Posts Tagged ‘Why?!’
Wet?
Posted in General, Random thoughts, Science, Why?!, tagged Random thoughts, Science, Why?! on December 24, 2017| 4 Comments »
A Face Full of Experience
Posted in Experience, General, Random thoughts, tagged Experience, Random thoughts, Why?! on December 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »
As I said in a recent post, I have taught whole science lessons by using the illustration of the woodstove. See if you can name the concept being taught by the following story before I name it at the end.
Heating with wood can be interesting and exciting (chimney fire!) but also mundane. When something interesting happens it gets your attention. One bright morning in early Spring in the Horseshoe I got up and ate breakfast. I had not started a fire the night before because it wasn’t that cool and we like to sleep cool. My wife said, “Don’t you think it’s cool enough for a fire?” Of course, there is only one right answer, so I gathered wood and kindling and sat down to build a small fire to “knock the chill off.” I had only just lit the paper and cardboard when the smoke started billowing out of the top of the open door into the living room. My immediate response was to slam the stove door followed by jumping up to check to see if the stove pipe damper was open. The smoke started oozing out around the door dampers, so I hastened to screw those shut, only to continue more slowly coming out around several small gaps around the doors. All there was left to do was to open the front door and start fanning. After a few minutes the smoke was cleared and the living room really needed a fire in the stove. I got my flashlight, cautiously opened the stove door and peered into the exiting stove pipe at the back of the stove. There seemed to be no obstruction. I even used a mirror but couldn’t see around the curve for the smoke. There must surely be an obstruction in the chimney, be it birds or squirrels or bats or nest thereof. I was determined to get to the bottom of the problem. I put on a coat and hat and went outside to get the ladder and lean it up against the house. As soon as I got out from under the back door porch, I realized that the morning was warming up quickly in the bright sunshine. It was warmer outside than inside. Maybe I should just open the doors and wait. But instead I continued on the mission of solving the mystery stoppage in my chimney. I climbed up onto the red metal porch roof with the flashlight and then scampered up the steeper main roof and grabbed ahold of the chimney. Straddled across the peak of the roof, I removed the chimney cap and pulled the flashlight out of my back pocket. When I shown it down into the opening, I had to wait for my eyes to adjust and move my face closer. I could see clearly down most of the length of the chimney. There was very little creosote build-up. But toward what I judged to be the bottom where I should have seen the pipe coming into the chimney from the stove, the view went fuzzy. I could not tell what I was looking at. I tried to adjust the flashlight and my head to see better, but to no avail. Frustrated, I thought, “I’ll fix that,” shut off the light, slid down the roof to the porch, bounded down the ladder, and stepped over to the old smokehouse, now a storage shed. I strung up my 100′ extension cord with a plug-in socket and light bulb on the end and retraced my course back up to chimney side. Next, I lowered the lit bulb down into the chimney, which was very well lit now. When I lowered the bulb down to the vague area, I could see that there was smoke hovering low in the chimney. I lowered the light into the smoke and it totally disappeared after several inches more of lowering. It would appear and disappear as I raised and lowered it out of this dense smoke layer. I turned my head aside for a moment to consider, since fresh creosote is not the most pleasant smell. Just as I turned back to look again I got a face full of smoke that just kept coming. I choked on the lung full I received and must have called out in alarm because my wife yelled up to ask if I was OK. I hastily pulled the light out and made my way down to the porch with the smoke settling down the roof behind me. What in the world was happening? The smoke cleared quickly, because there really wasn’t all that much. I climbed back up on the peak of the roof and again lowered the light. The chimney was clear.
It took me awhile to figure out what had happened. Have you figured it out, yet? There are several hints in the story having to do with temperature. Before you read below you may want to go back and reread with the hint.
The temperature was warmer outside than inside. Cold air is denser than warm air. Since there was not a fire the night before, the air in the chimney was cooler than the quickly warming exterior air. When I started the fire, smoke was not able to move through the pipe because the air there was heavier than that higher in the chimney where the sun beamed down. There was a thermal inversion in the chimney restricting the air from rising. When I left the light bulb in the smoke layer for a few moments of slow reflection, it warmed the smokey layer so that it was lighter than the air above it and began to rise. I got a face full of lesson about thermal inversion. This situation happened again years later in the home we presently live in. I didn’t even hesitate. I climbed up on the roof and lowered a light bulb down into the chimney. The smoke rose. I climbed down and started a fire and had a warm feeling inside knowing that knowledge and experience go a long way toward clearing away smoke that obscures your path.
