Ted Walther's Private Diary

The Reactor Core library has a new addition today: the full text of La Vita Sobra, The Sober Life, by Alvise Luigi Cornaro.

For the past few years there have been rumblings in the scientific press about calorie restriction diets. Mice and rats who had their calorie intake cut in half would live twice as long, age twice as slowly, and were much healthier. People have of course, been wanting to know how to apply this information to their lives. Who doesn't want to be healthy and then live twice as long? The scientific press has been stubbornly silent. Experiments on humans are costly. They are still waiting for the results to come in from the calorie restriction experiments on monkeys.

Fear not! The Word of God comes to our rescue. The proper calorie restriction diet for humans boils down to Quantity, and Quality. In 1482 A.D., Italian nobleman Alvise Luigi Cornaro went on a calorie restriction diet recommended by his doctors. He lived to be 102 years old, in good health. He was mentally keen right up to the day he passed away peacefully in his rocking chair.

When already in his eighties, Luigi wrote down the secret to his long and healthy life. That writing is presented today as the book La Vita Sobra, The Sober Life.

I recommend reading it; it is a good read. But for the impatient, here is a summary:

Luigi only ate kosher meats, and followed other Torah laws. As a citizen of a heavily Catholic country in the middle ages, he couldn't openly advocate people follow the Torah. He would have been burned at the stake as a suspected convert to Judaism. But when you look at the list of meat Luigi ate, it is 100% kosher!

His daily diet consisted of bread, eggs, cheese, butter, vegetable soup, and wine. Meat was an occasional treat. By weight, he drank slightly more wine as he ate. 14 ounces of wine is about two glasses of wine.

This is great news, because these foods are ALL spoken of favorably in the Bible.

Some modern diet people have looked at Luigi's diet and wondered about how much better he would have done if he followed the "raw" diet, and not eaten the bread at all. One example is in this article: Dr. Stanley Bass, Natural Hygienist writes on Luigi Cornaro. The article itself is inconsistent, since Luigi's own words show that he did eat chicken and fish. Perhaps the mistake shows a vegetarian bias on the part of Dr. Stanley Bass. Then the article implies that Luigi didn't eat "fresh" foods. Good grief! Nothing in Luigi's articles implies that he ate anything but freshly made foods. Certainly the vegetable soup would have been made fresh every day. But if you reject bread and dairy products, then they wouldn't count as "fresh" I suppose.

I believe the raw food fad is exactly that, a fad. It is true many foods are missing the nutrients and vitamins we need. But our body as an alchemical ability, in common with other living creatures, to transmute elements and create the necessary vitamins and nutrients. We just have to give our bodies sufficient feedstock to manufacture what it needs. Whole grain rye bread is excellent. So are eggs and milk products. So is vegetable soup. So is meat. Everything in moderation.

Sadly, today I finished reading a book by Paul Nison, Health According to the Scriptures. The book preaches Torah observance, but then sticks in raw food and vegetarianism as the ideal diets without any scriptural support. Further, it advocates mushrooms (leprosy) and seaweed (algae) in his dietary plan.

Paul Nison did make good points, which Luigi Cornaro already wrote about; eat twice a day, and don't overeat. Paul Nison also made the good point that God's People anciently observed a twelve hour day from sunrise to sunset. This means the hours change with the seasons. Based on the practice in the tabernacle of sacrificing the daily offering at the third and the ninth hour, Paul advocates we eat at the same time. This sounds like a good practice and I plan to follow it as soon as I am able. Another good thing Paul Nison wrote is, sleep when it is dark. Don't use electric lights if you can help it, but go to sleep at a good hour, and wake at a good hour. This puts us back in tune with יהוה's clock.

Summary:

• eat only twice a day, at the third and ninth hours after sunset
• only eat kosher foods, such as bread, eggs, cheese, butter, and wine
• only eat as much food as you need; Luigi needed 12 ounces per day
• sleep when it gets dark

Scriptural Support:

Proverbs 30:8-9
8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is יהוה? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

Proverbs 23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Challenge to Vegetarians: I challenge any raw foodist or vegetarian to spend a twelve hour day lifting hay bales or doing a forty mile forced march without resorting to bread and potatoes to provide the raw sugar energy that the body needs to perform such activities. When you do a lot of physical exertion, your dietary needs go up, and your body is capable of handling the so called "bad foods" that the dieticians want us to eliminate completely. Bread is a blessing from God.

My copy of Gandhi's writings surfaced today. As I flipped through it, the following words caught my eye. They apply to everyone in the Torah keeping movement. If we are to be in the Kingdom of Heaven, we must focus on the fundamentals, on the daily practice of the Law of Moses as interpreted by Jesus the Anointed Savior.

I want to tell you as briefly as I can what I expect of you. I would ask you to forget the political aspect of the programme. Political consequences of this struggle there are, but you are not to concern yourself with them. If you do, you will miss the true result and also miss the political consequences, and when the real heat of the struggle is touched you will be found wanting. I am therefore anxious, even if it frightens you, to explain to you the true nature of the struggle. It is a struggle deeply religious for the Hindus. We are endeavouring to rid Hinduism of its greatest blot. The prejudice we have to fight against is an age-long prejudice. The struggle for the opening of the roads round the temple which we hold to be public to the unapproachables is but a small skirmish in the big battle. If our struggle was to end with the opening of the roads in Vykom you may be sure I would not have bothered my head about it. If, therefore you think that the struggle is to end with opening of the roads in Vykom to the unapproachables you are mistaken. The road must be opened. It has got to be opened. But that will be the beginning of the end. The end is to get all such roads throughout Travancore to be opened to the unapproachables; and not only that, but we expect that our efforts may result in amelioration of the general condition of the untouchables and unapproachables. That will require tremendous sacrifice. For our aim is not to do things by violence to oppenents. That will be conversion by violence or compulsion; and if we import compulsion in matters of religion, there is no doubt that we shall be committing suicide. We should carry on this struggle on the lines of strict non-violence, i.e. by suffering in our own persons. That is the meaning of Satyagraha. The question is whether you are capable of every suffering that may be imposed upon you or may be your lot in the journey towards the goal. Even whilst you are suffering you may have no bitterness — no trace of it — against your opponents. And I tell you it is not a mechanical act at all. On the contrary I want you to feel like loving your opponents, and the way to do it is to give them the same credit for honesty of purpose which you would claim for yourself. I know that it is a difficult task. I confess that it was a difficult task for me yesterday whilst I was talking to those friends who insisted on their right to exclude the unapproachables from the temple roads. I confess there was selfishness behind their talk. How then was I to credit them with honesty of purpose? I was thinking of this thing yesterday and also this morning, and this is what I did. I asked myself: Wherein was their selfishness or self-interest? It is true that they have their ends to serve. But so have we our ends to serve. Only we consider our ends to be pure and, therefore, selfless. But who is to determine where selflessness ends and selfishness begins? Selflessness may be the purest form of selfishness. I do not say this for the sake of argument. But that is what I really feel. I am considering their condition of mind from their point of view and not my own. Had they not been Hindu they would not have talked as they did yesterday. And immediately we begin to think of things as our opponents think of them, we shall be able to do them full justice. I know that this requires a detached state of mind, and it is a state very difficult to reach. Nevertheless for a Satyagrahi it is absolutely essential. Three-fourths of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world will disappear, if we step into the shoes of our adversaries and understand their standpoint. We will then agree with our adversaries quickly or think of them charitably. In our case there is no question of our agreeing with them quickly as our ideals are radically different. But we may be charitable to them and believe that they actually mean what they say. They do not want to open the roads to the unapproachables. Now whether it is their self-interest or ignorance that tells them to say so, we really believe that it is wrong of them to say so. Our business, therefore, is to show them that they are in the wrong and we should do so by our suffering. I have found that mere appeal to reason does not answer where prejudices are age-long and based on supposed religious authority. Reason has to be strengthened by suffering and suffering opens the eyes of understanding. Therefore, there must be no trace of compulsion in our acts. We must not be impatient, and we must have an undying faith in the means we are adopting. The means we are adopting just now are that we approach the four barricades, and as we are stopped, there we sit down and spin away from day to day, and we must believe that through it the roads must be opened. I know that it is a difficult and slow process. But if you believe in the efficacy of Satyagraha, you will rejoice in this slow torture and suffering, and you will not feel the discomfort of your position as you go and sit in the boiling sun from day to day. If you have faith in the cause and the means and in God the hot sun will be cool for you. You must not be tired and say, how long, and never get irritated. That is only a small portion of your penance for the sin for which Hinduism is responsible.

