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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Journal: The new intellectuals
Posted by John Stoehr on Wed, Nov 21, 2007 at 4:57 PM
I'm going to attempt another of those free-wheeling posts in which I try to make some connections among articles, ideas and writers I've been reading lately. What I hope to accomplish is the beginning of a proposal, a modest call for attention, to establish a new conversation about intellectuals, those who think and feel something is not right in world of art, literature and creativity.
A menu of possible assertions:
1. Intellectuals need to talk less with each other and more to everyone else
2. Scientists have taken the traditional place of the public intellectual
3. Intellectuals need to re-establish the self-evident reality of objective truth
4. As newspapers recede, and the traditional hubs of intellectual activity recede with them, a new grassroots movement of intellectuals is needed to take its place.
Act 1: Theoretical bullshit
I'll start with something that I've returned to often (here and here and here, for instance): the disconcerting intellectual phenomenon that asserts that there is no such thing as objective reality, that epistemology is subjective, that facts are conditional.
I suppose I keep writing about it because without an fundamental agreement about what truth is -- and for that matter, what constitutes deception, equivocation, obfuscation, bullshit and outright lies -- how can we as critics, as mere human beings, accomplish much that is constructive, meaningful and significant?
Please don't get me wrong. I lean left, not right. I'm not trying to defend the high walls of Western Civilization. In fact, I argue that intellectuals need to re-establish the self-evident reality of objective truth as someone once ensconced in the Ivory Tower.
During my time at the University of Cincinnati, I became indoctrinated by literary critical theory. I came to believe in the postmodern condition of American culture. I believed in my ability to "read" anything like a "text," even non-semantic things like fashion, architecture and medical procedures. I suspected Enlightenment ideals like Reason and Truth were vestiges of imperial European colonization. Every subject -- whether porn, pulp fiction, romance novels, comic books -- all boiled down cynically to struggles for political and social power.
While I am grateful for postmodernism as a strategy for dismantling, or deconstructing, formerly entrenched ways of thinking, it's no humanist philosophy. There's little concern for people in it; there's little concern for morality in it. While postmodernist readings of, say, advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes (which I smoked) made "logical" sense, I felt that at its heart, postmodernism was a game of rhetoric, an argument over words and their struggle for meaning.
I left class many, many times feeling a kind of existential disorientation, a kind of out-of-body experience caught between a world constructed by language and a language that's always indeterminate. Hence, the world was indeterminate, like an illusion. If the world is indeterminate, possessing no ontological center independent of human consciousness, authoritative truth matters very little. Instead of one truth, there were many truths, with one being just as "good" as the other.
This kind of thinking is not exclusive to universities, or to people interested in and sensitive to intellectual inquiry. This postmodern relativism has trickled down to popular culture as well. Consider the book "Thank You For Smoking," Christopher Buckley's brilliant 1995 parody of Big Tobacco's downfall. The main character, Nick Naylor, is a master of postmodern relativism. No matter how much he was guilty of the sins of spin, by the judgment-free rules of postmodernism (it's a descriptive strategy, not proscriptive), his truth is as valid as any other, even if it's destructive bullshit.
And even if this kind of thinking is becoming passé in academe, which it is, it's influence lingers beyond the hallowed halls. Consider this response to our dearly departed Molly Ivins, who had offered one last cautionary tale about letting the amateur efforts of bloggers be confused with the professional, gritty and pain-in-the-ass tenacity of beat reporters. This reader was responding to Ivins' suggestion that bloggers try their hand at reporting a highway accident, just to see how difficult, challenging and rewarding determining the truth can be.
"If there is no objective truth, but only subjective truth (hence your five-car pile-up analogy) -- then what difference does it make if someone was a reporter or not? I am able to state subjective truth at a moment's notice -- it's always true for me!"
Act 2: The sins of our intellectuals
I don't think that it's overstating the case when I say that this kind of thinking is the result of academics and other intellectuals abandoning objective truth. And this attitude doesn't stop with fiction and the cranky comments of a Molly Ivins fan.
Harry G. Frankfurt, the moral philosopher formerly at Princeton, said the attitude is ubiquitous among a great many writers, artists and intellectuals in his 2005 treatise titled "On Truth," a follow-up to his bestselling book, "On Bullshit." In it, he said that "we live in a time when, strange to say, many quite cultivated individuals consider truth to be unworthy of any particular respect. ... this attitude -- or, indeed, a more extreme version of it -- has become disturbingly widespread even within what might naively have been thought to be a more reliable class of people."
He continued:
"Numerous unabashed skeptics and cynics about the importance of truth ... have been found among best-selling and prize-winning authors, among writers for leading newspapers, and among hitherto respected historians, biographers, memoirists, theorists of literature, novelists -- and even among philosophers ...
And:
"These shameless antagonists of common sense -- members of a certain emblematic subgroup call themselves 'postmodernists' -- rebelliously and self-righteously deny that truth has any genuinely objective reality at all. They therefore go on to deny that truth is worthy of any obligatory deference or respect. ... the postmodernists' view is that in the end the assignment of those entitlements is just up for grabs. It is simply a matter, as they say, of how you look at it."
In other words, it seems the intellectuals have failed us.
How can we talk about issues, debate points of view, engage in any kind of public conversation if there is no agreement on reality independent of human whim, desire, interest, folly, fear and ignorance? The intellectuals are suppose to talk about our country's important issues. Instead, for the past 30 years, they've turned inward, addressed themselves, left the pulpit to the pundits and undermined our ability to talk coherently, objectively and constructively about the things that matter most.
The failure of the intellectuals, some say, has lead to America's cultural and political decline. Dana Gioia, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, noted in a widely read speech to graduates at Stanford University in June that such decline has occurred even as our economy has flourished and renewed itself since the '60s.
" ... surely artists and intellectuals are partly to blame. Most American artists, intellectuals, and academics have lost their ability to converse with the rest of society. We have become wonderfully expert in talking to one another, but we have become almost invisible and inaudible in the general culture."
Gioia continued:
"This mutual estrangement has had enormous cultural, social, and political consequences. America needs its artists and intellectuals, and they need to reestablish their rightful place in the general culture. If we could reopen the conversation between our best minds and the broader public, the results would not only transform society but also artistic and intellectual life."
In 1963, the novelist and chemist C.P. Snow wrote a book that provided a vision of just the kind of intellectual transformation that Gioia talks about. It was called "The Two Cultures: A Second Look," a follow-up to his 1959 book "The Two Cultures." In the first book, Snow talked about the division between literary intellectuals and scientists, how each didn't understand the other. In the second book, he envisioned a middle way, a "third culture" that was a consensus in which intellectuals talked with scientists, scientists to intellectuals, feeding the expertise and creativity of each other.
But that never happened.
Act 3: Being replaced by scientists
"The traditional American intellectuals are, in a sense, increasingly reactionary, and quite often proudly (and perversely) ignorant of many of the truly significant intellectual accomplishments of our time. Their culture, which dismisses science, is often nonempirical. It uses its own jargon and washes its own laundry. It is chiefly characterized by comment on comments, the swelling spiral of commentary eventually reaching the point where the real world gets lost."
Those are the words of John Brockman, author, impresario and book agent for Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker, writing on his website, Edge. Note such words as "reactionary," "nonempirical," "the real world gets lost."
In 1996, Alan Sokal did something that illustrated just how far the real world had gotten lost in the hyper-jargon of literary theory. A physicist at New York University, Sokal submitted a paper to Social Text, an academic journal devoted to the discussion of postmodern literary theory. In it, he argued that quantum gravity is a social construction with profound political implications.
In other words, it was utter nonsense. I'm not really sure I've paraphrased the paper well. But it doesn't matter, because the point is that Social Context thought he was serious, lending credence to suspicions that such things as honesty and truth don't matter. As Sokal wrote in an article in Lingua Franca explaining his "experiment":
In the first paragraph I deride "the dogma imposed by the long post-Enlightenment hegemony over the Western intellectual outlook": that there exists an external world, whose properties are independent of any individual human being and indeed of humanity as a whole; that these properties are encoded in "eternal"' physical laws; and that human beings can obtain reliable, albeit imperfect and tentative, knowledge of these laws by hewing to the "objective'" procedures and epistemological strictures prescribed by the (so-called) scientific method.
Why did Sokal do this? To make a point:
... What concerns me is the proliferation, not just of nonsense and sloppy thinking per se, but of a particular kind of nonsense and sloppy thinking: one that denies the existence of objective realities, or (when challenged) admits their existence but downplays their practical relevance. At its best, a journal like Social Text raises important questions that no scientist should ignore -- questions, for example, about how corporate and government funding influence scientific work. Unfortunately, epistemic relativism does little to further the discussion of these matters.
In short, my concern over the spread of subjectivist thinking is both intellectual and political. Intellectually, the problem with such doctrines is that they are false (when not simply meaningless). There is a real world; its properties are not merely social constructions; facts and evidence do matter. What sane person would contend otherwise? And yet, much contemporary academic theorizing consists precisely of attempts to blur these obvious truths -- the utter absurdity of it all being concealed through obscure and pretentious language.
Social Text's acceptance of my article exemplifies the intellectual arrogance of Theory -- meaning postmodernist literary theory -- carried to its logical extreme. No wonder they didn't bother to consult a physicist. If all is discourse and "text,'' then knowledge of the real world is superfluous; even physics becomes just another branch of Cultural Studies. If, moreover, all is rhetoric and "language games,'" then internal logical consistency is superfluous too: a patina of theoretical sophistication serves equally well. Incomprehensibility becomes a virtue; allusions, metaphors and puns substitute for evidence and logic. My own article is, if anything, an extremely modest example of this well-established genre.
Postmodernism had already been under attack by right-wing jeremiahs like Alan Bloom in "The Closing of the American Mind." What Sokal's experiment showed, however, was that postmodernism is not just a tool for exposing the power structures of the status quo, to be naturally attacked by defenders of that power, but also, at its core, a poor and perhaps even harmful foundation for intellectual inquiry.
While the editors of Social Context, including the luminous scholar Andrew Ross, author of the near-impenetrable tome, "No Respect: Intellectuals and Popular Culture," were busy accepting a hoax as serious scholarship, John Brockman was getting to work communicating with real people about things that really matter.
According to this piece in the London Guardian titled "The new age of ignorance," Brockman has done more than anyone to break down C.P. Snow's divide. But instead of encouraging literary intellectuals to communicate with scientists and then in turn communicate what they find to an engaged, educated reading public, Brockman has devised a "Third Culture" that doesn't need any help thanks.
"'The Third Culture' consists of those scientists and other thinkers in the empirical world who, through their work and expository writing, are taking the place of the traditional intellectual in rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives, redefining who and what we are," he writes on his website, Edge.
He continued:
The role of the intellectual includes communicating. Intellectuals are not just people who know things but people who shape the thoughts of their generation. An intellectual is a synthesizer, a publicist, a communicator. In his 1987 book "The Last Intellectuals," the cultural historian Russell Jacoby bemoaned the passing of a generation of public thinkers and their replacement by bloodless academicians. He was right, but also wrong. The third-culture thinkers are the new public intellectuals.
In short, the scientists don't need the intellectuals anymore.
They're doing it themselves.
The Guardian article also notes that Ian McEwan is one of the few novelists to contribute to the Edge's ongoing debates and that he suggests the project is not so far removed from the "old Enlightenment dream of a unified body of knowledge, when biologists and economists draw on each other's concepts and molecular biologists stray into the poorly defended territory of chemists and physicists."
Why can't literary and aesthetic intellectuals talk like this anymore?
Act 4: The new intellectuals
Brockman, via the Edge and the Edge Reality Club, a kind of scientist's salon, is doing wonders for advancing the national conversation about science and scientific thinking. There are more magazines devoted science than ever more, more hunger for science and more books about science, even some that advance atheism.
But what about the literary and aesthetic intellectuals? What about them? They are around, but their influence seems to be shrinking even more drastically thanks to shrinking exposure given to them by Big Media, especially newspapers.
Book sections have traditionally been the forum for such conversations and we all know where these are going: newspapers in LA, Chicago, Minneapolis, Raleigh and Atlanta have all either sacked their books editors, reduced their book pages, consolidated them or even moved them from their historical place on Sundays.
Newspapers, in short, are not going to cut it. So what to do?
Perhaps an answer can be found in a new grassroots publication in Connecticut. Called the New Haven Review of Books, the publication is the result of numerous writers in that city who believe someone has to pick up where the newspapers have left off.
As Mark Oppenheimer, a former editor of the New Haven Advocate and author of "Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture," writes, these are times that require innovative thinking by innovative people who live just about everywhere, not just in LA and New York.
In an age of shrinking book-review holes in newspapers, we're going to have to find new ways to get the word out about great books. Some of those ways will be local, and small in scale. We may never publish another issue of the New Haven Review (our motto is "Published Annually at Most"), but by just publishing once, we've made a statement in support of literary culture. Wouldn't it be cool if other small- and medium-sized towns -- Austin, Des Moines, Albany, etc. -- decided they wanted local book reviews, too? [italics mine] Maybe such reviews would feature local writers doing the reviewing, the way ours does, or maybe they would feature reviews of books by local authors. Either way, they would be reminders that major urban publications do not have to be the sole instruments for book reviewing.
And that leads us to the second statement that even one issue of a small, local book review makes: there are writers everywhere. Just here in New Haven and the surrounding towns we managed to round up Alice Mattison, Bruce Shapiro, Debby Applegate, Deirdre Bair, Jim Sleeper, Amy Bloom, and a couple dozen other greats. Many of us have never even met one another. We don't have a literary "scene" in this modest city; there is no cocktail-party circuit. But there are writers.
This model won't replace the big-city, big-time book reviews; we still need them. And unless some angel comes along to fund another issue, this may be the last you hear of the New Haven Review of Books. But we're in an age of renewed attention to localism and regionalism, and book reviews -- like farmers' markets, or even local currencies -- can do their part.
Localism and regionalism: Where to find the new literary and aesthetic intellectuals.
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I heard that it will be going down today at 5PM, no more 96Wave!!!No more live jocks, just some guy named "Chuck", another generic voice,for such a unique city.I bet Chuck records his stuff from some place like New York City,without ever once stepping foot in the, "Holy City". Is this really taking place? How many of us have grown up with Wave? But really, how many of us have not even listened to Wave in the past year? Isn't it kind of funny that over a year ago 96Wave was featured in Rolling Stone magazine? And now they have to switch to an entirely new format of music? Why would you change the format and kill an "iconic" Charleston staple? That just sounds like bad management,but hasn't that been the rumor over at Apex Broadcasting for sometime now? Just about two months ago,they changed their upstart Charleston entertainment publication,Graffiti, to a music magazine-but with no real local articles.Some might consider it's use better fit for packing material. They have made all of their morning shows,syndicated. What was their slogan for some time,"locally owned,locally operated".Do some digging and you will find that Apex Broadcasting's corportae office is in Alabama. That's not local, and I even think Miss Teen SC can tell you that without looking at a map. When somebody asked you,"what radio staions are cool, here", the response was Wave. Wave played in just about every bar and cool hangout around town thru the 90's and even up until about a year ago. They have had some real cool personalities; Stupid Mike,Dick Dale,Critic, Woody, Storm and Kenny. The writing was on the wall when we all woke up one morning to heavy doses of "Free Beer and Hot Wings" ,Lancer, Wendy and Myspace Nick(who could forget Ballards back and forth with those immature kids- if you are in the public eye, you allow yourself to be judged by everyone,if you like it or not)followed up with, what some might say locally, a rip off of 98X. I guess we lost 96Wave to the "man". It sure does suck when those corporate bastards come in and screw things all up. Goodbye 96 Wave.You got me laid-on a few occassions after Wavefests, you got me good and drunk- a few times, you introduced me to some cool new bands(not of late though),we even got high together at the beach - a few times, you helped me through the late night cram sessions before finals- a few times, and you even helped me get some exercise on your "pub crawls" - a few times. This feels like, when your parents get divorced. Hi son, let me introduce you to my new "friend", his name is CHUCK. And all's you really want to say is-" I don't care who you are, you are not my Wave, you are just the station who is on my fucking preset one,now!" Thanks again Apex Broadcasting for bringing so much joy to our lives since you have entered it.Please back up your bags and hop on I-26 west.And don't stop till you hear your cousins mating call back in Bama.
I had my fingers crossed that it was just a joke,but it is a reality. Somebody should for sure lose their job over this decision. Their GM is listed as Chris Johnson. If this guy is responsible for the decisions that Apex Broadcasting has made(and I am sure he is being the GM) he should be forced to walk around downtown, as the people of Charleston tar and feather him. Please,please Apex Broadcasting pack your bags and get out of town and don't leave anything behind. And take the dummie with egg on his face for thinking this was a good move. Well at least the City Paper has found their sponsor for the next Gay issue. "You know how I know you are gay? ... You listen to 96.1 Chuck FM"
This has to be the most dissapointing and outragous stunt a radio staion has ever pulled. There was no warning at all, just got in my truck after work, and come 5pm there was a repeating long version of Charles in Charge. I hate you Apex, what you have done is ruin a legendary Charleston station. I will never listen to your station again, it has been removed from my presets all together. In the long run I know that doesn't matter, but we already have stations in Charleston like "Chuck", but there was no comparison to 96 wave. (other than dirt rock happy 98x). Give me back my Free Beer and Hot Wings, critic, and Wendy. This change in format doesn't even make sense. How many years has this station been 96wave? Dear "Chuck", I hope this station fails miserabaly. R.I.P. 96wave....the only station that came close to playing good music in "chucktown".
Wow. It seems it really happened. Just tuned in today (Fri. Aug. 31) around 5:15 p.m. and heard Dead or Alive's "You Spin me Right Round," Poison's "Nothin' But a Good Time," and OMC's "How Bizarre" … and an an familiar voice saying "Ninety-six point one: Chuck F.M." How bizarre.
It appears that this change was in result to the ratings for the station getting severely decimated (check http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/DefaultSearch.aspx and then type in Charleston in the search box)... from a 2.5 rating to a 1.4 rating... and "variety hits" as the format is called, seems to be all the rage now... so, we'll see how long this lasts...
R.I.P. Wave...Chuck just lost another long time listener here.
Is this all a big joke? What was that crap I just listened to coming home from work. I was expecting Wendy, Lance, the Critic, or even Uncle Miles to come on and have a good laugh telling me it was all a big joke. Reading this thread makes me sad. This can't be true. Even after the last year when wave sounded more like 98x, it still was the best station in Chucktown (sorry bad use of words here). After listening to the filth that was on I changed it to 100.5 which is my third choice in radio and guess what? Cracker's "Low" was on and many memories came ruching back to me. To hear Cracker you go to 96wave and the Windjammer. This is a disgrace! Nobody at the station knew about this? Wendy telling me that Flyleaf was playing at the Jammer in a few weeks, was all false? How long has Wave know about this? I want f'in answers and it better be on the web, b/c there is no way I am tuning into 96.1 Chuck. When friends from out of town used to come and visit me, I would play 96wave. I wouldn't say anything for a few songs and 9 times out of 10 my out of town friends would say something like, "wow what radio station is this?" I was proud to have 96wave as my radio station. Now this Chuck is awful. I guess I should have gone to more 96wave outings. A SAD DAY in Charleston Indeed!
It doesn't surprise me, but makes me sad, nonetheless. Not as a former Wave alumni, but as a Charlestonian. Wave was THE cool station for years, although admittedly, this hasn't been true for some time. When they switched out bands like Drive by Truckers for bands like Flyleaf a few months back, Wave had become a shell of it's former self. Critic was the station's last saving grace (Bryant Stowe kept the old flame alive as well) and represented the last remnant of what Wave used to be. No more. Jack
This is bullcrap. I know Nick from 96 wave from High School, and he said that this isn't a joke. He also said he didn't even know until 10:30 am today. I don't know, but I'll be pissed either way...especially if it's not a joke. What about Free Beer and Hot Wings? Those guys are awesome, and they BETTER not stop being an affiliate for them. What are rock fans going to listen to when F**k FM is playing Madonna...or Elton John?!?! 98x doesn't come in on my radio, so I'm left out in the cold. OMG...the unimaginable horror! This is the worst decision in the history of this city. I've listened for a few minutes, and it's already unbearable. I have not heard one single song that 96 Wave used to play...only old 70s and 80s "hits."....and one Hootie and the Blowfish song. The only reason that I will ever listen to this station again, is if Free Beer and Hot Wings are still on. If not, then goodbye completely. Looks like I'll have to buy an ipod and an ipod ready radio...or XM radio. Thanks a pantload, Chuck FM. Oh...and that's possibly the worst radio station name I've EVER heard.
I agree with you Jack. No more Drive by Truckers, Widespread, Drivin and Cryin, etc. but what they wre currently palying is way better than 96.1 Chuck. You still got some occasioannal Beastie Boys, and Uncle Miles still has good stuff on the nineties at noon. Not to mentions Critics Choice on Sunday. A disgrace.
Lancer does the nineties at noon. My mistake.
It all started when Storm and Kenny were fired.
Don't blame the crew, Nick. First they got rid of the morning show without a note, then they phased out stupid Mike, then changed the format of the station from our favorite alt music to "rock", thus removing some of the sweeter sounds we were accustomed to. To do this to the public with nary a word to the masses who rely on 96 Wave to entertain them during the morning commute, the evening commute, and those of us who listen from work and at home is a tragedy. I honestly don't know what to listen to. Certainly not another Apex station. The least they can do now is issue an explanation or apology. I thought that when they got rid of the morning show, and noone will publicly say what happened there, only that it was "unfortunate".
When I was growing up I used to go play basketball at the school down the street from my house. This was always an interesting exercise as it combined the neighborhood populace of rednecks, frat boys, professional wiggers and other assorted suburban white teens in a united front against the hordes of the surperior black kids and middle aged gym rats that would swoop in nightly to show the kids how to properly "ball". Eventually I would be partially responsible for the tearing down of this court, when I attacked Trey Demory with a baseball bat after he threatened my little brother, but that was many moons after this court became the first place I ever remember hearing 96wave. In those days (I'm talking early 90s here) most mainstream music was atrocius. This of course is no different from now, excluding the fact that at the time the "kids" were convinced they were riding the "wave" of an emerging high art form known as "alternative", which to be honest was less a genre, than it was an anti-genre, namely the alleged opposite of the previously mundane, quasi-pop, prog rock (is anything progressive good?) scene that had made Phil Collins an international superstar (for the time I will leave aside cock rock/hair metal, which was for the most part excellent and also had far more influence on "alternative" than the Cobains and Corgans of the world would ever willfully admit). At the forefront of this "wave" locally was..well..96wave. As one of the younger amateur bball sensations, who for the most part was only interested in country, folk and a couple of punk bands I had stumbled upon by virtue of knowing the appropriate freaks in school, I was relatively unfarmilar with this grunge/alternative uprising...96wave changed this for me and forever changed music in my eyes. From the first time I heard the station I had found an apt enemy for my adolescent angst and contrived non-conformist nonsense. 96wave became my musical heresey..and God bless them for it. Of course like all the best blasphemies, this was partially based on self denial. I loved Green River and Mudhoney from the first time I heard them. I hated Pearl Jam, but always thought it was neat that the Wave claimed they had played tracks from Ten before any other major station in the country (of course this was likely bullshit). When my evil comrade somehow used his connections at Cats Music to score a "select set" I just happened to be tuned into the hated station and enjoyed the Jim Carroll Band with approxiamately 500,000 other Charlestonians curious as to who David Gobert was. There were antics galore. One time David and I called up 96wave and he threatened to torch himself on the frontsteps of his ex-girlfriends home if she didn't take him back. Another time I called up to talk to The Critic and when the person working the phone asked me to hold I promised to burn down the building. Things like this seemed funny at the time (hell they still do). We were picking on the "alternative" station because we were too punk for our own good. Years later this same station would host in house shows dedicated to local music and genres I was more receptive to. About ten years ago I tuned in one night and heard my friends in Unjust chatting with a dj. Though I missed the meat of it, the station also hosted my pal The Southern Avenger for nearly nine years, an unthinkable activity for most rock stations in the country. Even after the Avenger was let go and The Critic was purged, they had the bad fortune of hosting my old band The Cancer for an in studio event. In sum 96wave was a great anti-hero for a little punk rock asshole. It was a worthwhile piece of garbage, on a shitstained campus of local media, that now has few fecal free locales. Raped by corporate nonsense, and foolish business decisions, the "local" of the station has been effectively stabbed to death in its bed..as of today it is literally not 96wave anymore..it is 96chuck, ironic because it is a totally unauthentic expression of Charleston at this point. It makes me sad to think that other emerging punkers will not have such a fun target to blame for all of the towns musical ills, but what can be done? We won David...the king is dead..long live the technocratic, automative, soulless King.
8 months wiping chris j's ball sweat....yea...you let Charleston down nick.....awesome that you didn't see it coming....Wave has been dying a slow death for four years....and if you didn't get it...you were the only one. Ballard, wasn't he the kid that tried to take you to task (unsuccesfully) a few months ago??? Interest of full disclosure, I worked for WAVE and now work for the compitition.
You have to be kidding. Chuck 96.1! WTF Chuck!! 96 Wave has been a part of Charleston as long as I can remember. I associate it with a lot of good times. It WAS Charleston for a long time and the source for some great music and events. Sorry to see it go. If it's ratings that killed the Wave then Chuck should be gone in about 2 weeks. Who's going to listen to that crap. Guess I'll keep listening to my Sirius. Very dissapointed and sad.
Joel, Nick didn't let anyone down. The wheels were in motion long before he got there. Yes, Ballard was ultimately right during their little spat (today proved it) but there's nothing dishonorable about loyalty for something you believe in, even in defeat. I've got an office full of Confederate flags to prove it. Nick threw his heart into making Wave work, and took the criticism personally. Haven't we all done this at some point? We all believed in Wave ourselves, back in the day, didn't we? Glad to see your doing well Joel, as well as Bam Bam, Don and the other Wave alumni over your way. Keep up the good work. Jack
I wonder if there will be any local jocks on the air at all — or will it all be piped-in/pre-recorded. That's the econo way, for sure. What will become of the syndicated morning show? And the Sunday morning and evening specialty shows? And the live remotes from the local bars and clubs? This is all pretty damn weird. What a bummer. I think I'll put another early-era R.E.M. album on the home turntable and crack open another microbrew…
Ballard, No DJs, other than the occasional chiming in by "Chuck," (some voice-over guy, somewhere). No more morning show. No more remotes. No more Sunday specialty shows (Critic and Cutting Edge). Enjoy your beer. Jack
So much for an icon. When my husband was transferred w/his job, one of the things that upset me was that I had to leave 96 Wave, the station I have listened to since I was old enough to set the dial myself. Sure, I found other stations at our other homes, but none had the same feeling to me as the Wave. I've always just felt like 96 was a little more casual, grass-roots, comfortable than the other stations. Even lately, as they have kind of lost that, they have still seemed more laid back than other stations overall. As soon as my husband was able, he passed up a major promotion so that we could move back home. Sure, it wasn't just for the radio station, but the first thing I did as we hit Charleston on 26 as we came home was reset my radio to 96 Wave. It just felt like home, it felt "right". I have three small children now, and I always just kind of assumed that they, too, would be listening to 96 Wave one day. It's the only station they know, and we regularly rock out in the car and dance (at the command of my two-year-old) to the songs. My husband will occasionally try to change it to talk radio (YUCK!), but he is met with strong resistance, as we all yell out "NOOOOOOOO!" Now, when he tries to change it, I guess we'll have to let him. What else is there to listen to? I guess I'm just glad I got a Zune for Mother's Day. Looks like it will be getting more use than I thought it would! I work in my car in the mornings, though, and I will seriously miss Free Beer and Hot Wings. I love those guys! This is crap. Apex, you SUCK!
WOW! What a friggin kick to the groin section. I just thought they were slowly getting things back to normal, guess not. That was one thing I used to always brag about too. "Yea man, we got a great radio station in Charleston, they play The Replacements and turn around to play Zeppelin! Dammit! Well, thanks to everybody who has supported LESLIE there! Sadler
The people in charge obviously had no idea how to format the music. I was just telling my wife last night after coming back from Greenville how I got to hear rock again while I was up there. I miss the old wave, but even the most recent wave was better than listening to obscure hard rock on 98. This truly sucks. 96 had gone through lulls in music quality in the past, but they always came around. The new 'be all things to everyone' station sucks. Have the guts to pick a format. Of course I still won't listen unless they bring back the wave.
Obscure hard rock on 98X? Yeah, like that obscure band, Disturbed... They're just like the Maltese underground metal scene but American.
i don't even know what to say! the wave has been a mainstay in my heart for years! i moved to memphis early this year, and anytime i felt lonely, i knew i could just tune into the wave on the web and make everything alright again. but now? oh wave... you got me through hard breakups. we got through all night school projects. we went to parties. you helped me meet girls. you gave me so much great music! we had concerts! and the salads...oh, the salads! WHO ELSE IS GOING TO PLAY "BITCHIN CAMARO"?!? NOBODY!!! oh my...i think i'm getting choked up about this. our time together was too short...
I stopped listening as much when Storm and Kenny were fired. I didn't understand then how in the world they could destroy the best morning show that there ever was. I still listened to the Critic though. The OLD Wave introduced me to bands I might not have heard of otherwise. *sigh* This is really sad.
I was having the worst week ever and I've always turned to 96 Wave to help me unwind for ten years now. Imagine my horror as I drove down the highway during rush hour in the rain and heard a twenty minute loop of the theme song to Charles In Charge. I nearly rear ended a Jeep Liberty when I realized what was going on. And then I started crying, no lie. This is the worst idea ever. How original that they played "Take This Job and Shove It" when it hit five PM (this last comment of course is sarcasm in its sincerest form).
Can't believe it...I grew up listening to the wave and enjoyed all the cool concerts like wavefests and birthday bashes and the many live feeds from the bars, etc... 96.1 "upchuck" FM
Blast I meant most sincere form. I'm so pissed off about this that it's mucking up my grammar.
What the hell are we supposed to listen to now?! This new "CHUNK FM" is crap!If I wanted to listen to the 80's, 90's, & today...I'd listen to The Drive at 100.5. Wave was the only station in Charleston worth listening to. So glad I have XM radio in the car...but what about the long days at work? Wave was the only thing that got me through with any sanity left.
Charleston radio officially died today at 5 pm. Why can't someone with money and vision just buy a radio station here in town and program it with creativity, vision and originality. Ever listen to KHUM out of Eureka California? Also the public has a right to vote on FCC licenses. Perhaps a grassroots movement could be started to revoke Apex's license for 96.1. Worse comes to worse you could find out who's advertising on "Chuck" and call those advertisers and tell them that you and every single person you know will not patronize their business because they advertise on a crappy radio station.
Reggie you are a genius. Let us start a revolution.
For anyone who has ever lived in Charleston, there was something uniquely "ours" about 96 Wave. When I moved to Charleston a few years ago to start my career, I remember the fact that 96 Wave helped develop the local music scene more than any commerical station I had ever seen. Bands like Jump Little Children, The Working Title, The Films, Slowrunner, Cary Ann Hearst, etc. all felt welcome there. Over the years there have been some great people that I've had the pleasure to deal with from Dave Rossi, The Critic, Wendy, Lance, Bryant, and many more I'm forgetting right now. Without these people and the cause of that station, a lot of younger bands wouldn't have had an outlet to get their music heard to an audience outside of a small gig at Cumberlands or The Village Tavern. Like any business, Wave did their share of things that frustrated a lot of bands (their fight over the past few years with The Music Farm - which had seemed to have been repaired recently), switching to a slightly more nu-rock format, etc., but all in all I don't think anyone really saw this coming. Charleston has really lost something special with the Wave being no more. However, there are plenty of people that are still working to make Charleston a great place to experience live music. We should still be happy to know that there are such solid people laying the foundation for the Charleston music scene when people like Bobby Ross, Jimbo Webb, Trey Lofton, Amy Hutto, Mike Allen, Ballard Lesemann, and Devin Grant are around and working their asses off to make things better in that town.
