rantbits.com

..more than you can shake a stick at. “American Idol” is all the rage- this modern version of “Star Search” has an unbelievable amount of staying power. Gee, I’d have no idea that there were people out there who could actually sing well! I thought they were all on the radio! Duh…

I haven’t watched “American Idol”, but, I know what the show is all about. In a sense, I’m forced to know what the show is about. “American Idol” results are put alongside serious news items, which enrages me to no end.

A lot of the recent hubbub is over some 40-something, never-been-kissed virgin who apparently can sing. Who knew?!? Anyway, I think a lot of this ties into a lot of weird ideas that women have about courtship- that there’s a prince out there that will come out of nowhere and pick them off their feet- and all will be well. No effort is required on their part- they can look like diseased ragamuffins- and they are entitled to be swept off their feet. Yes, Virginia, every woman is entitled to be swept off her feet, regardless if she looks like the Swamp Thing or not. The movie Never Been Kissed plays into this idea- the girl looks like a Chia Pet with AIDS, but, somehow, every guy in the world is supposed to see through this and psychically know that she’s a wonderful person- beautiful on the inside, of course- she just isn’t willing to brush her hair or her teeth. The creature in that movie had a prank played on her where she was egged, and, of course, she carries around that memory in her purse. After all, everyone needs a little PTSD, but, thinking about it, she’s lucky he didn’t call animal control on her. That would have made it a family movie, though, because she would have been sent to a laboratory and forced to breed with all the animals. Everyone knows that it ain’t a family movie until there’s a little bestiality involved.. didn’t Walt Disney say that?

Anyway, we all know the ending, just like we know all the endings of the geeky girl that wants the boy who brushes his teeth movies: she ends up with her dream guy. All is well. She lives the dream life of the mediocre housewife with three semi-normal children and a husband who likes to spend all of his time inside of the 16-year-old babysitter. We get it. World peace and hair grease make the world go ’round.

Most adults aren’t psychic, however, and, teenagers are even less psychic. Girls, if you are expecting teenage boys to be psychic and see the “real you”(the person you dream you are when you’re masturbating), you’re shit out of luck.

People, young and old alike, only see what’s on the outside. It’s been like that since the beginning of time, and people will be like that ’till the aliens take over and ship us off to be their house-bitches. If you want the world to see the real you, start by shaving your face, brushing your teeth, and, stop bitching. Hollywood creates movies about the geeky girl who smells like formaldehye marrying the male super model because a lot of women fantasize and this idea sells in the box office. This does not happen in real life. You have to show us that you are able to speak so we know you are conscious.

Okay?

After all, we have no other way of knowing if the date-rape drug we gave you worked.

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If I see one more “How to get a job!” article in the newspaper or on the internet, I’ll scream. All of the articles are the same: how to come across as this super-duper go-getter that will stand out and get “hired”. Apparently, this is our highest standard: to be “hired”.

All of this requires a lot of deception, because, if you were a super-duper go-getter you wouldn’t have to look for a job at all- you would have been a millionaire or billionaire by now. Hopefully, though, your potential employer is stupid enough to fall for those schlocky tactics, and, you can now run around town boasting that you actually have to get up for work every morning instead of masturbating to internet porn like you have been for the last six months. You’ve arrived! Welcome to the American Dream. Now, shut up and work like a good little slave. Be grateful to your massuh!

The most depressing thing about all of this is how low people have set their standards. I live in Michigan, and, the way things are going in the Midwest, if I want to buy a business suit five years from now, I’ll have to fly to New York City. When our country was attacked on 9-11, people all over the country rallied to help out the folks at Ground Zero. We’ve hit an economic rough spot, and, now, our response is to cower in the corner and hope the lowest bidder is interested enough in our labor so we can work. Is this the American spirit? I hope that it isn’t, because, if it is, we’re finished.

Let’s rally around the flag again and turn those condescending talking heads in the media into delightful punching bags!

As Gordon Gekko said: “This is your wake-up call, pal. GO TO WORK!!!“

I saw Barack Obama’s press conference. Not bad.

You know, the more I read and think about what is going on in this country, the more I realize that a lot of the “hardships” that we go through are of our own making. We believe that things have to be a certain way, and work to ensure that they remain that way.

