Welcome to Brian's Bits, where Brian gets to share at length about various topics stirring inside of him.
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Numerous articles starting 12 February 2010 More than 50 years ago, Nazi Germany brought terror, death and destruction to the world. But that was only a dress-rehearsal for the main event. In the 21st century, Islam is a much bigger threat than Nazism ever was. These articles will show you what your Islamic future will look like. |
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8 November 2011 Like siblings whining and arguing over who got the biggest piece of pie, the protesters in the Occupy Movement are unhappy about the injustices of life. But are they going too far? Have "equality" and "fairness" become the idols we worship, while reason and reality are pushed aside? Is life supposed to be fair? If so, it's not fair! |
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1 September 2011 A couple of days ago I had the privilege and joy to attend a Väsen concert in nearby Corvallis. This Swedish folk-music trio has been a favorite of mine ever since I bought my first CD of their music 14 years ago while visiting Sweden. It was an entertaining evening of music and humor. Awesome concert — awesome Väsen! |
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4 July 2011 The United States, which many evangelical Christians see as a divinely established Christian country, was born out of rebellion, anger, hatred and killing — and a sense that it was God leading the colonists in that direction. But how can rebellion and violence be reconciled with the life and teaching of Yeshua (Jesus)? |
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27 June 2011 It's now been 18 months since I was axed from my job, and I'm still unemployed. Could this really be God's will for this season of my life, or am I merely indulging in laziness and self-delusion? Is there really a God out there to follow, trust and depend upon, or do we have to make it totally on our own? |
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22 May 2011 Seeing that I'm writing this, and you're reading this, AFTER 21 May 2011, we can safely assume that "Judgement Day" did not come yesterday, as some were predicting. If they would have followed their own advice and read the Bible, they never would have made such ridiculous statements. |
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2 May 2011 While many Americans — pagans and "Christians" alike — rejoice and praise "God" at the news of Osama Bin Laden's death by the hands of the United States military, the one true God in Heaven — who is the Father of Yeshua (Jesus) — undoubtedly weeps over the depravity of the human race. |
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21 April 2011 In a continuation of yesterday's article, we take a look at what it will take to save our country from catastrophe. The federal government, in a very real sense, is playing God in the lives of its citizen. How can we be delivered from this pernicious Big Brother? Moderate measures will no longer save us — it's time for a radical pruning! |
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20 April 2011 In a continuation of yesterday's article, we consider further the looming disaster induced by our massive national debt. While politicians from both sides of the aisle bicker in Washington over trifling sums, America teeters on the brink of catastrophe. Has the federal government become a Frankenstein of our own making? |
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19 April 2011 In a continuation of yesterday's article, we ponder the prediction of a worldwide economic meltdown and the state of the U.S. economy. You don't have to be a prophet to see that this country is in big trouble — if you have eyes to see, the conspicuous signs are all around ... the day of reckoning for the dollar is at hand. |
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18 April 2011 The world has experienced it share of devastating earthquakes over the millennia, with the most recent occurrence in Japan last month. The West Coast of the United States has not had a major earthquake in more than one hundred years, nor has it felt a "megathrust" earthquake in over three hundred years. Is it time? |
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10 January 2011 Today I introduce you to five fascinating apocalyptic novels — published as recently as 2010, and as long ago as 1826 — in which the authors let their imaginations run wild! Are these stories simply the result of bad pizza dreams, or do they contain glimpses of our future? Read them all and then decide for yourself! |
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20 December 2010 A year ago today I discovered I was being fired from my job. In this sixth article about my (un)employment situation and my continuing journey following Yeshua (Jesus), I take a look back at how, in hindsight, things could have been different, where things are at now, and where things are going. |
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27 October 2010 In this fifth article about my (un)employment situation and my continuing journey following Yeshua (Jesus), I share with you a song by John Lennon (of Beatles fame) that seems to express my circumstances fairly well. It's always encouraging to run across someone who can put into words what I'm feeling inside. |
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26 October 2010 In these past few days I have experienced probably the most awesome customer service I have ever received in my nearly-half-century of life! I don't know if every Apple customer has such a positive experience as I have had, but I've just got to sing their praises and let you know all about it. |
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9 October 2010 When David Grisman, one of my favorite musicians whom I have been wanting to see in concert for decades suddenly shows up close by in Corvallis to give a concert, do you think I'm going to miss an opportunity like that? Not on your life! Join me as I recount, with photos and video, my wonderful, Dawg-gone great evening! |
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7 October 2010 The fourth installment in my series about my (un)employment situation and where I'm going in life, this article continues some of the thoughts I shared in my previous article, Living For a Living. "For God does speak — now one way, now another — though man may not perceive it." |
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28 September 2010 This article is a follow-up to both my article The Good and the Perfect which relates to my (un)employment situation, as well as yesterday's article So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore which shares numerous quotations from that incredible book. The saga of my journey with Yeshua (Jesus) continues! |
