Head-dibs

Just a thought here (perhaps a subject of discussion), so hear me through: we read in Genesis 3:6 that Adam was present when Eve was deceived. The word translated “with her” carries the weight of Adam standing by as a companion. The key point here is Adam’s silence. He did nothing to stop her, thus taking the full responsibility of that sinful action on himself. That’s an amazing picture that takes little imagination: one stands by doing nothing while watching someone else fall, get beaten up, fail. I return: while personal responsibility is one major lesson in this action leading to the fall of mankind into sin, perhaps there is another matter to consider. First, think of Jesus standing before Pilate just scant hours away from being crucified. Pilate asks Jesus (John 19:9), “where are you from?” and Jesus says nothing (stay with me here). Next Pilate asks an intriguing question: “You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authori...

Mike celebrates Dirty Jobs (doing the work without cheating), sharing some insight he's gained along the way:

There are not many, really, so this will be over quickly. Painlessly. Much like annihilation. So it goes. If you are a reader then Kurt Vonneget’s “Slaughterhouse Five” should be on your reading list (perhaps it was already). If it's not, don’t shove it to the top. It can wait. Should you be a writer however, make certain to read this book--and do it quickly. This short piece is simple to describe: “brace yourself.” While I can’t think I’ve ever read anything like this (and hope I never do again), as a writer, I am encouraged because “Slaughterhouse Five” is evidence there is no such thing as writer’s block. Follow the example of Vonnegut: put pen to paper and write! This book stands as an excellent example free-writing—it can be done (if Vonnegut actually had a plan, then I'm sorry)! Caveat: I did not say a story free-written would be widely received. The story may be interesting but not much good. Vonnegut’s is not far from manure: it’s good for gardens, but not muc...

Shai Hulud. Have you seen the giant earthworm, Eulagisca ?  10 Reasons Your Body Thinks It's Hungry  and 3 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight Science does it again! "Baffling Hoaxes: Why Did We Believe in the 'Tongue Map?'" What caused this hole on Mars? Speaking of which, the holes have been of interest since the early 1950's, before we ever got a good, close look with orbiters . . . I suppose if I wanted one bad enough . . .

Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile (First Baptist, Grand Cayman Islands) is thinking along with me, er, us. The men of Calvary Chapel Blythewood are studying Tony Evans’ “Kingdom Man” series, and Pastor Anaybwile is thinking right along with us. I don’t believe in accidents, and his posts “ Basic Thoughts on Manhood ” and comments on Manhood and Worship are timely for our group. Too bad he's stuck down there thinking about these things in the Caymans and not up here with us. He is "so" missing out. Man was created in God’s image to be his vice-regent on earth. Man is to represent God on the earth by taking care of everything God has laid before him. This is seen in the act of man naming the animals, giving man the opportunity to be creative with language. Man had to study creation in order to determine what to call that which stood before him, but the end result was not what the animal came to be called specifically, but how man got to know his Creator better by his study o...

There’s a scene in Homer’s Iliad (Book 11) in the front of my mind. The scene describes a significant turn in battle. Here’s the short version: Agamemnon has spent nearly ten years in siege against the city of Troy (the purpose and outcome are not the point of discussion here). The scene-in-mind describes the Trojan Hector in battle and what captures my attention is that which holds his attention. While the battle is raging, Hector watches Agamemnon. When the King Agamemnon is fighting with his men on the front, Hector keeps back but encourages his men in the melee; but, when Agamemnon mounts his chariot, Hector steps into battle and fights until at last the Trojans drive Agamemnon and his armies back to their ships. Hector is not distracted by the particulars of the battle. Instead his eye is fixed on the leader of his enemy. When Agamemnon is no longer the strength of his troops, Hector steps in and drives the invaders away from the city. This ancient scene comes to mind as I p...

McDonald's force Olympics bosses to ban all other restaurants from selling chips... unless they're served with fish.  Israeli President Shimon Peres cancels London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony visit over Sabbath travel issue Images from the 1948 London Olympics and a few non-traditional Olympic sports . . . 

Puddy Miggs sat stunned on the pavement staring at the scuffed toes of her old Sunday shoes. The rounded ends of her little maroon buckled shoes displayed in tiny splits the white scars of lost battles over rocks and stones that conspired to trip her as she skipped her rope down the sidewalk. Now on the sun-blazed sidewalk, her buns toasted through her cotton dress and the backs of her tender legs sizzled like bacon. She fought back the growing thundercloud of cry. It was the crack in the sidewalk that did her in and she was angry. Buster glided toward her his . . . well, she didn’t know what it was. Nobody knew what it was because nobody in the whole wide world had one like it. Buster didn’t even know what to call it, but he was in it approaching with a look of concern on his face. He was seated with his legs out in front, nearly identical to the way Puddy landed on the ground when she fell. The seat of the vehicle rested in the middle of a saucer-like body that rolled along on...

