A Sticky Situation

Once upon a time, I heard that deer flies were attracted to the color blue. In fact, I read that one trick to reduce the annoyance was to hang blue balls — Christmas ornaments, I believe —- covered with insect trap goo, from trees. Or, as one person related, to place a blue ball on a rod on his lawn tractor, just higher than his head, so that as he mowed, the deer flies would land on the ball and be trapped.

Not having blue balls, I was puzzled as to how I would get a similar result. Then I spotted an anti-freeze container in the garage. One gallon. Blue. Polyethylene. Time to check out the tale.

Tools. Some Tree Tanglefoot for making it sticky. $11 at Home Depot for a 15 oz tub; $10 at Menards. Two tubs sitting in my garage cabinet for years.

Brushes. I always knew that someday I would need these. $2.99 for a pack of 36 at Harbor Freight. Sitting on the shelf in the garage.

Ah, yes, the blue polyethylene. Empty containers have to go away somehow. The jug provided two 6”x6” pieces, which I hung in the pear tree and the cherry tree.

Then another thought materialized. What if other bugs like other colors? Back to the garage. A small Folgers can provided three 4”x4” red squares.

In the kitchen, a sour cream container was recruited for the white rectangles — 3”x4”.

So there they dangle in the wind. Red, white, and blue, fitting for the 4th of July. As for the white ones, they have printing on one side. Maybe some bugs prefer to read while they expire.

We shall see how this turns out. What kinds of bugs prefer red, what kinds prefer blue, what kinds prefer white, what kinds can read?

Hi, There, Pigeon!

One of my required courses as an undergrad Education major at the University of Akron was Psychology. I must confess that listening to Dr. Popplestone lecture was not one of the more exciting things that happened in my academic career. I got a D in that course because I found other things to hold my attention. Nevertheless, the good doctor did capture my attention one day with his description of the experiments of B. F. Skinner.

In a nutshell, for the unenlightened, Skinner discovered that he could induce superstitious behavior in pigeons by rewarding responses to stimuli that had nothing to do with a situation. The pigeon would associate the appearance of food with whatever behavior it was performing at the moment. The essence of the experiment was a demonstration that superstitious behavior was caused by linking correlation with causation.

It was in my post-graduate courses that I was provided with the opportunity to distinguish between experimental and quasi-experimental design. I was also provided with the understanding that science is an exercise in the reduction of uncertainty, and that in a true scientific endeavor, it is never possible to prove a hypothesis (or a theory, of which a hypothesis is a subset), but that true certainty only arrives with the disproval of a null hypothesis.

To explain that logic, understand that to prove that something “always is true”, it is necessary to test it an infinite number of times without failure. One failure in the testing destroys the concept of “always is true”. The ability to trust the results resides in the probability of the next experiment also concluding true — a wondrous exercise of faith in the theory, but which never concludes with absolute proof.

However, if one sets out to prove that something “always is false”, even though every experiment fails there is always the uncertainty that the next one will not — a true result destroys the theory — which engenders the real “scientific” attitude of skepticism that drove the Enlightenment. One failure to prove falsity results in an absolute surety that the idea of “always is false” is in itself false.

That may seem a bit like a dog chasing it’s own tail, but in reality most experiments end up with a set of mixed outcomes. There may have been a flaw in the experimental design, or an invalid set of inputs, or some other quirk that distorted the outcome. That leads to the concept of degrees of certainty, in which an experimenter may say that the null hypothesis was rejected at say, a confidence level of 5%. That is to say, the hypothesis is true up to a point, and the individual may choose his level of risk with it.

Thus the entire purpose of science is centered around “randomness” or “chance”; the user of the experimental results has the opportunity to decide if a certain action is worth the associated risk. Human nature, however, abhors uncertainty; we would rather have the weather witch tell us that it will not rain today (so we can place the blame if we get wet) rather than that there is a 50% chance of rain, in which case getting wet is our own fault.

Suppose, though, that we notice that it always rains after certain birds sing a particular series of notes. Without any other inputs, we might conclude that the singing of the birds causes it to rain. While we, as “scientific” people might scoff at that conclusion as being superstitious, it might be an entirely logical one to a less sophisticated or educated population. Similarly, if almost every time a policemen enters our neighborhood someone is killed, we might conclude that our chance of dying increases with the appearance of a policeman. When fear or trauma become factors in our decision-making, rationality declines and we tend to associate the factor with the greatest correlation as the cause of the event, ignoring any other factors which might be in play (such as hostility to authority, drug abuse, or other criminal activity).

As humans, we also find it easy to be lead by those who have established themselves as “authorities” with regard to various disciplines. Thus when an “authority” proclaims that he has found a correlation between the amount of man-made smoke in the air and an increase in average temperature, he can easily announce that he has “proven” that people cause climate change and that by modifying our behavior according to his prescription, we can change it in a different direction. That other factors such as solar radiation, tectonic movement, or position within the galaxy (yes, Dorothy, we aren’t in Kansas anymore — we are millions of miles away from the Kansas we were in this time last year and the part of our galaxy we are in now may have a different temperature than the part we were in last year!) could instead cause such climate change is uncomfortable because they are beyond our control. It is a hallmark of superstitious belief that people can choose freely to obliterate the cause of a frightening situation; the Salem witchcraft trials come to mind.

While science and the scientific method(s) have some obvious usefulness within our culture, allowing us to exercise our curiosity and design inventions which advance the good of humanity, they never provide certainty. Further, they never answer the questions about who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. They never provide absolute truth, and with it, absolute reality. Those items have always been the province of metaphysics, and particularly, of religion. In the attempt to reconcile science and religion, there has always been a thrust toward elevating the humanity of men and the humanizing of deity. Wherever belief in causation has surfaced, man has tended to create his god in his own image, and the more sophisticated a culture becomes, the more urbane and sophisticated it’s god becomes until at some point, the deity is no longer needed and humanism triumphs. Unfortunately, without some superstition, humanism lacks any sense of certainty.

For myself, the specter of being a pigeon at the mercy of fate (or karma, as neophyte Humanists, Hindus and Buddhists might term it) is so unsettling that I would rather be in the hands of the Almighty God of Heaven, as described in the Hebrew Bible — a Being so all-powerful and all-knowing and good and righteous and holy that no matter what happens in my life, it is intended for good. A God who is just, but whose mercy endures forever. A God who is true, and who never fails to keep His word. A God whose love is so vast that He, the only immortal being, devised a plan whereby He could pay the penalty for my sins by dying in my place. A God so righteous that death could not hold Him, and He was raised from death so that I could be confident in the rightness of His plan and the surety of His promise.

So keep your randomness, your chance, your choices, your fate — whatever brand of uncertainty your superstition entertains. We are all superstitious, every one of us. Go ahead and be scientific. Phrase your basic beliefs as null hypotheses, test them and live with your insecurity, if you can do so without insanity. As for me, I will trust in the Eternal God of Israel, who keeps His covenant with His chosen people forever.

R.I.P. Bobby

Daniel J. Hrubik, May 25, 1947 - October 3, 2016.

Tin-foil Hats and Chip Readers

I like to imagine that I am one who thinks “outside the box”. Hopefully, that will not someday result in having to think inside a box, one with bars on it, but I guess I will just take one day at a time.

