Monday, August 21, 2006

signs o" the times

i think that the cats are still sleeping. yep- the small one is napping- they both had a bite and took naps. probably be a couple of days before they settle back into their daily routine of eating and napping :) so, the company left and i came home and showered and put my jammies on. thought i would watch a bit of the mindless boob tube before calling it a night. has anyone out there ever tried to find anything decent to watch on a sunday nite? is this punishment or pennance? i know in olden days that folks couldn`t do any work or play but had church and reading the scriptures quietly all day. apparently, the cable and network folks still believe this is true- absolute bupkus on. so- i found myself watching the history channel. now, it was just on in the background because i- true to form from one of these blog surveys i have taken on many of your blogs- was making my left brained, uptight, perfectionist list of who to get what for the holidays. i say holidays because i have many folks of different "faiths" who we participate in gift giving with. not to mention the cookie and fudge making- so i prepare in the summer when i am not stressed. but, i digress.

i look up at the tv- and i discover that i am watching a show called "the antichrist." it is apparently a 2 hour show. huh. cable tv with a show on about the rapture and stuff. it got better because i watched "the exodus decoded" after(and fyi it was a much better show). anyhoo, after spending the weekend debating and discussing politics and religion with my friend- it was interesting to even catch part of these shows. the only part that stuck out in my mind was the mark of the beast- and in referencing it- the show flashed chips that are implanted in the head or hand. well, i think you all know where we are headed with this one. rfid technology is on the scene. in fact, walmart and some medical offices are currently using it. since i missed the first part- ok most of- the program- i took it upon myself to do some research. no- not about rfid- about prophecy.

i found it interesting that today's current rapture crapture was really invented in the 1800's and that so many folks really bought into it. it really took off in the 1970's with hal lindsey's books and there has been no turning back. anyhoo- my question isn't one that wants to know how anyone can buy into this- we have already established my stance as anti organized religion of any kind. no- i was wondering- what is the evangelical take on current events here in this country? are they beginning to see cheney and rummy as the beast and the false prophet? how can they reconcile the move by our own government to make (and let me borrow the term from the right) a "new world order?" their knickers have been in a bit of a twist about the proposed federal id card- so i wondered what they are talking about these days- is that another reason the repubs are a bit nervous about midterm elections? i mean they have been a bit big brother lately and allegedly- according to benny hinn and that other guy on the history channel- evangelicals are against that sort of thing. so- please feel free to chime in and anwer some of these questions- again the biggest being how to reconcile continued support for this government in light of them taking on bestial properties- and clue me in on the true story.

23 comments:

The Future Was Yesterday said...

Those dumbass's have been seeing the "end of the world" or the "rapture" as you describe it, for as long as I can remember.

Read the entire KJV book of Revelations sometime. It will give you vast insight on why Bush rules by promoting fear instead of solidarity. They once claimed the mark of the beast was "666." Some still do. Others have now changed to rfid chips. Still others to national ID cards. You may see a trend towards loonie tunes there. .

Fwiw, I think the book of Revelations is a huge crock of...stuff. But then I think the same of the bible, so paint me heathen, put the chip in my head, brand me rebel #666 and let's get it on!:)

Spadoman said...

Betmo....
I have been purposely staying away from the Religion stuff. Trying to "walk the walk", like they say in AA or any 12 step program, God as I understand him, (or her).

I don't feel it is my business to try to convert anyone to my way of thinking. I don't know who is right or if anyone is right or wrong about their beliefs.

I certainly think that anyone who tells you that they are right and if you don't believe like they believe you'll go to hell or pay the consequences. I can't and won't say that to people, because I don't believe that.

Unlike the suited crusaders that come knocking at the door and preach, or the TV folks that spew forth their words, I don't care what they think. I'm comfortable with what I have, my spirit.

If someone wants to know about how I do it, ask me. If they want to tell me about how they do it, if I'm in a listening mood, or the person is a friend and I want to pay him or her the respect of listening, then I will listen. But I have what I have and don't care what others do, say and think.

Obviously, what bothers me is the blind followers that believe it's all true if someone of the cloth is saying it, or if some so-called authority is saying it, like the president for example. I'm also bothered by the people who pay a lot of money to get on TV and ask for money so they can get the word out, (and make more money).