I guess satelite radio is the way to go now. At least you can hear an uncensored Howard Stern. By wave thanks for the memories you will be missed
This has got to be one of the most depressing things I've heard in a while. I grew up with 96 wave, I even continued to listen online when I went to college because no stations in the area even compared to it. I noticed it slipping over the past couple of months as they played more mainstream rock, but I never though I'd come to this. They've got this same crap up in Myrtle Beach, but its "Bob FM". No requests, no talking except for traffic and commercials, and absolutely no soul. Just unadulterated corporate radio. I might just have to visit Charleston to drop a duece on their door step. This blows.
I have owned a Sirius player for the last two years and up to the point where 96wave fired Storm and Kenny, I listened to their morning show and 90's at noon every day at work, but now it's either my Sirius player or my ipod. It was only a matter of time for the station to close it's doors, you'd have to be a complete moron not to have see the writing on the walls. Come on, Free Beer and Hot Wings, what a complete waste of time, I've heard better stuff on podcast's, they really did suck a$$. I was a true faithful listener too, I remember all the "FREE" WaveFest's, back when all you had to do was go to one of the pig's and get a couple free tickets for you and your friends. Back when Hootie played every year, even though they sucked we embraced them because 96wave gave them a chance. My 96wave favorites were Cracker, 7mary3, Cowboy Mouth, Drivn' and cryn', Jump little children, and Better then ezra. Here's to a lost era of ROCK!!!!! Cheers!!!! If you want good music, you might as well get either XM or Sirius. It's really the only way to go, it really is worth the money you pay every month!!!! Good bye 96wave, HELLOOOOOO CRAP, or I mean Chuck....
I grew up listening to 96wave. The first time I ever heard weezer was on the cutting edge. As much as I've hated the last year or so of 96 wave, I could still tune in on sundays and hear the critic playing appleseed cast, ryan adams, or the desendents. What a horrible state of affairs we have been reduced to if THE local radio station isn't at least presided over by live dj's. I am no fan of the majority of 96wave's previous playlist, but at least there were a few diamonds in the rough. Does this change elude to Charleston's horrible taste in music, or what "the industry" thinks we should be listening to. I am terrified at Charleston's future taste in music.
At 5pm, August 31st came the end of an era in Charleston. It seems that while we try to preserve other historical icons in the Holy City, the respect that is due to preserve what was built up over the years by Woody, Danny V, Uncle Miles, The Critic, & Dave Rossi (along with plenty of others) has been swept under the corporate rug to be lost forever. No longer does APEX care of what the listeners truly want. It's been coming for years now and those who got out with some sort of warning were the lucky ones. I have had the pleasure of growing up & living in this fantastic city for over 17 years, and visited for years before then. 96WAVE has been #1 on my radio dial, even through the bad times. Wavefests & Birthday Bashes were a staple in my life... Hell, I can't even begin to count all of the acts that I have seen over the years thanks to the WAVE. I remember the start of Hootie... Edwin being played the first time thanks to Uncle Miles... Cowboy Mouth's birth into the welcoming arms of Charleston from New Orleans (thanks to Hootie)... Blue Dogs... Diesel Brothers... The Fire Apes... The Working Title... And of course Jump, Little Children was always one of the most entertaining shows you could see... all because 96WAVE shouted their support from their soapbox in West Ashley for them all over the years. The Critic with his crass humor & skewed view of the world was always some of the funniest commentary on radio anywhere. Uncle Miles & Danny V were the backbone of the Wave... Others came & went, but they stayed loyal. You could always count on them for honest opinions, good times, & those voices that could strike you to your core. Woody was a god for having the vision of this station & letting everyone pretty much run rampant with their creativity. Dave was a saint for trying to bring Wave back to the glory days, despite the city thinking he was the anti-christ for some of his decisions, people forget that he wasn't deciding off of his own personal actions, he had a boss he had to answer to, just like 99% of the rest us in the working world. I have been friends with some of these people for years now and have had some of the most fun in my life because of them. I remember seeing Danny V the night that he "left" the Wave for good, we all sat upstairs at Club Habana & drank to the legacy that he was leaving behind & to the best future for him in his endeavors that he was heading into... It was a shell shock for a man who gave 15 years of dedication to be let go and I shed a few tears the last night I saw him before he moved to California. When Uncle Miles was shifted over to COAST (now B92.5) it was just as disheartening. But ever the utmost loyal friend, he moved over to the new sister station for the good of APEX. Then of course COAST changed to B92.5 & Uncle was pushed out the door. I was outraged! No more Uncle Miles on air, at all?!?! It was blaspheme to Charleston radio! 96 finally wised up & brought him back to the airwaves, but unfortunately never to enough airtime that he truly deserved. The Wave was continually changing and it seemed to not be for the better (but once again, not the programming directors call, he answered to GM's who answered to the owner). Thank God Howard Stern didn't last too long... The Critic was great in the morning, but when Dick Dale came in, a whole new door was opened up to Charleston mornings. Stupid Mike was introduced & we fell in love with him. Upon Dick's departure came the a.m. show hurricane that we all loved, known as Storm & Kenny Z. That was some of the best years of mornings here. Stupid Mike flourished, the Southern Avenger who had his unforgettable & smokin' hot right hand lady Miss Jackie, gained more momentum, the Traffic Fairy was many a Charleston man's fantasy, and all of the other chaotic characters that cracked us up were always looked forward to by dedicated fans. But the powers up above pushed down the order to clear out our beloved band of misfits and practically all of them disappeared. Stupid Mike stayed with the station a little longer... Thursday nights out at Reds with Uncle Miles & S. Mike were so much fun. Wild Wings downtown with Dave Rossi were always entertaining, and any time the Critic was out in about in town always ensured a good time. I loved Bam Bam... He was the breath of fresh air that really enjoyed his late night slot on the weekends and we all loved him even more for it. Then the firings started... Good-bye Bam. Then S. Mike was let go... The Critic was practically MIA and Dave left for bigger & better things. Carly came in... and left. Wendy was great and Nick was a pleasure to meet when he accompanied Miles to Reds on Thursdays, before they pushed Miles to just Saturdays. These last few years slowly showed the demise of our once infallible 96WAVE... Wavefests & true Birthday Bashes (sorry, but the Vans tour doesn't count!) slowly faded out over the years... Local bands got less access to airtime... Remotes weren't what they used to be... The entrance of Free Beer & Hot Wings was like the apocalypse of local radio. (A Michigan based morning show in the South?! Whoever decided on that one should be taken down to Waterfront Park, tied to the pineapple & given 50 lashes!) The personalities that we grew up with & loved were being picked off one by one like they were at a shooting range. I found myself only listening to Wave randomly in the evening, on Saturday's with Miles, and Sunday's to catch the Critic. My iPod became my saviour, loaded up mostly with artists that had been introduced to me on the airwaves of 96.1. So now we should all mourn the loss of an irreplacible love. One that will never be able to have another even come close to the magnitude that was Wave in it's prime. Good-bye to the station that got me through many nights of studying... That was there for me for all the days on the beach at IOP... That was my 1st station ever programmed into my cars... To the station that brought me all of the artists that will forever fill my head with memories of some of the greatest concerts I have ever gone to... That I played during my "first time" so my oldest sister upstairs couldn't hear us... WAVE will forever be associated with some of the greatest memories I've had here in the almost 2 decades of being a loyal listener. You leave a hole in our souls APEX. You have lost hundreds, if not thousands of listeners who will never even pause over your "Chuck" station or any other stations of yours on the radio dial. You will never hold our respect again and we will not pity you when you finally wise up and fold up shop here to leave with your tails between your legs since you slowly killed all that was musically righteous in Charleston. Your exit will be a celebrated event to us. Thank you for everything that the true 96.1WAVF gave to me over the years. I'll always remember the great times with the fondest of memories. WAVE, your time has come to break on the Charleston shores for the last time, you will be missed.
Oh god! I go to FN NYC for a few days and The WAVE finally crashes. As a native Charlestonian, I listened to that station forever. I liked it so much I walked to it after class in high school every day. I pulled the longest internship ever..... I hung around tell they gave me a job. I worked there for like 7 years... I molded my musical ear... It changed my life... It paid my bills... It opened so many doors... It filled my belly... It made me friends... It got me drunk... It clothed me... It got me laid... It got me into shows... It got me back stage... It gave me records... I will never be able to say how much it affected my life.... Crap! Radio in the Corporate US sucks!!!! I haven't been an active listener for a long.........time. Charleston has lost an Icon. Trust me. I've been to ever state in the union. They just don't make um like 96wave. R.I.P. My you live on in the hearts and memories of all who loved you. Ben the Intern
WTF???? To the owners of Apex Broadcasting... Have you lost your mind? You have destroyed a Charleston landmark.... Remember the Wave Worthy Music you used to play? You're not worthy now... Shame...shame...shame...
Bryan freaking Adams! What the F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is truly a sad day for Charleston. As a child growing up in the early 90's amongst the tobacco fields of lower Florence County, I remember climbing onto my roof and much to my parent's disdain, fashioning a crude radio antenna from Tinfoil and coat hangers so that I could pick up the static laden strains of The Cutting Edge. 96 wave was the college radio station for a child living in a town full of tasteless rednecks. Fugazi, Dead Milkmen, The Clash, Cracker, Violent Femmes...all thrown in the mix together... 96 wave was my escape. The voice of all that was cool that could just barely be pulled from the air waves and assure me that there were other people like me on the other end of highway 52 and that one day I would be able to join them. After finally escaping and arriving in Charleston in '97, 96Wave, though through much better reception proved to be all that I had perceived it to be, and became the soundtrack to my self discovery during those first blissful years of college emancipation. Charleston of all places is one that has realized that there is real value in resisting change. Our entire economy is built upon it. 96Wave had remained constant and unique for many years and had really become something special...something to be proud of... something that well...sounded like Charleston. Wow, you boys fu*ked this one up good. Whats next? Filling Ft. Sumter in with concrete in order to make a landing pad for the private chopper's of rich Yankee transients? Like my grandfather always said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Up until a few years ago...96Wave wasn't broke...but some ass threw a monkey wrench in the gears and began the process of breaking it down with the into up "nu metal" and syndicated programming. When it was obvious that this decision was a very poor one, the simple solution was to go back to the original format before it was too late...but no. Fu*ck the Chuck, you will die a quick death, you fat greedy ol' bastard.
The new music "format" is positively schizophrenic. I'm still in disbelief this morning.
... isn't this switch one of the last signs of the Apocalypse? Fantastically awful idea, and you can bet your ass I'm not going to listen to Chuck. Don't we have enough stations that are already like that? Did we have to get saddled with another one? Who does a girl have to kill around here to get this fixed and fixed fast?
I just heard their new promotional commmercial in which they claim to have ignored the voices of "the suits" and embraced the music that Charlestonians asked for?! Seriously, what can we locals do about this?
There must be something we can do. It may not resurrect the Wave, but maybe at least let Apex know we're pissed and we won't listen to their stations anymore. I liked the idea of calling the sponsors who played ads on the station to tell them we won't buy their products anymore, but that would require actually listening to the crap they're playing... can anyone find an email address to someone in charge over at Apex? Or a phone number? I'm thinking a lot of people will call/write if we can spread it around.
I, like the rest of y'all, tuned in and without any warning discovered a randomn, dissynchronized mix of noise loosely referred to as music. Quite disheartening since I live just far enough out of town that I can't pick up the wave and look forward to its soothing sound every weekend when I return to Charleston. "Chuck" is, well, a poorly designed canned experiment. I will not listen to it, though I will tune in occasionally to see if someone has come to their senses. (I have tried calling 843-972-wave, but surprise, no one is answering.) I for one will protest. The purpose of a radio station is, like any other business, to make a profit, and if enough people tune out and complain ratings will drop. Ratings drop and so do add revenues and this will get the gm's attention like nothing else. So I say, don't listen, but contact the station and let them know what a poor choice this was. I for one will not let go of an old friend so easily. Farwell old friend, til we meet again...
Yet another reason I'm happy I never became a YOUNG REPULICAN. I could've spent my whole life thinking that censorship and communism was "good for the community". These were problably the same f'in poeple that voted for the smoking ban...does anyone remember when Charleston celebrated the harmony of DIVERSITY in culture????? Starting to look pretty boring around here, if you ask me.
I'm living in Madison, WI right now and have experienced this same type of format. WCHY or "Charlie" is an Entercom (big conglomerate almost as bad as Clear Channel) station. Their tagline, too, is "We play everything." From what I've heard, it's reasonably successful from an advertising revenue standpoint but ranks really high in the Arbitron ratings which is all radio station general managers care about. They're able to take these ratings and tell potential advertisers that they're so great and tons of people listen to their station so they should advertise with them. But in reality, Arbitron is just awareness not actual listenership. You'll know it's Arbitron time when you see a lot of radio station billboards around town. They're trying to get you to think of them first when Arbitron asks you about radio stations. When I was working in Charleston, I had one GM of a broadcasting company (not Apex) tell me, "I don't care if people listen. I just want them to put us down in the Arbitron book." There was an on-air personality in the room at the time. His facial expression was priceless. My point here is that general managers and sales managers care very little about content or music and all about awareness and ratings. Because that's what drives advertising which drives the bottom line. Here's some info for Apex: 843-972-1100 2294 Clements Ferry Road Charleston, SC 29492 Under advertising on their website, Walt Rosen is listen as the 96Wave contact. His number is 843-972-1112. His email is walt@apexbroadcasting.com. This guy could be the advertising sales manager or just the guy that takes the call-ins. Just ask to speak to the sales manager for 96Wave. In a comment above, someone mentioned that Chris Johnson is the general manager. So you could call him, too. I think your best bet is talking to the sales manager though. He's the guy that's going to understand that a lot of people are pissed about this change and that it might affect ad sales. If enough people start calling, they're going to start screening. Always act like you're a potential advertiser until you get to the person you want to talk to. And since a lot of these suits aren't in the office on weekends, you should innundate their voicemail boxes now. You should be able to get through relatively easy by a company directory or receptionist. Come Monday morning, they'll have to sift through a ton of angry voicemails. What they really aren't understanding is that 96Wave was a Charleston institution to a lot of people, a landmark on the radio dial. Most business owners would kill to have that kind of status. From an advertising standpoint, they should have sold it as that and not based on ratings.
Yeah, this is bullshit. Why would ANYONE choose to listen to a generic brand radio station, owned by Coporate America, over the original and LOCALLY-owned (used to be at any rate) 96Wave. I seriously can't believe that Charleston got screwed this way, without any warning. I really hope there is enough backlash that F**k 96.1 crashes and burns hard here.
Jackie, Your probably right. Probably starting spewing off at the mouth when I should've just chilled out....keep it avenger style
Fuck you Chuck FM. Everyone should organize a mob and burn the APEX broadcasting place down. Fucking assholes, why not take down B92.5 or 98X or god damn magic 101.7... wow how fucking ignorant.
Live down in Beaufort, and just tuned in to 96 Wave. Hall and Oates was being played, and thought maybe it was interference from another station due to the bad weather. Not so. 96 Wave was probably one of the best stations in the southeast, possibly even in the US.
They played "Mandy." Craziness.
HOLY FUCK!! Talk about the day the music died, this is a travesty.
Wake up people! Sadly, this is the same corporate takeover that we are allowing to detract from every part of our lives. They smash creativity and rip away any fragmented portion of cultural uniqueness. I will miss the WAVE as much as all of you. It was a romance.
So many years...go out with a wimper???? Hope Critic finds a good place, great Dj dying breed. Remember FREE WAVE FEST????
I woke up this morning hoping that the demise of Wave was something I might have imagined last night in a dream. Alas, I'm awake and have that horrible sensation in the pit of my stomach that the demise is in fact a reality. It's safe to say that Wave shaped my teenage years. And quite a few of my friends too. During my insomniac youth I would listen to Danny V "The Duke of Darkness" in the wee hours of the morning comforted by the fact that someone else was awake like me! I fell in love with Green Day, the Offspring, and Nirvana and tattooed their symbols on my notebooks and chuck taylors. I bought way too much flannel and inspired by Cobain's lyrics shaved part of my head (now THAT was a mistake!) The Cutting Edge taught me to dig deeper and look beyond the top selling alternative bands and I found the love of my life (Braid). I developed a mad teenage crush on the Critic through that show and was way too embarrassed to tell him about it even though we worked together up until last January. And Wave gave me the balls to join my college station at USC (long live WUSC at least) and do an incredibly dorky but awesome afternoon show with my best friend. I got to interview William Goldsmith and Jeremy from Sunny Day Real Estate, meet Pat Smear, and finally return to Charleston to work for my favorite radio station and acheive my life long dream of being a DJ on 96 Wave. I took the crappy shifts, did the receptionist gig there for a year (talk about hellish), and finally settled in as Apex Broadcasting's Production Director for a solid couple of years....but I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt the shift coming...most strongly when Storm and Kenny were fired in March 2006 while they were on vacation. How civilized. And then I had to watch my friend and confidante Bam go. And there were small signs before this. I cried in a production studio when Uncle Miles was first let go. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Danny V. And finally I missed Dave so horribly when he left that I started looking for a new job myself leaving the only career I had thus far ever known. I couldn't believe how shocked some people were when I turned in my two weeks notice this past January. Could they not see how unhappy I was?? Don't get me wrong-I loved my coworkers new and old--some very chill people. But the only way I could describe it was that I had the distinct feeling of being on a sinking ship..and I either had to jump off or go down with it. Well folks, the ship has finally sunk, and I'm sure as hell glad that I jumped when I did. R.I.P. Wave-so long and thanks for the memories. p.s. if you DO call Apex this week-please consider the receptionist. whoever is answering the phone up there did not make this decision, that person is just trying to make a meager living and TRUST ME (I speak from experience) it is going to be a rough week to be answering to angry listeners. He or she will probably be able to help the more calm callers than the ones who call just to scream and cuss him or her out.
I have to laugh and cry at the same time. 96Wave has sucked for at least 6-7 years now, ever since Atom and The Critic were canned from their morning show. I haven't listened regularly to 96Wave in years and frankly, their demise due to low ratings was self-inflicted and self-deserved. At the same time, it was still a Charleston icon and probably the lone FM holdout of "independent" radio. It's sad to see a Charleston institution go down like this only to be replaced by the most offensive of formats, robo-programming. Bleah.
I just moved to Charleston from Augusta a few weeks ago. On clear nights I would tune my car stereo to 96.1 to hear good music. This was after a corporation destroyed our greatest alternative rock station (Channel Z) and left us with nothing. I may have only been here a few weeks, but I've been a 96 Wave fan for the last 10 years. Its reach was beyond Charleston. I can't believe this has happened.....
seriously, what the hell is this new shit? honestly, ive listened to 96 wave since i was 8. now we are subject to corporate takeover. 96 wave was the definition of unique and stood out here in charleston. this will not last too long, so im not sure why i am upset. it is just the end of an era! f*ck chuck!!!!!
Got to talking to an Apex employee last night and that person said everyone is "crushed" by this move. This person said, things have been shady around there for a while. He said the ones who made this decision are:(this person emailed me their contact info.) Chris Johnson- General Manger, 843-972-1105, cmjohnson@apexbroadcasting.com Brian Taylor- Operations Manager and Program Director of B92, 843-972-1136 John Hakim- 96 Wave Sales Manager, 843-972-1149, jhakim@apexbroadcasting.com Everyone can bitch and moan all they want, but it won't change anything. According to this person these guys have their heads up their asses. The best way to make a statement is to not buy advertising from their company on any of their products(Chuck FM, B92, Star 99.7, Heaven 1390 and Graffiti Magazine). This company needs to go away for the way they have treated the people of Charleston. Don't threaten the company with violence, because that is illegal. The only way to stop the wrong doings of this company and it's management is to not support them with your money. There are many other advertising outlets in the area- Citadel Communications, Clear Channel, Kirkman Broadcasting, The City Paper, Preview (The P&C), West of and the TV Stations. If you or any of your friends spend money with Apex, have them stop right now! Don't play Apex radio stations ... EVER! If you hear one, turn it! When their ratings drop just like Waves did, their national advertising money will stop coming in. And then the fat cats at Apex corporate in Alabama will have to sell the company. Yes it is a long drawn out plan, but it is the only way to truly make your point. DON'T EVER SUPPORT ANYTHING THAT APEX BROADCASTING/PUBLISHING ATTACHES THEIR NAME TO...
I moved to Charleston shortly before the Wave came on the air. I later left for the Northeast and recently moved back. Not many stations elsewhere compared to the Wave. I grew up on them - all through the school years. Now they have been replaced with a generic station that plays annoying music that I was glad to see go away after its first time around. I'm sorry if I am offending the three or so people who actually find this new format listenable. I hated those songs in the '80s & they hold no nostalgia for me now. When I flipped on 96.1 in my car this morning I felt like I was at work listening to the crappy, bland "adult hits" station a co-worker plays at her desk. Great. Now she'll have more stations to torture us with. Great idea to change format, Apex. Why be original? Start playing today's version of the crap AM of the '70s. Nice. If anyone out there actually likes this new station, I'd like to pay for his or her psychiatric evaluation myself.
The number for Apex broadcasting is 972-1100. Call early, call often.
I moved to Charleston in 92 and have been a fan of 96wave ever sence. I moved to Hilton Head and then Columbia where I could still pick up 96 wave on the radio, it was fuzzy but thats all I would listen to. I was very pissed when I turned on the radio today and heard this crap. They played the perfect music for Charleston, folly, down town, mt.pleasant, and west ashley. I refuse to listen to this new "chuck" crap. If they don't change it back they will loose a lot of listeners. I am in my 20s and I know people teen to 40s that listen to Wave. Why would you screw with something with that wide of a listener base just to give Charleston yet another crappy "adults hits" station. That is going to take away half of their listener base.
Spencer....AMEN!!! You are totally right!! Don't support APEX in ANY WAY!!! Let them die the slow painful death they deserve. No threats, no pickets...just let them suffer.
Well, to be honest. The only reason I listend to 96 Wave in the last few months was because of the Free Beer and Hot wings show. We should have know since Wavfest went by the wayside, that the station was in peril. The lack of "New/Original, Wave Worthy" music latley was also a clue. Rockers unite. Dont let the same thing happen to 98X. At least they support local and regional music and dont hide what they are about.
Listened a cpl of times today trying to guage how bad 96 WAVE has destroyed what was once "Charleston's Best Rock" Horrible...just horrible Read my blog...
96 Wave you will be missed. Taylor, Todd, The Critic and occasionally Bill Walsh. Those were the days. Stevie Ray Vaughan in the early days. Meat Puppets, Cracker, Wave Fests. The station had a great run. So many memories for so many folks. Sorry to see it go.
Dont forget guys: If you call dont do it Monday. No one will be there (well, no one but me). Call Tuesday.
SAVE THE WAVE...I propose this..All loyal Wave listeners go to the studio on tuesday morning and offer the management this...give US 72 hours to have a "begathon" to raise the ad money they would have gotten in six months to show that we love this station, If we don't they keep it and we'll shut up, If we do the Wave is back. I am a former broadcast DJ, I'll stay on the air for 72 hours straight, I've done it before. My air name was Wesley Stewart, I worked for WRBQ in Tampa, and WVGN In the Virgin Islands. Let's band together and get OUR station BACK!
I've lived in Charleston for years and went to Wando High School and am now at College of Charleston. I always listened to the 96Wave and used to tell all my college friends from out of state that Wave was the best station around. What happened? No warning, nothing. I'm driving to work to a local restaurant that always had it blaring in the kitchen and I get Chuck??? No thanks... I hope the rest of Charleston is as irritated and pissed off as my friends and I are. Chuck won't last so just bring back the Wave. I don't care what the rest of the country is listening to. Charleston wants 96Wave.
Don't waste your time doing something like that. Having worked in that building for sometime(along with hundreds who have come and gone because it is so poorly run,just check the turnover rate),you know what an awful person Chris Johnson is along with his lackies Bryan Taylor, and Walt Rosen(alledgelly). These guys don't care about the people of Charleston,at all(alledgelly). These guys lie to everyone all the time(alledgelly). And all do unethical things all the time(alledgelly) Knowing the type of person Chris Johnson is, he would call the cops from his office and never once have the balls to face anyone. CMJ, is hated by everyone who works in that building! Everyone makes fun of him all the time, he has no respect in that building from any employee. What needs to happen, is that the owner Dean Pearce needs to step in and "blow out" his management.He needs to know that those guys have ruined his name and company in this market. Johnson,is a terrible GM who can not make a decision on his own, he is easily influenced by others opinions and is always looking for a scapegoat(alledgelly).You can count on it that they most likely blamed Dave for this(alledgelly),but he is the one with the knowledge of music and visions of great radio.Those guys-Apex management- have to listen to some consultant in LA-Yeah the same consultant who Storm and Kenny sent a demo to to help them get a better job and he sold them out to Johnson and Rosen,whose egos are so big that they said "f" them and that led to their firing... not ratings(alledgelly) These guys are going forward and don't care about Charleston,never did and never will. Like it was said before,when you see an apex ad rep coming your way- shut the door. Don't support them by spending money with their company.They for sure only want money and don't care if a business does well.Their modo is "F" everyone, we are Apex, we know what we are doing and everyone else is a bunch of dumb redneck hillbillys from the backwards south(alledgelly).If you don't spend money with us, you will fail and if we don't get it all, that business gets the "asshole" tax(alledgelly).Any who has ever worked in sales at Apex can concur with that statement from CMJ. I'll miss u WAVF.
I just threw up a little. I, too, thought it was some sort of anomaly on the airwaves, that maybe I was picking up some station from Savannah or something on the way home that had a stronger signal due to electromagnetism or some such drivel. Chuck-FM is yet another pre-programmed canned feed of generic/safe audio fecal matter. It's in the same vein as other pre-formatted crap that gets mass-fed to the American Sheeple under names like Steve FM and Jack FM. No real dj's, no local flavor, and no effing personality or souls. When I moved to the Charleston in 1992 after a stint in the Army, I listened to 96 Wave for the 20 months I lived here. When I moved back in 2000, my radio seldom veered off 96 Wave. It was like coming back to an old friend. However, in the past seven years I found less and less real alternative music & just a paltry setlist culled from Billboard's Top 40 Modern Rock Chart. Once they went with those douchebags Free Beer & Hot Wings, and playing crap like Metallica and Nicelback, I knew things were in sad decline. That and 1994's Seattle Grunge every 15 minutes; ie: every hour I could count on hearing a song each from Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, and the ever-present and overplayed Nirvana. Every so often they'd throw me a bone like U2 or REM, but seldom any decent classic alternative from acts that pioneered alternative like The Cure (Just Like Heaven was the sole offering), New Order, or Depeche Mode (except for the occasional spin of Personal Jesus). Acts that are stil putting out relevant material 25 years after they started on college radio get ignored in favor of Emo Crap like 30 Seconds to Mars or The Used. RIP, 96 Wave.....we'll miss you. To paraphrase The Push Stars: We'll put the keg on your coffin and think of you every so often....
makes me glad i went for Sirius radio...rip 96 wave
how sad. wave was the only station i listened to. everything started going down hill when storm and kenny were fired. now this?!
This has got to be the worst thing that has happened to Charleston in a looong time. I have been listening to this station since '86, and I feel as if a part of my childhood, college years, and adult life has now been ripped away from me. The new Chuck or UPCHUCK as I call it, SUCKS! The music is horrible, and if they get rid of Free Beer and Hot Wings, there might be rioting. My wife and I were rolling out to IOP and I thought this was a joke, aparently not. Rolling to the beach with the windows down blaring 96 Wave and listening up for the surf report is no more. 96 WAVE you will be surely missed. RIP. Christian Adams
98x rock on. Bye 96 wave you are cool and stil in my ears you are. Now 98x will live in all charleston people. UP YOUR'S CHUCK>: RIP 96 Wave Von
96Wave sucked anyways. Storm & Kenny sucked. Free Beer & Hot Wings REALLY sucked. And in recent memory, 96Wave has sucked. They've sucked for at least half of the last decade. And 96 Chuck sucks even more.
Heard the news last night, I had stopped listening with the last format change , except for Critic on Sunday mornings. We were fortunate to have a station like the Wave for as long as we did. Look at the stations in nearby Raleigh-Durham. They all suck except for the college stations and have since the late 80's when classic rock programming destroyed rock radio. Wavefest '97 will always rank up there as one of my all time favorite concerts, despite the chilly weather. Jeff Tweedy introducing Jay Bennett like it was gonna be Jay Farrar joining him on stage was classic. That guy from Cowboy Mouth climbing the scaffolding... Hell, I'm gonna go put my bootlegs of that Wavefest on the stereo right now and send The Wave off proper like. Thanks for some great memories.
I never take the time to make public comments about a radio station, but I never thought 96Wave would be killed! Does anyone know what happened to the Critic and his Sunday morning show? I'm disgusted and I agree with all those who feel 96Wave was dying over the last four years. They continued to separate themselves from the local scene and Free Beer and Hotwings just made it worse. Charleston needs good alternative radio. Hopefully CofC students decide to take on the cause and create a quality college station. That was 96Wave's niche. I hate APEX. So long old friends.
I have listened since I was in middle school. My brother and I would listen to storm and kenny on the way to school. I was already missing the 96 wave I knew when they got rid of those guys. Another iconic era of charleston is gone. I'm so sad right now
This must be a joke. I am so disappointed. The LAST thing Charleston needs is another generic, crappy, lifeless radio station. 96 Wave was the only thing that saved Charleston from being completely unoriginal. Has anyone started a petition???
Let me start off by saying that I loved 96wave and I'm sad to see it go, but APEX is a company who was called by the owner's of 96wave to unload the radio station they couldn't salvage. It's been through numerous hands, each making dumber changes than the last. It never made any money, and lost almost all of its awesome content! APEX will only be here until they can negotiate with another company to buy or trade the station. Then, fingers crossed, they will make that station a rock station, and it will be the best ever! My point... Chuck won't be here forever. Yay! And maybe we'll have a great radio station that can be the next "wave" of great music and great djs that we can all come together to support!
Whatever the numbers might say, this was a bad business decision. If they saw that their ratings were dropping after previous more subtle changes in their format, they should have wised up then and changed it back. The downhill slide really accelerated after the end of Storm and Kenny, and continued with their further ill-advised content changes, and yet they obstinately continued to ruin a good thing. I think simple stubborness and ego is to blame here. I have to think that a devoted, albeit niche, audience would have to be better than a potentially (but probably not) larger audience of a more general composition that can simply turn the station whenever a commercial comes on because the same stuff is playing on every other station. I would leave Wave on, even during commericals, because I didn't want to miss what was up next, in addition to wanting to hear about products and activities of local concern -- especially the ones with which the Wave staff were involved. Secretive underhanded actions seem to be the order of the day over at Apex, as evidenced by the firings of Storm and Kenny, and epitomized by Friday's disaster. I knew the last nail was in the coffin when, on Saturday afternoon, I heard a song from the musical Grease. I can hear crap on any other station. My personal feelings against what I feel is a betrayal of many devoted listeners are going to prevent me from ever listening to crap on Chuck, even if that's all there is. Even if their format becomes more palatable over time, a lot of people will never tune back into 96.1 because of how they feel about all this. I went for months without hitting my #1 preset after the loss of Storm and Kenny. I am now changing it to 98.1 or 100.5. If the owners of the Bridge at 100.5 have any sense, they will try to pick up some of the lost Wave listeners by splicing in some of what has often been locally characterized as "Wave music" to their playlists. I suppose I still have my CD's but I will have to work harder to find out what ones to buy now that I won't be exposed to the best new music on the 96 Wave.
this is not " a field of dreams " if you change it they will listen.....wwwz was cutting edge in the 70's and early 80's until 95sx came storming in and forced the top 40 into our ears and urban contemp. took over at 93.1 does it all come down to money? if their margins don't suit the brass then the format must be wrong, drive cross country and you will hear from shore to shore in 99% of markets the same stuff in the same package under different call letters.... corp. america just cares about the bottom line and Apex is not like their name, they will never see the top of the book in this market.
