Easter: God meeting our need for proof.

Triablogue: This Joyful Eastertide: "
Last year, Prometheus Books published The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave. Sympathetic reviewers consider this missive to be the definitive refutation of the Resurrection.

Needless to say, I'm of a slightly different opinion. If you follow this link, it will take you to an extensive review which I've written of the title in question."

Teach them well and let them lead the way...

OpinionJournal - Featured Article: "But the data on young Americans tell a different story. Simply put, liberals have a big baby problem: They're not having enough of them, they haven't for a long time, and their pool of potential new voters is suffering as a result. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, if you picked 100 unrelated politically liberal adults at random, you would find that they had, between them, 147 children. If you picked 100 conservatives, you would find 208 kids. That's a 'fertility gap' of 41%. Given that about 80% of people with an identifiable party preference grow up to vote the same way as their parents, this gap translates into lots more little Republicans than little Democrats to vote in future elections. Over the past 30 years this gap has not been below 20%--explaining, to a large extent, the current ineffectiveness of liberal youth voter campaigns today."

More "checked" news...

Power Line: More Staged Photographs: "The New York Times highlights an obvious Pieta-like image that, frankly, couldn't fool anyone with a normal skepticism quotient. Sure enough, the 'body still buried under the rubble' is alive and well. Which could hardly be a surprise to anyone who looks at the picture, other than, apparently, a NYT photo editor."

It's funny how their always wrong in the same direction. Ha Ha.

It's a whole new ballgame.

BREITBART.COM - AP News Alert: "Sen. Joe Lieberman has conceded the U.S. Senate primary to challenger Ned Lamont but vowed to petition his way onto the November ballot as an independent. "

A change of mind, faith

Culture - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "In his new book, 'Jesus: The Only Way?' the Rev. John Snyder criticizes universalism and defends the Christian teaching that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone.
The American pastor of Crossroads International Church in Basel, Switzerland, Mr. Snyder's book is based on his research for his doctorate in theology at the University of Basel.
The following is excerpted from 'The Repentance of Rudolf Bultmann,' an appendix to the book, in which Mr. Snyder describes the funeral -- 30 years ago on Aug. 4, 1976, in Marburg, Germany -- of a leading liberal theologian:
What the name Charles Darwin is to the field of biological science, the name of Rudolf Bultmann is to the world of New Testament study. Virtually every student of theology worldwide is introduced to the writings of German scholar Rudolf K. Bultmann (1844-1976) and his students.
He is considered by many the grand master of New Testament skepticism. In Germany, he was hailed by many intellectuals as 'the greatest event since Luther.'
Bultmann is credited with launching the world-famous program of interpreting the 'Jesus myths' for modern society by 'demythologizing' the primary documents of the Christian faith. He stood like a colossus over academic biblical studies for much of the 20th century.
With variations, Bultmann's program was enthusiastically carried forward by his students, who imagined themselves to be forging ahead with ever-increasing clarity on the ways legends and myths about Jesus entered Christian tradition. His ideas form the underpinning of many who make pronouncements in the media asserting whether a particular story or saying of Jesus is authentic or not.
The movement of radical criticism has taken several different directions since his era, but his is the inspiration behind many of today's most vocal critics of the Bible. Building upon the literary principles of Bultmann, they assume that the vast majority of the recorded sayings and deeds of Jesus, although well-intentioned stories, are in the final analysis merely elaborate inventions of the early church.
So extreme were Bultmann's methods and treatment of biblical texts that he was criticized even by his old schoolmate, Karl Jaspers. But did this giant of doubt have a change of mind and repudiate his entire teaching career before he died in 1976?"

Read the whole thing.

RConversation: What Lemann didn't discuss in his New Yorker piece

RConversation: What Lemann didn't discuss in his New Yorker piece: "It's also important to point out that Lemann's article makes a lot more sense when seen in the context of an ongoing and fairly personal debate he's been having with right-wing radio host, blogger, and 'blog swarm' artist Hugh Hewitt. Last year Lemann wrote a profile of Hewit for the New Yorker, which sadly is not online - but is mentioned elsewhere on the web. In particular, see Chris Nolan's excellent dissection, with an excerpt, on Personal Democracy Form. She describes how Lemann and Hewitt disagreed strongly on whether it is desirable for journalists to strive for 'objectivity' - which Lemann preaches at Columbia - or whether the pretense of 'objectivity' is not only impossible but is a sham behind which journalists hide their failings and hidden agendas, which many bloggers on both right and left believe audiences have a right to know. Should a journalist reveal his or her voting record and other biases when covering a political story, for instance?"

Reuters admits to more image manipulation - News from Israel, Ynetnews

Reuters admits to more image manipulation - News from Israel, Ynetnews: "Reuters also said it would apply 'tighter editing procedure for images of the Middle East conflict to ensure that no photograph from the region would be transmitted to subscribers without review by the most senior editor on the Reuters Global Pictures Desk.'"

They already have a "senior editor" it's called the blogosphere.

I've had many friends ask me "who checks the blogs to make sure that what they are saying is true?" As if someone is checking Reuters or Dan Rather or the LA Times for accuracy.

Blogs check everyone. They don't care that your a "journalist" or a respected MainStream Media artery. They care that what you publish is true. And if it's not true, woe unto you.

It's not that blogs can't be wrong. It's that they don't claim that "senior editors" make them any more accurate that anyone else. It seems that "senior editors" are no silver bullet against fabrications in service of bias.

An Inconvenient Heatwave

Heat makes Pat Robertson a global warming "convert" - Yahoo! News: "Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson said on Thursday the wave of scorching temperatures across the United States has converted him into a believer in global warming.

'We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels,' Robertson said on his '700 Club' broadcast. 'It is getting hotter, and the icecaps are melting and there is a buildup of carbon dioxide in the air.'

This week the heat index, the perceived temperature based on both air temperatures and humidity, reached 115 Fahrenheit in some regions of the U.S. East Coast. The 76-year-old Robertson told viewers that was 'the most convincing evidence I've seen on global warming in a long time.'"

Sigh. I've always thought much of Environmentalism was an article of faith, now there's a new believer.

MSM Bias Case #879-0994-900498

Pajamas Media: REUTERSGATE! The Tipping Point: "Reuters has acknowledged that its war photography from Beirut had been altered and is officially withdrawing the photograph. In a carefully worded statement Reuters admitted that “photo editing software was improperly used on this image."

This is for Dan.

Reuters. Mainstream name in international journalism right? Strike.

Media outlet to be more specific right? Strike.

Ignoring facts in service to liberal bias. Strike three called!

This is why movies like V for Vendetta might be interesting stories but silly as commentary on current society. The manipulation of the media always comes from the right in these films. Reality has another story line to offer.

From Dan Rather, to Chris Matthews, to the LA Times, to the New York Times, to Reuters and around the horn. That's how the MainStream Media turns their double plays.

Why bigger isn't always better.

STLtoday - Business - Columnists: The problem? An AOL account once held by Gauthier's late father still showed billing charges accumulating against it. The account had been dormant for months; the credit card he used for it was inactive at least as long.

Nevertheless, AOL kept charging $25.90 each month for dial-up online access. Late fees for non-payment accumulated on the credit card, too.

Gauthier even offered to send a copy of her father's obituary as proof he truly was dead. AOL was unmoved.

'An AOL service guy told me to stop complaining and learn to use a computer,' she said."

This is what you might call bad publicity.

Who's side are you on?

"Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. No, really, I couldn't, she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn't a person with discipline, that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don't eat the whole cake. You don't eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that's safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what's served on the happiest days of your life.

This is the story of how my life was saved by cake, so, of course, if sides are to be taken, I will always take the side of cake.

- from Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray

My religion centers around pie of course but the devotion is the same.