A Good Conversation Begun
Posted in Creation Articles, General, Science, Why?!, tagged Creation Articles, Science, Why?! on March 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »
In one sense we are a society full of skeptics and well we might be since we have many and conflicting sound bites and philosophies foisted upon us with very little solid truth. Some think that the solution to this dilemma is to operate fully on the relational side and not hassle with truth claims and others think the solution is to come up with your own truth. Neither of these approaches leads to truth, however, because one avoids it and the other is self-contradictory. So where is a person to go to ask hard questions? Civil public discussion is one good source. Not intended to be truth by majority rule but rather a gentle airing of views and questions, it is a good way to open up conversation about truth. Recently at our nearby community college such an open discussion was begun. Prem Isaac of Southern Evangelical Seminary presented a clear, engaging rendition of the Cosmological and Teleological Arguments for the existence of God. Several audience members challenged details of the arguments presented to Mr. Isaac and three of his colleagues on a Q&A panel. One person asked, “Why does the Law of Causality not apply to God?” The answer was given that “Who made God?” is a category mistake, that is to say, saying God is created means He is not God. If we retreat to infinite regression, namely that god was created and then who created god and who created that god and so on, then we have not really answered the question. But the cosmological argument logically presents an answer in that everything that has a beginning has a cause. Science and religion both posit that the Universe had a beginning, therefore, it has a first cause, and since that cause is not part of the effect, namely the Universe, that first cause must be wholly different from the effect. That First Cause is God. What if the Universe had no beginning? The question was couched in more complicated terms, “How about the quantum correction and the suggestion that the universe had no beginning?” The answer was proposed that many math problems produce imaginary numbers. Mere pure math solutions to problems have no real world antecedent. I think that it is reasonable to add that General Relativity and Quantum Theory have existed in tandem for 90+ years now. Both have significant experimental evidence for their validity and yet both contradict each other. Mostly this contradiction seems to be because they evaluate similar situations in different ways, but when they evaluate the same thing in the same way they still contradict each other. Obviously, one or both theories need to be revised to come into line with reality. So how do you use mutually contradictory theories to judge God’s existence, theories that are by their empirical nature limited in what they can evaluate? And this brings me to the last question asked at that meeting, “How scientifically do we account for six days?” My answer is we do not account for six literal days scientifically just as the Big Bang theorists do not actually account for the singularity scientifically. God has revealed that He created all that physically is in six days; we accept that. Then we show by scientific evidence that there is nothing in the world that contradicts that idea. The Big Bang theorist posits a singularity, described as a point, wherein space and time do not exist and all the laws of Physics cannot apply. Then he inserts an “inflationary period” after the Big Bang to get the universe up to speed, so to speak, which cannot be evaluated with physical rules because it obeys none we know, all so the universe can look something like what we now observe. The background radiation was supposed to have been the confirmation of the inflationary period, and even though the observers recently denied the validity of the results, it could never prove that period apart from the presuppositions of the theory. The theorist further injects continuous acceleration of the expansion of the universe without cause, that is, net force to accelerate it. In other words, Big Bang theorists rely on “blind faith” of which they accuse the Creationists. Creationists, however, rely on the Word of an All Powerful, Intelligent Designer, who has given much evidence of being reliable. Civil, public conversation must be polite but it can pull no punches if it is to be constructive and pursue what is true. If you see the truth of this statement, I invite you to enter into just such conversation with a Creationist.
