Monday, August 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
God really exists, no use denying it
I have gotten the biggest kick out of reading all the comments from the 'atheist' God haters that follow Ray Comfort, evangelist and pastor. It is amazing how many people want to argue with him and waste so much time debating a 'lunatic' who believes in myths. Why would anyone waste so much time debating someone who they believe to be 'insane'? It would be like trying to debate someone who didn't believe that Hilter's holocaust was real. There is no sense in debating such a person when all the evidence stands against their position. This person truly is insane and would not be worth even talking to about the subject. And yet, these atheists can not leave him alone. Fascinating really. Why do they do this? Simple really. They know there is a God because it is the very undeniable fingerprints left on their created soul that hound them day and night like Poe's heart under the floorboard. All the arguments, anger and denials can never drown out the constant beating of evidence of their Creator all around them and pulsating through them. Imagine receiving a brand new computer from Bill Gates himself and then spending the rest of your life using the computer to write, post and claim that Gates does not exist! Ha, its sadly crazy and yet this is where the 'atheist' finds himself employed his whole life. It is a frightening place to be in the crosshairs of the wrath of Almighty God. Lord, open their minds to see and give them life that they may believe like you gave to me so long ago.
Mark
Mark
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Brave New World is here: Amusing ourselves to sleep
Wow! Are we in big trouble.
Foreword from
Amusing Ourselves to Death
by Neil Postman
We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.
Foreword from
Amusing Ourselves to Death
by Neil Postman
We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Devotional Readers Beware
What am I reading these days? Who cares right? I mean you read your stuff and I read my interests so you're too busy reading your stuff to worry about reading a blog about what I'm reading. Ah, nice try, buy what we need now more than ever in this world where choices abound is advice. Advice is a choice filter we all use to narrow our decisions. I need advice and you need advice or we would never function.
Listen to this quote by John Kremer found at: http://www.bookmarket.com/statistics6.htm
Here is a very interesting excerpt from Chris Anderson's bestseller, The Long Tail:
“The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles. Consider the implications: If the Amazon statistics are any guide, the market for books that are not even sold in the average bookstore is larger than the market for those that are. In other words, the potential book market may be twice as big as it appears to be, if only we can get over the economics of scarcity.”
Do you get it? Even if you can't get your book distributed via bookstores, you can sell more books than many titles now sold via retail stores. You just have to find the long tail that fits your book and the audience for it.
That is an unending sea of books that we can choose from or can't choose from since we can't find them. We have so many choices and so many niche industries and interests that soon everyone will be reading their own stuff that not one other person has ever even known existed.
Here is a book you need to own and read this year.
First, the publisher's short description:
The 52 Greatest Stories of the Bible
A Devotional Study
In today's world, the basic building blocks of a Christian world view are often missing in people's lives. To help fill in this missing information, Boa and Turner present a foundational, clear synthesis of the most significant narratives of the Bible along with the implications and applications of these interrelated stories. They present the big story in such a way that it will: (1) Connect the dots for readers of the Bible, demonstrating how each individual story is really one chapter in the larger story; (2) Show how Jesus is the point to the story, especially his death and resurrection; and (3) Build a biblical world view by showing how the Bible answers the ultimate questions of life.
ISBN: 0830745823
Author Names: Ken Boa and John Alan Turner
Finally, my thoughts.
I rarely if ever recommend a book, especially a devotional. But, this book is different, refreshing in the world of over printing. This devotional makes sense with its style and layout. Very easy to read, only five devotionals per week and most importantly: content that drives you to God.
You won't be sorry you own and use this one.
Listen to this quote by John Kremer found at: http://www.bookmarket.com/statistics6.htm
Here is a very interesting excerpt from Chris Anderson's bestseller, The Long Tail:
“The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles. Consider the implications: If the Amazon statistics are any guide, the market for books that are not even sold in the average bookstore is larger than the market for those that are. In other words, the potential book market may be twice as big as it appears to be, if only we can get over the economics of scarcity.”
Do you get it? Even if you can't get your book distributed via bookstores, you can sell more books than many titles now sold via retail stores. You just have to find the long tail that fits your book and the audience for it.
That is an unending sea of books that we can choose from or can't choose from since we can't find them. We have so many choices and so many niche industries and interests that soon everyone will be reading their own stuff that not one other person has ever even known existed.
Here is a book you need to own and read this year.
First, the publisher's short description:
The 52 Greatest Stories of the Bible
A Devotional Study
In today's world, the basic building blocks of a Christian world view are often missing in people's lives. To help fill in this missing information, Boa and Turner present a foundational, clear synthesis of the most significant narratives of the Bible along with the implications and applications of these interrelated stories. They present the big story in such a way that it will: (1) Connect the dots for readers of the Bible, demonstrating how each individual story is really one chapter in the larger story; (2) Show how Jesus is the point to the story, especially his death and resurrection; and (3) Build a biblical world view by showing how the Bible answers the ultimate questions of life.
ISBN: 0830745823
Author Names: Ken Boa and John Alan Turner
Finally, my thoughts.
I rarely if ever recommend a book, especially a devotional. But, this book is different, refreshing in the world of over printing. This devotional makes sense with its style and layout. Very easy to read, only five devotionals per week and most importantly: content that drives you to God.
You won't be sorry you own and use this one.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Welcome to Steel Lore
Understanding is crucial or is that crucible?
To understand is to press your knowledge into the form or mold of the truth. As the late Mortimer Adler was so fond of saying, (something along these lines from a lecture I heard him give) "truth is that reality outside of us that is self evident regardless of whether we believe it or not."
The very nice feature of absolute truth is that it is not dependent upon adherents. It does not require a certain threshold of believers before it is enacted as law, or enters the official final draft. Truth can still exist without any proponents whatsoever.
With that being said here are some of the many truths of this blogger and the blog.
Steel, leather and wool are all very good indeed. This trinity of materials when linked together offers second to none performance. Shackleton could self admittedly never have survived and certainly Merriwether and William had no chance on the voyage without these three.
To understand is to press your knowledge into the form or mold of the truth. As the late Mortimer Adler was so fond of saying, (something along these lines from a lecture I heard him give) "truth is that reality outside of us that is self evident regardless of whether we believe it or not."
The very nice feature of absolute truth is that it is not dependent upon adherents. It does not require a certain threshold of believers before it is enacted as law, or enters the official final draft. Truth can still exist without any proponents whatsoever.
With that being said here are some of the many truths of this blogger and the blog.
Steel, leather and wool are all very good indeed. This trinity of materials when linked together offers second to none performance. Shackleton could self admittedly never have survived and certainly Merriwether and William had no chance on the voyage without these three.
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