Ben Stein and RC Sproul - A Great Meeting of the Minds

This is one of the most informative and entertaining 30 minutes I have watched in some time. These two are a joy to behold.

Now, if we can only get the rest of the world to watch...

Man, I Wish This Guy Was Conservative

I am not a Barack Obama supporter.

In fact, it is safe to assume that I disagree with almost every facet of his platform. To a conservative like me, he is the most frightening kind of liberal progressive. Some of the ideals he supports are great, but the means by which he believes we ought to pursue them are not.

He is the kind of politician that scares me for the future - my own and my children's. I do not believe that the status-quo is the way things should go, but I truly and firmly believe that if Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton are elected that the "change" that they pursue, while they cannot possibly inflict permanent damage to our country, will produce long term global damage that could take generations to fix.

I do not intent to make this a long list of reasons not to vote for the democrats this year. The reason why I am writing any of this is to make sure that my readers (all 5 of you) understand where I am coming from when I make the following statement:

This was the single greatest political speech I have ever read.

Never before have I felt like a politician actually 'got it' and truly understood the country that he is attempting to lead and represent in the world. Granted, there are several paragraphs towards the end of the speech that made me cringe rather violently, but if half of this speech is actually how Obama understands this nation (as opposed to merely his speech writers understanding) - then he really does get it.

And if I may interject some theological analysis, the reason that this speech was so powerful is because he hit on some universal and biblical truths that will resonate with every human being.

- He drew out an oft suppressed reality that everyone can be both racially compassionate and hateful, depending on the context. (I would draw this out beyond race as well, but that is the context of the speech) All men have the capacity for 'good' (humanly speaking), but are all the more so plague by the strong capacity for evil (sinful nature).

- He focused on the fact that in spite of our overall human tendencies toward shunning 'otherness', it is only together that we can truly change. This is, in a very simplistic and Spirit-stripped nutshell, the doctrine of the Church. It is only as we sharpen one another under the gracious workings of the Holy Spirit, in the family/community of His people (the Church, His body of which He is the head), that we can ever hope to 'change' (read: become more holy).

- This is not theological, but he did something I'm not sure anyone has ever done publicly before: He spoke intelligently and correctly for both sides of the race issue and in a way that will help the other side to see and understand, even empathize, with their counterparts.

I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with this particular speech, and also with the Obama campaign on the whole. I am monumentally impressed with his integrity in dealing with his attackers, his graciousness towards them in how he responds, and his overall demeanor. He seems truly genuine and like an incredible man, someone I would love to get to know and converse with.

Now I just wish I could vote for him...............


****UPDATE****

I made myself watch it on YOUTUBE...

Not as impressive as reading it... my imagination of Obama is better than the real thing. but feel free to judge for yourself:

Warner Brothers FINALLY Gets it RIght

Yes, at long last, the film making industry has heard me.

You may remember my famed review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Poo), where I brought up the idea of doing with Harry Potter what studios had done previously with films like "the Matrix" and "Lord of the Rings", filming and making much much longer movies and splitting them into two or even three part releases.

It seems that the good old WB finally got the memo.

The last of the 7 films (Deathly Hallows) will be made into two films, to be released within short order of one another in 2010.

But seriously, why in the world did it take two additional sub-par films (one for sure in Order of the Phoenix, and undoubtedly a second in the forthcoming Half-Blood Prince) to get to this point. There is beyond enough movie worthy content in books 4-7 to make at least two films for each one, and really, the ones who would make out the best from having gone this route would have been the studio! Yes, they likely would have doubled their budget, but they also would have doubled their PROFIT - which we all know will consistently smash the budget numbers for this franchise. And then they wouldn't have to put up with whiny fans like me yibbering on about what rubbish they have made of the books (well, the last couple anyway, the first three were not bad at all).

I will say that Yates did do an OK job with Order of the Phoenix, it wasn't great, I'm not even sure it was good, but it wasn't Goblet of Poo either. It's been some time since I watched it - but nothing sticks out in my mind that was important in the books that didn't make it to the screen. And with a 900+ page book, I'd say that's an accomplishment, if nothing else. I will be interested to see how he handles Half-Blood Prince, as it will perhaps be the most challenging film to bring to the big screen.

She's Still Quite the Cutie

Wow, and Amen!

Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

HT: Between Two Worlds

Hear the Full Message here

Candied Baby

I had a unique opportunity, through a friend at church who works for M+M's, to participate in product testing and experimentation. And let me say, when you get the chance to do product testing for M+M, you accept!

Enough from me, the photos will explain it all...



They look like fairly unassuming M+M's ...


But as you get closer...


You notice something funny...


Faces??


Cute baby faces?!?!


Cute Abby faces!?!


Abby on M+M's... what will they think of next?



This is the original photo I sent in for the project.
Not too bad a likeness.

A Gospel Presentation by RC Sproul

Dejavu ... All Over Again

Last year, almost to the day, my theology examination for licensure on the floor of Presbytery was continued to the following meeting in April.

Today, my theology examination before the committee (one step before the floor) was continued to the next meeting in April.

I was not properly prepared for this exam. I did not understand what was expected of me and so I simply studied the wrong way. Fault noted, problem corrected. See you in April, Lord willing.

It goes without saying then that the tentative Ordination ceremony of March 16th is now the tentative Ordination ceremony of sometime in May... maybe.

On a positive note, the committee was quick to commend my orthodoxy... which means I'm not a heretic. *phew*

Ordination Trials - you have earned your moniker.

ER Exposes Liberalism and Post Modernism

Of all places to find such a screaming example of the reality of liberal Christianity, I did not expect it to be on this particular TV show. I wept when I watched this clip because this is what the majority of professing Christians are 'fed' with on a week to week basis. I just hope the audience saw themselves as the man in the hospital bed...



HT: Kingdom People

More Fun...

It's almost too good to be true.
And yet it is true.

Sign him up Wilpons, open the purse.
Looks like it will all be done tomorrow, as per Metsblog.com

soooo pretty...

Bringing Domination

The New York Mets have traded for the best pitcher in baseball.
Johan Santana is now a Met.

I may actually shed a tear of joy.

And even better news is that the Mets did not have to give up Mike Pelfrey OR Fernando Martinez to get it done. This is very good for the Mets.

Now they just have to finish ironing out the contract extension, and the next picture I post will be Johan holding up his Mets Jersey.