The Mint

Anarchy: Athiesm with Regards to Government, Jesus, Peaceful Resistance, Politics

Key Indicators for September 10, 2012

Copper Price per Lb: $3.62
Oil Price per Barrel: $96.28
Corn Price per Bushel: $7.81
10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.68%
FED Target Rate: 0.16% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!
Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,724 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY
MINT Perceived Target Rate*: 0.25%
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%
Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.0%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,254
M1 Monetary Base: $2,385,400,000,000
M2 Monetary Base: $10,002,100,000,000

The Catechism of Non-Resistance: Required reading for all human beings

September 10, 2012 David Mint

Leo Tolstoy, in his great Christian-Anarchist work “The Kingdom of God is Within You,” pays homage to Adin Ballou, an American preacher who was a colleague of William Lloyd Garrison, the great American Abolitionist. Ballou devoted 50 years of his life advocating for the doctrine of non-resistance.

The following is a version of the Catechism of Non-Resistance that Ballou created for his followers. The last paragraph is especially moving, so much so that we consider it required reading for all human beings:

Q. Whence is the word “non-resistance” derived?
A. From the command, “Resist not evil.” (M. v. 39.)
Q. What does this word express?
A. It expresses a lofty Christian virtue enjoined on us by Christ.
Q. Ought the word “non-resistance” to be taken in its widest sense–that is to say, as intending that we should not offer any resistance of any kind to evil?
A. No; it ought to be taken in the exact sense of our Saviour’s teaching–that is, not repaying evil for evil. We ought to oppose evil by every righteous means in our power, but not by evil.
Q. What is there to show that Christ enjoined non-resistance in that sense?
A. It is shown by the words he uttered at the same time. He said: “Ye have heard, it was said of old, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you Resist not evil. But if one smites thee on the right cheek, turn him the other also; and if one will go to law with thee to take thy coat from thee, give him thy cloak also.”
Q. Of whom was he speaking in the words, “Ye have heard it was said of old”?
A. Of the patriarchs and the prophets, contained in the Old Testament, which the Hebrews ordinarily call the Law and the Prophets.
Q. What utterances did Christ refer to in the words, “It was said of old”?
A. The utterances of Noah, Moses, and the other prophets, in which they admit the right of doing bodily harm to those who inflict harm, so as to punish and prevent evil deeds.
Q. Quote such utterances.
A. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”–GEN. ix. 6.
“He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death…And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” –Ex. xxi. 12 and 23-25.
“He that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor, as he hath done, so shall it be done unto him: breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.”–LEV. xxiv. 17, 19, 20.
“Then the judges shall make diligent inquisition; and behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother…And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”–DEUT. xix. 18, 21.
Noah, Moses, and the Prophets taught that he who kills, maims, or injures his neighbors does evil. To resist such evil, and to prevent it, the evil doer must be punished with death, or maiming, or some physical injury. Wrong must be opposed by wrong, murder by murder, injury by injury, evil by evil. Thus taught Noah, Moses, and the Prophets. But Christ rejects all this. “I say unto you,” is written in the Gospel, “resist not evil,” do not oppose injury with injury, but rather bear repeated injury from the evil doer. What was permitted is forbidden. When we understand what kind of resistance they taught, we know exactly what resistance Christ forbade.
Q. Then the ancients allowed the resistance of injury by injury?
A. Yes. But Jesus forbids it. The Christian has in no case the right to put to death his neighbor who has done him evil, or to do him injury in return.
Q. May he kill or maim him in self-defense?
A. No.
Q. May he go with a complaint to the judge that he who has wronged him may be punished?
A. No. What he does through others, he is in reality doing himself.
Q. Can he fight in conflict with foreign enemies or disturbers of the peace?
A. Certainly not. He cannot take any part in war or in preparations for war. He cannot make use of a deadly weapon. He cannot oppose injury to injury, whether he is alone or with others, either in person or through other people.
Q. Can he voluntarily vote or furnish soldiers for the government?
A. He can do nothing of that kind if he wishes to be faithful to Christ’s law.
Q. Can he voluntarily give money to aid a government resting on military force, capital punishment, and violence in general?
A. No, unless the money is destined for some special object, right in itself, and good both in aim and means.
Q. Can he pay taxes to such a government?
A. No; he ought not voluntarily to pay taxes, but he ought not to resist the collecting of taxes. A tax is levied by the government, and is exacted independently of the will of the subject. It is impossible to resist it without having recourse to violence of some kind. Since the Christian cannot employ violence, he is obliged to offer his property at once to the loss by violence inflicted on it by the authorities.
Q. Can a Christian give a vote at elections, or take part in government or law business?
A. No; participation in election, government, or law business is participation in government by force.
Q. Wherein lies the chief significance of the doctrine of non-resistance?
A. In the fact that it alone allows of the possibility of eradicating evil from one’s own heart, and also from one’s neighbor’s. This doctrine forbids doing that whereby evil has endured for ages and multiplied in the world. He who attacks another and injures him, kindles in the other a feeling of hatred, the root of every evil. To injure another because he has injured us, even with the aim of overcoming evil, is doubling the harm for him and for oneself; it is begetting, or at least setting free and inciting, that evil spirit which we should wish to drive out. Satan can never be driven out by Satan. Error can never be corrected by error, and evil cannot be vanquished by evil.
True non-resistance is the only real resistance to evil. It is crushing the serpent’s head. It destroys and in the end extirpates the evil feeling.
Q. But if that is the true meaning of the rule of non- resistance, can it always put into practice?
A. It can be put into practice like every virtue enjoined by the law of God. A virtue cannot be practiced in all circumstances without self-sacrifice, privation, suffering, and in extreme cases loss of life itself. But he who esteems life more than fulfilling the will of God is already dead to the only true life. Trying to save his life he loses it. Besides, generally speaking, where non-resistance costs the sacrifice of a single life or of some material welfare, resistance costs a thousand such sacrifices.
Non-resistance is Salvation; Resistance is Ruin.
It is incomparably less dangerous to act justly than unjustly, to submit to injuries than to resist them with violence, less dangerous even in one’s relations to the present life. If all men refused to resist evil by evil our world would be happy.
Q. But so long as only a few act thus, what will happen to them?
A. If only one man acted thus, and all the rest agreed to crucify him, would it not be nobler for him to die in the glory of non-resisting love, praying for his enemies, than to live to wear the crown of Caesar stained with the blood of the slain? However, one man, or a thousand men, firmly resolved not to oppose evil by evil are far more free from danger by violence than those who resort to violence, whether among civilized or savage neighbors. The robber, the murderer, and the cheat will leave them in peace, sooner than those who oppose them with arms, and those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword, but those who seek after peace, and behave kindly and harmlessly, forgiving and forgetting injuries, for the most part enjoy peace, or, if they die, they die blessed. In this way, if all kept the ordinance of non-resistance, there would obviously be no evil nor crime. If the majority acted thus they would establish the rule of love and good will even over evil doers, never opposing evil with evil, and never resorting to force. If there were a moderately large minority of such men, they would exercise such a salutary moral influence on society that every cruel punishment would be abolished, and violence and feud would be replaced by peace and love. Even if there were only a small minority of them, they would rarely experience anything worse than the world’s contempt, and meantime the world, though unconscious of it, and not grateful for it, would be continually becoming wiser and better for their unseen action on it. And if in the worst case some members of the minority were persecuted to death, in dying for the truth they would have left behind them their doctrine, sanctified by the blood of their martyrdom. Peace, then, to all who seek peace, and may overruling love be the imperishable heritage of every soul who obeys willingly Christ’s word, “Resist not evil.”
ADIN BALLOU.

