http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/samheath/8385 “The Lord sure has made some beautiful worlds.” I saw “Forbidden Planet” in Redondo Beach when it was first released in 1956, and was tremendously impressed with the film. I was knowledgeable of Shakespeare and Greek mythology so I had some recognition of a very literate script, but for its time it was the marvelous special effects that held most of us spellbound. However, that remark made by the ship’s medical officer while looking at the viewing screen for the most part went unnoticed. It would not only be noticed today, but would be unthinkable for any film character with scientific credentials. Things were not always that way, and Forbidden Planet is a reminder of this. From childhood I was drawn to the stories of Jules Verne and other early SciFi writers, and we children were certainly drawn to Superman as an extraterrestrial good guy making him an instant success with us. We lived in an age of heroes so Superman fit right in with others fighting evil and evildoers. But somewhere along the way our heroes became increasingly less heroic, and scientists in films were no longer giving the Lord credit for making some beautiful worlds. But while Emerson and Jules Verne might have had some intuition of it from their knowledge of the Bible those fascinating circles, black holes in galaxies that are so inviting to astronomers and drive the curiosity of many of us remind me of the words of Ezekiel, “... and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” This seems to be descriptive of what astronomers are discovering about black holes and our universe. While no longer belonging to or attending any church, I continue to tune in the broadcast of St. John Missionary Baptist in Bakersfield most Sunday mornings. And though not caring for some of the music, my reason to tune in is the sincerity evidenced by the congregation and its leader Tyree Toliver. He impresses me as a man such as Jesus described Nathanael, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” While no Bible commentator to my knowledge has explained it to my satisfaction, you will note Jesus did not use the narrow word “Jew” of Nathaniel, but the encompassing word Israelite having direct relation to Jacob, and beyond that the encompassing message of Jesus, the Gospel that would not make a distinction between Jew or Gentile as Jesus would explain to the Samaritan woman at the well, and his point in the story of the Good Samaritan among others. As Jesus of Nathaniel, I don’t believe there is anything of guile in Pastor Toliver; he preaches a consistently simple, non-discriminatory message of right and wrong and gives direct answers to direct questions. You know where a man like Toliver stands and brothers and sisters, agree or disagree, that is what we have a right to expect of leaders, most especially of those who stand in the pulpits of America. Tragically for America, we cannot expect such from politicians including politicians passing themselves off as “preachers.” But Pastor Toliver serving in the same church for 50 years, his being 84 years of age speaks of both the confidence his flock has in him as a faithful shepherd and the mature experience of many years to commend him. It would be unthinkable that Pastor Toliver would ever teach or countenance the beheading of anyone for the “glory” of God, that he would ever teach hatred of anyone that is not a Christian. Toliver stands for those things that are right about Christianity as opposed to any, religious or political, that takes advantage or teaches hatred of others just because they do not believe as he does. He takes his stand on the Bible as he understands it, and he denounces sin as he understands it. But he would never preach jihad against unbelievers; rather, he preaches as the Bible teaches that the war by the real children of God is against the Devil. Saint or sinner, child of God or child of the Devil; it’s an either/or proposition in the Bible and one that seems to be verified throughout history, especially by applying the standard of the Golden Rule. Though written by men (no women allowed in the final canon) the Bible is a truly remarkable book, one that has had more influence in the world than any other; and though Newton and others changed the world through science, when it comes to religious philosophy the Bible reigns supreme. A hodgepodge of writings in some respects, there remains a thread throughout leaving no doubt of the genius behind some of the writings. The stories in the beginning chapters of Genesis bear the imprint of ancient truths, and the serious, knowledgeable scholar recognizes the descriptions of creation bear the imprint of scientific knowledge far beyond what we could possibly credit the ancients apart from either knowledge of the facts or some kind of intuition like that of Newton and Einstein. To credit the words of Jesus claiming to come that men might have “light,” one might suppose he had some knowledge of black holes, as per my supposition concerning Ezekiel. Granted most take the words of Jesus in respect to offering the light of God’s truth to men, nevertheless I find it fascinating his meaning may have gone all the way back to the Genesis account of creation, much as the comparison between the opening remarks of Genesis and those of the Gospel of John. Gifted with articulate speech that separated Homo sapiens from other creatures, and eventually developing writing the genius of our species is that of being able to put abstract thought into written expression. The Bible as a collection of some of the greatest of these abstract thoughts continues to have much to offer provided one is able to take it as a collection of such thoughts rather than a book that has too often been abused for fabulous and sectarian purposes. Whether or not there is any legitimate case to be made for scientific knowledge on the part of Bible writers long before science as we know it came into being, even without eisogesis there is an uncanny aspect to many of the Biblical stories that seem to be compatible with science. And beyond our science the question of good and evil remains. It is here where the stories of Satan and demons, of both good and fallen angels find credibility to me as an explanation for what would otherwise appear a lunatic world in the grip of lunatics. There is certainly a case to be made that our solar system may in fact be unique in the universe, and if so might explain why the history of humankind has been one of violence and wars as the various gods are in contention and the battle continues between saints and sinners, the children of God and the children of the Devil. While science continues to provide some answers the mysteries of life and death, the mysteries of the universe continue to become ever more mysterious. And while I grapple to make some sense of a chaotic world, the many theories of origins, I find a lot of comfort in the words of Pastor Toliver who has continued to be a faithful shepherd preaching a simple message of “This is right, and that is wrong.” The good pastor and those like him in the churches of America represent the best of what we should all be as human