HUH?

I've been thinking lately, and the conclusion I might be coming to is this; I think I might be considered a Christian Communist.

Whoa!! Communist! Oooooh, that's a bad word.

Well. if the shoe fits....

I was going to describe why I think I might fit that mode, but instead, I think I'll let you have fun with this first, if you are willing.

What I'd like for you to do is to describe just what you think a Christian Communist might be like. Then, I'll share with you my way of thinking, and we'll see how close we came. Okay?

Go.

WHY?

I touched on this a bit In a comment I left at another fellow's blog, so I thought I'd share it with you.

I have often been told that I think too much. When I was a child, I would drive my mom and dad nuts with one word, asked in the form of a question. "Why?" I would ask.

I would take things apart to see the reason they worked (my littlest brother was far more active in this endeavor than I was, I must say). I would sneak up behind my dad's rototiller to look at all the levers, and see if I could figure out which lever caused the rotors to turn. I would pull plants out of the ground by their roots to see what held them in the ground in the first place. In biology class, no one happier when we got to cut the frog apart to see the inner workings. It was never enough for me to know simply that something worked; I always had to know why it worked, and what caused it.

It may strike you as odd, but deep inside of me, I still want to know how God works, and what caused Him. "Blasphemy" some of you may say, but try as I might, all I can see Father doing when He hears me ask is a little chuckle and a gentle rub on the top of my head. He doesn't seem angry to me.

I want to know why. It drives me.

I often hear people ask me, "Why can't you just enjoy something for what it is. Look at all the 'joy' you are missing because you can't just smell the roses, but you have to take the rose apart and see if you can figure out why it smells the way it does."

I want to ask all of those people, "What makes you think I don't enjoy the rose even more BECAUSE I get to try and figure out why it smells the way it does and how it's all held together?"

Sometimes I still ask people, "Why?" Sometimes I still drive people nuts when I do. I don't mean to drive them nuts; I just want to know why from every possible angle, because really, you can't know something until you know EVERYTHING about it. Or so I thought.

I have learned, at least a little bit, that not everyone needs to know why. That wasn't easy for me, and I still make the mistake from time to time of assuming people DO want to know why.

In fact, now, I want to know why they don't want to know why. Strange, isn't it?

Have a good wekend.

NO DEVIL IN SIGHT

Well, it's the morning after 6/6/06. The devil didn't show up. The end of the world did not happen. So now you know that God doesn't follow the human calender, nor does he pay attention to doomsayers who predict the end of the world at the drop of a hat. A red sky at night does not mean "Harmageddon", nor does a red moon indicate that Jesus is floating somewhere above us, trying to decide the best moment to appear, so as to take us by surprise.

In case you missed it, we are still here.

Hope that's not too much of a letdown for you, but I say, maybe now it's time to live the free life Christ gave to us, rather than waiting for the end of the world to come. Maybe today is the day you realize that there just might be a heck of a lot of time left in your life. Maybe today you'll realize you DO have time enough to accomplish everything you wanted to. Maybe today you'll actually make plans for the future again.

In case you weren't vaguely hoping something would happen to the world during the twenty-four hours of "hell", congratulations; you weren't let down. Now let's move on to the reason we are still here, and in case we haven't figured that reason out, don't worry, we still have time to do so.

But let us learn one lesson. Let us learn that dates and numbers mean nothing to God. He is not bound by our calender; nor is he subject to "signs" lining up in every direction. He remains at work even today, and nothing will stop him. He wasn't worried yesterday, and he wasn't concerned about the "devil worshippers" throwing parties. I am actually pretty sure he loves them, too.

Hug a devil worshipper today, if you can find one. We all need a little love every once in a while. Even those who don't believe in the God that we do. Share the love of Christ; that's what it's there for.

Until the next Doomsday, try to remember that all the time in the world we have is only useful if we finally realize we don't have to wait for the end of the world. It's only useful if we actually use it.

Peace out.

RESTORING AN OLD DOOR

I am currently working on restoring an eighty -year -old door, which is working on kicking my butt. (believe it or not, as I was reading this first sentence, I realized that I had written "Working on kicking an eighty-year-old", which would have made this post REALLY interesting.)

