Homosexuality in Development

There are many that say that homosexuality is a nature (as opposed to nurture) issue and that the idea that a person can "become" homosexual due to circumstances is rediculous.

There is an article on C|Net.com about how a Boy Joins a Sordid Online World Through His Webcam. It's about how he got online with his webcam to meet girls and ended up as a major player in the online child pornography world including homosexual prostitution as a result of manipulation and "grooming".

he would pay Justin $50 to sit bare-chested in front of his Webcam for three minutes. The man explained that Justin could receive the money instantly and helped him open an account on PayPal.com, an online payment system.

"I figured, I took off my shirt at the pool for nothing," he said recently. "So, I was kind of like, what's the difference?"

Justin removed his T-shirt. The men watching him oozed compliments.

The article goes on to explain how this is developed and what made him suceptable to this kind of problem.

The emotional turmoil left Justin longing for paternal affection, family members said. And the adult males he met online offered just that. "They complimented me all the time," Justin said. "They told me I was smart, they told me I was handsome."

In that, experts said, the eighth-grade boy's experience reflected the standard methods used by predatory adults to insinuate themselves into the lives of minors they meet online.

"In these cases, there are problems in their own lives that make them predisposed to" manipulation by adults, Lawrence Likar, a former FBI supervisor, said of children persuaded to pose for pornography. "The predators know that and are able to tap into these problems and offer what appear to be solutions."

Overall it is a really interesting article with quite a bit to say. I was rather disappointed however that almost no focus was placed on what has helped to bring him back out of the problem, with just a quick note saying;

Justin himself has found a measure of control over his life. He revealed the details of his secret life to his family, telling them of all the times in the past that he had lied to them. He has sought counseling, kept off drugs, resumed his connection with his church and plans to attend college beginning in January.

But, such is life...

Pride & Control

It's funny, because i know that God always listens when i speak.
I also know that He speaks and oftentimes i don't listen.
But what really amazes me is how much He says, by saying so little.
Tonight this is what He said to me...

You say you want My will.
You say you want to do My work...
But you say only if you do it.

I guess the title says it all...

How to Make the Bible Fit Your View

So many people do this so naturally and without even thinking about it, but i thought i'd break it down for you with some examples.

1) Read the Bible with pre-set assumptions. You will often find what you are looking for. This is actually what every person tends to do.
2) Pick and choose the passages you want to accept and that fit your view and ignore any that don’t. It usually helps to quote these passages to others so that if people do disagree others can support your view.
3) Pick and choose whole sections of the Bible. If you don’t like something you can always say that it is a metaphor and it should not to be taken literally.
4) Redefine a word to make the verse that it’s in fit your view
5) Impose our culture into the Bible as though it was the culture of the Bible times. Attempting to change the Bible to fit the culture is a long held tradition and is especially sought in today’s society.
6) Don’t even read the Bible, and pretend that you know what you’re talking about.
7) Don’t read the Bible and claim that it is irrelevant, ancient, or useless.
8) Read multiple translations. That way you’re more likely to find one that might say what you want it to. This is especially evident in pop-culture "Christian" books.
9) Keep an eye out for new translations. There have been numerous attempts to make more “politically correct” Bibles that sacrifice accuracy for social acceptability.
10) When the Bible does say something that you disagree with point out any possible contradictions in the Bible and say that it is not accurate and should not be taken seriously rather than working through those, so called, "contradictions".
11) Do research and studies through sources that you know & agree with, and disregard as inherantly flawed any that you don't. It usually helps to point those flaws out to others.

If anyone can think of one that i missed, feel free to comment.
I set up a wikiHow article on making the Bible fit your viewpoint.

Silence is Golden

Silence is Golden

Sorry i haven't posted in a while.  I was commenting so much on Jewish Atheist's blog here for a while that it kind of burned me out.  When the network at work and the satellite uplink started having problems it meant that the only time i could post was in the evenings at home or first thing in the mornings and i found that it was making me a little too temperamental.  So i needed a break.  I’m back for now, but in a limited fashion.  The network at work is still on the fritz for a few more weeks and my mother is coming into town tomorrow, so as usual, my time is limited.  Well, enough of my boring excuses…on to more important things.  

Are Those Who Oppose Homosexuality Criminals?

What is the problem here? Senator Kennedy is again attempting to make it illegal to make a public statement against homosexuality.

In an article on World Net Daily as of the 21st, Kennedy was attempting to attach an ammendment that would make speaking out against homosexuality a crime to The Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005 and before that the Child Safety Act .

After a failed attempt at passing "hate crimes" legislation, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is trying to attach an amendment favored by homosexual-rights activists to another bill, an activist group warns.

Kennedy sought to pass the controversial legislation – adding "sexual orientation" to the hate-crimes law – through the "Child Safety Act," but this time the vehicle is "The Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005," which deals with federal criminal procedures, says Concerned Women of America.

Tom Perkins as quoted in the article states:

"It is shocking that a bill designed to protect children from sexual predators is now being used to protect the sexual preference of homosexuals."

More recently he has attempted to attach it to the Sex Offender Bill and some are concerned that this may prevent this bill from passing.

A fight over federal hate crimes legislation could torpedo Sen. Orrin Hatch's push to strengthen the nation's sex-offender registries and clamp down on sex crimes.
The Senate Judiciary Committee gave quick, unanimous approval to Hatch's bill Thursday, clearing its way for consideration by the full Senate.
But Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said he plans to try to attach language to a bill that would require tougher sentences, provide federal assistance and offer grants to prosecute hate crimes - those motivated by hatred for a race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Basically, if this was passed many of the comments that have been made in JA's post Letter to Dad and my subsequent post about my Paper Outline would be considered hate crimes if they had been made in a public setting. This would be the case even as something that was overheard in a conversation, and could result in serious jail time for the commentator.

So much for the right to religious freedom and the freedom of speech.

Tag, i'm it.

Well, since i was tagged by Jewish Atheist, i guess i will have to answer it, but i may not pass on the tag. I won't be able to finish this post now, but i will at least get started.

My list my quirky habits and strange hangups:

1) I have ADHD and am constantly fidgeting.

2) I have difficulty getting started on things and staying on task (also part of the ADHD)

3) I tend to mistake what other people are saying or hear what they are actually saying instead of what they are attempting to say, and as a result hear all kinds of amusing comments.

4) I tend to notice and comment on what and how people say things often pointing out double negatives and such as they tend to annoy me.

5) How i act and what i say on my blog often is extremely different from what i'm like in real life (just ask my wife). In real life i tend to be really laid back and not very opinionated about most things. However, as you can tell when it comes to issues that are important to me, i tend to be very opinioniated.