Life Begin
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Poem, Why?!, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Poems, Why?! on June 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
For those of you who understand, this is the season for poems, when the moments of musing through many days ooze out during hours of forced repose. Here is the most recent that hearkens back to Spring’s delights:
Life begin and again When Spring sprung and birds sung Blooms no lack eggs will crack Life renewed beauty viewed Why this show? ebb and flow? Could it be God’s plan see? Life from death Christ’s last breath Rose again life beginStroke of the New Year
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, Why?!, tagged God Thoughts, internal strife, Poems, Sustaining, Why?! on June 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The New Year started with quite a jolt
Not yet awakened to the day were we
When lesser mind from greater did molt
And confusion reigned as up went our plea
Fears and regrets won much of the day
Consequences realized and unforeseen
Extend forward in what we must pay
In tears and stress and oft puzzling scene
Week by week understanding more words
Paying bills on a month to month basis
Each day try words that curdle like curds
Prayer moments that connection retraces
God ordained all from start to finish
For His glory and our good He has planned
His provision and presence relish
From hard changes peaceful righteousness gained
The Why
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Remembering, Why?!, Work of Jesus, tagged God Thoughts, internal strife, Poems, purpose in life, Remembering, ultimate issues, Why?!, work of christ on June 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »
The first poem I wrote this past week is the last one I am posting because I had to reflect on its content abit. It could so easily be seen as insensitive, or premature, but I consider it neither. I think it is just honest in a constructive kind of way. We have questions; we should voice them and find answers rather than silently or violently remaining agnostic about what is real and true. I offer this poem as a balm to many hurting loved ones who are truly asking. The eleven year old girl who died of leukemia and provoked my mind to write it has God’s best as I understand because she accepted God’s solution:
A purpose in life to glorify God
To enjoy His gifts, obey His commands
Accept hardships and the correcting rod
Challenge potential and all life’s demands
What’s the way forward when we’ve lost such life?
Then come tears and doubts and questions abound
Mind and heart struggle with internal strife
About ultimate issues, life profound
How is God good when there is so much bad?
God’s not the author of evil and wrong
Man disobeys, consequences are sad
Overtaking the ‘innocent’ and strong
God provides a way to overcome death
To have peace with Him and eternal rest
Bought by His Son, finished at His last breath
Now and forever have life and God’s best
Pray So Little
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Strength, Sustaining, Why?!, tagged god answers prayer, God Thoughts, Strength, Sustaining, Why?! on June 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »
“It is not amazing that God answers prayer; it is amazing we pray so little.”
‘How can you say it’s not amazing that God answers prayer?’ Don’t misunderstand the statement because I do believe it is amazing how He answers prayer. For in pulling off an answer to prayer God must at least redirect the course of God ordained natural forces or the intentions of wills predisposed to wrong. At most He must suspend the rules He has laid down for nature so that they begin running immediately in a new course or give tangible manifestation to spiritual reality. In any circumstance you can name where prayer is answered the supernatural impinges on the natural to bring about God’s purpose with full consideration and at least partial affirmation and completion of the request. All together how prayer is answered demonstrates God’s great power and unending knowledge. How that happens is amazing and wonderful. But that He would answer prayer is not. Answered prayer matches well His character of kindness, mercy, grace, personal involvement in His creation, and goodness.
But why do we pray so little? Our skeptical, mocking society has largely silenced our praise to God for answered prayer. For one thing they nay say any testimony that challenges their naturalistic presuppositions. ‘That can’t happen; you can’t prove the supernatural.’ Of course you can’t if the only evidence you allow is natural or has a natural explanation. So we Christians back off from saying the truth under the pressure of skeptical mockery. Merely natural explanations, however, fall short on too many accounts at explaining all that we observe. But our praise to God for answered prayer is silenced for a far more serious reason. Despite the abundant Scriptural evidence to God’s willingness, ability, and examples of answered prayer; the abundant historical evidence (George Mueller very notably); God’s good sustaining grace in our own lives, we pray far too little. We must not believe He will answer. He has many times for me in witnessing opportunities, financial needs, serious health issues, relational difficulties, bewilderment and discouragement, weather, direction, help for missionaries and witnessing friends. Why do I pray so little? “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures…” (James 4:2-3) Perhaps a better question is… What is preventing me now? A big and glorious God answers big and God-glorifying prayers! Lord, work in my life so that I pray more and more intensely!
