What Hath the Election Wrought as Our New President?

"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand."

Right now our country is severely divided. I don't think anyone can argue that, or the fact that the crack has been widening since about 1990. It is now a chasm and we need to heal, or our future as a country is at risk. It has taken about a quarter century to reach today's status, and it won't be healed quickly. As of yesterday it has been finalized that Trump will become our 45th president. Unless the country now gets behind him, I fear we will not survive much longer. At the same time, we must trust that he has been honest about what he wants to achieve, and his promises were not, as Harry Truman one said, simply a platform one uses to get onto the train. He has promised to rid the government of the waste and corruption now in place. This is likely his most difficult task to achieve, and he needs the cooperation of every (non-corrupt) citizen to achieve. This doesn't mean we all need to agree, but that we are willing to work together for the good of all. If this can happen the United States can once again take its place as the World's moral leader.

as I have said before, I believe the United States is at a tipping point. Will we go over the cliff, or will we retreat, reevaluate, and reconstruct our path forward? In another month we will have a new and unproven president. He campaigned on making our country great again. Will he be able to lead us through the battle to reemerge as the world leader, or will he fail? In four years we will do it again. If he turns out to be a good leader and the future looks good, he will likely be given another four years. If not, he will likely be cast out as a failure. I predict that there will be no middle ground. There will be no acceptable president who did an acceptable job. The situation today is not all that different from the country faced by Lincoln when he was elected. NOTE: I am not comparing Trump to Lincoln! I am saying the situation is similar to that in 1860, when the political division centered on whether slavery should be discontinued, and therefore whether the southern states would secede and form their own country. There is actually a comparison of Lincoln's and Trump's situation as well. Lincoln had left the Whig party and joined the Republicans. It is also interesting that Lincoln was not expected to win the nomination. He did have political experience, but was apparently not seen as a strong candidate. 

The story is well known. Lincoln proved a strong leader who made the correct decisions, and a willingness to do what was right and not always what people wanted. As a result he is considered one of the great presidents. What will the next four or eight years look like. Predictions are for a failed presidency, It is alway an easy task to meet that expectation. In our current situation, Trump has the opportunity to join the ranks of great presidents. If he truly solves our problems, reunites the country and, indeed, makes us great again, I predict this will be his legacy. There will be no middle ground. In fact, he is getting a good start. Not everyone agrees with his choices for cabinet members, but there is no question but it is a very strong cabinet. No, he is not another Lincoln. If history views him as a great president, it will not be as a copy of Lincoln, but on his own abilities under a similar circumstance.

WHY SO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE DRAWN TO SOCIALISM

Once again, I find it appropriate to reproduce an outstanding essay, this one by 

Jim Richards, the author of Apocalypse: A Spiritual Guide to the Second Coming.
It was posted in Daily Inspirations, Spiritual Guide To The Second Coming (Oct 31, 2016)

All I can say to this is Amen! I have never seen the attraction to the Christianity/Socialism dichotomy explained so well.

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"With the upcoming elections it has become abundantly clear that many Christians are drawn to the ideas of Socialism, and it’s easy to understand why and how this attraction occurs. Socialism addresses social issues more than free enterprise. Free enterprise promises to give all people an equal opportunity. Socialism, on the other hand, promises to give all people an equal outcome. This has a strong appeal to those with compassion for the poor and underprivileged.

Free enterprise has a strong appeal to those who have ambition, drive, a will to work and an optimistic outlook. Socialism, on the other hand, has a great appeal to those who are not success-oriented, who desire a handout more than an opportunity, or who were not taught how to succeed. Because of these fundamental differences in the promises of these philosophies the talking points of Socialism sound far more humane, making it very appealing to Christians.

Probably, the thing that makes Socialism most appealing to Christians is the fact that other than eternal life Socialism promises everything the Kingdom of God promises: justice, fairness, social equality and care for the poor. So it sounds like it is in harmony with God’s Word. Up to this point Socialism seems to be right on track with the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. But all similarities between the Bible and Socialism disintegrate when they explain how they will fulfill all their promises for a Utopian world!

