Larry Peterson's Blog, page 13
September 18, 2015
Alzheimer's & Marty; Their First Anniversary
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
It is now almost one year since my wife, Marty, was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease. The doctor gave us the news as we sat together. She acted as if she understood. She did not. I have told her that she has Alzheimer's disease and she tells me that she understands. She does not. What she does understand is that something is terribly wrong with her memory. Watching her fight to remember simple everyday things such as whether or not she drinks coffee and she has been drinking it her entire life, is heartbreaking.
No one can tell she is ill, except me, of course, and several close friends that know about her condition. When I take her with me to church and to the stores etc. and we see people we know, I always hear how "wonderful" she looks. Yeah, well the Titanic looked all bright and shiny as it headed out into the Atlantic that cold, April day in 1912. When the iceberg did its dirty deed the Titanic was doomed. Nothing could have ever stopped her sinking into the cold Atlantic.
A year after diagnosis Marty has become my new seven year-old existing in an older body. She is very insecure and becomes frightened if I am not nearby. She still tries to maintain her independence as a self-sufficient person even though she cannot remember where to put the forks or cups. As her caregiver my life has become disconnected and very unpredictable because of her needing so much while trying to not need anything. Alzheimer’s is never just the patient’s illness. On the contrary, it latches on to the love of those close to its victim using that love in a sordid attempt to destroy their spirit. Most times that results in abject failure because the power of love often proves to be much stronger than the evil disease. Sometimes not.
For me, my work as a writer has become a bit scattered. It has become a fascinating existence where focus has become an evasive shadow and cohesive sentences are written in pieces and then squirreled together at another time. However, I am blessed. I have been given the gift of faith which allows me to trust the God above. This gift helps me to realize that this woman is now a special treasure from Him entrusted to my care. I have told Him, “No problem Lord, I have her back and will do my best until whatever is to be will be.” (But believe me, I do have my "knee-buckling" moments.)
Today, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's Disease and about 200,000 of those folks are under the age of 65. It is the only disease among the top ten that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured. The disease kills more people every year than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. It is estimated that by the year 2050, 16 million people will have this disease. Someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's every 67 seconds. They have estimated that by 2050 it will be every 33 seconds. This is an epidemic growing before our eyes. It is also becoming a nightmare for more and more moms, dads, sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends and society as a whole.
Imagine that all around the country there are people like Marty having their brains slowly erased by an invisible demon inside their heads. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh; back and forth, back and forth, the tiny eraser keeps moving--back and forth, back and forth. Slowly but methodically the demon goes about its work 24/7. After a while, the person under attack does not even remember how to go to the bathroom. And then, after a time, the eraser stops. It stops when the disease it is part of finally erases the person's life.
That is the course of the relentless, unstoppable, illness known as Alzheimer's Disease. It is at work at this very moment in different minds all over the world. Somehow, someway we will have to stop it. We will need God's help because this war cannot be won without Him.
copyright©Larry Peterson 2015
By Larry Peterson
It is now almost one year since my wife, Marty, was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease. The doctor gave us the news as we sat together. She acted as if she understood. She did not. I have told her that she has Alzheimer's disease and she tells me that she understands. She does not. What she does understand is that something is terribly wrong with her memory. Watching her fight to remember simple everyday things such as whether or not she drinks coffee and she has been drinking it her entire life, is heartbreaking.
No one can tell she is ill, except me, of course, and several close friends that know about her condition. When I take her with me to church and to the stores etc. and we see people we know, I always hear how "wonderful" she looks. Yeah, well the Titanic looked all bright and shiny as it headed out into the Atlantic that cold, April day in 1912. When the iceberg did its dirty deed the Titanic was doomed. Nothing could have ever stopped her sinking into the cold Atlantic.
A year after diagnosis Marty has become my new seven year-old existing in an older body. She is very insecure and becomes frightened if I am not nearby. She still tries to maintain her independence as a self-sufficient person even though she cannot remember where to put the forks or cups. As her caregiver my life has become disconnected and very unpredictable because of her needing so much while trying to not need anything. Alzheimer’s is never just the patient’s illness. On the contrary, it latches on to the love of those close to its victim using that love in a sordid attempt to destroy their spirit. Most times that results in abject failure because the power of love often proves to be much stronger than the evil disease. Sometimes not.
For me, my work as a writer has become a bit scattered. It has become a fascinating existence where focus has become an evasive shadow and cohesive sentences are written in pieces and then squirreled together at another time. However, I am blessed. I have been given the gift of faith which allows me to trust the God above. This gift helps me to realize that this woman is now a special treasure from Him entrusted to my care. I have told Him, “No problem Lord, I have her back and will do my best until whatever is to be will be.” (But believe me, I do have my "knee-buckling" moments.)
Today, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's Disease and about 200,000 of those folks are under the age of 65. It is the only disease among the top ten that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured. The disease kills more people every year than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. It is estimated that by the year 2050, 16 million people will have this disease. Someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's every 67 seconds. They have estimated that by 2050 it will be every 33 seconds. This is an epidemic growing before our eyes. It is also becoming a nightmare for more and more moms, dads, sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends and society as a whole.
Imagine that all around the country there are people like Marty having their brains slowly erased by an invisible demon inside their heads. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh; back and forth, back and forth, the tiny eraser keeps moving--back and forth, back and forth. Slowly but methodically the demon goes about its work 24/7. After a while, the person under attack does not even remember how to go to the bathroom. And then, after a time, the eraser stops. It stops when the disease it is part of finally erases the person's life.
That is the course of the relentless, unstoppable, illness known as Alzheimer's Disease. It is at work at this very moment in different minds all over the world. Somehow, someway we will have to stop it. We will need God's help because this war cannot be won without Him.
copyright©Larry Peterson 2015
September 11, 2015
Remembering 9/11/2001; Not Much Needs to be Written or Said
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
The posted picture shows what once was. No matter, it will live on in our hearts, minds and souls forever
GOD BLESS AMERICA .
TWIN TOWERS pre September 11, 2001
"Say 'NO' to death, to hatred, to violence , to error to evil, to degradation.
Say 'YES' to the good, to the beautiful, to truth, to justice, to responsibility, to life, to peace and to love.
SAINT JOHN PAUL II
by Larry Peterson
The posted picture shows what once was. No matter, it will live on in our hearts, minds and souls forever
GOD BLESS AMERICA .
