Help Our Disabled War Vets

Check this out.

Mummified Body Found Watching TV

The body of a woman who didn't want to be buried was found in a chair in front of her T.V. set 2 1/2 years after she died. Here's the story.

America's Top 10 Conservative Colleges

The Young America's Foundation list of the top 10 conservative colleges for 2005-2006 includes Harding University in my hometown. Congrats to all!

Hillsdale College--Hillsdale, Michigan
Grove City College--Grove City, Pennsylvania
Franciscan University of Steubenville--Steubenville, Ohio
Indiana Wesleyan University--Marion, Indiana
Thomas Aquinas College--Santa Paula, California
College of the Ozarks--Point Lookout, Missouri
Liberty University--Lynchburg, Virginia
Patrick Henry College--Purcellville, Virginia
Christendom College--Front Royal, Virginia
Harding University--Searcy, Arkansas

It's not really a surprise that most of the list consists of Christian colleges.

Ten Commandments-1, ACLU-0

On December 20, 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that displaying the Ten Commandments does not imply an endorsement of religion.

The ACLU’s argument contains three fundamental flaws. First, the ACLU makes repeated reference to “the separation of church and state.” This extra-constitutional construct has grown tiresome. The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state. Our Nation’s history is replete with governmental acknowledgment and in some cases, accommodation of religion. “There is an unbroken history of official acknowledgment by all three branches of government of the role of religion in American life from at least 1789.” After all, “[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.” Thus, state recognition of religion that falls short of endorsement is constitutionally permissible.

Second, the ACLU focuses on the religiousness of the Ten Commandments. No reasonable person would dispute their sectarian nature, but they also have a secular nature that the ACLU does not address. That they are religious merely begs the question whether this display is religious; it does not answer it. . . . “Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the Establishment Clause.” . . . In short, “proving” that the Ten Commandments themselves are religious does not prove an Establishment Clause violation.

Third, the ACLU erroneously–though perhaps intentionally–equates recognition with endorsement. To endorse is necessarily to recognize, but the converse does not follow. Because nothing in the display, its history, or its implementation supports the notion that Mercer County has selectively endorsed the sectarian elements of the first four Commandments, we fail to see why the reasonable person would interpret the presence of the Ten Commandments as part of the larger “Foundations” display as a governmental endorsement of religion.

We will not presume endorsement from the mere display of the Ten Commandments. If the reasonable observer perceived all government references to the Deity as endorsements, then many of our Nation’s cherished traditions would be unconstitutional, including the Declaration of Independence and the national motto. Fortunately, the reasonable person is not a hyper-sensitive plaintiff. Instead, he appreciates the role religion has played in our governmental institutions, and finds it historically appropriate and traditionally acceptable for a state to include religious influences, even in the form of sacred texts, in honoring American legal traditions.

Here is a link to the story by the ACLJ. Here is a link to the Court's full opinion. Of course, it was not mentioned at all on the ACLU website.

Biblical Health Insurance?

In the Business & Personal Finance section of Sunday's San Diego Union-Tribune was an article titled Sharing the burden. In it, they described three "regulation-free religious groups [offering] alternatives to traditional health insurance by banning risky, high-cost behavior." The three "groups" mentioned are Samaritan Ministries, Medi-Share, and the Christian Brotherhood Ministry Newsletter.

I decided to see for myself what these groups were all about, and here's what I found, starting with Samaritan Ministries.

All three groups have a '.org' web address, so I'm assuming they are all non-profit groups, rather than for-profit. That is a good start. Samaritan Ministries seeks to "bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ" as stated in Galatians 6:2, and make it very clear that they are not providing insurance or legally agreeing to reimburse you for medical expenses and therefore are not regulated by any state agencies. They also stay away from insurance-like terms such as 'coverage', 'deductible', etc. The titles 'Samaritan Ministries' and 'Christian Health Care Newsletter' seem to be interchangable, which caused a little confusion at first. The newsletter, I guess, is their way to let subscribers know about needs and acts as the monthly bill, so to speak. Though, rather than sending their contributions to the ministry, members are assigned a specific need and send money directly to that person along with a note of encouragement and prayer. This goes along with their "Send a note--pay your share--always stay alert in prayer" mantra.

They will "publish" up to $100,000 of need per person, per incident with no lifetime or yearly limit. The first $300 of each incident is to be paid by the subscriber (or their church) up to 3 incidents per calendar year. For the fourth and all subsequent incidents per calendar year, the total need amount will be published. Preventative care, cosmetic surgery, and problems from "self-destructive actions" will not be published.

