Life off the grid in the SW Texas desert. An experiment in sustainable living. NUMBERS AT THE END OF EACH BLOG POST: temp at 8PM,high temp,low temp,rainfall,wind conditions(CalmBreezyWindyGusty). YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFieldLab
Daily live streams at https://www.youtube.com/thefieldlab/live
Sunday, September 9, 2012
History repeats itself at the DNC
Matthew 26 : 62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?" 63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God." 64 Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say. And in the future you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven." 65 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror, shouting, "Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your verdict?" "Guilty!" they shouted. "He must die!" 67 Then they spit in Jesus' face and hit him with their fists. And some slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?" 69 Meanwhile, as Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, a servant girl came over and said to him, "You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean." 70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said. 71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. "I don't even know the man," he said. 73 A little later some other bystanders came over to him and said, "You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent." 74 Peter said, "I swear by God, I don't know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went away, crying bitterly. ( as I'm writing this, Carl is crowing outside - rather unnerving)
The very purpose of Christ’s death is for the forgiveness of sin. The black mark against sinners required a perfect sacrifice – Jesus. Our redemption is that we are forgiven because of his suffering on the Cross and resurrection from the dead on the third day.
Even though, Peter failed his test by denying Jesus, God in His mercy forgave Peter and resurrected his faith. He fulfilled Jesus' request - that he repent and strengthen his brothers. Not only is Peter forgiven of his denial of Christ, he is the one to enter the empty tomb where Jesus was laid and the one whom God uses to preach to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit visited with Christ’s followers. Peter’s faith sank low when he denied Christ, but it stood strong as he became a loud voice in sharing the Good News – even until his death. And so our path must be. 80,88,59,0,B,0
yks (et al)...I share my daily life. Sundays are now about another journey I am on...this is about a sustainable afterlife. God gave man free will to choose and all are welcome to follow their desires. In these days and times it is worth our while to fully examine those choices.
Bless you, John! Thanks for your inspiration. No telling how many souls you may help with your Sunday devotional and message. I'll pass your blog to others. Have a great week.
Seems like if God were so intent on us all believing the same way, He'd go ahead and speak for himself. Not that you shouldn't speak your own mind - that's another matter entirely.
Jesus had ordained Peter to be the head of the church after his crucifixion. When Christ said to Peter "Verily I say unto thee, that this night before the cock crow,thou shalt deny me thrice". When Jesus said this to Peter he was not finding fault with him, but giving him instructions so that he would preserve his life and thus the church would survive.
I watched that vote live. It was clear that the Nays were greater than the Ayes. Sad state of affairs for the Democratic party. It does not appear that the vast majority of Americans who are Democrats were fairly represented.
Not real big on certain of organized religion's interpretations but the Bible has many lessons that we could all benefit by learning.
A very silly thing: to equate the vote with some anti-christian thing. It had some real right wing politics involved with the inclusion of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Since when does the US decide where the capital of another country is??????? Sorry, you are OUT to lunch on this one.
Single position politics are what keeps the whole body from flourishing. Our lives will judged as you wish them to be. Some belive in a higher being and a future life. I try to make goodness in this one i find myself in today.
JW - aren't you a minister? I thought you were. Then this is just an extension of that. Doesn't make you closed minded, doesn't make you anything but a person sharing his ideas and beliefs. Just like you have been doing all along. I guess if you had posted about the Flying Spaghetti Monster that people would be so upset, but mention the Christian religion and you get detractors.
I'm good with it, keep up the good work JW...or is that Minister JW?
I am not Christian, but I have been fine with you sharing your faith. I'm glad you're being real and sharing your journey.
I don't understand the political connection, though. Why is it important for federal government to represent your faith? It's just a machine. You are what's valuable.
The bible verses quoted were about Peter denying Christ, not about the Roman Senators denying Christ.
I'm Jewish and a Texan and I thoroughly enjoy your blog. I think its great if you want to post about your faith. I respect your religion and believe you have a right to share it. I hope that you respect my religion, and would not desire to impose your religion upon me. I do not think your blog does this.
I do disagree with your post. You are asserting that the folks at the DNC are denying G-d when in fact that is not what they are doing at all. They are denying that G-d should be part of a political party platform, because to do so imposes religion on others. It was very important to our founding fathers that religion remain a personal choice, and that government should not impose religion upon its citizens.
