I have a great deal of respect for John Piper. Which reminds me of a post I was going to write about all the sermons we listened to on the road in New Zealand. I’ll get to that one day.
John Piper is the “preaching pastor” of a wildly successful evangelical church in the US. He gives very few interviews. He’s old(ish) and seems pretty humble, passionate and level headed. He recently did do an interview online and here’s a great tip for keeping track of important bits from books. Create your own index. Piper doesn’t reread anything – but here’s how he keeps track of ideas:
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
“I index books as I read them, by writing short notes in the front of the book with page numbers beside them. In a good book there may be over a hundred such notes.”
This guy’s series of photos on Flickr made it to Digg and This is Why You’re Fat… The popularity of this concept – a deep fried peanut buttered, cookie dough covered brownie ball – perhaps demonstrating once and for all why America has an obesity problem. I guess this is where my toasted mars bar sandwich concept fails. It’s not deep fried.
The bidding war for Luke Skywalker continues to rage. At the moment it’ll only set you back $3.76.
It is attracting some important questions from ebay user Bluesky_Mike. I have two theories for the identity of Bluesky_Mike based on some revealing previous purchases. I have one friend named Mike who is a VirginBlue employee and a Parramatta Eels fan, I have another friend named Mike who is also a Parramatta Eels fan. Bluesky_Mike purchased some Boeing memorabilia and a retro Eels Jersey so my money is on the first candidate.
Here are some important questions you may want/need answered if considering a purchase:
| Q: | Is ok for a grown man to make the lightsabre “woosh” with this figurine? | 12-Feb-09 |
| A: | I would think it’s always ok for a grown man to make the lightsabre “woosh”. I’m not sure the figurine is required for that. It will however help you figure out the best grip and stance for your lightsabre bouts. But be careful, making the lightsaber “woosh” at inappropriate times can have serious consequences. I would recommend warning people prior to “wooshing” in order to minimise the effect. | |
| Q: | After the purchase of this item, can I change my name to be known as Luke Skywalker? | 12-Feb-09 |
| A: | You can do that before you purchase the item. A quick trip to court and a small fee and you’d be set. However, I suggest purchasing the item is a good way to help start your new life as Mr Skywalker. The figurine provides an essential guide to dressing like a Jedi and Jedi posture. | |
| Q: | Just enquiring about local pickup?? | 11-Feb-09 |
| A: | As I said above – local pickup can be arranged. There is a tax on people who ask the same question twice. | |
| Q: | Will I become a Jedi if I buy this item? | 11-Feb-09 |
| A: | I can’t really answer that question – except to say that you almost definitely won’t become a Jedi if you don’t buy this item. Purchasing for an exorbitant price and placing it on your mantel piece as something to aspire to will no doubt take you small steps closer to your Jedi dream. Failing that you can tick “Jedi” on the next Australian census and your dreams will become a reality. You should still definitely buy it though. It will be a useful token of your progress to fully fledged Jediism – and a real seal of authenticity to ratify your quest. Thankyou for your question. I look forward to doing business with you. I will be selling more of my unopened Star Wars collection in coming days. Stay tuned. May the Force be somewhat closer to you. | |
| Q: | Does it include “The Force”? | 11-Feb-09 |
| A: | No, the Force will cost extra. Please contact me upon completion of the auction to negotiate a rate. Being trained in use of the Force requires licensing and registration of your mind as a weapon under Australian law. Please check with your state’s criminal code to see if you can actually engage in this training in your home state. | |
| Q: | Just enquiring about local pickup?? | 11-Feb-09 |
| A: | Local pick up is available. |
While the green movement are trying not to jump up and down screaming “I told you so” when it comes to climate change and the fires/floods covering parts of Australia at the moment, and the loony “Christian” fringe is out blaming abortion laws, the right wing of the Australian media is lining up its ducks and preemptively declaring it open season on the green argument.
