MOvember Message for Men

Movember/No-Shave-November is upon us.  It’s a great time to sport the monster “mo” to support a cause.  I’m sure there’s no shortage of charities happy to take money, but I’m using my magnificent handlebar creation for awareness.  I’m a colon cancer survivor.  What’s more, I’m the annoying diet/exercise guy who wouldn’t eat the office birthday cake and takes lunch at the gym.  In a 24 year police and military career, I’ve been subject to physical fitness tests and medical exams all my adult life.  My bride and I are solvent, young empty nesters who live mostly on home-cooked organic food.  I don’t have a family history of colon cancer.  I’m not a cigarette smoker or heavy drinker.  Statistically, I shouldn’t have cancer, but at 42 years old, I got the bad news.

I’m very often asked how I discovered the disease, and that’s an important part of my story.  I was passing blood.  In the vast majority of cases, that’s not a big deal.  It’s almost always attributed to hemorrhoids, which is the diagnosis given in my first doctor’s visit, without an exam.  I was given an expensive foam medication and sent home.  I returned a week or two later, insisting that I did not have any other symptoms supporting hemorrhoids and was still bleeding.  I was finally checked for ‘roids the “old fashioned” way and nothing was found.  I was referred to another doctor who insisted that I was “fine” before performing tests that discovered a tumor.  In further testing an unrelated tumor was found in my thyroid.

Otherwise, I felt fine.  I had recently made personal record length mountain climb and competed in the U.S. Fencing nationals.  I didn’t feel sick, but a year of treatment took care of that.  After radiation, chemotherapy and five surgical procedures, I’m currently cancer-free.  I’m not back to my original athletic levels, and that may never happen.  That’s one of the tick marks in the “sucks” category, but I’m alive and otherwise happy.  Whether or not I’ll stay that way for long is a complete crapshoot, but my cancer was discovered rather late (stage IIIc) which means that I most likely won’t have to deal with having gray hair. 

A number of reasons led me to be open about my experience, but the most outstanding was learning how many people lived with symptoms of the disease and never sought treatment.  Even more shocking is the number of people who sought treatment and were sent home with a non-life threatening diagnosis.  I was completely amazed by how many people asked detailed questions about the color, frequency and other characteristics about the bleeding because they were experiencing the same issues but wouldn’t see a doctor.  In a Reddit thread about assumptive behavior in medicine, I shared my story.  Here’s a response from someone appearing to be in medicine:   

  "A digital rectal exam can't diagnose colon cancer.  The vast majority of people who come in with bright red blood per rectum have hemorrhoids, it's not worthwhile to have them all undergo colonoscopies, plus if we did that, it would keep a lot of people from ever seeing the doctor." 

This person is right, but I have two issues with this.  First, my personal health concerns do not involve “the vast majority of people."  I’m all about the greater good at times, but this isn’t one of them.  Second, a digital rectal exam, in my case, excluded most hemorrhoid conditions and led to a colonoscopy.  Had I waited longer than a couple of weeks to press further, my life would have been shortened by many years, especially many good years.

Colon cancer isn’t just a man’s disease, but male survivors just aren’t as vocal as our fairer counterparts.  In honor of the No-Shave November theme, here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way for the midlife guys to squeeze a bit more juice out of life.  Gentlemen, I give you Matt’s MOvember Message for Men in a social-media listed format:

1.       Take charge of your healthcare.  You’re driving the boat.  Ask questions and make sure you understand everything. We’d all rather face a bear than deal with tough health issues.  We have to be emotionally courageous as well as physically.

2.       Take advantage of free screenings.  Blood drives, employee clinics and health fairs offer free screenings that may point out problems before they grow beyond control.

3.       Seek the best care.  We will drive hours for a good hunting lease, a new car or a concert.  Why not two hours for a specialist?   

4.       Don’t be cheap.  Yes, good healthcare is expensive and our system isn’t perfect.  Honest discussion with your provider will very often bring down the cost for a cash patient.  Much of the overhead in medical care is in the cost of dealing with insurance.  It never hurts to ask.

5.       Diet and exercise aren’t just buzzwords.  Yes, even athletic people with the perfect diet get cancer, but that’s not an excuse to live on potato chips and beer alone.  Facing the disease with a strong body significantly improves your survival because you can tolerate aggressive treatment and recover faster and stronger than most.  You don’t have to run marathons or Crossfit yourself to the orthopedic specialist.  Try walking for an hour.

