The RIGHT to Bear Arms

My third grade history book featured the Constitution of the United States in the back of it. I was captivated by this amendment that, with a child's understanding, meant one had the right to role up one's sleeves and show off their arms. It wasn't explained to us what a firearm was, but we did know what guns were. I didn't make the connection at the time that "gun" and "arm" had the same meaning. I should have made the connection. I watched enough Jack Webb-produced television to where I should have known better. "Armed and dangerous" was the key to proper understanding.

My grandfather introduced me to his handgun. It was a Colt snub-nosed .38 special, the Detective Special. It was heavy and big in my hands, but the trigger was so smooth that I had no problems pulling the trigger through double-action. That means that I could pull the trigger into the cocking mode and into the firing mode in one smooth motion of my index finger.

My favorite shows during that time were "Adam-12" and repeats of Dragnet, including the 1950s black-and-white programs. I wanted to be a cop like Joe Friday. Polite, diligent, get the job done professionally, and go home at the end of the shift.

I grew up as a Baptist. One thing I was taught was that life is sacred. You should do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Go along to get along. Live peaceful life and stay out of trouble. That kind of thing. When I learned what abortion was, I wondered why anyone would want to intentionally kill a baby while it was still in the womb. Life is worth defending, so why kill it before it even starts?

Charles Manson was in the news every so often. Occasionally the Tate-LaBianca murders were brought up, Helter-Skelter became controversial, and the preacher kept talking about sexual immorality, people loving pleasure instead of loving God, and other things that he believed were causing American society to break down. Of course, the attitude among Baptists is "he's the preacher, so he must be right, so amen, brother, preach it."

So I got this message that says life is a gift from God. Life is sacred. Life is worth defending. Beware lest your sins find you out.

I knew about guns. I knew about violence. I knew some of the bloody history of crime in America. I knew criminals don't like armed civilians because they shoot back. I learned that Democrats are on the side of the common man, but they don't want the common man to have guns. I found out that criminals have their hands in the pockets of unions, and the unions urge their memberships to vote for Democratic candidates for public office. In history I saw the politicians of the American South fighting to defend slavery, while abolitionists in the American North were demanding the black men and women to be free from bondage. In 1860 Democrats divided the nation over slavery and war broke out. During the war black soldiers fought with distincion for the Union. After the war, Generals Ambrose Burnside and Winfield Scott Hancock encouraged blacks to join the National Rifle Association in a time when very few people wanted them around. In the South, Democrats and other extremists formed the Ku Klux Klan and continued to harrass the freed people. From this time, efforts to keep guns out of the hands of the people began and has only escalated.

 As I continue my  studies of the martial arts I read that a true martial artist will not unnecessarily take a life. Life is sacred. Life is a gift. There are some who learn the physical acts of attack and defense in a martial art, but they do not learn the wisdom in how to apply those skills in a manner that supports justice and enforces peace so that all may live life without fear. The weak, the poor, the widow and the orphan are to be defended. The life in the womb is unable to protect itself from harm, and must be treated with love and affection so that it can be born to live, just as its parents were born.

Why do people choose to seek their own pleasure at the expense of someone else's life?

I have seen more acts of gun violence in a Hollywood movie than I have in real life. Some people have tried to pick fights with me, and have been disappointed that I didn't throw the first punch. I have only seen one fight, and even then I am not really sure what was going on as this guy kept hitting this guy in a subway station here in Seoul. Maybe the guy was trying to provoke a fight and the other guy wasn't giving in. Who knows?

A few weeks ago in Chicago, the mayor said some stupid things, and I wrote about it. I stand by what I said. The difference is that I have willingly put aside my guns. I support the right to keep and bear arms for the individual. Unlike the pro-criminal element in the Democrat Party, I believe that life is sacred, and should be defended. If that means that a wild west shoot-em-up breaks out, then make sure that justice is done. Screw revenge. When true justice is exercised properly, it will keep the peace. How many lives would have been saved that bloody weekend had people been allowed to defend themselves? Criminals do not want to die. Armed law-abiding citizens shoot back. Criminals don't want to get shot. That means going to the hospital and being arrested, or it means bleeding to death.

While there were a few real-life shoot-em-ups in the old west, most of the reputation the gunfight earned was born of the gun violence that was found in the literature of the time. People today should be smart enough to know that "Die Hard" was just a movie, and it is not based on any event that happened in Los Angeles. Movies are more dangerous than real life. Not every Japanese person knows karate. Not every Chinese person knows kung fu. Not every Korean  practices hapkido or taekwondo. As such, contrary to the propaganda put out by anti-gun lobby, not every person who owns a gun is hell-bent for a fight. A gun owner is a true martial artist if he or she respects the tenants of the martial artist and obeys all the rules of gun safety.

