Carlene

Can anyone explain what happened to all the missing posts? Everything I posted yesterday is GONE. Other people's posts that were there yesterday are no more.

The first recorded instance of God’s Word being written down, was when the Lord Himself wrote it down in the form of ten commandments on the stone tablets delivered to Moses at the top of Mount Sinai. Biblical scholars believe this occurred between 1,400 BC and 1,500 BC… almost 3,500 years ago. The language used was almost certainly an ancient form of Hebrew, the language of Old Covenant believers. The earliest scripture is generally considered to be the “Pentateuch”, the first five books of the Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy. These writings were passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years on scrolls made of animal skin. The Jewish scribes who painstakingly produced each scroll were perfectionists. If they made even the slightest mistake in copying, such as allowing two letters of a word to touch, they destroyed that entire panel (the last three or four columns of text), and the panel before it, because it had touched the panel with a mistake! While most Christians today would consider this behavior fanatical and even idolatrous (worshiping the scripture, rather than the One who gave it to us), it nevertheless demonstrates the level of faithfulness to accuracy applied to the preservation of God’s Word throughout the first couple of thousand years of Biblical transmission. As we approach the last few centuries before Christ, the Jewish historical books known as the “Apocrypha” were completed, yet they were recorded in Greek rather than Hebrew. By the end of the First Century AD, the New Testament had been completed. It was preserved in Greek on Papyrus, a thin paper-like material made from crushed and flattened stalks of a reed-like plant. These groupings of papyrus were called a “codex” (plural: “codices”). The oldest copies of the New Testament known to exist today are: The Codex Alexandrius and the Codex Sinaiticus in the British Museum Library in London, and the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican. They date back to approximately the 300’s AD. In 315 AD, Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identified the 27 Books which we recognize today as the canon of New Testament scripture. In 382 AD, the early church father Jerome translated the New Testament from its original Greek into Latin. This translation became known as the “Latin Vulgate”, (“Vulgate” meaning “vulgar” or “common”). He put a note next to the Apocrypha Books, stating that he did not know whether or not they were inspired scripture, or just Jewish historical writings which accompanied the Old Testament. The Apocrypha was kept as part of virtually every Bible scribed or printed from these early days until just 120 years ago, in the mid-1880’s, when it was removed from Protestant Bibles. Up until the 1880’s, however, every Christian… Protestant or otherwise… embraced the Apocrypha as part of the Bible, though debate continued as to whether or not the Apocrypha was inspired. There is no truth to the popular myth that there is something “Roman Catholic” about the Apocrypha, which stemmed from the fact that the Roman Catholics kept 12 of the 14 Apocrypha Books in their Bible, as the Protestants removed all of them. No real justification was ever given for the removal of these ancient Jewish writings from before the time of Christ, which had remained untouched and part of every Bible for nearly two thousand years.

And if the government, an entity that feels entitled to regulate every other aspect of life for its citizens, should not be responsible for its most defenseless members (children and elderly), then whose job is it? Let's punish that baby because its dad spends his money on expensive rims instead of providing health care for his child. That makes perfect sense. I was not advocating publicly funded health care for the general population - just for those who have no other source of health care. How does the state "educate people in making good choices" when there ARE no choices? In the example I gave Jodie, what choices did you have for that young woman? Borrow from her parents...beg for help from churches. Is that the best the state can come up with? If being poor is wrong, maybe everyone who doesn't pull his/her own weight financially should just be executed. I'm sorry, but I will never be able to harden my heart to those less fortunate. I was raised by a single mom who very rarely saw any support from my alcoholic father. Yes, my mother had lots of help from her family and I don't know what would have become of us if she hadn't. And she had a college education, but it was still tough. My mother made most of my clothes and took in ironing to pay for my dancing lessons. I guess if I were growing up today and got a free lunch at school, someone would say, "She doesn't need that free lunch; her mother can afford to send her to dance class." What arrogance! I don't really like entitlement programs either. I worked with those people every day for 15 years and I know that too much of it saps ambition. But for such basic human needs programs as WIC and free school lunches, I just think it's small and mean-spirited to begrudge those things. It's food, for heaven's sake. And if memory serves from my own days in public school, not very good food, at that.

Jodie....are you missing the point on purpose? It doesn't matter WHY she doesn't get child support or have more than 2 years of college. This isn't a real person....it's just an example! And yes, cities pay more than towns. It also costs more to live in cities than in towns.

