Christian

I'm certainly not qualified to speak authoritatively on these matters,  but the author, Pastor Darrell Lackey probably is.  He wrote this in 2017 for the Divergence Newsletter

Sociologist Tony Campolo has been known, when speaking to Christian audiences, to begin by saying something like this:

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact I just said “shit” than you are that 30,000 kids died last night.”

When citing this, I have had people prove his very point by responding something to the effect of, “Yeah, I get it, but I still wish he would make his point some other way…”  Ummm, that is his point.  His point, in my opinion, isn’t really the children (although it is, obviously); his point is we (Christians) get upset over the wrong things.  Our moral sense of outrage is often misdirected.  The fact we notice the language, our being offended, before we really register the fact children are dying, tells us all we need to know here.  Any focus on a crude term and not his greater point that children are dying of starvation or malnutrition and that we might be complicit proves his very point.  If there was a tiny gasp from the crowd at that word or an awkward silence—such reactions were misdirected.  These people were upset about the wrong thing.

There is something about the legalistic, simplistic, and shallow world of fundamentalism (and even many aspects of evangelicalism) that breeds some rather odd triggers for what it is we are supposed to get upset about.  Here are just a few:

If you become upset when hearing gay marriage is legal or that a transgender person may use the same public restroom as you, but you are less upset regarding the hate, violence, and discrimination directed toward such people, leading often to suicide: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when people use the greeting “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” but you are less upset at the wasteful use of resources during this season, the rampant shallow consumerism, while many live in poverty: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when the government uses its power to make corporations protect their workers and protect the environment, but you are less upset when those workers are exploited, injured, or the environment critically harmed: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset at the grocery store when you see someone pay for their food with vouchers or food stamps, but you are less upset with the institutional and cultural structures that often create the very need for such help: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when you see people smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, but you are less upset when you see people over-eating (gluttony), knowing the health effects of such, or wasting food, knowing people go to bed hungry every night: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when Hollywood puts out movies that contain coarse language or nudity, but you are less upset with the excessive, sadistic, and pornographic displays of violence, murders, gore, and bloodletting in war movies, action movies, or even movies like “The Passion of the Christ”: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when the government tries to pass reasonable gun restriction laws, but you are less upset with the amount of firearm accident related deaths among children and the general level of gun violence in America: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when you feel the government is restricting your religious liberties, but you are less upset or even applaud the restriction of the religious liberties of others: You are upset about the wrong things.

If you become upset when someone commits adultery or at the sexual lapses of others, but you are less upset when people gather around to stone them, or gather around to throw insults, or gossip, or shun them, or shame them, or pass laws to single them out: You are upset about the wrong things.

If the response to the above is still, “I get it, BUT…” one has missed the point and made the point, all at the same time.  Yes, you can be upset at those other aspects (rightly or wrongly).  The point however is that those aspects pale in significance when placed alongside the deeper and much more important moral failing noted—the failing that should really upset us.  It would be like someone telling Jesus, just before he overturned the money-changer’s tables and grabbed a whip, how upset they were at the price of doves that year. It isn’t a false dichotomy. It’s a problem of scale.

I am reminded of a scene in the movie “Life is Beautiful” where we see Guido (Roberto Benigni) so happy to think that his old friend, the Nazi doctor, will help him after the doctor recognizes him and makes his life easier inside the death camp.  The doctor remembers how clever his friend was, and how he could solve difficult riddles.  We begin to think the doctor realizes the moral wrongness of the death camp.  Maybe he will try and save Guido and his family.  But no, we finally realize, as does Guido, that the doctor simply wanted help solving a riddle.  He doesn’t see Guido or the suffering.  That doesn’t upset him.  What upsets him is not finding the answer to something as insignificant as a riddle.  He even says he can’t sleep at night because of it.

An extreme example?  Maybe.  Still, I think such is the sort of person we look like, and are perhaps in danger of becoming, when we get upset over the wrong things, when we focus on the incidental and miss the deeper moral issue.  Christian: Don’t be that person.

