Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Micky Mouse in Mercury!!

Can you find the hidden Micky?



Mickey Mouse Spotted on Mercury!
This scene is to the northwest of the recently named crater Magritte, in Mercury’s south. The image is not map projected; the larger crater actually sits to the north of the two smaller ones. The shadowing helps define the striking “Mickey Mouse” resemblance, created by the accumulation of craters over Mercury’s long geologic history.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS’s high-incidence-angle base map, a major mapping activity in MESSENGER’s extended mission. High incidence angles, achieved when the Sun is near the horizon, result in long shadows that accentuate the small-scale topography of geologic features.

Via Starstuff.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Lazy thief.


A lazy burglar who was spared jail begged a judge to send him to prison because meeting with his probation officer disturbed his sleep.  Kierran Batchelor, 21, was originally handed a suspended sentence and supervision order after he broke into two houses in February.  But weeks after walking free from court he was back before a judge after missing his daily meetings with his probation officer.  Shameless Batchelor told the judge he failed to attend the meetings because they were too early in the morning - despite being at 10am.  Recorder David Herbert told Batchelor he was willing to give him a second chance when he appeared at Coventry Crown Court on Friday.  But astonishingly, Batchelor was jailed after he begged to be sent to prison so he could catch up on sleep.
Read more here.

Incredible what some people are willing to do. So they go to jail, to sleep?

Via zwingliusredidivus

Monday, June 25, 2012

Word of Comfort

All I can say, that even though I disagree with Calvin in so many things, it is good to see him used by the Lord to bring to me a word of comfort and hope:


The design of the Lord is to exercise the patience of his servant by adversity; Satan endeavours to drive him to despair-  John Calvin

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Different answers for that dreaded message, all with a religious tone, or not.

This man should be sterilised so he never has another child

All over the world, if a parent does such a thing, he or she should be sterilised so they don't bring anymore children to the world to be abused by their own parents:

This is the horrifying moment a father dangled his young girl from a sixth storey window following an argument with his wife in China.
The man’s neighbours called police at around 10.30 in the morning after spotting him sitting on the ledge of his apartment window, holding his three-year-old daughter with one hand.
It’s believed the stand-off was sparked following an argument with his wife.
So, fight with the wife, take it out on the children. The same goes to wives, who after a fight with the husband, take it out on their own flesh and blood.


The couple had reportedly only recently moved to the new apartment in China's Guangdong province.
The man occasionally supported his daughter with one foot, but for the most part simply held her with one hand.
Emergency services arrived on the scene, with firefighters setting up an air cushion beneath the girl, while police made their way inside.
They attempted to reason with the man, but then rushed at him and pulled the girl inside.
The man was arrested by police, it’s believed he was under the influence of drugs at the time. 

Under the influence of whatever or not, this man is guilty of putting the life of his daughter in danger, and should be made an example of so others may take a hard look if they contemplate doing such a thing to their children.

Total depravity.

Monday, June 18, 2012

For those those who still say that gay marriage or gay rights won't affect others...


The New Mexico Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that a professional photographer who refused to take pictures of a gay couple's commitment ceremony violated state anti-discrimination laws.  The Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/JSAdE5 ) reports the court agreed on Thursday with a previous ruling, ruling the photo studio is considered public, similar to a restaurant or store.  The New Mexico Human Rights Commission ruled in 2008 that Elane Photography violated the state Human Rights Act by discriminating against Vanessa Willock on the basis of sexual orientation. The photography studio says its refusal was not an act of discrimination, but a reflection of the owners' religious and moral beliefs.
So next time somebody tells you that your moral and religious won't be trampled if gay marriage or "marriage equality" comes into place, just don't believe them. They know what we know, yet, they want to play blind to the truth that those who object, will be silenced, prosecuted, jailed, etc. 

This the reasoning of the judges:
The studio asked hypothetically whether an African-American photographer would be required to photograph a Ku Klux Klan rally.The court responded: "The Ku Klux Klan is not a protected class. Sexual orientation, however, is protected."

So, if the Nazis take over, and are protected, it will be not good to bring a class action against them, due to their "political orientation"???

Oh Lord, how far has society come to non-sense!!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Thank you everyone!!!


