The breakfast burrito at Fantastic Cafe, in El Segundo, CA.
Near LAX, and near the ocean, Fantastic Cafe offers up a great breakfast burrito for a very reasonable price. I asked for the bacon version and was pleased to find out that the standard breakfast burrito composition here is to combin bacon, sausage, and ham! Yowser! Also, lots of potatoes and cheese (and, as you can see, it's a healthy proportion). Pico de Gallo, and house green hot sauce, on the side.
Enjoy!
- image © 2012 AR Lopez
Women, interested in firearms... in California?
Yes! On March 24th the Women on Target event, held at an outdoor shooting range in southern California drew 100+ women for 100 slots. The event was designed to familiarize women with the sport of shooting - and was taught by women, with the men delegated to workhorse duties.
There is still hope for Kalifornia.
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Do as I say, not as I...
Evidently, Bill Cosby has weighed in on the Trayvon Martin case. From ABC (emphasis added),
"We've got to get the gun out of the hands of people who are supposed to be on neighborhood watch," Cosby said in his first public remarks about the case, published today.
"Without a gun, I don't see Mr. Zimmerman approaching Trayvon by himself," Cosby added. "The power-of-the-gun mentality had him unafraid to confront someone. Even police call for backup in similar situations.
"When you carry a gun, you mean to harm somebody, kill somebody."
Yikes!
Flash back to 2005, in this New York Magazine article titled, New York's Gun Culture (emphasis added),
Who’s Packing Heat?
Taxi Driver star Robert De Niro is one of New York’s most famous gun owners, as is his friend Harvey Keitel. Others on the list include Arthur Ochs Sulzberger (a former Marine), Don Imus, Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers, Howard Stern, Tommy Mottola, and Donald Trump (just one pistol, says his spokeswoman, who didn’t know the make).
Let's hope that Bill doesn't ever carry his gun.
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Of course, if we can't trust Neighborhood Watch members to carry, then at least we can trust the police?
Only until their guns "accidentally fire". From CBS Chicago (emphasis added),
An off-duty Chicago Police officer was wounded Thursday night when her gun accidentally fired.
Police say the female officer was in the 2100 block of East 71st Street when her gun went off around 7:20 p.m. Thursday.
Again: guns don't "accidentally fire" nor do they "go off" all by themselves.
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Not heeding the fact that guns don't accidentally go off can be deadly
From South Carolina,
The Charleston County Coroner's Office has identified the man killed following an accidental shooting that occurred Monday at a North Charleston gun range.
...
According to witnesses at the gun range, Patteron was shooting on a lane when he stopped to inspect the weapon. He turned the handgun toward himself when it discharged, striking him.
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"That is what you get. If you out doing something you ain't supposed to be doing, that is what happens"
Another homeowner protects herself by using her firearm.
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More young people are killed in Chicago than any other American city
Yet, Chicago had a ban on handgun ownership from 1982 until 2010 (and still tries to make it difficult to own a firearm).
So much for the notion that banning guns reduces crime.
The Oklahoma Skillet, from Flappy Jack's Pancake House, in Orange, CA.
The foundation of this monster breakfast is a thick layer of fried potatoes, followed by a heapin' helpin' of bacon, cheese, and scrambled eggs. The best way to attack this bad boy is from the top down - that way, after you've filled up, and you still have lots of potatoes left, you simply take them home.
Enjoy!
- image © 2012 A R Lopez
In recent discussions in which I've either been engaged in, or have simply read, the notions of relativism, universalism, pluralism and inclusivism have come up. Now, while I can understand how secular post-moderns may succumb to the self-defeating "all paths lead to God" concept, I remain perplexed as to why self-professed followers of Christ continue to fall into this trap. Keep in mind that my concern, in this post, has to do mainly with Westerners who buy into pluralistic worldview notions. I can recall discussions I had, at work, with a colleague from India who claimed that physical reality is - in reality - an illusion. He kept telling me that if I thought about it long enough I would gain enlightenment and see the world as he did. Of course, telling someone to think about it long enough is kind of like what the guy on the corner told me when I asked for directions - "Go to the last stop sign, then turn right." Yeah? Well how do I know when I've reached the last stop sign? As such, who's to say that I haven't thought about reality long enough or that my sincere co-worker hasn't? Even more disconcerting, with this particular situation, was that my colleague is an engineer! Heh. I'm still trying to figure out how an engineer can approach any engineering problem while simultaneously holding the worldview that physical reality is an illusion.
However, I've already gone off on a tangent.
It seems to me that the very foundation of Christianity is based on exclusive, propositional truth and - take note - this propositional quality is not simply an artifact of Western thinking. Indeed, the very first line of Genesis makes it quite clear that God, at a point in time - indeed - the beginning of time, created the cosmos. God, outside of time and not a part of or confined within the natural realm we see, created both. Moses, in enlightening the newly freed Israelites, clarifies this so eloquently in the creation accounts of Genesis 1 and 2, clearly indicating that it was not some mystical force or animistic pseudo-deity who was responsible for our natural realm. There's no room given for the nonsensical "turtles all the way down" hypothesis, or various creation myths featuring assorted deities engaged in procreation, murder, and cannibalism. Remember that this exclusive Genesis account* is coming from a near-Eastern text written well over 3,000 years ago. That Big Bang cosmology now confirms the very start of our reality, as expressed in the Bible, is mere icing on the cake.
Fast forward to 2,000 years ago and here we have record of Jesus walking the Earth. Not content with merely issuing moral quips, he spoke and acted as if he was more than just another human, so much more that the only option he left us was to acknowledge that he claimed to be God (e.g., reference his forgiving people of their sins, claiming that he was one with God). Indeed, he wasn't crucified for uttering too many moral precepts. And, adding insult to injury, He spoke this incredibly limiting statement,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7 ESV)
Ouch!
There's no room there for something like "I am one of many ways..." or "Some people get to the Father by..."
So, what are the relativists, universalists, pluralists, and inclusivists to do? They could claim, as some post-moderns have, that the institutional church down through the ages has overemphasized doctrine, to the point of distorting original intent. But, they'd be wrong. They could claim that we, as humans, are too limited in our understanding to claim to have sufficient knowledge of God's truths. Of course, if anyone claimed that, then we'd have to ask how they came up with that knowledge (given that we're so limited). They could claim that rational Western thought has stymied our understanding of the emotional and the experiential, so we have inadvertently limited ourselves in how we can experience God. Hmmm. Let's take a look at that one.
This experiential notion has been on my mind for some time now. On the one hand, I agree that our Western mode of thinking has limited our appreciation for the richness of experience, particularly (but not limited to) the supernatural. On the other hand, I also tend to see how our Western culture has gravitated towards an overemphasis of relational and experiential aspects, especially with regards to Christianity, many times at the expense of clear thinking. In my opinion, we need to understand that our human psyches are not simply rational or emotional but both rational and emotional. While it is a statement of the obvious, it seems to get lost on a great many people. At issue is the need to tow the middle ground. It may be a more interesting ride in the ditch, but the highway was designed for a reason. In my bias, I think that our culture, especially the evangelical culture, is not in danger of becoming too rational or too empirically minded. Quite the contrary, I think we've been gravitating towards an experiential mindset - one of relational as the driver. If that is the case, then there is cause for alarm.
So perhaps, as I see it, there are three very real dangers we must face if we continue to have a reliance or overemphasis on the experiential. And each successive ordinal reflects a more dangerous condition for evangelicalism in America:
1) Christ followers may tend towards relativism, by expecting experience to guide their decisions (as described by the Stand to Reason series From Truth to Experience),
2) Christ followers may have the tendency to see God within the moral therapeutic deism mode (as described in the book Soul Searching),
3) Christ followers may tend to let experience drive their worldview so much so that they end up moving from Christianity into the inclusivist and / or universalist camps (as potentially indicated by Rob Bell's ideas and directly indicated by Michael Sudduth's move to Vaishnavism).
These are certainly issues that I need to ponder further.
* Some will attempt to lump the Genesis creation accounts in with various other ancient creation myths (e.g., the Enuma Elish), however even a cursory comparison of what is found in Genesis with what is found in supposed similar accounts reveals striking, and critical, differences.
Link to an image of the check from Chicago (Mayor Rahm Emmanuel)
What happened to Youth Ministry?
From The Gospel Coalition (emphasis added),
By the 80s the emergence of MTV and a media-driven generation meant church youth ministry became more entertainment-driven than ever. Youth pastors felt the need to feature live bands, video production, and elaborate sound and lighting in order to reach this audience...The message had been simplified and shortened to fit the entertainment-saturated youth culture. By the start of the 21st century, we discovered many youth were no longer interested in the show that we put on or the oversimplified message. Christianity was no different from the world around them. Some youth ministries intensified their effort combining massive hype with strong messages that inspired youth but did not translate to everyday life. We realized we were faced with a generation whose faith was unsustainable.
The result? Per the author, Dave Wright,
First, we moved from parachurch to church-based ministry (though the parachurch continues). In doing so, we segregated youth from the rest of the congregation. Students in many churches no longer engaged with "adult" church and had no place to go once they graduated from high school. They did not benefit from intergenerational relationships but instead were relegated to the youth room.
Second, we incorporated an attractional model that morphed into entertainment-driven ministry. In doing that we bought into the fallacy of "edu-tainment" as a legitimate means of communicating the gospel. Obscuring the gospel has communicated that we have to dress up Jesus to make him cool.
Third, we lost sight of the Great Commission, deciding instead to make converts of many and disciples of few. We concluded that strong biblical teaching and helping students embrace a robust theology was boring (or only relevant to the exceptionally keen) and proverbially shot ourselves in the foot.
Fourth, we created a consumer mentality amongst a generation that did not expect to be challenged at church in ways similar to what they face at school or on sports teams...
