Houston, we have a problem

...and Houston is the problem!

Over the past several days, a Houston, Texas controversy has lit up TV news, newspaper, and especially the internet. At question is the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (or HERO for short), a petition for a referendum to the ordinance, and subpoenas of five (some say four) Houston pastors for records, including the content of their sermons. On May 28, 2014, the Houston City Council passed HERO. The ordinance was go into effect on  June 27, 2014. It has not because of legal wranglings over it. Though there are numerous problems with the ordinance, but perhaps the most prominent issue is over bathroom usage by persons with gender identity issues -- prompting the nomer "Bathroom Bill."

A great deal of misinformation has gone out on the internet, including that all pastors (not just the five) have to submit sermons to the city -- even that  sermons will be reviewed prior to being preached -- and that the ordinance allows men to go into women’s bathrooms (partially true, but not that simple).

Here's where things seem to be at the moment:
The city passed the "Bathroom Bill", 11 for, 6 against.
A petition was floated to vote to repeal the ordinance, garnering about 3 times as many signatures as needed.
The city secretary certified the petition.
The city attorney and mayor invalidated the petition, claiming too many irregularities (that would be about 33,000 irregularities).
A group of citizens have sued the Mayor, City Secretary and the City of Houston.
Seeking "discovery of evidence" for the lawsuit, the city has subpoenaed records of five Houston ministers.

This subpoena of records from these ministers is what has created the firestorm.
An example of City of Houston subpoena request in Woodfill v. Parker can be found HERE. The purpose of the subpoena is discovery of admissible evidence. In itself, this is a legitimate exercise of subpoena. I’m not a lawyer but here is a simple way I can illustrate it. If a pastor confessed to breaking the law in a sermon (or libeled someone), there would be a legitimate reason to get a transcription or recording of that sermon as evidence. So their might be some legitimate reason within the subpoena. The subpoena posted requires 17 different records (with various subpoints to some of the 17). This goes beyond looking for information, and is at least harassing these people or exacting retribution for daring to fight the mayor and city council on this issue. While it may not be a direct assault on religious liberty, it is what some people call “chilling effect.” The extreme nature of the request -- even asking for -- can produce desired response beating into silence those who wish not to encounter "the long arm of the law." Further, it distracts persons from the regular life and ministry and ties them up with frivolous searches for minutia.

The five ministers from whom the records have been demanded are not parties to the lawsuit against the city. But the city attorney defended the subpoena on the basis of:
* the five were actively involved in leading the fight against the "Bathroom Bill" and launching the petition drive
* they appeared before the city council repeatedly regarding the ordinance and the petition
* the petition was organized at the churches
* the organizing of drives and rallies, as well as signing parties, were held at the churches

It seems now that the mayor and city attorney are backing away from these subpoenas now that they see the enormous push-back that they are getting. A report in Religion News states: “Mayor Parker agrees with those who are concerned about the city legal department’s subpoenas for pastor’s sermons. The subpoenas were issued by pro bono attorneys helping the city prepare for the trial regarding the petition to repeal the new Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) in January. Neither the mayor nor City Attorney David Feldman were aware the subpoenas had been issued until yesterday. Both agree the original documents were overly broad. The city will move to narrow the scope during an upcoming court hearing. Feldman says the focus should be only on communications related to the HERO petition process.”

The “Notice of Intention to Subpoena Pastor Steve Riggle to Produce Documents or Tangible Evidence” lists three law firms and the “City of Houston Legal Department” (they are representing the mayor). It was submitted by Susman Godfrey L.L.P., a law firm that is listed in the subpoena notice as “Lead Counsel for City of Houston.” City Attorney David Feldman is also named on the document. It also states, “Issued at the instance of the City of Houston, represented by the undersigned attorneys of record.” If they didn’t know it seems like they chose not to know so they would have plausible deniability! A letter from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to Houston City Attorney Feldman put it this way, "Nevertheless, these lawyers acted in the City’s name, and you are responsible for their actions."

The upside of all this is that a judge will probably quash these subpoenas -- if the city doesn't withdraw them before that happens!

