Dennis Prager: Secularism and the meaningless life: Judeo-Christian values: Part XIII

Dennis Prager: Secularism and the meaningless life: Judeo-Christian values: Part XIII:

This is the continuing piece written by Dennis Prager. Again understand Dennis is not a Christian but he has captured Judeo-Christian values better than most Christians. He has a radio program and often defends Christian viewpoints on his show. Here he argues if life has meaning without God.

" If there is no God as Judeo-Christian religions understand Him, life is a meaningless random event. You and I are no more significant, our existence has no more meaning, than that of a rock on Mars. The only difference between us and Martian rocks is that we need to believe our existence has significance."

Read more of Dennis Prager here.

Darwinism Debate Heating Up In Kansas

World Magazine - Weekly News | Christian Views:

"Lehigh University biochemist Michael Behe, University of Georgia biology professor Russell Carlson, and University of Missouri-Kansas City professor of medicine William Harris were among those who argued that Darwinism is scientifically controversial. They pointed to challenges to the theory posed by the fossil record and by Mr. Behe's argument that gradual evolution by natural selection cannot account for the complexity of the cell. They argued that the evidence points not to macroevolution but to ID, Intelligent Design. (See WORLD, April 3, 2004; February 26, 2000; and March 1, 1997 for more about ID.)

The May 5-7 hearings were not the first time that the Kansas Board had accepted challenges to the conventional wisdom. The board gained national attention in 1999 when it voted to withdraw references to macroevolution from the state's education standards. Since then Ohio, Minnesota, and New Mexico have introduced scientific criticisms of Darwinism into classrooms, and local school districts in other states have either considered or passed similar measures.

In Kansas, Darwinists won back control of the State Board of Education in 2000 and restored the older standards. But conservatives have now retaken the board, and they are expected to vote this summer to adopt the revisions debated in Topeka.

The Darwinist response to such a challenge is no secret. 'My strategy at this point is the same as it was in 1999,' wrote Liz Craig of Kansas Citizens For Science on the group's discussion board in February. 'Notify the national and local media about what's going on and portray them in the harshest light possible, as political opportunists, evangelical activists, ignoramuses, breakers of rules, unprincipled bullies, etc. . . . we can sure make them look like asses as they do what they do.'

Can make them look like asses, that is, if media outlets serve as Ms. Craig's public relations tools—and her strategy seemed to work on the first day of the hearings. Reporters from NBC, ABC, and as far away as France descended on Topeka, and the scene they described wasn't flattering. Several reports characterized the fight as a battle over religion, likening the hearings to the 1925 Scopes 'Monkey Trial.' They suggested that the revisions would impede Kansas' efforts to attract biotech companies.

The sense of threat was aided by the precautions officials took. Everyone had to go through a metal detector to get into the auditorium. In the auditorium, a uniformed officer sat off to the side in front, facing the audience. The Darwinist side refused to debate but it did station a lawyer, Pedro Irigonegaray, to question ID witnesses, and during their answers he occasionally sighed and shook his head, a l�Al Gore in the 2000 presidential debates.

Lost in the propaganda and facial expressions is just how modest the proposed revisions are. For all the comparisons to the Scopes trial, the roles in that trial have been reversed 80 years later. Today, it's the critics of Darwinism who want to introduce what they see as important scientific evidence into science classrooms and it's the Darwinists who are fighting to keep out what they see as heresy."

World ID Card Proposed

News:

"A pilot scheme will start within a few months between the US and the Netherlands, allowing Dutch visitors to use a Trusted Traveller card to enter the US without being subjected to further questioning or screening.

Britain is one of 27 countries whose citizens do not need visas to enter the US if they intend to stay less than 90 days. The American government has said it wants 27 to issue new passports by 26 October this year containing a computer chip and a digital photograph.

Mr Chertoff said compatability and the checking system was intended purely to track down 'terrorists and criminals' and the main aim was to provide a 'fair and reasonable system'."


This is a growing movement to have some kind of worldwide identity card or chip or number. The cooperation between governments is not there yet but it will be.

Sticky Textbook Situation

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Georgia Textbook Evolution Stickers Removed:

MARIETTA, Ga. — Complying with a judge's order, workers in Cobb County (search) have begun removing controversial evolution disclaimer stickers from science textbooks.

