Check out this song

Allison Krauss and Robert Plant.
Youtube won't let me "share" the video for some reason.
So check out the song here.

Sesame Street - J Friends (1971)

especially for kevin

Way to go Brad!

After only a few weeks in office, Brad Wall has already brought the population of Saskatchewan back up over the 1,000,000 mark - with Saskatchewan's largest-ever single quarter population jump, to boot!

Congratulations to the dynamic Saskatchewan Party.

Mr. Deity - Season 2, Episode 5

I enjoyed this one:

From Crackle: Mr. Deity and the Really Cheap Meal-Season 2, Ep 5

Ava is Walking!

Finally, Ava decides to be brave and take some steps. Thought you might enjoy watching this moment in history!

James Barber died yesterday.

Mr. Deity: Episode 4

Here is Season 2, Episode #4 for you viewing pleasure:

From Crackle: Mr. Deity and the Notes - Season 2, Ep 4

Why is Canada so Stupid?

Did any of you catch the Mercer Report last night? I highly enjoy Rick Mercer's style of comedy, and so I try to watch his show faithfully. Anyway, last night Mercer had a very interesting piece on a little-known Canadian car manufacturer in Quebec (yes, that's right, a Canadian car company designing and manufacturing their own car in Quebec - who knew?!). This car that they make is called the ZENN - Zero Emissions No Noise. It is an electric car, can be plugged in to ordinary outlet, and makes no noise when it drives. It's so quiet you can't even tell it's on. And it's bigger than a Smart Car - it can hold 20 cases of beer according to their test.

It's a truly wonderful car, perfect for city driving. The crazy thing is it's illegal to buy it in Canada. Yes, that's right, illegal. They sell it in the US and Europe. Why is it a no go in Canada - our gov't will not certify it to drive on our roads. There is no apparent reason for it (it meets safety standards, etc.), they just won't allow it. Except in BC - you can drive it there. Apparently, this is a provincial thing and each province must approve it to drive in their particular province.

So, why are we so stupid here in Canada? I don't get it.

By the way, go to the Mercer Report to see this segment for yourself - it's on the website.

I'm on CBC Radio!

So, I made it onto CBC Radio this week - on the tech show called Spark. I made a comment about "The Death of TV" and they used part of it on the show. You can go to the Spark website to here the show that I'm on - just push the play button when you get there.

Actually, you have to listen really closely. I'm near the beginning (1:15 to be exact) of the show and I say "The only thing I use live TV for now is to watch sporting events." Then, at the very end of the show I say my name.

I had a longer comment than that, but they cut the rest of it. Oh well. I still got on the radio.

Mr. Deity, Season 2, Episode 3

Here is the latest installment of Mr. Deity:

From Crackle: Mr. Deity and the Voicemail - Season 2, Ep 3

this just in ...

bizarre story about robot cockroaches.

The Earth Charter Initiative

If you have not heard of The Earth Charter, you need to check out their website and read it. This is very important stuff - Kingdom of God type of stuff. Read it, endorse it, live it, tell others about it.

Mr. Deity Season 2

It's that time again! Here is Mr. Deity Season 2, Episode 2:

From Crackle: Mr. Deity and the Meaning - Season 2, Ep 2

The Forgotten Classics - Ep. #1 (Night of Racial Tension)

I'm just trying to figure out how to post a video on the blog.

Another Video

I feel like I'm posting a lot of videos lately, but here's another one that made me laugh outloud.


NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

Poking Fun

Thought someone might enjoy this little video.


Christian Charity Raising Money To Feed Non-Gay Famine Victims

Some laughing babies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG5rQ3D_Zrw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY
On this second one, be patient. This is a weird baby laugh...

More Fuel for the "Harry Potter is Evil" Fans

I was recently checking the CBC RSS feeds and what was one of the top world news headlines? "J.K. Rowling Reveals Dumbledore is Homosexual" I mean, come on! Who cares? Supposedly Rowling has envisioned Dumbledore as a gay man who has been spurned by a past love. Now conservative evangelicals can reopen the "Harry Potter is Evil" debate and say, "I told you so!"

In other Rowling news, she recently gave an interesting interview on her personal religious beliefs. She does claim to be a Christian, and since the end of the Potter series has revealed that she purposely wove biblical themes into the series, most specifically in the final novel, Harry Potter and teh Deathly Hallows. When asked how she felt about all the controversy created in the right wing Christian community over the Potter series, she has this to say:

Rowling shrugs off Christians who've denounced her work's potentially negative influence, saying, "I go to church myself. I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion."

Got to love that quote!

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Here is Achmed the Dead Terrorist by Jeff Dunham. This is the video that Spurgeon was recommending. I did this all for you Spurgeon!

Mr. Deity is Back

At long last, Mr. Deity has returned for Season 2. Here is episode #1. Enjoy!

From Crackle: Mr. Deity and the Intel - Season 2, Ep 1

Alas...

