Oh Please . . . Ever Wonder Why Some Are Being Spied On?

"Oh, p u l l e a s e!!!" Take a look at the article. Their letter to the NYC Mayor can also be read from the article itself (you really should take a look at that too and you read this, and the attached link). And here's my comment on the letter: "Oh, cry me a river."

There are good reasons why police departments keep a close eye on people. I know all Muslims are not terrorists. But the fact remains that almost all terrorists are Muslims. The police have no real choice but to use this approach.

As an immigrant from Europe living in Canada now for close to sixty years, I know that if Greeks were the ones who were being caught and found guilty of terrorist acts in Canada or the U.S., I would expect the police to keep a close eye on me. No questions asked.  And I'd continue to keep my nose clean.

Why? Because they care about protecting the community and the country as a whole -- and that my dear Muslim friends, who seem to be complaining so much, includes those of you who are being watched, but are innocent.

So please take a page out of the approach that some Muslims have and start going to events like the mayor's -- and stop whining. Think of what so many other faiths go through around the world in countries run by Islamic groups. Be thankful you're where you are and welcome to America.

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BBC News - Muslims boycott Mayor Bloomberg's interfaith breakfast

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Where Have All the Gideon Bibles Gone? Going?

Here's an article from the mainstream, liberal leaning Globe and Mail. So, again, read it for what it is.

But I wanted you to note some of their "writing intended to form a subtle impression in the readers' minds". For example, "The board (involved) will either end up banning distributin of non-instructional religious materials, she (Board chair) said, or devise an inclusive policy that complies with the Education Act, human rights codes and the charter. The latter option is tricky, she admitted." Implication?

Simple: The G&M is subtly suggesting the only way to go is to ban the distribution of Bibles. And the rest of argument is written in such a way that says, "ban the practice".

I say let them give out any faith's religious materials. The Bible has no equals. Take a look.

Handout of Gideon Bibles in public schools ignites passions over tradition - The Globe and Mail

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RNC's Plan For Beating Obama in 2012

It just may work. It should work. Let's be positive and give full credit to the American people for being smarter than Obama thinks they are -- so, it will work!

RNC Memo: Here's How We're Going To Beat Obama

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An Excellent Article on "God's Call" and How to Discern It For You.

Here's a top-notch article on hearing God's Call today. Take a look. You may still have a chance to obey.

Ministry Matters™ | Articles | God's Call


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State Trooper Bob Welsh Share's His Amazing Christmas Eve Stories.

Thanks to my friend Harry A. in Greece for sending this one in. It's worth every moment of it -- and pay attention to the names. I know Christmas is over for this year, but this story needs to be remembered all year long.

Bob Welsh - My Christmas Eve - YouTube

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157 Rabbis sign "The Torah Declaration" on Homosexuality. Excellent.

Going strongly and directly against the three-year long campaign of President Obama's administration to push for homosexuality education and other things in our schools, and elsewhere, these 157 rabbis so far and more to come, stand up and out for a sound approach to homosexuality in our society today. Take a look.

TorahDec | Home


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Boy disciplined after waving pizza slice that looked like -- wait for it, a . . . gun. The world is insane.

Liberal leftist America has gone into overdrive and it's doing it through the schools. Abortion and homosexuality is okay, but waving a pizza slice that others thought looked like a picture of a gun is not. Oh, you're good Obama White House. Your cronies are doing a great job out there. And yes, I blame you guys for the philosophy that's hitting America these days.

Boy disciplined after waving gun-shaped pizza slice - WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather and Sports |


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More on Obamacare's "Conscience Clause" Exclusions. School sues the Feds.

These articles speak for themselves. Churches are exempt from being required to cover "Plan B" and other similar abortion equivalent birth control for their employers. But what about Christian Universities or Missions, etc. A lawsuit will determine this it looks like. Here are the details.