Order of Magnitude
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Random thoughts, Science, Why?!, tagged God Thoughts, Random thoughts, Science, Why?! on December 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »
When I was a child my father owned a National Geographic book about… well, I don’t exactly remember. However, I do remember the inside cover painting, one similar to the one below, though linear. It also based its unit of measure on the height of man, a markedly humanistic approach which at least has merit because it compares all else to something we know. Notice that the exponents range from a mere -15 to 25 and yet this nearly emcompasses the entire known range of size in the universe (the universe is above 10^25 and elementary particles or strings (Do they have dimensions?) are below 10^-15).
Source: http://www.astrobio.nau.edu/~koerner/ast180/lectures/pic/cdrom/art_low-res/es01/figure-I-03.jpg
I loved numbers and making connections so this painting was the source of contemplation and imagination for many hours. I liked the idea of numbers and size relationships so much that one time while carrying English ivy that my father was trimming along the driveway, I asked him what the largest number was. He replied that it was similar to an eight turned on its side. I didn’t figure out for years that this was the infinity symbol (∞). Sometime near the end of elementary school I decided to write my numbers as high as possible. Was I trying to write to infinity, or some highest number, or just a very big number? I have no idea, but frequently the young are too idealist to notice the possible failure rate of poorly laid plans. I also know that author John Piper says he believes we are drawn to bigness in its various forms because we are made in God’s image with an ability and afinity for seeing the beauty of God which we cannot clearly see at the moment. At any rate (or perhaps a specified rate within limits of one factor of ten) I had one of the old large rule writing tablets with dotted lines for teaching beginners to write their letters. I would write each number interval of 100 on a page. I don’t now know where I stopped but I do remember it was over 10,000. Obviously these antedotes mean that I was (am?) silly, but they also partially introduce why I think “order of magnitude” thinking is important and partly explain how I know it is largely missing in education. When students crunch numbers on calculators they mindlessly accept what number it spits out not considering that perhaps they put in inappropriate numbers or incorrect key strokes. You may not immediately know what 1,549,000 times 361 equals but you should be able to know that 55,918,900,000 is not the answer by inspection because it is two orders of magnitude (100x) too large. You may not know a comparison between miles per hour and meters per second but if I tell you that a person walks at 1.5 meters per second you should be able to tell that any normal car is not likely to be traveling at 150 meters per second (unless transported to a war zone in a C-5A perhaps). If this rambling of childhood memories in any way spurs you on to consider at all or again powers of ten or orders of magnitude I have included a fun link that is useful for imparting the concept as well as firing the imagination. Enjoy it and share it with some young person who needs an introduction to magnitude so that their future answers might at least be in the ballpark.
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/ (As I understand it I may not link this site for copyright reasons but you may go to the site by copying and pasting it into your address line. Enjoy!)
Perspective by Comparison
Posted in Creation Articles, General, Random thoughts, Science, Why?!, tagged Creation Articles, Remembering, Science, Why?! on December 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »
As time passes I seem to have more, not less, on my mind than I can bring to the front burner and cook. I have so many incomplete questions and thoughts that sit on back burners and in warming alcoves that some will spoil before they ever get cooked. Rather than a source of discouragement it reminds me that there are life times of ideas to explore in God’s person and works and I shan’t ever get bored in this one. And it encourages me also that my mind is more active, albeit somewhat slower, than at earlier times, so that I am confident of God’s continued work in my heart and mind.
