Dog Poop in the Flower Bed

 

Recently I was on my walk when I noticed something which  made me shake my head in wonderment. Someone had taken the time to pick up their dog's poop into a bag, tie the bag shut, and then, they threw the bag into someone's flower bed. I guess at least they used the bag! The standard of dog poop etiquette is to carry the poop with you and properly dispose of it. This is a hot-button issue in many neighborhoods.

What does this have to do with this blog? Well, this is just a small demonstration of the fallen nature of man. It exhibits self-centeredness, laziness, and a disrespect for others and their property. 

We are told in 1 Peter 2:17 to "show proper respect to everyone..." Since we are all made in the image of God, to disrespect another person is to disrespect God. Abusing someone else's property is tantamount to stealing their ownership of that property. The owner has the right to say how their property is to be used.

Some Christians would say we should not own private property since Jesus said to sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. They may be misreading what he was saying. 

In Exodus 20:17, notice that the property belongs to the neighbor, not the community or the government. Nowhere does Jesus condemn ownership of private property. What he was saying on several occasions is "own your property, do not let your property own you." Use your property to help the homeless and the poor, to glorify the Lord, and to advance his kingdom.

Film Comment: The Wild Dogs

There are several films carrying the title of The Wild Dogs. This is the 2002 film directed by Thom Fitzgerald in Bucharest (Bucuresti), Romania. The film won 4 awards in 2002 from the Atlantic Film Festival and 4 nominations from the Genie Awards and the Taos Talking Picture Festival. It is not of Oscar quality, but it definitely will make you think, and squirm.

Several stories are twined together into a slice of several days in the life of the rich elite and the poor beggars of Bucharest. It takes place during the period of the "cull" of the wild dogs which basically overran the city after the fall of the Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The characters include, a highly reluctant city-employed dogcatcher; a Canadian pornographer in town to photograph fresh, very young meat; a cynical and corrupt diplomat and his disillusioned lonely wife; bands of abandoned children; hideously deformed "freaks of nature;" gypsies; beggars; and, of course, the dogs.

Unless you are a veteran viewer of hard-edged films I really can't recommend that you watch this. Some of it will make you angry, some of it will make you cry. Some of the language will offend you. You will not believe that Dorutu (a human torso) and "Sour Grapes" (whose knees bend backward as he walks around on all fours like a large crab) are real people, but they are. There were no CGI special effects involved in filming these characters.

The film causes extreme disagreements among its viewers. Some hate it, some say it is an accurate reflection of Bucharest. One Romanian emigrant said online, "Every country they got their poors." Claudita_993, a Romanian who resettled in Canada, said of the dogs, "I felt sorry for them and I despised them at the same time."

The point of the film, from a Christian perspective, is that the people in the film were the actual wild dogs, aimless and hopeless, scrounging each day just to survive, living utterly without purpose. There are no innocent people in the film, not even the children. The only innocents are the dogs. It is a powerful presentation of the sheer lostness of the world living without Jesus Christ.

Junior, the French Bulldog Joins In

Junior, a French Bulldog, joins in as his owners sing along with the Josh Groban song, “You Raise Me Up.” The two men in the video are Emanuele Tiburzio and Walter Ledenmueller, who live in Köln, Germany.

Josh Groban, who has never publicly declared his current religious status , was raised as an Epicopalian.  His father converted from Judaism in order to marry Josh’s mother.  Groban has a large Christian following because of the inspirational nature of his songs and has sold over 20,000,000 albums in the last ten years.