— M. K. Gandhi. pp 192-194 Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), published by Schocken Books, New York, 1961.

This is a far cry from those people who are quick to label their near-of-kin as Amalekites, the one race that was to be exterminated whereever they be found.

Gandhi tried hard to reform Hinduism into a more righteous faith. The means he used were called Satyagraha, meaning, holding on to the truth.. That is the essence of the struggle of Torah keepers. We too are Satyagrahi. Because we have a foundation of truth in the Torah delivered by Moses, the lowliest of our number will achieve much more than Mohandas Gandhi.

One final thing to remember about Satyagraha, is that it works best within kinship groups. When faced with an external, alien group that is trying to exterminate your group, non-violent resistance does not work. It is anti-Torah. The concept of clinging to the truth (Satyagraha) has nothing to do with laying down your life before an alien, trying to change his mind. Rachel Corrie, a 23 year old German girl, tried to stop Israeli soldiers from evicting Palestinian Muslims from their homes. She used non-violent resistence by lying down in front of the bulldozers that were to demolish the homes. Israeli soldiers shot and killed her when she refused to get out of the way. The Palestinians were still evicted. In the first place, it was wrong for an alien (Rachel) to interfere in the politics of another group. In the second place, if it had been right of her, she could only have succeeded by the use of overwhelming physical force, including troops, tanks, cannons, and so on.

I hope this New Moon (rosh chodesh) finds you well.

For several years I had an article posted to the web, God's Food Laws in Today's World. I incorrectly stated that halibut was kosher. The article is now fixed.

Halibut is a delicious species of fish found off the east and west coasts of North America. Alas, it is delicious in the same way that shrimp, pork, lobster, and oysters are. Halibut is a bottom-feeding, carnivorous fish comparable to flounder.

For a fish to be kosher, or legal to eat under the Law of God, the Torah, it must have fins and scales. The fins and scales must be easily visible to the naked eye, under the "could a naked man in the Garden of Eden do this" rule. Halibut definitely have fins, but they lack scales.

A simple web search will tell you that halibut has scales. However, a deeper search reveals that halibut have tiny scales, not visible to the naked eye with a simple glance. And the "scales" are hidden under a layer of skin, so you wouldn't notice them when you scrape a knife along the skin. When a fish has good scales, if you scrape a knife along the skin, the scales will pop off and fly all ove the place in a very noticeable way.

To get this information I spoke to "Will" at Aero Trading in Prince Rupert, which processes a lot of Pacific Halibut. At his suggestion, I then called the International Pacific Halibut Commission in at the University of Washington.

Canada produces Pacific halibut (hippoglossus stenolepeis) and Atlantic halibut (hippoglossus hippoglossus), which are both not kosher. A photo on the web of a California halibut (paralichthys californicus) does seem to have large, easily visible scales. The Halibut Commission recommended I call them back when one of their experts on California halibut is in. California halibut don't exist any farther north than California, and I don't know how commercially important they are. It is safe to assume that any halibut being sold in stores is Pacific or Atlantic halibut unless the sign says otherwise.

While doing my research, it was alleged that "Canfisco" plant in Prince Rupert, the Canadian Fish Company, is processing some type of halibut and calling it "kosher". Even though they call it kosher, if it went into the fish packing plant without fins and scales, it isn't kosher.

The article is now also updated with better information about tuna, mackerel, sailfish, and flying fish. Previously I had thought these fish also were kosher. Flying fish has a type of gooey slime over its skin that wards off predators. It isn't good for humans to handle flying fish for very long, the goo affects us as well. Why do we want to eat them again?

Keep Torah, keep healthy!

In a previous incarnation of the Reactor Core, I hosted an article by Marshall Smith on the topic of SARS, which was the big scare back in 2003. Lately a friend sent me an article on avian bird flu. The article had some accurate facts, but it went around in circles blaming everything on "vaccinations" and government conspiracies to wipe out world population.

I recommend you read Marshall Smith's article instead of chicken little crap. His article is here: Chinese Biological Warfare and SARS.

Marshall Smith makes the following important points:

• SARS and Avian bird flu are the same as Influenza
• All of the aforementioned are usually harmless.
• Aspirin and other meds that take down your fever turn these flus into deadly killers.
• Fever is the bodies defense mechanism, don't mess with it
• All bird flus reach humans by anti-Torah farming practices involving pigs, geese, ducks, and humans.
• Do skip the vaccinations, but don't get worked up about them.

Happy reading!

Jake wrote in with some extra insights when he started meditating on the consequences of Adam being created on the third, rather than the sixth, day. This is a followup to this previous article: Adam Created on the Third Day, and What it Means.

Date: Day 9, Month 4, Year 2730 of Our Exile (Friday, July 11, 2008)
From: Jacob Fronczak

I didn't think of it until now, but the Third Day creation also invalidates the various theories (including the one on Hope of Israel) that include some idea that man used to be a Neanderthal and then had the breath of life breathed into him or that blacks were created first and are "beasts of the field." If man preceded all other forms of life, all theories of Theistic Evolution are also made defunct, just by that simple rearrangement of order. Interesting how fixing one seemingly inconsequential problem fixes a bunch of bigger problems as well.

Thanks to Jake's input, I have revised and update the original article, which you can still read here: Genesis One and Two Compared — Adam Created on the Third day, not the Sixth.

Today the Reactor Core presents a new article, Genesis 1 and 2 compared — Adam Created on the Third day, not the Sixth

The article displays Genesis 1 and 2 side by side so you can easily see the whole story of creation that these two different accounts tell. You will see that they agree with, and do not conflict with each other.

It can seem at first that the creation of mankind on the sixth day conflict with the idea that Adam was created on the third day. The article addresses this item and shows it not to be an issue after all.

The article also contains a little bit of commentary on Genesis 1 and 2, concerning the nature of families in heaven, the implications of Adam's first job being the naming of animals, and so forth.

Amusingly, I did this parallel study in the winter of 2007/2008. I quickly phoned all my friends in the British Israel and Messianic movements and shared it with them. Lately, when I mention this research to people, they say they've already heard it from other people. Word spreads quickly, hallelujah!

Update Day 19, Month 4, Year 2730 of Our Exile (July 19, 2008) Jake Fronczak wrote in with an update to this article; read about it here: Update on Adam's Third Day Creation

In 1835, the New York Sun newspaper published a series of articles detailing the discovery of life on the moon. Now, the complete text of these articles is available in classic Reactor Core style, all on one big page that you can easily download and save with a single click. Read it here: The Great Moon Hoax of 1835.

The 1835 moon hoax is interesting as a work of science fiction. Falsely ascribed to astronomer Sir John Herschel, the moon hoax talked of primitive, hut-dwelling beaver-men, purple unicorns, and flying men with wings like bats.

Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the founders and leaders of the Mormon church, taught as doctrine that men live on the moon, are six feet tall, and dress like Quakers. Perhaps they got their information from this very hoax, which was published just as the Mormon church was getting founded. You can read the evidence here and here.

Intelligent, educated people believed in the Moon Hoax of 1835 for a very long time. Today, a lot of intelligent, educated people have fallen for the NASA Moon Hoax of 1969. Things don't change much.

Christian priests, pastors, and leaders tell their flocks that they must believe in the Trinity, but that it is a mystery, and they can't hope to understand it. If you don't believe in the Trinity, then you are rejecting the Son of God himself. This is no different from the cad that tells a child to close his eyes and open his mouth. You just know he is going to put a slug or a caterpillar in that trusting child's mouth!

