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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

War on Christmas

In the United States there is a controversy raging over whether or not there is a conscious attempt being made by some to suppress Christianity. There is a war on Christianity. There is not a war on Christianity. Progressives and /or liberals insist that Christian claims of cultural persecution are merely paranoia. Conservative Christians point out the banning of public religious displays, the silencing and even shunning of Christian voices on university campuses, and the fact that Christians are rarely portrayed in a positive light in the popular media.

There is currently a legal challenge from the Madison, Wisconsin based Freedom from Religion Foundation against a public nativity scene on town property in tiny Rainbow City, Alabama (2010 census population 9602). The two locations are separated by 825 miles (1328 kilometers). The foundation seems to think that any public display of religion is dangerous and threatening. They call their challenge part of the "critical work to promote non-theism and defend the constitutional separation between religion and government." They charge that the views of the religious are being imposed on others who do not share those views. They fail to understand or to acknowledge that what they themselves are doing is the imposition of their own values upon others.

A Google Search of "War on Christianity"on 14 December 2014 pulled up 11,300,000 results.   A Google Search of "War on Christmas"on 14 December 2014 pulled up 149,000,000 results. Those who deny that a war is ongoing are often very derisive. Listen to these quotes from various internet sites:

"... the claims of religious persecution are laughable."
"... the intellectually atrophied..."
"... undereducated, white, rural, gun carrying, fat."

What do you think?

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Hello, Bosnia and Herzegovina!


Zdravo, Bosna i Hercegovina! Dobrodošli u grupu čitalaca 130-1 drugih zemalja koji također posjetiti ovaj blog. Nadam se da ćete naći neke od poruka korisne ili smislene.

The "Prevedi ovu stranicu" gadget neposredno iznad "Total Pageviews" Counter ima sposobnost prevođenje engleski tekst ovog bloga direktno u brojnim jezicima, uključujući i bosanski, hrvatski i srpski.


Stotinu i trideset prvoj zemalja: Albanije, Alžira, Angola, Antigua i Barbuda, Argentina, Armenija, Aruba, Australija, Austrija, Azerbejdžan, Bahrein, Bangladeš, Bjelorusija, Belgija, Belize, Bosna i Hercegovina, Bocvana, Brazil, Brunei, Bugarska, Burkina Faso, Kambodža, Kanada, Cayman Islands, Čile, Kina, Kolumbija, Kongo, Costa Rica, Hrvatska, Cipar, Češka, Danska, Dominikanska Republika, Ekvador, Egipat, El Salvador, Estonija, Etiopija, Finska, Francuska, Gruzija, Njemačka, Gabon, Gane, Grčke, Guam, Hong Kong, Mađarska, Island, Indija, Indonezija, Iran, Irak, Irska, Izrael, Italija, Obala Slonovače, Jamajka, Japan, Jordan, Kampuchea, Kazahstan, Kenija, Kuvajt, Kirgistan, Laos, Letonija, Libanon, Lesoto, Libija, Litva, Luksemburg, Macau, Makedonije, Madagaskar, Malezija, Mali, Malta, Meksiko, Moldavija, Mongolija, Maroko, Mianmar, Namibija, Nizozemska, Nova Kaledonija, Novi Zeland, Nigerija, Norveška, Pakistan, Panama, Paragvaj, Peru, Filipini, Poljska, Portugal, Katar, Reunion, Rumunjska, Rusija, Sveti Kristofor i Nevis, Saudijska Arabija, Senegal, Srbija, Singapur, Slovačka, Slovenija, Južna Afrika, Južna Koreja, Španjolska, Šri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Švedska, Švicarska, Tajvan, Tanzanija, Tajland, Trinidad i Tobago, Tunis, Turska, Uganda, Ukrajina, Ujedinjeni Arapski Emirati, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo, Sjedinjene Američke Države, Venezuela, Vijetnam, Jemen, Zimbabve.


