Best Buy - Remote Session This Morning - and Personal Visit This Friday

 

I phoned Best Buy about the computer sound being mute. The remote session started and I talked to an agent about the sound - the silence first, the distortion later.

The computer thought the Yeti mike was a speaker, not a mike. Doubtless that came from my fussing around on settings. Computer sessions look more and more like the instrument panel of a B2 military jet. 

I get a personal visit Friday afternoon, so we can test the issue of sound distortion during broadcasting. I have some inexpensive panels to add to dampening reverb, but I think there is more to it. 

Habits and Addictions

 

Christina and I worked at the Yale School of Medicine. She carried out research for a well-known expert in raising children, Joan Fassler. I retrieved articles on a wide variety of maladies at the main medical library. We took the campus bus to the Sterling Library and visited with Roland Bainton

The Yale medical doctors explained how the human body works in dealing with drug addiction. The liver - a complex chemical factory - learns how to break down the newest chemicals and improves its breakdown speed during the first dose. 

I worked the medical library in the stacks to retrieve journal articles for various researchers. My favorite magazine titles were The Journal of Railway Injuries and Medical Pickwick (humor).

That is the genius behind Antabuse, where the pill stops the breakdown of alcohol and makes the patient violently sick. The same blocking mechanism is used with statins, a very expensive replacement for walnuts and almonds. The oil in those nuts takes bad cholesterol out of our systems, which was proven to me by two blood tests, months apart. The second test, after daily doses of walnuts piled on ice cream, had perfect numbers for cholesterol. However, the blood sugar level was scary, but it went back to normal after losing 35 pounds (no ice cream).

That weight loss convinced me that Dr. Joel Fuhrman was the most sensible and accurate advisor about weight.

 Sterling Library at Yale

Breaking the Cycle

Doubtless we all get used to certain foods, even addicted to them. Grocery stores are fanatical about providing the worst foods in the most alluring way, maxing the highly profitable and hiding healthy foods in the corner.

My change to vegetables, fruits, nuts, and berries was almost monastic. I dropped the high fat, high sugar, salt drenched foods, with a mixture of reluctance and disdain. 

One thing really helped - becoming habituated to healthy foods. Frozen vegetables are low in salt and delicious when warmed up together with beans and tomato paste:

• Onions and peppers
• Sweet peas
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Cauliflower

Each ingredient became more delicious and satisfying. Raw greens did not appeal to me, so I tried chopped, frozen greens in the mix - very inexpensive, tasty, and easy to parcel out. I added blueberries and walnuts to the mix warming on the stove. The frozen greens are turnip, spinach, and kale - all loaded with nutrition.

When my father had blood sugar problems, he had all kinds of trouble. He ran into the Jackson 70-year pancreas warrantee - and lived another 15 years quite handicapped by his habits.

Desserts

My mother taught students how to distinguish the desert from desserts in her English classes. "The desert has only one s, but we always like two desserts - two s's." And she brought donuts to class - the best donuts in the region.

They do not have Antabuse for desserts, but something else works better - fresh fruit. Apples replace apple pie and become far more appealing than mounds of sugared cooked apples surrounded by crust made from white flour and grease, crowned with ice cream or whipped cream or cheese - all fat products. Raw apples bind up the sugars in fiber, which is lost in cooking. Cooked apples are candy. 

I look for favorites in the frozen vegetables but I start with fresh fruit - the best apples are Number 1. They seem expensive but are nothing compared to the cost of prepared food and prescriptions. Some other fresh delights are:

1. Blueberries
2. Pineapple
3. Oranges

Meanwhile, I read over various articles and books about nutrition. I laugh at the special diet fads that promote the "latest thing" while ignoring the medicine of God's Creation in plain, undoctored foods. 

Exercise is another potential habit or addiction. More later.

 Yale Divinity School

 YDS - Day Mission Library

For campanologists - the Harkness Tower

 More for Church Mouse Campanologist

 Harkness Bell Tower

The Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity. Be Followers of Christ.

The Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Vimeo Player:

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Standard Time

The Hymn #4          God Himself Is Present        
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #334            Let Me Be Thine Forever

Be Followers of Christ

The Communion Hymn #316                O Living Bread  
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 309               O Jesus Blessed Lord 

Prayers and Announcements

• In treatment - Kermit and Maria Way; Randy Anderson; Callie and her parents; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris.
• Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve, 7 PM Vespers.

