The lessons of the Tower of Babel

One of the more interesting stories in the Bible both a religious, philosophical and historical perspective is that of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9). It provides a moral that even those of us who roam the earth today can learn from.

Whether you believe in the stories of the Bible or not, the moral is the same. In an attempt to start mankind over and end the experiment that seemed to have gone wrong, God flooded the earth to destroy all the sinners. He only provided a safe haven for Noah, his family, and two of each animals.

Yet after the Great Flood it became evident that the temptation was too great for people to revert to evil ways, or to give into temptations, or to resort to materialism, and to lack values.  Before the deluge the temptation was too great for people to get priorities in the wrong order, to fall in love with material things, to listen to false gods.  Giving in to such temptations was easier than being good and respecting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joshua. It was easier to be evil than to be humble and noble. It was hard to keep priorities in the right order.

And the attempt then to build a tower in Babylon that would reach up to Heaven to prove that it does not exist was the point where God, and society, realized that man is not perfect, and any attempt to create a perfect society was not possible. It's creation was the ultimate rebellion of God, and the worshiping of pagan gods or Satan.

Historical evidence also suggests people within these structures also encouraged the worship of snakes, similar to the serpent mentioned in the Garden of Eden that tempted Adam and Eve. And this is symbolic that mankind quickly reverted to the same type of pagan worship after Noah's flood as it participated in before the flood.

At this time in history it was believed that all mankind was united in this attempt, and they all spoke the same language. They were all the same.

Thus, in the land of Shinar they resolved to build this tower "with its top to the Heaven." Hence, "Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands."

The ultimate symbolism here is that the people were trying to build a structure with steps that would reach to Heaven. They believed they could get to Heaven without God and without following the virtues that he recommended. They could get there by putting their stuff and their false beliefs before God.

It was a new kind of structure, as "they had brick instead of stones, and slime (asphalt) instead of mortar." Many historians believe it was the first major structure ever built by man.

Structures before this were build of stone, which is symbolic of a oneness with God. What was mine was yours. If I had an extra apple I did not sell it to gain material items, I gave it to the person who could use an apple. The stones (the individual) were connected by mortar, which is symbolic of virtues.

That this new tower was built of brick may have been symbolic of separateness. That these individual bricks were connected by asphalt is representative of materialism and selfishness, and pride and arrogance.

Instead of men being individuals and thinking for themselves and being responsible for their own actions, people became equal and lived together in a more socialistic world. They yearned for perfection by creating a world order. They equally divided their resources. God knew that a socialistic society only resulted in laziness, and this may be one of the reasons the tower was never finished.

Even Stalin later said that he believed in God yet in order to create a world of social justice, to create a perfect society (whether you call it communism, socialism, Naziism, or progressivism, or a caliphate doesn't matter) you must get rid of the Bible and God and religion, because these cause people to worship their God instead of their government (a thing). This is significant, because God wants us to put Him before all else.

God wants us to put God first, our spouses second, our children third, other people next, then our country, then other things (your motor cycle and your house and your gold watch) last.

If you worshiped your "possessions" or your "stuff" before your God, your world will be confounded, and that is exactly what happened to the people who tried to build a temple leading to Heaven.

If you spend all your time with your possessions instead of spending it with your wife, your marriage will become confounded.  If you put your selfish needs before your kids, you will have an estranged relationship with them (A good example of this is Ben Franklin, who put his selfish pride before his relationship with his son and his wife).

The mortar was symbolic of what held the bricks (the people) together. And in this day and age the mortar represented materialism. Instead of following the virtues of God, instead of virtue and humility holding society together, materialism was. And it was this materialism that lead to its destruction, as mortar made of materialism is doomed to fail.

Or, when the fabric of society is built on materialism, it is doomed to fail.

The ultimate moral here is that man should keep his place in life and not aspire to Godlike activity. Man should not strive to make the world perfect, he should strive to make himself perfect.