TWIN TOWERS pre September 11, 2001
"Say 'NO' to death, to hatred, to violence , to error to evil, to degradation.
Say 'YES' to the good, to the beautiful, to truth, to justice, to responsibility, to life, to peace and to love.
SAINT JOHN PAUL II
September 5, 2015
The Birthday Parties that Never Were
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
September 6, 1978, our daughter, Theresa Mary, was born and died. Once again I am posting about our fourth child and how she touched our lives, albeit for just moments. If she had lived this would have been her 37th birthday. She might have had children like her older sister, Mary Dymphna. Maybe Mary and her little sister would have been best friends and confidants. Their kids would have been cousins. We probably would have all gotten together and had a party with cake and ice-cream and sang "Happy Birthday" like we and all of you do on these occasions. However, like so many other families, we have those empty days of birthday parties that never were.
I am writing about this again because of the incredible disregard for life that now exists in our society. Planned Parenthood, marketed and promoted as the bastion of women's health in America, performs more abortions than any other organization in the country. It receives over one-half billion dollars a year in government funding and recently it has come to light that it is nothing more than a "chop-shop" for human body parts. Theresa Mary was in her sixth month of development and could have fit their criteria for body parts perfectly.
At the beginning of Loretta's sixth month of pregnancy she unexpectedly went into labor. Bleeding profusely she was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and our fourth child, a daughter, was born. She also lived and died very quickly, within minutes. I had called ahead to Holy Trinity Catholic Church and a priest, Father Murray, was waiting for our arrival. Our baby was baptized and buried with my parents. She was our child, she was real and was a gift from God.
Theresa was not simply a "fetus". She was not "products of conception". She was not an "annoyance", or an extra pair of shoes to worry about or another potentially "sleepless night". She did not mean less money in the bank. No, Theresa Mary was worth far more than any of that multiplied a thousand times over. Nothing can change the fact that she did exist. In God's world there is no "time" as we know it. HE lives in the "Eternal Now". Theresa Mary now lives there with HIM. (I like to think she is close friends with her namesake, St. Therese)
So, as I contemplate what might have been in my own family's life, I wonder what might have been in millions upon millions of other families. How many millions of birthday parties have never been celebrated? How many doctors, scientists, priests, nuns, teachers, baseball players, carpenters and astronauts, surgeons, auto-mechanics, hair-dressers, waitresses, pharmacists and even trash collectors and hot dog vendors never made it past life in the womb? How many living children in-vitro, with their own DNA and their own legs, arms, hands and feet, kidneys and livers and hearts and lungs, have been destroyed out of convenience or maybe just for those body parts? Roe v Wade has been protecting this heinous behavior since 1973. Whatever have we wrought?
So I say "Happy Birthday" to Theresa Mary. You lived and died and the world will always know it You were NOT a "product of conception" or a piece of "tissue". You were a living person. So many more like you were never given that recognition. It is a sad, sad, thing.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
By Larry Peterson
September 6, 1978, our daughter, Theresa Mary, was born and died. Once again I am posting about our fourth child and how she touched our lives, albeit for just moments. If she had lived this would have been her 37th birthday. She might have had children like her older sister, Mary Dymphna. Maybe Mary and her little sister would have been best friends and confidants. Their kids would have been cousins. We probably would have all gotten together and had a party with cake and ice-cream and sang "Happy Birthday" like we and all of you do on these occasions. However, like so many other families, we have those empty days of birthday parties that never were.
I am writing about this again because of the incredible disregard for life that now exists in our society. Planned Parenthood, marketed and promoted as the bastion of women's health in America, performs more abortions than any other organization in the country. It receives over one-half billion dollars a year in government funding and recently it has come to light that it is nothing more than a "chop-shop" for human body parts. Theresa Mary was in her sixth month of development and could have fit their criteria for body parts perfectly.
At the beginning of Loretta's sixth month of pregnancy she unexpectedly went into labor. Bleeding profusely she was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and our fourth child, a daughter, was born. She also lived and died very quickly, within minutes. I had called ahead to Holy Trinity Catholic Church and a priest, Father Murray, was waiting for our arrival. Our baby was baptized and buried with my parents. She was our child, she was real and was a gift from God.
Theresa was not simply a "fetus". She was not "products of conception". She was not an "annoyance", or an extra pair of shoes to worry about or another potentially "sleepless night". She did not mean less money in the bank. No, Theresa Mary was worth far more than any of that multiplied a thousand times over. Nothing can change the fact that she did exist. In God's world there is no "time" as we know it. HE lives in the "Eternal Now". Theresa Mary now lives there with HIM. (I like to think she is close friends with her namesake, St. Therese)
So, as I contemplate what might have been in my own family's life, I wonder what might have been in millions upon millions of other families. How many millions of birthday parties have never been celebrated? How many doctors, scientists, priests, nuns, teachers, baseball players, carpenters and astronauts, surgeons, auto-mechanics, hair-dressers, waitresses, pharmacists and even trash collectors and hot dog vendors never made it past life in the womb? How many living children in-vitro, with their own DNA and their own legs, arms, hands and feet, kidneys and livers and hearts and lungs, have been destroyed out of convenience or maybe just for those body parts? Roe v Wade has been protecting this heinous behavior since 1973. Whatever have we wrought?
