Thursday, April 28, 2011
Letters to the Los Angeles Times
I look at some letters in today's edition regarding the possible bias of Judge Walker. See The Opine Editorials.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Still More on DOMA, Prop 8 Judge
I analyze the opinions of the Los Angeles Times letter-writers and the editorial board in two postings over at The Opine Editorials.
Marriage neutering advocates hate DOMA first and foremost because it prevented them from being able to immediately force the neutering of marriage on every state and territory by getting activist judges in a single state to neuter marriage. Without DOMA, immediately after a brideless or groomless couple got a neutered marriage license in that one state, they would have gone to another state and demanded recognition, and that state would have either rolled over (and this would have been repeated in every other state) or quickly lost in court (which would have expressly or effectively impacted every other state). Having DOMA has, at the very least, given more time to the discussion, preventing wacky judges in one state from instantly neutering marriage for every other state. DOMA shouldn't have been needed in the first place.
Marriage neutering advocates hate DOMA first and foremost because it prevented them from being able to immediately force the neutering of marriage on every state and territory by getting activist judges in a single state to neuter marriage. Without DOMA, immediately after a brideless or groomless couple got a neutered marriage license in that one state, they would have gone to another state and demanded recognition, and that state would have either rolled over (and this would have been repeated in every other state) or quickly lost in court (which would have expressly or effectively impacted every other state). Having DOMA has, at the very least, given more time to the discussion, preventing wacky judges in one state from instantly neutering marriage for every other state. DOMA shouldn't have been needed in the first place.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
California Marriage Amendment and DOMA
I have a couple of entries posted at The Opine Editorials. One looks at the news about appeal of the Proposition 8 decision based on Judge Walker's behavior, and the other is about the intimidation against defending DOMA.
Surprise! Fraud Alleged in “Low Income” Housing Development
"Affordable housing" is one of those euphemisms that need to be exposed and knocked down. "Low-income" housing is often subsidized, too. So this story by Jessica Garrison and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times got my attention.
We don't need a government program to build affordable or low cost housing.
1. All housing that sells or rents is affordable to someone.
2. Housing is made lower cost, and thus affordable to more people, through supply & demand and the costs to produce the housing. All of the costs a company incurs in gaining government approvals, buying the land, designing the development, constructing the housing (materials, labor), and selling the housing must be passed along to the buyers.
Housing prices rise when there is less supply, when it is more difficult to gain approval for building it, and when labor costs are increased. The least expensive housing will be the housing that is in the least desirable location, smaller, and made from less expensive materials.
The cities of Los Angeles and Glendale have filed fraud lawsuits against one of the region's biggest developers of low-income housing, revealing new details about how the politically connected firm allegedly misappropriated public money.This is one reason why the government should be involved in as few things as possible. There is always a risk of fraud. Is there fraud in private transactions? Yes, but if a business screws me over, I can take my business elsewhere, as can all of my friends. But we're pretty much stuck with our government. Businesses, especially big ones, may manipulate the government system to their unfair advantage over taxpayers and competition. If the actions are actually criminal, they still have to be exposed and then prosecuted. If I suspect a business is screwing me over, I can take my business elsewhere without having proven anything.
When Advanced Development and Investment Inc. used $2.6 million in L.A. housing funds to build apartments known as The Mediterranean, the company reported spending $396,000 for framing. The real cost, according to a lawsuit filed late last week, was $50,000.
In East Hollywood, where the developer built Harvard Circle using $3.9 million in city funds, the company reported $190,000 for glasswork. The city contends that work cost $75,600.
And so it went, according to the suit, in 15 low-income projects paid for with $29 million in city funds over roughly a decade: ADI allegedly reported much higher construction costs than it actually incurred, pocketing the difference. Lawyers estimate that the city could be on the hook for losses between $30 million and $180 million.
The city of Glendale, from which ADI received roughly $34 million since 2005 for four projects, also filed suit, accusing the company of millions of dollars more in fraud.
We don't need a government program to build affordable or low cost housing.
1. All housing that sells or rents is affordable to someone.
2. Housing is made lower cost, and thus affordable to more people, through supply & demand and the costs to produce the housing. All of the costs a company incurs in gaining government approvals, buying the land, designing the development, constructing the housing (materials, labor), and selling the housing must be passed along to the buyers.
Housing prices rise when there is less supply, when it is more difficult to gain approval for building it, and when labor costs are increased. The least expensive housing will be the housing that is in the least desirable location, smaller, and made from less expensive materials.
