Wednesday 11 September 2013
Sunday 4 August 2013
A Project Comes To A Close
On June 1st, a project was finished and the twelfth grade accomplished. After completing The Thomas Sowell Reader by Thomas Sowell, 75 Bible Questions Your Instructors Pray You Won't Ask by Gary North, and multiple other projects, my parents signed off on my certificate of graduation. Homeschooling wasn't always easy, to the contrary, it challenged me in ways the public system never could. Take personal responsibility for instance. As I progressed to higher levels, more subjects and assignments were left to me to do on my own until I was responsible enough to manage almost everything but the grading of tests, and even that I could have done on my own as I never saw anything to gain by cheating. A year ago, I had accomplished all I needed to graduate grade 12 but I was not ready at 17 to start full time work or to move on to College or University. So my parents, primarily my Dad, came up with the criteria for a blogging project that would heighten my writing skills while teaching me about freedom, corruption, government, apologetics, and so much more. The key to becoming more than just a good writer is to write. Write, write, write, and write some more. The contract between my early posts and my last ones are proof enough that the more one writes, the more fluent they become in the art. The more one learns, the better they are at learning. If we could just break away from the masses and the ideals most people have for what an education should look like, there would be an outbreak of learning, and an epidemic of genius.
"I've concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress our genius only because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves."
- John Taylor Gatto
Wednesday 5 June 2013
75 Bible Questions – 74
1 Peter 2:9-10
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him
who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people,
but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy.”
Jesus instructed his disciples to “Go into all the world and proclaim the
gospel to the whole creation” [Mark 16:15] because through his
sacrifice, righteousness was made available to all people, which is why the
good news was preached to the Gentiles, thus fulfilling many Old Testament
prophesies like Isaiah 49:6 “I will also give You as a light to the
Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'”
The last 27 chapters of the book Isaiah are similar to the
27 books of the New Testament because they proclaim the hope of the New
Covenant, for which there are many fulfilled prophesies; how then can we, “A
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his [God’s] own
possession” deny these prophesies were completed or that they were prophesies
as dispensationalism does?
Anyone who enters into the kingdom of heaven having shunned even
the smallest portion of the Bible and having taught others to do the same “will
be called [the] least,” so open your hearts and minds to the wisdom of
God while there is still time.
Matthew 5:19 “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of
heaven.”
NOTE: Question 75 was covered back in Question 25 so the 75 Bible Questions are now complete.
Tuesday 4 June 2013
75 Bible Questions – 72 & 73
Didn’t the Prophets
Foresee the Church Age?
Acts 3:24 “And all the prophets who have spoken, from
Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.”
Peter is very specific here that Samuel and “All” the prophets after
him were given revelations about the Church Age, the age beginning on the day
of Pentecost, so there is no way to reasonably think that the Church Age just
came to pass at random or that God did not know exactly when and what was going
to happen.
Nevertheless, it is a dispensationalist teaching that the prophets knew nothing about what was to come when there are fulfilled prophesies
strewn throughout the Old Testament about Jesus, the New Covenant, and the Destruction
of Jerusalem.
Is it ignorance, denial, or immaturity that keeps curtain church
denominations from understanding such principals as this that have a firm
scriptural foundation?
Monday 3 June 2013
75 Bible Questions – 71
Doesn’t God Want His “Heirs” to Inherit Everything?
Romans 4:13 “For the promise
to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come
through the law but through the righteousness of faith.”
The promised blessings of Abraham are free to all who
accept them, as we are heirs and offspring through faith in Jesus Christ for it
says in Galatians 3:14 “So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the
Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”
Even when God has made a covenant with Abraham that we are a
part of, many Christians resent that we are heirs of this world and that our
Heavenly Father who loves us would want to shower us with prosperity.
I know many Christians struggle with finances, work, family
life, and even their relationship with God when they could step out of their
self dependence to trust in the Lord’s divine provision.
