Monday, December 5, 2011

Fade to Black ~ Part 3


The year 2010 was the 1st International year of Biodiversity!  Biodiversity is denying God, saying that man’s rapid environmental changes has caused the extinctions, of which they say, “99.9 percent of species that have existed on the Earth are now Extinct.  This is denying God.  God IS the one breaking it all down!  Not man, not carbon gas, not fossil fuels.  God is has his own stamp on the time tables of Earth.

People believe that the religious lie so blatantly because of the religious minded hypocrisy, but they always assume Science, so called, and other agencies cannot lie.  They believe they CANNOT lie!  They assume that scientist are not hypocrites!

We know the Earth has a Magnetic Shield because of the Dynamo Theory.  It came from Einstein, which gave us other God denying theories. 

Einstein was NOT and Atheist, and he was not a Believer either. 

Sunday, December 4, 2011

A New Priesthood ~ Part 1

A Treatise Against the New Priesthood
~A kick against the fundamentalist pricks~
This is “the get it off my chest” part.  If I thought it proper, I would name names, and let the chips fall. You schemers and defrauders! I have the letters of your tall tales and your manipulation of men.  I know what was swept under the rugs, and kept from the congregations.  I know the inner money changing, and hand-shaking.  I have seen the protection of your own kind at the expense of the sheep.  I know why positions changed, and men were removed or renounced.  And what some of us have missed, God has surely seen it all! Amen! 
If I my mother didn’t teach me better manners, if that Book had not rub off on me, I would call all you suckers out by name.  Your wonderful followings, and loyal members, they have no idea what kind of men you are. But I know!  I know what kinda man you are!  
All your charades, all your little speeches, and many of you are nothing but common thieves. All your secrets, all your dirty little inner strifes and turmoils that are kept hidden with such precise calculation.  You are expert in your cloaking of your own self righteousness.  It is hard for me to understand how we claim to serve the same risen savior?  I have to love you, and hope with great faith, that somehow, God used you in his way that I cannot see, as he did with a “jackass” in the OT. 
At this point in the game, it is now apparent to me that there have always been bully zealots and fanatics, who pervert THE gospel, and implement private interpretation contrary to the scriptures.  Every true Christian body, or sincere believing society has had to deal with brutes, ogres, fools, jesters, and oafs! 
In every generation, in every reformation and awakening, in every church age there has been, they have existed. They are found quite possibly in every denomination, but are more prevalent in the fundamental ranks where they can easily blend and infect. They are the pharisee of the modern day. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Street Preaching Boldness or Pride Puffing Flesh?


You sap headed thug street preachers out there, and people who have come in contact with them, this just has to be said! So listen up and suck it up, and go on for God! 
As thoroughly stated in previous sections on this blog, I do not disagree with street preaching, and I do not mind anyone doing so as long as it is true preaching of the gospel for the express purpose to win men and women to Christ and not vain showmanship and civil disobedience masquerading as boldness. 

If I do proclaim the word publicly, I do it out of a desire and a preference.  I don’t publicly preach to be in line with any NT mandate or the scriptures.  I don’t do it to fulfill some dead commission. I don’t stand publicly with the word of God in my hand quoting scripture for any other reason other than the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and things pertaining to that and that alone.  No pet peeves, no pet sins that are just easy targets for preachers to have there fulfilling moment of fleshly battles with the world, beating the devils horde back to the gates of hell. 
If I quote the word of the Lord, I don’t do it to prove anything to any man or to align myself with these men in practice.  I don’t do it because I have some mystical call or command from the holy spirit. I do it at  an opportune moment, like what we see in Acts, but not as a doctrinal command that I see in the word of God to follow.  

As a preacher of the word of God, I may be compelled or constrained from time to time to publicly proclaim the word of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ for the intended affect of opening dialogue to lead men to the saving knowledge of his gospel of grace and the power of his blood and resurrection.  This is expected of any preacher, to have the discernment to know when the holy spirit is working, other wise, it’s just “loud noises.”