For years, I have wondered why people get so upset about the Trinity doctrine. Many Christians get upset if you don't believe in it. For a while I thought it had to do with preventing people from keeping Torah. Then I thought it was to promote the doctrine of original sin. Although the Trinity does both of those two things, they are side effects. They are not the central purpose of the Trinity doctrine.

This evening the answer came. The Trinity started out as a formula that would allow the Christians to worship Jesus as a God, which fit into the Roman culture of the time. In the Roman culture of the time, each emperor was God on earth. People sacrificed animals to the emperor in special churches built for the honor of the emperor. Julius Caesar, the first emperor, inventor of the seven day week and the solar calendar we use today, was worshipped as God the Father. Augustus Caesar, the second caesar, was worshipped as God the Son. The very concept and language of the Trinity was the basis for the Roman religion of emperor worship. By accepting the Trinity, we are adopting the Roman form of emperor worship!

However, by the time of Nicaea, 300 years after Jesus, a different reason for the Trinity came into being. Both Catholic and Orthodox branches of the Christian church used the doctrine of the Trinity to preserve the power of the priesthood.

Think about it this way. Staunch Trinitarians acknowledge that very few people in the world "correctly understand the Trinity". Truly educated Christians limit this number to a mere handful, less than twenty at any moment in time. The Trinity is a doctrine that contradicts many scriptures, and has to be read into the few scriptures used in its support. The Catholic church calls it a "mystery", which must be believed without evidence. In fact, the Trinity is a doctrine designed to be so contradictory and contrary to any logic, reason, or common-sense, that noone can HONESTLY say they understand it. At least, not at face value.

Now, imagine what effect this has on the layman. Suppose you study the word of God for yourself. You come to some conclusions. But you, poor naive, express yourself in Biblical language. You express yourself in a way that is ever so slightly different from the exact wording and phrasing of the Trinitarian Creeds of Nicaea and Chalcedon. Now the priesthood and church attacks you! You have denied the Trinity! You have denied Jesus himself! You must recant and repent!

This only needs to happen to you a few times before you realize that you better not study the word of God; if you do, you can always be accused of not believing in the Trinity, the single most important creed of the Christian faith.

You see, noone can understand the Trinity. So everyone who talks about the nature of Jesus and God is vulnerable to accusations that they are heretics. This is the perfect weapon to keep the people in the dark, and maintain the power of the priests. Tell people to believe in something that they can't understand, and which can't be found in the Bible. Then when they do, they are now trapped; if they go to the Bible, the priest can use the Trinity stick to beat them with and stop them from further study. If they persist in Bible study, then the priest pulls out the excommunication or disfellowshipping stick.

When you accept the Trinity "mystery" from a priest, you acknowledge the priest as the earthly representative of God, just like a prophet, speaking the very words of God. If then you have accepted the priest as a prophet, you must obey him as if he were God himself. Those are the rules. I didn't make them up. When a prophet speaks a word from God himself, you have to obey, or be smitten from on high. When everyone around you accepts the false prophet, you are in great peril if you find out that he is a false prophet. Very few people have the courage to acknowledge they have been fooled by a false prophet. So instead of exposing the charlatans for what they are, most people will pretend that the naked emperor is actually wearing clothes, as described in the fable, "The Emperor's New Clothes".

The Trinity doctrine is the Christian religion's equivalent of the Jewish Talmud. The Trinity doctrine makes the priests the final arbiter of right and wrong, the only interpeters of the Word of God. Just so, Rabbi Akhiva and his followers laid a foundation of Jewish doctrine that made their interpretation of Torah superior to Torah itself. A Jewish Rabbi can contradict the Torah; because of the Talmudic doctrine of Akhiva, the Jew must believe the Rabbi, not the plain meaning of Torah.

I have observed a close link between Christians and Jews for their entire 2000 year history. I believe the closeness of the link is that they both claim the right to interpret the Word of God any way they see fit. The Jews at least acknowledge they are Pharisees; the Christians are in denial about it.

I see hope for the future. Some Jews are coming out of Judaism and becoming Karaite Jews, reading Torah and taking it at its face value. Some Christians are coming out of Christianity and accepting the words of Jesus that "I did not come to destroy the law; not one little bit of it shall pass away until heaven and earth pass away". (Matthew 5:18) Last time I looked, heaven and earth haven't passed away. Torah, or the Law of God as delivered by Moses, is still in effect!

These are exciting times. We live in a time of spiritual awakening. God's people, Jew and Christian alike, are wakening from their long sleep and thirsting for His truth, for the yoke that is light and the burden that is easy. There is a prophecy that in the later days knowledge will increase and many people will do research. It has come true. This very internet that you are reading this on is a major move on the part of God to allow his knowledge to spread. Keep on with your studies, and I hope we can meet at some future Feast of Tabernacles in the Jerusalem that is to come!

So, why is the Trinity doctrine so important? Because it stops YOU from reading God's Word and believing it; if you do read and believe it, you will be cast out of your church. The Trinity doctrine is important because it forces you to stop thinking and reasoning on religious topics, and give over your power of reason to the church, which does with it as it wishes.

Isn't your mind your own? Does anyone have a right to stop you from thinking and considering? Didn't God give you the gift of reason? Doesn't the Bible say that your power of reason and discernment are developed and strengthened through excercise and use? So what then, if you are not allowed to use them? They atrophy, and you become slaves, feudal serfs to greedy homosexuals and powerhungry men who put on a saintly veneer to hide their wolfish personalities.

Of course, once you have agreed to the priests authority by accepting the Trinity as the defining creed of your faith, the word of the priest trumps the word of God. So you'll never really believe God when he says this:

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you travel in the road, and when you lie down to sleep, and when you rise up from sleep.

Back in the 1920's, the "Roaring Twenties", business was booming. Technology progressed at a tremendous pace. And the nephew of Sigmund Freud was well positioned to take advantage of new technology to manipulate the minds and hearts of the masses. You can read the full text of Edward Bernays book on the Reactor Core by clicking this link: Propaganda (1928) Bernays went on to invent the business of "Public Relations", a high level mixture of sales, marketing, and diplomacy.

This week has seen the confluence of two strands of theology. Tim McHyde, a former Worldwider, wrote the excellent book, Know the Future — A Breakthrough in Bible Prophecy. In it he discussed the Mystery of Disunity. Or, why is it that we all read the same Scriptures, the same King James Holy Bible, but we all disagree on matters of praxis? I already mentioned Tim's book previously, in this blog entry: Tim McHyde finds the true Sacred Name.

Today I visited a church affiliated with Douglas Wilson, a Reformed preacher operating out of Moscow, Idaho. I have Christian Reconstructionist friends in the neighborhood of Moscow, so this was intriguing. Douglas has published a hymnal called Cantus Christi. I was so impressed with the hymnal I bought a copy on the spot. The foreword alone is worth the price of the book. The pastor of the local church said that he keeps bringing in new copies of the hymnal, and people keep buying them as fast as he can get them in. This hymnal is set to become a long lasting, underground classic in the Christian world.

To bring this full circle, when I searched for Douglas Wilson on the web, I found the following nugget, that fits in very well with what Tim McHyde has to say about the Mystery of Disunity.

I encourage Christians to stand up and say there is a problem when they perceive a problem, and we should not mute or discourage ones who see a problem. We should look at the problems, or perceived problems brought to us and see if they are in fact a problem. Most people when they denote a problem, also try to identify a cause for that problem and a solution for the problem. This is laudable.

However, many times what happens is the problem identification, or at least parts of it are valid. Ones that reasonable people could agree. But the perceived core of the problem or the solution are not agreed upon. And then you have people who generally agree on a problem, but vehemently disagree on the solutions because the core of the problem is not agreed upon. It is at this juncture that we create even further hostilities among one another because many perceive the solution to be gasoline on the fire, or worse than the problem itself.

— excerpt from the Reformedville blog entry of April 27, 2007, The Irony of Kinism.