For my take, see Christians Need to Stop Making Converts.
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Additional nuggets of wisdom for so-called worship leaders
In You are not a Rock Star, Clint Archer offers up some sage advice. Amongst the tips,
The task of the worship leader is to get out the way of worship, and to lift our attention to God. He cannot do this if he is showing off his ability to do a lead break. Worship leaders need to be humble. They should dress modestly. Sometimes musos have a particular look they are going for in their midweek gig. But when they ascend the platform at church, their personal brand is expendable.
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October Baby ruffles some feathers, yet hits home
Movie critic Roger Moore seems to think that movies are strictly about entertainment. From his review,
It's ironic that the studio founded by the son of Hollywood founding father Samuel Goldwyn should be the one releasing "October Baby." Apparently, the acquisitions department never took to heart Goldwyn the elder's most famous Goldwynism, about what movies are supposed to do:
"Pictures were made to entertain. If you want to send a message, call Western Union."
Seriously?
I wonder what Moore thinks about Schindler's List, To Kill a Mockingbird, Dances with Wolves, or All Quiet on the Western Front, just to name a few. Nah... no message in any of those.
Yet, despite pro-abortion bias, it's interesting what the New York Times is reporting about the movie. From Film Inspired by 'Abortion Survivor' [yes - note the scare quotes around the term] is a Quiet Hit,
As mass entertainment goes, the abortion debate does not typically count as good Saturday-night date movie fare; the subject rarely makes it to the mainstream multiplex. But at a time when the issue is once again causing agitation in political circles, a small film, “October Baby,” about a woman who learns she is, as the movie puts it, a “survivor of a failed abortion,” is making a dent at theaters across the country.
Imagine that.
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Can a Christian Vote for Barack Obama?
Simple answer - Yes.
This post, at Conversant Life, seemed to be an attempt to objectively look at the issues at hand, yet fell prey to caricaturizing Republican ideology with,
Why is the party that supports the NRA, increased military spending, decreased economic regulation, and harsher immigration policy still the party most publicly associated with Christians?
Sigh. I suppose I could ask,
Why is the party that supports Planned Parenthood, decreased spending on protecting its citizens, increasing costs to consumers through governmental regulations, and the continued ignoring of existing immigration law considered a viable alternative for Christians?
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Speak with conviction!
Featured before, but worth a re-run (this time on Vimeo, with graphics instead of video) HT: Joe Carter.
Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.
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So, are polar bears here to stay, or not?
Ahhh, Disneyland. Fun, happiness... pepper spray?
Actually, it was a Disneyland's sister park, California Adventure. From the OC Register,
A man was arrested for assault after repeatedly attacking security guards, who pepper sprayed him, at Disney California Adventure.
...
The incident happened about 3:30 p.m. Saturday when a man attacked security guards near the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride. Guards repeatedly tried to restrain the man and pepper spayed him, but the man kept going after the guards, as seen on the YouTube video.
Several takeaways from the video:
1. Note how effective or, in this case, ineffective the pepper spray was on immediately stopping the man's behavior. This guy was, ostensibly, an older drunk man. But what if one is faced with an attack from a large, muscular, angry man? If this example is any indication, you hitting him with pepper spray may eventually make him go away, but will most likely immediately make him angrier.
2. Also, note how effective or, in this case, ineffective the security response was. After being repeatedly pepper-sprayed, the man then attacks one of the security guards, taking him to the ground. It's then that bystanders come in to restrain the man. Essentially, the first responders to this incident were park guests.
3. Lastly, note the nuttiness displayed by the woman shouting "Stop! There are kids here!" Yeah? So what? Did she really expect a rational response from this guy? If you're faced with erratic behavior close by your children, I'd suggest immediately increasing the distance between yourselves and said behavior.
4. Finally, after seeing the swift takedown and restraining of this man </sarcasm>, and you're thinking about making sure you are prepared for defending yourself and your family, when visiting a Disney park, think again. Per their FAQ page, weapons of any kind are not allowed in the park.
Feel safer?
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Remember those action movie scenes where the cop commandeers a citizen's car?
Well if a cop (or wanna-be cop) ever comes running up to you, while you're in your vehicle, just keep driving. From the OC Register,
How many movies have you seen where the crime-fighting hero commandeers a bystander's car, embarks on a wild chase that leads to a shootout and the capture of the crook – along with a spectacular wreck that destroys a car or 50?
But how often do you see the part where the guy who owns the commandeered vehicle is an octogenarian trying to park peacefully at a Jack in the Box who now has to deal with the hassle of paying for a rental car, paying to store the wreckage of his old car, sorting out insurance issues, and arguing with authorities over whether he really ever gave consent to have his car appropriated for heroic purposes in the first place?
Like I said, just keep on driving.
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A $71,000 average pension for public safety workers? Sign me up!
And remember... we need to close libraries and parks.
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What if you had a School Board meeting re: a teacher's alleged hard core p@rn career?
And NO parents showed up?
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The Breakfast Burrito, from Troy's Drive-In, in Orange, CA.
Another round with a breakfast burrito from Troy's. Classic, just classic. This puppy has the right mix of potatoes, egg, cheese, and meat (this case was bacon). The tortilla, in this instance, was a bit chewy - but I'm used to homemade tortillas, so there. The special green sauce is killer and, unless you like it a bit hot, order it on the side.
Enjoy!
- image © 2012 A R Lopez
Gasoline Taxes by State
Nothing surprising here... sheesh.
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Best Buy to close 50 brick and mortar stores
From the article,
”In order to help make technology work for every one of our customers and transform our business as the consumer electronics industry continues to evolve, we are taking major actions to improve our operating performance,” said Best Buy CEO Brian J. Dunn. ”As part of our multi-channel strategy, we intend to strengthen our portfolio of store formats and footprints — closing some big box stores, modifying others to our enhanced Connected Store format, and adding Best Buy Mobile stand-alone locations — all to provide a better shopping environment for our customers across multiple channels while increasing points of presence, and to improve performance and profitability.”
Huh? My Google Translator doesn't have a Corporate Speak -> English option.
How many of you go to a Best Buy type store to actually buy something? Apart from the occasional cable or power strip, I typically do not make big purchases at these stores. Besides getting lackluster to pitiful service from the sales staff, the prices are too high.
However, one thing they are good for is to actually view and handle potential purchases. Alas, that may be going by the wayside as well.
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Geek News: the F-1 engines from the Apollo 11 mission have been found
Can you imagine predicting in July of 1969, when the Apollo 11 mission occurred, that those engines would be found by a private entrepreneur of an internet retail establishment?
No, neither can I.
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More Primate Fossils Found, More Digs at Religious Conservatives
From More pre-human fossils, more skepticism,
The same day as 3.4 million-year-old human-like fossils have been unveiled, a new study has been released saying that conservatives and church-goers are growing increasingly skeptical of science.
...
“It is not necessarily the case that education or knowledge makes you more objective,” said Peter Ditto, who specializes in social psychology at UC Irvine.. “Liberals are biased in their direction and conservatives are biased in their direction. People find holes and problems in arguments where they look for them – and they look harder when the science offends or just upends their established beliefs.”
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California wants your 5 year-olds
From HSLDA,
AB 2203 would lower the compulsory attendance age for entry into school from 6 to 5 years of age. This requirement would apply to all children, whether their parents plan to send them to public school or private school (including private homeschools).
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So... will Spike Lee now do the right thing?
From FoxNews,
A school-cafeteria lunch lady and her husband have received hate mail, unwanted visits from reporters and fearful inquiries from neighbors — all because their Sanford-area address is being disseminated on Twitter as belonging to Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman, her son said late Tuesday.
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More info on the possibility that a 1st century manuscript of the Gospel of Mark has been found
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5 Reasons not to agree to a police search
Like Linus told Lucy, "Those are good reasons!"
1. It's your constitutional right.
2. Refusing a search protects you if you end up in court.
3. Saying "no" can prevent a search altogether.
4. Searches can waste your time and damage your property.
5. You never know what they'll find.
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Hey, I know! How about we do an object lesson on what it means to be a persecuted Christian?
Yikes.
A 14-year old Dauphin County girl said she thought she was going to die Wednesday night when two men with apparent guns raided a church meeting. She later found out that it was a learning exercise carried out by the church youth group.
The mother of the young girl did not want to reveal their names. The teenager does not belong to the Glad Tidings Assembly of God church in Lower Swatara Township, but she decided to go to a youth meeting Wednesday night with a friend who told her the meetings were fun.
Well, I guess it depends on how you define "fun".
The phrase Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy, wet kiss is found in a song titled "How He Loves" (see full set of lyrics here) which is currently used as a worship song in corporate worship settings. The particular line in question has, understandably, caused quite the controversy in Christian circles with advocates for both its inclusion and exclusion. An alternate version is sometimes used with the offensive portion of the lyric replaced by the words unforeseen kiss. For the purposes of this analysis, HME will refer to Heaven meets Earth, and SWK to sloppy, wet kiss.
As I see it, there are at least three issues with, or related to, this specific lyric:
I - Whether by design or by accident, the intended meaning of the lyric is vague and internally inconsistent. This, despite attempts by John Mark McMillan, the author, to define and explain the meaning of the words he used.
II - Much of the current corporate worship singing methodology, found in the contemporary evangelical church in America, is inconsistent with foundational corporate worship practice. The modern practice, in the West, of interjecting the personal into the corporate, reflects secular influences.
III - Those who hear, read, or sing the song, whom I will refer to as recipients of the song, readily misinterpret the author's intended meaning in both the HME and SWK lyrics.
I - Whether by design or by accident, the intended meaning of the lyric is vague and internally inconsistent. This, despite attempts by John Mark McMillan, the author, to define and explain the meaning of the words he used.