"The evolution disclaimers read: 'This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.'"


Once again evolutionists are afraid of debate or having others voice their opinion. Why they don't even want you to have an open mind on any other scientific theory on the origin of life.

If these evolutionists don’t want this sticker on these textbooks then there is only one thing I can conclude from this. They want the theory of evolution to be approached with a closed mind, studied carelessly, and not seriously considered. Does that sound like a credible scientific method or Bigotry? Ok, I will turn off my sarcasm now but you get the point.

Abortion Encouraged in Ukraine as Unborn Babies Used for Russian Beauty Treatments

Abortion Encouraged in Ukraine as Unborn Babies Used for Russian Beauty Treatments


KIEV, May 24, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A UK Observer exclusive has revealed that the trafficking of unborn baby body tissues for use as “beauty” treatments in Russia is a booming trade. The unborn children are purchased from Ukrainian women – some of whom are also ‘duped’ by racketeering doctors who convince the women that the unborn baby is defective and needs to be aborted – thereafter selling the aborted child. The babies are cryogenically frozen and advertised as providing “youth injections” claimed to reverse aging and cure many diseases.


This is one of the reasons we oppose abortion and embryo stem cell research. It leaves us in a moral vacuum and no dignity for human life. In the Ukraine children are being murdered so adults can look beautiful. What kind of hideous monsters are we becoming?

Christian Education Produces Positive Results

ThisisLondon:

"Most boys at Christian schools say no to sex
By Dominic Hayes Education Correspondent, Evening Standard
25 May 2005

A Christian education makes teenage boys less permissive, according to research out today.

Boys at private Anglican and Catholic schools are more likely to oppose sex before marriage and be less tolerant of pornography.

They are also less likely to feel depressed or consider suicide, according to a survey of 13,000 teenagers by Professor Leslie J Francis from the University of Wales, Bangor."



Why am I not surprised? Kids respond to the truth. This is the time to teach morals and reinforce them with positive peer pressure. It works wonders.

Egyptian Christian held in mental hospital

FAITH UNDER FIRE

Doctors say he'll stay there until he recants conversion from Islam

---

Doctors in a Cairo mental hospital are holding an Egyptian Christian against his will, telling the man he'll be a permanent resident there until he recants his faith and returns to Islam, reports a leading monitor of Christian persecution.

Reminiscent of the tactics of Communists in the USSR who put dissidents in mental hospitals, the forced stay, according to Voice of the Martyrs, has been in effect since January. At that time, the adoptive parents of Gaser Mohammed Mahmoud, 30, committed him to the El-Khanka Hospital after learning he had converted from Islam to Christianity two years earlier.

Who actually needs the reality check in that part of the world? Again we see the true ideology of Islam.

It Takes One To Know One

It Takes One To Know One

This is a dramatic story of redemption.

(CBS) If you were going to start a Hall of Fame for con men, Barry Minkow would have to be one of the first inductees. He was one of the most famous stock swindlers of the '80s, and certainly the youngest. At 20, he was the boy wonder of Wall Street, and CEO of a $300 million company. At 22, he had been convicted of 57 counts of fraud, and was off to federal prison.

Now 39, Minkow is back in the spotlight, not for committing fraud, but for exposing it. He says he is seeking redemption by going undercover to help federal law enforcement agencies crack a number of important cases, proving that when it comes to con men, it takes one to know one.

"When I was 1988 in prison, Thanksgiving dinner, I'm sitting there with a bank robber. His name is John Hensley, great guy -- 57 some odd years old. He's got spider web tattoos," says Minkow. "They feed me Thanksgiving dinner through a hole in the door. And they nuke it, the salad and everything. … I look at Hensley. I look at the nuked Jell-o, I look at the toilet, I look at the door that don't open, and I'm thinking, 'You know, maybe it's me. Maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe when they go to all this trouble to put you in a place like this, you better do some changing.'"

And he did. Minkow earned master's degrees in religion and divinity, and is now preaching to 1,400 parishioners at his community Bible church in San Diego. More Here

U.S. Tests Christian Halfway House

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - U.S. Tests Christian Halfway House:

"U.S. Tests Christian Halfway House


POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — At six juvenile commitment centers across Florida, young criminals are studying the Bible and bowing their heads in organized prayer. They are volunteer test subjects in the nation's first faith-based mentor program for teens, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice"


Normally I am not for faith based government sponsored programs but this looks promising. Over time there is usually less and less faith and more and more government in these programs. The mentors faith will make the impact here not the program.

