Comment Wars

I was looking through Youtube videos and I lingered at one of an apologist defending the faith. In the comments area, there were a number of people who kept mocking the teacher on the video and also mocked Jesus. There were only a few who tried to defend the teacher and rose up to challenge the mockers. For the most part, the Christians responded with reasoning that the unbelievers definitely did not understand. The more intellectually inclined unbelievers waved them off as ignorant, religious indoctrinated sheep.

Only one or two Christians responded with good step by step reasoning to help the unbelievers, or outsiders, understand. But the mockery continued. I started to make comments of my own. After submitting a few, I soon realized that it's a waste of time debating with mockers and outsiders on Youtube. The verse, "there will be mockers in the last days who will walk after their own lust" rang loudly in my head. I simply stopped making any more comments. It's better to speak with an outsider on a more personal level, anyway.

PMABM Newsletter #8

Next up in our study of different styles - Tai Chi Chuan. In Chinese, Tai Chi Chuan means "supreme ultimate fist." The progenitors of the style were Taoists who used the idea of opposing forces working in harmony as the philosophical basis for their art. As Taoists, they incorporated the idea of chi, an indefinable energy flow of the universe. The reason they believe it was the supreme is because the movements were the manifestation of yin and yang and the practice was a representation of the universe's workings.

I don't subscribe to the idea of chi and, no, you're not at one with the universe when you practice tai chi chuan. But there is good use of physics and strategy in this approach to martial arts. In our practice of contact flow, I emphasize yielding and rooting. Those ideas come directly from tai chi chuan. In being sensitive to incoming energy in the form of a strike, you give way, yield, and use that energy to counterattack. In the book, Tao te Ching, one phrase sums this up: "The soft and pliable will defeat the hard and strong." Only by consistent practice can you truly come to understand how to be more sensitive, and know when to yield and when to strike.

Watch for what I'm talking about in these vids:

This guy does a different style of tai chi chuan, but the underlying theory is the same. Also, interesting contrast between the solo form and the partner sets:


A few more applications to traditional tai chi chuan moves:


I like the two on one set in this:

The "D" Word

"Like in The Karate Kid, where Miyagi forces Ralph Macchio to wash his cars and paint his fence and sand his deck. Miyagi gets everything fixed-up, ship-shape, and sparkling like a new penny. Ralph Macchio learns some new moves the only way you ever truly learn anything on this earth: through endless, moronic repetition."
- from the article "Mom's Home" by David Eddie of Mack Daddy AOL Canada Life and Style, July 1, 2008

"More often than not, excuses are simply lies that we tell to ourselves to abate the sharp sting of acknowledging our own shortcomings." - Damian Ross

I've been teaching the youth group kids about spiritual discipline. Discipline in general, with a focus on the spiritual aspect. The reason why the kids don't make it a priority to live a holy life is because they simply haven't disciplined themselves to doing so. Understandable, they're kids, it's rare to find a truly spiritually disciplined teen. Hey, even adults have a tough time trying to discipline themselves. But we're all working on it. And that's why it's always best to start when you're young, when bad habits aren't totally ingrained yet. Much harder for an adult to change habits. And that's where I started off, with bad habits, moral and amoral. Only by God's grace and His strength can bad habits be changed. Yes, there's will-power, but I'd rather depend on God's power - works much better than just weak old me doing the work. And besides, it'll count for eternity if I give it up to God.

To the left of the whiteboard, I wrote "bad habits" and in the middle I wrote "good habits." Between those two phrases, I drew an arrow pointing to the right and underneath I wrote "DISCIPLINE." It takes discipline and a whole lot of work to go from one to the other, and I emphasized God's strength referencing Philippians. Bad habits are both the immoral and amoral but unproductive. Good habits can be both moral and amoral but productive. The discipline will take them out of their comfort zone, which is the only way to get better. From there, to the right of the whiteboard, I wrote "better habits," which are more aligned with spiritual habits. I then extended the arrow of discipline and told them to keep growing and the way to do so is to read God's word, be mindful of their thoughts and actions, and to be around fellow believers as often as possible.

The Marketing Genius

“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”

“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

"I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying."

"We've been to 57 states... I think one more to go."

