The general buzz is that passing this healthcare overhaul will be politically disastrous. It is the worst career moves they could make.

But they're still plowing ahead, either oblivious or bullheaded.

And while I think it's bad policy, and while I don't share their politics in general anyway, I kinda have to admire them for sticking to what they think is the right thing to do, consequences be danged.

I wish more politicians, including the ones actually doing the right thing, had that kind of stubbornness of conscience.

The foundations of the man-made global warming "consensus" have cracked even more this week:

More bad news today for the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as another of its extravagant ecopocalypse predictions, sourced from green campaigners, has been confirmed as bunk by scientists.

And that news comes on the heels of a report earlier in the week that nearly half of Americans now doubt man-made global warming.

What we appear to have is an inconvenient truth for man-made global warming believers. Yikes! It might not be real! Yikes! We can't force people to give up long-held liberties via the threat of "the day after tomorrow." Yikes! We can't silence the cow farting!

Listen to the original Jack:

Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to talk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ , because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist.
-C.S. Lewis

WOW! What power, what strength, what sheer goodness to resist temptation for a lifetime, that like a snowball down a hill would have only increased in size and intensity. I'll never read the following verse the same way again:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

When I think of it that way, Jesus isn't just good. He isn't just better than us. He's waaay gooder than I ever realized.

Tragic ends to young "stars". Funny we call them that, perhaps we should call them all "falling stars" - shining bright for a moment, before burning up and burning out.

Corey Haim died today.

Corey Haim, the former teen idol who rose to fame in 1980s classics 'The Lost Boys,' 'Lucas' and 'License to Drive,' died Wednesday morning of an apparent accidental drug overdose in Burbank, Calif., the LAPD has confirmed to several media outlets. He was 38. Local news station KTLA is reporting that Haim was found in an Oakwood apartment believed to belong to his mother, who was at home at the time and called emergency responders. TMZ is reporting that four prescription drug bottles were found nearby, and that he had been gripped by flu-like symptoms in recent days.

Coroner Lt. Cheryl MacWillie told reporters that Haim died at 2:15 a.m. at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is pending.

So sad. I always liked Corey. (His performance in "Lucas" was genius. In my opinion, his career path should have gone the way of DiCaprio's or even Jason Patric or Kiefer Sutherland.) But all that doesn't matter now in the face of eternity.

Andrew Koenig died last month. Here's Kirk Cameron's response.

“At a time like this, we are all reminded of the briefness of life and the importance of being ready for our eternal destination,” Cameron said in a statement. “My prayers will continue to be with Andrew’s family.”

The 41-year-old Koenig — most famous for playing the role of “Boner,” Cameron’s best friend on the ’80s sitcom — had been missing since mid-February. After an extensive search, the actor’s body was discovered Feb. 24 in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. His father, Walter Koenig (who played the original Chekov in multiple Star Trek projects) said his son, who had a history of depression, committed suicide.

How many of these current and past "stars" are depressed, lost and hopeless, looking for solace in every empty thing the world has to offer?

What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There's nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it's the same old thing.
Does someone call out, "Hey, this is new"?
Don't get excited—it's the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody'll remember them either.
Don't count on being remembered.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (The Message)

What do you think "the point" of this parable is? Biblical Scholars have various opinions.

Matthew 20 - The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' 9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Here are my opinions:

1. The Parable Is About Grace. If anything, it's showing that grace isn't "fair". What we get is undeserved. Grace is the value of the Kingdom.

2. The reaction of those hired first mirrors that of the Elder Brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son. And I think that's an interpretive key. The Elder Brother is jealous of all the grace that gets poured out on his little brother. Do we get jealous of those who "receive more grace" than we do?

3. Question: Is it Biblically and theologically correct to say that some people receive (or require) more grace than others? If so, who would those people be?

What do you think?

Your faithful live-blogger, about to watch and blog the latest episode.

Major spoilers below the fold . . .

******
Read the rest of this entry . . .

I have heard it said, "God didn't die for frogs. So he was responding to our value as humans." This turns grace on its head. We are worse off than frogs. They have not sinned. They have not rebelled and treated God with the contempt of being inconsequential in their lives. God did not have to die for frogs. They aren't bad enough. We are. Our debt is so great, only a divine sacrifice could pay it.

