J. Lee Grady - Justice, Judgmentalism and the Casey Anthony Verdict

Her “not guilty” verdict made a lot of people mad. But before we vent any more anger we may need an attitude check.
Where were you on July 5 when the Casey Anthony verdict was released? Just before the 2:15 p.m. announcement, I was in a restaurant in Orlando with my family—and our waitress was so anxious to hear the outcome of the trial that she brought up the topic after we ordered our lunch. Not since the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial have Americans invested so much emotional energy in a courtroom drama.

Because I live near Orlando where the trial was held, I’ve grown weary of the never-ending local news coverage, which included stories on how much Casey was allowed to spend on toiletries every week at the Orange County jail and how long out-of-town visitors waited in line to get tickets to the trial. I remember when 2-year-old Caylee Anthony went missing in 2008. I remember when her decomposed remains were found six months later in some woods near her home. I listened to the blur of reports about duct tape, the suspicious odor in the trunk of the car, the chloroform, and her mother’s partying habits.

“Before you spend any more time analyzing the evidence, complaining about the jury or judging Casey’s motives, ask God to touch her. Could God have actually been involved in this unexpected verdict to give Casey more time to discover Him?”

People became engrossed in the case of the so-called Tot Mom. Many became armchair prosecutors. Some of them flew to Orlando to get a seat in the courtroom. Millions more followed every detail of the trial through Nancy Grace, Dateline and other news programs. Many amateur crime solvers were convinced Casey killed her little daughter—and they were ready to hand her a death sentence.

After the verdict was read on Tuesday, many Americans were shocked—mostly because Casey’s lies during the lengthy ordeal destroyed her credibility. Thousands of angry Twitterers formed a virtual lynch mob. Their words were harsh, exemplified by these tweets from people who referenced God:

* “The jury may have found her ‘not guilty,’ but she'll get what’s coming to her. God will make sure of that!”

* “Casey, you didn't win. You have a dead daughter, a guilty conscience, a society that hates you and a date with God.”

* “Dear Casey Anthony, God will deal with you. Good luck finding a lawyer that will help you lie to Him.”

Maybe I’m in the minority, but it disturbs me when I hear Christians spewing vindictive statements about God’s judgment in anybody’s direction—especially toward a woman who has just been pronounced not guilty in an American courtroom. Yes, I feel horrible for little Caylee, whose life was stolen from her. Yes, I think Casey’s story seemed to be full of holes. And no, I don’t believe the not guilty verdict brought the kind of “closure” Casey’s parents claim to have now. We’re not any closer to solving the mystery of her death.

But in the end, people who follow Christ should not be grabbing pitchforks and demanding vigilante justice just because a trial didn’t turn out the way we thought it should. Our response should be tempered with redemption. I’d recommend the following:

Thank God for His mercy toward you. Every one of us deserves a guilty verdict from God because of our sins (see Romans 3:23), but in His perfect love He engineered a way to satisfy justice and yet grant us full pardon. If you truly know the forgiveness of Christ you cannot cold-heartedly desire revenge for others. Our attitude should be guided by Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you. (NASB)”

Pray for Casey Anthony and her family. Before you spend any more time analyzing the evidence, complaining about the jury or judging Casey’s motives, ask God to touch her. Do you believe He loves her? Could God have actually been involved in this unexpected verdict to give Casey more time to discover Him? Pray that Casey and her parents will come to know His salvation in a personal way. (P.S. This whole thing has reminded me that I’ve not spent too much time praying for O.J. Simpson, either.)

Pray for the children who are abused every day and don’t get news coverage. According to the organization Child Help, a report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds. Almost five children die every day in the United States as a result of child abuse, and more than three out of four are like Caylee Anthony—under the age of 4.

If Christians become more aggressive in addressing child abuse in all its forms—and channel our righteous anger in a positive direction—Caylee’s death will not have been in vain.

From the Fire In My Bones blog:

J. Lee Grady is contributing editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. His most recent book is 10 Lies Men Believe (Charisma House).

Your Unique View Of The World #3 - Worldview

Major Worldview Overview

Secular Humanism and Post-Modernism


    Secular Humanism is a view of the world that puts man, the human, squarely in the center. The motto of Secular Humanism is "Man is the center and measure of all things." In this view Man is responsible to pull himself up from the primordial darkness and project himself forward into the future, being responsible to no god, but relying on his own cunning and strength of will. Secular Humanism is basically a materialistic belief system, with the concept of the soul relegated to the brain, as in the phrase "the mind is what the brain does. He uses his knowledge of science and technology to make the world in the image of his own dictates. This view affords a high view of man as a being that is good at the heart and able to rise high above difficult circumstances by a focus on education and training towards excellence. The main view of man is that of an unconstrained vision, where men are trusted to do the highest and best without accompanying rules or strictures. Men who fall short of this great goal are simply in need of help and education. Evil in this view is seen as not within the man, but the result of the wrong environmental situation. Given a better environment, the man is able to right his wrongs and reform positively.
    Postmodernism is a relatively new take or twist on an old view of the world, called Nihilism. Postmodernism is the main driving worldview of the American pop culture. The motto of Postmodernism is "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  This view is really somewhat similar to the atmosphere of that of the New Testament in the times of Jesus. The New Testament period was full of competing and various conceptions of life and reality. There were many competing ideas of the function of the physical versus the material, with some elevating the natural world, and others emphasizing the spiritual. Today, along with a pervasive relativism and emphasis on experience, the Postmodern also rejects anything objective in favor of the subjective. There is a deep distrust and cynicism within postmodernism, causing a sense of purposelessness that is then embraced irrationally as liberation. The "reality tv" craze is a postmodern phenomena. It is the idea of the point of life as being the goal of having your "fifteen minutes of fame." In Postmodernism there is no real freedom, because there is belief that we are merely caught in a trap from which we cannot escape. The Postmodern is concerned with the here and now, and caught up with the idea that all things are entertainment, mere events and mere experiences. Postmodernism is full of rhetoric that speaks of "progress" while losing the respect for European and Western cultural distinctives. To the postmodern, any one who believes a narrative as true and real is considered to be unenlightened and close-minded. Just like it's older brother Nihilism, Postmodernism simply posits a future and a hope, but then cynically denies the reality or possibility of meaning and purpose in the universe, opting instead for an intellectual sounding but empty philosophy. 