We’re the only industrialized nation that does not have universal health care. The idea of “entitlements”, otherwise known as “welfare” has been given a bad rap. Even Barack Obama mentioned scaling back “entitlements”.

With all the money our nation has, there is no rational reason for any citizen to go without food, shelter, or an education. However, as we know, there are many people in this country to go without some, or all of those things. As a result, there are large sections of poverty-stricken areas in the U.S. Imagine if instead of pouring money into Iraq, we poured money into our country. Suffice to say, those poverty-stricken areas would become a thing of the past.

Let’s step back from this, and ask ourselves who actually benefits from the current situation. Does the average American benefit from large sections of poverty-stricken areas? Who benefits from this?

The poverty-stricken areas are sources of revenue to companies inside the U.S., because these poverty-stricken areas provide cheap labor, consumers, soldiers, and prisoners. If unemployment remains high, and, our living standards continue to plummet, large corporations will have an opportunity to profit from low labor costs. For those sectors that have been unionized, the fact that “things are the way they are” will be used as a weapon against labor, resulting in more favorable contracts with the unions.

Now, we can see why George W. Bush was so interested in “immigration reform”: he wanted a flood of laborers coming in from Mexico to drive down the cost of labor. The large corporations profit, and you, the taxpayer, have to pick up the tab for all the extra expense that will come about because of the drain on the social systems. Somehow, I also think that he and people like him are hoping for a taxpayer revolt so things like the welfare system cease to exist, so that wages will be driven even lower. A wish that these people have had for a long time is the elimination of the minimum wage laws, and, from there, elimination of labor laws. I’m sure they are anticipating the profits from having children work for 20 cents a day.

The media have brainwashed you for years. The idea that the necessities of life like food, shelter, education, and healthcare should be guaranteed by the government is outrageous to many Americans.

We believe in “work”. We are rewarded for hard work. That’s what we believe.

Let’s say you work hard, but are only able to provide you and your family with the necessities of life. Are you being rewarded? At what point in your life are you rewarded? At what point does the magic bunny come down from heaven and reward you?

So, if you still maintain that you are rewarded for your hard work, then, you should have no problem with concluding that the slaves in the South were rewarded for their hard work. After all, they were provided with the necessities of life, and, they had something you don’t:  guaranteed employment for life.

So, you’re not being rewarded.

People don’t think, though, which is good for those in power, and good for those who are making money off of you.

Does it have to be this way, though? There’s more of you than there is of them.

Now, I just realized why a college education isn’t provided by the government.

Do you?

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So far, it is has been said that the Super Bowl- which was played last night- was one of the better ones.

Maybe we won’t hear so much about the ads.

Thank God.

For the record, I didn’t watch the thing at all- the outcome will make no difference in my life- so, why bother?

I’d rather read a book. Now, if I had the money, I would probably bet on the game, and, watch the game. Actually, if I had enough money, I would travel to the Super Bowl and purchase some good seats. There’s nothing like seeing a football game, or any game, for that matter, in person. You get to be a part of the crowd. So, although I don’t usually watch televised sports, if I had the money, I would buy season tickets to the three major sports franchises in our town and enjoy.

Strange, isn’t it?

I guess so.

When I was a teenager, I would watch televised sports. I even enjoyed watching them- I would watch all sports- football, baseball, basketball- even downhill skiing. I grew out of it, though. I just see these things as pure entertainment- and things which have no relevance in my life whatsoever.

My wife has the TV on all the time, but, if I lived alone, it would be off. I really don’t really watch movies anymore. I guess I’m burned out on entertainment.

When I was a kid, we had cable. Cable back then was actually very expensive- they wanted something like 50 dollars a month for it (in 80’s dollars!) That was a little bit of change back then. However, I lived in a white suburban area- and people had plenty of disposable income available- so, it wasn’t a big deal. It was to my mother, who thought the price of cable was outrageous- so, we returned the cable box, and used the VCR instead.

We rented movies. Blockbuster and the other chain video stores hadn’t hit our area yet, so, everyone who had a mom-and-pop drugstore or party store started renting movies. The place we went to, Merlin’s, started as a party store, but, then, the rental business got so lucrative, that they bought the building right next to them - which was a lot larger- and used that for the video rental business.

