Friday, February 18, 2005

What is your view of God?
Ok you liberal readers, I know you're out there. I know I am driving some of you absolutely crazy. You just can’t stand anything that I am writing.

The question I have for you though is this, what is your view of God? I am doing this purely to help my thinking. I really want to know.

Are you...
Atheist - and if so how did you come to that conclusion.
Secular Humanist - same as above...
Christian - tell me details
Agnostic - same as about...
Jewish
Buddhist
Islamist
etc

You get the idea.
I just want to know.

Please leave comments.
Thanks

posted @ 02:42 PM CST [link] [Karma: -1 (+/-)]

The Military’s ‘Unmentionable Topic’
Sex Trafficking and the Navy
BreakPoint with Charles Colson

February 18, 2005

Nicholas Kristof’s recent New York Times columns on sex trafficking in Cambodia drew a lot of reader mail. Many asked, “What about the johns?”—the men who buy the services.

“Why aren’t the men written about?” one reader asked Kristof, “Embarrass them, expose them, not the women.” Kristof responded, “[F]oreign countries just are not going to arrest a lot of the johns, while they could be persuaded to arrest traffickers of young girls.” Okay, of course, we want traffickers arrested. That was the goal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act that Bill Bennett, Michael Horowitz, and I along with many others fought so hard to get passed.

Complete Story...

posted @ 11:19 AM CST [link] [Karma: 10 (+/-)]

Because of Winn-Dixie
I am hearing just great things about the movie, "Because of Winn-Dixie". If you are looking for great family entertainment, go. We will be trying our darndest to go this weekend.

Check out the comments from the Parents Television Council in the MORE below....
posted by @ 10:42 AM CST [more..] [Karma: -1 (+/-)]

To the Beach
Are you experiencing the same winter blahs that I am?

Are you ready to get away?

Are you driving your spouse crazy with whining about how cold and yucky the winter is?

Well, I can't help you get away to someplace warm and beautiful, but I can tease you a bit.

Doesn't this look great?

Warm beautifull beach

I have to make plans to get out of Minnesota next February.

posted @ 10:28 AM CST [link] [Karma: 5 (+/-)]

Now even Liberals are saying there is "Not Much Left" to the Democratic party
I am getting a sense that many in the democratic party are starting to become aware that they have a real problem Their ideas are not selling. Or maybe they don't have anymore big ideas...

The New Republic is a center left magazine that is honest in these reguards. Check out the article Not Much Left for more details.

posted @ 09:59 AM CST [link] [Karma: 9 (+/-)]

CIA prisoner died suspended by wrists
Here is a story to watch. Is it true? What really happened?

Complete story...

We will see if there is more to the story.

posted @ 07:04 AM CST [link] [Karma: 8 (+/-)]

Bill Maher thinks Christians are Whacked
While it is true some of us are whacked, (just ask my wife), to paint the whole group of Christians with such broad strokes is not showing much discernment or wisdom.

Bill said we suffer from a neurological disorder that "stops people from thinking".

Does Bill even know any Christians? Somehow I doubt it.

Complete Story...

posted @ 06:59 AM CST [link] [Karma: 9 (+/-)]

Why do Democrats want Felons to Vote?
Is it because they can not convince enough law abiding citizens to go along with their agenda?

Complete story...
posted @ 06:51 AM CST [link] [Karma: 3 (+/-)]

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Update on Aide Sri Lanka Project
Living in our comfortable homes, we probably can't imagine the devastation caused by the tsunami.

There are some Minnesotan’s that are going to find out first hand.

Here is an update on the Minnesotan’s helping in the aide Sri Lanka project.

posted @ 07:32 PM CST [link] [Karma: 8 (+/-)]

Catholics and Evangelicals: Similarities: God
We are on the chapter two of the book Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences by Norman Geisler. This chapter is on the second item of doctrine that Catholics and evangelicals have in common. This item is the doctrine of God.

We know and worship the same God, and we have a very similar view of who that God is. For a complete discussion covering the first area of doctrinal agreement go to Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Similarities: Revelation.

As Catholics and evangelicals we believe in as the Council of Toledo (A.D. 400) states:

"We believe in one true God, Father, and Son and Holy Spirit, maker of the visible and the invisible, by whom were created all things in heaven and on earth. This God alone and this Trinity alone is of divine name [divine substance]."