6.       Don’t be afraid.  I have actually heard grown-ass men say that they won’t get any exam that involves butt stuff.  It’s time to grow up and get a camera poked up your arse.  Trust me, it’s better than the ass traffic involved in beating cancer.  If you get cancer, you’ll want to beat it.

7.       Don’t smoke.  Cigarettes will kill you.  

8.       Know your history.  Health problems are often hereditary, so start your prevention early.

9.       Easy on the booze.  Here’s another area where moderation makes the man.  If you have a problem, fix it.

10.   Your mind matters.  It’s time for us to realize that John Wayne was an actor, and just being tough all the time doesn’t fix everything.  It’s true that there’s a lot of hype and over-diagnosis in mental health issues, but depression, anxiety and similar issues are very common and will take a toll on physical health if not faced.  Grow a pair and face the demons.  Turn on the bullshit filter and turn off frustrating news feeds.  Whether it’s in a church, circle of friends or the middle of a lake, get your thoughts straight enough to sleep at night.

11.   Don’t discount “alternative” therapies.  Yoga, massage and chiropractic treatment will repair or prevent many problems before you take it to a specialist.  It’s not witchcraft.  Don’t be the guy in assless motorcycle chaps calling others “gay” for going to a yoga class.  Yoga guy is surrounded by women in tights.  Assless chaps guy is hanging out with other assless chaps guys.  Let that image sink in.

12.   Beware the snake oil.  I have had people look me straight in the eye and tell me that consuming some obscure fruit or baking soda will cure cancer.  Remember the red wine/resveratrol thing, and how great it is for your heart?  The damage caused by alcohol outweighs the benefit.  The bullshit tide rides high in health issues.

13.   Make time.  Take time for exercise and mental decompression.  You’re not abusing your kids by taking some “me” time and clearing the head.  You might accidentally teach your kids that everyone deserves a little space.

14.   Be safe.  Break out the safety glasses that came with your finish nailer.  They’re probably still in the wrapper.  Be safe in your work and play.  Injuries in the 40+ class will take you out of the game longer.

15.   Encourage your buddies.  Share success and lean on others to help with health goals.

Take care of the machine, gents!  

Cecil and the White Guy

From lionhuntinginafrica.com

     I'm usually on the receiving end of the race card, which the presenter always seems to "hate" playing.  When the story of Cecil the lion scrambled masses of keyboard commandos to action, I recalled some recent social media chatter about dead African wildlife and decided it was my turn to throw it down.

     Over the past few years the random meme forwarding activists have been upset over big game hunters with various captions, either cheerleaders or entire families killing African big game.  The internet warriors launched threat and smear campaigns against the hunters through their key-clacking efforts across the electronic ether.

From newyorkpost.com

     Let's get the particulars out of the way.  I'm a hunter and an omnivore.  A previous post details my attempt at veganism.  I'm blessed with access to hunting grounds with ample herds of whitetail deer, and I fill my freezer with free-range, organic, grass fed, humanely and legally harvested meat every year.  I tried archery hunting, and despite my high level of marksmanship, I found the potential for injuring an animal too high.  Archery caused Cecil's suffering, according to what I've read.  I appreciate the challenge of hunting up close, but I prefer my kill to hit the ground dead.  No suffering, no tracking, no trauma.  From on-the-hoof to unprocessed meat in less than a second is a far better fate than commercial food animals face.  It's the way I'd prefer to go.

     I've met several hunters of African game.  While they hunt for trophy, each has told me in detail how the entire animal is consumed by locals, except for what returns with the hunter.  The hunts are expensive (five digits or so) and are conducted through government management programs.  This means that only certain animals may be hunted.  This type of management often saves animals from a horrible natural death, as seen in the video below.  The legality of Cecil's demise is questioned, of course.

      
      Not long before Cecil's fate, I stumbled onto an article about anti-poaching efforts underway in Africa.  Poaching kills larger numbers than legal hunting, and is not selective about taking only animals beneficial to management.  These are the people causing animals to become extinct.  The reason for the hunting is ivory, and one effort involves an injected dye to turn off buyers of poached and exported ivory.  Some efforts consider poisoning rhino horns with the intent to kill consumers.  This is where I learned some important things about ivory.  It is illegally and unethically harvested in Africa by Africans to feed an Asian market who believes it has
miraculous curative properties.

