A Question

What is the emergent church?

Have you had experiences with it/one?

What do you believe are the strengths/weaknesses, successes/failures, truths/lies of this movement?

I’m Busy

Before I left I scheduled articles from iPandora history…

…for next week.

Sorry.

I’m in Dallas working on preparations for the wedding, and I don’t know what kind of internet I’ll have over the next few days. It’s dial-up right now.

She’s marrying me for the high-speed.

So best wishes to all y’all in Bloggerville on this hot August beginning.

And to the rest of y’all, keep up to articles. I’ll be back a better man for having a mate.

www.MattLovesGrace.com

Small Gods

The Greek gods were capricious and entirely human in their emotional and mental contruction, with superhuman strength and ability.

The Romans gods were the Greek’s gods renamed.

The Muslim god is angry and your past, present and future are subject to his will. Die on his bad hair day and you’re screwed.

The atheists god is nothing, himself.

The agnostics god is confused, incredulous.

How have we made our god small? Or human? And thereby limited our own ability through our god’s contained strength?

I pray that I will not be guilty of making my God small. I can do all things through God who strengthens me.

If my god is weak, I am weak.

I hope I allow God who I serve to be as strong as He truly is.

10% Just For Starting

President Bush finally put some actions to his words and repealed the federal ban on off-shore oil drilling.

I have no proof of casual relationship, but this week the price of gas in Chicagoland dropped nearly 10%, from $4.40 per gallon (Monday) for regular unleaded to $4.10 (Friday).

I say open ANWR and let the goodness roll.

There is no legitimate or reasonable reason for not putting value to the resources available to us.

And People Trust Them?

There are two things which I do not understand regarding this vomit-inducing spectacle which is the media frenzy regarding all things Obama:

First, that people still believe the media to be an accurate and unbiased representation of the facts of any matter.

Second, that people can still claim with a straight face that the media sides with McCain.

Glenn Beck (The Conservative CNN Can’t Fire): Obama coverage embarassing

As candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain are ironically a lot like the way the media treats them: Obama is the glitzy magazine cover that screams for people to buy the issue, and McCain is the fact-filled article buried inside that makes you glad you did.

Chicago Tribune: The Germans love him more than we do

Berlin police estimated more than 200,000 people attended the speech, more than twice as large a crowd as Obama has drawn at any event in the United States.

Chuck Raasch (possibly Another Fawning Groupie): Even though it’s a circus, it’s an important circus, dammit!

Obama did have shaky moments. In tough interviews with network anchors and correspondents, he looked evasive and irritated when pressed on his unwillingness to acknowledge the U.S. troop surge supported by McCain had been a success in Iraq. Some reporters blogged about Obama aides acting as if he were already president. There’s that presumptuousness again, enhanced by reports Obama had ordered presidential transition planning.

But this trip was about images, not words. In sideways glances at TV screens, Americans were able to take measure of a potential president on the world stage. The choreographed political diplomacy showed a confident-looking Obama on even platforms with heads of state. Obama can now sprinkle speeches with phrases like, “As I said to Hamid Karzai.”

What if all this crowning doesn’t mean anything?

And what if California goes Red?

Obama is a pompous and arrogant man. If only so many weren’t so blind.

Please tell me why we have a Department of Agriculture.

Most of you reading this are already aware of how bad our farm subsidies in this country are. This is a very brief recounting of that fact and hopefully sheds some light on exactly how dairy subsidies work so you can explain it to your friends.

So the Agriculture Bill is one of the worst, if not the worst, bill Congress passes every year. It’s billions and billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize various farm products including corn (ethanol), sugar, cotton, and dairy. These subsidies not only cost us a pretty penny, they raise the cost of our foodstuffs so we feel it again. We are paying to make our food more expensive. It’s ludicrous. Anyway, the main thing that prompted this not was hearing about dairy subsidies and how they work. Here we go.

Here is how the federal government subsidizes dairy products. It acts as an unlimited consumer. Here’s what I mean by that. The government promises to buy as much milk as dairies are willing to sell at a set price. So let’s say that price is $3.25. The price of milk will never drop below that price because if it were to, the dairy farmers would sell it to the government at that price rather than to grocery stores. Of course, equilibrium is below this price, so the federal government is stimulating milk production beyond consumer demand and artificially raises prices. “Now”, one might ask, “what does the federal government need all that milk for? In fact, what do they do with it?”