After college and some number of years of self study in “true science”, unbiased by evolutionism and naturalism (OK, highly and proudly biased by biblical thinking- what of it?), I had come to the conclusion that naturalistic thinking had only two difficult to confront evidences against 6-day Creationism. The first was radiometric dating which gave a clear cut way to measure time since the formation of rocks. After years of study and a number of different evidences to the contrary, I feel confident in saying Creationists have overcome this difficulty. Polonium halos forming is less than three minutes in granite, the possibility of additive or subtractive contamination in parent and daughter isotopes, evidence for changing decay rates in carbon-14, and most significantly the absence of large amounts of helium from the alpha decay in the uranium series strongly suggesting the youth of the rocks (Don DeYoung’s Thousands . . .Not Billions (Master Books, Green Forest, Arkansas, 2005)) have given sufficient alternative evidence and explanation of this phenomena to render great age unneccesary. The second difficulty I saw was distant starlight as inferred from redshift data. How could the universe be less than 10,000 years old if starlight had been coming from stars for millions and billions of years? The “appearance of age ” suggestion by some Creationists was never satifactory to me since it means practically that Christians could always retreat to a “miracle” to answer unanswerable questions. Now don’t get me wrong. I not only believe God has but does interfere with Nature for His purposes to accomplish great and actual, albeit rare, miracles. But if God is the God of order and reason then His Creation reveals Him and His work in reasonable and orderly ways, though incompletely without Scripture. And though I much prefer correct explanations, that is not the main point of giving a reasonable explanation, for we can no more know if our scientific explanation is right than can the Naturalist. Sorry, it is simply the limited nature of science. However, we now have a reasonable and convincing explanation for the “starlight problem”. And as such Naturalistic explanations are unneccesary. This fact does not mean that my faith was weak before and stronger now. God said it; that is all that matters, but since I was not created with fins or scales, I get tired swimming upstream in this Naturalistic culture. A little slowing of the downward current on occasion is pleasant . It turns out that the explanation is a matter of relativistic perspective. Einstein chose a convention (rule of thumb, reference frame, or perspective if you like) that was useful and convenient for his mathematical and scientific thought experiments but is not required. Einstein was concerned with observers at different locations. In order to retain this perspective he had to consider them going at the same velocity in the chosen frame of reference. If instead the location of the observers is forfeited so that they are at the same location then the velocity may vary. The result is a new definition of simultaneous that matches the Bible’s explanation for how starlight arrived at earth on the same Day Four that it was created. For considering the age of the universe, the author argues convincingly from evidence that Einstein’s convention is not the correct one. If you are neither faint of mathematical or logical thinking you may like to read it as well: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/arj/v3/n1/anisotropic-synchrony-convention Even though I cannot revel in a complete understanding of every detail it adjusted my perspective by comparison to a new one and that is pleasant.
Orange Dots
Posted in Beauty, General, God Thoughts, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, Photos, Random thoughts, Science, Why?! on February 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
During the collection of insects last semester one of my students 
collected a moth. After a day in the ziplock there were small round dots in the container. “What are they?” We put them under a microscope and there appeared these translucent moth eggs. They contain an embryo you can see, looking almost like crystals, and ridges on the outer coat. A “hair” projects off to the left. There is little doubt that a knowledgeable scientist could identify the species of moth by these characteristics. My students and I were fascinated by the intricate design. And why shouldn’t we be considering the Infinite Designer? And in six short days; is it any wonder many try to deny such a mind boggling display of intelligence and power? “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11)
Painful Teacher
Posted in General, Poem, Strength, Sustaining, Why?!, tagged Poems, Strength, Sustaining, Why?! on October 15, 2009| 2 Comments »
Pain is a teacher unlike the rest
Mastery through continual test
Speaks loud and clear the nerves to molest
Difficult friend and unwelcomed guest
Told to rejoice through various trials How so when all comfort it defiles Raises high fears deep emotions riles Makes a few steps seem as many miles
The answer comes through what is induced Frivolous pursuits greatly reduced Priorities from limits deduced Perseverance and faith both loosed
Behind Your Questions
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Why?! on August 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »
What do you aspire to do?
What motivates and drives you through?
Is it comfort, security or ease of pain?
Power, influence, life in the fast lane?
Why do you work hard, or at other times sit idle?
Why do you follow rules, but then rear your head without bridle?
Are there goals, a plan, or reasons behind?
Fears, ambitions, or answers to find?
Do you know why the questions never cease?
Why all the efforts but no peace?
Would you want to know if you could be told?
Or shrink back in fear and your spirit fold?
If the answer is Jesus will you reject Him out of hand?
Will you still turn away if your reasons won’t stand?
Do you want peace and purpose, a plan you’ve sought?
Security, comfort, and answers that can’t be bought?