from JavaJazzJesus

Your Honor, We Find the Cable News Shows Guilty

Dennis Prager: A Fourth of July Celebration Ceremony

Four years ago, I wrote a column titled "America Needs a July Fourth Seder." In it, I explained that "national memory dies without national ritual. And without a national memory, a nation dies." Many readers and listeners to my radio show responded by creating their own rituals to make the day far more meaningful than watching fireworks and eating hot dogs.

I now present a simple 10-minute ceremony that every American can easily use on July Fourth. It is a product of the Internet-based Prager University that I founded nearly two years ago. We call it the Fourth of July Declaration, and here it is. (A paginated and printed version can be downloaded at the website www.prageruniversity.com).

It begins with a note to the individual leading the ritual, the "host."

NOTE TO HOST *

We hope this day finds you, your family and your friends in good health, enjoying another glorious Fourth together. We all love barbecues, parties and fireworks, but if that's all the Fourth of July is about, the day has lost its meaning and we lose a vital connection to our American past.

Welcome to our Fourth of July Declaration!

We have modeled this Declaration on the best-known commemoration of a historical event in the world -- the Jewish Passover meal. It has successfully kept the memory of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt alive for over 3,000 years.

As Americans, we need to reconnect with our Founding. We need to rediscover the meaning of our country's creation. And we need to do it every year. That is the reason for ritual -- to enable us to remember. Without ritual, the memory fades. And without memory, life -- whether of the individual or of a nation -- loses its meaning.

That's where this Fourth of July Declaration comes in.

In keeping with the philosophy of Prager University that profound concepts can be taught in five minutes, this Declaration is brief.

If you follow this simple ceremony, this holiday will not just be another barbecue. It will be the meaningful day it was meant to be: a celebration of the birth of our exceptional country, the United States of America.

You are encouraged to add more to your Fourth of July Declaration. This ceremony is only a starting point. But even doing this minimum will mean a lot -- to you, to your family and friends, and to the nation.

* Feel free to read this "note to host" to those assembled at your celebration of the day.

MATERIALS AND FOOD NEEDED FOR THE CEREMONY

-- Iced Tea

-- Salty pretzels

-- Strawberries and blueberries and whipped cream. (But any goodie colored red, white and blue will do.)

-- A small bell

The ringer on your cell phone will do in a pinch

-- An American coin

The bigger, the better. A half-dollar is ideal, but a quarter will do.

-- A printed (unsigned) Declaration of Independence.

-- Lyrics to "God Bless America" for all your guests. Download the lyrics. (www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/godblessamerica.html)

THE CEREMONY BEGINS

DIRECTION: Everyone gathers around the table.

HOST SPEAKS: Today, we take a few minutes to remember what the Fourth of July is about and to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to be Americans.

Before America was a nation, it was a dream -- a dream shared by many people, from many nations, over many generations.

It began with the Pilgrims in 1620, who fled Europe so that they could be free to practice their religion. It continued through the 17th century, as more and more people arrived in a place that came to be known as the New World. In this new world, where you were from didn't matter; what mattered was where you were headed.

As more and more people settled, they started to see themselves as new people -- Americans.

They felt blessed: The land was spacious. The opportunities limitless.

By 1776, a century and a half after the first Pilgrims landed, this new liberty-loving people was ready to create a new nation.

And on July 4 of that year, they did just that. They pronounced themselves to be free of the rule of the English king. We know this statement as the Declaration of Independence.

DIRECTION: Host invites the young people (generally ages 7 and older) present to read and to answer the following:

YOUNG READERS:

Q: Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July?

A: Because the Fourth of July is the birthday of the American people -- the day we chose to become the United States of America, a free nation.

Q: Why was America different from all other countries?

A: Because in 1776, all countries were based on nationality, religion, ethnicity or geography. But America was created on the basis of a set of ideas. This is still true today.

Q: What are those ideas?

A: Three ideas summarize what America is all about. They are engraved on every American coin. They are "Liberty," "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum."

DIRECTION: Host passes around an American coin and chooses readers from the group to read the following:

READER No. 1: "Liberty" means that we are free to pursue our dreams and to go as far in life as hard work and good luck will take us.

READER No. 2: "In God We Trust" means that America was founded on the belief that our rights and liberties have been granted to us by the Creator. Therefore they cannot be taken away by people.

