This is a keeper.

Deep. Very deep.

Someone's not listening.

Socialism.

This is what socialism looks like.

Cognitive surplus

Here's an excellent video from Clay Shirky. He explains why I love the internet and computers so much.

From Goring's Nuremberg Diary

Göring: Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?

Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.

Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.

Göring: Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

Source.

Hey Texas, don't let the door...

It seems that the Governor of the State of Texas takes an Oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. As does the Governor of the State of Oklahoma (and every other State in the "Union"). So, what the...???

Yeah, Obamamania. Tell me about it.

There are greater things than safety.

Ronald Reagan, May 20, 1988, transmitting the Convention Against Torture to the Senate for ratification:

The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention. It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.

The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called "universal jurisdiction." Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.

Convention Against Torture, signed and championed by Ronald Reagan, Article II/IV:

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. . . Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law.

Green dots.

I have been told to write about you. Green dots. Where do you come from? Where must you go? Have you been sent here to observe us by some alien life form? Are you an alien life form? What if you were and you took over our world? What would that be like?

Your home planet would be the green dot planet. That must be quite a place. Spinning silently. Do you have blue oceans, or are they some sort of guacamoleous green? Why would you leave a planet with oceans of guacamole? Looking for chips, I suppose.

Is that what you want? Our chips? You would only need those Doritos-like chips. Potato chips are too flimsy to use for guacamole dipping. They would break off in your ocean and you would end up with chip flotsam (no jetsam) all along your guacamole beaches. And probably no cheese puffs. The cheese puffs could handle a guacamole ocean without breaking and being flotsam, but you just don't see people dipping guacamole with cheese puffs. So you came for the Doritos.

So take our Doritos. You won't get any fight from me. But let me give you a little friendly advise, earthling to alien conqueror. Do not do your Doritos sweep during Super Bowl weekend. If you value your green little dotty lives, do not even try it. My people will die for very few things. But they will protect their Doritos.

And your trees. Do you have green trees? You live in the trees for protection from marauding other things on your green dot planet. Those other things chase you up the green trees and you just blend right into the little green dot leaves. So clever. Until the wind comes up and off you go with the breeze.

That's how you learned space flight. To be conquered by green dots. Oh, the shame. Go back to your guacoplanet with your Doritos. Leave us alone.

Well, there goes the second debate. Not much new. McCain wants to buy everyone a new house and keep government spending frozen. Obama says nothing much new. Translation: the lines stay where they are and Obama wins. Pretty boring debate, except that Brokaw has got to be the worst moderator in history.

It's been a long time since I've written a post on my old blog here. I thought this would be a good time to stop in and do a little brain drain. I have been watching too much election news and the second debate is about to start. I need to start using this blog to decompress.

Let's see...what else can I think about?

Just waking up and remembering that I've got a blog. Hello out there. Anyone reading this. Testing, one, two three.

Hamo at Backyardmissionary had a great post about his frustratiions about becoming a disciple. Funny how there can be a lot of wisdom in "frustration." Here's part of it:

What makes anyone think that a bunch of people who are fairly content with their lives and who are moving 'up in the world' might want to make that a secondary priority to 'taking up their cross daily' and following Jesus?

Why would your average middle class suburbanite sacrifice the pleasures and self gratification of life as they know it to live a counter cultural life of discipleship? How do we communicate that kind of a call to people?

My ego is interested in seeing a 'bigger church', but I'm really quite unimpressed with just more people if we have no more disciples, no more people choosing to live life like Jesus would. I know this whole thing is a process etc etc. Blah blah blah... but some days I look at how hard it is to make disciples out of those who are in the church and I wonder how the hell are we going to make any kind of a dent on those outside...

Some days I look in the mirror and I am reminded that if I've been at this for 30 years and I am still struggling along then what can I expect from people who have no concept of who Christ is?

So my quesiton is, have I sacrificed ANY of the pleasures of this life in order to be His disciple? Not sure. I could probably find things that I have done and efforts I have made. But they have all been around the edges; they have not gone to the core of my life. The sacrifices I have made have been no real threat to my standing and security in the world.

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jn. 1:14.