There is only one explanation for God's sacrifice for us. It is not us. It is "the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7). It is all free. It is not a response to our worth. It is the overflow of his infinite worth. In fact, that is what divine love is in the end: a passion to enthrall undeserving sinners, at great cost, with what will make us supremely happy forever, namely, his infinite beauty.

- John Piper, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die

This OK Go video is amazing. Is there any way this was really all one big take? This must have taken days to set up, calibrate, time, not to mention the stuff that gets broken in the Rube Goldberg device (TV, Piano, etc). Some of the Rube Goldberg stuff even takes part in the song.

Special effects? Or real?



[H/T Stroke]

Dear Prodigal,

You’ve probably heard the story before. A son tells his father that he doesn’t want to wait for the funeral or the reading of the will. His father is worth more to him dead, so he asks for his inheritance early. Then he goes out and wastes the money on fleeting pleasures. When he runs out of money, he gets a job feeding pigs and wishes he could eat as good as the pigs were. Then he comes to himself and realizes that it’s time to go back home. When he finally does, he is surprised to learn that his father is waiting for him, still loves him, and gets a party thrown in his honor. (Luke 15:11-24)

My friend, the prodigal is you. I’m writing you this letter in hopes that like the son who longed for pig slop, your self-awareness will return. Like an animal licking peanut butter off of a trap-trigger, you have been so absorbed in what you want; you haven’t noticed where your pursuit has taken you.
The word “prodigal” actually means “wasteful.” You took whatever blessings, whatever gifts that God gave you and you wasted them. It may have been a family that adores you, a job that provided for you, personal talents that God has given you or even money. You used it all up on fleeting pleasures. And now it’s gone. If you open your eyes and look around you will find that you are as pitiful as a guy who is jealous of pigs.

It doesn’t have to stay that way. God wants you to come back. He longs to show you his forgiveness and his love. He longs to take away your guilt and your hunger for fleeting pleasures.

The hardest step will be the first one: looking around and admitting that you have hit rock bottom, and that it was your own choices that put you there. You will have to accept responsibility, and without blaming anyone else, decide that your pig slop days are over. It will be humbling. But it’s possible. God will come running.

Then it’s time to ask God and the others you’ve harmed to forgive you. Yes, you hurt them. But they still love you, maybe more than they ever did before. They want you back.

I don’t know in what way this applies to you. Maybe you chose to feed your addiction at the expense of your family. Maybe you sought comfort in the arms of someone not your spouse. Maybe you were just rebelling against the world and you didn’t care who got caught in the crossfire. But whatever it is, consider this a message from the Lord:

“Dear prodigal, please come home.”

After their stupid commercials promising that the time of questions is over, and that it is time for answers I feel like Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men.
"Them" being the producers playing the Nicholson role, and "Us" being we, the viewers, playing Tom Cruise.

Us: Show creators, are you going to finally give us some answers?
ABC Network as the Judge: You don’t have to answer their questions! Just keep them watching...
Them (to ABC): I'll answer their questions!
[to Us]
Them: You want answers?
Us: I think I'm entitled.
Them: You want answers?
Us: I want the truth!
Them: You can’t handle the truth!
[pauses]

Them: Listen John Q. Public, we live in a world that lives and dies by ratings, and we have to guard those ratings by any means necessary. Whose gonna make a show as good as we can? You? You, there, on the couch, liveblogging an episode? We have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for fictional characters, and you curse the writers. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know. That making you wait, as tragic as it may seem, probably boosts ratings, and saves the jobs of all our lowly gaffers, make-up artists and key grips. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, entertains you. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me making this show, you need me making this show. We use words like art, drama and character-driven. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending our craft. You use them as as fodder for the water-cooler. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to people who enjoy the entertainment that we provide, and then questions the manner in which we provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and watched the show. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a pen, and start writing your own show. Either way, we don't give a darn what you think you are entitled to as long as you watch the show.

Here's some things I want answers to:

What happened to the children? You know the ones the others kidnapped from the original crash site, and then later from the tailies. What did they want with them? Where are they now?

What about the "special" kids? You know Walt and Aaron were both supposed to be special. How? Why?

Why were the numbers on the hatch? And why did Hurley hear them mentioned? I know you think you answered that question, but you really haven't put it all together yet.

Why does the Island move? Through time, through space, whatever. And come to think about it, why was Ben allowed to come back since he claimed anyone who moves it, can't come back?

What is the origin of the Island's special properties?

Wassup with Christian Shephard? He's important. Have his appearances been real or Smokie?