If it was all true, someone is right and everyone else who thinks another way is wrong. That is just pure BS.

The Kansas School board wanted to teach Intelligent Design in schools. That's the principle that says that Darwin had a theory that we evolved and the only other explanation is that we were designed by a Christian God.

A college student named Bobby Henderson from Oregon wrote and told them he believed God is a Flying Spaghetti Monster. He has followers of upwards of a million people now, just by creating satire and proving that the fundamentalists can not be the only ones telling the truth.

Look at his site, I think it's cool!

http://www.venganza.org/

Now, think what makes you comfortable. Organise if you want to. I, personally, skip the middle man. I use my heartstrings.

Spadoman said...

tfwy.....
By the way, here is some interesting information for you.

U.S. Route 666, a highway running through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah long saddled with the Biblical 'number of the beast,' will be renamed 'Route 491' on July 30, putting an end to decades of devilish innuendo and road sign thievery. Navajo medicine men will be on hand to bless the new highway and 'cleanse' the old one at a rechristening ceremony in New Mexico. Take that, Satan!

I don't remember where I got this information, but I saw an article some time ago and saved it. I'll try to find out and relay the proper credits.

The point is, our own government as well as some Navajo medicine person felt it was the "sign of the beast" and had the route designation removed.

I like the idea that the government was trying to save money because people were stealing the signs.:)

billie said...

i find it amusing that it is the christian mark of the beast number but a native american medicine man is cleansing it.

Spadoman said...

Yes, that, and in the article, the cleansing ceremony is called a re"christ"ening. I didn't know christ built the roads and named them too. :)

Obob said...

the end of the world is nowhere near, think about the plague that struck in the 15th cent. being nanking during the japanese genocide, the holocaust or when people watched saved by the bell on purpose. there have been darker times. i'm not worried, heck i could get taken out by a truck in the morning, no fear here

Frederick said...

Be sure to wear your Glen Reynolds signature edition pampers.

Is Tomorrow Doomsday?

Charlene Amsden said...

It is my belief that the "media" Christian does not represent the average American citizen. Those of us who call ourselves Christian and try to live what we believe, know that Matthew 24:36 says no one knows when Jesus will return to claim his church. No one knows but it will be when we least expect it -- and I would say that time is not now.

SadButTrue said...

Spadoman said, "Obviously, what bothers me is the blind followers that believe it's all true if someone of the cloth is saying it, or if some so-called authority is saying it, like the president for example."

What a lot of people fail to recognize is that the word Faith comes from the Latin 'fidelis', indicating not an unquestioning belief in an idea, but in unquestioning loyalty and obedience to some person or organization. It is from this etymological connection that the common name for a dog, Fido, comes.
While it is perfectly reasonable to expect loyalty and obedience from a dog, it is not a characteristic I find particularly praiseworthy when exhibited by humans. The greatest crimes are not carried out by individuals like serial killer Ted Bundy, nor by criminal enterprises like the Mafia. They are carried out by governments and nearly invariably ordained and sanctified by religions.
The armies of Mohammed were faithful as they swept across the Holy Land. A few centuries later the faith of the Crusaders was an inspiration to all Christendom. In modern times the Nazi stormtroopers and the Japanese Kamikazis stand out as paragons of loyalty and obedience.
There is an enormous quantity of frightening news in the United States these days. 'Bush submits terror detainee bill' (Jul 13, Boston.com) that would allow him to treat American citizens like the Gitmo prisoners. No trial, no lawyer, no charges. Scary. 'KBR building vast detention centers in America' Who are they planning to put in those, I wonder? Terrifying.
The news that scares me the most is in those little stories that barely get mentioned. You know, the ones about some recruit or officer trainee at the Air Force academy or Annapolis, who complains that he or she is under pressure from the Academy, its officers, and fellow recruits, to become a Born Again Christian just like them. That story really puts the fear of the Lord into me. And I'm an atheist.

Frank Partisan said...

The Christian Zionist movement had a field day, with the Lebanese war.

QUASAR9 said...

So was the Exodus Decoded as good as it sounds, did it shed any light, or reveal any new insights?

QUASAR9 said...

Betmo, never mind ID tags

Credit rating & Credit tagging
Health rating & DNA tagging

Racial profiling
Political affiliation profiling

Did you know that Tony Blair, and his first Labour Cabinet including Jack Straw, had all been profiled and criminalised during their student years by the Right Wing Conservative government.