"This is the greatest nation in the world, and I'm here to change it."

No, thanks, Barack. Let's not.

My dad is an insurance salesman and I was trained in sales as well, so I can spot a sales pitch from a mile away. Barack is nothing more than a salesman, a clever marketer who is willing to pander to people's needs, real or imagined. But a little research and some soul-searching should lead to the inevitable conclusion that Barack's like a balloon: full of hot air, carries little weight, and with enough time, will deflate, along with his fantasy for hope and change. People who applaud someone promising that government will provide both will have a severe case of buyer's remorse.

Truth Be Told for Black Gold

The oil issue isn't hard to figure out: We need to begin using oil that can be produced from US sources. We can be independent of foreign oil if we simply rely on our resources in ANWR and the continental shelf.

Of course, the liberals, and just plain greedy people, play their little games, impeding our progress. They submit to the whims of radical environmentalists who are already successful with their infiltration of "Going Green," a very socialistic program.

We should continue to develop alternative energy sources, which is generally done by private individuals and industry, but in the meantime, we can still use the oil we have in this country and we have a lot!

Our responsibility

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
- President Abraham Lincoln

"If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained - we must fight!"
- Patrick Henry

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
- John Adams

The Ignorant Savage

Tony Perkins was on AC 360 on CNN today with gay activist and author Dan Savage. At one point, so-called neutral and objective Cooper asked Perkins about the 1948 CA law that "redefined" marriage. Cooper was referring to the California Supreme Court case Perez vs. Sharp that called into question the anti-miscegenation statutes of that state and inevitably repealed them. For years, even going back to the birth of this nation, laws were passed to prohibit interracial marriage. Perkins began to answer by saying that interracial marriage does not change the definition of marriage and that it is still one man with one woman for life. Savage then barraged Perkins with nonsense questions and comments since most likely he knew Perkins was logically correct. So to prevent Perkins from answering, he and Andy switched the direction of the discussion.

I want to complete what Perkins started: The CA Supreme Court did not redefine marriage by allowing interracial marriage. In fact, they reinforced the idea that marriage is between one man and one woman for life, and that this time, the person's ethnicity is not an issue. It's gay marriage that redefines marriage. It is not one man with one woman for life, it is one sex with the same sex for an undefined length of time. By going away from the "one man with one woman for life" definition, it's not marriage anymore, and that's true for heterosexuals as well.

By allowing marriage to be simply an amorphous "love contract," it denigrates the institution and it will destabilize the basic building block of society, which is the family. It's hard enough to hold a marriage and a family together. Things will only be made worse if outside forces begin to change it. In America, if gay marriage is allowed, the next wave of marriage redefiners will try to make their case in no time, and I think in order these will be: polygamists, then pedophiles, then beastophiles or some other polysexual sickness. It's obvious polygamists will try their best, especially with this whole FLDS fiasco. They seem to be thriving in this country unchecked. Then pedophiles and pedosexuals would follow since NAMBLA and GLA are growing as well. If we don't nip it in the bud, America may truly become Sodom and Gomorrah.

Successful Project

The Project Success program ended for the year and I had to submit a summary of my part in it. This is also used to request for additional funds so I can provide my services next year.

"The martial arts program I offered to Project Success had a two-fold purpose: to teach students how to effectively defend themselves and to teach students how to think progressively. They were taught many things that I would teach in my school and, even more so, much of what I taught them was geared for their age group.

"For the first purpose, I did not teach a traditional approach to martial arts by having them memorize technique sequences. Instead, I focused on natural reactive movement that is instinctive and intuitive, enabling them to learn faster. But there is more to self-defense than just fighting back - it is having an awareness of the surrounding environment. To introduce the children to this idea, the first few lessons included a reaction drill to be aware of the slightest touch on their shoulder and to react to it as quickly as possible. I also had them do a real-world evasion exercise, by running from "danger" and to go to a "safe spot" across the gym. I even included an imaginary street for them to look both ways so they can get into the habit of being watchful. I also suggested an out of class exercise to notice what was going on around them and not to allow their minds to wander. At the same time, the children learned how to strike with greater power by utilizing full body momentum.