WORLD Magazine | New lawsuit | Emily Belz | Dec 26, 11

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An Open Letter to a Newborn Son

This pastor says it all as he tells his son "that you almost weren't." Read on. . . .

An Open Letter to a Newborn Son, Christian News

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Our Marxist Wizard of Oz -- Some call this the best critique of Obama yet. His fans need to read it.

I say no more. If Americans, re-elect this man, they deserve everything they will get.

The American Spectator : Our Marxist Wizard of Oz

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The Blessing - Genesis 48:15-16

And he blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Joseph was expecting his father, Jacob, to bless his two sons when he put his hands on their head, but instead, the text says, “he blessed Joseph”.  I like that.  I understand it.  The love and blessings that my aged father bestowed on my children were indeed a blessing to me.  And so it should be.  We are to view the continuum of family through adjacent generations and beyond as a gift from God.  This is reinforced when Jacob talks about his “fathers Abraham and Isaac” seemingly describing them as belonging to one and the same category, “my fathers”.

The joy of remembering one’s fathers or ancestors is multiplied when we can say like Jacob, that they walked before God.  And it is exponentially increased when we can honestly declare that this same God has been and still is the “shepherd of my life”.  Jacob was able to do just that.  I can only say this about my father; I do not know of my grandfather’s faith.  It is my desire that my son and daughters can say it about their “fathers”.  That would be a great delight for any man or woman.  Some are blessed with the knowledge of that assurance for even more generations.  Others will never share that joy.  Their only recourse at this point, is through their own faith, they see to it that their children get a chance to say that about their ‘father’.  Whatever your situation is, you can resolve to walk before God and cling to Him as your shepherd.

And Jacob’s blessing, interestingly enough, seems to suggest how we can do just that. It includes the fact that it was God who had “redeemed (him) from all evil.”  Even in the Old Testament, before the human birth of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, God Himself could redeem us.  Jacob had given his life to obeying God and God redeemed him.  It is the same for us today.  We obey God when we accept His Son as our Savior.  At that point we are saved. We then continue to serve Him throughout our lives.

And with that saving God as his Redeemer, Jacob blesses his son Joseph and Joseph’s sons.  The blessing that Jacob bestows on Ephraim and Manasseh is twofold.

First, it is his desire that the boys keep the memory of their grandfather (Jacob himself), their great-grandfather (Isaac) and their great-great-grandfather (Abraham) alive, as they live.  This is, first and foremost, a human attempt at what most of mankind pursues – the desire to be remembered after one is gone.  My dad would often respond to my question, “Dad, why are you doing that for the kids? They have enough; they don’t need it,” by simply saying, “Because I want them to remember me.”  Almost everything he did for his grandchildren was with that sole purpose in mind.  I see that same attitude popping up occasionally in my own dealings with my grandchildren.  It is natural.

In Jacob’s case, however, his desire to be remembered was also expressed on behalf of his own father and grandfather.  Thus, I am led to believe that it was more of the honorable desire to keep alive their memory with respect to how they “walked with God”.  Jacob believed that God’s promise to his grandfather was dependent on the children of Israel continuing their walk with God.  He wanted to do all he could to ensure that would happen.  That is a very normal desire.  As Christian parents and grandparents, we so much want our children and grandchildren to walk with God throughout their lives because we know from experience that the alternative leads to either emptiness or destruction, or both.