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sunday Rant #1

Bible truth and Biblical worship has been replaced with hermeneutics, sermons, showmanship, outlines, theatrics, and the preacher, the man behind the sacred desk, the pulpit of power.  The central part of the service is no longer the unity of spirit, reasoning out of the scriptures, fellowshipping, and bonding together.  It is now, “what the preachers have to say”.  And “thank God for good preaching!” Having said that, I do not under value the true help biblical preaching and teaching provides, so understand my perspective a moment.
This dependency problem is paramount in explaining our fundamental core problems in churches today.  We say things like, “We have to have preaching!”, or we egg the preachers on like they are some athlete.  We just use different words.  Instead of “go, go!” or “rah rah!”, it’s “amen preacher!” or “preach it, preacher!”
Services are held, sermons are preached, and church is just SO good.  That’s all you hear.  We all just kinda keep lying to ourselves don’t we?  There is no real growth but only a surface growth.  How can there be growth?  How can there be? You grow from receiving milk and meat from the Word.  You grow from receiving encouragement, exhortation, teaching of his word and edification.  

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Paul’s Wisdom on Offense and Offending.

Unintentional most times, our Christian leaders, whether pastors, evangelist, and missionaries, place a emphasis on these types of works as evidence of fruits of salvation or fruits of “I am living for God”.  

Paul tells us to bring forth fruits of repentance.  Repentance is NOT salvation.  The fruit we bring forth is because of our repentance! We  absolutely should bring forth works that meet it’s expectations.  

Our works should meet the demand of our repentance.  The love of Christ, not our repentance, should constrain us to witness and to be a testimony of the gospel.  It should be natural to us.  There is a big emphasis on should here.  The Bible uses this terminology as well.
The Lord is not willing that any SHOULD perish, but that all SHOULD come to repentance.  
Now with this in our minds what about offense?  Paul brought offense as Christ did.  Jesus Christ himself was the offense!  But Paul did not seek out occasion to offend or mock. That is the difference today between the public ministry of these great men of character from the Bible in contrast to the bully pulpit baboons we see today. 

Friday, November 4, 2011

Cognitive Dissonance in Believers

Do you ever just get sick of lying to yourself?  There are so many questions we have that are never answered because of the greater good or pragmatic traditional positions, not  to mention the much work being done 24/7 building the Kingdom of the Lord, socializing and reforming all society!  At what point is the body of Christ allowed to discuss our divisive matters openly?  When do men just get together to plod through the scriptures on a subject that comes up continually?  I don't care how long something has been happening or who says we should keep doing it.  

Paul laid down specifics on sound doctrine and church discipline (withdrawing) with the intention to establish truth and put down heresy and false gospels, not to just to cast the sinners out or the ignorant heretic. Heresies are a work of the flesh like anything else (Gal 5:20).  Heresies must be for the word of God to be established as the authority. You're approved by sticking to the Book, and those things left to the body of Christ, not by hanging around in the OT, the prophets, the gospels, and early Acts.

1 Cor 11:18-19 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
If there is division, there is heresy.  The body is meant to be unified. It's a work, and it  won't happen overnight. Dealing with false doctrine is how a church comes to a unified position, established in the faith.  The gospel being confirmed, and defended. When Paul talks of dealing with a man that is a heretic, it is an admonition (gentle reproof, counseling against a fault, instruction in duties, direction, to caution).  It is one thing if a man is openly subverting, seeking preeminence, drawing sheep away, but for a brother in Christ to bring valid arguments to some long-standing traditions, he is not attempting to teach heresy, he is attempting to understand the present conditions of things as they relate to the scriptures, more specifically for us living today, parts of the NT to keep himself from losing his marbles!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Fundy Fantasy Land

Hundreds before myself have asked a pastor, “Pastor, why do we do things this way?”  They have a verse ready.  We think it is sufficient, because surely a preacher would not take something out of context.  And furthermore, they would never lie to us to keep a line of thinking or a so- called doctrine intact.  A man of God who is called of God would never  keep senseless traditions just for the sake of keeping people?  Not our pastors!  Right?
They give you scripture to have a form of godliness, some half-twisted, half-quoted, totally distorted scripture and that is it!  They love God and many of them love His book.  They just only see things in a certain light and with a certain light.  
And then we dumb milk-fed Christians go “Ohhh, thanks pastor!”  They will never sit across a table from you and let you show them anything.  They have to maintain the illusion of preeminence.  See, you are not yet learned, and they have to teach you slowly.  