Monday, April 25, 2011
ProtectMarriage Files Against Prop 8 Ruling
The federal judge who ruled against the California marriage amendment had a direct, personal (including financial) stake in the outcome of the trial. Read more at The Opine Editorials.
“Powerless Minority” Scares Off Big Time Law Firm
Once again, marriage neutering advocates have demonstrated that they are a completely helpless, powerless, oppressed minority in need of the federal "protection" of neutering state marriage licensing by scaring off a big time law firm from defending DOMA.
Read about it at The Opine Editorials.
Read about it at The Opine Editorials.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
If Friday Was Good, Sunday Was Spectacular
A carpenter, with questionable parentage, from an unremarkable town, walked the countryside. He attracted followers, keeping twelve with him and three of those especially close as he spoke to groups large and small. He was part of an oppressed group - a Jew in a Roman-occupied part of the world. He said and did things that confounded the dominant religious authorities of the day. People flocked to him for a miracle. There was something he claimed that was outrageous to his fellow Jews: He was God. Arrogance? Insanity? Fraud? From a man who urged people to forgive each other and love each other?
For thousands of years, it had been pounded into the minds and hearts of the Jews that there was ONE God and that He was spirit, not an idol that could be kept in a room. He was a unique, personal being, not a "force" or something we call could be or have if we meditated enough.
And yet here was a Jew, this guy who was extremely familiar with the scriptures – including the ones that said there was just one God - walking around claiming to be God. He wasn't part of the recognized system of priests and religious leaders, so he posed a threat to them and their comfortable, established way of doing things. This guy even had the nerve to disrupt their moneymaking schemes.
Enough was enough!
They handed this guy over to the Romans and demanded that he be executed. He was a threat to the religious leaders, and since he'd claimed to be a king, he must be a threat to the Romans, too. Furthermore, anyone claiming to God was being blasphemous, right? The Roman leader, while spooked a little, didn't find anything wrong with the man, especially after the man explained that his kingdom wasn't of this world. Yet the Romans needed to keep order, and people were demanding that this "king" die. The "king" was taken and scourged - whipped so brutally that his skin was shredded. That wasn't enough. The people wanted this "king" to die. And so this carpenter, who had worked with wood for years to make useful things for other people, was forced to carry the very wood he'd be nailed to so that he could hang on a cross bleeding and losing his ability to breathe.
This man who'd preached loved and forgiveness, who had urged people to turn from their sins, who had healed the sick, who had done some controversial things but never anything wrong, was beaten and executed, all in excruciating pain.
That was what we now call "Good" Friday.
If that was all that happened, most of us would never have heard of Good Friday. Someone may have mentioned this carpenter in an obscure list of Jews who claimed to the Messiah, but most of us would never have heard of this Nazarene.
But it wasn't all that happened.
On Sunday morning, once the holy days and feasts were over, some people who loved this carpenter were returning to care for his body as a final sign of respect.
The body was gone, though. Nobody ever found the body. To their shock, this Jesus, who had been scourged and killed, was alive and well - very well - though he still had the holes in his hands from the nails and the hole in his side where a spear had shoved into him to make sure he was dead. He talked with them, they embraced him, they felt him, they ate with him. He'd come and go as he pleased over the next several weeks. Finally, having done what he'd set out to do, he was taken away in a "cloud"... probably a description of what appeared to be a blindingly bright light.
Because of that Sunday when Jesus was first seen alive after being killed, we now have Good Friday. Why is Friday "Good"?
It is no coincidence that Jesus was executed during the Passover season (the Last Supper was a Passover Seder). Many years before, when the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, there was a night when they slaughtered lambs "without defect" and placed the blood of a lamb on their doorways. Overnight, when the Lord passed through Egypt with righteous judgment, the firstborn of every household was struck down - but the Lord "passed over" the homes with the blood. The Jews were subsequently freed from their slavery.
ohn the Baptist referred to Jesus as "the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus was the ultimate Passover Lamb "without defect" who shed his blood to free all of us from our enslavement to sin. That Friday was Good because it is the day that our sins against God were paid for... by someone other than us!
But that Sunday...
We've all dealt with death in our lives. We've all had loved ones that have died. Thousands of years of recorded history tell us that dead people stay dead.
Yet this miracle-working carpenter was seen alive after his death. People touched him, talked with him, ate with him. They stuck their fingers in his wounds.
Being modern people, we are understandably skeptical of this. We don't have video proof. But what we do have is history, and the testimony of those who were there. Good Friday had left the followers of Jesus afraid and feeling defeated. They had shown themselves to be cowardly, and their leader was dead.