Did you know the same was the case of the first Socialist government in Spain, by the previous Regime or fascist Right Wing dictatorship.

There is little difference between Spain's ultra right disctatorship in the Franco years and the Whithouse. In fact they were bed fellows. The white house spent the best part of the 70s & 80s supporting right wing dictatorships in latinamerica, and today's US administration is formed by people of the same mindset who still live in their own 'bubble' or 'cocoon' or ivory towers - and like the beast feed off people's fears.

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

The truth? You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!

or

Holy schnikes!

Either one of these answers is the truth... Can you handle them as my response to the Verchip?

I thought as much, but then you already knew what I thought... I think?

The rapture crapture! Hooooo Agggghhhhh!

The future was yesterday,
The mark of the beast is the loonie toons and not 666? Crap! There goes that particular station! And I loved Bugs and Daffy sooooo much! Drat...
Chips in my head? I say bring `em on!

Spadoman,
Heartstrings are good. Keep walking the walk, my friend.

Route 666 has been given a new number "491", eh? Someone might find 491 to be a bit of the same. I mean "491" think about it. 491 is the year of Ælle, who was the first king of the South Saxons from 477 to perhaps as late as 514, and was the first king recorded by Bede to have held imperium over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Then in 491, Ælle with the help of Cissa successfully besieged Anderida (also identified as Pevensey), and slew all of the inhabitants.

That's not looking good! :>)

Another problem with 491... is Zeno!

Tarasicodissa, as he was known as a young man, was an Isaurian tribesman from the region now known as Armenia. The Isaurians are thought to be ancestors of the modern Kurds, and were looked upon as barbarians by the Romans even though they had been Roman citizens for more than two centuries. Still, a fortuitous turn of events ultimately placed Tarasicodissa on the throne in Constantinople.
He died on April 9, 491, after ruling for 17 years and 2 months. court, Anastasius, to succeed him.

There is an old (1964) movie titled 491.
The plot= It is written that 490 times you can sin and be forgiven. This motion picture is about the 491st.

"Ru roh"...

US House Passes 491-Billion Defense Bill With Money For Iraq War. Drat!

Middle East News Dispatch #491

And lastly- The Number 491

491 in English: four hundred ninety one-

4+9+1 = 14 and 14 divided by the number of digits in 491 (3) = 4 with a remainder of 2! NOW add 4 + 2 and you get 6 the numbers in 491 again = 3 and 3x6 = 18! 666!

Wow! I just figured out how these fools came up with 491 as the new highway number to replace highway 666!

My head now hurts real bad!

Boo said...

Meh... read revelations in high school. Its supposed to be all symbolic isn't it?

Second coming... rapture... blah, blah, blah... its all just propaganda designed to get you to put your paycheck in the basket.

Oh, and don't forget it's to make you intolerant of others and racist.

Spado - my hubby walks that walk too... hugs from me dude.

Intelligent design??? I could go on for hours... (did you know there is not ACTUAL EVIDENCE of evolution??? We've seen it happen folks...!!!! Google it!!!!

666? were there even "numbers" when the Beast came to be? lol Hieroglyphs... Cuneiform... oops!!! that doesn't quite jibe with the age of the earth now does it??? That would be before the earth was formed by god!!!! I'm such a sinner!!!

How much freaking evidence do people want anyway?

A friend (JA), who is also an atheist, told me a neat story lastnight. JA is a genius, so when he wants to know about something, well, he just learns it. So. Being atheist - or deciding to become atheist - involved a great deal of research. Downtown, he was approached by a very young man, wanting JA to be "born again"... since he had time, JA decided to see what he had to say. Then proceeded to pretty much strike down everything the kid told him. He asked "how can you believe this simply because someone says its true" "why dont you do your OWN research, THEN decide if you believe and want to devote your life to it"...

I figured the kid probably went home and hung himself... which is funny but not funny. JA tells me he only debates this topic with young people because he figures they can handle it and have time to learn... he figures once you reach about 40, its not worth the arguement.

Just goes to show what a little smarts can do...

G_in_AL said...

I've got a great deal of opinion on this subject, but I usually keep it too myself.

