Favorite Quotes-Part 1

Well hello readers all! Some of you may know that on my sidebar is a scrolling collection of some quotes I put together, but as the list is far from complete I have decided to post a few more of my favorite quotes I have been putting together lately in my Commonplace Book, a quote book basically. So here they are, along with their author and location.

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. 
                                                   Thomas Paine (The American Crises Papers)

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade,all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to thing of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’; aim at earth and you will get neither.
                                                                        -C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity

He that cometh to seek after knowledge, with a mind to scorn, shall be sure to find matter for his humor, but no matter for his instruction. Advancement of Learning, Book I(1605)   -Francis Bacon


“To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinion which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”                                -Thomas Jefferson


All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in this world is for enough good men to do nothing.                                                     - (Edmund Burke)


“I am much afraid that schools will prove to be great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not increasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.”                               
                                                                           -Martin Luther

 If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.                            -           
                                                             -C.S Lewis (Mere Christianity)

The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall; but in charity there is no excess; neither can angel or man come in danger by it. F. B

Laws are made to guard the rights of the people, not to feed the lawyers. The laws should be read by all, known to all. Put them into shape, inform them with philosophy, reduce them in bulk, give them into every man's hand.                                           -Francis Bacon

Number itself importeth not much in armies, where the people are of weak courage; for (as Virgil says) it never troubles a wolf how many the sheep be.   -Francis Bacon

It may not always happen that our soldiers are citizens, and the multitude a body of reasonable men; virtue, as I have already remarked, it not hereditary, neither is it perpetual. Should an independency be brought about by the first of those means, we have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand, and a race of men perhaps as numerous as all Europe contains, are to receive their portion of freedom from the event of a few months. The Reflexion is awful—and in this point of view, how trifling, how ridiculous, do the little paltry cavellings, of a few weak or interested men appear, when weighed against the business of a world.
                                          -Thomas Paine (The American Crises Papers)

I said just now that the question of Faith in this sense arises after a man has tried his level best to practice the Christian virtues and found that he fails, and seen that even if he could he would only be giving back to God was already God’s own…Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your action, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.   -C.S Lewis (Mere Christianity)                                                                              

The answer to that nonsense is that, if what you call your faith in Christ does not involve taking the slightest notice of what He says, then it is not Faith at all—not faith or trust in Him, but only intellectual acceptance of some theory about Him.          
                                                               -C.S Lewis  (Mere Christianity)

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,
                                        -- 2 Timothy 4:7 (The Bible)


Thank-you for reading! If you would like to share your favorite quote or quotes, please comment below!

A Good Movie

Series: A Good Movie

Part 1: On Box Office Hits

            Throughout the years since TV was first invented, the public has been submitted to a variety of movies and theater presentations from silent films and musicals to epics and thrillers. Over time, our special effects, computer software and HD cameras have set the bar high in the technical department of the movie industry. With the invention of airplanes and faster modes of travel, film studios are now able to fly their cast and equipment to any set they choose, giving them the benefit of both equipment and location. Peter Jackson filmed both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit epics in New Zealand, Spielberg filmed The Raiders of the Lost Ark in France, England and Tunisia, and more recently, Thor 2: The Dark World was filmed in England and Iceland. Unrestricted and unlimited, the modern film industry has been able to produce some of the world’s most advanced films in its history, creating movies with stunning special effects and stunts. However, is technological advancement the prerequisite of a good movie? And is it the reason that a movie is able to claim the title of a ‘classic’ as it grips the hearts and emotions of its viewers?

This, then, is the question before us: What gives a movie the necessary power to shock its viewers and send them out of the theater unable to forget what they have just seen? There are different ways that movie producers and directors attempt to make a movie memorable. Graphic movies, horror movies, suspense thrillers and dramas are a few of the ways, but is that kind of remembrance the one a good director or producer wants to leave with his audience? There are some who think that, but while I agree that you will definitely make the audience remember you, it is not just remembrance that you need to make a box office hit, and it is not just being a box office hit that makes a movie good.

