Why Does God Allow War?

"If your God is so great, why doesn't he stop wars?" This is a question even I have asked Christians at one point in my life. With all his reputed power, so it seemed to me, he could easily destroy wicked leaders and others who rouse the rabble into an insane frenzy of blood lust.

Is it really God's fault that people are wicked. In the second chapter of the Epistle of James, he wrote that we are led by our lusts into sin and it eventually leads to death. God tempts no one. Satan and human pride team up to unleash hell on earth. God does guide historical events but he respects the right he gave us to choose good or evil.

It's like those vinyl records with two or more tracks on one side. Mad Magazine released a flexi disk with six endings to a song. Depending on the physical forces acting upon the needle, the song often ended differently each time it was played. This is what God's permissive will is like, except there are only two endings. Either we go with him and live eternally in heaven or go with the Devil and suffer eternally in hell.

So how do you get your "needle" into the right groove? Surrender the running of your life to Jesus Christ. Ask his forgiveness for all the rebellious acts in your past and become his follower. Be baptized, as Peter said in the second chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. Then meet with devoted followers of Christ to study Christ's teachings with the goal of becoming like him.

The reason I stress discipleship is because I received none after surrendering my life to Christ. Knowing nothing of cults, I joined a toxic church and suffered their abuse for fifteen years. Click on How I Was Razed to read about the memoir I wrote regarding how God freed me. Contact me or comment here for details on purchasing this glorious testimony.

THE FIRE OF HER DREAMS BURNED HER OUT

Today is Lauri Paisley's birthday. What's so special about that? Lauri was an electronic music composer back in the mid eighties. Through a fan magazine, I learned of her first LP, The Fire of Dreams. Not only did I buy a copy for myself but I gave several away as gifts and one to the local university station.

Lauri and I carried on a correspondence which only lasted about two years. We wrote each other and also sent each other cassette letters. Mainly, we discussed the music industry but we also told each other about our personal activities.

As time passed, Lauri began complaining about her lack of success. Hauling her mountain of gear around to various gigs in the Elizabeth, New Jersey area sprained her back. In fact, she woke up one morning and was unable to get out of bed for a while. That really frightened her.

In addition to the problem of being her own roady, Lauri felt hard done by because of the CD revolution. She felt that everybody wanted CDs rather than the vinyl records she invested plenty of money into. CDs were touted as being scratch-proof, higher fidelity, and almost indestructible. Lauri felt stuck with boxes of LPs which weren't selling.

Finally, Lauri told all her correspondents that she was quitting music. She had an episode on stage one night where her mind went blank in the middle of a piece. Therefore, she decided to end her musical career. She, who once begged correspondents to "give her mail man a hernia," now wanted nobody to write to her.

While I understand her profound disappointment, myself having two books which barely sold any copies, I realize her reaction to constant failure was churlish. She could have continued corresponding with fans and friends without continuing to flog her LPs and cassette tapes. Instead, she chose to cut us all off and she rebuffed any attempts to continue corresponding with her.

I certainly don't plan on doing that to any of my contacts. In the past, I've continued my correspondence with electronic music friends and musicians long after I stopped composing tunes. Though I haven't sold many books, I have no intension of slamming the door in the faces of my friends like Lauri did. I'll still sell my paperbacks, though I won't have any new copies printed for now, and I still have CD-Rs of most of my albums available.

If you're curious about my music, I've made videos  for some tracks and uploaded them to YouTube. I've also uploaded many tracks to SoundCloud. Additionally, you're welcome to check out my three memoirs at the Bruce Atchison's Books page as well as at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books.

RECOLLECTIONS OF A RECORD.

What was the first full-length album you ever owned? For some,
it was a vinyl LP while others may have bought a cassette or CD.

Back in the late sixties and early seventies, a Canadian company called K-tel sold a series of "best hits" LPs which featured popular rock songs of the time. Ads for these records bombarded the airwaves as each new release came out. "Original hits! Original stars!" an over-excited announcer bawled at the start of each commercial. Then he named each group whose music played in the background.

I was one of many teenagers who longed to have those records. In Deliverance from Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School), I wrote about one of those albums which I strongly desired. Here's how one K-tel release impacted me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

While Mom and I spent the afternoon shopping, I begged her to buy me one of the K-tel records called 24 Power Hits. These compilation albums of current pop tunes were advertised everywhere and I felt I needed to have one. After Mom reluctantly parted with four dollars, I proudly carried my new album home. I spent much of the Easter holidays enjoying that record, listening to it almost continually on Mom's player. Whenever those tunes come on the radio today, they bring back the feelings and memories of that holiday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Deliverance from Jericho abounds with vignettes of what life was like in that government-run institution. These range from poignant experiences of homesickness to hilarious incidents of mischief. Please feel free to click on the link to my books or contact me directly for more information about them.