Rick Perry scares me
Quite frankly, Rick Perry scares me. Yes, the Gardasil decision was horrible, but rather than downplay it as “just one misstep… and besides, he apologized!” I look at it as a serious, very serious character issue. As Michelle Malkin pointed out, it is just one example of many that indicate that what Perry says he is for (small govt), and what he actually does are quite different.
Additionally, in 2010, Rick Perry vowed to finish his term as TX governor and as recently as May of this year he affirmed he would NOT run for President. He has broken that pledge.
I have heard of Alex Jones (libertarian political commentator/reporter), but haven’t watched much of him; yet there was this video he made just the other day (also posted below this paragraph), and if Alex Jones is right, then Gardasil wasn’t included in the federal protection for vaccines until Perry, as the first US governor, mandated it, and then federal protection kicked in, insulating Merck from any lawsuits stemming from Gardasil injuries or deaths. Even though the mandate was overturned, the federal protection remains, and that is a HUGE protection of profits for Merck — worth billions — even though it technically “did nothing” because the mandate didn’t kick in. And despite what Perry said this week about “going along with the legislators” and quietly accepting and backing off when they tried to curtail his power grab, he actually was quite defiant at the time. So he sounds even more like someone I couldn’t trust.
Some of Perry’s closest friends and advisors are current, and/or former Merck lobbyists (were current lobbyists at the time of the mandate). So, basically, Rick Perry gave Merck a “get out of lawsuit free” card with his mandate; and quite frankly, vaccine manufacturers **need to be held accountable** when they make dangerous vaccines that injure and kill.
Right now, vaccine manufacturers enjoy immunity from lawsuits from any vaccine damage (including death), PLUS they get all the profits from the sales PLUS they have multiple vaccines mandated/required for things like school and/or day-care attendance — it’s a vaccine manufacturer’s dream!! If you could make a product that you would a) make money from; b) force other people to buy; and c) have freedom from any lawsuits, why WOULDN’T you make such a product, and do everything you could — including buying off politicians — to try to get more people to have to buy your product. That isn’t freedom! — it’s government coercion and crony capitalism!! It’s the antithesis of the Tea Party movement, and stands in stark contrast to everything those of us for small government and parental rights stand for.
Finally, one of my Texas friends was asked for her opinion of Rick Perry, and she said the following (quoted in full):
For what it’s worth (in my opinion) Rick Perry is a golden boy. What I mean by that is regardless of what happens he always seems to come out shining. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Texas was once a weak governor government with the lieutenant governor, house and senate having the most power. In 8 years he (Perry) single-handedly took power away from those institutions and made himself a very strong governor. He has the brutish ability to push things through the house and senate. However, I am not aware of a single thing he is actually responsible for -yet he gets all of the credit for it. Somehow he’s managed to become the longest seated governor in the history of the United States. He has the uncanny ability to be likable, yet perhaps more importantly it’s almost impossible to not like him. On occasion he has come across bullish on certain policies (i.e. Remember the HPV vaccine he mandated for all girls under the age of 16) but at the slightest hint of public disapproval he manages to flip-flop and reverse course. I’m not convinced he’s qualified to lead the U.S., but strangely, based on the past 8 years of Texas politics, he may be the best qualified candidate in the race.
Quite frankly, this assessment scares me more than anything else I’ve read. Do we really want a recent “convert” (or possibly, just political posturing, since conservatism gets the votes these days!) who bullies people into submission “leading” this country? He’d get things done, but WHAT might he do? He now claims to be for small government, but he mandated a vaccine for little girls — how much more government intrusion can you get? And he stuck by that decision as recently as last year, and it’s only been since he joined the race that he has disavowed it. Sounds like pandering to me, and I simply don’t trust him to give him the job of President for four years.
Heretical Presbyterian “minister”
I’m no great fan of Rick Perry. If he runs for President, I won’t vote for him in the primary (mostly because he way overstepped his bounds as TX governor, mandating that 11 & 12-year-old schoolgirls receive the Gardasil vaccine), but this post isn’t about him, except that his call for prayer has instigated this post: Five Scriptures You Won’t Hear at Rick Perry’s Prayer Event. Click over to read the verses and what he says about them, then come back here to read my opinion.
