Fundy to Emergent on a Map

This was an interesting chart I saw on this guy's blog through Scot McKnight's link to him. It's a link about understanding the differences between fundamentalism, evangelicalism, emerging, and emergent. I think it's somewhat helpful.

I would probably add Al Mohler off to the left somewhere and I would slide Brian McLaren a little more to the right on the chart. There's tons you could add or change. What would you add or change?

Pro-Life and Pro-Obama?

In no way am I saying I agree with everything in this post, but I do resonate with it somehow. It's by Francis Schaeffer's son, Frank. It's called Why I Am Pro-Life and Pro-Obama.

I don't know if I could actually vote for him, but he is a lot more intriguing than McCain. The whole Supreme Court Justice issue makes me want to stay voting Republican. I will no matter what if Hillary wins, but Obama just feels revolutionary. Could it be more pro-life to vote Obama than McCain when you add up everything related to life? Not just abortion, but war, death penalty, helping poverty issues, gun control, etc.

HT: Zach Lind

Sanctity of Life Sunday

That is coming up in a couple days and our church is planning to have a focus that I'm very excited about. Some of the folks in our church, including Erin and Karen, wanted to start a ministry caring for children who don't have families. This includes orphans oversees and here in America as well as foster kids. It's called Open Arms. So our focus for Sanctity of Life is Pro-Life for a Lifetime. I love that slogan. It's not just about being against abortion. It's about caring for all life.

I feel like this really goes along so well with my thoughts on Pro-Life. I want to be Pro-Life for a Lifetime and Pro-Life for All Life. That's why I'm against the death penalty and most forms of war. That's why abortion is still a huge issue to me in politics. That's why I think being pro-life should mean that we strive towards helping those with diseases like AIDS and those in extreme poverty.

My views make it really hard for me politically because there is no political viewpoint like mine. Both Republicans and Democrats don't fall in line with this thinking. I believe we need change in the presidential office, but I don't necessarily buy into the change that Obama and Clinton are offering. I feel like the Republicans running aren't offering any real change. It feels status quo. Hmmmm....

What are your thoughts on this issue of Pro-Life?

It happened again...

So yesterday I had about 30 minutes between meetings and I thought I would work on my office a little bit. I'm moving this big bookshelf by myself and just sort of singing to myself. The thing that is so strange is that for some reason I'm singing, "I've found my thrill...on Blueberry Hill." Those are the only words I know to that song so I'm humming and singing those just barely out loud. Bad enough, right?

Then I hear a sound like "mmm, mmm" or something like that, but I don't know what it is. I turn around and there is Victor standing looking at me with a huge smile on his face because he has walked in on me singing another weird song.

I need help.

Kenya Makes Me Sad

I have been grieved by hearing of the atrocities taking place in Kenya. We were told in August that we shouldn't come back in December or January because it would be crazy during the election season, but I would never have thought that this kind of violence could take place in that beautiful country. I have never experienced the love and welcoming spirit from people that I felt in Kenya - from random people in villages and slums to pastors to children to aid workers to missionaries from several countries. So to hear that people would burn a church down with people still inside makes me want to vomit with frustration, sadness, and anger.
You can read about the violence stemming from the elections here

This was an email I received from Christ's Hope - the organization we worked with in Kenya.
Dear Kenya Teams,
Many of you have heard the news of Kenya and the turmoil there. We have gotten updates from Edward in Nairobi and some sources in Kisumu. The Dutch volunteers were sent away due to Martin's forsight. The bottom line is that there is great violence going on in the streets and people remain in their homes unable to access food. Fifty people were burned alive inside a church Jan. 2nd.

Our national director Martin Chamah and his wife Edith are safe so far with the sixteen children that they care for. One source today tells us that they have run out of food. An organized protest is scheduled for Jan. third and things could deteriorate from there.

PLEASE PRAY for Martin and Edith and the children, for the Care and Compassion patients who are not being cared for, for Edward and the ministry in Nairobi. Let us pray for the Lord's mighty protection and miraculous provision for them.

Lord, show Your people Your mighty arm that protects and provides against the odds. May our brothers and sisters there know Your incredible peace that surpasses all comprehension. Surround them with the mighty ones who do your bidding. May the enemy see your sentries and turn away. Speak to the hearts of the C and C patients, may they know the sweetness of Your felt presence. We pray that an outpouring of your Holy Spirit's restraining power will calm the people of Kenya. Thank you Lord that you reign and you are in control, and You will use this situation for Your glory and Your purposes. Burden us with the need to pray for our family in Kenya.

