IMO This is not an ‘either/or’ situation IMO.
Despite assumptions I believe both propositions can be true at the same time… 🙂
Let me explain.
I say 1. We have free will and 2. God controls the universe.
Just as my young son was not my slave I could guarantee that if I held out an ice cream… he would grab it.
He was not *compelled* to grab it… yet I knew that I only had to put the cone in front of his face… and he would behave exactly as I planned/ foresaw.
We read in Exodus that God ‘hardened pharaoh’s heart’ so that he would not let the people go.
All God had to do is via some inconsequential way provoke Pharaoh’s pride/ego… to know Pharaoh would of his own volition *harden his own heart*!
There is no *deterministic mechanism* involved in what God did that absolves Pharaoh of his personal volition and culpability for what he did!
He was tested… and failed because of his own evil… and God is fully just in holding him accountable for what he did.
Does this make sense?
So God’s Authority does not negate Freewill.
He simply knows the heart of every one of us.
Pharaoh could have acted differently… yet chose the wicked path.
Christian X user asks the question… “Should Porn be allowed on this platform?”
Public nudity in a free and civil society has always been a contentious issue. Even the discussion of Sex is contentious.
As a Libertarian Christian I have defended the rights of Sex workers, and Public parades such as ‘Boobs on Bikes’ from Oppressive Councils and laws that were under pressure to prohibit these things largely from Christian activist lobby groups.
Some people will wonder how as a Christian I might take such a position? I take that position because I believe in a separation of church and state, and I do not like Christianity and the bible being used as a bludgeon to persecute sinners and infidels. I believe that to be absolutely Unchristian, and also a corruption of the Law… and a violation of individual rights.
Many anti-freedom people think that by taking the side of prostitutes that I am endorsing prostitution, yet that is false. I do not want anyone (man or woman) to prostitute themselves, yet that does not mean I therefore should support laws against them.
I believe In liberty.. as a Libertarian Christian we have far more hope of saving people from prostitution if we show love for them rather than hateful oppression. Christians can still work to reduce prostitution via the gospel… which is the true Christian way to battle sin and improve the world…. all under freedom.
Now I said all this here to give context to the question raised above. Porn in Western society may be construed as being anything from showing a nipple… to full on Sex. I personally am not bothered by the former being allowed in public yet would be very bothered by the latter… so even Libertarian Tim thinks there must be a line drawn *somewhere*.
Myself… applying the principle of Equality before the law when supporting ‘Boobs parades in Hamilton’ was that if men are allowed to walk topless down the street so too should woman be lawfully allowed to. Instead of allowing woman to do so, we could instead simply create a new prohibition against men having bare chests…. yet is this the best direction for society… less freedom… more laws/rules/punishments? It’s obvious to me thats the wrong direction to take society… that leads to what is happening in the Islamic world with Burkas and Beard police.
The truth is Christians need to be tolerant of others who do not share *all* the same values and sentiments we do… yet who are still peaceful and civil. Ie seeing a boob on the street you may find offensive (I don’t) but is certainly does not violate any of your rights!
If we were to apply that to social media platforms and boobs were allowed… then anyone offended by it could scroll past that post… and even block the sender of the post…. thereby *self policing* their own content without imposing their views on others. And this is how a free and civil society really works. Tolerance… and Individuals taking responsibility for their own moral standards rather than expecting the government to act like the Taliban.
X could set up an ‘R18’ tab (maybe they already do) and users could click that tab to prevent any R18 content appearing in their feed. They probably already do this… I’m not sure. I’m fairly certain most x users don’t want explicit porn turning up in their feed, yet I’m sure the odd boob pick from a chick on the back of a motor cycle does not bother too many people????
Ultimately such questions are for the Platforms themselves to figure out… yet if they get it wrong It would impact on their User satisfaction and cause people to leave. Lets say X allowed nudity yet not explicit sex acts… at first some millions who cant handle the sight of a boob to leave. That would be an expected cost. yet eventually those numbers would recover and users would just take such stuff in their stride like adults. And personally speaking I think that is progress… an escape from the petty legalistic prudish attitudes that still support Legal oppression under the guise of Christian virtue.
