Jonas & Barachisius Saturday, March 29, 2025 It's been a while since my last post, however, I'd be remiss if I passed up today's account of the fourth-century martyrs under King Shapur II of Persia. Approximately 16,000 Christians were tortured and executed during this period (A.D. 309-379) for refusing to renounce their faith and confess Shapur as the king of kings, according to Roman historian Sozomen (c. 400-450) in his Ecclesiastical History (Chapters 9-14). Prior to this, Christians were tolerated, however, after the Persians were defeated in their attack on Rome and Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity, then made it the official Roman religion, Shapur became somewhat suspicious of Christians. The Jews, together with the Zoroastrian priests — the Magi of the lineage of those who had paid homage to Jesus (Matthew 2:1-2) — pressured Shapur to repress or eradicate the Christians. At first the Christians were taxed heavily but, being given to poverty, this had little effect. The next course of action, obviously, was to destroy their churches and execute their clergy. As this turned out to be a better plan, all Christians in Persia were targeted for torture and death, regardless of their position in society. According to Catholic hagiographer Alban Butler (1710-1773) in his Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints (March 29), two Christian brothers, Jonas and Barachisius, were tortured with nine others and put to death in A.D. 327 for refusing to deny their faith. The sorts of torture they were subjected to included the following: laid flat on the belly with a stake under the navel and beaten with knotty clubs and rods; set in a frozen pond with a cord tied to the foot; two red-rot iron plates and two red-hot hammers applied under each arm; melted lead dropped into the nostrils and eyes; hung up by one foot in prison; all fingers and toes cut off joint by joint; skin torn off the head; tongue cut out; thrown into a vessel of boiling pitch; sharp splinters of reeds applied all over the body, pressed deep into the flesh, and rolled on the ground; boiling pitch and brimstone poured into the mouth; squeezed in a wooden press till veins, sinews, and fibres burst; body sawn into pieces with an iron saw. All the while, the brothers confessed the love of Christ to the astonishment of the Magi and judges who oversaw their persecution. These acts were witnessed by Esaias, son of Adabus of Arzun in Armenia, of the troop of royal horsemen; so take his word for it, not mine. More names are given of those who were martyred under Shapur II in the Book of Saints (1921) by the Monks of Ramsgate. But what did Constantine do about the persecution of Christians in Persia? Naturally, he wrote a letter to Shapur II asking for it to stop, or else. The "or else" part of the letter rather peeved Shapur II, who now considered any Christian to be an enemy and all Persian Christians to be traitors. Unfortunately, Constantine never got around to following up on the threat before his passing in A.D. 337. Fortunately, after Shapur's passing in A.D. 379, the Christian torture/death scene had played out and run its course, although, according to the book Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia by Kyle Smith, some chroniclers in the centuries to follow gave Constantine I credit for liberating the Christians in Persia. Be that as it may, I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure. Suffice it to say, Christians generally don't fight back and are typically honored to be martyred for the sake of Christ. Howbeit, no ones enjoys being squeezed in a wooden press till veins, sinews, and fibres burst.

Confession of Saint Patrick Monday, March 17, 2025 Today is Saint Patrick's day in honor of the man who introduced green beer to Ireland in the fifth century, converted its diverse population of snakes to Christianity, then plagued the land with three-leaf clovers. In approximately A.D. 389, a young Patrick was kidnapped from Britain by sheep pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland, but escaped years later and returned home with the aid of pig pirates. For the next thirty years he practiced the priesthood before receiving an official vision to return to Ireland and convert the lost sheep. Fortunately for us, he lived in a time when writing and preserving history was all the latest rage, so we have his many letters and books, or at least one of each, including his own personal Confession, which you can read here. Following are the first few paragraphs to whet your appetite for more. My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. At that time, I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity in Ireland, along with thousands of others. We deserved this, because we had gone away from God, and did not keep his commandments. We would not listen to our priests, who advised us about how we could be saved. The Lord brought his strong anger upon us, and scattered us among many nations even to the ends of the earth. It was among foreigners that it was seen how little I was. It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognised my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God[Nota], and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance. He guarded me before I knew him, and before I came to wisdom and could distinguish between good and evil. He protected me and consoled me as a father does for his son. That is why I cannot be silent - nor would it be good to do so - about such great blessings and such a gift that the Lord so kindly bestowed in the land of my captivity. This is how we can repay such blessings, when our lives change and we come to know God, to praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven. This is because there is no other God, nor will there ever be, nor was there ever, except God the Father. He is the one who was not begotten, the one without a beginning, the one from whom all beginnings come, the one who holds all things in being – this is our teaching. And his son, Jesus Christ, whom we testify has always been, since before the beginning of this age, with the father in a spiritual way. He was begotten in an indescribable way before every beginning. Everything we can see, and everything beyond our sight, was made through him. He became a human being; and, having overcome death, was welcomed to the heavens to the Father. The Father gave him all power over every being, both heavenly and earthly and beneath the earth. Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ, in whom we believe and whom we await to come back to us in the near future, is Lord and God. He is judge of the living and of the dead; he rewards every person according to their deeds. He has generously poured on us the Holy Spirit, the gift and promise of immortality, who makes believers and those who listen to be children of God and co-heirs with Christ. This is the one we acknowledge and adore - one God in a trinity of the sacred name.

Martyrs of Córdoba Saturday, March 15, 2025 Today is International Day to Combat Islamophobia and, in consideration of Islamophobia, we also remember when 48 Christians were executed by Muslims in Al-Andalus, Iberia, in the ninth century from A.D. 850-859 for violations of Sharia law, according to Orthodox priest Eulogius of Córdoba (c. 819-859) in his three-volume work — Memoriale Sanctorum, Documentum Martyriale, and the Liber Apologeticus Martyrum. According to this source, the capital charges consisted mainly of dishonoring the prophet Muhammad. For example, an Orthodox priest named Perfectus was asked by a group of Muslims near Córdoba, Spain, to compare Christ to Mohammad, promising him protection from retribution. So, Perfecto admitted that he thought Muhammad was a false prophet and adulterer, for which he was beheaded publicly on Easter Sunday, April 18, 850. Another Christian, Isaac, an Orthodox monk and former secretary to the emir, reportedly told a Muslim magistrate that their beloved prophet was languishing in hell for misleading the Arabs, for which he was beheaded on June 3, 851. Two days later, a Christian soldier was beheaded for the same blasphemy. Inspired by these modern-day martyrs, six more Orthodox Christians came forward and confessed their agreement, adding, "We profess Christ to be truly God and your prophet to be a precursor of Antichrist and an author of profane doctrine." They, of course, were publicly executed, after which the emir, Abderrahman II, imprisoned all other Orthodox clerics in the region including Father Eulogius, in order to discourage any further blasphemy. However, more Christians willingly came forward to denounce Islam in the coming years, some even daring to preach the Gospel in Muslim mosques, for which a total of 48 in all were put to death. Eulogius was one of the last of these particular martyrs, beheaded on March 11, 859. Today is their feast day and, lest anyone think their crimes against Islam were of a more brutal and primitive past, the same Sharia laws exist today and still apply to Christians living under Muslim authority. Contemporary Islamophobia is not just about prejudices against Muslims but also includes criticism of their religion and denouncing their prophet Muhammad. Nothing has changed, other than western countries which were predominantly Christian now provide special protection to Muslims because they either don't understand the religion's time-honored goal of preferably converting the entire globe in lieu of putting it to the sword, or they are afraid of it and would rather be conquered peacefully and painlessly. Then again, some in the secular community who thrive on anger and hatred tend to gravitate toward the propensity of Islamists to silence their critics with violence and even death. How else can anyone rationalize the full scope of the Islamophobic label? According to the UN, "The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution sponsored by 60 Member-States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which designated 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. The document stresses that terrorism and violent extremism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, or ethnic group. It calls for a global dialogue on the promotion of a culture of tolerance and peace, based on respect for human rights and for the diversity of religions and belief." Therefore, any objection to Islam or any of its followers is considered Islamophobia.

SOotF-P2 Monday, March 10, 2025 In case you haven't heard, there was a regime change in Syria recently and now supporters of the old, secularist Bashar al-Assad regime and supporting forces of the new, Islamic Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime are battling it out with high civilian casualties. Oh, and Israeli forces are attacking in the south, Turkish forces are attacking in the north, and the jihadist Islamic State is infiltrating everywhere it can. To put it simply, Syria is currently FUBAR. Since most news outlets are obtaining their information from one of two sources — the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) and the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights (SOHR) — I'd recommend going to them for more intel (or Al Jazeera for daily updates). The Assad regime, supported by Russia and Iran, is comprised primarily of Alawite Muslims, a minority sect of Shia Islam. The new HTS regime, supported by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Quatar, and Turkey, is an Islamist group born of Al-Qaida and considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., even though the U.S. is willing to work with them as the lesser of two evils in order to maintain peace. Over the weekend, about 1,000 people were killed in Syria, 745 of them civilians, with an additional 311 killed between yesterday and today. These included Kurds, Druze, and Christians who were either caught in the crossfire or intentionally targeted by a majority of Sunni Muslim fighters. Alawites were also killed in acts of revenge. According to Persecution.org, Christians in Syria were protected under the Assad regime but driven out of, or wiped out from, HTS-controlled sectors over the past few years. Of the roughly 1.5 million Christians who lived in Syria prior to the Syrian Revolution that started in 2011 during the Arab Spring, about 70%-80% had left by the end of 2024. Although HTS promises a peaceful transition for all religions in Syria, their record so far proves otherwise and ISIS groups may intervene in areas not fully under HTS control. We now return you to our regularly scheduled pogroms.

