Shameless Plug or Emotional Blackmail?

Did you know we are adopting?   Well, we are.  BAM!!!!  And you can help!  We are crowd-funding our adoption, because that is a thing that people are doing. But what do you get out of it?  How about a snazzy shirt (designed by my wife). It comes in two colors!!  There are only a few days left to order to help us out, and we would appreciate it. So would she (the little girl who calls me 'Daddy').  While you ponder your need for another paint/sleep/workout shirt... why don't you listen to some music?

That's a good song right?  Anyone ready to BUY A SHIRT?  No?

I don't even like country and I bought a shirt after watching that!  What? Still don't want to buy a shirt?  How do you feel after watching this?

You can buy shirts here.  That's some pretty hefty emotional bludgeoning right?  The reality is, there are thousands of children in the state of Texas alone who have been removed from dangerous hard places and want to be loved and cared for.  Soon, there will be one less.  And you can be a part of that, part of that beautiful story.

PermaDeath - A Quinquennial Celebration

Now that I'm old, I've realized that I don't like playing hard games. I don't have a lot of free time, most of my free time is spent doing house work or herding children. So when I do decide to stay up late to play games, I want to relax and enjoy it, not crunch through it. I would rather play a game on Easy so I can enjoy the story (like I did for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception) than I would play Demon's Souls (which is like a glass-chewing competition).  It's a relaxing escape where I can fight evil, get/save the girl/world and be awesome with minimal effort on my part.

In my humble opinion, the best genre of game for this is the RPG.  There are lots of variations on the theme, but for the most part there are a few general requirements:
1.You play the main character who is
2. Going on some sort of quest
3. and your childhood friends go with you
4. you are joined by perfect strangers who are willing to fight and die for you for almost no reason
5. you save the world

Most games of this type will allow you to manage your party. You can equip items, customize gear and abilities, maybe even accessorize! Some games even allow you to manage inter-party relationships which, if handled correctly, can result is special bonuses or dialogue and cut scenes.  I have loved these games since Dragon Warrior 2 on NES. I have sunk way too many hours managing inventories, swapping gear and optimizing my party for maximum damage.  I get the same sort of thrill watching a decked out warrior/mage/priest trio rip through undead cultists as I'm sure sports-guys get when the quarterback throws the quaffle into the endplace for a touchdown.  Exhilarating.

As a result of the tens to hundreds of hours played micromanaging these characters, I very reasonably get obsessively attached to them. So of course I'll completely restart a game after 20 hours of play time because I accidentally opened a box that will keep me from getting the Zodiac Spear. (Alternatively, I could have gone to the Henne mines, where there is a chest that appears 10% of the time, that has gold in it 90% of the time. The other 10% it has an item. Of that 10%, 90% of the time it's an Elixir. The other 10% it's the Zodiac Spear. But you have to be wearing the diamond armlet. See? Totally rational decision to start over completely.) Once you get the Ultima Weapon and unlock the Limit Break, life is good.

Except for PermaDeath.

If you don't know about PermaDeath, let me explain. Remember Mario Bros?  The first one?  Imagine you are playing as Mario and your dad or little brother is playing as Luigi.  You mistime a jump and you die. Then it's their turn, and they die cause they suck.  Then the game is over. Because you only get one life, and you sucked at it, so....yeah. Would you like to continue? You can't. It. is. Maddening. There are a lot of games where if your party member dies (or falls unconscious) in a fight, you can heal them, or raise them from the dead, or they just...sit out till the next fight. But in other games...when they die...they stay died.  So... that super awesome winged pegasus knight you just gave a silver lance and armor too?  Yeah....dead. And your silver lance and armor is gone. So.....yeah. Commence crying nerd boy.  Your video game just kicked you in the knackers, stole your lunch money and your girl. Well, maybe not your girl, because you know...nerd.