 

Bug Spray SPF50

Back in the winter, I was diagnosed with three outbreaks of melanoma that were removed with something like a post hole digger, then the skin pulled together over the post hole and stitched together\, leaving scars that might suggest I'd fought Errol Flynn with swords in an Irish castle.  The doctor who operated that post hole digger and subsequently darned me up also suggested that I use a sun screen when I'm going to be outside.  I recently bought a tube of 50 SPF and have it on the shelf in my shop which is down in the barn.

Our house is nestled in the woods adjacent to a wee lake and by early May, we must also begin protecting ourselves from flying critters of all sorts that delight in attacking exposed skin.

Earlier this afternoon, I was going outside to work and asked the State Peach of the Peach State which I should apply first, the sunblock or the insect repellent.  She advised spraying the repellent on after first smearing myself with the sunblock.  I grabbed a new can of Deep Woods and went down to the shop where I smeared my skin with a thick layer of something that looks like goose grease, then sprayed a on goodly amount of repellent.

I had just a small patch of lawn that I'd not cut last week, so in a short time I was done and back at the barn.  About the same time I got off my lawnmower, I felt the beginning itch of a bug bite, right at my knee.  Within ten minutes or so, it had become a full-fledged pricking irritation.

Now I know I sprayed that area and the bug spray I used has been effective in the past, so I must assume that I was attacked in the 40 meters or so between the house and the barn.  Do you suppose the insect knew that I'd be spraying myself as soon as I got to the barn and decided to launch a preemptive attack before I could defend myself, or was it just seeing me as a target of opportunity?

I wonder when the manufacturers of sun screen and insect repellent will create a new product to take on both issues.

Fact Checking Greg Peterson and Evan Sayet

I was asked to comment on a Facebook post by someone named Greg Peterson which includes what he calls “Trump’s 'lack of decorum, dignity, and statesmanship' By Marshall Kamena, Mayor of Livermore, CA.”. It is a long somewhat disjointed diatribe, but since I was asked, I’ll try to provide a thoughtful response. First of all, the former mayor to whom it is attributed hasn’t been the mayor of Livermore since 2011, and may or may not be a Democrat.  Livermore mayors are not asked their political affiliation when they run for that office.  It wasn't even written by John Marchand, the current mayor.  It was written and published on Townhall.com on July 23, 2017 by a fellow named Evan Sayet, who is identified as a “comedian and conservative speaker.”

Why would someone go to such lengths to make it appear it was written by a “liberal?” A quick look at Greg Peterson’s Facebook presence offers some evidence that he, too is “untethered to truth.”  Having read the document, I can only say that he tries to make it appear as if it was written by a liberal in an ill-planned attempt to give the document credibility, because by itself, it certainly is lacking anything creditable, or even verifiable.

Here are some parts of it in italics followed by my comments in normal font.

“George W. Bush as he suffered the outrageous lies and politically motivated hatreds that undermined his presidency."
Bush’s presidency was ambushed by the attacks on 9/11. Granted, the left got somewhat carried away with their condemnation of Bush II, much of it brought on by certain media harping on the lack of nuclear weapons found in Iraq, but overlooking the large amounts of poison gas found by coalition troops and destroyed, before it could be used again as a weapon of mass destruction against minority groups as when Saddam Hussein’s forces killed as many as 50,000 civilians in gas attacks

"We tried statesmanship. Could there be another human being on this earth who so desperately prized “collegiality” as John McCain?
It is rather hard to understand why McCain was included in this document. Yes he ran for President, but unsuccessfully, and the right has continually condemned his failure to fall in line in Congress.

"I don’t find anything “dignified,” “collegial” or “proper” about Barack Obama’s lying about what went down on the streets of Ferguson in order to ramp up racial hatreds because racial hatreds serve the Democratic Party"
I’m no great fan of President Obama, but I thought he was fairly middle-of-the road with his take on Ferguson. He defended the decision not to charge the Ferguson police office with any crime in killing a teenage criminal, and went on to say the community was right in its concern that racial bias permeated the Ferguson police department. That is hardly “lying about what went down.”

