Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The foolishness of men


Vancouver, BC

The foolishness of men

A funny story follows:

I was in Langley yesterday having part 2 of 3 dentistry work completed. This was a flap approach osteoplast for $995 and 20 minutes of work. In 2000 a friend and I were attacked by a group in downtown Manchester (by the McDonalds and old Arndale Centre for those who know the area). I was fighting three guys and they became frustrated that they were losing and one of them threw a bottle at me as two others were punching me. Despite how well I did in the fight I think I should have fought more offensively, but I fought defensively enough to win and not get stabbed. Many punks in England carry a knife or a screwdriver. In hindsight to avoid getting bottled I should have tried to pound on one of them and take the risk of getting stabbed in the back or side, but either way it was a tough situation. Anyway from the thrown bottle my nose was broken as were my two front teeth. The nose and teeth were fixed in England but not sufficiently. As I found out later, my broken nose lead to me having three-stage sleep apnea, as I was born with two stages. My health deteriorated up until 2006 when two stages were fixed. I probably would have had my life eventually shortened without the two surgeries as I would go 45 seconds without breathing, 20-30 times in 1.5 hours while sleeping. I would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air.

The dental surgeon yesterday gave me plenty of freezing and then went to the next room where I could overhear the conversation. An older gentlemen came in and was telling the doctor that his tooth had suddenly flared up and this was after taking the pills the doctor gave him last time he was in. The doctor said some along the lines of "well don’t chew the pills” and I started to laugh. In fact I was laughing when the doctor and his assistant came back to work on me and while he was cutting my gums I was still laughing as were the doctor and his assistant. The doctor stated something along the lines that men were foolish and they often take pills without water or a drink. I admitted that I sometimes did this but preferred not to. He stated that taking pills without water or a drink was some kind of male macho thing to do, and we all laughed. He then informed me that taking pills without water could lead to wearing down of the esophagus. I want to be macho, but smart macho, not dumb macho.:)

The dentist told me not to “chomp down a burger” for two weeks. I stated that it was a good thing that I mainly ate with my side teeth. He laughed, and said that I could cut it up. Two weeks without a burger, no way!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Selfishness



Thank you to Philip H. for sending this clip to me.

Perhaps this clip in a way satirically points out some of the human selfishness in our world.

Jesus concerning the commandments of God from the New American Standard Bible:

Mark 12:29-31

Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord:
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'"

"The second is this. 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Matthew 22:40 includes:

"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Books on the problem of evil


Birkenhead Lake, BC

For those of you interested in the problem of evil, as noted in the blog heading I will be requesting questionnaire assistance from those attending Christian churches, likely within this year. Here is a link to a short review of some of the major texts I have used in regard to the problem of evil. I will send out questionnaires via email to anyone, but my sample group is people that attend Christian churches.

http://thekingpin68.blogspot.com/2007/01/five-influential-books-on-problem-of.html

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

UEFA: European Champions

2012 Spain 4-0 Italy
2008 Spain 1-0 Germany
2004 Greece 1-0 Portugal
2000 France 2-1 Italy (et)
1996 Germany 2-1 Czech Republic
1992 Denmark 2-0 Germany
1988 Netherlands 2-0 USSR
1984 France 2-0 Spain
1980 West Germany 2-1 Belgium
1976 Czechoslovakia 2-2 West Germany (6-5 pks)
1972 West Germany 3-0 USSR
1968 Italy 2-0 Yugoslavia (replay after 1-1)
1964 Spain 2-1 USSR
1960 USSR 2-1 Yugoslavia

FIFA: World Cup Champions

2014 Germany 1-0 Argentina (et)
2010 Spain 1-0 Netherlands (et)
2006 Italy 1-1 France (5-3 pks)
2002 Brazil 2-0 Germany
1998 France 3-0 Brazil
1994 Brazil 0-0 Italy (3-2 pks)
1990 West Germany 1-0 Argentina
1986 Argentina 3-2 West Germany
1982 Italy 3-1 West Germany
1978 Argentina 3-1 Netherlands (et)
1974 West Germany 2-1 Netherlands
1970 Brazil 4-1 Italy
1966 England 4-2 West Germany (et)
1962 Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia
1958 Brazil 5-2 Sweden
1954 West Germany 3-2 Hungary
1950 Uruguay 2-1 Brazil
1938 Italy 4-2 Hungary
1934 Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia (et)
1930 Uruguay 4-2 Argentina

Monday, January 22, 2007

A Farewell to Kings: Intro



The ad clip has been pulled at least twice. Here is the full video, while it lasts.

