There is an article in today’s Times-News, entitled “A Grim New Normal?”
It’s about mass shootings.
What is different from past years?
The only difference is the media attention it gets.
A person can get his name and pictures on television for days by doing something outrageous.
Even the President will make a speech because you have helped him with his agenda.
The mass shootings are very disturbing. But more and more I view them as part of the spiritual free fall we seem to be in — another (very alarming) aspect of the forces of darkness enveloping a culture that has long forgotten God.
But I don’t think we’re getting the message, not yet.
Instead, we’re scrambling to find a law to pass that will just make it stop.
As one of my liberal co-workers says every time, “these shootings keep happening but we don’t DO anything about it” — as in pass stricter gun laws.
I call that not seeing the forest for the trees, missing the big picture completely.
Donna J, Thanks for your patience in dealing with me on the animal rights issue the other day. You have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I now have a new group of folks to harass and tease.
Illegal immigrants—along with other noncitizens without the right to vote—may pick the 2016 presidential winner. Thanks to the unique math undergirding the Electoral College, the mere presence of 11-12 million illegal immigrants and other noncitizens here legally may enable them to swing the election from Republicans to Democrats
Back to the state of our society, our pastor some weeks ago — when speaking of how to know if God’s judgment has come upon us as a society — said often times our (bad) behavior itself, from abortion to (and this is my thought) these mass shootings is, in fact, our judgment.
God withdraws his restraining hand against the growing evil among us, allowing us to go our own way.
Donna J, I would agree. These shooters are not kids who were raised by both parents who were active in their church youth groups. There are a lot of teenagers out there who really need attention due to a missing father and/or mother. There are a lot of children’s and youth ministers and volunteers who are trying to stand in the gap.
The causes are so numerous, I agree — and the family (or lack thereof) is foundational.
That’s why trying to find a quick solution — passing a law or finding a mental health test or a treatment that will be “the” cure — is just futile, like batting against the wind (or rather the whirlwind that we’re reaping?).
These conditions have been a long time coming. And so here we are. 😦
Not sure I’d connect all the specific prophetic dots the way he did (or view America the way he does), but I do agree that revival is what is needed. (And I definitely wouldn’t look to the 1950s as a golden age of Christian faith.) But I did shudder (again) to see that startling image of the White House lit up as a rainbow in celebration of gay marriage.
Tammy mentioned this on a FB thread today, also, that we’ve always had access to guns — so what’s with these mass shootings? There’s something much deeper, something by way of a spiritual darkness that is going on here.
But we’ll pass a few laws — after some more hectoring & scolding by the president — and think we’ve *fixed* it.
The 50s were pretty good:
1. Church attendance was high.
2. People were theologically literate.
3. There were few abortions.
4. The vast majority of children were raised by their parents who were married to each other.
5. People obeyed and respected the police.
6. Our public schools were places where kids got good educations, not places where kids went to be robbed or indoctrinated by perverts, green nuts or socialists.
7. At the movies people watched John Wayne and Grace Kelly, not Robin Williams.
8. Sports awards were given to Willie Mays and Johnnie Unitas, not to some transvestite.
9. Only women were allowed to use women’s restrooms.
10. The U.S. sent Chistian missionaries around the world to preach the Gospel and heal the sick, rather than sending a weak president around the world to promote abortion and perversion.
Granted, the structure was still in place. But remember, it was just about ready to crumble and collapse in the following decades. Something was already amiss for us to have been so vulnerable and weak.
That seems to be the go-to word being used for conservatives now, it was thrown out again last night when I was at the dog park when I was talking to someone about our congresswoman deciding to run for a local LA county office next year instead of for re-election to Congress; guy I was talking to said something like well, with all the “crazies” taking over Congress now …
I bristled, I know, and said something like, Well, (news flash! shocker) we do have a 2-party system and one of the parties is going to be in the majority at any given time. It’s kind of how it was all set up and meant to operate, no? Other party has to live with that until they’re in the majority again.
Oh, he said, but these are the “crazies” (the word again) that are in the control now, “tea party” types.
But wait, do you really just mean conservatives?
Arrgh.
I’ve heard “crazies” used a lot lately when referring to, well, conservatives.
Actually, the ’50s seem even scarier to me now knowing what that decade ushered in.
Dangerous, because everything “seemed” OK on the outside, when in reality there was a hollow core just waiting to implode in on itself.
Things can look polite and decent on the outside and be rotten (or at least empty, not grounded or anchored in the truth) on the inside. Hmmm. Didn’t Jesus even say something like that?
A civil religion was in place but those post-WWII years were when we became so comfortable, so affluent, so satisfied.
Not blaming anyone — and certainly not blaming any particular generation as is so popular to do for simple answers these days. It’s just the way things unfolded and, as with so many things, one can usually see the trajectory and where things were ultimately headed only in retrospect.