6) I really enjoy stirring things up, which i rarely ever do in real life.

7) I don't like using a capital "i" in my writing. I'd get into it but i don't have time at this point.

Well, that's a start.

Paper Outline

In a debate on Jewish Atheist's blog i has mentioned a paper i had written on for one of my classes. This is the outline to that paper.

What is Homosexuality?

• Not an issue of black and white. There are many shades of grey.

• When is someone considered homosexual?

– Any homosexual experience or interest at all

– Many to a majority of relationships are homosexual in nature

– Almost all or all relationships are homosexual

• Homosexuality vs. Homosexual Experiences

“Just because someone has a homosexual experience does not mean that they are homosexual.”

How Many People are Homosexual?

• Many different studies have shown different statistics

• NHSLS (National Health and Social Life Survey)

• These stats are adjusted to allow for concealment by some respondents

• 92% Men 95% Women – Exclusively heterosexual

• 7-8% Men 4-5% Women – Have had at least one homosexual experience

• 2% Men 1% Women – Exclusively homosexual

Views of Homosexuality

• Sin

– This is a lifestyle choice that a person makes. They are this way because they choose to be this way.

• Mental Illness or Defect

– Homosexuals are this way because there is something wrong with them and they need to be fixed. They have had bad experiences or they are sick.

• Nature

– These people are born this way. It is in their nature, and as such they should be accepted as they are without judgment or condemnation.

What is the Source of Homosexuality?

• Genetic Factors

– Prenatal Factors – Hormonal problems during development

– Differences in Brain Structure - one study showed this, but the study had a number of different flaws

– Endocrine Imbalance – Testosterone treatment not shown to be effective (horny not hetero). Other hormones being studied, but still inconclusive.

• Environmental Factors

– Homoseductive mother

– Learning theory

– Others

– In reality no one can tell you how to make your child homosexual

• A Combination of Both

Can Sexual Orientation be Changed?

• APA View

• “That conclusion (that homosexuality can not be changed) found support in the APA’s December, 1998 criticism of efforts to change sexual orientation. Its president, Rodrigo Munoz, summed up the association’s position: ‘There is no scientific evidence that reparative or conversion therapy is effective in changing a person’s sexual orientation. There is however evidence that this type of therapy can be destructive’” (Myers, 1999)

• Conversion Therapy – Limited success

– Exodus International

Common Problems

• Self-esteem and acceptance

• Relationship problems

– Family and friends

– Community

• STD’s & AIDS

• Career Problems

– Difficulty at jobs due to bias

Biblical Perspective

• The homosexual act is a sin

• Sin separates man from God

• We are to show Christ’s love to the sinner

• We are to help the sinner

• It is the job of the Holy Spirit to change the sinner

• I Corinthians 5:1-8

Counselors Perspective

• What do you do when a homosexual individual comes to you seeking help for personal problems? Why/Why not?

• What do you do when a homosexual couple comes to you seeking help in their gay or lesbian relationship? Why/Why not?

• What are the consequences of your decision?

If anyone has any questions about this paper just ask and i will see what i can do about answering the questions. Just keep in mind that this was written a couple of years ago and may not have all of the updated research.

When Evolution & Creation Collide

Eric keeps bringing up in comments to me about how he doesn't see a conflict between Christianity and evolution. So i decided to do a post on that subject.

There are many, many, many, many reasons why evolution and creationism collide i will only touch on two "Life" & "Death".

Life -
Genesis 1:25-28 And God made the beasts of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and all creepers upon the earth after their kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.
And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.

Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God created man in His own image. He formed man from the dust of the ground and gave him life by breathing life into him. Thus man was not alive until that breath of life was breathed into him. This is what makes man different than any other creature. This is why of all of the creatures of the earth, only man has art, poetry, a recorded history, a society, an extensive education system, and can grow and develop well beyond the individual. Every other creature of the earth lives off of instinct with little culture. Man came alive with the breath of God. This is a premise that exists and defines much of the Bible.

The problem then comes with evolution in that evolution teaches that man was not created in God's image. Man is just another animal that evolved from other animals (monkeys). He was not created from the dust of the earth after the other creatures, and the breath of God did not bring life to man because he is just an evolutionary extension of monkey.

The Scripture says that God created man uniquely from other animals.
Evolution says man is an evolutionary extension of monkeys.

The Scripture says that man's life came from God's personal breath.
Evolution says that man had life before he existed, in the form of monkeys.

Death
Gen 2:15-17 And Jehovah God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree in the garden, but you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.
And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took of its fruit, and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Rom 5:12 Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:
Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.)
1Co 15:21 For since death is through man, the resurrection of the dead also is through a Man.

Death did not exist before man sinned. This is another basic principle of the Bible. Death entered the world because of the sin of man. Therefore man needs a redeemer from death.
This is a problem with regards to evolution because evolution teaches that before man existed many, many species lived and died. In fact, according to evolution, man only came to be because previous generations and species died out and a form of monkey evolved with each new generation to slowly become man.

The Scripture says death came because man sinned and Christ came to abolish death.
Evolution says death existed long before man existed. It is a part of the formation of everything thus there is no need for a redeemer.

Thus the theory of evolution undermines these two principles that are at the very core of Biblical teaching and understanding. These principles of life and death are foundations of most of the religions of the world including Christianity, Judism, & Islam. Thus evolution undermines almost every major religion in the world. The theory of evolution was formed and is at it's very core anti-religious as it's founder was. When evolution alone is taught in public schools those schools reinforce an anti-religious viewpoint. Thus this goes against the concept of the right to religious freedom without cohersion and the seperation of church and state.

Mike's Thoughts on Prayer

Mike Camiolo made this comment on my last post and i thought that it deserved it's own post, so here it goes.

Quick piece (of) food for thought. I went to New Year Services last night and I was reading the book. I hadn't noticed before, but the prayers are basically just asking God to do this for me; or God help this go well; or God I love you, your awsome. I hadn't realized how little personal empowerment there was. I would have much rather been reading prayers saying "God, help me keep myself safe" or "God, when I strive to reach my goals, help protect me from failure." It seems like we're tiny little Mites around God's feat, and if we want to be like him, then we should start asking him how he got that way and stop worrying about asking God to protect us from other Mites.

Intolerance, Narrow-Minded, & Biased

It irks me so much when people use terms like these towards Christians just because they don't like what they say or disagree with them. What's funny and sad about this is that those that say such things are doing exactly what they criticize Christians of doing.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
defines Narrow-Minded this way "Lacking tolerance, breadth of view, or sympathy; petty." To put it another way, it is a lack of acceptance or tolerance of another view because it disagrees with one's personal view.