They are afraid their little delusional world will come crumbling down if they allow discussion or make any changes to the machine that is running smoothly. I mean, “look at all that God is doing!”.  The fundamentalists and corrupted Christendom are just plodding along now, going through the motions like the law-keeping Jews of the NT.  They have no idea things were well off the tracks before we ever received HIM.  We just joined ranks with more people who claim to have it all down.  


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Fade to Black ~ Part 2


Evolution is the ruling, and commonly held thought of man and even some Christians.  Everything is examined in IT’S light first.  It is why we examine and search the stars through NASA and why we do our research to find other habitable planets for future colonization.  This is heresy at it’s largest scale. It is the truest, deepest form of humanism and paganism there is.  The Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the Planets and the stars are all His and were all made by Him. But if there are other earths, as is the burning subject today, then it is also plausible that there are other gods, or no gods at all, and God is rejected or blasphemed and the word of God is complete waste!  Hence, the Earth is God’s, and is HIS footstool, for this is the only acceptable conclusion for any believer today.   

The system of stars and planets we can chart may be 15 billion years old with the Gap theory at the  center of the debate, but human civilization from Adam in Genesis 1 to today 2011 is approx. 6,000 to 8,000 years. Now, don’t bark at me about being un-specific, and leaving a possibility for thousands of years, you evolutionist, and atheist bark wrong numbers all the time, 15 billion years, 123 trillion years, etc.  You ask me, “How do you really know there is a God?”  I ask you “How do you REALLY know it’s 153 billion years since the big bang.  Who taught you that atheist?!  Where you there.  Did you have a front row seat, a early showing? Oh, your mind and brilliance gave you the where withal to hypothesize God right out of the equation, so now YOU are your OWN authority.  

The constellations were meant for man and their uses, set in their courses, for times, and seasons, but not for their devotion, inordinate observations, and worship.  Jerusalem's and Egypt’s location on the globe were not mistakes.  The heavens were by grand design.  Much can be learned of the skies, especially in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.  It is why human civilization began there. 

You reject God and Christ just like the philosophers and Sabeiest from ancient days who worshipped mythological beings and stars! Sabeism - Worship of the Stars.  Philosophers believe that our actions are determined upon the stars. Or the gods.  Many Philosophers thought the stars and ruling constellations demanded mans sway.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Call a Spade a Spade!

“We are an independent, fundamental, Bible believing Baptist church!”  You may have seen an advertisement like that for a church on a tract, a website, or the phone book.  All the lingo and talk is used: pre-millennial, missions-minded, sin-hating, King James Bible-preaching church.  It has all the persuasion and influence that all religions use.  It’s why we are so aggressive in getting people to come.  We believe we have it, hook, line, and sinker.  We follow the fundamentals of the faith, we preach the truth.  We are not as they, we do things right.  We have order, our statements of faith and the beloved fundamentals.  Which I guess that is all fine.  Other denominations can make erroneous claims, why not the IFB?
I just want you to understand, my mindset and my view is not about starting a revolution, making everyone see my point of view, or to get all the churches to change their format and so on.  I just want others to be aware of the fact that we are no different from the other vain religions who have a great many things wrong at their core.  
It’s just being honest.  Wake up! We are not some special class of Christian that God has called in these last days to stand in the gap and show everyone else their faults and traditions.  In fact, we have many similarities to the religious that we preach against.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Who Watches the Watchmen? ~ an essay