In all seriousness, there is something profound in having the maturity to enjoy, in moderation, the simple pleasures that God has woven throughout life to lighten our hearts and minds. To reject them is to hold God in contempt.

So, of course, if sides are to be taken, I will always take the side of pie.

Prager Podcast Power

Talk Radio Online::Show: "The Language of God With Dennis Prager
Prager H2: Guest: Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project and one of the world's leading scientists. His book is The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."

Now leave before I taunt you a second time...

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "'Tour de France winner Floyd Landis denied on Thursday taking performance-enhancing drugs during the race and said he would fight to clear his name after testing positive for the male sex hormone testosterone,' Reuters reports.

Only the French would consider the presence of testosterone in a man's system suspicious."

Oh No!

The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "Report: Not Even Green Tea Can Help You Now"

Maybe the red wine will compensate.

Disaster

Rocky Mountain News: Local: "The Big Thompson flood in 1976 is the deadliest natural disaster in Colorado history.

On July 31, 1976, a four-hour super storm dumped 12 inches of rain into the mountains west of Drake, beginning about 6:30 p.m.

A wall of water barreled down more than 20 miles of the Big Thompson Canyon, killing 144 people and causing $35.5 million in property damage.

By best estimates, as many as 3,000 residents and vacationers were in the canyon that Saturday night.

For many, the weekend was to stretch into Monday for a three-day celebration of the 100th anniversary of Colorado statehood.

Today, people will gather in the canyon to remember those who died in the flood."

A group of Campus Crusade Staff women, hiking during a break in their summer assignment at CSU, were among those killed. This was, to my knowledge, the deadliest disaster in CCC history.

The Achilles Heel of Theology

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "The Detroit News goes out for a drink with a visitor from the east:

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was in town Sunday to help Gov. Jennifer Granholm campaign for her re-election bid, took time to take a jab at the Bush administration for its lack of leadership in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict.

'If I was president, this wouldn't have happened,' said Kerry during a noon stop at Honest John's bar and grill in Detroit's Cass Corridor.

Now, our first thought when we read this was: Yeah, if Kerry were president, he wouldn't spend his days moping around some bar in Detroit. But then we realized that's not what he meant. He meant that if he were president, Hezbollah wouldn't be waging war on Israel. Just like, as John Edwards said in 2004, 'we will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases. . . . People like Chris Reeve will get out of their wheelchairs and walk again.'

If Kedwards have the power to eliminate war and disease, why don't they use it? This is the age-old problem of evil:

Why does [John Kerry] allow evil? If He is all powerful, then He should be able to prevent it. If He is omnipotent and does nothing about evil, then we suspect that there are limits to His goodness, that there is something wrong with Him, that He is not all good. Perhaps He has an evil streak, or is truly malicious and we are merely His toys--expendable and counting for nothing.

Or perhaps, like Al Gore, he doesn't exist."

I heard for years (from Bono, TV and other megaphones of pop culture) that only televangelists made outrageous claims like this. I guess the impulse to claim "savior" in return for personal gain is strong for all sides of the culture. Huh.

Of course it is much worse to make wild claims in the name of God than making wild claims and acting like you are God. "Thou shall not carry the name of God in a worthless manner, for the Lord will not hold guiltless the one who carries his name in a worthless manner." Exodus 20:1

[Shudder]

Hoist the mainsail!

A New Champion Pie

Today I was caught up to the third heaven and given a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb. This means of pie grace was the three berry served at a cafe on Charles St. here in Boston. I cannot mention the name of the establishment due to national security concerns. Suffice to say it could easily be used to induce truth telling by the most hardened fiend.

The filling was a kin to sweet preserves. The top crust like unto a flaky croissant. The end crust was startling, calling to mind Danish butter cookies. I trembled.

I had this piece of pie for lunch today with a lovely beverage. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Behold the power...

...of this FULLY OPERATIONAL riding mower!

In the long run I'll save a lot of money and time with this. And I had know idea how much fun it would be. I'm the king of the Whirled!! 

Quality Education Today

AP Wire | 07/20/2006 | 61 lawmakers demand UW fire instructor over Sept. 11 theory: "Barrett is active in a group of scholars who believe the twin towers were blown up by U.S. government operatives to spark war in the Middle East. His remarks drew intense criticism from politicians who questioned whether he was fit to teach.

After a 10-day review, Farrell said Barrett is a qualified instructor, has good plans for his class and can present his unconventional views as one perspective on the attacks. Farrell stood by his conclusion on Thursday.

'I still have every expectation this will be a very positive educational experience for our students,' he said. 'Some are upset about Mr. Barrett's viewpoints on 9/11 and don't want to pay much attention to what makes for a quality educational experience.'"

More money for Govt...by cutting taxes.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Remember the folks who said the tax cuts would "blow a hole in the deficit?" Well, revenues as a share of the economy are now expected to rise this year to 18.3%, slightly above the modern historical average of 18.2%. The remaining budget deficit of a little under $300 billion will be about 2.3% of GDP, which is smaller than in 17 of the previous 25 years. Throw in the surpluses rolling into the states, and the overall U.S. "fiscal deficit" is now economically trivial.

NYT Downsizing

NYT to cut paper size and close plant | Reuters.com: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times Co. (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to narrow the size of its flagship newspaper and close a printing plant, resulting in the loss of 250 jobs, the company said in a story posted on its Web site late on Monday."

I'm sure they will blame the Bush Administration for this cruel maneuver to protect corporate profits.

Double Black Diamond

Stanley Kurtz on Big Love & Polygamy on National Review Online: "Will Scheffer, co-creator of Big Love, wrote Falling Man and Other Monologues, a play about gay life, as a direct response to the public battle over same-sex marriage. Commenting on Falling Man, Scheffer said, 'The voice from the conservative right is getting louder and louder, so I think we have to state who we are in our lives, especially with the reversal of the marriage thing in California.' Scheffer sees Falling Man as an entry into the gay marriage battle, and he and his co-creator, Mark Olsen clearly see Big Love the same way.

Speaking to The Washington Blade, Olsen said he and Scheffer wanted to address our culture war over the family by trying to 'find the values of family that are worth celebrating separate of who the people are and how they're doing it.' In other words, family structure shouldn't matter as long as people love each other. Scheffer adds that what attracted him to the Big Love project was 'the subversive nature of how we deal with family values....I think what's really exciting about the show is the nonjudgmental look we have on our characters.' Now maybe cultural radicals are mistaken when they claim that they can change society just by shaping the movies, plays, and television we watch. But clearly this kind of cultural transformation is exactly what Scheffer and Olsen have in mind."

Blame America Only

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "This rhetoric about 'cycles' appears to reflect a theory of moral equivalence, but in fact it is something else. After all, if the two sides were morally equivalent, one could apply this reasoning in reverse--excusing, for example, the alleged massacre at Haditha on the ground that it was 'provoked' by a bombing that killed a U.S. serviceman--and hey, violence begets violence.

But America's critics never make this argument, and its defenders seldom do. That is because it is understood that America knows better. If it is true that U.S. Marines murdered civilians in cold blood at Haditha, the other side's brutality does not excuse it. Only the enemy's evil acts are thought to be explained away by ours.

Implicit in the 'cycle' theory, then, is the premise that the enemy is innocent--not in the sense of having done nothing wrong, but in the sense of not knowing any better. The enemy lacks the knowledge of good and evil--or, to put it in theological terms, he is free of original sin.

America ought to hold itself to a high moral standard, of course, but blaming the other side's depraved acts on our own (real and imagined) moral imperfections is a dangerous form of vanity."

Still treading water...

I'm still too busy to blog. I've started work downtown in Boston and I'm trying to slowly work through the pile of a month of moving since we left Colorado. Still working around the house as well. We love living in New England. But blogging continues to be light with a chance of increased activity on the horizon.

