Divided for the Conquering . . .

By now, most of us have realized, having a black president did not relax racial tension.  On the contrary, the tension seems to be heightened, while our President and First Lady continue to draw attention to racial conflict.  Undoubtedly, there are white racists in this country, but there are also black race baiters.  Meanwhile young people of all races are watching, believing the programming they are being fed from the side in which they are standing.  For whatever reason, tolerance calls us to hate bigots while baiters are given a free pass.  This country is, once again, racially divided.  Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD appear to have stepped back in time, and now college campuses offer "ethnic safe spaces."  The author of the article linked makes no bones about the fact, color speaks louder than freedom of the press.

Religious division is really gaining ground, even amongst those who claim the same basic beliefs.  Every week, I find at least two articles addressing the exodus from the church.  Then there are the various factions of the latest Hebraic movement that really seem rather denominational in their grouping and discussion.  The anti-religious seem to be able to unite in their anti-theism and are sadly gaining numbers and power over the public square.  The division is quite real, and the aggression against those with different beliefs is gaining momentum.  While the evangelicals tend to be divided Sunday morning, they are politically united at the polls.

Law enforcement is becoming quite militarized and while I do believe we still have some good cops, I also know there are some ruthless bad ones.  The police brutality has caused much division racially, as well as a general tone of "them vs. us" for a number of years, and now the biker situation in Texas has raised even more skepticism and distrust.  The truth is, when there is a bad guy breaking and entering, 911 is the link to our beloved law enforcement that is there to protect and serve.  On the other hand, when cruising down the highway and we see the lights on top of the car, the "them vs. us" is apparent with our own adrenaline charge and memory of every brutality video on the net.

There has been a generation gap since the dawn of creation, and along with that, the different standard of morality.  A decline in standards is a rapid drop.  Adam and Eve with their forbidden fruit, to the next generation committing murder speaks of the rapid decline of civility in this world.  The generational blame that has occurred in this country, I find to be quite, stale; for lack of a better word.  We all know the baby boomers economically and morally destroyed America and are destroying what's left . . .  Although the blame rolls off my shoulders like water off a duck's back, I will admit the boomers, as a whole sold out and haven't done much to improve the situation.  The generational division has always been, but the blame, well maybe . . . much of the church still teaches everyone is paying for past generational sins all the way back to the Garden.  Perhaps we lack the civility to not let a different perspective divide us; but blaming each other will absolutely bring division.

The Supreme Court is about to serve up a whopping dish of division with the same sex marriage decision coming in June.  There is NO way this will not bring division.  If they render a decision against same sex marriage, the gay agenda will explode.  If the decision is in favor of same sex marriage, the Supreme Court has exalted itself above Scripture, which will result in calamity of Biblical proportion.  This division will be the ultimate LOSE/LOSE for our society.  LGBT has made no bones about it. They are aggressive and will be relentless.  In the 2013 decision regarding DOMA, as the LGBT representatives stood on the steps in Washington a spokesperson for the group stated, "this is not enough."  From what I can see, the agenda wants our children, our businesses, our money, and our submission, and I don't know if that will be enough!

Thanks to mainstream media, every small glitch, and every misunderstanding can now be exaggerated internationally and blown completely out of proportion, while lacking context and be quoted as truth, while we all state, "I just don't trust mainstream media."  I find myself leaning toward news sources that are definitely outside of mainstream, yet fact checking can be very difficult and I certainly do not want to give a false report.  All things considered, though, fact checking mainstream media, doesn't offer much reassurance either.  Operation Jade Helm 15 continues to be downplayed in the news officially, while those of us trying to keep it on the radar are billed as conspiracy theorists.  More division, always more division.

Sadly, our politics appears to be divided by all of the divisive topics . . . Or perhaps, our politics are simply choreographed to give the appearance of party division, rather than the true division which is between "the powers that be" and "we the people."  Since that line appears to be based upon wealth, perhaps it's time to stop watching the politicians for leadership, and stop listening to the media for answers, and realize the love of money is the root of all evil and the only true refuge is found in our Creator.

