heavens, I don't think so!

How could you extract a dignified remark from context and shove it into pr anals?

Spoken like a hemorrhoidal Philistine who has just entered the temple of Dagon and found the granite arms of his god broken off and all he can think to do is get rid of that dammed Ark.

The book of I Samuel rings more like history than parable. I can’t imagine any theological value in these hemorrhoids. But it’s easy to imagine gut-wrenching laughter from Israelites when they received them. They must have at least grinned at the funny choice of shape for a gift of gold sent by those humiliated Philistines. And they must have grinned again at seeing their enemy recognize the fact that they, the Israelites, had won. Perhaps they also felt empathy, for they too had been humiliated in times past, akin to one who admits his mistake, an act of recognized imperfection in which the Lord is pleased.

I wish you would read the context of a verse before using it as basis for a sermon. The Lord did not demand a final act of spite from the Philistines. It was the priests of Dagon who suggested sending golden objects as gifts to appease the Israelites. I think it’s funny they chose hemorrhoids, but that’s part of a story, not the Gospel. And gold can be melted down. You can send it to me in any form you wish. Nice to find you reading the Word.

I thought at first to hang the old adage on you: Think negatively, then anything positive that comes along seems like a miracle. But maybe you and the poet of whom I speak are realists instead and give realism to the rest of us optimists as a gift we can really use. Maybe there is more beauty in buried roots than we thought.

Sit right down, Love. I'll put on a kettle of tea and bring out some biscuits. Now how true is it you're in the dark as Ranger notes? And how is the light brighter for you and this poet of whom I was speaking. I'd love to hear your thoughts, but you and Ranger just sit here and chat awhile; I'll be right back.

Step right in; let your hair down. You know my parlor is always open.

Oh, but I listen to him; he makes some good points. Thanks for stopping by.

I am happy you are piqued and offended. It’s a sign of success. But why should it be because you are a Christian? Observe that as a church forgets the truth of the Gospel, it usually compensates with observances in fake religion which Jesus would have lashed out at, possibly with a whip. The religion of His day had degraded into a form which we can lump into the dirty word “piety.”

“You can't know wisdom, but you can be it, at ease in your own life.” Tao Te Ching. As wisdom in the church wanes, compensation comes in cleverness and knowledge. I just observe these things happening; it is not a position statement as you seem to think. These degradations lead to arguments, which lead to stricter organization. If the situation degrades into strife and chaos, then a portion of the people leave and form another church. Thanks for your comment.

Verse 1.