ANGELFIRE 12-1-09 Here we go into the last month of 2009. A celestial image of an eight pointed star becomes the overall sign of this season. In the first month of next year liturgical churches will designate it as Epiphany, which means "seeing the light or whole sense of things." It's tied to the arrival of the Wise Men from the East who came looking for a newborn baby boy. They came first to Jerusalem and learned he would be in Bethlehem. And by then probably a two year old child So they didn't go to a stable and manger but as Mt.1 tells it, "the house where Mary and the boy were sitting." None-the-less that famous "star" hangs above this buying and selling season already begun. Strange indeed that it should start with the Back Friday of bargains with the starlight of economic recovery, where black is certainly beautiful. So maybe the world does find truth in places that religion ignores, as having no glory. As I keep studying modern cosmology I find such significance even in the cold mathematical view of it's language. Electeomagnetism is the strong force, which would surely signify divine love(agape). It was the Creator's purpose, and is "the strong force." A second of the four basic ones is gravity. It appears when particle fusion happens, leading to clumping together into matter particles and then giant nebulae(that turn into galaxies). These vast bodies give birth to stars, from which planets may emerge. So gravity defies the Strong Force, just as that disobedient angel, Lucifer, mentioned in the Bible. He pulls back or hold's down that which should rise to greater heights It causes ANGELFIRE to remember 1997, when the polarity of this whole Universe was discovered by two American astronomers. The Universe also rotates on an axis, which gives all of Creation an up and down direction. That seems back to the world of our childhood when heaven was in the sky and hell below ground. But also, everything in this creation has a spin, from fermions at the bottom to galaxy clusters at the top, and then even the whole Universe. It makes me recall how as a teen I learned working in the Richmond CA shipyard during WW II with an eletrician as his helper, not to twist two wires in a perpendicular diredtion. That creates resistance and they heat up. But curl they together horizontally for less resistance and smoother current flow. Now we're seeing all creation as wired together. It was such a kink in light trave that two astronomers detected a dozen years ago. From them we thus learned of cosmic rotation. What an awesome detail. The term was "anisotrophy" that slows down the light going perpendicular from the normal speed of light flowing parallel to an axis in the Universe. That eledtrician I helped used that veru word about heavy wiring in that Keiser Ship yard. And now we hear it again in IYA2009. Isotrophic" means the same in all directions, so anisophotrophic is the opposite or not the same in all directions. That'd like morals which apply to our living too. There's a right and wrong as sure s God and Satan both exist. SoLong(Shalom), JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 12-04-09 Nostalgia is the word this Yuletide season evokes in me. It's not much sense of the sacredness of our Lord's nativity, which always accompanies that very night of the divine birth; though even it's date is drawn from an ancient pagan festival the Romans kept. Worshippers of the Sun had taken their Sun worship date from when the calendar's winter eauinox (days began to cease growing shorter), till Dec.25, to celebrate "the unconquered Sun" as daylight and dark get equal. But when Constantine became their Emperor, he imposed a meaning which his fellow Christians approved: the birthday of Jesus Christ. Yet pagan cultural nostalgia for it's older meaning has allowed some of it to continue. That's not all bad, as it thus became possible for the Holy Roman Empire to arise in their transition of allegiance to the one holy catholic Church. That's best remembered from the Nicene Creed, adopted in an eastern city, where Constantine had called together a counsel of all the bishops . One Orthodox theologian that I've studied used the name "Unconquered Sun" (shifting reference from Sun to Son) as descriptive of Jesus. He made use of the metaphor from Persia's Zoroasterian religion that Rome had accepted. to describe the Gospel in terms of a light vs darkness warfare. The theologian, whose name I forget, was an EASTERN Orthodox Christian. Yet he showed how more revelation