Friday, May 30, 2008

Funny Videos You Make With Your Own Subtitles

Bombay TV. A fun time waster. It takes movie clips from Bollywood movies (the biggest producer of movies annually) and allows you to add your own subtitles. Seeing how you can't understand what they are saying anyways (they speak in Hindi), you can have a lot of fun with this.

I stumbled upon this site over a year ago and we had a lot of fun with it in the office... sometimes too much fun.

So, here's the deal, you visit the site, make your own and post then link to it in the comments section. We will compare and contrast and see who came up with the funniest one.

You can start making yours here.

Here is an example: Dandruff

Note: this was originally posted on October 8, 2007

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Intelligent Alien Life Confirmed


A video that purportedly shows a living, breathing space alien will be shown to the news media Friday in Denver.

An instructor at the Colorado Film School in Denver scrutinized the video "very carefully" and determined it was authentic, Peckman said.

"It shows an extraterrestrial's head popping up outside of a window at night, looking in the window, that's visible through an infrared camera," he said. The alien is about 4 feet tall and can be seen blinking, Peckman said earlier this month.

HT: Drudge

You can read more here.
***Updated Information***

Some questions:
-Do you think this will shut up the nay sayers?
-If you don't believe in intelligent alien life, do you think anything short of you seeing one with your own eyes would convince you they are real?
-Would belief in intelligent life elsewhere affect your faith? Your beliefs? Your hope?
-Do you think the government of the US is covering up knowledge about alien life?
-Why does this even matter?

Teacher Holds Student Vote To See About Ousting Kindegartner



You can read a little more here.
You can read a lot more here.

Some questions:
-What was the teacher, Wendy Portillo, thinking?
-Do you think a child with special needs (Asperger's) should be subjected to this? Do you think any child should be subjected to this?
-If you were this child's parents, how would you respond?
-If you were the school administration, what actions should you take?
-If you could contact the school, what would you say?
-If you could email the teacher, what would you say to her?

Tim Challies On Hindrances Concerning Prayer

Tim Challies has written an insightful post on six things that hinder Christians in prayer. It is biblically-based and worth a read. Below is a small excerpt.

It is the Lord’s delight to give us what we ask of Him in prayer. Like David, we should all pray, “O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth” (Psalm 54:2). If Christians did not believe in the efficacy of prayer, there would be no reason for us to ask anything of God. He is the one who tells us that we can have confidence that our prayers ascend to Him. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14,15). While as Christians we pay lip-service to the superlatives in that sentence (“whatever” and “anything”), how often do we really believe it?

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you think these six things hinder your prayer life?
-Did you come away from reading his post with a firmer grip on prayer that is pleasing to God?
-Would you say that prayer is your weakest, strongest, or somewhere in between area of your faith?
-Why do you pray?

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

St. Louis Over Memorial Day Weekend





Over Memorial Day my wife and I went with another couple to St. Louis and spent the weekend. It was a great time. We stayed downtown with a great view from our 15th floor room overlooking the Arch; right across the hall on the other side you could see the new stadium built for the Cardinals. Needless to say, the hotel was in a great location.

Our plan was to not be rushed and feel bound to an itinerary, so we had a few places we wanted to visit and anything else was bonus. We got in Friday night/Saturday morning and went to bed and spent all of Saturday at Six Flags St. Louis. If you are planning on going, I recommend looking online for tickets as you are almost guaranteed to get them cheaper anywhere other than the park. We stopped Friday night in Cape Girardeau to pick up some at Schnuck’s but the “Courtesy Desk” was closed and no one could get us tickets until 7.30am the next morning. The next day before leaving the hotel we printed off some from SixFlags.com and gained admittance for what was normally a child’s fare.

Six Flags was great. Roller coasters in general are great. The Boss, a wooden roller coaster, is at the top of my list (and in the top 5 in the nation for wooden roller coasters). We stayed until the park closed and headed back to the hotel to turn in for sleep.

The next day we spent some time at Forest Park, at the Science Center, the Jewel Box, and the Zoo and topped it off with a great dinner at a local restaurant downtown. We saw some amazing things at all of these places and I will post a link on this post at some point in the near future to show off some of the things we saw- just can’t do it today.