Anarchy: Athiesm with Regards to Government, Jesus, Peaceful Resistance, The Mint

On the nature of Empire, Part II: The better way

September 4, 2012 David Mint

9/4/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

In our last correspondence, we began to explore the nature of Empire and found that it is necessarily founded and maintained by a prevailing “Might makes right,” mentality. This mentality has, as its logical end, the effect of destroying the capital stock of a society. This is accomplished by the wasteful consumption of resources by employing them in both warfare, whose destructive nature need not be further explored, and welfare, which by nature rewards sloth and penalizes productivity.

{Editor’s Note: Here we must make the clear distinction between charity, which is a voluntary action taken by a willing individuals to help their fellow human beings and welfare, which is a system of Imperially mandated aid which ends in enslavement both for the recipient and provider.}

When confronted with the fatal defect of Empire, the destruction of the capital stock of a society, the Imperial apologist offers support of the Empire as either the lesser of two evils, implying that the ideological alternative, namely: Anarchy, would lead to chaos and an even greater destruction of life and capital or may find support in any number of religious texts for Imperial rule and conclude that submission to government is God’s will.

“I am an atheist with regards to government, for I have chosen to live in the Kingdom of God”

We offered this refrain a mere three months ago as we explored inconsistencies between a belief in God and a belief in the world’s government. Today, we will take this idea a step further as we present the better way that civil persons over the centuries have searched for and, in their better moments, embraced.

We’ve been inspired to do so by a recent post by Joel Bowman over at the Daily Reckoning entitled: We’re all Anarchists Now.

One of Mr. Bowman’s points is that Anarchy is a concept that has been hijacked. In the same way that the term Liberalism has come to be associated with social progressives, anarchy has come to be associated with rebellious hoodlums. However, when properly understood, Anarchy, devoid of the “Might makes right” mentality, is the perfect antidote for the problem of Empire. As Mr. Bowman explains it:

“Properly understood, the term anarchy, which derives from the Greek anarchia, literally translates an, “without” + arkhos, “ruler.” Freedom from being owned…enslaved…forced against one’s will. Freedom to act voluntarily. Freedom to associate with whomever one so desires and under whatever conditions he or she sees fit…provided they do not diminish the ability of another to enjoy the same freedom.”

In other words, Anarchy declares that, all at once, there are no sovereigns and that every individual is sovereign. You can understand why this may upset those who cannot begin to imagine this worldview.

As for those who would support the “necessary evils” of perpetuating the Empire on religious grounds, we offer the following: Were the Empire to truly be God’s agent on earth, it would cease to exist.

From the beginning, God has desired communion with mankind. It is from a state of perfect communion with God that mankind has fallen, and it is to this state of perfect communion that mankind will return. How can this perfect communion exist if God requires an earthly, Imperial authority to act on His behalf?

Yet the ultimate solution of Anarchy, where there is no sovereign save God himself or where every individual is a sovereign subject to God, depending upon one’s preferred theology, would be the embodiment of a perfect communion with God. In fact, it would be the only way in which it is possible.

The problem, then, is not the existence of Empire, the Empire is simply the manifestation of man’s failed belief system that “Might makes right.” It is this failed belief system that must be vanquished.

The better way

Sadly, to study most of human history is to study the violent and destructive embodiment of the “Might makes right” mentality as Empires rise and fall, either to external Empires on the rise or from revolutions from within. With every violent upheaval, most recently observed in what is now referred to as the Arab Spring, it becomes clear that the populace has simply exchanged one oppressive regime for another.

In fact, as one examines history, it becomes clear that the only true, permanent changes have come about when they are brought about through the use of peaceful resistance. Who amongst us are not familiar with the name Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr.? These men found the key to permanent change lies deep within themselves.

The key has been articulated by Leo Tolstoy in his insightful work “The Kingdom of God is Within You.”

It is the way revealed to us by Jesus, who chose to suffer and die in order to break the disease of ‘Might makes right” in the hearts of everyone. To open the way for a perfect communion with the Father.

This is the better way. His action trumped every argument that could ever be made in favor of Empire, and opened the doors to God’s Kingdom, the reign of a Holy God over a perfect Anarchy where the only rule is emblazoned on every heart:

“Love your neighbor as you love yourself”

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Bible Teaching, Jesus, Rapture, What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end

Key Indicators for September 4, 2012

Copper Price per Lb: $3.46
Oil Price per Barrel: $95.35
Corn Price per Bushel: $8.07
10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.58%
FED Target Rate: 0.14% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!
Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,696 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY
MINT Perceived Target Rate*: 0.25%
Unemployment Rate: 8.3%
Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.0%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,036
M1 Monetary Base: $2,306,900,000,000
M2 Monetary Base: $10,032,900,000,000

Rapture!

August 20, 2012 David Mint

8/20/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

We have recently released our latest e book here at The Mint entitled:

Eschatology and Money: A brief look at what is to come

For as long as we leave it up, it can be had for free over at Smashwords.com.

As the title suggests, it is a brief look at what is to come in the monetary realm as the Biblical prophecies regarding the end of the world unfold. While nobody can predict when or exactly how these events will play out, it is important to be aware of them and, if necessary, take the gift of time afforded us in the here and now to make the proper adjustments to one’s relationship to both their money and The Living God.

Portada Escatology — The Beauty of Rapture

Students of Eschatology will note our belief in a pre-tribulation rapture. For those unfamiliar with the term, the concept of rapture is the taking up, out of this world, of we who accept Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Jewish Messiah.

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection undeniably changed the world. He is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy towards us. To us it is logical that we are to be called up to heaven to watch God’s final judgments unfold from the safety of our new home with Him. Admittedly, anyone who has taken the time to read the book of Revelation would be either masochistic or insane to not want to subscribe to a pre-tribulation rapture.

Even so, there are strong arguments which find support in scripture for a “mid-tribulation” rapture or even a “post-tribulation” rapture. Further, there are those who believe that the book of Revelation is simply an allegory for events which occur from time to time throughout history.

Given the seemingly sound, yet grim, alternatives, on what basis can we have confidence that this pre-tribulation rapture is true?

As stated above, the basic logic of our worldview leads us to this conclusion. God loves us jealously and mercifully. He is bringing the judgments described by John to the earth to prove once and for all the He is the only God. For those of us who already understand this, the display of sovereignty and wrath is unnecessary and inconsistent with who He is to us.

However, if God is making one last merciful attempt to call His creation to Him, the events in described in Revelation are perhaps the only way to get their attention. The time of evangelism of the living saints will be over. Were God to allow those of us who have already chosen to give our lives to Him to suffer further through the tribulations, it would only serve to cause confusion amongst those whom He will call during the time of tribulation.

For those who believe that God will need many witnesses at that time, would not the rapture of the saints, who would disappear without notice, be perhaps the most powerful witness since Jesus himself first appeared? We argue that many who witness the rapture but do not partake in it will be God’s most fruitful evangelists through the tribulation that is to come.

To apply this logic to the events examined in our e book, for the believer, the test of allegiance that will take the form of the mark of the beast appears to be, has already been passed.

Beyond logic and into Beauty

Yet beyond logic, or perhaps to further affirm it, there is a beautiful symmetry between God’s first universal act of redemption, at the resurrection of Jesus which occurred on the date of a Jewish festival call the Passover, and what will be His final act of redemption before He returns to physically reign, which we believe will be at the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish day of atonement or judgment. It is also known as the Feast of Trumpets.

Jason Hommel has written extensively regarding the Feast of Trumpets being the appointed time of the coming rapture of the saints. Through his insights, we gather a greater glimpse of the beauty of Jesus’ plan to rapture His bride, the church.

For the rapture will not be an emergency airlift operation of a people in distress, this is what the day of our salvation from sin was. No, the rapture will be Christ knocking at our door to take those who are prepared and have our lamps lit to our wedding feast with Him.

Somehow the word beauty seems inadequate. For God has given us the model of the Jewish wedding, a seven day celebration which begins at an unexpected time. This is consistent with the scripture, “You will know not the day nor hour, but the season.” It is also consistent with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, which generally takes place over a period of two days for the simple reason that no one knows exactly when the new moon, which marks its beginning, will occur.

