Shock & Blog

10 years later: Mark Bavis (repost)

2011-09-08T12:28:00.002-05:00

Mark Bavis loved hockey. He started skating at the tender age of 4 and started shooting goals shortly after. His identical twin brother Mike also enjoyed the game and the two practiced and played together in minor hockey and then for their high school team, the Catholic Memorial Knights. Mark and Mike helped the Knights win three state championships.

In college, Mark played for the Boston University Terriers and played in the NCAA Tournament four times with three trips to the semi-finals and one championship game against Northern Michigan in 1991. The championship game went into triple-overtime, but ended in an 8-7 win for Michigan.

After college, Mark played in the American Hockey League for three years as a ninth-round draft pick for the New York Rangers. Later, he played for the South Carolina Stingrays for two years, where he and Mike became teammates again the first year. This would be the last time the two played together professionally. Mike eventually went on to become an assistant hockey coach at Boston University.

After leaving the Stingrays, Mark turned to coaching and eventually landed jobs as assistant coach for Brown University and then Harvard. Of the latter, he said, "I'm very excited to have the opportunity to be at one of the best institutions for academics and hockey in this country." Mark's work at Harvard eventually earned him the notice of the Chicago Freeze, a North American Hockey League team, who made him an assistant coach in 1999.

Then in 2000, Mark was hired by the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant scout under hockey great Garnet "Ace" Bailey.

On September 11th, 2001, Mark and Garnet were traveling together aboard United Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. Eastern.

At Mark's memorial mass on September 19th, Mike spoke of Mark's deepening faith, his plans to enroll in law school, and their love for each other. "We had an unspoken love. We spent so much time together. I knew how he felt and he knew how I felt."

Mike spoke of when he became a father for the first time, saying, "Nothing was like the day I saw my brother holding my son, Jack."

And of the fateful events surrounding Mark's death, Mike stated, "It makes me feel good that my brother was with Ace. We need courage to face what happened, as a family and as a country. We need to return to life as it was on September 10th. I'm going to be out there again. And I'm going to be flying by plane... trying to figure out a way to beat BC. In no way am I going to let the people involved in this think they got me twice."

Mark's legacy did not die with him, however. During his days playing and coaching, he mentored many young hockey players. Mark worked for both the Massachusetts USA Satellite Program (where he eventually was named the program director) and the International Hockey Academy. He also opened a hockey summer camp of his own in Canton, Massachusetts, which helped children both athletically and academically.

His work now lives on with the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation, which was founded by his family and friends. The Foundation provides annual grants to help young people with tuition, summer programs and appropriate extracurricular activities so as to better themselves as well as their schools and communities.

Additionally, Kevin O’Sullivan, an old friend and Catholic Memorial teammate, recently opened a sports complex in memory of Mark: the Mark Bavis Ice Arena in Rockland, Massachusetts. The complex features two ice surfaces, a turf field, 5 locker rooms, 5 party rooms (where kids can enjoy sports-themed birthday parties), a lounge with a big-screen TV, a meeting room and a pro shop.

Mark was preceded in death by a brother and his father. He is survived by his twin brother, Mike; his mother, Mary; two other brothers, Pat and Johnny; and three sisters, Kelly, Mary Ellen and Kathy.

Additional information and photos about Mark can be found on the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation website.

We remember Mark and everyone one else who died on September 11, 2001. They may no longer be with us, but their legacies will live forever. Please click the image below to go to the "2,996" project website where you can find links to more tributes. Thank you, and may God bless you, God bless the Bavis Family and God bless America.

PZ scrubs an embarrassing post. UPDATE: Then unscrubs it! UPDATE 2: Comments scrubbed! UPDATE 2.1: Or maybe not.

2011-08-07T20:25:00.010-05:00

This is funny! Yesterday (Saturday, August 6th), PZ posted this on his blog:

American Patriarchy News wants to poll you on their god

August 6th, 2011 PZ Myers

Today is the day of Governor Rick Perry’s crazy prayer rally in Houston. It’s going to fizzle: Reliant Stadium seats 75,000, and only 8,000 tickets have been sold (if you go, please get pictures of the sea of empty seats); he invited all 50 governors of the US to attend, only one said he would (Throwback Brownback of Kansas), and even he apparently hasn’t made travel arrangements, so it’s more like he said he would but won’t. And then it’s going to be populated with odious villains like Hagee and Dobson and Perkins on the stage, and is paid for by the gay-hatin’ American Patriarchy Association.

