Rss Directory > Misc > Religion > one tiny soapbox
 

rankly, I'm appalled.

Read below (from The Pacific Justice Institue's web site) and I trust you'll see precisely why:

What's in a name? A lot, according to the California Supreme Court, which recently decided that marriage must be made available to gay couples, and "civil unions" were inadequate. Now, a Northern California couple is going to court to preserve their legal status as "bride" and "groom," after the state rejected their marriage license.

Gideon Codding and Rachel Bird were recently married in Placer County, near Sacramento. Surprised by newly-revised state forms that now designate marriage applicants as "Party A" and "Party B," Gideon and Rachel jotted an explanatory "Groom" and "Bride" next to the party names. They were stunned when, weeks later, the form was returned to Pastor Doug Bird, who officiated at the ceremony. The County's letter states that the license "does not comply with California State registration laws" - even though the official forms in use just prior to the gay marriage ruling called the marrying couple "Bride" and "Groom." Because the County refused to process their form, the Coddings are not legally married and have been prevented from accessing the many benefits available to married couples...

Just. Plain. Asinine. (Read the rest of the story.)

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
ere's some video of my good Friend Jesse Cook, as we take time out to celebrate his soon-coming man-child.

The way we men like ta do it: with guns.



Incidentally, as far as I know, the B.A.T.H. concept ("Barbeque At The House," or in this case, it was a Breakfast, due to a last-minute schedule change) was conceived by our good Friends, Jonathan & Katie Goodman (of The Master's Seminary).

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
inked here is an excellent post discussing what Biblical Christianity looks like in, say, matters of homosexuality & politics...

I seriously could not have expressed this better, myself!

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
I'll let you, Dear Reader, guess which way I roll.



ibcarlos, Reformed thinker!
rom a Christian dating web site: "I'd like to meet someone and become friends and then maybe more someday." Written by a 37 year old woman who might perhaps someday be interested in having children.

Perhaps. Someday.

What is so all-fired wrong with a person making it clear up front that he or she is primarily interested in marriage, instead of beating around the proverbial bush?

I say: Absaludamente Nada!

And why do some folks seem to be afraid to admit that, outright?

I say: Rediculoso!

Frankly, I'm tired of all this indirect, tip-toeing, kinda-sorta-maybe, let's-see-if-maybe-we-can-be-friends-indefinitely-first sorta nonsense. I honestly don't see why anyone with a Biblical view of marriage and who has a strong desire for it would hold such a perspective. There is nothing wrong (and arguably everything right) with striking up a dialog with the mutual, clearly expressed intent and purpose of it being marriage-bound.

It just escapes me how so many have a problem with this!

Okay that was almost pure rant. But it is this marriage-minded man's Scripture-informed opinion, which won't be changin' anytime soon.

Anywho...Enjoy the following excerpts from my latest travels along the ven-artian landscape...
I'm a chick preacher in the Church of God...just looking to make some new friends. I am 23 and single. I currently work as the children's and youth pastor in my local church and have been recently doing some evangelistic work around the country.

To me, being a Christian means...
It means being like Christ...in every way. In means having the opportunity and honor to minister to people who don't know Him like I do. It also means and extraordinary life jam-packed with the best spiritual experiences you could fathom.

---
Please be honest with who you really are and do not try to be someone you are not to impress me. I will respect you more for being a MAN and standing up for what you believe in. I have NO time for FAKE people and if you waste my time I WILL guarantee you WON'T be happy with the results.

Dating a man with faith is very important to me. Please do not contact me unless you have some sort of faith and are sincere about this. GOD loving men need only apply! Also, if you enjoy going to crazy bars, clubs partying to all hours in the morning with your friends you should skip over my profile and move on to the next. I prefer to meet someone who is past that point in their life, thanks:)

---
Hi. My name is D______. I am very laid back and easygoing. I am looking for someone who is not a wild child and can hang out without having to drink.

---
DO NOT CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SEX!!!

---
I'm a big dreamer - always want to be doing more and becoming more in this short life I've been given as a gift. In the future, I would like to become a Life Coach on the side so I can help people overcome obstacles that stand in the way of achieving their biggest goals and dreams because we were all put on this earth to do something great...we all have a big purpose that stems from our passions.

