Monday, December 30, 2013

WAS JESUS A HISTORICAL FIGURE AND WAS HE CRUCIFIED?

There are some skeptics among those who comment on this blog. They keep saying that there is no evidence that Jesus really lived or that there are Roman documents that indicate his crucifixion.

If they had open minds and really cared they might read some or all of the following works. They could read them all the way through, but if they are lazy (or just don't care about whether they are really right), they can just read the pages listed.

In the 1940s and 50s it was fashionable to cast aspersions on the authenticity of Jesus. By the 60s documents were discovered and scholars began to realize that they had been wrong. Those who have an ax to grind about Jesus choose not to study the more recent investigations, preferring to languish in the inaccuracies of the older ones.

In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, Bart Ehrman (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B. Ehrman, 2011 Forged : writing in the name of God ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285

Michael Grant (a classicist) states that "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." in Jesus by Michael Grant 2004 ISBN 1898799881 page 200

Richard A. Burridge states: "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more." in Jesus Now and Then by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (Apr 1, 2004) ISBN 0802809774 page 34

Jesus Remembered by James D. G. Dunn 2003 ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 page 339 states of baptism and crucifixion that these "two facts in the life of Jesus command almost universal assent".

Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus by William R. Herzog (4 Jul 2005) ISBN 0664225284 pages 1-6

Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. p. 145. ISBN 0-06-061662-8. "That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus...agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact."

Robert E. Van Voorst Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 page 16 states: "biblical scholars and classical historians regard theories of non-existence of Jesus as effectively refuted"

James D. G. Dunn "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus" in Sacrifice and Redemption edited by S. W. Sykes (Dec 3, 2007) Cambridge University Press ISBN 052104460X pages 35-36 states that the theories of non-existence of Jesus are "a thoroughly dead thesis"

The Gospels and Jesus by Graham Stanton, 1989 ISBN 0192132415 Oxford University Press, page 145 states : "Today nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that Jesus existed".

Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998 ISBN 9004111425 pages 460-470

The Cambridge companion to Jesus by Markus N. A. Bockmuehl 2001 Cambridge Univ Press ISBN 978-0-521-79678-1 pages 123-124. Page 124 state that the "farfetched theories that Jesus' existence was a Christian invention are highly implausible."

Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence ISBN 0-8028-4368-9. page 83

Flavius Josephus; Maier, Paul L. (December 1995). Josephus, the essential works: a condensation of Jewish antiquities and The Jewish war ISBN 978-0-8254-3260-6 pages 284-285

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Five Easy Steps to Health Insurance As It Should Be


1.      Repeal ObamaCare. It is a fiasco of the first order and will hurt far more people than it is intended to help. The latest series of atrocities revolve around President BO (the amateur president)’s breaking his own “law of the land.” After insisting that the insurance-purchase mandate was not only constitutional but essential to the law's success, Obama decreed that millions of Americans are magically exempt. They are offered a “hardship exemption” if their policies were cancelled. No sign-up, no penalty tax. 

2.      Allow interstate competition among health insurance companies. 

3.      Cap excessive payouts from lawsuits by category. 

4.      Encourage health insurance companies to establish a fund to pay for pre-existing conditions. Allow them to charge an extra fee to cover those conditions. 

5.      Pass a Constitutional amendment that would limit the federal government’s role in the health insurance industry, requiring the government to revoke at least 20 of its most punitive restrictions on health insurance companies.
So there you go. It's all fixed (in your dreams).

Friday, December 27, 2013

MY COSTS REVEALED!

By arrangement (which shall remain undisclosed) my wife has not had regular health insurance in her life. So now she has to purchase it through the PPACA, brought to us by President BO (the amateur president). She is not exempt.

So I went on line to sign her up. It was impossible to complete the transaction as the site produced an error message and placed me in a “virtual waiting room," from which I have yet to be called, but I did find out what her (my) costs will be. She will pay 345.00 per month. That’s $4,140 per year! Her deductible will be $12,000.00 per year. That’s with the bronze plan.

