Feature Article:
The Year of the Dragon
We've just finished celebrating Chinese New Year here in Taiwan, and I'll tell you guys a dirty little secret: A number of people here in Taiwan are not all that crazy about this lengthy holiday that is typically about seven or eight days long, sees many business establishments closed for much of that, and occurs in January or February when the weather tends to be chilly and drizzly.
But worst of all, no matter where you go in Taiwan during Chinese New Year, it is absolutely guaranteed to be packed to overflowing with people who are just as desperate as you are to get out of the house and go somewhere and do something. As it is sometimes sarcastically opined in Taiwan in regard to this traditional holiday of holidays, which for people here is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the regular New Year's celebration all rolled into one:
"Taiwan is a small island nation with about 23 million people and about 23 good places to visit. Do the math."
Articles Over the Past Year:
Click the pic to go to the article.
Index of all articles.
A Blast from the Past:
NOV '16: Red Herrings
Atheists point to the eclectic array of world religions and laugh at those who believe in the God of the Bible—but the joke is on them...only it's not funny.
Red Herrings
I've been spending a lot of time over the last few months on Quora, a question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, edited and organized by its community of users. Users receive a daily digest of submitted questions in their email, and you can follow links to view whatever answers have been posted. People are free to post a response to any question they please, and people can specify their areas of interest so they receive a greater percentage of questions related to those topics.
Surprise! I chose religion.
As my Quora digest has arrived in my Gmail account on a daily basis, bristling with various questions related to God, the Bible, and religion in general (as well as a few other topics that interest me), I have noticed a pervasive atheistic undercurrent that runs deep through the bowels of Quora—and I can't say I'm shocked. Quora seems to attract a healthy number of young, liberal, progressive, anti-God types who tend to dismiss born-again believers as deluded dimwits with the arrogant sense of superiority that has become the default attitude of today's "enlightened" society in recent years.
Weekly Commentary:
3/12/2024 — From the "Calling Evil Evil" Department...
I couldn't resist commenting on the following story because (a) it's almost comical, and (b) it's a quintessential snapshot of what's wrong with American culture today—especially in the field of entertainment—as it succumbs to the siren song of the woke agenda and careens toward the rocks.
According to what most Hollywood insiders are reportedly viewing as a reliable report, an unnamed Disney executive recently shared his theory as to why the entertainment titan has been releasing a steady stream of box-office bombs in the last few years.
Now, you might think it could be pinned on such things as production problems, strikes by writers or studio personnel, conflicts among cast members, and so on and so forth. After all, the movie business is no walk in the park, and there is certainly no guarantee of success.
The average American might consider some of these and other things as possibly contributing to Disney's demise.
But no...apparently they would be wrong.
That unnamed executive pinned the blame for Disney's seemingly endless string of flaming box-office flops on something that I guarantee you not one single American would think of:
Bigoted fans!
Of course, in reality it might have something to do with the fact that Disney is openly and desperately shoving the LGBT agenda down the throats of fans (and their innocent children). Yes, Disney—arguably once the most family-friendly company in America. According to some, going for quantity over quality is another factor. Betting the house on over-budget, can't-miss blockbusters that miss by a mile is another, according to some Hollywood pundits.
Oh, but no...the real problem is obvious, isn't it?
The real reason for Disney's string of box-office disasters is the fact that there are so many fans out there who are so darn bigoted! Who knew?!
According to this executive, when fans complain about their children being force-fed LGBT propaganda and plead with Disney to simply "make better movies," what they really mean is:
"...make movies that conform to regressive gender stereotypes or put men front and center in the narrative."
(You know, those "regressive gender stereotypes," like the Neanderthal idea that you're born a boy or a girl and that settles it! And excuse me...but put men front and center in the narrative?! Gads, how positively binary!)
As one fan commented:
"Disney's head is so far in the sand that they call their consumers *bigoted* for not buying their woke products. A major shake up at the top is needed to restore the excellence that Walt Disney himself created."
Of course, you don't exactly have to be a Scripture maven to see that the woke agenda is satanic to the core, and designed to help blind the minds of legions of people to the truth of the gospel while institutions they could once trust brazenly and foolishly call evil good and good evil.
And pardon me if this comes across as a bit blunt, but that means that as born-again believers, we have no business passively going along with it or agreeably acquiescing to it. We are obligated by Scripture to speak the truth in love—and that involves calling evil evil and giving it no quarter in our lives.
And since we're on the subject, I want to share with you my own personal little twist on this whole "woke" thing:
WOKE = Willingly Open to Known Evil.
Oh, and a "major shakeup at the top" is not going to fix this and make it all better. The forces of darkness are gaining too much power and control for that to happen to any substantial degree in the foreseeable future—so don't make the mistake of looking forward to any such thing. On the contrary. According to Scripture, we can expect things to get worse.
And rather than a "major shakeup at the top," the only thing we should be looking forward to is a "major catching-up to the top"—that is, to be caught up into the clouds to be with our Lord and Savior.
Now that's gonna be a real blockbuster!
I've already got my ticket...and I pray you have yours.
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1. Adapted from Sunset Over Grass Field © AOosthuizen at Can Stock Photo
2. China Lights Dragon © darksideOfPink at Depositphotos
3. Offshoot Growth Concept © lightsource at Depositphotos
4. Silhouette of a Man and Telescope Under the Starry Skies © milangucci at Depositphotos
5. Adapted from AI-Generated Steam Locomotive by Franz26 (cropped, resized, text added) via Pixabay
6. Adapted from Operation Breaking Dawn IX © IDF Spokesperson's Unit (resized, cropped, recolored, text added) [CC BY-SA 3.0]
7. Adapted from Sodom and Gomorrah by John Martin artist QS:P170,Q937096, marked as public domain [PD], more details on Wikimedia Commons
8. Man Frustrated With His Laptop © VladimirFloyd at Fotosearch
9. Adapted from 9a–9c:
9a. Devil With Horns and Tail © Sylverarts at Can Stock Photo
9b. Moses © LironPeer at Can Stock Photo
9c. Mirror © lereen at Can Stock Photo
10. UFO Flying Saucer © Ant at Can Stock Photo
11. Adapted from Book © Colour59 at Can Stock Photo
12. Adapted from 12a–12c:
12a. Old Brass Magic Lamp © Radnatt at Can Stock Photo
12b. Money Bag With Dollar Sign © ADragan at Can Stock Photo
12c. Goat in a Flock of Sheep © edomor at Can Stock Photo
13. Hints with Magnifier © novelo at Can Stock Photo
14. Adapted from Hand-Drawn Olive Tree © Liubou at Can Stock Photo
15. Adapted from Herring © rufar at Adobe Stock
16. Sidebar: Israel Will Be Delivered by Greg Lauer (own work)
17. Sidebar: Wherever I stand, I stand with Israel by Greg Lauer (own work)
18. Sidebar: Don't Mess With Israel by Greg Lauer (own work)
Scripture Quotations:
All Scripture is taken from the World English Bible, unless specifically annotated as the King James Version (KJV) or the American King James Version (AKJV).