Well, that’s a good question. The federal government doesn’t need that milk, so it does a variety of things. Often it dehydrates the milk to powder form because it is much easier to store that way. They sometimes drive trucks into poor parts of cities and just unload milk and cheese (not very high quality, of course) for anyone to come and get. They will also send powdered milk as part of foreign aid programs as well. Of course, that doesn’t always use up all the milk they bought. So, where does it go but the local landfill. It’s like the Great Depression and the AAA all over again. I’ll end with a quote you can tell all your liberal friends who “care” so much about the poor.

“A governmental system that spends every year billions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money to make essential foodstuffs, cotton and many other articles more expensive should certainly have the decency not to boast of an alleged war against poverty.”

-Ludwig von Mises “Some Observations on Current Economic Methods and Policies”

We Don’t Believe Anything…

…come believe it with us.

Spotted on the website of a  “church” hightlighted on QueerVisalia.com: Spiritual Awareness Center.

A thriving community of joyous people celebrating
the spiritual magnificence of everyone!

What more painfully pointless existence than one that has to actually choose to believe something as inane and obviously meaningless as “the spiritual magificence of everyone”?

Something I am extremely grateful to God for is the meaning and purpose completely inherent in every pursuit of Him.

I don’t have to celebrate my own spiritual magnificence, because my spiritual significance is trash. Pure and unadulterated rubbish. Paul felt the same way: filthy rags he labeled his own best effort.

Instead, I sign my name on the line that says I serve the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Maker and Author, the Completer and Finisher of all things that ever have been and ever will be, and all things beyond that. He takes my garbage and tosses it. And I live in the righteousness of His Son.

Forget “spiritual magnificence”, I’ve got Jesus.

He’ll whip your “spiritual magificence” into the deepest part of hell twice a day and three times on Sunday.

Support Dollar Tree

Found this on a pro-homosexual blog from the California Central-Valley city of Visalia:

I found this through a member of the International Court System emails.

Can you believe a company can actually get away with this?

I choose not to shop here until they change their policies and who knows. Maybe I will take my business elsewhere from now on.

Michael

Read more at the Manteca Bulletin…

We Said It Before, We’ll Say It Again

California Proposition 22 stated:

“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

Sounds clear and unequivocal to me, but apparently perversions of a sexual nature tend to affect the linguistic comprehension ability as well.

In November 2000 the measure was approved by a resounding majority of votes, 61.4%, a landslide no matter how you look at it.

I was involved in the debate over Prop 22 due in part to my participation in a debate/speech class at the local Junior College during the Fall 2000 semester.

California is often considered a Socialist state, but when you get down to serious issues, there is a significant and vocal Conservative, Classical Liberal, and Christian population which have and will be mobilized.

When the California Supreme Court swept away the true voice of the people in June by declaring the words of Prop 22 invalid, the fire was lit once again.

A ballot iniative has been submitted again, with the exact same wording as Prop 22 because it is strong and unquestionable, despite what the California Supreme Court claims.

Prop 8 has received an incredible level of support across the state, submitting nearly twice the number of signatures needed to quality for the November Ballot.

The presidential contenders have weighed in on this critical issue: Barak Hussein Obama is against it and for Homosexual Marriage, while John McCainis for Prop 8 and supports Real Marriage.

Those who would expand the government and silence the vote of the people filed a lawsuit to block this initiative, which was just denied.

JPennStar: What is your take on the pulse of the people regarding this initiative? Is it generating the buzz that existed for Prop 22?

Work hard. Pray, but don’t stop just with that. California needs to be pulled back to it’s mooring once again.

Writer’s Block

Meh.

Perhaps it’s the heat, as summer has finally decided to arrive in Chicagoland.

Perhaps it’s the plans, as I will be getting married in a few weeks.

Perhaps it’s the shows, as I’ve found Chef Gordon Ramsey to be as astute a judge of character as he is of food and business acumen.

Perhaps I’m just being lazy.

Meh.