Finally, is men going into women's bathrooms -- and vice versa -- a legitimate concern if this ordinance goes into effect? Yes, I believe it is. Now there was specific "bathroom" language in the original draft of the ordinance. The language was: "It shall be unlawful for any place of public accommodation or any employee or agent thereof to deny any person entry to any restroom, shower room, or similar facility if that facility is consistent with and appropriate to that person’s expression of gender identity." This was was removed before HERO was passed. Then all is well, right? Wrong. The removal the specific wording about restrooms and showers does not mean that "public accommodations" (i.e. businesses) cannot be sued under this ordinance. HERO makes it unlawful for “any place of public accommodation…to intentionally discriminate against any person on the basis of any protected characteristic…” The protected characteristics include “gender identity,” which means one own’s gender identification, “although the same may not correspond to the individual’s body or gender assigned at birth.” If a man identifies as a woman, e.g., a store cannot prohibit that man from using the women's restroom.

This is an issue that is not going away, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in Houston.

Houston HERO links

To go with the "Houston we have a problem" post above, here are links to some things available online related to the Houston "HERO" ordinance.

* A Draft of Houston's HERO ordinance -- Makes it "unlawful for any place of public accommodation...to intentionally discriminate against any person on the basis of any protected characteristic..." Protected characteristics include "gender identity," which means own gender identification, "although the same may not correspond to the individual's body or gender assigned at birth."
* Annise Parker Has a Discrimination Issue -- "If opposition to the ordinance is a matter of partisan politics, wouldn’t promotion and approval of the ordinance by implication also qualify as an example of partisan politics?"
* An example of City of Houston subpoena request in Woodfill v. Parker
* Attorney General Greg Abbott Asks Houston City Attorney to Withdraw Subpoenas Seeking Sermons, Other Documents from Houston-area Pastors -- "If we err, it must be on the side of preserving the autonomy of religious institutions and the liberty of religious believers.  Your aggressive and invasive subpoenas show no regard for the very serious First Amendment considerations at stake."
* City subpoenas pastors' sermons in equal rights ordinance case -- "City attorneys issued subpoenas last month during the case's discovery phase, seeking, among other communications, "all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession."
* Houston subpoenas pastors’ sermons in equal rights ordinance case, prompting outcry -- "The ordinance, which exempted religious institutions, was passed in June, though its implementation has been delayed due to legal complaints."
* Houston subpoenas pastors’ sermons -- "Attorneys for several Houston pastors are challenging the city’s attempts to subpoena their sermons as part of a lawsuit against the recently passed transgender-rights law, also known as the 'bathroom bill'."
* Is it constitutional for a court to enforce a subpoena of ministers’ sermons? -- "In principle, I don’t think there’s a First Amendment bar to subpoenaing the text (or video or audio recordings) of sermons, if they are sufficiently relevant to a case or an investigation...But all this presupposes that the information in the subpoenaed sermons really is substantially relevant to a case or an investigation."
* Memorandum in Support of Nonparty Pastors’ Amended Motion To Quash Subpoenas to Produce Documents or Tangible Evidence Or Otherwise Issue a Protective Order
* Pastors to mayor: Don’t mess with Texas pulpits -- "But City Attorney David Feldman told me that doesn’t matter. He said in an interview Tuesday that the five pastors were actively involved in leading the fight against the Bathroom Bill and launching the petition drive."

No Neutral, and other links

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

* How liberalism became an intolerant dogma -- "Human beings will be religious one way or another. Either they will be religious about religious things, or they will be religious about political things."
* Irrational Atheism -- "The idea that the atheist comes to her view of the world through rationality and argumentation, while the believer relies on arbitrary emotional commitments, is false."
* Liberalism’s Parochialism -- "...what I’ve been reading accords with my experiences in higher education where certain thoughts trigger an almost primitive response from liberal intellectuals."
* Religious Language and Everyday Discourse -- "We are moving in the West further along this path as a post-Christian culture. No longer are Christian terms and biblical concepts commonplace."
* The Illusion of Neutrality -- "...you cannot have a Half-Nude Beach. A beach on which some people stroll without a stitch of clothing is a nude beach, period."
* Why do so many liberals despise Christianity? -- "Liberals increasingly want to enforce a comprehensive, uniformly secular vision of the human good. And they see alternative visions of the good as increasingly intolerable."
* Will Someone Explain Christianity To The New York Times? -- "...maybe the New York Times can get an in-house Christianity consultant to help them navigate the topics not covered in journalists’ education any more."