We waited too long. The Sedley property appears to have sold, or not be on the market any longer.

DOn't take my word for it, try Marnie's link below.

Marnie, do you remember the realtor's name? Maybe they just took it off the market the market for a bit?

Plop plop fizz fizz oh what a good way to water plants it is

I wonder what Regina does with its waste water?

[10 minutes later]
OK, so I looked it up. At the McCarthy station they remove "large objects".

Then they pump it to the North of Dewdney station, where "grit" settles into chambers, and is buried at the dump.

Also, "organic sludge" settles to the bottom while "grease, oil and wax float to the top. These are removed.

Then they use bacteria to break down the sludge. This creates methane which is used to heat the plant. (cool.)

Then press the sludge, squeezing out water, and making "sludge cakes".

Then more bacteria and more breaking down stuff. 30 days of it in fact.

Then chemicals added to take out the phosphorous.

Then ultraviolet light to disinfect.

Then back into the creek.

--

Interesting. Here's an alternative being tried out in the Saskatchewan towns of Halbrite and Stoughton.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/business_agriculture/story.html?id=e92e2fb0-ef93-4850-8956-40bb368ebf02

Irony defined

"People of goodwill must also
recognize that allowing a dangerous dictator to defy the world and
build an arsenal for conquest and mass murder is not peace at all; it
is pretense." - George W. Bush

My application entry

I threw an application in to CBC. Here it is.

Our province's impact on the ecology of the planet, and the connection between our lifestyles here and injustice suffered around the world - these issues should be dominating any responsible policy discussion at any level.

Clean coal and nuclear power - while better than old-school-coal and, say, burning old furniture found in the back alleys of Regina's North Central - are clearly not solutions to the dirty-energy crisis. If we're honest with ourselves, the only "clean" energy we've got comes from processes where nothing's being burned. Except for maybe the Sun. Our leaders should be challenging us to make sacrifices to this end.

I could go on, but this application box is so tiny. In short: it’s time for the NDP, the Saskatchewan Party, those other guys, and the people of our province generally to own up to the fact that the lifestyle decisions we make have far-reaching consequences. Basic cause-and-effect principle as taught by sask.-curriculum-abiding social studies teachers throughout the province.

Let’s have that discussion this Fall. (It will be this fall, right? Please?)

Commune Wine

I've got some Port I'd be glad to share with the group. A birthday gift from neighbors.
Oct 7 - A commune discussion would be a fitting birthday celebration for me. I don't know if Sarah works that day...
Josh

Election Blog

For anyone interested (Josh?), CBC Saskatchewan is hosting a special-interest guest blog for certain people to blog about the upcoming SK election (Josh?). You have to apply for the "position", and if chosen you become a special blogger to write about your thoughts and opinions on the election and the issues. Here is a brief blurb about it:

We are looking for articulate, passionate voters to be our citizen commentators during this provincial election.

Tell us what issues matter most to you. And tell us why.

We'll pick several people to be our special election bloggers, and check in with them throughout the campaign. They will have special blog space on our CBC Saskatchewan election site, where they can update their thoughts as the campaign unfolds.

If you are interested, please fill out the form below, and we will be in touch.

Anyone interested (Josh)? Please visit this link for the info and to apply to be a blogger:
http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/electionblogsquad/

Commune Discussion

I like the sound of either Oct 5, 6, or 7 for a commune discussion night. We are free all evenings of that weekend! I think some good wine would "oil" our discussions as well.

Or maybe this one (lumsden $590,000)

http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=&SearchURL=%3fPage%3d2%26Mode%3d0%26vs%3dResidential%26ret%3d300%26sts%3d0-0%26beds%3d0-0%26baths%3d0-0%26aid%3d1794%252c1795%252c1793%26MapURL%3d%253fAreaID%253d1662%26mp%3d0-0-0%26mrt%3d0-0-4%26trt%3d2%26of%3d1%26ps%3d10%26o%3dA&Mode=0&PropertyID=6009188

Commune property

It's time to renew our discussion of the commune property. All interested couples please propose some dates for discussion. I would suggest a weekend evening.

Like, say OCtober 6 or 7.

An "urban" commune alternative?

http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=&SearchURL=%3fPage%3d2%26Mode%3d0%26vs%3dResidential%26ret%3d300%26sts%3d0-0%26beds%3d3-0%26baths%3d0-0%26aid%3d1651%26MapURL%3d%3fAreaID%3d1651%26mp%3d75000-0-0%26mrt%3d0-0-4%26trt%3d2%26of%3d1%26ps%3d10%26o%3dA&Mode=0&PropertyID=6009195

What's Wrong with the Prairies?

A recent CBC news article about which issues Canadians feel are the most important issues facing our country says that a recent poll names the Environment as the top issue on most Canadians' minds. However, this is not so in the prairie provinces. Look at these quotes from the CBC story:

"Across the country, the environment was of most concern in Quebec, with 46 per cent of respondents choosing that issue. That was followed by Atlantic Canada (30 per cent), Ontario (28 per cent), B.C. (23 per cent) and the Prairies (19 per cent)."