Arch conservative Herald columnist Miranda Devine – the paper’s attempt at providing “balanced” coverage – has weighed into the debate early. Blaming the green movement for the fires. I’m unsympathetic to anyone trying to advance their ideologies on the basis of tragedy. And giving air to this just “fans that flame” so to speak. Perhaps a poor choice of words…
The Herald ran this story alongside a piece on a resident who became an environmental vandal hero – after illegally clearing trees on his property to create a firebreak. Perhaps the Fairfax group has decided inflicting “earth hour” upon the whole world wasn’t enough to give their environmental credentials any credibility next to News Ltd’s “One degree” committment. Maybe they’ve decided to throw out the centre left contingency and pitch to the Telegraph’s established right wing core… but here’s some of what Miss Devine had to say (readers from Townsville should note that she’s the columnist who said people who live in the tropics shouldn’t get cyclone aid because of their choice to live in a cyclone zone)… She’s shaping up as the Germaine Greer of the right (funnily enough she’d consider Greer as a nemesis in the true sense of the word).
“It was the power of green ideology over government to oppose attempts to reduce fuel hazards before a megafire erupts, and which prevents landholders from clearing vegetation to protect themselves.
So many people need not have died so horribly. The warnings have been there for a decade. If politicians are intent on whipping up a lynch mob to divert attention from their own culpability, it is not arsonists who should be hanging from lamp-posts but greenies.
Governments appeasing the green beast have ignored numerous state and federal bushfire inquiries over the past decade, almost all of which have recommended increasing the practice of “prescribed burning”. Also known as “hazard reduction”, it is a methodical regime of burning off flammable ground cover in cooler months, in a controlled fashion, so it does not fuel the inevitable summer bushfires.”
Scarily, Devine actually makes a bit of sense regarding what is a stupid green policy. It’s just not the right time to be launching ideologically motivated political attacks.
I’ve just, for reasons unknown, read an article by Dawkins that made me angry. Dawkins on “Atheists for Jesus”. Dawkins is a tool. Probably a tool of Satan. But really, a tool in the urbandictionary (language warning if you follow that link) sense of the word.
Dawkins is trying to claim Jesus for atheism the same way the homosexual lobby claimed the pejorative “queer” as a label.
He’s reinterpreting everything Jesus had to say about God as just the “cultural norm”. Jesus was apparently a radical who only spoke about God because that was the done thing. Dawkin’s relies on biblical accounts of Jesus’ teaching for his argument – but no doubt dismisses the accounts of his trial, where he was essentially killed for believing that he was God. This is postmodern deconstructionism gone bonkers. Well, it was crazy to begin with. But this is ridiculous.
“I think we owe Jesus the honour of separating his genuinely original and radical ethics from the supernatural nonsense which he inevitably espoused as a man of his time.”
Umm. What?
He basically wants to adopt Jesus because having lots of people acting like Jesus would be good for society. Except of course for the parts where Jesus claims to be God… but of course, those were just the bits where Jesus was being crazy because of the culture he lived in… WHAT? I think if you separate out all the supernatural bits about Jesus you’re left with a guy who’s not very radical at all. He’s a carpenter who hangs out with fishermen and prostitutes. Jesus without a divine aspect is not even an impressive moral teacher.
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7) which is arguably Jesus’ most admired speech from a secular standpoint (it regularly makes the “best speeches of all time” lists… is pretty rubbish if you remove all the bits that refer to God.
For example if you took out every bit that could be seen to refer to the actions of God, the beatitudes would be reduced to:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
That’s a lot of “blessed” people with no actual “blessing”
And that famous bit about loving your enemies without any reference to God, well, that’s a real moral imperative…
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“
Taking the God bits out of Jesus’ message leaves us all wanting to be pagan tax collectors – hardly the Utopian society Dawkins is pushing for with his piece of rabid (ill)logic.
The discussion is continuing on my take on “Disaster Reporting” – which is no longer on the front page. It’s reminded me of an assignment I wrote in my final Journalism subject at uni. It was about objectivity and the state of modern journalism.
“In a sense the intellectual argument for objectivity has been effectively killed by post modernity. Any coverage of an event is “objective,” so long as the writer presents their view of the facts. A wider, purer form of objectivity is important at an organisational level. The media should represent the public at large, this means representing the diverse range of views and opinions on any issue.”
“The pursuit of objectivity has damaged journalism’s claim to a professional status. If journalistic practice is simply a paint-by-numbers process, trained journalists are a surplus to requirements. For journalism to be considered anything more than formulaic, and for the press to uphold its essential role in the democratic process, stories must move past the superficial and engage the intellect.”
Here's what has excited me from the blogosphere today.