For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. Isaiah 21:6
“Let him declare what he seeth…”
In the comic book genre, there is a group of anti-hero, super heroes.  In other words, they fought injustices and crime, but had gross moral corruption in some cases they themselves.  This group was called the Watchmen.  They were considered to be extremist vigilantes.  There enemies, the masses and criminal minds, would graffiti a slogan. “Who watches the Watchmen” for police sympathy.
Today, our ranks are very similar.  We expect our super heroes to be full of integrity and honesty.  We assume what they give us is exactly what we need.  We assume our pastors will give us the whole truth, no matter the outcome.  But this has proven not to be so today.  
This cannot be over stated, we cannot simply trust the man of God today.  I could care less how long you have known them or all they have done for God.  I remember telling a Christian once that a pastor lied.  The immediate response to that was, “He could not!”  That was alarming.  This Christian did not respond, “He would not!”, it was “He COULD not!”
I will take this moment to put us all on the same playing field.  Though there may be positions of leadership, there is no preeminence in the body!  There is no pastor that does not sin!  There is no missionary that cannot sin!  There is not one evangelist that is sinless.  There is no pastor who is above reproach or even needful correction.  The same flesh that tempts the wicked pew warmer is the same flesh that tempts the pious preachers. 
“You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.  You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else"

Did You Call?

Our logic is jacked and selective at best.  What I may say next is not derived from a desire to be heard or to preach in these pastors' “bull” pits. I just think we should examine our own logic on this front of being called of God. To imply a call implies that someone called you.  If they are called to preach, they are of course talking of being “God called”.  And since they are “the called” they have to have a place and people present to exercise it.  
So, what if others are “called"?  What if God selected some young men in the church, gave them a voice, a heart, and a desire to minister, preach, or teach the word of God?  Are they ever allowed to exercise this gift?  Why does it seem like "the call" is only applicable to those in a position of authority? Why is the call only applicable to those who have surrendered to the full-time ministry or those going to seminary? What about some young 20-something kid, who has a heart right with God, but works a regular job?  What about his call?  What about his gift?  Is it allowed to be exercised, or do we just find a mold of ministry more suitable for him?  I mean, with all our varied ministries we have created, we can find something for them to do, as long as they aren't standing challenging the established doctrines.

Most pastors just influence them or find positions more suitable for them.  Some send them off to seminary, because the pastor doesn’t need the young preacher boys, not yet ruined by fundamentalism and religion, to tell him or the church anything.  They need them properly brainwashed and trained for their own definition of what the ministry is. So they go off to schools, get brainwashed the same way, and have their own churches and ministries in the vicious life sucking machine of the fundamentalist religion.  

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

My Long Overdue Response to the Street Preachers

Let me say that this is less about what street preaching was and more about what it has now become.  Preachers,  like any other group of Christian people, you can have those that are true and honest in their heart.  Then you have those that are deceived or willingly rejecting truth. The men we have been discussing usually hold to some twisted form of theology over emphasizing the repentance aspect and the reforming of the world and all of it’s wicked sinners through in your face, shock and awe style street preaching.    
They truly view themselves as prophets!  Street preaching prophets of doom and gloom, mixed with a little angry Jesus and Paul.  It’s deplorable, and ungodly if you ask me and makes a mockery of what believers are!
If their final authority for public ministry in the 21st century is Methodist from the 1700’s and 1800’s, the minor or major  prophets, or even the Lord Jesus Christ, their actions are full of half-truths and heresy.  They use these same passages to enforce borderline legalism  in their churches, while preaching against this said legalism.  They will protect themselves with this and would say now that the fact that I mention legalism, is only brought about by my conviction through witnessing their holy walk of life.  
These men have an answer for everything that deflects the questions off of them and onto others.  They attempt to bring everyone into their “yoke” of living, and they have the King James to back everything up.  

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Sunday Scare Hour

The day I dreaded arrived today, when some Sunday School staff/children’s church worker came up to me and informed me that my 7 year old son had gotten “saved”.  He then put him on the spot to describe this life changing event to me at which point he looked at me with a “dazed and confused” look.  Now to some parents, this might have been a joyous occasion to hear of their son's salvation.  But to me, it was one of my worst nightmares.  Here is why.
The arrogance in our evangelism is alarming!  Is it God’s design for Dad and Mom to instruct, read the Bible to, and discuss biblical matters with their children?  Yes.  But all of the sudden, in children’s church or Sunday school, workers get this thing in their head that the children are there for them to push for a decision on spiritual matters and eternal salvation without even discussing matters with the parent.  

