Re-Thinking Church Membership (Part 2)

Read entire series here and Part 1 here.

It just so happens that after my decision to start this series that Pulpit Magazine (a ministry of Shepherd's Fellowship, with John MacArthur and other pastors at Grace Community Church) decided to run a two part series on church membership. Read part 1 here and part 2 here. I have commented in each section at least once, and I think the content of both their original posts as well as the comments sections will provide a wealth of topic matter as I discuss church membership.

Part 1 . . . . . . . . Part 3

I Have Nothing To Write Tonight

Well, acutally I have lots to write, but I can't seem to put enough together to make a good post. It always seems like longer than I want, and the brain slows down sometimes. Blogger's cramp?

Memories of Lowly Attended Baseball Games

My favorite games are the ones when no fans show up. Yes I'm a fowl weather fan. Read about one over at From The Bleachers.

Building A Fence

Our rear fence fell down not long ago so this last week we have been putting a new one up. Hope to be back to more full time type of blogging soon.

Sixteen Biblical Ways To Acquire A Wife

Variations of this list are posted all over the internet, and for various reasons. Some are from atheists mocking the bible, some are for fun, while others are for making a point against the tyranny of imposing your personal beliefs upon others based on your own understanding of "what is biblical." It should be pointed out that none of these ways to get a wife are explicitly deemed by the bible to be "unbiblical." The list I chose has fifteen ways, and you can view it here.

And the sixteenth way? Mine. I'll post it at a later date.

If It's Not Wrong, How Can It Be Illegal?

James Leroy Wilson asks this question as he comments at the Partial Observer about a failed attempt by fundamentalist Christians to ban alcohol sales in an Alabama town. Their reasoning stemmed from the morality of drinking alcohol. Their opponents cited that such a ban would hurt the economy and hurt tax revenues.

But as Wilson points out, both sides missed the real points, which are "what business is it of the government if one person sells alcohol to another?" and "how can a free society prohibit something that isn't intrinsically wrong?"

A great many Christians readily label additions to God's word that restrict the behavior of others as "legalism." But, sadly, a lot fewer number see prohibitions to adding to God's word as applying to the state.

Re-Thinking Church Membership (Part 1)

What is church membership? This question needs to be answered before one can deal with how to deal with Christians as members of churches. An even more basic question is what is the church. (I have given my answer in the earlier posts of "What is Israel?", "What is the Church?" and "Israel vs. the Church")

There are only two passages in the New Testament that directly deal with membership in the body of Christ (i.e. the church). These are found in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Other, indirect dealings with membership occur in Ephesians 3-5 and 1 Corinthians 6.

My goal in this series is to show what the bible has to say about membership and compare it to what men have to say about it. Most Christians have not studied out the bible on this and have simply believed what their churches have taught them.

Part 2 .

Furrowed Brow Is Genetic

Whenever I'm in deep thought or concentrating on something, I have a furrowed brow. My pastor knows this well from when I first started at my church, listening intently at his sermons for any error in doctrine. Our new son has this furrowed brow from time to time. I'm concluding that it is genetic.

Why I'm Not Convinced That Bonds' Record Is Tainted Or That Steroid Use Is Cheating

A friend recently asked me why I didn't think Barry Bonds' home run record is "tainted." Here are some brief points. Also, I'll add a second set of brief points as to why I don't think his steroid use is "cheating" in the traditional sense of the word.

• The steroids Bonds allegedly took were not banned by baseball during the time he took them. It seems odd that people would retroactively apply the current ban to Bonds and others.
• There is an arbitrary standard as to which performance enhancing steroids are banned. Curt Schilling had radical surgery and received non-banned performance enhancing steroids prior to his famous "bloody sock" game, which led to the Red Sox' championship.
• Americans are biased toward hitting and offense, especially home runs. Last time I saw a list of players busted for testing positive, there were more pitchers than hitters. Over whom did Bonds have an unfair advantage? All the pitchers who were just as "juiced" as he was?
• Sosa and McGwire were both purported steroids users in their home run chase. But Bonds' rival for his record-breaking season, Luis Gonzales, vehemently denies using them, complete with character witnesses. How did a journeyman like him hit so many?
• I'm way too familiar with statistical fluctuations throughout baseball history - and the reasons for them (such as ballpark dimensions, baseball strategy fads, philosophy, weather, strike zone enforcement, rule changes, etc.) to believe that the offensive surge during the mid 90's to early 00's was caused by steroids. Again, why do people believe that steroids helped hitters and not pitchers?
• Baseball history (as well as life) is full of performance enhancing substances. Medicine, nutritional supplements, dietary aids, protein powders, etc. Heck, we've been told for fifty years that a bowl of Wheaties is a performance enhancing substance. Popeye's spinach?
• Bonds' steroids were illegal? The US government and its legal system is usually the last place I look for guidance in morality and ethics.

And as for steroids as "cheating":

• The arbitrary standard for performance enhancing substances, as listed above.
• Traditionally, "cheating" is a term applied to situations when personal performance is NOT enhanced. Using a cheat sheet in taking an exam, for example, is NOT an enhancement in personal performance. The test taker doesn't know the answers. It is a mere illusion to performance. Using a corked bat in baseball is NOT an enhancement in personal performance, it is an enhancement in the performance of the equipment. Cutting in front of a base when the umpire is not looking to get to the next base quicker is not an enhancement of personal performance. Applying a foreign substance to the pitched ball is not an enhancement of personal performance, but it is, again, an enhancement of the performance of the equipment. But steroids are not some magical pill, either. Benefits are only gained through hard work and exercise, which are part of being an athlete. The actual performance of the players themselves has been enhanced.

Maybe I'll post some additional thoughts some time soon.

Internet Connection Problems

I haven't posted in days now. I've had a great deal of problems connecting, and my ISP says it's my modem. I'll try to correct this within a few days.

Using The System To Beat The System

James Leroy Wilson reflects on comments to his own posts about hard-core libertarians' and anarchists' takes on Ron Paul's candidacy for president. Quote:

"...unless hard-core libertarians and anarchists vote only for candidates who promise to abolish the government immediately, they must accept the compromises of politics. If they are committed to parties and elections, they can't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Too often I hear complaints that so-and-so is not a "real" libertarian because so-and-so doesn't have the same priorities or strays from the hard-core line once too often. But if such a person can persuade more people to take the country in a libertarian direction, wouldn't we all be better off?"

One of the reasons I have such respect for Wilson is that although he has ideals, he understands that getting there takes time, patience and choosing the right battle. He accepts a slow move in the direction of the ideal. He is an incrementalist, and one who is consistent in his inconsistencies, if you will. Using the system to beat the system is a valid strategy.

This brings to mind several things said by both Jesus and Paul. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Paul, in writing his epistle to the church at Philippi, sent greetings to them from the saints in Caesar's household. These were servants of Caesar who were converted by Paul's preaching. Yet they remained in Caesar's house. Several centuries of this later and the Roman Empire was largely Christianized. Introducing a Christian message into a statist structure will eventually mean the fall of that structure.

Let's all work to divide the state against itself so that it collapses at the feet of Christ.

Some Random Facts About Me

Here are some random facts about me that not many people know:

• I was born with a tooth, and it was pulled when I was one day old. My parents' dentist was just out of school and came to the hospital. He was my dentist for over 40 years and just retired a couple of years ago. It's genetic, as my niece was born with a tooth also.
• I'm very shy, quiet and reserved when people get to know me. I'm told how mellow and calm I am, but on the inside I'm the most intense person I know.
• I learned to read and write at an early age. I was reading encyclopedias when I was four, and I catalogued my parents record collection when I was five. My childhood IQ was something like 185, and I skated through school on brain power alone. It wasn't until my upper division work in Chemical Engineering at Berkeley that I even needed to study. With no study habits ever learned, it was too late. I dropped out after three years and later became an architect.
• I jog two miles every day.
• I'm a European mutt, being parts: English, Irish, Swiss, Lithuanian, German and Swedish.
• I'm a direct descendant of a slave in the Colonial South.

Wheat and Tares

Ron McKenzie uses his experience growing up on a farm to explain the parable of the wheat and tares. He contends that in relation to the wheat, the tares are few in number. Some teachings hold to equal amounts of each, as if evil were as prevalent in the established kingdom as good. Unfortunately, there are some churches where the pastors are so zealous about keeping tares from being sown and so zealous about uprooting the tares when they think they see tares, that enormous amounts of wheat are uprooted in the process.

