Bruce drinking Waikato Draught and Joy (My future wife) at a friends 21st.
About 1995
Below is my hastily written goodbye to my long time friend Bruce Christopher Davies, who took his own life 4-3-18.
Bruce was a fully fledged Hard-man Engineering Rebel Bogan… He had a colorful existence… Cars, Bikes, Beer, Woman, and Song.
Hard work and Hard Rock.
In the end it all took its toll…
He will be missed by his Mates, and Family.
This Blog post is to pay Tribute to this Awesome dude… my fabulous friend with a Big Heart.. loved by many.. and for those who never got to pay their respects to Bruce with his unexpected passing.
Please leave comments and photos below.
Bruce and friends at Hamilton Jay day about 2007.
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My tale of Bruce Davies.
By Tim Wikiriwhi
Spoken at his Funeral.(Edited)
9-3-18
This story of Bruce Davies … My Story…starts at New Haven engineering, Judea Tauranga in 1987, when I had just moved down from West Auckland a week after finishing my Engineering apprenticeship…
I had a small Bedford housebus that I drove, and parked up at my mums place in Gate pa.
I was 18, and I wanted to live in Tauranga as from visiting my mother who was living there… the Bay of Plenty appeared to be a paradise!
Plenty of Hot friendly girls, sunshine and beaches!
Just one great big Holiday park!
I was not in Tauranga long before I started looking for work as an engineer.
Being an Auckland Westy, when I met the Bay of Plenty Bogan Bruce Davies who was working at New Haven Structural Engineers … we were a cultural perfect fit… though I was a Christian… we had the same Westy Bogan values … and we hit it off immediately.
Not only that… we had had similar upbringings… not known our Fathers… being raised in a single parent house by our mothers, etc
New Haven was a Structural Fabrication Workshop and We were Building Tanks and structures for the Waihi Goldmine.
Bruce was a great engineer… a great welder and fabricator… a hard man.
Heavy Fabrication Engineering is a real mans job… Not afraid to get dirty… We took pride in being Hard.
He was also a great farmer.
As a New Guy… sitting in the New Haven smoko room full of workers and the Boss, Bruce loudly asks me… “Do you smoke Pot?”
I was shocked!
As a 19 year old Westy… OF Course I smoked pot! Yet we Westies were *secret squirrel* about such things at our Jobs… around ‘Nomies’/ trendies/etc… so I was like trying to wisper… bro keep it down!
Yet it was only a matter of days before I was smoking weed with Bruce outside his mums place in my bus… and drinking Waikato Draught Beer… two things that would become synonymous with our friendship that would last 30 years.
We would under age Drink Waikato ( Legal drinking age was 20 back then) and play pool at the Otumotai Trust hotel..with Bruce’s mates Al, Mark, and Guy… the five of us looked like black peas from the same pod… all would wear black Levis, black tee shirts, black jerseys, black beanies, and all were about the same height and all had shaggy long un-kept hair… and we were suspicious of anyone who did not look like us!
One day I rolled into the Trust Hotel car park in my bus and Bruce said to the boys… here comes ‘the blowfly’… referring to my green and black bus… and after that my nickname was Blowfly!
Thanks mate… it was a classic nickname… one that makes you cringe.
Me and my Bus.
1987.
I had my 21st party at Bruce’s and Nicky’s pad in Thompsons track Katikati… in a farmhouse where he was milking and farming.
I then moved back to Auckland for a few years with a pretty Tauranga Girl (Carol) and we soon had a Daughter (Melissa) … yet having got used to the Tauranga pace … the Auckland Rat race sucked and so we moved back to Tauranga… And I was soon working with Brucie again in Structural Engineering… for a company called Metal Trend… this is when my Son Jamie was born.
(Carol and I would separate a few years later… yet we are friends now)
Bruce had an affinity with cats.
He was a cool Cat! and he certainly had nine lives. He wreaked at least 50% of the vehicles he ever owned…
Bruce had his orange ginger cat ‘Russell’ who was Bruce’s best mate… “the greatest cat in the world” according to Bruce. He nick named Russell ‘Patrol leader’… Russell was always on patrol… and they spent many years together… even after Bruces great love Nicky left him for his [other] best friend.
Bruce and Cats went together.
Bruce found Joy (My Wife), Mine, and our sons grey cat Floyd as a tiny Kitten in the gutter outside the Te Rapa Pub Hamilton…One dark winter rainy nite… and brought him home to our place as at the time he was staying with us after going through another tuff break up with another lady…
And Bruce as many of you probably already know… had his last cat named ‘Tuesday’ with him in the car… and they passed way together. Tuseday is buried on site in the upper reaches of the Cormandal peninsula.
Floyd My Cat… who owes his life to Bruce.
Bruce was a romantic soul, yet like so many of us everytime he fell in love… it was followed by a painful break up… and these were the low points in his life.
I remember how happy Bruce was when he and Amanda had Michael… Bruce was a proud Father and it was devastating when He had a messy break up with Amanda, and it was virtually impossible for Bruce to maintain any contact with Michael… too painful to deal with the situation, and when Amanda moved to Australia that definitely was a barrier too far for Bruce, and Like me he would have been hoping that at some time when Mike had grown up… that they would make contact again … sadly Bruce took a heavy downturn… and now this will never happen.
Michael… You have my sincere apologies on Bruces behalf… he was a great Guy… yet he was a person who… in the end…did not like or function well according to the rules conservative society demands…
I hope you and I get a chance to talk about your old man so you get to know him better.
As the decades past we had countless good times … partying… smoking weed… and hanging out.
I got my first tattoos with Bruce at his house on a Kiwifruit orchard up Omanawa road (lower Kaimai ranges) … from a flatmate who was planning to become a tattoo artist and needed some suckers to practice on!
Bruce got a Ledzeplin wizard holding up a lantern on his arm, and the big Scorpion on his back and shoulder… Bruce was a Scorpio.
Now though some folk will not approve of this yet… as I have already mentioned smoking weed was a major recreational past time for Bruce and I.
I got busted by the police *twice* with Bruce over the years.
Both these times are quite amusing to look back on, yet I would become a staunch Libertarian activist for the decriminalisation of Cannabis… and Bruce being a Mate would help me with setting up Libertarianz party stands at Jay days etc… he would take the pics of me speaking, etc… and some of my best quality photos I have of Bruce are Libertarian activism pics… Both of us were now living in Hamilton Waikato (District).
The war on drugs is very oppressive for fringe-dwellers like Bruce… and myself… people who don’t want to conform to the sheepish standards that pass as ‘normal/ conservative’…
We Libertarians despise how oppressive the ‘Mob rule’ of our Nanny state democracy is, and defiantly ‘Live like its legal’… and because of righteous activism and world trends… cannabis will soon be legal here in New Zealand… as it has become in many countries around the world.
In 2002 Bruce would be the Best man at Joy and my wedding at Mc Clarens falls in the Kaimai hills above Tauranga.
It was an honor to have him as my best man.
Though I have been fortunate to have had more than one ‘Best mate’… Bruce earned the right to stand beside me on my most important day, in front of most of my other friends and family.
He rose to the occasion and was a great support…. The after party being the best party of my life… and he was a big part of that… we used his stereo for the Soundz, and he was a big help cleaning up in the days that followed.
About twenty years ago Bruce and I had another painful shock.
Bruces life long friend Mark Crosby… one of our tight Posse… killed himself in a car in a reserve on the Matamata side of the Kaimais.
I got the call from Bruce about it…. And every since then I had a fear… a premonition… that Bruce was harbouring thoughts that this was a legitimate option he had for himself.
And this has proved to be the case.
I must ask you all not to follow Bruces example!
It was a very Bad idea… Death will come calling for us soon enough and when someone takes their life… they take away any chance for Providence to shine again in their lives… The Sun will rise again if only you endure… Hold on and have faith… Don’t let the world break your spirit!
Find something that fills your life with value and meaning… I have my Christian faith…
Bruce had at least another 20 years of quality life… so many good things he will now miss… and because of what he did..we… the ones that loved him and appreciated him… will miss out too.
Now I am going to close this on a sad note.
About the time that Joy and I were expecting our son Roman, Bruce and I had a falling out… and I decided to stop visiting him and focus on my new responsibility as a Dad.
I was hoping Bruce would turn up one day and we would talk things through and get things settled and we would carry on as normal… I lost contact with him when he moved… yet always hoping… sadly the years quickly ticked by… and Bruce never showed.
I am very sad that we never managed to get it sorted.
I am angry that he chose to pass away without trying….
And I carry Guilt that I did not act upon my thoughts several years ago to track him down and sort it out.
I am sorry my friend for not being there when you needed me… not being there to tell you to get your shit together like I did many times before.
I hope you forgive me.
I hope you are in a better place… maybe with Mark, and Pat, and your Mum.
Good bye Mate… and thanks for everything.
Tim Wikiriwhi
9-3-18
With consent of Bruce’s family , We… his friends took Bruce the day before his funeral up into the hills overlooking Raglan, and gave him his ‘last rites’ Bogan style.
We Celebrated his life…. we had our last Beers with him, our last games of Pool… and spent all night laughing and telling hard case yarns about our Bro.
Girls turned up and wept over his coffin, and we transported him in style in a Holden Panel wagon with Triumph Bonneville Escort.
He was dressed in a Black Beanie, Shades, Pink Floyd Dark side of the Moon tee shirt, Blue Jeans and Black Army Boots.
We played his friend Paul Goughs’ Original ‘K9 Convention’ song… absolutely Unique… Rockin… and a track Bruce loved.
I know a lot of people will be bummed out they did not get the chance to see him off… things happened so quickly.
We hope all his mates approve of our send off… It was done in the best Bruce style.
Thanks to everyone who made it to pay their respects, and help make it worthy.
Special thanks to Brucies People in the Waikato.
And there will be a commemoration for Bruce in one years time somewhere appropriate with the idea of perhaps spreading his ashes, and this will be another opportunity for Bruce’s friends to pay their respects.
Maybe McClarens falls… first weekend in March… as Bruce was a part of The Kaimai community and so many of us had great times with Bruce in the Hills there.
Please check this post for updates.
Heaps more Photos of Bruce’s Celebration and Funeral go to my Facebook page … could not fit them into this post Here
This subject is in the very first rank of importance.
In writing this I hope to be able to communicate with both Believers and Unbelievers… which is difficult because the two extremes favour different approaches… one tends to run away when bible verses are deployed… assuming they are about to subjected to a nutty Bible bashing, yet the other tends to think that unless a post has a bible verse every second line that the post is some sort of Satanic plot!
Yet as has become my style, I will speak in plain ‘Natural’ terms as much as possible yet will stitch in scripture as I deem appropriate.
I believe this topic has value both as a means by which both Unbelievers and believers may gain important insights.
The whole theme is very much one of the most essential aspects of the proper relationship of any thoughtful person to the Almighty.
I will talk about how to deal with ‘struggles and issues’ in believing in Gods good character in due course, yet first I must present the basics of why Faith in his good character is essential.
There are many many vitally important reasons why it is *Faith* that puts us in the right relationship with God, and why he has made it the key to our relationship with himself.
One of the most interesting.. and telling facts is that *Faith in Gods Good Character* has always been… and always will be essential… even after/when we are in his very presence and have walked and talked with him simply because of our Limited capacity for knowledge… and his Infinite Divinity.
There will never be a time when we have full understanding of all things about the Almighty, and thus even though we may have a massive understanding… and countless proofs of his Good character… there will always exist a gap between what we know of him… and his full Glory… and thus Faith will always be needed to bridge this gap.
Then for the well versed and philosophically minded it is also understood that ultimately… all our knowledge… even scientific knowledge rests upon unproven assumptions that are accepted by faith!
