Some Things Just "Stick In My Craw"

Facebook has allowed me to connect with a lot of folks.  Some are friends from years past, some are quite distant geographically, some I might never have met; but through mutual "friends" we've connected and developed a dialogue.  Some post things that I can't wait to see--pictures of their kids, that kind of things; others post words of wisdom, whether just good sense or something of solid theology.  Some have postings that are a mixed bag of information and enough interesting things to keep me reading them, and then there are those who post drivel.  Yeah, that's right, drivel.
I might have ranted about this before; but this time I have a specific bit of drivel that has got me fired up.  I'm often seeing posts (generally passed on from others so far removed that the original source is totally occluded) that read something like "Say this prayer and in two hours God will do...." You've seen them, I'm sure.  They're the 21st century version of the chain letter.
I take a couple issues with this:

• First of all, I believe that God answers prayers of those who are His.  That's straight from the Bible.  He is under no obligation to answer those of a random person who passes on what another has written, often with not a thought, let alone a real prayer. 
• A prayer is something heartfelt.  Though they may be read from written material, those are all too often words from a page, nothing more.  There is no heart connection to God.
• Most egregiously, the person posting is invoking God's name and reputation; promising, on His behalf, that He will do some specific thing.  That is, I believe, a form of taking God's name in vain, which--in case you've forgotten--is part of the 10 commandments.  

Some of these folks come from backgrounds about which I have no idea.  Maybe they were not taught any better; in this day, that's certainly understandable. Others, and these bother me more, were raised where the truth was taught.  They are without excuse.
I have thought about responding to these things with an all capitalized "YOU OUGHT TO KNOW BETTER;" but as of yet have not done so.  It gets more tempting all the time.
So folks, if you are one to post such things, think about what you're doing.  Don't presume to speak for God unless you've truly studied His word and have a grasp of what prayer and answered prayer is all about (hint--it's not about what you want; it's about what He wants for you).  If you make a statement based on Scripture, good for you.  If you're posting because you like passing on nice-sounding things, think about what you're doing.

Let the Truth be Know

I'm very happy that the second of the Boston bombers has been captured and thankful for the brave men and women who worked tirelessly and selflessly to bring about the capture.  I have avoided watching much news about it, however, and completely avoid any of the social media posts because the facts are not yet fully know.
I'm disgusted with those in the media and those who seem to be in the business of inventing news spreading what they think, guess or make up from thin air, and calling it news.  In doing this, confusion results.
"There has been an explosion." "...two."  "...three."   "oops, only two."
"Subject in custody." "...ooops...."  
You get my thinking here?
Everybody is an expert, so who can be believed?  Please folks, before you start disseminating news, make sure it's news--not conjecture.  Tossing out speculation in a form indistinguishable from fact might make you fell important, but it does no one any good.

I Must Be a Menace

After noticing that the image I had been using for this blog was actually the website logo for a gunshop--my apologies, and thanks, by the way; it's a great picture--I decided I'd make one of my own, though it's surely not as good nor as eye-catching.  So, I started sorting out stuff with which to make a new photo.  DARN! I've got a bunch of stuff.  If someone were to come in and count my rounds, I'd probably be declared a menace to society.  The fact that I have many rounds of many types of ammo surely makes me dangerous.
I've owned guns all my adult life.  There's a .22 in my collection that dates back to the 1930s.  My grandfather bought it from Sears and Roebuck, through the mail for about $14.  With that rifle, my grandfather taught all the boys in the little community of East Chatham, NY to shoot--with them earning NRA marksmanship awards along the way.  Those young men, by the way, all went on to serve their country.  As part of the Greatest Generation, they showed up in all corners of the globe, and thankfully all returned home safely.   

I bought my first gun at 17, or more accurately, my mother bought it for me.  The Gun Control Act of 1968 had come into force by then, and since I was under 18, she had to make the purchase.  That single shot Winchester is now long gone, but it provided me with many great memories and put a pheasant or two on the table.  Many rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers have come and gone over the years, but I still have a handful, and a bunch of ammo.  Whenever I found a good deal, I bought some. This means I can do a lot of target shooting with about anything I own and still have plenty to spare.  

As I look over my pile of stuff, I realize how horrid it is for me to have it.  I'm obviously a mentally deranged, dangerous criminal.  My old--long pre-1994--magazines for my semi-auto .22 has caused so much crime; same with my 10 round magazine for a .22 pistol that's even older.  We won't even discuss the magazines for my center fire pistols, those guns that have been carried for thousands of days without ever hurting anyone.  

So, remember, if laws progress the way they are going, at some point in time just by the possession of what I have, I'll be declared a menace.   

Has Anyone Else Noticed?

In the political discussion over gun control, there has been quite a bit of talk from our leaders that leads me to think that they're setting them up as a different class of people from those they lead.  Listen to the comments about "you people."
What ever happened to "We the People?"
There is no ruling class in our nation, or so we were taught, so what's all this about?

