As I took the newspapers into Grace Living Center on Tuesday last week, I encountered all the residents gathered in the lobby to hear Elvis. And he was singing a sacred number, as I recall. So it made me think of an expression to account for messages on video tape that we keep getting from ObL since 9/11, "the Elvis effect." That means that he's considered dead, but made is being kept alive for true believers with these pre-recorded speeches. With most nations on this earth eager for his capture and so many of them helping us in our our effort of global war, it seems evident that he must be dead and his body vanished into a cloud of smoke. The 25 million dollar ransom would surely have caused him to be handed over by now. Thus, Al-Qaeda has made him into a mythical hero for radical Islam, and perpetuated his existence just like Elvis Presley's (though not for music, but for this murderous jehad of terrorism facing our civilization). V.P.Cheney and FBI director Mueller were both saying this Monday that suicide bombings are likely here in our own country, even inevitable. And the former governor of Pennsylvania who's our national Homeland Security chief agreed with them. Sure sounds like "we ain't seen nothing yet." The insurance tycoon and wizard of high finance, Warren Buffett, stated a week or so ago that a second 9/11 was certain with nuclear explosives to be a hundred times worse. Not a pretty picture ahead, is it? In those days of the Cold War terror we had Elvis reappearances serving an a diversion. But Osama ben Laden's no diversion, dead or alive; he even echoes in our daily news, which includes the lawsuit against Wendy's by a woman claiming that her chicken sandwich exploded. Maybe we're going crazy.
Yet there was another kind of power for healing that exploded in Jerusalem two millenia ago that some called "drunken men." Churches have just celebrated Pentecost Sunday recalling Acts 2 that tells how Jews from all the world were gathered in the Holy City where Christ's Apostles had been "constantly devoting themselves to prayer" in an Upper Room. Then they moved over to the Temple area (where all could behold it) as the power Jesus had promised fell upon them: "And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house [Temple] where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." I quoted this at our prison service Sunday and then noted that last on the list following it. of all the peoples represented there, were even the Arabs (Acts 2:11). Could that be a sign of how our Lord's return will finally heal the hatred between Jews and Arabs that has become so utterly intractable? ObL spread his jehad to include U.S. along with the Jews because we've sided so often with the Israelis. Though some of the Arabs are Christians, I don't see how a Bible based America could have done otherwise. Islam is an Arab religion, which has grown far beyond that origin to include other races and peoples. Still, it claims in the Koran to be the earliest theistic faith in which even Abraham, and Noah before him, were Muslims. Since Muslim means "one who submits" to Allah, I don't think Adam could qualify because of his fall into a sinful nature (yet he's listed as a prophet). But Islam denies original sin as taught by St.Paul and claims that Allah put no curse on human nature. Rather it was placed on the serpent(sliding on the earth), the woman(bearing children in pain) and the ground (which would only yield a harvest from man's hard labor). However, there is no endemic warp in humanity that needs to be corrected. Thus humans are able to choose right or wrong without enabling grace, according to Islam. Salvation is achieved by just doing good. No need for a Savior. Jesus is only another prophet, but Muhammad is the final one and the Koran beyond the Bible in authority for all "people of the book" (Jews, Christians or Muslims). The Bible says Jesus is GOD's beloved Son through Whom we may become His children, but the Koran states that almighty Allah has no offspring, only his slaves who obey him and worship on prayer carptes where they kneel and bend their faces flat down. This is described in the Bible as "falling on your face" to express anguish or fright or total reverence.
A few readers have asked me why our dog Critter isn't mentioned anymore. Niece said some had said the same thing to her recently. So I'll bring an update on our eleven year old (seven times that in canine years). She still enjoys going out in our back yard and sometimes even runs fast in circles to release her excitement. We learned a long time ago that dogs need space to just run free at times. So all those times that she dug under the fence and got out were chalked up to meeting that need. But the last year or so it hasn't happened. Either we've finally got the fence solidly on the ground or she's resigning herself to confinment. Last week we just let her out the gate and followed around the neighborhood to keep an eye on where she went, then finally picked her up again. I don't think it was as much fun for her since there was no escape involved. Perhaps I get prison ministry thinking confused with dog care. Nevertheless, she still seems like a puppy to us, especially when we offer to take her riding (which has been quite rare the past few years). Critter and I still think of Niece as our lady of the flowers. And the garden where Critter is free to rove is bigger and more beautiful than ever this year. We were so sad about loosing several big trees around our Pinkhouse as a result of the icestorm and later windstorm. But more sunlight has made the flowers grow even fuller. And the house is far more visible here at the corner of Clayton St. and Juanita Blvd. to anyone driving past. We bought it in '91 and kept making improvements for years, both inside and out. The front door faces West now toward Clayton, though our address is still 902 E.Juanita. And since it's the fruition of my dear wife's planning as well as labor, I want to change it's name to THE NIECE HOUSE. It was pink when we got it, but has light gray rock and white siding now to make it such Niece looking home. The houses she remodels all look so much Niecer when finished. So come by and see our Niece House whenever you're in Wynnewood. And I'll show you the three others she's already finished, if you should want to see them. She has also made the inside of this place more beautiful than the outside. I try to do my part by regularly running the lawn mower outside and the vaccume sweeper inside while she's always working at the house being redone to be sold.
I'm sure you saw the full page explanation in Friday's Democrat about the entertainment section that was wrong in Thursday's, along with the correct on a day late. Well it was the printer's fault over at Ada, hot here in Pauls Valley. I understand the office got a flock of calls, some quite angry. But that made me think as a carrier how often we take the flack for late editions. Folks express their irritation to the one close at hand, the carrier. And we don't get a full page to give our side. Yet that's not as significant as the fact that entertainment is paramount to the public. What if the weekly devotional was left out, or my column omitted. Not likely there would be any calls about that. Ugh, to use an Indian word. And that's probably politically incorrect. But on my page, I don't care what the critics say. That's how I feel and you can take it or leave it.