ABC News: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

ABC News: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

ABC News’ 20/20 Special Report on the resurrection of Jesus will air this Friday May 20, 2005. William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, and Paul Maier will be among those interviewed.

Of course they are going to have their obligatory liberal Theologians who deny the resurrection but it is a first that they will have a main stream believer on as well.

Latest study shows abortion puts the next baby at risk

Telegraph | News | Revealed: how an abortion puts the next baby at risk:

"Revealed: how an abortion puts the next baby at risk
By Michael Day
(Filed: 15/05/2005)

Having an abortion almost doubles a woman's risk of giving birth dangerously early in a later pregnancy, according to research that will provoke fresh debate over the most controversial of all medical procedures.

A French study of 2,837 births - the first to investigate the link between terminations and extremely premature births - found that mothers who had previously had an abortion were 1.7 times more likely to give birth to a baby at less than 28 weeks' gestation. Many babies born this early die soon after birth, and a large number who survive suffer serious disability."

Pastor vs. Microsoft

World Magazine - Weekly News | Christian Views:

"Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church, opened his Mother's Day sermon with a joke, drawing laughter from more than 1,000 people packed into a rented high-school gymnasium for the first of two Sunday morning services. 'We've been extremely busy this week,' he said, alluding to the national media stir over his tactics in opposing statewide gay-rights legislation. 'With Jesus Christ, you can just nickname me ‘Ice Water.''

Mr. Hutcherson, who accrued national prominence last year for organizing Mayday for Marriage rallies to oppose gay marriage, recently convinced the Microsoft Corporation under threat of national boycott to withdraw its support of a bill that would have barred discrimination based on sexual orientation. The bill failed by one vote last month in the state Senate.

But two weeks later, on the Friday before Mother's Day, Microsoft reversed its position yet again, this time caving to pressure from gay-rights groups and a negative media spotlight. "



If you want to protest Microsoft I recommend switching internet Browsers from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to Mozilla's Firefox. Check out this story which says " Microsoft Corp.'s share of the U.S. browser market has slipped below 90 percent as the Firefox browser continues to grow in popularity, according to independent tracking by WebSideStory."


Download Firefox here.

Mystery Piano Man

ThisisLondon: "Vital clues over 'Piano Man'
16 May 2005

A helpline set up to identify a mystery man who stunned carers by giving a virtuoso piano performance has been inundated with calls, his social worker said today."

The man has not uttered a word since police picked him up walking aimlessly on the streets of Sheerness, Kent, dressed in a dripping wet suit and tie.

All efforts to communicate with the shy and agitated man, aged in his 20s or early 30s, have failed, leaving experts baffled as to his identity and where he is from.

Staff at the Medway Maritime Hospital gave him a pen and paper in the hope he might write his name or even draw his country's flag.

Instead the patient, dubbed the Piano Man, drew highly detailed pictures of a grand piano, showing not only the keys but also the intricate inner workings of the instrument.

His social worker, Michael Camp, showed him a piano in the hospital chapel and to his amazement the man delivered a stunning, two-hour performance of classical playing. Since then, he has written music, but remains mute.

Evolution Hearings End in Clash

Sci-Tech Today - Science - Kan. Evolution Hearings End in Clash:

"Hearings held to determine how the theory of evolution should be treated in Kansas public schools ended Thursday in a bitter clash over the meetings' purpose -- and the behavior of participants.

The conservative state Board of Education plans to consider proposed changes in standards by August that determine how students are tested on science statewide.

The board is expected to approve at least part of a proposal from advocates of 'intelligent design,' which holds that some features in the natural world are so complex and well-ordered that an intelligent cause is the best way to explain them."


What is it called when one side does not even allow sensible debate on a subject? Oh yea, bigotry.

big•ot•ry

noun

prejudice and intolerance: intolerance toward people who hold different views, especially on matters of politics, religion, or ethnicity

See how it all started in America with the reenactment of the Scopes Monkey Trial.


Mark your calendars now for this once in a lifetime event. The play Monkey in the Middle is an exact reenactment of the 1925 Scopes Trial using the exact words from the trial transcript. The key events of the trial will be presented in this reenactment at the KiMo Theater on July 29 and 30, 2005.