My worry with all religion is that people simply parrot what is told to them in Church/Temple/Mosque without personal thought and reflection. I hope this is not what happened here. In any case this is your blog and you should post whatever you like. Comments is our space to provide you our feedback and thoughts.
Wow, what a lot of interesting comments. Religion and politics can really up the conversation. While it was shocking to some that the Dems wanted to omit God from their platform, to most political junkies it was not at all surprising. Both parties tend to want to be all things to all people regardless of conflicting interests. By omitting God the Dems thought they would be not offending anyone, thus incorrectly believing they were being inclusive.
What was probably more shocking was the public display of internal politics at work. Obama obviously didn't want the heat that was being generated by the lack of God inclusion. A call was made. God was to be included and the teleprompter script was written. All three votes appeared to be in the negative for adding God. The delegates obviously hadn't been informed of the WH demands. Mayor Villa didn't know what to do when the vote came in negative and the script was for the positive.
In a truly fair and democratic process an actual state by state delegate voice count would have been made. Of course that wouldn't have had the desired results either. Now if I was at the convention, I would be totally angered and dismayed that the democratic process had been corrupted by the WH wants. Perhaps now some Dems can understand why many are calling this administration a dictatorship. Obama believes he should get what ever he wants regardless of the law or what the voters want. His wants are even more important then the party's most faithful.
It's a shame some readers don't realize that only 2 kingdoms exist. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan. Man's political kingdom is only an imagination of his own thoughts. Man seems to think his short existance of 60-80 years is superior to the infinite wisdom of our King and high Priest. Kudo's to you Mr. John for standing Bold with a strong back. D.J. Brew
Mayan Calendar December 21st will probably convert millions before the end of the year. Even the transition to year Y2K had the survivalists stocking up and corporate leaders driven to staffing emergency action teams all over the country. In our extremely large corporation's headquarters, they had everything figured out except what to do when nothing went wrong.
The USA was founded by Christians and by their Christian beliefs. Our founding documents refer to God in guiding this Country and it's laws. The fact that many people have been allowed to come to this Country who have different beliefs than Christian is a plus for our country, but it does not change the fact that this country was founded on Christian beliefs and our Laws and Constitution still stand behind those Christian beliefs.
I have followed your blog daily for over 4 years. I teared up when Benita's body was found. I am still going to visit, and I would never ask you or anyone to change but, these last couple posts...This used to be my favorite blog.
The US Constitution, which is THE DOCUMENT establishing the laws of the USA uses the words G-d, Jesus, Christian, exactly ZERO times. The word “Lord” is used once when writing the date only. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html The Declaration of Independence (which has nothing to do with US Law) uses the word G-d exactly once: “Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.” Sounds more based in transcendentalism (a very popular philosophy around the time of our nation’s founding), than Christianity. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
The founding fathers actually had very complex views on religion. They were complex thinkers who did not accept doctrine that was recited to them. This will be my last post on this subject. You know what they say about arguing on the internet . . . but please know of what you speak.
Well Andrew G, the founders at least acknowledged a God. That is probably more then many of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention would admit too. It is interesting that you forgot "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
Bonnie's sermons are really gettin people talking. But it's sad that people think you are preaching to them. You attended church and are sharing the scripture. Most people would not comment or just say thank you/no thank you. Shame that folks can't take a simple exchange for what it is. I, for one, love seeing it. Even have gotten to looking forward to it....but could we have at least one picture too?
what a reader s comments pop up dude xxxx,lot of ignorance etc ---------------------------------- NYkers thought were mainly Budhists (as me) living there B Cain s sermons migh be interesting to attend (part of folklore at BigBend, do understand, way to socialize also) ----------------------- seems yu r getting into something dude xxxx LIKE (but will not read those sunday s sermons on a regular basis, will skip sunday)
It's scary times, brother, but I've read the book and I know how this story ends. Things will work out the way God has intended them to. Thank you for sharing and posting. Glad you're seeing some cooler weather out that way, too. Hope it sticks around for you.
