Sojourner

Excellent. :)

2012-01-27T22:49:21.709-05:00

Excellent. :)

Love your post. I teach this topic in my courses f...

2012-01-27T13:44:19.967-05:00

Love your post. I teach this topic in my courses for future science teachers and they are always amazed. Thanks for helping contribute to scientific literacy P.S.: it's neutrons, not neurons! Neurons are the cells in your brain!

I think it is scary that you are a pastor. You hav...

2012-01-23T14:16:51.825-05:00

I think it is scary that you are a pastor. You have some convoluted thinking. God is omniscient and omnipresent. He is God, you are not. His ways are far beyond our ability to understand them. That is what makes Him God.

Does He override free will? Of course not! Otherwise we would be nothing more than robots. He made us to be sons, just like Jesus, walking, talking and doing the same works and greater that Jesus did.

And your thinking about the cross is absolutely twisted. Jesus was most definitely not murdered. It was His own free will offering. That is why it was a sacrifice. Everyone of us, as sons and daughters of God Almighty, is expected to come to this same place of offering our lives to Him because He willingly laid down His sinless life to pay the price for our crimes. Jesus clearly told Pilate that they, the dogs howling for His death, had no power to take His life. He laid it down willingly.

As to predestination, God sends each one of us into this earth with a "package" inside, our own individual destiny. This is one of the most fundamental things that Christians should be raising their children to be sensitive to. We make choices every day that impact our destinies. Our destiny may be deferred for decades. Also, sadly, in far too many cases destiny is never reached. Lives are squandered. That is the meaning of being a good steward.

God has hidden great secret treasures within us but the only way we will ever discover them is to walk in the secret place with the Lord, to develop the intimacy that the Lord Himself so wants from us. He is a relational God: He wants communion with us on the deepest, most personal level, just like a husband and wife are meant to commune so deeply that they become one.

This is our God. I sincerely hope you discover the fallacy of your thinking. There are some excellent teachers that could help you. I suggest Graham Cooke and Paul Keith Davis for starters. Bill Johnson in Redding, CA is also an excellent teacher. Check them out on You Tube or their websites.

Same...I needed to hear this.

2011-12-23T15:26:05.260-05:00

Same...I needed to hear this.

children as it is written have to be at the age of...

2011-12-03T02:14:06.643-05:00

children as it is written have to be at the age of countability usually in jewish heritage a boy becomes a man at13 girls 12 if you read in 23 minutes in hell you will see that the man who experienced hell said he head screams of only mature voices. you should read it. the guy who went through it proved everything about what he saw in scripture. so maybe the people who don't know christ or just the same. also I can understand the part about believing in god there's evidence. but also if I were native I would probably believe in god cuz theres evidence. but would never have
thought about a Savior.

It is wrong to base spiritual foundation on experi...

2011-12-02T13:41:00.658-05:00

It is wrong to base spiritual foundation on experience or feelings. It must be based on what the bible states - in a whole view not pulling a verse out that is used out of context. Because you have not seen it personally you discount things that you should not. Yes there are questionable things, and possible fraud by others but you should not base your biblical view on others around you. Praying in tongues is "crazy weird" to my carnal mind but the bible states it to be so in some sense. When we fail to have FAITH we faultier and rely on what we know and what is comfortable. My suggestion is to have faith, ask God to keep you be open to His work, ask God to reveal true miracles (but if you don’t believe there is no sense asking) and then wait patiently. Cessationism is the work of the devil – If God wanted you to give lets say a waitress a $50 tip because of her need at that time and it would draw her to God but you don’t listen to God because prophecy is dead – how sad. Is it hard – maybe. Maybe it just how we go about it or just Gods timing. I know God (either directly or through an angel I do not know) has spoken to me where it was an audible voice to me so I knew something. If He speaks and you reject (intentionally) it you fail the first commandment to love the Lord your God.
Blessings, Tim

Matthew, I guess it simply depends on what kind o...

2011-10-14T09:03:40.301-04:00

Matthew,

I guess it simply depends on what kind of state/society you want to live in. Personally, I want to live in a less-restrictive state where American citizens, among whom there are plenty of morons, do not have to worry about being detained to have their citizenship verified.

Why would an American citizen NOT be able to provi...

