A Short History of Violence in America (Pt. 1)

08/17/2007, 10:15 am -- by David | 6 Comments

Sometime in the late 70s, while reading a Bible commentary on Isaiah, I found a section that interpreted chapter 18 as an end time prophecy about the United States. We are described as a “land shadowing with wings (the eagle)… that sendeth ambassadors… people scattered and peeled… a land the rivers have spoiled.” It goes on: “…a people terrible from their beginning hitherto.” It interpreted that last phrase to mean a nation plagued with violence during its entire existence.

In the 1770s we rebelled against a European monarch who believed in the divine right to rule, and fought a bloody guerrilla war for our freedom in the 1770s; then we fought them again in 1812. We fought each other over states’ rights and slavery in the 1860s and fought Spain in Cuba during the 1890s. We fought a German coalition in 1918 and again in the 1940s in Europe; Korea and China in the 50s; Vietnam in the 60s and 70s. We invaded Grenada and Panama in the 80s, Iraq in the 90s, and we are now fighting wars in Iraq & Afghanistan simultaneously.

I’m not judging any of these uses of force as bad or good, just making the point that no generation has seen a cessation of hostilities in our entire existence — and I’m only counting major wars, neglecting the subjugation of Native Americans and other uses of force.

“A nation terrible from its beginning hitherto.”

It’s in our blood. We have the right to bear arms, form militias, and carry weapons in public, and we don’t want to give up those rights for anything. After all, we may need to take out our own government again. Okay, fine. But from what I hear on the right, when it comes to gun control, the best thing for society would be to return to the days of the Wild West. Every man with a six-gun strapped to his thigh, a shotgun slung across his back, and a 30-30 Winchester lever-action carbine rifle tucked under the seat of his buckboard, or in his saddle. “I ain’t fixin’ to start nothin’, Sheriff, but if trouble breaks out, I’ll finish it — sure enough.”

I’m sorry. I’m not buying it. I can’t believe the only way to deal with a killer is to become one, to kill or be killed. There has to be another way. When our soldiers survive combat overseas, only to be gunned down in the streets of their own hometowns (I know of two cases that made the national news and a few here at Ft. Benning), something is wrong.

“A people terrible from their beginning hitherto.”

All I ask is this. As conservatives, when we embrace this idea of gunning down the bad guys ourselves, are we drawing from our Christian heritage or our secular American heritage?

When the two conflict, I would hope our devotion to Jesus Christ would inspire us to look to the Lord for our answers, not to the conservative platform.

To be continued…

Joke of the Day, 8/17/07

08/17/2007, 7:00 am -- by Steve | No Comments

A little girl was in church when she started feeling sick. “Mommy, I think I have to throw up!,” she exclaimed.

“Okay, honey. Quick, go out the front door and behind the church, then throw up behind a bush.”

After about sixty seconds, the little girl came back. “Did you throw up?” her mother asked.

“Yeah.”

“How could you have gone all the way and back so quickly?”

“I didn’t have to leave, Mommy. They have a box on the wall by the door that says, ‘For the Sick.'”

Talk Back

08/16/2007, 1:00 pm -- by Steve | 4 Comments

It doesn’t seem possible, but today’s quote was marked as post #600 here at the site. We’re really only up to 514, what with deletions and changes, so I mention this milestone only because today happens to mark exactly 5.5 months since the genesis of Bweinh!

In that time, we’ve met 11 Bweinh!tributors, accepted 16 Council rulings, debated 43 fascinating issues, voted in precisely 100 polls, and (as of midnight today) blocked a whopping 799 spam comments. And we now average about 160 visitors a day.

We’ve fully discussed the books of Genesis and Exodus, laughed at a whole load of Chick tracts, created a virtual CD of beloved artists, and compiled quite a collection of (sometimes) hilarious jokes.

We’ve traveled across the country on Chloe’s brilliant prose, through eight weeks of boot camp with Job’s peerless reflections, and (rarely) into the future by Djere’s flashes of imagination.

MC-B takes us back to our college days; Connie speaks from the experience born of raising six children. We’ve been encouraged and touched by Mike, challenged and inspired by Dave, amused and educated by Tom, and — quite possibly — annoyed and exasperated by Steve.

If I’m doing it right!

