Various Current Events

Double-dipping: Really that bad by Fox News
NFL pulls plug on church parties by Washington Post
N.M. tax targets TV, video games by AP
McCain's critics on right look again by NY Times
Forced annulment keeps couple apart by Yahoo
For many inmates, crime runs in family by USA Today
More states to deny illegals drivers licenses by USA Today
Congress helps itself, again by Boston Globe
Mother defends dog after attack on son by Fox News
Scientists reverse memory loss by The Independent
Thank you for smoking - in a hut by Chicago Tribune
Radio impugns McCain's liberal record by Washington Times
Concealed guns in classroom? - Blog by AZCentral.com
Fed cuts key rate as stimulus plan advances by NY Times
Transcript of GOP debate at Reagan Library by CNN
Presidential endorsements by Progressive Public Affairs
White House endorsement watch by RollCall.com
Presidential endorsements by SwingStateProject.com
Obama: Decriminalize pot by Washington Times
Is McCain conservative? by Robert Novack, CNS News
Stimulus package nonsense by Walter Williams, CNS News
Super Tuesday primer by Atlanta Journal Constitution

WW--Candidates Should Do Whatever It Takes To Win

~What solace is there in losing honorably?
~Losers don’t get to make policy.
~Nobody respects a loser, even if they say they do.
~If you’re right, then it obligates you to win.
~Since politics is just a non-lethal prelude to warfare and version of it, the key is to win.
~Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
~“Honorable loser” is just a euphemism for “woosie.”
~If you can’t win at any cost, do we really want you commanding the army?
~The First Amendment is specifically there to protect immoral campaigning.
~In order for this to be an adequate substitute for war, it has to be as brutal as warfare would be.
~If you’re not willing to do whatever it takes, what business do you have asking people to give you money and time?
~Jimmy Carter was a nice guy.
~Those who can’t stomach politics, don’t have the stomach to wage war and to do what is necessary even in more ordinary political scenarios.
~He who won’t do whatever it takes loses.

Bible References: Matthew 5:38-48, Matthew 26:48-56, Luke 6:27-38,Romans 13:1-7

Links on Campaign Ethics:
Attack Ads by Wikipedia.com
Negative Campaigning by Wikipedia.com
Do Negative Campaign Ads Work? by ThisNation.com
Going Negative by Stanford University Political Communication Lab
In Praise Of Negative Campaigning by Findarticles.com
The morality of campaign ads by Truthout.org

WW--Christians Shouldn’t Play Chess

~It makes you weird. Just consider the people who become outstanding at it like Bobby Fischer.
~It promotes feminism. The queen is the most powerful piece on the board, and the king is kind of a wimp.
~It’s also anti-woman since the only purpose of women is to serve the king.
~It’s utilitarian because every piece is only valuable for the end objective. There’s no intrinsic human worth implied in it.
~Explain to me how destroying your enemy by overwhelming him with violence is particularly Christian?
~If chess were a modern video game, you’d never let your kids play it.
~There is simply no room for mercy, compassion, or grace in Chess.
~How does this fit with praying for your enemies?
~It teaches that phyrric victories are still worth having and count just as well as other ones.
~It’s racist—white goes first, and no one chooses to be black on purpose.
~Only two at a time can play. What do you do with three people?

Theological Tuesday

~Bible Stories 3: Jesus walks on water (Matthew 14, Mark 6, John 6)
~Why shouldn’t we sin?
~Is abortion theologically important?
~What should we make of Proverbs 31:16?

Bible References: Matt 14:22-36, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:15-25

Links on Jesus walking on water:
Walking on water by Wikipedia
Jesus walks on water by Agapeindia.com
Cities of ancient Israel by Bible-history.com

Is It Wrong To Work At A Job You Hate?

I’m sure we’ve all heard people complain about their jobs, both directly (I hate my job) and indirectly (Thank God it’s Friday). But should Christians work at jobs they hate so much that they’d rather not do them? On the one hand, the Bible says that we were created for work (Genesis 2). On the other hand, It says that our work would be unpleasant after Adam’s sin (Genesis 3). Does happiness in your work matter? Are happy people more productive? Is there a job out there for everyone which he can be happy doing?