"Ontarians appear to be the most likely to make lifestyle changes for the environment, while those living in the Prairies were least likely."

Why are we having this struggle, and how can we change these attitudes?

Buying Commune Property

That looks like a great piece of property. How could we afford it?

The greatest Commune Property

I found this and think its great!!
http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=&SearchURL=%3fMode%3d0%26Page%3d1%26vs%3dResidential%26ret%3d300%26sts%3d0-0%26beds%3d0-0%26baths%3d0-0%26aid%3d1671%26MapURL%3d%3fAreaID%3d1585%26mp%3d475000-0-0%26mrt%3d0-0-4%26trt%3d2%26of%3d1%26ps%3d10%26o%3dA&Mode=0&PropertyID=5868287

M.

Opps

So it seams that I have lost the ability to 'manage' this blog. When I switched over to my google account the blogger account didn't switch and I cant get it back. I have no idea what to do now. i tried there suggestions but nothing has worked. So I hope that you are all happy and don't ever want to change anything cause it can't be done. At least not until someone showes me the errors of my ways and helps me find my way back.
M

visit www.LoungeLoser.blogspot.com

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Don't ever get old

Good morning

If I could add a year to my life for every time I've been told never to get old, I wouldn't have to worry about it. As it is, I think I do need to worry about it, because it is obvious that no one who gets old wants to be old. In fact, most of them despise themselves and what they have become. I think my new heros in life are people who aren't in denial about being old and who can go through what may be the hardest phase of all with grace. It gives me congestive heart failure to think of a whole lifetime of disappointments, grief, and general disillusionnment remembered. There is escape in senility. However, sometimes I wonder if the characters we have when we are old weren't always there, lurking behind convention and hope. I guess I've been thinking lately that discipline now in how I handle the small struggles of my daily life will only make for a healthy old age, assuming I make it there.

So I just got home from a night shift. Probably 11 of my 16 patients are passively dying ( as in it will take a few weeks yet) and either anxious to get there, oblivious and/or in denial. Others will go home for a few months or a year and then they will get tired of fighting their bodies for every breath, come back and give up. At some point, every one of them will look as us who are young, and tell us never to get old.

Good night.

jerry fallwell's legacy

"I had a student ask me, 'Could the savior you believe in save Osama bin Laden?' Of course, we know the blood of Jesus Christ can save him, and then he must be executed."

"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

"The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country."

"Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them."
[grown men?]

"Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan."

see the rev. falwell's other less-than-quotable quotes at http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/foulwell.htm

For more laughs, try http://funnystrange.com/quiz/

Baby Einstein

Here is one of the things that I have learned in my new life as stay at home mom, it is not very deep or profound but I did find it interesting.
Einstein and Albert Einstein are trademarks of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Who knew?
Also, dogs favorite colour is orange, trust me.

Foolish, foolish, students

So I showed some students this richest person website bunruh found.
One student noted that his salary placed him ahead of 80% of the world. His response? "Sweet. Look - " (showing his friends the picture) " - that's them, and that's me ... I rule!"

It is hard to change the world.

Global Rich List

I came across this webiste, called "Global Rich List". It allows you to input your annual income and places you (by exact number!) in the world's wealth category. I am the 262,713,044th richest person in the world apparently. This means that I am in the top 4.37 % of the richest people in the world. Wow.

Blue Man Group in Regina

Sweet! The Blue Man Group, a trio which performs in trademark black clothing, latex bald caps and blue grease paint covering their heads, is bringing the "How To Be A Megastar Tour 2.0" to the Brandt Centre on Sept. 16.

Check the full story here

What's Making You Sick?

I preached last Sunday on the Rich Young Ruler and his conversation with Jesus - it's about our addiction to money. Here's a link to the audio of the sermon:

http://www.parliamentchurch.com/_audio/apr15am.ram

Update on our trip to TO

Hey everyone. Naomi and I are hanging out in Toronto this week, and are having a great time. So far, we've checked out a Raptors game, the TO zoo, a Jays game, and the Royal Ontario Museum. We've got a few more fun packed days before heading for home/Winnipeg on Thursday night. Here's a link to a few photos from this trip so far...

UPDATE: Add to the list above the CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the CBC museum. Tomorrow is Casa Loma... pictures on these ones will follow later.

Trip to Toronto (April 2007)

Dilemma

So I came across this article by the leading scientist behind the Human Genome Project. It is an article about why he can believe in Jesus Christ and Evolution. I thought it was a good one.

You can read the article here. It's a short one: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/collins.commentary/index.html


My favourite quote from the article is:

Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things.