Philippians 4:10-13 “I rejoiced in
the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You
were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am
speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be
brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have
learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all
things through him who strengthens me.
Genesis 28:4
“May he give the blessing of
Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take
possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!”
75 Bible Questions – 70
Doesn’t Christ’s Kingdom Expand Over Time?
What does “Your kingdom come” mean in the Lord’s prayer when the
kingdom of heaven came through Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:7
‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’)?
If it means the final judgment, then why are we to pray that it
happens when God is not bound to the areas we lift up in prayer, so I do not
believe the kingdom coming in Matthew 6:10 is the final judgment.
What if this is a prayer that the kingdom of God, His church here on
earth that is described in many of Jesus’ parables, and the progression of all
things coming under Christ’s feet [read previous posts for more on this topic]
will come to pass quicker, or that the work of others to bring worldly things
into submission will be strengthened?
And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
If you have different beliefs on this topic, please leave me a comment below with verses to back it up. I would enjoy getting feedback.
Thursday 30 May 2013
TTSR Glimpses Of Academe
The Chronicle of
Higher Education gives us a look at the life of college professors in
America, providing useful statistics that parents and their young adults will
find most interesting when considering the next steps after high school;
statistics like only 24 percent of professors agreeing “That most students are
well-prepared academically” and as little as 12 percent thought that most of their
student were “very bright”.
Maybe the apparent dissatisfaction academia have for their students
is why they have so many conventions and conferences in tropical locations like
Hawaii while staying in 5-star hotels, or resorts in the Caribbean,
all paid for by someone else.
It’s no wonder two thirds of profs spend 12 hours or less in
a classroom each week, 35 percent of whom spend less than 9 hours; even with
added prep time, it still amounts to the effort of a part time job, one of the highest
paid ‘part time’ jobs in the States I would guess.
TTSR Behind “Publish Or Perish”
“Publish or Perish: A Well-Liked Professor is Bumped by
Rutgers” was the title of the New York Times story that described
Professor Richard L. Barr who had received three teaching awards at Rutgers
University over his six years of teaching, only to find that his contract would
not be renewed because he was not publishing as many pages as other profs.
Rutgers University receives a large amount of funding for
‘research’ that it has to show something for, thus pressuring professors to do
‘research’ at the expense of teaching to produce writing that proves they are
making progress, at least to the naive.
Problem is, the
University cut Professor Barr off because his writing was “not so thick as the usual
packet for tenure”; just because Psalms and Jeremiah are the two longest books
in the Bible, with over 42,000 words each, does not mean they are the most
important, a principal that should easily be recognized in universities being
that it took Charles Darwin 20 years to write 230 pages of theory [1].
Thus, quality has sunk
in the pool of quantity.
Wednesday 29 May 2013
TTSR “Good” Teachers
What is considered to be a good teacher today is not what it
was over forty years ago, mainly because it is not about how educated students
are, but rather, how teachers represent the most recent beliefs of the teachers
union; after all, teachers are awarding teachers.
There is also what seems to be an ongoing popularity contest
between teachers that use to be explicitly among students; now many school are
trying to give larger rooms to accommodate classes that have an overwhelming amount
of students because they like that particular teacher whereas on the flip side,
there are teachers in the same school that student scorn and avoid because they
live up to the name “Teacher”.
In one particular case of this, Thomas Sowell recorded that
the popular teacher’s class could not score as high as a ‘B’ on the actual
subject matter while an ‘unpopular’ teacher’s class was almost all ‘B’s or
higher, revealing that it was not the teachers ability to teach that made him
“Good” but the students wanting to get by easy.
Matthew 7:16 “You will
recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs
from thistles?”
Psalm 128:2
“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be
blessed, and it shall be well with you.”