Bible References: Gen 2:5, Gen 2:15, Gen 3:17-19, 1 Chron 29:14-16, Prov 6:6-11, Prov 10:4-5, Prov 12:27, Prov 18:9, Prov 19:15, Prov 20:4, Prov 21:25, Prov 24:30-34, Prov 31:27, Matt. 6:19-34, Luke 16:9-15, Eph 6:5-8, Col 3:22-24, 1 Thess 4:9-11, 1 Thess 5:12-13, 2 Thess 3:7-12, 1 Tim 5:3-15, 1 Tim 5:18, 1 Tim 6:6-11, 1 Tim 6:17-19

Post-Show Thoughts: If God created you for a purpose and your primary task is to glorify Him by accomplishing it, it's hard to see how this would be done best by working in a job you hate. Though there are exceptions, in America in 2008, any Christian should be able to find a way to make a living doing what God built you to do, which is indicated by the fact that you enjoy doing it. The reasl problem for most people is that they either don't know what to look for in a job or else don't know how to recognize it once they have one. The first, most important issue is whether you really believe in the thing your company produces. If not, there is no way to be fully happy helping it be made. If you do, then the next step is finding a company which makes it that you admire or at least can endure. Third, find a job suited to your talents that you believe is connected with the end result of doing whatever that company does. Money, location, hours, coworkers, etc. are all secondary to these considerations. Making money the key determinant of occupation is just a sloppy way of saying that you are serving someone else's values for the sake of money rather than the ones God put in you. It's hard to differentiate between this and slavery, except that at least slaves usually have no options whatsoever. This sounds harsh, I know, but my goal is to get people out of jobs they hate and into jobs they can be enthusiastic about because it will make you happier, more prosperous, and more pleasing to the God who gave you your talents for a reason.

Links on feelings towards your job:
Why it's wrong for a Christian to hate their jobs by Blogspot.com
Debate: Do you hate your job? by Helium.com

Non-Biblical Sayings, Proverbs, And Life Mottos

“It’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.” “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” We’ve all heard these and a thousand other pieces of proverbial advice. But which ones really stick with you and motivate you in your daily life?

Bible references: Proverbs

Examples from callers/emailers:
Somehow I managed to delete most of them after spending about 15 minutes compiling them. I'm so sorry. Email me if you want to remind me of yours.
~You may not always get what you paid for, but you will always pay for what you get.
~Jane--"This isn't death. Death is death. This is just an inconvenience."
~When you wake up, get up, and when you get up, do something.
~Half of something is better than all of nothing.
~Larry--"Justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
~Larry--"Things seem to work out the best for the people who make the most out of the way things work out." Art Linkletter

Examples in general
~Six of one, half dozen of the other
~Don’t poop where you eat.
~You’ve got to break some eggs to make an omelet.
~Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
~Never risk anything you can’t afford to lose.
~If you love something, set it free. If it comes back it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.
~The easiest thing to remember is the truth.
~If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.
~Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
~People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
~A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
~When you can see John Brown through John Brown’s eyes, you will sell John Brown what John Brown buys.
~It’s better to be a big fish in a little pond than a little fish in a big pond.
~You always miss a hundred percent of the swings you don’t take.
~It takes one to know one.
~This, too, shall pass.
~You can never step into the same river twice.
~God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the patience to accept the things I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.
~If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
~The greatest oak was once a little nut that held its ground.
~Adversity doesn’t form character, it reveals it.
~Carpe diem
~You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.
~Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.
~Good advice usually works best when preceded by a bad scare.
~People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
~Laughter is the best medicine.
~If you laugh the world laughs with you. When you cry, you cry alone.
~A pig in lipstick is still very much a pig.
~Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it.
~Any group that would accept me is for that reason a little suspect. (Groucho Marx said “Any club that would want me as a member, I wouldn’t want to be a part of.”)
~When the lights go out, you can either curse at the darkness or light a candle.
~There’s more regret in the things you don’t do than in the things you do wrong.
~When you find something you love to do, you’ll never work another day in your life.

Examples from Famous people
~“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller
~“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
~“Winning is not the most important thing, it’s the only thing.” Vince Lombardi popularized it, but the quote was originally coined by former Vanderbilt and UCLA football coach Henry “Red” Sanders in the 1930s.
~"For when the One Great Scorer comes, To write against your name, He marks - not that you won or lost - But how you played the Game." Grantland Rice
~“The more I practice, the luckier I get.” Jerry Barber
~“You’ll be basically the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you associate with and the books you read.” Charlie T. Jones
~“We didn’t lose the game, we just ran out of time.” Vince Lombardi
~“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” Joe Paterno
~“All evil requires is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
~“It’s better to have a gun and not need one than to need a gun and not have one.” Al Capone