Contes De Romance Peu Orthodoxe Sunday, March 9, 2025 It's time once again for a little romance, so here's a story from my best-selling book, Tales of Unorthodox Romance, which is still at the top of the New York Tim's Best Seller list. If you don't find this one to your liking, then there are plenty more to try where that came from.

hey first met on the Soviet dating show Russian Roulette, where contestants choose one blind date out of six without knowing anything about them other than a brief bio and a quick introduction from behind a curtain inside a dark, intermodal shipping container. Their date consisted of being kidnapped and driven to an undisclosed location with bags over their heads, where they were tied back-to-back and tortured to reveal deep, dark secrets about one another. But there was something about the experience besides rope that bound these two contestants together. They continued with further dates but insisted on keeping the bags over their heads. They both knew a lasting relationship was too good to be true and neither wanted to take any further chances with this one, especially over something as trivial as appearances. Love is like pointing a gun with one bullet in the chamber at your heart and pulling the trigger. They had survived, so now it was someone else's turn to take a chance with love and pull the trigger.

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Staying Out of the Fray Sunday, March 2, 2025 Although I pay attention to news about the war in Gaza, it's difficult and rather senseless to formulate an opinion about it. However, every time I see someone protesting by wearing a face covering and waving a Palestinian flag in a country that isn't Palestine, I am forced to look further into the history of Palestine and deeper into the elusive facts behind what's going on over there, which can be complicated given how biased news outlets have become. According to Reuters (1/15/25), an estimated 46,600 Palestinians have died at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces following the 10/7/23 Hamas attack which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 Israelis with 251 taken hostage, inciting the Israeli counter-offensive which leveled most of Gaza and, according to the Congressional Research Service, displaced over two million residents (90% of the population). Many have called this retaliation an over-reaction and likened it to genocide. Reuters obtained the number of Palestinian casualties from the Palestinian Health Ministry, which reported that over half were women and children and that around 10,000 unidentified bodies still lie unrecovered under rubble. Even if these numbers are inflated, fabricated, or falsified, it is still an atrocity. In any event, the Palestinian Health Ministry is under the control of Hamas (aka Islamic Resistance Movement), as have been all government offices and services since 2007. This diminishes compassion for the nation of Palestine when its citizens willingly allowed themselves to be governed by a terrorist organization which continuously provoked Israel to war and, in so doing, willingly and intentionally put civilians in harm's way. According to the Hamas Covenant, Israel is the enemy of Palestine and Jews should be killed with a "readiness to sacrifice life and all that is precious for the sake of Allah." Article 13 says, "Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement" and, "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors." Article 15 says, "It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters." This is what the Palestinians voted for. According to the Jerusalem Post, Hamas soldiers bunkered in underground tunnels throughout Gaza, set up command posts in schools, and hid in hospitals. As it lost soldiers, replacements were recruited from a pool of around 300,000 young Palestinian men who grew up under the rule and indoctrination of Hamas. According to the Jewish Community Relations Council, Israel warned Palestinian civilians before each targeted attack while providing evacuation routes to safety zones, but Hamas either told them to stay or prevented them from leaving. Furthermore, Hamas has been launching rockets from within humanitarian zones and operating out of mosques, schools, hospitals, and high rise buildings of residential apartments and businesses. According to the Hoover Institution, Hamas is utilizing guerilla tactics in violation of international laws of urban warfare that also act to prevent Israel from inflicting certain levels of civilian casualties. However, Israel "is not bound by the idea that there is a fixed ratio of harm between military targets and incidental civilian deaths beyond which Israel may not go, or that international law requires Israel to refrain from operations in a city." The reason for Hamas' initial attack given by its top military commander, as reported by Al Jazeera, was in response to perceived atrocities which Palestinians have faced over decades, adding that it would be "the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” and, "Everyone who has a gun should take it out. The time has come." Much of the humanitarian aid sent to Palestine has not been making it to the Palestinians due in part to local gangs raiding and looting the caravans of delivery trucks, according to an Associated Press article. Much that is made available is being sold to the Palestinians at exorbitant prices by "shadowy middlemen". According to various reports, such as those by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Law for Palestine, Center for Constitutional Rights, and South Africa, Israel's counter-offensive against Palestine is an act of genocide. However, organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, American Enterprise Institute, and Human Security Centre claim that these allegations are false, offensive, and even antisemitic, while pointing out that Hamas is in violation of international laws by using its own people as human shields in its efforts to eradicate the state of Israel and all Jews (its stated goals). The use of the word "genocide" as defined and explained in the UN Genocide Convention - and better refuted here - is not in accord with Israel's tactics and intent, but it is with that of Hamas. Hamas insists that the Palestinians have rightful claim to the region through conquest during the Crusades (Article 15), when Saladin retook Jerusalem from Christian forces in 1187. Yet the Jews conquered the Canaanites over three milennia ago to establish the nation of Israel and now they are regaining what they consider to be their original country. The endeavors which have gone into re-establishing Israel as the Jewish homeland were set in motion in 1897 and are often referred to as "Zionism." In 1918, at the conclusion of WWI, a Zionist-sympathetic Great Britain controlled Palestine and enacted the Balfour Declaration, which re-established the homeland of Israel and was subsequently approved by the League of Nations in 1922. In 1947, following WWII, the region was partitioned into Israel and Palestine, which most Arabs did not accept. Regardless, Israel became an independent state in 1948. The problem, among other things, was that both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs inhabited the same areas and Jews immigrating from around the world were settling in Palestinian-occupied territories. As a result, tensions grew stronger, relations became strained, and wars broke out. Eventually, terrorist organizations began to emerge in violent opposition to Jewish control and expansion. Although modern, far left, extremist liberals in western countries waving the Palestian flag in solidarity with Hamas think they can relate because they, too, are angry and repressed, what they fail to understand is the radical fundamentalism that Hamas is founded upon, which is Islamic jihad and enmity with all who do not accept the religion of Muhammad — a religion that has been at war with the rest of the world for centuries (with exception to those who pay the jizya tax and walk on the other side of the road to maintain a semblance of peace). Even though both Judaism and Islam are Abrahamic religions, the two cannot co-exist peacefully today with so much at stake. Secular bystanders don't have to take sides in this conflict unless they want to immerse themselves in the history of the Middle East. Otherwise, they (we) are left to rely upon propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, fabricated news, misguided feelings, and biased sensibilities. Logically and spiritually, as a Christian, I favor Israel as God's chosen people (which apparently makes me a Zionist). My savior was their messiah and their God said He will never leave nor forsake them (Deuteronomy 31:1-8, Joshua 1:1-6). In 1 Kings 8:56-61, which is scripture for both Jew and Christian alike, King Solomon dedicates the temple in Jerusalem and says, "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us... And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other." According to the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible, the region that we know of as Palestine is called Israel and belongs to the Jews. Nowhere in the Islamic Qur'an does it say that this land belongs to the Muslims. However, the Qur'an does say that Muhammad was taken by an angel to a place called al-Masjid al-Aqsa (Surah 17:1, "the Farthest Mosque"), which is considered the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and where Muslims built the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the early eighth century. According to Surah 17 of the Qur'an, this area originally belonged to Israel, but Allah warned that he would send invaders if they did not accept the teachings of Muhammad. What is happening in Gaza is the continuation of an ancient, religious battle. It doesn't matter what the secular world considers as injustice, human rights, or war crimes. Atrocities are an inherent element of war and they are occurring on both sides — some of which are deception; examples of which are reported here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Pick a side or don't, but if waving the Palestinian flag, shouting in the face of your fellow citizens, and disrupting the peace at home is your way of supporting Palestine, then you are doing absolutely nothing for their cause. Instead, go to Palestine and help sift through the rubble. Otherwise, it's my right to tell you to shut the fuck up.

