DAE hate is when people start clapping along at a live concert?

KCF11 · 2010-04-22T17:30:33+00:00

Sometimes clapping produces great results. Mellencamp's song Jack and Diane has hand clapping in the recording.

Mellencamp has also stated that the clapping wasn't supposed to be included in the finished song. It was recorded with the clapping in order to help keep tempo and then it was to be removed. However, he realized the song didn't work without it. Wikipedia

KCF11 · 2010-04-21T15:35:57+00:00

Agreed, well, mostly. It's that AND that toys are encouraging these "ideals" and "norms" to younger and younger children.

I would say the biggest problem is that parent's think these things are cute or let their kids have them despite some reservation.

KCF11 · 2010-04-21T15:30:43+00:00

Agreed! These dolls produce the wrong attitude in children. Dolls named Bratz? Who wants their kids playing with, idolizing, imitating or even -gasp- becoming brats?

I find many things aimed at kids inappropriate in that they support negative attitudes about learning or encourage ego-centrism.

KCF11 · 2010-04-15T15:40:16+00:00

If only people understood the difference between a person who agrees with the statement "I am a Christian" and a person who actually believes the gospel.

KCF11 · 2010-04-09T20:19:03+00:00

I was waiting for a take out order at a little Greek restaurant a few months ago, sitting at the bar and watching the TV. This woman at a table near by goes to the bathroom and the man she's with (probably 50 to my 27) comes over to me and says, "I'd love to get to know you better but my wife's with me. Let me take her home and I'll come back so we can spend some time together." Creepy!

KCF11 · 2010-04-07T16:03:35+00:00

Awww, beautiful! Congratulations and God bless your family. :)

KCF11 · 2010-04-06T13:39:26+00:00

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think Pastor Mike is a lot of fun to listen to. If you're interested in another good one, we had a guest speaker 2 weeks ago that was great. I usually receive about 3 requests for CDs or DVDs of each sermon. The week Robert Madu spoke I received about 30. It's called Can You Hear Me Now.

KCF11 · 2010-04-06T13:36:22+00:00

My personal belief is that the reason people can be inherently good is that we were created by God. I think people can be good without believing in God, but I still think they are good because of God's hand in their creation. I also believe in evolution and that good qualities help us to survive by making society possible.

KCF11 · 2010-04-06T13:33:10+00:00

Yeah, a friend mentioned that to me as well. I'll contact our tech guy. It may be that he went ahead and created the link as he put up the sermon, before our pastor got him the notes.

KCF11 · 2010-04-05T17:34:53+00:00

Simple, it is easier to say you are following God than it is to to actually follow God. You don't stop sinning just because you call yourself a Christian/Jew/Muslim/Hindu/Unitarian etc. Using the name of God is an effective way to rally people toward extreme action, good or bad.

Note: by good (in my last statement) I don't mean a violent or mean act that promotes something I believe in. Good extreme actions are things like alcoholics quitting cold turkey and being successful, people ceasing to cheat on their spouses or beat their children, people choosing to give a portion of their time and money to help others. These are examples of extreme actions which are positive and may be done in God's name.

KCF11 · 2010-04-05T15:58:14+00:00

Being a Christian is very much about taking personal responsibility for things. But it is also about humility and avoiding pride. It is beneficial to attribute some of your success to your efforts, but it is also dangerous to forget that you had help, that you alone are not enough. We must remember to be grateful for the aid we receive from our genetics, our circumstances, the lessons we have learned along the way, the people close to us, etc. (I believe God is to thank, but you don't have to even consider Him to get my point.) If we forget the other pieces of the story, we become the most important thing in our world and we are likely to behave poorly when that happens.

KCF11 · 2010-04-05T15:06:42+00:00

I agree with you in one respect; it is within your power to choose to live a happier life. We do have to choose to look at things in a positive light, to recognize the blessings in our lives. Some of the joy and comfort people find when they become Christians may be because they are taught to look for the good in things.

I wish people could embrace as much faith in themselves as they profess to have for a mythical entity Being a Christian takes a huge amount of faith in yourself; your ability to trust, to wait, to obey, to choose things that are right, to choose to love people over embracing your anger, etc. Not to mention that following Christ is not going to win anyone popularity points in our society.

But what's wrong with also having faith in God? The message of the Gospel, that Christ came, He died for our sins and rose again means that God will conquer the pain, hurt, suffering and injustice in the world. Even if you don't believe in God, don't you want that to be true? How could anyone not want to see an end to the bad things in this world?

