LOL! You're right. I meant to say static electricity.
LoneWolf
JoinedPosts by LoneWolf
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151
A Woman, A Woman - Oh What Can She Be?
by LoneWolf inhi, peeplezs,.
down over the years i have experienced plenty of discouragement and cynicism about faith and the existence of a god who cares for us.
if i allowed myself to dwell on those things alone, i suppose that i too would be feeling hopeless and cynical and would be just waiting until my time is up.. however, i don't feel that way at all.
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LoneWolf
Hi, Peeplezs,
Down over the years I have experienced plenty of discouragement and cynicism about faith and the existence of a God who cares for us. If I allowed myself to dwell on those things alone, I suppose that I too would be feeling hopeless and cynical and would be just waiting until my time is up.
However, I don't feel that way at all. I'd like to tell you just one of the reasons why. You probably get emails like I do showing the wonders of the natural world, but I feel that I have seen such beauty in nature that I can't bring myself to doubt that there is a Creator that loves us. What most people forget is that we are part of that nature too.
To that end, I would like to recount something that I became aware of some years ago, but only lately learned the details behind. It left me with my mouth hanging open in astonishment and is in my mind, a candidate for the record book. Moreover, and even more astonishing, it happened right here in my own family.
A little background first, though. We married very young. I was 20, and she was 15. One of my primary goals when I married this little freckle-faced girl was to do all I knew how to be sure that she could find joy and happiness in her role of wife and mother. I wanted her to be glad she was a woman (especially my woman) and found fulfillment in her role in life. Needless to say, that is not something that a man can force on a woman, and for it to happen he has to control the environment in such a way that those qualities can grow on their own. I compared it to planting a garden. All one can do is plant the seeds, cultivate them, water them, make sure the ground has the nutrients needed, and the proper amount of sunlight is available. God will do the rest.
She blossomed far beyond anything that I expected, and I was enthralled with the results. Everyone that knows her loves her. We will be celebrating our 51 st wedding anniversary next month and look forward to many more.
We soon had five daughters who had the potential of becoming the same thing she was. The way that women have been reduced to second class citizens and taken advantage of down over the years has always grieved me. Therefore I tried my best to give them not only the knowledge of what they were, but a respect and appreciation for how they were created. That meant giving them a knowledge and understanding of the entire process.
They understood the monthly menses and their purpose just as soon as they were old enough to comprehend, and in fact, I still laugh about one occurrence that happened when the oldest were only two and three years old. They came in the house one hot summer afternoon in Southern California and ran up to the arm of the recliner where I was sipping a glass of ice water and reading the newspaper, while trying to cool down after a hot day's work. "Daddy, will you tell us about the birds and the bees?"
Startled, for I was wondering where they had heard the term, I picked them up, sat them in my lap, and gave them a general run-down on where they came from. They were fascinated and had many questions, but after a time they became satisfied and ran back out to play.
A week later, in exactly the same setting, they ran in again. "Daddy, will you tell us about the birds and the bees?"
I did a double take. "I did!" I exclaimed.
"No, Daddy. You told us about people. We want to know about the birds and the bees!"
I figured the best way for them to find joy and fulfillment in how they were created would be to show them the beauty and wonder there is in nature, and then help them to realize that they too were a part of that same nature. I think it worked. One big way it helped is that there are very few subjects that we can't speak about in an open and honest manner, even today.
Our fourth daughter Jeanne (Pony's wife) seemed to take this to heart as much or more as the others. She has always loved nature in all of its manifestations, so much so that her Grandfather had a fit when he caught her hand-feeding wild skunks in his basement! LOL!! She would just glow whenever I called her "My Little Wood Nymph".
Marrying an Apache Indian seemed a perfect fit, and she took to the culture like a duck to water. I went to one Powwow where Pony was teaching the newcomers about many of the Indian customs and ways of doing things. He turned to Jeanne and asked her to demonstrate how to make fire without matches. She cheerfully agreed and reached for her fire making equipment (a straight rod and the bow and string to spin it with, plus the tinder for the spark to land in) and knelt down in front of everyone so that they could see. There must have been 50 people there, all craning their necks in fascination.
What she hadn't counted on were her kids (3 at the time) who were 2, 3, and 7 years old. They knew exactly what she was going to do, and they were going to help! Their unbridled enthusiasm and the resulting chaos were simply hilarious! I think she could have done it in 30 seconds, but with all their "help" it took about 5 minutes, even with Pony grabbing the youngest at about the 4 minute mark. We all had belly aches and tears running down our cheeks from laughing so hard!
I recount this, as it will throw some light on the mindset behind this tale. I'll let their oldest son, Sol, tell it. He was 2 at the time and remembers it well. In fact, the following is the report he wrote this last school year. He is 10 now.
My "Deer" Brother
My name is Sol and I have a very special relationship with the deer. How is this so you may ask? Well it all started on June of 2002. [I was only two years old]. Me and my mom were on a hike when we noticed a strange lump on the ground, why it was a baby deer! My mom carefully picked it up. When she held it in her arms it was smaller than a loaf of bread.
After we brought it home we offered it some water, but it would not drink. Then my mom went out of the room to make some calls. When she came back we went to the store and bought a bottle and some kitten formula. My mom tried to feed it but it still would not eat. My mom then called some more people to see if they would help. After no luck we put the deer in the garden to see if it would eat the plants in it.