Modern Martyrs of the Congo Thursday, February 27, 2025 On February 13th of this year, seventy Christians were beheaded inside a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to India news outlet Mint, "The attackers, members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), rounded up the victims from the Lubero district before executing them inside a Protestant church in Kasanga." But let's not get all riled up about militant Muslims lest we forget that these true believers were martyrs who have a special place in heaven (Revelation 6:9-11, 20:4-6). According to Christian advocacy organization Open Doors, many African countries are particularly harsh towards believers and five of them rank in the top fifty for extreme persecution... by Muslim extremists. In Nigeria, where Christianity is the majority religion, more believers are killed for their faith than anywhere else in the world. Most at risk are Christians who have converted from Islam. Not only are they shunned and harassed by family and community but also prevented from obtaining necessities and often forced to leave their homes. Due to a lack of strong central government and political instability in these countries, radical Islamist groups have taken over policing and arresting people at their own discretion under Sharia law. In Somalia, which ranks at #2 on Open Door's list, "following Jesus is a matter of life and death. Al-Shabab, a violent Islamist militant group, is at war with the government and controls large swathes of the country. This group enforces a strict form of Sharia (Islamic law) and is committed to eradicating Christianity from Somalia. They have often killed Somali Christians on the spot. The dangers have increased over the years, as the militants have increasingly focused on finding and eliminating Christian leaders." According to a report by CBN News, the primary reasons mainstream media doesn't report violence like this against Christians is because: 1. Christianity represents western colonialism, which isn't popular these days; 2. Reporters tend to stay away from primitive, dangerous countries like those in Africa; 3. This was black-on-black violence; 4. No Jews, no news. Worldwide, in the past year 4,744 Christians were imprisoned, 7,679 Christian properties were attacked, and 4,476 Christians were killed.

Mary Ascension of the Sacred Heart Monday, February 24, 2025 Today, many Latin American Catholics celebrate Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi (1868-1940), a Spanish Roman Catholic religious sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic who served as a missionary under Apostolic Vicar Ramón Zubieta in a small Andes mountain village in Peru. After the Vatican released the 1917 Code of Canon Law with 2,414 regulations, one of which was the separation of cloistered communities, she co-founded and was the first Prioress General of the Congregation of Dominican Missionary Sisters of the Rosary. In 1962 she was officially considered for canonization as a saint, in 2003 Pope John Paul II declared her Venerable, and in 2005 she was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI after a miracle the previous year was attributed to her intercession... and now you see why many people have left the Catholic Church. No doubt Nicol Goñi was a saint, as were her fellow sisters, and all who have served in the Catholic Church and remained faithful to its traditions, including my grandmother. However, over the centuries since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the Catholic Church has had too much time, money, and power to grow into a bloated, bureaucratic institution of rules, hierarchies, sacraments, ceremonies, formalities, religious orders, nomenclature, prescribed rituals, and veneration of canonized saints — is that an accurate representation of Christ's heavenly kingdom? Hell if I know. I don't presume to have all the answers. Also, no thanks to Grok for failing to generate a decent image of Sister Goñi. Elon Musk's AI overlord knew who she was and could identify one of the two known photographs of her but couldn't do anything other than create a generic composite of what a Catholic nun generally looks like.

Church Mosque of God's Holy Wisdom Sunday, February 23, 2025 On this day in A.D. 303, Emperor Diocletian burned down the newly-built Christian church in Nicodemia, the eastern capital city of the Roman Empire, and thus began an eight-year period of intense Christian persecution. Initially, the Christians were blamed for hindering Apollo's ability to provide advice to the Roman Tetrarchs through the oracle of Didyma and, shortly thereafter, a fire in the Imperial palace was also blamed on the Christians. Several believers were accused and tortured to death, including Gorgonius, Peter Cubicularius, Dorotheus, and bishop Anthimus of Nicodemia. A series of edicts followed to destroy Christian churches and scripture, rescind their legal rights, prevent them from serving in the military or hold public office, demand that they comply with Roman religious traditions, and to prevent them from worshiping their God. It is not known for certain how many Christians were martyred, but estimates widely range between 3,000 to 25,000. For a list of the actual names of those known to be martyred during this period, visit here. Fast-forward to this day in A.D. 532, when Byzantine emperor Justinian I laid the foundation stone for the Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") basilica in Constantinople for the Orthodox Christian Church. Completed in 537 with the world's largest interior space and hailed as an architectural wonder (sans-minarets), it served as a Christian cathedral until 1453, when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, renamed to Istanbul, and Hagia Sophia was converted to a Muslim mosque. (All Christian churches in Istanbul were converted to mosques, with the exception of the 1281 Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols.) Hagia Sophia remained a mosque until 1930, when it was closed by the Turkish Republic and the removal of plastered walls revealed Christian mosaics underneath. In 1935 it became a secular museum and a UNESCO World Heritage site, however, in 2020 it was converted back to a Muslim mosque. In 2024, mosaics of the Virgin and Child in the apse were covered by white drapes, although a government spokesman said that the Christian icons and mosaics of the building would be preserved. For a high-resolution, 360° panoramic view of the interior of Hagia Sophia, visit here. To see what it looked like without the Islamic minarets, visit here. According to this site, roughly half of all historic Christian churches worldwide have been converted to Muslim mosques.

Friday Night Sermon Saturday, February 22, 2025 Last night my niece came over to hang with my wife and I instead of going to her church youth group. After a game of chicken foot Dominos and pizza, she insisted on delivering a sermon to us because that would be part of the regular youth group activities. She also insisted that we take notes. So, for the sake of posterity —she is in the sixth grade and may be a pastor at a megachurch someday— here is a recap of Friday night's sermon in front of the television after opening with a group sing-along of the first verse and chorus of Amazing Grace: "I am Pastor Nick. That isn't my real name. Does everyone have their Bible and a notepad? Tonight's topic is a surprise. Everyone is clapping." (No one in the couch congregation is clapping.) "Like that one guy with the donkey something something. Now for a funny story." (Didn't write down the story, but no one in the couch congregation laughed.) "Here are ways God can speak to you. Number one: whisper. Number two: loud. Write in capital letters. LOUD. 1 Corinthians 2:13 - God took a rib from Adam (NIV). Can someone read 1 Corinthians 2:13?" (A couch congregant reads from the YouVersion Bible app on their iPhone: This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.) "On a separate note, God talks to us from the Holy Spirit. No, that's not the third point, it's just a side note. Number three: Objects or people. A donkey is an object. Zephaniah 2:7, or some verse in the Bible." (Zephaniah 2:7 - "That land will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah; there they will find pasture. In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon. The Lord their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes.") "In Genesis 2 we read that God took man and woman and told them to go forth and multiplicate. He made Adam from the dust and took a rib from Adam and made Eve, so Adam has one less rib. On a separate note — idols. We all have them, but God is our number one idol. That's God with a capital G. Phones are idols. When you look down at your phone, that is bowing down to an idol. Now, we are going to have reptance with grape juice and a wafer. Tonight we eat this holy wafer in Your presence and eat the reptance grape juice." (She pretends to tear the protective top off a plastic cup of juice and drink it and encourages the couch congregation to do the same. The couch congregation asks if we are taking Communion, to which she responds in the positive, but that it has another name which is reptance or something like that.) "Now, if your page is full, then flip it. We read that the first word in Genesis is "In" and the last word in Revelation is "Amen." (The couch congregation begins to rise and is asked to be seated for part two of the sermon.) Part Two "Everyone is clapping again with light piano music in the background. Let me tell you a story of when I was young and lived with old people. Old people shared their drugs with me, which were the best days of my life. They were gummy vitamins. Now, let's sing the National Anthem." (We all sing random parts of the National Anthem.) "Now the Star Spangled Banner." (We all sing random parts of the Star Spangled Banner.) "Our second topic is how to not marry a jerk. There should be no kids in here because this is going to get serious. Number one: talk to God, listen to God, and pray to God. Number two: the Word of God, which is the Bible. Number three: People and objects. Now let's say the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God. Lastly, before I let you all go, write down in your notebooks any thoughts you have on donkeys." (On a separate note, my wife was chastised several times throughout the sermon by the pastor as a sinner for being disruptive and addressed each time as Ma'am. However, she was re-assured that we are all sinners.)

Many Are Invited, Few Are Chosen Wednesday, February 19, 2025 Open your Bibles with me to Matthew 22. Today we read Jesus' parable about the wedding banquet, wherein a king invites his people to a wedding feast for his son. However, the invited guests refuse to attend and even mistreat and kill the messengers. As the day of the wedding arrives, the king sends his messengers out into the streets to round up anyone willing to attend and, unlike the similar account in Luke 14:15-23, here's what happens: "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, 'How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?' The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited, but few are chosen.' " (Matthew 22:11-14, NIV) This, of course, is a parable about the kingdom of heaven: the king is God, the bridegroom is Christ, the messengers are the prophets, the invited guests are the Israelites, the last-minute guests are the Gentiles, and the bride is either his Church (2 Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:25-27), the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-21), or the nation of Israel (Isaiah 54:5-8, 62:5, Hosea 2) — a debate for another time, perhaps. It's one of the toughest scriptures to comprehend, at least for me. Who is capable of making it to heaven, only to be violently thrown out? Is this in reference to Jesus' previous statement in Matthew 5:20? "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Possibly, except that some poor souls did manage to enter the kingdom of heaven but weren't supposed to be there. What is the proper attire? Is it the white robe of Revelation 7:9-17 and 19:8 that has been washed in the blood of the Lamb? More than likely, since a ceremoniously unclean robe stained with sin would really piss off the king (Leviticus 15, Isaiah 64:6). At this point, Jesus is teaching in the temple courts and talking to the chief priests, elders of the people, teachers of the law, and the Pharisees, so it stands to reason that the one who made it to heaven but was not dressed appropriately was a representation of them. Although righteous enough on their own merits, they did not accept Jesus as the Son of God and therefore their robes were still stained with sin. Am I right? I hope so. I don't want to be bound hand and foot and tossed out of heaven because I am really struggling with people these days. My primary sin is found in Matthew 5:22. Raca!

