Important Matters

Resources for Teaching American History

2010-08-07T08:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some great resources for teaching American history:

http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/

http://www.wallbuilders.com/

Ben Franklin's Religious Musings

2010-08-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

While Benjamin Franklin may by definition been a deist, he was certainly no secularist by today's standards.

Here's an excerpt quote of Benjamin Franklin, from the debates in the Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1787.

Mr. President The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other-our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of Government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.
In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection.- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that "except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move-that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service.

New to Homeschooling?

2010-07-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

For a family that is new to homeschooling, I would start by reading the following book. It is easy reading and gives a decent overview of the homeschool experience.

A Biblical Home Education: Building Your Homeschool on the Foundation of God's Word
http://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Home-Education-Homeschool-Foundation/dp/0805444548

In addition, I'm partial to the following curriculum providers:

Sonlight: http://www.sonlight.com/
We like Sonlight because:
- it provides integrated and structured lesson plans
- more geared towards learning to read by experience, instead of individual words
- Christian based, historic Christian faith is integrated into every subject
- creative developmental activities
- book selections are exemplary
Math-U-See: http://www.mathusee.com/
We like Math-U-See because:
- focus on manipulatives at first, instead of rote memorization
- kids tend to give good reviews of it
- methodical way to teach math, even if parent is not mathematically gifted

More broadly, I have posted a previous blog entry for other resources:
http://importantmatters.blogspot.com/2009/09/homeschool-links.html

Copenhagen Treaty

2009-10-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

Here's an actual link to a draft of the treaty:
http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/un-fccc-copenhagen-2009.pdf

In summary, you will find language that talks about:

This is a global problem, which requires a global response and cooperation
Developed nations are the cause behind the problems, so they need to show ambitious leadership in the solution
Transfer of wealth to developing nations
Verbiage of covenantal nature (think Ten Commandments, U.S. Constitution, and Declaration of Independence): "shall", "shall not", "right to", "legally binding", etc.

Excerpts
PP.6 Intending to renew and strengthen the global partnership through the creation of new levels of cooperation among Parties, according to the principles of the Convention.

PP.7 Affirming a Shared Vision of a long-term goal to equitably, successfully and coherently integrate the ambitious efforts of all Parties.

PP.8 [Recognizing that] sustainable development is the first priority for developing countries. Therefore, [that] our commitment to a low carbon society would have to be linked to our development priorities, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.

PP.9 [Recalling that] the Rio principles, particularly the principles of [equity], common but differentiated responsibilities and respective [capabilities] [capacities] should guide the debates on shared vision.

PP.13 Recognizing that current and potential climate change impacts require a shift in the global investment patterns and that criteria for financing allocation shall clearly respond to the priorities identified by the international community, with climate change stabilization being one of these priorities.

PP.14 Acknowledging that current atmospheric concentrations are principally the result of historical emissions of greenhouse gases, the most significant share of which has originated in developed countries.

PP.15 Further acknowledging that developed countries have a historical responsibility for their disproportionate contribution to the causes and consequences of climate change, reflecting their disproportionate historical use of a shared global carbon space since 1850 as well as their proposed continuing disproportionate use of the remaining global carbon space.

1. [[[As assessed by the IPCC in its Fourth Assessment Report] Warming of the climate system, as a consequence of human activity, is unequivocal. [Global atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased significantly because of human activities since 1750.]

2. Current atmospheric concentrations are principally the result of historical emissions of greenhouse gases, [the largest share of which has originated in] [originating from] developed countries [Parties].

3. ...In order to build up their coping or adaptive capacity, developing countries must pursue these overriding priorities to the best of their abilities. The maintenance of healthy ecosystems and their services is necessary to maintain the life support system on earta. h in the face of climate change, providing food and livelihoods, contributing to human welfare and enabling sustainable economic development.

10. Led by developed country Parties, [an economic transition is needed [that shifts] [in order to adjust] global economic growth patterns towards a sustainable [low-emission economy] based on
development of innovative technologies, more sustainable production and consumption, promoting sustainable lifestyles and [climate-resilient] [sustainable] development [while ensuring a just transition of the workforce]. The active participation of all stakeholders in this transition should be sought [, be they governmental, including subnational and local government, private business or civil society, including the youth and addressing the need for gender equity].] Those developing countries that were and are low carbon economies need sufficient financial incentives and appropriate technology transfer to keep avoiding GHG emissions in their path to sustainable development and to prevent adopting the high GHG emission trajectories of developed countries.

11. The structure of the global economy has undergone profound changes since the entry into force of the Convention, and Parties’ individual responsibilities and capabilities with it. Emissions and sources of capital are increasingly global, necessitating that all countries take action to achieve a low-emissions trajectory in order to meet the objective of the Convention.

14. [In reflection of] [Because of] their historical responsibility for the accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, [developed country Parties [and other Parties included in Annex I of the Convention] [must] [should] [show leadership] [in the global effort to build a low-carbon economy that ensures continued growth and sustainable development and strengthens capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change] [shall take the lead in combating climate change] [and the adverse effects thereof] [in] [by] [in particular on taking corresponding measures in] [mitigation] [in taking on ambitious economy-wide quantified emission limitation and reduction] commitments [immediately implementing ambitious and legally binding emissions reductions] [through deep reductions in their emissions.]...

18. ...It is also particularly important to provide adequate, predictable, stable, sufficient and timely funding for adaptation purposes particularly by developed countries. Developed country Parties shall support these developing countries in meeting the costs of adaptation.

20. In order to fulfill this shared vision, Parties have agreed to establish a coherent, cohesive and integrated system of financial and technology transfer mechanisms under the Convention and a follow up/compliance mechanism. These institutions are robust and effective.

21. .. ensuring that global crises, such as the financial crisis, should not constitute an obstacle to the provision of financial and technical assistance to developing countries in accordance with the Convention.

Alternative 1

a. fully recognize that the shared vision is to be pursued “in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Convention” (para. 1 a of the BAP), as contained in its Article 3, in particular Articles 3.1 (protection of the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities) and 3.3, and shall take into account “social and economic conditions and other relevant factors”, through the full consideration of the economic and social impacts on developing countries, including impacts on the eradication of poverty, of any long-term global goal for emissions reductions;

Alternative 2

a. The guiding principles and objective of the agreed outcome, including the scientific basis for decision making,

The guiding principles of the Convention should support items b) and c) of the previous paragraph, in terms of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities; historical responsibilities in greenhouse gas emissions and the related historical ecological debt generated by the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions since 1750 and the most recent scientific information. The objective of the shared vision should be expressed as guidance to integrate the global cooperative action to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention, from now, up to and beyond 2012. The previous should be linked to a series of more specific and mutually coherent agreements on the mitigation, adaptation, technology and financing issues, which should be respectively included in a series of COP decisions so as to complement the framework decision on the shared vision.

Alternative 3

The shared vision is to establish a global approach to addressing climate change through enhancing action by all countries to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and to provide adequate support for vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change. Actions taken shall play a significant role in ensuring that global greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere must be stabilized as far below 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent as possible, with temperature increases limited to as far below 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels as possible. Action taken shall be a major contribution towards moving to a low greenhouse gas emission society that is compatible with sustainable development objectives and consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. The right to survival of all nations is a paramount objective.

Alternative 4

The discussion on a shared vision for long-term cooperative action is an exchange of views or ideas about how to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention, focusing on the way to implement long-term cooperative action under the framework of the Convention. A shared vision is for long-term cooperative action, such a vision should be guided by the ultimate objective of the Convention, which consists of the following three aspects:

[1.] to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system;

[2.] to adapt to the impacts of climate change;

[3.] and to realize sustainable development.

A shared vision for long-term cooperative action should be comprehensive and include mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology as well as sustainable development.

23. [Recalling Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 5, and Article 4, paragraphs 3 and 7 of the Convention, developed country Parties shall not resort to any form of unilateral measures, including countervailing border measures, against goods and services imported from developing countries on the grounds of protection and stabilization of climate.]

Creation Science References

2009-09-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

Links
www.AnswersInGenesis.org
www.arn.org
www.icr.org
www.creationsafaris.com/crevnews.htm (the site is also linked, but the current events are worth highlighting)
www.leaderu.com
www.creationresearch.org
www.trueorigin.org
www.creationsafaris.com
www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/
www.discovery.org
www.crsc.org
www.allaboutcreation.org
www.allaboutphilosophy.org

Book List
The list of books contains sufficient information to permit any bookstore to order copies.
Books marked with (*), however, may be obtained directly from ICR (Institute for Creation
Research), Santee, CA., and books marked with (#) may be obtained through Answers in
Genesis, Florence, KY. Books not so marked must be obtained through the publisher listed.

*Evolution: A Theory In Crisis (1985), by Michael Denton, Adler & Adler, Bethesda, MD, ISBN: 0917561058

*Darwin’s Black Box (1996), by Michael Behe, The Free Press, NY, NY, ISBN: 0684827549

*Of Pandas and People, 2ed., (1993), by P. Davis and D. Kenyon, Haughton Pub. Co., Dallas, TX, ISBN: 0914513400

*The Mystery of Life’s Origin: Reassessing Current Theories (1984), by C. Thaxton, W. Bradley, and R. Olsen, Lewis & Stanley Publishing, Dallas, TX, ISBN: 802224474

Evolution: Possible or Impossible (1993), by James F. Coppedge, Probability Research in Molecular Biology, Northridge, CA, www.creationsafaris.com

*The Creation of Life (1970), by A.E. Wilder-Smith, The Word For Today Publishers, Costa Mesa, CA, ISBN: 09367281C

#The Biotic Message, (1993), by Walter ReMine, St. Paul Science, Minnesota, ISBN:
0963799908

*In The Minds of Men, 3rd ed., (1991), by Ian T. Taylor, TFE Publishing, Minneapolis, MN, ISBN: 0969178867

*Darwin on Trial, 2ed., (1993), by Phillip E. Johnson, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL., ISBN: 0830813241

*Reason In The Balance, (1995), by Phillip E. Johnson, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, ISBN: 0830816100

*Defeating Darwinism, (1997), by Phillip E. Johnson, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL., ISBN: 0830813608

*What is Creation Science?, (1987), by H.M. Morris and G.E. Parker, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, ISBN: 0890510814

True Science Agrees With the Bible, (1998), by M. Bowden, Sovereign Publications, Box 88, Bromely, Kent, BR2 9PF, ISBN: 0950604240

*Origins, (1998), by Ariel Roth, Review & Herald Publishing Assoc., Hagerstown, MD, ISBN: 0828013284

Shattering The Myths of Darwinism, (1997), by Richard Milton, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, ISBN: 0892817321

*The Natural Sciences Know Nothing of Evolution, (1981), by A. E. Wilder-Smith, The Word For Today Publishers, Costa Mesa, CA, ISBN: 09367281A

*The Scientific Alternative to Neo-Darwinian Evolutionary Theory, (1987), by A. E. Wilder-Smith, The Word For Today Publishers, Costa Mesa, CA, ISBN: 09367281B

*The Origin of Species Revisited Vols. I & II (1991), by W. Bird, Regency, Nashville, TN, ISBN: 0840768451 & 0840768486

#Not By Chance, (1998), by Lee Spetner, The Judaica Press, Inc., Brooklyn, NY, ISBN:
1880582244

#Refuting Evolution, (1999), by Jonathan Sarfati, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, ISBN:
0890512582

#Refuting Evolution 2, (2002), by Jonathan Sarfati, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, ISBN: 0890513872

*Origins, Icons, and Illusions, (1998), by Harold R. Booher, Warren H. Green, Inc., Saint Louis, MO, ISBN: 087527515X

*Tornado in A Junkyard, (1999), by James Perloff, Refuge Books, Arlington, MA, ISBN:
0966816005

The Creation Hypothesis, (1994), J.P. Moreland, editor, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL., ISBN: 0830816984

Mere Creation, (1998), William A. Dembski, editor, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL., ISBN: 0830815155

*Man’s Origin Man’s Destiny, (1968), by A. E. Wilder-Smith, The Word For Today Publishers, Costa Mesa, CA, ISBN:

*Origin by Design, (1983), by Harold Coffin, Review & Herald Publishing Assoc., Hagerstown, MD, ISBN: 0828001324

*Evolution: The Fossils Still Say NO!, (1995), by Duane T. Gish, ICR Press, El Cajon, CA, ISBN: 0890511128

*Creation Scientist Answer Their Critics, (1993), by Duane T. Gish, ICR Press, El Cajon, CA, ISBN: 0932766285

*The Biblical Basis for Modern Science, (1984), by Henry M. Morris, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, ISBN: 0801061784

