No He Can’t

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So I just read No He Can’t: How Barak Obama Is Dismantling Hope And Change. It should come as no surprise to those who read my blog, even sparingly, let alone regularly, that I am no fan of the current administration. Unfortunately for Mr. McCullough, I received his book not long after the killing of UBL. The POTUS is running high right now, even in my book.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t make him infallible, either. Mr. Obama is running on a narrow path, dangling in no-man’s-land, upsetting his base on the far left by not moving fast enough to close Gitmo, end the very unpopular war in Iraq, and move much harder on social imperatives from his campaign promises. Meanwhile, he is also losing the so-called moderate vote by pushing too hard on left leaning policies, such as high taxation to fund social programs, “Obamacare” and the like. And while he has his moment of basking in Conservative glory over the Osama killing, he is fumbling the football faster and more often than a freshman QB in a rainstorm.


This is the Obama of No He Can’t, a slick talker with a penchant for over promising and under delivering. While McCullough points to the absolute pragmatism of Obama’s philosophy, he does hit a home run in speaking about the erosion of all other absolutes in Obama’s worldview, absolute rights, absolute values, and above all, absolute truth.


One thing is for sure; the book is absolutely partisan. If you are a fan of the president or simply wanting an unbiased view, skip this book. If you are a died-in-the-wool Tea-Partier, (what am I saying? Then you’ve most likely already read it!) So, if you are a Conservative looking for some red meat, highly recommended.


Over all, the book was just OK.

The Goodness of God

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When I agreed to review the book, The Goodness of God by Randy Alcorn I found that it was not at all what I expected. Not knowing much about Alcorn other than he writes fiction, I expected a feel good book based on antidotal stories of Christians who had seen angels and been given winning lotto numbers or some such thing. Boy was I surprised.


Instead what I found was a book that explains what theologians call "The Problem With Evil." Basically, the problem of evil is defines in this manner: "If God is all knowing and all powerful, AND He is a God of love, then there would be no evil in the world. So either God is not all powerful or He is not loving. You can't have it both ways." This is a major topic in apologetics, and let's face it, a major issue with both Believers and non-Believers today.

I was in seminary in 2001 and let me tell you, many people were asking those type of questions on 9/12 of that year. As they still do today. Tornadoes rip through town and the towns are just gone. The Mississippi River floods it bank for three miles, and towns are just gone. Swept away. And people ask, "Why God? Why would you let this happen?"

In this book Alcorn gives some very straight and easy to digest answers. While he does not sugar coat it, he gives answers that are simple enough for most people to grasp. I started to write that I wish I had this book back when I took Apologetics in seminary. But really I am glad that I didn't. Because then I wouldn't be able to realize just how complex and issue Alcorn has tackled, and just how down to earth he has made it sound.



A great book for those with Why questions for God. You can find it here.

War Dogs Take A Bite Out Of Bin Laden

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I love this picture. It’s a file photo, but it is real. The SEAL’s and other special ops command units are using canines to help with raids. They jump out of the helios and planes with the paratroopers and play certain roles during the mission—sniffing for explosives, combat tracking, and taking out bad guys.

So, they jump while wearing  doggles (see pic below) special breathing apparatus, flak jackets, and parachutes when jumping from planes. Most are German Shepherds, but the military has a few Labs and Belgian Malinois as well. Pretty darn cool.

Apparently, rumors say such a hero was with SEAL Team 6 when they got Bin Laden. The Pentagon is being tight lipped about mission details, and rightly so. No need to give the terrorists any idea of how our boys went in and got out. But I do like the idea that Fido here helped bring down Public Enemy #1.

C’mon, Man! #2

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I am no royal watcher. Let me just say that. I saw the wedding, but only because Patty was watching it, and some of the afterwards carriage rides and such. I dig the pomp and circumstance, mostly because of the traditions and the soldiers all decked out.

But I have to say, Princes Beatrice!? Honey-bunches-of-oats! Even an uncouth, color challenged, redneck, colonial like me… would’ve known better than to wear that hat! EEK!

 C’mon, Bea!

It is so bad, it even has its own Facebook page. Now, friends and neighbors, That’s bad.



Of course, Maybe she wasn’t so fashion challenged, after all. Maybe. Just Maybe. It was her way of telling grandma how ticked she was that dear old mummy didn’t get an invite.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You go, girls!

A Conversation With God

So I just read Alton Gansky’s newest book, A Conversation With God: If You Could Ask God Any Question What Would It Be? First, let me say that I was impressed with the book itself, physically I mean. It is a sturdy book with thick high quality paper. Well worth the suggested retail of $15.99. That may not seem like a big deal to some, but my books are usually put through the ringer. Most of them look like they’ve been rode hard and put up wet. So I appreciate a sturdy book.

But I also can appreciate the style of this book. I’m not sure that I have ever seen a book with this particular approach. I have several books that answer people’s questions about God stuff. But it is always the author’s answer, usually based on Scripture. Gansky takes the approach of answering the questions “from” Jesus, God, John, Paul, Mary Magdalene, or any other Biblical character that might be relevant.