It still would not stand, it just curled up in the corner and stayed there for a long time. It broke are heart to see such a cute little child so weak. Me and my mom were in the garden watching it when I wanted to nurse. My mom lifted up her shirt and I clutched on to her breast. The deer suddenly sprang to life. It started to run towards us and then it started to head butt me and scratch me with its hooves.
Without thinking twice my mom lifted up the other side of her shirt and before I could start crying the deer latched on. Now, because I have nursed with the deer, I am his brother. This to me is a very special privilege and I am very proud of it.
Sol Howell-Gilbert, age 10
It was through Sol's report that I learned some of the details. What surprised me so much was that the fawn would recognize her as a source of food and would be willing to fight for it. Therefore, when the family came over a few days later, I asked Jeanne about some of the details.
For instance, did the fawn really react so quickly? Her eyes got big. "Yes!" It was so fast that I couldn't react quickly enough to stop it!" Part of that was because she was frozen in surprise for a second or two, but was immediately galvanized into action due to the need to protect Sol. Even then, she was stunned at what was happening, and could only react by instinct. "Wait!" She cried out. "I have two of them!" She quickly lifted the other side of her shirt. The fawn took it without hesitation.
"But didn't it hurt?" I asked.
A tender look crossed her face and her eyes got soft. "No. Its sucking was strong, yes, but it was about the same as a baby. It didn't even try to bite." She hesitated, then continued, "The only thing that was uncomfortable was that while it was definitely hungry and wanted food, it was still scared of me. Therefore after it latched on, it would back off as far as it could get without losing its grip. That stretched my breast out a little too much. I put my left arm around it and pulled it closer so that it wouldn't be uncomfortable."
She was silent for a few seconds, smiling at the memory, then continued. "I was sitting with my back to the fence while this was happening and I couldn't move. I remember hoping that someone would look over it and see what was going on, so that I would have a witness to the fact that this actually happened."
A lady from Wild Animal Rescue showed up a few hours later. She was really concerned because many people who find fawns try to feed them, and as many times as not they feed them something that makes them sick or worse, so she carefully questioned Jeanne about that. At first, Jeanne was a little embarrassed about telling her, but when it came out, the lady was thrilled and excited.
Who would have ever imagined that a fawn would react so instantly and emphatically to the sight of a human mother nursing her child? It simply blew my mind, but it raised a couple of huge questions too. How little we know. The scripture at Isaiah 11:6-9 is beautiful, but it's like an impossible dream that could never occur:
"And the wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-fed animal all together, and a mere little boy will be leader over them. And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra, and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."
But, we see things like what happened above, and look at the startling harmony that can exist between species as is passed around in emails, and view videos that would be laughable if they weren't recorded for us to see, like these three:
a. Last week there was an article on a man in the far north who lives with, plays with and even wrestles wolverines. They are his pets.
b. The man in Venezuela (as I remember) who found a young injured crocodile and nursed it back to health, and it has been his pet ever since. It is now huge, yet he swims, wrestles, and rides on its back in the river where it lives. He even sticks his head in its mouth.
c. The young boy of about 10 in Burma, whose pet snake is a python about 20 ft. long. It runs loose in the house and is so huge that the boy will lie down on its back and ride around on it.
And we wonder - is that scripture really all that far-fetched?
In turn, that raises a second question. How much have the rest of the living things here on the earth suffered because Satan decided to deprive us of the knowledge of how to obey the original commandment: "Further, God blessed them and God said to them: 'Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.'" (Genesis 1:28)?
I would suspect that last sentence in Isaiah 11:9 has special meaning for them.
I have seen many things like this, so the real question is how could I NOT believe in and love a God who would create such beautiful things? I am grateful beyond words just for the privilege to live on the same planet with these exquisite creatures, and women lead that list.
Tom
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73 year old woman sues estranged children for "parental support"
by Scully ini just finished reading this article... http://ca.news.yahoo.com/kids-were-no-angels-mom-whos-suing-parental-141531701.html.
the lady is 73 years old and is "estranged" from her 4 living children and 10 grandchildren.. i can see the wts glomming on to legal cases like this for its older members who have had to shun their dfd children, and then when the kids want nothing to do with the parents when they fall ill [and the wts tells them to ask those dfd adult children for financial support] they've found a way to punish the dfd kids even further by getting court orders to pay for parental support.
in fact, i've highlighted some parts of the article that have a distinct jw "aroma" to them.. .
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LoneWolf
Hey, Scully!
Yu still around?? I figgured you would marry some good-lookin' 20 year old a long time ago!
Tom
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LoneWolf
LOL, still thinking!
So thet's whot a nekkid jaybird looks like??? ROTFLOL!!
The Fence -- I'll try! (Grin)
talisin -- The reasons why such phenomena occur have always fascinated me. It occured to me that the jolt could do that, although I would think that the fir was a little better attached than that. There may be another explanation, though. The fur could loosen as time passed, and with the electricity passing through it's body, I would think that a magnetic field would be set up. Fur and magnetic fields are rather fond of one another, as anyone who has petted a cat on a day with low humidity knows, and I suspect this is at least part of the explanation.