Examples for Andrew
~I’m more worried about someone who agrees with me all the time than I am about someone who never does.
~You can’t become smarter unless you find something you’re wrong about.
~Whoever apologizes first, wins.
~It takes a big man to do nothing at all.
~Always leave everything a little better than you found it.
~Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
~How’s that working for you?
~Amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.
~The human brain cannot decide whether to do a thing and how to do that thing at the same time.
~It’s better to be alive than to have the right of way.
~The difference between a loser and a winner is that the winner does what neither of them wants to do.
~If you spend so much of your time putting out fires that you never take time to plant any trees, you might as well quit because you’re going to lose the whole forest eventually anyway.
~Everyone’s beautiful when they smile.
~Success is harder to endure than failure.
~There are two kinds of people: those who find a way and those who find an excuse.
~The way you behave in the little things is practice for how you’ll behave in the big things.
~The way you think determines the way you act, and the way you act determines your circumstances.
~What’s the most excellent thing to do?
~“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Chinese
~Do something, then do a little more.
~Mediocre minds also think alike.
~We cannot solve the problems we have with the same level of thinking that produced them.
~The pain of discipline is always less than the pain of regret.
~"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly until you can learn how to do it well." Zig Ziglar
~You don’t learn anything when things go right.
~Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.
~Judge the tree by the fruit it bears.
~Try not to criticize anyone you can’t honestly say you love.
~You don’t know what you don’t know. That’s why you don’t have. Since if you knew what you knew, then you’d have. Because to know and not do is not to know.

Links on sayings, proverbs, and life mottos:
Theodore Roosevelt: Citizenship in a republic
Phrases, sayings, and quotes by Inspirationalspark.com
Top 100 motivational quotes by Boldwords.blogspot.com
Sayings and quotes by CoolnSmart.com

Various Current Events

6 lies about McCain by Michael Medved, Townhall.com
China's genocide Olympics by NY Times
Theft ends in shackles for young couple by NY Times
Tentative deal reached on stimulus plan by NY Times
Victoria's Secret replaces disputed posters by Arizona Republic
Saving South African marriages by Christian Science Monitor
Foolishness of economic stimulus by Christian Science Monitor
Obama prays to be instrument of God's will by Beliefnet.com
Obama defends faith by Fox News
Q&A: Barack Obama by Christianity Today
Bill Clinton says race, gender to decide S.C. by USA Today
ESPN anchor disciplined after comments by Chicago Sun Times
ESPN anchorwoman trashes Jesus by Catholicleague.org
ESPN won't release hosts' rant video by CNS News
Fate of F-15 raises questions by CNS News
Who decides TV debate participants? by SF Chronicle
Ohio court debates rights to body parts by Findlaw.com
Kucinich quits presidential race by AZCentral.com
Presidential paintball shooting game by TheSmokingGun.com
Chuck Norris facts (may have slight exaggerations)

WW--Children Are Better Off Without Grandparents Around

~Getting your cheeks pinched hurts.
~Grandparents spoil grandchildren.
~Grandparents are unfair competition for parents. Like Barney, they don’t have to lay down the law and do the unpleasant things parents have to do.
~Grandparents are prone to meddling. They can be intrusive and controlling.
~When their values and lifestyles don’t match the kids, this is a real source of conflict.
~They often aren’t very cool.
~They may reflect defective values of the old days, such as racism or sexism.
~Grandparents often pass away in early life for kids, which is painful.
~They can undermine parental authority by sympathizing with the kids over against their parents, by telling embarrassing stories about the parents, by showing disrespect for the parents as their parents, and by questioning the parents judgment.
~Grandparents make parents look stingy because they squander money (both because they have it and because they’re looser with it) on the grandkids.
~We know from experience that kids often grow up to be perfectly wonderful people without their grandparents around, either due to death or distance.

Bible References: Genesis 31:22-28, Genesis 48:8-10, Lev 19:32, Ruth 4:14-15, 2 Chronicles 15:16, 2 Chronicles 21:12-20, Psalm 128:1-6, Proverbs 13:22, 2 Timothy 1:5, 2 Timothy 3:14-15

Links on Grandparents:
Grandparent by Wikipedia
Grandparents' role in the Bible by Wels.net
Grandparenting: not same as parenting by NYMministries.org
Grandparents in the Bible by NYMministries.org
Mistakes grandparents make by NYMministries.org
Importance of grandparents by Partnershipforlearning.org
Grandparents: Vital role by Fathersforlife.org
Why kids need grandparents by Focusonyourchild.com
Grandparents' rights by Custodycenter.com
The importance of grandparents by Foreverfamilies.net
The influence of grandparents by North Dakota State University
Grandparents: New Look at Supporting Generation by Amazon

