Wendy Davis = Saphira?

As the reports came out about Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Texas and her troubles concerning her biography, I was reminded of a passage in the bible that is, in my mind, severely misunderstood.  Bear with me a bit and I’ll show you why Ms. Davis’ story reminds me of this passage.

In Acts 5 we have a couple in the newly created church at Jerusalem, Ananias and Saphira by name, who are rebuked by Peter and both fall dead.  Mostly, we are taught that God killed them for lying about the price of the field they sold. By teaching this we are, of course, furthering the notion that it’s all about money.  In my study of this passage, I have found that not really to be the case.

The record of what happened here actually begins in chapter 4:

Acts 4:32-37 (ESV)
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Here we are told that there are a number of newly converted believers who had sold property to lay at the apostles feet, but, we see that a particular person is singled out, a man named Joseph.  We are then told that the Apostles renamed this fellow Barnabas.  Now, what do we know about Barnabas?

Acts 9:26-27 (ESV)
And when he (Paul) had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

It was Barnabas that insisted that the Apostles see that Paul was changed.

Acts 11:22 (ESV)
The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they (the church leaders, i.e. the apostles) sent Barnabas to Antioch.

Barnabas is so trusted that he is sent on fact finding missions by the Apostles.

Acts 13:1-2 (ESV)
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Barnabas is teamed up with Paul by God to be sent to the Gentiles.

Acts 14:14a (ESV)
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it,…

Now he is named an Apostle! So we see that Barnabas became quite the VIP in the church.  So, why was he singled out in this story?  Answer: He is crucial to understanding  what was about to happen with Ananias and Saphira.

Acts 5:1-2 (ESV)
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.

The word “But” should have been a red flag all along!  What we have here are landowners in the church, Ananias and Saphira.  They watch as another landowner, Joseph/Barnabas, seemingly by virtue of his gift, is allowed into the inner circle of the apostles.  I believe that what we have here is a wife, who wanted to advance in a social sense within the church, concocted this plan to buy her husband an apostleship.  They probably figured that they now know what the price of an apostleship was, seeing what the price of Barnabas’ land was.  I believe they gave exactly as much as Barnabas did.  The goal here was not to rob God, per se.  The goal was to advance in the social circles they were in.  Saphira wanted to be an apostle’s wife, and Ananias probably had some ambition to be in the inner circle there in the church.

Why do I believe this as opposed to what is commonly taught?  To show this we have to go to the actual end of the story.  After both are buried we read this:

Acts 5:11-13 (ESV)
And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

“None of the rest dared join them”.  Now why would the writer say that? Who is “them”?  It’s clear to me the writer is referring to “them” as the apostles.  None of the rest – the people of the church - dared join the Apostles.  How? In fellowship?  No.  None dared to join the inner circle without being beckoned by the Apostles themselves.  You see, that’s what Ananias and Saphira were trying to do!  They wanted to join them, be in the inner circle, just like Barnabas.  They saw what happened with Barnabas and decided they could do it, too.

That is the offense that caused their death and the writer knows this and, in his writing, confirms that those in the church knew it as well.

I believe the whole story of Ananias and Saphira began with the desire of Saphira to be an Apostles’ wife.  I am of the opinion the whole thing was her idea from the start.  I can’t prove it, but, I’ve lived long enough to know human nature.  I see things like this in today’s church, and the world, all the time.

So, how does this compare to Wendy Davis story?  In short, she used her man to pay her debts, then ditched not only the man, but her children as well for her own personal gain. In other words, it was all about her.  Nobody but her.

It’s just so … disgustingly human.

Gentlemen! Lend me Your Ears!

Mr. Mark Tapson caught my interest today.  First he has a marvelous take down of the Time article "Men are Obsolete". Love it!!

But, I was drawn to his post about "How to be a Gentleman - and Why".  It struck me that his 8 rules for gentlemanly behavior seemed very close to the Knights Oath of Kingdom of Heaven and the Old Code of Knighthood as given in Dragonheart.