But why couldn't this be God's plan for creation? True, this is incompatible with an ultra-literal interpretation of Genesis, but long before Darwin, there were many thoughtful interpreters like St. Augustine, who found it impossible to be exactly sure what the meaning of that amazing creation story was supposed to be. So attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer.

Here is my dilemma though. I would really like to use this article in a youth Bible study and present it as an alternative view, but I don't think I could "get away with it". I would probably run into the same opposition I ran into in the Fall over other issues, and would receive comments from upset parents. I really wish I had the freedom to express what I believe in some areas to the youth. It would serve to really broaden their understanding of the Bible, and help them to ground themselves in a more realistic interpretation of Scripture that is open to new discoveries - one that is not based in fear.

Another Random Quote

Here is another quote I came across that I appreciated. Strangley enough, I found it in a Focus on the Family publication. Even they can print some good stuff from time to time I guess.

"Sex is not a private matter, though it is certainly personal. Sexual intercourse is the ultimate creaturely gesture of promise. If we behave as if sexual intercourse is something less than a mutual promise of man and woman to be completely and wholly present to one another, and not just for the fleeting moment but always, society is left with no gesture of final commitment as the foundation for all other commitments. Community requires promise and abiding commitment, faithfulness and fidelity, or it does not endure. Ideally, we learn and practice these virtues and habits of being through courtship and within marriage. This is a wisdom all humankind knows." —Vigen Guroian, a Wilberforce Forum fellow, professor of theology and ethics at Loyola College

The Curse of Wealth

I know that I have been talking a lot lately about money, and my struggle with whether it is a blessing or not. I don't want to overdue it, but I do want to put down a couple of thoughts here, and then I will be done with it for a while.

I am really having a hard time seeing wealth (at least the wealth that we in Canada/the Western world have) as being a blessing given to us from God. It has come at the expense of all of the rest of the world, and is brought to us on the back of oppression. How can God be part of this? I recognize that wealth does bring blessings - such as the blessing of using it for good and giving it to those who need it. But there is so much curse that it brings that it really outweighs those blessings in my mind.

In my travels, I have come across people living in abject poverty. I have been to the poorest county in the western hemisphere - Bolivia, and spent time with the poorest of the poor there. What I have learned is not the typical, "Wow, I am so thankful that for what I have. I am so much better off than they are and I need to be greatful for it." Instead, what has been impressed upon me is, "Wow, I don't really have all that I think I have. They have more life, more joy, more peace, more confidence, more community, more of true life than I have ever experienced. I don't need to give them a whole lot - I need to receive from them what they have." And it is partly due to their poverty that they know more of true life than I do.

I want to challenge you to do something. It won't take that long (or maybe it will). I have been reflecting on several Scripture passages, and I want you to read them one after the other, and simply allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through them. Read them asking the question, "What is the lesson Jesus is teaching me?"

Here they are:
Matthew 6:19-24
Matthew 25:31-46
Mark 12:41-44
Luke 12:13-21
Luke 18:18-25

Here is one final thought that reflecting on these passages has brought to my mind. What do these teachings of Jesus have to say about saving for retirement? I know that this flies in the face of our society, but what if saving for retirement is "storing up treasure on earth" and all that? Doesn't this kind of saving sound an aweful lot like the man in Jesus' story who built barns to store all his bounty and then was called a fool by God? We don't know how long we will live, so why are we planning for it? I know that it is called "smart planning" to do this (save for the future), but why does God call it foolishness then? What if works to eat away at faith and trust? For most of the world, saving for retirement isn't even part of their vocabulary - their family takes care of them when they can't. Do I need to move away from planning for my retirement and instead focus on what God wants now, and leave all of my future, and my family's (including how we will eat, etc.) to God? What would that look like?

I know that it seems foolishness to not plan for our provisions in the future, and it is a disrespect to our family and those that "count on us". But, is it really? I don't know. This is something that I have really been wrestling with.

And if God wants me to put all of my future, including retirement, in his hands, what does he want me to do with the pension that I have saved up?

Miscelleaneous Quote

Here is a recent quote I came across that I really liked. It is from author Earl Creps:

Jesus' resurrection is the guarantee that the reign of God (God's Kingdom) is breaking out in the world right now.

Blood Diamonds

Just watched the movie Blood Diamond yesterday. Very powerful film. I would say it is one of the must see movies of 2006. Excellent story, fantastic acting, powerful visuals, and absolutely heartbreaking. It is very hard to watch a movie like that and not do something.

Whenever I see stories like that, that bring out the suffering that our society is causing so many people, it makes it hard to remain in this society. It makes me want to leave and run away from it. Part me of thinks that this would be a very good idea, and not subject Ava to any of this baggage and shit that we carry, although of course we would be introducing her to whatever baggage any other part of the world has. Part of me also thinks that if those of us who realize what is going on all leave, who will be left to fight for change here?

There are some excellent lines in the movie too. In fact brilliant lines that blew me away. They are lines of Redemption and light. They are the Gospel:

At one point, Jennifer Connelley's character says, "A whole country is dying/being destroyed. What good is it if I help one person?...What the hell am I saying?!"

