Seeing Only what We Want to See, or Not See.

Two years ago, I wrote this post about how we see things as we are and not as they are.

Today, we revisit this issue, thanks to a discussion I had this morning with one of my closest friends.

We See, but do not Notice/Perceive

It all started with the usual early morning pleasantries, and then this forward on WhatsApp.

I request you to read this message before you delete.

After reading this message I made a full research (NIV & NLT) about this information. Really this is a shocking information to me and I like to pass it on to  you.

Please read, research and decide. If God is speaking to you, please forward to your friends and family members.
Kindly use KJV or NKJV.


Quite alarming & devastating - pls read this: "If you own a New International Version (NIV) Bible
Did you know that it was written by Zondervan and
they are OWNED by Harper Collins, who also publishes the The Satanic Bible and The Joy of Gay Sex.

NIV has removed 64,575 words from the bible including Jehovah, Calvary, Holy Ghost and omnipotent to name but a few...
NIV has also removed 45 complete verses. Most of us have the Bible on our phones. Try and find these scriptures under NIV on your phone right now if you don't believe me:

Matthew 17:21, 18:11, 23:14
Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46
Luke 17:36, 23:17 John 5:4
Acts 8:37

You will not believe your eyes.
If you continue reading the NIV after this, then truly you are blinded by Satan, or just don't care.

 [...]

Refuse to be blinded by Satan, and do not act like you just don't care. Let's not forget what the Lord Jesus said in John 10:10 (King James Version‬)

THE SOLUTION

If you must use the NIV, BUY and KEEP AN EARLIER VERSION OF the BIBLE. A Hard Copy cannot be updated. All these changes occur when they ask you to update the app. On your phone or laptop etc. Buy and KEEP EARLIER VERSIONS AND STORE THEM.

There is a crusade geared towards altering the Bible.

For the record, I often ignore such sensational forwards, and I would have done the same with this one but decided to check it out.
I already read some hidden agenda, thanks to this:

I'm sure you know that NIV was published by Zondervan but is now OWNED by Harper Collins, who also publishes the Satanic Bible and The Joy of Gay Sex.

We shall come to the Zondervan/Harper Collins twist in a bit...


Is Matthew 17:21 missing in the NIV Bible?

My Bible is the Devotional Study Bible, NIV Version. On the phone, I use the YouVersion Bible app. Following are my findings about the alleged omission of Matthew 17:21 and Matthew 18:11. You can try locate the others as outlined above.

At the end of Matthew 17:20 is superscript "b"
At the bottom of the page, is the following:

b20 Some manuscripts you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.


That aside, this is is how Matthew 17:21 on the phone Bible app looks like.

ASV version:

 NIV version:

Now notice the small grey box with three dots after "impossible for you" at the end of verse 20.
When I did the same for Matthew 18:11, this is what happens...
Clicking on the grey box with the 3 dots reveals the following at Matthew 18:10:

And when you go to Luke 19:10, you see the verse that in other editions, is Matthew 18:11.

And this is how Matthew 18:10 looks like on the hard cover NIV Bible.

Notice the "a" superscript at the end of verse 10?
Looking at the footnotes at the bottom of the page, we find the "missing" Matthew 18:11 verse included. See below:

All said and done, you be the judge if the NIV Bible no longer has some verses.


The Zondervan Corporation, Harper Collins Situation

Back to the original forwarded message above, we learn that The Zondervan Corporation is owned by Harper Collins. This is true, as reported here and here.

The company was bought by HarperCollins, a division of News Corp, in 1988, and is the company's principal Christian book publishing division. Scott Macdonald was appointed President and CEO in May 2011.

This change of hands together with other acquisitions by Harper Collins was widely discussed in Christian circles, and Zondervan Corporation through spokeswoman Tara Powers did find it necessary to issue a statement that said in part,

"This does not present an ethical dilemma for Zondervan as we will continue to operate with autonomy as we always have...

“While we are obviously aware of the matter at hand, it does not distract or detract from our work at hand and we will continue to pursue our mission and operate as we have for the past 80 years."

My argument in regard to who owns Zondervan Corporation will comprise two important facts:

[1] We have choice

Harper Collins does have its reasons for acquiring these Christian publishers. I do not hold their brief and so wouldn't delve into the why and why not. That is not my business. Both Zondervan and Harper Collins got into negotiations and made choices and business decisions that work for them.

Should I feel that I no longer like my NIV Bible because of Harper Collins and whatever else this company publishes, then I have ever right to exercise choice and stop using their products (e.g. the NIV Bible). Nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head

There are so many versions of the Bible readily available, and we are all free to  read whatever version we feel is genuinely unadulterated.

[2] We are all not the same

The fact that I do not like what gays do does not give me any right to stop them from publishing their books. They have an equal right to read whatever rocks their boat, the same way I have every right to read my Bible or any other book that I would like to.

In the course of my discourse with my friend, I pointed out that Adolf Hitler's Mien Kampf is one of the most disturbing and hate-filled books I have ever read. It however remains in circulation despite it's controversial content. The reason is simple: Hitler had every right to publish that book, and whoever opts to read it also has an equal right to do so.

We are different people with varying tastes. It is for this reason that some are Muslims, others are atheists while others are agnostic.
That I don't like what some person else is, believes, says, reads or does should in no way be a reason to consider them foolish, lacking in common sense or lost.

