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Want to eat well today and hedge for the apocolypse? Try a family milk cow!
I want to be clear on one point. I am not really a survivalist. I am a thrivalist. What is that? For me, being a thrivalist is a combination of several factors. First, I believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand...today...right now...here on Earth...not at some unknown post-apocalyptic point in the future. Second, philosophically and politically, I am very Libertarian with a strong Epicurean streak. For me, these two views are well summarized in the following quotes (and you will soon read why this is germane to the topic):
Life Is a Gift from God.
We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This
gift is life -- physical, intellectual, and moral life.
But life cannot maintain itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted us with the responsibility of preserving, developing, and
perfecting it. In order that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a
collection of marvelous faculties. And He has put us in the midst of a variety
of natural resources. By the application of our faculties to these natural
resources we convert them into products, and use them. This process is
necessary in order that life may run its appointed course.
Life, faculties, production--in other words, individuality, liberty, property -- this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God
precede all human legislation, and are superior to it.
-Bastiat
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
-Epicurus
So, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorow we may die fighting to defend our person, liberty, and property? Well...kinda, sorta, yes.
Personally, I am a self-made professional and an equestrian-by-marriage. Most important to this post, I am not a prepper focused on some unpredictable future event (thank you Nassim Taleb), but rather a man focused on living well today, and God willing tomorrow, with an eye to practicing disintermediation wherever and whenever possible.
So, where is this leading, and what does it have to do with cows? Well, yesterday, I was asked by Meat Hammer:
This was my response:
A clear mind, a fit body, a few people you trust, a quality blade, a rifle
you know, and a good mare, everything else is superfluous.
I am happy with that response, as those are truly the
ESSENTIAL Shit-Hits-The-Fan items for me.
I have posted a much longer and more detailed TEOTWAWKI article
on ZeroHedge before, with a much broader and more general audience in
mind. However, I think Meat Hammer is
looking for something less general, and a little more personal, specifically
dealing with what some people call homesteading, but I like to think of simply as
thriving. At the top of that list is a
small bit of pastureland proximate to one's home, then closely followed on my
list by the family milk cow, which is really the focus of this article.
Do have a cow, specifically a triple-purpose heritage-breed cow such as a
Milking Shorthorn! She provides milk,
meat, and when trained as an ox she can pull a load.
A cow is a proven way to convert sunlight, water, and
pasture into a usable surplus of protein, fat, calories, leather, and
horsepower. I believe that in many ways
having a family milk cow is both easier and more reliable than raising crops,
although it is pretty darn easy to grow potatoes or yams.
In The Princes of Ireland, one of Edward Rutherfurd's
historical-fiction novels set in Ireland, it is illustrated how cattle have
been the most significant store of wealth for centuries of Irish history, and
how political power and stealing said wealth (by cattle rustling) were often
intertwined. For me, as someone who has
enjoyed historical Wyoming from both horseback and an easy chair, The Johnson
County War came to mind. But I digress.
Let us get to what Meat Hammer really wants to read, which I believe is hedgeless_horseman's
list of things you will need for your SHTF family milk cow. Please understand that neither I, nor
mrs_horseman, were raised on a farm, nor did we study agriculture in school,
nor were we in FFA. However, we both
have had horses most of our lives, kept at a stable or a neighbor's when we
were young, and later at our home for our entire married life. After having a family milk cow for more than
five years, I will say that cattle are much easier, and infinitely more
productive than horses.
First, you need pasture-with some source of water. A spring-fed pond is best, but anything from
a garden hose and a metal tank to a windmill and stock tank will work. How much pasture is entirely dependent on
your local climate. In the South we can
keep a dairy cow and her calf year-round, without hay, on just a few
acres. In the West you need to have many
acres and/or feed hay. In the North you probably
also need a barn and hay storage, or a small silo, to get through the winters,
but we have no experience with this situation.
Your county Ag Extension office is a great resource for these
calculations, testing the soil, etc. If
you are in Wisconsin, ask a Cheese Head.
