Evangelicalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Evangelicalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: 

Recurrent themes

Abortion

Since 1980, a central issue motivating conservative Evangelicals' political activism is abortion. The 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, which legalized abortion, proved decisive in bringing together Catholics (who had opposed abortion since the 1890s) and Evangelicals in a political coalition, which became known as the Religious Right when it successfully mobilized its voters behind presidential candidate Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Secularism

In the United States, Supreme Court decisions that outlawed organized prayer in school and restricted church-related schools also played a role in mobilizing the Religious Right. In addition, questions of sexual morality and homosexuality have been energizing factors—and above all, the notion that "elites" are pushing America into secularism.

Christian nation

Opponents criticise the Evangelicals, whom they say actually want a Christian America—America being a nation in which Christianity is given a privileged position. Survey data shows that "between 64 and 75 percent do not favor a 'Christian Nation' amendment", though between 60 and 75 percent also believe that Christianity and Political Liberalism are incompatible. Evangelical leaders, in turn, counter that they merely seek freedom from the imposition by national elites of an equally subjective secular worldview, and feel that it is their opponents who are violating their rights.

According to recent reports in the New York Times, some Evangelicals have sought to expand their movement's social agenda to include poverty, combating AIDS in the Third World, and protecting the environment. This is highly contentious within the Evangelical community, since more conservative Evangelicals believe that this trend is compromising important issues and prioritizing popularity and consensus too highly. Personifying this division were the Evangelical leaders James Dobson and Rick Warren, the former who warned of the dangers of a Barack Obama victory in 2008 from his point of view, in contrast with the latter who declined to endorse either major candidate on the grounds that he wanted the church to be less politically divisive and that he agreed substantially with both men.

URBAN DICTIONARY: POLITICAL CATALYSE

1.
political catalyst

Think of today's polarized political divide pretty much right down the middle 50/50. The debates are going no where because it's considered socially impolite to discuss politics/religion in a social setting; and most definitely not in a business/working environment. Now think of a chemistry experiment where you have two chemicals (Republicans and Democrats) mixed together but nothing's happening. But if you mixed in a third chemical, a Progressive or a Liberal, all of a sudden you have a lively debate...?

As most people, even the Progressives and the Liberals, most definitely the Liberals, pick their battles, you may or may not get a debate started. The hardest part is getting the first two ingredients together in an environment willing for genuine discussions with genuine results.

All I hear is justifying, justifying, justifying.

Let me try using the three wise monkeys. They generally mean being of sound mind, body, and action. Set the example for others to follow. They can also mean looking the other way, refusing to acknowledge, feigning ignorance. In other words, what's the point of our first bunch of monkeys (those leaning left e.g. our Liberal Elite) taking a step in the right direction if that's as far as they are going to get with our second bunch of monkeys (those leaning right e.g. Religious Right and/or Neo-Conservative Business Interest) paying no attention to our first bunch of monkeys.

So...
this calls for a third set of monkeys, an example of the uber significance of the number "3" in numerology, the "political catalyst": those people loaded with empathy, willing, as well as able (takes financial security), to be confrontational with humility and honesty at all times.

1. Calling out people's behavior anywhere, anytime, and letting them know it did not go unnoticed.

2. Letting them know it was not acceptable.

3. Not to be tolerated as long as we are able having anything to say or do about it.

In other words,

an Anti-Christ by my definition,
being nothing more 
than W.W.J.D. today.

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

You can not take what Jesus said then, 
repeat it today, 
and have it mean the same thing.
You just can not do this.

Not even Jesus himself could.

At least not in America would Jesus be able doing this. 

THERE ARE TIMES 
WHEN 
THE HUMAN HEART NEEDS MORE 
THAN 
THE OLD WAYS CAN GIVE IT 

Even more convinced 
now,  
based on my life experiences and the reactions 
of 
family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc., 
to 
this so called "bizarre behavior" of mine 
having 
started roughly three and a half years ago;  
it's not 
Jesus of Nazareth and his life story 
that
 should be receiving all the attention and credit 
for 
the monumental change/shift in human history 
since 
his crucifixion.