Later on, another character says to Leonardo DiCaprio, "A man may be evil, but with one act of love he can change someone's life. No one knows what path may lead us to find God."

Towards the end, Djimon Hounsou's character has one of the most beautiful lines that I have heard in a movie for a long time. He is speaking to his very young son who was taken by rebel forces and forced into being a child soldier, brain washed into doing horrendous things, "They made you do bad things. You are not a bad boy. I am your father. I love you very much. I will take you home and make you my son again."

What a picture of redemption, grace and love.

Congrat's, Josh!

So, Naomi and I were very excited for you when we read this. I hope this transition goes well for you. I'll keep an ear to the ground re: a position out this way. By the way, you might want to check out http://educationcanada.com/
It will keep you up to date on most any education job around the country (though of course, you can specify... say Math in SK).

Good luck!

humpty dumpty

So why is humpty dumpty an egg if it never mentions eggs in the nursery rhyme?

I'll tell you why. Because the rhyme is actually a riddle. A modern translation might read,

If I fall from a height, I break into pieces that can never be put back together. What am I?

Glad that's settled.

Met with Rod this morning...

So I had meeting number 2 with Rod this morning. I asked him for a transfer form, and he said he'd get one for me today. Deadline for transfer is April 17. I asked him about letting students / staff know and he suggested (to my relief) that we sit on that for a little while longer. He accepted my request graciously, saying the school would miss me, but agreeing that our philosophical differences were great enough that I'd need to find a position somewhere else.

I feel pretty worn out. Nervous about next year.

Dan, keep an eye out for a jr. math / social / history / whatever position at Melville comp. (PS your school website doesn't work).

Josh

from Robertson Davies

(paraphrase)

You look as though you had your hair cut in a dark cellar by a madman with a knife and fork.

One more thing about killing people...

Did you know that in 38 of the 50 (and yes, there are only 50) United States capital punishment is legal? Not just Texas and Alabama or whatever. 38! To be fair, New York has ruled it unconstitutional but still has a guy on death row. And 4 or 5 other states where it is legal haven't executed anyone since 1976 (when capital punishment was reinstated after a constitutional challenge).

As of march 15, 9 americans have been executed in 2007. 53 last year, down from 98 in 1999.

The image you see here is a gas chamber in Wyoming last used in 1965 (History of Capital Punishment http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/cp/)

Die, Bugger!

In British North America (precursor to Canada) , in 1859, the following crimes were punishable by death:

robbery with wounding
burglary with assault
arson
casting away a ship
buggery with man or beast

... and some other less interesting crimes. By 1869 (2 years after confederation created what we now recognize as Canada) only murder, rape, and treason were punishable by death.

At 12:02 am, December 11, 1962, Arthur Lucas and Robert Turpin were the last people to be executed in Canada for unrelated crimes.

Turpin, already wanted for questioning in a shooting, robbed a Red Rooster restaurant of $632.84, and was pulled over during his escape for having a broken tail light. Turpin shot the officer in the chest. He was hanged for the murder of the officer.



Lucas was an American who apparantly worked for a Michigan drug lord who was on trial for ... something. Lucas came to Canada to kill a witness for the trial named Therland Crater.

Turpin was 29 years old. Lucas was 54.

Hanging is the only method of execution ever used in Canada.

Trudeau's liberals abolished capital punishment in 1976. Mulroney's Conservatives tried to bring it back in 1987, but failed.

Some Verses

These are the verses that are pointed to in support of the omniscient theory:

Malachi 3:6 declares, “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”

James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”

Only the Numbers verse speaks of God not changing his mind. And the context of this verse is very important (as is the context of all verses). This is Balaam's oracle from God to king Balak. Remember, Balaam is a shifty guy. But that's not the issue here. This is God saying to king Balak, "Listen, you're not going to get out of this. I gave you a chance to listen to Balaam, and now I will bring my judgement on you. You can't cut any deals with me, you can't out craft me. You will reap what you have sown and I will make sure of that." Put in its context it is pretty weak evidence for such a heavy theological idea such as omniscience.

And the other 2 verses simply say that God does not change. His character is stable. He will not shift to evil, he will always be motivated by love and act in grace. He will always seek for th justice of the oppressed and poor. He will always be mighty, the Creator, the Lord of Hosts. That will never change. In this idea of "never changing", there is still room for God to act in freedom and change/repent. Again, this is incredibly weak evidence to try and prop up the concept of omniscience.

regret? repent?

I have seen the paradox you point out, bunruh, and wondered about it. Because, while it's clear that God does regret actions, or freedoms he's allowed, or whatever, someone in the Bible tells us that God does not change his mind. Sorry, I don't remember the reference, but I think it's in the first five somewhere - one of the boring ones - and I'm sure you could google it anyway.

