tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200401862024-03-12T21:43:18.751-04:00First Person LifeWe all live life in the first person. Nobody can truly live vicariously. What appears here is my attempt to make sense of life as I encounter it. Some insights may seem profound, others mundane. Ultimately, it is hoped that what is found here can make life more understandable for someone else.dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-13804295072357298572012-03-23T11:56:00.000-04:002012-03-23T11:56:13.354-04:00Nidal Hassan and Robert Bales - A Christian View of Swift Justice and Justice DelayedI received the following in my inbox this morning:
From a friend of mind and I agree with him.
After reading the headlines today about the US soldier who shot up Afghanistan civilians, I couldn’t help noticing an irony. There is all this clamor to try this guy quickly and execute him, never mind his having suffered a traumatic brain injury. Yet this Major Hasan, who shot up Fort HoodDentM42http://www.blogger.com/profile/02053339534330836972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-75145774743374489172011-12-15T10:03:00.007-05:002011-12-15T10:41:41.924-05:00Because There are Women Pastors, Women Should be Ordained (?)In a recent post, in response to the question, "So....why do you think that women should be ordained?," a proponent of women's ordination said, Some women are pastors. To be a pastor in our church a person has to be ordained. Therefore, women should be ordained.The problem is that this reasoning is backwards.Let's take a different example - recently in my area, a 9 year old girl was pulled over DentM42http://www.blogger.com/profile/02053339534330836972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-12345650267902680192011-12-12T15:40:00.005-05:002011-12-12T16:10:16.643-05:00The Ordination of Women: A Threat to the Gospel <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P.sdendnote { margin-left: 0.2in; text-indent: -0.2in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-size: 10pt } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } H2 { margin-bottom: 0.08in } H2.cjk { font-family: "Arial" } H2.ctl { font-family: "Arial" } A:link { so-language: zxx } A.sdendnoteanc { font-size: 57% } --> In a 2007 survey of youth in The LC--MS, only 43.7% of poll DentM42http://www.blogger.com/profile/02053339534330836972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-19098007953898429482011-10-25T13:30:00.011-04:002011-10-25T14:26:16.473-04:00Doctrine AND Practice AND FellowshipI recently found myself engaged by a discussion over at Steadfast Lutherans on the topic of Doctrine and Practice. In the course of that discussion, my verbosity got the better of me (those who know me know this isn't a surprise).Anyway, the following "essay" is a further response to that discussion (the post which prompted this reply can be found here). It's posted here mostly because I DentM42http://www.blogger.com/profile/02053339534330836972noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1754731305851326882011-08-18T11:26:00.002-04:002011-08-18T11:38:37.912-04:00Still tech after all these yearsI'm a techie... I admit it. But not for techie sake, but because technology is a TOOL.
During the last week, I've had the opportunity to brush off some old skills and force technology to bend to my will. This is what technology is supposed to do. It is our servant so that we can be servants to others.
The wife of one of my good friends has an AWESOME blog called "Bargains to Bounty" (http://DentM42http://www.blogger.com/profile/02053339534330836972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-36062645752667883752011-08-08T13:17:00.002-04:002011-08-08T13:19:58.207-04:00Back to BloggingOk, I know I've been away for quite some time... well, not away really, just been doing things in other venues. Now, I find myself with a lot of time on my hands and decided to get back into blogging.