Second, you must have time, man-power, and passion 365 days
per year, often twice a day. On our
little farm, this comes primarily in the form of the dynamo known as
mrs_horseman, with assistance from the lil_horsemen, yours truly, and our
friend and neighbor, juan_caballero. It
is important to convey that being a female equestrian, mrs_horseman is blessed
with super-human endurance and strength, as well as a burning desire to spend
vast amounts of time in the barn...bordering on insanity...aka horse crazy. If it is not already obvious to you, animals
need to be attended to every morning and every evening. If a cow does not have a calf and needs to be
milked, and is not milked, it is very bad.
Having a hand like juan_caballero to fill in for us several times a
month is absolutely critical, and surprisingly easy to arrange, when one
realizes how valuable fresh-raw milk is in today's world. However, please understand, the time
commitment is a very good thing, as it teaches us real responsibility (especially
important for kids), which leads to huge amounts of self-esteem (important for
stay-at-home mothers), eventually gratitude (important for happiness), and periodically
when taking care of the animals we can even experience complete bliss. It goes right back to the Bastiat and Epicurus
quotes, above.
You will need to have fencing. If you have horses that share pasture, like
we do, then three-board rail fences work just fine, as long as you don't have a
bull on one side and a cow on the other.
You do not need barbed wire or hot wire.
Our cows have always been very domesticated, the never jump the fence,
and are not prone to damaging the fence, especially relative to horses.
You may need to feed hay.
Horse hay and cow hay are two different things. Horse hay needs to be kept dry. Cattle hay is found sitting out in the rain,
and is much cheaper. You can have a big
round bale loaded into the back of a pickup truck, and roll it out into the
pasture. Buy one of the roundbale hay feeders. You
lift it over the round bale to keep the cow from shitting, pissing, and
standing in her food, and this dramatically cuts your feed cost. We can pick up a round bale today for $65 and
it would last our cow about a month.
When you buy your family milk cow, get her just before she
calves, or just days after she calves.
It needs to be her first or second calf.
She and the calf will probably cost you as much as $2,000. At first, the calf keeps you from having too
much milk for your family, and you can separate them at night, and thus only
need to milk once in the morning. If you
have a dual-purpose breed of cow, and mate her to a beef bull, then when the
calf eventually goes off to freezer camp it will provide your family all the grass-fed
hormone-free beef it needs for a year.
About once a year you will need to either artificially
inseminate your cow, have someone AI her for you, or take her to visit a bull. NEWSFLASH: Cows only produce milk after they
give birth. The trick is determining
when she is in heat. If she is trying to
mount her calf, the dog, or you, then she is in heat. If she is mooing all night long, then she is
in heat. It is that simple.
You need a stainless steel bucket for milking, a plastic
bucket or a stool to sit on, and a place to tie her. It helps if you feed her a little treat at
milking time. Our cow gets the ends and
tops of vegetables, fruit rinds, banana peels, etc. Remember the lesson from Napoleon
Dynamite...no onions or garlic. Hamby
Dairy Supply has everything you need such as teat wipes, teat dip, strip cup,
stainless filter and paper filters, cleaning brushes, and soap.
You may eventually decide to build a stanchion for your milking parlor like I did...
Your hands will get stronger milking by hand, and it is faster because there iss less clean up. A Surge Bucket Milker with vacuum pump, like
the modern conveniences of a refrigerator and chest freezer, are not absolutely
necessary, but very convenient and very expensive. They do work incredibly well.
Order two dozen one-gallon glass jugs and metal lids at
Specialty Bottle's website. They can be
cleaned and sterilized with a normal cycle in your kitchen dishwasher.
When the milk sits in the refrigerator for a day the cream
will rise to the top. Use a stainless
ladle to skim it. Fresh, real, heavy
cream in a cup of french-press coffee is heavenly. Whipped it is absolutely sinful. This is more of that epicurean stuff.
For making butter you will need a butter churn like this one available at
Lehmans (we cheat and use our MagiMix), a wire-mesh wood-rim sieve, and a
wooden butter paddle. Ceramic butter
crocks and molds are nice to have, but you can also just wrap the butter in wax
paper and put it in the freezer.