*The Long War Against God, (1989), by Henry M. Morris, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, ISBN: 0801062578

*Creation and Change, (1997), by Douglas F. Kelly, Christian Focus Publications, Geanies
House, Fearn, Ross-shire, IV20 ITW, Great Britain, ISBN: 1857922832

*Creation and the Modern Christian, (1985), by Henry M. Morris, Creation Life Publishers a Master Books Division, ISBN: 089051111X

*Evolution and the Modern Christian, (1967), by Henry M. Morris, Presbyterian and Reform Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, NJ, ISBN: 0875523374

*The Genesis Flood, (1961), John C. Whitcomb and Henry M. Morris, Baker Book House,
Grand Rapids, MI, ISBN: 0801095018

*The Natural Limits to Biological Change, (1989), by Lane P. Lester and Raymond G. Bohlin, Probe Ministries International (Distributed by Word Pub.), ISBN: 0945241062

#The Lie: Evolution, (1987), by Ken Ham, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, ISBN:
0890511586

#Creation Evangelism for the New Millennium, (1998), by Ken Ham, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, ISBN: 0890512477

#Did God Use Evolution?, (1993), by Werner Gitt, Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung e.V.
Postfach 110135 . 33661, Bielefeld, ISBN: 3893977252

#In the Beginning was Information, (1997), by Werner Gitt, Christliche Literatur-
Verbreitung e.V. Postfach 110135 . 33661, Bielefeld, ISBN: 3893972552

A Case Against Accident and Self-Organization, (1997), by Dean L. Overman, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham, Boulder, N.Y., Oxford, ISBN: 0847689662

*The Young Earth, (1994), by John D. Morris, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, ISBN:
0890511748

*Creation Compromises, (1995), by Bert Thompson, Apologetics Press, Inc., 230 Landmark Dr., Montgomery, AL, ISBN: 0932859178

The Wedge of Truth, (2000), by Phillip E. Johnson, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, ISBN: 0830822674

Icons of Evolution, (2000), by Jonathan Wells, Regnery Publishing, Inc., Washington, D.C., ISBN: 0895262762

Handbook: Creation, The Flood, and Historical Dating, (2000), by John G. Read,
Apocalypse Press, ISBN: 0970115301

How Blind is the Watchmaker? (2001), by Neil Broom, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, ISBN: 0830822968

*Variation and Fixity in Nature (1976), by Frank L. Marsh, Ph.D.,Pacific Press Publishing Assoc., Mountain View CA.

*Darwin’s Enigma: Fossils and Other Problems 4th Revised edition, (1988), by Luther D. Sutherland, Master Books, El Cajon, CA, ISBN: 089051108X

Faith, Reason & Earth History (1997), by Leonard Brand, Andrews University Press, 213Information Services Building, Berrein Springs, MI, 49104-6915, ISBN: 1883925150

*Did God Use Evolution to “Create”?, (1993), by Christopher K. Chui, Ph.D., Logos Publishers P.O. Box 9264, Canoga Park, CA 91309

#When Christians Roamed the Earth, (2002), by Ken Ham et al., Master Books, Green
Forest, AR, ISBN: 0-89051-319-8

Faith, Form and Time, (2002), by Kurt P. Wise, Broadman & Holman Pub., , ISBN:
080542462-8

Dismantling Evolution, (2003), by Ralph O. Muncaster, Harvest House Pub, Eugene, Oregon., ISBN: 0-7369-0464-6

Fatal Flaws, (2003), by Hank Hanegraaff, W Publishing Group, Nashville, TN., ISBN: 0-8499-1795-6

Darwin’s Proof (2003), by Cornelius G. Hunter, Brazos Press, Grand Rapids, MI., ISBN:
1-58743-056-8

Doubts about Darwin, (2003), by Thomas Woodward, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI., ISBN: 0-8010-6443-0

Genesis for today-In the beginning (1997), by Andy McIntosh, Day One Publications, ISBN: 0-902548-78-6

Darwin Retried: An appeal to reason (1971), by Norman Macbeth, The Harvard Common Press, Harvard and Boston, MA, ISBN: 0-87645-048-6

Darwin’s God-Evolution and the Problem of Evil (2001), by Cornelius G. Hunter, Brazos Press, Grand Rapids, MI, ISBN: 1-58743-011-8

#Refuting Compromise, (2004), by Jonathan Sarfati, Master Books, Inc., P.O. Box 726 Green Forest, AR 72638, ISBN: 0-89051-411-9

The Evolution of a Creationist (2002), by Jobe Martin, Biblical Discipleship Publishers, 2212 Chisholm Trail, Rockwall, TX 75032, ISBN: 0-9643665-0-9.

#The Great Turning Point, (2004), by Terry Mortenson, Master Books, Inc., P.O. Box 726 Green Forest, AR 72638, ISBN: 0-89051-408-9

*Something from Nothing, (2004), by Kurt P. Wise and Sheila A. Richardson, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN, ISBN: 080542779-1

Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe, (2000) by Several Authors, The
Proceedings of the Wethersfield Institute, NY, NY, Ignatius Press, S.F., CA, ISBN: 0-89870-809-5.

Monkey Business: The True Story of the Scopes Trial, (2005) by Marvin Olasky & John Perry, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN, ISBN: 0805431578.

Homeschool Links

2009-09-03T04:08:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I get requests for good homeschool material. Here are the latest.

Core Curricula:
Sonlight - http://sonlight.com/
Veritas Press - http://veritaspress.com/
Memoria Press - http://memoriapress.com/
Five in a Row - http://www.fiarhq.com/

Math Curricula:
Math-U-See - http://mathusee.com/
Teaching Textbooks - http://teachingtextbooks.com/

Links:
Answers in Genesis - http://answersingenesis.org/
Creation Safaris - http://www.creationsafaris.com/
Starfall - http://www.starfall.com/
The Lost Tools of Learning - http://www.gbt.org/text/sayers.html

Books:
A Biblical Home Education
The Three R's
The Well-Trained Mind

Organizations:
Association of Classical and Christian Schools - http://www.accsedu.org/
Classical Conversations - http://classicalconversations.com/
Homeschool Legal Defense Association - http://www.hslda.org/
Vision Forum Ministries - http://www.visionforumministries.org/

Jim's Oatmeal

2009-09-01T04:50:00.000-07:00

Here's my oatmeal recipe. I will add a picture of it here this weekend.

Ingredients
1-1/3 cup of water
1 cup of oats (the thick kind, non-instant)
1/4 cup Ezekiel cereal (preferably Almond kind)
1/4 cup raisins
1 T cinnamon
1/8 cup of brown sugar
1/8 cup of milk (organic, carton, preferably whole but 2% will pass)

Directions

Bring water to a boil in a 3 quart sauce pan.
Reduce heat to low.
Pour oats into saucepan and let steep (covered) for about 10 min (stirring every 3 min) or until desired consistency.
Turn off the stove.
Pour in Ezekiel cereal and stir.
Pour in raisins and stir.
Let sit covered in the saucepan for about 5 min.
Pour in the cinnamon & brown sugar and stir.
Pour in the milk and serve.

Yield: 2 servings

Commentary on Moral Relativism

2008-03-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the pleasure of reading three articles (Philosophical Problems with Moral Relativism, Deconstructing Liberal Tolerance, Any Absolutes, Absolutely!) about ethics and morals in the context of our postmodern world. Below, I have provided a brief commentary on these articles.

Since these three articles provide much overlap in their principals, I chose to combine my commentary into a single train of thought.

Agreement

First of all, I agree that Christianity absolutely represents the standard upon which everything else is judged (refer to the references below for more study in Christian apologetics)^1,2,3.

Proponents of Moral Relativism (herein referred to as Relativists) convey their message with passivity using a technique of persuasion called “bait and switch”. Meaning, on the one hand, Relativists present the lofty claim that everyone’s ideas and beliefs have equal value and are due equal respect in public discourse. Yet orthodox Christian rhetoric is given no such veneration and is often ruled intolerant by public officials and media outlets.

Collectively, the articles provide a descent coverage for how Relativists are intolerant of those that make assertions in support of Christianity. The articles describe in detail the confusion that lies between the Relativists ears concerning tolerance. I concur that the problem of today is a misunderstanding of terms.

It used to be that the term tolerance suggested for a "Person B" to allow a "Person C" to exist in deference to "Person C's" belief system in spite of differences of beliefs. For example, Christians that live in San Francisco tolerate homosexuals insofar as Christians are not running around San Francisco exterminating homosexuals. By contrast, Hitler and his followers did not tolerate Jews in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Webster’s second meaning of the word seems to fit with, “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own”.

The issue is that Relativists equate Christian rhetoric with the absence of tolerance or intolerance. It is as if Christian rhetoric were a force that could control another’s behavior. The irony is that the Relativists are violating Christians from the First Amendment in the U.S. Bill Rights! It should be no surprise that Relativists would resist Christian thought. Indeed, the Bible says the gospel is foolishness to the unredeemed.⁴

Disagreement

I took little issue with these articles as they present a descent argument against the ideas of Moral Relativism of which I am adamantly opposed. One principle that I believe could have been conveyed better, as with many other writings, was in making the distinction between ethics and morals.

The primary difference between ethics and morals is that ethics is more abstract and appeals to a higher authority. Ethics is concerned with the oughtness of behavior. The root of the word ethics is the Greek word “ethos”. In the Greek, ethos is a technique used in debate that appeals to a higher authority to strengthen an argument. Alternatively, morals are concerned with social standards and codes, hence the phrase moral code. Something can be morally acceptable, yet ethically wrong.

For instance, it is morally acceptable in America for an unmarried couple to be sexually active. However, the Christian ethic, transcending time and culture, prohibits sex before marriage. Just because a society accepts a set of moral principles does not make it ethically right. In other words, ethics are about what people think is right. Morals are about actual behavior.

To expand on why it is important to make this distinction, we often hear the distinctively postmodern phrase, "be who you are". However, the problem with that statement is in what the grammar of the sentence is saying. The word "be" is normative; it is ethical; it is about oughtness. But the phrase "who you are" is descriptive; it is moral; it is about behavior. So essentially, the phrase, "be who you are" is asserting that people should determine their oughtness based on behavior.⁵ That my friend is a dangerous idea, given the track record of humanity that has been given over to act according to their own desires.

Instead of saying, "be who you are", a better mantra is, "be who God has called you to be". Because in being who God has called us to be, we are deriving our behavior from the Creator who is the author of righteousness. Therefore, I close with Galatians 5:13, which says, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."

References

¹McDowell, Evidence for Christianity.

²Geisler, Christian Apologetics.

³Morris, Biblical Basis for Modern Science.

⁴New King James Bible, 1 Corinthians 1:18.

⁵Sproul, R.C., Christian Ethics CD Collection.

On Edwards' Departure from His Presidential Bid

2008-01-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

Two points to make on this story about Edwards Ending His Presidential Bid.

First, in Edwards' exit speech, he says what is needed is a "little backbone" to affect change. But little is his word, and that is precisely their problem. The Dems have little backbone.

Secondly, Edwards makes a pledge to end poverty, which we know from his recent speeches, via handouts, increasing minimum wage, etc. This only makes matters worse for two reasons. One being it communicates the idea to people that they can make more money without changing their habits. Second, all increasing minimum wage does to the level Edwards is talking about is inflate prices.

The way to end poverty in an absolute sense is through exercising the dominion mandate. Meaning, the standard of living is improved through innovation in technology which encourage more spending and commerce. For example, the principle of free enterprise in America has enabled the poor and middle class to have a standard of living equal or better than the rest of the world.

However, relative poverty will never end this side of glory in a large "free" society such as America. That is to say, there will always be a gradient of wealth.

Countries like Switzerland can claim such high standards of living because, being a smaller nation, much of their populace import goods and exports innovation and services. A lesser percentage there is relegated to menial tasks that involve minimum wage.

Science Curriculum

2007-04-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

When should a child begin learning about science?

I say, as soon as the child is able to experience their senses--probably a few months after conception.

But in terms of a curriculum, I found a really good book to provide some early guidance. It is called: 365 Simple Science Experiments with Everyday Materials

Of course, every child is different and learns at varying rates, but whenever a child demonstrates curiosity about the world around them, encourage exploration in the early years. They will appreciate the hands-on experiences they had when they were younger once they get into the later years of grade school.

I believe it is better to focus on formal language skills early (along with Math). Strong reading/writing skills built during the early years will enable science concepts to be grasped more effectively down the road.