Because the Church has traditionally not accepted Jesus’ interpretation and application of God’s Commandments there is a tendency to miss the fact that God is love; everything He ever said and did was because of His love for mankind. God’s Word has given us all we need to have every aspect of our social needs addressed in a fair way that provides the opportunity for the best life possible. It is impossible to properly interpret the Old Testament independently of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, burial and resurrection. In this theological confusion there is a lack of applying and interpreting the Commandments from the perspective of love, i.e. how we should relate to one another, to God and manage our own life!

Most of the world and many Christians see the God of the Old Testament and Jesus as an irreconcilable dichotomy. They do not realize that the Commandments, instead of being a recipe to earn God’s acceptance, are actually a prescription for how to treat one another based on God’s definition of love! But the Commandments go far beyond that; they teach us how to have a nation that can be economically sound while providing justice and opportunity for all.

The Commandments give us a prescription for civil justice that protects the innocent, an economic system that will not concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, immigration that protects the citizens, morals that protect the innocent from the wicked, ethics that demand true justice and values which will sustain an orderly civil society. The greatest Luciferian lie that ever came to Planet Earth is the idea that the Creator, God, is an oppressor who seeks to limit man’s freedom and fulfillment by His burdensome Commandments. This philosophy is what the Bible calls iniquity or lawlessness: the rejection of God’s laws as the standard of morals, values and ethics.

Many of our founding fathers were not actually Christians. Some were deists and others simply believed in the morals and ethics as presented in the Word of God. But they all agreed that the Bible was the basis for a civil society. There is no question that what made our country great was its congruence with the Word of God. In fact, more than once they clearly stated that a free society was only possible if people adhered to the morals, values and ethics of God’s Word. The decline of our country and the rise of violence, chaos, immorality, perversion and a bad economy have increased proportionately with our departure from those values and replaced them with Secular Humanism. We have become a lawless society which is tantamount to becoming a godless society.

Beneath the facade of a mere philosophical difference of opinion are those who embrace and promote this lawlessness from a more diabolical motive. They see Lucifer as the one who freed man from the oppression of the Creator God by giving knowledge. This knowledge is called enlightenment. Those who are “enlightened” claim to be able to deliver all God’s promises independently of God’s Word. In fact, they see the total rejection of God’s Word as the only way to have ultimate gratification and fulfillment. There is no modern political philosophy that promotes lawlessness more than Socialism.

Socialism says the state is responsible for man’s economic well-being; the Bible says man is responsible for his own well-being. Socialism protects the perpetrator of crime. His crimes are the result of an oppressive society, therefore man cannot be held responsible for his action. God’s Word says to the perpetrator an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In other words, whatever the criminal inflicts on others should be his own punishment. Socialism says those who don’t work should be cared for; the Bible says a man’s hunger will make him work. Socialism says man is responsible to the state; the Bible says we are responsible to God and one another. Socialism says the State gives and takes away man’s rights; the Bible teaches that God gave man his rights. There is not one single doctrine of socialism that is compatible with the Old or New Testament. Where did such an anti-God, anti-Bible paradigm begin?

Although Karl Marx is considered the Father of Modern Socialism, it did not begin with him. Socialism entered Planet Earth in the Garden of Eden when man declared his independence from God and determined to determine good and evil for himself. From then until now man’s Humanistic philosophies have promised a Utopian world but have never delivered on that promise. The key, they say, to creating utopia is contingent on the total rejection of God’s Word as the basis for ethics, values, morality, justice and all other human needs for peace, prosperity and normalcy.

Karl Marx, however, pushed Socialism into a worldwide, modern day political phenomenon that has swallowed the globe. Marx never had Socialism or Communism as his main agenda. His agenda was to eliminate all knowledge of God from the earth, destroy the world and drag as many people to hell with him as he possibly could. His only joy was to destroy what God loves: mankind!

So why did Marx eventually promote Socialism? Originally Marx hated Socialism; he hated the idea of even giving people false hope. He wanted to create suffering, provoke mankind to blame for their suffering and ultimately reject God. Then he deeply longed for them to join him in an eternity in Hell. But, he had to have a means of seducing the nations into abandoning God’s Word. He needed something that gave hope, seduced the world and brought about suffering. He saw Socialism as the only deception seductive enough to destroy the world.