may be from heaven though even from outsiders, praise GOD. ANGELFIRE mentioned the Maji last time, who journied from far eastern Persia (Iran) with their gifts. Matt.2:11 says it was to the house of Mary and Joseph where they brought them, not the manger of his arrial. And since Herod sent his soldiers to kill all the boys two or younger, it's clear that Jesus was at least that old by then. His parents fled with him to Egypt. So he survived there to return, much like Moses had done after rescue from that wiccer basket in the Nile centuries before hand. Matt. reports "out of Egypt have I called My son" as a prophecy not just about the Israelites, but especially the boy Jesus. Things in the Bible fit together showing a divine purpose unfolding in history. And that goes far beyond mere nostalgia, doesn't it. The theologian I mentioned called his book "Christus Victor" because it showed how the one born so lowly grew up to vanquish man's primary enemy Satan by being crucified andraised from the dead. Then he ascended back to a seat at his Father's right hand in heaven, from which he will triumphantly return at last. PTL!! Let this glad hope live in your heart as we remember Christbirth day/night this 2009. SoLong and Shalom, JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 12-08-09 I saw the beautiful floats in PV's annual Parade of Lights and then got home to tune in a report on Copenhagen's big gathering on Climate Change that's now begun. Signs of deception being investigated gave it just the opposite feeling than PV's beautiful parade had for me. The ugliness of possible trickery lent it an aura of evil. So I'm glad that our president won't be involved, and is waiting until the very last day to appear. In fact, something could happen before Dec.18 to prevent his even going there at all. It seems to ANGELFIRE that these huge meetings become fertile fields for feeding growth of political ideology, all tilding toward the left. Of course we are stewards of this Earth and thus accountable to it's creator for taking care of it. That old adage "waste not, want not" used to be deep in America's psyche. And the current recession recalls my childhood in those memories of "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." In our family we always had to clean our plate before getting any desert. That meant taking from the serving bowl only what we planned to consume. Squanderous living was considered wicked way back then. Yet that was an age than ended after WW II, when in the fifties our theme was affluence. Conspicuous consumption was our mark on the world, with lavish living as our life style. Then came the secular sixties followed by the soaring seventies. By the eighties we were all out for living abundantly, though we ended that century with a little measure of restraint. Now we see another decade ending for this 21st century with 2010 at hand. And the rest of the world is catching up as fast as possible. There will be plenty of blame coming at US out of Copenhagen for causing global warming. Well over a hundred nations will be there, as if that's going to offer much remedy from atmospheric pollution. It could be the stage for some international figure to gain power, if he/she offers quick answers. Al Gore, perhaps? Or someone yet an unrecognized person. Read in the Bible about an Antichrist to appear before the Lord's return. When it's near the end of history, the Bible tells us in it's last book of Revelation his number will be 666. But the Gospel is our hope, as we celebrate the divine birth from which the years are now numbered around most of this Earth. It's tne fullness of time 2009. Come Lord Jesus !!! JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 12-11-09 When I started at OU after getting out of the navy in '46, my older brother asked what would be my major. "Philosophy" was my answer, "because it explains everything." He said "Maybe so, but what good is it if no one understands what they talk about?" Later it came to me that faith was the Bible way i.e. Hebrews.11.1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." So I turned to theology and went to Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. Yet philosophy could not be forgotten. Especially because one named Soren Kierkegaard who had lived a pious life in Copenhagen was just becoming prominent. Even in theology, his 19th century writings were hitting us about complexity, though he'd been the son of a pastor and wrote a newspaper column in Copenhagen. He challenged