Easy Okra

2007-03-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Easy Okra

Ingredients:
2 c. Okra (maybe frozen)
1/2 c. Corn
1/8 c. canned tomatoes (with chilies)

note: feel free to modify proportions to suit taste

Directions:
1. Put canned tomatoes in mixing bowl
2. Steam the okra and corn together
3. When okra mixture is done (a few minutes), pour into mixing bowl, stir, and serve

yield: 2-3 servings

Healthy Lemonade Beverage

2007-03-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

All of the ingredients here should be adjusted for taste. I prefer less than the official amount of Maple Syrup. But that is just my preference.

More commentary on the effects of this lemonade later. But for now, here's the recipe:

Juice of one fresh lemon (not the equivalent from lemon concentrate)
1/5th teaspoon of Cayenne pepper
4 T Grade B Maple Syrup (Must be true Grade B Maple Syrup. Corn syrup based syrups such as Log Cabin is not the same thing. Grade B can be hard to find sometimes. Look for it at grocers such as Whole Foods Market.)
16 oz. Water

History Lesson

2006-08-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a post from a California lawyer that seems to present the "Big Picture" in just the right manner. This is something all Americans should read!!

A California Lawyer's Perspective on Iraq War:

Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat, and had sunk more than four hundred British ships in their convoys between England and America for food and war materials.

Bushido Japan had overrun most of Asia, beginning in 1928, killing millions of civilians throughout China , and impressing millions more as slave labor.

The US was in an isolationist, pacifist, mood, and most Americans and Congress wanted nothing to do with the European war, or the Asian war.

Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage Congress unanimously declared war on Japan , and the following day on Germany , which had not attacked us. It was a dicey thing. We had few allies.

France was not an ally, the Vichy government of France aligned with its German occupiers. Germany was not an ally, it was an enemy, and Hitler intended to set up a Thousand Year Reich in Europe . Japan was not an ally, it was intent on owning and controlling all of Asia . Japan and Germany had long-term ideas of invading Canada and Mexico , and then the United States over the north and south borders, after they had settled control of Asia and Europe .

America 's allies then were England , Ireland , Scotland , Canada , Australia , and Russia , and that was about it. There were no other countries of any size or military significance with the will and ability to contribute much or anything to the effort to defeat Hitler's Germany and Japan , and prevent the global dominance of Nazism. And we had to send millions of tons of arms, munitions, and war supplies to Russia, England, and the Canadians, Aussies, Irish, and Scots, because NONE of them could produce all they needed for themselves.

All of Europe, from Norway to Italy, except Russia in the east, was already under the Nazi heel.

America was not prepared for war. America had stood down most of its military after WWI and throughout the depression, at the outbreak of WWII there were army units training with broomsticks over their shoulders because they didn't have guns, and cars with "tank" painted on the doors because they didn't have tanks. And a big chunk of our navy had just been sunk and damaged at Pearl Harbor .

Britain had already gone bankrupt, saved only by the donation of $600 million in gold bullion in the Bank of England that was the property of Belgium and was given by Belgium to England to carry on the war when Belgium was overrun by Hitler - actually, Belgium surrendered one day, because it was unable to oppose the German invasion, and the Germans bombed Brussels into rubble the next day anyway just to prove they could. Britain had been holding out for two years already in the face of staggering shipping loses and the near-decimation of its air force in the Battle of Britain, and was saved from being overrun by Germany only because Hitler made the mistake of thinking the Brits were a relatively minor threat that could be dealt with later and turning his attention to Russia, at a time when England was on the verge of collapse in the late summer of 1940.

Russia saved America's butt by putting up a desperate fight for two years until the US got geared up to begin hammering away at Germany.

Russia lost something like 24 million people in the sieges of Stalingrad and Moscow , 90% of them from cold and starvation, mostly civilians, but also more than a million soldiers. More than a million.

Had Russia surrendered, then, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire campaign against the Brits, then America , and the Nazis would have won that war.

Had Hitler not made that mistake and invaded England in 1940 or 1941, instead, there would have been no England for the US and the Brits to use as a staging ground to prepare an assault on Nazi Europe, England would not have been able to run its North African campaign to help take a little pressure off Russia while America geared up for battle, and today Europe would very probably be run by the Nazis, the Third Reich, and, isolated and without any allies (not even the Brits), the US would very probably have had to cede Asia to the Japanese, who were basically Nazis by another name then, and the world we live in today would be very different and much worse. I say this to illustrate that turning points in history are often dicey things. And we are at another one.

There is a very dangerous minority in Islam that either has, or wants and may soon have, the ability to deliver small nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, almost anywhere in the world, unless they are prevented from doing so.

France, Germany, and Russia, have been selling them weapons technology at least as recently as 2002, as have North Korea, Syria, and Pakistan, paid for with billions of dollars Saddam Hussein skimmed from the "Oil For Food" program administered by the UN with the complicity of Kofi Annan and his son.

The Jihadis, the militant Muslims, are basically Nazis in Kaffiyahs - they believe that Islam, a radically conservative (definitely not liberal!) form of Wahhabi Islam, should own and control the Middle East first, then Europe, then the world, and that all who do not bow to Allah should be killed, enslaved, or subjugated. They want to finish the Holocaust, destroy Israel , purge the world of Jews. This is what they say.

There is also a civil war raging in the Middle East - for the most part not a hot war, but a war of ideas. Islam is having its Inquisition and its Reformation today, but it is not yet known which will win - the Inquisition, or the Reformation.

If the Inquisition wins, then the Wahhabis, the Jihadis, will control the Middle East, and the OPEC oil, and the US , European, and Asian economies, the techno-industrial economies, will be at the mercy of OPEC - not an OPEC dominated by the well-educated and rational Saudis of today, but an OPEC dominated by the Jihadis.

You want gas in your car? You want heating oil next winter? You want jobs? You want the dollar to be worth anything? You better hope the Jihad, the Muslim Inquisition, loses, and the Islamic Reformation wins.

If the Reformation movement wins, that is, the moderate Muslims who believe that Islam can respect and tolerate other religions, and live in peace with the rest of the world, and move out of the 10th century into the 21st, then the troubles in the Middle East will eventually fade away, and a moderate and prosperous Middle East will emerge.

We have to help the Reformation win, and to do that we have to fight the Inquisition, ie., the Wahhabi movement, the Jihad, Al Qaeda, the Islamic terrorist movements. We have to do it somewhere. We cannot do it nowhere. And we cannot do it everywhere at once. We have created a focal point for the battle now at the time and place of our choosing, in Iraq .

Not in New York , not in London , or Paris , or Berlin , but in Iraq , where we did and are doing two very important things.

(1) We deposed Saddam Hussein. Whether Saddam Hussein was directly involved in 9/11 or not, it is undisputed that Saddam has been actively supporting the terrorist movement for decades. Saddam is a terrorist.

Saddam is, or was, a weapon of mass destruction, who is responsible for the deaths of probably more than a million Iraqis and two million Iranians.

(2) We created a battle, a confrontation, a flash point, with Islamic terrorism in Iraq . We have focused the battle. We are killing bad guys there and the ones we get there we won't have to get here, or anywhere else. We also have a good shot at creating a democratic, peaceful Iraq , which will be a catalyst for democratic change in the rest of the Middle East, and an outpost for a stabilizing American military presence in the Middle East for as long as it is needed.

The European nations could have done this, but they didn't, and they won't. The so-called "Coalition Forces" are, in most cases, little more than a "Token Force" to keep face with the US . And once attacked, like the train bombing in Madrid , they pull their forces and run for home. We now know that rather than opposing the rise of the Jihad, the French, Germans, and Russians were selling them arms - we have found more than a million tons of weapons and munitions in Iraq . If Iraq was not a threat to anyone, why did Saddam need a million tons of weapons? And Iraq was paying for French, German, and Russian arms with money skimmed from the UN Oil For Food Program (supervised by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his son) that was supposed to pay for food, medicine, and education, for Iraqi children.

World War II, the war with the German and Japanese Nazis, really began with a "whimper" in 1928. It did not begin with Pearl Harbor . It began with the Japanese invasion of China . It was a war for fourteen years before America joined it. It officially ended in 1945 - a 17 year war - and was followed by another decade of US occupation in Germany and Japan to get those countries reconstructed and running on their own again ... a 27 year war.

World War II cost the United States an amount equal to approximately a full year's GDP - adjusted for inflation, equal to about $12 trillion dollars, WWII cost America more than 400,000 killed in action, and nearly 100,000 still missing in action.

[The Iraq war has, so far, cost the US about $180 billion, which is roughly what 9/11 cost New York . It has also cost over 2,300 American lives, which is roughly 2/3 of the lives that the Jihad snuffed on 9/11.] But the cost of not fighting and winning WWII would have been unimaginably greater - a world now dominated by German and Japanese Nazism.

Americans have a short attention span, now, conditioned I suppose by 1 hour TV shows and 2-hour movies in which everything comes out okay.

The real world is not like that. It is messy, uncertain,and sometimes bloody and ugly. Always has been, and probably always will be.

If we do this thing in Iraq successfully, it is probable that the Reformation will ultimately prevail. Many Muslims in the Middle East hope it will. We will be there to support it. It has begun in some countries, Libya , for instance. And Dubai . And Saudi Arabia . If we fail, the Inquisition will probably prevail, and terrorism from Islam will be with us for all the foreseeable future, because the Inquisition, or Jihad, believes they are called by Allah to kill all the Infidels, and that death in Jihad is glorious.

The bottom line here is that we will have to deal with Islamic terrorism until we defeat it, whenever that is. It will not go away on its own. It will not go away if we ignore it.

If the US can create a reasonably democratic and stable Iraq , then we have an " England " in the Middle East, a platform, from which we can work to help modernize and moderate the Middle East . The history of the world is the clash between the forces of relative civility and civilization, and the barbarians clamoring at the gates. The Iraq war is merely another battle in this ancient and never-ending war. And now, for the first time ever, the barbarians are about to get nuclear weapons. Unless we prevent them. Or somebody does.

The Iraq war is expensive, and uncertain, yes. But the consequences of not fighting it and winning it will be horrifically greater. We have four options -

1. We can defeat the Jihad now, before it gets nuclear weapons.

2. We can fight the Jihad later, after it gets nuclear weapons (which may be as early as next year, if Iran 's progress on nuclear weapons is what Iran claims it is).

3. We can surrender to the Jihad and accept its dominance in the Middle East, now, in Europe in the next few years or decades, and ultimately in America .

4. Or we can stand down now, and pick up the fight later when the Jihad is more widespread and better armed, perhaps after the Jihad has dominated France and Germany and maybe most of the rest of Europe . It will be more dangerous, more expensive, and much bloodier then.

Yes, the Jihadis say that they look forward to an Islamic America. If you oppose this war, I hope you like the idea that your children, or grandchildren, may live in an Islamic America under the Mullahs and the Sharia, an America that resembles Iran today.

We can be defeatist peace-activists as anti-war types seem to be, and concede, surrender, to the Jihad, or we can do whatever it takes to win this war against them.

The history of the world is the history of civilizational clashes, cultural clashes. All wars are about ideas, ideas about what society and civilization should be like, and the most determined always win.

Those who are willing to be the most ruthless always win. The pacifists always lose, because the anti-pacifists kill them.

In the 20th century, it was Western democracy vs. communism, and before that Western democracy vs. Nazism, and before that Western democracy vs. German Imperialism. Western democracy won, three times, but it wasn't cheap, fun, nice, easy, or quick. Indeed, the wars against German Imperialism (WWI), Nazi Imperialism (WWII), and communist imperialism (the 40-year Cold War that included the Vietnam Battle, commonly called the Vietnam War, but itself a major battle in a larger war) covered almost the entire century.

The first major war of the 21st Century is the war between Western Judeo/Christian Civilization and Wahhabi Islam. It may last a few more years, or most of this century. It will last until the Wahhabi branch of Islam fades away, or gives up its ambitions for regional and global dominance and Jihad, or until Western Civilization gives in to the Jihad.

Senator John Kerry, in the debates and almost daily, makes 3 scary claims:

1. We went to Iraq without enough troops.

We went with the troops the US military wanted. We went with the troop levels General Tommy Franks asked for. We deposed Saddam in 30 days with light casualties, much lighter than we expected.

The real problem in Iraq is that we are trying to be nice - we are trying to fight minority of the population that is Jihadi, and trying to avoid killing the large majority that is not. We could flatten Fallujah in minutes with a flight of B52s, or seconds with one nuclear cruise missile - but we don't. We're trying to do brain surgery, not amputate the patient's head. The Jihadis amputate heads.

2. We went to Iraq with too little planning.

This is a specious argument. It supposes that if we had just had "the right plan" the war would have been easy, cheap, quick, and clean.

That is not an option. It is a guerrilla war against a determined enemy, and no such war ever has been or ever will be easy, cheap, quick, and clean. This is not TV.