The Most Ridiculous, Offensive, Purely SINFUL Book Price EVER

The most I have ever spent on a book is $300. But this price, is totally insane!!!



Thank to zwingliusredivivus for the tip. 

Australia Awards Infanticide Guru Highest Civic Award (Totally Disgrace)

Peter Singer, is one of Australia's most influential intellectuals. So influential, that he has just won a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia, which is the country's highest civic award. 


This is a disgrace, as Wesley J. Smith, from the National Review Online reports. This is a number of the things that Singer proposes:

Singer supports using cognitively disabled people in medical experiments instead of animals that have a higher “quality of life.”
Singer does not believe humans reach “full moral status” until after the age of two.
Singer supports non-voluntary euthanasia of human “non-persons.”
Singer has defended bestiality.
Singer believes “speciesism” — viewing humans as having greater value than animals — is akin to racism.
Singer believes that animals should be given “equal consideration” with humans in utilitarian policy analyses.
Singer asserted that Australia’s greenhouse-gas emissions are morally equivalent to “waging aggressive war on Bangladesh.”
This is the man who Australia holds as one of its brightest stars??? I don't like the present Labour Government, it's a disgrace, and by putting out this sort of "honours" to people who think that a sheep has more right to life than a new borne baby, does not deserve even the solar light that he or she gets.

 In this case, Singer is the purest example of a vile individual.

Friday, June 15, 2012

The Psalms Revisited


By Erhard S. Gerstenberger
Fasanenweg 29
D-35394 GIESSEN
gersterh@staff.uni-marburg.de
June 2012