Five CD's For A Deserted Island

If I were stranded on a deserted island and was able to choose five CD's to listen to until Gilligan helped me off the island, these would be the five. They're not my five favorites (only three of them are) but they would give me just the right amount of musical diversity to avoid going crazy.

1. 1. Boston (Boston's self-titled debut album)
2. 2. Led Zeppelin III
3. 3. Led Zeppelin IV
4. 4. Clear Blue Sky - George Strait
5. 5. Bach's Goldberg Variations as recorded on harpsichord by Ton Koopman.

Now, you can guess my favorite three if you want.

Sleep

I fell asleep on the couch last night and stayed there. I was out. I got almost ten hours, and I still feel tired. I was going to post last night about Israel and the Church, but I'll have to do that tonight. Mrs. Scott was gracious enough to let me sleep, and took both baby feedings.

Yo, Commish! Get With The Program!

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has been acting like a weasel over whether he would try to be in attendance when Barry Bonds breaks the home run record. Read my post about it over at From The Bleachers.

What Is Israel?

In my last post, I gave a brief description of what I believe the church to be. Here, I'll give what I think Israel to be. There are several ideas of Israel. One is Jacob's new name given to him by God. One is an ancient geo-political nation in the middle east. One is a geo-political state today. I'm dealing with none of these. I'm concentrating on the idea of God's covenant people.

Israel is God's people. The people under the Old Covenant were Israel. True, they were a nation, but fundamentally they are a people. God's people. In Romans 11 there is a tree, which is Israel. It consisted of God's people, the Jews, as branches. Many of the branches lived in unbelief. God cut them off from the tree. Some branches remained. Some new wild branches (these are the Gentiles) are grafted in. Grafted into the same exact tree. Then Paul says that later on, some of the old branches may be grafted back into the tree from which they came. Grafted back into the same exact tree.

The tree never changes. Israel was the people of God before Christ came. Israel is still the same tree. Israel today is the people of God. As a Gentile believer, I have been grafted into Israel. Israel today is the same Israel as before Christ, except that a few branches were pruned, and a few were grafted in, and a few pruned off will be grafted in at a later time.

What Is The Church?

What is the church? I've mentioned in the past on this blog that (maybe in comparison to the idea of institution) that the church is, not an institution, but the people of God. I'd like to make an important modification to this.

The distinction in my modification is more one of function as compared to essence. The church (i.e. ekklesia) is not the people of God in an all encompassing sense, but it is the people of God assembled. The church is the assembly of God.

This has major ramifications on my views of ecclesiology, eschatology, the kingdom, pastoral authority, OT prophesy and other things touching these. Stay tuned for further discussion.

Yet Another Gospel

Keith Darrell admits to making ordo salutis - the order of events in the chain of salvation - the gospel way back when he was in college. I posted a while back on being taught that the doctrine of justification by faith alone was the gospel. I've also made in times past the gospel to mean many things in addition to what Paul said were the first things of importance. Among these things were the doctrines of predestination, election, the five points of Calvinism (I heard one preacher say that the bible is Calvinism) and a few others. There are those who hold that somebody who doesn't know what these things are can't be a true Christian. They are everywhere.

Rubberneckers In Church

Rubberneckers on the freeway are those people who slow down to stare at something completely normal and common to life on the freeway as if they've never seen such a thing. You know, a fender bender, somebody getting a ticket, or even an accident. They slow traffic way down and only make the troubled soul feel embarrassed.

Rubberneckers in church are those people who turn their necks to stare at somebody whose baby cries, tries to calm a toddler, or the guy at the soundboard who accidentally goofs with the volume control of the preacher's microphone. As if doing so will suddenly make things perfect again.

Turn your face, please, and concentrate on your own business.

Authority In The Kingdom

Ron McKenzie at Blessed Economist is currently writing a series of posts (starting with his July 9 post) about how authority is dealt with in the kingdom of God. Since Ron usually strings a bunch of posts along on the same topic, I'll link to his whole month of July here. His point is that authority is diffused and not concentrated in one individual or group. When a Christian holds authority, he will teach others how to use that authority and give it to them. Kind of a "hot potato" authority.

For a while now I've held to the ideas of decentralized authority in the church, in the civil realm and in other realms. But I hadn't thought of it in the way Ron puts it. Authority is transferred, and frequently. Jesus received authority from His Father, and immediately transferred it to His disciples and sent them out. He also gives us authority to build the kingdom, and when we're done, He'll return to claim His kingdom. He'll turn it over to the Father, Who will in return give it back to the Son.

Talkin' Baseball - Rated NC-17

Okay, if my theology blog is bad, my baseball blog, From The Bleachers, is WORSE! Look at the words below that got me the rating. Just everyday baseball slang. Who's running this rating site, a bunch of fundamentalists?



Mingle² - Free Online Dating


This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

death (7x) bomb (5x) suck (4x) viagra (3x) drugs (2x) crack (1x)

My Blog Is Rated "R"

Thanks to T.B. Vick's blog, Shadows Of Divine Things, for the tipoff of having your blog rated as though it was a movie. Just as the bible is full of all kinds of sin, like murder, adultery and other forms of deviant sex, malice, lying, and all the others, I discuss these things on my blog.

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
death (6x), hell (5x), murder (4x), dead (2x), dangerous (1x)

All-Star Wrap Up

The All-Star game on Tuesday was a spectacular event. I was struck by all the talent gathered together in one place. I have seats behind the visitor's bullpen (the American League for this game) and saw all the AL players. We saw each AL pitcher warm up, and there wasn't an inning where somebody wasn't warming up. A favorite moment of mine was seeing Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, two of baseball's best catchers, gather to watch Oakland's Dan Haren warm up before the game. They were discussing observation.

Willie Mays was honored in a graceful first pitch ceremony. He threw out the first pitch from center field, a fitting gesture to a great career. A really good game followed, with the level of play matching the level of talent. The home-town Giants fans never missed an opportunity to cheer for Barry Bonds, and likewise never missed an opportunity to passionately and lustily boo any announcement or performance of a player from their long time, bitter rival, the Dodgers.

The game had its share of bizarre moments, too. During the 7th inning stretch, an unknown to me pop singer named Paula Cole (Mrs. Scott is the entertainment buff in the family and never heard of her either) came out to sing "God Bless America." Technical difficulties - which were the norm rather than the exception at old Candlestick Park - prevented her from starting. The sarcastic San Franciscan crowd started singing it for her, as if urging her on from forgetting the words. Part way through I couldn't resist a sarcastic one-upish reaction of my own, and started singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", the real 7th inning song, at the top of my lungs. The clashing melody drew quite a bit of attention, and a number of people joined me, creating a cacophony of confusion. Say what you will about San Francisco, but this is one thing I've always loved about Giants fans. They have the best sense of humor of any fans in baseball by a mile.

The singer then whined out a sappy, drawn out chick-music love song version (search for it here under the heading "more game highlights". The technical difficulties were edited out and you can hear the announcer at the end say the wait was well worth it. Huh?). Gag. It was horrible, and really took the fun out of the 7th inning stretch. I think baseball should do away with this song during the 7th inning stretch. We should make "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" our national anthem. Anyway...

Also bizarre was Tony LaRussa's brain freeze managerial non-move in not pinch-hitting Albert Pujols in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded and the game on the line. Whassup wit dat, Tony? The last hurrah was commish Bud Selig presenting Ichiro Suzuki with MVP honors. Selig is no fan favorite in SF with his waffling on the Bonds home run record issue. Selig's name wasn't announced as the one presenting the award. His voice simply started with "Ichiro Suzuki..." I'm guessing that was a political move designed to spare the commish the embarrassment of the loudest booing of the evening.

All in all, it was a night to remember, and I'll never forget it. I plan to be there in Fremont when the A's host the game in their new stadium. Read a copy of this post as well as more to come over on my baseball blog, From The Bleachers.

What An All-Star Game

I was at last night's All-Star game. It was a great time of seeing all the great baseball players in one place. The game didn't disappoint, either, as the National League mounted a rally in the bottom of the 9th that brought the winning run into scoring position. More later.