3. We proved ourselves incapable of governing and providing security.

This too is a specious argument. It was never our intention to govern and provide security. It was our intention from the beginning to do just enough to enable the Iraqis to develop a representative government and their own military and police forces to provide their own security, and that is happening. The US and the Brits and other countries there have trained over 100,000 Iraqi police and military, now, and will have trained more than 200,000 by the end of next year. We are in the process of transitioning operational control for security back to Iraq .

It will take time. It will not go with no hitches. This is not TV.

Remember, perspective is everything, and America 's schools teach too little history for perspective to be clear, especially in the young American mind.

The Cold war lasted from about 1947 at least until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Forty-two years. Europe spent the first half of the 19th century fighting Napoleon, and from 1870 to 1945 fighting Germany .

World War II began in 1928, lasted 17 years, plus a ten year occupation, and the US still has troops in Germany and Japan . World War II resulted in the death of more than 50 million people, maybe more than 100 million people, depending on which estimates you accept.

The US has taken more than 2,000 KIA in Iraq in 3 years. The US took more than 4,000 Killed in action on the morning of June 6, 1944, the first day of the Normandy Invasion to rid Europe of Nazi Imperialism. In WWII the US averaged 2,000 KIA a week for four years. Most of the individual battles of WWII lost more Americans than the entire Iraq war has done so far.

But the stakes are at least as high. . . a world dominated by representative governments with civil rights, human rights, and personal freedoms. . . or a world dominated by a radical Islamic Wahhabi movement, by the Jihad, under the Mullahs and the Sharia (Islamic law).

I do not understand why the American Left does not grasp this. They favor human rights, civil rights, liberty and freedom, but evidently not for Iraqis. In America , absolutely, but nowhere else.

300,000 Iraqi bodies in mass graves in Iraq are not our problem. The US population is about twelve times that of Iraq , so let's multiply 300,000 by twelve. What would you think if there were 3,600,000 American bodies in mass graves in America because of George Bush? Would you hope for another country to help liberate America ?

"Peace Activists" always seem to demonstrate where it's safe, in America .

Why don't we see Peace Activist demonstrating in Iran , Syria , Iraq , Sudan , North Korea , in the places in the world that really need peace activism the most?

The liberal mentality is supposed to favor human rights, civil rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc., but if the Jihad wins, wherever the Jihad wins, it is the end of civil rights, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc. Americans who oppose the liberation of Iraq are coming down on the side of their own worst enemy.

If the Jihad wins, it is the death of Liberalism. Everywhere the Jihad wins, it is the death of Liberalism. And American Liberals just don't get it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raymond S. Kraft is a writer and lawyer living in Northern California. Please consider passing along copies of this to students in high school, college and university as it contains information about the American past that is very meaningful TODAY - - history about America that very likely is completely unknown by them (and their instructors, too). By being denied the facts and truth of our history, they are at a decided disadvantage when it comes to reasoning and thinking through the issues of today. They are prime targets for misinformation campaigns beamed at enlisting them in causes and beliefs that are special interest agenda driven

Reading List for Our Little One

2006-08-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Our daughter is now 16 months old (born April 2005). So, I am researching books that would be useful for her education. Here's our book list so far:

Before Five in a Row by Jane C. Lambert
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by N.W. Carlstrom
Yellow Ball by Molly Bang
My Blue Boat by Chris L. Demarest
The Little Rabbit by Judy Dunn
Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack
Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
The Big Green Pocketbook by Candice Ransom
The ABC Bunny by Wanda Gag
If Jesus Came to My House by Joan Gale Thomas
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Quiet Way Home by Bonny Becker
Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets
Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field
I Am an Artist by Pat L. Collins
Angus Lost by Marjorie Flack
Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne
We're Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Red Carpet by Rex Parkin
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Jenny's Surprise Summer by Eugenie

The Grace To You Ministry by John MacArthur

2006-08-09T04:02:00.000-07:00

Grace To You by John MacArthur is a beacon ministry shining on a culture that is spiritually empty. When he speaks on the issues the modern church is facing today, the roaches scatter.

We can learn a lot from John MacArthur's approach to ministry. And it is simple; no compromise to the Bible. It is God's Word that directs us to evangelism, worship, and doctrine. We should not be looking to the culture to determine these things.

Check out the resources (written and audio), the broadcast, etc... This is one of the best I have seen!

http://www.gracetoyou.com/

On Classical Education

2006-08-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

This entry is devoted to helping parents understand the curriculum and philosophy behind the Classical Education tradition.

The seven liberal arts of classical education are:

The Verbal Arts (Trivium)
1. Grammar
2. Logic
3. Rhetoric

Math Arts (Quadrivium)
4. Arithmetic
5. Music
6. Geometry
7. Astronomy

Historically, western civilization built a system of education (today called Classical Education) that was made into a sequence of two schools; a lower and an upper school. The lower school (formally called the Trivium) was divided into three distinct stages (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) with each stage being applied to all other subject areas. The upper school (formally called the Quadrivium, translated four roads), was more focused in subject matter and built on the foundations learned in the Trivium. More specifically, the Quadrivium was a study of “Math Arts”. This portion of study, while it may have begun during the High School years, was traditionally relegated to the university.

Little if any of the Trivium needs to be tailored or adjusted significantly to our modern society. However, for the Quadrivium, while many of it ideas can be useful, needs to be revamped to meet the demands in our modern economy. The remainder of this post will be devoted to the Trivium. Another post will lend more time to a more modern description of the Quadrivium.

The first stage is Grammar, which is about gathering information. This stage is not limited to “English Grammar,” but is more associated with basic facts and knowledge of any subject matter. All subject areas have basic information that must be grasped before an individual would be able to move on to the next level of competency.

The next level is Logic, or understanding. Once basic facts (or content) are mastered, one must understand how facts relate to one other and affect the whole of the subject. This is the stage where all the questions are asked: who, what, when, how, why, where, to what degree, etc.

Finally, the student is prepared for Rhetoric, which is best described as original thought. Students at this level have mastered the basic facts, understand the relationships, and are ready to take the subject matter to the next level-forming their own personal interpretation or developing new applications. This is where problem solving and creative thinking emerge. In addition to developing these original thoughts, students are expected to be able to express them in a polished, well-conceived written or verbal format.

The Trivium roughly coincides to: Grammar grades K-6, Logic grades 7-9 and Rhetoric grades 10-12, although portions of each can be found integrated at all levels.

Grammar (or Poll-Parrot)

For centuries Classical Education was the standard. All educational institutions in the western world used this approach. About the turn of the last century, educational “fads” began to take over public education and the classical approach became passé. In 1947 a British mystery writer, Dorothy Sayers, wrote a short essay, "The Lost Tools of Learning" in which her major premise was that students/adults no longer knew how to learn. Schools taught in a disjointed, unconnected flow of facts, not giving the students a logical system by which to organize material and absorb it. We recommend this essay; it is brief and insightful. Copies are available in our school library.

Here we will take a closer look at the Grammar stage. Dorothy Sayers refers to this stage as “Poll-Parrot,” because the students love to share what they have learned reciting back, singing little songs and jingles, rhyming words, playing on words as with Doctor Seuss and so on. They have a wonderful ear for words, which gives rise to their ability to pick up a foreign language. The Grammar student memorizes things very easily and quickly, such as math tables, the periodic table, biological classifications, and the Preamble to the Constitution. Anything presented in an interactive, fun method they will learn and love to parrot back. The excitement of learning literally oozes from these children. Our job as educators and parents is to cultivate this passion for learning and not to extinguish it by rushing the student into the next stage.

Logic (or Pert Stage)

In about the seventh grade, the student enters into the Logic, or as Dorothy Sayers would say, the Pert Stage. The student is no longer interested in just learning facts, now he/she wants more. Students want to go deeper into the subject: what, who, where, how, why of a subject. They are no longer content to just know about the Civil War. They want to understand the issues leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter. They want to understand the economics of the war, the state rights issues, and the moral and legal factors that came into play. What was General Lee's strategy at Gettysburg? Why did General Sherman burn everything on his march to the sea? Why did some people hate President Lincoln? As you can see, they ask a lot of questions.

Often times this questioning or, as it may be interpreted, challenging, may come across as being disrespectful. In the hands of a wise teacher the pert stage is very exciting. A teacher must recognize this for what it is; the student has moved on to the next stage and is asking to go deeper. The teacher must respond and change the goals from "the student will know and be able to answer," to "the student will understand and be able to explain." This is not only challenging for the teacher but is extremely rewarding. Students are excited because this is the dawn of a new learning stage that is different, and the teacher is responding to this new demand for additional information. A rich partnership is forged between teacher and student and a new ownership of his/her education is accepted. If this fire is fed properly, students will thirst for new material.

It is during the Logic Stage that a curriculum of formal logic is introduced. This has all but disappeared from today's classrooms. We have established Logic as a formal course in our seventh and eighth grades. The desired outcome is clear: logical thinking and the ability to separate truth from fiction and fact from theory. Students will also discern what does and does not support an issue and what is relevant and is not relevant in making a correct decision.
The also sets TCA apart. Our seventh and eighth graders are doing something that most other students this age in public schools in Colorado will be doing or learning. These are special students, pioneers in raising the standards of education.

Rhetoric (or Poetic Stage)

It is during the Rhetoric Stage, or as Dorothy Sayers would say, the Poetic Stage, that we get our first glimpse of the fruits of our educational efforts. In this stage, students now hopefully express themselves in polished, well thought out, grammatically correct, spoken and written verse. The Rhetoric Stage should demonstrate the subject content from the Grammar Stage and the organized thought process from the Logic Stage and introduce the first signs of mature original thought.

Of all the stages this has to be the most exciting! We are waiting expectantly for our students to bring forth new insights to ordinary subject matter we had previously overlooked. Creative thinking, new approaches to old problems that provide more effective answers, may change the way we think and do things. Remember, creative thinking, problem solving, and new applications do not spring forth from a void but come from the foundation of content and organized thought (grammar and logic).

It is here, for the first time, that students are able and allowed to begin the process of specializing in subject matter of their interests. This does not promote the total elimination of social studies from the science/math student or visa versa. Nor does it permit the students to ignore the finer points of the spoken and written word. But, if a student's interest and ability lies either in the math/science or the liberal arts areas, an emphasis in that area is encouraged.

The Rhetoric Stage climaxes with graduation to the Quadrivium.

Top 10 reasons Not to Consume Soft Drinks

2006-08-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Top Ten Reasons Never To Consume Soft Drinks!

1. Soft drinks steal water from the body. They work very much like a diuretic which takes away more water than it provides to the body. Just to process the high levels of sugar in soft drinks steals a considerable amount of water from the body. To replace the water stolen by soft drinks, you need to drink 8-12 glasses of water for every one glass of soft drinks that you consume!

2. Soft Drinks never quench your thirst, certainly not your body's need for water. Constantly denying your body an adequate amount can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration, a condition that weakens your body at the cellular level. This, in turn, can lead to a weakened immune system and a plethora of diseases.

3. The elevated levels of phosphates in soft drinks leach vital minerals from your body. Soft Drinks are made with purified water that also leach vital minerals from your body. A severe lack of minerals can lead to Heart Disease (lack of magnesium), Osteoporosis (lack of calcium) and many other diseases. Most vitamins can not perform their function in the body without the presence of minerals.

4. Soft Drinks can remove rust from a car bumper or other metal surfaces. Imagine what it's doing to your digestive tract as well as the rest of your body.

5. The high amounts of sugar in Soft Drinks causes your pancreas to produce an abundance of insulin, which leads to a "sugar crash". Chronic elevation and depletion of sugar and insulin can lead to diabetes and other imbalance related diseases. This is particularly disruptive to growing children which can lead to life-long health problems.

6. Soft Drinks severely interfere with digestion. Caffeine and high amounts of sugar virtually shut down the digestive process. That means your body is essentially taking in NO nutrients from the food you may have just eaten, even that eaten hours earlier. Consumed with french-fries which can take WEEKS to digest, there is arguably nothing worse a person can put in their body.

7. Diet soft drinks contain Aspartame, which has been linked to depression, insomnia, neurological disease and a plethora of other illness. The FDA has received more than 10,000 consumer complaints about Aspartame, that's 80% of all complaints about food additives.

8. Soft Drinks are EXTREMELY acidic, so much so that they can eat through the liner of an aluminum can and leach aluminum from the can if it sits on the shelf too long. Alzheimer patients who have been autopsied ALL have high levels of aluminum in their brains. Heavy metals in the body can lead to many neurological and other diseases.