What can we say of God? MORE....

posted by @ 07:06 PM CST [more..] [Karma: 5 (+/-)]

K-12 Establishment is Putting America’s Industrial Leadership at Risk
Robert J. Herbold
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

Robert J. Herbold, a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, is managing director of Herbold Group, LLC, and a retired executive vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft Corporation. He holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining Microsoft, he spent 26 years at Procter & Gamble, for the last five as senior vice president of advertising and information services. He serves on the boards of directors of Weyerhaeuser Corporation, Agilent Technologies, First Mutual Bank and Cintas Corporation; the boards of trustees of the Heritage Foundation, Case Western Reserve University, the Seattle Foundation and Overlake Hospital; and the board of overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is the president of the Herbold Foundation, which provides college scholarships to science and engineering students, and the author of The Fiefdom Syndrome: The Turf Battles That Undermine Careers and Companies – And How to Overcome Them.

posted by @ 05:02 PM CST [more..] [Karma: 8 (+/-)]

Marine Under Fire Shown in Possitive Light
An imbedded Time magazine reporter depicted the young Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano’s, who is now facing charges for murdering two Iraqi insurgents, in a heroic light just days after the event occurred.

Complete Story...

I spent four years as an officer in the Air Force right before the first Gulf War. I have a very small glimpse of the pressure this young man was under. In a life and death situation, life is very different than it is in our nice comfy state side living rooms.

We need to be very leery of jumping to any conclusions before all of the information is in.

Wayne

posted @ 09:00 AM CST [link] [Karma: 3 (+/-)]

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

'Seeds of Hope' for Sri Lanka Tsunami Relief
The Sri Lankan pen pal project has been labeled, Seeds of Hope. The concept is very simple.

One self-addressed envelope-addressed by someone who wants a caring connection with a child or an adult in the tsunami devastated areas of Sri Lanka.

In the upper right corner of the envelope, where the stamp goes, write small enough so a stamp will cover the age and gender of the Sri Lankan person you wish to connect with.

In the envelope (do not seal), place your short note (as translation will take time away from other efforts) and a photo of yourself. You might include a strip of colorful ribbon or a sticker.

Originally, I indicated that one of our volunteers would provide the Sri Lankan postage. However, the project has mushroomed within a 12 hr period to such a level, that we are asking for a monetary donation from participating groups to help defray mailing costs.

This effort is the brainchild of one of the two psychologists from the Twin Cities who will be joining the second group of Minnesota Helps Sri Lanka people who leave March 8th and return April 7th. Don Moran will be a part of that group.

Information from the first group is that Post Traumatic Syndrome PTS is far worse than physical problems. This Seeds of Hope effort is meant to address the PTS.

Don will take your envelopes to Sri Lanka. We will need them in our possession by February 28th.

Today, I will also try to but together segments of email info from a teenager and an adult who have given me permission to do so, no names, just info. These two are presently serving with the MN group. You may find their experiences beneficial in classrooms projects.

The website: www.helpsrilanka.us has a photo gallery that posts pictures from Group 1 on a regular basis.

For more information:
Millie Moran
St. Cloud Area Seeds of Hope Coordinator
(320) 251-2540
posted @ 11:42 AM CST [link] [Karma: 3 (+/-)]

The Fix to the Social Security Crisis and Immigration Crisis
Lately I have been hearing so much about the social security crisis and the immigration crisis. President Bush is spending much of his “political capital” on his attempt to fix the social security crisis. Bill Bennet on his radio show Morning in America has spent almost two weeks discussing the issue of the immigration crisis.

While I agree with both that we do in deed have problems in these areas, none of the discussions that I hear seem to get back to the root cause of the problem and hence have no real chance of coming up with a good solution.

I know my analysis is going to be very unpopular, and I know that I am going to get trashed for saying it, but I have learned to do and say (and write about) what the little voice in my head tells me to do.

In the standard analyses of these problems we hear of a shift in the demographics as a cause for the social security crisis. We have fewer and fewer people paying into the system. But the analysis never goes any farther. Why do we have fewer people paying into the system? Because we have aborted 42 million babies since Roe V. Wade. This seems so simple and clear to me, yet it is never discussed. We are reaping what we have sowed. We want things our way, and now we are seeing the consequences.

