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THE LATEST 'HEAVY TOPICS WITH A LIGHT TOUCH'






October 15, 2007:
blog, e-zine or whatever it is I do here . . .

• Top topic: Halloween: annual look at all things creepy

• Celebrating cyber Sabbath

• Dress up like Martin Luther and celebrate "Reformation Day"

• 'Helping' God take out the trash

• Is latest stay of execution death for lethal injections?

• So-called church sued for picketing marine's funeral

• Top ten advantages of robot love

Unchristian reveals un-Christ-like perceptions of Christians

When Life Gives You Lemons gets squeezed out

With a kabillion sites you could visit, thanks for stopping by here! I hope you'll come back regularly for constantly updated humor; commentary on sex, society, the supernatural; and, of course, my plot to overthrow society as we know it. (Please save it as a "favorite," then tell a friend.)





Top topic: Monday, October 15, 2007
halloween: our annual look at all things creepy

Halloween is a strange holiday! People celebrate the holiday (which is short for "holy day") of "All Hallows Evening" (an ancient rite of moral purification before "All Saints Day") by dressing up as devils, vampires, axe murderers, and other morally challenged characters.

So, our annual look at demons, exorcisms, ghosts, talking to the dead, Nostradamus, psychics and the perpetual debate on whether Christians should celebrate Halloween.
Click here


Exorcisms,ghosts, psychics
Photo from The Exorcism of Emily Rose



Wednesday, October 31, 2007
is latest stay of execution death for lethal injections?

Tuesday the Supreme Court stayed the execution of convicted murderer Earl Wesley Berry. This is the third execution the Court has blocked in a month. Many believe this is a de facto ban on the death penalty until the Court decides whether lethal injection is “cruel and unusual punishment.” Eighteen states have put executions on hold until the decision.
Some thoughts on capital punishment
News story from ABC News [off site]



Tuesday, October 30, 2007
dress up like martin luther and celebrate 'reformation day'

Tomorrow, October 31, is most famous for Halloween, but it’s the date that . . .

• The radio drama “War of the Worlds” terrified thousands of listeners who thought America was actually being attacked by Martians (1938).

• Escape artist and magician Harry Houndi died (1926).

• British poet John Keats was born (1795).

• George Muller converted to Christianity and went on to found orphanages in Great Britain that would house more than 10,000 orphans (1825). And most important . . .

• Martin Luther nailed his “95 Theses” on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany (1517). The document began, “Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther. . . .” His theses questioned the Catholic doctrines of indulgences, purgatory, papal authority and other issues ushering in the Protestant Reformation.

Author and friend, Janice Miller, suggests Christians who are uncomfortable with the current celebration of October 31, commemorate "Reformation Day." So, dress the kids up like Martin Luther (monk haircut optional) and trick or treat as Protestants.
• Nearly 95 links to Luther and his theses [off site]



Monday, October 29, 2007
'helping' God take out the trash

Two-year-old Hannah loves to help "Papaw" take out the trash. She grabs one of the ties on the bag and I lift the other. She seems so proud that she's "helping." Of course, she's only carrying about 1 percent of the total load—more often adding to the weight as she leans into the trash bag.

I'm sure that God is bemused when we proudly perform some righteous act: writing a book, preaching a message, singing in the choir, helping the poor, etc. He's carrying 99 percent of the load—more often carrying the whole load as we lean on Him.

You can learn a lot of good theology from a two-year old!



Friday, October 26, 2007
so-called church sued for picketing marine's funeral

The hate-filled, so-called "pastor" Fred Phelps of the infamous "God Hates Fags" and "God Hates America" campaign is being sued by the father of a fallen Marine. According to the eveningsun.com:

Albert Snyder said Wednesday he had hoped for a private funeral for his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.

"They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family," Snyder testified.

"They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside.

Snyder is suing the Westboro Baptist church, whose members have picketed the funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming the deaths are punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality.

First, "clown" is a much too kind description of this dispicable excuse for a pastor, let alone a Christian. Second, he needs to be held accountable for his behavior and hate-filled rhetoric that is neither "pastoral" or "Christian." (Unfortunately, his independent "church" of family members is not under the supervision of any denomination, Baptist or otherwise.)

But—and it's a big but—Phelps is arguing that his First Ammendment rights are being violated. If the judge rules against the so-called "church," what are the ramifications for all churches. Will the government allow lawsuits from people offended by their message?

Finally, because of the legal ramifications, I would prefer that God would be the judge. As a "jurist" it certainly appears that Phelps and his followers are in criminal violation of God's laws.
• Why God hates www.godhatesfags.com
• Why Fred Phelps shouldn't call himself a "Christian"
• How Phelps perpetuates false stereotypes of Christ's followers
• Why we're told not to judge, but are called to be good jurors
• Why I fear "hate crime" legislation



Monday, October 22, 2007
celebrating cyber sabbath

For the past several months, I've been trying to observe a cyber Sabbath. At sundown Saturday, I turn off my laptop and don't reboot it until Sunday at sundown. Six days a week, I feel like I'm surgically attached to the computer, so it's been freeing to pull the plug for 24 hours. No emails, no Internet, no manuscripts to write and/or edit, no "Free Cell" games.

