I love to review and read about both evolution and creation. I believe they both have scientific qualities and both have the problem of being labeled as “absolute truth.”

Evolutionists have it somewhat backwards because their “scientific dialogue” suggests all of their findings on things we cannot observe, test, or repeat; like the origins of life or the universe. Therefore, it is entirely left up to a set of assumptions that says: Either there is a God who did all this, or there is not. Evolutionists have chosen that there is no God, and so all of their predictions concerning the past are based on un-provable assumptions.

Evidence does not speak for itself, and therefore must be interpreted. It’s like a homicide really; detectives have the “evidence” and proceed to make assumptions. The difference between detectives and evolutionists is detectives have people to investigate to find the truth and evolutionists must accept their un-provable conclusions solely by faith, until they find more evidence.

Interesting…. Evolutionists accept their “beliefs” by faith.

And then, there are the creationists.
A gentleman by the name of Mr. Ham has recently opened a creationism museum.

The point of the museum is to teach the “correct” way of thinking solely based on biblical teaching. So a book that was written WAY after the concept of words, letters and writing explains to us what occurred when God did it all. There is a verse in the bible that talks about a “large monster” and that has been interpriated as “the dinosaurs roamed with the people.”

Personally, the creation of the planet (the correct creation) means nothing to me. If Mr. Ham and his friends look down at their WWJD bracelet and decide that $27 million is best spent building this type of museum, that’s their choice. I would think there may be better uses that fall along the lines of the teachings of Jesus.
What I can’t understand is why these fundamental Christians feel a need to “prove” to those around them that their way of thinking is correct…isn’t the whole idea of “having faith” not needing proof?

Sheehan, who once protested outside of President Bushes ranch for 26 days straight writes in her on-line journal….

“Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives. It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most.”

It’s sad to believe that we live in a time when we know more about our favorite TV- celebrities, sport stats and up coming reality shows than we do about the countries around us and the impact of our actions on a global scale.

This is truly a sad day.

Facebook (if you haven’t heard) is the new phenomena. It’s writing our individual and community history. It’s not just our cultures history being recorded anymore about dates of wars and influential people; this is everyone’s life on display (with no privacy) out in the open.

History today is patchy. I never met two of my Grandparents and to be honest, I don’t even think I could identify them with the few pictures that remain. Going back further of course, I know nothing of my parents Grandparents. They could have been Chinese and African American for all I know.

Our future it appears will be unforgettable; categorized, numbered and easily searchable by date, location and event. And worst/best of all – we provide this information freely and without caution (I am the worst for it – hence you reading this blog).
Look at Facebook; you can Chart the relationships and interactions between everyone and their friends, view events they attend and of course, the pictures of the “good times” everyone had at that event. What happened that night? Just check the comments people left. We are writing our communities history online.

We will be able to know everyone who’s ever lived since the dawn of history — or at least, the dawn of the new kind of history that has just been born this century.

I expect to live long enough to be lifelogging (that’s a futuristic term you will hear more and more about in regards to recording your ENTIRE life – what you see, what you say, what your heart rate is, etc) my first thirty or forty years will be very poorly documented; mere gigabytes of text and audio to document decades of my experiences. What I can be fairly sure of is that our descendants’ relationship with their history is going to be very different from our own, because they will be able to see it with a level of depth and clarity that nobody has ever experienced before.

My Grandkids will know most of my doings from 21 and on. I have kept a patchy record of my life online and public online for 2 years. This information will still be readily available in 50 years; all of my pictures and all of my writings.

Imagine what your Grandkids will be recording in 50 years voluntarily and mandatory? The futures history looks entirely alien to our own.

I think a major issue my generation will encounter will be the art of cooking. Have you ever noticed that your Grandparents are AMAZING cooks, your parents have a few good dishes (done VERY well) and you…. well you wouldn’t know baking soda from sugar.

I could sit her and ramble on and on (like usual) about how our society is so caught up with themselves that they have forget the importance of slowing down, inviting family and friends over and savoring a well cooked (and nutritious meal) together.