In Jesus' Powerful name,
Becky Kase
Prayer Coordinator
Christ's Hope USA

Letter to Darfur

Dear Darfuri Refugee,

I need to tell you about something horrible happening here in the United States. You may not believe it but it is actually true. You see, here in America we have these giant stores that sell things like furniture, clothing, hammers and waffle irons. These stores get very busy during the month of December because lots of people buy presents for their friends and family to celebrate holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah. Over the past few years many of these stores have stopped issuing the usual "Merry Christmas" greeting to shoppers and on their mail order catalogs and instead say, "Happy Holidays". I know, it is hard to imagine, isn't it!?! Here we are trying to live out the true meaning of Christmas by spending lots of money on things people need really bad, and we can't even get a little "Merry Christmas" from the check out girl.

Well, I knew you of all people would be able to relate with our difficult plight, since in your country of Sudan over the past few years over 200,000 of your people have been murdered through acts of genocide and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes like you and now live as refugees. I hope you will forward this email to your people so they will understand the atrocities happening here in the United States and will be encouraged that they are not the only people in the world who are suffering.

Merry Christmas!
Your Concerned American Friend
www.savedarfur.org

More on God Bless America

I've been thinking about this and I think the biggest thing for me is that in a church service we have opportunities to teach our people something. To teach them a different point of view than what is our default setting as people who live within our western culture. To just thank veterans for fighting for America and say "God Bless America" at the end is not teaching something new to our people. To pray for those fighting because we don't want to see anyone hurt is one step. To say thank you for fighting because now we have religious freedoms is one step, but still obvious. To thank our veterans by praying for those in persecuted nations is good too. But I just thought that putting "God Bless America" at the end just keeps people thinking the same way. To put at the end, "God Bless the Nations" or "God Bless the Whole World" would have taught something that if we are fighting these current wars for democracy around the world would be something our nation should hope for - secular or Christian.

To copy Matt Doan, my prayer for this is:
Thank you God for blessing America in so many ways
Please help us to be a blessing to the world
Please keep the soldiers safe
Please help peace to come to our world

God Bless America

This past week we were going to show a video for Veteran's Day in church to honor those who have fought for our country. In the past, I have struggled with displays of honoring America during church. But I thought this was going to be really good because Sunday was actually Veteran's Day and also the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. So what we were going to do was show a video honoring vets and then pray thanking God for them and acknowledging that without their sacrifice we might be like one of the persecuted countries. Then we would spend some time praying for those who are persecuted for their faith. (I'm typing this before church so I'm not saying how it went, just what we were going to do).

At the end of the video for veterans it said, "God bless America." I raised my hand and asked if we could change some of the wording to be more about thanking veterans for allowing us to have the religious freedom that we have. I also said, "Could we take out 'God bless America' too because I don't understand it. Don't we want God to bless the world?" People don't understand me sometimes and I think most disagreed with me, but they thought it would be ok to take that out. I just saw the edited version this morning and it still says, "God Bless America" at the end. Oh well. People don't understand me. But I would rather sing and pray that God blesses the nations and that God blesses the oppressed, the hungry, the diseases, the less fortunate, the persecuted, and the hopeless of all nations rather than just saying "God bless America."

Trevor said to me that by saying "God bless America" we are not saying "and forget about everyone else." That has some merit. I do pray for God to bless my family and my children and my ministry, but I'm not praying for God to curse other families or churches. But I still just think there is so much American Pride in evangelicalism that it gets confusing to people. We should be focused on our purpose of loving God through loving people...all people...not just Americans.

Inconsistencies

I don't like it when things or people are inconsistent. I just read this in The Week.

"Residents of a gay retirement community in New Mexico are organizing to prevent an influx of heterosexuals. The 13-acre RainbowVision community outside Santa Fe has historically been about 80 percent homosexual, but with half of the 120 units currently vacant, a resident council is lobbying management not to allow in too many straight tenants. "It does not matter how friendly they are," said Roger Bergstrom, 77, who shares a condo with partner Barry Baltzley. "It's not what we came here for."

Can you imagine if one non-sexuality based community in America decided to not allow one homesexual couple into their community? The ACLU and gay rights groups would be suing and it would be on every news channel in the world. I don't think that homosexuals should be kept out of communities, but why in the world should homosexuals be allowed to be prejudiced and keep out heterosexuals. Just be consistent.