The Praise of Folly

Yesterday I noticed the recommendation of a book titled The Praise of Folly: The Enigmatic Life and Theology of C.I. Scofield by David Lutzweiler. Interested to see what it is, I did some searching online. Looks like it will be an interesting book, and I'm going to order a copy.

C. I. Scofield (1843–1921) was preacher, theologian, writer, and compiler of a the popular Scofield Reference Bible (and a soldier, lawyer, and politician before that). It was common to see his Study Bible among churches and preachers I came up amongst. It is perhaps most loved and hated for its pretributional premillennial dispensationalism. I have long since ditched Scofield's Study Bible, and I do not recommend it. (In fact, though I own several "Study Bibles" I don't regularly use any of them, or recommend them.) While searching online it became apparent that Scofield's life is the source of much controversy. Was he a saint or a scalawag, or a bit of both? Detractors point to financial and personal dealings that seem less than upright, while supporters explain that most of this was before he was converted. Some pretribulationists and anti-pretribulationalists write as if the doctrine stands or falls with the life of Scofield!

Whoever or whatever Scofield was, his signature doctrine must stand the test of the Scriptures and rise or fall with them.

Further reading, which I found while "Googling" the internet
* Book Briefs: The Praise of Folly: The Enigmatic Life and Theology of C.I. Scofield by David Lutzweiler from FundamentallyReformed.com
* C. I. Scofield - The Rest of the Story by Thomas Williamson, From the Northern Landmark Missionary Baptist Newsletter, March, 2012
* Cyrus Ingerson Scofield on Find-a-Grave.com
* From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar, a Master's thesis by D. Jean Rushing
* Lutzweiler's "Folly" (Part 1) by  Robert L. Sumner, Editor of The Biblical Evangelist
* Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty by Dave MacPherson
* Scofield, Cyrus Ingerson from The Handbook of Texas Online
* Wikipedia article

History and the making

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

* 1000-year old Viking treasure hoard found in Scotland -- "Derek McLennan, a retired businessman, uncovered the 100 items in a field in Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland, in September."
* Britain to hunt for King Harold's body to test theory about his death -- "King Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, has long been thought to have been killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066."
* Forgotten facts about George Washington’s private life -- "At one time, Washington’s distillery produced 11,000 gallons of whiskey in one year."
* Kennewick Man, an ambassador from the past -- "Eighteen years ago two teenagers made news when they found a skull on the bank of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Wash. Suspecting foul play, they called the police who thought the skull looked very old."
* The Diario of Christopher Columbus (October 11-15, 1492) -- "All of them go around as naked as their mother bore them; and the women also, although I did not see more than one quite young girl. And all those that I saw were young people, for none did I see of more than 30 years of age. They are all very well formed, with handsome bodies and good faces. Their hair coarse—almost like the tail of a horse—and short. They wear their hair down over their eyebrows except for a little in the back which they wear long and never cut. Some of them paint themselves with black, and they are of the color of the Canarians, neither black nor white; and some of them paint themselves with white, and some of them with red, and some of them with whatever they find."
* Why Columbus Day isn’t really a national holiday -- "A federal holiday is a day off with pay for people who work for the federal government in what are classified as non-essential positions...Many states have chosen to honor some of the federal holidays, and in the long run, it is the states, and not the federal government, that control the observance of the holidays within their borders."

This Be The Verse

Below is a slightly sanitized version of "This Be The Verse" by Philip Larkin:

They mess you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were messed up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

I think there is some truth in "the verse" despite its pessimistic fatalistic tone. Judith Harris apparently felt sorry for the parents having had no chance to reply to the son's charges, so she spoke for them in this manner:

How sharper than a serpent's tooth
To hear your child make such a fuss.
It isn't fair — it's not the truth —
He's messed up, yes, but not by us.

Till He come

1. Till He come O let the words
Linger on the trembling chords,
Let the little while between
In their golden light be seen;
Let us think how Heaven and home
Lie beyond that, Till He come.

