Posts

Copyright has been one of the leading issues of the 21st century and yet surprisingly little has been written on it from a uniquely Christian perspective. The most one reads about it, for example, is that violation of copyright is akin to stealing and the treatment of copyright pretty much ends there. However I don’t think such a simplistic answer does the complexity of the issue very much justice. Being a programmer I deal with copyright and intellectual property issues quite a bit. In fact, most of Americans today deal in some form of knowledge working or another (See this presentation for some fun statistics.). Many (like myself) derive their entire living from their production of intellectual capital ( Here is an interesting article on how knowledge workers are changing the demographics of our cities.). ...

Much has been said regarding pornography. It’s use, it’s consumption, it’s effects on both groups, and it’s effect on society. I want to step back, however, for a minute and discuss how pornography itself constitutes a “way of knowing” regarding sex and how this method of knowing, this ideological grid, colors how we think about sex in general and our own personal sexual relationships in particular. To begin with, we need to take a look at what pornography is, and isn’t. ...

I recently attended a lecture by Dr Richard Howe on the Prosperity Gospel and Word of Faith Movement and decided to share the slides from the event with a few of my friends. The following are a few questions that were raised during the course of our discussion. “Are there spiritual laws and forces?” Sure, we are given many hints at what the spiritual realm is like. However the question here (and I agree that Dr Howe didn’t make this as clear as he could have) is not whether the spiritual realm exists or whether some metaphysical entities operate according to a regulative principal along the lines of the physical realm. For example mathematics, logic, and love are all metaphysical and yet we know they fit into a clear system we can know at least in part. ...

[HT Wintry Knight] My friend Wintry Knight recently turned me on to an excellent American economist, statistician, and a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Milton Friedman. Here is a short clip of Milton answering a rather pointed question regarding our responsibility to the poor wherein Milton explodes the myth that Capitalism and the free markets are somehow against helping the poor. Milton also points out in this short clip how most poverty and disparity in America can be directly traced to socialistic programs. ...

[HT Apologetics315] Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Bart Ehrman debate the topic: Does the Bible Provide an Adequate Answer to the Problem of Suffering? at Ohio State University on April 15, 2010. More information about this debate can be found at the debate website. Full Debate MP3 Audio here. (2 hr 10 min) This was a fascinating debate between, as the moderator put it, “two men who are deeply convicted in their hearts of their respective positions”. ...

It is often repeated on late-night talk shows that abstinence-only education is a failed pipe-dream and that the more responsible thing to do is teach kids how to have “safe-sex”. This line has been repeated so often that many people take it as an unquestioned fact. But is it really? Preliminary studies have shown that abstinence-only education actually does work. It’s not the entire answer, however. A more complete answer would include 1.) strengthening our cultural view of marriage (as opposed to trashing it in almost every area of pop culture) 2.) de-sexualizing our children and 3.) combating the myth that “kids are going to do it anyway”. ...

Happiness hasn’t always been defined as: state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy [HT Wintry Knight] From Muddling Towards Maturity. He quotes Chuck Colson on the pursuit of happiness. Excerpt: Our founding fathers understood the pursuit of happiness to mean the pursuit of a virtuous life. This concept of happiness comes from the Greek word eudaimonia—which refers to a life well-lived, a life rooted in truth. That is what happiness means, and that is what every man and woman has an inalienable right to pursue—a virtuous life. ...

The following are ex-scripts from a conversation on Facebook regarding the contextualization of the Gospel. As a disclaimer I will say that while I agree that the gospel or good news of Jesus is eternal and requires no context but the one it brings of it’s own accord, I believe we have a responsibility as ambassadors of Christ to make an effort to provide as clear of a communication of that message in whatever cultural context we find ourselves in as possible. ...

What it means Greek Combination of πόρνος and γράφω Transliteration/Pronunciation pornos/por’-nos and graphó/graf’-o Strong’s Combination of G4204 and G1125 Definition The etymology of pornography is basically “writing about prostitutes/harlots/whores” with the Greek root being pornographos from the words pornos and grapho. Where it’s found Pornos: Genesis 34:31; Genesis 38:15; Genesis 38:21; Genesis 38:22; Leviticus 21:7; Leviticus 21:14; Deuteronomy 23:2; Deuteronomy 23:17; Deuteronomy 23:18; Joshua 2:1; Joshua 6:17; Joshua 6:23; Joshua 6:25; Judges 11:1; Judges 16:1; I Kings 3:16; I Kings 21:19; I Kings 22:38; Proverbs 5:3; Proverbs 6:26; Proverbs 29:3; Isaiah 1:21; Isaiah 23:15; Isaiah 23:16; Isaiah 57:3; Jeremiah 3:3; Jeremiah 5:7; Ezekiel 16:30; Ezekiel 16:31; Ezekiel 16:35; Ezekiel 23:43; Ezekiel 23:44; Hosea 4:14; Joel 3:3; Nahum 3:4; Matthew 21:31; Matthew 21:32; Luke 15:30; I Corinthians 6:15; I Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25; Revelation of John 17:1; Revelation of John 17:5; Revelation of John 17:15; Revelation of John 17:16; Revelation of John 19:2 ...

One of the most common proof-texts used to show that God arbitrarily elects some to salvation while damning others without merit or cause is Romans 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Many people have a hard time with this passage as it is often posited as evidence of God’s sovereign choice unto election of Jacob and express damnation of Esau “before he had done good or evil”. ...