Why doesn't Richard age?

I tried not to list the obvious questions, which they seem headed towards answering, like "Who is Jacob?" and "Who is Smokie?" I'm bringing up the questions they seem to have forgotten about. I'm afraid the show's gonna end without them answering those questions, and I'm gonna be mad.

What about you? What answers do you feel you are entitled to?

If you're heading to the Together 4 the Gospel 2010 Conference in Louisville, KY next month, I hope you will make room in your schedule to join the Band of Bloggers for their annual symposium and luncheon.

The panelists this year are Jon McIntosh, Justin Taylor, Trevin Wax, and myself, speaking on the subject of Internet Idolatry & Gospel Fidelity. A mere $25 gets you lunch, quality speaking, Q&A and discussion with the panel, and a stack of books. Quite a deal, I'd say. :-)

Details:

“Internet Idolatry and Gospel Fidelity”
2010 Band of Bloggers Fellowship
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 :: 11:00am
The Galt House, Downtown Louisville, KY
(in conjunction with Together for the Gospel)

Check out the Band of Bloggers website for more info and to register. Satisfaction guaranteed.*

(* This guarantee of satisfaction is not guaranteed.)

I'll be live-blogging tonight's episode (possibly slightly delayed as I'm waiting for my best half to arrive home).

As promised, the time for Questions is OVAH! We'll get Answers tonight! Boodles of 'em . . .

. . . R-i-i-i-g-h-t.

***** MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW THE FOLD *****
Read the rest of this entry . . .

The question in this post is a bit tougher than the one in my previous post. It also comes from a college student; a friend of my eldest daughter. I have posted the question below. I'm a bit conflicted because the questioner doesn't even know I've read her question, but I'm assuming/hoping her question is general enough that it's OK for me to post it. I've re-worded it slightly.

For context: this College student grew up (as far as i know) in an evangelical church, was involved and even a leader in her youth group, etc. She read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in her senior year of High School and this began what, to my understanding, was her journey away from the core of her faith. She is, by the way, extremely intelligent and is attending a prestigious ivy league school in the northeast.

Here's here question:

So, right now I'm trying to reconcile the goodness of God in relation to the problem of evil, so I had written down some things I thought about this and some other questions. Tell me what you think.

Things i don't understand:
Original sin, morality, and salvation (in relation to each other)

1) Original sin: I think Rand summed this one up nicely. how can I be corrupted before I exist? If that is the case - that I'm born guilty or have "tendencies," then I am not free. If that is determined by outside forces, I am not free. If I am not free, but merely acting under compulsion, how can I just be held responsible for anything I do, good or bad?

This leads into the next question, which will lead to the last one:

2) Morality: certain moral issues arise when considering the idea of creation. If God is all-knowing, he would know what we would do, whether he determines it or not, through that knowledge he could (should?) select certain people to exist or not exist. In this sense, God would have to be not omniscient (can he be god w/o omniscience?) or evil, not merely by "omission" but by actively creating people he knows will do evil. For instance, inventors of weapons. If the latter, there is no reason to worship him except maybe fear. If the former, why is he God? though, the lack of omniscience could be a product of pure freedom, in which case, I suppose that could work or it could work depending on whether or not the future exists.

Mildly unrelated: Why would an all-powerful, all-knowing God want relationships with people? this seems to be some sort of desperately lonely god or people who decided to raise themselves up to be friends of God. The first seems illogical, the second, petty. however, this only deals with God's morality, what of that of the people? In many cases, it would seem to be irrelevant: God picked them to do certain things [leibniz: best possible world] and therefore they deserve no credit or blame.

3) Salvation: how can a moral, just, omniscient God create people who will reject his truth? Isn't that the best definition of evil - rejection of truth? Furthermore, how can he punish them if he created them to do just that? it doesn't make sense. How would he pick those who would go with him, those he would call?

Possible resolutions:
1) Determinism is true and God is evil
2) We are free and God is not omniscient
3) We are free/physically determined and there is no God

So, that's what i was thinking about earlier. if there are other resolutions, do tell, but i haven't been able to think of them.

I realize the questions above have been wrestled over for centuries, and that there are no easy answers. But I'm definitely interested in any thoughts you might have. Leave them in the comments thread. Thanks!

I was asked the following question by a college student recently: Why should we pray?

Here's where he was coming from: God already knows everything. God gives us what we need. What purpose does prayer have?

