Tolle Lege - Take Up and Read!

We are closing in on the end of 2007. Most folks will look at the past year's events. Here's a look at the top five books (recommended by Kim Riddlebarger of White Horse Inn fame and found on The Riddleblog) :

1). Michael Horton's stellar Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ (Westminster John Knox). Michael's response to Wright, Dunn, and Sanders is outstanding. Click here: Amazon.com: Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ: Books: Michael Scott Horton

2). G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker). This is one of the most important reference books to come down the pike in years. I'm already finding it indispensible. Click here: Amazon.com: Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Books: G. K. Beale,D. A. Carson

3). Ken Samples' A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth Claims to the Worldview Test (Baker). Ken Samples is doing yeoman's work in making the critical philosophical and apologetic issues accessible to larger audiences. Ken's also a great writer. Click here: Amazon.com: A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test: Books: Kenneth Richard Sa

4). Dennis Johnson's Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures (P & R). This book should be read by every preacher as well as everyone who sits in a pew! How should ministers prepare to preach and what should God's people be looking for in a sermon? Click here: Amazon.com: Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures: Books: Dennis E. Johnson

5). Bruce Waltke's An Old Testament Theology (Zondervan). A great overview of redemptive-history during the Old Covenant era. Click here: Amazon.com: An Old Testament Theology: A Canonical and Thematic Approach: Books: Bruce K. Waltke,Charles Yu

I've read #3 on the list and it's good; a basic guide to worldview thinking, examines the a handful of worldview philosophies, and makes a case for the Christian worldview. I'm going to begin reading Michael Horton's Covenant and Salvation next.

Would you, could you, vote McCain?

John McCain's campaign has recently come back from the dead. His poll numbers in New Hampshire were up but I still have major issues with his soft on immigration (similar to the Huckabee and Giuliani 'immigration drag queens') or the 'I'm with Ted' stance, and the McCain-Feingold bill. Also, he looks pretty rough these days. Let's face it, a presidential candidate has to look good.

I’m certainly not looking forward to nine months of “well, he beats the alternative," but then again, it seems like we’re pretty much guaranteed that, no matter who wins the Republican nomination.

I agree with Thomas Sowell :

None of the candidates looks truly inspiring at this point. I wouldn’t buy a used car from most of them, nor a brand new car from some of them…

… John McCain seems to be having a little resurgence but it is hard to believe that Republicans are so desperate as to support a man who joined with far left Democrat Russ Feingold to restrict free speech in the name of “campaign finance reform” and with Ted Kennedy to sponsor a bill giving amnesty to illegal immigrants.

…This nation has come back from unpromising times before. Let’s hope that we have not already used up all our luck.

Where's Nixon when you need him?

The Best Christmas Movies Ever!

Not only do I like music...a lot...I love movies too...a lot. Here's my Christmas movie favorites:

1. A Christmas Story. This 1983 comedy celebrates the sort of Christmas a young boy may have had in the 1940s. Young Ralphie Parker wants only one thing: a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle. His parents don't want him to shoot his eye out and refuse to get it. Wacky hijinks ensue as Ralphie develops some very creative ploys to convince his mother and father that this is the only thing they should give him.

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas. In this half-hour Christmas special, Charlie Brown becomes the director of the school holiday pageant and goes out with Linus to buy an aluminum tree for the show. Instead, they bring back a forlorn real tree. Our hapless hero finds himself dismayed by the rampant commercialization of the holidays and searches for the true meaning of Christmas.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The original 1966 animated classic is the only version that does justice to Dr. Seuss. In it, the Grinch (a non-human Scrooge) tries to ruin Christmas for the Whos in Whoville by stealing their presents, trees, and holiday treats. Of course, the Grinch has a change of heart and finds love and friendship with the Whos.
4. Elf. As usual this year, Santa Claus is coming to town, but before he does, so is an innocent, six-foot three-inch tall, wide-eyed, loveable, pure-as-the-driven-snow Santa helper, whose gift is not a sleigh full of material goods but what people need even more this season: a dose of Christmas spirit. Elf delivers a fair amount of holiday cheer, along with a host of homages to tales from Christmas Past and a sack full of humor.
5. The Muppet Christmas Carol. The fourth feature film to star The Muppets, and the second produced after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. It is one of many film adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

There's many good Christmas movies: classics (It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street) or more recent (The Nativity Story). However, the aforementioned list are my favorites and movies I can watch repeatedly, throughout the year.

Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten!

Top 10 Christmas Albums

I'm a music aficionado. I like to listen to many different types of music (however, I'm still not into Rap) and I enjoy Christmas music; be it traditional Christian hymns, modern remakes of the classics, or contemporary "hits." Each year various artists put out their Christmas or 'Holiday' albums (I'm not sure they're marketing Festivus albums yet) for consumers. Sometimes these holiday albums become classics. One of the all time-sellers is "Elvis' Christmas Album" which of course includes "Blue Christmas". I've decided to post my top ten Christmas Albums (which I naturally believe are already or will become classics!). Here they are:

1. The Sinatra Christmas Album. See my earlier post on Ole Blue Eyes.
2. Elvis' Christmas Album.
3. The Ventures' Christmas Album. Killer "surf" guitar instrumentals.
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi.
5. Dig That Crazy Christmas by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Brian Setzer was the front man for the 80's band, The Stray Cats. The best song on the album is "Angles We Have Heard on High."
6. Christmas Caravan by Squirrel Nut Zippers.
7. Ultra-Lounge Presents Best of Christmas Cocktails. This is a compilation of Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Parts 1 and 2. Various artists (Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Wayne Newton, Lena Horne, et al.) sing Check out the entire Ultra-Lounge collection here.
8. WOW Christmas: 30 Top Christian Artists and Holiday Songs. The best songs are "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" performed by Jars of Clay and "Do You Hear What I Hear? performed by
Third Day.
9. Happy Holidays (A Very Special Christmas Album) by Billy Idol. Yes, the Billy Idol of the 80's who scored such hits as "White Wedding," "Rebel Yell," and 'Dancing With Myself."
10. Twisted Sister's Twisted Christmas. I admit, I was a little skeptical at first. I didn't like this particular "big hair" band back in the 80s and was sure I still wouldn't. However, one of my Warrant Officers brought this album into work to get the "young 'ens" into the Christmas spirit. We listened to the album for a good portion of the day as we worked. Needless to say, it was a hit. I liked the tunes; they were well done and fun. My favorites were "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas). Am I now a Twisted Sister fan? Not really. But I do dig the album.

Enjoy!

Mountains of Creation

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. - Psalm 19:1Credit: Lori Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) et al., JPL-Caltech, NASA

Explanation: This fantastic skyscape lies at the eastern edge of giant stellar nursery W5, about 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. An infrared view from the Spitzer Space Telescope, it features interstellar clouds of cold gas and dust sculpted by winds and radiation from a hot, massive star outside the picture (just above and to the right). Still swaddled within the cosmic clouds, newborn stars are revealed by Spitzer's penetrating gaze, their formation also triggered by the massive star. Fittingly dubbed "Mountains of Creation", these interstellar clouds are about 10 times the size of the analogous Pillars of Creation in M16, made famous in a 1995 Hubble Space Telescope view. W5 is also known as IC 1848 and together with IC 1805 it is part of a complex region popularly dubbed the Heart and Soul Nebulae. The Spitzer image spans about 70 light-years at the distance of W5.

I've got to get me a telescope...

The Dark Knight Returns - Summer 2008

The Dark Knight, a sequel to the 2005 release Batman Begins, which rebooted the Batman franchise after an eight-year hiatus, is scheduled for release Summer 2008. Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins, continues as the director of the sequel, which stars Christian Bale again as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker. The film follows Batman becoming more of a detective, dealing with the escalated situation from the end of Batman Begins as well as the dilemma of his vigilante crusade, and his friendship with district attorney Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart.

This movie looks promising as was Batman Begins. The new series is a return to the psychologically dark character of his original 1930s conception; the Joker is certainly psychotic and scary, which keeps in step with the comic books.

Batman and Gordon find alliance with a newly appointed DA Harvey Dent to stop a vicious killer with a warped sense of humor known only as The Joker, the epitome of evil and a threat to Gotham City.

So, pretend the previous Batman movies never happened and get on board with the new series. And don't forget to cast your vote for Harvey Dent, District Attorney.