Movie rentals were something like 2 dollars a night. Later on, the library got in the act, and started renting movies for a dollar a night. My half-brother was an entertainment addict, so, he had built up a large video library from the movies on cable he had recorded.

So, there were plenty of movies to watch. All of it, though, was a waste of time. Sure, the movies entertained us, but, did our lives change? No.

A lot of people predicted that movie theaters would go out of business because of the VCR. Now, people watch DVDs, and, although most of them have gone out of business, the ones that are around are here to stay as they get a lot of business. Just like there’s no substitute for a live sporting event, there is no substitute for watching a movie in a theater.

I think that taking movies out of the theater and putting them in our homes takes them out of their proper context. Movies are entertainment, not real life. By putting them in our homes, we make them part of our lives. It’s easier to hide from reality if you can flip a switch and watch a movie. To get to the theater, you must go through the real world in order to see the movie.

Kurt Saxon, in the article, “You Can’t Change the Channel”, has this to say:

Before TV, movies were certainly an influence. But, you had to leave home to see a movie. You chose what you wanted to see and accepted the fact that you were being entertained. After the delightful fantasy was over, you walked out into the cold night. There were the derelicts, shambling up to the movie leavers to beg for booze money. A couple in an upstairs room screamed obscenities at each other. A fire truck barreled around the corner to save some wretched smoker from an ignited mattress.

          All this broke the mood; unpleasantly, of course, but it at least helped to put things back in their proper perspective.

          The viewer of TV can go from Boob-tube to beddy-by without having his fantasy mood broken. In fact, with several channels, he can maintain his fantasies from the time he gets home from his boring job until he goes to sleep.

          Over the years, the average American has selected a set of fantasies and maintained them for hours each day. Mood breaking reality is avoided. An excellent example of this is a commercial for CARE. It shows children in Darkest Somewhere or Other, with their pot bellies: pitiful. A child viewer whines, “Why do we have to watch this?” The father figure then reads from his script that we must help these people. Of course, the poor little tykes in the film had probably died before the footage was shown, but the commercial still points out the reality avoidance of the average viewer.

So, you can see the impact that continuous, uninterrupted entertaiment has has on our society.

Kurt concludes:

          Most people are bored with their daily routine. They are also anxious about the future. Such a combination of boredom and anxiety creates stresses that only hours of fantasizing can relieve.

          Since most of today’s problems can’t be solved by the individual as long as he stays in his rut, he marks time on his job until he can go home to his own Disneyland. During the day he will talk about sports and other programs he watched on TV. He tries to recreate the dream world he finds most secure.

          If you intrude on his daydreaming he is likely to try to change your channel and get you to echo his own fantasies. Failing this, he will become grumpy and tune you out entirely.

          Thus, few Americans communicate today apart from routine specifics or comparisons of whatever highs they experienced last night in front of the tube. They are increasingly hard to reach with reality subjects that seem to threaten the continuance of their routine or their fantasy world.

          Meanwhile at home, the women lead fantasy lives, identifying with their soap opera queens and their sophisticated problems. Women’s fantasy involvement with soap operas has been covered quite well without my help. But it is increasingly evident that reality in the home is less important to the female than the fantasy world of her soaps.

          A perfect example is Mary Hartman-Mary Hartman. Mary is the Typical Consumer Housewife. She can deal with waxy buildup and other problems solved by TV commercials. Many social problems have their answers in TV characters who have also been there.

          But does “As the World Turns” tell what to do when Leroy drowns in a bowl of chicken soup forced on him by Mary? Does “Somerset” tell how to deal with the troubled lad who massacred the five-member Lombardi family, their two goats and eight chickens?

          Mae gave Tom VD. He gave it to Mary. Looking for love and appreciation, Mary then made out with Sergeant Foley in his hospital bed while he was resting up from a heart attack. All this would have been duck soup had only “General Hospital” handled it first. But it didn’t, so what had poor Mary to go on? She was shattered.