Before Jim Rigby even starts on the five verses, he sneers at those who “ take the Christian and Jewish scriptures seriously”, saying that doing so makes for an “unhealthy religion.” Really? A Christian minister says that taking the Bible “seriously” sets you up for being in an unhealthy religion. By what criteria does he judge this?! Does he mean that we should take the Bible flippantly, or carelessly, or ignore those parts we disagree with? Is that what his version of Christianity teaches?
1) “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in public places to be seen by others… But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your heavenly parent, who is unseen.” (Matt. 6:5-6) [I don't know what version or perversion of the Bible he uses, but the fact that he says "parent" instead of "Father" says a lot! I digress...] As the verse itself states, it is a warning against being hypocrites more than against public prayer. If the person praying in public prays only prays in public, he is being a hypocrite (literally, a “play actor”); if he is praying just to be seen, he is being a hypocrite. There is no injunction against praying in front of others — in fact, public and/or corporate prayer is mentioned with great frequency as a hallmark of the New Testament church and early Christians. This is probably the one that I least disagree with him on; he says this verse teaches, “Don’t make a show of prayer,” which is true enough; but it’s more in the idea of a false show of prayer, rather than an absolute injunction against praying in front of others at all.
2) “God doesn’t withhold rain because we’ve done something wrong,” he says, pointing to, “God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45) as his proof text. However, he neglects (once again) the context, and also doesn’t point out the little thing like Elijah praying that God would not let it rain on the nation of Israel, under the rule of wicked Ahab, and it didn’t rain for 3 years, but when Elijah prayed for rain, God sent rain. I would ask Mr. Rigby if he believes that God can and does answer prayer. If no, why does he call himself a Christian?; if yes, why not pray – as Jesus commanded — for those things that you need? The true meaning of this verse is pointing out that God is good even to those who don’t deserve it, and He is merciful even to the wicked, unjust, and unrighteous, and that we should likewise be good. It teaches that when it rains, the rain is from God; it does not teach that God never withholds rain from the wicked.
3) “God doesn’t have favorites” – this is the one that makes me call him a heretic. First, the verse: “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.” (Acts 10:34) Now what Rigby says it means: “When the Bible says that God is not a ‘respecter of persons’ it means that God doesn’t have a favorite country or religion.” This couldn’t be further from the truth! God may not have ”a favorite country” (although I would argue that God has favored the United States, as our Constitution and early foundation was on His principles), but to say that God doesn’t have ”a favorite religion”!! The context (that pesky context again, that Rigby never considers!) is that Peter has just preached to the first person who was not Jewish by birth or by conversion. Up to this point, the gospel of Jesus Christ had been preached to Jews only, and it seems that the Jewish Christians still believed that Christianity was to be limited to Jews only. In a vision, God tells Peter to eat “unclean” animals, to show him that the division between clean and unclean animals was done away with in Christ, just as the division between Jew and Gentile was done away with in Christ. In preaching to Cornelius, and his subsequent conversion and being blessed with the gift of speaking in foreign languages, Peter realizes that God has elect among more than just Jews. If God doesn’t have “a favorite religion” — and Rigby sneers at the possibility that Christianity might be considered God’s “favorite religion”, thus implying here and elsewhere throughout his article, that all religions are equal before God — why did He send His Son to die on the cross and say that there was salvation only through Jesus Christ? If Christianity is the same as any other religion before God, why did Paul and the other early apostles and Christians risk their lives and many die a martyr’s death, if it didn’t really matter whether the Gentiles worshipped the God of the Bible or their heathen idols?
4) “Worship by those who neglect the poor is offensive to God” — “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me… Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21-24) It is true that God hates pretence and hypocrites; but Rigby trumpets so-called “social justice” and decries what he believes to be mistreatment of the poor as being offensive to God. True mistreatment of the poor is indeed offensive to God, as are laws that give favor to the rich because they are rich, while punishing the poor simply for being poor; however, the things he enumerates are not “mistreatment” or “neglect” as God sees it. He decries the fact that Texas has the largest gap between rich and poor, and that they have the largest number of uninsured citizens, among other things. What is his solution for that? He doesn’t say explicitly, but it seems that he thinks that it is the job of the state to “even things out” and to provide health insurance to those who don’t have it. There were plenty of very rich and very poor people in Bible times, and those who could not afford doctors. However, the Bible does not mandate nationwide, statewide, or other governmental handouts; rather, it tells individuals to be privately charitable. Going back to the Sermon on the Mount, which Rigby joyfully quoted from for points 1 & 2, Jesus told His followers — not to march on the Capitol and demand that the government take from the rich and give to the poor — but to give of their own money, and not only of their own money (rather than other people’s money), but so privately that, in a figure of speech, the left hand would not know what the right hand is doing!