In games that involve PermaDeath, I will save constantly. As often as necessary. Every 5 minutes. After every cut scene. After every choice between left or right door. I will replay levels 100s of times so that I don't loose anybody, even characters I find annoying or that I hate. Because in my mind, I am Seal Team 6 or something. I obsess over it.  The Fire Emblem games are THE WORST. They work off a rock/paper/scissors power scheme, but with weapons. So Axe/Lance/Sword, and if your axe wielding pirate gets cornered by a knight, or your knight gets cornered by a swordmaster; super-dead. But I can control or mitigate that risk though through careful, strategic planning and many, many, many retries.

What I absolutely can't stand is PermaDeath that takes place outside of my control. Like in a cut scene. Where, you are watching a brief clip of dialogue or plot exposition and they kill one of your main characters. And there is no going back, no chance to save or heal...that's it. They are gone.  For many, this is epitomized by Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII.  I remember watching, shocked, as Sephiroth killed her. I'm pretty sure I cried. Then I got mad. Then I got even.  This pattern repeated itself many, many years later when I played a game called Valkyria Chronicles. Your adopted kid sister gets shot late in the game. Very late. I was so angry I almost couldn't see straight. I had replayed every level of this game multiple times because not only did it have PermaDeath (and no one could die), but it graded your performance and I had to get all A's (how am I still having fun?). So..when the game killed her and there was nothing I could do...I kind of gave up. I started throwing away all the backup characters, just tossed them into the angry maw of the enemy, trying to gum up the evil-machines with their soft gooey innards.

Then I felt bad and replayed those levels.

What is it about PermaDeath that bothers me so much?  What is it that causes me to obsessively fight against it?  There is, I believe a two-fold explanation:

2) Control. I don't like it when something outside of my control arbitrarily acts against me or my party and removes a character from play. It should be by my choice, or not at all. At LEAST give me the stuff back.  I mean..come on! That armor's expensive!

1) I don't believe in PermaDeath. This isn't a real thing. There is always a Pheonix Down, or a Hi-Potion, or a continue, or SOMETHING. Maybe they were an angel and didn't know it till they died, now they are revealed in all their heavenly glory?  Maybe it's just a dream sequence and you get to wake up and everything is back to normal. Anything. Something. It shouldn't be this way.  There has to be a cheat code or some kind of hack...they can't just...leave like that. They can't just be gone. There can't just be...nothing.

It's the nothing that weighs on me. That sits heavy on my heart. The complete absence of being, of belonging. The oppressive weight of emptiness on my soul. The grief never truly leaves, or lessens. It just changes from being all consuming to powerfully poignant. I don't hurt any less, just less often.

Levi should be 5 today. He should be scrapping knees, climbing on my back and punching brothers. He should be getting ready to start school in the fall and playing soccer. But, he isn't. He's not. And my heart breaks again.

In many ways, I lost control of my life five years ago. Something acted arbitrarily against me and my family and I lost my boy. There was nothing that could be done, no explanations or answers.  Just the stark reality of what is.  My tiny baby Levi, wrapped in blankets, held in my arms.

I don't believe in PermaDeath.  I don't believe that those few hours that I held him will be my last. The Bible speaks about heaven, and my Jesus talks about reunification and gives me hope. My heart yearns and is desperate for that day.

So I play my games on easy, optimizing stats and gear waiting for the day I go to heaven and see a banner saying "Levi has joined your party!"

Haters gonna hate

I am not sure if you noticed this, but the Christians for a Moral America have announced that they are sponsoring a boycott of the movie, The Hobbit. Normally, I would link to Christians for a Moral America's website, but I can't. Not in good conscience. Perusing their site is like walking into a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Here is their press release. I promise that I'm not making this up or editing it in anyway:

"Invading your local cinema next winter is a new work of evil The Hobbit. The Hobbit follows on from the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and seemingly has brought everyone back to "Middle Earth" from the dead. Peter Jackson has once again stepped up as Satan's Little Helper to direct the two-part film and is once again using witchcraft and wizardry to peddle the film, even though the books had strong Christian undertones (good vs evil; Christians vs Atheists) but Jackson being the self-proclaimed Atheist he is obviously doesn't want to present this movie in the way it was meant by Tolkien. Let's vote with our wallets and send a big message to Hollywood and Jackson; Christians will NOT tolerate this blatant Anti-Christian bigotry and Atheist propaganda. Our children's minds are filled with enough poison these days from the media without us as parents actively doing the same while filling liberal fat cats' coffers."