If nudity was allowed on X that would not mean Christians could no longer maintain their own virtues. They might face more ‘temptation’… yet it would be up to them to overcome that as all Christian ought. Ironically It’s the more Pious types that have the most problem when confronted with a boob! Everyone else just laughs… or scrolls past.
My answer… off the cuff…
There are several levels of ‘Sovereignty’.
The most essential one’s being God’s Divine Sovereignty and from this Individual sovereignty.
Individual sovereignty is a vital concept for Human Freedom which is only possible from a theistic foundation in which the Human Individual is imbued with Inalienable rights to life and Liberty.
The fundamental argument being we are given our lives and Freedom directly from God Almighty and it is Theft for governments, or anyone to rob us of our God given life and freedom.
We Free Men then can form a National government which derives it’s *National sovereignty* from a collective of our individual sovereignty and right to form a government. The Government in this way is *Not sovereign*… but the servant of the Sovereign people.
Yet still the people cannot imbue their government with any greater rights or authority than they posses *as individuals*…. therefore no collective of people have the right to create a government that tramples upon the God given rights of Individuals or minorities. No such legitimate power exists.
Therefore the Government must be strictly limited in it’s power, scope, and function leaving the Individuals with their Liberty to follow their own consciences… practice their own faith…. exercise their own values… the only condition being they respect the rights of others to do the same thing… and that their actions do not transgress the rights of others. This is where such things as Private property and free speech are essential rights. Private property is where we may practice our faith. Free speech being distinguished from violence means we can speak out minds and openly evangelise our faith and political opinions… which even if others do not like them or causes them offence… do not constitute violence and so do not violate others rights… and as such are lawful.
Atheism has no foundation for the sovereignty of individuals… no foundation for individual rights in fact no foundation for objective morality at all.
Famously The atheist Jeremy Bentham called rights ‘Nonsense on stilts’.
Atheist Hobbes said their is no higher power than *Might*…. The Leviathan state.
This is why under the atheist materialist paradigm there is no defense against *The sovereign State* which then can treat individuals in any way they see fit.
This is the Atheist Marxist conception whereby Individuals can be sacrificed for the sake of the Collective… The State. There are no Higher Moral Principles by which The All powerful State can be deemed to be Evil. In The Marxist consception… whatever serves the benefit of the Party State is moral* …. That’s Lenin.
so you have a choice… God and Human Rights vs Atheist Nihilism and the subordination of human beings to absolute power.
It looked this way during the 1893 World’s Fair – one of the most monumental events in American history.
The 19th and 20th century expositions were mighty celebrations of human achievement, congregating people from around the world to showcase leaps forward in culture and technology. Expos still take place today, but they declined in appeal after WW1.
The most impressive of all was the first exposition in Chicago. Some 27 million people attended over 6 months, when the city’s population was only 1 million and visitors did not have the luxury of air travel.
The fair was dedicated to the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas – a fitting moment to celebrate the onward march of civilization, during a time when the cultural and geopolitical torch was passing from Europe to the New World. Upstaging the extravagance of the previous fair in Paris, during which the Eiffel Tower was unveiled, was paramount.
In just two years (and without power tools), some 200 neoclassical buildings were erected in and around Jackson Park. Dubbed the “White City” for its gleaming façades, it far exceeded the grandeur of previous events. The structures were spread around a system of artificial lagoons and waterways, on which visitors zipped around on Venetian-style gondolas.
Most structures were built from a mixture of plaster, cement and jute, and intended to be temporary – which is why few remain today. The Palace of Fine Arts is still standing, but this was one of few built primarily from brick. Inside, representatives from 46 different countries exhibited their achievements in technology, science, industry, and the arts.
1893 was also a glimpse into the future – it was the first exposition lit solely by electricity, and most Americans had yet to witness the new technology. In a triumphal moment, President Cleveland switched on the power at the opening of the fair, bathing the White City in light at the push of a button.
The 65-foot “Statue of The Republic” (pictured) was the crowning monument, unveiled from drapery that was hoisted away when Cleveland hit the button. It was an allegory of American Exceptionalism – an eagle perching atop a globe in its right hand (suggesting the nation’s supremacy) and a staff topped by a Phrygian cap in its left (a symbol of liberty from antiquity). At the time, it was the largest statue ever made in America.