OK, I'm Old; But Give Me a Break

This morning's post from a friend about her son turning a pork chop bone into a gun and "shooting" his sister at the dinner table made me chuckle, and burn at the same time.  Her observation was that "everything's a gun to a boy" was very true, and so looked down on in today's culture.
My generation was raised with and around guns.  We understood the danger of real guns, handled them safely and with respect, yet played with all manner of toy ones, shot each other with impunity from behind rocks and trees, played Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Elliot Ness, Army/Marines and lots of other things equally as violent.  We were the killed and the killers, depending on whose turn it was. Yet we turned out OK.  We didn't take out Dad's deer rifle and play with it; we understood that play was play, and reality was reality.  Many of our parents had been in WWII or Korea and we knew, at some level, the horrors of true battle.
Today, kids who do what we did are shunned in one way or another. They are taught that guns, of any sort, are evil in and of themselves.  A kid is punished for drawing pictures of guns at school; another for making a pastry into the shape of a gun...what is society doing?  Guns cannot be dis-invented.  They're part of our history as a nation and a civilization.  They appeal to a certain segment of us (women as well as men, girls as well as boys) and we enjoy them when properly used.
Instead of worrying about little boys playing with toy or imagined guns, lets worry about kids understanding the value of life.  A pork chop bone pointed across a table isn't going to kill someone; neither will a semi-automatic rifle in someone's closet.  An angry person with a hammer at hand however might lash out.  Let's worry about teaching the value of life, not making one machine the evil of our society.  Let's teach our young folks how to deal with their anger, not take it out on the real or supposed cause of their problems.   Let's teach them personal responsibility, not the blame-game that populates our land. Let's just teach our kids right from wrong...oh, wait, that requires an absolute source of authority--we can't have that any more, can we?
The Bible teaches us to train up Children in the way they should go, and it gives us great and plentiful instructions on what and how to teach; yet it's ignored and it's authority is denied.  The audacity to declare one set of teaching to be "better" than others is decried by the masses...and then they blame the guns.... What's next?

Lost Battle or Lost War

Thought I'm largely in favor of the anti government sentiment that's out there today, I am in favor only if the process used to combat it is in itself lawful.  Those of us who love our freedoms must understand that we cannot violently break the law to uphold or recover the law.  There may be some justification for civil disobedience; but it must be civil disobedience--not uncivilized.

We must recognize that this is not a battle of gun control, it's a battle of control.  Over the last century or so our national state and local governments have slowly--in some cases not so slowly--worked their way into so many areas of our lives that we don't even recognize where our freedoms have been taken.
Our tax money goes to things many of us will not support, and over time that becomes normal.  That, folks, is taking our freedom to earn and spend as we choose. Newer and increasing taxes further reduce those freedoms.
Our right to speak our minds is being silenced.  If I speak up against someone or something I dislike, I'm a hater or a bigot.  Those whose behaviors or ideal I dislike can call me a hater--and that's OK.  The right to speak your mind largely depends on which side of the fence your on.  That's the new normal.
Our freedom of religion is quite surely being eroded.  Many years back, the supposedly wise justices of the Supreme Court found a "penumbra" (shadow) of separation of church and state around the amendment giving us freedom of religion.  Over the years, that has given our nation a freedom from religion that most of us find disturbing.  Interestingly, Christians--protestant and Catholic--are the ones taking the biggest hits on this; but anyone who firmly stands on a religious principal is attacked in some way.  As an aside on that, note that as the ideals (Bible based ideals) upon which our nation  was founded have been pressed into the background, our society has slid into all manner of immorality and decay.
All these, and more, have become so firmly entrenched in society that they are now the norm.  Those battles have been lost.
Now the right to keep and bear arms is being attacked.  One police chief has said that we are but one generation from being a disarmed nation!  He might be right.  Around here, only a generation ago, guns were in the corners of kitchens and living rooms in most homes.  Everyone knew where they were, knew where the ammo was and knew how to use the guns.  Kids tended their trap lines going to and from school and left their guns in the principal's office.  Most pickups had a gun rack with a .22 or a.pump shotgun and the trucks were generally unlocked. Then it became fashionable and "safer" to lock up our guns and ammo in separate places--the new normal.  Now we have gun safes; even my own guns are locked up! We wouldn't dare pick up a child at school with a deer rifle in our vehicle for fear of being arrested.   That's the new normal.
Now, New York has a ban on magazines with more than seven rounds--only days ago, it was 10 rounds.  If I understand correctly, pistol permits once valid for life must be renewed every 5 years--that's the new normal.
With some time spent in the books and newspapers, I'm sure I could come up with more examples, but I think the point is made.  Gun control is but one battle in a war of ideology that's been raging for over a hundred years.   I fear that the tide has turned so far that it may now be past the point of no return.

So back to my original thought.  Our battle ground at the moment is the ballot box and the mailbox (though social media has largely replaced mail--a good thing for spreading the word).   We must spread facts, not innuendo.  If you're going to pass something on, make sure your information is right.  Though it's good to show emotion, don't let the emotion overrun the argument.  If you're going to put something in print, get it right--check spelling, grammar, etc.  Educated people won't read poorly written arguments and those folks must be reached and persuaded.
Our battle today is not, and I cannot stress this enough, not by means of the ammo box as some seem to be advocating.  I'll be rooting for you--and working by way of the ballot box and mail box--but I'm afraid I'd betting against you if I were a betting man.  I fear that the war has been lost.  I pray that I am wrong.