From nairobidigest.com

     That's when it hit me.  The keyboard warriors aren't after the most imminent threat to African wildlife, they're after their greatest foe:  Affluent white people.  Every photo I've seen cross my feed has a dead animal next to one of the three great evils in social media:  A rich white guy, attractive white girl, or rich white family, or a rich white family reported as Christian.  Religious groups are hated as well, but somehow believing rhino horn cures cancer or a hangover isn't as interesting in a tweet as slamming a Caucasian dominant religion.

     The meme forwarding masses stir the pot and ignite hatred with images of white people killing game, when the actual threat to numbers of African wildlife are being decimated by Africans (not white) harvesting animals to feed the superstition-based hunger of Asian countries (also not white).  In every reputable story I've seen about white people killing African game, African people benefit from the money, food and other resources derived from taking the animal.  The hunts are extremely expensive with the intent to maximize revenue with a relatively small number of harvested animals.  One American hunter I spent some time with told me that their hunting party assisted in anti-poaching activities as required by law, which is fairly common for legal foreign hunters.  Poachers take the ivory and let the animal rot, and they're not likely to selfie an emotional photo with the dead animal, but the photos are out there, and very graphic.  I'll bet you've never seen one cross your news feed.

From thesouthafrican.com

We should be upset about Cecil's fate because he could have been taken by more ethical means, but it would be nice for the committed Facebook avengers to concentrate their efforts on poachers rather than lawful hunters, or maybe educate themselves on game management a bit.  Here we have another issue driven astray by racism and emotion over facts.

The Guads

El Capitan - Photo by Matt Vann

There's one great thing about living in Midland, Texas:  There are far better places to be and they’re a day’s travel or less.  Mountains, forests, big cities, charming small towns, lakes, rivers and oceans are weekend destinations for us.  One of the most overlooked spots is Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GMNP), about three and a half hours to the west.

Almost everyone in the area is familiar with Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but fewer know about the “Guads,” just a few miles away along the same mountain chain.  This is probably because the Guads are for a different sort of visitor than the Caverns.  There’s no hotel nearby, only a primitive camping area and a parking lot for RV’s.  There are no hookups and you won’t hear generators running all night.  Decent restrooms and a dishwashing area are all the amenities you’ll find other than what you brought.  The people you’ll run into at the park are pretty “outdoorsy” types and won’t be carousing at the next campsite all night.

 

Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas, is probably the most popular hike in the park.  Most who start it are not prepared.  A trip up the peak and back takes around eight hours or so and it’s very strenuous for the average person.  I compare it to climbing stairs all day.  The top offers spectacular view and the opportunity to sign the register at the peak’s monument.  Like many others, my first trip up the peak was miserable, but I was very young and not prepared.  I think the peak is a bit overrated in comparison to the experience offered by other trails in the park.  I encourage people to try some of the other trails in the park before taking on the peak.

 

The day hikes offered in the park are worth a weekend trip.  You’ll get a little taste of the elevation changes you'll face in the higher country, but it’s not exhausting.  I always recommend Devil’s Hall, Smith and Manzanita Springs, McKittrick Canyon and El Capitan trails for day trips.  All offer spectacular views.  I’ve often made solo “decompression trips” to the park on my motorcycle at the end of the work week.  With the bike packed the night before, I can leave after work on Friday and be enjoying a cigar at sunset from my campsite.  I can hit a couple of day trails, take the long way home and be back in time for dinner on Saturday.

.

The most impressive aspect of the Guads is the transformation from arid desert at the bottom to pine forest at higher elevation.  Tejas trail is the best way to experience this.  Tejas is not as tough as the peak but it’s a good climb.  If you still have some energy, you can check out nearby Hunter’s Peak, the third highest of the peaks.  It’s a full day of hiking but you’ll be back at the campground in plenty of time for dinner.

Backcountry camping is the best way to experience the park.  My favorite trip in GMNP is Bush Mountain, the second highest climb.  Round-trip is about 12 miles, so it’s not a day hike.  Leaving Midland around 6:00 a.m, I can hit the park headquarters about the time they open.  I can be in the high country before the day’s heat sets in, even in mid-summer.  Lunch will be in the pines and dinner is on Bush Mountain.  The return trip gets a little hot coming back on the next day, but it’s bearable.  Backcountry is the way to experience the tougher trails, even the peak.  Even though I’ve been up the peak several times, I spent the night in the peak’s campground once and thoroughly enjoyed the morning hike back down because I wasn’t exhausted.