Cloe.... I haven't voted. I don't know which is the "right" course of action, even though I speak from experience. My only daughter was a perfect child until she was about 15. Then aliens came in the night and stole my perfect child, leaving a horrible clone in her place. At least, that's how I felt....it happened that quickly. She went from Ms Preppy (if it doesn't have the right label, it shall not touch MY body) to slouchy, grungy, ugly, and unattractive (if that's a style). From "nice" boys to thugs. And her attitude was so bad, there were neighbor children I liked better. I swear, if I am ever called to be a juror in a child abuse case and the "victim" is a 15 year old girl, I'm likely to vote for acquittal. So...being a good parent, I took my whole family off to counseling. My sons did not want to go, but I insisted. "If your sister has a problem", I said, "we ALL have a problem." We did group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, and in-patient therapy. We listened to other parents, and other kids. Some had it worse than us....some had it better. One counselor told us to let her do whatever she wanted. Natural consequences, she said. That's the best way. If she wants to quit school, let her. If she wants to get married, sign the papers for her. After some consideration, I decided this woman was NUTS. "How many children do you have?", I asked her. The answer was "none" but, she had been counseling adolescents for 12 years, she said. I had to wonder how many of them were either dead or in jail. We tried tough love. We screwed her windows shut and locked her in her room each night. Finally, we stood by and let her move in with a girlfriend (we kept her car, however, since it was in my name). We refused to give her money. I cried myself to sleep every night. It was soooooo hard. I didn't know if my child was hungry, or cold, or sick. She got a traffic ticket in someone else's car and didn't pay it. A warrant was issued for her arrest and she was picked up. We didn't bail her out. Finally, she called and asked if she could come back home. We said of course, as long as we have an agreement regarding rules, etc. I learned the fine art of compromise from my daughter. We insisted that she attend school regularly and make decent grades. We would pay for her car insurance, clothes, etc but she would have to work and earn her own spending money. If she wasn't home at dinner time, she could fix herself something to eat or take her happy butt to McDonald's - with her own $$$. She would do her own laundry and keep her room, if not clean, at least within health dept code. There would still be a curfew - 11 PM on school nights and 1 AM on weekends. No smoking in my house. No booze in her car (again, because it was in my name), and no drugs - period. She could choose her own friends, including boyfriends. The boys she dated had to meet us, though. And we had to know their full names. I thought that was just a reasonable precaution. She graduated high school with a decent GPA. She followed the rules pretty well and I actually thought we were out of the woods, the older she got. Unfortunately, she married one of those "bad boys" and it's been a train wreck ever since. They are still married, but separated twice. He has been arrested twice for assaulting her and is currently serving 2 years probation/community service. He decided to quit his job and work "for himself". Problem was, he didn't want to get out of bed and get started before noon. Their kids never knew from one day to the next if they would have food, water, heat, lights, etc when they came home from school. They finally lost their house. But they're back together....yipee (NOT). She doesn't understand why I won't allow him anywhere near me or my house. I had a protective order issued to keep him away from here, and from the school where his oldest child attends (she lives with me). That wasn't a popular move, but I don't care. As for my daughter....she is 34 years old and making her own choices. She cleans houses and her husband has another job (it's a requirement of his probation). She lives in a crappy little rent house that had no AC all summer. I have stopped crying myself to sleep every night, but I still feel like it sometimes. The moral of this story is no matter how hard you try, in the end, it all comes down to the choices they make for themselves. The best advice I can give you is this: Don't beat yourself up. Your daughter is old enough to know right from wrong. Don't try and save her from herself. It won't work. Don't burn any bridges. She may come to her senses someday. Pick your battles, because you can't win them all. If you can compromise, I highly recommend it.

As I said in my response to Jodie, families can only do so much. They can provide an occasional safety net for things like car repairs, food, a little cash, etc but most of us can't do it month after month, nor can we step up to the plate and write a check to the hospital for thousands of $$$ in order to have a grandchild's tonsils removed, broken leg set, etc. Faith-based organizations (one of which I supervised for 15 years) provide mostly emergency assistance. They don't pay 2 or 3 electric bills in a row, or $100 toward the rent every month, and they don't have the budget to cover huge expenses - like a $1,000 dental bill. State governments "equalize" living conditions all the time. In NY, there is rent control. In most all states there is regulation of utility and other expenses. Airfares used to be regulated. College tuition in Texas was just deregulated in 2003 (a bill pushed thru by Rick Perry, to the sorrow of all college students since). And all 50 states have some kind of health insurance (Medicaid) program. In Texas, ours just happens to suck. In the end it becomes the taxpayer's burden anyway. When people don't have access to regular, affordable health care, they go to the nearest ER - even for non-emergency issues. Only private, for-profit hospitals are allowed to turn away acutely ill people. The rest get treated and the cost is passed on to the rest of us. HMO's funded by the state, according to a sliding scale, are a much more cost-effective plan. By the way....Rick Perry STOLE the funds from the state's energy aid program and used them to pad his much-touted "budget surplus". So no, I don't think he has "pity for the unfortunate". And the governor's race could have changed a lot....but it won't, because the Democrats and Independents have managed to make sure he gets re-elected.