9. Soft Drinks are EXTREMELY acidic: The human body naturally exists at a pH of about 7.0. Soft Drinks have a pH of about 2.5, which means you are putting something into your body that is hundred of thousands of times more acidic that your body is! Diseases flourish in an acidic environment. Soft Drinks and other acidic food deposit acid waste in the body which accumulates over time in the joints and around the organs. For example, the Body pH of cancer or arthritis patients are always low. The sicker the person, the lower the Body pH.

10. Soft Drinks are the WORSE THING you can possibly put in your body. Don't even think of taking a sip of a Soft Drink when you are sick with a cold, flu or something worse. It will only make it that much harder for your body to fight the illness.

Effects of Replacing a Childhood with Stardom

2006-08-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

Every parent wants their child to succeed in life. But extreme success without the necessary grounding during childhood rare, if ever, results in a happy outcome.

The problem with success (in a secular sense) is that it diverts a child to such an extraordinary lifestyle there is no real opportunity for a parent to provide that proper grounding needed for maturity. Experience is the best teacher. If children are going to mature and become noble citizens, then they must be raised in an environment which can cultivate that nobility.

The article in the following link presents a sobering reality of what occurs when a child grows up without a normal childhood. Warning: The article contains another link to a video with graphic language.

Britney's Rant

Classical Science

2005-12-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

Science properly defined is the state of knowing, which concerns knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding. This understanding is not limited only to the hard sciences but rather a systemized knowledge for anywhere that truth may be studied. Most supremely this understanding in science begins with the knowledge of the Creator God which is theology. All other realms of study transcend from this point.

These resources seek to guide the reader in gaining an understanding of the full spectrum of science. Naturally, this guide begins with theology.

Theology

Martin Luther

Bondage of the Will

Jonathan Edwards

John Calvin

Institutes of the Christian Religion

Creeds and Confessions

Westminster Confession and Catechism

R.C. Sproul

Natural Sciences

Alfred Posamentler

Usborne

Illustrated Dictionary of Math

Euclid, Thomas Heath

The Thirteen Books of the Elements

Newton

The Principia

Darwin

The Origin of Species; or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life

Books for Science Teachers

A Schedule for Biblical Curriculum

2005-10-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Here, I am proposing a schedule for teaching Bible from 4 years through adulthood.

Age Group	Curriculum
4-5 years	Selected biblical stories
6-7 years	Entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation
8-9 years	Entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation
10-11 years	Bible study methods and the application of those methods to the study of the epistles.
12-13 years	Seminary-level Bible courses on systematic theology
High schoolers	Straight Scripture with emphasis on biblical discernment. At this level many of them begin to teach children as well as their peers.
Adults	Focused on the study of Scripture, along with classes on church history, theology, and biblical living.

Mayonnaise

2005-09-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Most mayonnaise products bought in the store contain canola oil, which is not the healthiest oil to consume. However, these recipes provide an alternative.

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch of sea salt
2 cups olive oil

Directions

In a medium size bowl, highly whisk yolks, mustard, lemon juice, and salt together.
Slowly drizzle in oil in a small steady stream while continuing to whisk. If the oil is added too quickly, the mayonnaise will not emulsify or thicken. This can be done in a blender or food processor but still add the oil slowly.
Adjust to taste with lemon juice and salt.

Variations
Avocado Mayonnaise
Follow main recipe, but add 1/2 teaspoon lime juice and reduce the lemon juice to 1/4 teaspoon. Add 1 pureed avocado before adding the oil.

Dill-Lemon Mayonnaise
Follow main recipe, but increase lemon juice to 1 teaspoon and add grated zest of 1 lemon. Fold in 1/ cup of chopped fresh dill after blending the oil.

Basic Mayonnaise Plus
Ingredients
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salkt
dash cayenne pepper
2/3 cup olive oil
1 oz firm silken tofu

Directions

In blender or food processor, place egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Blend momentarily to mix ingredients. Then with the machine running, drizzle a thin, but steady stream of olive oil through the hole in the top, blending until mayonnaise thickens.
Add tofu and blend. Check consistency. Remove to covered jar and refrigerate.
If mayonnaise is too thick, lbend in 1-2 teaspoons of hot water. This recipe can easily be made by hand in a smsall bowl with a wre whisk. The key is to gradually add the oil to the other ingredients in a thin, steady stream.

Yield: 16 servings

New Orleans Devestation

2005-08-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

While Katrina was a category 5 and dropped a significant amount of rain, the majority of the devestation came from the flooding. There were two primary forces which contributed to the flooding:

Storm surge
Broken Levees (see Picture #1, Picture #2, Picture #3)

The levees prevented floods in the past from devestating New Orleans. However, once the levees broke, getting the water out of New Orleans became the larger problem. The water continued to rise days after the huricane had passed due to water feeding into the New Orleans "bowl" (see submerged neighborhood) from the compromised levees.

It is very challenging to prevent large amounts of water and gravity working together from causing utter desolation.

A secular article on homeschooling

2005-08-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! A secular article on homeschooling. I have heard and seen the media report on homeschooling in the past. But, I believe this is one of the fairest assessments that I have seen to date.

ABC News: What Does 'Back to School' Mean?

Sprouted Bread

2005-08-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Food For Life Bread Co. provides a great alternative to ordinary baked goods.

My favorite is the Genesis 1:29 bread. I admit, it is an aquired taste... there's no added sugar. Look at the bread closely, you'll see the diference. We also get their hot dog buns, and I'm going to try the english muffins soon.

It is especially good eaten with warm butter in the morning.

I have seen their products at Whole Foods and other health food stores.

Morning Dedication

2005-07-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Compassionate Lord, Thy mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge, ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know Thee as Thou art, love Thee supremely, serve Thee wholly, admire Thee fully. Through grace let my will respond to Thee, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that Thy free love alone enables me to serve Thee. Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Thy choicest gifts; here is my blind understanding, chase away its mists of ignorance.

O ever watchful Shepherd, lead, guide, tend me this day; without Thy restraining rod I err and stray. Hedge up my path lest I wander into unwholesome pleasure, and drink its poisonous streams; direct my feet that I be not entangled in Satan's secret snares, nor fall into his hidden traps. Defend me from assailing foes, from evil circumstances, from myself. My adversaries are part and parcel of my nature; they cling to me as my very skin; I cannot escape their contact. In my rising up and sitting down they barnacle me; they entice with constant baits; my enemy is within the citadel. Come with almighty power and cast him out, pierce him to death, and abolish in me every particle of carnal life this day.

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

Healthy Hamburgers

2005-07-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Before getting to the recipe, a word about the quality of beef or any kind of cattle meat.

The primary differentiating factor is grass vs. grain fed cattle. The issue is the modern American diet is too high in Omega-6 fatty acids. But beef has not always been so high in Omega-6 fat. It was only with the introduction of grain fed cattle. In contrast, grass fed beef has a healthier balance between the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. So the moral of the story is to always buy grass fed meats. Just remember that grass is always better than grain!

Now for burger recipe:

Horseradish Hamburgers
1 lb ground grass fed beef (may substitute bison or buffalo meat)
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp Spike vegetable seasoning
3-4 grinds fresh black pepper
Shredded chedder cheese

Directions

Combine all ingredients except the cheese.
Form into 1/3 pound patties.
Grill at a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes
on each side or until browned.
Sprinkle chedder cheese over the patties.
Serve immediately.

Yield: 3 servings

The Importance of Understanding Secular Philosophy

2005-07-17T05:35:00.000-07:00

One of the major challenges that we have today in the culture war is the absence of context in the mind of the modern conservative thinker. While there still exists some vestiage of ethical foundation, the modern conservative is merely batting at the air because he does not have the full context for philosophical discerenment. I believe the modern conservative has lost his /her context because they have unknowingly succombed to the existential idea of exalting the here and now, while pushing aside the past and ignoring the future!

To become more effective thinkers in this culture war, we need to understand the history and theories behind these philosophies to effectively engage in intelligent conversation.

Two ways for exploring philosophy are to study:

categories of thought
people that prompted these categories

The purpose of this table is to break down these categories of thought and provide a table to match up these original thinkers with their ideas. And also to provide a timeframe for context. I encourage the reader to explore these different ideas and the outcomes that proceed from taking them to their logical conclusion.

Category	Philosopher(s)
Existentialism	Søren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, and Martin Heidegger
Humanism	Julian Huxley, John Dewey, Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann
Pragmatism	Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead
Positivism	Auguste Comte
Religious Pluralism	Several contributors during the course of history
Hedonism	Epicurus, John Stuart Mill
Liberalism	To be added at a future time.

Reading List of Historical Books

2005-06-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Herein lies a schedule for the reading of historical books.

The Histories by Herodotus (441 B.C.)
The Peloponnessian War by Thusydides (400 B.C.)
The Republic by Plato (375 B.C.)
Lives (Volume I and Volume II) by Plutarch (A.D. 100-125)
The City of God by Augustine (426)
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede (731)
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1513)
Utopia by Sir Thomas Moore (1516)
The True End of Civil Government by John Locke (1690)
The History of England by David Hume (1754)
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762)
Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1776)
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1776-88)
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (1792)
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (1835-40)
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1848)
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burckhardt (1860)
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. du Bois (1903)
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber (1904)
Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey (1921)
The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (1937)
The New England Mind by Perry Miller (1939)
The Great Crash by John Kenneth Galbraith (1955)
The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan (1959)
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1963)
Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made by Eugene D. Genovese (1974)
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century by Barbara Tuchman (1978)
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (1987)
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson (1988)
A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Marta Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcther Ulrich (1990)
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama (1992)

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

2005-06-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

It is easy to make a grilled chicken sandwich (GCS) and not too difficult to make a good one. But to make a great GCS there are few things to consider. First of all, the bread has to be fresh, moist, and whole grain. Next chicken needs to be seasoned or put in a marinade. Finally, use spread with a flavor that complements the marinade.

Here's a great GCS recipe, but I encourage you to explore and come up with other variations.

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Whole Grain Buns

Marinade:
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Dressing:
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Pound chicken breasts to a uniform 1 inch thickness.
Cut each breast into two equal parts.
Combine marinade ingredients together in resealable bag.
Add chicken pieces refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Remove chicken from marinade, drain and coat with chopped rosemary.
Refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise and olive oil.
Grill chicken pieces for 5 to 6 minutes per side or until done.
Assemble into sandwiches with dressing on top.

Yield: 4 servings

TV possibilities for 2007/2008

2005-05-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

These TVs look like they will be a very cool technology with other applications beyond one-way communication. I see people hanging these on the walls with electronic art on demand depending on the mood. And not only art that is motionless but also animated with audio. Imagine a Hawaiian waterfall, Blueridge Mountains, or the Shenandoah River with all the teeming wildlife.

Cheaper, More Efficient NED TVs Could Replace Plasmas, LCDs

Secret Worlds: The Universe Within

2005-05-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

At first, the link below (from Florida State University) made me feel insignficant and small. But after thinking about it a few minutes, I came to just the opposite conclusion. I guess it depends on a person's worldview.

I believe we are a special creation and unique in spite of the vast expanse. The Bible says God created planet Earth special, and He made it to be inhabited. While the other bodies in the heavens declare His glory.

That is why the secular humanists are feverishly in search for life in outerspace. Because they know their theory of evolution does not hold water unless life is found elsewhere in the vast Universe.

Have you ever thought about the word Universe and what it means. Breaking it down, the word Universe means "one word". It was by the power of God's spoken word that He created the Heavens and the Earth.

Secret Worlds: The Universe Within

The Goal of Education... or should it be something else?

2005-05-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ultimately, our goal for education is comprised in one word, righteousness. We seek to do that by teaching our children in the culture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

However, education is not really the best word to describe our mission, because education primarily connotes an academic spirit. To be more precice, our modus operandi for teaching is not only acadmic but also concerned with topics of a moral nature. To be more precise, it is really a matter of discipleship.

So then, we have three objectives from which our discipleship proceeds. They are called the three G's.

The child needs to know:
1. Who God is.
2. What God requires.
3. What God has done.

Here's how the three G's manifest in practical terms.

1. Who God is. This concerns teaching the child that God is a real being from which we can relate and have a personal relationship similarly to how they do with their parents. Just as our children were born from their parents, even more so, God is the sovereign creator who made the first man and woman that ever lived... The first parents.

2. What God requires. This is about learning obedience. We need to understand that God demands righteousness through His law. But there are two forms of law. There is the letter of law, and the spirit of the law. The letter of law is basically understood through the Ten Commandments. But the law is also realized in spirit; that is through the Fruits of the Spirit. Both aspects of the law should be taught in order to fully appreciate what God requires of us. To better explain, a person can follow the Ten Commandments in a rigid, cold way, and be in full compliance, but still violate the spirit of the law. It is not enough to be technically righteous, but also righteous in heart with the fruit of love holding preeminence.