So I say "Happy Birthday" to Theresa Mary. You lived and died and the world will always know it You were NOT a "product of conception" or a piece of "tissue". You were a living person. So many more like you were never given that recognition. It is a sad, sad, thing.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
August 31, 2015
The World; Yesterday and Today--The Bible Covers It All
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
As a cradle Catholic who went to twelve years of Catholic school "waaaaay" back in the '50s and '60s, I can say without hesitation that my education in the Bible and about the Bible and of the Bible was almost non-existent. The Catechism with its nays & yays and right & wrong dominated the conversation. However, over the past ten years or so I have come to honor and respect the Bible. It took me all those decades to realize how profound and so magnificently in our faces with truths this book, written so long ago, is. The seven Wisdom books alone are worth more than all the jewels on Pharaoh's crown.Back to the 'truths' I mentioned. The other day, August 26, the gospel reading was from Matthew 23: 27-32. I believe this gospel actually references today's world and the egotistical and self-centered mindset that so many people have embraced. Countless people have stomped on the goodness within God's creation by choosing to grasp onto the secular banner of "meism." The Bible has their number--literally. It had it then and it has it now.For me, as a writer, the Bible also has the best writing prompts...especially if you are having trouble getting the words to flow from your brain to the screen or paper. The Gospel reading from August 26 is a prime example of how my brain can get 'jump-started'. This jolt came from Matthew 23: 27-32. (I'm just using 27 -28.) Here it is:"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing."There are actually seven "Woe to you" paragraphs in Chapter 23. I quoted number six because it was part of the Gospel reading for the day. Anyway, the first thing that came to mind was Planned Parenthood. Think about it: "beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing." I immediately thought of the people destroying the lives of babies and joking about it. I thought of all those defending this organization and insist that those who would vilify it are taking away women's health protections. There are many in high places that certainly appear beautiful on the outside and, since I do not get to look inside, I can only imagine. I do know this: abortion is the Holocaust of the last four decades.In America, marriage between a man and a woman is being denigrated by the beautiful, sophisticated, upscale and highly civilized secular community. Same-sex "marriage" is hailed as a right and the enhancement of freedom. Rejecting one's God-given sex and deciding to change to the opposite sex is hailed as heroic and courageous. Legalizing euthanasia has taken root in Europe and in America. In Belgium they now permit childhood euthanasia. I could go on and on but you all know what has and is happening. And many of those who proclaim Catholicism as their faith approve of these practices.I am amazed that it has taken me so long to realize the magnificence and page-to-page wisdom the Bible holds. So much of Scripture defines the present. It describes us and our world. It tells us how and where are journey began, where it has taken us, and where we are going. It is a great gift and I shall never ignore it again. It is also the one and only book I will reference when seeking out writing prompts. The Bible has it all. If you have not tried you should check it out. It is a GREAT READ.©2015 Larry Peterson-All RightsReserved
August 26, 2015
'Participation' Trophies; No Different Than 'Participation' Letters
My son and his son: Little League BaseballIT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
I coached/managed Little League Baseball for many years. At the end of every season every kid on the team received a trophy at our annual dinner or picnic or whatever else the league decided to sponsor that year. Giving a trophy to each player, no matter how good or bad or clumsy or geeky they were, was always the right thing to do.
It was for 'participation' and participation meant each young person was a part of something special, that being the team. Most importantly, it signified effort and commitment and sacrifice on each child's part to win a spot on a team. There were tryouts that required coming to the field and 'showing what you got' to the coaches who were lined up holding clipboards and observing. Then the kids were drafted and placed on a team.
The new teammates would meet, be introduced to each other by the coaches and then begin practicing. Practices could be three or four nights a week (maybe more). Then followed the season and so forth. The kids invariably became friends, learned teamwork and camaraderie, and win or lose, at the end of the season they had all been part of something. The bottom line was---they had committed and followed through.
Some players were outstanding young athletes. Others could not remember the correct way to hold a bat in their hands. It did not matter. The kids always knew who the prime players were and who were not. Those who were not, always got at least one AB (at bat) and played two innings per game. That is why they all received a 'participation' trophy. They earned it. They came to practices, sweated like everyone else, and then rode the bench for most of the season. The outstanding players received individual awards. One player was usually awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy and one was awarded a plaque for having the highest batting average or most home runs. The other kids were always fine with that because they knew it was the right thing to do.
Look, every high school and college athlete in the country gets a 'Letter' when he or she participates all season in a school activity. Participants in baseball, football, basketball, band, gymnastics, wrestling, track, and so on are awarded 'Letters'. Some players rarely get off the bench to play. But they earned a spot on the team and received a 'Letter' just like everyone else.Then they would get 'Letterman' jacket and have the letter sewn on it. When they wear their jacket they are representing their team and their school. They are proud of it. They were a part of something special. Many people actually keep their Letterman jackets their entire lives and they may never have gotten off the bench when they were players. But they had made the team and were part of it and nothing can ever change that fact.
There are extremes in this politically correct--'don't hurt anyone's feelings environment' that exists today. Recognition for earning straight A's and making Principles List or getting all A's and B's and making Honor Roll is a GOOD thing; yet some schools do not want to give that recognition. But they fail to realize that the other kids can use that as a goal to attain. This is extreme and a failure to teach young people that reward and consequence are a part of life. There are even some sports programs where they have decided not to keep score so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. Life is filled with 'ups and downs' and they are depriving the children of this valuable lesson.
What youth sports primarily teaches is teamwork and socialization skills. It helps develop lasting friendships. If some of the overbearing 'my kid is perfect' parents would stay home and leave their kid(s) alone we might all be better off.
©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights Reserved
August 21, 2015
The Ongoing Rebirth of Catholic Fiction: "The Rose Ring" by Anne Faye
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
Author, Anne Faye, has written a moving and compelling work of catholic fiction called The Rose Ring. This book has received the Catholic Writer's Guild SoA (Seal of Approval). Please take a look.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Rose Ring - A heartwarming love story about the power of forgiveness. http://amzn.to/1IUDPkU #Catholic #fiction #romanceI just entered a sale on Amazon - $7.99 <https://www.facebook.com/…/374535756076254/380238822172614/…> ($2 <https://www.facebook.com/…/374535756076254/380238822172614/…> off) on paperback and $.99 on Kindle (instead of 1.99)I'm trying to earn money to pay my son's tuition (I'm not sure if that is a good enough reason or not but it is the truth)My website is: http://annefaye.blogspot.com/The full description of the book:Left at the altar by Zach Richards ten years ago, Julia Manning has buried her pain by leading a quiet life working at a bookstore, helping her sister, visiting residents at a local nursing home, and attempting to be a good daughter. When Zach suddenly arrives back in town and her overbearing mother fixes her up with the last man on earth she would ever want to date, Julia is forced to face her past, whether she wants to or not. A resident at St. Francis Nursing Home, Elizabeth Phelps suffers from dementia and becomes convinced that a ring Julia is wearing is actually her engagement ring from her beloved Joseph, who is away fighting in World War II. As Elizabeth waits for his return, Julia becomes determined to discover the mysterious story behind the ring and to do whatever she can to help Elizabeth heal. The Rose Ring is a gentle story of forgiveness and the power of love to overcome even the greatest obstacles.
By Larry Peterson
Author, Anne Faye, has written a moving and compelling work of catholic fiction called The Rose Ring. This book has received the Catholic Writer's Guild SoA (Seal of Approval). Please take a look.