Say Your Prayers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s57M5lMeC_A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4a4Xig94FM

This one just because it is cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nupfxo2ihQc

Most Popular Posts

The most popular post on this blog by far has been the Jingle Bells Dogs video, with 23,931 views.
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2010/12/edited-post.html

My personal favorites are:

"Got Jesus?" (216 views so far)
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2012/08/got-jesus.html

Michael Jr. on Prayer as a New Christian
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2012/12/michael-jr-on-prayer-as-new-christian.html

Michael Jr. "Are You Oversaved?"
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2012/12/cutting.html

Make a Joyful Noise

We all sing the best we can.  Cody gives it his very best shot.  His happy tail tells me that he is making a joyful noise.

http://www.mostwatchedtoday.com/tag/dog-yelling/

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.” Psalm 100:1

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1

What They Think of Us: Will Your Pet Be Cared For After the Rapture?

I believe that we must love and care for our animals.  I believe that the Bible teaches that the Church will one day (though we do not know when and are told not to speculate as to when) be taken up into the air to be with the Lord before the time of the Tribulation begins.  I had never before put these two ideas together. It appears that others have.  See the very partial list below of websites discussing this very idea.

http://www.aftertherapturepetcare.com/ 

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/18/atheists-offer-to-rescue-christians-pets-after-judgment-day/ 

http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/ 

http://gizmodo.com/5803629/crazy-people-drive-post-rapture-pet-pickup-boom 

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_08/b4167070046047.htm 

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/offbeat/atheists-offering-post-rapture-pet-care-dpgoha-20110518-fc_13255888 

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/19/business/la-fi-rapture-20110519 

http://www.postrapturepetcare.com/ 

Several companies have sprung up promising, for a fee, to care for the the animals left behind by Christians after the Rapture.  Some of the companies say they have been organized by Christians, others by atheists.  All say that the people who will care for the animals are animal lovers and confirmed atheists.  We “will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward”

Some Christians are using the services. The Eternal Earth Bound Pets company says that they have 259 subscribers who have paid $135.00 each for the service.

This sounds like a sarcastic swipe at Christians, but the people at the British company Post Rapture Pet Care say that "This is not a joke. We feel very strongly about pet care and want to offer the best possible services to British pet owners. Feel free to get in touch at pets@postrapturepetcare.com  for more info."

The fact that some atheists do take this to be a joke is evidenced by the statement of someone going by the name of Flange Wogskit Bardgeholly at the RawStory.com site.  "Dint yo momma tell you not to make fun of the cripples?"

If the atheists involved with these companies really are serious about this, I would have two things to say to them:
1. Be sure to honor your committment.
2. Realize that when this happens, you will know the truth and you will have a momentous decision to make.

Prayer Time

I do not know the source of this cute photo.

Just Because it's Cute!

Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.

Saying Their Prayers

I do not know the source of this photograph.

Names in the Bible: Jesse

Jesse was the son of Obed and was a grandson of Ruth and Boaz. He had eight sons and two daughters and his youngest son was the future King David.  The meaning of Jesse's name is not known.

The video below really has nothing to do with this blog, but the dog's name is Jesse.

Edited post

The "Jingle Bells" post on yesterday is flawed.  The video window in which this opens on this blog platform cuts off the right side of the picture. You may wish to view this on You Tube  instead.

Jesus Knows You're Here!

I don't know the ultimate source of this story.  My wife and I received it in a Facebook post.

.........................

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for 
valuables when a voice in the dark 
said, 'Jesus knows you're here.'


He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze.

When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he 
heard 'Jesus is watching you.'



Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.


Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot.

'Yep', the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he is watching you.'

The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you ?'



'Moses,' replied the bird.

'Moses?' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?'

'The kind of people that would name a 
Rottweiler Jesus'

Religious Humor: Proverbs 26:17

"He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears."  Proverbs 26:17

The Proverbs are part of the Hebrew Wisdom Literature.  The point made here is good advice presented in a humorous way which makes the wisdom point easier to remember.   The humor comes from the exaggerated, almost slapstick image, of a man who has grabbed a dog's ears in anger and then realizes he has more trouble than he started with.  Very Mr. Bean. The image is enhanced when you realize that dogs in most of the ancient Middle East were not domesticated.  They ran in wild packs scavenging for food.

