Bible Infographics

Info-graphics rock, in a quick snapshot they can take paragraphs of hard to picture data and put it into a form that's easily digestible with one glance. They're not in-depth information, and were never meant to be, but the present in a text and graphic form something that takes thousands of words of straight narrative to describe.

OverviewBible.com is a website dedicated to giving an overview of the bible and uses many interesting info-graphic diagrams to illustrate concepts that have very complex or repetitive narrative descriptions. It's true that in a biblical sense they're merely just showing "gee wiz!" information, but that's what makes the narrative portions of the bible come alive. How many times have you read Ezekiel and ended up looking for and praying for a diagram or drawing to explain what Ezekiel is talking about? (Especially in the final chapters describing the temple!) They don't have any ezekiel there yet, but what is there is incredible. I love the I love the infographic of Every Dream of the Bible and eagerly await more as they are produced

Slaughter Of The Innocents

When a left leaning propaganda magazine like Slate thinks the latest 'brainstorm' from the progressive "braintrust" is a little over the top, you have to know it's bad. And this time it's horrific. Remember - these are the people that honestly think that killing an unborn child is not murder, it's "contraception".

Fox newsman Brit Hume tweeted his shock over an article in Slate about the concept of "After Birth Abortions", however MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry thinks that murdering a living human is okey dokey as long as the parents think it's a good idea. But this is not a new concept, nor is this a new article as it was written in March 2012. After Birth Abortions are simply legalizing the murder of a baby after it's born if the baby is considered an inconvenience or imperfect. Also known as Post Natal Abortions this horrific sin has been the little unspoken nightmare that some people are working toward. While this may be a new low that our society is striving toward, it's not a new idea by any means, as God reprimanded sinful Israel:

²⁰ “Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter? ²¹ You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire. (Ezekiel 16:20-21)

Interpreting The Bible: Let The Bible Do The Work

Atheist: You can't believe what the bible says, it's been translated into Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, German, French, English...

Me: So was Lord Of The Rings but you never complain about that, so what's your point?

Atheist: But the bible is so old, you have to admit that something was lost when manuscripts were copied

Me: The dead sea scrolls proved to the world that Old Testament has been faithfully copied and translated over the years. Yet on the other hand there's no way to verify the veracity of Caesers "Gallic Wars" yet you believe them, so what's your point?

Atheist: So many people have been killed because of what the bible says, look at the Salem witch trials.

Me: Last weekend more people in Africa died for their Christian faith than in the entire decade of the Salem witch trials yet you failed to mention that. So what's your point?

Atheist: What I'm saying is, how do you know that the Bible is being interpreted correctly? How do you know that your priest or minister or preacher or what ever you call them is telling you the right thing?

Me: You read the bible.

Islamist Militants Slaughter 106 Christians in Borneo

Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- Dozens of residents in northeastern Nigeria have been killed in two separate attacks launched by Boko Haram Islamists, according to officials and residents.

Scored of Islamist insurgents dressed in military uniforms stormed the Christian farming village of Izghe, in Borno state, late Saturday and opened sporadic fire on residents, killing at least 106 people in an attack specifically targeted at male residents.The gunmen, who arrived in the village riding in trucks and on several motorcycles, opened fire and hacked male residents they had assembled in the village square. They moved door to door in search of male residents who were hiding.

The attack prompted an exodus of hundreds of panic-stricken residents of nearby villages to the neighboring Madagali district in Adamawa state. "We suspect that the gunmen were members of Boko Haram. They have taken over the village," said Madagali local government chairman, Maina Ularamu.. The attackers looted businesses and food stores "and loaded all their spoils into vehicles owned by residents and fled into the bush," said Ularamu.

A survivor of the attack, farmer Barnabas Idi, said he scaled the fence of his house and crawled for about 40 minutes to safety. Idi said that security agents were not present during the attack. In the second attack early Saturday, suspected Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on Doron Baga, a fishing village along Lake Chad.

"They opened fire from all directions, forcing residents to jump into the lake in a bid to escape, and many drowned while others were gunned down," said Babagana Gwoni, a survivor of the attack. The gunmen looted fish and foodstuffs before setting houses on fire, Gwoni said. Lt. Col. Mohammed Dole, a military spokesman, confirmed the Doron Baga attack but declined to give details. 

Gunmen suspected to be members of Islamist Boko Haram, Saturday night slaughtered several Christian villagers in a latest attack in Borno State. The local government Chairman, Maina Ularamu told newsmen that he got reports that over 50 people were killed in an attack launched Saturday night’s on Izghe village. One of the survivors who miraculously escaped the deadly attack said over 63 villagers were decimated in the renewed attack. It was learnt that the dare-devil attackers looted the village food stores and went away with about 10 vehicles.

Read more at: http://www.newsinnigeria.org/2014/02/boko-haram-militants-slaughter-50-christians-borno.html | Newsinnigeria

Gunmen suspected to be members of Islamist Boko Haram, Saturday night slaughtered several Christian villagers in a latest attack in Borno State. The local government Chairman, Maina Ularamu told newsmen that he got reports that over 50 people were killed in an attack launched Saturday night’s on Izghe village. One of the survivors who miraculously escaped the deadly attack said over 63 villagers were decimated in the renewed attack. It was learnt that the dare-devil attackers looted the village food stores and went away with about 10 vehicles.