_____________________________________________________________________
The Rose Ring - A heartwarming love story about the power of forgiveness. http://amzn.to/1IUDPkU #Catholic #fiction #romanceI just entered a sale on Amazon - $7.99 <https://www.facebook.com/…/374535756076254/380238822172614/…> ($2 <https://www.facebook.com/…/374535756076254/380238822172614/…> off) on paperback and $.99 on Kindle (instead of 1.99)I'm trying to earn money to pay my son's tuition (I'm not sure if that is a good enough reason or not but it is the truth)My website is: http://annefaye.blogspot.com/The full description of the book:Left at the altar by Zach Richards ten years ago, Julia Manning has buried her pain by leading a quiet life working at a bookstore, helping her sister, visiting residents at a local nursing home, and attempting to be a good daughter. When Zach suddenly arrives back in town and her overbearing mother fixes her up with the last man on earth she would ever want to date, Julia is forced to face her past, whether she wants to or not. A resident at St. Francis Nursing Home, Elizabeth Phelps suffers from dementia and becomes convinced that a ring Julia is wearing is actually her engagement ring from her beloved Joseph, who is away fighting in World War II. As Elizabeth waits for his return, Julia becomes determined to discover the mysterious story behind the ring and to do whatever she can to help Elizabeth heal. The Rose Ring is a gentle story of forgiveness and the power of love to overcome even the greatest obstacles.
August 16, 2015
The Eighth Amendment---SCOTUS says: It Allows for Adaptation Based on "Evolving Standards of Decency''
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
The Associated Press has reported that the Connecticut Supreme Court has decided the death penalty "no longer meets society's evolving standards of decency. My brain locked up as I found myself stuck on the word "decency". Decency, decency, decency---a smack in the head from my own hand jumped the needle to 'evolving standards'. Sorry, all the words together were "evolving standards of decency".
Smarty pants that I am I googled "evolving standards of decency". I expected a 'nothing available' response. Ta-da--not so. A bunch of stuff popped up. It seems that the "evolving standards of decency" is part of the Eighth Amendment . I had no idea. It seems that the Supreme Court had declared our Constitution a "living" document in 1958. That is when the Constitution became subject to change as society developed further from whence it came. Oh me, oh my--egg was on my face.
If I was still back in 1965 I would not have paused for a moment giving those words a second thought. Back then, there existed an accepted 'mode of decency'. Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and Jim and Margaret Anderson did not even share a TV bed. They slept in twin beds. I'm not sure if Ozzie and Harriet ever allowed us into their bedroom. Men gave up their seats to women and held doors open for them. The words; "excuse me", "thank you", "may I", and "please" were used commonly. But that was 1965 and now it is 2015. What has fifty years of "evolving standards of decency" in our civilized, sophisticated world, a world that includes such TV shows as "Naked & Afraid", brought us? Just think about it.
One thing I have never been able to wrap my head around is the right to "Freedom of Expression". If you want to burn and stomp on the American Flag go ahead, burn and stomp away. According to the SCOTUS, that is a "right" under the Constitution. But show me where 'Freedom of Expression' is written into the U.S. Constiution? It is not in the Constitution. Freedom of Speech is. That means we are free to speak (you know, use words that come from our mouths as we so choose.) Back in the day, when "decency" was the norm, we did not use every conceivable expletive known to mankind in public, over the airwaves, and especially on the 'big screen' at will. We had this strange notion that we needed to set a good example for our children. We had a modicum of civility and respect toward each other, even when we were 'offended'.
Since the SCOTUS approved this concept of 'evolving standards of decency' it holds true that (IMHO), based on personal opinion and outside political pressure, The Constitution, a document written and designed to give rights to the people before any government, has been forever weakened and can never be the protective document it was meant to be. And We, the People, did it to ourselves. How? We are the ones who vote and it all starts there.
©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights Reserved
By Larry Peterson
The Associated Press has reported that the Connecticut Supreme Court has decided the death penalty "no longer meets society's evolving standards of decency. My brain locked up as I found myself stuck on the word "decency". Decency, decency, decency---a smack in the head from my own hand jumped the needle to 'evolving standards'. Sorry, all the words together were "evolving standards of decency".
Smarty pants that I am I googled "evolving standards of decency". I expected a 'nothing available' response. Ta-da--not so. A bunch of stuff popped up. It seems that the "evolving standards of decency" is part of the Eighth Amendment . I had no idea. It seems that the Supreme Court had declared our Constitution a "living" document in 1958. That is when the Constitution became subject to change as society developed further from whence it came. Oh me, oh my--egg was on my face.
If I was still back in 1965 I would not have paused for a moment giving those words a second thought. Back then, there existed an accepted 'mode of decency'. Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and Jim and Margaret Anderson did not even share a TV bed. They slept in twin beds. I'm not sure if Ozzie and Harriet ever allowed us into their bedroom. Men gave up their seats to women and held doors open for them. The words; "excuse me", "thank you", "may I", and "please" were used commonly. But that was 1965 and now it is 2015. What has fifty years of "evolving standards of decency" in our civilized, sophisticated world, a world that includes such TV shows as "Naked & Afraid", brought us? Just think about it.
One thing I have never been able to wrap my head around is the right to "Freedom of Expression". If you want to burn and stomp on the American Flag go ahead, burn and stomp away. According to the SCOTUS, that is a "right" under the Constitution. But show me where 'Freedom of Expression' is written into the U.S. Constiution? It is not in the Constitution. Freedom of Speech is. That means we are free to speak (you know, use words that come from our mouths as we so choose.) Back in the day, when "decency" was the norm, we did not use every conceivable expletive known to mankind in public, over the airwaves, and especially on the 'big screen' at will. We had this strange notion that we needed to set a good example for our children. We had a modicum of civility and respect toward each other, even when we were 'offended'.
Since the SCOTUS approved this concept of 'evolving standards of decency' it holds true that (IMHO), based on personal opinion and outside political pressure, The Constitution, a document written and designed to give rights to the people before any government, has been forever weakened and can never be the protective document it was meant to be. And We, the People, did it to ourselves. How? We are the ones who vote and it all starts there.