Before we leave this section, we would be amiss not to mention the great commentator Matthew Henry’s take on this verse.  He writes: “Though they were born in Egypt, and their father was then separated from his brethren, which might seem to have cut them off from the heritage of the Lord, yet Jacob takes them in, and owns them . . .” Henry continues, “It is as if he were saying ‘Let them not succeed their father in his power and grandeur here in Egypt, but let them succeed me in the inheritance of the promise made to Abraham.’” Henry believed that Jacob looked upon that promise as much more valuable and honorable, and would have his grandchildren to prize and covet it accordingly. Henry writes: “Thus the aged dying patriarch teaches these young persons, now that they were of age . . . not to look upon Egypt as their home, nor to incorporate themselves with the Egyptians, but to take their lot with the people of God . . . Jacob will have Ephraim and Manasseh to believe that it is better to be low and in the church than high and out of it, to be called by the name of poor Jacob than to be called by the name of rich Joseph.”  I will leave it up to you to settle for yourself as to how much of this Jacob actually thought out.  Personally, I do believe that as grandparents we often look at what our own children have aspired to and accomplished, sometimes without the help of God and sometimes allowed by God, and we feel that their priorities were, in our estimation, a little off.  And we pray that things won’t get even further off kilter with their children, our grandchildren.  We pray that they will arise above the seduction of the physical world and move even closer towards God.  My wife’s mother expressed that sentiment just this week as we were talking about success and one’s income.  She was right in suggesting that while we need funds to live, money is not the purpose of our living.  Jacob wanted his grandchildren to understand that.

The second thrust of his blessing on Joseph’s sons had to do with their growing and multiplying on the earth.  That was partly for them and partly for the part that they would play in the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.  What we do note is that although Israel went to the extra trouble of crossing his arms over so that Ephraim would get blessed with his right hand, the blessing to both of his grandchildren was identical.  What remains to be seen is how Joseph reacted to what had just taken place.  We discover that in the next few verses of this chapter.

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Part II: More of Ayn Rand's Misconceptions as found in "The Fountainhead"

Well, here it is the day after Christmas, a religious holiday celebrated by millions and millions around the globe for centuries.  But Ayn Rand will have none of it -- she was an atheist.  But her errors unfortunately didn't follow her to the grave.  She continues to air them as if she was alive through her works.  Let me share with you yet one more:

Page 59.  Catherine Halsey is telling Peter Keating about her uncle and Rand has her saying, "A friend of his told me that Uncle could be a very rich man if he tried, he's so clever, but he won't, he just isn't interested in money."  To which Rand herself replies in the very domineering voice of Peter, "That's not human."  Miss Rand must have lived a very secluded life if she really believes that.  She must have never seen brilliant people with great potential give up their careers to serve God and man on the mission fields of her day.  She must have never experienced the stories of so many Sally Ann folks who could have done much better financially than the pittance they received running a Salvation Army program.  And the list goes on.   Ms. Rand may have been right -- it's not human to be uninterested in money.  But when you do it for the sake of others and God, it becomes superhuman -- something of which she allowed herself to discover and know very little of.

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Jacob Sets Up The Blessing - Genesis 48:13-14

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.  But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the first-born.

Let’s try to picture this.  Joseph takes the right hand of his younger son, Ephraim and puts it directly across towards Israel’s left hand.  He does the opposite with Manasseh, his older boy.  As he is doing this, Israel crosses his right hand over his left and moves it towards the head of Ephraim (the younger one), and takes his left hand, across his body to place it on the head of Manasseh (the older boy).  The significance of these brief two verses is all in the last phrase, “even though Manasseh was the first-born.”

The idea was for the oldest to get the first blessing; one we assume was usually delivered using the right hand of the one making the blessing.  David Guzik, in his study guide for Genesis 48, suggests, “The right hand in the Bible always has the idea of the favored position because generally speaking, the right hand is the hand of strength and skill.”  I am sure that our modern-day left-handers would disagree, but the fact remains the majority of the world is right-handed.  So, we’ll accept Guzik’s reasoning.

What is interesting here, though, is whether or not Jacob does this intentionally, and if so, why?  And also, how will both Joseph and Manasseh react?  We’ll find out soon enough as we study the verses that follow.  In the meantime, what are we to take from this short passage of scripture?  Let me suggest that it is simply this: As elders we need to be conscious of the need to bestow a blessing on our grandchildren.  As adults we need to value the blessings our parents bestow on our children.  As children we need to seek the blessing of our elders.  I think it is those blessings that somehow bind us together in a very unique and special way throughout the generations.   Have we blessed our children or grandchildren?  If not, perhaps we should do so before it’s too late.  It does not have to be done verbally.  It can be done in writing and as such, it can be something that will be treasured, remembered, and referred to for one’s entire life, and then passed on.  On this day after Christmas 2011, I have decided to make this very deed a New Year’s resolution for myself.  I will work hard in 2012 to write a blessing for my three children and currently my five grandchildren.  Will you join me in doing likewise for yours?