          Confused wretch that she is, she’s picked as the Typical American Consumer Housewife. Her selection is based on the fact that she is representative of most American housewives. She has no hobbies, interests, or ambition. On the night of the award presentation she goes crazy on the David Suskind Show and we leave her in the nuthouse until September. You see, confronted with real-life problems, Mary couldn’t change the channel, so she came apart.

          Mary Hartman-Mary Hartman is believed to be a takeoff on soap operas. But I see it as a takeoff on the American housewife, so caught up in soap operas, commercials and other mass media that she can’t function without their direction.

          In a sense, men are worse off than women when it comes to problem solving through TV. Sports are no help. Sports heroes (?) are inspirational only to mentally defective youngsters. When Jack Nicklaus hunkers before First Base, pitches the ball past the forty-yard line and sinks it in the basket, only a no-hoper would take heart. But there are a lot of no-hopers out there, friend. Men so devoid of intellect, so crushed by their own mediocrity, that a gum chewing, flank-scratching cretin symbolizes all that’s manly and heroic.

          In sports, the only enemy is the opposing player. In Westerns and war movies the enemy is long dead or fictional. Besides, the movie hero always wins; a heady, but harmless drug, when taken sparingly.

          Before TV, these entertainments were usually strung out over weekends with a Saturday night movie and a Sunday game. The mind could come awake between fantasies wherein the fantasizer is shooting at the Clantons or playing football with the Giants.

          The American male’s identification with infantile sports and their players and with movie stars was simply recreation before TV. But with TV, one can immerse himself in fantasies the whole weekend and for hours and hours each evening. And the average man does, because he can’t cope with the real world anymore. Instead of trying to cope with today’s problems, he has taken to fantasizing every waking, non-working hour.

          The barrage of heroic imagery gives a person little time to adjust to his own reality. After an evening of mastering all his fantasy foes the dreamer goes to bed, then wakes up and is brutally thrust into the real world.

          Still feeling heroic, he is forced into the wrong lane by some hot-rodding punk. Then his boss snaps at him. Normal setbacks and irritations, easily handled before TV are too much for him.

          Joe Namath or Burt Lancaster could handle such problems. But a man fantasizing their roles finds himself more helpless in such situations than he used to be when he handled them alone. Muscles and hot lead win the day on the screen but not on the highway or in the shop or office.

          Since our TV addict spends more time in his fantasy world than away from it, he finds himself avoiding unpleasantness, rather than confronting it. Last night he was tuned into a program on famine and saw that he couldn’t resolve the problem by clever footwork or a fast draw, so, he changed the channel.

          Today he saw an old lady being mugged by two punks half his size, but, he left his gun and football shoes at home in the TV so he couldn’t get involved. In his own life situation he can’t change the channel except by quitting his job or by slugging someone and getting fired. Barring this, he simply becomes more withdrawn.

          His fantasy world is so much better than his real world that he increasingly shuts the real world out. In a limited sense, he can change the channel in this way. In only a few hours he will be back in front of the tube and be rid of this irritation. Thus, he will not become involved. He will accept no more responsibility. He won’t stand up to a bullying foreman. After all, in a few hours, he will gun the oaf down, along with the Clantons.

          The American male has increasingly given up his responsibilities to the police, unions, and politicians. He regards these forces as necessary evils and gives his off-TV hours up to their direction. In short, most Americans have turned into gutless, daydreaming sheep.

          That’s why when you urge them to act toward their own survival, they give you the brush-off. They won’t be awakened. They will leave their protection to overworked, thinly spread cops. Their jobs, which they do so poorly now, are secured by corrupt labor union officials, more interested in pension funds than production. They will gladly leave their political responsibilities up to the most personable political hack on the tube. After all, they seem to think, if conditions get worse under their political hero, they can always change the channel. But they can’t. At least, not for long.

 I really couldn’t put it better than that. There’s nothing wrong with entertainment, but, let’s keep it in perspective. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Do they go together like a horse and carriage?

Hmm. Bruce has always represented himself as the voice of the “working man”, and his fans are criticizing the deal he made with them.

Bruce says he made a mistake.

Did he?

Wal-Mart is one of the nation’s largest retailers, and putting one’s CD in Wal-Mart gives one a lot of exposure, so, the deal may have been pretty lucrative… even though Wal-Mart is notorious for being stingy with its suppliers.