In those years in which she is not hospitalized with a major illness, that will amount to $16,000.00 for coverage down the drain.

Let me see…$0.00 for complete coverage with no limit and no deductible, versus $16,000.00 per year. Which is the best deal? The complete coverage with no limit deal will continue, but we still have to purchase health insurance! Do you think I am happy?

"Oh, well, Joe. You know that some people will be screwed so that the rest of us can have the health care that the government is forcing us to be a part of." Thank you, you liberal (insert bad word of your choice here).

Did you know that there is a $23.14 tax included in the premium? That adds up to $277.08 per year in taxes. There is also a $2.00 fee per policy that goes into “medical research trust fund.” There is also a 2.3% medical device tax that will inflate the cost of items such as pacemakers, stents and prosthetic limbs.

Insurers will pay a 35% user fee to sell medical plans on HealthCare.gov.

There are subsidies for some low income Americans that will pay the taxes and a part of the premium, but for those of us who are $200.00 over the minimum income to qualify, that means nothing.

Oh, and if you have high medical expenses out of pocket, you will get a smaller income tax deduction. It was 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income. Now it will jump to 10% AGI before deductions can be claimed.

Since I missed the deadline due to the site’s inability to complete my transaction, and since I have not yet been released from the “virtual waiting room” and have no idea what to do next, I guess we will just pay the first year’s penalty and wait it out. Other continuing web site issues.

Why did you liberals get lulled into thinking that the government was qualified to run this health care scam on Americans? Why? Are you really, really that uninformed? Did you learn nothing from Amtrack, USPS, the Veterans Administration, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? Nothing?

Why not?

Thursday, December 26, 2013

CHRISTMAS RESPITE-Joy to the World-Mack Wilberg Arrangement



WHEN WAS CHRISTMAS, ANYWAY?

I am indebted to Glenn E. Chatfield at The Watchman’sBagpipes for much of the following information.

Every year discussions pop up about why we celebrate Christmas in December. Some say the birth of Jesus had to have been in the summer. This is the time the liberals like to choose, because it is so opposite of when most Christians celebrate Christmas and liberals just love to find issues with Christians’ beliefs. They just swallow each other’s lines and spew them out whenever the subject comes up.
Others say the shepherds’ tending their sheep close to the walls of Bethlehem indicates a deep winter time frame.

I would not argue with either position, because, frankly, I don’t care when it was.
That said, there is considerable evidence that Jesus was born some time close to December 25th.

Alfred Edersheim, in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, wrote:
There is no adequate reason for questioning the historical accuracy of [December 25th]. The objections generally made rest on grounds, which seem to me historically untenable. The subject has been fully discussed in an article by Casselin Herzog’s Real. Ency. 17, pp. 588-594. But a curious piece of evidence comes to us from a Jewish source. In the addition to the Megillath Taanith (ed. Warsh. p.20a), the 9th Tebheth is marked as a fast day, and it is added, that the reason for this is not stated. Now, Jewish chronologists have fixed on that day as that of Christ’s birth, and it is remarkable that, between the years 500 and 816 AD the 25th of December fell no less than twelve times on the 9th Tebheth. It the 9th Tebheth, or 25th December, was regarded as the birthday of Christ, we can understand the concealment about it.

In the Jews for Jesus Newsletter of December, 2000 we read:
Ancient Jewish tradition … seems to recognize that date…. According to Alfred Edersheim, Jewish leaders established a special fast day on 9th day of the Jewish month of Tevet. Initially, no specific reason was given for this fast day, but later Jewish writers identified the 9th of Tevet with the birth date of Jesus. Edersheim further states that the 9th of Tevet had fallen on the 25thof December numerous times in the past.