Complementary Effects from One Cause
Posted in Beauty, General, Poem, Strength, Why?!, tagged Beauty, Poems, Why?! on August 10, 2008| 1 Comment »
Here is an oldie but a …. well you’ll have to decide about that. It certainly isn’t an easy one to get nor was it easy to do. I sometimes get hung up in my own devices poetically. I’m sure the poetry suffers but it’s about the challenge. Hopefully the message does not equally suffer though it may need to be gone over several times to see. So, with that somewhat disparaging introduction, see if you can figure out what I was intending to talk about by clicking on Source and Reality
A Need to Create
Posted in General, Poem, Why?!, tagged Poems, Why?! on July 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Why are we creative? Look around. Consider. To expand your musings read my poem by clicking on A Need to Create . Here is a scene that brings back memories for me and could elicit creativity in most anyone:
Missouri River Sunset
Narnia: Looking in
Posted in Beauty, General, Random thoughts, Why?!, tagged Beauty, Random thoughts, Why?! on May 21, 2008| 3 Comments »
No, the movie wasn’t like the book, and I think some of the original intent was lost by obscuring it in more introspective and mature themes. But taken as a story alone it had merit to rightly excite the imagination on some points. Perhaps some will read the book who would not have otherwise.
I can hardly believe that I have seen two movies in the movie house in less than one month. It is amazing on several fronts. I could comment on several aspects and themes within the movie but one theme and two scenes most caught my attention. Both scenes involve the subway station. The first one, escaping out of that gray world of immature fights and flirts, was the most visually striking of the two, but it was the later that forced the deeper message on me. In that instant just before passing between the tree trunks from Narnia to the railway tunnel in London, knowing what bliss and purpose you have, to understand what mundane and ridiculous existence you return to is so stark a contrast. Then to be a moment later clothed not in royal attire, feared and loved by all, but eyeing fellow travelers with suspicion and disdain at their sad attempts. But wait. This is a narrow view of the transition. You now have a newer, higher perspective on your mundane existence. You are a king, a queen, and a son of the Most High. You are looking into this difficult world with eyes of confidence in your calling, pity for those unknown by the Most High, hope for your future, and purpose in your every choice and action. For this reason the interpretation of Susan kissing the handsome Caspian and then being accosted by the schoolboy is only half correct. For whatever distractions C.S. Lewis has Susan falling to later on, she is fully enamored of Aslan when in Narnia. In the mundane, out of control world you serve the Most High, not thoughts of blissful relationships. As Lewis said in his sermon, “The Weight of Glory” concerning “beauty, the memory of our own past [of a blissful moment]”, “they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited…we remain conscious of a desire which no natural happiness will satisfy…For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to that world.” But what does Lewis say attracts us to that world? “To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son-it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain.” He goes on to describe a second sense of glory, “to shine as the sun”. “We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words-to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.” And how does that effect our everyday? Lewis says, “A cleft has opened in the pitiless walls of the world, and we are invited to follow our great Captain inside.” Ah, the retreating walls of the subway into Narnia, heaven. But no! Narnia in all the stories is not heaven. The new Narnia beyond the thatched, stable door in “The Last Battle” represents heaven. So what is Narnia and when am I going to answer my last question? Narnia is a higher plane we live on like the Promised Land (more on that another day), closer to the Savior, more attuned to our position and purpose. In the everyday existence, Lewis reminds, we must “remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare…There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal…But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit-immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.” We await total heaven but let us live in the higher plane of His presence looking in on the our everyday lives with new eyes of seriousness and relaxed confidence.
I urge you to read “The Weight of Glory” by C.S. Lewis. It is easily found online.
Why I got distracted during the sermon
Posted in General, Random thoughts, Why?!, tagged Random thoughts, Why?! on March 9, 2008| 2 Comments »
Pastor D. was preaching an excellent sermon this morning on unity in the church. I heard most of it loud and clear with the abundant and well placed Scripture references. But I missed the last half of the introduction and the first point because of a thought process set in motion by his thought provoking illustration. “…..What makes a battering ram work so well? What if individual soldiers took knives and started cutting sticks off of the log……..What would happen if they went up to the gate one at a time and started beating on it.”