There are several big things to be aware of before hiking in the park.  First, there is no water ANYWHERE except the park headquarters, so you will be packing in every drop you’ll need for the entire trip.  Nothing in the park is more dangerous than dehydration.  Second is wind.  The Guads are known for unpredictable winds.  I’ve had winds go from dead calm to actually blowing me down within a few hours.  Be ready for this.  Apart from winds is the weather in general.  Check the weather carefully and understand that the canyons and mountain tops have their own climate.  I’ve scorched at the bottom and shivered at night in mid-summer.  Clif Sikes and I left for the Mescalero site one January.  We were wearing T-shirts at the trailhead and found ourselves in parkas while pitching tents in the snow up top.  Just like the Boy Scouts and the Coast Guard say, be prepared.

 

The park headquarters website is the first place to check for info on park conditions and alerts.  Wunderground has weather stations at different altitudes at the park and will help prepare for conditions.  Finally, even though cell coverage in the park is generally good and true GPS devices are better than ever, it’s always a great idea to carry a map, and the National Geographic series is one of the best.

Break in a set of good boots and head for the Guads!  Keep your gear light and bring a good camera.  Be ready to share dinner with a curious mule deer or kangaroo rat.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, take your time and sit in the shade.  Bring a bottle of wine and a couple of lawn chairs for an evening at the campground.  I’ll see you along the trail somewhere! 

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/national-parks-collection/national-parks-maps/203-guadalupe-mountains-national-park-trail-map

The $1000 Foil Hat Challenge – Put Up or Shut Up

Image Courtesy of midlandjokes.com

                Readers outside of Texas may not know the story, so here’s the brief:  One of two Walmart stores in Midland, Texas closed suddenly.  The story from Walmart was that plumbing issues were being repaired and the store would reopen in six months.  At the same time, the military announced a training exercise, called “Jade Helm,” to be held in a small town about half an hour away.  That’s where all reality stops in the story.

 

                What followed is an explosion of stupidity.  Conspiracy fanatics, incapable of understanding basic high school levels of geography, physics, math, history or logic, radiated an unprecedented amount of garbage onto the internet.  The prevailing conspiracy theory is that military forces are involved and Walmart is going to be used as a prison camp.  There's some variance to these stories, but this is the central theme.  They suddenly noticed anything suspicious to them, including the many trucks and trains passing through town, as they have for years, carrying military vehicles.  Septic tanks became FEMA caskets, and suddenly there was an outbreak of UN vehicles all over the internet in the form of re-posted photos of UN vehicles manufactured in the US.  The five military branches all use our international airport as a fuel stop, but suddenly their mission has changed to surreptitious preparatory action.

                If you are a believer and you really want to wake the “sheeple,” please read on.  I have a challenge for you.  This is your chance to show the world that you’ve done the research and you are serious about stopping the coming storm.  I am doing this for two reasons.  First, if you are right, you are one of the most important people in history.  You have deciphered the most complex conspiracy against citizens that has ever been devised.  You have decoded the coming of the greatest tragedy against the American people, caused by their own government, in the history of this nation.  Second, I think you are wrong.  I don’t care how much you hate Obama or whoever is upsetting you today, your theory is crap.  What is the challenge?

                Put your money where your mouth is.  A very wise crime analyst told me that people tend to make the best decision based on available data when they have to put up their own, hard-earned scratch.  This is your chance.  Your research cost you nothing.  Those hours on Infowars cost precious heartbeats and Hot Pockets, but not actual Benjamins.  Show the world you are serious about saving lives.  Make a wager with me.

                I will make a bet with any conspiracy theorist, as long as it is legal in both jurisdictions, that there will be no military occupation, no declaration of martial law and no mass internment, execution or relocation of US citizens due to some political military takeover.  Sure, there will be provisions.  It won’t apply to riots or insurrection along the lines of Baltimore or Ferguson, where National Guard troops may interact.  I’m talking about troops, US or foreign, marching into town and herding people into the FEMA death camps.  A natural disaster won’t cut it, no matter who you say caused it.  It’s boots on the ground and butts in camps or graves, even if we’re the only genocidal race in the world to ever produce caskets in advance of the event.  You say it’s going to happen, I say it’s not.