If Easter (Resurrection) Sunday did not happen, how did such people go on to change the world? Unless they actually encountered a resurrected Jesus, these people would have no reason to face ostracism and martyrdom to proclaim that resurrection and spread the teachings of Jesus. It is easy to deny the truth to save your life. Would people be willing to give up everything they had and die for something they knew to be a lie? No way!
So what does this all mean for me today? It means that I have a way to be right with God, because even though I have done things against Him, Good Friday was the day that those sins were paid for. I am forgiven. I also have someone who is my friend, my advocate, someone who knows what it is like to live life on Earth and knows what it is like to feel pain, suffer loss, and to die. And that Someone has promised me that if I follow Him, everything will be okay. Death is not the end. He has conquered death, and someday death, pain, and sorrow will be taken away from me. He has backed up His "blasphemous claims" with action, showing them not to be blasphemous at all.
He doesn't want me to cut the heads off of people just because they don't believe in Him. He doesn't want me to fly airliners into skyscrapers to kill people going about their lives. He wants me to do things like love others and take care of the needs of others. This is why so many have built hospitals, universities, and charities in His name.
It isn't about going to church regularly. It isn't about trying to convince people that my life is perfect. It isn't about making sure I can retire wealthy. It isn't about getting everyone else to see things the way I do. It isn't even about keeping a checklist of rules and sticking to that checklist. It isn't about "getting it right" on my own before I can approach God, because that will never happen.
It IS about having a peace with God, knowing that He forgives the horrible things I've done and may yet still do if I simply ask Him to. It is about having fellowship with that Nazarene who rose from the grave and still lives, because He deserves my allegiance and because He did life right.
There are people who believe that everything is an accident, a series of extremely unlikely coincidences. Sunsets. Surf. Waterfalls. Roses. Redwood trees. Chocolate. Wine. Galaxies. Eagles. Puppies. Kittens. Sex. Newborn babies. Those are all accidents? I don't think so. All of the complexity in the cells of our own bodies, all of the symbiotic systems of the natural world, where organisms depend on each other for survival. Those all "just happened"? I don't think so. The world is beautiful and amazing, and it is not accidental or inconsequential that a Jew who was without sin and claimed to be God suffered and died at Passover and then rose from the dead.
Yes, there is something broken about the world, as evidenced by all of the suffering. But the fix is in. The victory was demonstrated almost 2000 years ago. I can't ignore that. That has to have an impact in my life, how I view life, and how I live life. My Lord humbled Himself, suffered and died for me. And then, He beat death, and someday, He's going to kick death - and its parent, sin - down the stairs, and shut the door on them. The world won't be broken anymore. I can't know everything about what the future will bring, but as long as I'm holding on to Him, I'll be in the best company there is. And since I love Him, as long as I'm around, I should seek to love others, meet their needs, and follow His lead.
May you have a Joyous Resurrection Sunday.
For thousands of years, it had been pounded into the minds and hearts of the Jews that there was ONE God and that He was spirit, not an idol that could be kept in a room. He was a unique, personal being, not a "force" or something we call could be or have if we meditated enough.
And yet here was a Jew, this guy who was extremely familiar with the scriptures – including the ones that said there was just one God - walking around claiming to be God. He wasn't part of the recognized system of priests and religious leaders, so he posed a threat to them and their comfortable, established way of doing things. This guy even had the nerve to disrupt their moneymaking schemes.
Enough was enough!
They handed this guy over to the Romans and demanded that he be executed. He was a threat to the religious leaders, and since he'd claimed to be a king, he must be a threat to the Romans, too. Furthermore, anyone claiming to God was being blasphemous, right? The Roman leader, while spooked a little, didn't find anything wrong with the man, especially after the man explained that his kingdom wasn't of this world. Yet the Romans needed to keep order, and people were demanding that this "king" die. The "king" was taken and scourged - whipped so brutally that his skin was shredded. That wasn't enough. The people wanted this "king" to die. And so this carpenter, who had worked with wood for years to make useful things for other people, was forced to carry the very wood he'd be nailed to so that he could hang on a cross bleeding and losing his ability to breathe.
This man who'd preached loved and forgiveness, who had urged people to turn from their sins, who had healed the sick, who had done some controversial things but never anything wrong, was beaten and executed, all in excruciating pain.
That was what we now call "Good" Friday.
If that was all that happened, most of us would never have heard of Good Friday. Someone may have mentioned this carpenter in an obscure list of Jews who claimed to the Messiah, but most of us would never have heard of this Nazarene.