©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights Reserved
August 8, 2015
The Little Heart Kept Beating---Beating, Beating, Beating: Then it Stopped
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
(As the parent of a daughter who was stillborn on September 6, 1978, I am fully cognizant of the LIFE that was lost to us and her siblings. My wife (who passed away from cancer in 2003) almost died that day in a valiant attempt to get to a Catholic hospital so the baby might be baptized. That is a story for another time but, as a man, I understand the insanity of treating tiny people in-utero as nothing more than "products of conception". Trust me--they are not. They are people, just like us--only a lot smaller.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The reports about Planned Parenthood's calculating, impersonal and clinically callous disposal and sale of aborted baby parts is so hard for me to fathom. Many folks feel as I do, that these actions are simply heinous. Now, with the latest revelations of Planned Parenthood's actually selling the complete cadavers of aborted babies for profit, we may have equaled the Nazis in an unparalleled cold-hardheartedness. In fact, since these tiny people have no-one to save them once they enter the sanitized and legalized death camps spread all across America, maybe we have become the most heartless and ruthless generation of all time.
What is so astonishing is that so many folks do not see anything wrong with participating in a holocaust that has claimed more than fifty million lives. Many of these people seem to be no different than me. They work, pay their bills, mow their lawns, and celebrate Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Yes, and they go to church and pray too.
There are many notables among them including a sitting president, the leading Democratic presidential contender and many more "upstanding" people such as the former Speaker of the House, and the former Senate Majority leader. There are academicians, professional people, doctors, lawyers, even clergy and many others. The proof and fact of LIFE in-utero is all around them yet they deny it. I do not understand.
They may look like me and walk like me and laugh like me and like pizza like me but none of them are like me. For I am sickened by the actions that they condone. Yet they consider these same actions as a "constitutional right". Maybe they need to listen to a non-American, Stojan Adasevic, a Serbian abortionist responsible for over 48,000 abortions and the 'regular' work day that changed his life forever. These are a few of his words (the rest are in the video trailer, The First Hour, and the following link .)
"As I pull out the mess, thinking it will be bone fragments I lay it on the cloth, Ilook, and I see a human heart, contracting and expanding and beating, beating, beating.I thought I would go mad. I can see the heartbeat is slowing, ever more slowly, and more slowly still, until it finally stops completely. Nobody could have seen what Ihad seen with my very own eyes, and be more convinced than I was---I had killed a human being.
Stojan Adasevic became the first abortionist in communist Yugoslavia to refuse to do abortions. His salary was cut, his daughter fired from her job and his son refused admission to the university. Most of us never had to destroy a child, no less 48,000 or more, before realizing we were murdering children. But in the war being waged by Satan, the master of lies and deception, sometimes his influence is so great and the deception so pronounced it takes many years of flowing graces from God before that door is cracked open and the light begins to enter. In Stojan's case the light was brought to him personally by St. Thomas Aquinas. Click on Stojan's name and read his story.
Some information for this story was from LifeSiteNews (Abortion; August 5,2015 by Sarah Terzo)and I thank them for giving me permission to reference it.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
By Larry Peterson
(As the parent of a daughter who was stillborn on September 6, 1978, I am fully cognizant of the LIFE that was lost to us and her siblings. My wife (who passed away from cancer in 2003) almost died that day in a valiant attempt to get to a Catholic hospital so the baby might be baptized. That is a story for another time but, as a man, I understand the insanity of treating tiny people in-utero as nothing more than "products of conception". Trust me--they are not. They are people, just like us--only a lot smaller.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The reports about Planned Parenthood's calculating, impersonal and clinically callous disposal and sale of aborted baby parts is so hard for me to fathom. Many folks feel as I do, that these actions are simply heinous. Now, with the latest revelations of Planned Parenthood's actually selling the complete cadavers of aborted babies for profit, we may have equaled the Nazis in an unparalleled cold-hardheartedness. In fact, since these tiny people have no-one to save them once they enter the sanitized and legalized death camps spread all across America, maybe we have become the most heartless and ruthless generation of all time.
What is so astonishing is that so many folks do not see anything wrong with participating in a holocaust that has claimed more than fifty million lives. Many of these people seem to be no different than me. They work, pay their bills, mow their lawns, and celebrate Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Yes, and they go to church and pray too.
There are many notables among them including a sitting president, the leading Democratic presidential contender and many more "upstanding" people such as the former Speaker of the House, and the former Senate Majority leader. There are academicians, professional people, doctors, lawyers, even clergy and many others. The proof and fact of LIFE in-utero is all around them yet they deny it. I do not understand.
They may look like me and walk like me and laugh like me and like pizza like me but none of them are like me. For I am sickened by the actions that they condone. Yet they consider these same actions as a "constitutional right". Maybe they need to listen to a non-American, Stojan Adasevic, a Serbian abortionist responsible for over 48,000 abortions and the 'regular' work day that changed his life forever. These are a few of his words (the rest are in the video trailer, The First Hour, and the following link .)
"As I pull out the mess, thinking it will be bone fragments I lay it on the cloth, Ilook, and I see a human heart, contracting and expanding and beating, beating, beating.I thought I would go mad. I can see the heartbeat is slowing, ever more slowly, and more slowly still, until it finally stops completely. Nobody could have seen what Ihad seen with my very own eyes, and be more convinced than I was---I had killed a human being.
Stojan Adasevic became the first abortionist in communist Yugoslavia to refuse to do abortions. His salary was cut, his daughter fired from her job and his son refused admission to the university. Most of us never had to destroy a child, no less 48,000 or more, before realizing we were murdering children. But in the war being waged by Satan, the master of lies and deception, sometimes his influence is so great and the deception so pronounced it takes many years of flowing graces from God before that door is cracked open and the light begins to enter. In Stojan's case the light was brought to him personally by St. Thomas Aquinas. Click on Stojan's name and read his story.
Some information for this story was from LifeSiteNews (Abortion; August 5,2015 by Sarah Terzo)and I thank them for giving me permission to reference it.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
July 31, 2015
The "Shameful Silence"---It Honors Evil
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
by Larry Peterson
"Silence in the face of evil is evil itself." Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian in Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler. His book, "The Cost of Discipleship", has become a classic. Focusing on the "Sermon on the Mount", the book more or less spelled out what Bonhoeffer thought was the true way to follow Christ. In addition to his theological writings and teaching, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a staunch, anti Nazi dissident. He spoke out vigorously against Hitler's euthanasia and genocidal persecution of the Jews and, in so doing, became a hated enemy of the Third Reich. As such, he was arrested in April, 1943. Accused of the ambiguous crime of "plotting against the Nazis", he was hanged on April 9, 1945.