For making cheese, it is important to use only stainless
steel pots and utensils. You will be
able to purchase all the recipe books, cheesecloth, rennet, molds, presses, wax,
etc. from Ricki at New England Cheese Making Supply.
If you want to do it all yourselves, butchering equipment
and supplies include a cold place to hang the carcass, gun, hoist, spreader,
hanging hooks, skinning knife, butcher knife, sharpening stone, steel hone, shovel
and garden for the offal, butcher saw, meat grinder, several large plastic
buckets, butcher paper, freezer tape, and a marking pen. Alternatively, load the heifer or steer in the
trailer and driver to the butchers. Your meat will be correctly aged, butchered, and ready in a few weeks.
If you have read this far, then you may also be interested
in my article on killing fascists by raising rabbits.
Happy New Year, and peace be with you!
»
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Forgot the pedo tag?
Its bad because it indicates widespread hormonal problems. Unless widespread hormonal problems are good in which case this is very good news.
Thank you. This needs to be screamed from the roof tops.
It is by far, the most serious pollution problem in the world today.
Worst, BTW in the shallow streams leading into the Potomac (Wash DC);)
edit: contamination from birth control pills is a related factor.
If it really hits the fan, the viability of raising livestock will depend on location. Im in Mn 25 miles south of the mall of America. 10 acre hobby farm in a rural ag area. Seems to me that small livestock, egglayes, ect make good sense. Milk cows are out. In my worldview, under a long term shtf scenerio, avoiding and defending against the desperate starving masses will be the primary concern. Mass starvation, disease, freezing temps will eliminate the weak and ill prepared. Firearms, ammo, and 10# cans will be lifesaving. Hunker down and keep a low profile. Gardening and tending livestock may provide too much exposure. After the weak are weeded out, the strong and violent roving survivors will need to be dealt with. Again, much time expended defending.position and resources. Defending a cow is not woth it when so much canned and dehdrated food with long shelflife is now available.
This collapse is going to go down in a way we cannot predict. And what if chem/ bio/nuke war poisons the environment as the good ol usa has managed to piss off the rest of the planet? Would they strike us when we were percieved as weakened? Aka mass starvation and civil war??There goes the cow and the livestock.
Ulimate survival if attainable may only be enjoyed by those able to remain invisible the longest
Learn To Trap
Back Pack Trapping for Survival
If TSHTF, you won't be able to defend yourself. You will need to find a group to join. The maurading gangs will always outnumber and outshoot you.
Hence the reason to keep a low profile. They need food, water, shelter. But its source must first be identified. Nothing here to see. On to the next target.
As you mentioned, and also others have, whatever happens will certainly be unpredictable. More so, the particular circumstances one finds oneself in when whatever will happen, does.
A cheaper alternative to purchasing ready for long term food storage items is packaging your own foodstuffs in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers. The shelf life for many dry staples stored in #10 cans or Mylar bags is 10-20 years, so they can be put in storage and forgotten about until needed. Certain foodstuffs are appropriate for this type long term food storage, others, not so much.
I view long term food storage items in sufficient quantities as my primary source of provisions, to be supplemented by whatever I can produce or otherwise obtain locally, until the reset occurs. Also, the long term food storage provisions are intended to bridge the gap between off season and the next harvest season. Heirloom seeds now are also available pre packaged for longer term storage (2-5 years), for putting to good use if the need/opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, I will keep refining my own abilities to do more for myself.
Some useful links:
http://www.family-survival-planning.com/food-storage-calculator.html
http://www.optimumpreparedness.com/mylar_bags_for_long_term_food_storage...
In addition to stacks of gold, silver, and lead, a few additional useful items to consider having on hand in the future are:
hand mill, meat grinder, sausage stuffer, food dehydrator, water purifier, honey extractor, wood burning stove, and so forth.
I think much of the above mentioned would be practical for a small land holder, hobby farmer, or other DIY'er. It has all provided me a much better quality of life (healthier food, sense of security, physical activity, productive Family time together, etc.)
Someday, it may even have all been worth it.
@hedgeless_horseman, you said, "First, I believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand ..."