Taekwondo, it is said, begins with defense and ends with defense. This is also the path of the gun. To use them for criminal gain is to shame all true practicioners who appreciate the skills of these life-saving arts.

The Supreme Court has taken the stand 5-4 that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right. Use it responsibly.

12:28 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

weighty issues are coming down heavy

A couple of weeks ago I saw Kung Fu Panda. It is an excellent movie. What Po the Panda is to kung fu, I am to TaeKwonDo. Call me "팬더." The last time I was on the scales, I was way too heavy. I think 140 kgs is about right. That probably puts me in the weightclass of Chris Farley, who worked wonders as the 'great white ninja' in "Beverly Hills Ninja" back in 1997, and Meat Loaf. I am focusing on weight loss before I go back into a dojang. It is difficult finding doboks in my size here in Korea.

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The time will come when I will type up my final thoughts on gun violence in America. All I can say is that life is no longer as sacred as it used to be, and that makes everyone a target of violence. We have always been a target for violence. If life is sacred, then it is worth defending. As one who believes in absolute standards and in the concept of good and evil, and who is tired of watching evil win in the courts and in politics, I can say it is only a matter of time before evil comes into its own and the good start dying off at a much faster pace. The politicians and the criminals who support them wouldn't have it any other way.

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Parents give names to their children in the hopes that the child will grow up being true to the traditional meaning of the name. The name "Christian" doesn't necessarily mean that the child will have Christ-like attributes upon reaching adulthood, but they have that hope the child will be a good, responsible adult. James means "truthful." I prefer to be called Jim. It is interesting to note that in Korean, jim means "baggage" or "burden." In Korea, the truth is a heavy burden.

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In the course of one weekend I watched Bruce Lee's movies, The Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon, as well as Bruce Lee: Martial Artist. Sad to say, I have paraphrased some of his teachings for application to learning English. Lee once said something about pointing at the moon. One will only see the finger and miss the glory of the heavens because the finger is in the way. I have told my students not to think too hard while conversing in English, lest they miss hearing the beauty of the language. English language has a sentence structure they need to apply, so in a way they need to know the form for the conversation, but to be formless so they can properly build a sentence one "subject-verb-object" at a time. Many subjects. Many verbs. Many objects. Relax, and use the opportunity to learn. In the martial arts, one wants to be tested. In English, the student fears the test. In the dojang, four black belts will participate in the test. The student says "bring 'em on." In English class, there are three sheets of paper that make the student tremble. They do so much better when they relax.

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Moving into permanent housing is complete. I now live within 100 yards of my job site. Three of my current roommates are leaving at the end of the term. I will have my choice of rooms when they leave. I am looking forward to the break, but I have no plans as of yet. My luck is that it will rain. The Chuncheon Open International Taekwondo Championships begin on June 26, so I will be making a run to Chuncheon over the break. I hope to be able to take some pictures, shoot some video, and have something that I can share with you in a couple of weeks.

More later...

12:51 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Back in Seoul

It has been a hectic time over the last several weeks.

In January I moved to Daegu, located in southeastern Korea, about an hour northeast of Busan. I was there for four months, and decided that it was time to do something different. The opportunity came up to go to an English village about an hour outside of Seoul, near a little town called Yangpyeong. It would be a sacrifice going there, losing many days off, and perhaps even taking a paycut. I was to go at the begining of the next term, but one teacher had to leave for the US to take care of some business. I filled in for her for about ten days.

The time comes for me to leave Daegu, and I am told that there is a situation at a school in Bundang that the Academic Office needed help with. A teacher had been hospitalized for pneumonia. I filled in her classes for the rest of the week, and the next week filled in for her husband who had come down with pneumonia the weekend after she was discharged. Two weeks after arriving in Bundang, located in Seongsan, a few minutes south-east of Seoul, I moved to Seoul Main, the home of the Seventh-day Adventist Language School. My new position was to temporarily fill in a space left when a teacher found a new job for a Korean newspaper. One week later, I am back in Bundang, filling in for a teacher who had a wisdom tooth removed. I should be back in Seoul tomorrow, ready to read and write and edit new material for the Textbook Editing Committee.

From Seoul Main to Bundang, it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes by subway. From Hoegi, on the light blue line, I go to Oksu and transfer to the orange line, line number three. At Soseo, the end of the line, I transfer to the Bundang line and get off the train at Yatap station. On a very good day, when traffic on the highway is light, one can drive from Yatap to Seoul Main in about 35 minutes.

Seoul Metro Railway System is constructing new lines, as well as lengthening other established lines. The maps posted in the various subway stations show just how much it is planning to expand.

Above ground, just about every town I have visited has ongoing construction going on. Buildings are going up all over town in Seoul, in Chuncheon, in Daegu.

Things are changing in South Korea. It will only be a matter of time before something snaps, resulting in overwhelming changes for the better and for the worse in North Korea. It is an exciting time to be here. One only wonders what will happen next. More protests over American beef imports? More resignations offered as a result of thinking importing American beef was such a good idea? Yes, it is a good day to live in Korea.

11:08 PM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Chicago: 32 more victims of gun control

I recently read that Chicago's mayor, Richard Daley, placed the blame of violence in his city at the feet of the gun industry. A member of a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, this anti-gun nut supports a de facto handgun ban in his city.

Over the weekend of April 20, Chicago experienced 32 shootings and two stabbings. Six people were killed. The two stabbings occurred when an intruder invaded a house early on Sunday morning.

As I read the story at the CBS2Chicago website, I couldn't help but notice that all of the shootings appear to have been commited by criminals, including one suspect who was packing an AK-47. Why does this not surprise me?

A few years ago I read two books about Eliot Ness, Al Capone and Prohibition Era Chicago. One was The Untouchables, written by Oscar Fraley and approved by Eliot Ness before he died. During the time of "the Untouchables," the special unit sent into Chicago to clean the town up of alcohol-related crime, many criminals had carry-conceal weapons permits given to them by the mayor's office. I will notice that the mayor, William Hale Thompson, was a Republican, and not a very good one at that. Al Capone endorsed Thompson's campaign for mayor in 1927.

So what is it about Chicago, armed criminals, and mayors who seemingly support criminal activity? It would seem as if Chicago would be a safer city in which to live if they had mandatory firearm ownership, that is, more legal guns in the hands of private citizens so they can defend themselves against the criminal element that has taken over the city. Alas such a common sense solution to such a problem will never happen. Mayor Daley is a staunch Democrat. Democrats don't believe in responsible gun ownership by the people they claim to serve and protect.

Guns can be used to kill people. If used properly, guns can insure that innocent men, women and children will live and criminals will die. Unfortunately, law-abiding citizens in Chicago live in fear of becoming a victim of violent criminal behavior. They hide behind the police who have guns, but there's never a cop around when you need one. Where were the cops who could have prevented the two stabbings and the other shootings from happening? Lives could have been saved that weekend if the people could have had the tools at their disposal to protect themselves.

Point a finger at the gun industry, Mayor Daley. Just be careful where you point it. You might get blood on your fancy suit.

3:07 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Hunter’s Green: My Celebration of Life in General

Green has always been my favorite color. Unlike some people, I have managed to narrow it down to a specific shade of green found in the woods when the skies are heavy with rain. After the rainfall, bounce the light from the grey clouds off the grass onto the leaves above and you will find my shade of green under the trees. Its a dark shade of green I think of as Hunter Green. It's darker than olive drab, and to me is full of life though it is best seen in the dark.

One of my favorite memories of being in the woods occured sometime around November 1988. It was my first time deer hunting. My brother-in-law and a friend and I went deep into Lawrence County, Kentucky, early one very cold and dark morning. We climbed out of the truck, got our rifles, and set off into the wooded eastern Kentucky hills. At the top of a hill, I took my place, sitting on the ground under a tree, looking down the slope and just listened to the wind rustling through the leaves that still remained on the branches overhead.

Occasionally I would hear rifle fire from other hunters across the valley from me. I kept my eyes open on the woods in front of me, and listened to the wind.

I heard something move. I looked toward the sound, and I saw something there, but I could not identify the animal. Slowly it moved, and I was sure it was a deer. I sat there and watched it move. A moment later, I heard a "baa" like a sheep. When I told my companions about it as we perpared to leave, they told me that deer do make that sound.

Going into the woods again to stalk deer is something I will never again get to do. While I know I would enjoy it, it just isn't possible to do here in Korea. However, there are many woods to explore in the vast national park system operated by the South Korean government. I've been to Apsan Park twice, Soraksan and Bukhansan National Parks once, and hiked Namhansan Fortress four times. There are lots of woods and many shades of green to explore and to photograph. So much beauty to experience, so little time in which to experience it.

