Oceanliner To Nowhere

In an article in the Minnesota Daily today it was disclosed that the Governor is looking into funding individual students with tuition instead of the university directly. This would work to make the university more responsive to the students instead of to the universities individual and corporate ambition. I for one strongly agree with this direction. At this point there is little or no accountabiltity to the state or the students and both feel as if they are being used and abused by the university. The university has no internal reason to respond to these accusations of abuse so it simply putters on its merry little way jacking up tuition and requesting more money from the state.

Maybe I am old fashioned but I believe that the main purpose of the university is to train the next generation. Instead it has become a tool to develop the economy and to fashion the masses into workers for the corporate machine. It has no idea of purpose beyond that. Free thought is a thing of the past. Political correctness, corporate stability, and money seems to have taken over. People are no longer taught ethics because ethics have become relative and thus worthless. People are no longer taught history because history has become relative and thus worthless. The university is a huge ocean liner without a rudder. There is a lot of activity on board but there is no real purpose except the cruise. And it is heading nowhere except to disaster.

It needs to find its purpose in life. And that needs to be in conjunction with God's purposes. It will not find purpose outside of eternal purposes. The noble and greater idea of man comes from religion not philosophy or psychology. And religion is carefully excluded from the debate. The shallow and lessor purpose of making money and making life more plush is bankrupt indeed.

Truth Bomb Goes Off At The University Of Minnesota

This email hit the Universtity newspaper called The Minnesota Daily today. It is from a member of our group. I did not know he was going to write it but I am very glad he did.
Now please pray for him as he is sure to need prayer. Hyperlink here.

Homosexuality in the light of truth: life’s issues in practice
By Michael David Wallen


ast year, I wrote a column about how I grew up; about how I lived and about how I came to know who I was called to be. My April 23 opinion, “I was gay until Christ set me straight,” made for some quite interesting and unique debates through e-mail. I want to thank you everyone who responded to me. Your comments, arguments and encouragements were all appreciated. I know it was a struggle and a tough idea to be placed in such a controversial community.

Although I come from a background like and unlike most of those who read my opinion, I have to say with all my heart, mind, soul and body that I believe and receive the truth of freedom that Christ can and does bring to those who chose to seek him. I’m not saying everything in life is easy, or is going to get easier, because that would be a lie. Life is hard and it is full of hard choices and decisions that we, as individuals, have to and must make. These choices do not only change our lives, but also the lives of those around us.

I have to say it again: homosexuality is a choice. Not only because of what God’s word in the Bible says, but creation and our own bodies cry out and prove it. Men are men for a reason. Women are women for a reason. Can a man give birth to a baby? No. Can a woman conceive on her own? No. How then, can we say that homosexuality is normal? It can’t give life, but only prevent it from coming forth. Taking a look at the body tells us if homosexuality was to be normal, none of us could exist. If homosexuality was normal, all of us, men and women alike, would have both reproductive systems in our bodies to enable us to live a productive and prosperous life in the homosexual lifestyle. But it doesn’t, and that isn’t just biblical, that’s biological.

You can say that you are attracted to the beauty and the appearance of someone from the same sex, but that doesn’t make you a homosexual. The Bible says we are created, fashioned in God’s image. That means when you see someone, you see the design of what God has created. You aren’t gay, homosexual, lesbian, queer, etc. You recognize God’s workmanship. You could hump the leg of a chair and experience an orgasm, but does that now make you a “wood-sexual?” No! It means you have a body and it’s been stimulated to the point of how it was manufactured to work. You aren’t something until you practice it. Take sports for example, just because you like this or that sport doesn’t mean you are that kind of a sports player, it just means you are attracted to it.

Hormones, hormones, hormones. Yes, we all have them. But are we taught and called to be ruled by them? If so, this world would be a greater mess than it is right now. You have hormones; deal with them and take control of the lust of the flesh. Conquer your body and make it submit to things that will benefit your life.

If you think I am forcing my beliefs on you, you are wrong. I have struggled, I don’t deny it. I have struggled with masturbation and, of course, pornography, but there is victory over it. I am even still learning it. It’s like being addicted to drugs or alcohol. The chemicals in your body that the rush that pornography, masturbation and sex of any kind can get to stimulate it. That makes it an addiction. Honestly, I don’t care who says it isn’t an addiction. They are liars. If it consumes your life and becomes a habit you cannot control, but can only give into day after day, it is an addiction and the only way you can be truly free from it is by the grace of Jesus. But, you have to want to be free.

I’m not saying that I am perfect; in fact, I have never ever claimed that. Actually, I am glad I’m not perfect because if I were, I would be responsible for things I couldn’t in my wildest dreams be responsible for. Just because you are sitting there thinking that you have committed the greatest sin and that you aren’t capable of being saved doesn’t make it true.

Truly, I say to you, give your ear to the Lord and seek his wisdom that you might be pleasing in his sight. You who read this, I know what you want. You want to matter, to be someone who makes a difference and to be important. I tell you now, know this: God sent down and allowed his only Son to die for you, YOU. You mean so much to him that he would give his greatest treasure as a ransom for you. That is how much you are loved. You don’t have to take my word for it, go. Go and read God’s word and see just how much he desires you. The truth is a tough thing isn’t it? But when you know where the truth is coming from, doesn’t it seem like the right and good thing for your life? Read the Bible and find out for yourself.

Michael David Wallen is a University staff member. He welcomes comments at walle027@umn.edu.

I am very proud of the growth Mike has made over the years and see this as one of God's special demonstrations of His grace in the lives of the lost. (Who we all once were)

University (Conservative) Bloglist

I am starting a new bloglist. I am calling it Universtity (Conservative) Bloglist. (vs. conservative university bloglist an oxymoron)
I am doing this because of my heart passion for the university communities of the world. I find any university blog interesting. A network of conservative blogs emanating from the universities of the world might be quite helpful.
If you would like to be part of this list and are willing to reciprocate please let me know.

The Six Of Diamonds

Saddam's half brother, al-Hassan, number 36 on the top 55 list, and the six of diamonds on the US deck of cards, was caught Sunday in Iraq. There was a $1 million reward on his head.
The slow wheels of justice continue to turn in Iraq.

What Is Missing?

sprucegoose 23
Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

Here is a photo from Astronomy Photo For The Day Photo link
The black spots are different colors that are missing from the light spectum in the "yellow" light coming from our sun. Who would have ever thought that there would be "missing colors?"

Terri Schiavo's Plight

I have a few things to say about Terri Schiavo's life. First let me say that while we have a short window of opportunity the legislature in Fla. needs to act. All business should be put aside and legislation to protect her should begin immediately. Those who do not work on this or cause delays should not be reelected.

My Mother just passed away after 6 months of "vegetative state" I would have given much for her to have had the "quality of life" that Terri has. Still, I would never have considered removing her feeding tube for any reason.

Terri speaks words ! She says "Mommy, momma, help me, pain, hi!, stop, ugh-hugh (yes), ugh-ugh (no), yea, and no." Look here
And this is without any speech rehabilitation, (or rehabilitation of any kind for that matter.)

It is not a debate about the husbands right to terminate. Nobody has the right to terminate. A good and godly nation does not kill its walking wounded. A good people protect the vulnerable. An evil people think in terms of convenience. If a family does not have the resources to protect, the state should protect.

The moral core of America hinges on the outcome of this fight. If Terri is terminated then you can be sure that the moral heart of America is only moments away from death itself. America is on moral life support. And the whole world watches to see if there is any sign of life. Never the less, the just shall live by faith.

