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.

[1] http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=b9

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 1^st and 2^nd 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.”

Job 12:12  “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.”

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."

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.”

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

The Stuyvesant high school in New York city, one that Thomas Sowell attended, stands out from most schools across the state, not because of its success and student academic achievement, but because it is so difficult to get into due to the tests one must pass even to be considered.

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.

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 7:24  “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

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?"

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.

75 Bible Questions – 63

Isn’t Christ’s Kingdom In This World?

John 18:36  “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.””

This passage is far too often misunderstood as Jesus teaching that his kingdom is not on earth but in heaven, which is not true and is taking the verse out of contexts, something we must be very careful not to do.

When Jesus said this, he was being questioned by Pilate who had pointed out that he was a Roman official while Jesus, in his eyes, was just a religious leader, which was Pilate’s political view but Jesus pointed out the truth, that his kingdom and power did not come from the people or the earth; his power comes from God [we discussed the handing over of the kingdom in Question 62] and his kingdom is here on earth as Christians are a part of his kingdom.

If that were not true and his kingdom did come from this world, then it would be as Jesus said “my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews,” because Jesus would have been a popular figure to the people but would not have had authority as the son of God.

John 18:33-38 “So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”  Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”  Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Luke 17:20-21  “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””

TTSR The Idiocy Of “Relevance”

One major flaw in the American school system is that ‘Relevance’ has somehow become an important factor in children and teenager’s education plans, for what reason I do not know, few undergraduates have chosen a profession and even fewer stick to the same ideas they had before they moved into the job market.

I remember when I was young, just learning how to read under the teaching of my mother, that I could not think of anything more irrelevant than spelling or its rules, and again in 9^th grade, English was a worthless course in my naive opinion but all those things I ardently disliked in school started to pay off.

It seems like children are getting more ‘rights’ all the time while parents keep getting pushed aside when it is the parents that should have the number one say in the matter of education, if they did not, I would have quit the studies I deemed ‘irrelevant’ along with all the other courses I disliked, as thousands of students are doing now; the future will certainly look bleak for a generation that knows more about what they like than what is important to know.

75 Bible Questions – 62

Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

The kingdom Daniel saw God giving Jesus in this vision, was probably given to him after his death for when he appeared to his disciples, before his ascension into heaven, Jesus said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”[Matthew 28:18].

Now, there are many different beliefs on this topic because there are many ways one can interpret the Bible, however, all beliefs must be firmly rooted in scripture for example, do not believe Jesus is coming soon because he came in the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24, particularly verse 34) and I do not believe this world will be destroyed or left to Satan because Daniel 7:14 says “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Many Christians are living in ways not pleasing to God, resulting in very destructive life styles because they believe it does not matter: how they leave this earth, how they handle their finances, or if they obey God’s laws; all of these beliefs clash with scriptures that teach the exact opposite.

Matthew 24:34  “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Proverbs 6:6-8
”Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.”

Proverbs 21:5
”The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenty; but the thoughts of everyone who is hasty only to poverty.”

Romans 2:13  “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

Galatians 3:21 “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.”

Proverbs 22:3
 “A prudent one foresees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”