Regret is automatically a change of mind, right? And could a god who never changes his mind be anything but omniscient?

Holes in My Childhood Theology

There are some theological concepts that you grow up being taught and absolutely never question. And then someone comes along and pokes a hole in said concept and you think, "Oh yeah, why didn't I ever see that?" I had such an occurrance last week.

I was reading the Real Live Preacher blog (which is an excellent blog by the way), and he was writing about a short film that he saw recently. Here is a little of what the RLP had to say:

You should remember that in the Jewish scriptures (Old Testament) God repents several times. In Genesis God repents and is sorry that he created humankind. In First Samuel God repented that he made Saul king. And, most stunningly, in Exodus God is angry and about to destroy the children of Israel. Moses intervenes and demands that he repent of this anger.

"Why are you angry with Your people, which you brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand? . . .Turn from your fierce wrath and repent of this evil against your people...And the Lord repented of the evil which He said He would do unto his people." (32:11-14)

This notion of God experiencing regret is only a problem if you are into the whole omniscient and omnipotent thing. And since those ideas are NOT IN THE BIBLE, I don't feel obligated to believe them myself.

Yeah, not in the Bible. The omni concept is more of a Greek, philosophical thing. Surprised aren't you?

He then had a link to an excellent little article by Tony Campolo that I encourage you to read (it's very short). Go here to read it: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/174/story_17423.html

Once it was pointed out to me that this idea of omniscience is not in the Bible, it becomes very clear to me. Hmmm....why do we continually teach this?

Anyway, I also encourage you to watch the short film that RLP was refering to. You can find it here: http://www.woollymammoth.com/credo/credo_rlp.html
It's only 9 minutes long. By the way, the lyrics are also posted at the website and it's helpful to have them handy as you watch the movie.

It's a very intriguing movie. It has made me think a lot, which is good. And it unsettles me too, which is good. I like what RLP had to say about it:

I loved it. It's lovely, precious, and endearing. And it's certain to spark some pretty intense conversations. As you watch it, remember this: It is a work of art, not a theological treatise. Don't pick the theology apart.

Keith Synder explores the idea of God, evil, and repentance in this wonderful little film. And if you can let go of the omni stuff, then you make room for the idea that Larry Picard's God character might actually be possible. Which is cool because I absolutely adore Larry in this film. I wish he was my friend in real life, but I'd have a hard time not always wanting to pray to him. ;-)

(By the way, does anyone know how to put links in this blog, rather than writing out the address like I did?)

Feeding our lifestyle

Jason, is there some way of getting a nice concise quote or passage that expresses the idea that the "poor world" is funding our "lifestyle of want"?

Laura, is your "tidbit" from SaskPower on a brochure or something? I'd like that in a nice, concise, quote form as well.

Josh

I read it.

Naomi

Our "wayward rantings" do seem a little smaller, a little superficial, even though we rant on.

I thought your post deserved a response, a recognition.

I read it, and wept. I'm sorry.

Dr. Emil Silvestru

Silvestru stopped by the school for a presentation today on creation science - dinosaurs, the villany of evolution, etc.

The more I hear from these people, the more I'm convinced their somehow fundamentally wrong. They're always trying to use common sense to disprove the accumulated body of work of professional scientists. I understand this is probably their intentional strategy, because the audiences to which they generally speak are not scientists. But the common sense to be found in a room full of grade 7-12 students is hardly impressive.

Example: "In such-and-such a museum, an exhibit displayed such-and-such a dinoasaur. [powerpoint photo of exhibit] Since the creation of the exhibit however, scientists decided that that particular dinosaur was an intermediate step in the process of dinosaurs evolving into birds..." (from birds? I forget) "... Now look at what they've done to the exhibit [powerpoint photo of updated exhibit - feathers have been added, giving it a somewhat comic effect. Audience laughs.] What is it going to do with those feathers? How silly."

This is a paraphrase, of course, but an accurate interpreatation of the point he was trying to make.

Here's another example. Some scientist discovered a dinosaur bone in Amerca that still had meat on it. Yes, meat. A thigh bone, I think it was, with soft tissue attached, and the tissue still had elasticity. And so, the idea that dinosaurs are 17 million years old is impossible, because meat wouldn't stay soft so long. Now, it seems to me, that the problem is a little deeper than that. If the dinosaurs are 6000 years old ... well, I'm not so sure the meat would stay soft even that long. (How long does it take for meat to ... uh ... do whatever it does? Years? Months?) But again, Emil used the audiences collective common sense to tackle a problem that probably needs the attention of professional, trained scientists and technicians.

Carbon dating: According to Emil, carbon dating is unreliable because of obvious errors in the practice of carbon dating. For example, some skeleton with hair was dated by scientists, but the bones showed the thing was 24000 years old while the hair showed the thing was only 17000 years old, and clearly the beast could not have lived 7000 years (and then grown hair) so the method is inaccurate. But I'm not sure that's a fair treatment of what "the scientists" are claiming. Carbon dating is used, it seems to me, to very vaguely measure huge amounts of time. Two frames of a film, 7000 years apart, in a 17-million-year movie, are pretty close together.