Now what I have observed does not seem to apply to you, but this is often posited as a rationale for some form of standing down in the face of the growing police state, and thus it seems like an unhealthy idea to propagate without some compelling non-superstitious evidence. My short response is this:
Maybe You Should Stand Down
The Police State is growing, but …
The Rapture is coming?
Maybe you should just stand down then ...
Unavoidable collapse will send us back to the Dark Ages?
Maybe you should just stand down then …
The-powers-that-be cannot be defeated or even exposed?
The cops are ready if you try anything?
The cops are your enemy? Not the people above them?
Global Warming is alarming and man-made?
Only global government can fix it?
Peak Oil is alarming?
Only global government can fix it?
Terrorism is alarming?
Only the police state can make you safe?
If you oppose the police state, you are a domestic terrorist?
Conspiracies don’t exist?
If you believe conspiracies, you are a domestic terrorist?
The free-market doesn’t work?
Your ideas don’t work?
What would creators of the Police State like you to believe …
Last Week 3 pairs of cow calf pairs brought $3,350 a pair. Jesus is coming soon. Praise the LORD!
You could buy a nice black Angus cow/calf pair here in North Texas for about $2800 or so.
We have sheep and small Nigerian Dwarf and Pigmy goats. The Nigerians are great for very creamy, rich milk and the Pigmys are more of a meat goat. This year we have had goat sucklings or kids-- hummm, delicious! if you know how to cook meat like my wife does. Two words: Sally Fallon (Nourishing Traditions) Oh, and nice work HH, you've created something of great value.
Great article HH. BTW, I read some of the previous suggestions and grabbed a Benelli the other day. Love it! I highly recommend that brand if your pocket book can handle it...super reliable semi-auto shotgun and the kick is not as bad as some of my older Mossbergs.
Great stuff! Thank you for your insights everyone. Keep em coming and I will share mine as my family and I continue on this journey to thrivalism.
My friends, this is how we win. We don't fight them in their world; we stop participating in their world and we create our own reality.
Happy New Year! May your 2015 be filled with peace, love, and liberty.
Good strategy. A thought experiment: Picture us all becoming Amish overnight until TPTB capitulate.
Look at what they're doing to the Amish.
http://selfsufficiencynews.com/feds-shut-down-amish-dairy-for-good/
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/09/why_are_the_fe...
http://www.gopusa.com/freshink/2014/08/26/amish-who-escaped-persecution-...
It is important to recognize that self reliance offers limited protection against tyrrany.
But, as the gypsies demonstrate, skills are portable.
In The Five Stages of Collapse, Orlov examines the gypsie culture, and he also uses the Pashtuns to illustrate that self reliance offers a very high degree of protection againt tyrrany.
Try sheep, poor mans cow. Plus wool and tasty lambs.
For all you dogma-spouting religious droids to ponder:
1. You are what you have been fed:
If you were raised in hindu culture, then hindu would be your "absolute truth"
If you were raised in islamic culture, then islam would be your "absolute truth"
If you were raised in jewish culture, then jewish would be your "absolute truth"
etc
etc
2. What mythology (religion) would you be believing is "absolute truth" if you were not brainwashed with any starting from birth ?
If you were raised in hindu culture, then hindu would be your "absolute truth"
If you were raised in islamic culture, then islam would be your "absolute truth"
If you were raised in jewish culture, then jewish would be your "absolute truth"
etc
etc
2. What mythology (religion) would you be believing is "absolute truth" if you were not brainwashed with any starting from birth ?
One question for you to ponder...Would you be atheist if you had originated from any of these other cultures?
I will reveal that it is a trap question because it absolutely destroys the argument that belief is somehow crystalized and engrained from the particular culture...which it is not.
There are many Christians in Iraq, a Muslim held nation. There are also atheists in that culture. ISIS is killing them. That is undeniable EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE.
People are free moral agents IN ANY CULTURE. They make choices to reject or accept beliefs.
Prober, it's true that I was brought up in a Christian home, but I have questioned my faith hundreds of times. It has been one of the things I have struggled with the most. Have I been given more of an opportunity than others? This question bothered me for years. As an engineer, if I did not see what I believed come true, I would definitely look for other explanations.
