THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume V, Issue VIII

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn depicted Christ in the workaday clothes of a medieval artisan.

Accurately Depicting the Savior

There is a recurring vision somewhere in my subconscious, where having reached Heaven, I see Jesus in all His glory. Falling on my face, I am overwhelmed. After a while, His hand softly touches my shoulder as He bids me rise: "Come see what I'm working on." He says and then we walk to His workshop.

So many times I have visited an artist or a craftsman, and received that blessed invitation to enter the place where they create. It is an honor to be cherished, especially when a Master invites you as a fellow artisan. Such is the feeling of Christ's invitation in my dream.

Prior to Rembrant, the Seventh Century Master, artists routinely depicted Christ with crisp European features, either as a very heroic figure or in great agony. [1.]

In 1631, Rembrant moved from his hometown of Leiden, The Netherlands, where he was born in 1606, to the port city of Amsterdam, where he purchased a house in the city's Jewish Quarter.Ten years later, he was using the Shepardic Jews in his neighborhood as models. Since Jesus lived in the Middle-east and not Europe, Rembrant's portrayals strike a strong chord of reality in their composition.

The painting above has Jesus wearing the workaday clothes of a medieval artisan. You can just imagine the smells of the workshop still lingering in those clothes. I've met a few stonemasons who's honest features remind me of this picture.

Depicting Messiah has long been a challenge to the serious artist, [2.] and the theologian as well! There seem to be a lot of thoughts about who Christ is. Some of them seem as overworked as the paintings. Scripture gives us a good basis for knowing Christ's nature though. Ironically, it is two English scholars who give us some of the better word portraits. Clive Staples Lewis [3.]and John Ronald Reuel Tolkien [4.] both wrote great depictions.

Lewis portrayed Christ in the character of Aslan, the Lion of Judah. Tolkien's Aragorn (think of the book character more than the movie one here), also displays characteristics of the Redeemer.

Today, more than ever, it behooves us to present as honest a picture of Christ as we can. Much of our society puts little value in our faith, but are they perhaps looking at an incorrect picture? A faulty rendering can discredit something that is actually of great value! [5.]

Looking at the lives of John Newton, William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, Charles Dickens, William H. Howland, George Müller and a host of others actually reads like a companion volume to the Hall of Faith described in Hebrews 11. Their stories and their testimonies must be honestly examined before we discard the Faith that moved them. [6.]

This week the 'other' weekly news magazine presents Marco Rubio [click to read] as 'Savior' of the Republican Party. We at THYME would like to gently suggest that the term is greatly overused when referring to political figures.

'TIME' Management

"The Medium is the Message..."


To be fair, I don't think the money wired to Pakistan had come to light yet.

Marshall McLuhan's message has never been truer. Look at the MSM and the electronic competition and you would have to agree. It is a fascinating study in contrasts. TIME has had a most interesting reactionary reaction [bad grammar, good thought] to the reinvention of am radio as a political commentary machine. "Is Rush Limbaugh Good for America" TIME asks authoritatively. Glenn Beck is a "Mad Man" in the TIME line of thinking.

Therefore it was no surprise to see a muddy message on modern jihad this past issue. Here is an interesting FOX Story on the Phenomenom [click to view]. THYME Magazine [click to read] was quick to offer an alternative point of view.


Calling a terrorist a terrorist.

But others have weighed in as well. Harry Stein in City Journal writes: Beck Bashing [click to read]. He does a fine job of covering TIME's coverage of both Limbaugh and Beck. It seems that the 'New Media' brings with it a necessary fresh perspective on all that's news.

THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume I, Issue I

The 'Time' has Come

When professional journalists ignore important stories, such as the beliefs of 'Green Jobs Czar' Van Jones, someone has to step up to the plate. When major media outlets such as the Washington Post push 'their' man in the Virginia Governor's race, we think 'THYME's' time has come. Please enjoy the first issue.

A 'Blessing for the Czar'

"May the Lord bless... and keep the Czar... far away from us!" -- Rebbe in 'Fiddler on the Roof'

Seeing some of the 'qualifications' of some of the President's men, one is tempted to claim that blessing for oneself. Consider Cass Sunstien, University of Chicago law professor and Obama Czar appointee. Sunstien is a big-time animal rights advocate. He believes animals should have the right to legal representation. Talk about clogging up the courts with frivolous lawsuits! My dog Lucy could keep him busy for a year. Sunstien believes hunting should be banned.

Now it shouldn't be surprising that Obama is giving a place at the table to the far left, but he 'promised' to reach out to the half of the country that didn't vote for him. Mr. President, what does fulfilling that promise actually LOOK like?

Virginia Governor's Race: 'Debate Thyself?'

You've got to hand it to Creigh Deeds for creativity. This is the first time I've EVER heard of a candidate wanting to debate HIMSELF! Considering statements that Deeds has already made that he 'won't/will' raise certain taxes, his debate with himself could actually be interesting. Also, his folksy commercials trying to brand Bob McDonnell as the 'tax and spend' candidate qualify as 'high grade Kabuki.' But read on. Phil Cox reports:

With six weeks to go until Election Day, a lot hangs in the balance. While we always expected this race to tighten in the final weeks, we didn’t expect Creigh Deeds would sink to such incredible lows.