At the very heart of the History of the Philosophy of science was the foundational ‘articles of faith’ that came directly from monotheism and is why Theists were responsible for the birth of modern science and why they occupy the Chief seats and hold the chief honours for virtually every branch of modern science… as the Founders.
Primarily the impetus to scientific discovery and secular explanations was born of the belief in a single Creator of everything who made the universe and ordered it according to Divine plans that may be rationally understood, and that the universe functions via Fixed Divinely established Laws… that Man may investigate and understand… because these laws are themselves rational and a testament to the truth and rationality of God Almighty.
Facts like this are not open to debate as they stand as Empirical reality… facts of the history of the philosophy of science… rather than on mere hypothetical intellectual ideology and bias.
One of the greatest delusions people like Hitchens, Dawkins, or Tyson have foisted onto the gullible atheist sheeple is the notion that the advance of Science has been synonymous with the advance of atheism… and the discrediting of faith in the Bible.
So far-be-it from being true that Christian faith… is as Atheists present the idea … as being a ploy to suck in the gullible to abdicate their minds and blindly swallow the delusions of religion… these atheists are displaying an abject ignorance of the dynamics and logic that underpins the Christian call to faith.
That *some False Prophets and priests may plot that way is not a justification to say *All Faith is Irrational and for fools*… and in fact to be an Atheist requires a heck of a lot of faith!
Atheists like Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris display both rank ignorance and patent dishonesty when they fail to acknowledge the debt science owes to Theistic cosmology.. yet of course their entire arguments fall over if they were to admit the truth!
They prefer to sell books like ‘The God delusion’… ‘God is not Great…how religion poisons everything’ etc etc.
And millions of chumps who hunger for any reason not to believe the bible swallow their Atheist delusions by the ship load.
Most of these people have blinders over their eyes and hands over their ears… they cannot be reached via reason… and in fact Spiritual truths are completely alien to them.
This being so any reader who has even reached this paragraph in my post and is honestly contemplating what I am saying… has hope!… as their hearts are not as hard as impregnable stone.. and they are more open to Objective discourse.
The Bible’s call to faith is not only Philosophically profound, it is also beautifully exemplified in its explanations as to how and why the world is the way it is…warts and all.
That Faith has always been… and always will be essential is shown to be true by the Fall of Lucifer… who was not like us in that we have never seen God…. He not only existed, came and went from the very presence of God… he also held the most exalted place in the hierarchy God had established In Heaven… and on the original Pre-Adamite Earth.
Lucifer had it all…. except the worship that was due to God alone.
It was the dark seed of Pride in Lucifer that caused him to feel he was worthy of greater honor than what he received that caused him to hate God… ie he began to question the goodness of God’s character.
Satan Seethed with envy… and was overcome with a delusion that God was treating him unjustly.
And Lucifer began to tell them (The Angels) lies.. and so under the weight of his Cunning…it was a naive lack of faith that allowed him to deceive many of the Angels into rebellion against God… and as Satan later on… also deceive Adam and Eve into disbelieving Gods word.
… yet I will mitigate the fall of the angels and of Adam and Eve in this one sense… ‘They were like Children in their innocence’… apart from the wiles of The Devil… the father of Lies…these matters might never have entered into their minds before Lucifer sowed his own mis-trust in the goodness of God’s character into their hearts… like a disease.
Yet still had they maintained faith in the goodness of God, Satan would never have been able to cause them to sin….
That Trust in God’s Good character and his right to be Lawgiver and Judge is clearly seen in the test and singular law that God gave to Adam with respect to the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.
Adam (and Eve) were free to enjoy the fruits of the Garden except the one in the midst which God deemed to be prohibited… and it is a prima facie demonstration of how Satan works.
Genesis 3 King James Version (KJV)
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
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.
From the above we see that Satan was able to sow distrust in Eve about God’s Good character by suggesting God was deceitfully withholding good things from them and had lied to them!
Satan said “Ye shall not surely die…” in direct contradiction to Gods word… and instead of trusting in God Good character and right to make binding laws upon them… she was decieved by this ruse… and fell into sin.
^ in those few words we find why Faith between Conscious Moral Free agents and our Creator is essential… even when unlike today… Humans and Angels dont have to have faith in God’s existence because they experienced him empirically!
They walked at talked with him!
In those few words we also find the key modus opperandi of Satan!
If he can get you to question the Good character of God Almighty and get you to think that God’s word cannot be trusted… Satan has you exactly where he wants you… and in such a condition of accusation against God… Against his word… and against his right to be Moral Lawgiver and Judge… it is impossible for you to please God!
You have switched rolls!
You now claim to be the Judge of the Almighty!
You now think *you can decide* whether or not you will be subject to his Laws and Authority!
You doubt the truthfulness of his word.
And that Satan is now ‘the God of this fallen world’ is demonstrated every day by the perverse Global phenomena of Mankind in their arrogance asserting that The Lord is Unjust… that his judgments are unfair and tyrannical… and that Mankind ought to be allowed to write their own rules… if any!
And there is plenty of Material for the children of Satan to continue to employ to ensure the next generations perpetually believe the God of the bible is a moral monster!
And it is Godless Humanity that have turned this world into a cesspool of filth and violence!
The Height of Human vanity, depravity, and delusion knows no bounds!
I will add links to this post that will some degree expand on many of the monumental points that I have touched upon above only briefly, yet without making this post extremely long I wish to tie in all this with some personal dilemmas I myself wrestle with… and how … knowing the dynamics of faith … I choose to deal with them.
The philosophical and explanatory power of the Book of Genesis is so Gigantic as to be a fingerprint of divine truth!
When contemplated with a sober mind it is not surprising that this text has remained one of the Greatest philosophical/theistic texts of all time!
Not only does it enunciate with clarity the origin of the Universe and humanity, but of equal importance it explains one of the great challenges to faith in the goodness of God’s character… the existence of Evil… and what we today describe as ‘Natural calamities’.
These are things that Satan, and his children constantly use as wedges… as darts … to fire at the innocent and unlearned… and the foolish and rebellious… to undermine any faith they might entertain that God is Good and just.
These accusations require their own rebuttals and The bible contains sufficient facts and demonstrations That God is Holy, Just, and Loving, etc… none the less it cannot be denied that there are things not only in reality but especially within the scriptures that even bible believers like myself *Dont like*… and these test my faith… yet I do not do what so many so-called Christians do… and that is deny the validity of these scriptures… and come with sophisticated excuses why they should not be believed!
The last century saw a massive falling away from bible believing faith… a sad and unnecessary retreat in the face a relentless rationalist onslaught.
Many Christians were deceived into believing the theory of evolution was a scientific fact that conclusively disproved the story of Adam and Eve.
Many were fooled by sophisticated arguments that the God of the Old testament was Cruel and unjust… these people succumbed to the wiles of the devil and instead of clinging to the scriptures and trusting in Gods Goodness and supreme Justice… they caved in and abandoned the very core of their faith.
Had they held fast to their faith… they would not have had to endure long before the evidence would mount up that evolution was a false hypothesis, and that the very complexity of the cell and DNA discovered by the advance of genetics would utterly vindicate the story of Adam and Eve and of Intelligent design. (though of course atheists still refuse to abandon their superstitions and sadly many Christians also have not returned to faith in the book of Genesis as they in fact still have not accepted that a Good God could judge the world by flood)
Now I would never suggest that the question of the existence of Evil and of Natural calamities should never be contemplated!
I believe such questions to be very important… yet we must take extreme care with how we walk on this treacherous soil!
There are great snares and pitfalls that await the stumbling fool.
Satan appears as an Angel of Light!
He and his minions will always present pseudo-moral arguments in accusation of Gods word and contend that believers are guilty of accepting atrocities.
Such as is common with Rationalists who assert the story of Noah’s flood is not only a myth… but also as being a clear demonstration that the God of the bible if he were real… would be a monster!
And falling for these sorts of vacuous… yet powerful delusions has caused untold millions to abandon faith in the Book of Genesis… the very foundation-stone of Gods word!
And I will not deny that the story of the Flood is chilling to the bone!
I will not deny that it would be very satisfying to think that this story is just a fable invented via superstitious and manipulative Priest-craft… and to thereby self-vindicate simply writing the whole business off with the waive of the hand… and then to mock those who cling to these scriptures as Cretins.
And thus thinking we have strong enough science… and moral arguments to subdue *any reasonable debate* We can proudly declare ourselves liberated from Tyranny and myth!
And there is no shortage of Rationalist material… even from so-called ‘Christians’ who argue the Book of genesis is not to be trusted… that it is just allegorical, etc… even though that is not how Jesus or Paul our Apostle saw the Book.
They were Bible believers!
They Knew God was Holy, and just in his judgement, and that his word is trustworthy!
Abraham lived Post Noahs flood… there was probably plenty of empirical evidence for the Flood all about him and when God called him to leave Ur and go to a land in which he would show him… and that God would bless him and make his children innumerable… Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness… saith Paul
Yet still!
Knowing all these things does not fully take away many things that I struggle with… things that I still dont like… things I know are true… yet wish were not.
Yet I accept that Reality and Moral truth are not Subject to my will, and that there are many Objective truths and realities that do not require my assent.
I know that any person who cannot accept the possibility of such objective realities … and still not trust in the Good character of God … but deem anything they dont like as proof that Either The God of the bible does not exist… or that if he does… then he is Not loving and good… to be the height of vanity and self delusion!
These people are the very definition of subjectivists … the very height of Ego-mania… in that they think they… in their ignorance and folly… can stand in judgement of the Almighty!
They have fallen into Satan’s trap.
And the greatest proof of this can be easily found when you investigate what ground it is upon which they base their own moral authority!
Any cursory examination of their moral foundations reveals their feet firmly ensnared in a swamp!
Ie They have no higher moral ground upon which they can justly claim to stand in moral Judgement of the character of God!
And when I read the scriptures I find that most.. if not all the objective realities and Biblical truths that I dont like are also things that God himself has expressed great sadness… such as the Righteous judgement of the lost in eternal torment… and in particular of many of my own friends and family whom I love and sympathize with!
and it is when contemplating this that I begin to understand the terrible burden that is God’s alone to bear.
Who among us would desire to Judge the deeds of humanity with Absolute justice?
None of us are even worthy to throw a stone at an adulterer.
Such Judgments can only be done without hypocrisy by an absolutely Holy Judge.
Yet still who would deny that Evil cannot be allowed to go unpunished?
Indeed another of the great deceptions of Satan and his minions has been the accusation that God seems to allow so much wickedness to prevail… and go unpunished.
Here we expose another gigantic hypocrisy and contradiction in the Atheists contentions against The Lord.
With One hand they curse him for letting the destruction and misery upon the innocent of Sin go unpunished, yet on the other they Curse God for executing Judgement and justice upon the wicked!
Though I would dearly love to believe in the Heresy of *Universal salvation* …. or that the Damned will simply be annihilated… etc etc… I know that this is not the true doctrine of the scriptures… and it is out of the knowledge that Judgement is coming for the lost… for their wickedness… esp the wickedness of rejecting Christ’s sacrifice on the cross… that I busy myself with trying to share the Gospel of the grace of God, and attempt to win souls to faith in the trustworthiness of the Bible as a Divinely inspired and preserved Revelation from God to us.
This entire post has been written in the hope that even a few souls might grasp the truth… and share it with their friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
I am painfully aware that I am a very unworthy vessel of these truths… and that many of my own character faults and evils do not reflect well on Christ or the Gospel… nonetheless I dare not remain silent… my time is short… and my burden is heavy with Fear for the lost… esp for My Friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
I also have no doubt that some of my interpretations and assumptions are still cloaked in ignorance… and I look forward to the day that God himself dispels many of my fears with his light.
