Genesis 25: Jacob vs. Esau

Jacob	Esau
Deceitful	Profane
Cerebral	Active Doer
----	Hairy
Values Inheritance	Sells Birthright
Gather	Hunter
Bean Eater	Game-Meat Hunter
Calculative	Impulsive
Matriarachal Approval by Rebekah	Patriarchal Approval by Isaac
Cook	Hunter
God’s Desire	Own Desire
Sleeps in Tent	Sleeps in Field

Haiku for Matthew 27

Jerusalem in darkness 

on a cross-work of wood 

one light house at sea.

Study in Joshua Chapter 7:1-26

God will Find It ALL OUT

See the folly of those that promise themselves secrecy in sin.  Te righteous God has many ways of being to light the hidden works of darkness....We must pray with holy Job, Lord, show me wherefore those contendest with me.

Shinny Things

Suffering comes when the heart walks after the eyes... (if our eyes wonder) than we shall be sure to weep for it.... that which is pleasing in the commission, is bitter in the reflection. (Matthew Henry 223)

Man's Image Accountability

You are not reducible. You are not a net zero, or a number (0 or 1) in a hyper-textual-networked-machine.  You are the sons of God representing his glory here in this battle torn world. As a son or daughter of God we are accountable for all our actions.   We are his, when aligned with him, ambassadors in a fallen world. 

We have been crucified with Christ so that we are no longer enslaved to sin.   

Our sins in Christ have been paid, so don't waiver, don't store away secret sins, and attempt to cover your tracks.   This is something that can not be done, for God digs and exposes all of our sins.

 Romans 8:1 We are accountable for our actions.   

The Real Battle Royale

Deus Contra Mundum: God Versus the World (of Man)

Hugh J. Blair in his commentary on Joshua states: "Israel was now a nation, and the sin of the individual was the sin of the nation until the nation repudiated it and expedition was made." pg 241

To The Arguement: This is Just Old Man, Old Testament God

Not so, look at Acts 5:1-11 God cares about all of our sins.   And will be patient until the right time to root all of them out... on his prescribed day.... 

What can I do about this

1. Align your mind through the renewal of it in God's word-first thing in the morning and in the afternoon, and before one goes to bed.  God's word is something that will arm us with all that we need to walk in this world of the walking Dead.  
2. Run Rabit Run Run Run from all of the sins of the world.  Don't allow the sins to croch at your door.  Root it out, like a hog does to the brush, and find out all that needs to be repented, find the roots and dig them out.
3. Find a good church, a group of confessing sinners who understand the sinful nature of man, and understand that it is a big deal to sin.   But being sinners they can support the sinner  out of genuine  love. 
4. Accountability buddies who will keep us on the straight and narrow road; for along our adventure there will be many things that may tempt the eyes.  
5. Remember that ye represent not only yourself, but also the holy journey of others... you can't help others if you can't help yourself.  And we all need each other to get through this war of the spirit.

The Message on Joshua 7:10-13

^10-12 God said to Joshua, "Get up. Why are you groveling? Israel has sinned: They've broken the covenant I commanded them; they've taken forbidden plunder—stolen and then covered up the theft, squirreling it away with their own stuff. The People of Israel can no longer look their enemies in the eye—they themselves are plunder. I can't continue with you if you don't rid yourselves of the cursed things.

 ¹³ "So get started. Purify the people. Tell them: Get ready for tomorrow by purifying yourselves. For this is what God, the God of Israel, says: There are cursed things in the camp. You won't be able to face your enemies until you have gotten rid of these cursed things. (The Message)

Read the Passage-Joshua 7:1-26: ESV Passage

Message Passage

Picture was taken by Jessica Baylor Rothbard at the Sun And Fun Air Show April 3 2011

Redeemer Presbyterian Roasted the Whole Hog  It was Delicious.

Studies in Joshua 6-No April Fools Joke

Outline from Emanuel Presbyterian and Charles Drew on Joshua 6

I. God Alone Brings Judgement

(Fighting without and fear within) 2 Cor 7:5)  

This was a great test of faith, and a great glory to the almighty God.   Usually when we come out of a holy victory we are prone to sin, which we will see in Joshua 7:1-26.

