rest of the state! Everywhere we stayed, except for Grand Junction, was over 6000' and more common was over 7 or 8000'. You have to learn to breathe more deeply as you feel short of breathe at those heights.

Now for last few days, [today Monday] we are in Colorado Springs area which is only about 6200 feet! Garden of the Gods rock formations are beautiful! At the approx. 10000 member New Life Church, yesterday we met a young air force academy student who will be serving his mandatory 5 years after the end of this senior year. He was alone, from North Carolina, and in our talking we discovered he always went to Panera Bread after church [ the most delicious, moderately-priced] deli-type restaurant with fantastic Pick Two menu's .... That means for $6.49, you can pick two of a cafe salad, a 1/2 sandwich, or soup. No matter what you get, it is delicious. Except for a few times I resisted the FANTASTIC bakery desserts. However resistance was futile sometimes and I just had to sample their cinammon-pecan roll or one of their fabulous cookies for dessert. Then I was good and instead got my $1.07 dessert of yogurt and berry parfait at MacDonald's after lunch or supper. All this to say that after he offered his phone number and email address, we felt okay about asking him if he would like to accompany us to Panera and we would pay for his meal.

Today staying at he absolutely gorgeous Best Western Academy motel with pool, indoor gardened courtyard and restaurant all right in the lobby with lots of lounge room to read while spouse is sleeping in... At noon we go up the road a mile or two to the US Air Force Academy to watch their parade at noon. Then later have a lot to pick from including train ride through the Royal Gorge at Can[y]on City, about 50 miles south. The gorge is about 1000' feet deep and after the 'hairy'pin turns up top, it seems a little more relaxing to travel the canyon bottom than go over the very insecure-looking bridge for $19 a pass.

See you later! Young man needs computer and you need a rest from my rambling praise of the most beautfiul state of Colarado. Home late Thursday night.

Charles

Answering a Person Who Believes in Sexual Liberation

I see what you are saying Nick. However it used to be that females did stay home and did NOT have to work outside the home and basically had enough on their hands other than studying politics and trying to figure out who to vote for. They were 'voting' for their family.

Men went out of the home and were involved more in the world. I am assuming that this might have made them more involved in things like politics because they weren't changing diapers ever few minutes. This gave them more time to think about government and politics since they lived in it.

Do you think possibly you may be using a stereotype when classifying conservative men? I am not afraid of anyone except people who do not know the facts but act as though they did. [not saying you, Nick ... you are just expressing your opinion...]

Many actually believe what they say with very little evidence to support their conclusions. I am somewhat alarmed about the ignorance about truth and the leftist-socialist media that for the most part DO NOT INVESTIGATE facts but just spout opinions. That is scary.

Is it possible that when we look back assuming that back then everything was just like now, that we may be incorrect? Perhaps it WAS different then and people thought differently and acted differently.

"sexually-liberated" is an interesting term. How do you get liberated sexually?

Are many Africans who live in Africa sexually liberated where AIDS is epidemic and many children wander the streets because they have NO parents?

Only having one parent severely cripples a person's ability to improve their lot in life and that of their children, but NO PARENTS? Fortunately their are groups which are helping like the Charles Mully Farm and Watoto and others. However it seems that the "liberation sexually" in Africa is causing a lot of grief and dead people. How liberating is that?

So how is it liberating to have AIDS, or to lose your spouse [if you had one] to the disease, or worse yet to lose both your parents due to their sexual liberation? Seems more like a kind of slavery to have to pick food out of garbage cans and live on the street doesn't it?

What about all the 'sexually liberated' females who were impregnated by a "sexually liberated" male who leaves so the child grows up only knowing a mother? Unfortunately statistics show that one-parent families severely disadvantage the child to be able to escape his environment and improve himself.

Some credit is due here to Mr. Obama who DID escape the one-parent family-trap. He may not understand economics and think that a stimulus is giving pork to those who helped him get elected but he did become successful, obviously.

The only sexual liberation I see, correct me if I am wrong, is the male who leaves whenever he likes after getting sex without any commitment to support his family. Yes he is liberated. Unfortunately often liberated to do the same thing over and over again.

Of course we could become totalitarian and just say that all babies conceived by single mothers MUST be aborted. But that is rather a slippery slope. Who will society deem as unworthy of life next? With Hitler it was the Jews, with Stalin the Ukrainians, with Idi Amin ..... with Pol Pot I think you get the point.

Shouldn't true liberation liberate more than the male who seldom has to look after a kid that he didn't want to abort? Wouldn't it be nice if " ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL" was actually real and that each one had "INALIENABLE RIGHTS" ???