All-Star Game Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Major League Baseball's annual mid-summer classic, the All-Star game in San Francisco. I've got a ticket, and I'll be there with our friends. Sadly to me, Mrs. Scott will be home with the baby, but she's very happy to have delivered. I'll write about my experience at the game in a later post.

Weather Channel Dot Com Sucks Wind

This is the third consecutive heat wave over the last four weeks that Weather Channel dot com has botched. When projected highs of 92 turn out to be 106, I call that a miss. When it's 10am, and it's already five degrees higher than the projected high for late in the afternoon, and the current weather shows a predicted high of 94 and it's currently 99, it's a miss.

Today it was 107, about 10 degrees higher than the predicted high. When I went to the store this evening it had cooled off to 100. Upon returning home, the website said it was 65. This would be a 35 degree drop in one hour. My thermometer says 90. Somebody's smoking something. Or somebody who programmed their computer is smoking something.

Warning: In Case of Rapture, This Blog Will Veer Off Course and Crash

With the rapture being the next event on the end times calendar, and Jesus' pseudo-return to earth to silently snatch His evangelical believers up into the clouds having been scheduled for each of the next Tuesdays for the last hundred years, my blogging days are numbered. I am warning my readers, therefore, that in case of rapture, this blog will no longer have a blogger behind the wheel, and it will veer off course and maybe even kill unsuspecting bystanders in cyberspace. Those left behind - or derriere a gauche - beware for your souls. To those Jews who are left behind, evangelicals - who really, really, really love you - urge you to move to Jerusalem. Where, for some reason, God will love you too, and make sure that the Anti-Christ will kill all of you. Only 144,000 of you will escape an eternity in hell, but move there anyway. Whew, I'm sure glad I'll be outta here and won't have to endure any of this. Which shows just how important it is to call the 800 number on channel 65. Note to those who find my house empty: if the rapture happens while I'm shaving and you find my razor buzzing in the sink, it won't electrocute you because it's only battery operated.

Independence Day Questions

Vache Folle raises a good 4th of July question about who authorized the Declaration of Independence. His ancestors in Georgia were not part of that, yet it happened. Their consent, he concludes, was therefore engineered for them. A good religious question is whether the American Revolution was righteous and biblical, and should a Christian have supported it. Christians debate among themselves about this. One church I attended held that this was ungodly rebellion against a legitimate civil government - the British Crown - and no Christian should support such activity. Others, like Rushdoony-style reconstructionists, see the early colonies as having established biblical local civil governments, with the actions of Parliament being rebellious against them. The American Revolution, then, to them, wasn't so much a revolution as it was a justified defensive counter-revolution. Parliament and the Crown were the rebellious bodies against legitimate civil governments. In general I tend to hold to the latter.

But as Vache Folle has held regarding the Civil War, I've come to think that there were as many reasons for the revolution as there were people involved. I've read historical accounts that call this war the "pastors' war," as many of the soldiers who fought against the British were Puritan pastors, convinced from a biblical standpoint that such a war was just. A religious decline following the war resulted since there were so many pastors lost in the battles.

Some believe that we should legitimately be under British rule to this day, but such an idea would apply at most to only the original thirteen colonies. California, for example, didn't join the union for some 70 years later. It might have been an independent state, set apart from the British Crown, and some of my ancestors may have settled elsewhere. Many of them wouldn't have met each other, and I wouldn't have been me. Scary thought.

Wrong Again and Again and Again

Ron McKenzie at the Blessed Economist posts briefly about the false predictions of the bible prophesy buffs who have related certain news items regarding the political nation of Israel with the end times. Although these false predictions are by no means limited to those who hold to the dispensational premillenial view of eschatology, it seems they have the lion's share. I'm sick of these self-proclaimed experts who couldn't predict their way out of a wet paper bag.

Not only are these newspaper eschatologians wrong about what Ron mentioned, they are never right about anything at all. They tell us about how Israel will be at war with the Soviet Union. They when it collapses, they simply make up a new future. Russia, then Iran then a central Asian republic. When the first Gulf war started, I remember, even though I wasn't a convert yet, waves of "bible believing Christians" called into radio talk shows explaining that the US attack on Iraq was the beginning of the end. It never happened. All kinds of parallels were made between Saddam Hussein and Nebuchadnezzar. Bible verses were allegorized to fit CNN Headline news.

All these years the soon-to-be ten nation European Union was viewed as the ten horned beast from the book of Revelation from which the Anti-Christ would come. Then it grew to eleven, then twelve nations. Yawn. Y2K, 9/11, Harold Camping, Jack Van Impe. All wrong. Always. Yet Christians continue to believe.

Eschatology for my kids means bed time. Ni-night.

Recipients of Grace

Throughout my wife's pregnancy and birth of our new baby boy, we have been on the receiving end of people's charity. With high "risks" of miscarriage, as well as a few other factors, she was on bed rest briefly, and limited duty for most of the pregnancy. Many of our family, friends, church, and even complete strangers helped our family out with housework, shopping, babysitting and meals. Our church has a meal ministry for mothers of newborns, and we'll be receiving them for a while.

It is amazing to see all that the people have done for our sake. We are thankful and have been humbled.

It's a BOY!

Mrs. Scott and I welcomed our latest blessing from God into the world on Friday morning. Our little bundle of joy looks just like me, according to close family and strangers alike. I don't see it when looking in the mirror, but I sure see it in my own baby pictures. Mom and baby are doing fine at home. Thanks to everybody who encouraged us in this long period of time.

Protestantism's False Gospel

Keith Darrell echoes my recent thoughts about the doctrine of Justification by Faith, but from within the context of the Presbyterian church's wranglings over the Federal Vision controversy. His post has prompted me to post about this pet doctrine of Protestants.

In my indoctrination as a Reformed Evangelical Protestant, I've been instructed many times by many sources that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is not only the gospel, not only the central issue on which the very church stands or falls, but also the main theme of the New Testament. Uhmm, no. This doctrine is mentioned maybe three times in Scripture. Okay, two and a half, but I rounded up to be merciful.

As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the center of the gospel, matters of first importance. Justification by faith, while I believe is true, is NOT the gospel, is NOT the doctrine on which the church stands or falls, and it is most certainly NOT the central theme of the New Testament. The Lordship of Christ is the central message of the NT.

"Justification by faith alone" is a reactionary doctrine. It was used in reaction to the Judaizers in the bible who wanted to add circumcision to the requirements for salvation, and it was used in the argument against the medieval Roman church, who, it was believed, added works as a requirement for justification.

Today's postmodern America, where anything and everything goes, is almost by definition certainly not inclined to hold to a works-based salvation religion. They have no idea what we're talking about when we preach justification by faith alone. If you ran for office, would you run with the slogan, "no taxation without representation"? Of course not; it would be irrelevant and you would lose the election. We Protestants are preaching a reaction to something that doesn't exist in our culture. Something that happened 400 years ago on the other side of the world isn't of much interest to today's America. So when we substitute the doctrine of justification by faith alone for the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, it's no wonder nobody listens. And we thought it was their fault the whole time.

"Impeach The Next President, Too"

...My latest bumper sticker idea.

Evangelicalese Dictionary for Germans

Gene Redlin from Northern Gleaner posted this priceless gem about English speaking German tourists on vacation in the US. Quote:

BONN, Germany — It was becoming a common annoyance. Curious German tourists were visiting evangelical churches in the U.S., and had no idea what was being said. A German travel agency finally issued a 55-page Evangelical-English Dictionary which sells thousands of copies a month to Germans vacationing in the U.S.

Cultural relevance? Nevermind.

MURDER! In the Neighborhood

I drove up on my way home from work today, and the meat wagon, tons of cops and plenty of yellow tape blocked the street about five houses down. Neighbors were out in force and yakking. I knew instantly that it was probably a murder.

The cops are silent, but the one thing they let on to is that it wasn't a home invasion. The rumor mill has a few extra juicy pieces. It's supposedly a 26 yr old male on one account, but another has the cops unable to tell if it's male or female. I don't know how scary to take that. Also a rumor that a dead dog was found, too. But the house was bought about 6 months ago, and I've never met the neighbors. Apparently, the owner wasn't the one killed. It'll be on the news tonight for sure.