5) Using the parable of the Good Samaritan (which he wrongly says was directed towards a “rich, young zealot,” [probably meaning "the rich young ruler" who was told to sell all and give to the poor; something modern "social justice" types conveniently ignore] when in fact it was directed at a self-righteous lawyer — i.e., one well-versed in the Law of Moses, not a modern litigator – who was identified neither as rich nor young), he somehow twists it into a slam on the American Family Association. He says, “the heart of Christian ethics is being a good neighbor,” which I don’t totally agree with, but don’t strongly disagree with it either. First, we are to love God, and secondly, we are to love our neighbors. The story of the Good Samaritan was told because the lawyer wanted to justify himself by limiting those who were his “neighbors”, and Jesus was showing that everyone is our neighbor; but how do we love God? According to the Bible, by keeping His commandments. Among those commandments is to obey Jesus Christ and bow to Him, but that would mean that Christianity would be God’s “favorite religion”, which Mr. Rigby sneers at. So-called Christians have to do so many mental contortions and back-flips that it’s no wonder they sound schizophrenic, picking out only those passages of the Bible they like, while conveniently ignoring others.
But back to the AFA – Rigby says that because one liberal organization considers the AFA a “hate group”, that this proves that the AFA doesn’t have “Christian ethics”, since they so obviously “hate” their neighbors. The AFA is a strong defender of Christian morals as outlined in the Bible, so since when does standing for truth = hating your neighbors? Um, yeah. How does the Bible define loving your neighbors? Wouldn’t that be a better place to start, than taking as truth the opinion of some liberal think-tank?
MS 2011 Legislature Candidates
I was a little perturbed at how difficult it was to find who was running for the MS House and Senate this year. Eventually, I found the two parties’ pages (GOP, Dem) with the information for their own qualifying candidates, and put them together into a spreadsheet. Ahh, finally in one place, who’s running in which district in the 2011 MS elections. [I haven't found any independent or 3rd-party candidates running, but if you know of any, lemme know and I'll add them.] And as an added bonus, those qualifying for state races (governor, lieutenant governor, etc.).
“Killer Sudoku” Sums
Sudoku is a cool puzzle; “killer” sudoku, with its sums instead of numbers, is even better. I can feel my brain getting stronger every puzzle I do. 
But I got annoyed at having to redo the sums every game, and was afraid of having missed one or more from time to time, so I finally sat down and worked out all the sums. At least, I think it is a complete list. So, here goes.
It’s a Word document (originally Excel, but I can’t upload Excel), so I hope it looks right. Happy sudoku-ing!
| 2 squares | 3 squares | 4 squares | 5 squares | 2 squares | 3 squares | 4 squares | 5 squares | 3 squares | 4 squares | 5 squares | 6 squares | 5 squares | 6 squares | 7 squares | 6 squares | 7 squares | 8 squares | |||||||||
| 3= | 1+2 | 16= | 7+9 | 1+6+9 | 1+2+4+9 | 1+2+3+4+6 | 21= | 4+8+9 | 1+3+8+9 | 1+2+3+6+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6 | 26= | 2+7+8+9 | 1+2+6+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+7+9 | 32= | 1+2+5+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+8+9 | ||||||||
| 4= | 1+3 | 1+7+8 | 1+2+5+8 | 5+7+9 | 1+4+7+9 | 1+2+3+7+8 | 3+6+8+9 | 1+3+5+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+6+9 | 1+3+4+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||