Even though I know the gospel truth… That Christ has taken away my sins upon his cross…I still fear my own evils and worry about standing before the Holy and Almighty God… the righteous Judge of the wicked!
All I can do is trust in the gospel truth… and rest in my faith in Gods Mercy and grace is sufficient for a wretch like me!
When I am confronted by challenging moral criticisms or supposed scientific ‘facts’ that are presented as ‘proof’ the Bible is in error for which i have no immediate counter-argument, I have learned to rest in my faith and to search out an answer… and in the 30+ years that I have been a Bible believe *Never* has any such challenge ever proven to undo my rational belief in the scriptures.
Most Often it is not long before the supposed ‘Evidence’ against the Bible is exposed as vacuous… sometimes it may take years before I discover the answer and yet sometimes the criticism is found to be valid yet in these cases they expose an error in my own thinking… and actually help me to discover greater truths that were there all along in the Bible… yet may have been buried under some false doctrine I had picked up along the way!
It is always wonderful when I learn new, and deeper truths as they tend to increase the harmony of the scriptures and dissolve cloudy areas that needed exposing to the light of truth.
So it is that the Christian and Bible believer has nothing to fear from giving skeptical arguments a fair hearing.
For me this has been an ongoing process that has strengthened my trust in the scriptures and made me wiser.
^Not anonymous! Its Proverbs 3vs5,6!
That is in essence the Ultimate position of Faith for the humble soul who knows the limits of his own wisdom yet understands the Truth… that the bible is to be believed… for valid reasons.
I know that I dont know everything, and that I must trust in God in respect to my struggles… and to hold tight to his word no matter what storms of controversy I must face.
I do know God Almighty is Holy, Just, Loving, and good, and that as God he must judge sin… and yet out of love has provided a way for the humble who admit their own sin to be forgiven and saved… by pure grace.
“For God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners…. Christ died for us”
“And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.
“Faith is the power of an optimistic possibility thinker whereas Doubt is the power of a pessimistic impossibility thinker”
Robert H Sheuller.
The Greatness of the Bible in its explanatory and Value instilling powers is truly Mind-blowing!
Esp when compared to the inescapable nihilism which is what atheism offers!
Faith must overcome skepticism.
Compassion must be stronger than Hatred.
Hope must be greater than despair.
Trust in Gods Word and Good character must overcome the wiles of the Devil.
We have Jesus Christ…and the Gospel of the grace of Grace of God.
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christian Libertarian.
King James Bible believer.
Dispensationalist.
Disappointment is only possible when it is preceded by hope, thus at Election time with respect to policy, I am never disappointed by National or Labour… what I experience from them is sickening depression, disgust, and anger.
I ask myself why it is that I have suffered a succession of disappointments from The Act Party, and it is obviously because with Act I have always harboured much higher Hopes than the others that they would stand up for the values and principles of Liberty and justice… only to watch them sell out everything for the sake of sitting in parliament as Eunuchs to the tyrants.
Why do they do it?
As someone who has myself stood for Election many times, I have steeled myself against the temptation of dropping unpopular principles for the sake of getting more votes, believing that selling out for the sake of getting into power as not only cowardly and a betrayal to the minorities whose plight is dire and yet have no representation in parliament… but that without carrying my principles with me it would also be an absolutely hollow victory!
I have always believed that when it comes to politics it is a persons integrity to principles that is essential as they alone distinguished my political wares from all the rest… and what elevated me to the higher ground… and from which alone I can have self esteem.
And this has been proven true for Act… with their track record for achieving virtually nothing while in parliament.
They of course try and justify their gross compromises with the opposite lame idea that being in power is the most important value.
The bitter taste in my mouth is because all of Act’s rhetoric about being a party of Freedom and small government is ultimately farcical!
They all sound like Libertarians at their election speeches, and all their leaders have written books that tend to make the reader think these people understand what is wrong with the status quo and are the party who seeks to reform all the violations of Freedom and justice yet when they get to the coal face…Parliament… they have already bargained away all their picks and shovels… and sit there smugly like useless toothless Lions…. and all the Evils continue on unabated… all the while still kidding themselves that they still represent something better and more noble!
Worse!
They prop up virtually all the new oppressive measures their overlords dictate… if not expressly, then by simply continuing to support the wicked regime of which they are a part.
They think their compromises have gained them the world… yet it has been at the cost of their souls.
How could Act have ever gotten into bed with National AND the Maori party… and still sleep at night???!!!!!
Its mind boggling!
They have no base line below which they will not stoop.
This blog post is primarily about what I see as current Act Leader David Seymour’s absolutely shocking strategy to “Save the Act Party’… Keep the bad guys out… and make the good guys better” (to paraphrase David).
I intend to point out what I believe are the fatal errors in his plan… and to put in writing an alternative strategy that I am sure is pragmatically smarter and also far more ethical for Act.
It is not my intention here to just throw mud.
My introduction (above) was written with the intention of showing how the principled liberty-loving voter evaluates Act’s historic modus opperandi.
I hope that the above shows how Act has disappointed the sizable minority who would otherwise vote for them this election.
It is *this sizable minority* that David should be aiming his policies to gain his own political foundations within the voting populous, instead of his current fatally flawed strategy of ditching all the most precious principles that Act are supposed to represent in hope of having a much broader popular appeal.
I went to the Waikato ‘Beers with David Seymour’ event on the East side of the Waikato river a few nights back to size him up face to face and with the hope of discussing these things with him, yet unfortunately it was late in the evening when I made my move… too late for this private discussion… and so I missed my opportunity.
I am primarily writing this for his sake… for Acts sake… you see another reason I went to this meeting was on the outside chance that he may be able to convince me to spend the rest of this election period advocating for Act instead of Winston first.
There was perhapse 30 people there, and it was held at the ‘Good Neighbour’ restaurant and bar, which though a tad noisy from the diners below the mezzenene, sold good beer and I hear great food.
I saw a Man who was much more likable than he appears in the media, and from his speech and answers to the questions that followed, I can see that he is an honest man… even if I strongly disagree with how he operates.
I refrained from taking him to task over the many points that made me recoil as It is always important to be respectful at such events… only lefties think they have the divine right to ruin such evenings and attempt to shut down speakers who say things of which they disapprove… because they have no respect for free speech and no sense of decency.
I express my negative reactions to his answers here not to scorn him or to undermine him, but in the hope of explaining how many of that sizable minority of Freedom loving voters feel about what we see as his constant lack of political spine.
Hearing him talk and answer questions it was obvious to me there was zero point in even raising the topic of all the Toxic Deaths attributed to synthetic cannabis happening right now… on his watch… in Auckland city, and the obvious solution of the legalisation of the much safer alternative… Cannabis … even though I believe this is another righteous opportunity being lost by Act.
It’s like he has been hanging out with Super-conservative Bill English too long and has been sitting at his feet like a puppy taking notes… much to National’s satisfaction!
It is easy to imagine him having Beers with his good mate Bill… The Old statesman tutoring the younger and hence somewhat gullible student who assumes his mentor has his best interests at heart… and is bequeathing to his apprentice the mysteries of political success… when in reality Bill has his own Agenda and seeks to keep David in check.
This senerio has weight because of how David answered the questions at question time… there was a definite theme… a definite mindset, for example when I fired my most important question I had on my list to ask him about whether or not he would support Winston Peters call for a referendum on the Maori Seats he in so many words said *NO!*, and his excuse was to quote National party/John key/ Bill English line that to work to dismantle the Apartheid electoral system would produce ‘Hikois from hell’.
He is prepared to ignore this most cancerous situation out of fear of the Maori radicals… allowing the malignancy to reach the bone where it will become nothing but pain and misery for future generations… all because he wont lace up his boots… grab his gun… and head to the front himself.
Not only was this a testament that he has no spine to confront the most serious injustice that our Political system embodies, but also that was a clear indication that he either thinks following the same strategy that National is following… will also work for Act or that he is too cowardly to differ from National on this vital issue out of fear they may stand against him in Epsom!
Seriously think about that.
Its fundamental.
If its the first reason he’s stupid, and if its the second he’s proving to just be Nationals Lap dog!
I think its both.
He fails to see that the only reason that freedom lovers will vote for Act rather than National or Labour is because they believe Act has more Mettle and higher values than these mainstream parties with their legions of Sheeple voters and absolutely Evil Racist politics!
He underestimates the cost to Act in votes that his lack of spine on such important matters costs them in the polls.
It was sooo apparent to me that David does not realise how disconnected he is from the very people whom he should be appealing to!
That significant voting block that is far in excess of 5%… and is currently homeless… currently thinking of holding their nose… and voting New Zealand first!
Anyone who knows Winston knows the man can smell where the votes are!
Old whiley Winston knows a Massive percentage of the voting public have had a guts full of all the racism and extortion that results from treaty separatism and the Maori seats, and that out of desperation will will rally around *anyone* who campaigns to bring this evil to an end and establish Racial equality before the Law.
David cant be associating himself with the same political forums that I frequent and so he does not appreciate just how many votes that Winston has gained solely from his forthright assault on these Racist seats and agenda!
It massive, and the chief reason Winston is skyrocketing in the polls and was the chief reason Don Brash was able to raise National out of the pit of despair they were in when he inherited the leadership… a doldrums they were suffering in the wake of Helen Clark, very similar to doldrums Labour has suffered in wake of john Key.
Winston is not phased by the threat of ‘Hikois from hell’… which is nothing but tale wagging the dog!
All the vileness of treaty separatism springs from MMP chiefly because of the perpetual failure to abolish the Maori Seats and is why New Zealanders of significant numbers are desperate to get rid of them… if only David would grow a pair… be willing to cross the floor away from Bill English… and support Winston’s call for a referendum.
Votes like mine would flow into Act instead of NZ First!
And his Mana and integrity would rise in the eyes of the voters… I would be far less disappointed with Act!
I cant help also think that David is reciprocating a petty dislike for Winston as he claims Winston holds for Him (David alluded to this with respect to Winston refusal to endorse his euthanasia bill)
If this is so it also demonstrates a lack of character by David which again means he falls from walking the higher path, and is a turn off.
It was grotesque when having flat out denied that he would not defend Racial equality before the Law that minutes later he was spieling on about being a champion of equality for Woman!
Oh! such a brave stand…. in our times of Politically Correct tyranny and Feminist domination!
YEAH RIGHT!
It is just Lame.
This is the sort of rubbish that people expect from Labour and Green MPs appealing to their dopey useful idiots!
Again he fails to connect with the traditional Act voter and fails to appreciate how they are looking for a far different and just approach in politics!
An ex card carrying Act member told me how affronted he was when David introduced his List team as ‘Embodying diversity’… Girls… young people, ethnic minorities… as if these were important merits rather than because they are the best most skilled people for the job!
Ie Act is supposed to be about Merit… not such PC Rubbish that should be the preserve of the Zombie Left!
He betrays the sad fact that he has swallowed the lefty propaganda that Act is the party for ‘Wealthy Old White Men’ and crumbled under pressure!
Again his strategy show a disconnect from the serious minded Act voter.
Davis enunciated his strategy to save Act.
He said he is employing the latest Election techniques from America, and had polled and talked with 1700 people for half a hour first asking them who they would vote for… and then at the end asking them again… noting those whom had changed their mind and decided they would vote Act.
He said they gleaned what policies were the ones to had positively swayed these people and said these were the policies he would hammer on about in the rest of the election campaign.
he said Act is sitting at 1% in the polls, but that he would win Epsom, and that only by degrees of a few % of party vote would increase the number of List MPs he could carry with him into parliament.