I don't doubt that Christians are that way. What i am stating is that when a person criticises someone else and calls them intolerant, narrow-minded, & biased they are often doing exactly that themselves. To say that someone else does this then ignore this entirely in oneself makes the fool of the one labeling the fool.

Every person is intollerant, narrow-minded, and biased. Would you be tolerant of someone coming into your house day after day and taking something of yours? Would you accept the viewpoint of a 28 year old man wanting to have sex with your 13 year old daughter? If someone came into your work and said that all teachers / engineers / therapists / doctors / whatever you happen to be were fools and a plague on society do you really think that you would be unbiased? Absolutely not. Some of these are extreme examples but they are set up to prove a point.

Every person in the world is intolerant, narrow-minded, & biased! Some are willing to admit it and some criticise others because of it. I know and fully acknowledge that i am intolerant, narrow-minded, & biased. I have never pretended not to be. In school i was taught that therapists need to be as unbiased with their clients as possible. However, i was also taught that this is a continual process and will never be fully achieved.

Birthday Survey

LIFE: INSPIRATIONS
Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with? 
Some of my client's parents... It's no wonder they have the problems they do.  A lawyer or politician i can handle... a parent who is messing up their kids life and all they can think about is themselves... that makes me insane.

Who would you want to go to lunch with?  Hmm.  That's an interesting question.  Are you asking about the living or anyone in history? 
In present times: probably a recent Christian author such as James Dobson (i know dbackdad is going to give me a hard time for that).  I would like to talk to some of these authors about book ideas and such. 
In History: the easy answer would have to be Jesus as number 1.  Next would probably be the apostle John.  His writings really have a lot to say and i know for a fact that there's so much more there that i'm missing.

Are you a leader or a follower?  I can do both, although i tend to follow more than lead.  Actually i tend to like to be my own person not really following or leading, and i tend to get nervous when other people follow me. 

You receive (in the mail, of course) a one-hour pass to the Throne Room and a sitting with Jesus. You are allowed two questions. What do you ask? -- I don't know.  At this point i don't think that there is any real questions that i need answers to.  Recently my relationship with Christ has really felt strained and distant and it has been difficult for me to spend the quality time with Him that i really need to.  So i think that it would be good to be able to spend that one hour just sitting in His presence spending time with him.

What characteristic do you despise?  I'd have to say selfishness & pride - after working with kids and seeing how selfish parents can mess them up it really infuriates me

What conditions make you feel closest to God? – When i'm at the end of my rope and am dead tired.  When i have nothing left to give and it's not enough.  When i'm at my worst and i cry out to God and just spend time in His presence praising and worshiping or just resting.  That's when i feel closest to God.

What was the most recent compliment you received and savored? 
Actually, my little sister and i both realized that we aren't very good at giving or receiving compliments.  So as for savoring i can't say that i've done that in a while.  The most recent compliment was when the doctor here said to one of my clients during a treatment team meeting that i may be one of the best therapists in the facility. 

What was your favorite subject in school? 
That depends on the school.  In highschool it was my pottery and sculpting classes. 
At *IT it was probably cermics.
At the Bible college it was any Bro. Fount class or Marriage and Family. 
In my masters program it was usually most classes led by the three primary Counseling professors although my cultural perspectives class with a person that they flew in from South Africa was really, really good as well.

Happy Birthday (Tomorrow) Survey

Well, tomorrow is my birthday so i decided to do a post/survey on... me!  I was just going to do the whole survey tomorrow, but as much as i tried to shorten it it's still too long.  Big surprise there considering how long winded i tend to be.

BASIC LIFE
Name/Nicknames: JCMasterpiece of course / JC & JCM

DOB: September 23, a day that will live in infamy... or not.

What is your middle name?  Believe it or not, Joseph

What do you have for breakfast?  Cereal during the week, and usually i make something fun on Saturdays.  Sunday could be just about anything.

Favorite ice cream?  No real overwhelming favorite.  I usually like fruit flavors, but it all depends on what i'm in the mood for.

Butter, plain or salted popcorn?  Extra Buttered.

What kind of car do you drive?  I really enjoy my 2001 Ford Focus.  I just wish it was a standard instead of an automatic.

Favorite sandwich?   Something Philly Cheese Steak style

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation?   Italy...easily.

Where would you retire to?  Somewhere in Italy or Sicily preferably, but i think Lori would have other ideas

What did you do on your last date?  We went and got ice-cream.  Then we went for a walk in the park.

Your favorite color(s)?  Black, Burgundy, and Hunter Green

What's your favorite item to cook? 
Hmm, my favorite would probably have to be omelets.  They're fun to cook and eat, and recently i've gotten much better at flipping them

On a scale of 1 to 10 how computer savvy are you? 
Probably a 7 to 8.  Everyone comes to me with problems or questions and i can usually help them, but i'm definitely no hacker

Beach, City or Country?   Hmmm.... this one is a toughie.  Probably in a suburb or town close to a city.  Preferably near extended family and close friends...  Top preference would be somewhere in western NY.  Needless to say Lori and i are really ansy being out here in the middle of nowhere

ENTERTAINMENT
What video game system?
Of the current generation i would have to go with Nintendo Game Cube, then PlayStation 2, but not X-Box (Bill Gates has too much of my money already and i don't like the idea of his company trying to take over and monopolize another area of my life).  
For the coming generation i would have to go with Nintendo Revolution, then when the prices drop the PlayStation 3.

What current games? 
Video games: I've been on an RPG kick lately and currently i'm playing Lord of the Rings: The Third Age.  I almost have the main part of the game beat with all areas at 100%.  I'm currently in the last level. 
Card games: A homebrew 2 player version of Euchre that combines some aspects of Spades into the gameplay. 
Board games: I've gotten my wife into Risk lately.

Recent Reads? 
Non-Fiction: The Bible, Wild at Heart, online news sites, & blogs. 
Fiction: Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, online news sites, & blogs. 

Favorite Reads?  Non-Fiction: The Bible.  Fiction: Shogun.

Recent Movies/Television?  Sahara (pretty good) / Rides
Favorite Movies/Television? Lord of the Rings trilogy, the origional Star Wars trilogy, Fiddler on the Roof / Firefly & the new Battlestar Galactica series.
What movies have you watched over and over?  The (original) Star Wars trilogy and Fiddler on the Roof

Favorite sport to watch?   Professional and World Cup Soccer.

Coincidence? I think not!

I've said it before; I stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago. It's one thing to believe in something unexplainable (not the right word), but when it plays out right in front of my eyes/ears it just doesn't cease to amaze me.

