Thursday, July 31, 2008

NEW BLOG SITE!

Blogger has to many errors and stuff so here is another site I'm trying before I close this one down!
http://mjbell8.wordpress.com/

Must See Video from the new Hillsong CD

check out the Blog

Al Gore as JorEl from Superman...hehehe


For all you Superman fans...Thought this would bring a chuckle. Al Gore as Jor-El from the Onion:

EARTH—Former vice president Al Gore—who for the past three decades has unsuccessfully attempted to warn humanity of the coming destruction of our planet, only to be mocked and derided by the very people he has tried to save—launched his infant son into space Monday in the faint hope that his only child would reach the safety of another world.

"I tried to warn them, but the Elders of this planet would not listen," said Gore, who in 2000 was nearly banished to a featureless realm of nonexistence for promoting his unpopular message. "They called me foolish and laughed at my predictions. Yet even now, the Midwest is flooded, the ice caps are melting, and the cities are rocked with tremors, just as I foretold. Fools! Why didn't they heed me before it was too late?"

Al Gore—or, as he is known in his own language, Gore-Al—placed his son, Kal-Al, gently in the one-passenger rocket ship, his brow furrowed by the great weight he carried in preserving the sole survivor of humanity's hubristic folly.

"There is nothing left now but to ensure that my infant son does not meet the same fate as the rest of my doomed race," Gore said. "I will send him to a new planet, where he will, I hope, be raised by simple but kindly country folk and grow up to be a hero and protector to his adopted home."

As the rocket soared through the Gore estate's retractable solar-paneled roof—installed three years ago to save energy and provide emergency rocket-launch capability in the event that Gore's campaign to save Earth was unsuccessful—the onetime presidential candidate and his wife, Tipper, stood arm-in-arm, nobly facing their end while gazing up in stoic dignity at the receding rocket, the ecosystem already beginning to collapse around them.

In the final moments before the Earth's destruction, Gore expressed hope that his son would one day grow up to carry on his mission by fighting for truth, justice, and the American way elsewhere in the universe, using his Earth-given superpowers to become a champion of the downtrodden and a reducer of carbon emissions across the galaxy.

"Perhaps he will succeed where I have failed," Gore said.

Despite the child's humble beginnings, experts predict the intergalactic journey may have some extraordinary effects on Kal-Al's physique, eyesight, and, potentially, his powers of quiet, sensible persuasion.

"On his new planet, Kal-Al's Earth physiology will react to the radiation of a differently colored sun, causing him to develop abilities far beyond those of mortal men," political analyst Sig Schuster said. "He will be faster than a speeding Prius, stronger than the existing Superfund program, and able to leap mountains of red tape in a single bound. These superpowers will sustain him in his never-ending battle against conservatives, wealthy industrialists, and other environmental supervillains."

Although Gore and his wife voiced regrets that they could not accompany their son on his journey, they tried their best to equip Kal-Al for life on his new planet, providing the infant with a Keynote slide-show presentation of all human knowledge, a self-growing crystal fortress from which to monitor glacier shrinkage, and a copy of Al Gore's 1992 bestseller, Earth In The Balance.

The baby was also wrapped in a blanket emblazoned with the Gore family crest, which, because it is made of Earth materials, will be invulnerable on the new planet. It is hoped that one day it will be fashioned into a colorful costume for the boy to wear while fighting wrongdoers.

"In brightly hued tights, it will be harder for people there to ignore him when he takes on his new planet's lobbyists, auto manufacturers, and enemies of justice," Schuster said. "A bold and eye-catching unitard will give Kal-Al, last son of Earth, a formidable tool for protecting his new planet, a power more awesome than any his father could have dreamed of: the power of charisma."

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Blind Faith


"At least 50 people have lost their sight after staring at the sun hoping to see an image of the Virgin Mary, according to reports.Despite warnings, and the potentially harmful effects of their actions, believers are allegedly still flocking to a hotelier's house in Erumeli near where the divine image is said to have appeared."

Monday, July 28, 2008

How St. Louis Teaches Courtship


I’m doing it again. Reading another pre-relationship book. (I have to admit it’s easier reading these now compared to post-relationship) This one caught my eye -sigh-because there was a rather cute girl on the cover. I know, I know. You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but, as always is the case, it was a combination of the eyes/smile that got my attention.
Either way, I’m about 60 pages in and I’m kind of shocked that I have not heard of this book? It is by Dr. Don Raunikar (It doesn’t ring as well as Harris or Ludy) and it is entitled: Choosing God’s Best. It was written back in the 90’s so the stats are a little outdated but I was surprised at how immersed I was in the book.

There were two illustrations that have really resonated with me and I wanted to share them because I know I’m not the only one who tends to be a little jaded in the relationship department (Just probably the only one stupid enough to admit it in public)

The first was the story of a truck, which didn’t heed the height signs while trying to go through a tunnel. The truck hit the tunnel at 20 MPH and got lodged in so deep that no amount of reverse or tugging would work. A little kid stood by and had an idea but decided it would be best to keep his distance. Let the grown ups handle it. 8 HRS later the kid came back and saw the grown-ups still struggling with the truck. They were about to take a saw to the top of the truck and just cut her out when the little kid ran up and screamed: “WHY DON’T YOU JUST LET THE AIR OUT OF THE TIRES?”