KJV Philippians 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20 For our conversation [ πολιτευμα, citizenship ] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

KJV Matthew 22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. 17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.

Twenty-Third Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: we thank Thee that Thou hast hitherto granted us peace and graciously spared us from war and foreign dominion: We pray Thee, graciously let us continue to live in Thy fear according to Thy will, giving no cause for wars or other punishment; govern and direct our magistrates, that they may not hinder the obedience due to Thee, but maintain righteousness, that we may enjoy happiness and blessing under their government, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for the Sermon on Philippians 3:17-23

The context for today's Epistle is the the righteousness of faith -

Philippians 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

αλλα την δια πιστεως χριστου την εκ θεου δικαιοσυνην επι τη πιστει

Be Followers of Christ

KJV Philippians 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample [example]. 

Paul is dealing with false teachers, who want to draw the Philippians away from the Gospel. This is naturally going to take place where Paul is the Apostle and those raised on the righteousness of works are there to belittle his message and draw the Christians back into the righteousness of the Law. The majority group can use the backing of the Roman government while Paul remains a focus of their attention and attempts to take them back into the majority at the time. This verse has the meaning of - Always be followers of me and Christ. And always mark (observe) those who also walk with Christ and the Gospel.

The apostates want to make Paul into a self-centered egomaniac, because his Gospel of Faith is against their own righteousness of works. He is saying - All of us who follow the faith of Christ walk in harmony, because of that faith.

Note (mark, observe) that the Faith of Christ is emphasized in Romans 3, Galatians, and Philippians as the ultimate emphasis on Faith. This faith belongs to Jesus because He trusted that following the commands of God the Father would accomplish His mission.

We still use that concept today - how we walk. Some of Jesus' followers were antagonized by His message in John 6 and "no longer walked with Jesus." Doctrine and behavior go together. Jesus knew His mission and walked toward Jerusalem deliberately rather than staying away. He even paced Himself so that raising Lazarus from the dead would trigger the excuses for crucifying Him.

18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Some will always be drawn away from the Faith of Christ, and it is done by appealing to the flesh, not the Gospel, no matter what they say. They build their cathedrals for the "Glory of God!" They avoid anything that might hurt their attendance and progressively (or regressively) walk about from the Gospel. Some maintain churchly wealth by being radical Leftists (California and NYC). Some are openly antagonistic (in a sophisticated way) toward the Scriptures. When they sent The Episcopalian to me, I noticed that the denomination's paper would have opposing views on the same page - Christ did rise from the dead versus Christ did not.

I traced the long history of Church Growth in ELCA, WELS, Missouri, and more. They said, "No we are not doing that at all. You are lying." And they increased the speed of their downfall. Church Growth is the first booster to drive people directly into the ground, grinning all the way at the thrills and and carnal rewards.

Boomers thought they were the Me Generation, but now we are watching the Me-Me-Me Generation. That's what we said as children when asked who wanted an ice cream cone or another cookie or three. "Me! Me! Me!" That means today, "if that is what you like, it is good."

20 For our conversation [ πολιτευμα, citizenship ] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Lenski says "commonwealth" rather than citizenship. The word comes from the Greek for city or village. "Where do you live?" generates many different answers. In St. Louis, The Hill is an ethnic neighborhood so guarded that houses are only pass on to those who belong. NYC is defined by neighborhoods and schools. Britain found that the name British Empire was a bit too uppity, so it is now The Commonwealth.

The Apostle Paul was a Roman Citizen, a very great and powerful title, which allowed him privileges even while in prison and facing death.

Those who believe in Christ and His teachings are citizens of Heaven on earth, walking on the path toward Heaven.

KJV Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Jesus Christ is that Light, as He preached in the Gospel of John. 

I am constantly impressed, more like oppressed, by all the church organizations which count on failed management methods to recover from decades of neglect in the spiritual realm, as if our citizenship is in the golf club and our light is Peter Drucker.

The issues that annoy us will always be there, but the spiritual treasures of the Scriptures help us see the transcending glory of God's will and His grace. A video on the mysteries of the pyramids proved that they still do not know how ancient engineers designed and built them. Far greater are the mysteries of the Scriptures. They teach us and we marvel, as we should. Only the Holy Spirit reveal the meaning of the Word, and we can never know all of it, or even a fraction. But the basic teachings are clear and guide use in eevery possible way.