We should all learn to appreciate that it is our differences that unite us. We do not have to like a lot of the things that we do not agree with. But we have a duty to respect and accommodate people, situations, views, things and opinions that differ from our own.


Finally, the last comment on this blog post takes us right back to the forward upon which this post is based.
Take time and read the 17 comments above fati's comment. Then you be the judge.


* * *

There's this song by Nicole C Mullen, about how different we can be and yet still be the same. Here is a live performance video, but the sound is quite bad and so I'll embed the following, titled White, Black, Tan.
The song has a very interesting introduction. Check it out and enjoy!

Is Writing Essentially a Labor of Love?

"There is a special place in life that only you may share
a little path that bears your name, awaiting you somewhere
There is a hand that you must hold, a word that you must say
a smile that you must give, for there are tears to blot away."

 (Read entire poem)

Helen Gamble with Richard Bay in The Practice.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a senior editor in a leading media house in Kenya.

As our meeting progressed, and having exhausted the crux of the main agenda, he shared priceless insights about the writing profession.He reminded me that many writers lack the grace to realize that writing invariably has dual benefits. For starters, every published article or book adds on to your experience, builds your name and presents a learning opportunity to write better next time. Secondly, monetary compensation is an additional reward. Sadly, many new writers focus too much on the monetary rewards of writing.

In addition, writing in itself is a journey. It is a process that takes years, if not a lifetime. The secret therefore is to enjoy the journey as well as the destination.
Many will not notice as you establish yourself gradually, one word at a time. They shall however notice suddenly once your book tops the bestsellers list. It takes time.

Later on, I had lunch with my adorable sister Winni in town, to discuss among many other things, our joint venture Complit Motivation & Inspiration.

I have at times felt discouraged, worn out, and have questioned my decision to become a full-time writer. Thankfully, I have never once thought of quitting.

In such trying moments, it helps to realize that it is all for a reason. Just like Helen Gamble felt after losing a case that elicited public discontent since a criminal everyone felt was guilty was set free. Helen seriously considered quitting. But the Assistant District Attorney, Richard Bay, gave her the following speech:

Helen Gamble: I need it, Richard. Give it to me.
Richard Bay: What?
Helen Gamble: The speech. Why we do what we do.
Richard Bay: Oh, I am not really in the mood after...
Helen Gamble: PLEASE, Richard. I NEED it. Please give it to me. And don't just phone it in.
Richard Bay: Helen...
Helen Gamble: Please! Can't you see how demoralized I am?
Richard Bay: OK. (takes a deep breath) There are heroes in this world. They're called District Attorneys. They don't get to have clients, people who smile at them at the end of the trial, who look them in the eye and say, "thank you." Nobody is there to appreciate the District Attorney, because we work for the state. And our gratitude comes only from knowing there's a tide out there. A tide the size of a tsunami coming out of a bottomless cesspool. A tide called crime, which, if left unchecked will rob every American of his freedom. A tide which strips individuals of the privilege of being able to, to walk down a dark street or take twenty dollars out of an ATM machine without fear of being mugged. All Congress does is talk, but it's the District Attorney who grabs his sword, who digs into the trenches and fights the fight. Who dogs justice day, after day, after day without thanks, without so much as a simple pat on the back. But we do it. We do it, we do it because we are the crusaders, the last frontier of American justice. Knowing that if a man cannot feel safe, he can never, never feel free.
Helen Gamble: Thank you.

Writing can often feel like a draining effort that few appreciate. Many writers, even the most successful ones, often speak of writing as a journey, a process wrought with countless ups and downs. When she delivered a commencement address at Harvard in 2008, J.K.Rowling highlighted the fringe benefits of failure and the importance of imagination.



From the foregoing speech,following are salient gems:

• Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.
• So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.
• Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way.
• ..personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.
• As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

Finally, should you ever feel hopeless as a writer, Dionne Farris has a message for you:

Adding Value to Information

NOTE: This post has been cross-posted on Pete on Books.

Today's post is largely an update, in readiness for some of the far-reaching changes in my writing that will take place in the fourth quarter of this year, with effect from October 01, 2013.
In essence, the changes are for the long term, which makes what you'll read next an expression of intent.

Learning and Sharing

Since 2009, The Walkabout has been a place where we learn, share and grow together. We have focused on insight, inspiration and self discovery. The posts on the blog have been tremendously useful to me, and to many others as well.

In short, we have been sharing valuable information.

Stated Objectives

With growth comes change.
Beginning next week, my writing, and indeed the business model that is now predicated on it, is all about adding value to information.

This I'll do through book authoring, blogging and publishing. Ultimately, I'll embrace more media viz: radio and television.

This renewed focus will be instrumental in the release of 'The Walkabout' book that has been inspired by the posts and the topical discussions that have ensued in the comments. All going well, the book will be out just before the end of 2013.

Ideas: Policy, Not Politics

Additionally, this next phase will involve the setting up of the Policy and Ideas blog.
Here, candid, topical discourse on issues that really matter and add value will be carried out. The solutions and ideas generated will eventually lead into action, since only action begets results.

So much for this update, let us meet again next week on The Walkabout, Pete on Books and the Policy and Ideas blogs.