Moving

I'll be changing apartments soon. Blogging may be lighter than usual for the next week or so while I pack up and then settle back in. Just thought you might want to know.

Inclusiveness

Christian Inclusiveness is the topic of a series by Mark Roberts. I'm putting him on my blogroll so I can hopefully keep track of it.

Yglesias bashed AWB

Matthew Yglesias supports the death of the AWB. He actually has a fairly good line of reasoning on why it was a very poor law in the first place.

He reasons that Gun Control is only important as it relates to Crime Control. Since assault weapons are rarely used in crime, this link is especially weak. Additionally, the policy is so poorly written and handled that it seriously undermines trust between even non-activist gun owners and gun control advocates. Essentially the law gave strong credence to the slippery slope, comprehensive ban argument. Also attempts to improve it would only strengthen this argument because of the bans arbitrary design. I think he's right about both of these incidentally.

He then goes off on partisan rants about how Bush is evil and a liar. Where are the WMDs? Where are the WMDs? Oh well. At least he has done something worth reading. That puts him ahead of Atrios.

Sword Time

I own a sword. Its a nice one, an Angus Trim 1518 Longsword. Mine has blued fittings and an oxblood grip.

Usually my brother and I go shooting on Sundays, but today we did something different. We flipped over an empty trash can in the back yard and "recycled" some 2 liter plastic bottles. The first step in the process was hitting them with 32 inches of tempered steel of course. If we thought we could get away with it, we hit them twice. After we had reduced them to the smallest possible component parts we could, they went into the recycling bin. See real recycling goes into it somewhere... Good stewardship of earth's resources and all.

It is incredibly fun. You really must try it some time. I plan to bring my sword and a stand to my next church picnic.

AWB Correction

The Volokh Conspiracy and others are reporting that the Chicago Sun-Times has retracted their "assault weapons=machine guns" assertion two days early. Read my previous post for why this is a good thing.

Update: Did you know the AWB expired this morning at 12:01 AM? Well it did! Woo hoo! Assault Weapons for honest citizens again! Time to start planning that AR-15 M4orgery I want. I hear Rock River Arms does good work.

9-11

Well I spent the 3rd anniversary of September 11th doing exactly what I should have done. I slept in, watched some Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center on the History Channel, and then went to see Resident Evil: Apocalypse at my local Googleplex. At night I watched some cartoons and talked with the woman I love for a couple hours.

In short I got on with my life. I remember what happened 3 years ago today and I will not forget. But that governs how I act every day. Today was nothing special.

Residental Evil was ok. I saw a matinee which was worth it, but don't go into it thinking you'll be seeing high art. Its a monster movie with zombies and genetic freaks. Oh and lots of overblown corporate paranoia.

Coming out of the theatre I saw a car flying a flag and sporting a Bush/Cheney sticker. It occurred to me that I haven't seen many similar cars flying flags or yellow ribbons with Kerry/Edwards stickers on them. Maybe there is a correlation there. If you have seen some patriotic K/E folks, let me know.

Fortune Cookies

I went to an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet for lunch today with a cadre of coworkers. My fortune cookie said:

Find release from your cares, have a good time.

Heh. My coworkers said something along the lines of:

An uncomfortable proposition will bring great joy.

Hmmm. Perhaps there is the back seat of a volkswagen in his future.

The Assault Weapons Ban

Ok here is a gun post. The Assault Weapons Ban is about to expire on September 13th. Thats Monday. The Volokh Conspiracy is reporting that the Chicago Sun-Times will correct its misinformation about the ban on Tuesday. Thats the day after it is set to expire. After their falsehoods (intentionally or no) will have been used to influence policy as much as possible.

For those of you who don't know what the AWB is, it regulates a number of semiautomatic weapons on the basis of what are mostly external physical characteristics. Bayonet lugs and other things that aren't useful but look scary. It also limits the magazine capacity of most guns. It has been widely criticized both by pro-gun and anti-gun lobbyists for being ineffective and easy to circumvent. But people are still trying to renew it of course.

The most common misconception is that the AWB covers machine guns. Its not true. The AWB doesn't have any effect on machine guns (they are covered by the 1930s era National Firearms Act or NFA). All the guns covered by the AWB are semi-automatic. They are not machine guns although some have a passing resemblence to them. But the press promises to correct itself, only after its too late.