Interesting little piece on how moral atheists are a step closer to Christianity than they think. Given that they ask the same questions that Christians do… salient point from the piece:brthere is a protest atheism which wrestles with God as Job did, and for the sake of the suffering of created beings which cries out to high heaven denies that there is a just God who rules the world in love. This atheism is profoundly theological, for the theodicy question — “If there is a good God, why all this evil?” — is also the fundamental question of every Christian theology which takes seriously the dying Christ’s question to God: “My God, why have you forsaken me?
Interesting, but pretty long, piece on the Amish.
Since my last segway post. So here you go – Segway sledding…posted here, and here (ugly, ugly site).
Here's what has excited me from the blogosphere today.
Pretty cool. Especially the fruit one.
Just in case anyone was wondering…
Last week I posted David After Dentist – the YouTube video of a drug addled child taking the world by storm. I questioned whether David will grow up to resent his father for posting this video online at the time… it seems he’ll have company in the parent hating club from the stars of these other four YouTube hits. There’s a language warning on this page though folks.
Ultimate convergence device? No. Stupid. Yes.
Last week we learned what it would cost to build the Death Star (or was it something from Star Trek?). Now we learn what it would cost to run. And you say I’ve got too much time on my hands…
Nothing you can’t do yourself with Photoshop or GIMP – but still a useful webapp.
I guess that’s why it’s called fiction is it not?
I’ve often mentioned my love for ninjas. This site just got more awesome thanks to “ninjafy”. You may notice a little button in the column on the left that says “ninjafy”… press it. I dare you. Be warned – ninjas are coming at you.
Is there anything that could make this site more awesome? I doubt it. The more times you press it the more ninjas you get.
You know what gets my goat. People who blame “mother nature” for things like massive bushfires and floods.
How come “mother nature” is allowed to be evil and nasty and yet atheists and other anti-Christian philosophers say their big problem with the Christian God is that an “all loving, benevolent God” would not allow suffering.
Other thoughts:
I don’t know where the idea of God being “all loving” is – I think he’s holy and righteously angry as well. It’s in the bible people.
Fires and floods don’t seem to be particularly “motherly” unless you’re a really nasty parent.
Why is it “more rational” to attribute this sort of disaster to “mother nature” than to God? I confess I don’t see “mother nature” out there trying to find followers.
If there’s one thing that annoys me more than Christians trying to piggyback their causes cynically on the back of a disaster it’s hippies doing the same. If I hear one more hippy claiming that these fires are proof that we need more stringent carbon targets I will scream. My thoughts on climate change not withstanding the idea that Australia, a piddling island nation in the scheme of things, has much influence on the climate anyway is ridiculous. And calling for something that will cost Australian jobs while people are struggling with massive loss of life and a looming recession is not very sensitive. It could be political suicide though. On second thoughts. Go for it Greens. And invoke “mother nature” as you do it.
For the next 10 days you’ll probably be subjected to my relentless shilling of the Luke Skywalker figurine I’m selling on eBay. It has one bid people. One bid. Get in now to avoid disappointment. It’s a deal. It’s a steal. It’s the sale of the century.
Once upon a time Nathan and Craig went garage sailing (with their wives and Chris). They even blogged about it on the road. All the other people bought boring things. Like candles. Nathan and Craig bought a very awesome set of Star Wars figurines that they’d like you to have. Or buy.
The first one is up for sale on ebay now. It’s Luke Skywalker. And he’s awesome. He has a lightsaber. Buy it here. You have 10 days from today. Bid early and bid often. We’re testing the waters with this one. There’ll be more to come.
Interesting piece in the SMH on Darwin and limitations of Darwinism/new atheism as a worldview by Charles Sturt University Theology Lecturer Tom Frame. Highlight:
“Even his [Dawkin’s] much-publicised atheism lacks commitment and courage. It is a cultural preference rather than a philosophical conviction. Nietzsche and Camus believed the death of God would be revolutionary and terrifying. Jean-Paul Sartre said “atheism is a cruel and long-range affair”. All that Dawkins can offer is a revival of old-fashioned secular humanism, whose hopes and aspirations are summarised in John Lennon’s insipid 1971 composition Imagine.”
And arch-conservative Andrew Bolt on the unfortunate statement from Catch the Fire Ministries. Highlight – the whole string of comments showing why this isn’t a case of being seasoned with salt and loving non-believers.