Eric Swanson: Campus Church Network--MUST READ: "'THE 13/30 WINDOW'
Missiologoists have coined the term 'the 10/40 Window,' defining the geographical region 10 degrees to 40 degrees north of the Equator, an area of the globe considered by many to be the most unreached and unevangelized region of the world. But what is more crucial for us to consider is not 'the 10/40 Window' but 'the 13/30 Window.' This defines the age group of people between 13 to 30 years old, which is really the greatest harvest field in the world today. First of all, this age group is most open to the gospel. Secondly, it is the most important group because they are the future of the Church and the world. As such, when you reach the youth (who are located on campuses), you affect the future of Christianity and the whole world. Just look at the facts according to the UN Population Division and the Population Reference Bureau (2000):
--60 percent of the whole world are aged 24 and under.
--30 percent (or 1.7 billion) are aged between 10 to 24 years old. This age group is the greatest harvest field because they are the most likely to become followers of Christ.
Surveys say, 90% of all people become Christians before the age of 25. (Barna Research) But who is going to reach them? 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.' Matthew 9:37-38"
Friday, September 30, 2005
Hysteria Driven Media, Lies, and Videotape = More Lies and Hysteria
Online NewsHour: Looking at Media Coverage of Hurricane Katrina -- September 29, 2005: "JEFFREY BROWN: And, Mr. Hewitt, same question, what did you like and what did you dislike?
HUGH HEWITT: Well, Keith just said they did not report an ordinary story; in fact they were reporting lies. The central part of this story, what went on at the convention center and the Superdome was wrong. American media threw everything they had at this story, all the bureaus, all the networks, all the newspapers, everything went to New Orleans, and yet they could not get inside the convention center, they could not get inside the Superdome to dispel the lurid, the hysterical, the salaciousness of the reporting.
Hugh Hewitt: I have in mind especially the throat-slashed seven-year-old girl who had been gang-raped at the convention center -- didn't happen. In fact, there were no rapes at the convention center or the Superdome that have yet been corroborated in any way.
There weren't stacks of bodies in the freezer. But America was riveted by this reporting, wholesale collapse of the media's own levees they let in all the rumors, and all the innuendo, all the first-person story because they were caught up in this own emotionalism. Exactly what Keith was praising I think led to one of the worst weeks of reporting in the history of American media, and it raises this question: If all of that amount of resources was given over to this story and they got it wrong, how can we trust American media in a place far away like Iraq where they don't speak the language, where there is an insurgency, and I think the question comes back we really can't."
This is why I don't watch television news. It takes weeks to read and listen to diverse accounts and sort through the lies to figure out what really happened. Usually if it's reported in the LA Times or the NY Times you have to use the same caution.
HUGH HEWITT: Well, Keith just said they did not report an ordinary story; in fact they were reporting lies. The central part of this story, what went on at the convention center and the Superdome was wrong. American media threw everything they had at this story, all the bureaus, all the networks, all the newspapers, everything went to New Orleans, and yet they could not get inside the convention center, they could not get inside the Superdome to dispel the lurid, the hysterical, the salaciousness of the reporting.
Hugh Hewitt: I have in mind especially the throat-slashed seven-year-old girl who had been gang-raped at the convention center -- didn't happen. In fact, there were no rapes at the convention center or the Superdome that have yet been corroborated in any way.
There weren't stacks of bodies in the freezer. But America was riveted by this reporting, wholesale collapse of the media's own levees they let in all the rumors, and all the innuendo, all the first-person story because they were caught up in this own emotionalism. Exactly what Keith was praising I think led to one of the worst weeks of reporting in the history of American media, and it raises this question: If all of that amount of resources was given over to this story and they got it wrong, how can we trust American media in a place far away like Iraq where they don't speak the language, where there is an insurgency, and I think the question comes back we really can't."
This is why I don't watch television news. It takes weeks to read and listen to diverse accounts and sort through the lies to figure out what really happened. Usually if it's reported in the LA Times or the NY Times you have to use the same caution.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Don't Say These Words at Bucknell
Brain-Terminal.com: "Two words. At Bucknell University, that's all it takes to get dragged into the President's Office for a half-hour discussion of word choice. And these aren't offensive words, at least not out here in the real world. But Bucknell apparently has a different definition of what is and is not acceptable.
On August 29th, the Bucknell University Conservatives Club sent out a campus-wide e-mail announcing an upcoming speaker: Major John Krenson, who had been in Afghanistan 'hunting terrorists.' Those two words--'hunting terrorists'--resulted in three students being called to Bucknell's Office of the President by Kathy Owens, the Executive Assistant to the President.