Last year, while living in Chuncheon, I felt as if I missed the blooming of the spring. The overabundance of air conditioning in the classrooms left me with cold symptoms for most of the summer. It got cold again all too soon. My day spent hiking Bongeiusan was one of coughing and clicking, but it was also warm and beautiful, the way a summer day was meant to be experienced. Classroom windows were closed to keep out the pollution from the traffic four stories below our classrooms. What I got in return was cold air forced through dirty air filters that had me coughing three days a week. Too much time was spent indoors. Not enough time was spent in the clean mountain air Chuncheon is famous for.

My classroom windows are open. Outside the trees are green, the azaleas have bloomed, and Daegu is proving itself to be a beautiful, colorful city, though the peace is shattered by an overabundance of traffic and the occasional scream of Eagles as twin turbofans push F-15Es of the South Korean air force into the heavens. Peace, balance, harmony between heaven, earth, the human race are in such a disorder that only God can clean up the mess.

I hunted deer with a rifle that is no longer in my hands. Two years later I was baptised into the Seventh-day Adventist church, and with my renewed dedication to God to (attempt to) keep holy the Sabbath came a stronger dedication in honoring His creation of all life on earth. God told Adam and Eve to have dominion over the earth. For me, "to have dominion over the earth" means that the human race has a duty to preserve nature, to ensure that life on earth thrives, is successful, abundant, and healthy. A king has dominion over a kingdom. He should want his people to live in a country that is beautiful, vibrant, full of life and that the people want to love and preserve. So it should be that we as human beings would want to take pride in ouir planet and keep it thriving for all generations to enjoy. This reminder comes to me every week. There are fifty-two Sabbaths in a year, and for me that is 52 times a year to celebrate Earth Day, while honoring the One who gave us the blessing of this planet that we are sytematically destroying.

I lived in Kentucky for over 20 years. People from out of state would speak of the beauty of the Kentucky highlands but lamented that Kentuckians trashed the landscape. Driving any one of the backroads through Appalachian Kentucky these visitors found beer cans, cigarette butts, fast food wrappers, broken bottles, and other debris that shattered the natural beauty of the landscape. Some residents I know were saddened by the industrial pollution carried into northeastern Kentucky that caused some older people to have problems with allergies or cold symptoms, or worse. Often these travelers would tell me how much cleaner the backroads were in neighboring Ohio.

My first experience with yellow dust came in the spring of 2006. From a classroom I looked outside at the yellowish-grey sky, wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. It was one of the worst yellow dust storms to blow into Seoul, and in the days ahead meteorologists were criticized for not predicting it sooner. Many older people had some problems breathing as a result of the dust storm. As I looked into yellow dust, I found out what heavy metals it carried, as well as the pollution it picked up as the winds carried it over China, Korea, Japan and eventually into the western United States.

My past experiences with automobiles were so bad that I was glad to come to Korea to serve as a missionary English teacher. It meant that I would never again have to drive a car. Unlike the "Green Meanies" of the environmental extremist movement who claim a divine right to pollute without paying any penalty for their arrogance, I walk when I can, and take the bus or subway or taxi when necessary. I do not like the way the Green Meanies have hijacked my favorite color and forsaken their obligation to preserve the earth according to the common sense approach taken by hunters and conservationists in the gun rights movement. Ted Nugent has more crediblity to me as an environmentalist than Al Gore.

In my paradigm, life is sacred. It is a gift that should not be taken for granted. The news I read on the Internet tells me that many people promoting environmental causes do not believe the way that I do. While we believe that the earth is our home, we differ on how it should be preserved. I am saddened that so much has been destroyed through overdevelopment, and yet, it is difficult in finding a happy medium on which we would agree in making things balance out in the end. I do not like the news that a developer wants to continue the destruction of a Civil War battlefield in Perryville, Kentucky, knowing that so much has already been detroyed by developers around Gettysburg, Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, and other historical sites. We lose more than we gain by this overdevelopment and the urban sprawl that many cities are dealing with.

Food prices around the world are on the rise because of the Green Meanie movement to produce biofuels from corn, wheat and barley, so that we don't continue to rely on fossil fuels. People will starve to death because they don't have food to eat, but that is okay, for some green meanie will earn some points on a long term investment. For the green meanie, it is money in the bank. For everyone else, it is one more hole in the ground to be filled with tears of mourning.

Life goes on. Until Jesus Christ returns, death will go on, as well.

Go outside. Walk in the woods. Stop and smell the roses. Know that God has filled the earth with blue and green and is calling us to give praise. Be joyful, for death will die soon enough. And life will go on in a world where peace, balance, harmony has been restored between heaven, earth and the human race. 