In order to get on that chart of ‘top ten grossing movies’, your movie has to not only make it to the theaters, it also has to be watched by millions of people. In order to get that kind of audience, the movie doesn’t just have to be good—it has to be advertised and in order to do that you have to have connections, and not a little bit of money. There have been many good movies produced over the years that would have made more money if more people had known they existed. Not everyone in the world checks the theater every week to find out if any new movies have come in, and not all good movies even make it there. To be accepted to a theater, your movie has to be attractive and prospective to the owners of the theater. They have to believe that it will attract enough people to be worth their time, and if they don’t think it is going to do that, then they will replace it with a different movie. Once the movie makes it to the theaters, it will have to be advertised enough to get its initial audience. Once it does, the snowball starts rolling.

Once a movie makes it to the theater, it will be subjected to a variety of praise or criticism depending on the movie and popular culture at the time of its introduction. If the initial response is positive, then people will start talking about it and if enough people go to see it and share it on Facebook and other similar social media sites, the larger media will very likely pick up on it, and the snowball of fame will start growing. More people will go to see it, more people will praise or criticize it, more people will write reviews, and consequently, more people will hear about it and repeat that process. Assuming that the popular reaction to the movie is positive throughout all these stages of the process, it will become a box office hit. The purpose of the next section of this article is to define ‘positive’ in the phrase ‘positive reaction’ and to show you what that means and how it changes. The purpose of the third section of this article will be to show that being a box office hit can be an indication of a good movie, but it is not the fundamental or necessary factor in determining the quality of a movie. In the fourth section, we will discuss heroes and work on identifying the qualities that transform a protagonist into a hero. I will use the fifth section to wrap up my arguments and present them in an outlined fashion.

What a Day!

Oh what a day! Starting off with the luxury of sleeping in until 8:00 and ending with a good book and a cup of tea! Oh but there were other things in between, like driving along windy and rain covered roads through familiar towns to see people who are literally 'familyiar'. But the best was yet to come. =Standing outside under a small overhang playing everything you can think of on an electric guitar with two fun and invincible guitar players who couldn't care less that the rain is coming down in sheets around us! Less-than-melodic sounds emanate from the amplifiers but no one seems to notice or care about them or the rain. Neither did I.

 I'd be willing to bet that none of you expected that bit about the guitars. I bet you expected me to talk about cups of tea and good books and romantic smells of rain and earth. There is that too. :) But if you know me, you know that standing in the rain playing a second-hand guitar has a bit of a Jukebox Hero feel to it, and that romanticism has never been my forte.

But that was not the end of my day. I gingerly packed up my guitar with the careful attention and serious expression that one would use in handing a baby over to a friend on the other side of a cliff and then made my way home. (I actually got that expression today from someone when I picked up their guitar. :) It is a look of surprise, supressed fear, intense inward stress and more than a hint of if-you-dare-drop-that-I-am-going-to....to...do-something-terrible-to-you!' I give people that look every time they breathe on my guitar. Some people call it obsessive, I call it 'cautionary action caused by lack of replacement funds and imminent possibility of damage caused by user's potentiality for ineptitude and carelessness'.

 But I told you there was a bit of the romantic as well. Sitting with candles, tea and cookies with 'Les Miserables' on my lap and my eyes on the opposite wall going, why, why, why, am I reading this book? Yes, yes, it is a classic, and a very good one, but Mr. Hugo seems to have thought of a million ways of avoiding dialogue and things that actually have a very important bearing on the immediate plot. If you doubt me, consider that when one is one pg. 615, you are just now only halfway through the book and the fact that the font size is 9. When I have finished it and watched the movie I suppose I will not regret having read it so I will stumble forwards to its completion.

What else? Well, then there is right now. Outside the fields are saturated with water, a cold northern wind is blowing and the pond has overflowed its banks. Our basketball hoop was split in two by ferocious winds, narrowly missing our car, and rivers of water are running through the pastures. But I am inside, writing this post, with every soundtrack from Braveheart and Sherlock to The Avengers and Spiderman playing in the background. 'Les Mis' is sitting beside me, judgmentally viewing my neglect of it and I am looking at it with the expression of one who knows his fate is approaching. Ah! well, "If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our country loss..."