READER No. 3: "E Pluribus Unum" is a Latin phrase meaning "From Many, One." Unlike other countries, America is composed of people of every religious, racial, ethnic, cultural and national origin -- and regards every one of them as equally American. Therefore, "out of many (people we become) one" -- Americans.

HOST: We have on our table items that symbolize the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War that won our freedom.

DIRECTION: Host holds up each symbolic item as he explains its symbolic meaning.

-- We drink iced tea to remember the Boston Tea Party. "No taxation without representation" was the patriots' chant as they dumped British tea into the Boston Harbor.

-- We eat a salty pretzel to remember the tears shed by the families who lost loved ones in the struggle for freedom in The Revolutionary War and all the wars of freedom that followed.

-- We ring a bell to recall the Liberty Bell, which was rung to announce the surrender of the King's army. On the bell are inscribed these words from the Book of Leviticus: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof."

-- We eat strawberries and blueberries dipped in whipped cream to celebrate the red, white and blue of our flag.

HOST: We celebrate America's greatness without denying its flaws. There are no perfect individuals, so there can certainly be no perfect country. Our national history has its share of shame. The greatest of these is the shame of slavery, which existed at our founding, as it existed throughout the world at that time.

But let it never be forgotten that we fought a terrible civil war in which hundreds of thousands of American died. And the reason for that war was slavery.

Let it also not be forgotten that America has fought in more wars for the freedom of other peoples than any nation in history.

America's history is one that we can be proud of.

DIRECTION: Host holds up a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

We now close with one more ritual. Let each of us sign our names to the Declaration of Independence. While it is a replica of the one our founders signed, the words and sentiments are eternal.

DIRECTION: Everyone present signs their name to the Declaration of Independence. As each one signs, the host hands each person the lyrics to "God Bless America."

HOST: Everyone sing with me.

DIRECTION: Everyone sings (hopefully).

HOST: Happy Birthday, America. Happy Fourth of July. Now let's eat.

from townhall.com

Freedom!

Your Unique View Of The World #2 - A lens to see the world with

A lens to see the world with


    A worldview can be seen most easily like a pair of glasses that we use to see the world with. So no matter what direction we look, we are affected by the worldview lenses we use. Which ever way you choose to look the glasses of your worldview help you to understand and contextualize your various experiences. Many, or rather most of us, are unaware of the power of this underlying aspect of our lives. We do not understand how our worldview makes us able or not able to understand others and their unique worldviews.


Did you have a choice in this matter? (cultural conditioning)


    Having now identified the concept of a worldview, you are likely already seeing the particular aspects of your own view. But how much of this did you choose and how much of it was simply part of the air you breathe? Is it possible to pick and choose the aspects of a worldview, or are you stuck with the one you were born into. In the United States and the so-called West, there are a few dominant worldviews that hold sway over the culture. They are firmly ensconced on the throne of our world by constant repetition and education, as well as dominant stories and beliefs we tell ourselves and one another. Probably the most dominant worldviews in our culture are that of Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, and Judeo-Christian theism.

Kingdom Quotes: Oswald Chambers on: Realizing God's Purpose

The moment you realize God's purpose, which is to get you rightly related to Himself and then to your fellow men, He will tax the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road. 

 - Oswald Chambers

Will you be checking in your dignity today? TSA screeners embarrass 95-year old woman

Your Unique View Of The World #1 - The upside-down world

The upside down world (They see things differently in Australia)

     Give yourself a few seconds to look at the picture below. Is it a map of the Great Lakes? Is it Tolkien's Middle Earth? Nope. In fact, it's a map of the world from Australia's perspective! It's an upside-down world. However, if you were looking at the Earth from outer space, it would more than likely look more like this picture than our usual map, with the United States right in the middle, and everything revolving around it. This is just one way to think of your world. This is a good way to see that not everyone has the same view of the world that you do.

 But this is just the problem of perception based on maps. What about language, culture, politics, religion, and business? Each and every one of us has a predetermined worldview that we have "inherited" from our culture, our family, and our economic class or regional affiliation. If you grew up in the Southern part of the United States, you very likely have a differing view of many aspects of culture compared to, say, someone who grew up in Detroit, Michigan or Honolulu, Hawaii. And the further out you go in concentric circles culturally, the greater the distance in worldview similarity. From the USA to Mexico is a short trip culturally because there are some similarities of heritage, background and language, compared to going from the USA to China. In this scenario there is no common heritage, history, language or culture. The differences are so vast as to be almost insurmountable in their complexities.  

    Having a clear understanding of your own worldview and the potential worldviews you may come in contact with can help you negotiate yourself through the great complex maze of differing ideas and ways of doing things, both abroad and even right there in your own neighborhood.

Chinese Roulette - Cartoon

Big Questions Lead To Big Answers #5 - Let the fire burn

Let the fire burn!


    Speaking of light - have you ever gone to the tourist places like Cave of The Winds or something similar? They take you a thousand feet or more below the surface of the ground and then for effect turn the lights out on you to show you just how dark it is down there. We have all experienced something like this, an experience of total darkness. What happens when one small light or candle is lit? An amazing thing occurs, one little candle can light up a huge cavern. 
    How about this - have you ever been in front of a light so bright that you could see through your hand and all of the blood vessels and bones and such? The experience of this light is actually blinding. It is difficult to look directly into a very bright light. 
    The first example, of course, is analogous to the light of truth that we carry into the world. It is the light that Jesus talked about in John 5:14 when he said "you are the light of the world." The second example is analogous to the light of truth itself. It comes and illumines every bit and fiber of our being and exposes everything that is not of the light. This is the light of the Truth, with a capital "T," that we must allow to now fully penetrate our mind, heart and spirit. By allowing the Truth to come and flood our very being with this awesome luminescence, we are then afforded the opportunity to be people of truth. This is the challenge before you, will you let the fire of the light of truth to burn until you yourself are a made one with the truth?  