This is not referring to intervening in obviously deadly or dangerous situations such as a rape or an assault.  It also is not counseling one to intentionally not see an illegal or unethical situation.  The image is one of an argument or a legal dispute into which one has not been "invited."

We all know people who have to "fix" every situation and who hop right in, sometimes forcefully.  They think that if everyone would just be "reasonable" it could all be solved and they are sure they know the reasonable solution.  When they inevitably are accused of taking sides in the argument they may end up angering everyone involved, including themselves.  The Hebrew words translated as "meddleth" (meddling, interfering, etc) are "mit abber" " מִתְעַבֵּר" meaning to "become furious."  If you don't know what is going on, don't just foolishly run in and make it worse.

 

The German Shepherd

Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) has been nicknamed by some Italians as il pastore Tedesco, "the German Shepherd," because the Pope is the shepherd of the Roman Catholic Church and because many originally feared his reputation as a ferocious "guard dog" of doctrinal purity.

Film Comment: The Wild Dogs

There are several films carrying this title. This is the 2002 film directed by Thom Fitzgerald in Bucharest (Bucuresti), Romania.
The film won 4 awards in 2002 from the Atlantic Film Festival and 4 nominations from the Genie Awards and the Taos Talking Picture Festival. It is not Oscar quality, but it definitely will make you think, and squirm.

Several stories are twined together into a slice of several days in the life of the rich elite and the poor beggars of Bucharest. It takes place during the period of the "cull" of the wild dogs which basically overran the city after the fall of the Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The characters include, a highly reluctant city-employed dogcatcher; a Canadian pornographer in town to photograph fresh, very young meat; a cynical and corrupt diplomat and his disillusioned lonely wife; bands of abandoned children; hideously deformed "freaks of nature;" gypsies; beggars; and, of course, the dogs.

Unless you are a veteran viewer of hard-edged films I really can't recommend that you watch this. Some of it will make you angry, some of it will make you cry. Some of the language will offend you. You will not believe that Dorutu (a human torso) and "Sour Grapes" (whose knees bend backward as he walks around on all fours like a large crab) are real people, but they are. There were no CGI special effects involved in filming these characters.

The film causes extreme disagreements among its viewers. Some hate it, some say it is an accurate reflection of Bucharest. One Romanian emigrant said online, "Every country they got their poors." Claudita_993, a Romanian who resettled in Canada, said of the dogs, "I felt sorry for them and I despised them at the same time."

The point of the film, from a Christian perspective, is that the people in the film were the actual wild dogs, aimless and hopeless, scrounging each day just to survive, living utterly without purpose. There are no innocent people, not even the children. The only innocents are the dogs. It is a powerful presentation of the sheer lostness of the world living without Jesus Christ.

Pothead Jesus

On 9 February 2010, in El Paso, Texas, United States Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican woman for drug smuggling. She was driving across the border from Ciudad Juarez when her sports utility vehicle was stopped and searched. She told the agents that she had nothing to declare except some framed art; three pictures of Jesus Christ. That was true.

What the woman failed to realize was that the pictures of Jesus would be shown to Cesar the drug sniffing dog, who knew what marijuana smelled like. Thirty-one pounds of weed were packed into the backing and frames around the paintings.

Fools and Vomit

"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly." Proverbs 26:11

Jimmy Swaggert, who had "fool" problems of his own, once told of a sinner who repented of his former "slop" of a life but couldn't quite let go of it. He put it into a slop bucket and put the bucket in the closet. Every so often, he would go into the closet with a spoon and take a little sip. Swaggert called this "slop bucket repentence."

Prayer Pups

     Since July, 2007, the Prayer Pups comic strip by cartoonist Jeffrey Smith has appeared on the internet.  This is a Christian children's comic strip starring five cute dogs named Amos, Connie (Constantine), Nim (Nimrod), Abby (Abigail), and Jerry (Jeremiah).

     The site has materials available for use by Sunday Schools and church schools.

http://www.prayerpups.com