P.S. When I am done with Les Mis, I shall come back and write what I thought of it, and if my opinions now were made prematurely, I shall correct them and state my new opinion.

P.P.S Here is a link to the great St. Crispin's Day speech where the above quotation is from.

'Son of God' and Beyond

I have seen several movies about the life of Jesus, including The Passion of the Christ, the Matthew Project and King of Kings along with a few others, but I believe that ‘Son of God’ is my favorite. I left the theater so encouraged and moved that I decided to write a post about it and show you what I took away from it, or rather, what He gave me through it. The movie had an unbelievable soundtrack, (composed by my favorite composer, Hans Zimmer) and a powerful message that went far beyond John 3:16, all the way to its fulfillment in the last lines of the Bible in Revelation. I have neither the time nor the desire to discuss plot, storyline, actors, etc. the things people usually discuss when writing a review and seem to think are the most important. I wanted, rather, to tell you why I think it is the best Jesus movie I have seen, to discuss its Biblical accuracy and how it affected the viewer, and to show you how it impacted me and what it left me with. I hope that I will have the space to fit all that in.

So then, why do I think it is the best Jesus movie I have seen? Firstly, the exterior factors. The soundtrack had a lot to do with my opinion of the movie. To me, soundtrack is one of the most crucial factors in determining a persons overall response to a movie, especially my response to a movie. Putting the right music in at that right moment is key to getting the emotions of the viewer and making your movie well remembered. In a future post, I will go into that in further detail. Soundtrack, acting, set, and filming are the most important external factors, I suppose, but they are boring and while they contributed each in their little share to my conclusion about the movie, they were not crucial. I will move on to the more important factors.

I prefer to think of movies as stories, not movies and that goes for ‘Son of God’ especially. I believe that people get caught up in action, special effects, filming, and fan-girling. ‘Son of God’ is a perfect example of how relatively unknown actors can produce a very good movie, but ah! stop right there…It is not a movie. It is a story, the best story ever told. Do not see it as a collection of random actors and filmstrips. It is the most important story ever told. That must be clear. Now that it has been made clear, we will move on.

Historical accuracy is very important, and some people have complained that the movie did not follow the Bible precisely. On the one hand, I would agree, and say, no it did not, (like when Jesus went into the tomb to raise Lazarus from the dead) but on the other hand, for the other things, I would say, “What does it matter?” The things that were omitted, paraphrased or changed were not major changes and did not undermine in any way the context or message of the Scriptures. Honestly, we do not know the exact chronology of the events written down in the Gospels and that is okay. What really matters is what Jesus said and why, not exactly where He said it. Even with the mistake of having Him go into the tomb to raise Lazarus instead of calling him out, I do not think that should affect too much the fact that He still held the power to raise Lazarus from the dead! As John himself said in closing his book, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” If you’re a Christian and up enough on your Bible trivia to know that something was left out or misplaced, but you also know that it did not take away from the message or twist Scripture, then that shouldn't matter that much. You know what’s being left out so you’re okay and the unbeliever coming in is not going to be thrilled with a three and a half hour long movie that details every miracle that Jesus performed or every word He said. I say this with the utmost respect, with the premise that Christ does not need three and a half hours to show the people His power.

I believe the directors realized that because there were so many Jesus movies, and the life of Jesus was so well known even among many secular circles in the modern world, it would be ‘just another preachy Jesus movie’ to many people. In that light, I think they did a fantastic job of producing a movie that broke some of the traditional boundaries set down in previous movies. The parables and words that Christ performed and preached were present at the right moment and the right time, allowing you to grasp their full power in light of the context they were presented in. I think they definitely produced a new Jesus figure, one whom I thought was far more accurate and like the Jesus of the Bible, not unlike him. That leads me back to the first point and also to the third topic, for they’re rather similar, the latter being the cause for the former. The things that stuck with me and made me give it a 5 star rating, are as follows.