Praise the Keeper of Heaven's Kingdom Tuesday, February 11, 2025 Today we gather with Ealdfæder and Ealdemodor around the old family pipe organ to sing the hymn of Cædmon (c. 600-684), quite possibly the very first English poet. He lived as a monk who tended animals at the monastery of Streonæshalch in Northumbria (North Yorkshire). Lyrically unlearned, musically unschooled, and tone-deaf, Cædmon had a dream one night whilst resting with the animals wherein he was told to sing of the beginning of created things. Upon awakening, he wrote a hymn which was presented to Abbess Hilda of Whitby (614-680), after which he was tested and found to be a miraculous composer. What is known of Cædmon was recorded by Bede the Venerable (673-735) in his eighth-century Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Chap. XXIV), which was said of him: "...he was wont to make songs of piety and religion, so that whatever was expounded to him out of Scripture, he turned ere long into verse expressive of much sweetness and penitence, in English, which was his native language. By his songs the minds of many were often fired with contempt of the world, and desire of the heavenly life. Others of the English nation after him attempted to compose religious poems, but none could equal him, for he did not learn the art of poetry from men, neither was he taught by man, but by God's grace he received the free gift of song, for which reason he never could compose any trivial or vain poem, but only those which concern religion it behoved his religious tongue to utter." Now, come children, and sing along in the ancient tongue of Old English to the tune of Happy Birthday the original Hymn of Cædmon:
			Nu scilun herga hefenricæs uard metudæs mehti and his modgithanc uerc uuldurfadur sue he uundra gihuæs eci dryctin or astelidæ. he ærist scop ældu barnum hefen to hrofæ halig sceppend tha middingard moncynnæs uard eci dryctin æfter tiadæ firum foldu frea allmehtig
If you didn't understand what you were singing, visit My Poetic Side for this and other poems by Cædmon in Modern English.

Cedars of Lebanon Sunday, February 9, 2025 Today the Maronite Church of Lebanon commemorates their founder, the fourth-century ascetic monk named Maron (died in 410), who was trained at Antioch and spread Christianity throughout Syria. Although he left no written works and founded no churches, Maron studied with John Chrysostom and did convert a pagan temple to a Christian church in the ancient Syrian village of Kafr Nabu. According to this source, "For St. Maroun, all was connected to God and God was connected to all. He did not separate the physical and spiritual world and actually used the physical world to deepen his faith and spiritual experience with God. St. Maroun embraced the quiet solitude of the mountain life. He lived his life in open air exposed to the forces of nature such as sun, rain, hail and snow. His extraordinary desire to come to know God's presence in all things allowed St. Maroun to transcend such forces and discover that intimate union with God. He was able to free himself from the physical world by his passion and fervour for prayer and enter into a mystical relationship of love with God." Maron lived much of his life as a hermit in the Taurus Mountains of Syria. His disciples, particularly Abraham of Cyrrhus (350-422), spread his style of Christian mysticism throughout Lebanon and, true to its form, most of its converts lived in the mountains — well, that and many were driven into the mountains due to a little theological hiccup called "Monothelitism." The Maronite Church was in communion with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, however, in the seventh century a controversy came to fruition which had been brewing for centuries due to conflicting beliefs in the monotheletic will of Christ (divine only) versus the dyothelitic will of Christ (both divine and human), which was ultimately settled at the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681) in favor of dyothelitism. In the meantime, the Maronites were accused of propagating monotheletism and therefore heresy. Anyway, they survived by aligning their theology with that of the Roman Catholic Church during the Crusades and the rest is a complicated narrative of historical debate. Moving on, in the eleventh century a unitarian branch formed from Shia Islam called the Druze (Arabic al-Muwahhidun), who believed in reincarnation and unification with a Cosmic Mind, and therefore were not considered actual Muslims. Both the Marion Christians and the Druze coexisted in peace throughout the region of Mount Lebanon for centuries, a peace that survived through the Crusades, the campaigns of the Sunni Mamluk, and persecution by the Ottoman Turks, and together they founded modern Lebanon in the eighteenth century which was managed under a joint system called, simply enough, "Maronite-Druze dualism." As harmonious as any two religions could be, the Maronites and Druze were not without conflict, as a civil war broke out in 1860 between the two due to political tensions caused by the Ottoman Empire resulting in around 7,500 deaths (according to Wikipedia). Following WWII, Lebanon was relatively peaceful internally until the arrival of terrorist groups like the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Fatah, and Hezbollah. In 1975, another civil war occurred between Christians and the PLO that lasted until 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities (again, according to Wikipedia). Today, Christians still make up a third of the Lebanese population, dominated by members of the Maronite Church, and there are God-knows-how-many Maronite churches around the world. Of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, the Maronite Church is of the Antiochene Liturgical Rite conducted in the Syriac, Arabic, and Aramaic languages.

Shrovetide Shenanigans Sunday, February 2, 2025 This week is the celebration of Shrovetide in most churches of Catholic-like tradition, including the Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and, of course, Roman Catholic communities, in which participants indulge themselves in revelry, food, and alcohol prior to the more somber and restrictive period of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, commemorating the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert before being tempted by the devil. It begins on Sunday and culminates on Tuesday with carnivals such as the Carnival of Venice, Rio de Janeiro, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The term Carnival originates from the Latin carne levare (remove meat) or carne vale (farewell to meat), since meat is the most abstained food during the Lenten fast. The term Shrove originates from the Anglo-Saxon word shrive, meaning absolution following confession, or the forgiveness of sins. It is a period of self-examination of conscience and repentance, which for me is to reflect upon my own self-righteous indignation over a bottle of Scotch and ask Jesus to forgive me for being such a sanctimonious prick, as well as for drinking too much. One of the traditions is for churches to collect palm branches from the previous year's Palm Sunday and burn them to make ashes for Ash Wednesday, which are smeared upon the forehead as a symbol of repentance (Nehemiah 9:1, Job 42:6, Daniel 9:3, Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13, Hebrews 9:12-14), as well as man's origins (Genesis 3:19, Psalm 103:14, Ecclesiastes 3:20). For some, Shrovetide is an excuse to party topless and eat pancakes (Lutherans hit a cat out of a barrel and eat doughnuts), yet these activities have their origins in the practicality of consuming all that cannot be enjoyed during Lent, lest it go to waste. Most celebrations consist of some type of public masquerade, such as costumed parades or masked children going door-to-door caroling and receiving treats. Partying topless and hitting a cat out of a barrel aren't for everyone.

World Hijabophobia Day Saturday, February 1, 2025 Today, some in the Christian community recognize the following women for their lifetime of faith: Brigid of Kildare, Ireland (451-525), a bishop and founder of several monasteries, churches, and schools; Dar Lugdach (died c. 527), a disciple of and successor to Brigid of Kildare; Virginia Margaret del Mazziere (Veridiana, 1182-1242), an ascetic who remained secluded in Castelfiorentino, Tuscany, for 34 years; Candelaria of Saint Joseph (1863-1940), founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Venezuela and director of St. Anthony's Hospital. Due to their faith, they all wore traditional head coverings most of their public lives, which would have been a headscarf and possibly a neck wrap called a wimple. Today is also World Hijab Day, founded by Nazma Khan in 2013, who stated here that "the purpose is to encourage women of all religions and backgrounds to wear and experience the hijab for a day and to educate and spread awareness on why hijab is worn." The reason why it is worn is for the modesty of Muslim women, as well as a veil of spiritual protection ("hijab" means veil or covering). According to Islamic law, the hijab should be worn by women in public beginning from the age of puberty -- public, meaning a location where there are other men around other than immediate male family relations. Some even go so far as to expect Muslim women to cover their entire face (with the exception of the eyes, which are typically veiled with mesh) with a burqa in order to prevent any man from impure gazes. There are other types of garments in between, however, the hijab should at least cover the head and neck, to include the hair. Some may find this liberating as it tends to reduce the objectification of a woman, however, there are many who object to it altogether as a symbol of female repression for those who are forced to wear them. They have also become a symbol for some of terrorism who may, in turn, discriminate against or harass those who wear them, which is the primary reason for this instance of solidarity. Regardless, they are a specific form of Muslim attire and those who choose to wear them just once a year in accord with Muslim women are also making a public statement that they support Islam and the faith behind the hijab. Otherwise, they are merely ignorant and want to draw attention to themselves. Note: Countries which have banned the burqa, both European and majority Muslim, have not banned the hijab, with the exception of France in certain instances.

