The Methodist Church Is Exploding!

... in Cuba:

Here is what has been happening in the Methodist Church in Cuba:

>Since 1999, the Methodist Church has grown from 8,000 to 36,000 members.

>The median age of the average Methodist parishioner ranges from the mid thirties to mid forties.

>The average age of pastors is 30 years old. All clergy have started at least one new church.

>Bishop Ricardo Pereira says that the Methodist seminary in Cuba intentionally trains its pastors theologically that he describes as "eminently Methodist and Wesleyan."

>Many congregations worship in house churches where they practice "lively worship, contemplative prayer, theological formation, and Bible study."

>The Methodist Church also excels at a Wesleyan understanding of the gospel that is one and the same time evangelistic and social in character. Every Methodist is encouraged and taught to share their faith verbally and in living it out daily. The Methodist Church has outreach missions to seniors and vulnerable families and single mothers, among other ministries.

Bishop Pereira states, "In the 1970s we tried every program that came along, but the church continued to grow older and decline. We had no other option but to pray and fast with all our power."

"Methodists are called to have that burning heart. ... We can't sit still. … If your heart does not burn, no program is going to fix it."

Read those last quotes again slowly: ",,, we tried every program that came along, but the church continued to grow older and decline. We had no other option but to pray and fast with all our power."

"Methodists are called to have that burning heart. ... We can't sit still. … If your heart does not burn, no program is going to fix it."

Life in the Socialist Paradise

Below is an embed of an excellent photo essay of what life was really like for millions of people in the old Soviet Union.

The embed below is only an intro; read the whole thing. This section reminded me of a joke a former member of the Czech politburo told me in the early 1990s:

The joke: A Russian laborer named Vasily saved and scrimped and black marketed for 20 years to buy a new Volga car. Finally, he had enough for a down payment.

So in March 1976 he went to the Volga order taker (there were no showrooms) and, beaming,  placed his order.

 Taking his money, the clerk consulted a small book and told him, "Very well, Comrade Vasily, your car will be delivered to you on ... June 16, 1987."

 Vasily mulled this over a moment, then said, "Morning or afternoon?"

Surprised, the clerk blurted, "What difference does it make?"

"I have a plumber coming by that afternoon."

 

Top Ten Arguments for God

Top Ten Arguments for God: Jeff Cook:

"JEFF COOK teaches philosophy at the University of Northern Colorado and is the author ofEverything New: One Philosopher’s Search for a God Worth Believing in (Subversive 2012). He pastors Atlas Church in Greeley, Colorado. www.everythingnew.org"

A physicist speaks on God

Research On Religion | Stephen Barr on Quantum Physics, Religion, & the God Particle.:

This is a link to a podcast by  Prof. Stephen M. Barr, professor of physics at the University of Delaware, on the relation of quantum physics to religious faith. A text article on the subject by Prof. Barr is here. Excerpts from the linked page's summary:

The discussion is highly accessible to anybody with a high school science background.  ... 

Prof. Barr helps us to understand that the “beginning” of the universe is not the same as the “origins” of the universe.  ... And what does quantum physics have to say about that and whether or not God exists?  In short, quantum mechanics cannot prove the existence of God, but it makes it more difficult to subscribe to a philosophy of materialism, which opens the door to the possibility of something beyond the material world, such as an “ultimate mind.”  Prof. Barr cites a number of other physicists who share this notion.  The final portion of our interview brings up the question of whether or not science can play a role in informing our faith, and Steve notes that many, many of the great scientists of the past and present have been ardently religious individuals.  The notion of a war between religion and science, often championed by the likes of Richard Dawkins, is once again the type of media hype that gave us the term “God particle.”  Prof. Barr then reflects on his own background and what it has been like to be a faithful Catholic in the world of academia, providing advice at the end to any religious individual thinking of making a career in science profession.  Recorded: October 10, 2012.

10 Things First-Time Church Visitors Don't Want to Hear

10 Things First-Time Church Visitors Don't Want to Hear:

Heh! I don't think we have a problem with these no-no's.

Six reasons why people reject Christianity

Six reasons why people reject Christianity « Wintery Knight:

Here’s a post on practical evangelism by Christian scholar Don Johnson.

