The narcissist, psycho/sociopath: The Narcissist, Psycho/Sociopath

The narcissist, psycho/sociopath: The Narcissist, Psycho/Sociopath: Preface: One of the things that have interest me for some time now has been human nature. What motivates people to do and say the things t...

Is Capital Punishment Christian?

This is a sermon by the late Dr. J. V. McGee who pastored The Church of The Open Door in San Diego CA in the 60s for over twenty years. Although it was some time ago, this timeless sermon is still relevant today. God's word is indeed eternal, it never changes and this is proof.

In the wake of the latest massacre in Aurora many are calling for the death penalty for the killer, James Holmes, who definitely seems to be under the control of something or someone else. There is however, another group who feel strongly that his life should be spared and that is the only Christlike thing to do.

McGee puts it all into perspective and the word of God stands forever.

Read The Book!

Bruno is a wonderful guy. A former Yugoslavian whose boyhood memories of the land back home are fond. Where Communism was not that bad and church, Catholic Church, was a big part of his life. I get the honour of spending a few hours a week of my work time around Bruno. We have some fantastic discussions. He may be hard pressed to admit it but he's learned a few things from me and vice versa. I consider him a friend and he considers me, at best, a pain in the butt. To those of you who know me well, maybe that is an accurate sentiment? LOL

Truth be told there is mutual respect between us and a camaraderie that goes just beyond friendship. We share a common faith albeit one of us is still not there yet. Needless to say the discussions get heated sometimes. Last week I challenged Bruno to read the Bible. I had told him one day, when he was berating me for being narrow minded and seeing things black and white only, that he did not have the 'mind of Christ,' therefore, his entire worldview was skewed.

So last week he asked me to get him a King James Bible and I said I would. Then he began to get picky, not too small print because he won't be able to read it. Didn't he have reading glasses I asked. Yes, but he was too lazy to wear them to read. I'll see what I have I replied. So today when I saw him he asked for his Bible and I told him I didn't have a King James Bible with the size of print he wanted.

I didn't tell him this but I have a Scoffield Study Bible (KJV) but it is a personal Bible and the other KJV Bible I have that I could have lent him had the small print he didn't want. So when he asked me today I offered to buy him one and he said he would buy one himself. I kinda prefer that option because if he buys one himself as opposed to having one put in his hand, he will appreciate it better.

So I explained about the different Bibles out there. There are small, medium and large print Bibles. The Red Line or Red Letter, Edition has the words of Jesus printed in red ink. Study Bibles have notes, maps, timelines, and other pertinent information that can be helpful. There are leather bound, and loose leaf, and a host of other features that can make it tough to pick a book. Then he said, 'but all these books how do I know what order to read them in?'

I explained that the books are laid out in chronological order and highly recommend he read them in that order after that he can go back and pick and choose what he wants to read. Now there are many Christians out there who tell new believers to begin reading from the Book of Matthew, or John or Romans or whatever. I tell people read the book the way it was meant to - from cover to cover in that order. Get the book into your system then there will be plenty of time left to go back and re-read scripture.

One of the reasons the Body of Christ is in the state it is in today is because Believers are not told to read the Book - all of it! In fact, there are some Bibles that contain only the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. That is not even a complete Bible! No wonder people perish for a lack of knowledge of God's written word. (Hosea 4:6a).

Then the other objection escaped Bruno's lips. 'I was watching this guy on TV and he was teaching and I couldn't have understand the scripture had he not explained it.' I explained to him that while there is plenty in the Book that he may not understand that it is important to know what is in there to begin with. The understanding of the more deeper spiritual stuff will come later and there are teachers out there that will expound on it.

I said that after he has read the Book he will find that he will understand better when someone is teaching and that as he learns what is in the Book and believes on it, his thinking will begin to change as his heart is changed. So I left him with that to mull on as he looks to get his new King James Bible.

I can expect more heated discussions to come after he begins to read the Book but with that I imagine, the Lord willing, that I will have the great honour of seeing a mind that is so influenced by Eastern beliefs become transformed and renewed with the 'mind of Christ.'

Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 Corinthians 2:16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

What's In A Name

A street name, that is. No, this is not Romeo and Juliet.

Have you ever wondered who picks the names that appear on our streets? Names like Ranee and Rajah streets which intersect in the Bathurst, Lawrence area, a fairly Jewish neighbourhood. Or Terry Fox Way and Silken Laumann Way which grace the roads of Mississauga. Believe it or not, it is a committee of people made up of residents, town and region staff and emergency services. At least in the Region of Peel this is the case.

There are four criteria for choosing a name. The most important being that necessary services must be able to fully understand the street name 98% of the time in the event of a crisis. That is, the 911 operator, the dispatcher, and other essential services must be able to identify the name quickly. So making sure the pronunciation, and spelling is fairly simple, and does not sound similar to another street in the area or is duplicated are other criteria to naming a street.