TUOLUMNE, Calif – Four teenagers have been arrested after detectives uncovered an alleged plot to shoot students and teachers at their Northern California high school.
In defense of the 50s, we were NOT affluent, and not all that comfortable.
1. Houses were much smaller.
2. People rarely went out to eat.
3. Women cooked and cleaned. Men fixed the cars (which broke often), and appliances.
4. People in the part of Texas where I was born did not have air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, etc.
5. People were patriotic, but the faith of West Texans in the 50s was anything but civil religion.
Things really started to change about 1960. In movies, that was the clear dividing line. Prior to 1960, movies reinforced Christian values. After 1960, commitment to morality was lost. The 60s also gave us LBJ. Most of the programs, departments and laws that destroyed the country were signed into law by him. For you young people, think of a competent Obama on steroids. Then came the divorce and illegitimacy epidemic. When the family was destroyed, women and children became prey to all sorts of abusers, from Bill Clinton to Harvey Milk.
This morning, Pastor Steve deviated from his preaching from I Corinthians, to Ephesians 6:10f. This as a warning concerning the events in Oregon, Charleston and the Middle East. Not only in Syria where Christians are being crucified.
FoxNews has a news item that they scroll across the TV screen. It says “Happening Now”.
I could add, “Happening Here”.
We don’t notice it in Western NC, but it’s happening.
Nobody in Roseburg, Or. noticed it ’till a couple of days ago.
OK, but who would have been making those movies in 1960? 😉
just saying the stage was somehow being “set” for everything to change. It may not have been visible yet, but I think it’s fair to say that the change was already in the works. It didn’t just spontaneously combust.
I knew a Christian anthropology professor who said the ’50s definitely laid the unseen (at the time) groundwork in attitudes and ideas that gave birth to (perhaps in rebellion) many of the leftward changes that swept through the country in the 1960s and ’70s (and continuing on through today, of course).
Somehow, I think that each era builds toward the next.
Reagan did manage to reverse America’s slide in certain areas:
1. He rebuilt a neglected military.
2. In two steps he turned a horrible and very complicated income tax system (similar to the current version) into a simple, efficient system that collected 20% of GDP and took the Democrats and the Bushes 25 years to completely ruin.
3. He drastically cut federal regulation of business.
Unfortunately he could not rollback Johnson’s Great Society (he tried) nor could he reverse the slide into moral degeneracy (he really didn’t try).
After church our people wanted to talk politics. They are supporting Rubio, Cruz, Carson or Huckabee. One teenager said nice things about Bush, but was quickly rebuked by his peers. Strangely, almost everyone knew a Trumpie. Most were shocked or embarrassed that their friend or relative was supporting Trump. It was generally seen as an act of desperation, sort of like a man deciding to marry a prostitute rather than stay single.
Actually, I do not like most films of the 1950s. There is a underlying sensuality in them which is very insidious. The most obvious example of that is anything that features Marilyn Monroe, but some of the worst offenders were the ‘Biblical Blockbusters’, such as the Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, etc – not only were their love scenes very suggestive, but they usually included an obligatory exotic slave dance scene (very reminiscent of the Bacchanalian scenes in films of the pre-code era, actually). Is it any wonder the Boomers decided sex should be liberated in the 60s, when they were constantly exposed to what amounted to soft porn growing up in the 50s?
Sorry to be late to respond. I have been watching The Big Country (1958) with my wife. It is the best western not starring John Wayne or directed by John Ford. I haven’t seen too much that was sensual or insidious, but Jean Simmons is pretty.
Roscuro, You’ve just been watching the wrong movies. For the best of the 50s start with John Ford and John Wayne: The Searchers, The Quiet Man and Rio Grande. Then move on to the Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann westerns. Winchester 73 is the best, but they are all good. Throw in a little Hitchcock: Rear Window, Vertigo and The Man who Knew Too Much.
Wandering Views 
There is an article in today’s Times-News, entitled “A Grim New Normal?”
It’s about mass shootings.
What is different from past years?
The only difference is the media attention it gets.
A person can get his name and pictures on television for days by doing something outrageous.
Even the President will make a speech because you have helped him with his agenda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
HERO:
http://dailycaller.com/2015/10/02/meet-the-30-year-old-army-vet-who-was-shot-five-times-shielding-classmates-from-oregon-shooter/
LikeLiked by 2 people
The mass shootings are very disturbing. But more and more I view them as part of the spiritual free fall we seem to be in — another (very alarming) aspect of the forces of darkness enveloping a culture that has long forgotten God.
But I don’t think we’re getting the message, not yet.
Instead, we’re scrambling to find a law to pass that will just make it stop.
