There are some things I believe.

• I believe in the Big Bang theory in that the universe exploded into being from a singularity.
• I believe that all life on earth evolved into what it is now from a primordial soup over millions of years.
• I believe that all the universe and all that is in it came into being at the guidance of some kind of intelligence.
• I believe that intelligence is God.
• I believe that along with creating the universe God also created an ideal way of living.
• I believe that the most precious gift God gave us was free will.
• I believe that this ideal way of living is something that you and I can choose to live or we can choose our own way of living.
• I believe that it is God’s will that we choose His ideal way of living.
• I believe that we all are searching for God’s ideal way of living and that this search has manifested itself into all the major religions of the world.
• I believe that God works his Will through all of these religions.
• I believe that Jesus perfectly represented God’s ideal way of living.
• I believe that every religion has been perverted by people trying to use religion to control others.

These are some of the things I believe. I’ve tried to put these in essay form but I can’t. It seems a list is the only way I can express them. I have more to add to this list but it’s getting late. I’ll save those items for a later post.

Okay, here’s something I don’t understand. The Department of Justice has a couple of scandals on its hands. One scandal affects every citizen’s of this country privacy rights while the other affects the employment of six lawyers. Why has the firing of six US Attorney Generals caused such an uproar while the FBI overstepping their bounds in their use of National Security Letters to obtain private information about you and me caused little more than just an acknowledgement that there is a problem there and a mild warning that the NSLs may be made harder to obtain?

I can’t get worked up over six government appointees losing their jobs because the administration that appointed them decided to go with someone else. Yeah, it was probably unfair to a couple of them, probably deserving of at least one of them but they were appointed to the job by the President it’s up to him whether they keep their job or not. They knew it and, I would think, Congress also knows this. What’s the big deal?

I find it much easier to get worked up over the FBI overstepping the expanded authority given to it by the Patriot Act but it doesn’t seem that many in Congress are thinking much about hearings over this. Where is their priority?

Okay, the site was hacked and some subtle changes were made. I think I have most things back working properly. At least I can have this theme back online but I think its time for that to change some.

Some things are going a little screwy and this is the only theme I can get to not show just a blank page. My eyes sort of enjoy this one anyway.

My friend, Dan, found an article that he termed about the problem with Christian Identity from the perspective of those who aren’t. I read the article and I have to agree with it. When someone calls themself a Christian I have to take them at their word regardless of their deeds. It goes back to the old “judge not lest you be judged” directive which is more or less telling us that only God knows the condition of one’s soul.

The problem with this seems to be that Christians get a lot of bad publicity due to people claiming to be Christians in conjunction with unchristian-like acts. I say, “seems to be,” because I don’t really see this as a problem when you consider that as a Christian I should be concerned about loving God and seeking to do His will rather than worrying about my reputation as a Christian. If I consistantly love God and consistantly seek to do His will my reputation ought to take care of itself.

So, instead of worrying about what other people think of Christians let me share with you a poem that expresses my feelings much more succinctly than I ever could on what it means when I tell you I’m a Christian:

WHEN I SAY, “I AM A CHRISTIAN”

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved!”
I’m whispering, “I get lost! That’s why I chose this way”

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble-needing God to be my guide

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not trying to be strong
I’m professing that I’m weak and pray for strength to carry on

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed and cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are far too visible but God believes I’m worth it

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache which is why I seek His name

When I say, “I am a Christian,” I do not wish to judge
I have no authority–I only know I’m loved

Copyright 1988 Carol Wimmer
Used with permission from the author.

Just a little side note, that poem has been circulated on the internet with attribution going to Maya Angelou. While the style is similar to some of Dr. Angelou’s work it isn’t her’s. It’s Carol Wimmer’s.

My wife is not very verbose in her e-mails. She also gets impatient with emails that aren’t succinct.

She can’t stand a rambling email. I’m pretty much with her but occassionally I can get a little wordy.

I went to the doctor on February the 23rd to check on a sore knee and wrist. They took x-rays and told me to call back in a week for the results. I called back yesterday. All they found was some arthritis that I figured they would find. I also picked up my oldest son from the airport on the way home from work. My telling my wife about the call to the doctor was forgotten with my son back home. He has joined the Tennessee Army National Guard and has been away for basic training and AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.

This morning I remembered the conversation with my doctor and that I had forgotten to tell my wife about the results. I sent here the following e-mail:

I spoke with my doctor’s office yesterday to find out the results of the x-rays they took of my hand, wrist and knee. I’m going to have to find another doctor just because of the aggravation their phone system causes me. It’s confusing and frustrating to use. You don’t get a hold of anyone when you call, you only get someone’s voicemail, and you hope it’s the right person’s voicemail, and they call you back. Well, they did call me back a couple of hours after I left the message and told me what they found. I know a couple of hours isn’t long but it’s still the aggravation of not getting the information when you first call.

Anyway, they did tell me what they found and I’m not sure I agree with it. My knee feels more like a problem with a tendon or a muscle or something and so does my wrist. I’ll accept what they told me about my hand itself because it does feel like it could be in the joints. But they tell me I’ve got arthritis in my knee, wrist and hand. If it continues to hurt they suggest I go see an orthopedic doctor. I guess I’m going to have to see Dr. K again.

The email I got back from her let me know that she got a little impatient with me:

HER: so they told you it was arthritis?
ME: Yeah, didn’t I say that?
HER: Yes, with about 100 words. I guess you are just more eloquent that I am.

Sometimes you just have to tease them.

I live in Gwinnett County, Georgia and drive through DeKalb and Fulton Counties to get to my work in Clayton County, Georgia each day. While I miss my hometown of Chattanooga I really do enjoy living in the Atlanta area. This is something I never imagined I would say.

One of the things that I enjoy about living in the Atlanta area is that there is always a news story about one of the municipalities passing some ordinance that makes you go,”What????”

For instance, this morning I looked at the paper and saw that one little town in Gwinnett County, Lilburn, has passed an ordinance making it illegal to do just about anything but drink, eat, watch TV and play the state run lottery in the bars and restaurants located there. The mayor was quoted as saying, “I like to sit down and have a beer as much as anybody else, but we can show studies that show that bars and honky-tonks lead to more crime.” So they pass a law making it illegal to do the activities that get in the way of continuing to drink?

Not to be outdone by Lilburn, to the south of Atlanta in Clayton County the city of Forest Park has decided to start ticketing cars left unattended and warming up in peoples driveways. The only thing that keeps me from really enjoying a good chuckle over this is that the ticket runs $168. Forest Park is a blue collar town and that’s a steep price for a lot of these folks to pay.

The town’s reasoning for doing this is to reduce car theft. I guess the next thing they will do is start rattling doors and fining people for leaving their doors unlocked to reduce burlaries and home invasions. They could also start fining women for wearing too provacative of dress in an effort to reduce rape.