He may not achieve this, and God knows man is not perfect (as he Himself is not perfect), yet we should strive for perfection in order to get to Heaven. We should have our priorities straight, try hard, and seek to get to Heaven.

The story of the Tower of Babel is to symbolize that man is the challenger and the discoverer, and that as man learns more he seeks to prove God to be wrong. He seeks a new way to get to Heaven, or Euphoria. And pride goes before the fall.

People wanted to be rich. People wanted more animals than they needed, and they wanted gold and silver that they did not need to survive. And many people who had two coats and two pairs of shoes did not share the extra coat and pair of shoes with the man who did not. The people were not humble; they did not give of themselves. They were greedy. People were arrogance. I could write another post about how arrogance is the root of all evil.

Many men did not have honor and integrity. They chose to accumulate things for the sake of accumulating them instead of for the sake of need.

They did not share. The taxpayer took money by deceit. He was not honest. Men were sleeping with another's wife. And, in this way, they had become as evil as they were before the Great Flood.

Man was looking for euphoria by building the Tower of Babel, and He did not find it. He failed. He was punished by God because God alone knew that the only way to get to Heaven was not by false gods and materialism, was not by creating a united world, but by following His Virtues.

God came down and saw what was going on, and he realized the failures of a socialistic world. And he confounded the tongues of mankind so that different groups of people could not understand other groups, and it would therefore be less likely man would group together to worship other gods and conspire in such a way.

Basically God saw greed and materialism and he wanted to see honesty and integrity. This was actually Gods second attempt (following the Great flood) to perfect the world, and his third attempt (if we include the banishment from Eden) to punish men for following evil Satan instead of worshiping Him. He, in this sense, was becoming wiser.

This was the Biblical explanation of why people are split up into different continents, different nationalities, different races and spoke different and "confusing" languages. God wanted to retard the ability of mankind to gang up and produce technological advancements that encouraged man to believe in "science" over "Him". This also might explain why it took so long for the modern world to develop.

In this sense, if you put your stuff before your values and virtues you likewise will have a confused life. If you put your friends and socializing before your wife, your marriage will be confused. If you put your children before your God, you will be doomed to have a messed up life. You must have your priorities straight. You must be virtuous first, and once you have everything else in order, then you can buy material items.

As a result of this all this, the tower was never finished. Communication between different groups of people was confused. Even in today's world with all our advancements, we see the same thing occurring. We have a partisan divide. We have nations with unique and selfish goals that hold back society instead of advancing it.

One really neat thing is that throughout time many structures have been build around the world, the Egyptian pyramids, ziggurats, Mexican Pyramids, and they all have essential the same design (stepped pyramids as noted here). Many historians believe it's because they all learned this type of structure at the same point in history, and perhaps this is proof the story of the Tower of Babel is true. It's also proof that God has no more ability to perfect His people as I have to perfect my children (I'm reminded of how imperfect I am every day by my children).

Likewise, the historical significance of these step pyramids is they are built for the purposes of worshiping false gods, were often built with altars to worship false gods, and to make sacrifices to false gods. In the case of the Aztecs, to sacrifice humans to false gods.

So there is some historical significance here.

The moral here is that it is easy for man to revert to bad habits. It's easy to do bad things. It's easy to worship other gods. And it's easier for man to gang up and revert to non virtuous events. It's therefore a challenge to be good. To be good one has to work hard. To keep your priorities in the right order is arduous. Hence, God never intended for life to be easy.

Thus, if there is one thing the Bible teaches over and over again, and beginning with the Tower of Babel, is it's not easy being noble. It's not easy being good and faithful and hopeful. The essential elements of the Tower of Babel are repeated over and over in the Bible. God sees man has reverted to evil ways, gets mad to punish man, and man reverts back to evil ways.

It's almost a lesson about how people have short memories. It's a lesson about how people forget to study history and to learn from the lessons of the past. It's a lesson about how people forget to read the Bible and therefore lose sight of the overall purpose of life.

Consider the formerly reformed alcoholic giving in to the old habit, or the person who has quit smoking for 10 years taking up the habit again, or the person who worked hard to lose 20 pounds reverting back to old eating habits again.

