I smell a different agenda

Who thinks these guys are not just gay? It would not surprise me if they were objectors as well, but who am I to judge? Me thinks if they REALLY wanted to be in the military and go fight in war, they would have done so already.

The military should not be used for political statements.

Update: Well, it looks like these guys were able to fill out the forms. Good for them. Hope they serve and do so with honor. My guess is the trespassing charges have to do with their protest at Liberty University. Tried to find that link, but it's in the archives now, and I'm feeling lazy today.

About "The DaVinci Code"

Fiction, in my opinion, is for entertainment. Though it is useful for spreading truth, a message is not necessarily the purpose of fiction. I suppose that someday I will read “The DaVinci Code,” and will likely watch the movie; it will be for entertainment sake rather then for theological insight.

I consume a lot of heresy. I guess I am grounded enough in my faith to realize when something is completely out of line. However, one area I am not grounded in is how to argue against heresy in a logical line using fundamental truths of my Christian faith. The denomination I grew up in would say, “Well, the Bible doesn’t SAY Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene; therefore he wasn’t.” Unfortunately, the quick and easy argument against that statement is, “Well, it doesn’t SAY he wasn’t, either.”

I was listening to Relevant Radio a couple of weeks ago, and was given a foundational argument why Jesus could not have been married to Mary. I was in my car, so I wasn’t able to write it down, and I may have some holes in it, however, it is the manner in which I wish to eventually be able to defend my faith.

It is a foundational truth of the Christian faith that Jesus is truly and fully divine. Because he is divine, he must make covenants in the same manner God does; for he and the father are one (John 1). How does God make covenants with man? The covenant with Noah was a family covenant. The covenant with Abraham was a tribal covenant. The covenants with Moses and David were national covenants. And the covenant of the forgiveness of sins is a universal covenant. The point is, God makes covenants with people plural not singular, for the good of man plural not singular.

Marriage, in the Christian and Jewish faiths, is a covenant relationship in which people are joined together by God. It is the Judeo-Christian understanding of this covenant relationship that the couple is joined together to be one flesh, giving up ones own needs, desires, ambitions, etc., for that of the spouse and the couple.

Jesus, in his divine nature, which cannot be separated from his human nature, is incapable of making such an earthly marriage covenant, for it would be in conflict with the covenant of the forgiveness of sins.

How would an earthly marriage covenant be in conflict with the covenant of the forgiveness of sins? Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead is an action in which he gives up his own self for the needs of the world, the need of salvation from sin. Those who repent of their sins and live a life in obedience to God are called by scripture the bride of Christ. As the bride of Christ, we are also joined in one flesh with Him through Holy Communion. Jesus could not keep both covenants, an earthly marriage with Mary and the spiritual needs of mankind at the same time. In the culture of the day when Jesus lived on Earth, becoming the sacrifice for our sins would be in direct conflict with the needs of Mary as his wife, who would need him to be alive and providing for her in a material fashion.

Though the Bible does not explicitly say, “Mary Magdalene and Jesus were not married,” it does lay the foundational theology why they could not be married. This theology is foreign to the nature of man. It is preached in our culture that we should not give up our fleshly desires for righteousness sake but we should fulfill them and be true to ourselves. In a culture that worships fleshly desires as we do, it should not be surprising that we separate the divine Jesus from Jesus the man.

From “America, the Beautiful”

“O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. Who more than self the country lovedAnd mercy more than life! America! America!May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine!”

By Katherine Lee Bates

Happy Memorial Day.

I especially remember, today, those in this new generation of Americans who lost their lives in service to their country.

See ya later alligator!

I heard this on Fox News last night. Too bad she didn’t get to keep it to make a matching purse/shoes set… I mean, what good is it to get a warning against hunting alligator without a license if you can’t keep a trophy?

Special to Josh

Happy Anniversary, my love, my husband, my friend.

I love you more then I can say and I am very proud of what you are doing.

I wish you were here, but I understand why you're not.

Your adoring wife!

PS to my other readers, yeah, I know, central time it isn't the day yet, but in two hours or so it will be where Josh is.

Update: Josh even sent me 2 dozen roses! Awwwww! Thanks honey! They are so beautiful!

Anyone with info?

Has anyone ever heard of or used this: Skype?

Is it easy? Know any service member who uses it? Is it worth it?

A little help...

The stranger on the plane said it worked well from Europe to the states, but didn't know about from the Middle East; and I'm generally not one to completely trust strangers on a plane, but I'm always looking for cheap ways for Josh to call.

And whom shall we fear?