G.I.'s Remember Battle of the Bulge

I'm a firm believer in capturing the histories of the men who served and fought in our nation's wars. I take every opportunity I get, to sit down and chat with my heroes; those who've gone before me, trailblazers if you will. I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of giants (they always thank me for my service, but it's I who need to thank them). These men (and women) have stories to tell and my generation needs to listen and take note of their 'oral histories.'
63 years ago, on 16 December 1944, began what the German's would call, 'Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein' (Operation Watch on the Rhein). The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 was a major German offensive on the Western Front. It was officially named the Battle of the Ardennes by the U.S. Army, but it is known to the general public simply as the Battle of the Bulge (Hollywood released a few movies about the battle: The 1949 Oscar winning film Battleground, starring Van Johnson, depicts the 101st Airborne’s defense of Bastogne; the 1956 film Attack!, starring Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, and Eddie Albert; and the 1965 film Battle of the Bulge, starring Robert Shaw and Henry Fonda. While filmed against sweeping vistas and with famous stars in the lead roles, the movie is notorious for countless major inaccuracies, yeah, like trying to fool us into thinking Sherman tanks are Panzer and Tiger tanks).

Wacht am Rhein was supported by subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Unternehmen Greif, and Unternehmen Währung. Germany’s planned goal for these operations was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp, Belgium, and then proceeding to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to settle for a negotiated peace more favorable to the Axis' Powers (read Nazi Germany).

By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes

European edition, Sunday, December 16, 2007

BASTOGNE, Belgium — He can close his eyes and recall it all, or at least as much as Frank Soboleski cares to these days.

At 83, in the twilight of his life, the World War II veteran prefers happy to haunting thoughts.

But standing in a field north of Bastogne, an area he hasn’t graced since 1944, Soboleski can lower the lids and still recall the foxhole he and Herb Suerth dug. Or the sight of a German tank cresting a hill. Or the call of a wounded man on a frigid night asking for a medic after a German artillery barrage.

“I’m not coming back,” says Soboleski, a veteran of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. His recollections of the Battle of the Bulge “are getting a little misty,” he says.

Soboleski was one of several veterans who returned to Belgium this weekend to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the largest land battle in Army history. They were joined by scores of U.S. servicemembers, hundreds of WWII re-enactors and thousands of regular citizens.

While the annual commemoration typically falls on a Saturday, with Sunday’s vehicle parade through Bastogne being the curtain call for WWII re-enactors, there is talk about extending it to three days next year. That’s because in recent years it has drawn more and more people.

I live about 3 hours from the battlefield and will visit it this upcoming year.

Ol' Blue Eyes Christmas

WASHINGTON - Ol' Blue Eyes will get his own postage stamp next spring. The stamp commemorating Frank Sinatra was announced Wednesday by Postmaster General John Potter, who called the crooner "an extraordinary entertainer whose life and work left an indelible impression on American culture." Fox News 12/5/07

Frank Sinatra received his first Academy Award in the mid-forties for singing, not acting, in a patriotic World War II short featuring the song "The House I Live In". Thirty years later, at a Nixon White House dinner in 1971, Sinatra performed the song accompanied by the Marine band. The performance so enchanted Nixon and the assembly gathered that the President asked him to sing it again as an encore. Sinatra spoke movingly of how, as a small boy, he never dreamed he would one day speak to a President, and sing in the White House. He choked up before regaining command of himself and began to sing once again.

"The house I live in,

a plot of earth, a tree,

the grocer and the butcher,

and the people that I see, ...

...That's America to me..."

This "voice" of 20^th century America was born in Hoboken, New Jersey this week (December 12^th) ninety two years ago. Frank Sinatra, the boy crooner, movie star, ridiculed has-been, swinging saloon singer, recording star, thug, philanthropist, friend of presidents and gangsters, has been gone for nine years now. His over-the-top life and legend has obscured his greatest gift. He was the best singer of the age. His peers never disputed it. Bennett, Como, Cole and Fitzgerald acknowledged it as a fact. Dean Martin, his pal, gave him a characteristic backhanded compliment, " I hate guys who sing serious." And Bing Crosby, no slacker in the singing department himself, said, "A talent like Sinatra's comes along once in a lifetime. Why did it have to be my lifetime?"

Although he could wow the crowds in live performances with chaotic scenes rivaling the likes of Elvis and the Beatles, Sinatra at his best and most lasting is the Sinatra of the recording studio. Musicians, without exception, speak with awe of the artistry and essential musicianship of Sinatra at work. His voice was respected as a unique instrument played with the utmost skill and thoughtfulness. His legendary concept LP's from the fifties were symphonic in conception. Songs were handpicked from the best the American music songbook had to offer. And his taste was impeccable.

New Sinatra fans (or ones who've enjoyed his crooning for some time) will surely enjoy his Christmas music. I'd recommend adopting a seasonal mood and get out the Sinatra Christmas Album.


Listen to the Gordon Jenkins arrangement of The First Noel. Sense and feel the Sinatra magic. Hear the beginning of Sammy Cahn's Christmas Waltz, "Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside..." with the almost imperceptible hesitating accent on the word "inside" and appreciate what a truly great vocalist can impart to a song. Swing with the playful and surely only, grown-up, version of Jingle Bells. And enjoy and appreciate the unique artistry of one of America's greatest musical talents.

Blood, terror and vampires on the Eastern Front

I'll admit it; I love to read, and I love to read all sorts of stuff. Moreover, my job forces me to read (good job huh?). I'll even read two to three books at a time (usually, different genres too) and most of the time I carry a book around wherever I go, taking every opportunity to read a page or two. My lovely wife often refers to books as my "security blanket". But if I could name one particular area or subject I like to read about, I'd say World War II, specifically anything that has to do with the Eastern Front. I consider myself a 'specialist' when it comes to talking campaigns, operations, order of battle, and anything Wermacht or Waffen SS. So, when I stumbled upon Fiends of the Eastern Front at my local book store, I naturally took an interest. I quickly found out I was in for a surprise.

Imagine reading: World War II. The armies of Germany are rampaging across Europe and the Allies are struggling to hold them back. From the Russian front in 1941, through the Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg now) in 1942 to the bloody climax in Berlin, 1945. The war on the Eastern Front was truly 'when titans clashed.' The large amounts of manpower and resources expended during this epic struggle are mind numbing.

The book is filled with detailed, and historically accurate military action. But with a twist...the mighty German armed forces must not only fight a formidable foe in the Red Army, but deadly vampires, not just for their own survival but for the future of all mankind!

Fiends of the Eastern Front is the collected edition of David Bishop's World War Two magnum opus (Operation Vampyr, The Blood Red Army, Twilight of the Dead). You see Lord Constanta and his Romanian soldiers (from Transylvania of course) direct his vampire cadre to influence the outcome of the war with unholy terror. This fun read mixes the gritty realism of war, rich military detail and alternate history.

All right Kameraden load your mausers with garlic laced bullets! Yes, I am an uber-geek.

Liberty's Pioneer

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, individual freedom, either political or religious, was virtually unknown. Geneva was a good example. Before the city council had disestablished Roman Catholicism, the Church ruled the State through the Roman Catholic bishop. Afterwards, the State ruled the Church through the council. When John Calvin arrived at Geneva in August 1536, he was confronted with this unbiblical approach to government. Calvin's goal was to establish a Church governmentally independent of the council while assuring that the council would not be independent of God's law as it pertained to its civil jurisdiction. His tool in accomplishing this difficult task was the Word of God. He preached and lectured from the Bible every day. He knew that when changes came they would come from the bottom up--from the people who desired a true Reformation without revolution. Calvin drew a clear line of distinction between the civil magistrate, whose authority was confined to civil matters, and the elders of churches, whose authority was confined to ecclesiastical matters. He established in Geneva the biblical idea of the jurisdictional separation between Church and State. Contrary to popular opinion, Calvin did not set up a system of government in which the clergy dominated the city council. He was not even a citizen of Geneva until 1559, and he appeared before the council when he was called on to offer his opinions on theological issues. He never occupied a political or civil office in Geneva.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Today, 66 years ago the attack on Pearl Harbor began the U.S. Armed Forces involvement in World War II.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, planes and midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy began a surprise attack on the U.S. under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. At 6:09 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 181 planes composed mainly of torpedo bombers, dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. The Japanese hit American ships and military installations at 7:55 a.m. They attacked military airfields and at the same time they hit the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship "USS Arizona" was hit with an armor piercing bomb which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart. Overall, twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific fleet were damaged and the death toll reached 2,350, along with 68 civilians and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Dec. 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy."

My Great Uncle, Thomas "Oakey" served in the Pacific Theater as a Forward Observer for the Army Air Corps. He was later injured at the Battle of Leyete Gulf, when the transport he was on was sunk. I had a few opportunities to listen to his stories and they were always fascinating. He has since passed but his stories and experiences remain.

I have had the opportunity to spend much time in Japan, specifically, on the southern island of Kyushu. My buddies and I 'cruised' the streets of Kumamoto getting to know the locals. I even got to train (and perhaps coach and mentor) soldiers from the Japanese Ground Defense Forces Western Army. The Japanese people I encountered were hospitable. I certainly love Japan and the Japanese people.

I am not real sure how my Great Uncle Oakey felt about his former enemy. As for me, they are my allies and friends. I want to remember and honor the soldiers, airmen, and marines who served and fought against each other 66 years ago. May we never forget where we've been; let's continue to look to the future in friendship and camaraderie.

The Black Regiment

The clergy helped lead the resistance and independence movement in America. They were often described as the “black regiment” because of the black robes they wore while preaching. Before marching off to join Washington’s army, Lutheran pastor John Muhlenberg delivered a powerful sermon from Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 that concluded with these words:

The Bible tells us there is a time for all things and there is a time to preach and a time to pray but the time for me to preach has passed away, and there is a time to fight, and that time has come now. Now is the time to fight! Call for recruits! Sound the drums!

Then Muhlenberg took off his clerical robe to reveal the uniform of a Virginia colonel. Grabbing his musket from behind the pulpit, he donned his colonel’s hat and marched off to war.

There is a war going on in America today. It has not come to the force of arms, but it is a war nonetheless. Pastors should thunder from the pulpits where the battles are waging, and what we can do to engage in the fight.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Motivational Santa

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and he lives in the North Pole in a van down by the river.

Stonewall on Prayer

Stonewall Jackson — his very name evokes the image of the solid, immovable Confederate general whose sobriquet, earned at the Battle of 1st Manassas, no longer requires quotation marks. His pious Christian character, service to the church, unwavering commitment to duty, affectionate role as husband and father, as well as his magnificent service to Virginia were carefully recorded by his close friend Robert Lewis Dabney. Labeled by some a religious fanatic, General Jackson was simply a consistent biblical Christian who lived out his faith every day, seriously and without compromise. The battle accounts in The Life and Campaigns of Stonewall Jackson resonate with the first-hand knowledge of a man who has seen the face of battle, as Major Dabney often did as General Jackson’s adjutant in the Valley Campaign. His account of military life in the field with General Jackson provides poignant insight into the character of the General as they discuss theology and military history, pray together, and gallop to the sound of the guns. Jackson’s theology was supremely orthodox, being rooted in the biblical tradition of Knox, Calvin, and Edwards.

Dabney writes of Jackson (pg. 106-107), “Devotion was the very breath of his soul. Once only was he led to make a revelation of these constant aspirations, to a Christian associate peculiarly near to him; and his description of his intercourse with God was too beautiful and characteristic to be suppressed. This friend expressed to him some embarrassment in comprehending literally the precept to “pray always,” and to “pray without ceasing,” and asked his help in construing it. He replied that obedience ought not to be impracticable for the child of God. “But how,” said the other, “can one always be praying?” He answered that if it might be permitted to him, without suspicion of religious display, he would explain by describing his own habits. He then proceeded, with several parentheses, deprecating earnestly the charge of egotism, to say that, besides the stated daily sessions of secret and social prayer, he had long cultivated the habit of connecting the most trivial and customary acts of life with silent prayer. “When we take our meals,” said he, “there is the grace. When I take a draught of water, I always pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Whenever I drop a letter into the box at the post-office, I send a petition along with it, for God’s blessing upon its mission and upon the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to pray to God that he may prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go to my class-room, and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so of every other familiar act of the day.” ‘But,” said his friend, “do you not often forget these seasons, coming so frequently?” “No,” said he, “I have made the practice habitual to me; and I can no more forget it, than forget to drink when I am thirsty.” He added that the usage had become as delightful to him as it was regular.”

Stonewall's gallant deeds, virtuous conduct, and fervent prayer still move our hearts with admiration. He shows us how a Christian soldier should live and die.

The Christology of Chalcedon

Today we begin the Advent or the coming of Christ to Earth. I wanted to begin our family celebration by looking at the Chalcedonian Creed, talking about Christ's nature, and the importance of the incarnation. This creed was adopted at the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held at Chalcedon, located in what is now Turkey, in 451, as a response to certain heretical views concerning the nature of Christ. It established the orthodox view that Christ has two natures (human and divine) that are unified in one person. As the church grew, heresies also grew, and the early Christians needed to clarify the defining boundaries of the faith.

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

The Incarnation lies at the heart of the gospel. Any attempt to redefine it is an attempt to replace Christianity with another religion and Jesus with another Christ. For if Jesus Christ is not truly human, then we have in Him no Mediator or Substitute. If He is not a divine Person, then His death was mere martyrdom and no help or value to us who stand in need of atonement. In either case, His salvation is inadequate. We must find another Savior, one more relevant and useful. If Jesus Christ is a man who became God, then other men can become God. Salvation becomes a matter of works, of moral effort or magical manipulation, and its goal is deification. If Christ's two natures are confused or if one is absorbed into the other, then there is no final distinction between Creator and creature. Satan was right: God is fundamentally no different from man, and we are all potentially or actually divine. "Who will play God?" becomes a legitimate question.

The Christology of Chalcedon recognizes an infinite gulf between the being of God and that of His creatures. Man cannot become God; God became a man exactly once, and even there, in the Person of Christ, there is no mixture or confusion of being. Deity remains deity; humanity remains humanity. The political and sociological implications of this doctrine are profound.

Chalcedon leaves no room for private or collective mysticism. Put simply, no man, group of men, or human institution can become God or act with divine sovereignty. None of us is God. None of us will become God. Our thoughts, actions, and feelings will never be anything more than human. Salvation is not deification, but the restoration of man to his proper role within creation. Jesus Christ alone is the Son of God; He alone has all power in heaven and earth. All human authority is, therefore, necessarily derivative, limited, and under law. Chalcedon is thus crucial to constitutional, decentralized government and to Western liberty.

Furthermore, the Incarnation means a good creation. The Son of God took to Himself a body "and was united with the Dust and made it glorious forever." He did not abhor the Virgin's womb, nor does He abhor our humanity, our creatureliness. Whereas every other religion tries to rescue man from creation and history, Biblical Christianity says that God came into His creation and united Himself with it forever.

The Formula of Chalcedon answers the mysticism and pietism that is so prevalent in the modern church. It answers statism and political liberalism. It points us to one Savior, one Lord, and bids us place all our confidence in Him.

R.I.P., King of the Daredevils

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over crazy obstacles including Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.

Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.

Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.

Longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundel said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Clearwater condominium and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital.

"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" Rundel said.

Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.

Though Knievel dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, the image of the high-flying motorcyclist clad in patriotic, star-studded colors was never erased from public consciousness. He always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.

I enjoyed watching Evel Knievel perform his death defying stunts during TV specials in the 70s. My buddies and I would even tool around on our bicycles pretending we were a gang of stunt bike riders (my short lived gig was crashing my bike into my family's backyard fence). My buddies and I even had our own Evel Knievel action figures (they weren't dolls, you know) with wind-up motorcycles and had them reenact his stunts. Knievel toys accounted for more than $300 million in sales in the 1970s and 80s. Of course, my Evel Knievel action figure "retired" way before the real Daredevil retired.

"No king or prince has lived a better life," he said in a May 2006 interview with The Associated Press. "You're looking at a guy who's really done it all. And there are things I wish I had done better, not only for me but for the ones I loved."

R.I.P., King of the Daredevils.

Hunters Are Misunderstood Environmentalists

I consider myself an average hunter, who doesn't get to hunt too often. I've actually taken a liking to pheasant hunting, however; I grew up bow hunting White tail deer in the Rocky Mountains. Every year I'd go hunting with my dad, uncles, cousins, and other kinfolk. Admittedly, none of us were really good but there was plenty of good fellowship.

I miss those days. Our entire hunting trips had all the planning of a big-time military operation, all the equipment to go with it (I'll never forget the pain that goes into setting up a General Purpose Medium Tent) and I'll never forget my Uncle Dan (Linus), who would leave at before morning nautical twilight (BMNT) and return just after early evening nautical twilight (EENT), and always return empty handed. We affectionately referred to his expeditions as 'Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin.' We all were a motley crew, a modern day Rat Patrol. Good times.

My pastors, who live in Olathe, Kansas and hunt in Kansas and Missouri, are big time bow hunters, and from what I can gather, are pretty good. They recently each got their bucks this past hunting season. They too share a camaraderie that is often found among hunters.

Recently another Politically Incorrect Guide has come out. This one is a guide to hunting. I haven't read the book but suspect that it'll be pretty good. I own a few of the guides and enjoy referring back to them every now and then. This one is written by Frank Miniter, a senior editor at Outdoor Life magazine and executive editor of American Hunter magazine. In an interview Mr. Miniter states,

"After more than a decade of researching and writing about hunting for Outdoor Life magazine, where I was a senior editor, and currently for American Hunter magazine, I've found that hunters are unheralded, misunderstood environmentalists. It was time for someone to journalistically find out what hunting does for wildlife, our ecosystems, and us. That is what I set out to do with The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting."

I am convinced that the "Rat Patrol" and Pastors Tony and Nathan are unheralded, misunderstood environmentalists.

No duh. And no D.

CHICAGO — There's no defense for how the Broncos allowed arrogance to dissolve into panic during the monumental collapse of a 37-34 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears.

"Being the football team that we hope we are, you've got to put those games away," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said Sunday.

No kidding. The Broncs are famous or infamous for letting go of comfortable lead.

In the third quarter, Devin Hester leaps over Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun, who said earlier in the week that he wasn't afraid of Hester and would kick to him…

"That field is slippery as hell and you give (Hester) that much room in between us and I don't really have a chance," Sauerbrun said of Hester's 75-yard score. "You've just got to poke and hope."

Sauerbrun paused for a moment to reflect on the statement.

"Mostly hope," he said.

I'm afraid if the Broncos are sitting out of the postseason in six weeks, pondering how they lost their way in a bumbling AFC West, they can look back and find symbolism in Sauerbrun's face-plant into the Soldier Field grass.

I Think, Therefore I am (Cogito, ergo sum) or "I know you are but what am I"

Have you ever taken a formal logic class in the past? To be honest, I’ve never taken a formal philosophy, critical thinking, or logic class until recently. It was worth it as I improved my critical thinking skills. I found learning and identifying logical fallacies to be interesting and fun.

Everyone who has taken beginner's logic knows the old school fallacies - Non sequitur, Ad hoc post proctor ergo hoc; and in English: Appeal to Emotion/Fear, Begging the Question, Red Hearing, Slippery Slope, Straw Man, etc. Knowing the names of logical fallacies seems to make us smarter, however; knowing them in Latin, no doubt makes us seem brilliant and sparkles up our repartee.

It's not too hard to find examples of logical fallacies as impassioned people debate the hot issues: Iraq War, abortion, stem cell research, evolution, and intelligent design. I' ll have to take a closer look at the presidential candidates' debates. Anyway, I will periodically post recent examples of logical fallacies as I find them. If anything, it will help improve my critical thinking skills by learning, identifying, and avoiding the logical fallacy trap(s) that folks can fall into as they argue a position.

In the mean time here are a few new logical fallacies I came across. Learn these nifty phrases and start deploying them in all kinds of mundane household discussions; use them on your friends and family:

1) Plurium Stupidium: Fallacy of Much Stupidity. Consists of several stupid comments improperly grouped into one. Often, a single refutation is expected against all the nonsense.

Examples:

"Gas prices are so low today that I think I'll fill every container in my house to make my own strategic oil reserve by stockpiling all the gas in that nook next to the fireplace."

"We should let women rule the world because they drive cars better."

2) Petitio Kapowio: Fallacy of Begging to get Socked in the Nose. Consists of defending a position in a really irritating way, such that the opponent has no choice but to point out the logical error in a very physical and satisfying fashion.

Examples:

"Bring it, punk."

"Well, I'm right, and that's just how it is."

"Why are you REALLY arguing with me? Is it because you're scared?"

3) Consensus Minoritum: Appeal to Minority. The inverse of Appeal to the People (Argumentum ad Populum). Consists of an argument supported by its own lack of support.

Examples:

"That's what they all say. I can't believe you fell for it, too."

"The court ruled 8-1. The dissenting opinion, however, has some very choice arguments in support of my position."

4) Argumentum Dementum: Fallacy of Arguing from a Position or State of Dementia. Consists of arguments which accidentally make no sense and are not the fault of the arguments themselves. Argumentum Dementum is a very hard fallacy to spot.

Examples:

Major Premise: All cats are animals.
Minor Premise: Ginger is an animal.
Conclusion: Teeheehee!

"Due to my incredible good looks, remarkable intelligence, contagious charisma, discriminating good taste, and skill with a joystick, I will take over the world at this time tomorrow, and anyone who wants to stop me can ... teeheehee!"

A = B
B = C
Therefore, A = Teeheehee!