Instead, 
it being the life story 
of  
Mary, 
combined with the life story 
of 
Joseph, 
combined with the life story 
of 
Jesus,
all three equal in importants,
as well as,
 important including all of human history leading 
up 
to the dramatic final moments 
of 
Jesus 
life and cruxicifion,  

becoming...  

the story it is today

 one

larger than life itself.

by Simply Jim

March 18, 2014

Such Christian Grace

ONE, TWO, THREE...?

TAKES

ONE

TO

MASTURBATE

(the individual is(?)the smallest minority)

TWO

  TO

PROCREATE

(what's wrong with two(?)less lonely(?)people in the world)

THREE

 before(?)anyone

FUCKED?!

FUCKED?! 

FUCKED?!

(out of the(?)three of us; 

only two are wearing(?)their Easter Sunday best) 

***

 

Question number two,  

(what's wrong with two(?)less lonely(?)people in the world)

was easy to answer!

Formation and early years: 1975–79

Chrissie Hammond, Russell Hitchcock, and Graham Russell met in May 1975 while performing in the Australian production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.

Can't help but find it somewhat bizarre, 

a theory 

currently being debated,

suggesting the ultimate cause of Jesus death was asphyxiation; 

unable breathing properly 

due to a fixated awkward body positioning?

Google's Earth Day 2014

The Moon jelly fish was one of the fauna depicted in Google's Earth day 2014 doodle.

Aurelia aurita (also called the moon jelly, moon jellyfish, common jellyfish, or saucer jelly) is a widely studied species of the genus Aurelia. All species in the genus are closely related, and it is difficult to identify Aureliamedusae without genetic sampling; most of what follows applies equally to all species of the genus.

The jellyfish is translucent, usually about 25–40 cm (10–16 in) in diameter, and can be recognized by its four horseshoe-shaped gonads, easily seen through the top of the bell. It feeds by collecting medusae, plankton, andmollusks with its tentacles, and bringing them into its body for digestion. It is capable of only limited motion, and drifts with the current, even when swimming.

The Japanese Macaque was one of the fauna depicted in Google's Earth day 2014 doodle.

The Japanese macaque (/məˈkɑːk/; Macaca fuscata), is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to Japan. It is also sometimes known as the snow monkey because it lives in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year — no primate, with the exception of humans, is more northern-living, nor lives in a colder climate. Individuals have brown-grey fur, red faces, and short tails. 

The Japanese macaque has featured prominently in the religion, folklore, and art of Japan, as well as in proverbs and idiomatic expressions in the Japanese language. In Shinto belief, mythical beasts known as raijū sometimes appeared as monkeys and kept Raijin, the god of lightning, company. The "three wise monkeys", which warn people to "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil", are carved in relief over the door of the famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō. 

The Rufous Hummingbird was one of the fauna depicted in Google's Earth day 2014 doodle.

The Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm long (3 inches) with a long, straight and very slender bill. These birds are known for their incredible flight skills. Some are known to fly 2,000 miles during their migratory transits.

The veiled chameleon was one of the fauna depicted in Google's Earth day 2014 doodle.

The veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus, is a large species of chameleon found in the mountain regions of Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. It is also sometimes referred to as the Yemen chameleon.

The male veiled chameleon is primarily green in color and tends to be marked with stripes and spots of yellow, brown, and blue. Depending on the animal's emotional state, this green will range from a bright lime green to a redolive drab. When veiled chameleons are stressed, they often display strong coloration, including bright yellow and sometimes even black. Surroundings only partly contribute to a chameleon's "decision" to change color. Nonbreeding females and juvenile chameleons are generally a uniform green color with some white markings. Breeding and gravid females are a very dark green with blue and yellow spots. The prominence of these markings is dependent on several factors, including health, mood, and temperature of the lizard.

The PufferFish was one of the fauna depicted in Google's Earth day 2014 doodle.

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species, which are variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish,globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlike the thinner, hidden spines of Tetraodontidae, which are only visible when the fish has puffed up). The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey.