Alas, the article quoted above is itself ironic; the author equates "kinism", or "loving your brother" with "racism", which is "hating your neighbor". A Godly person loves both his brother and his neighbor, which is the kinist position. In this world that has rejected the path of the Creator, hatred of stranger and kinfolk alike is abounding. Because everyone is so hurt, many are jealous when they see love blossoming, strengthening and uniting others. The greatest jealousy is toward those you are most intimate and familiar with. The people who are closest to you are those who can hurt you most, because they know you the best. Did not Jesus say, a man's worst enemies will be those of his own household? This is the penalty of lawlessness, rejecting the covenant of Sinai, and the stone tablets that were given to Moses.

Wow! Two years ago in a sermon, I talked about an imaginary country where everyone obeyed God's laws. One of the things I saw was many small dams for hydroelectric power and irrigation. I saw this strictly as a result of respecting property rights, as God said "thou shalt not sell thy land, even forever". Now tonight, I was listening to tape two of George Gordon's series on Harvesting Rainwater. (You can listen to his tape series here. Would you believe it, he said that a dam that harvested the water from 1 hectare, or 2.5 acres, would collect 95 cubic meters of water. 345 hectare watershed 24 cubic meters. By jumping from one hectare to three hundred and fourty five hectares, you lose 75% of the rainwater that falls in that watershed! The source of George Gordon's information is Michael Evenari, from the book "Making Water Everybody's Business". These rainfall collection figures come from the Negev desert of Israel, where they only have four inches of rainfall per year.

The conclusion? Not only can you collect more water with many small dams, instead of giant government funded Hoover dams, but by obeying the Law of God, you can get more electric power, more crops, more population, and more POWER! All river water comes from rainfall. God said clearly that he is in control of rain. Men have been trying to control the weather for fifty years. They have made many experiments, project HAARP, cloud seeding, and similar. But it has not been called a science yet. Why? Not because the air is so hard to predict. But because God has angels watching over the weather, and they do as God directs, not as man directs.

People that love to gossip will tell you that chemtrails are an attempt by the government to ruin the weather and kill lots of people. This is wrong. The governments are frantically trying to SAVE the people from the effects of their sins. The chemtrails are in the skies to give us better weather. But they aren't working. יהוה God Almighty is in firm control of the weather. Every time the government scientists think they have the weather under control, they find out they were wrong. If only they would acknowledge that the skies belong to God, and that sinners must repent, or be punished. By trying to manipulate the weather against the wishes of יהוה, the government IS putting itself in the place of God. This is blasphemy.

The Hebrew word OSR (ayin shin resh) is today pronounced for similar to how Aesir is pronounced. It sounds something like Aye-sir, spoken quickly, and with the emphasis on the first syllable. OSR means "ten" in Hebrew. We know the northern Ten Tribes of Israel were scattered around the world. Could the Viking legends of their descent from the Aesir be a recollection of their flight out of the Assyrian empire long ago? Could their very name carry the meaning of "ten tribes"? If true, then a brief study of Viking religion will show the depths of depravity that the Israelites sank into. This is why we were sent into Exile.

This also fits in with the Viking tales of the Vanir, who fought with the Aesir. The Vanir lived around lake Van in Turkey. The Israelites had to pass through the Vanir as they migrated West from Assyria. Lake Van was the historical location of Urartu, literally translated as "the highlands" in old Akkadian.

Tim McHyde is a former Worldwider, who has published an excellent book on end times prophecy. In the middle of it, he takes a few pages to show what the true pronunciation of the Almighty's name is. If you have any interest in calling on our Sovereigns name, you will find his article short, punchy, and full of good information. You can read it here: Calling on the Sacred Name. The article is so short, I don't want to duplicate it here; find the truth about the shockingly brazen lie claiming that vowels of "Adonai" are those of יהוה. Or the lie that יהוה comes from the word "destruction".

Tim McHyde's book is called Know the Future — A Breakthrough in Bible Prophecy. Tim's book is worth a read. If you only buy one book on Bible prophecy this year, let it be Tim's. This book makes my all-time top ten list of Bible prophecy books. I don't agree with him 100%, but I like his approach and methodology. Tim has a lot of other interesting things at his website, Escape All These Things, a site dedicated to end times prophecy. He debunks the pre-trib rapture handily, and puts the post-trib rapture in a light you may have never seen before.

Tim McHyde's book also includes a section called the Mystery of Disunity. Why is the Church of God so disunited? Why can't we all get together, agree on right doctrine, and get along? Tim gives this a dynamite explanation. And it agrees with what I've been telling people for several years; until יהוה sends a prophet to teach us the correct law and lead us out of bondage like Moses did, we will stay scattered and hidden among all the peoples of the world. But Tim goes into much more detail, with full scriptural references for his positions.

Two more days until Pesach. Hope your sheep is being "kept up" already. A friend sent in this photo. Isn't that lamb a beauty?

Today the Reactor Core Reference Library makes available the full text of Partner of Nature, by Luther Burbank (1939). Luther Burbank was famous for his experiments in plant breeding and hybridising. Luther explains his techniques and mindset. As you learn more about how plants are hybridised and their seed is "mixed", I hope you will understand the Bible better. The Biblical word for adultery actually means to mix seed, to pollute, to make something impure. Hybridising plants is adultery. Luther Burbank is one of America's most famous adulterers. Here is some recent correspondence on the topic of mixed seed:

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From: Jeff

Hey Ted, Shalom.

Can you tell me where in Torah it says that I cannot plant to different crops in the same field? I have been searching and I cannot find anything that says that. Thanks.

From: Ted

Deuteronomy 22:9 and Leviticus 19:19 both say it. [ … ] Ciao.

Leviticus 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

Deuteronomy 22:9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.

From: Jeff

Both of these seem to be saying that we are not to sow a field with seeds that have been crossbred. Not to cross-breed your animals seed, nor your crops seed and not to intertwine different threads together. This is what it seems to be saying. It does not appear to be saying not to plant olives next to grapevines. What you think? Agree or not? Jeff

From: Ted

Hi Jeff. You are right about the purpose being to not cross breed the plants. To understand what the real dangers of cross breeding are, I recommend this book by Luther Burbank. Luther Burbank was the plant breeder who got the whole hybrid plant movement started in the USA. He died almost 100 years ago. It describes his experiments and HOW he made dissimilar plants breed with each other. It sounds exactly like planting them in the same field. It will take a couple hours to read through, but I am not man enough to compress the book into a five minute internet message.

http://reactor-core.org/burbank.html

There is some science to it, but in general, plants that are close to each other do tend to cross breed.

There is also the issue of adulteration, or just weights and measures. If you mix barley in with your wheat seed, then harvest it; how can you separate the barley out? If you sell it as wheat, you are short-changing your buyer, because barley is a cheaper product.

But the verse was talking specifically about a vineyard. So it isn't just weights and measures that is being talked about. Let me know what you think about Burbank's book. The man was considered the inventor of plant breeding.

From: Ted

On the olives next to grape vines issue, I ask you to imagine the harvest time. If you are harvesting olives, how can you do so without damaging the grape vines? How can you harvest the grapes when they seek at every opportunity to climb up and choke the olive tree?

I believe God is teaching us about holiness, or separation, with this law. Keeping each field restricted to one crop keeps that field "holy". Also makes it easier to harvest and manage.

Lately a phenomenon called "companion planting" has entered vogue. It is popularized by a book called Carrots Love Tomatoes. I believe it violates God's law. Healthy plants on fertile soil don't need the help that "companions" are supposed to give. We keep soil fertile by not flushing our waste into the sewer, and by practicing land sabbaths and jubilees.

From: Jeff

Does this mean that I can't graze my sheep in the same pasture as the goats? I'm just using the same standard He made for animals on the crops. What do you think?

From: Ted

Drew Thompson up in Idaho has concluded that it does mean we shouldn't graze sheep together with goats. There are stories of goats mounting sheep when they are in heat. Sort of like encouraging black people to live in communities with white people. It can be done, but the sheep always suffer.

From: Jeff

But יהוה did not tell us not to graze sheep and goats together. יהוה said not to mate them. I think there is a danger in "inventing" sins. This seems to be the same thing the Pharisees did.