Surely come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen

7:16 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Waking Dream I and II

Waking Dream

"And I’d give up forever to touch you"
Iris
Goo Goo Dolls

sometimes the nightmare ain’t over
twelve hours after you’ve faced the dawn
that’s a lot of time spent in a waking dream
but maybe none of us are dreamin again

the film it flickers and then it fades
the images burned forever in mind
I reach out to touch you
but there’s nothing left for me to find
I promised to give up forever
but I cheated myself blind

sometimes the nightmare ain’t over
and I don’t really care what they say
I’ve spent a lot of time in this waking dream
and I’m getting tired of the game

you know the way I look at you
you know all the cliches I have to say
I know the promises your body will keep
buy your eyes say more than my words

burn me with forever
burn me with promises from the edge
burn me with what’s left of the night
’cause there are some fires
tears can’t put out

I would give up forever to touch you
give up what is left of my life
there’s not much left in the world left to claim
and not much room left to stand
and maybe there isn’t much room left in my heart
for empty promises I would give you
if I had any strength left to share

sometimes the nightmare ain’t over
twelve hours after I face the dawn
I’ll wake up and find the nighmare has only just begun
again...

Waking Dream II: Overload

"Everything’s made to be broken..."
Iris
Goo Goo Dolls

I’m singing it at the top of my lungs
as the wind tears through my hair
the night is broken
the car is broken
the heart is broken
as cat’s eyes cut through the dark
at least I can see where I’m going

I’m singing it at the top of my lungs
wishing the song could be sung all night long
the darkness on the edge of town
is calling me out tonight
the speedway is right
but I’m on the wrong road
overload

I want to scream
I want to shout
I want to curse you to your face for living
what was I thinking
maybe I wasn’t
whatever
you are behind me now

the wind is screaming, shreiking, howling at the moon
catastrophic system failure is all I fear
a broken car in the middle of the night
isn’t my idea of fun
everybody sins, nobody wins
at least I got a lot less to lose than everyone else

9:29 PM - 1 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

destruction of Perryville Civil War battlefield

I’ll have more to say about this soon.

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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/346839.html

Development eyed near Kentucky’s biggest Civil War battlefield
By BRUCE SCHREINER

LOUISVILLE, Ky. --
Homes and businesses may someday fill the landscape on a stretch of pristine property once within earshot of cannonfire from Kentucky’s bloodiest Civil War battle.

Landowner Pete Coyle envisions turning the approximately 34-acre tract on the edge of Perryville into a housing subdivision along with an assisted living center and limited commercial development.

A national Civil War preservation group is so worried by the proposed development that it placed the Perryville battlefield site on a list of the nation’s 10 most endangered Civil War battlefields.

The designation this week comes amid a rezoning proposal that would clear the way for the development.

The proposal won approval recently from a sharply divided Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission but still must win backing from the Perryville City Council. Perryville Mayor Anne Sleet said Friday that she hasn’t made up her mind on the plan.

The development in the central Kentucky town about 85 miles southeast of Louisville would be visible from hilltops about a mile away at the battlefield, where more than 7,500 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after five hours of fighting in October 1862. A Confederate withdrawal after the battle secured Kentucky for the Union.

The Perryville battlefield - which includes nearly 670 acres that have been preserved - has long been considered a historic gem because of little or no modern encroachments. The battlefield draws about 100,000 visitors yearly and has been the site of two national Civil War re-enactments this decade.

"When you’re here, you’re in 1862," said Chris Kolakowski, executive director of the Perryville Enhancement Project, a preservationist group. "I could take any veteran of the Battle of Perryville ... out to the ground that they fought on, and they would be able to recognize where they were."

The property wasn’t the site of fighting but was a key transportation route as troops marched toward battle and some came back bloodied and wounded to be seen at makeshift hospitals, he said.

Kolakowski said he’d prefer that the property remain undeveloped, but there’s a bigger concern - an adjoining 52-acre rural tract closer to the battlefield.

That property is also owned by Coyle, who has had talks with the state about a possible conservation easement to protect the 52 acres from development. Coyle said he hopes an agreement can be reached, but added, "anytime you’re dealing with the state with budgets, you never know."

The talks come at a time when Kentucky lawmakers are putting together the state’s next spending plan while grappling with a nearly $900 million projected revenue shortfall over the next two years.

"We are supportive of preserving this property, and we very much want to work with the landowner on it," said Gil Lawson, a spokesman for the state Commerce Cabinet, which includes the state parks department.

"However, with the current state budget situation, funding for parks is very limited."

The rural property is separated from the battlefield park by a 50-acre tract owned by someone else.