It's not pie...

...but it will do. 

Underground

It's been a long while since I've written here.

We moved. I unpacked boxes, shop vacuumed our flooded basement, built a mosquito bomb, set up internet, phone and tv service, met some neighbors and even had time to attend my first Red Sox game.

Right now I'm posting here: www.globallearncomm.blogspot.com

I have the privilege of documenting this event.

I'll be back in the swing soon.

Interviews: Garrison Kiellor - Christianity Today Movies

Interviews: Garrison Kiellor - Christianity Today Movies: "And in the name of Devotion they were doing these big set-piece prayers in which they were bringing in stories from Scripture and admonishing people—that's not prayer. But, when we kneel down and go through a list, and we begin with prayers for leaders of our country and for the nations of the world and then we come down to prayers for other churches and for bishops and priests, and then we come down to those who are in need and those who are sick and we think or we speak their names—to me this is prayer. This is prayer in which one throws oneself before God without a heroic pose."

Home

Today we officially became residents of Reading, MA.

TCS Daily - The Parent Trap

TCS Daily - The Parent Trap: "There's also the decline in parental prestige over generations. My mother reports that when she was a newlywed (she was married in 1959) you weren't seen as fully a member of the adult world until you had kids. Nowadays to have kids means something closer to an expulsion from the adult world. People in the suburbs buy SUVs instead of minivans not because they need the four-wheel-drive capabilities, but because the SUVs lack the minivan's close association with low-prestige activities like parenting, and instead provide the aura of high-prestige activities like whitewater kayaking. Why should kayaking be more prestigious than parenting? Because parenting isn't prestigious in our society. If it were, childless people would drive minivans just to partake of the aura.

In these sorts of ways, parenting has become more expensive in non-financial as well as financial terms. It takes up more time and emotional energy than it used to, and there's less reward in terms of social approbation. This is like a big social tax on parenting and, as we all know, when things are taxed we get less of them. Yes, people still have children, and some people even have big families. But at the margin, which is where change occurs, people are less likely to do things as they grow more expensive and less rewarded. "

This, of course, is why I view my minivan as a badge of honor, even in Colorado. Of course as Dan would say, I'm "confident in my weirdness".

Censored: The trials of non-muslim fundamentalists

Censored: Cineplex Odeon bans ads at Discuss DaVinci Code: "Vancouver - May 17-06 — Cineplex Odeon theaters today cancelled a planned in-theater advertising campaign by Campus Crusade for Christ. Valued at more than $60,000, the ads were part of the organization’s program encouraging the public to view The Da Vinci Code movie and explore religious issues raised by the film."

Oh yeah, talk is bad. Tolerance = Ban showing blasphemous images of Mohammed, and ban Christians gently encouraging discussion.

Book Recommendations

I’ll answer the categories below but first, I just got this from a friend: http://www.librarything.com/

Best books on the emerging technologies and their effect on life and culture:

Blog by Hugh Hewitt www.hughhewitt.com (His book, “In, But Not Of” is must reading for anyone with potential)

The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman

An Army of Davids by Glenn Reynolds, his blog www.instapundit.com is one of the most influential of all blogs

The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil

Think Books:

Linked by Laslo-Barabasi

Think a Second Time by Dennis Prager

Aristotle for Everybody by Mortimer J. Adler

History:

Forerunners of the Reformation by Heiko Obermann

Modern Times by Paul Johnson

Intellectuals by Paul Johnson

Very important for gender and sexuality issues:

Taking Sex Differences Seriously by Stephen Rhoades, find it at www.sexdifferences.net

As Nature Made Him by John Colapinto

Very important for Evangelism Today:

Christianity on Trial by Carroll

The Rise of Christianity by Stark

For the Glory of God by Stark

Externally focused resources:

Go to www.ericswanson.blogspot.com and drink in Eric Swanson. Buy his book (mentioned below) The Externally Focused Church

www.globallearncomm.blogspot.com is the blog I made to capture the proceedings of one of Eric’s pastor networks.

Little Rock Bible Church has been great in this regard and the book The Church of Irresistible Influence captures their work.

Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller

Up late after a date...

I'm up really late purging and organizing before we move next week.

I made the tragic blunder of indulging in a brownie and coffee at Starbucks after 7 pm.

My wife and I went out on a date earlier.

I realized at some point when I was eating it that those crunches in my mouth were not chocolate chips; rather they were coffee beans.

Holy Java Stimulants, Batman!

I tried to sleep but I couldn't even relax my jaw.

I should go to bed but I'm liable to wake my wife with a fit of tryingtogetcomfortable maneuvers.
She's been waking up and packing stuff anyway. She wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks of things to do for our move and then gets out of bed and does them on the spot.

She would have been a good vampire.

But that would suck for me.

I better go to bed.

'Da Vinci Code' Actor: Bible Should Have 'Fiction' Disclaimer

NewsBusters.org: "If 'The Da Vinci Code' was already feeding the flames of controversy with its challenge to the basic tenets of Christianity, actor Ian McKellen managed to pour a refinery tank's worth of gasoline on the fire on this morning's 'Today' show, asserting that the Bible should carry a disclaimer saying that it is 'fiction.'"

Wow. What courageous views. Strange that there was no mention of the Koran. Oops. Sorry. Q'uran.

You can't be too careful. We must be tolerant of other religions. Some more than others. Right Comedy Central?

Davinci Code Talk

This is the first installment from a talk I gave at the University of Nebraska, Kearney about The Da Vinci Code Book. The movie comes out tomorrow:

It is a worldwide bestseller with sales of more than 40 million copies (as of March 2006) and has been translated into 44 languages. It is very popular with college students and ranks number one on the Facebook.com book list. Why the popularity? I can think of one reason to begin.

It has been said that if it were in man's power to kill God, there would be no where in the universe that God would be safe.

For some students the attraction of the Da Vinci Code is just that: to silence God (at least the God of the Bible); this God of sexual boundaries. Silence Jesus with his morbid death for "sinners". Freedom from religion. Ding dong the church is dead; now we can get on with what we want to do. This doubtless for some is the giddy satisfaction of the Da Vinci Code. If the Bible can be shown to be fiction, then why would anyone take it seriously? And without the Bible who can say what I'’m doing is wrong.

If you are here tonight and share those sentiments, I have some very bad news for you. Actually its good news, but not for everyone, and apparently not for you, if you celebrate the death of God.

The news is this: The Bible is true. God is not dead, Jesus was dead but has risen, and the Holy Spirit is the animating life-force of the people of God's kingdom, otherwise known as the church, past, present and of course in the future.

How do I know all of this? - The Bible tells me so. IÂ’m not here to convince you of the truth of the Bible. I can hardly do that. I am here to give you facts and ideas that might help you sort through facts and fiction in the da Vinci Code and elsewhere

The Da Vinci Code cast doubt on The church, The bible, and Jesus.

By the time I'm done tonight I can guarantee you that you will have solid evidence that the Da Vinci Code is a complete fiction. You will also have evidence that the Bible is not only historically accurate but morally beautiful. What you do with that information is entirely up to you.

Conspiracy Theories are very popular. We all like secrets and to be "“in the know"”. Movies like JFK, National Treasure and Raiders of the Lost Ark all contain intriguing conspiracies of historical secrets that have been covered up due to diabolical agendas. All were compelling as drama but scoffed at as actual history.

Why is the Da Vinci Code different? It'’s only fiction. What'’s the big deal? Why is this book any different than other fictional conspiracy stories? For openers the author (Dan Brown) does not think his book is all fiction. On a June 9, 2003 interview on the Today show Brown said that it was his goal to "challenge certain long-held beliefs or truths about religion."” Brown obviously has an agenda and believes that he is promoting truths that should replace long-held falsehoods.