His list of reasons why people often reject Christianity:

1. Christians behaving badly
2. Disappointment with God
3. Weak or absent father
4. Social pressure
5. Cost of discipleship
6. Immorality (especially sexual immorality)

And here’s the detail on #6:

Of all the motivations and reasons for skepticism that I encounter, immorality is easily the most common. In particular, sexual sin seems to be the largest single factor driving disbelief in our culture. Brant Hanson calls sex “The Big But” because he so often hears this from unbelievers: “’I like Jesus, BUT…’ and the ‘but’ is usually followed, one way or the other, with an objection about the Bible and… sex. People think something’s deeply messed-up with a belief system that says two consenting, unmarried adults should refrain from sex.” In other words, people simply do not want to follow the Christian teaching that sexual intercourse should take place only between and man and woman who are married, so they throw the whole religion out.

Read the whole thing.

Baumgartner supersonic jump helmet video

A camera mounted on supersonic parachutist Felix Baumgartner's helmet shows what happened when, tens of thousands of feet above the earth, he went into an uncontrolled spin.



Baumgartner later related that he knew he was in trouble. The spinning could have pushed too much blood into his cranium, causing a blackout or possibly rupturing vessels in the brain. He considered deploying his drogue chute to stabilize but he knew that if he did, the attempt for a supersonic record would be gone forever.

With only seconds to decide, Baumgartner got his fall sorted out, probably aided by entering denser air that enabled greater control from his arms and legs. He did keep accelerating, though, and went on to hit Mach 1.24 before landing safely.

No More Blind Faith: 10 Quotes on Christian Apologetics

No More Blind Faith: 10 Quotes on Christian Apologetics:

This is key to know:

The “blind faith” concept is actually not biblical. Pistis, the Greek word translated as “faith” actually is defined as a conviction based on the facts. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6a) It would be impossible to please God unless our minds can accurately discern the facts.

Not only does Christianity have plenty of room for people to use their mind, but the Bible even commands us to. "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thes 5:21). Its really cool that God invites us to test Him and what He has said. There is nothing wrong with asking questions or looking for reasonable answers.

As Christians we should never be afraid to ask questions, and we should also never discourage unbelievers from asking questions. Answering the tough questions is one of the ways to "...go and make disciples of all nations..."

Apologetics is extremely important, but never the first step in leading someone to Christ. In fact, if someone does not have intellectual stumbling blocks, I don't wish to create them. Apologetics should only be used if and when I first identify that there is an intellectual stumbling block standing between the person and their belief in, trust in, and commitment to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. – Luke Nix (from Why Apologetics?)

Read the whole thing.

Argo is the best movie of 2012

My daughter is home for fall break from Tennessee Tech, where she is studying chemical engineering. So my wife and daughter and I went to see Argo, the Ben Affleck-directed flick about an amazing exfiltration of six American diplomatic staff from Tehran. When terrorists seized the US embassy there in 1979, the six staffers escaped and were taken by the Canadian ambassador into his home.

Argo is the best movie I have seen this year. Period. There is not a wasted line or throwaway scene in the whole thing. Affleck's direction is simply brilliant and his starring role as CIA exfiltrator Tony Mendez is extremely well played. And what a treat to see a movie that didn't start as a comic book.

The story is true, of course, and I cannot help but compare it very favorably to 1995's Apollo 13, starring Tom Hanks, which told the true story of the space mission of the same name and its near catastrophe en route to the moon. Like the latter movie, you know how Argo ends, but the tension is real.

Argo is one of the very few movies I have seen in which the audience (of about 400) actually applauded when the climactic scene was resolved. Another telling observation: When the end credits music started, only about three people in front of me arose, then they froze, and then they sat back down. No one moved a muscle. We sat silently, reading the credits for several minutes. I won't say why, that would be an unfair spoiler. But you will, too.

I give Argo nine out 10 CIA Intelligence Stars.

America no longer majority Protestant

As Protestants decline, those with no religion gain:

Persons who identify themselves as Protestant in religious affiliation now comprise only 48 percent of the country's population.

Just under 20 percent of Americans say they have no religious denominational affiliation at all, a larger number than belong to any Protestant denomination. Among people under age 30, a third disdain any such affiliation.

See my 2010 essay, "Why 'Spirituality' Rather Than Religion?"

Top brain surgeon says afterlife is real

Afterlife exists says top brain surgeon - Telegraph:

Afterlife exists says top brain surgeon

A prominent scientist who had previously dismissed the possibility of the afterlife says he has reconsidered his belief after experiencing an out of body experience which has convinced him that heaven exists. ...

