Proverbs 25:2 has always resonated with me in my academic pursuits: “It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.”
Romans 11:34,36 (NLT) expands this marvelously: “For who can know what the Lord is thinking? […] For everything comes from Him; everything exist by His power and is intended for His glory.”
The Greek text of Isaiah 40:13, propounds, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?” and is echoed in 1 Corinthians 2:16: “For, ‘Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?’ But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”
America has (de)evolved to a point where ignorance of law is no excuse and knowledge of law is no defense! Vox
On my first day of law school, my professor says two things. First was: “From this day forward, when your mother tells you she loves you – get a second opinion. If you want justice, go to a whorehouse; if you want to get fucked, go to court.” Richard Gere as Martin Vail, Primal Fear
Nothing has an uglier look to us than reason, when it’s not on our side. George Savile
Losing doesn’t make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder. Paul “Bear” Bryant
People are looking for peace. Peace is spiritual equilibrium. Peace is contentment and not to be confused with happiness.
What are the iron chariot in our lives? To what extent do we deny ourselves our birthright?
In Judges 17:16 we read that the descendants of Joseph were too numerous to reside only in the hill country “but all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots.”
But Joshua responded “Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of the farthest corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots.”
Our iron chariots aren’t obstacles; they are the objective such that when we are strong enough to defeat the chariot we will be strong enough to exercise dominion in the promised land.
George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin BOTH used bad judgment, but why is it that only Zimmerman’s judgment is scrutinized? The “girlfriend” testified that Martin was the one who initiated verbal contact. Recently someone tried to tell me that Martin was within his First Amendment rights to say whatever he wanted to. But by that same logic, Zimmerman was within his First Amendment rights to assemble where he wished. But it was Martin who created the confrontation between them. And Martin could have chosen to explain that he was visiting a resident and that would have diffused the situation. Let’s not forget about Trayvon Martin’s poor judgment.
Two intrinsically-linked quotes from Sir Edmund Burke:
1) The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
2) Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
Back in the 1970s, Louisiana had a statute making it “unlawful and a breach of the peace for any person wantonly to curse or revile or to use obscene or opprobrious language toward or with reference to any member of the city police while in the actual performance of his duty.” After much procedural harangue that included affirmation by the Louisiana Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court held that such statute “is not susceptible of application to speech, although vulgar or offensive, that is protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 18-22 (1971); Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U.S. 1, 4-5 (1949); Gooding v. Wilson, supra, at 520. Since [the law], as construed by the Louisiana Supreme Court, is susceptible of application to protected speech, the section is constitutionally overbroad and therefore is facially invalid.” Read the full opinion on Google Scholar.
This morning I was listening to WAY-FM while showering and their verse of the day was Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
This verse is so often quoted as a platitude, but is that really the correct syntax?
I know that Greek and Hebrew scholars toil thoroughly at deriving the right balance of literal and conceptual meaning, but maybe they too are swayed by their desire to polish a bit. Although considerably less rosy, maybe a more realistic syntax is “And to those who are called, we accordingly know that God causes all all things to work together for the good of His purpose.”
Realistically speaking, isn’t it a bit egotistical to think that our benefit is somehow more significant than God’s master plan?
I just came across an old note to remind me: “Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again.” Micah 7:8
In view of the recent Paris attack, I say that we are within 100 years of a world religion and world government.
I like to put it like this: I went to church a lot as a kid and we were always taught to love out enemies. Tai Chi taught me something new: to love the enemy inside me as well. So I don’t look at peace as the absence of conflict anymore; I see it as the acceptance of conflict. Barry Sloane as Zachary Heflin in Longmire S4:E5
There is a very interesting quote in Adams v. US ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269 (1942) that “What were contrived as protections for the accused should not be turned into fetters. [. . .] To deny an accused a choice of procedure in circumstances in which he, though a layman, is as capable as any lawyer of making an intelligent choice, is to impair the worth of great Constitutional safeguards by treating them as empty verbalisms.” (Id., at 280). The odd thing is that Adams is like a snake eating its tail. It’s not very useful in and of itself, but the phrasing is righteously potent.
“A difference long curious to Americans stands out: Most British police officers are unarmed, a distinction particularly pronounced here in Scotland, where 98 percent of the country’s officers do not carry guns. For them, calming a situation through talk, rather than escalating it with weapons, is an essential policing tool, and one that brought a delegation of top American police officials to this town 30 miles northeast of Glasgow.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/nyregion/us-police-leaders-visiting-scotland-get-lessons-on-avoiding-deadly-force.html
Scottish police officers simulated a riot at the Jackton training center in Glasgow, Scotland, where police leaders from throughout the United States gathered to discuss department tactics.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/nyregion/us-police-leaders-visiting-scotland-get-lessons-on-avoiding-deadly-force.html
“And the LORD will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will shrivel in their sockets, and their tongues will decay in their mouths.”
Compare this to John Hersey’s accounts in Hiroshima.
[T]ruth is best discovered by powerful statements on both sides of the question. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
N.B. Though often attributed to Lord John Scott Eldon (1751-1838), Eldon was, in fact, quoting Bacon.
Just say a simple, “Yes, I will,” or “No, I won’t.” Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong. Matthew 5:37 NLT
Jacob’s words are still true and humbling even today: “I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love you have shown to me, your servant.” (GEN 32:10 NLT)