1. Specific Instructions by God for Joshuah to follow. Step by step outlined. 
2. Key action is from God: Shouts and the walls come tumbling down.
3. Military formation.  (Arc of the Covenant, followed by Priests blowing horns, followed by the Silent People Walking). 
4. Number Seven, occurs again and again in this passage.
• Seven priests
• seven trumpets
• seven days
• seven circuits of the walls on the seventh day
5. Everything is devoted to destruction. This is not their battle for their needs or wants, they are to destroy it all.  This is not about your gain its about God's Judgement.  (Joshua 6:17-21 and 26).
•  Also had they taken gains they would risk Jericho's illness and contamination. 
6. The battle itself is not the focus (Joshua 6:19-20)  The focus is not on soldiers and their battle; its on the glory of God, his strength alone.  (The soldiers are silent witnesses.)
7. The battle is a holy battle not framed by the actions of man.  (Joshua 5:13-15)

II. Patient Waiting: Take Warning

1. 6 Days the people marched around Jericho! Why did the people of Jericho not repent and come towards God! God waits to fill up the people of Jericho with total lack of God. (Genesis 15) "Inequity of the Amorites is not yet complete." (Joshua 11:19-Gibeonites made a treaty of peace with the Israelites.) People of Jericho may have had an opportunity to repent, but the people of Jericho failed to do so.   
• Put your lives in perspective.
• Inequity fills up, there is time to repent before Judgement.
• Taking out the weeds may take out the wheat.

III. God's Mercy Is Great and God's People are Truthful

God's kindness brings a sinner to repentance.

Rahab the prostitute was spared from the destruction of the people in Jericho.  

Hebrews 11:31 

 Acts 14:31 

God shows the weight of a Devine curse, where it rests there is no getting out from under it; for it brings ruin without remedy. 

 M., Henry,. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible: Nelson's Concise Series. City: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000. 

Note in I Kings XVI:34 Ahab rebuilds Jericho, this was against the warning sent by God to never rebuild the city again.   Ahab sacrificed two of his sons in order to rebuild this once mighty city.   Ahab became a curse without remedy.  

Connection to Your Life:

What does it mean that God is the sole Judger and Executioner in Joshua?  

Where does prayer belong here?  

What does it mean to be silent, and when does man need to speak up?  

What does it mean that we are people of peace?   

What's keeping you from repenting and coming closer to God?  

Where are you not being transparent in your Christian Walk? 

What do you do when you are away from godly friends, your curtains are drawn, and no one knows but you and God, that you may need to repent of and walk away from? (Be sober minded.)

Joshuah Fought the Battle of Jericho by Mahalia Jackson

Classic Worship Songs: Doxology

Studies in Joshua-3:1-17

At thy voice of thunder so fearful they be,
         That in their great raging they haste soon away. 

Joshua 3:1-17 To cross over the Jordan.  The symbol of all the mighty rivers we must cross.   Lets love each other as an army of believers who all have Jordans to cross.

According to Charles Drew in his Sermon Study of Joshua the Jordan represents-

1. a huge obstacle, one that we can not conquer on our own.
2. Obstacles in our lives that are more than annoying. 

• Up stream should not make you fear, for the LORD has already made the truth occur, he has a plan, he has a will, and his will is always done to the Glory of his name. 
• The arc goes before us in all that we do, even in brushing our hair.  
• He bears the hard rain himself so the flood dissipates.

Golf and Water Hazards

  If you look at the Water Hazard the ball is a magnet to the water.   I was afraid of hitting trees when I played junior golf.   One day, I wanted to impress my golf mates, so I took out my driver; swung hard, and hit a tree;  the ball came back onto us, and we all ducked and covered.   I saw the tree as an active Ent that would step in the way of the ball and throw the ball back to me.   I gave the tree way too much power, a power that day that made us duck.  I did not look towards Christ's loving grace as already gone before I even started the swing of the club....And then I felt embarrassed and continued to play lousy, for I gave all my fears way too much power.   If you allow the Devil to hang around, he will make your life Hell.

