Greetings great and groovy ones. Periodically I write down a brief collection of random and unconnected thoughts: here are the latest.
EATING YOUR COUSINS
If you’re one of those convinced by the theories of evolution, you should perhaps consider the consequences of what you believe, and the consequences are considerable.
ONE
First, if there is no God, your masters are those in government. How does that idea make you feel? Those people who leech your money, pass ridiculous and unnecessary laws, get us into wars, poke their noses into all your affairs, say one thing and do another: they are your gods. You may not call them gods, but gods over your lives they are. Despots, dictators, dolts and dastardly villains-all are scrambling to gain control over the only existence and experience you will ever have-and there is no remedy to the cycle, ever.
Do you think you will ultimately get good people elected so that the world will be just how you want it to be? If so, you’re dreaming of the mythical utopia they’ve been saying they would create for the past umpteen thousand years.
Having no ultimate master to answer to-one who sees all- also means that honesty is of no more value than dishonesty, except when it benefits you in some way. If you don’t get caught, or if no-one even notices you’ve done it, it doesn’t really matter. Where does conscience come from? Where does truth come from? Where does our sense of and desire for justice come from? If it’s not from our creator, then it’s only a hinderance except when it protects us from trouble. If you can get away with it, why not do it?
TWO
Secondly, if we evolved, we’re no more valuable than other creatures, including worms, slugs and dogs. We evolved via bacteria, we’re told, and before that, rock only. Our ancestors were not respectable and important dignitaries, but monkey-like animals dragging their knuckles on the ground and pooping wherever the urge came upon them. Once our bodies die, says this philosophy, our personhood ceases to exist, along with those of our dearest loved ones, and the most wonderful people you can think of. Better to know or believe that we are God’s ultimate and apex creation, brought into the world not only as greatly valued souls, and not only for achieving and enjoying amazing things in this world, but for an eternity of joy and love with Him. I know which I prefer.
THREE
Thirdly, if you believe the stories designed to dispense with God (impossible) you are, each time you eat, consuming your cousins. According to Darwinian evolution, all species are related. This means that you are related to the chicken you ate for dinner last night. It means that the wheat which made the bread you made the sandwich out of was your cousin, as distant as it may have been. The bugs you step on by accident or kill by intention are relatives of yours, struggling for survival just as you are.
So what’s wrong with cannibalism? In the philosophy of evolution, one animal has no more value than another, and all evolved from the same common ancestor. Therefore, eating another person should be no more distasteful or illegal than eating beef or pork or cabbage or sesame seeds. And how about having primordial soup for starters?
SHOUTING PREACHERS
I used to listen to Christian radio a lot, but now I confess to being unimpressed with most of what I hear. This is probably only the opinion of a very opinionated man, but it seems to me that modern preachers are too caught up with trying to impress with their knowledge and their preaching strategy. Worse than that, they seem to be intent on cramming as many ideas and thoughts and warnings and instructions into their speech as possible, and we’re expected to keep up and assimilate it all into our thinking. Were we to make a list of all the things we should do and ought to do and how we should do them, we would need a library of notebooks. Some preachers talk so quickly that it’s hard to keep up.
The one type of preaching which leads me to switch off within seconds is the shouting type. Passion is great and godly, but shouting is unnecessary when it’s all the time. I can hear okay. I’m prepared to listen to good preaching and don’t need to be shouted at before I will pay attention. I am not impressed or more likely to take notice of what I’m hearing if the pastor is shouting. I don’t believe Jesus Christ needed to shout in order to keep the attention of his disciples.
Give me a Bible and the still, small voice of God, and my heart will be won over and directed in the paths of righteousness.
LEATHER OR RUBBER? (CAR SCENT)
I recently purchased a bottle of leather scent for a used car I bought, which smelled slightly doggy. Impressed by the reviews, I paid my money and looked forward to a lovely, sexy leathery smell in my car. When the bottle arrived, I had a moment of wisdom, and decided to just try the liquid on one of the seats rather than the whole car, and see what the result was.
Perhaps this was the Holy Spirit once again showing me mercy, because once applied, the smell which filled my car was almost unbearable. It was sickening, and certainly nothing like leather.
A couple of weeks later I handled some new tractor tires (no, I’m not a farmer) and to my amazement the smell given off by them was exactly the same as my fake leather scent. What I bought had nothing whatsoever to do with leather: it was rubber.
DOGS AND SORE THROATS
One of the questions I want to ask the Lord when I see him, after all the important ones, is “Why don’t dogs get sore throats?” Most dog owners are responsible, but we all know of a local dog which will bark and bark and bark and bark and bark, with no intervention from the owner. Where is he? He’s inside, with his TV so loud he can’t even hear the dog.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 