For those who dont know, here is the IPCC’s “proof” of global warming:

And here is the unaltered “Actual” graph:

As you can see, the temperature has clearly been a lot higher in the past, when “technology” can not be responsible.

The Fox expose` then goes on to trace the source of the misinformation and try to uncover some reasons for it.

Very interesting stuff.

edit: the video can be seen also:

the-green-swindle
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
(also posted at http://theology.geek.nz)

After Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to task for participating in peace talks with Israel, Abbas had a message for Iran: Butt out.

The Palestinian president went even further in a statement released by his spokesman, essentially calling Ahmadinejad an illegitimate leader who oppresses his own people. (here)

The peace process is continuing, and with statements like this from the Palestinian President, it makes my hopes brighter…

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So, I taught Sunday School class this morning, on King David. Not sure how it went over, although they were generally talkative, so that was a plus. Of course, I might have destroyed their biblical hero, but if you look at David, was he really a man to be admired? I mean, he got so far off the beaten path that God finally got stopped David from serving Him and moved certain promises to Solomon.When one really sits and reads about David, comparing 1st Samuel, with Kings and than with Chronicles, one comes away with some different view points of David. And of course, by the time you get to the New Testament and later, with the early Church writers, David is sanitized. I mean, David looks like George W. on FoxNews Comedy Central.

We talked about what it really meant when the text says ‘a man after God’s own heart’, meaning that David was chosen by God, and not to mean that David and God were bosom buddies. So, while we examined the many and manifold sins of David, we also spoke about the many and manifold times in which God forgave him. David’s sins were in history, but his righteous deeds still survived into eternity. And in the end, I think that because God chose David as King, there is the issue of God’s sovereignty. This verse popped into my mind as I was discussing the lesson later with my wife,

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. (Rom 8:29-30 NLT)

Maybe that’s it with David.

Tomorrow is Labor Day, sort of an Unionist’s Christmas I reckon. Time to gather around the Red Flag and sing curses to the Bourgeoisie, while hoping that ole Saint John L. Lewis will come down the chimney with worker’s justice and the right to organize for all!

Not sure what I will be doing tomorrow except for sleeping in, then relaxing with my family, reading a lot, writing a few posts and getting ready for a very, very, very long week. You?

Have a great Labor Day, God Bless the workers among you, and have a great week…

HT – and if you like the song, read the story and you can purchase it here (nope, doesn’t benefit me)

Anyway, here is an article that some may enjoy

Modern impressions of King David depict him as a young boy of unsurpassed courage, a pious and humble man who triumphed over many adversities, a goodly king whose heart was with the Lord and compared to whom all other monarchs fall short. He is portrayed as the progenitor of a dynasty that would one day rule over the kingdom of God on earth. Many see in him history’s first renaissance man: a poet of uncommon wit and intelligence, a musician of national renown, a diplomat of consummate skill, a politician of great wisdom, a brilliant military strategist, a master of martial weapons, a theologian who defined the basics of Jewish thought, and an inventor of many of the Old Testament’s religious practices and institutions. These views have a long pedigree….

So, if I uncheck that portion about killing unruly children and about Eunuchs not being allowed into the presence of God then I must be Progressive?

Sounds like a regressive way to understand the Scriptures, but I digress…

New York City authorities have filed charges against the mother of a 4-year-old girl who weighed 15 pounds when she was found dead in her family’s Brooklyn apartment.

Detectives found lengths of twine attached to the headboard of a bed inside the home, and the rope was consistent with bruises on Marchella Pierce’s ankles, suggesting the little girl might have been tied to the bed, The New York Times and local media reported.

Police were called to Marchella’s mother’s apartment on Madison Street in the Bushwick neighborhood at about 7:15 a.m. Thursday to investigate a report of an unresponsive child. Officers arrived to find tiny, malnourished Marchella unconscious on a bed. She was pronounced dead at the scene. (here)

Again with the special place in hell….

