With regards to stories such as these, of U.S. military personnel committing crimes and atrocities, take care to note “The Difference”. While murderous actions of terrorists are considered the norm, such acts, when committed by U.S. soldiers, justifiably result in outrage here in the U.S.

As graphically illustrated, by Michael Yon’s photograph of a U.S. soldier cradling an Iraqi girl, mortally wounded by the normal actions of terrorist insurgents, there is a difference between us and those who would wage terror on the innocent.

Image © 2005 Michael Yon

All things are better in Koine! And my friend Joe Carter should get a kick out of the shot of Biola’s infamous hippie Jesus mural.

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Bad News / Good News The Bad News? 49% of Protestants think Mormons are Christians. The Good News? Those same Protestants are looking forward to having a whole lot of fun at church this coming Sunday.

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Mexico tosses us a red herring From CNN,

Violence in the United States is not related to illegal Mexican immigrants, but violence in Mexico is connected to vast shipments of weapons from the United States, Mexico’s foreign minister told CNN Thursday.

Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa pointed to efforts by Mexico to stop the flow of weapons, the great majority of which come from the United States.

“Since 2006,” she said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s editorial board in New York City, “the Mexican government has seized over 85,000 weapons in Mexico.”

She noted that it’s not just “regular weapons,” but also machine guns, grenades and other high-power arms.

Robert Pastor, a Latin America national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s, pointed out last year there were at least 6,600 U.S. gun shops within 100 miles of the Mexican border and more than 90 percent of weapons in Mexico come from the United States.

I’d venture to say that the chances are slim to none that one could purchase machine guns, grenades, or other [related] high-power arms, in any of those 6,600 gun shops.

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With either choice, your system’s gonna get cleaned out Evidently, people would prefer to have a colonoscopy vs. cleaning out their computer’s registry.

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The FBI chooses Glock Contract award at close to $1 million, for 2,900+ Glock 23 .40SW handguns.

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Lucky Break: significant good fortune or opportunity What do you do, if you’re committed to naturalism, and you’re faced with the fact that your very existence hinged on at least 10 highly improbable events of the past? Well, the rational, neo-Darwinistic logical conclusion must surely be that we were really, really, really, really, really lucky! For those who can actually put 2 + 2 together, the folks at Reasons to Believe have been discussing the design aspects of our universe, for quite some time.

There’s been a bit of buzz lately (HT: First Things) regarding a post by Al Mohler titled, The Subtle Body – Should Christians Practice Yoga?. Mohler’s conclusion is a decided “no”. From his post,

…a significant number of American Christians either experiment with yoga or become adherents of some yoga discipline. Most seem unaware that yoga cannot be neatly separated into physical and spiritual dimensions. The physical is the spiritual in yoga, and the exercises and disciplines of yoga are meant to connect with the divine.

Mohler essentially warns that the eastern practice of yoga, while encompassing the physical, is inherently spiritual in nature. As such, Christians dabbling in the practice are unwittingly (or not, as the case may be) exposing themselves to spiritual worldviews contrary to that of Christianity.

It’s interesting to see how Mohler’s warnings are falling on some deaf ears.

I think that western Christians assume they can successfully separate the physical from the spiritual; yet, is such an assumption merely a backwash from our western mindset? J.P. Moreland, noted Christian philosopher, has recently been advocating the view that western Christians lack a proper supernatural mindset for experiencing the fullness of God’s blessing – a fullness which must include that of the supernatural. We, in the west, tend to see things with a scientific mindset, despite what the apostle Paul told us, in Ephesians. From Moreland,

We have inadvertently accepted a naturalistic, scientistic worldview in which we tend to believe that God only speaks through Scripture, miracles largely happened in biblical times, and yet demons manifest themselves overseas.

Also, western Christians may, at times, attempt to reconcile certain philosophical and spiritual aspects of the world with those of Christianity.

Consider this description of a yoga class, attended by at least one Christian,

We were in the middle of a particularly hard pose (I would tell you the name of it but I still can’t understand the names) and many of us struggled to hold it and maintain our balance. The instructor guided us through it and while giving us mental encouragement, “Often in life we find ourselves faced with struggles and pain. During these times we are stretched and face pain. It is then we learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Not many are willing to go the less traveled path. But those who do, find true strength and peace.”