You will notice that while we may be certain of the time of year which Jesus will come, no one is certain as to which year it will occur, nor the specific date, the only certainty is that the doors of heaven will be swung wide open at that time.

It is just as God intended it, and it is beautiful.

Rosh Hashanah for the year 5773 (or 2012, according to the Gregorian calendar) begins on September 16th.

Is your lamp lit?

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

August 8, 2012 David Mint

Key Indicators for August 20, 2012

Copper Price per Lb: $3.37
Oil Price per Barrel: $95.83
Corn Price per Bushel: $8.15
10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.81%
FED Target Rate: 0.13% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!
Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,621 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY
MINT Perceived Target Rate*: 0.25%
Unemployment Rate: 8.3%
Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.0%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 13,272
M1 Monetary Base: $2,308,300,000,000
M2 Monetary Base: $10,037,100,000,000

Bible Teaching, Jesus, Teaching

A Recent Teaching on Money

Our long suffering readers will note that we have been on a haitus. It has been a busy time, full of classes, exams, and trees falling. Don’t worry (or worry if you must), The Mint will return soon. In the meantime, we wish to provide you with what we hope will be a valuable resource.

They are teaching notes from a class we gave recently to a group of interns at True Life Fellowship. If you are interested in Money or need to teach on Money and don’t know where to start, feel free to use this as a starting point. Faithful readers will recognize much of the material. We pray that it will be a blessing to you.

Enjoy and Stay Fresh!

TEACHING NOTES

PART I: IS MONEY EVIL?

READ DRAMATICALLY: “So you think that money is the root of all evil?”…”Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Is money evil?

Money is not evil, what, then, is evil?

Radix malorum est cupiditas – Latin for “The root of evil is greed” – Original Greek “Root for all the evil is the love of money.”

“For the love of money is the root of all evil”

–Paul 1:Timothy 6:10

Greed = Covetousness , “Thou shalt not covet…”

THIS DISTINCTION IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT!

ICE BREAKER ACTIVITY: The baby is crying, the doorbell is rining, and the water in the bathtub is running over the top onto the bathroom floor, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. You are home alone, what do you do first?, second? last? PAIR UP and tell your partner what you would do first and why.

Symbolic internal priority

Baby = Family

Door = Friends

Bathtub = Money

There is no wrong answer, it is important to understand this about yourself.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: What type of relationship do you have with money?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PART II: WHAT IS MONEY?

What is Money? What is my relationship to money? What am I to do with the money I am entrusted myself? How much time should I spend worrying about money? To Grapple with these questions is to question many things that we take for granted. It can be an unsettling experience.

We will begin our session with a brief exploration of what is money is. This is important, and it may be the only time in your life that you are presented with this information.

We’ll begin with a few quotes:

READ DRAMATICALLY

“Money is the most important subject intellectual persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it is widely understood and its defects remedied very soon.”
–Robert H. Hemphill, former credit manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

“All the perplexities, confusion and distresses in America arise not from defects in the Constitution or confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, as much from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.”
–John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson

“Lenin is certainly right. There is no subtler or more severe means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”
— John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff

DISCUSSION QUESTION: What are the attributes of money?

First, it should operate as a medium of exchange. Will other people accept this item in trade for something else? Second, it should operate as a unit of account. Can the item be easily divided without destroying its value? Third, it should be a reliable store of value. Will the item purchase the same amount of goods in ten, twenty, or three thousand years from now as it will today? And fourth, it should be anonymous. Can the item be freely transferred amongst parties?

Do Federal Reserve Notes fullfill this definition? Why not? BECAUSE THEY ARE DEBT, which by definition can NEVER BE MONEY. On a societel level, it is the equivalent of a person ingesting sugar instead of protiens. It may taste sweet and keep you running for awhile, but in the end, it will permanently damage your organism.

QUESTION: So what is money?

After reviewing the attributes above and reviewing all of known human history, we can conclude that, in an overwhelming majority of cases, precious metals, namely Gold and Silver, are best suited to serve mankind in the role of money. As a medium of exchange, they are universally recognized. As a unit of account, they are divisible with destroying their content. As a store of value, Gold and Silver are not easily pulled from the ground and coined for use (they cannot be “debauched”). And as for providing anonymity, they can be freely transferred.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PART IV: HOW SHOULD I MANAGE MY MONEY?

Budgeting – Healthy Habits

Questions to ponder:

Why do you need a budget?

Benefits of budgeting:

You have a base of data from which to make decisions.
You can isolate expenses and work to avoid unwanted increases and even reduce them.
It is an important financial guardrail.

How many here have prepared a budget? How many use that budget?

Most of us know what a budget is and some of us may even know how we are doing relative to our budget. I would like to share with you some tips that you can use when creating your budget as well as some healthy habits, which will help you stick to it.

Tips for creating your budget:

Think Easy Maintenance – If you are using a computer spreadsheet, use one you are comfortable with.

Include the kitchen sink – Throw into your budget anything you are currently doing as well as those things you think you may want to do which involve shelling out cash. Finally add the things you hope you won’t have to do but, if you have to, you will have to shell out cash for them, too.

Be a Conservative – It is better to underestimate your income and overestimate your expenses and to be pleasantly surprised than to assume everything is going to go well and to get shocked when an emergency drains your accounts.

Don’t forget taxes – Whether they be of the sales, income, property, or use variety, taxes are unfortunately a large part of the average American’s budget. While somewhat difficult at first, you will have a clearer picture of your finances if you record your gross paycheck as income and then record the deductions before net pay as expenses or transfers. It is a bit painful, but it will greatly help you make some key decisions making in the future.

Or depreciation – Perhaps the most overlooked expense line in a family budget is that of depreciation, or what may be more easily understood as “the wear and tear expense.” Depreciation is simply recognition that anything, a car, house, etc. deteriorates over time and will likely need repair. Contemplating depreciation allows you to unconsciously develop a rainy day fund to deal with unexpected repairs or regular maintenance.

Large ticket purchasing tip: The difference between a good investment and a bad one is often determined at the time of purchase. Learn to buy large ticket items, cars, houses, etc. out of season (that would be the winter in most places) and be sure to negotiate a price reduction for any major repairs. This will make your depreciation expense (which is a function of the purchase price of an asset) more tolerable and help you sleep at night.

Note: Depreciation and asset valuation are part of what I call “balance Sheet budgeting, which we will get into more today.

A note on Health insurance – This is perhaps the fastest rising cost for most families. Consider focusing on a healthy lifestyle and reducing your health coverage to major medical or other type of high deductible plan. However, do not give up so much coverage that you risk forgoing necessary treatments in the case of an emergency, you do not want to be faced with a tough life or death decision and have it boil down to finances.

Assume inflation (CAN JUMP BACK TO “WHAT IS MONEY” IF THERE IS TIME AND INTEREST)– Ever since the Federal Reserve took over control of the nation’s money supply in 1913, the US Dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power. In 1971, then President Nixon officially took the US Dollar (and world’s monetary system) off of the gold standard, the decline accelerated. The value of the dollar continues to decline at a rate somewhere between 2% officially and 10% unofficially each year. It is important to recognize rising costs as a fact of life and consciously plan to increase your income accordingly.

Which brings us to income. How exactly does one increase their income at a 2-10% pace each year?

Economize and value your time!

Moonlighting or Self Employment – What can you do to help others when you are not at work? Would they pay you for it?

Acquire new skills at your present job and constantly seek advancement, which in most cases will increase your chances of getting a raise or promotion.

Passive income – For most, passive income is not an option until we collect social security or can draw on a 401K or other retirement plan. This is why you save, but it will not fill your income gaps while you are younger and working. However, the concept of passive income becomes very important when considering…

Investments – If you have some input as to how your retirement money is invested, it is best to choose investments that provide a growing stream of passive income. That is, investment in companies which make real things which people want and are willing to pay for. If there are no good alternatives, the next best thing to do is to purchase gold or silver coins and to take possession of them. Store them in a hidden safe on your property. Gold and silver will hold value against a depreciating currency and have the added advantage of incurring no maintenance costs or taxes while you hold them.