Your avatar bugs me. You've been around for some time, as I recollect, and I think you were using that one 8 years ago when I was last posting here on the board. I hope that you will soon be in a bright place, with your head lifted and a light of eager anticipation in your eyes.
Tom
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Nov.15th WT - WT Society Wants & Needs Elders- Not very High Standards
by flipper inas many of us realize- times are hard for the wt society getting men to " reach out " for an elders or ministerial servants position as young men aged ( 18-35 ) are opting out of doing that due to the pressure they are under from the wt society leaders and just that it takes up too much valuable time where men could be earning a living and helping their own families instead of a thankless magazine printing corporation.
in the article " train others to reach out " in this issue it has lots of strange, controlling, yet perplexing statements which i'm sure will confuse jw men who are considering " reaching out ".
in fact, i think this article will discourage more than encourage them from doing so.. on pg.
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LoneWolf
Couldn't help chuckling about the comments concerning looking for elders who have the spiritual qualities found in Galatians 5:22, 23.
I happened to give an elder a ride home one day right after he had attended a judicial committee meeting. The problem wasn't severe, but was primarity a thing where the one before them needed some guidance and was looking for help. His distain was obvious, and he concluded: "I feel like I've been eating dirt!"
I pointed out that his position was much like a doctor being approached by a patient who was sick and needed medical attention. Then I asked, "Would you prefer going to a doctor who was primarily concerned about your health, or one whose prime concern was that they not get their fingers dirty?"
I wasn't too long after that that I was disfellowshipped.
Tom
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"You don't even exist."
by snakeface inrecently i remembered another example which shows how hateful and unchrist-like the witnesses are brainwashed into being.. a long time ago, when i was a pioneer, i was hanging out with a group of long-time pioneers after the district convention, in the stadium hallway.
some had been pioneering for more than 10 years and therefore were considered to be spiritually mature.
a woman who appeared to be a sister was walking by; she paused and greeted us and said something like, "what a great program that was.
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LoneWolf
There's something you've got to remember in cases like these.
You are expected to be sad, devastated, and suicidal, as that verifies their idea of your being cursed by Jehovah and under Satan's influence. This is good news to them and strengthens their resolve. If you do NOT act like this, it contradicts their expectations. This makes them uneasy as it raises the question in their subconsciousness that perhaps they've made a miscalculation somewhere. Ergo: they get mad.
Don't ever forget that they are using a form of psychological warfare here, and it's only right and fair that we return it with interest. For instance, a little while back one VERY highly placed elder asked me with contempt dripping in his voice: "Tom, when are you going to return to Jehovah?"
I let out a peal of laughter and shot back: "Why, Ernie! I never left!" He had to go home and change his pants.
So remember something. The greater the relief and happiness you show at being out, the more powerful is the witness to them that they are in the wrong. Don't be bashful in this regard, and don't show them any more mercy than they show you.
I've often wondered about the passage at 1 Cor. 7:15. Yes, it primarily applies to being married to someone who is an unbeliever, but that phrase, ". . . . but God has called you to peace" quite well sums up my experience. It wasn't because now I had the "freedom" to screw everything on the planet, but it stemmed from the freedom I now had to think for myself. I realized that I had learned some good things while in and that I now had the freedom to examine them and winnow out the good stuff and throw the crap away. The Watchtower doesn't own truth because it is only a channel, and a mighty imperfect one at that.
Therefore, there's no need to throw it all away. Rather, we can take the good stuff and build further on it. When we do that using the freedom we've just gained, it becomes a thrilling adventure and our relief and happiness at being out will be genuine.
What's even better is that we will be confounding their expectations of our "returning to our own vomit" (2 Peter 2:22) that they so gleefully expect us to do.
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Eden =Why did Satan use a snake? Was Eve a dumb blonde....how could she?
by Witness 007 inif satan came down to eden and said...."hi there, i'm one of jehovahs angels...wanna try this fruit?
" would have worked.
i mean eve could have said regarding the snake...."okay for the last 100 years no animals here talked, except for adams parrot which calls him a "pretty boy" so i may have to talk to jehover about this....i mean everlasting life in paradise or......munch on this apple.....hmmmm i dont know, it looks yummy.
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LoneWolf
Wal, ah done been cogitatin' a bit on the question about thet thar snake in the Garden of Eden meself, an' thunk me sum thots about it. Ah'll run 'em by yu an' see if'n they makes any scents.
This would be the first meeting of the various parties after Satan caused Adam and Eve to sin, and tension and feelings would be running high. The Biblical account would pretty much be a cut and dried reporting of events and language, and most of the color, innuendos, and interplay - such as facial expressions, body language, etc., would be left out. Sometimes these things make quite a difference and will explain a lot.
For instance, you can say the same thing to a woman, and get a totally different reaction depending on how it's phrased: "When I look into your eyes, time stands still" will probably get you a kiss, but if you tell her "Your face would stop a clock", you might have to duck. They mean the same thing, don't they? Now try to translate them into a different language and keep the innuendos intact.
So my thought is that maybe we should hop in our time machine and go back to the Garden of Eden and look at it as if we were there. Of course, there were only two people then, so we'll have to be something else. You'll be a butterfly on a leaf and I'll be a honeybee on a flower - okay, okay! If yer gonna be that way about it, yu can be the honeybee and I'll be the butterfly!
