A brilliant Christmas medley played entirely on iPads

Members of North Point Music performed this Christmas medley live at North Point Community Church using borrowed iPads:


(via The Tea Party Economist)

When the meaninglessness of a purely naturalistic worldview gets you down, just remember: you've got thumbs!

Honest church sign

St. Peter's Square, then and now

It used to be enough to just witness a significant event. Not anymore, as you can see by the tech-savvy crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to see the new Pope.

(via Dave Black's blog)

The quickest way through a security checkpoint

Christians are called to share the gospel, so that's exactly what we should do. If someone wishes to listen to what we have to say, all the better. But if it happens to get us through a security checkpoint more quickly...well, that's fine, too.


I wonder if anyone has tried this at the airport.

(via LewRockwell.com)

Time to change tactics

(via xkcd)

Irony of his own complaint about Tim Tebow lost on American Atheists president

David Silverman, president of American Atheists, complaining about Tim Tebow: "Why in the world are we talking about religion when we are talking about football?"

Man fired for not accepting the "mark of the beast"

Well...sort of.

Billy E. Hyatt was recently fired from his job at a plastics factory near Dalton, Georgia. He claims it was because he refused to wear a sticker celebrating the factory being accident-free for 666 days.

It isn't clear whether management required the sticker to be worn on the forehead or on the hand, but Hyatt, a devout Christian (and apparently a devout dispensationalist), didn't want to take any chances. He believed that wearing the sticker would have been accepting the "mark of the beast" described in the book of Revelation, condemning him to hell.

Without getting into the serious implications of dispensational theology (though I think we're seeing one of them here), all of this hassle could have been avoided had Mr. Hyatt simply dropped a hammer on his toe. That would have bought him at least another 665 days.

The unknown wonders of creation

Please help yourself to some old slices of Lemon Harangue Pie while I'm on vacation. Enjoy!

The unknown wonders of creation
(originally posted 12/14/2006)

NewScientist.com has a fascinating article entitled "13 Things that Do Not Make Sense." You will definitely want to read the full article, but here are some brief excerpts:

1. The placebo effect
   Don't try this at home. Several times a day, for several days, you induce pain in someone. You control the pain with morphine until the final day of the experiment, when you replace the morphine with saline solution. Guess what? The saline takes the pain away.
   
   
2. The horizon problem
   Our universe appears to be unfathomably uniform. Look across space from one edge of the visible universe to the other, and you'll see that the microwave background radiation filling the cosmos is at the same temperature everywhere. That may not seem surprising until you consider that the two edges are nearly 28 billion light years apart and our universe is only 14 billion years old.
   
   Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, so there is no way heat radiation could have travelled between the two horizons to even out the hot and cold spots created in the big bang and leave the thermal equilibrium we see now.
   
   
3. Ultra-energetic cosmic rays
   For more than a decade, physicists in Japan have been seeing cosmic rays that should not exist. Cosmic rays are particles - mostly protons but sometimes heavy atomic nuclei - that travel through the universe at close to the speed of light. Some cosmic rays detected on Earth are produced in violent events such as supernovae, but we still don't know the origins of the highest-energy particles, which are the most energetic particles ever seen in nature. But that's not the real mystery.
   
   
4. Belfast homeopathy results
   Madeleine Ennis, a pharmacologist at Queen's University, Belfast, was the scourge of homeopathy. She railed against its claims that a chemical remedy could be diluted to the point where a sample was unlikely to contain a single molecule of anything but water, and yet still have a healing effect. Until, that is, she set out to prove once and for all that homeopathy was bunkum.
   
   
5. Dark matter
   Take our best understanding of gravity, apply it to the way galaxies spin, and you'll quickly see the problem: the galaxies should be falling apart. Galactic matter orbits around a central point because its mutual gravitational attraction creates centripetal forces. But there is not enough mass in the galaxies to produce the observed spin.
   
   
6. Viking's methane
   July 20, 1976. Gilbert Levin is on the edge of his seat. Millions of kilometres away on Mars, the Viking landers have scooped up some soil and mixed it with carbon-14-labelled nutrients. The mission's scientists have all agreed that if Levin's instruments on board the landers detect emissions of carbon-14-containing methane from the soil, then there must be life on Mars.
   
   Viking reports a positive result. Something is ingesting the nutrients, metabolising them, and then belching out gas laced with carbon-14.
   
   
7. Tetraneutrons
   Four years ago, a particle accelerator in France detected six particles that should not exist. They are called tetraneutrons: four neutrons that are bound together in a way that defies the laws of physics.
   
   
8. The Pioneer anomaly
   This is a tale of two spacecraft. Pioneer 10 was launched in 1972; Pioneer 11 a year later. By now both craft should be drifting off into deep space with no one watching. However, their trajectories have proved far too fascinating to ignore.
   
