Hosea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hosea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Hosea (pron.: /ˌhoʊˈzeɪ.ə/) was the son of Beeri, a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BC and author of the book of prophecies bearing his name. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament.   Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration. The Talmud (Pesachim 87a) claims from God that he was the greatest prophet of his generation, which included the more famous Isaiah. The period of Hosea's ministry extended to some sixty years and he was the only prophet of Israel who left any written prophecy.

Little is known about the life or social status of Hosea. According to the Book of Hosea, he married the prostitute Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, at God's command. He lived in the Northern Kingdom in the period 780–725 BC. In Hosea 5:8 ff., there is a reference to the wars which led to the capture of the kingdom by the Assyrians (ca. 734–732 BC). It is not certain if he has also experienced the destruction of Samaria, which is foreseen in Hosea 14:1

One of the early writing prophets, Hosea used his own experience as a symbolic representation of God and Israel: God the husband, Israel the wife. Hosea's wife left him to go with other men; Israel left the Lord to go with other gods. Hosea searched for his wife, found her and brought her back; God would not abandon Israel and brought them back even though they had forsaken him.

*** 

 Sunday Classes: "COVENANT CLASS

The Covenant Class, which meets in room 420, is composed of adult singles and couples and is led by Bob and Janet Gary. This is a group-centered experience in which members covenant to support each other’s journey toward mature faith as Christians. Confidentiality is maintained to facilitate personal sharing. All are welcome.

For more information, contact Bob and Janet at ggary@emory.edu."

***

"OH! We're not that kind of Christian,"

said Janet the first day we met; that day a little old lady with white hair crossed over to my side of the street first, all excited having been approached by property developer offering twice the market value of their home on the condition all seven consecutive lots her side of the street agreed to sell.

Apparently a major adrenaline rush; me being the first person she saw as I was either working in my front yard or checking to see if any mail. Had lived in my house at least a couple of years before that day. There was a reason I did not approach them first!

"I'm gay. I'm atheist,"

I casually interjected into our little chat.

In other words....

get back on your side of the street, stop wasting my time, if a problem.

Bless their poor little hearts...

they sign on...

someone held out.

Now they are stuck with me as a neighbor who know a dirty little secret.

WHAT A COUPLE OF OXYMORON'S!



*** 

Sat, November 27, 2010 4:08:30 PM

Re: Contact and Boundaries

From:	James Avery Add to Contacts
To:	ggary@emory.edu

I'm sorry for the pain I caused you. It was not my intention. I do not deny having personal problems. Was actually reaching out for some help.

Again, I apoligize for barging into your home and upsetting Janet. I do not own a gun or plan to.

jim ed

''The physicists say that I am a mathematician, and the mathematicians say that I am a physicist,'' he said. ''I am a completely isolated man and though everybody knows me, there are very few people who really know me.''

________________________________________________________________________________________________



From: "ggary@emory.edu"
To: jimedavery@att.net
Cc: "jgary@emory.edu"
Sent: Sat, November 27, 2010 1:33:55 PM
Subject: Contact and Boundaries

Hello Jim Ed,
You must know that in the future, there will be clear boundaries for making contact with Janet and me, especially Janet. This is not to say there will be no further contacts with us, but it must be under a number of conditions.

Janet wanted to add her word before we set the conditions together. Here is her note to you:

Jim Ed,

I was more than a little disturbed by your visit on Wednesday. In the spirit of neighborliness and the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I opened our house to you, even though I felt s bit uncomfortable doing so, especially in Bob?s absence.

We ironed out what you perceived to be a rejection on my part.

When you wanted to share the symbols that are meaningful to you, I was interested, although having a hard time ?getting it? in the way you told it to me. No input from me seemed to even get through to you, or matter at all.

I was very disturbed when you talked of your depression, thinking about getting your gun, and when you told me you are the ?Anti-Christ? and a ?crack-head? I began to be somewhat afraid of you and wished I had not opened my door to you.

When I told you I needed medications and even that didn?t stop your monologue, I said it again and began to leave the room. At that point you did thank me for listening and left, saying you would leave your stuff so you could come back. You either didn?t hear me or didn?t pay attention when I said, ?No, take them with you.?