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27 September 2010 This book, written in the style of The Shack, takes a profound looks at what "church" really is; becoming free of religious obligation so that we can pursue relationship with Yeshua (Jesus) and with His followers; and much, much more! So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore is a book that you will want to read again and again! |
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18 September 2010 Christians refusing to vote? Isn't that unpatriotic, unethical, unbiblical, and even sacrilegious? How could Christians possibly NOT vote? If these questions resonate with your heart and mind, then you absolutely NEED to read this book! Have we been seduced by the idols of nationalism and political power? |
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16 September 2010 Is abandoning the current non-Biblical version of modern, manmade, institutional Western Christianity the same as slapping Yeshua (Jesus) in the face? Or is it going outside the camp so that we may go TO Him? The answer depends primarily on what we understand the Church to really be. |
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15 September 2010 What do the words of Yeshua (Jesus) and the writings of Hans Christian Andersen have in common? Both deal with seeing and not seeing, perceiving and not perceiving. The emperor has no clothes on — when will the church recognize its nakedness? |
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12 September 2010 Exactly three months ago today I wrote Why I Don't Go To Church. Recently I experienced a harsh reality as a consequence of the stand I have taken. Participating in a "Christian" health coverage co-op can be very difficult when your conscience does not allow you to participate in Pagan Christianity. |
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11 September 2010 Church buildings, sermons, pastors, Sunday clothes, tithing, salaried clergy, ministers of music, the order of worship, and other cherished religious traditions — Biblical mandates or pagan Christianity? Does it even matter one way or another? Read this astounding and shocking book to find out! |
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10 September 2010 The provocative sequel to Pastor Boyd's previous The Myth of a Christian Nation, The Myth of a Christian Religion tackles the major obstacles that followers of Yeshua (Jesus) need to overcome in order to live out their faith Biblically. Be prepared to have your assumptions challenged and your faith stretched! |
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9 September 2010 This incredible, life-changing book might be the most significant book you could ever read. Out of the hundreds of books I have read in my lifetime, I don't remember ever reading one that so clearly explains what it really means to be a follower of Yeshua (Jesus). Very challenging and illuminating! |
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1 August 2010 This follow-up article to The Agony and the Ecstasy gives an update on my situation after seven months of unemployment. "Do we know what it means to wait or hope on God, being bound together with Him such that unless or until He moves it is nigh unto impossible for us to take a step or utter a word?" |
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12 June 2010 To advance the Kingdom of Heaven, we must unlearn the ways of our highly structured, expensive, staff intensive, slow to reproduce Western-style churches, the only church we have ever known, and relearn the ways when the early believers exploded from 20 thousand to 200 million in a couple centuries. |
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6 March 2010 Today the Associated Press ran an article accusing Christian textbook publishers of bias because they don't promote the theory of evolution. Thus the small minority of homeschoolers who are not religious feel "isolated, frustrated and outnumbered"! Christian publishers, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves! |
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7 January 2010 During my Christmas vacation last month, I unintentionally discovered that I had been fired from my job at the ElijahList. How did this happen? What's going on? How am I doing now? What am I doing now? Read The Agony and the Ecstasy to find out the answer to these questions, and more! |
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2 January 2010 What relief can we find for the pains of life? Are we able to find forgiveness for the one who hurts us? What about when that one is God? How do we answer the question, "God, why are You ALLOWING this to happen to me?" These two books may very well hold the keys to addressing these issues. |
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12 December 2009 Where do you find the strength to forgive the unforgivable? Rwandan holocaust survivor Immaculeé Ilibagiza shares the profound insights she received both during and after the horrible genocide in which most of her family were murdered. Her love and forgiveness will inspire you to follow in her footsteps. |
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24 October 2009 When I heard about an essay contest sponsored by the Vision Forum, ideas for a story started popping into my head. In a few hours the story was finished. Don't miss my entertaining fairy tale, The Tale of the Sneezing Knight, complete with ye olde illustrations. |
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17 October 2009 In this article I share about my experiences and impressions — and some of the photos I took — while attending the Rodrigo y Gabriela concert in Portland, Oregon, on 12 October 2009. How to sum up in one word the guitar playing of this dynamic duo? "Astonishing!" |
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5 December 2008 On 4 March 1837, President Andrew Jackson gave his farewell address to the nation, of which he devoted over one-third to describe and warn against the evils of paper money. His insights are eerily prophetic, and seem as if they come from today's headlines. |
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27 November 2008 Millions of Americans have health, education, financial and poverty issues that desperately need to be taken care of, as the U.S. government sinks deeper into debt. Meanwhile, the American Church spends billions and billions of dollars upon itself. |
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9 November 2008 In agreeing to be bound by the government’s 501c3 freedom of speech restrictions, has the American Church sold its prophetic voice for the sake of profit? Like Esau, has the American Church traded its birthright for a bowl of tax-exempt stew?! |
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5 November 2008 What Obama’s election means for the nation and for Christians. Is the American Church too focused on politics? A look at common Christian reactions to Obama’s win. Did the country get what it deserves? Did the Church get what it deserves? |