Are the claims of the Da Vinci Code solid enough to overturn long-held beliefs about religion? You be the judge after you hear what I'’ve said. I view this whole controversy as a tremendous opportunity to ask important questions about truth, goodness and beauty. So let'’s begin.

more...

MSM Bias? Sorry for being redundant.

My friend Dan struggles to believe that the MSM (an easily discernible horde that shares the same values and beliefs commonly called the MainStream Media) has a anti-conservative (and often anti-religious) bias.

I post the link below because today I have time to post what I could post everyday: examples of MSM bias. I posted this link because it has a handy summary of just one day of MSM bias from the NY Times. Associated Press and USA Today. You don't get more MainStream than that triumvirate.

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "Sloppy bias if not out-and-out dishonesty is endemic in the reporting on the administration's terrorist surveillance programs."

Waiting for Narnia?

Sean Michael Lucas: "Many of you probably know this, but Christianity Today Online has reported that Prince Caspian has been delayed until December 08 and that Walden Media plans on producing Dawn Treader and Silver Chair as well. The only thing surprising here is that Disney so underestimated the response to Narnia not to have Caspian ready to go for 2007; Lion, Witch and Wardrobe recently entered the top 20 highest grossing movies of all-time."

A Radical Muslim

Joel C. Rosenberg on Islam on National Review Online: "Topping his agenda were under-the-radar peace talks with Israel, religious classes to teach Imams the history and virtues of the West, and dramatic new initiatives to build ties to Rabbis and evangelical Christians."

Happy Mothers Day

One Thing They Aren't: Maternal - New York Times: "In a word — ha. As much as we may like to believe that mother animals are designed to nurture and protect their young, to fight to the death, if need be, to keep their offspring alive, in fact, nature abounds with mothers that defy the standard maternal script in a raft of macabre ways. There are mothers that zestily eat their young and mothers that drink their young's blood. Mothers that pit one young against the other in a fight to the death and mothers that raise one set of their babies on the flesh of their siblings.

Among several mammals, including lions, mice and monkeys, females will either spontaneously abort their fetuses or abandon their newborns when times prove rocky or a new male swaggers into town.

Other mothers, like pandas, practice a postnatal form of family planning, giving birth to what may be thought of as an heir and a spare, and then, when the heir fares well, walking away from the spare with nary a fare-thee-well.

'Pandas frequently give birth to twins, but they virtually never raise two babies,' said Scott Forbes, a professor of biology at the University of Winnipeg. 'This is the dark side of pandas, that they have two and throw one away.'

It is also something that zoos with ever-popular panda displays rarely discuss."

Heard this on Prager today. If the little Darwin fish on the back of cars is true, then why is this behavior "wrong"?

Also, if people and animals have the same "rights", why don't we prosecute animals for such behavior?

I'm glad my Mom was lived out the Judeo-Christian ethic of raising her children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and didn't follow her fellow earthmates in their evolutionary examples.

Thanks Mom. Happy Mothers Day.

Wise University Policy

Barry's Journal: "Do you know this pot head? If you do you could get $50 from the CU Boulder Police Department."

Ok, to be fair, smoking pot in public ceremony at CU isn't completely ignored by the University.

I wouldn't exactly call this effective enforcement though. And how about this for a new CU slogan to replace the "minds to match our mountains" bit: Rat out your friends for greed!

Fascist Administration

CLAUDIA ROSETT: "Even the United Nations'’ own employees don'’t trust it to deliver justice. Just ask Cynthia Brzak, an American who has worked for the past 26 years at the U.N. refugee office in Geneva, Switzerland. Despairing of a U.N. system that operates immune to any normal jurisdiction of law, Brzak, who two years ago brought an in-house allegation of sexual harassment, is now going outside the institution to ask for a hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court." (via Instapundit)

It's interesting to me that the same people who scream about the "fascist" administration of Chimpy McHitlerburton, have no objection to a United Nations "administration" that repeatedly "operates immune to any normal jurisdiction of law".

Remember Abu Ghraib, revealed by the US Defense Department on its own, with the perps now in jail.

Can any similar self policing be said of the UN after the Oil-for-Food scandal became the biggest financial scam in world history?

Don't tell me you protest fascism if you can only see it in the United States.

A Shrine of the Pie Religion

The Jamestown Pie CO.:

Fruit Pies

"Strawberry, Strawberry Rhubarb
& Strawberry Peach"

And that's just for openers. I found this place in VA while at a conference. Not just a plethora of fruit pies, but meat pies and pizza pies.

This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Tomorrow, United 93

I'm going to see it tomorrow at 11:50 MDT.

Metrospirituality

Metrospirituality: Spirituality is the Latest Trend: "Slogans such as “Yoga inspired athletic wear” (Lululemon Athletica), “A taste of Nirvana” (Hampton Chutney), “You can deprive the body, but the soul needs chocolate” (Dagoba Organic Chocolate) or “Products that Nurture” (Aveda) reflect the transition from the traditional way of marketing a product, to marketing a product along with its attached set of spiritual beliefs. "

As my New Testament Professor, Dr. Peter Jones, taught me: Pagan spirituality and affluence go hand in hand.

It was the poor who first embraced Christianity.

Where have you gone Gary Barnett?...

Barry's Journal: Smoke ‘Em if You Got Em: "I use this picture with me in it, not because I find it flattering, but because it clearly shows the haze of pot smoke which was hovering above Farand Field yesterday. April 20th, known as '420' has become the traditional day for the students of CU Boulder to rush the field and smoke marijuana at 4:20pm. "

Click the link to see the hazy picture. Several years ago, students at CU Boulder were accused of rape and carousing. They happened to be athletes so the football coach was blamed by the administration and the local community for their behavior.

So in the world of the University, you can tell students that there is no such thing as Truth, Right and Wrong, God etc; you can allow hundreds to smoke illegal (or should I say "undocumented") drugs in the middle of campus under a midday sun; and when students continue their habit of implicitly sanctioned illegal activity, accuse the football of "lacking institutional control".

C.S. Lewis Audio

BBC - Religion & Ethics - C.S. Lewis: "Hear the only surviving footage of C.S. Lewis's broadcast talks."

Pope Strongly Condemns Chinese Church

New York Times: "ROME, May 4 — Pope Benedict XVI issued a potent condemnation today against the official Chinese Catholic church for having consecrated two bishops against the Vatican's wishes. The Vatican underscored its anger by noting that the act is punishable by excommunication, the church's severest censure."

Date with Death

I'm going to see United 93 this week. Anyone want to join me?

Back and Bound for Boston

I'm finally home after spending last week in Boston. The next time I travel there it will be to establish residency. June will come with me as a newly planted New Englander. Who would have believed it?

I got a glimpse of my new job and city last week and it was dreamlike. From the Pastrami Traveler at Sam Lagrassi's to the dark master of Peet's Coffee, even the pedestrian pleasure of the Dunkin' Donuts chocolate glazed stick; it's like a hungry person's paradise.

Add to that the brilliant heroes that I get to work with and a God sized mission of eternal significance: I am among the most blessed humans on the face of the earth.

I haven't even mentioned my family in that blessing, all of whom are excited about the move. I know there will be hard things about moving but I want to revel in God's mercy toward us and publish his goodness. God is great. God is good. Nothing less is understood.

Please come to Boston...

Babeling On

Rich Bledsoe's Blog: "The story of The Tower of Babel sets the theme for all of GodÂ’s redemptive work in history. Fallen manÂ’s idolatrous desire is to make for himself a self-contained world of complete adequacy. When Carl Sagan says, "The Cosmos is all there is, or all there ever will be"…,” he is stating the sentiments of the builders of the Tower of Babel. For them, the upper emporium was the realm of the gods, but it was by human effort and construction, a reachable realm, and that was itself a part of one cosmos. As one moved up the tower to the realm of the gods, ones own being could also be "divinized"”. Man'’s being was potentially divine, given the right techniques and methods, amongst which 'tower construction'” was foremost."

