My experience came about in an indirect fashion ...one in Junior High, and one in High School. Though two different teachers, it was the same subject ...English class.

I don't know why English class was such an unpopular class ...but it seemed to draw a couple of very unpopular teachers.  One of the English teachers in High School was very popular and well-liked ...but the other one seemed to have a stigma similar to the one in Junior High, which I'm going to mention first.

I sort of felt sorry for the teacher.  Troublemakers do not always make trouble for everyone, but seem to often pick out certain students and certain teachers if they can get away with it.  They seem to know when they can get away with it ...and they certainly seemed to with the English teacher.  Most everyone enjoys a little chuckle at times ...but they seemed to be really cruel with some of the stunts they pulled.

My older brother had this teacher, then it was my turn ...and my sister was next. Not too long after that, the phone rang.  We were totally shocked when the English teacher called our home ...it was the last thing we'd expect.

Right from the start, it didn't seem to start out right.  Our name, Meiner, is of German descent ...but it seemed the English teacher felt it was French.  I know very little about French, but it sounded like he wanted to say something like Menoir, but when one of my parents answered, it came out more like, "Is this the Manure residents?"

My parents received the praise well ...even after what appeared to start out as an insult.  The English teacher went on to tell my parents how proud they should be to have three of the finest children that he has ever had the pleasure to teach.

I may be one of the only students who has a fond memory of this teacher, but after chuckling each time upon recalling the 'manure' pronunciation ...well, besides thinking well of the teacher, it kind of makes me a bit sad.

I realize often what a thankless job some of them experience ...and that it's not just the lasting impression they may have upon us, but also the lasting impression we may have upon them.

  

One such case, my wife and I came across ...with a movie experience. Just after our Pastor said he was going to get in touch with his old school teacher and thank her for dedicated service to so many, my wife and I went to a movie about a teacher and a student.

It was about much more than that, but the main theme did center around a student in college ...and his professor.  Both were challenged in their own unique way ...and it had a great impact upon both, in different ways.  The movie was called:

I've do not feel fully adequate with handling apologetics, and at times I'm not always good at apologies ...and here I'm attempting to tackle both, beginning with the next paragraph.

We just saw this movie, despite some critical reviews that said parts were not realistic enough, so if you think I'm recommending this movie, my apologies ...forbid that my influence would keep you from RoboCop, Vampire Academy, How to Train Your Dragon, or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The place was packed, and most everyone applauded at the end of the movie 'we' saw...silly us!! 

Plot summary:  Josh, a college freshman, is taking a Philosophy class from professor who is a very outspoken atheist.  The professor addresses his new group of students with a lesson about the intellectual superiority of atheism.  He promotes the philosophy that man created God to satisfy his ill-equipped mind, to somehow give himself hope and encouragement throughout the difficult moments he could not cope with. During his discourse, he hands out a blank piece of paper and asks all the students to write 'God is dead' on the paper and sign their name.  In view of the fact that some people may attempt to still keep alive in their brain the thought of God, the professor insisted that all thoughts of God must cease to exist ...therefore, though he contended that God never existed, the thought of God had to be put to rest in everyone's mind in order to proceed logically.  This, he presents as a requirement to get a passing grade ...as he believes that God is the greatest hindrance to logic.

Josh refuses to do so, stating he is a Christian ...so, after a few tense moments, the professor offers him an alternate assignment.  Josh will be given twenty minutes at the end of the next three lectures, during which time he must prove that God is not dead.  If his fellow students can unanimously be convinced, then he will pass.  If he cannot be convincing, then he fails ...and his chances of a law degree are slim to none.

I think I should mention the fact that the actor who played the atheist professor is actually a Christian.  In an interview (not in the movie, when he could be himself) he said, "The whole idea is to love your neighbor as yourself, but the problem is a lot of people don't love themselves."  

And I also know this to be true, though I would not tell someone that personally.  Observing their desperate defense as they verbally attack the very ones who could help them ...is what convinces me of their need. 

If anyone assesses that some group of people don't really know what they want...that becomes understandably insulting and arrogant.  But, wisdom must enter in to help us understand how best to obtain more of what we'd want to seek in the long run.

So, when the movie made the point that God is not dead ...it mostly emphasized how alive He is, or needs to be in our lives.  Do we feel used by others, or do we allow ourselves to be used by God?

Let me use a bit of logic myself.

We will begin with vague terms, and therefore vague premises.

Good draws us to good.

Evil draws us away from good.

Not many of us would attempt to be so logical that we would become absurd, or illogical.  So, I'd say it's safe to say that most of us logically agree that good and evil exist ...and we admit that we have some idea of how we would define its extremes.