The Real Reason For Banning the 10 Commandments

This from the April 2005 Backwoods Home Magazine...

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse? You cannot post "Thou Shalt not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," and "Thou Shalt Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.

What a hoot !

Dr. Jobe Martin Creationist

We hosted on campus at the UofMN, Dr. Jobe Martin, who for the past 20 years has been exploring evolution vs. creation. His findings have been fascinating students around the world as he lectures on remarkable animal designs that cannot be explained by traditional evolution. Dr. Martin himself was a traditional evolutionist, but his medical and scientific training would go through an evolution...rather a revolution when he began to study animals that challenged the scientific assumptions of his education.

Dr. Martin is not your average creationist. He was the dentist for the president of the US years ago and a product of political correctness. His change to the side of creation was studied and deliberate. Although Dr. Martin is not a "top 10" creationist speaker, he still drew a crowd of about 120 students and the only advertising was through the simple distribution of handbills.

There seems to be more intensity to the interest in creation on campus. Many of this generation are refusing to just "swallow and follow." People can smell a snow job.
Many new students are on alert to the anti-God propaganda that seems to come from everywhere and is required for graduation with anything over a B.S.

There are going to be many embarresed intellectuals one day when the plain truth comes out. Evolution IS ONLY AN UNSUBSTANTIANTED HYPOTHESIS.

Dr Jobe Martin
Biography

Dr Martin graduated in 1986 from Dallas Theological Seminary with a Masters of Theology in Systematic Theology. He has spent the last twenty years studying the topic of Biblical Creation vs. Evolution, and lectures frequently on the subject. He has written a superb book on the subject, The Evolution of a Creationist (1990). In addition, Dr Martin, in collaboration with Reel Productions, has produced a very interesting and enjoyable video called Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution.
Education

University of Pittsburgh Dental School, 1966
Dallas Theological Seminary, Th.M., 1986

When The Church Became Impotent

I am concerned that the church seems to have no response to abortion, same sex marriage, and the sexual decline in this country. It all seemed to start back around the early 1960's if I remember well. Wasn't this the same time that birthcontrol came into the mainstream? Does anybody remember? Can you make the connection?

If God's mandate for man was be "fruitful and multiply", when did it change to something else? And what is the result of changing our "marching orders" without official sanction? Islam has not changed their understanding, why have we? The empty jobs in Europe attract the multitudes birthed to Islam and the very climate of the continent is changing.

How can you reply to a homosexuals request for same sex marriage if you have removed the primary reason for marriage? The bible clearly states that the purpose of marriage is to have Godly children.

Malachi 2:13-15 You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, "For what reason?"
Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
15 But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring. NKJV

Here it is in the NLV

You cover the Lord's altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings, and he doesn't accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, "Why has the Lord abandoned us?" I'll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made to each other on your wedding day when you were young. But you have been disloyal to her, though she remained your faithful companion, the wife of your marriage vows. 15 Didn't the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.* And what does he want? Godly children from your union.

When we changed the number one reason for marriage (having children) and replaced it with "companionship" we lost much. We lost the reason for and definition of marriage.

If all marriage is, is cohabitation and companionship then why shouldn't the homosexuals have these nice things also? If children are secondary then why are we surprised when people don't want them? If marriage is all about sex then is it any wonder that sex becomes the focus of marriage and not responsibility?

Book Review Of A New Ager

Here's a book review of Mike Evens book on The American Prophicies. No matter how you feel about Mike and his book you have to react at the shear rage and hate behind this mans review.

""Truth" and "Christianity" are mutually exclusive, February 19, 2005... Many of the reviews here use the word "truth" frequently. Yet most Christians wouldn't know truth if it came up and smacked them in the head.

Do you want to know the real truth--the unvarnished, unpleasant, cold, hard truth? The truth that you have avoided all your life, and can't bear to face?

The truth is that Christians can't handle the concept of death. They refuse to deal with the unpleasant fact that when we die, it's over. They want to believe the preposterous, absurd notion that when we die, life just keeps on going! They absurdly think they will still be conscious after death.

The truth is that there isn't a benevolent, fatherly being out there giving our lives meaning. We must find our own meaning in our lives. We are alone here on earth, with nobody but ourselves for guidance. Sorry if this inconvenient fact bursts your bubble, but Christians are living in a fairy tale, and it's about time they outgrew it. Get over it. Somehow, every other species manages to live without needing to rely on silly mythologies.

I realize that these truths are not easy. But the real fact of the matter is that when we die, we lose all consciousness, and we cease to exist at all. Done, finished. Don't worry, you've experienced this before--it's exactly how you felt before you were conceived, and brought into existance. No sadness, no joy, no pain, no laughter, no loved ones, no consciousness. How did you feel in the year 1832? Nothing at all? That's about right.

No heaven. No hell. No afterlife. No deceased family reunions. Perhaps you should see life as it really is--finite, precious, and worth taking seriously. Live well, be happy, try to make your life better, as well as those around you. Once over, it's over.

The Bible is a book, written by humans, for humans. Prophesy is purely the work of human imagination, and has an almost 100% failure record.

Sorry that your bubble has now burst. Today can now be the day when you finally grow up, and face reality. Reviewer: Truth Teller (Firmly in reality)"

I don't know about you but I see more and more of this sort of thing in the media. Every day the opposition grows more bitter. Not against terrorists. Not even Islam. It is against Christianity.

Christians Are Crazy Says PBS

One Million Dads reports.

Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, says that all Christians are crazy and are unenlightened because of their faith. Maher made the comments on MSNBC's Scarborough Country.

Maher said: "We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I think that religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies. I think that flying planes in a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder. If you look at it logically, it's something that was drilled into your head when you were a small child."

"When you look at belief in such things--as do you go to heaven, is there a devil--we have more in common with (Muslin countries) Turkey and Iran and Syria than we do with European nations and Canada and nations that, yes, I would consider more enlightened that us."

Maher said he wasn't s peaking only of evangelicals, but included all religious people. He said he agreed with Jesse Ventura "who had that quote about religion is a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers."

Because of their neurological disorder, he said Christians "do not believe in science and rationality." He went on to say the future does not belong to religion. One recalls the famous quote from the Beatles in the 60's that they "were more popular than Jesus."

According to Maher, the Bible is a book of fairy tales, calling the account of Jonah a fairy tale the same as Jack in the Beanstalk.

Had Maher said such things about homosexuals, he would have been immediately fired. But because he was speaking of Christians, his bigotry was acceptable to HBO, owned by Time Warner Inc.

This is absolutely unacceptable. It is bigotry on the level of the sort seen in Germany during the holocaust. It is the same as calling Jews "apes and monkeys". It is unbelieveable that the media allows this sort of thing. We who are Christians must strongly challenge this sort of bigotry whenever it rises.

Mom 1988

Sprucegoose 18
Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

Violet Elaine Kjell Harpel

I am in Memphis Tennessee tonight blogging through my Bluetooth phone. (Oh my gosh! Word just auto corrected Bluetooth. I had failed to capitalize it. That’s freaky. A computer shouldn't be that smart)

Today we buried my Mother. She was 85 years old. She had battled with dementia for the last 6 years of her life and has been in a nursing home now for the last 3 years. At Christmas time she had a big set back and lost her swallow reflex. Since then she had been fed by a tube in her stomach. She lost something else at that time though. She had lost her friendly cheerful childlike disposition. Since Christmas she had been withdrawn and I was only able to reach her once during that time. Here is the text from the eulogy. I post it as a tribute to a noble and courageous pioneer who followed her man wherever he led her and built a home at each place out of what she had at hand. They just don’t make them like this anymore.