What’s really sad about this monstrous promise to violate separation of church and state and to pander to the most hateful lunatics of the extremist religious right is that it might just work…American evangelicals will just love Governor Godhair.

Here’s a nice little evangelical poll prompted by Perry’s folly.

Do America and its leaders need God’s guidance?

Without a doubt – 58.86%
Probably – 0.25%
No – 40.89%

As reported, however, 30,000 (and probably more) showed up for the event. Here's a brief video showing the crowd:

I posted both the video and a news report highlighting these facts on PZ's blog. In response, his mindless PZombies (fans) reacted in their typical fashion: with hate, vitriol, vulgarity, and moving the goalposts (e.g. "Only 30,000? That place seats 75,000!"). Not only that, but PZ scrubbed the post from his blog! Here's the original link, which redirects to his front page:

American Patriarchy News wants to poll you on their god

It's supposed to appear between his posts "Episode CCXLI: Squidgirl" and "Brazil needs your help."

However... you can still access (and comment) on the post using a link to one of the comments (a quirk -- or glitch -- of his new digs, I guess). To wit:

Comment #1

Oops! lol!

UPDATE 1: He put it back! lol! I totally caught him and he put it back! Convenient. Now he can lie and deny that he ever hid it.

UPDATE 2: Now he's scrubbing comments! Not just mine, but everyone who responded to or after me! lol! This just gets better and better!

UPDATE 2.1 Or maybe not. For some reason, when I go to the post in Firefox, it isn't showing posts after a certain point. I see them in Chrome, though. Weird. Must be another "quirk" of the crappy new host system over there.

Purging some links

2011-07-24T00:31:00.004-05:00

I'm purging links in past posts to a certain little blog whose author has turned conservatives sickly-green since Obama took office. In other words, I'm taking my footballs and going home because I don't want to be associated with that jerk anymore.

UPDATE: Purge complete. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

To DR

2011-07-14T20:28:00.002-05:00

"Christian Out" is not my blog. If you had any brains and knew how to use them competently, you could easily find my profile and the profile for the author of "Christian Out" and discover that we are two different people. But you're not interested in facts and the truth. All you are interested in is smearing me with your lies. And to think you call yourself a Christian. You are no such thing. You are nothing more than an arrogant, loud-mouthed, lying bully who is headed towards destruction. If you truly want to be a Christian, repent now before it's too late. Repent before you meet Jesus and he tells you, "Depart from me, for I never knew you."

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 28

2011-02-17T19:06:00.002-06:00

Mission 28 continues the story arc. You must help a main character search for another. It's not easy! GC forces are everywhere and reinforcements arrive continually.

Mission 28

Recruit, train, build, protect, safely reach map coordinates and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 38 (no change due to no "Peaceful mission" goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 27

2011-02-09T10:38:00.003-06:00

Mission 27 is a continuation of a story arc involving a main character from the novels, whom you must protect from GCP attacks while you traverse the city. You are instructed to train a couple of soldiers and some musicians, but again, the musicians are far, far more effective at countering the attacks. This level also features a little something special that relies on you having paid attention to the information screens you get at the end of levels.

Mission 27

Recruit, train, build, protect, safely reach map coordinates and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 38 (no change due to no "Peaceful mission" goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 26

2011-01-14T10:36:00.002-06:00

Mission 26

Recruit, train, build, heal and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 38 (+1 for "Peaceful mission" goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 25

2011-01-14T10:28:00.003-06:00

This mission continues the story arc started in the last mission and introduces some new characters and units (though you may have already used the units in question on your own in previous missions).

Mission 25

Recruit, train, build, heal and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 37 (no change from last because "Peaceful mission" is not a stated goal)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces "placeholder"

2011-01-14T10:23:00.007-06:00

Doing something new. The list of past posts about the game is getting a little long, so I'm going to confine the list to a single post which I will update and link to at the bottom of each new post.

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 28
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 27
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 26
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 25
Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 24
LB:EF - Mission 23
LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)
LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Mission 24

2011-01-04T15:49:00.003-06:00

Another pretty straightforward mission which requires a little work and finesse to complete the penultimate objective.

Mission 24

Recruit, train, build and survive.

VE*: 0
CK*: 0
PS*: 37 (+1 for a mission goal of no killing)

*Abbreviations: "VE" = number of times violence is encouraged, "CK" = number of times "convert or kill" is encouraged, "PS" = number of times a peaceful solution is encouraged.

Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 23
LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)
LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

LB:EF - Misson 23

2011-01-02T18:55:00.002-06:00

Mission 23 involves recruiting and training Praisers, then protecting them and four churches spread out across the map. Pretty straightforward mission which still proved challenging. Keep your eyes on the mini-map! It also helps to know and use the abilities of various units.

Mission 23

Build, protect vehicles, recruit, train, and survive.

VE: 0
CK: 0
PS: 36 (+1 as, again, one of the mission goals is for no killing)

Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)
LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Happy New Year and welcome to a new day for S&B!

2011-01-01T11:20:00.001-06:00

You can now reach this blog via www.shockandblog.com! Hurray! My deepest most profound thanks to my friend Daniel for helping me with the domain registry.

Also in the works

2010-12-30T15:25:00.002-06:00

I bought the shockandblog.com domain name earlier this year and am finally attempting to set it up to show this blog. I will let you know when that is finished.

In the works: a walkthrough guide to LB:EF and more

2010-12-30T14:45:00.003-06:00

A friend has requested (quite a while ago, actually -- sorry, Steph) that I put together a walkthrough guide for "Eternal Forces." I will probably create and publish this walkthrough mission by mission, so it's going to take some time to finish.

I also am playing around with screen capture programs in order to possibly create videos for a "let's play"-type YouTube series. My thoughts for that are along the same lines as my coverage of the game here: i.e. debunking the "convert or kill" falsehoods.

In the meantime, here's something for you to chuckle about:

Left Behind Terrorist Training Material

Be sure to read the apoplectic rant behind that petition:

Terrorist Training Videos OK for Christians?

I wonder what my old friend Shannon would have to say about all that. Maybe she signed the petition herself!

LB:EF - Mission 22 (finished)

2010-12-29T16:07:00.003-06:00

With things settling down around here after the move and my job hunt (which was successful!), I've been able to find some time here and there to play. I was finally able to finish this mission after a few retries and saved game reloads. As I said in my earlier post, there's a lot going on and a lot to do on this level. It really keeps you on your toes. Here's a teensy hint for this level: AVOID THE TURBO BUTTON!!! It's tempting to use it to speed up building construction, but whenever I used it, I usually wound up having my units quickly slaughtered whenever GCP forces suddenly showed up.

Mission 22

Build, protect vehicles, recruit, train, and survive.

VE: 0
CK: 0
PS: 35 (+1 as one of the mission goals is for no killing)

Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)
LB:EF - Mission 20 (complete)
LB:EF - Mission 21
LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

We're movin' on up!

2010-09-09T12:11:00.002-05:00

Up north, that is! It's been an interesting few months recently. We're getting ready to move to a new house in a new city in a little over a week. We're doing this because we can and because we want to, not for any negative reason. I can tell you that when we initially began contemplating this move, I never thought it would happen this quickly or this well, but it's been a whirlwind of activity and amazing acts of God. When it's all over and done, we're going to sit down and write down everything that has happened. It will be an amazing testimony of God's love, faithfulness and providence.

LB:EF - Mission 22 (currently playing)

2010-06-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

I've replayed through the previous levels and this is the level I was stuck on before and I'm stuck on it now. You need to build advanced buildings and survive for 25 minutes while being attacked by GCP forces. You get a few brief moments to prepare yourself before the GCP recruiters, musicians, thugs and soldiers swarm in. There often tends to be a lot of things going on at once, so it's difficult to keep track of everything. (I keep failing the "peaceful mission" goal as a result.) I'll give the level a few more tries before moving on.

Ten Ways John Shore Failed at Criticizing Christians

2010-06-06T15:36:00.001-05:00

John Shore is a sometime author, Huff-n-Puff blogger, and former "rabid anti-Christian" who claims to have become a Christian after hearing a cartoon voice in a rarely used supply closet at work.

No, I'm not kidding, but I wish I were. Oy.

Anyway, Mr. Shore has apparently set himself up now as the great, God-ordained mouthpiece of how Christians of all types (who he bunches primarily into the stereotypical "conservative" and "liberal" labels) should act. Virtually none of his proposals are biblically backed, though, and the ones that are generally based on ripping Bible verses out of context.