Christian Verse

"Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day"

Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day

Didst make thy triumph over death and sin,


And having harrowed hell, didst bring away


Captivity thence captive, us to win:


This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin,


And grant that we, for whom thou diddest die,


Being with thy dear blood clean washed from sin,


May live forever in felicity:


And that thy love we weighing worthily,


May likewise love thee for the same again;


And for thy sake, that all like dear didst buy,


May love with one another entertain.


So let us love, dear love, like as we ought,


Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.

Wm. Kethe

I really like the sound here and the images they present.   It is an awesome verse   by Wm. Kethe, authored in c. 1560.

5  He groundeth the earth so firmly and fast,

That it once to move none shall have such pow'r
         The deep a fair cov'ring for it made thou hast,
         Which by its own nature the hills would devour. 
   6  But at thy rebuke the waters do flee,
      And so give due place thy word to obey:
         At thy voice of thunder so fearful they be,
         That in their great raging they haste soon away. 

Wm Kethe

Classic Worship Songs: Naked Pentecostals in a Pontiac

No, this isn't a joke. You'll find a wonderful pome about a police chase to start us off and then you'll find three newspaper articles covering naked Pentecostals -- who aren't just naked, they're naked for Jesus!

---

Twenty Naked Pentacostals in a Pontiac
Author: Chris Stuart, 1994
Album: Lonesome Town
Artist: Cornerstone
1995 Folk Era Productions

I was thumbin' my way down to Baton Rouge,
Standin' on the side of the road,
When a car pulled over and a voice cried out,
"We'll take you where you want to go."
I jumped inside, but to my surprise,
They were naked as a poor man's toes.
It was a tight situation when the whole congregation
Said the devil was in my clothes.

Twenty naked Pentacostals in a Pontiac,
   Brothers and sisters shoutin' in the back,
   Elders in the front, choir in the trunk,
   Twenty naked Pentacostals in a Pontiac.

The sermon that morning was on Adam and Eve
And the ways of the dreadful snake,
Everybody was clappin' when the preacher pointed at me,
My body began to shake.
I threw off my shirt, and my shoes and my socks,
My jeans and my BVDs.
We were all in the nude, shoutin' "halleloo!"
And singing "Sombody Touched Me."

CHORUS

We had the cruise control set to fifty-five,
When a Smokey got on our tail,
He pulled up beside, his eyes got wide,
And the siren began to wail.
We ran off the road toward the tree of life,
Lord, the future was looking bleak,
We hung on and prayed, everybody was saved,
'Cause we all knew how to turn the other cheek.

CHORUS

Deli World Faith

The daisy and selfishness

Published on February 10, 2011 in 20 SECOND Stories and Stories. 114 Comments

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Illustration by Ken CraneThis was from Paulo Coehlo one of my favorite authors.  I did not write this... though I wish I had 
Wowzer this so speaks to me... and my felt need to be self loathing.  I am just a Deli Clerk among Deli Clerks.... hmmmm!  At least there is a need for Deli Clerks.  

“I am a daisy in a field of daisies,” thought the flower. “Amidst others, it is impossible to notice my beauty.”

An angel heard what she was thinking and commented:

- But you are so pretty!

- I want to be the only one!

In order not to hear any complaints, the angel carried her off to a city square.

Some days later, the mayor went there with a gardener to make some changes to the square.

- There is nothing of interest here. Dig up the earth and plant geraniums.

- Hold on a minute! – cried out the daisy. – You’ll kill me if you do that!

- If there were some others like you, we could make some nice decoration – answered the mayor. – But there are no daisies to be found around here, and you on your own do not make a garden.

Then he tore the flower from the ground.

Classic Worship Songs: Redemption Song (Bob Marley)

Classic Worship Songs: Rebel Jesus

The Rebel Jesus (jackson browne)

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
They'll be gathering around the hearths and tales
Giving thanks for all god's graces
And the birth of the rebel jesus

Well they call him by the prince of peace
And they call him by the savior
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
As they fill his churches with their pride and gold
And their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel jesus

But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel jesus.