Just over a year ago my wife and i had a long talk with someone that we don't usually get to spend a lot of time with. It was funny because in one conversation my wife said something completely out of character for her. When she said it, it totally blew me away. I couldn't believe that those words were coming out of her mouth. Doing what she wanted would be almost totally selfless and would mean basically giving up a year of her life for people that she hardly knew. (Needless to say i have had a great deal more respect for her since that conversation.)

I was more than a little concerned with the way that the conversation was going. It's not that i didn't like the idea, or that there was anything wrong with it. Actually, i thought the idea was great. I was concerned that she was saying it to other people before she really had a chance to process what she was thinking. What i expected to happen was that as we talked about it more over the coming weeks (in private) that she would decide that she didn't want to do this after all (which was what did end up ahappening eventually). In the process we would have spoken about it to someone else and not doing what we mentioned might cause difficulties especially if somehow what we were talking about somehow got out. That's not to say that i expected one of the three of us to talk about it with a bunch of people, but you know how it goes when something that is said in private somehow ends up very public. In this case it could have very serious repercussions no matter what.

Well, this past weekend i got a call from this third person. The point of this call was that they wanted our permission to take my wife's idea and run with it themself. Circumstances have drastically changed and they were currently in the position to make it happen while we were not. We gave this person our blessing and they were going to do some more praying about it before they brought the plan to the people it was for. This person is planning on using the exact same stipulations that we had all talked about and it's pretty much pre-planned.

It's just so amazing how one conversation over a year ago, and the plans invoved in it, can affect things over a year later. When we had had the conversation at the time the other person had stated that they so wished that they could do this but that they were in no position to. Just over a year later and after some major (unplanned) personal loss what had been talked about looks like it will happen. Just not the way we expected. (It's still not fully decided though)

Life is Good!

This post has been inspired by a comment by Jewish Atheist. and subsequent comments to his post about relative truth.

How has life improved over the last 200 years...

200 years ago - Marriages are arranged and people do not choose who they want to marry...
Now - Divorce, divided homes, and single mothers having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet only to have their kids addicted to drugs because they weren't able to be there to raise them as needed.

200 years ago - Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in families...
Now - Physical, emotional, and sexual abouse in families

200 years ago - A sixth grade education would practically guarantee you a good job and success in life
Now - Someone with a Master's degree works as a manager at McDonalds by day and a bartender by night just to make ends meet, not to mention the student loans they have to pay off.

200 years ago - Up at daybreak to begin the day working in the fields, in the family business, in the home, etc.
Sons of a working age helping their fathers learning to be men, take care of a family and a home, and preparing for adulthood.
Girls helping their mothers in the homes, learning to be a good mother and wife, from their mother, and preparing for marriage one day. God to bed at sundown or maybe a little later if they stay up by candle light.
Now - Most moms and dads work all day. Kids get dropped off at daycare or school for the day so that someone else (in most cases the government) can raise them. Not having any real idea what it means to be a man or woman because mom and dad spend what little free time they have golfing, watching tv, talking on the telephone instead of spending time with them. Even then they get pushed off to the TV, videogames, homework, etc.

200 years ago - People often died relatively young due to sickness & disease or accident. The rich could afford a good doctor to help them. Those that did live to see old age were revered by their society and helped to raise future generations.
Now - Most people live to ripe old ages only to be stuffed into nursing homes and at times abused by overworked and underpaid orderlies while their children wish that they will just die so that they can get what's left of their money after the nursing homes suck away what's there. Meanwhile, healthcare costs rise ever higher and higher so that there becomes a gap between those who can afford good healthcare because they are either rich enough to afford it or poor enough to be able to accept a mediocre coverage by the government Medicare/Medicaid system.

200 years ago - When a boy turned anywhere from 13-16 or 17 he goes through a rite of passage. He is no longer considered a child and is now considered a man. He has been trained and raised to know how to take care of a family and work the family job and it is time for him to live that out. At about 16 or 17 years old he reached puberty at which time he chooses or is chosen for him a young lady to be his wife. When a girl hits puberty at around 15 or 16 she gets married. She has been given in marriage or has chosen who she will marry. She has been trained all of her life how to be a good wife and mother and now she is prepared to do it.
Now - At 11-14 a girl or boy are still in school getting an "education" so that they can be "trained" and "prepared" for life. They live their teenage years knowing that they are adults, wanting to live that out, trying to make that happen, only to be pushed back by a socety that tells the "oh, your not ready" when the reason that they're not ready is because that society has not prepared them. They are sexually frustrated because their bodies have gone through a sexual metamorphasis but they have no outlet for it. So they either bury those sexual frustrations or act out on them. In the process of acting out on them, it messes them up sexually. Sex becomes a "fun thing to do" with no serious thought given to the implications of what their acting out will mean for them in the future (an inability to remain faithful to one spouse, a lower sex drive and sexual satisfaction, STD's, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,.....

Believe you me, i could and probably will go on, and on, and on, and on this way. But due to time sake i have to finish up here. Yeah, life is good all right!

Evolution & Racism

There has been something that has been bothering me lately about the concept of evolution. How can a person who is a serious evolutionist not be a racist. If you believed that all people are simply evolved animals and different species evolve in different ways to adapt to their environment, than each race must (by the theory of evolution) be genetically different, and thus some better than others for our current society.
It's like the evolution theory of the different species of dog or horse. Some dogs are good with children but poor at being guard dogs (golden retreivers come to mind), others are good at protecting/fighting but poor with people (doberman pincers as one example). Obvioulsy these are stereotypes but you get the point. Some horse species are better pack horses and others are better racers. Then there are some that are just mediocre at most things. According to evoltion each species has "evolved" to a different set of circumstances and has different characteristics. Thus according to evolution, some races must be "better" or "worth more" to certain situations. Their value comes in their ability and genetic makeup not in their being or origin.
According to creation, on the other hand, man is formed in the image of God, and He breathed the breath of life into us. He created us for a purpose, thus we have value. It doesn't matter what race you are, you are valued by God and thus should be valued by others. When God did choose a people to call His own, it was because of what they did (or the father of the people did). When God rejected a nation/people it is because of what they chose to do or not do, not what color or genetic makeup they were.
Now obviously, all of those who have called themselves "Christian" in the past have not always acted this way. Even now there are those who call themselves "Christian" and seek to justify racism. That doesn't change the fact that God created man (thereby all races) in His image and likeness, thus all of His children are of value to Him.

Explosive Questions to Disastrous News

A friend of mine at work found this article and pointed it out to me.