But it wasn't all that happened.
On Sunday morning, once the holy days and feasts were over, some people who loved this carpenter were returning to care for his body as a final sign of respect.
The body was gone, though. Nobody ever found the body. To their shock, this Jesus, who had been scourged and killed, was alive and well - very well - though he still had the holes in his hands from the nails and the hole in his side where a spear had shoved into him to make sure he was dead. He talked with them, they embraced him, they felt him, they ate with him. He'd come and go as he pleased over the next several weeks. Finally, having done what he'd set out to do, he was taken away in a "cloud"... probably a description of what appeared to be a blindingly bright light.
Because of that Sunday when Jesus was first seen alive after being killed, we now have Good Friday. Why is Friday "Good"?
It is no coincidence that Jesus was executed during the Passover season (the Last Supper was a Passover Seder). Many years before, when the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, there was a night when they slaughtered lambs "without defect" and placed the blood of a lamb on their doorways. Overnight, when the Lord passed through Egypt with righteous judgment, the firstborn of every household was struck down - but the Lord "passed over" the homes with the blood. The Jews were subsequently freed from their slavery.
ohn the Baptist referred to Jesus as "the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus was the ultimate Passover Lamb "without defect" who shed his blood to free all of us from our enslavement to sin. That Friday was Good because it is the day that our sins against God were paid for... by someone other than us!
But that Sunday...
We've all dealt with death in our lives. We've all had loved ones that have died. Thousands of years of recorded history tell us that dead people stay dead.
Yet this miracle-working carpenter was seen alive after his death. People touched him, talked with him, ate with him. They stuck their fingers in his wounds.
Being modern people, we are understandably skeptical of this. We don't have video proof. But what we do have is history, and the testimony of those who were there. Good Friday had left the followers of Jesus afraid and feeling defeated. They had shown themselves to be cowardly, and their leader was dead.
If Easter (Resurrection) Sunday did not happen, how did such people go on to change the world? Unless they actually encountered a resurrected Jesus, these people would have no reason to face ostracism and martyrdom to proclaim that resurrection and spread the teachings of Jesus. It is easy to deny the truth to save your life. Would people be willing to give up everything they had and die for something they knew to be a lie? No way!
So what does this all mean for me today? It means that I have a way to be right with God, because even though I have done things against Him, Good Friday was the day that those sins were paid for. I am forgiven. I also have someone who is my friend, my advocate, someone who knows what it is like to live life on Earth and knows what it is like to feel pain, suffer loss, and to die. And that Someone has promised me that if I follow Him, everything will be okay. Death is not the end. He has conquered death, and someday death, pain, and sorrow will be taken away from me. He has backed up His "blasphemous claims" with action, showing them not to be blasphemous at all.
He doesn't want me to cut the heads off of people just because they don't believe in Him. He doesn't want me to fly airliners into skyscrapers to kill people going about their lives. He wants me to do things like love others and take care of the needs of others. This is why so many have built hospitals, universities, and charities in His name.
It isn't about going to church regularly. It isn't about trying to convince people that my life is perfect. It isn't about making sure I can retire wealthy. It isn't about getting everyone else to see things the way I do. It isn't even about keeping a checklist of rules and sticking to that checklist. It isn't about "getting it right" on my own before I can approach God, because that will never happen.
It IS about having a peace with God, knowing that He forgives the horrible things I've done and may yet still do if I simply ask Him to. It is about having fellowship with that Nazarene who rose from the grave and still lives, because He deserves my allegiance and because He did life right.
There are people who believe that everything is an accident, a series of extremely unlikely coincidences. Sunsets. Surf. Waterfalls. Roses. Redwood trees. Chocolate. Wine. Galaxies. Eagles. Puppies. Kittens. Sex. Newborn babies. Those are all accidents? I don't think so. All of the complexity in the cells of our own bodies, all of the symbiotic systems of the natural world, where organisms depend on each other for survival. Those all "just happened"? I don't think so. The world is beautiful and amazing, and it is not accidental or inconsequential that a Jew who was without sin and claimed to be God suffered and died at Passover and then rose from the dead.
Yes, there is something broken about the world, as evidenced by all of the suffering. But the fix is in. The victory was demonstrated almost 2000 years ago. I can't ignore that. That has to have an impact in my life, how I view life, and how I live life. My Lord humbled Himself, suffered and died for me. And then, He beat death, and someday, He's going to kick death - and its parent, sin - down the stairs, and shut the door on them. The world won't be broken anymore. I can't know everything about what the future will bring, but as long as I'm holding on to Him, I'll be in the best company there is. And since I love Him, as long as I'm around, I should seek to love others, meet their needs, and follow His lead.