So, here is where you'll find some general "comments on life" from a first person perspective as I see it. Of course, as a confessonal Lutheran pastor, this means you'll hear about life from a DentM42http://www.blogger.com/profile/02053339534330836972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-28696261372932383622008-04-29T09:01:00.003-04:002008-04-29T09:52:23.851-04:00Take care of me --- I don't want to get involvedIt seems that we are reaping the profits of the "entitlement mentality." Through our democratic systems, we have turned almost absolute power over to others with the empty promise that they will "take care of us." When things happen with which we are unhappy, like children, we stomp and pout, kick and scream, threaten, shout, cry, whine, throw tantrums, anything we can in order to try to coercedm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-87061478388301771122008-03-25T14:46:00.002-04:002008-03-25T14:50:03.011-04:00Organizational MeetingWe had a number of people at the Initial Organizational Meeting to discuss what will be necessary to return Todd and Jeff to the air. There is a transcript of the discussion available.One thing became obvious in the lead-up to the meeting and at the meeting itself - there are a lot of people working on things, but not a lot of coordination among all of the efforts. There are also a lot of GREAT dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-32079541174855589392008-03-24T07:33:00.006-04:002008-03-24T10:00:00.282-04:00Bring Back Issues Organizational MeetingOrganizational Meeting - 2008/03/24 - 8:00 PM EDT * Location: #issuesetc channel on starlink-irc.org - info and web interface can be found at http://www.starlink-irc.org * Time: 8 PM Eastern, 7 PM Central * Agenda will be posted by NOON Eastern at: http://uaclutheran.info/wiki/bin/view.pl/IssuesETCdm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-24459254335629019902008-03-23T10:47:00.008-04:002008-03-24T10:00:39.526-04:00Yes, Yes, Yes we do! WE NEED ISSUES, How About You? - A Proposal [UPDATED]As most of us already know Issues, Etc. was unexpectedly cancelled last Tuesday (3/18/08) and its host and producer summarily dismissed from the staff of KFUO. Many of us are saddened at the loss of what was the best Christian talkshow broadcast on the radio and the Internet. Some are making plans to attempt to persuade the Synod and KFUO to reconsider their decision. Overall, I'm not sure dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-11107078306912595692007-10-29T09:57:00.000-04:002007-11-01T08:55:39.755-04:00The Next Big Movie! (It's worse than you can imagine!)Fans of fantasy come to life may be astounded by the next big fantasy trilogy coming out of Hollywood. The first of the movies will be arriving in theaters just in time for Christmas.The movie boasts stunning scenery, spectacular special effects, and several big-name stars. It is also partly produced by one of America's premier producers of Children's Books, Scholastic Inc., as well as the dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-85832641229091510222007-10-06T14:42:00.000-04:002007-10-06T14:46:33.969-04:00Homiletics Textbook now available as downloadI had previously posted about a reprint of J.M. Reu's Homiletics book being available. There is now a less expensive PDF download version of the book available! Enjoy!dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-51557383969145147582007-10-06T12:53:00.001-04:002007-10-06T12:59:05.581-04:00Premature babies feel pain.....Here's an article I never did publish. I meant to, but didn't. It's interesting that even after a year and a half, there is little coverage of this study by U.S. news outlets. I think this makes my point even more emphatically.=-=- April 2006 -=-=I admit it, I know media bias exists but often I've found myself either ignoring the issue or giving the media the benefit of the doubt. But this dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-22822344898111578712007-10-06T09:58:00.000-04:002007-10-06T11:08:59.364-04:00For Technophiles and Non-techies alike...Ok, I admit it, I'm a technophile. It's almost as if technology is in my blood... like lead poisoning from my childhood.I got my first computer when I was 9 years old and was more interested in programming it to succumb to MY WILL instead of playing computer games (Really, I'm NOT a control freak ... much). In sixth grade, I was asked to teach the "smart kids" (the "elite" group that I was *notdm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-70964328637193564292007-09-22T12:21:00.000-04:002007-09-22T12:32:03.094-04:00Fugitive Safe SurrenderWould you encourage your congregation turn your church fellowship hall gymnasium into a temporary court room to allow people in your community with outstanding warrants to come in and deal with the situation?From the website:Fugitive Safe Surrender is a unique, creative, and highly successful, initiative that encourages persons wanted for *non-violent felony* or *misdemeanor crimes* to dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-61567039597286824352007-09-15T07:09:00.001-04:002007-09-15T07:50:56.411-04:00The (il)logic of the "science" of Global WarmingWhile I haven't posted in a while, there are some things that just get under my skin. One of them is alarmist "global warming" news