Friday, December 28, 2007
James White has a good post on the council of Trent, and how the catholic church of the time was not united in declaring books to be part of the canon that are not accepted by Protestants, or in declaring church tradition on equal par with scripture.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
CHRISTIAN FIGHT CLUB
Trying out a new evangelism technique, Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows Thursday, arguing over how to clean the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It was Fight club Bethlehem.
Jurisdiction of the church is divided among different groups who jealously guard their territory. Think of Wally and the Beav sharing a room and dividing it down the middle with a line. In this case, Wally is a Franciscan catholic, the Beav is Greek Orthodox and Eddie Haskell is Armenian Orthodox.
Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean their part of the church, but they encroached on space controlled by Armenian priests. Shouting ensued, followed by the exchange of blows. They went at it for 15 minutes, even taking up brooms and iron rods as weapons. Think of IFC in robes. Policemen who tried to intervene were also injured. No one said "by this shall all know you are my disciples, that you love one another".
No Southern Baptists were hurt in the making of this post. This is not a report of an International Mission Board meeting. However, rumor has it that the Georgia Baptist convention will release a statement claiming this brawl is a natural consequence of the rise of Calvinism in the SBC.
SHOOTING
I took the Baby and the Oldest to the gun range today (indoor) and fired a few rounds. They had never shot a gun before and have been nagging me to let them shoot mine. We shot the Glock 9mm shown above, a present from the Little Woman. We also shot a .38 and a .38 special. The "special" is what I took after the burgler with last year, the day after Halloween when a Trick or Treater decided to come back for more treats. He left before firing could commence.
The Glock was definitely the smoothest and easiest of the lot. The Baby demonotrated a natural affinity for it.
The Seminary Daughter will be upset that she did not get to make this run. Maybe I can take her tomorrow.
Friday, December 21, 2007
GLOBAL WARMING FLATLINES
If you read this blog, you know that I think Al Gore is full of hot air and a lot of misleading information. Global Warming has become a hobby horse, making money for many and creating a climate of political correctness that even scientists won’t often contradict.
The fact is, despite the grand meeting in Bali, global warming has flat lined. It is not a matter now of assuming what is causing global warming and can we blame humans, notably Americans ones, but, in fact, is the earth warming? And the answer is no. (at least for now)
There has been no global warming this year, even with Al Gore talking so much, and flying everywhere in his private jet, and air conditioning his huge home. The global temperature is statistically the same as it was in 2006. Not only that, there has been no global warming this decade. Since 1998, the temperature has remained flat. It has not gotten hotter. This is science. It is an observable fact.
The often repeated claim that 1998 was the hottest year on record and the 1990s were the hottest decade in the United States, for example, is simply not true. The hottest year on record is 1934 and the hottest decade was the 1930s. The ten hottest years since we began keeping records in 1880 are: 1934, 1998, 1921, 2006, 1931, 1999, 1953, 1990, 1938, and 1939. And, as we approach 2008, only one year in this decade has made it into the top 10. If we were constantly warming, we would see the most recent years dominating the top 10, yet we have one in the ‘20s, four in the ‘30s, none in the ‘40s, one in the ‘50s, three in the ‘90s and one in the ‘00s. The ‘90s had some hot years, but the trend has not continued. Since 1880, no significant period long trend occurs.
We also know the predicted increase in hurricane activity due to heat has not occurred. This last hurricane season was the mildest of recent memory. No hurricanes hit the U.S. during the season. High profile predictions of numerous and massive hurricanes for the last two years have been totally wrong.
We also know, through measurement, that the carbon dioxide level of the atmosphere has risen. Since the hothouse gas theory relates increased CO2 levels to global temperature, the lack of temperature increases in 10 years is a scientific problem that needs to be solved.
This blog previously quoted scientists who attributed global warming to increased solar activity and predicted a cooling period within a few years. It would be interesting to see that prediction now coming true.
So, while the politicians and fear mongers and lap dog scientists seeking grants continue to wail about global warming, someone needs to figure out why it has actually stopped. The political movement for Global Warming continues in the face of science, however. Al Gore is certainly at the forefront of this wave of political hysteria. He has now won a peace prize for his “work”, which seems to me to be largely self promotion and certainly has nothing to do with peace.
