Lost Posting

Not only did I forget what I was going to post earlier this week, but also the posting that I was just working on got lost (thanks to my overzealous closing of open browser windows). As it is getting quite late and I still have to get enough sleep to participate in a 4 mile run tomorrow, I will just provide the links to the pages I was referencing. Later I plan to add my comments...

Tongue Tied Freedom of Speech
New York Times Rituals of Grief Go Online
Dog and Cat Theology

Again, sorry.

Deal or no Deal?

Has anyone ever seen the gameshow on NBC called "Deal or no Deal" ? I watched a few episodes when on my last trip. The contestant chooses a briefcase at random out of 26 briefcases. The briefcases contain a value inside that if the contestant leaves with the briefcase, they win the ammount of money listed inside. The studio does not know which ammounts are in which case because a third party handles that part. The money ranges between $0.01 and $1,000,000.00 The entire point of the gameshow is to then open up the remaining briefcases and find out which ammount has been won. At certain points during the show, the contestant is offered a specific ammount of money from the studio "banker" who's job is to minimize the prize winnings. (Since no one knows what is inside the briefcase, it can be as low as one penny or as high as a million). The interest in the show comes from watching people deciding on how much they will risk that they initially picked a good briefcase as opposed to a bad one.

For instance, a contestant might be offered $30,000.00 if they decide to "Deal" with the banker and give up the briefcase they hold. Contestant chooses "No deal." Then several more of the briefcases are opened. Suppose the 1 million, 1/2 million, and 1/4 million are opened. The potential value of the contestant's briefcase drops significantly. The next offer might be $10,000. The opposite is also true. If the $0.01, $1.00, and $10.00 are opened, the potential value increases.

In theory the game can come down to only one briefcase being left to deal with. The only two values not ruled out are $0.01 and $1,000,000.00 (which in real life, the best option would be to take the $500,000.00 or so that the banker would offer). If one could be sure they chose the million dollar briefcase, they could afford to say no deal. But if they were wrong they would leave with only a penny.

OK. The point of this post was not to tell you about the gameshow, but to apply it to life. How many times do we take the things that God, creator of the universe, has given us, and play "Deal or No Deal" with them?

God does everything for His glory, yet we take that and try to make it our glory. We want our dealmaking to win out. We take the initial desire of wanting to give God praise and honor, but then trade it for something that can give us pleasure.

This is the equivalent of having the person who placed the values in the briefcases tell us exactly which one to pick - which we do - and then trading it away because... we think we can do a better deal than God.

Bible still allowed in Canada

A court in Canada has ruled that having an advertisement in a newspaper that shows that the Bible says no to homosexual behavior is NOT against the constitution. Earlier court rulings had lead some to think that the Bible might have been banned.

The sunburn from Canyon Lake continues... as does the heat outside.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Happy Resurrection Day to everyone. Today is the day that we set aside to specifically remember when Jesus rose from the dead. He conquered death and paid our sins. Really, every day should be celebrating this day! However we all mess up and forget. So use today as a reminder.

I am a little sunburned from yesterday at Canyon Lake. But it was an excellent time.

Persecution Dream

While there is a good chance that it was strongly influenced by the malaria medication I am still taking due to my last trip overseas, I had a dream monday morning that I was being persecuted. (Perhaps because my daily Bible reading was from Revelation the night before?)

I don't remember the details, but I awoke with the acute sense that I was being persecuted for my beliefs and that I was at peace about it. I have no clue if it is something that may happen in the future or whatnot. What I do know is that there are several Christians who are persecuted daily (yes even today) for what they believe -- and for the most part no one is aware that it occurs. Pray for those that are persecuted for their relationship with Jesus that they may not falter or deny His name. I do not pray that the persecution ends. Why? Because the Good News of Christ's Love and Redemption of us spreads faster when under duress than in comfort. Because I want all to hear about it -- not just those who live in a country where the freedom of religion is observed.

Global Night Commute

Tonight I saw a documentary on the sufferings of the people in Uganda. Entitled "Invisidble Children," it highlights the struggles of the children that are forced into fighting a war in order to survive. Although in the military, I was not forced into war; I chose to sign up -- but I also am an adult and can choose and I find that, for the most part, the US military is more about saving lives than taking lives. When you view the documentary or read about the real struggle to survive there in Uganda, you, too, will want to do something to change it.

