The Tookey Williams Controversy: Why It Isn't So Simple Anymore

I must admit that I did not take this debate lightly. Just like Teri or Alian Gonzales. Some people take a hard stance with the black and white on these issues, and that is good. I typically do. But the facts are there were points on each side of each of these debates.

What if Mr. Williams really has repented of his evil deeds? What if he is sincere about his rehabilitation? It appears that the Governator did not believe he was sincere, in that he still maintained his innocence of those 4 deaths.

My point here, and it is a quick one, is that man cannot judge Tookie Williams heart. That is why God never gave the civil government the option to do so. You commit murder, you die. You rape or molest, you die. Doesn't the overwhelming evidence of repeatr offenders prove that Gods methods were so much more beneficial for society? After all, how many future child rapes are worth one mans rehabilitation? How many future human deaths are worth one killers redemption?

It is not mans ability, or civil governments responsibility to judge Tookies heart. He was convicted of killing 4 men, and should never have gotten the 24 years to "rehabilitate," putting us in this sticky situation of judging a mans sicerity. He should have been killed the day he was convicted.

God Bless
Nate

SPORTS OVERLOAD

I had to do it. Leaving my typical focus of what really matters, I had to vent on the thing that took up most of my Sunday while on duty...FOOTBALL!!!

WOW...my favorite team the Minnesota Vikings have really come on lately. Any surprise? I mean, I have only been saying since the 1999 trade of BRad Johnson, that the Vikings were making their biggest mistake since Hershel Walker. IF you do not believe me, see my dad, MSgt Davis, any sports fan who listened to me in the past 6 years. Now, I am not a man to cheer the pain of any individual, but professionally speaking, Daunte Culpeppers injury is the best thing to happen to the Vikings in those 6 years. Brad Johnson is back.
He has a ring, he has spent his career managing teams and getting to the playoffs, he has always excelled with Minnesota. The facts are, Brad Johnson is a MUCH better quaterback. No, he cannot throw it, run it, or shake sacks off like Daunte, but he has something Culpepper never developed, brains and leadership. He does not make the critical mistakes Daunte makes. He was always able to get the open receiver the ball, not the open defender. Though not as good, he is a pocket passing feild general in the shadow of the Tom Brady and Peyton Mannings. Even better than Peyton, he led his team to a Super Bowl victory. NFC...watch out. Tice might be that much better of a coach for having that much better of a quarterback at the helm. Errrr...until next year when they bench him for that moron who impresses people with personal stats and not wins!

The Chargers...did anyone else see the obvious reason for their collapse yesterday? They assumed the cockiness of their coach, who coached them into overconfidence and lost them the game. Any team with that much talent, that implodes that quickly against an inferior team like Miami, had a coaching failure. (See the Vikings of 1998-2000). But just wait, they will beat Indianapolis, K.C and Denver to advance to the playoffs. Errrr...provided the coach doesn't pack it in like all his years past. Again, someone who is great at stats, not wins that matter!

The Pistons are the best team in years. They are better than any team the Lakers put on the floor since Magic Johnson was around. Isn't it refreshing to see a basketball team that is so Patriotesque in its attitude?! They have no ego. Not even Rasheed Wallace. Yes he gets mad, loses his cool, flails around like a baby at every call, but the fact is, he does not care if he scored 2 or 22 points, as long as his team wins. And win the WILL!!! They will be the champs again, and any time they wish as long as Dumars can keep his players in tact. And that is possible, because winning is all this team cares about. It actually may NOT be about the money...for once.

And that is my take on sports for this Monday. Maybe I will do it again sometime!
God Bless
Nate

The Prince and His Betrothed

Many people seem to be struggling with the concepts of preterism in relation to the traditional "already but not yet" teaching of todays church. I want to adress that here.


There was a King who sent his son, his daughter, and his servants into the surrounding kingdoms to find a bride of virtue who would marry the Prince when he came of age. This woman must be pure, for she would be the next queen, responsible for the raising of a future generation of prince and princesses. After a year long journey throughout the known world, there came a young lady of virtue, born from the common people, whom the Prince had chosen. Her beauty was fair, but nothing to be prized by your average nobility. Her strength of heart, dedication to God and family, and fairness of mind drew the Prince unwaveringly to her. No such woman could be found among the nobility, so the King consented to offer this young lady's parents his son's betrothal to their daughter.

As a down payment for the promise of marriage to the Prince, the King gave this common family a chest of gold, and the companionship of the princess to the betrothed young lady. The princess would teach her brothers future bride the ways of nobility, and would not return to her own kingdom until the marriage had taken place. This was quite a price and sacrifice for the King to pay. The King deployed a guard tosecretly watch over the young princess and the betrothed until the Prince came of age. Needless to say, there were many jealous daughters of nobility who would love nothing more than an accident take place with this young commoner.

Needless to say, the young lady had many things to learn. She would someday be the daughter of the King, heiress to the throne, and the mother to future kings. The gift given to her was greater than anything she had ever dreamed. What could she do to live up to her Father-to-be's expectations?

Ok...in my little story we have a betrothed young lady who will marry the Prince when he returns to receive her as a man of age. As a promise, no less than a taste of the riches of the kingdom, the daughter of the King as teacher, and the protection of the kingdom were given to this young betrothed.

So how do we apply this to the Bible? How would the young lady view herself?

Would she consider herself unworthy of the gift?
Would she, considering what was given as downpayment, consider herself secure in this position? Would she refer to her future position as a present reality during her training with the Princess?
Would she start to act like a princess?
Is she ALREADY an heiress?
If the King is defeated by a rival kingdom, and the Prince never comes, is she anything other than a commoner again?
In the face of scoffing nobles, would she struggle with the urge to doubt her status?

Here is the point...
Paul and the other Apostles were given a gift, responsibility, a promise. As a down payment of their gift, their promise, they received the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. They were predestined by God, protected by God, and secure in their knowledge that they were the adopted sons.
Were they unworthy? YES
With their downpayment, were they secure in their belief? YES
Did they refer to their future position as a current reality, in light of all the evidence around them? YES
Did they begin to act, and teach others to act, as Son's already? YES
Had they already inherited the kingdom? NO!
If the Judaizers had won, and Christ never returned, would they have received their gift of eternal life? Righteousness? NO!
In the face of scoffing Judaizers who held the temple, the promises, and the Sonship, would they be tempted to doubt their status even in the face of their downpayments? YES

And this was the climate. This was the battle. The Christians of the first century had nothing more than a promise until the Son made good on His promise to return. They had boldness in the light of all the evidence they were given. The downpayment was great, and because of it, they began to train themselves as Sons, refer to themselves as Sons, believe in the liberty they would receive as nobility, and eagerly await for their betrothal to become a marriage.

We do not get it if we think that anyone in the first century, before Christ returned, had salvation in any other way than a promise. Just because they refered to themselves in the future person, does not make it so. It only displayed the great faith they had that their proclimations, in light of God's downpayment, WOULD be so! Just as the betrothed was being trained by the Princess to behave like, refer to herself as, and began to believe herself to be a future Princess/Queen, so were the habits of Paul and the Christians of the first century.
God Bless
Nate