Note that one of the premises of this blog post is that an Author's Intended Meaning, especially in the context of a corporately sung worship song, must be readily and publicly identifiable, understandable, and explainable. Also for the purposes of this blog post, it is assumed that the meaning of the author's intent is static across recipients, regardless of time or culture. Thus, for example, the original authors of the Bill of RIghts had specific meaning they intended to communicate that remain to this day, regardless of how we may now wish to interpret or apply it.
The author of How He Loves has written a blog post (see his full post here), regarding this particular lyric, and I assume it is his attempt to explain his intended meaning of the phrase. Following are several excerpts (emphasis added):
I have realized that the song “How He Loves” has become very personal to many people, and it honestly doesn’t really belong to me, or Kim Walker, or David Crowder. It belongs to them...
I think the fact that a line like “Sloppy wet kiss” could be controversial is ridiculous. Are we in kindergarten? Has any one out there not had or at least expected to some day, engage in a sloppy wet kiss? Have Christians decided to stop procreating and let Islamic extremists populate the whole earth?
Some folks are genuinely sad because a song so personal to them seems to have been messed with... Still many of the people, on both ends, who seem to be making a big deal out of it, have both seemed to misunderstand the lyric. It seems that people either hate it or love it because they think I’m some how talking about kissing God. Please folks, I never ever, ever, ever, thought of this line as though it was talking about kissing God...
The idea behind the lyric is that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth converge in a way that is both beautiful and awkwardly messy. Think about the birth of a child, or even the death of Jesus himself. These miracles are both incredibly beautiful and incredibly sloppy ("gory" may be more realistic, but “Heaven meets earth like a gory mess” didn’t seem to have the same ring). Why does the church have such a problem with things being sloppy? Do we really think we’re fooling anyone on Sunday morning, especially God? Are we going to offend him? I mean, he’s seen us naked in the shower all week and knows our worst thoughts, and still thinks we’re awesome. What if we took all the energy we spent faking and used that energy to enjoy the Lord instead?
Sidenote: One very troubling fact that emerges from the author's blog post is an apparent lack of charity towards fellow believers. There are many instances of his denigrating other believers as well as making broad (and incorrect) assumptions about other believer's intentions, including presenting false dichotomies. Phrases such as "Are we in kindergarten?", the referencing of Islamic extremists, and accusing fellow believers of being afraid of sloppiness and that they are faking it or trying to fool God are all indicators that should cause fellow Christians concern.
I think there are several problems with the author's explanations of his intended meaning.
1) Poorly structured metaphors = misunderstandings in meaning.
As noted by the author himself, and as evidenced by the multiple interpretations recipients have made of the lyric, many people seem to misunderstand the lyric. Why? The plain answer is - it's a poorly structured metaphor (especially when used in the context of a corporately sung worship song). Not helping the matter is the author's rationalization which verges on being self-centered artistic mumbo-jumbo what with talk about the song being so personal to some people that it now belongs to them. Nonsense! Unless you, as a writer, claim to have been guided and controlled by some supernatural spirit force (whether Divine or not), you are the one who penned your words. Deconstructed to its simplest form, the act of writing is that of thought in conjunction with decision making and then transfer to media format. As such, you the writer are responsible for the impact of your words regardless of whether or not you think that those who "misunderstand" it are erring. As it is, what we have here is a confusing lyric laced with confusing metaphors.
2) The phrase sloppy, wet kiss is commonly understood to have multiple meanings, one of which has sexual connotations. The author of this song seems to admit as much in his blog post.
When I criticized SWK for having sexual connotations, other Christians cried foul, claiming that the phrase means nothing of the sort to them (and implying that I must be having dirty thoughts). From his post, however, it appears that the author considers the metaphor / act of SWK to have sexual connotations. After first ridiculing anyone who may take offense with its use in the song he then assumes, in the form of a question, that essentially every Christian has had or desires to some day engage in the act of a sloppy, wet kiss. Then he clarifies, in a very denigrating manner, that he considers the phrase to have sexual connotations by positing, again through a question, that Christians who have criticized the use of SWK must have also decided to stop procreating! Now, let's be clear, the issue here isn't whether or not sexuality is referenced in scripture or if it is a topic worthy of discussion in church. The issue is what was the author's intended meaning of the SWK phrase in this particular song. And he clearly indicates that he understands the phrase SWK to have sexual connotations.
However, if one reads the Biola article and interview, Worship, Creativity and a Sloppy Wet Kiss, one finds a yet another description of the meaning behind SWK. From McMillan (emphasis added),
I think ultimately there are two problems people have with the line. I think the major problem is that the line makes people uncomfortable. I think the whole idea that God would do anything sloppy seems to bother people. But if they read the Bible I don’t see why that would bother them, because I don’t think he does anything that isn’t sloppy to our human mindset. It’s never neat and clean. It’s never easy. It’s always uncomfortable. I think the other issue is the whole idea that that line, out of context, has a sexual connotation. When I wrote it I never thought of it that way. I thought of it more like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. I thought of it like the waves meeting the shore. They connect. But I guess people can be squeamish, and if you have that line in another context — outside of church — they probably wouldn’t have a problem with it. But I think God exists both inside and outside of church, and if worship only exists in your life within your church activities, then it’s not really worship. If you don’t realize that you’re bringing everything with you into worship, then you’re kidding yourself, because you do: The good, the bad, and the ugly. And that’s OK.
Again, besides contradicting what he wrote in his blog post, he not only attempts to blame those who have criticized the use of the phrase as being the ones at fault, through false assumptions, but he again attempts to drive corporate worship into being some sort of an individual act based on external factors in our lives.
And, needless to say, the Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd reference is just plain weird.
3) Heaven meets Earth. What does that mean? Evidently, pretty much anything you want it to mean.
In discussing this song with other Christians, I received various ideas of what they happened to think the HME phrase meant. Looking to the author's explanation is of virtually no help because he himself is not clear. Rather than provide a concise, direct statement of meaning, we have a vague description that the convergence, whatever is converging (look ahead to point # 4), is both beautiful and awkwardly messy. Cute words, but are there any examples of this? Well, he gives two - the birth of a child and the death of Jesus:
a) He incorrectly classifies these events as miracles (unless he's using the word miracle as a metaphor to describe another metaphor) and then states that they are both beautiful and sloppy. However, this is inconsistent because I find it incredibly ridiculous that the death of Jesus would be termed as both beautiful and sloppy - beautiful and sloppy, that is, in the same sense, context and application as one would describe the birth of a child. Don't agree? Then I suggest you watch the scenes in The Passion of Christ which depict the events in Jesus' last hours, from his flogging on through to his crucifixion, and then honestly try to make a direct link, in terms of descriptors, to the imagery, emotions, etc., with that of the birth of your child. They are two, very different acts. Broad-based terms with vague meanings that can be broadly applied lead to subjective, personal interpretations - and that is dangerous. More on that later.
b) Another inconsistency arises when he states that gory would be a more realistic descriptor than sloppy, but that using gory didn't have the same ring. So, it seems that words do have public meaning, which also bring along with them metaphorical baggage. Yet, if gory is a better descriptor, then it should be used or it should at least be interchangeable. But it isn't. Another indicator of a poorly structured metaphor.
c) He then accuses the church of having a problem with things being sloppy. Maybe the church does, but my criticizing his lyric doesn't necessarily indicate that.
d) Finally, even though the HME phrase itself demands explanation, we never really find out what it describes, much less what it means. Either the author assumes we know what he means by kingdom of heaven converging on the kingdom of earth, or he simply cannot explain it. Or a little of both. Or, he's left it up to the recipients to determine the meaning. Inherent vagueness in a phrase is not fodder for meaningful understanding in worship.
4) And... just what is the kingdom of earth?
I am not aware of any Biblical basis for the Heaven meets Earth analogy to Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of Earth convergence that the author posits.
a) While the Kingdom of Heaven is mentioned in scripture, there is no corresponding specific reference to a Kingdom of Earth. Is this simply a reference to humanity? Humanity = earth?
b) In discussing the lack of scriptural clarity of this reference with other Christians some have posited that the Kingdom of Earth might* reference the domain of Satan (e.g., Prince of the Air) or the kingdom of the world (ref. Revelation 11). However, any such comparisons result in the metaphor then referencing God meeting or converging with Satan. Huh? This surely cannot be the author's intended meaning because God meeting Satan is not awkward, it is not sloppy, it is not sexual, it is not cute - it is pure, Holy wrath (read Rev. 19).
c) Again, the author gives no indication as to what the HME metaphor, as he's used it, truly references. Besides having no scriptural basis for the lyric, the two examples he does provide only reference the beautiful and messy metaphor.
* note: yet another indicator of vagueness
5) The application of the SWK metaphor is confusing.
If, as the author states, the sexually defined SWK metaphor references an awkwardly messy state (which is supposedly more realistically defined as a gory mess), then the author's intended meaning seems to have drifted into yet another state of confusion.
a) Recipients I've talked to, who approve of the SWK metaphor, give interpretations that indicate a warm-fuzzy feeling (e.g., dog licking your face, toddler kissing your cheek, soldier kissing his wife after returning from war), none of which resemble a gory mess, much less the author's stated meaning.
b) While a gory mess analogy might indicate the situation when God consummates his destruction of Satan (the actual Kingdom of Heaven meeting a derived Kingdom of Earth), it is better described as in Rev 19. Simply put, God meeting Satan is not like the SWK warm-fuzzy feeling described by recipients.
Do you see what is happening here? Vague phrases and poorly structured metaphors by the author, when mixed with poor interpretive methodologies by the recipients, leads to inconsistencies, paradoxes, contradictions, etc., in meaning.