When I first read this, I experienced a variety of emotions virtually simultaneously. Heartbreak, shock, anger, more shock, anger again, and then shame. I take issue with almost their entire statement, both as a Christian and as a geek. Let's break it down scatalogically*:

1. "The Hobbit follows on from the Lord of the Rings trilogy..." False. The Hobbit was written first. There are many ways you can tell. Like, the copyright. 1937 (The Hobbit) versus 1954 (The Lord of the Rings). You just have to peek open the covers and 'Hullo!' This one was written first!

Also you could read it and get contextual clues. Clues like, the description of Bilbo being "about fifty years old" on page 11 of The Hobbit and this excerpt from Lord of the Rings;"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday..."

"About 50 years", and Eleventy-one (111). He's more than twice as old in The Lord of the Rings than he was in The Hobbit. But that's a minor point. I'm sure they didn't pick that up on their read through. Except...well... That's the first sentence in Lord of the Rings. The. first. sentence. So, even if you didn't think to look at the copyright, or even a quick look on Wikipedia; you could logically make the argument that one story (Lord of the Rings) follows the other (The Hobbit) just by reading a grand total of 11 pages and 1 sentence. If you listen closely, you can hear the sound my palm made as it slapped my forehead in consternation.

And I'm not even going to go into how Bilbo GETS the Ring in The Hobbit and ALL READYhas the Ring in Lord of the Rings. I won't. Because if I do, I think I'll have an aneurysm and die.

2. ..."and has seemingly brought everyone back to 'Middle Earth' from the dead." Let's assume that they are talking about main characters, and that (shudder) The Hobbit was written later. Who died that they brought back? Gandalf didn't die. (Well, he did kinda, but he has all ready come back and I'm pretty sure that isn't their point.) Bilbo didn't die, neither did Meriadoc, Peregrin, Frodo, Samwise, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Faramir, Arwen, or Elrond... The only people who died in Lord of the Rings, weren't in the Hobbit. The ones who died in The Hobbit weren't in Lord of the Rings (since they were dead). The only people who were in both, lived through both (except Gandalf, sorta).

3. "..is once again using witchcraft and wizardry to peddle the film, even though the books had strong Christian undertones (good vs evil; Christians vs Atheists)" Wow. Just...wow. Let's break this down into two parts:

Part the first: Gandalf was a wizard. He did magic. More magic in The Hobbit than he did in Lord of the Rings. Like when they were surrounded by wargs in the trees and hit lit pine cones on fire. Also, there were magic swords (they glowed) and magic rings (turned you invisible). So...that part is dumb. One of the main characters is a wizard. There are in fact, lots of wizards and magic-y stuff. You can not, in any intelligent way, say that Peter Jackson is arbitrarily putting wizards and magic into The Hobbit, because it was and is a core aspect to Middle Earth. No one was shocked when Gandalf told them he was a wizard and could do magic. It was accepted. All the Hobbits, the most boring people in the world, knew he could do magic. And they didn't care as long as he made cool fireworks and didn't cause any trouble.

Part the second: the book did have a strong theme of good vs. evil. I'll give them half a point. But Christian undertones? Christians vs Atheists? J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic, whose faith had a profound influence on C.S. Lewis, but he himself said "It is not 'about' anything but itself. Certainly it has no allegorical intentions, general, particular, or topical, moral, religious, or political. It is a monotheistic world of 'natural theology'. I am in any case myself a Christian; but the 'Third Age' was not a Christian world." (From Letters of J.R.R. Tokien #165) So Frodo, Bilbo, Samwise and Gandalf were not Christians; Sauron wasn't an atheist and Saruman wasn't an apostate. I'm sorry if that's harsh.