True strength and peace. Is it the result of the mere yoga body position, from the mental encouragement accompanying it, or a combination of both? And at what point, if any, does the spiritual aspect of yoga come into play? Well the author goes on to state that she felt God speaking to her about persevering to His peace. So is this a case of a kind-of-Christian-type idea, from a secular-derived exercise class based on an eastern-worldview, opening the door for God to speak to a Christian about finding true strength and peace? Does something sound not quite right here?

Is God capable of using an exercise class, with origins based on eastern spirituality, to bring direction, strength, and peace to a Christ follower? Certainly. But it seems to me that, given our cultural context, it would be more likely to find such direction, strength, and peace directly from His Word.

A critic of Mohler’s post (and, as it turns out, the husband of the person referenced above) gave several reasons for his disagreement. I’d like to address his criticisms. From his post,

First, Christianity is fundamentally an eastern religion. These were the first words out of my wife’s mouth when I told her about Mohler’s blog. The context has that truth ringing deeper in my mind than ever before. As much as modern Christians imagine Christianity as a “western” religion, its roots are undoubtedly eastern.

I’m at a loss for this one… weren’t the prophets of Baal practicing an eastern religion? I really don’t know how the fact that yoga is an eastern religion – which is an explicit confirmation of its spiritual aspects – renders that practice as somehow, if only partially, compatible with Christianity.

Second, all truth is God’s truth. In many Christian circles there is a certain refusal to accept any part of another discipline if it doesn’t affirm every single aspect of Christianity. You can see this with science. In other words, some churches reject scientific teachings because those teachings don’t culminate with affirming orthodox Christian teaching.

A more balanced and reasonable approach is to realize that every discipline is imperfect and we should strive to take what is good and noble and reject that which is not. In the case of yoga, flexibility, building body strength, and exercise combined with relaxation and stress removal techniques is good and something we all need on a periodic basis and a part of the “sabbath” principle in Scripture. Granted some yoga tries to direct one’s energy toward other spiritual teachings and that’s what we should guard against. There is no need to throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater.

This criticism, in my opinion, carries much more weight. I wholeheartedly agree that all truth is God’s truth and that Christians should be discerning of all aspects of knowledge and truth. However, yes there’s the “however”, Mohler is not arguing that the physical components alone, of the practice of yoga, are at issue. Even as the author admits that, “…some yoga tries to direct one’s energy toward other spiritual teachings…” he simply cautions that this is something we should guard against! Mohler is warning that such an approach is dangerous, at best, and disastrous, at worst. This is an instance, in my opinion, where our western mindset clouds our judgment on decidedly non-western ideas.

Third, Mohler’s blog reveals an even deeper and more troubling aspect, namely a black-white or good-bad way of viewing the world. Just because an activity or even a religion does not affirm Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life does not necessarily mean that it is all bad. Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism all have aspects that we should all learn from and redeem.

Life is more grey than many of us care to acknowledge. Living in the grey requires more discernment and humility and is often times more difficult than the black-white world. But it is a more honest reflection of reality.

That this criticism comes from a Christian is, to put it bluntly, scary. As Mohler stated, “The embrace of yoga is a symptom of our postmodern spiritual confusion, and, to our shame, this confusion reaches into the church.”

Fourth, Christians have a long history of re-purposing “pagan” practices. The Christmas tree is a notable example. It would have been hard to divide the tree from its pagan roots, but Christians did. Many of our hymns were adapted from “worldly” bar tunes, even Amazing Grace. So, history has shown us that certain things can be used for new purposes without detrimental spiritual confusion resulting.

Ah yes, the genetic argument. How many of us have fond memories of their childhood, at the time of Advent, especially of the family Christmas tree? Now, how many of us truly believe that said Christmas tree tradition was present at the first celebrations of the fact of Christ’s birth? Furthermore, how many of us were taught, as a child, the pagan roots of the use of evergreen trees at the Winter solstice? (Note: there are no “pagan” roots of the “Christmas” tree, since the pagans did not worship Christ and, as such, had no “Christmas” trees) The point is that the connection between the pagan use of evergreens at Winter solstice, with the use of Christmas trees by Christians is not readily apparent to modern, western Christians. Yet, it seems reasonable to conclude that the spiritual aspect of yoga is readily apparent to modern, western Christians. For a blatant display of this difference, go to the Wikipedia page on “Yoga” and compare it with what is found on the page for “Christmas tree”. Another aspect to consider is that while the Christmas tree was a direct re-purposing of the pagan tradition into one with Christian meaning, we do not see a similar re-purposing with regards to the physical aspect of yoga. Rather, based on what the author clearly references, we see acknowledgment and acceptance of non-Christian spirituality. This is not a good thing.