Now that I’ve moved and gotten into a routine with my new job, there will be a few changes in store to the site — both in design (I hope) and content. But if you’ve stuck with us through our 500-plus posts over five and a half months, you deserve some input too before we go changing anything around.

So here’s your chance. If you’re reading this and you have any opinion whatsoever about the site — what you like, what you don’t, what you’d like to see more or less of, etc. — please let us know with a comment on this post, or an email through the links on the right.

Or if you don’t have a comment, just say hello; help us put a name with the IP address!

Whether you comment or not, thanks for your time and your visit. I hope you keep coming back to bweinh.com!

o.o.c.c.t.e.

08/16/2007, 11:45 am -- by Steve | 1 Comment

{democracy:100}

Ask Bweinh! Poll — Card Games

08/16/2007, 10:30 am -- by Steve | No Comments

Yet another Ask Bweinh! poll, sponsored by Zep Manufacturing Company, your one source for both cleaning and maintenance products, and excellent pens.

Have a seat and deal ’em out; here’s what’s playing at Bweinh!’s table.

Rank	Card Game	Points
1.	Pitch	27
2.	Poker	18
3.	Euchre	11
4.	Gin rummy	7
5.	Apples to Apples	6
6-8 (tie)	13 Penny; Phase 10; Hearts	5
9-12 (tie)	Speed; Rook; 21; Solitaire	4
Other	Texas Hold ’em; Palace; Canasta; 7-card Stud; Cribbage; Spades; War; Uno; Rummy; 5-card Draw	1-3

Another Answer

08/16/2007, 9:00 am -- by Steve | 2 Comments

How did this tract end??

If you picked “The same way it began,” you’re a winner!!

And remember! Reincarnation is a LIE!

Quote of the Day, 8/16/07

08/16/2007, 7:00 am -- by Steve | No Comments

“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” — M. Teresa

Battle of the Bands XXIII

08/15/2007, 2:15 pm -- by Steve | No Comments

Moving on is Godfinger!

{democracy:99}

Bible Discussion — Exodus 35-40

08/15/2007, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | 1 Comment

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next six chapters of the Bible, Exodus 35-40.

Previously in Exodus:
1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34

The book of Genesis:
1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26 | 27-29
30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50

INTRODUCTION:
David:
The last few chapters here deal with the tabernacle and its trappings. Tabernacles are temporary dwellings; but the real resting place came not when a finished temple was completed, but when God fulfilled Ezekiel 36:27. “I will put my Spirit within you:”

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Connie:
I think this is the only time in the Bible when the people had to be asked to stop giving to the Lord.

Chloe:
The half shekel from each person counted in the census, which was called “atonement for your lives,” is put towards the sanctuary. Because of that, even the poorest family could say they had contributed to the construction of the Lord’s Tabernacle.

Josh:
I think I tend to forget just how extravagant the tabernacle really was. I picture some tent, then I come to the scripture and see the people bringing gold and silver, fine linen, precious stones — all of their finest materials and craftsmanship for the Lord.

David:
Moses called for an offering of common household items, like “ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and shittim wood.” Just normal stuff everyone has laying around the house, I guess.

Steve:
There were special, ornate, jeweled, royal “garments for ministry” that the priests apparently wore every time they entered the Tabernacle. God was apparently pretty immodest and ostentatious, eh Job?

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Steve: Golden Spoon, A Bekah For Each Man
David: Holiness to the Lord
Josh: One Talent
Chloe: Southside Tabernacle

Continued here!

The Proper Way to Treat Your Waitress

08/15/2007, 9:30 am -- by Chloe | 4 Comments

We have been called to be servants to those around us, slaves for Christ, and yet so often we scorn those who serve us. One waitress wrote that church groups were usually the ones who treated her poorly, then left a small tip. How do you treat those who serve you? Do you show them God’s love, or remind them why they don’t go to church? Here are the four most common types of people I’ve come across in my two months as a waitress. Try to guess which one you are and which one you should be.

Robot
This type of patron is usually on the higher end of the economic scale, or he doesn’t have much in the way of a personality. Friendly banter is lost on him, and he avoids eye contact. He may talk on his cell phone while ordering, or completely ignore the waitress because he wants to finish his conversation. He rarely tips, and he’ll send the waitress back for things one at a time — water refill, coffee refill, hamburger not well done, ketchup, more napkins — rather than asking for all that he knows he needs at once.