The trouble with old doors is that they often have delicate, intricate raised panel designs with applied moldings which are, to say the least, a carver's nightmare. Such is this old door, which serves as the entrance door to an old hospital we are remodeling into an assisted living facility.

Several times today, I let fly four letter outbursts the likes of which hadn't been heard around here in ages. I also threatened to burn the door, more than once. Yet here I am, sore fingers and all, looking forward to another day of scraping, sanding, sanding, and scraping.

I am hoping that the effort will be worth it. I believe it will, and I'll tell you why. This door is, if I am correct, the only original part of the existing hospital to have survived the demolition. Sure, the terazzo floor adjacent to it in the entryway is original, but really, who cares about concrete? I am hoping that one of the ancients, if not many of them, will recognize the door upon entering, and recall fond memories of younger days.

Yes, we could just install one of the new "factory-made" characterless wood-like fiberglass doors at a cost of around seven thousand dollars (this door is huge), but why bother when you can spend eighty-five hours restoring a REAL door with REAL wood casing and trim? Why bother, I ask you? Did I mention that the new doors are characterless?

So that is how I am spending my hours the last few days. The door will be finished soon, and then the new finish will be applied. Even though I complain about restoring it, I do love the actual process, as well as the results.

I guess that's why this door isn't burning yet. I know the door cannot fix itself, and it cannot even choose to be fixed. But I also know that I am more than able to restore it to the way it is supposed to be. There will NEVER be a need for the fire.

LEARNING TO WAIT?

A friend of mine told me last week that God was teaching him a lesson, and teaching him how to wait.

In my travels as a "Christian" I have learned that the lesson on "waiting" is a very common one. I have also learned that God is very busily making everyone wait until the very last moment, until that time when he delievers what they have been praying for.

I see two things wrong with this approach to God. The first is, why does God have to single out one request, one moment in time, and one event in order to teach us anything? The second is, what are we asking God to do?

Most often, the whole "patience" thing has to do with money. My friend told me there were many times that he was waiting for God to deliver some work to his business so he could pay his bills and not have to worry anymore. I asked if he really thought he'd stop worrying if God lined up a year's worth of work for him. He said he might, but his brother (who shares the business with him) would not. But his main focus wasn't on the amount of work; rather it focused on the timing of God's answer.

So I asked, "Do you think God is MAKING you wait?"

He answered, "Yes, why else would it be taking so long?"

I guess at this point the only thing I could tell my friend was that I don't think God singles out particular "prayer requests" in order to teach us lessons. I told him what I believed, that God uses all things, not just particular instances which we might have noticed, to help us learn and understand our part in this world. I think our trouble often is that we view God as being as small as we are, in which he can only focus on one single event. Yet I have noticed (when I pay attention) that every event is used to form us and teach us. That God is so big that he doesn't need one single blowout event to get our attention, and that He teaches and loves even when we don't pay attention to what He might be "doing" in our lives.

I don't think God makes us wait. There, I said it. I know at times it SEEMS like He is making us wait, but somehow, I can't picture God as standing in heaven trying to decide if we have learned our "lesson" well enough yet. I think God desires that we would do as He does, remain on the job, steadily moving forward, and trusting His care. I don't think God is "waiting".

So why do so many believers talk about the "lesson" they learned when God made them wait? Why is this such a common theme amongst people? My opinion is that this is caused by the way we were taught to meet God, and pray. My suspicion is that we pray as if God is inanimate, delivering answers to prayer like some sort of PEZ dispenser where all we have to do is say the magic words, and PRESTO, another little purple piece of candy pops out of God's mouth.

My opinion is that books like The Prayer of Jabez (Notice I didn't include a link to Amazon.com, thank God) and others like it do a disservice to the intelligence of believers all over the globe. We are taught to pray for every instance, and I admit that I used to pray for God to grant me a sunny day for my vacation, and light traffic for my travels. How ridiculous is that?How selfish is that?

Waiting is something we are not naturally good at. Yet we wait for nearly everything. Maybe we learn the lesson to wait by paying attention to just how much we actually "wait" in any given day, rather than needing God to deliver a loud event in order to teach us our lesson.

"What is God doing in your life?"

Better have an answer ready for that one. It's becoming a popular question amongst Christians, and the answer had better be long, detailed, and huge.