[UPDATE:] The homicide made the news, and the camera that shot the crime scene footage was right out in front of our house. The news reported the victim was a 27 yr old male. I also recall being heckled by some kids (late teens/early 20's) a few days ago while jogging past that house.

Zoning Laws (Part 11) Combined With Other Laws (2)

Read entire series here.

Zoning laws can also have a combined effect with other laws such as strict building codes, local building ordinances and building permit processes. Building codes and ordinances make construction more expensive, and the permit process not only adds more cost, but sets a time limit for completion of construction. This adds hidden expense in that a greater amount of money is needed up-front for a project.

The overall effect of all these laws is a higher minimum standard of living. But this standard of living is mandated by law without allowing for the means to attain this standard. People who cannot meet this minimum level created by law sometimes end up homeless. Homelessness is often mandated by law without people knowing that this is the case.

Part 10 . . . . . . . . Part 12

Those Wacky Legalists (1-10)

. . . . . . . . (Newer Entries, 11-20)

Baby Update

Blogging has been slow of late. Mrs. Scott is now 8 1/2 months pregnant, and all kinds of fun stuff is going on around here. With the little one expected anytime now, things are a bit different.

Touchy-Feely Christianity

I don't know what it is, but modern evangelicalism contains a lot of touchy-feely things. Even those who generally reject modern types of things hold to these things. I grew up in a family that wasn't big on touchy-feely. We had no group hugs and gush wasn't an emotion we expressed. Swaying back and forth with Bic lighters during a Neil Diamond ballad type of emotion I've never grown to embrace, and I don't like those kinds of things.

A large group of people holding hands during the prayer for a meal? It ain't me. Not into holding hands unless it's my wife or kids. I also hate the electric piano. You know, like in the Styx song "Babe." It gives me the touchy-feely gag type creeps. A lot of contemporary chorus music sung in church or by "Christian" music groups uses the electric piano to yank gush emotion out of you during the song. I don't complain to my church, because I know others are edified by such things. I nearly avoid contemporary Christian music altogether. I've always gotten the impression that it is an artificially forced form of "worship," like from a network marketing scheme telemarketer or something. Grown men swaying back and forth with eyes closed, hands out and palms up in that John Tesh concert at Red Rock that repeats ad infiniteum on late night paid advertising TV that you wake up to after falling asleep on the couch? Pass the Oprah magazine. Ain't me.

And what's with breaking into small groups for prayer that lasts 5 minutes? Especially when it's done as a form of promoting "accountability." I've experienced this in retreats, conferences, bible studies, Sunday school, you name it. Across denominational boundaries and varying church circles. It always takes the same pattern. Groups of four or five, and we never have enough time for each person in our group to pray. There's always at least one complete stranger who I wouldn't tell any of my secrets to anyway. "Time to start wrapping up." But we're only half done because this other person prayed about his life story and wouldn't shut up. Who thought this up anyway? And why would anybody want to repeat it? I always feel like these types of things accomplish nothing. At least for me.

Eminent Domain - The Sin of Jezebel

In my last post, I asked if anybody would name their daughter Jezebel. Well, nobody would because she was one of the most evil, wicked women in all of history. And what was her most notorious sin? The sin of what today is called Eminent Domain (aka compulsory purchase, compulsory acquisition or expropriation in other countries). This is where modern governments use coercion in taking private property away from citizens without their consent. As evil as this practice is, modern Christians hardly speak a word against it, and in many cases whole heartedly support it.

In 1 Kings 21 (read this whole chapter here), the most wicked king in the history of Israel to that day, Ahab, coveted the vineyard of Naboth, his nearest neighbor, for his own use. He even offered Naboth money for it. Naboth refused, citing that even God forbid that his inheritance be parted with. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, found out and hired false witnesses to testify against him, had him put to death, then took possession of Naboth's land.

In the most bone-chilling verse in this chapter (v. 15), we see an almost exact pattern of the modern state, "...Jezebel said to Ahab, 'Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give to you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead." The state usually offers money in return for property, but if refused, the state takes it anyway. The only difference is that the state only threatens murder via an armed police, whereas Jezebel carried it out. Today, the state bears false witness in court against those who refuse the state's condescending offers.

As a result of this, God brought down judgment upon Ahab and Jezebel. Read the further accounts in 2 Kings 9, here and here. The final judgment upon Jezebel is this: "This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, "This is Jezebel."'"

This is a horrific thing to think about with respect to today's politicians that play games with Jezebel's abomination. May they hear this, repent, and do good before God.

Would You Name Your Daughter "Jezebel"?

It's fun to pick out names for a baby that will soon be born. Especially for a girl. Even though my wife is pregnant with a boy, we picked out a girl's name before we knew the gender. The last girl's name we would ever choose is Jezebel. I'm sure that's the case with most people.

But why? What's so bad about Jezebel? Just the name itself conjures up thoughts of dastardly evil. It is a name used to defame a woman to the lowest level possible. It is one of the harshest remarks possible, and imputes the sleaziest of whoredoms, oozing with the most depraved and vile form of wickedness. Would you name your daughter Jezebel?

Was the Apostle Paul the Rich Young Ruler?

Last January, I wrote a brief post wondering where Saul of Tarsus (later the apostle Paul) was during Jesus' earthly ministry and crucifixion. He was present at Stephen's stoning which means, in the historical timeline of the book of Acts, that he was almost surely alive during His ministry. He was schooled by Gamaliel, and he was a Pharisee, so he would have been familiar with the happenings in Jerusalem. I wondered if he could have been the rich young ruler spoken of in the gospels.

Well tonight at our bible study, we looked at Matthew 19's account (read Matthew 19:16-30 here) in the context of God's seemingly "unfair" system of rewards with the first being last and the last first. It struck me that he would have been the last of the apostles, but first in fame and writer of more NT material than the rest. He was known as the apostle to the Gentiles. When He told His disciples that it was hard for a rich man to enter heaven, they wondered who could enter. Jesus said that with God, all things are possible.

He could have been prophesying about this man right on the spot without any of them knowing it. If this were Paul, the rest of them would have come to know him later on. Paul would fit the rest of this passage, too. He would be one of the twelve who sat on a throne, he was rich, a young ruler. His rejection by Christ because of his covetous heart toward material things could have triggered a resentment toward Him. He went away grieving, but that could have turned to malice and persecution of those who were followers. Of course, all this is speculative reading between the lines. Maybe some archaeologist will dig something up on this someday. Until then...

Read Part 2 and Part 3

Ron Paul For god - and - Libertarian Fearmongers

Two topics lumped into one short post. Okay, Ron Paul won't win the election in 2008. But his running for president is bound to bring up some much needed discussion on topics that have been left under the rug. Some people, it seems, are so enraptured with him that they are ready to thrust him past the presidency and into the position of God. A little less Ron Paul worship, please.

Some libertarian writers are really no different from the fearmongers of other ideological persuasions. Whether from no-nukes, neo-cons, environmentalists or religious fundamentalists. Yes, we know that the state is dangerous and commits many evil acts, but the idea that the state will plunge us into a totalitarian abyss of hell in just a few short years is taking things a bit far. A little more optimism, please.

Jewish Rabbi Against National Israel and Zionism

A friend sent me a YouTube clip (approx. 4 min.) of a Jewish Rabbi who opposes the existence of the nation of Israel and the "false" religion of Zionism. He claims that the Jews, Muslims and Christians have lived in peace in the Middle East for years, and only the phenomenon of Zionism has created the huge problems there in recent decades. I've heard things like this before. There is a Jewish community in Iran and has also been Jewish member of the Iranian Parliament.

It makes me question even more the US involvement in the Middle East and the bizarre eschatalogical doctrines found in dispensational pre-millenialism.

WWII Bombers Overhead

When I was a kid I loved watching World War II documentaries. I was fascinated by the war as history and loved the "conventional" (i.e. pre-nuclear, pre-jet, pre-electronic technology) aspect of it. I was particularly interested in allied bombers.

This last week, a group of touring, restored WWII bombers have been flying out of our local airport. Occasionally, maybe annually, this group of bombers comes to our area. This year, a B-25, a B-24 and a B-17 are featured. You can take tours of the planes, and for $425 you can fly in one. Our house is within a few hundred yards of the flight pattern on the last loop before landing. They also fly close to the freeway down to where I work, so I've seen them several mornings on my drive in. Today, they've been flying overhead all day.

