Neda Agha Soltan, killed 20.06.2009, Presidential Election Protest, Tehran, IRAN

Neda Agha Soltan has been in the news because she has become a symbol for the Resistance fighters protesting the Iranian Elections over the past few weeks. Here are a couple of videos from YouTube showing what happened to her and who she was.

Atheism is Dead: Bill Maher’s Errata

Mariano has published a great article answering Bill Mahr's ignorance on his blog Atheism is Dead. He does an excellent job. Not only is Mahr refuted but Mariano also calls Christians to do a better job in explaining what we believe. Thanks, Mariano.

Atheism is Dead: Bill Maher’s Errata

It Does Matter - Jesus Is THE Way

I just read a post by Danielle Belton on her Black Snob blog. It's about Oprah claiming that there are many roads to reach God in general and Jesus is not the only way in particular. Her post is about the potential backlash from Christians in general and black Christians in particular. I read many of the comments and I noticed a theme that alarmed me and force a response from me.

As many folks pointed out, Oprah's views are well-known and public for years now. What bothers me is that there should be more of a backlash. More Christians should be speaking out and explaining that it is important that Jesus is the only way! This is what makes Christianity distinctive compared to all other belief systems. Without that fact Christianity looses all meaning. IT is important. As a Christian, I say "Jesus is the only way!" as a truth claim. It is either true or it isn't. If it is a lie than no one should be a Christian. You must make a decision and live with the consequences of that choice.

As for the other points that people raised that if Jesus is the only way than billions of people are excluded, I don't know what will happen to those who don't know or will ever find out about Jesus. All I know is God will deal fairly with them. As for you and I, who have heard the claim that Jesus is the only way, we are accountable for either accepting and believing that. It doesn't matter if our ancestors were enslaved and persecuted through men misrepresenting and twisting the Bible into lies because the Bible is still true.

It doesn't make sense that all roads will lead to God because they all conflict with one another. They can all be false, but only one can be true. Take the claims of Islam versus the claims of the New Testament. The Koran says that they neither crucified or killed Jesus but it was made to appear to the Jews and Romans that they had killed Jesus. But the Bible says without qualification that Jesus was crucified. He Died and was resurrected to life. Both of these books can't be true. Everyone must look at the evidences for himself/herself and decide.

I'm probably going to write more about how God may deal with those who never learn about Christ in the afterlife, but I will conclude with a small attempt. Think of all the Old Testament men and women who we know lived righteous lives by any standard - Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and any other religion you can think of. Muslims admire Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, and many other heroes. No one would argue that any of these guys went to hell, yet they may not had any personal knowlege of Jesus. Yet they were declared righteous because they put their faith in God and trusted that God was going to save them and their people even if they themselves would not see it. This is what they were commended for. I've got scripture to back this up.

At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. - John 8:52-59

There are other scriptures I could cite but I'll save it. Instead I want re-iterate that Jesus was either completely nuts, a big-fat liar, or He was the incarnate Son of the Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - our Lord and savior of all mankind. Pick one. The evidence says Jesus is who He claimed to be and proved it by coming back from the dead never to die again. I agree with Joshua.

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." - Joshua 24:15

Jesus said:

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." John 14:6-7

Oprah: Getting A Little Too New Agey For the Jesus Crowd?

Ban the Burqa In France?

You may have heard that France is considering making it illegal for Muslim women to wear their ceremonial veils called "Burquas" in France. There is a great post about this over at the Black Snob blog by Danielle Belton. Apparently, they are considering making this move because of France's "secular tradition." That is a horrible, I mean France for most of its recorded history was a staunch Roman Catholic nation. Now they wanna claim to be secular? The thing is if we say that it's illegal for Muslims to wear Burqas when will it end? We will get to the point that we will not be able to preach from the Bible in public as it reads sooner if such a thing happened here in the states. It's already like that in may European nations. Ms Belton does not think that this could happen in the United States, but we can already see them signs. People are really trying to secularize the West. They won't stop with Muslims.