May you have a Joyous Resurrection Sunday.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
I Am a Sinner
I invoke the Bible, moral standards, etc. in some of my writing here. I often describe ideals, or the way things should be. Never do I mean to imply that I haven't messed up big time at different times in my life. The Bible calls followers of Christ to the holiness of God.
The thing is - nobody but Jesus has maintained that level of holiness as a human being. I sin.
Is the solution to reject moral standards, and call whatever I do right, and even fight to change laws that discourage or punish things I do that are wrong?
No.
The solution was provided by Jesus - living the perfect life and dying on the cross for my sins. Through Him, I am forgiven, and I can turn to Him whenever I go astray… tell Him I'm sorry, and ask for His help to get me back on track and to keep me from straying again.
So when I blog about some decline or deficit in society, I'm not excluding myself from that. I do screw up. But I will do my best not to allow that to prevent me from calling for right and denouncing what is wrong.
Do I think everything that is wrong should be illegal? No way. On the flip side, though, I am reluctant to agree that people have a right that should be protected by law to do what is wrong.
Would I like to see everyone follow Jesus? Yes. But using government force to attempt to bring that about is not an option. Government-forced Christianity is an oxymoron. Nor do I think that people should be punished by the government for not being Christian. A truly Christian nation will protect the freedom of religion that is expressed in our First Amendment. So long as your religion does not promote actions that violate the rights of others, you should be free to practice it.
If you know you are a sinner and aren't assured of your standing before God, I invite you to read through a modern translation of the Bible - the Gospels, Romans, Hebrews are good books to start – and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He's defeated sin and death, and will transform your life. I still sin, which is why I titled this post "I Am a Sinner." But He has paid for my sins. All to Him I owe. I am His servant, and I can't think of a better Master to have.
The thing is - nobody but Jesus has maintained that level of holiness as a human being. I sin.
Is the solution to reject moral standards, and call whatever I do right, and even fight to change laws that discourage or punish things I do that are wrong?
No.
The solution was provided by Jesus - living the perfect life and dying on the cross for my sins. Through Him, I am forgiven, and I can turn to Him whenever I go astray… tell Him I'm sorry, and ask for His help to get me back on track and to keep me from straying again.
So when I blog about some decline or deficit in society, I'm not excluding myself from that. I do screw up. But I will do my best not to allow that to prevent me from calling for right and denouncing what is wrong.
Do I think everything that is wrong should be illegal? No way. On the flip side, though, I am reluctant to agree that people have a right that should be protected by law to do what is wrong.
Would I like to see everyone follow Jesus? Yes. But using government force to attempt to bring that about is not an option. Government-forced Christianity is an oxymoron. Nor do I think that people should be punished by the government for not being Christian. A truly Christian nation will protect the freedom of religion that is expressed in our First Amendment. So long as your religion does not promote actions that violate the rights of others, you should be free to practice it.
If you know you are a sinner and aren't assured of your standing before God, I invite you to read through a modern translation of the Bible - the Gospels, Romans, Hebrews are good books to start – and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He's defeated sin and death, and will transform your life. I still sin, which is why I titled this post "I Am a Sinner." But He has paid for my sins. All to Him I owe. I am His servant, and I can't think of a better Master to have.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Good Thing About Good Friday
Unless you are living under sharia law and are kept ignorant of such matters, you know that this is the weekend during which Christians especially commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The books of the Bible claim that that both of these events were historical events - that they actually happened.
If both of these events did actually happen, then they are the most significant events in all of history.
The resurrection of Jesus is not a mere resuscitation of a man destined to later die and decompose, but rather a restoration of life to His dead body and a transformation into a glorified state in which He will never die again - eternal life. He is the first and so far only human being to resurrect to eternal life.
It was the resurrection of Jesus that confirmed the significance of His crucifixion. As C.S. Lewis put forth, Jesus was either "a liar, a lunatic, or Lord". Since then, "legend", as in never having existed, has been added to the "possible" choices by the academics and philosophers who seriously discuss these matters. The assertion that the Jesus of the Bible never really existed requires ignoring or "explaining away" quite a bit beyond just the books of the Bible, it also requires a discounting of the non-Christian references to Jesus in Roman, Jewish, and Gnostic writings, and an alternate explanation for the emergence of a sect of Judaism into the Christian church.