Wow.... Jackie texted me Friday to let me know what was afoot. For all the listeners out there that are outraged, I'm with you. I was a listener as well, going back to the early 90's when I got back from three years in the army in Europe. But like my buddy Ben the Intern (read his post a ways back above, as it sums it all up quite well), I took my love of 96 Wave a bit further. I sweated it out as an intern for 6 months, and then, wonder of wonders, I got a gig as an overnight weekend DJ. It was and still is, the most fun I've ever had working. It really wasn't work to me. I spun CDs, talked about music, went to remotes and concerts, and had a blast from age 22 to 28. I ultimately left for a job at Jacor, which almost immediately became ClearChannel (yeah, yeah, I know...) and then got out of radio a few years later after trying both corporate rock and talk stations. Nothing compared to the social and musical education I got at Wave. Woody, Dave, Danny V, Miles, Jude, Holly, Blaze, Rod, Atom, Critic, Richard, Rob, Storm (pre-Storm & Kenny), and the other part timers such as Ben (who helped me get my internship), Mary Katherine, Lona, and others, all shaped who I am. Scary, I know. Oh, and I won't get into the craziest bunch of salespeople ever thrown together. I could list a hundred different moments here that made my Wave tenure great, but suffice to say that Charleston has never had a radio station like Wave, and nothing will replace it. R.I.P. WAVF, Hana-hana-hana-hana-hana-hana-hana-hana-hanahan, Charleston.
My stero was only on one station ,96.1, for the past two years. I turned it on and Jimmy Buffet was playing, not to dis the legend but its deffinatley not what I want to hear. I want to hear The White Stripes, Buckcherry, Parramore, Flyleaf, and lots of the other 96 wave music. If people of the Charleston area wanted to hear the music thats playing on 96.1 they would turn the station to 96.9 or 105.5. This new "chuck" thing needs to go. immediatly.
Eric, The Bridge at 1055.....105 .5
I can't say it any better than the posts above. The downturn started with the betrayal of the Storm and Kenny Show......and this is the final ending. How sad.
R.I.P. 96 wave, F.U. Apex, the door is open of a new Alternative. Hope it does not take too long for someone to fill the void.
This has been too funny to read. I use to work in the media and things change. Think for a moment - do you do anything the same as you did in 1992? The answer is no. You don't drive the same old 88 model car - you're typing on a web blog - they were not even around in 1992. Radio, TV and even print has changed as well as every business. Someone mentioned earlier about the old owners selling to Apex - I did some research and yes the Free Wavefest Parties and the old Wave was great but it is obvious that it was falling apart under the old owners. Aren't they the ones that really sold-out??? I'm going to miss Wave too but life goes on. If it's such a disaster won't one of the other radio outlets pick up the music? Maybe I should start a petition for CBS killing off The Dukes of Hazzard.
My name is Chuck and now I am ashame. Hope this mistake is fixed or fails, or both.
Suffice to say, there are too many memories or suggestions to write in this area. Such a flood of emotions...I noticed the change late in the evening, and felt a pit in my stomach, especially when I heard some 80s glam-pop playing like "girls just wanna have fun" (sacrilegious to 96WAVF standards) followed by some monotonous 'chuck fm' interruption. I suppose I'm still in shock. There were no other stations like it, compare as we all may. Being away from the area for my 4 years of college, I missed out on the discontinuations of certain people or change-overs that most of us had enjoyed. Even during a visit to Los Angeles and other locations in the world, the radio stations couldn't compare to my local, homegrown-feeling 96WAVF. I even streamed it in the dorm when I could or felt homesick for the beach! Is 95SX to take on this absence of alternative/rock/low country roots genre? Why must there be another "mixed" station?! Those leave the listener to chance of hearing anything worthwhile. And the automated 'chuck' thing, who's going to tell us about the concerts going on around the area? Or support the locals by broadcasting from such locations? As much I would love to have/participate in a "begathon" as mentioned way above this post, from the writings of others (in the know) it seems like it would all be in vain and that the seemingly only way to hit them where it'd hurt would be to boycott the other Apex stations, or their advertisers' products. But I can't help think that there MUST be another way, some kind of war we can rage with our southern 96WAVE roots raring high. Over dramatic, yes, but perhaps effective? Or to at least get some other station, maybe independent?, on the air that satisfies OUR needs, the needs of those who were faithful to THE WAVE. -Gail C. ps- Hell, if I had the equipment, plugging my 18 GB of music on shuffle over the radio waves would be better than that chuck fm shit.
Friday night is going down as one of the lowest points in my life. I can't believe it is gone. I know it has been going downhill but I didn't want it to die. The old 96Wave is more about Charleston than it was about big music. It was local and it did a lot of local things, that is what I will miss.
Lightening in a bottle...that's what WAVE was at one time. Everything changed after Rossi was let go the FIRST time. Things began to fall apart after that. What people have forgotten is how many different parts make up a station...a good Program Director, a GM that supports the PD's decisions, a production department that takes pride in producing commercials that are entertaining and serve the listener's interests as well as the clients, and of course on-air talent that is more passionate about the music and serving the listener than stroking their own ego. WAVE had it goin' on at one time, but after its heart left (Woody Bartlett) it officially fell apart. For years now, those who were left behind have been attempting to keep the dream alive, and I admire the hell out them for it...but they continue to be the amazing talents that they always were and I wish them all the best as this chapter closes. I truly hope only good things come to those people. Thank you for giving me some of the most amazing times in my life. Mary Kathryn P.S. Know the the sink was coming out of the wall in the back bathroom in the Ashley River Rd studios? I, um...did that, well, I didn't do it all myself, anyway...sorry. (*wink*)
The truth is that 96WAVE never really lived up to the true alternative stations in bigger cities, or even the cooler, even more alternative stations in small cities like Athens, but at least it always had a little bit of an edge. You could count on hearing The White Stripes or the Strokes, even though they never played anything more than the popular #3 tracks on the CDs. I knew it was going downhill when they got rid of Stern, and then Storm and Kenny....at least be different! The last thing I wanted to hear as I turned my radio on today was "I put on my blue suede shoes and boarded the train..." Walking in Memphis????? Disgust! I wanted to vomit all over my center console. There's something nostalgic about listening to a station you have listened to since middle school like I have along with other native Charlestonians. The truth is that radio is a dying art, with iTunes and iPods having obviously taken over the market. But there's something great about never knowing what is next. I hope all of you losers at APEX lose even more of your salary when your crappy upChuck station fails and falls flat on its face, since nothing but fat soccer moms who grab McDonalds dollar menus are going to listen to it anyway. What it really comes down to is: Nothing that is 'free' is really great anyhow. I call for some rich investor to hire the ex-96Wave staff and start up their own station and call it ChuckSucks until ChuckFM goes down in flames. (As a few of the bloggers here have already written, it's coming) Believe me, it can be done.
sad shit, now i have to listen to freebeer and hotwings through some other radio station on line! what the hell am i gonna listen to in the morning when im at work? i wasnt a big fan of the music, and you can always find out about local music in the city paper and graffiti, but man i loved the morning shows. free beer, storm and kenny before them, (not the critic), and stern before that. f.u. in your stupid f'n a. apex Benjie
R.I.P. Wave. You will be missed. APEX Broadcasting is about as useless as a poopie flavored lolly pop. You stupid corporate assholes have completely fucked and then destroyed greatness. Your only success in the format change is that 96 Wave will now only be remembered as a "legendary once was" as those of us who are truly local talk about the good ole days of true radio. All those involved in the decision to change need to be taken out to Marion Square and executed for treason.
Hi, I'm Ricky Bobby. If you're the one who made the decision to change then FUCK YOU!
I didn't even listen to 96Wave after Storm, Kenny and Stupid Mike werecanned. Those guys were there the first day of my first job. They were the older brothersI never had. Losing them was a blow, but losing the station that introduced me to those guys is physically painful. Apex is going to flop after this decision. One reason for the change was cited as "decreased ratings" well here is a question. How much will ratings decrease now that noone in Charleston will be listening to "Chuck?"
Charleston, which is a distinctly unique city in the US, has lost one of its unique voices. The radio now sounds like every other city in the US. I agree that it started to go down hill after Storm and Kenny were fired and the constant tinkering just made it uncomfortable to listen to. Thanks APEX...you've moved forward on your committment to stamp out any originality and personality in this country. I realize that we are 23 years past 1984 but you have not given up hope on having a homogenous bland society. XM, here I come.
I was coming home last night and I turned the radio on to 96.1. And all of a sudden I here this country song on 96.1. I'm thinking what hte hell is this, and thne i here it being advertised as them playing everything. We want 96 wave back because its the only station that plays todays best rock. Down with the Chuck FM. Long live 96 wave.
So where is The Critic now?
I thought this was a joke! But, unfrotunately it is not. I hope every fan of 96 wave starts to boycott the advertisers for "SUCK", oops, I mean Chuck and its' parent company Apex. I had thought it was a waste of money to buy satelitte radio, but now it is the future I guess. Companies like Apex problalby would like it to be that way. That is the only explantion for this debacle. Make radio so bad that we will have to purchase satelitte radio. I smell a conspiracy! Quick story: When me and my wife's friends and family come and visit us in Charleston one of things they remember about this beautiful city is 96 WAVE. How they wished their town had a station like our own 96 WAVE. At the very least they could of had Uncle Miles saying "SOO LONG IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMM out of here"! I have already replaced CHUCK on my preset. I will never listen to 96.1 again unless 96 WAVE comes back. Looks like it is sports and am radio or break out my CD collection and " The Critics" picks.
The end of the station began the day they had Howard Stern for the morning show. From then on it was never really local again. "Free Beer" was ok but it wasnt Charleston. I swear this feels like the death of an old friend
From the sound of all these posts, I guess we don't have to worry about the decline of Charleston's musical taste. I remember coming home from New Orleans two years ago to hear the "Locally owned, locally operated" 96 Wave and thinking that good radio wasn't dead, after all, and I was glad to have been a Wave fan for almost ten years. Didn't anyone at Apex tie the dropping ratings to the Wave's increasing similarity to 98x? All I can say is, bring back the real 96 Wave! And until then, I'm going out to get a car connector for my iPod. May Chuck die a swift death.
Free Beer and Hot Wings airs on Wave 104.1 in Myrtle Beach
F**K CHUCK, SAVE THE WAVE!. I left town on thursday jamming out to the same station that I've listened to since I moved to the area in 1991. I came back today and it was gone. I would like to say couple things: 1.Congrats to the brain trust at APEX, they are morons. 2. Way to add one more bad station to the air waves of Charleston. 3. Hello to satellite radio. 4. Good bye to one of the top 5 rock stations in the country. 5. I am urging every fan of 96 Wave, all the ones who remember Wavefest, the critic, the southern avenger, and so on....... Lets all take on the slogan F**K CHUCK, SAVE THE WAVE. I know someone out there can make shirts and stickers. Come on people we can save our station. 6. Finally lets boycott their sponsors. It worked to get Imus of the air, so F**K CHUCK.
yeaH F**k Chuck stickers sound great I'd buy one!!!
Hey I have already called the voice box for the idiots at Apex several times in the past few days hope they have fun listening to bitching!!!!
What a load of crap. I was happy as could be Friday afternoon, off of work, heading out of town for Labor day weekend in a rental car, looking for the Wave, my favorite station for the last 12 years and was kind of confused. The rental just wasn't picking up 96Wave. This must be some joke, something wrong with this radio. Nope, no joke. I feel like I am mourning the loss of a friend. I can't believe those idiots would take it off of the air. We have enough stations play "everything". I want "Charleston's Best Rock" back. I am not happy and will NOT listen to Chuck and the crap it's playing. I mean for God's sake, I heard Mambo Number 5 on it. I would rather ride around town with the radio off.
I just moved here and instantly fell in love with 96.1. It was the first radio station I have liked sence I moved to the south (about two years around Georgia and the Upstate). Wave I will miss you!!!!!
yea if you make bumper sickers, shirts, or whatever else you can come up with, i will buy it.
Hey I hope you make some money off of the death of a classic you jerk off.
Cafe Press will make some money, but I haven't marked anything up for my own gain. The shop is open now. If anyone has alternative/cheaper place than Cafe Press, let me know. save96wave@gmail.com
I didn't know anything about the change until I read about it on here so I turned on the radio and fell in love with it. I heard old Aerosmith, some Tom Petty and even The Cure plus a few songs that brought back memories like Putting on the ritz. I like Chuck, for the first time in years I will listen.
Just what Charlestons needs: another generic station. The "Chuck" tagline is "we'll play anything"...well the irony is that that 96Wave already would play anything. On any given Sunday morning, I could hear a set that consisted of Television, Los Straitjackets, Wilco and a new band from England so new that NY stations only had import CDs to play on air. Well 96.1 has been removed from my car radio preset. Now if only the CoC could get their FCC liscense approved, then we'ld have a REAL college station. Looks like I'll be listening to my iPod in the car and internet radio at home. AND going out of my way to boycot any product advertised on an APEX Broadcasting station.
everyone look at entry 129 what a moron
From radioinsight.com: 20 years of heritage comes to an end at 5:00pm today when “96 Wave” 96.1 WAVF Hanrahan/Charleston, SC drops Modern Rock for Variety Hits as “96.1 Chuck-FM”. WAVF has a Construction Permit to move to 101.7 as part of a multifaceted swap involving stations in Columbia and Myrtle Beach. ------------------------------ What does the second paragraph mean ? I read it as WAVF (96 Wave may move to 101.7. Can anyone with knowledge of what is going on at APEX comment ? Time will tell.
A new station will be popping up on Apex around the 1st of next year. It will be broadcast on the 101.7 frequency. They dont know what format it will be, though they have discussed it being a rock station. The people in Myrtle will get 96.1 and Chuck will move to 95.9
Chalk up another one to unsacred corporate take over here in Charleston. 96 Wave has been a staple to those who have lived here all their lives. I know the "Free Beer and Hot Wings" show was definitely not the best thing on the air, but to wake up to some smooth alternative music makes me feel like a pregnant woman curled up on the porcelain thrown every morning. Why you want to lose all your audience and gain no new listeners is beyond my understanding. I agree F&*K CHUCK!!!
Hi... Wow! Can't say that I'm surprised by this. But, I'm sorry for everyone that lives in Charleston. Getting fired by them felt sh#tty and all, but ultimately it didn't hurt UNTIL I started getting emails from people whose day to day lives were really affected in a negative way. THAT blows. These guys don't realize how radio works, it seems. It is the most intimate of all medias and people really rely on it and develop real relationships with their stations, their shows and their dj's. Anyway, as a guy who has been fortunate enough to work at some of the country's best alternative rock stations, I feel like I can say at some points 96Wave was one of the best stations in the country (uh..especially when we were on the air :) ) And now, it's sad. Sorry guys. Buy Sirius, I work here now. Channell 111 mornings. Sick. Storm is loving Costa Rica. What's up Joel? Ballard, you hate writing me back eh? W'shup, kenny www.youtube.com/thedreamfilms
Even if Apex Broadcasting decides to "bring back" WAVE on a new frequency, it will still be owned by Apex. DON'T SUPPORT THAT HORRIBLE COMPANY.NEVER SUPPORT THEM UNTIL THEIR MANAGEMENT IS OUT ON THEIR ASSES
So correct me if I'm wrong...all the format changes are due to frequency swaps? They get a station @ 96.1 and we have to give up The Wave? If Apex wasn't happy w/ the Arbitron #'s, they should have gone back to what worked before, not change for the worse. Sure, times change, but if you want it to work, you can make it work. Selling out won't work. Someone needs to email all the musicians that 96 Wave helped launch, along with those that played at events 96 Wave sponsored..Like the Birthday Bash and Wavefest and let them know what happened to our station... I can't wait to see the public reaction if and when "Chuck" shows up to promote an event...Like the Lowcountry Oyster Festical @ Boone Hall Plantation...If anyone will have them... SAVE THE WAVE
What a joke. How do you "play everything"? They just went from "Twisted Sister" to John Mayer, yeah thats gonna keep me from changing the station.... Actually my radio will never ever again be set to that station. I grew up on the WAVE. From the glory days of grunge and alternative, through last week's modern rock - it was home. I learned to love Free Beer and Hot Wings despite the slow start. All the classic local radio icons that I ever knew were from 96wave - and now they're all gone. No business with which I am involved in any way will spend another cent advertising with Apex - particularly not on 9-6-1 Chuck. Fuck Chuck. You've lost a lifetime listener and longtime advertiser. Gone are your revenues from my advertising dollars, and gone are the times at number one on my station presets. I guess I'm lucky my car came with built-in XM radio. Now I have a justification to finally subscribe. Oh, and look for my advertising through other local media outlets. R.I.P. 96Wave. Fuck Chuck.
This Sucks! I just purchased XM for all of my cars!!!!!!
the new station sucks... now what are we going to listen to?
I loved 96Wave. So sad. I speak for myself and quite a few of my friends... when we got to work this morning we were ALL complaining.
96 Wave was one of reasons I moved to Charleston. F*ck Chuck and all the other 1000 corporate franchise stations just like it around the country. It's a sad day for music! I need a drink.
Damn. Disappointment from the upstate of SC. I can't begin to tell you how much this pisses me off. Nice call there jackass. I hope you go to Arbitron hell.
The Drive (100.5) is supposedly up for sale (by Clear Channel). Can we find a local with deep pockets ($2 mil) and start a new station?
Wow, what a sad day indeed. I have not lived in Charleston for 7 years but the ONE thing I looked forward to the most when coming home to visit was tuning in to 96 wave. If the fact that tears came to my eyes when I got the text this weekend "96 wave is no more" isn't a testimate to the power of this station I don't know what is. As I read through the threads, I realize that it must have been going down hill for a while now, but all I can remember are the good times. The first couple years of 96 wave fest, the bonding that this station provided between my family and I, are invaluable memories. Does anyone else feel like a part of Charleston has died?
I have been listening to the wave for years. I went to all the wavefest in the early and mid nineties and when I turned on the radio the other morning and heard easy listening it made me sick. The wave has always been a breath of relief on the radio, but now I'm considering getting XM Radio again. If any Apex CEO's are reading these blogs please put the wave back on the air. Charleston has enough generic radio garbage. It does not need any more.
I agree with Dillard. I live in the upstate and I have spent some of the best years of my life going to Charleston for long weekends. One of the most anticipated moments during any of those weekends was gaining 96Wave reception on I-26 heading into town. It set the tone for the whole weekend. I also spent A LOT of money on CDs as a result of music heard on that station. I listened to Chuck (sucky name, BTW) for a little while this morning and, although I don't hate it, I can't say that I will be listening to it with expectations of expanding my collection. Quite frankly, I won't be listening to it at all... it is too non-descript. Reverse course before it is too late.
Truly a sad time for Charleston....96wave can never be replaced. I had been listening to 96wave since the late eighties and was also there for the first WaveFest's, which were memorable moments for me. The wave brought so many great bands to the charleston area and if I'm not mistaken was one of the first stations to play Pearl Jam in the early nineties. 96wave has withstood hurricanes and many other signifcant events with charleston and for it to end this way just isn't right for a station that was so much a part of this city. 96Wave and her DJs left an indelible mark on Charleston and I personally am sad to see it go. One more thing....It will be a cold day in hell before I ever listen to 96.1Chuck!
I think everyone will remember what they heard the first time they thought they were tuning in the Wave and got whatever it is now. For me, it was Rick Springfield. I think I would rather watch those Johnny's Suzuki infomercials over the new station. Glad I got that IPod hookup for my car.
I actually had to come back and comment again.... Chuck is like some evil train wreck. I had to take a minute or three & listen to just how bad it really was last night on the hour-long drive home from work. I was all happy for a second, thinking 96 WAVE was back: They were playing "Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure....and then followed it up with Kely freakin' Clarkson...and "Brick House" (yeah, the original by the Commodores, not the Rob Zombie cover). By the time 38 Special was played I flipped it off and found myself in BIZARRO WORLD with 95SuX playing Linkin Park. Jeez....Linin Park on 95SuX and Kelly Clarkson on 96.1? I wanted to slit my elbows. Sure, things change, and no, I don't still have my 1988 car as John stated above, but some stations are still thriving with their formats 20 years later, like KROQ in LA, KDGE in Dallas, and WLIR on Long Island. Sure, they have a larger potential audience and fanbase, but greater Charleston is still a metropolitan area of over 250,000 people. And petitioning CBS over the Dukes of Hazrd isn't quite as off-base as you make it, sir. People petitioned to save Family Guy and it worked. And THAT show is sure as hell a niche market, no? I invite you all to come & read a blog I posted on August 19th about the perils of Top 40 music. http://mojosteve.blogspot.com/2007/08/hour-of-my-life-that-ill-never-get-back.html
This is freakin' miserable.....The clowns running 96.1 deserve a slap in the face for this. Granted, 96 Wave hasn't been the same since they tweaked their format a while back and became a 98 rock clone. However, it was still the best station in Charleston (sans that horrid "Free Beer and Hot Wings" b.s.) not to mention a storied stalwart of the youth and young adult community. I can't believe it, but I am truly sad to see 96 Wave go. I left for Labor Day to go see my father in the hospital and came back to even more bad news. I've been all over the US and in my humble opinion the Wave (circa 2006 and before) was one of the top stations in the COUNTRY! It's off the satellite for me. I'm sending all my bills to Apex.
There may be some hope!: http://www.varietyhits.com/variety/ TEXT: September 1, 2007 Shocker! Heritage rock station 96 Wave (96.1 WAVF) in Charleston, SC abruptly dropped modern rock (and, presumably, the incumbent "Free Beer and Hot Wings" syndicated morning show) at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday 8/31/2007 to go Variety Hits as 96.1 Chuck FM. The station is streaming live as of this writing from the old 96 Wave website. In its 22+ year existence, 96 Wave maintained a rock format. WAVF signed on with an Album Oriented Rock format in March 1985 as 96 Wave following a week of stunting with ocean wave sounds. With the alternative rock format that swept the United States in the early 1990s, the station shifted from the dying AOR format to the growing alternative (also known as modern rock) format in 1993, though it kept the established 96 Wave name. The last song played on 96 Wave prior to the flip was "My Wave" by Soundgarden. The first song played on Chuck FM was "Take This Job And Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck. According to radio-online.com, 96 Wave program director Lance Hale will remain with the new station in the same role. The Chuck FM name is clever enough since sometimes Charleston is referred to as "Chucktown", but what makes this odd is that the station is slated to change its city of license from Hanahan, SC to Forestbrook, SC and drop its massive class C signal (100,000 watts from a height of 1777') to go to a C2 status at 26,000 watts from a height of only 492', and in the process lose its coverage of Charleston (moving to cover the Myrtle Beach, SC market.) Why in the world would any station owner agree to this, since there's no way to ever get a 100kw flamethrower like that back ever again?!? The explanation is complicated, but the reason is because the end result will mean a two-for-three station switch as far as stations covering the Charleston, SC market involving multiple station owners. A message board post I found summed it up like this: -Orangeburg/Bamberg loses 95.7 WWBD (which moves to 95.9) -Charleston loses 96.1 WAVF and 107.5 WNKT -Myrtle Beach loses 101.7 WKZQ-FM -Charleston gets 95.9 (WWBD), move-in 101.7 WKZQ-FM (which takes the Halahan city of license vacated by WAVF), and 107.3 WMGL (which moves from the 101.7 frequency it currently has squeezed in covering Charleston) -Myrtle Beach gets the majorly downgraded 96.1 WAVF -Columbia, SC gets 107.5 WNKT (which will have city-grade coverage into at least Orangeburg) So why mention all of this? Because there's no logical reason to brand a station as Chuck FM if is about to move out of Charleston. Either this is a temporary holder format (like George FM in Washington, DC) or, more likely, Chuck FM will end up on another frequency in the Charleston market. The idea of the Chuck FM name is tied directly to Charleston, so having it move to Myrtle Beach would be counter-intuitive, particularly since Variety Hits is already on the air there with Fidelity Broadcasting's 104.9/100.7 Bob FM. Columbia already has a Variety Hits station in the form of Clear Channel's 96.7 Steve FM (which has been there 2+ years as of this writing), so the odds of Chuck FM ending up there would appear remote. My guess: the 96.1 Chuck FM format will end up on on 101.7 (with the WKZQ-FM rock format moving to 96.1 FM when the switch happens), as Apex will get the 101.7 license and NextMedia will obtain 96.1 after the swap. It is more complex than that, but for the purpose of analyzing the move, it suffices. Forthcoming moves aside, for now Variety Hits is on in Charleston on an incredibly powerful signal. Charleston, SC residents, enjoy it while you can.
First off, I have to say that this has been going on for years among years. Its called "CHANGE" you listen to storys from parents and grandparents talkinabout the good old days and how they changed. This is just another changing in the gold ole days for us. I think what really got my attention, Was that something was really wrong was when the storm and kenny show didnt come on anymore. It was a couple guys that didnt know anything about charleston or probably ever been too. I called and asked if something was wrong and they said it was no longer. Thats when i stopped listenin in the morning then. How about the southern advenger, 420 surf report, the critic??? It will be truly missed in my garage, house, workshop, boat and truck. I'm sorry i'm not listening to the "UPCHUCK". back to XM
Really? I've experienced format changes at radio stations I've enjoyed a few times and while I didn't like it, I'm still alive. Really? You moved to Charleston because of a radio station? Come on! I only listen to the two talk stations in town (94.3FM and 1250AM, neither of which is nearly as good as they used to be) when I'm not listening to XM, but losing 96Wave doesn't strike me as the apocalypse.
I left WAVE years ago and have watched from a far as it was abused, misused and miscast. I always believed that whatever we (the people who owned, sold, programmed and CARED for WAVE) couldn't hurt it, kill it. I just knew in my heart of hearts that the people of Charleston would tolerate the occasional transgression, even the regrettable programming decisions knowing that we and of course WAVE would find our way. So it is with a heavy heart that I return from a long weekend with reports from old friends in Charleston that the worst has happened, WAVE is dead. There will be explanations from the station's management about changing demographic profiles, consultants' advice, but at the end of the day WAVE was always succeeded against huge competition and a lack of describable "format". WAVE was about a relationship between a community and it's radio station, WAVE was at the beach, WAVE was at The Joe, either bringing you great live music or bringing you The Critic, live on-site reminding you the best place to be on a spring evening in Charleston was at the ball park drinking a few cold ones. WAVE brought you Hootie (remember when they were cool? I do), and put the Music Farm on the map. Alas, the only invariable in life is change. Charleston keeps changing, but I for one think that today we've changed for the worse. Long Live 96 WAVE!!
It actually hurts to get in the car and know its not there... I set my dial to SCAN... and still nothing worth stopping on.. This is crazy.. crazy and sad....
As an out of towner that looks forward to my annual visits to my brother and his wife each year in Mt. Pleasant...it's a SAD day for me today. I sit in my land locked office each day here in B'ham, Al and turn on 96 WAVE to escape for an hour each day and picture myself on IOP with my boys enjoying the sand and sun. It what gets me through the mundane while I wait for my next trip. It lets me feel, even for a few minutes, like I'm there. I pull it up today after a long holiday weekend and I hear Whitney "Friggin" Houston...I thought I had the wrong station... Wow...I feel your pain ! F--- Chuck!
It's very simple. Don't listen. If any one ever ask you..you don't listen to UpChuck. Take it off your dial and leave it off. Rant/Rave all you want, but until UpChuck has little or no listeners..it will survive. If you really want to teach the folks that are running UpChuck, including their genius consultant (Alex Duhmers) a lesson. DO NOT LISTEN TO UPCHUCK!
I had a few minutes after lunch and decided to give my thoughts. I haven't listened to Wave in years but all the women in my office are listening today and I'm kinda digging the new station.
You can only ride a WAVE so long before it dies.
To Mike of "Mike and the mechanics"...I think the "digging the new station" tells us a lot about your muscial tastes. I can only think of some obvious quotes as I read your post: To quote the Barber in "Coming to America"--"You Must be crazy!" To quote the Russian Boxer in "Rocky 4"---"I must break you"
After 15 years of kicking around in radio, I moved from D.C. to Charleston in 1985. I hooked up with a small group of rejects from some of the other big stations in town and we literally built 96 WAVE from scratch in an old Burger King office on Remount Road. It was the best experience of my life. The simple sound of a WAVE was the first sound broadcast at 96.1 on March 5 1985. The buzz was huge. People thought we were crazy, and perhaps we were for not knowing any better. WAVE was a success because most of us were so inexperienced that we had no idea what the rules of convention were all about. Fear of failure didn't even enter into the equation. Creativity was the mother of invention. In building WAVE, we built more than a radio station; we built a community of like minded, adventurous music-lovers in one of the most austere, genteel Southern cities ever. To this day, a core group of us still keeps that communal spirit alive. Thanks for letting us grow up with you Charleston. BTW: Like Dennis Hopper sez: At 60, you don't just turn your dreams over to "the Man". You come up with new ones! Paul W Robinson
For what it's worth, those of you with DISH network have a bunch of Sirius channels to listen to at home if you don't have Sirius as a paid service. Sirius Channel 21--Alt Natio (Alternative) Sirius Channel 22--First Wave (old school New Wave) Sirius Channel 24--Lithium (90's Alternaive) And XM has: Channel 44 Fred (Classic Alternative) Channel 47 Ethel (New Alternative) Channel 54 Lucy (90's Alternative)
Chuck FM has to seriously be a joke. Come on, who wants to hear Elton John instead of Free Beer and Hot Wings? My radio listening days are now over. Chuck FM and Apex SUCKS. I thought they really screwed up with B92, but taking 96Wave off the radio waves has really crossed the line.
I think it is pretty ridiculous that without any sort of notice 96 Wave was changed over to an easy listening station. I have been listening to 96 Wave since they 1st came on the air back when I was in highschool. They were undeniably the best radio station in Charleston! Matter of fact, not so long ago Rolling Stone magazine did a story on 96 Wave proclaiming it to be one of 5 BEST rock radio stations in the country! You can also look back to Charleston City Paper where 96 Wave has won several Readers Polls for its awesome DJs. I am boycotting "Chuck FM" (what a dumb name anyway) and sending Apex Broadcasting an email telling them how I feel. Maybe if we all get together & voice our opinion about this idiotic switch we can get them to change it back!!!!
Woke up to Rod Stewart singing Maggie Mae - double-checked the radio station. Rubbed my eyes - checked again. I don't care about anything that led up to the format change. Read my lips...I DO NOT CARE. I want to listen to 96Wave. I turned the radio off - permanently.
I never forgave them for replacing Atom and the Critic with Howard Stern. Now that my car attenae is broken off I'll just listen to the traffic, it sounds better anyway.
You guys are so off base. Only 168 post and some people with multiple messages. Wow - Thousands and thousands loved Wave. How are those t-shirt sales going? I do work for another media company in another city but know Charleston very well and everything makes perfect sense. You can't live in the early 90s forever. The music that was out in the early 90s is dead or the artist are all over Top 40 stations such as the 2 Top 40 stations in Charleston. The so-called alternative artist such as Green Day don't give a damn about you, they want to be played on Top 40 stations - that's where the most cds are sold and concert tixs. Look at the current Top 10 songs on the Billboard Album Chart: http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Albums&f=The+Billboard+200 Those alternative artist are killing it. huh? It's like this that tall cold glass of milk was great years ago, but now time has passed it by and that same glass of milk would be sour. John earlier made a great point. Do you drive an 88 model car??? Do you still wear clothes that your Mom bought you back in 88? I work in the business and I bet you Chuck will last a lot longer than you can imagine. I know you don't care but business is business. Hats off to Apex. A lot of people thought Steve-Fm in Columbia was stupid now look at it - The #2 rated station making MILLIONS of $$$$. If you guys are so smart wouldn't you be working in radio or better yet why don't you put YOUR money where your mouth is - it would only take about 5 Million Dollars to put on a 100,000 watt radio station such as 96.1 - don't forget about the $40,000 power bill that comes each month too. The bottom line is quit bitching and buy an XM or Sirrus Radio - just don't get mad when they merge in the next year.