| 5= | 1+4 | 2+3+9 | 1+2+6+7 | 6+7+8 | 1+5+6+9 | 1+2+4+5+9 | 4+5+8+9 | 1+3+6+7+9 | 1+2+3+5+7+8 | 1+3+5+6+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2+3 | 2+4+8 | 1+3+4+8 | 1+5+7+8 | 1+2+4+6+8 | 4+6+7+9 | 1+4+5+7+9 | 1+4+5+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6= | 1+5 | 1+2+3 | 2+5+7 | 1+3+5+7 | 2+3+7+9 | 1+2+5+6+7 | 5+6+7+8 | 2+3+4+8+9 | 2+3+4+6+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2+4 | 3+4+9 | 1+4+5+6 | 2+4+6+9 | 1+3+4+5+8 | 2+3+5+7+9 | 2+3+5+6+7+9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7= | 1+6 | 1+2+4 | 3+5+8 | 2+3+4+7 | 2+4+7+8 | 1+3+4+6+7 | 2+3+6+7+8 | 2+4+5+6+7+8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2+5 | 3+6+7 | 2+3+5+6 | 2+5+6+8 | 2+3+4+5+7 | 2+4+5+7+8 | 33= | 1+2+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3+4 | 4+5+7 | 3+4+5+9 | 3+4+5+6+8 | 1+3+5+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8= | 1+7 | 1+2+5 | 17= | 8+9 | 1+7+9 | 1+2+5+9 | 1+2+3+4+7 | 3+4+6+8 | 27= | 3+7+8+9 | 1+2+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+8+9 | 1+4+5+6+8+9 | |||||||||||||
| 2+6 | 1+3+4 | 2+6+9 | 1+2+6+8 | 1+2+3+5+6 | 3+5+6+7 | 4+6+8+9 | 1+3+6+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+7+9 | 2+3+4+7+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3+5 | 2+7+8 | 1+3+4+9 | 22= | 5+8+9 | 1+4+8+9 | 1+2+3+7+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+7 | 1+4+5+8+9 | 1+2+3+6+7+8 | 2+3+5+6+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9= | 1+8 | 1+2+6 | 3+5+9 | 1+3+5+8 | 6+7+9 | 1+5+7+9 | 1+2+4+6+9 | 1+4+6+7+9 | 1+2+4+5+7+8 | 3+4+5+6+7+8 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2+7 | 1+3+5 | 3+6+8 | 1+3+6+7 | 1+6+7+8 | 1+2+4+7+8 | 1+5+6+7+8 | 2+3+4+5+6+7 | 34= | 1+3+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3+6 | 2+3+4 | 4+5+8 | 1+4+5+7 | 2+3+8+9 | 1+2+5+6+8 | 2+3+5+8+9 | 1+4+5+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+6+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4+5 | 4+6+7 | 2+3+4+8 | 2+4+7+9 | 1+3+4+5+9 | 2+3+6+7+9 | 2+3+5+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 10= | 1+9 | 1+2+7 | 1+2+3+4 | 2+3+5+7 | 2+5+6+9 | 1+3+4+6+8 | 2+4+5+7+9 | 2+4+5+6+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2+8 | 1+3+6 | 2+4+5+6 | 2+5+7+8 | 1+3+5+6+7 | 2+4+6+7+8 | 3+4+5+6+7+9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3+7 | 1+4+5 | 18= | 1+8+9 | 1+2+6+9 | 1+2+3+4+8 | 3+5+6+8 | 2+3+4+5+8 | 3+4+5+6+9 | 35= | 1+4+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+7+8+9 | |||||||||||||||
| 4+6 | 2+3+5 | 2+7+9 | 1+2+7+8 | 1+2+3+5+7 | 4+5+6+7 | 2+3+4+6+7 | 3+4+5+7+8 | 2+3+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+5+6+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11= | 2+9 | 1+2+8 | 1+2+3+5 | 3+6+9 | 1+3+5+9 | 1+2+4+5+6 | 23= | 6+8+9 | 1+5+8+9 | 1+2+3+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+8 | 28= | 4+7+8+9 | 1+3+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6+7 | 2+4+5+7+8+9 | 2+3+4+5+6+7+8 | ||||||||
| 3+8 | 1+3+7 | 3+7+8 | 1+3+6+8 | 1+6+7+9 | 1+2+4+7+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+7 | 5+6+8+9 | 1+4+6+8+9 | 1+2+3+6+7+9 | 3+4+5+6+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4+7 | 1+4+6 | 4+5+9 | 1+4+5+8 | 2+4+8+9 | 1+2+5+6+9 | 1+5+6+7+9 | 1+2+4+5+7+9 | 36= | 1+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8 | |||||||||||||||
| 5+6 | 2+3+6 | 4+6+8 | 1+4+6+7 | 2+5+7+9 | 1+3+4+6+9 | 2+3+6+8+9 | 1+2+4+6+7+8 | 2+4+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+5+7+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2+4+5 | 5+6+7 | 1+5+6+7 | 2+6+7+8 | 1+3+4+7+8 | 2+4+5+8+9 | 2+3+4+5+6+8 | 3+4+5+7+8+9 | 2+3+4+5+6+7+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12= | 3+9 | 1+2+9 | 1+2+3+6 | 2+3+4+9 | 3+4+7+8 | 1+4+5+6+7 | 2+4+6+7+9 | 37= | 2+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||
| 4+8 | 1+3+8 | 1+2+4+5 | 2+3+5+8 | 3+4+6+9 | 2+3+4+5+9 | 2+5+6+7+8 | 3+4+6+7+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5+7 | 1+4+7 | 2+3+6+7 | 3+5+6+9 | 2+3+4+6+8 | 3+4+6+7+8 | 38= | 3+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1+5+6 | 2+4+5+7 | 3+5+7+8 | 29= | 5+7+8+9 | 1+4+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+6+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6+8 | 1+3+4+6+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2+3+7 | 3+4+5+6 | 4+5+6+8 | 1+5+6+8+9 | 1+2+4+5+8+9 | 39= | 4+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+3+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2+4+6 | 19= | 2+8+9 | 1+2+7+9 | 1+2+3+4+9 | 24= | 7+8+9 | 1+6+8+9 | 1+2+4+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+9 | 2+3+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+6+7+9 | 40= | 1+4+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||