Peace Isn't Always the Answer

Most people who would read this blog know that I am somewhat of a pacifist - not a strict pacifist, but I definitely am a peace lover. I even mentioned this past Sunday in church how American nationalism intertwining with the church really bothers me.

I read this excert from an LA Times article in THE WEEK and it made me think. It didn't totally change me, but it made me think. Please read and tell me what you think.

"If you want peace, prepare for war," the Roman general Flavius Vegetius Renatus counseled more than 1,600 years ago. This was not belligerence, said Bruce Bawer, but wisdom based on history and human nature. Our world has always included rogues and bullies who prey on the weak, and the more prepared and willing a nation is to defend itself, the less likely it is that it will have to go to war. But the fast growing "peace racket" denies this age-old truth, insisting that all war is unjust.
It goes on to say how they have no quarrel with murderous dictators like Kim Jong Il or Fidel Castro, but that the U.S. is the source of most or all of the world's oppression and poverty. College courses teach that if terrorists kill American civilians, it is wrong to respond with violence. Instead, we should try to reason with these fanatics. It's a message that could only appeal to pampered young Americans totally insulated from the realities that Vegetius spoke of centuries ago. As George Orwell once observed, "To abjure violence, it is necessary to have no experience of it."

For me, it's the line about "insulated pampered young Americans" that really got to me. I haven't been in a situation where I have been attacked. But I guess Martin Luther King was in that situation and he responded without violence.

What do you think?

Bumper Sticker

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said, "Christopher Columbus - Terrorizing America Since 1492."

It was a pretty strong statement that Europeans and European-Americans are the real terrorists in this country. I am a European American so I will use the pronoun "we" when discussing them. We are probably not so much terrorist, but more like an occupying force. I looked up websites about the bumper sticker and the people behind it are Native Americans and Mexicans who were the original occupants of America. I get their point. We come in and conquer them, put them on reservations, or push them out of the good parts of the land. Then we have the gall to get mad when others try to come into our country without following the rules.

I guess they just don't have as big of guns as we did back in the day.

Contradictions

I have seen a couple people commenting on things like this and it got me thinking. It's part of my being an "acrobat."

Why am I this virtual pacifist when it comes to war but I love, I mean love in a way that stirs my heart, movies like Saving Private Ryan, 300, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings. I think that the HBO Miniseries called Band of Brothers is the single best piece of film-making on the face of the earth. That's just a story of the European front of WWII. I read all of Steve Ambrose's books on WWII. I'm unsure if my love for those movies is my sinful nature or if my views on war are just inconsistent. Just because I like something doesn't mean it's not sinful. We long for lots of sinful things. Maybe war is just a sinful thing that I resonate with, but my true heart's conviction is that it is wrong.

What do you think? Do you have any similar contradictions? I must be an acrobat to talk like this and act like that.

Clothing in Church

I need to get back to blogging. This silly MySpace competition with Victor was eating up all my "internet time." But now that I have soundly defeated him I can get back to blogging and I can use MySpace for its intended purpose - connecting with friends, not competing for friends.

So I'm going to begin a new little study on another issue in the church that I think people get really worked up about - the clothing we wear to church. Now, I will say that as a pastor/teacher I understand how Paul says to be "all things to all men" and that a speaker must understand and dress according to what will help him connect most with his/her audience. I get that. I want to look at the issue more from a theological/historical context and see why in the world people think that it is important to dress a certain way when they go to church. Respect, comfort, culture, etc.

My view is that one should wear clothing to church that is comfortable for worship so that they can give their all to God spiritually, emotionally, and even physically. I want to be able to raise my hands, get on my knees, and even lay on my face. This is difficult to do in a three-piece suit as I feel like I can't even move my neck from side to side in one of those things. I personally like to wear a collared shirt because this helps me feel a little "dressed up" while still feeling comfortable. That is just my preference.

This quote was interesting for someone with my perspective on the issue.

That it is shallow to judge by appearances is a well-known saying. That it is shallow to dismiss appearances is a lesser-known truth.
- Poet Yahia Lababidi, quoted in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and taken from The Week.

So I believe that I will show that clothing does not matter to God. I could be proved wrong though. But I also understand that to dismiss clothing altogether is just as shallow.