‘Gay Marriage,’ Libertarians, and Civil Rights - George Weigel

According to a New York Times story of June 25, an essential part of the coalition that brought “gay marriage” to the Empire State consisted of Republican financial high-rollers who gave Republican legislators cover for voting in favor of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “marriage equality” bill while generously funding the pro–“gay marriage” ground campaign, and who “were inclined to see the issue as one of personal freedom, consistent with their more libertarian views.”

More intellectual and political confusion would be hard to pack into one sentence.

“Gay marriage” in fact represents a vast expansion of state power: In this instance, the state of New York is declaring that it has the competence to redefine a basic human institution in order to satisfy the demands of an interest group looking for the kind of social acceptance that putatively comes from legal recognition. But as Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York and others argued during the days before the fateful vote on June 24, the state of New York does not have such competence, and the assertion that it does casts an ominous shadow over the future. For if the state in fact has the competence, or authority, to declare that Adam and Steve, or Eve and Evelyn, are married, and has the related authority to compel others to recognize such marriages as the equivalent of what we have known as marriage for millennia, then why stop at marriage between two men or two women? Why not polyamory or polygamy? Why can’t any combination of men and women sharing financial resources and body parts declare itself a marriage, and then demand from the state a redress of its grievances and legal recognition of it as a family? On what principled ground is the New York state legislature, or any other state legislature, going to say “No” to that, once it has declared that Adam and Steve, or Eve and Evelyn, can in fact get married according to the laws of the state?

read more at: NRO online

Big Questions Lead To Big Answers #4 - Can you handle the Truth?

Can you handle the truth? 


    The great problem of relativism is a curse of our time. One need only think of the great financial crisis gripping the world today to understand it's colossal impact. Men, desiring greater profits, went to extraordinary efforts to create such a blur between the lines of sound business practices and reckless gambling on a massive scale, effecting the economy of the entire world by their actions. If Francis Schaeffer were alive to see this, he would point them out and say, "See, I told you that all men cared about was their own personal peace and affluence." Men have followed their own hearts down a moral black hole, and their wealth and stability fell with them. And so now the biblical injunction is once again true: "‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?"(Ezekiel 18:2) Indeed, the burden on the younger generations is always greatest when men fall to moral relativism in greed. 
    Let us consider another matter that so clearly shows the madness of moral relativism, namely that of the debate around abortion. For while actual scientific work has proved almost beyond any doubt that a fetus in the womb is a person, complete and living and even emotional, the public desire for blood has never stopped. In the name of progress and freedom more than forty million children have been destroyed since the Roe v. Wade decision came down in 1973. And all this despite the overwhelming evidence of sonogram technology that shows the child in the womb skipping and swimming and playing in it's mother's womb.
     When we look back at the time of the Nazis in Germany and the terrible things done in the name of progress and humanity, we all like to think that we would be the ones who would have resisted and stood for the right things and done the right things. After the towns were liberated in Europe one scene played itself out over and over. The women who serviced the German army officers as prostitutes were brought out into the public square and beaten by the other women of the city for "sleeping with the enemy." It was quite shocking to see prim little old ladies and mother's with children in the one hand and reaching with the other to tear the hair out of these traitors to their way of life and beliefs. 
    Why paint such terrible pictures on the canvas of your mind? Because when the true nature of evil is exposed and brought out for all to see, it is easy so see that such a thing as right and wrong do exist, that there not only may be but that there absolutely must be an absolute standard of truth. For if there were not,  the Nuremberg trials were all wrong, and a terrible mistake was made. I know of no one that would be such a relativist as to think that Nazi killers should not have been hunted down and prosecuted, although I have heard of such people. 
    Or consider the public executions of Ceausescu or Saddam Hussein. For while the act itself was detestable, it took days of repeated airings of the execution to satisfy the people that he was really dead and gone. Such monsters were these men that when people reminisce about their death they smile and remember the event with fondness. 
    Or consider something more recent. On January 8, 2011, a young man opened fire on a crowd of people killing six and wounding many others. He was a deranged young man, driven by strange conspiracy theories of his own making and was well known by many in the area as unstable. It is in cases like this that it is even more difficult to understand any purpose or point to the event. In my personal response to try and understand this tragedy I came to the place of seeing this horrific event as the thing that it is, which is simply pure evil. From this point I reasoned thusly:


"It's like this:
If there is true Evil, then there must be true Good.
If there is true Good there must be Right and Wrong.
If there is Right and Wrong then there must be Absolutes.
And if there are Absolutes, there must be an Absolute, from which all the other Absolutes derive their authority.
And this absolute Absolute is God."
(from the series "Questions of God: Questions of God Special: "Why, God? Why?")