"I've spent decades as a neurosurgeon at some of the most prestigous medical institutions in our country. I know that many of my peers hold as I myself did to the theory that the brain, and in particular the cortex, generates consciousness and that we live in a universe devoid of any kind of emotion, much less the unconditional love that I now know God and the universe have toward us. 

"But that belief, that theory, now lies broken at our feet. What happened to me destroyed it."

Is Misfortune God's Doing?

Is Misfortune God's Doing? An Excerpt From Harold Kushner's New Look at 'The Book of Job.' – Tablet Magazine:

There is one place in the Bible where serious theological conversation about the nature and thought process of God does take place, prompted by the conflict between the human wish to see the world as a moral sphere where people get what they deserve, where everything happens for a reason, and the inescapable reality that ours is a world where good people suffer for no apparent reason. The book of Job is a full-length argument about whether the misfortunes that befall ostensibly good people come to them from the hand of God. If we want to believe that ours is a moral world, the scene of justice and fairness, we need to confront the arguments presented in what is probably the most challenging book in the entire Bible: the book of Job. ...

The first thing you need to know about the biblical book of Job is that there are two of them. There is the Fable of Job, a very old, simple folktale of faith maintained and rewarded, found in chapters 1, 2, and 42 of the biblical book. And then there is the Poem of Job, a much later, more complicated work comprising the large middle section of the book. A lot of people reading the Bible don’t realize that. They assume it is a single work, a theological sandwich composed of two slices of pious theology wrapped around a dense filling of hard-to-follow religious poetry.

"Jesus’ Wife" text fragment is a fake

Jesus’ Wife fragment judged a fake « Daniel B. Wallace:

Not that this is a surprise:

“News flash: Harvard Theological Review has decided not to publish Karen King¹s paper on the Coptic papyrus fragment on the grounds that the fragment is probably a fake.” This from an email Dr. Craig Evans, the Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia University and Divinity College, sent to me earlier today. He said that Helmut Koester (Harvard University), Bentley Layton (Yale University), Stephen Emmel (University of Münster), and Gesine Robinson (Claremont Graduate School)–all first-rate scholars in Coptic studies–have weighed in and have found the fragment wanting. No doubt Francis Watson’s comprehensive work showing the fragment’s dependence on the Gospel of Thomas was a contributing factor for this judgment, as well as the rather odd look of the Coptic that already raised several questions as to its authenticity.

Does the Big Bang cosmology support God or atheism?

Stephen C. Meyer: does the Big Bang cosmology support God or atheism?

Hint: the answer is God

Summary at the link. The video is here:

Close to the Big Bang

Here is the latest deep-field photo by the Hubble telescope.

Click image to view larger.

Called the eXtreme Deep Field, the picture captures a mass of galaxies stretching back almost to the time when the first stars began to shine. 

But this was no simple point and snap - some of the objects in this image are too distant and too faint for that. 

Rather, this view required Hubble to stare at a tiny patch of sky for more than 500 hours to detect all the light, 

"It's a really spectacular image," said Dr Michele Trenti, a science team member from the University of Cambridge, UK. 

"We stared at this patch of sky for about 22 days, and have obtained a very deep view of the distant Universe, and therefore we see how galaxies were looking in its infancy."

Most people know that the universe is expanding, but not many non-astronomers are familiar with the theory of inflation, which reveals that the term "Big Bang" is misleading. Instead, says NASA's "Universe 101" web site, the universe's creation "is better thought of as the simultaneous appearance" of the universe everywhere there is the universe.

Inflation theory holds that the universe went from nothing at all to more than 99 percent of its present size in less than one-billionth of a billionth of a second – which is to say, instantly. So while empirical data, especially the uniformity of cosmic background radiation, support the conclusion  the universe began from a single point, from any reasonable human perspective there was no explosion. The universe simply appeared everywhere at once, instantaneously.

Inflation theory explains how the image of the galaxy enclosed in a square, above, can be thought to be the galaxy when it was only 460 million years old (making it presumptively the oldest object ever photographed). Stars and galaxies did not form right away after creation, but this galaxy was already billions of light years distant from ours when it came together.

 

Different Takes: Should we abandon idea of hell?

Different Takes: Should we abandon idea of hell? – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs:

Two opposing views on Hell.

What does the 'new' in 'new atheism' really mean?