Over the years, people have tried to explain away the resurrection, attacking it as impossible (as if they have ultimate knowledge that God can't ever have performed miracles), a hoax, or a legend.
Hoax theories have included such claims as "Jesus didn’t really die on the cross, he merely passed out", "the disciples stole his body", and "Jesus had an identical twin" to "explain away" the basic documented facts of the death of Jesus on the cross, the empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus alive after the crucifixion, and the rise of early Christianity among a group of Jews.
But for it to be a hoax, it would have been a hoax perpetrated by a powerless group of ordinary people who then maintained the secret of the hoax in the face of hardship, persecution, and death. We've witnessed the willingness of people to die for what they believe to be true, but would a group of people be willing to die for what they knew to be lie, when they could save their skins by recanting? Plus, why didn't the non-Christian Jewish authorities ever record that Jesus had a twin? As for the "legend" theory of the resurrection, it requires an elaborate alternative explanation for how a group or ordinary Jewish people started Christianity in the first place and why they would do it in the face of opposition from the Jewish and Roman authorities.
I’m convinced that both events – the crucifixion and the resurrection - happened, and that changes everything. Jesus' resurrection proves Him to be Lord. It means that Jesus is Messiah, Christianity is true, Jesus is God, and Jesus is Savior, and all of us who follow Him have been forgiven of our sins and will fellowship with God, having eternal life.
Nothing could be more significant.
Have you asked Him to be your Lord and Savior? Have you cast your sins and burdens at His feet and bowed down before Him? It's the best decision you could ever make.
More on this can be found here:
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/resurrectionofchrist.html
If both of these events did actually happen, then they are the most significant events in all of history.
The resurrection of Jesus is not a mere resuscitation of a man destined to later die and decompose, but rather a restoration of life to His dead body and a transformation into a glorified state in which He will never die again - eternal life. He is the first and so far only human being to resurrect to eternal life.
It was the resurrection of Jesus that confirmed the significance of His crucifixion. As C.S. Lewis put forth, Jesus was either "a liar, a lunatic, or Lord". Since then, "legend", as in never having existed, has been added to the "possible" choices by the academics and philosophers who seriously discuss these matters. The assertion that the Jesus of the Bible never really existed requires ignoring or "explaining away" quite a bit beyond just the books of the Bible, it also requires a discounting of the non-Christian references to Jesus in Roman, Jewish, and Gnostic writings, and an alternate explanation for the emergence of a sect of Judaism into the Christian church.
Over the years, people have tried to explain away the resurrection, attacking it as impossible (as if they have ultimate knowledge that God can't ever have performed miracles), a hoax, or a legend.
Hoax theories have included such claims as "Jesus didn’t really die on the cross, he merely passed out", "the disciples stole his body", and "Jesus had an identical twin" to "explain away" the basic documented facts of the death of Jesus on the cross, the empty tomb, the appearances of Jesus alive after the crucifixion, and the rise of early Christianity among a group of Jews.
But for it to be a hoax, it would have been a hoax perpetrated by a powerless group of ordinary people who then maintained the secret of the hoax in the face of hardship, persecution, and death. We've witnessed the willingness of people to die for what they believe to be true, but would a group of people be willing to die for what they knew to be lie, when they could save their skins by recanting? Plus, why didn't the non-Christian Jewish authorities ever record that Jesus had a twin? As for the "legend" theory of the resurrection, it requires an elaborate alternative explanation for how a group or ordinary Jewish people started Christianity in the first place and why they would do it in the face of opposition from the Jewish and Roman authorities.
I’m convinced that both events – the crucifixion and the resurrection - happened, and that changes everything. Jesus' resurrection proves Him to be Lord. It means that Jesus is Messiah, Christianity is true, Jesus is God, and Jesus is Savior, and all of us who follow Him have been forgiven of our sins and will fellowship with God, having eternal life.
Nothing could be more significant.
Have you asked Him to be your Lord and Savior? Have you cast your sins and burdens at His feet and bowed down before Him? It's the best decision you could ever make.
More on this can be found here:
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/resurrectionofchrist.html
Thursday, April 21, 2011
DOMA Should Be Strongly Defended
The Los Angeles Times agrees. See what's up over at The Opine Editorials.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
When the Gender Confused Go to Prison
A murderer wants Californians to pay for his self-mutilation so he can be more effective in his make-believe role of being a woman and be transferred to a women's prison. He's not the only one. Jack Dolan has the story in the Los Angles Times, which insists on calling the man a woman.