                Fine print is negotiable, but takers must be ready to put the cash up front.  If you’re afraid the financial system is going to implode, rest assured that I will back my cash position with things you’ll love, like guns and ammo.  If you’re right and we find ourselves on a FEMA train headed to Walmart, I promise you a $1000 back rub during the trip.

                This is a call to action, and I'm taking the action.  Stop putting more rails on your rifle and declare your interest by commenting.  Show the world that Alex Jones is right, and that you believe $1000 deep in the cause!

10 Reasons to Dump Facebook for Reddit

      Facebook has everything needed to be successful in today’s culture.  It sucks away hours of time with meaningless drivel, drama and completely unoriginal thought.   I drastically reduced my Facebook consumption as a Lenten goal to better focus my time.  That turned out to be a metamorphic choice.

     When I opened a Facebook account years ago, I wasn’t sure the lackluster site would ever be as popular as MySpace.  My fortune telling skills never improved but I enjoyed a period of relative peace with Facebook.  Like everyone else, I enjoyed keeping in touch with family, friends and others who I didn’t get to spend time with on a daily basis.  I was encouraged to build a large “friend” base to promote my music efforts and it worked. 

     That’s how Facebook sinks the teeth in.  When it becomes your central news feed, a scrolling current events medium with your morning coffee, is when the darkness creeps into your very being.  Despite a  very interesting collection of artists, writers, musicians, scientists, geeks and tradesmen on my page, a significant amount of noise creeps through.  Despite my efforts to weed it out using the “follow” feature, maddening stuff still creeps through and makes my coffee taste like bile.  

     Still, as with passive-aggressive yet very attractive girlfriend, you keep going back.  Just like the last time, the interesting article a high school buddy posted about the Martian plumes is bookended by the same cat video and political re-post that disgusted you the last time.  Sure, you can unfollow, but you’ll wind up unfollowing 90% of your friends list, so why not just delete our account?

     We don’t want to delete because, despite what we may want to think, we are social creatures.  The rantings of our true friends and family make us smile, but large friend lists dilute the experience.  It really sucks up the time, especially if you’re using it to “cherry pick” your news, as I did.  When Lent rolled around, I added Facebook to the fire of time-vampires.  I chose to use the time for more productive things.  The plan was pretty simple.  I don’t have the option of deleting or completely abandoning my account.  I’m in it for the long haul because it’s a means of communication within organizations and circles very precious to me as well as my day job, so there’s no going back.  The plan was to check messages and group updates a time or two during the day, then go away.

     The plan worked, but maybe a little too well.  I was missing a newsfeed that covered a broad range of interests and offered input from varying points of view.  I was already a “Redditor,” so I spent a bit more time there and took the relationship to the next level.

     Reddit, www.reddit.com, has become huge over the last few years.  It is a giant, international site that receives posting of links, articles and photos, submitted by users, and categorizes them by topics and allows viewing by topic or popularity.  There are thousands of “subreddits,” Reddit’s sub-groups, and a search will bring up just about ANYTHING you’re into.   Since lists are all the rage, here are 10 reasons why Reddit is better than Facebook:

1.     Much of the content is original, or at least original to the reader.  Cool stuff is usually on Reddit a week before it’s recycled ad-nauseum on your Facebook feed.

2.       Whatever you want, it’s there.  If not, put it there.  I mean EVERYTHING from needlepoint to Nazis, it’s on Reddit.

3.       Content placement is vote-based.  The stupid stuff doesn’t make it to the top of your feed.

4.       It’s easier to dial in what you want to see and tune out what you don’t.

5.       It’s a little tougher to use, so it “weeds out” a layer of users who don’t need to be there. 

6.       Good writing.  You’ll often be impressed with fellow Redditors.

7.       Far fewer ads.  They’re less intrusive and can be turned off. 

8.       You can award people with “Reddit Gold.”  For a couple of bucks, you can give another user premium access for a post that’s particularly moving to you.

9.       It’s anonymous.  If you really have to reply, you can do so without offending Aunt Myrtle.  You can also rant or confess and still show your face at work.

10.   International.  Did you know that Australians have rednecks?  They call them “bogans” and they make for hilarious conversation when comparing to the domestic variety.



