Caffeinated Thoughts

The Irony of Atheism
Unpredictable Wisconsin
The Shameless Exploitation of the Trayvon Martin Shooting
Iowa Turns Red: Republicans Overtake Democrats in Voter Registration
“Where can I get that kind of love? They say that it runs in His blood.” – PFR

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 04:00 AM PDT

The Gospel Coalition published an excerpt from an ebook from Patheos Press entitled True Reason: Christian Responses to the Challenge of Atheism. The book featured chapters from different authors such as: noted philosopher William Lane Craig and popular apologist Sean McDowell, along with Tom Gilson, Carson Weitnauer, John DePoe, Chuck Edwards, Matthew Flannagan, Peter Grice, Randy Hardman, David Marshall, Glenn Sunshine, David Wood, and Samuel Youngs. The excerpt they published they titled "The Irony of Atheism." One passage from this excerpt written by Carson Weitnauer reads:

The contrasts are clear: atheists claim that religion is the main barrier to reason. Christians believe our capacity to reason comes from being created in the image of an all-knowing God, and the active use of reason is an important way to honor him. Atheists brand themselves as a community united by reason. Christians marvel at how this group rallies together even as their most prominent leader, Richard Dawkins, argues that evolution favors the selfish gene, not the reasonable group. Atheists work hard to eradicate religion for the sake of a brighter future. Christians are amazed that atheists so blissfully ignore the scientific fact that, if religion is a false consolation, the future always ends in death.

HT: Evangel

Unpredictable Wisconsin

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 08:15 PM PDT

Wisconsin

Dave Weigel over at Slate makes an observation that Wisconsin Polls have not been very good at all:

In 2004, five polls were conducted before the Wisconsin primary. Four of them put Edwards below 20 percent. Edwards actually won 34 percent, nearly defeating John Kerry. (A fluke for poll junkies: Zogby was the one who got closest to the actual result.)

Then came the Clinton-Obama contest, which looked nothing like that. Hillary Clinton had lost Super Tuesday on delegates, and was struggling to survive a month of unfriendly primaries. (She would eventually bounce back in Ohio and Texas.) Wisconsin looked like the best possible place for her to cut Barack Obama’s advantage.

Most polling showed a single-digit race; the best Obama result, from Public Policy Polling, gave him a 13-point lead. She campaigned there; he campaigned there. On election day Obama won by 17 points, sweeping every congressional district and 62 of 72 counties.

To hear Weigel tell it, Wisconsin is kind of like New Hampshire, only with a lot of cheese.

What’s the key to Wisconsin’s polling volatility? Independents. They can vote in either party’s primary and predicting where and how they’ll turn out. In the 2008 Wisconsin Democratic Primary, Democrats voted for Obama over Clinton 53-46%, but Independents voted 64-33% and accounted for 28% of the Democratic Primary Vote. Independents made up 23% of the Republican Primary electorate and actually went for McCain by only a 47-38% margin while Republicans voted for McCain 58-36% over Mike Huckabee in the waving of the surrender flag to the 2008 Mr. Inevitable.

In a previous post, I dismissed the possibility that 40% of the Republican Primary turnout might be Independents or Democrats based on 2008′s exit poll, but what I failed to take into account was the sheer drawing power of the Democratic Contests for Independents. The Democratic Primary drew 2.77 times the numbers of voters. What that means is that there are around four times the number of Independents available who could show up and vote. If Independents only double their numbers, they could make up 46% of the Republican Primary vote.

This is an interesting point as Public Policy Polling‘s latest poll shows Santorum with a lead among Independents over Mitt Romney with Santorum up 37-34% among that group, and up by a larger margin about Democrats who made up 3% of the sample. The pollster suggested what we might be seeing is “Operation Hilarity” at work in which the Daily Kos urged liberals to vote in Republican Primaries for Rick Santorum. I guess when you’re Kos’ pollster, you think he’s agenda-setting for millions, but it’s simply not the case.

