Saturday, August 23, 2014

Faster Papa, Faster!

  What could be more normal, and fun? A young father picking up his toddler kiddo under the armpits, and swinging the little fellow round and round as the short dude squeals with delight..."Faster papa, faster!"? What could be more normal, and at the same time, more alien to our very deeply wrecked world? Are there any happy families left? Do any kids, anywhere, have happy childhoods? See, a kind of "dysfunction" (what is your's again?) is presumed. Everybody is being hurried, harried, worried, and we suspect, also "cynically manipulated".
  Manipulated then by whom? or, to what end? And although it is difficult to discuss, we have these (or at minimum, I do) ideas, sort of half formed. A kind of generalized malice "out there", a cloud of bad joo joo imprecisely locateable, which we are (seemingly) obliged to duly "watch out for". Huh? How's about an example or two there, sport?
  Take a peek, over there, a few pages away in computer land. How about that mercury in vaccines gig? Uh, "excuse dis moose" (pardon my French) but why exactly are tankers dumping crud in the upper atmosphere? What (precisely) is in a "chem-trail" anyhow? Who is buying the flight time, and the fuel, paying the crews; and what, by-the-way, is the junk itself? Fluoride in the water, the dumbing down of "pubic" education, the destruction of family farms, there appears to be no shortage of themes available for us to imagine a kind of dimly lit, cigar smoke filled room. There, we find that fan slowly rotating overhead with (genuine!) "shady types" seated round a table (with fedoras maybe covering eyes?) who evilly plot the downfall of...(fill in the blank here) uh, somebody or other. So, uhm, would that committee of wrongdoers happen to have a name? Do the members have phone numbers that I might be able to call?
 Why sure! Ain't it obvious, it's them rascals, the tri-lateralists over yonder, or would that be the Illuminati we're thinking of?...I can never quite put my finger (precisely) upon the name...but it's clearly those secular humanists and atheists causing all the ruckus around here. Or would that be the progressives, and Darwinists in our midst? I can never quite recall...
  Such as it is thus; we "locate the problem", and it just never seems to have an accurate mailing address, which a chap could forward his hate mail to. This is the crap-zookie (son of crap-zilla) which lives in my head. It appears to (oddly enough) be "convincing", not in lieu of real evidence, but because of it? And in the meantime, "faster, Papa, faster!" our numb hearts...dimly recall.
  We want a "clean, glad, normal", we'd like to see again children singing, old ladies cracking good jokes, grandpa farting (again?), and the sheer good joy of life. Sadly, we appear, by present circumstance; to be "forced into" a mere remembrance of such stuff. Afraid of all the wrong things, i.e., black widows, rattlers and carnival workers. We, the deeply wary of strangers, of the homeless, and the crazy. Associating then, only within the bounds of "our kind" (what exactly was your "kind" again, I appear to be unable just now to recall?..), we propose "security" as our goal. And that, my friend, is nuts. The one and only thing you can never ever have, here in earth; at least, on your terms, it is this, we "demand"?
  It's a bit like those folk who enter an on-ramp on the Interstate at 45 m.p.h., in the name of "safety"... which is the absolutely most dangerous thing a driver could do? These flatly counter productive results, just keep on resulting  of "our good intentions" (do they really exist?) and are plainly predictable, and also always "surprise us"? In the fall, at the train-wreck of Eden, we landed upon our heads. Our thinking (among other things) is no longer functioning correctly. You are scared of spiders you never see, and of people you do. We, bothered by nearly invisible cadres of smoke filled rooms full of malice ridden men without faces, and plainly ignoring the butt-ugly pervert, self proclaimed "god of this age"? To us; invisible men are the "problem", while the clear manifestations of foul spirits are cleanly "overlooked"? Since Eden at least, this be the "new normal" down on this smoky prison planet.
  Or, take for our example here; "modern" people simply rejecting the N.T.'s flat declaration that demons were simply scared spit-less by our Captain, while they (us, I mean) simultaneously affirm, that His very historical existence is an "iffy" proposition? It's difficult, it's hard to be this stupid! Some type of "enchantment" perhaps then? In the fall, we landed upside-down, squarely upon our poor noggins, and this mental wreckage is become our "new normal"? And yet, "faster, Papa, faster!" our hearts (sadly now) yet cry out. We can't help ourselves here. The deeply real, the Biblical; has lately waxed "mythic" (read as: "a lie"), while simultaneously, the swiss cheese, that hole-filled, nearly not-there-ism of ours, is now become the fixation? Our minds are malfunctioning I tell you. Scared by mere ghosts of the past, and of leaves fluttering in the wind, we the sons of Adam, have become thus. Sad, broken wrecks...yep, that's us
  In my case, the "church" I was forced to attend as a boy was wildly "liberal" in it's doctrine. I mean liberal in the bad sense here. Doubting the "times tables", while affirming imaginary numbers, does not qualify as "progress" in my mind. I, for one would much prefer a militant atheist any day, to a squishy "believer". The pointless premise that Jesus was a very "loving person", and that we too would all benefit (in a mainly indescribable fashion) if we could just cough up a bit of compassion every now and again, ain't "progress" neither Pally. The plainly lurid, and flatly violent presentation of our Champion, that to (finally) refuse Him, will land you (eventually) thrown ass-over-teakettle into a kind of soul inferno, is ... kinda "overlooked" around these parts.
  Haven't you noticed? The usual "objection" to the Way, is usually prefaced with, "I grew up in a "hellfire and damnation" preaching church, and can't stand that type of thing. Uhm, could you please give me it's address? I'd love to visit! I say, no human ever, and certainly none since; has begun to approach the flat out bizarre-pants, scary declarations of this, our grand King.