“I don’t see anything “dignified” in lying about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and imprisoning an innocent filmmaker to cover your tracks.”
Lying about Benghazi has been a common thread in Conservative posts for several years, trying to lay blame on the Obama administration and Secretary of State Clinton. The facts tell that President Obama authorized military intervention in a timely fashion, but the military held off until it was too late.

“I don’t see anything “statesman-like” in weaponizing the IRS to be used to destroy your political opponents and any dissent.”
This refers to a scandal of Lilliputian dimensions despite the amount of press it garnered. The bottom line?  The Treasury Department Inspector General found that from 2004 to 2013, the IRS used both conservative and liberal keywords to choose targets for further scrutiny, blunting claims that the issue had been an Obama-era partisan scandal.

“Yes, Obama was “articulate” and “polished” but in no way was he in the least bit “dignified,” “collegial” or “proper.””
It’s easy to find fault with someone who uses words he obviously does not understand to find fault with someone else. Let’s just say I’ll forgive his ignorance.

“The Left has been engaged in a war against America since the rise of the Children of the ‘60s.”
He is probable right. The Left has been engaged in a war. They fought for civil rights for everyone, they fought for voting rights, and they fought for desegregation of schools. I’ve not always agreed with them, but I’ve always felt they had the right to see things differently.

“With Donald Trump, this all has come to an end.”

Let’s hope not. Just yesterday, I had a conversation with an American of Latin descent who said that in his daughter’s applications to colleges he plans on playing the “Latino Card” to help her in the admissions battle. They are a middle-class American family given an opportunity that would have been withheld when I applied to colleges in 1959. The “Latino Card” was designed to help make up for injustices of prior years, but more important, it gives colleges and universities the opportunity to add to the diversity of their student bodies.

I see the Trump administration fighting to do away with gains originally promulgated by the left. Within the last couple of weeks the SCOTUS ruled that certain business could discriminate against certain customers. I remember “Colored Only” waiting rooms and drinking fountains. I remember when a waitress named Judy at a drug store soda fountain lost her job because she served my friend Willie a drink in a booth. Had Willie wanted a drink to go, all would have been fine, but Willy was with us and we all sat in a booth. Our drinks were served, we drank them and then left to take Willie to the airport. Later that day, we went back to the drugstore (Judy was cute as were a couple of others who worked there) and noted Judy’s absence. We asked where she was and our waitress told us she’d been called in because Judy had been fired for serving a n_____. Apparently the current members of the Supreme Court of the United States agree with that sort of discrimination if you say it violates your religious freedoms.

“Ulysses Grant was a drunk whose behavior in peacetime might well have seen him drummed out of the Army for conduct unbecoming. Had Abraham Lincoln applied the peacetime rules of propriety and booted Grant, the Democrats might well still be holding their slaves today.”
Obviously no student of American history, the author doesn’t seem to know that on July, 31, 1854, Grant resigned from the Army amid allegations of heavy drinking and warnings of disciplinary action. Yes, he came back when the South attacked Fort Sumter. He fought well, albeit not without losses, and earned victory at Shiloh, Vicksburg and Chattanooga before his march across Georgia that effectively ended the war,. There is no evidence of excessive drinking by Grant in his second phase of army life.

At this point, I give up. The rest of the document is just as disjointed, just as full of falsehoods and innuendo, and just as poorly written. It is just another hack job.

Internet Lies

If it is necessary to lie to support a position, that position is most certainly on shaky ground.

In April 2018, Senator and former Presidential candidate Ted Cruz of Texas grilled Mark Zuckerberg over his perception that Facebook suppresses conservative news.   With that in mind, I began collecting conservative posts that find their way onto my Facebook account.

The most recent was posted by a young lady who should know better, but is so concerned that government may try to control firearms in our country that she re-posted a blatant lie in the name of protecting the 2nd Amendment.  It purports to be a historical marker placed on an unnamed Texas roadside,  It quotes, accurately, the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution.  It then goes on to quote George Washington in an attempt to show that our first President suggested citizens be armed against the government.  That is not simply inaccurate, it is a shameless lie.