...I just Apexed...oh wait, I meant I just farted.
Salute APEX's superb f'up by "Flying a bird" everytime you pass this place: http://www.apexbroadcasting.com/apexmap.gif
My alarm clock went off to "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" this morning. Grrrr.
Mike, you make fine points but are a bit off base. 96 Wave didn't live in the early 90's. Sure, they played their fair sure of Temple of the Dog and Nirvana, but they were ahead of their time when they played The Killers and The Strokes before any other station in town. They also had special shows like The Cutting Edge, Johnny Puke's Picks and Sunday Over Easy where they wouldn't play anything on the playlist. They weren't Top 40 and that's what we loved. The on-air talen were the kinds of people that didn't feel like they were telling us what was good or what to listen to. In fact, we wanted to know what they thought of music. They were that cool friend everyone has that tells them about great bands before they've hit MTV (but most likely they're already on MTV). You see, these DJ's were pals to a lot of us. The Wave instilled a sense of community.. something uniquely Charleston. So what I'm still confused about is how having thousands of loyal, loving, hardcore listeners doesn't equate to revenue. How were they not able to sell this station as an advertising medium? Don't local business owners want to talk to the 18-35 demographic? National advertisers like Budweiser will look at the Arbitron ratings. Fine, but there's more to radio than ratings. You could play a demo tape of Storm and Kenny and The Cutting Edge. Show them how popular the 96 Wave events were. Somehow show these media buyers 800 miles away that this is an important and ad worthy station. But I think it comes down to the fact that management wasn't able to break out of the Clear Channel ad selling mode of ratings, ratings, ratings, sell, sell, sell. They had no belief in their product. But we did.
The Corvair. New Coke. Chuck FM. All colossal blunders. This is the worst thing to happen in broadcasting since Herb Tarlek and Les Nessman dropped turkeys out of a helicopter. I was dismayed enough when the playlist veered sharply from great music neglected by many other stations to crap you can hear almost anywhere else. Instead of playing music that was simply rancid - System of a Down, Disturbed's god-awful cover of "Land of Confusion," and nearly anything by Nickelback - the Wave should have kept playing Rancid. And The Ramones, Soul Asylum, Jeff Buckley, the DBTs, the Jayhawks, etc, along with the kind of ballsy stuff they used to do. No more. Free radio is dead. Long live downloading.
THE song choices are so BAD and MANIC that I beleive they are "MOCKING" us. I can see some programmer siitting back laughing..."wait until they hear this SHIT...hahhaha".
96wave has been the pulse of young Charleston ever since I can remember. It is truly the end of an era and seems like a horrible dream. We have been cut off from the pulse of kick ass music and have been given yet another lame soft rock station as a replacement! What is happening here?96wave, you will be sorely missed my friend. Fuck Chuck!
Amen Bro...We should get a barge and go off shore and start a renegade station. Anyone have a turn table? Anyone?
Is there anyway to protest against this rediculous bullshit? I agree that 96 was the best thing Charleston had going for them. I wonder how many listeners they have actually lost... I rarely even want to turn on the radio when I get in my car anymore.
"There's more to radio than ratings" ARE YOU FREAKIN' CRAZY? Of course its about ratings. Do you think the jocks do it because they are independently wealthy? What do you think pays the bills? And darlin' if they're only pullin' numbers in the 18-34 demo...that beer money is GONE, and when the beer money is gone, so is the bar money. Then jocks say, they aren't going to do anything other than their shift, which they're late for and then leave early. Who is left to pick up the pieces? Interns, dreaming of a break who have lazy old-school jocks as their mentors. WAVE's breakdown and change of format is a good example of bad business and staff management. EVERYONE that was involved with that station since 2004 can take great pride in having a part digging its grave. Too much ego, not enough passion, and a lot of "Look at me!!!" It all just makes me sick. Get the sand out of your vaginas and get a life, cause WAVE is never coming back.
I'm done with radio! It's bad enough they decided to do this, but to have the audacity to kill off a landmark without even a proper send-off...fuck you apex! and FUCK CHUCK!!! 96 WAVE Forever!
Laughing- Do not talk like you know what was going on in the last six months. The people that worked there had no ego and had every intention of turning the boat around. It was a passion and desire they had and had nothing, NOTHING to do with having a big head. So I sincerely ask you to get your head out of your ass when you generalize.
I think this was coming for a long time...I saw the news of it online,I havent been a listener for many years....I cant belive more of you still listen to FM with uncensored satelite being only $13...Commercial free music cant be beat...Sirius 20,21,24 & 28 will suffice nicely..Stern rules!!
To "In the Business" Mike - no need to state the obvious. We're all adults and we fully realize that money makes the world go 'round - including radio and the music industry. However, it doesn't mean we have to like it. Music is its own unique entity, full of magic, hope, memories, laughs, and inspiration - and to have it on par with shares of OJ on the NYSE is a distasteful pill to swallow... So let us wear our rose-colored glasses, and let us reminisce about our beloved 96WAVE. After all, idealism is what this country was built on. We're not naive, and we're not really interested in how much it takes to run a radio station. We just want to bitch a little about "the Man" with our fellow Charlestonians. And btw, "thousands" do love the WAVE, but like me, they're likely too busy to stop and post a message the instant something happens. But we are out there, and we do think this blows, so soul-less little clowns shouldn't speak about things of which they do not know. Anyone else remember Free Fall Jam? Good times ;)
Check out the SAVE THE WAVE group on MySpace...Petition on the way...should be up tomorrow... http://groups.myspace.com/savethewave SAVE THE WAVE
If it doesn't apply to you, chicka, don't claim it. Are you an old-timer who will only work for 3-4 hours and expect to make 50K+ while there are people working 12+ hours every day for 24K or less? I'm thinking you were more the latter. As far as I'm concerned, whoever was involved in the last 6 months on air was underpaid, fairly wet behind the ears and willing to work for the scratch that Apex paid them. Though its not your fault, it is the fault of the people who hired you to give you control of something with a 22 year legacy. That would be like giving the Hope Diamond to a 9 year old to watch. I don't disagree with your rebut, but I have reasons to feel the way I do. You'll get another job, and hopefully you'll be one of the few who doesn't develop the ego that accompanies experience in this business...only time will tell. I still stand by my previous statement...which ever category your fall into is no fault of mine.
One more thing...I can't help but wonder if the same person who started this "save the wave" myspace page isn't the same one who started the WAVE SUCKS page. Why didn't you protest against that one? Be careful of the campaigns you start. They'll bite you in the ass eventually.
Still Laughing, I started the SAVE THE WAVE MS page and no, it wasn't me that started the WAVE SUCKS page. Wonder all you want...I cannot and will not take credit for that.. 96 Wave may not be what it was in it's heyday, but it beats the HELL out of what we're forced to listen to now... Why do you have such ill will aimed @ 96 Wave? Spurrned? Or just not good enough to make the grade? RBW
WHERE WAS THIS BLOG AND ALL OF YOU( EXCLUDING SOME ON THIS LIST) BEFORE IT WENT DOWN? Were you calling in? Did you support the people they advertise for? Did you go on the website? Did you fill out arbitron reports? Did you do anything? If you had taken the time to do some of this before it went down maybe it would still be around. Instead you see a surge of Love for Wave now. Now that its gone. Isnt that how it goes? Maybe Charleston neglected Wave along time ago. Its time to move on. Look twoard the future. It was legendary in its time. If you love somthing let it go.
It's obvious from all the passionate messages what a great legacy 96 Wave had -- even with some necessary tweaks in formatics during the changing face of rock music in the 80's and 90's. 96 WAVE was hitting it's mark for so long for so many, and believe me, it sure was a gas from behind the microphone. Between The Critic and Uncle Miles and the Woodman and ALL the crazy characters, there's one helluva screen play I could write which no one would believe was true. So....when are they gonna play that shitty song "C'est La Vie" by Robbie Neville?? Is that crap on the playlist now? As Charleton Heston's legendry character Taylor (nice touch,eh?) said in that famous scene at the end of "Planet Of The Apes" -- "They finally did it. They finally blew it up, those crazy bastards finally blew it up!" R.I.P. 96 WAVE
If you love something fight for it! I think that a lot of us had no idea that 96 Wave was having problems not to mention actually going off the air & being replaced with CHUCK. I would have gladly stood up & fought for it before the fact. SAVE THE WAVE!
Its not about knowing that its coming and fighting for it. Its about fighting for it and speaking up for it even when its great and when theres no reason for it to go. Just generally giving support for it all the time. Not just when it is in dire staights.
96 WAVE was an awesome station...it had its ups and downs but was definitely more unique than any of the other stations that currently make up the commercially dominated airwaves. They broke the mold in many ways...from playing a full album (with the late night CD snack) to actually promoting the local scene (with 'Locals Only'). They also brought us some of the best concerts around town (WaveFest, Birthday Bash), and were a vital part of the fabric that makes up Charleston. Obviously a lot of people cared about the Wave...if you look at other stations that have come and gone in the area, I don't think any of them sparked near the reaction that this has. Several people cited that ratings are king...and they apparently they are right. The demographic targeted by the Wave is probably the hardest to reach, since our demographic is the most likely one to use new technology (like satellite radio and mp3 players...which I'll be using from now on). As far as the ratings go though...i've never even heard of Arbitron until today...but according to them if you're not playing 50 Cent, you're not getting good ratings. Apparently they're a big deal...and they say the Wave wasn't doing so hot. I think Apex definitely could have done more to save the wave but it looks like instead they just cut their losses and fired up the Chuck until they could sell the frequency. Either way, I hope the Wave does come back (except the kinky reggae on Sundays...i'm def. not the biggest fan of that...) and if it doesn't (which I hope it does) i'll remember it as the coolest radio station ever to grace Charleston.
I left Charleston a few years back but always looked forward to hitting mile marker 165 or so on I-26... 96 Wave would come in and I'd have it the whole time I'm home. This past Friday I rolled into town and frantically started searching for the Wave. Not there. It was just a bit after 5, so none of my friends had a clue either. I've lived in a lot of larger cities with "alt/rock" stations and none.... NONE compared to 96 Wave. I still remember the sound of waves in '85. Oh me, I had to actually listen to my ipod while I was there! The horror. I know this actually sounds crazy but I plan on relocating back to Charleston soon and the one thing I was really looking forward to was 96 Wave... not streaming on the web, but the real deal in my car. R.I.P. 96 Wave... Hanahan/Charleston
At 4:48pm on Aug 31st, I was driving with a friend ,who was from out of town, and my station was set to the 96Wave - the music was surprisingly terrible - "charles in charge" played TWICE, almost back to back. I thought it was a joke - which I didn't get. I left town on Saturday and returned on Monday at 11:58pm Sept 3rd and 96Wave was replaced by "Chuck". I listened for a while and decided it should be "upchucked". I really miss the chill music that reminded me so much of Charleston, the beach and surfing. 96Wave was the perfect backdrop while driving over the waterways and through town. Its a loss.
Moving here from DC, I finally found a station that wasn't under corporate control playing the same crap all the time. Storm and Kenny were the only good radio show, and WAVE was the only good station. Totally sucks - I'm completely bummed :(
Eh, I kind of like what I've heard over the last hour (my music tastes are nothing if not catholic. Going from the Clash to Neil Diamond to Twisted Sister is not necessarily a bad thing to me. That American Idol crap is unforgivable, though). Of course, I liked it just as well on two or three other stations in the area, so it's kinda redundant. Quite a shame to replace a Charleston radio landmark with generica. On the other hand, I haven't listened to WAVF on any regular basis for the last few years. My source for new music is the internet. So, really, I'm mourning the Wave of old.
There's no point in calling Apex about this, they have sold the rights to 96.1 to someone else as part of a multi-station shuffle. This post on Varietyhits.com sums it up: September 1, 2007 Shocker! Heritage rock station 96 Wave (96.1 WAVF) in Charleston, SC abruptly dropped modern rock (and, presumably, the incumbent "Free Beer and Hot Wings" syndicated morning show) at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday 8/31/2007 to go Variety Hits as 96.1 Chuck FM. The station is streaming live as of this writing from the old 96 Wave website. In its 22+ year existence, 96 Wave maintained a rock format. WAVF signed on with an Album Oriented Rock format in March 1985 as 96 Wave following a week of stunting with ocean wave sounds. With the alternative rock format that swept the United States in the early 1990s, the station shifted from the dying AOR format to the growing alternative (also known as modern rock) format in 1993, though it kept the established 96 Wave name. The last song played on 96 Wave prior to the flip was "My Wave" by Soundgarden. The first song played on Chuck FM was "Take This Job And Shove It" by Johnny Paycheck. According to radio-online.com, 96 Wave program director Lance Hale will remain with the new station in the same role. The Chuck FM name is clever enough since sometimes Charleston is referred to as "Chucktown", but what makes this odd is that the station is slated to change its city of license from Hanahan, SC to Forestbrook, SC and drop its massive class C signal (100,000 watts from a height of 1777') to go to a C2 status at 26,000 watts from a height of only 492', and in the process lose its coverage of Charleston (moving to cover the Myrtle Beach, SC market.) Why in the world would any station owner agree to this, since there's no way to ever get a 100kw flamethrower like that back ever again?!? The explanation is complicated, but the reason is because the end result will mean a two-for-three station switch as far as stations covering the Charleston, SC market involving multiple station owners. A message board post I found summed it up like this: -Orangeburg/Bamberg loses 95.7 WWBD (which moves to 95.9) -Charleston loses 96.1 WAVF and 107.5 WNKT -Myrtle Beach loses 101.7 WKZQ-FM -Charleston gets 95.9 (WWBD), move-in 101.7 WKZQ-FM (which takes the Halahan city of license vacated by WAVF), and 107.3 WMGL (which moves from the 101.7 frequency it currently has squeezed in covering Charleston) -Myrtle Beach gets the majorly downgraded 96.1 WAVF -Columbia, SC gets 107.5 WNKT (which will have city-grade coverage into at least Orangeburg) So why mention all of this? Because there's no logical reason to brand a station as Chuck FM if is about to move out of Charleston. Either this is a temporary holder format (like George FM in Washington, DC) or, more likely, Chuck FM will end up on another frequency in the Charleston market. The idea of the Chuck FM name is tied directly to Charleston, so having it move to Myrtle Beach would be counter-intuitive, particularly since Variety Hits is already on the air there with Fidelity Broadcasting's 104.9/100.7 Bob FM. Columbia already has a Variety Hits station in the form of Clear Channel's 96.7 Steve FM (which has been there 2+ years as of this writing), so the odds of Chuck FM ending up there would appear remote. My guess: the 96.1 Chuck FM format will end up on on 101.7 (with the WKZQ-FM rock format moving to 96.1 FM when the switch happens), as Apex will get the 101.7 license and NextMedia will obtain 96.1 after the swap. It is more complex than that, but for the purpose of analyzing the move, it suffices.
Oops, I meant to also add that this whole scenario just goes to illustrate how irrelevant Terrestrial radio has become. It wouldn't surprise me if the company that is converting all these local stations over to the craptastic 'variety hits' is owned or controlled in some way by satellite radio holding companies, in order to push more listeners into subscription based satellite radio. Call me paranoid. RIP 96 Wave. You were great, for a while. You were best in the late 90's when you actually supported the local scene (and by local scene I don't mean wing-eating, beer guzzling frat boys, I mean the BANDS).
What bands are around to support them now. The local scence sucks ass. Music isnt what it used to be. Especially around these parts.
I had to listen to Cher! CHER! I know the Critic is saying "god in himmel!!!" chuck SUCKS! I have been turning in to the Wave from the age of 16! I was so pleased with them for not selling out though the years! please, please come back!
I quit listening to 96 wave after I got Sirius 2 yrs ago. When Stern went on vacation I would listen to Storm and Kenny. They were really fresh, fun and exciting. I almost cancelled my Sirius. Then 96 Wave laid them off and went with "free beer and hot wings" what a stupid move. You can change all the content you want, but it comes down to station management. If you don't have a rock solid morning show, you can forget about picking up listeners during the day. Critic, Storm and Kenny etc. those were entertaining fun morning shows who played good music. I actually like the new format and will listen to it at work. It seems similar to 100.5, just not as slow. I still listen to Stern in the morning but will probably give that up this year. $13 a month is just not worth it. So I guess my 34 year old white male self is back to chuck 96.1. Interesting.
To echo most others, the slow-motion collapse of WAVF represents a major loss to Charleston radio, and it will be missed by many. After decades of ups and downs, it was still the best thing on the dial in Charleston... even on the worst days. Truthfully, both the wife and I stopped listening to terrestrial radio entirely after Rossi and co. axed Storm and Kenny last spring - a time many of us consider the beginning of the end for the station. So, for me, the death of the Wave has been kind of like slowly losing someone with a terminal illness - been prepared for the worst so long it feels kinda numb now that it's over. They hung in longer than most others - a fact highlighted in the Rolling Stone piece last summer. It was an anomaly, and it beat the odds with solid programming, great local talent, and an outstanding community presence. According to the FCC applications, it appears the destruction of 96WAVE was publicly put into motion by Apex back in June. Detailed agreement from June 29 FCC application: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=508886 We're all for the "Save the Wave" campaigns, and will support anyone who gives it a shot, but I'm afraid Apex suits have already signed the death certificate and the ink has long ago dried. It's well past time for a new guard in Charleston rock radio, and we're hoping a new station steps in with some new talent and great programming soon.
THE CHUCK SUCKS . .I HOPE THEY FAIL! I'm glad I have Sirius and can listen to Howard
In regards to the new "Up Chuck" FM.... Not impressed at all!!! We already a station like this...it's called 96.9!!!! I have listened to 96 WAVE forever...that's the only station that I really know and want to know! It's apart of Charleston's history. If you take the WAVE out of Charleston, you are taking a big part of this town with it...I say that we all boycott The Chuck and give them a taste of their own medicine...I have already removed 96.1 from my saved radio dials in my car and house and it will not return unless 96 WAVE does!
I understand that Charleston as a whole has a passion for the 96WAVE of old, but I really hope that all of you realize that the change from WAVE to CHUCK will not stop the world from turning!!! I would love to see this passion and drive put towards issues that really matter to our every day lives. Please have your appropriate memorial and move on. This decision wasn't made to purposely hurt anyone or to destroy your world. The basis for the decision is the same as every other company....THE BOTTOM LINE!!!! Sad, but true!!!
screw you Leslie^ i cant move on when there is nothing but crappy music on the fn radio. it was the worst decision ever made by a raido station catt the station and let them know.. there is know one there to answer the phone but leave a message.
I won’t lie. I channel surf on the radio. But for 18 years I have always considered “96 WAVE” Charleston’s radio station. Other stations have come and gone with owners and content and I never cared. Mostly because I could find there music on another station. But 96 WAVE was unique, in music, the DJ’s, public venues and just the all-around feel and vibe. 96 WAVE was Charleston … Charleston was 96 WAVE! Now I feel like there is a big empty void in the center of the Holy City. It almost feels like someone I knew died.
I miss the Wave also.... And to all of you dumb asses who post messages telling us to get over it. FUCK OFF and have a nice day.
I drive by the Wave every day to work now with the radio off. There just isn't anything like it in our area! I wonder what The Critic and Uncle Miles are up to now... I really looked forward to hearing them play some awesome music every time they were on. Apex, you killed a classic. As much as this all sucks, it might have been a little easier on all of us if there was some damn closure in the form of a proper send off. Tuning in to hear Charles in Charge looped for 10 mins last Friday was NOT what I consider a proper send off. Chuck is not in charge of my radio; that crap is HORRIBLE!!
To Matthew, Maybe you should focus more of your time and energy on upgrading your language and spelling skills instead of being so preoccupied with 96WAVE becoming CHUCK-FM...We all need to focus on the really IMPORTANT things.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethewave/index.html And yes I signed in first...don't know why it showed up as Anonymous Opppsss... RBW
Wave is dead... It is nice to have a place to share memories,while bitching about how much this sucks. The reality is though, Apex doesn't care about any of this,they don't even read this.Has the GM even responded? Has Apex even made some type of public statement? They don't even have to justify their reasons. It just would have been very professional of their company- to issue a Press Release or take out an Ad in the City Paper, thanking all of the listners of Wave in Charleston for the past 20 some years. It is a courtesy to all of the people who have spent lots of their hard earned dollars in supporting 96Wave.Allowing them(WAVF)to make a living, as they provided Charleston with some of the best events this city has seen in the last 25 years. Wave broke Hottie and the Blowfish, and they went on to be a National Act that people still love today.If it was "cool" in Charleston, Wave was apart of it or making it happen themselves. Charleston is changing from a "big town" to a city.Coporations are moving in, more and more people from all over the country are taking up residency. Wave was your- get drunk,get high,cool PARTY station.People just don't want to advertise with that type of business anymore-*have you ever seen their ad rates??? Jack'd up threw the roof...It was their way or noway.People have wised up and wanted to be treated better, for spending their money on advertising. Wave just couldn't make money. Reading through all of the posts,you see their current management has some issues,along with the progaming Dept. It shows that the owner is sticking to business, he is playing the system till it crashes and burns. He will get as much money as he can now,from all of the national accounts,because it is all about ratings. Their Star99.7 is number two in the market- and they must take all of the national account money from agencies- trying to break into this market,as it grows, through the "african -american" demo. Why do you think they added Heaven from Citadel? Package it together and shut everyone out from that demo.Greedy?Or good business? Thats why we now have Chuck FM, they are going for an older demo who spend larger amounts of money.If you will,"a more sophisticated" person in their eyes,because that is what some focus group or marketing company determined are, the people who are putting the most money back into the economy. Corporations don't have the guts to stand out on a limb making bold moves.They make "safe" moves, with instantaneous results.Make the money now and let someonelse clean up the pieces down the road, after you have milked the cow dry. We won't ever see radio like that again.It takes big balls to start a radio station like Wave-not conforming to Corporate America and the almighty dollar.But the old owners gave it up to Apex and that was the kiss of death,it took sometime,but they are making their money at the expense of the Charleston community, with a deaf ear and blindfolders on.The bank accounts are getting large,right now.Cutting staff and syndicating programs while filling the place with low paid p/t employees to do the grunt work for imaging.But then again,that's "business".To borrow a line from,the movie,"Thank You For Smoking"-"I just need to pay the mortgage" All good things come to an end. We will have the memories.Charleston can stick out it's chest in any conversation about radio knowing Wave is on the resume. Something else will come along and be the flavor of the city,and Charleston will love and support it.It might be awhile,but it will happen.Once a new music craze begins,something will pop up here...but music has to revolutionize first.
Its up and going. Take the time to sign the petition to put 96 Wave back on the air http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethewave/index.html
Ok, seriously...this sucks. On Friday I dropped my boyfriend off at the airport to go to Baghdad for 4 months, went to bed, and the next morning I turned on my favorite radio station only to hear the opposite of what 96 Wave was known for. At first I thought that someone was on vacation and this was the replacements idea of cool music. But come monday morning, when I usually listen to Free Beer and Hotwings (and back in the day Storm and Kenny), they weren't there either. Just some boring blah music. After a bit of searching online, I come to find that some idiots decided to change 96 Wave, to some guy name "chuck". Who is Chuck? He has a lot of shoes to fill. I hope this doesn't last long. I will never listen to this new station, until the real 96 Wave is back. Already deleted it from my #1 pre-set station in my car, and after listening to friends, and other people on here, so have they! Big mistake. Lost another listener here too. Not only did I lose my boyfriend on the 31st, I lost my favorite radio station too! Atleast my man is coming back, 96 Wave better too!
I feel as though a close relative has died :(
this seems like a dream. i dont even live in charleston, but my rents have had a summer house on IOP since right after hugo. i have been coming down to your wonderfull city since i was 2 years of age, and every summer for all those years every radio we had was on 96 wave all the time..... all the good memorys, all the good songs of my childhood were played by the fine people at the Wave. now that im older when i take my trips down for the weekend to get away from all the stress and things up here in Asheville, as soon as my cars radio picks up 96.1 on the interstate its stays on that station till im heading home and it fades away. thank god i can listen at home on the internet. so i come down for labor day weekend and i turn the knob to 96.1 and i about wreck ! im so shocked..... it sounds like happy hour at a retirement home ! im VERY upset that the best radio station i have EVER heard has been changed over by some VIP sitting in a office 2000 miles away. all the radio stations here in WNC and upstate SC are the same way, makes you wonder why people are buying XM radio (gasp me included) 96.1 was the ONLY real radio station i ever really listend to. all the ones up here are crap. good by 96wave. thanks for being there for me, and making my childhood memorys, my life so wonderfull. you have been the soundtrack for so many summers. -zeke young
Are they coming back? Go to http://www.96wave.com/ Is this an even crueler joke?
Holy shit. I grew up listening the Wave and it's gone. Everytime I used to drive back from Ft Bragg I would always try see how far out I could pick up 96 Wave. Where's the Critic and everyone else going? Man,another thing to remind me I'm getting old
I hope that's not a joke! Is it back?
I doubt these sentiments will add anything new to the discourse over the recent and inexplicable sacking of 96 Wave, but I'd be remiss if I didn't "pay my respects" to the radio station that reared me musically. The loss of 96 isn't exclusive to the citizens and denizens of Charleston. A native of Georgetown, I remember the days when we could just barely pick up 96 Wave. Even then, though, my brothers and I knew we'd found something special. Before 96 Wave, all I knew of music were the hits that streamed from the Top 40 stations and the personalities that hammed it up for MTV. Imagine my shock, then, when I'd hear a song like "Detachable Penis" sandwiched between "Blister in the Sun" and "Highway to Hell." There was an alternate (pardon the pun) universe out there, and 96 Wave was selling the tickets. Like so many other people, my musical identity was forged by the cutting-edge eclecticism that characterized 96 Wave. From mornings with Taylor & Todd to "Get the Led Out" lunch hours, I learned at an early age that it wasn't weird or contradictory to have an expansive, cross-generational affinity for music. Better still, there was none of that irreverent irony you find in those VH1 "I Love The..." series in the way 96 Wave embraced the rock 'n' roll sounds of the 70s, 80s and early 90s, which made it easier for listeners to understand where the future of music was coming from. Perhaps one of the most vivid memories I have of 96 Wave was its morning broadcast of that obscure National Lampoon bit where Bill Murray played a foggy-headed bass player who told Christopher Guest (as the perky Mr. Rogers-esque talk-show host) that waking up at 6:30 a.m. was insane and stupid. "You should sleep late, man, it’s just much easier on your constitution." This aired every morning at, appropriately, 6:30. On a whim, I happened upon that segment two or so weeks ago on iTunes (search for "Mr. Roberts"), only a few days before I learned 96 Wave, as we know it, was dead. You cannot understate 96 Wave's role in establishing bands like Cracker, Cake, Son Volt, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Golden Smog, Blue Mountain, Ben Folds Five, the Jayhawks, and countless others in the region. Indicative of that influence is the fact that Wilco debuted forward-looking songs like "Misunderstood" and "Sunken Treasure" at 96 Wave Fest. This, of course, was in addition to the full-on embrace of the grunge and alternative movements that subverted the status quo. All the while, 96 Wave was giving significant airtime to local bands like Jump Little Children, Uncle Mingo, Fauntleroy, Blue Dogs and more. These weren't weekly one-hour local shows, but drive-time exposure. That's a commodity that I've not since come by. Hell, my first club show was Jump Little Children's performance at the Music Farm with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and those Wave Fests at Brittlebank Park were a clearinghouse of cool. It was the 1997 installment of that gargantuan musical spectacle that, for me, represented the pinnacle of the stations '90s heyday. It's probably no coincidence that this was the time when I'd begun college classes at USC in Columbia. With 96 Wave now out of my tuner's reach, I began to DJ at WUSC and was soon building upon the musical foundation WAVM had established. Along the way, 96 Wave became irrelevant and a specter of its once-great self. They were right: You could never go home again. For a few years after college, I managed to put food on the table through writing about music, and I owe my love of music and my breadth of musical knowledge to 96 Wave. I won't blindly knock the artists who now pour from that once sacred spot on the FM dial, but it's a slap in the face to the generation of listeners who were made significantly cooler by 96 Wave. I am one of them, and so are you.
A sad day in Charleston. I've been listening to 96wave ever since "The Cutting Edge" on Sunday nights. Do you even remember when 96wave first came out- it used to go to the sound of waves crashing at the ocean after 11pm?!? I used to go to sleep to it! What a sad day... Live on local music, local festivals, and the local scene...Live on.
I for one love the new Chuck FM. They play alot of different styles of music that everyone at work can enjoy. Good Luck Chuck.
In ref to Andy @ 224.....If you want generic Top 40 music, you have other choices... But leave 96.1 THE WAVE alone... Save The Wave
Andy S. must work for Apex. How anyone could actually LIKE a variety hits station is beyond me. Put your iPod or a CD on shuffle, add some advertisements, and you have a variety hits station. Down with Suck-FM! Bring back The Wave!!!
As a native Charlestonian, long-time Wave listener and a former writer for Graffiti Magazine, I have to admit it wasn't surprising when the format was finally changed. Apex has a notorious reputation for mass firings and regular house-cleaning among their employees. When I learned that Graffiti's staff was being "removed" and the publication was being turned over to "someone from Charlotte" something deep in my gut told me 96 Wave would be next. As horrible as this is; I am not surprised at all. The only thing I wanted to get off my chest (since Apex wasn't brave enough to field the responses they were going to get from this move by making feedback available on their web site) is that through all the changes, all the mass firings and all the corporate decisions that have failed in times past the one common denominator in the whole equation is the higher-up executives of Apex. Perhaps to actually make a decision that makes sense...take yourselves out of the equation. Or at least buck up, open your web site to the veritable flood of feedback that you know you have coming and take it like men...you know, as opposed to the cowardly way you've approached things so far. Way to keep up with the joneses and the other cookie cutter radio formats out there and thanks so much for failing to pay your employees for their contributions in a timely manner. But most of all, thank you for showing me that I shouldn't have my work or my name associated with a rancid, second-rate publication that is the new Graffiti. Congrats as a communication company though...now your publication AND flagship station are both second-rate. Possibly third.
You tell em Chris... And remember...please sign the petition... Apex won't get the msg unless WE GET UP, STAND UP... http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethewave/
i miss free beer and hotwings. :(
Oh my beloved Wave, I will rock your bumper sticker forever or atleast until I buy a new car. I grew up on the Wave as so many other did and loved every minute of it. I remember the Wavefests, Birthday Bashes, and so much fun in the summer at the Jammer. Please bring back the Wave or atleast replace it with something halfway decent. This Chuck stuff has got to go! No one wants to listen to a rerun of boring overplayed adult contemporary hits all day long. So I'm turning off the radio for good now in Charleston. So long 96 Wave, you will truly be missed!
You can still find Free Beer and Hot Wings on their flagship station in Grand Rapids Mich. by streaming WGRD-FM at www.wgrd.com from 6am to 10am.... and perhaps call into the show and let 'em know you miss hearing them by calling 800-947-3979....
Who misses Free Beer and Hot Wings? Those clowns blow. I had to change the channel from 96 Wave if I drove over a bridge because of the sudden urge to jump. When radio talent was handed out, those 2 morons were in the bathroom. I used to like their show when it was called "Bob and Tom". Un-original, and not funny.
