The Voice of God to Cain

“Then the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4: 6&7)

The first eleven chapters of Genesis are literary devises intended to deliver us a message about God and our human condition.  They are not history for the voice of God is first heard by Abram in chapter twelve and the words of chapter four are most certainly not the words of Moses.  Chapter four is a fictional look back to the first children of Adam and Eve, Cain being the eldest and then Abel. No one was there to document these events so we must look elsewhere for their origin and these twenty six words are the key.

The question we should want to ask of chapter four is who told this story about a God conversation with Cain and Able?  Who tells Cain that a gift from the bounty of the field is not acceptable in the sight of God?  Who tells Abel that his gift of a portion of a kill from his flock, this blood gift was acceptable in the sight of God?  If one takes the words of the text at face value, God is doing the messaging to Cain and Abel but remember this is a story.  The self interest of the storyteller, who links  the voice of God with a justification for a particular religious practice, must be considered when assigning meaning to this passage.

If we accept that God is doing the talking to Cain and Abel, we must believe that God expresses himself and his character to all men through a particular religious organization. If the story was told by religious men in order to cement their power and extend control over believers, religion then becomes the enemy of God and lessens the character of God by binding him to human definitions.  Which is it?  Is chapter four a religious statement or are these the words of God himself?

The decision is for the reader to make but let me argue for a religious understanding of Genesis chapter four.  The religious crowd at least a 1000 years after Abram, gave us this story about the supposed voice of God.

1. The text itself is the best evidence.  If this chapter were only a morality play about the evil of murdering your brother, why is a religious motive assigned to this crime?  The authors of this story were expecting that the telling would guarantee them a place of authority in Judaism by confirming the priestly practice of a blood sacrifice as central to the faith.  God, however, wanted this story in the Bible to sound a warning, a warning that among men, religion kills.

2.  Why has the Bible been preserved over thousands of years, through all manner of calamities and adversaries?  Is the purpose of Scripture to engage men with God or engage us with religion?  From the story of Cain and Abel given to us by the religious crowd we could assume that the job of the religious crowd is to engage God and our only job is to accept their religious cues. How does that sit with you?

3.  Religion not only kills but it begins with dividing and marginalizing some people within our created order.  Those of us who conform to the demands of the religious crowd are deemed to be “acceptable” in the eyes of God. This amounts to little more than a social religious cast system.  The anger and downcast spirit that welled up into the life of Cain is to be expected of any of us who are so burdened by the religious crowd.  The lack of empathy by the God character in the story is apparent as God says to Cain that these feelings are sin crouching at your door, you must control them.  Religion always plays the blame game.

4.  The entire Bible is either a witness to the voice of God or an orchestrated avoidance of the voice of God in the form of a man made religion.  The voice of God in the biblical record is surrounded by facts, people and places that are verifiable in secular history.  The voice of God as given through religion is surrounded by human intrigue, drama, politics and killing in the name of God.  The voice of God is heard in the midst of dire human circumstance and the voice brings rescue or reform or both.  The voice of God as given to us from religion is surrounded by political-social power and money grabbing to the extent that it kills body, mind and spirit. All religions are enemies to the voice, some being a lesser evil than others but there is no religion that pleases God.

The only plausible answer to this argument is that the voice of God in Chapter four was only a useful religious trick.  The actual voice of God actually spoke to Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The voice remained silent during the four hundred year captivity in Egypt and then spoke to Moses.  Upon reaching Mount Sinai, the people being lead by the voice were chained again by religious bondage lead by Moses who killed thousands of his people because they were having a party. (See: ggoslaw.blogspot.com:August 28, 2010; Holy Moses Wash)      

G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca

Bighorn

This has been a good year so far for the people of Landers.  Congratulations are due to all of our leaders and particularly the Board of Directors and General Manager of Big Horn Desert View Water Agency.  Their leadership has resulted in the annexation of county run water agency, W1, who dictated unsupported water rate increases upon our neighbors in Landers over the last few years.  Local control has been the strength of Bighorn water and now all of Landers is stronger because our board undertook this challenge.

As the celebrating subsides, the united people of our water agency need to be alert and refuse to let down our guard.  Success can be the occasion to grab increased levels of power from the people who should make local control happen.  Flares are already rising from the actions taken by the board in the last few months and the proposed future agency budgetary projections.  The question every customer of Bighorn needs to ask is who are we?  Is community unity of purpose an excuse to chase after the doings of the larger water agencies?  We are Landers folk.

Board of Directors, just tell us why water rates will be rising after this year, 2015-2016.  The projection makes little sense when in the current year, 2014-2015, spending is said to be 10% under budget (Director McBride @ 5-26 board meeting).  New spending has already been enacted, a little here, a little there, these are not huge changes nor are they unreasonable if we want to be just like the big boys.  Most worrisome to this customer is the spending changes that are in the works.

Bighorn Desert View Water Agency Board, how do you understand the projected rate increase or increases?  Even if this customer of yours is a lone voice, I am asking for an explanation.  Please find a way to include us in your planning.

Thank you for the opportunity to address my concerns, something that is now possible for all the folk of Landers.

G,Goslaw

a strategy

It appears that no one has the slightest idea what to do to counter the mess in the Middle East, a mess dumped on the world by both Republican and Democratic presidents.  No one has a clue because the progressive left says do nothing and the right wants a repeat engagement in Iraq.  The American people do not have the stomach for either alternative so may I suggest a middle course of action or strategy for the Middle East.

Our military leadership surely has a long list of possible actions that would stem the tide of Isis but these possibilities are being ignored by the politic in the White House.  Allow me to be bold or arrogant enough to make an admittedly amateur suggestion. There may be a downside to this plan but it is designed to be pro American, no longer will we be dooped by conflicted Arabs.