2011-10-14T08:09:58.725-04:00

Why would an American citizen NOT be able to provide a valid name/DOB/social? The instances where they can't/don't are typically instances where they have warrants and are lying. In theory a citizen could be detained to verify, but only if they're an idiot. The case with Muflahi is not really a good example. He was originally detained on charges related to a drug raid. When he was unble to produce documentation as to his legal status, that's when the immigration law kicked in and he was detained long enough to verify it. Once status was verified, he was released. I don't know why people are trying to make things more complicated than they have to be. If someone is in this country legally, or they are an American citizen...just keep your ID on you. A legal immigrant can take their documentation to DPS and get an Alabama ID card. IMO, the only reason someone would be mistakenly detained under this bill is if they are a moron. If someone is stopped and presents valid ID, they will be on their way after the officer deals with the initial reason for a stop. Again, even if they don't have their actual ID card with them, they can still be verified simply by giving the officer their correct information. As for the case of an illegal giving a bogus ID number: if it's completely bogus, it won't show in the computer. If it's a stolen ID, the picture on the ID card they present won't match what the computer returns. In those cases, they're going to be detained anyway because they're in possession of forged or stolen documents and the verification of immigration status will be taken care of during their trip to jail. The bill makes officers personally liable for a false arrest. The officers with any sense whatsoever will do whatever they can to prevent a mistake.

This has sort of already happened, but not in the ...

2011-10-10T16:21:42.376-04:00

This has sort of already happened, but not in the way I imagined it would: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/mohamed-ali-muflahi-alabama-immigration_n_996101.html

And it happened with the first person detained under this law no less!

My point still stands. If an American citizen cann...

2011-10-10T16:19:56.702-04:00

My point still stands. If an American citizen cannot provide this, he can be detained upon suspicion that he is illegal. This law does not allow for racial profiling.

So, if an illegal is pulled over and gives a bogus ID number and the pic looks like him, he cannot be detained.

"How does the officer answer that? If he says...

2011-10-10T15:47:08.653-04:00

"How does the officer answer that? If he says it is because Mr. Garcia could not produce a valid driver's license, then that means you, my American friend, can now be detained for up to 48 hours until proof of your citizenship is attained if you lose your license and drive anyway."

That is completely, and totally false. Anyone who has a valid license or identification card can be verified in seconds by the officer on the side of the road; provided that the person gives them their correct name, date of birth and/or social security number. The computer even returns a photo of the person.

Thank you so much as I am now where you were 7 yea...

2011-09-29T18:43:45.870-04:00

Thank you so much as I am now where you were 7 years ago

I have voted Republican all of my 46 year old adul...

2011-09-27T16:22:34.256-04:00

I have voted Republican all of my 46 year old adult life (except I did vote for Perot in '92). Yet I find these candidates completely inadequate. I just don't like any of them, but for different reasons. Romney is a flip-flopper who says what everyone wants to hear. Perry is too new to this debate stuff, but I have a problem with his lack of conscience approving over 200 executions in Texas, and I have a problem with his willingness to render an Executive Order to inoculate children, indicating he believes government has more authority that I believe the Constitution allows. Bachman talks a good game but has no ideas. Paul seems like the crazy uncle but is close to my views on domestic issues, although on foreign policy I'm afraid he's too isolationist and will serve Israel up to the Arabs. Gingrich is the smartest guy in the room but his past actions in his personal life were reprehensible, so he loses my vote on that basis. Santorum is probably closest to my views but seems namby-pamby to me. Cain wants to ban Islam, which I think is un-American, and I have a problem with his "9-9-9" proposal b/c it would add a VAT tax that would just be increased by Congress every year. The guy from NM had some good zingers but won't go far. Who am I missing?

So I welcome any suggestions. Looking for a candidate I can support.

Are you against capital punishment in this case? O...

2011-09-24T19:14:27.052-04:00

Are you against capital punishment in this case? Or in all cases? What sentiment shocks you here? You'll have to be more substantive if you want real interaction.

Are you really a pastor? with this kind of sentime...

2011-09-24T17:31:26.756-04:00

Are you really a pastor? with this kind of sentiment? Would Jesus have killed this man?

Well, I take the "hate group" label with...

2011-09-13T17:19:09.720-04:00

Well, I take the "hate group" label with a grain of salt. I think that pretty much revolves around the AFA's stance regarding homosexual conduct being a form of sexual immorality. If that's all it takes to be a "hate group", then I reckon I'm in. (But not as an AFA guy.)

Actually, the only group on the list you mentioned that I've even heard of is the AFA. I have good news and bad news on that. The good news is that you might be right that they are lunatics. The bad news is that I really don't think that they can be considered fringe. I even get their email to see what they are saying, and I'm fairly confident that they have a significant following.