What Hollywood Believes: Dolly Parton

Here is a quote from Dolly Parton regarding her conception of "God":

"Everybody thinks of God as a different thing. To me, God is that greater, higher energy - that greater, wiser wisdom. It's tha thing in all of us that we all have to draw from. I've always trusted God and trusted myself, which to are intertwined. I'm a creative person, and what gifts I have come fom that divine place that I try to tap into. So who have I got to be afraid of?"

I've got a two fold disagreement with her worldview. To Her God is impersonal. God's purposes, thought, and will are not separate from her own. This is not Biblical.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

- Isaiah 55:8-11

The other idea I can't get along with is the that trusting yourself and trusting God are intertwined.

But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is like the beasts that perish.

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
Selah

Like sheep they are destined for the grave,
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.

Psalm 49:12-14

Instead,God tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Signature in the Cell MP3 Audio by Stephen Meyer - Apologetics 315

On the Apologetics 315 blog, there is a lecture by Stephen Meyer. Meyer is talking about the digital code embedded in the DNA of living cells. Meyer does a great job. No one disputes that the way information is encoded in our DNA is nothing short of astonishing. In some ways it is more efficient than our best information systems. Our computers are based on binary codes. DNA is based on twice as many bases. Binary is based on 0 and 1 but DNA has 4 bases. This means that much more information can be encoded. Meyer argues that everyone agrees that information can only be assembled and encoded by intelligence not material processes. I agree. No one picks up a book and assumes that the words and information contained in it shows up out of no where by chance. We automatically know that someone wrote it. Or when we run computer software we know that someone wrote it. Why would we assume DNA was different. Meyer did a great Job. Take a listen.

Signature in the Cell MP3 Audio by Stephen Meyer - Apologetics 315

Obama on Fatherhood

Whatever you may think about his politics or worldview, you have to admit that family is important to Barack Obama. The man loves his wife and his kids. As it should be! I admire that a great deal because that is the kind of man my father and brothers are and as I do my very best to be. The following video is worth seeing.

What Hollywood Believes: George Lucas

George Lucas is the creator of the Star Wars franchise and is one of the richest men on the earth today. In one interview he was asked about the religious overtones in the Star Wars series. He expressed an intelligent yet agnostic response

"I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people - more a belief in god than a belief in any particular religious system. I wanted to make it so that young people would begin asking questions about the mystery. Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask the question, 'Is there a God or is there not a God?' - that is for me the worst thing that can happen. I think you should have an opinion about that. Or you should saying, 'I'm looking. I'm very curious about this, and I am going to continue to look until I can find an answer, and if I can't find an answer, Then I'll die trying.' I think it's important to have a belief system and to have faith."

If you look at what the Jedi's believe in the movies, this pretty much sums it up. Thankfully the interviewer did pointedly ask Lucas "Do you have an opinion, or are you looking?" Lucas answered:

"I think that there is a God. No question. What that God is or what we know about that God, I'm not sure."

I really, really like George Lucas. I've got to admit that his movies and imagination have influenced me a great deal. I am pleased that he is a theist. Believing in God's existence is a fundamental intellectual step to maintaining sanity. The Bible tells us that the created order should be enough to convince us of God's existence. We have no excuse for coming at least that far if we are honest with ourselves and what we can see, hear, measure, and feel.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. - Roman 1: 18-20

As for the second part of his answer about who God is and what know about him, this only comes by cultivating a relationship with him. Such a relationship must include spending time in God's revealed scriptures and philosophies. Considering that there are many competing texts and ideas that contradict each other only one of them must be from the creator or none of them. I find it hard to believe that if a person seeks God with all of his/her own heart that God will not make it plain to them what His purposes are.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' - Acts 17: 24-28