Or the law maker making a law to add more taxes and more spending programs and making the rich pay for all these programs, and not learning from the lessons of the past that show that such a system has never succeeded in the history of mankind. No country has ever taxed itself into prosperity. In fact, too much taxation destroys nations. A good example here is Ancient Rome.

In a sense, the Tower of Babel can help us understand why we are taking care of so many people who never took care of themselves, are overweight because they never exercised and ate poorly despite education on how to stay healthy. It's easier for men and women to mistreat their bodies than to work hard and stay healthy.

It's easier to destroy societies like America than it is to build them up. The founding fathers worked hard to create the U.S., and by taking it for granted (the easy route) some people around the world, and even from within our own country, propose to make the U.S. no better than any other nation of the world.

It's easy to go to work and sit around with the gossipers and complainers and participate in useless activities. It's easier to take the low road. Yet while the high road is far more challenging, the rewards are also far greater. The greatest reward being Heaven.

Hence, we must be careful. God came to that realization when he found the people united and building that tower. He learned that he has no more control over His people than you do over your own children, or your own cells for that matter.

He made it His job to show us the way to Heaven.  Still, some people among society believe they can get to Heaven by another route.  

2015 Detroit Tigers LIneup

With the recent acquisition of right handed hitting power left fielder Yoenis Cespedes by the Detroit Tigers, here is what a potential batting line up might look like.

1.  Ian Kinsler 2b
2.  Rajai Davis/ Anthony Gose CF
3.  Miguel Cabrera 1B
4.  Victor Martinez DH
5.  Yoenis Cespedes LF
6.  J.D. Martinez RF
7.  Nick Castellanos 3B
8. Alex Avila/ James McCann C
9. Jose Iglasias SS

Pitching Rotation
1.  David Price
2.  Justin Verlander
3.  Anibal Sanchez
4.  Alfredo Simon
5.  Shane Greene

7th inning.  Bruce Rondin/ Joakim Soria/ Al Alburquerque
8th inning.  Bruce Rondin/ Joakim Soria
9th inning.  Joe Nathan/ Bruce Rondon/ Joakim Soria

Charity and Justice verse pride and arrogance

Two keys to a successful life are charity and justice.

What is charity? It's making sure the needs of everyone are taken care of.

What is justice?  It is making sure no one is taken advantage of

Two things that get in the way of justice and charity are arrogance and pride.

What is arrogance?  It's thinking you know all.

What is pride? It's putting yourself above all others.

There are two things that help with charity and justice, and they are humility and avoiding judgements.

What is humility?  It's putting other people before yourself and admitting you don't know all

What is avoiding judgements?  It's accepting people for what they are.

There's an old saying that says: "Pride comes before the fall." (Proverb 16: 18) This means that pride can lead to a person becoming unable to see the selfish, and a selfish thinking often leads one to do selfish things, such as stealing and committing murder.

In order to stand upright and depart from evil, it is important to depart from evil. In this way, it is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly and to realize that you are no better than any other person, than to be haughty and stumble through life with no real vision as to your true purpose.

Those who are exalted become humbled. (Matthew 23:12).  This means that the greatest among us -- the wisest, the leaders, the chief executive officers, the inventors, the Hollywood actors, the professional athletes -- become our servants. They are the ones who we call into action when we need to rise up as a society to better ourselves.  Worded another way: the greatest among us shall be our servants.

Those who become humbled shall be exalted.  (Matthew 23:13)  This means that all people who put others before themselves, all people who admit they don't know everything and continue to search for answers for the benefit of themselves and mankind, are equals to those who are exalted by their fame.

Those who become humbled learn not to judge. Then they bring all people together and come up with the best solution to make charity and justice possible.

Regardless of whether the homeless choose to be that way or not, we should not judge them and we should offer our charity. Charity does not have to be in the form of money or food, it may be something simple as lending an ear.

