Author: bill

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Barth’s Prayer for the New Year

From the Trevin Wax at the Kingdom People we have this wonderful prayer for the New Year.

 

O Lord, our Father!
We have gathered here at the turn of the year
because we do not want to be alone but want to be with each other,
and together be united with you.

Our hearts are filled with somber thoughts
as we reflect on our misdeeds of the past year.
And our ears are deafened by the voices of the radio and in the newspapers,
with their numerous predictions for the coming year.
Instead we want to hear your word, your voice, your assurance, your guidance.
We know that you are in our midst,
and are eager to give us all that we need, whether we ask or not.

On this night we ask for one thing only:
that you collect our scattered thoughts,
getting rid of the confused and defiant thoughts that may distract us,
and thus enable us to concentrate on your limitless generosity to us.
You were abundantly generous to us last year,
and will be no less generous to us next year, and in every year to come.
Fill us with gratitude to you.

– Karl Barth

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.: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :.

Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called “consensus” on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore.

.: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :.

I am not surprised that there are 400 scientists who object to being included in the “consensus”. It sounds like these scientists are getting pissed off that the rhetoric is outrunning and demeaning the process of independent scientific verification of the global warming predictions.

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Protein Fruit Smoothie

From Oprah.com we get:

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 to 2 scoops vanilla whey powder
  • 1 cup strawberries
  • Banana
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 cup water (substitute milk or yogurt for a thicker, higher calorie drink)

First add ice to blender. Then add strawberries, banana, protein powder and water (or milk or yogurt). Blend all the ingredients until everything has dissolved. This will fill you up faster than you would think! If there is some left over, take it in a “to go” cup or pass it on to a friend or family member.

Protein Fruit Smoothie

My son has started wrestling season and I have decided to help him have a consistently healthy breakfast. A couple of weeks ago his idea of a fast breakfast was a pop tart. I decided a protein smoothie is a much better idea. The key to a great smoothie is great fruit. I found a bag of frozen fruit for smoothie in the frozen food section of the local Kroger that looked interesting. Amazingly the fruit looks great! I decided to substitute a half cup of milk, a quarter cup of low fat yogurt, and a dash of water for the water. If the smoothie is not sweet enough, add more fruit. I guess it is no surprise that my son likes it.

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SCHIP Will Not Improve Quality of Kids’ Health Care

SCHIP has not performed well in terms of stable coverage, access to primary care and preventive services, and the quality of care.

SCHIP Will Not Improve Quality of Kids’ Health Care

This is an interesting article that confirms some of my suspicions about the effectiveness of SCHIP in improving children’s health care. When I read the GAO report on SCHIP, I saw actions by various states that implied that the underlying problems with providing children’s health care were too tough to solve so they diverted the  SCHIP funds to other health care problems they thought they could solve. That is my interpretation on why so many adults are in the program and the lack of progress on the number of uninsured children. I was somewhat fascinated that these children’s health care effectiveness problems have such a low profile. After a little more reading at the Health Affairs web site it is apparent that many of the problems with the effectiveness of children’s health care are independent of whether the payments come from the government or the private sector. As the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink”.

I also found that the Secretary of Health has a blog, http://secretarysblog.hhs.gov/.

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Re: Bush’s Bait and Switch Theology: Religious Liberty and the Monotheistic Fallacy

From the the evangelical outpost we have this insightful post about whether we pray to the same God.

“I believe in an Almighty God,” said President Bush in an interview with Al Arabiya, “and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That’s what I believe.” The President’s attempt to promote a monotheistic ecumenism among the world’s religions is noble but misguided. Neither Muslims nor Christians (or as I hope to show, Jews) believe that we “pray to the same God.” At the risk of overcomplicating the issue, let’s examine the claim by putting it into a logical structure. The Muslim’s argument, based on the Qu’ran, can be put in the form of a (modus ponens) syllogism: 1. {If P then Q} If you believe that Jesus is the begotten son of God, then you do not believe in the one true God (See Note 1: Qu’ran (Sura 112)) 2. {P} Christians believe that Jesus is the begotten son of God. (See Note 2: John 3:16) 3. {Q} Christians do not believe in the one true God. Note 1: Qu’ran (Sura 112) — “Say: He is God, The One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, Nor is He begotten; And there is none Like unto Him.” Note 2: John 3:16 (KJV) — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” While I doubt the President was aware of this argument, I’m sure that he would agree this is a valid argument with true premises. He should also, therefore, agree that from the Muslim perspective, we do not all pray to the same God. But the most that can be inferred by that conclusion is that Muslims do not believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God. A slightly more complex argument is needed to prove that Christians (at least those Christians, like evangelicals, who believe the Bible is authoritative) also should not subscribe to this view:

1. P — The Gospels of Matthews and John make accurate claims about what Jesus said.
2. Q — Everything Jesus said was true.
3. R — Jesus said that he is the begotten son of God. {John 3:16, 1, 2}
4. S — Jesus said that you can know the Father, if and only if you know him first. {John 8:19, Matt. 11:27 1, 2}*
5. T –> U — If you deny that Jesus is the begotten son of God then you do not know Jesus. {Modus Ponens, 1, 2, 3}
6. U –> V — If you do not know Jesus then you do not know the Father. {Modus Ponens, 4}
7. T –> V If you deny that Jesus is the begotten son of God then you do not know the Father. {Hypothetical syllogism, 5, 6}
8. W — Muslims deny that Jesus is the begotten son of God. (Qu’ran (Sura 112) — “Say: He is God, The One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, Nor is He begotten; And there is none Like unto Him.”)
9. T & W — You deny that Jesus is the begotten son of God and Muslims deny that Jesus is the begotten son of God. {Conjunction, 5, 8}
10. W –> V — If Muslims deny that Jesus is the begotten son of God then Muslims do not know the Father. {Simplification, Modus Ponens, 7, 9}

If this argument is valid then it proves that Christians and Muslims do not pray and worship the “same” God. The problem is that agreeing with #6 implies that Jewish believers–at least since the time of Christ–also do not worship the “same” God.

This is precisely what I believe.

One of the basic axiomatic truths of Christianity is that God is Triune. While this is a difficult doctrine that no one fully comprehends, all orthodox Christians agree that Jesus is not merely a ‘part’ or ‘attribute’ of God but is one of the three persons and that all are God and all are one. A Christian cannot speak of ‘God’ without including both Christ and the Holy Spirit.

We also should not claim that, though Jews have an incomplete knowledge of God, they worship the “same” God as Christians. For it is not that Jews are unaware of Jesus; it is that they reject him. They believe it is blasphemous to claim that Christ is the same person as God. Christians, if we are consistent with our belief in the triune Godhead, will say that it is blasphemous to claim that that Jesus is not God.

To do otherwise is to either deny the validity of our belief in Christ or dismiss the Jewish belief that he is not divine. In essence we are claiming either that Jews are ignorant concerning the person they claim to worship or that it is possible to worship God and exclude Christ. In my opinion, both of these options are unacceptable.

Most Jews (and Muslims) are aware of the person of Jesus Christ, aware of the claims made about him in the New Testament, and have concluded that the claim concerning his deity are false. While I disagree with their conclusion, I trust that they have justified reasons, at least in their own minds, for why they reject him as Lord. We do all believers a disservice, when like President Bush, we resort to a “bait and switch” theology– claiming that we all worship the same God and yet adding an element on which the other religions find abhorrent.

Religious liberty is a divinely permitted freedom. As Christians it is our duty to speak the truth in love and to deal maturely with genuine disagreements. The ideal of religious tolerance is not to agree to the lowest common beliefs but rather to show respect due to fellow humans made in the image of God. By glossing over our theology with a layer of politically correct ecumenical agreement we are being ‘intolerant’ of both Islam and Judaism.

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When You Haven’t Got a Prayer

Here is a great post about prayers from Ben Witherington’s blog.

First a prayer for folks over 50 who are cranky, then a story about prayer which will make you think, hopefully.

— THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.The two survivors, not knowing what else to do,agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.The first thing the first man prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man
saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit.

The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land.

On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic,all of these were given to him.

However,the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that his wife and he could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings,since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming,

“Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”

“My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered, and so he does not deserve anything.”

“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”

“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”

“He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.When You Haven’t Got a Prayer