Jesus’ words on money –

Full text from NIV:

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”

18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22%3A15-22&version=NIV

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to the Lord what is the Lord’s”

With this statement, Jesus recognizes that everything is God’s, and at the same time, that God recognizes private property in dealings between men. This is often a point of confusion.

He also creates an eternal separation between a person’s soul and their money.

Additional Healthy Habits:

Debt elimination – Check your budget to ensure that you have a surplus with which to pay back the debts (via depreciation line or an operating surplus), if not, make adjustments (belt tightening, if you will) until you do have a cash surplus.

Start paying back the smallest debts first. Paying a debt off will help you build momentum and create habits in order to pay off bigger and bigger debts as you go along.

A great resource for this is Gary North’s “Deliverance for Debt” Debt reduction course. It is free and you can subscribe via email.

http://deliverancefromdebt.com/

Stealth Saving – Pay an extra $5 to $10 on utility bills each month. After a few months, you will have a free month of utilities.

Open a separate savings account which you do not see online, etc. Fund this account first every month. Make it difficult to access, open it at a seperate bank from the one that you normally bank at. This will force you to think twice before using it.

Pay cash for items – There is something about cold hard cash that makes you think twice about spending and helps solidify the limit on how much you can spend. Cash disappears, plastic doesn’t!

Keep the change – Pay cash for items and accumulate the change throughout the day. At the end of the day, dump it in a 5 gallon water bottle. When it is full, take the money to the bank and go on vacation.

80 – 10 – 10 plan – This is mentioned by many and the general idea is that you live on 80% of your income, save 10% and tithe (give to your local church) 10% of your income. This seems logical but…

Why tithe? Apart from the numerous Biblical references, tithing is not one of the Ten Commandments. So why do it, especially when you are in debt?

Tithing, apart from helping keep the lights on at your local church, has the incredible habit forming benefit of forcing one to focus on their income. God knows that you can spend all day in a defensive position, cutting costs and desperately clinging to maintaining what you have. This is an expense focus. It has many benefits in the material world, but it is worthless in God’s Kingdom.

God wants you to have an income focus. “What can I do to serve others that is most highly valued by them?” should be the question on your mind. Remember, “The greatest amongst you shall be servant of all.”

Tithing forces you to focus on your income first, which will naturally get you focused on serving others rather than maintaining and increasing your own possessions. It may seem strange, but serving the greatest number of people has the unique benefit of increasing one’s blessing.

God has made his creation perfect, and the economic laws are eternal and He can be trusted. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things shall be added unto you.” (Look for versre)

Additional resources:

The Bible: Daily study of God’s word will give wisdom in guidence in every area of your life, finances included.

Mint.com: A free expense tracking software which accesses your online bank account information once you give it permission

Turbotax.com: An online income tax calculation tool. There is a charge to file your taxes with the software. Tip: To avoid the charge and get the benefits of a free tax advisor, use turbotax to calculate your taxes, then copy the information to a paper form and mail it in. This is a great way to be aware of changes in the tax code without having to do hours of research.

Dailyreckoning.com: A great resource for alternative investments.

APMEX.com: An online precious metals dealer which sell gold and silver coins at reasonable prices.

deliverancefromdebt.com: Gary North’s debt elimination course mentioned above, free of charge.

Questions?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PERSONAL STORY ON MONEY

I was first unsettled by this same question in a class on Monetary Policy at the Universitat de Barcelona in the Spring of 2004. The professor held up a small jar full of shredded green paper and asked us if we knew what it was? The answer, it turns out, is that the jar was full of $50,000 worth of US Dollars that had been removed from circulation and destroyed. Simple enough, right? Dollar bills wear out, you have to replace them. However, her (the professor’s) point was that what we use as money does not exist in a real, tangible sense. It is an invention created to meet the policy demands of the fiscal and monetary authorities. It is an invention that can be created and destroyed at whim.

I was taken aback, trying to catch my breath! She went on to explain that Corporations, businesses, etc. are simply “money machines” which strive to minimize money inputs and maximize money outputs. The difference between the inputs and outputs is what we call profit. This is obvious enough and it was logical that she would share this insight with our MBA class which was being trained to manage said Corporations.

Something in my mind short circuited in trying to reconcile the logic of a Corporations’ reason for existence being to create money and then seeing that same money end up shredded and destroyed in rather large quantities. The motor of my mind was so seized up that I managed to miss nearly every question that day on a pop quiz that tested our knowledge on “What is the proper reaction, in terms of monetary policy, to various economic data points? Should you move to increase or decrease the money supply?” The questions I did answer correctly were likely due to my misunderstanding the question (I was still learning Spanish and Catalan) rather than any grasp of accepted policy remedies.

In retrospect this day was the day that completely changed the way in which I viewed US Dollars, Euros, and all other paper currencies of the world. You see, I was answering all of the questions about monetary policy using the assumption that the monetary authorities wanted to maintain the value of the currency that they were managing. I was dead wrong. So if they are not trying to maintain the value of these currencies, what are they trying to do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PART V: WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT MONEY?

THE WORD

“Be not deceived.”
— Jesus and Paul in the New Testament

Jesus, during his ministry, talked about money more than any other subject EXCEPT for the Kingdom of God.

QUESTION: What does Jesus teach about money?

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s

Jesus Christ speaks with authority. As such, his words often astounded and confused those, whom in the days when he physically walked the earth nearly 2000 years ago, had aligned both their activities and mindsets with the authority of this world. An authority which works to suppress the knowledge of the Living God.

The first passage that we will investigate is related in Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:14-17, and Luke 20:21-25. It is focused on what appears to have been a brief verbal exchange between Jesus and a group of spies sent to ask a question of him by the religious authorities. It appears to take place in courtyard of the Second Temple in Jerusalem around the time of the Jewish Passover, which today is celebrated at the time of year that is known as Easter in the Christian tradition.

Interestingly enough, it seems that people 2000 years ago were as eager to avoid paying taxes as they are today. In an attempt to catch Jesus advocating for tax avoidance, the religious leaders, who wanted to get rid of Jesus, send spies to trap him in his words.

In response, Jesus not only foils their attempt at trapping him, He provides the world with a simple monetary concept with wide ranging consequences. He challenges the spies not on whether or not it is right to pay taxes, but rather on what they are using as money.

When asked whether or not it was right to pay the Roman Imperial tax, Jesus stated the obvious, “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Given that the coin used to pay the tax belonged to Caesar (the Roman Emperor) to begin with, it should be no problem to simply give it back to him when he asks for it.

The obvious yet staggering implication is that money and coinage given by an Emperor may at some point be demanded back by that Emperor, therefore it is foolish to accumulate money and coinage issued by an Emperor as a store of one’s wealth.

Jesus’ response cut to the heart of monetary theory by questioning not what they were doing with their money, but what they were using as money. The people’s choice to use the Emperor’s money had enslaved them to the Emperor in a way that no army or jail master could, and they were eager for a way out.

In those days, Emperors had made a habit of declaring themselves gods and demanding allegiance. The Jews were peculiar in that they refused to recognize these imposters and instead steadfastly worshiped the Living God. However, the Jews also had become accustomed to conceding certain aspects of their allegiance to the Emperor in an effort to survive as a people.

Jesus, with a simple statement, challenged them to get off the fence, for the fence would one day be burned down and they would have to make a clear choice between ultimate allegiance to the Emperors of this world or to the One True Living God, who alone is worthy of glory and honor and praise forever and ever.

Today, circa 2012, it is customary for most people exchange their labor for paper or digital currency issued by the Emperor. For most, it appears to be a matter of survival. Yet some 2000 years ago, Jesus sternly warned us against this.