Most of his criticisms are, of course, directed at conservative Christians. For example, his recent self-contradictory diatribe Ten Ways Christians Tend to Fail at Being Christian." As I read that awful, poorly thought-out list of man-based nonsense, my brain felt like it was slogging through thick, sticky mud. It wasn't difficult coming up with corrections to the points.

1. Too much money. “Wealthy Christian” should be an oxymoron. In Luke 12:33, Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” At Matthew 19:21, he says, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor.” In Matthew 6:24, he says: “You cannot serve God and Money.” Christians are generally pretty huge on cleaving to the word of God. I just don’t see how those particular words could be clearer.

Keep that last sentence in mind. It'll come up later.

As for the rest of the point, it's nothing more than your typical bashing of rich conservatives using the same old grossly out-of-context Bible verses.

Luke 12:33 is not a direct command. It is part of Jesus' teaching about not worrying. In the preceding verses, Jesus tells us not to worry (the only direct command from the passage) before going on to hyperbolically give examples of not worrying that include not giving any thought to what you eat, drink or wear. So if you take those verses out-of-context, does that mean Jesus is telling us not not eat, drink or wear clothes? Of course not!

Matthew 19:21 was a comment Jesus directed at a cocky rich young man who he already knew loved money more than God.

Matthew 6:24 is a warning about loving money more than God, not about being rich. In fact, Matthew 6:24 foreshadows Matthew 19:21.

Simply being rich is not a sin and the Bible gives no command for us to live as eternal paupers. That isn't to say, however, that being rich doesn't come with its dangers. People can and do become obsessed with money, but that is not limited to rich people. Indeed, the rich man in Matthew 19 could have just as easily been a poor man who loved money more than God and Jesus' response would've been just the same.

And incidentally, I wonder how wealthy Mr. Shore has become from authoring and co-authoring books. On his "About Me" page, he admits to making "crazy money" off a co-authored book and spending it all on a house. A pretty spendy-looking one at that! Apparently Mr. Shore doesn't practice what he preaches. Go figure.

2. Too confident God thinks we’re all that and a leather-bound gift Bible. I’d like to humbly suggest that we spend a little more time wondering how we displease God, and a little less time being confident that we do.

If you're not confident (i.e. aware) that you are displeasing God, then how can you possibly know how you are displeasing Him? How about we spend more time thinking about what it means that we are sinners saved by grace? Maybe even confess our daily sins, repent and turn from them more.

Okay, now we're going to recall the last sentence of Mr. Shore's first point. Consider that sentence in light of this next point:

3) Too quick to believe that we know what God really means by what he says in the Bible. The Bible is an extremely complex, multi-leveled work. We're sometimes too quick to assume that we grasp its every meaning. Take this passage, for instance, from Luke 8: 9-10: "His disciples asked him [Jesus] what this parable [of the sower] meant. He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."'" Huh? And that's Jesus "explaining" what is generally regarded as one of his most readily understood parables! Are we really all that confident that we always know exactly what Jesus meant by everything he said? Wouldn't we do well to sometimes admit that the words attributed to God manifested on earth are just a tad, well, Greek to us?

Okay, so we shouldn't be too quick to believe that we know what God really means by what He says in the Bible, but apparently we can go right ahead and be quick to believe that we know what God really means about money according to what's in the Bible. We can be very confident we know exactly what Jesus meant by Luke 12:33, Matthew 19:21 and Matthew 6:24. Hmm... Veddy intedestink.

The Bible is not some sort of puzzle or riddle we need to decipher and decode. Good gosh. That's the kind of thinking that brought us such nonsense as the Bible Code. No. With even a minimal understanding of the societies and cultures the books of the Bible were written in, contextual study of the Bible is very easy. Anyone who claims otherwise, like Mr. Shore does, is more often than not trying to force their personal views on to God's Word.

4) Too action-oriented. We Christians could stand to spend less time acting in the name of God, and more time reflecting on the (ever subtle) majesty of God. We need more passivity, and less activity. More meditation, less machination. More reflection, less correction. More contemplation, less administration. More prayers, less airs. More mysticism, less ... um ... cretinism.

Yeah, because that's what Jesus and his disciples did. They just sat around "reflecting on the ever subtle majesty of God" instead of going out and acting in the name of God. Yep. Just a bunch of lazy, intellectual bums they were. Honestly, if that's what Jesus did and taught, Christianity would've died out long ago.

