Humbug

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notmartha
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Humbug

Post by notmartha »

The thread for the term Hypocrisy brought to mind another interesting term, humbug. I like the term "humbug" because almost everyone has used it - "Ba, Humbug!" - but rarely knows its meaning, and well, it is kinda fun to say. :lol:

BIBLE

The Sovereignty Of God, Arthur Pink, 1918
Coming down to our own day, and to those in our own country—leaving out the almost unnumerable crowds of unevangelized heathen—is it not evident that there are many living in lands where the Gospel is preached, lands which are full of churches, who die strangers to God and His holiness? True, the means of grace were close to their hand, but many of them knew it not. Thousands are born into homes where they are taught from infancy to regard all Christians as hypocrites and preachers as arch-humbugs. Others, are instructed from the cradle in Roman Catholicism, and are trained to regard Evangelical Christianity as deadly heresy, and the Bible as a book highly dangerous for them to read. Others, reared in "Christian Science" families, know no more of the true Gospel of Christ than do the unevangelized heathen. The great majority of these die in utter ignorance of the Way of Peace. Now are we not obliged to conclude that it was not God's will to communicate grace to them? Had His will been otherwise, would He not have actually communicated His grace to them? If, then, it was the will of God, in time, to refuse to them his grace, it must have been His will from all eternity, since His will is, as Himself, the same yesterday, and today and forever.
DEFINITIONS

Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
HUM'BUG, noun An imposition.
The Century Dictionary, an Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, 1895
humbug.JPG
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The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 1919
hu'mbug, n., & v.t. & i. (-gg-).

Fraud, sham; deception; (as int.) nonsense!; impostor; delude (person into, out of, thing or doing) ; (v.i.) be, behave like, a h. Hence humbu'ggERY
Self-Pronouncing Law Dictionary, Ballentine, 1948
HUMBUG.

An impostor; a deceiver; a cheat. The charge of being a humbug has been held actionable, whether oral or written, particularly when accompanied by expressions clearly implying a charge of fraud. See 33 Am.Jur. 71.
Ballentine’s Law Dictionary, James A. Ballentine, Third Edition, 1969
humbug.
An impostor: a deceiver: a cheat.
QUOTES

Oliver Wendell Holmes –
I hope that time will explode the humbug of the Southern Gentleman in your mind–not that there weren't a few and not that their comparatively primitive intellectual condition didn't some times give a sort of religious purity of type, rarer in the more civilized and therefore more skeptical northerner. But the southern gentlemen generally were an arrogant crew who knew nothing of the ideas that make the life of the few thousands that may be called civilized.
Alan K. Simpson –
An educated man is thoroughly inoculated against humbug, thinks for himself and tries to give his thoughts, in speech or on paper, some style.
Alfred Nobel –
Second to agriculture, humbug is the biggest industry of our age.
Edmond de Goncourt -
People don't like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.
Conrad Black -
The balance between faith and reason is for the determination of each individual, and of the people as a whole, not of unauthorized government officials uttering impious humbug as they arbitrarily try to define that balance.
Lysander Spooner -
And I think all will admit that the experience of the world has been, that such associnations, in guarding their associated character, uniformly pursue the policy of not being the first to expose the faults or crimes of their associates to the world, and generally of hushing suspicion if possible. It is natural that they should, for they have a strong personal interest to do so. But after public suspicion has once become so strong against an individual member that the character of the whole body is in danger—or when a case of criminality has become too notorious to be concealed, then the association become suddenly virtuous—affect a great deal of astonishment—probe the matter terribly—and if they find it necessary, expel the offender, and would then make the public believe that they have purified the association as with fire. Now is not all this farce? a mere humbugging of the community?
Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr. –
This Act (the Federal Reserve Act, Dec. 23rd 1913) establishes the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President signs this bill, the invisible government by the Monetary Power will be legalized. The people may not know it immediately, but the day of reckoning is only a few years removed. The trusts will soon realize that they have gone too far even for their own good. The people must make a declaration of independence to relieve themselves from the Monetary Power. This they will be able to do by taking control of Congress. Wall Streeters could not cheat us if you Senators and Representatives did not make a humbug of Congress... The greatest crime of Congress is its currency system. The worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking bill. The caucus and the party bosses have again operated and prevented the people from getting the benefit of their own government.
The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum
The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. For they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much surprised as they were. The Tin Woodsman, raising his ax, rushed toward the little man and cried out, "Who are you?"
I am Oz, the Great and Terrible," said the little man, in a trembling voice. "But don't strike me-please don't-and I'll do anything you want me to."
Our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay.
"I thought Oz was a great Head," said Dorothy.
"And I thought Oz was a lovely Lady," said the Scarecrow.
"And I thought Oz was a terrible Beast," said the Tin Woodman.
"And I thought Oz was a Ball of Fire," exclaimed the Lion.
"No, you are all wrong, said the little man meekly. "I have been making believe."
"Making believe!" cried Dorothy. "Are you not a Great Wizard?"
"Hush, my dear," he said. "Don't speak so loud, or you will be overheard-and I should be ruined. I'm supposed to be a Great Wizard."
"And aren't you?" she asked.
"Not a bit of it, my dear. I'm just a common man."
"You're more than that," said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone. "You're a humbug."
"Exactly so!" declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as if it pleased him. "I am a humbug."