Then on Monday we left out and went to the Botanical Gardens and The City Museum. The Botanical Gardens really make you pause to think on the creativity of our God. It is a great, peaceful place that is nothing short of beautiful. Finally, before we left for home, we spent the last two hours of our trip at The City Museum. We did not bring any cameras [I think you can see why] in except for my phone with which I snapped the photos above. This place has been around for 10 years, housed in an old 7 story factory building, and everything in it came from the St. Louis area (including all of the art and items used to construct it). And, don’t let the name fool you, it is not your typical museum. This place was like a giant playground where nothing was off limits (by that I mean you can interact however you wish with whatever is there). They had giant ball pits, a humongous “monkey bar’ set (if you can even call it that) as well as a cave system, giant slides, tunnels, an aquarium, tube systems, as well as art intertwined with the design of the setup. It was the icing on the cake of our trip. If you have ever went to a fast food restaurant and wanted to play on the playground equipment but you were too old and too tall, this is a great place to fulfill that desire! It will be on my list of to do’s when I go back to St. Louis.

So, what did you do over Memorial Day weekend?

***Click the picture below to see the other pictures I said I would post***

Friday, May 23, 2008

Steven Curtis Chapman Video With Daughter Maria

In case you did not hear, Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter Maria Chapman died two nights ago when her brother accidentally ran her over in their driveway. She was 5 years old. I can't even begin to imagine what the brother must be going through. May God grant him (and his family) much grace!

Here is the video.

Some questions:
-What would you say to the brother who has to live with this for the rest of his life?
-If you were his family, how would you minister to him while still grieving the death of Maria?
-How does Satan use guilt in circumstances such as these?

Thursday, May 22, 2008

How Not To Prove A Point: The Height Of Human Reason

Road workers in a small New Zealand town got their wish granted when a woman stripped saying she was fed up with their wolf-whistles.

The woman told police she didn't take too kindly to the whistling from the men repairing the road.
"She said she had thought 'bugger them, I'll show them what I've got'," Police Sergeant Peter Masters told NZPA.


You can read more here.

A question:
-Does anybody else see a flaw in her logic?

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Children Have No Need For A Father

Single women and lesbian couples won landmark parental rights last night as MPs voted to remove the requirement that fertility clinics consider a child’s need for a father.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will replace the rule with a “need for supportive parenting” after opponents were defeated in two votes by unexpectedly wide margins.

The Government had been prepared for defeat but won the free votes by majorities of 75 and 68. The decisions mean that the legislation will grant the most significant extension to homosexual family rights since gay adoption was sanctioned.


The Government has now won all four of the measures on which it agreed to grant Labour MPs a free vote. Moves to allow the creation of hybrid embryos for medical research, and “saviour siblings” screened as suitable tissue donors for sick children, were passed by large majorities on Monday.

Here is one of the comments posted in regards to this article: Good decision, great for singles who can't find men to have kids with. Unless women in their 20's start dateing men in their 40's the dream of a nuclear family is nonexistent. Men in their 20's are selfish, busy reading Loaded and Nuts than creating mature and stable relationships to have kids in.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you agree with the majority of vote casters?
-What are your thoughts concerning "saviour sibliings"?
-Do you agree with the commentor? Please explain.
-Do you think that children benefit from a father/mother family as opposed to a mother or mother/mother (lesbian) family?
-Why is the (U.K.) government even casting votes on such things as this?
-Are making hybrid embryos a "moral endeavor" as stated by Brown?

Monday, May 19, 2008

Can You Hear Me Now?

Women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioural problems, according to authoritative research.

A giant study, which surveyed more than 13,000 children, found that using the handsets just two or three times a day was enough to raise the risk of their babies developing hyperactivity and difficulties with conduct, emotions and relationships by the time they reached school age. And it adds that the likelihood is even greater if the children themselves used the phones before the age of seven.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you put any stock in this survey? If not, why?
-Will this alter your mobile usage if you are pregnant (or when you become pregnant)?
-Will you allow your children to talk on the mobile before the age of 7?
-Do you think studies like this prove anything? (the egg is good for you/the egg is bad for you...)
-Have you thought about giving your child a mobile? Have your thoughts changed after reading this?
-How do you think a mobile can produce such results?