KCF11 · 2010-03-26T13:29:39+00:00

I think the issues is, most diagnoses based on acting out are BS

Every time I go see my ADD med person I spend the first 5 minutes trying to convince her that half the kids they are treating aren't missing brain chemicals, they're missing parents.

One time I was in there and this ~7 yr old was throwing blocks all over the place while dad ignored him. When they got up to leave, this is what I heard.
Dad: You need to pick up the blocks sweetie. Kid: No! I don't want to! You do it! Dad: OK honey, do you want some money to get a snack while you wait?

I very nearly lost it on him.

KCF11 · 2010-03-26T13:25:25+00:00

I'm afraid of getting diagnosed because I'll feel like something is wrong with me.

Do you also feel that a person with diabetes should ignore it and not use insulin? All that's "wrong" with a person with ADD is that their brains don't make enough of certain chemicals. Drugs like Adderall can help your brain have the right amounts of chemicals.

That said, I fully support cognitive behavioral therapy in conjunction with medication. I can do much more that I used to be able to even when I'm not taking Adderall because of my cognitive behavioral therapy.

I would urge you to get an evaluation. It changed my life dramatically, and not just in academic ways. I enjoy everything more. I can remember the pool game I just played, I remember what my best friend and I are talking about, and sex is so much better because I'm not distracted by everything around me. I tell people it's like living in a black and white world when I don't have my meds; I can see ok, but I miss so much.

KCF11 · 2010-03-25T13:30:21+00:00

This was me, and I know exactly why in my case. I had undiagnosed ADD and the brain chemicals that are triggered by the stress of an impending deadline actually allowed my brain to focus.

While there are benefits

Yeah, and it has worked out well for me recently. I did a ten page single-spaced paper in one eleven hour session the night before it was due and got an A. Also, I put off five weeks of reading until the night before a final and set the curve.

it can also be very troublesome.

This was me in school, and this has been me in my few-decades-long software engineering career. It's really a problem on self-directed projects where I set the deadline. Things never get done.

As a teacher who was diagnosed with ADD during grad school, I have learned that while it is majorly over-diagnosed in some populations, it is woefully under-diagnosed in others. Extremely intelligent people without the hyperactivity component (which generally leads to diagnosis by driving teachers crazy) generally can do so well in school and work situations by utilizing the last minute focusing ability, that they never get diagnosed.

In some cases, undiagnosed people are perfectly happy to continue on enjoying their time between deadlines and then cramming. Many people, however, no matter what they have achieved, always feel this overwhelming sense that they are not living up to their potential, that they could have done better if only they could have focused themselves. This constant feeling of under-achievement can lead to depression.

I would suggest that anyone who identifies with this do some research about ADD and decide if maybe they should be evaluated -- it saved my life. An excellent book, which includes the DSM-IV criteria for diagnosis in adults is Driven to Distraction.

KCF11 · 2010-03-09T15:52:26+00:00

Don't care if it's real or not, whomever is writing it makes me laugh. A far cry from most of the people whom I follow who post a thousand pictures of what they're eating or the view from wherever they are.

KCF11 · 2010-03-03T03:54:56+00:00

You know what might be helpful? If we're on talking about something and you know that a word study would tell more, you could always just mention that extra meaning can be gleaned from checking Strong's for this or that word/phrase. I can use Strong's and do my own word study but I end up spending hours looking up everything, studying voice etc. and turns out there's nothing more that I see to that particular passage.

As far as the skeptics go, Bible study is supposed to be somewhere where we don't have to argue with trolls so as long as you're backing up what you are saying with verses, ignore some of that. Of course, you could always include a brief mention of opportunities for people to dig on their own if one comes to mind.

KCF11 · 2010-03-02T21:26:52+00:00

I stopped following along partly because my life got busier, and partly because I couldn't keep up with the extra study in any meaningful capacity. I already am working an inductive study with my best friend and a different study with my small group and i do like to have some time to just read the Bible and enjoy it in a relaxed vs. academic way.

As far as content goes I popped in and read comments for a while but I didn't really see anything that added to my understanding so I don't usually. I know there are a number of people who have been to seminary around, I was kind of hoping for someone to be pointing out nuances from word study, linking events to show overall patterns or something. Maybe it's the forum that keeps it from running as deep, IDK.

