Let Us Ignite an Enduring Flame

Many libertarians, conservatives, and even moderates are now looking to what is happening in response to the passage of "healthcare" legislation (not to mention the government takeover of the student loan industry): states passing their own legislation to be exempt from the bill's many mandates and taxes, state attorneys general and law firms (such as Mark Levin's) poised with lawsuits against the bill's constitutionality, the Congressional races in November. While these are battles that need to be happening, we should also look at the bigger picture of the continued (indeed, one that will continue until the return of Christ, or something else causes America to cease as it is) struggle that we must undertake.

Electing conservative congressmen and women in fall 2010 and 2012 and a conservative president in 2012, while most likely to prevent further damages to our economy and our personal liberty, is merely a wadded-up shirt meant to stop the bleeding. There must be a shift of discourse in our conversation in this country. President Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." The essence of liberty upon which this country was founded was being able to stand on one's own two feet, to, at the end of life, look back and say "There may have been a lot of hard times, times when I thought I wouldn't make it through, but I worked hard and got through it on my own."

There must be a great espousal of individual responsibility. Ben Franklin said "Idleness and Pride Tax with a heavier Hand than Kings and Parliaments; If we can get rid of the Former we may easily bear the Latter." It is true; who, the government having met the needs thereof for any considerable period of time, would vote against his benefactor? It takes a special kind of person, a particular brand of resolve and fortitude to break the bonds of dependency; it is this type of person we must extol. It is the kind of person our children and our peers must see in us. In my high school senior English class there was at one time an assignment in which we were writing our opinions on the social issue of our choice. One girl presented hers as such: "As you can see, I'm an African-American, and today I want to express my opposition to affirmative action. If I succeed, I want it to be on my own merits, not because of my skin color. I don't want to be hired because the government says I have to be hired" (paraphrased). It is with this attitude America's future generations will succeed; without it, we are at the mercy of the government.

We must understand what humility entails, and exalt the mindset. If one wishes his lot in life were better, he should pray and apply himself to improve it. If he wishes to be charitable and improve the lives of others, he should go about it with diligence and accept the help that willingly comes from others with the same vision, while extending the liberty not to be involved in the effort to those unwilling or unable. The "Tea Partiers" and conservative groups have been labeled as "selfish" for not supporting legislation purported to assist those in need. While there may be a great number of selfish persons amongst the ranks of the opposed, this accusation is neither just nor appropriate. In a constitutional republic, by means of votes and contact with representatives (or lack thereof), all citizens are part of the governing process; therefore, to endorse such socialist policies is to deny one's neighbor the liberty not to take part in one's own vision of improving the lives of others.

Ben Franklin also said, "I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it." The Gospels and other religious texts command us to take care of the poor, but improvement of life is not just about having one's needs met. We must begin to go about our work with true gratefulness, knowing that work is not simply a necessary evil for making ends meet and possibly buying ourselves comfort, but that meaningful work in itself shapes us into a better person, and in doing so, realize that providing work for the poor provides a much more profound and lasting impact than simply giving them money, food, etc.

As for those who neglect their own care, we must warn them of the destructive consequences of their actions and pray for them, but ultimately realize that it is their choice to make, and be there willing to help when they have fallen hard and are ready to make changes in their lives. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The care of every man's soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or his estate, which would more nearly relate to the state. Will the magistrate make a law that he not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills."

We must stand and squarely face our challenges. The apostle Paul wrote "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

We must take the time to listen to the ideas of all with openness, but also with scrutiny. I do not claim to have exhausted the list of what needs to happen with us, and recognize that there are many others who have valuable contributions as well. However, take the words of none, even of mine, to be absolute, and be ever vigilant. If we maintain our sense of self-worth, duty to others, perseverance, and deference to the liberties of others, we will be able to cling to what is true and reproach that which is not, and, perhaps, reach the point where our senses automatically revile messages at the first hint of falsehood.

Again, we must never cease. As Paul also wrote, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall." We must continue to fight for freedom and give of ourselves of our fellow man as long as we have breath in our bodies, and pray that others are struck ablaze by our flame.

Idols

You know. Those wooden or metal things that those weird people back in the day used to worship as if they were living, powerful beings.

The Israelites turned to them over and over throughout their history. One often wonders, when reading or hearing about it, how they could do this when they've visibly seen the supernatural power of God at work many times.

But let us examine the modern situation. Few people will ever bow before or pray to object anymore, but if you ask many Christians today, especially (in my experience) Protestants, they will tell you that the old idols have been traded in for new ones: money, power, sex, fitness, or whatever other things a person might pursue to excess.