  You see, my preference would be to argue from the creation and it's beauty and complexity, or the great lives of people like Mother Teresa, Corrie Ten Boom, the prophets and apostles, and many other selfless lives that prove the incredible power of the love of God to move ordinary people to do extraordinary things. But we humans have this amazing ability to logically explain away good deeds and even beauty and design. We question the motives of those who serve and love and even rejoice when we discover that, like the mere mortals that they were, they struggled with haunting doubts and times of darkness. We channel our inner legalist and judge good deeds done by righteous people as somehow having sinister motives and design, despite the proof of the good deeds themselves. So, for me, the shortest distance between two points is to look directly at real Evil and draw the inference from the conclusion. If somewhere in this sin-sick, weary world we can see a trace of light around a shroud of darkness, soon we may be able to look to the light, having put the darkness behind us forever. 


from JavaJazzJesus

Video: Let's take away Obama's shovel...

Kingdom Quotes: Spurgeon on: Losses For The Lord

"And the man of God answered, The LORD is

 able to give thee much more than this” 2Chron. 25:9

Be willing to lose money for conscience’ sake, for peace’s sake, for Christ’s sake. Rest assured that losses for the LORD are not losses. Even in this life they are more than recompensed: in some cases the LORD prevents any loss from happening. As to our immortal life, what we lose for Jesus is invested in heaven. Fret not at apparent disaster but listen to the whisper, 

“The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.”

C. H. Spurgeon

Speechworld vs. Realworld - Commentary by Mark Steyn

Speechworld vs. Realworld
The widening gulf between Obama’s rhetoric and reality


Click over to NRO to read about the thing that we've all been saying but no one else seems to understand. Namely, that President Obama is a man of symbol and little substance. Once again, Mark Steyn is right, and those of us in Realworld are feeling the real pain.

Big Questions Lead To Big Answers #3- All Up In Your Head The dangers of religious(legalistic) thinking

All up in your head – the danger of religious(legalistic) thinking


    There is a real danger at a certain level of thinking, and that is the trap of legalistic thinking. This is the kind of thinking that really is not thinking at all, but mere adherence to a determined standard. It's the kind of thinking that makes a person think that they know all that they need to know. Their mind is made up. The subject is closed. It is the stance of the person involved at the level of the Denominational Handbook, Book of the Prayers of the Church, or the Company Policy Manual. "This is how our ancestors have done it, and it's how we're all supposed to do it. Period!" This happens in corporations and families, churches and symphony orchestras.
    This kind of thought breeds a sort of subtle inhumanity toward your fellow man by judging him and putting rules and regulations on him and expectations of perfect adherence to be allowed into the "in group." Cult groups of many kinds use this kind of mindset to effect total control over people and to enslave them under a kind of intellectual totalitarianism. 
    In my experience there are two types of people out there; grace people and law people. Grace people understand that we are all in this together and that we all need a little room to be human in the midst of our struggles. Law people judge others as weak or not following the rules rightly. Grace people understand the point of the rules and respect them, but don't use them to control others. Law people are all about control through the only word they know, which is "no." Grace people see the good in others and trust them, and law people assume the worst from the first. Grace people help you clean up after a mess or failure, but law people look to see who to blame for the mess, and always it's someone else. Be a grace person, and you will go a long way in this journey, and quickly.
    So while we are on a search for something more powerful and enriching than mere intellectual exercise, there is still the need to be human, to be real, to be kind and compassionate. Pure intellectualism is what has caused a great many abuses and even genocide in the not too distant past. A philosophy that is all heart is sappy, vapid and at worst superstitious. But a philosophy that is merely intellectual is cold, calculated, and cruel. Is there a higher way? Is there a true north for us to guide us to a greater overarching narrative? 

It's an emergency!

Big Questions Lead To Big Answers #2 - Are We In Danger Of Thinking?

Are we in danger of thinking?


    It takes a certain amount of fortitude and determination to begin the climb up the mountain toward a true understanding of the things of the mind and the spirit. In many ways it is like visiting a foreign country, with it's own language, culture and laws. It takes a while to be able to get around ably and speak the language and understand the way that things work in this new land. But when you have done the work necessary to do this, you realize that you are more able to understand both yourself, and others. The effort is well worth it. It is with this new determination that we must begin to honestly learn to have our minds be renewed to the truth. 

Big Questions Lead To Big Answers #1 - Must We Ask Questions

Must we ask questions?


    So here's a good question: Must we ask questions? The short answer, of course, is "yes." I hear you saying, "Now wait just one minute, here. Didn't you just spend the last whole section on talking about how important it is to seek good answers to good questions?" Trust me, I'm not pulling a fast one on you. I'm asking a question about the validity of questioning and the ideas that you bring with you when you begin to ask your brilliant questions. These are called presuppositions, and they are tricky fish to catch. We all bring ideas about truth and the experience of truth to any exploration of it. We must be careful to "see" how we see things and that we may have a faulty foundation that may need to be dealt with first. 
    It is important to work out whether we are being honest intellectually in our quest for knowledge and the truth. Why? Because if I don't really believe there is such a thing as truth that is true, what am I seeking to know? Obviously I am seeing things as all relative to one another and based on a situational basis, case by case. I may be convinced that there is in fact no way to know the truth, and therefore skeptical to a fault, committing the fault of Hume or Descartes, coming to the point of doubting even my own existence. This can go so far as to  cause someone to imagine that they themselves are God, as in New Age religion, or are the zero point reference  of all things, called solipsism. 
   The other direction is to simply be intellectually lazy, not wanting to ask questions at all. I have met many people in this group, even so-called Christians. The Barna Group that does so much work polling and finding out what people think about themselves and their beliefs calls these people "Notionals." The name gives away their problem. They have a notion that they are Christians, but in fact are not according to Biblical requirements. The scary part about this is that this group consists of fully half of the people claiming to be Christians in the United States, approximately some forty to fifty million people. So for millions of people their unwillingness to think through their faith and core beliefs leaves them in a precarious position both spiritually and intellectually. 
    In C.S. Lewis's first published work after becoming a Christian, The Pilgrim's Regress, he ably creates a clear understanding of both extremes; the unthinking and intellectually void pop Christianity and the hyper-intellectual philosophers and theologians of his day. Not much has changed since he wrote that book. There are still the same ditches on both sides of the road, one leading to a vapid super-spirituality and legalism and the other leading to a dry formalism or nihilistic cynicism.