Tickets are available and help cover up-front costs - contact: 294-7876. Tell all your friends and family about the Scopes Trial Reenactment and the new website address: www.scopes-trial.com! Additional info available at www.bryan.edu.

Six Conservative Priests Face Suspension

Six Priests Face Suspension - Christianity Today Magazine:

"In yet another sign of Anglican fracture, six conservative Episcopal priests in Connecticut face possible suspension from their pulpits after defying a bishop's order to submit to his authority. The pastors, and their congregations, oppose Andrew Smith, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. Smith backed the 2003 consecration of V. Eugene Robinson, an openly practicing homosexual.

Smith told ct that while he has offered to arrange alternate supervision, he cannot allow the congregations to effectively secede from the diocese. 'The relationship to the whole diocese is fundamental for the Episcopal Church, no matter what the time or situation or issue.'"


These priests are taking a biblical stand against the sin of ordaining a professing homosexual. Bishop Andrew Smith sees this as a threat to the church, not that the church has ordained a homosexual but that priests would object to this.

What is frightening is that Bishop Smith sees no situation or issue that would allow priests to defy the Episcopal Church authorities. Is there no sin or heresy they should feel free to oppose? How can a priest then teach that a believer should not tolerate a sin in their life when the diocese tolerates all manner of sin in its churches?

Also, a denomination that stands for nothing or tolerates everything by definition is not biblical. A church is made up of members that are called out to a set of beliefs. If there are no essential beliefs then there are no real beliefs at all.

Judge blocks 'gay-friendly' curriculum

WorldNetDaily: Judge blocks 'gay-friendly' curriculum

More on the curriculum that crosses the line from education to indoctrination.


A federal judge yesterday blocked Montgomery County, Md., schools from implementing a controversial sex-ed curriculum regarded by opponents as "gay-friendly" and factually inaccurate.

United States District Court Judge Alexander Williams Jr. issued a temporary restraining order against the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education, responding to a suit filed by Florida-based Liberty Counsel on behalf of parent-backed groups, Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, or PFOX.

"The judge's order is a huge victory for parents and students," said Liberty Counsel's president and general counsel, Mathew D. Staver. "The ruling by the judge blocking this radical, pro-homosexual, one-sided curriculum sends a message to every school that they must not trample the rights of parents nor may they use our children as human experiments."

Condoms Given To Middle-Schoolers At School Health Fair

Local10.com - Kristi's Good Health - Condoms Given To Middle-Schoolers At School Health Fair

An AIDS education group was handing out the prophylactics at the health fair organized by North Central Health Care in Wausau. The idea was to educate the middle-schoolers on the dangers of alcohol and drugs.


Anytime you see a group named AIDS education or AIDS awareness they are usually pro-homosexual. Also, they are usually deceitful in what they are really going to teach or give out.

I will tell you what is not a secret. Abstinence works every time it is tried.

ET phone home or are you out of minutes

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Radio search for ET draws a blank

They have been looking for Alien life for six decades without sucess. This last attempt by a super sensitive system has also failed. ET should get a better phone plan because the converted record player is just not cutting it.


"As I look back over the past 10 years I'm very proud of what we have achieved - the most sensitive and comprehensive search of our galactic neighbourhood.

"Conclusion: we live in a quiet neighbourhood."

Faces of Meth

OregonLive.com: Photo Galleries

Here is a graphic photo gallery that shows the tragedy of meth use. These are people who were arrested multiple times.

Through their mug shots we can see the deterioration caused by drug use. It is dramatic. Meth is a devastating drug. Register on the site by zip code and show it to your kids.

Chaplain Report

Sorry I was late posting but I was out most of the night with the Albuquerque Police Department. I finally got to sleep around 4:30 am. I was called out to a 10-45 which is a car accident with injuries. The injury was fatal to a fifty year old man. He was jay walking in the middle of Central Ave. What is so completely sad is that a nineteen year old hit him as he was delivering a pizza.

The young man was in shock and could barely speak. He was physically shaken and sick. The police were very compassionate as they wanted me to speak to him as long as he needed me then I was to go tell the family of the fifty year old that he was dead. It is never easy to knock on a family’s door at 2:30 in the morning and tell them that one of their family members is dead.