I was called out of town suddenly on Thursday night to come to the bedside of Violet. She had not been doing well for the last 3 years of her life and at 84 it was only a matter of time. Dementia (probably Alzheimer’s) had been slowly stealing her away from contact with us. Her last crisis had stolen her swallow reflex and so now she was even being fed by a feeding tube. It was not a pretty sight.

She had fallen into what was to be her final challenge and crisis of her life. An opportunistic infection had settled in her lungs and as a result her lungs had filled up with fluid. This time we did not take her to the hospital but treated her with antibiotics in the nursing home where she was. With the addition of oxygen and Tylenol she was holding her own and as Gail, Henry and I left to eat some supper I was even optimistic about her recovery. While we were out she took a turn for the worse.

Her breathing rate was at 60. This is over 3 times the normal rate. She did not have much of her lung left. I sat in the room with her during her final hours. I calculated that I sat and watched her final 130,000 breaths. There was nothing I could do. Nothing I could say. She had been unable to communicate even in the smallest way now for over 9 months. She would have to win this one on her own.

She did not win. After about 30 hours her breath rate began to decline. I called Henry to come to her bedside when her breathing had declined to 31 breaths per minute. He had been taking a short break after caring for her for over 6 years. When he arrived 20 minutes later she was down to 17 breaths per minute and we knew we were getting close.

Her mouth hung open as she gasped for breath. (As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I was optimistic when we left for supper was because she had closed her mouth and opened her eyes earlier that afternoon. We left after she fell back asleep)

Her eyes were to open again about 6 hours later but this time there was no pupil response or even a response to touching. They slowly came open involuntarily and were glazed, unfocused, and they did not react to the light. Plus she had become sort of rigid and would not yield to movement or positioning. I actually thought that she (her spirit) was gone and some sort of rigamortus had set in. As the minutes ticked off she lost about one breath a minute in her breath rate. At 4:50 AM I thought I saw her take her last breath. And she really never breathed again. But what fallowed will be precious to me forever. `

In her final moment her unfocused eyes closed. Her face became soft. She became human again. She closed her mouth and I thought for a moment I saw the faintest smile. I actually thought she was waking up and might turn and talk to us. But instead she gathered her arms like she was giving herself a hug and then, with a sigh, she went limp.

I believe I saw my Mother’s spirit leave her body. She was gone and I knew she was with Jesus. I don’t know why she had to live out the last years of her life like this but I do know she was now at peace and beginning a life of joy indescribable. She will join my Dad and begin her life of eternal oneness with her God.

Jesus purchased this for her. He gave it to her as a free gift. It did not depend on how well she achieved or how high she rose or even if or if not she ever accomplished the personal moral goals in her life. Her transition to eternal life was totally free simply because she believed.

In a special moment about 6 months ago, as I sat with Mom’s hand in mine, and with Johnye Lynn at my side, I was just speaking to Mom who, up until then, had not really responded, (although she had unclenched her hand and was gently holding mine.)
I encouraged her to not be afraid, and I told her not to worry. (she battled with fear all of her life. She was especially afraid of thunderstorms) I said, “ You know Mom? I believe you have some really good days ahead of you.” Suddenly she looked up at me and smiled and shook her head and said yes.

I don’t know if she understood, but I hope she did. And she had a right to look forward to better days. She had a rough time with her real Dad. She was ill with what I always heard her call adenoid problems and had to travel to Madison Wisconsin for surgery. The illness caused her to fall behind a grade in school. Kids made fun of her. Everything she achieved she seemed to do with a struggle.

Dad was the best thing that ever happened to her and yet he led her into a low pay military life. She lived in so many places that she began to loose count. She lost a son in a car accident. She almost lost two sons to drugs and alcohol. She never felt adequate. Never felt like she had done enough. And would often plunge into a frenzied darkness that it seemed like nothing could penetrate and would lash out in anger.

But she always returned to the Lord. She is the reason I am a Christian. She would be so crazy some days as I would leave for school that I was afraid to come home. But almost always, when I did return home I would find her sitting in a rocking chair with the bible open in her lap and a serene look on her face. I knew that she had been with God.

God was her faithful friend. Jesus never failed her. On the night that I came to a crisis in my own mixed up life. At the peak of the moment in a thunderstorm. The moment that God reached out and revealed Himself to me after 16 years of darkness. At that moment, Mom woke up in her bed and sat up. Dad asked her what was wrong. She said that she knew something was happening with me at that moment.

Jesus never failed her. When we, her family, failed her from time to time, she would just turn to Jesus. That was her refuge in the storm. That was her rock when all around her was sinking sand. When she spent time with Him, the clouds would pass, and the sun would begin shining again.

One thing that I feel bad about is the fact that my Mom tried so hard to have and to make things nice. Her African Violets were one of the things she would work. She would work hard with what she had to make it nice. As sure as taxes we would break something else that she held dear and she would say, “Why can’t I ever have anything nice.” (Now after raising 5 children I know what she meant.)

Many of you know how she out did herself when it came to hospitality. Every week we would have another German chocolate cake. Funny cakes and caramels and cookies. And who of you remember Marzipan? And those weird Swedish cookies. Were they called Krumkaker? And frute soup. And as Gail said, we will never figure out how she got all of the food to the table at the same time and it was all still piping hot.

You will still get a few of these dishes if you come to our house in Minnesota or Henry’s house here in Geneseo, but they will probably be cold. And I know Henry still has Dad’s sausage stuffer for Swedish sausage but I think him and I have our own sources now so why bother with the mess? Of course it is not exactly the same.

And I guess it never will be again. My favorite was the funny cake but even though I have the recipe, I don’t think I will ever make them again.

Mom, loved her family. She didn’t get to see you much…. but there’s getting to be a load of them up there in heaven. I’ll bet they are all different now but somehow they will also be the same !

And the nicest of them all is Aunt Ester but she’s reluctant to leave.

It would be great if we all could gather together for eternity. Having forgiven each other and having been healed of the peculiar glitches that each of us have.

By God’s grace and Jesus sacrifice we will. If we believe with faith. The kind of faith Mom had.
Amen!

190 Word or Less

I was asked two weeks ago to write an article for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune for the Faith and Values section of the Sunday newspaper tomorrow. I have not seen the final copy yet but they said if I could keep my words under 190 or less that they would not edit it. I guess I will see tomorrow.

Now this is the question that they asked me to answer in 190 words.

What is truly evil ?

Imagine, she asked me to do it in 190 words or less. She said that she was starting a new column and that she thought of me first. Imagine, I am a pastor of a church that has never been over 125 people and it is made up of students and staff from the University of Minnesota. Why would she think of me first? Well, enough of this speculation. Here is my answer as I sent it to her.

What Is Truly Evil?
By Bruce K. Harpel

By definition, evil is the opposite of God. God is selfless, charitable love. Therefore evil is equal to hate or any form of false love. God is light. Therefore evil is anything that is grey or dark. Light prevails over darkness. God is full of faith and hope. Therefore evil is anything that causes fear, doubt, and hopelessness. God is order. Therefore satan is the god of confusion. God has come to give life and life more abundantly. Therefore evil is anything that destroys life. God is truth. Therefore evil is anything that compromises the clear and simple truths of life.