WW--Unconditional Love Is A Mistake

~Capitalism is directly opposed to this idea. We understand that even relatively decent people perform better in an environment with consequences and expectations and rewards for performance than in one where these things do not count for anything.
~Communism is the system of unconditional benefits. Welfare.
~If a spouse knows you’ll stay no matter what, how likely is it that this person will do the maximum amount necessary to be a great spouse?
~Why is it that people are more polite, decent, and generous when they are dating than when they are married?
~Do you love the terrorists? Is it really a sin to want them to be killed?
~When you give people unconditional love, they abuse it.
~You can’t love everyone unconditionally because you must give money to your family, you must deny some needs in order that others get met.
~Knowing that my wife loves me conditionally means that I have that much more incentive to do the necessary things to please and provide for her.
~Imagine how absurd it is for someone who owns a shop to say he loves everyone unconditionally. He gives them his goods and services in exchange for their payment. That’s conditional love. If he gave everything away asking only fair compensation voluntarily, he’d be without inventory in mere days.
~Likewise, in relationships, it’s a give and a take, because some people are takers only. Some people, in fact, are givers only, and they wind up getting abused by takers. It’s those who understand cooperation that make it work.
~People who refuse to set limits and punish transgressions only enable other people to continue being bad. Unconditional love is just the raw material for enabling codependence.
~Those who speak of unconditional love almost always want us to overlook moral violations. They speak of love and acceptance, and we all know that it is wrong to accept sin or to act as though sin is acceptable to God.
~You acknowledge how dangerous unconditional love is by how carefully you select a spouse upon whom to bestow it. Why not just acknowledge that it’s too dangerous in the first place. Besides isn’t it hypocritical to unconditionally love only someone who must meet all the right conditions first?
~Would you love, unconditionally, someone who made a habit of punching babies? If so, would your behavior increase or decrease the incidence of baby-punching?
~Don’t you believe in jails?

Theological Tuesday

~Bible Stories 2: The woman caught in adultery (John 8)
~Bill has a question about “be fruitful and multiply.”
~Is abortion theologically important?
~Why should we not sin?
~Would Jesus have been born if Adam had not sinned?
~What should we make of Proverbs 31:16?
~What’s the right way to pray?
~Would you describe watching television as an act of worship?
~Is God a good parent?

Links on the woman caught in adultery:
John 8:1-11: The woman caught in adultery by Xenos.org
The woman caught in adultery by Gracethrufaith.com
Context, culture, and theological issues by Culham.ac.uk
A woman caught in adultery by Net.Bible.org

Movies You Expect Everyone Has Seen

One definition of a culture might be the collective agreement about what people are supposed to know and about what people are supposed to do. In the knowledge realm, there are two parts, the things everyone knows and the things everyone thinks everyone else knows or is supposed to know. Given that movies, not books, are the basis of the current American culture, I thought it would be interesting to discuss which movies are the ones that everyone knows and expects others to know. Do not confuse this question with the issue of best movies or movies film critics think everyone should see. It’s simply those movies that you would likely say, “You’re kidding! What do you mean you haven’t seen X?” if someone said he had not.

Links on movies everyone should know:
Essential movies by Guarang.org
The "A" List - 100 movies by Filmsite.org
102 movies you must see by RogerEbert.com
All-time top 1000 grossing films by Movieweb.com

A-List...Everyone should have seen all of these—The key to this list is that no one disputes anything on it. Even if they haven’t seen one, they admit they should have, culturally speaking. Remember, this is not a list based on quality but only on expectancy that people know them.
Back to the Future, Bambi, Braveheart, Casablanca, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dirty Harry, Godfather, ET, Exorcist, Grease, It’s A Wonderful Life, James Bond (At least one), Jaws, Karate Kid, King Kong, Lion King, Mary Poppins, Old Yeller, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Pretty Woman, Psycho, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Snow White, Sound of Music, Star Wars (Original 3), Superman, Titanic, Top Gun, Wizard of Oz

A-/B+...Honorable Mention—Almost A, but not quite.
Animal House, Christmas Story, Dirty Dancing, Fatal Attraction, Forrest Gump, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Jerry Maguire, Matrix, Miracle on 34th Street, Raging Bull

B-List...Everyone should have seen most of these.
Airplane, Alien (s), Apocalypse Now, Ben-Hur, Birds, Caddyshack, Cars, Cast Away, Chariots of Fire, Cinderella, Citizen Kane, Clockwork Orange, Coming to America, Cool Hand Luke, Die Hard, Dr. Strangelove, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Few Good Men, First Blood, Friday the 13th, Ghost, Ghostbusters, Gone With The Wind, Goodfellas, Harry Potter, History of the World, Home Alone, Incredibles, Jurassic Park, Lady and the Tramp, Lawrence of Arabia, Lethal Weapon, Lord of the Rings, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Napoleon Dynamite, Pirates of the Caribbean, Princess Bride, Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, Scarface, Shawshank Redemption, Shrek, Sixth Sense, Sleeping Beauty, Sting, Stripes, Taxi Driver, Ten Commandments, Terminator, Vacation (s), When Harry Met Sally