While I find no problem with the criteria, I wonder how easy it is for folks who live on Trethewey Drive in the Black Creek area to spell their address.  Wellesley Street in downtown is easy if you live in the area but is a bit of a tongue twister with all those ‘l’s, not to mention the pronunciation. Some say Well-es-ley, while others say Wells-ly. Go figure.

But then again that is Toronto. Recently at a council meeting in Caledon, which is just forty-five minutes from downtown Toronto, in the GTA, one council member complained to the Mayor about the new street names in the developments going up in his ward. The unsympathetic mayor suggested he submit his own names to the committee. “It’s a simple system councillor, fill out the forms and make your own suggestions then,” said Mayor Marolyn Morrison, the Caledon Enterprise reported.

Apparently it is as simple as that. At least in the Region of Peel. Simply go to the website, fill out the form and submit it to the Region of Peel and it goes to a street naming committee. Bear in mind that they will not take names that are endorsing or putting down, someone, something, or being political, slanderous, etc. According the the committee chair, Ken Chartrand, they have ‘turned down some priceless ones; Desert Storm, Press Brick, Albert Callahan, Elephant...’ to name a few.

So short of having your name in neon lights, you may have it on street signs if it gets picked by the committee. Of course, it means submitting your choice of names and getting picked. Otherwise, you may just have to be content with looking at these wacky names (be forewarned, some of these names are profanity in English) from around the world in the virtual world, unless of course you go visit the place. 

The Town Crier

I remember as a prepubescent fish out of water who had just left her life on a rural rice farm to go live in the burbs so I can attend high school; hearing the village crier's bell and his announcements of either a death or upcoming event, mostly death announcements, for the first time in my life. 

This was in the seventies in a little village in Guyana about thirteen miles from Georgetown, but even then it was a dying practice. I have lived in Canada for twenty seven years and never heard of a Town Crier until the other day but more about that later. 

He was a curious sight. A humble little Indian man, dressed in his dhoti and carrying a bell in his hand, he was sometimes heckled by the local kids but he, ignoring the hecklers would continue to carry out his duty faithfully. 

Many times by the time he arrived to our area, he'd be hoarse. Sometimes folks would ask him to repeat what he said and he'd repeat his important message hoarse as he was, to the best of his ability. He won my respect and admiration this quiet humble little man. In my young mind I thought it was a humiliating job though an important job. To this day when I think of a village crier/bell man, I think of Leah-leah, the village crier.

The Regional reported that the Town of Caledon has just hired a new Town Crier. Andrew Welch is the town's first official Crier since its incorporation in 1974. With an annual budget of $750 for appearances, Andrew will be invited to three to five events per year. He has done unofficial appearances in the past but now he will be able to represent his town and compete in competitions across the country. Although the role of Town Crier is more of a ceremonial matter these days, there can be a lot of activities to keep a Crier busy.

Back in Medieval England town criers held the prestigious positions your local newspaper holds today (before the advent of television and the internet of course). They were the chief means of transmitting news to the town’s people as most were illiterate, but their proclamations were not of just the news. They made Royal proclamations, announced new bylaws, local events, even advertisements, death announcements and other relevant proclamations. The town crier was a paid official of the ruling monarchy and had full legal protection. 

The Chester Chronicle of 9th August 1793 records a cry from the Cheshire town of Northwich: 'A town-crier of Northwich (one of the fair-sex, who has filled that office audibly and laudably more than 20 years) lately proclaim'd as follows:- "This is to gi' notice that there's two pigs lost an hooaver brings um to me shall be well rewarded for ther truble, so God save the King an' the Lord of our Manner - ton's a red on, and t' other's a black on."' 

The term "Posting A Notice" comes from the act of the town crier, who having read his message to the townspeople, would attach it to the door post of the local inn. Some newspapers took the name "The Post" for this reason. 

Town criers were protected by law, as they sometimes brought bad news such as tax increases. Anything done by the town crier was done in the name of the ruling monarch and harming a town crier was considered to be treason. The phrase "don't shoot the messenger" was a real command.

Well...after creating this blog months ago for some forgotten reason which I never did follow through with, I tried to delete it today to no avail. It just would not go away.

I thought of asking Google Help for help to figure out why after deleting a blog it just remained there defiantly, but that in itself is going to be an uphill battle to even get a response from them, much less a coherent one. Maybe it's just me that is computer illiterate but that doesn't help either.

So I have decided to make use of the blog, maybe I'll make it a hub if you will, for all of my miscellaneous rants - or musings. Everyone, after all, needs his/her own soapbox these days. Thank goodness for bloggers.com where we can all have our own soapboxes to air our grievances. Hopefully, somebody is listening.

I will try to make it light and entertaining as much as possible. But at this late stage in life, hey 45+ is already middle age if one intends on seeing 90 years of life on the earth, I expect you might wonder at times whether I am schizophrenic. But being sound of mind, me thinks, I cannot use that as an excuse for my temperamental outbursts. :)

So happy reading and thanks for stopping by.

Margaret