I found this strange clip on You Tube. I wonder if it is an actual television advertisement? If it is, I have not seen it here in British Columbia. If someone has seen it on television please comment. The clip looks chopped up and so perhaps it was done by someone on a computer. For those of you who are not Rush fans it provides an opportunity to hear another side of the band, the classical side, and not hard rock. The music is a classical intro to A Farewell to Kings.

On a more serious note, here in BC the Robert William Pickton trial begins today. This is not a story for the everyone. He is according to the state a serial killer of women, who claims to have killed 49. Someone in the comments has correctly pointed out that this is alleged by the state.
From the CBC link:

B.C. pig farmer Robert William Pickton, who is charged with six counts of first-degree murder, admitted he had killed 49 women and wanted to make it an even 50, but he got sloppy, the Crown said Monday on the first day of the trial.

Most of us are not serial killers, but this type of evil from an individual reminds me that there are in my view, levels of evil in all persons. A divine change in persons through Christ is the only means from a Biblical, Christian perspective in which human evil will eventual be overcome. (Romans, Galatians, John)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/01/22/pickton-trial.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/01/22/canada.trial.ap/index.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6288695.stm

Jeremiah 17:9 from the New American Standard Bible:

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?

Sunday, January 21, 2007

CFL VS. NFL


Yoho, National Park



In light of the up and coming Super Bowl, I thought I would publish a football related article. I am not really a Canadian or American football fan, but I respect the National Football League for running an organization where all the teams are valuable, including the small market ones. I found this link awhile back that shows that the CFL and NFL (AFL) actually played exhibition games.

http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/Candian_Football_League_vs_National_Football_League.htm

CFL VS. NFL

Date Site Opponent & Score
Aug. 12, 1950 Ottawa: N.Y. Giants 20, Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) 6
Aug. 11, 1951 Ottawa: N.Y. Giants 38, Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) 6
Aug. 5, 1959 Toronto: Chicago Cardinals 55, Toronto Argonauts (CFL) 26
Aug. 6, 1960 Toronto: Pittsburgh Steelers 43, Toronto Argonauts (CFL) 16
Aug. 2, 1961 Toronto: St. Louis Cardinals 36, Toronto Argonauts (CFL) 7
Aug. 5, 1961 Montreal: Chicago Bears 34, Montreal Alouettes (CFL) 16
Aug. 8, 1961 Hamilton: Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) 38, Buffalo Bills (AFL) 21

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

LCD monitor cleaning tip


Somerset, Bath, England

From the Worst-Case Scenario: Little Book for Dating, tip 3.

How to save your date from choking.

Point 7:

Use force and a quick motion. This will push out the residual lung gas under pressure, clearing any obstructions from the trachea. p 32.

http://www.klearscreen.com/

Since I have a 10-year-old tube monitor, which could die at any time, for an early Christmas present my Mom bought me a Samsung TFT 20 inch monitor. A concern I had when reading through the instruction manual was cleaning because I received the impression that it could not be wiped with a damp cloth like a tube monitor. I began getting little spots on my LCD monitor but I did not want to pay the $10-$20 that London Drugs wanted for the special LCD cleaning fluid. As well from my experience with CDs in the 1990's, cleaning fluid leaves residue. I thought I would try my soft cleaning cloth made for cleaning sunglasses, by Eyewear. I just placed a very little amount of water on the cloth and softly and slowly wiped away the spots and the LCD monitor looked clean with no apparent damage. I did not wipe the LCD screen like I did my old tube monitor, as I was much more careful and only wiped the actual spots. The water technique works alright, but I used Klear Screen and followed the directions for glossy screens and it gets rid of some of the marks water did not and claims to leave an anti-static coating which preserves the screen. It is used by major manufacturers.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Slapfest



Zaragoza vs. Sevilla: The Spanish La Liga

It is a little funny that Rick from fun-foodandfighting.blogspot.com in my links posted a fight on the same day. A difference between the two fights is that his fight is a real professional one, and mine is a satirical one titled "slapfast" by the person that posted this You Tube clip. This fight shows a cultural difference between footballers and hockey players as often hockey players know somewhat how to fight.

