Archive for July 2005
July 30, 2005
God vs. Draco
10:44 pm | Culture | Religion | Comments: 6
It’s always been my belief that a state’s justice system is greatly helped by implementing a death penalty for certain crimes. Although I’ve never done an exhaustive statistical study on the matter, I know for a fact that it’s the most effective deterrent for violent and captial crimes - and I’m sure that’s also true for more menial crimes as well. Some argue that Draconian measures only tend to harden a populace against the government. That’s true if that government is unjustly punishing people and/or taking away their freedoms; it’s patently false when the government is acting completely within its rights as being “armed with the sword” by God himself.
The most key element of my argument for capital punishment is from the Bible. God set the precedent himself for how various crimes may be justly punished, and being put to death is certainly a large part of God’s justice system. Without going into the quagmire known as Theonomy, let me say that although I don’t think we should adopt the Old Testament civil law outright we can certainly draw from it God’s view of certain crimes. If God is satisfied with putting murderers and sexual perverts/predators to death, then hey so am I.
Protected: SIODI Bulletin
1:53 am | SIO | Comments: 9
July 29, 2005
Zurückgekommen
3:38 pm | My Life | Comments: 7
That’s right. The week has come to a close, and I have returned with tanned skin, sand in my hair, and about a million worthless comments to go through. Commenters of note were Adolf Hitler and C. S. Clueless; not every webrog can boast of such celebrity readers. I have to say to all weblog hooligans out there, jolly good job! I realize this is what you weblog hooligans “do”, and one of you miscreants has already been banned. I won’t say anything more, however, pending a press release from my D.I. director later this evening.
A few pictures will be forthcoming, although I didn’t get the camera out much. Too busy being lazy for that kind of stuff. Some lessons learned from the week: even when rain is pouring down and your tent is soaked, there is still hope. Now is the time for the important stuff: food, laundry, and showering!
July 25, 2005
So Long and Thanks For All the Fish
12:42 am | Random | Comments: 758
I’m out for the next 5 days, so I am leaving you with this random fact:
“Honeybees have a type of hair on their eyes.”
Good night now!
July 23, 2005
Gesellschaft
9:02 pm | Culture | Weblogging | Comments: 32
In light of the recent trend toward giving one-line reviews of community webroggers, check out SIO’s Top-10™!
1. Set It Off - SIO rock, rock on.
2. Gimme Back My Bullets - Loyal sidekick Mark and his hardline grammatical takes helped begin the Revolution.
3. Presbyterian Thoughts - Brand spanking new ARP webrogger Nate takes up the cause of the Reformation and Fiestaware in America and abroad.
4. In God We Trust - Rumors abound that Notliberal posts nothing but rants. Such is not the case. Every now and then he slips good stuff in between the rants to throw off the unwanted types.
5. The Delta Institute - Charlie’s recent addition to the local webrog menagerie looks to become the next great internet media hub. Rumor has it that TDI was chosen as the name because “The Chuckler Report” just didn’t have the right ring to it.
6. Farmer Buie - Well-established webrogger, suspender model, and one-time GR resident Bryan has taken up the plow and the cause of Agrarianism.
7. JWS - Emulating the earliest days of SIO, John has always been a great source of entertainment. Unfortunately, this poor guy’s webrog has been completely hijacked by nonsense commenters. Shame, really.
8. Don’t Write Yourself Off Yet - Though plagued by various technical problems, Maggie continues in her consistently emotive style which has kept us wondering for years.
9. Penultimate Grooviness - New to the scene and under pressure to keep up the webrogging prowess associated with the Jurries name, Janna is another good brogging prospect.
10. Yes, I Have No Bananas - My sister’s outlet for “creativity” is also a hotbed of weblog hooliganism.
Membership in the SIO Top-10™ is contingent upon actually knowing me in person so that the inevitable Kung Fu battle can take place within a reasonable timeframe. Please note that the SIO Top-10™ is subject to change for any reason and without notice. SIO would like to thank our sponsors The-BoB.org and Blogger.com for making possible the SIO Top-10™. Please note that due to sanctions against Xanga.com, no Xanga webrogs are allowed in the SIO Top-10™.
