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Reading Chesterton has been surprisingly difficult. I’m not merely talking about the differences in past writing styles to today’s writing styles or the references to people and things of Chesterton’s time that I keep having to research like a term paper. I rather enjoy reading Chesterton in the ‘original Klingon’ as my husband would say about such writings, and I also have enjoyed looking up the things and people he mentions. I can almost feel my brain cells expanding. No, none of that is really what is weighing heavily upon my heart.
What troubles me the most, is that, we are not learning from our mistakes. We are repeating history, to our detriment. It is not surprising so much as it is disheartening. Christians know who the god of this earth is. His reign is limited as is the time he has left. Those who do not know this, continue living as if their lives have no eternity, no consequence. They believe they are, ‘lining large’ in their sin and that those who follow Christ are small. Small minded, small hearted, tiny in their understanding of worldly things. Oh, they could not be further from the truth.
Insights to chapter three.
1. Enjoy the small things. They really are what make life worth living. Assignment? Romanticize something that you would normally view as mundane. Read chapter three and figure it out for yourself.
2. I cannot say it better than he, so here is a quote from Chesterton from chapter three,‘The evil of militarism is not that it shows certain men to be fierce and haughty and excessively warlike. The evil of militarism is that it shows most men to be tame and timid and excessively peaceable. The professional soldier gains more and more power as the general courage of a community declines. Thus the Pretorian guard became more and more important in Rome as Rome became more and more luxurious and feeble. The military man gains the civil power in proportion as the civilian loses the military virtues. And as it was in ancient Rome so it is in contemporary Europe. There never was a time when nations were more militarist. There never was a time when men were less brave. All ages and all epics have sung of arms and the man; but we have effected simultaneously the deterioration of the man and the fantastic perfection of the arms. Militarism demonstrated the decadence of Rome, and it demonstrates the decadence of Prussia.’
The word, America, could very easily replace some of the other references to countries.
3. How large, or small, is your world?
1. Protection for churches as church vandalism seems to be on the rise.
2. That men would be respected, especially by their wives, and would step into the roll of spiritual leader of the home as God intended. Btw, Tech Hubby does a great job but so many women I talk to tell me they wish their husbands would pray with them and read their bible. Hello guys, are you listening?
3. Purity, especially among the young who are bombarded daily with images and songs of impurity.
4. Protection of our troops.
5. Protection for Israel.
The Chesterton post is coming later today. Hang in there.
Once again, Muslims are some how able to circumvent the laws in a nation, gaining special treatments outside of that nations laws that actually allow the Muslims to commit crimes against other non-Muslim citizens in the name of their religion. Some how, it is now a hate crime (I hate that phrase) to evangelize to Muslims in designated, ‘Muslim areas’. The Muslims in Britain have their own ‘area’?! Here is the LINK to the story.
While watching a news story on One News Now I was appalled to hear President Bush say in a sound bite (1:40) in an attempt to show his concern for the flood victims in the Midwest that he ‘hope they are able to find some strength, knowing there is a love from a ‘Higher Being’. Really, and what ‘Higher Being’ might that be Mr. President? Is it Higher Being with capital letters or higher being? See, there is a difference. Is the president incapable of acknowledging the Lord, the One True God even after professing to be a Christian and after he knows he won on the votes of Christians? Is our nation becoming so hobbled by pressure to be p.c. that a person can’t feel comfortable in saying the word God with a capital G?


