Pope Francis to forgive Twitter followers' sins online | Information, Gadgets, Mobile Phones News & Reviews | News.com.au
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Pope Francis to forgive Twitter followers' sins online | Information, Gadgets, Mobile Phones News & Reviews | News.com.au
Pope Francis to forgive Twitter followers' sins online | Information, Gadgets, Mobile Phones News & Reviews | News.com.au
Navigraphic Shows Us How Close We Are To Technology From Star Trek
http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/blog/startrek-navigraphic.html
Here is a video
Navigraphic Shows Us How Close We Are To Technology From Star Trek
Monday, July 15, 2013
Zimmerman Verdict Is the Status Quo, But You Are Not - The Snob Blog - Danielle Belton's The Black Snob
Zimmerman Verdict Is the Status Quo, But You Are Not - The Snob Blog - Danielle Belton's The Black Snob
I thought that this graphic from Tumblr summed up my feelings nicely.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Answering Muslims: The Consequences of Child Marriage in Niger
Answering Muslims: The Consequences of Child Marriage in Niger
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Bad Exogesis - When Billboards Tell Lies
I recently came across a post on Tumblr in which many pictures of billboards covered with verses in the Bible was posted. The verses are meant to be shocking in such a way that people will come to the conclusion that the Bible couldn't be from God. The verses are presented without context and just attributed to God although many of the verses is not quoting what God said. Let's look at each billboard one-at-a-time and see if we understand what the verses are actually saying. When I quote the Bible it will be from the NIV.
I wonder why people don't seem to ever criticize the Bible in context. God is not commanding anyone to grab babies and bash their heads against rocks! When people make this argument I wonder if they really had bothered to read the chapter. The problem is the speaker is not God but a Jewish exile in Babylon who saw his world collapse around him and he wants God to end the exile and restore Jerusalem. He wanted his oppressors to pay. If you were in his possession you would probably want the same thing, but God is not talking or condoning this. We see here plain emotion - human emotion. The speaker wants revenge on the Edomites who were joyful at the disaster that befell Judah and vengeance on the Babylonians.
Rather than rehash a lot of what I've already written, here is a more exhaustive post: An "Evil of Christianity"
Yup, here is the go to scripture for those who want to say that God condones rape in the Bible. People who butcher the scripture in this way are ignorant to what is being commanded and why it's being commanded in that context. My brother-in-Christ, Mariano Grinbank wrote a wonderful blog post a few years ago that just shows this argument for the farce that it is. Read his essay at the following link:
Here is a passage usually used as a proof text that the Bible condones slavery. It doesn't. Rather than rehash the awesome points Mariano brings up in one of his brilliant articles, here is a link:
Obviously the passage is talking about war and judgement on Moab. God is merciful. He gave the Moabites plenty of time to stop their idolatry but they did not. I think the violence of the passage is what the posters of the billboard were trying to use to provoke and emotional response but in its historical context, it is appropriate because the judgement that was coming was going to be severe.
Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” 2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side 4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.
7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. 8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9 He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’ 10 So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”
11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.” - Ezekiel 9
Psalm 137:9
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks. - Psalm 137:8-9
I wonder why people don't seem to ever criticize the Bible in context. God is not commanding anyone to grab babies and bash their heads against rocks! When people make this argument I wonder if they really had bothered to read the chapter. The problem is the speaker is not God but a Jewish exile in Babylon who saw his world collapse around him and he wants God to end the exile and restore Jerusalem. He wanted his oppressors to pay. If you were in his possession you would probably want the same thing, but God is not talking or condoning this. We see here plain emotion - human emotion. The speaker wants revenge on the Edomites who were joyful at the disaster that befell Judah and vengeance on the Babylonians.