It's no surprise she references the oft-mishandled Jeremiah 29:11 as a favored verse. But then, why not? ...since God has an awesome, wonderful plan of increasing self-actualization in store for each of us!

Self-description: Cyincal Sarcastic Bratty and God fearing ;o)

---
I'd rather hire someone to clean than do it myself and I'm not the least bit ashamed of it.

When I was a little girl I had a shirt that said "Anything a boy can do, I can do better" and that was my motto in life...and often still is...but any man that's meant for me better still be able to pull his own and lead me. I'm not looking for someone to tell me how to live my life, just someone who can set a great example and who I can partner with long term.

---
Hello, my name is A_______, I'm 25 years old, and I am a dentist. I would love to find a person who loves God above all things. That person must be a professional, courteous, kind, and I would love him to know how to dance.

---
I am a full-time student that also works full time. I would like to meet a good guy that's cute.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
his is a re-posting of an assertion I made a few weeks ago...with further external commentary. This time, from a former 'consultant to the Australian Greenhouse Office'.

Click here to read an even clearer idea of exactly why I utterly reject the spurious deceit kown as 'Global Warming'.

Forget about that new hybrid vehicle. It makes absolutely no financial sense, whatsoever.

Unless, of course, you live & work in Hollywood.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
he Rifleman. A widowed father with a will to strive for right-living.

...who lived in the days before Hollywood completely turned.


ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
ecently, while in a first-time (and likely last-time) IM exchange with a young lady (who I've never met in person) from my very own Grace Community Church, I made a comment that completely "freaked her out." Knowing that meeting an axe-murderer is the archetypal fear when encountering potential courtiers over the Internet, I jokingly described myself as such to her. (Though not in the first line or two.)

Despite privately getting a hearty guffaw out of the "clever" wording of my [stupid] joke, I soon realized I'd done a very foolish thing. (I believe the word she used is 'vile'.)

I wish I could say it was the immediate conviction of my Spirit-empowered conscience that brought this realization upon me. But, alas, it was not. It was provided, rather, by a harsh (and just) rebuke from the young lady herself. Whereas she could have simply cut me off right then and there, leaving me to foolishly think I'd scored some goofy "cool points" with my "quirky, engaging sense of humor," she instead hit me where I needed to be hit...right in the spiritual solar plexus.

I owe that lady a debt of gratitude for slapping me back to the reality of human interaction, and all the sensitive Grace it requires!

I doubt you're even reading this, "M_______," but if you are:

Though you're still prolly sore at me for carelessly touching on a topic in a way that came off as needlessly offensive, please accept my sincere thanks for showing me the Grace of a slap across my Sinful face.

And yes, I am very very sorry. Very.

Indebted & humbled,

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
kay, so, I don't post but every-so-often these days.

Perhaps this neat new pic of the dome inside a Greek Orthodox church (visited today in Downey) will partially "atone" for that...

(You students of Greek might get a kick out of the lettering inscribed thereupon. Click on the pic to see it up close and personal.)

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
or the record: I consider the highly-politicized issue of "global warming" a ginormous hoax.

Read this for a clear idea of exactly why I utterly reject this spurious deceit.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
or various reasons, my "reading flow" has slowed to a virtual trickle in recent months. But, despite this recent (sad) trend, I was determined to pick up and read a copy of my beloved John's most recent book: A Tale of Two Sons. Boy was I ever satisfied with that choice. This book is choc full of good readin'!

My eyes welled up with tears more than once as I eagerly consumed this brief tome. Christ's brilliant parable explained in this book evokes strong imagery that resonates of a Mercy and Grace far outweighing the sad counterfeits we often observe -- and personally demonstrate -- in our sin-sick world.

Given the current prevailing theological climate, I found particularly poignant the following words of wisdom in the appendix...
Whether the true meaning of this or that symbol is patently obvious or one that requires a little detective work, the point is still the same: Jesus' parables were all illustrative of Gospel facts. The stories were not (as some people nowadays like to suggest) creative alternatives to propositional truth statements, designed to supplant certainty...