Some time ago I got a new MasterCard with a chip. For those just learning, “chip” technology is replacing the old magnetic stripe on your credit card.

The magnetic stripe is just a semi-permanent account information record that was difficult to change. A card fraudster could take that information and use it in multiple transactions before anyone caught on to the fraud. It could theoretically be reprogrammed, but that would be inconvenient with current technology.

The “chip” in chip technology looks on your card just like a the SIM card contacts for a cell phone. The technology allows a transaction made with the chip card to be given a one-time transaction code. Even if a fraudster can steal the basic account information, a second transaction cannot be made without the physical card to generate the unique one-time code. Again, theoretically, this is more secure, but the chip cards are capable of carrying far more information — in some European countries, they are used as ID cards - and the cards that are enabled for remote scanning can be read without being physically inserted (“dipped”) in a chip reader.

That fact has lead to concerns that information on the card that has nothing to do with a credit transaction could fall into the hands of an identity thief. As the technology becomes more sophisticated and complex, the exploits by card hackers will undoubtedly become more difficult to block. It is an adaptation of the Peter Principle that techies just don’t seem to understand — there is always somebody out there who is smarter than the programmer.

Back in the days when you had to barter, it was relatively difficult (but still possible) to pull off a fraud. When people switched to cash, the job became a bit easier; fake coins were minted but as long as they had the requisite amount of precious metal nobody cared. It was when the fraudster mixed in something less valuable that the eureka moments of an Archimedes were needed.

The printing press took the game a bit farther. Paper money was easier to carry, but a good forger could make counterfeits in bulk. The trouble was that trying to make a large purchase with counterfeit money was a sure way to get caught. To be successful, the counterfeiter had to make numerous small purchases in varied locations. Each advance in printing at the mint brought a corresponding increase in the sophistication of the copying.

The credit card was supposed to not only free the participants in the transaction from having to carry wads of cash, but it was also supposed to make the transaction more secure, since the cash simply stayed in the bank and just changed ownership there. Remember the old credit card machines? You put the card in, placed the multiple carbon receipt in, and rolled out the invoice. Then you wrote in the amounts by hand, the buyer got one copy, the merchant got one copy, and one copy went off to the bank. The lag time was as good as physically mailing a check; you could buy stuff today and still have a couple of days to get the money to the bank.

That was a banker’s nightmare. Money in transit is money that is not earning interest for the bank from the Federal Reserve. Why do you think the bank puts holds on checks from one account to another in the same bank? It is cash in the banker’s pocket. So, the credit card process had to be speeded up. The magnetic stripe technology came in, and the account information could be read off the card electronically, sent to the bank at the speed of light (almost), and the card information could also then be exchanged without the physical card being present, allowing mail order sales to flourish. All you needed to do was give the information and sign for it.

Secure? Alas, another pipe dream, because once a thief got hold of the credit card numbers, he could forge a signature and steal until the card statement showed the thefts. It had to get more complicated. Thus the chip technology. The card companies have forced merchants to install chip readers, with the incentive being that a merchant who has a chip reader installed is not responsible for credit card fraud that occurs using a magnetic stripe swiper. The credit card companies have offered to be fully responsible, even if the buyer does not have a chipped card and the swiper has to be used. However, if the merchant does not install the chip readers, then the merchant is responsible for any fraud loss.

The early cards being issued are mostly (but not all) using contact-type chips. Some, however, have the capability of being read remotely, using a scanner that queries the card wirelessly. When the chip enters the radio frequency field, it vomits out its information. Supposedly, these are short-range transmitters, but there is a concern that hackers could use somewhat more powerful transmitters and receivers and steal the information while the card is still in the owners purse, pocket, or wallet. Move the cheese, and the mice get bigger leg muscles. Cage the cheese, and they get bigger teeth. When your treasure is on the Earth, the thief will break through and steal.

So, as an experiment, I have put a tin-foil hat on my new chipped Discover Card. Using rubber cement and some aluminum foil, I carefully covered the front and back of the chip to insulate it from radio frequencies. (In olden times, we called this a short circuit.)

I tried it out at WalMart. I slid the card through the stripe reader; the woman at the checkout said I had to insert it in the chip reader. I did so. The screen said, “CARD PROBLEM”. She said try it again. Same thing. She said try swiping it again. No workie. She tried swiping it from her register. No go. The woman in line behind me was getting a bit upset. I just looked toward the ceiling. Finally, after about the dozenth time swiping it, the transaction went through. Maybe you have to swipe it r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y.

I haven’t tried it at the gas station yet. I may have to go inside and have them manually enter the account numbers. I don’t know. This will be interesting.

One other thing. I looked at the card agreement to see if there was anything about tampering with the card. Nada. My guess is, though, that all it will take is some wonky lawyer realizing that the scheme is wide open to make the merchant institute a policy whereby it refuses to accept the card if the card has had its chip crippled. Once that occurs, I may have to rethink this.

Meanwhile, the rumor on the street is that this technology, which is already 20 years old, will probably be scrapped in another half-dozen years and replaced by something like ApplePay. The merchants who are paying out mega-bucks to install chip readers will have to bite the bullet and start over. Nevertheless, I have my ears open to hear about the first successful attempt at hacking that system. It will happen. If your treasure is not in Heaven, the thieves will get it sooner or later. Happy treadmilling!

P.S. -- my Better Half tried hers at the gas station. While it did not work at Bed Bath & Beyond, and the card info had to be entered manually by the clerk, it did work at the gas station pump.

Good-bye Summer

A half year has passed. The summer is over, harvesting is taking place, and winter planting has begun. As an update, none of the Yummy peppers made it; one germinated but then damped off. Germination of the Delicious and Abe Lincoln tomatoes was less than spectacular — less than 50%. We did get tomatoes of each of those varieties. The Delicious grew like gangbusters, climbing out the top of their cages and reaching over 6 feet high. They are a good tasting, solid fleshed, fairly early tomato.

The Abe Lincolns struggled. Again, a tasty tomato, but somewhat watery inside — sliced and on my sandwiches, they soaked the bread. Neither appears to be resistant to any diseases at all. It is a toss-up whether I want to bother with them next year.

The Rutgers, as always, were slow, but steady producers.

Many of my cages this year were made from 2” x 4” mesh garden fence. A 5’ wide roll allowed for 24” and 28” high cages with 4” prongs into the ground. For next year, the 28” cages will be cut down to 24” — they are just a bit too deep for good maintenance. Also, the spacing between the cages needs to be increased for better breathing.

There is plenty to blog about. More later.

End of Round One

Now the jalapenos are in pots -- 96 out of 114 seeds for an 84% germination rate. Not sure why so many failed to germinate, but the plants that did come up were nice and healthy looking. So I'm off to make labels to keep them from getting mixed up ... or maybe, to keep me from getting confused ... whatever.

Add Endum

Finished potting the wax peppers - total was 163 out of 187 seeds. Had perhaps a half dozen culls; make the germination rate about 91%. Good, but not optimal.

On Being A Pot Person

Well, occasionally I have to stick some kind of title in that will get noticed by the web crawlers and draw attention to this site. I would have used "pothead", but that might have drawn WAY too much attention...