The noise they make is awesome. It's hard to imagine thousands of them at a time flying out of England on their way to Germany. While typing, a B-17 (my favorite) just flew low over head just a few blocks away. Whoa!

Zoning Laws (Part 10) Combined With Other Laws

Read entire series here.

Zoning laws are combined with other laws to create some more road blocks to freedom. Tax laws are frequently used along with zoning laws to create excessive incomes for governments to play with. Property is re-zoned according to the amount of tax money that is projected for governments to receive. Property taxes are often used to fund public schools. Sales taxes also act as an incentive for governments to re-zone property as commercial. Eminent domain laws are used to confiscate private property in the re-zoning process without regard to private property rights.

Part 9 . . . . . . . . Part 11

Justification By Faith - Alone?

T.B. Vick at Shadows of Divine Things has an interesting post about the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. Read it here.

I Always Wondered Why Gas Stations Never Had Sales or Discounts on Gas

But now I know why.

Slow Holiday Blogging

I've noticed over the last year or so that blogging, or at least with the blogs I read, takes a nap at holidays. This being Memorial Day weekend in the US. I'm not sure why. Other projects? Out of town? Excessive barbequing? Too much to eat?

Maybe some of you could comment on what you did this weekend.

Taking Things for Granted

Quite often Christians are warned against taking things for granted, as if such a thing were a sin or at least a problem. But what about taking things for granted that have been granted to us? Occasionally, I hear warnings against taking our salvation for granted. But God has granted it to me. So, if I take it for granted, is it a problem or a sin? What, is God going to take it back from me? If I take it for granted, then I know that I don't have to toil in perfectionism in order to keep it, and this is good.

So, we should only refuse to take things for granted that haven't to our knowledge been granted to us.

A Dad Named Sue

The father of the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, Josh Hancock, recently killed in a car crash is suing everybody in the phone book for being contributors to his son's death. Hancock was drunk, speeding, talking on his cell phone and not wearing a seat belt when he slammed into a tow truck that was helping a stalled car on the interstate. But it's everybody else's fault.

Named in the lawsuit, according to this Comcast article, are Cardinals radio announcer Mike Shannon's restaurant, Shannon's daughter and restaurant manager, the towing company, the tow truck driver and the driver of the stalled car. Apparently the stalled car and tow truck were not out of the way of oncoming traffic. The driver of the stalled car is being sued for being "negligent in allowing his vehicle to reach the point where it stalled on the highway, and for failing to move it out of the way of oncoming traffic." It's not clear whether the Cardinals or Major League Baseball will be added to the lawsuit. They probably won't, since they have enough money to squash this guy in a lawsuit of such high profile.

What's interesting about this is that using the father's own logic, a case could just as easily be made, and maybe more easy to win, that his own negligence as a father in raising somebody who would do such a thing contributed to the damage to the tow truck and to the now stained name of the driver of the stalled car. I can't wait to see if the name of the person Hancock was talking to on the cell phone is released and why that person wasn't named in the lawsuit. He or she probably could tell he was drunk and that he was driving a car. Now that would be a freaky thing, to be talking to somebody on the phone and have them die in an accident during your conversation.

Glove Romney

When it comes to baseball, I have a good understanding the difference between a mitt and a glove. When it comes to politics, I have no clue.

Zoning Laws (Part 9) McMansion Suburbia

Read entire series here.

SuperSize me. American suburbia has entered a phase where house sizes are continually increasing for the same (or smaller) size families that live in them. This is often criticized as consumerism run rampant, is looked upon as an increase in selfishness and materialism, and is preached against by both environmentalists and religious leaders. But a closer look reveals something different.

Since zoning laws dictate minimum lot sizes, and thus limits the availability of lots, an artificially high price of land results. This is true of land prices, but not of construction costs. So over time there is an increase of land value versus house value. The piece of dirt is the biggest factor in the price of a home. What this does is creates a false sense of value through building a larger house. If a buyer could buy a 1000 square foot house for $1.1 million and a 3000 square foot house for $1.2 million, most are likely to opt for the latter. Those marginalized people who can afford a $1.1M house, but not a $1.2M house will simply buy the 3000 square foot house in the next community level down. Living life in one's house is more important than living on the land that house is on, even though the land costs more. For only 10% more money, one can obtain three times the house on the same piece of land. So, for the value, the largest house makes the most sense. Developers know this very well. People want a house, but the land is the biggest cost.

This has led to the latest building fad here in the San Francisco area, known as the "knockdown." People are now buying houses, let's say a ranch house built in the 60's, and they don't like the ugly architecture or small size. They bulldoze the house, because it's value is so small compared to the land on it. They then build a new, larger house in its place. It sounds ridiculous, but it makes economic sense.

Now something about value. Buying the "family size" product at the store is of value because at a larger size, the cost per unit is lower. It is more valuable for a family to buy this size than twice the amount of the regular size. But there's a side to it that we tend not to think about. For the individual, actually buying the smaller size, even though it has a higher cost per unit, can have the most value. If the bulk size item is too large for me to consume and will go bad before I can use it, or if I don't have the space to store it, then the smaller size is the best value for me because I won't be wasting money on something I can't fully use.

But for many people, zoning laws actually prohibit them from gaining the best value in land because the smaller size land item is unavailable. Imagine that. Getting a good land value is against the law! So people simply do what is the next best thing. Value is transferred from the land to the house. McMansion suburbia has more to do with reacting to zoning laws than with greed and selfishness.

Part 8 . . . . . . . . Part 10

God and His People: Limiting the Use of Biblical Metaphors

The bible uses quite a number of metaphors to describe the relationship between God (and/or Christ) and His people. This is because the relationship is complex. Many metaphors are used, as analogies, simply because this relationship can't be described in its fullness. Every analogy fails at some point, so each metaphor has its limitations.

So when we restrict the number of metaphors used in describing this relationship, we do violence to this relationship. Off the top of my head, here are some metaphors describing our relationship to God:

God is our God, we are His people. God is a Father, we are His children. Christ is the vine, we are the branches. God/Christ is the Lord/King, we are His subjects. Jesus is the Master, we are His disciples. Jesus is Master, we are servants. Christ is the head, the church is the body, with individuals being members of the body. Christ is the bridegroom, the church is the bride. Christ is the heir, we are co-heirs. We are brethren, Christ is our elder brother. Christ is the temple, we are the stones. We are the temple, the apostles are the foundation, and Christ is the cornerstone. Christ is the shepherd, we are the sheep (individuality) and Christ is the shepherd, we are the flock (community).

Some, like the high-church types, limit our relationship to maybe a few of these metaphors. Others, to quote a pastor friend of mine, "like Rome, almost drop the metaphor completely and assume a genuine ontological reality - the most obvious example is what they do with the 'body of Christ.' It's a metaphor, not an ontological statement about the extension of Jesus' incarnation!" Much of what goes on in Protestant theology, as well, limits our existence to the confines of the church, and its few metaphors, when the greater applications of metaphors suggest that the kingdom, and our relationship to God in it, is far greater than the church.

How The Government Turns Potential Destruction Into Guaranteed Destruction

Have an ash tree in your yard? Even if you don't, read this over at the Anti-Positivist.

[UPDATE: Gene Redlin, who makes a living at horticulture, made a comment on the ash tree disease story I linked. Thank you, Gene, for the additional information.]

How Did The Devil Get Control Of The Earth? (Part 2)

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give you all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God and serve Him only.'" Luke 4:5-8 NASB

Read Part 1 here.

My answer to my question in Part 1 is that the devil gained control of the earth through Adam's disobedience in the garden. God gave Adam and Eve control of the earth. Authority was delegated to them. God was still ultimately in control, but authority over the land, the animals and plants were given to them. The animals also had authority over the plants as food. It could be argued that within the marriage, there was a kind of authority structure between husband and wife, too.

Satan was left out of this chain of command, left out of the picture altogether, and was envious. The chain of authority went like this: God, then man (and Adam then Eve within the marriage), then animals, then plants including the forbidden fruit. Satan wanted to be God. So to get to be God, he turned the authority tree upside down. He presented the fruit to the woman. But to keep the authority relationships in order, he had to enter the scheme as an animal; he chose the serpent. So he used the fruit, as a serpent, to deceive the woman, who deceived the man, and both of them took Satan at his word, replacing God's word. Satan tricked them into listening to him now instead of God.

