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AXEMAN2415
Guitar Weenie

USA
740 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2007 : 18:23:25

Jesus Joshua 24:15 Newsletter - May 2007

www.jesusjoshua2415.com

The Band:
Bobby Shepherd: Drums
Steve Pettit: Lead Vocals
Jay Woody: Bass
Will Rauser: Guitars

The Crew:
Mark Bussell: Webmaster, Computer Tech
Jim Bishop: Promotion, PR
Tammy Woody: Video Production, Wardrobe
Juli Rauser: Booking
George Sparks: Roadie

Editor's Lead

Shame

"The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men."---Psalm 12:8

Almost as a dovetail to last month's article, I would like to offer a supplemental thought. Last month, I reported a lamentable act of sexual behavior between two 12-year-old students inside a public school, during class time. In the last Newsletter, I asked a simple question: "Are we swimming in our own feces?" Again, I ask you to consider that question as I delve into this month's rant.

Since the uploading of the last Jesus Joshua 24:15 Newsletter (April's issue), yet another incident, shockingly similar, of overt sexual behavior by pre-teen aged students, occurred in a Mississippi public school. This time, two couples engaged in an orgy, while other students stood by and watched.

To avoid redundancy, as this article is not necessarily about the sexual behavior of 11 and 12-year-olds, I would like to slightly shift to a totally different aberration. But keep in mind my previous thoughts, as I will attempt to tie them together under a single thought.

On a recent airing of a particular Cable talk show that I enjoy(that I listen to on my XM Radio), a certain pedophile was interviewed. Well, the term "pedophile", while an appropriate description of this individual, is somewhat misleading, as he has not actually committed a crime yet. But he admits that he wants to. But that is neither here nor there. Although I do not recall his name, I vividly remember his responses to the interview questions.

To summarize, when this individual was asked if he thought it was acceptable to have a sexual relationship with a child, he responded with a resounding "yes". But then he added, "But because the law says that it's wrong, I won't act on my desires. But if it weren't for getting prosecuted by the law, I would certainly have sex with a child." This monster (I am sorry, that is the only word strong enough to describe this) then proceeds to explain why he thinks it is okay to have sex with a child. What I found particularly shocking (as did the Talk Show Interviewer) was that this person's only reason for not acting on his behavior was that the penalty of law could make him accountable for this. Basically, the penalty of law makes his atrocious behavior inconvenient to act on. While on the surface, that may seem good (and it is, for the rest of us parents), what bothered me is his lack of shame. He was totally unashamed to admit that he thought it was perfectly normal to engage a child in a sex act. To me, he has no conscience. What good is the penalty of law when someone lacks the capacity for shame?

Allow me to steer us down one more avenue. I promise to resolve all of these thoughts into a final point. Again, consider the previous two revelations, as they will all tie into my thought process.

About 11 or so years ago, I was listening to the "Dr. Laura" show, with Dr. Laura Schlesinger. Irregardless of what you might think of her positions and methods, she does not mince words, does not suffer fools long, and doesn't waste time with feel-good answers. I am almost always dumbfounded at some of the calls she receives. At any rate, she received a call from a young lady who was pregnant.

To set the scene for you, the young woman was pregnant with a child whose father was not her husband. This was going to be her third child by this man. Consequently, the man had fathered other children by several different women, all during her relationship with this man. And the man refused to help take care of, and provide for, all of the children he fathered.All of this was described by the young woman, in her call to Dr. Laura. The young woman, after describing the entire situation, then asks Dr. Laura, "Should I allow him to come back and live with me, so that I can have a family?"

Dr. Laura, in that prize winning irritated tone, responded, "Young lady, you mean to tell me that you have allowed this man to knock you up whenever he pleases, go out on you and knock other women up, disregard his responsibilities and duties, and now you want to shack up with him?"

The young lady became rather indignant, and replied, "Hey, Dr. Laura, I am proud of who I am!"

Dr. Laura replied, "I can see that you are, and that is your real problem." And then Dr. Laura asked her the most pointed question that I have ever heard from her. She said, "Young lady, where is your shame?"

In all three of my examples, the same symptom arises; a lack of shame. The young school students seemed to have no capacity for shame in acting like porn stars in public. The Pedophile, only hindered by the inconvenience of the penalty of law, was shameless in his desire and attitude toward committing vile acts against children, willing to totally destroy their young lives all for satiating his heinous lust. The young pregnant woman, unashamed of having no self-control and personal dignity.