Lastly, Emil warns us, very accurately, that everyone uses one paradigm or another to view facts and evidence. We all see the world differently. But then he tells us that there are only two ways to see scientific evidence such as this (his words: "only two ways"). They are, of course, that God created everything as told in the Bible, or everything created itself out of nothing.

Surely there's somewhere in between.

Road to Guantanamo Bay

Laura and I just watched the documentary Road to Guantanamo Bay. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend you see it soon. It's at the RPL.

Two questions arise for me:

How can everyone involved in these atrocities (both individuals and the offending government) not be held accountable for this?

How can one human being treat another human being like this?

Oxymoronic Questions

The Setting: CBC's esteemed flagship newscast, The National, with Peter Mansbridge, Tuesday, March 13, 2007.

The Situation: Lord Conrad Black's trial is about to begin in Chicago, Illinois. Peter is interviewing a columnist for the New York Times who has written a book on the rise and fall of Lord Conrad Black and is covering his trial for the Times.

The Quote: Peter Mansbridge asks the New York columnist: "Well, as Conrad Black's trial is set to begin next Monday, are there any surprises you are expecting?"

Quoi?

Poem

He, W.O Mitchell, said to write whatever surfaced to my consciousness, unconsciously

All I can think about is my…

I went swinging yesterday. A grown woman swinging in the snow, in February.
They must have thought I was drunk. Perhaps I am, but not with love or happiness.

There was a deer watching us.

That was the day after I head the worst news. Of my life sounds dramatic, but I think it was. We had already named him, it, we shouldn’t have- it was too soon, but we did. And we loved (love) him or her. Arms, legs, organs, head- but I guess there was something wrong with his head and that’s why

Oh God I don’t want to argue about whether hell exists or if it’s nothing or eternal conscious torment, because all I want- need to know is if you will hold my baby when he cries in heaven. Please take good care of him until we can meet him finally. I know you’ll do better than we could, but I guess we never got the chance.

The thought that never leaves, maybe it will one day, and I hate the thought, but I have to write it down or else it will kill me- no it won’t- my depression never turns suicidal- death makes me want life more and more, not death. But the thought that never leaves, is too horrible to inflict on anybody else. I can’t write it, but you need to know how hard it is to flush the toilet.

I love you. And I’m sorry, and sad. I know it isn’t my fault- this kind of thing happens, and heaven is a better place for my baby than earth- or else God wouldn’t have taken her there. Grief is really very selfish. I’m crying for the future I had built up with you. I didn’t mean to put pressure on you that way. I loved (love) you so much already. Maybe one day.

I’m sorry- so sorry, and I love you.
February 23, 2007

The Meaning of Green

A little tidbit from SaskPower

If every Saskatchewan household replaced just two 60-watt incandescent bulbs with two 13-watt CFLs, we would save enough electricity to power over 11,000 home for an entire year. This would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 81,000 tonnes-the equivalent of taking more than 16,000 cars off the road each year.

Chub Night

Jason hates when I refer to chub night but it is something that I am hoping to do on a weekly basis.
Chub night, replacing pork chop night, simply refers to a meatless meal. As part of the David Suzki Nature Challenge we are going to eat one meal per week that does not contain meat. So far so good. The nature challenge highlights ten easy things that each of us can do to make a real impact on the environment. Check into the other nine at davidsuzuki.org

Also, the post on grace made me cry. I love the awesomeness of grace, not sure if there is any greater power in our world. When I tried to think of what a greater power might be they all seemed to stem from giving or receiving grace.

Grace

My favourite song at the moment is "Grace" by U2 (from their album All That You Can't Leave Behind). Here are some of my favourite lyrics:

Grace...it's a thought that could change the world.

She travels outside of karma

What once was hurts,
What once was friction,
What left a mark,
No longer stains,
Because Grace makes beauty, out of ugly things,
Grace finds beauty in everything,
Grace finds goodness in everything.

Thank you Jesus for Grace. Teach me to live in Grace, and to give Grace to my world.

Another song that has been very significant in my life recently is Ben Fold's song "Gracie", from the album Songs for Silverman. He wrote this song for his daughter. My favourite lyrics:

You can't fool me - I saw you when you came out.

I would never try to make you be,
Anything you didn't really want to be - Gracie girl

Life flys by in seconds,
You're not a baby, Gracie, you're my friend,
You be a lady soon, but until then
You gotta do what I say.

One day you're gonna want to go,
I hope we taught you everything you need to know - Gracie girl.

There will always be a part of me,
Nobody else is ever gonna see but you and me,
My little girl.

Ava is the most tangible evidence of Grace I have ever been given. She's my little Gracie Girl.

Am I in?

