The Barbados Beach Club

Though this may come as a surprise to some people even yet, New Testament Christians didn’t observe Sunday, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, “saints’ days” or any of the syncretic celebrations that accreted from the second century of our era onward. They observed the Sabbath, Festivals and Holy Days – “the appointed times of the LORD (מועדי יהוה)” – that Israel (when obedient to God) had always kept (Leviticus 23). The first Christians (who were Jewish by descent) taught the Gentiles who joined with them to do likewise (cf. Matthew 5:17-20; 28:18-20).

Colossians 2:16-17 (a most misunderstood passage) shows that the first Christians kept these days in a new spirit, as “shadows of the things to come”: of what Jesus Christ had done, continued to do and would yet do to save His Church, His nation Israel and ultimately the whole world. They were not limited by all the strictures of the Law of Moses (let alone of later Judaic halakhah or Gnostic philosophy) in their observance, however (same passage, rightly rendered from the Received Text: “but [let the Church,] the Body of the Christ, [judge these matters]“).  Nor were they limited to Jerusalem as their place of observance (cf. John 4:19-26). These realities became all the more pertinent when Second Temple Jerusalem fell in 70 AD and it was no longer possible to carry out the ceremonies associated with the Law of Moses.

The Living Church of God, being an organization with congregations all over the world, has sites where it observes the Feast of Tabernacles in many different countries. This year I had the opportunity to keep the Feast outside my native United States for the first time, and I chose to go to the island of Barbados. I already had a pen pal there (what does one call a “pen pal” or “pen friend” in this age of the Internet?) and wanted to meet him; but I also wanted to “stretch myself” by encountering a cultural and ethnic mix different from what one can find in the U.S., or what I had found even in Israel or London, England. As it happens, the LCG kept the Feast of Tabernacles this year at the Barbados Beach Club.

Part of my pre-trip research was in that ever-handy starting point, Wikipedia. Interestingly, this source claims: ”Barbados’s Human Development Index ranking is consistently among the top 75 countries in the world. In report published on October 5 2009, it was ranked 37th in the world, and third in the Americas, behind Canada and the United States.” On arrival I found that true to Wikipedia’s hints, Barbados has a fascinating blend (even in its often-flagrantly-unzoned architecture) of old and new, rich, middle-class and poor, African, European, and Asian. Economically (I was told)  it is much better off than most of the Caribbean, although I suspect that could change quickly if world finances seriously impact its chief source of income, tourism.

The one obstacle I feared on my trip – tropical heat and humidity – was there as expected. Mercifully, Barbados has and uses air conditioning, although perhaps not as much as Houston, TX. Also the weather was unusually rain-free for that time of year. I found that even the insects were rather laid-back. Mosquitos that would lunge for the capillaries in desperate hunger in Houston seemed surprisingly few and lazy in Barbados, as if to say, “There’s no hurry, really. The human has to go to sleep sometime.” And that was the only time I got bitten by anything: while I was asleep (twice). Maybe I was just specially blessed, or maybe the bugs are worse in the interior. But on a bus trip there, I wasn’t bothered at all. Nor did I get more than a touch of sunburn (one application of sunscreen, on the day in question, did the trick).

And as for the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles itself, plus the eighth day – what the Jews call (based on biblical Hebrew texts such as Nehemiah 8:18) Sheminit Atseret, and what we (based on John 7:37) call the Last Great Day? The focus of this period is on the services: hymns, sermonette, sermon, and Special Music (not necessarily in that order). Between the featured local elders and the visiting speakers, we had outstanding spiritual nourishment, just as I hear was true elsewhere this year. The Special Music was good to outstanding, and I was kept busy playing hymns most of the Feast. And meeting the brethren – sometimes-challenging local accent and all – was a blessing. It took me some time to break the ice with some of the older people, but my own turn at Special Music did the trick at last (thank God, my musical performances usually do). There were also abundant opportunities for fellowship on trips (island tour, caravan cruise, submarine cruise) and over meals.

Oh yes…let’s raise a glass of local rum punch to that fine local delicacy, flying fish! This is the official national fish of Barbados. Unhappily (as you will read), the flying fish is encountering serious problems in that part of the world.