I have grown up alongside the cultural shifts that has plagued our nation. I have been able to see, firsthand, the shift from teaching about what should be considered shameful to not wanting to damage a person's "self-esteem". When I was growing up, if I had done something shameful, my parents let me know it was shameful, in no uncertain terms! When I did something that was shameful, my mother did not sign off her approval, but she clearly stated that what I did ought to have made me ashamed! Boy, did I ever learn how to blush!There was no damage to my ego (at least long term). But as our Scripture reference above states, the kind of approach my parents took to instruction kept me from becoming proud of wicked behavior. We now live in a culture that not only behaves shamefully, but celebrates that wickedness. Wicked behavior is not new. But there used to be a time when those who lived in such a manner were at least aware of shame. They knew that society was not tolerant of such behaviors, and hid them.

In I Peter 4:3-4 has an interesting (and prophetic) take on this type of situation.

quote:
"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do---living in debauchery (Lead morally astray, or corrupt---ed.), lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They (the world) think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation (moral scattering---ed.), and they heap abuse on you."

The Apostle Peter, at the time of this writing, was living in a culture that had abandoned at least the semblance of propriety. The society at large had given way to a corrupt and shameless culture, where anything and everything not only was, but was expected, to be practiced. There were no more hushed tones about bad behavior, there was no more indignance at the flaunting of extreme behavior, and there was no more shame allowed to be attached to it.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote of this centuries before. Jeremiah was persecuted by his own people for his bold and unwavering statements. In Jeremiah chapter 8, the prophet preaches to his people about the continued insensitivity toward sin. He writes these words,in 12:

quote:
"Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush."

It would seem obvious that the young people who had their orgy at school didn't know how to blush. It is quite obvious that the wicked pedophile wanna-be doesn't know how to blush. I sincerely doubt that the young lady that Dr. Laura chastised on the radio knew how to blush. There is a culture that has developed that says that there is nothing that we should ever be ashamed of. As a matter of fact, we are being taught that attaching shame is even harmful.

Personally, I think shame was one of the best gifts my parents could have given me. Of course, I didn't think so at the time (lol)! But those lessons have followed me for my entire adult life, and shame informs my sense of conscience. Shame makes me conscious of sin. It is no small wonder that nobody wants to attach the concept of shame to anything, because that interferes with mankind's sense of autonomy. But what the lack of shame really does is interfere with our sense of responsibility and accountability.

I believe that a society that fails to attach shame to unlawful, immoral, deviant, rebellious, or just plain bad behavior is on a collision course with anarchy and civil unrest. Maybe you disagree, but I believe that a society without shame is morally adrift in dangerous waters.

News and Events

A Happy Birthday goes out to Shredhead, of Australia fame! Happy Birthday, Big Dog!

Although it has been stated in previous newsletters, Jesus Joshua 24:15 will not be playing at the Indy Fest, in Nashville. Some logistical problems and scheduling issues had arisen, thus requiring the cancelation.

However, Jesus Joshua 24:15 will be playing a show in Fayetteville, NC, on June2, 07, at Fayetteville Christian Church. There will be 2 other groups playing, but at presstime, Times and actual performers are still in limbo. Keep an eye on the front page of the Jesus Joshua 24:15 website for updates and details.

A special Prayer Request: I would not normally do this for the Newsletter, but this is important. A very dear friend of Jesus Joshua 24:15, our webmater, Mark (Anon, Jr.) has taken ill in the past 10 days, with a severe, though treatable, condition. He has been in a lot of pain and discomfort. For those prayer warriors out there, lift him up, as he is an integral part of wthis ministry, plus he's just a real nice guy! Thanks.

Guitar Points from Will

Combining Power Chords to form Rhythms

This month, I would like to illustrate and assimilate what we have worked on so far into power chord combinations. Basically, we'll be taking the different power chord shapes and intervals, and combining them to make up some heavy riffs. The advantage of this approach to playing power chords is that you can make varied shifts in chords, without having to move your hands all over the neck.

First some examples:

Ex.1,


 5th Power Chords ( 1,5,1Octave)

  E5 E5 E5 E5  E5

E|----------12------|
B|-------5--12------|
G|----9--4--9-------|
D|-2--9--2-----14---|
A|-2--7--------14---|
E|-0-----------12---|

You do not have to play all three notes. The lowest two will do just fine.

