Jack’s Winning Words 1/31/22

*“Generations will scarce believe that such a man (as Gandhi) ever in flesh and blood walked upon the Earth.”  (Albert Einstein)  I “do” remember the living Gandhi and MLK Jr, too.  I had friends who actually walked with him.  Because early history is hard to verify, the reality of some individuals is questionable.   “I believe “ needs to be attached to Pythagoras, Homer, Buddha, Robin Hood…even Moses and Jesus.  It’s what they have done that makes these individuals “believable.”  What is it that causes you to believe as you do today?  ;-)  Jack    

FROM PASTRY PAT:  Please accept this comment in the context of the profound condition of discouragement where I currently reside. Of all of the miracles of creation --- we humans are surely the weak link.===JACK:  Jesus was created by God in a human form to show that God understands what it is to be human.  While we may be discouraged at times, God cares and understands and will provide a way out of our discouragement.

FROM THE SCIENTIST:  It’s what I was taught. While I sometimes question, I have no good reason to believe otherwise and I trust those who have taught me.  I’ve found some folks have trouble believing more modern history too. I get that it’s hard when it’s not your experience or goes against something you were taught.  Did you know my paternal grandma never did believe in the moon landing? I wonder if it was too far outside her experience or she had a lack of trust in the ones bringing her that info.===JACK:  Can we truly know anything, let alone everything?  Our concepts of life are based so much on what we read and are told.  Whether it be the "moon landing" or religious ideas, it's based on trust in the source.  "I believe, help my unbelief" were the words of the man who came to Jesus for a healing miracle.

FROM WILLMAR REV:  …being brought up by and with a mother and father of the Christian faith and then deciding for myself that ‘this is the way, walk ye in it.’I remember looking at the large historical timeline on a wall of the established faith of the Jews and documented highlights and other world events down through the years over at the Holocaust Center in the West Bloomfield area…it posted both the birth and life of Jesus and the Beatles along the way…for some reason I thought that was interesting. 0:-)===JACK:  My faith, too, was one that was passed on by my parents.  In WB today, the Chaldean Cultural Center has a replica of the Code of Hammurabi (original is in the Louvre) which predates the Bible and shows a basic code of laws that formed civilization.  Everyone who had an actual existence has a date (known/unknown) in history.  You usually have good comments for me to post.

FROM JOE AN_  I believe our greatest need is to always be right. Being kind is more important than being right. Yes, being kind is more important than being right.===JACK:  Kindness means that there needs to be such a thing as...Situation Ethics.  Rightness or wrongness depends on the particular situation.  Have you ever heard of discussions in the 60s about such a philosophy?===JA:  I’ve been thinking about my kindness/right statement on 1/31/22. I completely understand your response. You know regardless of the situation you can always nod your head, turn around, and walk away. Sometimes you have to if what is being said offends your belief system. It often is the time when your degree of kindness is really being tested. No need to respond because my Dad etched kindness in my heart. You never argue with a German Dad!===JACK:  I'm not an arguer.  I'm a walk-awayer, too.