Currently, I haven't got the foggiest idea what God is doing in my life. But I am pretty sure He isn't making me wait.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

In light of recent debates I have seen regarding the death penalty in this nation (and in my own state, Wisconsin), I'd like to voice my opinion on the subject.

Let me begin by saying that I do not believe a death penalty serves any purpose other than to kill a convicted person. There are many arguments for or against capital punishment, and some of those arguments state explicitly that the death penalty gives grieving family a sense of closure and justice. I acknowledge that this may be the case, while also stating that it may be more a sEnse of vengeance than justice which many feel. Nevertheless, there are points and counterpoints on both sides of the aisle.

My personal view on capital punishment is that it does not solve any real problems. Feel free to join in and trash that opinion; I don't mind at all.

I will caution you, however, that arguing for or against capital punishment is a useless exercise. The trouble with debates about subjects like capital punishment and abortion is that we meet the issues at the very end of a long cycle of problems and mistakes. I don't know why we do this, but we tend to do it with many moralistic questions.

Take drunk driving, for example. The debate is how strictly to punish first time, second time, and third time offenders, and whether third time offenders should be subject to the "three strikes-you're out" legislation. I believe that the real issue isn't drunk driving, but a cancer much deeper and more sinister, if you will allow for the probability. To find out what the real problem is, shouldn't we go back to the beginning? Most decidely, drunk driving is at the end of a long cycle of problems and mistakes. Punishment for drunk driving is necessary, obviously, but wouldn't our culture be far better served if we began to understand what causes the possibility of drunk driving in the first place?

At the surface, one answer might be "alcohol". But alcohol in itself is not a problem, the person drinking the alcohol, on the other hand, might well be. So what causes a person to not only drink to excess, but then make a "rationalized" decision that he is somehow "okay" to drive?

Do you begin to get the feeling that if our culture was different, things might be different? Do you begin to wonder that if that person's friends were around, they'd take the keys out of his hands (by force if necessary), and help him find a way home? Do you begin to wonder why people feel as though they have no other options than to obviously break the law? Or is it simple laziness? Maybe it is a sense of pulling one over on authority?

Maybe it is all of these things, and more. The pathology of drunk driving is far deeper than decisions made on the evening of the incident. The choices we make are often influenced by events and circumstances which occured long before the choice ever stands before us. The decision to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking to excess, in essence, isn't a problem which involves alcohol. That decision is only there because the person is led to that point by means, choices, and circumstances throughout his day, week, month, year, and life.

To change a growing problem such as drunk driving, or to address the issues of abortion and capital punishment, one must start much younger than the age of twenty-one, because at the age of twenty-one, it is almost too late. One must solve the problems of his culture beginning with himself, and then, teaching each successive generation what has been learned at the earliest age possible.

Currently, our culture does some of that well, especially with illegal drugs. We also teach reading, writing, and arithmetic well. All of these seem to be necessary for the proper educational development of a human being. But we also seem to lack a basic understanding that what we learn at a young age affects us for the rest of our lives. It affects us, and everyone around us. Everything we see, say, hear, and learn forms our reaction to circumstances around us, and the choices we make are often choices we learned far earlier than the moment of decision.

In the end, I am trying to live simply by the ideal of loving my neighbor as if my neighbor is me. I find that when I do, my neighbor comes to no harm through my actions and words. I don't know if I can do more, but today, I'll do what I can.

Trying to solve issues like abortion and capital punishment through debate is pointless. It can't be done. The solution is required long before the decision is ever in front of us. Debating such topics is like trying to put icing on a cake that has already been eaten. That's my two cents.

A PERFECT AMERICA

I left this post as a comment over at Eddie and Eddie's blog, Edge of Faith (End of Faith?) Go check the post out and say hi. Eddie F asked us what our perfect America would look like. This was my answer. I had to shorten it a bit, because I could go on forever if left unchecked, and that truly would not fit in a perfect America. :)






What would my perfect America look like? A lot like my perfect world.

Very little like the way James Dobson and his cronies would have things.