In his speech before Congress in 1790, George Washington said, "Among the many interesting objects, which will engage your attention, that of providing for the common defence (sic) will merit particular regard. To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined; to which end a Uniform and well digested plan is requisite: And their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories (sic), as tend to render them independent on others, for essential, particularly for military supplies.

The proper establishment of the Troops which may be deemed indispensible (sic), will be entitled to mature consideration. In the arrangements which may be made respecting it, it will be of importance to conciliate the comfortable support of the Officers and Soldiers with a due regard to economy."

While we are on the subject, the phrase "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state" is frequently overlooked when the 2nd Amendment is discussed.   the term 'militia' is discussed elsewhere in the Constitution, giving perhaps a clearer view of the intent of the 2nd Amendment and those who framed the document that rules our nation.

Article I, Congress Section 8
15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Article II Executive, Section 2
1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; . . . 

___________________________

Finally, for this particular post anyway, I'd like to quote President Washington one more time.   In his farewell speech of 1796, he said,  "The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government."

2015 Presidential Candidates

My thoughts on the candidates running for President.

Jeb Bush – Doesn't do “I'm pissed off” very well, screwed up by badmouthing Rubio, has an experience level that could do well in the White House, needs to cleanse himself of his brother's history and father's bad decision to quit the first gulf war before he'd conquered Iraq.

Ben Carson – A good candidate with a level view of the world. I like his thoughtfulness and seeming ability to look at different sides of the issues. Not terribly exciting, but that may just be the right thing to become a leader in the free world. His analogy of a rabid dog immediately became a comparison. He has an issue with saying things that don't match up with reality – a problem for someone who wants to be President. Doesn't think on his feet particularly well and like others relatively new to the public limelight, he's stumbled too many times to remain a viable candidate.

Chris Christie – A bit too full of himself, may have done a good enough job in New Jersey, but much of the nation views New Jersey as being the Jersey Turnpike only wider and far more corrupt. One of several public officials running for President while still in office - hedging his bets or working part-time in a job that requires full-time attention.

Hillary Clinton – Arrogant to a fault, has managed to become embroiled in scandal after scandal, including looting the White House furniture, Vince Foster's death, using unsecured e-mail as Secretary of State (she said it was too difficult to have two phones but then said she didn't have a computer in her office so nobody e-mailed her about a bomb going off in Libya), White Water, being under sniper fire, Rose Law billing records, and having the unique ability to avoid names like Abedin, Acheson, Alinsky, Flowers, Jones, Lewinsky, and Willey. Willing to pander to minorities and women for their votes, uses her faux smile to disarm some, but will probably be the Democratic candidate. This reverse carpet bagger has been a presidential candidate since she first used the royal 'we' when her husband was elected President. May be the first First Lady who shacked up with her husband prior to marriage.

Ted Cruz – Born in another country to an American woman and a Cuban man who were owners of an oil-related business, and thus not there on government business, but he has been declared eligible to be President. In the recent past, he gave up his Canadian citizenship. Too shrill and easily excited, and his uncompromising conservatism certainly would not help bridge the divide between the two major parties in Congress. One of several public officials running for President while still in office - hedging his bets or working part-time in a job that requires full-time attention.

Carly Fiorina – Her major claims to viability as a candidate are as an alternate choice for a female President and the ability to respond to Donald Trump. She apparently was a major player in driving Hewlett Packard into trouble. Her solid conservative opinions put her far to the right in a race where many others a clumped in with her. Her response to Trump was sharp, but sharp retorts have little place in the world of diplomacy and politics. By December, she is fading.

 Jim Gilmore – The former Virginia Governor is running a ghost campaign. Seemingly qualified in a number of areas, his moderate position on abortion clearly shows he is not willing to pander to the religious right to gain their votes. Unfortunately for him, and perhaps the nation, he is virtually ignored by the national press and has thus been unable to raise the amount of money necessary to run a national campaign.

Lindsey Graham – Former Congressman from South Carolina, Graham had a fairly solid record of conservative votes, but his thoughts on the unsustainability of the Tea Party, his condemnation of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, his support of green energy and his stated thoughts that the Republican party has drifted too far to the right, sort of make him more moderate than his fellow candidates. Alas, his ability to gain interest in the press and to raise campaign funds hinder him.