Wal-Mart has expanded exponentially in this country during the last 20 years, because of their cheap labor and their buying practices enable them to offer the best prices on just about anything.

There has been pressure on Wal-Mart to unionize, but, what would unionization do to the average Wal-Mart employee? Looking at the grocery industry, not very much. The wage of the average Wal-Mart worker would stay low, just like in the grocery industry. The only thing that would change is that the Wal-Mart worker would have to pay union dues.

I’m not anti-union. On the contrary, I understand that the labor laws that we have in place today are because of unions. Strong unions provide a kind of check against corporate power. The problem that I have is that the union most likely to represent the Wal-Mart worker would be the UFCW, one of the weakest and least militant labor unions in the country. The UFCW consistently negotiates lousy contracts for its workers - that’s why the grocery stores that have contracts with the UFCW hire even in the middle of recessions. The grocery stores get a large supply of cheap labor, and the UFCW gets more members. The only person who ends up getting short-changed in the process is the worker.

Of course, the UFCW will say “these are tough times” and that they are ensuring that none of their members get laid-off. However, what was their excuse for the last 30 years? We haven’t been in a recession for 30 years. Even in good times, the UFCW negotiates lousy contracts.

Is the fact that the average worker’s wage has either fallen or stayed stagnant compared to inflation for the last 30 years the fault of Wal-Mart or the unions? I think, ultimately, the fault rests with the apathetic workers, even though their brains have been turned to mush by television. The workers outnumber the union leadership, and they need to take control and make the union more militant. It would be counterintuitive to suggest that strikes should be held, but, in this economic climate, it may just work. The average worker has been losing ground for years, and there might not be too many chances left to effect change at this rate.

Strike while the iron is hot.

We have a person in a Statue of Liberty costume dancing down the street.

Magic Johnson is pitching Jackson-Hewitt on the airwaves.

Ahh, it’s “tax time”!

A question I’ve had for people who get back more in the way of a refund than they pay, or have no tax liability at all- meaning they get exactly the amount of money back that they paid, is why?

Why aren’t you increasing your deductions or filing exempt? You can do that, you know. If you believe that you will owe nothing at the end of the year, you can file “exempt”- which means no federal income taxes will be taken out of your paycheck for the entire year. If you owe, the IRS will gladly bill you. No big deal. If you are paranoid of the IRS, file exempt, and put the amount that is deducted from your paycheck for federal income taxes in a interest-bearing account of some kind. If you owe exactly the amount that is deducted from your paycheck (which is unlikely if you’ve been getting income tax refunds) you can pocket the interest, and send what you owe when you e-file your return.

Isn’t that simple? Instead of doing something like that, people will “cut corners” for the entire year- eating ramen noodles and going without when they really don’t have to. Some people will even work second jobs. All of this is done because no one wants to think. Stupidity costs a lot of money, and wastes a lot of your time.

I’ve explained this to many people that I’ve worked with over the years, and it flies over their heads. One moron said that a 12-year-old babysitter might get in trouble with the IRS for “working under the table”. I guess this idiot never heard of a “standard deduction”. That babysitter would have to do a lot of babysitting to make that kind of money, and I told the idiot that the IRS isn’t going to spend a lot of time or money tracking down a 12-year-old babysitter.

People really don’t think. They really don’t. I don’t know if television has anything to do with it, but people just don’t think.

I remember when Y2k came out. I went to the grocery store on New Year’s eve to find that the meat section had been cleared out.

I thought that was funny. What are people going to do if there’s no electric power and no refrigeration? I doubt that anyone in my area knew how to preserve meat by salting it. If the power had gone out, all of that meat would have spoiled. Stupid.

For something that’s tax-related, I point to the flat-tax movement as an example of stupidity. If you are a high-income taxpayer, the flat-tax idea will save you money. However, if you are not, and you get a tax refund every single year, you’re being stupid. You’re even dumber if you advocate a national sales tax. Under the present system, you’re getting back more than you paid in, and you’re complaining because of what your preacher said or some moron on television or talk radio said?

Where’s your head?????