There is also the possibility of a Hanukkah-Christmas connection. Hanukkah is celebrated on the 25th of Kislev, the Jewish month that corresponds with December. Could it be that early Jewish believers in Yeshiva (jesus) wanted to connect Hanukkah and the birth of the Messiah, and eventually that desire was transposed into the 25th of December? After all, Hanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which Jesus applied to Himself when He said, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).
A person with a degree in agriculture tells us:

“Certainly, the Lord Jesus was born at Christmas. The only time shepherds spend the night in the fields with their sheep is during the time when the lambs are born. The ewes become ‘attractive’ to the rams in the month after June 21, the longest day of the year. the normal gestation period is five months so the ewes start lambing about mid-December.”
Isn’t it natural that the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world would be born when all the other lambs are born?

A Montana sheep rancher reports:
“Oh, yes! None of the men who have flocks are in church for weeks at Christmas. They have to be in the fields day and night to clean up and care for the lambs as soon as they are born or many would perish in the cold.” Isn’t that neat? God’s Lamb, who was to die for the sins of the world, was born when all the other little lambs are born. Because He came and died the centuries old practice of sacrificing lambs for sin could end.

So which one was it? I can’t say for certain, and I would not bet any money on any of the above scenarios.
If you don’t mind, I will continue to celebrate Christmas on December 25th.

Hope you had a great one!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

HIGHER PRICES FOR HIGHER WAGES

Everybody seems to agree that Wal Mart does not pay its employee very well. But to pay them more would require Wal Mart to raise prices on their goods.

What would be a fair wage for a Wal Mart employee? Maybe 15% more than they're getting now? What would it take for Wal Mart to pay that higher wage? What if they just raised their price by 15% and gave that increase to the employee? Would that be fair enough?

That would be a 15% increase in prices for a 15% wage hike. What could be fairer than that?

Let's not concern ourselves with the drop in the numbers of customers who would shop at Wal Mart or the resulting drop in revenue for this giant company. Let's just do it and get it done!

People would be willing to pay 15% more for products if they knew it was going to the employees, right?

Take a look.



Now, count the number of people who would support such a plan. Write the number here: ____________

(Hint: You won't need many fingers.)

FOLLOWUP FROM YESTERDAY'S POST- A HEADLINE: Walmart SELLS OUT of show merchandise as fans flock to support Phil.

Friday, December 20, 2013

QUACK! QUACK!

A famous line from the O.J. Simpson trial concerning a glove in evidence was, "If the glove don't fit, you must acquit."

When I was a kid, my cousin and I used to work those 1,000 piece puzzles. We had a rule. After turning all of the pieces upright, we lost a point for each piece we touched without knowing where it belonged in the puzzle. In other words, it had to fit where it belonged in order to properly assemble the puzzle. When the puzzle was finished, the one with the fewest points lost was the winner. Sometimes we would try to force a piece to fit in order to avoid losing points. It never worked right.

Men don't fit men. In order for a man to have a man, a certain amount of force must be used. It becomes an unnatural fit and, regardless of what liberals pretend, it works poorly. It also hurts. It tears tissue, invites infection and introduces incurable diseases.

So I have come up with a brand new old saying. I will express it in an Italian accent: "If it don't-a-fit; you must-a-quit."

By simple math we know beyond all doubt that homosexuality is not normal. It is not natural, either, in spite of liberals insistence that certain mountain goats practice it. The only male goats that involve themselves with other male goats are those who can't win the battle for a female goat. Plus, animals tend to "engage" anything that comes along when they're in the mood.

Which of us has not had the experience of a dog coming up to us and suddenly start "dancing" with our legs? Everybody laughs because we tend to laugh at that which is unnatural or illogical.

Homosexuality is a sin practice that emerges as a result of behavioral conditioning. It is not in the genes and it is not a choice. It is a sin because it is not in the center of God's will. That is the definition of sin. Whatever is not in the center of God's will is a sin. That's why we are all sinners, like it or not.

Phil Robertson was asked and expressed his opinion on the subject of homosexuality. He did so and then was castigated for it, by liberals first, then the press and finally by A & E. He was fired.

Robertson was fired for expressing his belief. For freely expressing his opinion, he was terminated. A & E fired him for exercising his right to an opinion and for expressing it when asked.