To start, abolish the congress and senate as it stands, return real power to the people's hands in the form of the ability to vote on every (and I mean every!) issue including constitutional reform, with a jury of my peers selected every two years to listen to the masses and write legislation according to the masses (not according to the PAC who has the most money or the best lawyers). Eliminate re-election. Increase public awareness and knowledge of local, national, and international issues, increase the ability of the people to understand national and global decision-making and its effects broadly.

Second, a perfect America would begin to shed from itself its reliance upon instant satisfaction and entitlement. That would be replaced by a sincere community movement...you know, where people actually care about their neighbor rather than just use the words as lip service. Seriously, America is the land of shimmering projected images, where what we say and show to the world in the form of "looking good and right" is far more important than actually being good and right. A place where people love their children and teach them to respect all other people, regardless of race, creed, or past. A true place of mercy and compassion, where the actual abundance of provision this world already holds is shared without a few powerful white men giving us rotten and idiotic reasons why it can't be done. A place where we no longer make excuses for why we didn't, don't, or won't do something, and instead, focus our energy on finding ways to make what was once thought to be impossible into a true reality for all people; NO MORE POVERTY AND STARVING CHILDREN BECAUSE MEN COVET TO STORE UP USELESS TREASURES FOR THEMSELVES!

How about an actual awareness in everyone that everyone else has feelings, thoughts, dreams, hopes, and a right to exist? How about no more gay bashing, secular classing systems, and political postering against what is right? How about a classless system where factory workers aren't looked down upon as uneducated and therefore dense? How about the intellectuals of this world getting out of their white coats and labs and actually seeing realistic daylight like the rest of us; where they can see that what works in the lab often doesn't work out here in the real world? How about no more excuses? How about people taking responsibility for their own actions? How about no more silly class action lawsuits enriching no one but lawyers?

John Lennon's imagine? Yeah, you bet; and a whole lot further. A perfect America would learn that compassion and love trump every other desire or want. A perfect America would learn that television, electronics, quick fixes, and drugs aren't needs. We would learn that entertainment is a past time, something you do when you have nothing else left to do. We would learn to help children find the things they love to do, we would help children discover where they are gifted and we would help every child make a career out of that love, so that every child would grow up knowing they can truly love what they do for a profession, rather than herding nearly every child into professions based solely on their abililty to earn money. This nation, and this world is ass-backwards in that respect. How many people love their jobs? I mean truly love them? Not many. A perfect America would be a place where everyone would love their jobs, because they found out at an early age what makes them really tick, and they followed that path through.

How about no more ENRONS? How about an America that isn't dependant upon fossil fuels? How about an America that realizes there are actually people living outside of its borders? How about an America that loves its own, and welcomes all others with ways to help them get started here and abroad. How about a global realization that what we do efects someone somewhere else, and sometime else?

How about an America that is not shallow and easily placated by gimmicks and devices? How about an America that doesn't NEED a vactation?
My grandfather didn't need a vacation ...why do I need one? Why do you? Why do we HAVE to get away from reality, when we barely live in it already?

Why do we need holiday pay when we don't work on a holiday? Why does the Vice president of vice presidents for marketing and research need six million dollars per year and stock options worth nearly ten times that much? Why does the president need a detail of Secret Service men after he is no longer president? Why doesn't everyone need a secret service detail?

In the end, a perfect America easily overcomes its past shortcomings because for the first time in the history of man, people stop being selfish and start thinking of others. For the first time, it actually becomes important for us to make sure everyone is fed, and so important to us that we don't go to bed without making sure the job is done.

The age of "enlightenment" and rationalization has not any better track record with regards to the overall welfare of the masses than does any religion in its day. If anything, rational thought has only produced a deeper disdain for people of differences, and a deeper glut and greed and desire for more than the world has ever seen. People still starve, people still go homeless, and people still live hopelessly. All this after over one hundred and thirty years of "rational" thought. That's easily six generations of Americans...more than enough time to test whether rational thought is on to something, or just another religion designed to make money.

A perfect America would be a place where possessions aren't personal, and people share what this world gives freely; a place where capitalism and money aren't necessary any longer, because a true community of people exists, a community where all are equal and all have equally.

This, of course, will never happen in this world in my time. So long as money and power (and lets face it, money IS power)are controlled by the few, the many will suffer the indignation of being lesser human beings. Neither religion nor rational thought is going to solve that. Only the realization that it doesn't hurt to share will begin to solve that problem. Currently, in this world, no mater where you go, it hurts to share...that's why people hoard.

