Protection

Irenaeus of Lyon
Iraeneus = Peace

Others,

Irenaeus argued for civil government. His argument against Gnosticism was against elitism. Elitism was the basis for economic inequity, imperial expansion with military conquest and cruelty in law enforcement.

Life
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/194.html

Irenaeus was born around 125 CE. He heard the preaching of Polycarp when he was a young man in Smyrna (near Ephesus in what is now western Turkey). Polycarp had been a disciple of the Apostle John.

Irenaeus also studied with Justin the philosopher. He was to preserve the argument for Christianity as a legal religion and the link with the apostolic church with his writing.  Care for the poor was the standard by which government was to be judged.

He moved to Lugdunum in Gaul (now Lyon, France) as a young man. He was sent on a mission to Rome in 177 CE. A severe persecution broke out during his absence. Irenaeus was made bishop upon his return. 

He was a prolific writer against Gnosticism. He wrote the “Proof of the Apostolic Preaching” to preserve respect for Judaism and the Tanakh. He continued to proclaim Jesus as the Christ; the fulfillment of the prophecy expressed in the scripture.

Gnosticism viewed religion as a competition for imperial favor. The religion that was to win the emperor was to become the religion for the empire. This favor carried privilege. Other religions were not seen as official. People from the other religions were not given equal status with those who were.

This was one of the most radical aspects for Justin’s argument for Christianity as a legal religion. It was not an advocacy for singular status as the legal religion. It was an argument for allowing religions other than that of the emperor to have legal status.

The Tanakh preserves standards for leadership in civility. Careful reading of the scriptures shows that care for the poor, fairness in civil justice and defense in military leadership were the standards for civility in government.

It was imperial redaction and the standards for cruelty in punishment for the time that had promoted cruelty as the law and the law as the wrath of God.

Marcion was against the use of Jewish scriptures in Christian worship. Irenaeus argued for the preservation of the Tanakh. This debate took place at a time before the canon or rule for the Christian bible had been established.

Irenaeus listed 21 books that would eventually include 27 books in what had been called the New Testament.

The story of the Fall was not an argument for the establishment of a state religion. It was a persuasion for legal religion to teach morality for civility in government as evolution in civilization. Human kind is immature. We are human beings who are seeking maturity in social relations and individuality.

Adoption was an imperial policy that had been established during the short rule (7 months) of one of the most cruel of Roman emperors, Galba. It represented the potential for improvement.

The adoption of a son by the emperor was a form of selection that allowed the emperor to pick someone who was not from his family for succession. This came to be regarded as an innovation in Roman imperialism.

Adoption
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/tacitus-hist1a.asp
Galba (1^st century CE): “As it is, I, who have been called to the throne by the unanimous consent of gods and men, am moved by your splendid endowments and by my own patriotism to offer to you, a man of peace, that power, for which our ancestors fought, and which I myself obtained by war.…Augustus looked for a successor in his own family, I look for one in the state, not because I have no relatives or companions of my campaigns, but because it was not by any private favour that I myself received the imperial power.”

Irenaeus used the story of Adam and Eve to express the spirit of adoption in a monotheistic form that did not define human nature and the material world as evil. The world is not here to suffer perpetual war, violence and cruelty. The law is not here to promote violence by greater cruelty. (The wrath of God is a province for deity.)

When nature is defined as corrupt it develops skepticism, but it suffers from
the prediction of failure. It is not only self-fulfilling, it is repetitive. If we don’t believe that we can accomplish anything good, we won’t. If we believe that we are engaged in a dualistic struggle between good and evil, we eliminate goodness as a goal and settle for the lesser of evils.

His objective was not like that of imperial adoption. Imperial power
used weapons to force people into submission. He sought to establish peace, non-violent political or social problem solving, as the rule for law. He did not define divine or human nature as corrupt.

If leadership in monarchy and by extension imperialism had been established by military leadership in foreign and domestic arenas, then the prime value for the function was protection from foreign invasion.

It was felt that once a kingdom had become an empire and the empire had become large enough, expansion was not the issue. Defense for the development of civilization was the purpose for the military.

The Roman republic was distinguished from non-democratic kingdom insofar as the citizens of Rome had rights comparable to the monarchical democracy in Athens. The right to vote was a significant distinction.

The republic had elected officials. Rights were limited to rich male landowners however. This limitation transformed the republic into an imperial dictatorship. The struggle to control the dictatorship accounted for a great deal of the violence suffered by the leadership.

The principal work for Irenaeus was “Against Heresies” (translates as “Against Errors”). It was a defense of orthodox Christianity against Gnostic rivals.
Gnostics were using a story line that promoted the establishment of Gnostic Christianity as the state religion. Priests in the state religion were regarded as
having rights as advisors to the leadership.

Gnostics presented a variation of the story for creation in the Platonic
republic. It had a cosmocrator as well as a demiurge. 

The cosmocrator was equated with the devil as the ruler for the world. It was a dualistic system that posited a great struggle between good and evil in order to make the choice of lesser evils the rule for law. This was the means by which rights for the elite citizens were promoted as superior to the rights for ordinary citizens.