The chuck sucks. I give it 2 months. 3 tops.
re 235 - It's now back on "the air" (but only streaming at 96wave.com) ... I wonder if they'll soon be putting it on an HD-2 signal that you can only get with an HD radio...
Re: Joesph W @ 236 Or maybe that 100 fm signal I heard they just bought? HD radio? AM/FM, Internet, Sat., and now HD radio? So many options. Seems like interesting days for radio. Time to get rid of the old Kraco radio with a new HD radio from Wal-Mart.
Some of you need to grow up, things do change as stated earlier. I haven't listened to 96 wave in over 10 years. Now I feel like I have a station that I can listen to and you know the funny thing - 96 Chuck plays a lot of songs that Wave use to play 10 and 15 years ago. Chuck-Fm is much better than Wave - thanks!
Susan is an Idiot. I have been here from the start and Wave has never played half this crap (Except during the annual charity event where Atom and the Critic rocked it for 3 days).
I'm sorry, but I really liked 96.1 the Wave. Why the heck would they put the "Chuck" on there? God, the Wave was so much better. Like my friends at school say Fu*% the Chuck!!!!
nope they are only back in action on the website... but you can at least still listen to good old 96 wave again!
IF WE ARE LUCKY, THE POWERS AT BE AT APEX MIGHT WAKE UP TO THE FACT THAT THE "PIPED IN" MUSIC OF CHUCK FM IS BEST PLAYED IN AN ELEVATOR OR PUBLIC RESTROOM FOR THAT MATTER. LET'S HOPE FOR A REVIVAL OF THE OLD 96 WAVE BEFORE ITS HEAVY METAL ALTER EGO. IN THE MEANTIME, ANOTHER LIVE STREAMING STATION WORTH A LOOK IS KBCO OF BOULDER COLORADO.
The new station just plain sucks. Are you kidding me? Which corporate jackass made that call!
Oh cool — an anonymous article in Graffiti Magazine explains everything this week. According to the piece, Apex (who own both 96 Wave and Graffiti) was planning to move 96 Wave away from the restraints of broadcast radio and over to the web, where they could really stretch things out. How convenient. Now all an old fan needs is a computer, access to the internet, speakers, and a fast-enough connection …and then they can maybe kinda-sorta catch a bit of semi-“Waveworthy music” programmed by Lancer or Wendy (if Apex lets them). I used to listen to Wave mostly on a clock radio and in the car. Not no moh’!
"so looking at the 96 wave website, it looks like they are back in action!!! i may be wrong but it looks like the people have spoken!!!!!" Oh, you're wrong. I work in radio...once upon a time in Charleston, now elsewhere in the state. The website was planned long before the format changed. This has been planned for the better part of a year, or at least discussed behind closed office doors. And it's not an isolated incident - it's happening everywhere So, to recap - instead of running a real radio station and actually PROGRAMMING it, they have done what you or I could do. Fired up Winamp on a server somewhere and Voila! 96 Wave. Then they can say "Look! We just freed ourselves up - for YOU, Charleston - from the evil Big Brother-esque FCC. We did this ALL FOR YOUUUUUU!!!!' Don't believe it for ONE SECOND. Chuck/Jack/Bob/Steve - they are all a lazy man's solution to a quick 4 share without having to spend money, time or mental energy in making a creative, fun radio station that people will want to listen to and rally behind. Because, you see, the suits are RIGHT. By mere default, 96 Wave/Chuck FM will rise in the ratings almost by default. A few people will like it; a few will just forget to change their presets...and the next thing you know, you have a 4 share. It's not hard, it's just uncreative. And therefore evil. The tanking of 96 Wave started years ago. Once they started playing Linkin Park (sure, they sold cd's, but was that the right move?) and started becoming more homogenized as a rock station, the "cool cachet" that 96 Wave carried started to blow away. I could point out some missteps in airtalent (the super obnoxious Danny V, anyone?), but mostly the errors were in programming. Think back 10 years. Was 96 Wave of 2007 anywhere close to what it was in 1997? This was an easy call for the suits to make, but it spawns from unskilled programming, the growing use by us - yes, US - of IPods and satellite radio (don't you think that every minute you listened to something other than Wave you weren't putting us all closer to Chuck FM? It MATTERS, people!) and a less-than-stellar choice of music...and by that I mean, in 2007, there's really a dearth of great music. Remember how exciting music was in the 90's? From Nirvana and Soundgarden to the big alternative boom in the mid-90's....there was a LOT to choose from musically, for a creative station with balls. In 2007? Not so much. Let's face it - most of us are more pissed that they'd screw with a part of our shared past than that they actually took 96 Wave down. "How DARE they!!!!!!". We are, in part, to blame. We loaded the gun. All the suits did was pull the trigger. And now 96 Wave is dead. "Web presence"? Nice. "Yahoo radio" with "96 Wave" liners is more like it. They're not fooling anyone with this BS, and if you listen to it, you're a sucker. One final thought (I know I've been rambling): if you really want to see change, there is hope. Do a little research and read up on the WCBS-FM/Jack-FM story out of New York City. A beloved city institution is unceremoniously dumped - replaced by Chuck (oops! I mean "Jack") - the beloved station is relegated to becoming a "website radio station" ("ooh! Look what we did for YOUUUUUU!!!!!")...and subsequently, the Jack TANKS. They bring back WCBS, and the latest ratings (released just yesterday) say that CBS is about to hit their highest ratings in YEARS, moving from 18th to 5th (with a ranking of second being extrapolated). So if there's hope to be had, there it is. Good luck Charleston. You'll need it.
don't trust this "web radio" for a fucking second. this was apex's plan all along, a one-two punch to the dead horse that was 96.1. people see "96 wave is back" and tune into Chuck, hear something wave maybe once played, and think "oh well maybe this isn't so bad." of course, as innumerable others have said, 96's been dead for years. twitching and blinking, perhaps, but quite dead. its death was of course a complex and ongoing event, and i think it's foolish to try to pinpoint a specific moment it "died." the biggest reason is one we stubborn, ass backwards southerners don't want to accept: the market moved on. it had moved on years ago. it's a shame to see the buckshot go through ol' yeller's skull, but then, why weren't we having this conversation five years ago? wave had cancer, we all knew it and could see it, but we were polite and wanted to keep our minds off it. it systematically thrashed and writhed through playlists, alienating old listeners with the new (regardless of quality) and new listeners with the antiquated (regardless of quality). there's the temptation to blame ipods and satellite, but that's forgetting years of widespread mediums that did the exact thing. CD-Rs + p2p filesharing is the big one, but even before that there were mix tapes. the big thing is the alienation. playing linkin park next to the ramones, or collective soul next to limp bizkit didn't "give everything to the listeners." it alienated everyone, and with cheaply available recordable media, everyone thought they could be a better wave dj. and they were, for their audience of one. and wave summarily bled to death.
Website better than nothing. I WILL NOT GET USED TO CHUCK, however, no matter how complacent and OLD I will become...I had deleted it off the preset button. It will fail, no one wants to listen to madonna and cher and the other crap they play. F^(& Chuck!
This "Chuck FM" shit is terrible. Plays the most random crap and half of it should have been left in it's decade and burried. There was nothing out there like 96 Wave.
Do remember when apex kept saying that they were locally owned that the were charlestons rock station that 98x was owned by the man and cared nothing for the local listeners. It looks like apex is the one who does not care. 98x was smart enough to have local djs.Here's to apex I hope they choke on the money.
I have never come across such a terrible station as chuck FM. It is the exact opposite of what is beautiful about local radio stations. There is not a drop of unique music on the waves in charleston, is there no hope for a local music scene if we can't even have a tailored listening venue?
Ive been listening to 96wave.com at work everday since they have put it back up. I think it sounds better than ever. I heard songs on there that I havent heard in wave in a while. Has the City Paper thought of shedding a positive spin on this? They have all of Charleston revved up about this. But they probably dont have a clue to the innerworkings and whatever is really going on with it. Your paper speculates to no end. But its your job to bash everybody huh? It can now be a true American Rock station. Uncensored. And what I see from their website and myspace page they will be broadcasting with djs. And are they the only radio station in town? How much content would you guys have if you didnt talk about 96wave? Its mentioned more times in your paper than in the paper Apex runs" Graffiti" Which is well put together and looks better than your paper. If they killed 96wave than the city paper is trying to bury it. Stop being grave diggers. And give it a fucking chance. And I want to know whats going on with special ed. Where do I get that info from?
I feel sorry for Charleston because Ballard seems to be spearheading the bad press for 96wave.
This radio station (in its good days - mid ninetys to 2002ish) was one of the best I had every heard. It trully was a part of the charleston experience. Bad mistake.
Chuck FM is great, a lot better than the wave. The concept has been very succesful in Columbia with Steve FM. The name Chuck is appropriate and at least it is not using upchuck for it's radio address.
A well-written and true article. Steps should be taken to criticize widespread solipsism, the "what's true for you is true for you" mentality. E=mc^2, for example, is true for everybody, and no sane person would say that E=mc^3 was "true for them but maybe not for you". Bertrand Russell once remarked that relativism and solipsism were necessary ingredients for fascism.
A well-written and true article. Steps should be taken to criticize widespread solipsism, the "what's true for you is true for you" mentality. E=mc^2, for example, is true for everybody, and no sane person would say that E=mc^3 was "true for them but maybe not for you". Bertrand Russell once remarked that relativism and solipsism were necessary ingredients for fascism.
I agree, a very well written, thought out article. Perhaps the internet will help us in developing the New Intellectuals. For example, a great book site is New Great Books; books one doesn't find covered in mainstreat media.
I agree, a very well written, thought out article. Perhaps the internet will help us in developing the New Intellectuals. For example, a great book site is New Great Books; books one doesn't find covered in mainstreat media.
Written on a perfect individual level and I wish I could give it to everyone. Written with what we can't find, "truth"!
Written on a perfect individual level and I wish I could give it to everyone. Written with what we can't find, "truth"!
Extremly well written article, where are the intellectuals hiding? This conversation about truth has filtered down to all levels of society. The general population has no idea what truth is or if it even exists. It seems to be the opinion of many that they create their own truth and indeed believe the truth which is based on false ideals is indeed true. The ambiguity of truth is having a great impact on the moral virtues of our culture. The ego of man contiues to grow beyond reason feeding off its own version of truth. The bigger issue here I agree is getting the intellectuals and philosphers in the publics ears and eyes so that society may change for the better.
Extremly well written article, where are the intellectuals hiding? This conversation about truth has filtered down to all levels of society. The general population has no idea what truth is or if it even exists. It seems to be the opinion of many that they create their own truth and indeed believe the truth which is based on false ideals is indeed true. The ambiguity of truth is having a great impact on the moral virtues of our culture. The ego of man contiues to grow beyond reason feeding off its own version of truth. The bigger issue here I agree is getting the intellectuals and philosphers in the publics ears and eyes so that society may change for the better.
comment on aesthetics: People mostly got revolted by absolutely everything looking like the perrenial wedding cake. comment on culture: 'My culture made me do it'... comment on philosophy: Has a philosopher ever actually discovered something???? comment on art: Cheerleaders..
comment on aesthetics: People mostly got revolted by absolutely everything looking like the perrenial wedding cake. comment on culture: 'My culture made me do it'... comment on philosophy: Has a philosopher ever actually discovered something???? comment on art: Cheerleaders..
While I agree with the general attack on subjectivism, not all postmodernists would argue that all opinions and 'truths' are equal. For example, I would imagine they would say that, in this case, their opinion is better than yours. Nor is postmodernism "judgment-free". Nor should the "destructive" consequences of any thought affect the 'truth' of that thought (here you claim this 'postmodern' culture is endangering fundamental truths etc). The A-Bomb was destructive but it doesn't mean the science that created it was incorrect. Nor is it impossible to "accomplish much that is constructive, meaningful and significant" without a common agreement on fundamental truths. A reluctance to settle and agree has been what has advanced most of thought ever since the caveman told his friends he thought a 'wheel' might actually be better for the job. I believe in objective truths. I just don't think there are many of them. Certainly in some of the areas you discuss, such as semantic meaning and morality, I'd say the champagne's on ice.
While I agree with the general attack on subjectivism, not all postmodernists would argue that all opinions and 'truths' are equal. For example, I would imagine they would say that, in this case, their opinion is better than yours. Nor is postmodernism "judgment-free". Nor should the "destructive" consequences of any thought affect the 'truth' of that thought (here you claim this 'postmodern' culture is endangering fundamental truths etc). The A-Bomb was destructive but it doesn't mean the science that created it was incorrect. Nor is it impossible to "accomplish much that is constructive, meaningful and significant" without a common agreement on fundamental truths. A reluctance to settle and agree has been what has advanced most of thought ever since the caveman told his friends he thought a 'wheel' might actually be better for the job. I believe in objective truths. I just don't think there are many of them. Certainly in some of the areas you discuss, such as semantic meaning and morality, I'd say the champagne's on ice.
We should not be surprised that people do not value the humanities when those who were supposed to be the champions of the humanities have declared them to have no value. Not all of us think that, though. There are some humanities people who do believe in objective reality, and who do use it to understand literature, art, and the humanities. Other than myself, there is Frederick Turner, Alexander Argyros, Frederick Fierstein, Elaine Scarry, J.T. Fraser, Joseph Campbell, and Koen DePryck, besides Dana Gioia, mentioned in the article, just to name a few off the top of my head. Now, Jonny, let me point out that by insisting that the postmodernists aren't judgement free based on the arguments you give just shows that you are being logocentric. :-) Anybody interested in reading about the relationship between objective reality and literature, the arts, and the humanities, please come by my blog at www.evolutionaryaesthetics.blogspot.com and read my dissertation.
We should not be surprised that people do not value the humanities when those who were supposed to be the champions of the humanities have declared them to have no value. Not all of us think that, though. There are some humanities people who do believe in objective reality, and who do use it to understand literature, art, and the humanities. Other than myself, there is Frederick Turner, Alexander Argyros, Frederick Fierstein, Elaine Scarry, J.T. Fraser, Joseph Campbell, and Koen DePryck, besides Dana Gioia, mentioned in the article, just to name a few off the top of my head. Now, Jonny, let me point out that by insisting that the postmodernists aren't judgement free based on the arguments you give just shows that you are being logocentric. :-) Anybody interested in reading about the relationship between objective reality and literature, the arts, and the humanities, please come by my blog at www.evolutionaryaesthetics.blogspot.com and read my dissertation.
Brockman made those comments a long time ago. Postmodernism is dead and what's replaced it is intellectual apathy. Science is increasingly carried out at the behest of market forces - hardly a humanist force you're looking for. The bottom-line now is 'will it sell' - that counts for 'intellectual' idea as well. That's why Brockman is in the business of selling books - he's no intellectual.
Brockman made those comments a long time ago. Postmodernism is dead and what's replaced it is intellectual apathy. Science is increasingly carried out at the behest of market forces - hardly a humanist force you're looking for. The bottom-line now is 'will it sell' - that counts for 'intellectual' idea as well. That's why Brockman is in the business of selling books - he's no intellectual.
Wow, quite a kick to the nuts. I come home for the holidays, start flippin' stations in my old car, and of course, end up on the de-facto. And what do I get? Styx. let me say it again. Styx. Not Styx in an ironic, tongue-in-cheek kinda way, it was followed up with Sugar Ray. I shut the radio off. W. T. F. was that? The times they are a changin,' fo' sho', but this is sacrilege. Nothing is sacred. I blame it on the yuppie development of Daniel Island and the new bridges, FWIW.
http://scientistcanotcalculateearth.blogspot.com/ We will look at the theories of evolution in their two main foundations: the expansion of the universe, and the quantum or microorganism. To understand it with reason, thee first subject we are confronted with is God. Let us read a few verses from the Bible. Psalm 14:1 of the Old Testament says, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." This sentence may also be translated as "The fool does not want God in his heart." The result of saying this can be found in the second sentence of the same verse: "They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds."Let us also take a passage from the New Testament. Hebrews 11:6 says, "For he who comes forward to God must believe that He is. "THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE “ Whether you claim too be a Christian, a non-believer, or a seeker after truth, we will start by examining the subject of God. In this respect the world is divided into three camps. The first is that of the atheists who do not believe in a God. The second consists of the agnostics. They have no sure knowledge about the deity. On the one hand, they dare not say there is no God, but on the other hand, they are not clear if God does exist. We belong to the third category of those who believe in God. PROSECUTION Is there a God? I will not try to say yes or no to this question. Rather, I will make this place a law court. I will ask you to be the judge, and I will be the prosecutor. The work of a judge is to make decisions, to approve or disapprove the truth of statements; the work of a prosecutor is to present all the evidence and arguments that he can possibly gather. Before we proceed, we have to be clear about one fact: all prosecutors are not eyewitnesses of crimes. They are not policemen. A policeman may personally witness an event, whereas a prosecutor obtains his information only indirectly. He places all the charges, evidence, and arguments collected before the judge. In the same way, I shall present before you everything that I can possibly find. If you ask whether I have seen God or not, I would say "no." I am reading or demonstrating what I have gathered. My job is to search for facts and to call for witnesses. You are to arrive at a conclusion yourself. QUALIFICATIONS Many people assert that there is no God. As a prosecutor I ask you first to check the qualification of these people. Are they qualified to make such claims? Are those who assert that there is no God moral or immoral? Do not just listen to their arguments. Even robbers and swindlers have their arguments. Of course, the arguments support them as robbers and swindlers. The subject of their arguments may be very noble; they may talk about the state of the nations and the welfare of society, but their opinions cannot be seriously considered. They are not worthy of passing such judgments. If a man is upright in his conduct and moral judgment, we can give credibility to his words, but if not, his words lose their credibility. This is especially true when it relates to the question of deity. It is interesting to note that the moral standards of men are directly related to their concept about God. Those who admit their own ignorance have a passable standard, while insistent atheists invariably have a low level of moral responsibility. I do not claim to know all atheists, but of the several thousand that I know, none of them possess a notably commendable morality. You may tell me that there was once a moral atheist, but if there was one, he is dead. Or you may tell me that there will be a moral atheist, but whoever he may be, he is not here yet. At least we can say that for now, we do not know a moral atheist. NO ATHEIST IS MORAL Recently in a College at Uk, the geologist, who is a defender of evolution therefore an atheist confess he is arrogant, the atheist said “there is nothing wrong in being arrogant, I’m right, so there is nothing wrong”. He was debating with a Christian professor who never change his good attitude even though he was being ridicule and mocked. Regarding the behavior of the Atheist it was sad to see a defender of science behaving as a child, he do not have moral standards, man who do not have a sense for Gods law, he will not respect anyone , regarding respecting other he is immoral. There were many students on the campus who did not believe in God. They were greatly offended by these words. This atheist offended the Christian professor again and again; the atheist said to him I like to interrupt you. He kept offending the Christian professor saying “you want to believe in God because you are insecure; the proof is that you have the psychological need of God, your God and you are false and have a mental disorder”. This is completely unethical using the right words immoral. Even the body language of this old man of Uk tells, something wrong with him, he cross his arms in a defensive way , he did look the audience , look to the floor and even when he smile was sad. He looks nervous and evasive; his body language showed that something was wrong with him. He made funny gestures and faces at the Christian professor. How can anyone with moral decency shuffle his speaking to do gestures and call to the other professor false in his believes and say that he has a mental disorder. No atheist has helped you become better? Has he made your thoughts cleaner or your heart purer? Or did it make you just the opposite?" "Regarding to what they speak” This atheist use scientific methods of questioning, and this are endless, their speaking for sure is has not good intention. How come they will ask: Why Jews and Muslims who believe in God, hate each other and kill each other because their religion. Muslims attacked Americans in 9/11 because they hate Americans and do not tolerated Americans way of living. What are the intentions of these questions? Most of people know that Jews and Muslims have been fighting over their land for thousands of years; it is not for the God in which they believe it has been always the land. And that is their problem is up to then how they deal with it. The atheist confuse them as well others and said they kill each other because their God. Mr. Atheist can you put into your head that is because the land. Or what is what you are really after. Sure you have a bad tongue. And why do you ask them about 9/11 actually you Atheist went to the Middle East and told them. You hate Americans because they allow prostitutes on the street. Of course they will say they do not like their respectfull woman to be in the street as prostitutes. But you Godless Man understand, that their government is theocratic rule, by their believe in God, they in a Theocratic country and is their right. Why did you bring 9/11 up? USA is democracy. China which is the domicile of more than half the world’s population is communist. Atheist should go there to recruit people. You atheist and your endless questioning that never will end have a fire in your tongue. I do whish that my president George W. Bush wont let you come to America and I will tell him about your videos The God of delusion and the atheist debate, because in those videos you make fun of my president. Do not think that because our presidents did not claim the rights to the back bone of the net years ago, they will never claim it back. Now you ask: why believers hate, homosexuals? Isn’t good to see two male’s holdings hands on the streets, and to girls kissing on the train? Maybe because in evolution is not only about natural selection, but about sexual selection. Are evolutionists teaching the children of America about sexual selection, “Sexual selection is a special case of natural selection Sexual selection acts in an organisms’ ability to obtain by any means necessary to successfully copulate with their mate or in groups” Sexual selection simple means I can chose anyone male female is ok. Can you see that your teaching has contaminated humanity? Their line of question is groundless or they are carrying out and agenda. I think for old man as they are, it is normal to question everything as well senile to think they know everything. They think of themselves as modern scientist question everything even if they don’t know the subject. Because they live in the twenty first century they know better than those who live thousands of years ago. And why they are confused using the word religion as if it means the same as believer. According to the lexicon Webster dictionary “religion is a way to trying to reach or seek God” “a believer in God have already found Him and knows Him”. Why atheists don’t know the dictionary? Do they know Greek or at the least Hebrew languages what about Aramaic or Latin. In the bible there are tree different words in Greek to designated the word “life” 1. Bios referring to the biological life our body 2. Psycho referring to the soul logical means study. The word Psychology means the study of the soul, emotions, mind and will. 3. There is another word for life that is Zoe the highest life. Whenever the bible speaks of eternal life speak of Zoe. In a Greek dictionary you will find the distinction. I wonder what an atheist that only knows the bible superficially how will they explain that in the bible there is a word Zoe that was transliterated from Hebrew to Greek as Zoe. They should not speak about the bible, because their knowledge is superficial, have they read the bible fifty times? have they read 4000 others books? What about the evolution of species how many times they read it. For this reason, their whole argument is not worthy of consideration. The question is, "Are you qualified to claim that there is no God?" If your hope is merely hear something that isn’t knew, you have lost your ground already. IS MAN THE GREATEST? One day a young man came to me and said, "I do not believe in a so-called God. Man is the greatest. He is the noblest among all creatures. There is no God in this universe; man is everything." We were sitting opposite each other. After hearing what he said, I stood up, went to one side of the room, stooped down, and gazed at him intently. I said, "Do you know that in the past many Americans missionaries went abroad USA specially to China, they came with not support from their churches, during the boxer rebellion many of them died, but sow a seed of life “Zoe” that made of the idolaters Chinese genuine believers, when the communist took over China many were put on jail because of their believe in God, thousands of them died, the bible was taken away, a communist reform took place, everyone have to listen to Mao because communist in China as well Stalinism are base in the cult or worship of the personality of their leader. So believers were whipped out. Because they wont exult Mao over God , but today in china there are 200 millions of genuine believers, how this happen, God did it, can atheist recruit in America or in the world 200 million like them, of course not , so why you say that there is not God and you are greater than Him. HOW VAST IS THE UNIVERSE? I then said to the young man, "And here you are! You have not even walked through the whole earth, and yet you consider yourself greater than the whole universe. Let me ask you, do you know how vast the universe is? Take light for example. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. Try to calculate how far light travels in one minute, or one hour, or a day, or a year. There are some stars whose light takes three thousand years to reach us. Go and work out how far they are from us! And you think you are so great! I would therefore advise all atheists and young men alike to admit the incompetency of man not only morally, but intellectually and academically as well. "CAN MAN EXTEND BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF TIME AND SPACE? Another time when I was in Kaifeng, I met another one of those young, stout atheists. I walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I saw God today!" He stared at me in curiosity and demanded a further word. I replied, "You are God! If you know that there is no God, then you have to be God." He asked for an explanation. I said, "Since you are convinced that there is no God, you must have traveled over the whole earth. If God is not in Shanghai, He may still be in Nanking. You must have been to both places. That is not all. If God is not in Nanking, He may be in Tientsin. You must also have been to Tientsin. But you cannot draw this conclusion simply by being in China; God may be in another country. So you must have been to every country on this earth. If God is not in one place, He may be in another. Therefore, you must have traveled throughout the world. One never knows if God is hiding at the North Pole or the South Pole or in the woods or wilderness somewhere. So you must have combed through all those regions as well. If God is not found on earth, He may be found on the moon. You therefore must have been to the moon. God may also be on other planets or in outer space. This means that you have traveled through space and all the other galaxies as well. If you can say that there is no God, it must mean that you have traveled throughout the whole universe. If this is the case, you must be God yourself."This is not all. Even though you know that God does not exist in Shanghai today, how about yesterday? Perhaps God will come tomorrow. You say that you know there is no God today, but what about last year? And how do you know that God will not come next year? You say that there is no God this year, but what about a thousand years ago? Very well, you must be an everlasting one who knows everything about the past and future. You have to be a being beyond time and space. You must be in Tientsin and in another country at the same time; you must be omnipresent from the east to the west, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Who else but you can be the very God? If you are not God, you can never be qualified to say that there is no God. "THE EVIDENCE” Some will immediately step back and say, "I have never said that I know there is no God. One can never tell whether there is a God or not." Well, if you cannot give a conclusion, I will ask witnesses whom I consider trustworthy to present arguments to you and prove the existence of God. Again let me say this, you are the judge, and I am the prosecutor. I am presenting only the evidence before you. Decide for yourself if there is a God. THE UNIVERSE First, looks at nature, the world that is before our eyes and every phenomenon in it. We all know that scientific knowledge is the rational explanation of natural phenomena. For example, there is an observed drop in the temperature of a patient. The drop in temperature is a phenomenon, and the explanation for it is scientific knowledge. When an apple falls from the tree, it is a phenomenon. Why does an apple not fly into the air? The explanation for this phenomenon constitutes knowledge. A man with knowledge is a man who has the proper explanations. ONLY TWO EXPLANATIONS The universe displays countless phenomena of diverse forms, colors, shapes, and nature. We cannot fail to notice these phenomena before our eyes. The explanation for all these phenomena is known as knowledge. All thoughtful persons have only two explanations as far as the origin of the universe is concerned; there is no third explanation. You have to take one or the other of them. What are these two explanations? The first says that the universe came into being through natural evolution and self-interaction; the second attributes its origin to a personified being with intellect and purpose. These are the only two explanations presented by all philosophers of the world. There is not a third one. Where did the universe come from? Did it come into existence by itself or through chance? Or was it designed by the One from whom we derive the concept of God? You have to think and then make a decision about it. Everything that is by chance has certain characteristics. I would suggest you list all of these in a detailed way, the more the better, and then compare all the phenomena of the universe with your list. Alongside of this make another list of the characteristics which, in your opinion, would be prominent if the universe was created by an intelligent Being. Now by a simple comparison of nature with your two lists, it will be easy to draw a reasonable conclusion. CHANCE EVENTS What are the characteristics of things that come about by chance? First, we know that they are unorganized. At the most they can be partially integrated. They can never be totally organized. One can achieve a specified goal by chance once, but he can never achieve a specified goal by chance all the time. Anything that comes together by chance can only be integrated partially, never totally. For example, if I throw this chair to the other side of the room, by chance it may come to rest at a perfect angle. If I do the same with a second chair, it may also lie neatly beside the first one. But this will not keep on happening with the third and the fourth and so on. Chance can only provide partial organization. It does not guarantee total integration. Furthermore, all random interactions are aimless, disorganized, and purposeless. They are without order and structure; they are loose, formless, disorderly, and not directed toward any meaningful purpose. Briefly, we can say that the characteristics of chance events are disharmony, irregularity, inconsistency, purposelessness, and insignificance. We will write down these four characteristics on our list. CONSISTENCY AND ORGANIZATION Now let us compare the things in the universe with these characteristics. Take, for example, the human being. He is carried in his mother's womb for nine months and delivered; he grows up and eventually dies. This cycle is repeated for every single individual. Consistency can be observed. It is not a wild game of chance. Again, look at the sun above your head. It does not exist purposelessly. Rather, it has its purpose and significance. Look at the moon, the stars, and the myriads of galaxies through your telescope. Some stars have their own planets. They all follow definite tracks and patterns. They are all organized. Their manner of motion can be calculated and predicted. The calendar in your hand is derived from them. Even next year's calendar can be printed before this year is past. All these show that the universe is organized, consistent, and purposeful. MICROORGANISMS Let us turn to the micro-world. Take a thin slice of wood. Put it under a microscope and observe its grain and structure, all meticulously regular and rhythmic. Even a blade of grass and the petal of a flower are finely fashioned. Nothing is unorganized or confused. Everything is disciplined and functional. All these things witness one fact to you: the universe, with its macro and micro aspects, is purposeful and meaningful. Can you say that all these came into existence by chance? Surely you cannot. IS IT OCCUPIED? Once I was preaching the gospel with a co-worker of mine in a village. On the way back we were extremely thirsty. There was neither a teahouse nor stream for us to get water. In fact the whole area was uninhabited. After walking for a while we came across a thatched hut. We went to the door quickly and knocked. For a long time there was no answer. We thought that no one lived there. When we opened the door and went in, we found that the floor was swept clean. In one of the rooms was a bed with nicely folded sheets. There was a teapot on the table, and the tea in it was still warm. I said, "Surely someone must be living here. All the arrangements indicate beyond doubt that this place is occupied by someone. We should not drink this tea. We must get out quickly or else people will think we are thieves." We walked out and waited for the owner to return. By observing the arrangements of the house, we concluded that someone was living there, without having seen the occupant. In the same way, we know that God is there by the arrangement of everything in the universe, although we cannot see Him. Every single phenomenon of nature is so balanced, organized, meaningful, and functional. You may say that they come by chance, but it is impossible for me to believe that chance is its sole originator. The Bible says, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Only foolish people can say in their hearts that there is no God. CHANCE OR DESIGN The universe has to be created by someone with profound wisdom, vast knowledge, and intricate design. If you cannot accept the concept of random formation of the universe, you have to admit that it was created by such a God. There cannot be a third explanation. The choice is left to you. You have to decide if the universe came by chance or whether it was created by God. A DEMAND AND ITS OBJECT One witness may not be enough. I will call in another. This time we will consider man's heart. Before doing so, we should also observe one fact: wherever there is a desire, there must first be an object for that desire. For example, an orphan who has never seen his father naturally has a desire for a kind of paternal love. I have asked many people who were orphans, and they all have felt this irrepressible yearning. By this we can see that every desire of the heart arises out of an object in the world. As human beings we have a need for social belonging. We need companionship and mutuality. If you put a boy on a deserted island and he grows up alone, he still has the yearning for companions, for beings like himself, even though he has never seen a human being. This yearning or desire is the very proof that somewhere in the world there is something known as "man." At a certain age, man begins to think about posterity; he starts desiring children and grandchildren. This is not a mere fantasy. This desire stems out of the existence and possibility of offspring. Hence, where there is desire, there is an object for that desire. THERE IS GOD IN THE HEART Do we have any desires other than social identity and self-propagation? What other cravings do we have? Deep in everyone there is a craving for God. Whether they are highly civilized races, such as those among the Caucasians, or the ancient civilizations, such as the Chinese civilizations, or the African natives and uncultured aborigines, they all have a common craving --God. As long as they are men, they have a yearning for God, no matter what race or nationality. This is a fact. You cannot argue against it. Everyone is seeking after God. Everywhere man is craving for God. This is very clear. By applying the principle that we just mentioned, we can see that since our heart feels the need for a God, there must necessarily be a God in the universe. Since there is a need for God in the heart, there must be the existence of God in the universe. If no God exists, we would never have such a craving in our heart. We all have an appetite for food. In the same way, we all have an appetite for God. It would be impossible to live if there was only an appetite for food but no food. Likewise, it would be impossible to live if there was a capacity for God but no God. NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOD? Once an atheist rudely rebuked me in a loud voice: "You said that a man has the psychological need for a God. But there is no such thing, and I do not believe in it." I said, "Well, do you mean to say that you never think about God? In fact, even while you were talking, you were thinking about Him. This indicates that you do have a capacity for God. There is no one who has never thought about God. He may try not to think much about Him. Since this thought is in you, there must be such an object outside of you. "THE WORDS AND THE HEART” A young man once came to me to argue about God. He was vehemently against the existence of God. He gave me one reason after another for saying that there is no God. As he was enumerating the various reasons why God should not exist, I listened to him quietly without saying a word. Then I said, "Although you insist that there is no God and support yourself with so many arguments, you have lost your case already." He said, "What do you mean?" I went on to explain: "Your mouth can say as much as you want about there not being a God, but your heart is on my side." He had to agree with me. Although one can give all sorts of reasons in the head, there is a belief in the heart that no argument can defeat. A stubborn person may give a thousand and one reasons, but you can have the boldness to tell him, "You know better in your heart that there is a God. Why bother to look for evidence