| 3+4+5 | 3+7+9 | 1+3+6+9 | 1+2+3+5+8 | 2+5+8+9 | 1+2+5+7+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+8 | 2+4+6+8+9 | 1+2+5+6+7+8 | 2+3+5+6+7+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13= | 4+9 | 1+3+9 | 1+2+3+7 | 4+6+9 | 1+3+7+8 | 1+2+3+6+7 | 2+6+7+9 | 1+2+6+7+8 | 2+5+6+7+9 | 1+3+4+5+7+9 | 41= | 2+4+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+6+7+8+9 | |||||||||||||
| 5+8 | 1+4+8 | 1+2+4+6 | 4+7+8 | 1+4+6+8 | 1+2+4+5+7 | 3+5+8+9 | 1+3+4+7+9 | 3+4+5+8+9 | 1+3+4+6+7+8 | 42= | 3+4+5+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+5+6+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||
| 6+7 | 1+5+7 | 1+3+4+5 | 5+6+8 | 1+5+6+7 | 3+6+7+9 | 1+3+5+6+9 | 3+4+6+7+9 | 2+3+4+5+6+9 | 43= | 1+3+4+5+6+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2+3+8 | 2+3+5+9 | 4+5+7+9 | 1+3+5+7+8 | 2+3+4+5+7+8 | 44= | 2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2+4+7 | 2+3+6+8 | 4+6+8+9 | 1+4+5+6+8 | 30= | 6+7+8+9 | 1+5+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+6+9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2+5+6 | 2+4+5+8 | 2+3+4+6+9 | 2+4+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+6+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+7+8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3+4+6 | 2+4+6+7 | 2+3+4+7+8 | 2+5+6+8+9 | 1+2+5+6+7+9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14= | 5+9 | 1+4+9 | 1+2+3+8 | 3+5+6+7 | 2+3+5+6+8 | 3+4+6+8+9 | 1+3+4+5+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6+8 | 1+5+8 | 1+2+4+7 | 20= | 3+8+9 | 1+2+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+9 | 2+4+5+6+7 | 4+5+6+7+8 | 1+3+4+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1+6+7 | 1+2+5+6 | 4+7+9 | 1+3+7+9 | 1+2+3+6+8 | 25= | 1+7+8+9 | 1+2+5+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+9 | 2+3+4+5+7+9 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2+3+9 | 1+3+4+6 | 5+6+9 | 1+4+6+9 | 1+2+4+5+8 | 2+6+8+9 | 1+2+6+7+9 | 1+2+3+4+7+8 | 31= | 1+6+7+8+9 | 1+2+4+7+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+5+7+9 | |||||||||||||||
| 2+4+8 | 2+3+4+5 | 5+7+8 | 1+4+7+8 | 1+2+4+6+7 | 3+5+8+9 | 1+3+4+8+9 | 1+2+3+5+6+8 | 2+5+7+8+9 | 1+2+5+6+8+9 | 1+2+3+4+6+7+8 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2+5+7 | 1+5+6+8 | 2+3+4+5+6 | 3+6+7+9 | 1+3+5+7+9 | 1+2+4+5+6+7 | 3+4+7+8+9 | 1+3+4+6+8+9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3+4+7 | 2+3+6+9 | 4+5+7+9 | 1+3+6+7+8 | 3+5+6+8+9 | 1+3+5+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3+5+6 | 2+3+7+8 | 1+4+5+6+9 | 4+5+6+7+9 | 1+4+5+6+7+8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15= | 6+9 | 1+5+9 | 1+2+3+9 | 1+2+3+4+5 | 2+4+5+9 | 1+4+5+7+8 | 2+3+4+6+7+9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7+8 | 1+6+8 | 1+2+4+8 | 2+4+6+8 | 2+3+4+7+9 | 2+3+5+6+7+8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2+4+9 | 1+2+5+7 | 2+5+6+7 | 2+3+5+6+9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2+5+8 | 1+3+4+7 | 3+4+5+8 | 2+3+5+7+8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2+6+7 | 1+3+5+6 | 3+4+6+7 | 3+4+5+6+7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3+4+8 | 2+3+4+6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3+5+7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4+5+6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Some good links
Why theistic evolution is be wrong and should be avoided by any who call themselves Christians