The quick answer I gave was that God commands us to pray, and that it's an important way for us to know Him more and commune with Him. And last weekend our pastor made the point that God uses our prayers, somehow, as a means to His pre-ordained ends.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, though. What would you say to a young, intelligent and conflicted College student who asks "Why should I pray?"

Curling rocks! Just ask Hammerfall.



[H/T The Corner]

At our house, we are running a ministry to single socks. While doing laundry, we had 16 different mateless socks laid out.

Single people are important and useful to God. "It is good for a man not to marry" (I Cor. 7:1).

Single socks? Not so much. They need mates.

You can't make this stuff up. First Baptist Church, Fort Worth has a history better than fiction.

A new, long chapter in the church's history began when it called as pastor John Franklyn Norris, owner-editor of the Baptist Standard from 1907 to 1909. Norris accepted the pastorate in 1909 and remained at First Baptist for the rest of his life. The church lost at least 600 members in 1911 after a division, and the following year lost its building and pastor's home by fire. Though Norris was indicted for arson, he was acquitted after a month-long trial. During his long tenure, the church's personality became inseparably entwined with that of its pastor. It aligned with the prohibition movement, sponsored an interdenominational Bible school, and became the leader of the World's Christian Fundamentals Conference in 1919. That year the church built a 5,000-seat auditorium, and four years later it helped to form the Baptist Bible Union of America. Because of Norris's continued open criticism of the Southern Baptist Convention, his decision to discard SBC literature, his attacks on SBC schools (particularly Baylor University, which he charged with teaching "evolution and infidelity"), and his spirit of noncooperation, the Tarrant County Baptist Association withdrew fellowship from the church in 1922. The Baptist General Convention of Texas refused Norris a seat at the state convention in 1923 and permanently excluded him in 1924.

On July 18, 1926, Norris shot and killed a Fort Worth lumberman, Dexter Elliot Chipps, in the church office. He was charged with murder but was acquitted on a ruling of self-defense at his trial in Austin. Two years later the church and parsonage were burned again. By 1931 the church reported 12,000 members, with 6,000 attending Sunday school, and property valued at $1.5 million. Throughout the next two decades Norris and the First Baptist Church stood solidly against Modernism, Communism, liberalism, evolution, ecclesiasticism, and organized crime. The growing congregation gained notoriety for extreme independence, a controversial and pugilistic attitude, and a flare for sensationalism.

Discord and internal rivalry surfaced in 1945, when Norris's son George became pastor of a dissenting party that split from the First Baptist Church. Norris's health began to fail in 1948, and the Premillennium Fellowship fractured in May 1950, the same month Norris was dismissed by the church in Detroit.

Norris died on August 20, 1952, and the First Baptist Church called Homer Ritchie as pastor four days later. Ritchie served in that capacity until October 11, 1981, much of that time with his twin brother Omer serving as his co-pastor.

Did you get all that?
The pastor was acquitted of arson! Later he shot and killed a man in his church office. He was acquitted of murder on the grounds that it was self-defense. And two years later the church and parsonage burned again.

And here's my favorite part. Four days after he died, Homer Ritchie became pastor. Over the next 30 years, Homer and his brother Omer co-pastored the church. Homer and Omer. Man, even the Coen brothers couldn't make up stuff this good.

Of course the history on the church's official website doesn't mention any of that stuff. I guess I don't blame them.

I'll be taking the live-blog duties tonight. I'm already on pins and needles. Will DreadLocke kill Richard? Is he allowed to? Who's the blond kid with all the rules? How will Sawyer get back up the cliff? Is my name written on Jacob's graffiti ceiling? Doggone it, will Dana finally kill Kevin and spare us any more of that awful subplot!?!? (Oh, wait. Wrong show).

Major spoilers below the fold . . .
Read the rest of this entry . . .

Last October, a family got in the news for trying to get in the news. They claimed that their son was trapped in a home-made flying-saucer balloon that was flying through the air, only to find out later he had been hiding in the attic. In the media frenzy that followed, it came out that this family had staged the whole thing as a publicity stunt. It’s amazing to me what people will do for a few minutes of fame. On television, people will embarrass and humiliate themselves in unbelievable ways. The TV show “American Idol” is full of people trying to get fame any way that they can. A few years ago there was a young man that couldn’t sing,(William Hung) but because watching him try so hard was funny, he got national attention and even recorded three albums made a video and appeared on various talk shows. That he didn’t seem to be in on the joke was the saddest part. He didn’t seem to understand that people were laughing at him. (And now there's General Larry Platt who similarly doesn't seem to understand that he's the joke, or maybe he just doesn't care.)