We look at each other. "Hey, look! Something's up over there on the other side of the meadow!" Naturally, we buzz and flap our way over there to get a better look.
To our surprise, Creator is highly displeased! We've never seen him that way before! Lucifer, his foreman over the construction of the earth, appears self-satisfied and defiant, and those two new critters, "people" I think they're called, although it runs in my mind that they are also known as "hoomin beans" or some such thing, are both lookin' like they swallered a bug.
We soon find out why. It seems that Lucifer chose a real cautious varmit (the snake, which would add to his credibility) and, using it like a ventriloquist's dummy, proceeded to fill the "hoomans" clear full of a load of smelly stuff, eggzactly whot, I'd rather not say. That, in turn, caused them to do something they weren't 'sposed to.
Then we find out what: After questioning Eve as to what they were forbidden to do and getting a correct answer that they would die if they ate the fruit of one certain tree, he states flatly,"You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad."
Now, that's something anyone would take personally! In those few words, Lucifer told Eve that:
- Creator was a liar and deceiver.
- He was selfish and stingy with his largess.
- He was not perfect like he said he was and therefore unworthy of their loyalty and worship.
- They had a right to more than they were given.
- They should not be satisfied with Jehovah's headship or laws.
- There was a better way and that he Lucifer (later, Satan), would be their benefactor and show it to them.
If someone pretending to be an authority snuck in behind our backs and told our families something like that about us, I reckon we'd be all bent out of shape too! The difference would be in our reactions. You and I would probably say with some enthusiasm: "Why, you @+%)*&^)$#&^%(*+%$!!!!!", then haul off and bust him in the proboscis.
However, Creator has more couth than we do. He's angry, but that is well under control, because he is also powerful and has no need to feel vulnerable, so we could expect that his answer would be unhurried, dignified, and directly to the point. He will pronounce punishment and then waste no further time and effort on this slob. He doesn't even give the fool the honor of being directly spoken to, but he talks to the snake instead!
And what a punishment! What he's saying in so many words is roughly this: "You pretended to be a snake, eh? So be it. I'll give you the qualities of a snake. You won't be able to do anything without using stealth, deception, and lies, just like a snake in the grass. You will be hated and avoided by most of the rest of creation and, just like I'm taking the legs off this snake so that he has to crawl on his belly, you too will be brought low in relationship to everything else." (It don't pay to mess with Creator!) You have to admit the punishment fits the crime!
And was he brought low? Yu betcha! Sure, he has manufactured a reputation for himself that is like John Wayne toilet paper (rough, tough, and takes crap off nobody), but the reality is far different. Consider this:
1. All we puny humans have to do is stand up and resist him and he runs like a scared jack rabbit. (James 4:7)
2. We have the authority to get sustenance from the animals, but he has to not only ask permission, but needs to beg for it too. (Luke 8:30-33)
3. And best of all, we humans have the authority to expose him for what he really is, and make him a laughing stock in the eyes of the entire universe. (Proverbs 27:11)
Okay, folks, it's yore turn. Poke holes in it. (Grin)
Tom
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LoneWolf
LOL, jamiebowers!
"LoneWolf" was my CB handle when I was in long-haul trucking. I have over 1,000,000 miles driving those big rigs, and almost all of it was solo. Solitude is rather "strong medicine", and not too many people can handle it for long. However, between being ostracized during my school years due to my faith, living way out in the country with the wilderness as my playground, as well as a few other factors, I got intimately acquainted with solitude. Basically, I was a loner whether I wanted to be or not and became comfortable with it.
However, this does NOT mean that I don't appreciate having friends, and especially those type of friends where a fella can speak about the type of things that are dear to his heart. I am not antisocial in any way. I wrote a poem years ago, and one stanza pretty well sums it up:
"People I like - a few at a time
But not when they're ten feet deep
They tend to ferment when all in a pile
So far from the city I keep."
Sadly, though, much to my regret, I've been forced to cultivate a public persona as being prickly and unpredictable. This was primarily for the purpose of "brushing back" the elders and other knotheads who have no sense of propriety and thereby holding them at bay. I'm afraid that my family would never have survived if I hadn't, and I resent the necessity of it.
Tom
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Satan - The little piss-ant panty-waist "god"
by LoneWolf in(my apologies to the board monitors.
i posted this yesterday but forgot to put a title on it.
someone suggested that i repost it with the above title, so here it is.
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LoneWolf
(My apologies to the board monitors. I posted this yesterday but forgot to put a title on it. Someone suggested that I repost it with the above title, so here it is. I tried to figure out how to edit the already posted one, but couldn't find a way to do it. If you could enlighten me, I'd sure appreciate it.)
Attn: Watchtower monitors: Be sure that the Governing Body gets a copy of this.
Howdy, Folks,
Wal, fair warning here: I'm feeling ornery tonight, and when that happens, nothin's safe. (Grin) However, seein' as how I'm now officially "mentally defective" and about to be slaughtered by the "Jehu Class", I figgur whot 't heck. Let 'er rip! It's about time to have some good old-fashioned country boy fun. It's kick-ass time.