After the fair ended and most of its structures dismantled, the wonderful colossus was ordered to be destroyed because its gold-gilded exterior was beginning to wear. Apparently too costly to maintain, it was razed in a secret ceremony. The statue you see in Jackson Park today is a smaller, 24-foot replica.
Intelligence? Why did ‘intelligent’ people fall for all the nonsense? (All the Covid 19 pseudoscience and state tyranny and propaganda). Teacher Nigel Watson: YouTube.
Watch video (below).
Further thoughts that continue on from Part 1 here.
Science is no escape from the human condition… that gospel purported by many…is false.
Though we may increase in mastery over nature…certainty will always escape us… thus science is a pragmatic pursuit, not a source of absolute knowledge.
With every new answer comes new questions.
We will always rely on axioms and presuppositions… we cannot escape the need for faith… which underpins what we think we know… even the things we are most sure about….
I guess my original post could have been called… ‘Beware of Scientism’.
History shows you can ‘prove’ almost anything by fiddling with numbers.
It must be understood that not even math escapes the human condition… I know many people will be loosing their lunch over my impertinence… yet with time I hope to explain the many ways math can be corrupted.
When reading about various types of weird ‘inferred postulates’ like Dark Matter, The Big Bang, etc we always find two camps of thought.
Simpletons who think the said phenomena are rock solid facts and proceed to treat them as such in all their forthcoming activities… and others who have the intellectual depth and integrity to admit these cherished theories are full of holes… and proceed with caution in any further speculations that could follow.
It depends on which article you read as to whether or not you are encouraged to accept such phenomena are real … or to remain skeptical.
It is particularly scary when the political class pick up on certain theories… because they suit their political agendas… and begin to compel whole populations into accepting them as indisputable… and then using usurpatious powers proceed to embed them in Laws and institutions… Pouring Tax billions into the pockets of scientists who just so happen to produce politically correct ‘findings’… while critics are deplatformed and thrown out of Seats of learning… and making it nearly a crime to question ‘the official line’.
Science has died.
The Balance has been skewed.
What we are left with is Pure Pseudo science… very much like the Social Darwinism of the Nazis which Sub-humanised the Jews.
What is funny is that so many people naively assume such shocking corruption is not going on today!
The truth is there are many factors that can corrupt science… Money and political agendas being two biggies… and anywhere the State is pouring money into ‘research’… it becomes highly dubious.
Another funny yet erroneous stereotype that was born of the Materialist religion of ‘Scientism’ is the image of Doctors and scientists in white lab coats with thick reading glasses… and expressionless demeanor.
The psychological impact of this upon gullible minds is the impression that scientists are not only way smarter than other mortals… but esp that they embody a ‘Spock-like’ power of Objectivity… that all their utterances are devoid of personal prejudices… all this is designed to get the gullible to trust them.
Their white overcoats serve the very same purpose as the priestly gab of any religious cult!
The truth is the exact opposite.
You would struggle to find in any other area of life a more opinionated, conceited, biased, Vain, Greedy, unprincipled, and obstinate bunch of human beings than you find in science departments!
Pseudo-science are myths dressed up in Scientific Gab/ jargon.
Is it any wonder why there are so many pseudo-scientific ideas that hold sway among the masses???
When false postulates and theories are accepted as fact whole magnificent edifices are constructed upon these corrupt foundations.
Entire lifetimes, and reputations, and industries can be wasted building ‘White Elephants’… and strong vested interests assemble to carry on the lies… because the longer the sham continues… the bigger the mess when it topples… and people fear facing the ugly truth… and paying the price of correction.
The lies become so embedded that it seems like madness to question them…. Cognitive dissonance becomes the norm… an incapacity to acknowledge uncomfortable novel truths.
Progress has always had to battle with entrenched Mass-held delusions. What is funny/sad is so many Moderns only apply this precept in their warped conception that Science has always struggled against religion… a very inaccurate and simplistic apprehension of history… utterly failing to guard themselves against all the other personal bents that can prevent them from grasping new and challenging evidences.
esp their own modern post-Christian quazi-religious bents.