stories that contain significant logical inconsistencies.I should say that when I was in grade school (late 70's early 80's), I was told that we should be preparing for the next Ice Age because the earth was cooling. Living in the Great Lakes region of the country,dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1168576246958531672007-01-11T22:28:00.000-05:002007-01-13T18:26:24.076-05:00HOW MANY MORE AMERICANS MUST DIE?!?![begin rant]President Bush has recently announced that he intends to increase the number of troops in Iraq in an effort to bring order out of the chaos that exists there due to those whose sole mission is to destroy the lives of those who disagree with them. In my opinion, the biggest mistake our president and the Pentagon have made in the war in Iraq is sending too few troops to begin with. dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1151712989086279152006-06-30T19:44:00.000-04:002006-06-30T20:16:29.173-04:00"The Myth of Expository Preaching" ??David Fitch, author of the Great Giveaway and a voice in the emergent church has a post on his blog (also entitled: The Great Giveaway) about The Myth of Expository Preaching and the Comoditization of the Word.The post brings up numerous issues, and I'm tempted to run a series on the post over on Learning Greek since it's my site dedicated to such things and I have some spare time now that dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1150562221940620602006-06-17T11:09:00.000-04:002006-06-17T12:37:21.556-04:00PSA: Copyright and Digital Rights ManagementBeware the Corruptables.Perhaps you've heard about technologies such as the "audio flag," "digital rights management," etc. You may even have heard about Sony/BMG music installing trojan software on people's personal computers when they play their Audio CD's on their PC... (yes, they did it, without the PC owner's permission. Yes, it IS a federal crime to tamper with another person's computer dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1150494081163087702006-06-16T17:12:00.000-04:002006-06-16T17:41:21.276-04:00Life must have been simpler before the Tower of BabelI tend not to take the word of others very easily-- especially when it comes to hearing second hand what someone else thinks or said. I'll often take the "evidence" or report of a second hand source under advisement, but I will often not readily "accept" it without additional corroboration - preferably from primary sources.Such has been the case in Luther's "break" with Augustine over the dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1150337323408423362006-06-14T22:04:00.000-04:002006-06-14T22:08:43.420-04:00Simply horrifyingMedical tourism to the U.S. for designer babies.... I must admit... In general, I'm a capitalist because I find that capitalist competition tends to be the best way to balance competing interests in a secular society. But this is a case of capitalism run amok.... I'm repulsed and embarassed enough to almost turn red!DM42dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1148345158648989602006-05-22T20:29:00.000-04:002006-05-22T20:45:58.670-04:00Media Responsible if VA Records gets misused?I understand the watchdog mentality of the media and that it serves an important function in the process of government of our nation by providing information on what goes on in the world. However, it seems to me that there is some responsibility to consider whether the disclosure of facts advances the story and what damage the disclosure might do.A case in point is the recent loss of informationdm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1146519033028077032006-05-01T17:22:00.000-04:002006-05-01T17:30:33.050-04:00AP Report on Da Vinci Code somewhat balancedColor me suprised. There is an AP report on CNN.com entitled The Battle of 'The Da Vinci Code' which gives a moderately balanced description of the debate about the movie. They even quote Larry Hurtado who was a guest at Concordia Theological Seminary's 2005 Exegetical Symposium. While I won't say that the media "gets it" with regard to the theological issues surrounding this film, I'm happy dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1146445406027073362006-04-30T20:45:00.000-04:002006-04-30T21:19:50.853-04:00J.M. Reu's "Homiletics" Textbook Now Available!I've made my favorite homiletics textbook available. It's title is Homiletics: A Manual of the Theory and Practice of Preaching by J.M. Reu D.D. of Wartburg Seminary. The publication is a reprint of images taken from a 1922 first edition. There are three versions available. Hard Cover ($33.22), Paperback ($23.74) and a "Coursepack" ($14.77). Descriptions of each are available as well as a dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20040186.post-1145329226280630482006-04-30T20:29:00.000-04:002006-04-30T21:48:45.526-04:00Making Evolutionists "Go Ape"A recent discussion I've been having regarding evolution in the classroom has wound down.In the process of the discussion, I seemed to have worked a couple of zealots into a frenzy trying to defend the existence of evolution in the science curriculum of our public schools. The argument is simple and has been stated before on this site.Below is a repost of my latest comment. There are two dm42http://www.blogger.com/profile/07473620601613191994noreply@blogger.com0