Fifth, Mohler’s blog carries the implication that we can be accidentally duped into engaging in a false religion. While undoubtedly there are many people who do not have spiritual clarity about what they believe or what they are doing, the idea that we can be worshipping another god against our knowledge seems quite dubious. I doubt anyone is accidentally worshipping Satan because they have a Christmas tree.

This criticism fails because it admits that the practice of yoga is spiritually dubious (besides presenting a red herring in the Satan / Christmas tree argument).

Sixth, as yoga has moved mainstream, there are now plenty of centers and instructors that are devoid of the religious/spiritual aspects of yoga. Mohler acknowledges this but says that you can’t really divorce the spiritual from the physical in yoga. I believe that is true for the Christ follower as well. If you do yoga to the glory of God then it’s a spiritual act. As yoga is secularized or even repurposed as a Christian act, we are again reminded that our spiritual loyalties are a matter of the orientation of our hearts and not the historical origins of our preferred exercise routines.

The notion that yoga has moved mainstream, within Christian circles, may be new to some, but I think its the result a slow creep – a slippery slope, if you will – within our culture. I recall a conversation I had with a non-Christian friend, while I was in high school. We were fellow athletes on the track & field team, and he informed me he was attending yoga classes. Upon seeing my quizzical look, he promptly reassured me it was okay because, as he stated, “it’s only an exercise class”.

That was in 1974.

Self Defense for a Bear Attack If it was me, I’d leave the summer squash for the crockpot, and utilize something that has the word “magnum” associated with it.

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Geek News of the Week Images of Aurora on Saturn’s South Pole.

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The S.L.E.D. Test as an argument against abortion Whenever I discuss the topic of abortion with a person who is pro-abortion, it’s amazing to see the lack of clarity and reason in their position. Truth be told, when unpacked to its core features, their position is without rational basis. Scott Klusendorf, formerly from Stand to Reason, discusses the S.L.E.D. Test, what it is, and how to rationally apply it to demonstrate that the unborn are valuable as human beings.

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Funny

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Obama think $1.00 will cover the purchase of 4 apples And, yes, the media didn’t handle it like they did when Dubya was around.

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The 1% Solution? Bono’s One Foundation only manages to direct a little over 1% of what it receives to the needy? Ouch! Maybe the Obama administration should consider a takeover?

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Power to the People! The last best hope…

Oil-eating bacteria had a feast on the BP Deep-Sea oil spill At Reasons to Believe, on the August 25th podcast, they discussed how ocean bacteria ate up a whole lot of the oil from the BP spill. It is very interesting that this phenomenon was unexpected, considering how much we know about the earth. What? We don’t know everything? Oh… maybe we need to be wary of dire predictions due to Global Warming Climate Change.

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Oops Maybe the bacteria ate mostly gas and not oil. Hmmm… what was that you said about hot summers?

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More guns… Yes, less crime.

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Oops 2 Kind of reminds me of the misteaks I made at skool.

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Bush stumbled over his speeches But did we really think we could listen to great speeches for 4 years? Like Matthews says – get rid of the teleprompter!

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Maybe a bit premature Yet people are frustrated.

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Imagine a white Republican making similar statements Just remember that it came from the party of tolerance.