Mike Huckabee – An ordained Southern Baptist minister with 'aw, shucks' public persona makes Huckabee a favorite in some circles, particularly those centered around faith-based issues such as abortion and gay marriage, his record of providing tax relief in Arkansas, and his pipe dream of a flat-tax based on sales. Despite Arkansas' seemingly effective use of Common Core since 2010, their former Governor wants to do away with it and eliminate the Department of Education. One of his predecessors, Orville Faubus would no doubt have approved.

John Kasich – a one -shot pony, he continually harps on his role in deficit management during the Clinton administration and in his impact as the Governor of Ohio.

Martin O'Malley – Former Mayor of Baltimore and Governor of Maryland, likes to tout his gun control measures as cutting crime, but Baltimore is still “plagued with drugs and poverty and ranks in the top 15 U.S. cities for all violent crimes but forcible rape.”

George Pataki – is he still running?

Rand Paul – the cynic in me wonders if he should be called Ayn Rand Paul. Has a somewhat strange view of economics and the Federal Reserve. Supports "Plan B" morning-after contraception, but has said that he believes life begins at conception and is thus anti-abortion – can he have it both ways? Seems to pander to those who let others do their thinking by espousing popular but unworkable ideas. One of several public officials running for President while still in office - hedging his bets or working part-time in a job that requires full-time attention.

Marco Rubio – Seems to waiver on the abortion issue, says he believes in protecting life, but isn't a chauvinist. Espouses a sensible view on the national budget, waivers on gay marriage and civil rights, seems to speak out of both sides of his mouth on taxes, not exactly anti-drug, but would like you to think he is. Despite his claims, he is a somewhat moderate candidate and may well prove to be an intelligent choice to run against Hillery. One of several public officials running for President while still in office - hedging his bets or working part-time in a job that requires full-time attention.

Bernie Sanders – An Independent senator from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats and is running for President as a Democrat (Guess that 'Independent” thing didn't work out too well outside the Green Mountain State) who identifies himself as a democratic socialist, has been in Congress for more than 20 years, as Senator since 2007. His record of being in Congress and voting was slightly less than the norm until October and early November of this year when he's missed a lot of work he's being paid to do. He apparently doesn't consider the office he has is as important as the one he wants. One of several public officials running for President while still in office - hedging his bets or working part-time in a job that requires full-time attention.

Rick Santorum – Is he still running for President? He's right up there with Estes Kefauver. A fiscal and social conservative, Santorum voted against banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds, against same-sex marriage, against prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. Not a viable candidate except perhaps in his own mind.

Donald Trump – A man of the triumphant zingers who is trying to purchase the Presidency and he certainly has enough money to do that. Said he was always within the law those four five times he declared bankruptcy, but his ethics in playing the law to his advantage bring his integrity into question. The Tea Party conservatives like that he's said he'll deport all undocumented people, but then the Tea Party isn't known for being particularly thoughtful. The very idea of rounding up 11 or 12 million people from countries all over the earth and sending them back is mind-boggling, to say nothing of horrendously expensive, extraordinarily time-consuming, and virtually impossible.  Trump apparently sees the same rabid claptrap on Facebook that I see and panders to the ignoramuses who produce all those inaccurate memes.  Trump has now been married three times, an indication of his inability to think before jumping.  I, too, have been married three times, but then, I'm not trying to purchase the White House.

September 11

September 11 is forever marked by a series of acts of cowardice perpetrated by people so different from you and me that we cannot possibly fathom why such heinous acts would even have been dreamed up. The horror we felt that day was infinitesimally smaller than what must have been felt by those trapped in the twin towers as they began falling, by the people in the Pentagon, and by the passengers on Flight 93.

I was at work in my suburban Maryland office that morning, interviewing a woman for a position in my company. One of our field technicians radioed me that he'd just heard on his truck radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. I recalled that a plane had once hit the Empire State Building and mentioned it to the lady sitting in front of my desk as a way of apologizing for the interruption. A bit later in the interview, the same technician called me again to say that he was on I-295 and that he could see black smoke from over near the Pentagon and asked me if I knew what was going on. I told him I didn't and went on the the interview.