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Minister Caught in Teen Sex Scandal

" Dr. Graham addressed the crowd at the start of the church's regular worship service. He said the church had accepted Joe Barron's resignation, which took effect immediately.

"You need to know that we are appalled and we are disgraced by this terrible action, an unacceptable action by a minister on our staff," Dr. Graham said. "I'm so sorry for the injury that this kind of behavior has brought to many people in our church and outside of our church."

Police arrested Mr. Barron, 52, Thursday morning after he drove from Plano to Bryan to meet with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl he had met online, authorities say."


Read the story here

Some Questions:
~Is this a bad person doing a bad thing, or a good person who made a mistake?
~Are Pastors exempt from mistakes like this?
~What should the church do with him?

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Theistic Evolution: The Marriage Of Science & Religion

Okay, so I have been discussing the plausibility of position called Theistic Evolution with a couple of guys over the past two weeks and thought I would ask your opinion on this topic.

Here is their basic view as it has been laid out to me: The creation story as laid out in Genesis is metaphorical and the original readers new this and it was understood. It was never meant to be taken as God created all that is before us and is us in 6 days. Further they would say that this metaphorical understanding has several advantages over the orthodox Christian view that would hold the creation as a literal event that took place as described in Genesis where Adam was created from dirt and Eve from his side. The advantages relieve the tension between Christianity/Judaism and science because it makes room for evolution to be understood in a biblical framework while still allowing you to hold to your faith.

Those who hold this view would say that all descended from a common ancestor and we, man, evolved from primitive primates. They would further say that God, in His sovereignty, utilized the process of evolution as part of His creative action and this makes for man to be all the more awed at His greatness. This view holds that at some point when the primitive primates evolved to a certain point, God intervened and bestowed upon them (or maybe just one? I am unclear on this point) the ability to reason and infused within them/it a soul that separates them/it from the rest of creation and now gives us the ability to say we are in the image of God; a distinguishing mark that no other part of creation bears. With these abilities came the ability to sin against our creator and thus a need for a savior is still valid.

Proponents would argue that with all of the advances in science, this view makes perfect sense and releases the tension between evolution and religion.

Proponents would argue that one does not have to “twist” scripture to make this work, they just have to reinterpret Genesis. Basically, scripture stays scripture, but your interpretation of that scripture must change. (They would say that interpretations are faulty and their interpretation is more harmonious with science than those who hold to young earth models)

Proponents would argue that if this was not the case, why would God “trick” us by making all this scientific data point to common descent. He sure went through a lot of trouble to make it appear as if common descent is how life began. So, if all the evidence points to that, then maybe our interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2 are wrong and need to be reinterpreted.

I first pointed to this discussion here.
You can read the dialogue between myself and two proponents concerning this topic here.

Some questions:
-Do you find this view plausible based on what scripture says (not our interpretation of scripture, but scripture itself)?
-Does this view seek to place the trustworthiness of science above that of scripture? (or does it just call into question our interpretation of scripture?)
-Do you see a biblically-based flaw in this model? If so, what?
-Do you see any biblically-based merit in this model? If so, what?
-How does this affect the parallels between Christ/Israel/Adam?
-Is there proof that early Israel understood the creation story to be a metaphor?
-What questions arise from this "interpretation" of Genesis?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Space Aliens Are Accepted As Possibilities By The Vatican

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican's chief astronomer says that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God.

You can read more here.

HT: Drudge

Some questions:
-Does belief in alien beings undermine Biblical Christianity? If so, how?
-Does scripture rule out said such beings?
-Would aliens be sinful? Would they need faith in Christ to live forever with God?
-What theological questions would arise if intelligent alien life was discovered?

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Parody Based On Probability

This is probably what happens when we assume too much.

Wanted: Professor Of Conservative Thought & Policy

The campus hot-dog stand sells tofu wieners. A recent pro-marijuana rally drew a crowd of 10,000, roughly a third the size of the student body. And according to one professor’s analysis of voter registration, the 800-strong faculty includes just 32 Republicans.
Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson surveys this landscape with unease. A college that champions diversity, he believes, must think beyond courses in gay literature, Chicano studies and feminist theory. “We should also talk about intellectual diversity,” he says. So over the next year, Mr. Peterson plans to raise $9 million to create an endowed chair for what is thought to be the nation’s first Professor of Conservative Thought and Policy.


