This is Viewpoints for Friday, July 16, 2017

Great city, great folks

I was recently in your lovely city with a film crew. I had never been to Macon. On my way out of your city (maybe 15 miles and it’s around midnight) I hit what I believe was a muffler on the highway. My tire was destroyed. I pulled over and called my insurance company for roadside assistance. While I was waiting a very nice young officer of your city stopped to check on me and even changed my tire. Wow! I was so comforted.

In the end, my spare tire was bad. I called Ackerman Tow Service. They responded immediately and a man named Keith Rucker came out and picked up me and my car. Not ONLY did he take me to your town’s 24 hour tire service (genius!) but he waited with me until it was fixed and I was on my way.

The tire serviceman at Prince Tire was also exceptional. He didn’t overcharge me as he easily could have. He told me he would waive the installation fee if I couldn’t afford it. He also checked all of my other tires before I left. Again, wow! I am so impressed with the city of Macon. You have some truly amazing citizens in your beautiful city. Humanity and kindness are not dead.

Jesus not divine?

Over the past three decades, we’ve witnessed the transformation of the Republican Party from a moderate political party with a diverse base into a Christianity based party of white evangelical zealots who attempt to force-feed us school prayer, aggressive proselytizing, and salvation. One of the party’s biggest concessions to its rabid base has been its constant denigration of science, particularly evolution. They reject evolution because it’s “just a theory,” despite the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting it, and pass state laws requiring the teaching of Biblical creationism in public schools.

While they claim evolution is unproven, the real reason they will never accept it is because evolution disproves Jesus’ divinity. Jesus says in Matthew 23:35 (see also Luke 11:51),”That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel (i.e. Adam and Eve’s son) unto the blood of Zacharias…” If Jesus is mistaken about Abel’s historicity, how can Jesus be divine?

Prophesy?

It all began when Sarai, Abram’s 77-year-old barren wife, was so desperate for a child she arranged a tryst between Abram and her Egyptian slave-girl Hagar. The angel of the Lord told the pregnant runaway (Hagar) to return to her master’s household; to name the child Ishmael (Is-mail); her descendants would be uncountable; Ishmael would be a wild ass of a man with his hand against everyone; everyone’s hand against him and he shall live at odds with all his kin (Genesis 16).

Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth God changed Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah and promised Abraham to make him the father of many nations, but for that to happen Abraham needed a descendant (other than Ishmael). God told the nearly 100 year-old Abraham his 90-year old barren wife would have a son they were to call Isaac. Sarah thought that was hilarious (Genesis 17).

After Isaac’s birth Sarah had Abraham banish Hagar and Ishmael to protect Isaac’s inheritance. God told Hagar, as she wondered around in the wilderness of Beersheba with her son, not to worry for he would make a great nation for Ishmael (Genesis 21).

Muslims regard Ishmael as the father of the Arab people and as Abraham’s first born, his true heir; making Jews and Christians claim jumpers to be assimilated or destroyed. The hundreds of Arabic tribes spread out over 24 Arabic countries are controlled by different Muslim sects with conflicting views on the Quran. They’ve been fighting amongst themselves for eons while successfully fighting off invaders.

Muslim jihadist have, intentional or unintentional, drawn the American military (riddled with homosexuals and Isaac’s descendants) into their lair, where they have been killing and maiming them for 16 years now. Borrowed money is used to finance the war and Christian nations have lowered their drawbridges for Ishmael’s displaced descendants to come in and establish Islamic settlements within their castle walls. In order to establish spiritual dominance over their inheritance all infidels must be assimilated or destroyed in the region.

Deuteronomy 21:15-17 reads, “If a man has two wives, one of them loved and the other disliked, and if both the loved and disliked have borne him sons, then on the day when he wills his possessions to this sons, he is not permitted to treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the disliked, who is the firstborn. He must acknowledge the son of the one who is disliked, giving a double portion of all that he has; he is the first issue of his virility, the right of the firstborn is his.” This law clarifies any misunderstanding about Ishmael and Isaac’s inheritance.

The Old and New Testaments continue to manifest themselves before the eyes of a spiritual blind world.

Soft power

I believe our nation’s policy toward North Korea is wrong. Threatening military action is foolish and impractical. Such folly would result in horrendous casualties in South Korea, including many of the thousands of American troops stationed there, and could escalate to other countries.

Sanctions are ineffective and can serve only to strengthen the power structure that is causing the problem, while harming the civilian population.

What is the answer? Accept the fact that North Korea will develop a nuclear capability and will join the other 10 nations that currently have nuclear weapons. Keep the channels open for dialogue and gradually remove trade restrictions. Let North Korea see and gradually gain from the growth and prosperity of South Korea. Economic prosperity is the enemy of war. World peace through world business is a major key to a peaceful future, not threats that are meaningless.

Our country needs more “soft power.” We need more experienced diplomats and those with significant knowledge. We all know “hard power” is necessary and essential, but the problem with North Korea is best served with dialogue.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 11:37 AM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, July 16, 2017."