A while back I quoted a related post regarding God, modern man and Babel. I haven't yet read "The Singularity is Near" but Rich brought this to mind because of his uncanny ability to see related themes in the modern and ancient world. Rich's blog is a deep mine of uncommon value.

What's your story?

Parenting the Heart - byFaith Online: "Every person adopts a "“story"” to explain his or her view of the world. All stories that rational people believe claim to explain human suffering and human happiness. In other words, if a story did not have some degree of plausibility and believability nobody would listen to it. Nobody gives their life to a story or a system they don't think works. And yet many 30, 40 or 50 year-old adults suddenly wake up one to realize they have been giving their lives to a system that had no possibility of making them happy.

What are the dominant stories in our culture today? What is competing with the Christian story for the allegiance of our children? What stories are capturing their hearts? Pat Morley outlined the following stories in his book for high school boys, The Young Man in the Mirror, which he adapted from Postman and Mardi Keyes.

The Story of the American Dream: Remember when you were in third grade and your teacher told you that someone in the class might grow up to be President one day? That'’s the American Dream. "

It goes on from there listing many other stories that compete with the Christian story in the minds of all Americans.

Definitely worth a read. Thanks again Cathy Groves. You need to start your own blog!

Code Tools

Campus Crusade has developed two tools to help students understand and explain the myriad errors in The Da Vinci Code.

They have rightly seen this as a great opportunity. The arrogance of Sir Leigh Teabing in the novel is a set up for the ignorant to trumpet claims of a conspiracy against the divine feminine by the Christian Church.

The reality is so devastating to Dan Brown's absurd novel that if properly explained it might shame some from ever questioning the veracity of the Bible again. It's humiliating being so wrong so many times and no one wants to be ridiculed. I can just hear students parroting Teabing as if he was a real person or claimed real history. When they find out that the Priory of Sion is a bald hoax, the dam of ignorance will crack and then a flood of errors, omissions and falsehoods will burst forth in deluge. Humiliations galore.

To aid this exercise in shaming the obstreperous, CCC has these resources.

The first is a mini-magazine that briefly and elegantly addresses issues in the book and film and offers an explanation of the gospel at the end. This is a great tool to hand someone with casual questions about the film or book.

The second is a brief narrative of 3 students investigating the claims of the movie and book and finding out what I mentioned above. It has enough details to satisfy the curious about the absurd claims of The Da Vinci Code but is an easy read and brief. It even has the famous quote from the Gospel of Thomas that should have been number one on the Constantinian Misogyny Hit Parade. Bwaaahaaa! But I digress.

I'll post more from my talk on the Code this last week as I have time.

United 93 and thoughts on Heroism

Kesher Talk: An army of Davids: Flight 93

The link above is a discussion of United 93. Read the discussion of this upcoming film and then tell me how it makes you feel. I am moved to tears by the trailer alone. I rarely attend a movie on opening night but I plan to be there for this one.

Those mentioned who question the veracity of the Flight 93 story seem to think that ordinary people are incapable of rising to such heroism in the face of certain death.

Flight 93 reminds me of an event from my childhood that remains vivid in my memory. I sat down on the coach next to may Dad and discovered that he was watching a terrible scene unfold on television. A plane had crashed into the Potomac River and there were poor souls drowning in the icy January river live on my TV set.

The camera focused on a woman who was freezing to death in the river. A life preserver was dropped down next to her from a helicopter above. The woman, freezing to death, could not grab the preserver and began to float away to her doom.

Suddenly, to my shock and amazement, a man on the bridge over the river jumped in the freezing water and helped the woman cling to the life preserver, saving her life.

My Dad looked at me and said, "If you were ever in that situation, what would you do?"

Through my mind ran both the deep desire to save the life of this poor woman and the fear of my own death. I paused, and said, "I don't know".

My Dad looked at me and smiled, "Good answer", he said. I realized even then that it would have been cowardly to say that I wouldn't risk my life in that hour of trial, yet arrogant to claim confidently that I would.

As I think on the passengers of Flight 93, I pray, with all the conviction and passion that I can muster in this present hour of comfort, that I would not be found wanting in an hour of life threatening sacrifice similar to the one that took their lives. I pray to the God of Abraham who sent his own son into that hour of sacrifice, that I would lay down my life when necessary in the last full measure of devotion.

I realize this might seem terribly grandiose, but the life that I live stands on the offering of Isaac, Jesus, Peter, Paul, Washington, the 20th Maine, Easy Company, Pat Tillman, Jeffrey Swanson and the brave souls of United 93. May I walk in their footsteps.

Stunning Footage

While in Kearney, NE this week (speaking on the Da Vinci Code) I was shown these two videos by friend and ally Cathy Groves:

Dixie Chicks :Taking the Long Way :'Not Ready to Make Nice'

Nickelback :All the Right Reasons :'Savin' Me'

Both are pregnant with religious significance. They deliver!

Thanks Cathy.

Media Blog on National Review Online

Media Blog on National Review Online: "I'm not sure if it's been reported yet, but for what it's worth, I just got off the phone with a Comedy Central spokesman. I asked him about last night's episode of South Park in which, at a moment right before the prophet Mohammed was supposed to make a cameo, the words, 'Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network' appeared on the screen.

I asked him whether this truly was Comedy Central's decision or whether this was just another gag (with South Park, you never know). He said:

They reflected it accurately. That was a Comedy Central decision."

If you kill people and blow things up, Comedy Central will respect your religion. In the same episode, Jesus is depicted taking a crap on George Bush's picture. That, of course, is not offensive and fit for broadcast, because Christians don't riot when their religion is mocked.

Maybe George Clooney will make a movie in black and white about censorship at Comedy Central?

Almost Home...

I flew into Boston, my soon to be hometown, today for a week of meetings. The trees are budding, spring is in the moist and still chill air. I'm going to love it here.

Rich's Blog: Day Three at Bakke

Rich's Blog: Day Three at Bakke: "Any church that has been effective has been able to create liminal space. That is, they have created a way for people to be around the church or the truth (neither in nor out) and investigate without having to make a decision right away. They have read their culture correctly. "

This post is gold. Liminal Space is a concept by Thom Wolf, outlined by Rich Swanson, submitted for your approval. It strikes me as obviously true.

Seek the Truth

Power Line: "Climate of Fear": "One sinister aspect of the global warming industry is the extent to which it bullies those who employ scientific methods to critique its claims. Richard Lindzen of MIT writes in the Wall Street Journal:

Scientists who dissent from the alarmism have seen their grant funds disappear, their work derided, and themselves libeled as industry stooges, scientific hacks or worse. Consequently, lies about climate change gain credence even when they fly in the face of the science that supposedly is their basis."

Hmm. I thought only albino monks used fear and intimidation to suppress the truth. Fascinating.

Why he's a Democrat: Jimmy Carter

Creative Loafing Atlanta: News: Fishwrapper: Listen up, Democrats: "Carter fittingly used a parable to illustrate how he'd like to see the political/religious debate unfold.

'I was teaching a Sunday school class two weeks ago,' he recalls. 'A girl, she was about 16 years old from Panama City [Fla.], asked me about the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

'I asked her, 'Are you for peace, or do you want more war?' Then I asked her, 'Do you favor government helping the rich, or should it seek to help the poorest members of society? Do you want to preserve the environment, or do you want to destroy it? Do you believe this nation should engage in torture, or should we condemn it? Do you think each child today should start life responsible for $28,000 in [federal government] debt, or do you think we should be fiscally responsible?'

'I told her that if she answered all of those questions, that she believed in peace, aiding the poor and weak, saving the environment, opposing torture ... then I told her, 'You should be a Democrat.''"

