Here I am in Starbucks playing with my new iPad having finally joined the twenty-first century.

Reading the news though it really makes me think about how far have we really come. I have just recently re-read The Communist Manifeso and Winston Churchill's history "The Age of Revolution". What do these have in common? Protests against the rolling classes be it The British for the American colonists, or the French Bourbon monarchy, or the bourgoeis in the case of Marx and Engels.

Now too today. Occupy Wall Street has emerged and spread throughout the country and into the world. Common folks, essentially protesting the mis-use of power be it form the financial powers or the governments. A different target than the days gone by, but the same cause: a person or group of people abusing positions they are in to the detriment of the average person, who in most cases are the reasons they are in the position of "power". What will the outcome be I don't know, but, if history is to be believed man's ultimate selfish nature will prevai and even if there is a short term change does occur it will not be for long. The Russian Revolution is the best example of this. The Marxist-Leninist ideal corrupted almost immediately by power hungry folks leading ultimately to the evil dictatorship of Stalin meaning the oppressed people before the revolution ended up being in an even worse place.

The only way for true fairness is for the "true" message and teaching of Christ to be followed.

More on this later.

- Richard

Pharisees

The other day I was driving to Dallas and listened to podcasts from Fred, the pastor from our old Church in Raleigh.  Listening I was struck (again) how so many in the so called "Christian Right" resemble the Pharisees of the New Testament.  This certainly was not the theme, but, it certainly spoke to me that way.

A religious hypocrite

In Biblical times

A Pharisee, 

Or Sadducee?

Following the rules 

To the letter

Impossible to be perfect

Yet stoning the fallen

Where in true judgement

They would all stand together.

A religious hypocrite

In the twenty-first century

A right wing Conservative,

Or fundamentalist?

Ignoring the new Gospel

Condemning those who disagree

With hate not love.

Ignoring their failings

The modern day Pharisee

They claim to abhor.

-Richard