Although I have studied martial arts for over twenty years, I have thought that the general Christian response should be to avoid fighting. On the other hand the need for self-defence is something to be considered. Jesus told us to turn the other cheek in Matthew 5:39 and I was at times taught during my Mennonite bachelor's degree that it meant a Christian should be non-resistant. However, this does not appear to be the best interpretation as some commentators view Jesus as calling for a lack of vengeance. Vengeance would be taking the law into one's own hand. A Christian is never to do this but if the law is not present self-defence may be a viable option as one is defending self as if an officer of the state was present. I therefore in a sports fight would attempt to avoid the battle, hoping for an official to end the matter but I would not rule defending myself with force. I would not slap someone, however!

Saturday, January 06, 2007

The Universe







From a traditional Biblical perspective, God is beyond these incredible stars and planets, and is the creator. I am amazed how large our Earth seems, and how much larger our Sun is than the Earth. Amazingly, Antares is far larger than our Sun. It seems unlikely to me that naturalism alone could account for the alignment of the universe in a way that human beings can exist.

I wrote an article on First Cause here:

http://thekingpin68.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html

Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. New American Standard Bible (1984: 1).

From my Infinite article of thekingpin68, an edited version:

Brian Davies writes that God's infinity is viewed as marking his perfection, and that God alone is understood as infinite. As God is uncreated and uncreatable, he is infinite. Davies (1999: 298). God would be superior to all creatures and would be omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal. Davies (1999: 298). Davies notes that process theology has postulated that God's personal nature means that he can change as he works within created time. Davies (1999: 228). Process theology reasons that God possibly develops in personality as he deals with his created beings. Davies (1999: 228).

I would state that if God's nature can be changed and develop within time, then he is not infinite, but rather the most advanced finite being in existence. A finite being that is beyond matter, perhaps. I reject process theology's notion of a finite God, for at least the following reasons.

1. If God is merely finite, then we have a problem of determining the first cause. If God is not infinite then he cannot posses any infinite attributes, and this would prohibit God from being eternal. To be eternal would mean that one has unlimited life. If God is not eternal, then how did God come to exist? If there was a God that created God and so on, we have the problem of vicious regress in which we are stuck with an infinite regressions of Gods, and never the first cause, who would be the infinite God. If it is suggested at some point the regression ends, why cannot we simply reject the vicious regress and state that the Biblical God could be the first cause? To state that God simply came to exist from nothing does not seem reasonable, and the suggestion answers nothing.

2. Many scientists and scholars reason that the universe is 15-20 billion years old, and believe in a 'Big Bang Theory'. Accepting this scientific theory as plausible, by that model, the universe in agreement with the Bible, is not eternal. Billions of years is more time than any of us can comprehend and may be considered perhaps from a human perspective, virtual eternity, but is not actual eternity, and therefore is not infinite. Since God created matter in Genesis, Chapter 1, it is clear that nothing within the material, physical realm existed prior to creation. This would leave us with God, and perhaps the angelic beings prior to the existence of matter. It can be deduced that angels cannot be infinite in nature, because if they were limitless in nature they would themselves be God. We cannot have two or more limitless beings by definition as they simply would be an aspect of one infinite, eternal God of one substance.

3. Millard J. Erickson discusses the Scriptural concept of God's existence in contrast to that of his creation. In Acts 17: 24-25 it states that God does not dwell physically, but is the creator of everything. Erickson notes that God is called the first and last in Isaiah 44: 6, and the Alpha and Omega in Revelation 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13. The idea being shown here is that God has always existed and will always exist. Erickson (1994: 273-274). As pointed out previously, before the creation of matter and the angels nothing else would have existed. There is also the idea put across in Scripture that God is immutable and does not change in his nature. Malachi 3:6 states that the Lord does not change and Erickson views this as referring to God’s nature and attributes.