Read more at: http://www.newsinnigeria.org/2014/02/boko-haram-militants-slaughter-50-christians-borno.html | Newsinnigeria

Gunmen suspected to be members of Islamist Boko Haram, Saturday night slaughtered several Christian villagers in a latest attack in Borno State. The local government Chairman, Maina Ularamu told newsmen that he got reports that over 50 people were killed in an attack launched Saturday night’s on Izghe village. One of the survivors who miraculously escaped the deadly attack said over 63 villagers were decimated in the renewed attack. It was learnt that the dare-devil attackers looted the village food stores and went away with about 10 vehicles.

Read more at: http://www.newsinnigeria.org/2014/02/boko-haram-militants-slaughter-50-christians-borno.html | Newsinnigeria

---

Jesus In My Tuna Salad

While I'm in Florida visiting and helping out my parents I decided to accompany Ma to her church this Sunday. Normally I wouldn't darken the doorstep of an RCC church but my mother is devoutly catholic, and my offering to accompany her to church would be a comfort to her. She's 80 and doesn't grasp reality all that well any more but she does love Jesus with a deep passion that is a joy to watch and she's comfortable in that church so I'll go with her to the Space Coast Holy Ghost Roman Catholic Church & Bingo Hall which will make her whole weekend. 

It's going to be interesting, its been 10 years since I've been to a mass, and for some reason at that mass the priest had the entire congregation signify their allegiance to God through a gesture that was exactly like a Nazi salute. Needless to say I haven't been back since. However I'll be there this Sunday and when the parishioners chant their Hail Marys I'll be reading Luke:

Zo Rachel's Take on the Ham-On-Nye Debate

Pigs & Pearls - What's An Evangelical To Do?

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:6)

Normally I don't like taking a Bible verse out of context. If I use a bible verse in my blog I read the context it's given in, and if the entire context doesn't match the point I'm trying to make, I reject that verse and look for another. And I never use a partial verse. Doing that you can justify almost anything, my favorite is using the first few words in Luke 13:24 to say that Jesus warned us against using handicapped stalls in public restrooms. (get it?). However Matthew 7:6 is kind of a stand alone verse, totally unrelated to the verses before it (judging and planks in your eye) and the verses to follow (seek and you will find...)

The meaning of this verse is pretty evident, Jesus is saying that we shouldn't be wasting 'the good stuff' on someone that won't appreciate it. I can only imagine but I'm guessing that a pearl in a desert society is a very rare and valuable thing, so pearls is definitely 'the good stuff'. Pigs and dogs? Why pigs and dogs? Pigs are delicious and dogs are loyal, but that's here in this time and place. In a Jewish society pigs are unclean and the middle east dogs are a pest. Fido and Porky are not only unloved in biblical times but are held up as an example of how not to live. 

Noetic Effects of the Fall - A Beginners Guide

I occasionally stumble across a word or phrase that, to be honest, I have no idea what is meant by that word or phrase. Doing the Berean thing I look up that word or phrase in order to clarify the book or article I am reading, and quite often I find the words bulky and rarely use them if ever, but it's good to know what they mean. Words like "presupposition". Normally I don't use "presupposition", especially when speaking of myself, because presupposing that God exists is the same thing as presupposing that air exists. Do we need a special word for 'normal thought'?

Today I was reading an older article at Hip and Thigh blog and was struck by the term "noetic effect of the fall." I could gather the meaning of this phrase from the content of the blog, but it was used more in passing so I went digging. Most of the articles I could find on the phrase "noetic effect of the fall." were long, scholarly, well written, and a lot deeper than I expected. So I decided to put together a beginners guide for myself. 

Do Not Be Surprised...: The Gospel Is Veiled to Those Who Are Perishing: Thoughts on the Creation Debate

I did not watch the Bill Nye - Ken Ham debate, nor did I want to. Some of the reasons why I can easily explain, both men are so single issue focused that they're just going to be bashing their heads together, neither man will ever concede a point, and I disagree with Bill Nyes flawed theology which is is "Science first, last, always" regardless of how many theories are disproven over time. This means for Bill the truth is a constantly moving target. Every so many years everything he knows to be true needs to be thrown away, that concept is so depressing to me.

As for the creation - what I do or do not believe when it comes to creation has nothing to do with my salvation. My salvation is based on God's grace through my faith in Jesus Christ and creation isn't even mentioned. Personally my belief is "Here's what God told us; the creation of everything in just a few words. When we met him face to face we'll get all the details of what went on and that's going to be SO COOL!" (I can hardly wait!). 

There's many more reasons why I didn't watch, most of have to do with the fact that some of the saddest verses in the bible are so true, and it's heartbreaking to watch. Erin at Do Not Be Surprised blog says it a whole lot better than I possibly could:

Do Not Be Surprised...: The Gospel Is Veiled to Those Who Are Perishing: Thoughts on the Creation Debate

Emergent Monday - The Cult Of Furtick

I cannot be a member of Steven Furtick's Elevation Church.

You see, I believe in the doctrine of grace, the fact that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, that elders and pastors are are held to a higher standard and should exemplify that standard, and that Jesus is my savior and it's Him who I serve. 

I don't care that the Elevation church has decided to keep Steven's salary completely and totally secret from his congregation and the public, that's Between Steven, God, and the IRS. And if Steven Furtick has a big enough family that would fill a a 16,000 square foot house so be it - however the dark side of me would love to see him vacuum such an edifice. (B-52 bombers get parked in similar sized buildings) I do have a problem with the fact that he purchased the $1,600,000 estate for $365,000 or slightly more than 20% of its value. That's the kind of deal that gets people in trouble.

There's plenty of reasons why I'd never follow Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte NC, but financial reasons are far down on the list of of reasons to steer clear, there's much more happening here that moves me to avoid Mr. Furticks cult of personality.