2. When the weary ones we love
Enter on their rest above,
Seems the earth so poor and vast,
All our life joy overcast?
Hush, be every murmur dumb;
It is only, Till He come.

3. Clouds and conflicts round us press;
Would we have one sorrow less?
All the sharpness of the cross,
All that tells the world is lost,
Death and darkness, and the tomb,
Only whisper, Till He come.

4. See, the feast of love is spread,
Drink the wine, and break the bread;
Sweet memorials, till the Lord
Calls us round His heavenly board;
Some from earth, from glory some
Severed only, Till He come.

Edward Henry Bickersteth, 1861

More Barberisms

"Progressive Christianity" acts as though Christians should, if they would find difficult a year of consistently living biblically, pledge instead to consistency in living unbiblically. -- Bart Barber in A Ragamuffin Fundamentalist

"I think discipleship is impossible without indulging in at least some measure in something that could be called hypocrisy. Thinking, 'If I can't grow immediately in everything, I'm not going to grow in anything,' is a recipe for perpetual immaturity. God seems to me to be far more concerned with your holiness and your progress in sanctification than in your consistency at every point along the way." -- Bart Barber in A Ragamuffin Fundamentalist

Random thoughts...

...on homosexuality, choice and nature.

Last week I read Mark Baer’s The Cause of Homosexuality Is Irrelevant, an articulate writing that fails to meet the expectation of its title. You can read it for yourself, but I want to highlight two points.

First, failure to prove what the title asserts. Baer says that the cause of homosexuality is irrelevant. He writes that “[m]any people seem fixated on the fact that the actual cause of homosexuality has not yet been established with any degree of certainty.” But his point that the cause is irrelevant only applies if we accept his dismissing of certain causes, leaving only the “right” causes as being possible causes and therefore irrelevant. In Baer’s mind the cause of homosexuality is genetic, environmental, or some combination of the two. It cannot be a “lifestyle choice.” He seems willing to allow it to be a choice in the case of bisexuality, but will not allow it in cases of heterosexuality and homosexuality. How strange.

Baer points to a story by Lee Thompson telling of his father’s point that no one would “choose a lifestyle that included discrimination or being subjected to violent acts.” That is just foolish, and contrary what anyone might easily observe – human beings regularly make choices that they intellectually know can and will yield bad results, even discrimination and violence toward them.

Contra Baer and Thompson, choice is clearly and explicitly relevant to all our sexuality, as far as acts are concerned. Inherent and learned behavior may affect how one thinks about sex, but whether and with whom one has sex is a choice – usually a consensual one made by two or more parties (except in cases of rape, in which case the choice in only made by the perpetrator.)

In addition to his comments about cause and choice, Baer ventures into the field of nature, writing, “If something is occurring in nature and cannot be changed, I'm afraid that it is natural.” Supporting this, he references Arash Fereydooni in Yale Scientific Magazine, "Currently, homosexual behavior has been documented in over 450 different animal species worldwide."

Nature does not determine what is spiritual or moral. Without contradiction, heterosexual sex is “natural” in a way homosexual sex is not and can never be. Heterosexual sex is as natural as parking your car in the garage rather than the bathroom or the kitchen. Beyond that, Christians err in establishing heterosexuality as moral and homosexuality as immoral based on nature. As a purely physical act, sex with an opposite sex (hetero) prostitute is just as “natural” as sex with an opposite sex (hetero) spouse. It may be just as natural. It may be just as consensual. But it is not just as moral. Morality is not established by a simple appeal to nature.

So, one argues that since homosexual acts are found in nature, so it is natural. And so it may be, in that sense of the word “natural.” It may also be natural for a bull to take his fill of all the cows in the pasture, if he is the biggest and baddest. But do we wish to take that as our guide for human relationships? It may be natural for a dog to hump his master to relieve his sex drive (it’s probably not consensual!). But do we wish to take that as our model? Nature alone cannot be our model for proper sexual morality. We must look elsewhere. In the Christians’ case, we must look to the Bible as our rule of faith and practice. When we do so, we are bound to come up with different results from those who look elsewhere.

