5.3.2012 OVERHEARD

...became law in tennessee early in april...the law instructs teachers and administrators to
'create an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that encourages students to explore scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills and respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinion about controversial issues'.
...a similar one in louisiana, calls for teachers to
'understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught'..
...the american association for the advancement of science
the american civil liberties union of tennessee
the american institute of biological sciences
the national association of geoscience teachers
and others are concerned
....more than 800 phd. bearing scientists have signed a statement expressing skepticism about contemporary
evolutionary theory's claims that random mutation and natural selection account for the complexity of life. they say,
'careful examination of the evidence for darwinian theory should be encouraged'.
...tennesee's law says
'evolution should be taught as a scientific theory that is open to critical scrutiny, not as a sacred dogma that can't be questioned'.
...the new york times editorialized during the scopes 'monkey trial'
'if man has evolved, it is inconceivable that the process should stop and leave him in his present imperfect state. specific creation has no such promise for man'.


'apparently, i'm supposed to be more angry about what mitt romney does with his money than what barack obama does with mine'.

'if you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
'the proud man thinks he is humble, but the humble man thinks he is proud..he aggressively pursues a life of humility, but he doesn't think of himself as humble. the proud man is completely unaware of his pride. of all men he is most convinced that he is humble'.

'tolerance once meant recognizing the rights of others to have different views. now it stipulates that no one can say some views are right and others are wrong.
under the old definition 'tolerarance is the virtue of a person with convictions who thinks that others should not be coerced to agree with his convictions'.
the new definition leads to exclusion in the name of inclusion. ie. coercing christian groups into allowing non-christians to be officers and banning them if they require members' allegiance to biblical precepts.

(a mother of 8 upon fleeing the nuba mountain area in north sudan which is currently under attack by its own government)...'after many months of aggression, she says food ran out; 'i decided to bring my children here instead of allowing them to starve'.
saving her children meant leaving behind her elderly father who wasn't strong enough for the trek. he insisted she take the children.
'so i went and collected water, cooked food for him, and left. that the grave for him. there's no way out'.

chuck colson in his last speech
...'we're also seen as wanting to impose our views on people. don't let them tell you that. we don't impose anything. we propose. we propose an invitation to the wedding feast, to come to a better way of living. a better way of life. it's the great proposal'.

Jesus Christ's first message
...'repent for the kingdom of heaven is near'.

estimates vary, but the u.s. government estimates that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked for sex in the united states each year.
...to often it's too hard for a victim to prove her case. officers may more often charge a sex trafficking victim with prostitution and treat her as a criminal. pimps and others often entrap women before they reach age 15, according to morgan perry, executive producer of the documentary 'sex + money'...

'several years ago, while on one of my daily walks with my dogs, i decided to begin investing less time with them and more time in the lives of needy children. i have been a foster parent for almost four years now'.

'we also had an animal named 'trouble'. he was a steer. we ate him.'

'almost all of my canine friends at the local dog park have human names and their owners are not 'masters' but 'parents'. that makes me 'peg's dad'. the trend you described does not demonstrate an increased appreciation of animals but a degradation of the 'crown of creation', as the psalmist calls us, to the level of animals. call it the practical theology of a resurgent neo-paganism.'

'a great sorrow was hurled into my life and made it seem that life was over. on the same day, i happened to read 'i believe that i shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!' psalm 27.13. i perceived that it was written by a man going through a grief like mine. on what basis was his confidence 0his bold assertion - that he would wee good in his future? after all, is it guaranteed to any of us that we will bounce back from tragedy? still, the king's faith statement excited me. i said, 'i want that for myself! I WILL BELIEVE it for myself, just as david did!'