Thursday I started potting the Rutgers seedlings. Out of the 103 seeds planted, I potted 99 plants. I discarded 3 as being too small yet to transplant, so that is close enough to 100% germination for me. Yesterday I went to work on the wax peppers; at this point I have 137 pots and there are still 24 nice healthy ones left to transplant with about 6 or so still struggling; say 167 out of 187 seeds and I actually discarded at least a dozen for one reason or another. Ran out of dirt so I had to quit until tomorrow. Then it will be on to the jalapenos.

Not only am I out of dirt, I am out of room and this is going to be a problem. There are at least 100 jalapenos, likely more, and the Abe Lincoln tomatoes, Delicious tomatoes, and the sweet basil are popping through. The Yummy peppers are still not appearing. I figure maybe another 200 pots to go, but I really did want to do some flowers this years as well. This could be a SERIOUS problem.

Chard is up in the greenhouse along with the romaine lettuce. Can't put the tomato and pepper seedlings out there, though -- too cold. Keim Lumber is delivering my material for the new asparagus beds either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Got to musing about the Peter Principle. Once a person has risen to his level of incompetence, what are his options? A new career, starting at the bottom? Longevity seems to be a factor in our family; Dad lived to 91, Mom is 91, Uncle Joe is fixing to be 95 next month -- is it unreasonable for me to have a mid-life crisis at 68? When you have forgotten more than you currently know, is that a sign that reprogramming is in order? I think I'll sleep on that one. If it doesn't keep me awake half the night thinking about it.

Update

It's almost time to pot the seedlings.

Rutgers

Wax

Jalapeno

Also the seeds for Totally Tomatoes arrived, so last Thursday (9th) I got those going : 25 Abraham Lincoln tomatoes, 36 Delicious tomatoes, and 17 Yummy peppers. Since I had some left-over cherry tomato seeds, I interred those as well : 30 Supersweet 100s. That batch is still sleeping, but they should start popping soon.

Romaine lettuce is up in the greenhouse like a carpet, but still no sign of the onions, cabbage, broccoli, and chard. Tonight I decided to get some sweet basil going... maybe I should just go to bed.

Good night.

Sowing Seeds of ...

Yup, time to get down and dirty again. Garden season is coming back.

Last Monday (Feb the 29th) I put some wax pepper seeds (187) in the dirt. Tuesday it was the Rutgers tomatoes (103). Wednesday, the jalapeno peppers (114). This morning some tomato plants were looking at me. There is some action in the wax pepper tray; I have a feeling some of those will show by morning.

Not a very sophisticated setup -- the planter trays are simply the rotisserie chicken containers from Sam's Club. The bottoms hold enough potting soil to get the seeds started, and the bubble-top covers are clear to let me see what is happening and keep the humidity inside high. The seeds are soaked in hydrogen peroxide for 8-10 hours and then laid out in rows (so I can get some idea on germination rates) and covered with a fine layer of soil, water added carefully to get everything wet, and an incandescent bulb set over them 24/7 to provide some warmth.

Looks like the winter lazy days are over.

Merry Christmas 2015

Not having written much this year (2015) I felt that at least I should wish the entire world a Merry Christmas.

The Christmas story tells us of the love of a God Who not only created a universe for His own pleasure, but having a desire to share that pleasure with someone, created beings in His own image. In the mystery of all of the reason for being, He provided a scenario in which His prime creation, Man, would lose that privilege and become estranged, requiring restoration.

I repeat, a mystery lies behind this. The Eternal One is described, in His own words, in Exodus 34, as

"The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation."[JPS 1917]

In order for His entire character to be displayed, there had to be a reason to show mercy. Mercy cannot be shown to anyone who has not been condemned. The recipient of mercy is chosen by the Merciful One, who decided in His wisdom that the being created in His own image, who would also be capable of showing mercy, would transgress, and due to the utter holiness of the Creator, be eternally separated from the pleasure of His presence.

Now someone who has been cast down from the presence of the Ever-living One has no power to raise himself back up. The dead cannot come back to life by their own power. The holiness of God is so far beyond the imagination of men that no dead man can lift another dead man to that height. God will by no means clear the guilty; He says so Himself. A living substitute could effect redemption, but no offspring of a dead creation could pay the price.

In that was the wisdom of God brought to the problem. God Himself -- sinless, living, loving -- would take upon Himself the nature of His creation, a created body, and offer Himself as the perfect substitute. The Christmas story is the story of that endeavor. By the power of the Holy Spirit of God, a child was conceived in the womb of a virgin. Because His Father was God, He did not inherit the estrangement of Adam, and because His mother bore Him as a human, he took on the flesh of the creature. He would be the perfect substitute, accepting the guilt of men without Himself being guilty, and redeeming those to whom mercy could then be shown.

And so we have Christmas.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."[Is 9:6, KJV] (...פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ, אֵל גִּבּוֹר, אֲבִי-עַד, שַׂר-שָׁלוֹם.)

Misplaced Compassion, or Wells Without Water?

The feature of Christianity that is supposedly most attractive to people is the unfettered compassion that followers of Jesus are reputed to exhibit. For the person who claims to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, however, an important question that frequently rises is the question of God’s will for his or her life.

For some the search after knowledge of that will takes arcane twists and turns, almost on the level of fortune-telling or divination. It is not unusual to hear of people opening a Bible and attempting to do whatever first comes to sight, or the “Gideon thing”, i.e., “putting out a fleece” (without doing a thorough reading which would show that Gideon pleaded with God not to be angry with him for doing so).

Just a bit more research would reveal that God’s will for His people is really no great mystery. In Hebrews we read that it was His will that we be sanctified through the offering of Christ, in Romans we read that His will is that we be transformed by the renewing of our minds in order to serve others (a living sacrifice!), and in First Thessalonians we read that it is His will that we be sanctified, maintaining proper living in the face of temptation. Peter even goes so far as to say that His will might call for our suffering as a result of sanctified living.

Unfettered compassion has the appearance of performance of the will of God, even in the need to defy authority to carry it out. Many of the “peace movement” groups actively protest or violate Governmental restrictions on their desires to offer such compassion, citing Peter’s response to the Sanhedrin that “We ought to obey God rather than men.” It is always dangerous to quote Scripture out of context.

The following clips were carried on Friday March 6, 2015 by a number of news organizations and were eventually picked up by Fox News and other major conservative outlets:

“Max Villatoro, 41, was arrested by immigration officials when he left his house for work Tuesday after more than 16 years of legal complications and two denied appeals to stop his removal from the country, culminating in his now imminent deportation. But Villatoro's wife, Gloria Villatoro, 33, and others in the Iowa City community say the man has turned his life around since his initial charge in 1998, and they're fighting to keep him here.

Max Villatoro is a pastor at First Mennonite Church who has lived in Iowa since he left his northern Honduran town in 1995 and arrived in the U.S. without legal permission. Deportation would separate him from his wife, a native of Mexico who was brought here when she was 8, and his four children, ages 7 through 15 and all U.S. citizens.

In 1998, Villatoro was convicted of drunken driving. And in 1999, he pleaded guilty to record tampering for purchasing a Social Security number that he used to obtain a driver's license. His plea resulted in an order of supervision for the duration of a 180-day suspended jail term, but the convictions stayed with him until his recent arrest.