In the immigration debate we hear that we need workers that will take all of these low paying jobs. Believe it or not again the abortion issue comes in. We have killed 42 million babies. Out of that population of babies, some of them would have taken these low paying jobs. I know that thought sounds just terrible to our politically correct society, but it is indeed true. Yes, it is true some would have lawyers, some would have been Doctors, some would have been factory workers and some would have been laborers. It is just a fact of life.

So how did we get to where we are? I think the bottom line is this; man is by his very nature evil. We want what we want and we want it now! We wanted no fault divorce so that when my fancy burned for someone else I could easily get out of my obligation. Hence destroying the fabric of the family. I wanted to have sex with whoever I wanted to have sex with without any consequences hence we want easy access to abortion with no shame attached.

We have sowed the wind and we are reaping the whirlwind.

What is the solution?

2 Chronicles 7:14
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

The real solution is healthy God-fearing families having healthy God-fearing children. This is not rocket science.

posted @ 08:59 AM CST [link] [Karma: 12 (+/-)]

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Catholics and Evangelicals: Revelation
Now before we get going to far here, let’s remember that the Christian Church which is the body of all true believers was at one point in history only the Catholic Church. So, by that fact alone we would expect to see significant agreements between Christian church groups or denominations.

The fact that many protestant and evangelical churches have thrown out all church history prior to the reformation I thin impoverishes the church. Hey you Protestants, have any of you even read Agustin, Anselm or Aquinas, or any of the books on the lives of the saints? You are missing out on a lot.

Yes, I know it would take effort to discern what was good and true and what was worthless but hey, what the heck, life is hard. Get over it!
I want to challenge my protestant reader to expand their horizons a bit and read some of the great classics of the Fathers of the faith. Start with Augustine’s Confessions, on to the topic of the day.

Ok, on to chapter one, the first area of doctrinal agreement is Revelation: What is meant by Revelation? This basically means, who did God, reveal Himself to be, and how did he do it?

The first five centuries of the church was a time of relative unity and a time of getting many areas of the faith defined. The main focus was on, who was Jesus and what did he do?

So, what do we hold in common?

One Bible (we will discuss the apocryphal books later)
Two Testaments
Three Creeds:
Apostles Creed (c. AD 150) defined true believers
Nicene Creed (AD 326) condemned Arius, as Anti-Trinitarian, denying the deity of Christ.
Anthanasian Creed (AD 428) taught Trinity and incarnation.
Four councils:
First Nicea (AD 325) Jesus is the son of God and the same Nature.
First Constantinople (AD 381) taught Divinity of the Holy Spirit
Ephesus (AD 431) Mary is “bearer of God”
Chalcedon (AD 431) Christ has two natures, human and divine.
Five centuries

This is a huge deal! And yes, we have all this in common.
posted by @ 05:46 PM CST [more..] [Karma: 13 (+/-)]

Liberal Presbyterians hate Isreal
Why would a church take sides against a nation working for peace and and supporting a terrorist organization?

You will have to ask the leaders of the Presbyterian Church USA. They are having a meeting to encourage other church leaders to divest in Isreal.

Complete story...

posted @ 07:49 AM CST [link] [Karma: 3 (+/-)]

Monday, February 14, 2005

A Baby’s Journal:
October 5, 2004:

Today I start my journal for today is the first day of my life. My parents still don’t know about me. I am no bigger than a grain of corn. Yet, I already have my own little personality. I know I am a boy. My hair will be the color of corn and my eyes as blue as the sky. Before I come out into the world, I will already be me. Everything is in place. I even know I will like flowers. I will be one of kind, UNIQUE. What chance I have! I am the only once who made it among the millions of others who came with me.

Continue below....
posted by @ 12:14 PM CST [more..] [Karma: 7 (+/-)]

5 Finger Prayer
If you don't have a good prayer habit yet, consider this one...

5 Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest to you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance. Also include our servicemen and women here and abroad who always stand tall in the duty of defending and protecting our nation. They need God's strength and comfort.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all. Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

posted @ 12:07 PM CST [link] [Karma: 8 (+/-)]

Parental Rights
Should parents have the right to be informed of a life or death surgery for a minor child?