Hello

My name is Tom Reindl, and I am a Blog Avoider.


Actually, I haven't been avoiding my blog and other blogs, I just haven't made blogging a priority lately. Life is full right now, and making room to write semi-publicly just isn't at the top of the list. I am sure that at some point, I will be back to writing nearly every day as I used to, and getting the chance to visit everyone else's blogs. Maybe that day will be today; who knows?

Can you tell what's going to happen next? Can anyone predict it with any accuracy? Can we control what's going to happen next?

Interestingly enough, there is a point to those questions. When I build something, I know how it is going to work. I design the tasks and the functions into the piece or the building that I make. I even design the beauty. Nothing (as best as an imperfect human can accomplish) is left to chance, no screw is left unturned. I know how my work will operate in almost every given circumstance. I can tell the future with what I make, as best as any human can, so limited we are in our perfection.

Is it any wonder then that God knows us so well? He who is perfect, He who made us; is there anything about us that would surprise Him? He knows our answers, He knows our questions. If I, a simple carpenter, know my work nearly perfectly, how much more does our heavenly Father knows everything about us?

You cannot surprise your maker.

THE HUMAN TOUCH

I wanted to write tonight, but all that seems to be on my mind is a subtle sadness. My daughter is leaving for a trip to Washington DC tomorrow evening with her eighth-grade class, and this is the last night before that trip. I am feeling a bit dualistic right now, if "dualistic" is even the right word. I am extremely excited and happy for her, but gently silent and sad for me. How is it possible for us to be so complicated at once?

Why do I feel so lonely at times? If I had to name the most overbearing problem in my life, it would be loneliness. Me...lonely. How can that be? Don't I have God living right within me?

Sorry, Father, sometimes I think even we who realize you live within us desire a more physical relationship with you, or anyone, for that matter. All I know is, I didn't bargain for loneliness, I didn't bargain for not having my daughter with me all of the time through her growing years, and I didn't bargain to have no one else in my life besides her. Those were things that were decided for me, and I must admit openly, I still resent those things a little bit to this day.

Maybe you'll ask, "Why don't you hook up with someone else, Tom?"

I'll answer that as briefly as I can. First, trust is a problem for me, as in, I don't trust women easily anymore. I used to, but I don't anymore, and the more time passes by, the harder it is to trust. There are times I believe I am to the point of not even trying anymore, because I don't want to put effort into something that won't last...it all seems way too pointless to bother with.

Second, frankly, I don't really want a relationship with anyone right now. Having said that, I am sure some might think that has to do with trust. However, the real reason I don't want a relationship is because it just isn't, and wouldn't be very high on my list of priorities right now. Trust being the issue it is, if "relationship" is way down on a list of priorities, then it probably isn't a wise idea to begin something that won't receive the attention it deserves. I'm just not geared for that type of experience right now, and so I wait.

But the longer I wait, the less I find myself able to want to put any effort into an attempt. Does that make sense? It's like this; if I meet someone I might want to get to know, my life is such right now that there isn't much room for her. And since I know this, I think sometimes, "Why bother?" Make more sense now?

At any rate, loneliness is the big trouble for me. My daughter being gone for a week isn't the end of the world, but I am definitely looking forward to the day she comes back. That reunion is always sweet, and it sometimes seems to make me forget about all the loneliness I might have felt with her gone. But I also know that my loneliness is not a result of her being gone; it's something deeper.

Maybe a companion would be nice, but I also think that a companion might only serve to mask the real problem. Which is? I don't know. Maybe it's a part of the human experience to suffer loneliness at times. Maybe that's all it is. I am certainly aware of God in my life, I am not lacking there, but the human touch is missing...most of the time. I think we all need that human touch.

WHATCHA BEEN UP TO, TOM?

A great blogging friend of mine, Bruce, asked me "Whatcha been up to, Tom?"


I figured I have neglected this blog enough for the past few weeks, and I had better actually post something if I want this to be a weblog...you know, where one periodically updates things?