From: Ted

I view this as a matter of conscience. Without a specific command, we have to go on interpretation. And we are expected to interpret the Law, otherwise we must reject the writings of the prophets. By looking at the type of reasoning the prophets used to arrive at their conclusions, we learn how to reason upon the scriptures. Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. All these prophetic books are examples unto us of good Torah interpretation.

Until יהוה sends a prophet to correct us, we have to do the best we can. Looking more closely at Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22, it looks like two separate commands. Leviticus 19:19 does seem to refer only to sowing hybridized seeds. But Deuteronomy seems to be talking about "companion planting", or planting the plants close to each other.

Some brothers with livestock have observed sheep, goats, and cows trying to mate with each other. I myself watched a female cow mounting a ram in the barnyard. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says Evil communications corrupt good manners. Or, another translation says: "bad association spoils useful habits". You become like the people you are around. Proverbs 13:20 says He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. When Israel entered Canaan, יהוה told them, "do not learn the ways of the people of the land, nor of the people around you". (Exodus 23:32-33) The only way to avoid learning their ways is to not be around them. (Proverbs 22:24,25; Jeremiah 10:2)

Exodus 23:32-33
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

Exodus 34:10-16
10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of יהוה: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for יהוה, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6
1 When יהוה thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
2 And when יהוה thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of יהוה be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
6 For thou art an holy people unto יהוה thy God: יהוה thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Proverbs 22:24,25
24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith יהוה, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

Why do we wear blue tassels? To remind us that God surrounds us and is our Shepherd. The color blue represents heaven. Also, the blue is a picture of holiness; it separates the strong, united cloth inside from the isolated, lonely fringe in the outer darkness.

When you keep your olive trees and grape vines separate, when you pasture your sheep separate from your goats, you are acting holy. When you act holy in one area of life, you are reminded to act holy in other areas of life. Our God is a Holy God. Anything we can do to be like him is good. I would not lay it down as a law upon a brother that he cannot pasture his sheep with his goats. But my current understanding is that this is now what יהוה wants us to do, so I will not.

It took fourteen days to find the time to write an article on sitting shiva. Then it took almost four hours to write. Looking at it now, you can read it in five minutes. That means fifty people need to read the article to match the time spent on it. So I hope you either enjoy it and forward it to friends, or email in corrections.

You can read it here: Sitting Shiva; Jewish Tradition, or Law of God? I hope it blesses you and that you study the clean and unclean laws thoroughly for yourself. If anyone requests it, I will make available a list of all scriptures that contain the word clean, cleanness, unclean, and uncleanness.

Being clean is especially important as Passover is coming up soon. Sanctify yourself, oh Israel, and have a great Chag Pesach.

Go to YouTube and search for "Ned Calls". These are prank phone calls from the Bubba Love Sponge radio show. If you don't laugh out loud, your money back!

Someone on the Internets asked how to kill the Passover lamb without breaking any bones. Here is my reply. I hope it helps someone out there who is looking for ways to please our Creator through obedience to his Son.

Tomorrow is day ten of the first month, so pick your lamb, an unblemished male lamb of the first year tomorrow.

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From: Jammel

Hi friend my name is Jammel and I just wanted to know where I can get a pesach lamb according to the Torah!!! I really want to keep this festival!!!

Well I can get a goat or a lamb but the problem is knowing how to properly kill the animal without any broken bones.

From: Ted

You cut the throat, just underneath the adams apple. Male sheep have one, female ewes do not. Have a sharp knife. A filet or fishing knife is good. It will slice through really easily. Just one slice. Catch the blood in a basin, use it to put on your doorposts and lintel. Put salt in the blood so it doesn't turn into jello right away. Wait two or three minutes before you skin it, so all the twitching can stop and the blood can exit.

The sheep is dead within 5 seconds, but the tremors can take up to 2 minutes to stop, if the sheep was calm. If you sever the spinal nerve by cutting too much, or if the sheep is stressed before it dies, the twitching might take up to 15 minutes to stop. So keep the sheep nice and calm. Tie it down and kill it on the ground or on a rock that hasn't been hewn by a human hand or tool.

Leave the guts in and the hooves on, but skin the lamb. Roast it on a barbecue or something. Should take a minimum of 3 hours. Turn it every fifteen minutes. You can wrap it in chicken wire if you like, to keep it from falling apart while it cooks.

Don't let the lamb eat anything for the four days before you kill it. This should clean out the guts. Make sure it has water to drink though.

Then enjoy your meal with wine and unleavened bread. Let me know how it goes! If you have any more questions, feel free to phone me at 604-435-5787.

Ted

A friend called today and asked if the Jewish custom of "sitting shiva" has a basis in the Bible. A friend of hers recently died, and she was sitting shiva with the widow. She said it just "felt right".

In the matter of sitting shiva, the Jews are close to God's ordinance. They have many ungodly traditions mixed in with it, but the core of the observance is Biblically sound. When we understand sitting shiva, we can understand a lot of the uncleanness laws that the Jews do NOT observe any more.

Shiva is the Hebrew word for the number "seven". When a person dies, their parents, children, spouse and siblings sit shiva. This means they come together in a house or location, separate from the rest of the world, and stay there for seven days after the funeral. People come to visit them, but the mourners and their visitors don't speak. There is an example of this in the Bible.

Remember when Job's friends came to visit him, and they did not speak? They were sitting shiva for the death of Job's children. The comfort came from the presence of his friends. When you are in serious torment, no words can make you feel better.

Job 2:11-13
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

But the story does not end there. The lesson of sitting shiva is not just an imitation of Job and his comforters. Job was a righteous man, knowing God's law. Sitting shiva in the way I have described here, without the extraneous Jewish additions, is the right way to obey the law of יהוה.

Numbers 19:11
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of יהוה; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

Do you see it? If you touch the dead body of a person, or the grave of a person, you are unclean for seven days. Archeologists who deal in bones must be unclean often. Every warrior becomes unclean for seven days when he kills an enemy. If grandpa dies upstairs in his bed, you are unclean for seven days. And so, you must sit shiva.

What do you do when you are unclean? By one direct commandment, and by several examples found in Biblical statute and caselaw, we deduce that an unclean person must separate themselves from others. Why? As courtesy. It is God's gentle type of quarantine. If you touch an unclean person, you too become unclean!

Numbers 5:1-4
1 And יהוה spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as יהוה spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.

The command here is to put people outside the camp. Today, we don't have walled cities. Staying confined to your house in the suburbs or countryside is the best most of us can do in the way of "going outside the camp". Under what conditions did you have to leave camp? If you were unclean because of:

• leprosy (any communicable disease, whether a common cold, or syphilis)
• running issue (if a woman gives birth or has a period)
• contact with the dead body of a person.

Here is an example of this law in action: all the warriors of Israel had to stay outside the camp for seven days.

Numbers 31:12-20
12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against יהוה in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of יהוה.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.
20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.

King David mourned for his first child with Bathsheba, the one that God killed. This shows us the principle that rulers and leaders are punished through their subjects. Parents are punished in their children. King David sinned by ordering a census; many Israelites died for his sin. King David sinned by taking another man's wife; the resulting child died. When the King sins, it may be you that suffers! Therefore, do not be afraid to warn even the king when he is about to stumble and fall into sin. Your silence could get you killed!

2 Samuel 12:13-23
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against יהוה. And Nathan said unto David, יהוה also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of יהוה to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And יהוה struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of יהוה, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether יהוה will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

There are some things to note from this account of King David. His son died on the seventh day. This is the day before he would have been circumcised. His son died uncircumcised, outside the covenant of Israel. For it is written, a bastard shall not enter into the congregation of Israel.

Also, note well that King David fasted and mourned for seven days, but he did not sit shiva. As soon as his son died, he dressed, bathed, and went to the Tabernacle. The temple had not been built at this time. How could David do this? The answer is that his son was born in another building. In Israelite society, as in almost all polygamous societies, each wife has her own separate quarters to live in. And the man has his own separate living quarters, apart from any wife. Bathsheba was unclean, but King David was not, because he had not entered into her house. King David entered into her house to comfort her after he had worshipped at the Tabernacle, while Bathsheba was sitting shiva.