  Prior to His arrival, a kind of fuzzy after-life gig, a "sheol" of souls was "here"...somewheres. He went, way, way out of His way to clear up that little doctrinal hiccup, and proposes instead a kind of smoking landfill of the dead, a place of pointless rage at the real, a never ending repetition of old hurts, always freshly being re-opened to hurt all over again. Those, in that horrid place, never (ever!) "just get over the hurt". Did we mention yet, by the by, that said landfill is on fire? We see here; THE wildly fierce and intense Dude, perpetually imagined (by us) as this soft-squishy? THE Ballsy man's-Man, ever and always pictured as effeminate, wimpy and (basically) a big pansy? Huh? How did that (of all possible errors) ever crop up? We (clearly here) are "getting it" just almost exactly ass-backward...again. Our minds are wrecked. We; fearing "heights", and also, at the same moment in flat denial of Him-on-high? Thus, it is formatted as a "both/and", we get both wrong...perpetually, historically, and I testify to this wreckage being in me!
  For example; I was taught as a boy to love my enemy. "Why bother?" thought I. He says, "When your enemy slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the left". I wondered. Why not just blow his effing kneecap off? ...He won't do that again! Are we preaching that the only Sane man (ever!) came all the freaking way down here, to say... "Be nice!"? Is that it? This stupid misery your "gospel" too? Keep it Bub, ain't interested. If the King of Jews (of all people!) isn't "deeply interested" (at the very minimum!), in ending this insane fiasco down here, and of permanently breaking this idiot rebellion down here; fashioned by that psycho (the enemy), I'd like to know how precisely is it, that I (clearly part of the problem) somehow became "better" at loyalty than He? What's up with that mouth racket? And I say, we are seeing things just about backward...again.
  The short-skinny here is that basically the Guy is Coming...and that's our (we human carbon units I mean) the REAL problem! He is coming...to war, to burn, and to judge. It is "future history", it's going down...for certain. Uniformly, the testaments join in the unified witness, "Flee! Run for your stupid life!". See? The hell of fire is specially designed for that rat (his infernal lowliness), and his traitor scum slaves, those frauds, those wrecks, those "ex-persons", whom the champion of Israel, Michael pitched out of heaven. He was unceremoniously dumped...here! And to the flames he shall surely (and rightly!) go, there exists zero hope for his kind, and he knows it! Let's you and me split, NOW! Amen! But see, the humans, they, those "little scoundrels" (you I mean), can be, and are being, regularly sheared off from their rotten slave masters. Those ex-angels, were (thank the One!) scared piss-less by His very presence. They, if nobody else in those days; "knew Him". There thus remains hope...for the humans...only. Deal with it. And so, by grace, under the sovereign treaty betwixt Papa and Son, there is One, and precisely One, safe "Place". Uh, that would be "Mr. Place" to you Pal.
  Let's us use that schema then, to decode that "turn the other cheek" jazz. No matter what a complete bunghole be he, Shia or Sunni, never mind what a complete shit he is; with his lousy assed beheadings, the little jerk can yet be found and turned back! Hey, it happened even to me, Mr. Bunghole extraordinare!
  I hated God's effing guts. What a wimp! What a big pansy? How did that mess happen anyhow? "When is the Almighty going to grow a pair?"; I wondered. And He's got the nerve to tell me (of all people?) to "be ye perfect"? How's about You (Sir) get real?...for a change? How's about You just do your job right (for a change) and run this stinking world right for five consecutive minutes eh?" That ugly misery, "was me", and frankly I suspect it of you too. You see? We, in Adam; are just about upside down, and perpetually ass backward. We have it almost exactly wrong (and on our own, we must!).
  But we are never really alone! I tell you, I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous-One. He covers-up my sad life, and my absurdly bad track record; with an goodness not mine own. I wear, (like Jacob) my older Brother's robe, and thus "confuse" the Papa! He thinks...(dig this) I'm Him! And it was the only way left open. Trust me. Thus, I inherit a blessing not-mine, but yet gladly made-mine, as THE gift... That's reality baby. At the root of gospel is Covenant Sanction. The blessing and the cursing, and I also (of myself) own none of the blessing, and I am not, nor ever really was,"of, nor by, myself". Might as well deal with it today, I figure.
  Thus, in the bumper sticker version of scripture, "Everybody burns. So, your call is to burn brightly with, and in Him". For us humans, the only "other option" available...is to burn alone!. Gadzooks! And if we pointlessly attempt to fight Him, we shall surely lose. It is precisely here, that our hope as humans lives. He, as Warrior-Champion (at truly alarming levels of intensity), Personally guarantees, that all evil shall come (in "that day") to an abrupt, and completely perpetual halt. But there is yet time! The humans are leaving that wretch, that psycho-puke, by the score, and then by the ten thousand, and so by the billion, I tell you! Across the age, and around the world, He is Single-handedly, against all the opposition of man and devil, He is, in plain sight, carrying off the Dunkirk to end all Dunkirks. The Fireman (His-Ownself) runs the biggest rescue operation ever, robbing the enemy blind!
  So then, if you are unable (just now) to fear Him, I shall fear him friend, for you today, and turn the cheek, whack away! I don't care how bad a human you are (and let's face it, you suck) there is yet time, and I knowing somewhat, the sane and sober fear of Him, can see that day coming, surely coming. If we share nothing as kinsmen, nor countrymen, we yet share this in common; flesh and blood! And I would wish upon no man, that Holy Terror, The King, in His Uncreated fury!
  Back when I was "alone", knowing nearly nothing of the base treason which is sin, I diagnosed then, our "problem" as some type of insanity. Oddly, I was right, just not right-enough! He is, among other things; making us like the Son, and so, deeply sane! So we, now coming to fear (with Help) the right thing for a change, (Mr. Thing to you), today fear no man, nor any cadre of devils.
  Care to join me? You are surely welcome! It is for Another's sake, to Another's praise, by Another's power..."SomeBody Else" is picking up the tab.
  It was the only way left open. And none (but He) can close! Amen, and Faster, Papa, Faster! He's so good, it's scary!