Born into This: Thursday Bible Study

Genesis 20:
Time: 1 Year.
Place: The Gerar
Characters: Sarah, Abimelech, Abraham.


Abraham ventured forward into Gerar, staying there for a whole year.


Gerar was a place where he was a stranger with a wife, a stranger who was the sole one responsible for how well his family dwelt in the land.  He felt that God could not be in this place.  Gods ruled the household; Abraham's household was far from this bleak barren less land.   I do know this feeling at times; my home in Longmont Colorado is far from my home in Lakeland Florida.  


Abraham attempts to take matters into his own hands.  He like all of us should have learned by now that it is never good to take matters into your own hands.  Why did he not trust God?  What was his deal?
First, Abraham did not have the hindsight that many of us have.  He was born into a household where Pagan Self Actualization was the Modus Operandi.   The Pagan World View had warped his point of view.  He was looking into the world with what he thought was clear eyes, but was actually a fun house view point.   He knew that many Gods were involved with man's fate.    Fate was clearly in the hand of the individual so the individual was responsible for shaping the future.   One was rewarded for how well one choose to live in one's "Choose Your Own Levantian Adventure".
 So Abraham continues to be between two worlds, the one distorted one, or the truth found in the LORD.  As M. Henry says, "We often trouble ourselves, and even are led into temptation and sin by groundless suspicion."
 It matters  that the truth prevails through the dimly lit horizon.

Mulengro: Charles De Lint (Review)

Mulengro Charles De Lint (Review)

Mulengro by Charles de Lint

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mulengro is seeking vengeance and purification of the Gypsies (Romany) who have gone astray in modern culture;  will the Gypsies be able to stand up to this dark force?

I enjoyed the thought that everything is possible, and our eyes can't perceive everything rationally. The book's flow is one that is not easily put down.

This book examines clearly what is real and what is more real... Jeff can't believe his eyes. Modern  science excuses this as him having a concussion. But the gypsies see another world... and their eyes have not been so conditioned as the non gypsies.

"A Question of seeing Gaji only saw what they wanted to see." p.191

De Lint’s master stroke in Mulengro is, 360 degree POV, and shifting perspectives.  He shows character motivation for all of his characters, none of the characters are flat-cut out props.

The tension builds with the shifting of viewpoints, growing deeper and deeper into the climax of the story.  But then  when the tension rises to its highest point, De Lint inserts an amusing comment from the talking cat Boboko.

One even knows the motivation of Mulengro the evil one, and can't but help thinking, “hmmm maybe he is right to do what he is doing. Haven’t the gypsies gone astray in modern life, shouldn’t he want to purify the gypsies from gypsies who have gone astray."  

 Mulengro symbols the righteous soldier of God, who cleanses cities of the ills of man.  He is what man without Christ have to look forward to. Thank you LORD for having mercy on us sinners.

Mulengro is addictive fiction, exploring the interplay between the life of the gypsy and the life of the modern man.

 What does it mean to purify a race to make a stronger group?  How does a community get pulled away from its clear roots?  What rips the goodness out a community?
God's mercy reigns. God without mercy is shown clearly in the man in black, Mulengro.  God's righteousness would put us all to death for betraying God's commands.   We all deserve death by the firing squad; for we are all traitors to God's kingdom. But God loves us so much that he sent his only son to die for us and take the pain for us.  I am thankful for God's loving grace in my life.  Thank you LORD.

#95 on the Modern Library Readers Top Novel List

 

Stranger in a Strange Land Review of...

Stranger in a Strange Land: Review of....

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein


My rating: 4 of 5 stars




Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land he interweaves human relations, large ideas and (theology),.  The title to this story was inspired by the book of Exodus in the Old Testament.  

The story a Stranger in a Strange Land takes place in a New America, that is one world ordered hegemony.  The world has made missions to mars and has set up a space colony there.  The space colony had been deserted on the planes of Mars.  The man from mars is found after many years of exposure to an alien race. The climax resolves whether Michael Valentine Smith will be excepted by the people of Earth.  At times this book gets bogged down in Heinlein's philosophy, so it can be a difficult read.