I hope to look next at the history of clothing in church and then what Scripture says on the subject and finally whether or not it should matter what the current cultural context of a specific church is for what clothing is worn.

A Little Props to Falwell

I saw this article on FOXNews.com (full disclosure - Peter showed it to me). But it paints a slightly different picture of The Jerry. Look for the part about desegregating churches. That shows how he was initially part of a segregated church movement and took heat for changing it.

This along with the Larry Flynt quote and an endorsement from Clyde Cook make me think of Jerry a bit differently.

The quote is below but see the full op-ed piece that Larry Flynt wrote about Jerry Falwell here.

The truth is, the reverend and I had a lot in common. He was from Virginia, and I was from Kentucky. His father had been a bootlegger, and I had been one too in my 20s before I went into the Navy. We steered our conversations away from politics, but religion was within bounds. He wanted to save me and was determined to get me out of "the business."

My mother always told me that no matter how repugnant you find a person, when you meet them face to face you will always find something about them to like. The more I got to know Falwell, the more I began to see that his public portrayals were caricatures of himself. There was a dichotomy between the real Falwell and the one he showed the public.
Larry Flynt

Middle Eastern Mickey

Click this link HERE and you will see why war hurts my heart so much. This is the image of the other side and what they are teaching their children. I think the translation is trustworthy but I can't say for sure. To be honest, it frightens me. Can we ever have a world with true peace? In the words of maybe the smartest man of all time, Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

P.S. You will have to watch a short commercial before the video on the link. The one I saw was about fishing with your kids which is strange when connected with the video.

A Biblical Study on Wine - Joshua through Proverbs

Now our study continues through the book of Proverbs. We are looking at where passages on wine and the vineyard are discussed throughout the Bible and making objective comments on them.

Judges 13:4-5 "Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines."
This is the first instance of an angel giving a woman advice about not drinking wine during pregnancy. This shows that even in this time it was known that alcohol had negative effects on fetal development. It also seems to show that she would have needed a warning from an angel to curb the normal drinking of wine.
Judges 19:6,19-22 "So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl's father said to the man, "Please be willing to spend the night, and let your heart be merry. Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything." The old man said, "Peace to you. Only let me {take care of} all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the open square." So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank. While they were celebrating..."
Now Judges 19 is a freaky passage, but what is interesting is that the "good guys" in this strange story are the ones who are drinking wine, celebrating, and "being merry."
1 Samuel 16:20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son.
A jug of wine is a normal beverage consumed by these biblical juggernauts.
2 Samuel 13:28 "Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "See now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, 'Strike Amnon,' then put him to death. Do not fear; have not I myself commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant."
Amnon is a man who raped his sister and is an overall bad guy. They knew he would be "merry with wine" or drunk and planned to strike against him when he was drunk. This is a pretty negative association with drunkenness.
1 Chronicles 9:29 "Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the frankincense and the spices."
These are some duties of the priest. There is a priest appointed over the wine. Interesting job description.
Nehemiah 13:4-5 "Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah,had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests."
This is just another occurence of wine being part of the tithe given to the Levite priests. Wine is given to God as an offering.
Job 1:13 "Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house..."
These are children of Job, the righteous man, who are killed while hanging out and eating and drinking wine. There is no negative connotation to the wine.
Psalm 4:7 "You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound."
God puts more gladness in our heart than wine, but there is an implication that wine brings gladness to our hearts.
Psalm 60:3 "You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger."
Wine that makes someone drunk is being used here as a metaphor for judgment from God.
Psalm 75:8 "For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain {and} drink down its dregs."
Drinking wine from God is being used as a metaphor for judgment again. I'm not sure how this impacts this study.
Psalm 78:65 "Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, Like a warrior overcome by wine."
God's hiddenness is compared to a man asleep after drinking too much.
Psalm 104:14-15 "He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, And wine which makes man's heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man's heart."
This says that God makes wine and wine makes men's hearts glad. This is a very compelling passage.
Proverbs 20:1 "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise."
This begins a few proverbs that are very clear on the negative aspects of drinking wine. Wine is a mocker in that it will cause you shame and ridicule if you use it poorly and are intoxicated. That is clearly not wise.
Proverbs 21:17 "He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich."
We are not to love wine in such a way that we make it an idol and long for it like any pleasure.
Proverbs 23:29-32 "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper."
Wine is dangerous. Longing for wine can cause big time trouble in life. Be cautious with wine.
Proverbs 31:4-7 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, for they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more."
Drinking wine is not good for those who are making decisions and leading. It seems to say something that surprises me - that it's recommended for those who are bitter or troubled to drink and forget.