21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Because the God-Man Jesus Christ is the Lord of Creation, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, we look to Him as our guide toward the ultimate fulfillment. In The Pilgrim's Progress, which is a walk toward Heaven, Christian encounters many dangers and threats, making mistakes of his own. But he also finds places of rest and delight, plus answers that come from the Word of God. When imprisoned in the Castle of Doom (much like Bunyan's own prison) Christian is taught to reach into his pocket to escape. There he finds the Promises (keys) that unlock all the doors. They were there all along. So are our worries, depression, and anxieties.

The best prescription is a dose of comforting Scripture readings and prayer. Ephesians and the Gospel of John, plus the Psalms - the great teachings of God's comfort and forgiveness.

 

God, Grace, and Gardens - Vimeo Conversations

This is the link for the first discussion, Genesis 1 and John 1:3.

The KJV Quotation on the Masthead. Look for Others in the Future.

 

Tyndale and Luther did not create the deceptive and foolish "make disciples" paraphrase of the Great Commission. Similar pratfalls are found in the modernized German Bible and the hideous NIV, ESV, RSV, NRSV, and Beck (rhymes with Yuck).

Tyndale and the KJV

In 1525, William Tyndale, an English contemporary of Martin Luther, undertook a translation of the New Testament. Tyndale's translation was the first printed Bible in English. Over the next ten years, Tyndale revised his New Testament in the light of rapidly advancing biblical scholarship, and embarked on a translation of the Old Testament. Despite some controversial translation choices, and in spite of Tyndale's execution on charges of heresy for having made the translated Bible, the merits of Tyndale's work and prose style made his translation the ultimate basis for all subsequent renditions into Early Modern English. 

David Daniell (2003). The Bible in English: Its History and Influence. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09930-4.

Tarry Not Long in These Grocery Aisles

 

 Arnold is a good example of why we should abstain from steroids to build muscles.

I stopped at the largest Walmart in Arkansas. I was there on opening day and felt lost in its vastness. The opposite is true now when I get groceries. This is how I react to various areas. The most profitable are the most useless for food.

Pharmacy -

Nope. No meds except for eye drops. Shots? My response to "free virus shot" was a loud "HA HA HA HA." I used my outdoor voice. Vegetables, greens, fruits, and nuts are the best medicine.

Fresh Fruit -

• I would rather have too much than too little, some variety all the time. My favorite is apples, and I eat about four a day.
• Blueberries are daily habits now, mixed with the vegetables for lunch, which are often repeated for supper. Chicken is an alternative three times a week.
• I buy pineapples and oranges, but gave up on pomegranate juice, which exploded on me and made me look like a hard-working butcher when I opened the bottle at home. I asked for a refund.

Frozen Vegetables - Small Selection

• Green/red peppers and onions.
• Riced cauliflower
• Sweet peas in large bags
• Broccoli
• Frozen chopped greens - spinach, kale, turnip
• Asparagus
• Mushrooms

Beans and Tomato Paste

Canned chick peas are my favorite (when washed thoroughly in a strainer). I have tried lima beans and three beans, but the main issue is salt. Many canned beans and vegetables are loaded with salt, which pushes high blood pressure (antihistamines do too).

Tomato paste is the best form of the nightshade. Various kinds of sauce are watery and often very salty. The paste is lacking in skin and seeds, and loaded with low-cal nutrition and flavor. My watery mix becomes just thick enough when mixed with tomato paste, which is quite inexpensive.

Pasta? Flavorless white flour in many shapes

I shelved lots of pasta when I worked at a Walmart plantation. Two things appalled me - 

1. why bother with shapes? and 
2. why pay money for pressed flour?

Salad Dressing - An Essential Part of the Fat Selection

The amount of fat sold in various forms is quite appalling, remaining a major part of the entire food section.

Butter, margarine, eggs, and all cheeses are massive purveyors of fat, which goes right certain parts if not burned up from work and exercise.

Butter, as I explained to one doctor, is a gateway drug for me. It is supposedly harmless, but leads to buttered toast, buttered rolls, and butter added to many good foods to make them better - like the helpless vegetables which already have their own oil. Redundant and potentially harmful.

Once I stopped buying bread, my butter supply stretched out much longer. I eat limited amounts of rolls with chicken.

Milk, skim milk, cottage cheese, all cheeses are fat products, often with a good dose of salt. 

Sweets and Fake Sweets, Equally Bad

Opposite the frozen vegetables is a gigantic aisle of candies, fairly expensive and somewhat tempting. High blood sugar made me eat large amounts of hard candy. I no longer buy them and seldom have chocolate.

