Author Archives: lee

There’s a statement, not an actual quote attributable to anyone, that goes, “They need martyrs to keep the socialist brainwashing alive, otherwise they’d have no native supporters fighting against their own best interests.”

In other words, socialism/communism is so contrary to people’s material/economic self-interest that few would accept it if approached rationally. The “brainwashing” part means supporters are conditioned through propaganda, education, media, or activism to ignore reality, and it creates victims. You need martyrs, the people who suffer death, jail, hardship as though they were on some kind of holy crusade. It’s an emotional appeal to keep the outrage going. The martyr takes on the role of hero, and there’s a reward, much like the 72 virgins for a suicide bomber.

The problem is that a fresh supply of martyrs is needed. If you run out, the emotional appeal stalls, recruitment slows or stops, and the movement collapses.

The reward is that the name will be remembered, but that’s as empty as the 72 virgins. There could be a GoFundMe-type payoff for the martyr’s survivors. But as more video came out, there’s been a pause or stop today in donations. It doesn’t seem worth it. A week from now, how many will remember the “martyr’s” name in Minneapolis?

Not to worry, another brainwashed martyr will come forward, and then another; then they will eventually stop.

Genesis makes two crucial declarations:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
God saw every thing he had made, and behold it was very good.

It is clear to me that we are only here because of God, and this truth is found in the two verses selected. Since I view God as the Creator of everything, including time, it doesn’t matter to me whether the “day” of creation is understood as a literal 24 hours or as an age, era, period, or epoch. We know God’s ways are different from our ways, so I’m choosing not to focus on that debate.

What matters is that our existence is intentional, purposeful, and brought forth by a Creator who calls His work “very good.” Again, we are only here because of God.

The word “holidays“ comes from two Old English words meaning “holy“ and “days“ that were secularized over time.

So, if someone says, “Happy Holidays,“ a proper response should be, “And Happy Holy Days to you too, and have a very Merry Christmas!”

Putting “Old English“ aside, in today’s Modern English, to which all of us are accustomed, “Happy Holidays“ is, in my opinion, a woke way to avoid mentioning “Christmas.“ That being said, in these modern days, consider me old-fashioned.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

Christians believe that those who trust in Jesus are welcomed into God’s presence when they die, a place of peace, love, and rest. Others understand death as a kind of sleep until God raises us again. At the center of the Christian message is the belief that God is loving and that He holds our lives even beyond death.

Some Christians also believe that those who refuse God experience separation from Him, the absence of His love, mercy, and presence, or that they remain in a holding place until the final judgment.

For believers, I personally lean on the promise that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

“I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” Philippians 1:23 NIV. Paul is speaking very honestly in this verse. When he says he is “torn between the two,” he means he feels pulled in two different directions, both of which matter to him. One is continuing to live so he can keep helping and encouraging the people he loves. The other is departing this life so he can be with Christ, which he says is better by far.

When it comes to someone we have lost, we cannot know their heart with absolute certainty. Only God can. But we can look at what we saw in their life, their words, and their faith, and draw reasonable and hopeful conclusions, while remembering that we are not the final judge.