The explanation for the existence of evil served as a justification for wars of
aggression for expansion of the empire. The second century witnessed the largest expansion for the Roman empire in the first quarter; the defense of the expansion in the remainder.

“Against Heresies”
Bk.1 Ch.5 P.4 “They further teach that the spirits of wickedness derived their origin from grief. Hence the devil, whom they also call Cosmocrator (the ruler of the world), and the demons and the angels, and every wicked spiritual being that exists, found the source of their existence. They represent the Demiurge as being the son of that mother of theirs (Achamoth), and Cosmocrator as the creature of the Demiurge. Cosmocrator has knowledge of what is above himself, because he is a spirit of wickedness; but the Demiurge is ignorant of such things, inasmuch as he is merely animal.”

Adoption had added choice to imperial power. How nature is defined affects
how that choice was to be used. The ability to choose a successor from outside the family allowed for negotiation to stop the never ending expansion of empire by war and the unlimited perpetuation of violence by investment in cruelty for domestic security.  

The argument for Christianity as a legal religion prepared a way for freedom of religion as a provision in constitutional government. There is not to be just one legal religion, but legal religion is to provide social purpose for civil government. Religion teaches morality and promotes action for social welfare.

Teaching morality may sound provincial and limited in scope, but it has important applications. Consider application in the justice system. When lawmakers make laws that show concession to elitism, religious leadership can protest the error.

Florida has seen the legislation of the Stand Your Ground (SYG) law. This
allows for the legal use of lethal force in life threatening situations.

The problem is that claims to self defense have increased dramatically since the law was first enacted. These claims don’t allow the deceased to present his or her side of the story since he or she is no longer with us.

Skepticism regarding the claim has become a necessity. If self-defense is being claimed in the use of lethal force, then the burden of proof for self-defense by the person making the claim becomes the issue.

The new law shifts the burden for proof from past precedent. Making the state
prove that killing was murder is not the only point for contention. The killer has to prove that he or she acted in self-defense, because the individual assumes a greater authority than a judge, jury or state in the act of making the choice to kill. If acquittal is granted because the state did not prove murder, then gun owners are given an unfair advantage.

Another person can be shot without provocation by a gun owner and the
shooter can claim self-defense based on the lack of testimony to contradict
the claim.

This is insanity. It is not valid law. It is a flawed law. It is ‘legal sleeze’ for
saying that gun owners can get away with murder. Judgment is being assaulted by incidental concerns. Membership in the majority population is not the rule for law in a court of justice.

When court proceedings are reduced to a popularity contest, then justice is
pushed out of the courtroom to favor circus displays to sway public opinion. When membership in the majority population is used to decide if killing was murder, the abuse of majority authority corrupts liberty and justice in the law.

The following piece expresses hope that the death of Trayvon Martin will not
be used to promote travesty in justice for the state, the nation or the world.

Protection
Ps16 Ps77

Your darkness provided protection.
Love’s labor had not been lost.
Work had been worn like a garment.

Sporting contest bore witness
to winners and losers;
one win and one loss
had been tallied for the record.

We had watched as one
with that which had been worthy
in the witnessing as wonderful.

Others were watching to win
conflict by ending competition.
They wished only to win public perception
by deception. Rights were reduced
to the one with a gun.

Shades in the shadows
dance beyond sight.
Feet quicken
without taking flight.

Supplies are for celebration
or commiseration after the game.
When we celebrate accomplishment
we join those with fame.

LEADERSHIP is my portion and my cup;
Your judgment will support me.

Our property is pleasant.
I have a good home.

I have set goodness as my goal;
Fairness resides in liberty with justice.

I bless counsel from the COUNSELOR;
my heart teaches me to listen.

My heart is glad. My spirit rejoices.
My body rests in hope.

I will not fail faith.
I will not seek destruction.

You show me the path of life;
There is fullness of joy in your presence.

When trouble came,
I took flight.

When pursuit caught me,
I did not fight.

When anger struck,
I cried for help.

The skies did not cry.
Fire consumed my breath.

There was no rain.
There was no thunder.
Lightning did not reveal
a whirlwind.

Now the skies are crying.
The earth cries out for justice.

Murder will not be sanctioned
with a false claim.
Lethal force with a deadly weapon
is not self defense
in a fist fight.

LEADERSHIP is my portion and my cup;
Your judgment will support me.

Happiness will rule
in the pursuit of providence
with liberty and justice for all.

================

The skies are crying now.

Rhianna – Umbrella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBfHwUxHIk
Now that it's raining more than eva
Know that we'll still have each otha
You can stand under my umbrella

Read more: http://artists.letssingit.com/rihanna-
lyrics-umbrella-feat-jay-z-8dcjktk#ixzz2XiXrynQt
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community

Stand together under the umbrella
that justice in the law provides.

Steve K.

Heart

Others,

Restore the altar of your heart with burning faith!

Rebuilding the Altar at Mt Carmel
1 Kgs. 18:20
http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp4_RCL.html

Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.

Ahab had married Jezebel, a Phoenician. Faith in Melqart became fashionable in the kingdom. Melqart represented prosperity by military conquest (rule of law with weapons). The prosperity was developed by the exploitation of conquered people. 