For instance, on the question of Eternal Security, we get answers “from” Jesus, God, and Judas Iscariot of all people. When I saw that I was a little concerned; but Gansky doctrinal positions are very sound and sturdy, just like the book. (I really appreciate the physicality of this book, if you couldn’t tell.) Anyway, I was impressed and believe a scholar, pastor, Sunday School teacher, or even a younger student could benefit from having this book on their shelve.

Well worth the money as an investment for a teaching aid for you or for a young Believer just getting off the sincere milk.

The NFL Draft

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You know a sport is popular when their television show of the transition of armature athletes to professional athletes has more viewers than another sports actual games. Such is football these days, when more people watch the draft than a MLB game.


Some quick notes through the third round. (These are antidotal, and in no way statistically viable. I din't have time to run any standard deviation analyses in all my spare time.)

Looks like Miami has had a big draft so far, with five players taken in those opening rounds. Alabama is my big winner, though, having four go in rounds 1-3, but THREE of those in round one alone! Including Julio Jones to the Falcons. (Darn you Bengals. You could have had Jones two picks earlier and left AJ Green for us.) LSU and North Carolina also had four.

Speaking of which...apparently in the football world the proverb about bad guys finishing last doesn't hold water. UNC had four of its players go after the rules violations they had, AJ Green went #4 overall, and Cam Newton was the Top Pick. This only goes to show that the Universities are the only ones being hurt by the NCAA and their foolish, out-of-date rules. It's time to let colleges pay players a stipend that is fair and equitable. i.e. ALL players get the same money, regardless of team size, player ability, or supposed value to the team. The colleges rake in millions every year from these sports programs, and kids are selling their jerseys to go eat pizza. It doesn't add up, especially when the colleges are left to clean up their mess while the kids are signing huge bonuses with the NFL.



One last thing. Georgia had three go in the first three rounds. AJ to the Bengals at #4. Justin Huston to the Chiefs (Yeah, Dan!) at #70, and Akeem Dent to the Falcons at #91.

What about the Sons of Perdition you ask? Well, speaking of bad guys coming in last....Georgia Tech has had zero players drafted. Bwahahahahahahaha. What a rambling wreck.

Go Dawgs! Beat Tech!

The Beatification Of John Paul II

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On May 1, 2011 Pope John Paul II will be pounced as "Blessed" by the Roman Catholic Church. This is the second of three steps that will end in him being declared a "saint." Which is immensely different than the process for us lowly Baptists, who call every born-again, regenerated soul a saint. You get saved, and you're a saint. Baptism by immersion is not even required.



I find the whole process interesting and disturbing at the same time. But then again, my expectations are very low for the church that claims Mary as co-redemptrix. So it is no real surprise that I am both mildly amused and severely repulsed by some of this nonsense.





*******Note to Roman Catholics who used to read my blog**********
(I'm quite certain they won't after this post).



While I know the following will offend, it is not meant to. It is my desire that all come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, not co-Lord, co-God, or co-redeemer. Jesus said it as plainly as it can be said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" John 14:6. Mary cannot save you, answer your prayers, or talk Jesus into anything for you.


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Now, back to John Paul. Benedict declared him as venerable, step number 1. This basically means that he lived a heroically virtuous life. I can see that in John Paul. He was an ecumenical wreck, but he did bring many faiths together, reuniting the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches. He had a major hand in bringing down communism in Europe, especially in his home country of Poland. So, yeah, calling him venerable is not a bad thing.

The second step takes place on Sunday. Benedict will pronounce him blessed and he will become what is known as beatified. Once this takes place he will be well on his way to sainthood. The qualification of becoming beatified is that a bona fide miracle must be attributed to the individual. Here is where certain problems come in for me and a whole world of Evangelicals. (Notice that I did not say Protestant. That is because I am not a Protestant. The word comes from "to protest;" as in the Reformers protesting the abuses of the Catholics. I'm not a Protestant because I never protested anything. I am a Baptist. We left a century before Luther!) Anyway, among the festivities of the beatification are things that cause Catholics to worship the individual. As one example (the list is long) the marble slab that covered John Paul's tomb is being sent to his homeland of Poland. Where it will be set up as a shrine, and ultimately where people will flock to offer their reverence...then their adoration...and eventually, their worship.

Step three by-the-way, is the process of canonization, or making the person a saint. Canon is simply the word for measuring stick, like a yard stick. It came to mean a list of things, because the canon was the list of the books of the Bible. Those books that had been canonized, or measured and found to be worthy, were entered into the Bible. So canonization of the saints is adding them to the list. In order to become a Saint, one must have a miracle attributed to that person posthumously. In-other-words, someone prays to the person, after said person is dead, and said person performs a miracle for the someone. It won't take long for someone who has been praying to John P. to get healed of something, and they will give the credit to him instead of Jesus. Sister Teresa already has had two miracles attributed to her since her death.

The main problem I have is the way Roman Catholics attribute God's attributes to people. And dead people at that! This leads to them being elevated above their place as mere servants of God, to a place where they eventually can become, like Mary, co-equal with God. That is a very scary road to walk down, and will always lead to a Second Vatican Council mentality.