Marx, like all Communists since his time, claimed for socialism to work there must be a short time of dictatorship after which there will be no government, no war and no limiting morals; there will only be peace. But no dictator has ever willingly given up his power. But he passionately taught, to achieve this peace there must be no accountability to any god or any religion, only allegiance to the State. But like Marx, all subsequent Socialists have never delivered the utopia they promised, only death, poverty and suffering. Marx, Mao, Hitler and others murdered and enslaved hundreds of millions of people using the message of Socialism with its false promises as the tool for seduction.

The promise of Socialism is in direct opposition to God’s Word. God says we can only have a peaceful, fair society by walking in love based on His Commandments, but the process of Socialism is Secular Humanism aimed at creating Elitists, i.e. an enlightened ruling body, eliminating the middle class, destroying free enterprise, creating a poor, uneducated class of slaves to serve the wealthy and create a one-world anti-God government. But just as Communism, Socialism and Progressivism (all of which are a continuum of the same lie) agree: all loyalty to and knowledge of God must be eradicated. All loyalty must be given to the State and all morality, ethics and values must be defined by the state. All who oppose or disagree must be imprisoned or eliminated.

Many people who really do not know the Bible point to the fact that the early Church in Jerusalem attempted Socialism. Everyone brought their money and laid it at the feet of the apostles and shared all things in common. But what they fail to realize is that in a short time the Church at Jerusalem was so poor the Gentile churches had to send offerings to them. The church at Jerusalem didn’t take these steps because it was founded on the Word of God, or because the Holy Spirit led them; it was merely the deduction of what seemed like rational thinking.

The early settlers in America tried Socialism. They had community gardens and shared all goods with one another. History reveals that this flawed plan led to near starvation of the entire group. Just as the Bible teaches, people are motivated to work by the opportunity to succeed and the responsibility to provide for themselves and their family. The first year they implemented free enterprise resulted in bountiful crops that gave us our first Thanksgiving. One year of free enterprise turned the tide. Were there still poor among them? Probably! Jesus said there will always be poor. The Bible never promises to eradicate poverty in this life; for anyone to claim they can do so is to exalt themselves above God.

Am I saying that all Socialists are Luciferians? Absolutely not! I am saying that no socialist is adhering to God’s Word: some by choice, most by ignorance! Am I saying that Capitalism is godlier than Socialism? No! A flaw of the church for hundreds of years has been the idea that we can politically accomplish what must occur in the hearts of individuals who choose to believe the truth of God’s Word.

Although I believe in the biblical principles of free enterprise and personal responsibility, I don’t necessarily consider myself a Capitalist. It is essential to realize no form of government will produce utopia. As long as humans are involved in any process there will be varying degrees of corruption. There is no perfect system: after all, man was able to take God’s commandments meant to give us an incredible life and turn them into oppressive rules used to control and take advantage of others. No system of government will work until Jesus returns.

We all must realize as long as there are greedy people no matter what system is employed there will always be corruption. But Socialism offers no personal opportunity for success other than through government regulation and control. Its track record around the world has proven that it never works. But it keeps promising that if we will only give the government more control they will get it to work! But more than anything else, we must understand the true goals of those who push socialism: it has as its goal the eradication of all knowledge of God from the earth. It is Luciferian in its origination. In the end, the wealth in a Socialist country is concentrated in the hands of even fewer than in Capitalism. The middle class is eliminated and the elite have absolute power.

In Capitalism the greedy do everything they can to get as much of the money as possible, but there is still the realization that for them to make more money the population must also make money. It is no godlier than Socialism, but it does allow a measure of freedom and encourage personal success. But the only way free enterprise actually works is when there are honest, righteous people in government. It is always corrupt government that allows free enterprise to become oppressive. Everything in America that is unfair or unjust is based on a law passed by a politician or interpreted by a corrupt judge, regardless of their political philosophies.

Many Christians say they do not want to be ruled by God’s Commandments; yet, Jesus taught us to pray thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. There is no Socialism in Heaven. Heaven is ruled by God’s justice based on the same Word He gave to man on earth. When man becomes so demoralized that he allows and welcomes the man of iniquity, the antichrist, to rule the world under a false promise of peace that rejects God and replaces God’s Word, the world will experience a tribulation such as has never been seen. This tribulation will not be the wrath of an angry God poured out on humanity. It will be the wrath of the man of lawlessness. The only thing that will save the world from the Luciferian goal of total annihilation is the personal return of Jesus as Lord and King.