I think we are all aware of how the Governing Body is so holy that all they have to do is yell "$hit!" and all their servants are required to squat and strain their utmost. Why, if these slaves don't raise a perfect storm of grunting, ending with the deposit of a large pile of odiferous brown stuff, then it is a foregone conclusion that said unfortunate servant has an insufficient amount of love for Jehovah and is probably already employed by Satan.
But, there are three problems with this doctrine. The first is that they have been foolish enough to teach and try to enforce it.
The second is that I recognize BS when I see it, if for no other reason that I shoveled many tons of it out of the barn window as a young lad, so I can not only recognize it, but I can throw it even better than they can. Inasmuch as they also teach that we should follow their good example of Christianity, and Christians (at least their type of Christians) should throw BS all over the place, then that means we should too, right?
The third is that I don't go down easy. In fact, there is nothing I like better that meeting some pompous ass (or asses, as the case may be) on their own ground, play their own game, and then teach them how it's done. Ergo: I'm gonna call their bluff, and I'm inviting you folks here on the board along for the ride.
They say I am "mentally defective" eh? Fascinating. Let's see if I have this straight: They pull scams on the United Nations, cover up over a thousand cases of child molesting, ignore the most basic tenants of Christianity as taught by Jesus, make a total hash out of feeding the sheep, crap their pants in terror whenever Satan is mentioned, destroy families for the sheer fun of it, drive people insane and/or into suicide to placate their egos, and then lie to their followers about all of it --- and I'm the one that's mentally defective? Yeah, right.
Let's have a little fun with them. Let's take a subject that terrifies them so much that they mess their pants whenever it comes near and demonstrate just what a batch of panty-waisted dick-heads they really are. You probably already know what that subject is, because all you have to do is pick up nearly any Watchtower and 3/4's of it can be summed up thusly: "OOooooo! Danger! Satan's here! Demonism's there! Run! Hide! Eeeeeeeek!!!!"
I mean, like, Shhheeeesh! We are supposed to be spiritual soldiers, are we not? What kind of a soldier is it who knows only how to hide in a hole, quiver in his boots, and pee his pants? I've seen spastic baboons do a better job of leadership than what these phonies have done.
So bear with me while I slip on a pair of hob-nail boots, and stomp all over this subject. In short, I'm going to do everything humanly possible to pi$$-off Satan worse than any other human being in the history of the world, NOT merely by being defiant and calling names, but by calmly, deliberately, and gleefully blowing his cover, and then taunting him about it afterwards. This will necessitate the exploring of territory where no man has gone before, for the simple reason that they are afraid to.
So come along for the grand tour, but - keep in mind that some of it is mind-bending, and the tentative conclusions to questions that have been considered unanswerable all during mankind's history are mind blowing. We'll take it slow inasmuch this piece combined with four more that enlarge on it caused one man to have a heart attack. I made the mistake of sending them to him all at one time, so this time I'm going to space the five articles out with a few days between each of them.
And oh! You turkeys at the Watchtower - make my day and tell everyone that I can only do this with Satan's assistance. Please. That will put me in some VERY distinguished company! (Matt. 12:24-28) The truth is that anyone could have done it - just as long as they didn't have their noses crammed in each other's butts, whilst trying to change their diapers at the same time.
That said, let's launch this little expedition. Let the games begin!
Satan's Achilles' Heel
It's not our purpose to discourage anyone in a free-wheeling questioning of the entire field about the relationship between God and Satan. Such an inquiry is exactly what's called for in this day and age.
However, it appears that the world gives Satan far more credit than he deserves. This statement is based on a pretty solid foundation but, as few have examined it in detail, others can't be blamed for not understanding why it is made. Let's see if we can rectify that right now.
Satan's Approach to the Human Race
There are good reasons to believe that Satan's approach to the human race is much like what Sadaam Hussein's public relations director used right at the end of the U. S. invasion. He was standing on a street corner yelling that the Iraqi army was winning, thousands of G. I.'s were dead and the rest were running like scared jackrabbits. The reality was that the Allied Forces were only about a quarter mile away and coming fast.
Or, another example would be the children's story of the Wizard of Oz, where the "wizard" was really a grumpy old man hiding behind a curtain, pulling levers and pushing buttons, thereby causing special effects that terrorized the citizens.
In other words, it appears that Satan is a half-assed little braggart who talks big and bullies anyone he can, but when his bluff is called, couldn't beat his way out of a wet paper bag using a baseball bat AND a stick of dynamite.
It also appears that the only way he has managed to survive so far is by keeping us humans ignorant and scared by means of his hot air. We won't enlarge on that right now because it was covered pretty thoroughly in The Uniter.
Where We Are Coming From
However, our words right now could be taken by some as the same thing: hot air and bluster. Let's explain a few things, and then you decide for yourself as to whether they are or not.
People who rule by fear are a pain, and need to be resisted. All have their Achilles' Heels, and one merely needs to find those weak spots and learn how to use them to triumph over the bullies. On the other hand, it's a risky business and is not to be done carelessly. If proper preparations aren't made, the result can be bad, and that is all the more applicable to entities like Satan the Devil.
It's like one old country boy said in Motives, (http://www.groundwaters.org/online/motive.pdf ):
"Being an old country boy, tackling Satan isn't really all that much different from taking on any other varmit. You study him from a distance for a while in order to get a feel for his habits and capabilities. Next, you throw a few rocks at him to see what reactions you get. After a while you get a good idea of his strong and weak points, and then you tempt the one and take advantage of the other in order to make sure they are genuine.