Since God delegated authority to Adam and Eve, Satan by tricking them gained that authority he wanted by having them substitute him for God. An analogy would be if a father entrusted the family inheritance, a coin collection let's say, to his son to pass on to future generations. The son had legitimate control over the inheritance. But, neglecting his father's will, he sold the coin collection to the pawn shop to use the money for his own, new ideas. The pawn shop, even though it now had control over something that was never intended to be theirs, now had some form of legitimate claim over the coins. The father, seeing the stupidity of his son, went to the pawn shop to buy back the coin collection. Buying back is known as redemption. Not at a cheap price, either.

That's how I think Satan gained control of the earth, and he offered it to Christ - if He would but worship him - as the final action of gaining authority over all, as God. More later.

Vache Folle Isn't Quite Himself - Neither Am I

Vache Folle readily admits that his name is not really Vache Folle. To quote:

Why do I go by the moniker of Vache Folle instead of using my real name? I don’t want my employer to know all my opinions on things. I have a stuffy job and some unorthodox views, and these might not mix all that well. I also want to be able to report on the attitudes and opinions of my coworkers without their knowing that I am doing so. I also want to write about religious issues without my coreligionists’ being able to identify me and brand me a heretic. That’s the extent of it. Not too creepy, is it?

When I started blogging a few years ago, I wrangled over using my real name. Each reason that VF brings up has spun around in my mind. I've even blogged about my blogging anxiety. This Sunday I was talking to my pastor after church, and I told him I was doing a lot of thinking about zoning laws and other state activities that ruin our lives on a day to day basis. He said, "I know. I found your blog." Whew! One anxiety down. Mrs. Scott and I had a good laugh over that one on the way home.

There are many things, I guess, that I'd like to write about that stem from my real experiences in life, but my name being out there prevents me from doing so in a full way. That's really not that bad for me. Maybe my name being attached might help me to gain confidence in my internal believing function (or whatever you call it.) In any case, my blog is my blog. Love it or ostracize, excommunicate or jail me.

When Friends Don't Mix

Most of my friends are friends because I have more in common with them than not. Many I would say I agree with them on maybe 90% of what they believe and on 10% I disagree. But occasionally, there is occasion for certain friends of mine to mix with other friends. When one friend's 10% that I don't agree with runs into another friend's different 10%, it can be quite a clash.

Recently, a number of blogsite friends of mine have gone to war with other blogsite friends on their sites. I can count five different incidents, some of which are ongoing, just off the top of my head. Now, where to stand if I'm put on the spot?

Killing Jerry

I'm no fan of Jerry Falwell's politics. Or his fundamentalism. Or support of the GOP, or the war, or his foreign policy, or his dispensationalism. But the absolute venomous hatred spewing out from some of his opponents is beyond tasteless. Some of these people are absolutely sick. I don't know if it's the internet that makes it seem this way, but this is as bad, if not more so, than when Richard Nixon died.

Falwell Death A Hoax

The liberal news media have been reporting all day that the Rev. Jerry Falwell has died. Since you can't believe anything the liberal media says, the only conclusion is that his death is a hoax. Fabricated, no doubt, by liberals, gays and feminists.

But seriously, this shows us the value of Jesus' instructions in the sermon on the mount about judging others (not that we shouldn't) because the way in which we judge others will be meted out against us in return. I did a Google blog search and it's simply amazing the number of Falwell's quotes that are being used against him, rightly or wrongly. Especially those quotes that have to do with God's judgment.

Zoning Laws (Part 8) Israel as Community

Read entire series here.

The last time I read through the four gospels, I noticed something I hadn't seen before. Quite often, Jesus' dealing with the people came in settings where the social classes were integrated. In the account of the woman who wiped His feet with her tears, the Pharisee thought to himself that if Jesus knew what manner of woman she was, he wouldn't be associating with her. But the striking thing about this account is that she was in that very Pharisee's house. If he knew what manner of woman she was, why was she in his house to begin with? It seems that the poor had access to not only the neighborhoods the rich lived in, but sometimes to their property too.

Gleaning laws, and others, put the rich and poor together in the same community. Ruth, a Moabite woman, happened upon a prominent member of the community, Boaz. The rest is history as they say. When rich and poor live together in the same community, it is far easier for the rich to minister to the poor. God understands this well, but we moderns prefer zoning laws that prevent such mercy.

Part 7 . . . . . . . . Part 9

More Sermon Prep

A couple of posts ago I wrote concerning Gene Redlin's question about prepping for a sermon. In reviewing my own post, I seemed to continue a bit on my comments over there, and left with a possible misunderstanding of my view of preaching. I'm not suggesting that the pulpit is wrong, just that it is a tradition, mostly used for good, but sometimes abused. If it is placed above other essentials, to their neglect, then it can be idolatrous. I have a friend that told me he did 60 hours of prep to substitute for one Sunday school class. Things can be overdone.

Occasionally, I hear sermons with little prep, such as when the regular preacher has something come up at the last minute and can't do it. Prep can be helpful, but I think that a life in the Word, with preaching on something many times before, can help with a spontaneous sermon.

Masters of Imputation

We Protestants love our doctrine of imputation. Our sins are imputed to Christ and His righteousness is imputed to us. But doctrine without "practice" - or practical application to the real world - is meaningless. So we become masters at imputation.

What I mean by this is that we take the formal, official doctrines of a given church - no matter how minute or how old or outdated - and impute them, all of them, to every one who attends that church. We don't like what the medieval Roman church had to say about justification by faith, or what they said about those who hold to the Protestant view (Trent)? Well, then, every Roman Catholic living in 2007 implicitly believes the same thing, and none of them can be saved as a result. Read some comments here about Francis Beckwith's "conversion" to Catholicism. We drive by a playground full of Catholic schoolgirls in their plaid skirts playing teatherball and say, "Yup. There's the Council of Trent in action right there, you betcha."

If we applied some of these ways of thinking consistently, then we should conclude that Martin Luther, who didn't want to leave Rome, but simply reform some things, didn't become saved until he was excommunicated. We should also impute the hellish religious doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus and His band of followers. Some of his closest followers (the bible calls them apostles) continued to attend synagogue on Saturdays, even with the same rulers in charge, well after Jesus was crucified.

Preparation for a Sermon?

Gene Redlin at Northern Gleaner questions the necessity of preparation for a sermon. I'm convinced that the Protestant doctrine of the pulpit is simply a tradition within Protestantism, and not mandated by the bible. Preaching is biblical and quite necessary, but how the pulpit is worked out isn't. Often, the pulpit takes precedence over other biblical necessities when we assemble, seen most when the preacher goes over his normal time and other things are squeezed out. Many pastors study all week as a "full time job" simply in preparation for their sermon, when the bible calls them to shepherding of the flock. Shepherding requires spending time with the sheep; time that sermon prep often cuts out.

Also, a high view of the pulpit can lead to other manufactured practices or twisted beliefs. Don't you dare get up to go to the potty during the sermon in some churches. Even if God gave you a small bladder. Sermons are often tailored to the length of a cassette tape, yet can go just far enough beyond the end of the tape as to render the tape less than ideal.

Saturday Night Potpourri

• I saw a fire engine a few hundred yards ahead of me on the freeway with its lights flashing. I saw another one passing on the other side of the freeway. If each had gone to each other's emergencies, wouldn't they have gotten there faster?
• I've seen thousands of women apply their makeup in the car mirror on their way to work in the morning. But I recently saw one at night. She was using the lighted compact mirror in the sun visor.
• I had an off-brand alarm clock that was driving me nuts. The snooze would occasionally work only once and I would wake up late. The buttons also made a very loud clicking noise that would wake up my wife if already asleep. Get what you pay for.

Zoning Laws (Part 7) Scarcity of Lots, Not Land

Read entire series here.

Because zoning laws have set minimum lot sizes within a jurisdiction, not only is a minimum wealth threshold set for living there, the number of lots available in that community is fixed. Land owners do not have the freedom to subdivide into lots small enough to accommodate market needs. Instead, the number of lots available is limited by law. An artificially low supply of lots is maintained, and with no decrease in demand, land costs are artificially higher than they would be with a free market. This further hinders the poor (or middle class) from being able to live in a desirable community.