We all crave love. We were designed for it. However the love we were designed for comes from God, family, our church and real friends. But the love of the public is as lasting as the snow we got in South Texas this week. Public attention is not real love, and people who pay attention to you because you are famous are not real friends.

The crowd demands entertainment, but they have short attention spans. Christian group Barlow Girl has some good things to say about this. Whether it's fame, popularity or just peer pressure, the love of the crowd isn't worth it. In the fantastic song "5 Minutes of Fame" they sing,

“I always said the thing that meant the most to me was my very integrity. Who would have thought I'd ever trade it all for popularity? 'Cause the truth is though I've made it to the top, I'm anything but satisfied. I gave up the only thing that mattered for this empty life.”

Popularity and fame, whether it is in your school, your neighborhood, or the whole country is fleeting and empty.

Paul warned the Christians in Rome about those who are trying to mislead them. “Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Romans 16:17b-18). Not everyone who sings your praises has your best interest at heart. Be careful who you listen to. “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps” (Proverbs 14:15). Do what's right, not what brings the most applause.

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Look around. Who are your true friends? One person has said that a true friend is someone who comes in when the rest of the world is going out. True happiness cannot be found in the fleeting praise of the crowd. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).



Thoughts? Stories? What other Bible verses apply?

Madeira had a horrible disaster on Saturday and they are still suffering.

Madeira on Tuesday began burying its dead from the Portuguese island's worst natural disaster since the 19th century, even as emergency crews kept searching for 13 people who remained missing. On Tuesday, authorities said they found 19 survivors who had been listed as missing, but Saturday's storm, flooding and landslides killed at least 42 people and left 18 hospitalized. All the fatalities were Portuguese apart from one British tourist.

The island's sketchy public records indicate the storm was the deadliest natural disaster on the island since at least the late 1800s. Bodies are being held in a makeshift morgue at Funchal airport. Families have so far taken 27 bodies from there, broadcaster S.I.C. reported.

Conceicao Estudante, the regional head of tourism and transport, told a televised news conference in Funchal that the 19 found Tuesday had been located in outlying areas cut off by damaged roads or in temporary shelters. Almost 500 people are living in shelters after mud and rock slides crashed down the Atlantic island's steep hillsides, wrecking homes and sweeping vehicles into rivers and the sea.

Rescue teams with sniffer dogs and heavy machinery were engaged in the search for the 13 still missing on the island, which is just over 300 miles (480 kilometers) off the northwest coast of Africa.

Lt. Joao Neves Simoes, a public affairs officer on the Portuguese navy frigate Corte Real which was sent to Funchal, said marines and divers off the ship were searching for bodies in the bay where two rivers flowed into the Atlantic. Marines are also looking in drains, inside collapsed buildings and in partly buried vehicles. "We are essentially searching ... anywhere where there might be bodies," he told The Associated Press by phone.

In the capital's muddy streets, front-loaders and trucks continued to clear away tons of debris. The landslides sent boulders, snapped trees and sludge crashing into coastal communities. Authorities are eager to repair the damage to avoid hurting the tourist business which is the island's economic mainstay.

"Where?", you say. And I wouldn't blame you. Except for it's personal connection to me, I wouldn't know anything about it either.

Madeira is a Portuguese Island off the coast of Africa. It has belonged to Portugal since it was discovered in the 1400's. It is a member of the European Union. From Wikipedia -

When the Portuguese discovered the island of Madeira in 1419, it was completely uninhabited by humans, with no aboriginal population at all. The island was settled by Portuguese people, especially farmers from the Minho region, meaning that Madeirans, as they are called, are ethnic Portuguese, though they have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits.

Their main industries are tourism and wine. (Check the wine-list the next time you are at a nice restaurant. Chances are you'll see wine from Madeira.) Madeira is a popular vacation destination for Europeans.

My personal connection? It's my heritage. My mother's family emigrated from Madeira before she was born. My mom is in touch with some of my 3rd and 4th cousins over there. Cool, huh?

In the meantime, pray for the good hard-working people of Madeira as they recover. Here's the island's official website so you can follow them on twitter or keep up with the recovery and clean-up.