Given that only 3% of the sample is Democratic and a much larger number of voters are Independents, another explanation would be called for as to how Santorum might be appealing to Independents:

Bowling: In a moment of inspiration, Santorum played a game of bowling which spawned “Rallies at the allies.” A candidate who grabs his bowling ball and heads out to the lanes while still holding his own is someone Wisconsinites can relate to.
The Romney Attack Robocalls: Robocalls are annoying and Romney is the chief perpetrator of them on Wisconsin voters.
Romney’s run the wrong attack ads: Romney has gone around Wisconsin leveling attacks on Santorum as “a friend to big labor.” The charge is scurrilous as Santorum has a 13% AFL-CIO rating during his entire Senate career (for comparison sake, my Senior Senate in Idaho has a 12% rating). If Romney loses in Wisconsin, we may consider the charge to be the stupidest possible accusation to make on the air in Wisconsin. For uniformed Republicans disgusted by two years of fighting with labor to defend hard won electoral victories from recall, the attacks have some resonance and Santorum hasn’t been able to spend money for a response ad. However, for Independents and Democrats who are friendly to big labor, Romney may have given them a good reason to go out and stick it to him, particularly when you’re dealing with a bowling machine like Santorum.

Of course, on Romney’s side, he’s got the fact that he’s further left with less defined views on the issues which (in theory) should attract Independent Voters. However, with all the polling done so far, tomorrow’s results remain a big question mark. Particularly as PPP finds Santorum leading 52-27% over Romney among voters who’ve made up their minds in the last few days. Things to watch:

Will Independents and Democrats really turn out in large numbers for Santorum?
Will Republicans turn out in numbers sufficient to overcome Democratic and Indy turnout to nominate Romney when voter enthusiasm hasn’t been there.
The PPP poll showed Santorum holding a 12-point lead over Romney with Evangelicals. In 2008, in a much more perilous situation for Mike Huckabee, Huckabee won Evangelicals by 20. Will Santorum win Evangelicals by more than PPP and other pollsters show?

These are questions we won’t find in looking at unreliable polls. We’ll have to find our answers the old fashioned way: wait for the vote.

The Shameless Exploitation of the Trayvon Martin Shooting

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 08:00 PM PDT

Since the 15^th century Lady Justice has been portrayed as a Greek goddess with scales in one hand, a sword in the other, and her eyes covered with a blindfold. The scales represent the balance between truth and fairness. Her double-edged sword represents Reason and Justice, which may be wielded either for or against either party in a legal dispute. The blindfold represents objectivity that refuses to take into consideration the race, social standing, wealth, poverty, or power of the person being adjudicated.

These are admirable traits of justice that must be defended in a society that reveres truth and respects the rule of law. But there is another trait that must be added to lady justice if justice is to be served in the Trayvon Martin case. She will have to be stone deaf so she can ignore the din of posturing, grandstanding, and outright deceit that has erupted in the case's wake.

Here are just a few examples of what the combination of a 24-hour news cycle and unprincipled leaders can produce. The Rev. Jesse Jackson told a church in Eatonville that Trayvon Martin is a "martyr" and that his death could be compared to the shooting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Not to be outdone in the inflammatory rhetoric department, Rev. Al Sharpton called for "an escalation in civil disobedience" if George Zimmerman is not arrested. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee joined the outrageous march to judgment by suggesting that George Zimmerman somehow broke his own nose in an attempt to mislead the police.

But the Nobel Prize for rhetoric above and beyond the call of insanity goes to the New Black Panthers, who have now offered a one million dollar bounty for George Zimmerman to be captured and delivered into their custody. Finally, in a speech that was supposed to ease the racial tensions in Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson said, "Trayvon was hunted down like a rabid dog, shot in the street and racially profiled." One can only imagine what Rep. Wilson would have said if she was trying to ramp up rather than tamp down racial tension.

In addition to over-the-top and under reported racially charged rhetoric from political and civil rights leaders you have outright deception flowing from the mainstream media. The Today Show on NBC edited the 911 call made by Zimmerman to make it appear he made a racially motivated remark about Martin. The NBC edited version of the 911 call between Zimmerman and the dispatcher went like this:

Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he's up to no good … he looks black."

A transcript of the complete 911 call shows the actual exchange with the dispatcher reveals quite a different story.

Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about."

Dispatcher: "OK, and this guy – is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: "He looks black."

NBC announced they have "launched an internal investigation into the editorial process surrounding this particular story." To say the least, it will be interesting to hear what the investigation reveals.