Above all, He was not inviting His hearers to interpret the stories any way they liked and thus let each one's own personal opinions be the final arbiter of what is true for that person...

...on the question of whether each parable actually has a single divinely inspired sense and therefore a proper interpretation -- an objectively true sense -- there has never been any serious dispute among people who take the authority of Scripture seriously...

Jesus was a master story teller, but He never told a story merely for the story's sake. His parables weren't word games or do-it-yourself mysteries where each hearer was invited to provide his or her own meaning...

...one central lesson is always the most important feature of every parable and we should focus on that, rather than seeking hidden meaning in all the peripheral details of the story. When you see the key point of the parable, you have the essence of whatever truth the story aims to convey...there's no need to look for multiple layers of meaning or suppose that some deeper symbolism or different dimension of truth has been hidden in the incidental features of the tale...parables aren't allegories, full of symbols from top to bottom. They highlight one important truth -- just like the moral of a well-told story.
Hmph.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
Aaah...the feeling of power under control.


Feel free to ask and I will tell!

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker

irst black man to be president?

At one point during a recent town hall meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Obama said in response to the idea of abstinence-only education:
"Look, I got two daughters -- nine years old and six years old. I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16."
STD is to Punishment
::
Punishment is to Unplanned Pregnancy ???

Do I welcome the prospect of this brotha being appointed to the presidency?

No. I do not.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
s some of you know, I'm currently building my own "from scratch" web site, one with content for a highly targeted audience...a special "niche" of folks with certain common business interests.

The tool I'm using for this is called SiteBuildIt! This software is nice! If you have even the remotest interest in creating a well-visited, profitable web site - for personal or professional use - then I urge you to keep the money you'd pay some fancy-pants web designer and get SiteBuildIt!

"But I got no web design skills," you might say. No worries there, homey! These folks really do take the technical sting out of building a fully functioning web site...one you can profit from. And they guarantee it. You'll simply have to click one of the links above or watch the following video to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

You can click here to see actual Alexa ranking results for many of their satisfied customers.



ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
y Bible study meets in a very lovely home, perched half-way up a steep hillside overlooking the Silver Lake Reservoir of Los Angeles. Well, I'm told that about every 20 years, they drain this reservoir for maintenance.

For the first time since purchasing it, I used the panoramic function of my (semi-)trusty Kodak Easyshare to capture this significant moment in time...to share easily.

Who knows where I'll be in another twenty years? ...enjoy the breathtaking spectacularity! (Click the pic to go "full-size.")

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
seriously thought this was a joke, until I realized: it's not.


In case you can't read it, the text says that if you visit the church this Easter Sunday, you can get a free 'Jesus Mii' for your Nintendo Wii. (An additional character you can use in your various Wii games.)

Clicking further through the web site led me to conclude this is a Presbyterian (PCA) church that seems to play fast and loose with the reverence of corporate worship and the purity of Biblical doctrine. No surprise there.

Click the image above to see whether or not that seems as clear to you as it does to me.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
...marks the day His hands were pierced.
Happy Good Friday to all!!!

n much, much, much lesser news...this week marked the 1st anniversary of my current employment. I'm very thankful for the job I have and think very highly of both my immediate boss and the company-at-large. Despite working from a small satellite office (with only 2 other people), I've experienced tons of grace, generosity & a fair amount of friendly cooperation. It really is a great place to work.

Spiritually, though, it has seemed un-surprisingly like parched earth.

Of course, I have wondered about whether or not there are any other Believers. My boss is agnostic and the other gent is a non-practicing Jew. From my own very limited standpoint, it's hard to sift through all the emails to ascertain who else might actually be in The Way.