and called things into question. Here's his definition of faith to compare with the Scripture quoted above, : "the appropriation of the paradoxical along with expulsion of the absurd, both held together by the passion of inwardness.: Someone has called that an enigma combined with a riddle becoming a conundrum. And yet it's more real than any pat answers, simple formulas or clever lingo. Back to the faith chapter Heb.11, and verse eleven, read that Sarah by faith was given power to conceive and bear a son for Abraham when age was so much against them both. Surely that's an implicit prediction of Mary's faith in giving birth to Jesus to fulfill God's design for humanity. She became another Sarah, so to speak--paradoxically the former so old and the latter so young. The blessed Incarnation defies rational explanation as we must take it by faith, the point from which to begin our thought, then faith and actions that flow out of it by divine grace. What a glorious season this is to celebrate John 3:16. MY special birthday gift last month was from Niece, a neck tie with that text on it: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Thus the Father is a supreme giver, first in creation of us all and then in redemption for those coming in faith. Oh that the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen could include such an awareness. We humans are stewards of Earth because the Father Almighty has entrusted it to us as stewards of his handiword. A joyous Nativity holiday! JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 12-15-09 W.I.S.E. is the name of that spacecraft that NASA finally did get launched Monday from out in CA to search the sky as a Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. It carries detectors of radiation rather than ordinary cameras., to map out what existed right after the Big Bang of 13.7 billion years ago. Certainly there's a curious world wide audience of astronomers to watch. It will also survey our solar system for asteroids not yet detected and also comets afar orbiting even other stars in the Milky Way along with our Sun. What a finishing touch for this International Year of Astronomy! Even the acronym given to it seems appropriate for this sacred season of shepherds and w-i-s-e men, all drawn to Bethlehem for the Savior's arrival in that manger here on planet Earth. John begins his gospel in the N.T. by calling Christ Jesus "the Word." He says "All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the light was the light of men...the light shines in darkness and the darkness has not overcome it... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glry as of the only begotten of the Father. full of grace and truth." Thus we see a clear link between this holy nativity that we celebrate and the beginning of the whole Universe. It was God created as surely as Christ came by way of divine procreation. Incarnation is the term for God's entrance into humanity. Of course we don't learn these things from the spacecraft named WISE, because it has to be wisdom beyond man's technology. Such is only given to us, through revelation in Scripture, which augments with meaning our scientific investigation. The faith of Hebrews 11 that ANGELFIRE quoted last time points to a supreme purpose which has been served by those heroes of the Bible therein listed. Yet this world seems determined to ignore the existence of Yahweh the Father Almighty who made heaven and earth. Former atheism from before the 20th century, has been curretly replaced by a non-theism in humanitie's current secular world. Even though plasma cosmology now shows how all matter follows a plan that conquers so much of the blind confusion and chaos. Plasma composed of quarks and gluons is now seen as connecting everytthing from largest to smallest into a unity, with filaments i.e. tubes (or electric wires in houses/blood capillaries in our bodies). And the marvels that have widely arisen simply defy mere chance or coincidence. The odds were overwhelming against such a Universe inhabited by intelligent beings coming to pass through randomness. So happily as well as reverently we mortals can pray just as Jesus taught us to do; "Our Father who art in Heaven.. lead us not into hard testing, but deliver us from the evil one." Christ's victory on his Cross was over the devil, thus mentioned in The Lord's Prayer more completely translated. It also pleads for the Kingdom to come, meaning the return of Jesus, who brings it to completion and fullness. C.L.J.