C-List...Everyone should have seen some of these
Austin Powers, Bad News Bears, Basic Instinct, Beverly Hills Cop, Blazing Saddles, Borat, Breakfast Club, City Slickers, Do the Right Thing, Dumb and Dumber, Eddie Murphy: Delirious, Fargo, Field of Dreams, Fletch, Full Metal Jacket, Jerry Maguire, Love Bug, Nacho Libre, Naked Gun, Office Space, Passion of the Christ, Patton, Planet of the Apes, Rain Man, Reservoir Dogs, Revenge of the Nerds, Rounders, Spaceballs, Staying Alive, Usual Suspects, Wall Street, Wayne’s World

Andrew's Private Collection (Other than those above)
300, Attack of the Killer War Tomatoes, Blade Runner, Dead Poet's Society, Desperado, Escape From New York, Face Off, Flash Gordon, Glengarry Glenross, Great Escape, Grosse Point Blank, Highlander, Little Man Tate, Logan’s Run, Rollerball, Ronin, Say Anything, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Sin City, Stranger than Fiction, Swordfish, This Is Spinal Tap, True Romance, Village

Ethics: Should Children Be Allowed To Choose Their Own…?

Largely as a result of advertising and disposable income, children are a major determinant of American popular culture. But compare this with ethnic subcultures such as Russian, Indian, or Polish here in the United States. Those groups have long-standing traditions about food, music, clothing, books, etc. which children are not given the choice to reject. In contrast, non-ethnic children in this country pretty much pick their own culture. Is this a healthy thing for a country to allow? What other implications result from this sort of liberty?

Bible References: Deut 5:16, Deut 6:1-9, Prov 22:6, Eph 6:1-4

Various Current Events

Video: "Max Romney" by Youtube
Video: Mike Huckabee on Colbert Report by Comedy Central
Clinton attacks Obama by Politico.com
Napolitano's 2008 State Address by AZgovernor.gov
Ministry to adopt prostitutes' children by Christian Post
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Wikipedia
ACLU back Senator Craig by Fox News
Does your pet need insurance? by ABC News
When rules run up against faith by Washington Post
Muslin rock singer reprimanded by Chicago Sun Times
Pope cancels visit to Rome University by USA Today
The Supreme Court Club by NY Times
Huckabee about-face on smoking by TheHill.com
No prosecutions until March by Arizona Republilc
Obama joke stuns crowd by Rocky Mountain News
Number of abortions lowest in decades by Boston Globe

WW--Fathers Aren't Necessary

~Look at how many women manage to raise fine children on their own.
~Women are far better at nurturing children.
~Men have a tendency to be more violent and anti-social than women do.
~When they have jobs outside the home, fathers are only present in the home perhaps 45 hours a week when the children are awake, merely ¼ of the hours of a week.
~Men have run society. How well is that working for us?
~We all know that mom is essential, but we have to be almost coerced into buying dad a gift on Father’s Day.
~With day care and public education, what does dad provide that mom can’t?
~At best, men can be trained to be parents, whereas women are naturally gifted in this area.
~In some cultures, particularly in Asia/Middle East, the dad is almost totally uninvolved in the parenting process, at least for the first 5-10 years or so.

Links on fatherhood:
Life without a father by Fathersforlife.org
Consequences of father absence by Fathersforlife.org
Consequences of fatherlessness by Fathers.com
Effects of removing a father by Childrensjustice.org
Social consequences by Ancpr.org
Fatherlessness: Root cause by Nationalreview.com
Facts on fatherlessness by Jmm.aaa.net
Organization: Single mothers by choice
Are fathers necessary anymore? by UnionPC.org
Facing fatherhood by Christine Weiss
Fathers make a difference by Rick Johnson
Remembering Dad by Jane Jimenez

WW--Freedom Of Religion Is Overrated

~Blasphemy, heresy, devil-worship, sin, cults, false gods, idolatry. Are you really sure that freedom of religion is a good thing?
~Consider all the problems that come from us allowing freedom of religion: Prayer in school, Bible in school, Nativity scenes, Christian holidays, Funding for private schools, Charities taking public funds, Abortion, Contraception, Homosexuality, and Pornography
~God commanded that most “expressions of religious freedom” be punished by death in the Old Testament. Who are we to “improve” upon God?
~People today are simply too stupid, sinful, and deceived to be counted upon to recognize the superior truth claims of Christianity.
~There is no way to guarantee that religious freedom does not progress toward religious anarchy and total relativism.
~If it’s good enough for Israel in the Old Testament, why isn’t it good enough for us?
~Law is nothing more than codified intolerance for highly immoral, meaning highly irreligious acts.
~Romans 13 indicates that God ordains governments. Then shouldn’t we be trying to align this government structure to honor God’s ordination?
~We all know the terrible consequences of this non-Constitutional doctrine of the separation of church and state.
~Is there any part of Creation which shouldn’t be under the Lordship of Christ?