The short-list of membership requirements from the FAQ are as follows:

You must be a born-again Christian--John 3:3
You must attend church regularly (3 out of 4 weeks that your health and the weather are good)--Hebrews 10:25
You must not abuse alcohol--Ephesians 5:18
You must totally abstain from illegal drugs, tobacco use, and sex outside of heterosexual marriage--1 Corinthians 3:16
Since your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you must practice good health measures--1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
Your pastor must sign a statement confirming you meet these requirements--Hebrews 13:17

Of course, further searching of their website reveals a slightly longer list of requirements, but it is essentially the same with the addition of their statement of faith, which you must "be in agreement with." Also, their website is, of course, decorated with the requisite testimonials throughout.

I have mixed-feelings about the operation, at best. I think the idea is great, and the price is right. As for it being a Christian ministry, I find it, well, lacking. There are many exceptions that are either not published or have strings attached. Many pre-existing conditions are not published until you have been symptom and treatment free (or "cured") for one year. No pre-existing heart conditions, cancer, or diabetes will be published at all. Congenital defects have a $25,000 lifetime maximum per condition...and the list goes on. Oh, yea...hope you're never in a car accident. All of this is to "minimize risk and cost," but does this hold up biblically?

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."--Acts 4:34, 35

While cost cutting is never a bad thing, I would hope that as Christians, we would rely on faith rather than rebuffing any needs of our bretheren. I also take issue with the required statement from your pastor. Rather than going with Heb 13:17, I would look one more verse down:

"Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly."--Hebrews 13:18

If God can preserve the message of the Bible through centries, can He not, then watch over something like this?

I'm also not much of a fan of putting a specific number on what constitutes regular church involvement. I don't have a problem with regular attendence being a factor, but if there is any uncertainty as to whether someone meets this requirement, it should be put to a vote of the membership. One of my biggest issues (and maybe even a point of hypocracy) is that Samaritan Ministries claims to want to help you be a good steward of your money, but does not publish preventive care needs. I don't know about you, but I was always taught that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment.

Overall, great idea, bad execution. I don't think I could personally recommend it. Here are some people who do: Memlok, Hephzibah House, and this is a blog entry about Samaritan Ministries with a comment (at the bottom) from SMI's Vice President (at that time).

Tags: christian, health care, bible

My First Comment!

I got my first comment today! Woo-hoo! Thanx, jr. Check out jr's blog RightFaith.

Why I Think Being a Chaplin is the Most Despicable Job in the World

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039079.cfm

Is Chivalry Dead?

An awesome post!
http://peishanyeo.blogspot.com/2006/01/chivalry-is-dead.html

Court to decide if Jesus really existed

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/04/italy.jesus.reut/index.html

Mormons at the Door

Three (not the usual two) Mormon missionaries came to my door this evening. It was actually the shortest "debate" I've ever had w/ someone of a different faith or belief system of mine. Basically, it went like this:

1. They wanted to tell me of a prophet (Joseph Smith, I'm sure).
2. I said that the time of prophets is over b/c God sent the Holy Spirit to communicate directly w/ no intermediary
3. They said God does not change
4. I pointed out that if you do something one way, and then decide to do something a different way, you are the same person...only your method had changed.
5. They said that was confusing and that God is not a god of confusion.
6. I said God works in mysterious ways
7. They said God's plan may not always be apparent to us, but He is not the god of confusion.
8. I said if His plan is not apparent, wouldn't it seem confusing to us?

Up until this time, it was mainly one of them that I was going back and forth with. It was at this time that another (the more experienced one, I would assume) spoke up and said, "We're not here to argue with you today." He then quoted some Bible verses and claimed that the purpose of the Book of Mormon was to proclaim Christ as Lord. I informed them that this was not my first experience w/ Mormons and their book, and that I had Mormon friends and had even read some in the BoM and did not believe it to be the inspired Word of God. Shortly there after they offered to wash some dishes and take out the trash and we parted ways.

I then did some googling on the BoM to look for something I'd seen several years ago. I came across their teachings on polygamy. Basically what I found was that the BoM condemns it, but other Mormon scriptures okay it. Interesting stuff.

Tag: mormon, mormons, religion, lds, book of mormon

Manipulation of the Sexes

Wanted to share this post from a fellow Blogger user:

Manipulation of the Sexes

Random Blog

It's amazing how often I click on the 'Next Blog' button in the Blogger toolbar, only to come to a blog in a language I cannot read (or to a page that doesn't exist, but that's a whole other subject.) Granted, it does pull up a random blog, but if I were writing the code, I would at least make the destination blog one that is the same language as the originating one. Guess that's just me.

New Year's Resolutions 2006

Here are my resolutions for 2006:

1. Get down to 22% body fat (or less).
2. Start going back to church regularly.
3. Start tithing.
4. Start college.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Tag: 2006resolutions

Unfortunate URLs

Check out this post from a fellow Blogger user: http://www.charliefrog77.com/2005/10/therapist-is-one-space-bar-away-from.html

Tag: Humor

Happy New Year!!!

Happy new year to everyone not reading this post! (Actually that is everyone.)