I never thought I would be writing such a post on my blog, but sometimes the things you think are decided show themselves to be subject to questioning. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a die-hard fan of Apple’s iPhone. I was one of those guys who stood in line for several hours to get my hands on one when they were first released. I have also walked along the upgrade path, standing ever in awe of the benevolent dictator that is Steve Jobs. I used my iPhone 3G for both business and personal use, and never wanted another phone.
That has all changed.
I’ve been watching the Google Nexus One since January of this year. I saw 3G connectivity issues and a small Android market plague its initial release. I saw the Motorola Droid and was somewhat taken with it, but could not part with my beloved iPhone – there simply could be no comparison in my opinion. My world was a happy one with the iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m certainly not in the habit of providing Christian quotes on my blog, but the renowned Christian author might well be called a prophet. Read his quote in light of the passage of the recent controversial healthcare bill:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals. But to be punished, however severely, because we have deserved it, because we ‘ought to have known better,’ is to be treated as a human person made in God’s image.”
The next time you’re traveling in Rome, take this little tidbit with you: an interesting article on the Sistene Chapel. Taken from the Aish HaTorah web site here. The author is Rabbi Benjamin Blech.
In the heart of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel is the site of the conclave where every new pope is elected. It is without doubt the holiest chapel in the Christian world, and draws more than 4 million visitors per year. Most of the world knows it best for its magnificent frescoes painted by the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. What has remained a little-known secret, however, is that within this citadel of Christianity lies perhaps the greatest subversive act in the history of art.
Almost none of the visitors who enter the Sistine realize that they are gazing upon secret messages embedded by Michelangelo in his artistic masterpiece. They would certainly be surprised to learn that, in the pope’s own chapel, Michelangelo employed these secret messages to advocate for a revolutionary change in Christianity’s relationship to Judaism, and that the code itself was rooted in the Jewish tradition. Read the rest of this entry »
Poor Charles Darwin – I wonder if even he himself ever imagined how one day he would be a poster child. His name is held in nearly reverential awe by those who deny the existence of a Creator, in favor of a natural process that began by chance and has since continued to derive more information out of less. Proponents spend countless years and equally countless funds in an effort to reverse-engineer the observations recorded by Darwin in his seminal work, “On the Origin of Species”. Their ‘a priori’: no Creator in Darwin’s work, rather “pure science”.
Let us also not forget those who practically spit while uttering this “cursed” name. For many, Darwin represents the core of the ills of society and the detachment of souls from a higher purpose. Darwin has become synonymous with the devaluation of human life, and is blamed as the source of everything from a failing education system to abortion. Just give ‘em their “Old Time Religion” – it’s good enough for them.
To both groups, I offer the following extract from chapter 15 of “On the Origin of Species”. It is the last stanza from the last chapter of this work. Please, consider this if you will:
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.
A “Creator” (with a capital ‘C’)?!? Oh yes. As well as “evolved”. The key is the word “forms”.
Sorry folks, Darwin was right in that he reported on his observations, and speculated based on those observations. It is the fault of those who twist his words to support their agendas that his name has become such a hot-button.
I was just made aware of this movie, which I’ve embedded below. If this doesn’t boggle the mind with it’s massive implications, I don’t know what does.
Guess I’d better pull up the garden now. I’m thinking I’ll have to build an enclosed bio-environment, with my own seeds and my own pollinators.
Ridonkulous.
By the way, there’s hope to be found here. Please download the guide!
I’m in the course of reading the book “The Christ Conspiracy” by Acharya S (a mystical designation for the person named D.M. Murdock – ‘acharya’ is defined as ‘divine personality’ in Hindu, ‘monk’ in Jainism and ‘teacher’ in Buddhism). I was originally made aware of her work during my research of the internet movie “Zeitgeist” and found that her work was cited for many of the claims that I debunked on my page concerning Zeitgeist Astronomy.
On the rear of this book, the author is called “archaeologist, historian, mythologist and linguist”. Her book however better reflects her as a librarian or researcher, as ponderous amount of the text consists of citations of other authors’ works. It is not with these cited authors that I can take issue, as I currently have no access to the original texts.
What I’ve noticed however is that in the passages where she “goes it on her own”, the inaccuracies fly from the page. I’ve come across many of these so far in my reading, having reached page 246 of this 400+ page book.
Last night I read page 238 of the book, where our author is trying to propose that the names of so-called “patriarchs” of the Hebrew Bible are merely borrowed from gods of the people with whom the ancient Hebrews had some association. The portion related to Noach and the Ark was being discussed by our author in relation to ancient Egypt. The passage that particularly resulted in this post was as follows (page 238 of “The Christ Conspiracy” by Acharya S):
“In Hebrew, the word for ‘ark’ is THB, as in Thebes, such that the Ark of Noah is equivalent to the Thebes of Menes, the legendary first king of the Egyptians, from whose ‘history’ the biblical account also borrowed.”
There are two problems here with Acharya S’s reasoning which go to the heart of my questioning her true credentials and motives:
Ever walked through a wine section at the local store? Ever try to have a look around one of the “higher-end” purveyors of the fruit of the vine? The mere prospect of such an endeavor is enough to make you curl up in the fetal position, rock back-and-forth, and whimper for mommy. Perhaps you’ve decided to spare yourself the anguish and purchase a Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast publication to help you make a more informed decision. You choose the 90+ rated wine … and you hate it. What to do?
Enter Gary Vaynerchuk.
Gary hosts Wine Library TV (here). His style is second to none in wine tasting and analysis. To get a feel for how he has developed his palate to analyze wine, view Gary as a guest on Conan O’Brien’s show first:
Every time I go to my local Kosher wine store, I look specifically for those wines that Gary has tasted and rated. Even if they rate poorly, I’m always curious to compare my palate with Gary’s notes. Fortunately for those of us who drink only Kosher wine, what follows is a list of episodes that either feature or taste at least one Kosher wine.
Thank you so much Gary – you are TRULY changing the wine world, whether they like it or not!
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Neuroscientist who has spent many years studying the human brain. She was afforded an amazing opportunity for insight into her studies when she suffered a stroke while alone in her home. Below Dr. Taylor describes the ordeal, and how her perception began to change during the course of the stroke as her left brain began to be starved of oxygen.
This is a particularly moving video, and should give serious pause as we consider the ultimate reason for our presence in this world.
Poor Charles Darwin – I wonder if even he himself ever imagined how one day he would be a poster child. His name is held in nearly reverential awe by those who deny the existence of a Creator, in favor of a natural process that began by chance and has since continued to derive more information out of less. Proponents spend countless years and equally countless funds in an effort to reverse-engineer the observations recorded by Darwin in his seminal work, “On the Origin of Species”. Their ‘a priori’: no Creator in Darwin’s work, rather “pure science”.
