Calendar challenge!

Well, it looks like I'm finally going to have to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk.

 

Down here in the desert southwest -- in the same county where Geronimo and Chief Cochise fought the US, and where Tombstone "refused to die" -- there is now going to be a legal challenge to the authority and jurisdiction of the Gregorian Calendar over our lives.

 

I was neither asking nor looking for this challenge, but it came to me in the form of a Summons for Jury Service from the Cochise County Superior Court.

 

When I received the summons I sent an e-mail to the court clerk inquiring about how to be excused from jury service. She asked my reasons and I told her:

 

    * Selling my vehicle, so no transportation

    * Running an orchard/farm where daily activities are required

    * Religious beliefs against sitting in judgment on another person

 

After she informed me that none of these are an excuse, I (out of curiosity) asked about the situation of me not recognizing the date ("May 16, 2006") and having no idea when this was exactly. After a little pause, she asked what I was talking about. So I explained in a nutshell my beliefs about the Gregorian Calendar.

 

She then stated that this didn't matter and that I had to show up. I then asked her if she was forcing me to accept the authority of the Gregorian Calendar over my life. She then said that, "Aren't we supposed to render unto Caesars that which is Caesar's?" To which I stated that this did not apply in this particular instance.

 

Then she had the gall to ask if I was Catholic! I said no, I'd rather be dead than be a Catholic. She then asked if I was Jewish. I said that yes, spiritually I am.

 

She then asked what today's date was according to my calendar. I told her it was the 10th day of the 1st month. "So this is January to you?!", she asked. To which I said, "No, January is part of the pagan calendar. The months are numbered and it is the 1st month of the year."

 

She said that since we were getting nowhere, she was going to end the conversation -- and then hung up. So I called her back and asked about the ramifications of me not showing up on the specified "date". She informed me that there would be an arrest warrant issued and that I would be fined $500.

 

Then it happened . . . I then stated that under no circumstances was I going to be forced to submit to the summons on the date, as dictated by the Catholic Church.

 

Ooops! There I did it . . . talked myself right into a trap and crossed the point-of-no-return -- I am now forced to carry through with this regardless of the consequences. If I back-down now, I'll violate my conscience and give up my spine without a fight.

 

And right after our conversation ended I sent an e-mail confirming my stance on the matter, which included:

 

"I cannot (and will not) acknowledge when this is exactly. I realize that this refers to a particular date on the civil calendar currently in popular use, but it is a date that has been determined by the Roman Catholic Church -- specifically by Pope Gregory XIII. And not being a subject of the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, or of the Vatican, I can not, do not, and will not acknowledge the authority of its/their calendar over my life's affairs."

 

...and...

 

"And to reiterate my views concerning the calendar situation, I believe that the Gregorian Calendar is the mark of the Catholic Church's (and Vatican's) universal authority over the civil affairs of nations and peoples -- most have accepted it, a few have not. And knowing who and what the Catholic Church is, I will not -- even under the threat of death --  bow my knee to Her by acknowledging her pagan way of keeping track of time. My thinking (forehead) does not revolve around the papal/pagan calendar, nor do I labor (hands) according to its dictates."

 

A few days later, I thought of the beginning of Dances With Wolves -- where Costner had nothing to lose and put his life on the line by riding his horse in front of the enemy lines while they shot at him. And the result of his actions was finally breaking the stalemate that had ensued between the warring sides -- with his side taking the offensive and winning the battle.

 

I feel the same way right now. I have nothing to lose (not married, no children, no career obligations, etc.)  by engaging in this battle -- but a lot is at stake. I'm willing to do this in order to stir-up the proverbial pot and hornet's nest -- to be the piece of dirt that forces the oyster to make a pearl, as Ross Perot would say.

 

I've read a lot of COG papers and articles on the calendar issue, with almost all talking about how wrong and pagan the Gregorian Calendar is. But who has actually stood-up and done something about it?

 

Can you imagine the legal (along with economic and political) ramifications (domestic and foreign) if there is finally a court ruling about the authority and jurisdiction of the Gregorian Calendar in our individual lives? As far as I know, this has never been legally challenged in the courts.

 

So either the court will dismiss the summons (which I doubt), demand that I bow my knee and submit to the Roman Catholic Church (which the ACLU will jump all over like a duck-on-a-junebug!), or it will rule in my favor (which will then give me a rock with which to take on the Goliath-Whore, if our Father wills it.)

 

So please keep checking back on this website for updates. If there are not any timely updates, then I must still be imprisoned for refusing to accept Pope Gregory XIII's papal bull, Inter gravissmas, of 24 February 1582. (See link at bottom of website for full text of the papal bull. And also see the British Calendar Act of 1751 by King George II.)

---

---