And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  ~ words of Messiah

Vaccinations and LGBT

No, I do not believe one causes the other, but the two subjects seem to be capturing most of the headlines.  It's beginning to feel like those of us who believe Scripture is clear regarding the topics of sexuality and health, could quickly become the "social nemeses" of our day.  The Revelation seems to lump illicit sexuality and pharmaceuticals in the same group.  Some will say, since the government has now ruled that homosexual marriage is Constitutional, it is no longer illicit.  Constitutional or not, that doesn't make it Biblical!  As for pharmaceuticals, that frontline battle has been a lonely one for those of us who believe it violates our faith.  So, let's chat about this, shall we?

How did humanity exist for thousands of years before vaccinations and prior to gender labels moving beyond the binary system?  To avoid confusion, I'll address the gender issues first, then move on to vaccinations.  I'm mathematical, and for the most part gender determination has been a binary recognition at birth, not "assigned."  Since the dawn of creation, there have been two genders, male and female.  Gender or sex was not assigned at birth, and certainly not for later reassignment!  Gender or sex was recognized, identified, and proclaimed at birth, as in "it's a boy" or "it's a girl."  With that proclamation, came blue or pink booties and life moved on from there!

Obviously there has been temptation in regard to same sex relations since before Torah was given at Sinai.  The account of Lot indicates homosexuality was a factor in the night of the heavenly visitors.  I'm not saying that was the only factor in the fire and brimstone falling, but Lot had two sons in law while the daughters were specifically stated to be virgins.  There'd have been no reason to give the commandment, if there were no issue of temptation in that area.  Actually, there are a number of commandments regarding our sexuality, so we humans do appear to have a tendency to want to engage in, and excuse a great deal!  Not only do we humans have an appetite for forbidden fruit, most seem to be be drawn to varying disregard of the Instructions when it comes to sexuality, as well.

When it comes to the rising numbers in the LGBT agenda . . . Is it the programming?  Is it the growth hormones in the meat?  Is it GMO or all the soy in the diet?   Now, it seems in order to understand sexuality in our society, a syllabus and glossary are required.  The only folks who seem to be able to openly refer to just two sexes or genders are the bisexuals!  When heterosexuals refer to just male and female without the ever growing compendium of labels, it's termed hate speech or homophobic.  Now, as for vaccinations . . .

If all these diseases were truly eradicated in this country by the end of last century, the low percentage of non-vaccinating American parents are probably not the problem.  Perhaps we should take a closer look at the health of illegal immigrants and our refugee policies.  As for illegal immigrants, I'm sure many of them can be found in local ERs and county assistance offices.  When we consider that this outbreak of measles seems to have originated in California, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibilities that lax border policies could be a contributing factor.  We'd not have to worry about refugee policies if we'd quit starting wars.

Statistics indicate most of these diseases were already on the decline before the vaccinations were introduced.  The timing of the vaccination outrage raises a red flag for me, in that mandatory health insurance is now officially in place and the IRS is in charge of the data.  Calling 114 cases of measles an epidemic seems a bit over the top when our society has so many other ills numbering into the thousands and upwards.   It doesn't take much ink to connect the dots between mandated health insurance, the hot button campaign issue of vaccinations, and further invasion into the private home and family.

I don't mean to sound insensitive, but the two issues of anti-vaccination and LGBT, reportedly affect a very small percentage of our population.  There is only one state that reports more than 6% of children are unvaccinated for nonmedical reasons.  Most states report fewer than 3% of the children are unvaccinated.  By that same token regarding the LGBT community, according to NHIS, 96.6% of Americans identify as straight.  Why are so many headlines devoted to issues of such a small percentage of our population? Brian Williams strange version of fabricated journalism has taken third place in headlines, which again raises that old question in my mind.  While the entire nation is cussing and discussing these issues, what's really going on?  It would appear we are open to everything except the Truth of our Creator.