Moving ahead to the year 2014: The following is a statement from His Grace, Bishop Suriel of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Melbourne from one year ago: "The world watches in silence as the last Christians are expelled from Mosul, Iraq, in one of the most merciless and barbaric acts of genocide we have seen in the 21st Century."
We are absolutely fascinating creatures, we humans are. Many of our species can be so kind and compassionate, loving and gentle, sweet and understanding. Many people will save a tiny bird with an injured wing or a cat stuck up in a tree. There is a world-wide outrage going on directed at a dentist who killed a lion. There are so many people who will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and give drink to the thirsty. One thing about the animal kingdom: the different species are predictable. One thing about we human beings: we are not.
You flip the coin and you have many of the very same species who are filled with a self-gratification which culminates in a hate and disdain for others of their own kind. These include those who will torture and kill their fellow humans because they HATE their: religion, skin color, birthplace, political beliefs or whatever other self-serving, hate-filled reason a murderer may come up with. Many kill and torture saying they were "only following orders" and had no choice. Others kill because of pride fueled by envy and greed.
Planned Parenthood, a non-profit, government funded organization, employs people who perform over 320,000 abortions a year on babies of ALL sizes. They even sell their body parts for profit and say "it is LEGAL". Barely a word is said by many folks who are part of the main stream media (print & broadcast). The leading Democratic candidate for President of the U.S. says that those reports are "disturbing". Are you kidding me! Disturbing! How about heinous, hateful and/or murderous. So I ask why? Why the "Shameful Silence" from so many?
Why are we, all of the same species, so different in our hearts? How can some of us kill and others forgive them for doing so? Why do some of us willingly and joyfully give of ourselves for people we may not even know? Why do some of us hate others they may not even know? Why are there those who love their fellow human being unconditionally? And why the "Shameful Silence" from so many? The answer has to be because of the very existence of "Good vs Evil" that is always trying to invade our very souls. Many people fight back and conquer the invader. Many others give in and welcome him and embrace his twisted deception.
What is "Good vs Evil"? I can tell you what it is and I do not care if you disagree. It is the war waged by Satan and those that follow him against the God of Love that created him and all of his followers. If you take a breath and look at the world of today and then glance back at yesterday and the centuries before, what has changed in the hearts of man? Apparently, not very much. Love and Hatred have danced "toe to toe" since Cain slew his brother Abel. Why did that happen? Pride and envy. What drives the evil of today? Pride and envy.
God is real and Satan is real. God is the Creator of the Universe and the Master of Goodness and Love. His most beautiful creation, Satan (aka Lucifer) thought he was greater than God and turned against Him. He was cast from God's presence by those angels that stayed true to their Creator. Filled with an unimaginable hatred for all that is good, Satan and his minions prowl the earth fomenting lies and deception to all who will listen. He and his fallen angels have used their cunning to gain entrance into the hearts of those who, before all else, love themselves. These are the easy prey for the king of deceit. And, there is a gaggle of easy prey available, especially in today's secularly charged world dominated by 'meism'.
Mosul, the very cradle of Christianity, can trace the followers of Jesus back to the first century. As of today it seems that the entire Christian population of Mosul has been purged from this ancient and historic city. Murder, including the beheadings of civilians and the wanton murder of women and children, has virtually eradicated the city's Christians. And what did we see and hear from the print and broadcast media a year ago? We heard the sound of almost nothing. What do we hear today about the atrocities of killing pre-born babies and selling their body parts under the guise of "savings lives"? We hear the sound of almost nothing. A "Shameful Silence" from many seems to reverberate throughout world when persecution is running rampant.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it, "Silence in the face of evil is evil itself." He was hanged by the Nazis for his "crimes" over 70 years ago. What has changed? The press was quiet then as the Nazis purged the world of the "hated Jew". Most of the main stream media (print and broadcast) has been quiet as theIslamists purge the world of the "hated Christian". There are many people in the United States of America, who go to work every day and kill living babies in utero and sell their body parts and have no problem whatsoever doing it because, as the Nazi workers said so many years ago, "it was legal".
Josef Goebbels was the propaganda minister for Adolf Hitler and made sure the press and broadcast media kept news of the Nazi Final Solution quiet. There existed a Shameful Silence. That Shameful Silence among many is apparently alive and well in 2015, right here in the USA. Nothing has changed, nothing at all.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
by Larry Peterson
"Silence in the face of evil is evil itself." Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian in Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler. His book, "The Cost of Discipleship", has become a classic. Focusing on the "Sermon on the Mount", the book more or less spelled out what Bonhoeffer thought was the true way to follow Christ. In addition to his theological writings and teaching, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a staunch, anti Nazi dissident. He spoke out vigorously against Hitler's euthanasia and genocidal persecution of the Jews and, in so doing, became a hated enemy of the Third Reich. As such, he was arrested in April, 1943. Accused of the ambiguous crime of "plotting against the Nazis", he was hanged on April 9, 1945.
Moving ahead to the year 2014: The following is a statement from His Grace, Bishop Suriel of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Melbourne from one year ago: "The world watches in silence as the last Christians are expelled from Mosul, Iraq, in one of the most merciless and barbaric acts of genocide we have seen in the 21st Century."
We are absolutely fascinating creatures, we humans are. Many of our species can be so kind and compassionate, loving and gentle, sweet and understanding. Many people will save a tiny bird with an injured wing or a cat stuck up in a tree. There is a world-wide outrage going on directed at a dentist who killed a lion. There are so many people who will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and give drink to the thirsty. One thing about the animal kingdom: the different species are predictable. One thing about we human beings: we are not.
You flip the coin and you have many of the very same species who are filled with a self-gratification which culminates in a hate and disdain for others of their own kind. These include those who will torture and kill their fellow humans because they HATE their: religion, skin color, birthplace, political beliefs or whatever other self-serving, hate-filled reason a murderer may come up with. Many kill and torture saying they were "only following orders" and had no choice. Others kill because of pride fueled by envy and greed.
