“Most unfortunate” town name

Toad Suck, Arkansas, was voted “most unfortunate” town name.

A list of the top ten "most unfortunate" names is below. I find it interesting that even though the polled respondents lived in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, that all the "most unfortunate" names were in the United States. Maybe these other folks just don't know how to get creative when it comes to town names.

Toad Suck, Ark.
Climax, Ga.
Boring, Ore.
Hooker, Okla.
Assawoman, Md.
Belchertown, Mass.
Roachtown, Ill.
Loveladies, N.J.
Squabbletown, Calif.
Monkey's Eyebrow, Ky.

Get over it

According to Yahoo News, former Arkansas Governor and former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee "has called Paul supporters 'fanatical believers' who 'don't represent mainstream Americans'." He also says, "You lost, move on."


Well, Mike, I have a couple of things I'd like to you. I voted for Ron Paul in the primary. I lost. I have moved on. But moving on doesn't mean quietly acqueising to and voting for the Rino candidate that the majority seems to want. All dissent should not be shut out of the Republican National Committee with an "anybody but Obama" mentality.

I've been a Republican for almost my entire adult life and have never voted for a Democrat for president. Like you, I am a "fanatical believer" in Jesus Christ, and a Baptist preacher.. Unlike you, evidently, I don't have to have a candidate who pretends to toe the party line. Get over it, Mike; move on.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

...gets it wrong.

Bill Nye's Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children has become a "hit" on the internet, for better or worse. You can view it at the link above, as well as read the transcript. For that reason, I won't post the entire transcript here, but comment on excerpts from it.

1. "Denial of evolution is unique to the United States." False. Belief in creation may find great strength in the United States, but denial of evolution can be found throughout the world.

2. "When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in that [the "science" of evolution], it holds everybody back." False. The history of our nation filled with Bible-believing Christians--which has grown into "the world's most advanced technological [nation]"--stands as a clever denial of Nye's assertion.

3. "Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science." False. Though some would so claim, it remains scientifically a theory unable to explain the origins of the universe.

4. "Your whole world is just going to be a mystery instead of an exciting place." False. Amazingly, Nye thinks all Christians live in an unexciting, crazy, untenable, inconsistent world. I think he needs to get out more; maybe meet some different kinds of folks than he is used to hanging around with.

5. "The idea of deep time, of this billions of years, explains so much of the world around us." False. But I mainly want to notice here that he finds a view that "explains so much of the world around us." Thankfully, the view of God and creation explains all of the world around us.

6. "...grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine, but don't make your kids do it because we need them." False. Here Nye encourages schizophrenic parents who believe one thing and teach their kids another! No, if it is wrong, grownups ought not believe it either! We do need our kids, and God & creation is a worldview both worthy and safe to be held by grownups and children.

7. "We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can—we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems." True. Yes, true for once. We do need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers, and people that can build stuff and solve problems. (I wonder if mentioning the desire for "scientifically literate voters" doesn't reveal a lot more about this whole thing than what he actually says.) Apparently Nye has not noticed that for two hundred years and more we have been developing literate voters, good citizens, folks who can build stuff, and folks who can solve problems--all the while with many of them 'weighed down' with a worldview filled with God, creation and religion!

8. "...in another couple of centuries that world view...just won't exist." False. Remember Voltaire? In another couple of centuries Christianity and other beliefs of God & creation will remain vital worldviews, while Bill Nye will be mostly forgotten.

Let God be true, but every man a liar.

What Bill Nye should have said

A transcript of Bill Nye's Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children can be found below the video. In contrast to what he said, here is something more like what should be said.

Denial of evolution isn't unique to the United States. We're the world's most advanced technological nation—generally, the United States is where most of the innovations still happen. People still move to the United States. And that's largely because of the liberty, freedom and prosperity we have, and the general understanding that faith and religion preserves those liberties. When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in that, it holds everybody back.

Creation is the fundamental idea in all of life. Trying to live without God is very much like trying to do geology without believing in tectonic plates. You're just not going to get the right answer. Your whole world is just going to be a mystery instead of an exciting place.

Carl Sagan said, "When you're in love you want to tell the world." Once in a while I hear people that claim they don't believe in God. And my response generally is "Well, why not? Really, why not?" Your world just becomes fantastically complicated when you don't believe in God. Here are these ancient dinosaur bones or fossils, here is radioactivity, here are distant stars that are just like our star but they're at a different point in their lifecycle. Here is love and faith and morality. The idea of God and creation explains all of the world around us. If you try to ignore that, your world view just becomes crazy--untenable, itself inconsistent.