Rich sources of sweets include sugarless but just as damaging forms of the following:

• Hard, soft, and jellied candy
• Chocolate
• Juices, including orange and apple juice - all sugar or fake sugar
• So-called energy drinks and special lose-weight gimmicks (ha ha ha).
• Gum, throat lozenges, mints
• Donuts, danish, pies, puddings

Nuts

Statins are fraught with problems in "lowering cholesterol." They block the natural function of the liver. Walnuts and almonds use the heavy cholesterol to remove the dangerous, sticky light cholesterol. Quick test - 

1. Who invented statins and made billions?
2. Who created almonds and walnuts, which sell for very little?

Meats and Fish

I buy chicken from Schwan. Meats are satisfying because they provide a big wallop of fat plus a serious amount of salt. Fish are just as fatty - the plea for their therapeutic oil is easily met with vegetable sources, including walnuts and almonds.

Katy Perry was the star of a Walmart Annual Meeting. I did not get a chance to ask her about Ski and Glende.

Will the Lutheran PhD Jesuits Back Their Fellow Jesuits?

ABORTION/PRO-LIFE FREE SPEECH RELIGION

Catholic Gonzaga prohibits pro-life event with Liz Wheeler

GIGI DE LA TORRE - FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE •NOVEMBER 16, 2022

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‘This university has lost the understanding of what it means to be Catholic,’ student leader says

Gonzaga University, a Jesuit Catholic institution, refused to allow a pro-life event by the campus Zags for Life group.

Zags for Life wanted to host Catholic pro-life speaker Liz Wheeler with assistance from Young America’s Foundation, but the campus ministry office denied the request.

Grant Habersetzer, a student and board member of Gonzaga’s pro-life club Zags for Life, told The College Fix that he was notified the event was canceled by an email from Director of Mission and Ministry Luke Lavin. The ministry director said he was “unaware” that the group was working with YAF on the event, according to an email reviewed by The Fix.

*** GJ

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Eighth "Conservative Lutheran" - Jesuit PhD - Erik Ankerberg

Erik Ankerberg, PhD - Marquette University, Jesuit to its core. Will he hire back Gregory Schulz, a fellow Jesuit PhD?

John F. Johnson, got his PhD from the Jesuit St. Louis University, because he thought his Concordia St. Louis ThD was useless outside of the Missouri Synod. He sports the lopsided smile so familiar in the Olde Synodical Conference.

I visited Johnson in his office at Concordia, St. Louis, and got him to start raving about how great the adulterous Karl Barth (Swiss theologian) was. He saw I was not on his adulatory wavelength and immediately switched to another topic. He discussed having a ThD from the LCMS was worthless outside of the LCMS, so he earned a PhD at St. Louis University to be more marketable in academics. No wonder Missouri was so eager to make Johnson a higher education leader.

Guided by our enduring Jesuit mission, we offer our nearly 13,000 students a highly rigorous and deeply transformative education that helps them develop into bold, confident leaders. Rated among the nation’s top research universities, SLU boasts 15 graduate and undergraduate programs ranked among the top 50 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

I could not find David Luy on LinkedIn so I just googled his name + Lutheran. That brought up the page from his previous job at Trinity Divinity. He got his PhD from the Jesuits - Marquette! All roads do lead from Rome nowadays. I need to build a gallery of Jesuit PhDs:

1. John Sparky Brenner - WELS professor at Mordor, Dean of GA Hazing Rites.
2. Jack Kilcrease - Our Lady of Sorrows Convent School (a nominal LCMS guy trained in ELCA but born in a WELS parsonage).
3. Gregory Schulz - LCMS ex-professor, C.U. Mequon.
4. Karl Fabrezius - LCMS pastor.
5. David Luy - NALC Seminary.
6. Charles Cortright - Wisconsin Lutheran College, WELS.
7. John F. Johnson and.......drum roll
8. Erik Ankerberg, Marquette U. PhD

Not one of these Lutherans would admit knowing that I exist, and I know four of them one way or another (fewer is better).

Maybe if I wore all black and always played word games with the truth...

We Had Snow Too - Computer News

 

The new refurbished computer will arrive Monday. I will start a new email program going tomorrow, Saturday. 

Beware the Best Buy Remote "Repair"

 

 Four megs of memory are in these punch cards, so why should we complain.

