Historical Proof

Exactly what do you mean by "historical proof"? I assume you mean that you read it in some other book besides the Bible. I have heard before that there is historical proof that Jesus was a real person, and I assume that means the Romans or somebody had a record of Him. Of course the Romans would deny that Jesus rose from the dead, but they might have acknowledged His crucifixion. The ancient Egyptians don't seem to have a record of Moses, at least none has been discovered yet. Is that what the difference is?

This reminds me of the wolves and cougars. I have read numerous times that there is no documented case of wolves killing a human in North America, although it is generally acknowledged that they have done so in Europe. I find it hard to believe that the North American wolves are any less dangerous than European wolves. So what's the skinny here? A few years ago, a woman somewhere in the East was killed by wolves while out jogging, and it was reported in the newspapers. I read somewhere that this incident didn't count because those were wolf-coyote hybrids. If wolves and coyotes are capable of interbreeding, that makes them one in the same species, according to my high school biology book. I remember another incident, way back when we were kids, where a young child was killed by "wild dogs" in a Chicago suburb. If wild dogs could kill somebody right in town, why haven't wolves ever killed anybody anywhere in North America?

Then there's all those "unconfirmed" cougar sightings. What does it take to confirm a sighting? Not long ago, somebody in Northern Michigan published a trail cam picture of what looked like a cougar. After careful inspection of the photo, our DNR confirmed that it was indeed a cougar, and said that this was he first confirmed cougar sighting in Michigan since the 19th Century. Apparently, if 20 other people report seeing something, it's not confirmed until some official person declares it confirmed.

I got to thinking about the Pledge of Allegiance after I signed off last night. Or course you're right that most people recite it without thinking, because that is what we have been conditioned to do. I was half way through first grade before I discovered that we weren't pledging allegiance to the Republican, Richard Strand. I had the pledge memorized long before I was capable of reading it for myself, much less understanding it. I now think it's a mistake to have kids reciting the pledge every day at school, if they even still do that. It should be reserved for instances when it is really necessary to confirm somebody's allegiance, like when admitting immigrants to the country. I read somewhere that, when immigrants used to go through Ellis Island, that they were required to renounce their allegiance to the king or ruler of the country from whence they came, which is where I got the idea.

It wasn't a couple of days after Rev. Al dropped the MYF bomb that I left for Alaska, more like six months. I was in the MYF before Rev. Al took it over, and it was nothing but a social club at that time. I was the youngest member, and everybody else soon graduated from high school and went on to form a young adults' club, taking their leader with them. Then Rev. Al took the reins and tried to put more of a religious spin on it. Suddenly I wasn't the youngest member, I was the oldest, and the newbies elected me president. It was good for a year or two, and then I did something really stupid involving the opposite sex. It wasn't a sin by your definition because I didn't realize before the fact that it was wrong, although I should have, which is why I said it was really stupid. Be that as it may, if I end up in Hell because of that one incident, I won't even  argue about it. If you want details, I will send them in an email, but I need your solemn word that it won't end up in our blog, or in your movie script either.