TV Time

According to answers.com, John Logie Baird was the first to demonstrate a television system. He did so in London in 1925. The BBC began the world's first regular television broadcasts in January 1929. In 1939 RCA began the first commercial public television broadcasts in the United States. The growth from there has been tremendous. The Grolier Encyclopedia says that the number of U.S. homes with TVs was 6,000 in 1946, then rose to about 12 million by 1951. By 1955 half of all U.S. homes had a TV, and by the late 1990s, 98% of homes in the U.S. had at least one television. In 2010, Nielsen reported that the average American home had 2.93 TV sets. The number of people in homes with TVs averages 2.5, meaning the average home has more TVs than people. According to surveys reported by Grolier, Americans spend from 2-1/2 to 5 hours per day watching television. That's not that hard to do. Sit down at 8 p.m., watch a couple shows and then the 10 o'clock news, and you've got your 2-1/2 hours right there. In 2012, Nielsen reported that “The average American watches nearly five hours of video each day, 98 percent of which they watch on a traditional TV set.” This report does not include “consumption on computers, phones or tablets like the iPad.”

I'm not of the persuasion and owning a television or watching it is a sin. But I am persuaded that the overall effect of television is a detriment to our society, and generally at enmity with/to Christian principles. The combined mind-numbing drivel and graphic portrayals that bombard us with ?? eventually effects how we think.

The “idolatry of the star.” Famous & not-so-famous actors and actresses are exalted to heroes, idols, and “role-models.” Why does the internet follow every move the Kardashians make? Why do we care what some star’s political views are? What qualifications do they have to guide us down philosophical paths? Why do Christians ask for prayer for figments who are only characters in a TV show? (Yes, this has happened and is not just an urban myth.) Just because someone has fortune and fame does not mean they know anything about anything else, or are positioned to be a role model to our youth.

The rejection of moral principles. I would say that many of the producers of television fare are probably faithful to their own principles, whatever they are. But a steady diet of television will sometimes lead the viewer to compromise or reject his or her moral principles. Take a Christian who is convinced that personal revenge is wrong, and just retribution belongs to God. Sit him or her down in front of a well-written, well-directed and well-acted western in which the family of the protagonist meets an ill fate – say desperadoes rape his wife and kill his children. Nearing the end of the movie, the Christian is cheering the hero on to get his revenge! Take a Christian who is convinced that sex outside of marriage is wrong. Sit him or her down in front of a well-written, well-directed and well-acted “love story” in which against all odds the hero and heroine come together in the end – and before they are married! At the point, the Christian is has tears of joy because all has turned out all right. What is happening? A dramatic presentation – not necessarily conspiratorial, but reflective of the Hollywood culture – is slowly changing how we think and feel. Enough of that, and how long is it before we begin to act on it?

Watch what you choose wisely, and choose wisely what you watch.

Southern Baptists and Homosexuality

Below are a few links on Southern Baptists and Homosexuality. I am not Southern Baptist, and neither is many of my readers. But am I a Baptist. Without doubt as the largest Baptist body in the world, Southern Baptist views are those most frequently noticed and reported on any variety of subjects. I think you may find the following articles interesting.

* Former President Jimmy Carter On Gay Rights: Jesus Christ Never Discriminated Against Anyone -- "However, Carter said that the government shouldn't force ministers to marry same-sex couples if doing so would violate church doctrine."
* Homosexuality Debate Will Not Harm Southern Baptists Like It Did Other Churches, SBC Leaders Say -- "...whatever debate that could have befallen the SBC on homosexuality was resolved back in the 1980s with the conservative ascendancy in the denomination."
* Resolution on Same-Sex Marriage, 2003 -- "...we call on Southern Baptist churches to commit to guard our religious liberty to recognize and perform marriages as defined by Scripture..."
* Southern Baptist Leaders Seek Softer Approach To Homosexuality -- "The Southern Baptist Convention still preaches that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. But some pastors are softening their message."
* Southern Baptists oust ‘Third Way’ church -- "The nation’s largest faith group after Roman Catholics amended its constitution in the early 1990s to exclude gay-friendly congregations, after two affiliated churches in North Carolina made headlines for blessing a same-sex union and licensing an openly gay person to the ministry."
* Southern Baptist pastor accepts his gay son, changes his church. -- "The church just voted two Sundays ago, on May 18, 2014, to not dismiss me, and to instead become a Third Way church..."
* There Is No ‘Third Way’ — Southern Baptists Face a Moment of Decision (and so will you) -- "A church will either believe and teach that same-sex behaviors and relationships are sinful, or it will affirm them. Eventually, every congregation in America will make a public declaration of its position on this issue."
* Your Questions on Homosexuality Answered by The Ethics and Religion Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