What does the 'new' in 'new atheism' really mean? | Lois Lee | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk:

We can get so waylaid in debates about what new atheism means, that we fail to notice what is the real problem with the "new" in "new atheism", namely that it suggests that this particular branch of contemporary atheist culture as the only one, that it is simply the most recent manifestation in a linear and one-track intellectual tradition. Instead, the emergence of new atheism seems far more about a moment of devolution rather than evolution: it should make clear the ways in which atheist cultures are proliferating and distinguishing themselves from one other. It should make clear that non-religion has its own denominations

What I see as the "new" part of the New Atheist movement is its adherents' eagerness to convert others, especially religious believers, into atheists, too. That is, the new part of New Atheism is not is atheism, for which they offer arguments that are neither new nor very compelling. It is their - dare I say it - evangelical zeal to make converts. (Richard Dawkins, for example, has said this explicitly.)

Interview with a Cairo rioter

I must protect my sources and means, but I have this morning conducted an interview with a Cairo resident who took part in the riot against the American embassy in Cairo last week. In fact, he was one of the relative few who actually made it over the wall into the grounds of the embassy.

My interview was with a Cairo man, 28 years old, named Muhammad Achmed Mohammed. He speaks English well but not quickly and sometimes stops and restates his point. In the transcript, I have omitted those kinds of gaps or restarts in order to enhance clarity.

ME: Hello, Muhammad, thank you for agreeing to speak with me today. I hope my readers and I will understand better what happened last week with the events at the American embassy.

Muhammad: Yes, of course. I am happy to talk with you. We need to understand one another better, I agree with you.

ME: Well, then let's start there. What would you like Americans to understand most of all?

Muhammad: It is very simple: If you insult Muhammad the prophet, peace be upon him, we will kill you.

ME: So if I said to you, in person, not on the telephone – and please understand that I am not saying this, I am merely proposing a fictional situation for discussion, nothing more – that Muhammad was a false prophet, what would your reaction be?

Muhammad: I would have to kill you.

ME: Even though I am not a Muslim?

Muhammad: There is only the consideration that because you are not a Muslim of course you do not believe that Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a prophet. Nonetheless, you would deserve to die unless you immediately repented of you sin and made shahada that,"There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet." If you did that, of course then we would be brothers and you would live.

ME: What if someone who has already made shahada said that Muhammad was not a prophet after all?

Muhammad: That is apostasy and he would have to die without hesitation. So you see, Islam is actually more forgiving of nonbelievers than Muslims.

ME: But my fictional example was purely religious in nature, whether Muhammad was or was not a prophet. What if I said something not really religious, such as – another fictional example to help us understand, please remember – "Muhammad was a murderer and pedophile child rapist?"

Muhammad: It does not matter. You cannot insult the prophet in any way and expect to live.

ME: So, no claiming that Muhammad snorted cocaine?

Muhammad: Afraid not.

ME: Kited checks?

Muhammad: No.

ME: Voted for Obama?

Muhammad: Still death, except for that insult I would torture you first.

ME: Let's get back to the embassy matter. What did you do that first night?

Muhammad: As I was leaving my workplace that later afternoon, my friend Achmed Muhammad Achmed called me on my cell phone and told me that we were going to storm the American embassy later that evening. I told him I wanted to take part.

ME: Did he say why you were storming the embassy?

Muhammad: No, it was not necessary. We had been talking with the Salafis about it for a long time. They said that September 11 would be a good date. That made sense.

ME: When you said, "we" would be going against the embassy, who do you mean by we?

Muhammad: Achmed Muhammad Achmed and two thousand of our closest friends. There were more than that in the event, but I didn't know all of them. We are aligned with the Salafis but when the riot began, the Brotherhood tried to horn in. That was rude.

ME: Did you and the other Salafis riot because of the Youtube video?

Muhammad: Huh?

ME: Did you and the other Salafis riot because of the Youtube video? The one that was said to insult Islam?

Muhammad: Let me see . . . Oh, yes, that was the reason, certainly.

ME: The White House says that the riots in Cairo and Libya and eighteen or so other Muslim nations are not protests against America or the Obama administration. Your response?

Muhammad: Oh, yes, of course, that is correct. We love America and especially we love President Hussein.

ME: Obama.

Muhammad: Gesundheit. Is that the right word?

ME: No, I mean President Obama, not President Hussein.

Muhammad: Who?

ME: Obama!

Muhammad: What?

ME: I don't know! ... Okay, reset. You mentioned your workplace and that you love America and its president. What do you do for a living?