LWoS 301 Wednesday, January 29, 2025 Last year was the biggest selling year so far since the release in 2015 of The Lost Wisdom of Solomon, which still didn't pay the annual web hosting fees. Oh, well, if you keep reading this blog, you'll eventually have read the entire book. Please don't inform the legal bots at Amazon Kindle Direct, since this is a violation of their terms, the penalty of which is having to intern at the Washington Post. 301 People can be likened to an assortment of candies — not everything is as it may seem: Some are congealed chunks of multifarious fruits; enigmatic yet dulcet, delectable though perplexing. Some appear as nougat, coated with a sweetened carob shell, but contain a surprise locust inside. Some are an amalgamation of sweet and sour; alluring yet repulsive, repulsive yet alluring. Some have a hard, crunchy outer shell but a soft, creamy filling. Some are instantly agreeable, but may unexpectedly break your teeth. Some are unseemly in appearance, but the sweetest of all. Some are nothing more than minced detritus, the flavor of which causes the tongue to cringe and forces the mind to question the principles of good taste. Some are tough to chew and even harder to swallow. Some are brittle and crack under pressure. The majority are a mixture of nuts, glommed together with pectin. Yes, most people are just plain nuts. Regarding this peculiar gift, that of a box of assorted candies, it is one of acquaintanceship, idiosyncratic to those who desire to know you less than they already do. For the more they get to know you intimately, the less they approve of you as a human being. Like the fruitcake, it is sweet enough to entice you to keep grazing, and plucking at the choicer parts, but overall it is time better spent in oblivion.

Them Delicious Four-Legged Insects Sunday, January 26, 2025 Yesterday we were briefly introduced to Cardinal Mantis, which the Bible refers to as a four-legged insect that would be an abomination to eat — specifically Leviticus 11:20-23: "All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean." Now, how stupid do you have to be to think that insects have only four legs? Apparently, the ancients were incapable of scientific observation, unable to properly categorize taxonomic ranks of organisms, and the Bible is wrong. However, as can be shown in context here, here, here, and here, the biblical reference to these "kinds" of insects is in regards to their four walking legs and two jumping legs. Insects such as Cardinal Mantis walk on four legs and use their non-walking arms for praying. Therefore, John the Baptist was limited to eating locusts (Matt 3:4, Mark 1:6), which walk on four legs. Locusts are an excellent source of protein with a mean of 50% dry weight or greater, comparable to the protein content in beef, and contain all essential amino acids except methionine. According to commercial locust purveyors Biblical Protein, "Unbelievable yet true, the locust is one of the most efficient and nutritious sources of protein God and nature have ever produced." The locusts no one will want to eat are those from Revelation 9:1-11, which science has yet to classify and which are depicted in this delightful animated short by Nina Paley (more delightful animations depicting the horrific scenes from Revelation can be viewed at Apocalypse Animated).

Animation by Nina Paley

Octave of Christian Unity Saturday, January 25, 2025 Today marks the final day of prayer for the eight-day Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, sponsored by the World Council of Churches. The guiding biblical text for this year was John 11:17-27 (resurrection of Lazarus and Martha's confession of Jesus as the Christ) and marked the 1700th anniversary of the first Christian Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea near Constantinople in 325 AD/CE, which adopted the Nicene Creed. This year's mascot was Cardinal Mantis and children learned to speak Latin when praying with other children over Zoom calls during the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office): Lauds (3AM-6AM), Terce (6AM-9AM), Sext (9AM-12PM), None (12PM-3PM), Vespers (3PM-6PM), and Compline (6PM-9PM). They were also taught safety by praying indoors and not in the middle of the street like Muslims. Children were reminded of Matthew 18:19-20: "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." This does not, of course, apply to the acquisition of toys, victory in games, and a vague notion of world peace. Kids can go online under the supervision of their parents or guardians and print illustrations under the supervision of their parents or guardians to be colored under the supervision of their parents or guardians, including such themes as the Icon of the Hospitality of Abraham, Icon of the Annunciation, Icon of Theophany, and Icon of Pentecost. The most important aspect about praying together is knowing to whom we are praying, which is the God of the Old and New Testaments, who is far beyond our comprehension (Isaiah 55:8-9). But through God's son, Jesus, we have an advocate who intercedes on our behalf.

Full Disclosure Monday, January 20, 2025 In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., I am not going to try and pen anything humorous about the great man. Today is also inauguration day for Trump's second attempt at president of the U.S., but I am not going to try and pen anything humorous about the orange man, either. Instead, I am going to address the pink elephant in the virtual room, by which I mean the topics I have yet to cover herein. Although primarily conservative, I do look for the proof in the pudding, albeit some puddings are not to my taste. Conspiracy Theories — I am not into conspiracy theories. I repeat, I am not into conspiracy theories. Again, I am not into conspiracy theories. However, some of them are rather captivating. As of late, my favorite (which I don't have one) is the one about how California governor Gavin Newsom was responsible for allowing the wild fires to ravage southern California after the heaviest rainfalls in a hundred years and forced insurance companies to drop homeowners so that BlackRock could come in and buy up all the devastated properties. All of this so far is unsubstantiated, of course, but still. Climate Change — I am not about to tackle this subject because it's too deep to tread. Yes, the planet is warming up and we are partially to blame, but we are in a losing battle to try and reduce carbon emissions when competing with natural disasters like volcanoes and wild fires, the shifting magnetic poles, solar flares, newly-industrialized countries trying to play catch-up, billions of farting buttholes, and wealthy activists globe-trotting in their private jets and yachts. I do tend to see climate change as more of an opportunity for profit and to misappropriate government funds than to save the planet. There is a bright side, though, and that is Revelation 21. Vaccines & Birth Defects — I am not going to touch this one with a 69-1/2 foot pole. There is too much science weighing in against the anti-vaxxers, although I think the COVID-19 vaccines circumvented the scientific processes to get rushed to market and mRNA development as financed by Bill Gates is akin to biological warfare. I personally know of one case in which the family has dedicated most of their time to pursuing the powers that be to come clean about the relationship between vaccines and Down Syndrome in children, but I am willing to admit that sometimes people become consumed with a cause to the point that they cannot be convinced otherwise. (Not akin to my belief in Creationism.) UFOs and the Paranormal — I'll admit that I listen to my fair share of paranormal podcasts and watch plenty of documentaries about ancient aliens. Yes, I find the subject of UFOs/UAPs/USOs to be entertaining. However, I attribute most paranormal experiences to the realm of the spirit world; you know, demons, unclean spirits, fallen angels and the like. With that said, I also believe the Democrats have discovered where hell is located and have been in direct contact with its inhabitants (2 Peter 2:4). I do not trust our federal government in matters of this sort... actually, I do not trust our federal government at all. Racism & Gender Inequality — I may make offhanded comments about both of these subjects but I have no intentions of spending any reasonable amount of time on them. On one hand, yes, they exist. On the other, it has been drug to the forefront and sensationalized by the woke establishment for odious purposes. The answers are definitely not reparations and affirmative action. Homelessness & Drug Addiction — These two seem to go hand-in-hand and I wish we had a universal answer for them both. A few cities stand out for successfully tackling the homeless crisis and mandatory drug rehabilitation may be the answer for convicted drug offenders (or whatever PC term they go by these days), but apparently the think tanks have all been converted to drunk tanks. TikTok — This is a great platform for weirdos to get their freak on and dumbshits to publicly humiliate themselves. If this is banned or bought out and censored, then these human oddities may venture outdoors to cause mayhem. Oh, wait, they do this already to garner subscribers. Social media outlets like this aren't the cause of social disturbances, they are only symptomatic of the overall dereliction of the global community. But it's not all teenage influencers, teenage lip-syncers, teenage pranksters, teenage sociopolitical rants, and Zach King illusions. Besides, the Chinese Communist Party already keeps tabs on us through smart phone firmware which their children manufacture for U.S. companies. Make America Great Again — I am not a MAGA Republican, but I did vote for Trump the third time around as a matter of principle. Living in a blue state, my vote didn't count, but I'd rather have a convicted felon at the helm than a woman of color who has no content of character. Wasn't that something which Martin Luther King Jr. said in one of his famous speeches? ("I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." MLK, 1963) Those on the far left would call this a misquote, which is like calling those on the far left "liberals." They are not liberals in the classical sense, but uphold a warped sense of social liberalism in the form of diversity, equity and inclusion over logic, rationale, and good old-fashioned common sense. As a tax-payer, I say it's time we put America first. Operation Mockingbird — Okay, this one I will address. Something is definitely not quite right about mainstream media news and the CIA's Operation Mockingbird, in business since the Cold War, seems to fit the bill. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, and National Security Agency have all been involved in several nefarious programs and I would not be the least bit surprised if one or all three are in cahoots with brainwashing and training psychologically disturbed youths to shoot up elementary schools -- there's no other reason other than demon possession. This is not conspiracy theory stuff; rather, it is reasonable assumption. The CIA, FBI, and NSA are all members of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), which consists of 17 different intelligence agencies. There's no reason this many federal employees dedicated to our nation's security cannot detect and prevent such atrocities, unless they either allow them to happen or they orchestrate their occurences, then use the media to blame legal gun ownership.