From this you see that he has abandoned his faithful and things that if he can sell Act with the most broad and non-threatening policy that he only needs a few % more to get his best people in parlaiment with him… and with more Act mps… more clout to wrestle better deals.
Obvious to me this exercise he employed did not ask the right questions… because of his unwillingness now to make bold policy.
Think about this…He is not aiming at reaching 5%, and is only attempting to garner a few measly percent of the vote! and for such a minuscule return he is prepared to sell out on the most important principles Act professes to stand for!
That is the impression his strategy stimulates in the mind of the thinking principled freedom loving demographic that he is supposed to represent!
And I’m sure this rationale does have some support from a proportion of Act members even though it demonstrates that Act is no longer about principles but about playing the numbers… just like National… this theme is consistent in all his thinking and is why He does not understand how to function as a minority Party.
If he does not win Epsom, Act is finished… yet to win Epson he sell out everything Act represents and becomes indistinguishable from National.
I think he underestimates the mettle of the Epsom electorate and their capacity to vote for a far stronger and more principled MP and that out of fear of alienating himself from the electorate.
He admitted almost daily knocking on doors there and how tiny the numbers were of people whom were interested in talking politics, yet somehow thinks he has enough Data to justify treading such a low path.
Safety rather than Bold principle is the very heart of his strategy, and his own political position in parliament as representative for Epsom comes first rather than Act principles… and even more important than getting his fellow list members in with him.
He’s all about the Numbers… not about spine… not about principles… and I believe his numbers are wayyyyy off.
To sumerize David may be honest… and I believe that is his most virtuous aspect, yet he has fallen into a trap, and has absolutely has the wrong strategy to win support for Act….
His strategy is one you would expect from Bill English…. His thinking is not about fighting for his professed values, but about keeping Act within what he believes is ‘popular opinion’… and that is why Act must fail… hes not connecting with *the minority demographic that wants to Vote Act*… if only they are significantly distinguishable from National and will have the backbone to wrestle *Real Concessions* .
I would love to discuss this further with David, it is impossible to present everything in a blog like this, and I hope that my criticisms are not childishly dismissed with the wave of the hand and written off as written in malice, and seeking to undermine Act.
They are written for the very opposite reason.
It was only yesterday that I read a press release about Jacinda Ardern’s striving to win the The Maori seats for Labour by saying she supports the entrenchment of the Maori seats which will make it much harder to abolish them. Read/watch that Here
This sets the tone for the ugly face-off between National and Labour come post election coalition talks and the competition for which party will sell out most to Racist Treaty separatism!
This demonstrates how urgent it is that these seats must be established immediately and that anyone with any Political nous knows that we are looking down the barrel of Massive Race relations injustices being perpetuated and that our Children will inherit this mess because of spinelessness of those Mps whom claim to know better unwillingness to take the fight against the rabid racism of Treaty separatists.
This is an evil that grows exponentially… and the task ahead grows more perilous by the day as the brainwashing that is going on in schools and in the media is relentless.
Sadly, I left the meeting still affirmed that I’m best giving my vote to Winston, and unless there is a significant and immediate change in direction I will continue telling others to do the same.
And this makes my pain and disappointment in likes Of David and his minions so much more acute.
The time cannot be far away before I loose my disappointment in Act… not because they have grown a pair… but because like most of the traditional Act voter whom have abandoned them…I have learned to expect nothing better from them than from Labour or Nation.
I may not suffer this misery long as there is every possibility that act will disappear after this election and they will deserve it because they have sold out all everything that the significant minority of freedom lovers hold dear and the greatest reasons Act have had any votes at all.
By far Acts greatest Leader was Don Brash!
He is hero of mine, and was set to Put act back on the map with his adroit stand for one Law for all, and the decriminalization of cannabis yet he shot himself in the foot by taking on board John Banks who was not ACT material at all and caused Don to Falter on the decriminalization of Cannabis.
Banks Took Epsom but Sunk Act!
And now because of that very Peanut brained nasty Dinosaur mentality that dominates in parliament towards ending Prohibition we have young people dying on Auckland streets from imbibing Poisons!
I dont know what polls National and David Seymour follow yet they cant be the same ones the rest of the country look at as the pols on this issue clearly indicate a majority of Kiwis want decriminalization!
Read here how Don Brashes integrity to what are supposed to be act core principle resulted in an outcry within his own ranks!
Ending the War on cannabis embodies all the Values and principle Act claim to represent, and when it happens will result in a massive improvement in justice… massive reduction in police expenses and man power and less body bags… and not cost the taxpayer a dime!
David is already on record that though he personally thinks it should be legalised … he wont move on it as he fears it will cost him votes…
If only he was not so cowardly and show some kahunas… he would win votes!
I am sure he could sell this in Epsom if he had the courage of his convictions.
Its dishonest to know what is right in your heart… but refuse to defend it.
The demographic for cannabis Law reform is massive and the the only advocates for this are all on the left.
This means there are a huge number of homeless Pro cannabis voters who hate the left who are just waiting for someone on the Right to give them a home!
In a flash he could boost his own ranks and rob support from the left.
BOOM!
David!
You dont need to appeal to the masses of dumbfounded dipshits!
Your whole strategy is wrong… and it makes you stink!
Your Votes are to be found in that 15-20% of principled and outraged thinkers!
Give Don Brash a call FFS!
Ask Jamie Whyte what he thinks he did right and what he did wrong.
I just dropped in to proffer an explanation of my absence from this blog for the past 18 months or so.
In a word, depression. I have been beset with mental health problems my entire adult life. I have at least four diagnosed DSM-5 disorders. Of these, depression is the worst. It is, quite literally, a life-threatening illness. Fortunately, amongst other things, my life is not mine to take. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Things took a turn for the worse about 18 months ago. Amongst other things, the full implications of having recently been belatedly diagnosed with adult ADHD were sinking in, winter was coming, and my usual coping strategies of injudicious drug use and abnegation of personal responsibility were failing me. But what really got me in a tailspin was when the state started bankruptcy proceedings against me, for alleged failure to pay taxes. I saw my GP about my predicament and he had no hesitation in giving me a medical certificate for WINZ. The upshot is that, since last autumn, I’ve been on the sickness benefit. Yes, that’s right. I’m a ward of the welfare state. So you can see what condition my condition is in.
But that’s enough about me, I don’t want to make this post all about my personal woes. In time-honoured fashion, I want to make it about this country’s political woes. This post will be about the government’s role in providing mental health services and, in particular, it’s role in NZ’s high rates of depression and suicide.
Straightaway, let’s get one thing straight. The government doesn’t actually care. The present National government doesn’t even want to know. Why else would it re-brand what was formerly the sickness benefit as “job seeker support”? A sickness beneficiary already has a job, and they know it! Their job is to get well. Well enough to seek, find, and then hold down a permanent paid position. All of which is easier said than done for the chronically mentally ill. Some of whom should, and do, end up on the invalid’s benefit.
The government doesn’t actually care. Certainly, the neoliberal government we’ve had in this country since 1984 doesn’t give a damn. To begin with, take the fact that the suicide rate for New Zealand males aged 15-19 doubled in the course of three years from 16 per 100,000 in 1985 to 32 per 100,000 in 1988. While trustworthy statistics aren’t easy to find, it would appear that this alarming increase in NZ’s youth suicide rate has held up. I see no reason to dispute the claim that NZ now has the highest rate of teen suicide in the developed world.
Former Children’s Commissioner Ian Hassall makes a couple of especially pertinent points (notwithstanding his dubious analogy to climate change).
The critical fact is that New Zealand has the highest rate of youth suicide in the OECD. This excess of young people’s deaths in New Zealand when compared with other OECD countries must be a result of local factors.
The statistics show that whatever these factors were, they began to operate from 1985 to 1988. That was a time of social turmoil in New Zealand. The economic restructuring that was sweeping the world was imposed faster and deeper in New Zealand than elsewhere.
“No pain, no gain” was the catchphrase of Rogernomics. What it meant was that it was expected that the structural changes would be painful but they would be worth it in creating a more robust economy.
For young people, the changes were rapid and painful indeed. Suddenly, finding a job was not guaranteed and bright future prospects dimmed for many. A reduced welfare safety net meant that many were not sufficiently helped and inequality widened.
I don’t think that we can say for sure what aspect of neoliberalism is to blame, or even that we can definitively blame neoliberalism in the first place for the sustained rise in youth suicides. But it’s certainly a prime suspect.
As ever: what is to be done?
Officially New Zealand has focussed on mental health and mental health services as a means of dealing with the problem. Mental ill-health and lack of mental health services cannot explain the sudden doubling of youth suicide from 1985 to 1988.
Not surprisingly, then, this approach has failed. Mental ill-health undoubtedly has a part to play in many youth suicides, but there is no reason that this should be more of a problem in New Zealand than in other countries.
It is comforting to believe that young people will be safer if our mental health services are improved but it is largely a false hope. Saying so will, no doubt make me unpopular, but so be it.
So be it, and I agree.
Sadly, throwing more money at the problem isn’t going to help much, if at all. In fact, I submit that a big part of NZ’s current mental health crisis is down to excessive reliance on the state to fix the problem. A bigger part is due to state intervention in the first place. It is completely wrong, for example, that the state treats the simple administration of a proven cure for depression as a greater crime than rape or armed robbery, and instead busies itself funding a lolly scramble of often worse than useless placebos.
Whereas I don’t think more government money is going to fix the problem, I do think it’s downright criminal to cut funding to mental health services in a time of mental health crisis. And that’s what this National government has done. My point is that where the state has taken on responsibility for the provision of mental health services, it must honour that commitment in the meantime. Until such time as we can successfully devolve this responsibility to families, friends and support at the local community level. Faceless bureaucracy never made anyone happy.
At a time like this, it is utterly appalling that the government saw fit to cut funding to Lifeline, one of NZs biggest and long-established suicide counselling lines. And instead, allocate that funding to a “new, preferred supplier” called LaVey. All very well, perhaps, except for the six-month hiatus between Lifeline’s funding being cut and the new provider stepping in. Oh, and the fact that Bill English’s wife is on the board of LaVey! Nepotism doesn’t get much uglier. (LeVa, LaVey. Whatever.)
Now, a closing few words about the efforts of the government-funded agency Like Minds and their take the load off campaign. When I first saw their video featuring Daniel from Taihape I was immediately reminded of the disturbingly dark comicbook art of the Spanish artist Joan Cornellà.
Wait just a moment! Take another look at take the load off. What on earth is that woman friend using to get her mate Dan out of his pit of depression? That’s right, it’s a hangman’s noose.
Sure, it’s supposed to be a lasso. But seriously, what sort of subliminal message are they sending to the suicidal? The people at the agency that created this plagiaristic monstrosity sure have a sick sense of humour. (It wouldn’t surprise me if they were the same outfit responsible for Colin Craig’s election campaign material last election.)
I’m glad that I also have a sick sense of humour and can appreciate it. I hope you do too. To all my depressed friends out there, I say, life is very much worth living, no matter if it seems like a sack of shit right now. Hang on in there!
The name of this blog is from a speech by John Philpot Curran, given in Dublin in 1790.
The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance
said Curran. The shorter form of the original quote is variously attributed to the likes of Wendell Phillips and Thomas Jefferson, but no one really knows who first came up with the exact phrase. Here it is in the Virginia Free Press and Farmers’ Repository, May 2, 1833.
Sadly, the sentinels on the watch-tower slumbered long ago. We’re still not free, we never have been, and likely never will be. Eternal vigilance is a big ask.
Just as well we’re not commies and we never had a first five-year plan!
So what’s the good news?
