John Robinson

Back in early 2014 the company I work for sent a team of six of us to Saudi Arabia on a ten-day trade junket that had been partly set up by the US State Department. Even though our guides there tried to hide the worst influences from Islam from us, there was simply too much of it going on. Most of the offenses I saw were against women who fell afoul of the Morality Police. These were cops in traveled the streets of Riyadh in search of women who were uppity (my term). One of their favorite things was to stop a woman to make sure the burkah she had on was sufficiently opaque. One event that's stuck with me was when I saw them stop a husband and wife, who was obediently walking three steps behind him. One of the cops pulled out a ruler and measured the distance from the hem of her garment to the sidewalk. It must not have passed muster, because without warning the cop pulled out a baton and started beating the snot out of her. A second later he was joined by his two fellow thugs, and even the husband joined in shaking his fist and screaming at his wife--who knows, maybe to save himself a beating from them as well. It only lasted a few seconds, then the cops climbed back in their car and drove off. Two things I still remember: the crowd on the sidewalk utterly ignored her screams, and as it was going on our guide muttered to our group not to get involved. Islam is an absolutely filthy religion straight from hell.

That's just what I was thinking. A tipping point is coming, and it's going to be bloody beyond belief.

The longer I'm around, the more I'm convinced there isn't a nickel's difference between a liberal and a libertarian. The verbiage is almost identical. Just sayin.'

Way back in boot camp our DI said something that's stuck with me nearly fifty years later: "If someone says they want to kill you, believe them."

One video. Atheists are funny. I know; I used to be one.

I haven't been here as long as Shiloh, but I'll agree that given the site's size, some repetition is to be expected. That said, Christmas and Easter do tend to get ... lively.

The thing is, Bonky, adults go there of their own accord; God doesn't "send" them, they're drawn there like a magnet because they won't do the one thing that will change their polarity. Babies, on the other hand--and the feeble-minded for that matter--don't know any better, and I believe God takes that into account. Or as Mark Twain (an atheist, as I used to be) put it, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it's the parts that I do."

An infant burning forever in a blast furnace. Nice. That's not the God I serve.

Yeah, I saw that too. Liberals really do hate America, don't they?

Thanks, Gary, and my apologies. My doctor is changing up my meds (there's nothing like being a crazy man!) and my body is still adjusting. That said, it was no excuse for me to be peevish, and again, I'm sorry. And if you're looking for more Joe Box, the other two are also on Kindle, and are dirt cheap (I'm talking pennies, as both are OOP). Thanks again.

To make it clear, I wasn't "flaunting" anything, just simply making an observation about a site function I was unaware of. See folks, here's the thing: last April I attempted suicide. The reasons are personal, but since then I've been making a conscious effort to remove as much stress as I can from my life. I was enjoying the political forum here, right up until the President took office on 20 January. I thought things were going to calm down then (naive, I know), only to find a small handful of posters doubling down on their slamming. So, as I said, with the ignore button I can silence those who are causing me to stumble. If that makes me a bad Christian, so be it. And, apropos of nothing, my wife (who's my co-writer) and I are putting the finishing touches on our new novel before sending it off to our agent. Prayers appreciated. Thanks!

Thank you.

True, but it's probably as close as we're gonna get. What sold me is I won't have to see any anti-Trump screeds de jour coming from them. That's a win!

... I happened to discover the "ignore" button under a certain person's name. I clicked, and lo and behold it worked. I did the same for the three other liberal posters who seem to dominate the Politics page; and I believe I might just end up enjoying Worthy again. As they say on TV, "try it, it works!"

Years ago I saw this with a very large church here in town. They ran a contest where the family that invited the most kids to Sunday School won a pony. It didn't sit right with me then, and still doesn't.

Better than cow-tipping!

The thing legalists cannot seem to understand is the Holy Spirit convicts each of us in different ways. Giller, if He's telling you to go full-tilt Judaism (unlikely, but who am I to say?), then obey that. The rest of us haven't gotten those orders. I guess what drives me battiest about legalists is they insist that God makes each and everyone of us toe the same line, and they don't get why we push back against that thinking. Oh well, not my circus, not my monkeys. Enjoy the thread, ya'll!

Every time we get legalists here pushing their topic de jour (this time it's calendars, which is a new one; other topics are Easter, Christmas, pork, clothing ... the list is vast) there's always an unspoken subtext of superiority ("I can't convince you of my higher way, so obviously you're unteachable. Pity."). That's why I pay little attention to them. After a while they move on to presumably greener fields.

Every year we get the "God hates Christmas and Easter" threads. You could almost set your watch by them. Pass ...

If you feel you have to obey the commandments, WW, have at it. But remember, you break one, you've broken all 633. Makes life kinda dicey, don't it?

Whatever, kid. And by the way, picture is the cover of my latest novel.

Nope, not you! Just talkin' 'bout the Legalizers (sounds like a Marvel comic!)

Crimin-nutley, this site sure draws some odd people.

Leo, if you can live with a man raping your wife while you do nothing to defend her, more power to you. Me, I'd do everything I could, up to and including putting a round in his brainpan. I guess I'm just not that saved yet.

In every one of these "____ is a pagan holiday," there's always an unspoken subtext: "and if you say otherwise you're in sin." The last time I checked there's only one Holy Spirit, and what He instructs one person may be different than what instructs another. Ain't that grand?