My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (KJV)
Stuff.co.nz reports
A man has suffered extensive burns after LPG from a cylinder he was using to light a cannabis pipe exploded in his face, police say.
Sergeant Paul Lee said emergency services were called to Clyde Street in Masterton about 12.50pm today.
On arrival, they found a 22-year-old man with burns to his face, arms, thigh and knee.
Lee said it appeared the man was “pre heating a pipe used for smoking cannabis” using a 9kg gas cylinder with a modified gas valve in the laundry of his home.
“He opened a valve, there was a pause, he then operates his cigarette lighter causing an explosion.”
…
If the man had died he would have been a nominee for the Darwin Awards.
My question today is, “If you ran a Darwin Awards for creationists, what would you call it?”
In his book Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature, first published in 1802, William Paley wrote
In crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against a stone and were asked how the stone came to be there, I might possibly answer that for anything I knew to the contrary it had lain there forever; nor would it be very easy to show the absurdity of this answer. But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place. I should hardly think of the answer which I had given before, that for anything I knew the watch might have always been there. Yet why should not this answer serve for the watch as well as for the stone? Why is it not as admissible? When we come to inspect the watch, we perceive—what we could not discover in the stone—that its parts are framed and have been put together.
We notice more: we find a series of wheels, the teeth of which catch in, and apply to, each other, conducting the motion to the balance and from the balance to the pointer. Further, we notice that the wheels are made of brass to prevent rust; the springs of steel (no other metal being so elastic); that over the face of the watch there is placed a glass, a material employed in no other part of the work, and without which the hour could not been seen without opening the case. This mechanism being observed, the inference, we think is inevitable: the watch must have had a maker, and been designed for a purpose.
Paley’s question was, “Does the watch have an intelligent designer?”
My question is, “Does the watch belong to someone?”
[Cross-posted to SOLO.]
For a Ref to Jefferson’s Religious views:
Conservapedia
Quote:
In an 1803 letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Jefferson declared that “I am a Christian,” though his view of Christianity was different from most:
I then promised you that one day or other I would give you my views of [the Christian religion]. They are the result of a life of inquiry and reflection, and very different from that anti-Christian system imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense in which he wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others, ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he never claimed any other.
However, despite Jefferson’s self-declared Christianity, many of his views would be considered heretical by most theologians. Most notably, he attempted to create the Jefferson Bible – an edited version of the New Testament that retained Christ’s moral and practical teaching, while dropping supernatural elements.
Jefferson certainly believed Jesus to be a great teacher of morality, and believed the universe to be created by a God. Less clear is his views on subjects such as the divinity of Christ, the resurrection, sin and salvation. The Jefferson Bible suggests he rejects these ideas entirely, but is not definitive. Jefferson never had his Bible published during his lifetime. He did have this to say about Christianity and the message contained in the work that he created.
There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.
Ref to John Adams here:
about.com
Quote:
“The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
–Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.
Read/ watch more… Materialism renders Man Nought. Meaning-less, Value-less, Right-less.
The Christian Fellowship is a voluntary private society, not a theocratic political movement.
A challenge to rise from the rhetoric.
Dismantle dictators and rancorous politics!
“Live like its Legal”…. Dakta Green. Hero. Political Prisioner.
J Day Hamilton 2008. Me, Max Coyle, Joe Citizen, Nandor Tanczos.
What all the Hoo ha is about. One Civil Disobedient J Day activists Contraband.
Once upon a time, the marshmallow was a medicinal confection made from mucilaginous extracts of the root of Althaea officinalis, the marshmallow plant, and used as a remedy for a sore throat. Today, the marshmallow has nothing to do with the marshmallow plant. It is a sugary junk food containing gelatin, a substance made from the skin and bones of dead animals. I don’t eat dead animals, so I don’t toast marshmallows.
Once upon a time, yoghurt was a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Now it, too, is a sugary junk food containing gelatin. Halal gelatin. I don’t eat dead animals, especially not those whose throats are slit by knife-wielding Muslims, facing Mecca, so I don’t eat yoghurt.
Once upon a time, herbal highs contained synthetic cannabinoids and were legally available for purchase for at least a week before they got banned. The latest herbal high is Sky and it’s already been pulled from the shelves because, according to the NZ Herald, “its active ingredient is tussilago farfara, or coltsfoot,” which “has been shown to cause tumours in rats and liver failure, says a toxicologist.” Herbalists have long used coltsfoot medicinally as a cough suppressant. The name “tussilago” itself means “cough suppressant.” If you could get Sky-high smoking it, I’m pretty sure I’d have heard about it before now. I’m going to say, “I told you so.”
What’s the world coming to?
But I digress. This post was supposed to be about Ron Paul’s “blowback”.
Or, why 20 year old newsletters matter so damn much.
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (NIV1984)
Life is pretty intense. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune are stupendious! Listening to the tune ‘Return to innocence’ by Enigma I was thinking about How life is for us frail creatures, Naked and exposed to reality as we are. I was thinking Why did God make it/ allow it to go this way, and wondered to myself that If God Offered to change the world to the way I think it ought to be… would I accept his offer? And what would be the result of life in ‘Tims perfect world’? I then realised that the wise course would be to decline the offer and have Faith that God actually knows what he is doing … that no matter what I might think, He knows better than I. The truth is all our values are baced upon reality as it is. Ie they are based upon our finite lifespan, Our Moral dilemmas which we must navigate, etc and it is by these seaming problems and weaknesses that we see life and Human individuals as precious… that every minute ought to be treasured and put to Good purpose. Thus I realise all the Bleating by unbelievers against the way this world functions are but childish and vain. They act as if they are wiser and more moral than the Almighty and that he stands convicted of Sin in *Their court*. Could there be anything more vain? The world is such that Greatness is required. Having a vision. Keeping Faith in what is right…and stepping up… when everyone else steps back … in the face of adversity. This is the High road… Steep and perilous, walked only by the lovers of good, and the brave of heart. The Low road is for the slothful and wicked, The hipocrites and the lovers of darkness and oppression. I disagree with Voltaire’s argument that this is “The best of all possible Worlds” yet still trust that God knows what he is doing by allowing sin and the curse to run its course. Amen.
Tim Wikiriwhi.