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But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ (Act 13:22 NLT)

Paul, in speaking to the Jews and the God-fearers justified the uniqueness of David and the majesty of his line using, believe it or not a conflation of an enthronement psalm and Samuel’s judgment upon Saul -

But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” (1Sa 13:14 NLT)

I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil. (Psa 89:20 NLT)

Not being taught how to read the bible, I understood Paul to mean that David was beloved of God, but instead, it seems that in contrary to Saul who was chosen according to Israel’s heart, David instead is chosen according to God’s. I don’t think the text is talking about God’s love of David, but that it was God’s will that David was chosen, which presents some problems on Sovereignty. Not only that, but David’s line is given the Throne of Israel, forever. Of course, the Son of David is literally Solomon, who during the so-called intertestmental times, was the archetype of Israel’s hero. From the Odes, to the Psalms, to Wisdom to various other books, Solomon was the soon-coming Son of David.

Of course, that has its own problems, I reckon. I mean, it wasn’t Judah who had the Birthright, but Joseph,

The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son. The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph. (1Ch 5:1-2 NLT)

Of course, during the time of Christ, there is evidence of sects looking for two Messiah’s, one of Judah and one of Joseph.

The Chronicler, who does a great job of heightening David’s career, also notes that David is the ideal King, but also, whatever promises was made to David, transferred to Solomon,

Then Solomon prayed, “O LORD, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!” Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: “Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, ‘From the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. Nor have I chosen a king to lead my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for my name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.‘”

Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’ “And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. (2Ch 6:1-10 NLT)

And of course, the most important and famous of the Messianic promises made to Solomon,

‘Furthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you– a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house– a temple– for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. (2Sa 7:11-14 NLT)

The immediate intention of this promise was Solomon, who claimed that he had fulfilled God’s promises to David.

Just throwing some thoughts around here, but it seems to me that David, while a great warrior who murdered once he committed adultery, might have married his sister, ate the Bread of the Presence, and in the end, paid a heavy price (as did the entire kingdom) for his sin. Yet, he is seen as the archetype for the Messiah, Christ Himself.

Why?

Thousands of Indonesian Muslims rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Saturday to denounce an American church’s plan to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by burning copies of the Koran.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, said it will burn the Islamic holy book Wednesday, the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks. Local officials have denied a permit for the bonfire on the church’s grounds, but the center — which made headlines last year by distributing T-shirts that said “Islam is of the Devil” — insists it will go ahead with the plan.

About 3,000 members of a hard-line Islamic group marched to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Jakarta waving banners and posters condemning the plan. The group organized similar rallies in five other cities across Indonesia, the world’ largest Muslim nation. (here)

Awesome, because if the Islamic Fundamentalists of the world need another reason to kill more Americans, there is always ‘Christians’ like Dove World Outreach Center.

There is a difference between defense and provocation, between hitting someone and turning the other cheek.

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• Paul & the Early Jewish Encounter With Deuteronomy (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament)
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The Gates of Hell looks an awfully lot like entering into Ohio via Point Pleasant, WV

How dare he pick on Jim West who since he has installed the Network Blogs app via Facebook, I can now tweet his posts.

“It may be said that myths give to the transcendent reality an immanent, this-worldly objectivity. Myths speak about gods and demons as powers on which man knows himself to be dependent, powers whose favors he needs, powers whose wrath he fears. Myths express the knowledge that man is not master of the world and his life, that the world within which he lives is full of riddles and mysteries and that human life also is full of riddles and mysteries.”

- Rudolf Bultmann

Greetings,

We don’t want to loose the momentumn of this great campaign!! We are going to get Joe Miller elected, it’s just that for reasons we don’t understand God wants us to have a waiting spell. We need to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, and keep the campaign uplifted in constant prayer.

In order for Joe to keep campaigning he needs funds. So far the Lord has always provided the money in this grass roots campaign, and this time God is going to use you to provide!

A fundraiser will be held at Campaign Headquarters on Monday from 5:00-8:30 pm. We need as many people to show up and make this a great event for the campaign. Joe and Kathleen will both be joining us, let’s encourage them by showing all the support we can. The one way they need us right now is through donating funds!! It cost alot of money to run a clean campaign and we all know that Joe’s campaign isn’t receiving any monies from corporations or from out of State entities.

Refreshments will be provided

MONDAY 5:00-7:00pm OPEN HOUSE

7:30-8:30pm FUNDRAISER (Joe Miller will be joining us at this time)

Campaign Headquarters

401 East Northern Lights, Suite 202

*Co-Hosted with Senator Fred Dyson & Wes Keller*

*Bring a friend

*Drinks will be provided (soda, water)

*Bring Check Book or Credit Card

*Chips will be provided

*Bring a smile
Invite all your friends and let’s come together to have a great evening and donate to the campaign that we all believe in!!