I ask people if they dare to entertain any controversial propositions that are at variance with the mainstream?
For it is a signal of an independent mind to walk it’s own path and have the courage to diverge at certain points from the herd.
The herd has been trained to pour derision and hate upon anyone who steps out of line and does not submit to the ‘orthodoxy’ of their times.
It may amaze people that I am talking about *The scientific community*… not some religious sect.
Understand that the scientific community is as prone to Backwards, erroneous dogma as any other Human endeavor is.
What is essential then is to write a code of ethics of which the scientific method is just one aspect of what entails the correct mental processes that are conducive to the scientific enterprise.
. to guard ourselves from slipping into a mire of our own subjectivity… eg with the interpretation of evidence.
Ultimately all we can do is acknowledge the human factor will always be lurking about… like a madman.
Science is no escape from the human condition… that gospel purported by many…is false.
Though we may increase in mastery over nature…certainty will always escape us… thus science is a pragmatic pursuit, not a source of absolute knowledge.
With every new answer comes new question.
We will always rely on axioms and presuppositions… we cannot escape the need for faith… which underpins what we think we know… even the things we are most sure about….
I am an Engineer by trade having served as an apprentice back in the 80s.
I studied General science and Engineering at high school… two subjects I excelled in given I enjoyed them both, yet to get into the Engineers class meant not being allowed to study ‘physics’ and ‘chemistry’ as two independent classes that were more specialist than general science.
The School must have thought General science was sufficient for engineers! (There is an element of truth to this)
Anyway I have never regretted my decision to learn a trade via ‘Hands on apprenticeship system’… we would spend several months a year at a Technical institute learning theory, the rest was learning on the job. I did a ‘fitting and turning’ apprenticeship which is machine work… lathes mills, etc plus ‘fitting’ which was welding and fabrication, and mechanic stuff. Best of all at you are earning coin and don’t graduate with a massive student debt.
Yet you learn ‘different’ things via an apprenticeship than what you learn when you go to University.
We learn mostly Newtons theories of Physics rather than Einstein’s.
And that does in the end have it’s disadvantages as I will confess to struggling with matters of Relativity and the claims of Quantum Physics… which I must do my best to learn at home by dent of my own desire to learn.
I must content myself at best with Laymen’s understanding.
I do accept that Einstein had a more accurate model for how the universe functions and that the State of the Art requires utilisation of his equations.
This achievement of Einstein to challenge Newton in itself must be one of the most important contentions that must be factored into… and embodied in any ‘philosophy of science’ if you hope to have a valid understanding of what science is… and what it is not.
Newton appeared absolute and unquestionable!
That was ‘the verdict of Science’.
Anyone who questioned him was automatically a crackpot.
Mad Einstein did exactly that… and in so doing exploded the notion that Science is a foundation for absolute truth… absolute knowledge… Newton was overthrown, and cracks are beginning to appear even in Einstein. This should at least rattle the nerves of arrogant ‘know it alls’ who think they have attained God-like certainty and omniscience!
Given we now know how little we know that such attitudes still hold sway says more about Human beings irrationality and prejudice… and incapacity for objectivity. Don’t you think?
On the other hand by grounding myself in swaff and metal filings … and big hammers and avoiding the indoctrinations of ivory tower intellectuals has given me ‘a freedom of thought’… whereby I stand on the outside… looking in at all the whack claims being made by Quantum physics, etc… and intuitively I can see these guys are wallowing in math-madness…
for example their massive claims about Dark matter! To me it is as mythical as the Loch Ness monster! I don’t buy into it…. and sure enough new theories arise that relegate ‘Dark matter’ to the dustbin of vain imagination.
Science is a learning process at best… never mistake wild assertions as actual facts!
For the sort of Engineering I do Newton is still King!
Yet we learn that ‘correlation does not prove causation…’ a very important thing to understand in our age of computer modeling whereby almost any hair-brain idea can be given ‘credence’ by fiddling with numbers and parameters.
I would suggest that Global warming is founded upon such pseudo-scientific modeling that was bespoke made to accommodate Political aspirations…
Michael Mann’s ‘Hockey stick graph’ is today absolutely debunked yet the damage it has done in skewing science has been incalculable.