TTSR Deep Trouble From Shallow People
There was an incident at the Wesleyan University involving
two girls that applied, one an Asian American with test scores in the 1400s,
the other a Dominican girl with scores in the 900s, and shockingly, the
Dominican was recommended instead of the Asian American by one of the admission
committee members because he was “willing to take a chance on her.”
In reality, he was not taking a chance on anything because
it was not his education, his money, his future, or his reputation he was fooling
with; why anyone so shallow as to make nonsensical decisions that effect the
future of others was in a position of authority, is beyond me.
There are far too many positions empowered to make choices
for others, much less the workers that abuse that power to satisfy their own
egos, take social workers for example, they separate families they have no connection
to (not that would change anything) and take children away from their parents by
force to be placed in foster care.
75 Bible Questions – 69
Won’t Men Live Longer
as God’s Kingdom Progresses?
1 Corinthians 15:25-26
“For
he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy
to be destroyed is death.”
If we believe that the world is progressively getting
better through the spreading of the gospel and all enemies being brought under
Jesus’ feet, then why shouldn’t we believe that the lifespan of man will be
lengthened as promised in the Bible: Proverbs
3:2 “for length of days and years of life and peace they
will add to you.”, Ephesians
6:3 “…that
you may live long in the land.”, and Deuteronomy 30:20 “…for he is your life and length of days...”.
The Lord did not cut short man’s life in one generation but over a
period of centuries leading from Noah down to Joshua as the Lord said in Genesis 6:3 “…My Spirit
shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years”
[For a more detailed genealogy go to : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_God_shorten_the_human_lifespan].
There is proof that people live longer than they did a hundred years
ago, although much of this is attributed to healthier living and advanced
medicine, it is still an undeniable fact that people in 1st and 2nd
world countries have slowly started to live longer.
Genesis 6:3 “Then the Lord
said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days
shall be 120 years.””
Genesis 5:5 “Thus all the
days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.”
Ephesians 6:2-3 “Honor your father and mother (this is the first
commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live
long in the land.”
Proverbs 3:1-2 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let
your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.”
Deuteronomy 30:20 “loving the Lord your God, obeying his
voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore
to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Tuesday 28 May 2013
TTSR Do Facts Matter?
In life, we have to learn from our errors and recognize
those choice that were mistakes if we are to succeed, but the Anointed* have no
such handicap, in fact, they can afford to do the exact opposite because they
are at no risk themselves since it is the possessions of others they enjoy
playing with.
Take racism in higher forms of education for example: during
the 1950s, Thomas Sowell attend four academic institutes, never once
encountering any form of racism to his memory, yet, come the first black
favoritism during the 1960s in the university of Cornell, this was the
admittance of blacks at a lower standard than whites and the tolerance of actions
worthy of expulsion that were not acceptable for whites, there was an outbreak
of racism aimed at the black students that had no say in the matter but did not
challenge it either.
The epidemic has spread since then, creating what is
referred to as “the new racism” that the politically ‘correct’ will not
acknowledge to their fault in the least; to acknowledge that they were wrong
and had caused such division among student bodies across America would be a shocking
first.
TTSR Wasting Minds
The ever quick escape for teachers that have let their
students down is blaming the parents; not only does this distract from what is -or
rather, what is not- being taught in school to what is happening in the
family.
This makes for a better story, at least for the news and the
education ‘experts’ that find meaning in ‘changing lives,’ change that involves
putting students in line with the ideals and morals of the system while instructing
them not to think outside the boundaries of their ‘superiors.’
Should parents be surprised when they are informed at
parent-teacher interviews (Do they still have those? Maybe just by email) that
their children, that were perfectly capable of thinking and learning when they
were first enrolled, are having ‘problems’ educationally that might be linked
to ‘parental involvement’ issues?
75 Bible Questions – 68
1 Corinthians 15:23-24 “But each in his
own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to
Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father
after destroying every rule and every authority and power.”