Ken Ham, staunch Young Earth Creationist, has recently written a blog post highlighting a recent position change taken by the Assemblies of God (AG) denomination (HT: Ron’s Bloviating). Ham takes issue with the AG for revising their earlier held position, sympathetic to a Young Earth position, for that of one which allows for Old Earth belief as well. For the record, I have grown up in the AG denomination and have been partial to the Old Earth Creation model, despite their earlier stance, since I was in elementary school (the 1960s). In A Sad Day for the Assemblies of God Denomination, Ham writes,

The general presbytery of the Assemblies of God (AG) denomination, in session August 9–11, 2010, adopted a revised statement on “The Doctrine of Creation.” Here is an excerpt from the official AG position paper, that opens the door to evolution and millions of years, and the various compromise positions on Genesis held by some in the church (such as gap theory, day age, progressive creation, theistic evolution, etc)

Of particular concern, to Ham, is the statement by the AG,

The advance of scientific research, particularly in the last few centuries, has raised many questions about the interpretation of the Genesis accounts of creation.

evidently because he connects such reasoning as equivalent to succumbing to the lie told by the serpent in Genesis 3, in which he tempted Eve to doubt God’s Word. By comparing a 1977 statement, from the AG, Ham contrasts a previous belief that a “natural reading” of the Genesis 1 creation account results in an understanding that the account refers to consecutive 24 hour solar days. His concern seems to be that any acceptance of data, from scientific research, that points towards a billions of years old universe, is tantamount to the doubting of God’s Word, which he understands – nay, demands – to state otherwise. Ham writes,

The AG with its August statement is now saying we have to take the fallible ideas of fallible humans and use these in authority over the Word of God.

I applaud Ham’s concern, which is ultimately driven by a desire to keep Christians from falling prey to worldly wisdom, yet I seriously question the dogmatic stance he has taken. He posits that a Young Earth interpretation of the creation accounts, found in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, is the only viable interpretation allowed. Such a position has neither a theological, historical, or scientific grounding.

While this blog post is, by no means, an attempt to exhaustively answer the Young Earth / Old Earth debate, I do want to make a few concise points.

In discussing this subject, with Young Earth proponents, I’ve sometimes been told that the Young Earth position is held because “it’s what the Bible says”. The obvious conclusion, from such a position, is that the Old Earth interpretation is NOT what the Bible says. I wonder if Young Earthers, who make such a statement, are really aware of implications of what they’re proposing? Do they really think that some of their fellow Christians are not aware of what they happen to be reading in God’s Word? I also wonder how consistent Young Earthers are with their “natural reading” of “what the Bible says” argument? If they wish to be consistent, then surely they must think that God has wings, that Jesus’ had nails driven through his hands, that it’s the Sun that revolves around the Earth*, that the mustard seed is the smallest plant seed on earth, and that the value of Pi is equal to the integer 3. But, of course, I would imagine that for those references they would argue that the meaning found in text involves intent and context – context which includes culture, language, genre, etc. Try as they might, they cannot get around the fact that the Genesis creation accounts have not been dogmatically held, through Christendom, to mean that God created the cosmos in 6 24 hour solar days, nor that one is mandated to translate the Hebrew text as such. It’s my conclusion that they are incorrect in stating that their interpretation is the “natural reading” of “what the Bible says”.

Another point in which Ham slips up, in my opinion, is his accusation that the belief the universe is billions of years old correlates with a belief in natural process evolution. To his credit, he does not accuse Old Earthers of categorically believing in natural process evolution, but merely states that the Old Earth position “opens the door” to such belief. Still, I take issue with such a proposition, for it demonstrates a lack of understanding of both the Old Earth position as well as the natural process evolutionary position. The Old Earth interpretation attempts to harmonize not only the multiple creation accounts found in the Bible (including and beyond the two major ones found in Genesis), but our understanding of the physical realm as well. If the data points towards a universe billions of years old, and if we can harmonize the data with what we read in the Bible, then it is irrelevant whether or not the natural process evolutionary model also accepts a billions of years old universe. Also, as research continues, the complexity of our natural realm is becoming more evident: from the minute structure of DNA to the makeup of the universe itself. As we discover that advanced life requires this specified complexity, and as we understand that specified complexity is highly improbable, by chance, we begin to understand how improbable our existence is – from a purely natural point of view. Truth is, billions of years is appearing to be not enough time for advanced life to arise through natural means.

It seems to me that many in the Young Earth camp dismiss scientific research too easily. At best, they simply recognize man’s fallibility and apply that fallibility to our interpretation of the natural realm; at worst, they assume some grand conspiracy, in the scientific community, dedicated to the undermining of all religious belief. I will spend zero time discussing the latter option, as I believe it to be nonsense and as I believe that Ham holds to the former option.