Gloria Villatoro said her husband's past doesn't reflect who he is. And Margaret Richer-Smith, a fellow pastor at the Iowa City church, described him as a 'person of great integrity and wisdom.'”

The story was even carried in the Daily Kos, and without doubt it will end up as one of those viral emails that circulates the Web forever. Before getting into too much of a lather over the story, however, it might be good to examine not only this family’s particular situation, but also the general conduct of what is popularly seen as evangelical Christianity. Let’s dissect the story as it appears in the news, and then look for the implications as regard’s the will of God. The facts:

- Max Villatoro is a Honduran citizen who has lived in the United States illegally for 20 years
- he has been convicted of identity theft, having used someone else’s Social security number
- since his conviction in 1999, he has apparently continued to work and perhaps drive, without legal documentation
- also since his conviction in 1999, he has married a foreign national and fathered 4 children (birthright citizens)
- he now professes to be a Christian pastor with the responsibility to teach others Godly behavior
- he is described by his co-pastor as “a person of great integrity and wisdom”

Assuming all of the above is true, I feel quite queasy. The same Peter who stated that “We ought to obey God rather than men” also stated “Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well. For so is the will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

If all of the Villatoro story is true as reported, we have a person who has openly defied authority. Reading carefully we can wonder at the pain suffered by some unfortunate citizen who was left with the complications from Villatoro’s use of his stolen Social Security ID, as well as being curious about whether the pregnancy of his teenage wife was an attempt to produce an “anchor baby”. He not only calls himself a follower of Jesus but is being held up as a good example of such. We also appear to have a great cloud of people with an opinion that his behavior is acceptable. There is something absurd going on here.

The March 25, 2015 edition of Mennonite World Review carried the news that Villatoro had indeed been deported to Honduras on March 20. The article contains this statement,

“‘This is utterly unfathomable,’ wrote executive conference minister David Boshart of Mennonite Church USA’s Central Plains Mennonite Conference in a statement the same day.”

Unfathomable? Jesus taught that “. . .whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” If we are to understand that His will is inseparable from His character, we see a God who is not only merciful, but also scrupulously just. As Lord Jonathan Sachs has observed, it is not logically possible to have mercy unless first there is justice. While Sachs does not follow through with the resultant, that it was the Father’s justice that required our punishment for sin, and His acceptance of the sacrifice of His Son that made mercy for us possible, he has nailed the problem squarely. God is holy and just. He has established principalities and powers as an exercise of His will in order to maintain justice among men. For that reason Peter urges obedience to those authorities except where it contradicts the command of God.

There is no command from God to violate laws which we disagree with simply because they cause us discomfort.

What, then, should take priority? Our desire to feel like we are heroic martyrs of mercy, or our desire to uphold the justice of God, Who says, “You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.” and “You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: you shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”? Should we be partial toward the foreign law-breaker, allowing things that we would not tolerate in a fellow citizen or even a foreigner who was respectful of our laws? How does that uphold God’s justice, and if it does not, how can it be said that encouraging a person to continue in sin (for “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft”) is a mercy?

Christianity that “does its own thing” is not following the teaching of Jesus. To the contrary, the Church in America is missing out on one of the greatest evangelistic opportunities that has appeared since the Great Awakening. There are hordes of people who have entered this country illegally who are prime candidates for the Gospel. The Gospel, however, (as presented by Jesus Himself) begins with “Repent!” —- which requires the illumination of sin and the turning away from such.

Unfortunately, Americhristianity sees success in spiritual things the same way it sees success in business — the bigger the better; quantity trumps quality. Americhristianity fears to label specific behaviors as sin, lest some potential convert be offended. We, however, need not fear to preach that sin in every form, including breaking the law, (yes, you speeders and stop sign runners, that includes you) needs to be repented from. Then, when the Spirit of God converts those whom He draws and convicts, they become the seed of renewed missionary activity.

If that leads the illegal immigrant back to the place from which he came, perhaps it is the hand of God which drew him here in the first place, fleeing the corruption due to sin in his own land, for the purpose of returning him to be a blessing in the midst of a crooked and corrupt land. To be sure, such a theme will be unpopular, because it flies in the face of “cheap grace” and pop gospel. Nevertheless, it is the way the Church has grown through the centuries. America may be ripe for judgment, but even in her last days the true followers of Jesus in this land can carry out the will of their Father.

So Peter states, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

Row Where You Are Supposed To Go

Mark 6:45-56

Jesus had blessed the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, with which the Disciples had fed the 5,000 men (plus women and children). They had then gathered up 12 baskets full of the fragments, one basket for each of them. According to John, at this point the crowd was ready to capture Jesus and forcefully make him their king. They had clearly realized that Jesus was the source of the food.

Jesus instructed the Disciples to get into the boat and cross the lake to Bethsaida, which is on the northeast corner of the lake. This put His physical location possibly somewhere on the west shore, in a hilly location; John hints that it is close to Tiberias. Then he went up into the “mountain” to pray, and the sun set on the Disciples rowing out into the lake.

The crowd may have lain down where it was, confident that they had Jesus trapped, but in the middle of the night He ceased his prayer and looked out onto the lake, where he saw the Disciples about 3-4 miles away. They were not making much progress toward Bethsaida — not quite halfway there, since the wind was blowing directly against them. It seems there were waves and wind, but no clouds or rain. A clear but windy night. Jesus walked out onto the lake toward them.

If the boat was built like a modern rowboat, the rowers would be facing the rear. Thus they might have seen Jesus coming toward them from a good way off. John mentions something interesting : they seem to have changed course, and were suddenly pulling toward Capernaum, on the northwest end of the lake! That they were afraid of what they thought was a ghost is in the text. Did they decide out of fear to disobey Jesus and head for safety? Mark says that Jesus was about to walk past them. He was headed for Bethsaida, where He had told them to go. If we disobey, will He continue to operate without us?

They seem to have been panic-stricken, but the immediate cause of their panic is not entirely clear. It may have been the idea of a spirit there on the lake with them. That seems to be the reassurance He is extending when He identifies Himself. Matthew says that at this point Peter challenged Jesus to prove who He is by asking Peter to come to Him, which He did, and Peter, dear boisterous Peter, jumped out of the boat. Matthew does not say how many steps Peter took before he realized he was in over his head. What we do know is that he was going down, and he cried out “LORD, save me”, just as so many other people do when they find themselves in trouble.

Based on the wording of the text in Matthew, it is quite possible that Peter did not really believe that it was Jesus until Jesus grabbed him and asked him why he had doubted. Then John says the Disciples eagerly accepted Him into the boat, and the wind stopped blowing as soon as He stepped in.

They were amazed for two reasons : [1] it had actually been Jesus walking on the water, and [2] the wind had stopped as soon as they were on the same course that Jesus was taking. Remember, they had been instructed to go to Bethsaida. Verse 52 says that their hearts were hardened to the point that they did not consider that the same obedience that had been so important in feeding the 5,000 was necessary even for a simple task like taking a boat ride to the other side of the lake. Despite the headwind, Jesus had ordered them to a specific task, which they had failed to complete because of their unbelief. The miracle of the loaves was important because they had followed instructions. By now, having been Disciples and having seen people healed, raised from the dead, and demons cast out, it would be anticipated that they would obey One Whom they would acknowledge, “Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.”