But let me give you something to think about. The law of the conversation of energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed, and likewise the law of conservation of mass: mass cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change form. The implications for us would be that we cannot be created and the world cannot be created. But we are here. Science begins AFTER creation.
My FAITH has caused someone's pain to disappear in 5 seconds, such that she was shocked. Can you do that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEzkRRdCxTs
My FAITH has caused someone's pain to disappear in 5 seconds, such that she was shocked. Can you do that?
No. I cannot.
And as for you...
YOU are a worker of INIQUITY, an antichrist.
You believe that it is YOUR Faith? YOU ARE NOT GOD.
It will be to your benefit to read Matthew Chapter 7 and understand just what Jesus says.
AS FOR ME...
I HAVE NEVER SAVED ANYONE.
I HAVE NEVER HEALED ANYBODY.
I HAVE NEVER CAST OUT DEMONS.
I HAVE NEVER WON SOMEONE'S SOUL.
IF I AM USED TO DO HIS WORK THEN IT IS THAT GOD IS GOOD. I HAVE NO HONOR OR GLORY IN THAT WHATSOEVER.
THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD ALMIGHTY AS HE IS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR REDEMPTION, BLASPHEMER.
IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU.
And God did not heal her because of YOUR Faith. He healed her because of HER FAITH.
IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU.
You earlier wrote, "The Devil puts on religious clothes and does something bad, and God gets the blame!!!"
Yeah that may be true.
But it is also true that the Devil puts on religious clothes and does something good, and then steals the glory from God.
Yeah, you know..."Wolves in Sheep's clothing"?
Then Jesus just pouinted this out so many times using examples of "Public Prayer", or blowing your horn because you gave "alms to the poor.". Yeah that example that Jesus used of the Pharisee praying, "Thank God I am not like that wretched Tax Collector" versus the prayer of the Tax Collector begging for mercy and forgiveness because he was "a wicked and vile sinner" was a very good example of the hypocrisy of self righteousness.
I love that Semon on the Mount.
It is far too easy to become deceived.
You had best repent of your wickedness.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ~ Ephesians 2: 8,9
As for me I am damned.
Tall,
I have followed your posts and agreed with 90% of what you write, but I don't understand your last comment above about being damned. All who do not repent and turn to follow Christ to the best of their ability are damned.
I would think that you try just as hard as anyone. Why then, that comment?
I do not have the fruits of the spirit.
Galations 5:19-23 states, "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
In fact I have the qualities of the flesh which is to be condemned...
In Matthew 7:15-20 Christ says, "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Many are called but few are chosen.
In Matthew 22:1-14 Christ told of the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Christ has not chosen me, I wear not the right clothes as I am a wolf. I am too filled with anger and hatred. I have no peace. That is why I am here and vent.
It is evidential by what the scriptures claim are the attributes of the chosen that I am not chosen. Yes I have been called. There is no doubt in my mind about that. But I am not chosen.
I cannot choose Christ. Christ is the one whom issues the call and then chooses few from whom He has called.
He is God Incarnate. I am not God. I cannot save myself. My righteousness is as filthy menstrual rags.
Even so that is okay, just, and good. I can accept that.
Just because I am damned does not mean that others need be.
Yes I may know about Christ.
But it is far more important that Christ knows you than what you know about Christ.
Good, very good Tom. Not many people know that the Hebrew literal translation from filthy rags as the King James attests, really is menstrual rags. I have worked on heavy equipment all my life, and never really understood about any self-imputed righteousness I had was like menstrual rags. After all, enough orange cleaner and you were good as new. But menstrual rags hit me like a hammer when I came to understand the true meaning. After all, your self-imputed righteousness comes from the inside, and it is not righteous at all. But like menstrual rags. All you wrote is truth, but Tom, you have forgotton a few facts. Just look at Paul.
