James Watkins on school shootings, Halloween and more plus free .mp3 music . . .

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October 1, 2006
new heavy topics

fall photo spread

foley's folly

halloween: trick or treat?

iraq's civilian death toll

school shootings

heavy topics

adultsite4adults [pg-13]

articles and book excerpts

blog archives

newspaper column

political rants [off site]

spiritual resources

light touch

book reviews

comedy/drama scripts

devotions

the dredge report

ecards

encouraging quotations

original music in .mp3

top ten lists

writing resources

jameswatkins!com

bio [if you're really bored]

email

favorite sites

group blog

my wife's blog

press room

reprint permission

RSS

speaking schedule

XarisCom [our sponsor]

Friday, October 13, 2006
the bible: humanly or divinely inspired?

Dave writes:

A couple days ago I had the opportunity to talk with a philosophy student at a local university. One of the many topics that we talked about dealt with the inspiration of the Bible. We both had differing views on the Bible and how it was written. He believes it was written by several human authors to convey God's relationship with man from a human perspective with no divine inspiration. I, on the other hand, believe that the Bible was written by several human authors who were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit to write about how God has and continues to interact with humans. What is your opinion on the inspiration of the Bible? How do you think God interacted with the writers of the Bible? Do you think he still communicates with us that way today?

Great questions! Hopefully, here are some decent answers:
• How was the Bible inspired?
• What does the Bible really say?
• Does God still communicate with us today?

Thursday, October 12, 2006
brit medical journal reports 655,000 civilian deaths in iraq

"The disaster that is the West's current strategy in Iraq must be used as a constructive call to the international community to reconfigure its foreign policy around human security rather than national security, around health and well-being in addition to the protection of territorial boundaries and economic stability," writes Richard Horton. He is editor of the British medical journal The Lancet, which published a study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimating the total civilian death toll in the Iraq conflict to be approximately 655,000.
• John Hopkins' figure
• Brookings Institute questions figure
• jameswatkins.com on war: go figure!

Wednesday, October 11, 2006
jury awards plaintif $11.3m in online libel case

Sue Scheff of Weston, Florida, sued Carey Bock of Mandeville, Lousianna, for calling her a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud" in Internet postings. The jury awarded Scheff 11.3 million. USA Today reports, "Scheff says she wanted to make a point to those who unfairly criticize others on the Internet. 'I'm sure (Bock) doesn't have $1 million, let alone $11 million, but the message is strong and clear,' Scheff says. 'People are using the Internet to destroy people they don't like, and you can't do that.'" Hopefully this will send a strong message to everyone writing online that the rule of law applies to the Internet just as it does to print media.
• Some thoughts on bloggers and "citizen journalists"
• Some thoughts on the Internet and truth
• Story from USA Today [off site]

Monday, October 9, 2006
foley's folly: i can do this and nobody will find out

Florida House Republican Mark Foley is the latest government official who thought he could get away with unethical/immoral behavior and nobody would find out. A long list, from presidents Nixon to Clinton to numerous other government, corporate and church leaders to your everyday adulterers and cheats have discovered that Jesus was absolutely right when He warned, "What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs" (Luke 12:3). And that was before CNN and the Internet!
• Some thoughts on dealing with scandal (from July 2002)

Saturday, October 7, 2006
the higher the high, the lower the low that follows

After a wonderful week directing the Sandy Cove Christian writers conference on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay, I emotionally crashed and burned on the soybean fields of Indiana. Thus, my theory that the higher the highs, the lower the lows that follow. That seemed to be the pattern for Jesus. Right after the high of His baptism, when God announced "This is my son in whom I am well pleased" and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him (definitely a high), He as immediately led into the desert for forty days of fasting and temptation (definitely a low). Jesus returns from the Mount of Transfiguration (high) to the valley of evil and unanswered prayer (low). So, enjoy the high highs, but be prepared for the low lows that often follow.
• Some thoughts on low lows
• Some thoughts on depression

Friday, October 6, 2006
amish are indeed a 'witness' following school shootings

The 1985 film Witness, stars Harrison Ford as a cop who goes undercover in Amish country to protect a young Amish boy who is the sole witness to a murder. This week the Amish families of Lancaster county Pennsylvania, have certainly been a witness to the love and forgiveness of Christ. An Amish man embraced the father of the killer saying, "We forgive." And when funds came pouring in for the families of the slain children, Amish leaders asked that part of the money go to the killer's widow and her three children. They truly are a "witness."
• Jesus on forgiveness
• Christianity Today on the Amish faith: pure and simple [off site]

Tuesday, October 3, 2006
three deadly school shootings within week trigger fear

First Colorado, then Wisconsin, and now Amish country in Pennsylvania have been the scenes of deadly school shootings. (My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims.) But despite the natural fear, a student is twice as likely to be struck by lightning than killed by a gunman at school.
• Dealing with death and grief
• Dealing with school shootings

Sunday, October 1, 2006
last issue's hot topics

A busy two weeks with Popeye's hospitalization, Papal protests, Rosie's rant,
Survivor-ism, "prosperity" preachers and Madonna's crass cross.
• Click here to go back in time to September 13, 2006

September 2006
last month's top ten sites

I have in my right hand, direct from my home office, last month's top ten sites . . .

• 1 Home page

• 2 "The Platypus Players"' billabong page

• 3 Home Page, September 4, 2005

• 4 Home Page, January 15, 2006

• 5 "Jim Shorts" on sex

• 6 Quips and quotes of encouragement

• 7 Top ten reasons I'm not divorcing my wife

• 8 "Adult site" for adults

• 9 "Jim Shorts" on issues

• 10 "Jim Shorts" on miscellanea

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Read a book excerpt, then go to amazon.com and buy them for yourself, family, friends, co-workers, next door neighbor, paperboy, dentist, pastor, . . .

sandy cove writers conference

Refine your writing and speaking skills, be mentored by editors and professional writers, network with editors and professional writers and expand your vision of how God can use you. On the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay in Northeast, Maryland.
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