As soon as the wind stopped, they found themselves ashore at Gennesaret, which was not their original destination. But Gennesaret is about 2 miles southwest of Capernaum, 4 miles directly north of Tiberias. That is where the mob found him the next day.

Verse 36 is sometimes cited as a “formula” for healing, since it seems to have a counterpart in apostolic ministry in Acts 19:12. The woman in Mark 5:28 seems to have started something which followed Jesus about in His ministry. She may have been operating in faith, considering Jesus to be her High Priest, since the bells of the hem of the High Priest’s robe were there to preserve life (Exodus 28:31-35). Unfortunately, we have no description of Jesus’ robe except at the crucifixion, where it was described as “without seam, woven from the top throughout.” (John 19:23). Too bad we have no idea what color it was, or how its hem was decorated. Sometimes we think that because something “works”, it is the right thing to do, as the crowds did. Nevertheless, while God may honor “magic” or “superstitious” beliefs in order to eventually draw some to salvation, our calling is to faith without sight, that we might please Him.

Obedience is crucial. The wind may be blowing us backwards as we strive to obey, but His word remains, “Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid.”

Slavery In the United States

One of the more interesting concepts which I have recently entertained is that of modern-day slavery in the United States. According to folklore, the Civil War and the Reconstruction Congress brought to an end the practice of human slavery. Not only did Lincoln issue his Emancipation Proclamation, but also, after his death, an Amendment, the Thirteenth Amendment, was added to the Constitution which states,

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

A very nice piece of work, that one. The only people who were to be legally enslaved were those who had been convicted of a crime. It seems reasonable on the face, but much hinges on the definition of a crime. Turn-about may have seemed fair play, in an age when participation by people of certain States in the War Between the States was a crime. Logically, then, once a person commits a crime, he is liable to be enslaved.

However, the politicians had grander plans in mind, and they then cooked up the Fourteenth Amendment. It begins,

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. “

Without doubt, those who voted to adopt that Amendment considered its language quite salutary. Bobby Burns, however, would have shaken his head sadly, thinking of mice and men, and the citizens thus made never dreamed that they had been Grubered, long before they ever heard of Gruber^[1].

Consider the concept of fiefdom, and the Divine Right of Kings. (Yes, that ancient doctrine which fanned the flames of the American Revolution, growing from the arrogance of King James to the haughty disregard for the rights of Englishmen by the German Georges!) In days of old, when knights were bold (supposedly) and serfs sought protection from various and sundry bandits, it was the practice to bind oneself to a local poobah for protection. He would provide the bodyguards, and the serf would serve him for life. Not only that, the serf would serve the descendants of the noble (weren’t they, though!) and the serfs descendants also would be bound by the oath of fealty. Eureka — citizenship!

Of course, it did not start in the Middle Ages. The system was at work from the dawn of history. All it took was one person with bigger muscles than his fellows, and the stage was set. In fact, I posit that slave-making is an older profession than prostitution. (Short course. Prostitution makes no sense in any society where women are chattel and can be had for the taking. Prostitution grew out of religious fertility rites; a man went to the temple of the fertility god or goddess, paid for the privilege of the rite, and that was that. Wherever the fertility rites were practiced, it made more sense to go to the temple than to engage a sole proprietor. Better benefits since the thinking was that society would be enriched by better crops, etc. More bang for the buck, so to say. Union rules, and all that. But I digress. My point is that slave-making is the oldest profession.)

Over time, the relationship formalized. Nation-states and kingdoms made extensive use of the principle of fealty. If you were born in a kingdom, you were a citizen (subject) belonging to that king. To leave the kingdom was an act of treason. You didn’t go visit faraway places without both an invitation (a visa) or permission from your liege (a passport?). Think Iron Curtain, with no West to run to. Even the English yeoman was a slave; those who attempted to leave the island without the king’s permission were imprisoned, and possibly tortured and executed, if they were caught. Merchant seamen voyaged under royal charters. It helps to explain why exploration of new lands was mainly left to barbarians like the Viking (fealty only to the boat captain). It also helps to explain why it was that the New World was seen as a good dumping ground for criminals and other societal rejects (like religious dissidents).

With that as a background, I come to the early 20th Century. In 1903, a young man of 21 years, my grandfather, left the province of Vojvodina in Austria-Hungary after apprenticing in Budapest as a tailor. He was fortunate in that he was able to afford an exit visa. He landed at Ellis Island with $2 in his pocket. As soon as he could (1908), he filed a Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States. In that declaration he states that he renounces forever “all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to Francis Joseph, Apostolic King of Hungary, of which I am now a subject”. He had been born a liege subject of the Hapsburg family. He was still their slave. What is striking to me is that the Declaration which he signed, he signed as his own Declaration of Independence. Or so he may have thought.

Consider this. Every person born in the United States, whether to a citizen or non-citizen, becomes on birth subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. It does not require any effort; in fact, in order to become free from that jurisdiction, a person must file a renunciation of citizenship. Then, if the person has any possessions whatsoever (or even if he has no possessions whatsoever!), he must file with the IRS to see if he has to pay the exit tax. That’s right. The Expatriation Tax.

On the IRS website, we read, “The expatriation tax provisions under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) sections 877 and 877A apply to US citizens who have renounced their citizenship and long-term residents (as defined in IRC 877(e)) who have ended their US resident status for federal tax purposes.” Also, “The Internal Revenue Service reminds practitioners that anyone who has expatriated or terminated his U.S. residency status must file Form 8854, Initial and Annual Expatriation Information Statement, and its Instructions. Form 8854 must also be filed to comply with the annual information reporting requirements of IRC 6039G, if the person is subject to the alternative expatriation tax under IRC 877 or IRC 877A. A $10,000 penalty may be imposed for failure to file Form 8854 when required.” $10,000 for failure to file, whether liable for tax or not!

Just a few days ago, I read the interesting information that Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, England, had settled with the IRS over his inheritance taxes. Yes, it seems that Boris was born in the Land of the Free and never renounced his citizenship. Ergo, even though a citizen of Great Britain and Mayor of London, he had failed to file his annual tax returns.

So now you know. If you were born in the United States, Uncle Sam owns you. If you leave without filing the required tax form, you have committed a crime. Under tax treaties around the world, his long skinny arm can reach out to grab you by the neck anywhere you try to flee. Birthright citizenship is a scam. You are his slave. Welcome to Gruber’s world.

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[1]n.b. For those yet unenlightened, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, frequently referred to as one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act (aka “ObamaCare”) who stated that the health care tax created by the act would be collected through the insurance companies and passed on to the people in higher insurance premiums because "the American people are too stupid to understand the difference”.

Immigration Reform - Thorns and Roses

For all the people who like to quote “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”,

don’t forget that when it was written, the major East Coast door for immigration was Ellis Island. My grandfather and grandmother landed there, after being judged suitable for admission in a consulate overseas, and were allowed to actually come ashore after passing an immigration physical there. The wretched refuse was a select wretched refuse.

It has been 131 years since that poem was written, and much has changed in the world. The United States of 1883 had no social welfare programs, no significant unemployment problem, and vastly fewer rules as to how a newcomer could begin building a new life.