5) Too invasive of others generally. It is my personal, humble opinion that anyone seeking to mix church and state has failed to understand the nature and role of either. Being founded upon the principle that all men are created equal and deserving of equal protection under the law is what makes the American system of democracy such a gift to mankind. Attempting to mix the inherently exclusionary imperatives of a particular religion into the resolutely inclusive system of the American constitutional form of government is to work against everything that America stands for. Religion is a personal, subjective affair for the individual; politics and public policy is an impersonal, objective affair for everyone.

Using "all men are created equal" to defend the separation of church and state is laughable. "CREATED." By whom? Why, created by God, of course. This is something that the Founding Fathers wisely recognized and it formed the basis for their creation of this country and its government. The whole "separation of church and state" business did not start out as a concept to keep faith out of the public square, but to prevent the government from formally establishing a state religion that would infringe on people's religious liberties. Indeed, in attempting to not be "too invasive of others" via use of the First Amendment, liberals have, in fact, become perversely invasive. When they say our religious beliefs must stop at the courthouse door (and they have many, many times in various ways), then religious liberty is violated.

6. Too invasive of others personally. We Christians are too often too eager to get up into the faces of others about their personal religious beliefs. If you believe in the reality of hell, then wanting to save non-Christians from going there is a worthy sentiment, of course. But the bottom line is it’s absolutely impossible to talk someone who isn’t a Christian into becoming one; in fact, more than anything else it’s likely to push the non-Christian further from God. I believe we Christians would do very well indeed to spend our time “just” living as Christians, and let God worry about the non-Christians.

Thank God that Jesus didn't "just" live and didn't "let God worry about the non-Christians!" Jesus brought the Gospel to the lost and called us to do the same. We Christians are taught that there are many people who will indeed be pushed further from God when we preach the Gospel. God never warned us not to "get up into the faces of others" out of the fear that they would be pushed away from salvation. In fact, He wants us to get up in people's faces with the Gospel out of the hope that someone -- even if it's one person out of a million -- will listen and be saved. If you don't get up in people's faces, then I guarantee that the number of people saved will be zero out of a million.

7. Too quick to abandon logic. When talking to others about our faith, we Christians too often resort to a language and line of reasoning that leaves good ol’ fashion logic sitting on the ground behind us, waving a sad good-bye. “It’s true because the Bible says it’s true” is, for instance, an assertion that can’t help but leave the non-Christian unimpressed, since it’s so manifestly illogical. “It’s true because the Bible says it’s true” is no more proof of truth than is, “Apples are the best of the fruits, because I think that’s true.” Christians need to more readily admit that the religious experience — no matter how riveting and real it is to the person experiencing it — remains a subjective phenomenon, and talk about it that way.

And yet, again, this is exactly what Jesus taught. He often talked about the truth of the Scriptures by citing that it was because they were the Scriptures! This is absolutely not like saying "Apples are the best fruit because I think that's true." We don't just think the Bible is true. It IS true because it's the Word of God. People who say "It's true because the Bible says it's true" is illogical are ignorant of the natures of both truth and the Bible and are themselves guilty of being illogical.

8. Too fixated on homosexuality. Can we Christians stop already with the gay and lesbian fixation? I know many of us understand our stance on the matter to be unassailably Biblical. I know a great many of us are deeply concerned about the “homosexual agenda.” I know. We all know. Maybe Christians could just give that issue a rest for a while. It’s not like gay and lesbian people are going anywhere. They’ll all be there when we get back. Maybe — for just a week, a day, a month — we could concern ourselves with something else, and let them be.

Talk about a straw man argument! The only reason many Christians talk about homosexuality so much is because of how much the subject is being forced upon us on a daily basis. It's not because we have chosen it to "fixate" on. If lying or blasphemy or idolatry or coveting or any other sin were being pushed on us as much as homosexuality is, we'd be just as vocal about it.

As far as homosexuals "be[ing] there when we get back," that's not a guarantee. Not for individual homosexuals, as they, like everyone else, could die at any moment, and not for homosexuals as a group, since Jesus could return at any time. Putting off preaching the Gospel to sinners, be they homosexuals or liars or thieves or whatever, only prevents chances of those people being saved.

9. Too insular. When I became a Christian, one of the things that most amazed me about Christians is the degree to which they tend to hang out only with other Christians. We should stop doing that. How are we supposed to share Christ’s love with non-Christians when we barely know any non-Christians? Time to widen that social base, I say. (Plus, Christian or not, we still want to throw good, fun parties, don’t we? Well, let’s face it: The heathen class has all the good music. We might as well invite a few of them to our next party. Maybe they’ll bring their CD’s!)