As one of my liberal co-workers says every time, “these shootings keep happening but we don’t DO anything about it” — as in pass stricter gun laws.
I call that not seeing the forest for the trees, missing the big picture completely.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Donna J, Thanks for your patience in dealing with me on the animal rights issue the other day. You have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I now have a new group of folks to harass and tease.
LikeLike
Oh, you’re welcome, Ricky. Anytime. Just call on me. 🙂 🙄
LikeLiked by 1 person
This thought is disheartening, but not entirely surprising:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/illegal-immigrants-could-elect-hillary-clinton-213216
___________________________________
Illegal immigrants—along with other noncitizens without the right to vote—may pick the 2016 presidential winner. Thanks to the unique math undergirding the Electoral College, the mere presence of 11-12 million illegal immigrants and other noncitizens here legally may enable them to swing the election from Republicans to Democrats
____________________________________
LikeLike
I’m not sure any of this is true, but I probably believe the Russian government as much as I believe ours.
https://www.rt.com/news/317505-air-force-terrorists-raqqa/
LikeLike
Back to the state of our society, our pastor some weeks ago — when speaking of how to know if God’s judgment has come upon us as a society — said often times our (bad) behavior itself, from abortion to (and this is my thought) these mass shootings is, in fact, our judgment.
God withdraws his restraining hand against the growing evil among us, allowing us to go our own way.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Donna J, I would agree. These shooters are not kids who were raised by both parents who were active in their church youth groups. There are a lot of teenagers out there who really need attention due to a missing father and/or mother. There are a lot of children’s and youth ministers and volunteers who are trying to stand in the gap.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The causes are so numerous, I agree — and the family (or lack thereof) is foundational.
That’s why trying to find a quick solution — passing a law or finding a mental health test or a treatment that will be “the” cure — is just futile, like batting against the wind (or rather the whirlwind that we’re reaping?).
These conditions have been a long time coming. And so here we are. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I still say the root cause is that we are a nation that (long ago, really) turned away from God.
The rest of what follows is, sadly, somewhat predictable. 😦
LikeLiked by 4 people
I refer you to the sermon I posted on the other thread. Jonathan somebody.
LikeLike
Not sure I’d connect all the specific prophetic dots the way he did (or view America the way he does), but I do agree that revival is what is needed. (And I definitely wouldn’t look to the 1950s as a golden age of Christian faith.) But I did shudder (again) to see that startling image of the White House lit up as a rainbow in celebration of gay marriage.
Tammy mentioned this on a FB thread today, also, that we’ve always had access to guns — so what’s with these mass shootings? There’s something much deeper, something by way of a spiritual darkness that is going on here.
But we’ll pass a few laws — after some more hectoring & scolding by the president — and think we’ve *fixed* it.
Sad.
LikeLike
The 50s were pretty good:
1. Church attendance was high.
2. People were theologically literate.
3. There were few abortions.
4. The vast majority of children were raised by their parents who were married to each other.
5. People obeyed and respected the police.
6. Our public schools were places where kids got good educations, not places where kids went to be robbed or indoctrinated by perverts, green nuts or socialists.
7. At the movies people watched John Wayne and Grace Kelly, not Robin Williams.
8. Sports awards were given to Willie Mays and Johnnie Unitas, not to some transvestite.
9. Only women were allowed to use women’s restrooms.
10. The U.S. sent Chistian missionaries around the world to preach the Gospel and heal the sick, rather than sending a weak president around the world to promote abortion and perversion.
LikeLike
Granted, the structure was still in place. But remember, it was just about ready to crumble and collapse in the following decades. Something was already amiss for us to have been so vulnerable and weak.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Crazies.”
That seems to be the go-to word being used for conservatives now, it was thrown out again last night when I was at the dog park when I was talking to someone about our congresswoman deciding to run for a local LA county office next year instead of for re-election to Congress; guy I was talking to said something like well, with all the “crazies” taking over Congress now …
I bristled, I know, and said something like, Well, (news flash! shocker) we do have a 2-party system and one of the parties is going to be in the majority at any given time. It’s kind of how it was all set up and meant to operate, no? Other party has to live with that until they’re in the majority again.
Oh, he said, but these are the “crazies” (the word again) that are in the control now, “tea party” types.
But wait, do you really just mean conservatives?
Arrgh.
I’ve heard “crazies” used a lot lately when referring to, well, conservatives.
LikeLike
Actually, the ’50s seem even scarier to me now knowing what that decade ushered in.
Dangerous, because everything “seemed” OK on the outside, when in reality there was a hollow core just waiting to implode in on itself.
Things can look polite and decent on the outside and be rotten (or at least empty, not grounded or anchored in the truth) on the inside. Hmmm. Didn’t Jesus even say something like that?