And if your a rat fink bastard, no good, low down, absolute horror of a human being? Well you figure out which party Carter thinks is for you.

Pretty simple, really.

The Judas Code

NCTimes.com - Californian.com: "In the manuscript, Jesus tells Judas that he will teach him about secrets no person has ever seen. Jesus also is quoted as telling Judas: 'You will be cursed by the other generations, and you will come to rule over them.'

In another key passage, Jesus says to Judas: 'You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.'

Scholars interpreted the passage as saying that Jesus meant for Judas to help him get rid of his physical body, which would liberate his true spiritual, divine self.

Gnostic heresy

The announcement of the manuscript's discovery may have left laymen believing Judas had been exonerated and his gospel would take its place alongside those of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But theologians quickly responded that the ancient document should not be seen as a new revelation about the Passion of Christ.

Jones and other theologians said several portions of the Gospel of Judas reveal it to be written by the Gnostics, who took a reverse view of many of the events and characters in the Bible.

'The Sodomites become God's special people,' Jones said of one example. 'When the Gnostics interpret Genesis 1, they identify the serpent as the bringer of truth. So God the Creator is evil, and the serpent speaks truth. So the point is that the Gnostics turn everything upside down. Everyone who is bad in the Old Testament is good, everyone who is good is bad. Is it surprising that in the Gospel of Judas, Judas turns out to be good?'"

Dr. Jones is one of my old seminary professors.

Finally Home

I'm finally back in town for a few days.

Oh wait, now I'm going over to DiscussDaVinci.com.

Get to know me!

ENTP Profile: This is me for better or worse I'm afraid.

How to kill your blog...

Don't post for two weeks and even your Dad will stop checking your blog.

I've been traveling for 7 days and right now I'm up late preparing for a talk I'm giving tomorrow night on The Da Vinci Code at the University of Nebraska Kearney.

I'll post my talk later this week. In the mean time, if your interested in all things Da Vinci, read the article below. It's far more exhaustive than anything that you're going to get from me.

James Patrick Holding on The Da Vinci Code: "Not InDavincible "

David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill

David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill: "HERNDON, VA – Embattled Professor Ward Churchill has agreed to engage bestselling author and sought after speaker David Horowitz in a series of formal debates organized by Young America’s Foundation and Students for Academic Freedom. The series of debates will kick off at George Washington University in Washington D.C. on April 6 in the Continental Ballroom with the other campus locations yet to be announced. "

This should be enlightening. I haven't had time to listen yet but there is full audio linked at the site.

News

Gateway Pundit: Iraqis March for Unity, Three Years After the Fall of Saddam: After the suicide bombings yesterday at the Buratha mosque in Baghdad that killed over 70 people, Shiites protested for unity today in Iraq,
FOX VIDEO HERE

Shiites protested against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi today in Iraq.

Civil War? May they find peace.

Can't wait for the Da Vinci Code? Try Judas

Better Living: Thoughts from Mark Daniels: "So, there's nothing new in the Gospel of Judas...and nothing particularly useful in it, beyond satisfying a certain historical curiosity."

But if you read the whole post, you'll have "secret" knowledge.

Barely Blogging

Well it's been pretty light on time to blog lately. I'm headed to Boston today with my wife to buy a house and move there by the end of May.

We should know something by the end of the week.

God help us.

The Unforgivable Sin: America?

After having 3 of their members freed from terrorists in Iraq (a fourth was beheaded last month), the "Christian Peacemaker Teams" couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge the sinners who made the rescue possible. The following theological commentary is fascinating.

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "But if the CPT is going to 'love our enemies,' the least it could do is thank them. The statement does not acknowledge that the hostages were rescued by U.S. and British servicemen, or indeed that they were rescued at all; it refers mysteriously to their having been 'released,' as if the kidnappers themselves had decided to let them go.

This seems to run deeper than a case of simple ingratitude. There is a whole strange worldview at work here--a theology, if you will. We don't claim to understand it fully, but it seems to equate America as the root of all evil and America's adversaries as Edenic creatures--innocents who know not good or evil and thus bear no culpability for their bad actions.

If we have this right, it follows that the CPT Christians see themselves, by virtue of their faith, as being forgiven for being American, or for being from another nation that America has corrupted. This is why they cannot be grateful to, or forgiving of, America: For them that would amount to thanking or forgiving sin itself."

Why the LA Times is losing revenue.

Gran Marcha--Gran Backlash! By Mickey Kaus: "From what I saw, this statement is false."

'Marriage Is for White People'

Washington Post: "'That's wonderful!' I told my class. 'I think I'll invite some couples in to talk about being married and rearing children.'

'Oh, no,' objected one student. 'We're not interested in the part about marriage. Only about how to be good fathers.'

And that's when the other boy chimed in, speaking as if the words left a nasty taste in his mouth: 'Marriage is for white people.'"

Quagmire update...

Power Line: Speaking of taboo: "U.S. deaths in Iraq have declined every month since October 2005. In March they are down sharply. Projecting based on data through March 25, the count should be about one-third of what it was in October. If the MSM is reporting this, I'm not aware of it."

How the mighty have fallen...

The American Thinker: "Harvard fired its president and published anti-Semitic claptrap, Yale invites the Goebbels of the Taliban to be a student, and Columbia has a Middle Eastern Studies department where Jewish students complain of harassment, and has accepted money from Libyan dictator Ghadafi and hosted a speech (via television) in which he called for the overthrow of democracy.

Now, Columbia University President Lee Bolinger (formerly the head of the University of Michigan) finds himself facing serious ethical questions, with implications for the corruption of the judicial system. "

Welcome to Yale

On The Fence Films :: Blog: "Yesterday, Director Evan Coyne Maloney was on the Yale campus hoping to interview administrators and allow them to give a fuller accounting of their decision to admit an ex-Taliban official with very little previous education to the hallowed halls of one of America's elite universities.

Things didn't go so well."

A throwback to the olden days...

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "Who's the Boss?
'After being surprised by her husband's role in the Dubai ports deal, Sen. Hillary Clinton has insisted that Bill Clinton give her 'final say' over what he says and does, well-placed sources said,' New York's Daily News reports:

The former President agreed to give his wife a veto to avoid his habit of making controversial headlines that could hurt her chances of returning to the White House, multiple sources told the Daily News.

'He knows it's Hillary's time now,' said an adviser close to both Clintons who expects to play a key role in her likely 2008 presidential campaign.

Now perhaps this is more gossip than news, but can you imagine the outcry if, when Bill Clinton held office and Hillary didn't, someone had floated the story that he had demanded a 'veto' over her public statements?

C'mon, Bill, don't just stay home and bake cookies! Be a man, for heaven's sake!"

This is bad.

CNN.com: "She and her husband, preacher Matthew Winkler, were an ideal couple, congregants said.

But that image was shattered on Friday, when, according to police, Mary Winkler confessed to killing her husband."

Brokeback Yale

Penraker: Thou Shalt Not Debate Public Issues at Yale: "Yale has now refused to put on a once-planned debate over the presence at Yale of Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi - the former Taliban. John Fund reports:

The union's vice president had invited me, along with Yale alumnus and Army veteran Flagg Youngblood, to debate both military recruitment and the Rahmatullah case, on campus March 29. But when he brought the proposal to the executive board, it was rejected.

"No matter how carefully we frame this debate, it would inevitably turn into a trial of a fellow student and his personal life and beliefs,"

But Rahmatullah is not just some student from the Midwest who stumbled onto campus, he is a former Minister for the Taliban.