1 Timothy 2:12
11 A woman[a] should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;[b] she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. - 1 Timothy 2:11-13
Rather than rehash a lot of what I've already written, here is a more exhaustive post: An "Evil of Christianity"
Deuteronomy 22:28-29
28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay her father fifty shekels[a] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. - Deuteronomy 22:28-29
Yup, here is the go to scripture for those who want to say that God condones rape in the Bible. People who butcher the scripture in this way are ignorant to what is being commanded and why it's being commanded in that context. My brother-in-Christ, Mariano Grinbank wrote a wonderful blog post a few years ago that just shows this argument for the farce that it is. Read his essay at the following link:
Leviticus 25:44,45
44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You
may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and
members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your
property. 46 You
can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make
them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites
ruthlessly. - Leviticus 25:44-46
Here is a passage usually used as a proof text that the Bible condones slavery. It doesn't. Rather than rehash the awesome points Mariano brings up in one of his brilliant articles, here is a link:
Jeremiah 48:10
9 Put salt on Moab,
for she will be laid waste[f];
her towns will become desolate,
with no one to live in them.
11 “Moab has been at rest from youth,10 “A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work!
A curse on anyone who keeps their sword from bloodshed!
like wine left on its dregs,
not poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12 But days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars.
13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh,
as Israel was ashamed
when they trusted in Bethel. - Jeremiah 48:9-13
Obviously the passage is talking about war and judgement on Moab. God is merciful. He gave the Moabites plenty of time to stop their idolatry but they did not. I think the violence of the passage is what the posters of the billboard were trying to use to provoke and emotional response but in its historical context, it is appropriate because the judgement that was coming was going to be severe.
Ezekiel 9:5
Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” 2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side 4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.
7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. 8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9 He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’ 10 So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”
11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.” - Ezekiel 9
Exodus 21: 7-8
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,[a] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money. - Exodus 21:7-11
Slavery? Really?? For Americans, slavery is a very touchy subject provoking all kinds of emotions like anger and guilt. But American Chattel Slavery and Slavery in Ancient Israel were not the same thing in the slightest. I would suggest reading Mariano's entire essay on slavery. Does the Bible and its God Condone Slavery?
Ezekiel 21:31-32
30 “‘Let the sword return to its sheath.
In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,
I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my wrath on you
and breathe out my fiery anger against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
men skilled in destruction.
32 You will be fuel for the fire,
your blood will be shed in your land,
you will be remembered no more;
for I the Lord have spoken.’” - Ezekiel 21:30-33
I think the problem is that people really don't look at their sins as being bad enough to deserve judgement and death. Yes, we are that bad. What ever joys and happiness we experience isn't because of what we deserve but because of God's mercy on us. This passage is about the judgement deserved about Jerusalem and God using the Babylonians to do it. And it happened just like night follows day in 586 BC.
Numbers 25:4
Just because you are one of God's chosen people doesn't mean that you are exempt from judgement. The verse is about the leaders who lead Israel into idolatry and away from God who had just so recently delivered them from Egypt and provided everything for them. I mean think about it: How could they not be judged so harshly after all of that Don't forget they also received mercy because God did not annihilate them all!1While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
4The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”
5So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
6Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. - Numbers 25:1-9
Friday, July 12, 2013
Why I Believe | Reflections
Here is a great interview of Dr Kenneth Samples talking about how he became a Christian and why he believes.
FacePalm of the Day - Debunking Christianity: God's Burning Orphans - The Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Debunking Christianity: God's Burning Orphans - The Problem of Divine Hiddenness
The thing that seems to be completely lost on most Atheists, like the one who made this video, is that they don't understand Christianity. No where in the entire Bible does God tell us that he is obligated to save anyone! By default, every human being sins and deserves to go to hell. Bottom line. God would be fully justified if every human being ended up in hell - including me and you. The guy in the video is indeed correct about "free will". It's not an issue here but not because of the reasons he thinks. None of us are freed from sin except by Jesus. This means that while you reject God, you ain't free - except which sins you voluntarily do. As for the "good" things you may do best thank God for His mercy that you were allowed to do them - but it's not enough to keep you out of hell without Jesus.
The other bone of contention this video brings up is that the video author thinks that God has not done enough to make himself known to everyone. I agree. God has revealed himself to humanity the way He has wanted to on His terms not ours. We may not have free will because our servitude to sin, but God is not fettered as such. Look at what the Bible say.