Look at the "dwelt among us." Do we really understand that? Do we really get it, in our hearts? God came "down" and "dwelt among us." The word "dwelt' there means "to tent, or encamp." I've used the analogy before that it's like God moved into our town. I live within a few blocks of the Hanson's home (that's a big deal if you're a 14 year old girl, who likes their music). I talked to a girl once who thought that was pretty impressive. But do we think it's impressive that God came to dwell amoung us? That he came to live right here with us? That it didn't just happen 2000 years ago in Palestine, but that he lives right here with us today?

bs

   I've been using a new blogging interface called w.bloggar (download). Works straight into my Blogger website, but I don't have to be signed onto Blogger to use it. I don't even have to be signed on the internet. I can write and edit posts off-line, then just sign on whenever I want to post them. It's got a pretty neat little group of editing whatzit's. I love little editing whatzit's.

bs

Totally boring day at work. Plenty of things to do...just brain fried from doing too many of them. Smoke coming out of ears and I'm hearing "TILT" gongs in my head. Time to go home.

bs

Christian Exodus :: Come Out of Her, My People

That's a new one on me...Christian Constitutionalist? I'm surprised they didn't move to Oklahoma to do this.

"ChristianExodus.org is moving thousands of Christian constitutionalists to specific cities and counties in South Carolina through a series of emigrations. Our board of directors considers the values of this state to be very similar to the values held by our membership. Additionally, South Carolina possesses a rich history of standing up for her rights.

The cities and counties will be selected based upon, but not limited to, the following criteria:

1. Voter turnout in primary elections.
2. Voter turnout in general elections.
3. Moral nature of the electorate.
4. Cost of living/housing.
5. Economic and employment opportunity.
6. Christian educational choices (including home school networks)."

I wonder how much Kingdom impact there would be if these same folks moved to New York or L.A. and devoted themselves to living out the Sermon on the Mount? I wonder what would happen if I started doing that???

-BS

Now, that's what I'm talkin' about...

The overshadowing event of the last two centuries of Christian life has been the struggle between Orthodoxy and Modernism. In this struggle the primary issue has, as a matter of fact, not been discipleship to Christ and a transformation of soul that expresses itself in pervasive, routine obedience to his "all that I have commanded you." Instead, both sides of the controversy have focussed almost entirely upon what is to be explicitly asserted or rejected as essential Christian doctrine. In the process of battles over views of Christ the Savior, Christ the Teacher was lost on all sides.

Discipleship as an essential issue disappeared from the Churches, and, with it, there also disappeared realistic plans and programs for the transformation of the inmost self into Christlikeness. One could now be a Christian forever without actually changing in heart and life. Right profession, positive or negative, was all that was required. This has now produced generations of professing Christians which, as a whole, do not differ in character, but only in ritual, from their non-professing neighbors; and, in addition, a massive population has now arisen in America which believes in God, even self-identifies as "spiritual," but will have nothing to do with Churches--often as a matter of pride.

What is new in the current revival of interest in spiritual formation is the widespread recognition that by-passing authentic, pervasive, and thorough transformation of the inner life of the human being is not desirable, not necessary, and may be not permissible. We are seeing that the human soul hungers for transformation, for wholeness and holiness, is sick and dying without it, and that it will seek it where it may--even if it destroys itself in the process. We are seeing that the Church betrays itself and its world if it fails to make clear and accessible the path of thoroughgoing inner transformation through Christ.

Dallas Willard, in an article at Alleon.

I think Dallas (I can call him Dallas; I've met him...) is saying that doctrine is like a tool chest. We love our doctrine. And a tool chest full of good doctrine is necessary in order for us to do the work of the Kingdom. But, we spend all our time polishing up our doctrinal tools, thinking that if we get our doctrine right, then that will transform us into Christlikeness. Nope. At some point we've got to get the tools out and let the Lord start banging and sawing and doing the work of transformation. Orthodoxy is the tool box; but Discipleship is "job one."

-BS

Wow...look at THIS! After Viet Nam invaded Cambodia, Cambodian refugees hid in the jungle for 25 years, scared that the Vietnamese were going to get them. Uh...the war's over, dude.