Why would Jesus have opinions on what we use as money? Jesus knew that a person’s heart would be where their treasure was. One day, God’s people would be presented with yet another ultimatum which would require them to assent forever throwing their lot in with either the world’s system or The Living God.

When and how would this ultimatum present itself? What form would it take and what would be the price for holding steadfastly to The Living God? The answer to these questions had already been partially revealed to Daniel some 600 years before, and was going to be completely revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos some 70 years later.

BIBLE PLAY: PARABLE OF THE Parable of the Unforgiving servant Matthew 18-21-35

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
— Luke 6:35

READ BIBLE TEXT – CHOOSE CHARACTERS, ACT, REFLECT

When JESUS came to declare the year of the Lord’s favor, the Jubilee, He not only declared FORGIVENESS OF SINS, but also the FORGIVENESS OF DEBTS.

FORGIVENESS: AMISH STORY?

Thank you for your time.

Economics, Jesus, Spain, Sports, The Mint, True Capitalism

Spain downs Portugal 4-2 on penalties, Euro 2012 prediction intact, Faith and Courage in the face of hegemony and collapse

June 27, 2012 David Mint

6/27/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

We are emotionally drained here after Spain’s victory over neighboring Portugal in the Euro 2012 semifinal which took place in the Ukraine. From what we could tell, soveriegn credit quality was not mentioned nor did it have an impact on the match. As such, the correlation between a country’s sovereign credit quality and Euro cup performance is still being tested.

Spanish Flag — Spain downs Portugal! Euro 2012 prediction intact

If Germany downs Italy tomorrow, the hypothesis will hold, at least as far as the semifinals are concerned. We are predicting that Spain will disprove the hypothesis in the final and take the cup home.

Yet the Euro 2012, as are the Olympic games, which commence in just one tender month, are large scale distractions from the disease that ails the world and is threatening to rip it apart. Yes, fellow taxpayer, the insane “debt is currency” monetary experiment of the past 40 to 100 years is beginning to disintegrate.

Someday the historians will write about our times and lament: “They used debt as money, and corn as fuel,” or something to that effect.

While modern life is full of such contradictions, there are few with the potential to wreak such havok as the one where debt is forced into the role as money, which is akin to water being forced into service as oil.

But what is so bad about debt based currency? Doesn’t the ability to create money at will buffer everyone from suffering another depression?

On the contrary, the fickle nature of electronically created debts masquerading as money is economic suicide. This demands an explanation that we will not unduely withhold, for it about to burst out of us.

Capitalism is man’s only productive reaction to his Anarchic surroundings. It is inevitable that man would choose an increasingly free and capitalistic society as he gains a deeper understanding of natural law and his rightly understood self interests.

The expansion of the capitalistic system relies upon the division of labor in which men (we include women as we use the term “men” to define all of mankind) increasingly abandon self reliance and begin to trust their fellow men to provide them with life’s essentials.

This process is good, for it inspires and encourages widespread effeciencies in all spheres as man’s natural tendency to economize is rewarded as his actions align with what we refer to as the demands of anarchy and the natural economic law of supply and demand.

While this process is good, it is dependant upon capitalistic principles to operate in all spheres without exception. Any part of the system which succombs to hegemony (what we refer to as ‘Might makes right“) by one party causes all of those who mistakenly rely upon that part of the system to become vulnerable to its collapse.

The hegemonic parts of the system are prone to collapse because their existence is no longer owed to willing participation, but the use of force.

At the risk of oversimplifying a complicated issue, the more an organization encourages willing participation, the more it must adapt to the wants and needs of its clients. The process of adaptation makes the organization extremely strong and stable. It becomes a rock.

A hegemonic system, where organizations rely upon force to maintain thier positions, has already failed, for the organizations cease to adapt in a vain attempt to force others to adapt to them. The organizations in turn become weak and prone to collapse.

The largest hegemonic system operating today is the world’s monetary system, and it is on the verge of collapse. This debt based monetary system is especially dangerous because it has the effect of stimulating economic interdependence in much the same way that a healthy capitalistic system would while at the same time rendering useless or destroying the capital upon which a healthy capitalistic system relies upon to operate.

While the more perceptive members of society see it coming, the inevitable collapse causes the interdepence on which all rely to suddenly cease to operate. The result is chaos and suffering for the unprepared.

While there are many ways to prepare for this, there is only one way to start. It requires large amounts of humility, faith, and courage.

For now is the time to walk humbly with God and others. It is time to step, on the right with faith, which is provided by God, and the left with courage, which comes from within.

Faith…courage…faith…courage…faith…courage as we work together to pick up the pieces of the failed experiment to build something new, something reliable, something that will last.

For walking humbly in faith and courage is to live in the Kingdom of God.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Copper Price per Lb: $3.36
Oil Price per Barrel: $80.42

Key Indicators for June 27, 2012

Corn Price per Bushel: $6.42
10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.62%
FED Target Rate: 0.16% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,585 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY

MINT Perceived Target Rate*: 0.25%
Unemployment Rate: 8.2%
Inflation Rate (CPI): -0.3%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,627

M1 Monetary Base: $2,192,300,000,000
M2 Monetary Base: $9,933,900,000,000

Bible Teaching, Jesus, Uncategorized

Lessons from John’s gospel, chapters 1-3

June 18, 2012 halfwayfoods

This year, it is our privilege to get to know John, the author of a good portion of what is now the New Testament.

There is much to learn. Today, we had two revelations as we began our journey:

Revelation one has to do with what we willthe mechanics of rebirth. It is written in John 1:12-13 that those who believe in Jesus, the Messiah, are given the right to become children of God. How does this miracle occur?

It was revealed to us as the spirit of God penetrating the believer. It is a miracle, yet we will attempt to describe it as clearly as possible. The Spirit of God descends as a mere drop of oil on the head, which then enters the body, as if flesh were not a barrier.

Russian Orthodox icon of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, 18th century (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia)

This drop grows larger until it fills the entire physical presence of the believer, for it is the essence of the Lord permeating the flesh of the believer.

This was confirmed as we read the next line, John 1:14: The Word BECAME FLESH and dwelt amongst us. This vision and John’s choice of descriptive language reveal the deep understanding and intimacy that John has with the Father.

It is no mistake that in Chapter 3, the third witness of this truth appears as John recounts Jesus’ shock in John 3:10 that Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, would be ignorant of the mechanics of spiritual rebirth. Nicodemus’ ignorance is striking because He was a Pharisee, one who believed in life after death and the coming of the Messiah.

The second revelation is that John was one of two disciples of John the Baptist, whom upon witnessing the baptism of Jesus, immediately followed Jesus and asked where He was staying. The other was Andrew. Both of these first disciples told their brothers that they had found the Messiah. The brother of Andrew was Peter, and the brother of John was James.

John, like Isaiah before Him, was eagerly awaiting the Jewish Messiah. While He was a fisherman by day, his spiritual thirst attracted Him to John the Baptist. His perceptiveness drew Him to Jesus.

The spirit of Isaiah was upon John, and the Spirit of the Living God is upon all of us.

We encourage you to join us on this journey, we will be studying the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation, and The Acts of John. We will also look back to Proto-Isaiah for the source of this passion for the Messiah which He and John shared.

We would love to have you along and to hear your insights as they are revealed.

Bible Teaching, GSM, Jesus, The Mint

Never Compromise: Murder, Robbery, Decriminalization, and the Slippery Slope

June 8, 2012 David Mint

6/8/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

As the world continues to hurtle towards a form of financial armageddon, at The Mint, we have become increasingly reflective. Ed Harrision of Credit Writedowns, recently posted regarding the causes and effects of the current financial crisis/recession/depression which much of the western world now finds itself in.

In the essay, Mr. Harrison observes that one of the root causes of the financial crisis is the combining of financial deregulation with desupervision and the decriminalization of financial crimes.