Well, aaaaaactually, thought I, though his analogy was intended to point to the need for unity against the common enemy of the church, the ram works because of momentum which is mass x velocity. Now the battering ram has plenty of mass but not so much velocity. If the individual soldiers could produce the velocity of say a tornado the small size of their sticks would not be a problem. They might well punch holes in the gate. At lunch I conveyed this lack of attention to the point of the illustration. Leinadcaro lit up so I indulged the moment. Somewhere along the line someone figured out that the battering ram works better slung from a frame by ropes or chains. The frame being mounted on wheels is much easier to move but the real power comes from the increased speed of the swing due to the gravity pulling the ram down. Leinad responds that angular momentum is involved. Oh yes, the acceleration due to the gravity becomes the angular momentum of the swing. If the ropes are longer (bigger frame) the moment of inertia is larger resulting in a larger angular momentum. Metal ends were added to the ram’s head end at some point increasing the impulse force by decreasing the time of impact because the metal doesn’t compress like the wood (impulse = force x time). If the metal has one or more sharp ends the pressure exerted increases the force exerted on the gate yet again. Leinad immediately thought that a charge on the end of the ram would send the explosion through the gate even as modern bunker buster bombs and tank penetrating charges do now. If not the recoil of the ram due to the charge might finish the job upon its return swing.
The next point in the sermon was about sound doctrine and a subsequent one concerned freedom to have diversity within the unity of the body. This reminded me of the Scripture, “He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as teachers…..” The was a purpose for which He did that but some of us get distracted during the sermon by non-spiritual thoughts. Oh, yeah, it was “for the work of the service”. Sometimes I wonder what service I’m supposed to render.
Respect
Posted in General, God's Word, Random thoughts, Why?!, tagged Random thoughts, Why?! on February 25, 2008| 3 Comments »
Is respect a legitimate exercise and attitude or is it a power grab by one set of people over another? If it is legitimate when should it be exercised? Since all words are suspect in this day of reverse connotations (“He’s the ‘baddest’ dude I ever seen.”) and relativism (“It may mean that to you but not to me.”) a definition is always a good beginning point for any intelligent discussion. Respect as a noun means a feeling of high regard, honor, or esteem. Some would say all persons should be regarded the same either for egalitarian reasons or for supposed spiritual reasons (“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism” James 2:1, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”). Equal value as a citizen with rights before a government or as a believer before God does not negate structure to society or valuing what God values.
Here are what I believe to be three reasons we should respect any particular person:
1) Respect all persons because they are made in the image of God.
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27
As image bearers of God’s own nature we are afforded respect because our very existence gives glory to God.
2) Respect those who have positions of authority over you including age.
Examples include governors, senators, policemen, teachers, pastors, ruling elders, bosses, parents, husbands, and elders.
“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God….” Romans 13:1 “You youger men, likewise, be subject to your elders” 1 Peter 5:5 “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” Galations 6:6
Not only does Scripture support authority structures in society, the government, the church, and home, but there is no culture that has ever been without such lines of authority and generally in agreement as to who should be respected. The only other alternative is chaos and anarchy.
3) Respect those who have earned respect.
“The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, expecially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” 1Timothy 5:17 “Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior…” 2 Kings 5:1
Earned respect is the only reason some are willing to respect but truly it is third reason on the list. The first two above apply regardless of observation, inference, or feeling. They are due because the person is a person or in a position of authority. The third reason is nice and to be sought after but not necessary for respect.
All three reasons imply an ultimate one to be respected, the image behind all images, the ultimate authority- God. Because more people are not accepting authority or divinity, respect is not recognized. If there is no ultimate authority and no divinity and no one is to be respected then neither does the person disrespecting others have respect or the implied value that results.
So, for the good of us all and for God’s sake (His glory) show a little respect (or “quit dissin’ me”).