What have I been up to? A whole lot of work, that's what. Furthermore, unlike many who might not like to work so much, I have been loving it. Not that I love not writing much, and not that I love not having much free time right now, but I do love the work I do, so doing more of it isn't exactly what I'd call a hardship. I am blessed to love my job, and I still have found plenty of time to be with my daughter. So my priority of "daughter, then work" means something has to suffer, and sadly, it is this blog that has suffered.

I miss writing, I would be lying if I said I didn't. I miss visiting all of your blogs and leaving unwise, goofy comments wherever I go. In all, I simply miss the connection with you all, even if it is only electronic. I happen to believe that whatever medium we meet within can be transcended by hearts that truly care, so whether it is physical or electronic, the meeting is real in my mind.

I have been watching a bit more tv lately as well; my baseball team, The Milwaukee Brewers are televised quite a bit, and at the end of the day when I am tired, I find myself for the last few minutes of my day enjoying another (so far) mediocre season. Up...down...up...down. Funny thing is, I never get tired of it. :)

I'd like to say that I have been busy working in my yard as well, but that's simply not the case. It's very wet in my yard right now, the grass needs to be cut, and my tractor will only tear up the lawn if I happen to drive on it. Last years' leaves will just have to be cut up by my mower, because I doubt they'll be dry enough any time soon to be swept and burned. So my yard certainly isn't grabbing any of my attention.

But work has eaten the lion's share. I wish I could have you guys with me when I work, I'd love to have your help, and I'd love to teach you what I know about finish carpentry. That should take about thirty seconds. :)

I have also been researching for one writing project, as well as researching for a new phase of my business; home building. It's one of the things I haven't done yet, and I'd like to do it. However, if my research is any indication, there's a lot more to home building than just "building". There's selling, advertising, personal relationship building, business relationship building, additional insurances and codes to meet, liscenses to gather, and the all important first house contract to land, unless I actually decide to build a speculation home. That might be a bit iffy right now, given our economy and the market for spec homes dropping like a rock off a cliff. Nevertheless, I press on, and I love it.

I love you guys, too. I hope you will be patient with me, and the sporadic posting habits I have formed recently. I sure do enjoy all of you guys and your comments and caring. I wish I could do more, but right now, it just isn't possible.

Thank you, Bruce, for asking the question, and giving me a little incentive to write. :)

WHAT MUST WE DO TO DO THE WORKS OF GOD?

"What must we do to do the works of God?" they asked Him.

"This is the the work of the Father, that you believe in the one He has sent."


Hi guys!!!!!

Sorry I have been away from bloggyland, almost completely. I'll be back soon enough.

I invite you to figure out what Jesus is implying with the passage I included above. It has to do with "working for God". The question the Jews asked of Him was very direct. I believe His answer was even more so.

What do you think it means?

FREE

You will be truly free when you stop trying to do work FOR God.

I leave you to think about that for yourself.

MORE STUFF

Since I still don't have much time to do any decent post justice, I'll just write some more stuff tonight.

I am a major sports fan, and have been enjoying with pride the Milwaukee Brewers resurgence into decency. For thirteen years, I stuck with a team that was considered nothing more than a perennial loser. It looks as though this year, they may actually contend for a playoff spot, and if early returns are any indication (with they usually aren't), this team may be very difficult to beat for anyone. They have jumped out to a five and one (5 wins, 1 loss) start, and it's great to see their younger players finally starting to take off. Keep an eye on Prince Fielder. The boy can can flat out smack the baseball. ;)

In other sports interest, we in Wisconsin have been waiting patiently for Brett Favre (yes, I spelled it right) to decide if he is going to play one more year. I do so hope he will, not because he is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game (I don't decide those things), but because the fans in Wisconsin would like the chance to say good bye to a man who given his life to this state for the last thirteen (fourteen?) years. It sure would be nice if we would get the chance to make his last year as special as he made he every other year he has been here. I know he wants to play for another Super Bowl, but we in Wisconsin would just like the chance to say goodbye for longer than five minutes during a Monday Night Footbal halftime special.

If you are a Brett Favre fan, why don't you tell me what you think he is going to do. While we are at it, if you have enjoyed watching him play these last years, why don't you let us know what your favorite Brett Favre moment is? I will if you will. :)

STUFF

Hi guys,

My daughter has stuff going on in her life. Whenever I ask her what she did for the day, she'll either answer "nothin" or "stuff". So here's my stuff.