Coyle envisions the subdivision becoming a haven for empty-nesters and retirees. The addition of just over 50 homes, the assisted living center and commercial development on a couple of lots would be a boon to the historic town of about 800, generating new tax revenue in a community with little growth opportunity, he said.

"There’s no other place to build in the city," he said. "So this is kind of a salvation for the city."

James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, sees it differently. He said the rezoning applications threaten the "historical integrity of the area."

It was the first time that the trust, a nonprofit battlefield preservation group, added the Perryville battlefield to its annual list of the nation’s most endangered Civil War battlefields.

Kenneth Noe, an Auburn University history professor who has written a book about the battle, said he was "floored" to see the Perryville battlefield added to the endangered list.

"I can’t think of anyone who has done a better job of preserving a battlefield than the people of Perryville and Boyle County," he said.

He’s worried about the proposed development and even more concerned about the precedent it might set. "It could have national implications," he said. "If it can happen at Perryville, it can happen anywhere."

Kolakowski said it would be the first major residential development on the end of Perryville closest to the battlefield. "Do we want to see it stay agricultural? Yes," he said. "But we’re realistic enough to know that may or may not be a possibility."

The property includes a strip of land that was a road used by the Confederates to move soldiers to the front, haul supplies and transport wounded troops to hospitals. Coyle said he wants to see that strip turned into a hiking and biking trail that would lead from town to the battlefield.

The development would be visible from a couple of hills at the battlefield, including one where Confederate artillery was positioned and soldiers moved to attack Union lines further west, Kolakowski said.

"The way the terrain is out here, anything within about two or three miles of the park is going to be visible and is going to impact the vista and be an intrusion on the landscape," he said.

Still, Kolakowski sounded conciliatory in discussing Coyle’s development plans, with his bigger concern being safeguarding the 52 rural acres from development.

"It’s his property," Kolakowski said. "We’re trying to balance his desire to develop it with preservation needs. We’re trying to strike the best balance."

Coyle said he’d like to see an outcome in which the 52 rural acres are left undeveloped.

"There was blood shed there; people being carried back from the battlefield to the hospitals," he said. "It’s still hallowed ground."

Currently reading : When the Devil Dances (Posleen War Series #3) By John Ringo Release date: 01 April, 2003

6:35 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Sabbath: What’s the Issue?

Anti-Judaism at root of ’Sunday Sabbath’?
4th century church banned observing Saturday at risk of ex-communication


Posted: March 16, 2008
5:25 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

When Samuele Bacchiocchi, a Seventh-Day Adventist, immersed himself in the research of how the biblical Sabbath moved from Saturday to Sunday, he did so in an unlikely environment for a non-Catholic – the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He not only had open access to long-forgotten historical records, he also graduated at the top of his class – summa cum laude, an honor which included a gold medal from Pope Paul VI.

But what he found in that investigation would probably shock most Christians who have never studied the subject, nor thought deeply about what became of the fourth commandment.

What caused the switch from worship on Saturday to Sunday? One of the principle motivations in the early church, Bacchiocchi finds, was anti-Judaism.

Consider this Nicene conciliar letter from Constantine written in A.D. 325: "Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd: for we have received from our Savior a different way ... Strive and pray continually that the purity of your souls may not seem in anything to be sullied by fellowship with the customs of these most wicked men ... All should unite in desiring that which sound reason appears to demand and in avoiding all participation in the perjured conduct of the Jews."

Not surprisingly, anti-Sabbath laws followed in Rome – imposing harsh penalties for anyone who refused to work on Saturday or who deigned to worship on that day of the week.

He quotes Sylvester I, the pope from 314-337: "If every Sunday is to be observed joyfully by the Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to be execration (loathing or cursing) of the Jews."

Observing the Sabbath meant excommunication from the church as of A.D. 363 and the Council of Laodicea: "Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ."

But Bacchiocchi also reminds readers the Saturday Sabbath, despite official repression against it, never was completely abandoned.

Likewise, over the years, some prominent voices have never forgotten the Sabbath – and what became of it.

Was it, indeed, a Roman Catholic decision made after the first century and the death of the apostles?

It’s hard to argue with the historical record.

In fact, some Catholics revel in the role Rome played in the switch.

"The Catholic Church of its own infallible authority created Sunday a holy day to take the place of the Sabbath of the old law," wrote the Kansas City Catholic on Feb. 9, 1893.

Other Catholic sources agree with little self-doubt.

"Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles," wrote the Catholic Press in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 25, 1900. "From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first."

James Cardinal Gibbons seconds the motion in his famous "The Faith of Our Fathers," published in 1876: "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify."

But it’s not just Catholics who acknowledge the church has just plain forgotten one of God’s great commandments – without so much as a second thought.