There are so many different beliefs in the church
about what will happen in the future, when it will occur, and in what order it
will happen when there is no exact time given, for Mark 13:32 says “But concerning
that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, …only the Father” but we do know in what order: “Christ
the firstfruits” is Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross, “then at his
coming those who belong to Christ” which I believe is the final judgment, and
“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power,” meaning the end will come
after all things on earth are in obedience to Jesus Christ “For “God has put
all things in subjection under his feet””[1 Corinthians 15:27].
If the
kingdom of God is not to spread throughout the whole earth, growing stronger
until the end, what will the destruction of “every rule and every authority and
power” be? [Leave me a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts.]
If the
world is simply deteriorating into a state of darkness, why did Jesus instruct
his disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all
creation” or to become teachers and church planters because if the end result
is worse than the beginning, then all the efforts in between are either
insufficient or ineffective, which we know the gospel is not.
1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
Thursday 23 May 2013
75 Bible Question – 67
2 Corinthians 10:5-6 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against
the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being
ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
Before we can help others with their problems or take part
in any settlement of affairs [see Question 65], we must first be clean
ourselves, having brought every thought into the obedience of Christ Jesus as Luke 6:42 demonstrates: “How can you say
to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log
that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
For
arguments and quarreling to be resolved in the church or by the church, there
must be righteous leaders in that are firmly established in the word of God, they
cannot be an authority in areas where they themselves need discipline.
Indeed,
it seems like a harsh, if not impossible thing to bring every thought into
obedience with Christ but it is not; it is a relatively small task in
comparison to the strict beliefs of puritans and the moral obligations they
impose on themselves - how much more will we be able to accomplish this task if
God is for us?
1 Peter 1:22 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one
another earnestly from a pure heart,”
Romans 16:26 “But has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been
made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring
about the obedience of faith—“
1 Corinthians 2:16 ““For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as
to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
Wednesday 22 May 2013
75 Bible Questions – 66
Why shouldn’t Christians Become Civil Rulers and Enforce
God’s Law?
Romans 13:3-4 “For
rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of
the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his
approval, for he is God's servant for your
good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.
For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the
wrongdoer.”
What this passage conveys to me is that the Lord will use the rulers
as His avengers on the sinful for as Proverbs 21:1 says “The king's heart
is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” how much
more the hearts of judges, and enforcers?
Those who have not sinned do not need to be afraid of the authorities
but those who have done wrong have good reason to be terrified because as Galatians 6:7 says
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one
sows, that will he also reap.”
Since God exercises His justice through the secular
system, Christians should not be afraid to be involved in justice or to be
God’s instrument of revenge, for He will exercise judgment as He sees fit; how
much more will the Lord use the world leaders to enforce His good will?
Romans 12:19 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God,
for it is written, “Vengeance is
mine, I will repay, says the Lord.””
Proverbs 16:4 “The Lord has made everything for its
purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”
Isaiah 10:3 “What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will
you leave your wealth?”
Isaiah 1:24 “Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One
of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes.”
TTSR The Old Neighborhood
Think back if you will, about 60 to 70 years ago, which is
probably long before your time but consider how it was for children to grow up
in that time, what schools were like, how neighborhoods interacted, and how
people took care of there families.
This was many years before I was born but from reading and
hearing the verbal history of that time from my grandparents and even great
grandparent, Western society was greatly different from that of the present; it
was a lot tougher in the lower class where you either worked hard for a living
or went hungry, many did at times in spite of their laibour, but one of the
biggest differences I think is the quality of an education one could obtain from
the public system.
There is no discipline for acting out nowadays, no failure
for students that do not complete their assignments, no opportunities for
students to get ahead in their courses if they excel, and very little parental
involvement, at least, this is the picture of government school systems in the
Western hemisphere, if your from another part of the world and have a different
situation in your schools, leave me a comment about it below.
