Living the Anti-Thesis

I was reading The Ten Commandments - Manual for the Christian Life, By J. Douma, when I came across the statement found in the title^. Douma's commentary is to the point. He goes through Exodus 20, digging up the text and explaining the intricacies of each commandment.

Thus, my light bulb moment:

"We may certainly deduce from the negative formulations that man is a sinner inclined to transgress the law. In the law we have a mirror in which we look to see ourselves as we really are: you shall not kill, because you are a murderer; you shall not commit adultery, because you really are an adulterer! It is absolutely necessary that we come to know the law in this unmasking function (usus elenchticus)...the law of God liberates us from conceit and self-righteousness. It tells us rather clearly that we had better not look for our salvation in being decent or moral or law-abiding, but that we can be declared righteous only through a living bond with Christ - who has fulfilled the whole law.(10)"

You should really check out the blogs/podcasts/writings by Al Mohler, Ravi Zacharias, and Peter Kreeft. Theologian, Apologist, Philosopher.

1000

I just saw that we've reached one-thousand views on this blog. To all 7 people who are reading this, thank you. It's all about grassroots. Have a great day.

The Situation Room...with Charles Barkley.

I have plenty to do, but I heard about this video and had to post it.



Why is Barkley on CNN? Well, because he is a consistent blooper reel. I really don't care what an aged, ex-NBA player has to say about politics. But I do understand that slap-stick interviews get more ratings.

In regard to Sir Charles' claims, I realize that some candidates/political leaders toss around their "faith" to garner votes. But what kind of guy goes on national television and calls all conservatives "fake Christians?" Even Blitzer was taken back by that comment. I really don't think our country can be united under this kind of press.

Best quote of the interview:

"And when I look at [Obama], he represents everything that's good in the black community. He's intelligent, he's articulate, he's a...we a, we need that, you know. Most of our role models are athletes or entertainers."

Athletes and entertainers. If you are saying that the your own image needs to be reformed for the good of the public, well, I agree. This TV spot was bad for Mr. Barkley in another way. At the end of the interview, he announced his plans to run for governor of Alabama. You know, Alabama, that crimson Republican state that Huckabee won. If Barkley does end up running, something tells me this tape may show up. Here's a shirt for you:

Yeeha.

My grandparents decided to take the fam out to celebrate a couple birthdays. Their place of choice? Normally it would be the Angus Barn, or Tripps - something nice, kind of classy. Yet today, 7 adults and 3 toddlers sat snug around a table at Golden Corral. Very funny meal.

Times are tight - my grandmother even told the whole family that we could only get water, "because when you're in a recession, you drink water!" Make your body happy. That reminds me of an old Aquafina commercial...

Although I believe life begins at conception, it's still nice to have a day where people congratulate you for being born. I'm actually glad that people don't congratulate me for being conceived - that is one of those, well, more difficult thoughts.

But hey, I am 24 now. And it was a super Tuesday. And a fat Tuesday.

Speaking of elections and celebrations, I would like to apologize to Mike Huckabee. Ever since I posted that pic of McCain on this here blog, John's numbers have sky rocketed. Even Mitt got scared and dropped out, thankfully, might I add. So I'll try to alter that photo a bit. Later.

This week went well. I handed in that Erasmus paper, killed some quizzes, and survived another week of life at the Bou. Here are some random things to get you through this weekend:

An interview with NT Wright on the misconceptions of heaven.

Colbert, Stewart and Conan fight over Huckabee:


Huckabee on ice:


How not to use Craigslist.

Some news stations report Tom Jones has insured his chest hair for $7,000,000. Well, I checked his official site.

That's all for now - I'm out like Ty Lawson...

Erasmus to Mirriam

I was trying to read "The Praise of Folly" and came across this statement:

"Whoop Holiday!"

I laughed out loud. I think this phrase should be more common place...speaking of which:

I invented a word, and for the first time, I will be attempting to put it into type. The word? Well, here is some background first...

Many people say that chivalry is dead. You know, men doing courageous and courteous acts for women. Apparently, a lot of guys have been slacking off. Every so often I'll see a girl get the door for a guy, or hear of women being the sole leaders of setting boundaries or goals in dating/marriage relationships. This is a reversal of what was chivalry. Indeed this is "evolrish." More complicated explanation:

One night at Camp Willow Run, I was sitting around with a couple friends talking about chivalry and what not, when I got the idea to record my voice on a PC and reverse it. Thus "chivalry" reversed is "evolrish." Next step, contact the dictionaries. I did.

I submitted the word to Mirriam-Webster, and this is what they said:

"Dear Jon,
Thank you for writing, but I'm afraid we don't accept word submissions"

I thought this was an auto-generated reply, so I tried again and got this:

"Dear Jon,
Thanks for your e-mail. Your coinage is clever, but I'm afraid that
cleverness is not the criterion on which a word is entered into our
dictionaries. As I said in my earlier reply, we don't accept word
submissions."

So turns out that a "word," if that's what they call it, has to be cited thousands, if not millions of times in various publications before it is even considered.

Conclusion: With your help, we'll be rattling off "evolrish" in no time. Please forward this entry to all your famous friends/influential writer-types.

Maybe I understand Erasmus more than I think I do...