   That's because something has been pulling - or pushing - on them, causing them to speed up. The resulting acceleration is tiny, less than a nanometre per second per second. That's equivalent to just one ten-billionth of the gravity at Earth's surface, but it is enough to have shifted Pioneer 10 some 400,000 kilometres off track. NASA lost touch with Pioneer 11 in 1995, but up to that point it was experiencing exactly the same deviation as its sister probe. So what is causing it?
   
   
9. Dark energy
   It is one of the most famous, and most embarrassing, problems in physics. In 1998, astronomers discovered that the universe is expanding at ever faster speeds. It's an effect still searching for a cause - until then, everyone thought the universe's expansion was slowing down after the big bang. "Theorists are still floundering around, looking for a sensible explanation," says cosmologist Katherine Freese of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "We're all hoping that upcoming observations of supernovae, of clusters of galaxies and so on will give us more clues."
   
   
10. The Kuiper cliff
    If you travel out to the far edge of the solar system, into the frigid wastes beyond Pluto, you'll see something strange. Suddenly, after passing through the Kuiper belt, a region of space teeming with icy rocks, there's nothing.
    
    Astronomers call this boundary the Kuiper cliff, because the density of space rocks drops off so steeply. What caused it? The only answer seems to be a 10th planet. We're not talking about Quaoar or Sedna: this is a massive object, as big as Earth or Mars, that has swept the area clean of debris.
    
    
11. The Wow signal
    It was 37 seconds long and came from outer space. On 15 August 1977 it caused astronomer Jerry Ehman, then of Ohio State University in Columbus, to scrawl "Wow!" on the printout from Big Ear, Ohio State's radio telescope in Delaware. And 28 years later no one knows what created the signal. "I am still waiting for a definitive explanation that makes sense," Ehman says.
    
    Coming from the direction of Sagittarius, the pulse of radiation was confined to a narrow range of radio frequencies around 1420 megahertz. This frequency is in a part of the radio spectrum in which all transmissions are prohibited by international agreement. Natural sources of radiation, such as the thermal emissions from planets, usually cover a much broader sweep of frequencies. So what caused it?
    
    
12. Not-so-constant constants
    In 1997 astronomer John Webb and his team at the University of New South Wales in Sydney analysed the light reaching Earth from distant quasars. On its 12-billion-year journey, the light had passed through interstellar clouds of metals such as iron, nickel and chromium, and the researchers found these atoms had absorbed some of the photons of quasar light - but not the ones they were expecting.
    
    If the observations are correct, the only vaguely reasonable explanation is that a constant of physics called the fine structure constant, or alpha, had a different value at the time the light passed through the clouds.
    
    But that's heresy. Alpha is an extremely important constant that determines how light interacts with matter - and it shouldn't be able to change. Its value depends on, among other things, the charge on the electron, the speed of light and Planck's constant. Could one of these really have changed?
    
    
13. Cold fusion
    After 16 years, it's back. In fact, cold fusion never really went away. Over a 10-year period from 1989, US navy labs ran more than 200 experiments to investigate whether nuclear reactions generating more energy than they consume - supposedly only possible inside stars - can occur at room temperature. Numerous researchers have since pronounced themselves believers.

Again, take time to read the entire article. I'm sure you will find it just as interesting as I did. But what I find most interesting of all is that while scientists admit there are things they just don't know, they will readily assert that there is no God - that the universe in which we live came about purely by chance. If anything, this list serves as an example of man's finite mind. The more we learn, the more we learn how much we really have yet to learn. And if we are pursuing knowledge for selfish reasons (i.e., for reasons other than glorifying the Creator of all things), then it is as King Solomon said: "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow" (Ecclesiastes 1:14, 18).

In case of rapture...

Confession app available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

You know you're living in the Information Age when you hear about things like this. Last month, a company called Little iApps announced the release of its first application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch entitled Confession: A Roman Catholic App:

Designed to be used in the confessional, this app is the perfect aid for every penitent. With a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles, and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament, this app invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance. Individuals who have been away from the sacrament for some time will find Confession: A Roman Catholic App to be a useful and inviting tool. ...

... Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention for January 2011 was, “that young people may learn to use modern means of social communication for their personal growth and to better prepare themselves to serve society.” Little iApps developer and co-founder, Patrick Leinen, said, “Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology. Taking to heart Pope Benedict XVI’s message from last years’ World Communications Address, our goal with this project is to offer a digital application that is truly ‘new media at the service of the Word.’ The app has already aided one man in returning to the sacrament after 20 years. We hope many more will take advantage of this new confession resource.”

And yes, it's Catholic Church-approved.

Alton Brown Talks Food and Faith

I've always liked Alton Brown, host of the popular Food Network show Good Eats. Unlike most chefs, he doesn't just show you the how; he explains the why, and he does it by delving into the science behind the cooking process.

