Necessary Roughness

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenburg, intending to draw the attention of Church authorities to several doctrines and practices.

One of the more nefarious consequences of the doctrines of indulgences and purgatory was that the Church used uncertainty about one’s time in an un-Biblical purgatory to coerce people into not only doing meritorious works and giving alms not only for their own sins, but for the people who were already dead — a double guilt trip. The Church, whose function is to proclaim the Gospel and save souls, had incentive to cause doubt of that salvation among its members.

The Pope still issues indulgences. The Roman Catholic church still teaches the doctrine of purgatory. Yet today one would argue matters are worse, because the Papacy is not the only “Christian” source of doctrine that places stumbling blocks in the faith of Christians. Preachers of false doctrine and their denominations have their incentives also. Some aims are noble, such as rationalizing a mystery past what the Bible teaches or a desire to use the Church to effect political and social justice. Other aims aren’t so noble, such as self-aggrandizement or the money grab. Noble or not, they take the Christian’s eyes off of the cross, and they cause Christians to stumble.

Luther and his fellow reformers risked execution rather than stray from scripture. Conventional wisdom and peer pressure would have us follow a much different track. Our eternal souls and the souls of our neighbors are at stake. The faith once delivered to the saints must be contended. Tolerance of error is not loving one’s neighbors, especially when their “truth” is a direct threat to their salvation.

While waiting for my car to warm up, I took this picture of the view east of my hotel.

Clicking on the picture will get you two more zoom levels out of the gallery.

As opposed to “fixing” the process, which has negative connotations. I skipped the Obama infomercial, working instead on my family’s November budget. Why be unproductive?

First: There is a certain wisdom in the original requirement that only property owners could vote; the whites-only requirement, not so much. The wisdom of the property-owners rule is that the owners provided their own feedback as to how much rule, tariffs, etc., they found tolerable.

Nowadays, people who do not own property can assess taxes and levies on people who do. People who do not earn an income can vote to confiscate the income of those who earn. Today’s liberals talk about fairness much more than they do about the rule and equal application of the law. Let’s fix these issues of fairness before we decide what amount of confiscation is “fair.”

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HT: Drudge

I find it most highly appropriate that Obama wants you to take the day off and not only vote, but make calls, knock on doors, and get out the vote.

It is extraordinary arrogance to think that you are making history only if you vote for the presidential candidate with the most melanin ever.

Yes, we do. Every day.

I make history. Every day. Whether it is putting my kids to bed, teaching people how to use the latest tools to do their jobs, or, perhaps even blogging, I make history that is more beneficial to my family, my country, my church, my company, and my neighbor, than a single vote for Barack Obama. You make history too, in your vocations.

I am curious how Martin Luther King, Jr., would feel about a presidential candidate parlaying his color, not his character, for higher office.

But I digress. It is significant and indicative of leftist philosophy that your work is only worthwhile if it is for a governmental process.

Go to work. Make this country great. Vote when you are able. You really will help your neighbor more than voting and recruiting for the redistributor.

All times Eastern.

Absentee Instructions

4:03 Where’s the write-in slot? Ah, there it is…
4:04 Checking the Ohio battleground polls to see whether my vote would be more effective in keeping The One out of office or showing the Republican party that socialist-lite isn’t worth my vote.
4:06 There are people running for County Treasurer, County Engineer, and County Coroner who identify themselves with a political party. Coroner? As in, if you’re a Democrat, you don’t turn the death certificate in to the State?
4:10 Oh, look, a Libertarian for representative. I wonder if he’s the Bob Barr type.
4:12 Verifying online the ones I want for Justice of the Supreme Court. Absentee voting rules.
4:16 Ewww. One justice hasn’t voted the way I liked on some issues, but the opponent is even worse philosophically.
4:18 Hmmm…four-term Democrat vs. inexperienced Republican for Court of Appeals.
4:29 Checking everything again, putting it in the envelope.