And I say to the grownups, you are free to deny creation and live in your world, in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we know--but don't make your kids do it, because we need them. We need morally literate voters, citizens and taxpayers for the future. We need engineers that can build stuff and solve problems; we need teachers who can pass on to the next generation; we need preachers who can define morality.

You know, in another couple of centuries the belief in God and creation will remain a vibrant viable world view. Bill Nye will be mostly forgotten.

In memory, Archie McDonald

Yesterday morning a memorial service was held for Archie P. McDonald of Nacogdoches, Texas. Anyone who was interested in history, especially East Texas history, knew him or knew of him, his books and his work. He was long-time Executive Director of the East Texas Historical Association and editor of the East Texas Historical Journal. Mr. McDonald was born November 29, 1935 and died August 16, 2012.

The Contemplation of God

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1)

Consider four truths: God’s love is –

Eternal – it is without beginning and end. ‘In love, having predestined us’ (Eph 1:4-5). ‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee’ (Jer 31:3).

Sovereign – it is without external influence. ‘Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated’ (Rom 9:13). ‘According to the good pleasure of his will’ (Eph 1:4)

Immutable –it is without change. ‘strong as death...many waters cannot quench it’ (Song of Solomon 8:6-7). ‘having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end’ (John 13:1). ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?’(Rom 8:35)

Gracious – it is without condition. ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son’ (Jn 3:16). God’s definite love rested on the fulfillment of one condition: the obedience of Christ unto death. The Father was satisfied with everything concerning His Son.
 -- excerpt from The Contemplation of God by T. David Simpson

What we have through faith

What do those who champion baptism for the literal remission of sins have in baptism that we don't already have by faith? According to the Bible "them that believe":


1. Are given power to become the sons of God, John 1:12.

2. Have the righteousness of God, Romans 3:22. Cf. Romans 5:1.

3. Are the seed of Abraham, Romans 4:11.

4. Are saved, I Corinthians 1:21. Cf. Hebrews 10:39.

5. Are given the promise, Galatians 3:22.

More readings on history and other stuff

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the blogs linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the posts linked.

A Kentucky Baptist in the War of 1812
Baptist Ecumenism...some initial observations
Five Great Mysteries of the Christian Faith
Preacher in the hands of an angry church: the fall of Jonathan Edwards
The True-Gospel Faith Declared According to the Scriptures
William Kiffin

Democrats withdraw support

Mark Clayton won the Tennessee Democratic U.S. Senate primary last Thursday. Now the Democratic party rejects Senate nominee Mark Clayton. According to the state party, "Mark Clayton is associated with a known hate group..." and the State Party will not promote him or support him. They are also encouraging Democratic voters to write-in a candidate in the November general election.

I thought maybe Clayton was in the Ku Klux Klan, but apparently the statement was made because he is vice-president of Public Advocate of the United States. I'm not familiar with them, but this conservative group describes itself as a "conservative, pro-family advocacy group" and opposes same-sex marriage and abortion.

Miscellaneous quotes

"The least used part of the TV remote control is the off button." -- Charles Swindoll (heard on the radio)

"History is not the past, but a map of the past drawn from a particular point of view to be useful to the modern traveler." -- Henry Glassie

"Some are Microwave Christians - 30 seconds and they’re done." (unknown)

"Begin with the end in mind." -- Stephen R. Covey

Christians are the best and worst arguments against Christianity. Or, “The best argument for Christianity is Christians...But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians...” -- Sheldon Vanauken

A "Free" Press

Latest Word on the Trail? I Take It Back, an article by Jeremy Peters, certainly makes one wonder what has happened to the American concept of a free press!! When we read the news, are we really getting news or just politi-speak?


I believe Orwell called it "Newspeak". Is that what we've come to?

The intolerance of tolerance

The America in which we live seems to descend deeper and deeper in the abyss of intolerance -- much of it in the name of tolerance! During today's "Appreciation Day" for the restaurant chain, there has been a Chick-fil-A bomb threat. 

Our country was founded on freedom of speech -- religious, moral, political. This tolerated (put up with) all speech by allowing it to be put forward by those who supported it and then allowing it to be contradicted by those who did not. Now, rather than exercising the right to freely speak against what someone has freely spoken for, those who think all messages should be tolerated (not spoken against) want to shout down any speech they can't tolerate. Or in this case, blow it up.