The Old Testament Psalter is a very special book. How it came about and what it may communicate to us is under constant scrutiny by many experts around the world. Still, in my opinion, readers of the Psalms need to return to a more adequate understanding of this most precious and illuminating collection of texts within the Hebrew Canon.
What are the peculiar characteristics of those 150 widely diverging poems? The Psalter is, obviously, not focused on narration or historical accounts like Exodus, Samuel, or Kings. It is not putting ethical or cultic orientation into the foreground like Leviticus, Deuteronomy, or Proverbs. Neither does it promulgate much prophetic speech, although all of the fore-mentioned genres are present within its bounds. No, the Psalms, notwithstanding all their diversity, concentrate on direct relations with the Divine. They are, on the whole, words recitable in communal ceremonies. Their speakers are standing (lying or dancing) before God, and they are quite often completely tied into the smaller or larger congregation. In other words, the Psalms are not composed and used by “outsiders” or “observers” of religious life, present or past, but they originated in the midst of cultic life. They have been used down to our days in worships of varying provenance.
Today’s discussion and research of Psalms and Psalter, it seems to me, is too much determined by paradigms of literary theory, redactional practice, and intellectual theological construction (cf. e. g., the otherwise very important work of Gerald H. Wilson, Erich Zenger, J. Clinton McCann, etc.). The “Life-situations” [Sitz im Leben] of diverse genres of Psalms – a central point of Psalm exegesis for Hermann Gunkel and Sigmund Mowinckel1 – has to be taken into account seriously if we want to understand their meaning. Words transmitted to writing seem to have been stripped of their contextual settings; it is true. Reciters and listeners of old, however, still knew the immediate ritual/ceremonial dressings of given psalms, and they would use the cherished texts accordingly. By the way, many a modern reader will intuitively feel the situation of a supplicant on his sick-bed (cf. Ps 6:7 [NRSV 6]; Isa 38:1-3) and the jubilant cries of people saved from death (cf. Ps 22: 23-27 [NRSV 22-26]; 30:12-13 [NRSV 11-12] or reaping of a rich harvest (cf. Ps 65:12-14 [NRSV 11-13]). Basic human conditions of body, mind, and soul, both in regard to individuals and their intimate groups and to larger communities, bring forth ritual performances with their pertaining prayers and songs. I will try to sketch three cases in question and point out appropriate psalmic evidence.
a) Threats to health and life always and anywhere cause anguish and despair but also lead human beings to design countermeasures which may bring relief. Cultural anthropologists tell us that healing and protection rituals appealing to superhuman powers for help are common in many cultures. Of particular interest to us are Akkadian collections of ritual texts (on clay tablets and in cuneiform script) from the 1stmillennium B.C., notably the Å¡u-illa (“Lifting of hands”) and nam-bur-bi (“Its solution”) incantations performed by a professional medicine man or woman.2 They do contain supplications to be spoken by the patient that are quite akin to the so-called “complaints of the individual,” the most frequent genre of psalms in the Old Testament (e.g., Pss 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 13; 22; 31; 38; 55; 59; 69; 88; 102; 109; 130; 140; 141). There clearly are differences in all these specimens of supplication, Hebrew and Babylonian, but a common structure of invocation – complaint – petition – vow is distinctly recognizable. The conclusion seems to be unavoidable: Hebrew ritual supplication belongs in the broad stream of Ancient Near Eastern incantations against the evil assailing persons and their families. And there is sufficient evidence in the OT texts to bolster the argument. For example, take Ps 5:4 [NRSV 3]: “in the morning I plead my case to you and watch.” This is literally, “I arrange [my offerings] for you”). Now compare this to Ps 102:1 [NRSV superscription]: “A prayer of one afflicted when faint and pleading before the Lord.” Here relations in the ritual partly turn hostile against the sufferer who seems to be stricken by God (cf. Pss 11; 41; 55; 63).
If this analysis of life setting can stand up against critical tests, the interpretative context for “complaint psalms of the individual” is no longer only the book-form in which we receive it from our ancestors but also the very context of suffering and anxieties, poverty, and discrimination that actually can be seen as the backdrop of the written words. Just like the interpretation of any piece of art does require some knowledge of the biographical and historical circumstances which occasioned its existence, the “setting in life” makes plausible the state of mind patients and doctors (medicine persons) were in. We understand fears and hopes of the intimate group affected, and we can estimate better the confidence put into the traditional words of supplication administered by the healer. These words, together with ritual acts like offerings, purifications, and exorcisms have to bear the brunt of the quest for restoration, health, and well being, surely a matter of life or death. And the theological concepts behind all these endeavors for salvation from evil powers have nothing to do with that universalism and monotheism we like to project into every biblical text. Rather, we encounter a very personal God in those psalms of individual complaint who is open to the cries of the miserable. He or she (no matter which names are used in the actual psalm-texts) is being approached not on the basis of covenant with a people but in his or her function as protective deity of each family (cf. Gen 28: 20-22; 31:19). Family deities carried a heavy responsibility for their clan; they practically were part of the lineage. Therefore, the tone of the psalms of supplication was urging, argumentative, and sometimes accusing and threatening.
b) Experiences of exuberance, awe, joy, and the like are common to all cultures. They tend to synthetize as well into rites not so much of supplication but of praise and thanksgiving. Rudolf Otto (The Idea of the Holy, Oxford 1923) makes them into the very source of religion. This second largest group of psalms comprises cries, songs, and prayers of eulogy and gratitude to the benign powers above. There sure have been expressions of individual thanks (cf. Ps 30; 107) because they many times became obligatory after vows had been given in times of trouble (cf. Ps 22:23-32 [NRSV 22-31]; 2 Sam 15:7). Still, the act of praising God is more adequate to the community which feels blessed and protected, and, according to ancient ways of thinking, has a responsibility also to upkeep the divine powers (cf. Pss 22:4 [NRSV 3]; 8:6 [NRSV 5]; 148). Most hymns of praise in the Psalter, for this reason, are communal songs fit to be intoned during seasonal feasting or at special occasions of victory and salvation (e.g., Pss 19; 46; 48; 68; 87; 93; 95; 96; 100; 103; 104; 145; 146; 147; 148; 149). The subject matter of eulogy varies considerably: natural resources, guidance and victory by God, primeval creation of the habitable world, Zion as an invincible fortress, etc. The common ground of all these reinforcing praise-songs is the jubilant crowd of Israel (some texts have foreign roots though: cf. Pss 29; 104). Let me quote a few lines of my commentary: “The hymns themselves often refer to liturgical details and the very structure of some hymns suggests a responsive presentation (cf. Ps 136). Naturally, instruments provided melody and rhythm for holy dances, … and the people responded with ‘Hallelujah’ … or ‘Amen’… or with a short refrain (cf. Ps 118:1-4). … A joyful service in the ancient world was a noisy affair. The assembly would break out in deafening shouts … . Processions moved to and fro around the holy place … . In short, those festive occasions with their beautiful services to the Lord (Ps 27:4) were colorful events, and everything, including sacrifices, dancing, shouting, and merrymaking, was done in a grand style.” (Gerstenberger, Psalms vol. 1, 18). Interpreting OT hymns has to take into account these features and discover the God of the people (city-dwellers, tribal associations, national organization, Yahweh-faith-community) behind them.
c) Last but not least, we should ponder those psalms which are not concerned with fear and joy but belong to a meditative type reflecting on life and happiness in general, on the just and the godless, on the poor and the rich, on true faith and apostasy, on the identity of the “chosen” community (cf. Pss 9/10; 25; 34; 37; 39; 49; 73; 90; 111; 112; 119). They all, it appears to me, bear the hallmarks of the Jewish faith-community which arose in the Persian period. The political autonomy of Judah had not been restored after the downfall of Babylonia (539 B.C.). But the Persians offered the chance for constructing a religious body on the basis of the Torah, a restored temple in Jerusalem, and self-imposed identity symbols (Sabbath, circumcision, feasts, marriage rules, etc.). The so-called “wisdom psalms” all rotate around these community needs. They are, in a way, confessional texts to fortify congregational Jewish life at home and in the diaspora. This broader background, then, is decisive for our understanding them today. Having tried to see some Psalm-genres in their ancient context, we would have to go on in our interpretative work and look seriously into our own moods and experiences with anxiety, joy, and self-reflection and recognize present-day rituals (both inside and outside Christian life). Dialoguing with the Hebrew Psalms, then, may help us to refresh our efforts of coming to grips with the dangers and promises of our own lives and societies.