Instead of the complaining and rambling I’ll just give you this AWESOME link about Grandmas giving recipes in text and video (for you non-reading types) on SO many great and nutritious meals.

Gotta love Grandmas!

Joe Manafo is the pastor of the church theStory that I attend.

He just wrote a blog where he talks about money in the new economy.
I enjoyed these lines:

Joe “may we come to terms with that the former infrastructure on which we once depended has just about expired.”

As if no one has noticed that all of these old church buildings are being attended less and less and their utility tax is going up and up. It appears there is a crisis occurring. Fewer people are attending church in huge budget, Sunday use buildings.

Why is this? Is it because less people are committed to the faith or is that more people have figured out that their finances are funding a new pastor here, gardener there, sound system this, new pews that.
People went to church in need of a savoir and it appears the church was in need of wallets. It almost worked.

Today, it appears, people have lost faith in the church and some, instead of digging deep and asking the important questions about their faith, have settled for building up their own empires.

As I float around the Christian sect (just a little longer) I am noticing a change. People are asking those important questions and settling less for the “fluff” that once filled their previous church establishments. Less focus on the programs, sound systems, existence of a building and more focus on community and investment in each other.

This “new” church it appears LOOKS entirely different from the present.

Joe: “may we steward our finances in truly biblical manner.”

Seriously. Meeting needs. And how do you meet a need; by knowing the situation and persons involved.

Joe: “may we give freely, without hesitation as the Spirit give opportunity.”

When we start placing returns of interest into the people and things we invest in, we lose site of the actual intent of assistance in the first place.
Investing in people isn’t about profit return, and most of the time you will invest at a loss. Being afraid to lose and not gain shouldn’t be our worry. Investment in people is messy, long, frustrating, not ethically smart and some times dangerous. I can’t wait!

My violin lesion was cut short yesterday as I stopped mid note and asked the question “other than to “help out,” why on earth are you going to Africa?”

My violin teacher is leaving this fall on missions to Africa. For those readers that don’t know what missions are, it’s a group of people or one person sent to a foreign land by a religious organization (usually a Christian organization) to spread its faith or provide educational, medical, and other assistance.
I wouldn’t call it a mission trip because she is going for 2 years. She is pretty much becoming a citizen.

One of her biggest reasons for leaving she said is to escape consumerism, which, I can’t blame her for. Our country is a land where even the most dire in need have it 10 times better than most in third world countries.

It’s interesting; our country has so much, others have so little. Why?

I am sure some historian or economist could rattle off to me all the implications that led us to where we are financially but many people believe that God has provided this lavish life that we have. Because we follow God (the correct God) he, in return, has blessed us.

Did He? I would like to think no, at least to a certain extent.

Our county isn’t as blessed as much as it is profitable. We know how to make money.

Let me just throw this thought out there and you can eat me up later about it. I don’t know if I agree with this, yet, I’m just thinking aloud.

North Americans had their internal wars, their slavery and their rebellions. In the end, the outcome was to work together. People found (or were forced to believe) it better to suppress their rights, thoughts and beliefs in order to work together. In order to become “free” they traded in their freedom. They unified…. Unified in…. God?

Looking at other areas in the world, you don’t see this. People are living closely together, believing in different gods, having different opinions, different views and different morals. All of these streams are not willing to mainstream for the better of their nation.
Their gods give them the right and the authority to act out.

The end result? Wars, rebellions, murders, chaos…….. freedom?

In the early Christian church, thinking differently and expressing those differences was encouraged, even if death was the outcome for their actions.
The church grew the most when persecuted.

So what’s better? A country working together for the benefit of themselves to obtain more wealth and in the meantime sacrificing their freedoms (and undermining everyone else around them) or living in a world of chaos, speaking up for your beliefs and preparing to die to voice it?

Who is freer?

Here are some of my thoughts with our obsession with Celebrities.

Joe Manafo writes his thoughts on “the new economy”

The Top Ten Myths of Divorce

A (fake) leaked email costs Mac 4 billion in 6 minutes.

It’s so easy a baby could do it. Obtain a gun permit that is.

Borat and Martha Stewart on the Tonight Show.