Letters to Jessica

https://www.lawfulpath.com/ref/jessica/ ... .shtml#toc
http://www.bornagainclassics.com/letterstojessica/
(...The Wizard of Oz was a humbug. A humbug is some-one who tricks others by pretending to be something he isn't. He tricked all the people of Oz into believing he was something terrible. In that way he ruled over them.
Soon, your teachers will be telling you about democracy. When grown-ups vote on election day they are choosing who will get a turn at being wizards next. Every grown-up is allowed one vote which he can give to the humbug he likes best. Whichever humbug gets the most votes becomes the new wizard. This is called democracy. Democracy is an exciting part of the game grown-ups play called Wizards of America.
Wizards have found out that it is much easier to steal from other grown-ups that to work hard for the things they need. One of the main reasons humbugs hire teachers and force children to go to school is so children can be taught that humbugs are wizards and that it is alright for wizards to steal. Then when children grow up they won't even think it is stealing when humbugs take things they worked hard for.
Humbugs are afraid of people who have minds that are not controlled. If people have free minds they soon see that wizards are really humbugs.
Now you know that people, when left alone, just naturally try to get along with one another, while humbugs, with their tricks, take all the credit for peace and good order. Now you know that the pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of a life without government!
I hope you can keep control of your own mind so you can help your children do the same. If you help begin a world in which God is sovereign, then your sons and daughters will not be forced to give allegiance to humbugs.
There is one very important thing you must know about. I have said that wolf-men and humbugs may force you to do things you know to be wrong or things you would rather not do. I have said that humbugs have claimed total power in America just as they have all over the world. But this is only true in the fantasy world of human government. The truth is that no one has the power to make you do anything. You always have a choice. It may be a very hard choice, but you do always have a choice.
Serious challenge to authority means telling wizards they are only common men and humbugs, just like they did in the Declaration of Independence.
Churches have human wizards, too. They are called popes, priests, ministers, preachers, pastors, workers and many other names. They are all humbugs. They will tell you some true things, but they will also want you to believe that the Messiah has abdicated His throne to men and that He speaks mainly through church wizards and government wolf-men. This is not true.
When humbugs rule over their equals it is because ignorance and superstition are as prevalent today as at any time in history, not because God wills it.
So pledging allegiance is a promise to obey some humbug who you have never met no matter what dumb thing he tells you to do.
You and I were tricked into pledging allegiance to humbugs because grown-ups know they must have new players all the time or else the game will stop. If the game stops all the wizards will have to go back to being common men, just like the Wizard of Oz did. Then, if they tell others what to do, people will just laugh!
The Declaration is the letter that Americans sent to King George in 1776 telling him he was a humbug. They told him they didn't believe in wizards called kings anymore. They said God does not want us to be ruled by humbugs no matter what they are called, king, ceasar, parliament, judge, or whatever. They said the Law of Nature, and of Nature's God made them free no matter what people in England may think.
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