Hurricane Harvey and Joel Osteen

The big news this past weekend was the arrival of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and the aftermath of flooding.  It's reminiscent of Katrina in 2005, and as I'm typing this I'm now thinking of Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and a story I should tell sometime.  Reactions on the net are similar as to what they were twelve years ago, only the players have changed.

As is to be expected, there is a lot of criticism towards President Trump.  I've seen online comments blaming him for this by pulling out of the Paris accords for climate change, and even more comments about his visiting Texas.  Presidents don't cause hurricanes, but you wouldn't know otherwise if you believed the comments I'm reading.

Another genre of comments is blaming God for this.  These run along the lines of "God is punishing Texas for [fill in the blank]".  That blank is sometimes filled with the word racism, and sometimes it's filled with Texas supporting Trump in the election.  I think that's patently absurd, as that God doesn't sit around from day to day trying to come up with disasters to send to people.  I believe that God *allows* them to happen for his own reasons; read the Book of Job sometime........Job never got his answer as to *why* he was afflicted.  Of course those making these comments don't really believe in God and most of them don't want other people believing in God, but it's an opportunity to trash religion and there's no way they're going to let go of that.

And with that, we come to another observation, that of the reverend Joel Osteen not opening his megachurch as shelter for those who are displaced by the flooding.  What I'm about to say here may not be what you would like to read, but hear me out, as that I have my own reasons for this viewpoint, and I'll make them clear before I sign.

I think Joel Osteen has every right to keep his church shuttered.

I'll say that again.

Joel Osteen has every right to keep his church shuttered.

One reason I say this, cmes from that libertarian streak within me that feels that a government should not and should never have a right to dictate what a person or organization does with their own property.  We have a Constitutional amendment to that effect, which says that the government cannot require a homeowner to house troops, and I don't consider it an unreasonable extrapolation to state that this would also apply to housing victims of disaster.

But I have another reason for saying this, which I want to emphasize.  First, a digression.

Joel Osteen is one of those televangelists who fall into that mold of "Prosperity Gospel".  His contemporaries include, but are not limited to, Mike Murdock, Paula White, Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar.  If you remember Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, they were in that club too.  The members of that club are an elite amongst themselves.  They preach a message that God wants you to be rich, and to become rich, you have to plant a "seed", which is a financial contribution (preferably monthly), which after being planted, you will find your way to riches, wealth, happiness, Corvettes, coins, whatever.  Hell, you might even have an air-conditioned doghouse for your best friend!

Now I personally believe that God is concerned with wealth, but not a material wealth.  I think he wants His people to be spiritually wealthy.  That's a difficult term for me to define, but let's say that it means that you're well-grounded in your faith, and that you will hold firm when your time of trial comes (and you're going to get more than one trial!).  If God wanted people to have a lot of money, then the Prosperity churches would be plastered all over the globe and we'd have 85% of the global population being filthy rich believers.

That isn't the case, of course.  What the Prosperity Gospel can only guarantee is that those who are in that elite club of televangelist will be filthy rich.......I'm not sure I can call them believers, but I can call them believers in their own efforts of fundraising.  These guys and gals are very slick, they might be able to sell sand to the Arabs on some days, and they already have a ready-made answer for you if you don't get rich by planting a seed......"well your faith isn't strong enough.  Send me more money!"

To get this back to Joel Osteen and his not opening the doors, think about what you just read, and think about this:  isn't keeping his church doors closed an indication of what type of person he really is?

Before that is misconstrued, one other thought.  Some churches are small and can't put up people from their own congregation in cases of disaster.  The larger churches could, but this might get into the realm of what a church should really do......should they preach the Word of God, or should they become a welfare provider?  That's not a question that I can answer, but I have observed church bodies involved with soup kitchens and helping those in need, and I know from my time on a church council that we've donated budget surpluses on occasion to the Gospel Rescue Mission.

As for Joel Osteen, I've been somewhat critical of him here.  No matter what he does, someone (me, maybe) will damn him.  If he makes a donation behind the scenes, good for him; neither you or I should know about it.  If he makes a donation and holds a press conference to boast about it, then people (me, maybe) will accuse him of promoting himself instead of the Word of God.  (Honestly, if he does hold a press conference to that effect, I ought to let that go without comment; I'm really no better than he is).

Personally, I think it would be a nice gesture on his part to provide temporary shelter and meals for those dealing with this tragedy.

However, I don't think it would be right on my part, or on anyone else's part, to shame him into doing this.

As I said earlier, take note of this, and ask yourself if this really reveals the inner workings of a Prosperity Gospel preacher.

Jerry Lewis, Statues, Et. Al.

Jerry Lewis passed away in Las Vegas yesterday.  Although I would not consider myself a fan of his, that guy made me laugh a lot when I was a kid.  It was a real treat to be up late one Friday night during the summer, and learn that a Jerry Lewis movie was on that night.

DC Comics also had a Jerry Lewis series, and those were my favorites.  His dealings with life, his rebellious nephew Renfrew, getting a job at the circus where he was mistaken for a liontamer named Terry Lewis......I am not a comic book collector, but I would love to get my hands on the entire series.

We have lost a legend.

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Tearing down Confederate statues seems to be the big rage these days.  This isn't a burning issue as far as most of the public goes.  Tearing them down will in no way erase the results of slavery or the Civil War itself, yet the malcontents want this done.

I personally have no issue with the statues myself.  I view it as part of our nation's history.  The way I see it, if we have statues in the North to honor those generals who fought for the Union, why can't we have statues in the South that honor those who fought for the Confederacy?

The reality is that both sides of this war had brave men and great generals.  I personally think it's regrettable that a bloody war such as this came about to settle the issues of slavery, secession, nullification, and state's rights.

In the Manassas Battlefield, there is a statue of General Stonewall Jackson, placed where he earned his nickname......"there's Jackson, standing like a stone wall!"  I attended Stonewall Jackson Senior High School when I lived there.  I cringe at the thought that a bunch of malcontents who have never been to Manassas would demand that the high school be named for someone else.

Reality is, is that when the war was over, Abraham Lincoln wanted reconciliation with the South, and not retribution.  When Lee surrendered, General Grant ordered his band to play "Dixie" for the defeated Confederates.

Tearing down statues, in my opinion, runs counter to what Abraham Lincoln would have wanted.

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As I have stated earlier, I have been active again in amateur radio, and I really love it when I get to sit down in front of the rig and try to make contact with somebody.  I put up another antenna, this one for the 20 meter band.  I was able to make contact with two stations each in Indiana, Illinois, and Hawaii.  Yesterday I talked to a station in northern California and another one in Pennsylvania.

Conditions weren't really the greatest.  In fact, I can't remember when they have been worse.  Today they are better, but I am away from home this evening to enjoy them, so all I can do is look at the propagation reports and hope that whoever is out there is having a lot of fun.

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Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!