The most notable example of this phenomenon has been the MF Global Bankruptcy. On the surface, it would appear that the firm purposely helped itself to its clients’ segregated funds in order to cover the firms margin calls which it received in those gloomy days in late October of 2011.

In layman’s terms, this is robbery. Yet in the parallel universe of the insane “debt is money” monetary system in which we live, John Corzine, the CEO of MF Global at the time and supposedly the one who is ultimately responsible for the firms actions, is able to freely walk the streets after telling a series of Congressional committees that He had no knowledge of the “transfers” (read: theft) of client’s funds which were illegally used by MF Global in a desperate attempt to stave off the firms imminent collapse in late October of 2011.

We do not wish to further flog Mr. Corzine, or for that matter, Jamie Dimon, who, as the CEO of JPMorgan, served as an accomplice to the theft (for JPM happily took the missing client funds as collateral in the fateful transfer), for their consciences, if indeed they have one, must be flogging them daily without mercy.

We do, however, wish to flog the idea of decriminalization when it comes to the financial industry. Like sending remotely controlled drones into war, the digitalization of the world in financial matters gives the actors involved a false sense that they are operating not in the real world, but in a virtual world where they alone are acting.

How does this false perception of reality play out and, more importantly, differ from what is commonly understood as real life?

In the example of the remote controlled drone, the drone facilitates acts which more resemble murder than self defense, for it is much easier to convince a teenager, who has been raised playing video games where the actions taken on the screen have no real world consequences (save wasting otherwise valuable time), to kill someone if it can be done by giving them a video game control and a sofa from which to guide their armed drone into real world combat over half the world away.

The experience for the teenager on the sofa is similar to that of the video game and, as such, has the effect of removing the real world consequences of having murdered persons who posed them no existential threat. It is as if the distance both dehumanizes the very real interaction which is taking place.

So it is with financial crimes. As persons begin to conduct a great portion of their financial transactions, especially those involving large sums of money, in a virtual world with little or no human contact, it becomes easier for persons who have access to the funds of others to shun their fiduciary duty and use the funds of others for their purposes without their consent.

While the technical medium employed is an electronic transfer, the actions similar to those taken by Mr. Corzine are more accurately described as robbery.

Yet as of today, Mr. Corzine has not been accused of a crime.

The problem is not that crimes such as murder via remote controlled drone and robbery via wire transfer take place, for robbery and murder have been unfortunate parts of the human experience since the dawn of time.

Nor is it a problem that the means to commit these crimes exist and are used as a normal part of life. For remote controlled airplanes and electronic wire transfers may have great benefits.

No, they problem is that the misuse of these mediums has been largely decriminalized. Those who use them to commit crimes can now justify their actions behind a smokescreen of words and those who should be holding these persons accountable appeal to some good greater than Justice that is being served: Security and Financial stability.

However, without Justice, security and financial stability are mere illusions.

What is important is to have a belief in one’s principles which is firm enough so that it is impossible to compromise them, even when holding to them causes one personal injury.

Bettie Mitchell, the founder of Good Samaritan Ministries, recently shared the story of how her father visited her one day, unannounced, when he was 70 years of age. This was unusual because she knew that her mother had not sent him, which had always been the case in the past.

She knew that what he was to say was important, and that it did not come from him, but from the Holy Spirit.

Her father arrived at her house, she let him in. He entered, sat down and told her the following:

“When I was your age, I had all of the spiritual gifts that you have. Then I began to compromise. Never Compromise.”

With that, Bettie’s father got up, and walked out. There was nothing more to be said, the message had been delivered.

There are principles by which one must live their lives which cannot be compromised upon. Put a different way, it is much easier to stand by one’s principles 100% of the time that 95% of the time.

Once one compromises on their principles 5%, or even 1% of the time, they begin to go down a slippery slope. They are constantly searching for the next patch of firm ground upon which to stand as they find themselves caught sliding down an increasingly unstable incline.

How easy it would have been to simply stay on the level path, even if it did take a little longer to get to one’s destination.

Today, while lawmakers, Judges, and central bankers struggle to find their moral compass as they slide further down the slippery slope they have set out on, we challenge each and every one of you, fellow taxpayers, to stay on the path, where it has always been wrong to steal, and it has always been wrong to murder.

For it is this increasingly narrow path that leads to life.

Stay tuned for further sections and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Copper Price per Lb: $3.30

Key Indicators for June 8, 2012

Oil Price per Barrel: $84.10

Corn Price per Bushel: $5.92

10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.64%

FED Target Rate: 0.16% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,595

Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.0%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,554

M1 Monetary Base: $2,306,000,000,000

M2 Monetary Base: $9,790,100,000,000

Anarchy: Athiesm with Regards to Government, Economics, Freedom, Jesus, Oregon Politics, Politics, The Mint

Anarchy: Atheism with regards to government – Part II – On the Legitimacy of and belief in Government

May 23, 2012 David Mint

5/23/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

“I am an atheist with regards to the world’s government, for I have chosen to live in the Kingdom of God”

Yesterday at The Mint, we took quite a ride through Portland’s plastic bag ban, bisacksuality, the virtues of non-violent protest, anarchy, atheism, and the imaginary construct of government.

If you missed it, we encourage you to give it a read as it will aid greatly in understanding today’s installment. Of course, if your prefer to jump cold turkey into today’s Mint, by all means, carry on.

And onward we must toil, for this is exceedingly important.

Yesterday we offered that the best way to test the legitimacy of government, that is, its right to govern, would be to simply live as if the government did not exist and see where resistance came from.

If resistance were to come from a solid majority, then that would lend credence to the necessity of government. If resistance were to appear in the form of a minority relying on an imaginary framework to create and enforce a series of rules, imposed by one group on other groups in order to gain or maintain an unearned privilege, the legitimacy of the government should be questioned.

Not the legitimacy of those who are governing at the time, mind you, rather, the legitimacy of the apparatus which allows such rule by the minority at the expense of the majority.

For if a majority would be materially better off by simply shedding the illusion of government, why does the idea of government persist?

Here at The Mint, we understand that the idea of government and its companion, central banking, have risen as mans’ collective response to help him deal with his anarchic surroundings.

Let’s face it, it is nice to sleep at night with the idea that someone is watching over us and our assets. Even more comfort may be found in the idea that, were something to happen to ourselves or our assets, we would probably still be taken care of.

Yet these same promises are also the promises of the Almighty God! Why, then, if one were to believe in the God of the Bible, would it make sense to attribute the power of God to a government which is by definition an assembly of fallible men?

The answer, most would say, is that God is unseen, while men, while they may be fallible, can be observed to be acting. This logic is clear. Some may even take it a step further and claim that the government is God’s agent to provide protection and provision to His people. There is certainly support for this idea in scripture. However, it is important to watch how the men act before blindly ascribing supernatural powers to them.

In the case of government, the confiscation of n

anarchy-symbol1 — The irony is this: To be an Atheist is to be an Anarchist, and to be an Anarchist is to live in the Kingdom of God

early 30% of a person’s income, which is what the average American may expect to pay in the form of Federal, State, and Local taxes, does not exactly fit with most peoples idea of the preservation of assets, nor does the idea of restricting the ability of one to own a weapon fit with the preservation of one’s life.

Yet it is clearly stated in the Bible that he who trusts in God shall be both protected and provided for.

How can this paradox be reconciled? For it is one thing to deny the existence of the unseen God. It is quite another to deny the existence of God on one hand, and on the other assign the attributes of the non existent God to an entity which consistently operates in a manner contrary to the self interest and freedom of the individual, which presumably would be the reason that an individual would deny the existence of God in the first place.

For the sake of consistency, then, the professing atheist must be a professing anarchist as well. If not, one would be at a minimum inconsistent and possbily insane to assent to most if not all of the actions of the government, for the sacrifices required by most governments on the earth far exceed those requested of humanity by the Living God.

Those who know God, on the other hand, would be inconsistent were they to declare that God is their provider and protector and then eschew what God asks of them in favor of fulfilling a requirement imposed upon them by the government when the two come into conflict with each other.