The Los Angeles Times was the newspaper that enthusiastically supported a troubled sports writer they had on staff as he decided he wanted to pretend to be a woman. Despite the high-profile support, he ended up dropping that pretense (not uncommon), at least in part. Then, tragically, he killed himself. Maybe if his employer, which is involved in gender confusion advocacy, had insisted he get real psychological treatment, rather than reinforcing his self-destruction, he would still be alive. But did they even have that choice under California law?
As far as the prison system goes, it sounds like there are enough of these cases that perhaps they should have their own prison. And here's idea... how about, if you're taking hormones for this sort of things, you take extra special care to not commit crimes?
Stevens, 42, and her expert witnesses say that surgery is medically necessary, and that removal of her penis and testicles and transfer to a women's prison are the best way to protect her from rape and abuse by male inmates.Well, of course. If you're in a women's prison there is no chance of male inmates raping you – unless of course it is another male pretending to be a female. Expert witnesses are interesting in cases like this. I remember many "expert witnesses" that supported "recovered memories" of abuse that turned out to be bogus. Most abuse victim wish they could forget.
California law requires prison administrators to assign the state's nearly 162,000 inmates to men's or women's institutions based on "gender," which officials determine solely by a prisoner's genitals.Maybe they should ask if they prefer watching "The Bachelor" or mixed martial arts?
While confronting complaints and lawsuits by transgender inmates challenging their housing assignments during the mid-2000s, the California prison system commissioned a study by UC Irvine sociologists to help them understand the small, uniquely vulnerable population. The study found that 59% of transgender inmates said they had been raped or otherwise sexually assaulted behind bars, compared with 4.4% of the general prison population, lead researcher Valerie Jenness told the state Senate Public Safety Committee.What if other inmates claim that some other physical trait makes them a target? Should the taxpayer have to pay for their plastic surgery?
Despite those numbers, 59% of transgender inmates said they did not want to move to a women's institution.
The Los Angeles Times was the newspaper that enthusiastically supported a troubled sports writer they had on staff as he decided he wanted to pretend to be a woman. Despite the high-profile support, he ended up dropping that pretense (not uncommon), at least in part. Then, tragically, he killed himself. Maybe if his employer, which is involved in gender confusion advocacy, had insisted he get real psychological treatment, rather than reinforcing his self-destruction, he would still be alive. But did they even have that choice under California law?
As far as the prison system goes, it sounds like there are enough of these cases that perhaps they should have their own prison. And here's idea... how about, if you're taking hormones for this sort of things, you take extra special care to not commit crimes?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Handy Dandy Marriage Neutering Plea Repellant
I have posted my Handy Dandy Marriage Neutering Plea Repellant on this page.
Monday, April 18, 2011
We Need to Neuter Marriage
We need to neuter marriage nationwide so that Louisiana will be forced to issue birth certificates that include both partners in same-sex couples that adopt children in Louisiana. So says a Los Angeles newspaper.
Going Dutch
Activist Boris O. Dittrich, the first openly homosexual member of the Netherlands parliament, wrote a piece in the Los Angeles Times to pat himself on the back for neutering marriage ten years ago.
My analysis is over at The Opine Editorials.
My analysis is over at The Opine Editorials.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Wage Gap
As I've pointed out before, the "wage gap" between the sexes that shows a disadvantage for women might be handy for Obama and Leftist feministas to whine about, but like a feminista, it can't stand close scrutiny. Now there's evidence that men are actually the disadvantaged ones. Will Obama say anything about this? Carrie Lukas reported in the Wall Street Journal:
All of this has long been known to anyone who bothered to look into it. But here comes the new information:
The unemployment rate is consistently higher among men than among women. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 9.3% of men over the age of 16 are currently out of work. The figure for women is 8.3%.Yes, the recession hit men harder than women.
Men have been hit harder by this recession because they tend to work in fields like construction, manufacturing and trucking, which are disproportionately affected by bad economic conditions. Women cluster in more insulated occupations, such as teaching, health care and service industries.Feministas are not known for their consistent logic.
Yet if you can accept that the job choices of men and women lead to different unemployment rates, then you shouldn't be surprised by other differences—like differences in average pay.
The Department of Labor's Time Use survey shows that full-time working women spend an average of 8.01 hours per day on the job, compared to 8.75 hours for full-time working men. One would expect that someone who works 9% more would also earn more. This one fact alone accounts for more than a third of the wage gap.