The moral of the story: sometimes the simplest answer is the simplest solution. I have been on the receiving end of conflicting advice and I have to admit it was the hardest thing for me to wade through. Especially when it came to people I cared about, maybe even loved. Yet, I also find that when people “coach” me on the subject of why I’m still single I find myself going back to the simplest answer. I’m just not hitting the wall at 20 MPH. I’ll find my own route, which keeps me away from any jams. This leads into the second story.

The Arch in St. Louis was built from the base up, both sides of it. They say that if the builders were off by just a 1/64 of a centimeter, when the time came for the two sides to make the arch, they would not meet at the center but pass each other. It wouldn’t have been the Arch.
The moral of the story: build the base, with a firm foundation, and the meeting will take place eventually. If the firm foundation just happens to line up with, let’s say: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 ESV) Dr. Raunikar’s point in the book so far is to ask us to abandon what we deem as our norm and attempt to look at things with a heavenly perception. Especially when it comes to the opposite sex. As one person says in the book: “Any guy with his ear to God’s mouth wouldn’t be scared by it.”

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?

I was at work last night when someone asked me if I thought that Barack Obama was the antichrist. I laughed a little bit because after the 10 or so major "gaffes" Obama has made in the past 2 weeks, I somehow imagine the incarnate of the devil to be a little more eloquent.

I have come across some believers who I respect who really, really think that Barach Obama is the antichrist. I was a little shocked because I respect these people and they aren't the ones buying "left behind" insurance. I set out then to find out if this movement is a steady one and so I turned to google. If you put Barach Obama Antichrist you get the following:

"Results 1 - 10 of about 336,000 for barack obama antichrist"


So yeah, there are a lot of sites devoted to this thought. Compare this to if you put John McCain Antichrist:

"Results 1 - 10 of about 211,000 for john mccain antichrist."


Lets just say that many of these sites actually still refer to Barack. Either way, this appears to be a legititmate question for a lot of people?

The top website, "Barack Obama the Antichrist?" has the following as its header:

"Barack Obama may be the Antichrist, he has risen up out of no where, he mesmerizes crowds, people are gathering in huge numbers, he is likely becoming the next President of the United States. Do not look only to what I say, but look to your Bibles, to passages in John, Daniel, and Revelations."

I also found this interesting video where John Hagee states that Obama isn't the antichrist:



Anyway, I think there are a couple things to take away from this. First, I don't think Obama is the antichrist. That said, I also am not really qualified to state if he is or is not? In Matthew 24 Jesus made the point to not try and guess but to stay away from them. Somehow trying to "out" someone as the antichrist is rather pointless because Scripture states pretty clearly it will be unmistakable who the guy is! It's an adventure then in missing the point!

I also think however we would be wise to not miss what is going on in the larger picture! First, a lot of people are being drawn to this guy, across the world, because of a strong personality! A lot of people don't even really know who he is but they just want something "different". Change is not always a good thing when it is not defined what change is? It is also scary to see how quick people are willing to follow someone who they do not know! I will admit I wondered how the antichrist could "woo" the world, this is giving me a good idea!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Obama Love

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Better Villan: Lex Luthor or Joker?


After watching the new Batman, I came across a discussion forum on whose the better supervillain. Joker is kind of seen as the ultimate villain, and after watching Batman I can understand why. Yet, some faithful Superman fans have made the argument for Lex Luthor. So...which one is the better villain?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Do I choose to be a Calvinist?


This summer I have been really delving into a lot of Reformed writings/teachings and the more I do it the more I find I am surprised no one ever presented these views like this. If they had been I might have not been so against Calvinism. At least in the strictest sense of the word anyway?

I am not sure exactly where I stand on a lot of the issues but I heard a podcast today that showed me how I may not fall in line with Calvinism on salvation (at least not yet) but I'm an excellent Calvinist in other areas.

I struggle with the idea of God being the grand "puppet master" and my choices/will only being the result of His inklings or notions. Then it kind of hit me. I do things, which I lie to myself saying that these things are out of my own will, which in someways control me anyway. Wither it's being angry at something dumb which was said and causes pain. That has control over me. Or if I see a pretty girl and my mind starts to wander. That has control over me. In fact, it seems that when we sin we always make excuses for how deceived or how we lost control and by our own admission we state that it "controlled" us. Maybe having God be the puppet master isn't so bad a thing after all? What is the alternative if He is not?

"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything." 1 Corinthians 6:12

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Daniel and the British Lions Den


This story caught my eye with the following bi-line:

"Two boys were punished this week for refusing to kneel on prayer mats and worship Allah during a class demonstration on Islam, the Daily Mail reported."