He did say "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in theimaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism. For as a matter of fact, I have consciously planned very little; and should chiefly be grateful for having been brought up (since I was eight) in a Faith that has nourished me and taught me all the little that I know."(Letters, 142)

But that was Lord of the Rings, not The Hobbit. So, he was very Christian, and that influenced his works but it was not his goal to write "Christian" books. His story was what was important and contained the religious elements. So if the story and symbolism are present in the movie, then the religious element will also be present. If it isn't, then it won't be The Hobbit and it will fail because nerds and geeks hate things that mess with canon (google 'Han shot first' if you don't believe me).

These people obviously have never read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. If they did, it was a long time ago. A long long time ago. And they didn't read it very well. Their statement is embarrassing. They didn't bother to fact check anything regarding plot, when the books were published, or authorial intent. Instead of sounding like reasonable people with reasonable objections, they come off as unintelligent hate-mongers. Which saddens me. Both as a Christian and as geek. I'm shamed as a Christian because this is how people (especially geeks who aren't Christ followers) see Christians. As uninformed haters. People who are quick to hate without first finding out what exactly they are hating. As a geek I'm angry because... well; these people are uninformed haters who hate without first finding out what they are hating.

I understand being concerned that the director/movie studio isn't going to be faithful to the source material. I mean, come on. I live constant fear of George Lucas. Have you seen thistrailer? My eyes! Also, I own Ang Lee's Hulk. But if Peter Jackson wasn't faithful to the source material do you think Lord of the Rings would have done as well (critically and financially) as it did? No. Do you think they would make The Hobbit and people (like me) would be this excited about it? No. There would be an internet fire-storm calling for his head. He might be an atheist, but he was true to the source material for Lord of the Rings. And I trust that he'll be true to The Hobbit as well. Because if he isn't, then it won't do very well. Geeks and nerds won't stand for it.

So, here's what I think what happened: A 'christian' organization heard about the movie coming out in December 2012 and they decided to use it as an opportunity to get some attention by boycotting something millions of people love. Well, they did get attention. The problem is, it is negative. And don't tell me 'there's no such thing as bad press'. Because there is. Especially when you are making yourself (and other's who associate with the term Christian) seem like uninformed haters. Because that's what you are. Uninformed. And Haters.

Anyone who knows anything about The Hobbit and reads your press release knows that you have no idea what you are talking about. Your credibility is shot and your call for unity rings hollow. Even if you had a point, no one is going to listen to it because you come off as being stupid. As an example I give you Vermin Supreme who is running for President. If you look and sound stupid, no one will care if you have a valid point somewhere in your inane ramblings.

Christians for a Moral America, you make me sad. Sad that you are so full of hate. Sad that when geeks think of Christians, they will think of you poo-pooing one of the greatest triumphs Christianity has had in the literary world. A true cultural phenomenon. All because your goal was to hate, threaten and bully. Not to inform. Not to attempt to use a common touchstone to influence other's toward Christ, but to foster ignorance and hate. Because the truth is, the only people who will read that and agree with you are those who haven't read Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and are just as quick to hate. And people like that, give people like me a bad name.

For all you who don't associate yourself with Jesus, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for them. Christians aren't all haters. Please remember that stupid people are stupid no matter what they believe. I'll see you in line, December 2012.

* I know what I said

Siegel, Shuster and Keats

When I was in college, I took an English course during the summer of 2004 and as a consequence spent most of June, July and August reading. More than anything else I read that summer Keats' poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn" has stuck with me. Specifically the line "Beauty is truth, truth beauty". I remember reading those words and experiencing this rush of recognition, of overwhelming validity. Things that are beautiful are true and truth is beautiful. Since that time, I have seen this played out in front of me, over and over again.

As a Christ-follower, I see God and His influence everywhere. Anything that's true and beautiful is a reflection of Him, of His character. I see God in the way a father patiently teaches a child, the way a mother soothes a wound. In the natural world around me. I'm not being heretical or saying God is in all things, I'm saying that the reason we know beauty and goodness exist is because God is good and exudes beauty. True beauty and truth is a reflection of Him and has it's basis in Him.