Jesus will establish His Kingdom on earth where He will rule and reign for 1000 years. He will rule the world by the Commandments applied by love. They will be the basis of all civil and economic justice. Man will finally have the opportunity to see how the world could have been all along had he simply trusted and applied God’s Word as He intended! If we don’t see God’s Commandments as the only basis for justice and true freedom we will never welcome or usher in His coming or His Kingdom; we will prolong the world’s horrific suffering.

Some ask, are you saying I can’t be a Christian if I’m a Socialist? I certainly believe a Christian can be a Socialist, but one can never be a Socialist and a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is one who has believed on Jesus as Lord, which means (among other things) he or she builds their life, values, morals and ethics on Jesus’ interpretation and application of God’s Commandments from the motive of love, as exemplified through His life, teaching, death, burial and resurrection!

When any individual believes their ideas and philosophies are more applicable or fair than God’s Word they have declared, “I am more righteous than God. I am more just than God. I am fairer than God. I am more loving than God.” Regardless of how pure their intentions, they are workers of iniquity deceiving themselves and turning people away from Jesus as Lord!

Jesus spoke these words:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

We can’t be His disciples if we ignore and replace His teaching. It’s time for believers to wake up, repent for turning away from God’s Word, and commit to Jesus as Lord so as to avoid the coming deception and the great falling away."

An analysis of the 2016 USA presidential election

 What is going on this Presidential Election period? Rather than writing a blog on my analysis, today I will simply copy the following essay which summarizes the situation far better than I ever could.

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"Who is Donald Trump?"  The better question may be, "What is Donald Trump?"
From The New Yorker Magazine on Trump  Submitted by Esther Goodday AUGUST 13, 2016
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The answer: a giant middle finger from average Americans to the political and media establishment.

Some Trump supporters are like the 60's white girls who dated black guys just to annoy their parents.  But most Trump supporters have simply had it with the Demo-socialists and the "Republicans In Name Only."  They know there isn't a dime's worth of difference between Hillary Rodham and Jeb Bush, and only a few cents worth between Rodham and the other GOP candidates.

Ben Carson is not an "establishment" candidate, but the Clinton machine would pulverize Carson ; and the somewhat rebellious Ted Cruz will (justifiably so) be tied up with natural born citizen lawsuits (as might Marco Rubio).

The Trump supporters figure they might as well have some fun tossing Molotov cocktails at Wall Street and Georgetown while they watch the nation collapse.  Besides - lightning might strike, Trump might get elected, and he might actually fix a few things.  Stranger things have happened (the nation elected an Islamo-Marxist in 2008 and Bruce Jenner now wears designer dresses.)

Millions of conservatives are justifiably furious.  They gave the Republicans control of the House in 2010 and control of the Senate in 2014, and have seen them govern no differently than Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.  Yet those same voters are supposed to trust the GOP in 2016?  Why?

Trump did not come from out of nowhere.  His candidacy was created by the last six years of Republican failures.

No reasonable person can believe that any of the establishment candidates [dems or reps] will slash federal spending, rein in the Federal Reserve, cut burdensome business regulations, reform the tax code, or eliminate useless federal departments (the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, etc.).

Even Ronald Reagan was unable to eliminate the Department of Education.  (Of course, getting shot at tends to make a person less of a risk-taker.)  No reasonable person can believe that any of the nation's major problems will be solved by Rodham, Bush, and the other dishers of donkey fazoo now eagerly eating corn in Iowa and pancakes in New Hampshire.

Many Americans, and especially Trump supporters, have had it with:
·    Anyone named Bush
·    Anyone named Clinton
·    Anyone who's held political office
·    Political correctness
·    Illegal immigration
·    Massive unemployment
·    Phony "official" unemployment and inflation figures
·    Welfare waste and fraud
·    People faking disabilities to go on the dole
·    VA waiting lists
·    TSA airport groping
·    ObamaCare
·    The Federal Reserve's money-printing schemes
·    Wall Street crooks like Jon Corzine
·    Michelle Obama's vacations
·    Michelle Obama's food police
·    Barack Obama's golf
·    Barack Obama's arrogant and condescending lectures
·    Barack Obama's criticism/hatred of America
·    Valerie Jarrett
·    " Holiday trees"
·    Hollywood hypocrites
·    Global warming nonsense
·    Cop killers
·    Gun confiscation threats
·    Stagnant wages
·    Boys in girls' bathrooms
·    Whiny, spoiled college students who can't even place the Civil War in the correct century... and that's just the short list.