Muhammad: I own "Achmed's Flag Emporium," where my brother and my cousin make and sell American flags that are specially designed to burn easily and brightly. Business is excellent!

ME: But you love America?

Muhammad: Of course! Selling American flags to burn is making me rich!
_______________________________________________

Update: Jump ahead to 3:07

 

Endnote: Just to make sure - please realize that this is "interview" is a work of fiction, intended as satire. I did not actually speak to anyone in Egypt.

The Air Force's newest officer

2nd Lt. Thomas Sensing, USAFR, left

Big day Friday! I arose very early, drove to the Nashville airport and boarded a plane for Tampa, then drove to Bradenton. There I administered the oath of military commissioning to my son, Thomas, who thereby became a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force Reserve. He will hold this commission while he completes medical school (which he just started this fall). When he graduates he will be commissioned a captain in the regular Air Force's Medical Corps.

As a retired Army officer, I am authorized to administer these oaths. So it was a really great thing to commission my own son. Next summer he will attend the USAF Commissioned Officer Training school at Maxwell AFB, Ala., where he'll buy his uniforms and all that (and maybe get a haircut!). A lot of medical students have already started school by the time their military scholarships are awarded, so they don't worry about that sort of thing until the summer break.

Got back home late Friday night. A grand day all around!

So far my family is represented in the Army (me), the USMC by my eldest and now the Air Force by Thomas. My daughter just started her freshman year at Tennessee Tech where she is studying chemical engineering and sort of considering applying for the Navy's Nuclear Power Officer Candidate (NUPOC) program at the end of this school year. Here's the vid:

Our sugar addiction

Americans are becoming more obese because we eat so much sugar. Here is a small section of a highly informative infographic:

Click and read the whole graphic.

Sugar is added to almost everything you buy in a grocery that is not plain raw. Glucose, sucrose and  fructose are found on a shockingly high number of nutrition labels, just see for yourself. Fast foods are packed with added sugar. Sugar is literally addictive. Eating a high-sugar diet - the typical American diet - leads directly to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

So how interesting that Michelle Obama is promoting to schools the new federal guidelines that want pupils to eat more fruit and vegetables. That is literally a recipe for childhood obesity. Fresh fruit today has been bred for many generations to have the highest fructose content possible. If you bite into a fresh apple you are just eating a large hunk of crunchy sugar with a dietary-insignificant amount of nutrients.

Dietary carbohydrates are sugars once they are digested. Simple carbs break down to sugars very quickly while complex carbs less quickly. But both simple and complex carbs become sugar in the bloodstream. Carbs are found in a amazing number of vegetables. Potatoes of course, are high carb, but so are many veggies that most people would consider "safe." Green, leafy vegetables are in fact safe, but is the only category of vegetable that is safe in its entire.

It is dietary sugar and carbohydrates, pure and simple, that make you fat.  Dietary protein and dietary fat not only do not make you fat, to the contrary, if you eliminate sugars and carbs from your diet you will drop weight literally within 24-36 hours and will not be hungry while you slim.

Rules of thumb for food shopping and eating:

• The more ready to eat something is, the quicker it will make you fat and give you diabetes. 
• The more processed a food is, even if it requires a lot of preparation, the quicker it will make you fat and give you diabetes. 
• The more simple carbohydrates a food has, the quicker it will give you diabetes because it spikes the blood-glucose level so fast, leading over time to insulin resistance. 
• Read labels of everything. Foods with one or less carbs per serving are pretty much free, but should be eaten with meals, not as snacks.
• Meat, fish, poultry (MFP henceforth) and eggs are on limits in all particulars except when they have sugars added, such as glazed ham. Read labels on packaged meats.
• When you are hungry, eat MFP until you are sated. Don't worry about weights, measures or calorie counting. Just don't keep eating once you are satisfied. Don't worry about how often you eat MFP during the day, as long as you are actually eating to satisfy hunger. 
• Drink water, not sugared soft drinks or sweet tea. Diet drinks are fine, but remember that aspartame, the most common artificial sweetener in them, seems to stimulate insulin production, lowering blood glucose, and that typically leads to snacking. That's one reason that diet drink consumers eat so much.  Saccharine, however, is safe (the pink envelope stuff). Caffeine apparently stimulates insulin production, too (hence the famous coffee and donut break) so drink decaf beverages if you can. 

This list is simple summary of what you will learn if you read this absolutely invaluable book. Amazon's page is here. (BTW, I don't make money off this link.)