That may be true, but let's think about what this implies. Why do people chase after these things (things which they also chased when wooden idols were still prevalent)? The answer is simple: it makes them feel good. It makes them feel complete. So is their god pleasure? Is their god completeness? What is it that they are seeking to worship? To me, this response says more about the Christians making the statement than anything else. If one believes that the world is turning to idols for comfort, completeness, or what-have-you, then Christians are turning to God for the same thing.

That's what an idol is. A substitute, or reminder, of God, and a thing that one relies upon to commune with God, turning to it first, instead of imploring the Lord and His teachings, first and foremost.

Idols can begin as very good things. I know I often write about the importance of silence as a means to escape noise and to begin the process of prayer. I, and others I know, love to escape civilisation to places of beautiful scenery (I shall forgo a plug for the Texas Hill Country here) in order to, perhaps among other things, be with the Lord. But once we begin to see these things as the only means by which we can communicate with the Lord, then they have become idols. Church becomes an idol. Silence becomes an idol. Nature becomes an idol. The Mysteries, Communion in particular, can become idols. Icons can become idols. Even faith itself can become an idol.

To expound upon the last statement, let me ask the reader to consider how many times (s)he has heard the phrase "My faith got me through the tough times" in some form or another. Though it is true that it is impossible to please God without faith, it is also impossible for faith to sustain anyone without God involved.

The trappings of this world are not idols, unless God's purpose is to provide comfort and protection to mankind. They are merely rudimentary elements of the veil of maya.

A New Energy Possibility?

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.html

Thorium is a naturally-occurring, slightly radioactive metal discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. It is found in small amounts in most rocks and soils, where it is about three times more abundant than uranium. Soil commonly contains an average of around 6 parts per million (ppm) of thorium.

Thorium-232 (Th-232) decays very slowly (its half-life is about three times the age of the Earth) but other thorium isotopes occur in its and in uranium's decay chains. Most of these are short-lived and hence much more radioactive than Th-232, though on a mass basis they are negligible.

Thorium, as well as uranium, can be used as a nuclear fuel. Although not fissile itself, Th-232 will absorb slow neutrons to produce uranium-233 (U-233)a, which is fissile (and long-lived). The irradiated fuel can then be unloaded from the reactor, the U-233 separated from the thorium, and fed back into another reactor as part of a closed fuel cycle.

In one significant respect U-233 is better than uranium-235 and plutonium-239, because of its higher neutron yield per neutron absorbed. Given a start with some other fissile material (U-233, U-235 or Pu-239) as a driver, a breeding cycle similar to but more efficient than that with U-238 and plutonium (in normal, slow neutron reactors) can be set up. (The driver fuels provide all the neutrons initially, but are progressively supplemented by U-233 as it forms from the thorium.) However, there are also features of the neutron economy which counter this advantage. In particular the intermediate product protactinium-233 (Pa-233)a is a neutron absorber which diminishes U-233 yield.

Over the last 40 years there has been interest in utilising thorium as a nuclear fuel since it is more abundant in the Earth's crust than uranium. Also, all of the mined thorium is potentially useable in a reactor, compared with the 0.7% of natural uranium, so some 40 times the amount of energy per unit mass might theoretically be available (without recourse to fast neutron reactors)

I think the article speaks for itself. I, for one, will be keeping my eye on this.

Ancient Faith Radio

A great source of recordings of Orthodox chants and hymns, as well as spiritual messages and teaching on Scripture and writings of church fathers.
http://ancientfaith.com/

Turnaround

For a long time I was quite apathetic politically. To me, the government was going t do what the government was going to do, and none of that affected how I was going to live my life: following Christ.

But then several things changed. As I stated in an earlier blog, a few years ago I began praying that God would make me the best husband, father, brother, friend, etc. possible. I'm most certain He's been doing that (as much as I often tend to fight it). And then another thing happened....I met Haley. The more we get to know each other, the more we love each other, and the more real the possibility of getting married and having a family becomes. Suddenly I begin thinking: what kind of place do I want my family to live in?

And then the truth hits. I don't want a world in which the government is able to come into people's lives as it pleases. And when one gets right down to it...in the United States, the people are the government (for now). Which means I'm a part of it. I have a responsibility to do what I can to ensure that my voice and my participation in the political process reflects the basic tenets that the country was founded on; each person possesses the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Gone are the days of reactionism to conservative demagoguery and personality cults. I had friends who nearly worshipped Ann Coulter (a practice, which, believe it or not, happens among liberals as well); I had a roommate who praised Rush Limbaugh for telling guests on his show with whom he disagreed to "just shut up" (because that never happens on the liberal side [1]). It's time to look past the followers and see the principles for what they really are: advocating freedom from government control to all people of the country.