This happened in Merry-ole Britain and the boys refused to kneel and say Islamic prayers while facing Mecca. This religious diversity experiment happened in a religion class. The school administrators had the following to say:

"Educating children in the beliefs of different faith is part of the diversity curriculum on the basis that knowledge is essential to understanding."

Now I have no problem with this idea and I have no idea with people learning about Islam. The funny thing is this situation is almost a verbatim reading of the book of Daniel. Obviously detention is better then lions but could it possibly escalate from there? By not participating are you guilty of thought crimes demeaning Islam? A grandfather was quoted as saying the following: "
"But if Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion, there would be war," the grandfather of one of the students said." Exactly! Kudos to the two boys for standing in this modern example of an old story. I don't know if they are Christians but I can only hope all of us would have their courage!

Jesus resurrected and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt!


"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." 1 Corinthians 15:14

Good news, Jesus' resurrection isn't really that amazing! Don't believe me? Read the following:

"Some Christians will find it shocking — a challenge to the uniqueness of their theology — while others will be comforted by the idea of it being a traditional part of Judaism," Boyarin said."

Why is such a tablet a possible "shock" for the Christian community? Here it is:

"A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three days."(emphasis mine)

The article goes on to say that the resurrection of Christ might not be much of a big deal because the Christians were just stealing Jewish folklore and making it their own. Therefore, they just expanded on a myth that was told to them since they were children! What they don't tell you till further down in the article is the following:

"Much of the text, a vision of the apocalypse transmitted by the angel Gabriel, draws on the Old Testament, especially the prophets Daniel, Zechariah and Haggai."

So, the spin of this article is that instead of the Old Testament prophesying the events of Christ's death the disciples and Jesus Himself STOLE ideas for His death/resurrection from their own culture and Scripture. Jesus could not have risen because then it would have been foretold! Something which obviously is mindboggling to those who don't have faith! Yet, here is another example of the solid ground that those of faith stand on!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Quiver Full of...DEATH


So my title is a bit of an exaggeration but I ran across an article entitled "Does having children make you happy" in Newsweek and had to post some thoughts about it.

"In Daniel Gilbert's 2006 book "Stumbling on Happiness," the Harvard professor of psychology looks at several studies and concludes that marital satisfaction decreases dramatically after the birth of the first child—and increases only when the last child has left home. He also ascertains that parents are happier grocery shopping and even sleeping than spending time with their kids."

The first thing worth mentioning here is that there might actually be some truth in this. Again, I seem to be commentating from the sidelines on this issue but there is no doubt, from what I garner of my view from the bleachers, that kids are definitely a handful. A testament to that is the coffee shop I'm in now has about 7 pregnant ladies meeting together barely able to get up from their booth. It seems it just gets harder from there!

I think there are some interesting presuppositions in this article and the main one has to be that happiness is equated with monetary/material things. If that is the requirement then there is no doubt that children will not (most likely) lead to happiness. However, your material possessions disappear with your death and do not carry on your legacy/personality. I think of the old days (sorry) when it was important for a king to have a son because it carried the family name. Now we seem to think that my 401 K is more important? I guess I just rely still on the Scripture:

Psalms 127

3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Obama on Gay Marriage


I am constantly reading blogs and postings stating that there are other issues in the world besides homosexual marriage (HM). It has been labeled as overly decesive, bigoted, and homophobic to state that you oppose HM. If you even state you will not vote for someone because they support HM then you are looked at as archaic and not very well endowed intellectually. I have even heard Christians state that there are other things which should grab our attention and that this issues isn't really an issue. The irony though is that the breakdown of the family is at the root of any issue and marriage is the building blocks of civilization; period.

Barack Obama has stated before that he thinks homosexual practice is not immoral and the Bible is very clear about these type of men:

"Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter." Isaiah 5:20

That stated, the instant rebuttal for this would be that no matter who you vote for there are going to be issues which don't line up with the Christian faith. This is true but it is to easily used today. Obama states that he is a born again Christian and even if he wasn't a Presidential candidate he is deceived on this issue and the Bible is clear to go and tell a brother or sister who supports sin of their fault.

Barack has up to this point been against HM but it seems that when he's in front of an audience in San Fransisco, his political philosophy changes to "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". Barack stated the following:

And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states,”

California is going to vote in November on wither or not to make marriage defined as one man and one woman and this is what Obama is rebutting in his letter. The funny thing is that Obama said this to Larry King about two years ago: "I am somebody who has not embraced gay marriage," he said. "I've said that it's not something that I think the society is necessarily ready for. And it strikes me that in a lot of ways for a lot of people it may intrude in how they understand marriage."

Unlike many of my fellow Christians, I do not concede the fact that "marriage" really isn't that important and we need to get onto other issues besides this divisive one. If a man who is running for President is calling sin, not sin, then that is a legitimate issue for a Christian when considering his/her choices for President. When we concede the marriage issue we should realize that those who are trying to change marriage into something it's not are not letting up with their endeavors. While Christians sleep in the light, the very thing which we all claim to want for everyone, a godly family, is being torn and ripped right from our fingertips. I think it's time to wake up!

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14