The Black Snob Blog: Congress Apologizes For Slavery: So What? Now What

Last week, my wife told me that she heard that congress had officially apologized for slavery and the Jim Crow laws. I fell out. I never thought that such an apology would ever happen. Many folks are saying that it's pointless. I disagree. One reason why America has never began to get past slavery is because the government never officially apologized. In my opinion I think that there does need to be follow-up. Giving us money - paying for the pain and suffering of our ancestors is a slap in the face. What we need is something more concrete. For example, our ancestors, like my maternal grandmother's grandfather, wanted to learn how to read and were denied an education and a better way to make up for that is to give our children free college education. If America is truly sorry, then it should do more than just say, but do actions that will truly offset some of the damages caused by the legacy of slavery. Here is a great article from the Black Snob blog:

The Black Snob Blog: Congress Apologizes For Slavery: So What? Now What?

I have also found some great information from the following websites
Congress Apologizes for Slavery, Jim Crow
U.S. Congress apologizes for slavery

Addtionally NPR posted the following audio. Take a listen.

Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, drafted the resolution. Cohen explains the apology's long journey for Congressional approval and the significance of its timing.

20080730_tmm_03.mp...

Atheism is Dead: A. J. Jacobs - Night at the Royal Ontario Museum

Mariano has again written another brilliant post. This time it's responding to a book and comedy routine by comedian, A. J. Jacobs. Jacobs resolved to follow the prescriptions and rules set forth in the Old Testament for a whole year. He applied them using his own interpretation without regard to historical and cultural and Temporal contexts. Without this many rules in the Bible seem weird. But of course it seems weird because spirit and purpose of the law is being ignored. Mariano does a great job of taken the problem Jacobs had in applying scripture and explaining how the law comes into play today. This is a great article! Read it!

Atheism is Dead: A. J. Jacobs - Night at the Royal Ontario Museum

Fatherhood and Atheism: Paul Vitz Interview MP3 Audio - Apologetics 315

Here is an interview of Dr. Paul Vitz from the Apologetics 315 blog. Vitz's work has been featured before on Apolologetics 315 blog and I have found his work extremely interesting! He in no way tries to argue that all atheists have horrible fathers, only there seems to be a correlation between "bad" inattentive fathers and atheism. I for one would not wanna be a stumbling block for children as they seek God. This is extremely interesting!

Fatherhood and Atheism: Paul Vitz Interview MP3 Audio - Apologetics 315

What Hollywood Believes - Introduction

One of my good friends has allowed me to borrow a book entitled What Hollywood Believes by Ray Comfort. It contains quotes and interviews from the biggest stars and creators in Hollywood regarding faith, religion, and their real worldviews. This topic interest me because I know that Hollywood influences and permeates all of human culture today. They control the movies we see, the television we watch, the books and magazines we read, the music we listen to, and even the things we buy. Not to say that this is an aweful thing in every case but it does shine light on why our society is what it is and why it is getting worse. Just what are we competing with for the hearts and minds of ourselves, our children, and the future? For example, many people in the Hollywood elite support same-sex marriage. Do they hold to the same worldview and opinion of who God is and the infallibility of the Bible as I do? If some do, which ones? This book is a great way to view that and look at human pscholhogy. We can explore what makes us human looking at a book like this.

This post is the kick-off of a series of posts I'm calling "What Hollywood Believes".For time-to-time I will post an article about one of the celebrities featured in Ray Comfort's book and i want to hold up the celebrity's world view in the light of scripture. This should be interesting. I'm not going to cover everyone in the book - just my favorites.

Dying for Democracy

I have been hearing about the protests in Iran concerning their elections. it appears they have been fixed and people are not happy about it. They are activcely protesting and and people are dying. They are dying for democracy.

Here is the text posted on YouTube with the Video

Iranian girl , Neda and her father attend a peaceful rally in Tehran before things took a tragic turn.

The girl, known as Neda and thought to be 16, has become both a martyr and rallying cry for those opposed to the Iranian hardline government.