Firstly, the power of Christ; not the power to perform miracles, but the power in His entire figure, His confidence in the message He had been sent to preach, His courage and joy amid His suffering. It is hard to explain the things one feels when they see that divine power. I struggle to control my disappointment and disgust with those who think that because Christ was meek, He was weak. Perhaps my anger is misplaced, but I do not believe it is unfounded. Christ is not weak. He is powerful and just because He took the form of a man, does not mean He was weak. Does He not say that He could ask the father and instantly have the aid of twelve legions of angels? A man, yes, but not a weak one.

I cried as the first five minutes of the movie flashed before my eyes, for it showed Christ’s power, and how He was there, with our ancestors, on Day 1 and what He left behind so that He could save us. I cried again as the last five minutes went by, for it showed that He will be there on the last day too. "It is done,” he says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end...“Behold, I am coming quickly.” This was interesting and new for me, because although I had read this Scripture, I had never watched a Jesus movie where it was emphasized so much like it was at the end of this one. These movies tend to end everything at the Resurrection, as if everything was going to be fine and happy after that, but they do not mention His role in the end, and they leave you with that oft-quoted, but never explained and less studied, sentence, “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the Age.” It did not point ahead enough to what was coming like Alpha and Omega does and in the context of the movie, that sentence was powerful for me.

Another line that was put into ‘Son of God’, was in the last scene, when Christ appeared to John on the Island of Patmos. We do not know the exact details about this, but we do know that what Jesus said is straight from the book of Revelation. John was weeping and told Jesus that he had been waiting for Christ. Christ answered him with the second part of this verse: (verse 4) “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, ⁴and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away…Behold I am making all things new.” I cried when I heard it. I took off my hat and cried as the movie closed and the credits rolled by to the song, Mary Did You Know?’ I had disliked that song before I saw this movie, but that was because I had not understood it fully. The version that played was incredible.

‘Son of God’ omitted the about the end of the age, like it did a few other famous translations of specific sentences Christ said that have become almost as famous as Christ Himself, as if changing it would somehow lessen their relevance. It would be silly to think that because John 3:16 says ‘For God loved the world so much’ instead of ‘For God so loved the world’ that somehow decreases or lessens the power of the verse. Paraphrasing did not take away from the movie, it added to it. It gave the movie that bit of originality to set it apart from the other movies and give you a new perspective, one that is the subject of my final point.

As we contemplate the life of Jesus, and how He was submissive and enduring of suffering and persecution, let us not forget that He could have called out to His Father at any time and that His Father would have “at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Perhaps you are not aware, but twelve legions is approximately 60,000 soldiers. Can you imagine what 60,000 heavenly angels could do to the entire Roman army? How much more could they do to the feeble Temple guard? Remember this when you study the humility of Christ. Do not forget Christ’s power as you study His love, for God is both the Lion and the Lamb, the Judge and the Redeemer, the King and the Sacrifice. This post is far too long as it is, and I apologize for that, but I wished to address every possible objection raised against the movie and to share some more besides. I will close with these words from our King, ““Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end…Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”

“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.”

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

Links to soundtrack and trailer:
Various Artists – Son Of God Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJQXDkZ4mec

Matthew 10:16-42

 This is a much revised edition in place of my last post about Matthew. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

I recently read Matthew 10:16-42 and wanted to post my thoughts on it since I was struck by some of the things it said which had not occurred to me before. For those of you not familiar with the passage:

 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.  Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,  for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.  

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!

 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.  What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —
   a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

I would like to start with verse 34, where he says that he has not come to bring peace but a sword. For some reason, I had always thought that the message of the Gospel was peace and of course, in a sense it is, but I had always thought that peace was the ultimate virtue, something we should be always eager for like it was a sin not to be at peace. But really, peace is one of the things that we are not going to encounter very often in our walk as believers if we are preaching the Gospel because the average non-believer cannot accept Christ. Paul states it clearly that until the Holy Spirit has opened the mind of a man he cannot receive the Gospel and believe it because Satan is the ruler of this world and he has taken over man’s soul as John Bunyan said so wonderfully in his book ‘The Holy War’. We should try to be at peace with the world so far as it is in our power, but the non-believer cannot accept Christ and therefore cannot accept us, which causes the strife and conflict which so many martyrs and missionaries have endured and died because of.