Here's Mr. Tapson's rules for gentlemanly behavior:

1. Deal with people honestly and directly
2. Defend the defenseless
3. Honor women
4. Be courteous
5. Be self-reliant
6. Be modest
7. Learn self-discipline
8. Dress to impress

Compare them to The Knights Oath:

Be without fear in the face of your enemies.

Be brave and upright that God may love thee.

Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death.

Safeguard the helpless.

This is your oath.

Now compare them to the Old Code:

A knight is sworn to valor.

His heart knows only virtue.

His blade defends the helpless.

His might upholds the weak.

His word speaks only truth.

His wrath undoes the wicked.

Oh, Wow!  If we had men that upheld these in State Capitols and Washington today it would be a whole different USA.

If there were men who followed these things, would they look like someone you ladies would want to marry?  Hmmmm??

BCS Title Game

C'mon!  You know I have to weigh in on this!

Florida State beat the luckiest SEC team this year, not necessarily the best.  Auburn beat Georgia with a lucky play. And that run back against Alabama was a complete fluke.

Auburn showed their mettle with their play against the highly touted FSU Seminoles.  But, I am of the opinion that LSU or Alabama could have beaten FSU handily.  Maybe even Texas A&M, Missouri, and South Carolina could as well.

I mean, really? FSU finally got to a game where they had to play somebody.  They beat up on the ACC because they are bullies, but they had to really struggle for once this season.  They prevailed, but, they found out what it is like to actually have to play hard. Auburn is a one-dimensional team this year.  Everyone knew that going in. But, boy, can they run the ball!  They crammed it down FSU's throat more than anyone thought they could.  Next year Auburn may even get their passing game going.

Looking to next year in the SEC, however, with the #2 best recruiting class in the country, I think Tennessee will have something to say.  And, of course, Alabama will be back with the #1best recruiting class.

The Championship will come back to the SEC again, just watch.  With the 4 team playoff format, we may have several SEC teams in that.  Watch it come down to two SEC teams playing each other for the Championship!  Bubba Bowl II, baby! Why will that happen?  Because the championship belongs in the SEC!

Look, the absolute best players are those that want to play the other best players.  Those types are the ones that come to the SEC schools.  Every game is the best against the best and they know it.  The other good players that want to stand out by themselves play for showboat teams like FSU, Notre Dame, and USC. The SEC teams beat each other up, but, on any given Saturday, any of them can beat any other conference team hands down.

Let the PAC10 have the pretty boys and let the Big10 have the beefy guys.  The SEC has the best players.  Period!

In college football, the SEC RULES!!

Let those with ears to hear, listen intently...

An article in Salon by a Valerie Tarico shows us her perverted view on all things spiritual: 10 signs that religious fundamentalism is going down. (Mr. Matt Barber of WND also comments about this article here.)

"Duck Dynasty" bigotry still has a sizable audience — but not for long.

Days may be dark right now—after all, as the memes proclaim,  axial tilt is the reason for the season. But things are looking bright for those who would like to see humanity more grounded in science and reason. If you are a nonbeliever in the mood for a party, here are 10 reasons to celebrate.

She then lists her 10 reasons why she thinks Christianity will die.  

She may be on to something, and Christians need to wake up about it.  The Phil Robertson Affair has awakened a few, but, since A&E decided to back off they may go back to sleep.  There are a lot of Christians who have no idea what is going on behind the scenes in this country and seemingly don't care. Some are busy arguing over piddly doctrinal differences that are trivial, not realizing that there are gigantic holes in Christianity through massive doctrinal errors that may be pathways for the enemy to break us. The rest are busy being carnal everyday people, walking about poking their iPhones and drinking their Starbucks, showing up on Sunday just to punch their heavenly timecard with God.

We could very well wake up one day and find out that we will have to sew a cross on our clothes to identify us as the Enemies of the State that people like Ms. Tarico believe we are.  Papers may be required of us to travel.  Constitutional rights of Free Speech and Freedom of Religion gone.  I have been watching this along with the feminization of America, the continuing rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of the LGBT radicalism, the continued growth of Marxist doctrine, and more. All of these leave no room for anything other than full compliance to their way of thinking. Have you ever wondered how Nazi Germany got to where it ended up?  Look it up.  History is repeating itself.