Been visiting a long time but never commented before now. I love your story and reading about your journey. It gives me hope that I might really reach a jumping off place one day and find the courage and means to change my life, as you have yours. Love all your posts, Monday through Sunday, and am enjoying your latest scriptural posts as I, too, am Christian and, at this stage in my life, am in need of encouragement. I sincerely hope those who don't share our belief do not retreat from your daily stories. They are free to read and skip what they wish, as you are free to post what you wish. Vive la différence! God bless America and our freedoms!
I find it interesting that you are not the only one from my wanders in the blog sphere to have heard the cock crow after the DNC vote. I also find it interesting that all of you immediately thought of the story of Peter's denial. Makes you wonder doesn't it?
There is living with nature, and then there is living in off-the-grid isolation. For years I've enjoyed and appreciated your skills of self-reliance and your hard work. But your views, which I fully grant are your right to hold, are just plain mean and childish. Goodbye Fieldlab.
Well, OK I'm definitely skipping Sunday posts now. As for Trey's comments about people not supporting the first amendment when it comes to religion or politics, I don't see anyone telling John he cant post or think what he wants. I just see people expressing their disagreement or expressing their disappointment. And that's perfectly OK for them to do. Just because we disagree doesn't mean we cant respect each other. Don't make this into some kind of persecution thing.
Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of the religous turn on your blog either. I was glad the DNC left G*d out, disappointed when they added back in. I'm a big fan of the Founding Father's stand of a separation of church and state.
I'm not sure how surprised anybody should be. John left everything and moved into the middle of nowhere. He was obviously searching for something and Buddhism wasn't providing it. And, to top it off, he is in Texas. It's hard to not be influenced by the people you encounter on a daily (or not-so daily) basis. I'm more bothered by the Fox News talking points. DNC platform doesn't mention God? Sounds about on par with what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
50 comments:
Thanks for a well versed blog. I do enjoy your Sundays. God bless you and your animals at the Field Lab.
Your Friend in Big Spring, Tx
Don Brodie
Oy, again with this? I much prefer hearing about your sustainable life you are building.
Two really cool temperature days in a row! Unbelievable. Maybe it is time to plant the peas.
In witnessing the DNC deny Christ 3 times I would have hoped that God would have struck them down where they stood.
Loved your blog.
yks (et al)...I share my daily life. Sundays are now about another journey I am on...this is about a sustainable afterlife. God gave man free will to choose and all are welcome to follow their desires. In these days and times it is worth our while to fully examine those choices.
Bless you, John! Thanks for your inspiration. No telling how many souls you may help with your Sunday devotional and message. I'll pass your blog to others. Have a great week.
I enjoy both. The word of the Lord and living with nature. Don't they go hand in hand in a way.
I am very surprised that a person that seems so intelligent would take this path.
I thought you were a Buddhist???
Seems like if God were so intent on us all believing the same way, He'd go ahead and speak for himself. Not that you shouldn't speak your own mind - that's another matter entirely.
Gee, this saddens me. I took you for someone more open. Oh, well.
I thank Christ for being the perfect sacrifice for my sins. Thank you for your blog.
Jesus had ordained Peter to be the head of the church after his crucifixion. When Christ said to Peter "Verily I say unto thee, that this night before the cock crow,thou shalt deny me thrice".
When Jesus said this to Peter he was not finding fault with him, but giving him instructions so that he would preserve his life and thus the church would survive.
I enjoyed tonight's post and video and thank you for bringing it to my attention. You have done some good in some very troubled times.
Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another....
Awesome entry John!
It's always interesting that people are so supportive of our First Amendment Rights - until someone talks about religion or politics.
We really enjoy your blog.
John, it's your blog. Thanks for sharing!
I watched that vote live. It was clear that the Nays were greater than the Ayes. Sad state of affairs for the Democratic party. It does not appear that the vast majority of Americans who are Democrats were fairly represented.
Not real big on certain of organized religion's interpretations but the Bible has many lessons that we could all benefit by learning.
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition! Frank Loesser 1942
I don't like th Bible verses or preaching either, but there is a simple solution: I skip these entries. Mr Wells does his thing, I do mine.
Enjoy your Sunday rest!
John - Fully sustainable. :)
Thank you, John.