Both my mother and mother-in-law were immigrants from Canada. Despite the similarity between the two countries, both my father and my father-in-law were required to post bonds to bring their brides to this land; they had to guarantee that their wives would not become burdens to our society.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law sponsored many immigrants after the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, paying the bonds required and guaranteeing that the refugees would be found jobs and be taken care of privately (not at taxpayer expense!) until they were on their feet.

The laws that applied then have been liberalized to a great extent, yet in spite of that, the nation is awash in immigrants who have thumbed their noses at the rule of law and simply moved in. The demagogues have demanded that taxpayers care for them and give them “rights” and privileges that many native-born citizens cannot avail themselves of. Meanwhile, there have been those honest and conscientious seekers of America who have attempted to follow the rules and have been stymied by bureaucratic red tape and understaffing of the offices which should be processing their paperwork.

We are long overdue for a revamping of our immigration process. Consider three current categories of newcomers.

First, the native-born children of immigrants, whether by legal or illegal entry. These are possessors of birthright citizenship, and should not be denied any of the rights and privileges of a native-born citizen. Call them “Dreamers” if you wish, but citizens they are. Being citizens, they should behave like citizens, and uphold our laws. Shame on any citizen who ignores the law.

Secondly, the immigrant who wishes to follow the rules and become a law-abiding citizen. A new category should be devised for these folks, perhaps on the lines of the old “Landed Immigrant” status which was granted to newcomers to Canada. These people would apply for admission in a consulate in their native land, with either a U.S. citizen sponsor willing to provide a job and support (or alternatively, with sufficient self-funding to accomplish the same). Upon completion of a five-year residency, demonstration of ability to communicate adequately in English, successful passage of the citizenship test, and affirmation of allegiance to the Constitution, the “Landed Immigrant” would become a new citizen with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of a native-born citizen, saving serving as President of the United States.

The third category, the immigrants who have flooded the country illegally, should be allowed to come out from the shadows under strictly specified conditions. Those who would be willing to register and submit to a physical and criminal background check would be granted a “Visitor’s Card”, which would permit them to work and conduct business in the same way as a citizen. However, they would be strictly prohibited from becoming citizens unless they returned to their native land and made application like any other “Landed Immigrant”. This would apply to the relatives of all native-born citizens equally; if they wish to become citizens, they must follow the legal procedure.

Provision of the “Visitor’s Card” would not be “amnesty”. It would be a means of bringing the underground immigration movement out of the shadows. Holders of the “Visitor’s Card” would not be eligible for social assistance programs of any type, since that card would confer no privileges beyond being able to legally be present in the country for work, study, or vacation.

Since the “Visitor’s Card” would empower the immigrant to find employment, those who would employ anyone who was not either a citizen or a possessor of the proper documentation would be subject to stiff penalties, beginning with fines, for employing an undocumented worker. This would apply to domestic workers as well as commercial workers. An undocumented visitor who was found to be employed would be subject to immediate deportation. It would be the employer’s responsibility to verify employment eligibility, and a “whistleblower” program to help enforce that would not be unreasonable, possibly funded out of the fines. Legally eligible workers would pay taxes, including social security, medicare, and medicaid, and would be eligible for benefits under those programs. They would also be required to meet the same responsibilities for obtaining healthcare insurance as any other taxpayer.

The United States has made enormous strides in the past half-century in equalizing opportunity for her residents. The key to maintaining the stability of that system is still the concept of “equal justice under the law”. We can still make the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” a part of our society, but their only guarantee that the freedom will last is if we hold fast to the laws of our land. Bring the people who have broken the law out from the shadows, give them an opportunity to live in freedom, but do not under any circumstances treat any people differently because of their skin color, religion, or national origin, or simply because we lack the will to preserve our American uniqueness as the “golden door”.

Beezy Summer

This year I started my pepper and tomato seeds around the second week of March, using old broasted chicken containers (the ones with the clear plastic lids) as mini-greenhouses for sprouting. Within 2 weeks the seedlings were big enough to pot, and this year I used clear plastic 9 ounce cups as pots instead of the little paper cups. Three 1/8 inch holes were drilled in the bottom of each. The resulting plants were the healthiest seedlings I have ever raised.

Spring was late in coming -- too much cold weather due to global warming -- and it was late May before I could set any plants out safely. Meanwhile, I was shown some interesting things that are being done with container gardening, so I decide to experiment with that a bit. I turned some old mayonnaise jars into mini-containters:

Those seemed a bit small for normal sized plants, so I recycled some Folgers coffee cans.

Each can was supplied with a 2 inch high ring of 4 inch perforated drainpipe. The ring would serve as a stand-off to produce a water storage chamber.

That made a base for the next component, a spare coffee can lid cut to fit just inside the can, and also supplied with a roughly 3 inch hole for a 9 ounce plastic drink cup (perforated with many 1/8 inch holes to allow water to get in), and a hole for the 1/2 inch filler pipe. This lid formed the bottom of the dirt container.

Here it is with the cup installed ...

... and here with the filler pipe.

Then it is topped with another lid. A 3/16 inch hole was drilled just below the lower lid (dirt base) as an overflow hole. I did not make it any bigger, because I did not want mosquitoes getting inside to breed.

Some say that once I get started, I don't have the good sense to know when to quit ...

So here it is, July, and the container seems to suit the cayenne peppers just fine.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, trouble is brewing, and I don't mean the coffee cans. The evening of May 28, HP called and said that Roger Webel was looking for me -- he had a swarm hanging in his apple tree. The next morning, before the sun got above the trees, with the temperature in the 50's and the grass wet with dew, I took my stepladder, a cardboard box with a lid, and a spray bottle with sugar water to Roger's house. I spritzed the swarm with the sugar water, put the box underneath, gave the branch a couple of hard shakes, and almost every one of the bees fell into the box. I put the lid on it, stuck it in the trunk of my car, and drove home. The box of bees was then dumped into an empty 8-frame super and covered. Two days later, they were working themselves to death.

However, it has been about 6 weeks since they moved in. Usually, a healthy hive, following the black locust and basswood bloom, will have bees overflowing the front entry. These have not been that prolific. And then, the other day, I noticed this :

Not so happy when the bees run around on the ground with frizzy wings.

So, Saturday I opened up the hive. The queen is laying well, and there is plenty of capped brood. I inserted some Apistan strips; if the mites aren't brought under control, the hive will die. By the end of August, hopefully, there will be plenty of healthy bees. I'll just have to feed them as much as I can to prep them for winter.

2013 Redux

When the Cipkar clan gathered in July 2011, the remainder of the first generation posed for what was to be their last group photo. From left, Aunt Mary (Cipkar) Miklovic, Aunt Betty behind Uncle Sam, Uncle George behind Mom, Aunt Katie and Uncle Mike Pohanka.

Aunt Sue Hlavac had been lowered into the Iler Cemetery the September before.

Grandma had rested at Colchester for over half a century, next to Uncle George's dad and Grandpa. Uncle George died just 2 days short of 62 years after his own father.

We had visited my cousin Cathy in the hospital at Windsor on the way to the reunion; she would go to Colchester in time for Christmas.

Aunt Mary (Miklovic) Cipkar was confined to the nursing home until next May.

In December of 2012, a year and 2 days after his oldest daughter, Uncle Sam would join Cathy at Colchester.

