“Now we cannot…discover our failure to keep God’s law except by trying our very hardest (and then failing). Unless we really try, whatever we say there will always be at the back of our minds the idea that if we try harder next time we shall succeed in being completely good. Thus, in one sense, the road back to God is a road of moral effort, of ( Read more... )

I was still hungry after dinner, so I went and got a meal at Dairy Queen. I should not have had soda: who knows how long it will take me to get to bed? :P

I finished watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre this afternoon... and almost immediately realized I had watched the wrong version. *beats head on wall* Luckily, the older version was readily ( Read more... )

You can watch this video on www.livejournal.com

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

One of the best explanations I've seen in a long time!

This morning Pastor Todd preached on Matt 11:2-5. When John [the Baptist], who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who ( Read more... )

( Attack on a Nazarene Church in Zimbabwe during a prayer for peace service on Saturday )

I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately and what it really is. A person cannot force themselves to feel differently about something, and they cannot force themselves to forget it (don't think about an elephant, etc). So what exactly is forgiveness? Is it supposed to be not holding it against them next time? B/c that's REALLY hard to do ( Read more... )

...that West Africa, one of the biggest chocolate supplying areas in the world, is plagued with abusive child labor, child trafficking, and forced labor? This means that a lot of the chocolate we buy in the US supports these things. GreenAmerica.com has put together a report scoring various American chocolate companies on their labor practices ( Read more... )

Remember the post I made a few weeks ago quoting the article on the Egyptian Muslims protecting Egyptian Christians during their Christmas services? Here's a photo and a video of Christian Egyptians protecting Muslims at prayer on Feb 4.
“Christians protecting Muslims during their prayers in Tahrir yesterday. Their turn to repay the favor after ( Read more... )

Just read an amazing article for one of my material culture classes. I have transcribed an excerpt here that really made me sit up and take notice, on the comparison between the debates over slavery and debates over abortion. If you think this passage too long, just read the bold parts. :)

( Excerpt is under the cut )

On October 31, a Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad was bombed, killing at least 58 people and wounding 78 more.

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian, has been sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of blasphemy (speaking ill of the prophet Mohammed)--a crime some say it was clear she never committed. Although no one has ever been executed ( Read more... )