You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Do you find this a worthy budget line item?
-If diversity is indeed the goal, why are some opposed to such a diverse position?
-Your thoughts?

Einstein: The Bible Is An Expression Of Human Weakness

Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.

"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.
"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.


And this from a man who has no regard for his own wife to boot!

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Because you are an expert in one field, does that make you an expert in another?
-Do you agree with his assessment of the Jews? (FWIW I do. IMO Christ is the "seed" of Abraham and all blessings, and promises given to the "seed" has been bestowed to us, the Church, through Christ)
-Does this change your opinion of Einstein?
-Does the Bible an expression of human weakness as posed by Einstein? (I think it is, but not how Einstein saw it. It shows our need for something outside ourself that reconciles us to one who is most holy due to our unworthiness. This need is for perfection; perfection we cannot attain by our own merit. Christ did and was able to sustain His perfection and He imputed it to us! So, indeed, the weakness of man is laid bare in scripture and points us to a need for a savior: namely Jesus! Einstein was so close.)

Monday, May 12, 2008

A Blessing of the Dogs?

"Grapevine, Texas - A Pet Blessing will be held at First United Methodist Church of Grapevine on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 3 p.m. on the church's playground. The community is invited to participate by bringing their animals to the service.

Last year, cats, dogs, lizards, snakes and spiders were blessed. The service is held outdoors so that even large animals like horses can attend.

The church's Pastor to Children and Families, Rev. Nathan Firmin, comments, "We do this service because animals have been a blessing and a help to human beings since Creation. Humans depend upon animals for food. Animals work with people in agriculture, ranching, medicine, law enforcement, the military and sports. Nearly 100 million households in America have animal companions that share shelter, food, and affection. God has given humankind responsibility for the animals in our care. The Blessing of the Pets is a time when people stop to thank God for the animals in their care and for the care of animals that serve humankind."


Read more here.

Some Questions
~Is this a good idea?
~Can you think of some benefits to blessing you pets?
~Does this reflect well or poorly on the church as a whole?
~Can/should this be taken farther? (i.e. blessing cars, boats, jewelery etc.)

Lesson Learned: Don't Steal Macs!

A remote-desktop access feature found in some Macintoshes is being credited with leading police to two suspects in the burglary of an apartment in New York.

The feature allowed Duplaga to see immediately how the computer was being used at the time, as well as operate it remotely. Recalling that she had a camera installed on the computer, the fast-thinking Duplaga snapped images of one of the burglary suspects before he realized what was happening, according to the Times. Duplaga showed the image to friends, who recognized the suspect as someone who attended a party at the apartment.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-Would you have thought to use this feature?
-If Apple can provide remote access to a Mac, IP agnostically mind you, why can't a PC natively do this?
-Do you think the police would have pursued it had it been a 10 dollar flash drive? A iPhone? A Dell? At what point does the item lose the ability to be pursued by authorities due to its worth?

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Effects Of Smoking Pot Are Evident In The Actions Of Those Who Smoke It

Two men and a juvenile are accused of digging up a corpse, decapitating the body and using the head to smoke marijuana, according to court documents.

You can draw your own conclusions on this one.

To read more, click here.

Macro Evolutionists Has Evolved Right In Vatican City

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While apes evolved naturally into pre-human creatures, it was the will and desire of God that turned them into humans, an article in the Vatican newspaper said.

...at some point God willed a spark of intelligence to light up in the mind of a nonhuman hominid and thus came into existence the human as a being, as a subject capable of thought and the ability to decide freely...


You may have noticed that I added a new link to my sidebar for Sola Dei Gloria; P.J. Miller has blogged on the story there.

You can read more here.

You can read the source here.

Some questions:
-Do you agree?
-Does this bring "science" and "religion" closer together?
-Is there any proof (real proof) for macro-evolution?
-Is there any proof (real proof) for the biblical account that God made Adam & Eve?

Can Your Horse Do This?

I guess a better question would be: Would you want it to?