Finally you get to the same point as I have in my work with yellowjackets and hornets. I've taken on thousands of nests and it is now merely an interesting (and lucrative) form of entertainment, in spite of the fact that it scares the livin' crap out of most people. After 40+ years of studying Satan's habits and tactics, he's no different.
And no, that's not bravado speaking. Just as a guy won't carry a sweaty old A-bomb home in his lap without knowing exactly what he's doing, so a fella shouldn't tackle some exotic varmit without doing his homework first. There are all kinds of details about this particular varmit that I haven't mentioned yet."
Research
So, let's touch on those details.
Some 40 years ago this writer sat down with pen, paper, reference Bible, and concordance for the express purpose of following that old military maxim, "Know your enemy." The idea was to gather everything possible about Satan, his habits, thinking, tactics, and anything else that could be found. You may remember how in those reference Bibles that one can take a certain word and find the first usage of it, then look in the reference column and it will tell you the next place it occurs. The method used, was to pick the words "Satan" and/or "Devil", look up the first one, mark down whatever characteristic found, then go on to the next. Many were interesting and gradually a pattern or personality began to emerge.
Perhaps 100 passages were perused, but Luke 11:24 brought the investigation to a screeching halt.
"When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through parched places in search of a resting-place, and, after finding none, it says, 'I will return to my house out of which I moved.' "
The implications were stunning.
In turn, it reminds one of another passage a few chapters earlier at Luke 8:27-33:
"But as he got out onto land a certain man from the city who had demons met him. And for a considerable time he had not worn clothing, and he was staying, not at home, but among the tombs. At the sight of Jesus he cried aloud and fell down before him, and with a loud voice he said: "What have I to do with you, Jesus Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me." (For he had been ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For over a long time it had held him fast, and he was repeatedly bound with chains and fetters under guard, but he would burst the bonds and be driven by the demon into the lonely places.)
Jesus asked him: "What is your name?"
He said: "Legion," because many demons had entered into him. And they kept entreating him not to order them to go away into the abyss.
Now a herd of a considerable number of swine was feeding there on the mountain; so they entreated him to permit them to enter into those. And he gave them permission. Then the demons went out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd rushed over the precipice into the lake and drowned."
Sustenance?
Now in your mind, when a human 'passes through parched places', what is the most common concern that human has? Is it not food and drink?
Then again, when someone says, "I beg of you, do not torment me" as well as entreating the one to whom they are speaking not to order them to go away into the abyss, it hardly sounds like an exchange between equals. Rather, that sounds like frantic desperation on the part of the one doing the pleading. It is here that the question must be asked that keeps most of us in hot water all of our lives: "WHY?"
When reading the first passage it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the "fallen angels" gain some sort of "sustenance" from the hosts they inhabit, and the second passage strongly implies the criticality of them having it. This raised two gigantic questions:
- Do the angels and their fallen brethren, the demons, eat???? Undoubtedly, if they do take in some sort of sustenance, it would need to be something of an entirely different nature than what we recognize as food, and they would assimilate it in some manner beyond our imagination. (Osmosis? Or perhaps they simply take in the life force and use it directly like a light bulb does electricity?) Who knows?
- Just as big was this thought: Before the Flood, they were using the earth as their playground, materializing bodies, having hybrid off-spring, and inventing weird, parasitical, and infectious stuff. (http://groundwaters.org/online/outline.pdf. - Main heading VI) There didn't appear to be any shortage of energy then. What happened that would reduce them to such a beggarly state?
There are, of course, no hard and fast answers to either of them, but there is a whole raft of evidence that leads to the conclusion that they do, and why it has become a desperate need. Consider these items:
Few would argue with the thought that angels were created with the ability to live forever. However, according to 1 Timothy 6:16, they do not have immortality, as that was reserved for our heavenly father Jehovah, the God of Abraham. On the other hand, certain ones are promised immortality as a reward in 1 Corinthians 15:53-55. This raises a question: What is the difference between everlasting life and immortality?
There is no way to know for sure (yet), but one possibile difference is that immortal ones have the means of life within themselves. (Check out the Wikipedia under "Immortality". Contrary to popular opinion, the definition is far more involved than simply the meaning that it is impossible to die.) They could be, for most practical purposes, perpetual motion machines that need no sustenance to live and function. The evidence on this is weak, but this premise has a distinct advantage over anything else, as it ties in beautifully and provides an explanation for some of the enigmas that have pestered mankind for eons now.
For instance, it suggests the possibility that angels (and therefore the demons too) need to take in some sort of sustenance. Now watch as we crank that factor though the Book of Genesis:
Application to Genesis
Adam and Eve sinned and their punishment was that of being banished from the Garden of Eden and forced to provide their own food 'by the sweat of their brow,' and this sentence was put into effect immediately. Punishment was also pronounced against Satan, but no action was taken against him at that time. Why?
It appears that it was because he was passing the buck. "The fault is in the humans, and they have it because you yourself screwed up in the way you made them!" Whether the accusation was ridiculous or not, time was needed for it to be answered, for if it wasn't, the doubt would be left unresolved forever.