See more below...
posted by @ 12:02 PM CST [more..] [Karma: 7 (+/-)]

One Nation under God....
One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in the classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.

The teacher asked a little boy: "Tommy, do you see the tree outside?"

Tommy: "Yes"
Teacher: "Tommy, do you see the grass outside?"
Tommy: "Yes.
Teacher: "Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky."
Tommy: "Okay" (He returned a few minutes later) "Yes, I saw the sky."
Teacher: "Did you see God?"
Tommy: "No."
Teacher: "That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. He just doesn't exist."

A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions.
The teacher agreed and the little girl asked
Tommy: "Tommy, do you see the tree outside?"
Tommy: "Yes."
Little Girl: "Tommy, do you see the grass outside?"
Tommy: "Yessssss!"
Little Girl: "Did you see the sky?"
Tommy: "Yessssss!"
Little Girl: "Tommy, do you see the teacher?"
Tommy: "Yes."
Little Girl: "Do you see her brain?"
Tommy: "No."
Little Girl: "Then according to what we were taught today in school, she must not have one!!"

(You Go Girl!!!)

"FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT" II CORINTHIANS 5:7
posted @ 11:23 AM CST [link] [Karma: 6 (+/-)]

Twin Cities Public Television: Trying to be controversial???
I thought Twin Cities Public television would like to shy away from controversy, especially after the controversy raised by the Buster the Bunny hubbub.

But, now they are jumping right into in again. Tonight they will be airing...

American Experience
Monday, February 14, 8:00pm
Kinsey
This is a profile of the controversial 1950s sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, whose findings blew the lid off sexuality in America. (A feature film about Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson, is being released in November). Produced by Barak Goodman ('Scottsboro: An American Tragedy'; 'The Fight').

The big problem with all of this is that Kinsey has been shown to be a fraud and a very sick man (see Kinsey: Crimes and Consequences), but none of that will come up in the discussion just like it did not come up in the recently released movie. (See Movie Review)

I have no problem with an open honest discussion on human sexuality but let's not take a sick man and try to make him and his practices normal. In fact why don’t we take a look and some of the positive elements that really help build a great sexual relationship.

TPT, watch out on your controversy. You will drive away even more people.

posted @ 09:07 AM CST [link] [Karma: 6 (+/-)]

Searching for Truth in a Soundbite Society
Shaming the Devil

BreakPoint with Charles Colson

February 14, 2005

There are a lot of words you could use to describe our current national conversation about politics, religion, and culture. One word that comes to mind is shrill. You could also call our discourse rude, shallow, thoughtless, self-absorbed, and banal.

But worse than all this is the fact that few people involved in these discussions seem to care about the truth. Consider the political documentary that won all kinds of acclaim, even after it was shown to have twisted the truth into a pretzel. Or the bestselling novel that presented ancient fabrications about Jesus and Mary Magdalene as unquestionable facts. Then there was the commentator who took money from political candidates, or the one who took it from the government to promote a particular cause. And who could forget the big news story that was rushed to the air, only to fall apart when the documents it was based on turned out to be fakes?

Complete Story...
posted @ 08:46 AM CST [link] [Karma: 12 (+/-)]

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Catholics and Evangelicals Series
The still small voice in my head keeps telling me to get to work on this series. Let’s get started. This is going to be a ton of fun!

Did you get your book yet? Again, the book I am using for this series is Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences by Norman L. Geisler and Ralph E MacKenzie.

I had lent my book to a friend and you know the drill, it never came back. Hopefully he told two friends and they told two friends and so on etc…. Any way, I ordered a new copy and it came this week so off we go.

The main reason why I love this book is because this book is quite positive in tone. The book starts by looking at critical doctrinal similarities between the two sides of the divide. The book is not like some that are totally negative about everything in the Catholic Church or totally negative about everything in the Evangelical world. Believe it or not, we have agreements, and in fact we have quite a few of them.

The first eight chapters of the book cover eight main areas of doctrinal agreement. They are

Revelation
God
Human Beings
Christ
Salvation (believe it or not)
The Church
Ethics
Last Things

Next time I will get started on the first area of agreement, Revelation. Did you get your book yet so that you can join in on the conversation?

Happy blogging

Wayne

posted @ 08:08 PM CST [link] [Karma: 7 (+/-)]

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