Redneck Review!
No. 246 - 1/13/2020
There comes a time to conclude and move on!  And the RNR recent claim about "Miracles" all around us has definitely pushed the limits of any reader's patience, including my own having made these claims.  If anything was learned by myself in 53 years of teaching, it is that staying too long on the same topic not only produces boredom, but even a kind of rebellion! Admitted also is that the limits to both of these reactions was pushed by myself during those 53 years!
But there was a point to be make by the claims in past articles.  And it is the intent of this review to highlight that point and to conclude the discussion of miracles and everything that goes along with it!   So some points to be considered here.
First, wirh rare exception, and that only relatively lately, the human race has believed in some higher power.  Call that power the "Great Spirit," or Jehovah, or Yahweh, or Brahman, or Allah, or Buddha, or Jupiter, or Zeus, or Inari in Japan, Shangdi in China, or God the Father, the Son - Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in Christianity, sometimes the Moon, the Sun, and almost countless other names given by various civilizations in the past.  In other words, history records that the human race has throughout its history believed in some  higher power given the game... God.
Why?  Because as discussed in past articles, the world around us screams of a mighty designer who has given the human race on this one planet everything needed for the life that we see all around us, including our own.  And as society advances, new uses of things once consider just nuisances, like the first oil that showed up in shallow wells, or the complexity of the tiny atom which can generate power beyond belief!  The list could go on and on!
So it is no surprise that history tells us this near universal belief in a supreme being required recognition of some kind,  and the civilizations involved adopted some ritual or sacrifice to appease or obtain favors from these entities!
And research tells us that Christianity claims the most followers in the world today, followed by Islam, then Non-Believers, and a host of others including Hinduism as one of the largest.  So it might be asked, why is this important, and what does it have to do with the world around us?
Is it not obvious?  Christianity made visible by the birth and death of Jesus Christ teaches love, concern for neighbor, and adherence to a code of conduct known by nearly all called the Ten Commandments.  And the United States of America is predominantly a Christian nation, with some 80% more or less of its citizens claiming to be Christian today.  So should it be a surprise that our country is the wealthiest and most envied nation not only on earth today, but for all of recorded history?  A religion that puts God first, neighbor second, and the individual third in the words of past Hall of Fame football player Gayle Sayers in a book written by him in 1970?  A religion that teaches that each individual is responsible, and should care for himself, loved ones, and strangers in need? A religion that requires tolerance for all, and respect as well?
Contrast that to Islam which demands strict adherence to its creed, and wages "Holy War" Jihad on all who dare to disagree.  And with no offense intended, compare the historical record of Christ, the founder of Christianity with the founder of Islam. Pick and choose as you will!
But today, the claim is made here that the greatest threat to our enviable way of life are those individuals who insist on having it their way, do not tolerate differences of opinion, and adhere to no code of conduct other than their own individual preferences.  Concluded next week! 
Jake Wren

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