Dwight L. Moody, one of America’s great Protestant evangelists of the 19th century, noted the omission in his book, "Weighed and Wanting."

"The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since," he wrote. "The fourth commandment begins with the word ’remember,’ showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tablets of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?"

How do today’s top Christian pastors refute the evidence the Sabbath is still in effect?

Greg Laurie, a Calvary Chapel pastor with one of the largest congregations in the country in Southern California, as well as a weekly columnist at WND, says there are three reasons Christians do not observe the Sabbath:

It is the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament.
Jesus never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath.
The apostles never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath.
The Sabbath, he says, is a "shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

"It would be like coming back from a long trip away from my wife and kids," he says. "I could not wait to get home and be reunited with them. Then while getting off the plane I see them with the sun behind them casting a long shadow before them. Then I get off the plane and run and fall down and try to hug the shadow!"



----- my comments -----



Regarding Greg Laurie’s comments, it should be remembered that in the New Testament, the Sabbath was not an issue because it was already the day of worship. Jesus didn’t teach anyone about keeping Sabbath because they already knew about it and were keeping it. In the four gospels we read that Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdaline rested on Sabbath then went to the tomb in the early hours of the first day of the week. In Acts Paul preached on Sabbath. The gospel was to go to the Jew first. Jews didn’t need to be taught about Sabbath.

Is the Sabbath a "shadow of things to come?" Jesus celebrated Sabbath with Adam and Eve in Eden. The day will come when we will sit in His pressence with the Father in heaven and keep the Sabbath. Sabbath observance will never again become a point of contention between Christians who pray for the peace of Jerusalem, ask for the mind of Christ, and seek to enter into His rest as we strive for true unity in the Holy Spirit.

There is a reason why God said "Remember the Sabbath day." We have forgotten it and now as He tries to lead us back into His rest, we treat it as if it were irrelevant, an old relic that doesn’t mean anything to us. If we break one commandment, then we are guilty of breaking them all. If Sabbath is irrelevant, then so are the commandments regarding adultery, murder, coveting, bearing false witness, among others. If this is just a "shadow," then the people who fought so hard to keep the Ten Commandments hanging in the courts throughout America were just wasting time.

If the Ten Commandments have value to Christians, then we must allow them to be written on our hearts and imprinted on our minds so that we will not sin against God or each other.

The world doesn’t hate Christians because of the love we claim to have for it. It hates us because of our divisiveness and our hypocracy. Sabbath is just one more issue that drives this point home. This is not an issue concerning salvation; it is an issue of obedience to God’s law that governs His kingdom.

6:53 PM - 5 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Runnin’ On and On

You see that road staring at you?
It’s gonna be runing on
Long after you run out of time.

It’s just a hot, dry road
baking under the desert sun
forever it will run
long after you give up the race

Every road leads to a dead end
where the race begins again
but every now and then
it becomes the place you call home

So what are you running from
and where do you think you’re going?
When are you gonna cut to the chase
and let the rain fall on your face?

Her big brown eyes
slashed my soul in half
for I didn’t have an answer
I still don’t know what to say

There is a fear in every man
that he just doesn’t understand..
He will brood his life away
running from the words
he’s too scared to say

maybe its "I love you"
maybe its "I’m sorry"
might be a lot of things

he carries them in his heart
’cause he’s afraid to wear them on his sleeve
so he hides it under a tough exterior
or he runs

he cuts to the chase and runs

and I’m still runnin’
still runnin’
still runnin’

on and on...

Currently listening : Viva! Rodrigo By Kaori Muraji

3:27 AM - 2 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

Love, Honor, and the Martial Arts

I recently received a shipment of books on the history and art of taekwondo. Also, this past Friday afternoon I purchased James Clavell's book, Shogun, a fictional account of the events leading up to the civil war that followed the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Taiko of Japan, . Mixed in with all of that is what the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13, commonly refered to among Christians as "the love chapter."

Clavell's depiction of the samurai is impressive. With an enemy, the samurai is cold, ruthless, merciless, striking fast with his blade. With a loved one, the samurai is capable of deep feelings of compasion and tenderness. The samurai knew that the beauty of life is not taken for granted, for it is fleeting. Japanese poetry reflects this so well. Life is heard and seen, then is gone, as is the beauty of falling cherry blossoms in the wind. The samurai understood this.