TTSR Anti-“Elitism” In Education
There has been much political pressure for this school to
accept students that do not meet their requirements so that ‘everyone’ will be
capable of attending such a prestigious high school, but little do those
pushing for lower acceptability realize that even if their standards were
lower, not everyone could attend, nor would Stuyvesant be the school it has
strived to be since 1904 [http://www.stuy.edu/].
What separates a good school from a great school is how it
weathers through the ideals of the politically correct, if it consents and is
destroyed like Dunbar high school – out of which came the first black federal
judge, the first black general, and over two dozen black military officers in
WW2– that was changed forever by the agendas of others, or if a school pushes
through no matter what the politically correct say.
Monday 20 May 2013
75 Bible Questions – 65 Aren’t Christians Supposed to Execute Judgment?
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the
world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try
trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How
much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”
What could Paul have meant when he said that “the world is to
be judged by you” and “Do you not know that we are to judge angels?” when it is
widely preached that we are not to judge others as Matthew 7:1 says “Judge not,
that you be not judged,” but could it be that the next verse, that is sometimes
left out, which says “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged,
and with the measure you use it will be measured to you” means when we
judge, we must judge how we want to be judged in return?
Paul instructed us not to enter into the worldly courts with our
disputes lest we be judged by a secular court, rather, there should be a court
in the church that can settle such matters that need judging, otherwise we
should settle our affairs before we are dragged before a court [Matthew 5:25 & Luke 12:57-59].
So if the church is to pronounce judgments based on the
Bible, as the church grows larger and begins to fill the earth, which could be the
judgment of the world Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, won’t Christians
need to be knowledgeable concerning the law and judgment as it seems Paul is
urging them to be?
Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you
will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
John 8:16 “Yet even if I do judge,
my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.”
Matthew 5:25 “Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him
to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge
to the guard, and you be put in prison.”
Luke 12:57-59 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what
is right? As you go with
your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the
way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer,
and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you
will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Verses For Thought:
John 12:47 "If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world."
James 4:12 "There is only one lawgiver and judge,
he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?"
Friday 17 May 2013
TTSR Julian Stanley And Bright Children
Julian Stanley was a beacon of hope for intellectually
talented children and their parents in an education system filled with dumbing
down agendas that create followers, not leaders, a process that frustrates
talented minds that could excel beyond the public system if only the right
tools were supplied.
The special programs professor Julian designed for unusually
bright students would challenge them at higher levels of learning without degrading
attitudes from fellow student and even teachers that are not as gifted in those
areas.
Without a doubt, students from programs like these would be a
redeeming quality in the future America as other countries rise to prominence
through their own bright minds in areas such as technology, economy, law, and
medicine; either that or it will hopefully be the undoing of the tyranny that has
slowly been hatching in America.
75 Bible Questions – 64
Doesn’t The New Testament Teach That Christians are
Powerful?
Ephesians 1:18 “Having the eyes of your
hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called
you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is
the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the
working of his great might”
In Ephesians 1, Paul speaks of the inheritance we have as
adoptive sons and daughter in Christ Jesus, an inheritance far beyond the
physical blessings God has given us, for which the Holy Spirit is our guarantee
as Ephesians 1:13-14 says “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the
promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it…”
There is so much more to being a Christian than just
believing in God and listening to a sermon on Sundays, so much more than what
we see unless the eyes of our heart are enlightened, allowing us to know of His
“immeasurable greatness… toward us who believe”; but why do so few Christians understand
this and reach out for more?
Christians that are ‘Christians’ on Sunday could have an
everyday relationship with their Heavenly Father, they could experience peace
of mind, healing, and the gifts of the Spirit*, which is only part of our
inheritance.
Revelation 3:16 “So,
because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my
mouth.”
Ephesians 1:17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the
knowledge of him,”
*1 Corinthians 12:9 “To another faith
by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,”
*1 Corinthians
12:4 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;”
For
further study read Ephesians 1, 1 Corinthians 4:20, 2 Timothy 1:7, Revelations
1:6 and 2:26-28.
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