Ex.2,


Power chords in 4ths (or upside-down 5ths) (1,4 or 5,1)

   E5 (or B4)

E|-----------------12(E)---|
B|------------5(E)-12(B)---|
G|-------9(E)-4(B)---------|
D|--2(E)-9(B)--------------|
A|--2(B)-------------------|
E|-------------------------|

Okay, to explain again, in this case, E is the Root (or "1") and B is the "5th" of E. But, you can also look at it as B is the Root (or "1"), and E is the "4th" of B. That is why these shapes are referred to as "4ths", because you are essentially playing the chord upside-down.

Ex.3,



Power Chords in 3rds;


   EMajor Eminor E     Em

E|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|---------------1(G#)-0(G)-|
D|--6(G#)--5(G)--2(E)--2(E)-|
A|--7(E)---7(E)-------------|
E|--------------------------|




    E     Em   E     Em

E|--4(G#)-3(G)-------------|
B|--5(E)--5(E)-9(G#)-8(G)--|
G|-------------9(E)--9(E)--|
D|-------------------------|
A|-------------------------|
E|-------------------------|

And let's add the Diminished Interval (called a power chord, but that's really a misnomer);

Ex. 4,





  Eb5    Eb5   Eb5   Eb5

E|-------------------------|
B|-------------------11(Bb)|
G|-------------3(Bb)--9(E)-|
D|-------8(Bb)-2(E)--------|
A|-1(Bb)-7(E)--------------|
E|-0(E)--------------------|

And let's also invert the Diminished Interval (But it still goes by the same name);



Eb5 (Or Bb#4 {or A#b5,Bbb5 same thing})

E|-------------------12(E)-|
B|-------------5(E)--11(Bb)|
G|-------9(E)--3(Bb)-------|
D|-2(E)--8(Bb)-------------|
A|-1(Bb)-------------------|
E|-------------------------|

Now, to put these examples into context. Let's create a progression that seems to move all over the neck, but really doesn't have to.

Let's play; E5-Eb5-A5-G-D-Em-B5

Ex. 5,


  E5 Eb5 A  G  D Em Bb5 E5

E|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|
D|-9--8--7--5--4--5--8--9--|
A|-7--7--7--5--5--7--8--7--|
E|-------------------------|

Notice how the chords are grouped around the 5th to 7th frets? This way, I can do several chord changes with as little hand movement as possible. This is one of the rhythm guitar secrets of players such as James Hetfield (Metallica) and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth).

I have not placed any accents or beat markings for the phrase above, as it is just a simple chord progression. But if you put your own rhythm accents to it, and some Palm-Muting and Distortion, you may find a way to make this rather mundane series of chords into a killer riff. Try it, and don't be afraid to vary from the chords I've provided. You might surprise yourself!

Lead Techniques from Will

In this new feature, I would like to broach the deeper concepts of lead guitar playing. As a result, we need to look at scale patterns. Now, scales are not music. But they are the building blocks of musical phrases. And phrasing is the essence of lead guitar.

In Rock and Metal guitar playing (and even Blues, Country, and to some extent, Jazz) the scale known as the Pentatonic (of which there are various kinds) rules the day.

As preparation for this kind of study, I thought I should at least print the most basic Pentatonic Scale "Box" Pattern. This is only to get you familiar with this very common scale pattern;

Ex. 1,


E Minor Pentatonic Scale

E|---------------------0-3---|
B|-----------------0-3-------|
G|-------------0-2-----------|
D|---------0-2---------------|
A|-----0-2-------------------|
E|-0-3-----------------------|


E|-3-0-----------------------|
B|-----3-0-------------------|
G|---------2-0---------------|
D|-------------2-0-----------|
A|-----------------2-0-------|
E|---------------------3-0---|

The reason for me illustrating the "E minor Pentatonic Scale" is because it utilizes all of the open strings, so it is easy to finger, and it is easy to visualize. Work this pattern, going up and back down, add bends, hammers, pulls, and pick all of the notes. Play it over an "Em" chord, an "Em7" chord, or an "E7" chord. You will hear the subtle differences in flavor using over different types of chords. I am for trying anything, but I will tell you that playing this particular pattern over an "EMaj7" chord will not sound very good. But, hey, if it does sound good to you, go with it!