II - Much of the current corporate worship singing methodology, found in the contemporary evangelical church in America, is inconsistent with foundational corporate worship practice. The modern practice, in the West, of interjecting the personal into the corporate, reflects secular influences.
From James Smith in Postscript to an "Open Letter to Praise Bands",
...not all Christians share the same theology of worship. Indeed, my concern is that some sectors of North American Christianity don't have much of a theology of worship at all. Many of us--including many congregations--have only an implicit understanding of what worship is, and we have not always made that explicit, nor have we subjected our assumptions to rigorous biblical and theological evaluation.
As I've written about elsewhere, one of the features of 21st century evangelical Christianity in America is that of being overly relationship driven. Emotion and feelings are elevated, in my opinion, to priority levels out of place with a healthy approach towards the Christian faith. One of the areas where this phenomenon is readily seen is in how corporate worship singing has changed, over the recent past (i.e., within the last 50-100 years). The advent of a "worship leader", along with the "worship team" or "praise band", is something that was simply not found previously.
Now, I'm not about to state that having a worship leader and / or a worship team is a bad or wrong thing. However, I think there are certain aspects or ways of thinking, which have hitchhiked along for the ride, that perhaps do not necessarily engender themselves to proper Christian worship in the corporate sense. Consider the fact that many worship leaders feel that it is incumbent upon them to provide the emotional means for the congregation to enter into worship of Almighty God. In essence, they feel that they have to provide the passion necessary for emotionally expressive worship, and that if they don't provide the passion, then they aren't fulfilling their calling. Yet what many times transpires is that music is used as a catalyst for driving the emotional direction of the service. As James Smith notes in An Open Letter to Praise Bands, this is nominally a secular phenomenon - something he classifies as a "secular liturgy".
...my concern is that we, the church, have unwittingly encouraged... musical practices into Christian worship that--while they might be appropriate elsewhere--are detrimental to congregational worship. More pointedly, ...I sometimes worry that we've unwittingly encouraged... certain forms of performance that are, in effect, "secular liturgies" and not just neutral "methods." Without us realizing it, the dominant practices of performance train us to relate to music (and musicians) in a certain way: as something for our pleasure, as entertainment, as a largely passive experience. The function and goal of music in these "secular liturgies" is quite different from the function and goal of music in Christian worship.
Another relatively new feature of modern worship singing is that of personal feeling being interjected into the process. The next time you're in the worship song portion of a worship service, take note of the number of personal pronouns you encounter in the songs. Then take note of the context of the use of personal pronouns; note the difference between "I once was lost, but now am found" to "I am so in love with you", or "You, alone, are my strength, my shield" to "You make me come alive, You make me come alive". It seems that we've tended to focus our worship songs on the particular feelings we are having, albeit for God, yet emphasizing how the feelings are affecting us. Again, there's nothing necessarily wrong with acknowledging that God's love impacts us emotionally, but it is categorically different from what we find in most classical hymns and definitely from what we find in the Pslams, where God is the subject of our praise, worship, and adoration. Again, from James Smith,
Worship is not only expressive, it is also formative. It is not only how we express our devotion to God, it is also how the Spirit shapes and forms us to bear God's image to the world. This is why the form of worship needs to be intentional: worship isn't just something that we do; it does something to us. And this is why worship in a congregational setting is a communal practice of a congregation by which the Spirit grabs hold of us. How we worship shapes us, and how we worship collectively is an important way of learning to be the body of Christ.
A frightening turn in the singing of worship songs has been the introduction of self-expressive personal diaries - a sort of musically sung out version of one's personal relationship issues. It is not surprising to hear these types of songs described as being honest or genuine or authentic, which are the corporate buzz-words for many of the social-justice-artist types. I consider these types of songs to be dangerous to corporate worship singing primarily because they seem to be derived from the personal experience of the songwriter so much so that the songs themselves become reflections of what the authors happened to be feeling, at the time they were written, and usually are contextualized along those lines. This should not be when a song is sung to worship God within the setting of a corporate expression. Despite arguments that the Pslams are full of personal expressions of worship we do not find the same kinds of expressions as typically found in many songs sung today. Take, for example, Psalm 13, an individual lament,
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
(Psalm 13 ESV)
Personal? Very much so. Honest? Certainly. Authentic? Well, it is scripture. Hmmm, maybe what we need to do, rather than derive our own "honest and authentic" songs is look to the ones already given to us?
And, another thing to note from the Psalm 13 example is that, despite David's feelings, they weren't the subject of the Psalm - it was, and remains about, God.
From James Smith, on how praise bands and worship songs are being influenced by secular culture, instead of, as I would argue, the other way around.
Because worship is formative, and not merely expressive, that means other cultural practices actually function as "competing" liturgies, rivals to Christian worship. In Desiring the Kingdom, I analyze examples of such "secular liturgies," including the mall, the stadium, and the university. The point is that such loaded cultural practices are actually shaping our loves and desires by the very form of the practice, not merely by the "content" they offer. If we aren't aware of this, we can unwittingly adopt what seem to be "neutral" or benign practices without recognizing that they are liturgies that come loaded with a rival vision of "the good life." If we adopt such practices uncritically, it won't matter what "content" we convey by them, the practices themselves are ordered to another kingdom. And insofar as we are immersed in them, we are unwittingly mis-shaped by the practices.
This is important not because we wish to prevent open, honest, and authentic dialogue between Christians and in the church. It is important because we need to understand the role of worship, how it is not limited to singing, but that when it does include singing it has a specific purpose and application.
When the author of "How He Loves" describes his approach to songwriting as well as corporate worship singing, he essentially describes a process which takes the impact of subjective personal songs as a force to make desired changes in our behavior (see the Relevant magazine article linked below). Not to put too fine a point on it, but the worship singing portion of a worship service is not the time or place to effect social change. In the Biola article and interview, Worship, Creativity and a Sloppy Wet Kiss, McMillan states,
The way I write is almost always from a personal perspective. I’m not a very analytical writer, at least at the birth of a song. I’m more just trying to communicate an emotion or a feeling. I’m not trying to ask myself at that point if this is a song people might sing as worship. For me, I would write songs even if it wasn’t something I did for a living, because it’s just something I love to do.
Despite the artistic desires to break new ground, or the recent pseudo-artistic notion that if one is an artist then one must be provocative, we're still left with the deeply grounded idea that God is God and owed worship for who he is. That notion is the foundation of worship to God.
Perhaps this is why Psalm 23, an individual lament as well as song of trust, can be littered with personal pronouns and yet not be about how David happens to feel but declarative statements of God's attributes. And perhaps that is why another individual lament, Psalm 51, after it is clarified in the text that it is a Psalm of David after Nathan had confronted him about Bathsheba, is one of the most honest and authentic laments and praise offerings to God found in scripture.
Below are excerpts from the Relevant magazine article The Heart of John Mark McMillan. As you read the excerpts, contrast them to the argument James Smith makes regarding worship songs and the influence secular liturgies may have on how we both write and sing them. Think about author's intentions, public meaning, private meaning, genre and application; think about whether or not words have meaning, how objective and subjective interpretation interplays with that, and whether or not words truly lose their impact or if listeners merely stop paying attention; think about the purpose of worship and what the true purpose of anyone leading worship is; lastly, think about doctrinal issues and whether or not there is a need for theological grounding in corporate expressions of worship.
During the last several years, John Mark McMillan has learned to stop worrying about whether or not his lyrics are perfect, or if what he sings about is what people want to hear. After all, a lack of approval is a common side effect of honesty.
“I want to inspire people to say what they feel and not what they feel like they’re supposed to say,” he says of his songs. “Because if they feel like they’re supposed to do something, they don’t give themselves the opportunity to be genuine. They’ll just say the same words, which are great words, but after a while they stop meaning anything. We need new words to say the same thing because after a while the words lose their potency.”
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“I’m super happy for a whole new generation to take the song as their own and use it for their personal conversation with God,” McMillan says.
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McMillan adds that the Church should incorporate more songs dealing with tragedy, loss and despair into its worship. He points to one of his favorites—Bruce Springsteen—as an example of someone who sings about hope to those who don’t have it.
“That’s what I love about Springsteen—he’s telling the average person’s story,” he says. “That’s what a worship leader should do.
“On this side of eternity, we’re going to have tragedy,” McMillan continues. “A lot of times in church we don’t want to talk about those kinds of things because it’s uncomfortable, but there are so many people in church who need to have that dialogue with God that I had. I think that’s why that song has become so powerful.”
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“I think people get so concerned with being correct that they end up editing themselves down, but that’s not the way King David did it,” he says. “That’s not the way they do it in the Bible. You bring God what you have and let Him deal with you. I really feel like God is not interested with how correct our words are. He doesn’t want us to get into weird situations, but I think He’d really prefer something that’s incorrect and genuine instead of something that’s correct but comes from a robot.”
...
When it comes to leading worship, McMillan says the goal must be to help people communicate on a personal level.
“The purpose of a worship leader or a songwriter is to give people language,” he says. “If you give people language, you give them permission. If you’re Bob Dylan in the ‘60s, you give people permission to think differently than their parents did. ... If you’re a worship leader, you give people permission to talk to the Lord, have a dialogue and express their heart.”
One thing you should take away from the article from which these excerpts were quoted is that there is a mindset in evangelical Christendom which tends to prioritize what has been deemed as genuine, honest, and authentic as somehow superior to rote doctrinal integrity, regardless of whether or not that which is deemed genuine is also correct! Yes, there was the qualifier to avoid weirdness, but do you see how the dichotomy is placed between the subjective and the objective? Simply put, worship leaders do not give us permission to talk to the Lord - worship is not about our expressing our hearts to God in dialogue. Springsteen and Dylan, while iconic secular music artists, are not theologians. God is owed our worship and we are owed nothing. This is so because of who God is and who we are. Until Christians understand this first step, they will most likely err as they enter into worship song in America.
