My Two Cents #98

Here's a bunch of interesting stuff I don't have time to write about.

1. Books:  Creation and the Courts: Eighty Years of Conflict in the Classroom and the Courtroom

In Creation and the Courts, Norman Geisler traces the 80-year history of creation vs. evolution court cases, beginning with the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” in 1925 and continuing to the Dover “Intelligent Design” (ID) case decided in 2005.

2. Books:  Reformed Theology blog has a nice list of Top Ten Books on Piety, Sanctification, Spiritual Growth

3. Health:  Who is sick? gives you an idea of how many people are sick in your area, and with what symptoms.  Feel free to add your own sickness.  Cool idea.

 

4.  Legalism:  Reformed Theology blog defines four classes of legalists 

• Class-one legalists are auto-soterists; they declare what one must do in order to obtain God's favor or salvation. The rich young ruler was a class-one legalist. 
• Class-two legalists declare what good deeds or spiritual disciplines one must perform to retain God's favor and salvation. 
• Class-three legalists love the law so much they create new laws, laws not found in Scripture, and require submission to them. The Pharisees, who build fences around the law, were class-three legalists.
• Class-four legalists avoid these gross errors, but they so accentuate obedience to the law of God that other ideas shrivel up.

5.  GLBT: Read about the 6-year old transgender child, who believes he is a girl in boy's body.  Should the parents be lauded, or accused of failing to parent the child properly (a.k.a. abuse)? 

6.  Fundamentalism:  The Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International (FBFI) has made some resolutions.  Looks like

• they are not fond of church involvement in social programs (takes away from gospel ministry), though individuals may be involved in such without condemnation
• they support helping immigrants regardless of their legal status, but do NOT support breaking the laws of the land
• they are not fond of Intelligent Design, mostly because, though it may be true, it will be of little import in the long run because it has been neutered, in that it is a Godless philosophy, and does not per se support Creationism
• they are not fond of Theonomy, a.k.a. the Cultural Mandate.  Sounds like more cultural isolation for them, as it has always been.  Salt and light? 

7.  Separation of Paganism and State? Feeling Argumentative blog asks why organizations who are pushing for separation of church and state have little interest in removing Pagan symbology from public life.

Many [religious] symbols ... are blatantly obvious in the government, yet puzzlingly are not seen by the FFRF as any kind of worthy religious symbols to do away with. It has enlightened me to the hypocrisy of saying "The U.S. government should not be in the religion business" and yet allowing the US government buildings to display religious symbols without the slightest action against them, simply because they are not "Christian, Muslim or Jewish" symbols? The cross and statues of Jesus or Mary on governement property are violations of separation of church and state, but Minerva, Zeus, Mercury, and Juno in the US Supreme Court building are not.

8.  Geekness:  How to sync MS Outlook with your Google Calendar for free (if your proxy lets you ;)

9.  Liberal Media: MSNBC.com report shows that journalists give overwhelmingly to liberal politicians and causes.  Only they will be surprised by this news.

MSNBC.com identified 143 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties....

The pattern of donations, with nearly nine out of 10 giving to Democratic candidates and causes, appears to confirm a leftward tilt in newsrooms — at least among the donors, who are a tiny fraction of the roughly 100,000 staffers in newsrooms across the nation.

The donors said they try to be fair in reporting and editing the news. One of the recurring themes in the responses is that it's better for journalists to be transparent about their beliefs, and that editors who insist on manufacturing an appearance of impartiality are being deceptive to a public that already knows journalists aren't without biases.

10. Chickens coming home to roost: The Netherlands are known for their liberal social politics.  But the "anything goes" freedom of morality-free liberalism is bearing it's expected fruit of chaos and death, and the Dutch are realizing their error and turning back.  I'm glad they are waking up.

"People in high political circles are saying it can't be good to have a society so liberal that everything is allowed," said Kranendonk, editor of Reformist Daily and an increasingly influential voice that resonates in the shifting mainstream of Dutch public opinion. "People are saying we should have values; people are asking for more and more rules in society."

In cities across the Netherlands, mayors and town councils are closing down shops where marijuana is sold, rolled and smoked. Municipalities are shuttering the brothels where prostitutes have been allowed to ply their trade legally. Parliament is considering a ban on the sale of hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms." Orthodox Christian members of parliament have introduced a bill that would allow civil officials with moral objections to refuse to perform gay marriages. And Dutch authorities are trying to curtail the activities of an abortion rights group that assists women in neighboring countries where abortions are illegal....

Ivo Opstelten, the mayor of Rotterdam, the second-largest Dutch city, announced this month that he will close all marijuana shops within 250 yards of a school -- nearly half of the city's 62 shops.

"We want to discourage the use of drugs among young people," said Opstelten, a member of the Labor Party. "Studies show soft drugs are detrimental to their health and brain development."