We'll get a little deeper next month.

A Final Thought

I would like to leave you with a thought process that I have been mulling over for about a month. I had spent time reading the Psalms, and one particular verse, Psalm 19:14, reads,

quote:
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord..."

I had to re-read that passage a couple of time to get the full impact of those few words. Here is what I have been bouncing around in my mind;

I usually have no problem keeping the words of my mouth from becoming impure. I think that is really a matter of self-discipline. Plus, I was not raised in an atmosphere where foul language and deceitful words was used. That doesn't make me innocent, but I have been given a heritage of restraint.

Yet, while keeping my tongue under control is fairly easy, keeping the meditations of my heart has not been.

I examined that word "meditations". In another version of Scripture, that word is translated as "thoughts". And, although that word is true, I do not think that it conveys the impact of the Scriptural statement. I find that the word "thoughts" is not quite as accurate to the context of this passage.

We all have thoughts that pop into our heads, and some are not very pure. But, I am not sure that the Psalmist is speaking about random thoughts that hit our consciousness. The word "meditations" implies are conscious effort to ponder a certain thought or concept. It is a focused contemplation of a certain thought. It is not a random fact that passes through your brain. The word meditation implies an "ownership" of a thought, if you will.

I've heard this illustration, and I think it has much merit. You cannot prevent a bird flying over your head from dropping feces in your hair. But you can prevent a bird from making a nest in your hair.

I do not believe it is possible to prevent certain thoughts from entering your mind. They are "drive-by" thoughts, facts, ideas, and concepts that routinely fly through your consciousness each and every day.

However, I am becoming ever more inclined to believe that while you can't prevent the "drive-by's" from dumping on you, you can choose to focus and own certain thoughts, eventually producing fruit that pours from your mouth.

Let's face it: We live in an over-sexualized culture. We cannot turn on the TV, read a magazine, listen to the radio, or even go to work, without someone referencing sexuality. I'm not one that believes that sex, in and of itself, is bad. But clearly, that appetite is constantly being enticed by the world.

If I consistently meditate (focus my thoughts) on sex, what do you think will my mind gravitate to?

Jesus told us that what it isn't what goes into a man's body that makes him unclean, but that which comes from the heart. Those are the things that we purposely wrap our minds around.

If I hear about a murder, I know what the concept of murder is. That thought will not make me impure. But if I meditate on the possibility of murder, and consider it as an option, I have a serious moral issue.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul declares about this. He writes, in 2 Corinthians 10:5;

quote:
"We demolish arguments (ideas) and every pretension (aspiration, claim to privilege) that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"

Notice that Paul recognized that random thoughts are going to happen. But when you "take captive" a thought, it requires a meditative behavior.

All sorts of thoughts float around the seas of our brains. But when we choose to "harbor" certain thoughts, that is when we allow impurity to rule our hearts.

"C'mon Dave, Gimme a break!"

Edited by - AXEMAN2415 on 18 May 2007 20:55:29

AXEMAN2415
Guitar Weenie

USA
740 Posts

Posted - 17 May 2007 : 18:33:46

To all of you subscribers to the Jesus Joshua 24:15, particularly those who have posted responses to this particular article, I wish to make a public apology.

Today (May 17, 2007 @ approximately 6:15 PM) I made a major blunder. I was having trouble posting a response to a recent and salient post by one Pastor Herb, and I erred in making a double post. When I tried to correct my mistake, instead of deleting my extra post, I ended up deleting the entire Topic. Thus, I erased 3 pages worth of very lively, spirited, passionate, and thought provoking discussion.

So, if you all have noticed that your thoughts are not here to refer to, it was my ineptness that led to the erasure. To be sure, there was no animosity or personal difference of opinion that led to this. It was simply my lack of attentiveness and being too quick with the delete button.

Fortunately, I was able to restore the original Newsletter, as I always back that up for just such an event.

Please feel free to continue the discussion as you would like. Next time, I shall pay much closer attention to my keyboard and all (lol....arrrrrggghhhh!)

Sincerely,
Will Rauser
Axeman2415
Lousy Administrator....

"C'mon Dave, Gimme a break!"

Edited by - AXEMAN2415 on 17 May 2007 18:39:34