Connections

Was listing to several authors on the radio as I ran errands this morning talking about the nature of social networks. They were claiming that even our moods are contagious in the networks and that implies we humans have a herd mentality. I find it is interesting that we keep coming to some thing that God has shown us starting 3000 years ago.

There is a reason he made Moses a shepherd before he let him lead the children of Isreal to the promised land. When Isreal cried for a king, to replace the Judges of Isreal, God choice first Saul then David both of whom had experence as herds men. The Lord Jesus himself told us that people where like sheep without a shepherd.

If we do not recognize that we, ourselves individually, are indeed 'sheeple' we can not grow beyond conformity to our peers. If we don't have God in our life then we and our networks will not have what is truly needed to fix our social ills.

Transparancy and Honesty

The fixes to the economic and political issues we face as a nation and a world are these two words. The problem is that they can not be force from with out, and change does not come from with in without help. With out a true revival of moral a force from with in us, a true second birth of the Holy Spirit, we and our leaders are doomed to be moving from crisis to crisis, crying "Peace and Safety" yet, to finish St Paul's Thought, destruction comes up on. We need a focus on the truly moral and not on our selfish ambition, not on the gain we can get by "gaming" those less able to defend them self.

It is written "Weep and Wail, Oh Rich man, the Wages you have cheated the workmen cry to heaven" (James 5:1,2) and it is also written in the Bible that the merchant weep and mourn over the destruction of Babylon, for they have no one else to sell their wares to (sound familiar, does it not). We have been arrogant, selfish and pridful, now we are paying the price for our communal lack of humility and

A Need to put more up

I promised myself I would try to post more often then I have. What to write about. I think I could put up my frustration at work not to give me the software tools I need to do a job quickly. I could write of the woes I am have in my finances, which are extremely minor compared to so many poor souls that have lost work of late.

I could also write of how great my kids are. Or how the attempt to get my church's video recording project moving are going (actually quite well, but all need more training on the equipment). I think the church could move more quickly if we took a few days to map it out with a project management frame of mind. A project for God is a project worth doing right. "Do all things as if you are doing them for the Lord"

World Of Today

As I look at the events happening around us the thought came to me is that this is all the result of turning away from the concepts of a universal morality and a walking away form the responsibility to our follow man.  As people turn away from even the symbols of a biblical moral code they quickly shed any restraint for just the things that 'feel right'.   As it is written "There is a way that seems right to a man that leads to death."  The Right way is the Way.  That is to bring our lives in alignment with God and to live as a light to all of those around us.

Things to Make you think

I was formating a form for a project I am working on when I realize that the nature of the layout changed according to whether the form was an 8bit character set or a wide character set (Unicode Japanese to be specific). Well tomorrow I will dig in to the encoding issue and find out what is up. I think it may be a known JVM issue but I need to make sure.

A superficial god

I seems to me, that when men hear we are made in the image of God they assume God is like them. But how can that be true? Image, when use with reference to a person often refers to either a reflection, photograph or hologram. These images do not interact, They lack depth and are very superficial. The image gives you just an appearance at a certain time and nothing more. Extending this thought we were given qualities at creation that are like God's, write very small, and very two dimensional and superficial (for lack of a better word) when compared to our creator and when we try to fit God in our image we have created an idol, a false god.

Yes we are made in the image of God, but He is not in our image. We are designed to learn and grow and we can strive to become more like Him, but we can never achieve His loftiness of being for we are only an image.

A Rational Lack of Reason

I have read the comments on several well respected blogs and see a bias, on against religion in the public squire, one where all decisions are based on "Rational Thinking". I sit back and look at the world and see few acting "rationally" in the realms of business, politics or religion for that matter.

I look and see, at best, what an ethics instructor I once had called "friends and family" utilitarianism (not to be confused with properly applied utilitarianism) and at worst knee jerk emotionalism. I see very little rational thought in this age. I see feeding of emotion, which always leads to the worst in man. When emotion rules, reason is left in the gutter, wisdom is shunned and rash action is the order of the day. These are evil days where injustice rules and man runs after the lusts of his heart.

A Godly interest

I have been thinking of the nature of studying the Bible.  Many make a great deal of issues with the scriptures and need to have a plan or some key to true understanding.  

The truth is if we do nothing but pray for understanding and earnestly seek for a relationship with God then a true understanding of the scriptures are assured.  But if we come to the scripture with any preconceptions we are doomed to find what we are looking for: If we seek inconstancies we find them; If we seek a means support our narrow view of the world, we find them.  It is only when open up to God and him alone do we connect to God and find His message for us.  

This insight is far from original and is even pointed out in the scriptures, so why do we struggle so with this idea.     

 

An Angry World is never correct.

 The world seems to be filled with anger and hatred, a cancer that seems to be growing by the day.  Protest that are filled with a disregard for others and a desire to increase self, both on the 'left' and 'right'.  There is a tearing of the social contract, the covenant that is truly need and ordained by the Lord almighty, that is the bedrock of the civil order.  

We say that we seek answers to vexing issues but have no desire to find any but those that we have already decided is correct.  We have no use for those who we disagree with us and treat them with disdain.  Generally we are treating those around us and those we will soon need with a disrespect and even hatred simply because we have a trivial  misunderstanding.  We seek to bring increase to ourselves and those who agree with us, leaving all others to there fate.  Greed is ruling us and can destruction and the judgment of the Lord be far behind??

Like the Name, But not so sure about the display

I have looked at my blog for the first time and I am not so sure about the header display.  The header is all in caps at this time.  I truncated my first initial to my middle name to get MAngelo,  it fits me, a handle I have used on my wife's blog from time to time, and at this time when I do this blogging kind of thing.  It is identifying in a very real way and yet allows me to have a form of anonymity (more or less, Blogger/Google knows who I am) . 

BUT when looking at in all caps it looks like I am trying to compensate for not being manly enough.  I seems to say I am MANgelo the blogger.  This does not seem to fit me, I am comfortable being me .   I shall need to consider a different template in the near future...

A Need to be Expressive

I am not one to write much,  and needing to improve my writing I have decided to place my thoughts of a random nature on this Blog.  To share, to think and to get correction from those who would offer positive feed back to me. 

I will aim to add new entries every other day and try to make them readable to all.  

What would my random thoughts be.  They could be my observation on life, my work, computers, video and religion.  Not necessarily in that order, and in the same post.  

Thank you for reading.