Trump supporters believe that no Democrat wants to address these issues, and that few Republicans have the courage to address these issues.  They certainly know that none of the establishment candidates are better than barely listening to them.

Trump is their way of saying, "Screw you, Hillary Rodham Rove Bush!"

The more the talking head political pundits insult the Trump supporters, the more supporters he gains.  (The only pundits who seem to understand what is going on are Democrats Doug Schoen and Pat Caddell and Republican John LeBoutillier.  All the others argue that the voters will eventually "come to their senses" and support an establishment candidate.)

But America does not need a tune-up at the same old garage.  It needs a new engine installed by experts - and neither Rodham nor Bush are mechanics with the skills or experience to install it.  Hillary Rodham is not a mechanic; she merely manages a garage her philandering husband abandoned.  Jeb Bush is not a mechanic; he merely inherited a garage.  Granted, Trump is also not a mechanic, but he knows where to find the best ones to work in his garage.  He won't hire his brother-in-law or someone to whom he owes a favor; he will hire someone who lives and breathes cars.

"How dare they revolt!" the "elites" are bellowing.  Well, the citizens are daring to revolt, and the RINOs had better get used to it.

"But Trump will hand the election to Clinton!"  That is what the Karl Rove-types want people to believe, just as the leftist media eagerly shoved "Maverick" McCain down GOP throats in 2008 - knowing he would lose to Obama.

But even if Trump loses and Rodham wins, she would not be dramatically different than Bush or most of his fellow candidates.  They would be nothing more than caretakers, not working to restore America 's greatness but merely presiding over the collapse of a massively in-debt nation.  A nation can perhaps survive open borders; a nation can perhaps survive a generous welfare system.  But no nation can survive both - and there is little evidence that the establishment candidates of either party understand that.  The United States cannot forever continue on the path it is on.  At some point it will be destroyed by its debt.

Yes, Trump speaks like a bull wandering through a china shop, but the truth is that the borders do need to be sealed; we cannot afford to feed, house, and clothe 200,000 Syrian immigrants for decades (even if we get inordinately lucky and none of them are ISIS infiltrators or Syed Farook wannabes); the world is at war with radical Islamists; all the world's glaciers are not melting; and Rosie O'Donnell is a fat pig.

Is Trump the perfect candidate?  Of course not.  Neither was Ronald Reagan.  But unless we close our borders and restrict immigration, all the other issues are irrelevant.  One terrorist blowing up a bridge or a tunnel could kill thousands.  One jihadist poisoning a city's water supply could kill tens of thousands.  One electromagnetic pulse attack from a single Iranian nuclear device could kill tens of millions.

Faced with those possibilities, most Americans probably don't care that Trump relied on eminent domain to grab up a final quarter acre of property for a hotel, or that he boils the blood of the Muslim Brotherhood thugs running the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

While Attorney General Loretta Lynch's greatest fear is someone giving a Muslim a dirty look, most Americans are more worried about being gunned down at a shopping mall by a crazed [Islamic] lunatic who treats his prayer mat better than his four wives and who thinks 72 virgins are waiting for him in paradise.

The establishment is frightened to death that Trump will win, but not because they believe he will harm the nation.  They are afraid he will upset their taxpayer-subsidized apple carts.  While Obama threatens to veto legislation that spends too little, they worry that Trump will veto legislation that spends too much.

You can be certain that if an establishment candidate wins in November 2016 … [their] cabinet positions will be filled with the same people we've seen before.  The washed-up has-beens of the Clinton and Bush administrations will be back in charge.  The hacks from Goldman Sachs will continue to call the shots.  Whether it is Bush's Karl Rove or Clinton's John Podesta, who makes the decisions in the White House will matter little.

If the establishment wins, America loses.

No longer a melting pot.