America!  When will you wake up??

This makes a lot of sense to me...

Despite what you've been told, we do have a reason to be concerned about Islam here in the USA.

What a fine mess we have gotten ourselves into!

Have you guys thought about this?  If 4.7 million people had their health insurance canceled due to the ACA, aka Obamacare, and assuming that the average monthly premium was around $400.00 a month.  That adds up to $1.88 billion dollars a month.  Now if the Government is right and 2.1 million have sucessfully signed up to get insurance through Obamacare, that still leaves a cash flow deficit of $1.04 billion dollars a month for the insurance companies.  That's a lot of money they will no longer get.

How do they handle that?  Do they just eat that?  Nope.  Costs will have to be cut if it goes on for a while. And I think it will.  Early CBO estimates were that 6 million people would just pay the fine and NOT get insurance.  How many of those would be of the 4.7 million cancellations is anybody's guess.

Net result:  We may see some health insurance companies get out of that business.

Well, Duh!!

We told you this a long time ago, but, did you listen??  Noooo!!!

The United States of Feminized America - Part 1

The continuing story of a nation gone to the female dogs...

The Feminized Church of America - Part 2

Here's another good article about The war on men who are supposedly making war on women.™

The Feminized Church of America?

The war on men who are supposedly making war on women.™ What a ride, eh?

In this, the author says:

My quarrel is not with churches teaching sound doctrines of the faith, nor with administration of sacraments and rituals, nor with providing fellowship for the faithful. Rather, the problem has arisen from churches and their well-meaning but misinformed membership and leadership offering dating, relationship and marriage advice which is both obsolete and not based on male and female nature. They’re trying to fashion solutions for a real problem, but failing at it because they’re listening to a feminized body which offers nothing to the men expected to be “part of the solution.”

My experience in church has been mostly through music.

Have you ever wondered why you can't get any men to sing in the choir, but there are plenty of women?  It's almost as if the men hate singing or something.  Or, so you would think. I am a man.  I love to sing.  But, I noticed this problem from the start.  The reality is men do NOT hate singing.  Quite the contrary.  Historically, men, many mucho macho men, have sung fight songs, love songs, bawdy songs, drinking songs, et al, for thousands of years.  It's really no different now.  So, why the problem?  Maybe it's because, first of all, they don't like going to church anymore anyway. Who wants to listen to sermons about failed societal positions or failed doctrines of prosperity when what should be preached is correct doctrines for living.  Jesus was not a wuss!  Plus, they have to sit and listen to women berate them about how they are animals and can't/won't/don't treat their women right.  Why do we not hear about women who can't/won't/don't treat their man right?  When was the last time you heard one of those?

So, for the man, the choir is filled with women and he does not want to be in the same room with most of them.  Especially if the choir director is a woman.  Let's face it, most men don't like taking orders from women. (I know I don't.) I mean would you charge a hill if General Patsy Patton said to?

Now, having my own ideas about what the Bible says about authority and leadership in the church - which I will go into at a later post - I will note that because of the dearth of men in the church today, somebody has to take charge.  But, we have the same women who have been indoctrinated by the feminist schools and the feminist media doing the taking.  Good God!  No wonder we've got problems there!

Read the whole thing.

Obama King, Home of the Whopper!

You're gettin' it your way, like it or not!

In 2013, the American people learned what whoppers the key promises of ObamaCare turned out to be. But the biggest whopper about the Affordable Care Act is yet to be exposed: the tightening grip the federal government will have over your doctor — even if you’re paying with private insurance.
Like so many other parts of ObamaCare, the reality flies in the face of promises. In this case, it was the one where the president assured us that “you’re not going to have anybody getting in between you and your doctor in your decision making.”

I hope you liberals and other deviants are enjoying this!

Let's start the New Year right!

Happy New Year to all!!

I will be periodically posting stuff that interests me on this site.

Stay tuned, y'all!