What does all this tell us about other forms of uncleanness? Do you have to go "outside the camp" when you are "unclean until even"? This is where we must use deduction. Read this story and tell me what your conclusion is:

1 Samuel 20:24-26
24 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.
25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

When King David was absent from court, King Saul assumed that David was unclean. To leap to this conclusion, it must have been customary for people to isolate or quarantine themselves from others when they were unclean, even if only for a day.

Leviticus 13:45,46
45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

Have you seen pictures of Japanese people when they are in public? Have you noticed that some of them are wearing white surgical masks? They are obeying the law about covering their upper lip. In Japan, and in a trend that is catching on among other Asian countries, if you have a cold or other communicable illness, you wear a surgical mask. This covers your mouth so you cannot spit, sneeze, or cough on another person. This also marks you as unclean so people can refrain from touching you and becoming unclean themselves. This is courteous, polite, and is in obedience to God's law. We in the West should return to God's law and adopt this custom as well. Remember, if someone spits on you, and by extension, if they cough or sneeze on you, then you are unclean, even if that person is clean!

Leviticus 15:8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

Numbers 12:14 And יהוה said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

Notice, if a man with a running issue (and by extension, a menstruating woman) spit on you, you are unclean until evening. But if a girls father spits on her, she is unclean for seven days. Why the disparity? Who knows? These are the questions God told us to discuss at every opportunity in Deuteronomy 6:7. But the point is, if you come in contact with bodily fluid, you come under the quarantine law of separation outside the camp.

Sitting shiva is a modern attempt to obey the law to stay outside the camp for seven days after touching a dead body, or being under the same roof as a dead body. Next time a loved one dies, give it a try. It is really the best way to mourn.

There is much more to the laws of clean and unclean, but I hope this has given you a good start.

The George Gordon radio program archive is now available in a faster format. I used some software to crunch an hour of George Gordon's speaking into 42 minutes. George Gordon speaks slowly and clearly, so the crunched files are still easy to listen to. You can listen to George's radio series here: George Gordon Law Hour and Editorial Review in Ogg/Vorbis format

The files are in Ogg/Vorbis format instead of MP3. You can download free software to play Ogg/Vorbis files on the net. This page will help you find the right software for your computer: Vorbis 3rd Party Software.

Ogg/Vorbis is a superior alternative to the MP3 format. It sounds better, takes less space, is freely available and patent-free. You can use it without paying any licensing or royalty fees.

When you speed up a tape, it makes a person sound high pitched and squeaky. Using the freely available SoX program, we were able to speed up the audio while keeping George's voice sounding normal.

George Gordon is one of the most important Bible teachers of the past century. Rousas Rushdoony is another. If you haven't yet, give George a try. His politically incorrect brand of down-home humor and Bible teaching style is a breath of fresh air. He doesn't cringe from tackling Biblical subjects like beastiality, vaccinations, sodomy, genetically modified foods, adultery, end times prophecy, usury, monopoly, just weights and measures, individual sovereignty, the mark of the beast, social security, the modern day identity of the Edomites and the Israelites, and so on and so forth.

Date: Day 27, Month 11, Year 2729 of Our Exile (February 3, 2008)
From: Jacob Fronczak
To: Ted Walther
Subject: Pesach lamb guts

Ted,

We're doing the Pesach lamb this year. The Scriptures say to roast the entrails... The "tradition" says to clean out the entrails and put them back in, so you're not roasting sheep shit in with the meat. This sounds good to me. My grandpa got sick from deer meat that was contaminated from the entrails. How do you guys do it?

Jake, that is a great question. A lot of people who are killing the lamb are confronting the same issue. Sadly, most of them are stopping short of full obedience to our God because of fear. There is a lot of misinformation in our society, designed to stop people from doing things God's way.

George Gordon for twenty years, Brian Mohr for five years, and myself for three years, have roasted the lamb with the guts in, and never had a problem with contamination. When you cut the throat, the sheep empties its bowels and bladder, so there is no waste remaining to contaminate the meat. Similar things happens when you hang a man to death; he empties his bowels and bladder.

This is an act of faith; if you trust God, give it a go. If you are worried about contamination, do what your heart says.

The entrails, which contain grass, will burst during the roasting. Most people who see the burst belly give up at that point and assume the meat is bad without eating the parts that haven't been touched by the fermented belly grass.

The burst gut won't contaminate the real meat. The stomach area isn't really an area noted for producing lots of meat. The shoulders and legs will give you plenty of delicious meat. You could pierce the belly ahead of time with a knife.

If you listen to George Gordon's seven hour series on Circumcision, aired June 2004, a couple hours in he switches gears and explains, in detail, exactly how to roast the lamb and exactly what to expect. It was that series on Circumcision that tipped me over the edge to total Torah observance, including the full observance of Passover, with the lamb. I recommend it for anyone who is new to Torah.

Here is the link to an MP3 file of George's radio broadcast on Circumcision: http://db.georgegordon.com/index.php?yr=2004

For the sped up version, so you can listen to it in 5 hours instead of 7, here is the link: http://reactor-core.org/georgegordon/0001 Circumcision 1 of 07.ogg

Yah bless!

Note on keeping up the lamb: This didn't make it into my original reply to Jake, but it is worth knowing. Regina Hynes, from the Philippines, reported that they would "keep it up", referring to the animal to be slaughtered, for three or four days before the fiesta (feast). My wife, also from the countryside of the Philippines, confirmed this. Both ladies were surprised that people here did not practice such an obvious and natural thing in preparing our meat. Keeping the lamb up means to keep it tied up without food for the three days from the tenth of the month to the fourteenth of the month. Give it water though; it shouldn't die of dehydration. This gaurantees its gut is empty. I believe the reason George Gordon, Brian Mohr, and myself experience burst guts is that we have not (yet) practiced keeping up the lamb properly. I only learnt this myself a month ago. This coming passover I will definitely be doing it.

Note on the bitter herbs: Last year I speculated that the "bitter herbs" eaten with the lamb at Passover, was actually the grass that was in the sheeps gut. I no longer believe this. Last Passover I ate a little bit of the roasted grass from the sheeps belly. It wasn't edible. The whole train of reasoning came the writings of Weston A. Price. Joshua Lee Caulkins, a Ph.D. student mentioned that the Sioux hunters would eat the fermented grass from the guts of a buffalo they had just killed. I speculated that the bitter herbs may have referred to a similar thing with the guts of the lamb. Now that I know what it means to keep up the lamb, I no longer believe so. The Bible itself does not say "bitter herbs", it says "bitter". And the word that is translated as bitter is only found one time in the entire Bible. Until YHWH reveals to us what he means, I will let that part go for now. Specifying any particular herb to go along with the lamb as being Biblical, is not Biblical.

Date: June 27, 2006
From: Joshua Lee Caulkins
To: Ted Walther

I found the website of the guy who described the diets of Native Americans. His name is Dr. Weston A. Price:

www.westonaprice.org

The specific page with the Native America stuff on it is here: http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/native_americans.html

The specific passage is quoted on that page, about 1/3 of the way down, next to the photo of Sitting Bull, and copied here: "According to John (Fire) Lame Deer, the eating of guts had evolved into a contest. 'In the old days we used to eat the guts of the buffalo, making a contest of it, two fellows getting hold of a long piece of intestines from opposite ends, starting chewing toward the middle, seeing who can get there first; that's eating. Those buffalo guts, full of half-fermented, half-digested grass and herbs, you didn't need any pills and vitamins when you swallowed those.'"

In any event, I hope you the website and information useful! and please correct me if either of the emails above are wrong...I had to look these up on the internet!

From the page Joshua Lee quoted, I found another interesting tit-bit: Boiled tongue was an ancient delicacy, served as the food of communion at the Sun Dance. The tongue was the part given to the Levites as their portion of every sacrifice and offering. The tongue is indeed a delicacy, very fatty and low in gristle.