I think I know, and the people in power know where your head is, too. They’re hoping you keep it there, and not notice what is going on, so you can continue to make them money. You work for them, and buy from them. In a sense, you exist for them. If you look at it, you’re no different from a peasant in the medieval era. The peasant worked a plot of land on the lord’s estate his entire life, died, and was replaced by another peasant. Nothing has changed.

That’s why Magic Johnson instead of Yo-Yo Ma is pitching Jackson-Hewitt.

They know you better than you know yourself.

I think you know the song. Anyway, what brought this on was the Discovery Channel’s endless exploitation of the “Duggar” family. For those of you who don’t know, the “Duggars” are folks who have 18 kids- all by the same mom and dad- who live in Arkansas, home-school, religious, etc. Get the picture?

Anyway, Discovery is playing the same old commercial over and over again, saying that the oldest Duggar child is getting married- his name is Joshua, about 18-19 years old, and of course, everything is going to be televised. In the promotional spot, he keeps on talking about remaining “pure”- no sex before marriage, not even a kiss. He obviously believes that this will keep him “pure”.

Ah, American evangelicalism! One part self-centeredness, another part arrogance, with a dash of pride thrown in, along with a large helping of ignorance- and this is the result: Joshua believes that his choice not to touch his future bride makes him “pure”.

The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the best Protestant confessions around, has this to say:

Chapter VI

Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and the Punishment thereof

I. Our first parents, being seduced by the subtilty and temptations of Satan, sinned, in eating the forbidden fruit.[1] This their sin, God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory.[2]

II. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion, with God,[3] and so became dead in sin,[4] and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body.[5]

III. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed;[6] and the same death in sin, and corrupted nature, conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation.[7]

IV. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good,[8] and wholly inclined to all evil,[9] do proceed all actual transgressions.[10]

This, by the way, is the reason that Joshua, at least according to orthodox Protestantism, will never be “pure”:

V. This corruption of nature, during this life, does remain in those that are regenerated;[11] and although it be, through Christ, pardoned, and mortified; yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.[12]

By the way, the numbers pertain to the proof-texts, which, for those of you that care, follow:

[1] GEN 3:13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 2CO 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

[2] ROM 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

[3] GEN 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. ECC 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. ROM 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

[4] GEN 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. EPH 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

[5] TIT 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. GEN 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. JER 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? ROM 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

[6] GEN 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ACT 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. ROM 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 1CO 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

[7] PSA 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. GEN 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. JOB 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

[8] ROM 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ROM 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ROM 7:18 For I know that in me(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. COL 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.

[9] GEN 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 8:21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. ROM 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

[10] JAM 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. EPH 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. MAT 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

[11] 1JO 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ROM 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. JAM 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. PRO 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? ECC 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

[12]ROM 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. GAL 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Protestant theologians have wrestled with the implications of this for years, and have tried to side-step this. It cannot be done. The Westminster Confession of Faith even tries to side-step the implications a little:

Chapter XIII

Of Sanctification

I. They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart, and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection,[1] by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them:[2] the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed,[3] and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified;[4] and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces,[5] to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.[6]

II. This sanctification is throughout, in the whole man;[7] yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part;[8] whence arises a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.[9]

III. In which war, although the remaining corruption, for a time, may much prevail;[10] yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part does overcome;[11] and so, the saints grow in grace,[12] perfecting holiness in the fear of God.[13]

For those of you who care, the proof-texts:

[1] 1CO 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. ACT 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. PHI 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; ROM 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

[2] JOH 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. EPH 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. 2TH 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

[3] ROM 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

[4] GAL 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. ROM 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

[5] COL 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. EPH 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

[6] 2CO 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. HEB 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

[7] 1TH 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[8] 1JO 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ROM 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. PHI 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

[9] GAL 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 1PE 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

[10] ROM 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

[11] ROM 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 1JO 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. EPH 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

[12] 2PE 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 2CO 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

[13] 2CO 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

There is a slight contradiction, isn’t there? Man is unable to do any good and is evil by nature, and even the evil remains in a “saved” person, but, somehow, man is able to become holy? Can you see the contradiction?

In any case, Joshua is only “pure” in his imagination, at least, according to orthodox Protestant theology. That’s the story of American evangelicalism- it’s all made up, and no one questions or challenges it because of ignorance or fear.

Now you know the truth.

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