 
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Winning the war on Christmas

If you have been out and about this Christmas season and stood up for your right to say "Merry Christmas" -- you'll have noticed that it is more welcomed than recent years and many respond so joyfully in kind. Lorne Gunter seems to have noticed this as well, and writes about it. But if you read between the lines, he seems to be ticked off that it is so. If not, my apologies to Mr. Gunter, but he needs to stop writing ambiguously about his feelings. His a columnist for pete's sake, not a journalist -- although he could teach the latter a thing or two. Anyway, enjoy the results. Congratulations and let's keep up the good fight.

And by the way, the best way to do that is make Christmas real in our hearts, not just on our lips. Merry Christmas plus one.

Lorne Gunter: Winning the war on Christmas | Full Comment | National Post


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Godless societies: unfit for survival.

It is interesting to read how the "truth" is manifested to different people in our modern society. Thankfully, there are a few who are willing to share it. Lawrence Solomon takes a good stab at just that. Unfortunately he spends too much time on refuting the writings of an atheist who seemed to have gotten more famous on his death than during his lifetime. Still, he gives us an interesting perspective and one that does not bode well for the West.

Lawrence Solomon: Godless societies are unfit for survival | FP Comment | Financial Post

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Christmas at the Obama White House. Poor things.

No comment. Just one word: hypocrisy and one phrase: showing the world they really don't give a hoot.

Christmas at the Obama White House is a highly-decorated affair. by Andrew Malcolm - Investors.com

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Couldn't Resist: Sound Advice from the Obamas

America's first family is a perfect model for all of us. Take a look.

Joint weekly message has the Obama couple praising the troops and appealing for the poor. by Andrew Malcolm - Investors.com

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CNN Poll Results Overwhelming for "Merry Christmas"

Of course, the Networks aren't listening, and neither is Obama. What's wrong with these guys. Oh, I know -- they always for the minorities. How lovely. Wake-up Obama and smell the coffee. Start supporting the majority of people you are supposedly leading.

Americans still prefer ‘Merry Christmas’ over ‘Happy Holidays’ – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

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Grandma Didn't Make It for Christmas. TSA arranged for her to eat elsewhere.

You have to watch this. Maybe she'll be out in time to try again next year. Hope the rest of you though had a great Christmas.

Remy: Grandma Got Indefinitely Detained (A Very TSA Christmas) - YouTube

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Middle East: U.S. as 'manager' fails miserably. Israel points out errors.

As you'll see from this article -- every deadline was geared for Obama re-election, including "solving" the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Well, Obama ain't going to make in time and Israel has told him so, along with some other advice. What's interesting for us is that we've moved from possible "resolution" to simply "managing" the situation. But hatred and distrust can't be managed for long. Some people start to say, "enough is enough".  War has no win-win situations if we're really honest about it.

'US shifted from resolving to man... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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Yes, I Know It's Christmas; But to some Muslim sects it does not seem to matter.

Hey, I know it's Christmas and I should focus on the positive.   But I think we fool ourselves if we pretend it's a "holy night, silent night" around the world.  It is anything but.

This particular group is responsible for 495 killings to date this year alone, and they still have a week to go.  They'll likely hit 500.  But the West does not seem to care.   America is in the process of "global withdrawal" so that others -- our enemies -- can advance.  God help us all in the years ahead, especially under another term of an Abama-ination administration.  Let's pray God will spare us from that -- not that we deserve it might you. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/christmas-day-church-bombings-kill-39-in-nigeria/article2283238/

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John Maxwell Delivers The Real Goods This Christmas.

