Profound and Sometimes Preposterous Ponderings of Pete

Today is Good Friday.  Many have asked why do we call it Good when an innocent man was put to death with a punishment reserved for traitors and those found guilty of the most heinous crimes.  If you are a believer, you know the answer and need not continue reading if this feels like "preaching to the choir." This post is for my friends, family, and loved ones who are not. Many of you have heard the message before and like me rejected it due to its presentation or the hypocrisy of the presenters or both. Some of you have not. First, you should know, that I cannot save you nor am I trying to.  My job, as a disciple of Christ is to present the good news. The rest is between you and God. He and he alone is the author of salvation. I will also preface this with the fact, that after years of searching and research, I believe the Bible to be true and the word of God. Brief history: God created man (evolution is unfounded - even atheist biologists state that) in his image; a...

OK brothers and sisters please put the stones down! They have been trying to take him out of Christmas for years. I say let's turn the tables on them. Please hear me out. The name Easter is a pagan fertility goddess.  Every Easter tradition is pagan and has absolutely nothing to do with what we believe. So let's remove Christ from it all together.  We move Easter to the first day of spring. That way the sun (Spring equinox) can be worshiped, Mother Earth/Nature can be worshiped, the bunny can be worshiped, the food coloring industry can worshiped, and whatever favorite confectioners can be worshiped.  It eliminates the conflict of to whom the holiday belongs.  It is a tolerant, equitable, and non-offensive solution to the problem. We then keep our most holy of days and call it Resurrection Day or Born Again Day or Day of Salvation or some other appropriate title.  It will still occur on the 4th day (after Passover), and we can eliminate the use of pagan tra...

For the past couple of months Corinne and I and my whole family have been enjoying a program called Duck Dynasty.  When I first saw it advertised I thought it was an incredibly stupid idea/show. After finally seeing it, I fell in love with it!  The crazy antics of the brothers and the uncle as well as the down home wisdom of the father and mother are truly entertaining.  At the end of the show/day they all gather around the table to eat as a family and the father Phil thanks God for providing for them. I have heard and overheard some harsh criticism about some of the topics and some of the behavior shown. Some of it has come from Christian circles. Let's look at the patriarch of the family Phil Robertson.  He is truly a woodsman/country guy.  He knows exactly who he is, is not ashamed of who he is, and does not apologize for it.  He adores his wife and is not afraid to say so.  She dotes on him and he on her.  They have been married a long ...

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (ESV) It seems as though that is a duh no-brainer for most Christians and for most circumstances it is.  But when you face a long tiring enduring trial, it is really tested.  I am talking about when your child is dying or spouse, or close one and you can do nothing to stop or prevent or alleviate the pain during the process and after the death. Or if you become disabled, but for all appearances you look like a healthy strong man. You want to be the provider for your family, but you cannot take on a full time job and so you watch your spouse work long hours to bring in the money while you feel like any contribution you make is minimal.  When you feel like you are getting better and stronger and try to do something simple like walk across a football field and afterward you are back on oxygen for the next few days.   There are probably millions of other examples; many o...