A very silly thing: to equate the vote with some anti-christian thing. It had some real right wing politics involved with the inclusion of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Since when does the US decide where the capital of another country is??????? Sorry, you are OUT to lunch on this one.
Single position politics are what keeps the whole body from flourishing. Our lives will judged as you wish them to be. Some belive in a higher being and a future life. I try to make goodness in this one i find myself in today.
Peace out
The gospel of John.
JW - aren't you a minister? I thought you were. Then this is just an extension of that. Doesn't make you closed minded, doesn't make you anything but a person sharing his ideas and beliefs. Just like you have been doing all along. I guess if you had posted about the Flying Spaghetti Monster that people would be so upset, but mention the Christian religion and you get detractors.
I'm good with it, keep up the good work JW...or is that Minister JW?
Too bad the focus has shifted but it IS your space. I'll remember to skip Sunday here.
I do wonder who you're preaching to, me or thee.
I am not Christian, but I have been fine with you sharing your faith. I'm glad you're being real and sharing your journey.
I don't understand the political connection, though. Why is it important for federal government to represent your faith? It's just a machine. You are what's valuable.
The bible verses quoted were about Peter denying Christ, not about the Roman Senators denying Christ.
If this is just a Sunday sermon, that's helpful for me to know. I can always stop by on a secular day.
I'm Jewish and a Texan and I thoroughly enjoy your blog. I think its great if you want to post about your faith. I respect your religion and believe you have a right to share it. I hope that you respect my religion, and would not desire to impose your religion upon me. I do not think your blog does this.
I do disagree with your post. You are asserting that the folks at the DNC are denying G-d when in fact that is not what they are doing at all. They are denying that G-d should be part of a political party platform, because to do so imposes religion on others. It was very important to our founding fathers that religion remain a personal choice, and that government should not impose religion upon its citizens.
My worry with all religion is that people simply parrot what is told to them in Church/Temple/Mosque without personal thought and reflection. I hope this is not what happened here. In any case this is your blog and you should post whatever you like. Comments is our space to provide you our feedback and thoughts.
Wow, what a lot of interesting comments. Religion and politics can really up the conversation.
While it was shocking to some that the Dems wanted to omit God from their platform, to most political junkies it was not at all surprising. Both parties tend to want to be all things to all people regardless of conflicting interests. By omitting God the Dems thought they would be not offending anyone, thus incorrectly believing they were being inclusive.
What was probably more shocking was the public display of internal politics at work. Obama obviously didn't want the heat that was being generated by the lack of God inclusion. A call was made. God was to be included and the teleprompter script was written. All three votes appeared to be in the negative for adding God. The delegates obviously hadn't been informed of the WH demands. Mayor Villa didn't know what to do when the vote came in negative and the script was for the positive.
In a truly fair and democratic process an actual state by state delegate voice count would have been made. Of course that wouldn't have had the desired results either.
Now if I was at the convention, I would be totally angered and dismayed that the democratic process had been corrupted by the WH wants. Perhaps now some Dems can understand why many are calling this administration a dictatorship. Obama believes he should get what ever he wants regardless of the law or what the voters want. His wants are even more important then the party's most faithful.
It's a shame some readers don't realize that only 2 kingdoms
exist. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan. Man's political kingdom is only an imagination of his own thoughts. Man seems to think his short existance of 60-80 years is superior to the infinite wisdom of our King and high Priest.
Kudo's to you Mr. John for standing
Bold with a strong back.
D.J. Brew
Mayan Calendar December 21st will probably convert millions before the end of the year. Even the transition to year Y2K had the survivalists stocking up and corporate leaders driven to staffing emergency action teams all over the country. In our extremely large corporation's headquarters, they had everything figured out except what to do when nothing went wrong.
The USA was founded by Christians and by their Christian beliefs. Our founding documents refer to God in guiding this Country and it's laws. The fact that many people have been allowed to come to this Country who have different beliefs than Christian is a plus for our country, but it does not change the fact that this country was founded on Christian beliefs and our Laws and Constitution still stand behind those Christian beliefs.
I have followed your blog daily for over 4 years. I teared up when Benita's body was found. I am still going to visit, and I would never ask you or anyone to change but, these last couple posts...This used to be my favorite blog.