Blacks were treated as semi-human and not worthy of making decisions or of freedom. Now with a black President that inequality has been put to rest.

However how is the cruel slavery which treated blacks probably worse than animals any different than being killed in the mother's womb? Shouldn't that baby have a right to live like you or I?

How is it that a parent of a baby can kill a kid before it is born but if she waits 5 minutes after it is born and kills it she can be charged with murder? Is that equality? Is that liberation?

So who exactly is 'liberated'?

Where is Truth?

Does anyone get tired of people simply telling blatant lies right there in the media for all to see?
I certainly do.

It seems to me that there may have been two sides to issues in the past but each group would simply disagree with the other group. Now they tell bald-faced lies and get away with it. In fact some people who only listen to soundbytes lap it up and believe every word of it.

Why not just say something like, "We do not think it is fair to suddenly take away the money given to us based upon the number of seats we have in government. " and then give your reasons why.

Instead, the snowflake coalition made up of separatists, NDP, and Liberals after something like two days back in parliament had already decided that no work is going to get done because they cannot agree with what Mr. Harper is doing and also, for good measure, what he is NOT doing!

The real reason was that they were hopping mad because few people donate to those parties. The Conservatives have millions from donations because that is how they started. But with the NDP used to getting a big bonus check from the unions and the Liberals formerly getting a lot of money from friendly leftist liberal businesses, they are just not used to raising money from REAL people! So they lie.

The same thing happens in the United States. Nancy Pelosi is the best liar of the bunch. She stands up and blames George Bush for the economic crisis when he is powerless with a Democratic House and Senate. Come on, 2 against 1 usually means that 2 wins right? Well it does in this situation. She gets her nose in front of the cameras and explains how Bush's policies have caused this problem when he couldn't push through a load of straw without a majority in the House and Senate voting for it. How ridiculous is that?

And then we had the constant harping that George Bush's approval rating was the lowest of any President's but conveniently forgetting that HER Democratic Congress had an even lower rating! 

Without blinking, flinching or looking up to the right, she blames it all on George. Poor George. At least now in Texas, he will get a little peace and quiet from the lying machine consisting of most of the media and Democrats. 

I am not saying Republicans are lily white but since they are not in charge it is harder to keep track of them when they lie.

Back to the good days when you could just say that you disagree instead of making up fake cover stories. Whatever happened to the conscience? Have some people lost them while growing up in a dysfunctional home?

Reciprocity in the Bible?

Reciprocity.

I don't actually recall that word being in the Bible. Perhaps it is not! However actual words do not have be in the Bible for the principle to be expressed.

Reciprocity is defined as: 1: the quality or state of being reciprocal : mutual dependence, action, or influence, 2: a mutual exchange of privileges [Merriam-Webster]

I actually like the way the Wiki says it better. It says Ethic of reciprocity, the "Golden Rule" principle in ethics and religion.

Unfortunately I seldom hear of the Golden Rule anymore even in churches.

And in schools, it is much too controversial. Although it is okay to say "What goes around, comes around", or "What goes up, must come down." I guess it is just too religious to say that we should treat others the way we wish to be treated. Yes I can see that some would be offended by that statement, especially those who do not practise it!

Where is the Golden Rule found in the Bible? Is the principle even there?

Do you recall Jesus declaring what the two great commandments are?

1. We are to love God with all our hearts, mind and soul and
2. We are to love others the way we love ourselves.

The Golden rule comes from the Second Great Commandment and then Jesus states that upon those two hang all the law and the prophets.

In other words, if you memorize every one of the Jewish laws and practised them perfectly, you would actually fulfill the Two Great Commandments. But since only one has ever done that, God gives us a chance to AT LEAST treat our fellow human beings as we treat ourselves.

Does that shake things up a bit? I have to ask myself, "Do I treat ALL others as I treat myself?" Ouch!

Is that why we do not hear it much anymore? Perhaps we don't like the pinch!

But regardless, shouldn't we ask ourselves that question?

After all if "All the law and the prophets hang on it", should we really leave them hanging?

Or should we be acting on it as a faithful hearer of the Word. Remember what James says about those who hear the word and do not do it?

The Message Bible puts it this way,

"^{22 -24}Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

²⁵But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

^{26 -27}Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Did I hear another "Ouch!"?

It is not just in these few verses. It occurs throughout the Bible. What do you think the expression 'whatever we sow, we will reap' means? Reciprocity. The Golden Rule. Second Great Commandment. What goes up, must come down. What goes around, comes around.

