Shibboleth Meeting

Can we see the full video of Shibboleth somewhere?

Exactly. I think that Jesus was a great man, and a great prophet, but, with the state christianity is in today, he's probably banging his head against the pearly gates going "That is NOT what I meant, you boneheaded pack of ignoramuses!" Pretty much everything he said is turned on its head and twisted to meet people's wishes.

Thanks so much for this very moving clip.

As a historical aside, America has ALWAYS been a secular nation. Up until 1837, the United States Postal Service delivered mail on Sundays. Izra Ely, who wrote to Andrew Jackson on saving America by electing Christian leaders. He said America must be protected from the athiests and Mohammedems (Muslims) as well as from Diests like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson. It ASSUMED in modern times, that the divine creator was a reference to a Christian God.

A good point; and the separation of church and state is essential for the running of a government without the fear of inquisition, as well as protecting religion from politics as best as one can. The moment that government and religion combine both are destroyed, since it usually means that only one religion is supported, much less athiesm or agnosticism. Its that kind of thinking that leads to the burning of synagogues, mosques and churches and the abandoment of due process to fanaticism.

Jesus said of the Pharisees

Matthew 22: 5-8 (Student version)
"Everything they do is done for show. They act holy by wearing little prayer boxes on their arms...They love to be called 'Rabbi' and 'Master'! Don't let anyone ever call you that. For only God is your Rabbi. All of you are on the same level, as brothers."

Many of the "Christian leaders" of today greatly resemble the Pharisees Jesus refers to. Jesus rejected them. Why don't more reject the new ones?

6 defence/weapons/military manufacturing is among our strongest industries because
i: we remain superior in it
ii: other countries have yet to catch up
iii: we export weapons to many countries which--obviously--import it from us

7 nuclear technology is another area in which we retain the edge--
i: because we don't export much of the products and the technology
and
ii: it must be remembered that proliferation also means that competition is growing.

5 all of which explain the inevitability of the decline of manufacturing, the rise of service industries, and the need for us to adjust

(unless, of course,
i: we consume everything we manufacture
ii: we refuse to export no matter how much we would earn from it, as much as we refuse to import no matter how it results in our consumers obtaining the same goods more affordably
iii: we don't mind limited growth in sales and all its implications in wages and jobs)

. . .

2 hitherto-backward countries eventually catch up and manufacture many of the same goods much more cheaply

3 when we ourselves cannot consume the increasing amounts we manufacture, we have to export--which means that for different products, some countries export and other countries import

4 take #2 and #3 together and you meet the same limit referred to in #1, so we find a new sector we can be more competitive in--service, rather than manufacturing

. . .