One issue close to the hearts of libertarians in general and at least two Eternal Vigilance bloggers is cannabis law reform. I’d like to take this opportunity to review the dramatic progress made towards sane, sensible and just cannabis laws in the last 5 years. Not here in New Zealand (not yet), but in the original land of the free, the United States of America.
For example, in Colorado, fatalities and injuries on the road attributed to DUI dropped after legalisation but are trending up again. And, although arrests are down, the racial disparity in marijuana-related arrests hasn’t changed.
These things have occurred. And it is a true adage that, “what has happened once, may happen again.”
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” (NIV)
I wonder and worry about what frightful bureaucracies may supplant cannabis prohibition in New Zealand once it is finally driven out.
Today is the 10th anniversary of my Grand Father, John Steele Clark’s death.
He was a wonderful and inspirational person.
The Greatest human being I have ever known.
I was blessed beyond measure to have him as my Granddad.
I have not seen my own father since I was 5 years old and yet this loss was greatly mitigated by my Grandfathers Love and guidance.
I miss him, and still reverence his memory.
When I knew his time was short I did something a tad different.
I wrote a Tribute to his Life and death and sent it to him before he died so he could read with his own eyes what his Grandson thought! 🙂
My tribute was very controversial as it was *My take* *My perspective* rather than simply a concise record of his exact doings and faith.
That was another reason I sent it to him… to see if he would discuss what I had written.
We never did discuss it, and so I took that as a Tacit endorsement! 🙂 And this was important to me because I expected some of my family members to not be that impressed with my Rendition of things.
Thus with my Granddad’s anniversary in mind I have typed out my Tribute to him and posted it below.
I hope to post more about this wonderful man in the future.
I also hope my tribute is of benefit to people struggling with the Pains, trials, and tribulations of Life as this is not just the story of an individual’s life but about Hope and happiness in the face of death and loss.
Love You Heaps Granddad! XOX
Tim Wikiriwhi.
I have started a Facebook page in memory of Him >>>Here<<<
I hope everyone who knew him visits, enjoys, and contributes to this memorial.
My Granddad. (Left) Married Me to my Wife Joy at Mclarens Falls Tauranga. March 2002.
Tribute to Reverend John Steel Clark. (Re-post)
Anglican Minister.
Thames/ Coromandal Peninsular.
New Zealand
1923-2006
Man of Faith and Reason.
A Christian view of Life and Death.
By his eldest Grandson.
Tim Wikiriwhi.
“For the Invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse;”
St Paul. Romans 1vs 20
“I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…”
Jesus Christ: John 11vs 25
“for by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast”
St Paul: Ephesians 2vs8,
After an exemplary life, and a heroic fight against cancer, by beloved Grandfather has passed on.
There is not enough time today to fully express what he means to me, I therefore shall leave much out of this tribute for others to share.
I have chosen to focus on the most precious values that I personally treasure… that I see as the Greater part of his legacy.
My Grandfather was the Abraham of our family!
When I was growing up his word was Law.
He set the standards for manhood and he always stuck to his word.
His glory as a faithful husband to my Nana and as a father to his children (and Grandchildren) gave me such assurance that life makes perfect sense, and that all is well in the world.
Rev Clark was a man of Reason and a man of Faith.
He was a Christian minister, which is a huge testimony to the value of that religion.
Those who knew him and loved him, yet are not Christians ought to pause and contemplate the huge implications that such a man of great wisdom and integrity was not ashamed to wear the garb of a Man of God!
It is this truth that I hold dearest about my Grandfather, and it is in honour of his principled faith in God that I wish to write to you about life, religion, and death.
This is a fitting time to talk about religion and death.
If it’s not cool to talk about religion and death at the funeral of a preacher, then I ask when?
For many Death is the hardest most frightening reality we face.
How are we to deal with it?
We all must face our own mortality sooner or later and worse still we must face the mortality of those we hold dear.
Some like my Grandfather, live full term and death becomes a sort of mercy, yet many tragically die before their time and it seems a truism to say “Life’s not fair!”
Should we die from our own immorality or foolishness we may find small solace in seeing such deaths as justly ‘reaping what we have sown’, yet often death comes to the virtuous and innocent…at the hands of some evil, and so this rule appears violated.
The Soul that looses a loved one in such a way, or they find themselves facing an early death by some evil is in danger of becoming bitter and twisted, and a hater of God, even if they don’t believe in him!
Indeed they choose not to believe in him simply because they see life as unjust!
It is for this reason that a positive philosophy about death is essential for every one of us if we are to truly enjoy life.
Without a sure reasoned faith powerful enough to overcome these sorts of pain… bitterness and hatred of God are almost as sure to consume your soul as the sun will rise tomorrow!
Perhaps some may delude themselves into being happy by such base notions that ultimately ‘Nothing really matters’, but this can never suffice the deep hearted.
This can only leave you cold.
I therefore say True Religion is essential for the survival and happiness of everyone of us, and not to have such a faith is a disaster!
Pain bitterness, hopelessness, and hatred are the lot for the lost soul without true religion.
Rev Clark Knew this, and this was one reason he was a minister of God.
Peace, hope, and a clear sense of justice are only possible for the man of reason that has reason enough to have faith that ultimately all is well and that life has real meaning and value.
It is my testimony, and that of my Grandfather that reason enough does indeed exist for hope and belief in Divine Justice.
Tears. Knowing time was short. Me and Granddad shortly before his death.
Let me now share with you a tiny fraction of the logic for faith in God, faith in his goodness, and faith in Christ by a few self-evident truths.
What lies in that box is not my Grandfather!
That dead body is but the house he lived in.
Science tells us that we replace every cell in our body every seven years.
This being so, most of us have had many bodies in our lifetime already!
They are miraculous things that were designed by incredible genius, but they are not the essence of who we are.
What is missing from that corpse is the *Real Granddad* whom we all love!
*His Soul*.
A great portion of Mankind are suffering from the delusion that we are but soul-less matter.
This is a great inhuman and evil superstition that has the most evil consequences for those under it’s spell.
The fruit of it is nihilism and this lowers man down to the level of a germ.
Granddad knew this truth and was a minister of men’s *souls*.
Now think about love… what is the chemical formula for that?
Can chemicals love?
Can rocks feel?
Can robots be conscious of their own existence and care about the existence of other robots?
The man of reason and science, who holds that good and evil have objective reality must say no!
There is no Atheistic science that can accommodate the facts of reality or human experience!
All human invention is childlike when compared to such marvels as the human mind, brain, and hands.
The scripture that declares we are made in God’s image is the most rational statement pertaining to our existence!
I say that if the Earth was like the moon, and there was no such thing as mankind… then it might be rational to think ‘there is no God’ or that whatever is responsible for existence is dead not living.
But we live!… and science has proven that Life only comes from life.
It therefore follows that whatever is primary in reality must not only be alive, but also of supreme intelligence.
We call this Supreme being God…. who is before all temporal Laws and things.
The scripture wisely declares “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God”, and that mankind must beware ‘science falsely so-called’.
Don’t be deceived by *Fake Science* like Darwinism.
Understand the difference between science proper, and poor speculations that are contrary to it.
Darwinism is fatally flawed and already fading away, yet Christianity stands fast and ready for you to embrace.
It alone accounts for cause and effect, both Physical and Moral.
The foolish man builds his house upon the sands of man’s ever changing myths.
The wise man builds his house upon the rock of God’s sure word of truth, The King James Bible.
This article appeared in the Waikato Times.
Why must we embrace Christ?
It is because this is how God has declared as his only acceptable way of salvation, and it is God who sets the terms for such a thing… not us.
To be so vain as to believe God must accept us on *our terms* is to hang reality on our whim, and to Deify our pea-sized intellect!
Socrates, who believed in life after death, said it ought to be a man’s chief concern to ‘Know thyself’, and that the unexamined life is not worth living.
I say that if we dare to examine ourselves our need for Christ and God’s forgiveness becomes as clear as day!
What is wondrous about God’s salvation through Christ is that he has managed to satisfy both Justice and Mercy, and to reveal his loving grace towards us.
He has achieved this by giving us freewill, and the liberty to choose to or reject him.
For us to choose Christ we must recognize we are sinful and lost.
Do not hide behind such foolish cliché, as ‘Religion is the cause of all mankind’s woes… such as war.”
Sin and Evil are the cause of these and knowing this ought to convince us all of the need for salvation and God’s government!
The good news is “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Salvation is a free Gift!
The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
Rev Clark believed in God and was a minister of this truth.
Was he an irrational superstitious Fool?
No!
He was a man of Reason and a true Humanitarian.
This is what Christianity is all about!
I don’t ask you to become a pew warmer.
I implore you all to ask Christ to be your savior!
Let us maintain our faith in justice in the face of every hardship.
Let us play the hand we have been dealt with dignity to the very end.
Let us love one another and cherish every moment we have!
I thank God for my Grandfather and trust his soul is now in a much better place.
And I expect to see him again!
Thank you Granddad for everything.
You are an inspiration to us all.
Amen.
I cannot finish without giving recognition to my Nana who is the best wife any man could have.
Thank you Nana for loving and caring for my Granddad.
We all love you so much!
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness: but unto us which are saved: it is the power of God”
St Paul. 1 Corinthians 1vs18.
Cop Killing Niggers…. Pictures flash through your mind…. Conjured up from your prejudices…. a Fat White Racist Cop Shooting Innocent Black Males?…. Or a Crack Head Saggy Pants Gang Banger with a piece… doin a drive by on a Police Cruiser?
Black lives Matter.
Fuck the Police.
What-the-fuck!???
The wheels are falling of Civil society!
No Shit Sherlock!
Polarisation.
Division.
Us vs Them.
Who wins?…. Emergency measures… Martial Law.
Satan Laughing spreads his wings.
You have to be living under a rock… at the bottom of the ocean… in the Challenger Deep not to be aware of the Chaos and disorder happening in American society with regards to Police Thuggery and Black Outrage.
Each side of this Mayhem expects us to take their side, and if you dont… you must be a Racist, or a Cop Hater.
I sit on the fence… not because I dont have an opinion…. but because I say *Both sides* have malignant Ideas mixed with some Righteous outrage… Both have Blame…. both are responsible for the troubles… Both need to get their shit together.
I will start with my criticism of the Police… because they are supposed to walk the high road and set an example of Character and Justice, and when the Police become Brutal, Unjust, and corrupt… this is an absolute catastrophe for the society.
This being so I believe *When a Policeman is accused of committing a crime*… this must be openly and thoroughly investigated so that the people can see the process is not slopped in favor of allowing Bad police to escape justice… and when found guilty… because of the professional Responsibility they have in our society… they should face *Heavier penalties* than Civilians who commit the same offences.
They are supposed to be well Trained legal professionals… brave… and of high character… which implies that they care about the people in the communities they serve… and when they commit a Crime… they are betraying the trust that our society places on their uniform.
What is also means is that *The Legal machinery that investigates and prosecutes Bad Police* must be scrupulously independent of the police themselves… and this includes *the attitudes of the Judiciary*, must be above reproach… ie Not be seen to convict defendants simply upon the statements of Police, or excuse criminality perpetrated by the Police.
Thus Like the Police… the Legal system must be transparently Just …. anything less and the people loose faith in justice… and Chaos and dis-order ensues.
Policeman must fear the Judiciary, knowing that they themselves are not above the Law, and will held to account with the full weight of the Law should they cross the line.
*None of this is happening* So it is not surprising that with the advent of The Cellphone Video camera, countless videos are steaming on line of absolutely abominable crimes being committed by police against ordinary people… grand mothers, Young men, etc.
This behavior is nothing new, but today the police are being caught on video.
