Posted by Anthony on November 30, 2009
Reposting of a blog entry today at the ChristianPost.com titled “Convert your temporal money into eternal blessings”
For years and years I was befuddled by the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16). It is too long to quote here. The essence is that the master fires his manager who then reasons to himself, “What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg- I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.”
The manager then goes to his master’s debtors while still in his master’s service, sits down with them, and cuts their debt in half. In short, the manager is stealing from the master in order to win favor with his master’s debtors.
This is all well and good until the real shock comes in verse 8: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.”
I wasn’t expecting that.
I have heard various interpretations of this passage attempting to show that in fact Jesus was not speaking favorably about the dishonest manager but this seems to fly in the face of the text.
Read the full entry
Posted by Anthony on November 29, 2009
From divulged emails regarding ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’, ie, Climategate:
“I can’t see either of these papers being in the next IPCC report,” Jones writes. “Kevin and I will keep them out somehow — even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!”
In another, Jones and Mann discuss how they can pressure an academic journal not to accept the work of climate skeptics with whom they disagree. “Perhaps we should encourage our colleagues in the climate research community to no longer submit to, or cite papers in, this journal,” Mann writes.
“I will be emailing the journal to tell them I’m having nothing more to do with it until they rid themselves of this troublesome editor,” Jones replies.
From US Congressional Committee Report: INTOLERANCE AND THE POLITICIZATION OF SCIENCE AT THE SMITHSONIAN (full report):
In a series of emails on August 30, Dr. Ferrari and Dr. Sues discussed the Smithsonian’s procedures for hiring and firing a Research Associate and how Dr. Sternberg was approved for his RA position. Sues lamented that “The Sternberg situation could not have been prevented by senior management because his CV looks credible and does not reveal his interactions with the creationist movement.”44 Dr. Sues seemed to be suggesting that if Sternberg’s supposed interactions with the “creationist movement” were known, he would not have been approved as an RA, and the “situation” would have been prevented. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on November 24, 2009
The Internet is abuzz with the revelations that global warming proponents have been… lying, hiding data, and deceiving. The whole notion that ‘climate change’ is an emergency requiring drastic and immediate action now hangs in the balance. I was reminded of a post I wrote last year responding to a global warming skeptic comparing the global warming proponents to creationists. I said that in fact it was the other way around. Today, with ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ in particular being smacked around, it is good to revisit the issue.
Why?
Because the raw fact is that the ’science’ behind global warming is just as shady as the ’science’ behind macroevolution. Just as we see in this current case where scientists worked not merely to suppress data but also suppress viewpoints, trying to manipulate the peer review process to exclude dissenters and refusing to debate them in order to deprive them of credibility, so too in evolution.
This was exposed by Ben Stein’s Expelled, which I already discussed here.
But there are even more dramatic similarities between the ’science’ behind evolutionary theory and global warming. It is my hope that when people see how reputable scientists tried to buffalo the entire world, hiding behind ‘consensus,’ and ridiculing those who think other wise- regarding global warming- that they will spot the same patterns of behavior regarding evolution… and approach it with more skepticism. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on
Today I posted a blog entry at a companion site proposing specific ways in which churches can exhibit love. These ideas involve setting up the congregation’s property in a way that is designed to do just that.
The two ideas I mentioned are… using ’spare’ land to grow food to give to the needy and other purposes and build low income housing right on the congregation’s premises. I discuss and to an extent defend these ideas there, and don’t worry, I’ve got more ideas coming down the pike. You may comment on those ideas here or there.
What I did dwell on there but would like to spend just a moment speaking to here is this premise: “Congregational facilities should reflect the mission of the church. Where you put your money says something about what you value. You can tell a lot about a church and the Church by looking at its buildings and where it puts its money.”
Now, I don’t think this is a controversial premise. Moreover, I don’t think it applies only to the Church. I think this is just a general truism about money and people. But I ask: if true, what message is being communicated about what the Church values in view of the property usage by many, if not most, churches in America? Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on November 23, 2009
Athanatos Christian Ministry’s 2010 Christian writing contest is taking submissions. Over $2,000 in awards will be disbursed in two different age categories in short story fiction and a poetry category that is new this year.
Their Website: ChristianWritingContest.com
Last year’s winning stories were published in an anthology which is available on Amazon.com, here. You can also read them online at the writing contest home page.
The purpose of the contest is to encourage Christians to promote their beliefs through fiction.
Short story fiction requirements:
* Cost: $15.
* Length: 1,500 to 7,500 words
* Content: implicitly or explicitly reflecting the orthodox Christian world view.
* Time: Accepting Entries Now thru Feb 15th, 2010. Winners Announced beginning in April, 2009. Anthologies and Awards disbursed in early May, 2010.
Poetry requirements:
* Cost: $15.
* Length: Max 2,500 words
* Content: implicitly or explicitly reflecting the orthodox Christian world view.
* We reserve the right to modify the award amounts depending on response.
* Time: Accepting Entries Now thru Feb 15th, 2010. Winners Announced beginning in April, 2009. Anthologies and Awards disbursed in early May, 2010.
Every entrant will receive a copy of the anthology.
Learn more, check out bulk submission discounts, and download fliers, here:
http://christianwritingcontest.com
Posted by Anthony on
Courtesy of the Drudge Report today I’m treated to an article about a person who had been diagnosed as being in a coma who actually had been fully conscious for more than 20 years.
The idea that somebody could be misdiagnosed as being in a ‘vegetative state’ takes on significance when we remember that in some corners this is an excuse to kill the person. Think Terri Schiavo.
In the article, it is hard to blame the doctors for their misdiagnosis as it appears from the article that the technology to verify that Rom Houben was actually conscious has only recently been around. In truth, there could only have been ‘blame’ if in fact Rom had been ‘terminated’ despite being conscious. Would we have ever learned this if some ‘humane’ and ‘compassionate’ person or entity had decided to pull his plug? Obviously, no.
As the article illustrates, people have woken up from comas and ‘persistent vegetative states’ before. Perhaps a great many more would do so if we didn’t whack them as soon as we tend to do. Maybe it just takes the brain that much longer to heal, or re-wire, and we rarely see it only because of our impatience.
We continue to discover that for as much as we know about human biology and the brain we also learn how much we don’t know. We also learn that we frequently make mistakes. Big ones. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on November 20, 2009
I came across this recently and it took me a bit to track down the original document. It seems that it may only be available in pdf? Here is the PDF I found of the original. So that it might get wider exposure, I asked a trusted ACM volunteer to transcribe it for me. I think the insight into the mind of certain folks gained from reading it is valuable. It’s also more evidence that this way of thinking didn’t die with the Nazis.
(Ron Weddington was co-counsel for the pro-abortion camp in the Roe vs. Wade camp)
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Dear President-To-Be Clinton,
Some years ago another Southern Governor, when asked about the possibilities for prison reform, supposedly said something to the effect of, “Well, I don’t think we’re going to get very far until we get a better class of prisoner.”
Well, I don’t think you are going to get very far in reforming the country until we have a better educated, healthier, wealthier population.
Face it; you know that anything that even resembles the programs of Democratic Presidents in the past is going to make you a one term President. Reagan spent all our money on bombs and even if there were money for programs such as pre-natal health care, job training and day care centers, it would be years before we would see and dramatic results. And, as anyone who follows education can see, more money doesn’t necessarily translate into better educated kids. Read the rest of the entry… »