The Armstrong Church of God used to sing the Psalms directly. Herbert Armstrong's brother Dwight Armstrong wrote most of the music in their hymnal. This approach makes sense. God gave us the Psalms to sing. What good is it singing all sorts of man-made hymns, when we ignore the hymns God himself gave us? Before Herbie and Dwight came along, the Scottish Covenanters had the same idea. They published the Scottish Psalter. David Fister took the time to put the sheet music scores and the texts up on the web. You can read it here: Scottish Psalter for singing. David Fister also has a great website, Commandments of יהוה.

The Psalms in the Psalter are slightly different from the text of the Psalms as given in the King James version of the Bible. The words were rearranged and altered a little bit so that they would fit a regular meter. This allowed the Covenanters to use simple, regular tunes to sing the Psalms. Until we all learn Hebrew and sing the Psalms to their original melodies, this is as good as it gets. The changes to the words are not major, nor do they change the meaning appreciably. The Bay Area Psalm book is also good.

I hope to incorporate the Scottish Psalter into the Reactor Core Hymn Repository soon.

In church, I've heard a man making the comment, "A woman always has the right to change her mind." This is true and false. It is socially accepted, and so many women take advantage of their liberty to change their minds. That makes the statement true. But being changeable harms women. Also, it is against God's Law. Based on God's Law and the law of nature, which seeks to maximize life by maximizing personal power for every individual, it is false that a woman always has the right to change her mind.

In Hebrew, the word honour means value. A man of honor is a man who is valuable. Anyone who is honorable is valuable. For a poor man, he only has his word. His word is his bond. If a man changes his mind, as women are encouraged to do, his word becomes worthless. If he shows up for work late, he is quickly fired. Then other men stop asking him to do work for them. He quickly becomes isolated from any position of power or ability to earn wages.

When men are downtrodden and oppressed, they look for others to tread down and oppress in their turn. It is a case of as above, so below. This quote from one hundred years ago shows us the Victorian attitude to women:

The Ideal Man should talk to us as if we were goddesses, and treat us as if we were children. He should refuse all our serious requests, and gratify every one of our whims. He should encourage us to have caprices, and forbid us to have missions. — Oscar Wilde

In Hebrew, the word virtue means strength. Proverbs chapter thirty is all about how great the virtuous or strong woman is. A strong woman is a strong ally to her husband. We have already seen that a man loses his power or strength if he doesn't keep his word. This applies to women too. If a strong woman is a good woman, why would she weaken herself and make herself a poor woman? If she doesn't give any value to her word or bond, noone else will either. She will be a parasite, relying solely on her husband. This weakens the whole family.

Proverbs 31:10-31
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth יהוה, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Matthew 5:33-37
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto יהוה thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Jesus didn't distinguish between man and woman, but all the Children of God should keep their word, or promise, oaths, bonds, or agreements.

Is there some sense in which a woman's word is less valuable than a man's? There is, if she is independant minded. But if she is submissive, her word can actually be more valuable than a man's word. How can this be? This is exactly opposite to how our modern society views things! I will show you. When a woman marries a man, she keeps her property. God is not a Communist. But the man gains two valuable services from the woman. The second comes directly from the first. The first, is the Law in Numbers 30:

Numbers 30:1-16
1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which יהוה hath commanded.
2 If a man vow a vow unto יהוה, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
3 If a woman also vow a vow unto יהוה, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth;
4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and יהוה shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
6 And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;
7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and יהוה shall forgive her.
9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.
10 And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;
11 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
12 But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and יהוה shall forgive her.
13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.
16 These are the statutes, which יהוה commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.

Numbers chapter thirty states that a daughter's word can be nullified by her father. And a wife's word can be nullified by her husband. Reasoning on this, this means that a slave can have his word nullified by his master. But a free man is always responsible for his words.

This right of first refusal is the first service that a man gains from his wife. She is a free woman, and he can't boss her around, but he does have a right to forbid her or block her from doing things. The second service a woman provides to her husband is sexual exclusivity, bearing and raising children. This comes from the first right, since the husband forbids his wife to contract with any other man for the services of child production. This is a fair deal; it leaves a woman with most of her independance, but brings her into a family that will protect her property and rights.

When a man agrees to protect a woman's property and rights, even with his own life, justice requires some reciprocity. God's way is just. By getting the right of first refusal, a man gains the right to ensure that his wife, who he is protecting, does not do anything that is against his own interests. Both parties benefit; one by having her interests looked after, and the other by gaining authority to protect his own interests from the one he is protecting.

Now, I said that the word of a woman who is submissive can actually be more valuable than a man's word. How is this? If a woman consults with her husband or father before giving her word, then the husband or father has no opportunity to nullify it. A woman who keeps her husband or father "in the loop" can give her word, and it will be just as valuable as any man's word. In fact, it will be as valuable as her word and her husband's word combined, since her husband is backing her up in it. The willful, rebellious woman is unreliable. No man can predict when her husband will decide to nullify her word, making it valueless.

A husband or father or master may not capriciously nullify his daughters word though. The nullification must be done as soon as the man hears of it, or as soon as he reasonably can after hearing it. If the man waits, he loses his right to nullify. It is from this that we get the famous Latin dictum of law, Qui tacet consentit or "He who remains silent consents." It is more famously translated as "Silence implies consent." Now you know where it comes from. It comes from God's own Law.

Now contrast what you have learnt from God's Law with this article by a Lawless woman, who describes her views on the relationship between men and women: What Other Women Want, by Sigrun Christianson.

This morning another scandal hit the news about Wikipedia, the online Encyclopedia that claims that "everyone" can edit it. Wikipedia also claims to be open, transparent, and democratic. I left Wikipedia three years ago after realizing that it was actually a strict dictatorship with a definite political agenda contrary to the public interest. Commenting on today's scandal, an anonymous party wrote this good analysis of the how democratic groups work:

From: Opportunist
To: Slashdot
Subject: Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely

It's funny and tragic. And by far not limited to Wikipedia. Try your average club and you'll see exactly the same development. Hell, try anything where some people who have nothing in common but the goal at hand aggregate.

First, you'll see people form groups. Then you'll see (some) groups trying to gain power. No matter how petty (and in Wikipedia's case it's anything but petty. People have replaced Google with Wikipedia as a source for good links).

Generally, you'll have two kinds of groups in every assembly of human beings. Those that want to push the cause along and those that want to control it. The latter will most certainly claim they belong to the first group (often even to themselves), but in general they would do anything to aggregate more power, no matter whether the group moves anywhere anymore.

With power and the lust for it comes paranoia. Because the knave thinks the way he is, they start seeing usurpators who want to control the group anywhere. So they become secretive and paranoid. Anyone who is "good" (as in, is actually pushing the cause ahead and keeps things moving) will be seen as a threat, because he will invariably be liked by those who're also in for the cause. Someone who is liked has peer backing, and that could threaten the power base of this group. So he will be mobbed until he leaves.

What's finally left is a dead hulk. Everyone who wanted to move the cause along will have left, what's left is the power hungry group and some tagalongs and posers who present no danger to said group, but who are also not getting the cause anywhere. They're just in for the "experience" and the fame of being "there" and being part of it. Because if they would actually start pushing ahead, they would be seen as a threat to the power group and removed.

Sad, really. But if you can't get rid of such power whores, you'll end up with a dead project.

— Slashdot comment number 21569923

Democracy does not work when people are divided. When people come from diverse backgrounds, and have diverse needs, desires, and opinions, you need strong leadership and hierarchy to keep things rolling along.

Over the past few years, every small group of people who seemed to have a common vision, and a democratic bent, have been taken over by power-craven and stopped all forward progress to their goals. The comment by "Opportunist" is exactly true. I have watched the procedure happen over and over again. It happens in religious groups, cultural groups, sports groups, political groups, charitable groups, activist groups of all sorts.

What would Jesus Do?