Clavell shares the Japanese proverb that one is of six faces and three hearts. The first heart is revealed to the world. The second heart is shown only to loved ones and close, intimate friends. The third heart is only known to oneself, and noone can know it. The only thing that truly matters to the samurai is his honor, and it must be defended with a fanatic zeal, to the point of death if one is dishonored. While a number of samurai and daimyo converted to Christianity, many continued to hold to Buddhism, for they could not understand love as it was taught by Christ. Equality of all men and women in God's sight was difficult for them to accept, for the society that the samurai upheld was strictly Confucian, resulting in a caste system that didn't offer hope for anyone to rise above their station in life.

I am sure that the conflict they may have heard about in Europe between Catholic and Protestant did not help, for this message of love was not exactly practiced by members of each sect that was too busy casting curses and damnation at the other side to remember Christ's words: They will know you are my disciples by the love you share one with another.

For the samurai, honor was the priority. Love as they understood it was not. Honor demanded sacrifice for the lords, for it was what society expected of them. I do not doubt their honor. I do not doubt their courage. As I look at Confucianism, I understand the love the son must have for the father, the love the student must have for the teacher, the love the people must have for the king. As I have read it, "Father, Teacher, King one and the same." In my eyes, it is more of a loyalty to each with no love (as I understand it) attached. The wife would die for her husband, but would the husband die for the wife, or the children? A student would put his life on the line if it is believed the honor of the teacher has been questioned. Would the teacher put his life on the line for the student? Jesus Himself said that "no greater love has anyone than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." What king has ever died out of love for his people? Besides Jesus Christ, that is. Many kings have gone to war to expand his power base, to add to his reputation as a great and mighty warrior, and to earn himself a place in the history books. It is expected that loyal subjects sacrifice themselves for their king. Then again, I would expect the king to honestly love the people in his kingdom to the point that he would sacrifice himself to save them, if it were possible. How many kings have done this, only to fall in battle and their names were lost to the ages?

As I study taekwondo, I see love being the motivation and honor being the result. Love is my motivation for behaving honorably. I have read that "taekwondo begins with defense and ends with defense." A true martial artist will defend, but will not be the first to attack, with the exception being in sparring and in organized competition. A true martial artist will seek to end conflict peacefully, but is prepared to be judicial in his or her defense, seeking to end the conflich as quickly as possible, with as little physical damage as possible.

Without love, honor is meaningless. When one begins with returning love to their deity, then honor will come naturally, first to their god, then to those they live with in their family and in their society, and it will be reflected in how he or she treats himself or herself. From love comes the honor and dignity we should have for each other, and this is a gift from God.

As I reflect on the history that I have studied, I see that the honor of the aristocracy of Europe, the samurai of Japan and the yangban of Korea had a foundation in selfishness. Among gentlemen of the aristocracy, dishonor usually resulted in a duel. It did not have to be to the death. It would end when the offended gentlemen felt that honor had been satisfied. If dishonor came from a peasant, the peasant would be punished by someone serving the aristocrat. If the dishonor was severe enough, the penalty could be death. There was honor in the form of self-respect, but the love for others was lacking. In that, the aristocracy brought upon themselves the greater dishonor. It is a shame they brought upon themselves, but their pride kept them from acknowledging the sin and they were blinded to the resulting shame. It is no wonder that the commoners, the peasants, held members of the aristocracy in contempt.

I know the time will come when I will bow to an honorable man. In silence it will be returned, as we thank each other for putting our bodies at risk in practicing the skills we need to defend the innocent and to see justice done. This happens in sparring. It is required at certain levels for belt tests in the dojang. It is not just an act of honor, but it is also an act of love. "Use my body to test your skills. I trust you to do what you must as you prepare for a moment that we both pray will never come. But if it does, then may the things you do to me in training save your life when trouble finds you unaware."

Of course, I hope you will feel the same way when I am the one throwing the kicks and punches your way as we spar.

Honestly I do not look forward to it. I don't like being the one in the fight. I watch wrestling, I've watched K-1 and UFC, and in a subway station in Seoul I 've seen a guy pick a fight with someone who just wanted to be left alone. But I know that fights happen. Love dictates that life held sacred must be put on the line to defend the most precious gifts God shares with us in family and in friends. It is war between good and evil. I do not believe in doing evil for the sake of good, for this is opposed to what my faith teaches. I do believe that there are times in this world when evil overcomes good. I do know that when all debts are settled, Good will be victorious and Evil will cease to exist, never again to raise its ugly head. No more need to put our bodies at risk to test skills that are not needed in the world to come.

I can live with that. Until then, I want love for my fellow human beings to be one of my motivations in studying taekwondo. Honor will follow me after the time of trouble has past.

Currently reading : Shogun By James Clavell Release date: 01 September, 1986

3:53 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment