I got to thinking about Al Gore and Global Warming, because of Bri's post "the importance of critical reading" (I don't know why Gore popped into my head, maybe because of the Nobel Peace Prize). I decided to check out what Gore preached and how he lived. I ran upon this article about his electric and gas bill for his home. For the most part, it's simple. You can run out phrases about "Carbon Footprints" all day long and it's still hugely wasteful. You can use double talk, stretch the truth, flat out lie, throw out statistics, twist numbers, and fall to the floor crying "I'm being picked on by conservatives" all you want: but it is what it is. It's bullshit.
I truely love it when someone tells me to live a certain lifestyle but they can't follow their own bullshit sermon. His one year electricity consumption is probably 20-25 years for my family. And his natural gas bill is crazy. This is Tennessee. It's not Maine. A gas bill like that along with his electric consumption, is Hypocritical BULLSHIT!
See I do think there needs to be major changes to the way we live on this planet. But I truely believe that we need to be led by example. There is NO EXCUSE for this and I can't believe that anyone would excuse his lifestyle. See if the people crying "change" are part of the problem, then who can you trust? It's just typical political crap. It's crazy for someone who is living a life of excess to tell me to conserve. And he talks a real good game for someone who's "Carbon Footprint" is that of 100+ people (I don't care how many solar panels they have, how many energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs they use, if they cut their air travel down to 3 trips a week, if they only allow one SUV full of guards to follow them, if they only heat their pool to 78 degrees, only cool their house to 68 degrees, only heat their house to 78 degrees, etc).
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
New Evangelical
I heard about the New Evangelical Churches that are starting up around the country. For the most part, they sound good. But the one that was on the news was in like South Carolina or North Carolina. In Mississippi it's tougher to start things like that, especially in the Northern Part. There's still churches that use snakes around here. It's major Baptist around this part of the world. But that church sounded good. They place more on the positive aspects of being Christian and leave the name calling to the more restrictive Churches. I kinda liked what I saw and I wouldn't be against going to one of those churches. But I really have to wonder how long it will be before it changes? Once it has a building full of people, will the church still be this way or will it change? For the most part, the people who attend this is young. The preacher was young. When they get to be middle aged, will they still be like that or will they start with the "Fire and Damnation" stuff? Will they start picking groups to terrorize and demonize? Will they still be preaching love of fellow man or will it be more like the repressive judgemental religions we have now? I'm sceptical.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Ben Stein
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees; Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of the year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we shoulc worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worshop God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"
In light of recent events...terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc., I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mails and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely throught cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it...no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
Amen
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees; Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of the year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we shoulc worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worshop God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"
In light of recent events...terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc., I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mails and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely throught cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it...no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
Amen
Someone emailed this to me and I just don't know what to make of it. It's angled to get a certain response from whoever reads it. There's alot that I agree with but it's just a one-sided view from the religious view. It's just as easy to justification be against Christmas or anything religious. But it's too easy to say I agree or I disagree when religion is the topic. For the most part, there's too little tolerance involved in any discussion of religion, mine included. Tolerance isn't a popular thing with religious groups and non-religious groups alike.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