As if they know the child, or have anything to do with him aside from asking him questions and prompting him to raise his hand.  They view it as “God brought them to me.”  It’s a twisted view on the providence of God.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Ambassadors of Christ or Fishers of Men?


In 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, the apostle Paul says;

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Who would disagree with this passage.  A ministry of reconciliation was given to us?  We pray for people to be saved.  We pray for people to be reconciled to God. All Christians can have a ministry of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors! We represent Christ as ambassadors, teaching that men SHOULD repent, not MAKING them, or forcing their hand.  We are not to call a man’s bluff so to speak, and get them to show their cards, to give ourselves an occasion of the flesh to show our lofty knowledge of the scriptures.
Does it matter that the Lord’s disciples were told to be fishers of men, but Paul was given a ministry of reconciliation, and treated it like ambassadorship.  Commercial fishermen, and ambassadors for nations are 2 entirely different trade crafts.  We should be mindful of the distinctions. We can learn some things from them.
The Lord told the disciples these things  about being fishers of men in Matthew 4:19. Mark 1:17.  However, we within the body of Christ, far removed from any apostolic age,   completely dissolved of any miraculous gifts, commissions, calls, or powers, we are to be more like ambassadors, who represent a King in a foreign world that is not our home.  

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Fade to Black ~ Part 1


The greatest minds of today, NASA, and any educated person believes everything revolves around a fixed star called, our sun, this is defined as the theory of heliocentricity. It has long been the accepted teaching that supports evolution and if you dabble further, the possibility for another planet like our planet. However, we see without question over and over again, that the Bible, God’s Holy word teaches Geocentricty, which has the Sun revolving around the stationary Earth.  Now, they are both theories to a point, I mean who really knows such depths right.  But the biblical evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the geocentric model.

The deceptive danger of believing in heliocentricity is that it makes the Earth of little importance and allows for speculation of wild, theories about alternate universes and other possible Earths. Listened to the news lately, anyone?  That is the talk, and it is coming from the brilliant minds at NASA who the world obviously trusts explicitly.

Believing in heliocentricity, you can easily accept the popular notion, that alternate, inhabitable planets such as ours actually exist in the cosmos.  You can accept concepts of a sci-fi world, like Battlestar Galactica, where they are searching for Earths twin, for lack of better words. Accepting all of the scientific proof they say, you can accept any possibility that NASA spins. There is  grand design to the lie.  It is as old as the stars! The real, true false religion.

Monday, October 10, 2011

What is the Sense?

Make me understand, explain it to me like I’m six.   Don’t hand me a book by some established evangelical or fundamentalist.  Talk to me!  Show me.  Spend time in prayer and study with me longer then the 5 minutes in the Pastors office after Sunday church.  Show me in the scriptures!   Make me see it as you see it!  
Why do we tithe again?  Seriously.  Aside from running to Genesis, Leviticus, Malachi and Hebrews, what grounds do we have to ask any one today, removed from Temple worship and affairs, to tithe?  How can we possibly lay this at the sheep’s feet? Stop with all the explanations and attempts to Christianize it.  I can read!  It is a new practice in this country dating back to the 18th century, so don't tell me we have "always done it".
Why do we adhere to gimmicks like Faith Promise?  Do I even need to waste my time on this one?  If you want to live in Charismatic fantasy land and carry this on with the prosperity gospel nonsense, help your self, but quit distorting the scriptures in a feeble attempt to make it look biblical.  You are lying to your people!  I don't care how much fruit or money you are getting.  Our blessings are spiritual, not physical.  Don't be deceived.
Why do we keep talking about the great commission as if it is something handed down to the church?  Please people!  The gospels and Acts are not play books on outreach.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Evangelistic, Confrontational Madmen who Refuse to Work


You must understand the mindset among many street evangelist or street preachers.  It’s not that they can’t work a job, it’s that their demeanor and conversation of life as prophets and gallant soldiers for God will not allow them to work a job. 