I wonder, at what point do I, as a fallible human, disregard the ideas of other fallible humans? Do I refuse to board an airliner simply because it was designed by fallible humans who, obviously, have fallible ideas about aeronautical engineering? Do I take the stairs, when visiting a high-rise building, because the elevator was designed by fallible humans with fallible ideas of structural engineering? How many Young Earthers have ever taken an over-the-counter medication? Since such medication was developed by fallible humans with fallible ideas regarding chemistry, I must conclude that Ken Ham does not take any over-the-counter medication. Speaking of fallible ideas – how about the idea of how we read, and understand, text? I think that we believe, however fallibly, that we are able to see, and then read text, due to the physical action of light photons bouncing off of a page of text, being received and processed by our eyes, through the lens, retina, and optic nerve, with the resulting electrical impulses then being interpreted by our brain. The whole notion of understanding God’s written Word is dependent on a physical process.

You see, the problem with discounting scientific research is that one ends up having to pick and choose which scientific research they will believe in. While we don’t have an exhaustive understanding of the physical realm, we do have some understanding of it and – this is important – our level of understanding grows as we continue to do more research. So, whereas the scientific community in the 1800s thought that the universe had always existed, Albert Einstein threw them on their heads by proposing (with scientific backup), in the early 1900s, that the universe was finite and actually began to exist. It is indeed very interesting that this notion of a beginning was already found in God’s Word.

In the years since Einstein, the ideas of general and special relativity have been refined, through continued experimenting and testing, and as our understanding of cosmology grew. Likewise, in the years since the Wright brothers, we’ve moved from airplanes built out of wood and fabric, capable of carrying only one person, to jet powered airliners which transport hundreds of people thousands of miles at a time. Is there a chance that as we gain a better understanding of the physical realm the ideas of general and special relativity, as well as those of aeronautical engineering, will be overturned? Certainly. As stated earlier, we don’t have a complete understanding of the entire cosmos. However, and this is how the process of progressive understanding works, as continued research builds cumulative support for a particular theory, the more reliable such a theory becomes in explaining the natural realm.

Unfortunately, for the Young Earth camp, they have no credible scientific data which can support a universe of 6,000 – 10,000 years in age. And, to make matters worse, further research in multiple, unrelated disciplines, continues to support an old age for the universe. The Old Earth model is certainly not without paradoxes or weak points, yet one should consider its many strengths before dismissing it out of hand.

Kudos to the Assemblies of God for revising their position on the creation accounts found in Genesis 1 and 2.

* a natural reading obvious conclusion, if the Earth truly does not move (and a conclusion that the church had to revise due to an eventual better understanding of the physical realm).

Image © 2010 A. R. Lopez

Oops From the setting yourself up department, a lesson in election politics in the New Mexico governor’s race.

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Geek News of the week Amateur astronomers capture images of objects (comets or asteroids) impacting Jupiter. Beyond the geek-factor, however, Hugh Ross argues that Jupiter’s size and location, within our solar system, are no accident. Ross, president and founder of Reasons to Believe, notes that Jupiter’s gravitational tug is strong enough to result in errant bodies (e.g., comets and asteroids) slamming into its surface, reducing the chance of such bodies impacting the Earth while, at the same time, not being so strong as to corrupt Earth’s orbit, thereby making advanced life impossible. Is such precision in timing, size, location, etc., the result of chance or design?

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Acrobat Security Hole This is why I use PDF Xchange or FoxIt.

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Oops 2 The purpose of a gun holster is not to simply have a place to hold your gun. Holsters prevent you from placing your trigger finger directly onto the trigger when removing the gun from the holster. This is important because any time your finger is ON the trigger it is very likely that a bullet will exit the barrel. For those that choose to keep a gun in a pocket, the need for a pocket holster is even more significant. Or… you could be like the guy in the link.

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Oops 3 While guns and holsters mix, guns and alcohol do not. However, I’ve got to admit the idea of using a finicky computer server as a target has a certain appeal.

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Illegally in the U.S., and enrolled in college How broken is the immigration system when a person is allowed to be in the U.S. illegally, for over 15 years, not have a Social Security number, yet allowed to enroll in college?

