Tag Archives: authority

Book Review: Thieves Of State

Posted on August 20, 2019 by

Thieves Of State:  Why Corruption Threatens Global Security, by Sarah Chayes In a more perfect world, it would not be necessary to justify anti-corruption efforts based on their threats to security.  One would simply be able to point out that … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, History, International Relations, Middle East | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Harden The Target

Posted on August 5, 2019 by

Whenever there are mass shootings or some other kind of related act of violence in the United States, there is on the side of leftists a hue and cry for tougher gun control laws.  While such appeals tend to fall … Continue reading →

Posted in Musings | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

And They Wonder Why No One Trusts Them

Posted on July 25, 2019 by

As someone who has read and researched quite a few historical conspiracies, I tend to find that conspiracies to do things are far messier and far less successful than conspiracies of silence.  After all, it is far harder a task … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Musings | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Rights, Entitlements, And Privileges

Posted on July 23, 2019 by

All rights that we possess by necessity place obligations on other people and provide us with some sort of privilege and entitlement as a result.  This is true whether we view rights in the negative sense of freedom from interference … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, History, Musings | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means:  The 150 Most Commonly Misused Words And Their Tangled Histories, by Ross Petras And Kathryn Petras There are some languages that have official language academies that officially tell what is and what … Continue reading →

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On The Selectorate In The Church Of God During The Modern Era

Posted on July 20, 2019 by

If we define the selectorate as those people who are able to choose the leaders of institutions and governments, and whose opinion actually matters in the operation of those institutions, we will find that the history of the modern era … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Church of God, History | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Fourteen Mandates Of 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

Posted on July 7, 2019 by

Today, while I was at church services in San Jose, California, the visiting elder (who attends a neighboring congregation outside of Oakland) made reference to a recent article from the Beyond Today magazine that discussed the desirability of thinking about … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Church of God, Musings | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Some Thoughts On Cessationism

Posted on July 2, 2019 by

As a result of reading a lot of literature from other religious traditions than my own, I have become aware of various doctrinal disputes that exist in other religious traditions apart from my own, and among these various disputes is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Biblical History, Christianity, Church of God, History, Musings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

On Analogy And Identity In Biblical Interpretation

Posted on June 26, 2019 by

From time to time I have pondered the question of how we should best interpret the Bible, and what principles work the best for understanding the Bible well, including an awareness of the importance of both near and whole biblical … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Biblical History, Christianity, Church of God, History, Musings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

With A Firm Sense Of Justice

Posted on June 24, 2019 by

Frequently I comment on the messages that are given at services on the Sabbath, after I have had some time to reflect and ruminate on them a little bit, and I would like to do so today as well.  Yesterday … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Biblical History, Christianity, Church of God, History, Musings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments