09.25.07
Posted in Christian, Faith, Firearms, Freedom at 10:20 am by
Hoplophobia - An unreasoning fear of instruments (weapons). Hoplophobia is a term that was coined, if I recall correctly, by the late Jeff Cooper. It is an excellent term and describes well those who fear instruments more than the hands that wield them. The very heart and soul of the anti-weapon movement revolves around the idea that individuals are not responsible for their actions, rather it is the object that spurs the criminal to commit the act of violence. This is simply idiocy. It does not take into account the millions upon millions of owners of weapons who do NOT commit crimes of violence. Such an attitude is akin to looking upon all men as potential rapists - because, after all, they’re equipped to do so. Or considering all women to be potential prostitutes - because, after all, they are equipped to exercise that activity. And that’s no to mention the slap in the face of the billions of honest poor upon the planet when we are told that high rates of criminality are due to poverty. What about the billions of poor who do NOT commit crimes? Or the rich who commit crimes?
Criminal activity does not stem from availability of weapons. Nor does it stem from the presence or absence of the Y chromosome. Nor does it stem from poverty - or lack thereof. It stems from the “heart” of the criminal, from his or her way of thinking and manner of justifying his or her actions.
And yet, too many people fear the object, the implement, the instrument - rather than fearing the person who wields that instrument. The person who is capable of utilizing a firearm to commit a crime is also capable of committing crimes via other means. Many, many criminals have extensive “rap sheets” in which their criminal life is partially recorded. I say partially because all that’s there is what they’ve been arrested for or convicted of - not every thing they’ve ever done. And time after time you’ll see the same person guilty of utilizing anything from a broken bottle to a pilfered firearm to commit acts of violence. Often the same person will be guilty of physical aggression with a wide variety of objects, from their own hands to a pool cue to a broken bottle to a baseball bat to a firearm. So why are firearms singled out? Because of their perceived ease of use. And also too often due to the inclination of the people who vilify them to desire to use them themselves. It’s amazing to see the hypocrisy of the anti-weapon campaigners. Many of them have weapons themselves - and yet seek to deprive others of their lawful use. Why? Because of the evil that lays within their own hearts and their fear that others may have that same evil within.
We should not fear inanimate objects. We should fear the latent evil that resides within a considerable portion of the population. And our goal should not be to remove weapons but rather to remove the desire to commit violence against others. And that can only come about by a change of mind.
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God Romans 12:2
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Posted in Christian, Faith at 9:52 am by
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot - written on October 28, 1948
Those words were penned by Jim Elliot just over 7 years before he and four other men were killed while contacting an indian tribe in Ecuador. Indeed Jim Elliot gave up his life in his desire to serve his Lord and Savior. The blood of these men served as fertilizer to prepare the soil of the hearts of their killers to receive the Gospel message. Within a short time after their death the entire village where their killers lived had come to Christ. Some would say that their deaths were a waste, but in this manner their lives were given that others might gain eternal life. I thank God for such men as Jim Elliot who have fixed their eyes upon a goal much loftier than any on this earth.
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09.24.07
Posted in Christian, Religion at 10:44 am by
There’s a program I’ve been using for a while now. It’s called E-Sword and you can obtain it free for the downloading at www.e-sword.net . There are a wide variety of Bible translations available for it, in a wide variety of languages. There are also many study tools, commentaries and other add ons available - all for the same price of downloading. Donations are accepted, but not required. In this world of “consumerism driven Christianity” it’s refreshing to see God’s word distributed in a useful manner that is accessible to folks from all levels of society. There’s plenty of high dollar, copyrighted material out there. I often wonder what would have happened to the Scriptures if the Apostles had copyrighted their work and demanded payment for distribution of their writings? Oh, I’m not against folks making a living, but too often we seek monetary gain rather then the payment that the Lord will provide us for our faithfulness to Him in teaching others and providing for them to be able to draw nearer to Him. Anyway, it’s good to know that some folks have the vision of sharing with others things which will have an eternal impact. Thanks, www.e-sword.net for providing these tools for the Kingdom.