Well, today, I had a somewhat gratifying email exchange with a co-worker housed in our Texas HQ. She had included a Passion-related passage of Scripture in a public email, to which I responded with an inquiry about her Faith. Following is part of her response:
Yes, I am a Christian. There are NONE in HQ, which I know of...I just try and do my best, when I move around, to find a good solid group of Christians to fellowship with, but it’s not always easy. The lack of them in the Houston office is very hard on me. VERY hard. Their perceptions of what’s “important” in life is very different from what God says is important. The people here make me sad, honestly, when you realize how unhappy most of them are, but they aren’t that interested in chatting with me about anything. Most people in the office know that I’m a Christian. What they don’t know is that most all of them are in my daily prayers.
I later quipped that she seemed unlikely to be attending Osteen's church. That set her off on a bit of a rant:
From what I’ve seen of Osteen, he’s about telling people what makes them feel good, and being non-offensive for the sake of furthering along his church (business) and popularity. My boss...says that he likes Osteen for that reason; he makes you feel good about yourself.

While it’s always nice to feel good about yourself that is NOT what Christ is about. Osteen was asked in an interview a few months ago why he chooses not to have a cross in his church building, he responded with some answer about how it could “offend” some people, and that’s not what he was about.

Do you think Christ cared about being non offensive when he picked a fight, twice, in the temple, or called the religious authorities a brood of vipers? I don’t think so. Joel is all about Joel, and anyone with half a brain that drives by his stadium church should be able to see that. His name is literally in huge lettering all over it. No mention of Christ. Just Osteen.
Yep...seems like we might have a live one, here. I guess time will tell if the true bond of Christian fellowship can grow with this fellow employee...sure hope so.

And so, I've been granted yet another (albeit far lesser) reason to rejoice over the Sovereign work of a Risen Saviour. I trust this weekend we will all contemplate the Richness of Grace Mercifully poured out upon those who Truly Love Him.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
orget that old envelope system, enough with the "I keep it all in my head" excuse. If you sincerely want to be faithful to manage the funds the Lord has entrusted you with, then you do need a budget.

What exactly is a budget, you may be wondering? Well, it certainly doesn't have to be some laborious, time-intensive compilation of books and ledgers. No, a budget is merely a tool whereby all the funds under your direct stewardship are effectively monitored. This tool should also be flexible enough to enable you to forecast where you'll be 6, 12 or even 42 months from now, if you desire.

Some of my friends resist the whole notion of keeping a (written) budget by denouncing it as a needlessly cumbersome practice. They say things like: "oh, I know about how much goes in and out of my accounts," or "yeah, we have a pretty good idea of where our money goes." Sadly, many of these dear folks fit the classic "paycheck-to-paycheck" profile. It's hard enough to track funds with the necessary tools, why make it an even more precarious situation by using only your head (or the occasional loose piece of paper).

Again, as stewards of the funds with which we've been entrusted (remember, it's not our money), I truly believe it behooves us to be a bit more organized than we generally want to be. After all, would you handle your boss's money that way?

If any of this makes sense to you, then I urge you to follow the link below to the YouNeedABudget web site. I doubt you'll regret it.



Said my piece on it. Now I'm done.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
lick here, and prepare to be shocked. (If you don't already know about it.)


...and, if you live in California and have kids in public school, you might want to finally consider that home school alternative. Or a good, solid Christian school.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker

ollowing is an email from my son's mother:
This past Saturday was Career Day at R_________ Church and I was on the planning committee. I________ went with me. During the luncheon he pulled out the camera you bought him and charged people $1 to take their picture and show it to them. I did not have anything to do with it, in fact I wasn't in the room when he started working the room. At the end of the day he earned $8. He put it in his piggy bank and will make a deposit into his [bank] account this month.

The career day committee will use some of I________'s photos on their website.
Wow...wonder where he got that from! (c;

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
o, this is what the world is coming to.

Egads! ...Total Depravity, indeed.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
Daddy, can I tell you something that happened yesterday?

Sure son.

Elijah and I were playing in his room, and he suddenly got angry and started crying and pushing me.

I'm sorry he chose to do that to you, son. Did you happen to do anything to cause him to want to become angry with you?

No.

Are you telling the truth?

Yes. I went into his room to get something I wanted to play with [we were playing in there earlier] and then he got angry and started crying and pushing me, forcing me out of the room. I found out he was trying to hide some toys that he didn't want me to see him playing with.

I see.

But you know what else?

What's that?

