This is Viewpoints for Thursday, May 11, 2017

Look for the truth

Often at the end of reading one of Dr. Bill Cummings’ columns, my brow is furrowed. I am by no means the Biblical scholar that he is, but I do study the Bible daily. On the one hand, we differ greatly in some of our conclusions, and on the other hand, his writings have encouraged me to expand my studies even more. I couldn’t quite put my finger on my disturbance for a long time. I now think I have figured it out. He writes about God/Jehovah and Jesus the man – often with in-depth reference and obvious extensive scholarship, but he does not write about the Holy Spirit and his role in the Trinity.

I know that I could not truly understand God the Father and God the Son without having received God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is referenced throughout the Bible. He was here in the beginning (Genesis 1:2); he was sent to us after Jesus left the earth to return home (Luke, Acts, John, Hebrews); and he will stay with us until God decides to remove his protective restraint (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12.) The three are equal, distinct individuals comprising one complete unit. To omit one is to paint an incomplete picture of God.

That’s what I had for many years – an incomplete understanding of God. I thought I was a Christian. But, what I had was a self-satisfaction that I attended church, coupled with a burdensome feeling that I should read the Bible more if I wanted to be a better Christian. I used to try to be a good Christian. Now I know that I never can be, which is the confounding mercy of God when he made it possible for me to know him in Jesus Christ.

The paradox is that I did not receive my faith because I studied, but now as I study, my faith grows. Faith by way of the Holy Spirit is not something that can be easily explained, and it’s really not something to be debated. One either has it or one does not. God is either everything or he is nothing. I now know that it is the Holy Spirit that compels me to learn all I can of God. It is a hunger and a thirst that will not be quenched. I didn’t have that before.

I would encourage anyone who wants to follow Christ to open your heart to God, study your Bible, and read Dr. Cummings’ columns to see if they align with what you know to be true. If you look for the truth, you will find it. That’s how the Holy Spirit helps you.

Going big?

I have been seeing a lot of local praise for our new Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue lately, but fail to understand all the hoopla for a self confessed climate denier. His Trump like vow to “make agriculture great again,” brings fears of reducing regulations to the school lunch program so children can gobble down more GMO factory farmed and sugar laced foods which contribute up to 25 percent of global greenhouse gases. Perdue’s endorsement from the National Chicken Council; the Cattlemen’s Beef Association; and the American Farm Bureau Federation, should raise the eyebrows of the small and middle class farmers, among others.

If Perdue wants to make America food great again he must back off his views on immigration reform, and not expect a “prayer vigil” to solve man made global warming. God gives us the choice of being good stewards or trashing the Earth with industrial farming. He should expand on the work of his predecessor, Tom Vilsach.

He should rally for the smaller farms run by both men and women and not give in to the corporate controlled, male dominated sector to what’s on your table for dinner, but don’t hold your breath.

Paperwork in order

My daddy was a hard-shell Baptist and attended a church where sometimes members would wash each others feet. He believed in the resurrection and that God had assigned a date at the beginning of time for each of us to be born, and a time for each of us to die.

When questioned by his more liberal “ free-will” friends about the affect our life choices — such as smoking, drinking and carousing around in the wee hours of morning — might have on our longevity, he would reply that God knew about all that too, before any of it happened. A heavenly adjustment to our pre-destination, if you will.

l an reasonably sure my daddy made the cut and is now with his Heavenly Father beyond the veil because God is much too smart to miss his kindness and generosity for eternity. Albeit, daddy was a farmer for a long time too, and would be good help growing Manna, raising honey bees and catching fish to feed the multitudes.

Last night I read part of the census report and learned we have one birth every eight seconds and one death every 10 seconds in the United States. Given that God judges all us at the pearly gate, he stays pretty busy. It stands to reason that anyone so occupied would have all his paper work in order ahead of time. Especially dispatches and arrivals. I’ve noticed for a while now, as I get older my daddy gets smarter.

Mother’s milk?

Last week, The Washington Post published a major expose of the U.S. dairy industry concluding that mega dairies scam consumers into paying extra for “organic” milk that isn’t organic. The timing, a few days before Mother’s Day, could not be more appropriate. Dairy cows, worldwide symbols of motherhood, never get to see or nurture their babies. The newborn calves are torn from their mothers at birth and turned into veal cutlets, so the dairy industry can sell their milk. The distraught mothers bellow for days, hoping in vain for their babies’ return. Instead, they are chained on a concrete warehouse floor, milked by machines, then impregnated artificially to renew the pregnancy and keep the milk flowing. When their production drops, around four years of age, they are ground into hamburger meat.

This Mother’s Day, let’s all honor motherhood and our natural compassion for animals by rejecting the dairy industry’s cruelty. Let’s replace cow’s milk and its products, laden with cholesterol, saturated fats, hormones, and antibiotics. Let’s choose delicious, healthful, cruelty-free plant-based milk, cheese and ice cream products offered at our grocery store.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Thursday, May 11, 2017."