3. What God has done. This is basically the academic form of education. Since God is sovereign over all creation, this is about teaching what God has done through history (i.e. nations, conquest, the redemption, etc...), creation (sciences - mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, geology, etc...), language studies (English, Latin, etc...), etc...

The Distortion of Lawlessness

2005-05-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

In converse to the previous post on The Legalist Distortion, this post presents the other extreme of the ethical continuim. In philosophical categories, the concept of lawlessness is expressed by the term antinomianism. This word comes from the Greek word for law which means nomas. So, antinomianism is the belief system comprised of no law.

This term can be further deliniated in three different ways. These are:

1. Libertinism
2. Spiritual Gnosticsm. Using the "leading" of the Holy Spirit to justify that which violates God's law.
3. New Morality

Greek Vegetable Dip

2005-04-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is a really good yet very healthy recipe for vegetable dip. It has a Greek flair which comes from the garlic and yogurt ingredients. It works well as an appetizer before lamb, fish, or chicken. For vegetables, I recommend carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, or broccoli, but others will probably do as well.

Ingredients
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/4 cup organic sour cream
1/2 cup organic plain yogurt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
parsley flakes or dill weed for garnish

Directions
1. Mix all the ingredients (excluding parsley or dill weed) together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Pour mixture into serving bowl.
3. Sprinkle parsely or dill weed over dip for garnish.

'Extinct' Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Found in Arkansas

2005-04-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The ivory-billed woodpecker, long feared extinct, has been rediscovered in a remote part of Arkansas some 60 years after the last confirmed U.S. sighting, bird experts said on Thursday."

"Several people have seen and heard an ivory-billed woodpecker in a protected forest in eastern Arkansas near the last reliable sighting of the bird in 1944, and one was captured on video last year."

Click here for the full article.

The Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses

2005-04-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased some molasses to try out in my milkshakes. I was surprised to find out the nutritious value this forgotten all natural sweetner has in it.

For instance, it is loaded with vitamins, minerals and trace elements naturally present in the sugar cane plant and is a good source or iron, vitamin B6, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Click here for recipes.

The Geneva Bible

2005-04-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

The Geneva Bible is not well known even among commited Christian believers. I was not aware of it until a few years ago. But history reveals that it once had a much brighter spotlight.

"This was the Bible read by William Shakespeare, by John Donne, and by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress. It was the Bible that was brought to America on the Mayflower and used by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War."

For more information, check out the The Geneva Bible entry at the Wikipedia.

Smoothie Recipes

2005-04-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some smoothie recipes I have picked up lately.

Beam Me Up Banana
2 bananas (frozen)
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of vanilla rice milk
2 cap full of Vanilla Extract
4 tablespoons of Grade B Maple Syrup
1/10 teaspoon of nutmeg

Lots-a-Fruit
½ cup of sliced strawberries
2 apples peeled, cut and with seeds removed
½ cup of blueberries
½ cup of peaches
¾ cup of natural apple juice
¾ cup of natural orange juice

*Make sure the juices are not from concentrate

Gettin’ My Grove Back
1 cup of natural orange juice
1 cup of sliced strawberries
2 mangos peeled and with seeds removed
2 tablespoons of Grade B Maple syrup
1/3 teaspoon of Cinnamon
¼ Tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of crushed ice

Morning Quickie
2 Frozen Bananas
1 cup of sliced frozen peaches
1 cup of natural apple juice
½ sliced strawberries

What’s Up Doc!
6 carrots
1 apple (remove seeds first)
1 celery stalk

Liver Lover
3 carrots
½ beet
1 cup of parsley

Vampire Killer
1 Handful of parsley
4 carrots
2 celery stalks
3 cloves of garlic

Blood Builder
6 carrots
6 spinach leaves
½ cucmber
1 tomato or 2 stalks of celery
½ beet
4 springs of parsley

Apple Cider Vinegar

2005-04-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Apple Cider Vinegar has significant health benefits. I strongly recommend looking into creative ways for introducing this ingredient into your diet.

A healthy tonic before bed:

1 T Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T Clover Honey
8 oz water

Be sure to wash your mouth with water afterward, because the vinegar will eat your enamel if left on your teeth.

Also, I recommend the Bragg brand of organic vinegar. It the benefits of natural unfiltered richness not found in the common store brands. You can purchase Bragg vinegar online OR go to your nearest Whole Foods grocer.

Great Books Academy

2005-03-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

This is a compelling article for introducing others to the notion of pursuing the Great Books of Western Civilization.

"The tradition of the West is embodied in the Great Conversation that began in the dawn of history and that continues to the present day. Whatever the merits of other civilizations in other respects, no civilization is like that of the West in this respect. No other civilization can claim that its defining characteristic is a dialogue of this sort. No dialogue in any other civilization can compare with that of the West in the number of great works of the mind that have contributed to this dialogue."

- Robert M. Hutchins

Click here for the article.

Antiquities of the Jews

2005-03-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

This quote comes from a book, by Flavius Josephus, entitled Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus was a Jewish historian that today is still held in the highest regard by both Jewish and Christian historians.

"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."

Guides for Writing About Great Books

2005-03-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

This link points to some guidelines for learning to write about Great Books!

These guides are especially useful for teachers of the humanities.

Click here for the guides.

Get connected with Answers in Genesis

2005-03-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

This blog entry is for anyone wanting to stay current with Creation Science events. Particularly for those interested in getting a free newsletter subscription from the Answers in Genesis organization.

In addition, you can also sign up to receive notices of monthly specials (sometimes half off the list price!).

Click here for the AiG Newsletter sign-up

U.S. Homeschoolers Beat Oxford Debaters

2005-03-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

This article on WorldNetDaily tells the story of a team of homeschoolers who went to Oxford and won a debate tournament.

U.S. Homeschoolers beat Oxford Debaters

A Book on Speaking and Listening

2005-03-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

I just bought a book from Amazon titled How to Speak How to Listen by Mortimer Adler. Adler was also the coauthor of the popular classic, How to Read a Book.

How to Speak How to Listen is a relatively short book on the art of speaking, listening, and basic conversation. We are all aware of, or so I hope, books that teach on public speaking. This book does that, but even beyond that. It takes the reader into a realm marked with candor unlike any I have ever seen.

It starts out by defining the different types of communication, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It touches on their similarities and also differences. Then the book covers the idea of speaking and listening found in simple, normal, everyday two-way conversation. We learned in school about reading and writing, and a pinch of public speaking. However, no where did we (in the main) learn how to listen. This book will help anyone who is in the business of communicating with others (including but not limited to parents, teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, construction workers, etc...).

At any rate, I stongly recommend this book. It is an essential item to have for any library.

Whole Foods Market Guide to Greens

2005-03-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

"Beautiful stacks of fresh chard, bok choy, collards and more easily catch the eye, but just how much do you actually know about these colorful greens?"

"Is arugula's flavor mild or sharp? Do greens provide calcium? What's the best way to wilt greens?"

The Whole Foods Market Guide to Leafy Greens will help you leaf through it all and become a guru of greens in no time.

Governors Work to Improve Highschool Education

2005-02-27T03:29:00.000-08:00

This is a telling article that comes from some interesting sources. For one, this article was posted onto Yahoo's Asia news website. Second, it takes quotes from the likes of Bill Gates, of whom is not on my list of people to admire (check my other blog, Computing Matters, for that topic).

However, in this instance, I have to give Gates and others the article quotes some credit. At least they are acknowledging the modern U.S. school system is broken. Gates is even quoted as saying the modern U.S. high schools are obsolete.

Here is my assessment. They are still in the dark about finding a real solution to the problem. Consider this metaphor: All these high profile officials from business and government are meeting in a room that is totally dark around a large round table. Now they have realized that there is bomb ticking as the center piece of the table. They are beginning to realize they have problem, and they need diffuse the bomb. Time is ticking away. How are they going to diffuse this bomb. No one in the room has any true wisdom concerning the matters for bomb diffusion of this sort.

In the same way, the solution for the school system is to diffuse the modern educational process with a better approach to education. If man in all his wisdom and know-how has in fact reached heights of intelligence never before attained, why is it that we are having this problem at the center of the table. It is easy to point out that we need more rigor and challenging discourse in the classroom. But how does a social program implement such an enormous change without causing the parents to hemorage over putting too much stress on their dear little children.

The problem is occurring long before the child enters high school. The problem is occuring from the very beginning, even from birth with regards to our modern philosophy towards education. God, the master Designer and Creator of matter itself, has already given us wisdom on this concern. His solution is complex and very few can understand it. But I will make an attempt here to explain it.

In a capsule, God essentially commands parents to teach their children. End of sentence. It is not to be a passive responsibility. It is not the government's responsibility. It is not the village's responsiblity. But God has ordained in His word that the responsiblity rests on the parents to teach their children.

More specifically, who does God direct this command at? Is it the mothers? Has God commanded, mothers bring up their children in the training and admonision of the Lord? LOL. Of course not! God commands the fathers to train up the children in the way they should go. Does that mean that fathers are to stay at home, and mothers are to go out to work and provide for the family. Taking the whole scripture, God's word is saying is that fathers are to be the headmasters and to have close oversight for their own school and the method in which their own children are instructed.

For more on this topic, check out these other blog entries:
Training Up Children
Classical Education Links
Books for Providing a Classical Education
Introducing the Westminster Catechism
A Vision for Ministry to Children and their Parents

John G. Reisinger Online Library

2005-02-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! This guy is hard core and with a spat of wit plus dry humor.

John G. Reisinger Online Library

Building a Creation Library

2005-02-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

I was recently approached by a friend inquiring about what he should buy for building his family's library concerning creation science materials.

In this list of materials, I am recommending a collection of videos, magazines, and books for children, general, and technical readers.

For some reason, the AiG website will not allow for direct URL links to online products. I am going to follow up with them on this. But in the meantime, just print this list out and locate them on the website or other websites such as ICR's bookstore.

Videos
Creation Conference 2003 Entire Set (any of the 26 Part DVD Series)
Creation Library Biology Set (any of the 5 Part DVD Series)
From a Frog to a Prince

Magazine Subscriptions
Creation and TJ Magazines

Children
A is for Adam
D is for Dinosaur
Exploring Planet Earth
The Ocean Book
Wonders of Creation
Dinosaurs of Eden
Whale of a Story
Special Wonders of the Wild Kingdom
Grand Canyon: A Different View
The Wonder of It All
The True Story of Noah's Ark
Special Wonders of the Sea World

General
The Annals of the World
The Answers Book
Chronology of the Old Testament
Streams of Civilization (along with related texts)
Creation and Change
Tools for Teaching (along with related products)
Creation and Time
Did God Use Evolution
The Genesis Record
The Great Turning Point
History of Modern Creationism
The Young Earth
One Blood
Refuting Evolution
The Remarkable Record of Job
The Twilight of Evolution
What is Creation Science
Think Biblically!

Technical
Starlight and Time
Biblical Creationism
Bones of Contention
The Biotic Message
The Genesis Flood
Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study
Not By Chance!
Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth
Science and the Bible
Scopes: Creation on Trial
Thermodynamics and the Development of Order
Vestigial Organs are Fully Functional

Crocodile Missing Link

2005-02-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

This is truly remarkable. Finally a missing link demonstrating the evolution of one crocodile into another crocodile! No sarcasism here. No really.

Click here for the article.

"the ancient crocodile had sharper and laterally compressed teeth enabling it to sheer prey and an extra jaw muscle to give a stronger, more powerful bite."

Latin in the Classical Education

2005-02-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

One aspect, among many, that sets the Trivium apart from other educational philosophies is the devotion it makes towards communication and language skills. Even at the early stages of the primary years are courses taught normally reserved for latter grades.

More specifically, Latin may be introduced anywhere from between K through 3rd grade. It is in these years that the child becomes acustomed to the basic parts of speech found in the Latin language. Each year the child continues to build on this knowledge until the Rhetoric stage and capable of reading primary texts such as Virgil and Cicero.

For more information and resources, check out the products from the Memoria Press.

This Memoria Press site also provides a free semiannual newsletter. Just a sample of one of the articles is Why Study Latin?

A Primer on Classical Christian Education

2005-02-22T04:38:00.000-08:00

This blog entry seeks to explain the Classical Christian Education to promote awareness of its ideals. First, I discuss the more general Classical Education and then delve into the more specific, which is the Classical Christian Education approach.

The Classical Education is essentially described by the Trivium, which is a teaching model that tailors the educational curriculum to a child’s cognitive development.

