1/26/09

KISS

No, this isn't mine. Even though the forecast sounds somewhat stupid, yet its correct. It does make you think a minute, though. Sometimes stating the obvious simply, puts things into perspective. The other day I met a new friend whose name is Akim. I had seen him many times before, but never did know his name. When I told him about Akim's razor he was surprised and now, so am I, for it seems I was mispronouncing it; it should be Occam's Razor. Basically it means The simplest answer is usually the correct answer. From Wikipedia I learned: "The origins of what has come to be known as Occam's razor are traceable to the works of earlier philosophers such as Alhazen (965-1039),[4] Maimonides (1138-1204), John Duns Scotus (1265–1308), Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274), and even Aristotle (384–322 BC) (Charlesworth 1956). " If you are acquainted with the writing of any these people, it soon will strike you as a little ironic that so much brain power was devoted to the law of simplicity. Today, we simply use the term KISS (keep it simple stupid) to refer to the same thing. All this leads me to the Bible book of 1 Corinthians:

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also ye have received, and in which ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached to you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5 And that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve:
1Co 15:6 After that he was seen by above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain to this present, but some have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 After that he was seen by James; then by all the apostles.
1Co 15:8 And last of all he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
1Co 15:11 Therefore whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
1Co 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
1Co 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not raised.
1Co 15:14 And if Christ is not raised, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1Co 15:15 And indeed we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified concerning God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not, if in truth the dead rise not.
1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17 And if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ raised from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power.
The Webster Bible
Christ had died, was buried and rose again and will do the same for all who obey him; simple, direct and true. Yet, people have tried to create all sorts of theories to bypass the simple truth of this passage. Do a little investigation, I think you will find the evidence is overwhelming for the historical truth about Jesus of Nazareth. When you realize the truth, perhaps you will see the KISS principle in a new light: Keep it simple sinner. Perhaps there is a lot you can learn a lot from a rock after all?

A misplaced staple

You have got to be kidding! The scary part is that someone may actually take the advise of the sign and use this item. Wall street will sell you anything, any way they can. Words have become very sophisticated tools and the spin doctors of the marketing departments can make reality into anything they desire. Humm, this sounds a little familiar. Read this passage from the book of Isaiah and it might mean something to you as well:

Isa 5:1 Let me sing for my well beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
Isa 5:2 He dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in its midst, and also cut out a winepress therein. He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
Isa 5:3 "Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
Isa 5:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?
Isa 5:5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall of it, and it will be trampled down.
Isa 5:6 I will lay it a wasteland. It won't be pruned nor hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it."
Isa 5:7 For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry of distress.
Isa 5:8 Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!
Isa 5:9 In my ears, Yahweh of Armies says: "Surely many houses will be desolate, even great and beautiful, unoccupied.
Isa 5:10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah."
Isa 5:11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!
Isa 5:12 The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don't regard the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
Isa 5:13 Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.
Isa 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
Isa 5:15 So man is brought low, mankind is humbled, and the eyes of the arrogant ones are humbled;
Isa 5:16 but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
Isa 5:17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich. Isa 5:18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope;
Isa 5:19 Who say, "Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!"
Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isa 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Isa 5:22 Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;
Isa 5:23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
Isa 5:24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 5:25 Therefore Yahweh's anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them, and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.
The World English Bible
Do any of these "Woe's" happen in America? You know it, they are everywhere. America has been blessed over and over again and yet many of these Woe's are commonplace. Consider verse twenty, specifically. Doesn't it sound like the media and the tactics of wall street? We, as a country need to stop thinking everyone can be right and realize that God ALONE has the answers and that they are plainly written in HIS BOOK. Israel was punished for what it did; do we think we are any better than them? I don't know who the "great architect" of this ad was, but I do know who the great architect of the Bible is and when HE tells you to do something you don't have to worry about a misplaced staple.