Elijah represented faith in Nature's God with a rule of law based on relationship by agreement. Prosperity was part of providence by the promise. Cruelty had not been ruled out as an element in the story about retaliation for violent acts.

The killing of the prophets of Ba’al did not show respect for freedom of religion after the competition, but the imperial story about what was done in the name of Melqart threatened the existence of Israel. There was a literary battle for the hearts and minds of the people that pitted the rule of the One from the many against belief in the rule of the One.

Cruelty in the name of sectarian competition still hasn't been ruled out as much as possible. American military presence was increased in the Middle East to deter the incidence of terror due to primitive tribalism. 

Freedom of religion has been put into the constitution for nations that had had Islam as the only state religion.

“Establishment” had been implicit in Islam as a religion that was more primitive than Christianity or Judaism. Government should not establish religious leaders to rule over people. A religion should establish itself by persuading people that the faith has respect for the rights of others. 

Using the law to establish one religion as legal is the same as saying weapons are necessary to force people to worship a deity. Weapons are not needed for worship. Defense is the only justification for the use of force. Defense is the only justification for war.

Concession to the aggression of imperial expansion by military conquest was regarded as wrong by the prophets of Israel. It was an expression of support for the risk in military action when the prophets of Ba’al danced around and cut themselves with weapons, but it wasn’t an act punishable by death.

The story said that the prophets of Ba’al were put to death, but this was a literary element that envisioned the success of faith in the God of the Covenant in the fullness of time. The violation of the commandment against murder was seen as more active in relation to the pagans and the toleration of human sacrifice.

It wasn't entirely fictional in terms of faith. It is not likely that Elijah had the command of an army that could have had the 450 prophets put to death. It is more likely that the restoration of faith in the promise had eliminated the influence of their promotion of "prosperity" at the expense of conquered people. 

Elijah’s act of sacrificing a bull for a feast did not endorse war. The sacrifice celebrated the union of communion with God. People joined together to celebrate life by eating an animal that was given for the occasion.  They didn’t join together to say that killing others was necessary for prosperity.

As a Sacred Location
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Carmel#As_a_sacred_location
"According to the Books of Kings, there was an altar to God on the mountain, which had fallen into ruin by the time of Ahab, but Elijah built a new one."

1 Kgs. 18

Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, "Israel shall be your name"; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD...At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you are God, and that you have turned their hearts back."

A burning faith was restored to the people. :-)

Archaeology
http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/orencaves.html

Burning Faith
Fm Ps.96

Say, yea Yah!
Yea you!

Rays of faith
burn from this heart as the sun
shines star fire as light
to sight for sound
in song.

Life loves to learn
to live past
time in the gift
of the present.

Now is the time
to seize that which
can be seized
about tomorrow
from the past.

Cease seizing the day
by violent aggression with weapons.
Invasion is a high crime
against the community of nations.
The agent for organization
needs to be charged
for the crime.

The limits for knowing
are set to extend beyond
what had been known.
Exploration is necessary
for growth but,
science limits knowledge
to that which can be acknowledged
as known to investigation
in the due process of law.

Propaganda writes
the story before and after the event
to defend the sale of weapons.
Truth for justice does not condone
killing for propaganda.

Learn to know
what had been the case
for reason and agreement
to see what can
be seen in sowing seeds for
peace and prosperity for living
where discord and poverty
had been the order
for things in dying.

Proclaim the good news
of salvation from day to day.
Declare growth for the economy.
Share resources for the production
of products and the cultivation of service;
risk safety only to protect health.

Insure fairness in commerce
with pricing that is regulated
for consumer consumption;
not the inflation of personal gain
by corporate greed.

There is majesty in the dignity of your presence.
There is splendor and might in the power
of your protection.

Ascribe gratitude for creation
to the Creator.
Ascribe honor and majesty
in achievement to the Performer.
Ascribe to the individual
the Personality of respect for others.

Bring offerings to celebrate community
in the presence of love.

Worship God in the beauty of holiness.
Let the whole earth shine
with the exchange of energy.

Warmth, light and moisture
cause hearts to glow
and help plants to grow
from the dark womb of soil.

The constancy of the law
makes the world as firm as earth.
It cannot be moved
without growth
in progress
for respect.

Let the heavens rejoice.
Let the earth be glad.

Let the thunder rumble
as water dives with droves of drops
from clouds to bodies on the ground.

Then the trees in the forest will shout for joy.
Light will dance on leaves for branches
to drink deeply for life;
liquid substance is shared
with the wind.

The world will be judged for righteousness.
Respect for others will be shown with truth.
Say, yea Yah!
Yea you!

====================

Justin Martyr, the Philosopher (100-167)
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/175.html

Justin was impressed by the steadfastness of the martyrs at Ephesus. He met an aged Christian man by chance while walking on the seashore. The man spoke to him about Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises made through the Jewish prophets.

Christ as Truth
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/evangelistsandapologists/martyr.html

Justin said, "I fell in love with the prophets and these men who had loved Christ; I reflected on all their words and found that this philosophy alone was true and profitable."