Then it would be Aunt Mary's turn in May,

Uncle George's turn in December, at Kingsville,

where he joined Aunt Helen

and Tommy

and Andy. Hard to believe I haven't seen those little guys in half a century.

Finally, Uncle Mike also in December.

So of the original batch only Mom and Aunt Katie are left.

And 2014 will mark Dad's 100th birthday.

I feel old.

Turning In The Keys

One of the sadder effects of the Bush/Obama Depression has been the phenomenon of numerous families losing their homes to foreclosure. The direct causes for the losses have been varied. Some have lost employment and have had to choose between eating and meeting their mortgage payments. Some have been transferred to a different location in order to keep their jobs, and not being able to pay for both the home in the old location and that in the new, have abandoned the old. Some have realized that the home they purchased at a high price has devalued and that they are paying on a mortgage loan which, in terms of the value ratio that once was and the one that now is, has an exorbitant and punitive effective interest rate.

The reasons are numerous. Walking away from a house and its attached debt, however, is a poor solution, and should be avoided at all costs. Granted, there are financial advisors who would argue differently, but the picture should be examined not just as an economic one but also as a moral, ethical, and spiritual one.

It is possibly true that the most egregious sin (if you don't like that word, I would advise that you stop reading now) in America is covetousness. That is an old-fashioned word that loosely translates into English Vulgate as "greed". It is the driving factor in the American economy. It is the desire to have what someone else has. Prohibited by the 10th Commandment, it is there stated as wanting one's neighbor's specific belongings.

That is a narrow reading of the Law. The underlying principle has to do with the fact that God is the giver of all good gifts. America in general rejects that concept. In the modern American economy, it is believed that those who work hard and smart get rich, and those who are lazy or weak remain poor. A man's wealth is evidence of his brains and brawn, a major factor in his self-steem and pride. Thus "keeping up with the Joneses" or better yet a little ahead of them, has become the American dream and greased the path to further sin. It matters not how often he goes to church; a little leaven does a great puffy amount of damage, and few are immune to the lure and ravages of such sin.

A consequence of this rampant covetousness is the willingness to sell one's self into slavery. There is a certain segment of our society that believes it has a corner on the discussion of slavery. Because their long-dead ancestors were abused by people also long-dead, they carry a grudge against anyone who does not belong to their culture group, all the while tolerating (and even encouraging) a form of slavery more insidious and debilitating. They have no monopoly on being slaves. The great majority of the American populace has joined them.

The concept of credit in a capitalistic culture has a number of nuances. At it's core, credit is used to facilitate trade. Trader A has a stock of widgets which he is offering at a set price, but will sell them in bulk with a discount if he can liquidate his stock. Trader B needs the widgets, but has left his gold at home. Trader A agrees to sell all his widgets right now, with Trader B promising to send the gold as soon as he gets home. He signs a note to that effect. On his way out of the market, Trader A spots a fat sheep for sale by Trader C. He has no money, but his family is hungry. He trades the note from Trader B to Trader C for the sheep. As long as Trader B keeps his promise to pay, everyone is happy. This is the essence of a banking economy.

There is no condemnation of such an economy in the Scripture. There are warnings, though. The borrower is the slave of the lender (Prov. 22:7). Failure to pay what is owed is considered to be fraud (Lev. 19:13, Rom. 13:7). Further, failure to keep a promise is a sin (Num. 30:2, Matt. 5:33) and the warning is given that promises should always be conditional (Matt.5:34-37, Jas. 5:12, Jas. 4:13-17).

In our society we rarely consider these things, carelessly agreeing to Terms and Conditions, whether in a software download or a loan, often without reading thoroughly what it is we are agreeing to. Thus, in my career, I have come across people like the lady who was having her house appraised for a HELOC, not even knowing that her fully paid-for home would become the collateral (the loan officer, she said, had told he it was a good idea to take out the loan). Or like the man who became angry when told that his home would be compared to homes that had recently sold. He saw no sense in that, because as he put it, he was not selling his home; he was blithely unaware that he would be signing a mortgage deed selling his home to the bank until the loan was paid.

In the past 6-7 years there have been hundreds of thousands of home foreclosures across the land. In some places, like California, if a debtor returns the collateral (hands the keys back to the bank), the debt is extinguished. In most other places, though, returning the keys, or worse yet just walking away from the property, creates headaches and potential headaches to follow a person for years and perhaps the rest of his or her life.

Ownership of real property is a privilege that is taken for granted in the United States. There are few other places in the world where it is so easy to become a land-owner with the rights and privileges available here. With those rights and privileges, though, come obligations. When a deed for title is recorded, the owner of the property becomes responsible for its upkeep, for paying the taxes, and for protecting visitors. When a loan against a property is made, the mortgage deed will spell out the need for the debtor to continue to do those things, or it will provide a means for the lender to do so.

Simply walking away from a home or other real estate because the burden of payment has become oppressive or the shine has worn off the ownership is a very bad idea. First and foremost is the aspect of sin. To promise to pay, and to renege on that promise, is sin. It matters not that one has lost the ability to pay, or that the interest rate suddenly appears usurious, or that the grass is simply greener elsewhere. To break a promise is sin.

There are other consequences that are generally not considered. The bank holding the mortgage will not usually allow the property to deteriorate, and for this reason most high LTV mortgages have escrow accounts to pay the taxes and insurance. If the debtor defaults on his payment, the bank simply continues to protect the property, and adds the cost to the loan. The debtor goes deeper into debt. If the bank does not have such an account, the debtor incurs even greater risk. If the insurance lapses and the house burns, the total cost of the damage becomes the debtor's. If someone trespasses on the property, is injured, and sues, the debtor becomes fully liable for the lawsuit. If the utilities are turned off and the pipes freeze, ultimately the cost of any repairs will accrue to the debtor. If the house is vacant and vandals enter it, damaging it or dealing or manufacturing drugs, the clean-up costs accrue to the debtor. Walking away and leaving the home empty is a recipe for disaster.

Ultimately, after default, the bank generally forecloses. That is not, however, always the case. If damage to the home is great, and taxes have accrued to a considerable extent, the bank may allow the home to be sold at tax sale. The title will transfer, but the debt will not go away. If the bank does foreclose, the house may be sold by the bank at a substantial loss. The proceeds of the sale may not be sufficient to cover the debt plus the legal costs to the bank; the debtor most likely did not read the mortgage papers carefully and may not realize that the debt has not gone away.

I have heard of advice given that there is nothing to worry about in such cases. A prevailing feeling seems to be that the bank will not do much beyond sending threatening notices. This has often been the case until recently. Lately there has been an uptick in suits to recover damages from defaulted borrowers, and suits to recover damages from appraisers who fraudulently inflated values on appraisals so that the loans could be made. There is no statute of limitations for fraud; some of those appraisals were done 6-8 years ago and are just now going to trial. A sleeping dog may look like it is just lying there, but beware that it is not plotting revenge.

My advice to any homeowner who is no longer able to pay on the mortgage is to stay put. Keep the home in good repair. Keep it insured, with the utilities on. If, ultimately, the bank evicts the homeowner in the foreclosure process, the eviction will come after the filing of the foreclosure deed and the bank will have to take the responsibility for upkeep. In some cases, it may even be possible to work out a rental agreement until the bank is able to sell the home. All these things will work to minimize the size of the balance remaining on the debt.