I have been, am now, and will continue to be critical of peace rallies, anti-war movements, and demonstrations in general. However, I am seriously considering participating in the Global Night Commute. While it does have partners with whom I do not always (more honestly, hardly ever) agree (Amnesty International being the one that jumped out at me), I am willing to give this one a shot and see how it goes. I want to see with my own eyes and talk with the people there what they think this will do.

One thing I am sure of, and no demonstration regardless of size will change it, is that the only way that Uganda will have peace is through the Prince of Peace. Only the love of God can successfully end war, especially one that has been raging for over 20 years. So why participate in a secular rally that may not make much of an impact?

First, I can see with my own eyes whether this event will be hijacked by groups to support something I disagree with.
Second, some awareness, however misplaced, is better than no awareness. (But I have to be careful with that reason, because sometimes doing the partially-right thing is more damaging than doing nothing)
Most importantly, I can share with the attendees (and my readers) the REAL way for the situation to be solved (not awareness of a cause, but a relationship with God).

So as of right now, I plan on sleeping outside on the street on April 29th. I will of course keep an update on the status and possible results of my participation.

Global Warming Stopped?

According to an opinion piece, global warming stopped in 1998. More research needs to be done.

More Personal

I have been accused of, and to which I plead guilty, not including enough about "me" and "my life" in my blog. I'll try to do so in the future. Here's a start:

Last weekend, I went with a friend to the Poteet Strawberry Festival. It had more to do with a fair than a festival and more to do with rides and souvenirs than strawberries. But it was fun nevertheless. I did get some strawberry ice cream. Now if I can only find some fresh strawberries that aren't $30 a flat...

I'm looking forward to an upcoming waterskiing trip.

My main place for photos will still be http://spaces.msn.com/physics4christ/photos/ until I can find a better place online. Suggestions anyone?

Scary Ultra Right-Wing Governments

I recently saw "V for Vendetta." I didn't really like the movie. The first previews I saw for the movie looked pretty good (I was out of the country when i saw the previews), the premise of the movie seemed sound (Bad Government needs to be overthrown - "In the course of human events..."), and it starred Natalie Portman. (In the words of one of my friends, "she's quite a looker").

However, after reading Focus on the Family's review, I knew that it wasn't a good movie for enjoyment. So why did I still go watch it? National Review, among other newspapers/magazines, ran a critique of the movie because the hero (of sorts) was a terrorist. I wanted to see what kind of government the hero was to take on. Why would we make a hero out of a terrorist? What is the difference between a terrorist and a revolutionary?

The way I see it, a terrorist can never be a suitable hero. A terrorist is one who uses violence on civilians for political gain. A revolutionay uses violence on the established government for political gain. Clearly, George Washington and the other Founding Fathers used violence for political gain. However they did not target civilians - hence not being terrorists.

I disagree with Mr. Suderman that "V" is a terrorist. He does not explicitly target civillians, rather he goes after government leaders and buildings. Yet at the same time, I do not see him as a revolutionary, because he did not fight a defensive battle, but one of offense. This may be too fine of a line to destinguish, so, as always, I welcome debate on the issue. My initial position is that "V" is not a suitable hero but also not a terrorist.

The primary reason for my seeing the movie was to see what type of government was portrayed as evil. While I shall save my theory on the political spectrum to another time (I don't like the idea of a spectrum, but rather a wheel), the evil English government was a like the Westboro Baptists Church members became in charge. (See my blog entitled "Disgusting Choice for Utilizing Free Speech") Yet, in the movie, it appears that the movie makers made them equivalent with ALL Christians.

I find this to be a not-so-veiled attack on Christianity. The logical pattern being a form of a straw man fallacy:

This (very extreme right wing) is what a country would look like if we let the Christians be in charge. We don't want this to happen. Therefore we don't want any of them in charge.

I find the only way to refute this is to deal with the Big problem. The problem is that we have too many Christians walking around preaching ideas and not enough Christ-followers showing the love of God.

For now

This is a poem that came to me in church:

---

One day it will come,
When standing on the golden streets,
No longer will pauses be required,
No more getting tired,
But praise uninterrupted beats
To glorify the Son.

Yet before that time arrives
Pain and trouble in our lives
Shall be like fire finding dross
And peoples will spit upon the cross.
But for those that persevere
Through shed blood and tear,

For that day will surely come,
From every nation, tribe, and tongue
To those that worship, shout, and sing
Glorious praises to our King.
And ceaseless will it be,
For all the world to see.