Didn't you read the whole post? She graduated high school and finished 2 years of college. And she's single because her husband left her. Or he beat the crap out of her and she had the good sense to leave him. What difference does it make? Most parents cannot afford to pick up the slack. I know I can't. I had a grandchild born with a serious birth defect. After a month in NICU, his hospital bill was over $100 K. Who's parents can afford that kind of "help"? As for moving to a "cheaper city", the wages are lower there, too. My DIL lives in a small town and works for the city. She has 3 years of college, and earns $10.00 per hour. Similar positions in larger communities pay more, but the cost of living is higher, too.

That's what you boys have been telling us for YEARS, Jack. I think that's how I ended up with 4 kids in 5 years!

I understand. I grew up in the middle of the Southern Baptist Bible belt. I went to public schools with maybe 2 or 3 other Catholic kids. People, even adults, used to tell me that I was going to hell because I was Catholic and Catholics worship statues! Where do people get this stuff??? And what kind of Christian tells a 10 year old that they're going to hell? My friend Margie suffered the same fate. Her mom was less patient and more direct than mine. She said, "Tell them to kiss your ass."

I'm curious as to why God would wait until 1946 to enlighten people as to the correct interpretation of this scripture. One would think He would have gotten around to that much sooner.

Jodie, you seem to think that if people work, they won't have any problem supporting themselves and their children without help of any kind from the government. Let's do the math.... A single mom (2 kids) with a HS education, maybe even some college, can earn maybe $12-$14 per hour. That's $2400 per month, gross. Taxes will eat up at least 12%, leaving her with $2112. If her children are pre-schoolers, she has to pay day care. That's gonna cost her at least $800 per month. Now she has $1312 left for the month. An all bills paid apartment - 2 bedrooms - runs about $850 in my area, and that's the crummy ones. Now she's got $462. That's barely $100 a week. With that, she has to buy food, shoes, clothes, school supplies, gas for her car (let's hope it's paid for....there is nothing left for a car payment), car insurance, diapers and formula (if she has an infant)....and the list goes on. Her kids have no health insurance because she can't afford to add them to her group policy at work. There is no money for the dentist, for glasses, or for medicine. She is working. She is doing all she can, but she can't take her kids to the doctor if they get sick because she has no money. She can't save for emergencies because it takes every penny - and more - just to survive month-to-month. And you have no pity for this woman? Shame on you.

TXU's "rate to beat" is 15 cents per kilowatt. During the hottest part of the summer we use almost 3000 kilowatts of electricity in our 2500 square foot home. Add on taxes and the other "fees" that TXU is permitted by law to charge us and our bills easily exceed $500. If TXU were not raking in obscene, record-high profits I would not be complaining, but they ARE. They are raping us and the PUC (all appointed by the governor) has given them permission to do so. We keep our thermostat set at 78 in the summer, so we aren't using power indiscriminately. We have solar screens, energy efficient windows and AC unit, and this summer had an energy assessment done. They didn't find a whole lot of "waste" and couldn't make any really good recommendations. There is nothing wrong with our meter or our house. The problem is in Austin.

Carol....most of us here are Christians, too. We may not be the same "brand" of Christian as you, but that doesn't make us less Christian. I think taking prayer out of the schools was a great idea, and you should too. I'm assuming that you would not like it if your child was taught to pray the Rosary in school, right? But it's only fair....if my child has to listen to prayers from your faith, your children should be exposed to prayers from mine. Doesn't sound like such a good idea when you look at it from that perspective, does it? Where my DH grew up (W VA) they have snake handlers. That's how they pray....holding up poisonous snakes. That is a very fundamental part of their belief, and that's okay....but I don't think I'd want my kids to learn that, either. Some churches pray in "tongues". Mine doesn't, so I'd rather my kids didn't. We make the sign of the cross at the end of most prayers (in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). A lot of people find that objectionable, although I don't understand why. My point is that no one church has all the answers. There is no such thing as a God-approved list of Bibles, no "right" way to pray. We all have a shot at heaven - not just people from one denomination. Christ preached tolerance and love and peace. He would NEVER create someone a certain way (homosexual, for example) and then condemn them for it.