Jesus knew that the Faith had to be taught to a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. So he prepared for it. The Church of Jesus is not democratic. He appointed his twelve apostles to be chief of the assembly. And that also was not enough. He set Peter to be chief leader over the twelve. Then later on the apostle Paul gave instructions that elders should be appointed in every city.

Titus 1:5
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Even among elders, there was hierarchy. There were apostles, prophets, teachers, and then the deacons.

1 Corinthians 12:22-31
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

Ephesians 4:10-15
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Did you notice what Ephesians 4:14 said? It said that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were appointed so they could help us grow up in the faith and NOT be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. But if you are a spiritual baby, your spiritual discernment is not right yet; you may (and most people DO) reject God's truth, thinking that "something so socially acceptable and repulsive could not be of God". Babies will spit out beets, but adults can relish them. A baby cannot drink beer or wine, but an adult learns to enjoy these things. A baby may catch botulism if it eats honey, but even a toddler can enjoy honey safely.

In a united society, in a nation joined by bonds of kinship, language, heritage, and religion, then you can have democracy. Look at Switzerland. Switzerland is the least diverse country in the world, and its democracy works very well. Japan is not democratic, but it is also not diverse. Japanese society is peaceful, harmonious, and accomplishes many amazing things. Japan would accomplish more if it adopted God's Law, but it is still very impressive for a bunch of unbelievers.

In Israel, which was racially and culturally homogenous, sharing bonds of kinship, blood, language, faith, law and ethics, they had no need of kings or strong leaders. Why is that? Because they had common interests and goals, they could rely on God to raise up a leader for them when one was needed. Read the book of Judges in the Bible. The entire book is about Israel getting into trouble, and then God would raise up a king or a general to lead them out of trouble. Whoever was the right man for the job, he was the one God would raise up. Very democratic, very egalitarian. This is similar to the provisions that the United States constitution put in, that the President could assume dictatorial powers in time of emergency or war. This is Biblical.

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Judges 2:14-19

14 And the anger of יהוה was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of יהוה was against them for evil, as יהוה had said, and as יהוה had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.
16 Nevertheless יהוה raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of יהוה; but they did not so.
18 And when יהוה raised them up judges, then יהוה was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented יהוה because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

What does this mean for the Church of God? All the groups calling themself Church of God are splintering, disintigrating, disappearing, and dying. Young people are not staying in the church, neither are there weddings being had and babies being born. This is the death rattle. This is not confined to Armstrong's branch of the Church of God, but even the Church of God Seventh Day. Every man and woman is truly doing what seems right in their own eyes. They have idols in their hearts which are blocking them from further progress in the truth. They are arguing about intellectual things, but not connecting to each other with their hearts. Why? Because they are diverse, and there is no leader to say authoritatively "this is right, that is wrong".

In this time of confusion, when we are all scattered, watch and see. Is there any man that has the blessing of the Almighty? Is he keeping Torah? Does he have the fruitage of the Spirit? Then give weight to his words.

If this message offends you, then you are not one of the sheep. Sheep like to have leadership, as long as it is righteous and gentle. Goats all go in their own direction, not being willing to let anyone be over them.

Many sheep have been abused by leaders who were not Godly. They are shy. But if they are God's sheep, they will come around. A sheep cannot change his nature. Nor can a goat.

You will recognize a good leader when you see a man who keeps his focus. He leads only where he is supposed to lead, and does not micro-manage. Torah gives people a lot of personal freedom; a leader who takes away people's God given freedoms, the ones outlined in the Torah, is not from God. The true leader bows out and says "I am not qualified" on issues where he has no knowledge. The Catholic church is very careful to limit what it declares as dogma. This gives the members freedom to have different ideas and opinions, and change over time. This has also made the Catholic church the strongest church in the Christian world. The decline of the Catholic Church got its biggest charge 500 years ago when it added a bunch of dogma to its corporate charter, called the Council of Trent (1545-1563).

I said this several years ago to Lisa Sonderup and Valley Haeck, and I say it again. When enough of us repent, turn to keeping Torah, and pray the prayer in Joel 2:17, then God will raise up a leader, a prophet, to deliver us from bondage. I do not know his timeframe. But these are exciting times. As North America comes due for God's judgement (Deuteronomy chapter 30) God is also preparing a remnant of people, those who are willing to obey his Laws and commandments, no matter how silly or out of step with society they at first seem. This remnant is growing rapidly. If it grows fast enough, the judgement will be stayed. If it doesn't, then the remnant will barely escape with their lives.

Joel 2:17Let the priests, the ministers of יהוה, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O יהוה, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

The pettiness needs to stop. We all need to take off our blinders. If there is a commandment, you need to study it and start keeping it as soon as you are able. I see many people who make progress, but then they stop on the beard issue. It is like they are blind. They just read Leviticus 19:27 and say "I don't see it in there." They ignore the examples of all the Godly men who had beards. They don't seem to care that not one smooth-shaven man is mentioned in scripture with favor. How do you bring sight to the blind? This question needs to be considered. How do you teach a baby to talk? What if the baby refuses to accept that he is a baby? Strong leadership comes in. When one is mature and developed, then one can interpret scripture and question it. Unlike the Catholics who limited the Bible to priests, I think all men should know the word. God says so in Deuteronomy chapter 6. But men who don't have time or mental capacity to do the study, they need to trust the men who do study, until such time as they can do study of their own.

There is a fine balance between authority and freedom. Those calling themselves the Church of God, have not yet found that balance. If you be sheep, seeking truth and hungering after righteousness, then may this article help you see with clearer eyes. If we can't trust a man calling himself "brother," who can we trust?

We are called to consider each other to incite to love and fine works. And yes, even rebuke each other if a brother is straying. It must be done in love, but it must be done. Anything less is disobedience to God.

Shalom aleichem.

People ask George Gordon how he lives on less than $8,000 per year. He answers them, "Very well. Very well indeed." Jake Fronczak at the Furry Curry sent an exciting email. George Gordon may talk like a sphinx, but his methods aren't secret. Here is how you can eat for $1.28 per day, and live better and healthier than everyone else.

Date: Day 12, Month 9, Year 2729 of Our Exile (November 22, 2007)
From: Jacob Fronczak

One Week of Food for Different Societies

Look - we could eat on $1.23 a week!

More importantly, most of the "cheapest" families eat mutton regularly. I bet there's a reason for this. And of course they also eat lots of raw, unprocessed food. If only I could get that stuff on the cheap. I can't find wheat berries for a reasonable price, anywhere in the state. $.65 a pound is the best we can do and it's hours away. You almost have to grow it yourself.

Anyway, it's always nice to dispel the myth of high overhead and living costs that supposedly force most of us to have "Jobs." Thought this was interesting.

Jake

To Jake's note, I have to add that from the photo, the family that lives on $1.28 didn't only eat mutton; they also ate lentils, peas, and barley. The prophet Ezekiel lived on those four grains for two years. They are very complete in their nutrition. Combine that with milk and cheese, as well as mutton, and you have the healthiest diet in the world. Notice that all the families that spend a lot on food, spend it on vegetables. Vegetables are bad for you. They suck the vitamins and minerals out of your body, and they deplete the soil whereever they are grown.

Ezekiel 4:9-11

9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

A shekel is a third of an ounce. So Ezekiel had to live on less than half a pound of bread by weight. And to drink, he had just over a pint of water to drink every day. A man who is lying on his side could survive on that diet, but he must have been looking pretty skinny by the end of the 390 days. However, the food itself was healthy, so Ezekiel (Zeke) would have stayed healthy during the time period. Remember, it was this same food that Daniel and his companions asked to be fed in the King of Babylon's palace.

Daniel 1:8-16

8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.
11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.
16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

God's idea of an ideal diet is butter and honey. I kid you not. Read Isaiah 7:22. It would be interesting to try it. I'd like to try it at some point so I can report how it went. Didn't God call Canaan a land "flowing with milk and honey"? Butter is a highly concentrated form of milk.

Isaiah 7:14-25

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Exodus 3:8,17

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

Milk, cheese, butter, honey, mutton, split-pea soup, lentil soup, bread made from wheat, and beer made from barley. What more could a man ask for?