"To fulfill the second purpose, we recited the progressive affirmation after each class so that the students would learn to think positively and successfully. When I went over the rules for the class in the beginning of the program, thinking positively was an important rule, second only to mutual respect. I gave a practical example: they should not say the word "can't" especially when it comes to learning martial arts. I always emphasized that they can learn, change, and grow, in martial arts and in any other endeavor they choose to do. These are the same phrases I memorized and recited at the end of each class when I trained in karate several years ago:
I will develop myself in a positive manner and avoid anything that would reduce my mental growth or my physical health.
I will develop discipline in order to bring out the best in myself and others.
I will use what I learn constructively and defensively, to help myself and my fellow man, and never to be abusive or offensive.
There were a few sessions where the children and I had a short discussion on the meaning of these phrases as well.

"Over the course of the five months, I taught the children many other aspects of martial arts. There were a few more real-world exercises, like quickly verifying a "friend" from a "foe," getting away from grabs and holds, and even doing a flash card drill with license plate numbers. They learned many strikes as well, using all the available ridges of the body, like edge of the palm, elbows, knees, and kicks.

"We trained as much as we could during that one day out of the week and compressed as much information as possible in those sessions. The students were progressing along and were learning quite well. From what I hear, they enjoyed the program so much that those who will be in the elementary school next year would like to continue training."

PMABM Newsletter #7

For this newsletter, we'll look at a video of another style I learned. Yes, it is none other than the very first style I formally learned - Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu Okinawan Karate. Here's a memorized kumite (sparring) exercise:



Even though I don't teach forms and the only memorized movement sequences I teach are in the earlier levels of training, I don't discount them. We can still learn something from them. They were a valuable training aid to martial artists of old and they were an aid to me in the beginning of my development. I concluded that kata or forms were only one of many ways to transmit martial arts principles and teaching methods expeditiously and concretely.

A few ideas garnered from karate: karate chops ARE effective; kicks should be kept low; don't roundhouse kick; torque when you strike; stepping should be natural; breathe out when you strike; belt rank is not applicable in kumite; make the strike go from point A to point B as efficiently as possible; train the ridges of your body to hit well; train the rest of your body to take hits well.

And here is the founder of the Matsubayashi style, Shoshin Nagamine, in his late 80s doing the first black belt kata or form exercise:



Talking about old guys who can still move, here's a bonus video of Johnny LaCoste in the late 1970s. Johnny was one of the many grandmasters of Filipino Martial Arts. Here he is in a rare video with Dan Inosanto when Dan was just starting to incorporate Filipino Martial Arts in his Jeet Kune Do. I would love to be in my late 80s and still be able to move like these guys did. Watch from 2:50 to about 5:40. And if you want to see a crazy kali solo drill, it's starts at 6:36.

Renaming channels

I now call the Discovery channel "The Discredit the Bible channel." There were so many shows in just the past few weeks that questioned the legitimacy of the Biblical record and only explained the Bible through the naturalistic perspective. It's bad enough they have shows that present Darwinian evolution as a given "scientific" basis which all other sciences spring from. Worse when they present the Bible's events through that perspective. Darwinian evolution is incredibly limiting and scientifically nonsensical when used to explain the present physical world.

Also, I've renamed the History channel "The Revisionist History channel" and the Learning channel "The Leery of What I'm Learning channel."

Complainers

Five years ago today, I was living in Cincinnati, OH, and working for GE Capital. It was raining on and off that day and it cleared by the time I left to go home. I turned on the TV and all the news channels were reporting that US and Coalition Forces were beginning their first phase in invading and freeing Iraq.

The war was controversial in its outset. Why Iraq? Why not keep it in Afghanistan? There were no reports of Bin Laden being in Iraq. Why waste time, money, and lives going after Hussein, who didn't even plan the 9/11 attacks? Back then, most people relied on Bush's promise to find WMDs. After five years, there doesn't seem to be much to show for all the energy put into the war. And Bush even considered it a mistake. Why keep going? We should pull out now and find the real terrorists! And then impeach Bush.

Arguments like these only show an uninformed and narrow view of the war. Many have already forgotten why we went to war in the first place. What didn't help was the mainstream media constantly focusing on the failures of the war. And many people don't make the time to do a little research to find the truth. The mainstream media already had a built-in antipathy towards Bush, so they try to find anything that would discredit him, even going so far as suppressing the truth.