What I liked about the book is its deep analysis of Faith. Heinlein first looks at the cult of the Fosterites. A cult where everyone is happy, and everyone thinks as a one happy unit.  (I would like to go deeper into describing the Fosterites, but I am afraid that this would lead you down a rabbit hole and would maybe bore you deeply.) 


Then he looks at how Michael Valentine Smith twists the Abrahamic religions to make a cult that combines elements of Confucius, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and Judaism.  
The religion is based on the wisdom of the old ones . The perfect wisdom of the elders is not to be disputed at all.   The cult members become entwined by a sharing of water together.  They see each other as all Gods. Thou art god and so are my Guinea pigs and Lovebird.  


The religion replaces God and put man in God’s place, this allows man to worship created things.Because man is now God like, the divine things are the things that connect man in deeper communication.  Sex is seen as sharing deeper with many people.  The communal orgasm is sacred, a great religious experience.  Cannibalism is the holiest way to die for it is taking the spirit of the other deeply into the body of the collective .


When God’s proper place, to be above all, is replaced all is left in Chaos.  A chaos I imagine to be like the ending of the Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.  This chaos is a place of no form.
 "The snake eating its owntail, makes a circle, alpha and omega, a process, a spin." (Krysia Jopek pg 4)*

Thursday Bible Study 6 Am Panera Bread (Genesis 20)

*  Abraham walked from land to land doing at first what God had told Abraham to do.                                 But was Abraham perfect in his obedience?  Nope! This is shown in Genesis 20 where the basic story line is: (The Beginning) Abraham a stranger in a strange land, walks into the kingdom of the Philistines and the household of Abimelech.  

 (The Middle) Abraham begins to doubt and creates a schema apart from God that will have him tell Sarah, pretend that you are my sister, and that way they won't kill me for having such a beaudacious wife."  Abilimich* takes Sarah into his household.  

(The End) God intercedes in a dream and tells Abimilich that Sarah is actually Abraham's husband.   God also tells Abimilich that peace will only come if he asks Abraham to petition God in prayer, on his behalf.   HE also tells Abimilich that Sarah is to be returned to Abraham immediately.  The household is restored and the Good Old Philistine Times continue. 

Strange story and what is God actually telling his people here?  The first thing that was clear to me is that Abraham is a priest, and a prophet.  The second thing that is clear to me is that Abraham even though a holy man, the father of the faithful, is not perfect in his walk with God.  However, an imperfect priest should not be "condemed as a hypocrite who fall into sin, if they do not continue in it."  (Matthew Henry)**  As long as the priest is moved to repentance he can petition God on the behalf of others. 

Abraham sin was walking in doubt of God, and taking manners into his own hands.***     God had promised in Genesis 15:15  "As for yourself, you shall live go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age."   Yet, Abraham doubted.   Yet, Abraham created a schema, here's the story we will play, and this is our roles.  Yet, Abraham put his family in danger because he did not pray for God to tell him how to remain calm as a stranger in a troubled land.

Man has a need for spiritual restoration.  This need leave us requiring a greater perfected pastor, rabbi, priest,  who can truly petition God on the naturally sinful man's behalf.   This perfect redeemer is Jesus Christ. Thanks be to the LORD's mighty plan to restore his kingdom into a state of shalom.  

*(The name means-the (divine) king is my father).
**Henry, Matthew Commentary on the Whole Bible (Nashville Tennessee: Thomas Nelson inc,  1997).
***(I am sure there are other sins to mention, but for this discussion lets keep it simple.).
Questions:
Does the goal justify the means?
What is Abraham's idea of God?
Why do we feel it necessary to self justify when we don't see the answers before us, especially in matters of faith?

Bombing Hatred

 I need to check my assumptions and fears.   I recognized this on a recent flight back from San Francisco.

  I sat next to a Woman who was veiled (western style).  My fears all of a sudden streamed up.   A psychologist may say that I suffer from "Xenophobia!"  I would say I suffer from too much information on how others mistreat the west and how all of our lives are at jeopardy every single day.