It can be stated here that the God of the Bible is not pantheistic as the creator is totally independent in nature from his creation. Erickson (1994: 303). God existed before the creation of matter as a purely spiritual being, and was not dependent on matter or anything other than himself for existence. God is not equal to his creation or matter, he is beyond it. God is also not to be considered in a panentheistic context as although the creator does sustain all of his creation through his power he is not the vital force within all he creates. Erickson (1994: 307). God in pantheism may be considered to be equal with a tree. God in panentheism may be considered beyond the tree, but the vital force within it, where as in my view a traditional Christian understanding would be that God is beyond a tree and sustains it, but is not the vital force within it. If God is the vital force within a tree, it could be argued that the tree’s essence is infinite and eternal and I think that this would be error. In contrast I think that God sustains and energizes all of his creation while allowing it existence separate from his own. The tree remains finite although it is sustained by God. When the tree dies so does its essence.

I think that my three points offer solid reasons to conclude that the God of Christianity and the Bible is infinite and not finite in nature.

DAVIES, BRIAN (1999) ‘Infinity’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press Ltd.

ERICKSON, M. (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.

THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION BIBLE (1984), Iowa Falls, Iowa, World Bible Publishers.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Prof. Branco Rafael scam


Camp Des Fourches, France

Hello, I received this scam email today.

branco@branco.orangehome.co.uk

Prof. Branco Rafael

P.O.Box 13,Sao Tome Islands.

Central Bank of Sao Tome

Please May you permit me to send you this business proposal for your consideration if you are interested reply to my most safe email address brancorafael1@netscape.net. First and foremost, I would like to use this opportunity to introduce my self to you as the Senior accountant of Central Bank of Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe and have acquired huge amount of money during the interception of Power and Leadership of President Fradrique De Menezes by the Rebel Leader on the 16th of July, 2004,although the Government of President Fradrique De Menezes was later restored back by the United Nations Peace Keeping Force and African Union one week after the seized power by the Rebel Leader.

However, I am having problem of moving this funds out of the Country with my full involvement as I have no right under my capacity to have these funds transferred out of the country knowing too well that as a Civil Servant, I am not entitled to own more than $20,000.00 as my personal funds and above all, the Government of Sao Tome and Principe has banned all Government Officials from operating a foreign account without the approval from the Office of the Prime Minister.

To this effect, I am soliciting for your assistance to collaborate with me by fronting you as the beneficiary of this funds so as to have this funds ($8.5million) moved to your account under your custody. I will guide and advise you on how to go about this transaction to become a reality if you are interested to help me out. Prior to your full acceptance to strike this deal with me, I will personally offer you 30% of this $8.5million

May I have your comments base on my offer and if possible reply to this email this is my most private email address, brancorafael1@netscape.net send me your contact telephone number for us to talk over this issue on telephone.

Regards,

Prof.Branco Rafael

Monday, January 01, 2007

Church painting


Video is different as YouTube pulled the original. Sorry.

Happy New Year to you in 2007.

The Joy of Painting with the late Bob Ross is one of my favourite television shows. I like his sincerity, quality of work in a short period of time, and humourous nature, some of which is not intentional. He is very relaxing to watch and I have learned from him the importance of relaxing and enjoying what one is doing while working. I highly recommend his program.

On the theological side, I appreciate his mentioning of God, but I do not know his religious views in great detail. He often does put across the idea that whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. This is not technically true in my opinion. God's will should not be ignored within this process. God can allow a person to conceive accomplishing something and one can believe it can be accomplished, but without God willing it and providing the proper circumstances it cannot and will not occur. Positive mental attitude is not enough in life to accomplish something, as everything that occurs must pass through God's sovereign will. In Genesis 17:1 from the New American Standard Bible, God is called the Almighty and therefore it can be deduced that nothing occurs in creation that God does not willingly allow.