Without God, there is no absolute for defining good and evil ...and its definition would change like the wind, sometimes whipping up stormy thoughts that would cause immeasurable damage to our minds.  But, it is the refreshing warm breeze that whispers and entreats us ...that often causes the most damage.

Acknowledging that God exists and believing what He says as true, is our absolute ...and gives us a standard of good, by which to follow Him.  And sin would be not following Him ...bringing about a stronger term, called evil.

When I said that good draws us to good, why did I then not logically say that evil draws to evil?  

Well, just because a person may make choices against what God would have them do, does not mean that they are not going to again be drawn to God.  We admit that we sin ...but there is a thing called commitment, and we are drawn back to Him because we have accepted Him into our life.  

For evil to flourish or have victory, it must first get us to draw away from God. Once that is done, it is a natural process to evil ...it takes care of itself.

We may say, many people who don't follow God are not evil.  But, to begin with, if one follows evolution, how can good or evil be even defined?  It is like the wind, constantly changing as to the degree of it and what direction it is blowing.

There are people who don't believe in God that we may consider as 'good' people, and we may even view them as better than some fellow believers we know.

I propose that evil has esteemed itself to work most effectively when it remains seemingly stagnant, or while appearing as good.  It waits for the right storm conditions, and at any moment it can demonstrate an explosion of fury ...though it doesn't need to.  Often it only needs to make you fear other storms to come.

Once a society, or nation of people have for the most part put God aside, the working of the Holy Spirit is limited in the sense that God works within us through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit resides within us, and if we don't accept Jesus, we don't have that indwelling ...and it's more explosive to the soul than the imagined 'big bang', bringing on unimaginable destruction.

In the second verse of Genesis, we read, " ...and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."  

Was this after the fall of the third of the angles?  Was there a new program coming, where God was going to operate in a new way---beginning at Creation, and purposed to indwell us?

Our cars don't need to run ...but if we wish for them to, we need gasoline or electrically charged batteries.  God doesn't need us to exist, but He wants us to exist ...and He wants us to be fueled by His Holy Spirit, so we can run the good race.  This we are meant to do.

When I eat at most 'pot lucks' ...you may have observed that I take a little of everything that's on the tables ...and sometimes more than a little.  I also eat everything that I put on my plate, and I usually go back for more.  I am well-known for this.

I hope that I am as equally well-known for the fact that I am the opposite when it comes to my belief in God.  I don't take something of everything at all ...but, only from the Bible do I take it.

Now, we may be at 'bloggerheads' with disagreement ...but there are no apologies for what I believe.  I try to be compassionate and understanding, in a polite sense, to those who disagree ...and believe me, that is one of my goals.  I try to not be so trying ...but I also try not to lose sight of my main goal, to look at the truth.

So, what is truth?

If you think it's like a 'pot luck' ...then you'll be plum out of it.

I do not believe absolutes are a consensus.  If a room filled with people decide that they will all live to be a million or so years old ...it does not make it true. And if one of them decides that after their millionth birthday they will turn into a fish, that doesn't not make it true either ...though it may make sense to all of them, if they are evolutionists.  If you think we have evolved, then why not think we could devolve?  After all, many of the same people who believe in global warming may be stirred to panic over global cooling if in the next few years we continue to have a winter like the one we've just experienced.

I do believe in absolutes though.  We don't have to agree, we just have to agree what we are talking about ...not about what we are talking about.  If what we are talking about is base ten, then I absolutely say that ten times ten is one hundred.


I therefore only present three points that I think we should absolutely decide upon:

1. We believe there is no Supreme Being ...and we all just evolved out of nothing.
2. We believe in an Essence, an indwelling, a powerful directive progression that we ourselves can tap into in a multiplicity of ways ...and truth being that which indwells each of us, and it can vary from person to person.  And perhaps we don't exist at all, but are a figment (or pigment) of our own imaginations.
3. An absolute Supreme Being ...with one absolute true way of how things came about to exist.

Though I had much generated interest on these subjects in college, I absolutely cannot accept spontaneous generation ...and that is only one of the point why I completely reject #1.

I also do not believe that truth resides in our own imaginations and we create truth as we imagine it.  I believe in a Supreme Being, not that we evolved ...so that leaves me choices #2 and #3.  I reject #2, because I believe a Supreme Being would choose to communicate with us, and tell us about the truth of the fabulous event of when we came into existence.

I still have many choices, as there are many claimed Supreme Beings, and many religions.  But, I feel any of us should be up to that task of figuring out which one is true ...if we believe the Supreme Being made an effort to communicate with us about truth.