"Divers inspecting the ruptured levee walls surrounding New Orleans found
something that piqued their interest: Burn marks on underwater debris
chunks from the broken levee wall"

"When he surfaced and showed the evidence to his superior, the on-site
Coordinator for FEMA stepped-in and said 'You are not here to conduct an
investigation as to why this rupture occurred, but only to determine how best to
close it.' The FEMA coordinator then threw the evidence back into the
water and said 'You will tell no one about this.'"

"a military forensic specialist determined the burn marks on the cement chunks
did, in fact, come from high explosives"

"military-grade UNDERWATER high explosives"

If this is really the case, than it helps bring some clarity to some of the questions that i have had about the post-Katrina flooding. "The levee ruptures in New Orleans did not take place during Hurricane Katrina, but rather a day after the hurricane struck"
Unfortunately this also raises a whole lot of other questions.

I do not know the sources of all of this information well and have not confirmed its accuracy.

edit 09-13-2005: I took a few minutes to look at the source of the article and was quite shocked at how racist the author is. When i pointed it out to the friend of mine who had pointed me to the article origionally it shocked him as well (he had reached the article through a link from another site). Needless to say, neither i nor this friend of mine support the racist notions stated by the author in his other posts. I would hope that those who have been reading my blog for a while would know that already, but for newcomers and those that don't know it i am stating it outright.

Our New Computer!

Well now, this is my first post with our new computer. Our old e-machines (*cough*CRAP*cough*) was dying a slow, painful (espcially for us) death. We bought our new one from Dell online. We probably never would have bought a computer direct from the manufacture but friends of ours had a really nice online coupon that greatly reduced the price for us. Otherwise i would have just bought one from BestBuy or built it myself (it's been awhile since i've gone that route).

I'm rather enjoying having what i want opened up, open when i ask it to, and not having to worry about the computer crashing randomly on us because of problems with the memory. It's also nice to have a flat panel monitor on our desk instead of the old HUGE emachines monitor with the broken lighted e button. It's still not all the way set up (the speakers aren't installed), but it's up, running, and in the process of be customized to my liking. Talk about fun. I may try messing around with some things i've wanted to do for a while like getting openoffice and a few other interesting programs.

Hopefully, next we will be getting broadband access. It's something we've wanted to do for a while now, but where we are living it the options are so limited and the prices just don't make it very feasible. But with the monopoly that our phone company has in the area and it costing up $50 just for local and basic long distance service (before the 10 cent per minute charge) VOIP is so very tempting.

Fun with "H"

When our second daughter H was born back in April it really changed the dynamics in our house. Before L (who will be 2 in October) had been our sole child and had had mommy and daddy's full attention. We tried to prepare L for H's arrival so it wouldn't be such a shock to her system, but even we weren't fully ready for all the changes. It's interesting how we have changed and adapted. When H was born i started spending focused time with L trying to help prevent her from being jealous of her sister and trying to get her involved in her sister's life. My wife had to spend a good deal of time taking care of H, so i took over more with L. It's funny because as of a month or two ago i began to realize that maybe i was spending too much time with L and not enough with H. This was further brought to light when, about 3 or 4 weeks ago, both my wife and my sister commentied that i don't really spend very much time with H. (To my defense, it's quite a bit harder to be actively involved with an infant than a 1 1/2 year old) So i have tried to spend more time with H lately.

Well, something happened on Saturday (i think it was Saturday morning) that has stuck with me all weekend. I was playing with L just tickling her, throwing her up in the air, and just having a good time playing with her, when i looked up to see H watching me. When she realized that i was looking at her she got this huge excited look on her face and started kicking excitedly. So i said, "Hi 'H'", and went back to playing with L. A couple of minutes later i made it a point to see what H was doing. When she realized that i was looking at/watching her she got all excited again. So i said "Hi 'H'. Are you having fun kicking in there?", and went back to playing with L. A couple of minutes later i looked up again to see what H was doing and as soon as she realized i was looking at her she got really excited again and began kicking furiously. So i said, "alright, i get the point". I grabbed her out of the swing and began playing with her as well. She had such a blast.

That image of H getting all excited when she realized that i was looking at her, wanting me to play with her, and how all of this played out has stuck with me and imbedded itself into my head all weekend. Needless to say, H has been getting great deal more attention from me this past weekend.

10, Now 11, Major U.S. Disasters Possibly Connected to U.S/Israel Relations?

My wife brought this to my attention. I had heard about it previously but had forgotten about it. I have believed for a long time that the U.S.'s prosperity has been connected to it's relationship with Israel. Well, aparently many of the U.S.'s major disasters are related to our foreign policy with Israel as well (no big surprise to me).

Truth-or-Fiction has an article on Ten Major U.S. Disasters on Dates Significant to Treatment of Israel - Truth! The article is, "A list of ten dates on which there (were) important events related to Israel along with natural disasters affecting the United States. The implication is that the U.S. had better pay attention to decisions about Israel...or else" As the critics say "going through all the events in a particular span of years and finding apparent correlations doesn't mean they were connected." I don't know if i would fully agree with the critics about this under normal circumstances, but it also looks like we're living out number 11 right now.

Hurricane Katrina developed during or directly following the recent evacuation of Gaza Strip which was supported by the U.S. government. As a result of hurricane Katrina all of New Orleans is being evacuated and cleanup is going to take months to years with the costs into the billions.

A coincidence? Maybe, but i learned a long time ago that more often than not, coincidences rarely ever are. Just something to ponder for the day.

An Angry Rant!

WARNING - This post may not be suitable for all people. I am currently rather angry and this post (while it will not contain swearing) will be a very serious rant. So be warned that you may not like what i have to say, but this is a very real and serious issue to me.

I'm still writhing a little from a previous comment that i had to deal with on a previous post, but i wanted to touch on something that is very close to my heart.

It makes me very angry when i consider that the government finances an education system that is insulting, degrading, and spits in the face to anyone who takes religion and their religious beliefs seriously. It is insulting that our education system forces us to learn about evolution which, with its MANY flaws, is very anti-religious (some would say that evolution and religion can co-exist without conflict, but those who actually believe that and are Christian either don't understand evolution very well, or don't understand Christianity very well). Our country is founded on the freedom of religion, not the freedom to force anti-religious rhetoric down the throats of every child and young person in the country, so that they can then turn around and insult us and our children for not accepting that rhetoric as undenyable fact! This is a government that guarantees a quality education to every citizen and then when those citizens don't want to have to have their children listen to their rhetoric and do choose an alternative, they are still forced pay to have their neighbor be taught it, while at the same time having to pay out of their own pockets in order for their child to receive an education that is not prejudiced against them.