Planned Parenthood, a non-profit, government funded organization, employs people who perform over 320,000 abortions a year on babies of ALL sizes. They even sell their body parts for profit and say "it is LEGAL". Barely a word is said by many folks who are part of the main stream media (print & broadcast). The leading Democratic candidate for President of the U.S. says that those reports are "disturbing". Are you kidding me! Disturbing! How about heinous, hateful and/or murderous. So I ask why? Why the "Shameful Silence" from so many?
Why are we, all of the same species, so different in our hearts? How can some of us kill and others forgive them for doing so? Why do some of us willingly and joyfully give of ourselves for people we may not even know? Why do some of us hate others they may not even know? Why are there those who love their fellow human being unconditionally? And why the "Shameful Silence" from so many? The answer has to be because of the very existence of "Good vs Evil" that is always trying to invade our very souls. Many people fight back and conquer the invader. Many others give in and welcome him and embrace his twisted deception.
What is "Good vs Evil"? I can tell you what it is and I do not care if you disagree. It is the war waged by Satan and those that follow him against the God of Love that created him and all of his followers. If you take a breath and look at the world of today and then glance back at yesterday and the centuries before, what has changed in the hearts of man? Apparently, not very much. Love and Hatred have danced "toe to toe" since Cain slew his brother Abel. Why did that happen? Pride and envy. What drives the evil of today? Pride and envy.
God is real and Satan is real. God is the Creator of the Universe and the Master of Goodness and Love. His most beautiful creation, Satan (aka Lucifer) thought he was greater than God and turned against Him. He was cast from God's presence by those angels that stayed true to their Creator. Filled with an unimaginable hatred for all that is good, Satan and his minions prowl the earth fomenting lies and deception to all who will listen. He and his fallen angels have used their cunning to gain entrance into the hearts of those who, before all else, love themselves. These are the easy prey for the king of deceit. And, there is a gaggle of easy prey available, especially in today's secularly charged world dominated by 'meism'.
Mosul, the very cradle of Christianity, can trace the followers of Jesus back to the first century. As of today it seems that the entire Christian population of Mosul has been purged from this ancient and historic city. Murder, including the beheadings of civilians and the wanton murder of women and children, has virtually eradicated the city's Christians. And what did we see and hear from the print and broadcast media a year ago? We heard the sound of almost nothing. What do we hear today about the atrocities of killing pre-born babies and selling their body parts under the guise of "savings lives"? We hear the sound of almost nothing. A "Shameful Silence" from many seems to reverberate throughout world when persecution is running rampant.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it, "Silence in the face of evil is evil itself." He was hanged by the Nazis for his "crimes" over 70 years ago. What has changed? The press was quiet then as the Nazis purged the world of the "hated Jew". Most of the main stream media (print and broadcast) has been quiet as theIslamists purge the world of the "hated Christian". There are many people in the United States of America, who go to work every day and kill living babies in utero and sell their body parts and have no problem whatsoever doing it because, as the Nazi workers said so many years ago, "it was legal".
Josef Goebbels was the propaganda minister for Adolf Hitler and made sure the press and broadcast media kept news of the Nazi Final Solution quiet. There existed a Shameful Silence. That Shameful Silence among many is apparently alive and well in 2015, right here in the USA. Nothing has changed, nothing at all.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
July 26, 2015
Planets, Dr. Seuss and Snowflakes---Combined Proof That There is a CREATOR
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
Nine and a half years ago NASA's New Horizon spacecraft left our humble, little planet and began its voyage to to the edges of our solar system and beyond. After traveling 3 billion plus miles New Horizon finally passed Pluto, the furthest planet from our sun. I don't know about you but I find it so humbling and awe inspiring that we human beings, using the perfection that surrounds us, can mange to find a planet that is so far away. Yet, within our universe, it would be as close as a neighbor down the street.
Planet PLUTO--3 thousand million miles from Earth (3 billion)Let's move past Pluto. It seems NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, launched in 2009, has found a possible 'exoplanet'; something worlds beyond our puny solar system. This exoplanet could be similar to our hometown, Earth. Hello sister planet, Kepler 452b. The Kepler Telescope has identified close to 5000 exoplanets since it started scanning the deepest parts of space. But this is the first one that could be just like Earth. Now, get this--it is one thousand and four light years away. Our closest star system is Alpha Centauri, a mere 4.3 light years away. That means our closest star system is trillions of miles from our solar system and would take us tens of thousands of years to get there. Kepler 452b is 200 times further than that. My question is--how can we know these things?
How can we possibly know how to measure distance and location and density and climate relating to places that are so unimaginably far away? The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Who figured that out? How do you measure the speed of light? Assuming the number is correct, that means in one minute light travels 11+ million miles. That would be almost 16 billion miles in one day. Multiply that number by four and a half years. Do you see where I'm going with this? The light from our own sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth. Yet Kepler 452b is more than a thousand "light years" away and our scientists know it revolves around its sun in 385 days vs our 365 days. WHEW!
What about Earth? How much of what Earth does do we take for granted? Well, here is one thing it does that we never think about but without its never ending accuracy we would have chaos. That is TIME. There are 24 hours in a day. Not 25 or 23 or 24.8, but 24. Imagine if there were random hours in a day. Yeah, right. So how did we get 24 hours in a day? Enough---let's just take it for what it is. MIND BOGGLING.
What about explosions? (Please bear with me--I do intend to make a point.) Explosions are destructive and, for the most part, maim, kill and destroy. This past Fourth of July a guy in Maine, in a festive frame of mind, brilliantly set a rocket off from the top of his head. He died instantly. Jason Pierre Paul, the all-pro defensive star for the NFL's N.Y. Giants, blew several fingers off his hand with fireworks. He will be out indefinitely. C. J. Wilson, of the Tampa bay Buccaneers, retired because he blew several fingers of his hand with fireworks. We can go back 70 years and remember that on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb blew the Japanese city of Hiroshima to smithereens. It also killed about 80,000 people. It follows that if I set a bomb off in my car the chances of the result being a nicer car are--well, ZERO.
So now--to the point. The Big Bang Theory of Creation has become the favored explanation of how our seemingly infinite universe came into existence. Scientists do agree that the universe did, in fact, have a beginning. They also know that the universe is expanding and changing and dying, just like we do. To the question: At the moment of creation when the unimaginable explosion took place or whether it was something like a giant balloon expanding and expanding until it "popped" spewing matter outwards, it all had to be controlled. Who did that?