Here's a reminder from the article "Why We Went to War in Iraq" by David Horowitz (emphases mine):

"...The first – and last – rationale presented for the war by the Bush administration in every formal government statement about the war was not the destruction of WMDs but the removal of Saddam Hussein, or regime change.

"This regime change was necessary because Saddam was an international outlaw. He had violated the 1991 Gulf War truce and all the arms control agreements it embodied, including UN resolutions 687 and 689, and the 15 subsequent UN resolutions designed to enforce them. The last of these, UN Security Council Resolution 1441, was itself a war ultimatum to Saddam giving him “one final opportunity” to disarm – or else. The ultimatum expired on December 7, 2002, and America went to war three months later...

"Al Gore and Bill Clinton had themselves called for the removal of Saddam by force when he expelled the UN weapons inspectors in 1998, a clear violation of the Gulf truce. This was the reason Clinton and Gore sent an “Iraqi Liberation Act” to Congress that year; it is why the congressional Democrats voted in October 2002 to authorize the president to use force to remove him; and it is the reason the entire Clinton-Gore national security team, including the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence, supported Bush when he sent American troops into Iraq in March 2003.

"The Authorization for the Use of Force bill – passed by majorities of both parties in both Houses – is the legal basis for the president’s war, which Democrats have since betrayed along with the troops they sent to the battlefield. The Authorization bill begins with 23 “whereas” clauses justifying the war. Contrary to Gore and the Democratic critics of the Bush administration, only two of these clauses refer to stockpiles of WMDs. On the other hand, twelve of the reasons for going to war refer to UN resolutions violated by Saddam Hussein...

"On March 17, two days before the invasion, Bush issued an eleventh-hour ultimatum to Saddam: leave the country or face war. In other words, if Saddam had agreed to leave Iraq, there would have been no American invasion. It is one of the most revealing features of the Democrats’ crusade against George Bush that they blame the war on him instead of Saddam.

"If its offer had been accepted, the Bush administration would have left in place a regime run by the Ba’athist Party and headed by Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz or some comparable figure from the old regime. The idea was, that without Saddam, even such a bad regime would honor the truce accords of 1991 and UN Resolution 1441. This would have led to Iraq’s cooperation with the UN inspectors and the destruction of any WMDs or WMD programs that Saddam may have had – without necessitating a war...

"Since war was not the president’s preference – first, last or otherwise – the United States did not immediately attack. Instead, the White House spent three months after the December 7th deadline trying by diplomatic means to persuade the French and Russians and Chinese to back the UN resolution they had voted for and to force Saddam to open his country to full inspections. In other words, to honor the terms of the Gulf War truce that they – as Security Council members – had ratified and promised to enforce."

In addition, there have been a significant amount of evidence showing that WMDs have been found. Hussein had enough yellowcake uranium that, if refined, would have been able to make nearly 150 nuclear bombs, besides all the other chemical weapons he had. All he would have needed was a little time and a whole lot of distraction to set up the factories to manufacture the weapons. And there should be no surprise that Hussein and Al-qaeda are connected in some way. They have been involved with each other for over a decade up until '02.

Anyone who misunderstands the reasons for the war are victims of their own forgetfulness or heavily influenced by media bias against Bush.

PMABM Newsletter #6

To continue our discussion on different martial arts I've experienced, here is a nice demonstration of silat, one of many Southeast Asian martial arts. This first video is a demonstration of both Filipino kali and silat, influenced by Dan Inosanto. He teaches the blended Maphilindo style of silat, but it's not too different from the purely Indonesian style I learned. You don't have to understand the commentators to appreciate this demonstration. If you understand Italian, then great!



This second video is more of what I trained in called pencak silat mande muda. This is part of a seminar taught by Pendekar Suwanda (pendekar means instructor). It was incredibly fun to learn since I was able to tie up my partner into a pretzel in myriad ways. This style helped catapult me to a greater understanding of contact flow and combative movement. No, it doesn't have any superficial connection to contact flow, but we'll go over some of the moves in class to help you see the shared principles.



And one more video: once again, look for the similarities in combative movement. Can you see hubud movement in there? Are you able to pick out what's effective and what's just dance-like? Do you think this can work in high speed? Do you think this can work with a sociopath coming after you?

I Heart Huckabee

Darn...

Huckabee dropped out of the race. And he was so good too! An incredibly gifted speaker, a natural comedian, and an overall fun-loving guy, which is not typical for a presidential candidate. I don't agree with his immigration stance, which is too much like Bush's, but for most everything else, he was closest to representing me. Oh, well, maybe I'll see him run again in 2012 or 2016 (whoa, those years seem sci-fi strange to me).

Just saw live coverage of Bush endorsing McCain. Ugh, that's too bad. I mean, both Bush and McCain are moderate anyway, so it only makes sense that they would team up. And I understand Huckabee throwing his support over to McCain, also. Strategically speaking, it would make sense to back one candidate especially if you want your party to win. I may be Republican, but I'd rather be associated with conservatism. Republicans in government are a little too moderate for me these days. Once again, it's one of those "lesser of two evils" votes. But with all the conservative radio pundits badmouthing McCain, I wonder who is truly less evil.

In the end, we'll see who God puts in the White House and then I'll have to accept it. I'll make my voice known if I need to.

Crappy News Nonsense

When we moved into our new house a month ago, the cable line was still on from the previous occupants. I told RCN to get rid of the cable because I knew I'd waste too much time in front of the dumbtube, especially with all the crap I have to do. RCN said they were on it. So, I'm watching as much as I can now before it cuts out. But man it's depressing! I'm usually on the news channels or documentary/learning channels. Talk about lack of truth and objectivity! I'm not saying there isn't any, but it sure is rare. I feel sorry for people who accept much of what these channels talk about as fact. And not only that, but the old adage "blood sells" or "sex sells" doesn't give me feel good vibes. News producers, we know the world is a wicked and violent place full of bloodshed and tears. We're very aware of the evil and the crap that happens in the world. Even though it varies in one form or another, it's still the same bad news. Is there a possibility you can report good news as often as the bad? That would be so refreshing, I would very much appreciate it. I'm sure a bunch of other people would too.

PMABM Newsletter #5

I want you to be familiar with the martial arts that have influenced my development. You're learning many of the principles from these arts, so it only makes sense to have a more in-depth knowledge of them.

Here is an Inside Martial Arts video on the Burmese martial art of Thaing, Kasheen style. I trained in a more common version of Burmese martial art called Bando, although Bando and Kasheen Thaing are both the same thing, just from different parts of Myanmar. When you watch the video, compare the similarities of combative movement in Thaing to what I teach you. Think about the underlying principles. Also, watch out for what the speaker says about the sport aspect of training, why he feels it's necessary. But, as I've said many times, even though combat sports is part of your training, it has its limitations. If the sports aspect is your only focus, it may hinder you from developing good self-defense skills, which is why contact flow and other types of non-sport self-defense training is important.



And this second video is quite interesting. Amusing actually! It's a self-defense film from the UK in the 1930s. Even then, watch out for principles of combative movement and compare it with what I teach you. Is it good self-defense? Is it bad? What techniques are usable? What goes a little too far? What is just stupid?



Remember, BASD is closed this coming Monday, so no Project Success DSD martial arts.

Rid yourself of B.O.

Obama seems to have the best chance at winning the Democratic nomination right now. It's a no brainer that he'll have the majority of the black vote. It still amazes me that the party that advocated slavery ended up being the party with the most black voters in recent times. The party that fought against Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is now the party that wants to hold the black vote, not so much out of racial integration, but to keep the black people in line. Read up on the history. It's the January 27, 2008 article entitled Democrats and Racial Politics: From Jim Crow to Barack Obama by Frances Rice.

And for a little reading pleasure, here's Barack's oh so spiritual journey - as you read it can you just picture Barack as one of those Nation of Israel depictions of black Jesus, with a bright gold halo atop his closely cropped nappy hair?