Imbecile
This type of patron could either be on the high or low end of the economic scale. The richer patron generally assumes that anyone in such a dead-end job must be an idiot, and deserves the treatment he’s dishing out. Who knows? Maybe he will inspire her to actually do something with her life! The poorer patron believes the world owes him something, and considers the waitress below him, because everyone else acts like he’s below them. This type of patron leaves a tip in relation to how hard the waitress worked — the harder she worked for him, the smaller the tip. He also abuses the waitress for what is usually the cook’s fault; shoot the messenger, and all that.

Piece of Meat
This type of patron is a man (though if the server is male, the patron will be female), and is usually the age of the waitress’ father or grandfather. He thinks she’s there for his viewing pleasure. Sometimes he’s younger and unattractive, but fancies himself God’s gift to women. More often than not, he’s looking for free food. He doesn’t realize she gets hit on about twice a week, and asked out once or twice a month. He also doesn’t realize that he looks like a lobotomized pig compared to her crush/boyfriend/fiancÃ©. No matter how he flatters her, she doesn’t feel pretty when she’s working. She feels sweaty and sticky and covered by the stench of French fry grease and dried ketchup. His phone number will line the trash bin along with all those other dopes, and he will be ridiculed in the kitchen.

Friend
This type of patron is kind, has probably been in the waitress’s shoes before, or just realizes that her job is not easy. He is gentle, tells her it’s fine if she messes up, and he leaves the proper tip (but doesn’t overly flatter her). A variation of this patron is the one who comes in often, and has both a “usual” and a sense of humor. This patron knows why the waitress looks stressed and will be sure to ask how school is going and how her family is doing. This patron tries not to leave too much of a mess on the table. Once in a while, he might even pray for the waitress.

Your waitress is a person. She has emotions, bad days, fears, and a life outside of work. Her dog gets hit by a car, her grandpa is dying of cancer, but she has to come to work anyway. She will usually do her best to keep you happy (if only because she really needs that tip), but she isn’t perfect, and she can’t always bend over backwards for you. And more often than not, she really, really doesn’t want your phone number.

Serve those who serve you. Please, respect your waitress.

Joke of the Day, 8/15/07

08/15/2007, 7:00 am -- by Steve | No Comments

“I stayed in a really old hotel last night. They sent me a wake-up letter.”

-S. Wright

Clash of the Titans XLII: Meat

08/14/2007, 9:15 pm -- by Steve | 3 Comments

In this corner, backing beef, is David!

And in this corner, arguing for bacon, is Djere!

Last year Americans consumed 28 billion pounds of beef, a new high of 70 lbs. per person. If turned into 1/4-pound patties and laid end to end, that’d be enough hamburger to keep a dork with no life busy with a calculator for a lot longer than I care to imagine.

To put it into perspective, it could create a hamburger the size of Rhode Island (I guess… I don’t really know how big Rhode Island is), requiring fries the size of Vermont, a milkshake the size of California, a bun the size of the Great Lakes, and a slice of cheese the size of, well, Rhode Island.

To match the hamburger.

Anyway, my point is that we eat a lot of beef. Beef is as large a part of our heritage as our waistline, and as much as I admire bacon, particularly on a cheeseburger, it can’t be compared with beef for the following reasons, which I’ll enumerate by numbering them with letters, if such a thing is possible.

A.) Versatility
Bacon is, well, bacon. Beef, on the other hand, is cheeseburgers with pickles and ketchup, beef short ribs slow cooked over open flame, filet mignon, beef stew with biscuits on a cold winter night, and ribeyes sizzling in the backyard on a hot summer afternoon. It’s beef brats with sauerkraut, a bottom round roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, a Philly cheesesteak with onions and peppers, prime rib with sauteed mushrooms and baked potato, and a porterhouse served with eggs and home fries.

B.) Bible Sanctioning
When the children of Israel wandered for 40 years and God needed to keep them safe, what was the first thing he did? Gave them a menu. That menu was big on beef, but banned bacon. Why? Trichinosis. Pork must be properly handled and prepared, or bad things happen to the people who eat it. Beef, on the other hand, can be eaten raw. I know — I ordered it raw once at a fancy French restaurant in Canada. I didn’t know what I was ordering, since the menu was in French, but it worked.