Contes De Romance Peu Orthodoxe Sunday, January 19, 2025 It's time once again for a little romance, so here's a story from my best-selling book, Tales of Unorthodox Romance, which is still at the top of the New York Tim's Best Seller list. If you don't find this one to your liking, then there are plenty more to try where that came from.
	edediah sat across the candle-lit room from his new bride, Rebecca Elizabeth. In awkward silence sat her mother, Sarah Bethany, her grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth, and her aunt, Rebecca Bethany. He nervously eyed a jug of cider on the hardwood floor next to Grandmother Sarah Elizabeth's chair, to which she shook her head in disapproval. Rebecca Elizabeth stood on the opposite side of the modestly furnished room and slowly removed her bonnet, letting it slide down her hair and onto the floor. Aunt Rebecca Bethany bent over and picked it up. Rebecca Elizabeth then untied her apron, letting it fall to the floor. Mother Sarah Bethany bent over and picked it up, folded it, and laid it across her lap. Rebecca Elizabeth untied her white wedding cape and handed it to Grandmother Sarah Elizabeth, who would hold onto it for the marriage of Rebecca Elizabeth's sister, Elizabeth Rebecca. Then, finally, Rebecca Elizabeth removed her blue linen dress. There she stood, naked as the day she was born, save for her woolen undergarments. All was quiet, except for the ticking of the clock and the sound of Aunt Rebecca Bethany chewing a stalk of celery. "Ahem," Mother Sarah Bethany cleared her throat and nodded at Rebecca Elizabeth, who slowly began to unbutton her beige modesty frock. Rebecca Elizabeth dropped her last article of clothing and walked across the room to where her newly-wedded husband sat with nervous anticipation and presented herself fully to Jedediah, who remained motionless. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face, reflecting the flickering candle light. Aunt Rebecca Bethany stopped chewing her celery. The clock ticked. The floor creaked as Rebecca Elizabeth shifted her weight to reach out her hand and take Jedediah's hand, which she placed upon her body. It was hairy. Every part of her body was hairy, some more hairy than others, and the bottom hairier than the top. It was then that Mother Sarah Bethany slid the key to Rebecca Elizabeth's chastity belt across the floor to Jedediah and Grandmother Sarah Elizabeth blew out the candle.

Bill Nye the Science-Only Guy Wednesday, January 15, 2025 Eleven years ago, evolutionary scientist Bill Nye publicly debated creation scientist Ken Ham, which can be viewed below or here. At the time, I was excited about this debate and interested in both sides but, like so many who watched, I was disappointed. However, the primary issue I had with the debate was Bill Nye's hangup about Noah's ark, which he couldn't seem to let go for the 2-1/2 hour time period and, for a relatively brief debate, there were too many topics and too much information to discuss. Bill Nye said during the debate that he found it unsettling that some believe the Bible to be more accurate than natural laws, and he is absolutely right about that — 1 Corinthians 1:20-22 says, "Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified." Add to that the fact that scientists demand observable data and there is no debating what they cannot perceive spiritually. I'd go even further to say that it is a lost cause, as would the scientific community who criticized Bill Nye for even committing to having a debate of this nature and thus giving credence to Creationism. I side with Ken Ham, Creationism, and a young earth viewpoint, which puts me in a small minority. However, this isn't to say that it's wrong — it's not popular, which is why I also believe that it should not be taught in government-funded public schools but should at least garner special mention along with Intelligent Design as a scientific counter-argument to the prevailing theory of Evolution, which cannot be proven observationally, historically, experimentally, or otherwise. In the end, Bill criticized Ken about being satisfied with the Bible's answers, such as God simply creating the stars. For Bill, this is not satisfactory, but what is satisfactory is finding out the answers for himself. For Ken's ten-year follow-up, go here. Bill and Ken's second meeting can be viewed here or below, wherein Bill calls Ken's scientists incompetent, his students simplistic, belief in Adam and Eve a betrayal of intellect, ancient people living to be three-hundred years old an impossibility, creation timelines to be miraculous, Creationism to be supernatural and unscientific, and his museum to be a waste of money. Along with that, Bill also implied that viral mutations are a form of short-term evolution. Following are some of the many counterpoints to creationism which Bill Nye mentioned in the debate that I finally got around to considering ten years later because I was busy doing other stuff: Layered Ice Samples: Bill Nye talked about ice core samples from glaciers and deep ice sheets which reveal hundreds of thousands of layers of snow ice which in turn represent hundreds of thousands of years because the individual layers are formed during each seasonal cycle or roughly one layer per year. Ken Ham didn't really address this until the second meeting over ten years later and challenged the number of layers which can be created annually, insisting that more layers can be created than just one per year based on factors like storms, rain, and other climate-related events or even natural disasters like oceanic volcanoes. Problems with accuracy emerge the farther down the ice core is sampled because of compaction, even when other methods are included like radiometric dating, volcanic ash layer comparisons, ice flow models, and ratios of stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. Old Trees: Bill mentioned trees dated older than 10,000 years based on their ring count. Again, Ken Ham didn't really address this until the second meeting when he challenged the reliability of tree ring dating, pointing out that some can be misleading. This can be true if relying only on the number of rings and isolated trees which cannot be cross-referenced with other samples in the same environment. There are no individual trees considered to be older than 6,000 years. I don't know which trees specifically Bill was referring to, unless he was speaking off-hand about clonal trees. Variety of Humanoid Skulls: Bill showed a slide picturing a host of different human-like skulls as an example of evolutionary steps in the eventual formation of Homo sapiens. He criticized Ken for not addressing this in the limited time available during the debate and brought it up again during their second encounter, criticizing Ken as well for his museum's depiction of Adam and Eve as Caucasians. The problem with Bill's variety of skulls is that there are relatively few in existence and most are pieced together from small fragments, any one of which may appear non-Homo sapiens due to deformities of various kinds (mutational, intentional, accidental, in-breeding, cross-breeding with other species, etc.). Based on AI-generated calculations of data from Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and other demographic studies, approximately 100 billion people have walked the Earth since 6,000 BC — looking around at all the weirdos in any modern metropolitan city, it's not hard to imagine how many throughout human history had misshapen heads. Isolated Animals After the Flood: Bill Nye briefly talked about kangaroos in Australia being nowhere else in the world. So, how did they get there after the flood from the Middle East? There is no evidence of a land bridge ever existing between Asia and Australia during this period. Ken's rebuttals were more along the line of the rarity of fossils, but I posit that people may have transported various animals across great distances early in the repopulation of the Earth after the great flood. Sure, there weren't that many people, but then there wouldn't have been that many animals within a given species (or kind) to relocate. Since the first debate, remains have been discovered of more than one kangaroo-like species in Papua New Guinea. Also, the Sahul land bridge connected mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands during the Pleistocene ice age, which ended sometime between 11,000-18,000 years ago. Biblical "Kinds": Bill argued that there is not enough time for the number of species known today to have originated from the limited kinds of animals and creatures proposed by the Bible and Creationism, particularly those on the ark. Since the flood, countless animals, birds, insects, and fish would have to be appearing daily through cross-breeding based on how many different species variations exist today. But what if there was a speciation explosion somewhere over the past few thousand years? Even so, I claim that there should be exponentially more people today if we started out 50,000 years ago without a great flood, regardless of pandemics, wars, and natural disasters. Noah's Ark: Bill Nye's biggest hangup was about Noah's ark, which he couldn't seem to let go because he couldn't understand how a primitive man and his small family managed to successfully build such a giant ship and save so many animals, then repopulate the earth after the flood. The answer to that, of course, is recorded synoptically in Genesis 6:14-22. Granted, these are not Ikea furniture instructions written in different languages and may not be considered as scientific evidence. However, we have it on good authority that they came directly from God Almighty. On his visit to Ken's reproduction of the ark, Bill criticized him for not building the ark in the same manner as Noah, since the replica was built with the addition of steel, concrete, bolts, screws, and with the aid of power tools. Not only that, but Ken's version of the ark is not even sea-worthy. To whit, Bill is correct that lack of evidence for the ark outside of the Bible disqualifies it from any kind of scientific testing and verification. Then again, there is plenty of evidence for the great pyramids in Egypt and no one really knows how they were built. Still, it takes more faith to believe that the Earth is over four billion years old. (Bill asked students visiting the creation museum to try to wrap their heads around a billion.) Universe Expansion: Bill argued that the distance of the stars is the greatest proof that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. This is measured using the parallax stellar method, or measuring the apparent change in a star's position during the year. Farther stars are generally measured by their light spectrum. What has changed since is that astronomers can use the Hubbel space telescope to measure some of the farthest known globular star clusters with trigonometric parallax. However, difficulties with these methods include not knowing the location of where the Big Bang occurred, relying on the Earth as the starting point for all measurements, the unknown density and composition of the universe, whether or not the theory of general relativity needs to be modified to include a cosmological constant, and calculating an accurate expansion rate of the universe. According to Nasa, "The tiny wobbles of these cluster stars were only 1/100th of a pixel on the telescope's camera, measured to a precision of 1/3000th of a pixel. This is the equivalent to measuring the size of an automobile tire on the moon to a precision of one inch." It's hard to argue with the math, but maybe the answers are somewhere beyond the stars. Big Bang Background Noise: Bill Nye mentioned that astronomers have both predicted and detected residual cosmic background noise from the Big Bang, primarily in the form of microwave radiation, which is supposedly the result of the universe cooling as it expanded over time and which is pervasive throughout the entire celestial sphere. Although Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for this finding, as a simpleton with no scientific background or credentials whatsoever, I still have to ask: Is this background noise instead caused by dark matter (which makes up nearly 85% of all space) or even something else yet unknown in the universe? For those who believe that God may have created all of matter with a Big Bang, this theory is incompatible with Genesis 1, which states that God first created the heavens and the earth, then light, then the sun and the moon, then the stars. So, not only was the universe not all created at once, but the stars were created after the sun, which cosmologists claim is younger than the universe by 9 billion years. Even so, Genesis 1 says all this was created on day one, but the Big Bang theory claims that light was created first, then it took around 380,000 years before stars were formed, and the Earth was formed last approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Radiometric Dating: Ken Ham pointed out discrepancies with dating rocks and biological matter using radiometric dating techniques, citing an example where a rock and a tree in the exact location underground were dated several thousand years apart. Bill suggested that maybe the rock layer moved into where the tree layer was, to which Ken replied that the tree was actually inside the rock. Ken mentioned a few times that there are several radiometric dating methods, all of which result in different data and therefore different ages for rocks. He also pointed out that the age of the earth (4.5 billion years) is based on meteor dating, not earth rock dating. In their second meeting, Bill accused Ken of believing that radioactive decay rates were somehow different in ancient times, but Ken argued that Bill was relying on a steady, unadulterated decay rate with no accelerators. Bill maintained that rocks are clearly "labeled" with dates (i.e., radioactive particles), but Ken argued that those so-called labels are open to interpretation. Natural Laws Cannot Change: Bill got the impression from Creationism that natural laws were different in the post-flood world and somehow changed after the flood, yet he doesn't believe there even was a great flood to begin with because it has yet to be proven. However, there is proof of large-scale flooding around this time, as this example shows. There are also great flood accounts from just about every major civilization of that same epoch, although they apparently weren't employing the scientific method in those days so their accounts are just coincidental myths and legends. Prior to the great flood, as Creationist reasoning goes, the global climate was much different than after, having a water vapor canopy overhead which maintained higher levels of oxygen, greater atmospheric pressure, less severe seasonal variance, and larger and more diverse forms of life. This does not imply that the laws of nature were different, just that the laws had different effects. Accuracy of the English Bible: Bill mentioned over and over that the English Bible has been translated from several other translations going back over three millennia and therefore cannot be reliable as to its original meanings and should not take precedence over natural laws and the observable universe. To most believers whose faith is based on Abrahamic scripture, just because it's old and translated doesn't mean it's outdated and erroneous. For more about this topic, go here, here, and here. Bill is correct in asserting that the Bible is not a book of science, but I do not see where science has disproven the Bible. Other Religions: Bill pointed out that there are quite a few Christians who do not believe in Creationism, as well as billions of other people who believe in other religions along with science. He kept making two assumptions that science is outside the Bible and that Creationism precludes technology and modern medicine. He also touched on the apparent ubiquity among scientists that they can all agree on the facts and that whatever is proven wrong can easily be disregarded. The short answers to these points are yes, no, and no. First of all, there are billions of people who believe in all kinds of things and I'd dare say most of them don't do enough research and thinking of their own. Second of all, Creationism adheres to science and the scientific methods. Thirdly, scientists of Bill's ilk do not all agree on everything. Scientific theories are continually changing but the Word of God remains the same. Predictive Science: Bill continually asked Ken if his science can accurately predict anything. The problem with this is that Ken's science is the same science as Bill's science. It's just interpreted differently when it comes to historical matters. Literal Interpretation of the Bible: Bill also made two erroneous assumptions that Ken picks and chooses which parts of the Bible to interpret literally and that Christianity is judgmental of anyone and everyone who doesn't believe. Not only did Ken not say any of this, but Bill brought these to the table as presumptions. As one who myself takes the Bible literally, I can also say that the Old Testament was directed at a small nation of chosen people whom God used as an example of what He expected of mankind. In the New Testament, He introduces His Son as a means of overcoming our inability to appease God, not just for Jews but for Gentiles, which is good news for everyone. Obviously, Bill Nye rejects Jesus Christ because, to him, the concept of a savior does not fit his notion of science, even if it is logical. Etcetera: Bill Nye provided more scientific examples that seemed to support old earth theories, including layered fossil types, Grand Canyon rock layers, and isolated examples of fish that may have filled in a fossil gap. Ken Ham attempted to address the Grand Canyon rock layers during round two but was simply dismissed by Bill Nye. This topic alone would require its own debate between opposing teams in each camp. However, Bill Nye's greatest criticism came from those who accused him of damaging his own credibility by even debating with a creationist in the first place and giving it legitimacy. There should be more of these types of debates but there will be even fewer, since most evolutionary scientists don't consider Creationism to be scientific enough, if at all. Bill's accusations against Ken Ham last year included miracles and the supernatural, which excludes Creationism from science. However, remove the miracles and the supernatural from Creationism and there's still enough scientific support for a young earth. For evolution, the supernatural is countless beneficial mutations and the miracle is time.