ANGELFIRE 12-22-09 This International Year of Astronomy is nearly gone, but it has caused me to gain a better understanding of the Universe. Two sciences, physics and astronomy, have been joined to study it as Astrophysics. Such an inquiry links the macroverse to the microroverse, vastness of all Creation to it's own sub-atomic realm. And telescopes, which began this age of natural science with Galileo Galilei 400 years ago, are now surpassed by electromagnetic wave detectors that can check all kinds of "light" including visible, but far more intense radiations as well as those way below the light frequency. We've become aware of how very much more is going on out there than was formerly supposed. Happily, it continues to fit together into The Standard Model or TSM. One reason I feel it wrong to nick name all such as Big Bang, is because flatness is a basic feature of TSM. It's a two dimensional spread instead of an ordinary explosion. So if we could see it in total (which only God can see from beyond), we'd think it was a flying saucer. Of course they do have some width toward the middle instead of just being perfectly flat discs. But ANGELFIRE still points to the saucer symbol. Maybe it was a providential messenger for the 20th century used by the Creator in helping humans become aware of intelligence beyond our own Earthly domain. And it certainly maintains the paradox of good and evil, some the former and others the latter. So as we move into a tenth year of this 21st century, surely we've become ready to face such reality as part of existence before each one of us. A main issue in keeping the faith is called theodicy. It's the enigma of how an almighty and good Maker of everything allows evil to happen and continue. Such causes profound questioning. How can it be allowed if God is perfectly good and absolutely almighty. Some have proposed a limited deity, but modern man tends to solve the dilemma by nontheism. He goes ahead trying to cope with all problems using secular science rather than prayer. But faith in the gospel takes God and Satan as opposing realities that do fit together. Shalom
ANGELFIRE 12-27-09 The glory story of Mary and Joseph has been celebrated once again all around the world; of how they traveled those fifty or sixty miles southward from their home in Nazareth down to the little town that was linked to King David's fame, Bethlelhem in Judea. They weren't even openly and fully married yet, but Mary was about to become a mother. Scripture tells us Joseph knew it was not his child and Mary had been informed by an angel just Who was the Father. I see it as the world's exclusion of Christ in that there wasn't even any room for them at the Inn. Yet heavenly providence provided the stable with that manger where He would be born. What an humble beginning for the one who would be God incarnate in a human being, Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords. The more years that divine event is celebrated, the greater the grandeur we see in it's meaning. Incarnation is the theological term, which includes being born and then a lifetime on Earth. Just as the birth was from beyond human origin, the life Jesus lives was of sinless perfection. The Bible tells us how it had to be so as the Lamb of God that would be offered to take away the sins of all who would accept His offering on the cross. So the Incarnation is completed in an Atonement, which Jesus accomplished for us through His crucifixion. Niece gave me a new tie for my birthday a month ago that has John 3:16 on it. I wore in Christmas Day and sang that verse as I'd arranged it to fit a similar tune:
"For God so loved the world
He gave his only Son
that whosoever would
belive and trust in HIm
should never perish but
have everlasting life!"
The gospel in a single verse!-------
Thus it pertains to "Christbirth" Day.
ANGELFIRE 1-11-10 Over a week now into 2010 and I'm finally back online to write a column. Enough has already been said about the new year, so I'll talk about Epiphany. It's a sacred season that begins Jan.6, after the twelve days of Christmas are ended. In the Eastern Orthodox churches they celebrate the baptism of Jesus, but we Protestants and Catholics here ian Western Christianity who observe it, link Epiphany to the the Maji coming from Iran as they followed that star which led them west to Bethlehem in Judea. They they gave him expensive presents along with their worship. It's at the start of the New Testament demonstrating how Gentiles will recognize the Messiah even before his own people do. Thus they were divinely warned to return by another way than Jerusalem, since king Herod who ruled Judea wanted to kill the special child he feared as a rival to his throne. So the ecumenical church uses Epiphany to promote missionary outreach. And the term has come to mean "seeing the Light" or having an eye opening experience. One reality shared by East and West in the faith is that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." But Eastern Orthodoxy takes it literally as uncreated Light. Western Christians read in Genesis of light as being created on the first day, so we accept the text that God is light metaphorically. Thus we don't put as much emphasis on divine light. as shown on Jesus when Peter, James and John stood with him on the holy mount. There the Voice told them to listen to Him (Jesus). Orthodoxy makes that revelation equal to the Crucifixion on Mt,.Calvary, which is the main focus for our faith. They still await a divine flame to appear each year in their worship. But we usually feel it in our hearts, as a surge of the Spirit within us. And seeing the Light can be figurtive in our poetry and song. It was expressed by the late Hank Williams in a song he wrote about coming to Christ:
I wandered along in the pathway of sin. I wouldn't let my Savior come in. Then