This strikes me most when I see it in literature, movies, and songs. Especially when it isn't the author's intent. For example, there is a Superman story called 'Last Son' written by Geoff Johns. You can read a synopsis of it here or you can buy it here. Basically, Superman and Lois can't have kids (because he's an alien, not human) and he and Lois find a Kryptonian boy whom they adopt and call Chris. Then some bad guys come and there is some fighting and they send all the bad guys back to the Phantom Zone through a portal. But the portal won't close, because the portal is staying open for Chris. In order to save the world, Chris has to fly back into this horrible alternate dimension filled with bad guys. Superman begs him not to go, but Chris does, because he's Superman's son, and that's what Superman would do. I see Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Maybe I'm crazy.

I've been listening to Mumford & Sons a lot recently and: 1) they are good and 2) I hear God in these songs. I'm not saying they are Christians, or that you should buy their album. One of their songs has the f-bomb in it. That could be cause they are British, or it could be because they are they are jerks and d-bags. I don't know anything about that. But read these lyrics:

"Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, It will set you free. Be more like the man you were made to be. There is a design, an alignment to cry, at my heart you see, the beauty of love as it was made to be." -Sigh No More

"I will hold on hope and I won't let you choke on the noose around your neck. And I'll find strength in pain and I will change my ways I'll know my name as it's called again... Now let me at the truth which will refresh my broken mind. So tie me to a post and block my ears, I can see widows and orphans through my tears, I know my call despite my faults and despite my growing fears. So come out of your cave walking on your hands and see the world hanging upside down, you can understand dependence when you know the maker's hand. Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how to live my life as it's meant to be." - The Cave

"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life. Awake my soul, awake my soul, awake my soul. You were made to meet your maker." - Awake Your Soul

"Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blow, I know you have felt much more love than you've shown, and I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest. I begged you to hear me, there's more than flesh and bones. Let the dead bury the dead, they will come out in droves. But take the spade from my hands and fill in the holes."-Thistle and Weeds

If you seek God, you will find Him. If you know His voice, you'll hear His cry. If you know His story, you will see it played out around you. As a picture is not a person, these things are not Him. Just flickering shades, pale imitations of the true immeasurable person of God. Who loves you and died for you. So that you may know Him and make Him known.

Video Games vs. The Supreme Court

In case you didn't know or hear (or care), the Supreme Court recently decided a case regarding California vs. The Video Game industry. Basically, California passed a law restricting the sale and rental of violent video games to minors. So, why did the Supreme Court get involved? Well, turns out banning video games is a violation of free speech. For reals. I'm not making that up. "Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium."

So, it's a free speech thing. And in order to be banned, (not protected under 'free speech') something has to be clearly defined and obscene. The Supreme Court felt that it did not meet those requirements. "California’s Act does not adjust the boundaries of an existing category of unprotected speech to ensure that a definition designed for adults is not uncritically applied to children. Instead, the State wishes to create a wholly new category of content-based regulation that is permissible only for speech directed at children. Unless California can demonstrate that it passes strict scrutiny, i.e., it is justified by a compelling government interest and is narrowly drawn to serve that interest. California cannot meet that standard."

So the law was too vague and it could not prove causality (that playing violent games made kids violent).

So what? Why should we care? Well, for starters, video games made more money than movies. $10.5 Billion vs. $9.87 Billion. And second, video games are pervasive. You can get them almost anywhere. (Did you know that 7-11 sells video games?)

Now, I hear you saying, "Don't video games have a rating system?" Yes. Yes they do. And it's voluntary. Companies don't have to do that. It's like the Comics Code Authority. The industry hopes that if they self-regulate they won't have laws like the one passed in California, because they like to roll around in their oodles of money, and restrictive laws would make that harder to do.

But, unless (until) a more narrowly defined or better researched law gets passed, how are we supposed to protect our children? By being parents you lazy bags of excrement. All the parents and adults getting upset about their kids playing violent video games SHOULDN'T BY THEM FOR THEIR KIDS. OR GIVE THEM THE MONEY FOR THE VIDEO GAMES. Stop asking the government to parent by proxy.

Too Long for Facebook

This was too long for a Facebook status, but I thought I would share.

"I have seen many striking answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, too, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistakable, more emphatic. At first glance, such a suggestions seems to have it all backward. Shouldn't faith become easier, not harder as a Christian progresses?"