Pozdrav, Bosna i Hercegovina! Dobrodošli u skupini čitatelja 130-1 drugih zemalja koji su također posjetili ovaj blog. Nadam se da ćete naći neke od postova korisno ili smisla.

"Prevedi ovu stranicu" gadget neposredno iznad "Ukupno Prikazi stranice" Counter ima mogućnost prevođenja na engleski tekst ovog bloga izravno u brojnim jezicima, uključujući i bosanski, hrvatski, i srpski.


Stotinu i trideset i jedan zemlje: Albanija, Alžir, Angola, Antigua i Barbuda, Argentina, Armenija, Aruba, Australija, Austrija, Azerbajdžan, Bahrein, Bangladeš, Bjelorusija, Belgija, Belize, Bosna i Hercegovina, Bocvana, Brazil, Brunei, Bugarska, Burkina Faso, Kambodža, Kanada, Kajmanski otoci, Čile, Kina, Kolumbija, Kongo, Costa Rica, Hrvatska, Cipar, Češka, Danska, Dominikanska Republika, Ekvador, Egipat, El Salvador, Estonija, Etiopija, Finska, Francuska, Gruzija, Njemačka, Gabon Gana, Grčka, Guam, Hong Kong, Mađarska, Island, Indija, Indonezija, Iran, Irak, Irska, Izrael, Italija, Obala Bjelokosti, Jamajka, Japan, Jordan, Kampuchea, Kazahstan, Kenija, Kuvajt, Kirgistan, Laos, Latvija, Libanon, Lesoto, Libija, Litva, Luksemburg, Macau, Makedonija, Madagaskar, Malezija, Mali, Malta, Meksiko, Moldavija, Mongolija, Maroko, Mianmar, Namibija, Nizozemska, Nova Kaledonija, Novi Zeland, Nigerija, Norveška, Pakistan, Panama, Paragvaj, Peru, Filipini, Poljska, Portugal, Katar, Reunion, Rumunjska, Rusija, Sveti Kristofor i Nevis, Saudijska Arabija, Senegal, Srbija, Singapur, Slovačka, Slovenija, Južna Afrika, Južna Koreja, Španjolska, Šri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Švedska, Švicarska, Tajvan, Tanzanija, Tajland, Trinidad i Tobago, Tunis, Turska, Uganda, Ukraine, Ujedinjeni Arapski Emirati, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo, Sjedinjene Američke Države, Venezuele, Vijetnam, Jemen, Zimbabve.


Здраво, Босна и Херцеговина! Добродошли у групу читалаца из стотину и тридесет и једној других земаља који такође посетити овај блог. Надам се да пронађете неке од порука корисна или немају смисла.

"Транслате тхис паге" гаџет директно изнад "Укупно приказа странице" Цоунтер има способност превођење на енглески текст овог блога директно на велики број језика, укључујући босанском, хрватском и српском језику.


Сто тридесет-један земаља: Албанија, Алжир, Ангола, Антигва и Барбуда, Аргентина, Јерменија, Аруба, Аустралија, Аустрија, Азербејџан, Бахреин, Бангладеш, Белорусија, Белгија, Белизе, Босна и Херцеговина, Боцвана, Бразил, Брунеј, Бугарска, Буркина Фасо, Камбоџа, Канада, Кајманска Острва, Чиле, Кина, Колумбија, Конго, Костарика, Хрватска, Кипар, Чешка, Данска, Доминиканска Република, Еквадор, Египат, Ел Салвадор, Естонија, Етиопија, Финска, Француска, Грузија, Немачка, Габон, Гана, Грчка, Гуам, Хонг Конг, Мађарска, Исланд, Индија, Индонезија, Иран, Ирак, Ирска, Израел, Италија, Обала Слоноваче, Јамајка, Јапан, Јордан, Кампуцхеа, Казахстан, Кенија, Кувајт, Киргистан, Лаос, Летонија, Либан, Лесото, Либија, Литванија, Луксембург, Макао, Македонија, Мадагаскар, Малезија, Мали, Малта, Мексико, Молдавија, Монголија, Мароко, Мијанмар, Намибија, Холандија, Нова Каледонија, Нови Зеланд, Нигерија, Норвешка, Пакистан, Панама, Парагвај, Перу, Филипини, Пољска, Португалија, Катар, Реунион, Румунија, Русија, Сент Китс и Невис, Саудијска Арабија, Сенегал, Србија, Сингапур, Словачка, Словенија, Јужна Африка, Јужна Кореја, Шпанија, Шри Ланка, Судан, Суринам, Шведска, Швајцарска, Тајван, Танзанија, Тајланд, Тринидад и Тобаго, Тунис, Турска, Уганда, Украјина, Уједињени Арапски Емирати, Велика Британија, Сједињене Америчке Државе, Венецуела, Вијетнам, Јемен, Зимбабве.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Amazing Grace Sung in the Lakota Language by Tiana Spotted Thunder


