Sometimes ridicule is the best approach

For a bit of a funny, go to The Pervert Prophet post over at the Justify This blog. The Muslims won't like it, but then they're generally not known for having a sense of humor (or any other kind, either).

Today's Reading - Jan 06

For the morning, Genesis Chapters 15, 16, and 17

For the evening reading the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 27-48

Sometimes you hear questions raised about the reliability and interest in these sections from early Genesis. I remind all that it's very germane - the rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael is with us even today: Isaac was, through his son Jacob, the ancestor of the Jews (and of Jesus Christ) while Ishmael is the father of the Arabs and, per Muhammad, the progenitor of the evil of Islam. The rivalry goes back that long, and I am persuaded it will persist until the End. Those that ignore or downplay this reality do so at their own peril; there are many people for whom this remains an issue.

The portion out of Matthew continues the Sermon on the Mount. Better and wiser people than I have commented on this - books and articles and sermons - which is an entirely appropriate response to something this important.

Today's Reading January 05

Morning Genesis Chapters 12, 13, and 14
Evening The Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 1 through 26

Today's Reading - Jan 04

Today's installment of the 'through the Bible in a year' plan.

Morning Genesis Chapters 8, 10, and 11
Evening the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 4

The passage in Matthew's gospel begins with the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness,a and ends with the beginning of His ministry and the calling of Simon Peter and Andrew.

The passages in Genesis begin with Noah and his sons after the Flood, and continues with the generations following that, through the tower of Babel (sometimes identified as being near Babylon, near Baghdad) and ends the chapter with the birth and marriage of Abram through the death of his father Terah.

Today's Reading - January 03

Morning Genesis chapters 6, 7, and 8

Evening The Gospel According to Matthew, chapter 3

comments later

Today's Reading - Jan 02

For today
Morning Genesis Chapters 3 4 and 5
Evening the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2

Today's Reading - Jan 01

My first obligation is to the Lord. Everything else is secondary, even my beloved wife and family. Politics, various earthly efforts and controversies have a place well behind them, and while they will continue to have a place here, they will and must remain lesser in importance to Him.

In an earlier period of my life, I was greatly privileged to be associated with the Gideons International. I commend them to you as an organization worth supporting, either personally or through your local church. One of the things that they publish, in addition to the Bibles given out and placed in hotels, is a very worthwhile schedule that will let you read through the Bible in a year. I've been using it for more than ten years now, it is worth your consideration. The entire year's schedule can be seen on their web site at http://www.gideons.org

For January 1:
Morning Genesis 1, 2
Evening Matthew 1


There are links at their site that will also take you to a King James translation of the readings for the day. Enjoy.

Civilization is a delicate thing

The world, in particular the Internet version of it, is filled with people who are more learned than I. One of the really neat things about the 'Net is the ability to find them, sort of like a candy store and library all in one. Not Heaven, but pretty neat.

Sometimes you find something that someone said or wrote or did that deserves an even wider distribution. Here is one: Orson Scott Card's How Our Civilization Can Fall dated Dec 3rd and posted on the The Ornery American site

One of the things that has concerned me for a while now has been the perception on the part of most Americans that the current state of our nation, our economy, our civilization, are just the normal state of affairs. Not so, and, to the degree that most even think about it, they seem to believe that the only changes that should be made are to undo those things that in fact created and maintain this state of affairs. We are never more than a generation from barbarism, and he lays out in pretty logical fashion, not only how it could happen, but goes into some detail how it has happened.
Read it. You won't like it. I didn't. But read it anyway.