These are just a few of the examples of rushing to judgment for the purpose of political and personal gain in a high profile case that in the end will make the truth much harder to discern. No one denies that on the night of February 26 a tragic event took place in the town of Sanford, Florida. A black teenager was shot to death by a person the New York Times has called "a white Hispanic." Either the shooter was justified because he acted in self-defense or he is guilty of a crime. The state of Florida has appointed a special prosecutor to sort through the evidence to see if charges should be brought against Zimmerman.

I hope the Lady Justice can ignore the context long enough for her scales of truth and fairness to be rightly balanced.

Iowa Turns Red: Republicans Overtake Democrats in Voter Registration

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT

(Des Moines, IA) Voter registration numbers from the Iowa Secretary of State today show that, for the first time in years, there are more Republicans in Iowa than Democrats.

Iowa GOP Chairman A.J. Spiker stated:

"The failed policies of the Obama presidency and the Obama Democrats have opened the eyes of many voters to the benefits of the Republican Party ideals of lower taxes, less government intrusion, and the protection of individual liberty. More than 1 in 10 Democrats have fled the Iowa Democrat Party since Barack Obama was elected President, and today for the first time in years, there are more registered Republicans than Democrats. Iowa Republicans will continue to work hard to promote the ideals of less government and more freedom and earn the support of even more Iowans this November."

Voter registration totals announced today were:

Registered Iowa Republicans: 611,990
Registered Iowa Democrats: 607,999

“Where can I get that kind of love? They say that it runs in His blood.” – PFR

Posted: 02 Apr 2012 12:58 PM PDT

Romans 7:24 "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

I do not believe that God is as interested in perfecting us as He is in perfecting LOVE within us.

For our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ and there is nothing we may add to that finished work of redemption. Jesus told us that the entire law and the prophets were contained in fulfilling the first two commandments. They were not prohibitions, but a command to LOVE. And the third command, which He added, went beyond those.

John 13:34,35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

I find these revelations compelling. If the law were fulfilled in the first two commandments, why add another? I believe it is because in order to be of His kingdom, of which He was to become the 'firstborn', He knew it would require His kind of love. Immediately following this command, He informs the disciples that where He is going none can follow. Peter's response is to declare a willingness to lay down his life for Jesus, to which Jesus replies, " the rooster shall not crow before you deny Me three times." Yet, then He declares a wonderful thing. "Let not your heart be troubled, I go to prepare a place for you."

His love is of another kingdom. Not of this world. A love that does not keep records, or take measurements. It does not expect a return, and though that may seem 'unfair' it will always be 'good' for it cannot help but bear good fruit. And you shall know them by their fruits. So, while His disciples argued about who would be the greatest in His kingdom, the Greatest was quietly girding his waist with a towel and preparing to wash their feet. I am astounded. Where can I get a love like that? Only from the indwelling Christ.

It is easy to recognize those who lack Kingdom love for they are continually dissecting people's words or behavior according to the law. But Jesus told the Pharisees in John 5:39 "You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." It is these also who will read my words and begin to argue, 'but you are giving people a license to sin!' Heaven forbid! Kingdom life is not about splitting hairs, or straining gnats! What an abominable reduction of the power of the cross and resurrection! Jesus said if your eye is clear you will be full of light. If it is not, how great the darkness. We will know them by their fruit, not by dissecting their doctrines or their lives.

Romans 14:4 "Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand."

And again: Luke 18:9-14 "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'

And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you; this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

It is only in dying to our self-efforts towards self-righteousness that we are finally able to yield fully to the indwelling Christ. Perfect love already lives within us when we partake of Him. It is only self which stands in the way. Whether that self leads us to view pornography or to outdo others in knowledge and good works in order to feel justified, it is death. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

O what freedom! To at last lay down my vain efforts to save myself and others. I feel like one who draws near to the end of a terminal illness, who finally accepts my state of utter helplessness. A clarity of mind comes to me, which was previously hindered by all the cares of this world. It is not about me, it never was. I now take His yoke upon me. It is easy and light. And I take on as well His meekness and humility. I must decrease so that He may increase. No more self-seeking and self-preservation. It is finished.

2 Cor 3:17-18 "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Horoscop

marți, 3 aprilie 2012

Caffeinated Thoughts

Caffeinated Thoughts

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