Roe and Doe For Sho'

“The more people learn about Roe v. Wade and what Roe v. Wade has actually done to our country, the more people oppose the provisions of Roe v. Wade... That is the primary reason that groups like Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women and other pro-abortion organizations want to get out this disinformation — they don’t want people to know the truth about Roe v. Wade.”
- Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America, in an interview with Family News in Focus

This is Sanctity of Human Life week. To know how to fight abortion on demand, you'll have to know what you're up against. Read up on Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton.

Here is a summary of those decisions included in the explanation of answers from the Roe IQ test:

1. Under Roe, the Supreme Court gave free reign for abortion in the first trimester, but seemed to rule that abortion could be restricted significantly or prohibited in the second and third trimesters. However, the court said that later regulations must allow for abortions needed to protect the woman's health. Roe's companion case, Doe v. Bolton (issued on the same day as Roe) defined maternal "health" as: "all factors – physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age – relevant to the well-being of the patient." These factors are so vague and open-ended that almost any reason can be and is cited to allow abortion in the second and third trimesters. (SOURCE: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 164 (1973); Roe, 410 U.S. at 164; Roe, 410 U.S. at 164-5; Doe v. Bolton, 41 U.S. 179, 192 (1973).

2. A woman can have an abortion for practically any reason during her pregnancy, as long as the abortion is deemed medically necessary as defined by Doe v. Bolton as "all factors – physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age – relevant to the well-being of the patient." (SOURCE: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 164 (1973); Roe, 410 U.S. at 164; Roe, 410 U.S. at 164-5; Doe v. Bolton, 41 U.S. 179, 192 (1973).

3. Under Roe and Doe, there were no restrictions on how late into pregnancy a woman could have an abortion or what abortion method could be used. (SOURCE: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973); Doe v. Bolton, 41 U.S. 179 (1973).

4. Before Roe, the issue of abortion was decided by state legislatures and some states allowed abortion in certain circumstances. A Supreme Court decision overruling Roe would return the legalization and regulation of abortion back to the elected legislatures, as it was before. Prior to Roe, 30 states had laws criminalizing abortion. In 2006, USA Today, using data from Planned Parenthood's research arm, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, speculated that if Roe were overruled; 22 states would impose "significant" restrictions on abortion; 16 states would maintain the status quo of abortion available on demand; and 12 states would impose some restrictions on abortion. Pro-life groups have estimated that abortion would be legal in 43 states if Roe were overturned. (SOURCE: Susan Page, "Roe v. Wade: The Divided States of America," USA Today, April 17, 2006, Americans United for Life, Defending Life 2007, p. 59).

5. While various sources place the number of abortions anywhere between 40-48 million, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would approximate the number of abortions performed since 1973 to be 40,944,029. (SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2003, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 55, No. SS-11, November 24, 2006).

6. Although 78 percent of Americans favor parental notification laws and 72 percent support parental consent laws, under Roe, there is no required parental notification, regardless of age. In several cases after Roe, the Supreme Court cited Roe to strike down state laws that tried to ensure parents would be involved if their minor daughters had abortions. (SOURCES: Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991); Opinion Dynamics Poll, April 27, 2005).

7. Under Roe and Doe, there are no apparent restrictions on sex-selection abortions. Instead, Doe's protection of abortion for a woman's health explicitly includes "emotional, psychological, [or] familial" health, which would allow a woman to decide that having a child of a particular gender would be unhealthy for her or her family. (SOURCE: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973); Doe v. Bolton, 41 U.S. 179 (1973).

8. Fewer than 1 percent of abortions are done because of rape and incest. (SOURCE: A. Torres and J. Forest, "Why Do Women Have Abortions?" Family Planning Perspectives, 20:4 (July/August 1988, 169-76; A. Bankole, et al., "Reasons Why Women Have Induced Abortions: Evidence from 27 Countries," Family Planning Perspectives, 24:3 (August 1998), 117-25, 152).

9. None of the founding documents contains the phrase "right to an abortion." The "right of privacy" that was used to justify Roe, came out of the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut, when the court wrote: "The 'right' of privacy is based on the Bill of Rights [which] have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance." A penumbra is defined by the Encarta Dictionary as a "partial outer shadow that is lighter than the darker inner shadow umbra, e.g. the area between complete darkness and complete light in an eclipse." (SOURCE: Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 484 (1965).