Now, wait a minute. In points 5 and 6, Christians are criticized as being "too invasive." Yet in this point, we're criticized for not being invasive enough. Which is it? Most confusing.

10. Too uneducated about Christianity. Generally speaking (which of course is the most offensive way to speak about any group of people), Christians tend to embarrass themselves by knowing so little about either the Bible or the history of Christianity. Believing that the Bible is the word of God, for instance, is one thing; knowing nothing about the long process by which men decided which texts would and wouldn’t make it into the Bible is another. It’s not that all Christians should be full-on theologians or historians. But if you’re a Christian who doesn’t know the Great Schism from The Great Santini, or the Diet of Worms from … well, the diet of worms, then you’ve got some homework to do.

This is a good point. Unfortunately, Mr. Shore obviously doesn't take his own advice, as proven by his nine previous points. Indeed, this point flies completely in the face of point 3. What the purpose of educating yourself about Christianity and the Bible when you can never be confident about "what God really means by what he says in the Bible?"

It's unfortunate that Mr. Shore thinks in his arrogance that he and only he knows what's best for Christians. It's even more unfortunate that he has deleted my attempts reason with him by using some lame excuse about some important people reviewing his blog and removed by posts. I guess he was concerned about not getting more money.

Mojave Cross STOLEN

2010-05-11T11:13:00.005-05:00

I honestly cannot say that I'm surprised.

WWI memorial cross stolen from Mojave National Preserve

Vandals toppled and removed the 8-foot-high cross at Mojave National Preserve in California less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the controversial memorial could remain on federal property.

The cross, which has stood in various forms for the last 76 years as a memorial to World War I soldiers, was stolen late Sunday night or early Monday morning, according to officials from the Liberty Institute, a conservative advocacy group that deals with church-state issues. In a statement Kelly Shackelford, the group’s president, called the actions “disgusting.”

Vandals cut through a series of metal bolts to remove the cross — still covered by a wooden box — from its concrete foundation.

The cross had been covered with plywood for 10 years as the legal fight surrounding the memorial wound through the courts. Officials from the Liberty Institute argued in favor of allowing the memorial to stand, saying that censoring the cross violated veterans’ freedom of speech and religion.

Notice that supporters of the cross left the wooden box covering it alone for 10 years while the fate of the cross was decided in the courts. It only took opponents of the cross 2 weeks to decide that their will supplanted the will of the highest court in the land. It's kind of poetic. They have the same attitude about the One who made the cross such an object of their hatred. They are disobedient to God, so why would they be obedient to any other authority they disagree with?

Left Behind: Eternal Forces - Picking up where I left off

2010-05-10T12:41:00.003-05:00

If you recall, I had been posting a series about my experiences playing the Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC game. You can find the posts here. I put playing the game on the back burner due to time constraint issues from the days before and after the birth of our third child. Those issues have passed now and I've felt the desire to get back to my analysis of the game and the claims of those who have smeared it. After an unfortunate incident with the loss of files on our old computer, that desire will become a reality now thanks to the help of the games' senior producer. Thanks again, Kevin!

Kevin also let me know (which I should have known had I paid closer attention to the recent press releases from the company) that Left Behind 3: Rise of the Antichrist should be out by Christmas! That is exciting news and it's really given me an increased drive to finish up with both Eternal Forces and Tribulation Forces.

Insult to injury: mosque to be built at Ground Zero

2010-05-10T09:53:00.007-05:00

This goes beyond "outrage" to words that would make this an R-rated blog.

Mosque to be Built Near Ground Zero

The Cordoba House is a $100 million project that is being proposed for the former Burlington Coat Factory building at Park Place and Broadway, a location that is two blocks away from where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Committee Chairman Ro Sheffe shares: “I think it will be a wonderful asset to the community.”

The Cordoba Initiative was founded after the 9/11 attacks, and according to Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, one of those who helped found the initiative, the Cordoba House aims to foster better relations between Muslims and the West. The project consists of a glass and steel building that will house a 500-seat performing arts venue, a swimming pool and a basketball court. Rauf gushed that there will be “nothing like it” and that it will be open to all New Yorkers.

"Cordoba" is the name of a region in Spain where Muslims persecuted both Christians and Jews. Some of it took place exactly a millennium ago. The naming of the project and mosque is either profound irony or disgusting design.