However, it should not be our person which causes the strife. We should not be arguing or causing conflict. Christ’s deity and person itself should be the only thing that causes the conflict, because it will cause conflict whatever we do because he cannot be accepted by the person whose mind has not been opened as I said before. Of course, after I thought about this it was clear to me how Christ could not come to bring peace because His person is the cause of the conflict! And I felt that this passage would be very encouraging to missionaries. (I mean, this chapter was devoted to instructing the disciples before he sent them out into the world to preach the Gospel. Verses 26-29 and verses 38 and 39 talk specifically to encourage the missionary and those preaching the Gospel, and to warn them.) He also goes on to say that whoever loves his father or mother more than Him is not worthy of Him and tells us that, ‘brother will turn against brother and father against his child’ because of Him and it is because of Him as I said before and Paul said and Jesus said in Matthew 5 in the last verse of the Beatitudes that they will do this. As missionaries we should not be afraid of the conflict but be steadfast through it all for great is our reward. We should not be afraid to offend for the sake of the Gospel, even if it means alienation from our family, relatives and closest friends for unless we do that we are not worthy of Him. I love this passage because I have been thinking a lot about missionaries and martyrs lately and this sums up so perfectly what is required of those preaching the Gospel to the unbeliever.  

               

Before I finish up here, I’d like to add also that we are definitely to be peacemakers amongst ourselves, in the Body of Christ, but just like when preaching to the unbeliever, we should not be afraid to offend if one of those in the Body goes astray. We should always do everything in love which means lovingly bringing those who go astray back to God’s truth without asserting that our way is ‘THE ONLY WAY’ and condemning those who do not follow us all the way through the intricacies of principles and theology. Paul mentions a group of people in Philippians who were preaching the Gospel out of wrong motives and said at least the Word of God was being preached. These are the same people whom he addressed as dogs in Galatians, yet he said it was enough that they were preaching the Gospel. If we differ in opinion with another good person (not in any way a ‘dog’) over a technicality of theology, should we argue over it? Should we make denominations and alienate ourselves from other members of the Body who are of a different denomination just because they have slightly different views then us? Isn’t it enough that they are preaching the Word of God and that they are saving lives? If they agree with us on the resurrection, crucifixion, removal of sins by Christ’s blood on the cross and other such fundamental teachings isn’t that enough? We should not be at war among ourselves in the Body. We are supposed to be an example to the entire world! Everyone is watching the Christian and what he does and how are we supposed to save people if what they see when they look at us is bickering and arguing over ‘slight technicalities”? to quote Princess Bride. I cannot stress how much I dislike the separation I see in the Church through denominations. I believe I once heard that there were three thousand denominations in America but that can’t be true. How could we have done that? It is incredible. We must be at peace amongst one another in the Body.

It is late and I ought to be in bed so I will have to stop. I would LOVE to continue to discuss this and would really like my followers and readers to share their opinions with me. Also, check out my post on Martyrs and my clarification post on Revenge. I love to discuss and debate but the only opportunity I get is being an attorney at Teen Court.  Thanks for reading and please share your opinions I will !

gwyn

Poetry

I was recently asked asked where and how I got the inspiration for the poetry I write and I thought I'd post my response here as a blog post since it would also be useful for this blog.