The mind

Yesterday morning I woke up with a song on my mind, and that I did not get out of my mind until I got so busy with other things that it finally faded away. This morning I had to think a minute or two to recall what song it was! It was a song with the words "I have returned to the God of my fathers, to the same simple faith, as a child I once knew..." This was once a popular song, though it wasn't particularly among my favorites. But I suppose I heard it quite a bit on the radio.

So with no rhyme or reason I woke up with a song on my mind that I had not thought of in years, and wouldn't have had a reason to think of. Yet it was there, racing through my head and back again, over and over.

The human mind is an amazing, and peculiar, thing. Things like this song, instant recall of something by a crossword puzzle clue, and other experiences tell me that whatever enters the mind is in their somewhere, even when we don't know the "buttons" to push to recall something we want to remember.

One significance is that we ought to be careful what we put in there, because it is there to stay, for good or evil. One way to counteract the evil stored therein is to "let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus..."

Chilling winds and biting cold

Chilling winds and biting cold,
They will chill us to the soul;
And our frozen hearts as well
Are feeding on the depths of hell.
With Thy Holy Spirit, Lord,
And the preaching of Thy Word,
Warm our hearts, breathe on the soul
Till only Thee our eyes behold.

The cows are right

The cows are right; we should eat more chicken. I ate lunch at Chick-A-Fila today -- not because of the flap that is going on about it, but because I like it. (Well, maybe a little because of the flap, since I had to eat somewhere.) The local restaurant is none the worse for wear. Maybe some folks (or maybe just mayors) in Boston and New York don't want Chick-A-Fila, but I drove around the parking lot three times without finding a parking place. I finally had to park in a vacant lot and walk.

Psalm 66

1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: 2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. 4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. 5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. 7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.


8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: 9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. 10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. 12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.


13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, 14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. 16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. 17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

Coming soon

Are you coming? You're invited.


Three weeks from today (d.v.) the 157th Anniversary/145th Consecutive East Texas Sacred Harp Convention will start in Henderson, Texas at 9:30 a.m. The Convention is scheduled Saturday and Sunday, August 11-12, 2012 at the Henderson Civic Center at 1005 Hwy 64 West in Henderson, Texas.

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

We sing from the The Sacred Harp, 2006 Cooper Revision
See links above for more info; For more info, e-mail Robert Vaughn, rl_vaughn -AT- yahoo.com (substitute @ for -AT-)

Sacred Harp Singing FAQ

Readings about Writing

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the blogs linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the posts linked.

8 Writing Tips from C.S. Lewis
Advice to First-Time Authors
How to Write Better Blog Posts
How to write book reviews
Proverbs for Christian Blogging: The Necessity of Fixed Eyes and Guarded Hearts
The Most Common Edits

"The End."

Death is another page of life,
And God the author turns
Each page carefully one by one,
To reach one scribed "The End."

By the blogger, 7/13/12

Why Christmas Evans became a Baptist

The Bible makes Baptists: the Story of Why Christmas Evans became a Baptist

Christmas Evans, a Welsh Baptist preacher, was born on Christmas day in 1766. He preached fervently and effectually to the Welsh people from about 1787 until his death in July 1838. He gives the following account of how he became a Baptist.

"A person of the name of Amos had left the (Presbyterian) church at Llwynrhydowen, and had been baptized at Aberduar. He came to see me, and I began to assail the Anabaptist heresy, as I had been accustomed to consider it. But Amos soon silenced me. I attributed my defeat to my ignorance of the New Testament, and therefore began to read from the beginning of Matthew, to prepare myself for the next interview. Having read the New Testament through, I found not a single verse in favor of Paedobaptism (i.e. baptizing infants). I met frequently with passages in the Old and New Testaments referring to the circumcision and naming of children, their bringing up in the 'nurture and admonition of the Lord,' etc. but with none making any mention of their baptism; while about forty passages seemed to me to testify clearly for baptism on a profession of faith. These scriptures spoke to my conscience and convinced me of the necessity of personal obedience to the baptism which Christ had ordained. After a little struggle between the flesh and spirit, obedience and disobedience, I applied to the Baptist church at Aberduar. I was cordially received, but not without some fear on my part that I was a rank Arminian still."

This took place in the summer of 1787, four years after his conversion. At age twenty, he was baptized in the river Duar by Timothy Thomas.

(From The Baptist Waymark March-April 1996 via Christmas Evans by B. A. Ramsbottom, p. 24)