Part 6 . . . . . . . . Part 8

Zoning Laws (Part 6) Separation of the Poor

Read entire series here.

Since zoning laws essentially set the threshold wealth level of each community, the poor have little choice but to live only in the communities that they can afford. This means that the poor are usually lumped all together in a given community. The rich can afford to live elsewhere, so they usually do.

When the poor are lumped into one community, and the rich and their businesses can afford to thrive in other communities, the poor have diminished access to good jobs, thus reinforcing their poverty.

Part 5 . . . . . . . . Part 7

Twice the Son of Hell - Legalism and Tyranny of the Conscience

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:15

It's been my experience that when legalism exists within the leadership of a church or Christian circle, even if to a small degree, that those legalisms are magnified greatly among the followers. Jesus sums this up in another place by saying that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. The first two churches I attended were what I would call greatly legalistic. Not as bad as some, but pretty bad.

In the first church, the prominent teacher also had a nationally broadcast nightly call-in radio program. Listening every night was common among his followers. I listened to him for years. Among his simplest legalisms were the beliefs that partaking of alcohol, tobacco, dancing and going to the movies were sins in and of themselves. All kinds of Scripture-twisting gymnastics were involved in backing up these beliefs. But this had a monstrous affect on the consciences of his listeners (and church attenders), most of whom only knew him from his radio show. I heard untold hundreds of callers ask the question, "Is it a sin to [fill in the blank]." Some would call-in and ask, "I'm a clerk at a grocery store, and I know it's a sin to use alcohol and tobacco. But my job requires me to ring up items and place them in shopping bags, and this sometimes includes alcohol and tobacco. I can't help but feel that I'm contributing to the sins of others. Is it a sin to be a grocery store clerk?"

Guilt by association is one of the errors of legalism. It also causes people to question God's creation and dealing with other people in good faith. Legalism also causes people to seek black and white answers to all of life's minutae, instead of the building up of personal convictions within the gray areas as a result of life's experiences. Legalism is the lazy man's shortcut to the leading of the Spirit.

But far worse than my example above where somebody asks the question is the one where the answer is already decided as, "Yes it is a sin" and then goes through life condemning all others who dare be attached, even if remotely, to the sins of others. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, and those affected are twice the sons of hell. Woe to you, Pharisees.

Too Late, Too Tired

This week I've been up/out too late with having to get up too early to have much time to blog. And any time I've had to blog has been met with blogger's cramp, brain clog or whatever you want to call it. Time to go to sleep

Role Reversal and Losing the War in Iraq

James Leroy Wilson has about the best take on the war in Iraq as I've seen. Read his short blog post here. American conservatives, religious ones included, are the biggest supporters of this war. And who are these conservatives?

Well, ideologically they are the ones who believe in small, de-centralized government, low taxes, individual freedom and the personal responsibility that goes along with it. They warn us of the world threatening dangers of Islamofascism, and urge an all-out fight against Islamofascists in the Middle East. And who are these Islamofascists?

Well, ideologically they are the ones who believe in centralized government, controlled by their religion, who decry individual freedom as the Western evil.

Yet, the conservatives want the war to be fought by the military of the centralized, US government, with the cost paid by the American taxpayers. Individual freedom to oppose this war is an act of treason and an aid to the enemy, while personal responsibility is viewed by them as a duty to support such war, and is the definition of patriotism. Not only this but the tool of war, the US military, is one of the most centralized, top-down entities there is. There is no personal freedom for its soldiers, as they are taught to obey their superiors at all costs. All for a salary of about $20k per year.

The biggest irony of all is that the war strategies of each side are a reversal of roles from the ideologies of their respective societies. The US is using a top-down, centralized, micro-managed standing army, while the insurgents are de-centralized, hide-behind-the-bushes, know-your-own-neighborhood bands of renegades. A complete reversal of the role we had in our own Revolutionary War. We took Iraq's standing army no sweat, because our standing army was superior. Bush declared victory. But then, as if it were some kind of surprise, the real war started. Is it any wonder our butts are getting handed to us? Those who refuse to listen to history are bound to repeat it.

To the supporters of this war I say: If this war is so important to the future of both Christianity and Western Civilization, why aren't you acting on your individual freedom and taking personal responsibility to make sure victory is secured? Go fight yourself, or pay for somebody else to do so. Or are you like the social liberals that you hate so much who think they've done their fair share by simply going to the polls and pulling their party's lever?

Zoning Laws (Part 5) Bad Traffic

Read entire series here.

Zoning laws effectively establish a minimum wealth level to live in a given community. But jobs within those communities do not all pay at a level that allows the worker to live there. Most must live elsewhere. The only way for them to get to work is to commute from an affordable community where they live to a community that will offer jobs that pay well enough.

This creates bad traffic. Each community I've worked in has been way beyond my means to live there. The last few have been very wealthy suburban bedroom communities that have also had huge corporate business parks, stretching for miles, that offer tens of thousands of jobs at all pay levels. The freeways are parking lots at commute hour.

Part 4 . . . . . . . . Part 6

Zoning Laws (Entire Series In A Single Post)

I've decided to put all the parts to this series in one post, in consecutive order, and update this post each time I add another part and link to it. So, here it is, in its entirety so far:

Zoning Laws (Part 1) - State Control Over Life

My grandfather had as one of his rules of life, this: he would never live (or work) anywhere that would not allow him to walk to work. Such can only be a dream for me. I've never been able to even come close to living close to where I work, or working close to where I live. This is true for many Americans.

Modern zoning laws have among the highest negative impact, and least acknowledged affect, of any legislations of civil government. They are foundational to the American way of life itself, yet are instrumental in causing or enhancing many of our social ills. They dictate where people can live, work, shop, recreate - every aspect of life is governed by zoning laws. Not only this, but they essentially create segregation by class, and are responsible for creating many of the problems with homelessness we see. Low job availability, long commutes, traffic jams, urban sprawl, racism and contempt for the poor are planted, watered and harvested by zoning laws. Yet most people don't have a clue that this is true.

I'll be looking at zoning laws and their affects in this new series.

Zoning Laws (Part 2) Segregation by Class

One of my blogging friends recently wrote that he lived in a well-to-do community and that the churches in communities like his needed to be creative in carrying out God's commands to help the poor. Wealthy communities have very few or no visible poor at all. Another blogging friend wrote that he grew up in a very poor community and that the poverty he experienced gave him some reservations about capitalism as an economic system.

One thing these two had in common, and this is true in news stories of every nature, is that entire communities have a class status. They are wealthy, or poor, or lower-middle class, or the 'hood, or upper-middle class or blue collar, etc. We live in communities with a fairly consistent level of wealth of those who live there. We simply accept this as part of the landscape of life and never give it a second thought, or even a first one.

Starting with residential housing, zoning laws establish minimum lot sizes on which a house can be built. The simple law of supply and demand establishes "market value" for that community. Because there is a minimum lot size, and a corresponding market value for that size lot, zoning laws effectively establish the minimum level of wealth required to live in that community. Communities that are more desirable to live in have higher wealth thresholds. This effectively eliminates the ability of the poor to live in those communities.

In part 1, I mentioned that I've never been able to live in a community where I worked. If I were allowed to buy smaller lots, even to build a smaller house, than what zoning laws currently allow, I could live close to work. But I'm not allowed to do that, so I can't live in the community where I work.

Zoning Laws (Part 3) Segregation by Class

Zoning laws also limit the number of dwellings and/or families that can live within a piece of property. "Single family" residential is just that. One family must bear the burden of the minimum "market value" price of the minimum lot size combined with maximum numbers of families allowed to live there.

Only recently did my county allow secondary "in-law" units to be built on a piece of property. They're starting to notice the immense problems their zoning laws have created. The sad part is that they fail to realize their laws created the problems to begin with.

Zoning Laws (Part 4) Segregation by Class

I live in the fourth largest, and the most expensive housing market in the US - the San Francisco Bay Area. Since zoning laws essentially mandate a minimum level of wealth necessary to live in any given community, each community has its own threshold. Generally, the closer to the financial center of the area, the more expensive the housing because that's where the best jobs are.