The strategy is for an American permanent invasion and annexation of the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq.  No notice, no invite and no coordination would be given nor expected from the pitiful Bagdad government.  American troops would no longer defend Bagdad.  All decisions and authority would be American and Iraq would be forced to pay voluntary reparations or have their oil fields blown up. Other Arab counties who have a vested interest in the stability of the region must contribute financially or America would take no action in their time of need.

The mission at Al Asad Airbase would be  primarily to control the airspace for  500 miles in every direction. Nothing moves without American permission.  A secondary mission is the annihilation of all the violent gangs in the neighborhood.  Mercenaries would be hired to do most of the fighting, be they American, Sunni or whomever.  Regular American special forces would be imbeded in the assault teams for leadership.  All non American participants would be housed outside the inner sanctum of the airbase for security.

The long term mission would be to confront and dissuade Iran and their evil intentions all around the world. If Russia gives them a missile defense, we base stealth aircraft at Al Asad. If they insist on a nuclear arsenal, we bomb at will, with no notice and no quarter given. The nations of the Middle East who have been ravaged by sectarian violence would have a chance to organize for the betterment of the people but it would be their call.

Got a better plan, speak up.

G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca





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that smell

Islam is a "dirty religion" and the bowl will stink until you clean yourselves up. Your dilemma is that you are bound to the Qur'an, your Holy Book.  The book has a lot of good stuff but the core message of the Qur'an seems to be a fundamentalist "them and us" rant whose God, Allah, rains vengeance and violence down upon all disbelievers.  To the believer goes salvation, forgiveness, a blessed life and a male dominated blessed eternity. The believer is not directly told to be the violent judgement of God upon the infidel but it is not a far reach.  The Qur'an is the problem, how does the peaceful Muslim advertise a civilized religion when at the core of this religion is a killing God?  The sole mission of Allah on earth seems to be world political conquest, one way or another.

Some would say that the peace minded Muslim believer is not an authentic Muslim. When the terrorists kill Christians and the peaceable Muslims they are sending to their own a message. Are you with the true believers and the Qur'an or do you desire the fate of the infidel?  They say to be a Muslim is to kill for Allah. As Christians we should have more respect for the honest warrior Muslim who is willing to die to make their God rule. While the storm rages elsewhere, the American Muslim is silent and claims to not be responsible for the killing.

The peaceable Muslim must make a clear choice and reject the religion of the Qur'an.  Jesus was correct when he said we cannot serve two masters for we will choose the one and hate the other. If you choose the warrior religion at least be honest. There is, however, the one true God who is waiting to come to your rescue and my rescue for he loves everyone equally. He is the equal opportunity God who has already spoken to you through your Muslim religion. Please choose the other path, another Holy Book and follow the heartbeat of a loving God who is all around us.

The world has been forced to deal with the warrior religion for about 1500 years and the battle cannot be avoided.  Try as we might, over and over again, we sniff the air and Allah reappears to take more blood, maybe yours, maybe mine.

G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca

Doubling Down

Doubling down are you, Mr. O’Reilly?  Why are you being defensive?  According to you, the “stupid” free speech conference lead by Ms. Geller in Garland Texas was legal but not “the right thing to do”.  Suddenly, Bill O’Reilly and Franklin Graham are the moral conscience of America?  With all due respect to the both of you, some of us question if any of us are worthy of that lofty perch.

Once that claim is made, one becomes accountable for the truth and vulnerable to criticism resulting from the slightest impropriety in what we may do or say.  No living human being, no prophet or spiritual leader has earned the right to so speak with the authority of life and limb, except Jesus.  You ought to write another book about the prophet Muhammad entitled, “Killing Christians”.

That brings us to your assertion that is the burr under my saddle.  Somehow, you assert that Jesus is in your corner and not with those of us who praise Ms. Geller.  You must be under a lot of pressure to make that assertion for such an argument denotes weakness.  It has been used by the proponents of every new thing that has been dumped upon we believers in Jesus over the last two thousand years.   It is the lamest of excuses for an opinion.

Mr. O’Reilly, you assert that Jesus would not go to that conference in Garland Texas.  Jesus did not mock others.  Mr. O’Reilly, you don’t know your Bible and your history is suspect.  Jesus mocked the religious establishment at every turn, on Judean hillsides, at the River Jordan, from a fishing boat on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, around a well in Samaria and on the Jericho road.  By standing up for the people, by speaking of the God who loved the little people, Jesus mocked the religious radicalism of his day.

Jesus is here today and asking believers to mock the forces of evil Muslim religious radicalism.  Mr. O’Reilly, please reconsider.

G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca

O'Reilly

Mr. O’Reilly you are wrong again, this time in grand style.  How is that FBI investigation happening?  Where is FLT 370?  Where is your Mojo?  This “stupid person” says that the Muslim cartoon contest in Garland Texas was a righteous event and a glorious shoot.  You are surrendering our liberty, you and Donald Trump are so off base that it borders on cowardice. Was the Charlie Hebdo cartoon stupid?  How would you stand up to the threats from radical Islam?  Playing dead is an invitation to greater violence and you offer no “smart” alternative short of the old duck and cover adage.

Do we believe the "peaceful" Muslims, do we believe the parents, their Imam and friends of the shooters when they say they are shocked at their actions?  Their claim is bunk!  If the peaceful Muslims want to stay silent in the face of Jihad they are also a part of the problem and not to be respected or trusted.

Get some backbone O’Reilly and stop angling for another presidential interview….they are coming ...they are here!

G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca

 
 

Cartoons Away.....

Muhammad was not God … stupid!

G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca