Be Careful What You Wish For
Today’s funny from Mikey:
There once was this guy that got a dirty old lamp for his birthday. He cleaned it up and POOF!--out popped a genie!
"I shall give you three wishes. You may have anything you like."
So the guy thinks for a minute and says, "I would like a billion dollars."
"You shall have it," and the genie grants him the wish. "Anything else?"
The guy thinks for a while. Then, "I would like a VW Bug with A/C, convertible, power locks, power windows, satellite radio, you know the works."
"Your wish is my command. What is your last wish?"
"Hmmm. I think I'll save it for a rainy day."
"Okay, suit yourself," says the genie.
So the guy gets in his new VW and goes for a drive to show all his friends. He turns on the radio. There's a very familiar commercial on. The guy starts singing to it: "I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener."
Poor guy. Where do I find one of these genies? ^_^
"Cool" Hitler to Manage Your Ambulance Service
Here in America we have this funny idea that we want the same health care practices that other countries have. You may recall all of the arguments used by those in favor of the recent health care bill that is in the process of enactment.
A survey was passed around to West Midlands [England] Ambulance Service workers which asked them to rate a number of leadership styles for “coolness.” As you probably guessed from the title of this post, one of those names was “Adolf Hitler.” (You can download the entire survey from HowCoolIsHitler.net, pages 15-17 of the .PDF.)
The Trust defended their usage of Hitler in this part of a £10,000 (almost 15,000 USD) project:
A spokesman said: ''The project is important in identifying the key characteristics of good leadership, to allow the organisation and the wider NHS to be more efficient and effective which, in turn, will have a direct and positive impact on improving patient care.
''The project sought to discuss different styles of leadership and the characteristics of leadership to help staff at all levels develop their career.
''Staff were asked to look at different leadership styles and one of those was a dictatorial style. Adolf Hitler's style galvanised a country into terrible things but it did galvanise a country.
''Perhaps in hindsight a better example could have been used.''
They have a point that Hitler is worth studying, and other big names like Winston Churchill or Gordon Brown were rated as well. Another question asked “How relevant do you feel [Sexual Orientation is] to being a ‘cool’ leader?”
Yep, not being able to figure out basic anatomy is a relevant way to become a hip new leader of an ambulance service. If you don’t like it, we’ll send you to a concentration camp.
Wonderful Homeschoolers
Homeschoolers have their own unique view of the world. There are a plethora of reasons that each family chooses to forge their own route. Someone sent me a “Bitter Homeschooler’s Wishlist” yesterday. It is a little harsh, but the message behind it is not so terribly wrong. Some of the best points:
1. Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is and it is it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
3. Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.
7. We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.
16. Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.
18. If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.
This statement, from a homeschool mother who is at a conference in DC this week, made my morning:
I didn't give birth to a child just to have the state treat them as a commodity in the planned economy. My child's dreams will be determined by God as they follow Him, not the demands of the state as they follow my child from cradle to career.
As is implied in the statement, the schools in this country are being changed and your students will be tracked from the time they enter school until they die to see how effective the state has been to keep them in a single career path.
This was intended to be a semi- light-hearted post, but I just can’t let it go without some documentation of the purposes of school. Sigh. I’ll try to post some links eventually to document the school-work link, even though it is not a hidden one.
One oft-quoted phrase comes from the 1947 UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] study (Volume V):
Before the child enters school his mind has already been profoundly marked, and often injuriously, by earlier influences; but the process of schooling may exercise a decisive effect, for it is through the experience of schooling that the child applies and develops the rudimentary sense of community he has first gained, however dimly, in the home.
A few pages later:
The kindergarten or infant school has a significant part to play in the child's education. Not only can it correct many of the errors of home training but it can also prepare the child for membership, at about age seven, in a group of his own age and habits -- the first of many such social identifications that he must achieve on his way to membership in the world society.
This is for every child they can influence in the world (and our country has adopted many of these practices). The kids are to be specifically schooled in how to get along with everyone, how not to make waves. Two pages further on (remember, in 1947):
In the schools of the United States, history, geography, and civics are grouped together under the heading of social studies, a fact which illustrates their bearing on our particular problem. [...]
In our view, history and geography should be taught at this stage as universal history and geography. Of the two, only geography lends itself well to study during the years prescribed by the present survey (3-13 years). The study of history, on the other hand, raises problems of value which are better postponed until the pupil is freed from the nationalist prejudices which at present surround the teaching of history.
I like the phrase “nationalist prejudices.” The outcome of this is that, in some textbooks, the D-Day forces of WWII are now said to be “United Nations soldiers” (even though D-Day was June 6th, 1944 and the United Nations became an entity in 1945, AFTER World War II). Maybe them homescoolers is smart.
Coming Facebook Replacement?
The privacy changes of Facebook and with how it handles my data is starting to annoy me. Other people have noticed the problems with it as well, and I have seen quite a few new e-mails and articles appear to address the privacy issues. Those warnings have always existed since this is the internet, but now that data is being intentionally rearranged for marketing purposes.
I have played with a couple methods to automatically disassociate myself from tags and messages without closing my account. If I succeed, I’ll make it available since some of you worry about your privacy as well.
Tonight, I came across a project called Diaspora that is making waves. In less than a month, the developers have raised almost $150,000 (by the time that you read this, it will likely be above that). Their original goal was $10,000 to pay for the work.
Diaspora is almost like social networking with e-mail. You have your own server where your data is stored (there are plans for a hosted server with Wordpress). Other people will have their own servers that will be able to talk to your server. The difference is that since you own and control your own data, you get to control how they access it.
For the technically-inclined, the data will be encrypted with GPG to ensure your security. There will be scrapers involved to pull your data from existing sites, such as Facebook or Twitter. You will also be able to post data back to those places, if you choose to.
The initial release is scheduled for September of this year. I am definitely curious, and there is a good chance that I will configure my own server. I made this blog because I did not trust other blogging services.
Oh, shock. Oh, surprise. The Health Care Bill is not a Magic Fix
The Heritage Foundation reported yesterday that:
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that the federal government will have to spend an additional $115 billion implementing the law, bringing the total estimated cost to over $1 trillion. The estimate had been requested before passage of the bill by Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), but the CBO was too overwhelmed with the Democrats' other constant revisions to the law to get back to Lewis before the final vote.
This is by far not the only nasty little surprise that has come back to bite Obamacare after passage. Shortly after it became law, U.S. employers began reporting hundreds of millions if dollars in losses thanks to tax changes in the bill. AT&T and Verizon alone pegged their Obamacare tax losses at around $1 billion each. At first, Democrats in Congress were outraged by the announcements and threatened to hold hearings persecuting these companies. But then the Democrats not only found out the companies were obligated by law to report their Obamacare related losses, but that the losses were a signal these companies might have to dump their employees' and retirees' health care coverage all together.
Oops. It is also projected that 18 million Americans will remain uncovered by insurance despite this bill. The US population is only around 307 million, which means that more than 5% of the people will be penalized without any benefits whatsoever.
“But,” said Pelosi, “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it”. Yep, we are still finding out, Mrs. Pelosi. I’m impressed. Are you? The Rassmussen Reports are indicating that 56% of the people in this country want it repealed.
He Lived to Die?
There is a popular song by Michael W. Smith called Above All. Here is the chorus:
Crucified, Laid behind the stone
You lived to die, Rejected and alone
Like a rose, Trampled on the ground
You took the fall, And thought of me
Above all
After reviewing a few passages in the Bible, it occurred to me that this is not exactly accurate. I do not mean to indicate the confines of the human mind – although that has bothered me for a while. Take a look at Matthew 2 (13-18) and see if you can pick out what is wrong:
And when they [the wise men] were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
If Jesus came only to die, why was his life spared here? If you are familiar with the Scriptures, John 10:18 might come to mind:
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
If his life (even up to two years) had begun with his death, then it could not really be said that he had laid down his own life. There is another problem with this. We are using a teaching of Jesus to explain his death.
Shouldn’t it occur to us that Jesus lived to teach us how to live?
Maybe, just maybe, that is the reason that Jesus gave so many commands and one last admonition to obey them (Matthew 28:19,20):
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.<font size="-1" face="none"></font>
Jesus did not come to leave us in our sins. He came to show us the light and life of God. John 1:4,5:
In him [Jesus] was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
His death was necesary as only the death of a human could atone for human-kind, but it was for life. This is why aborted babies cannot save us. This is why the nephews of priestesses cannot be crucified to redeem us (documentation; search for “Tzotzils of Chamula”).
Are you enjoying that life?
Ignorance of the Law is no Excuse
John Selden, a British lawyer from the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, once explained:
Ignorance of the law excuses no man; not that all men know the law, but because 'tis an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to refute him.
Can the opposite be explained either? Is it possible for anyone to tell me how I might become familiar with the whole law? Has that person been to the library in their county courthouse?
Grandma And Grandpa Can Not Pray Before They Eat
Almost fresh from an assisted living facility over in Georgia:
Senior Citizens Inc. officials said Friday the meals they are contracted by the city to provide to Ed Young visitors are mostly covered with federal money, which ushers in the burden of separating church and state.On Thursday, the usual open prayer before meals at the center was traded in for a moment of silence.
The dilemma is being hashed out by the Port Wentworth city attorney, said Mayor Glenn "Pig" Jones.
Tim Rutherford, Senior Citizens Inc. vice president, said some of his staff recently visited the center and noticed people praying shortly before lunch was served. Rutherford said his company provides meals like baked chicken, steak tips and rice and salads at a cost of about $6 a plate. Seniors taking the meals pay 55 cents and federal money foots the rest of the bill, Rutherford said.
"We can't scoff at their rules," he said of federal authorities. "It's a part of the operational guidelines."
Rutherford said the moment of silence was introduced to protect that funding. He said although the change may have been misinterpreted, perhaps his company could have done a better job selling it.
"It's interpreted that we're telling people that they can't pray, but we aren't saying that," he said. "We're asking them to pray to themselves. Have that moment of silence."
We aren’t telling them that they “can’t pray.” No, not at all. What we are doing is telling them that if they pray, they and all of their friends will lose the money that paid for their food. If we tell this to them with the right words, they won’t mind. Only 45% are religious anyway.
Government money in a democracy is a dangerous thing.
Avatar. Woohoo.
The movie “Avatar” has made quite a few waves. After their production and marketing costs, it was going to be a major “oops” if it did not please the crowds. Protestors from Palestine to China (especially the last 10 seconds of the China video) have taken up the cry of the Avatar natives as their own.
I naturally felt like I needed to understand this movie. And what do you know? After the first introductory story details, the main character is rescued by an animist (named Neytiri) in less than a bikini. She happens to be the daughter of a tribal chieftain and is ordered to train him in their ways, the ways of the Navi.
The opening words conveyed that this is the tale of a man who finds himself. The visuals are impressive even though the storyline seems to lack a lot of substance. Enough was retained to keep the visuals coming.
Somebody did a lot of work on the physics of this world that they have created. The helicopter-like machines seemed to have counter-rotating sets of blades (picture two sets of two propellors, one set on each side). I can only imagine the calculations that would be required to pull this off without a massive air vortex issue. Either way, it would be very susceptible to random objects (like arrows) being shot into them.
Breathable air is also an issue because of a supposedly decreased gravitational field (and presumed other-than-oxygen gas) on the planet. What are the helicopters flying through?
There is also an issue with the size of the Navi. One physics review site explains the problem much better than I can in my own words:
<font size="2">To its credit, the movie lets us know that gravity conditions are lower on Pandora than on Earth. This helps make the 10 ft height of the blue guys a little more feasible. Otherwise their ability to jump around would be reduced. Their hearts and circulatory systems would also need to be much more robust just to overcome the blood pressure differences between their head and feet, a problem that might otherwise limit their life spans. However, the effects of reduced gravity apparently don't apply to humans. We don't see them gaining any increased mobility.</font>
Basically, the physics applied to the Navi and those applied to the humans do not match up. Read the rest of the article if you are interested in more.
The relational aspect of the characters is also bizarre. The Navi have a special ability to connect their brains to other living creatures that originate on their planet. This allows the Navi to feel even the heartbeat of the creatures they link to. Before the end of the movie (you might have guessed), Jake and the less-than-a-bikini-girl decide to bond themselves to each other for life. A few minutes further into the plot, in a clan meeting, she cries out in anger that she had trusted him. Pardon my asking, but couldn’t she see his thoughts? Where is Spock when you need someone to explain mind melds?
For a touchy-feely type of movie, it wasn’t bad. If this is the type of logic that the world is to run on, I’m scared. Very scared.
So, Do You Want to Date My Avatar? (The song pre-dates the movie Avatar, but portrays the sentiments well enough.)
Apple for Entertainment?
You all probably know about the infamous Windows Blue Screen of Death:
But it looks like Apple has had to one-up Microsoft. They couldn’t remove the death of your work, so they made it prettier. The (third-party) stylized “Beachball of Death”:
Isaac Newton by Mitch Stokes; A (Short) Book Review
School textbooks teach without much explanation of why they teach. The current ideas are cut off from the history behind them. Context turns what you read into more meaningful information, and that is what Mitch Stokes has done with Isaac Newton. He walks you through the day-to-day life of a great man with the help of letters and comments from those who knew him.
Stokes has managed to impress me with how well he portrays the intellect of Isaac Newton. His book contains enough references to keep me busy with research for the next few years while he simplifies the details so that they can be understood by a casual reader.
If not for the need of sleep, I would have read all 168 pages in one sitting. In accordance with reality, I had to read it in two sittings. The book gave several occasions to laugh at the antics of the characters on the pages, and they remind me very much of the eccentricities of some of my friends. On a couple of occasions it turned out that I agreed more with Newtons opponents than with him, but it was very interesting to see the sorts of exchanges that took place.
I did receive this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions rules and regulations. Go get your own opinions.
Geek Topic: Wine and File Extensions
This is just a quick tip. Wine has the ability to register itself to open files in Windows programs automatically. Sometimes that conflicts with what I want. For instance, it registered the JPEG file format on my linux system. Gnome 2.26.3 does not allow you to set another program as the default when this has happened.
These file extensions are registered in clear-text files that end in .desktop, so a quick command in our favorite shell utility will tell us where we have wine registration files:
$ find -name *.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine/Programs/Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-wbk.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-mhtml.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-its.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-chm.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-rtf.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-jfif.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-xml.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-gif.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-dochtml.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-html.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-dothtml.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-mht.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-hlp.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-png.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-txt.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-dot.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-xsl.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-ini.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-jpe.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-air.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-htm.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-doc.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-jpg.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-jpeg.desktop
./.local/share/applications/wine-extension-wri.desktop
That’s a few registrations for control of my files… let’s try to clean it up:
$ rm .local/share/applications/wine-extension-{jpg,jpeg,doc,htm,jpe,ini,xsl,dot,txt,png,html,gif,xml,jfif,rtf}.desktop
Aha, now Nautilus opens the GIMP without a right-click.
Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich was a psychiatrist of sorts who taught for a short while in New York’s The New School (a university; the John Dewey of our current education system was one of its creators). From my reading so far, he appears to be a progressive who was in-line with at least some of our society’s current thought process. Even though this is a fringe view, Wikipedia states that his views of sex literally permeated everything (one of his influences was Sigmund Freud):
He argued that humankind had previously split its knowledge of orgone [a supposed primordial version of Freud's libido] in two: "ether" for its mechanistic, physical aspects, and God for the spiritual, the subjective. He wrote that, "God-Father is the basic cosmic energy from which all being stems, and which streams through (the) body as through anything else in existence."
It is funny that I just finished a book about Isaac Newton. He had conducted an experiment to disprove the existance of ether, which is supposed to cause the effects of gravity by exerting external force on an object. That experiment involved a simple clock pendulum. Newton was brilliant.
I came across this quote of Philip Rieff today in a discussion about Wilhelm Reich:
Set into the context of Reich's attach on the family as the nucleus of all authoritative institutions, his repeated calls for a do-it-yourself adolescent sex education acquires political significance. Sex education becomes the main weapon in an ideological war against the family; its aim was to divest the parents of their moral authority.
I used to say quite often that there is more to life than sex. Some days I feel like I have been drawn into the “sex is everything” craze with some of the books that I read and in how I track society. It is annoying. On Sunday night I visited a church where the pastor preached against gossip as strongly as against lust. That was quite refreshing.
All the same, our society does have a strong focus on sex. Please be aware that, as the quote above explains, the modern sexual exploration and explanations are purposefully designed to break the family.
Is It Wrong to Laugh at Utah?
In Utah we find yet another example of taxes at work:
<span id="slt_site"><span id="slt_article">
Utah has been losing money since lawmakers took flavored malt beverages out of grocery stores and put the alcoholic drinks into state-controlled liquor outlets.
The loss comes despite an 86 percent markup at state stores, which nearly doubled the price of the beverages. Sales have tumbled more than 90 percent since October 2008, when the beverages were restricted to state outlets. Sales taxes on the beverages also have drastically declined, from $604,700 before the grocery-store ban to $72,280 in fiscal year 2009. Tax revenues have declined to $45,900 this fiscal year, which ends June 30.</span></span>
<span id="slt_site"><span id="slt_article">Analysts' predictions also were off for sales tax collections. They predicted $467,400 would be generated each fiscal year, but since March 2009, only $100,000 has been collected. And that amount does not take into account the $600,000 lost in taxes from annual grocery store sales. </span></span>
While I am not a huge fan of liquor, Utah has proven yet again that a tax (alongside more legislation) is the quickest way to bring the usage of some item to a screeching halt.
We also need to convince our news media to quit saying that the governing body is losing money when the truth is that they are not earning it. That is, if you assume that the government has earned any of the money it has.
Men are Better Off After a Divorce
Divorce statistics seem to be very popular. Along the way, many false numbers have crept in as people justify their reasons to leave their spouse. The Discovery Channel has tried to set the record straight about some of those myths. In the United States, the men still come out better:
A reanalysis of the data determined that the woman's loss [in standard of living] was 27 percent while the man's gain was 10 percent.
It also seems that 66% (some people say as high as 90%) of all divorce proceedings are begun by women:
Two-thirds of all divorces are initiated by women. One recent study found that many of the reasons for this have to do with the nature of our divorce laws. For example, in most states women have a good chance of receiving custody of their children. Because women more strongly want to keep their children with them, in states where there is a presumption of shared custody with the husband the percentage of women who initiate divorces is much lower.
There was a great website that has been moved to hosting on the WordPress servers that is called Don’t Marry. The reason for its existence is explained at the beginning:
The intent is not to dissuade men from marrying, but to encourage them to communicate frankly their concerns and expectations regarding marriage with their potential spouses. The secondary aim of this essay is to enlighten women to a few of the reasons why increasingly larger numbers of successful, eligible, unmarried men, who would otherwise prefer monogamous long-term relationships, are turning their backs on marriage.
I would recommend that you read it (the link again: Don’t Marry).
Not to be too harsh, but exactly why should men marry women? If it is on the virtue of their being female then the guys are being led around by… well… you can figure it out. It is not much different than a sanctioned form of porn.
I saw a woman complain a couple days ago that a marriage as a business proposal was “SAD.” How else are men to evaluate it?
Do not get too upset with me. I do not actually believe this about everyone. But you and your kids will have to deal with a view of marriage that mirrors these descriptions. If I may be blunt again, there is some little fairness in this analysis. Men have much more individual freedom when they are single. A marriage exchanges that for a type of clan freedom. Why should he trade in his personal freedom?
The answer for Christians is that we are not our own (ie. I Corinthians 6:19). Every ability that has been given to us is there for either God or others. We were designed to enjoy the social exchange but it can be taken too far.
Spend like a Drunken Sailor
The person who sent this picture to me thought it might (possibly) be photoshopped. I have not called the phone number, but there is certainly a “Bruce L. Hargraves” in “Worland, WY.”
This is about as good as the friend who said Obama was spending money like a teenage girl with her daddy’s credit card.
What is a "Calling"?
In the church circles that I have grown up in and around, a “calling” is quite coveted. I remember hearing one missionary say several years ago that he “felt a calling on [somebody’s] life.” And I have no idea what he meant by that. The references to a “calling” probably stem from Acts 13:
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
This appears to be a good base. If you follow the story through Acts 15, you find [ESV]:
Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
Is a “calling” to be followed mindlessly? I don’t think so. The Scriptures indicate that Paul gave a lot of thought to his actions. Acts 16:6-10:
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Or I Corinthians 9:26 [ESV]:
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
“Calling” has almost become a trump card; a way to stop others from questions about motives. One of my friends recommended a short article that argues similarly. It appeared in World Magazine and is titled “Calling” vs. Choice. Here is an excerpt:
Meek [said] that reducing our hunches and desires to a calling saves us the trouble of thinking, drawing on Scriptural principles, and wise understanding of the world, and absolves us of responsibility when things dont work out well. The false spirituality and false humility of waiting on the Lord to avoid wrestling over a wise course of action in the flesh results often in sitting passively while waiting for God to drop something in our laps. Not taking risks, moving forward, or taking decisive action could actually be a sign of cowardice or lack of faith. Dr. Meek said that hes been around long enough to have seen far too many things that God directed accomplish nothing. But you cant question failure because God directed the action in question.
God has given us a brain for a reason. Yes, sometimes it would be a lot easier to be told what to do. If God did that all the time, we would never learn much. Take a lesson from Daniel:
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Even though God was working, Daniel had to study to find out what that work was. Once he understood it, he applied himself in the way that he thought best.
As Christians, we share the same duty. Don’t let passivity become a crutch.
Spurious Salvation
With recent – and perhaps not-so-recent – attacks on the current pope (ie: this), there have been several defenses of him published. One that was brought to my attention was written by a Lutheran. While I do not know the situation well enough to really comment, one paragraph stood out pretty strongly. I hope you will pardon me for sharing it:
In addition to the unremitting hostility directed at him from the Modernist wing of his own Communion, even prior to his election as Pope, Ratzinger was a favourite target of the unbelieving worlds impassioned hatred for Christ Jesus our Lord and the members of His mystical body. Some years ago, the British _Daily Telegraph_ (which at one time had the reputation of being a quality newspaper) reported that the then cardinal had committed a terrible gaffe by publicly expressing hope for the conversion of the Jews. Fancy that, a Christian wishing salvation for a sizeable group of his neighbours, a faux pas indeed! A Google search has confirmed my memory that British journalists were likewise incensed by the then cardinals comparison of Buddhism with spiritual autoeroticism. How scandalous that a Christian spokesman should speak candidly of religions that offer a spurious salvation!
I had to laugh.
Who said... ?
A friend made a reference on his blog to a very influential writing from the last century. I had not (or do not remember having) read the document in its entirety before. The author had penned this paragraph close to the end:
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust
Without you looking it up, I have two questions for you:
- Who wrote these word?; and
- Have we recaptured that sacrificial spirit of the early church?
Can the Man Abort Without the Woman's Consent?
It looks like a former Pharmicist has medically-induced an abortion on his mistress (he is/was engaged to someone else). The article from _The Leader _says:
Tercero is accused of using pharmaceutical drugs to induce a miscarriage. He allegedly inserted a drug thought to be Misoprostol into the woman during two sexual encounters at her home in Sayre, Pa. He also allegedly put the drug in the womans juice and water.
On Feb. 28, the second time Tercero allegedly inserted pills into the woman, she miscarried at the Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. The fetus was at 13 weeks gestation. Tercero was engaged to another woman and had been in a physical relationship with the victim for approximately two years.
Another blog that I have been reading, Is Anybody There?, asks a good question:
If a woman can have an abortion without the consent of the father, then why cant the father do the same thing to her? If killing your baby is an absolute right and feminists are fighting for equality, then why should only mothers have that right? Why cant fathers as well?
It is her body, his pocketbook, and an ever-irrelevant blob – right? If abortion were a “right” then I would have to agree with this man’s logic.
Here is the thing bothers me: the primary argument that I have heard used to explain why abortions should be allowed is the case of rape. It is not a very common occurance as that kind of stress will normally put a stop to ovulation (I can document this if anybody wants but am ru
ing low on time this morning). If the fringe case is how we convince a large demographic that abortion is fine, then fringe case like this ought to get just as much support from the abortion community as any other abortion that is called into question.
This is my humble attempt to make the situation better-known.