And it gets weirder and weirder: Listen to the ideologically blinded view of this student- she has been taught, like many students these days, to utterly ignore evil, and excuse it at any cost. She will trot forth a multitude of platitudes to justify having someone who is a practiced liar and sworn enemy of the United States at her school. But no doubt she would never countenance the presence of an American racist, or sexist, or homophobe. But somehow when a racist, sexist homophobic foreigner comes along, whose redeeming feature seems to be that he represents something that is implacably opposed to the United States - well then, he become instantly forgivable. He becomes a correctable, huggable, misguided youth. There is a lot of "our little brown brother" in her statements:

When I asked her if any of the revelations about Mr. Rahmatullah's past disturb her, she said that "while he has made some mistakes," she trusts that university officials had "investigated things" and satisfied themselves about him. She noted that Mr. Rahmatullah was "very, very young" when he had been a Taliban official, and said that "it's not like the Taliban attacked this country."

No, they only actively hosted and encouraged Al-Qaeda within their borders so that IT could attack the U.S. They publicly executed women for trivial matters. They imprisoned anyone who tried to practice a non-Muslim religion. They made Hindus wear yellow emblems to mark them publicly. They refused to let girls go to school. They blew up religious statues. They prevented the playing of music. Homosexuals were killed by making walls fall on them."

I wonder what Rahmatullah's review of Brokeback would be. Please read the whole thing, and then pray for the Northeast.

Pie Update: Lemon Meringue

My ode to pie was well received, at least by my Dad.

Since then I have had a delightful mixed berry by from Costco. Costco always has great pies and they are as big as a tire.

I am currently working on a lemon meringue pie from Perkins. It's not close to a favorite and my family hates it.

I've recently been informed of some new pie intelligence. Apparently, Maine is famous for a unique strain of wild blueberries, making Maine Wild Blueberry Pie a conquest that lies in my future.

And it turns out, my immediate future. Our house is finally selling and we will move to Boston at the end of May.

Pie.

Another CCC and DaVinci

Jesus Decoded is a web site where a different CCC addresses The DaVinci Code

A CHRISTIAN ON TRIAL

Michelle Malkin: A CHRISTIAN ON TRIAL: "Abdul Rahman, 40, was arrested last month, accused of converting to Christianity. Under Afghanistan's new constitution, minority religious rights are protected but Muslims are still subject to strict Islamic laws. And so, officially, Muslim-born Rahman is charged with rejecting Islam and not for practicing Christianity.

Appearing in court earlier this week Rahman insisted he should not be considered an infidel, but admitted he is a Christian. He says he still believes in the almighty Allah, but cannot say for sure who God really is. 'I am,' he says, 'a Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ.'"

Marriage Rights?

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "Here Comes the Bride. Lock Her Up.
Lisa Clark, a 37-year-old Georgia woman with a month-old son, has been sentenced to nine months in jail--for having sex with her husband. The problem, as the Associated Press reports, is that the husband is 15:

Clark was arrested in November on charges of statutory rape, child molestation and enticing a minor. A few days before her arrest, she married the boy under a 1962 Georgia law that allows children of any age to get married if the bride-to-be is pregnant.

This just goes to show that you can't rely on made-up constitutional rights. The so-called right to privacy, established in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), is premised, as Justice William O. Douglas wrote in the court's opinion, on the inviolability of 'the sacred precincts of marital bedrooms.' Apparently this doesn't apply if the marriage is solemnized pursuant to a screwy law."

You decide.

Anatomy of a rumble

I hope this doesn't seem self serving. I am just glad there are folks with time to carry on the conversation.

Triablogue: "A few days ago I asked Ryan McReynolds to a link a movie review of his to Triablogue. Ryan is the founder of Triablogue, as well as a long-time employee of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Ryan had reviewed Brokeback Mountain. Many Christians have condemned the movie unseen because of its liberal agenda. Likewise, many liberals have praised the movie unseen because of its liberal agenda.

Ryan is a Christian who'’s actually seen the movie. And the point of his review is that, whatever its agenda, the movie unwittingly deconstructs its own message.

Now, I figured that if anyone would be offended by the review, it might be Christians who missed the point of what Ryan was saying.

The film doesn't intentionally present a Christian worldview. Rather, it ends up presenting a Christian worldview in spite of itself.

And, as a matter of fact, his review did trigger a very negative reaction. Mind you, Triablogue is no stranger to controversy, so that'’s fine with me.

As it turns out, though, all the hue and cry came, not from the Evangelical community, but from a weblog linked to The Secular Outpost, which is an arm of The Secular Web.

And it'’s very instructive to see how unbelievers behave when their back is to the wall. They began by attacking Ryan'’s review. Then they turned to something I had written."

Read the whole thing so you can enjoy one of the most eloquent and profound explanations of the Church that you will ever read.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Saw this last night and I was amazed.

This movie is a mixture of all that is good and evil in people. It feels totally original yet it is a mixture of many other things: Crash, Unforgiven, Magnolia, The Sopranos, and many others.

Hopefully you can tell from the list above that it is R rated for a reason. There is much grit in this film. It is disturbing and comforting. Sexual and chaste. Unforgettable and regrettable. Horrifying and edifying. It has so many interesting and original elements that it is truly difficult to sum up. Justice and Mercy. Death and Life. Purpose and aimlessness. Redemption and condemnation. Murder and healing. Freedom and bondage. Heaven and Hell.

I'm not kidding. It's all in there.

The plot has the same multi-layered, unfolding pace of The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile. It is truly a great story.

Yet it ends like most modern art films, about 10 minutes to soon. It has no answers, no truths, no final resolution, only a resolution. It could have been one of the greatest Westerns of all time, but that would require an eschatology of meaning and transcendent purpose. Instead the film settles for being great, with a post-modern ending in futility, revealing humanity.

The characters in this film are truly unforgettable. Barry Pepper was great in 25th Hour and Saving Private Ryan but he is amazing in this film. The whole cast is perfect.

If you live in the Denver area, tonight may be the last night that you can see this film on the big screen.

Go see it!

It may sound strange but this film is so intimate and detailed, that it really would lose power on a small screen.

My Rating: Big Screen

Just and Justifier

Eric Swanson: Joanna Meyer Comes Over: "Joanna said, 'God sees us like Simon but treats us like Paula.'"

For those of you who know, you know.

Icarus and violence against Gays

Icarus Poe said in the comments section of this post:

"Could you perhaps supply me with one or two examples of "Islamofascist"-on-gay violence in this country?"

I'm glad you asked. The first issue to consider is that in this country (USA) violence against homosexuals is rightly criminal and punishable by law. This means that violence against gays by Islamofascists is probably secret. I don't have any offhand examples in this country.

But ask yourself this, what countries criminalize homosexuality? Here's an article that gives you many examples. It takes about 5 seconds to find this stuff.

But why go all the way back to last year? Here's an issue as fresh as today's headlines:

What would you say if you found out that one of the murderers of Matthew Shepard was given a special exception to attend an elite Ivy League school? Couldn't happen? Well not if you're a cowboy from Wyoming, but if you are an Islamofascist it's the Yale you say: Click here for fresh evidence.

Here's a lengthy presentation to the UN about Taliban violence against gays. This is just one example of the policies of the "administration" that this Yale student used to represent:

The two, Abdul Sami, 18, and Bismillah, 22, residents of Herat province,
were placed beside a wall of dried mud which was bulldozed upon them.
They had been detained four months earlier accused of sodomy and
sentenced by a Shari'a court to death by
crushing a wall upon them.

News of the execution was carried by the official Taliban Radio Voice of
Shari'a, which stated:

"Shari'a-prescribed punishment has been administered to two sodomites
[in] Herat Province. Bakhtar Information Agency informed us [two men]
who had been arrested by security officials on charges of committing
sodomy were publicly punished for their deeds in the city of Herat
today. The cases of the accused were investigated by the public
prosecution office of Herat Province where the accused confessed to
their crimes without duress or torture. Following the completion of the
investigation the cases were sent for judicial decision by primary,
appeal and discernment courts which passed their verdicts. Having
received the assent of His Eminence Amirol Momenin, the judicial
decision was administered at a stadium in the city of Herat today."