Later he moved to Rome. He founded a Christian school. He wrote two bold apologies (i.e., defenses—from the Greek apologia). Justin's First Apology, addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius, was published in 155 CE. He explained the faith. Christianity was not a threat to the state. He asserted that it should be treated as a legal religion.

The proposal to accept Christianity as legal did not rule out acceptance of other religions. While polytheism was flawed insofar as emperor worship was included as a requirement, it allowed for a multiplicity of faiths.

The cult for each god or goddess was an expression of faith for a different religion. The greatest flaw for monotheism as a state cult was that it increased the risk for violence against those who did not belong to the cult.

The argument for Christianity as a legal religion however did not go as far as the provision for freedom of religion. This provision clearly affirms each person has the right to free exercise so long as the establishment of a religion for the state is not being promoted. 

The role for the state in terms of religion is to defend the right for an individual to participate in a community of faith. Respect for the right of others to the same freedom is a requirement by law.

Justin was asked by the prefect to denounce his faith after he was arrested in Rome by making a sacrifice to the gods. Justin replied, "No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false."

It was an easy answer. Justin had spent most of his adult life discerning truth from deception. Freedom of religion asserts that it would also be wrong for the state to ask anyone to denounce the right to another faith by claiming allegiance to Christ, God, monotheism or any particular religion.

It is also wrong to force a suspect to confess to a crime with the threat of violent force.

Suspect Killed During Interview
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/22/justice/florida-fbi-shooting-boston/index.html 

  
"Ibragim Todashev, who died during the interview with authorities, not only confessed to his direct role in slashing the throats of three people in Waltham, Massachusetts, but also fingered Tsarnaev in the deaths, the official said Wednesday."

It was reported that Todashev was shot seven times. One shot was delivered to the back of his head. It was reported that he attacked the FBI agent with "some kind of weapon." 

He had turned over the table after signing the confession. Doesn't the excessive use of force scream “forced confession”? How many times does someone without a gun have to be shot to stop the perception of a threat?

The song “Baba O’Riley” sings.

"I don't need to fight to prove I'm right."

The statement is very true, but the corollary is not:

            I don't need to fight to prove that civil and human rights are just.
            They are natural. They don't need to be defended with violent action.
            Valid arguments support justification for proof.

The cruel dehumanization presented throughout the history of civilization as "justice" made the defense of rights a constant struggle. It is not the defense of my rights that transcends and promotes progress as evolution in the process.

Each elitist defaults to his or her right to accumulate capital despite the cost to others. It is the defense of rights for others that wins respect. This defense earns respect for individual rights in the life of each person.

I don’t need to fight to prove I’m right, but I will use truth to defend freedom with justice.

Steve K.

Islands

Happy Mother’s Day!

Others,

Women’s rights are part of being human. Rights are natural. Why is it that we have to “fight” for our rights? The organization for civilization has not been civil. Please look at this view of history for herstory.

Julian of Norwich
http://www.julianofnorwich.com/t_aboutjulian.php
“Julian was born in 1342, a contemporary of Chaucer and believed to be the first woman to write a book in Middle English, Revelations of Divine Love. She lived well into her seventies, experiencing the turmoil of the Hundred Years’ War, three outbreaks of the Black Plague, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Great Western Schism and gale winds of hurricane force.”

“When she was thirty, Julian experienced a desperate illness during which she witnessed dramatic, mystical visions which healed her and radically changed her. She wrote extensively of these “showings” for the rest of her life. Thomas Merton proclaimed her the “greatest theologian for our time.””

---------------------------------------

Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) lived after the Norman Conquest. It was during the Hundred Years’ War, when the kings of England were fighting to claim the crown for France.  It was a time of turmoil, but the competition for the claim was not explicitly religious. It was largely economic.

It was after the consolidation of the Church with papal authority in the west. It was before the Protestant reformation of the sixteenth century, but the Lollard movement was gaining force. The Lollards grew in size with the work of John Wycliffe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Church_of_England#Separation_from_Papal_authority

The movement opposed a number of practices of the Roman Catholic Church. It was prompted by the translation of the bible into English. It was characterized by anti-ritual and anti-clerical postures that were supported by John of Gaunt, father to Henry IV; Henry deposed Richard II Gaunt’s nephew. Monastic holdings were being viewed as a source of revenue for the selection of the next “suitable war.”

Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches still oppose the claim to papal supremacy that is ascribed to Gregory the Great (540-604).  The “first phase” of the claim is based on his debate with Eutychius, as patriarch of Constantinople. It is claimed [without substantiation] that Eutychius had argued that the resurrected body of Christ would no longer be “palpable.”  Gregory argued for palpability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I#Controversy_with_Eutychius

Gregory’s papacy (590-604) included a period where the papal office claimed public authority in government. It was during a period when the Lombards were attacking Rome. Constantinople refused to send military support. He established alms for the people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I#Alms  

Papal supremacy claims authority over secular power and other Christian leadership. It was used to orchestrate the crusades and the inquisition. Opposition to papal supremacy [and the yet to be added infallibility] is comparable to that of manifest destiny.