Some people may live this way… yet I don’t agree with it.
It is a Machiavellian tenet that say’s because other people are prone to breaking promises, that this absolves you from keeping yours.
The question is what sort of person do you wish to be?
I believe we should keep our word even to people who are not trustworthy… So we should watch what we agree to do and with whom.
This is because the sort of person we chose to be, and how we conduct ourselves ought not to be dependent on the character and conduct of others… but on our own integrity… we ought to walk the higher path even when most others are taking the lower road.
This way we remain masters of ourselves… consciously and purposefully acting according to our values… not living sympathetically in reaction to the rest of the world… and it’s lack of values.
In this way when you look in the mirror you will see a good man staring back at you… a champion of what is right.
Not living like a victim excusing yourself for being a person of Bad faith.
.. and your reputation as a Solid Guy (or Gal) … a person of integrity will precede you… and doors will open for you because of your own conduct…
This is the Old School virtue that ‘a mans word is his bond’
Thus it ought to be only in extreme circumstances that we should ever even consider breaking an agreement or betraying trust might possibly be an acceptable proposition, and the righteous path.
The Bible warns against making ‘oaths to God’ because most of us being pathetically weak mortals who have so little command of our own passions let alone any control of exterior happenstances we will too often break our vows.
Better not to have sworn to anything in the first place!
Knowing our own weaknesses therefore also ought to make us wary of making promises to people when there is any likelihood we may not be able to honor them.
Take care what you commit yourself to undertake and be sure to make any conditional caveats understood before any deal is shaken upon.
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
Hero Christian Biker and NRA member Stephen Willeford.
We are a race of fallen beings occupying a world locked in a spiritual battle between Good and evil… this much is certain… and yet just as a person who is born blind cannot know the difference between night and day, so too many people are completely oblivious as to what is *Really going on* …oblivious to what it means to be moral free agents walking upon the Earth living out … and why there is Evil in the world.
Many People look at such evil events as happened in Texas… or having suffered some terrible injustice mistake these things as Proof that there is no such thing as divine justice… no real value or point to human existence or human suffering… and no code by which a person ought to live that may be used to distinguish what is Objectively good from what is evil.
The Darkness and nihilism seeps in.
Some souls… by the Grace of God are not beyond salvation, and though they may wander in darkness for much of their lives eventually they see the light and start to walk towards that light, others may get glimpses of that light… yet because they actually enjoy the darkness… or because they dont think they need the light… purposefully turn their backs.
And still some … because their hearts are filled with contempt and malice…and Ego… Become Evil personified… Monsters whose Evils are on such a scale that sickens all but the hardest of hearts… and blackest of souls.
It all comes down to Choice…. and faith.
This post is not going to expound on that theme to any great depth (I will attach links at the end), yet that opening paragraph had to be said to give context to the Horrific events of Terrorism going on all over the world as we speak, and in particular the Murder of 22+ Christians in a church in Texas by a psychotic Christian hating Atheist out on a personal vendetta… yet this Devil met his Nemesis in the Person of Stephen Willeford… a Christian Biker who rides with the Baptist Church… A man who ran out of his house in bear feet towards the sound of Gun fire while jamming a handful of rounds into the mag of his AR. (ArmaLite Rifle)
Evil Bastard Devin Kelley.
Where was God when all this was happening?…. mocks one of my atheist friends.
God sent one of his Christian soldiers into the nightmare… Stephen… a member of the NRA (an ex instructor)… knew what his Moral Duty was… he did not allow fear or concerns for his own safety be his dominating value, but his love of humanity… and this was an hour his moral weight was being tested… and in an exploit of bravery that is deserving of both Christian and Biker communities highest esteem … and in full accord with both fraternities Codes of conduct, this barefoot Christian Biker engaged the fully armored terrorist mass murderer in a close quarter gunfight and drove him from the scene… and from the testimony of the pursuit that he and another Brave man have retold… it is most likely that One of Stephen’s shots found its mark… The Terrorist crashing and dying a few minutes away from the scene.
Here we see two different world views… two different sets of values at play… One Full of Evil… the other Full of Good… and I feel sorry for anyone whose personal world views blind them to such Patently obvious and objective truths.