This is a problem that exists and is supported on all levels of the educational system, from grade school to state funded colleges. I am sick and tired of sitting back and listening to the rhetoric that places science and education as gods in our society and then claims that it separates church from state. When an alternative is brought forth that seeks to bring some balance to the problem and show that what has been forced on us is not as perfect as society would like us to think, it is criticized, rejected, and its supporters insulted. Now that's what i call a free country!

Do i have a reason to be angry? You bet i do!

Science/Research DOES NOT EQUAL The Truth

Funny, but i could have sworn i've been saying the same thing for a long time now.

John Ioannidis, an epidemiologist at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece, says that small sample sizes, poor study design, researcher bias, and selective reporting and other problems combine to make most research findings false. But even large, well-designed studies are not always right, meaning that scientists and the public have to be wary of reported findings.

Basically the article states that the findings of less than 50% of research studies are accurate.

Public Library of Science Medicine (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124) as taken from this article.

Back to "Home" School

I was rather impressed with this article What Does 'Back to School' Mean for Home-Schoolers? by ABC News. It looks at ways that homeschoolers are dealing with going back to school, the students views on it, how homeschoolers are dealing with some of the criticisms toward homeschooling, and how more and more people are approaching it. I wish these kinds of resources existed when we had started. Since my mother was the first in our community to do it, i guess that that's not so surprising.

Some thoughts about homeschooling...

Public schools receive a certain amount (of money) for each student each day that that student is in school. That goes to paying for books, teachers, salaries, buildings, testing, etc. Why couldn't a percentage of that money go to the parents of homeschoolers to help them pay for school materials and the cost to them to teach their kids at home? Those parents still pay property tax that goes to pay for their child's education, and when the children aren't in public school the money that would be used to pay for their child's education doesn't go to the education system at all. So why shouldn't parents be able to utilize some of that money to improve their own children's education, while some of that money still being used to help the education system provide resources for the parents (ie gymnasium, playground, testing, etc.)? This would give the schools more incentive to help the parents rather than feeling like they are getting screwed out of the money that they need to run the schools. Both sides win and hopefully begin to be willing to cooperate more.

Also, as a therapist working with court ordered youth in an inpatient psychiatric facility, it greatly concerns me when i hear about "homeschooled" kids that aren't really being taught anything. I think that homeschoolers should have to have the same required testing as public school children. To have parents say, "I'm homeschooling my children" and then just letting their kids do whatever they want just doesn't work. It puts a bad taste in people's mouths about homeschoolers in general even when they are doing a good job, and is personally insulting to me as someone who was homeschooled for part of their education (4th - 8th grades). Well, that's more than enough for that rant.

Good article by the way.

"My Favorite... Wiffee!"

My wife has now joined the blogging world. Her page is titled Lori's Random Thoughts. She blames me for "pressuring" her into it, but even if that is true, i know she will enjoy it when she gets going. One more name to put on the friends, family, and other list. Actually, i will probably be adding two today as i recently found out about my little sister's blog. So those should be up soon.

"Let There Be Light"

This whole not causing debate thing is going to be much harder than i think i anticipated. I hope this doesn't turn into a major debate, but i wanted to answer Jewish Atheist's question brought up at the end of the comments to my last post

JA comments, "I've always wondered what people who believe in a young Earth think of how starlight has reached earth from millions of lightyears away."

Hopefully, i can answer that question without starting a major debate. As soon as i read this comment my initial reaction was, "what's to stop a God that can instantaniously create the stars from instantaniously threading that light all the way to earth?", but i've always hated answers like that. It somehow seems like a cheap and un-thought-out answer to a serious question. I've heard people use this kind of answer to this kind of question as well as in dealing with the fossil record and other arguments. It may be true and possible, but it doesn't really answer the question. It more says i have no idea, but i have to answer somehow so this is my go to answer. It's possible, it's accurate, but it's also very cheap. That doesn't mean that it isn't right though. Anyways....

This time as i was thinking about the threading thing, it seemed like someone was whispering something in my ear (i love it when that happens as it usually means that what comes next totally changes how i view a problem or situation). It was something that reminded me of some recent contemplations i had had about the creation story. The more i thought about it, the more sense it made (actually i didn't need to think about it for very long before it made complete sense). Oh, boy, i could go in so many different routes with this. Which one do i choose? If i talk about the poetic nature of the creation story it brings some real beauty and structure to it but will greatly extend an ever longer post. If i talk about my current contemplations about the uniqueness of the passages concerning day's one and four, it could provoke some real thought and fun (maybe not so debating) conversation....

I think for space and time's sake i will have to go the simplest route. So this will be a simple answer but hopefully it will clearly answer the question. Light (day 1) was created before the sun, moon, and stars (day 4). It existed and can exist outside of their control (but it currently doesn't). The sun, moon, and stars give light it's charge. It has direction and flow as directed by these celestial bodies. Thus it did not necessarily have to travel from them. The light existed. The celestial bodies gave it direction. So it doesn't necessarily have to have origionally come from the stars, it is just following the path led by them. I don't know if that answers your question or not, but that was as simple answer to the question as i could make it. Hope it helps.

Closing up the Debate Shop

I really hate to do this, as i have really enjoyed debating with all of you. But unfortunately, i have to stop being actively involved in some of these debates (AKA not stirring up trouble, if that is going to be possible). I'm finding that these debates are consuming way too much of my free time, work (what i'm getting paid to do), family time, and energy. I haven't had such a blast in a long time, and i haven't been this intellectually stimulated since grad school.

Unfortuantely, as much fun and stimulating as this has been, i need to focus on other, more important (or so i'm led to believe) things, like a job, family, sleep, you know those other things. Being completely exhausted and yet staying awake for an hour after going to bed every night as my mind processes arguments, discourses, debate points, where i read or heard this or that so as to have verifiable resources for those who demand them, and such is usually not the best thing in the world.

So i will try to close up my arguments today ...hmmm... or maybe over the weekend... - (slaps hand) stop it, you must spend time with your family. - Well anyways, i will try to close up my arguments today, and maybe later i can come back and debate some more.

This doesn't mean that i won't be around and commenting on stuff. It just means i will try to not cause too much of a stir. :-( (Try being the key word)

A Rebuttal in a Long and Arduous Debate... Just the Kind of Think i Enjoy

In response to A Request for JC Masterpiece Regarding Evolution posted by Jewish Atheist.

By the way, in direct response to "I think it is simply because he has been taught only one side of the story, not because he is close-minded", no person can ever attend a public school of any sort and not know about the theory of evolution. It's the problems with that theory that most people are not really told about in school.

