Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Fall Repost

The following is another chapter from [Bittersweet Refinements].  Since each part is connected to the rest, it would do you well to keep reading (and listening for our Heavenly Father's explanations, of course).

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. [Romans 3:23 NAS]

According to religious traditions, Adam and Eve fell from our Heavenly Father’s grace when they sinned in the Garden of Eden, and it is as a result of this that we are all physically born into a fallen state of grace.  Hence, the fall of mankind.

In theological terms, the fall of mankind is called the Doctrine of Original Sin.  For it is written: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. [Romans 5:12 KJV]

Be assured that our Heavenly Father calls the Doctrine of Original Sin an abomination.  That is, at least in regards to the way it is presented[1].  For He has made it quite clear that there is a difference between falling short of His glory and falling from His grace[2].

No, it cannot be denied that there were immediate consequences for Adam’s sin.  For it is written: To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”  To Adam, he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”  [Genesis 3:16-19 NIV]

Neither can it be denied that there are consequences to our own sins—even when there appears to be none.  For it is written: For he who does wrong will receive the consequence of the wrong, which he has done, and that without partiality. [Colossians 3:25 NAS]

Nonetheless, has it not been made abundantly clear that Adam and Eve were still under His grace?  For it is written: The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.  [Genesis 3:21 NIV]

Moreover, has it not been made abundantly clear that we are all under His grace?  For it is written: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  [Ephesians 2:8-10 NAS]

No, this is not about Christian Universalism, which basically teaches that all will eventually be saved from eternal damnation.  For the grace that can be found in Christ Jesus must be actually accepted by each individual[3], but who can do that without the grace of our Heavenly Father in the first place[4]?

Yes, Romans 5:12 needs to be addressed before we move along.  For instead of it saying that it is through the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden[5] that all are automatically subject to the penalty for that sin, which is eternal spiritual death[6], it is saying that eternal spiritual death first entered into this world through his sin, which was the original one.

{1}Jeremiah 5:21-31; {2}Romans 5:6-11; {3}John 3:16; {4}John 6:44-45; {5}Genesis 2:16-17; {6}Romans 6:23.
 
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Friday, August 6, 2010

Sites To See

The SOLE purpose of this weekly series is to call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another. Just to be clear, inclusion in this series is not necessarily meant as a recommendation, and I have included sites that are rather disturbing to me. The link below each image is to the site itself, and each image is linked to the particular post from which it was taken when applicable. Please, go see for yourself.














































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Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Offspring vs. Weird Al Yankovic



Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
The Offspring
Unta gottlebien
Rockin Rollin'

Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
And all the girlies say
I’m pretty fly for a white guy

Uno dos tres
Cuatro
Cinco cinco seis

You know it’s kind of hard
Just to get along today
Our subject isn’t cool
But he fakes it anyway
He may not have a clue
And he may not have style
But everything he lacks
Well
He makes up in denial

So don’t debate
A player straight
You know he really
Doesn’t get it anyway
He’s gonna play the field
And keep it real
For you no way
For you no way
So if you don’t rate
Just overcompensate
At least you’ll know
You can always go on Ricki Lake
The world needs wannabes
So
Hey
Hey
Do that brand new thing

Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
And all the girlies say
I’m pretty fly for a white guy

He needs some cool tunes
Not just any will suffice
But they didn’t have Ice Cube
So he bought Vanilla Ice
Now cruising in his Pinto
He sees homies as he pass
But if he looks twice
They’re gonna kick his lily a$$

So don’t debate
A player straight
You know he really
Doesn’t get it anyway
He’s gonna play the field
And keep it real
For you no way
For you no way
So if you don’t rate
Just overcompensate
At least you’ll know
You can always go on Ricki Lake
The world loves wannabes
So
Hey
Hey
Do that brand new thing

Now he’s getting’ a tattoo
Yeah he’s getting’ ink done
He asked for a 13
But they drew a 31
Friends say he’s tryin’ too hard
And he’s not quite hip
But in his own mind
He’s the
He’s the dopest trip

Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh
Give it to me baby
Uh-huh
Uh-huh

Uno dos tres
Cuatro
Cinco cinco seis

So don’t debate
A player straight
You know he really
Doesn’t get it anyway
He’s gonna play the field
And keep it real
For you no way
For you no way
So if you don’t rate
Just overcompensate
At least you’ll know
You can always go on Ricki Lake
The world needs wannabes
So
The world loves wannabes
So
Let’s get some more wannabes
And
Hey
Hey
Do that brand new thing





Pretty Fly For A Rabbi
Weird Al Yankovic
Veren zol fun
Dear a Blitzen

How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
And all the goyim say
I’m pretty fly for a rabbi