In all the hustle and bustle around us there is a source of simple good. These truths have been there much longer than our current leaders. Millennia longer. Fads of good and evil come and go, but the simple good remains unchanged. The question of “What is truly evil?” evidences a simple error in the inquirer. Evil, like good is not relative to the perceiver. Evil is defined by good. God defines evil.

Well, all you can do is simply launch the plane. Then you see if it flies.

130,000 Breaths

I am sorry that I have not been able to add much to the blog but I was called out of town suddenly on Thursday night to come to the bedside of my Mother. She has passed away and I was blessed to be at her bedside when she did. I will tell you the whole story when I return to town in 8 days.
Thank you for checking back in at that time.
Bruce

Risky Behavior Declines at U of MN

Here's a bit of good news.
Now what do YOU think the reason is for the decline? I think there is a general feeling of fed upness with silly self distructive behavior as a result in a conservative shift throughout the country since 9/11
Here's the link.

http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D886EF381

University Campus News

The Duluth news http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/10863249.htm reported today that 3.4 percent of first-year and 26 percent of fifth-year students feel their credit-card debt is excessive. Grades fall as debt rises.
37 percent of undergraduates ages 18 to 24 say they've engaged in "high-risk" drinking, though the average number of drinks per student at the U of M is lower compared with the nation.
2 percent of students ages 18 to 24 said they became pregnant or had impregnated someone in the past 12 months; 80 percent of those said it was unintended.
37 percent of unintended pregnancies were aborted; 18 percent were miscarriages; 25 percent delivered. Eighteen percent were still pregnant at the time of the survey, and the status of 2 percent was unknown.
1.7 percent of students reported they had been diagnosed as anorexic in their lifetimes; the same percentage said they had been diagnosed with bulimia. Nearly 1 of 4 students with an eating disorder said it has affected their academic performance.

How important it is to reach out to and intervene in the lives of our leaders before they graduate. Bringing them the healing gospel message. Gently prying their hands off of the "hammers" that they keep hitting themselves in the head with. Showing them the healing love of God. These are the leaders of tomorrow. We need to heal them now.

Mathematical Miracles

I don't know how long this has been on the web but it just came to my attention today and it has become joy to me so I am going to share it with you. If you don't believe the bible literally you will probably just scoff. Too bad. You should be encouraged. There were at least 600,000 people traveling in the wilderness. Plus livestock. This is a minimum figure. But it probably was only counting the adult males.

http://www.walkthroughlife.com/personal/pqv/stories/mathmiracle.htm


One of the biggest mathematical miracles in the world centers around
Moses and the people of Israel. Moses and the people of Israel were in the
desert, but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and
feeding 3 or 3 1/2 million people would require a lot of food.
According to the Quartermaster General of the Army, it is reported that
Moses would have to have 1500 tons of food each day. Did you know that to
bring that amount of food each day, two freight trains, each a mile long,
would be required?
Besides, you must remember, they were out in the desert, and they would
have to have firewood to cook the food. This would take 4000 tons of wood
and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, for one day. And just to
think, they were forty years in transit.
Oh, yes, they would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink
and wash a few dishes, it would take 11,000,000 gallons each day, and a
freight train with tank cars 11.8 miles long, just to bring water. They
had no lakes, and only a few wells. How were they to get water?
And then another thing . . . ! They had to get across the Red Sea in one
night. Now if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be
800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So,
there had to be space in the Red Sea 3 miles wide so they could walk 5000
abreast to get over in one night.
But, then, another problem. .. Every time they camped at the end of the
day, a campground 2/3's the size of Rhode Island, or a total of 750 square
miles, was needed. That comprises an area 25 miles wide and 30 miles long.
Think of it! This space just for nightly camping.
Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left? I think not. You
see, Moses believed in God, and that God was going to take care of these
things for him.
Let us take courage, we have the same God! We think our problems are so
big. Remember what God can do! Just team up with God, and your problems
will be in His care. Let him run your life, and as the old song says: "He
will take care of you."......

Abraham did not know where he was going, Moses did not know where he was going, Joshua did not know where he was going, John the Baptist did not know...etc. Yet God met them all as they simply obeyed. This is a good encouragement for us all.

'Extreme' judicial activism

Here is a disturbing item. Write to Orrin Hatch and Sam Brownback and thank them for getting involved. Activist judges are the judgment of God on America.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050209-082410-9837r.htm


By Orrin Hatch and Sam Brownback
Orrin Hatch and Sam Brownback
Published February 10, 2005


There's an old saying in the legal community: "Bad facts make bad law." Activist judges continue to prove that bad judges make bad law. The Jan. 20 decision in U.S. v. Extreme Associates dramatically shows just what judicial activism really is and the real dangers that it poses to society.
The Justice Department had brought a 10-count indictment against a company called Extreme Associates, which produces films that, according to one report, "even porn veterans find disturbing." Extreme co-owner Janet Romano, whose "professional" name is Lizzy Borden, admitted in a May 2001 interview that women in their films, receive real physical beatings. Her husband, Robert Zicari, boasted that the films -- which depict rape, torture, and murder -- represent "the depths of human depravity" and proudly admitted that the ones involved in the indictment meet the legal definition of obscenity.
When the people at Extreme sent these films through the mail, they violated federal anti-obscenity statutes. Yet what should have been a slam-dunk conviction turned into a ruling that these statutes are unconstitutional. When a judge avoids ruling on what is in the Constitution by ruling on something that isn't, however, you know something political is afoot. U.S. District Judge Gary Lancaster of Western Pennsylvania, said that the indictment against Extreme violated not the First Amendment's right to free speech, but an unwritten constitutional "right to sexual privacy, which encompasses a right to possess and view sexually explicit material in the privacy of one's own home." He could only come to this bizarre conclusion by stitching together bits and pieces from inapplicable precedents (and making a few things up altogether) to form a Frankenstein's monster of judicial activism.
It's no wonder Judge Lancaster wanted to avoid the First Amendment, because the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that there exists no First Amendment right to do what these Extreme defendants did, namely, produce and distribute obscenity. The Supreme Court has also held, even more specifically, that the right to consume obscenity privately -- established in a 1969 case -- does not create a right to distribute. That would seem to place in a real bind those, like the Extreme defendants, who admit to producing and distributing obscene material. Not to worry, said Judge Lancaster, since this is really not about the First Amendment at all.
Judge Lancaster took a slice from that 1969 decision (Stanley v. Georgia) legalizing private consumption of obscenity and stitched it together with the Supreme Court's 2003 decision protecting a right to private consensual sexual activity (Lawrence v. Texas). He concluded that this case was not about freedom of speech but about a fundamental constitutional right to sexual activity. The 1969 decision on which he so heavily relies, however, was decided squarely and explicitly on the First Amendment he wants to avoid.
Finally, Judge Lancaster insists that the Supreme Court's 2003 decision creating a right to same-sex sodomy eliminated the argument that statutes may be justified by what he called "advancement of a moral code." As Judge Lancaster himself describes it, however, that conclusion was not a holding of the court at all, but an observation by the dissenting Justices who, he assures us, "came to this conclusion only after reflection."
See if you can follow this so far: Judge Lancaster lets obscenity purveyors, who have no right to distribute obscenity, challenge statutes they admit violating, on behalf of consumers who are not involved in the case, claiming the statutes violate a right not found in the Constitution. The judge pieces together the right from two Supreme Court precedents, and maintains the First Amendment has nothing to do with this case, even though the first of his stitched precedents is a First Amendment case. And finally, the portion of the second precedent the judge uses comes not from the majority opinion but from the dissent.
This is what happens when judges ignore the law in favor of their own agenda. They take a little piece of this, toss in a chunk of that, and smear a layer of the other on top -- whatever it takes to get them where they want to go. In their wake, the Constitution lies in shambles, statutes passed by the people's representatives are in the dumpster, the rule of law loses its vitality and, once again, the people are deprived of the right to govern themselves and define the culture. Oh, and in this case, the porn industry looks at a judicial Frankenstein's monster and exults, "It's alive!"

Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Sam Brownback of Kansas are Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Jimmy Smith Dies

The master of the Hammond B-3 organ has passed the veil. He died in his home in Scottsdale, AZ on Febuary 8, of natural causes. He was born in 1925. He broke into the mainstream in 1957 at the Newport Jazz Festival. He came into my life in 1962.

I had just joined the Columbia Record Club and they sent me a great STEREO record player with an FM/AM radio (for free?). Now that might not mean much to you but to me it was a whole new world. Stereo had just hit the scene. Before this there was only Hi-Fi. There was no FM radio station in my town. But I soon moved to Memphis and they had a great FM station that broadcast in stereo.

Anyhow, I had to fufill my membership quota and Jimmy Smith was one of my first albums.
I picked a gem. Bashin': The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith. I would suggest that this is an essential album for any jazz collection.

Whenever I listen to Jimmy Smith I have great memories of life in a simpler time. Life that included the Hammond B-3 organ at roller rinks on Friday nights, frozen custard, and real french fries at McDonalds. I miss those times and I miss Jimmy Smith.

Church History in Plain Language

Come on, admit it. You have always been confused about the history of the Christian Church and you just act like you know what you are talking about.
Well, here is a book that makes learning church history just plain fun. It's name is Chruch History in Plain Language. It talks about people, not dispensations. This is required reading for all who claim to know something about religion. A person who doesn't know his history is destined to repeat it. This great book is now out in a revised version. You can buy it at a discount at
http://spiritformed.spreadtheword.com/store/comersus_index.asp?ReferralCode=

Spirit AND Truth

sprucegoose 11
Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

The Greek model of wisdom requires all of the answers. But the Hebrew model finds God's glory in the fact that some things are hidden from man.
Only Jesus embodied the perfection of "Spirit AND Truth"

Spirit AND Truth

Many people attempt to have all of the answers. It is as if they are saying, "follow me," instead of the Bible. Yet the bible clearly says that for now, "we know in part."
A wise man admits to not having all of the answers. Therefore he directs others to God. The best he can do is to give his own testimony about how the Holy Spirit built into him a truth he saw in God's word. This would end up being the, "word of his testimony."
We overcome by the "blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and loving not our lives even unto death." It is the "word of our testimony" that God uses as a vessel to contain the "power of God unto salvation."

Many legalistc people do not have a testimony. They simply demand blind obedience to God's word without understanding or knowledge. They have no testimony because they have no immediate relationship with the Holy Spirit. The closeset they can get to God is "Truth" Yet God says that there is a people who will "worship Him in Spirit AND in Truth."

Man Centered (Systematic) Vs. God Centered (Biblical) Theology

I am not sure that I like the name “The Grey Shadow” http://sombragris.villamorra.net/(I don’t want to live in the shadows but in the light and openly transparent. I also am just as sure others would scratch their heads about the name “Sprucegoose.” ) but this good blogger raises a good question. Do we stand with Systematic Theology or Biblical Theology? A distinction must be made.

I am a very firm believer in a “God centered” gospel. By that I mean, it is about God not man. God gives man mercy but man is the result of God, not God is the result of man.
A large part of the church practices a gospel that is about man (self esteem, positive thinking, more compassionate than Jesus, sloppy agape, come to God and get)
I therefore am very suspicious of anything generated by man. The bible says that anybody who puts their faith, trust, and hope in man is cursed. (Jer. 17:5) Systematic theology assumes that you can work it all out and everything will fit nicely in a system that man has developed to contain “truth and revelation about God.”

The problem is that not everything fits. God is both merciful AND just. He is fearful AND gentle. We are chosen AND we have free will.

The end result, as far as I can see, is that a true believer must come to the same conclusions as Job or Habakkuk. The “righteous ones shall live by faith.” I don’t think we will ever work it all out until we see Him face to face. Therefore I am not joining any man’s team, or denomination, or stream. It would be different if the streams flow together into the river of God but instead the Biblical model is that the River flows out to the branches and thus to all of man. It is about the River, not the streams.

(An interesting side note is that I believe that, like the river coming out from the treshold of the temple during the millennium and from the throne of God during eternity, there truly was one river coming out of the Garden of Eden breaking off into four heads. I think you can still see at least one of the riverbeds from satellite x-ray imaging. It flows from the holy land, through North Africa. Then it continues flowing across the Atlantic as the Amazon river. The Amazon ends spreading to all of South America. When the continents drifted and the oceans were formed, the traces of the river were hidden from casual observation. This might have taken place during the flood or during the “days of Peleg” 1Chron. 1:19 )

These are deep waters, a wise man draws them out.

The Debt To The Penny

Current Amount

02/04/2005 $7,617,143,521,850.79


Current
Month

02/03/2005 $7,616,792,798,166.73
02/02/2005 $7,623,071,102,004.12
02/01/2005 $7,617,788,851,367.86

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

Blogdom of God

The Blogdom of God (Decablog)is a good place to pick up links to other Christian blogs. They can be found at.

http://www.10blogs.christian.nu/

Firefox

I have felt for sometime now that something was missing from my knowledge of blogging.
I finally made the switch to firefox and oh what a difference it makes. Safari was fine for a start but I will be doing all of my blogging from firefox from now on because Safari just didn't offer the features I could find on other browsers. The jury is still out on which browser is best overall, but I know this is going to be how I blog from now on

The Banning of Heterosexual Marriage?

From Scrappleface http://www.scrappleface.com/

NY Judge Bans Heterosexual Marriage

by Scott Ott


(2005-02-05) -- A day after ruling that New York City must allow homosexual marriages, a state judge today declared traditional heterosexual marriage unconstitutional.


"Homosexual marriage rests on the bedrock of judicial opinion," wrote Justice Doris Ling-Cohan, "But heterosexual marriage finds justification in little more than religious myth, antiquated tradition and a few unconstitutional state and local laws. These are all hollow arguments when compared with the firm foundation provided by a growing number of judges."


In a 57-page ruling, Judge Ling-Cohan ordered the state of New York to "cease and desist issuing marriage licenses to counter-sex (man-woman) couples and to dissolve all existing counter-sex marriages."


Barring an appeal, the ban takes effect in 30 days

Wahhabism On US Campuses

Off of the radar screen on most campuses and in most jails jihad continues to go forward. It must be addressed but it seems to have civil rights that Christianity does not have. It is not sane for the Universities to promote this and work against Chritianity. This is true spiritual warfare. Wake up America.

Saudi Venom in U.S. Mosques


by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
February 1, 2005
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2384
http://www.nysun.com/article/8558


Those of us following the development of Islam in America have for years worried about the unhealthy influence of Saudi money and ideas on American Muslims.


We watched apprehensively as the Saudi government boasted of funding mosques and research centers; as it announced its support for Islamist organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations; as it trained the imams who became radicalized chaplains in American prisons, and as it introduced Wahhabism to university campuses via the Muslim Student Association.


But through the years, we lacked information on the content of Saudi materials. Do they water down or otherwise change the raw, inflammatory message that dominates religious and political life in Saudi Arabia? Or do they replicate the same outlook?