I guess this may mean more political blogs (once I become more caught up with "who's who" in the political realm). I'm not really "out of things to say" insofar as the spiritual realm goes. I greatly look forward to eventually obtaining The Philokalia, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, and other spiritual books. However, most of what I've learned lately hasn't been in the mind, but in the soul, as prayer makes the mind and flesh submissive to the soul, and the soul, in turn submissive to God. We'll see what develops as this process continues.

1. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/07/obama-tells-economic-critics-way/

Dear Commander-in-Chief

You continue to laud the "brave sacrifices" of the victims of the terrorist attack (1) , as if they were willingly giving their lives for their country here. Don't get me wrong, I definitely believe they were brave men and women. But they did not "lay down their lives" for their country...because they shouldn't have had to. Our troops should never have to be concerned about being viciously attacked within America's borders, especially when there has been reason all along to have removed Mr. Hassan from military service (2).

You should continue to praise the diversity and courage of the victims, though. They'd probably prefer that you do that instead of admit that the idea that religious extremism and religion-driven terrorism does happen and is preventable, but we might have to drop our (read: not actually mine) policy of political correctness.

1. http://abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=9030873
2. http://michellemalkin.com/2009/11/06/the-massacre-at-fort-hood-and-muslim-soldiers-with-attitude/

Liturgy And Recited Prayer (Hearing God pt 2)

The common Protestant objections: too ritualistic, no heart in it, no room for the Holy Spirit, salvation by works, is too much like Buddhism et al.

It is, I concede, completely logical to say that when Christ gave us the Lord's Prayer, it was meant as an outline, a basic guide to the things about which we should be praying. I agree with this, and have for a long time. We should have spontaneous prayers that apply to our needs and the needs of others. However, there is also something to be said for Psalm 119:97, "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." Why does the psalmist meditate upon God's Law? Because by keeping his thoughts focused and silencing the "other self," he is able to let the totality of the Law become real in himself, and thus God's word nourishes his soul, straightening it to walk uprightly.

When emphasis is placed upon the thoughts of the believer, the believer's own feelings, emotions, then growth is stunted. Noise enters, because no one can keep his mind perfectly clear when not observing himself. It is like saying "don't think of an elephant." The first thing you think of, of course, without being in the position to diminish your thoughts by observing and dismissing them, is an elephant. Similarly, if one goes about the day thinking things like "I'm not going to lust" over and over, he has already surrendered his thoughts to this battle, instead of taking away the fight altogether, and by placing his spirit subordinate to the mind (and, inevitably, to the flesh), he has cut off his only possible communication with God and sets himself up to fail. (Damascene, Christ: The Eternal Tao).

The advantage of liturgy and recitation of prayer is as of yet unresolved. Mere recapitulation does not benefit the individual at all, of course; what is needed is the elevation of the spirit above the intellect and the flesh, and the submission of the spirit, in turn, to God. Keeping the spirit subdued prevents the man from truly communing with Christ; but once the elevation is accomplished, something needs to direct the soul where it ought to go.

Here is the advantage of such recitations. With the mind and flesh subdued, the spirit observes the thoughts and takes hold of that which it truly desires; and if one belongs to the Lord, the simple recitation of prayer and liturgy allows for one to continually redirect one's spirit toward God and the service and glorification of Him. These things do not "lose their meaning" because they are then not attached to the feelings, which fade, nor the thoughts, which become tiresome or boring. There is a completely new dimension which is ever renewed in Christ. It is no wonder that when in passing I ponder eternity I quiver in fear of thought of never ceasing. Yet my spirit rejoices to be in the Lord and wants to abide there forever.

Now, with the words, songs, etc already prescribed, there is no more need to continue to awkwardly search for the right words while praying, or to lead oneself in, as in the NIV, "babbling endlessly like the pagans." (Matthew 6:7), or as in the ESV, "heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do." One is then aware of, perhaps, how long one has been going, or what great Christian vocabulary one has used, or how easy it was to remember to pray for this or that, and pride sneaks in. There is no more need to contemplate what songs to play, what turns of phrase to use. Such care for variety is an appeal to the flesh and intellect, in any case.

Continually step outside thoughts and hear God. Step outside dependence upon thoughts and let your spirit grow and lead the mind and flesh in holiness and submission to the Lord.