A civil religion was in place but those post-WWII years were when we became so comfortable, so affluent, so satisfied.
Not blaming anyone — and certainly not blaming any particular generation as is so popular to do for simple answers these days. It’s just the way things unfolded and, as with so many things, one can usually see the trajectory and where things were ultimately headed only in retrospect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spiritual unraveling.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/04/4-teens-arrested-in-alleged-shooting-plot-at-high-school/?intcmp=hpbt3
TUOLUMNE, Calif – Four teenagers have been arrested after detectives uncovered an alleged plot to shoot students and teachers at their Northern California high school.
LikeLike
In defense of the 50s, we were NOT affluent, and not all that comfortable.
1. Houses were much smaller.
2. People rarely went out to eat.
3. Women cooked and cleaned. Men fixed the cars (which broke often), and appliances.
4. People in the part of Texas where I was born did not have air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, etc.
5. People were patriotic, but the faith of West Texans in the 50s was anything but civil religion.
Things really started to change about 1960. In movies, that was the clear dividing line. Prior to 1960, movies reinforced Christian values. After 1960, commitment to morality was lost. The 60s also gave us LBJ. Most of the programs, departments and laws that destroyed the country were signed into law by him. For you young people, think of a competent Obama on steroids. Then came the divorce and illegitimacy epidemic. When the family was destroyed, women and children became prey to all sorts of abusers, from Bill Clinton to Harvey Milk.
LikeLike
This morning, Pastor Steve deviated from his preaching from I Corinthians, to Ephesians 6:10f. This as a warning concerning the events in Oregon, Charleston and the Middle East. Not only in Syria where Christians are being crucified.
FoxNews has a news item that they scroll across the TV screen. It says “Happening Now”.
I could add, “Happening Here”.
We don’t notice it in Western NC, but it’s happening.
Nobody in Roseburg, Or. noticed it ’till a couple of days ago.
LikeLike
OK, but who would have been making those movies in 1960? 😉
just saying the stage was somehow being “set” for everything to change. It may not have been visible yet, but I think it’s fair to say that the change was already in the works. It didn’t just spontaneously combust.
I knew a Christian anthropology professor who said the ’50s definitely laid the unseen (at the time) groundwork in attitudes and ideas that gave birth to (perhaps in rebellion) many of the leftward changes that swept through the country in the 1960s and ’70s (and continuing on through today, of course).
Somehow, I think that each era builds toward the next.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reagan did manage to reverse America’s slide in certain areas:
1. He rebuilt a neglected military.
2. In two steps he turned a horrible and very complicated income tax system (similar to the current version) into a simple, efficient system that collected 20% of GDP and took the Democrats and the Bushes 25 years to completely ruin.
3. He drastically cut federal regulation of business.
Unfortunately he could not rollback Johnson’s Great Society (he tried) nor could he reverse the slide into moral degeneracy (he really didn’t try).
LikeLike
After church our people wanted to talk politics. They are supporting Rubio, Cruz, Carson or Huckabee. One teenager said nice things about Bush, but was quickly rebuked by his peers. Strangely, almost everyone knew a Trumpie. Most were shocked or embarrassed that their friend or relative was supporting Trump. It was generally seen as an act of desperation, sort of like a man deciding to marry a prostitute rather than stay single.
LikeLike
Actually, I do not like most films of the 1950s. There is a underlying sensuality in them which is very insidious. The most obvious example of that is anything that features Marilyn Monroe, but some of the worst offenders were the ‘Biblical Blockbusters’, such as the Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, etc – not only were their love scenes very suggestive, but they usually included an obligatory exotic slave dance scene (very reminiscent of the Bacchanalian scenes in films of the pre-code era, actually). Is it any wonder the Boomers decided sex should be liberated in the 60s, when they were constantly exposed to what amounted to soft porn growing up in the 50s?
Which reminds me of this short bio of one of the most famous of the ‘Biblical’ genre directors, Cecil B. DeMille: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=28-05-036-f
LikeLike
Sorry to be late to respond. I have been watching The Big Country (1958) with my wife. It is the best western not starring John Wayne or directed by John Ford. I haven’t seen too much that was sensual or insidious, but Jean Simmons is pretty.
LikeLike
Roscuro, You’ve just been watching the wrong movies. For the best of the 50s start with John Ford and John Wayne: The Searchers, The Quiet Man and Rio Grande. Then move on to the Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann westerns. Winchester 73 is the best, but they are all good. Throw in a little Hitchcock: Rear Window, Vertigo and The Man who Knew Too Much.
LikeLike
Now Hitchcock was a master. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
“The Birds” was on the other night and I watched the first hour or so, hadn’t seen that in ages.
Hitchcock loved his sophisticated blonde leading ladies, in pearls, tight skirts and high heels.
LikeLiked by 1 person