There is only one that makes sense to me, but that is not the most compelling evidence to me ...as others feel a different religion makes sense to them.  I do believe that good and evil exist ...and I would think that most people can see this to be true.  I don't think anyone could be so sheltered that they would not see that evil exists. Perhaps they've been so exposed to such horror in their personal lives that they may doubt whether good exists ...but most everyone would agree that evil exists.

So, if we all agree that at least evil exists ...then where would most of it be directed towards?

You would be fairly accurate to say it is directed merely where it exists. But, another important question arises ...why is it so often directed at innocence, the vulnerable, and the most defenseless?

I know evil seems to thrive on taking ruthless advantage, a means to its own end.  But, that's it!  It gets meaner towards the end.  Its advantage is limited because it knows it can't win ...so how would we think it would act?  Evil knows the end will come, and it focuses on bringing down as much as possible of what is considered committed to God.

I began to wonder, of all the places on earth, why is so much angry focus directed at the little nation of Israel? They are not going out of their way to take out aggressions on other nations ...and they are usually among the first to come to the aid of those who have been hit by tragedy or disaster.  They are right there with the United States of America ...not in claiming perfection themselves, but in their commitment to believe in He who perfected our salvation.

And as I look at the USA, for years having been considered a Christian nation ...taking the lead in humanitarian relief efforts, I see some very curious inconsistencies that I feel also support what I believe.

Significantly more than half of the world claim to be either Christian or Muslim ...with a fairly equal distribution between the two beliefs, as far as numbers go. Now, I am not of the belief that numbers are a true measuring stick to what is true ...not at all.

I'm just looking at the rest of the world who are not Christians nor Muslims ...how they view the two most popular religions. 

Perhaps they don't view them at all ...as they may have no interest to.  But, there does seem to be some interest at times ...and often times, much unpopular interest.  And sometimes it becomes volatile.

When things become volatile, those who've shown no interest have more or less resigned to 'go along for the ride' ...so when the ride becomes bumpy, they just endure the rough spots in the road and allow the road to lead them where it will.

But, not everyone is like this ...as some people, if they don't like the ride, say so.  They have an opinion, however late it may be, and they express their grievances.

Let's look at both the Christian world, and the Muslim world.  In fairness, there is some consistencies in the Muslim world that seem lacking among Christians.  This is to say nothing of the content of its truthfulness, nor of the value of its claims ...this is just speaking of consistencies.  In some respects, they hold similar views on what is acceptable and what is not ---yet, the response to what they feel is acceptable varies greatly.

The Muslim community or law appears much more strict with its consequences for behavior which deviates from their beliefs, yet the Christians seem to be criticized more for what they believe while they are not even remotely as strict.  If there were to be an outcry for mistreatment, it would seem more directed towards those who were most in violation of individual freedoms ...but this is not the case.  

Why is this?

I believe it is because the battle is not isolated over handling, or the mishandling of issues ...it is a spiritual battle. Therefore, it is directed at truth.  If one religion has ten times the number of violations of a selected 'right', not to quote Hillary on a different issue, but, "What does it matter?" 

It matters in as far as it shows us something.  And it shows us the spiritual battle going on ...and its all about directing us away from truth, the truth of Jesus.

It seems to me that Christianity is declining, not only in the U.S.A., but around the world ...yet, the Muslim faith seems to be growing.  Over 50 countries are Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ...and perhaps they don't really know to which degree they are cooperating, but half of countries claim that they are bound by Shariah law in their judicial system.

Many of those countries say that Shariah law only applies to their personal status ...of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody.  Most people throughout the world would attempt to persuade their political systems to adopt policies that favor their personal status.  And not unlike other countries, they too have a half dozen of them who have mixed practices to fit their needs.

The remaining population of nations who say they promote full Shariah ...amount to much more than twice the population of the U.S.A. ...though it always seems the number who admit their practices tends to be significantly higher.

With full Shariah, there are Hudud Penalties ...the use of flogging is more common compared to punishment like amputation.

How gracious of them!  

Amputation is on the books, it is considered an option ...and as an acceptable option, therefore who would deny that it does happen.

Where is the outcry?  Why are not the women in our country protesting more about that?  Instead the complaints are towards Christians in our country.  And Shariah's stance on homosexuality ...is not even comparable to Christians just saying it's wrong.  And amputation?? Unthinkable, I say ...but where do I hear that outcry?

Of all the horrific acts of Shariah in Africa ...Uganda comes out and says homosexuality is wrong, and it is all over the media.  Why do we not hear of the nations who kill gay people?  I am in no way supporting Uganda for any handling of civil rights ...it's just that I personally believe that two-year imprisonment is better that execution. But, who knows whether that is accurately reported?