For those, like McMillan, who seem to think that words lose their potency (and meaning?) over time, rather than attempt to write new words which I would assume would also lose their potency over time, perhaps they should take the time to understand the meaning and impact of the words we already have. In The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, Fred Sanders writes about traditional aspects within evangelical circles, and the tendency for conservatives to latch onto them too tightly, and liberals to discard them too easily; a result of a condition he describes as decadence. From the book,
Under conditions of decadence, two types of reaction typically occur. Conservative temperaments tend to grab up all the fragments and insist on keeping them as they were found. They may be totally inert lumps that nobody knows how to make use of, but the conservative will faithfully preserve them as museum pieces. Liberal temperaments, on the other hand, tend to toss the fragments aside as rapidly as they stop proving useful.
For those who advocate a new, and supposedly more genuine, form of worship, perhaps they should take the time to delve into the mysteries of the deep things of God, vs. the deep things of self? We, in the church, would do well to take the following saying to heart,
Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's the best way;
And just because you've got a new way to do it doesn't mean that it's a better way.
It is incumbent on Christ followers to understand the aspects of corporate worship, aspects that include the fact that the worship experience is intended to bring glory to God within a corporate setting. As such, we need to understand what comprises and what does not comprise a corporately sung worship song. We would also do well to understand that the words we say (and sing) about God, including how we give him tribute - what he is owed - are serious things. There are multiple ways to utter God's name in vain, and I believe it is our responsibility to understand the importance of the text-to-meaning issue.
III - Recipients of the song (those who hear, read, or sing it) readily misinterpret the author's intended meaning in both the HME and SWK lyrics. The root cause for this appears to be a combination of being ill-informed as well as by approaching the text of the song in a relativistic and subjective manner.
Recipients of this song - unaware of author's intended meaning - upon hearing the HME / SWK phrase, regardless of whether or not they like it, generally understand the meaning as something other than the author's intended meaning. As a result, recipients of the song have varying, personally derived understandings of the meaning.
Instead of a complete understanding of the intended meaning, they hear:
HME = a natural phenomenon (e.g., a sunset), God fighting Satan, God meeting humans, God loving humans, Jesus' death, etc.
SWK = feeling / emotion like when a dog licks your face or a toddler gives you a sloppy kiss on your cheek (slobbering saliva all over your face) or a soldier kissing his wife after returning home from war or a "French" or sexually passionate kiss, etc.
These multiple interpretations about the meaning of the phrase come about because of:
1) Recipients simply not being aware of the author's intended meaning of the phrase.
It is generally incumbent upon recipients to educate themselves on the meaning of the words they sing in corporate worship.
2) The author's intended meaning being obscure.
As explained earlier, it is incumbent upon authors to take care with the words they write, properly framing them so they are understood, taking into consideration aspects such as genre, intended audience, and application.
If the author is obscure by design, then I would caution anyone who engages said author's work to be on guard. In their book Why We're Not Emergent, authors Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck take on the various aspects of the emergent church that wrongfully delve into postmodern - relativistic - thought. A couple of paragraphs that DeYoung writes, regarding an emergent church take on the idea of the Kingdom of God, are striking in how they resonate with the topic of this post. From DeYoung (emphasis added),
For those in the emerging church, Jesus' message of the kingdom is a manifesto about God's plan for humanity here and now. It is the secret and subversive announcement that God is working out His plan for peace, justice, and compassion on earth. The kingdom message is a summons to participate with God in His dream for humanity, His revolution of love and reconciliation. It is an invitation to join the party of God and be a part of His worldwide mission to heal and be healed. It is a call to join the network of God that breaks down the walls of racism, nationalism, and ecological harm. The kingdom of God is like a dance of love, vitality, harmony, and celebration.
Joining the kingdom is not a move in status (i.e., from unsaved to saved), but a move in practice. Jesus' message was not about affirming the right doctrines, but about following His teachings and treating others rightly. Christianity is essentially a messianic way of living. It's about hoping for what God hopes for, about not turning God's dream for the world into a nightmare. "The kingdom of God, then, is a revolutionary, counter-cultural movement - proclaiming a ceaseless rebellion against the tyrannical trinity of money, sex, and power." In short, as members of the kingdom we follow Jesus as "the best possible way for a person to live."
Per DeYoung's footnotes,
These metaphors and descriptions are taken from Brian D. McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus. McLaren makes these suggestions because kingdom language "is outdated and distant"...
Yet, do we have the authority to change definitions simply because we may happen to think existing or traditional descriptors are outdated and distant? Do we have the authority to take solid, Biblical theology (e.g., Kingdom of God as it relates to King and dom as they relate to covenants, blessing, etc.) and re-express it with fluid terms such as dance of love, vitality, ceaseless rebellion, etc.?
No. We don't.
To reiterate, vagueness in description, especially for something as concrete and important as the kingdom of heaven, can only lead to confusing interpretations.
3) Recipients using a subjective interpretation of the metaphors in the song, sometimes as related to their own personal experience and / or personal desires.
This is the most dangerous aspect, because:
a) The practice reflects a subjective and personal approach towards understanding meaning within a corporately sung worship song. Subjectivity in how we sing and understand a corporately sung worship song personalizes something that is meant to be public. For example, subjectivity in textual interpretation, specifically Biblical interpretation, shows up in how Christians commonly personalize scripture which, in fact, changes the meaning of the text to something not intended by the author. This practice must stop.
In Spirit-intended Applications, Walt Russell, from Biola, explains how this subjective process can incorrectly relate to the interpretation of Biblical text (emphasis in original),
...We overly-privilege readers in the interpretive process when we leave applications up to their free choice, essentially inviting a disconnect from the biblical text.
Overly-privileging readers to generate the applications tacitly sets us up to assume that our life-setting is the primary context for the application process. In many ways this annuls authorial intention and fills the interpretive gap between the author and the interpreter with the reader’s cultural perspective, worldview, and theological system. Instead, this gap or space should be filled with appropriate author-generated inferences.
b) Subjectivity breeds relativism, which essentially turns the meaning of a text (in this case, a worship song) into whatever the hearer / singer wants it to be. The text doesn't mean what you or I want it to mean.
c) Such an individualistic approach, while potentially fine in a personal setting, does not promote the unifying aspect of corporate worship and, in fact, promotes confusion. When the corporate body of believers is offering worship to God, we rely on ideas and concepts that have public meaning - that is - the ideas are readily available and commonly understood by those offering them up to God. If we, instead, rely on singing songs with privatized meaning, then we effectively turn a corporate expression of worship into a setting in which many individuals are offering individual expressions of worship - expressions that may not be the meaning of the lyrics being sung.
d) Also notice how, after the SWK lyric was changed to unforeseen kiss, some people were upset with the change primarily because the song is so personal to them. This is categorically different from being upset with a lyrical change based on theological grounds or because of the public meaning it contained. The issue is not, and should not be, whether or not a worship song is personal to someone, but whether or not the public meaning of the lyrics are readily accessible.
e) Many recipients seem to find no problem at all with providing subjective interpretation of the lyrics based solely on how the lyrics happen to make them feel. This is also a dangerous practice because what tends to occur is that the individual's feelings, and not consistency with scripture, become the arbiter in determining the validity of a worship song.
In conclusion, perhaps the most frightening aspect of this entire debate is that, upon hearing the concerns raised, as well descriptions of the structural flaws and inconsistencies of the metaphors used, some recipients choose to continue to ignore or downplay the warnings solely because they claim that the song is very personal or meaningful "to me", and that when they sing it their experience is euphoric. I recall seeing one Christian refer to Jesus' love, via the metaphors in this song, as "ooey-gooey". The love of God is not a trivial thing, and it should not be degraded to mere emotionalism.
Poor writing, which results in contradictory or confusing metaphors, is not excused by the generation of ecstatic, yet varied, feelings. Note that corporate worship songs can certainly have metaphors, but metaphors used in this sense should be scripturally justified and publicly identifiable. E.g., "As the deer panteth for the water", while being a metaphor, is also directly linked to a Psalm, and has a readily identifiable and explainable meaning for anyone who may not happen to understand it.
It seems to me that any worship song which contains lyrics that are vague and / or open to multiple, subjective interpretations is not a song worthy of being sung in a corporate worship service. Additionally, any words or phrases which have multiple public meanings, depending on the context used, and which may engender potentially vulgar or, at the very least, inappropriate meanings should be avoided.
In the end, what we're left with is a jumbled, mixed-up explanation of what "Heaven meets earth like a sloppy, wet kiss" is supposed to mean or reference (within the context of a public worship song). Asking people who like or dislike the song for their interpretation of the meaning only opens a Pandora's Box of discordant imagery. Yet, the best I can picture from what McMillan himself has said, is some image of Bugs Bunny planting a wet one on Elmer Fudd as they both stand on the seashore, waves lapping up against their feet, while further up the beach some lady is giving birth, along with its requisite gory sloppiness, recalling the fact that we all have had or wish to have a sloppy wet kiss lest we lose the procreation war to Islamic extremists. Is this the data I'm supposed to use as I engage in a corporate worship song? It's no wonder, then, that those who hold this song to be so special and meaningful to their worship experience cannot point to clear meaning from publicly accessible metaphors, but must ground their claims on multiple subjective avenues which, due to the vagueness inherent in the lyrics, dart out in multiple directions of interpretation arriving at correspondingly multiple destinations of relativistic meaning. This is to be preferred, we're told, for the simple reason that it is somehow honest, genuine, and authentic.
In the end, though, we'll end up drowning dead in an ocean filled full of our exalted honesty.
"The Mass murder in Afghanistan was predictable."