Firstly, I am inspired by the writing of great poets such as Tennyson, Longfellow, Sir Walter Scott, Chesterton, Whitman's Oh Captain, My Captain, Dickinson and others. Also, songs by Wickham, Switchfoot and others have also inspired me. Probably the main reason why I want to write poetry, and why I take the time to sit down and find a theme, a meter, and a rhyme scheme, is because poetry is a beautiful expression of thoughts and nature and whatever else comes to my mind. It's music on paper, music without the form of songs. As several people said,  I could put my poems to song, but then they wouldn't be poems. Skilful poetry, (and I'm not asserting that I'm a skilful writer) can be as beautiful (and I believe is and more so) than song. I don't like free verse that is not alliterated or written with some sort of pattern and rhythm. I don't like it because it's not poetry anymore, it's prose. Poetry takes prose and gives it a beautiful polish and finishing touch. Without the rhyme and the meter, alliteration and rhythm, poetry is just a story. Poetry is not easy. It must be written well to be beautiful and many of the great poets became great because they used rich language and perfect rhythm.

The ideas for my poems come from nature and my reflections on Bible passages. They also come from topics I have been thinking about or discussing. They're also from my stories, books I have been reading and other things. I get my motivation from these ideas, because when I see something beautiful I want to praise it or if I read a Bible passage I want to use poetry to discuss it with fuller meaning or acknowledge the wonders of Christ. The ideas don't just come to me though, I have to look around me and find something I admire or appreciate. (Right before I wrote, 'The Hosts of the Sky are Marching' I was on top of the hill beside our pond watching a storm come in. Things like that I considered so beautiful that I immediately wanted to run inside and write a poem to describe it.) When I think of something I want to put to words in a poem, I think of descriptive words and rich language to express my opinions. Poetry takes time, and nobody can perfect it on the first try. (For instance, I wrote 'Mysterious Depths' four times before I found what I have now.)"

A little bit more detail and answer to the question, "How Important is Rhyme to Poetry?

In my opinion, poetry sounds much better with rhyme. I think that rhyme is incredibly important to poetry, but I think poetry can sound good without it. Alliteration is beautiful if done well. (I have read Beowulf, the original poem and Tolkien's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight so I have had experience with alliterated poetry.) Non-rhyming poetry is hardly poetry, it's prose. True, there are various poems that are non-rhyming which are enjoyable to read, but, generally speaking, rhyme is more beautiful. Unfortunately, many of the judges in poetry contests these days are biased towards non-rhyming poetry and prefer it over rhyming which aggravates me exceedingly. Rhyme is important for poetry to retain it's title of poetry. The Encarta World Dictionary describes poetry as:

 "literary works written in verse, in particular verse writing of high quality, great beauty, emotional sincerity or intensity, or profound insight"
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

If non-rhyming poetry is a 'writing of high quality' and 'great beauty' than it is poetry, but I have come across few non-rhyming poems which I have enjoyed reading. My least favorite poets would be those who are not able to capture a sense of rhyme, beauty, and rhyme in their poetry well enough, such as some of Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and all of Carl Sandburg as well as several other inferior poets, inferior, in my belief, and not as well known, because their writing is not a 'writing of high quality' or of 'great beauty' though some unrecognized poets are exceedingly good. Anyway, these are my thoughts on poetry. What do you think?

gwyn


                           

Losing our Freedom

People in America are losing their freedoms. It is a fact. Every year kids are taken away from homeschooling parents, every year the United States kills thousands of children and every year more corruption unfolds in the government. I have attached here the link to an incredible story of several pro-life people, all under age, who were leg-cuffed, handcuffed, strip searched, not allowed to contact their parents, arrested and jailed for breaking no laws and doing what they are allowed to do in the First Amendment. The case went to court and the city was fined 380,000 dollars which was given to the children. The trooper refused to tell them what laws they were breaking and insisted that they had to have a permit when no such thing was needed. Unbelievable!

Watch the video and read the article here.

Another case which people are still fighting in court are two young boys who were wore small American flags on their shirts on Cinco de Mayo day and were ordered to turn them inside out or remove them.

Another man said in a facebook comment that he wished he had a magic wand which would make Rick Santorum disappear. The police came to his house and interrogated him.

A law was passed about six months ago or a year, the NDAA Bill, I believe, which said that the government had the right to arrest anyone, including U.S citizens, and interrogate them on suspicion of that person's being a terrorist.