In a melting pot anything added becomes infused into the bulk contents and changes it's properties, usually for the better. For example, by adding a small amount of carbon, iron becomes steel, which is harder with better properties for use. It should be noted that adding too much can have the opposite case, and more than 2% carbon makes it pig iron, which is more brittle and weaker. Now, if we add some chromium to the steel it becomes stainless steel, which is even harder and resistant to rusting as well. Likewise, adding different cultures into the culture established in the United States has improved and strengthened us as they became infused into our national culture. Unfortunately, during the twentieth century, particularly since 1950, we have increasingly cooled and become more resistant to incorporation of different cultures. Likewise, immigrant cultures have increasingly been resistant to infusion into the U.S. culture. It is increasingly more comparable to pouring oil into water. In the example above, if the steel has cooled too much before chromium is added they will not mix properly and, instead of becoming stronger, their different chemical and physical characteristics result in "conflict" and weakening of the whole. This is the situation we are in now. Our capacity to accept immigrants is being exceeded and those arriving too often want to maintain their culture in the new environments. We are no longer a melting pot, having become a mixture of conflicting cultures. This is progressively weakening us and creating conflict. A sad situation, although certain other countries view it gleefully.

72 Virgins??

Muslim men (and others) are baited to become ISIS fighters by the promise of 72 virgins if they are killed while fighting for Allah. I don’t know whether this promise is from the Koran or not, but let’s think about it for a moment. What do men take away from this promise? I am sure the thought is in terms of physical activity for eternity. The problem is that his physical presence is still on earth – it is not suddenly gone with his spirit into the afterlife. So, how will he be able to conduct any physical activity? 

First of all, where do all these virgins come from? Think about it – if 1000 fighters lose their life in battle, 72,000 virgins would immediately be required. The number quickly becomes astronomical in terms of possible reality. I have seen a comic containing a newly arrived fighter surrounded by 72 nuns – humorous, but hardly probable. 

Returning to the concept of eternal physical activity; in response to a marriage question, Jesus said (Mark 12:25): “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” In other words, there will be no physical relationships in the afterlife; all indications are that there is no sexual differentiation among angels. This seems logical. If our physical being remains on earth, then it is only our intellect, or soul, that goes on to the afterlife. Indeed, Steve Hawking implied this when he claimed that no knowledge is lost, even if physical components disappear into a black hole. 

What aspect of our being, then, does go on to the afterlife? Have you dreamed? Scientists claim this is brain activity that continues during sleep. Perhaps, but my dreams frequently have nothing to do with experiences. Yet they seem real. (At least they do until I awaken.) Are dreams really a preview of existence in the afterlife? It is said that any question you may have in the afterlife is immediately answered. This is certainly similar to dream experiences, although the answers often don’t seem logical once I awaken! 

Back to the 72 virgins – is it possible that they will be dreams, to be seen but not touchable? Even worse, will they be demons teasing for eternity? Perhaps young men should consider these things before they commit themselves to ISIS.

Our six senses -- what do they tell us?

Who has not heard the old question, "If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?" The average person will probably say, "Of course it does." Others, however, may say, "No, it does not." Who is correct? Perhaps both are! It all depends on how one views what might be considered a sound event.

What has happened? Sound is caused by a difference in air pressure. When the tree drops to the ground it displaces some air molecules and a pressure wave travels through the air in the same way that, when something drops into water, a wave is developed and travels outward in the water body. When the air pressure wave reaches an ear it creates a vibration within the ear, and nerve endings detect this vibration. The nerve then transmits the information to the brain, and the brain interprets the vibration as a sound. Therefore, technically, if there is no brain in the area to interpret the event, there is no sound - only a air pressure wave. However, the pressure wave itself is usually referred to as a "sound wave," so of course it makes a sound whether or not someone is near enough to hear it.

The detection of sound waves is one of the five senses - hearing, taste, sight, feeling, and touch - used by humans to interpret their surroundings. The presence of a "sixth sense" is often mentioned, and is a bit controversial. However, have you ever felt strongly that you need to depart your current location - and quickly? Have you ever felt that you should not pursue a particular action? Has anyone ever come up quietly behind you, and you knew the person had done so even though none of your five senses confirmed the knowledge? If any thing similar to this has happened to you, mark it up to your "sixth sense." It is not really explainable, but it is strong in some people and weak or non-existent in others. 