That's an interesting article and i appreciate the gesture. Unfortunately, i have done enough research and research papers in my years of undergraduate and graduate work to know that science is far, far from infallible.

All you have to do is look at all of the times the "missing link" between ape and man has been found. In one case it was the tooth that was thought to be some supposed human ancestor. It was given to Dr. Henry Fairfield Osbom, the head of the department of palaeontology at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. He thought it might have been a tooth from a "missing link". A drawing of what the "missing link" and his wife could possibly have looked like appeared in the Illustrated London News in 1922. Later it is quietly discovered that that tooth wasn't really any sort of link at all, but rather it was the tooth of a wild pig. Of course this was swept under the rug. In spite of the fact that the origional article had posted in a major newspaper, the short rebuttal appeared in a scientific journal that the general public would not read. Hmmm, i wonder why that was?

The past century is strewn with absolute proofs of "missing links" only to have those "missing links" later proven to be false. This kind of thing happens all the time. Science and scientists prove something only to turn around a couple of days, few months, a century later and someone comes along and "proves" that the last person was wrong.

I thought that his quote from the Quotations Page, Quotes of the Day for August 22 applies beautifully to this concept;

"Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had."

Michael Crichton, Caltech Michelin Lecture, January 17, 2003
US author & screenwriter (1942 - )
I thought that this quote was perfect as it summs up the nature of science, scientific studies, and research beautifully.

Needless to say i take many scientific journals and studies with a grain of salt. Oftentimes there is possibly some truth in what they say, but just as with bad exegesis of the Bible, people tend to read into the facts what they want to.

It's funny sometimes when i think about it because so many people put so much faith in science that those people treat it like a god even when it's falicies lay right in front of them, and to some people science is their god. I've seen the same thing with education, religion (that the religion itself and not God is the god), the concept of love, and especially money. The more i've thought about this idea the more that i agree with what one of my professors said once. Everyone has their own gods that they worship. It doesn't matter that they aren't made of metal and people don't physically bow down to them. They are their own gods none the less. (not an exact quote, but you get the idea)

Aparently i'm playing the "i'm an alienated minority" crap

This is a post in response to the post and comments coming from Jewish Atheist and some of the readers of his blog (read: not necessarily his viewpoint). I normally have a very good time reading his posts and debating about things with him and others. Please read the post and converstion that has come from it before reading this blog as not doing so will drastically take this out of context.

Read any major newspaper. Watch any major news station, except FOX News. Watch just about any major movie distributed by the major distributing companies and you will see beyond a shadow of a doubt that anyone with a conservative Christian view is treated like a loon. Your posts and the sources that you quote show this all the time. Even a major insurance company (i think it was allstate if it's that important for you to have absolute undenyable proof of this you can research it yourself as you appear to have plenty of time to do that kind of thing) recently fired a man because he spoke out against homosexuality on a forum on his own time and completely anonymously without ever making mention of his work or the company. When companies look for someone to fire/lay off they tend to first fire married WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) men with children because they are least likely to get sued that way. Almost any time a politician makes a statement of faith they get criticized by the media and the government. Just look at the attempts to bring conservative Christians to balance out the extremely liberal Supreme Court (or do you need research to back that up too).

Yes i know that Jews have been treated unfairly by many people. But as you yourself have even stated as a Jew you used to look solely for Jewish buisnesses to support. In the business world Jews are the most successful buisnessmen in the world. Which i understand in the context of the Bible. They are God's chosen and blessed people.

Those movie distribution companies that i griped about earlier are owned almost exclusively by Jews. Which is why Mel Gibson had such a difficult time finding a distributor for The Passion of the Christ (if you need research to support this statement as well, see my comment earlier). If it had been a movie about a major Islamic, or Hindu, or any other major religious figure, there would have been very little resistance.

I have no real problems with Jews. My cousins are Jews and i rather enjoy spending time with them.

I don't deny that Jews have been treated unfairly, but if anyone thinks that conservative Christians aren't persecuted they have turned a very blind eye. More Christians have been killed/martyered in the world in the last 100 years than have in the 1900 years previously combined. To say that conservative Christians are not persecuted is rediculous.

Long Weekend

Please keep us in your prayers. ... well, the oldest one just woke up so this will have to really be short. My wife and i are both really drained. We had been planning on going to visit some friends over the weekend when out youngest one (4 months) came down with, of course now i can't remember the name, i want to say it's called... oh yes crupe. She has been throwing up all weekend. On top of that my wife and other daughter have not been feeling well either. We, more she than me, have been up most of the night the last few nights taking care of the two of them. So now i'm going to work extremely exhausted on one of the days when i need to be most focused. Thankfully my sister decided to pay us a visit today as it became her day off this week due to scheduling changes, so my wife will have some help and maybe get some rest. I'd tell you how that is a mini-miracle but i don't have time. Either way, please as you read this offer up a quick prayer for us. Thanks.

Oh, and also for one of my other sisters, Christie, who is having a really hard time with marriage problems and such.

Why Evolution Fails: The arguments and research

I haven't posted on this topic for a bit now. After some of comments that were left on previous posts in this series i realized that i had really hit some nerves for a couple of people. I had decided that since many posters seemed to think that the only way that what i have to say could be anywhere near true is if i had multiple sources to quote to back me up. So i was going to do a bunch of research for each post and find lots of pages and people whose views backed up my beliefs, but then i realized that with the limited time i have to actually do this is limited to about 45 minutes to an hour max in the mornings on weekdays and a little more time on the weekends (i'm not getting paid in any way and when i am at work i have work that i need to get done and can't sit around all day researching on the internet. My job actually requires me to do something after all). Added to that is the fact that i could do all kinds of research and find all kinds of support for what i say, but then the writing becomes about "the experts" and their opinions vs. other "experts". Now that's exciting isn't! So i've decided to keep doing what i'm doing the way that i'm doing it.

If commenters are going to demand that i backup what i say with "expert opinion" and "research" in order to argue the "expert opinions" and "research" that they use to support their side, then they can. Eventually i will do and add the research, but for now i just don't have the extra time. I want this to be an excercise in writing and an outlet for me to express my views and opinions.

I will not close the comments on my posts so those who agree and disagree with me can still state their opinions and views, but understand that just because you or i can find "experts" and "research" to support our views does not make it correct. I may have to write a post on why "science", "research", "experts", "statistics", etc. are not infallible as they like to act like or think that they are.

A Father's Presence

I willo attempt to post 2 posts in one morning.... a difficult task indeed given the limited amount of free time i have in the morning. But here goes.