[Note: Jimmy Carter and Plains Baptist Church were once affiliated with the SBC, but are no longer so connected.]

Today's quotes

"The book of Revelation is not a road map to the future. Rather than an apocalyptic road map, Revelation is a book of worship." -- Zack Hunt

"I can't work with you if you talk more about Israel than you do Jesus. Neither ethnicity nor nationality gets you into heaven." -- Joel Rainey

"Many churches measure success by nickles, numbers and noise." -- J. R. Riddle

"We in America tend to remake Jesus in our own image."-- Zack Hunt

“A worldly kingdom cannot exist without an inequality of persons, some being free, some imprisoned, some lords, some subjects.” -- Martin Luther

“The darkest clouds in due time will break, the most puzzling enigmas will sooner or later be un-riddled by the blessed Spirit interpreting them, and the darkest providences cleared up; and we shall see that God is in them all, leading and guiding us "by the right way, that we may go to a city of habitation" (Psalm 107:7).” -- J. C. Philpot

"Our Articles of Faith may very well become of dire legal importance as this world of sin progresses against God’s laws and commandments." -- Norman Gowens

Today's links

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

* Black holes cannot actually exist, according to mathematical proof -- "Black holes are so entwined in the established scientific narrative these days that it's easy to forget that their existence is still completely theoretical."
* FCC Considering Move To Ban Washington Redskins Nickname -- "...legal activist John Banzhaf...says the word is racist, derogatory, profane and hateful, making its use 'akin to broadcasting obscenity'."
* Hope Solo and the domestic violence case no one is talking about -- "...as the NFL grapples with its domestic-violence crisis, Solo, who has been accused of the same crime, continues to play for her pro soccer team as well as the national team as she awaits trial in November."
* Jessa Duggar: Abortion is the Holocaust of Our Time -- "I walked through the Holocaust Museum again today... very sobering. Millions of innocents denied the most basic and fundamental of all rights--their right to life."
* NFL Admits Mistake in Penalizing Muslim Player for Praying After Touchdown -- "NFL spokesman Michael Signora said players are not allowed to celebrate while on the ground but this was different...The officiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression..."
* Politics, the Church, and a South Carolina Pastor who refuses to compromise -- "The church is afraid to step out of its comfort zone."
* This Week in the Civil War -- "A Confederate force moving northward around Atlanta clashed with Union troops for several hours on Oct. 5, 1864, near Allatoona Pass."
* What U.S. Religious Groups Really Think About One Another -- "If you're Jewish, Catholic or Evangelical, you're one of the three most highly regarded religions in the U.S., according to a Pew survey."
* Why colleges' insistence on 'diversity' actually fails disadvantaged kids -- "It's time for a new strategy."

Old Prospect Anniversary today

We hope you are up getting ready to attend the 40th anniversary of Old Prospect Baptist Church of the Sand Flat Community, near Mt. Enterprise. If not, consider it. We will start at 10 a.m., have Bible study, singing and preaching. Dinner on the grounds at noon, then start back at 1:15 p.m. We will recognize charter members, pastors, etc., as well as have more singing, followed with preaching by Pat Windham of Center, Texas. If you are on Facebook, find us here: HERE.

We have printed a history booklet that will be available at this service.

Y'all come.

Just because...

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean folks aren't out to get me.

Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't so.

Just because you don't meet the standard doesn't mean the standard isn't true.

Just because there is no proof doesn't mean it isn't true.

Just because I can't sing, doesn't mean I won't sing.

Just because we have common enemies doesn't make us friends.