Links on Religious freedom:
America marks religious freedom day by Christian Post

Theological Tuesday

~Bible Stories 1: The Prodigal Son (Luke 15)
~Bill has a question about Adam and Eve’s kids
~Would Jesus have been born if Adam had not sinned?
~What should we make of Proverbs 31:16?
~Why did Jesus get baptized?
~What’s the right way to pray?
~Would you describe watching television as an act of worship?
~Why should we not sin?
~Is God a good parent?

Links on the baptism of Jesus:
Baptism of Jesus by Wikipedia
Why did Jesus get baptized? by HolySpiritInteractive.net
Why did Jesus get baptized? by Orthodoxytoday.org
The baptism of Jesus by Brow.on.ca
Why was Jesus baptized by John? by Raptureready.com
Why did Jesus ask for baptism? by Redlandsdailyfacts.com
Why was Jesus baptized? by Sermoncentral.com
Why did Jesus need to be baptized? by Home.Catholicweb.com

Bucket Lists: New Things You’d Like To Try

I love my life, I really do. At the same time, part of me worries about the fact that it consists of doing pretty much the same things over and over again. So, I’ve recently started thinking about new things I might like to do, especially those things that I might be reluctant to do because they scare me a little. Not necessarily thrilling things, but different things. So what new skill, experience, activity, or endeavor would you like to do, possibly this year?

How Much Does Similarity Matter In Marriage?

I often hear commercials for E-Harmony, and I think they have a very useful service. But their basic premise is that the most successful marriages occur between two people who are compatible with each other. For most people, compatible is somewhat of a synonym for similar, although this isn’t necessarily the way E-Harmony means it. It has been said that opposites attract…and then repel. It has also been said that if two people are identical, one of them is unnecessary. Nonetheless, the basic question remains: how important is it to a marriage that both people have things in common or are similar to each other? And what areas carry the most importance for this question?

Various Current Events

Birth leave sought for girls by Denver Post
Huckabee vows no birthright citizenship by Washington Times
Huckabee refutes citizenship article by MikeHuckabee.com
Birthrght citizenship in the U.S. by Wikipedia
Birthright citizenship and the Constitution by Heritage.org
Rethinking birthright citizenship by Ron Paul, LewRockwell.com
Mayor's racy photo upsets residents by Fox News
"Dykes on Bikes" trademark OKed by SFGate.com
Officials raid home, take child to hospital by CBS News
Graham Bell: Wrong inventor? by Christian Science Monitor
$750,000 awarded to cuckolded husband by Yahoo News
Enlightened racism by Christianity Today
A meditation on the joint by Christianity Today
All you know about fascism is wrong by Christianity Today
U.S. describes confrontation with Iran by NY Times
Questions for the fair tax crowd by Jerry Bowley, Townhall.com
Pollsters struggle to explain Clinton win by USA Today
School refuses to let boy join cheerleaders by WLKY.com
Judge bars Bibles to grade schoolers by STLtoday.com
Marvel erases Spiderman marriage by USA Today
Gilbert ends church discrimination by AllianceDefenseFund.com
The line between church and state by Findlaw.com
Ongoing incarnation by Christianity Today
Immigration law rattles Oklahoma businesses by USA Today
Richardson drops out by Boston Globe
Hillary turns it around by Washington Post
More states roll dice on slots by USA Today
Porn gets own home set-top box by Denver Post
Boy scouts learning about bullies by Houston Chronicle
Instant-runoff voting by Wikipedia
Boy scout saves Maldives president by Christian Science Monitor
A total failure on Facebook by Christian Science Monitor
Hillary's free pass by NY Times
1 of 2 adults say marriage not necessary by Christian Post
Court hears Voter ID case by Findlaw.com
The Megachurch primaries by Christianity Today
Anglican church open to scrap blasphemy law by Christian Post
Abortion clinic violence by Findlaw.com