Pufferfish are generally believed to be the second-most poisonous vertebrates in the world, after the golden poison frog. Certain internal organs, such as liver, and sometimes the skin, contain tetrodotoxin and are highly toxic to most animals when eaten; nevertheless, the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan (as 河豚, pronounced as fugu), Korea (as 복 bok or 복어 bogeo ), and China (as 河豚 hétún) when prepared by specially trained chefs who know which part is safe to eat and in what quantity.

The dung beetle was one of the fauna depicted in Google's Earth day 2014 doodle.

Dung beetles are beetles that feed partly or exclusively on dungs or feces. They posses exceptional dung disposal capacity and one dung beetle can bury dung that is 250 times heavier than itself in one night.

Many dung beetles, known as rollers, roll dung into round balls, which are used as a food source or brooding chambers. Other dung beetles, known as tunnelers, bury the dung wherever they find it. A third group, thedwellers, neither roll nor burrow: they simply live in manure. They are often attracted by the dung burrowing owls collect.

All the species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea; most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scarabaeinae feed exclusively on feces, that subfamily is often dubbed true dung beetles. There are dung-feeding beetles which belong to other families, such as the Geotrupidae (the earth-boring dung beetle). The Scarabaeinae alone comprises more than 5,000 species.

Dung beetles are currently the only insect known to navigate and orient themselves using the Milky Way.

Spy Wednesday and the Fox: "Don't Be Cocky Lockey!"

Woke up 

from a long nap this morning or was it already afternoon,

  finding a fox basking in the sun

on 

center three concrete pavers 

of

 a design I did out of boredom years ago.

  These octagon shaped pavers had been stacked up against side of house already for a couple of years after my crystal meths addiction decided to regrade the front yard. These octagon pavers were there in the front yard when I bought my house in 1995; they formed sort of a trail from the front door to the mailbox.  

During the two or three years these pavers were stacked up against the side of the house waiting on me to decide what to do with them as the Christmas seasons came and went, my crystal meths addiction, my "Tina" addiction as we like referring to her within the gay community as if some twisted evil twin sister, we (Tina and me) decided to regrade the back yard.  

Why? 

Because of a fifteen feet diameter inflatable pool she decided to buy on on impulse from K-Mart.  

Well, 

if you've never owned one of these pools, my advice to you is....

DON'T!  

RUN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND DON'T STOP RUNNING!  

Unless you have the ground perfectly level, the god damn thing won't hold it's water.  

And when I say the ground has to be perfectly level, 

I mean 

PERFECTLY LEVEL OR THE GOD DAMN THING WON'T HOLD IT'S WATER!

You may think you've finally got the problem fixed, and when you ain't looking, you come back to find out you don't!

Tina and I had to learn this the hard way; over and over and over again.  

"JIM ED RIGGED"

Eventually,

 did get it holding water long enough getting a few candid moments out of it.  But if you look carefully at this picture of me "getting a little tail",you will see some rope dividing this pool into four quadrants.  What does did mean?  Don't know.  Hoping someone could tell me?  And I mean, other than the rope having anything to with getting the god damn thing to hold it's water.

Anyway, back to these octagon shaped concrete pavers.  Having wasted to many god damn hours on that pool; given up, bored, bored Tina decided one winter returning her attention back to those pavers and she tried seeing if we had enough pavers making a snowflake.

Barely.

And that Christmas, I lit her up.

Anyway, where I found this fox laying on center three octagon pavers today would have been just about the center of this quadrant, would have been.  Also I've since changed the design of the pavers. 

 Instead of a giant snowflake, 

the design looks more like

 a 

singularity 

at 

the center of 

a...

"star-burst."

? 

.

 Anyway, 

this is where I found this fox laying right there on the center three octagon pavers enjoying the sun. 

 Man was I pissed off this fox was on the move again by the time I got back to the window with my
Flip Video Recorder.

  

 

basking

verb

gerund or present participle: 

basking

1.

lie exposed to warmth and light, typically from the sun, for relaxation and pleasure.

POST SCRIPT

(READ MORE TO CONTINUE