Jesus came like a stranger at night. Praise the Lord, I saw the light. I saw the light I. I saw the light! No more darkness, sorrow nor night. Praise the Lord, I saw the Light!! There is much in the Old Testament about that divine "shimmer" called shekinah (glory). It was a sign which led the Israelites for those 40 years of wandering through the the wilderness. They beheld it before them, a cloud by day and pillar of fire at night. Then it continued in the tabernacle and subsequent Temple, upon the high altar. Such light is spiritually enlightening and could be also called holy wisdom; such as. those wise men being guided by that star of Bethlehem, and also a personal epiphany for each of us believers in this year now begun. Happy days for thr new year numbered 2010. Keep looking up, to behold our Lord's returning soon. C.L.J. JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 1-18-10 We were "looking up" in the last column, as we wrote on Epiphany being about finally seeing the Light that led those wise men west from out of the East. They were the child from a blessed Event among the Jews which would carry awesome import to all peoples. So artists have depicted them as signifying the three--black, yellow and white--races of humanity. Thus, the Light shining from that one-and-only perfect life, is the meaning for mankind's existence that comes from man's Creator. He stepped down into our world and showed us the purpose for which we were made. So our Maker and heavenly Father wants us to escape the lure of evil by following the pattern set by his only begotten son, Christ Jesus. The Savior overcame Satan by enduring the scorn of this fallen world and praying for those who crucified Him. The resurrection on that third day confirmed the victory that had been already won for believers through blood freely shed on the cross. It was the dark side of faith. We still ask "why" in hard testings, just as Christ cried out from feeling so forsaken by God above. Beyond Incarnation theology, there's the subject of theodocy, which tries to justify divine direction when things go wrong. "If the holy God exists and has all power, why does evil abound?" Theodocy offers explanations to our minds that help to sustain faith. Yet deeds of kindness are far more helpful. And that's what shines like heavenly light down below, as relief is now being delivered into Haiti. Whatever voo doo past has kept them bound in fear, the Father's agape(love) is reaching out with help in this terrible time. Praise the Living God of history as shown in the Bible for this magnificent sign from above. It's like the star of Bethlehem. And our faith as seeing, is with both eyes i.e. science and religion. Just as our God has two eyes, not just one, so we are in that image for comprehension Each eye connects to opposite halves of the brain. So that symmetry enriches our consciousness. Left brain (and right eye) yields digital information and calculation ability, where the right brain is wholistic. As we generally balance between them, our conscious interests include both science and art rather than exclusively one or the other. And both yield technology, which projects life into a new kind of world man has begun creating. In it the light of genius may just shine from one side or the other. Yet the Light from above unites our worldly awareness with transcendent realities. That name of this column is ANGELFIRE, so we may write on that subject next. SoLong for now, JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 1-22-10 All aid from the public sent to Haiti needs to be in cash we're told by official agencies, and that's the very stuff this recession has left in short supply. Yet I'm hearing of the millions that have come from private sources already as well as the big CNN telephon event tonight which may bring forth be the most donations ever to save and restore lives down there. That aftershock that hit a week after the Jan..12 earthquake was almost the same magnitude. So there's even greater devastation and the two hundred thousand fatalities may likely double in number. I heard a reporter say that the natives were falling down on their faces and calling out to God with repentance. That sounds like things in the Old Testament where divine punishment and reward comes about in the weather. One of the things IYA2009 taught this seer of meaning in events is that weather extends throughout the Universe. It's not just here on Earth, our little planet with an atmosphere. But plasma cosmology has shown how the same reality extends everywhere to an inter-connectedness of all creation. So that allows for angels too, doesn't it. One exciting theory is that psi particles give possibility of cosmic consciousness at ever more vast levels. Since angels are messengers and agents of the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, they must have existed from the very beginning as psi particles, even before gravity began it's drawing of plasma quarks and glueons into separate larger particles. Since particle means to "part," it implies that gravity is the angel rebellion mentioned in the Bible, when Satan parted from the Creator to seek his own rule. Isn't that where we get the downward pull so universal? As Sir Isaac Newton had his insight (with an apple falling on his head) of an all pervading force, gravity at first had a spiritual meaning too. Then it was lost in subsequent materialism. So now gravity (from the word grave") is known as one of the FOUR BASIC FORCES in The Standard Model of origin for this Universe. We metaphorically see a fallen Angel at work through that apple hitting Newton's head, just as Satan at first in Eden tempting Adam and Eve by hitting on them to believe his cursed lie, "you will not die." But Christ Jesus is restoring all things into to glorifying his Father, and will come back for completion of this resurrection recreation. C.L.J.
