Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Circular reasoning?

Fossil Suggests Snakes Evolved on Land
It's the first time scientists have found a snake with a sacrum, a bony feature supporting the pelvis, he [Hussam Zaher of the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil] said. That feature was lost as snakes evolved from lizards, and since this is the only known snake that hasn't lost it, it must be the most primitive known, he said.
Catch that? Since we already know that snakes used to have legs and lost them through the process of evolution (having smaller / shorter / no legs confers a survival advantage, right?), a snake with a sacrum must therefore be more primitive. Nothing like assumptions that define the meaning of the evidence, eh? Of course, one couldn't possibly call this evidence for Gen 3:14 being accurate, could one?

Friday, April 14, 2006

A very good day, indeed

It's Good Friday for us Christians.

A holy day; a solemn day. But a Good day? Yes. Oh, yes.

It is good to reflect on the agony Christ endured on our behalf. Not merely the agony of the Cross (from where we get the term excruiating), though that was severe enough.

But Christ's real agony was knowing that God - Father - Abba (Daddy!!) - had turned His face away from the Son He had loved since before the beginning of the world. "He who knew no sin became sin" on our behalf, and the Holy God turned away in disgust.

That is why Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and then, "It is finished." For at that moment, it WAS finished, for all time. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that all who believe in him might not perish, but have eternal life."

A very good day, indeed.

May your Good Friday be blessed.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Well, Gawrsh!

Some Immigration Marchers Pay High Price Some folks are getting fired from their jobs or suspended from school for taking off without permission to protest in favor of flauting immigration law. Of course, as soon as the advocacy groups sponsoring the marches get involved, the employers cave and the skippers get rehired. I wonder if people have ever gotten canned for skipping out to attend, say, a "Legalize Marijuana" rally, and then gotten rehired because NORML came calling? (For the record, I'm not in favor of legalizing pot.) I love this quote by a marcher:
"'We have to change the way the American people think about us,' Ortega said. 'We are here to work and to make our lives better.'"
Well, Senor Ortega, I'd say that members of your groups are doing a mighty fine job of changing the way Americans look at you. Yup. Flying the Mexican flag above an inverted US flag, chanting "La Raza!" and "Reconquista!", carrying Che banners, signs that read "Anglos are the illegal immigrants," beating up counterprotestors that just want to see the law enforced ... yup, you're changing the way people look at you. Not for the better, I'm afraid.