Originally Posted by Nina (Post 272651)

Bro P.

Why do You quote Zech 13:7?
Do You have a blog?
Have You published anything yet?
If not, do You plan on publishing anything?
Where are You looking for the answers?

Sincerely,
Nosey
Nina

Originally Posted by pelathais (Post 272674)

1. 'cause
(The real answer is detailed and involves leadership in America being lost and so forth... )

Here's a whole thread to fill up.

2. Yes

Would You care to share the link with us?

3. Yes
4. Future plans as well


5. The "answers" I think I have - it's the articulation that I seek. I tend to be technical, too much so in my writing. I actually like that style because I don't have to think about what I'm saying or how it comes across because it's all jargon with no feeling so I/we can focus on the technical issue at hand. But that's also being lazy and I'd like to hone my style somewhat.

But this is Darcie's thread - she's going to TN! I just know that's going to be a blast. And whoever that lugnut is in her avatar lately, I hope he has the greatest success!

Originally Posted by Praxeas (Post 274707)

Im confused :runhills

Originally Posted by Nina (Post 274830)

And I'm overlooked.
Pleased to meet You, confused!

Originally Posted by mizpeh (Post 274879)

Pelathais, I may have to read that again because I'm sure I missed something.
What does the verse from Zechariah have to do with Captain America? I understand the connection with the OP revisionists with your description of the passage from Zechariah, well..kind of... but I don't get the link with the superhero:(

Originally Posted by pelathais (Post 274860)

I'm sorry Nina. I've been dragging my feet over this... by nature I'm just too shy and inhibited to jump into a thread with my "name" on it. It frightens me...LOL. I've preferred to let the more hyperkinetic personalites set the pace and open the threads. It's all I can do just to post on topic!

About the avatar: Zechariah 13:7 reads,


The immediate sense of this is kind of the reversal of Amos' ministry in the older kingdom days (Zechariah is post-exile). Amos was a husbandman or shepherd who became a prophet. Zechariah is describing a prophet who becomes a herdsman. The herdsman or shepherd is struck down by his "friends" and ultimately, in verse seven, he is smitten by the sword. Though this is done by his "friends" (giving us a sense of betrayal and injustice) we can see from a broader perspective that the prophet-turned-herdsman's wounding and sacrifice are all a part of God's larger plan for his people.

The flock is scattered and two thirds are destroyed in judgment, but the Lord preserves one third and "refines" them. These go on to be the "people of God." There are several eschatological interpretations at this point and everyone is of course free to pick and choose their own. There is of course the immediate application of this scene in the life of Jesus Christ Himself (John 10:11ff).

The use of this passage in the Captain America avatar was suggested by recent developments in the graphic novel genre. I used to read Captain America comic books when I was a kid so when I saw a news item stating that the publishers had "killed" him off I was curious and tried to get caught up with the story line. Needless to say, I can't get caught up. However I did see enough to disappoint myself about how the publishers had played the whole thing out - and since they are still telling the story maybe I'm too quick to jump to conclusions.

But the whole thing boils down to this post-modern deconstruction of America into some sort of wicked and cruel empire that is trying to enslave and rule over the rest of the world. The "good guys" like Captain America rebel against the "evil" and are taken out by their own government. This same plot line has been the daily fare of the news media since even before 9/11.

Going back to the Vietnam era, John Kerry and a group of ex-soldiers (most of whom it turned out had never even been in the service) started a program called "Winter Soldier" in which fabricated stories of atrocities supposedly committed by Americans were passed along through the media. It was from this program that the term "frag" was coined; as in "to frag (or kill) your officers" to avoid combat. Kerry and company published figures that stated over 1,000 American officers had been killed by their own men in Vietnam. It was an incredible lie of course, but it has become a part of the American lexicon. Sadly, it became so accepted that when US troops were sent into harm's way recently, one Muslim paratrooper took it upon himself to kill some officers.

Many other such lies have become part of the fabric of our culture. In a nation that was founded upon enlightenment and reason, this is particularly troubling. The movement of the last 60 - 80 years to poison the American mind against America itself has had a disturbing effect upon our culture and way of life. It has even made it more dangerous to be an American.

The terrorists that struck on 9/11 did so because they perceived the US as weak and divided. They hit us because they had been listening to the American news media and the Leftist spin cycle. Sadaam Hussein refused several offers to peacefully go into exile and step aside without bloodshed because he had been listening to reports of how divided and weak America was. All we needed was some resolve and the whole Iraq war could have been avoided. Instead we got a bunch of backbiting liberal hypocrisy that ultimately cost American lives.

I see a similar trend in the church, the OP movement. Our elected leaders are continually assailed for imagined crimes of compromise and the fellowship as a whole is castigated by radicals bent upon implementing their own unpopular policies at the expense of unity. History is revised and changed so that the motives and the very words of our founders are either changed or lost entirely. To pursue their agenda these forces have actually proclaimed that "Jesus had no beard" in order to substantiate their set of "standards." They have plucked (Isaiah 50:6) His beard in order to exalt themselves.

I'm sorry if I disappointed you by not responding sooner. I hope you know the kind affection that I feel toward you and will pardon me for my timidity.