Now, thanks to excellent research by Freedom House (a New York-headquartered organization founded in 1941 that calls itself "a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world"), we finally have specifics on the Saudi project. A just-published study, "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques," provides a wealth of detail on the subject.


(Two points about it bear noting: This important study was written anonymously, for security reasons, and it was issued by a think tank, and not by university-based researchers. Once again, an off-campus organization does the most creative and timely work, and Middle East specialists find themselves sidelined.)


The picture of Saudi activities in the United States is not a pretty one.


Freedom House's Muslim volunteers went to 15 prominent mosques from New York to San Diego and collected more than 200 books and other publications disseminated by Saudi Arabia (some 90% in Arabic) in mosque libraries, publication racks, and bookstores.


What they found can only be described as horrifying. These writings - each and every one of them sponsored by the kingdom - espouse an anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, misogynist, jihadist, and supremacist outlook. For example, they:




Reject Christianity as a valid faith: Any Muslim who believes "that churches are houses of God and that God is worshiped therein is an infidel."



Insist that Islamic law be applied: On a range of issues, from women (who must be veiled) to apostates from Islam ("should be killed"), the Saudi publications insist on full enforcement of Shariah in America.



See non-Muslims as the enemy: "Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law.



See America as hostile territory: "It is forbidden for a Muslim to become a citizen of a country governed by infidels because this is a means of acquiescing to their infidelity and accepting all their erroneous ways.



Prepare for war against America: "To be true Muslims, we must prepare and be ready for jihad in Allah's way. It is the duty of the citizen and the government."


The report's authors correctly find that the publications under review "pose a grave threat to non-Muslims and to the Muslim community itself." The materials instill a doctrine of religious hatred inimical to American culture and serve to produce new recruits to the enemy forces in the war on terrorism.


To provide just one example of the latter: Adam Yahiye Gadahn, thought to be the masked person in a 2004 videotape threatening that American streets would "run with blood," became a jihadi in the course of spending time at the Islamic Society of Orange County, a Saudi-funded institution.


Freedom House urges that the American government "not delay" a protest at the highest levels to the Saudi government about its venomous publications lining the shelves of some of America's most important mosques. That's unobjectionable, but it strikes this observer of Saudi-American relations as inadequate. The protest will be accepted, then filed away.


Instead, the insidious Saudi assault on America must be made central to the (misnamed) war on terror. The Bush administration needs to confront the domestic menace that the Wahhabi kingdom presents to America. That means junking the fantasy of Saudi friendship and seeing the country, like China, as a formidable rival whose ambitions for a very different world order must be repulsed and contained.


To comment on this article, please go to http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2384#comment
To see the Daniel Pipes archive, go to http://www.DanielPipes.org

Peace Corps

This is from the Minneapolis (Red) Star-Tribune.

'U' grads fill up ranks of Peace Corps

February 7, 2005
Maybe it's the winters or that Minnesota urge to do some good. For whatever reason, Minnesota colleges and universities are among the top producers of Peace Corps volunteers around the world.

This year, the University of Minnesota has 68 alumni who have joined the Peace Corps, ranking it ninth among large colleges and universities. Leading the pack is the University of Wisconsin-Madison with 129 volunteers.

Since the program began in 1961, the University of Minnesota has had 1,076 alumni serve in the Peace Corps.

Among small schools, Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter and St. Olaf College in Northfield were tied for 16th, with 19 alumni as Peace Corps volunteers. Last year, Carleton College was 10th on the list, with 23 volunteers.

Peace Corps volunteers teach, help with community development, work on health and business issues, and help with technology in countries all over the world.

In its history, more than 170,000 volunteers have worked in 138 countries.

Mary Jane Smetanka

I have always thought that the Peace Corps was a good idea ever since Kennedy started them in 1961. He was shot soon afterwards. I have often wondered what would have happened if this idea had had time to grow before we fell into the whirlwind of the 60's. It was an ideal that could have changed the world.

The University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin are both strongly involved in the programs. This should not be a "liberal" idea or organization but yet it is. A young lady from our church recently graduated from St. Olaf and went off for her 2-year enlistment. She is in Uzbekistan. We just got our first email from her since she arrived. She has little heat and bathes only once a week. But she is learning how to speak the language and serve the people.

What if conservatives were to get behind this sort of thing and promote it? What if the church simply sent young people out to help. To dig wells and teach schools and build roads? The world would change. It would become a better place.

We serve as military, why not for peace? Why not for the good of another people group and not just the repression of a rebellion?

It was a different time back in 1961 then it is now. Back then people simply believed their government. They had hope for the world. You could hitchhike across the country and it was safe. The danger of terrorists was not anything like it is now.
We lost our window of opportunity, yet somehow the Peace Corps survived. These are the sorts of visions that the Christian Right needs to promote. It would be a lot of work but that is what life is. Life is work. God made it that way so that we would not forget Him after sin entered in.

Unity With Diversity

Here are some more thoughts by Barbra Stricker that you might enjoy. The subject here is unity. What is true unity? Unity with diversity is a biblical concept. But how do we achieve it? Can we ever be unified without everybody stepping down off of the throne of their own life and yielding to the throne of God in that life? Unity outside of Christ is even dangerous sometimes. Unity must be based in the knowledge of God and God’s will for man. We are such a diverse people, even in the church, that unity is must be directed towards the will of God. Here's Barbara.

“Unity that, though proclaiming its allegiance to other believers, just sort of sits there quivering and occupying the same general global space is not unity at all.

Unity is not some kind of spiritual puppy love where its participants behold one another with a kind of doe-eyed wonder, willfully ignorant of one another's shortcomings. But neither is it to be compared to the bad marriage, let's-just-stay-together-for-the-kids'-sake type of battle-worn existence that sees little value in those who, while sharing the same household and name, hold few of the same goals or purposes.

Genuine unity is more closely akin to the marriage that has survived the bumps and bruises of both puppy love and the realization that differences are greater than anticipated and, having survived, chooses to bloom.

The Church has survived doctrinal wars, mode of worship conflicts, and governmental disagreements. She has borne the bruises of separation into denominational camps and the name calling that naturally followed.
She has endured the kidnapping of members, the rejection and face-turning away, and the snide remarks. She has trembled in hurt and indignation - both righteous and otherwise. Now she must move on. She must move on to maturity, and maturity cannot be achieved while bypassing the unity that God designed to be the very heart of the Church.

Genuine unity is not feeling, but function. It is corporate movement designed to accomplish a pre-selected purpose, and one which deems the purpose and goal to be of higher value and worth than any differences or supposed incompatibilities of its members. Unity shares a common agenda and programs that, while different, are overlapping and supportive.

The Church fails to enter into blood-bought unity whenever she places secondary - not to say unimportant - issues before essential ones. The Church has historically failed to enter into unity when she failed to recognize that like mindedness is not achieved by logic, reasoning, or persuasion alone. The Church is a theocracy, not a democracy. When the majority rules, God's leadership, which would foster unity, is abandoned. It is perfectly possible to hold a doctrinally correct position and still fail to enter into God's purposes for a doctrinally divided people. It is not necessary to accept unbiblical compromise in order to find His narrow way. The way of the Lord is narrow, but it is also healing and light and life giving. It will not end in spiritual divorce.

Unity allows for different levels of understanding and appropriation of biblical truths. It allows for different life experiences. But it allows, yea, insists upon recognition of our Lord's purpose to unite the disparate. Those whom He called, He called to maturity in Jesus Christ.