Deeds is now running blatantly false, negative attack ads with “facts” that have even been debunked by the Washington Post. The Lynchburg News & Advance called his recent ad on electricity rates “an outright lie” and the Virginian-Pilot trained its sights on another, editorializing that, “Deeds has deliberately concocted disingenuous and deceitful ads because he thinks voters are too stupid to know better.”

Creigh Deeds also made a last minute demand to NOT appear on stage with Bob McDonnell at a community candidate forum tomorrow at Virginia Union University. He insisted he appear alone instead.

Six weeks is not much time, but unfortunately, it’s plenty of time for Deeds to continue to engage in tactics to mislead voters.

Bad Timing?

The President's announcement that we will NOT be providing a missle shield to Poland and Czechoslovakia coming on the eve of the anniversary of the Soviet occupation of Poland? What kind of statement is that?

A Journey to Washington: The March

As Seen by Those Who Were There [click to read].

Life in Iraq:

As Seen by Those Who Are There [click to read]. SWAC Girl

Nate's Photos and descriptions of life in Iraq.

Liberals to Boycott South Carolina, Let's Go There!

Yes, they're upset at Joe Wilson and talking about boycotting the state's tourist industry. Just imagine!... those beautiful beaches and mountains... and none of those 'Obama' stickers. Pack up the SUV and plan your South Carolina Vacation now.

South Carolina Department of Tourism [click to read].

Here is the 'companion' TIME Issue [click to read]. I was told that since many Conservatives don't bother to look at the 'Professional' weekly news magazine anymore, someone might miss the full impact of my 'cover commentary.' Here is Rush's Cover Idea [click to read] for TIME.

Biff Tannen Take Note!

Google Australia Beta Tests 'Future Search'


New Google Program Lets You See Results of Tomorrow's Game.

This is too good! Never mind that I had good intentions of posting one little snippet about 'Custom Time.' Now we learn that the Google Team 'Down Under' have come up with a way to Search the Future. Really saves on the stress and hazard of time travel! Don't miss the Press Release.

Ethical Considerations of 'Custom Time' II

"Back to the Future" Got it Right

Does anyone else remember those old Back to the Future movies with Michael J. Fox? The movies revolved around a DeLorean that had been converted into a time machine.

Biff Tannen, the movie's villian, manages to get his hands on a sports almanac from the 21st Century and you don't have to use too much imagination to figure out what he does with it. Tannen makes a fortune betting on sports events and builds a giant casino, complete with cheezy museum devoted to the "Life of Biff Tannen," the man who has an uncanny gift for picking winners.


USS Nimitz, Photo courtesy United States Navy

But, so far, is Biff Tannen really much different from Mr. Owens in The Final Countdown where the aircraft carrier Nimitz is transported back to Pearl Harbor in history [right as Japanese planes roar in to attack] and back to modern times again. Mr. Owens gets "left behind" when the ship returns to the 20th Century and you see him meeting the ship at the end of the movie, stepping out of a large black car. Presumably Mr. Owens played the stock market very well having come from the 20th Century.

Here, I might add, who wouldn't have used such information for gain. I mean, who hasn't dated a check a bit earlier at least once in his life to "look" timely.

Biff Tanner clearly uses his new-found fortune to manipulate the lives of others. Mr. Owens appears to have restrained himself and while enriching himself caused no one else any harm. Who wouldn't want to own Mr. Owens' stock portfolio?

Both movies do a great job of examining the ethical considerations of altering history and are worth mentioning in light of any attempt to "bend time."

Special thanks to: Temporal Anomalies in Time Travel Movies Website written by M. Joseph Young.

Ethical Considerations of 'Custom Time'

"There is a moral hidden in a laugh, be wise and take the grain but leave the chaff." -- Chaucer

Last April Fool's day it was "Paper Email." Now its "Custom Time." You can send your email so it arrives on time even if you are up to four years late. Actually I must confess to having discovered Custom Time about four years ago when I screwed up the time/date settings in my computer and sent several emails in 1904!

I had to tell some people to look way way back in their inbox for some things I sent that morning!

Scripture calls our Creator the "High and Lofty One, Who inhabits Eternity." G-d can handle the responsibility of being outside of the constraints of time. For humans, time is a factor that helps us. It keeps us honest. I give you the quote from the "Investment Banker" on the Google spoof site:

"I used to be an honest person; but now I don't have to be. It's just so much easier this way. I've gained a lot of productivity by not having to think about doing the 'right' thing."

Wow, that's profound. Time, it would seem, is just one tool in our healthy quest for mutual accountability. What's really amazing and profound though is the "equation" that Google provides as logic for allowing users ten time-altered emails apiece! As you know, Googe uses a "secret" algorithm to assign "trust rakings" to various websites. Most of the time it works really well and makes Google the great tool that it is. Occasionallly mathematical models fail or can be hacked by what are known as "black hat" techniques so that bad content rises over good. That is why webmaster "terms of service" are necessary. I never knew an April Fools joke would contain so much wisdom!