beings; “Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile!” “The Lord sure has made some beautiful worlds.” I saw “Forbidden Planet” in Redondo Beach when it was first released in 1956, and was tremendously impressed with the film. I was knowledgeable of Shakespeare and Greek mythology so I had some recognition of a very literate script, but for its time it was the marvelous special effects that held most of us spellbound. However, that remark made by the ship’s medical officer while looking at the viewing screen for the most part went unnoticed. It would not only be noticed today, but would be unthinkable for any film character with scientific credentials. Things were not always that way, and Forbidden Planet is a reminder of this. From childhood I was drawn to the stories of Jules Verne and other early SciFi writers, and we children were certainly drawn to Superman as an extraterrestrial good guy making him an instant success with us. We lived in an age of heroes so Superman fit right in with others fighting evil and evildoers. But somewhere along the way our heroes became increasingly less heroic, and scientists in films were no longer giving the Lord credit for making some beautiful worlds. But while Emerson and Jules Verne might have had some intuition of it from their knowledge of the Bible those fascinating circles, black holes in galaxies that are so inviting to astronomers and drive the curiosity of many of us remind me of the words of Ezekiel, “... and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” This seems to be descriptive of what astronomers are discovering about black holes and our universe. While no longer belonging to or attending any church, I continue to tune in the broadcast of St. John Missionary Baptist in Bakersfield most Sunday mornings. And though not caring for some of the music, my reason to tune in is the sincerity evidenced by the congregation and its leader Tyree Toliver. He impresses me as a man such as Jesus described Nathanael, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” While no Bible commentator to my knowledge has explained it to my satisfaction, you will note Jesus did not use the narrow word “Jew” of Nathaniel, but the encompassing word Israelite having direct relation to Jacob, and beyond that the encompassing message of Jesus, the Gospel that would not make a distinction between Jew or Gentile as Jesus would explain to the Samaritan woman at the well, and his point in the story of the Good Samaritan among others. As Jesus of Nathaniel, I don’t believe there is anything of guile in Pastor Toliver; he preaches a consistently simple, non-discriminatory message of right and wrong and gives direct answers to direct questions. You know where a man like Toliver stands and brothers and sisters, agree or disagree, that is what we have a right to expect of leaders, most especially of those who stand in the pulpits of America. Tragically for America, we cannot expect such from politicians including politicians passing themselves off as “preachers.” But Pastor Toliver serving in the same church for 50 years, his being 84 years of age speaks of both the confidence his flock has in him as a faithful shepherd and the mature experience of many years to commend him. It would be unthinkable that Pastor Toliver would ever teach or countenance the beheading of anyone for the “glory” of God, that he would ever teach hatred of anyone that is not a Christian. Toliver stands for those things that are right about Christianity as opposed to any, religious or political, that takes advantage or teaches hatred of others just because they do not believe as he does. He takes his stand on the Bible as he understands it, and he denounces sin as he understands it. But he would never preach jihad against unbelievers; rather, he preaches as the Bible teaches that the war by the real children of God is against the Devil. Saint or sinner, child of God or child of the Devil; it’s an either/or proposition in the Bible and one that seems to be verified throughout history, especially by applying the standard of the Golden Rule. Though written by men (no women allowed in the final canon) the Bible is a truly remarkable book, one that has had more influence in the world than any other; and though Newton and others changed the world through science, when it comes to religious philosophy the Bible reigns supreme. A hodgepodge of writings in some respects, there remains a thread throughout leaving no doubt of the genius behind some of the writings. The stories in the beginning chapters of Genesis bear the imprint of ancient truths, and the serious, knowledgeable scholar recognizes the descriptions of creation bear the imprint of scientific knowledge far beyond what we could possibly credit the ancients apart from either knowledge of the facts or some kind of intuition like that of Newton and Einstein. To credit the words of Jesus claiming to come that men might have “light,” one might suppose he had some knowledge of black holes, as per my supposition concerning Ezekiel. Granted most take the words of Jesus in respect to offering the light of God’s truth to men, nevertheless I find it fascinating his meaning may have gone all the way back to the Genesis account of creation, much as the comparison between the opening remarks of Genesis and those of the Gospel of John. Gifted with articulate speech that separated Homo sapiens from other creatures, and eventually developing writing the genius of our species is that of being able to put abstract thought into written expression. The Bible as a collection of some of the greatest of these abstract thoughts continues to have much to offer provided one is able to take it as a collection of such thoughts rather than a book that has too often been abused for fabulous and sectarian purposes. Whether or not there is any legitimate case to be made for scientific knowledge on the part of Bible writers long before science as we know it came into being, even without eisogesis there is an uncanny aspect to many of the Biblical stories that seem to be compatible with science. And beyond our science the question of good and evil remains. It is here where the stories of Satan and demons, of both good and fallen angels find credibility to me as an explanation for what would otherwise appear a lunatic world in the grip of lunatics. There is certainly a case to be made that our solar system may in fact be unique in the universe, and if so might explain why the history of humankind has been one of violence and wars as the various gods are in contention and the battle continues between saints and sinners, the children of God and the children of the Devil. While science continues to provide some answers the mysteries of life and death, the mysteries of the universe continue to become ever more mysterious. And while I grapple to make some sense of a chaotic world, the many theories of origins, I find a lot of comfort in the words of Pastor Toliver who has continued to be a faithful shepherd preaching a simple message of “This is right, and that is wrong.” The good pastor and those like him in the churches of America represent the best of what we should all be as human beings; “Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile!” en-us