Dan, I don't suppose Sarah and I live close enough to downtown to pick up that free internet access? I don't really know how that works.

Oh, and I don't have to teach accounting anymore. The bad news is I'm picking up two students instead who are doing "work experience". I don't know what that means, but I start today.

Saskatchewan on the Information Highway?

So, it looks like Saskatchewan is making a pretty big leap -- Calvert announced free WiFi in the major downtowns of SK a couple days ago.

Residents and visitors to the downtown business districts and post-secondary institutions of Saskatchewan’s four largest centres will soon be able to access the country’s largest wireless Internet network, free-of-charge. Premier Lorne Calvert and Minister responsible for Information Technology Andrew Thomson made the announcement today in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan! Connected initiative will offer users basic Internet service in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Regina, and Moose Jaw via a wireless Wi-Fi network to be operated by the government Information Technology Office, SaskTel and other partners. The service will also be available in select business districts in close proximity to downtown Saskatoon and Regina.

Check out the news release, or the Sask Connected website.

New Look

A new look for spring. Its a girl thing.... i think.

A Fair Trade Opportunity

I spent a little time online trying to find retailers in my region that sell fair-trade clothing (jeans, specifically). That is, stuff made from organically grown cotton, and manufactured in fair working conditions.

Want to know what I found? That's right, nothing. Seattle, sure. Montreal, Toronto, even Winnipeg, yeah. Plenty of online stores to buy from, but really, who buys without trying on.

So here's my thought. THere must be room online for a site that helps a person easily find the est way to buy fair trade clothing by telling them the retail locations of such stores nearest them. OR, even better, there may be room in the Regina clothing market for a fair-trade store.

Who wants to quit their job?

Slaffron's latest oevre which she claims is an BIG rock.

another essay on time

Write a 5 paragraph essay (informal, persuasive) using the thesis, "Canadians are very time conscious."

“Why is it that Canada society is very time conscious?” The reasons are clocks, Radio, and Calendars. Every one is focus around those three things. Your life is based on what time u due things. What events are going on? What is coming up this week? It might be a good thing to a certain degree. So I’m going to talk about clocks, radio and calendars and haw they run aware life.
“Clocks mean time, what is time? To us, It’s like what time is it, I don’t have enough time. Time is a privilege, what would the world be like if we didn’t have time. I’m share we would get along with out it but still it would be hard. We revolve around the clock, like at school, we start a 8:45 first class then we have 5 min then 2 class if we didn’t have clocks we would not do to well.
“Most people listen to the radio right, you don’t have to answer that. I listen to the radio it is very helpful, it tells you the wither, what is coming up for events, and tells you the time. Say you are sitting in the car and you are listing to the radio and it is telling you the weather and all the events know imagine that you are in the car with no radio what one is better? No radio or radio? Radio right? I hop you pact that one. So it gives you all that information what would you do without it?
“What would u do which out a calendar. I need a calendar to tell me what is going on in my life. If you don’t have a calendar you don’t know what is going on in your life. The calendar is a big help it tells you when you have school and when u don’t witch is important who wants to go to school. Just joking school is fun some times but a calendars is helpful
. In the end Canada is revolving around time but if we didn’t have it, it would be very hard to go through life like that. Time is very important and i’m glad we have it.

Blood Diamonds

This morning the EA from my grade 10 class came into the staff room and nearly worked herself into tears because she'd gone to a movie with one of our more socially-conscious teachers over the weekend.

I haven't heard of Blood Diamonds, but I guess the film does a nice job of bringing the dark side of the diamond industry to light. I was fortunate enough to let all know that I've never even thought of buying sarah a diamond. (Actually, I have thought about it.)

Anyway, this EA, she's a reasonable person, not a right-wing maniac, or a self-blinded bubble dweller, but she said, in her own words, "I had no idea."

How come she had no idea? How does someone get to be 25 or 30 or whatever she is and never have had a whiff or an inkling? You can't blame someone for what they don't know or even for being unable to respond to what they do know. But really what I want to understand is how this deadly issue stays so remote. I don't really know anything about the diamond problem. I could guess what the negative impact of the industry has been, but I don't really know. I just know that I should think before buying a diamond. We should all be suspicious of diamonds.

And coffee, and fresh fruit, and flowers, and chocolate, and polar-bear-skin scarves, and christians.

I need to work harder on my History 20 class. I don't anyones ignorance to be my fault.

My little memorie

I have to admit that I wanted to write somethings a while back but I forgot my pass word. I also forgot my username. Well that just goes to show you........................... what?, I can't remember.

Tidbit

Josh, that tidbit came from the book "A Brief History of Nearly Everything" which I have.

what was that you were saying...?

One of you said something once about how little particles of hitler (that is, particles that were once part Hitler's body) exist in each and every one of us. As much as this is a sort of disturbing "common sense", did this information come from an article or something? I'd like to use the fact in my grad speech this year and I want to source some "literature" ...