outside?"Now what would you say? After looking at nature and the universe, after checking with your inner feeling, it is up to you to decide whether or not there is a God. But you should not be irresponsible; your attitude must be sober because everyone has to meet God soon. One day you will all stand before Him. Everything concerning you will be laid bare. On that day you will know God. But now is the time for you to be prepared. We should all be prepared to meet our God CONSIDER THIS I shall begin by assuming that the issue of God's existence is settled. We all believe that there is a God. As those who desire to know the truth, we must go one step further to find out what kind of God He is. God is the greatest Unknown. We must spend some time to find out about this unknown One. The next step now is to know what kind of a God He is. THE BIBLE In the past few thousand years’ man has been inquiring about the nature of God. Is He kind or is He righteous? Is He indifferent towards us, or is He extremely interested in human affairs? These types of questions are the direct cause of all human religions. What is religion? Religion is man's inquiry about God and his explanation of Him. Through these explanations, different men have arrived at different concepts about God. What kind of God is He? This is a big question. It is also a very serious question. We have all given our thought to this subject at one time or another. The question might even have occurred to our little mind when we were five years old. All men, educated or ignorant, have been intrigued by this question. It comes naturally after some contemplation and observation. But a person trying to speculate about God is like an ant attempting to understand a human being. It is extremely difficult for the little creature to try to realize our life, nature, and mind. In the same way it is impossible for us to try to comprehend God. For this reason, in the past few thousand years, all kinds of people, theologians and philosophers alike, have done much thinking about Him. What has God been doing all this time? Has He been indifferent to us or has He tried to reveal Himself to us? What is God's attitude? Do you think He would say, "I am God and have nothing to do with human beings. I do not care what you think about me. I shall stay in heaven as God. Let the mortals be ignorant!" Or do you think He has a desire to reveal Himself to man and visit him? When I was in India, I saw some people lying naked on beds studded with nails. Some walked with bare feet on burning coals. These people devoted a great deal of energy to seeking after God. What has God done to them? Did He hide Himself and take no notice of them at all? Has He not kept Himself as a perpetual mystery? This is a great question. We have to consider it scientifically and objectively in order to find out what God is like. A few years ago I spoke on a similar subject to some medical students in an auditorium in Cheloo University. I said that man is an organism with a life. God also is a life. Man's life is higher than that of the lower animals, and God's life is even higher than that of man. I asked the students, "Since we realize that all living organisms have some common laws and express some common traits, can you name them?" Different ones then started to bring up different points. At the end we summed up the discussion in this way: all living organisms contain two common characteristics. You can call these characteristics their common expressions or their common laws. First, every life wants to preserve itself. It tends to reproduce itself. There is the ability to produce posterity, to continue its own life. Second, every life wants to have fellowship with other lives. It cannot stand being by itself. When a man cannot find fellowship with another human being, he goes to dogs, cats, fish, or birds and makes friends with animals. All living creatures desire fellowship. Based on these two characteristics of life, namely, the preservation of itself and fellowship with others, laws of human government are instituted. For example, the death penalty reflects a convict's desire to preserve his own life; punishment comes in the form of taking away and terminating such a life. This is the way to inflict suffering on a life. Imprisonment, as a less serious punishment, cuts him off from having fellowship with others. This reversal of the life principle becomes then a suffering for him. From this we see that punishment is applied according to the principles of life. With these two chief characteristics in mind, let us turn to the life of God. God is an organism of a higher order than human beings. He is naturally governed by this law of life. We can know God by the characteristics and distinctive features of His life. From this we can deduce whether or not God wants to have fellowship with man. There are two kinds of religion: religion based on natural concepts and religion based on revelation. Natural religion starts with man as the center. He is the one that is seeking after God and studying about Him. What then is revelation religion? Revelation religion comes directly from God. He is the One who comes to reveal things to us. Man's thoughts are often useless fancies. God's revelation alone is trustworthy. Christianity is different from all other natural religions in that it is a religion that comes from revelation. Christianity begins from God. It is God who comes to seek out man, rather than man who seeks after God. I will not try to persuade you to believe in Christianity or to read the Bible. I will only make a few suppositions. We will treat the subject in the same way as if we were solving a problem in geometry. We will start from the suppositions and then deduce our arguments step by step. We will examine our reasoning’s to see if they are sound and if our conclusions are logical. As in mathematics, with some problems we work forwards, while with others we work backwards. At any rate, in the end we should be able to tell whether or not a supposition is justified. We have to make a few suppositions. The first one is that God exists. This in fact has been covered by us already. We have agreed that there is a God. He is a Being who has a purpose. Second, we assume that God has a desire to reveal Himself to man. If God wants to reveal Himself to man and if He wants us to know Him, how does He do it? In what manner can He be made known to us? If He speaks to us through thunder or writes to us through lightning, we will not be able to comprehend His message. How then does God make Himself known to us? If He is to reveal Himself and if He wants us to know Him, He necessarily must do it through human means. What then are the common ways that men communicate with one another? First, they do it through speaking and second through writing. All means of communication, whether telegraph, telephone, sign, or symbols, are all included in these two categories. If God is to manifest Himself, these are the only two means for Him to do so. For the present we set aside the aspect of speaking; we will see how God communicates with us through writing. If God reveals Himself through writing, of all the volumes written by different people throughout the centuries, there must be one book which is divinely inspired. This is a very crucial test. If such a book exists, it proves not only the existence of God, but it contains His written revelation to us as well. Is there then such a divinely written book? In the search for such a book, let us first mention a few basic principles. Suppose I want to order a book from a publisher. If I can tell him the name and author of the book, there will be no trouble getting it. If, however, I forget the name and author of the book, I can describe the characteristics of it to the publisher, such as the contents, size, color, binding, etc. The publisher will then search through all his books and locates the volume I want. God has one book in this universe. How do we find it? We have to know its characteristics first. If there is any book that has been written by God, it must meet certain conditions or have certain qualifications before one can say that it is from God. Let me put forth a few propositions. If there is a book written by God, it must first of all mention God. It must tell you that it is from God and that its author is God. This is the first qualification. Second, it must carry a moral tone that is higher than what we commonly know. If it is a fabrication, it can at the most be on the same level as man. Third, if there is such a divine book, it must tell us about the past and the future of this world. Only God knows clearly what occurred in the past and what will happen in the future. Only by telling us these matters will we know Him as God. Fourth, this book must be simple and available so that all may be able to secure and understand it. If there were only one such book in the world, then only a very few people would be able to see it. It would not pass the test unless it is a book accessible to everyone. In the United States there is a group of people who claim to have a book from God. It is engraved in gold and contains only twelve pages. Such a book then would not be accessible to the Chinese. God would never write to us a book at which we could not look. Now the matter is simplified. Let us repeat these four conditions once more. (1) If such a book exists, it must tell us explicitly that its author is God. (2) It must carry a high tone of morality. (3) It must give a detailed description of the past and the future of the universe. (4) It must be available. Let us pick out some of the more important writings throughout human civilization and check them against these qualifications to see if any meets our requirements. We will start from books that are generally considered to be good. Let us take the Chinese classics of Confucius. They are immediately disqualified under the first requirement, for none of them claims to be written by God. They do have a high tone of morality, but they fail to give the origin and destiny of the world, the universe, and man. This does not mean that they are worthless books; it means that they do not contain the qualifications we want. They are not what we are looking for. Let us go to the classics of other cultures. There are numerous volumes of famous writings, but none of them passes the first test. They are all clearly written by man. They may be masterpieces in philosophy or morality, but they are not written by God, nor are they divinely inspired. We have to set them aside. There is a book in India called the Rig-Veda. It once dominated Hinduism. However, it does not claim to be written by God. Another book called the Avesta, written by a Persian named Zoroaster, is also extremely influential in the Middle East. It does not claim to be from God either. Moreover, its moral tone is not especially commendable. Let us come to the Koran of Mohammedanism. This is the closest one we can find. It tells us that it comes from God; it meets the first requirement. However, it does not fulfill the second requirement, for its moral tone is too low. The heaven it describes is full of lusts and flesh. God could never write a book with such licentiousness and immorality. Hence, this book does not pass the test of morality. After searching through all the books, you have to come finally to the Bible. If God desires to communicate with man, and if He does so through writing, then this is the only book that can pass the four tests. Hence, this must be the book God has for man. What does this book say? In the books of the law in the Old Testament, it says, "Thus said the Lord," at least five hundred times. Other books in the Old Testament repeat the phrase about seven hundred times. In addition to the references in the New Testament to the speaking of God, the Bible has more than two thousand claims of divine origin. If God has no intention of communicating with man, we can forget about this book. But if He does communicate with man through writing, then this book has to be of immense value. Can you find another book where God is claimed as its author that many times? We have to see if the Bible meets the second qualification. Let us take a look at its moral tone. Everyone who has studied this book confesses that it carries the highest moral standard. Even the sins of the noblest persons are recorded and condemned without mercy. Once a strong opposer of the Bible was asked by his son, "Why are you so strong against the Bible?" He answered, "If I do not condemn it, it will condemn me." This book does not let us get by easily. The human concept is that all sexual acts outside marriage are considered as fornication. The Bible, however, says that even an evil thought is fornication. Human morality condemns an act of killing as murder, but the Bible condemns a slight hatred in the heart as murder. We consider a man who lets his enemy get by without paying vengeance as forgiving. But the Bible charges man to love his enemy. How high is its moral tone and how low we are before its standards! You cannot help but admit that it presents the best ethical code for humanity. Furthermore, this book describes in detail the past and future of the universe. Once a friend told me that he could believe in everything the Bible says except the parts in Genesis and Revelation where it talks about the origin and destiny of the heavens and earth. I told him that if this is indeed a book from God, it must, of necessity, contain these matters. If the Bible did not contain Genesis and Revelation, it would be the same as any other book, and we would have to look for another book; it would not be the one we want. But the past condition of the world and its future destiny are recorded here. Hence, the third qualification is also met. What is the circulation of such a book? Last year (1935), more than two hundred million copies were sold. Can you name another book that has such a high circulation rate? This statistic, moreover, is not limited to just last year; every year the number has remained approximately the same. In one sense this book is very popular. In another sense it is like a thorn in your hand; it pierces you. This book gives you a headache. It creates an unspeakable uneasiness within man. It even causes man to oppose it. In spite of this, its annual sales are still over two hundred million. Furthermore, this book is translated into more than seven hundred twenty languages. In every country and among every race, there is a translation of this unique book. It is extremely easy for anyone to obtain a Bible anywhere in the world. If the Rig-Veda were God's book, then more than half of the world would perish due to a failure in obtaining it. Even if you put the Rig-Veda in my hand, I would still be unable to understand it. If only the educated ones can contact God, then I am destined to go to hell. If only the Indians have the opportunity, we Chinese, as well as other races, are out of hope. If God speaks through the Rig-Veda, then where can we find that book? Maybe we can only find the original copy in the London Museum. And even that may not contain the original meaning of God's revelation to man. This is not all. The Bible contains sixty-six books and it is divided into the Old and New Testaments. It was written by no less than thirty people. The span from the time the first book was written to the time when the last book was finished is more than sixteen hundred years. The places where they were written are also different. Some were written in Babylon, some in Italy, some at one end of Asia Minor, others at the other end of the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the writers themselves differed in their backgrounds. Some were lawyers; some were fishermen. There were princes, and there were shepherds. All these writings by men of different backgrounds, languages, environments, and periods are put together. The amazing thing is that it is still a complete book. All those who have had some experience of editing know that in order to put together a few articles written by different authors, it is necessary for the authors to be of comparable level of academic achievements and viewpoints. Even when the academic standard and viewpoints are similar, there will still be conflicts and contradictions when you put five or six articles together. But the Bible, though complex in contents, contains history, poetry, laws, prophecies, biographies, and doctrines and was written by so many different ones at different times and under different circumstances, yet when you put them together, they surprisingly run as one continuous volume. There is no conflict or contradiction. They are written in one breath. If you read this book carefully, you have to admit that God's hand is behind all the writings. More than thirty people of varied backgrounds and ideas in different times and places wrote these sixty-six books. When you group them up, they link together as if they were written by one individual. Genesis was written about fifteen hundred years before Christ, and Revelation was written ninety-five years after Christ. There is a time span of sixteen hundred years. One talks about the beginning while the other projects the end of the world. Yet whatever begins in Genesis is concluded in Revelation. This amazing feature cannot be explained in human terms. Every word of it has to be written by God through man. God is the motivating One behind the whole composition. There is another remarkable thing about this book. In itself it is a book that gives life. Yet countless numbers of people have lost their lives for its sake. There was a time when anyone who held this book in his hand would immediately be put to death. The most powerful empire in history was the Roman Empire. There was a time when this empire summoned all its forces to destroy this book. Everyone who possessed it would be inhumanly persecuted and later killed or burned. They wiped out thousands of people and burned countless copies of the Bible. They even set up a monument at a place where they killed Christians. On it was the inscription: "Christianity is buried here." They thought that when they had burned all the Bibles and removed all the Christians, they would see Christianity lying there beneath their feet. But it was not long after that when the Bible came back again. Even in a country like England, which has already accepted Christianity as its state religion, you can still find tombs of martyrs for Christ if you visit different places there. Here and there you can find places where the Bible was once burned. Or you may come across a tombstone that tells you that such and such a person tried so hard and wrote so many books in his life to oppose the Bible. One place may tell you that the Bible was once burned there, and another place may tell you that Christians were once killed there. One signpost may point you to a statue of martyrdom, and another may point to a site of Bible burning. Why is it that so many people have tried so hard to oppose this book? Why is it that men would pass by other books, but would either oppose this book with every fiber of their being or would put their whole life to the stake for it? There must be something extraordinary here. Even if you do not believe that this is God's word, you have to admit that there is something unusual about this book. This book seems to be very simple and easy. If you consider it from the historical point of view, it tells the origin of the universe, the earth, the plants, human beings, how they established their kingdoms, and how they will eventually end. This is all. There is nothing special about it. Yet it has been handed from generation to generation for centuries. Today it is still with us. Moreover, if you do not confess that it is truth, you have to conclude that it is false. You can disregard many books, but you cannot ignore this book. Nor will it ignore you. It will not let you go. It demands a verdict from you. It will not pass you by. Another remarkable thing about this book is that almost half of it is prophecy. Among the prophecies, almost half of them are fulfilled. The other half is for the future and await fulfillment. For example, it predicted the fate of the nations of Moab and Ammon and of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Today when people talk about big cities, they mention London and Shanghai. Then it was Tyre and Sidon. They were two chief cities of the ancient world. The prophecies concerning these two cities were all fulfilled. Once I was in the Middle East. For some reason I did not visit those two places. However, I bought two pictures of those cities. It amazed me when I looked at those pictures. I could not help but believe in the Bible. It was prophesied that if these two metropolitan cities did not repent, they would be destroyed and devastated. Their land would become hills of rocks and pebbles where fishermen would come to dry their nets. In the pictures that I bought, there was nothing but fishing boats and open nets on the shore. This is only one small fact that proves the reliability of biblical prophecy. If you compare past events with the prophecies in the Bible, you will find that they all correspond one with another. For another example, take the birth of Christ. Isaiah prophesied concerning a virgin with child a few hundred years before Christ actually came. Later, He was born indeed of the Virgin Mary. The prophecy was accurately fulfilled. As the prophecies concerning the past have been fulfilled, so the prophecies concerning the future must also be fulfilled. If God desires to communicate with man, He must do so through common human channels of communication. He must use the human language or human writings. In other words, there must be a book in the world that is a direct revelation from God. If such a book does exist, it must contain the four criteria we mentioned. Now we can say that such a book is found. This book tells us that God desires to have fellowship with us. He speaks to us through this book. Through it God is no longer an unknown Being. We can now know Him. This book is the Bible. I hope all of you will read it. THIS IS A SERIOUS MATER, IS HE CRAZY? A LUNATIC? A LIAR? PLEASE YOU’RE VERIDICT God desires to reveal Himself to us. He does so through means that are comprehensible to man. These are namely written and spoken language. We have seen how God reveals Himself through writing. Now we want to take a look at His revelation through speaking. Suppose that you have had correspondence with a person for many years; however, you have never seen him. Naturally, you would want to know him more by having some direct acquaintance with him. Full understanding of someone cannot be achieved merely through writing. Direct contact gives a better chance. It seems as if communication through speech is of a more intimate and thorough nature than writing. When spoken language is added to written language, communication becomes enhanced. If you take away either of the two, you have a gap. Of course, if you take away both, communication is completely voided. Effective communication is always carried out by these two means. If God's intention is to reveal Him to us, He must of necessity do so through speaking. But how does God speak? Does He trumpet from the heavens? If so, we would all be frightened to death. We would all run away. No one would dare to listen. There is a chasm between Him and us. He, being so high and great, would drive us away from His holiness. How then does He speak? THE WINTER ON THE MOUNTAIN let me relate to you a story. One winter I was staying on the mountain Lu-shan, recovering from an illness. It was immediately after the war, and there was practically no one living on the mountain. In the vicinity of my dwelling, one could hardly see anyone all day long. I am a quiet person by nature. This kind of environment was very appealing to me. Not only was it quiet there, but the weather was cold as well. From morning till dusk, all I saw was a boy who came three times to deliver my meals. At the beginning I was quite at ease. But after a while, even a person like me began to feel lonely. One day after lunch I went to take a nap. There was a balcony outside my bedroom window. When I woke up I saw some little creatures gathering around the balcony. Bits of my meal had been dropped there, and the birds were busily chirping around them. As they hopped around, they chirped and made many cheerful noises. I said to myself, "All right. Since I cannot find any human beings, I will try to make friends with these little birds." I rose up and went out to greet them. But in an instant they all flew away. An idea came to me. I took some of the leftover rice and began to arrange it in rows, with only a few grains in the first row and gradually increased them towards the entrance of the doorway. I hid behind the door and watched them coming. Soon they gathered around again. I said to me, "This is my chance." I walked out and began to make friends with them. But the minute they saw me, they all scattered. Some perched on the branches of the tree across the balcony and stared at me, as if trying to determine what my intention was. Every time I approached them, they flew away, and every time I walked away, they came back. This went on a number of times. I wanted to preach to the birds. I wanted to tell them, "Little birds, I have no special intention in doing this. This is winter on the mountain, and food is scarce. I have enough food with me, and I just want to share it with you. Please be at peace and come down. I only ask that as you eat, I can sit among you. I want to listen to your songs and watch you playing. Come. Let us be friends..." But the birds would not come. They did not understand me. I had to give up. Later I had a certain realization within. I began to preach to myself. I said, "This body of mine is too big. If I could shrink from five feet eleven inches to the size of a bird, and even change myself into a bird, they would not be alarmed by my presence. I could then tell them my heart's intention, and we could spend the winter on the mountain Lu-shan together." We have a similar problem today. If God remained God, we could never understand Him. If He talked to us in His language, we would be altogether lost. If God wants to reveal Himself through speaking and have fellowship with man, He must shrink Himself to such a degree that He and we are the same. Only then would He be able to speak to us and tell us of Himself and of the mysteries of the universe. Only then would we be able to understand Him. Has God become a man to reveal Himself through His speaking? Let us again use the method of supposition. What if God revealed Himself through the human language? What if He became a man and fellowshipped with man? The implication is tremendous here! It would mean that in this world, among all the human beings throughout history, one person was not merely a man, but God as well! If it is granted that God became a man, there must be a mortal who was also divine. We need to find out about this One. This is a thorny task. But we will employ the effective method we have adopted—namely, setting down a few principles. Then we will search according to these qualifications and directions. We want to base our evaluation on what manner of life a person should possess and what qualifications he must have if he is God. The first condition that this person must fulfill is that he must claim to be God while he is on earth. He cannot be apologetic about it. He must declare boldly that he is God. Only then can we know who he is. Without this declaration, we have no way to guess his identity. Hence, a declaration is our first qualification. Second, the way this person came into the world must be different from ours. If I said that I am God and yet was born in the same manner as every other mortal, my words would carry no force. If on the other hand, I dropped down from heaven; my assertion would be taken seriously. The way this person comes into being must be extraordinary. He must come in an absolutely different fashion; otherwise, his words will not carry the necessary weight. Third, this man must bear a moral standard that is far above that of all other human beings. He must have God's holiness, and his life must bear the mark of God's righteousness. For example, if I became a bird and lived in exactly the same way as other birds, without showing them anything extraordinary, I could not convince them that I was actually a man. If God is to become a man, His moral behavior must be of the highest quality. This is the only way that we could identify Him as God. Furthermore, if a person is God, he must necessarily be able to perform things which no mortal can do. If he can achieve what we cannot achieve and know what we do not know, we can say that he is truly God. Lastly, this person must be able to tell us the divine purpose concerning man. What was God's purpose in creating the universe and man? How does He take care of human pains and sorrows? What is the origin and ultimate solution of everything in the universe? What should our attitude towards God be? All these he must reveal to us. Unless this one shows us what we do not see, we cannot say that he has shown us any revelation. We will set down these five conditions and put the whole of humanity to the test. Let us find out if someone meets the five requirements. Such a person would surely be qualified to be God. The first person to put to the test should be you. Of course, you are not God, because you have never claimed to be God. Nor have I ever claimed to be. So that rules out you and me. Very well, now we will introduce Confucius. If you read his books, you will find that he did conduct a very moral and proper life. But he never claimed to be God either. Hence, he fails in the first step. What about Sakya Muni, the founder of Buddhism? Not only was there an absence of the claim of divinity, but his philosophy itself is void of deity. He did not believe in the existence of God. Since he had no God, he cannot be God either. Next, go to Mohammed. He believed in God. But he never claimed to be God. He called God Allah and himself the prophet of Allah. If you go through every person in history, you will discover that no one ever claimed to be God except One. That One was Jesus of Nazareth. He claimed to be the living God. No other person put forward such a claim. How can Jesus of Nazareth claim to be God? Before going on, we have to pause for a moment to seriously consider the matter. It is not a light thing to claim to be God. A person who makes such a claim falls into one of three categories. He must belong to one of these three categories; he cannot belong to all three. First, if he claims to be God and yet in fact is not, he has to be a madman or a lunatic. Second, if he is neither God nor a lunatic, he has to be a liar, deceiving others by his lie. Third, if he is neither of these, he must be God. You can only choose one of the three possibilities. If you do not believe that he is God, you have to consider him a madman. If you cannot take him for either of the two, you have to take him for a liar. There is no need for us to prove if Jesus of Nazareth is God or not. All we have to do is find out if He is a lunatic or a liar. If He is neither, He must be the Son of God. These are our three choices. There is no fourth. What did Jesus of Nazareth say about Himself? In John 10:30 He said, "I and the Father are one." We need some explanation here. In the Bible the invisible God is called the Father. The Son manifests and expresses the Father. What is hidden is the Father, and what is expressed is the Son. The Son is the One who can be seen and touched. Behind, you have the Father. In front, you have the Son. The two are actually one. They are the two sides of the same reality. When we talk about two, we refer to the fact that one is hidden while the other is revealed. When we talk about one, we say that the revealed One is just the hidden One in manifestation. This is the biblical interpretation of the Father and the Son. Therefore, when Jesus of Nazareth one day said, "I and the Father are one," it was a statement that no one else could make. This man was saying in reality that He and the invisible God are one entity. He is God and God is He. God is the invisible Father, and He is the manifested Son. The Father and the Son are one! Who can this One be that made such a claim? Is He a madman? Is He out to deceive us? After Jesus spoke such a word, what reaction do we see? "The Jews again took up stones that they might stone Him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these works are you stoning me? The Jews answered Him, We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, are making Yourself God" (vv. 31-33). The Jews understood very well that Jesus' words meant that He claimed to be God. After hearing these words they wanted to stone Him to death. A claim was made by Jesus, and an accusation was charged by the Jews, both of which concerned His divinity. Was Jesus insane? Did He speak pure nonsense just to cause people to kill Him? Or was He a swindler setting up some kind of a scheme? If so, what was He trying to gain? Was He trying to gain death? Perhaps we will go back a little bit to the earlier parts in the Gospel of John and see what it says there. John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." Why has no one seen God? It is because God is invisible. Jesus said that He was the only Begotten of the Father; He expressed the invisible Father. When you see the only Begotten, you see the Father. Again He spoke concerning Himself, "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven" (3:13). Have you ever heard anyone say such words? I cannot say, "No one has been to Shanghai, but he who comes from Shanghai to Tientsin, even I, Watchman Nee, who is in Shanghai." If I say so, I would be gibbering nonsense. But Jesus was speaking a heavenly language. He said that He came out of heaven and is still in heaven. What can a person be if he can be in two places simultaneously? Either he is God or he is a lunatic or he is a liar. If you have not yet believed in Christ, please give a verdict to this issue. Who is this man? Let us read John 3:31-32: "He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks out of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies, and no one receives His testimony." He said that He came out of heaven and was above all. After a while He said the same thing again. Let us see what the purpose behind these words is. He came to preach the things of heaven, but no one received His words. He mentioned words like "heaven," "above all," "out of heaven," etc. What kind of man was He? Confucius never said this. Neither did Sakya Muni or Mohammed. Was Jesus of Nazareth a madman, a liar, or the Son of God? John 5:17 says, "But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I also am working." He always put Himself in the same place as the Father. Verse 18 says, "Because of this therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." When we read His words now, we may consider them to be ordinary remarks. But the Jews knew what He was saying. They knew that He was making Himself equal with God. The words in fact meant that God is His Father and He came to express God. The invisible One is God, and the visible One is He. Therefore, the Jews sought to kill Him. What should we do about such an unusual person? John 6:46 says, "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who is from God, He has seen the Father." Here the word is clearer. He said that no one other than Himself has ever seen God. Only He knew what the Father is like. I can only say with soberness and reverence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. Read John 8:18. What did He say? "I am one who testifies concerning me, and the Father who sent me testifies concerning me." The question in verse 19 is most interesting: "They said then to Him, Where is Your Father? Jesus answered, you know neither me nor My Father; if you knew me, and you would know My Father also." Have you seen what He was saying? They had seen Him, yet did not know Him. Of course they would not know the Father either, whom they had not seen. If men knew Him, they knew God. Who is He then? If knowing Him equals knowing God, is that not the same as saying that He is God and God is He? Read John 8:23: "And He said to them, You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world." The preposition "from" in this verse is ek in Greek. It means "out of." That is how it should be translated. He said, "You are out of this world, but I am not out of this world." This man claimed to be from above; He did not come out of this world. Who can He be? The Jews were confused. They were totally bewildered. Who was this man? The ancestor of the Jews is Abraham. They boasted of being the descendants of Abraham in the same way the Chinese boast of being the offspring of Hwang-it. The name Abraham was highly venerated among the Jews. Now they brought out Abraham. Please read John 8:53: "Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too. Who are you making yourself?" How did Jesus answer them? Was He greater or smaller than Abraham? In verse 56 Jesus said, "Your father Abraham exulted that he would see my day, and he saw it and rejoiced." What is this? Even Abraham had to look forward to Jesus! Hence, verse 57: "The Jews then said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Now please pay your attention to Jesus' answer in verse 58: "Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am." Tell me who this man is. If I told you that before Hwang-it was, I, Watchman Nee am there, you would immediately write me off as a lunatic. Some of you would say that I am a liar. The words Jesus spoke made Him a madman, a liar, or God. There can be no fourth alternative. We have to read on. In John 10:37-38 Jesus said, "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works so that you may come to know and continue to know..." Know what? The clause following is very crucial. It is a big statement: "...that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Who then is this man? He said that He was in God and God was in Him. Passages like the above are numerous in the Bible. I shall mention one more. Read carefully John 14:6-7: "Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known My Father also; and henceforth you know Him and have seen Him." It says clearly that if you know Jesus of Nazareth, you have known the invisible God. Why is this so? It is because He is God. One of the disciples was confused. John 14:8 says, "Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us." Philip was asking to be shown the Father who had been mentioned again and again by Jesus. Verse 9 says, "Jesus said to him, have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father?" Here Jesus made it very plain that to see Him is to see God. He made no apology about it. He is God. There is no need to see the Father anymore. If you see Him, you see God! Who is Jesus of Nazareth? What would you say? Is He merely the founder of the Christian religion? Is He merely an example of self-sacrifice and humanitarianism? Is He a social reformer? Is He an advocate for universal love, peace, and freedom? Listen to what He said about Himself. He said that He is God. What is your conclusion? Is He a lunatic or a liar? Is He a hoax, or is He God? This is a vital question. Can He be a madman? If you read His biographies in the