When he did that to me I really wanted to knock his block off! But then, I thought about the pain I feel on my butt when you discipline me, and so I stopped myself and just let it go.
Gentle Reader, whatever your regard for the use of the rod...one simply cannot deny this small victory in the war against the foolishnesses bound up in the heart of a child.

This is especially poignant in light of the fact that some see my son as having a classic case of ADHD. In fact, just last summer a social worker expressed those very words, claiming that, based on his own observation (of less than ten minutes), my son simply didn't have the ability to focus on anything (let alone remember and follow instruction) for more than '6 seconds'. He quite confidently asserted the only effective remedy for this is pharmaceutical intervention. I believe 'drugs' was the term he used.

Consequently, he expressed grave concern over my use of corporeal discipline as a means of correction in the home, citing that his personal observation made it clear any form of physical correction was futile, given the fact that such children simply cannot substantially exercise self-control.

Drugs considered by the psychiatric community as effective at mitigating the "symptoms" of ADHD/ADD have proven detrimental to long-term health. There are even parents vigorously campaigning against their widespread use, due to having lost children to fatal side-effects after several years of sustained use.

Frankly - and far more importantly - there's little evidence better typifying the desire of finite man to trump the infinite wisdom of the Lord's commands than the response of this particular social worker (and, sadly, that of a growing number of his collegues).

Ultimately, this brief but instructive conversation with my son is raw, unsurprising proof of the astonishing superiority of Biblical wisdom over man's. Later, as my son's reasoning continues to develop, he'll better understand what I touched upon later in our talk that day...namely, that my goal for him is not simply wooden obedience to a set of rules, but rather the development of a conscience that is more tuned to the needs of others than to his own sinful cravings; and that is rightly responsive to the righteous demands of an infinitely Holy God.

Selah.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
So, my son whips out another thought-provoking question the other day as we're riding along in the ol' bug. He asks (and I paraphrase slightly, partly for your sake and partly due to the rather swift corruption of my internal "memory files"):
Daddy, why do people celebrate others when they die?
Loaded question? Could be. I answered by explaining how that sometimes when a person dies, people like to show their appreciation for the life that person lived and the things he accomplished. But of course that wasn't enough.
But what if the person never did anything [worth celebrating]?
(Aahh...feel the brain matter begin to stretch.) "Well, son," I say, "that's a good question, and you're right by recognizing that a lot of people don't really accomplish things that might be considered "great" by others. However, sometimes the people who knew them still want to express their thankfulness for the blessing of having known them by celebrating their lives."

At this point, of course, I'm internally exulting in the thoroughness of my answer. And, of course, my exultation typically came too soon...
But daddy, that seems like worship, and only God should be worshiped.
Huh. Needless to say I had to bring my 'A' game on that one, as I certainly want to foster a strong sense of the unique right God has to be worshiped above all things, without needlessly downplaying the appropriateness of certain human celebratory traditions. Accordingly, I did my best to explain the difference between worship and the simple honor and appreciation we express for the earthly things with which He's blessed us...like the enjoyment and wonder incited by the life of another human being.

Finally, after a bit more explanation, this seemed to satisfy him...for now. We'll see if this line of questioning ever re-surfaces. I'm sure nearly every subject unfolded for my son will need thorough "re-unfolding," once he's reached the "next level."

Well...my days in single-daddy mode are certainly never boring. And what a very great privilege (and weighty responsibility) I have to guide my young son into a sound and ever-widening understanding of all the Lord's handiwork!

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
UPDATE: No longer seeking a trade! ...found out I can get what I'm seeking at Best Buy, of all places. So there you have it. But thanks for considering.

Gentle Reader:

I've got $75 in gift card value from a MAJOR electronics retailer (just the first letter would give it away) which I'm willing to trade any honest, trustworthy citizen for the equivalent value from a certain MAJOR department store (signified by a Bull's Eye).

If you got what I'm lookin' for, and are open to a quick and honest trade, please let me know, ASAP. (Tryin' to make that MAJOR Holiday deadline. (c:)

Thanks!

End of advertisement.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker
(November 2007.) For all my rock-climbin' homies!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

ibcarlos, Reformed thinker