How come when a small group of Muslims kill innocent men, women, and children (e.g., 9/11, Bali, African embassies, Spanish train, British train, etc.), we’re reminded that Islam is a religion of peace, and that the murderous acts were those of fanatics; but when a small group of Christians decide to burn the Koran, there’s nary a word of Christianity being related to peace or that such a wacko group of self-proclaimed “christians” are fanatics?

Executive Order No. 62 or… How to, at a moment’s notice, turn otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals. In North Carolina, the governor signed the executive order, declaring a State of Emergency due to the approaching Hurricane Earl. While that may sound all well and good, when combined with North Carolina General Statute 14-288.7, things can become messy. The statute makes it unlawful for one to possess or transport off their own premises, a “dangerous weapon”, during a declared state of emergency. Hence, anyone engaged in lawful possession of a firearm off their premises (such as hunters or CCW permit holders), prior to a declared emergency, would automatically be breaking the law once an emergency is declared.

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Korean shop owners had it figured out During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Korean shop owners were left on their own to defend themselves, with whatever means they had. Lucky for them they were armed as looters roamed the streets looking for booty. Not surprisingly, after experiencing shots fired from pistols and AR-15 rifles, looters left the Korean shop owners alone. Funny how that works.

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Laser-tag makes it to the Olympics Well, not quite. Laser guns will replace air guns at the Olympics, for the modern pentathlon, beginning in 2012. Billed as the “way of the future,” organizers say that safety will no longer be a concern, and that events could be held at parks or even shopping malls! I guess the safety issue of a laser beam in one’s eye is not a concern to officials. Rumor has it that other Olympic events will be restructured, in the name of safety: the javelin throw will be done via a Wii, and the hammer throw and discus will utilize nerf technology.

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An offer he can’t refuse? If offered a 15% raise (on top of your $150,000 / year salary), 4 times the stock benefits, and a $500,000 bonus – just to stay a year more – would you refuse it, as well?

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How did he become Mr. Unpopular? Because, I think, he finally showed his true colors (please, no racist intent was meant by the use of the word “colors”).

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At first, complaints about his use of the teleprompter were laughed off by liberal comics… Now, even Matthews is tiring of Obama’s dependence on it.

I’ve written previously on the false notion, in my opinion, of “felt-led” theology (see here and here). Felt-led theology, as coined by Greg Koukl at Stand to Reason, is a mindset among Christians, in which life decisions are based on whether or not one feels led – presumably of the Spirit – towards said decision. This experiential approach is heavily dependent on interpreting inner feelings and urges as potential messages from God. In a broad sense, such an approach is also used as a measure of one’s “connectedness” with God. In other words, your walk with God is determined by how well you decipher those inner nudges; the better you decipher, the more closely aligned you are with His Will.

Unfortunately, though pervasive within contemporary evangelical culture, felt-led theology has no scriptural foundation and, in my opinion, is tantamount to Christian superstition.

How many times have you encountered a fellow Christian who has made an important commitment decision or, worse, has left a previous commitment, mainly because they felt that God was leading them in such and such a direction? How many times have you encountered a fellow Christian, while contemplating a decision, state that they are “praying for direction”? It seems to me that the Bible makes it clear that we should pray for wisdom (and then use our own minds to make the decision).

Maybe it’s the introvert in me, as I deal with a decidedly extroverted Christian culture, but I tend to find the notion of relying on inner nudges and feelings, while we have access to God’s Word, to be a bit counter intuitive. Recently, I saw a discussion pertaining to how one should expect an answer from God, after prayerfully asking, especially when no answer seemed (felt) to be forthcoming. Some comments were (with my emphasis),

Yes, the waiting time can be very difficult. However, sometimes we have to ask ourselves if we are really listening or if we are really waiting for an answer.

Sometimes we’re so afraid of what the answer might or might not be that we’re not ready to listen to what he has to say.

He’ll only answer if you want him to.

While it’s sad to see such lame theology coming from other Christians, it’s even sadder to realize that such notions are commonly held beliefs within the evangelical community. One has to wonder if those who hold such beliefs have ever considered that God not only has the ability to deliver a message to us in any manner he chooses, regardless of whether or not we’re “listening” or whether or not we’re afraid of the answer, but that scripture does not support the notion that we have control over whether or not God speaks to us. Indeed, when one looks at scripture, one finds that God has no problem at all getting His message to whomever He chooses (ref. Saul on the road to Damascus); and that those who happen to feel that God is not answering them do not conclude that they aren’t listening hard enough, but understand the distinction of who they are and who God is (ref. David calling out to God).