However as time passed, secondary issues came to the fore. Satan and his demons were using their powers in ways that they were never meant to be used and that perverted their purpose. Their course and heart conditions became more and more evident through these actions until it finally culminated in the Flood.
This has far more import than meets the eye, so let's examine it a bit further.
The Cause of The Flood
The first commandment given our original parents was this recorded at Genesis 1:28: "Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth."
Even with all of the modern technology we have today, we haven't accomplished this original commandment. Sure, we've exploited the earth, and we've terrorized the animals, but we haven't even begun to "subdue" the earth and have the animals in "subjection" in the original context in which these words were used. What was meant was that we were to manage the environment in a way that would maximize the benefits to all creatures.
Keep in mind too, that the earth at that time was quite different than it is now. The water canopy was still intact, which made the whole earth like a greenhouse, enabling all portions of the sphere to be productive and inhabitable. That includes the arctic zones, as is proven by the fossils of palm trees and tropical animals that have been found there. Such a canopy would have been fragile indeed, and the conditions that underlay the status quo would have been critically important to maintain in order to prevent catastrophe. That would have been the job of humankind.
(Look at the appalling changes that can come about by minor changes in the atmosphere right now. Global warming and/or cooling and their consequences can be triggered by very little.)
There's a catch here though. Our ancestors didn't have that kind of knowledge. Someone would have to teach them. The angel who was placed as the caretaker of the earth had that responsibility, but he felt he had "more important" things to do. As a result he abandoned the mission and used his assets for personal gain.
The consequence was the mother of all environmental disasters, and the death and destruction of most life on earth.
Sanctions
This tragedy didn't change a thing concerning his original challenge about mankind and our preferences as to whose ways we prefer. If anything, it strengthened his contention, for he could claim that it was because man wanted to follow him (Satan) that he hadn't learned the things he needed to know, and that the assignment was beyond his capabilities anyway. In other words, he could claim that this was further proof that our Creator didn't know what he was doing.
That question needed more time.
However, there were a couple of other things that did not. Satan's original mission was now over, an utter failure, finalized in a manner that was irrevocable. Regardless of any screaming he might do that it was all mankind's fault, two things stood out that no one in the universe could contradict:
- Satan had used his powers for selfish gain, and
- He hadn't even tried to give mankind the knowledge needed to prevent disaster.
Both called for sanctions - now.
But what form might those sanctions take? Fortunately, we don't have to guess on that score. According to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), when someone fails to use his "talents" or uses them in an improper way, they are removed. The individual is simply not trusted with them any longer. Adam and Eve's punishment reinforces this thought. (Note the lack of trust manifest in this statement: Genesis 3:22-24.)
But - how could this be applied to Satan and the demons? If they take in sustenance in some manner, the answer becomes crystal clear. Wouldn't the levying of the exact same sanctions on them as was given to Adam and Eve be about the height of poetic justice? And wouldn't this prove that our Creator is evenhanded right across the board?
Source of Sustenance
So, if they would be forced to provide their own "food" 'by the sweat of their brow', how? Here it gets interesting.
We as human beings have the mechanisms within our bodies to process material substances such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc., in such a way as to maintain our life force, whatever that is. Would spirit creatures? It's doubtful. Being spiritual in nature, plant and animal products would be incompatible with their "metabolism".
Therefore, if their normal source of life force was cut off, what choice is left other than figuring out some manner to steal it from other life forms? It is now the crunch comes.
While there are many life forms, there is only one that has been estranged from their creator. Plants and animals aren't, so they would still be under Jehovah's protection. That leaves only one source available - the human race.
That thought about blows one's mind, doesn't it? However, there is much to back this possibility.
- Why were the demons free to inhabit the man in Luke 8:27-33, but had to ask permission to enter the swine?
- Why do most of the pagan religions, especially the older ones, have a central teaching that the gods need to be fed?
- Why was mankind's lifespan, starting shortly after the flood, gradually reduced to less than one tenth of its original length?
- When Noah emerged from the ark, why did the "gods" gather around like flies at a feast, according to the Babylonian account of the flood? (Chaldean Account of Genesis - translated by George Smith - Wizard, 1977, page 271)
Satan's Dilemma
The bottom line is that Satan and cohorts are on the horns of a hideous dilemma. He hates us with a passion, yet he can't kill us off without killing himself too, because we are his main source of sustenance. He can't control us without the use of deception and lying, because if he fails to keep us deluded and helpless and we tumble to what's going on, he will not only die, but we humans, the very ones for whom he has the most contempt of all, will be the ones to checkmate him. What greater disgrace could there be than being checkmated by pawns?
Sooo, we would ask a question. Give one reason that we should show respect or fear for this little piss-ant of a let's pretend "god", who is such a panty-waist that he can't even feed himself without stealing food out of the mouths of virtual babes? Have you ever seen a more pathetic pile of pig-turds in your life? (Perhaps we should apologize to the pigs.) (Grin)
Far from respect and fear, we should be giving him the royal horse laugh. That's ALL he deserves - and it should be enough of an answer - especially if many of us join in.
(Author's note: Upon showing this to others, I received some questions from "DTRT" that were deeply appreciated. Answers were formulated and presented, but it took four more articles to cover them. His questions are below, and the answers will be posted one at a time over the next several days.)