According to the students, when they arrived at the President's Office for the meeting, Ms. Owens held up a print-out of the offending e-mail and said 'we have a problem here,' telling the students that the words 'hunting terrorists' were offensive. For the next half-hour, the three students were given a lecture on inappropriate phrasing.
(When contacted, Ms. Owens did acknowledge that the meeting took place, but refused to answer any questions about what transpired. She did not deny the account of the students.)
Last year, while collecting footage for my upcoming film Indoctrinate U, I noticed that the campus was plastered with flyers that screamed 'vagina' in large block letters. Although some people might find these flyers offensive, it is protected speech at Bucknell--as it should be--but apparently the phrase 'hunting terrorists' is not.
(Perhaps someone should remind Bucknell's administrators that the American soldiers who are 'hunting terrorists' are fighting the very sort of misogynistic thugs who would gladly stone a woman to death for talking about her vagina in public.)"
On August 29th, the Bucknell University Conservatives Club sent out a campus-wide e-mail announcing an upcoming speaker: Major John Krenson, who had been in Afghanistan 'hunting terrorists.' Those two words--'hunting terrorists'--resulted in three students being called to Bucknell's Office of the President by Kathy Owens, the Executive Assistant to the President.
According to the students, when they arrived at the President's Office for the meeting, Ms. Owens held up a print-out of the offending e-mail and said 'we have a problem here,' telling the students that the words 'hunting terrorists' were offensive. For the next half-hour, the three students were given a lecture on inappropriate phrasing.
(When contacted, Ms. Owens did acknowledge that the meeting took place, but refused to answer any questions about what transpired. She did not deny the account of the students.)
Last year, while collecting footage for my upcoming film Indoctrinate U, I noticed that the campus was plastered with flyers that screamed 'vagina' in large block letters. Although some people might find these flyers offensive, it is protected speech at Bucknell--as it should be--but apparently the phrase 'hunting terrorists' is not.
(Perhaps someone should remind Bucknell's administrators that the American soldiers who are 'hunting terrorists' are fighting the very sort of misogynistic thugs who would gladly stone a woman to death for talking about her vagina in public.)"
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Gateway Pundit/Hurricane Katrina: Folklore vs. Fact
Gateway Pundit:
"Folklore: The federal government was slow to respond.
Fact: 'The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne.'
For instance, it took five days for National Guard troops to arrive in strength on the scene in Homestead, Fla. after Hurricane Andrew hit in 2002. But after Katrina, there was a significant National Guard presence in the afflicted region in three."
Back when this all happened, my friend Andy asked if I thought the Bush Administration response was "just a little" slow.
My answer: "compared to what"
Now we know.
Click the link for much more that you can't learn from watching television news.
"Folklore: The federal government was slow to respond.
Fact: 'The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne.'
For instance, it took five days for National Guard troops to arrive in strength on the scene in Homestead, Fla. after Hurricane Andrew hit in 2002. But after Katrina, there was a significant National Guard presence in the afflicted region in three."
Back when this all happened, my friend Andy asked if I thought the Bush Administration response was "just a little" slow.
My answer: "compared to what"
Now we know.
Click the link for much more that you can't learn from watching television news.
USATODAY.com - Sheehan calls McCain 'warmonger' after meeting
USATODAY.com - Sheehan calls McCain 'warmonger' after meeting: "Peace mom Cindy Sheehan didn't change her opposition to the war in Iraq after meeting Tuesday with one of its supporters, Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam veteran whom she called 'a warmonger.'"
Being tortured as a POW would make anyone a "warmonger", right Cindy?
Being tortured as a POW would make anyone a "warmonger", right Cindy?
Rich Bledsoe's Blog - A Visit To Orthodoxy
Entry for September 28, 2005 A Visit To Orthodoxy: "So oddly, Biblical miracles (as opposed to pagan magic) and science are twin brothers with the same patrimony, and they came from the same household. Originally they were not enemies or rivals of one another, but actually implied each other."
Imagine your pastor uttering such things during his Sunday morning sermon. Rich, chewy goodness. I'm going to miss your preaching Rich.
Imagine your pastor uttering such things during his Sunday morning sermon. Rich, chewy goodness. I'm going to miss your preaching Rich.
Peter Jackson: a fraction of his former self
If you haven't seen him lately, Peter Jackson has lost 70 pounds and his glasses. Click the link to see pictures of a man you won't recognize.