11.  Blood Money:  The MSM ignores the horrific truth of how Planned Parenthood is raking in the profits from it's abortion "services."  You and I are making them rich with our tax dollars, paying them to kill babies.  This has to stop.

During its 2005-2006 fiscal year, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed a record 264,943 abortions, attained a high profit of $55.8 million and received record taxpayer funding of $305.3 million.

12. GLBT: Michael Glatze shares his tale of personal transformation in How a 'gay rights' leader became straight:

It became clear to me, as I really thought about it – and really prayed about it – that homosexuality prevents us from finding our true self within. We cannot see the truth when we're blinded by homosexuality.

We believe, under the influence of homosexuality, that lust is not just acceptable, but a virtue. But there is no homosexual "desire" that is apart from lust.

In denial of this fact, I'd fought to erase such truth at all costs, and participated in the various popular ways of taking responsibility out of human hands for challenging the temptations of lust and other behaviors. I was sure – thanks to culture and world leaders – that I was doing the right thing.
(HT:  Evangelical Outpost)

13.  Atheism:  Stanley Fish chides atheism for straw man tactics, and superficial examination of life's mysteries

Citing the atheists' portrait of religion as unquestioning obedienece, Fish writes, "I know of no religious framework that offers such a complacement picture of the life of faith, a life that is always presented as a minefield of difficulties, obstacles and temptations that must be negotiated by a limited creature in the effort to become aligned with the Infinite."

Fish's conclusion: while religious people over the centuries have dug deeply into the questions of life, along come our shallow atheists who present arguments as if they first thought of them, arguments that Christians have long examined with a seriousness and care that is missing in contemporary atheist discourse.
(HT:  Evangelical Outpost)

14.  Food:  10 Things your grocery store doesn't want you to know

Dates are open to interpretation.

Except for baby formula and food, product expiration dates are not required by Federal regulations (some states, however, have their own rules requiring product dating). Labels that give a “Best if Used By” date are more of a suggestion than a safety issue—the food will taste best if eaten by the date on the label, but won’t necessarily be unsafe if eaten after that. If a product is stamped with a “Sell-By” date, that is how long the store should display it.    (HT:  Evangelical Outpost)

15. Health:  How to never be tired again

Give your pet his own separate sleeping space. At night, pets snore, jiggle their tags, move around a lot, and even hog the covers and bed space. It's no wonder that 53 percent of pet owners who sleep with their pets in the bedroom have some type of disrupted sleep every night, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, MN. Consider relocating your furry friend's sleeping quarters to another area, even if it's just his own bed in your bedroom.

 

Comments

[seeker]

OK, I am forced to start this conversation myself also, but maybe no one cares. But I do.

RE: 11. Planned Parenthood Funding

I think it is high time conservatives started organizing to defund abortion subsidies to PP. Heck, even their family planning work is questionable. I mean, this article mentions that moneys given to PP were used to fight the Alito nomination. This organization is abusing the public interest and funding.

In fact, I recommend that you go and sign the ACLJ Petition to stop Planned Parenthood funding (although I'm not sure if they are using this for anything more than buidling their contact list ;)

You can also visit Stopp International for more info on resisting and defunding PP.

RE: 6. Fundamentalism

I think that Fundy Baptists are making two huge mistakes rigth now - one is the prohibition on alcohol, and the other is failing to participate in Cultural renewal. Same as it ever was, and these same reasons helped drive out the Evangelicals in the first place. Sigh.

[Lawanda]

I read the article about the "transgender" child.

That parents would do that to their child is very disturbing.

[seeker]

It sounds like they "didn't encourage, but supported," but I wonder if they ever told him the truth, that he was a boy, and boys don't wear dresses, and yes, he WAS going to get hairy like daddy.

I mean, how do we think that his biology makes him want to be a girl if the biology of the rest of his body doesn't line up with that?

I think it has a lot more to do with having two older male siblings. I heard of a report that said something about a higher rate of transgender or homosexual outcomes for boys who had older brothers.

I think it may be an inferiority thing, where they can't measure up to the competition, so in a self-defensive move, they identify with the female gender.

And if so, that would be a disorder to be corrected through encouragement, bonding with the father, and nutruring, not a choice to be supported.

I feel sorry for this kid - his parent's lack of wisdom and courage to hurt his feelings when young is going to lead to a lifetime of needless confusion.

However, we were not there. Maybe the kid has been adamant since very young, and if so, what is a parent to do? My kids both have innate personalities, and if they acted out like that, would I have the cojones to constantly reshape them, while wondering if I wasn't really hurting them? Dunno, but I'd sure as hell try.

[Lawanda]

No, we are not there... maybe he is adamant. But lets just hope he doesn't adamantly begin to resist eating. I doubt their excuses would hold as much water then.

[Lawanda]

Actually, I should have said: I doubt their excuses would seem to hold as much water then.

Cause honestly, I think they have no excuse for lying to their child like that.