Free government cannot be imposed by military force. When military force is used, government is not elected by the people. Faith in a loving God cannot be forced by claims to supremacy or infallibility. War, violence, cruelty and usury impair free will.

The Avignon papacy had been instituted in 1309 after the crowning of Louis X as King of France in 1305.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_papacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_X_of_France

There was Gallican opposition to papal supremacy in France. The Gallican articles would eventually declare that the pope did not have authority over secular power; that ecclesiastical power supersedes papal authority; the papacy must defer to regional custom and papal decrees must be adopted by the church for recognition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_supremacy#Gallicanism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallican_articles

Julian of Norwich was not a princess. She was not of noble birth according to aristocratic claim to the throne. She was a layperson; an anchorite; who devoted her life to prayer and simple living. While she described herself as “unlettered” her writing about the revelations to her shows evidence of having read or heard some influential written works.

Julian had written:  “And in this dying was brought to my mind the words of Christ: I thirst.
For I saw in Christ a double thirst: one bodily; another spiritual...”
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich

The “bodily” dimension for Christ is the role that religion plays in politics. People do not have to belong to the same religion as the political leader. People of religion however have a voice in representing what decisions are made in civil authority. Freedom of religion then allows free exercise and prohibits the establishment of a state religion by government.

 Ultimately, civil and human rights are the driving force for government. Rights are the common concern for religion and government.  Debate is necessary for forming the best decisions.  Debate has to be reasonable however in order to be functional.

Knowledge of history has often been used to repeat errors from the past. Karl Popper, a professor of philosophy at the London School for Economics, called this use of knowledge “historicism.” The elitist model for the economy, agriculture, politics and education has been used to impose dictatorship on society with tyranny.

The establishment of religion by the state was an intricate part of the brain washing of people into compliance. The basic assertion that God rules creation for the peace and benefit of all was twisted to mean that the dictator is the Creator by means of destruction and oppression.

The threat of attack by alien agents had been used to elicit alliance to fight against the “enemy” with war. Some empires had used war and genocide in an effort to destroy the “threat” of opposition. Support from people had been coerced by the claim that war is necessary for peace and security (for the alliance of kingdoms known as empire “under” the king of kings).

How is faith in the bodily resurrection of Christ supposed to deal with this historicism? Civic government has to be civil in order to achieve civility in building civilization. The role for religion then is NOT to endorse concession to the force of tyranny as perpetuated by elitism (this ascribes absolute power to an individual human being).

Religion is to teach morality so each citizen can choose to live ethically (like your mother taught you). How is that different from concession to forced compliance? Opposition to war, genocide, murder, violence, cruelty, usury and oppression is required. The commandment against killing is a categorical imperative against evil action. While opposition to evil is a condition for loving others, it is the external proof for love.

Has the US with the bill of rights been a bastion for civility? Experientially, the great society was an exercise in corrective action. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy had extended the claim to civil rights, the proper province for manifest destiny, to “the people.”

President Lyndon Johnson had directed the nation into a greater concern for civility with the plan for the great society, but there was a concession to disrespect for human rights in the escalation of involvement of US forces with “boots on the ground” in Viet Nam.

The extension of concern for civility increased the amount of investment that was placed into social security and education, but it was an investment that was beneficial for society, not just the elite. Why question a nation that has the goal of government by the people as a constitutional element?

Look at this aspect of American history. Consider what Sen. Calhoun of SC had to say about manifest destiny in 1848.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Manifest_Destiny
"W]e have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race—the free white race. To incorporate Mexico, would be the very first instance of the kind, of incorporating an Indian race; for more than half of the Mexicans are Indians, and the other is composed chiefly of mixed tribes. I protest against such a union as that! Ours, sir, is the Government of a white race.... We are anxious to force free government on all; and I see that it has been urged … that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious liberty over all the world, and especially over this continent. It is a great mistake."

Calhoun's definition of the US is racist, but his protest against the use of military force in imposing manifest destiny was valid. It also has to be noted that the bill of rights for that time was racist AND sexist. Only white male landowners could vote.

White women and people of color could not. Children were defined as slaves. Slavery was still legal. The argument against forcing free government on others however is something western expansionists have to use to re-think what had been regarded as acceptable in coalition alliance.

Compare the percentage of native Americans to native Mexicans to get an idea of how racist the development of the USA has been.

It is estimated that only 0.9% of the US population is indigenous. That is less than 1%!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States#Population_and_distribution

Native Mexicans weigh in at 13% of the population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_Mexico#Statistics

Calhoun's estimate of "Indians" in the Mexican population was probably overstated, but the contrast of US and Mexican populations for natives puts the US to shame.

Our record of respect for civil and human rights is disgraceful. It took Lyndon Johnson's great society to bring about a change in respect. It is a change that needs to be reinstituted for our society, but sending the military anywhere on the planet to force regime change for violations of human rights is exactly what the world does not need.

The ideals expressed in the bible hold a vital potency for civility anywhere. Opposition to cruelty has to be regarded as a part of “doing no harm” for the benefit of civilization in the world.

The following re-write expresses faith that the Creator has invested goodness into the design for nature. Our job is to find the design.