That's real freedom.

Let me see if I have this straight. In the liberal mind you have a right to free speech as long as that speech is vulgar, uncivilized or bashed Christianity, Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney. You do not have a right, according to liberals, to speech that they don't agree with.

You do not have a right to believe that homosexuality is a sin and is wrong behavior. You do not have a right to express that opinion. If you do express that opinion, you might reasonably expect to be ridiculed, bullied and/or fired from your job.

All the while, A & E continues to carry programs that express opinions that do NOT offend liberals, no matter who else they offend. It's a good thing there's no double standard there.

The heads at A & E are among the stupidest people on earth. They are taking a false stand in favor of political correctness. They fired one of the lead characters of the most popular cable show in existence for thinking a certain way and then expressing what he thought when asked.

Occasionally, people ask me for my opinion on something. They say something like, "Joe, I'd like your opinion on something." I invariably reply, "Great! I have on on nearly everything!"

If you don't want the wrong answer to a question you ask me, don't ask the question. If you ask the question, I am going to give you my opinion, whether you like or agree with it or not. I do not believe in, nor do I practice, political correctness of any kind at any time.

Let me assert that A & E had the absolute right to fire Phil if they want to. A & E is their business, not mine. But in my humble, but correct, opinion, it was a stupid move and will prove to be very costly to them in the long run, business wise.

Note: I do not have cable. I have never watched Duck Dynasty, don't know what the show is about (except that it has something to do with duck calls, which astonishes me), and really don't want to watch it.

That said, the kerfuffle over the firing of Phil Robertson is indicative of the stupidity of the media in general (think Mike and Molly, The Middle, Two Broke Girls and other inane productions) is becoming ever more apparent.

The same people who screamed bloody murder when I refused to allow "freedom of speech" in the form of foul language on this blog are now attacking freedom of speech when it contradicts their thinking.

What a bunch of idiots!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

IT'S A NUMBERS GAME

Obama promised on numerous occasions that the average family of four will save $2,500 a year in premiums.




Where did that number come from?  Three Harvard economists wrote a memo in 2007 in which they claimed that then-Senator Obama’s health-care plan would reduce national health-care spending by $200 billion. Then, according to the New York Times, the authors “divided [$200 billion] by the country’s population, multiplied for a family of four, and rounded down slightly to a number that was easy to grasp: $2,500.”


Just like when my wife "saves" money at the store. Every time she does that my bank account total goes down!

Every time President BO (the amateur president) saves us $2,500.00, the cost goes up!

Monday, December 16, 2013

SANTA, BABY

Good grief! People are arguing over whether Santa Claus is white, black or purple! Is there really somebody who cares?

Santa, to begin with, is a mythical figure (albeit fashioned after a real person) and has been portrayed in different countries and cultures in many different ways.
In my humble, but correct, opinion, Santa should represent whatever your particular culture wants him to represent. He should look like what your culture wants him to look like. I certainly have never been offended by the visage of a black Santa. Nor would I be offended by an Asian Santa.
Now for page two.
Lumped in with Santa has been Jesus. Jesus was not mythical, He was real. The question is, “Was Jesus black, white, Asian, or some mixture thereof?”
Well the answer is that Jesus was Jewish and probably looked like an Israeli. It is my (again humble, but correct) opinion that he probably had a stereotypically Jewish nose, dark whitish skin (some have called it "olive")and probably was not particularly tall.
Jesus was not Asian, nor was He a Native American. I doubt that He was black, but I don’t care whether he was or not. Americans have tended to think he was a mid-western American from, what, South Dakota, Kansas or Arkansas? Maybe they think He was from Ohio or Michigan.
Still, I cannot believe that people are getting their bowels in an uproar over the skin color of either Santa or Jesus. Certainly nothing in the Christian faith has anything to do with Jesus’ skin color. And nothing in the world dictates what color or tradition Santa has to be.
To those who care I say, “Give it an everlovin’ blue eyed rest!”