http://scientistcanotcalculateearth.blogspot.com/ We will look at the theories of evolution in their two main foundations: the expansion of the universe, and the quantum or microorganism. To understand it with reason, thee first subject we are confronted with is God. Let us read a few verses from the Bible. Psalm 14:1 of the Old Testament says, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." This sentence may also be translated as "The fool does not want God in his heart." The result of saying this can be found in the second sentence of the same verse: "They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds."Let us also take a passage from the New Testament. Hebrews 11:6 says, "For he who comes forward to God must believe that He is. "THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE “ Whether you claim too be a Christian, a non-believer, or a seeker after truth, we will start by examining the subject of God. In this respect the world is divided into three camps. The first is that of the atheists who do not believe in a God. The second consists of the agnostics. They have no sure knowledge about the deity. On the one hand, they dare not say there is no God, but on the other hand, they are not clear if God does exist. We belong to the third category of those who believe in God. PROSECUTION Is there a God? I will not try to say yes or no to this question. Rather, I will make this place a law court. I will ask you to be the judge, and I will be the prosecutor. The work of a judge is to make decisions, to approve or disapprove the truth of statements; the work of a prosecutor is to present all the evidence and arguments that he can possibly gather. Before we proceed, we have to be clear about one fact: all prosecutors are not eyewitnesses of crimes. They are not policemen. A policeman may personally witness an event, whereas a prosecutor obtains his information only indirectly. He places all the charges, evidence, and arguments collected before the judge. In the same way, I shall present before you everything that I can possibly find. If you ask whether I have seen God or not, I would say "no." I am reading or demonstrating what I have gathered. My job is to search for facts and to call for witnesses. You are to arrive at a conclusion yourself. QUALIFICATIONS Many people assert that there is no God. As a prosecutor I ask you first to check the qualification of these people. Are they qualified to make such claims? Are those who assert that there is no God moral or immoral? Do not just listen to their arguments. Even robbers and swindlers have their arguments. Of course, the arguments support them as robbers and swindlers. The subject of their arguments may be very noble; they may talk about the state of the nations and the welfare of society, but their opinions cannot be seriously considered. They are not worthy of passing such judgments. If a man is upright in his conduct and moral judgment, we can give credibility to his words, but if not, his words lose their credibility. This is especially true when it relates to the question of deity. It is interesting to note that the moral standards of men are directly related to their concept about God. Those who admit their own ignorance have a passable standard, while insistent atheists invariably have a low level of moral responsibility. I do not claim to know all atheists, but of the several thousand that I know, none of them possess a notably commendable morality. You may tell me that there was once a moral atheist, but if there was one, he is dead. Or you may tell me that there will be a moral atheist, but whoever he may be, he is not here yet. At least we can say that for now, we do not know a moral atheist. NO ATHEIST IS MORAL Recently in a College at Uk, the geologist, who is a defender of evolution therefore an atheist confess he is arrogant, the atheist said “there is nothing wrong in being arrogant, I’m right, so there is nothing wrong”. He was debating with a Christian professor who never change his good attitude even though he was being ridicule and mocked. Regarding the behavior of the Atheist it was sad to see a defender of science behaving as a child, he do not have moral standards, man who do not have a sense for Gods law, he will not respect anyone , regarding respecting other he is immoral. There were many students on the campus who did not believe in God. They were greatly offended by these words. This atheist offended the Christian professor again and again; the atheist said to him I like to interrupt you. He kept offending the Christian professor saying “you want to believe in God because you are insecure; the proof is that you have the psychological need of God, your God and you are false and have a mental disorder”. This is completely unethical using the right words immoral. Even the body language of this old man of Uk tells, something wrong with him, he cross his arms in a defensive way , he did look the audience , look to the floor and even when he smile was sad. He looks nervous and evasive; his body language showed that something was wrong with him. He made funny gestures and faces at the Christian professor. How can anyone with moral decency shuffle his speaking to do gestures and call to the other professor false in his believes and say that he has a mental disorder. No atheist has helped you become better? Has he made your thoughts cleaner or your heart purer? Or did it make you just the opposite?" "Regarding to what they speak” This atheist use scientific methods of questioning, and this are endless, their speaking for sure is has not good intention. How come they will ask: Why Jews and Muslims who believe in God, hate each other and kill each other because their religion. Muslims attacked Americans in 9/11 because they hate Americans and do not tolerated Americans way of living. What are the intentions of these questions? Most of people know that Jews and Muslims have been fighting over their land for thousands of years; it is not for the God in which they believe it has been always the land. And that is their problem is up to then how they deal with it. The atheist confuse them as well others and said they kill each other because their God. Mr. Atheist can you put into your head that is because the land. Or what is what you are really after. Sure you have a bad tongue. And why do you ask them about 9/11 actually you Atheist went to the Middle East and told them. You hate Americans because they allow prostitutes on the street. Of course they will say they do not like their respectfull woman to be in the street as prostitutes. But you Godless Man understand, that their government is theocratic rule, by their believe in God, they in a Theocratic country and is their right. Why did you bring 9/11 up? USA is democracy. China which is the domicile of more than half the world’s population is communist. Atheist should go there to recruit people. You atheist and your endless questioning that never will end have a fire in your tongue. I do whish that my president George W. Bush wont let you come to America and I will tell him about your videos The God of delusion and the atheist debate, because in those videos you make fun of my president. Do not think that because our presidents did not claim the rights to the back bone of the net years ago, they will never claim it back. Now you ask: why believers hate, homosexuals? Isn’t good to see two male’s holdings hands on the streets, and to girls kissing on the train? Maybe because in evolution is not only about natural selection, but about sexual selection. Are evolutionists teaching the children of America about sexual selection, “Sexual selection is a special case of natural selection Sexual selection acts in an organisms’ ability to obtain by any means necessary to successfully copulate with their mate or in groups” Sexual selection simple means I can chose anyone male female is ok. Can you see that your teaching has contaminated humanity? Their line of question is groundless or they are carrying out and agenda. I think for old man as they are, it is normal to question everything as well senile to think they know everything. They think of themselves as modern scientist question everything even if they don’t know the subject. Because they live in the twenty first century they know better than those who live thousands of years ago. And why they are confused using the word religion as if it means the same as believer. According to the lexicon Webster dictionary “religion is a way to trying to reach or seek God” “a believer in God have already found Him and knows Him”. Why atheists don’t know the dictionary? Do they know Greek or at the least Hebrew languages what about Aramaic or Latin. In the bible there are tree different words in Greek to designated the word “life” 1. Bios referring to the biological life our body 2. Psycho referring to the soul logical means study. The word Psychology means the study of the soul, emotions, mind and will. 3. There is another word for life that is Zoe the highest life. Whenever the bible speaks of eternal life speak of Zoe. In a Greek dictionary you will find the distinction. I wonder what an atheist that only knows the bible superficially how will they explain that in the bible there is a word Zoe that was transliterated from Hebrew to Greek as Zoe. They should not speak about the bible, because their knowledge is superficial, have they read the bible fifty times? have they read 4000 others books? What about the evolution of species how many times they read it. For this reason, their whole argument is not worthy of consideration. The question is, "Are you qualified to claim that there is no God?" If your hope is merely hear something that isn’t knew, you have lost your ground already. IS MAN THE GREATEST? One day a young man came to me and said, "I do not believe in a so-called God. Man is the greatest. He is the noblest among all creatures. There is no God in this universe; man is everything." We were sitting opposite each other. After hearing what he said, I stood up, went to one side of the room, stooped down, and gazed at him intently. I said, "Do you know that in the past many Americans missionaries went abroad USA specially to China, they came with not support from their churches, during the boxer rebellion many of them died, but sow a seed of life “Zoe” that made of the idolaters Chinese genuine believers, when the communist took over China many were put on jail because of their believe in God, thousands of them died, the bible was taken away, a communist reform took place, everyone have to listen to Mao because communist in China as well Stalinism are base in the cult or worship of the personality of their leader. So believers were whipped out. Because they wont exult Mao over God , but today in china there are 200 millions of genuine believers, how this happen, God did it, can atheist recruit in America or in the world 200 million like them, of course not , so why you say that there is not God and you are greater than Him. HOW VAST IS THE UNIVERSE? I then said to the young man, "And here you are! You have not even walked through the whole earth, and yet you consider yourself greater than the whole universe. Let me ask you, do you know how vast the universe is? Take light for example. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. Try to calculate how far light travels in one minute, or one hour, or a day, or a year. There are some stars whose light takes three thousand years to reach us. Go and work out how far they are from us! And you think you are so great! I would therefore advise all atheists and young men alike to admit the incompetency of man not only morally, but intellectually and academically as well. "CAN MAN EXTEND BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF TIME AND SPACE? Another time when I was in Kaifeng, I met another one of those young, stout atheists. I walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I saw God today!" He stared at me in curiosity and demanded a further word. I replied, "You are God! If you know that there is no God, then you have to be God." He asked for an explanation. I said, "Since you are convinced that there is no God, you must have traveled over the whole earth. If God is not in Shanghai, He may still be in Nanking. You must have been to both places. That is not all. If God is not in Nanking, He may be in Tientsin. You must also have been to Tientsin. But you cannot draw this conclusion simply by being in China; God may be in another country. So you must have been to every country on this earth. If God is not in one place, He may be in another. Therefore, you must have traveled throughout the world. One never knows if God is hiding at the North Pole or the South Pole or in the woods or wilderness somewhere. So you must have combed through all those regions as well. If God is not found on earth, He may be found on the moon. You therefore must have been to the moon. God may also be on other planets or in outer space. This means that you have traveled through space and all the other galaxies as well. If you can say that there is no God, it must mean that you have traveled throughout the whole universe. If this is the case, you must be God yourself."This is not all. Even though you know that God does not exist in Shanghai today, how about yesterday? Perhaps God will come tomorrow. You say that you know there is no God today, but what about last year? And how do you know that God will not come next year? You say that there is no God this year, but what about a thousand years ago? Very well, you must be an everlasting one who knows everything about the past and future. You have to be a being beyond time and space. You must be in Tientsin and in another country at the same time; you must be omnipresent from the east to the west, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Who else but you can be the very God? If you are not God, you can never be qualified to say that there is no God. "THE EVIDENCE” Some will immediately step back and say, "I have never said that I know there is no God. One can never tell whether there is a God or not." Well, if you cannot give a conclusion, I will ask witnesses whom I consider trustworthy to present arguments to you and prove the existence of God. Again let me say this, you are the judge, and I am the prosecutor. I am presenting only the evidence before you. Decide for yourself if there is a God. THE UNIVERSE First, looks at nature, the world that is before our eyes and every phenomenon in it. We all know that scientific knowledge is the rational explanation of natural phenomena. For example, there is an observed drop in the temperature of a patient. The drop in temperature is a phenomenon, and the explanation for it is scientific knowledge. When an apple falls from the tree, it is a phenomenon. Why does an apple not fly into the air? The explanation for this phenomenon constitutes knowledge. A man with knowledge is a man who has the proper explanations. ONLY TWO EXPLANATIONS The universe displays countless phenomena of diverse forms, colors, shapes, and nature. We cannot fail to notice these phenomena before our eyes. The explanation for all these phenomena is known as knowledge. All thoughtful persons have only two explanations as far as the origin of the universe is concerned; there is no third explanation. You have to take one or the other of them. What are these two explanations? The first says that the universe came into being through natural evolution and self-interaction; the second attributes its origin to a personified being with intellect and purpose. These are the only two explanations presented by all philosophers of the world. There is not a third one. Where did the universe come from? Did it come into existence by itself or through chance? Or was it designed by the One from whom we derive the concept of God? You have to think and then make a decision about it. Everything that is by chance has certain characteristics. I would suggest you list all of these in a detailed way, the more the better, and then compare all the phenomena of the universe with your list. Alongside of this make another list of the characteristics which, in your opinion, would be prominent if the universe was created by an intelligent Being. Now by a simple comparison of nature with your two lists, it will be easy to draw a reasonable conclusion. CHANCE EVENTS What are the characteristics of things that come about by chance? First, we know that they are unorganized. At the most they can be partially integrated. They can never be totally organized. One can achieve a specified goal by chance once, but he can never achieve a specified goal by chance all the time. Anything that comes together by chance can only be integrated partially, never totally. For example, if I throw this chair to the other side of the room, by chance it may come to rest at a perfect angle. If I do the same with a second chair, it may also lie neatly beside the first one. But this will not keep on happening with the third and the fourth and so on. Chance can only provide partial organization. It does not guarantee total integration. Furthermore, all random interactions are aimless, disorganized, and purposeless. They are without order and structure; they are loose, formless, disorderly, and not directed toward any meaningful purpose. Briefly, we can say that the characteristics of chance events are disharmony, irregularity, inconsistency, purposelessness, and insignificance. We will write down these four characteristics on our list. CONSISTENCY AND ORGANIZATION Now let us compare the things in the universe with these characteristics. Take, for example, the human being. He is carried in his mother's womb for nine months and delivered; he grows up and eventually dies. This cycle is repeated for every single individual. Consistency can be observed. It is not a wild game of chance. Again, look at the sun above your head. It does not exist purposelessly. Rather, it has its purpose and significance. Look at the moon, the stars, and the myriads of galaxies through your telescope. Some stars have their own planets. They all follow definite tracks and patterns. They are all organized. Their manner of motion can be calculated and predicted. The calendar in your hand is derived from them. Even next year's calendar can be printed before this year is past. All these show that the universe is organized, consistent, and purposeful. MICROORGANISMS Let us turn to the micro-world. Take a thin slice of wood. Put it under a microscope and observe its grain and structure, all meticulously regular and rhythmic. Even a blade of grass and the petal of a flower are finely fashioned. Nothing is unorganized or confused. Everything is disciplined and functional. All these things witness one fact to you: the universe, with its macro and micro aspects, is purposeful and meaningful. Can you say that all these came into existence by chance? Surely you cannot. IS IT OCCUPIED? Once I was preaching the gospel with a co-worker of mine in a village. On the way back we were extremely thirsty. There was neither a teahouse nor stream for us to get water. In fact the whole area was uninhabited. After walking for a while we came across a thatched hut. We went to the door quickly and knocked. For a long time there was no answer. We thought that no one lived there. When we opened the door and went in, we found that the floor was swept clean. In one of the rooms was a bed with nicely folded sheets. There was a teapot on the table, and the tea in it was still warm. I said, "Surely someone must be living here. All the arrangements indicate beyond doubt that this place is occupied by someone. We should not drink this tea. We must get out quickly or else people will think we are thieves." We walked out and waited for the owner to return. By observing the arrangements of the house, we concluded that someone was living there, without having seen the occupant. In the same way, we know that God is there by the arrangement of everything in the universe, although we cannot see Him. Every single phenomenon of nature is so balanced, organized, meaningful, and functional. You may say that they come by chance, but it is impossible for me to believe that chance is its sole originator. The Bible says, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Only foolish people can say in their hearts that there is no God. CHANCE OR DESIGN The universe has to be created by someone with profound wisdom, vast knowledge, and intricate design. If you cannot accept the concept of random formation of the universe, you have to admit that it was created by such a God. There cannot be a third explanation. The choice is left to you. You have to decide if the universe came by chance or whether it was created by God. A DEMAND AND ITS OBJECT One witness may not be enough. I will call in another. This time we will consider man's heart. Before doing so, we should also observe one fact: wherever there is a desire, there must first be an object for that desire. For example, an orphan who has never seen his father naturally has a desire for a kind of paternal love. I have asked many people who were orphans, and they all have felt this irrepressible yearning. By this we can see that every desire of the heart arises out of an object in the world. As human beings we have a need for social belonging. We need companionship and mutuality. If you put a boy on a deserted island and he grows up alone, he still has the yearning for companions, for beings like himself, even though he has never seen a human being. This yearning or desire is the very proof that somewhere in the world there is something known as "man." At a certain age, man begins to think about posterity; he starts desiring children and grandchildren. This is not a mere fantasy. This desire stems out of the existence and possibility of offspring. Hence, where there is desire, there is an object for that desire. THERE IS GOD IN THE HEART Do we have any desires other than social identity and self-propagation? What other cravings do we have? Deep in everyone there is a craving for God. Whether they are highly civilized races, such as those among the Caucasians, or the ancient civilizations, such as the Chinese civilizations, or the African natives and uncultured aborigines, they all have a common craving --God. As long as they are men, they have a yearning for God, no matter what race or nationality. This is a fact. You cannot argue against it. Everyone is seeking after God. Everywhere man is craving for God. This is very clear. By applying the principle that we just mentioned, we can see that since our heart feels the need for a God, there must necessarily be a God in the universe. Since there is a need for God in the heart, there must be the existence of God in the universe. If no God exists, we would never have such a craving in our heart. We all have an appetite for food. In the same way, we all have an appetite for God. It would be impossible to live if there was only an appetite for food but no food. Likewise, it would be impossible to live if there was a capacity for God but no God. NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOD? Once an atheist rudely rebuked me in a loud voice: "You said that a man has the psychological need for a God. But there is no such thing, and I do not believe in it." I said, "Well, do you mean to say that you never think about God? In fact, even while you were talking, you were thinking about Him. This indicates that you do have a capacity for God. There is no one who has never thought about God. He may try not to think much about Him. Since this thought is in you, there must be such an object outside of you. "THE WORDS AND THE HEART” A young man once came to me to argue about God. He was vehemently against the existence of God. He gave me one reason after another for saying that there is no God. As he was enumerating the various reasons why God should not exist, I listened to him quietly without saying a word. Then I said, "Although you insist that there is no God and support yourself with so many arguments, you have lost your case already." He said, "What do you mean?" I went on to explain: "Your mouth can say as much as you want about there not being a God, but your heart is on my side." He had to agree with me. Although one can give all sorts of reasons in the head, there is a belief in the heart that no argument can defeat. A stubborn person may give a thousand and one reasons, but you can have the boldness to tell him, "You know better in your heart that there is a God. Why bother to look for evidence outside?"Now what would you say? After looking at nature and the universe, after checking with your inner feeling, it is up to you to decide whether or not there is a God. But you should not be irresponsible; your attitude must be sober because everyone has to meet God soon. One day you will all stand before Him. Everything concerning you will be laid bare. On that day you will know God. But now is the time for you to be prepared. We should all be prepared to meet our God CONSIDER THIS I shall begin by assuming that the issue of God's existence is settled. We all believe that there is a God. As those who desire to know the truth, we must go one step further to find out what kind of God He is. God is the greatest Unknown. We must spend some time to find out about this unknown One. The next step now is to know what kind of a God He is. THE BIBLE In the past few thousand years’ man has been inquiring about the nature of God. Is He kind or is He righteous? Is He indifferent towards us, or is He extremely interested in human affairs? These types of questions are the direct cause of all human religions. What is religion? Religion is man's inquiry about God and his explanation of Him. Through these explanations, different men have arrived at different concepts about God. What kind of God is He? This is a big question. It is also a very serious question. We have all given our thought to this subject at one time or another. The question might even have occurred to our little mind when we were five years old. All men, educated or ignorant, have been intrigued by this question. It comes naturally after some contemplation and observation. But a person trying to speculate about God is like an ant attempting to understand a human being. It is extremely difficult for the little creature to try to realize our life, nature, and mind. In the same way it is impossible for us to try to comprehend God. For this reason, in the past few thousand years, all kinds of people, theologians and philosophers alike, have done much thinking about Him. What has God been doing all this time? Has He been indifferent to us or has He tried to reveal Himself to us? What is God's attitude? Do you think He would say, "I am God and have nothing to do with human beings. I do not care what you think about me. I shall stay in heaven as God. Let the mortals be ignorant!" Or do you think He has a desire to reveal Himself to man and visit him? When I was in India, I saw some people lying naked on beds studded with nails. Some walked with bare feet on burning coals. These people devoted a great deal of energy to seeking after God. What has God done to them? Did He hide Himself and take no notice of them at all? Has He not kept Himself as a perpetual mystery? This is a great question. We have to consider it scientifically and objectively in order to find out what God is like. A few years ago I spoke on a similar subject to some medical students in an auditorium in Cheloo University. I said that man is an organism with a life. God also is a life. Man's life is higher than that of the lower animals, and God's life is even higher than that of man. I asked the students, "Since we realize that all living organisms have some common laws and express some common traits, can you name them?" Different ones then started to bring up different points. At the end we summed up the discussion in this way: all living organisms contain two common characteristics. You can call these characteristics their common expressions or their common laws. First, every life wants to preserve itself. It tends to reproduce itself. There is the ability to produce posterity, to continue its own life. Second, every life wants to have fellowship with other lives. It cannot stand being by itself. When a man cannot find fellowship with another human being, he goes to dogs, cats, fish, or birds and makes friends with animals. All living creatures desire fellowship. Based on these two characteristics of life, namely, the preservation of itself and fellowship with others, laws of human government are instituted. For example, the death penalty reflects a convict's desire to preserve his own life; punishment comes in the form of taking away and terminating such a life. This is the way to inflict suffering on a life. Imprisonment, as a less serious punishment, cuts him off from having fellowship with others. This reversal of the life principle becomes then a suffering for him. From this we see that punishment is applied according to the principles of life. With these two chief characteristics in mind, let us turn to the life of God. God is an organism of a higher order than human beings. He is naturally governed by this law of life. We can know God by the characteristics and distinctive features of His life. From this we can deduce whether or not God wants to have fellowship with man. There are two kinds of religion: religion based on natural concepts and religion based on revelation. Natural religion starts with man as the center. He is the one that is seeking after God and studying about Him. What then is revelation religion? Revelation religion comes directly from God. He is the One who comes to reveal things to us. Man's thoughts are often useless fancies. God's revelation alone is trustworthy. Christianity is different from all other natural religions in that it is a religion that comes from revelation. Christianity begins from God. It is God who comes to seek out man, rather than man who seeks after God. I will not try to persuade you to believe in Christianity or to read the Bible. I will only make a few suppositions. We will treat the subject in the same way as if we were solving a problem in geometry. We will start from the suppositions and then deduce our arguments step by step. We will examine our reasoning’s to see if they are sound and if our conclusions are logical. As in mathematics, with some problems we work forwards, while with others we work backwards. At any rate, in the end we should be able to tell whether or not a supposition is justified. We have to make a few suppositions. The first one is that God exists. This in fact has been covered by us already. We have agreed that there is a God. He is a Being who has a purpose. Second, we assume that God has a desire to reveal Himself to man. If God wants to reveal Himself to man and if He wants us to know Him, how does He do it? In what manner can He be made known to us? If He speaks to us through thunder or writes to us through lightning, we will not be able to comprehend His message. How then does God make Himself known to us? If He is to reveal Himself and if He wants us to know Him, He necessarily must do it through human means. What then are the common ways that men communicate with one another? First, they do it through speaking and second through writing. All means of communication, whether telegraph, telephone, sign, or symbols, are all included in these two categories. If God is to manifest Himself, these are the only two means for Him to do so. For the present we set aside the aspect of speaking; we will see how God communicates with us through writing. If God reveals Himself through writing, of all the volumes written by different people throughout the centuries, there must be one book which is divinely inspired. This is a very crucial test. If such a book exists, it proves not only the existence of God, but it contains His written revelation to us as well. Is there then such a divinely written book? In the search for such a book, let us first mention a few basic principles. Suppose I want to order a book from a publisher. If I can tell him the name and author of the book, there will be no trouble getting it. If, however, I forget the name and author of the book, I can describe the characteristics of it to the publisher, such as the contents, size, color, binding, etc. The publisher will then search through all his books and locates the volume I want. God has one book in this universe. How do we find it? We have to know its characteristics first. If there is any book that has been written by God, it must meet certain conditions or have certain qualifications before one can say that it is from God. Let me put forth a few propositions. If there is a book written by God, it must first of all mention God. It must tell you that it is from God and that its author is God. This is the first qualification. Second, it must carry a moral tone that is higher than what we commonly know. If it is a fabrication, it can at the most be on the same level as man. Third, if there is such a divine book, it must tell us about the past and the future of this world. Only God knows clearly what occurred in the past and what will happen in the future. Only by telling us these matters will we know Him as God. Fourth, this book must be simple and available so that all may be able to secure and understand it. If there were only one such book in the world, then only a very few people would be able to see it. It would not pass the test unless it is a book accessible to everyone. In the United States there is a group of people who claim to have a book from God. It is engraved in gold and contains only twelve pages. Such a book then would not be accessible to the Chinese. God would never write to us a book at which we could not look. Now the matter is simplified. Let us repeat these four conditions once more. (1) If such a book exists, it must tell us explicitly that its author is God. (2) It must carry a high tone of morality. (3) It must give a detailed description of the past and the future of the universe. (4) It must be available. Let us pick out some of the more important writings throughout human civilization and check them against these qualifications to see if any meets our requirements. We will start from books that are generally considered to be good. Let us take the Chinese classics of Confucius. They are immediately disqualified under the first requirement, for none of them claims to be written by God. They do have a high tone of morality, but they fail to give the origin and destiny of the world, the universe, and man. This does not mean that they are worthless books; it means that they do not contain the qualifications we want. They are not what we are looking for. Let us go to the classics of other cultures. There are numerous volumes of famous writings, but none of them passes the first test. They are all clearly written by man. They may be masterpieces in philosophy or morality, but they are not written by God, nor are they divinely inspired. We have to set them aside. There is a book in India called the Rig-Veda. It once dominated Hinduism. However, it does not claim to be written by God. Another book called the Avesta, written by a Persian named Zoroaster, is also extremely influential in the Middle East. It does not claim to be from God either. Moreover, its moral tone is not especially commendable. Let us come to the Koran of Mohammedanism. This is the closest one we can find. It tells us that it comes from God; it meets the first requirement. However, it does not fulfill the second requirement, for its moral tone is too low. The heaven it describes is full of lusts and flesh. God could never write a book with such licentiousness and immorality. Hence, this book does not pass the test of morality. After searching through all the books, you have to come finally to the Bible. If God desires to communicate with man, and if He does so through writing, then this is the only book that can pass the four tests. Hence, this must be the book God has for man. What does this book say? In the books of the law in the Old Testament, it says, "Thus said the Lord," at least five hundred times. Other books in the Old Testament repeat the phrase about seven hundred times. In addition to the references in the New Testament to the speaking of God, the Bible has more than two thousand claims of divine origin. If God has no intention of communicating with man, we can forget about this book. But if He does communicate with man through writing, then this book has to be of immense value. Can you find another book where God is claimed as its author that many times? We have to see if the Bible meets the second qualification. Let us take a look at its moral tone. Everyone who has studied this book confesses that it carries the highest moral standard. Even the sins of the noblest persons are recorded and condemned without mercy. Once a strong opposer of the Bible was asked by his son, "Why are you so strong against the Bible?" He answered, "If I do not condemn it, it will condemn me." This book does not let us get by easily. The human concept is that all sexual acts outside marriage are considered as fornication. The Bible, however, says that even an evil thought is fornication. Human morality condemns an act of killing as murder, but the Bible condemns a slight hatred in the heart as murder. We consider a man who lets his enemy get by without paying vengeance as forgiving. But the Bible charges man to love his enemy. How high is its moral tone and how low we are before its standards! You cannot help but admit that it presents the best ethical code for humanity. Furthermore, this book describes in detail the past and future of the universe. Once a friend told me that he could believe in everything the Bible says except the parts in Genesis and Revelation where it talks about the origin and destiny of the heavens and earth. I told him that if this is indeed a book from God, it must, of necessity, contain these matters. If the Bible did not contain Genesis and Revelation, it would be the same as any other book, and we would have to look for another book; it would not be the one we want. But the past condition of the world and its future destiny are recorded here. Hence, the third qualification is also met. What is the circulation of such a book? Last year (1935), more than two hundred million copies were sold. Can you name another book that has such a high circulation rate? This statistic, moreover, is not limited to just last year; every year the number has remained approximately the same. In one sense this book is very popular. In another sense it is like a thorn in your hand; it pierces you. This book gives you a headache. It creates an unspeakable uneasiness within man. It even causes man to oppose it. In spite of this, its annual sales are still over two hundred million. Furthermore, this book is translated into more than seven hundred twenty languages. In every country and among every race, there is a translation of this unique book. It is extremely easy for anyone to obtain a Bible anywhere in the world. If the Rig-Veda were God's book, then more than half of the world would perish due to a failure in obtaining it. Even if you put the Rig-Veda in my hand, I would still be unable to understand it. If only the educated ones can contact God, then I am destined to go to hell. If only the Indians have the opportunity, we Chinese, as well as other races, are out of hope. If God speaks through the Rig-Veda, then where can we find that book? Maybe we can only find the original copy in the London Museum. And even that may not contain the original meaning of God's revelation to man. This is not all. The Bible contains sixty-six books and it is divided into the Old and New Testaments. It was written by no less than thirty people. The span from the time the first book was written to the time when the last book was finished is more than sixteen hundred years. The places where they were written are also different. Some were written in Babylon, some in Italy, some at one end of Asia Minor, others at the other end of the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the writers themselves differed in their backgrounds. Some were lawyers; some were fishermen. There were princes, and there were shepherds. All these writings by men of different backgrounds, languages, environments, and periods are put together. The amazing thing is that it is still a complete book. All those who have had some experience of editing know that in order to put together a few articles written by different authors, it is necessary for the authors to be of comparable level of academic achievements and viewpoints. Even when the academic standard and viewpoints are similar, there will still be conflicts and contradictions when you put five or six articles together. But the Bible, though complex in contents, contains history, poetry, laws, prophecies, biographies, and doctrines and was written by so many different ones at different times and under different circumstances, yet when you put them together, they surprisingly run as one continuous volume. There is no conflict or contradiction. They are written in one breath. If you read this book carefully, you have to admit that God's hand is behind all the writings. More than thirty people of varied backgrounds and ideas in different times and places wrote these sixty-six books. When you group them up, they link together as if they were written by one individual. Genesis was written about fifteen hundred years before Christ, and Revelation was written ninety-five years after Christ. There is a time span of sixteen hundred years. One talks about the beginning while the other projects the end of the world. Yet whatever begins in Genesis is concluded in Revelation. This amazing feature cannot be explained in human terms. Every word of it has to be written by God through man. God is the motivating One behind the whole composition. There is another remarkable thing about this book. In itself it is a book that gives life. Yet countless numbers of people have lost their lives for its sake. There was a time when anyone who held this book in his hand would immediately be put to death. The most powerful empire in history was the Roman Empire. There was a time when this empire summoned all its forces to destroy this book. Everyone who possessed it would be inhumanly persecuted and later killed or burned. They wiped out thousands of people and burned countless copies of the Bible. They even set up a monument at a place where they killed Christians. On it was the inscription: "Christianity is buried here." They thought that when they had burned all the Bibles and removed all the Christians, they would see Christianity lying there beneath their feet. But it was not long after that when the Bible came back again. Even in a country like England, which has already accepted Christianity as its state religion, you can still find tombs of martyrs for Christ if you visit different places there. Here and there you can find places where the Bible was once burned. Or you may come across a tombstone that tells you that such and such a person tried so hard and wrote so many books in his life to oppose the Bible. One place may tell you that the Bible was once burned there, and another place may tell you that Christians were once killed there. One signpost may point you to a statue of martyrdom, and another may point to a site of Bible burning. Why is it that so many people have tried so hard to oppose this book? Why is it that men would pass by other books, but would either oppose this book with every fiber of their being or would put their whole life to the stake for it? There must be something extraordinary here. Even if you do not believe that this is God's word, you have to admit that there is something unusual about this book. This book seems to be very simple and easy. If you consider it from the historical point of view, it tells the origin of the universe, the earth, the plants, human beings, how they established their kingdoms, and how they will eventually end. This is all. There is nothing special about it. Yet it has been handed from generation to generation for centuries. Today it is still with us. Moreover, if you do not confess that it is truth, you have to conclude that it is false. You can disregard many books, but you cannot ignore this book. Nor will it ignore you. It will not let you go. It demands a verdict from you. It will not pass you by. Another remarkable thing about this book is that almost half of it is prophecy. Among the prophecies, almost half of them are fulfilled. The other half is for the future and await fulfillment. For example, it predicted the fate of the nations of Moab and Ammon and of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Today when people talk about big cities, they mention London and Shanghai. Then it was Tyre and Sidon. They were two chief cities of the ancient world. The prophecies concerning these two cities were all fulfilled. Once I was in the Middle East. For some reason I did not visit those two places. However, I bought two pictures of those cities. It amazed me when I looked at those pictures. I could not help but believe in the Bible. It was prophesied that if these two metropolitan cities did not repent, they would be destroyed and devastated. Their land would become hills of rocks and pebbles where fishermen would come to dry their nets. In the pictures that I bought, there was nothing but fishing boats and open nets on the shore. This is only one small fact that proves the reliability of biblical prophecy. If you compare past events with the prophecies in the Bible, you will find that they all correspond one with another. For another example, take the birth of Christ. Isaiah prophesied concerning a virgin with child a few hundred years before Christ actually came. Later, He was born indeed of the Virgin Mary. The prophecy was accurately fulfilled. As the prophecies concerning the past have been fulfilled, so the prophecies concerning the future must also be fulfilled. If God desires to communicate with man, He must do so through common human channels of communication. He must use the human language or human writings. In other words, there must be a book in the world that is a direct revelation from God. If such a book does exist, it must contain the four criteria we mentioned. Now we can say that such a book is found. This book tells us that God desires to have fellowship with us. He speaks to us through