Let's see:
-Modify car so horse can travel with you while any of your human friends must ride in the back.
-When you go get fast food, you have to buy your horse an exuberant amount of hamburgers.
-Give up a bedroom with all the furnishings so your horse can sleep in a bed and have privacy.
-Train your horse to get you cold beer from the refrigerator so you can put your lips where horse slobber has been.
-Train your horse to answer the phone so when you take it from him you can focus your energy on thinking about the slobbers on the phone as opposed to the actual conversation.
-Can you think of any other benefits to having a horse like this? If so, list away!

HT: Dickey the monkey breeder

Facebook: Do You Use It?

Changes are coming at the end of May according to Facebook insiders. A new look and new "tricks" are opening up for developers.

Here is a screenshot:



You can read more here.

Ever wonder what they do with all that information you plug into Facebook? Well, somebody did and they drew up a conspiracy theory; who knows, maybe it is the truth.

Here is their theory:



Some questions:
-Do you use Facebook?
-If you watched the video, does that make you less inclined to use it?
-Do you install any of the 3rd party applications?
-Do you use Myspace?
-What was the draw to using Facebook or Myspace?

Monday, May 5, 2008

Denny Burk On Jeremiah Wright's Implied Salvation Under Christ For Muslims

Denny Burk is Assistant Professor of New Testament at the Criswell College in Dallas, Texas. If you noted my links on the right, he and Dr. Van Neste co-authored the amendment for "Amend ETS".

On Monday, Pastor Jeremiah Wright had the following exchange with the moderator at the National Press Club (transcript):

MODERATOR: “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but through me.’ Do you believe this? And do you think Islam is a way to salvation?”

WRIGHT: “Jesus also said, ‘Other sheep have I who are not of this fold.’”

Wright’s response clearly implies that Muslims are among the “other sheep” to which Jesus refers in John 10:16. Thus Wright affirms that people who do not have conscious faith in Christ can nevertheless have the hope of salvation — an inclusivist position that argues there are many paths to God.

There are two questions that need be addressed: (1) Did Jesus intend to include non-believers in the group called “other sheep”? (2) What difference does it make? Let’s take a look.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-In our pluralistic society, is the exclusivity of the scriptures antiquated or is truth, truth?
-What is the context of the John 10 passage referenced above by the moderator?
-Should scripture be taken objectively (based on context) or subjectively (based on what you read into it)?
-Do you agree with Wright or with Burk or neither?

MacBook Air



Is it worth it?

Shared Items On The Right

Be sure to check the shared items located on the right hand side often as I update them often. Just a reminder.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Challies On The Building Of God's Kingdom Through Senseless Suicide

His first attempt came when he was 18 and it left him with scars running the length of his arms. His sister found him sitting calmly in the bathtub, a razor blade lying in the pool of blood. Help arrived in time to save him. When he was released from hospital his parents took him to the finest psychiatrists in the city. Each one of them diagnosed him with something different: one said he had a personality disorder and another schizophrenia. One even told him that he was “just a punk” who was bent on defying his parents and making their lives miserable. I think this one may have been on to something.

One Sunday in July Mark finally won his battle. No one knew he was still so determined to die. His plan was elaborate. It was cruel.

Sunday morning his mother climbed into her car, planning to go to the store. On the steering wheel was a note from Mark saying that he had taken his life, that it was too late to save him, and that he had left clues about his suicide in places they did not expect. His mother, hysterical, ran into the house. After quickly skimming the note, his father ran upstairs and into Mark’s room. Mark lay on the floor, already stiff and cold. A mask ran from a tank of helium to his face. A block of wood had held the valve open as he breathed in the poisonous gas. Mark was dead.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-If you took time to read the entire account, what are your thoughts concerning the account?
-Do you think Mark really thought it a gift; the taking of his life?
-What good could come from all this?
-Can God take something as horrible as the taking of one's own life and use it for the building up of His kingdom?
-Is suicide unforgivable?

Friday, May 2, 2008

The Strange Only Gets Stranger

Now, not only are U.F.O's being sighted regularly, but some are actually said to be flying women. That's right, flying women. Don't believe me? Watch the video in the link provided.

You can watch (and read more) here.

Some questions:
-Does this video prove anything?
-What are your thoughts concerning U.F.O's as they relate to extraterrestrial origins?
-Are you convinced that this video showcases a flying, hovering human?
-What alternate explanation could there be?
-Does this affect your faith? If so, how?