Remember that Facebook is social media.  If you’re looking for more media and less social, Reddit is the place.  If it’s not the place for you, learn how to configure your settings and it will become a place for you.  I often close my Reddit sessions with a sense that I gained something, which is not the case with Facebook.  My goal was to limit and make better use of my time at the keyboard.  Done.

The Woodpecker Returns

Between 1976 and 1989, the USSR operated a radar system that became known as the “Russian Woodpecker.”  It was a type of “over the horizon” (OTH) radar known as the DUGA-3.  It operated on frequencies populated by shortwave broadcasts and amateur operators and produced a very strong signal that produced a tapping sound similar to a woodpecker, hence the name.  The Russian Woodpecker was phased out and replaced with satellite technology.  The signal was not heard again until recently.

                One day while browsing Reddit’s /r/amateurradio “subreddit,”  I found a post where a user recorded a strange signal in the 20 meter band and suggested it was an over-the-horzon radar.  I switched my receiver on the very next day and heard the same signal.  This particular sound wasn’t like the Russian Woodpecker, but it was an unusual signal that lasted 30 seconds or so.  My Android was sitting on the desk and I was able to capture a recording.  I left the radio on all day with the volume turned up so I could listen for the signal while I went about my day.  At about five minutes to midnight, a very strong signal blasted through the speaker.  It sounded EXACTLY like the recordings I’d heard of the Russian Woodpecker.  Unfortunately, my Android was in the next room and the signal was gone before I could record it.

                I’m certainly not an expert in amateur radio.  I’ve only been dabbling with it for about four years, but this signal seemed unique.  It didn’t sound like usual sources of interference that normally originate from inside or near the home, like AC power adapters, lights, transformers and similar devices.  I revisited the subreddit and searched around the net for answers.  It turns out that I wasn’t alone, and there was quite a bit of chatter on the topic.

                Since the summer of 2013, Russia has been operating the 29b6 radar, another over-the-horizon system.  Most radar, like what we’re used to seeing at airports and in police cars, transmits a signal along the line-of-sight, like a searchlight.  OTH uses the ionosphere to reflect the signal over the curvature of the earth in the same manner that amateur radio operators communicate with each other over very long distances.  From what I’ve come to understand, what I heard was a sounding or sampling signal from 29b6 radar system that is used to adjust the radar for maximum efficiency.  Some reports indicate that it became more active during heightened military activity.  Other sources indicate that Iran and China are deploying similar systems that can be heard in the USA. 

                 The original DUGA-3 lies in ruins near Chernobyl, so this isn’t a refitting of the old system.  It’s completely new and apparently uses newer technology.  Old hams who operated during the DUGA-3 days are not happy to see OTR on the air again, as the interference sometimes makes for tough conditions.  If you’re interested in jumping through the rabbit hole, there are videos of Russian news reports on the new radar, tours of the old DUGA-3 along with plenty of foil-hat theories to dig through.  If you’d like to hear it for yourself, tune somewhere around 14.270 on a shortwave and see if it pops up.

                This link is a recording of the original DUGA-3

                This link is believed to be the 29b6 sounder, 2014

The Jefferson Bible

     One of my favorite high school teachers was a former Methodist pastor who was once tasked with teaching a biblical history class in a Midland, Texas public school.  It was not a class on religion or theology, but a study of the Bible itself.  It didn’t last, and one of the principal reasons for the failure was constant debate of how it should be taught.  The teacher told of daily phone calls from parents with corrections and additions to the syllabus from varying viewpoints, not from the text itself.

     I studied Deism as it occurred in Thomas Jefferson’s lifetime.  I became fascinated with Jefferson’s take on the religion of the time and discovered that he published what became known as the “Jefferson Bible.”  I quickly ordered a copy and inquired about the history of the book.

      It’s important to understand that the churches in Jefferson’s time were different than today.  They were often intermixed with politics and many became very corrupted.  Jefferson served as Minister to France, which gave him perspective on the Catholic and protestant churches in Europe.  He also studied the history of the Bible and believed that it had become contaminated with political agenda, misrepresented facts and even propaganda designed to turn people away from Christianity.  He clearly believed, as many do today, that surreptitiously motivated people had distorted the tenets taught by Christ.

     I took a great interest in Christian apologetics, especially in the Catholic and Lutheran churches.  Even the most devout biblical scholars struggle with the history of how many of the writings in the Bible came to be.  There are numerous conflicts and inconsistencies within the Judeo-Christian Bible which have led many away from faith and practice of religions.  They come into great conflict with biblical literalists who accept without question.