So says Michael Yon. And he's one who should know. From his post,
The mass murder in Afghanistan was predictable. Twice in the past three weeks, I published that it was coming. Why was I able to write this with sad confidence? I’ve spent more time with combat troops in these wars than any other writer: about four years in total in country, and three with combat troops.
About 200 coalition members have been killed or wounded from insider attacks. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is tantamount to being Taliban and has not bothered to apologize. Instead, Karzai whips up anti-U.S. fervor at every opportunity. Twice, Karzai has threatened to leave politics and join the Taliban.
Even our most disciplined troops — not the few problem troops — have lost all idealism. They have not lost heart for the fight. Mostly, they just don’t care. They fight because they are ordered to fight, but they have eyes wide open. The halfhearted surge and sudden drawdown leave little room for success.
...
Afghans will seek revenge and they will have it. This will lead to yet greater possibilities of another mass murder from our side. We are considering holding the trial in Afghanistan. Pashtuns don’t care about our justice system. They don’t even care about the Afghan government; they want blood for blood. We are being drawn into a feud.
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CNN covers Fast & Furious
ICE Agents Brian Terry and Jaime Zapata. By all rights you should have heard their stories at least a small percentage as much as that of Trayvon Martin's.
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When Cultures Diverge?
Joe Carter links to a story about the massive rate of suicide in Japan, tied to the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami. From the post,
According to Bloomberg, suicides rose in April, May, June and August---the months following the natural disasters that devastated towns in northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear crisis. For a 14th straight year, suicides in Japan have exceeded 30,000.
After the disaster the West marveled at how orderly the Japanese responded - especially the fact that there was little to no looting and unrest. It was hinted that such was evidence that their culture was superior to that found in most of the West.
Yet, despite the orderliness that their culture rests on, we still see the fruits of what can only be termed a "here and now" philosophy. Whether in East or West, the human condition is woefully insufficient to provide the Hope that all humanity needs.
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Citizen registers his dog to demonstrate lax voter registration procedures
So authorities launch an investigation of... the citizen.
A Republican voter in New Mexico is under criminal investigation for signing up his dog as a Democrat in a bid to highlight what he considers deficiencies in the state’s registration process.
No mention is made as to whether or not an investigation on voter registration procedures is forthcoming.
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Know your rights as a victim of ID Theft
From Consumer Reports,
The FCRA and FACT protect your rights if you are a victim if ID theft by enabling you to put fraud alerts on your credit report with the consumer reporting agencies, get a free credit report from the three national consumer reporting agencies when placing a fraud alert, block fraudulent information from appearing in your credit report, and receive a notice of these and other rights from the consumer reporting agencies.
From HotAir, apparently President Obama thinks the price of oil is hovering around $1.25 a barrel. Per his speech to Sempra Energy,
We have subsidized oil companies for a century. We want to encourage production of oil and gas, and make sure that wherever we've got American resources, we are tapping into them. But they don’t need an additional incentive when gas is $3.75 a gallon, when oil is $1.20 a barrel, $1.25 a barrel. They don’t need additional incentives. They are doing fine.
Yet this snip from oil-price.net shows the price to be hovering about 100 times that amount.
Honest mistake or intentional gaffe that leaves the impression that oil companies are gouging and, consequently, do not need government subsidies?
A wonderful home school science education curriculum, Real-Science-4-Kids, needs your vote!
It's part of About.com's Best Homeschool Science award.
You're probably well aware by now of the murderous attack that left 15 people dead in Pakistan.
What? You thought it was 16 people in Afghanistan who were killed? Well, certainly that news is making the headlines on newswires across the world. But I'm referring to a suicide attack on mourners at a funeral in Pakistan. From Bill Roggio, at The Long War Journal,
A suicide bomber killed 15 people and wounded dozens more in an attack at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Peshawar today. The attack appears to have targeted a senior provincial government official who has raised an anti-Taliban militia in the area.
Pakistani officials confirmed that a suicide bomber carried out today's attack as mourners were offering prayers for a woman during a funeral in the Badaber area of Peshawar.
Had you heard about this? If you had, was it a news headline or merely another one-of-many filler stories?
In a way, perhaps the fact that such stories get so little airplay, and stories of U.S. military personnel committing crimes get so much airplay is an indication of the very difference between our moral high ground and the terrorist enemy's.
Consider the following account of muslim on muslim killings, per The Long War Journal.
Over the past five years, the Taliban and allied Pakistani terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the Punjabi Taliban have shown no reservations about striking inside mosques and other religious sites, as well as during religious processions and events. There have been 36 major attacks on mosques and other Islamic institutions in Pakistan since December 2007, according to information compiled by The Long War Journal.
One of the most brazen attacks took place on Dec. 4, 2009, when a suicide assault team stormed a mosque frequented by military officers in Rawalpindi. Two senior generals were among the 40 people killed.
Another major attack took place on July 1, 2010, when suicide bombers struck the Data Ganj Bakhsh shrine in Lahore, killing 41 people and wounding more than 170. Three suicide bombers detonated their vests at the shrine at a time when it was most frequented, in an effort to maximize casualties.
The last major attack against religious targets took place on Sept. 15, 2011, when a suicide bomber killed 31 people in an attack at a funeral in Lower Dir.
All told, The Long War Journal lists 36 major attacks since December 2007 (in Pakistan alone), resulting in 805 people killed. That's an average of 22 people killed per attack - attacks at mosques and other Islamic institutions.
Try to find that on CNN.
The Danish Pancakes, from Ellen's Danish Pancake House, in Buellton, CA.
I like breakfast. But one thing I don't care for at most restaurants are thick, thick pancakes. Too much expansive mass makes for a full stomach after only a few bites. Now Danish pancakes are very thin and not heavy handed in the least. At Ellen's Danish Pancake House they serve up some delightful pancakes, generously sprinkled with powdered sugar, and a couple of slices of bacon to boot. Very nice change of pace (once in awhile) from the savory breakfasts I usually get. Mind you, while tasty, the plates are pricey here.
Enjoy!
- image © 2011 A R Lopez
October Baby
"Every life is beautiful"
From Brett Kunkle,
Mark your calendars for March 23. That's when a new movie, October Baby, will hit movie screens. I was able to preview the film last week and suggest you go see this one in the theater. I'll be up front, it is a strong pro-life movie dealing head-on with abortion. But it was powerful and compelling, without being preachy. The message comes through loud and clear, but in a way that stirred my soul (yes, yes...I cried like 4 times -- it was intense). And ultimately, the message is hopeful.
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Tatts for Jesus! Except...
these are done FOR Lent.
From Joe Carter,
Although Christians have been getting inked for centuries, the recent rise in popularity and mainstream acceptance of tattoos is leading many Christians to reflect on the meaning and prudence of the practice.
"Nearly 40 percent of young adults aged 18-28 have tattoos now, which is more than four times the number in the Baby Boom generation," noted Matthew Lee Anderson in his book Earthen Vessels: Why our Bodies Matter for our Faith. "While tattoos mark a desire for significance within a destabilized world, they are a live option for most young people precisely because we have not escaped the clutches of the consumerism and the individualism that are so often criticized."
From CNN,
In a hip, artsy, area of Houston, a hip, artsy pastor is taking an unorthodox approach to Lent.
...
He asked them to get tattoos. Specifically, he asked congregants to get a tattoo corresponding with one of the Stations of the Cross, the collection of images that depict scenes in Jesus’ journey to his crucifixion.
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Another member of Ecclesia, Joyce O’Connor, channeled her family when she was deciding what station of the cross to get tattooed onto her body. O’Connor, who has one biological child and two stepchildren, connected with the fourth station, Jesus meeting his mother.
“I am a mother and in just a minuscule way can relate to how Mary must have felt,” O’Conner said.
“The tattoo captured me and I love it,” she continued. “When I think of that image, I don’t feel tragedy or sadness because I know how the story ends and it makes me smile.”
Permanent images on your body using Biblical imagery as a metaphor for what has happened in your life?
It seems to me that this is nothing more than a carnal attempt at personalizing scripture or, in these cases, Biblical notions.
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Could this be an Introvert's weapon of choice for fighting smalltalk?
From Engadget,
Silence is golden, so there are plenty of times when it'd be awfully convenient to mute those around us, and a couple of Japanese researchers have created a gadget that can do just that. Called the SpeechJammer, it's able to "disturb remote people's speech without any physical discomfort" by recording and replaying what you say a fraction of a second after you say it. Why would that shut up the chatty Cathy next to you? Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) is based on an established psychological principle that it's well-nigh impossible for folks to speak when their words are played back to them just after they've been uttered.
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Postscript to the Open Letter to Praise Bands
Excerpts,
1. Worship is not only expressive, it is also formative. It is not only how we express our devotion to God, it is also how the Spirit shapes and forms us to bear God's image to the world. This is why the form of worship needs to be intentional: worship isn't just something that we do; it does something to us. And this is why worship in a congregational setting is a communal practice of a congregation by which the Spirit grabs hold of us. How we worship shapes us, and how we worship collectively is an important way of learning to be the body of Christ...
2. Because worship is formative, and not merely expressive, that means other cultural practices actually function as "competing" liturgies, rivals to Christian worship. ...The point is that such loaded cultural practices are actually shaping our loves and desires by the very form of the practice, not merely by the "content" they offer. If we aren't aware of this, we can unwittingly adopt what seem to be "neutral" or benign practices without recognizing that they are liturgies that come loaded with a rival vision of "the good life." If we adopt such practices uncritically, it won't matter what "content" we convey by them, the practices themselves are ordered to another kingdom. And insofar as we are immersed in them, we are unwittingly mis-shaped by the practices.
Read it all.
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Yes, conservative women do get more of the "Rush-treatment"
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I would have never thought of this, but then, I have a difficult time understanding the entitlement mentality.