DTRT's Questions
Tom,
Please allow me to pose a question as to the nature of "Demon Food".
Are any of the Demon Possessed people that are referenced in the Bible, well adjusted people without problems?
Perhaps, I am treading in an area that has not really been explored but, I think the Good Book does contain the clues that will provide proof of what I propose:
Did not God create the Angels prior to making Man? Was it Angels that came to Earth and Screwed the Daughters of Men, or was it some other Beings that are not clearly covered in the Book?
In the King James, Genesis 6:4, "There were Giants in the Earth in those days; and after that, when the Sons of God came in unto the Daughters of Men, they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown." You will notice that "after that" is underlined and this would indicate to me that the Giants (Strong's Concordance refers to them as Nephilim, as does Gesenius' Hebrew/Chaldee Lexicon) were not the result of the Sons of God gettin' it on and that they were already here.
You are most likely sittin' there with yer eyes crossed, question marks leak-in' from yer ears an' uh thinkin' I'm a NUT! Please bare with me and I will attempt to weave this into a complete concept.
If the Sons of God, referred to here, were able to have children with the daughters of Men then, they must have had DNA that was very close to that of man. If those Sons of God were in fact Angels, this tells me that Angels are Physical Beings.
Lucifer and his Cohorts most likely have Telepathic Powers but, can be blocked out if Man does not allow them entrance to his mind.
I cannot find anywhere that the Bible states that Satan and his buddies are Demons, can you? I think you will find that the Demoniac are Spiritual beings and do not have a Physical Form and they must occupy one to survive. Lucifer does have powers that can be used for Demonic purposes when he chooses to use them that way.
The Demoniac, being spiritual beings, when inhabiting another being may feed on one of the most powerful aspects of animals, EMOTION. Pigs have emotions just as humans, do they not? Isn't it obvious that the Demons had never gone into a Pig before and perhaps when they got into the Pig's minds they triggered Fear (an emotion) rather than an Emotion that would allow the Pig staying stable and coexisting with them.
BTW, to further proof that the Sons of God were Physical Beings and not Spiritual, Genesis 6:2 and 6:3 indicate that the Sons of God and Man are Flesh.
DTRT
I love this guy's mind! Free-wheeling and a-lettin' it all hang out! That's the way it oughtta be!
Hey Watchtower! Whar yu at? ----------- Oh. There yu are. Way down in that hole. At least I think that's yu. All I can see is someone's butt sticking up. Can't say that I'm surprised though. It takes a healthy mind and strength of character to explore this frontier. I'm a bit worried though. If yore down there already when we've barely started this subject, what are yu gonna to do when we get into the main part of it?
Tom Howell
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LoneWolf
Folks ---
Um. Had a tradidigy here yesterday.
Morning started off bad. Wife beat me up. 'Course that happens every mornin'. I really don't mind that 'cept then she wants me to get up too. Life is cruuuuel.
Then she come to me. "Water pressure ain't what it s'posed to be. Hope it hain't sprung a leak somewhere." We live out in the boonies, so have a well with pump 'n pressure tank. She wants me to take care of things like that.
So I went out to take a gander. Hmm. Breaker switch thrown, so I unthrown it. Didn't work, so I pulled the top off the pressure switch. Fuzz everywhere. Looked closer 'n dang if'n thar warn't a half bald mouse that got crosswise of the 220. Didn't do him no good, it didn't. Cooked every speck of moisture out of him and he was drier than a dust devil in the Mojave. Nothin' left but a little dried up bag of skin with bones in it.
Pulled him out of there while scratching my noggin wonderin' how the juice would make his fur fall out like that. Never did figger it out, 'cause it didn't just fall out - it was all over that switch.
But I cleaned it all up an' brushed the fur out. Turned the breaker on - an' it still didn't work. Dang. The short musta blown somethin' somewhere. Messed around with a multimeter an' found 220 in the breaker box. Found it across the connections in the switch too. Dang. That means a trip to town for a new switch. First, though, I pushed the contacts closed so the pump would run an' bring the pressure back up. Couldn't figger out why they wouldn't close without being pushed.
So I went to town and bought me a bran' new shiny store-boughten pressure switch fer $18.00, goofed around town fer a bit, then went back home.
Changed the switch out and it worked fine. But . . . I got to lookin' that old switch over 'cause I was curious why it wouldn't work. I was turnin' it this way an' that way when I saw something that didn't look right, way down in its gizzard where the shaft comes up out of the pressure chamber. Whot 't heck???
Took me a minute or so to figger out what it was. 'Twas a little frog what crawled in where he didn't belong an' got nailed. His carcass was what was hangin' up the works so the contacts couldn't close. I had to take him out in chunks with some needle-nosed tweezers, 'cause he was as dry as that mouse was. Main difference was that the juice knocked ALL the fur off the frog. Nekkid as a jaybird he was. Got rid of him quick so's no one would see and charge me with possession of obscene materials.
An' Texas thinks they gots problems with them crazy ants gittin' in their computers. Ha! I got all kinds o' varmits!
Come to think of it, I hain't never seed no nekkid jaybirds. Wonder whot they look like?
Thet old switch works fine now. . . .
Teary-eyed Tom