     My own spiritual path has led me to fascinating conversation with ministers, biblical scholars, laymen, church parishioners, Deists and atheists.  What fascinates is that many of the most devout Christians do not have a completely literal view of the Bible, but a very strong spiritual faith in the tenets of Christianity and respect for their traditions.  For them, their belief does not require a suspension of reason and bonds a person with what I believe is a strong understanding and practice of what Christ intended for us.

     Jefferson was suspicious of supernatural claims in the Bible, including miracles, virgin birth, resurrection and ascension.  Again, it is important to understand that Jefferson faced a very different religious and scholastic climate in his time.  He believed that many of the supernatural elements were introduced to turn people from the scripture or to perhaps engage others.  This is important today, as many people can’t grasp why we are not witness to similar events in modern times.  Religious leaders vary greatly on their explanation of this, and it greatly divides Christianity as a whole.  The same occurs within conflicting scripture and other ambiguous elements of the ancient text.

     What resulted was a compilation of Gospel scripture known as The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, where Jefferson included only the teachings by Christ himself.  It became known as “The Jefferson Bible,” a title not placed by Jefferson himself.  Jefferson did not write the book, rather he physically cut New Testament passages from Greek, French, Latin and English variants of the Bible and arranged them chronologically to form a clear depiction of the life and teachings of Christ.  While not all supernatural events were redacted, the majority of these events were.  What remained was a very clear reading of the moral tenets taught by Christ and a clear historical picture of his life.

    In 1904, 9000 copies of this book were printed and distributed to members of Congress and their staff.  In a copy that I own, a foreword indicates that these were distributed well into the 1950’s.  It is clear that Jefferson and others believed that Christian morals and philosophy should be a part of our nation’s foundation.  Jefferson’s compilation spread the word in a manner easily acceptable by Christians, Deists and even atheists.  I consider this a great victory rather than an aberration of the text.

     What fascinates me about this topic is that in our time, Jefferson has become a central figure in the separation of church and state, and he has become the center of debate in much the same way as the teachings he sought to preserve.  Atheists use his anti-church quotes to push their own agenda, and Christians exemplify him as supporting the USA as a Christian nation.  YouTube has plenty of videos where Jefferson’s thoughts are bent to conform to one viewpoint or another although he was very clear in his own writings on exactly where he stood. 

     I’ve had conversations with people who refuse Jefferson’s book because it is not the accepted text of their religion.  Some consider it blasphemy while others see tremendous value in it.  It was never intended as a replacement, but it is an effective means of passing the teachings of Christ.  It is very clear and concise, and most certainly easier to grasp than the King James Gospel itself.  I often compare it to the numerous movies about the life of Christ where there are additions and retractions from the Gospel due to denominational belief, conciseness or brevity.   It’s not uncommon for well-meaning writers to edit in this fashion, as evidenced by the many variants of the Bible.  Since every Christian denomination is commanded to be evangelists to some degree, I see where works of this nature are critical to the livelihood of today’s churches. 

     The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth should be in everyone’s library.  Even if you are a complete biblical literalist, it is highly useful in bringing others to an understanding of your beliefs.  For those who are not Christian, it is a valuable means of understanding the true fundamentals of Christianity without bias or church dogma.  It’s an invaluable tool for those who are searching, frustrated and confused in a spiritual world obstructed by countless interpretations, illogical dogma and misunderstandings and agendas.  It’s available in print and the original 1904 copies are quite valuable.  The Kindle version is $0.99 through Amazon, and there are free online versions and “modern English” versions available as well.

   

 "In extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of riches and power to themselves. We must dismiss the Platonists and Plotinists, the Stagyrites and Gamalielites, the Eclectics, the Gnostics and Scholastics, their essences and emanations, their logos and demiurges, aeons and daemons, male and female, with a long train of … or, shall I say at once, of nonsense. We must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus, paring off the amphibologisms into which they have been led, by forgetting often, or not understanding, what had fallen from him, by giving their own misconceptions as his dicta, and expressing unintelligibly for others what they had not understood themselves. There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man. I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently his, and which is as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill. The result is an octavo of forty-six pages, of pure and unsophisticated doctrines."  - Thomas Jefferson, 1813