4 comments:

  1. First of all, there's no truth, big or small, that humanity can't get wrong. We get so tangled up in lexicon (the terms we use to describe it) and analysis (theories of its mechanisms, policies, causes, and effects) that we forget to look at its most basic essence. Every sect and denomination believes it has a monopoly on lexicon and analysis, but every one of them forgets something pretty basic:

    1. God is truth

    2. Truth is absolute

    3. We get involved in stuff (ego, the self, our sin nature, or pick your favorite term to describe it. eating a big ol' slice of sinful pie) that separates us from God

    4. The result is that we are as much separated from truth as we are from God (they're one and the same)

    We're really good at forgetting that the people who feed us a version of truth [westminster "divines", or insert here Your Favorite Denominational or Ecumenical or Canonical Council (tm) and (c) 1646, The Reformation Inc., all rights reserved, including copying, distribution, and distortion thereof] have eaten just as much of a slice of sinful pie as the rest of us, and we put them on a "truth-pedestal" that amounts to thinly-veiled idolatry. They don't share in the "fully man, fully God" attribute that we hold about Jesus, even to the extent that the Spirit guided them in the generally right direction (or not). We need to approach truth with humility, and accept that our fallen state clouds our view of it. Everybody who offers a "truth feed" to which we can subscribe has an empire to maintain, and they ultimately have as much to do with the kingdom of God as the golden calf: not because it's always wrong, but because we cling to it so much that we're deaf and blind whenever the Spirit taps us on the shoulder and says "Hey, you blockhead! These guys were/are just as screwed up as you are!"

    I tend to think of our "natural" state (to borrow a term that's been hijacked by "progressives") as the "Eden" state--in full and personal communion with God, with no wall of sin between us. All the extra stuff, regardless of its source, keeps us away from that state. We don't live in a "natural" or "sane" world anymore, as it's been co-opted by some nasty forces and serious dualism. This ain't normal to begin with, so there's really no frame of reference within our lifetimes of experience to define normal: just a hunch that something ain't quite right here. Discussions of sanity or insanity, normalcy or abnormality, etc. within this system are themselves insane! It's like discussing the merits of sneakers vs. sandals with a fish, and expecting to get useful perspectives from the discussion.