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of YHWH your G-d, which I command you this day:   And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of YHWH your G-d, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.  Torah of Holy Scripture 

Are Our Values Reflected in Our Media Interest?

This week in the news are two very unsettling reports, presented in extreme bias that I find accurately portrays the true condition of our society.  Two extreme examples of the LGBT Agenda crossed my newsfeed this week, and I hope there is still enough freedom for this article to adequately express this parallel perspective.

I began following the case of "Sweetcakes by Melissa" back when this family owned bakery was first viciously targeted by the LGBT Community with media hype that fueled the aggression.  Melissa Klein is an artist!  Because she uses buttercream and fondant rather than oils and watercolors, doesn't make her any less of a creative artist who should be able to express her art in the same freedom, any other artist enjoys.  As I listened to how she works to create the perfect wedding cake for each couple, there is no doubt, she's an artist of great talent who has been attacked.  Her website holds the tagline, "It's not just cake, it's dessert!"  As a cake lover visiting her site, I can enthusiastically declare, "It's not just cake, it's edible art!"

An artist like Andres Serrano who also doesn't use traditional mediums of paints or chalks, is defended in the "name of artistic freedom."  Melissa Klein deserves the same recognition and protection under our Bill of Rights.  Andres Serrano is only an example of the way our system works.  He is not the other topic of this article; Bruce Jenner is.

When I first saw the Kardashian-Jenner drama building, I truly thought it might be a publicity stunt to boost ratings.  Until 2012, I hadn't heard the Kardashian name since the O.J. trial.  When my daughter and her husband were supposedly coming on board in this homesteading project, she lamented that she wasn't sure she could give up her television and stop "Keeping up with the Kardashians."  She then proceeded to explain that the 1976 gold medal Olympian was part of that reality show.  Since I don't really keep up on folks who are famous for being famous, I just thought their reality show had probably run it's course, and then some . . . but as the news continues, Bruce, at 65, is ready to share the secret he's carried for so many years . . . while fathering six children.

The fact that he is celebrated and lauded as bold, while a mother of five is persecuted and fined speaks volumes about our nation.  I'm not going to give his decision much time and attention, although I do find his obsession, pitiable; and even sadder, the media's obsession to make this some sort of decision to be celebrated.  Also weighing on this was Zoey Tur, formerly, the ruggedly handsome "Chopper Bob" who reported from the helicopter, the OJ "chase" in 1994.  He's now had his "gender reassignment" surgery.  At 54 or 65 years old, is it really so important to change one's non-functional reproductive anatomy?  As a woman, I can tell you, men generally age better than women.  Truly beautiful women do pass their prime, as a rule.  A man choosing to become a middle aged woman is not going to be pretty.  Bruce Jenner is billed as a motivational speaker.  How does one encourage others when they cannot come to terms with their own form in the mirror?

As I watched the video in which Melissa Klein described the way she created wedding cakes and the passion in which she expresses her art, then compare that to a dissatisfied aging athlete, America truly has developed a strange standard in what is appreciated.  In a Google search, nearly all of the articles about Melissa Klein included the term "anti-gay" portraying this amazingly gifted artist to be the villain rather than the victim of a bullying agenda.  Meanwhile, the articles about Mr. Jenner are very supportive in that everyone is so happy that Bruce can be "true to himself."  Whether this is a Kardashian publicity stunt for a new "reality season," a cry for attention from an aging drama queen, or Mr. Jenner is actually preparing to become a eunuch, the media coverage and public interest has been phenomenal.  I find it sad that America now applauds this drama, while dishonoring someone standing for their values.

Haven't we always been led to believe it is a barbaric society that would exalt genital mutilation over creative expression?

 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  

* Sadly, Mr. Jenner has made the headlines once again having been in an auto accident.  Seven people were injured, some taken to a nearby hospital and Kim Howe, 69, lost her life in that horrific accident.