A secular job for these men?  It would never happen unless they learned to submit to others, and in this day, it may be a woman.  “I can’t have that bless God.”  They can only be  “keepers at home” and so forth.  Submitting to a woman goes against their belief system.  

It would be like trying to enclose a rhino in a cardboard box.  Everyone around them would be compromisers, harlots, drunkards, fornicators, adulterers, pagans, sodomites, hypocrites, heathen, philistines, bastards, faggots, queers, homo’s, etc. Forty hours a week around people who hate God, who are perverted, who are blasphemous, who are wicked, who are pagan or so the street preacher views them.  

The legally binding policies of their employers and superiors (or Masters, in the Bible) who are over them will not permit them to preach or pass out tracts.    They, according to their own professions and testimony have already shown that they will go to jail before anyone, including police, tells them to stop preaching.  

They cannot adapt and learn to speak peaceably.  They cannot engage society and wickedness civilly. It’s as if they have never learned self control as children or something.  They are quite like children in their actions, lashing out, deflecting, casting off, ignoring, dominating conversations, screaming, etc...

Saturday, October 1, 2011

How Does it Help Again?

The osmosis that is the local church.  This is the magic show that many expect to happen.  Like being together with a group of people in a building is the solution to all of life's problems.  We are led to believe this! We live our lives in such manners. I am not against people going to church, far from it, just upset at what the church has actually become to most.  How does the modern church setting  actually help?  I look for a blessing like the next person, but sometimes I think we just lie to ourselves.  
You get the kids loaded into the car, probably late from kiddy circumstances, you rush to the church, get them out, one of you takes the little one to the nursery, the other takes the older kids to the special kids churches or Sunday schools.  And you, the adults go to the big peoples church.  You shake hands, see smiling faces, maybe even take part in some chit chat or banter.  The music director takes center stage, and you find your places.  You all begin to sing in unison.  
Are we reading the words, or thinking about the words? Do the hymns speak like they used to?  We have a few announcements after the singing, then it’s the offering time.  The deacons and ushers do their thing while some young person does a special, or we have special music played during.  
Then the message, while we stare at the back of others sitting in the pews in front of us, unless you are a good front row Christian.  The distractions, the teenagers talking, cell phones going off, visitors coming and going, one man talking, ushers getting the head count, ushers letting parents know about Nurseries to get the babies out of the Sanctuary.  Then the preaching, speaking, sharing or screaming, whichever man are found doing today. Then the altar call and the slow invitational music.  Next, the show of hands.  Then the closing in prayer, then the shaking of hands again on the way out.  

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Welcome to Silent Platform~ An Introduction

Have you ever sat in church and just looked around at the happenings and said, "Oh my God, what is going on here?" Have you listened to the words being preached and thought to yourself, “What?” Have you ever sat in church and had one of those moments where it just sounded way off coming from men preaching even out of the same beloved AV that you read?  Have you ever just had those "red flags" of caution do fly-bys in your mind when you heard men handle the word of God deceitfully and you just knew that the pendulum of balance had gone way far to one side?
Well, Silent Platform is where I talk about all of those things, and strain the things that men have made gnats! In decency and order, and with a Biblical perspective, nothing is off limits.  I will delve into any subject matter at the express purpose to in fact see what the Book says about it. Having said that, I am no authority, and I do not have it all figured out.  I respect and reverence the word, I do not have it mastered nor my doctrine foolproof!  
I just cannot maintain the ridiculous Baptist-successionist, driven dribble and the positional theology anymore.  I have seen a curve, a slant, a transition from a literal approach to the book, to sort of play on words, manufactured Christianity where many phrases are used to support supposed doctrines, that tend to private interpretations and traditions. We have gone from sound doctrine, to systematic theology now to positional theology.  We have all become very selective haven’t we?
A preacher once said to me, “If you take 50 Baptist preachers, lock them in a room for 24 hours, there would be blood coming out from under the door within 24 minutes!”  If you knew the men that I have known, which I’m sure my target audience does, then you know this is very descriptive and accurate of many Baptist societies and men today.