Today’s Word: GIFT | John Maxwell Team | A Minute With Maxwell | Free Video Opt In


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Pray for 2050 to Come. If we make it, trend says we'll outnumber Muslims 3 to 1.

I like Margaret Wente but I don't agree with her all the time. I like much of what she has to say here in this article. I certainly like what it says about how casually we treat being a Christian in the West. She gives us some good data on what's ahead.

God's far from dead in the global South - The Globe and Mail:

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David Frum on Jesus vs. Santa War

I never thought that David had this in him. Good article and it should make some of us Christians think really hard about what we do with Santa Claus.

David Frum on the real Christmas ‘war’: Jesus versus Santa | Full Comment | National Post

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Stephen Harper's half-hearted Christmas message.

More evidence as to why Father Raymond J. de Souza is getting more and more readers. This guy is really good. I put him right up there with Rex Murphy. And I think, as much as I am a fan of the Conservatives, de Souza is bang on with respect to this issue. Take a look.  Is this the thin edge of the wedge for the Harper government or was it just a big mistake?

Stephen Harper's half-hearted Christmas message | Full Comment | National Post

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Jacob Asks To Bless Joseph’s Sons - Genesis 48:8-12

When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”  And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.”  So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.”  Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see.  Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.  And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.”  Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground.

During the visit of Joseph and his two sons to the bedside of the aged and unwell Jacob, the patriarch also known as Israel, asks Joseph about the two boys with him.  Joseph replies that these are the sons that God has given to him.  What a joy that must be for an aged father to hear one of his grown-up sons say that his children are a blessing from God.  To know that our children recognize that God is the giver of all good things is truly a remarkable experience and speaks volumes not only for those that utter such words but also for those who have raised them.

And Jacob then asks them to be brought closer to him so that he may bless them.  The text says his eyes were “dim from age that he could not see”.  When I first emigrated from Greece as a young boy of five, a dear Christian lady decided to be my “Canadian mother” and she and her family saw to it that I went to Sunday School and grew up in the church.  Margaret Williams is still alive, lives on her own in the same house, and I get a chance to visit her regularly.  She was born on July 21, 1914 and is now in her 98^th year of life.  She can only see blurry shapes.  She has to touch my arms when I go to see her and feel the various things people bring her.  Her daughter has to write the emergency phone numbers for her in literally gigantic print on cardboard in case she needs to use them.  Still, at her advanced age, she refuses to move in with family or go to a seniors’ home.  With the exception of the last statement, I imagine good old Israel was like that.  And he very much wanted to bless his grandchildren.

So Joseph brings them up close and Jacob kisses and embraces them.  Then Israel (Jacob) tells his son that not only did he never expect to see him again, but God has blessed him by allowing him to see Joseph’s sons as well.  That is a double-portion of being blessed in Israel’s eyes.

This portion of scripture ends with Joseph directing the boys away from him, placing them near his father, and bowing down before his father with his face to the ground.  Even though he was a high and mighty ruler in Egypt all these years, and away from his father for so long, he still had, and demonstrated, reverence for Jacob.  This past week leading up to Christmas we hear a lot on the news about seniors in our community and in our lives – elders living alone, or the treatment of the very old in hospitals, how we will be accommodating our aged parents for the holidays, etc.  We would do well to remember Joseph’s regard for his aged father.  Parents are part of God’s plan for our lives.  They don’t stop being “our parents” – not if they’re old, not if they’re sick, not even if they’ve left us.  God makes them “our parents” for life.  And I believe He does so more for our benefit and growth, than for theirs.

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Here Are The Signs That Point to Now Being a Time to Attack Iran.

Robert Johnson, writing for Business Insider takes us through a series of events and situations that say, although attacking Iran may not be a good thing -- if the U.S. is ever going to do it, this may be the time. Take a look. Where there's smoke, there's likely an opportunity to cause fire. (That's my own version.) Here are the details.