from: JavaJazzJesus

From NRO: Run, Rick, Run! - Deroy Murdock

The Texas governor could be the one for whom Republicans have been waiting.

Four summers ago, 73 percent of Republicans were satisfied with the candidates seeking the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. Now, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll revealed on Wednesday, only 45 percent of Republicans are happy with today’s 2012 contenders.

Despite pro-market ideas and an impressive, limited-governmentrecord, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty seems too genteel to leapfrog the apparent frontrunner, Willard Mitt Romney. For his part, Massachusetts’s telegenic former governor is a philosophical contortionist. He has inhabited at least two sides of nearly every major issue and even defends an individual mandate for health insurance, provided that state governments inflict it, à la Romneycare. Romney, thus, would let the states becomes laboratories of tyranny.

Texas governor Rick Perry, 61, could cure the GOP’s ennui. As America’s economy slumbers, Perry tells a stimulating story about Texas’s pro-market growth and job creation, two subjects atop the American mind.

Between January 2001 and June 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates, Texas’s non-farm employment grew from 9,542,400 in January 2001, when Perry took office, to 10,395,800 in June 2010 — an increase of 853,400 or 8.9 percent. Big-government California simultaneously lost 827,800 jobs. Employment in Texas grew more than in the other 49 states combined. “Texas was one of the very few which even added jobs over that time,” BLS’s Cheryl Abbot toldPolitiFact.com.

read more: NRO online

Searching For God Knows What #5 - Searching to find, or searching to search?

Searching to find, or searching to search?


  I make no apologies for being a great fan of writer, speaker, sociologist and true prophet to the modern church Os Guinness. It seems that every time I read or come across his speeches, I have an epiphany of some level or another. Years ago he wrote a great book for seekers on the way, not just Christian seekers, but all who would really be open to a journey and deep search for the truth. In his book Long Journey Home: Your Search For The Meaning Of Life, Guinness shares his great experience of having spoken with literally thousands of seekers over the years. He sees this journey for the meaning of life as having four distinct phases: Questions, answers, testing and re-evaluation, and commitment. We'll look at each of these in turn. 

 1.) Questions
  I am a also a fan of great questions. I like to just let a question take me to whatever end it may, being careful to check my conclusions with truth and experience. The bigger the question, the more it interests me. Perhaps you have had some experience with this as well. Often a life experience will lead to a search for understanding of that situation. I once had a friend betray me in such a way as to cause me to consider seriously the idea of what it would take to remove him from planet earth. It was a situation in which a major trust was violated and it caused me great distress. But the real distress for me was that, although my friend had really hurt me, I was more moved to understand why a person would do something so deliberately heinous in the first place, and especially to a close friend. Perhaps you are in or have been in a similar situation. Serious sickness, financial distress, divorce, or the death of a close friend or loved one can cause a major crisis of belief that causes us to rethink the very basis of our core understanding of things as they are. And so we begin to ask questions. Of course, you could just be intellectually curious in the first place. 


2.) Answers
Often we begin to ask questions of our peers, friends, family or mentors and those we respect. Following this, we begin to read and test the waters of experience, seeking to gain a deeper understanding of our dilemma. When we have finally exhausted the well of questions, we see an answer here and there that may fill the void left from the intellectual search brought on by the crises we have been through. So, tentatively at first, we begin to trust certain answers as acceptable to our mind and heart. I remember in my college days reading about various religions and philosophies and trying them on for a while to see if they were able to answer my curiosities. One by one they would all fall by the wayside, until I had reached a conclusion that I felt reflected the best of intellectual pursuit and consistency with things as I saw them in reality. 


3.) Testing or Re-evaluation
At some time one must begin to actually live out a set of beliefs as best as possible. To quote the rock band Rush from their song "Freewill," "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." But the next important thing is to test, weigh and prove your choice. This is where the great gift of doubt comes in. Doubt is a tool you use to check and re-check your decision to act or think in a certain manner that is consistent and positive. Many have had a great fear and dread of doubt, but it is the greatest gift to those who would truly seek out what Francis Schaeffer called "true Truth." This is a long process that could be life long. This process of letting the fires of life and thought come to your mind and heart brings a strength and settledness to your soul. And if you will let the testing come where it may and not back away when the challenge comes, you will become a man or woman of excellence. Don't ever be afraid to take another look at your core beliefs and values, and always have an attitude towards allowing the brilliance and light to come that is the enlightenment that comes through the honest effort.  