The combination of these senses creates a "back up" safety protection system. A blind person cannot see danger, but can hear, feel, or sense danger. A deaf-blind person can still sense danger. I can think of only one environmental aspect that has no personal backup, that being color - the function of which is pleasure only. One who has been blind from birth can feel and smell a tree trunk, branches, and leaves, and even hear the wind blowing through the branches. In this way, a concept a tree's nature can be developed - but there is no way to conceive of a tree's beauty. Others may explain and describe color, but while someone having become blind later in life can enjoy a mind picture, the person blind from birth has no way to understand. So far as they are concerned, color does not exist.

Similarly, at a larger scale, we are trapped in a three dimensional space and unidirectional, irreversible time world. That is our reality. We can envision nothing else, so no other reality exists. But does it? Let's travel back to the event scientist currently call "The Big Bang." Dr. Steven Hawking has calculated this to occur is nothingness - no space, no time - simply nothing. What would that have been like? A complete vacuum? No. A vacuum implies an empty space, and he says there was no space. We simply cannot conceive of such a reality. We are like the blind-from-birth person considering color: we reject or ignore the possibility. Yet, his calculations say it is true.

Could there have been some kind of intelligent force in that nothingness - a force that created the entire universe and everything in it? Some say, "Absolutely not! It all happened by chance!" Others say, "Yes!" and that force is called the Holy Spirit, or God Almighty. What do you say? Do you reject anything you cannot feel and understand? Or do your senses detect something beyond the reasoning of the reality in which we live? 

Be curious my friend!

To paraphrase a TV commercial, "Be curious my friend." There is no better advice that one can give. Children are born curious. Did you ever think about the reason most children are always asking, "Why?" Adults, particularly parents and teachers, have a very effective way of killing the question. They tend to be irritated by the constant question - often because they don't know why, or because they can't be bothered to stopping what they are doing to explain. I am guilty of this charge! (Fortunately, I did not kill all curiosity.)

Children who survive the rejection of their questions may well grow up to be doctors and scientists, both professions which require constantly asking "why." In school I was often accused of being "nosy." Maybe I was, but I have always been curious about everything around me. I can remember my first "research projects." Dad had thrown several old wrist watches into a drawer. At age of around 11 or 12 I asked whether I could take they apart to see how they worked, and he granted my request. I was fascinated at what I found under the covers, and it quickly became apparent that an engineering career was not in my future . . . I could never figure out how to put them back together!

I did grow up to be a scientist. A person of this profession cannot continue to ask "why" about everything, and must focus attention on one area of "whys." I became a Soil Scientist, more specifically a Soil Chemist, and ended up with a 30 year career as Professor of Soil Chemistry. That type of career requires associated research activity which usually is even more focused. My research was primarily in the area of reactions at soil-solution interfaces. I like to believe I made a contribution to the understanding of chemical reactions in soils, but that is for others to evaluate. I have no illusion that I will be remembered long, though. As King Solomon wrote,
"No one remembers the former generations,
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them." ~ Ecclesiastes 1:11 (NIV)
Rarely, today, are remembered the writings of such men as Justus von Liebig, considered the "father" of both modern Chemistry and Soil Chemistry. My writings are certainly not in their class, and are destined to be soon forgotten, if not already forgotten.

Have you ever heard someone say, "I am busier in retirement than I ever was when working!" It's true! But why? Simply because the person is now free to pursue all the "whys" that appeared in their mind prior to retirement. They are now free to pursue whatever they wish, and are no longer restricted by expectations. One must always remember, though, that energy level has decreased so it takes longer to reach results. (And one must factor in an afternoon nap.) Life becomes more interesting than ever before.

In my case, questions have migrated to such as: "Who are my ancestors?" "Could I run a business?" "Was the beginning really a Big Bang, and, if so, how did that really happen?" "Could I be a successful photographer?" And so on and so on. Of course, there are also those remaining Soil Chemistry questions that I never managed to address. To this is added: "Sure, I can write you something on that subject." "Sure, I can help you get that on the internet." and a variety of other "Sure, I can . . .") Retirement life is interesting, and I am beginning to become tired -- not ready to give up, though! I still have too many who, why, where, when, how questions to ask. My mind still go on non-stop, but my body is saying it is time to embrace the fact that you will soon be 80 years old, and I am wearing out. I don't wanna embrace that!