Push back the Noise
Posted in General, Random thoughts, Why?!, tagged Random thoughts, Why?! on February 2, 2008| Leave a Comment »
What is noise? How does it affect us? What can we or should we do about it? What difference does it make? Is it an unavoidable result of modern technology or is the source older? The answers may unnerve (knowledge) and settle (application) you. Check it out by clicking on Noise
Word savvy (part 2)
Posted in General, God's Word, Random thoughts, Why?!, tagged God's Word, Random thoughts, Why?! on January 8, 2008| 1 Comment »
A second situation that prompted these thoughts happened last week over a period of nearly a week. One of my nephews drew fire over a blog entry that he had made. The opening salvo regarded whether Christmas has pagan or Christian origins. After 40 comments the discussion was moved over to a forum where two of my nephews and a friend of theirs attempted to ferret out the beliefs of two bloggers who had much more to say than what the beginnings of Christmas were. In the end (198 more entries) it came down to the two not accepting any of the New Testament writings but Jesus’ words, claiming that His death was not a substitutionary atonement for the sins of those who trust in Him. They wanted salvation by Jesus’ words and the Law, not the grace He provided on the cross. Would you know how to defend the Gospel against very Scripturally and historically informed people who deny Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth? Afterall, Jesus never directly said, “I am God” or “Trust my death on the cross to forgive your sins.” I Peter 3:14b-15 says, “Do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence”. My nephews did an excellent job of drawing out the nature of the belief system, defending the truth with many Scripture references, and appealing to the two bloggers to repent and trust Jesus. Perhaps you think the solution is to stay out of blog forums, but how will you answer that colleague at the work or that soccer mom or that classmate who has a twisted view of Scripture? Twisted views of Scripture are common these days. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” I want to urge any believer reading this entry to make 2008 a year of studying the Word. And pastors 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” Make exposition of the Word central and meaty. May all of us emphasize Bible study over book study, discussing the Word over discussing the weather, that we “may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10)
CreatorWorship 
Has the World Really Changed?
Posted in 9/11, Cultural commentary, General, God Thoughts, Remembering, Why?!, tagged 9/11, Cultural commentary, God Thoughts, Remembering, Why?! on September 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Early in 2001 my father passed on to the next life after a slow decline resulting from many and various ailments. I believe that it was a grace that he passed without knowing of 9/11. He fought in WWII receiving a bullet and multiple pieces of shrapnel near the German border. Every 4th of July he would hang a copy of the Declaration of Independence and an American flag on the living room mantle. As the years went on he added more evidence of his love of America and its freedoms, things like a small Statue of Liberty. I used to think how much the world changed during his lifetime. Afterall, TV had not been invented when he was born in 1922. Polio was a major killer; the War to End All Wars was a fresh scar; the roaring twenties had not succumbed to the Great Depression. During my formative years airplanes, bridges, skyscrappers, atomic energy, and space travel were among the top of the list of items and ideas that he talked about and learned about and visited. How the space race had resulted in a handheld calculator was amazing to him. The world had changed so much in one lifetime.
Now we hear that the world was forever changed by 9/11. In one sense, of course it was! We collectively look over our shoulder as a nation, wondering when or if it will happen again. But did it really change the world? Hasn’t every generation had at least one event that so penetrated the minds and hearts of the populace such that each person knows where they were when it happened? If you are old enough, do you remember where you were when JFK was assassinated? For my father’s generation the event that riveted their attention was Pearl Harbor. News traveled much slower the further back you go but there were terrors and plagues and perplexities for centuries. In 79 A.D. when Pliny the Younger described the flaming bombs of Vesuvius sinking ships in the harbor off Herculaneum while Pompeii was covered in noxious gases and pyroclastic flows, the world must have seemed to be at an end.
Do I attempt to diminish the severity and pain of 9/11? Do I not see the ways in which it changed how we do freedom in our land? By no means. But the cause of terror and pain has not changed. Because of sin there is stark evil and natural disaster in the world as there has been since the Fall of Adam. These adversities should call us as a nation back to God. We deteriorate; our nation’s demise is at hand, yet we see 9/11 and Antietam and Hurricane Katrina and Pearl Harbor as totally disconnected from our spiritual condition and God’s call to repent. Evil exists in the world because there have been and are evil people in the world. We must confront the evil in ourselves so that our enemies have no excuse for their evil acts against us and we have no compunction about attacking it when it comes.
I remember where I was on 9/11, watching the screen in my classroom as the first building hit earlier was burning and as the subsequent one was hit and the towers collapsed and students came into my room who wanted someone to make sense out of the chaos. In those first moments during my planning period before that screen I prayed that God would have mercy upon us as a nation. In many respects He has and He is but we must cry for it and act in ways commensurate with receiving mercy now more than ever because we drone on in our mundane, garden variety evils as if 9/11 never happened. God have mercy on us!
The world has changed but not so much.
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