Islands
from Psalm 97

Let the earth rejoice.
Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.

The LORD shines.
The clouds tremble.
The sea sends out her sound.

Clouds echo with radiance for justice.
The ocean hugs shores for comfort.
The islands sing silence to the pounding pulse
of her surging down.

Star fire burns without extinction.
Goodness consumes shadows of substance;
deliberately expressing statements to be found.

Lightning lights the earth.
The world hides under darkness.
The thunder rumbles around.

Mountains melt like wax as radiant rays
blast trees standing their ground.
Shadows follow to unify forest.

The heavens declare righteousness.
People see glory with light.
The world understands nothing without sight.

Let the earth rejoice.
Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.

Zion feels sadness.
The cities praise civility.
Your judgments stand out in time.

You are the LORD most high.
You shine over all the earth.
You are exalted from the heavens.

You love those who respect others.
You preserve those who live with respect for life.
You abhor war, violence, cruelty,
killing, destruction and usury.

Light shines for the righteous.
Joyful gladness radiates from hearts for love.
The LORD shines from the heights
so our light may shine for others
like islands of sight for the sky.

Let the earth rejoice.
Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.

Rejoice in the LORD for being.
Give thanks for your thinking with singing
to his holy Name.  ;-)

=======================

King Crimson – Islands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky5qjU8LEQI

“Gaunt granite climbs where gulls wheel and glide
Mournfully glide o'er my island…”

“Islands join hands
'Neathe heaven's sea.”

Stand united for love.

Steve K.

 

Selection

 

 

Others,

This article chalks one up for imperial tyranny. Yes. It waves the flag. It strikes up the band. It also says good bye to human and civil rights because only the elite are granted prosperity.
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21576094-now-especially-world-needs-hold-fast-margaret-thatchers-principles-freedom-fighter?fsrc=scn/gp/wl/pe/freedomfighter

Thatcher changed the world all right. She made it worse along with Reagan. They made it easy for the Koch brothers and Murdoch to define big government as evil, so democracy could act as a front for dictatorship.

It's not that they believe in violence. It's just that for them, the end justifies the means. If it takes the industry for war to increase the accumulation of capital, then that's what they are willing to dictate.

--------------------------------

Levin was the sponsor for the NDAA. The NDAA authorizes the use of indefinite detention, targeted killing and propaganda. He's an authority on disappointment since he supports aggression rather than non-aggression; national security at the expense of social and international security. :-P
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-12/levin-calls-china-real-disappointment-on-north-korea.html
"Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said the Chinese aren’t “doing what they can do and should do” to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons program."

The elite have defined political leadership as the selection of a suitable war. The world needs a different form of selection from leadership. The following celebrates the struggle to promote equity in the economy with politics.

Selection
from Ps30, Jhn21, Acts 9

The prosecutor was on the road
to the city of burning desire
to persecute those who followed
the path of salvation
with respect for basic needs
with prosperity.

The blindness of his error
assaulted him on the road
He was brought to question
the difference between prosecution
and persecution. When prosecution
was brought against those
who did not warrant it,
it was persecution.  

Integrity in leadership
was being lifted to lead.

Politics for providence
has been selected
to replace power without principles.

When “defense” is the only function
for the state upon which different parties agree,
defense becomes offense;
the suitable selection of war becomes a goal;
and spending becomes oppressive.

Utter dependence upon poor precedent
is enslavement to regression.
When war wins everyone loses.
When violence dictates policy
there is no respect for liberty.

When genocide imposes control with fear
there is no justice that is fair.

What is worthy of condemnation?

Wars for aggression and genocide
are high crimes, yet the elite
have defined leadership
as the selection of a suitable war.
The definition is fundamentally flawed
insofar as it condones wars for aggression.

The elite have arranged to pay
a lower rate in taxes. They have more
to invest in lobbies and campaigns
for their advantage.

They calculate their investment so it is
less than that which the common
taxpayer pays. They get more power
for less when political leadership
concedes to their insistence
irrespective of national integrity.
Integrity defines the balance
between social and national security.

High crimes demand prosecution,
but the elite shift the focus
to the offense caused by others
to avoid prosecution.

The nation has to prosecute the charge for the people.
Justice will select those who are most guilty.

Crime is prosecuted
so it won’t be condoned.
The convicted are set apart
for correction.

When slavery is inflicted
by the credit crunch of debt
there is no equity in the economy.

If we are only to condemn any wrong
among the non-elite
who could stand? Each has error.
Any can be condemned.

The goodness of God will never end,
but it is eclipsed from view by those
who believe in aggression
when aggressors are granted
their advantage..

Divine blessings will never cease,
but they are often usurped
by those who endlessly
push for their own advantage.

I have called to you
from out of the depths LORD.
Please listen to my voice.
Hear that which needs
to be achieved.
Feed our need.

My soul will magnify you.
My spirit will rejoice in your salvation.
You lifted me up.
You did not let death
triumph over me.

I cried to you.
You restored my health.

You brought me up from the dead
to shine in the light of the living.

Sing to the LORD, dear friends.
Give thanks for the remembrance of love.