Yet still… even with video evidence and multiple witnesses most of these corrupt police escape justice…
Some places insist their officers wear body Cams… and these precincts witness a drop in complaints against police for obvious reasons… the police behave better when they are carrying a video that will be examined by their superiors.
I agree with Ex Cop David Champion that one of cost effective things that could be done to help stop Police criminality is to issue all Police on the Beat with Body Cams, and *Any violence, police shootings, etc* that officers say ‘their cameras fell off’… etc should automatically call their version of events int question, and cause high suspicion of Criminality on their part.
Police, etc, cannot be lawfully allowed to withhold footage from independent investigators, or the press, without some sort of judicial process for special cases.
When Faith in the Justness of the Law, The Police, and the Courts has been corroded… Chaos ensues… police will start getting shot more often.
When Faith in the Justness of the Law, The trustworthiness of the Police, and the Fairness and integrity of the Courts is high… the People will be happy… the people will think of the Police as they ought…their friends…. and they will trust that Bad Police will not be tolerated, but will face the consequences of their evil deeds.
*This is what is conducive to civil order*
*This is what will attract the best people of the highest character* into the Police force… as a High vocation of service to their communities…. which is what the Police force is Ideally meant to represent… instead of what it has become… A gang of Lawless thugs whom perpetrate extreme violence and thuggery with impunity.
*This is the breeding ground for a violent disrespect for society, the Law, and the police*
I must add this one particular comment on the Law itself…. *End the War on Drugs*…. This is a Law and order Disaster that fosters extreme violence by the Police … sanctioned by society… that can be reciprocated by those involved in the Drug trade.
Just as Alcohol Prohibition gave rise to Al Capone, Police Corruption, and Machine Gun Massacres… The War on drugs has repeated the grievous injustices and chaos.
Ending Prohibition ended so much unnecessary violence and chaos from both sides of the Law.
It is that only the willfully ignorant say that the police are the good guys… Countless videos on line testify to how lawless and thuggish they have become… and of course a Natural social backlash is in progress.
It is right that there is Public outrage about the un-justifiable killing and brutality of police, and The Police do need serious Cultural reforms… yet still… Outrage cannot justify the sorts of shocking behavior that is being perpetrated …Rioting, Looting, and Cop Killing.
Political Organisations like ‘Black lives Matter’ have sprung up with their own agendas… and to the degree that they seek to highlight a systemic problem within the police, they are to be commended and supported, yet sadly such organisations appear to be filled with *Racists themselves*… Blacks whom call whites ‘Crackers’… and who are taking opportunity to vent their personal prejudices and to Excuse the most lawless and despicable behavior under the guise of ‘Protesting Police brutality… Police Racism…. Etc’
They are conspicuous in their silence when Police brutalize or murder white people… obviously this does not fit well with *their Narrative that Police brutality is focused on Blacks*
These people claim to be a Civil rights movement, yet by their actions they Betray the ideals and values of the Great Black Civil rights activists of History…. Martin Luther King, Booker T Washington, Frederick Douglas… whom refused to dish up Racism for Racism… Hate for Hate…. but instead preached Unity, and Brotherhood *with White America*.
Furthermore ‘Black lives matter’, and many in the Media *Fail to identify the massive Cultural deviancy* that is behind the dire social statistics of the Black demographic…. and Falsely attribute the Lions share of the causes underpinning the squallar, unemployment,and crime which are characteristic of Black neighborhoods *on Racism*…rather than an absolute lacking of Personal ethics and good values on their own part.
It is all very well to expect the Police to walk the highest path… and set the standard for virtue…. yet when you have Black communities that are so violent and crime ridden… filled with all the absolute Mind rotting Gangsta Rapp… It is not surprising that having walked the beat for years… that many Police carry suspicion 24/7 against Swagger Cap wearing Jeromes, and have one finger on the trigger at all times.
The Police are *human*…. and they get sick and tired of the Getto Bullshit that so many Gang Bangas dish out that it is all too easy to treat *Them all* as scum…. when only perhaps 75% of the are…
These hypocrites running ‘Black lives matter’, are to a large degree *Rasists themselves*… they are willing to destroy their cities when a Policeman shoots an unarmed boy in a case of mistaken identity … yet never hit the streets to protest against the thousands of Little Homies who get shot by other little homies.
The following statement is as applicable to my own Maori Demographic here in New Zealand as it does to Black America.
*This Type of Blaming the Whites for all your Problems* instead of looking the mirror and seeing the Violent, criminal, little racists that you are* and fixing the problem *at home*… is a typical Blindness that is promoted by the Political class whom prosper from exacerbating the divisions, and falsely attributing blame to such *as race*, instead of doing what Great leaders would do…. *Calling their own people out!* *Get your shit together people!* Throw all that Gang Banger Rap Rubbish in the Bins! *Dont tolerate that shit your homes… Parents.
*Dont encourage Racism against ‘Crackers’ in your house* Start setting and example… Return to the teachings and lessons of your great Civil Rights leaders…. Condemn those Political shysters whom are promotion Race hatred and fostering endless victim-ism!
Teach your Kids to respect, and be polite to the Police…. walk the high road… and be part the movement for social change within your own communities… Raise Christian Children….
Thus it is that Both The Police and The Communities in which they serve each need to reform themselves… weed out the Devils from their midst’s and come together.
Without blaming the victims for the injustices they suffer…or condoning the vile behavior of the Police, it is not right to deny the Ideological void…the greater Societal degeneracy that is the hall mark of our ‘Post-Christian era’ and so Prevalent… so inter-generational in certain demographics.
The Issues discussed in this blog are but a few of the symptoms of the Disease and decay Western civilization is Reeling under.
Many Nations face Bankruptcy and civil unrest… and so the Status Quo/ Powers that be are also purposefully militarizing their police forces, and attempting to grant themselves greater powers, and to erode the Rights and liberties of the people… and they want a Police force that has no compunction about putting down Public protests… They want a Population that is scared to speak up or to defend their rights… These are Dangerous times…. All this social disorder works as a pretext for the Powers that be to increase their means of population control.
The Breakdown of the Family unit…. welfare-ism,…. *The systematic rise and implementation of Socialist pseudo morality and their repudiation of Christian ethics and values* that used to underpin the principles of Freedom, self reliance, Hard work and the American Dream….
Yet this is enough for One Blog post….
What a Shameful Mess Western societies have become!
Socialism and Atheism have led our nations down the Low Road… the Broad way that leadeth to destruction.
They have lost all their enlightenment values… and as Self Responsibility wains….so too does Liberty…. and tyranny is on the rise.
Narrow is the road to life….Liberty.. and prosperity… Christian Libertarian Values and ideals.
As a Bibliophile few things can compare to the discovery of a Book that contains monumental truths, that have been Forgotten or ignored.
Truths that radically challenge the direction of current politics and thought.
They can be plainly written… innocent of any political motives… yet the weight of their implications for anyone who grasps them are profound.
And it can take *special people* to appreciate how important such works are…. people who appear to have been specially prepared before hand to be able to recognize and understand what is at stake, and to be burdened enough to carry this information out into the world… knowing they will face a hostile reaction from the vested interest of the status quo, and all the people who have been deceived into believing the Falsehoods and revisionist histories which prop up current political agendas.
This Blog post is yet another one of many that though it is of First Rank in importance, I have delayed producing it out of fear that I am too exhausted to do the subject justice… so I have procrastinated.
I have decided that I best approach this subject in two parts… My personal rant being part 1, and the full body of the topic in part 2… with a link to to this first part in the appropriate spot.
I almost chose not to write this first part because of it’s “ME, ME” factor…. “I’m so great” “I’m So Clever!”… which is rightfully cringe-worthy, yet I realized that unless I do write this first part, opportunity to write some valuable insights will missed, as well as some valid explanations as to why I feel compelled to write such things.
Now I could write this in a less grandiose manor, yet again this would miss opportunity to employ literary (and biblical) ‘motifs’ that deserve to be utilised because of their value and thereby kept alive… so let me beforehand apologise for any lofty Flying horses I paint myself riding across the Stratosphere. 🙂
I do so because I think it’s important for Individuals to feel valuable, and that their lives have *Real Divine purpose*… that they have Missions to achieve in this life…. if only they are brave enough to follow their convictions.
Enough said… Here is Part 1… about a plain blue covered little book called ‘The advance of the Missionaries’ by H.C. Fancourt.
A book that deserves to be republished and disseminated throughout New Zealand schools, and Bookstores.
******
‘Black is the new white’. When being a Radical becomes the new conservatism, and requires a new Radicalism to confront it… enter Tim Wikiriwhi.
I am fast approaching 50 years of age, and of Maori descent on my fathers side as my name evidences, yet I am also a Christian, and of Pakeha descent on my mothers side.
I hope mentioning the fact that I am a Christian will not cause too many of my readers to click on the x… yet as my subject in the title says this blog is about a book on Missionary work, I will assume most readers will be prepared for some discussion on religion.
And it is with this in mind that I have decided to weave in some Biblical constructs into my story to flavour it with the concepts of Providence, and that Human individuals each have a Divine purpose and reason to be here on planet Earth.
It is up to individuals to seek out what is their vocation.
So let me breifly explain why I believe the circumstances of my life… though at first glace appear to be full of negativity, ultimately have fitted me to be able to write on the following topic, and embark on such a radical departure from the socially engineered norm.
As I have already said, my Mother was Pakeha, my Father was Maori, and without dragging out the tale, it will suffice to say that My mother left my father when I was about 3 years old because he was a violent drunk.
You can find a more detailed account of this in a speech I delivered >here.
I am not here wallowing in a ‘Poor me’ story… though obviously when these sorts of troubles break up families this can have very terrible effects on Children, and sadly this is a very common horror faced by a disproportionate number of Maori Kids, comparative to other demographics.
This does give me an inside view of such social and individual trauma and how it can affect the development of Maori Kids and their perceptions about life.
One aspect that may be seen as a negative that happens to many Maori children is that my parents break up resulted in us three children being separated also from our Maori whanau, and with the process of time becoming completely alien from that side of our heritage.
We missed out on growing up in close relationship with our Maori kin… and without doubt that is a great loss.
Yet it at this point I wish to introduce the concept that even through bad events and circumstance, that Providence can shine and work for good.
When I and my brother and sister were separated from our Maori whanau and their influence, we were immersed in the Pakeha world and raise under the wing of two of the most wonderful human beings that ever graced God’s own… My enlightened and benevolent Pakeha Grandparents John and Marie Clark.
They were Both Teachers, Both Civic minded and liberal, Compassionate towards Maori, and raised a family of socially conscious children who went on to be Teachers, Policemen, etc.
My Pakeha Grandfather was Loved by the Maori people because he went out of his way to help them, spending many years teaching in Maori communities, he learned to speak Maori fluently, and was given a Taonga of Great Mana… a carved orators stick of which few can compare in power and beauty.
This Taonga would be the highest treasure in our family… it’s significance and meaning inspire awe and reverence for our great Father.
Much Higher than his medal for public service from the PM Geoffrey Palmer.
My Grandparents adopted a Maori child into their family who was the victim of abuse, and he became my much loved ‘Uncle Paddy’.
Granddad Died in 2006 and I have written a short tribute to his memory >here.
So though My parents Divorce had negative aspects… they were greatly mitigated by the positive influences of my Pakeha family… and so my upbringing in the early formative years of my life was separated from my Maori roots.
How this separation has served to prepare me to now help those of Maori Blood, I liken unto the biblical story of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his envious brothers… a terrible thing to happen yet a circumstance that Providence used to save the children of Israel from starvation and destruction in the wilderness.
I would hope my readers are familiar with this historic drama, and those of you who are not should go and read it.
You will find it in your Authorized King James Bible Genesis chapters 37-50.