SoLong, JosephA@webtv.net
LORD's DAYextra 1-24-10 Nearly a month into this new year and decade now. The focus of global attention is on Haita, where the aftershock are nearly as strong as the Jan.12 earthquake. So the 200,000 casulty figure will increase greatly; perhaps even double. Yet so much help from abroad is like a light from heaven. It matches the theme of this sacred season, Epiphany. In contrase is that vile prison just west of Haiti, Guantanio. Our country has been shamed for allowing it to continue housing captured terrorists in the continuing war on terror. So now a prison in IL has agreed to take most of them. Since offers are so rare, this one's been accepted. Yet things keep being stalled. I've wondered if it might not cost any more to build a space ship that could carry them to Mars. There they could build their own nation as prisoners from Great Britian created Australia two centuries ago. They were one who accepted the deal to set them loose in that far off place. It sure turned out well as ANGELFIRE sees it. Of course the natives there were not so happy. Yet even they now gain great benefit from that democracy that was created "down under." In the case of Mars we'd have to say "out there" instead. And we wouldn't need the agreement of those sent. SoLong for now and shalom, JosephA@webtv.net
ANGELFIRE 1-25-10 Wednesday evening's State of the Union message will be Obama's first since his inaugural addess last year. Do you realize he's already been our president for a full year? And this speech will set the tone for a second one, which may mean getting tougher with Congress. But ANGELFIRE expects him to lay off of health care reform and show how tough he can be abroad. Having that Nobel Peace prize doesn't bar him from being a Commander-in-Chief. And he's already sending more troops to Afghanistan, so he may also toughen our support for the civilians in Iraq as they grow toward democracy. Iran's already been shown that he's no push over. Thus this nation needs our prayers, and that includes his presidency. I saw a book titled "In Fed We Trust" and sensed that it a parody of "In God We Trust." All the expansion of government in Obama's first year does seem to make the book title more accurate than that national motto we have. It's printed on our money and needs to be in our hearts too, since God is the genuine source of wealth. He owns all of creation by virtue of giving it existence. Of course the devil's gained control of vast amounts also. But he didn't create or earn any of it; stole it instead. He dominates this fallen world even though goodness yet endures in our nation. The response to Haiti's crisis by Americans has shown a Christly quality. Christ said that to love our neighbor was equal to loving the LORD, which as Israel's supreme commandment. Our many non-governmental agencies in the US have raised millions for aid/relief down there and our military continues with heroic efforts; though searching for any still alive was discontinued yesterday. The Jan..12 earthquake and it's two big aftershocks have brought death upon hundreds of thousands. In my over eight decades of living, there's never been anything to equal it that I can recall. (Why do we give names to storms, typhoons or hurricanes but not to earthquakes?) Their houses and buildings are nearly all demolished also. And what a bad time in our own economy for us to help them rebuild. That makes this a challenge to our love of the true God in whom we trust. Haitians are precious to him and we can show praise to God through our help that's given. Otherwise, such calamity may foreshadow a worse man made quake that wickedness may yet bring down on us, WW III. There's profanity heard in work places where reverence seems to have ceased. And so much entertainment is filled with filth. Yet let's keep looking skyward for the coming again of Christ Jesus, in power and glory and bringing spirits of all the righteous dead plus his innumerable company of holy angels. Such is the great-day-of-resurrection signified by our empty Cross. SoLong for now, JosephA@webtv.net