Meccha leccha hi
Meccha hiney hiney ho

Our temple’s had a fair share
Of rabbis in the past
But most of ‘em were nudniks
And none of ‘em would last
But our new guy’s real kosher
I think he’ll do the trick
I tell ya he’s to die for
He really know his shtick

So how’s ‘bout you
Have you seen this Jew
Reads the Torah
Does his own accounting too
Workin’ like a dog
At the synagogue
He’s there all day
He’s there all day
Just say vay iz mir
And he’ll kick into gear
He’ll bring you lots of cheer
And maybe bagels with some shmeer
Just grab your yarmulke and
Hey hey
Do that Hebrew thing

How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey vey
And all the goyim say
I’m pretty fly for a rabbi

He shops at discount stores
Not just any will suffice
He has to find a bargain
‘Cause he won’t pay retail price
He never acts meshuga
And he’s hardly a schlemiel
But if you wanna haggle
Oy he’ll make you such a deal

People used to scoff
Now they say mazal tov
He’s such macher
‘Cause he worked this tookis off
Yeah he keeps his cool
And teaches Sheol
What’s not to like
What’s not to like
On high holy days
You know he prays and prays
And he never eats pastrami
On white bread with mayonnaise
Put on your yarmulke and
Hey hey
Do that Hebrew thing

When he’s doin’ a Bar Mitzvah
Now that you shouldn’t miss
He’ll always schlep on down
For a wedding or a bris
They say he’s got a lot of chutzpah
He’s really quite hip
They parents pay moy
And he gets to keep the tip

How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
How ya doin’ Bernie
Oy vey
Oy vey
Meccha leccha hi
Meccha meccha cholly ho

He’s doin’ well
I gotta kvell
The lentas love him
Even shicksas think he’s swell
Show up at his home
He says shalom
And have some cake
You want some cake
Yeah he calls the shots
We really love him lots
Oh gevalt
I’m so ferklempt that I could plotz
So grab your yarmaulke
The one you got Chanukah
Let’s put on your yarmulke and
Hey hey
Do that Hebrew thing

Lyrics From: [Sing365.com]

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

WhiteHeart Wednesday



MP3 Audio Player From: [BlogDumps Video]

Nothing But The Best
WhiteHeart
Go find a mirror
Locate your ears
You’re about to hear
The free world’s biggest lie
Jesus came and died
So get a little pride
It’s cultural suicide
To make your faith a battle cry
Well mediocrity
Is to miss eternity
You see He rose for me

Nothing but the best
Don’t take nothing less
Don’t you second guess
Nothing but the best
Oh keep your mind on one thing
That in your heart there’s
Nothing but the best

Don’t work at school
How can that be cool
Tell me who’s the fool
If it leads to a welfare line
I’m missing something here
It must be drugs and beer
‘Cause it isn’t clear
Why faith is such a waste of time
Got some news for them
He’s gonna come again
We’ll see what happens then

Nothing but the best
Don’t take nothing less
Don’t you second guess
Nothing but the best
Oh keep your mind on one thing
That in your heart there’s
Nothing but the best
Oh we got something

Don’t take nothing less
Don’t you second guess
Nothing but the best
Oh keep your mind on one thing
That in your heart there’s
Nothing but the best

Don’t take nothing less
Don’t you ever second guess

Nothing but the best

Nothing but the best

Nothing but the best

Nothing but the best


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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

TWO FOR TUESDAY


Not every song that will be featured here will be what is generally considered as being “Christian” in the eyes of this world. For some will be anguished cries from the pit of despair, and others will be quite obviously ferverent rants of rebellion. Nonetheless, be assured that they will all be of our Heavenly Father (in one way or another) and I hope that you have been given ears to hear the message.


Copperhead Road
Steve Earle
Well my name’s John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only came to town about twice a year
He’d buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
He headed up the holler with everything he had
It’s before my time but I’ve been told
He never come back from Copperhead Road

Grandaddy ran the whiskey in a big block Dodge
Bought it at an auction at the Mason’s Lodge
Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side
Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
Well him and my uncle tore that engine down
I still remember that rumblin’ sound
Well the sheriff came around in the middle of the night
Heard mama cryin’ knew somethin’ wasn’t right
He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly road
You could smell the whiskey burnin’ down Copperhead Road

I volunteered for the Army on my birthday
They draft the white trash first around here anyway
I done two tours of duty in Vietnam
I came home with a brand new plan
I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico
I just plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road
And now the D.E.A.’s got a chopper in the air
I wake up screamin’ like I’m back over there
I learned a thing of two from Charlie don’t you know
You better stay away from Copperhead Road

