The Meme (below) was posted to Gab Social media platform.
It makes a subtil claim appealing to Zeal… Zealotry… my retort to @Boomstick follows below.
Tim Wikiriwhi Responds…
@Boomstick Beware… This has no context, and is therefore deceptive in the extreme.
It’s claiming *Intolerance is a virtue!*
That cannot withstand any scrutiny.
Without some tolerance a person becomes a fanatic… indistinguishable from any form of fanatic… eg an Islamic extremist.
They would wholeheartedly endorse this claim.
Are you any better than they?
Now hear the enlightened truth!
Just as there are things that may be compromised, and others that may not be compromised, so too there are things that can, and ought to be tolerated, and others that ought not to be tolerated.
It is an equal wrong *not to tolerate what you ought* as it is to tolerate what you ought not.
Wisdom and Enlightenment teaches which is which.
Lower values can be sacrificed for the sake of higher values.
Treating others as we would wish to be treated ourselves… is natural justice.
Tolerance is guided by higher principles and convictions… it is not the abandonment of them as is claimed above.
A Tolerant man ought not to be a weak and an easily beguiled man, but show tolerance from a position of strength and vigilance.
And there is a line in the sand.
It is only by the embodiment of such values and principles than any man can claim to be civil and walk the higher path than the savage.
Intolerance is the hallmark of the Barbarian.
Intolerance is the hallmark of Tyranny.
Intolerance comes from fear.
Principled tolerance is in fact a symbol of courage.
” If it be possible, and as much as lieth in you, live peacably with all Men.”
Paul the Apostle.
Romans 12vs8.
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.
***************************************
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.
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.
Sometimes I lay
Under the moon
And thank God I’m breathing
Then I pray
Don’t take me soon
‘Cause I am here for a reason
Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it’ll all turn around because…
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [x6]
\
It’s not about
Win or lose
Because we all lose
When they feed on the souls of the innocent
Blood-drenched pavement
Keep on moving though the waters stay raging
In this maze you can lose your way (your way)
It might drive you crazy but don’t let it faze you no way (no way)
Sometimes in my tears I drown (I drown)
But I never let it get me down (get me down)
So when negativity surrounds (surrounds)
I know some day it’ll all turn around because…
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [x6]
One day this all will change
Treat people the same
Stop with the violence
Down with the hate
One day we’ll all be free
And proud to be
Under the same sun
Singing songs of freedom like
One day [x2]
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There will be no more wars
And our children will play
One day [x6]