Saturday, December 14, 2013

WORTH A COUPLE OF CLICKS

Jay Leno has fun with President BO (the amateur president) and Chlamydia. Who knew you could have fun with Chlamydia?

Friday, December 13, 2013

OUR NOBLE PRESIDENT

SELECTIONS FROM The Free PATRIOT

01. Did President BO (the amateur president) carry out military interventionism without Congressional approval?

02. Did President BO (the amateur president) close Guantanamo Bay as he promised he would?

03. Did President BO (the amateur president) promise that there would be no lobbyists in his administration, yet now has as many or more than any president in history?

04. Did President BO (the amateur president) nominate a six time tax cheater to head the federal agency that enforces the tax code?

05. Did President BO (the amateur president) increase the national debt more in one term than his predecessor did in two?

06. Did President BO (the amateur president) order a private company to fire 1,000 employees?

07. Did President BO (the amateur president) put thousands of guns into the hands of criminals?

08. Did President BO (the amateur president) lie about putting health care negotiations on C-SPAN?

09. Did President BO (the amateur president) give tax dollars to campaign contributors and lobbyists, and falsely claim the money was for “green energy”?

10. Did President BO (the amateur president) conduct dangerous and illegal scientific experiments on people?

11. Did President BO (the amateur president) have the government take 60.8% ownership of General Motors?

12. Did President BO (the amateur president) force banks to give mortgages to people who could not afford to pay them back, and collected $23,000 in legal fees for himself for doing so?

13. Did President BO (the amateur president) nominate a communist who said 9-11 was an inside job. (Van Jones)?

14. Did President BO (the amateur president) falsely said he would not raise taxes on the poor and middle class?

15. Did President BO (the amateur president) promise he would wait five days before signing bills?

16. Did President BO (the amateur president) nominate a past frequent user of illegal drugs to keep illegal drugs out of schools

17. Did President BO (the amateur president) use Tax Payer Money to fund a solar company to sell solar panels to itself?

18. Did President BO (the amateur president) give Obamacare exemptions to unions that supported the passage of Obamacare?

19. Did President BO (the amateur president) Make recess appointments when Congress was not in recess?

20. Did President BO (the amateur president) accept illegal campaign contributions from foreign citizens?

Would you like to read more about President BO (the amateur president)’s journey into hypocrisy, illegality and dishonor? Click HERE.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Saturday, December 7, 2013

NOT ONLY IS "THE WEB SITE" DOING WELL, SO IS THE JOB MARKET.

(CNSNews.com) - 1,148,000 fewer Americans held jobs this November than did seven years ago in November 2006, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Back then, according to BLS, 145,534,000 Americans held jobs. This November, according to BLS, only 144,386,000 Americans hold jobs. That is a drop of 1,148,000 in the number of Americans working.

This decline in the number of Americans who actually have jobs has come even though the size of the nation’s civilian non-institutional population and the size of the nation’s civilian labor force have both grown significantly over the last seven years.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

70% SUCCESS!

The other day I got on a plane for a trip from Ft. Myers to Chicago. When we had all settled in to our seats the pilot came on the intercom and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen! This is your captain. Welcome aboard. We have a 70% chance of making it to Chicago without crashing, so sit back, relax and enjoy your flight."

I got off the plane.

Over 30 % of the  people who tried to sign up for ObamaCare on the web site either had their data lost, did not get the insurance they elected or were kicked off before finishing their business. 100% of them had their data subjected to compromise due to the failure of the web site's security features.

But not to worry. It's working fine for 70% of the people who don't care about security.

I think I'll get off.

Monday, December 2, 2013

TRUST THEM. THEY CAN DO IT. YES THEY CAN

From The Right Scoop

Today, two months and $1 billion after the ObamaCare roll-out, should have been the end of all healthcare.gov troubles. Ya. should have:



And here is healthcare.gov crashing today on live TV at CNN:

Sunday, December 1, 2013