DECEPTION

     When I was a young child, I believed in Santa Claus.  I had my dream list in my head, and each year, on December 25th, my dream list was under the Christmas tree.  The evidence of my belief was in the fact that my wish had been delivered as well as the evidence that Santa had helped himself to the cookies and milk we had left for him, and he even wrote a note!  On that day, too, I dealt with the fact that it would be another whole year before Santa would return; and for me, at my age of life, a year was like an eternity.  But I waited.  The following December, right on schedule, Santa visited our home again.  And I was thrilled!
     Santa was also a visitor at our school during Christmas plays and he even came to church for an appearance during Christmas plays.  I knew enough to know that Santa, in these circumstances, were men dressed like Santa and they were only playing make-believe.  They were not the real Santa, for after the plays they took off their masks.
     About the time I was seven years old, my older brother told me something that I could not believe!  He told me that Santa was not real and that our parents were leaving the gifts, eating the cookies, drinking the milk.  To this day, I can still remember the shock I experienced.  Not only was I shocked, but I was also stunned and perhaps even dazed.  This can't be real, can it?  No Santa Claus?  I accepted this truth, however, and life went on as I, too, became a pretender as well as a perpertrator of the deception of Santa Claus.
     The moral of this story is this:  if you tell a child a lie, often enough and long enough, the child will believe it as truth.  As he believes the lie, he will also walk in the lie, live the lie, and tell others.
     In the world in which we live, there are many deceivers.  They are just like Santa Claus except for their clothes.  They dress like us, walk like us, talk like us.  In the United States and around the world, they are in governments, education, business, finance, banking, and also in our churches and religious institutions.  They wear nice suits, dresses, shine their shoes, comb their hair, and even add cuff links.  Many of them also wear priestly garments.  They are highly educated and have smooth tongues.  And their lies actually sound like truth.
     Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."  (Book of Matthew 7:15)
     The difference between deceivers and Santa Claus is the fact that deceivers do not take off their masks.  How, then, shall we know them?  By researching for truth; and when you seek the truth, you shall find it.  The truth may stun or even shock you, but at least you will know the truth.
     Even now, there are false prophets among us.  They are on television, on the radio, they write books and magazines.  They are in the United States and around the world.
     Be not deceived, however, for we shall know them.

Television

     When I was a kid, my parents told us stories about themselves, their parents, and as much as they knew about their family histories.  They told us what life was like when they were children, about their years in school, how they met, fell in love, got married, and the births of their children.  They told us about their difficult struggle during the Great Depression era of our nation, about the nighttime blackouts our country  faced during World War II, and the rationing of items during the war, which included simple household staples such as sugar and coffee.
     Storytelling has been common in families for hundreds and even thousands of years, which historians call the "oral tradition".  With the advent of television, however, something happened.
     In 1957, television came to our house.  For me, this was an exciting time because television was like radio with pictures, and television became the center of attention.  Storytelling ended.
      As Americans became more prosperous, one  television was not enough.  Over time and even today, families added multiple televisions:  in living rooms, in kitchens, in recreation rooms, in bedrooms of parents, in bedrooms of children.  We have portable televisions on the patios in order not to miss anything as we flip hamburgers and roll hotdogs on the grill.  We also take portable televisions with us as we go on camping trips in order to keep out appetites replenished in the great outdoors. We also watch television in waiting rooms of hospitals, waiting rooms at garages, in barber shops, beauty shops, where we work and at school for our kids.  We even have televisions on our boats and in our cars!
     Over the past fifty years, we have watched programs by television programmers.  We have been told where to spend our money, what to buy, and what not to buy.  We have been told easy ways to save money as well as easy ways to accumulate debt.  We have been informed of the latest styles and fashions, what is cool and what is not, what clothes to wear and what not to wear.  We have been told what to do and what not to do.  Television warns us about violence, then we watch television's violent programs.  The progammers even have God programmed and where to send our money.
     Furthermore, television programmers have told us how to think; for in a subtle, deceptive, and even subconscious way, we have become programmed, which is nothing more than mind control.  We have become like programmed androids moving in the direction programmers want us to go.
     If people can control our minds, then we are under their control.  If they can control our minds, they can control our behavior.  If they can control the way we think, then we will think like them.  If you can shape the minds of children, you can change the future of a nation.
     As I chat with people, I am often amazed that they have no opinions of their own.  As robotic androids, their thinking has been programmed.  They do not perform their own research because they have accepted the opinions of others. We can also accept our own government because of the program written in our minds.  And we can accept religion because of the program written in our minds.   Therefore we can live in strait jackets, afraid to speak because we would be speaking against the programmers.  That would be considered rebellious or even sinful.
     In my early childhood experience with television, I heard people call it "an instrument of the devil".  Others called it hellevision.  I think they were right; for today, the minds of little children can be exposed to pornography in their own homes. 
     Over the past two and half years, my wife and I have agreed not to subscribe to cable and satellite for television programs.  This has been a refreshing experience.  We read, listen to radio, and we also have the PC for news, sports, or other interests.  Our communication has improved remarkably.  We talk to each other more than we ever have.  We share interests and we tell stories. I do miss watching college football, but, other than that, I do not miss television at all. 
     To me, I believe our dependence on television has done more to shatter the relationships of people and families more than any invention of the 20th century. 
      In closing, this is my viewpoint about television.  As always, I encourage you to do your own research and form your own opinion.

    
  

Faith

     Faith is a word, a word that can often be misunderstood.
     Faith is not a religion, nor a religious system of beliefs.
     Faith should not be confused with choice.
     To me, I believe faith is a gift of God, freely given to every human being.  Faith then separates humans from animals because animals have instincts, not faith.
     Therefore being born with faith, we can use our faith to believe and make choices.
     By faith, I can choose to believe in God, or, with the same faith, I can choose not  to believe in God.
     By faith, I can believe that something is true, and, with the same faith, I can believe that something is not true.
     I will never have any more faith than I have now and neither will I ever have any less.  I do not have any more or less faith than you and you do not have any more or less faith than me.
     Changing my choices does not mean changing my faith since faith is unchangeable.
     Since we do not have instincts, we are not born to be religious, nor of a certain religious persuasion; for religion is learned, not inborn. 
     Therefore by faith I believe in God, by faith I believe in Jesus Christ, and by faith I believe in a book we call the Bible.  These are my choices.
     By faith, too, I believed I could play golf, but only when I began to swing clubs and hit golf balls did I excercise my choice and playing golf became a reality.
     Going further, by faith we can take invisible ideas from our minds and transform them to the visible and create automobiles, elevators, books, medicines, etc.  Writing a blog was an idea I had in my mind, but had I not chosen to exercise my choice by action, my blog would still be in my mind.
     In conclusion, "Now then faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  (Book of Hebrews 11:1)
    
 

Introduction

     This blog will be about various topics that I research, study about, and think about.
     All I am asking of you, as a reader, is to be open minded and consider matters that I present, then draw your conclusions.
      I expect you to disagree with me from time to time, for none of us is perfect. 
     At all times, however, I encourage you to do your own  research---no matter if you agree with me or not.  Do not take my word for everything, but, at the same time, do not think that I am necessarily wrong  just because you may disagree with me, or because you may not like my presentations.
     My blog will be about truth, not fiction or feelings.
     Welcome aboard!