These evils are just the ones that can be proven. Imagine life under the Taliban for homosexuals.

Icarus, you and I both know that there's a cowboy in the White House that won't be invited to speak at Yale anytime soon. But Islamofascists are welcome?

One would expect artists in Hollywood and elsewhere to be speaking out about such things, and using their art to the same end.

I'm a fan of Ang Lee but I'm still waiting for a filmmaker with the courage to take on this kind of oppression. Of course Ang Lee won't receive a death sentence from cowboys in Wyoming or Texas, which is why making a film about Islamofascist-on-gay violence would be far more "courageous".

Your comments are welcome...

I haven't blogged today because I've been answering comments on this post.

By some miracle I turned on comment moderation just in time to catch some inappropriate stuff. I don't know what the person was thinking. I work with college students. It's very hard to shock me.

Let's be honest.. except on campus.

Cruel, cruel Summers: "Chew on that for a bit, why don’t you: blunt speaking (candor? honesty? impassioned defense of ideals?) leads to trouble in academe. Instead, “sensitivity,” or, to use the more loaded word, “tolerance”—the primary directive being to hurt no feelings (unless the feelings are those of the ruling / oppressor class, who by definition can’t be materially injured, given their position of social power)—is the new ideal. Which leads, almost invariably, to an insulated cult of homogeneity, where disagreement is discouraged because, well, it can be so very unpleasant. “Consultation,” in the sense Piereson uses it here, is akin to the UN (and European) idea of consensus: gone are the days of defiant individualism (at least, pre-tenure); instead, departments—particularly in the Humanities—are run on group agreements that have the effect of officially watering down the beliefs of intellectual outliers."

Google Moon

Google Moon - Lunar Landing Sites: "Welcome to Google Moon"

Zoom in all the way to see the detailed face of the lunar surface.

A modern day Rosa Parks

Video of a woman, with more courage than George Clooney. More courage than Michael Moore. More courage than Kanye West. More courage than Ellen Degeneres. More courage than Tom Brady. More courage than me.

She is the descendant of Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and each of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

She has signed her own death warrant with large letters and bright red ink.

The heart of a lion.

You owe it to her and all that is civilized in this world, to take a moment and watch and listen.

The New Tolerance

Cathy Seipp: "A FRIEND of mine took his daughter to visit the famous City Lights in San Francisco, explaining that this store is important because years ago it sold books no other store would - even, perhaps especially, books whose ideas many people found offensive. So, though my friend is no Ward Churchill fan, he didn't really mind the prominent display of books by the guy who famously called 9/11 victims 'little Eichmanns.'

But it did occur to him that perhaps the long-delayed English translation of Oriana Fallaci's new book, 'The Force of Reason,' might finally be available, and that, because Fallaci's militant stance against Islamic militants offends so many people a store committed to selling banned books would be the perfect place to buy it. So he asked a clerk if the new Fallaci book was in yet.

'No,' snapped the clerk. 'We don't carry books by fascists.'"

For the times, they are a-changin'.

If a terrorist calls in a forest...

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today: "'The Sept. 11 hijackers made dozens of telephone calls to Saudi Arabia and Syria in the months before the attacks, according to a classified report from the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel,' the Chicago Tribune reports:

According to the report, 206 international telephone calls were known to have been made by the leaders of the hijacking plot after they arrived in the United States--including 29 to Germany, 32 to Saudi Arabia and 66 to Syria.

These are calls between al Qaeda terrorists and their associates, in which one side of the call is in the U.S. and the other is in another country--that is, just the kind of call the National Security Agency listened to under the terrorist surveillance program. Had such a program existed in 2001, it might have prevented 9/11--but if some journalists and Democrats are scandalized now, imagine how they would have howled in outrage if 9/11 hadn't happened."

The Academy Award speech we should have heard by Dennis Prager - Mar 7, 2006

Dennis Prager - Mar 7, 2006: "At the same time, I also want to apologize to these troops for my profession not having made even one motion picture about any of the heroic American fighters in Afghanistan and Iraq. This country is fighting a war, Hollywood. You may think this war is unwise, waged under mistaken, or even false, pretenses. And as an actor in Hollywood, you are overwhelmingly likely to hate this commander in chief. But even the men and women of Hollywood must recognize that America is fighting the worst people of our time, people who hurt every group Hollywood claims to care about -- minorities, women, gays -- people who engage in the sins Hollywood most professes to oppose -- intolerance and violence -- far more than anyone else on the planet.

In another era, when what many have labeled 'the greatest generation' fought the German Nazis and the Japanese fascists, Hollywood made movie after movie depicting that great war and our great warriors. And Hollywood showed freedom's enemies as the cruel and vicious people they were. We have not produced one film yet depicting this war in positive terms or one depicting this generation's enemies of freedom as the cruel and vicious people they are.

In fact, the only nominated film about people who slaughter children at discos, blow up weddings, and bomb pizzerias and buses filled with men, women and children is one that attempts to show these murderers in God's name as complex human beings. Just imagine how the Academy would have reacted 60 years ago to a film depicting Nazi murderers as complex human beings. We have descended far."

Read the whole thing.

Among the coolest things I've ever seen...

Impact Lab - Amazing 3D Sidewalk Art Photos

Click the link, scroll down, and be amazed.

And the Oscar goes to.....

FemmeFantastic: And the Oscar goes to.....: "A bunch of whining pimps? Did I hear that correctly?"

Katrina Relief not included in the Da Vinci Code

A report from the front lines of the battle for humanity. It's not clear how this plays into the global conspiracy to suppress the Divine Feminine:

"I just finished touring "Camp Premier," the FEMA work camp in St. Bernard's Parish in New Orleans with Franklin Graham and the report they gave us on the Campus Crusade student volunteers and those of Samaritan's Purse was heartwarming. We went to meet some of the 800 Crusade workers, primarily from NC State, Bowling Green, and Michigan and Franklin was able to thank and encourage them. The camp is the most impressive thing I have ever seen related to disaster relief. Some 2,000 volunteers are there working in 10-person teams "gutting" out homes at the rate of one every day and a half. They will do 500 homes a week out of this single camp.

The head man told us how he could not do this work without the Christian kids and organizations. It was a great testimony to see and hear about the critical role that Crusade, Samaritan's Purse, NAMB, and others are playing here. In fact, it struck me today, that without the church of Jesus Christ, there would be very little taking place here in New Orleans.

The mayor of nearby Gretna recently told Franklin, "in the weeks after the storm, I didn't see one FEMA truck, I didn't see one Red Cross vehicle, but I saw church buses from Iowa, and Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Without the church, we would not have had any help at all."

Franklin and Billy are here this week for a Celebration of Hope, Saturday and Sunday in the New Orleans Arena. Today, they both toured the Lower 9th Ward. Words cannot describe the scene, even today. But I was so proud of Campus Crusade and wanted to encourage you with this report. God is being lifted high by you all and others down here. Well done."

I haven't seen any cartoons about this here either.

Faster, Higher, Stronger...Hoth?

Yahoo! News: "Shane Igoe has a solution for what ails the
Winter Olympics: Hoth.

As in the sixth planet of the Hoth universe. As in the icy land where Luke Skywalker nearly froze his tauntauns off. As in the completely make-believe Star Wars world.

'That's sort of the catch,' concedes Igoe on the last point.

Details aside, Igoe has launched a campaign to make Hoth the host planet for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The mock effort comes complete with a Website, Hoth2014.com, an online petition, and, in a twist, a serious intent. "

Lucas is making a movie of this effort: Star Wars Episode VII: Revenge of the Nerds

Easter: God meeting our need for proof.

Acts 1:3 To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many decisive proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.