Random explosions do not and cannot result in perfection. Twenty-four hours in a day is perfect for us imperfect species to depend on, including the animals. It is a contradiction to believe otherwise. Everything around us is perfect. We can predict the rising and setting of the sun to the second, the new and full moons to the minute. We know when the tides rise and fall and can predict their lowest and highest points to the minute. We know when an eclipse, whether solar or lunar will occur and where. We have learned how to use the world around us to maintain our very existence or, in many cases, destroy it.
Bottom line: because the universe is so vast and expansive (and apparently infinite) and all of it is moving and changing within a perfectly ordered system proves someone bigger and smarter than any of us put this in place. We cannot understand this. We cannot scientifically prove it. But, no matter what, we live in it and survive by it every second of every day of our lives. Perfection does not come from chaos. Perfection can only come from someone who is PERFECT. I know who that Person is even though I cannot see HIM or touch HIM. All I have to do is see a rising sun, a blooming rose, a full moon, a rainbow...or hear the cry of a newborn baby or ponder the magic of one snowflake, unique unto itself.
Maybe Dr. Seuss nailed it in his famous book, "Horton Hears a Who". Maybe our planet Earth is really no bigger than Horton's, "Whoville". Maybe we are specks on the end of a ball of dust. Maybe we are not as big and as smart as we think we are. We had to have a Creator. It is common sense. It is ultimately all in HIS hands. I am also sure HE subscribes to the famous sentence in Dr. Seuss's book; "a persons a person no matter how small". Maybe those very "smart" people who reject what must be so, need to breathe in a deep dose of humility and realize that this all did not just happen as the result of some random explosion or expansion. It is illogical and makes no sense (to me).
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
By Larry Peterson
Nine and a half years ago NASA's New Horizon spacecraft left our humble, little planet and began its voyage to to the edges of our solar system and beyond. After traveling 3 billion plus miles New Horizon finally passed Pluto, the furthest planet from our sun. I don't know about you but I find it so humbling and awe inspiring that we human beings, using the perfection that surrounds us, can mange to find a planet that is so far away. Yet, within our universe, it would be as close as a neighbor down the street.
Planet PLUTO--3 thousand million miles from Earth (3 billion)Let's move past Pluto. It seems NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, launched in 2009, has found a possible 'exoplanet'; something worlds beyond our puny solar system. This exoplanet could be similar to our hometown, Earth. Hello sister planet, Kepler 452b. The Kepler Telescope has identified close to 5000 exoplanets since it started scanning the deepest parts of space. But this is the first one that could be just like Earth. Now, get this--it is one thousand and four light years away. Our closest star system is Alpha Centauri, a mere 4.3 light years away. That means our closest star system is trillions of miles from our solar system and would take us tens of thousands of years to get there. Kepler 452b is 200 times further than that. My question is--how can we know these things?How can we possibly know how to measure distance and location and density and climate relating to places that are so unimaginably far away? The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Who figured that out? How do you measure the speed of light? Assuming the number is correct, that means in one minute light travels 11+ million miles. That would be almost 16 billion miles in one day. Multiply that number by four and a half years. Do you see where I'm going with this? The light from our own sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth. Yet Kepler 452b is more than a thousand "light years" away and our scientists know it revolves around its sun in 385 days vs our 365 days. WHEW!
What about Earth? How much of what Earth does do we take for granted? Well, here is one thing it does that we never think about but without its never ending accuracy we would have chaos. That is TIME. There are 24 hours in a day. Not 25 or 23 or 24.8, but 24. Imagine if there were random hours in a day. Yeah, right. So how did we get 24 hours in a day? Enough---let's just take it for what it is. MIND BOGGLING.
What about explosions? (Please bear with me--I do intend to make a point.) Explosions are destructive and, for the most part, maim, kill and destroy. This past Fourth of July a guy in Maine, in a festive frame of mind, brilliantly set a rocket off from the top of his head. He died instantly. Jason Pierre Paul, the all-pro defensive star for the NFL's N.Y. Giants, blew several fingers off his hand with fireworks. He will be out indefinitely. C. J. Wilson, of the Tampa bay Buccaneers, retired because he blew several fingers of his hand with fireworks. We can go back 70 years and remember that on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb blew the Japanese city of Hiroshima to smithereens. It also killed about 80,000 people. It follows that if I set a bomb off in my car the chances of the result being a nicer car are--well, ZERO.
So now--to the point. The Big Bang Theory of Creation has become the favored explanation of how our seemingly infinite universe came into existence. Scientists do agree that the universe did, in fact, have a beginning. They also know that the universe is expanding and changing and dying, just like we do. To the question: At the moment of creation when the unimaginable explosion took place or whether it was something like a giant balloon expanding and expanding until it "popped" spewing matter outwards, it all had to be controlled. Who did that?
Random explosions do not and cannot result in perfection. Twenty-four hours in a day is perfect for us imperfect species to depend on, including the animals. It is a contradiction to believe otherwise. Everything around us is perfect. We can predict the rising and setting of the sun to the second, the new and full moons to the minute. We know when the tides rise and fall and can predict their lowest and highest points to the minute. We know when an eclipse, whether solar or lunar will occur and where. We have learned how to use the world around us to maintain our very existence or, in many cases, destroy it.
Bottom line: because the universe is so vast and expansive (and apparently infinite) and all of it is moving and changing within a perfectly ordered system proves someone bigger and smarter than any of us put this in place. We cannot understand this. We cannot scientifically prove it. But, no matter what, we live in it and survive by it every second of every day of our lives. Perfection does not come from chaos. Perfection can only come from someone who is PERFECT. I know who that Person is even though I cannot see HIM or touch HIM. All I have to do is see a rising sun, a blooming rose, a full moon, a rainbow...or hear the cry of a newborn baby or ponder the magic of one snowflake, unique unto itself.
Maybe Dr. Seuss nailed it in his famous book, "Horton Hears a Who". Maybe our planet Earth is really no bigger than Horton's, "Whoville". Maybe we are specks on the end of a ball of dust. Maybe we are not as big and as smart as we think we are. We had to have a Creator. It is common sense. It is ultimately all in HIS hands. I am also sure HE subscribes to the famous sentence in Dr. Seuss's book; "a persons a person no matter how small". Maybe those very "smart" people who reject what must be so, need to breathe in a deep dose of humility and realize that this all did not just happen as the result of some random explosion or expansion. It is illogical and makes no sense (to me).
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
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