So what gives? Is it possible to be an atheist with regards to the world’s governments without living in defiance of nor toiling against them? Is it possible to simply deal with the inconveniences which appear as a result of a large part of the world’s population acting upon the belief that the government really exists?

In other words, is it possible to live in the world but not be of the world, as the apostle Paul alluded to? For to do so is to choose to live in the Kingdom of God.

The only way to know for sure is for both the atheist and the believer to peacefully and actively test the hypothesis of a government’s legitimacy by living their lives as if the government did not exist, and then patiently wait and see where any resistence to their chosen way of life came from.

Aslong as they are not stealing from of hurting anyone, they should be just fine, right?

More to come.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Copper Price per Lb: $3.45

Key Indicators for May 23, 2012

Oil Price per Barrel: $90.37

Corn Price per Bushel: $6.03

10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.72%

FED Target Rate: 0.16% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,561

Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.0%

Unemployment Rate: 8.1%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,496

M1 Monetary Base: $2,233,100,000,000

M2 Monetary Base: $9,836,900,000,000

Jesus, Monetary Theory, What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end

Dabbling in Eschatology: What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end – Part III of III – The Vision of Daniel

April 11, 2012 David Mint

4/11/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

If you missed parts I or II of this series, please click below and give them a brief read before continuing:

Part I – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and Part II – The Vision of John

In our brief but necessary excursion into the wild world of Eschatology here at The Mint, we have endeavored to bring to your attention, fellow taxpayer, what one can expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end.

To be clear, we are not predicting when the world will come to an end, for only God alone can determine this, rather, we are sharing our interpretation of what will take place regarding man’s relationship to his money and possessions as the inevitable trials and tribulations which will take place begin to unfold.

First, a brief review of parts I and II of the series:

Part I – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s: Around 2000 years ago, Jesus reiterated the importance of a mark in determining monetary ownership, stating that since the mark of Caesar is on the coin used to pay the tax to Caesar, it is proper to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

With this simple statement, Jesus reaffirmed both the complete Sovereignty of God as well as the validity of private property held by men in God’s view.

Not surprisingly, the same is true today.

Part II – The Vision of John: Roughly 60 years after Jesus’ declaration, the Apostle John was given a vision of the events that would transpire before Jesus returned to the earth to reign triumphantly.

{Editor’s Note: This is not unprecedented; in addition to the vision of Daniel which we will discuss today, a vision of Jesus’ first coming was given to Isaiah some 700 years prior to the event.}

Albrecht Dürer, The Revelation of St John: The Four Riders of the Apocalypse, 1497-98, Woodcut — The Revelation of St John: The Four Riders of the Apocalypse, 1497-98, by Albrecht Dürer, Woodcut

John’s vision, recorded in the book of Revelation, covers a great deal of topics and is perhaps the most widely studied book when it comes to Eschatology. In this series, we are specifically concerned with only the portion of the vision which is commonly referred to as the “Mark of the Beast.”

In our review, we stated that the “beast (satan)” will at some point in the future demand the worship of all men. Specifically, he will ban all worship of the One True God and cause a statue to be set up, which God refers to as the “abomination which causes desolation,” and demand that everyone on the earth render worship to the statue.

One tactic that will be used to coerce mankind into worshiping the statue instead of the One True God will be to require mankind to accept a “mark” on their physical body in order to be able to buy and sell.

The choice to accept or deny this mark will be the watershed moment for the inhabitants of the earth at that time. They will be forced to choose to either throw their lot in with satan, whose kingdom is being destroyed forever, or the One True Living God, whose Kingdom is established for eternity.

On paper, the choice is obvious. However, given the deception which satan employs in an attempt to manipulate mankind, much perseverance will be required.

The prospect of losing title to all of their possessions and not being able to buy or sell may be too much for even self professed Christians to bear, and many, faced with the choice to continue their way of life within the system or to presumably wander the earth as Cain was, may be tricked into capitulating to satan’s tactic and accepting the mark.

We wrote yesterday that the Rapture will occur before any of the tribulations, including the dreaded choice of whether or not to accept the “mark of the beast,” takes place. Therefore, if the end times which John writes of seem like too much to bear (as it is for us,) we implore you to begin trusting Jesus today.

If you have just made or have already made a decision to trust Jesus, you may stop reading and begin a life of praise and service to God.

However, for those who are unfortunate enough to be living on the earth during the perilous days to come, the third and final passage which we will consider is intended to give them a measure of hope, as well as the timeframe which one must be prepared to endure.

Fortunately, God has given us, circa 2012, a guide to the end times. For the vision of Daniel regarding the end times, related in the book of Daniel, Chapter 12, taken together with the vision of John in Revelation gives us the specific time frames that the “Mark of the Beast” will be required to be used for buying and selling within the earth’s system.

It is clear from John’s vision that the imposition of the mark will coincide with the erection of the statue which God calls the “abomination which causes desolation.” Therefore, according to Daniel 12:11-12, the time frame from the beginning of the tribulations until the time that the decision to accept or reject the mark is presented to all of those on the earth at that time, will be 1,290 days, or approximately 3 years and 6 months.

If one finds him or herself on the earth at this time, we advise you to use those 1,290 days to prepare at least 45 days of rations.

Why 45 days? Because 45 days is the period of time which one will have to refrain from buying or selling if you still desire to accept Jesus and reject the mark of the beast. As it is related in Daniel 12:12: “Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of 1,335 days.”

Again, 45 lonely days is all one will have to refrain from buying or selling as a consequence of wisely rejecting the mark of the beast. During this extremely short period of time, the beast will appear to have complete control over the monetary realm.

Then, the fraudulent monetary and religious system that the beast has attempted to impose on the earth will collapse, and all of the earth will fall into a deeper tribulation as a result. However, it is clear from Daniel’s vision that those who refused to accept the mark of the beast will be blessed.

We are aware that this is but one of many interpretations of the events surrounding the end times. It is our prayer that you will find both comfort and a call to action in our interpretation of what is to come.

45 days may seem like a long time, but with the proper preparations, all of the peoples of the world who remain during the coming tribulation may eagerly await the coming of Jesus without fear and full of hope.

God is faithful and will quickly answer honest and earnest prayer. We encourage everyone to study the Bible and to seek God in order to develop their own understanding of what is to happen and what they are to do.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Copper Price per Lb: $3.68

Key Indicators for April 11, 2012

Oil Price per Barrel: $102.70

Corn Price per Bushel: $6.36

10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 2.03%

FED Target Rate: 0.15% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,660

Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.4%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,805

M1 Monetary Base: $2,299,000,000,000

M2 Monetary Base: $9,823,900,000,000

Jesus, The Mint, What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end

Dabbling in Eschatology: What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end – Part II – The Vision of John

April 10, 2012 David Mint

4/10/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

If you missed Part I of this series, please click below and give it a brief read before continuing:

Part I – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s

It is clear from Jesus’ answer to the spies’ question that He ascribed little importance and value to the coinage of Caesar. This flew in the face of what to most people believe about money on a subconscious level.

As we have explored in this space before, the current monetary system, where money is debt, creates an unnatural link between human beings, a sort of mutual slave/master relationship in which each and every person within the system finds themselves ensnared.

How does Caesar ensnare people in this system? By simply placing his mark on the coinage, the coin becomes Imperial property. The next step is to pass a series of laws, commonly known as legal tender laws, which obligate people to use the coinage in trade and commerce.

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” therefore, may be seen as a call out of the system of Imperial coinage and tribute. If one remains in the system by accepting and using the coinage in exchange for goods and labor, they remain a slave to the empire and all of the money bearing his mark which they have accumulated belongs to Caesar.

Today, some 2000 years after Jesus’ words, most of the western world lives in a system where not only does the modern day Caesar lay claim to their money via a mark, but also their future output by means of debts which are incurred as a necessity in the face of the declining real world value of the Imperial coinage in trade.