Unfortunately, the message behind the idea that we can control whether or not answers from God get through is that we can conjure up God. That makes God our puppet – and that’s sending the wrong message to our fellow Christians.

For additional reference:
Just Do Something – Kevin DeYoung
Decision Making & the Will of God – Greg Koukl

So… where’s the oil now? Either Obama really is the Messiah he was portrayed as, and it was his mere presence alone that healed our earth; or, maybe, we aren’t quite up to predicting global effects of non-globally sized events? A couple of months ago, it wasn’t difficult to find commentaries declaring that we were were on the brink of planetary destruction, that the Gulf of Mexico would never recover, that oil spill was a foretaste of the effects of Global Warming Climate Change, that God was allowing this disaster as punishment for our sins on Mother Earth. Yet now we see that Obama really has the power to heal the Earth – scratch that – Yet now we see how inadequate we might be in our attempts at extrapolating data, on a global scale, over extended time periods – well – even short time periods. Common sense should tell us that our efforts would be better served by addressing known issues that we currently face, as opposed to potential issues we might face. (also see Joe Carter’s post)

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Illegal aliens allowed to get a New Mexico drivers license… so, why not allow them to purchase firearms as well (why should that “right” be infringed upon?). The argument for giving illegal aliens drivers licenses is that it provides for better enforcement of insurance, etc. If that were so, then why not allow illegal aliens to purchase firearms, thereby giving them direct access to the right of self defense?

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Well, at least they weren’t burning the books (but a pragmatist would have donated them to a local library). Or have a used-book sale or something to recoup some money?

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When in doubt, ask someone who has actually followed the rules. Gabriella, a naturalized U.S. citizen, educates a Tucson City Council member on why the City of Tucson should not sue the State of Arizona over SB1070.

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Two exo-solar planets transiting the same star… geekfest time.j

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The Ghosts of World War II. Have not confirmed the validity of these images but, if true, an interesting use of Photoshop linking the past with the present.

Government doing what it does best. Finally, government cracking down on illegal operations.

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Going to university just isn’t what it used to be –

…the entire college degree industry is a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now.

It might not be the best move to get that higher education within the halls of college.

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Rubber figures, handed out at a public school, and considered offensive. No, they weren’t anatomically correct blow-up sex toys… they were rubber fetuses. Evidently, a group of Christian high school students were handing out 2 inch rubber fetus dolls, in an effort to promote abstinence – until school officials stopped them.

Our society has very misplaced values. In an age where gratuitous violence, such as Pulp Fiction, is glorified, and the humanity of the fetus is censored. If one is offended by the sight of a rubber fetus, then there should be a traceable path back to the root of that offense. I would contend that a rubber fetus too readily expresses the inherent humanity of the fetus. Logic would dictate that such a connection be then applied to the practice of abortion.

But logic has never been a weapon of the pro-abort crowd.

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A novel approach to lawn mowing.

Tossing around charges of racism seems to be in vogue, as of late. Indeed, with some playing not only the race card, but just about the entire race deck of cards, is it incongruous that there are Black members of the Tea Party?

Uncle Toms? Oreos? Or, maybe, just concerned U.S. citizens?

I wonder, are these individuals predisposed to intolerance?

Notice (for those who care):

Today I’m still a Christian. I’m still in with this bunch of quarrelsome and hostile humans. I refuse to be arrogant enough to believe that my Western-bred, self-concerned, and individualistic mindset can circumvent the very humanity which leaves Christianity imperfect in practice.

Also, in the name of Christ, I refuse to condone sexual behavior, whether it be hetero or homo, that is outside the boundaries God has set; I refuse to agree with liberal feminists who degrade women; I refuse to believe being Democrat or Republican is related to “Jesus is God, he died, and was resurrected”; I refuse to think secular humanism is valid (or new); I refuse to succumb to the self defeating views of methodological naturalism, yet continue to support research of the natural realm God created; and I refuse to be anti-life, specifically, the life of unborn images of God.