Some of us are arrogant and feel we have all the answers, that they are always right, and therefore we feel we have no need to hear the opinions of others.  These people may offer charity, but may not provide equal justice.

A good example here is a doctor who refuses to listen to the opinions of his patients. This neither benefits the patient nor the physician. It's arrogance at the expense of justice.

Another example is politicians who creates policies that force their views on other people. This is arrogance and does not provide for justice nor charity.

Another example is judges who make rulings based on their views and opinions rather than by the laws that rule the land. This is not justice, nor is it charity.

The unprofitable servants

Unprofitable Servant is charity without personal gain or profit

Humility is important. It's important because, I think, as humans, we must be humble to our position here on earth. We must be aware that we are all just little blimps on a large planet, and what we do, no matter how great, no matter how powerful, or no matter how small, is just fulfilling our role.

That's right. We all have a role on this planet. We all have a duty. We all have a task we are to accomplish. And there is not one role that is greater than any other. In that sense, we are all equals.

George Washington is a good example of a humble person, as he easily could have made the office of the president similar to a monarchy, although, by his recommendation, the president is humbly referred to as "Mr. President.

His goal was to show that the president is no more valuable to human kind than you or me. We are all equals in that sense. We are, as the Bible explains (Luke 17:7-10) in "The Parable of Jesus," we are all unprofitable servants.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Defined, unprofitable servant means that we do what is expected of us and nothing more. We all have a task that we are to accomplish, and we accomplish it, and then we are done. In that sense, we are unprofitable. This is a means for us to keep things in proper perspective: to be humble.

We pray. We are given gifts in life (for example I was given the gift of writing), and we need to use our gift to help our fellow humans.

The neat thing is God does not answer all prayers, nor does he heal all the sick. He answers some prayers, and he heals some of the sick, but never all. Yet he does heal everyone spiritually.

He heals spiritually by allowing us to be in Heaven if we are good in this life. No matter how much we suffer, we are given that great reward. That's the best gift of all. That's the best healing power. In that regard, there is nothing we can accomplish on earth more profitable than that. We are, therefore, unprofitable.

Yet there are other gifts, or healings, that are less valuable, such as property and material things like money and other riches and communication skills, math skill, wisdom about asthma and writing skills, all the Internet. These are gifts we are given so we can make the world better -- but never better than how Jesus left it when he ascended into Heaven.

When this occurred he gave the Holy Spirit to all who chose to accept it.  By the Holy Spirit anyone who believes is a prophet.  As prophets it is our duty to learn and interpret the Word of the Lord.

Not all who are prophets are rich, or healthy all the time, or are healed when they pray for healing. Some of the best and greatest prophets of the Lord, some of the greatest and most useful people on this planet, have nothing at all but spiritual gifts. They live in poverty.

Most humans are unprofitable servants. That means we do what is expected of us and nothing more. The Lord gives us each an assignment, and it is up to us to accomplish the goals He sets out for us. Which basically means we do what is expected of us.

All the good we do as human beings, no matter how good, will never be as good as what Jesus did for us. Therefore, we are not profitable.  We are not masters. We are servants.

In this sense, we are humbled. And we use our gifts to make this world a better place, each in our own humble way.

Changing times

I took my first class in business in 1990 at Ferris State University at the age of 20. I had been introduced to word processors a few years earlier and loved it, although now our teacher wanted to take us to the computer lab to introduce us to this new thing called email.  He had us send emails to each other in the lab, and we looked at each other saying things like, "What a stupid concept."

A similar occurrence happened to former president Calvin Coolidge in 1904, although it was regarding a new concept called automobiles.  Coolidge was a 32-year-old lawyer and politician, and the automobiles were considered unreliable and expensive.  Coolidge thanked the man who gave him his first ride, and said, "It won't amount to much." 

Obviously we both lacked vision and were wrong.  Coolidge would lead the nation through the roaring 20s and the Industrial revolution which would see the Ford Model T mass produced, and the modern world has exceeded well beyond email.  