The Mark Twain Breakfast plate at the River Belle Terrace, in Disneyland.
The Mark Twain breakfast includes scrambled eggs, homestyle potatoes, bacon, and a biscuit. It's an excellent start to the day, whether the day will include hiking all over Disneyland, or simply stopping by for a taste of familiar sights.
Enjoy!
- image © 2011 A R Lopez
As linked to earlier, a 23 year-old Georgetown coed - scratch that - a 30 year-old women's rights [sic] activist, Sandra Fluke, testified before an all Democratic committee advocating the notion that government provided contraception is needed due to the expense of purchasing it on your own.
At JWF, however, some light was shed on the reality of this testimony.
For me the interesting part of the story is the ever-evolving “coed”. I put that in quotes because in the beginning she was described as a Georgetown law student. It was then revealed that prior to attending Georgetown she was an active women’s right advocate. In one of her first interviews she is quoted as talking about how she reviewed Georgetown’s insurance policy prior to committing to attend, and seeing that it didn’t cover contraceptive services, she decided to attend with the express purpose of battling this policy. During this time, she was described as a 23-year-old coed. Magically, at the same time Congress is debating the forced coverage of contraception, she appears and is even brought to Capitol Hill to testify. This morning, in an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today show, it was revealed that she is 30 years old, NOT the 23 that had been reported all along.
In other words, folks, you are being played. She has been an activist all along and the Dems were just waiting for the appropriate time to play her.
And let's not paint all of the coeds at Georgetown into the same corner that Fluke so proudly stands in. From Sandra Fluke Does Not Speak For Me,
Sandra Fluke doesn’t speak for me. Or for Georgetown.
She doesn’t speak for those of us who worked hard to be able to choose to come to a great institution with a great tradition of faith and scholarship. She certainly can’t speak for the Jesuits who dedicated their lives to God and Education with a long established set of rules. There are only ten of them, and Ms. Fluke would do well to give them a quick read.
Now, it seems, after Rush stepped in it, there is a call to appeal to Rush's sponsors to pull their support,
Tell Rush Limbaugh's advertisers: Stop Supporting Rush Limbaugh's attacks on women.
When Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law School student, testified before Congress to protest rightwing attacks to limit women's access to birth control, Rush Limbaugh called her a "slut" and a "prostitute."
Oh, the irony.
So much irony, as a matter of fact, that Liberal columnist Kirsten Powers wrote,
But if Limbaugh’s actions demand a boycott—and they do—then what about the army of swine on the left?
During the 2008 election Ed Schultz said on his radio show that Sarah Palin set off a “bimbo alert.” He called Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.” (He later apologized.) He once even took to his blog to call yours truly a “bimbo” for the offense of quoting him accurately in a New York Post column.
Keith Olbermann has said that conservative commentator S.E. Cupp should have been aborted by her parents, apparently because he finds her having opinions offensive. He called Michelle Malkin a “mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick.” He found it newsworthy to discuss Carrie Prejean’s breasts on his MSNBC show...
...
But the grand pooh-bah of media misogyny is without a doubt Bill Maher—who also happens to be a favorite of liberals—who has given $1 million to President Obama’s super PAC. Maher has called Palin a “dumb twat” and dropped the C-word in describing the former Alaska governor. He called Palin and Congresswoman Bachmann “boobs” and “two bimbos.” He said of the former vice-presidential candidate, “She is not a mean girl. She is a crazy girl with mean ideas.” He recently made a joke about Rick Santorum’s wife using a vibrator. Imagine now the same joke during the 2008 primary with Michelle Obama’s name in it, and tell me that he would still have a job. Maher said of a woman who was harassed while breast-feeding at an Applebee’s, “Don't show me your tits!” as though a woman feeding her child is trying to flash Maher. (Here’s a way to solve his problem: don’t stare at a strangers’ breasts). Then, his coup de grâce: “And by the way, there is a place where breasts and food do go together. It’s called Hooters!”
Lest anyone think I am crying foul of the Left - that conservatives are being treated unfairly - fret not. As this post title states, it's not about shouting "no fair!" but continuing to note it's no fluke that the Left is hypocritical when it comes to defending women's rights.
The Breakfast Burrito, from Charlie's Chili, in Newport Beach, CA.
After a PhotoWalk on and near the Newport Beach pier, we had a great breakfast at Charlie's Chili. The breakfast burrito is a large offering of egg, potato, bacon (or sausage), cheese, and salsa, served with fried potatoes. This order will set you back almost $10, but you'll be set for the rest of the day!
Enjoy!
- image © 2011 A R Lopez
The right to government subsidized sex
Yes, believe it or not, an argument [sic] based on expense is offered for why women deserve to have government provided contraceptives. I wonder if there are studies which indicate the percentage of contraceptives prescribed for conditions such as endometriosis vs. mere desire.
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That thoroughly modern phenomenon known as the Youth Pastor
From the Gospel Coalition,
All too often, youth programs have turned to entertainment-driven models of ministry in order to bring in youth. Success has become the name of the church-growth game. The devastating effects, however, are not only seen in the number of youth leaving the church after high school, but also in a spiritually and theologically shallow worldview among many American teenagers. The irony is that these same teens actually want to grow and learn hard truths. They want to know how to think about suffering, how to pray, and why Jesus had to die.
And here's the book.
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A President who hears from God
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Have a mobile device? Malware has increased over 150%
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Another apology to President Karzai
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A First Century manuscript of the Gospel of Mark?
Wallace will be on the Stand to Reason radio program, Sunday March 4th, 2 - 5 pm PST.
Diced Ham and Scrambled Eggs, from Paula's Pancake House, in Solvang, CA. Yes, I know, ordering ham and eggs at a Danish pancake house in the middle of the Danish-themed town of Solvang might be considered an unpardonable act - but I prefer breakfasts with more savory substance that help carry me through a day of sightseeing.
I first tried the diced ham (or bacon) and scrambled eggs plate last December and really enjoyed it. I tend to go for hashbrowns and wheat toast (unless the establishment has killer biscuits) along with my eggs. Cheese is also mixed in this scramble, which helps bind the whole conglomeration together. A bit over-priced, in my opinion, but just about everything in this locale (wine country near Santa Barbara, CA) is.
Enjoy!
- image © 2011 A R Lopez
Recently, in Christian apologetic circles, it was noted that a former Christian professor of philosophy had converted to an Eastern religion. Dr. Michael Sudduth, from San Francisco State University, was highlighted in the blog post Michael Sudduth Converts to Vaishnava Vedanta!
As part of our home schooling effort, we engage in a weekly Current Events series in which I have my oldest daughter (high school) read various news items (which I have selected), and then write a brief commentary on the item, first explaining what the article was about and then giving her opinion on the story.
Here is what she wrote regarding the conversion story of Dr. Sudduth:
This article is a letter written by a man who has converted from Christianity to Vaishnava Vedanta. He had been a Protestant Christian for 25 years, but had increasingly become drawn toward Vedanta, both trough a philosophical attraction and an experiential attraction. As he began to explore the religion more deeply, he became profoundly affected by it and to feel the presence of God through it. He began to believe that his former beliefs in God were a limited expression of the deeper meaning he found through Vedanta.
Vaishnavism articulates a model of the love of God, where intimacy and separation are the two important elements of the divine-human love relation. People are both one with God and separate from God. The relationship with God is a simultaneous difference and non-difference. He believes that God is manifested in different ways, and God-realization takes on diverse forms. Vaishnavism acknowledges religious truth found across different religious traditions, and though the names are many, God is one. How we experience God depends on different aspects of our own personalities.
The author says that he does not believe he is worshipping a different God than he worshipped when he was a Christian – he believes it is the same God, under a different, and fuller manifestation. He says that the basic principles of Vaishnavism are compatible with a number of fundamental Christian beliefs, and that he is not relinquishing these beliefs but situating them in a different philosophical and theological context. He closes his letter by saying that he doesn’t want to convert any of his friends to Vaishnavism, but he hopes that they’ll make each other better devotees in their respective faiths.
From this letter, it seems like the author has based his entire conversion on experience. He felt something when reading the texts associated with Vaishnavism, he felt a closeness to the person of Lord Krishna, he felt profoundly affected and overwhelmed with a sense of the presence of God. He felt Krishna’s presence in his bedroom, he felt a validation of his spiritual journey. Even when he starts talking about philosophy and theology, he says that he has found aspects of the Vedanta theology and philosophy appealing to him. I think that his question should not be, “is it appealing?”, or “does it feel right?”, rather, he should ask “does it line up with reality?” He seems to ignore this question, replacing it with how he happens to feel. If these beliefs don’t line up with reality, if they’re not true, they shouldn’t be believed no matter how appealing they are or how good they make one feel.
The author claims that Vaishnavism is compatible with Christianity. He even claims he is worshipping the same God he worshipped before he switched religions. However, if he really means this, he couldn’t have been worshipping the Christian God before. Jesus said that He was the only way to God – obviously, the author believes there are many ways to get to God, so his beliefs are in direct opposition to fundamental Christian beliefs.
Lastly, he says that he’s only interested in making his friends better devotees to their respective religions, not in making them converts to Vaishnavism. Why is this? If he believes that Vaishnavism is true, then shouldn’t he want to convince other people of that? This religion seems to be one without much substance – it seems like anything you believe goes, and I don’t think that lines up to the way the world we know actually works.
Personally, I think that it is incumbent on us, as Christian parents, to prepare our children for the realities of a post-Christian America, thereby providing them with the resources to not only counter the worldviews they will come up against, but to courteously provide a clear explanation of the veracity of the Christian worldview.
And, I'm proud of my daughter's grasp of these concepts, while in high school. We must engage our young adults (that would be anyone older than 13) in the marketplace of ideas, stretching them, and setting the bar high - they can achieve it.