We’re studying I Peter at church during adult Bible hour. I Peter is, for the most part, about persecution of believers. And here is the irony of the American Conservative Evangelical thought: we fear Iran that can nuke us to our death and we do not fear God who can damn us to Hell.

Despots are going to have weapons of mass destruction from now until kingdom come, and there is little to nothing we can do about it. There is nothing new under the sun. We should certainly defend ourselves and we should certainly defend Israel, but our, not speaking America’s, rather, Conservative Evangelicals, priorities are completely out of order.

I recently received a letter asking for money from a Conservative Evangelical organization. And, again, this is nothing new, but it was so I could contribute to the legal fund of the head of the organization so he could sue liberals who are slandering him. HELLO? Why should I be contributing to this fund when there are Christians, this day, suffering and dying for the sake of the gospel and this man cannot take words?

And this election year, it’s the election that is either going to damn us to hell or raise us to heaven, if you were to listen to the pundits. Why should we fear those of opposing political beliefs when our own priorities are screwed up? What can those who oppose us do to us that has not been done or is not being done?

Certainly, we must be aware and active citizens. At the same time, we fear those who can damn us to totalitarian states when we should really fear God who can damn our eternal souls. Before our party conventions, before our primaries, before our election, we must first humble ourselves before Almighty God and get our priorities in order. This election is no more or less important then previous elections.

And the Fat Lady Sang

No seriously, she did. At the end. It was great! Not a lot happened the first half, according to Mom. (Why must people call during the last episode of 7th Heaven?)
Mary did appear and was redeemed by the writers, or rather, the writers redeemed themselves. Matt and Sarah are graduating from med school and are having twins. Mary and Carlos are back together and are having twins. Lucy and Kevin are having twins. Ruthie has a new boyfriend, the twins got their permanent marker mustaches removed, and Simon and Rose….

Did NOT get married.

Oh, and Mary is going to graduate from college.

It ended in true 7th Heaven of old fashion. The writers sure did it up right. If only they had written this way for the past two years, the show would have continued onto the new UPN/WB combo network.

I will truly miss these family dramas. I never really got into Gilmore Girls or Everwood. But 7th Heaven was above and beyond that. Correct me if I’m wrong ladies and gentlemen, but this is also the end to another era… this and Charmed are the only Aaron Spelling shows on their first run, and Charmed is ending too. Will Aaron Spelling get out something new, or has his “Dynasty” (apologies to HermionyGonzo, and the pun was intended) ended? One never knows.

But, the fat lady sang.

Blonde moment of the week

“Don’t you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty?” It’s one of the best lines from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Certainly, marriage is not an economic transaction. There is a bit more involved then that. However, older rich men tend to marry younger pretty women.

It is a sad state of affairs, however, when an 89 year old man, who happens to be a billionaire, marries a 26 year old woman, who happens to be a stripper. First off, where was his son to prevent such action? Obviously not caring what his elderly father is doing, and certainly not spending enough time with him to know of his desire for companionship.

And so, what do we get twelve years later? A son who wishes he hired a prostitute for his old man and a woman who still doesn’t have “her share” of her late husband’s estate.

There is way too much here to talk about, so I will keep it to this: It is very obvious why J. Howard Marshall married Anna-Nicole Smith, and vice versa. And, I can’t help but think if Pierce Marshall had been a bit more attentive to his father that this would not have happened.

Certainly, Ms. Smith should not have preyed upon the senior Mr. Marshall. But, the senior Mr. Marshall must have known what he was getting into. And perhaps, Ms. Smith is the smartest of the bunch. Settle out of court Mr. Marshall junior. She’s made enough of a fool of you. And if you have children, let this be a lesson to them.

Beating "the system"

I'm trying to beat the system again. I had my GRE scores sent to St. Cloud. I've had my personal hard copy for three weeks now, so I have assumed that the scores made it safely. No such luck. And I had to pay to have them re-sent. I did e-mail the chairman of the graduate program, though, to explain that ETS said they sent my score in and St. Cloud says that they didn't receive it. Oh, well. Things never go as smoothly as one would hope. Shame. I did well, too.

Just one more

If you’re keeping track of the last two episodes, I bet it’s a boy; Lucy and Kevin’s that is. Not sure what the deal is with Rose and Simon, but I’ll bet they get married. Unless she’s still in love with what’s his name. And Matt AND Mary will be there! Ha! Good deal. I’m especially glad that Jessica Biel will be on the last show. That is classy of her.

So, how many of us are going to watch the last episode? And, the question of all questions, how many of us will fess up to our husbands? Of course, that’s not really an issue for me. First of all, Josh reads my blog. Second, he’s in Iraq, so what does he care what I watch anyway?

And next week will end my primetime family drama. Sigh.