Wired 13.10: Return of the King: "Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong hits the big screen in December. But for the last year, he's been giving eager fans a behind-the-scenes look at the world he built for the big ape. Posted while the cameras were still rolling, these extraordinary online diaries break every closed-set taboo in Hollywood."
Wired 13.10: Return of the King: "Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong hits the big screen in December. But for the last year, he's been giving eager fans a behind-the-scenes look at the world he built for the big ape. Posted while the cameras were still rolling, these extraordinary online diaries break every closed-set taboo in Hollywood."
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy - Los Angeles Times
Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy - Los Angeles Times: "'It just morphed into this mythical place where the most unthinkable deeds were being done,' Bush said Monday of the Superdome.
His assessment is one of several in recent days to conclude that newspapers and television exaggerated criminal behavior in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, particularly at the overcrowded Superdome and Convention Center.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune on Monday described inflated body counts, unverified 'rapes,' and unconfirmed sniper attacks as among examples of 'scores of myths about the dome and Convention Center treated as fact by evacuees, the media and even some of New Orleans' top officials.'"
That's not GWBush. You know it's bad if LA Times can figure it out.
His assessment is one of several in recent days to conclude that newspapers and television exaggerated criminal behavior in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, particularly at the overcrowded Superdome and Convention Center.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune on Monday described inflated body counts, unverified 'rapes,' and unconfirmed sniper attacks as among examples of 'scores of myths about the dome and Convention Center treated as fact by evacuees, the media and even some of New Orleans' top officials.'"
That's not GWBush. You know it's bad if LA Times can figure it out.
Democrats lied, almost nobody died
NOLA.com: T-P Orleans Parish Breaking News Weblog: "In many cases, authorities gave credibility to portraits of violence broadcast around the world.
Compass told Winfrey on Sept. 6 that "some of the little babies (are) getting raped" in the Dome. Nagin backed it with his own tale of horrors: ''They have people standing out there, have been in that frickin' Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people, raping people.''
But both men have since pulled back to a degree.
"The information I had at the time, I thought it was credible," Compass said, conceding his earlier statements were false. Asked for the source of the information, Compass said he didn't remember.
Nagin frankly acknowledged that he doesn't know the extent of the mayhem that occurred inside the Dome and the Convention Center - and may never.
"I'm having a hard time getting a good body count," he said.
Compass said rumors had often crippled authorities' response to reported lawlessness, sending badly needed resources to respond to situations that turned out not to exist. He offered his own intensely personal example: The day after the storm, he heard "some civilians" talking about how a band of armed thugs had invaded the Ritz-Carlton hotel and started raping women - including his 24-year-old daughter, who stayed there through the storm. He rushed to the scene only to find that although a group of men had tried to enter the hotel, they weren't armed and were easily turned back by police.
Compass, however, promulgated some of the unfounded rumors himself, in interviews in which he characterized himself and his officers as outgunned warriors taking out armed bands of thugs at every turn.
"People would be shooting at us, and we couldn't shoot back because of the families," Compass told a reporter from the (Bridgeport) Connecticut Post who interviewed him at the Saints' Monday Night Football game in New York, where he was the guest of NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "All we could do is rush toward the flash."
Compass added that he and his officers succeeded in wrestling 30 weapons from criminals using the follow-the-muzzle-flash technique, the story said.
"We got 30 that way," Compass was quoted as saying.
Asked about the muzzle-flash story last week, Compass said, "That really happened" to Winn's SWAT team at the Convention Center.
But Winn, when asked about alleged shootouts in a separate interview, said his unit saw muzzle flashes and heard gunshots only one time. Despite aggressively frisking a number of suspects, the team recovered no weapons. His unit never found anyone who had been shot."
Compass told Winfrey on Sept. 6 that "some of the little babies (are) getting raped" in the Dome. Nagin backed it with his own tale of horrors: ''They have people standing out there, have been in that frickin' Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people, raping people.''
But both men have since pulled back to a degree.
"The information I had at the time, I thought it was credible," Compass said, conceding his earlier statements were false. Asked for the source of the information, Compass said he didn't remember.
Nagin frankly acknowledged that he doesn't know the extent of the mayhem that occurred inside the Dome and the Convention Center - and may never.
"I'm having a hard time getting a good body count," he said.
Compass said rumors had often crippled authorities' response to reported lawlessness, sending badly needed resources to respond to situations that turned out not to exist. He offered his own intensely personal example: The day after the storm, he heard "some civilians" talking about how a band of armed thugs had invaded the Ritz-Carlton hotel and started raping women - including his 24-year-old daughter, who stayed there through the storm. He rushed to the scene only to find that although a group of men had tried to enter the hotel, they weren't armed and were easily turned back by police.