 Be frank with me - is my computer too old?

 Beast Buy kitten repair team - "We'll have this purring in no time."

I made three (3) attempts to set up email through Best Buy's remote set up. The home visit was great about audio issues, but no more remotes. I will set up with Microsoft, either Friday or Saturday. I have a used HP Envy I want to start with, if the truck gets here. Otherwise I will just switch services on this computer.

 Beast Buy supervisor describes his resume - "I said I was lost, and they said, You are just what we need."

Fixing Email, Part Deux

 

Redneck Solution - Email

I expect to have the email repair done today.

In other news - this time from ELCA -

In other action, the ELCA council:

• Authorized the engagement of a firm to conduct a comprehensive audit for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility of the Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA (CBCR), the Roster Manual, the Church Council Governance Policy Manual and "Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline." A report will be presented at the fall 2023 Church Council meeting.
• Scheduled for 2024 the initiation of a task force for reconsideration of the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust.

Webcam Mike Trial No Yeti

Email Not Working Well

 

I ran into a problem with email, so do not be surprised about not getting any for a day or two.

Some comes through gmail.com, using the two familiar email addresses.

Leif E. Greens - A Powerful Family Often Ignored, Especially in the Midwest

 

"We are not having Jello with celery again. Mom's joking."

I misspelled leafy greens simply because they are the least among the food groups and yet the most important in many ways. 

People still joke about the traditional Midwestern salad - Jello, a sugar-based concoction enhanced with sweetened fruit. My mother added walnuts and celery for a more effective gag reflex. If we had reasonably fresh lettuce, I hid mine behind the breakfast room curtains. 

I like Panera salads, but not restaurant salads drowning in a cup of dressing. I was genuinely shocked to learn in the Fuhrman books that leafy greens were powerfully nutritious and almost calorie free. One way to stop binge eating is to eat plenty of leafy greens, which can be satisfying and enjoyable. I did that fairly often with grocery store "fresh" spinach, which is not close to what I grew in Minnesota and Michigan.

I knew I had to eat more of those leafy greens but they held little attraction. First, I saw how inexpensive chopped, frozen greens were - and far more appetizing than canned greens of any kind.  Could I blend them into the daily vegetable concoction warmed on the stove? Yes! - and they are not harmed by heat.

The prominent leafy greens in the frozen section are:

1. Spinach
2. Collards
3. Turnip
4. Kale.

Each one has special benefits without significant calories. They lack the massive amounts of sweeteners, fat, and salt that serve as the foundation of the American fast-food diet.

The nutritional benefits overlap, and they are well worth studying by searching "health benefits of" in the browser. Leafy greens suggest the reason why my vision improved and my arthritis went away (90%) in 2022.

Bottled Up Energy

 

Some levity...

The 1889 Johnstown Flood should be a lesson, especially since those who lived in the narrow valley also ignored the same signals of bottled-up energy. An earthen dam was created and the spillway, to relieve the dam from overflowing, was taken away, its pipes sold as scrap.

The dam itself was lowered so carriages could go back and forth.

Fish were brought in to serve the needs of the ultra-rich (in the near future) for hunting and fishing. They were opposed to any meddling with their dam.

Devastating rain cascaded down the valley and some tried to warn everyone. One was response was "You are a coward and so is your horse!" Over 2000 men, women, and children died when the dam overflowed the middle, came crashing down, got blocked by debris, and renewed its power.

One writer made the point that a dam stores energy. If it builds up without relief, disaster follows.

ELCA built up energy, just as its partner synods did, but all of it misdirected, polluted, and corrupted. The Lutheran sects are unable and unwilling to teach Biblical doctrine. Cascione thinks relying on CFW Walther, BA, and teaching Justification without Faith, will fix everything. Walther's Calvinism is the disease, not the cure.

Thrivent answers to no one (much like the hunting-fishing gentlemen who protected their dam). 

The sects are collapsing as one, watching one another disappear, working together feverishly to find a way to repair themselves in the flood of departures, the greying of the remaining members, the shrieking of the women pastors.

America is also on the verge. The corruption, evil, and greed are so great, it is startling that the collapse is not more evident. When the energy is released, two things are possible. 

1. The dream of America in chains is realized, everyone reduced to socialistic slavery.
2. An overhaul of all the institutions brings down the status quo, in recognition of the merits of the past and the ideals of the U.S. Constitution.

And you thought it could not get worse?