My point is I believe God/ providence works like this in all our lives… that we experience circumstances to prepare us for our true mission in life.. and make us uniquely qualified for the noble tasks that need men and woman of character and principle to champion.
Thus I was not radicalized with the idea that Pakeha are Greedy Racists that Rob Maori of everything and seek to keep them underfoot.
My experience was the very opposite… that there was a loving and mutual respect between Maori and Pakeha… an enjoyment of each others company…. Co-operation for commonly held ambitions.
I was not raised to think of myself as a Warrior… or that my Race was of any consequence at all.
I was taught to be self responsible and to treat my fellow humanity with respect and equality irrespective of their ethnicity.
And I was encouraged to dream about a future as a Teacher, a scientist… eventually I chose to become an engineer, which is a *secular trade* meaning it is not an atheist trade, or a Christian trade… not a Pakeha trade… or a Maori trade… it is simply ‘A trade’… a set of valuable skills and wisdom that is useful to *anyone* who chose to apply themselves to gaining mastery of the art, and it will enable *anyone* to earn an honest living and support themselves and their whanau, and help them to pursue their dreams and ambitions at their own expense.
Life is *what you make it* So many people wallow in misery because of their own foolish choices and ideas… yet love to blame others.
God was preparing me for my task ahead. I Believe this, yet even if you dont believe in providence, I am sure you can see how circumstances molded *this Maori* to perceive the relationship between Maori and Pakeha New Zealanders as being very different to the political Propaganda of the Maori Radicals and what has become via 4o years of agitation ‘The official line… that Maori are the victims of a Rapacious ‘invasion’ and that all their negative social statistics may be squarely blamed on colonisation and Pakeha Racism instead of their own lack of Ethical self responsibility… their willful dependence on Welfare… their victim and blame mentality… all of which is being fed by a nasty political class of racists who use this misery for their own political ends.
Just how ensnaring and hate-generating such ideas are is reflected in the vehemence of the protester against anyone (like myself) who dares challenge the legitimacy of their outrageous claims.
The mainstream media labels anyone who dares challenge the Official line of pandering to “Maori Treaty grievance” as being ‘Hate speakers’… Racists… dangerous … whose opinions must be suppressed.
So such were the influences of my early childhood.
Yet everything was not Rosy, my mother shacked up with another dangerous psychopath who would take us away from the safety of our beloved Grand parents and traumatize us for years to come… causing all sorts of psychological and physical problems and wounds.
as this has little to do with the topic I will skip it, other than to say that my life has never been plain sailing, and that I myself have traveled a stormy sea….and come very close to ship wreak many times… yet thankfully I have always had … that island of good sence to look back to… that was the values my Grandparents and Pakeha family instilled.
I became a Christian at the age of 18, and thus began my walk with God… I at least knew who he was, though my rebellious nature would take years and years to subdue… and still to this day is quick to sin.
My ongoing saga would involve suffering a personal family break up and several dark years in depression… an outer-body experience in which I became another person… dangerous and filled with anti-social malice.
I did things in this period of darkness completely out of character and this brought me into trouble with the Law.
Things for which I am greatly ashamed of, yet must still own.
Today I have tried yet again to reinvent myself… not to be *That guy*.
I now council men who find themselves in such circumstances to take extreme care not to spiral downward like crashing plane… for it makes climbing skyward again so much harder, and many of the hurtful things that you do to others can never be undone… and you must carry those deeds in your conscience for the rest of your days.
These experiences have given me empathy for the countless lost young men who end up on the wrong side of the law, and a belief that anyone can recover themselves and reform… if they have the will to do so.
After many years of rebellious youth and young adulthood, again Providence would conspire to lead me out of the storms… and teach me the final lessons that I needed to learn so that I would be ready to face the monumental task ahead.
I grew in wisdom of the principles of Christian ethics, and in Political science, and how to apply the principles of ethics to actual outcomes in real time… the apprehension that we exist in a realm of moral cause and effect, and thus the massive implications of our personal moral self- responsibility for our own choices and values we embrace.
For it is one thing to be taught about ethics and values, but quite another to learn how to actually apply them and understand how our ideas impact on our lives.
Most of my life I have lived very much as the socialists tell us things are… Like a little boat with no oars at the mercy of Gigantic waves and Riptides…. a victim of circumstance… rather than circumstance being the great moral teacher… calling each of us to quit moping about… crying about how tuff and unfair life is.. and instead take command of our own vessel and purposely steer ourselves into the wind.
To take responsibility for the sort of person I am…. that my own character is determined by my values and the choices I make.
I am not particularly intelligent, so I learned most of my valuable life lessons the hard way by personal experience, rather than by learning from *other peoples mistakes*… which is far more intelligent.
When I reflect on my own life I see how I myself was contributing to the negative social statistics… yet by the grace of God I have at least been smart enough to learn to stop banging my head and wonder why it hurts… and been led to apprehend the nature of the real issues that face Maori … and others who occupy the blunt end of our society.
My School has not bequeathed me with fancy certificates of learning… no honors… no Initials follow my name.
I dont speak from having sat at the feet of Ivory tower intellectuals… which is another blessing, for the schools of our nation have been filled with the Propaganda mongers of the Treaty grievance industry.
I have learned the true value of the Bible, not just in the salvation of my soul for the next life, but it’s Life saving ethics, and it is at this point that my introduction to this wonderful little book begins, and why I value it among my most precious books, and also why I will be taking the trouble to give my Blog readers a worthy Review.
I have not touched on the doctrines of treaty separatism today or how the malicious doctrines of Maori Radicalism have now become ‘the conservative view’. It has been enough for me to describe my journey and how today *I’m the radical* because the truths I champion are in stark contrast to what is being taught in schools and via the media.
You would think that there would be thousands of Non-tribalist Maori out there with similar experiences as my own, who would agree which what I have said, unfortunately these thousands to great extent have been swept up by the Radicalization of The Treaty separatists as much as those whom have close ties with their tribes. Indeed many of these Maori have been made to feel ashamed because they dont know their Whakapapa… like my Uncle Paddy… and recently the Comedian ‘Gish’ explained these feelings too (see video below).
Because such a large percentage of Maori actually live in cities completely disconnected from their tribal roots… often not welcome there… The separatist movement has invented another Tribe ‘Ngati Urban Maori’…. so they too can join the Grievance band wagon.
So to borrow from the Bible again, I feel a bit like John the Baptist…. alone in the wilderness calling my fellow Maori to ‘Repent’… and make yourselves fit for the kingdom.
Mine is the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
I am appealing to Maori who can see that what I am saying is true… yet of course it is dangerous and alienating to any that would dare stand with me in opposition to the political agenda that grants Maori special rights and privileges… an entire industry and ‘economy’ and hundreds of millions of tax dollars.
Again in regards to the vile racism of the Treaty grievance industry I quote from the book of Revelation… “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues.” Rev18vs4.
I want to highlight the truth that Parents, and teachers hold such a massive power over the minds of their children and young people… and that even adults who are ignorant of the truth can easily become the willing victims of evil propaganda that pretends to have their best interests at heart… yet leads them down the Road to hatred… Read about where haters come from >here.
Haters Gina Hate…hate hate, I’m asking you to heed Taylor Swift and Shake Shake Sake it off!
For your own sakes.
My Father disappeared into the South… changing his name to avoid Child support dues… and eventually fathered another little Girl… my sister whom has only recently made contact with us… much to our Joy, and we are yet to met.
She has lived in complete isolation, and so it will be a great day when we embrace.
Also via facebook I have been able to establish contact with many members of my Maori whanau and it is heartening to know that they are open to building closer ties.
I am grateful that in spite my views are in stark contrast to what is considered ‘normal’ and ‘right’ that they have all been very warm towards me which shows greatness on their part, and one of the chief reasons I am writing these blog posts it to try and explain myself clearly to them to hep them understand that I am not the enemy, and that in truth I have the best interests of the Maori people, and all New Zealanders as a whole at heart… because in truth there is no conflict of interest.
Liberty and Justice, and equality before the law serves everyone best.
Life is hard… a struggle, and there definitely are political injustices that make it difficult to climb up out of poverty , yet they are not the injustices as described by the dishonest and deluded socialists… of the Left and Right.
In fact most of the injustices may be squarely leveled at the corrupt Nanny State politics of these socialists themselves!
They tell Maori they are victims, they tell them they are not responsible for their own well being… etc etc that they need to be treated as basket cases…. yet all this is doing is passing the buck and ensnaring Maori further in welfare dependence and Race hatred.
I Seek to absolutely reverse these doctrines of victimism and dependence… yet to do so I must speak Hard truths that require the self-ownership and personal effort and responsibility of each Maori person *as an Individual*.
And at the heart of all this lies the ethics that are integral to Christianity… self reliance, self responsibility.
It was Providence that brought the Missionaries here from England.
God’s Compassion for the Maori.
My next post I want to start explaining the monumental impact of the Christian message upon the Maori people… as it was brought to these islands by the selfless and brave Missionaries who came here not out of greed, or a desire for conquest… but out of Christian Love and a desire to shine the wondrous light, of the gospel and the brotherhood of humanity… and how this Saved the Maori people from self destruction and the misery of the darkest forms of savagery and superstition that were the lot of Pre-European Maori subsistence.
That contrary to the lies of the Anti-colonialist Maori Radicals… that Christianity and British sovereignty raised up Maori out of the most wretched conditions… and that in comparison even the most destitute today are still by far better off than when Tribalism was in full swing, and War, slavery, and cannibalism was the norm.
I have lightly touched on this >here.
I have spent the best part of two decades attempting to share the positive vision I have for Maori that will come by ending racial separatism, and starting a new Era of Self-Reliance and Co operation, and I will continue to do so as long as the evils of Racist treaty separatism continue to destroy race relations in our nation and keep Maori wallowing in self-pity and malice.
These are at the heart of why I seek to promote the truths that are in this little volume… ‘The advance of the missionaries’, and intend to see it in print again, or available as an E Book… and would appreciate any help that people out there can give me.
Please contact me in the comments below, or private message me on Facebook.
So ends my introduction to this subject.
It will appear as a link at the beginning of my next post.
I hope I have stimulated interest in the main body of truth that I hope to share about my topic.
Cheers to my readers who have endured such a long post.
Tim Wikiriwhi.
1611 King James Bible believing Dispensationalist Christian and Libertarian.
More from Tim…
Read my Free Radical article on Bainimarama’s Fijian Coup and The Right of Revolution’ Here:
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
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.
Genesis 3vs 1-6
The following is but a small portion of the Scriptures that teach the absolute final authority for the Christian in all matters of Faith is *The Bible*… not the vain scholarship, and Foolishness of human rationalism.
Avoiding a long rant let me say that the following is meant to heap hot coals upon the heads of those who seek to equivocate… twisting the scriptures to their own ends… such as those who claim that ‘Christ is the only word of God to be believed’.
And For those who would accuse Bible believers of Dogmatic Faith… as if that is some sort of vice… as if ‘Free thinking’ is superior to ridged and unapologetic faith the Word of God…. let me tell you that I am happy to be opinionated, peremptory, assertive, imperative, insistent, emphatic, adamant, doctrinaire, authoritarian, authoritative, domineering, imperious, high-handed, pontifical, arrogant, overbearing, dictatorial, uncompromising, unyielding, unbending, inflexible, rigid, entrenched, unquestionable, unchallengeable…. On this matter…. for that is the position of Christ himself, and St Paul, and what they called the believers to be… seasoned with Meekness.
