As I think about these days in which we live, about the voices that hold sway over Christendom from the pulpit, and the captivating reasonings in well-constructed books, as well as in the reams of words written here online – as I reflect on these matters, I am reminded of Tolkien’s words in The Lord of the Rings, Book III, a chapter entitled “The Voice of Saruman.”
The Riders of the Mark have accompanied King Théoden of Rohan and Éomer his nephew, Gandalf and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to the stairs of Orthanc, the stronghold-turned-prison of Saruman, now the Wizard of Many Colors. The Riders eavesdrop on the speech of Saruman to their king.
Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. . . .
“The Riders stirred at first, murmuring with approval of the words of Saruman; and then they too were silent, as men spell-bound. It seemed to them that Gandalf had never spoken so fair and fittingly to their lord. Rough and proud now seemed all his dealings with Théoden. And over their hearts crept a shadow, the fear of a great danger: the end of the Mark in a darkness to which Gandalf was driving them, while Saruman stood beside a door of escape, holding it half open so that a ray of light came through.”
Those who would mesmerize us with words and ear-soothing tones may still be found among us, drawing us under their spell with their seductive speeches and attractive demeanor. They are strong, powerful, and popular; by agreeing with them, we reason, we will share in those qualities. Those who speak roughly or without the allurement of rhetorical skills are dismissed as unfaithful, ignorant rabble. We will give them no hearing and will hearken instead to velvet-tongued orators whose voices we find comforting.
Such modern-day Sarumans hold open a door, and from the door emanates a warm, inviting, and seductive light. But the door is only half open, and thus we cannot see that the light streaming towards us is not generated by the glory of the Son but by the fires of hell.
2 Cor 1:13
Today is a typical day off for me, a time for relaxing and touching base with folks. The following email exchange with my friends is standard fare for such times.
It started with a slightly enhanced news story from FoxNews:
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 9:02 AM
To: 101 TNG
Subject: The times in which we live
Mother Says Baby’s Recurring ‘Bye Bye, Plane’
Comment Got Them Kicked Off Airplane
Thursday, July 12, 2007
ATLANTA — The mother of a 19-month-old boy says she and her son were kicked off a plane after she refused a stewardess’ request to medicate her son to keep him from talking.
Kate Penland, who lives in Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta, said she and her son, Garren, had boarded the Continental Express plane last month after an 11-hour delay in Houston on an Atlanta-Oklahoma flight.
Garren kept saying, “Bye bye, plane,” Penland recalled. And she said the stewardess objected.
“At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, ‘It’s not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up,”‘ Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta.
When Penland asked the woman if she was kidding, she said the stewardess replied, “You know, it’s called baby Benadryl.”
“And I said, ‘Well, I’m not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,”‘ Penland told the TV station.
Penland said other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, and the flight attendant announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.
Members of the Atlanta Police Department bomb squad met the mother and her son inside the airport terminal following their removal from the Continental flight. Two APD officers, along with SWAT team members and representatives of Homeland Security, removed the boy from the resisting mother and took the child to an undisclosed location.
The boy was safely detonated a few hours later.
-30-
Dr Michael Russell
ΑΩ Counseling & Critical News Services
It then dawned upon me that there was more information to share.
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 9:44 AM
To: My Friends
Subject: IED and children
There’s actually a diagnosis for this in the mental health manual: Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED); 312.34 in DSM-IV-TR. I am not making this up.
I don’t think it’s any accident that this disorder is referred to as “IED,” the very same as the favorite weapon of terrorists: improvised explosive device (IED).
If anyone mentions to you that their child has been diagnosed with “IED” or Intermittent Explosive Disorder, do not be decieved or naïve. We all need to be on the lookout for these dangerous children and report them to Homeland Security, DPS, local police, Oprah, or Jack Bauer – anyone with the authority to dispose of them safely.
Dr Michael Russell
ΑΩ Counseling & Bomb Disposal Services
Not surprisingly, someone wrote back:
Mike,
Is this similar to Intermittent Explosive Internal Combustion (IEIC)?
Mark
Which spawned the final email on the matter:
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 12:36 PM
To: TNT
Subject: RE: IED and children
Mark:
Thank you for your inquiry. I hope the following information will be useful to you.
This IED is actually a new and improved version of the spontaneous-combustion child (SCC), something we rarely see now in this age of personal computers, personal mp3 players, and personal fire alarms and extinguishers. Recent advancements in technology have made it possible to abandon the earlier, severely limited collateral-damage effects of SCCs and replace them with the explosive model now available in all but third-world countries.
The danger, of course, is in what may happen if/when terrorist organizations make additional enhancements. One such group, Al-Gorra, reportedly has a school for toddlers: students go from First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, and then Weapons-Grade Plutonium. It is feared that such devices will be used to make global warming a reality.
Al-Gorra’s philosophy is captured in some of their oft-repeated slogans: “It takes a village to raise a child to thermonuclear levels” and “No child’s behind left.”
This present dilemma only exists because America opposed “zero-growth” birth control in the 70s and 80s, refusing to spay and neuter all children in third-world countries (i.e., any that do not speak English as their native language).
But, as they say, hindsight is useless.
Your friend,
Dr Michael Russell
ΑΩ Counseling & World Domination Services
Someone on the mailing list then asked to be removed. Wonder what that was all about?
(Listening to Offspring’s “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” on the iPod.)
2 Cor 1:13
In response to a request or two, I am providing the Word documents that made up my doctoral dissertation, An Integration of Biblical Anthropology and Neuropsychology and Its Implications for Christian Education and Discipleship. You may read online or download them, if you like: please give me credit if the materials are used in presentations, lessons, books, articles, etc.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Psychology and Theology
Chapter 2 – A Model of Human Nature
Chapter 3 -General Revelation and Christian Psychology
Chapter 4 – Bible- and Brain-Based Learning
Chapter 5 – Conclusion
The Soul – diagram
The Heart – diagram
The Mind – diagram
Bibliography
2 Cor 1:13