Compass, however, promulgated some of the unfounded rumors himself, in interviews in which he characterized himself and his officers as outgunned warriors taking out armed bands of thugs at every turn.
"People would be shooting at us, and we couldn't shoot back because of the families," Compass told a reporter from the (Bridgeport) Connecticut Post who interviewed him at the Saints' Monday Night Football game in New York, where he was the guest of NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "All we could do is rush toward the flash."
Compass added that he and his officers succeeded in wrestling 30 weapons from criminals using the follow-the-muzzle-flash technique, the story said.
"We got 30 that way," Compass was quoted as saying.
Asked about the muzzle-flash story last week, Compass said, "That really happened" to Winn's SWAT team at the Convention Center.
But Winn, when asked about alleged shootouts in a separate interview, said his unit saw muzzle flashes and heard gunshots only one time. Despite aggressively frisking a number of suspects, the team recovered no weapons. His unit never found anyone who had been shot."
More Horrible Than Truth: News Reports
MediaChannel.org: "But the media's willingness to report thinly attributed rumors may also have contributed to a kind of cultural wreckage that will not clean up easily.
First, anyone with any knowledge of the events in New Orleans knows that terrible things with non-natural causes occurred: there were assaults, shots fired at a rescue helicopter and, given the state of the city's police department, many other crimes that probably went unreported.
But many instances in the lurid libretto of widespread murder, carjacking, rape, and assaults that filled the airwaves and newspapers have yet to be established or proved, as far as anyone can determine. And many of the urban legends that sprang up - the systematic rape of children, the slitting of a 7-year-old's throat - so far seem to be just that."
Read the whole thing. The Truth will set you free.
First, anyone with any knowledge of the events in New Orleans knows that terrible things with non-natural causes occurred: there were assaults, shots fired at a rescue helicopter and, given the state of the city's police department, many other crimes that probably went unreported.
But many instances in the lurid libretto of widespread murder, carjacking, rape, and assaults that filled the airwaves and newspapers have yet to be established or proved, as far as anyone can determine. And many of the urban legends that sprang up - the systematic rape of children, the slitting of a 7-year-old's throat - so far seem to be just that."
Read the whole thing. The Truth will set you free.
EU Rota: EU Environmentalism: A Reminder
EU Rota: EU Environmentalism: A Reminder: "Their mantra, of course, globalwarmingglobalwarming, theskyisfallingtheskyisfalling, thishasneverhappenedbeforethishasneverhappenedbefore. Rinse and repeat ad nauseam. Maybe they can work Halliburton in this time since Houston seems to be the destination.
Going back to 1851, what does the actual data from NOAA say:
Click here to see the data.
Going back to 1851, what does the actual data from NOAA say:
Click here to see the data.
Centerfield Productions: Shame vs. Guilt
Centerfield Productions > Ideas: "In the West it seems we are in transition. We are moving away from being a guilt-based culture, towards a shame-based culture. Because of that transition, many of our students have grown up experiencing shame more than guilt, but they’ve done so in a country where the Christian community’s expertise lies in dealing with guilt more than shame. Which probably means that to many of them, and maybe to many of our staff as well, the offer of the gospel has not sounded as sweet as it actually is."
Sunday, September 25, 2005
The Opposite of Pornography
Telegraph | News | Women bypass sex in favour of 'instant pregnancies': "Women are increasingly seeking inappropriate IVF treatment because they do not have the time or inclination for a sex life and want to 'diarise' their busy lives.
Wealthy career women in their 30s and early 40s, some of whom have given up regular sex altogether, are turning to 'medicalised conception' - despite being fertile and long before they have exhausted the possibility of a natural conception."
All the responsibility, none of the gratification.
Wealthy career women in their 30s and early 40s, some of whom have given up regular sex altogether, are turning to 'medicalised conception' - despite being fertile and long before they have exhausted the possibility of a natural conception."