Choice of occupation also plays an important role in earnings. While feminists suggest that women are coerced into lower-paying job sectors, most women know that something else is often at work. Women gravitate toward jobs with fewer risks, more comfortable conditions, regular hours, more personal fulfillment and greater flexibility. Simply put, many women-not all, but enough to have a big impact on the statistics-are willing to trade higher pay for other desirable job characteristics.
Men, by contrast, often take on jobs that involve physical labor, outdoor work, overnight shifts and dangerous conditions (which is also why men suffer the overwhelming majority of injuries and deaths at the workplace). They put up with these unpleasant factors so that they can earn more.
All of this has long been known to anyone who bothered to look into it. But here comes the new information:
Recent studies have shown that the wage gap shrinks—or even reverses—when relevant factors are taken into account and comparisons are made between men and women in similar circumstances. In a 2010 study of single, childless urban workers between the ages of 22 and 30, the research firm Reach Advisors found that women earned an average of 8% more than their male counterparts. Given that women are outpacing men in educational attainment, and that our economy is increasingly geared toward knowledge-based jobs, it makes sense that women's earnings are going up compared to men's.Where is the outrage?
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Possible New Twist in Prop 8 Saga
There is now legitimate public reason why Judge Walker should have recused himself from the initial federal trial over California Proposition 8. Read about it over at The Opine Editorials.
Personal Declaration
I believe...
- The best system of government possible in today’s world is one described in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence - a sovereign democratic representative republic uniting individual states in a system of limited government comprised of three branches that have a separation of powers with checks and balances over each other; a union of laws, not of men.
- The Constitution, as amended, tells the federal government what it can do rather than listing all of the things it can’t do; absent a Constitutional mandate, the federal government should not act.
- Courts, including the Supreme Court, should be directed by law. When a law conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution overrides the law.
- Rights are something with which we are born, not granted by government. These rights do not obligate others without their consent unless a crime has been committed. The government exists to protect rights from being trampled upon by others (fraud/theft, assault, etc.), but when government isn’t limited, it becomes an entity that violates rights.
- Each human being has these rights, has inherent worth, and has something to offer other human beings.
- As much as possible, government should treat people equally, including treating people who do the same things in the same way. Not everyone will exercise their rights in the same way, to the same result; it isn’t the function of government to correct this.
- Whenever possible and rights are not violated, voluntary use of personal property/resources, expressions, efforts, and transactions should be allowed without any government restriction. It is these things, including private charity, that will meet the needs and desires of the most people in the most efficient way possible. This also rewards and encourages innovation, ambition, calculated risk, and merit. Whenever this is not possible, limited local government involvement, such as county, city, or special district, is preferable to state involvement; in turn, limited state involvement is preferable to federal involvement.
- It is immoral and counterproductive for the government to take money by force from one person or group of people and give it another unless the recipient is performing a Constitutionally assigned function or the function is otherwise a Constitutional mandate.
- It is unkind in immoral to encourage individuals to be financially dependent on government.
- It is preferable that laws and government procedures be changed through the legislative process, including amending the Constitution, rather than through a court decision.
- As individuals, we have a moral obligation to: 1) Be good stewards of what we own/have.[1] 2) Engage in prudent charity.[1] 3) Respect the rights of others.[2]
- The default state of the world is selfishness, despotism, nepotism, and corruption, resulting in poverty, war, crime, oppression, and double standards. The USA only avoids or minimizes these things by vigilant adherence to our principles, though there will still be problems. Societal perfection is not possible through mere enlightenment or technological advancement.
- Forget nor minimize the accomplishments and contributions of government employees, even in instances where I maintain that private efforts could have achieved the same or better results.
- Dislike anyone, nor presume to know anything about them based on their sex, age, disability, race, skin color, ethnicity, national origin, language, socioeconomic status, creed, religion, sexual orientation, citizenship status, marital status, parental status , or weight – except for the inherently obvious (example: I know someone who was born in Egypt was born in Egypt). I think people who dismiss or attack or exclude anyone based on these criteria, aside from the practical[3] are being evil.[4]
- Deny that the rich will have more for themselves and more influence, but that will be true in any system; free markets, which are only possible under limited government, are the best system for allowing the most people to improve their own economic status. There are many examples of minorities who have come to our country with nothing and have obtained a middle class or wealthy lifestyle, or have provided a foundation for their children to do so. Many of today’s poor will not be poor in the future, especially if they avoid crime, substance abuse, and raising children out of wedlock. The more we centralize power in the federal government, the easier it will be for the rich to manipulate the system to their advantage at the expense of others.[5]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)