"Neda, your death will not be in vain," reads one message on Twitter, where her name is being used as a call sign for anti-government bloggers and is one of the site's most mentioned words.

The deaths follow threats from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday that fresh opposition unrest would be met with "blood, violence and chaos".

Iranian state television is reporting that 10 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in yesterday's violence in Tehran.
Foreign media are banned from reporting on non-official events in Iran, where the state censors and regulates the information seen by its citizens and those abroad.

But a video clip showing a girl known as Neda, who is thought to have been no older than 16, bleeding to death while frantic attempts are made to save her life has been broadcast across the globe via the internet.

Reports from the country say the teenager had been watching Saturday's protests with her father when she was shot by Iran's militia.

A message posted with the original footage on YouTube alleges she was intentionally shot in the chest.

"I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her," the video's poster said.

"But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than two minutes.

"The protests were going on about 1 kilometre away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gas used among them, towards Salehi St.

"The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know."

Neda, whose name means "voice" in Farsi, has been hailed as a martyr by those outraged at the brutality of the Iranian government's response to the election protests.

Clashes broke out soon after the presidential election on June 12, which many supporters of Iranian opposition parties claim was rigged to re-elect the hardline Islamist government.

The story of Neda's death has resonated with protesters across the world.

In America, pictures of her face have appeared on posters at protests against the Iranian government, hailing her as a martyr, US media reports.

Anti-government bloggers using Twitter to thwart the authorities' attempts to stop them communicating have started using her name as a call sign, making it one of the most mentioned words on the site.

""The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know."

Neda, whose name means "voice" in Farsi, has been hailed as a martyr by those outraged at the brutality of the Iranian government's response to the election protests.

Clashes broke out soon after the presidential election on June 12, which many supporters of Iranian opposition parties claim was rigged to re-elect the hardline Islamist government.

The story of Neda's death has resonated with protesters across the world.

In America, pictures of her face have appeared on posters at protests against the Iranian government, hailing her as a martyr, US media reports.

Anti-government bloggers using Twitter to thwart the authorities' attempts to stop them communicating have started using her name as a call sign, making it one of the most mentioned words on the site.

Terminology Tuesday: Theodicy - Apologetics 315

There is a great series of 10 posts coming out every Tuesday over at Apologetics 315. Each post will define a different term from Apologetics jargon. This week's term is "Theodicy" and it's the first term defined. Check it out. I can't wait to see what next week's term will be! I'm looking forward to expanding my vocabulary

Terminology Tuesday: Theodicy - Apologetics 315

Is It Gospel? - Hazakim's "Genesis 32"

I love this song....let me just get that out first. The important thing to understand that the duo, two brothers, making up the group Hazakim refer to their music as "Hip Hop Hopologetics". They use hip hop music to praise God and teach apologetics. I enjoy the way they put their music together and the messages they convey. They have a new album coming out today.

For this post, I wanted to write about their song titled "Genesis 32". I love the song because these guys know how to make the Bible come alive. The song repeats the story about what happened when Jacob returned to Canaan after self-imposed exile to avoid the wrath of his twin brother Esau because Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright and deceived their father and stole the blessing of the Firstborn son. And you thought your family was a soap opera, right? They the "D" in dysfunction. Anyway when Jacob is most anxious about what is going to happen when he meets his brother again, Jacob experiences a theophany. He talks to and interacts with a supernatural being. Scholars debate if this was God like one of the three men who met up with Abraham in Genesis 18, or if it was merely an angel. Jacob wrestled all night with being and would not let go until he was blessed. It was at this point that Jacob's name was changed to "Israel". The experience so profoundly changed Jacob that he named the place "Peniel" meaning "Face of God" because in Genesis 32:30

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."

The song recounts it better than I can. The only better way to understand what happened is to read the full about for yourself in Genesis!


Here is the song...take a listen.

Hazakim - Genesis ...

This song is most definitely gospel

Makayla and Matthias - June 20 2009

This is a slide show of family photographs taken June 20, 2009. I used the slide show tools from Photobucket.com to make it work.