First, because when Christians belittle the historical account of Genesis and prefer a hypothesis begun with the presumption that there is no god, so that everything we see must have come about by nothing, they cut “the anchor line” that tethers them to Christ. Yes, some Christians may believe in theistic evolution and remain otherwise true Christians; but far too often, Christians relent on the clear teaching of Genesis and accept millions and billions of years (with a little bit of God thrown in to make it more acceptable to the Christian palate), and then get their legs cut out from under them by the nonsense that inevitably comes from holding that position, and ultimately turn against the faith altgoether. To quote from Richard Dawkins (copied from this article which quotes his book The God Delusion):
‘Oh, but of course, the story of Adam and Eve was only ever symbolic, wasn’t it? Symbolic? So, in order to impress himself, Jesus had himself tortured and executed, in vicarious punishment for a symbolic sin committed by a non-existent individual? As I said, barking mad, as well as viciously unpleasant.’ (emphasis in original; p. 253)
One of the most common questions or come-backs from theistic evolutionists (or those leaning toward that position), is along the lines of, “I can’t understand how God could create the universe in such a way as to appear to be millions/billions of years old — that would be deceptive!” [As if God writing in His Word that He created the universe and all it contains in six days, when in actuality it took millions or billions of years, would somehow be less deceptive?!] What these people often don’t understand (as far as I can tell), is that people did not come up with the ideas of long ages based on the evidence; rather, they came up with that idea based on the assumption that there is no god, and if there is no god, we must explain everything by purely naturalistic principles; and if there is no god, then there can be no special creation, so everything must have just somehow appeared, but it would take even too great a leap of faith for them to say it happened quickly or instantaneously, but if you give “enough time,” then even the improbable becomes possible. Sort of like in “Dumb and Dumber” when Mary tells Lloyd that the odds of them ending up together are “a million to one,” and he gets this goofy grin and says, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance….!”
Here is a parable that perfectly sums up the theistic evolutionist’s position, and the problems that happen when one ignores the history of one who was there, and instead substitutes assumptions that cannot be proven but which skew the results, and go against the written account.
Taking America Back
Or, “taking our nation/country/government back” — I’ve heard that statement numerous times from various people who generally would call themselves conservatives and/or members of the TEA Parties. I never thought much of it, but recently I read something that gave it a new twist. The author or speaker twisted the statement to give it racist overtones or undertones. I was flabbergasted. He said something that implied that people who use that phrase are trying to take our nation “back” into the hands of white people. Do what?? Not one person I know of who has ever used that phrase has meant anything remotely racist by it. In case anyone else has the same screwed-up idea that this man had, let me be explicit as to what we mean: taking the power back from the government and bureaucrats, and returning it to its Constitutional roots and restrictions, and it’s giving power back to “We the People.” No wonder it’s scaring the Democrat and Republican entrenched establishment.
Wow
So much for Dr. Wakefield being a quack and discredited, huh? Yep, this is one to save for the files!
Now a team from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina are examining 275 children with regressive autism and bowel disease – and of the 82 tested so far, 70 prove positive for the measles virus.
Last night the team’s leader, Dr Stephen Walker, said: ‘Of the handful of results we have in so far, all are vaccine strain and none are wild measles.
‘This research proves that in the gastrointestinal tract of a number of children who have been diagnosed with regressive autism, there is evidence of measles virus.