There are a plethera of "signs" that are supposed to signal the end times. Many more than trying to pick out the Antichrist, and especially since you wont know who he/she is until they've chosen to reveal themselves...

And by the way, the President couldnt possibly him/her as the Antichrist is supposed to be a really kick-butt politician... a real "peace maker" at first, until he get's indwelt anyway, and everyone is supposed to love him.

We can all agree that Bush doesnt meet this critera.

But, there are some interesting things going on:

-US building largest ever Embassy complex in Bahgdad, supposed to be self sustaining in every way, and rivals the Vatican. New Babylon?

-Churches mull over homosexual priests and sanctifying gay marriage. Things that are wrong will seem right

***disclaimer***
I've got no problem with the civil union via the state of a gay couple, but a Chruch sanctifying something that is supposed to be sinful seems just a bit whack to me. They dont sanctify speeding tickets and/or adultery either
*****************************

-DiVinci code, lost Gospel of Judas, the meteor crater thing betmo posted about last week. men will have itchy ears to hear what they want to hear as false testimoney

-Increase in violent crimes accross the world, but especially in America. Inrease in pestillance, plague, poverty, and general stuff hitting the fan. Time is ripe for a "savior" (the false savior) to show up and bring the world from the brink

I'm not sure, and we all know that every generation has probably thought that they are near the end times. The Bible is very clear that we will not know, that it will come "like a theif in the night", and that it will be at the time appointed by the Master, not influenced by man. So no one can cause it, no one can make it come quicker, the more/less society degrades or improves does not effect it. This may be signs of it, but causes of it.

By the way, another intersting note... many Biblical scholars think that the "666" thing was a code used in Biblical times, not a direct arabic numeral symbology.

Lastly, the Bible said that the Jews would be ushered back to their homeland by the sword and the crook. Before WWII, a very wealthy group of Jewish men bought up some land in the Mid-East from the then Ottoman Empire and tried to pay ethnic Jews to move back to Jerusalem. Not many did, but this became the hub and HQ for the modern day Israel (the crook?). Years later, Hitler would carry out a devestating murder campiagn on Jews forcing many of them to relocate and eventually a great deal migrated back to the land of their ancestors in Israel (the sword?). This had to happen before the end times could begin.

There is a small underground movement in the Christian world that thinks we are already in the Tribulation, and that there was no Rapture, there never will be a Rapture, and that Christ has already come to carry away his "bride" (the church).

While this falls way out of line with mainstream Christian thought, it cannot be ignored either.

All very interesting. For me, the only real certainty is that I need to be right with God, so that when either THE end times come, or MY end time comes, I know what my fate will be, aside from that, I try not to convince myself of any impending doom as it would be too easy in these days.

G_in_AL said...

is it just me, or was my post way too long?

billie said...

g- no longer than usual? :) bustin' on ya. obviously, i don't believe in any of this stuff- i guess i just wondered how the evangelicals especially were dealing with all of the changes to our government. are they rolling over and letting it happen to hasten the 'end time?' or are they fighting it tooth and nail because it sounds like the beast's coming? just curious.

Boo said...

good post G. but I dont think I want to get into it with you. I'm with betmo that its all hogwash...

and btw, my comment should have read that there is NOW evidence of evolution... as opposed to NOT. And don't give me any of that Freud stuff either. A typo is a typo is a typo. :D

"When no one trusts, does it matter that everyone lies?"

billie said...

boo- you are just full of apropos quotes today. i will blatently and unabashedly steal them in the future :)

billie said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Boo said...

I have a super-duper source that I'm just not quite ready to share yet!! :D lol

G_in_AL said...

by the way, Christians want the end times to come, because that's when Jesus comes back, and after all is settled, the whole "shining city with God" thing comes into play.

"Evangelicals" would not fight it, because it's seen as the fullfillment of God's promise and a salvation... we ALL finally get to go home.

lastly, Evolution/Natural selection is something to me that in theory is pretty obvious. Things (living things) change over time to adapt to their environment... else they die off.

However, to me humans are the exception. Sure, now with our technology we're able to conquor the world... but before all that, how did we make it versus everything else?

We're (relative to nature) weak, slow, dulled senses, slow breeders, picky eaters, almost completely defenseless, and not suited to any environment.... so the idea that Humans survived via Natural Selection is a bit of a stretch don't you think?

billie said...

g- no. no i don't.