Sunday Quote: Blaise Pascal on Truth - Apologetics 315

Apologetics 315 has published the following quote:

“Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies [are] so well established that unless we love the truth we shall never recognize it.”

- Blaise Pascal

This is true!

Sunday Quote: Blaise Pascal on Truth - Apologetics 315

Father's Day - June 21, 2009

Pastor Stewart asked me to speak in our church along with 2 other men in honor of Father's Day. It went well. Deacon Lamar Gaines and Brother Keith Warren Gaines did awesome. I've put a transcript approximating my remarks from that day. The text in "[]" was something I thought I was going to say but during the time I was delivering this, I thought that it was too far a digression but I included it today. The pictures are of my family.


Fatherhood is a gift from God. Plain and simple. It’s one of the best gifts that I have ever received and perhaps the most daunting. When I think of what being a father is I feel blessed and grateful because God did not have to give me Makayla or Matthias. I think of how I get to be a link in a chain that stretches back to the beginning of the human race. I get to pass on the things God wants us to know to a new generation as it was passed to me.

My own father is a good example for me. He showed me much about how important it is to provide for the family God has given you charge over. And although he always taught me that education was important, he himself modeled that the most important things you can learn are about God. God makes life worthwhile. I never have seen my daddy reading many things, but I have always seen him read and study the Bible as if life depends on him knowing as much about God as possible because it does. He instituted the policy in his household thst we all go to Sunday School every Sunday and he was always at YPWW and any other service he could go to. In addition every opportunity I have had came from God, through the sacrifices of my parents. These are the legacies that I have obtained from my father that I owe to Makayla and Mathias to pass on to them as I have received. I believe that this is the responsibility of every parent to their children (ie the children God has put in their lives.)

I’ve recently heard a lecture from a psychologist who studied famous atheist and found out they all had poor relationships with their fathers. He concluded that a bad human father makes it difficult (not impossible) to accept God as Father. Hearing this made me even more grateful for my father. It also challenged me because the last thing I want to do is to be a stumbling block to Makayla and Matthias to come to God.

There are a lot of scriptures about being a father. The Bible even gives examples of what not to do. For example when you have time check out Jephthah from Judges Chapter 11. Although Issac and Jacob were not horrible fathers, they still showed favoritism. That is also as fathers we must avoid. God doesn’t do it. We should not either. [As a freebee, at the risk of digressing too much, I’ve got to point out that election spoken of in Romans 9 and the way that God selects us in Ephesians 1: 4-6 says

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

I love it…for this is the gospel in a nutshell. Again this is what I want to make sure our children (and all of us) get.

The passage does not mean that God shows favoritism because “chose” which in the Greek is “eklegomai” means “chosen/pick out of a group” and carries the thought that what is selected is “picked without rejecting that which was not picked”. God picked you for Himself without rejecting anyone else. Just like when I choose to give Makayla a birthday gift in August, it does not mean that I’m rejecting Matthias if I don’t give him the same gift. I’m going to have press this point further at a different time.

Back to topic:] I want to focus on the scriptures that come to mind first about fatherhood.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets – Matthew 7:7-11

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. – Ephesians 6:4

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Pslam 17:3-5

These are just snippets of what the Bible teaches about fatherhood. Fathers are important to God and He is holding us accountable for the families He has graced us with. He wants us to call him “Daddy” and have that kind of right relationship with Him. This is why Jesus came and died. Remember Pastor Stewart’s message reminding us to remember we are children of God and admonishing us to remind one another?

I want to end with Romans 8: 14-16 which says:

because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

"We Are Autobots" - More Viral Marketing

I just found a new website called "We Are Autobots". You hook up your webcam and the website puts Optimus Prime's Head over your own in real time. Pretty Fun!


Here is a demo video I got from YouTube


Here is my own demo video - It's fun!

Live Video of a Tornado!!!