Paid for by Joe Miller for US Senate

Please RSVP with ASAP:

– Harmony

So, when did God get so involved in U.S. Senate campaigns that He actually donates to them?

Yeah, bring a smile….

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Intro into Old Testament I

Church Administration

Foundations for Church Renewal

Intro into Church History (for which I thank IrishAnglican for making me well prepared and in case you need to get equally prepared…)

Should be fun. The books look interesting enough and I have most of them.

If you have any suggestions on outside resources, let me know.

By the way, for a list of bloggers at United, click here.

So, away we go….

From here:

“I thought it would be a little easier in the speech,” Beck said, than to go into the following elaborate explanation (via Mediaite):

Yesterday I went to the National Archives, and they opened up the vault, and they put on their gloves and then they put it on a tray. They wheeled it over and it’s all in this hard plastic and you’re sitting down at a table and you can’t, because of Sandy Berger, I had a long conversation with him about this, you can’t actually touch any of the documents, these are very very rare. So what they do, they have it in this plastic thing and they hold them right in front of you, you can’t touch them but then you can say ‘can you turn it over,’ and then they turn it over for you and then you look at it. I thought it was a little clumsy to explain it that way.

The above link as the video… Anyway, all Beck had to say was ‘they held it in front of me’. See, not that difficult.

That’s not the only lie, or misstatement, that Beck made, and yet… people put absolute trust in his, um, rather colorful descriptions of history.

The real reason I do this is not because of Beck’s conservtianment politics, but because of the union between Beck and others via religion, and using religion to, well, cast a nice spell over the American populace.

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Notwithstanding the hip, new “Rethink Church” ad campaign (which doesn’t always translate down to the local congregation experience), the perception of United Methodism seems to be a rather lukewarm version of Christianity.

The author goes on to make the case that the third largest Christian denomination in the country, behind Rome and the SBC (Saddleback?) is generally seen as the yellow of the denominations because, often times, of their approach to individuals.

I’ll be honest – the transition hasn’t been the easiest thing that I’ve ever dealt with, but I find in the local congregation that I attend the freedom to explore various theological angles, from liberal to conservative to somewhere in between. Indeed, the only requirement that I’ve ran into so far is to think.

Perkins School of Theology professor William Abraham describes the current malaise as “doctrinal amnesia.” The General Board of Discipleship’s Taylor Burton-Edwards takes it a bit further in a comment on Dr. Dick’s blog: “I’m wondering if it has not advanced to doctrinal and practical dementia.”

Maybe so or maybe the Christian life is more important than making sure everyone is doctrinally on the same page, always. Not sure, cannot really comment yet, but I can tell you that even now, doctrine – mine – is shaping because it has the room to do so.

Read the article here:

The United Methodist Portal.

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Click to Order

From Amazon:

Review

“These essays, mostly by Christian thinkers, are serious dialogue about important questions. Whether you find in them enlightenment and encouragement, or much to challenge, I hope you will agree that The Veritas Forum has done a service to the academy by encouraging the discussions.” –from the foreword by Harry Lewis, former dean, Harvard College, and author of Excellence Without a Soul

Product Description

Many today pursue knowledge and even wisdom. But what about truth? In an age that disputes whether truth can be universalized beyond one’s own personal experience, it seems quaint to speak of finding truth. But whether in the ivory towers of the academy or in the midst of our everyday lives, we continue to seek after the true, the beautiful and the good.

Since its founding at Harvard in 1992, The Veritas Forum has provided a place for the university world to explore the deepest questions of truth and life. What does it mean to be human? Does history have a purpose? Is life meaningful? Can rational people believe in God? Now gathered in one volume are some of The Veritas Forum’s most notable presentations, with contributions from Francis Collins, Tim Keller, N. T. Wright, Mary Poplin and more. Volume editor Dallas Willard introduces each presentation, highlighting its significance and putting it in context for us today. Also included are selected question and answer sessions with the speakers from the original forum experiences.

Come eavesdrop on some of today’s leading Christian thinkers and their dialogue partners. And consider how truth might find a place in your own life.