When the interview was over and I'd escorted the lady out to the lobby, one of our salesmen stopped me and asked if there was something wrong with our telephone system. He'd been trying to call a supplier in New Jersey and couldn't get through at all. We went upstairs to the president's office where he and the executive VP had the TV on and the horror of the day was becoming apparent. I watched for a while, unable to comprehend, then went back to my office and turned on my radio. It was tuned to a commercial classical music station, but there was no music. Instead, they were advising people to go home, to get away from Washington, and to stay calm. I went into our dispatch center and told them to get on the radios and recall the technicians, to pull them off jobs and send them home.

During the next couple of hours, I spent my time going up to the president's office, watching the gut wrenching news video of those huge buildings collapsing and the fire at the Pentagon, of the mystery of Flight 93, then returning to my office to try to work. Our company was situated about 6 miles east of the Capitol Beltway, but we released the remainder of the employees. I saw the news reports of the massive traffic jams and decided to stay at work. By 3:00 PM or so, I was the only one remaining in the building. The quiet was disturbing, so I went outside for a breath of air. A normally fairly busy railroad line ran along side our parking lot, but no trains had passed for hours. The greater Washington DC metropolitan area has three major airports, but there was not a plane in the sky. At some point I saw a pair of military jets fly over.

Around 5:00, I shut down my computer, checked the building, set the alarm system, walked out and locked the entrance doors. Out on the road, it was eerily still with the lack of traffic. In my 15 mile drive home, I only saw a few other cars. At home, I went into the back yard and just stood, my mind a jumble that still did not comprehend. The silence was deafening. There were no children playing, there was no sound of traffic from the highway about a quarter of a mile away, and there were no aircraft in the sky. Back in the house, I sat in the living room in silence for the longest time, this vision of those towers collapsing and the huge fire across town at the Pentagon running like silent films through my mind.

My son called from Texas to make sure I was OK. He'd heard about the Pentagon, but didn't know if my office was anywhere near it. I assured him that I was fine, that the Pentagon was across the city from me. After he hung up, I broke down and sobbed, crying like a baby.

Every morning now, when I go downstairs and turn on the TV, I'm relieved to hear the cheerful voices of the news crew, indicating that something unthinkable like happened on 9/11 hasn't recurred while I slept.

Who Goes to Heaven?

Now, those who know me personally know that I'm a bit of a wise ass, a serious punster, and someone with an unknown amount of faith in the Lord.  I'm not a steady church-goer, but when I do attend, I'm a debtor, so there is always an awkward pause if I'm in a congregation of trespassers.  The relationship between me and God is strictly between the two of us, and as Matthew tells us all to do, I talk to the Lord in secret so that He and I are the only ones privy to our conversation.  I was taught many years ago that the Lord listens to all our prayers, which makes him pretty busy, so I feel we should limit our supplications to those times when divine intervention is truly needed.

I receive memos almost on a daily basis asking for my prayers for one person or another.   Some of these requests I deem necessary and I quietly ask my Lord to help out in the way He finds appropriate.  Others, I ignore, deciding on my own not to take up God's valuable time with trivial matters such as the granddaughter starting at a new school, the family moving to a new city, so-and-so taking a new job, a couple trying to have a child, or a football team meeting their cross-state rival.

I read the obituaries aloud each evening so my non-newspaper-reading spouse will know if someone she knows is no longer with us.  Most folks simply die, but there are those who go on a trip to meet their Heavenly Father, others who pass into the next life, and yet more who seem to have just fallen into everlasting sleep.  The cynic in me wants to say that those who simply died were known to have lead Godly lives so there is little doubt where they went, but those who are said to have taken that trip or passed in the next life, well, perhaps the family wasn't so confidant that their dearly beloved actually made it to those pearly gates, but by saying so, the rest of us will be convinced that the dearly beloved did indeed make it to Heaven.  

After all, as our daughter's pastor once preached, if you don't follow the rules of the Bible, when you die, you'll go to Hell.