Today's links

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

* How Busy People Make Time to Read—And You Can Too -- "Reading is one of the most pleasurable activities out there...We just assume we don’t have time for this indulgence in our busy lives."
* Imitate Me -- "Who in their right mind would be so self-aggrandizing as to think that others should strive to be just like them?"
* Incest a 'fundamental right', German committee says -- "The German Ethics Council stated, “The fundamental right of adult siblings to sexual self-determination is to be weighed more heavily than the abstract idea of protection of the family.”"
* Iowa Couple's Big Tip For Bad Service Goes Viral -- "At the end of the evening, the couple left a $100 tip on their $66 tab."
* The Abbreviation of Worship and Why We No Longer Sing the Third Verse "...I have uncovered something I didn't anticipate when I started this."
* The Myth of Religious Violence -- "The popular belief that religion is the cause of the world’s bloodiest conflicts is central to our modern conviction that faith and politics should never mix. But the messy history of their separation suggests it was never so simple."

The Solitary Reaper

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

By William Wordsworth

Careful what you ask for

A man facetiously said that he prayed that God would make him good, but not as good as Job. He didn't want Satan to take that much notice of him.

(Or maybe he wasn't being facetious at all.)

Next quotes

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." -- Ernest Hemingway

"I am certain that to preach the wrath of God with a hard heart, a cold lip, a tearless eye, and an unfeeling spirit is to harden men, not benefit them." -- Charles Spurgeon

"Trouble is a soil in which faith grows." -- copied

"Since the apostles of the Lamb have finished their course with us in the flesh, no history of the church of God should be allowed to lure us from the doctrine which they taught, the judgments they recorded, the ordinances they have enjoined; nothing is to be added nor aught diminished from the perfect standard of faith and order they established, which is confirmed by all the valid authority of earth and heaven." -- Gilbert Beebe

"When you're in deep water, look to the ONE who walked on it." -- copied from a church sign

"Preach to hearts, not to heads. Everyone has a heart; not everyone has a head." -- R. G. Lee

“Theological Seminaries, in attempting to qualify men to preach the gospel, virtually profess to hold at their disposal the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and to impart them to men for money.” -- By Gilbert Beebe

"Atheism is a strange thing. Even the devils never fell into that vice." -- Charles Spurgeon

Next links

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

* 8 Fascinating Secret Societies and Bohemian Clubs -- "Most people have heard of groups like the Skull and Bones Society‎, but see what you make of these other organizations."
* 11 Emabarassing Bodily Functions that are Actually Signs of Good Health -- "You might be surprised to learn that those bodily functions that are so mortifying are actually signs that we have healthy bodies."
* Archbishop of Canterbury admits he has doubts about God -- "The extraordinary thing about being a Christian is that God is faithful even when we're not."
* A Response to Matthew Vines: The Bible Doesn't Support Same-Sex Relationships -- "This issue and these arguments aren’t going to go away."
* Crest Will Eliminate Microbeads From Its Toothpastes -- "...what you probably assume are flavor crystals in your toothpaste may actually be plastic microbeads."
* Know the Warning Signs of a Heart Attack (They're Different for Women) -- "Bottom line: a heart attack doesn't always look like the typical Hollywood heart attack..."
* Meet the Young, Evangelical, Pro-Gay Movement -- "...Matthew Vines...became an internet sensation with his hour-long video on why Bible-believing Christians can and should become affirming of LGBT people."
* Pew Poll: Liberals Choose Tolerance Over Faith -- "...there are sharp ideological differences in what parents choose to emphasize in the upbringing of their children."
* School accused of 'purging' Christian books -- “She was told by one of the library attendants that the library has been instructed to remove all books with a Christian message, authored by Christians, or published by a Christian publishing company.”
* Teaching the Children: Sharp Ideological Differences, Some Common Ground -- "As the public grows more politically polarized, differences between conservatives and liberals extend their long reach even to opinions about which qualities are important to teach children..."
* The Global Divide on Homosexuality -- "There is a strong relationship between a country’s religiosity and opinions about homosexuality."
* The NFL and the church share the same culture of silence on abuse -- "Many church leaders do not realize that all evils are present in their congregations, especially sins that carry a heavy culture of silence."