Of course I have a Bible. I am a Lector at church. That means I read from the Bible, to the congregation. But I don't own one of the Bibles on your list, so I guess mine isn't "instructed by God", right? Christ, the ultimate authority, is not quoted in either Corinthians or Romans. My post said that Christ does not say a word about homosexuality in the Bible....and He doesn't. Nevertheless... "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (malakoi), nor abusers of themselves (arsenokoitai) with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 If the word "homosexual" appears in your Bible in this passage then you're holding a version that was written after 1946, since the word "homosexual" didn't even reach common usage until the late 1800's. Prior to the 1946 Edition of the Revised Standard Version, the words that "homosexual" has replaced in many modern versions have included "boy prostitutes, effeminate, those who make women of themselves, sissies, catamites, the self-indulgent, sodomites, lewd persons, male prostitutes, and the unchaste." It seems both helpful and honest to recognize that what often finds it's way into current biblical interpretation is not a more informed understanding of the biblical text based on years of accumulative knowledge but on imposing our own culture, complete with its prejudices into the Bible. What else would explain the shift in meaning and the narrowing of focus in the interpretation of this and other passages over the last fifty years?

Does anyone else watch that show on HBO (Big Love)? I love it! I can't wait for the new season to start.

Jodie...you are gonna make a GREAT Republican! You should run for office some day!

I think polygamy is a terrible situation for the wives involved, but if they are consenting adults, I have no problem with it. Maybe it's because I never had a sister, but sharing big ticket items - like a husband - is just not something I'm good at.

Evidently, Carol, you do not believe that my Bible is "instructed by God", since it is not on the list you provided TOM. I am very curious as to what makes you think that your Bibles are holier than mine. Does God place some kind of mark on them, like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval? And how can there be more than one version of the "true" Bible anyway? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

There is not one single instance in the Bible where Christ mentions homosexuality - not one.

Carol...not sure I understand your post. If you don't agree with a lot of things the Bible comes up with, how is that different from questioning the word of God????

Sorry....I don't see the correlation between parenthood and marriage. Neither is dependent on the other. Plenty of people (too many,maybe) have children but never bother to get married. Producing children is merely biology. Gay couples adopt or utilize IVF etc to create their families. So do straight couples. I have an adopted son. I had to explain to him that a whole other set of parents was needed in order for him to be born. But no need to worry about him....he's fine. And he knows how babies are made, too. Now he's hoping that his 17 year old knows how NOT to make them.

Jodie... Please post a link to a news source that says one single person starved to death in Jasper, TX as a result of hurricane Rita. Just one. As for Perry's humanitarian act, he declared about 6 counties to be disaster areas, not just the town of Jasper, and then he promptly applied for federal funds to clean up and rebuild. It was the least he could do, as governor. Visiting the aftermath of the storm also got him some great (and free) media coverage to kick off his 2006 campaign with. Texas is a "cheap" place to live? You think so? We pay 50% more for electricity than anyone else in the country. And while we don't have a state income tax (yet), we do have one of the highest sales taxes in the nation. Mine, including local taxes, is 8.25%. TXU is making record-breaking profits, courtesy of the PUC (all appointed by the governor), who allowed 4 raises in just over 12 months. How is that "cheap"? As for Social Security....you think you pay for it, do you? How about the SS taxes that my DH paid for 40 years? Don't you think he might have earned the benefits he receives now? Do you receive any pell grants or subsidized student loans to help with your education? I'm paying for those, you know. Social Security is insurance, not welfare. Nobody gets a dime unless he/she (or a dead or disabled parent) paid into the system. Now Congress...that's a nice retirement package. Serve one term in Congress and you can retire with a really nice life-long pension. I'm sorry that your grandfather chose not to accept SS benefits, but they are NOT "other people's money". If he paid into SS, it was HIS money, too. I assume that your parents feel the same way and will not be accepting monthly retirement checks from the Feds? How about Medicare? What will they do for insurance coverage, once they are too old to work? One heart attack can easily cost 150 K in hospital costs. Even the best planners/savers can't afford to pay for many of those. And most senior citizens do not have a morphine habit, by the way. Surely you can't suggest that is the case, simply because you know of one elderly man who has a drug problem. I just read yesterday how many millions are being spent nation-wide to combat meth addiction and labs. If I'm not mistaken, the meth problem is almost 100% a "younger generation" epidemic. But I'm paying, like everyone else, for stringent control of over-the-counter decongestant meds so kids can't kill themselves quite so easily by cooking and using meth. You see, Jodie, when one segment of society has a problem, we ALL have a problem. As one of the "baby boomers", let me assure you that the last thing we want to do is live off our children and grandchildren. Most of us not only paid into SS but once it became available we also took advantage of things like 401 K and IRA's. Unfortunately the cost of living outdistanced our savings, by a long shot. Property taxes are so high that many of us have had to sell our homes, even after working 30 years to pay for them, because it costs thousands of dollars in taxes and insurance just to live in our own houses. My brother, who did 3 tours in Vietnam, is one of those. Tarrant County kept raising the evaluation on his house - doubling it between 1989 and 2004- until he was forced to sell his home. What a fine job Texas has done of repaying him for his military service. Rick Perry said he would not waste any more money on education. Do you consider public schools part of the welfare system? I don't. I consider them an investment in our future. If we don't pay teachers a living wage, where will we find qualified people to teach our kids? Do you know why there are so few men teaching in public schools now? Because you can't support a family on what Texas pays its teachers, and men are traditionally the primary wage earners. Rick Perry left millions in matching federal funds for Medicaid on the table, choosing instead to cut health care for children. For CHILDREN, Jodie....not drug users or do-nothings driving purple Cadillacs. Children cannot help themselves. They cannot get a job and pay for their own eyeglasses. Did you know that in some poor school districts, children have to share eyeglasses because they no longer qualify for Medicaid? Does that make you feel good, knowing that you support the man who opposed buying glasses for kids, but said he is "all for" cutting the business tax - before big business has to actually pay a dime in additional taxes. Keep studying, Jodie....you still have a lot to learn about politicians.