The vicious cycle of spending and taxing

Okay, so we have people in this country, and just about every other country too, who think the role of government is to solve problems. So they see a problem -- poverty, for example -- and they create government programs -- welfare, food stamps, unemployment -- to solve those problems.

As noted by the great economist Henry Hazlitt in his 1946 book "Economics in One Lesson:

"There is NO more persistent and influential faith in the world today than the faith in government spending. Everywhere government spending is presented as a panacea for all our economic ills. Is private industry partially stagnant? We can fix it all by government spending. Is there unemploiyhment? That is obviously due to 'insufficient private purchasing power.' The remedy is just as obvious. All that is necesary is for the government to spend enough to make up the 'deviciancy.'

Now, this all sounds all fine and dandy. It makes the politicians who create these programs feel good because they are creating a charity, and it makes the people feel good about the politician because they are helping those in need. Yet what goes unnoticed here is that for every dollar the government spends to implement and manage these programs a dollar has to be taken via taxes from the people.

"Everything we get, outside of the free gifts of nature, must in some way be paid for," said Hazlitt.

He explains that there are certain necessary functions that must be performed by government, and in order to pay for them a certain amount of taxes must be collected. Such necessary functions include

1. Building and maintaining roads and bridges and tunnels
2. Armories and navy yards to protect us
3. Buildings to house legislatures
4. Police departments
5. Fire departments
6. Coast guards

Hazlitt uses the example of a $10 million bridge being built by the government to create jobs. People can see the bridge, and they can see that it is beging used to allow cars to cross over water. They can see the 500 people working on it, peple they think would not be working if not for the building of the bridge. This is all good, they think.

However, what is not seen is that this means that $10 million in taxes has to be collected. He said:

"They would have that much taken away from them which they would otherwise have spent on the things they needed most... Therefore, for every public job has been destoryed somewhere else. We can see the men employed on the bridge. We can watch them at work. The employment argument of the government spenders becomes vivid, and probably for most people convincing. But there are other things that we do not see, because, alas, they have never been permitted to come into existence. They are the jobs destroyed by the $10 million taken from taxpayers. All that has happened, at best, is that there has been a diversion of jobs because of the project. Mor bridge builders; fewer automobile workers, television technicians, clothing workers, farmers."

Of course another argument is that, while people can see the bridge, they do not see all the projects that are not done because money was diverted from the people to the government. He said:

"Here again the government spenders have the better of the argument with all those who cannot see beyond the immediate range of their physical eyes. They can see the bridge. But ifthey have taught themselves to look for indirect as well as direct consequences they can once more see in the eye of imagination the possibilities that have never been allowed to come into existence. They can see the unbuilt homes, the unmade cars and washing machines, the unmade dresses and coats, perhaps the ungrown and unsold foodstuffs. To see these uncreated things requires a kind of imagination that not many peple have. We can think of these nonexistent objects once, perhaps, but we cannot keep them before our minds as we can the bridge that we pass every working day. What has happened is merely that one thing has been created instead of others."

The same can be said of all other government programs. We see that we are helping the unemployed, but we don't see that the same tax dollars that are taken to feed the unemployed are taken from the businessman, who in turn has to lay off a worker, or not hire a worker, because he has less money due to the taxes.

So, in other words, taxation to help the unemployed or impoverished destroys as many jobs as it creates. It also results in unbuilt houses, unbought wedding rings, unmade refrigerators, unbought refrigerators.

Making this worse is that a viscious cycle develops, where once you create these programs no polician wants to be the one to tell the people these programs are going to be cut. Even if the programs are no longer self sufficient, they are never ended. In order to keep them afloat even more taxes have to be collected.

Making this even worse, is that hundreds if not thousands of people are employed to manage these programs, and they will fight tooth and nail not to lose their jobs. Likewise, those who are receiving the money don't want to lose their checks, or their government provided food or home, and so they vote for whomever champions for continuing the program. It's a viscious cycle.