What does seem evident is that those who believe in the Bible, are not at all consistent with one another ...but, that does not make the Bible inconsistent.  Yet, the Bible is not only being discredited ...it is being misrepresented, and at times being depicted as absurd.

I believe this is at the height of the spiritual battle.  God is a loving God, and He is also righteous.  The world needs to know how much God loves everyone.  That does not take away from the fact that they must also know He is righteous.  And without believing in the Bible as true, we would be at loss to know either. 

Yes, it cannot be stressed enough how important it is that God is shown for who He is.  And though we often are at fault for helping to contribute to our own image as Christians ...I see much going on to also discredit the people mentioned in the Bible as followers of God.  This horrendous depiction is evident in the recent movie, Noah.  And if we think a follower of God who was the only righteous father on earth according to God ...if we think he is a psychotic maniac, then how far is that from implying that God is also?

It's getting to the point that increasing numbers of people don't even believe what they read in the Bible to be accurate.  We've seen so many films where warriors or soldiers get pierced by swords and spears, riddled by bullets, and even maimed ...and we hold great admiration for them.  We revere the love of country that soldiers have, who give their life so we can have ours more abundantly ...and rightfully so, we should give them our highest respect.  Yet, neither of these groups do we cling to every word they say ...in reference to every bit of life.

When we look to Jesus, especially with the influence of present day movies, do we tend to look at Him also as a soldier-type ...a good soldier with love for His country?  There is a big difference here, as Jesus died so we could cling onto every word that He said.  He came not just to die, but to glorify the Father.

Why?

It was getting to the point where they didn't really know who He was.  It is His Word ...with the Bible telling us what He feels is important. And it is important for us to know who He is ...because it has great bearing on the choice we have to make.

This is surely a spiritual battle ...and the movie industry is helping play a big role, many talk shows scoff at the idea of God as we believe Him to be, and politically we attempt to vote for the acceptance of increasingly wrong things.

http://thetruthfloatsonthefaceofthewaters.blogspot.com/

The other English teacher, from High School, that I said I was going to mention ...is the teacher that has been on my mind lately.

Though the High School pranks were not quite so cruel as with the Junior High teacher, they did joke about him often ...and had not seemed to mature too far with their present High School student status. And I know there is always a certain tendency to not want to grow up ...but you'd think that by High School it would tend to be a bit embarrassing if the process didn't begin to get at least some consideration.

If I recall accurately, I was in my last year of High School. Though many of the teachers seemed to think I was mature, I knew that I was lagging behind significantly with social skills. I actually thought it was a joke when I was elected to the Homecoming Court.

This in itself was distracting enough to me, but I also anticipated further social expectations as it seemed evident that I ---in the top five of my class ---would have to give a speech at graduation.  I could not even imagine being able to stand up in front of all those people, even being able to utter a single word. I did manage to get my grades down, so that I was sixth in the class ...but then they said the top six would have to give speeches.

The one class that might have done it for me, was English class. I was beginning to think of after graduation, and the fact that I had no idea what I wanted to do ...and though I wouldn't mind dropping to seventh in the class, I didn't want to do so poorly that I'd flunk the class.  But, I was so distracted, that seemed to be a distinct possibility at this time.

I could focus enough on the other subjects, but it seemed that all the reading and papers I was expected to write ...were something I could not concentrate on.

I felt like I was in a non-reality ... someplace I was not familiar with.  Papers would come do, and I had not done one.  Tests were to be administered, then none would be forthcoming ...that assignment would be seemingly forgotten, and we'd be assigned another, only for the same thing to happen.

This repeated itself over and over again.  It seemed strange that I was not being held accountable.  I did not have to pay the consequence for my failure to do my schoolwork ...unless, the speech I had to give was my consequence, finishing sixth in my class.

Now, over 40 years later, I've lived my life trying to be accountable.  I've tried to be responsible.  I did not live my life like I did in that English class.  I did not live my life trying to get away with something ...knowing I had once got away with it.  
This did not return to my memory because of some exaggerated hidden guilt ...it came to me when I was thinking of 'End Times', and how it could be possibly near.  

If the 'Rapture' occurs in my lifetime ...it would be like me in that English class.  I would once again be getting a pass ...not being held accountable.  But, the subject would be way more important.  Instead of English, I'm speaking of sin.  And Jesus died on the cross, so I wouldn't have to be held accountable.

And by telling our children about Jesus, they have the opportunity to not be held accountable either. And unlike my High School days, they will not have to give a speech ...they only need to know to call out His Name, knowing who He is.

 also:(http://thisisnotthenochildleftbehindprogram.blogspot.com/) & (http://walkfreetofirsthopeyoudonotstrikeout.blogspot.com/)