Do you think This atheist killer who took pleasure in slaughtering Christians in their place of worship expected to face Divine judgement for his crime?
Boy was he in for an unpleasant surprise!
And this is an important truth to appreciate… No Evil will go unrewarded.
God will judge us all.
Watch the Video interview below… All this is there… yet I wanted to make this Personal tribute to this Hero, and a short rebuttal to my Atheist friend who Mocks God’s existence because of the Evil choices Humans are free to make.
Peggy.
When Evil is at it’s worst… so too do the hero’s…. The best of Humanity ,,, among the most ordinary folk *also* come to the fore….
I must pay tribute to Peggy Lynn Warden
“SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Among the horror of the worst church shooting in American history is the story of a woman who made a simple decision.
She would not let the gunman take her grandson.
Peggy Lynn Warden, 56, was among the 26 victims of the massacre at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday. Her brother, Jimmy Stevens, said she used her body to shield her grandson, Zachary Poston, 18, when the gunfire erupted…”
This is what it means to be truly a moral and loving person…living in a spiritual realm where Morality really counts!
Anyone can feign being a good person when the going is easy… its when Evil is afoot that a persons Mettle is truly tested… their values shine forth.
Absolutely Essential principles were clearly demonstrated by these events.
What is needed to halt ‘Evil men with guns’… or rampaging Cars…etc *Is Good men with Guns*… and here we see why an AR is not as it is falsely called ‘An assault rife’ but a valuable too of Defense!
It was his AR that gave him the advantage he needed to drive off this Psycho in full battle dress… Kevlar Body armour and Helmet.. yet who only had a pistol, which though a lethal weapon is far harder to deliver accurate shots esp in the heat of battle.
It is also a testament to the Wisdom and justice of the second amendment right to bear arms… for self defense, as everybody know that the Nutbar Left… and their Political ambitions are to take away guns from law abiding citizens… esp the AR… and we clearly see there that Had not Stephen had both the means of defense and the willingness to risk his own life for others… that most likely more people would have died… and the purp may have even escaped… to rampage elsewhere… before the Police could intervene.
His truck was filled with guns and ammo.
Official reports however say his death was ‘self inflicted’… should we automatically accept this on the word of the Police? These days that is a dubious assumption! And from the preparedness and actions of this Evil Child-killing scumbag it is far more likely he would have tried to shoot it out to the bitter end…going down in a hail of bullets rather than cowardly ending his own life.
I think he was Dead before the cops arrived at the scene.
Johnnie_Langendorff… Drove his truck with Stephen Willeford in high speed pursuit of the killer.
People use Guns everyday in self defense in America yet as this goes against what the lefty media and Liberal agenda attacking the constitutional rights to bear arms these daily events don’t receive anywhere near the sensational and skewed Media reporting as happens when guns are used in mass killings.
Many innocent People are alive today… and many would be killers, rapists, etc are dead because of the Americans right to bear arms for their own defense… yet why is it when you try and communicate this with Sheeple who think guns are evil… all you get is a cross eyed dopey stare and a smirk?
Their anti-gun arguments are quite frankly infantile, on every level… and yet because of the prevailing numerical popularity of their mindset in countries like New Zealand there are Crime waves of armed Robbers robbing Dairies and Gas stations… Liquor store workers get bashed and murdered because the thugs know their victims will be defenseless… have been rendered ‘sitting ducks’… by the legislators… who then carry no remorse or responsibility for the injustice they are party to!
When governments criminalizes the right to self defense, and denies the right to bear the means to do so, good people become the prey of violent criminals… Like lambs to the slaughter…
Apart from the fact that we can attribute the rise of violent crime *directly* to Oppressive Nanny state laws like the war on drugs, alcohol and cigarette Tax hikes, and apart from the fact that the second amendment was written to guarantee that Evil oppressive Governments cannot lawfully dis-arm the people, the truth is when you outlaw guns… they dont just ‘Vanish’ …. you create a society in which *only criminals have guns*.
Thank God Stephen Willeford had an AR!
Ride On Brother!
And Salute to Peggy Lynn Warden… who gave her life for her grandson.
Dont let the haters win… Keep the faith!
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christain Libertarian.
New Zealand Biker.