You can also check out the intro, here:

A Place for Truth edited by Dallas Willard.

So, I guess, at what point does does it really begin to matter to the faithful? For me….

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So he’s Saint Michael, he will always be Saint Michael, and when you want to pray, when you want to talk him, just like they go to any other saint where they have the relics, you know the hair, the bone, maybe even a cell, however, you pray. God made him, Most High originated him, designed him. And as I told him honey, there’s nobody like you. There’s never been anybody before you. There will never be anybody after you. You are the greatest, there’s only one, and he was different in the womb of his mother. I told her and she agreed. Every mother knows how they carry a child, every woman who knows a child and loves a child knows the difference between each of her children. Michael was different in the womb. He was ordained by God most High to be who he is. And you all recognize it, they know it … little children will know it, they’ll know just like they knew Jesus. Just like they know Gandhi. The honorable one,  Honorable Rev Dr Martin Luther King. Honorable Saint Michael Joseph Jackson, Prince of Peace.

Right Reverend Hawking,

God did not create the universe and the “Big Bang” was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.

In “The Grand Design,” co-authored with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking says a new series of theories made a creator of the universe redundant, according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday.

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” Hawking writes.

“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

Apollos/Luke/Paul:

By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. (Heb 11:3 NLT)

Yes, and the standard question to respond with…

Um, but who created those laws?

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In this video Conversation, Peter Enns asks author and theologian N.T. Wright to respond to a question from a BioLogos Forum reader about the implications of the relationship between politics and religion within the evangelical movement.

The reader notes that presently in the world of evangelical Christianity there seems to be a great suspicion about becoming too politically liberal but not about becoming too conservative. There seems to be a “slippery slope” argument toward the left, but not toward the right. This environment may lead to those on the left side of the evangelical spectrum to think about leaving the Church altogether—or for them to keep silent and not have any influence. Enns asks Wright for his thoughts on this issue.

Does the Slippery Slope Always Go to the Left? | The BioLogos Forum.

I know…you look at me and say ‘yes’, but I know of several who would reverse your viewpoint, those with more liberal theology than I (I still consider myself conservative here) and extremely more conservative politics.

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Beck attempted to craft together an American civil religion that equates belief in God with belief in country – specifically, belief in political conservatism.

The author article starts by writing,

Fox News host Glenn Beck muddled biblical references with fragments of American history, recreating a pottage of civil religion that says America has a divine destiny and claiming that a national revival is beginning.

Yeah, I’d say muddled – muddled with Mormonism, American Exceptionalism, Revisionist History and political grandstanding. Great article, give it a read.

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About a dozen right-wing Christians, carrying placards and yelling “Islam is a lie,” angrily confronted worshippers outside a Fairfield Avenue mosque Friday.

“Jesus hates Muslims,” they screamed at worshippers arriving at the Masjid An-Noor mosque to prepare for the holy month of Ramadan. One protester shoved a placard at a group of young children leaving the mosque. “Murderers,” he shouted.

Police arrived on the scene to separate the groups, but said no arrests were made.

Flip Benham, of Dallas, Texas, organizer of the protest, was yelling at the worshipers with a bullhorn.

…but it shows what is happening out there almost daily…

Do you really like that Jesus hates Muslims? Or do we stand with the Scriptures and read as Paul wrote,

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Rom 5:8 NLT)

Now, I’m not sure about others, but as a sinner, I was worse than a Muslim… because I pretended to know Christ, pretended to speak for Him, and used His name as weapon, all the while being nothing more than a sinner. This is not the model of Christianity that I seek to know, or seek to instill in myself, my children, and others.

A group of western New York teenagers have been accused of harassing members of a mosque in Carlton, New York, during their evening Ramadan prayers, according to authorities. The teens allegedly yelled obscenities and insults at members of the mosque on Monday, and sideswiped a worshiper with a vehicle and fired a shotgun outside the mosque last Friday. The Times says it is “unclear” whether there is any connection between these incidents and that other little mosque story in the news these days. The county’s D.A. says these provocations are more intense than any they’ve seen before: “We’ve had minor incidents, but nothing of this magnitude in the past.” The teens have been charged with disrupting a religious service, a misdemeanor.

Teenagers Charged in Harassment at Mosque [NYT]

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