10. The answer is Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the court's most liberal member and former counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. (SOURCE: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "Some Thoughts on Autonomy and Equality in Relation to Roe v. Wade," North Carolina Law Review, 63 (January 1985); 375-386, at 376).

11. Finland does not allow abortion on demand but only under certain circumstances such as life of the woman, as well as rape and incest. [including "health" may be confusing in light of Doe; this change is still consistent with the reference graph] Great Britain does not allow abortion on demand, or for rape and incest. Abortions for other reasons such as the life and health of the woman are only legal in the first six months of pregnancy. Ireland only allows abortion if the life of the woman is in danger; abortion is illegal under all other circumstances. Mexico only allows abortion during the first trimester, and then only under special circumstances (life of the woman, rape, incest, and birth defects). Abortion in the United States is legal for practically any reason throughout all nine months of pregnancy. (SOURCE: "Summary of Abortion Laws Around the World," www.pregnantpause.org/lex/world02.htm).

12. Roe does not specify who can or cannot perform abortions. SOURCE: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973); Doe v. Bolton, 41 U.S. 179 (1973).

Answered in Genesis

I was browsing through friends blogs when I stumbled onto this one by Jud N.:

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Questions in Genesis

According to Genesis 1, plants were created on day 3, animals on day 5, and man on day 6. According to Genesis 2, man was formed before the plants (and possibly before the animals, too). Genesis 1 makes clear that male and female were both created on day 6 (i.e. before day 7). Genesis 2 seems to imply that Adam lived some time on earth alone, most likely longer than 24 hours. Can anyone help resolve these quirks? You'd think Moses could have gotten his facts a bit more clear, after all, the Holy Spirit was helping him, right?
EDIT: I've enjoyed the bit of discussion so far, and hope to keep it up, so I did a bit more studying over lunch, and the "straightforward / literal" reading of Genesis 2 in the original NASB not only says Adam was created before plants, but before the animals too, and on the same day that God made everything else. Now it seems we're all mixed up with respect to the Genesis 1 chronology. Regarding whether or not Adam and Eve were made within a 24 hour period, I certainly don't want to limit God, but it does seem that Adam would be limited by time, right? If we're to believe the natural, "literal" interpretation of the passage, that Adam actually gave names to all the animals, it's pretty hard to believe such a task could have been completed in a literal day. I'm genuinely curious if there's an answer to these problems from the "literal history" camp. Anyone want to take a crack at it?

There were a dozen commentors before me. I responded with:

"Adam worked for 12 hours with a half hour lunch when he named the animals. He was denied the two 15 minute breaks because the worker's union wasn't invented yet.

Are you seriously asking or are you just asking to spark a discussion? Do you still have the notes from freshman Bible class in Cedarville? You should find the answers there, including Genesis. (But if you're like me, then you threw them away midway through junior year.)"

Today I responded again:

"I guess you were serious. I was half-asleep when I read your Edit. Since you want an answer, here's the quick version:

Foundation: When you read the Bible, always keep in mind "context." That's the very first rule in Bible study as well as learning Biblical languages. Also, since our Bible was split into chapters and verses in the 13th and 16th centuries respectively, you don't want to rely on that to separate thoughts and ideas - an entire book has to be read as one. Next, boring dan was right in saying that Gen 2 doesn't take into account the chronological order because it merely repeats what was written earlier and that now the writer is giving details about Adam and Eve. Finally, with an old manuscript like the Bible, you have to understand the audience: Moses was writing to Israelites during the journey to the Promised Land.

Let's take Gen 2:5: the Hebrew word for "shrub" is siyach. The only other time this particular kind of plant is mentioned is in Gen 21:15 in the wilderness and Job 30:4 also in the wilderness. And, because we don't live in an agricultural society, we tend to dismiss the word "field." "Field" in Gen 2 is associated with "field" in Gen 3, as in a farm field. When those chapters are read together and acknowledge the audience, you'll see that the Israelites heard the account like this:

"God created everything perfect before sin entered. The world was different then, no wilderness shrub to make farming difficult, before we even had the need to farm, like the way you worked Pharoah's fields. Back then a mist was in the air and covered everything, unlike the dry desert heat you feel at the moment. Rain had not fallen yet, because rain is the result of sin, and I'll explain that later as well. The Garden of Eden was created on the third day with the other plants and God put man, who He created on the sixth day, in it to take care of it. Man did not cultivate fields yet because he had the Garden. Later, when man sinned, he had to cultivate the fields in hardship and eat of its fruit."