And the biblical concept of days beginning at sundown makes a lot of sense. Often, I would check my email just before bed Saturday, then toss and turn dealing with the issues, questions, problems and "flames” raised. Now, I'm email-free at sundown and can have a restful evening Saturday night, topping it off with the Christian stand-up comedy show, Bananas.

Yesterday, rather than spending the afternoon in the office staring at a computer screen , I sat on the porch—on a beautiful, sunny fall day with cool breeze and leaves falling— and read a George MacDonald anthology. Aah! You may want to give it a try.
• Finding time for a cyber Sabbath
• Fall photo fest (what I see from my back porch)



Saturday, October 20, 2007
top ten advantages of robot love

In his PhD thesis, "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners," artificial intelligence researcher David Levy argues that "robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them."

So, expect Letterman to have a "Top Ten List" of advantages of sex with robots:

10. Robots don't have herpes
9. Robots never have headaches
8. Robots can't get pregnant
7. Robots . . .

. . . uh, that's about all the advantages I can think of. Here are some reasons why I think it's not even "sex" at all:
• More



Tuesday, October 16, 2007
unchristian reveals un-christ-like perceptions of christians

David Kinnaman, president of
Barna Research, and Gabe Lyons have a new book that takes a "compehensive look" at how 16-29 year olds perceive Christianity. Unchristian's findings are disturbing!

According to the three-year study, the age group believes Christian are, and I quote:

1. Anti-Homosexual (toward the person not the deed) 96 percent
2. Judgmental 87 percent
3. Hypocritical 81 percent
4. Sheltered
5. Politically Motivated
6. Insecure

Perhaps, it's a case of the perception of Christians versus the reality of Christ.
• More



Later Monday
when life gives you lemons gets squeezed out

A sour note on my latest proposal for When Life Gives You Lemons, Sell 'em on eBay: the publisher felt they didn't have the resources to properly promote it. Sigh! I'm tempted to self-publish as I am passionate about the message.
• Read an excerpt from Lemons . . .
• Consider self-publishing with ACW Press



Monday, August 27, 2007
last issue's 'heavy topics with a light touch'

Our third grandchild, Nathan, arrived, September 25; I dove into my 2008 Presidential campaign with the Pool Party; I took a shot at school shootings coverage; and I solicited unsolicited manuscripts for my editing gig with Vista.
• Click here to go back in time



Monday, October 1, 2007
september's top ten sites

September's ranking (August ranking)

   1. Home page / blog (1)

   2. Top ten reasons I'm not divorcing my wife (2)

   3. Quips and quotes of encouragement (3)

   4. Women in ministry issues (7)

   5. One nation under the Supreme Being of your choice (—)

   6. Is it a life or a choice? (—)

   7. "Jim Shorts" on sex (5)

   8. Masturbation: the hidden habit (10)

   9. "Jim Shorts" on spirituality (8)

  10. Latest and last "Jim Shorts" (9)





But wait, there's more . . .
code, copyrights, comments . . .

We subscribe to proposed 'blogger's code of conduct' I'm glad to see the online community developing a set of guidelines to bring civility and credibility to the blogsphere. I've adapted the proposed policy (printed in red) to create my own code of conduct.


1. Responsibility for our own words First, I believe that, as a follower of Christ, I am responsible to "speak the truth in love" and to "let all [my] conversation be full of grace." Jesus never backed away from controversial subjects, but He was "full of truth and grace." Second, I believe plagiarism is stealing and thus a violation of the eighth commandment. All material on my site is original with me unless credited to someone else. And third, as a journalist, I must be objective, accurate (I will verify all facts with at least two reliable sources) and fair (I will quote people in context and strive to present their position accurately).

2. Nothing we wouldn't say in person We must be as responsible and civil we are in the real world. I believe that personal attacks, name-calling, profane or vulgar language, and racist, sexist and ethnic humor have no place in the real or virtual worlds.

3. Encouragement of responses (That's currently not in the code, but it should be!) I include guest's comments at the end of articles and columns as well as encouraging comments on my host's online discussion board.

4. No anonymous comments Commenters must supply a valid email address before they can post, though I allow commenters to identify themselves with an alias, rather than their real name for sensitive issues.

5. Discretion to delete comments I refuse to post comments that do not conform to my own code in point 2.

6. Vigorous enforcement of blog hosts' terms of service

7. Nothing harmful We will not engage in any activity that would cause physical, mental, social or spiritual harm or encourage anyone to do the same.

I'll probably be tweaking this as I go along, but for now, those are the promises I'm making to you as a guest on my site.

Blogger's Code of Conduct [off site]
Legal Guide for Bloggers (also very good!) [off site]
Some thoughts on blogging and responsibility



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