That we be henceforth no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

But speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into Him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together
and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working
in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love.

Ephesians 4:14-16

Unity may not march in lock step, but if it does not, it is at least out on the parade grounds practicing!”

Biblical Law vs. Current US Law

A friend of mine from a now defunct chat group sent me this item she had written.
I pass it on as food for thought.

"One of the differences between biblical law and current American law has to do with restitution to crime victims. Under biblical law victims of crime were to be compensated by the criminal for their loss. Under current American law, the victim is not only not compensated, but instead must pay to help provide room and board for the criminal during his time of incarceration. The victim must also help make available for the criminal education opportunities, job training, medical care, entertainment, and legal counsel. If the victim, however, requires those things, he must provide them for himself."

Justice is perverted in America. Things sometimes seem so twisted that they are almost impossible to understand. Again I repeat that God establishes justice. We would do well to imitate Him.

Her name is Barbara Stricker. She has list that she posts to. Here is an address that you can use to read more of her stuff. I have enjoyed her comments now for years. For a free subscription to DiamondChips, email stricker@netscorp.net

Super Bowl Live Blogging

I don't know about you but I think that this was the best opening for a Super Bowl yet. The Florida School for the Blind singing America with Alicia Keys and Ray Charles (via video archives) was stunning. To see these blind folks signing, remembering Ray and singing America. It don't get much better than that.

The different chiors of the different branches of the armed forces along with special trumpets and special guests made up of heros and ex-presidents all singing the Star Spangled Banner was also great. The flyby of the jets was hot.

The ad by Mustang convertables was really funny to a Minnesota resident. Although our temps have been record setting above normal, we can really relate.

The Diet Pepsi truck commercial was mildly funny. I remember when only drug dealers had SUV's (after the Cadillac phase). They were just about the only people driving them. Next thing you knew it was the only type of car that the general population wanted even though they only drove on pavement. You can understand it a little bit up in snow country but it really is a stupid fad that must soon come to an end. Paying $10000 extra for a vehicle to drive around town and it being a gas guzzler at that, is pretty silly. The old drug dealers had 4X4's so that they could get to their stashes and fields in the countryside during the country rock days.

Does anybody think that Virgin industries is relavant or even cool. Let alone, "dope" ,"pfat" , or anywhere near "the bomb."

"Go Daddy.com" will never get my business. Funny but rude. No corporate morality. Just a desire for money. It was probably a good move though and will get them lots of business.

"Eagles fly" mime by Owens was funny.

OK. It's time for Sunday dinner with the 10 current members of our evergrowing family. Through the wonders of Tyvo we can pause the game and come back later. Of course it won't truly be live blogging after this pause but it will be live from my perspective. And that's what matters the most to me right now. Be back soon.

OK, I'm back but I am probably just talking to myself. What's new?
Honda trucks ? Cool.
Instant highlight films with special effects? Pretty cool. Dope, even.

Pinkston's catch was spectacular. McNabb's game seems to be settling down.

Anybody wonder what the point of the Budwiser commercial was? A donkey has been tolerated? (diverstity?) Then everybody wants a chance also? And a pig at the end?

Hammer is back! And this time for Lay's chips. You gotta dig the baggy pants.

I love Pepsi's iTunes deal. I had an iPod when they first come out. Only 10 gig but it is the only way (next to your computer) to carry more music without a truck. CD's were fun but so 5 minutes ago. Now you can travel coast to coast and never listen to the same song. My iPod and my car are a couple for life. But sub-zero temperature is a risk.

In life... like in football.... it is who comes up with the ball. Not who had it when it came unglued. ;-)

What goes around comes around. Givens says, "I am fly, but I ain't no eagle." Brady is smooth. It is hard to read his eyes.

Half time

Paul McCartney show was OK. Hard to rock with a 60 year old rocker but Paul was fun. Hey Jude was good but Live and Let Die would have been nothing without pyrotechnics.

Back to football. Why don't the pros play with this intensity all season long? It's not like they are not being paid enough.

I'm not buying Tabasco sauce anymore either.

I think the Bush commercial saying thanks is the best so far. Powerful. Spontaneous honor and gratitude to returning troops. Nice. It stopped the room here. With a full house and many converstations the room went silent as the commercial developed. It was top notch. Now if only we could get rid of the selling with sex and begin to sell with character. That would be revival.

The monkey commercials are funny. Sometimes it does seem like nobody is serious.

Well, after eating, I am getting sleepy. And the game has gone flat. Looks like the Eagles are first looser for the season.
Winning is everything. The fans are mocking the eagle flying mime now. Things have turned ugly. Lots of injuries. If the Eagles don't stop them now the game is over. They stopped them but I still think it is over.

Game is over. I'll get to the serious stuff later. Nap time.

Tonya Flynt-Vega

sprucegoose 10
Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

Righteousness vs. Porn

Larry Flynt’s daughter, Tonya Flynt-Vega, who is a born again Christian, has come out against the porn on the Internet. She is asking for strict prosecution of porn and more stringent controls.
She ought to know. Her dad is the porn king of the world and she had to look at porn all of her life until she left home.

First you peek, then you sneak, and you end up a creep. The porn freaks are filling up our jails. There is a street person that I have had a 20-year relationship with. He goes to jail at least once a year. He tells me that things are not like they used to be in jail. If a person were a sexual freak years ago, the general population would discipline him and keep him from getting his freak on. They were especially diligent amongst the child molesters but also rapists and incest practitioners. Now there are just too many of them. Why?

It is because of the prevalence of porn in the mainstream American culture. The “eye is never satisfied.” It progresses to ever increasing levels of perversion. One of the main reasons that the Islamics hate America so much is because it has become the world leader in porn. It is spewing forth from our shores and polluting every land that it touches. It is controlled by organized crime and it is hard to find a lawyer or judge who is not already addicted to it’s vice. Thus there is no prosecution. Thus little children get abused, women get raped, the jails fill up, and finally the perpetrators flow out to “group homes” in our neighborhoods for “treatment” (A total scandal in and of itself) (See my blog, “The Blind Leading The Blind” Dec. 23rd 2005) I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing the lame excuses of the compromised judiciary. We get the judges we deserve. America is morally bankrupt in this area.

I was first taught to masturbate in an off campus “sex education” seminar in South Chicago in 1955. I was 11 years old. I began to self gratify and never became free until I was “born again” at the age of 32. In the meantime I went through every type of porn I could get my hands on. (And there was not much available in 1955. But I do remember the first issue of Playboy with a centerfold) I had a paper route in Rock Island Illinois when I was 14 and had access to the select magazine rack in the back room. The hardest thing in my life to free myself from was not drugs, not alcohol, but porn. But He who the Son sets free is free indeed!

Today porn access is pandemic. The “hunt” is as easy as one click on the keyboard of your computer. But the church is compromised and impotent and unable to stop this without the total judgment of itself. And until the church judges itself, the light will not return to the lamp of liberty. Righteousness exalts a nation, but porn is a cancer.

How To Avoid Jury Duty

An interesting item from the World magazine blog.
The Colorado Supreme Court is reviewing whether a death-penalty sentence should stand after it was discovered several jury members consulted Bible passages in making their decision for capital punishment. Prosecutor Stephen Bernard argues that religious beliefs are not prejudicial or extraneous to a trial. State Justice Gregory Hobbs suggests religious passion or prejudice do not belong in a court proceeding and asks poignantly whether the Bible is part of Colorado law. Bernard’s response: “Passion and prejudice is not, but morality is.”
The only time I was ever asked to appear for jury duty was about 18 years ago. I was called in for a panel that was to try a case involving a prostitute. First the lawyers asked me what I do. I told them that I was a pastor. Then the lawyers asked my my thoughts about the case I simply said " I don't know wither what applies here is 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' or 'the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God' "
The lawyers conferred with the judge and I was politely dismissed. I have never been called again.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

sprucegoose 9
Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

Quote

"If we and our posterity reject religious instruction and
authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle
with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy
the political constitution which holds us together, no man
can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that
shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity."

-- Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

Communion

sprucegoose 8
Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

True Communion and Fellowship

The whole reason that the church in the US is so impotent today is directly tied to compromise. It is compromised in so many areas it now lacks conviction, anointing, and grace to look anybody in the eye without retreating back to relativism. The creeds of the church are just about the only thing that the church still holds to without equivocation. And these have been defended from a fortified foxhole position in an attempt to show forth doctrinal righteousness without regard to personal righteousness. The two are forever connected. You cannot espouse true doctrine without it affecting every area of your life. The fire of the truth will purge the threshing floor. If you are secretly involved in theft, you will be light on corruption. If you are full of pride, you will condone arrogance. If you are less than honest you will be familiar with smoke, fog, mirrors, conning, spin and manipulation. These things have no part in the church. The church should be a therapeutic community in which those who are laden with compromise can heal and resume productive, positive, proclamation of light and life. It should be a place where you can count on the person you talked to last week to be the same person the next week. Like a family can have no true communication if one of its members is not who they say they are, the church has no true communion if the members are not walking in the light. In this sort of a situation we never see the real person, all we really see is the puppet show that they are putting on. How can true communion or fellowship exist in a situation like this? And if there is no true communion then there is no health. The cells of the body must be connected in reality in order for the healthful benefits of the whole to work to the part.

Rescue is just a moment away

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Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

A late report just in from Mattel news. The all woman rescue group has landed and is deploying to rescue the rather stiff and inflexable hostage who has been sitting in one position for over 3 days now with no relief. This is apparently a new form of Jihad type torture.

Amazing all woman hostage rescue

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Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

Amazing spy satellite high resolution photos of an all woman navy seal team in a top secret mission to rescue army terrorist kidnap victim from Iraq.
No details yet on the success or failure of the mission. Stay tuned for any further develpments.

Middle IS Compromise

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Originally uploaded by bruceharpel.

Being in the middle is often seen as wisdom. But here in this photo I found on the web it always crosses compromise street. Political wisdom is rarely Godly wisdom.

Media indecency And Public Opinion

Here is an information list I received that I thought was interesting. If so many are against indecency why are they so impotent in stopping it? Ans. Because of compromise. Indecency applies to what the other guy does. Not to what I do....

MEDIA INDECENCY AND PUBLIC OPINION

* According to a N.Y. Times/CBS News Poll (11/23/04), 70% of adult Americans are worried that “popular culture – that is, television, movies and music – is lowering the moral standards of the country.”
* According to a national survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (9/23/04), 89% of parents are “concerned about children’s exposure to inappropriate content in entertainment media, especially on TV.”
* According to a national survey by the Barna Group (7/26/04), only 15% of adults support allowing “the ‘F-word’ on broadcast TV.”
* According to a Chicago Tribune poll (7/4/04), 58% of adults “approve of heavy FCC fines of radio stations due to broadcasts they consider indecent.”
* According to the State of the First Amendment Survey, released by the First Amendment Center (6/29/04), 65% of adults think “government should have the power to regulate during the morning, afternoon and early evening hours those broadcast television programs that contain references to sexual activity.”
* In a national survey conducted by Nielsen (4/29/04), 78% of American families who had recently been part of the Nielsen “People Meter” panel wanted more shows “without profanity or swear words.”
* In a national opinion poll for TV Guide (8/2/03), 57% of TV viewers said they “noticed an increase in offensive material on television lately.”
* In a national opinion poll for Common Sense (“New Attempt to Monitor Media Content,” NY Times, 5/21/03), 64% of parents with at lease one child between the ages of 2 and 17 believed media products in general were inappropriate for their families. Only one in five “full trusted” the industry-controlled ratings.
* In a national survey by Public Agenda (“Parent’s feel they’re failing to teach values,” USA TODAY, 10/30/02), “about 90% [of parents] say TV programs are getting worse every year because of bad language and adult themes in show that air from 8 to 10 p.m.”
* In a national FAMILY CIRCLE poll (10/8/02), 67% of those surveyed said they are worried about the amount of sex on TV and 69% believe TV sex is increasing. When asked about specific scenes in programs such as Sopranos, The Shield, West Wing, and Sex in the City. Large percentages (from 48% to 76%) found the scenes “unacceptable.”
* In a national FAMILY CIRCLE poll (5/15/01), 72% of men and women said there is too much sex in media, and 77% said there is a problem with sexual content on TV.
* In a national study from Universal McCann Media Research (Media Wire, 8/21/00), 35% of all adult Americans, regardless of whether or not they live with children, report viewing TV content “in the past few weeks” that they find personally offensive or morally objectionable, and such material is more commonly reported as “profane language, sexually suggestive language and situations and excessive violence. “Curiously, most Americans remember seeing this offensive material on the established networks even though these outlets are subject to stricter regulation than other viewing sources, like basic cable.”
* In a national opinion poll for Annenberg Public Policy Center (6/26/2000), “more parents” were concerned about children’s TV use than any other medium and 43% of families could not name one TV program they encourage their children to watch.
* In a national opinion poll for USA TODAY (9/24/99), adults were asked what most bothered them about network TV: 45% said sexual situations or lewd/profane language.
* In a national opinion poll for the Kaiser Family Foundation (5/10/99), 87% of parents were concerned about sexual content on TV and 84% about adult language.
* In a national opinion poll for Morality in Media (2/12/98), 59% of adult Americans thought the FCC needed to work harder to enforce the broadcast indecency law; only 28% thought a rating system and V-Chip combination would be an effective alternative.
* In a national study for Broadcasting & Cable (10/20/97), adults gave TV a letter grade based on how well TV fulfills its role “to teach character and values to children and teens.” The results: 10% gave As; 13% Bs; 25% Cs; 22% Ds and 29% Fs.


Prepared by Morality in Media, Inc., 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115
(212) 870-3222 mim@moralityinmedia.org

Deadly Compromise

Nothing is quite as deadly to spiritual power and anointing than compromise. When we compromise we have a hard time looking others in the eye and speaking life. One of the greatest areas of compromise in the church today is in the area of sexual sins. I know of a man who’s sons, although raised in the church and by all appearances by godly parents, turned out to be druggies, thieves and perverts. You can’t help but wonder where the breakdown was.

Upon questioning the father I found out that he uses pornography and masturbates on a regular basis. When I asked him how he could justify this he explained to me that he simply didn’t see anything wrong with it. But you can be sure that his sons did.

I have a theory that most children encounter their first tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and hypocrisy, etc. in the home they were raised in. I mean to say that the first porno a child will read will be that which he finds in his own home. The first alcohol he will drink will be his parents (if they drink alcohol) The first cigarette he will smoke will be snuck from his dad’s open pack. And this is strange because God promises us that, “no evil thing can come near our dwelling.” (Except those that we bring in ourselves?)

Pastors are without anointing in convincing the church of the value of life because they have advised their daughters to have an abortion. Mothers are unable to get respect from their children because they have no respect for their husbands. And so on, and so on.

Where does it end? It ends with you. It ends here and now.