Notes

1 Form-critical analysis of the psalms should not be discarded in our days, cf. Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, 2 vols. (FOTL XIV and XV), Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 1988 and 2001; idem, “The Psalms: Genres, Life-Situations, and Theologies,” in Joel S. Burnett et al (eds.), Diachronic and Synchronic: Reading the Psalms in Real Time (Library of the Hebrew Bible/OT Studies 488), New York/London: T&T Clark 2007, 81-92.
2 Cf. Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Der bittende Mensch (1980), reprint Eugene: Wipf and Stock 2009.

Ten Myths about God. 1. Christianity is Blind Faith

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Marketing Martyrs: Does Iranian Pastor's Theology Impact Advocacy on His Behalf? | Christianity Today


Marketing Martyrs: Does Iranian Pastor's Theology Impact Advocacy on His Behalf? | Christianity Today

Read the whole story. Interesting that we were told first that he was an orthodox christian. Well, it's still bad that he is threatened to be put to death due to his beliefs.

Francesca Stavrakopoulou, from atheist, to an apostate christian. Can such a thing be acceptable?

In case you didn't know Francesca Stavrakopolou (hey, she has Greek heritage, hence, the difficulty of pronouncing her last name), she is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion in the University of Exeter's department of Theology and Religion. She has featured on the BBC, and some other programs in the History Channel. I have blogged on her before, how she as an atheist, is a biblical scholar.


Well, now she seems to have accepted the Christian message, but I don't see much progress in her "supposedly" conversion. Why is it that I don't trust her new confession of faith? Well, read this retweet:


Some seem to be happy that at least she is saying she is a christian now. But what sort of Christian is willing to support gay marriage? 

Being an atheist, she wanted to rule her life. Being a "christian" who supports gay marriage, she still wants to rule her life. 

I don't buy it. I think that maybe she did the original retweet, or maybe she converted into a a liberal kind of Christianity, which is not christianity at all.

Anyway, lots of guys like her, because of her looks for sure. But if they get happy that she has 'converted' to christianity, or at least to the liberal type of christianity, sorry, but to me, that's not progress at all. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A persecutor on the topic of persecution: John Calvin


If, while conscious of our innocence, we are deprived of our substance by the wickedness of man, we are, no doubt, humanly speaking, reduced to poverty; but in truth our riches in heaven are increased: if driven from our homes we have a more welcome reception into the family of God; if vexed and despised, we are more firmly rooted in Christ; if stigmatised by disgrace and ignominy, we have a higher place in the kingdom of God; and if we are slain, entrance is thereby given us to eternal life. The Lord having set such a price upon us, let us be ashamed to estimate ourselves at less than the shadowy and evanescent allurements of the present life. -- John Calvin

Good on Calvin. He also persecuted some Anabaptists in his day. I just want to see how things go in heaven when he sees the brothers and sisters he sent to heaven, thinking they were going to drawn at the bottom of the Rhone river, and be silenced for ever.