WW--Religious Movies Are Dangerous

~Images may produce emotion, but they do not produce Godly repentance
~What does the Second Commandment say. We may not bow down to the images on the screen, but we pay money and sit there quite obediently watching them.
~Are the time-tested methods of evangelism not sufficient for us? Are the methods of the Book of Acts in the Bible not adequate?
~“Heresy of method is as deadly as heresy of message.”
~God is very particular about images, observe the detail and precision required in the tabernacle
~Religious movies give the impression that religion is as much a mere story as any other movie topic.
~They violate the Scriptural law of hearing.
~Can words not say all that God intended them to say?
~Religious movies embody the mischievous notion that religion is or can be made a form of entertainment.
~Which would people rather do: watch a religious movie or fast, pray, and seek God? Religious movies displace real spiritual discipline.
~Dulls people’s ability to distinguish the Holy Spirit from emotional twinges.
~Acting is a violation of the rule to be sincere.
~The most vivid Biblical scenes are R-rated: David and Bathsheba, Sodom and Gomorrah, Various battles, The Crucifixion, Even Adam and Eve.
~Drama is not what brought the Church out of darkness, but Biblical Spirit-filled preaching.
~When have you ever in history heard of a major spiritual revival ever coming from a form of acting?
~You cannot give Biblical authority for the act of showing movies.
~It replaces the prophet with the projector.
~Manna is not enough. We want flesh.

Links on Religious Movies:
The menace of the religious movie by Bethelministries.com

WW--Profanity Should Be Illegal

~It would eliminate most rap music.
~You shouldn’t have to listen to this so regularly.
~Would Jesus swear?
~It’s important for society to have taboos.
~Maturity means choosing to use adult vocabulary. “Use your words” we tell children.
~It requires no intelligence, and in fact becomes a substitute for thinking or developing a proper vocabulary
~They make you seem less intelligent.
~Sometimes people need a little incentive to stop doing something they shouldn’t do anyhow, like smoking.
~This is thought pollution, just as much as smoking is air pollution.
~Disturbing the peace is a crime, this is just an example of that.
~Profanity is a declaration that you are outside civil society. It’s fundamentally anti-social.
~Hitting someone with your words is still hitting someone.
~If the FCC should rule against it in public, then why not make that rule apply to all public areas?
~Profanity is like torturing animals—those who do worse things usually start here. If no one did this, no one would likely do the worse things either.

Bible References: Psalm 19:14, Matt 5:34-37, Matt 12:33-37, Matt 15:11-20, Ephesians 4:28-32, Ephesians 5:1-6, Col 3:5-8, James 1:19-21, James 3:1-12, 2 Peter 2:17-20

Links on Profanity:
Cuss Control Academy
Why Children Swear by Elizabeth Pantley
Creative Swearing
Profanity: A Biblical Assessment by Wayne Jackson
The Plague of Profanity by Wayne Jackson
George Washington's Order on Profanity

Open Doors and the Persecuted Church

What would you do if you didn’t own a Bible? Buy one, right? What if you couldn’t buy one? What if it were illegal to own one? What if it took people risking their lives just to bring one to you because your country is run by sharia law or is a communist dictatorship? What if becoming a Christian meant losing your family, your livelihood, your freedom, or even your life? That is the reality for millions of Christians around the world living in places like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, or Somalia. And that’s precisely where Open Doors goes with Bibles: to the persecuted church. And for every $4 you give, a Bible is placed into the hands of one of these believers. Just click here to donate: a suitcase of Bibles (40) is $160, or a backpack of Bibles (10) is just $40. Thank you so much for your generosity.

Ethics: Software, Music, and Movie Piracy

From the highly overused ad you see at the beginning of many DVDs, you would think that copying a DVD were tantamount to hiring the Yakuza, cheating on the SAT, or being a smoker. But what, if any, ethical principle is being violated when you make personal copies of something electronic? Is it theft? Is it a crime, as so many of the warnings claim? And if so, is it really enforceable given just how many Americans do it? Also, why do we have copyrights in the first place?

Post-Show Thoughts: The main difficulty here is that we have no good analogy for "piracy." Those who say it's just like theft are simply wrong. The main defect of theft is that the other person is directly deprived of the thing you steal. When you copy something, now both people get the benefit. If the first person doesn't want you to make a copy, we call that being stingy. To properly understand the situation, you have to imagine that I create a science fiction device called "The Duplicator," with which I can make 100 copies of any physical item without consuming any natural resources at all. I can clone cars, houses, wheat, Darth Vader Pez dispensers, and X-Men #94. Although this would clearly destroy the collectibles market and force massive layoffs at Ford, it would also mean that everyone the world over could have anything they wanted. Would this really be bad? Why is the world better off when only a handful of people can have a real Monet or a copy of the Inverted Jenny stamp? Wouldn't this a better world when we all have all of it? Technology is constantly eliminating jobs and industries. As long as the Constitutional purpose of ongoing "Progress of Science and useful Arts" is occuring, there is no reason to think that copyright protection against private, non-commercial duplication should be prohibited. I think the reason that David Pogue and Dennis Prager find themselves baffled about how young people don't comprehend this is that those under 30 have grown up in this world and know it, whereas those over 30 have only tangible property and theft as a paradigm to comprehend.