I have on Photobucket two slideshows of photos from Barbados: all that turned out. This slideshow (250 photos) and this slideshow (40 photos) will give you a good taste of my experiences in Barbados. (No, the young man in the first slideshow isn’t dancing; he’s demonstrating kung fu moves for me. I have a video of another demonstration he did for me – maybe, with his permission, it will show up on YouTube.)

Best wishes in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

"The Spirit or Genius of the European" - Emil Pearson

Recently I received something new from Interstrength Associates (founded by Dr. Linda Berens). (Its book list is here; a list of related links is here; and one of those links, a PR release of interest, is here). I refer to the workbook Character and Personality Type by Dr. Dario Nardi (whose “best-fit” personality type, he says, is INTJ).

The workbook was written in 1999, before Dr. Berens set aside Dr. David Keirsey’s famous names for the four temperaments in favor of names more suggestive of the roles those temperaments play in organizations (those newer names are the subject of the PR release). Thus the workbook uses Dr. Keirsey’s names. Otherwise, Dr. Nardi’s writing style is as closely reasoned as a computer program, which gives quite a different flavor from the workbooks authored by ENFP Dr. Berens. (Not surprisingly, I as an ENFP find Dr. Berens’ workbooks somewhat easier to follow! I really have to engage my “developed-self” INTJ mode to follow Dr. Nardi.) But I find the book fascinating and helpful in its insights, which have to do with “life themes” and the “flavors” within various personality types.

I could sum up what I’ve learned about this subject in one sentence: “Character is what you do about your personality.”

Best wishes in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

"The Spirit or Genius of the European" - Emil Pearson

While looking for an article I wanted to show a friend, I stumbled across something more useful in the long run. Here on Google is the text of a workbook called “Multiple Intelligences and Personality Type” by Dario Nardi, who co-authored the article I was trying to find. I’ve been wanting to order this workbook (part of a series of which I have four, all authored or co-authored by Linda Berens), but for the moment I can now read it online. And now that I know this book is online, perhaps Google Books has the workbooks I have online too so I can point others to them. But that can wait – I have other fish to fry!

Best wishes in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

(Update 2009-10-13: I found the workbook for resale via Amazon.com and a third-party supplier. Not only must it be out-of-print, it must also be much in demand, for it was selling for what was probably seven or eight times its original price. I can hardly afford that much for a book of any kind, but on the other hand the information is so important to so many things I’m doing that I can hardly not afford it either. And in addition, I’ve ordered Dr. Nardi’s latest workbook, which is in print by its original publisher and apparently much-anticipated and appreciated. It’s also much more reasonably priced.)

From Wikipedia Commons

It’s been so long that I’ve been able to write any posts on my blogs that I’ve been wondering if I’d ever get back to them. Well, even if not many actually read them, I need the writing practice, and if they profit only a few people, still, every profit counts.

So let me get back into the swing of things with something light. Today a Facebook Friend and I (acquainted some years now through a poetry BBS) were discussing an aspect of contemporary politics, and I was reminded of the famous “You Have Two Cows” jokes about economics and politics. I was curious to see what was online about them, and I found a Bing list with a good many entries (including Wikipedia, Unencyclopedia, About.com and this one). If you want to spend a good long afternoon wasting time and laughing at human nature in the process, this might be just the mooooove you need to make.

Best wishes in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

P.S.: Check out the tale of the world’s smartest cow…what if there were two of them?

The Ark of the Covenant

There has been so much political debate about health care in the U.S. that it’s almost impossible to see the forest for the trees. The truth is, no solution is going to work unless God’s whole way of life (as outlined in the Bible and as backed by honest empirical science) is taken into account — and doing that would change the United States completely beyond recognition (for the better, but utterly). In that light, I’m delighted to see this article about the health care crisis on the Tomorrow’s World Web site, which is sponsored by the Living Church of God.

This article on America’s status as a Christian nation (to which the former article is linked) is most relevant too, but so much more could be said on that topic. I say something more from my own perspective on this morning’s edition of LCG Scribe.

Peace in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

Bloom Country (reprinted 2009-08-07)

Musically speaking, the 1950’s are sometimes considered the Age of Schmaltz. “Schmaltz”, originally a Yiddish word for “chicken fat” (prepared in a particular way as a butter substitute), has come to mean “effusive or even excessive sentimentality; maudlin”. (That’s my paraphrase of how the different definitions intersect.) That certainly seems to describe the chief trait of much of the popular music at the time…not that everyone minds such effusion of romantic emotion (see above)!