He was called by God, but beforethat he persecuted the church with zeal, until he was blinded on the donkey headed to Damascus to persecute yet more believers. He then repented and turned his life around. He wrote most of the New Testament, but yet in Romans 7, starting with vs 14: "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15: For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16: If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17: Now then it is no more I that do it but sin dwelleth in me. 18: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19: For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20: Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21: I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22: For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man; 23: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity into the law of sin which is in my members. 24: O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
So Tom, even Paul wrestled with the wages of sin. So do you Tom, but you present Christ through the testomony of his word. I would suggest that you lighten up on yourself, and accept this also from Paul: 2 Corinthians 4 vs 1: Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2: But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God decietfully; but by manifestations of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them. 5: For we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servents for Jesus sake. 6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
Final verses Tom from Romans 3 vs 19: Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall be no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21: But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being whitnessed by the law and the prophets: 22: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith if Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24: Being justified freely by his grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remissions of sins that are past; through the forbearance of God. 26: To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27: Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of law. 29: Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31: Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
So Tom, we are not justified through our works, but by the grace (love) by which God himself sent his perfect son, to atone for our sins. If you are a beliver, then you are justified through his Son's sacrafice, to boldly come in and cry Abba, Dear Abba, we love you. And be heard.
Find peace Tom in these words of God, and continue to do the Lord's work that he has called you to do. If you believe, by definition; you are not condemned. I have not found that you speak God's words deceitfully, so in the truth you speak, you are chosen.
Thus God's truth Tom; I ask that you receive it.
Wild Tree, from Romans 11
Maybe so, but at least you're tall...
"What seems to be, is, to those to whom it seems to be."
-- William Blake
How about you just let them bask in their faith and if it doesn't float your boat, just scroll on past their comments? It's easy to be nice and leave people alone to be who they are. It takes effort to do what you just did.
Some people do work very hard at being pricks.
Because their beliefs cause great harm to all, here are just a few examples:
1. All these diverse mythological cult worshiping defective brains divide humans into factions, each convinced that they alone believe in the "absolute ultimate truth", and that all the other factions are heretics, and that has been since the beginning of humans, and continues to be, a major root cause of destructive conflict and war.
2. These mythological cult worshiping defective brains are the leaders in oppression and repression for all new ideas, especially those that challenge their dogma, eg the earth revolves around the sun, sexual preference is evil and must be punished, including by death, even though it may actually be genetically programmed, and teh list goes on, and on, and on, and on, ....
The list is very long, but spending time enumerating to minds sealed shut by mythological dogam is futile.
Quite amusing how the irony escapes as you decries others for dividing by insisting on an absolute truth while you do th same. Your mind seems hermetically sealed.
Then why does such a bright, open-minded genius like you keep venting on about it? Why not have a spasm about the cult of global warming where buying carbon credits from Goldman Sachs will save the world?
The pile of bodies from you rationalists/objectivists/whatever stupid misnomer you apply to your paganism, cannot be rivaled.
In fact, Planned Murderhood just released their homicide list. 327,653 just last year alone.
Paganism is big bidness. Planned Parenthood also received $528.4 million from government grants and reimbursements, which equaled 41 percent of its revenue.
Spoken eloquently like the closed-minded rot-brained dogmatist that you are.
Fetuses are not hominem, therefore they cannot be homicided, except in the fantasy world of mythological dogma that plays out in the vacuous cranial-cavities feeble-minded, ie you and all your kind.
"fetus" is simply a desriptive term to describe one portion of the the span of human development and life. It is an artificial descriptor. Your arrogant dismissal of those whose artificial descriptor doesn't match your artificial, an illogical, descriptor only shows that in some humans intellectual development ends long before development of the body does.
STFU... your arguments are low brow and insulting. Go back to te Huffo Post.. you will find your fellow mindless debaters there.
ROFL@ the 'rationalist'. Keep confessing, we'll get to your murderous heart post-haste I'm certain.
You are a thoughtful and eloquent hominid.
I'm guessing you see too many people in the world.
Would you be kind enough to stand next to the exit, please?
It's true that "religion" has caused a lot of conflict in the world. If you could figure out all the wars that were started either by bankers, by greed, or by those motivated in religious causes, you might have just about all the wars. But not all religions are created equal. Let me tell you some of the things that have happened through my "religion":
*People have been instantly delivered from addiction to alcohol.