This one hit home with me more than some others because I have a nineteen year old. Pray for this young man as he will be facing many difficult times now and for the family who had the loss.

That's Incredible

Paul D. Gallagher: Making a scene

Have you watched the Incredibles? Do you have the DVD? Here is the alternate beginning that is on the DVD extras. Good thought but alas it ended up on the cutting room floor.


The setting is a backyard barbeque in their neighborhood. Helen Parr is introduced to Beth, a commodities broker. Beth talks excitedly about her job, then asks what Helen does. “I’m a homemaker,” Helen replies. Blank stare from Beth, who cuts off Helen’s next sentence with a curt, “That’s nice.” Beth walks off, and Helen scowls.

A minute later, Helen overhears Beth talking to some other neighbors:

Beth: “Throw away my prime years trailing after a bunch of snotty kids? No, thank you! Hello, no thanks! Hello, I want to do something with my life!”
Helen: “Wait a minute! You consider raising a family … nothing?”
Beth: “Well, it’s fine if you’re not suited for more substantial things.”
Helen: “Do you have any idea how much suffering would fail to take root if more people were just good parents? What’s more important than that? What kind of job?”
Beth: “Uh … uh …”
Helen: “A job saving lives? Is that important? What about risking my life?”
Beth: “Well, I … uh …”
Helen: “What about confronting evil on a daily basis for years so that people like you can sleep in safety and security? Would you consider that kind of job ‘substantial’?”
Beth: “Yeah. I would. Yes.”
Helen: “Well, that’s the job I gave up for my new job -- raising a family. And nobody’s going to tell me it’s any less important.”

Wow. Let’s take a moment to let that sink in. We have a hero in a major film defending the job of homemaker. Rewind it all you like. Then notice the sky’s not falling. And if you think I liked it, imagine how my wife, Cindy -- a homemaker and mother of six -- felt about it.

La Shawn Barber’s Corner � Balance? We Don’t Need No Stinking…

Blogger La Shawn Barber has a interesting take on the pressure put on PBS to balance their broadcasting.

La Shawn Barber’s Corner � Balance? We Don’t Need No Stinking…

Playing with Fire - Women

Playing with Fire - Women:

"I rushed from the exam room to the nurses' station. Female laughter bubbled up from a semicircle of chairs that surrounded a newcomer. The office manager called me over.

'Jan,' she said, 'meet Greg. He'll be updating our computer system over the next few months.' Greg* stood and offered his hand. His eyes were cappuccino brown, his smile warm and welcoming. We exchanged polite chitchat before I hurried to see the next patient. Nice looking, nice manners, I thought. Good thing I'm married. Before the day was over, he was joking with the staff like he'd known us for years.

Greg came to the clinic nearly every day. Lights danced in his eyes whenever he saw me; smiles came easily when I saw him. At a farewell party for one of the staff, he wandered in and scanned the room, then sat directly across from me. Our eyes met and held each other in silence as heat filled my face and my pulse quickened. When the guest of honor entered the room and the gang yelled, 'Surprise!' I finally looked away. When Greg mingled with the staff, I watched from the corner of my eye, straining to hear every word, curious to know more about him."


This is written from a woman's perspective but it is very relevant to men as well. We need to always be vigilant to honor our marriage vows and protect one another from temptations that come our way.

Dennis Prager: Moral absolutes: Judeo-Christian values: Part XI

Dennis Prager: Moral absolutes: Judeo-Christian values: Part XI:

"That is why our culture has so venerated the Ten Commandments -- it is a fixed set of God-given moral laws and principles. But that is also why opponents of America remaining a Judeo-Christian country, people who advocate moral relativism, want the Ten Commandments removed from all public buildings. The Ten Commandments represents objective, i.e., God-based morality."

This from one of my favorite non Christian authors. Dennis Prager is a moral thinker. He has studied Christianity and is a defender of it even though he is an orthodox Jew. I invite you to read this entire series here.

Prayer Helped Keep Drifting Teens Alive

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Prayer Helped Keep Drifting Teens Alive:

"SOUTHPORT, N.C. — For two teens left adrift on a sailboat for six days, prayer and improvised survival tactics kept the best friends alive."

These kids probably desired to spend more time in prayer but never planned it this way.