Jesus pled three times for God to "take this cup from me" and Paul begged God to cure the "thorn in my flesh." C.S. Lewis asks "Does God then forsake just those who serve Him best? Well, He who served Him best of all said, near His tortured death, 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' When God becomes man, that Man above all others, is least comforted by God, at his greatest need.

There is a great mystery here which, even if I had the power, I might not have the courage to explore. Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might have been less tenderly treated."

Jehovah's Witness/ Jehovah Witnesses

Rather than transcribing my notes from class, I thought I would present something from another Life Group teacher, Joe Huber. Joe was raised Jehovah Witness, so he has a unique perspective that I thought would be good to share. Rather than focus on what they believe, Joe spoke specifically about how to witness. Amy was lucky enough to sit in on his lesson, and bring home some notes. I hope you enjoy and that it is beneficial to you.

Jehovah Witnesses believe the Bible to be the Word of God. They believe it but they really do not know what it says for the most part because they study publications the Jehovah Witness religion produces. These publications have Bible references but the bible is rarely used. He is told that the Bible is difficult to understand and that is why they use the publications, to help them understand God's word.

The Jehovah Witness believe that the Bible and his religion are in complete agreement and taht they do not contradict each other.

Any time you witness to the Jehovah Witness realize that your greatest strength is to know God's Word so when you hear the Jehovah Witness telling yuo thing that you know are not Biblical you can use that as a tool to help him see that his religion and the Bible do not agree.

Ask the Jehovah Witness questions like, 'If the Bible and your religion contradict each other, which would you choose?' Most will choose the Bible but will quickly say that this never happens. They truly believe that both agree.

Lovingly show scriptures that show contradiction. Go slowly. Help him process truth by asking questions that help them think. Realize it is hard to accept that there is indeed contradiction and pray for him that the Holy Spirit will use God's word to bring the Jehovah Witness to salvation.

The Jehovah Witness religion believes Jesus is the arch angel Michael. He is a high priest, and a mediator, created by Jehovah God or Father. He is certainly not God.

A great place to start in helping the Jehovah Witness see this truth is John 1:1 and taking him slowly through verse 14. (turn there now and read it yourself, as practice.)

Ask lots of simple questions. Make them think. Help him process these thoughts with your questions. Ask:

1. According to John 1:1 how long has 'the Word' been in existence?

2. This person referred to as 'The Word', who is he with?

3. According to this verse who is 'The Word'? Realize that this small verse is devastating to the religion he believes in. In it is the Trinity which he does not believe in. It shows immediate contradiction. He is faced with making a choice between his religion or the Bible and that is very scary to him. Read the passage all the way to verse 14 showing that this person called the Word who the Scripture calls God is clearly Jesus. Any scriptures you know showing Jesus as God are great passages to use.

Other passages to use: Genesis 1:1, 26. before reading these verses ask, "Who made the world and who made man? After reading the verse, ask "Who is 'us' in this passage? Who is 'our' in this passage?" Compare it to John 1:10

Matt 1:23 - Immanuel means God with us.

Isaiah 9:6 - Jesus is called God/ Mighty God

Ask the Jehovah Witness who raised Jesus from the dead? He will tell you God. Agree with him and then show him John 2:19-21.

The Jews knew who Jesus claimed to be. John 10:30-33.

Thomas declared Jesus to be God and Jesus accepted the title in John 20:27-29. (If he were an angel, then he could not claim to be God, as that is above his station).

A very devastating blow to a Jehovah Witness is that Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega in the book of Revelation. A great question to ask the Jehovah Witness is who is the Alpha and Omega? He will tell you that it is Jehovah God. Tell him that you agree with him and turn in the scripture to Revelation 1:8 and follow it through to verse 18. It is clear that the Alpha and Omega is Jesus. Only Jesus was in the world, died, and is alive forevermore. The Alpha and Omega is God/ Jesus. Revelation 22:7, 12,13,16, and 20 further identifies the Alpha and Omega.

There are many more passages and God will open your eyes to as you study the scriptures to use with a Jehovah Witness. God bless you as you reach out to these people.

Joe Huber - former Jehovah Witness