Bill Nye the Pseudo Science Guy Saturday, January 11, 2025 Last week, outgoing President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to, among others, Hillary Clinton, George Soros, Nancy Pelosi, Jens Stoltenberg, Cecile Richards, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Now, say what you want about these recipients of such a prestigious award, but I am going to say something about Bill Nye. Rather, let the following YouTube videos do the talking, in which he explains on his Netflix series Bill Nye Saves the World how people all have a cacophony of gender traits which makes sexuality a lot more interesting — without any scientific data whatsoever, as well as misusing an abacus. Several YouTube talking heads have had rebuttals to this diatribe, including Steven Crowder, No B.S., E Pluribus Unum, and Prince Asbel, to name a few of the less cringe-worthy. Along with Bill Nye's staunch position on climate change and global warming, I believe this was the award-winning episode that earned him the Medal of Freedom. The first three videos are from his "Social Justice Warrior" stance on the sliding gender scale where he advocates a small sample of chromosomal abnormalities as a healthy benefit to society at large, whereas the last video was his original two-gender stance in his 90's television series, which Netflix edited out. I agree we are allowed to change our positions on any and all subjects, but Bill Nye changed his point of view without any change to scientific fact. He merely changed his interpretation of sexual genetic mutation and mixed in a cacophony of modern social ideals — basically: anything goes. Granted, he is not a scientist; rather, he's a science guy.

Lucian of Antioch Tuesday, January 7, 2025 Today we take a brief look at Lucian of Antioch (A.D. 240-312), who skirted the fence of heresy and got off on a technicality: he was martyred under Emperor Maximinus Daia in Nicomedia after being imprisoned and tortured for nine years due to his unwavering confession of Christ. Although a Hebrew scholar and Christian teacher who helped make spelling corrections to the Greek Septuagint and included comments which Jerome later found helpful in preparing the Vulgate, as a teacher of Arius and Eusebius, he was also accused of being the father of the Arians, who believed that Christ was a creation of God and therefore distinct from God; a belief that was not in line with the Trinity of the Nicene Creed just a couple decades later. Because of this, the Roman Catholic Church distanced themselves from him and rejected his scriptural translations. However, the Orthodox Church accepted him on the grounds that he was as good a saint as any. Not much has survived of his writings, if there were any, but he was recorded as answering his accusers the same statement when asked his name, his profession, his astrological sign, his favorite soccer team, which was smarter - an elephant or a horse, what deity caused genital warts, and whether a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable: "I am a Christian." His battered and broken body was thrown into the sea, where dolphins played with it and tossed it around for thirty days before returning it to land. When asked where to bury his body, he only responded, "I am a Christian." Learn more about Lucian here, here, here, herer, and here.

