Gray Court Musing

How did Cicero know?

His Rome is mirrored in our America. But anyone following his advice (i.e., Bob Barr) would lose if he were to run for president in 2008 America. The mobs don’t want to work and they have a vote. Proof of this is seen in the roughly 122 million people who voted for the 2 candidates that ignored all of Cicero’s advice. Put down your USA Today and pick up your Gibbon, for that’s where you’ll find out what’s going to happen in America, the 21^st century Rome.

"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. The mobs should be forced to work and not depend on government for subsistence."
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 B.C.

posted by Veritas @ 5:45 PM 0 Comments

Great post on LewRockwell.com

Mr. Vance gives and excellent description of Christians who embraced evil by voting for John McCain.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance154.html

posted by Veritas @ 3:17 PM 0 Comments

Romans 9:14

Those that find themselves at odds with the doctrine of election and its predicate corollary, predestination, should take a closer look at Romans 9:14. Paul says “God forbid” because if there is righteousness in Man and God does not elect all men, then God is unrighteous. The most probable conclusion to this is that if you believe that God elects all men (and that Jesus died for all men) and you say “That’s not fair!” when told that God has not chosen all mankind for salvation then you believe that there is righteousness in some men. And you would be right, if there is righteousness in some men. The Bible doesn’t support this assertion though as it plainly states “There is none righteous, no not one”.

Here’s the real problem: the Arminian/Wesleyan cannot attach his view to anything observable in either human nature or the Word. If he looks to human nature, he sees evil. Since he believes Man to be righteous, human nature leaves his assertion floating in the air because human nature proves that this Arminian/Wesleyan Righteous Man has indeed chosen unrighteousness. If perchance the Arminian/Wesleyan asserts that Man is unrighteous, human nature again abandons him and fails to give any examples of this unrighteous Man choosing righteousness.

The cornerstone of the foundation of the Arminian/Wesleyan understanding of the Word is:

“I said it, I believe it, and that settles it!”


"...if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). (Council of Orange: Canon 6)

posted by Veritas @ 2:56 PM 0 Comments

Gary North quote and comments

“The Declaration of Independence points a finger at us, and shouts from the grave on behalf of the 56 signers, ‘What have you done? What have you surrendered in our name? What in the name of Nature and Nature’s God do you people think liberty is all about?’ We have no clue. American voters surrendered more liberty in one session of Congress than the colonists surrendered to the British Crown and Parliament from 1700 to 1776.”

The vast majority of Americans today would have sided with the British. Security is far more important to Americans than freedom. By my estimation, at least 90% of American voters loathe freedom. This is why they think Ron Paul is “crazy”. Someone who believes in the Declaration of Independence is “crazy” by the standards of 21st century Americans. The typical 21st century American elected and re-elected a president who is closer ideologically to Caligula than to Jefferson.

One of the most counter-intuitive truths that I know is that the more you have, the less you want to be free. It would seem that the more you have, the more freedom you would want to enjoy your possessions. This is not true. The bedrock post-modern truth is that the more you have, the more security you want to keep what you have. 21st century security is antithetical to freedom.

The aphorism touted by both factions of the Government Party, “It is better to be safe than sorry” really means “Only sorry people are free.”

posted by Veritas @ 2:53 PM 0 Comments