Awww Cute Baby

Gabe at Penny Arcade is a daddy. Pictures are contained within. I have to get around to putting a comic roll up on the ole blog here. Tycho, Gabe's partner in crime, had this to say:

When he told me this pregnancy thing was for real, triumphantly declaring that he "makes boys," I told him precisely what I thought - that any idiot is capable of this feat, and that - in actual point of fact - idiots engage in this kind of thing more than anyone else, which is why it can be so hard to get a decent cappuccino. I was being mean to him, it's kind of what I do, but he really was describing the most common, most ordinary event on our planet. There are two ways to interpret this.

The first way is to dismiss it, as I did initially.

The second way, the way that now seems apparent, is to recognize that the significance of an event isn't necessarily diluted by its frequency. Consider that we might live absolutely encompassed by marvels and wonders. I am suggesting that we are up to our asses in signs and portents that we are quick to omit or can't interpret.

Amen. Perhaps we should think like this more often. Its not that miracles don't happen anymore. Its that we fail to recognize them.

The Other Jeff the Baptist

Did you know there is another Jeff the Baptist? I didn't until today. Evidentally he's a seminary student living in Seattle. He seems to be one of those whiny people who consistently miss the obvious in hopes of finding something profound on the other side of it. For instance here's something he wrote:

"Why not just admit that God may be larger than our ability to comprehend? Why not just admit that we don't have all the answers yet (if ever)?"

I agree with all of that. In fact I know I will never fully comprehend God. He is a being who transcends all of creation and is certainly above the most basic precepts of my understanding. Do you know how I know this? Because God told me. Its in Isaiah. Its in Psalms. Its in the Scriptures God wrote for us so we could understand even a little of Him (or Her if you prefer) and what God wants us to do with ourselves.

Sorry other Jeff the Baptist, I can understand how all that love you have for your fellow man must be wonderful. But what happens when you see your friends doing something foolish? Something that will cost them their lives? Their souls? Do you do nothing and say "hey who's to really say?" In your analysis you do. After all we wouldn't want to dim their divine spark would we?

The right answer is that you do something. When the God who created the universe comes to your door and tells you what you need to do, you do it. I worship a God who commands me to opposed evil in His name and, while there are definitely gray areas, there are also some jet black and bright white ones. I love you enough to tell you when you are making a mistake when I know you will hate me for it.

See that divine spark you keep talking about is Divine. Its a gift from God. And he left us instructions for how to tend it so that it will grow ever stronger. Perhaps you should spend a little more time contemplating those instructions.

Worst List Ever

Josh Claybourn is creating a list of worst lists ever. It led me here.

My God that music list awful. How can you have 5 essential songs from the '80s and not include any of these: Angel is a Centerfold, 867-5309 (Jenny), Video Killed the Radio Star, Whip It, or Jessie's Girl? When somebody needs a song to represent all of '80s rock, doesn't it come from those 5? If it doesn't you can bet its going to be comething close like Safety Dance, Shout, Broken Wings, or anything by Duran Duran or Huey Lewis.

Similarly where is a disco song on their 70s list? No Donna Summer or the Bee Gees? The last time I heard God Save the Queen was on VH1 during the Sex Pistols Behind the Music show. No Sugar Hill Gang?

Now I'm not saying any of these songs is good (although I do like Video Killed the Radio Star), but they are what '70s and '80s music are.

Somewhere a Old Newspaper Man is Smiling

What we have here is not a case of Man bites Dog, what we have is a case of Dog shoots Man. Now even I know thats gonna sell papers.

Stewardship

Connie Du Toit has a piece up on stewardship. Its long and rambles a bit, but its good stuff. Her point is that we are stewards, but what we have is for us to use and enjoy.

I don't have a lot of stuff to pass down to my as yet unborn children. I have my FN Hi-Power and I'll probably have a few more guns to add to it. I have a good sword. It should survive me as well. My kids might like that shirt of maille I've been working on.

The rest is pretty utilitarian. My plates are not expensive china, they're just corell because I use them. My flatware is just stainless. I use that too. My computer and car will be ancient before my kids can ever use them. Most of my furniture is inexpensive particle board stuff.