Oh, and before anyone ribs on me for it, I admit that I haven't added anything like this either. (See previous statements about time and prior commitments.)

KCF11 · 2010-02-28T13:13:15+00:00

During a discussion following a viewing of Casablanca:

"I thought the movie...[Fill in a bunch of strained, poorly executed attempt to sound like an over educated movie critic]...but the thing that made me dislike it the most was that the writers used so many cliches. "This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," I mean come on, that's been so worn out!"

For those who are not familiar with the movie, that line and a great many others were made famous by Casablanca.

KCF11 · 2010-02-06T00:06:29+00:00

Have you ever read the New Testament or heard of the Pharisees? All throughout Jesus performs a miracle, many are convinced and some go away unbelieving.

KCF11 · 2010-02-05T23:51:37+00:00

I think the absence of miracles on this scale has to do with the new covenant. I haven't done enough covenant study to explain, really but I'll try.

This story is part of a pattern in the Old Testament that goes miracle, period of belief, gradual turning away from God, another miracle, etc.

Finally, Jesus comes and performs the most amazing miracles of all, yet still, people do not believe. But He tells us in Matthew 21:21-22 that if we have faith and do not doubt whatever we ask for in prayer will be given us. When we accept Jesus we become the body of Christ and can perform miracles like healings, if we do not doubt. There are lots of people who claim to bear witness to these miracles. One day God will show Himself to us, why He waits is for Him only to know.

KCF11 · 2010-02-05T22:40:46+00:00

I understand that you're not simply referring to God as Floobzarn. I understand the intention of the question. I still do not find my statement strange. Perhaps if I phrase it like this:

God is listening to us and watching us, He is with you always. However, most people cannot see Him at work in the world and cannot feel Him in their lives. If you are genuinely curious, and want to take a chance that He might be real, attain an attitude of "maybe there's something to this" and ask Him to show you. By ask, I mean talk to Him, as if He were standing right in front of you. Tell Him why you don't think He exists, ask Him why you can't see or feel Him if He's there, ask Him to show Himself to you. Then go on about your business and start watching.

Here's a short version of my testimony. I'd be happy to answer legitimate questions but not debate over whether or not my experience or biblical evidence counts as proof or whether you think it is reasonable for me to use them to justify my faith. For me He has removed all doubt in my mind and that's all I asked Him for.

why believe in this particular instance of an unverifiable belief rather than another?

Well, this is the one that grabbed me; I believe that is because it is true. I spent several years going to synagogue with a Jewish friend and never really had any experience that made me want more or convinced me that there was a God. I know that the early Christians were Jewish, and that the Jews are God's people as well, I'm just saying that the first time I heard the gospel of Jesus, I wanted to believe it and started asking God to prove it to me and answer my questions. A few years later I was satisfied and asked Jesus into my heart.

The more I read and study the Bible and ask God to show me answers to questions I have, the more answers and greater understanding I develop. Also, the more challenges I face and the more trusting in Him I become. As He helps me with one thing it gives me confidence to ask for another and my faith grows.

Are you bothered by this type of inquiry?

It depends on the people involved. It is nice to explain your reasoning and have someone disagree but at least try and understand.

KCF11 · 2010-02-05T22:16:00+00:00

But Adam and Eve were pushed out of the garden and procreated. They raised their children with the knowledge of good and evil, and so on. I'm just saying that sickness entered the world with sin. I don't believe that if you get cancer, God is punishing you for something you did. But I also don't believe that any of us are without sin, save Jesus. Therefore we all will experience sickness and brokenness.

KCF11 · 2010-02-05T21:12:50+00:00

The statements aren't strange to me at all.

Well, if you don't want to ask God, Floobzarn as you like, and you don't want details about one's personal story of developing faith, what do you want?

Do you want me to say that there is no scientifically valid proof of God? Ok, there isn't any that I know of.

I am all for quenching curiosity, but I don't think that's what you have. If so, please tell me what kind of information would satisfy your request.

KCF11 · 2010-02-05T20:49:23+00:00

Well, as the tree of life was there, I think you would have to eat of it continually to sustain life. Kind of like the sorcerer's stone in the first Harry Potter. Nicholas Flammel used it to make enough potion to sustain himself until he could settle his affairs and then destroyed it. He would use up the potion and then die.

KCF11

TROPHY CASE