I have been absent for the most part from my blog these last days, as well as from quite a few of yours. That doesn't mean I no longer love writing or visiting you. I do.

It does mean that my time priorities have been adjusted for the next weeks because I am working about sixty hours every week. Usually it's only fifty or so, but when you subtract ten available hours from your schedule for writing, you tend to write less and less...and less..................and less. I'll try to write more short pieces these next few days to stay in touch, but let's face it, you aren't going to die if I write nothing at all, and neither will I. I am just glad that anyone reads what I write, because to me, writing is enjoyable enough without an audience.

Did anyone happen to hear about an ancient scroll found in the midle east somewhere recently, which seemed to say that Judas beytrayed Jesus at the request of Jesus? I was just wondering. I heard it on the Paul Harvey radio show this afternoon, and was wondering if anyone else knew anything about it.

Abideea, bidea, bidea, bidea, that's all folks. (anyone remember Porky Pig and his stuttering goodbyes?)

WHY I DON'T TRUST MODERN SCIENCE, PART ONE

This begins my series on why I no longer trust science. Admittedly, this post is an odd one, but I think the topic is one of great import, and one that shows quickly that modern science is confused about what is truth, and confused about how it defines life, intelligence, and processes. This post does not include any footnotes. I admit it is an almost entirely philosophical post. The rest of this series will be have documentation attached, so you can see for yourselves where I got the information I wrote about, and why I claim what I claim.

Let's start this simply. Here is my statement.

Natural Selection IS intelligent design.

Now, we all know that natural selection is the process by which scientists say evolution occurs. However, not all scientists agree on whether that process is intelligent or not. The majority of those disagreeing scientists will be creation scientists, but there are nonetheless some scientists in the secular fields who believe Natural Selection must be an intelligent process. Personally speaking, I don't really believe in evoluton for more reasons than I care to list in this post, and therefore natural selection does not exist for me. But for the sake of the series, I wanted to start with natural selection as I believe it comes to bear on why I say modern science is not trustworthy. Darwin's theory of evolution is related to many scientific fields today. I believe that because that theory is highly flawed, the foundation of modern science itself is also highly flawed.

NATURAL SELECTION.

Think about that name for a moment.

At the very least, I would have believed evolutionists would have given the process a different name by now. "Natural Selection", as defined by Meriam-Webster means "a natural process that results in the survival and reproductive success of individuals or groups best adjusted to their environment and that leads to the perpetuation of genetic qualities best suited to that particular environment"

I don't need to look at that definiton for longer than a minute to realize that it smacks of intelligence. Let's look at the words that have been "selected" to portray the definition. There's "process", "success", "adjusted", "leads to perpetuation", and "best suited to that particular environment".

Let's start with the word "process". Any process involves steps, and any successful process involves the same steps, repeated over time to guarantee success. In my industry, it takes real planning to guarantee any kind of success, in essence, it takes intelligence. I suppose, though, that the type of work I do is not very similar to what scientists claim nature does, so maybe that correlation isn't a very good one.

Next, the word "adjusted" jumps out at me. Meriam-Webster defines the word meaning "to bring to a more satisfactory state". If we stopped at simply that definition, then Natural Selection is in real trouble if we want to continue to define it as being an unintelligent process. The idea of a more satisfactory state implies a sense of knowing what is not more satisfactory, in other words, of knowing the DIFFERENCE between satisfactory and unsatisfactory. However, Meriam-Webster also defines it as "to adapt or conform oneself", which, admittedly, is a much more fitting definition for "adjust" in the sense of Natural Selection.

Let's tie that definition in with "best suited to that particular environment". Our definiton of Natrural Selection, then, would be that life adjusts itself to be best suited for that particular environment. How does this process occur?

Does it occur by trial and error? Let's use a wild, outrageous example. Does a single cell that lives in a hostile environment of cell-wall eating acids try a thinner cell wall first? And if that doesn't work, does the next generation try the thicker cell wall, or maybe a cell wall that is impermeable to acids such as these? How does it happen? How does the living cell know which trait gives it the best chance for survival? Do the cells that perished somehow communicate to the still living cells which attempts didn't work?