This line of thinking came up because one of my friends happens to be a lover of Bobby Vinton’s music, apparently without distinction (although to be fair, he’s never said his appreciation goes that far). I can’t say the same. As with every other artist, excluding only the biblical psalmists and prophets, I appreciate some of Bobby Vinton’s work and some of it I don’t. Given my longtime study of the mechanics of music itself and my recent study of the mechanics of personality, I wondered why this is so with me.

I’m not certain enough of my friend’s personality type to deal here with how our personalities (as such) deal with Bobby Vinton’s music. But on consideration I realized that much of Vinton’s music takes lyrics expressing private sentiments and sets them to music that is best suited to express public sentiments (that’s where the “schmaltzy” quality comes in). Other songs he sang express private values lyrically in a private, intimate way musically, and those strike me as his worthwhile songs (not “schmaltzy” at all, but rather heartwarmingly romantic). I haven’t heard yet if any of his songs combined public sentiments lyrically with public sentiments musically, but I’m thinking that those too would strike me as worthwhile. Vinton was undeniably a very talented and heartfelt singer at his prime.

It occurred to me then that one finds these distinctions across the board in many genres of music, sacred and secular. I have the same reactions to John Denver’s music (for example) for the same reasons, and Denver has been one of my favorite artists for a long time. Musicians and composers (and poets too) seem to have a hard time remembering the distinction between public and private values, and that if you have words with private values, then your music should express private values too (the same goes for expressions of public values).

It occurred to me then that seldom if ever has music ever been “in the balance” in human history. One thought process, one temperament or social style or personality type, or even one truly psychotic frame of mind, keeps on predominating at the expense of the rest of what music should express. Personal preferences, which are a matter of “taste”, keep on being set up as the standard by which all music (and art) should be judged. The sad part is that if one tries to point out that there are objective standards by which music can and should be judged, many cannot or will not accept that statement. They’d rather keep their own tastes unchanged and sometimes make out that one is simply trying to imposes his own tastes on them. Yes, sometimes that happens, but when someone claims there are objective standards, he at least deserves to be given a hearing.

In terms of personality type, I’m an ENFP. I like certain kinds of music by natural preference for that reason. But I’m not such a fool as to want to impose what are merely my personal preferences on everyone else. Why? Because there is an objective biblical standard of what “good” music is and should be, one that transcends my personality type, my culture, my tastes and my biases; and it’s helped me learn to pick and choose among the songs of various artists in various styles, genres and time periods. Truly, in music as in everything else, the Bible is the foundation of knowledge. I only wish that more people understood both Hebrew and music composition and theory, so that they could benefit as I have from encountering this foundation directly.

One thing the biblical chant has taught me as a poet-composer is how to express private values privately and public values publicly; in the Hebrew Bible, the music changes to fit the characteristics of the words. Many of the Psalms are private prayers that were eventually performed publicly, but despite their intensity of emotion they aren’t “schmaltzy”; the music is turned inward, as are the words. Others, of course, are public hymns of praise and thanksgiving, again in words and music alike. One could say that introverted lyrics demand introverted music (so that the “energy flow” of both is turned inward), and extraverted lyrics demand extraverted music (so that the “energy flow” of both is turned outward). Now why should it be so hard for some musicians and composers of so many genres to keep that basic technique in mind?

Peace in Jesus Christ (שלום בישיע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

The Earth

I had the dubious privilege of seeing the film Blast From the Past at a friend’s house last Saturday night. “Dubious” because thanks to the Law of Unintended Consequences, the film shows just how far our society has degenerated since the days of the Cuban missile crisis (1962) to 1997 (the year in which the main action of the film takes place) — and draws its comedic material via contrasting then and now. Hoo boy…

As the Virginia Slims cigarette commercials used to put it, “You’ve come a long way, baby…” Of course, the same argument could effectively be made about the famous Wagon Rides of Death that Calvin and Hobbes used to go through…

It says much about our society that after seeing something like Blast From the Past, or a serious documentary saying the same thing, its members aren’t (as they should be) calling for fasting, mourning and repentence before their Creator. We may have been on the brink of Mutual Assured Destruction (thanks to mutual paranoia) in 1962, but in such times of crisis people tend to remember basic distinctions of right and wrong. We are forgetting them, fast…and the trend started really rolling at Fort Huron in 1960, although the seeds had been sown many decades earlier.