What has happened to our justice system? Why do people like this get expelled and jailed and arrested while murderers are set free or spend a brief amount of time in a prison better than the house they live in? Why do we, the people of the United Sates, allow this to happen? Why hasn't this caused a revolution? Why are Americans sitting back and allowing their freedoms to be trampled? Our government is not accountable to higher law. Our government does not follow the two fundamental laws: do not encroach on other persons or their property and do all you have agreed to do. A country whose government is run by men who are not accountable will never succeed. In my opinion, the government has to be accountable to these laws. Daily our freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and other freedoms are taken away and we must fight back. Now, as my last post stated, I am still grateful that Americans still have so many freedoms and I am very blessed to live where I do. That does not mean though, that being trampled is okay, we still can fight back, maybe not with the sword but definitely with the pen. We must write books, articles, newspapers and essays which unveil this corruption. "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." ~ President John F. Kennedy

The same is true of one person. We must educate the people. That is what leaders and dictators fear. That is why countries have propaganda, to blind the people so they can't see the truth and why they have schools, so the next generation will be tools in the hands of the government. That is what Hitler did in Germany. We must be educated people who can learn from the countless examples in the past.

A.J

The Martyrs and U.S Christians

Recently I read Richard Wurmbrand's, Tortured For Christ and it led me to think about the strength of my own faith. For a little background, Richard Wurmbrand spent fourteen years in a Romanian Communist prison where he was mistreated, tortured and beaten for preaching Christ to the unsaved Soviet Union. He also went to prison in other places as well for less lengthy periods of time. It took eight and a half years for Christians to find where he was and several more years to get him out. He also was imprisoned under the Nazis in Germany during WW II. The story of his life and the stories of hundreds of martyrs like him, draw me to consider the state of my own faith. Here is a man who was tortured, imprisoned, separated from his wife and son, endured unspeakable horrors and who continued to love his enemies and preach God's Word. He is just one of the millions of Christians who have been and are being persecuted around the world. I consider his life and I think, "Wow!" The majority of Christians in America today do not know what persecution is and many of them do not know what pain is. Sure, lots of us have encountered pain, but none of us have endured pain to the extremity that Richard Wurmbrand, or Justin Martyr did, or the rest of the incredible men who preached the Gospel to Communist Russia and China and Europe and the Roman Empire.
            After considering the incredible sacrifices these men made, I considered the state of Christianity in the United States today. Christians in America don't know the horrible persecution that those men endured and they do not face the same persecution today. Christians today do face the slow loss of their rights and many more Christians will face the loss of their rights and will probably have to withdraw from society, but we can thank God that we are not in the same situations as those brave men and women. I would say that my main point here is that we should consider the state of our faith and ask ourselves if, when the time comes, we will be able to stand against the persecution, not deny our Lord and remain faithful to the end. Also, it has made me more thankful and grateful that I have not had to face those trials, or my family or my friends. It will make us much happier if we consider all the freedoms we still have in America and to be grateful that we are even allowed to meet and worship when so many around the world are not allowed to do.
          I wanted to give you a quote here from Justin Martyr or Wurmbrand but now I can't find it, but it went something like, "The more Christians are persecuted, the more Christianity will spread." This quote is totally true. The martyrs turned more people to Christ than the evangelical program of any church. Their deaths turned more people to Christ than their lives. They gave a standard and an example to the rest of the world and their persecutors and those who saw them turned to Christ. Think about it, Christians in America today are not persecuted and Christianity is not shooting up in America right now. wherever there is persecution there will be growth. History has proved that.
          Now, just for a little clarification, of course I'm not saying that evangelical programs are bad or that we shouldn't try to have those types of programs or that we should be persecuted, I'm just saying that we should be very thankful for the freedoms we have, pray for those who do not have them, love our enemies as the martyrs did, and daily strengthen our faith so that we too, will be able to serve Christ and be faithful to the very end. For more information on Wurmbrand and other martyrs, I recommend Wurmbrand's Tortured For Christ, and Jesus Freaks by the Dc Talk band with the Voice of the Martyrs, a program started by Wurmbrand. Remember the martyrs.

A.J