24 “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 human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” - Acts 17:24-31
Paul in his proclamation was clear: God placed each one of us in the best possible circumstances to easily find Him so that we would seek Him out and the God is not far from either one of us. God is calling for each and everyone of us to repent. Want proof? Look no further than Jesus' resurrection from the dead.
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 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 people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. - Romans 1:18-25
God has clearly made His existence known through what He has created. We have no excuse for unbelief. How does faith come in?
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. - Hebrews 11:1-6
Lastly, the example of the burning orphans is really bad and shows that the guy in the video has no idea what Christianity is teaching. This is what the metaphor should be. We are not like sweet innocent orphans. Imagine a house full of mass murderers, liars, cheaters, rapists, molesters, and people guilty of manner of evil. The house catches fire because the people inside set the fire. It's not a fireman, one whose job and obligation it is to put out fires and save lives, but one who is completely innocent who decide to save the undeserving people in the burning house although it will cost him his own life. That is what Jesus did. Given that everyone in that house deserves death and suffering, I see no problem with Jesus electing the ones he saves. He is just and free to do it according to his own will. Neither you nor I have the right to select who lives and who doesn't but God does and remain perfectly just and merciful!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Truthbomb Apologetics: Debate Video: Richard Dawkins vs. John Lennox- "The God Delusion Debate"
Truthbomb Apologetics: Debate Video: Richard Dawkins vs. John Lennox- "The God Delusion Debate"
Sarah Slamen, Texas Woman, Dragged Out Of Senate Amid Fiery Testimony Against Abortion Bill
Follow the link to see the video.
Sarah Slamen, Texas Woman, Dragged Out Of Senate Amid Fiery Testimony Against Abortion Bill
Truthbomb Apologetics: Video: "If You Can't Prove a Universal Negative, then Atheism is Unprovable!" featuring Dr. William Lane Craig
Truthbomb Apologetics: Video: "If You Can't Prove a Universal Negative, then Atheism is Unprovable!" featuring Dr. William Lane Craig
MK3: The World’s First Commercially Available Robotic Exoskeleton | Geeks are Sexy Technology News
MK3: The World’s First Commercially Available Robotic Exoskeleton | Geeks are Sexy Technology News
I looked it up and found several other sources referring to this:
Power Jacket MK3 leaps from comic book pages into reality
This Crazy Exoskeleton Suit Gives Schoolgirls (or Anyone) Super Powers
The Power Jacket is not the only such device....just the first to market. Check out Team Skeletonics' suit called "Exonnecs"
An Analysis of Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus: MP3 by Peter J. Williams - Apologetics 315
An Analysis of Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus: MP3 by Peter J. Williams - Apologetics 315
Bart Ehrman and Peter J. Williams have appeared on the Unbelievable? radio broadcast. It's on YouTube and worth listening to this one too!
Truthbomb Apologetics: Video: What Does C.S. Lewis Say to Us Today? featuring Alister McGrath
Truthbomb Apologetics: Video: What Does C.S. Lewis Say to Us Today? featuring Alister McGrath
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Literature, CS Lewis and Conversion: Holly Ordway and Laura Miller on Unbelievable? | Hieropraxis
Literature, CS Lewis and Conversion: Holly Ordway and Laura Miller on Unbelievable? | Hieropraxis
Debunking Christianity: Atheism 101: The Null Hypothesis
The errors are many but there are two main ones. The video attempts to argue against Christian philosophers but mischaracterizes their arguments. For example. "omnipotence" does not mean God can do anything. When Christians use the term, we mean that God can do anything that is not logically inconsistent. For example, God cannot make a rock too large for God to lift because that would be a contradiction. The author of the video said he could make a rock too large for him to lift, but no human being can make a rock. Very illogical. Secondly, just because something is outside the perception of our senses does not mean it does not exist. According to this logic, the video's author denies science. Neither he or any human being have ever seen a single atom of any kind. Is one then free to conclude atoms do not exist? I don't think so Likewise you can't deny that God exist Like atoms, God can be detected in other ways We can detect God by harkening to the revelation that God has made available to us
Debunking Christianity: Atheism 101: The Null Hypothesis
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