Around 2 this morning i woke up to crying. This time it was our older one (22 months old), Leah. I didn't want her to wake the baby, Hannah, so jumped out of bed and quickly went into their room. Thankfully Hannah hadn't woken up. I went over to Leah's bed sat down next to her and told her that it was all right, i was there. She immediately stopped crying and went back to sleep. But i stayed there for a couple of minutes just the same stroking her back.

It's been amazing watching my two little girls grow. I've learned almost as much from them as they have from me. But the thing that really struck me this morning is how she just needed my presence. Everything was alright once daddy was there. I didn't need to rub her back, but i did anyways. I didn't need to rock her to sleep. I didn't need sing her a famous daddy made up song. I just needed to be there. My presence was all that she really needed to make everything all right so she could go back to sleep in peace.

It's amazing because that's the way that i usually am too. Things tend to get stressed out at times. I tend to get irritated and frustrated and part of me just want to scream and cry, but all i need is the presence of my Father. Just spending time in his presence makes all of the stresses and cares of the world seem unimportant and a whole lot easier to deal with. It is in His presence that i find the peace and rest that i need.

Well so much for time to post a second post. I guess that i'll have to do it tomorrow.

Thoughts on Psalm 19

I realized yesterday as i was looking over my site that my blog seems to be being consumed lately by the evolution issue at the expense of everything else. So to break up the monotony, and give myself a break, i wanted to look at a Psalm that i seem to have been reading quite a bit of lately. There's too much there to post everything so i will just go over some excerpts.

Psalm 19.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

As i said, this psalm has been one that i have gone back to again and again. As you can guess, this has been a bit of an influence for my current discussion. The concept is just so undenyable. When i look at the world andthe complexity of it all, even just the sky (our atmosphere) it is amazing how complex it is and has to be to sustain life on this planet. It is a beautiful work.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Every time i read this section it reminds me of a song with these verses as the lyrics that we used to sing at camp. I have a note in my Bible referencing that it is a song that i know. The problem is that because i know it as a song, i see it as that song and the words begin to lose meaning to me at times. But, when i ignore the tune and just focus on the words, i have found that they have such amazing meaning. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;" They are more than just words. At first glance they appear to be commands, but in reality they are really promises to us.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

I have this verse underlined in green in my Bible.
I have a four color pen that i use for study. I underline a text in black if it is semi-interesting and i want to highlight it as such.
I underline in blue when what i read really has some meat or truth in it that i want to highlight (the previous passages are underlined in black and blue)
I underline in red when i have a note about what is there. When it is a song i put a musical notation in red next to the passage. When another scripture and it reference or bring better meaning to each other i either use green arrows or write the reference in red. When i have interesting notes i write them in red next to the passage. You get the drift.
However i use green when what i'm reading is of such significance that it directly applies to my life at the time, is of high importance, and/or i want to memorize it. In this case it is all three.

This passage is my desire for my life right now. That what i say and think be acceptable. That my mind be focused on the things above and not on the things of this earth that distract me and pull me away from God. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight," For you are "my strength and my redeemer". Even in this is a promise. I can't do this on my own. He gives me strength and redeems me from my failures, mistakes, and sin. In Him i trust.

Why Evolution Fails: The Basic Premise II

Well, i wasn't planning on doing another post on this issue, Jewish Atheist brought forth an argument that i wanted to deal with. He pointed me in the direction of the TalkOrigins website which attemts to counteract some anti-evolution views. According to the TalkOrigins website, what they think i'm talking about is referred to the second law of thermodynamics. Maybe that is what i'm referring to, maybe it isn't. I didn't take this concept from that law. I took this concept from processing and understanding the world around me, and as such attempting to understand why what i see in reality seems to go directly against what evolution teaches. If someone else attributes this to the second law of thermodynamics, than so be it. I have done no such thing. But, for the sake of argument (which i rather enjoy sometimes) i will discuss this concept and what TalkOrigins talks about. (oh boy this post could get long)

Jewish Atheist stated "This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the law of entropy, which states that on averagecomplexity decreases. Locally, it's obvious that complexity can increase. Anytime a plant combines CO2, water, and sunlight to make sugar, complexity increases within that plant." I'd say that this is a pretty clear description of what was said on the TalkOrigins website, so to save alot of complex explanation and extremely complex post i will go with this.

Obviously there are times and places where elements and processes become more complex, such as the plant producing sugar by combining CO2 and H2O and a sperm and an egg combining and using the resources around it to over time develop an adult human. Thus that must mean that my argument is clearly nullified. Absolutely not. Simple systems are able to change without alot of serious outside help thus becoming more complex or simple relatively easily. However, this does not work the same way with complex systems such as the complex single celled organism discussed earlier, the human body, the universe, etc. In order for a complex system to exist it must grow and develop using a plan. However when that plan has completed that complex system begins to break down, thus the complexity breaks down into simpler systems. Without outside processes/help/plans the nature of complex systems falls to decay.

... Uh oh, i'm running late. I have to go to work. I will have to finish this later or tomorrow morning.

Why Evolution Fails: The Basic Premise

What is the basic premise of evolution? Basically, evolution states that life on earth has evolved over billions of years from simple single celled organisms to our complex environmental, social, religious, etc. systems, and that these systems are continuing to develop. It is survival of the fittest. As time goes by in order for life to survive it has had to continually adjust to a changing environment and a changing world. Those who don't adjust (evolve) die away and are replaced by others who do.
According to the evolutionary process we were once primates (having evolved along some line from a single celled organism) and over time we adjusted, evolved, and became man.

So what's the problem with that? In one word it's "decay". The idea that life has become more complex over time goes entirely against the nature of the universe. The term "Half-life" is used to describe the decay of radioactive material. Stars gradually burn out over time or are sucked into black holes. People and animals grow old and die of old age if they are not killed. The planets' compas/orbit gradually decays. Everything in both life and nature breaks down into simpler elements. Metal rusts, meat rots, trees decay, etc., etc., etc.

In order for evolution to work the opposite must be true. Evolution of life requires that things become more complex over time. After all, humans are more complex than apes. Apes are more complex than single celled organisms. There's no doubt that animals and people can adust to changing environments, but for them to become more complex requires something more than is possible simply by "chance" At it's very simplist it requires intervention by an outside force. Just look at the world around you. Do buildings build themselves or are they built and maintained by people. What happens if they're not maintained? They end up falling apart and then down. Our universe is like an unimmaginally complex mechanical clock. It is gradually unwinding and will eventually stop running.

This is a difficult thing for many people to accept because in order to accept this reality one must accept that something first created and then wound the clock. Some more powerful being put the universe into motion which in turn has many implications that many people don't want to have to recognize and accept. Thus it is easier to believe the lie that "there is no creator" than to live with the implications that there is.