this book. Through it God is no longer an unknown Being. We can now know Him. This book is the Bible. I hope all of you will read it. THIS IS A SERIOUS MATER, IS HE CRAZY? A LUNATIC? A LIAR? PLEASE YOU’RE VERIDICT God desires to reveal Himself to us. He does so through means that are comprehensible to man. These are namely written and spoken language. We have seen how God reveals Himself through writing. Now we want to take a look at His revelation through speaking. Suppose that you have had correspondence with a person for many years; however, you have never seen him. Naturally, you would want to know him more by having some direct acquaintance with him. Full understanding of someone cannot be achieved merely through writing. Direct contact gives a better chance. It seems as if communication through speech is of a more intimate and thorough nature than writing. When spoken language is added to written language, communication becomes enhanced. If you take away either of the two, you have a gap. Of course, if you take away both, communication is completely voided. Effective communication is always carried out by these two means. If God's intention is to reveal Him to us, He must of necessity do so through speaking. But how does God speak? Does He trumpet from the heavens? If so, we would all be frightened to death. We would all run away. No one would dare to listen. There is a chasm between Him and us. He, being so high and great, would drive us away from His holiness. How then does He speak? THE WINTER ON THE MOUNTAIN let me relate to you a story. One winter I was staying on the mountain Lu-shan, recovering from an illness. It was immediately after the war, and there was practically no one living on the mountain. In the vicinity of my dwelling, one could hardly see anyone all day long. I am a quiet person by nature. This kind of environment was very appealing to me. Not only was it quiet there, but the weather was cold as well. From morning till dusk, all I saw was a boy who came three times to deliver my meals. At the beginning I was quite at ease. But after a while, even a person like me began to feel lonely. One day after lunch I went to take a nap. There was a balcony outside my bedroom window. When I woke up I saw some little creatures gathering around the balcony. Bits of my meal had been dropped there, and the birds were busily chirping around them. As they hopped around, they chirped and made many cheerful noises. I said to myself, "All right. Since I cannot find any human beings, I will try to make friends with these little birds." I rose up and went out to greet them. But in an instant they all flew away. An idea came to me. I took some of the leftover rice and began to arrange it in rows, with only a few grains in the first row and gradually increased them towards the entrance of the doorway. I hid behind the door and watched them coming. Soon they gathered around again. I said to me, "This is my chance." I walked out and began to make friends with them. But the minute they saw me, they all scattered. Some perched on the branches of the tree across the balcony and stared at me, as if trying to determine what my intention was. Every time I approached them, they flew away, and every time I walked away, they came back. This went on a number of times. I wanted to preach to the birds. I wanted to tell them, "Little birds, I have no special intention in doing this. This is winter on the mountain, and food is scarce. I have enough food with me, and I just want to share it with you. Please be at peace and come down. I only ask that as you eat, I can sit among you. I want to listen to your songs and watch you playing. Come. Let us be friends..." But the birds would not come. They did not understand me. I had to give up. Later I had a certain realization within. I began to preach to myself. I said, "This body of mine is too big. If I could shrink from five feet eleven inches to the size of a bird, and even change myself into a bird, they would not be alarmed by my presence. I could then tell them my heart's intention, and we could spend the winter on the mountain Lu-shan together." We have a similar problem today. If God remained God, we could never understand Him. If He talked to us in His language, we would be altogether lost. If God wants to reveal Himself through speaking and have fellowship with man, He must shrink Himself to such a degree that He and we are the same. Only then would He be able to speak to us and tell us of Himself and of the mysteries of the universe. Only then would we be able to understand Him. Has God become a man to reveal Himself through His speaking? Let us again use the method of supposition. What if God revealed Himself through the human language? What if He became a man and fellowshipped with man? The implication is tremendous here! It would mean that in this world, among all the human beings throughout history, one person was not merely a man, but God as well! If it is granted that God became a man, there must be a mortal who was also divine. We need to find out about this One. This is a thorny task. But we will employ the effective method we have adopted—namely, setting down a few principles. Then we will search according to these qualifications and directions. We want to base our evaluation on what manner of life a person should possess and what qualifications he must have if he is God. The first condition that this person must fulfill is that he must claim to be God while he is on earth. He cannot be apologetic about it. He must declare boldly that he is God. Only then can we know who he is. Without this declaration, we have no way to guess his identity. Hence, a declaration is our first qualification. Second, the way this person came into the world must be different from ours. If I said that I am God and yet was born in the same manner as every other mortal, my words would carry no force. If on the other hand, I dropped down from heaven; my assertion would be taken seriously. The way this person comes into being must be extraordinary. He must come in an absolutely different fashion; otherwise, his words will not carry the necessary weight. Third, this man must bear a moral standard that is far above that of all other human beings. He must have God's holiness, and his life must bear the mark of God's righteousness. For example, if I became a bird and lived in exactly the same way as other birds, without showing them anything extraordinary, I could not convince them that I was actually a man. If God is to become a man, His moral behavior must be of the highest quality. This is the only way that we could identify Him as God. Furthermore, if a person is God, he must necessarily be able to perform things which no mortal can do. If he can achieve what we cannot achieve and know what we do not know, we can say that he is truly God. Lastly, this person must be able to tell us the divine purpose concerning man. What was God's purpose in creating the universe and man? How does He take care of human pains and sorrows? What is the origin and ultimate solution of everything in the universe? What should our attitude towards God be? All these he must reveal to us. Unless this one shows us what we do not see, we cannot say that he has shown us any revelation. We will set down these five conditions and put the whole of humanity to the test. Let us find out if someone meets the five requirements. Such a person would surely be qualified to be God. The first person to put to the test should be you. Of course, you are not God, because you have never claimed to be God. Nor have I ever claimed to be. So that rules out you and me. Very well, now we will introduce Confucius. If you read his books, you will find that he did conduct a very moral and proper life. But he never claimed to be God either. Hence, he fails in the first step. What about Sakya Muni, the founder of Buddhism? Not only was there an absence of the claim of divinity, but his philosophy itself is void of deity. He did not believe in the existence of God. Since he had no God, he cannot be God either. Next, go to Mohammed. He believed in God. But he never claimed to be God. He called God Allah and himself the prophet of Allah. If you go through every person in history, you will discover that no one ever claimed to be God except One. That One was Jesus of Nazareth. He claimed to be the living God. No other person put forward such a claim. How can Jesus of Nazareth claim to be God? Before going on, we have to pause for a moment to seriously consider the matter. It is not a light thing to claim to be God. A person who makes such a claim falls into one of three categories. He must belong to one of these three categories; he cannot belong to all three. First, if he claims to be God and yet in fact is not, he has to be a madman or a lunatic. Second, if he is neither God nor a lunatic, he has to be a liar, deceiving others by his lie. Third, if he is neither of these, he must be God. You can only choose one of the three possibilities. If you do not believe that he is God, you have to consider him a madman. If you cannot take him for either of the two, you have to take him for a liar. There is no need for us to prove if Jesus of Nazareth is God or not. All we have to do is find out if He is a lunatic or a liar. If He is neither, He must be the Son of God. These are our three choices. There is no fourth. What did Jesus of Nazareth say about Himself? In John 10:30 He said, "I and the Father are one." We need some explanation here. In the Bible the invisible God is called the Father. The Son manifests and expresses the Father. What is hidden is the Father, and what is expressed is the Son. The Son is the One who can be seen and touched. Behind, you have the Father. In front, you have the Son. The two are actually one. They are the two sides of the same reality. When we talk about two, we refer to the fact that one is hidden while the other is revealed. When we talk about one, we say that the revealed One is just the hidden One in manifestation. This is the biblical interpretation of the Father and the Son. Therefore, when Jesus of Nazareth one day said, "I and the Father are one," it was a statement that no one else could make. This man was saying in reality that He and the invisible God are one entity. He is God and God is He. God is the invisible Father, and He is the manifested Son. The Father and the Son are one! Who can this One be that made such a claim? Is He a madman? Is He out to deceive us? After Jesus spoke such a word, what reaction do we see? "The Jews again took up stones that they might stone Him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these works are you stoning me? The Jews answered Him, We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, are making Yourself God" (vv. 31-33). The Jews understood very well that Jesus' words meant that He claimed to be God. After hearing these words they wanted to stone Him to death. A claim was made by Jesus, and an accusation was charged by the Jews, both of which concerned His divinity. Was Jesus insane? Did He speak pure nonsense just to cause people to kill Him? Or was He a swindler setting up some kind of a scheme? If so, what was He trying to gain? Was He trying to gain death? Perhaps we will go back a little bit to the earlier parts in the Gospel of John and see what it says there. John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." Why has no one seen God? It is because God is invisible. Jesus said that He was the only Begotten of the Father; He expressed the invisible Father. When you see the only Begotten, you see the Father. Again He spoke concerning Himself, "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven" (3:13). Have you ever heard anyone say such words? I cannot say, "No one has been to Shanghai, but he who comes from Shanghai to Tientsin, even I, Watchman Nee, who is in Shanghai." If I say so, I would be gibbering nonsense. But Jesus was speaking a heavenly language. He said that He came out of heaven and is still in heaven. What can a person be if he can be in two places simultaneously? Either he is God or he is a lunatic or he is a liar. If you have not yet believed in Christ, please give a verdict to this issue. Who is this man? Let us read John 3:31-32: "He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks out of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies, and no one receives His testimony." He said that He came out of heaven and was above all. After a while He said the same thing again. Let us see what the purpose behind these words is. He came to preach the things of heaven, but no one received His words. He mentioned words like "heaven," "above all," "out of heaven," etc. What kind of man was He? Confucius never said this. Neither did Sakya Muni or Mohammed. Was Jesus of Nazareth a madman, a liar, or the Son of God? John 5:17 says, "But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I also am working." He always put Himself in the same place as the Father. Verse 18 says, "Because of this therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." When we read His words now, we may consider them to be ordinary remarks. But the Jews knew what He was saying. They knew that He was making Himself equal with God. The words in fact meant that God is His Father and He came to express God. The invisible One is God, and the visible One is He. Therefore, the Jews sought to kill Him. What should we do about such an unusual person? John 6:46 says, "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who is from God, He has seen the Father." Here the word is clearer. He said that no one other than Himself has ever seen God. Only He knew what the Father is like. I can only say with soberness and reverence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. Read John 8:18. What did He say? "I am one who testifies concerning me, and the Father who sent me testifies concerning me." The question in verse 19 is most interesting: "They said then to Him, Where is Your Father? Jesus answered, you know neither me nor My Father; if you knew me, and you would know My Father also." Have you seen what He was saying? They had seen Him, yet did not know Him. Of course they would not know the Father either, whom they had not seen. If men knew Him, they knew God. Who is He then? If knowing Him equals knowing God, is that not the same as saying that He is God and God is He? Read John 8:23: "And He said to them, You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world." The preposition "from" in this verse is ek in Greek. It means "out of." That is how it should be translated. He said, "You are out of this world, but I am not out of this world." This man claimed to be from above; He did not come out of this world. Who can He be? The Jews were confused. They were totally bewildered. Who was this man? The ancestor of the Jews is Abraham. They boasted of being the descendants of Abraham in the same way the Chinese boast of being the offspring of Hwang-it. The name Abraham was highly venerated among the Jews. Now they brought out Abraham. Please read John 8:53: "Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too. Who are you making yourself?" How did Jesus answer them? Was He greater or smaller than Abraham? In verse 56 Jesus said, "Your father Abraham exulted that he would see my day, and he saw it and rejoiced." What is this? Even Abraham had to look forward to Jesus! Hence, verse 57: "The Jews then said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Now please pay your attention to Jesus' answer in verse 58: "Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am." Tell me who this man is. If I told you that before Hwang-it was, I, Watchman Nee am there, you would immediately write me off as a lunatic. Some of you would say that I am a liar. The words Jesus spoke made Him a madman, a liar, or God. There can be no fourth alternative. We have to read on. In John 10:37-38 Jesus said, "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works so that you may come to know and continue to know..." Know what? The clause following is very crucial. It is a big statement: "...that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Who then is this man? He said that He was in God and God was in Him. Passages like the above are numerous in the Bible. I shall mention one more. Read carefully John 14:6-7: "Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known My Father also; and henceforth you know Him and have seen Him." It says clearly that if you know Jesus of Nazareth, you have known the invisible God. Why is this so? It is because He is God. One of the disciples was confused. John 14:8 says, "Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us." Philip was asking to be shown the Father who had been mentioned again and again by Jesus. Verse 9 says, "Jesus said to him, have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father?" Here Jesus made it very plain that to see Him is to see God. He made no apology about it. He is God. There is no need to see the Father anymore. If you see Him, you see God! Who is Jesus of Nazareth? What would you say? Is He merely the founder of the Christian religion? Is He merely an example of self-sacrifice and humanitarianism? Is He a social reformer? Is He an advocate for universal love, peace, and freedom? Listen to what He said about Himself. He said that He is God. What is your conclusion? Is He a lunatic or a liar? Is He a hoax, or is He God? This is a vital question. Can He be a madman? If you read His biographies in the
Man, I don't even know what to think. After growing up in Charleston and living there for 24 years, I only get to come back once a year, and 96 wave was always part of that. Imagine my disgust when I flipped over to 96.1 and found...CRAP. Who the hell is chuck, and what the hell is he doing molesting my ears? I was hoping it was some kind of new year's joke, but I guess not...Dude's right, it's like your parents divorced, your dog got run over, and your girlfriend told you she's a lesbian...all in the same day, and some douche named Chuck thinks he can fix it. Piss off Apex, you guys suck. You might consider staying out of Mississippi, too, there are pissed off Chareston natives over there, too. Bastards.
THE MEANING OF LIFE 1. THE PURPOSE OF MAN’S EXISTENCE Who we are? Why are we in this world? Where are we going? Have you ever asked yourself why this questions and what the meaning of the human life is? No matter what type of person you are or what your profession is, there are a few things which you, like most people, would agree with, that is: Money cannot satisfy man; neither can education satisfies man, nor can Pleasure do not satisfy man, Nor can success satisfy man. WHY? Because you have not yet realized: 2. GOD’S PLAN God has a plan. Which is to deposit his life into man his plan has everything to do with man? In the bible there are tree different words in Greek to designated the word “life” 1. Bios referring to the biological life our body 2. Psycho referring to the soul logical means study. The word Psychology means the study of the soul, emotions, mind and will. 3. There is another word for life that is Zoe the highest life. Whenever the bible speaks of eternal life speak of Zoe. In a Greek dictionary you will find the distinction. This is the reason why, Gods plan with the man he created , in first place is not to bring him to heaven, neither to save Him from hell. But to receive the life that was not created. God’s life. His plan with man is complete, from creation, while living in earth, and the future. This is the reason why God created man different than the rest of his creation 1. MAN HAS GOD’S IMAGE Please read the following verse: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....”Genesis 1:26a God’s creation of man is different from His creation of all other things. He created man in His own image. A glove is created according to the likeness of a hand with the purpose of containing the hand.Likewise, man was created in the image of God with the purpose of containing God. 2. MAN IS A VESSEL Now read the next verse: God “should make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy...even us.”Romans 9:23-24 We are vessels of God. God wants to be our content. As bottles are made to contain water, we are made to contain God. It is no wonder that knowledge, wealth, pleasure, and accomplishment can never satisfy you, for you were created to contain God! 3. THE PARTS OF MAN Please continue by reading the next verse: “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete?”1 Thessalonians 5:23 Man is God’s vessel. The Bible divides this vessel into three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body. See diagram below: The BODY is simply the physical body, belonging to the physiological level, contacting the things of the material realm, and is the most superficial part. The SOUL is the mental faculty, belonging to the psychological level, contacting the things of the mental realm, and is a deeper part. The SPIRIT is the deepest part of man, belonging to the spiritual level, and contacts the things of God. For problems of the body one may see a doctor. For problems of the mind one may visit a psychiatrist. Yet only God can solve the problems of the spirit. 4. GOD’S ECONOMY God wants to enter into man’s spirit, to become his content and his satisfaction. This is the purpose of human existence! You are not merely created to contain food in your stomach, or to contain knowledge in your mind, but you are created to contain God in your spirit. 1. THE TWO NATURES OF MAN Since man was made in the image of God, he possesses a good nature that matches God’s nature, with virtues such as truthfulness, goodness, loveliness, wisdom, kindness, and valor. However, there is also an evil nature in man which wars against his good nature. The Chinese met physicists refer to this war as a battle between reason and lust. Throughout history, both in the East and West, those who understand human nature acknowledge the existence of this evil nature which the Bible calls: 2. SIN Because sin is in man, he is unable to carry out his good intentions.No one likes to be greedy, jealous, or murderous. No one likes to be boastful, arrogant, or deceitful. No one likes to be irritable, licentious, or lustful. No one likes to murmur, complain, or curse. Nevertheless, man cannot escape his evil nature. Please read the following verses: “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to do the good is not.”Romans 7:18 “But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that do it but sin that dwells in me.”Romans 7:20 This is a portrait of man. 3. THE FALL OF MAN Sin entered into man and caused him to fall. See diagram below: (1) Sin caused man’s spirit to be deadened: “And you, being dead in your offenses and sins.”Ephesians 2:1 (2) Sin caused man’s mind to rebel: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by evil works.”Colossians 1:21 (3) Sin caused man’s body to sin: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to obey its lusts.”Romans 6:12 The fallen man is like: A damaged and untunable radio which cannot receive and play music, but rather meaningless noise. He is also like:A cup that has fallen into the gutter still having its original fine form but now covered with mud. 4. MAN CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF Throughout history, man has tried every possible way to escape sin, but he has found that: Good works cannot save him from sin. Education cannot save him from sin. Ethics cannot save him from sin. Chanting cannot save him from sin.Religion cannot save him from sin. This picture of man simply depicts the battle between his good nature and his evil nature. 1. WHO IS CHRIST? Christ is the Savior sent from God to the world to solve the problems of human life. He is the embodiment of the Triune God. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”Colossians 2:9 He is also God incarnated: “The Word was God...the Word became flesh and tabernacle among us...full of grace and reality.”John 1:1, 14 Therefore, He is both the complete God and the perfect man. See the following diagram: He is more than a good man! He is more than a great man! He is more than moral man! He is more than a holy man! He is the God-man! 2. THE DEATH OF THE GOD-MAN This God-man was nailed to the cross to accomplish the work of redemption. He died with three statuses: (1) As the Lamb of God, He died to take away man’s sin. “...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”John 1:29 (2) As the brass serpent that had been lifted up, He died to crush the old serpent, Satan, and to deal with the serpent’s poison within man—his sinful nature. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”John 3:14 (3) As a grain of wheat, He died to release the divine life. “...a grain of wheat...dies, it bears much fruit.”John 12:24 NOW: His death has taken away the sin which man has but should not have!His death imparts into man the life which he needs but does not have! 1. THE TWO BECOMINGS OF CHRIST God became flesh, born as a man called Jesus. Please read the following verse: “The Word became flesh and tabernacle among us.”John 1:14 The Lord became the Spirit called the life-giving Spirit by His resurrection from the dead. Read the following verse: “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”1 Corinthians 15:45 Since this Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, He dispenses God with His life into His believers. Hence, the Bible says: “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”1 John 5:12 2. REGENERATING MAN In his first birth, man obtains a physical life. When man receives God’s life through Christ, he experiences a second birth, which the Bible calls regeneration. “God...has regenerated us...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead.”1 Peter 1:3 Jesus said, “Unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”John 3:3 A pig cannot participate in the sheep’s kingdom and live a sheep’s life by education, improvement, or regulation; it must possess the life of a sheep. Similarly, man cannot participate in God’s kingdom and live a divine life by education, improvement, or regulation; he must receive the life of God! 3. THE MEANING OF BEING A CHRISTIAN A Christian is one who receives God’s dispensing. God first dispenses Himself into our spirit and then spreads from our spirit into our soul. Finally, He fills and saturates our spirit, soul, and body with Himself. The Bible calls this final stage glorification. “And whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”Romans 8:30 Through this, we can be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. “Because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son.”Romans 8:29 This is the purpose of human life!This is the meaning of being a Christian!This is what God has planned for you! WHAT MUST YOU DO NOW? Now that you have realized God’s plan, you should do four things: 1. TURN YOUR HEART TO GOD—REPENT Repentance is not to be remorseful. Repentance is neither to turn over anew leaf. Repentance is to have a change in mind. Previously you had your back towards God. Whether you were doing good or evil, you were turned away from God. Your mind was turned away from God. Now listen to what the Lord Jesus said: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”Matt. 4:17 2. BELIEVE—RECEIVE To believe is not to nod your head, nor to agree, nor merely to be appreciative. If someone gives you a watch, it is not enough for you just to nod your head in agreement and admire the watch. You need to receive it. Believing is just receiving. Read the following verse: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”John 1:12 3. CONFESS—CALL Being a Christian is an open matter. God requires that your heart believe and that your mouth confess. If your heart does not believe, you cannot be saved. If your mouth does not confess, neither can you be saved. But: “...if you confess with your mouth, Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from among the dead, you shall be saved.”Romans 10:9 4. BE BAPTIZED—TESTIFY Baptism is a testimony before men. All believers should be baptized in order to be saved not only before God, but also before men. The Lord Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.”Mark 16:16 Through baptism, God transfers us from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”John 3:5 NOW PLEASE PRAY: "Lord Jesus! I am a sinner. I need You. Come into my spirit. Take away my sin. Fill me that I may have the life of God. I receive You right now as my Savior and life. I give myself to You. I ask this in Your name, Amen!" Now you are clear about the meaning of human life! May the Lord bless you and cause you to continue living in God’s plan! Now, pray often, read the bible, you are the church, the church is not a physical building, neither an organization is the body of Christ Ephesians 1:22, we are the house of God Hebrews 3;6 we are Gods temple I Corinthians 6:19 and in eternity we will be the bride of Christ Revelations 21:2 . But after Eternity we will return to the source and origin of all things God the Father, Colossians 3: “a renewal in which is not distinction between Greek and Jews, circumcise or uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian, slaves or free man but Christ” Galatians 3:25 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave or free man, neither male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” This Christ Jesus is the new man Ephesians: 2:15 “ By abolishing in his flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contain in ordinances , the in Himself He might make of the two one new man” This new man said in John 20:17 “I ascend to my Father and your Father” By him we became the many brothers of Christ and He is not ashamed to call us his brothers Hebrews: “ for this reason He is not ashamed to call us brothers” He is our older brother Romans 8:“ That He might be the first born among many brothers” Our older bother Christ is our Wisdom, He is Our Physician , our light, and the one whom together with us his young brothers He will give all the infinite universe even us to the Father so that God the Father ICo 15:29 “ God maybe all and in all” the whole universe will return to Him and he will be in the all universe and in us”. God the Father since we were created He has place in us the desire of have Him. Regardless you are a believer or unbeliever, moral or immoral, wise or fool, He is waiting for you and He will run to you as soon you look for Him.
THE MEANING OF LIFE 1. THE PURPOSE OF MAN’S EXISTENCE Who we are? Why are we in this world? Where are we going? Have you ever asked yourself why this questions and what the meaning of the human life is? No matter what type of person you are or what your profession is, there are a few things which you, like most people, would agree with, that is: Money cannot satisfy man; neither can education satisfies man, nor can Pleasure do not satisfy man, Nor can success satisfy man. WHY? Because you have not yet realized: 2. GOD’S PLAN God has a plan. Which is to deposit his life into man his plan has everything to do with man? In the bible there are tree different words in Greek to designated the word “life” 1. Bios referring to the biological life our body 2. Psycho referring to the soul logical means study. The word Psychology means the study of the soul, emotions, mind and will. 3. There is another word for life that is Zoe the highest life. Whenever the bible speaks of eternal life speak of Zoe. In a Greek dictionary you will find the distinction. This is the reason why, Gods plan with the man he created , in first place is not to bring him to heaven, neither to save Him from hell. But to receive the life that was not created. God’s life. His plan with man is complete, from creation, while living in earth, and the future. This is the reason why God created man different than the rest of his creation 1. MAN HAS GOD’S IMAGE Please read the following verse: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....”Genesis 1:26a God’s creation of man is different from His creation of all other things. He created man in His own image. A glove is created according to the likeness of a hand with the purpose of containing the hand.Likewise, man was created in the image of God with the purpose of containing God. 2. MAN IS A VESSEL Now read the next verse: God “should make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy...even us.”Romans 9:23-24 We are vessels of God. God wants to be our content. As bottles are made to contain water, we are made to contain God. It is no wonder that knowledge, wealth, pleasure, and accomplishment can never satisfy you, for you were created to contain God! 3. THE PARTS OF MAN Please continue by reading the next verse: “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete?”1 Thessalonians 5:23 Man is God’s vessel. The Bible divides this vessel into three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body. See diagram below: The BODY is simply the physical body, belonging to the physiological level, contacting the things of the material realm, and is the most superficial part. The SOUL is the mental faculty, belonging to the psychological level, contacting the things of the mental realm, and is a deeper part. The SPIRIT is the deepest part of man, belonging to the spiritual level, and contacts the things of God. For problems of the body one may see a doctor. For problems of the mind one may visit a psychiatrist. Yet only God can solve the problems of the spirit. 4. GOD’S ECONOMY God wants to enter into man’s spirit, to become his content and his satisfaction. This is the purpose of human existence! You are not merely created to contain food in your stomach, or to contain knowledge in your mind, but you are created to contain God in your spirit. 1. THE TWO NATURES OF MAN Since man was made in the image of God, he possesses a good nature that matches God’s nature, with virtues such as truthfulness, goodness, loveliness, wisdom, kindness, and valor. However, there is also an evil nature in man which wars against his good nature. The Chinese met physicists refer to this war as a battle between reason and lust. Throughout history, both in the East and West, those who understand human nature acknowledge the existence of this evil nature which the Bible calls: 2. SIN Because sin is in man, he is unable to carry out his good intentions.No one likes to be greedy, jealous, or murderous. No one likes to be boastful, arrogant, or deceitful. No one likes to be irritable, licentious, or lustful. No one likes to murmur, complain, or curse. Nevertheless, man cannot escape his evil nature. Please read the following verses: “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to do the good is not.”Romans 7:18 “But if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that do it but sin that dwells in me.”Romans 7:20 This is a portrait of man. 3. THE FALL OF MAN Sin entered into man and caused him to fall. See diagram below: (1) Sin caused man’s spirit to be deadened: “And you, being dead in your offenses and sins.”Ephesians 2:1 (2) Sin caused man’s mind to rebel: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by evil works.”Colossians 1:21 (3) Sin caused man’s body to sin: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to obey its lusts.”Romans 6:12 The fallen man is like: A damaged and untunable radio which cannot receive and play music, but rather meaningless noise. He is also like:A cup that has fallen into the gutter still having its original fine form but now covered with mud. 4. MAN CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF Throughout history, man has tried every possible way to escape sin, but he has found that: Good works cannot save him from sin. Education cannot save him from sin. Ethics cannot save him from sin. Chanting cannot save him from sin.Religion cannot save him from sin. This picture of man simply depicts the battle between his good nature and his evil nature. 1. WHO IS CHRIST? Christ is the Savior sent from God to the world to solve the problems of human life. He is the embodiment of the Triune God. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”Colossians 2:9 He is also God incarnated: “The Word was God...the Word became flesh and tabernacle among us...full of grace and reality.”John 1:1, 14 Therefore, He is both the complete God and the perfect man. See the following diagram: He is more than a good man! He is more than a great man! He is more than moral man! He is more than a holy man! He is the God-man! 2. THE DEATH OF THE GOD-MAN This God-man was nailed to the cross to accomplish the work of redemption. He died with three statuses: (1) As the Lamb of God, He died to take away man’s sin. “...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”John 1:29 (2) As the brass serpent that had been lifted up, He died to crush the old serpent, Satan, and to deal with the serpent’s poison within man—his sinful nature. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”John 3:14 (3) As a grain of wheat, He died to release the divine life. “...a grain of wheat...dies, it bears much fruit.”John 12:24 NOW: His death has taken away the sin which man has but should not have!His death imparts into man the life which he needs but does not have! 1. THE TWO BECOMINGS OF CHRIST God became flesh, born as a man called Jesus. Please read the following verse: “The Word became flesh and tabernacle among us.”John 1:14 The Lord became the Spirit called the life-giving Spirit by His resurrection from the dead. Read the following verse: “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”1 Corinthians 15:45 Since this Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, He dispenses God with His life into His believers. Hence, the Bible says: “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”1 John 5:12 2. REGENERATING MAN In his first birth, man obtains a physical life. When man receives God’s life through Christ, he experiences a second birth, which the Bible calls regeneration. “God...has regenerated us...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead.”1 Peter 1:3 Jesus said, “Unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”John 3:3 A pig cannot participate in the sheep’s kingdom and live a sheep’s life by education, improvement, or regulation; it must possess the life of a sheep. Similarly, man cannot participate in God’s kingdom and live a divine life by education, improvement, or regulation; he must receive the life of God! 3. THE MEANING OF BEING A CHRISTIAN A Christian is one who receives God’s dispensing. God first dispenses Himself into our spirit and then spreads from our spirit into our soul. Finally, He fills and saturates our spirit, soul, and body with Himself. The Bible calls this final stage glorification. “And whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”Romans 8:30 Through this, we can be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. “Because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son.”Romans 8:29 This is the purpose of human life!This is the meaning of being a Christian!This is what God has planned for you! WHAT MUST YOU DO NOW? Now that you have realized God’s plan, you should do four things: 1. TURN YOUR HEART TO GOD—REPENT Repentance is not to be remorseful. Repentance is neither to turn over anew leaf. Repentance is to have a change in mind. Previously you had your back towards God. Whether you were doing good or evil, you were turned away from God. Your mind was turned away from God. Now listen to what the Lord Jesus said: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”Matt. 4:17 2. BELIEVE—RECEIVE To believe is not to nod your head, nor to agree, nor merely to be appreciative. If someone gives you a watch, it is not enough for you just to nod your head in agreement and admire the watch. You need to receive it. Believing is just receiving. Read the following verse: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”John 1:12 3. CONFESS—CALL Being a Christian is an open matter. God requires that your heart believe and that your mouth confess. If your heart does not believe, you cannot be saved. If your mouth does not confess, neither can you be saved. But: “...if you confess with your mouth, Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from among the dead, you shall be saved.”Romans 10:9 4. BE BAPTIZED—TESTIFY Baptism is a testimony before men. All believers should be baptized in order to be saved not only before God, but also before men. The Lord Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.”Mark 16:16 Through baptism, God transfers us from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”John 3:5 NOW PLEASE PRAY: "Lord Jesus! I am a sinner. I need You. Come into my spirit. Take away my sin. Fill me that I may have the life of God. I receive You right now as my Savior and life. I give myself to You. I ask this in Your name, Amen!" Now you are clear about the meaning of human life! May the Lord bless you and cause you to continue living in God’s plan! Now, pray often, read the bible, you are the church, the church is not a physical building, neither an organization is the body of Christ Ephesians 1:22, we are the house of God Hebrews 3;6 we are Gods temple I Corinthians 6:19 and in eternity we will be the bride of Christ Revelations 21:2 . But after Eternity we will return to the source and origin of all things God the Father, Colossians 3: “a renewal in which is not distinction between Greek and Jews, circumcise or uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian, slaves or free man but Christ” Galatians 3:25 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave or free man, neither male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” This Christ Jesus is the new man Ephesians: 2:15 “ By abolishing in his flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contain in ordinances , the in Himself He might make of the two one new man” This new man said in John 20:17 “I ascend to my Father and your Father” By him we became the many brothers of Christ and He is not ashamed to call us his brothers Hebrews: “ for this reason He is not ashamed to call us brothers” He is our older brother Romans 8:“ That He might be the first born among many brothers” Our older bother Christ is our Wisdom, He is Our Physician , our light, and the one whom together with us his young brothers He will give all the infinite universe even us to the Father so that God the Father ICo 15:29 “ God maybe all and in all” the whole universe will return to Him and he will be in the all universe and in us”. God the Father since we were created He has place in us the desire of have Him. Regardless you are a believer or unbeliever, moral or immoral, wise or fool, He is waiting for you and He will run to you as soon you look for Him.
I am confused. The reads "Journal: The new intellectuals" but half the page (in the comments) is banter far from it.
I am confused. The reads "Journal: The new intellectuals" but half the page (in the comments) is banter far from it.
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