Next up, a neo-Nazi recruitment center named the "Auschwitz Project" across from the Wailing Wall.

Supreme Court restores Mojave Cross!!!

2010-04-29T12:14:00.001-05:00

Praise the Lord and uncover that cross!!!

High court says Mojave cross in Calif. can stay

The Supreme Court said Wednesday that a federal court went too far in ordering the removal of a congressionally endorsed war memorial cross from its longtime home in California.

In ruling the cross could stay, the justices said federal judges in California did not take sufficient notice of the government's decision to transfer the land in a remote area of California to private ownership. The move was designed to eliminate any constitutional concern about a religious symbol on public land.

The ruling was 5-4, with the court's conservatives in the majority.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected the cross more than 75 years ago atop an outcropping in the Mojave National Preserve.

It has been covered with plywood for the past several years following the court rulings. Court papers describe the cross as 5 feet to 8 feet tall.

"Here one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.

Lying lesbian smears hospital; gets Obama on board, too

2010-04-27T11:15:00.003-05:00

Remember this story?

Obama orders hospital visitation rights for gays, lesbians

It came on the heels of the story about a lesbian being denied visitation to her dying partner. Well, guess what? The truth has finally come to light and it paints quite a different picture:

Hospital Visit Horrors? Here’s the Rest of the Story

We would also like to take this opportunity to provide you with some clarification on the allegations being made by Janice Langbehn, whose partner was treated at Jackson’s Ryder Trauma Center in 2007. From the beginning, JHS has vehemently denied that Ms. Langbehn was denied visitation due to her sexual orientation. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed Ms. Langbehn’s lawsuit against Jackson Memorial Hospital in September 2009.

Ms. Langbehn’s allegations and those made by published articles, blogs, etc., are inaccurate and have damaged the reputations and deeply hurt the feelings of the personnel in our trauma center. They have devoted their careers to all who come through our doors, from all walks of life.

JHS grants hospital visitation to all individuals equally, regardless of their relationship to the patient, as long as doing so does not interfere with the care being given to the patient or other patients in the area. With that said, our first priority when a patient is brought to our trauma center is always to stabilize the patient and save their life. As the only adult and pediatric Level 1 trauma center in Miami-Dade County to support a population of more than 2.3 million people, our facility is one of the busiest – and most renowned – in the nation.

The Trauma Resuscitation Unit in Ryder Trauma Center, where Lisa Pond was treated when airlifted to Jackson, is more like a large operating room with multiple beds separated by glass partitions rather than a traditional hospital floor. Sometimes, visitors are not able to see a loved one in the trauma bay as quickly as they would like or they may have to wait until the patient is moved to the ICU or to another area of the hospital that is better suited for visitation. This all depends on the circumstances of the situation, how busy the unit is at the time and the medical conditions of the patients in the unit at the time. The patients in this area are facing life-threatening injuries or illnesses and are extremely vulnerable.

The situation involved the tightly-controlled emergency/trauma area of the hospital and the lesbian partner was not treated any differently from anyone else in the same situation. Had it been a situation involving visitation during a non-emergency situation, the lesbian partner would've been welcomed. Can't say I'm surprised at the dishonesty.

Wicca isn't a religion of peace

2010-04-10T20:00:00.004-05:00

Cops: Wiccan listed victim as 'sacrifice' in phone

A self-described Wiccan had a man's phone number programmed in her cell phone under the word "sacrifice" before she stabbed him to death, then claimed he had tried to rape her, authorities said Thursday.

Angela Sanford, 30, is accused of killing 52-year-old Joel Leyba last month with a dagger after inviting him to join her in a Wiccan celebration of spring near a popular hiking trail east of Albuquerque.

She told police she stabbed Leyba three times in the stomach after he tied her up and tried to assault her.

But police say Leyba was stabbed 11 to 13 times, and a detective reviewing Sanford's cell phone found the nickname "sacrifice" instead of Leyba's name.

UPDATE: Some history about modern practice of paganism from Wikipedia:

In the 1920s and 30s, the Egyptologist Dr Margaret Murray published several books detailing her theories that those persecuted as witches during the Early Modern period in Europe were not, as the persecutors had claimed, followers of Satanism, but adherents of a surviving pre-Christian pagan religion - the Witch-Cult. Despite now being discredited by further historical research, her theories were widely accepted and supported at the time.