4.) Commitment
  Having finally reached a place of wisdom and conviction about your philosophy of life,  the final thing to do is live according to the light that it provides. This is when the light you have seen begins to become a fire inside of you that fuels a passion for life and living. God, the universe, and everything in it are well able to present you with challenges that will require this commitment. Solomon, the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes wrote: " But if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 11:8) This is the final and ultimate thing to understand in your life, that there will be many days to come where you will not be alive to make a difference. Today is your day to make your mark while you are able. Remember, though, that a commitment to a worldview or philosophy of life is not and end to a process but rather a beginning of one, a life lived with meaning and purpose. 


from JavaJazzJesus

Are things getting crazy? This is the tune that goes through my head when things get weird...

Obama bumper sticker redux

In case anyone is hoping for change...

Bumps on the road to recovery

Searching For God Knows What #4 - The God Question - one many, or none?

The God question – one, many, or none?


Is there a God? Are there many gods? Or, is the answer simply that there is no God to be found at all? According to multiple polls over the last few years, most of us believe in a God of some stripe. The number ranges between 90 to 95 percent of us who believe. Interestingly, 1 in 5 people of even those claiming to be atheists, say they pray on a daily basis. So even amongst those who don't believe in God, there is still a desire for a spiritual meaning and experience of the transcendent side of life. There is, of course, no shortage of material and good books on this subject, ranging from ancient texts and scriptures to scientific studies.

  The general ideas associated with gods, or a god, or no god at all, give us a few choices. First there is the ancient concept of many gods. Still remaining of this idea in the world is the religion of the Hindus. There are lots of gods in this religious stream. There are small ones and big ones, tall ones and short ones. Gods for every activity and every person even. The one aspect of this system that still has a lasting benefit for us is that there is at least an acknowledgment of the spiritual side of life. In our very secularized and materialistic world, this one aspect of the many-gods take on things is that there is a very acute awareness of deep need for some sort of spiritual approach to life. A belief in one God was first proposed by the Patriarchs of the Old Testament. Later on, the Platonists would join in the the chorus of those who saw that there must be one God that ruled all of the other so-called gods. In fact, Plato's thoughts still inhabit much of what is Christian in the West, particularly the dualism between the physical and the ephemeral and spiritual. 


There are many different types of atheism as well. The main difference being concepts of being and conscience, etc. From a strict materialistic mindset, to a more or less scientific form of Pantheism, the idea of atheism as a simple answer to the god question is not as fixed a concept as generally thought. And then there is the not-really-sure-about-it position known in our age as agnosticism. I was an agnostic for quite a long period of my life, something I am not proud of.

  If you were hoping I would sort this all out for you, I apologize. You see, the truth is that the Bible itself does not answer this question directly. In fact, it just supposes the existence of God from the beginning. "In the beginning, God..." Get it? And here's a politically incorrect fact; the Bible says that those that don't believe in God are fools! Psalm 14 says "The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”" So here is the Bible basically saying that those who deny God's existence are foolish and somehow deliberate in this. And in case you think maybe that was just the Old Testament, take a look at Romans 1:18-23:  


"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."


Like I said, not real politically correct. Imagine going on Bill Maher's show or showing up at a college faculty meeting and telling them that they are fools. The only person I know who can honestly speak in this way and not be mean is God. When He is telling you that you are a knucklehead, He is doing it for your greatest and highest good. Not that you are a knucklehead. I was speaking of me. I am the one who was convinced of my hardcore hard heartedness long ago and continuing to this day. Humility is something that we all need in the approach to the deep waters of theology and philosophy. It is also a great help on a journey of the soul. 


Of course, I’m not saying that there is not a place for defense of the Christian faith, far from it, but that really the developing of arguments for the existence of God is at first assumed in scripture, and then developed over time, particularly in the New Testament. 1Peter 3:15 says “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” My goal here is to help you on your search in a fair way. If you are a genuine seeker and have not made a choice or been convinced just yet on whether there is one God, many gods, or none at all, I encourage you to go ahead and move forward in your seeking, one step at a time.


from JavaJazzJesus

Searching For God Knows What #3 - Open mindedness and the search

Open mindedness and the search


Socrates stated that "the unexamined life is not worth living." While there are those who are bold and nihilistic enough to deny this statement, most of us in the West would agree to it. It is not unusual to see a bumper sticker on the car in front of yours that says "Question Authority." Here in the U.S. we pride ourselves on our independent thought and attitude, and look to our Founding Fathers as examples of great men worthy to emulate because of their strong stance against the tyranny of Britain's King George. We are forever stretching the bounds of the Manifest Destiny into areas never even conceived in the minds of the early pioneers of our nation. 
One value that is much vaunted today is that of open-mindedness. Just what do we mean when we say we are open-minded? The positive sense is that of a person who is willing to consider new ideas, alternatives, or concepts. On the other hand there is the person who is "so open-minded that their brain is in danger of falling out when they reach down to pick up a pencil off of the floor." A certain intellectual flexibility is necessary when considering a search as daunting as meaning and purpose in the universe. In fact it is absolutely necessary. Rigidity in thought, lack of intellectual curiosity, and plain, old-fashioned laziness are road blocks we must overcome before we attempt the journey towards a deeper understanding of our place in history, life, the universe, and everything. 


from: JavaJazzJesus

Jackass Nation: Has the Safety Obsessed Nanny State Turned Americans into a Bunch of Weenies?