Kong, King of the Jews Sunday, January 5, 2025 The year is 2025 and many of the Kaiju have converted to Islam. Those which haven't were killed in the Titan Intifada upon the ancient grounds of Har Megiddo, including Mothra and Shimo, who were both raped and beheaded by a mob of Islamic Kaijin. The only remaining infidel is King Kong, who has been circumcised with an atomic plate of flint that has infused him with invincible powers of hutzpah. After Godzilla charges up at a secret Iranian nuclear power plant, the two will meet in Jerusalem to battle it out atop Mount Zion. The whole world will be watching as monster religions clash for one final battle of Abrahamic ideals. The Israelis have a few surprises, including an army of copyright lawyers, which will surely work to Kong's benefit. However, the skies are filled with terror drones and members of ISIS have tunneled to Hollow Earth to kidnap Jia with the intent of raping and beheading her on the Temple Mount unless Kong surrenders. With assistance from U.S. and Chinese scientists, the World Health Organization will deliver a virus that is sure to kill all remaining Titans, however, the residual damage to humans could mean a population reduction on par with the Bubonic Plague of the fourteenth century. Also, the extraterrestrial reptilians from the Alpha Draconis star system have decided that now is the best moment in human history to finally reveal themselves — but is it to help or to hinder mankind? Will the mysterious appearance of a swine Kaiju prove an unexpected ally for the Jews? Will the Al-Aqsa Mosque remain standing? And will Kong use the Muslim call to prayer as an opportunity to attack? Toho Entertainment Ltd., in conjunction with Warner Brothers Pictures and Legendary Pictures, team up to bring you Kong, King of the Jews. Directed by Adam Wingard. Starring Rebecca Hall, Fala Chen, Ben Kingsley, Awkwafina, Jeff Goldblum, and Samuel L. Jackson. Image by Grok. This ad was sponsored by The Goonies 40th Anniversary, in theaters this month.

Lebanese Sid Caesar may be absolutely right about a few things, including application of the antediluvian word "retarded" to postmodern academic progressives.

Book Review: The Parasitic Mind Wednesday, January 1, 2025 Most conservatives on social media have heard of Dr. Gad Saad by now, if not already following him on YouTube or Twitter/X. Over the holidays I finished reading his popular book The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense (©2020 Regnery Publishing), from which I concluded that nothing should be above reproach, criticism, scientific analysis, or public scrutiny in a society that covets and upholds freedom of speech. Everything should be able to withstand epistemological examination in order to substantiate its veracity, particularly when weaponized to subjugate the masses and keep people in check. In the end, all I could reasonably criticize the author for and — more directly, the editor — was the use of commas. My biggest complaint about reading the English language these days is punctuation, of which I believe there is a nomological network of cumulative evidence in support of proper punctuation and in most American universities it is called English 101. Beginning sentences with multiple conjunctions notwithstanding (e.g., And yet), a general rule of thumb is to separate independent clauses with a comma, including those which use a coordinating conjunction, which can be rather confusing. Here are but a few examples of possible punctuation abuse from the paperback book: "My goal is to defend the truth, and today it is the left's pathogenic ideas that are leading us to an abyss..." (page xv) A single, unanticipated comma like this can prevent the reader from continuing on with the rest of the book. I was stuck here for an hour before I was finally able to move on. It might as well have been a semi-colon (S&WII-5). This is a case of Unexpected Punctuation Syndrome (UPS). "Nasser's Pan-Arabism (unification of the Arab world) had made him a hero in the region, and as often happens in the Middle East, thousands of people took to the streets..." (page 2) The comma could go after the "and" which in turn ties the two segments together. This is a case of Displaced Comma Dysphoria (DCD). "The militiamen rejected my father's plea, and we proceeded on our precarious journey." (page 6) Yet another example of Unexpected Punctuation Syndrome (UPS). Here, the comma is as useless as a transgender male's penis. "Regrettably, a devastating injury coupled with other life obstacles ended my soccer career, and so, I dove into my studies." (page 8) The misuse of "and so" is common among the conservative elite, who believe that grammar is secondary to the scientific method. "Perfumes are hedonic products, and as such they must engage our emotions." (page 24) Should be: "...and, as such, they must..." Similar to "and so," "and as such" is another tool of the conservative elite. "...they should have the right to do so, and of course their criticisms are themselves open to criticism..." (page 28) This should instead read as "...they should have the right to do so and, of course, their criticisms are themselves open to criticism..." The author has extensively used "and yet" throughout his book, which is not necessarily a literary violation, however, it has now crossed over into "and of course," which will not be tolerated and therefore criticized. "They are equally worthy winners, and if you think otherwise you are a racist." (page 31) This sentence should read: "They are equally worthy winners and, if you think otherwise, you are a racist." Otherwise, the second part is a dependent clause and not in need of a comma (S&WII-4). Regardless of whether you think otherwise, "They are equally worthy winners and you are a racist." Both statements are intrinsically true according to unhinged progressives. "They constitute the largest voting bloc of the United Nations, and as such it is perhaps no surprising that Israel..." (page 51) We already touched on "and as such" which we shall now refer to as a faux-conjunction. "Totalitarian ideologies insist on conformity, and there are many ways to impose a herd mindset on a population." (page 63) Totalitarian ideologies insist on commas and there are many ways to impose a comma as punctuation. "We must renew our commitment to freedom of speech, and fight against the left's idea pathogens..." (page 68) Freedom of speech is not freedom of comma placement. This is chaos, akin to a WWII Nazi Blitzkrieg in which thousands of explosive commas were dumped upon allied cities. Besides, the second remark is a dependent clause (S&WII-4). "Cut off one of its heads, and several new ones will grow." (page 76) This is yet another of many examples of an unnecessary comma. By now, this has developed into a fascist habit which we shall refer to as Meine Komma. Adolf Hitler was fond of commas and used them liberally in all of his written speeches and correspondence. He also prohibited the use of commas by Jews, which may be a reason the author over-compensates with them in such places. "...I self-identify as an octogenarian, and as such I'd be competing against skinny elderly people." (page 80) Faux-conjunction; something akin to Stage 2 of the five-stage Language-Change Index, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. "The brains of adolescents continue to develop well into their twenties, and as such, to punish an adolescent murderer is "cruel" and hardly progressive." (page 84) Faux-conjunction, unless the second MTP comma is surgically removed. "Feminism, throughout its history, has ameliorated the lives of innumerable women around the world, but, like any ideology or institution, it seeks to perpetuate itself, and that now requires maintaining a manufactured victimhood narrative." (page 85) This is an example of Death by a Thousand Commas. "Men are repeatedly lectured about stepping up to serve as allies to women in the workplace, but if they do so, they are engaging in benevolent sexism." (page 86) Technically, this is not incorrect, however, it feels better to say, "but, if they do so," in which the two statements could then be combined without the useless transgender comma. "...such as the thickness of a specific cortical area, and voilà, male and female brains become indistinguishable." (page 90) According to Word Hippo, this is acceptable, however, "area and, voilà," is preferable because, otherwise, the comma effectively masks the conjunction. "Our bodies and minds expect exposure to novel and unfolding situations, but when it comes to our critical thinking faculties, we are shutting them down." (page 96) If the ass-end of this sentence is indeed a dependent clause, then it should be: "situations but, when it comes..." Even so, there are two camps of comma ideology here: 1. Independent sentence clauses must make sense when combined without anything enclosed in commas; 2. Commas are commas, and as such, who gives a shit? "Of course, there are unique situations that require humane and gentle care, and in such instances, a caring and kind professor should consider..." (page 97) When done enough times, the average reader is conditioned to consider this normal, like insisting that a transgender woman can menstruate. "He was a college dropout, with a short career as a martial artist, and a longer career as a stand-up comedian..." (page 173) The only thing more liberal than Social Justice Warriors is the use of three — count them, three — commas here. "Granted, most people who self-publish or start a YouTube channel will not find an audience of hundreds of thousands, but in the battle of ideas, every voice counts..." (page 174) If not for Displaced Comma Dysphoria (DCD), this should be: "thousands, but in the battle of ideas every voice counts..." Arguably, it could also be "thousands but, in the battle of ideas, every voice counts..." According to The Punctuation Guide, there must be a compromise, however, the author is unwilling with his liberal use of commas. "One sting causes unimaginable pain, and yet the inductees must withstand the suffering..." (page 180) "And yet" is redundant. It is obvious the author is padding words to bulk up the word count. "There isn't a sacred belief that I'm unwilling to critique, and yet whenever I implore people to get engaged..." (page 181) Three whole pages would be eliminated from this book if all instances of "and yet" were reduced to just "yet." "It is difficult to beat me in the Oppression Olympics, and accordingly I utilize my royal flush of victimhood... This is the proverbial kryptonite against these charlatans of faux-justice, and so unsurprisingly she went away." (page 184) "Oppression Olympics and, accordingly, I utilize... faux-justice and so, unsurprisingly, she went away." Again, it could be either way, but the writer is unwilling to compromise with the reader, and it is the reader who must succumb to the grammatical whims of the author. With that said, the ideas which were delivered with academic parlance, reinforced with scientific evidence, and seasoned throughout with a pinch of sarcasm were as understandable as common sense; of which there isn't much of these days, unfortunately. During the first seven chapters, I silently accused Dr. Saad of preaching to his own audience, wondering what the point was. However, the final chapter was a call to action for the informed reader to not remain silent when truth and reason are under assault. I couldn't agree more.