On the other hand that doesn't mean my kids won't value any of them. I once gave My Girl a little knot made of vinylester resin left over from an experiment I did in grad school. Its worthless, just a little bit of scrap left in an injection line but she keeps it in her purse like I had made it from pure gold. I do the same with my kitchen table, its the one I ate dinner off of every night growing up. Its nothing special, but its family. Maybe my kids will be like that too.

Pretty soon I will be inheriting a gun from my Grandfather. It will probably be his Remington 870 12 gauge or his Sears 20 gauge. He was a deer and bird hunter. I'm not a hunter but I'll shoot some clays with it anyway. I might have to change the choke on it to suit the sport, but other than that it stays the way I receive it. Someday it may break, but it'll still have its place of honor in the cabinet whether it works or not.

The Tales from the Trip

I visited My Girl in North Carolina over Labor Day Weekend. The South is weird. Well it is for a Northerner like me.

Want an example? We went to a chinese all-you-can-eat buffet. My Girl ordered her usual Diet Coke. I ordered a tea. Now in most chinese restaurants, ordering tea will bring you a pot containing hot green tea. Usually there are handle-less tea cups involved as well. Not in North Carolina. I came back to our table with my first plate and there was a tall glass of sweet tea (pronounced sweettay). That was fine because I like sweet tea too, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

Similarly lots of people had accents and that seemed to make my mind jump to conclusions faster.

(1) Attractive women get even hotter. Southern women just sound sexy. Men might gain a certain air too, but I'm straight so if they get sexier I'm not the right person to notice. If My Girl picks up an accent down there I won't complain.

(2) Unattractive people metamorphose into total rednecks. They could be fat or skinny. Maybe they just need to put on a shirt. Others are like My Girl's neighbor who is Boomhauer-ly unintelligible. I find myself repeating Jeff Foxworthy routines to myself. They could be the nicest people ever and it doesn't matter.

(3) Slightly provocative people instantly become skanks. Remember Britney Spears when her first album came out. Normal girls in the south are like that; cute and (if you were in the proper age group) pretty sexy. On the other hand a southern woman dressing a little slutty is like Britney now; total whore-slut.

(4) People with multiple layered accents are just perplexing sometimes. The waitress at the aforementioned buffet had a Chinese accent and a North Carolinian accent. I can't write something down to illustrate the weirdness of this without getting into stereotypes that offend even me. I've actually experienced this before closer to home though. Most of the Indian professors at my alma mater had layered British and Indian accents. Its still weird when a chinese woman with the full asian accent says "you all" though.

Anyway the last bit of weirdness is the cuisine shift. There the usual franchises, but on top of this there are Sonic (yum!), Checkers, and Bojangles Chicken and Biscuits. Oh and Hardees. Yummy thickburgers. Even yummier thickburger commercials with that girl on the mechanical bull. Yowsa! Anyway mechanical bull girl sidetracked my brain. Suffice it to say that the general level of cuisine became about twice as fattening. I gained a lot of respect for My Girl because she actually lost weight in this environment.

P.S. Yes I realize that North Carolina isn't really the South because the state still has "north" in the name. ;)

Woo hoo!

Blogger is back up. Now I know why everyone wants to get off this service... ;)

Christian Singleness

Messy Christian is writing about christian singleness. Singleness or Marriage? Why is the church so obsessed with one or the other?

The Apostle Paul's advice on staying single is one of those funny things in Scripture. Its about that only time I ever have heard a scriptural writer say "I'm not sure if this is from God but..." then he talks a lot about how its good to be single. He basically concludes the passage with "...and I think thats inspired." Lots of wiggle room there.

Being single is good. Being married is good. Paul preferred singleness for the freedom it brought in trying times. Jewish tradition on the other hand has taken God's command to be fruitful and raise a family very seriously. So much so that they can't understand where we got the idea of solely dedicating yourself to God outside of marriage. Celibate priests, monks, and nuns? Foolishness!

The singles group at my church had a troubled history with this. The first singles pasator there had a bullet in his mission statement about making people "marriageable." He left over unrelated doctrinal disputes and our current pastor came in. As soon as he saw that bullet he knew he would have to rebuild the group from scratch.