It was during the 1930s that the first evidence appears for the practice of a pagan Witchcraft religion[79] (what would be recognisable now as Wicca) in England. It seems that several groups around the country, in such places as Norfolk,[80] Cheshire[81] and the New Forest had set themselves up as continuing in the tradition of Murray's Witch-Cult, albeit with influences coming from disparate sources such as ceremonial magic, folk magic, Freemasonry, Theosophy, Romanticism, Druidry, classical mythology and Asian religions.

The Witchcraft religion became more prominent in the 1950s with the repeal of the Witchcraft Act of 1735, after which several figures, such as Charles Cardell, Cecil Williamson and most notably Gerald Gardner, began propagating their own versions of the Craft. Gardner had been initiated into the New Forest coven in 1939, before forming his own tradition, later termed Gardnerianism, which he spread through the formation of groups like the Bricket Wood coven. His tradition, aided by the help of his High Priestess Doreen Valiente and the publication of his books Witchcraft Today (1954) and The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959), soon became the dominant form in the country, and spread to other parts of the British Isles.

Following Gardner's death in 1964, the Craft continued to grow unabated despite sensationalism and negative portrayals in British tabloids, with new traditions being propagated by figures like Robert Cochrane, Sybil Leek and most importantly Alex Sanders, whose Alexandrian Wicca, which was predominantly based upon Gardnerian Wicca, albeit with an emphasis placed on ceremonial magic, spread quickly and gained much media attention. Around this time, the term "Wicca" began to be commonly adopted over "Witchcraft" and the faith was exported to countries like Australia and the United States.

It was in the United States and in Australia that new, home-grown traditions, sometimes based upon earlier, regional folk-magical traditions and often mixed with the basic structure of Gardnerian Wicca, began to develop, including Victor Anderson's Feri, Joseph Wilson's 1734 tradition, Aidan Kelly's New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn and eventually Zsuzsanna Budapest's Dianic Wicca, each of which emphasised different aspects of the faith.[82] It was also around this time that books teaching people how to become Witches themselves without formal initiation or training began to emerge, among them Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft (1970) and Lady Sheba's Book of Shadows (1971). Similar books continued to be published throughout the 1980s and 1990s, fuelled by the writing of such authors as Doreen Valiente, Janet Farrar, Stewart Farrar and Scott Cunningham, who popularised the idea of self-initiation into the Craft.

In the 1990s, amid ever-rising numbers of self-initiates, the popular media began to explore "witchcraft" in fictional films like The Craft and television series like Charmed, introducing numbers of young people to the idea of religious witchcraft. This growing demographic was soon catered to through the Internet and by authors like Silver Ravenwolf, much to the criticism of traditional Wiccan groups and individuals. In response to the way that Wicca was increasingly portrayed as trendy, eclectic, and influenced by the New Age movement, many Witches turned to the pre-Gardnerian origins of the Craft, and to the traditions of his rivals like Cardell and Cochrane, describing themselves as following "Traditional Witchcraft". Prominent groups within this Traditional Witchcraft revival included Andrew Chumbley's Cultus Sabbati and the Cornish Ros an Bucca coven.

Jesus, John and Pat

2010-01-14T10:30:00.003-06:00

A couple thousand years ago, there was a disaster in the ancient city of Siloam in Israel. A tower fell and 18 people were killed. Did they deserve it? Would it be wrong of someone to have said they deserved it? Check out Jesus' words in Luke 13:

"Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Was this statement devoid of love or compassion for the people who died in the disaster or for those who survived it?

Fast-forward 1700 years to John Wesley:

“The Cause And Cure Of Earthquakes”: A Sermon By John Wesley First Published In 1730

Was Wesley's sermon devoid of love or compassion?

And now here we are in 2010 with Pat Robertson making a statement - which is, of course, being ripped completely out of context by liberals and by people on the right who've been duped by the liberals' portrayals of Robertson. You can watch the statement in context in the first 8 minutes or so of the 700 Club here:

The 700 Club: January 13, 2010

Yes, Robertson is saying the Haitians deserved this disaster, and rightly so! He'd be right in saying that about any other country suffering such a disaster. We're ALL guilty of grievous sins against God and we're ALL deserving of death however it comes. However, what Robertson is NOT saying is that the Haitians don't deserve compassion, love and aid. In fact, his "Operation Blessing" organization is sending aid to Haiti. That hardly sounds like someone who is gleeful about the disaster as so many are trying to portray his statements.