5) Refutatum ad Mortem: Fallacy of Arguing a Point to the Death. Consists of an argument issued from the mouth of one who has been arguing so long he no longer knows what he is saying.

Examples:

"I'm not sure what you just said because my ears are ringing so loud from all the caffeine, but I'm sure it's wrong."

"Just oooooooooooooooooooone more jelly donut. Then I'll stop. This time I mean it. I'm really going to stop."

"Medicare, Medicaid, and the environment ... Medicare, Medicaid, and the environment ... Medicare, Medicaid, and the environment ..."

6) Argumentum ad Baculum Squidium Magnus: Fallacy of Fear of Giant Squid. Consists of an emotional appeal involving a giant squid; this fallacy typically involves said squid falling from the sky. Also known as Secundum Squid.

Examples:

"I would love to get a driver's license, but I don't want to risk having a giant squid fall on me in the middle of the test."

"You're so obsessed with people starving in Africa. What about those poor people in Kansas City? Why, a giant squid could gobble them up at any moment!"

A Thanksgiving Lesson from King Lear

Gratitude is a noble virtue; you have to respect yourself to be grateful to others. Only those who feel blessed can be filled with gratitude. It is a kind of courtesy of the heart.

William Shakespeare's most agonized play, King Lear, grapples with the ingratitude of Lear's daughters toward their royal father. It is an extended contemplation of the Elizabethan virtues of thankfulness and loyalty; and what happens when those virtues are lost. King Lear is betrayed by the older two daughters, who flatter his vanity, while misunderstanding the honest love of his youngest daughter Claudia. Lear is an object lesson in the debts we owe our loved ones.

The duty to "honor one's father and mother" was taken for granted for most of written history. It precedes the prohibition against murder, theft and adultery in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21).

As Shakespeare's aged King Lear is forced to wander over the stormy heath with only his trusted Fool for company, he cries out,

... filial ingratitude!

Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand

For lifting food to it? ...

Ingratitude is a revolt in the body of the family, as if the mouth bites the hand that feeds it.

No, I will weep no more. In such a night

To shut me out! Pour on! I will endure.

In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril!

Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all,-

O, that way madness lies; let me shun that;

No more of that.

Act 3, sc. 4, l. 11-4.

I don't want to take for granite my familial ties. I'm especially thankful for all that my mother and father have done for me the past 36+ years and continue to do!

Broncos Have Much to be Thankful for

DENVER — The last time a group was this thankful in late November, an all-you-can-eat turkey-and-dressing buffet broke out.

Give thanks. And pass the gravy, please.

Jay Cutler threw touchdown passes of 41 and 48 yards and little-known Glenn Martinez and Andre Hall added to Denver's slew of big scoring plays Monday night in a 34-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The Broncos set a franchise record with four touchdowns of longer than 40 yards.

Yes, they're 5-5, and having a rough season; but who isn't in the AFC West. The Broncs are now tied for first place along side the San Diego Chargers. Things are still looking up for them, and the remaining schedule is not too difficult. However, the mother of all games at this point seems to be pointing towards San Diego on Christmas Eve. Spike my eggnog with a little bit of 'orange crush!'

Today In History - One of the Worst Cars of All Time

The Important Stuff:

Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on 19 November 1959. However, cars continued being produced until late in November, with the final tally at 2,846 1960 models.

On Friday, November 20, United Press International's (UPI) wire service reported that book values for used Edsels had decreased by as much as $400 [approximately $2800 in 2006 dollars] (based on condition and age) immediately following the Ford press release. In some newspaper markets, dealers scrambled to renegotiate newspaper advertising contracts involving the 1960 Edsel models, while others dropped the name from their dealership's advertising "slugs." Ford issued a statement that it would distribute coupons to consumers who purchased 1960 models (and carryover 1959 models) prior to the announcement, valued at $300 to $400 towards the purchase of new Ford products to offset the decreased values. The company also issued credits to dealers for stock unsold or received, following the announcement.

There is no single reason why the Edsel failed, and failed so spectacularly. Popular culture often faults the car’s styling. Consumer Reports cited poor workmanship. Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of corporate America’s failure to understand the nature of the American consumer. Business analysts cite the weak internal support for the product inside Ford’s executive offices.

Some historians claim the Edsel was 'the wrong car at the wrong time.' So, if there are any Edsel owners out there, I will gladly 'relieve' you of your poor investment at little or no cost.