In a recent interview with Eater.com, Brown discussed food, but he also opened up about his faith. I especially liked his response when asked about being a born-again Christian: "Yeah, 'born-again' is kind of an odd term because that's like saying a see-through window. But yes, I am a Christian."

You can read the full interview here.

First Church of Tiger Woods Disbands

From TigerWoodsIsGod.com:

After several days of evaluation, I have decided to disband the First Church of Tiger Woods (as indicated by the graphics at the top of this web site) and I will not renew the TigerWoodsIsGod domain name when it expires in a couple of months. Any future commentary on this site (which may not happen at all) will be regarding Tiger's failings in relation to his affair/accident debacle which continues to unfold almost by the hour.

Because the First Church of Tiger Woods has been in existence since late 1996 and this web site has been around since early 2000, you might think that such a decision might be difficult. In this case, it was not. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods has made it all to easy to realize that he is no longer worthy of any special admiration.

It seems having these escapades brought to light has been a healthy dose of reality not only for Tiger but for his fans as well.

Benny Hinn, Lord of the Sith

Behold the power of the Dark Side!

Papal Bull

Some people believe that over 20 years ago the pope predicted the current economic collapse. From Bloomberg:

Pope Benedict XVI was the first to predict the crisis in the global financial system, a "prophecy" dating to a paper he wrote when he was a cardinal, Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti said.

"The prediction that an undisciplined economy would collapse by its own rules can be found" in an article written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became pope in April 2005, Tremonti said yesterday at Milan's Cattolica University.

German-born Ratzinger in 1985 presented a paper entitled "Market Economy and Ethics" at a Rome event dedicated to the Church and the economy. The future pope said a decline in ethics "can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse."

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but that's about as specific and relevant as any fortune cookie.

Your Best Sound Now

We broadcasting and pro audio types have a new ally in the effort to prevent consumer wireless devices from being permitted in the "white space" between TV channels. This found today in an online update from the trade magazine Broadcast Engineering:

Megachurch minister joins white spaces debate

Senior Pastor Joel Osteen has expressed concern that the FCC consider the consequences to wireless microphone users in the agency’s pending white spaces decision.

Joel Osteen, senior pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston, said to be the nation’s largest megachurch, has sent a letter to the FCC in opposition to the proposed use of white space frequencies by unlicensed devices. As a user of both broadcast airwaves and wireless microphones, Osteen said that such usage is a threat to his ministry, which hosts more than 40,000 attendees for weekly services.

The letter states, in part, "I am concerned that should the FCC turn a blind eye to wireless microphone use in houses of worship and open these respective frequencies to new unlicensed devices, the commission will cause immeasurable damage to our ability to minister. Static and audio dropouts due to interference from an unlicensed mobile wireless device would create a devastating distraction.

"From what I have read about the testing conducted by the FCC, there is clearly no reliable technology that can protect wireless microphones from the interference that comes from new portable devices operating in the same or adjacent channels as wireless microphones. We have worked diligently to coordinate the use of the wireless microphone systems that we deploy in each of our services. Adding new electronic devices to the mix would make our audio programming and coordination virtually impossible," he said in the letter.

This letter comes after a hectic period of lobbying in Washington by the Wireless Innovation Alliance, a group that strongly supports opening of white spaces to unlicensed usage, and opposing groups, including the Microphone Interest Coalition and NAB.

Well, he sure knows how to pick his spiritual battles! I wonder what Mr. Osteen's text will be this coming Sunday when he preaches on this topic?

Is this really better than just sleeping in?

OK, now I really have no words for this story that aired on CBS Evening News this evening. Some things are just so funny, sad, and absurd at the same time that they provide all their own satire:

Praising The Lord ... In A Ford
Florida Drive-In Church Mixes Salvation With Convenience

Who's the Leader of the Church That's Made for You and Me?

The Pope was presented with a pair of Mickey Mouse ears last week. It was a gift from an Orange County, CA delegation to the Pope's "World Youth Day" event in Sydney, Australia.

Read full story here.

They say he didn't put them on, but just smiled. Ah, but that's just reported by people who were in the room at the time. I have my sources. Turns out he secretly stopped by a local "Glamour Shots" a few hours later just to have this photo taken. Don't ask me how I got a copy, or I might have to kill you.


Sources say he was singing to himself under his breath:

"B-E-N, E-D-I, C-T-X-V-I
Benedict... Benedict...
Forever let us hold our mitre high (high, high, high!)..."

Sing along if you know it! Bonus points if you can chant it in Latin, Mode VIII, with the appropriate "Glory Be" sequence at the end.

In Celebration of Earth Day

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

Deuteronomy 32:1
"Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth."

1st Chronicles 16:31
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!"

Psalm 24:1-2
The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Romans 8:19-22
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

1st Corinthians 10:25-26
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."

Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

"His Name Shall Be Cheesus"

Looking for God in all the wrong places:

Cheetoes can't even nourish the body, much less the soul.