If we stick with the definition of Natural Selection, then it is clear that there is nothing random or "trial and error" about the process scientists claim drives evolution. The very idea of selection is the ability to choose. The very idea of natural selection is that the species is able to select which traits give it the best hope for survival in the long run. Careful, we might just be accused of saying that evolution not only is unnatural, but that it can predict the future as well, in an entirely unintelligent manner.

When Darwin proposed that Natural selection was the vehicle by which evolution occured, he also proposed that evolution was entirely random, without any outside guiding influence other than the environment. I propose that if evolution exists (and I do not believe it does), that it MUST be guided by intelligence. Anything that can adjust according to what makes it best suited to live in a certain environment has the ability to DECIDE what is best suited, and what is not. Decisions are entirely intelligence based. A badly failed "trial and error" attempt at adjusting to the environment would mean the cesstion of life for that species. Can you imagine, now, that the process of trial and error occured not just for complex multi-celled creatures, but for the very simple first single- celled and self-replicating creatures as well?

Trial and error? For that is what it would have to be to suggest that "Natural Selection" is entirely unintelligent. That, or rename the process, because Natural Selection implies intelligence by its very name and nature. Anything that can "select" something, or make a choice is intelligent, regardless of what the selection criteria are. Something so critical and involved as survival takes much more than trial and error attempts to gain success over any length of time, and we must keep in mind that science claims life has been on this planet for almost four billion years. That many trial and error attempts should result in disaster, not the proliferation of the various species.

It's a simple scientific experiment; you can do it in your own kitchen. Set a large bowl on the countertop, and begin attempting to toss the cover (the only cover that fits) on the bowl through trial and error. How many attempts will it take to place the cover exactly where it belongs? Do you have time to make that many attempts? Or will something (your environment) demand your attention before the attempt that succeeds occurs? In the case of life, what demands attention is survival, and survival cannot be left up to amatuers who believe that trial and error is going to asure success over the long haul every time. There just isn't enough time, and the environment is constantly demanding attention for a different problem than the one "trial and error" is currently trying to solve. I propose that by the time life has evolved to solve even one problem, several hundred more problems have occured which make it impossible for that species to survive in its current state, because the environment is never going to wait for a process that requires as much time as evolution does.

Science says I am wrong. But if we take a simple look at nature, we see that what I propose occurs naturally almost constantly. Especially in the case of diseases and natural disasters, the various species are completely reliant upon their ability to adapt or flee, and if they cannot, they die. If multiples of environmental concerns attacks a species, that species' ability to mutate and change rapidly enough has never been witnessed by man. In fact, the only species capable of surviving MANY multiple environmental changes simultaneously IS man, and it is exactly due to man's intelligence, and his mastery over providing protection for himself. Animals do not have that sort of intelligence. It is ludicrous to believe that single living cells do.

Any survival of life on earth requires intelligence, because without intelligence, life simply cannot change rapidly enough to withstand the ever changing environment around it. Scientists claim that many generations are necessary for the process of natural selection to meet an environment that is changing. I propose that species often do not have more than a single generation in which to respond to environmental change. It should be simple, it should be logical. Instead, science claims it is illogical to believe in an intelligence that not only created life, but guides it even as we live now.

Think about it yourself. Can we understand that life without intelligence simply cannot change fast enough to survive its rapidly changing environment? We have witnessed numerous species' extinctions due to single environmental changes, and yet we propose that life can survive many multiples of environmental changes and disasters without intelligence?

Science claims to know why evolution occurs, and it calls the process Natural Selection. Furthermore, science claims that Natural Selection is unintelligent. I propose that if evolution occurs, science doesn't currently have a clue as to why or how it occurs. If they could just admit that, they might be trustworthy. But my high school science text (and some current ones) claimed that the giraffe grew a long neck to reach the more tender leaves at the tops of trees.

What, I ask, do leaves at the tops of trees have to do with survival? And how, I ask, can the neck of the giraffe not be considered an intelligent design if the leaves at the tops of trees have anything at all to do with survival?

Science has much explaning to do, and they could start with admitting that they are still clueless as to the origins of life as we know it, instead of pretending to know that a mindless random process determines life.