A Look At What May Be The Foundation For A U.S. Attack On Iran

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Christians in MIddle East Like Aliens from Mars.

A must read account by Steve Huntley in the Chicago Sun-Times.  He shares how over the years more and more Christians have fled the Middle East where religious freedom continues to ebb.  It's really bad in Saudi Arabia with a death sentence being one's reward for conversing on Christianity.   Arab Spring was no 'liberation party' for Christians.  The only thing released for them was the right to be be murdered.

And then there's the election results that followed in Egypt -- 60% plus for Muslim Brotherhood or worse.  Israel's West Bank and the Gaza Strip had Christians making up 5.3% of the population in 1970 and now it's less than half of that.  And where Jesus was born, Bethlehem -- the Christian population went from almost 100% to 33% in just 35 years.

Sharia Law is being applied against Christians everywhere in those parts, including Iraq and Iran.  Get the details in the article in the link.

And don't miss the article's closing paragraph.  It identifies Islam for what it is -- "political, revolutionary Islamism" that has no use for religious freedom.

As a result, Christians are running for their lives but so far, especially with America tolerating this behavior they way they have been, I see no safe place for them to go.  But maybe that's all in God's plans for us.  After all, "He is our (only) refuge and our strength."

Christians are under fire in the historic Holy Land - Chicago Sun-Times

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What Will A Young Saudi learn in school today? How about graphic lessons on cutting off hands and feet of thieves.

Last I checked, this was 2012 and yet this goes on. I'll let you read it all on your own -- but keep the young ones away. But as you read, pay attention to public relations garbage that goes along with it. Take a look at the last two paragraphs in particular. Of course, Obama and his administration walk away from all this as well -- preferring to call Islam a peaceful religion. Let's hope our children are more ready to fight for their lives than we are willing to fight for them so far.

Extremist Teachings Remain In Saudi Textbooks Despite Kingdom's Claims Of Reform | Fox News

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French Muslim jailed for punching nurse who tried to remove wife's burqa during childbirth.

He calls the 'midwife' a "rapist" and then punches out the nurse who has helping deliver his wife's baby. Now he gets six months in jail at the expense of the public. When will this madness ever stop? Good for France courts in taking this action. Is Obama watching? No, instead he's sending out his Department of Justice to go after police forces who are using too much force in his opinion against minorities. Anything to help the Islamist terrorists, to degrade Christianity, and to weaken the U.S. of America. Oh, did I mention to draw attention away from his problems, like the issue on "Fast and Furious" give away of money to failing corporations. But he can do that, he's the king, ah, president of the faltering towers. Here's the story for your perusal. Nurses should get more money in France.

French Muslim jailed for punching nurse who tried to remove wife's burqa during childbirth | Mail Online

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PART I: Rand, the lady who SHRUGGED the ATLAS, has now got my HEAD Under a FOUNTAIN.

OKAY I ADMIT IT, I am have strayed from the straight and narrow and am actually reading a novel.  And indeed that is quite a novel thing for me to do.  Ever since I was a teenager, I have kept track of the books I have read, and unless forced to read non-fiction by a teacher or professor, or coerced into it by a loving wife or daughter "so I can identify with their interests", the vast majority are non-fiction.

This time though, I decided to pick up a paperback edition (non-fiction in my opinion is seldom worth the money of a hardcover; perhaps an eBook version would have been better) of Ayn Rand's book, written in 1943, called THE FOUNTAINHEAD. Why you may ask?  Well, because one of the business magazines I subscribe to recommended it as top-notch reading for anyone in management.  That coupled with the on-going exposure this now dead author has, I decided to give it a try.

I have read 44 pages of the book (well really 55 if you count the 11 pages of Rand's introduction to this edition entitled "Introduction to the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition" which would put it at 1968).  Here are my thoughts so far.  I hope to share a few more before I wade through the 704 pages (715 if you count her 'intro'), but who's counting.  After all, it is the Christmas Season (something Rand herself did not believe in for it was) and I just may find time to get a couple of hundred pages read.  Her estate and foundation should be thankful we have such a Season.