Using language of the contempory establishment, the Trivium proceeds using the following process:
1. Elementary School - Concrete thinking and memorization of the facts
2. Middle School - Analytical thinking and understanding
3. High School - Abstract thinking and articulation

Subjects unique to Classical Education which help accomplish the goals of the Trivium are:
1. Grammar - Science of language usage
2. Logic - Science of right thinking
3. Rhetoric - Science of verbal and written expression

The Classical Education approach can be further refined with a stronger emphasis of Christian ideals. This refinement is identified as the Classical Christian Education (CCE). The CCE is characterized by a rich exposure to the history, art, and culture of Western Civilization, including its languages (Latin and Greek), its philosophy and literature (the Great Books of Western Civilization and the Christian tradition), and the development of a Biblical worldview with Theology in its proper place as the Queen of the Sciences.

One benefit of the CCE is that it can proceed at the child's own pace. Not so that we go too fast for the child and "leave them behind". But rather, I don't want to hinder their progress according to my prejudice about when I encountered the subject matter. For instance, I did not engage in learning foreign language until the 8th grade. The CCE introduces foreign language in the grammar stage (elementary years). If a child is able to read by the age of 3 or 4, let them read (not uncommon for Classical homeschoolers). Because the primary purpose of teaching our children to read is so that they can read the Word of God. And sooner the better.

My opinion is that homeschooling in-concert with a co-op strikes a healthy balance between homeschooling and also allowing a child to get healthy social interaction with other children. If a family still feels that homeschooling is not for them, then I encourage them to consider a CCE academy in their area.

For example, here are some academy schools that I am aware of across the nation. I will update this list as I discover more.

FaithWest School (Katy, TX)
Veritas Christian Academy (Houston, TX)
Memorial Lutheran School (Missouri Synod) (Houston, TX)
Veritas Academy (Leola, PA)
Logos School (Moscow, ID)
Geneva School (Winter Park, FL)

White Bean Spread

2005-02-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

"When thinking of great taste accompaniments to bread, challenge the butter and olive oil and balsamic vinegar routine with this herby spread. What you have here is a versatile accompaniment for toasted baguettes or warm crepes. You can also use it as a dip made for thick chunks of French bread or pita sandwiches. Plan one day in advance in order to soak the beans overnight. Of course, you always have the option of using canned beans if you're really pressed for time."

Click here for the recipe.

Public Speaking

2005-02-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

All of us, have at one point in our lives, had to speak in front of a large group of people. Some are better at it than others, but it is a skill that we should all seek to develop or at least refine.

For those seeking enrichment in this area, may I suggest the book:
Talk Your Way to the Top

The book was written by Kevin Daley and Laura Daley-Caravella. Kevin has spent the last forty years helping people to develop their communication skills. He also authored the book Socratic Selling: How to Ask the Questions That Get the Sale.

Anaerobic Exercise: Optimal Fitness

2005-02-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

Based on personal experience and observation, I have come to the conclusion that aerobic exercise, while beneficial for endurance, is not optimal.

Alternatively, I suggest the notion of anaerobic exercise. It is this form of exercise that provides a more complete regimen that promotes a greater form of total wellness.

Here are a list of the direct benefits of anaerobic exercise:

increased strength
increased bone mass and bone strength
increased energy
optimal body weight
increased endurance
improved attitude and spirit
etc...

For further study, I recommend exploring the following fitness websites:

The World's Greatest Creation Scientists

2005-02-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

This online book, The World's Greatest Creation Scientists, comes to you from the Creation Safari website by David F. Coppedge. I have not read the book yet, but here is the author's abstract:

The new millennium is a unique time to look back over a thousand years and ponder how far civilization has come. The comforts, conveniences, health and prosperity available to most of us is due in large measure to the rise of modern science. Today, science is an almost exclusively secular enterprise, presented by the media and universities as the opposite of faith, and therefore intrinsically hostile to religion. But, historically speaking, this is a gross distortion! Did you know that most of the greatest scientists of history were Bible-believing Christians? This pictorial research presentation will demonstrate three surprising facts about the history of modern science (see the Introduction for explanation and definitions of terms):

1. Most of the greatest scientists of the past 1000 years were Christians and creationists.
2. To these scientists, Christianity was the driving force behind their discoveries.
3. The Christian world view gave birth and impetus to modern science.

Accompanying the text are full-page color graphics in JPG and PDF formats, containing pictures, lists of accomplishments, tributes by others and quotes by the scientists themselves. They make excellent transparencies for teachers and speakers. The material may be freely used by Christian teachers as long as it is not resold and credits are shown.

Answers in Genesis Resources

2005-02-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Resources useful for teaching about Biblical creation science:

The Pilgram's Progress

2005-02-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

A unique, fully dramatized audio presentation of John Bunyan’s classic book, Pilgrim’s Progress! Over five hours of exciting oral interpretation. This fun and edifying unabridged reading of the original work features over 50 voice actors plus emotion-touching music and sound effects. Excellent for personal entertainment, family listening and the memory–building discussions that are sure to follow!

Click here for more information from the AiG store.

Alternatively, here are some free Pilgram's Progress resources on the Internet. There is even a free MP3 download. However, I suspect the purchased version of the book is better quality.

The Conservative Journal of Record

2005-02-14T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Federalist Patriot is a great resource for access to historical documents and rebuttal to Leftist machinations.

Click here to subscribe to the free email newsletter.

Shopping List

2005-02-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Theology
Moody Handbook of Theology

Education
The Case for Classical Christian Education
Teaching the Trivium

Reading
How to Read a Book

History
The New Complete Works of Josephus

C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters

Philosophy of Hitler

2005-02-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

These links shed some light on what Hitler believed and what drove him to action.

Hitler and Evolution

Hitler and Darwinism

Was Hitler a Christian?

Finally, a critical review of Hitler's work, Mein Kampf, would also be quite provoking.

Now let me say that just because someone espouses evolution (the macro kind) does not mean I suggest they are in agreement with Hitler's conclusions. But I dare say a study of evolution and the impact on society is sitrring.

In a future installment, I would like to entertain why the Germans were so susceptible to following such an evil dictator.

A Method for Bible Analysis

2005-02-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

In a broad sense, we all have some degree of analysis capability. We all have some ability to read a text and discern its topic, main idea, and basic principles.

We should apply these principles learned in school to read God's word. However, I must confess that I could do better. At any rate, it is my belief that everyone who is willing should pursue these skills. It will surely enrich your life to be able to dive deep and see all the treasures God has given to us in His word.

Studying God's word is a lot like Scuba diving. Many would rather sit on the boat and let others get in the water. These are those that just go to church but never crack the Bible on their own private time. Then there are those that like to snorkel but would rather stay near the surface. Finally, there are the scuba divers that dive deep under water. And scuba divers achieve varrying depths depending on their experience, ability, and sense of adventure. Scuba divers get to experience a greater variety of colors and exotic creatures of the sea. Scuba diving deep into God's word is much the same thing. It enables us to see all the treasures and riches (Ephesians 1:7-10) of His grace that He has planned for us to experience.

So this leads me to finding a roadmap for learning the skills of deep Bible study. I suggest the text, Living by the Book and the workbook that accompanies it.

Classical Education Links

2005-02-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

The following links are useful for getting up-to-date information on Classical Education.

Books for Providing a Classical Education

2005-02-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

The best way to get informed about the notion of classical education is to review the following books. If you know someone that homeschools or sends their children to a classical school (i.e. Logos School, Veritas Academy, etc...), chances are they will own one or more (especially the first two). So, you may want to borrow them first before taking the plunge.

Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
"Public education is in crisis. At the heart of the problem is the idea that education can exist in a moral vacuum. [This book] describes the melee in public education and calls for a return to classical teaching methods."

The Well-Trained Mind
"This book provides you with the techniques, curriculum, and resources necessary to ensure that your child's education is the best it can be."

The Seven Laws of Teaching
"A classic outlining the seven timeless fundamentals of successful teaching: the teacher, the learner, the language, the lesson, the teaching process, the learning process, and review and application."

Teaching the Trivium
"Long ago students were first taught how to learn. Today, students are taught an encyclopedia of subjects – trivia – but they are not taught the basic skills of learning: to discover, to reason, and to apply. They are not taught the Trivium."

The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric
"Opening the door for beginners who seek a thorough grounding in the first arts of human understanding, this book explains the nature of logic, grammar, and rhetoric-the three of the seven liberal arts-and how they relate to one another. In Renaissance universities, the trivium (literally, the crossing of three part way) formed the essence of the liberal arts curriculum. Examined are topics such as the nature and function of language, distinguishing general grammar from special grammar, the study of logic and its relationship to grammar and rhetoric, and applying the concepts of logic, grammar, and rhetoric to literary works."

Controversy Surrounding Splenda's Deceptive Marketing Campaign

2005-02-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

It seems the marketing campaign for Splenda, Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar, has been accused of misleading consumers into believing the artificial sweetener is a natural sugar alternative. Moreover, what the campaign does not reveal is that Splenda is actually a chemically created product that uses substances such as chlorine and phosgene, a poisonous gas. The Centers for Disease Control has even described one of the ingredients used in Splenda as a major chemical used to make plastics and pesticides.

Click here for more information on this issue:
Controversy Surrounding Splenda's Deceptive Marketing Campaign

Mercola, Joseph. "Controversy Surrounding Splenda's Deceptive Marketing Campaign." Mercola Health Website. 2005. February 2, 2005.

Classical Education Assessment

2005-01-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today I spoke with Laurie Detweiler, co-owner of Veritas Press and co-creator of the Veritas Academy in Lancaster, PA. The purpose of our conversation was for me to better understand how to place a child/adult into the classical curriculum. Because each person is going to be coming in from the side at different levels. Here, I have posted the notes from our conversation.

Once a child is accepted into the academy, the child needs to do their best to catch up (during the summer, etc...). There are a variety of assessment tests that the academy supplies.

They use an in-house reading/writing exam, based on Alice in Wonderland, and a Latin/Greek exam based on what their most recent assignment at their previous school. For math, they use the Saxon placment exam. They also give the student the Shurely grammar exam of their previous year.

Here's the curriculum guide used at the Veritias Academy in Lancaster, PA. They used to charge $150 for this guide. But they decided to give it away for free to share the curriculum to others who cannot/decide not to send their children to the academy.

For adults seeking remediation (myself included), she suggested that they start with the following curriculum:

Generally 7th grade level materials
Omnibus I: Biblical and Classical Civilizations
Wheelock's Latin
Shurley Seven Gramar
Introductory Logic
Basics of Biblical Greek
Saxon Math (depending on level of expertise)

Another resource that she pointed me to was the Association of Classical & Christian Schools. She suggested that we consider going to the conference this year in Memphis on June 23-25. I think we will probably go to the conference eventually, but probably not this year.

Adding Zest to Literature

2005-01-31T14:25:00.000-08:00

What I am trying to do is exposit topics that many find boring and make them more interesting.

It is like trying to eat healthy but also with flavor and zest.

A pot of fresh, steamed asparagus is healthy, but by themselves are quite bland. Add little soy sauce and oil (the healthy kind) for a more interesting side dish.

So it is with trivia and history. Reading about dates and trivial facts can lead to ad nauseum, but to see the tapestry of human affiars woven by the authors of great books in times past can be quite rewarding.

The Martyrdom of Bishop John Fisher

2005-01-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

John Fisher, bishop, martyr 22 June 1535.

John Fisher was born in 1469, enrolled at Cambridge University in 1483, ordained in 1491, and in 1502 became chaplain to Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII. With her money and his ideas, they greatly altered Cambridge, restoring the teaching of Greek and Hebrew, bringing Erasmus over as a lecturer, and endowing many chairs and scholarships. In 1504 Fisher was made Chancellor of Cambridge and Bishop of Rochester. In 1527 he became chaplain to the new king, Henry VIII, and confessor to the queen, Catherin of Aragon. He stood high in the favor of Henry, who proclaimed that no other realm had any bishop as learned and devout.

John Fisher, Cardinal and Bishop, takes the first place among the martyrs of the sixteen the century in dignity, example, and the influence of his name. He as born in 1459, at Beverley, and studied when young with a priest of that collegiate church. Afterwards he spent many years at Cambridge with distinction, and was made Bishop of Rochester in 1504, being forty-five years of age. No one was more vigilant against the poison of Luther's doctrines creeping into England. The book which earned for Henry VIII from the Pope the title of Defender of the Faith was written by his advice, if not indeed by his hand. Fisher was considered the most learned, pious and inflexible of the English bishops, and Cardinal Pole regards him as the model of a perfect prelate.