Jackass Nation: Has the Safety Obsessed Nanny State Turned Americans into a Bunch of Weenies?


http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&mpid=105


Watch and listen to the men of Trifecta help us understand why allowing kids to live free and experience consequences actually makes them more responsible adults. Then be amazed at the philosophical depth of this insight. It's worth ten good minutes, so click the link and be enlightened.  

Searching For God Knows What #2 - Something to live and die for

Something to live and die for


But is fame or fortune enough to satisfy the longing of our souls for a meaningful life? Philosophers have pondered the question "What is the good life?" for thousands of years. While they have not all agreed on what the good life is, they all have agreed a priori that the question itself is worthy of serious thought and consideration. From the Humanist Manifesto (the quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind) to the Westminster Confession (The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever) there have been countless affirmations of this desire to know the who, what, and why of life. The real desire is to name the things for which we will live, and even die. Do we have a life purpose so grand and compelling that we would not only live for it, but would also be willing to die for it if need be?  

Searching For God Knows What #1 - The Extent Of The Search

The extent of the search 


The collective imagination of our day is filled with the stories of those who have done elaborate or extreme things to find the next level for them. The Beatles all travelled to India to study under a Yogi, and behind them was a long trail of young people who hitchhiked across the world. They are not alone. Winston Churchill chased after glory by reporting for the English newspapers as a war correspondent in the wars and revolutions of his day as a young man. Still others have had the search thrust upon them. J.R.R. Tolkien, and many thousands of other young men in his day, was thrust into the first World War in the British Army. What he saw caused him to search to understand the depths of the depravity and heroism in men. People of all stripes and religions make pilgrimages of one type or another. Some go to great extremes to show their faith and devotion, doing such things as fasting and praying for days, weeks, even months at a time. Others go to holy sights and perform rituals that involve ritual suffering and self mutilation, called asceticism. Some seek to escape the trials and temptations of life and escape to caves and monasteries. The Stylites, a monastic movement from the fifth and sixth centuries, lived on the top of pillars several stories tall. Simeon, the most well-known of them, was visited by many great leaders and was known for his spiritual insight and wisdom.  People from all over the surrounding area would come to seek the advice and prayers of this great spiritual leader. We are all seeking something. Today the bizarro world lives of people are fodder for hundreds of hours of television programs. From becoming a finalist on American Idol, to being a subject of a show on teenage pregnant moms, many are seeking their "fifteen minutes of fame." By the way, they call this "reality TV." 

The Search for True Significance #5: Wired For Significance

We are wired for significance – the image of God


What could possibly be the source of all this energy, all this desire, all this frenzied search for a place of purpose and significance? The image of God. E. Stanley Jones, the Methodist evangelist and friend of Mahatma Ghandi so eloquently put it:  


"Three writers, all important and prominent - John, Paul and the author of Hebrews -all say in varying terminology that man and nature and the whole universe were made by Christ and for Christ, that a destiny is therefore written into the structure of new things, and that structure and that destiny is a Christian destiny. Whom he did "predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom. 8:29) We are destined by our makeup to be made into his image. When we work in his way we work well; when we work in some other way we work our own ruin.
     Can anything more important and more consequential be said about human nature and human destiny? I f so, I do not know of it, nor have I heard of it. It sounds too good to be true, but it is too good not to be true."


According to the original Owner's Manual for human beings, the Bible, it is clearly stated that God deliberately made us in the same class of beings as himself, able to understand right from wrong, able to communicate and express thoughts, able to be creative in many facets, and able to express love and be loved. God is the one who gave us His desire to express ourselves in actions of creativity, love, and passion. He is the one that said "Go ahead, whatever you think of to do, go for it. Fill the whole Earth with the signs and evidences of the image of God in man. Fill the earth with art, music, families, nations, and swimming pools. Write code, write novels, write constitutions, and live according to this constant divine push to live, love, and show forth the fruits of your brilliant mind, heart and soul. And everywhere you do this you are showing forth the Glory of God, as well as the ingenuity of man. 

Irony Abounds As Dr. Death...Dies

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan pathologist who championed physician-assisted suicides, died early Friday after being hospitalized with kidney problems and pneumonia.
The 83-year-old Kevorkian, who said he helped some 130 people end their lives from 1990 to 1999, died about 2:30 a.m. at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., close friend and attorney Mayer Morganroth said.
An official cause of death had not been determined, but Morganroth said it likely will be pulmonary thrombosis.
"I had seen him earlier and he was conscious," said Morganroth, who added that the two spoke about Kevorkian's pending release from the hospital and planned start of rehabilitation. "Then I left and he took a turn for the worst and I went back."
Nurses at the hospital played recordings of classical music by composer Johann Sebastian Bach for Kevorkian before he died, Morganroth said.


Read more: FoxNews

Cliff: Listening to music made for "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" on his death bed...Hmmm. Another atheist bites the dust and resorts to something made unto God's glory for comfort in the end. I know, the nurses played Bach's music for him, but can't you taste the sweet irony? Was that the real angel of death's final joke on ol' Jack? I hope Dr. Kevorkian faced his death with as much dignity as he could and wish his family and friends well. Dr. Death...is dead. And now, may God have mercy on his soul. R.I.P.