 

 

The tension become higher when she left her back pack under her chair, and moved up to be with her manager.  The tick tock tick tock of the imaginary bomb, locked inside her back pack frightened me. 

 

"Oh my God I am going to Die!"

 

I told myself, "Be Brave!"     

 

Paranoia started sending alarms to do something about the matter.   

"Oh my God I am going to Die!"

 

But I did not want to invade her privacy, so I just sat there and prayed. 

"Lord please protect me from the evil of the world." 

My wife Jessica laughs at the story and thinks my fears are  based on an active imagination and a saturation of alarming news coverage. It also did not help that the security at the airport was on high alert.   Also flying in a tin can is never an "Awe Shucks, lets lay back in my hammock as the world goes by."   An airplane defies the laws of tradition, and proclaims that a big thing, bigger than any bird, can spread iron wings and fly in the air.   

There was s just too much stimuli to ignore things properly.

 

 

I may have acted differently if the passenger was reading a bible and wore Western dress.  The incorporated westerner is not any more tame than a Muslim, we all have the potential to do our brothers and sisters harm.    Just because it looks like a good, non poisonous thing does not necessarily mean that it is non poisonous.  We however must look at our degrees of hatred that lie inside of our hearts and put them to the light of truth.   Only in the light do fears go away, and we grow in Christ.  By the way of course it was my imagination and nothing happened on my flight... but "Oh my God I am going to Die!" fear seemed real at least for five minutes. 

 

I settled down and continued reading my book "Stranger in a Strange Land".  

Gospel Beginnings.

The gospel is a hard nut to crack into exact, precise words.   The gospel is understood best by continually reading Romans 1:1-21 [for about seven times during a week of intense study], but by the end of that time you would probably be exhausted and not be able to come up with a precise definition of the gospel.   The gospel is the pivot point of Christianity.  
But to begin our picture lets paint a story;
Once upon a time, and still to this day man (lets call him Adam) was sinful. Adam worked as a mechanic in a sinful machine.  Each machine part was tainted with sinful dust, which added more and more dust, and made piles of dust each and every day (365 24/7).

No matter how hard Adam tried to get rid of the dust, the dust was always there.

God had kept an eye on the machinery of man and was not pleased with the continual accumulation of dusty particles.   God will call him El, knew that the only solution was to help man with the dust problem.   El knew he was the only hope for man.   So the lone gun man El, sent his Logos-Son-Jesus into the factory.  Jesus turned over the factory and busted the machinery into tiny pieces.   The machinery would no longer be able to produce the sinful dust that had so plagued man.
Man was/is stubborn and it took time for man to see the awesome power of Monkey wrenching Jesus.
 Some men even went and started building more machines.
So Jesus proclaimed, if you join that crew you can not be part of my kingdom.   Jesus came to adopt man into a kingdom absent of dusty machines.

{The Beginning}

 I know that there are flaws in my story, so write me and discuss where you may have a problem with this explanation: 

On a Grey Distant Planet

On a grey planet, of a little no named star, lost in a galaxy tucked away, in some dusty corner of a universe;  lived a bushwhacker.  The bushwhacker desired not to be a hermit.  He dreamed of one day having people join him on his journey.  But the man knew that sometimes all you have is Christ and tiny footsteps.  He yelled into space in hopes of hearing an echo.

Mad Men Bent on Anarchy

Morality According to God: A graphic representation of chapter 2 He Is There and He is Not Silent by  Francis A Schaeffer		Abstract	Particular
Impersonal		Dada: Nothingness Defines the World. Anarchy	Dictatorship: The Dictator decides what is best for the people. Hobbesian Politics:  One man over the population.
Personal		Socialism: Greatest Good decides what is best for the people.	Judeo-Christian World View morality is personal and particularly prescribed by a loving God, told to man in the entire Christian Cannon (AKA the bible)

Man was created by God in his own image, in his own image God created man, but because we rebelled we became abnormally bad and become more sinful as time progressed. Till the day we awaited a cure that could only be found in Christ. If the cure is not Christ than all is lost and we might as well call ourselves mad men bent towards anarchy.