Spending equals taxes. Taxes basically you are taking from those who create wealth and giving it to those who don't. So those who own businesses, instead of giving raises or creating new jobs, they must not give raises and not create new jobs, and sometimes lay off workers and add to the unemployment problem. They have to do this all because of taxes.

And so as fewer people are working, government officials create new programs, and to pay for these new programs they have to raise taxes. And once taxes get too high -- say 50, 60 or 70 percent -- then people quit spending their money, and so even fewer products are consumed, and fewer jobs are created, and the unemployment number goes up even higher.

Why won't progressives let us do anything fun?

Progressives spent the entire 1910s passing laws to perfect society, and once they tired of such laws voters elected conservatives in a 1920s landslide. It's seems such progressive attempt to perfect society have been rejuvenated in recent years and, according to polling data, people are once again fed up with it.

In the 1910s progressives, lead by Woodrow Wilson, passed laws that made selling alcohol a crime, and the president even made people who spoke out against the war effort criminals.  Such actions were not supposed to be allowed in a free country.

Now, in the 2010s, progressives have returned, only under the name of liberal. They have passed laws essentially making it illegal to smoke cigarettes except for in the privacy of your own home.

One of their main efforts today is that they want to force everyone to eat healthy. They say it's because they care for us, but we all know the reason is so that when they get their universal healthcare system we won't cost Uncle Sam an arm and a let.

Progressives want everyone to eat healthy.  They want you to eat apples when you are traveling in a car, as opposed to Little Debbies.  Because of Michelle Obama they are forcing our kids to eat boring meals at lunch time, unless they bring in their own food, and even then they are scrutinized.

Michael Bloomberg signed a law forcing New York residents to purchase smaller sized sodas to prevent them from drinking too much sugar.  They, in essence, want people to eat healthy every day. Sorry, folks, they don't even want you to go out on Saturday night with your friends.

They don't want you to eat in moderation, or to have an "unhealthy" day once in a while.  They want you to eat perfect, every day, and to be a lean, mean, fighting machines.  Some day they might even pass a law mandating that you exercise every day.

It's not that they care for us, though, because they don't want us to even be here. They don't like that there are too many people on this planet because people exhale carbon dioxide, which is contributing to global warming. If global warming wipes out the planet then the animals they want to give natural rights to will die.

They want you to have perfect bodies because by their rationing, once we get universal healthcare, you won't be a burden.  What they fail to realize is that even people who eat healthy and exercise get risks.  They don't realize you can't take the risk out of life.

Yet they don't see it that way.  They see a world of complete euphoria where everyone eats healthy and exercises, everyone has a job, everyone has food, and everyone has healthcare

The reason is because, in their perfect world, their dream world, they want universal healthcare; they want everyone to have a job, be thin, and to have healthcare.

Since alcohol and drugs are responsible for crime, they want to get rid of alcohol and drugs.  It's for this reason prohibition passed.  Oh, by the way, what happened during prohibition.  That's right!  People drank alcohol anyway, only they became criminals.

Today there is a marijuana prohibition of sorts, where normal people like you and me enjoy a joint, and they end up in prison.  Or they lose their healthcare license because they had a little fun.

The problem with this is that what if their theories are not true?  What if there is no manmade global warming, or cooling, or whatever you want to call it?  What if high fat foods are proven not to cause heart disease? Then what?

I'll tell you what?  We'll continue to have all these laws based on a hoax because no one will have the nerve to get rid of them for fear of losing votes.  As with the global warming hoax, there will be so many people politically invested in the hoax that they will -- as with Al Gore -- continue to deny it's a hoax.

I think people should eat responsibly, just like they should be responsible toward the environment.  But to get all scared of a little sugar and fat at the expense of having a boring, un-fun life is absolutely pointless.  I mean, unlike Bloomberg and Michelle Obama, most of us lead stressful lives, and we need a little sugar or alcohol to take the edge off.

All these laws to perfect society have changed us from a free state to a police state. however, if the 2014 republican midterms election means anything, the people are once again fed up with all the laws to perfect society.