Peace in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)

One of my great pleasures in life is creating videos based on The Music of the Bible Revealed by Suzanne Haik-Vantoura. Besides being terrific on my computer or on self-produced DVDs, they’re ideal for promotion on YouTube, Facebook and many other places where modern technology allows them to go. Thus the entrenched resistance to new ideas that is found in some quarters of Rabbinic Judaism, Masoretic studies and ethnomusicology can be circumvented, for the sake of those who are willing to seek out the truth and demonstrate to themselves that it is the truth. (In that direction, I’m glad to help anyone I’m able to the fullest extent that I can.) I feature my videos on two YouTube channels: rakkav (my personal channel) and especially teamim (my dedicated channel).

Just yesterday I created a short test video of Genesis 1:1-5 as performed by Esther Lamandier (see the button, upper left, for the cover of her CD). I created the video to assist my pastor in the creation of a sermon he’s giving today (and should repeat elsewhere later), as well as to edify my subscribers. A fuller discussion of the music and its implications is found on today’s edition (first article) of LCG Scribe.

The next news item concerns a request by a friend to take a look at a Web site associated with one of the 300-plus “splinter groups” that came out of the apostasy (yes, you read that right) of the main 20th-century heir of the original New Testament Church of God, the Worldwide Church of God (which is now the essentially Protestant Grace Communion International). The Web site my friend asked me to look at has this greeting. I know next to nothing of the founder of this particular sect (although I’ve heard of him, thanks to my immediate supervisor in the Living Church of God), but my friend says that his family’s much taken by the man’s point of view and wonders if I could help him refute it. Well, it’s been my experience that once one gets into a heretical frame of mind (as Paul defined it: essentially “opinionatedness” masquerading as a love of the truth), there is little any human being can do about it; such a one is self-condemned (Titus 3:8-11). My brother and fellow worker in Christ over at COGwriter specializes in refuting various heresies; that takes more time and energy (including emotional energy) than I can muster, and I have no idea what grace is upon him that he can do it. But today’s edition (second article) of LCG Scribe will deal a little with what the web site of the soi-disant Church of God’s Faithful has to say.

Finally, there is the matter of an experiment that I’ve been running on Authspot.com (a subsidiary of the online publishing site Triond.com) for somewhat over a year now. All my life I’d been struggling with how to master my own capacity for fantasy and role-playing, and not long before my 49th birthday I decided to start writing out my ideas in a serious and steady way. In so doing, I started coming to grips with what my subconscious mind has been trying to tell me for a long time, and it prompted me to start looking at the cutting edge of analytical psychology (as based on Carl Jung’s insights on personality types). Now that I’ve progressed far enough into personality type theory, I’m finding out that a number of my chief characters (and in particular my decades-old literary alter ego, now named Chris Alan Starbright) are really psychological archetypes being played out.

I am beginning to think, then, that my fictional endeavors have outlived their usefulness to me. First, writing speculative fiction of the sort I’ve been doing is tremendously time- and energy-consuming, and both are at a premium in my life right now. Second, and perhaps more important, just having the concepts in my head seems to make it more difficult to discern truth from fiction all around, especially in my efforts to correlate the Bible with the rest of the world. It is as if my fictional ideas act as a spiritual parasite, just by existing. (Sometimes I’m able to keep the beast at bay, as it were, better than others, but I don’t trust those times when I can’t — because they indicate a deeper problem in my opinion.) Third, much of what I deal with in my fiction may be misunderstood and (potentially) misrepresented by other people. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll erase all or most of my fiction from Triond, but I’m considering it seriously. There are more direct and much more edifying ways of dealing with my archetypes through Jungian psychology itself, and I have an excellent teacher who can help me in this.

Have a blessed Sabbath, everyone!

Best wishes in Jesus Christ (שלום בישוע המשיח),
John Wheeler (יוחנן רכב)