Of Course the Bible rejecting Rationalists who claim to be Christians believe all the same Atheist Dogma about the untrustworthyness, the corruption, the myth, the superstition, the backwardness of the Bible … they themselves are Dogmatic about *Not trusting* the bible… and instead repair to *Textual critics whom have been trained to treat the bible like any old Religious text*
They cloak their Anti-theistic Dogma under the claim of ‘Free thinking’… yet it is as ridged and opposed to open-mindedness about the possibility that the Bible is a supernatural Book that carries the Authority of God Almighty.
Nor is my call to believe the scriptures to imply *Non-thinking*… or a refusal to address the criticisms of the rationalists.
I have spent my life looking at the challenges being hurled at the Bible, and it is my testimony that all of them come to naught, and the word of God prevails.
(Read my testimony below this post)
This is a massive topic in itself because though The Christian is called to believe the Bible, I dont deny that Satan has been at work corrupting, and twisting, and deceiving… The Father of Lies has his Minions… whom have busied themselves so that indeed there are many corrupted manuscripts, and Evil translations… championed by wolves in sheeps clothing who hate the truth, and seek to deceive.
The essential point that separates the Bible believer from the textual critic and rationalist is not a denial that corruptions have occured, but that in spite of them… God has protected a trustworthy and unbroken line of scriptures for Humanity, in fulfillment of his divine promises.
From the very start Satan was in the Garden sowing distrust in Gods word.
He quoted Scripture to Christ in his hour of temptation.
And throughout the age has continued to work against Gods word.
Yet all this time God protected a pure stream of Truth, unmolested… known as the Textus Receptus (Received Text).
And when the time was right… God inspired the King of England to commission these holy scriptures be translated into English.
Satan still did not quit.
He whispered in the ears of Guy Fawkes… KILL KING JAMES! yet God’s will prevailed… and the King James Bible was published and the Printing Presses went to work… there was an Explosion of Light! and Salvation! and Freedom! a Burst of Progress and Civilization that we still enjoy today.
Still… though the kingdom of Darkness took a might hit… still Satan set to work inspiring hatred for the King James Bible… stroking the Ego’s of vain ‘scholars’ into producing corrupt English translations…from corrupt manuscripts and spreading lies about the trustworthiness of the King James Bible.
And without making my introduction too long… today Belief in the purity of the scriptures is in sharp decline… and the Light is fading on western civilization.
To believe the Book of Genesis today, or in hell, or in the soul, is to be labeled a religious nutcase… a person devoid of scientific understanding… etc.
King James Bibles are stacked in 2nd hand bookshops and Book fares… along with Bill Cosbys Fatherhood paperbacks, and Lance Armstrong’s auto biography.
Satan laughing spreads his wings.
Yet still the pure word of God is there, and easily available to any who seek the truth.
And within it’s pages it has predicted this decline of Christianity into the darkness of infidelity and unbelief… Wickedness and perversion.
So we who trust in the Lord are not in the Dark about this.
All of this Satanic confusion is clearly expounded in the scriptures.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119vs105
14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24 vs 24,25
Tim Wikiriwhi
Libertarian Christian
Dispensationalist
King James Bible believer.
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Jude 1vs3
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Psalm 138:2
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Psalm 12:6,7
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Matt 24vs35
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2Peter1vs20,21
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
1Thes2vs13
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
2Cor 2vs 17
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1 Cor 14vs37
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1 Peter 2vs 2
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4vs14
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
1 john 2vs 13,14
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Tim 2vs 15
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Tim 3:16,17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph6v17
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4vs12
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17vs17
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
John5vs39
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Tim 3:15
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Acts 17vs11
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Tim 4:2-4
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Luke 24vs25
“There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day.
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luke 16vs 19-29
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
@Thes 2vs8-10
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
John 12vs 48
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Psalm 119:160
“My name is Peter Steele and I do nothing.
I am a kind, wonderful human being… sees the value in all life…
Lover of all living things… Typical christian … Hipo-christian….”
> here
This blog post started out as a simple tribute to Peter Steele, whose Music added flavour to my own life and whose death I felt as a tragic loss.
I did not know a great deal about him other than his music and so I started watching Youtube video interviews and what surprised me was how often he would slip in claims of being a Christian, usually in between some other strange comments… in particular his often claim that he actually *wanted to die.*
Now of course someone who belongs to a band called ‘Type O Negitive’ who wrote songs like ‘Everything dies’ and specialized on blatantly nihilistic themes, it should not be shocking at all to appreciate the Front man had a Morbid Fixation about Death, yet as a Christian myself I began to wonder if this Fixation had in fact stimulated some *Real contemplation* and that perhaps his random claims of being a Christian were something more than taking the Mickey.
It did not take much effort to discover that Peter Steele…. despite Everything his music represents… was indeed one of those amazing Heavy Metal Stars who with age… came to some form of Christian Faith before he died.
Though many of his fans would not at all be pleased by this , it was fantastic news to me, and a token of how *Real* a person he was because he would have known how unpopular his public conversion would be with many of his Fans.
Many wont want to acknowledge this aspect of their Idol and will probably slag me for blogging about it, yet I want to tell his fans that his bravery in ‘Coming out in favour of Christ’ was actually a great act of Love he had for his fans… He was showing them the way.
Though he did not seek to ram Religion down peoples throats, yet neither did he want to be an Apostle of Nihilism and Irreligion.
He does not want his Fans to think that Life is pointless and that Good and Evil are meaningless terms.
I can justify these things by his comments… listed below.
So Peter was not only a great Artist, but was very Honest and of great depth… and he was also a member of a growing number of Hard Rock/ Metal Icons who have professed belief in Christ… and I can relate to this myself as a Head Banger and Christian.
Blacky Lawless from Wasp talks about how Heavy Metal is actually Music for Soul searchers….
“You’re talking about a genre that, in general, is obsessed with the idea of God and/or the devil. Jazz, pop, there is no other genre that is absolutely obsessed with it as this genre is.
The Bible tells us, ‘The truth has been placed in the hearts of all men.’ In other words, people know what the truth is. What I see is people in the search of the truth. They’re all on a journey, the people that are attracted to this genre are people who are really a lot more in tune with it than they think they are.
I’m speaking from a direction where I know what I’m talking about. I was in the church until I was in my late teens, and when I left and came to California, I went as far away as you could possibly go. I ended up studying the occult for three years. I understand what they’re looking for — they’re looking for the same thing I’m looking for. I’m at a point now where I’m bilingual: I can speak their language. They can’t necessarily speak my language, but I can understand where they’re coming from.
When we say ‘religion,’ we kind of use that as a general term, and when people have the resistance that they have to it, they have every reason to feel that way. That’s part of what drove me away — the indoctrination of men that I received; it’s man’s indoctrination. Now, from my perspective, my faith is based on Jesus Christ and the Bible — nothing more, nothing less.”
Read more here> I came not to bring peace, but a sword
***
And For me this rings true.
Read about my soul searching here > Jimi vs Jesus.
And so I hope that Peter Steele / Type O Negitive Fans can appreciate the vital truth that His conversion implies, and dont harden their hearts and carry on the Charade of *Thinking that the Heavy Metal Fantasy* is a blueprint for real life to be emulated by real people!
It is a Show… an act…. a story… that should be making you contemplate the Higher truths and searching for the meaning of Life.
Like Alice Cooper, Brian Welch, Dave Mustaine, and Others… Peter found out that Wealth, Fame, and Fortune, are insufficient in themselves to give real value to a persons life.
That Meaning and Salvation is Found in faith in God, and Jesus Christ.
Ask yourself Who in their Right mind actually thinks Alice Cooper, or Blackie Lawless’s Stage show personas are to be take seriously?
“We’re the the Lunitic fringe… who rusted the hinge on Uncle Sams Daughters and sons”
“Were all Crazy”
Unfortunately Peter died not long after making his faith public.
I can only speculate about the interesting perspectives he would have shared if he had had more time.
Fortunately He turned to Christ in the nick of time!
Too many lost souls never reach this enlightenment…
So I hope ‘a light turns on’ in the minds of Metal fans who read this tribute rather than simply getting angry at the thought of taking Christianity seriously, or feeling that Peter ‘Betrayed’ the hedonist cause.
He did you the best favour he could possibly do.
He showed that *Keeping it real* sometimes being brave enough to swim against the current, and be willing to suffer malice and hate, for the sake of being true to yourself and not living as a fraud.
So Rock on Metal Fans…. enjoy life… but dont be a complete moron and deny the true meaning of Life that comes from Knowing Jesus Christ.
The Band in Heaven will Rock Hard!
“Peter Steele, frontman of TYPE O NEGATIVE and founder of my favorite thrash band evaaar CARNIVORE was for a while, quite the trainwreck. I remember seeing a Carnivore reunion a few years ago, and noticed he did not look well. Recently though, TYPE-O started touring again and its clear by the interview below that Peter Steele is clean, looks relatively healthy and still has that dry witty sarcasm that he is known for. The interview was pretty fun at first but then slowly it started taking a turn for the worse…
Ladies and gentlemen, Peter Steele has found God. Does this mean hell has really frozen over? Not only has he found God, he thinks you should have God in your life too. OMFG WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU??? He literally says “We are all part of God’s plan.”
Read more > Here.
Peter Steele is now sober; into God and shit.
“I was born a Roman Catholic and I think that I have gone back to my faith. You know, people ask me are you a born-again Christian and I said no I am a dead-again Christian I have always been dead. I believe in Jesus Christ and God and the whole thing but, you know, I don’t shove it down anyone’s throat. You know, it’s a very private personal thing and faith is really strong and I really want to see my mother and father again. And also I can’t believe that somebody like Hitler and Mother Teresa are going to the same place after death. I can’t believe that.” Besides, you don’t get a cock that big unless you are blessed by the Lord.”
From here > Top 10 Born Again Christian’s in Metal
“Most of you have probably never heard of Peter Steele, (left) who passed away last month at the age of 48 from heart failure. Steele was the bassist and lead singer from the band Type O Negative, a popular group in the 1990’s that was at the cutting edge of the emerging “gothic” music scene and culture – you know, all those whiny, self-pitying teens who dye their hair black and try to look like vampires? Though Type O Negative, as a niche band, never attained a real popular mass market appeal, they did sustain a strong underground following throughout the 90’s and into the new millennium. Steele set the group apart by his haunting, baritone vocals in an age when most goth/metal bands looked for male singers who could do alto or soprano. Attempting to sound as “gothic” as possible, the band’s music often featured church organs and choirs, as well as slow, creepy rhythms (think of the Addam’s Family theme song).
Steele had a typical rock-star lifestyle – struggles with depression, drug abuse and alcoholism that eventually derailed his music career and made him a has-been by the mid 2000’s. Last month he passed away of a sudden heart attack at the age of 48.
So why is this news? A rock-star dies before his age? Is this surprising for someone who dallied in the occult (and professed atheism), exulted vampires as role models and sung about sacrilege, fornication and demonology? I recall listening to Type O Negative when I was 14, and this music definitely got me interested and involved in occult spirituality (I even had a brief vampire phase that thankfully proved very temporary). How many other young people were lured into the occult through this sort of music that exalts vampires and everything dark? And why am I bringing this up on my blog?
Because shortly before his death, Peter Steele converted to Christianity and even claimed to be a Roman Catholic. He went on talk shows speaking about how God has a plan for everybody and stated that one thing that helped bring him to Christianity was the conviction that there had to be some justice in life beyond this world; in his own words, that “someone like Stalin or Hitler just couldn’t wind up in the same place as Mother Teresa.” This sudden change appalled his fans (who thought he had sold out) and amazed Christians, who were once again reminded that nobody is beyond God’s grace. His was definitely the most unexpected conversion since the 2005 conversion of Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch. Unfortunately, unlike Welch, Steele died very soon after announcing his conversion.”