July 22, 2005
Strive for Perfection
11:49 pm | Relationships | Thoughts | Wisdom | Comments: 21
I was commenting to a friend the other night on the subject of couples going to the movies for dates. Think about it. A movie is, of course, senseless entertainment. You just sit there while your retinas absorb electrons and your ear drums get beat on in Dolby Digital Surround. Sit back, relax, and let your worries and nervousness fly away. Talking is actually frowned upon, so you have a perfect excuse not to interact on any level with whoever is with you. Then when the film is actually over, you don’t have to rack your brain for a conversation topic - just talk about the movie! Such interchanges usually proceed thus: “Dude, that was a cool movie.” “Yea, it was pretty good.” “Dude.” and so on. I think movie dating is a cheap and dubious substitute for spending real quality time with that special someone, or even just with friends for that matter.
What would the perfect date be? I’m no expert. I’m perfectly happy with a delicious steak dinner, tasty glass of fine German beer, long walk on the beach, and private devotions together around a campfire. What could possibly improve on that? Maybe if you could do something active and fun earlier in the day, like snowboarding or waterskiing.
July 21, 2005
Protected: SIODI Bulletin
11:59 pm | SIO | Comments: 10
Ask The Broke College Kid
7:32 pm | SIO | Comments: 9
As recommended by friends and enemies alike, I am proud to present the Broke College Kid’s Advice column. Please note the new link at the top of the page! The Broke College Kid is now accepting requests for advice, and any topic is fair game. SIO hopes that the services of the Broke College Kid will help people muddle through along the road of life, as well as get a leg up on the pile. To request advice, click here. Naturally, any abuses of the system will be dealt with by the standard burning down of houses.
July 20, 2005
The Truth Shall Make You Free
8:06 pm | Religion | Comments: 16
Many of us understand Theology to be a high, heady form of thought dealing with the deepest mysteries of God as well as biblical minutia. It’s not just that at all. Often, it’s helpful to return to some of the most basic and abundant concepts that Scripture has to offer. Some things in the Bible, such as vegetarianism, don’t get much run. Maybe a verse or two. Others are plastered all over the Book, such as Predestination. It’s this obvious and ubiquitous topic that I will be dealing with tonight.
Predestination is a dirty word in today’s world of contemporary, man-centered Christianity. Why? It dares to take control out of man’s hands and put it into the hands of – guess who – God! How unthinkable! Even without cracking a Bible, it’s brutally obvious that man really has no control over anything in this life; not his height, his wealth rating, or most crucially his salvation. The very fact of God’s being God necessitates having complete control over his own creation in the form of a foreordained plan (sometimes referred to as his eternal decree) for all things. Otherwise, he would not be God but rather a somewhat powerful though absent-minded dude. I don’t mean to make light of such high things; but that’s the simple truth.
The Bible teaches us that God ordained all things that would come to pass in his creation, even before the foundation of the earth. This especially includes the salvation of his own people. Wouldn’t you think that God would attend most carefully to a matter of such great importance, leaving nothing to “chance” or to the fickle minds of ourselves? I would, but many would have us believe that the salvation of the people of God is dependent entirely on whether or not they choose to accept God’s gift. What a ridiculous notion. Never mind the fact that the Bible also plainly teaches us that our hearts and minds are so corrupted by sin that without God we would have no hope of ever accepting such an amazing gift, even the idea of the dust that is man having the ability to act outside of God’s eternal decree should be nonsensical to the Christian’s understanding of who God is and who we are as fallen, sinful human beings.
But that’s just me. What does the Bible have to say? References to God’s eternal purpose are abundant in the New Testament. Perhaps the most well-known (as well as obvious) passage is Romans 8:28-30, which reads, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Ephesians 1 is possibly even more plain and straight to the point. Verse 5 of Chapter 1 says, “… having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” Verse 9 drives the point home: “… Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:” Verse 11 continues the onslaught: “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:” Paul doesn’t let up, having this to say in Ephesians 3:10-12: “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” Before the world began! What’s really missing from this passage is the part that says, “Before the world began, God decided that he couldn’t possibly impose his own will on man, so he left the decision of whether or not to be saved up to each individual person, otherwise it would be so unfair.”