Being single or being married, the church's interests should be the same. You need to raise up a spiritually strong, upright christian. By doing that they will move in the ways that God calls them. The couples who married and "graduated" at my church started a Young Married Life (YML) group using the same model as the singles group. Its been fruitful and is its own ministry separate from the singles group drawing in couples on its own. On the other hand many of the singles have used their singleness in ways Paul would approve, they are involved in short and long term missions. Some of them got married because of that, but others are still single and working in God harvest field. To each their own.

I'm about to start shopping for a ring, so we know which group I'm in. Darn burning with passion.

Holy Crap

This post at Evangelical Outpost is hilarious.

Labor Day

Spent the weekend with My Girl. On a completely different topic, isn't it kind of telling that Organized Labor is celebrated in the US with a day to be lazy and not work.

Atheism

The Evangelical Outpost has a piece up on atheism. I'm obviously not an atheist, but that doesn't mean they can't be good folks. However while Joe Carter says there are four types of atheist I contest there are only really two; anti-theists and skeptics.

Anti-theists

Anti-theists take the position that there is no God. There is nothing skeptical about it which sets them apart from the Skeptics. The Anti-theists know that there is no God with certainty. Anti-theists often look down upon theists for being less rational or intelligent than themselves. In my experience, these are the sorts of people that may get angry when you pray for them or around them. Religion to them is often seen as a psychological crutch for the weak.

The funny thing is that anti-theism is not a rationally defensible philosophical position. You can't prove that there is no God. God is far too generic and broad a concept to be refuted in this way. You can try to refute someone's specific conceptualization of God, but there can be an infinite number of those and you get nowhere. So the anti-theist is no more rational than the theist. The only way you can be an anti-theism is by buying into an unproven assumption, which is the same act of faith as a theist.

Some anti-theists are people who just haven't realized the philosophical discontinuity within their belief system. They usually become skeptics once it is pointed out to them. Others I have met have had strong experiences that have caused them to break with religion. Often this can be the death of a loved one or family member or similar traumatic event that their old religious belief failed to help them with. They abandon religion altogether as a falsehood because of it. These are often the people who see religion as a crutch. It didn't help them through their traumatic event so they assume it is incapable of helping you through yours.

Skeptics

Skeptics describe themselves as lacking a belief in God. Carter's post uses the term "methodological athiests." How can you be sure a room isn't full of invisible bunny rabbits? You can't say the skeptics, but it is wise to assume that it is not. The logical default for skeptics is disbelief. In comparison, a theist would often say putting off decision until you know more would be wiser still.

Skeptics usually say that God hasn't met some standard of reasonable proof. If He did, we would relent and believe says the skeptic. The determination of what is "reasonable" is up to the skeptic though. With a sufficiently hardened heart they can doubt anything, even their own personal experience. Skeptics put a strong emphasis on truth in my experience, but their standards for establishing it are almost impossibly high. Honestly, I think a lot of these people have their minds made up already.

A skeptic, in my experience, will rarely look down on a theist like an anti-theist will. The reason is that you may know or have proof of something they do not. They don't hold your opinion of course, but live and let live.

Frankly, I find both philosophies small-minded and lacking in warmth or hope. But then thats why I'm not an athiest. I respect the skeptical athiests more than the anti-theists myself. Their belief system is at least fairly consistent. Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost feels the opposite. He respects the anti-theists because at least they have faith. To each their own.

That's What I'm Talking About

I write about a lot of stuff on here. I'm a typical guy. I like guns and cars and My Girl. I get passionate about politics and religion. All those things will show up here. Some will show up more than others. I haven't written anything about guns yet and only a little about cars.

I'm also going to avoid talking about a lot of stuff. I work for the Unites States Army. Don't count on seeing a lot of stuff that is work related showing up on this blog. Likewise I lead a small group bible study on thursday nights. It meets in the Pike Creek area of Northern Delaware if your interested in finding a study. What gets said at my bible study is confidential among the attendees and it is not going to show up here either. Sorry. I probably won't be going into intimate details about My Girl either. She writes personal stuff on her blog, but its not out in public like mine.

One thing I can say about work is that it occasionally gives me a wake up call. A meeting today really hammered home that we're in a war. People are dying out there for you my fellow Americans. Blood is being spilled on the altar of freedom to secure your liberty. Don't forget it.