"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
--Ephesians 6:10 - 15 N.I.V.
Many "trials & tribulations" beset the true follower of Christ!
Whether it was Karl Barth, the Swiss-German Protestant (Calvinist) Theologian who resisted Hitler or whether it was the Methodist-trained Nelson Mandela, the first democratically-elected President of S. Africa, when one follows Christ, one will be persecuted, exiled, killed even for the Faith of Christ!
Take for example the recent round of high-profile "trials" in which Christians were (thanks be to God!) vindicated! First, the wife of TV Evangelist Joel Olsteen had been dragged into court on false charges of assault. A stewardess who had been aboard the flight that the Olsteens were travelling on had attempted to "con" Ms. Olsteen out of several hundred thousand dollars due to "emotional distress" because she had claimed that Ms. Olsteen attacked her while on flight.
The verdict?
A unanimous jury decision was on behalf of the TV Evangelist-Olsteen family . . .
Similarly, in a rancorous Tampa Bay-area divorce trial, a trial in which the former Mrs. Hulk Hogan sought to imprison him on "contempt of court" charges for not buying a several million dollar condo in Las Vegas (the Hulkster claimed it was a bad business decision and had that court order amended!), the quietly Christian Hulk Hogan was relieved of any penalty and the couple split all assets more or less "50/50." At the end of The St. Petersburg Times article (p. A2, August 15, 2008), the reporter briefly mentioned how the Hulkster prays nightly with his family, and how the tattoo on his wrist is to help him remember that "The Spirit of Christ is in him." (paraphrase)
So, whether it was Karl Barth resisting the Nazis or the Hulkster resisting his money-hungry former wife the truth is that JUSTICE is done!
The Nazis were (eventually . . .) conquered and tried for War Crimes.
The Hulkster can now live in peace.
The Olsteen family can now return to ministering for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Remember, however, FELLOW CHRISTIAN, the struggle against evil is not just physical (legal), but is always conducted in the heavenly realms . . .
ALL THE BEST IN CHRIST,
Rob J. King
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Do Plants 'Hate' Each Other . . .
In Michel Foucault's The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences, the French philosophical genius describes the "birth" of modern scientific disciplines such as botany, biology, etc.
In perhaps the most humorous part of the book (I am about half-way through it), Foucault describes the pre-modern view of botany in which plants were thought to have almost human and/or animal-like dispositions. Although a modern botanist would explain how certain plants do not grow well next to each other due to chemical conditions of the soil, differences in root structure, etc., due to a view of similitude in which all aspects of nature were somehow intertwined, the pre-modern mind would think of plants as actually "hating" each other in the way that human neighbors may have disagreements or in the way that different animals might get into territorial squabbles (e.g. local stray cats fighting each other). Quoting the 1656 work De la subtilite by J. Cardan, Foucault describes this non-sensical scene thusly, "It is fairly widely known that the plants have hatreds between themselves . . . it is said that the olive and the vine hate the cabbage; the cucumber flies from the olive . . ." (p. 24).
What nonsense so it seems to the 'modern era.'
But is this the case?
Plants are indeed living creatures, granted lacking rationality, but in spite of a lack of cognition plants do respond better to conditions that are not simply reducible to chemicals. Granted, plants may lack the anthropomorphicized "emotional" qualities that we humans often ascribe to dogs, cats, etc., but nonetheless as the Jewish teaching on soil conservation shows (e.g. allowing fields to lie fallow in order to "rest"), perhaps the living aspect of creation (i.e. plants, animals, humans, microorganisms) are not simply the network of electro-magnetic energy, chemical interdependencies, etc. Perhaps creation is just that, the living, breathing (plants aspirate!) handiwork of God Himself!
Okay, so do plants "hate" each other? Well this question would be difficult to gauge. Plants do not speak. Thus, like the amoeba all that we can do is to live according to "stimulus-response." Thus, if your flowers seem to "perk up" in direct sunlight, then let them grow there! If they seem to wither in direct sunlight then place your potted plants in a cooler, less sunny place.
In care of God's Green Earth in Christ, Rob
In perhaps the most humorous part of the book (I am about half-way through it), Foucault describes the pre-modern view of botany in which plants were thought to have almost human and/or animal-like dispositions. Although a modern botanist would explain how certain plants do not grow well next to each other due to chemical conditions of the soil, differences in root structure, etc., due to a view of similitude in which all aspects of nature were somehow intertwined, the pre-modern mind would think of plants as actually "hating" each other in the way that human neighbors may have disagreements or in the way that different animals might get into territorial squabbles (e.g. local stray cats fighting each other). Quoting the 1656 work De la subtilite by J. Cardan, Foucault describes this non-sensical scene thusly, "It is fairly widely known that the plants have hatreds between themselves . . . it is said that the olive and the vine hate the cabbage; the cucumber flies from the olive . . ." (p. 24).
What nonsense so it seems to the 'modern era.'
But is this the case?
Plants are indeed living creatures, granted lacking rationality, but in spite of a lack of cognition plants do respond better to conditions that are not simply reducible to chemicals. Granted, plants may lack the anthropomorphicized "emotional" qualities that we humans often ascribe to dogs, cats, etc., but nonetheless as the Jewish teaching on soil conservation shows (e.g. allowing fields to lie fallow in order to "rest"), perhaps the living aspect of creation (i.e. plants, animals, humans, microorganisms) are not simply the network of electro-magnetic energy, chemical interdependencies, etc. Perhaps creation is just that, the living, breathing (plants aspirate!) handiwork of God Himself!
Okay, so do plants "hate" each other? Well this question would be difficult to gauge. Plants do not speak. Thus, like the amoeba all that we can do is to live according to "stimulus-response." Thus, if your flowers seem to "perk up" in direct sunlight, then let them grow there! If they seem to wither in direct sunlight then place your potted plants in a cooler, less sunny place.
In care of God's Green Earth in Christ, Rob
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