The US Constitution, which is THE DOCUMENT establishing the laws of the USA uses the words G-d, Jesus, Christian, exactly ZERO times. The word “Lord” is used once when writing the date only.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
The Declaration of Independence (which has nothing to do with US Law) uses the word G-d exactly once: “Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.” Sounds more based in transcendentalism (a very popular philosophy around the time of our nation’s founding), than Christianity.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
The founding fathers actually had very complex views on religion. They were complex thinkers who did not accept doctrine that was recited to them. This will be my last post on this subject. You know what they say about arguing on the internet . . . but please know of what you speak.
Well Andrew G, the founders at least acknowledged a God. That is probably more then many of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention would admit too. It is interesting that you forgot "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
Bonnie's sermons are really gettin people talking. But it's sad that people think you are preaching to them. You attended church and are sharing the scripture. Most people would not comment or just say thank you/no thank you. Shame that folks can't take a simple exchange for what it is. I, for one, love seeing it. Even have gotten to looking forward to it....but could we have at least one picture too?
what a reader s comments pop up dude xxxx,lot of ignorance etc
----------------------------------
NYkers thought were mainly Budhists (as me)
living there B Cain s sermons migh be interesting to attend (part of folklore at BigBend, do understand, way to socialize also)
-----------------------
seems yu r getting into something dude xxxx
LIKE (but will not read those sunday s sermons on a regular basis, will skip sunday)
"yks said...
Oy, again with this? I much prefer hearing about your sustainable life you are building."
Amazes me that people don't understand that there's more to a 'sustainable life' than being off the grid and raising some food....
A strong spiritual foundation and a form belief in God is one of the underpinnings of a 'sustainable life' in my opinion.
I appreciate your writing and pray you keep it up!
It's scary times, brother, but I've read the book and I know how this story ends. Things will work out the way God has intended them to. Thank you for sharing and posting. Glad you're seeing some cooler weather out that way, too. Hope it sticks around for you.
Been visiting a long time but never commented before now. I love your story and reading about your journey. It gives me hope that I might really reach a jumping off place one day and find the courage and means to change my life, as you have yours. Love all your posts, Monday through Sunday, and am enjoying your latest scriptural posts as I, too, am Christian and, at this stage in my life, am in need of encouragement. I sincerely hope those who don't share our belief do not retreat from your daily stories. They are free to read and skip what they wish, as you are free to post what you wish. Vive la différence! God bless America and our freedoms!
I find it interesting that you are not the only one from my wanders in the blog sphere to have heard the cock crow after the DNC vote. I also find it interesting that all of you immediately thought of the story of Peter's denial. Makes you wonder doesn't it?
There is living with nature, and then there is living in off-the-grid isolation. For years I've enjoyed and appreciated your skills of self-reliance and your hard work. But your views, which I fully grant are your right to hold, are just plain mean and childish. Goodbye Fieldlab.
Well, OK I'm definitely skipping Sunday posts now. As for Trey's comments about people not supporting the first amendment when it comes to religion or politics, I don't see anyone telling John he cant post or think what he wants. I just see people expressing their disagreement or expressing their disappointment. And that's perfectly OK for them to do. Just because we disagree doesn't mean we cant respect each other. Don't make this into some kind of persecution thing.
Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of the religous turn on your blog either. I was glad the DNC left G*d out, disappointed when they added back in. I'm a big fan of the Founding Father's stand of a separation of church and state.
Hey John, Enjoy your Sunday blog!
Commenting negatively on this blog post is the height of arrogance.
Obviously John is going to produce his blog in a manner that he likes.
Do you really think he cares if you don't like the Sunday entries?
I know I don't.
what a tremendous disappointment this post is. Good luck with all your endeavors, Mr. Wells. I choose not to read crude dogmatic rants.
I really enjoyed this blog.
......meaning I'll continue to read it. Keep up the GREAT work.
djc
I'm not sure how surprised anybody should be. John left everything and moved into the middle of nowhere. He was obviously searching for something and Buddhism wasn't providing it. And, to top it off, he is in Texas. It's hard to not be influenced by the people you encounter on a daily (or not-so daily) basis.
I'm more bothered by the Fox News talking points. DNC platform doesn't mention God? Sounds about on par with what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
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