Oh, how wrong you were Calvin!! Still, I like you.  You were a good theologian, but treated some of your brothers with utter contempt. 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Gaga gets wacked in the head while singing her blasphemous song

Hey, I am not happy of anybody getting heart, but she was asking for it.

Besides, she gets hit so hard, she doesn't stop singing!! Sounds more like lip synching to me.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

If you happen to be near the University of St. Andrews in the UK





Paul's Letter to the Galatians & Christian Theology

10-13 July 2012

We are pleased to announce the fourth St Andrews conference on Scripture and
 Christian Theology. Since the first conference on the Gospel of John in
 2003, the St Andrews conferences have been recognized as amongst the most
 important occasions when biblical scholars and systematic theologians are
 brought together in conversation about a biblical text. With the book of Galatians as our key text, biblical scholars and theologians of the Christian tradition will gather to work out how exegesis and theology meet, critique and inform each other.
Keynote Speakers 
 
Richard Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina
N.T.Wright, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, University of St Andrews (St Mary’s College)
Oliver O’Donovan, Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Edinburgh (New College)

Main Papers

  • Jean-Noël Aletti - Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome
  • Lewis Ayres - University of Durham
  • John Barclay - University of Durham
  • Ivor Davidson - University of St Andrews
  • Beverly Gaventa - Princeton University
  • Bruce McCormack - Princeton University
  • Volker Rabens - University of Bochum
  • Thomas Söding - University of Bochum
  • Kendall Soulen - Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington D.C.
  • Timothy Wengert - Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
  • Simeon Zahl - St John's College, Oxford

Conference Programme now available

Registration and accommodation

Full registration (includes 4 nights stay, full meals, conference registration and refreshments): £470
Discounted rate for full-time students (includes 4 nights stay, full meals, conference registration and refreshments): £360 (limited space so book early)
Day delegate registration (includes conference registration and refreshments only, accommodation and meals must be arranged privately): £41 per day
Guest registration (includes 4 nights stay, full meals - can only be booked in conjunction with a full registration, excludes conference registration and refreshments): £122.40 (inc. vat).
Online registration now open. Register here.
For further questions email: galatians@st-andrews.ac.uk

Convenors

Mark W. Elliott, Senior Lecturer in Church History at St Mary's College, author of Isaiah 40-66 in the Ancient Christian Commentary series (IVP, 2007); The Reality of Biblical Theology (Peter Lang, 2007).
N.T.Wright, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, University of St Andrews (St Mary’s College), author of Paul: In Fresh Perspective (Fortress, 2009); Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today (HarperOne, 2011).

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Alister McGrath on Defending Christianity

“The best defense of Christianity is its explanation. In other words, if you want to defend or commend Christianity, it is best to begin by telling people what it is really all about.”

 - Alister McGrath

Friday, June 1, 2012

Another theory about what happened to the dinosaurs


The seven fatal flaws of moral relativism


  • Moral relativists can’t accuse others of wrongdoing.
  • Relativists can’t complain about the problem of evil.
  • Relativists can’t place blame or accept praise.
  • Relativists can’t make charges of unfairness or injustice.
  • Relativists can’t improve their morality.
  • Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions.
  • Relativists can’t promote the obligation of tolerance.




  • This is taken further by the following:
    Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions. What’s there to talk about? If morals are entirely relative and all views are equal, then no way of thinking is better than another. No moral position can be judged as adequate or deficient, unreasonable, acceptable, or even barbaric. If ethical disputes make sense only when morals are objective, then relativism can only be consistently lived out in silence. For this reason, it is rare to meet a rational and consistent relativist, as most are quick to impose their own moral rules like “It’s wrong to push your own morality on others”. This puts relativists in an untenable position – if they speak up about moral issues, they surrender their relativism; if they do not speak up, they surrender their humanity. If the notion of moral discourse makes sense intuitively, then moral relativism is false.