Bob and I both feel we and our space were violated, and Bob has drawn up some conditions under which we may all co-exist as neighbors. I concur with what he has written below. Janet


The Conditions:
1. There can be no further non-negotiated visits on your part with either or both of us.
2. We are not available to participte in your theological doctrines
which you presented to Janet for more than one hour and fifteen minutes. You failed to leave our house until the second time Janet indicated she needed a break for medicines. You may not know that Janet has Parkinson's and extended stressful events activate her symptoms. Furthermore, Janet needed to take her
medicines and tried to bring your theological discourse to a close,
but you continued. Furthermore, you left your basket of possessions in
our house in order that you would have assurance of returning to our
house. That is far too presumptuous for us.
3. You do not have permission to enter our property or phone our house
unless you can abide by these limits.
4. We do not listen to religious talk from anyone, let alone invite
them into our home. We do not do that with you. We share our faith
with people who ask questions of us and our religious convictions. You
had no questions for Janet, only pressing her to agree with your
doctrine.

G. Robert Gary, Sr. ThD 

***

This sign was just my way of using a little bit of African-American history in a subtler way...

calling the wife of George Robert Gary, Sr.

another:

"PERNICIOUS PREVARICATING CUNT!"

 What I said, referring to the depth of my depression, was:

"Had I a gun...
I could have shot myself."

Trying to make a point of discussion, as I was waiting for her husband (the one I was wrongly expecting to be the more intellectual one) to show up, that even a gun owner of best intentions could find himself the owner of a dangerous weapon unintentionally. 

Another example would be the husbands and fathers who murder their own families before killing themselves.

As a veterinarian, now wondering looking back, how many pets I may have euthanized before those owners committed suicide?

What I also said:

"Janet.  Are you not aware that before there can be an "anti-Christ"...
there has to be a "Christ" first?"

Just another way way of saying:

"Although I refer to myself as an atheist now;  was not always an atheist."

Janet already knew I was atheist;

told her that first day she crossed over to my side of the street first and started talking to me.

Janet also already knew, or should have already known, 

that I was raised Methodist in a church located Prescott, Arkansas.  

She read it in my blog,

www.anattemptathumility.blogspot.com,

in an entry titled...

AN INNOCENCE LOST. 

"Is that little boy you,"

Janet wrote back after having sent her the link to my first blog after the first four entries?

Toward the very end of that one hour and fifteen minutes I did tell Janet I was a "crackhead."

Just another word for a crystal meths addict.

Was getting desperate as Dr. Gary has not showed up yet, and aware time was passing.

Even a vampire has to be welcomed into one's home before being able to enter.

Not only did I get welcomed into Janet's home an atheist with a crystal meths addiction...

I escaped

an  

"anti-Christ"

as well as

a

"CRACKHEAD."

Almost just too funny,

like the Hosea joke,

to even laugh.

Although I should be angry mostly at Janet,

it is her husband,

GEORGE ROBERT GARY, SR. ThD, 

I fault most going to such great lengths refusing me a chance telling my side of the story of what happened that day inside their home alone with his wife Janet.

What Bob fails to understand,  

and this is actually a credit to Janet,

that I understand fully the difficulty of Janet being both wife and mother to two preachers very much alive...

although one wanting to pretend

(when it's convenient)

that he is retired.

Or maybe he does.

Me and Janet did sit in two high wing back chairs equal in size and fabric as we talked.

"Am I correct believing Dr. Gary to be head of household," 

I asked Janet having just sat down in her chair

after

Janet going through such grand gestures motioning for me to sit in the other chair first.

"No. No. No.

We're equally head of household,"

Janet answered with puzzled discomfort causing me to crack a slight smile.

If equally head of household,

why would she sit me in her chair so she could sit in Bob's chair for a change. 

Far as I was concerned...

that was the "BIG MAN'S CHAIR HIMSELF" I was sitting in.

ROF
LMAO!

What Bob needs to understand is...

that game may work with most people, even his wife Janet,  but not with me.

The wife to man of his statue, and again this is a credit to Janet,  never gets to retire...

even if herself a retired secretary from Emory University... 

someone else secretary Janet felt it important to add.

That was just too funny. 

By the time a man rises to the statue

of

George Robert Gary, Sr. ThD... 

wives as ex-secretaries are usually much younger.

"Behind every successful man is a woman,"

said Sissy Ingleby, 

wife of Dr. Ingleby, to me one day at work while debating politics.

"Yeah! A YOUNGER one,"

I almost blurted back at that

"BIG HAIRED REPUBLICAN BITCH!"

Just too obvious we weren't talking about his mother...

EITHER!