My beef with the AFA is not in their stance regarding sexual conduct. It is in the fact that I find them to be moralistic in much of what they write, and I find their articles to be more legalistic than gracious. I also find them to be alarmist. I can't stand reading Christian publications that sound panicky.

I can't comment on the other guys, though. Also, I will say that the AFA does send out some interesting voter guide things. You should get on the mailing list. You could use it for opposite voting probably. ;)

Tim Wildmon and the AFA (Labled a hate group by SP...

2011-09-13T16:34:08.656-04:00

Tim Wildmon and the AFA (Labled a hate group by SPLC), Mike Bickle of IHOP (Oprah Winfrey is the Harlot of Babylon), and John Benefiel (Statue of Liberty is a demonic idol / homosexuality is an Illuminati conspiracy) come quickly to mind.

Fair point on saying "No" :)

Out of curiosity, who are the lunatic fringes? I h...

2011-09-13T15:49:39.489-04:00

Out of curiosity, who are the lunatic fringes? I have no idea who sponsored the prayer gathering, but a prayer gathering is hardly unusual so I didn't think anything of it.

For the record, it appears that the prayer worked. God said, "No."

I think the cutting of the firefighting budget has nothing to do with his prayer gathering or faith. Unless, of course, some Christian fireman prayed an impreccatory prayer on the state of Texas when he lost his job. :)

I don't mind Christians using their Christiani...

2011-09-13T15:44:02.955-04:00

I don't mind Christians using their Christianity as a basis for making decisions, what I do mind is those who try to use it as a hammer to make decisions for me. Perry's associations with, and invitations to what I consider the lunatic fringes of nominal Christianity at his recent statewide prayer gathering for rain in Texas (which, turns out to have not worked out that well, considering the state is now on fire) put him into a category that I find questionable.

Perry's wonderful forethought to cut 75% of the statewide firefighting budget during a drought might not have been the best plan either.

At this point, of the people that terrify you, I t...

2011-09-13T15:27:14.120-04:00

At this point, of the people that terrify you, I think only Rick Perry has a real shot.

I confess that I do not understand this "dominionist" worry that is circulating. Have these candidates said anything different than other "Christian" candidates have said in order to garner votes? If there is some sort of dominionist cabal out there, I am a tad miffed that I don't know about it.

Pawlenty wasn't crazy, boring, yes, but reason...

2011-09-13T14:51:55.479-04:00

Pawlenty wasn't crazy, boring, yes, but reasonable. Huntsman is reasonable but will never advance in the Republican primaries because he thinks that science is a good idea. I have some issues with Chris Christie but he seems to be competent for the most part and gets stuff done. Mitch Daniels might not have been bad. Lamar Alexander is reasonable, but he already ran twice and clearly the Rupublicans didn't want him.

Eventually, what it comes down to for me though, is that my vote tends to be taken by the person who I think is going to screw us over the least. Obama has been disapointing so far, but I am completely terrified of who Perry/Bachmann/Santorum/Other dominionist might nominate as a Supreme Court Justice.

That's an interesting observation, Mike. Who d...

2011-09-13T14:29:51.054-04:00

That's an interesting observation, Mike. Who do you think would have been a good candidate to run, or will be a good candidate in 2016 for the Republicans?

I admit that I'm feeling a little bit like that guy on the ground at the Frenchman's castle in Monty Python and the Holy Grail who said, "Is there anyone else up there we can talk to?"

"Unless, of course, you are a Democrat who th...

2011-09-13T13:19:49.581-04:00

"Unless, of course, you are a Democrat who thinks President Obama has done a bang up job"

There's another option too.. you think Obama has been a disappointment, but you also think that the only Republicans running that don't scare the crap out of you have no chance of winning the nomination. :)

Part of the problem is that Obama was so strong and popular a year ago that all the sane and competent Republicans decided to wait it out until 2016, leaving us with this motley collection of lunatics and losers. Now that Obama has faltered, there is a decent chance that one of these crazy people could be elected.

Yay! Agreement! I'm saving this. It was my in...

2011-08-22T16:30:47.009-04:00

Yay! Agreement! I'm saving this.

It was my intention to lampoon the writer more than the theory here. That's why I listed this under "sarcasm." Though I see evolution treated this way surprisingly often.

I'll agree with that. I was reading into it wh...

2011-08-22T15:56:36.204-04:00

I'll agree with that. I was reading into it what I assumed the evident data actually meant, not how the writer was interpreting it.

You are correct. The article's writer doesn't understand what he is talking about, and unfortunately, it is writers like this that tend to confuse the issue and make people who also don't understand the science look at it like it is ridiculous.