All the responsibility, none of the gratification.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Looking the other way
John Leo: "Sheehan, before and after her arrival in Texas, said a great many colorful things that failed to interest mainstream reporters. Some of her acid comments registered with the public mostly because of George Will’s powerful column of August 25 and his similar comments on the Sunday ABC TV news show This Week. A few made it on to cable news. Others simply failed to make it into the mainstream media. It’s worth reviewing what she said: The neocons deliberately allowed the terrorist attacks of 9/11. American soldiers are “being sent to kill innocent people” in Iraq. Her son, Casey Sheehan, “died for oil” and was “murdered” by President Bush. The United States is “not worth dying for.” The president, who “stole the election,” is part of the “Bush crime family,” a “lying bastard,” a “führer,” a “filth spewer,” “the biggest terrorist in the world,” and an “evil maniac” who is guilty of “blatant genocide.” Sheehan also compared Lynne Stewart, the radical lawyer convicted of aiding terrorists, to Atticus Finch, the heroic lawyer who battled racism in the book and movie To Kill a Mockingbird. She has been accused of making vaguely anti-Semitic remarks, but she attributes those remarks to her political opponents. On Hardball, she said the American attack in Afghanistan was “almost the same thing” (i.e., just as evil) as the invasion of Iraq."With the tragedy of hurricanes in the news, the media has forgotten about Cindy Sheehan. But even before the hurricanes, the media helped American forget who Cindy really is.
Why not just tell it like it is. Cindy Sheehan is not afraid to say it, don't be afraid to print it.
Video Game U
Wired News: A Generation of Game Boys, Girls: "More and more, video game-related courses are being offered in colleges around the country in response to the digital media industry's appetite for skilled workers and the tastes of a new generation of students raised on Game Boy and Xbox."
I have always told students that playing video games wouldn't get them anywhere. Well shut my mouth.
At least it's better than "gender studies".
Friday, September 23, 2005
Evangelicals and Mormon's Together?
deseretnews.com | Evangelical preaches at Salt Lake Tabernacle: "With Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints sitting together in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for an 'Evening of Friendship,' internationally renowned Christian philosopher Ravi Zacharias told them Sunday night that Jesus Christ's unique claim upon humanity is that he embodied truth and sacrificed himself for a world that often does not recognize him.
But what many Utahns may remember most distinctly is the sermon that came before it.
Taking the pulpit to speak of the event's historic nature, Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw addressed a capacity crowd of several thousand, offering a stunningly candid apology to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and noting that 'friendship has not come easily between our communities.' He dubbed the evening 'historic' and apologized that Evangelicals 'have often misrepresented the faith and beliefs of the Latter-day Saints.'
'Let me state it clearly. We evangelicals have sinned against you,' he said, adding both camps have tended to marginalize and simplify the others' beliefs.
Historical animosity dating back to the founding of the LDS Church by Joseph Smith in 1830 has heightened in recent years between the two groups, particularly in the 1990s, when several high-profile evangelical leaders asserted that 'Mormons are not Christians.'
Mouw noted the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birthday next December and several scholarly events planned to celebrate during the coming year. 'I hope many in the evangelical community will take part in those events,' he said."
But what many Utahns may remember most distinctly is the sermon that came before it.
Taking the pulpit to speak of the event's historic nature, Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw addressed a capacity crowd of several thousand, offering a stunningly candid apology to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and noting that 'friendship has not come easily between our communities.' He dubbed the evening 'historic' and apologized that Evangelicals 'have often misrepresented the faith and beliefs of the Latter-day Saints.'
'Let me state it clearly. We evangelicals have sinned against you,' he said, adding both camps have tended to marginalize and simplify the others' beliefs.
Historical animosity dating back to the founding of the LDS Church by Joseph Smith in 1830 has heightened in recent years between the two groups, particularly in the 1990s, when several high-profile evangelical leaders asserted that 'Mormons are not Christians.'
Mouw noted the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birthday next December and several scholarly events planned to celebrate during the coming year. 'I hope many in the evangelical community will take part in those events,' he said."
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Rita, we hardly knew ya...
Any hurricane where the lights don't go out, isn't too bad.
We met all day today and didn't even notice a hurricane.
Thank the Lord.
We met all day today and didn't even notice a hurricane.
Thank the Lord.
Monday, September 19, 2005
We're outta here..
Well,
It looks like we're leaving the Florida Keys.
Run for high ground!
I think we're headed for Miami.
It looks like we're leaving the Florida Keys.
Run for high ground!
I think we're headed for Miami.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Run for your lives! - Duck Key, FL
Well, it's been a busy week and there's been no time for blogging.
Now for an exciting update:
I arrived at a conference today. I'm in Duck Key, FL which as you might guess if you click on the link, is in the path of
HURRICANE RITA!
I'll let you know how it all turns out.
Now for an exciting update:
I arrived at a conference today. I'm in Duck Key, FL which as you might guess if you click on the link, is in the path of
HURRICANE RITA!
I'll let you know how it all turns out.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
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