And yet it is only money, nothing more. Jesus stresses both private property rights and God’s divine sovereignty over all when He continues, “and to God what is God’s.” implying that everything is God’s while recognizing the right for Caesar to lay claim to all Imperial coinage via the mark.

This brings us to the second passage which we will examine as we continue our eschatological dabbling into what to expect in the monetary realm as the world comes to an end.

The second passage relates to us a portion of the vision given to the Apostle John as he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea circa 95 AD.

The passage, Revelation 13:14-18, is a source of widespread discontent amongst Christians who are paying attention as it warns of a time when all people on the earth will be forced to make a permanent choice between accepting the “mark of the beast” and “buying and selling.”

The discontent stems from the perception that one will be forced to accept the mark, and as a consequence presumably be forever estranged from Jesus, to be able to put bread on the table for themselves and their families. On the surface, this discontent is completely understandable.

Yet in light of the coming rapture of the Church, it is also completely unfounded for the true believer. Allow us to explain.

At the Mint, we are of the opinion that Jesus will rapture us (those who have accepted Jesus as their savior) before the inhabitants of the earth are faced with this fateful decision. This opinion is based on the parallels between the rapture and Jewish wedding traditions, where the bride (the Church of Christ) is swept away for seven days.

The parallel is that Jesus will come to sweep us away and hide us in his house (heaven) for the seven years of the tribulation which were revealed to John in his vision. This interpretation is supported by everything else that Jesus said about the end of the world.

While nobody knows exactly when Jesus will come, it is reasonable to expect that He will return around the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The first coming of the Messiah, Jesus, was the culmination of the Jewish Passover which occurs in the springtime. It could logically follow that the second coming of Jesus would occur during the harvest time around the Feast of Trumpets. Though we do not know the time of Jesus’ return, we will know the season.

If you, too, would like to share this joyful fate, we encourage you to choose today to trust Jesus. At this point, you may stop reading and begin a life of praise and service to God.

In the unfortunate event that one chooses to decline God’s loving invitation and finds themselves on the earth when humanity is faced with the ultimatum to either accept the mark of the beast or to be denied access to a perceived economic necessity, namely, “buying and selling,” please read on, for there will still be time to choose eternal life with God, but it will involve a seemingly difficult decision.

There is no shortage of speculation as to what form this “mark of the beast” will take, ranging from barcode tattoos, implanted microchips, and even the choice to worship on Sunday. Here we do not wish to add to the speculation.

Rather than focus on the substance which the mark will take, it is more important to focus on what it will mean, for at the time of the ultimatum, the choice they are being asked to make will be subtle and at the same time, crystal clear for all of mankind.

God’s enemy, satan, desires to occupy the place of God in people’s lives and the obligation to worship an image and accept a mark will be his final, desperate attempt to obtain all human worship for himself through a final deception.

It is clear that this desperate attempt will fail, yet that even some of those who are following Jesus may be led astray. For this reason, it is important for all to be aware of the choice which is being presented.

The acceptance or denial of the mark will be a choice that all those on earth will be forced to make and it appears to be the final watershed event in human history. The choice for those living at that time will be clear to them and the consequences eternal.

The choice is the following: Will you accept the mark and throw your lot in with the world which you can see or will you deny the mark and throw your lot in with the unseen God, and as a consequence subject yourself and your family to being ostracized from the world system to face hunger, persecution, and torture?

Denying the mark will likely be similar to losing title to all of one’s assets and loss of access to the banking system.

In other words, it would mean being shut out of the system.

The choice that each person makes at that time will then be clear for all to see. It will symbolize either entitlement to goods, services, and protection in the world system or being cast out of it to wander the earth as Cain did.

Those who desire to throw their lot in with God at that time are then presented with the some very important questions here and now: How long can you and your family survive without access to your assets or the banking system? Is it worth it to resist the mark and live as wanderers? Won’t God understand if I take the mark and forgive even this transgression?

To the first two questions, only you can provide the answers. The Bible is clear as to the answer to the third question, and from what we read in Revelation 14:9-12, it appears that the answer is no.

So, then, the true believer is left to prepare to live outside of the system until Jesus comes for them, to keep their lamp lit until the groom comes, as it were.

But for how long? That, fellow taxpayer, is the exciting part, and it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Copper Price per Lb: $3.69

Key Indicators for April 10, 2012

Oil Price per Barrel: $100.90

Corn Price per Bushel: $6.34

10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 1.99%

FED Target Rate: 0.16% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,660

Inflation Rate (CPI): 0.4%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,716

M1 Monetary Base: $2,299,000,000,000

M2 Monetary Base: $9,823,900,000,000

Gold, Jesus, Monetary Theory, What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end

Dabbling in Eschatology: What to expect in the Monetary Realm as the world comes to an end – Part I – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s

April 9, 2012 David Mint

4/9/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

We must preface this series with a simple disclosure: There is no human who knows the exact time that the world will end. Further, there is no human who knows exactly how the world will end in a general sense, for experiencing the end of the world will be both a deeply personal experience as well as a universally polarizing event which will determine the eternal fate of people and communities.

{Read the entire e book on Smashwords}

That said, our limited studies of eschatology and monetary theory have lead us to some inescapable conclusions that we are compelled to share with you starting today, following one of the biggest festivals of the Christian calendar, Easter, which is celebrated three days after the Jewish Passover celebration and marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead some 2000 years ago.

Our studies accept as fact that the earth was created some 5,772 years ago as of this writing, in agreement with the Jewish calendar, as well as the fact that Jesus Christ, who was crucified, dead, and raised from the dead some 2000 years ago, is the Messiah.

Consequently, we accept the Bible as both an accurate historical narrative and a reliable guide as to what is to come.

Today, we will focus on the first of three passages which, taken together, give us reliable information as to what will transpire as the time of Jesus’ triumphant return approaches.

It is our prayer that you will find both comfort and a call to action in our interpretation of what is to come. With the proper preparations, all of the peoples of the world may eagerly await the coming of their Lord without fear and full of hope.

The first passage is related in Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:14-17, and Luke 20:21-25. It is focused on what appears to have been a brief verbal exchange between Jesus and a group of spies sent to ask a question of him by the religious authorities.

In response, Jesus not only foils their attempt at trapping him, He delivers a simple monetary concept with wide ranging consequences. He challenges them not on whether it is right to pay taxes, but rather on what they are using as money.

When asked whether or not it was right to pay the Roman Imperial tax. In response to their question, Jesus stated the obvious. Namely, that since the coin used to pay the tax belonged to Caesar (the Roman Emperor) to begin with it should be no problem to simply give it back to him when he asks for it.

Jesus’ response cut to the heart of monetary theory, what they were using as money. The people’s choice to use the Emperor’s money in those days had enslaved them to the Emperor in a way that no army or jail master could, and they were eager for a way out.

In those days, Emperors had made a habit of declaring themselves gods and demanding allegiance. The Jews were peculiar in that they refused to recognize these imposters and instead worshiped the Living God. However, the Jews also had become accustomed to conceding certain aspects of their allegiance to the Emperor in an effort to survive.

Jesus, with a simple statement, challenged people to get off the fence, for the fence would one day be burned down and people would have to make a concrete choice, put their money where their mouth is, as it were, between ultimate allegiance to the Emperors of this world or the One True Living God, who alone is worthy of glory and honor and praise forever and ever.

Today, it is customary for most people exchange their labor for paper or digital currency issued by the Emperor. 2000 years ago, Jesus warned against this.

Why? The answer, which we will explore tomorrow, had already been partially revealed to Daniel some 600 years before, and was going to be completely revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos some 70 years later.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

Copper Price per Lb: $3.79

Key Indicators for April 9, 2012

Oil Price per Barrel: $102.28

Corn Price per Bushel: $6.49

10 Yr US Treasury Bond: 2.04%

FED Target Rate: 0.15% ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce: $1,641