The wrath of storm lasts for a time.
Divine favor lasts much longer in time.
It provides deliverance
from the bad of the past.

Weeping had spent the night,
but joy came with the morning.

You turned my wailing into dance.
You put off my rags and clothed me
with happiness.

Have you nothing to show for your labor?
Work to find the providence that is there for you.
Direct your attention where
you will find what you need.

Liberty is the thing for which we sing,
but it takes work to find that which is worthy
of happiness.

My heart will sing to you without ceasing.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks
without end.

==========================

Religion has often started as an opposition movement to government oppression. The establishment of a state religion has been used as a propaganda tool to promote war, but aggression itself has a broader base.

Establishment religion was for independence until it became a tool for the accumulation of capital with war under the banner of security.

Those who justify aggression as natural selection contribute to the war for aggression, a criminal cry that promotes high crime. Freedom of religion provides a remedy. It helps to separate powers.

Government has to separate those powers aimed at the claim to absolute power by destructive means, particularly wars for aggression, genocide and usury.

Political leadership needs to orchestrate unity in relation to provision for basic needs with respect for prosperity for posterity. We are part of a contingency for the global community.

Michael Jackson – We Are the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teBLivo6VAw

We are the world. We are the children…
There’s a choice we’re making.
We’re saving our own lives.

Steve K.



Fire from Heaven

Others,

The bible is a mixture of history, literature and religious doctrine.  The historical perspective seeks to extract history from the mix. Judaic scripture covers a broader expanse of time. Comparatively, that which is Christian does not have as much in the way of extra-biblical verification. Nevertheless, there are passages in the Christian scripture that call attention to certain events that can be viewed in relation to archaeological or textual discovery.

The following passage refers to Pontius Pilate, Galileans and an action that Pilate with which he was associated. While much historical investigation has been dedicated to showing the existence of Jesus, this statement allows us to examine imperial doctrine as it related to conquered people.

Luke 13:1
http://bible.cc/luke/13-1.htm

There were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

-----------------------------

It has been shown that stories about the emperor identified him as the son of the god of war; that he was also given the title, “high priest,” for his role in promoting human sacrifice for the peace of the imperial city through the call for war, the execution of those found to be guilty of crime and the extermination of people found to be troublesome to peace in the empire (genocide).

The next citations will show that there was an imperial religion (the religion of the emperor for the people of the empire). This religion was used to identify dissidents who could have their blood “mingled with their sacrifices” for the imperial city.

Pliny the Younger was the governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. He had written a letter to the Emperor Trajan around 112 CE where he described the morality of Christian religious practices, but categorized the teaching of Jesus and his followers as “excessive and contagious superstition.”

Trajan wrote back: “No search should be made for these people; when they are denounced and found guilty they must be punished; with the restriction, however, that when the party denies himself to be a Christian and shall give proof that he is not (that is by adoring our gods) he shall be pardoned on the ground of repentance, even though he may have formerly incurred suspicion.”

Text
http://www.westarkchurchofchrist.org/library/extrabiblical.htm
History
http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/foxs-book-of-martyrs/the-third-persecution-under-trajan-a-d-108.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire#Under_Trajan 

It was stipulated that the name of the accuser must be admitted to avoid the establishment of a precedent that would encourage anonymous accusations. While it may sound as though Trajan was being compassionate, he was clarifying that he was not seeking to exterminate all Christians. He was using the accusations against them to limit the persecution to coerce conversion to the imperial religion.

The citation from Josephus specifically describes an incident that took place between Pontius Pilate and the Jews over his placement of images of Caesar in Jerusalem:

“Pilate…brought those images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; … when the Jews petitioned him again [to remove the effigies of Caesar from Jerusalem], he gave a signal to the soldiers to surround them, and threatened that their punishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home.”  (“Jewish Antiquities,” Ch. 3:55-59)
http://www.theistic-evolution.com/josephus.html 

The Jews were threatened with death, but they stated that they would not transgress their law. Pilate withdrew the effigies of Caesar from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Another incident that occurred while Pilate was in Judah saw 4,000 Jews banished to an island.

Biblical criticism places Luke after Mark and Matthew in the order in which they had been written. It is conceivable that the sacrifice of Galileans was a reference to an event that took place after the crucifixion of Jesus.  It is unique to Luke. It was placed in the context of the gospel to record an escalation in the persecution of Christians.

Galileans were residents of Galilee. They were associated with Samarians by Judeans and with the zealots by the Romans. Galileans are mentioned as residents of Galilee in John 4:45 and Acts 2:7. Judas the Galilean is named as the leader of an unsuccessful revolt in Acts 5:37.
http://www.about-jesus.org/galileans.htm

Julian the Apostate (331-363 CE) would come to call all Christians, Galileans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_the_Apostate

This association of a whole group with the violent acts of a small sect has taken place in our time as well. It was common to identify “Jihad” or “holy war” as an extremist doctrine prior to the invasion of Afghanistan. Afterwards, the opposition to Jihadist doctrine came to be used as a justification for the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq. The invasions served to reinforce Islamic fears that western claims to government as representative of human rights were being used as a pretense for wars of aggression.