*People have been instantly delivered from addiction to smoking.
*People have been instantly delivered from addiction to drugs.
*People have been instantly healed from cancer and all kinds of diseases.
*People that could not walk before have gotten up out of wheel chairs and walked.
Do all these things sound so bad??? Where is the evil in all this?
By the way, if you will check the record, some of the great scientists were very religious. What you are talking about are false flag attacks. The Devil puts on religious clothes and does something bad, and God gets the blame!!! Instead of lumping all religions together (including the ones created by the Devil), I suggest you investigate and evaluate a little more.
In old times a system of laws and justice was given to restrain the Jewish people. But when Jesus came, He raised the standard and he was no longer giving laws for a nation... He was giving guidelines for the church, and He didn't need to instruct us to kill anyone. I would go so far as to say that anyone that will kill another human being is not following the true religion. Someone in the true religion would rather die himself than kill another. Now that is peace!!!
Beliefs cannot cause harm. People have used these beliefs to kill for the purpose of gaining power, perverting these beliefs along the way.
more valuable than any market tips you will get today... God bless you HH for your enduring desire to prosper in liberty and freedom, all of which are mercifully and gracefully granted to us by God when we humble our hearts before Him.
This song is for you HH. Thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKoYT4febHM
Fantastic! You made our morning.
Thank you!
Great article HH.
Since you enjoyed that Corb song, check this one out, its an anthem for thrivalists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uASQgLwaIs
Yeah you had to be there to get it. Took me a few scowls before I thought it funny and true LOL.
Great tune man...love that black guitar!
Very nice and informative, thank you.
The main obstacle for many (me included) is the lack of farms in cities.
Happy New Year!
There is the practical value of minimizing one's risk to exposure via diversification.
Providing for one's own future security requires careful planning, time, money, and labor, all together in a multi-tiered, multifaceted approach.
Regardless what one sees as the most pressing or most likely threat to occur, whether man made or a natural disaster, financial collapse or an EMP type event, whatever, the basic needs required during any sudden and dramatic type an event are pretty much the same, i.e., food, water, shelter, personal defense.
If all of what I have been learning through careful study here at ZH and elsewhere applies, consider then:
What to plan for? Regardless the type of natural or man made disaster, the basic needs remain the same. What will change is the particular set of circumstances in which you find yourself. For example, will you need to leave the area in a hurry, or could you opt to stay? In either instance, how will you provide for your own basic needs, and for how long?
Across the board, there will be the onset of some type event, the interim during which you may need to rely on self to provide for yourselves the basic necessities, and the reset after which the infrastructure is in place across your community from which to obtain said necessities. The tremendous variable within each of these three phases outside of anyone's ability to determine is the length of duration in terms of time.
If whatever disaster that were going to happen did in fact happen, and you aren't forced to leave, how would you get your garden planted if it happens to be the month of October? Do you have enough long term food storage to bridge the gap from the onset of winter to the next harvest in late summer? And, where would you get the seeds to do so if you didn't already have them on hand, and now had to compete with everyone else in need of procuring them? If a garden were successfully grown, how would you preserve the harvest through the onset of the now upcoming second winter through to, again, the next harvest?
Individual planning considerations must be applied to:
Bugging out- when, where, what and how / food, water, shelter, self defense / during onset, interim, reset.
Shelter in place- when, where, what and how / food, water, shelter, self defense / during onset, interim, reset
"the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand"
You got the polarity wrong: the Kingdom of HELL is at hand.
Bible prophecy is quite literally fascinating stuff. I'm amazed that more people don't see how much was prophecied and came true. In Jesus Christ aloine over 350 prophecies were fulfilled some written 1,000 years before He was born and were very specific and came true (e.g. sold out for 30 pieces of silver, the piecring of his side and blood pouring out, not a bone was broken to name a few). The only possible explanation for why people don't bleieve He was who He says He was is spiritual blindness.
http://www.accordingtothescriptures.org/prophecy/353prophecies.html