A Biblical Study on Wine - Torah

Genesis 9:20-21 "Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent."
This is the first time we see wine and it's the first thing the righteous Noah does after getting off the ark. It shows that wine was something common, normal, and not considered evil. However, we do see the first case of drunkenness which has very bad consequences.
Genesis 14:18 "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High."
This is the first case of a priest using wine in a blessing. OK, so the first real priest drinks and serves wine.
Genesis 19:32-35 "Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father." So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father."So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose."
Here we see some awful effects of too much wine. This must have logically been a large amount of wine if it was enough for a man to have sex with his daughters. Too much wine can be very bad.
Genesis 27:25,28 "So he said, "Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son's game, that I may bless you." And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine"
Isaac drank wine and the blessing given to him by God would include an abundance of new wine.
Exodus 29:40 "and there shall be one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering with one lamb."
Wine was something that all people had and would give as part of their offering to God. It was also part of the food of the priests and priests would drink wine.
Leviticus 10:9 "Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die--it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations"
This is the instructions for priests as they approach God. So we see that wine is something that does make us less pure in some way.
Leviticus 23:13 - another offering of wine verse.
Numbers 6:3,20 "he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 20 Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine."
This is where the Nazirite period of separation includes abstaining from wine, but then when it is over the Nazirite may drink it again. So we see that it is good to not drink wine at periods of time, but that the drinking of wine can even continue for those with the most devout commitments of obedience to God.
Numbers 18:12 "All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you."
This is God giving wine to the priests to drink for themselves after the people have made their offerings. So God directly gives wine to priests.
Deuteronomy 7:13 "He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.
This was a blessing of God if you kept His commandments. Wine is part of that blessing by God.
Deuteronomy 11:14 - this is a repeat of the last passage
Deuteronomy 29:6 "You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God."
This shows that part of being close to God is abstaining from wine or strong drink. So wine should be avoided at certain times for drawing close to God.
Deuteronomy 32:32-33 "For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter;their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps."
I'm not sure what to think of this, but it does imply that their is good wine and bad wine and each are used as metaphor of other things.
Deuteronomy 33:28 "So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew."
The blessing of the Promised Land included wine as a positive bonus.

A Biblical Study on Wine - Introduction

I will be publishing a series of posts on wine and the Bible in the next couple weeks. These will be divided by Torah, rest of the Old Testament, and the New Testament. Then I will make some conclusions.

My initial interest comes from the fact that I think many things in modern Christianity are based on tradition or opinion rather than on Scripture - how we dress in church, wine, etc. Part of this was inspired by a friend's love of wine and it's benefit to community and conversation and a rich sense of enjoying life.So I want to study wine in the Bible and make comments underneath each passage of Scripture of what it seems to be saying about wine and its use. I will attempt to avoid making strong conclusion until the final post.

I also am coming from the point of view that wine is an alcoholic beverage even if it is referred to as new wine or fresh wine or else the people in the book of Acts would not have thought they were drunk on new wine.
Acts 2:12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." (ESV)

You can see that I have some sense of a presupposition if I think that the negative view of wine might be based on tradition and opinion, but I will be very honest throughout the study.

Also, it must be known that I adamantly believe that drunkenness and too much drinking is definitely a sin and is wrong. I also believe that Christians must obey the law of the land and so underage drinking and drunk driving are completely sinful and wrong as well. These topics will come up within the study as well. I also am not advocating the use of wine by anyone who has issues with alcoholism or those who do not have issues and simply choose not to use it. I am not advocating alcohol in any way. I am simply taking a look at the appropriate biblical understanding of wine.

Shocking and Horrifying

This story is one of the most disturbing things I have read in a long time. I almost can't believe it. Something has to be done about China's policy of forced abortions.

Read the article here.

What can be done about something like this? We should start by spreading awareness and maybe the global community will be outraged?

Interesting Quote

This is from "The Week." This is a magazine you should all own. A collection of columns and articles from every newspaper and publication in the country across the spectrum of political viewpoints.

Morality is moral only when it is voluntary.

Journalist Lincoln Steffens, quoted in the Associated Press.

What do you think?