Wait, there’s more! Lots more, actually. How often do we find in Scripture men choosing to accept the gift of Salvation, while Jesus stands idly by tapping his feet and hoping for the best? Never. How often do we see Jesus choosing men? All the time, baby! Acts 13:48: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Notice how it doesn’t say, “And as many as chose for themselves to accept what Jesus said, believed”. There’s a reason for that. Another interesting thing to consider is people that die as infants. Arminians, to be consistent with their own beliefs, would have to believe that all such go to Hell because they obviously did not make their big choice in life. The Bible takes issue with those types – again – when it says in Romans 9:11, “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)” Do you think that the “purpose of God according to election, not of works, but of him that calleth” also applies to children and adults? You bet it does, and thank God for it. We are unable to come to Jesus and accept his offer of salvation in and of ourselves. God himself must draw us to Jesus Christ. That is nearly a direct quote of Jesus himself, when he says in John 6:44-45, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” Again, no commentary can make this passage more obvious or blatant.
Still want more? Check out 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, which says, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Unless you want to find some way to make this verse disappear, it’s obvious that “God hath from the beginning chosen [us] to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:” Again, I’m missing the part here where man makes the choice. It’s obviously God that makes the choice, and not man. Continuing to the point that “God would never prevent people from being saved! That’s not fair!”, the Bible shows us how God actually operates in Romans 11:7: “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded” The rest were blinded? That doesn’t sound very fair at all! But it makes perfect sense; by blinding people and determining those people to go to Hell, those people are only getting what they rightfully deserve. Who are we to determine who will receive mercy and who will receive justice? Why do we need control over that? Jehovah himself has proclaimed himself to be the only distributor of his mercy in Exodus 33:19: “And [God] said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” Who is going to argue with the Lord God himself? Now, to the point that God would never create people specifically to go to Hell, we read in Proverbs 16:4 that, “Jehovah hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” It couldn’t be simpler. If these concepts irritate your sensitivities to the plight of man, don’t argue with me. Grab yourself some White-Out and start getting rid of that verse, and the many others that speak directly to the issue.
Obviously, this doctrine is tied up in the truthfulness of others, such as the nature of man, the nature of the Gospel, God’s Sovereignty vs. Man’s Responsibility (affectionately referred to as GSMR, or Gussmer), and so on. For an exhaustive and comprehensive run-through of Reformed teaching, read through the Westminster Confession of Faith. Take the time to read the Scripture Proofs, as well. As for me, I am more than willing to acknowledge God’s own control over his creation and the gathering of his own people. It’s a huge comfort to me to know that before the world began, Jesus Christ knew my name and knew that I was one of his sheep, and that he had chosen, then and there, never to leave me nor forsake me. Thanks be to Jesus Christ for saving us his people and making us free from the law of sin and death, to God the Father for drawing us to his Son, and to the Holy Ghost for working in us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13, if you haven’t gotten your fill of Bible passages yet)
July 19, 2005
Raptors, Etc.
6:59 pm | Culture | Random | Comments: 15
So James, you ask, what’s the deal with you being a raptor and what have you? The truth is that I’m not really a raptor. Raptors haven’t existed since the late Crustasstic Age over four hundred fourty-two million billion years ago. The deal with raptors is that they’re cool.
Raptors’ coolitude is derived partially from the cameo appearance in Jurassic Park and mostly from the fact that Dinobot was a raptor. Dinobot, as many will remember, was the Predacon who defected to the Maximals in the very first episode of Beast Wars. He was easily the coolest dude on the entire show. Among my other favorites were Megatron and his toothbrush (”Foolish Maximals!”) and Inferno (”Yes, my queen!”). It’s hard to decide on the lamest. Probably Scorponok, who was nothing more than a rube shaped like a scorpion.
Aside from all that, there’s a United States combat aircraft named Raptor. How much cooler can you get than that?