    We're also really good at fulfilling our own miserable prophecies: if what we fear most is the sinister men smoking cigars and brokering nefarious back-room deals, we give them more power than God and separate ourselves from Him even more. If we fear a lack of sensory indulgence, no amount of pleasurable company or tasty food will satisfy our lust. It's common sense to me that the stuff we fill our heads with is what will rule us, and while the truth-peddlers suggest either that we choose the alternative (holiness) or have it imputed to us directly from the source, those are details of mechanism. There's no debate when it comes to the fact that we can't be perfect until we get the full package of justification, sanctification, and glorification. Are the details of mechanism the most important thing, or are the results the most important thing? Ultimately, it's a position of faith. However we "get faith" and wherever it comes from, the thing we put faith in (and we all put faith in something) is what controls us. It doesn't matter whether we express it in the negative (there's nobody behind the curtain brokering nefarious back-room deals) or the positive, our focus on it makes it appear real in our lives. (CONTINUED)

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  2. Let's build some abstractions here: for the sake of argument--and I may be a heretic for this, but who knows other than God?--let's take the personal attributes (names, personality), compositional attributes (trinitarian vs unitarian) away from our view of God, Jesus, the Spirit, Humanity, and Sin, and look at them purely from the sense of what they represent. Let's abstract God as "the good stuff", the one that really stands above and outside of all this nonsense and sees it for what it is. This is real objectivity here, folks. Incomprehensible from within an insane system. Holiness, if you will. Sin is the insane system, simple as that, and one that will always get us to occasionally follow it until we get outside of its system. Jesus becomes the bridge or the lens, the focal point we have to follow in order to stop being fearful of the wrong systems (the insanity) and focus on the right systems ("the good stuff" AKA God). The Spirit is a tap on the shoulder that says "hey, that's insane, you crazy freak!" or "maybe you should look over there! it's a little glimpse of truth!" and is also that hunch that something ain't quite right here. Humanity is stuck in the middle: created to be part of the sane, but forced into the insane, and our purpose is to get back to the "Eden" state. Remember this? "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Simply put, "stop wasting your time with insane crap and move toward the sanity!"

    Atheism... that's not something I understand. I can understand actively believing something, even if it's dead wrong. But I can't understand the effort that must go in to actively disbelieving something. If your axiom is "God doesn't exist", it's a system that's not self-consistent. God shouldn't be on their viewscreen at all, as their assumption of his lack of existance portrays him as the least important thing of all, yet he's their most important figure. If my above idea that our focus on something makes it real, whether we express it positively or negatively, it would seem that the atheist's prime prophecy (God doesn't exist) makes God incredibly real for them, and without hairsplitting on the doctrinal reasons, heaven or hell, etc., that denial of existence gives their "fallen state" of seperation from God so much power that it binds them more intimately to the finality of death than they would be if they simply said "I don't know if God exists or not". Doesn't ultimately matter that they didn't partake of an offer of a means of grace, because their core axiom makes that separation more profound than it would otherwise be. (CONTINUED)

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    1. Very insightful Dr. J.! Thanks for looking over my stuff.

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  3. Here's the rub: The Christian religion (as an entity entirely separate from Jesus and God) is just as much a screwy and insane system as all the others, because it exists within the prevailing insanity. There's just one sect in humanity's "Eden" state. Only actual truth and communion with God. That doesn't mean that like-minded people shouldn't congregate, discuss, analyze, get married, smoke weed, have sex, pop out kids, etc. Just that (like I said before) we've got to stop enshrining institutional insanity as truth, and keep moving away from the wrong fears and keep that Jesus-lens in front of us. It's not that truth changes: it's that insanity has a very hard time manifesting truth. I think that fearing God isn't so much a matter of "fire fright" as it is one of those "oh sh*t" moments when we have to face the fact that we've oddly decided that insanity is more comfortable than peace. I personally don't like the idea of using Jesus as fire insurance, since our chief end isn't "take as much as we need from God so that we don't have to go to hell", but to "glorify God and enjoy him forever." Hell is kind of like the ultimate insanity, and the ultimate removal from the "Eden" state, HVAC malfunctions aside.

    Whether we choose Him or He chooses us, sanity should be the goal. Whether good intentions are possible from us doesn't much matter to me: just the state of insanity from whence our system operates, and the endgame of full communion with God... Spirit, show me the mechanism, and up-end my insane misinterpretations. Don't let me idolize a version of truth that passes only the muster of a subsystem operating in a system of insanity. Let me see a constantly truer view of this stuff, and help me believe that I'll see the big picture at the end of all this. That's my whole prayer.

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