So what is it that you would like to come around? Then I suggest that YOU, ME and ALL of US make sure that what we send around is what we would want to come around!

It's a principle set up by God. It is built into the fabric of life on earth.

But do we hear him saying it to us? Or are we not in the group called "those that have ears to hear, let them hear!"

Is God speaking?

What do we want to come around?

What are we SENDING around?

Do we really want others to treat us the way we treat them?


[I wrote this after doing some meditating on the topic. It has been a hard year starting last fall expecially since our pension is in the market and the market took a nosedive. I am not crying out for "sympathy". Just stating facts. Even though on the surface I have it all together, I have caught myself saying some of the stupidest things in the last few months. You know those things that you wish you could stop time for and grab the words, put them back in the mouth and chew them up? I know God is our source. I know all the facts. But somewhere inside there must be a kettle brewing. And I think the stupid things are steam escaping. I hope none of you got singed as it went past you. If you did, I humbly apologize. If you didn't get burned, Praise the Lord!]

References from the Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
Ethic of reciprocity, the "Golden Rule" principle in ethics and religion

• Norm of reciprocity, social norm of in-kind responses to the behavior of others
• Reciprocity (social and political philosophy), the concept of reciprocity as in-kind positive or negative responses for the actions of others; relation to justice; related ideas such as gratitude, mutuality, and the Golden Rule
• Reciprocity (social psychology), in-kind positive or negative responses of individuals towards the actions of others
• Reciprocity (evolution), mechanisms for the evolution of cooperation
• Reciprocity (international relations), a principle that favours, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one state to the citizens or legal entities of another, should be returned in kind
• Reciprocity of generalized force and motion
• Reciprocity (network theory), theorem about transfer function of passive networks
• Serial reciprocity, where the benefactor of a gift or service will in turn provide benefits to a third party

Christians Against Zion???? Is it Possible?

Hey Brian
I am happy and I am sad. I am happy that new opportunities seem to be opening up. I am sad that your financial pot is almost empty. However is that not when Elijah came along?

Unfortunately I am not Elijah. I am a believer in that those who bless Israel WILL BE BLESSED.

I guess the replacement guys throw out the OT or are so egocentric they think it is about them?

I feel like Peter, but I am not an apostle. I can say like him, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto you!" PIV [= Pedley International Version].

I AM praying that your blessing will not take long. Is there a donation link that some of us can at least make token donations which we can pray the Lord will multiply like the loaves and fishes?

I guess those people who call themselves "Christian" perhaps have forgotten they are supposed to be working FOR their Jewish boss? And instead are working AGAINST Him? Oyoyoyoy [with a Canadian accent]

I suppose they have also forgotten that God is not in the habit of changing his mind when he pronounces blessings.

Perhaps they don't even believe God or Moses when he is quoted in Genesis 12: 3

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him
that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of
the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3)

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Blessing_the_Jews/blessing_the_jews.html

Hebrews4Christians.com is an amazing site.

I quote from the reference above:

"The Apple of God's Eye

The descendants of Abraham are called (bavat eino), the "pupil of God's eye" (Zechariah 2:8), a term of endearment God uses for no other nation on earth. Indeed, the LORD has never abandoned His original covenant people (Isaiah 14:1) but will yet choose them for His Name's sake. The church has not replaced Israel in God's redemptive plan, but is merely "grafted in" to the original "root" of Israel. "Remember," the Scriptures declare, "it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you" (Romans 11:18).

The brit chadahsha, or new covenant, is described in only one place in the Tanakh (Jeremiah 31:31-4), but notice the outstanding promise made to national Israel that immediate follows its proclamation:

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 31:35-37, KJV).

From this passage it is clear that the continuation and perpetuity of the physical descendants of Israel (zera' Yisrael) is to be reckoned as sure as the very "laws of nature" that are upholding the physical universe. In other words, so long as there is a sun shining during the day and moon and stars during the night, Israel will continue to be a nation (goy) before the LORD for all time (kol-hayamim)

So if believing the Old Testament as a revelation of God and believing that my Jewish carpenter boss "came to fulfill" the law, so that not one bit of it would pass away, then I guess I just became a ZIONIST!

And therefore those who call themselves "Christians" against Zionism are against me! And Jesus has a few choice words in the New Testament about that! As does Paul!

They obviously need much prayer because they are being guided by a wayward human spirit which does not listen to God but only reads his old letters in the attic.

To bad they don't know that God STILL SPEAKS to those who have an ear to hear.