This time, however, came when his virtue and adherence to the faith were imputed to him as crimes. The king, tired of his wife, and in love with Anne Boleyn, affected to have scruples about his marriage. Wolsey, from political motives, wished a divorce, and knew that if Fisher could be gained over, little opposition need be feared from the clergy. But the holy bishop, being sent for, at once advised his majesty with all speed to lay aside those thoughts: "and for any peril," he added, "that may happen to your soul thereby, let the guilt rest on mind." When after long delay, the cause of divorce was before the Papal Legates' Court as Queen Catherine's chief defender "there stood forth John Fisher, the light not only of England, but of Christendom, to demonstrate that for this opinion he was ready to lay down his life, adding that as John the Baptist, in olden times, regarded death glorious in a cause of matrimony, and it was not so holy then as it has now become by the shedding of Christ's blood, he could not encourage himself more, or face any peril with greater confidence than by taking the Baptist for his own example."

Fisher was brought before Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who told him, "You must answer directly, whether you will, or will not subscribe" [to the supremacy of the Church of England being vested in the king of England, his heirs and successors].

Then said the Bishop of Rochester, "If you will needs have me answer directly, my answer is, that, forasmuch as my own conscience cannot be satisfied, I absolutely refuse the oath." Upon this he was immediately committed to the Tower, where he suffered many privations. Mr Richard Rich, the Solicitor-General, was the sole witness brought against the sick prelate. In front of a jury Mr. Rich retold a supposed conversation he had had with the venerable prisoner in the Tower, in which Bishop Fisher spoke his mind plainly abou the statue. A verdict of guilty was soon recorded, and the Lord Chancellor asked the bishop if he had any more to say for himself. The persecuted bishop replied, "Truly, my lord, if that which I have before spoken be not sufficient, I have no more to say, but only to desire Almighty God to forgive them that have thus condemned me, for I think they know not what they have done."

...

Water, Mark. The New Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001. 655.

The Five Solas

2005-01-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

The Five Solas summarize the core doctrines that were established during of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

Sola scriptura (Scripture alone).
The Bible is the only authoritative Word of God, and is the only infallible voice of the Christian church. Alternatively, while Catholics affirm infallibility of the Bible, they also believe in the infallibility of the Pope and the Ecumenical Councils. Drawing from history, consider the Galileo affair in the 17th century. Today, grade school history books generally neither teach that Galileo respected the Bible, nor that the Catholic church got their ideas of geocentricism (idea that the earth is at the center of the Solar System, around which everything revolves) from the modern scientists of the day, who were merely drawing upon previous ideas originating from Aristotle. It was by pressure, from the modern scientists that did not want to lose their standing in the scientific community, that the Catholic church caved and demanded Galileo to rescind his position of heliocentricism (idea that the sun is at the center of the Solar System around which the earth revolves). The bottom line was that, Galileo was not blamed for criticizing the Bible but for disobeying papal orders. Hence, the lesson to be learned is that the only authority for ultimate truth is God's Word. We should lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Solus Christus (Christ alone).
This represents the exclusivity of Christ. That is Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and there is no other name by which men can be saved (Acts 4:5-12). Salvation neither comes by Mary, the saints, false gods, nor the sinner himself.

Sola gratia (Grace alone).
Salvation is granted only by way of God's sovereign grace, not through any works or merit by the sinner (Ephesians 2:8-9). Eternal salvation is a gift that is not earned; it is granted. Throughout the scriptures and especially Paul's epistles, grace is presented as a gift bestowed on the elect for His sovereign purpose and glory. Nothing can resist the sovergeign will of God (Daniel 4:35, Psalm 115:3, Romans 9:14-18). Thus, there is no place for self-righteousness in the Christian faith. For more study on this topic of salvation coming by grace alone, refer to the article by R.C. Sproul, The Pelagian Captivity of the Church.

Sola fide (Faith alone).
Salvation comes through faith only, not by works. Faith is the medium through which God's grace is initially revealed. Faith does not come from ourselves, but is itself the result of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, saving faith is authenticated by good works (James 2).

Soli Deo gloria (Glory to God only).
All the glory, praise, and honor goes to God and Him alone for our salvation (Romans 16:25-27). Not to saints, not to popes, not to Mary, etc... Glory to God is due not only for the power and atoning work of salvation, but even the very granting of that saving grace to the believer (John 6:44-45).

Finding Value in Healthy Foods

2005-01-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

One component of healthy living is healthy eating. Unfortunately, the healthier foods are often more expensive to produce and distribute. But the best foods are the natural foods, presented as God has intended.

How can we strike that balance? One way is to visit the Whole Foods Market (WFM is available in most metropolitan areas). If one does not exist in your area, visit this link. It will tell you which locations are coming soon.

I probably know what you are already thinking. "The last time I went to WFM I had to take out a small loan." However, the principle of shopping smart applies evermore to healthy foods. Not everything at WFM asks for a premium price. The best example can be broadly found in the 365 brand of products. The 365 brand does not sacrifice in quality, yet is competitively priced.

For example, the 365 Cranberry juice is ~$4 per quart. However, this Cranberry juice is not your ordinary Cranberry juice. It only has 7 grams of sugar per serving. Try finding that at a leading grocery store! That's because the 365 juice only contains naturally occuring sugars. Granted, you may want to dilute the juice (making it last longer). It is quite tart and calls for an acquired taste. But we need to rid our diets of refined sugars anyway. After a period of having a low sugar diet it is striking to experience the amount of sugar is contained in the foods and beverages the average American eats.

So, wait a minute. I just said a $4 quart of Cranberry juice was competitively priced. That's right. Because comparison is not the same as ordinary Cranberry juices. The leading brands often 20+ grams of added sugar. Therefore, this is a different product with a different set of benefits. The more comparable Cranberry juice product is more along the lines of $6 per quart.

Another example, is the 365 peanut butter (my favorite). It comes at about $2 per container (I believe it is about 18 oz). Again, this is not your ordinary peanut butter. I will list the ingredients for you: peanuts and salt. And you can taste the difference. After a period of consuming these natural products, going back to the leading brands will make you realize how much sugar is in our American diet.

Introducing the Westminster Catechism

2005-01-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

According to the Wikipedia, "A catechism is a summary of Christian religious doctrine. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorized."

In particular, the Westminster Catechism is a great way to bring up our children in the training and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:1-4). In addition, The Westminster Confession, upon which the Catechism is based, is said to be by some "the finest summary of The Holy Bible".

Generally speaking, I suggest the following schedule for teaching the Catechism to children:

Catechism	Age
Westminster Catechism for Small Children	2-5 years
Westminster Young Children's Catechism	6-10 years
Westminster Shorter Catechism	11-14 years
Westminster Larger Catechism	15-18 years

However, the Catechism should not only be for todlers and grade school students but also adults who have a new found walk with the Lord. The Westminster Catechism provides a good foundation for sinking roots deep into the soil rich with nutrients needed for growth (see The Parable of the Sower). Do not be ashamed if the Larger Catechism is too much information; some don't find the Lord until the latter years. Others have known the Lord for some time, but never sought to dig deeper beneath the surface.

While the Catechism is not inspired, it is based on the reformed historic Christian faith. Also, don't be alarmed if you find disagreement with some of the concepts. Doing so, will provide the opportunity to seek out what you believe for working out your salvation in the vein of sanctification.

Realizing the Vision for Self Education

2005-01-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

Education should not merely be for the youth. Educating the mind should be a life-long exercise. In the same manner that we exercise the body to keep fit, so should we exercise the mind to keep our wit! I'm not one to muster rhyme, but it just popped into my head, so I could not resist.

As I have said before, The Well-Educated Mind (TWEM) is an uncanny piece of work. What I would like to do is take the concept of TWEM and expand that into a much grander scheme.

Mission Statement
To provide people with the option to expand their knowledge horizon to places they never thought possible and then for those people to pass that vision and experience on to others.

Objectives

Provide the means for people to evaluate their position in the educational process
Differing backgrounds coupled with variations in intellect produce the need for a more agile approach than one size fits all.
Provide seminars and resources
This is created for the purpose of marketing the concepts and generating revenue to promote the cause.
Provide financial assistance so that all walks of life may participate
This is not to be confused with the notion of a welfare community. Rather, the message is that the educated citizen is one of virtue and service. Those who benefit the most from the organization will likely become its greatest promoters.

For a variety of reasons, the curriculum should vary depending on whether the individual is a child or an adult. Just because an adult has a college degree should not imply that they should begin with a particular level of study.

The level should depend on the assessment. A typical adult may begin with similar materials found at the eighth grade reading level. At face value, this may seemingly be offensive to the adult, albeit unnecessarily. The curriculum for youth is quite aggressive.

Eight grade material includes a reading list such as:

So to relieve the frustration and confusion, I believe it is best to separate the curriculum into two age categories (childhood and adult). Regardless, each age group should have the Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) applied as appropriate.

Self Education

2005-01-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

I believe this book, The Well-Educated Mind (TWEM) by Susan Bauer, is a great way to start off with the topic of Self Education.

For the purpose of working towards self education, a classical education is a great approach. The reason is that the classical approach gives the student the tools needed to facilitate self education. Unfortunately, many of us did not have the opportunity to pursue a classical curriculum. But here we are today, and the concepts are available to all. Going forward, it is a matter of the will.

TWEM takes the classical philosophy for the stages of learning (grammar, logic or dialectic, and rhetoric) and applies it to the exercise of reading literature. Children are typically not ready for logic concepts when they are 6 years old, so they are taught material that is equal to their ability at the time. However, as adults we hopefully have well formed minds capable of complex levels of reason.

Even still, learning beyond formal education is performed with the same approach. To be more clear, Bauer suggests to first understand the book's basic argument and structure, next evaluate the book's assertions, and finally form an opinion about the book's ideas.

This applies to the classical approach because:

Grammar is about understanding the basic fundamentals
Logic (or dialectic) is about evaluating assertions
Rhetoric is about forming and articulating opinions on ideas

This process is applied to the five categories of literature, which are always interconnected to history (even the fictional forms).

The five types of literature described in the book are:

Novel (Stories about Humanity)
Autobiography (Stories of Me)
History (Stories of the Past)
Drama (Stories on Stage)
Poetry (History Refracted)

The types of questions which should come to mind should vary depending on the genre. TWEM describes how to intelligently approach each type of literature.

The End of Education

2005-01-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Actually, I propose that the pursuit of one's education should never end. Does education end the moment we graduate from an institution with the degree of our heart's content?

So then, how should we engage the educational process?

Yes, we need to provide for ourselves and family. Education for career advancement is helpful to our welfare. However, even that is short lived, because what happens when we retire? Should we stop learning when winter arrives? Does the gray mean we have attained all their is to know?

Our modern concept of education has promulgated that people receive their education in grade school and university. Upon graduation, people typically begin their career, start their families and begin the cycle all over again.

However, I support the idea that education should not end upon graduation, but rather that education is a life-long voyage. This philosophy stems from the idea that we have been created for a purpose. Education, which should move towards self education with maturity, is the paddle through which we make our way through the river of life. Unfortunately, some people throw their paddles overboard, give up and just drift with the current. This attitude flies in the face of the created order and the purpose we have been created to accomplish.

What we need is a reason to pursue education and to do it with passion. There must be a reason. Passion without a reason is like exercising on a sugar high. The energy will be gone quickly, and the attitude towards life will be worse.

I leave with these questions, which I hope to address in forthcoming blog entries:

Why is it not cool to pursue learning with passion?
Why do many not realize the importance of education until later in life?
Why do many struggle with finding purpose?

Staying Healthy

2005-01-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Most people eat food based on what tastes good to them. However, now more than ever, we are being made aware of the importance of having a healthy diet.

I do agree that eating healthy does involve an acquired sense of taste. But therein lies the challenge and the fun. That is, striking the balance of culinary creations that are convenient to make, economical, yet of course also healthy.

Here are some ways to get started.

1. Subscribe to some free online health based newsletters.
Some good ones to choose from are found at:
Whole Foods fl@vors
Epicurious

2. Take advantage of the free online recipes:
Whole Foods
Epicurious
Williams-Sonoma
AllRecipes.com
Cooking.com

3. Begin with healthy recipes that are easier to make.
Start out by making soups and salads. These are typically easier to make, convenient, and inexpensive.

Training Up Children

2005-01-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

One of the gifts I got for Christmas was a CD series by Ligonier Ministries entitled Training up Children.

In a nutshell, the seminar taught parents to teach their children to know the three G's.

Who God is
What God did
What God requires

Yes, we should be concerned about how well our children do in school. Yes, they need to learn math skills and about the igneous rocks. But what is it for the child if they gain the whole world, but lose their soul (Mark 8:36)?

More on this later...

A Vision for Ministry to Children and their Parents

2005-01-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

The link below comes from John Piper's children's ministry. It is a set of theological distinctives to teach children by. There are others, but I thought this one was interesting. So I wanted to share it.

Theological Distinctives