1. On page 8 of her introduction, she informs the reader that she is an atheist.  I made a note in the column as follows, "I struggle to read an atheist, but I press on."  The problem with a Christian reading an atheist is that our worldviews are total antitheses of each other.  We have very little foundational basis on which we can build our mutual descriptions and beliefs of what is taking place.  We can agree on facts which are tangible in nature.  For example, she (if she were alive today) and I could agree that we are about to have a snow-less Christmas in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  But once we get to the issue of 'why', our mutual points of common beliefs start to diminish.  Oh, we may have some common understandings of the science of weather, but that would be about it.  If one of us were to push further as to how those tenets or principles of the science were put into place, we would be at great odds.  Yet in this point in her introduction she writes, referring to one part in her book, "I said that religious abstractions are the product of man's mind, not of supernatural revelation."  I find it amazing that she does agree there are abstractions and minds.  And by referring to supernatural revelation implies she is aware of the phenomenon and thus the possibility of its existence -- although I'm sure she was not likely to benefit from any such experience herself.  Of course, she never answers the matter of just how abstractions and minds are what they are and do what they do.  Atheists have limited knowledge after all.
   
2. On page 10 of her intro she writes, "The man-worshipers, in my sense of the term, are those who see man's highest potential and strive to actualize it.  The man-haters are those who regard man as a helpless, depraved, contemptible creature -- and struggle never to let him discover otherwise.  It is important here to remember that the only direct, introspective knowledge of man anyone possesses is of himself."  Rand seems to be totally unaware that Christian is someone who sees man's highest potential, but knows he can only achieve it through God.  Instead, she has all of us hating man and seeing him as a depraved creature.  In reality, we see man as fallen, and depraved by his own choice, but not created as helpless or contemptible.  Man's journey then becomes one of seeking to discover the potential that he once had and doing so by finding God.  Rand closes her paragraph here by saying that our only source of "introspective knowledge" is indeed ourselves.  Agreed, by definition.  But that does not mean that all of us see what she sees when we look at ourselves.
   
3. On page 11 of her intro she believes that some of us can achieve a greater sense of life and purpose and thus writes, ". . . a sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one's life is important, that great achievements are within one's capacity, and that great things lie ahead."  And I say "of course."  For the Christian, that is all possible WITH God.  She ends her intro with these sad words by which I believe she condemns herself, "It does not matter taht only a few in each generation will grasp and achieve the full reality of man's proper stature -- and that the rest will betray it.  It is those few that move the world and give life its meaning -- and it is those few that I have always sought to address.  The rest are no concern of mine; it is not me or The Fountainhead that they will betray; it is their own souls."  Well, she has succeeded to do just that -- she has betrayed her own soul for eternity.   Her 'few' that move the world have certainly done a great job of it -- look how perfect the world is these days.
   
4. On page 44 of her actual book, and understanding the fact that she was writing in 1943, I find the first evidence of her not being the eternally-wise author she believed she was or that others established her as.  She writes, "But the tenants of the Dana Building were not numerous; no prominent man wished his business to be located in a building that looked 'like a warehouse.'"  As I read this in 2011, prominent businessmen and women are fighting over new and trendy warehouse space.

I'll carry on examining Rand's other views in the days ahead.  I hope I can stay with it -- if not, I'll let you know.  In the meantime, I know many of you have read this work of hers and I'd love to hear from you, but please don't give away the plot -- although my wife tells me there isn't much of one -- it's all about a philosophy.  We'll see.   And Merry Christmas.

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Utah Supreme Court rules unborn children qualify as minors. Wow.

There are so many liberals very upset with this Utah Supreme Court decision. So different. What are the implications for millions of unborn babies? Take a look.

Utah Supreme Court rules unborn children qualify as minors | Deseret News

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