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09.17.07
Posted in Christian, Faith, Religion at 4:34 pm by
Over the years I’ve collected a fair number of Bible translations. Studying how different people rendered the same text in various ways helps one to get a better grasp of the original meaning of the text. After all, the Bible wasn’t written in English or Spanish or Portuguese - it was written in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic - only one of which I can decipher slightly. So when I find a different translation I pick it up if possible. Well, then I decided to catalog what I’ve got, to get an idea as to what all is on hand. Not counting electronic Bibles like in www.e-sword.net ’s program, I’ve got 29 translations in three languages and a copy of the New Testament in Greek. Here’s what’s on hand at this point in time. (NT) denotes “New Testament Only”
English
New American Standard
Holman’s Christian Standard
New International Version
Good News For Modern Man
James Moffatt
Revised Standard Version
King James
New King James
The Message (NT)
Live It Now(NT)
Charles B. Williams (NT)
Berkeley Version
The Living Bible
International Children’s Bible (NT)
Spanish
Nueva Versión Internacional
Reina Valera 1960
Reina Valera Actualizada 1987
Reina Valera 1995
La Biblia Para El Pueblo de Dios
Dios Habla Hoy
A Viva Voz
Bernardo Hurault y Ramón Ricciardi
La Palabra De Dios Para Todos (NT)
La Biblia De Las Américas
La Biblia En Lenguaje Sencillo (NT)
Traducción Del Nuevo Mundo de las Santas Escrituras
Portuguese
João Ferreira De Almeda
Nova Versão Internacional
Linguagem De Hoje (NT)
Other
Nestlês Greek New Testament (NT)
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09.10.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:30 am by
Ozymandias
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said–”Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desart….Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
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09.01.07
Posted in Christian, Faith, Firearms, Freedom, Friends, Politics, Religion, humor at 9:02 am by
The piece below was written as a “birthday post”. The idea of a “Birthday Post” was started by fellow Pistol Packing Preacher Charles Graff. In years past Charles would post a controversial subject, attacking some “holy cow” of the shooting sports in a well thought out manner. People would rise to the bait and the dust and fur would fly. Then he’d own up as to how it was his birthday and folks would realize they’d been had. Over the years others have attempted to follow his example, but few have shown his skill. Some would merely say something like “Hillary Clinton’s right. I’m going to destroy all my guns” or some other such transparent effort. As I type this it is the day before my 42nd birthday. I’ve been cogitating on what kind of post to put up for 364 days. 
Over the past week I’ve put some more thought into the matter and finally decided to “go for it”. I’m guessing that the post below will generate some heat from certain quarters - or it could actually get ignored. Only time will tell. My question at this moment is, “Do the guys know me well enough to realize it’s a joke?” Surely by now SOMEONE realizes I’ve got an extremely weird sense of humor. We shall see what we shall see, as the butler said when he looked through the keyhole.
And, furthermore, to show that I’m not a completely insensitive person, I DIDN”T post the original 2007 birthday post on the forum. First I asked a fellow conspirator and radical thinker about it. Well, ok, the posting won’t occur there. Instead, I put up the first piece which is immediately below this. It’s more of a general “birthday post” instead of the pot stirring one I’d typed up yesterday.
All the recent talk about flat guns has put me to cogitatin’ a bit about them. I know that Jeff Cooper was a real proponent of the bottom feeding 1911 family of firearms, but for serious, dependable, defensive work, the semi automatic just doesn’t cut it.The semiautomatic is plagued by a host of weak points which can cause problems when it is called upon to defend one’s life. The weakening of springs in the magazine lead to failures to feed and/or eject (depending on design), the easily deformed magazine lips which also provide feeding problems, the strength (or lack thereof) of the recoil spring which can cause problems for proper feeding, not to mention the need to run pretty much full bore ammunition through them to ensure that the slide will reciprocate properly, all are inherent design flaws.
For defensive use you need a gun that’s likely to go “BANG!” each and every time you pull the trigger. If you get a dud while shooting a semiauto, you need need both hands to run the clearance drill prior to continuing with what you were doing. On the range this is an inconvenience - in a firefight it can get you killed. Yes, you can learn to grasp the slide between your knees or use other means to clear a dud or other failure to function, but most of the procedures to do so are not very safe to execute, unfortunate word there, execute…
Yes, I’ve owned (still do) and carried semi automatic pistols - back in my wet ears years. In a 22 for plinking they are a blast and the jams and malfunctions are not too much of a hassle since they’re almost invariably used on the range and not in defensive situations. But for pure reliability? A good revolver will out shine any semi automatic in that department. You can load anything from wax bullet to full bore hunting loads and they’ll keep on tickin’ - with no fussing around with finicky springs, barrel ramps and other such nonsense. You can load any kind of bullet profile from round ball to full wadcutter to jacketed hollow points to shot loads - and it will feed and fire them all.
I know there’s no way some of you will give up your slide action flatguns, and that’s OK. But you really should consider the danger you expose yourself to by relying on them for defensive work. I guess the best way to sum it up is: “I sure hope you never have to bet your life on one.”
The original “2007 Birthday Post” can be found in the complete article.
Read the rest of this entry »
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