But since zoning laws create an artificial threshold for living in any given community, job holders in the wealthier communities must live further away in outlying communities. Back in the 90's, the Bay Area's more upscale suburban cities began to discover that most of their "essential" city employees (i.e. police, fire, parks maintenance, etc.) weren't residents of those cities. They lived elsewhere. That's because it was impossible for these people to live in those cities on the salaries they received - the artificially imposed housing prices were too high. And since the only candidates for these positions had to live far away in less expensive communities, it became much more difficult to fill these positions.

Imagine passing a law that mandates the segregation of people according to class. A huge uproar among the people would occur. Such a thing would be unthinkable in America today. Although completely unintended, this is exactly what zoning laws accomplish.

Zoning Laws (Part 5) Bad Traffic

Zoning laws effectively establish a minimum wealth level to live in a given community. But jobs within those communities do not all pay at a level that allows the worker to live there. Most must live elsewhere. The only way for them to get to work is to commute from an affordable community where they live to a community that will offer jobs that pay well enough.

This creates bad traffic. Each community I've worked in has been way beyond my means to live there. The last few have been very wealthy suburban bedroom communities that have also had huge corporate business parks, stretching for miles, that offer tens of thousands of jobs at all pay levels. The freeways are parking lots at commute hour.

Zoning Laws (Part 6) Separation of the Poor

Since zoning laws essentially set the threshold wealth level of each community, the poor have little choice but to live only in the communities that they can afford. This means that the poor are usually lumped all together in a given community. The rich can afford to live elsewhere, so they usually do.

When the poor are lumped into one community, and the rich and their businesses can afford to thrive in other communities, the poor have diminished access to good jobs, thus reinforcing their poverty.

Zoning Laws (Part 7) Scarcity of Lots, Not Land

Because zoning laws have set minimum lot sizes within a jurisdiction, not only is a minimum wealth threshold set for living there, the number of lots available in that community is fixed. Land owners do not have the freedom to subdivide into lots small enough to accommodate market needs. Instead, the number of lots available is limited by law. An artificially low supply of lots is maintained, and with no decrease in demand, land costs are artificially higher than they would be with a free market. This further hinders the poor (or middle class) from being able to live in a desirable community.

Zoning Laws (Part 8) Israel as Community

The last time I read through the four gospels, I noticed something I hadn't seen before. Quite often, Jesus' dealing with the people came in settings where the social classes were integrated. In the account of the woman who wiped His feet with her tears, the Pharisee thought to himself that if Jesus knew what manner of woman she was, he wouldn't be associating with her. But the striking thing about this account is that she was in that very Pharisee's house. If he knew what manner of woman she was, why was she in his house to begin with? It seems that the poor had access to not only the neighborhoods the rich lived in, but sometimes to their property too.

Gleaning laws, and others, put the rich and poor together in the same community. Ruth, a Moabite woman, happened upon a prominent member of the community, Boaz. The rest is history as they say. When rich and poor live together in the same community, it is far easier for the rich to minister to the poor. God understands this well, but we moderns prefer zoning laws that prevent such mercy.

Zoning Laws (Part 9) McMansion Suburbia

SuperSize me. American suburbia has entered a phase where house sizes are continually increasing for the same (or smaller) size families that live in them. This is often criticized as consumerism run rampant, is looked upon as an increase in selfishness and materialism, and is preached against by both environmentalists and religious leaders. But a closer look reveals something different.

Since zoning laws dictate minimum lot sizes, and thus limits the availability of lots, an artificially high price of land results. This is true of land prices, but not of construction costs. So over time there is an increase of land value versus house value. The piece of dirt is the biggest factor in the price of a home. What this does is creates a false sense of value through building a larger house. If a buyer could buy a 1000 square foot house for $1.1 million and a 3000 square foot house for $1.2 million, most are likely to opt for the latter. Those marginalized people who can afford a $1.1M house, but not a $1.2M house will simply buy the 3000 square foot house in the next community level down. Living life in one's house is more important than living on the land that house is on, even though the land costs more. For only 10% more money, one can obtain three times the house on the same piece of land. So, for the value, the largest house makes the most sense. Developers know this very well. People want a house, but the land is the biggest cost.

This has led to the latest building fad here in the San Francisco area, known as the "knockdown." People are now buying houses, let's say a ranch house built in the 60's, and they don't like the ugly architecture or small size. They bulldoze the house, because it's value is so small compared to the land on it. They then build a new, larger house in its place. It sounds ridiculous, but it makes economic sense.

Now something about value. Buying the "family size" product at the store is of value because at a larger size, the cost per unit is lower. It is more valuable for a family to buy this size than twice the amount of the regular size. But there's a side to it that we tend not to think about. For the individual, actually buying the smaller size, even though it has a higher cost per unit, can have the most value. If the bulk size item is too large for me to consume and will go bad before I can use it, or if I don't have the space to store it, then the smaller size is the best value for me because I won't be wasting money on something I can't fully use.

But for many people, zoning laws actually prohibit them from gaining the best value in land because the smaller size land item is unavailable. Imagine that. Getting a good land value is against the law! So people simply do what is the next best thing. Value is transferred from the land to the house. McMansion suburbia has more to do with reacting to zoning laws than with greed and selfishness.

Zoning Laws (Part 10) Combined With Other Laws

Zoning laws are combined with other laws to create some more road blocks to freedom. Tax laws are frequently used along with zoning laws to create excessive incomes for governments to play with. Property is re-zoned according to the amount of tax money that is projected for governments to receive. Property taxes are often used to fund public schools. Sales taxes also act as an incentive for governments to re-zone property as commercial. Eminent domain laws are used to confiscate private property in the re-zoning process without regard to private property rights.

Zoning Laws (Part 11) Combined With Other Laws (2)

Zoning laws can also have a combined effect with other laws such as strict building codes, local building ordinances and building permit processes. Building codes and ordinances make construction more expensive, and the permit process not only adds more cost, but sets a time limit for completion of construction. This adds hidden expense in that a greater amount of money is needed up-front for a project.

The overall effect of all these laws is a higher minimum standard of living. But this standard of living is mandated by law without allowing for the means to attain this standard. People who cannot meet this minimum level created by law sometimes end up homeless. Homelessness is often mandated by law without people knowing that this is the case.

Zoning Laws (Part 12) Zoning As Theft

Jim Fedako at Anti-Positivist carries one of his own articles on zoning laws. He suggests that zoning laws constitute theft of private property, and those who support zoning laws are the thieves. Read it here.

To see all the posts in this series in reverse consecutive order, click here.

How Did The Devil Get Control of The Earth?

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give you all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God and serve Him only.'" Luke 4:5-8 NASB

Several things are striking in this passage about the temptation of Jesus. The devil claimed control over all the kingdoms of the earth. Additionally, Jesus neither corrected him nor rebuked him for this statement. He did, however, correct and rebuke for the idea that He should worship the devil. The devil said that domain over the kingdoms had "been handed over" to him.

Question: who handed the domain over to him and how did it happen? I'm thinking about this and I think I have an answer. It is certain to impact my view of kingdom history, and I think it sheds some light on other very important theological questions that have direct bearing on us Christians living today and how we should view our lives. Lord willing, I'll be writing about this soon.

Cheapskating Ourselves To Death

Gene Redlin has this over at Northern Gleaner on being cheap. Some people idolize frugality, and it will return to them. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind, I s'pose.

Zoning Laws (Part 4) Segregation by Class

Read entire series here.

I live in the fourth largest, and the most expensive housing market in the US - the San Francisco Bay Area. Since zoning laws essentially mandate a minimum level of wealth necessary to live in any given community, each community has its own threshold. Generally, the closer to the financial center of the area, the more expensive the housing because that's where the best jobs are.

But since zoning laws create an artificial threshold for living in any given community, job holders in the wealthier communities must live further away in outlying communities. Back in the 90's, the Bay Area's more upscale suburban cities began to discover that most of their "essential" city employees (i.e. police, fire, parks maintenance, etc.) weren't residents of those cities. They lived elsewhere. That's because it was impossible for these people to live in those cities on the salaries they received - the artificially imposed housing prices were too high. And since the only candidates for these positions had to live far away in less expensive communities, it became much more difficult to fill these positions.

Imagine passing a law that mandates the segregation of people according to class. A huge uproar among the people would occur. Such a thing would be unthinkable in America today. Although completely unintended, this is exactly what zoning laws accomplish.

Part 3 . . . . . . . . Part 5