‘What it means is that the study done earlier by Dr Wakefield and published in 1998 is correct. That study didn’t draw any conclusions about specifically what it means to find measles virus in the gut, but the implication is it may be coming from the MMR vaccine. If that’s the case, and this live virus is residing in the gastrointestinal tract of some children, and then they have GI inflammation and other problems, it may be related to the MMR.’
Paid too much for that whistle
One of my f/b friends posted this story told by Ben Franklin, and I liked it and wanted to pass it on:
Here is the story as told by Benjamin Franklin:
“When I was a child of seven years old, my friends, on a holiday, filled my pocket with coppers. I went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children; and being charmed with the sound of a whistle, that I met by the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily offered and gave all my money for one. I then came home, and went whistling all over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing all the family. My brothers, and sisters, and cousins, understanding the bargain I had made, told me I had given four times as much for it as it was worth; put me in mind what good things I might have bought with the rest of the money; and laughed at me so much for my folly, that I cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure.
This, however, was afterwards of use to me, the impression continuing on my mind; so that often, when I was tempted to buy some unnecessary thing, I said to myself, Don’t give too much for the whistle; and I saved my money.
As I grew up, came into the world, and observed the actions of men, I thought I met with many, very many, who gave too much for the whistle.
When I saw one too ambitious of court favor, sacrificing his time in attendance on levees, his repose, his liberty, his virtue, and perhaps his friends, to attain it, I have said to myself, this man gives too much for his whistle.
When I saw another fond of popularity, constantly employing himself in political bustles, neglecting his own affairs, and ruining them by that neglect, “He pays, indeed,” said I, “too much for his whistle.”
If I knew a miser, who gave up every kind of comfortable living, all the pleasure of doing good to others, all the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and the joys of benevolent friendship, for the sake of accumulating wealth, “Poor man,” said I, “you pay too much for your whistle.”
When I met with a man of pleasure, sacrificing every laudable improvement of the mind, or of his fortune, to mere corporeal sensations, and ruining his health in their pursuit, “Mistaken man,” said I, “you are providing pain for yourself, instead of pleasure; you give too much for your whistle.”
If I see one fond of appearance, or fine clothes, fine houses, fine furniture, fine equipages, all above his fortune, for which he contracts debts, and ends his career in a prison, “Alas!” say I, “he has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle.”
When I see a beautiful sweet-tempered girl married to an ill-natured brute of a husband, “What a pity,” say I, “that she should pay so much for a whistle!”
In short, I conceive that great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and by their giving too much for their whistles.
Yet I ought to have charity for these unhappy people, when I consider that, with all this wisdom of which I am boasting, there are certain things in the world so tempting, for example, the apples of King John, which happily are not to be bought; for if they were put to sale by auction, I might very easily be led to ruin myself in the purchase, and find that I had once more given too much for the whistle. “
“Why Limit God?”
Occasionally when I get into discussions with people who claim to believe the Bible but discount the first 11 chapters (the history of creation, the first several generations of mankind, the Flood, and the dispersion following the Tower of Babel), they say things like, “Well, God could have used evolution to make the world, like most scientists say, so when you insist on a literal interpretation, you’re just limiting God. He could do anything He wanted, so you’re in essence saying that He couldn’t have used evolution when you insist on believing a straight reading of the book of Genesis.”
I was made to think in this vein tonight, and I’ll offer an analogy.
Let’s say a woman you knew had just given birth, and she was telling you what happened. Suppose she told you she gave birth at home, and you said, “You mean, you had a C-section.” She’d probably look at you a little funny, and repeat, “No, I had my baby at home.” Then you said, “Right, you had your baby by C-section.” “No,” she insists, “I did not have a C-section — I gave birth at home. I didn’t even tear!” Finally, you realize you’re not making any headway, so you say, “Whatever, you had your baby — what does it matter whether you had a C-section or gave birth vaginally? And why are you limiting yourself? — you could have had a C-section, so it’s basically the same difference.”
You see, the woman wasn’t giving all the possibilities; she was merely giving actual history. And, yes, it does matter for historical purposes and accurate records whether her story was recorded properly. Why is it that we accept people’s accounts of something that happened without insisting that because it happened that way it was somehow limiting them on other things that might have happened? We don’t insist that our friends really stayed home when they actually went on vacation, so why should some people insist that believing history as written in the Bible is somehow a foolish exercise that limits God?
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