That's certainly what Perry is hoping for. Right now he is in a solid first place with 30+%, Bell is second and Strayhorn a close third. Carol's supporters are very loyal and unlikely to switch, even to oust Perry. RP probably lost as many votes to Strayhorn as Bell did....maybe more. She used to be a Republican herself, after all. I hate that we are going to elect this jackass by voting FOR two better candidates, instead of voting AGAINST Rick Perry. Oct. 29, 2006, 12:06AM CHRONICLE-11 NEWS POLL Voters are likely to re-elect Perry</SPAN> Despite poor job reviews, he has 38% support while Strayhorn, Bell split ticket By R.G. RATCLIFFE and LISA FALKENBERG Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN - A majority of likely Texas voters say they are unhappy with the job Republican Rick Perry has done as governor, but he is likely to win re-election because his opposition remains splintered, according to a new poll conducted for the Houston Chronicle and KHOU-TV. Perry leads a five-person field with 38 percent support, according to the survey. Democrat Chris Bell has 22 percent support, and independent Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has 21 percent — a statistical tie. Independent Kinky Friedman trails badly at 10.5 percent, and Libertarian James Werner has just 1 percent support. Disapproval of Perry's job performance is almost universal across Texas' demographic groups, according to the survey. Perry still has solid support from conservatives and Republicans. "Could this have been a competitive two-person race? Absolutely. But it was never a competitive two-person race," said pollster John Zogby. "You get back to that one point: Bell and Strayhorn are blocking one another." Bell — despite a saturation television-advertising buy paid for by $2.5 million in donations and loans from Houston trial lawyer John O'Quinn — remains largely unknown to four of every 10 voters. And Bell has yet to consolidate even his own Democratic base. Strayhorn shows strength among women, blacks and self-identified independents, but she has failed to make significant inroads with Democrats or Republicans. Friedman simply is disliked by half the state's likely voters. His disapproval rating may be caused in part by racially insensitive remarks he has made and his poor performance in the gubernatorial debate, but the respondents were not asked to say why they approved or disapproved of any of the candidates. The result: Because the winner need only get a plurality, not a majority, Perry probably will be elected to another four years in office on Nov. 7. "The difficulty here is Perry has solidified in the high 30s," Zogby said of the challengers. "It would take two candidates to implode, and the odds of that happening are very, very nil."

Jodie... And exactly WHY would we vote for a man who hasn't "come through on his promises"? Maybe because RICK PERRY IS A LIAR? I am totally underwhelmed with the opposition but I am not voting FOR Bell, Strayhorn, or Friedman...I voted AGAINST Rick Perry. Rick Perry does not value children, education, teachers, or the working class. Want to know why we have so much money in the state coffers now, with more pouring in all the time? Because Rick Perry cut Medicaid to millions of poor Texas children and elderly. He skimmed money off dedicated programs (special license plate sales, lottery, utility assistance,etc) and added it to the general fund. Now he wants to do away with the business tax, which hasn't even gone into effect yet. During Rick Perry's watch, our electric bills have more than DOUBLED. And Perry wants us to believe that total deregulation of utilities will fix that? HA! Rick Perry is the best friend big business ever had....well, since George Bush, anyway. Are you sure you can afford to support Rick Perry?