Copperhead Road

Copperhead Road

Copperhead Road


Feel All Right
Steve Earle
I was born my papa’s son
A wanderin’ eye and a smokin’ gun
Now some of you would live through me
Lock me up and throw away the key
Or just find a place to hid away
Hope that I’ll just go away
Ha

I feel all right
I feel all right tonight
I feel all right
I feel all right tonight

I’ll bring you precious contraband
And ancient tales from distant lands
Of conquerors and concubines
And conjurers from darker times
Betrayal and conspiracy
Sacrilege and heresy

I feel all right
I feel all right tonight
I feel all right
I feel all right tonight

I got everything you want or need
Your darkest fear
Your fondest dream
I ask you questions
Tell you lies
Criticize and sympathize
Be careful what you wish for friend
Because I’ve been to Hell
And now I’m aback again

I feel all right
I feel all right tonight

I got everything you want or need
Your darkest fear
Your fondest dream
I ask you questions
Tell you lies
Criticize and sympathize
Yeah be careful what you wish for friend
Because I’ve been to Hell
And now I’m aback again

I feel all right
Yeah I feel all right tonight
Yeah I feel all right
And I feel all right tonight

Feel all right

Feel all right

Lyrics From: [Sing365.com]

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Monday, August 2, 2010

Come Monday...Farscape

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of, or commentary about, websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time. Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.” This is subject to change, however. In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while. For rants promote change, and change can be good—right? Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).



The first few times I tried to watch an episode of [Farscape], I thought that it was just a little too far out for me. I mean, we’re talking about something that [Animal] and [Fozzie Bear] might brew-up in [Beaker’s] lab here.

Yeah, those were some [Muppets] references. For the very same [Jim Henson], who created the [Muppets], is also the creator of [Farscape].

No, I couldn’t believe it, either. For aside from some of the characters being somewhat Muppet-like, the rest of Farscape is bonafide science fiction—at its best, might I add.

Oh yeah, I finally got up to speed about what Farscape was all about, and from then on, I was hooked. Hey, even my wife got with the program, and that should tell you that the show is really something special. For she doesn’t go for a lot of computer-generated stuff, but this is not to say that the show doesn’t have enough of that sort of thing to wet the appetite of even the pickiest of geeks.

In a nutshell, the show is about an American astronaut, by the name of [John Crichton], who is flying an experimental space module that is meant to replace the Space Shuttle when he encounters a wormhole, which spits he him out in a galaxy far, far away. (No, as a matter of fact, I couldn’t resist.) Moreover, Crichton quickly finds himself in the middle of a battle between some Peacekeeper fighters who are trying to prevent the escape of some prisoners in a living ship by the name of [Moya]. Crichton accidentally clips one of the fighters, which results in the death of its pilot, who just happens to be the brother of a fairly unstable Peacekeeper Captain, who is under the command of the diabolical [Scorpius]. Crichton eventually manages to land his module in Moya, and the rest of the show covers her crew trying to get away from Scorpius, who is convinced that Crichton hold the secrets to developing a wormhole weapon.

No, that doesn’t even come close to being an adequate description of this truly amazing sci-fi masterpiece. For each character is explored to great depths, and I found tears in my eyes when [Ka D’Argo] volunteered to stay behind so that the rest could get away in the series finale.

Aside from Crichton, perhaps the most colorful of the characters is [Aeryn Sun], who is played to the hilt by [Claudia Black]. Oh yeah, did I fail to mention that John Crichton is played by [Ben Browder], and that he is reunited with Claudia as [Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell] and [Vala Mal Doran] in the last years of the [Stargate SG-1] television series?

Getting back to Aeryn in Farscape, she was born a Peacekeeper, but came to realize that it was anything but peace that they wanted. So, she broke with them to join Moya’s crew, and before it was all over with, had a baby with Crichton.

As side-note, the birth of Aeryn’s and John’s baby is most definitely must-see-TV. For it occurred in the middle of a firefight with the Scaarans, who made the Peacekeepers look like a bunch of hippies with flowers in the hair, and when the baby wasn’t coming out as quickly as she wanted him to, Aeryn screamed for a knife so that she could cut the baby out herself.

Okay, I suppose you will just have to see it for yourself. Be assured that you will not be sorry if you do. [Here] is a place where you can watch it online for free, but since I have not actually tried it yet myself, I cannot say for sure that it will work.

Please Also Visit: [FishHawk Droppings]

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A Sunday Drive

Back during my childhood, our parents would often load up my brother and I after Sunday morning church services for a leisurely drive around where we lived. Even though we were seeing mostly familiar sights, it was still good to see them, and this is why “A Sunday Drive” sounded about right for the name of a weekly series revisiting familiar sites that are well worth seeing again and again. The link below the image is to the site itself, and the image is linked to the post it was first included in here.






























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