The Native American Lakota Tribe is more commonly known as the Sioux.  Some, but not all, consider the word "Sioux" to be an insult word (see the third link)..

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Does 12-13-14 Have Any Special Meaning?


I imagine that the numerologists are very busy today looking for arcane messages in today’s date, 13 December 2014. This date can be represented as 12-13-14.  This alignment of dates will not happen again for 100 years.  Surely it must have some cosmic significance! Personally, I think it is just a coincidental arrangement of numbers due to our current dating system.

When I noticed the 12-13-14 arrangement, I thought about the significance of numbers, especially in the Bible, which does use numbers as symbols. Think of the numbers 3, 7, 666, and 1000. Some people think that they see beyond the obvious symbolic use of numbers and that they can detect many numerological messages secretly embedded in the text by God. This is on the same order as belief in the controversial Torah Bible Codes.

The hidden messages which do exit in the Bible were of human origin. For instance, investigate ATBASH. An example occurs at Jeremiah 25:26. These messages were meant by the writers to obscure the true meaning from hostile governmental authorities who might read the texts. The idea is "to hide in plain sight." Also investigate the use of acrostics, an intentional literary form used by some of the Old Testament writers. Two examples of biblical acrostics occur at Proverbs 31:10-31 and Psalms 119.

I do not believe that the Bible is full of hidden supernatural messages. That is a pagan Gnostic idea. God inspired the writing of the various books of the Bible as a coherent whole and it is intended to be understood. It is a tool, a book of revelation about the nature of God, not a book of puzzles.

The Bible tells us that God is not a man and that His ways are not our ways. God is totally other, unknowable, and perfect.  He moves in the sub-atomic places and in the cosmic places. The Bible is part of God’s effort to make the utterly unknowable (Himself) understandable, at least partly, to our inadequate tiny little minds. Over and over we are told, “the Kingdom of God is like ….” I believe that God has used the entire Jewish religious and cultural system to explain what He is like. The entire Bible points toward Jesus, Who is the ultimate revelation of Who God is.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Junior, the French Bulldog Joins In


Junior, a French Bulldog, joins in as his owners sing along with the Josh Groban song, “You Raise Me Up.” The two men in the video are Emanuele Tiburzio and Walter Ledenmueller, who live in Köln, Germany.

Josh Groban, who has never publicly declared his current religious status , was raised as an Epicopalian.  His father converted from Judaism in order to marry Josh’s mother.  Groban has a large Christian following because of the inspirational nature of his songs and has sold over 20,000,000 albums in the last ten years.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Lord's Prayer in Klingon


Klingon (actually Tlhingan) is a fictional language created by the linguist Marc Okrand for the Klingon race of aliens featured in the numerous Star Trek movies and television series. The Klingons are an interplanetary race of fierce warriors who control the vast expanses of outer space claimed by the Klingon Empire.

Klingon has been built up into a full totally functional language with a written form, literature, plays, operas, translations of The Bible and the works of William Shakespeare, and even dictionaries. There are now estimated to be 50,000 to 100,000 people who are fluent in the language. Below is The Lord's Prayer in spoken Klingon.