C.) Culture
Who can forget the famous Wendy’s commercial from the early 80’s? It starred a small elderly woman, who peered at a measly burger before confronting a fast food worker with, “Where’s the beef?” For months you couldn’t go anywhere without someone muttering the phrase. I remember entering a loaded elevator in Hartford, and as the doors slid shut, someone in back said, “Where’s the beef?” in a dead-on impression of the feisty lady. It made no sense, but we all laughed ourselves silly. It defined an era.

You have the right to choose whatever you want to eat. After all, you bring home the bacon. But remember the slogan — beef…it’s what’s for dinner.

Leviticus 11:7-8:

“And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.”

I’ve often wondered about the Levitical dietary laws of the Old Testament and Islam and wondered why. I know that God kept the Jews from eating pork, but until recently I didn’t fully understand His reasoning.

We all know that for “health reasons,” God restricted pigs as unclean meat. Trichinosis, and all that. But pigs are actually quite friendly, personable, cleanly, intelligent, and most imporantly, delicious.

One afternoon as I was meditating on my roof, I received insight from the Lord that I feel I must share with you:

1. The only true and lasting plan for world peace is bacon.

Ever since the days of Isaac and Ishmael, Judaism and Islam have been at war. I mean, you try living in the sun-beaten desert for 6,000 years and you tell me how much you like your illegitimate half-brother who’s always out to get you, and who’s living right on top of you.

The bacon-free diets of our Jewish and Muslim friends have clouded their judgments. But just one bacon-wrapped hors d’Ã…“uvre and you’d see those suicide bombers finally find something to live for.

2. Bacon is a New Testament blessing.

Much like the visitation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, when God said to Peter, “Arise, kill and eat,” lifting the dietary restrictions, Heaven opened over earth.

God, in His wisdom, not only knew that if the Jews ate pork, they’d get Trichinosis and die, but also that they’d gladly do it for just a taste of the tastiest of all meats — bacon.

When Noah saved two of every animal on the ark, even the unclean, it was for the New Testament church to harvest his bounty.

Hamburger is good, cheeseburger is better, bacon cheeseburger is best.

Praise the Lord and pass the bacon.

{democracy:97}

More OOCCTE For You

08/14/2007, 2:00 pm -- by Steve | 1 Comment

{democracy:98}

Utah, We Have A Problem

08/14/2007, 12:00 pm -- by Job Tate | 3 Comments

Best of Job, February 2006. Expect fresh Job next week!

While I was wandering the streets of downtown Rutland today, waiting for Hi Jol to be fitted, I had a run-in with everyone’s favorite perversion of the Christian faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Elders Grewes and Hathaway were young, fresh-faced, nattily dressed sorts, and I’m not sure what about my swagger attracted them, but they veered toward me.

I lure this stuff in all the time. Airports, restaurants, Center Street by the bank, you name it. I usually enjoy these instances; they’re invigorating, demand my A game, and give me something to cut my theological teeth on. But today I just wasn’t in the mood. I felt, through the fog of my distaste, some true love for these two guys, who were of similar age, build, and probably social style… But I am just so weary of our faith getting hijacked and/or spit on.

They eased into their subroutine of easy eye contact, touching my shoulder, etc. They felt out my pedigree with clever questions meant to flush out the extent of my New Testament knowledge, and asked rather pointedly if I’d read the Book of Mormon.

They had good game and were serious. I’ve been here before, and usually try to circumnavigate their tactics by playing slightly dumb, like a sight-seeing Southern Baptist with family issues, to put out the proverbial begging bowl of an impoverished brain.

In short, I generally set a trap, let them walk in, then pounce like the Adventist/Wesleyan Bible minor hybrid that I am.

But today it was different. As they smoothed their cuffs and patted their pockets for tracts, I leaned against the building, pursed my lips, and placed my leg on the stones a la the Marlboro Man.

Sticking to the script. “Have you read the book of Mormon?”

I paused. This is where I normally say, “I’ve seen the commercials for it, I think.”

“Some of it. Enough to understand where you’re coming from.”

“Oh, well, good. So you know that we do hold to the Bible?”

“I understand that you do not revere the Bible. Or rather, the Word.”

“Excuse me?”

“Gentlemen, your book is a lie. My being blunt is just obedience.”

“Um.”

“Wanna have some coffee and then go off-roading? We can talk about the truth and your return to it.”

“Well, um.”