Meanwhile, if the problem is due to not having enough income to cover the mortgage, it will be worthwhile to seek legal counsel regarding filing bankruptcy. I do not recommend bankruptcy unless it is absolutely necessary. It is too often seen as a means of escaping debt. Never forget that even if a bankruptcy proceeding is successful, and protection from creditors is afforded, the debts are not erased. If someone has promised to pay, he is morally obligated to pay -- it is sin to not pay, even if the court states that only a percentage is required to be paid back. Never confuse what is legal with what is right.

Bankruptcy carries a stigma, and it is true that for a number of years it may affect a person's ability to purchase things on credit, or even to rent a home. Eventually, however, the bankruptcy is cleared off the credit records, and life can return to normal. The debtor is required to pay the amounts judged by the courts, and can also arrange to pay the debt in full as opportunity arises. It is not a good thing to endure, but the debtor is protected so he can do what is right in the course of time.

But what if the debtor decides to not seek bankruptcy? What if the debtor allows the lender to proceed with a suit for judgment? Some people say this is not likely to happen. I say, it is more likely than not to happen. In such a case, without the protection of a bankruptcy judgment, the lender is free to garnish the wages of the debtor until the debt is paid. There may never be enough money left in such cases for the debtor to start over and get back on his feet. The judgment may follow him all his life; it will also touch the lives of any people who might enter into contracts or relationships with him. Deficiency judgments are meant to be punitive. Avoid them if at all possible.

Ersatz Theologies, etc.

Eschatology is a consuming passion in certain evangelical Christian circles, with all manner of positions on what will happen in the future. It is almost as though the core belief in those groups is that the Bible is a day planner for future events.

My recent readings in Daniel (part of the annual romp through the whole Bible), the Apocalypse (currently in the Sunday Bible study series), and Mark ( I definitely plan to finish the sermon series in that Gospel, if I live long enough) have brought together some interesting observations.

Just so that no one is horribly shocked by what I write later, I will shock them now and get it over with. Bek will not be happy, but we have had this talk before -- here it comes. I do not believe that Jesus is going to descend from the sky and take away His church so they do not have to go through "The Great Tribulation". That's right. I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist, I don't follow Millerite or Darbyite theology, and I firmly state that a Scofield Bible is not a King James version (King James would have had Scofield executed for inserting all those comments). My theology is somewhere post-Reformation, pre- Second Great Awakening, non-Arminian, very literal in translation from the Koine, and as Hebraic as the Septuagint will permit. In short, I am a non-dispensational Calvinistic Anabaptist, however one may think that to be an impossibility.

Now, as to the 19th and 20th chapters of the Apocalypse, the scene is set at a point in the history of the world where the iniquities of "Babylon" have reached a crescendo and she has been destroyed. While the events of chapters 10-14 and 15-18 may be sequential they appear to be somewhat parallel and perhaps describe the same events but from different perspectives. The whole point of prophecy is not to function as a means whereby people can plan for the next event in sequence, but as a confirmation that God is the one who declares things before they occur -- He has planned the whole show, has absolute control over the actions of the players, and has provided the prophecy so that His people, after the fact, can point to it and say, "See, God said it would happen that way!".

Anyway, in chapter 19 John sees the sky open up and Jesus appears as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, arriving to (1) consummate His marriage to the Church and (2) begin his thousand year rule over the Earth as King of Israel, with Satan bound in a long orbit to the regions beyond the solar system and back (OK -- that last part is my take on it, but I have no better frame of reference for a bottomless pit). This event is the Rapture. I do not believe the Scripture teaches multiple Second Comings of Christ.

Chapter 20 gives a short summary of the Millennium -- the Church reigns with Christ (her bridegroom) over His kingdom, centered in Israel, with reinstatement of the Temple worship in a golden age with all the rest of the Earth subject to Israel (see Ezekiel and Zechariah for more definitive statements). The cataclysmic event of chapter 19 is then referred to by John as The First Resurrection. Here is where it gets a bit dicey. If we correlate this to Paul's statements in his letters to the Thessalonian church, it is the dead in Christ, along with those who remain alive at that point, who are caught up with Him in The First Resurrection. That is, all those believers who have died from the time Jesus rose, along with any who might be yet surviving The Great Tribulation.

That presents several problems in modern American evangelical theology (the pre-Tribulation Rapture appears to have been invented by J. N. Darby around 1828 and was popularized by Scofield ), since there are even songs about meeting Old Testament saints in the air. Paul doesn't say that. He says, "in Christ", and while those saints may have anticipated Messiah, they were not "in Christ". This may even be referenced by the statement of the angel to Daniel, “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”

In chapter 20, at the end of the thousand years, Satan shows up again, is unbound, and instigates rebellion against Messiah. The armies of the entire world surround Messiah's capital, and God sends a fireball which slags the entire earth -- no survivors among the people who are not part of the First Resurrection. The stage is set for judgment before the Great White Throne, the books, including the Book of Life, are opened, and anyone not found in the Book of Life is tossed into the Lake of Fire.

It is at this point, the Second Resurrection, I think that the Old Testament saints, "all Israel" (Romans 11), and even Millennial proselytes, are raised to eternal life in imperishable bodies. Thus Daniel has his hope consummated "at the end of the days". This solves a thorny eschatological problem.

To many evangelicals, only the First Resurrection is a resurrection to life. In pre-Trib theology, the difficulty then becomes, "What about the people who become believers and are killed for their faith during the Great Tribulation? (Apoc. 7:14)?", and, "What about people who are killed for not worshipping the Beast (Apoc. 13:15)?" These are particularly troubling for two reasons. (1) Pre-Tribbers believe that the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, with the Church, at the Rapture. This produces a doctrinal conundrum, since Jesus said that no one could come to Him unless the Father drew him, and that the rebirth is a work, not of men, but of the Holy Spirit. How could those people be saved without being born again? (2) Since, in their theology, only the First Resurrection is a resurrection to life, and the post-Trib "born again without the Spirit" believers missed that one, they have had to invent a corollary -- the Continuous Resurrection, which lasts for the 7 years until the tribulation ends. In the Continuous Resurrection, if a "born again without the Spirit" believer dies, he immediately rises to new life. Neither of these concepts has any serious Scriptural foundation, a consequence of Darby's invention.

The Scripture simply states that those not found written in the Book of Life suffer the second Death. It does not say the Second Resurrection is only a resurrection to damnation. It does not say that a person resurrected in the Second Resurrection could not be found in the Book of Life. Getting rid of those misconceptions does away with a number of eschatological problems.

Now what about Mark? In all the Gospel accounts of Jesus speaking about the latter days, he warns his disciples that many would come saying, "εγώ είμι" -- the same thing which He had told the Pharisees and for which they wanted to stone Him. His warning was not intended to let them do future planning, but to alert them to the idea that when He would return, it would be unmistakable, impossible to ignore, and totally unexpected. They were not to fall for any imposters. Paul's letters also bear that out; he further states that for the believers, the day would NOT come as a thief. Sometimes sticking to the actual wording of the Scripture does not make for good sales of popular books and movies.

So now I am fully out of my cave. God is still in charge, and I will stick with sola scriptura, leaving the fables to others.