Spirit as Fire
From Exodus 3, Psalm 63, 1Corinth 10, Luke 13.

The bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
An angel appeared in the flame with the name
that cannot be expressed in word. It can only
be heard with faith in life:

“I am the God of your ancestors;
the one from many nations;
the laughter from unexpected events;
the champion who wins against expectations.
I AM what I AM for who I AM”

Our ancestors were under the cloud.
They passed through the sea.
They were baptized into the law
of liberty. They witnessed the flame
that burned without being consumed.
They consumed spiritual food and drink.
They drank from the Spirit
that led them to the Rock of Christ.

They were tested by trials
that called them to look beyond
the things that can be seen.
They were not tested beyond
the ability to endure the trial.
A way out was provided with the test,
so they could endure it.
They believed that the call to faith
in a better life needed to be recorded
for us in our time.

Do you think that all those
who were killed by cruelty
were worthy of punishment?
Do you believe that all those who died
in natural disaster deserved their fate?

If you should die believing that God
is cruel, you will not have experienced
what it was to live with faith in love.

Ancient Inspiration
for our ancestors,
you have become my God.
I will not be tested
beyond my strength.
I will seek you eagerly.

My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh longs for you
as in a barren land where
there is no water.

I have sought your face in a holy place
that I may give you praise for your power
and glory.

I will bless you as long as I live
and lift up my hands in your name.

You have been my helper.
I will rejoice in the shelter
that you provide for me.

==========================

When the government uses cruelty, violence or lethal force as power to establish religion, it is not good for the state or the religion. When Augustine wrote about his conversion to faith, he used the bible and classic literature from Greco-Roman civilization to guide his work. When he wrote the City of God, it was inspired but it was directed towards the establishment of Christianity as the imperial religion. Crucifixion was ended and the Coliseum was no longer used for human sacrifice after this design was instituted, but people could still be tortured, killed or over-taxed for not belonging to the imperial religion.

This practice continued beyond the boundaries of the Roman empire. While Pelagius was in error regarding the expression of belief in moral perfection, the work of Augustine was not declared as erroneous by a council because the councils were following the model for political organization that had been established within empire. There was widespread toleration for the proposition that empire had to entertain one legal religion because the emperor or a king could only adhere to one religion.

===================

The life of Chad had been lived in the English midlands during the seventh century. His humble lifestyle helped people to believe that bishops were not elevated in order to live at the expense of the people.

Take the lowest place when invited to the party.
http://bible.cc/luke/14-10.htm

Chad (Ceadda) died 672 CE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia
"In 669, a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore of Tarsus, sent by Pope Vitalian arrived in England. He immediately set off on a tour of the country, tackling abuses of which he had been forewarned. He instructed Chad to step down and Wilfrid to take over.

“According to Bede, Theodore was so impressed by Chad's show of humility that he confirmed his ordination as bishop, while insisting he step down from his position… (Chad had said that he always thought himself unworthy of the position, so he would gladly step down from it.)

"Archbishop Theodore refused to consecrate a new bishop. Instead, he recalled Chad out of his retirement at Lastingham. According to Bede, Theodore was greatly impressed by Chad's humility and holiness. This was displayed particularly in his refusal to use a horse: he insisted on walking everywhere. Despite his regard for Chad, Theodore ordered him to ride on long journeys and went so far as to lift him into the saddle on one occasion."

==================

While there were humble clergy during the time when christianity was the religion for the state as empire or kingdom, it did not significantly reduce the propensity for sectarian strife where there was only one legal religion.

Freedom of religion was added in the first amendment to the US Constitution by James Madison. It is quite possibly the most radical proposal regarding the relations between government and religion (let alone church and state) in the history of the world. It is a human right that acknowledges the value that religion holds for teaching morality as a means for achieving civility in representative government.

The English divine right of kings had been a re-statement of the Chinese mandate from heaven. Both were attempts to justify imperial legalism, a political doctrine that promoted the severe punishment of those found guilty of crime as religious belief.

Constitutional democracy had been designed to take apart the claim to absolute power in government with the separation of powers. The international oligarchy that promotes the industry for war has undermined the ability to take down the claim. This has been accomplished with tax loopholes, breaks and government decisions that benefit the wealthiest citizens at the expense of the rest of the population. 

This juncture of history shows us that it has been the accumulation of profit with war that has motivated the elite to override social and national security concerns for their advantage. Currently, money is being used to buy decisions through lobbies, campaign contributions and propaganda communications. While the wealthiest citizens and their corporations are not paying the same proportion in taxes, the elitist advantage is being used to discount the power of the people.

There is a heaven on earth not worth our support.

Adele – Skyfall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeumyOzKqgI

Let the sky fall.
When it crumbles,
we will stand tall
and face it all together
at skyfall.

Individual rights are relative to the respect shown for the rights of others. Elitist privilege cannot be allowed to rule out the right to provide for basic needs. Record profits shown during hard economic times show that too much support has been given to corporations. The sequester shows that national and social security are suffering from the advantage being given to the elite.

Stand tall. Face it all together at skyfall.

Steve K.