Links on Software, Music, and Movie Piracy:
Computer ethics and copyright quiz by Crews.org
Ethics are the new craft by Cory Doctornow
What is piracy? by SIIA.net
Millions of wrongs don't make it right by CMTA.com
Study finds pervasive movie sharing by Digitaltrends.com
Americans don't think piracy is wrong by Seopher.com
Blog: Piracy is not wrong by Wordpress.com
What the MPAA's ad did by Wordpress.com
The generational divide by NY Times
Thoughts on ripping and sharing music by Douglas Yeo
So you thought ripping CDs was legal by Alpha.cnet.com
Computer software piracy by Better Business Bureau
Copyright infringement of software and fair use by Wikipedia
The Pirate by J. Budzieszewski

Clichés and Expressions You Don’t Understand

Every once in a while I hear someone say something that I know I’m supposed to understand, but I don’t. Sometimes, rarely, it’s because I just don’t get the intended meaning. Other times, mostly, it’s because I start thinking about the expression itself and realize that it is confusing. But there’s a third kind of emerging difficult expression, the Biblical reference, which depends on the rapidly fading public knowledge of the Bible. So, let’s share our collective ignorance today and come up with all the expressions that baffle us or we think might baffle others.

Examples from the show:
~"He stole my thunder."--Doesn't lightning do the real damage? Stole my lightning?
~"Give 110%."--So long as you don't feel the need to be constrained by math.
~"Read between the lines."--Why, do people write stuff in there?
~"It's water under the bridge."--Is this different from water in the pond or near the waterfall?
~"Don't cry over spilt milk."--Do people normally? Perhaps mood-stabilizers would help.
~"There's more than one way to skin a cat."--PETA is gonna git ya for that one.
~"I'm head over heels in love."--Isn't that how most people stand up?
~"I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole."--Is such a pole something you normally carry around with you?
~"She's turning over in her grave."--Is this what dead people do when they are uncomfortable?
~"More than I can shake a stick at"--Is there some lesser amount at which you might be more comfortable shaking your stick?
~"I could care less." --Then you don't care not at all, since there is room for you to care less. What you mean is "I couldn't care less."
~"It's just reducing everything to the least common denominator."--Actually, we have to raise the denominators when we do this, not lower them. 1/2 and 1/3 must be changed to 3/6 and 2/6, hence the least common denominator (6) is actually higher than 2 or 3.
~"Great minds think alike."--Of course, so do mediocre minds.
~"No man is an island."--Okay, but no man is a peninsula, either.
~"It's not rocket science."--But something can be very complicated and still not be rocket science. Gunsmithing is not as challenging as rocket science, but still not the easiest thing in the world.
~"He's like a broken record."--Which usually means that there is a regular ticking noise, not endless repetition unless it's really broken badly. Still, what's a record? A better phrase would be, "He's like a scratched CD."
~"You can't have your cake and eat it, too."--Good expression, but many people don't get it. Reverse the order, and it's clear. "You can't eat your cake and still have it, too." Even better, "You can't keep your money and spend it, too."
~"He drinks like a fish."--Fish ingest about as much water as any other organism. The rest they are breathing. Besides, alcohol probably will kill a fish.
~"Don't let the cat out of the bag."--Boy, phrasemakers really aren't cat people are they?
~"He works me like a dog."--Are dogs well known for their intense productivity?
~Please feel free to add your own.

Web Links for Expressions:
World Wide Words
Phrases.org
Word Origins.org
Word and Phrase Origins at Internet Public Library
EggCorn Database of Phrase Changes

Various Current Events

Police raid prostitution ring by Arizona Republic
Music lover fights suit by Arizona Republic
Pakistan's day of rage by NY Times
Benazir Bhutto by Wikipedia
McCain may only seek one term by Boston Globe
Robertson predicts violence, recession by Fox News
Caste issue prompted deaths, officials say by Boston Globe
City to spend $650,000 on needle exchange by Washington Post
2007: Fewest airplane crashes in 44 years by USA Today
Huckabee and education by CNS News
Saudi Arabian blogger arrested by Christian Science Monitor
Mob sets Kenyan church on fire by NY Times
Kenya riot kills 50 by Christian Post
Christian news of 2007 by Christian Post
Evidence for intelligent design by Christian Post
Indian Christians move to avoid attacks by Christian Post
Web playgrounds of the very young by NY Times
Same-sex divorce challenges legal system by Washington Post
Bible-reading woman kicked off bus by Fox News Dallas
Baby name remorse by CNN
31 states introduce new laws by USA Today
Notices of proposed rulemaking (PDF file) by AZPolicy.org
Written comment on proposal (PDF file) by AZPolicy.org
Comic books in the classroom by NY Times
Man Erects Crucified Santa by Kitsap Sun