NASA thinking about an Earth-Moon-Libration Point 2
Well it's not quite Space 1999, but pretty cool nonetheless,
NASA is pressing forward on assessing the value of a "human-tended waypoint" near the far side of the moon — one that would embrace international partnerships as well as commercial and academic participation, SPACE.com has learned.
According to a Feb. 3 memo from William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, a team is being formed to develop a cohesive plan for exploring a spot in space known as the Earth-moon libration point 2 (EML-2).
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Do you know what a Mainframe is? Well, NASA just shut down their last one
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Even more Geek News: Photos of Mars Landers from Mars orbit
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Abe Lincoln (on a penny) to be used as a quick size comparison indicator on the next Mars Rover
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NASA taking stock of Eart's melting land ice
From the 2003-2010 observations,
The total global ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth's glaciers and ice caps during the study period was about 4.3 trillion tons (1,000 cubic miles), adding about 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) to global sea level. That's enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep.
Yikes! That's very unsettling news.
Yet, another report headlines us to the news that Earth's Polar Ice Melting Less Than Thought. An excerpt (emphasis added),
Nearly 230 billion tons of ice is melting into the ocean from glaciers, ice caps, and mountaintops annually—which is actually less than previous estimates, according to new research by scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Further in the US News report researcher John Wahr states (wisely, in my opinion),
"Even with an eight-year estimate, it's not clear how far into the future you can project," he says. "A lot of people want to predict into the end of the century, but I think it's too dangerous to do that … We don't have enough info to know what'll happen. There's some ebb and flow to these things."
Indeed, if anyone ever wants to sell you something now based on a prediction of what will happen 100 years from now, you'd better grab hold of your wallet (I think Michael Crichton said that). From the NASA news release, after they've admitted the same as the US News report, it reads,
One unexpected study result from GRACE was that the estimated ice loss from high Asian mountain ranges like the Himalaya, the Pamir and the Tien Shan was only about 4 billion tons of ice annually. Some previous ground-based estimates of ice loss in these high Asian mountains have ranged up to 50 billion tons annually.
Ouch!
Imagine if you had some remodeling work done on your home and the contractor estimated it would cost $50,000 but the final bill came in at only $4,000? Well, of course you'd be ecstatic, but wouldn't you also be wondering why the contractor was so inept? Or what if a stockbroker claimed an investment would return $50,000 but it only came back with $4,000?
Yet we're supposed to based governmental subsidies, regulations, etc., all on long-range "scientific" esitmates that, quite frankly, are "dangerous" to do.
Have you heard of the MEDEVAC issue with the Army?
Does it make sense to essentially paint a target on medic helicopters evacuating wounded military personnel from the battlefield? Michael Yon has written on it, and FoxNews now has a piece.
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Michael Yon on Britches for the Troops
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Victoria's Secret Model gives it all up because of her faith?
Original HT to Joe Carter. From the CBS story,
After reaching the pinnacle of her career, a Victoria's Secret model says she recently quit the runway because she wants to be a more positive role model for young girls and because baring so much skin conflicted with her Christian beliefs.
It took time for her to figure this out? Color me just a tad skeptical of this story and/or the circumstances.
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Alcohol, high-speed crash, 3 Marines dead
Perhaps we should be more concerned with anti-driving laws than with anti-gun laws?
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Has the U.S. Constitution seen better days?
From the New York Times,
The United States Constitution is terse and old, and it guarantees relatively few rights. The commitment of some members of the Supreme Court to interpreting the Constitution according to its original meaning in the 18th century may send the signal that it is of little current use to, say, a new African nation. And the Constitution’s waning influence may be part of a general decline in American power and prestige.
In an interview, Professor Law identified a central reason for the trend: the availability of newer, sexier and more powerful operating systems in the constitutional marketplace. “Nobody wants to copy Windows 3.1,” he said.
In a television interview during a visit to Egypt last week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court seemed to agree. “I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012,” she said. She recommended, instead, the South African Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the European Convention on Human Rights.
Didn't CS Lewis refer to this type of thinking as chronological snobbery?
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Uh-Oh. This election cycle might get even nastier
Breakfast burrito, with chorizo, in La Puente, CA.
A simple rendition, done near homemade style (if the tortillas were homemade, then this would be The Bomb). Just outside the football field at La Puente High School, the El Rey Farms distribution of New Mexico Green Chiles takes place every year (from late summer into early autumn). If you get there early, then the local sports boosters are serving up some breakfast items - of which we never pass up the chorizo breakfast burritos! Not oozily dripping grease, like nearly every other chorizo burrito out there, but very well made, with the right mix of chorizo (Mexican sausage), scrambled egg, and potatoes.
Enjoy!
- image © 2011 A R Lopez
When Gun-Control Advocates Carry Guns
It's more prevalent than you might expect. From The Firearms Blog,
There is a level of hypocrisy that goes beyond belief from the anti-gun crowd. Over the years anti-gun zealots such as Rosie O’Donnell suggested that no one should have gun, yet her bodyguard was armed. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg continues a crusade against all guns (not just the illegal variety) with his anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, yet everywhere the billionaire goes he has armed guards.
And now it seems that David Brock could be the biggest hypocrite of them all. His name might not be as familiar to readers as Bloomberg or O’Donnell, but Brock is founder of Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog site that routinely calls out the NRA for anything pro-gun.
Yet it gets even better (or worse, depending on your point of view), from the Daily Caller,
By 2010, Brock’s personal assistant, a man named Haydn Price-Morris, was carrying a holstered and concealed Glock handgun when he accompanied Brock to events, including events in Washington, D.C., a city with famously restrictive gun laws. Price-Morris told others he carried the gun to protect Brock from threats.
Remember incidents like these whenever someone advocates "common-sense" gun laws. Yes, as these anti-gun people so plainly illustrate, "common-sense" equates to taking the necessary steps to protecting oneself.
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CEO Demonstrates Body Armor
By having a live round fired at him, point-blank!
Kids (and adults) DON'T try this at home!!!
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Negligent Discharge (ND) of the day
Remember, Remember, Remember: Guns don't discharge or "go off" all by themselves. From Knoxnews.com (emphasis added),
A vendor at the Knoxville Gun & Knife Show shot himself in the hand while attempting to show off his personal weapon Sunday, according to the police.
...
Adams, a licensed vendor at the event in the Jacob Building on Magnolia Avenue, apparently was showing his personal concealed weapon — a Kimber .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun — to a customer when the weapon discharged, DeBusk said.
Please, people, know and practice the 4 Rules of Gun Safety.
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If you keep a firearm for home defense - know when the safety is off
And when it's on. From the Springfield News-Leader (emphasis added),
Branden M. Slavens, 28, has been charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree assault, armed criminal action, felonious restraint, first-degree robbery, felony resisting arrest, third-degree assault and two counts of first-degree tampering, according to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
...
Between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Friday, Slavens used an ax to force his way into the back door of a residence within one mile of the crash site, the documents said. A woman at the residence, awakened by noises, initially told Slavens to leave before he used the ax to get in. Once inside, he threw the woman onto the floor, the documents said. A man at the home then came down the stairs with a rifle. The man later told police he pulled the trigger to protect himself and his wife, but the safety was on. Slavens then struck the man on his left arm with the ax, causing severe injuries. Slavens then took the gun.
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New York City working on "X-ray Vision" to look under your pants
For any concealed guns you might be hiding. And the ACLU is not happy (among others). From the New York Times,
In a speech on Tuesday morning to the New York City Police Foundation, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the department was working with the Defense Department to develop gun-scan technology “capable of detecting concealed firearms.”
The tool would operate as a sort of reverse infrared mapping tool by reading the energy people emit and pinpointing where that flow is blocked by some object, like a gun.
Can we all say, "governmental intrusion"?
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Another pregnant woman with a shotgun
In Minnesota, and she ran off burglars by racking her shotgun. From CBS,
It’s the last thing two burglary suspects expected to hear when they broke into a Coon Rapids home. From within the house came the unmistakable sound of a pump shotgun. At the other end of that gun was a 22-year-old woman who is nine weeks pregnant.
HHS Mandate Edition II
Joe Carter's FAQ page for the HHS Mandate
Some excerpts,
What is this contraception mandate everyone keeps talking about?
As part of the universal health insurance reform passed in 2010 (often referred to as "Obamacare"), all group health plans must now provide---at no cost to the recipient---certain "preventive services." The list of services includes sterilization, contraceptives, and abortifacient drugs.
...
Doesn't the mandate only apply to religious organizations that receive federal funding?
No. The mandate applies to religious employers even if they receive no federal funding.
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Isn't this just a Catholic issue?
No. Although the Catholic Church has been the most vocal opponent of the mandate, many Protestant, Jewish, and Muslims also oppose the mandate. In fact, several evangelical leaders have called on evangelicals to stand with Catholics in civil disobedience to this law. Additionally, 300 academics and religious leaders---including TGC's D.A. Carson and Justin Taylor---signed a statement by the Beckett Fund explaining why the mandate is "unacceptable."
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Lies, damned lies and 98 percent of Catholic women
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6 more things everyone should know about the HHS Mandate
From the post,
1. The rule that created the uproar has not changed at all, but was finalized as is.
2. The rule leaves open the possibility that even exempt “religious employers” will be forced to cover sterilization.
3. The new “accommodation” is not a current rule, but a promise that comes due beyond the point of public accountability.
4. Even if the promises of “accommodation” are fulfilled entirely, religious charities, schools, and hospitals will still be forced to violate their beliefs.
5. The “accommodation” does not even purport to help objecting insurers, for-profit religious employers, secular employers, or individuals.
6. Beware of claims, especially by partisans, that the bishops are partisan.