Choosing the correct path . . . or not!

In 1967 I was living in New Haven, Connecticut. A group of us decided to spend a weekend hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Our goal was to climb at least one “4000 footer,” and we chose to climb Mount Madison on Saturday. Our decision was to park along US-2, north of the mountain, ascend via Kings Ravine and descend via ridge trails. The head wall of Kings Ravine is very steep, and at some places one could touch hand to trail by leaning slightly forward. Any steeper would have required roping in for safety. At the time I was pretty close to peak condition. A couple of weeks earlier I had taken a back pack trip over the last 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail, followed by climbing Mountain Katahdin. I was hiking with an equally fit partner. When we reached the ravine head we looked back and noted the rest of the group just entering the ravine, at least an hour behind us.

My partner said, ”Why don’t you pick up Mount Adams while you are here. I have already climbed that mountain, so I will let the group know where you are.” The day was overcast, but comfortable above timberline, so I headed toward Mt. Adams. It was around noon by the time I got there, so sat down and ate my lunch while enjoying the view of my next objective, Mount Madison.

I didn’t dare sit there too long, though, so soon headed across to catch up with my friends. When I reached the peak of Mt. Madison I saw a small group just disappearing into the timber. Assuming this was my friends, I quickly followed them – a VERY bad decision! When I caught up with them I discovered it was a group of Boy Scouts heading east down the Daniel Webster Trail into Dolly Cop Campground.  At this point, I had no choice but to continue downward. I knew I did not have enough remaining energy to climb back up the mountain in order to descend the agreed upon trails.

I had no excuse! Earlier in the day I had purchased a White Mountain Trail Guide, and it was in my day pack. I did not consult the book maps to be certain of the trail I should follow. I did not even look at the trail markers to be certain of name and direction. My mind was closed: it "said" my friends were disappearing into the timber, so I must follow them. As my college roommate would sometimes say, “Don’t confuse me with the facts. My mind is made up.”

Have you ever had similar experiences? Have you started out with a specific goal in mind, along with a route to meet that goal, only to be distracted by something that led you off your path?  Our lives are like that. I am convinced that we each have an ideal life path, and if we stay on that path we will arrive, content and happy, at the end of our days. However, our path is not always easy and we so often become distracted by side roads. Too often we arrive carrying a “bucket list” of unfulfilled wishes. These wishes are probably the result of either wanting something not on our intended path, or taking a side trip just when that wish would have been fulfilled . . . or perhaps a simple assumption that this is the correct path to take. Sometimes we can even be so intent on reaching a goal that we bypass things along our path. For example, at one point my path took our family to Europe for a year. One day we were on the Autobahn, probably no more than 15 to 30 minutes from the East German border. I was so intent on reaching a goal that I by-passed a teaching opportunity to take our children to the fence separating East and West Germany.

One of the best books ever written on this subject is John Bunyon’s  A Pilgrim’s Progress. He presents one ideal path of life, but it is not always an easy path. Pilgrim is always being lured off the path for one thing or another and must search his way back to his life’s path. If we really examine our life, every one of us is Pilgrim. We are always coming to an intersection in the path. Instead of evaluating the pros and cons of each intersection as it is encountered, we tend to take what appears to be the easiest or more attractive path. Once there we tend to lose our way back and must ether bushwhack through unknown area, or just follow the new path wherever it takes us. There are rarely situations in which we can retrace our life tracks, but we must find that side road that returns us to our correct life path.

To complete my story, I did continue to Dolly Cop Campground. It was deserted except for a few hiker cars, so I had to hike out to the road I knew my friends would be using to return to our cabin. Once there I encountered a driver who took me the several miles to our parking spot. As I got out of the car the first of my friends emerged from the woods. They hadn’t even had time to miss me, and all was well . . . except that I began to shake with hypothermia. My resources had been completely exhausted.

We have choices, and not all choices are wise or even comfortable. We are prone to explore things as we go through life, and we often loose our way in the process. We can easily become exhausted, discouraged, and depressed. No matter how far off our life path we may wander, however, God is always available, ready and able to rescue us and get us back onto the correct path. Our task is simply to accept His help and direction.