One common feature of a university campus is the book-sale: some arranged in a list and posted (and frequently re-posted) on bulletin boards; while others are physically displayed in some fashion whether in boxes or outside offices, on shelves. A daily routine frequently brings me by one of our seemingly permanent book-sale fixtures here on campus. Today, one title caught my attention so I picked it up. This is not the kind of book that would usually interest me, but today I could not keep my hands off--today the book was nearly  irresistible . I picked it up, impressed by it’s hardback the relatively good cover condition. I flipped it open. An entire page was underlined. I turned a few pages. More underlining—entire pages. I thumbed through the book to discover that some reader had meticulously (or perhaps not so much so) underlined the entire book as it was being read. Reaching the end of the book, the glaring omission of underlining suggested to me that these few page...

I know I’ve met him before, I just don’t remember when. You know how it goes. I should have remembered meeting him, but I don’t. Well, I met Abigail’s husband—her first husband, that is—again and now I know I’ll never forget him and the reason is because he’s a boor. Now, I am merely echoing this description that comes from someone else and frankly, this description is “spot-on.” You know what a “boor” is, don’t you? First, the word is not pronounced “bore” or “boar.” Think Dutch: “boer” or German “bur.” Second, we might simply say the person is “rude.” That’s about the shape of it. The man is rude, without manners. One might even call him a “jerk.” Why she married him, only God knows because we all know her second husband quite well and her second husband was quite the rock-star of his day. He was a king. What a contrast in men: Nabal (the boor) and David (a man after God’s own heart). Actually, Nabal (in Hebrew) literally means, “fool” and “senseless.” The curtain rises in 1...

Yes, the "I took an arrow to the knee" meme is dead, but Futility Closet posted this poem by the nonsensical German author and poet Christian Morgenstern (written in 1907) and I am re-posting here. After reading some of Morgenstern's work, I believe I can safely say he enjoyed his writing. " Knee On Its Own" A lone knee wanders through the world, A knee and nothing more; It’s not a tent, it’s not a tree, A knee and nothing more. In battle once there was a man Shot foully through and through; The knee alone remained unhurt As saints are said to do. Since then it’s wandered through the world, A knee and nothing more. It’s not a tent, it’s not a tree, A knee and nothing more.

How Study Bibles can limit Bible Study .  A.N. Martin answers the question, "What is a Biblical Christian?" Here's a photograph seemingly plucked from  The Twilight Zone . If snack food labels told the truth . . . Only a few know how badly I want to do this:

2 Kings 22 is the record of one specific incident in the life of King Josiah. During his reign a lost book was found. Instantly my mind was flooded with a catalog of book titles and declarations of new-found knowledge by this or that group or individual. We are so easily distracted by the shiny object of Mystery that each time something lost is publicly declared as “found,” we raise our heads to look and see. Look at what we’ve found (to name a few): The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden  Homer’s “Margites”  Shakespear’s “Cardinio”  Inventio Fortunata , or “The Discovery of the Fortunate Islands.”   Jane Austen’s “Sanditon”  Herman Melville’s “The Isle of the Cross” Thomas Hardy’s “The Poor Man and the Lady”  The most peculiar feature of lost-books-found is the response of those who receive them. Presently, more lost-books-found are being printed with so many lost-secrets-known that the world should be revolutionize...

(ht: Recover the Gospel )

I know that July 4 is behind us, but permit me a moment--I am that bother-ed. Sometime during the day of July 3 a comment was directed to me about observing our nations Independence on July 4 that disturbed my felicificabilty of the day. The comment was “Our flag still fly’s [sic] – not the union jack. Isn’t it nice we still speak American and no bloody British accent!” I was then encouraged to think about this throughout the day. Well, I did—and still am—and all I get are just questions. Is the reason for the patriotism of July 4 our accent and our flag? Did I celebrate because I don’t sound like someone else? Is it “nice” that I can pronounce my “r’s” unlike, I dunno, a New Yawker? If this is valid, then what is his reason for celebrating? I have a friend who lives in New York, but asking him would only bring a resounding “Shaddup!” Oh well. Moving on . . . Hey, did you know the English think we Americans sound quite silly using the emphatic “bloody”? Just tossing that in there. ...

10 Tips on Solving Mysterious Bible Passages from Sherlock Holmes. Staring At Screws. "When you learn to examine the trivial details of the things around you, you realize that nothing is really trivial. Everything has a beautifully long and winding backstory ." Cook Packaged Cinnamon Rolls in Your Waffle Maker. I am SO going to try this.   Top 10 Clever Hacks for Things You Thought Were Trash Check out the faces of these Olympic divers . Intense concentration and physical exertion combine for priceless midair close-ups of these Olympians.  #19 is my fav. Which is yours?

This last week with the encouraging partnership of my darling wife, I “rebooted” my weight-loss regimen.   “Reboot” seems to be the word nowadays; or perhaps “re-imagine.” There is no re-imagining here. When we first began, I lost 30 pounds then put back on a few as my knee went out and my walking routine became challenged. Now that my knee is functional once again, I enjoyed last week’s workout, burning a total of 3055 calories. And I learned something new. I spent a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes walking and/or jogging, burning 1616 calories. I also spent a total of 2 hours and 30 minutes practicing and/or leading worship, burning and approximate 533 calories, which is the same number of calories burned pushing a non-motorized lawnmower for one hour. Lost two pounds since last Monday (but then, I am being hard on myself)! Three more to go to reach my lowest mark since we began the first time around! Today I won’t be going to the gym because we are still...