But there are more and more scientists speaking out. More than 400 prominent scientists from two dozen countries recently objected to the claims of man-made global warming that are supposedly the consensus among scientists and politicians, at least according to Gore. Many of these scientists are either current or former participants in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Obviously, much is still in flux and our samples of data are time restricted. However, the data does not suggest the need for mass hysteria. Preachers who are no embracing this issue should be forewarned. You may end up with egg on your face as did those who touted Y2K as the End Of All Things.
If you read this blog, you know that I think Al Gore is full of hot air and a lot of misleading information. Global Warming has become a hobby horse, making money for many and creating a climate of political correctness that even scientists won’t often contradict.
The fact is, despite the grand meeting in Bali, global warming has flat lined. It is not a matter now of assuming what is causing global warming and can we blame humans, notably Americans ones, but, in fact, is the earth warming? And the answer is no. (at least for now)
There has been no global warming this year, even with Al Gore talking so much, and flying everywhere in his private jet, and air conditioning his huge home. The global temperature is statistically the same as it was in 2006. Not only that, there has been no global warming this decade. Since 1998, the temperature has remained flat. It has not gotten hotter. This is science. It is an observable fact.
The often repeated claim that 1998 was the hottest year on record and the 1990s were the hottest decade in the United States, for example, is simply not true. The hottest year on record is 1934 and the hottest decade was the 1930s. The ten hottest years since we began keeping records in 1880 are: 1934, 1998, 1921, 2006, 1931, 1999, 1953, 1990, 1938, and 1939. And, as we approach 2008, only one year in this decade has made it into the top 10. If we were constantly warming, we would see the most recent years dominating the top 10, yet we have one in the ‘20s, four in the ‘30s, none in the ‘40s, one in the ‘50s, three in the ‘90s and one in the ‘00s. The ‘90s had some hot years, but the trend has not continued. Since 1880, no significant period long trend occurs.
We also know the predicted increase in hurricane activity due to heat has not occurred. This last hurricane season was the mildest of recent memory. No hurricanes hit the U.S. during the season. High profile predictions of numerous and massive hurricanes for the last two years have been totally wrong.
We also know, through measurement, that the carbon dioxide level of the atmosphere has risen. Since the hothouse gas theory relates increased CO2 levels to global temperature, the lack of temperature increases in 10 years is a scientific problem that needs to be solved.
This blog previously quoted scientists who attributed global warming to increased solar activity and predicted a cooling period within a few years. It would be interesting to see that prediction now coming true.
So, while the politicians and fear mongers and lap dog scientists seeking grants continue to wail about global warming, someone needs to figure out why it has actually stopped. The political movement for Global Warming continues in the face of science, however. Al Gore is certainly at the forefront of this wave of political hysteria. He has now won a peace prize for his “work”, which seems to me to be largely self promotion and certainly has nothing to do with peace.
But there are more and more scientists speaking out. More than 400 prominent scientists from two dozen countries recently objected to the claims of man-made global warming that are supposedly the consensus among scientists and politicians, at least according to Gore. Many of these scientists are either current or former participants in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Obviously, much is still in flux and our samples of data are time restricted. However, the data does not suggest the need for mass hysteria. Preachers who are no embracing this issue should be forewarned. You may end up with egg on your face as did those who touted Y2K as the End Of All Things.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
You can read other bloggers on the Missouri Baptist Convention fiasco at:
http://www.founders.org/blog/
http://www.achristianmanifesto.com/thoughtsandadventures/?p=320
http://micahfries.com/2007/12/11/acts-29-is-banned/
http://oursovereignjoy.blogspot.com/
http://saidatsouthern.com/
Also note that Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Research is scheduled to speak at an Acts 29 event next month, and, I believe, was previously associated with them.
http://www.founders.org/blog/
http://www.achristianmanifesto.com/thoughtsandadventures/?p=320
http://micahfries.com/2007/12/11/acts-29-is-banned/
http://oursovereignjoy.blogspot.com/
http://saidatsouthern.com/
Also note that Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Research is scheduled to speak at an Acts 29 event next month, and, I believe, was previously associated with them.
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