Same with naming animals - danielmfoster is right to say there weren't as many animals as we see today. Just like there were only two humans in the very beginning, there were only a small number of animals as well. I wouldn't be surprised if it took less than a day to name them all (along with that half-hour break for some non-Tree of Knowledge fruit).

So you see, there's no need to leave the "literalist camp," nor is Genesis 1-11 just poetry and metaphor, nor do we need to disregard or minimize Genesis and Revelation and only "emphasize the middle." Those bookends are part of a very important whole. By disregarding the six literal days of Creation, you disregard Jesus' reference to it in the NT as the self-evidential truth that it is. I agree that there's been too much squabbling over those two books. Revelation has had too many cheesy movies made of it and Genesis is being blown off by the established Evolutionary dogmatists as myth. How unfortunate that those dogmatists are influencing Christian thought. It's important to accept the entire Bible as plainly true because all the themes tie in with the Gospel - both Genesis and Revelation point to Jesus. With a little time and a lot of research, you'll end up with what you knew intuitively in the first place: Gen 1-11 is literal history, part of God's inerrant word."

Happy Religious Freedom Day!

Remember the first part of the First Amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

No, I didn't know there was such a day either. It's good to recognize it, though. The establishment and free exercise clauses are misunderstood these days, especially with the oft misunderstood unconstitutional phrase "separation of church and state." Jefferson wrote that phrase in a letter to a church, not as a part of our founding documents. It's nice to know his views, although how people read it as separating religion from government so that we live in a secular society free from the Bible's influence is not the correct interpretation of the First Amendment.

Simply put, government should never make a Church of the United States. It shouldn't prefer one religion or denomination over another. The separation of church and state that Jefferson and Madison spoke of in personal letters was so that government will not be able to control churches and vice versa. Like, if Harrisburg controls the funds for the churches in Pennsylvania, collects taxes for those churches, creates its hierarchical structure, makes its weekly teaching schedule, then it violates the establishment clause. Also, government cannot keep its citizens from practicing their religion and expressing what they believe in, on private or public property, or else it violates the free exercise clause. Government should leave the churches alone. Churches shouldn't control government either. A church organization should not run a city or state government or have anything to do with their bureaucracy. But because churches are made up of citizens, they have all the right to be represented and make changes, even Biblically motivated changes, in their government on all levels.

I am glad that I live in a country where I can express my faith with no fear of government persecution. Yes, I may receive social "persecution" but that is nothing compared to what my brothers and sisters face on a daily basis in the 1040 Window, those countries in the world where Christians are constantly harassed and persecuted simply because of their faith. But wherever Christians are persecuted, they grow stronger. American Christians tend to take their freedoms for granted, and many have become weak and shallow in their faith. I can only hope that American Christians will be as strong as those Christians in the 1040 countries. And it's scary to think that the only way Christians in the US will ever be as strong is if our religious freedoms are taken away.

PMABM Newsletter #4

Hello! Welcome to the new year, another year to be a better martial artist.

For this month, I decided to use two videos representing the two major components of what I teach: self-defense and sport.

Self-defense:
The Dog Brothers have exceptional promotional videos for their product line. This is the promotional for their self-defense video The Interface Between Gun, Knife, and Empty-hand, which shows you how to deal with the knife and the gun. There are several ideas presented that I'd like for you to keep in mind, and I will ask you about them in class. Even though I teach you mainly from John Perkins's approach to the knife and the gun, it's good to be open to other people's views as well. As it says in the beginning of the video, "Research your own experience," and to continue that statement, "Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless. Add what is specifically your own."

Sport:
The History channel show, Human Weapon, has segments where computer generated figures are used to demonstrate various martial arts techniques. The two I've included use the same principles - the juji-gatame, also known as the armbar. We have to get you guys back on the mat to practice this basic technique while in full sparring mode. Not only that but we also have to continue practicing how to get out of the armbar as well.

Juji-gatame:

Armbar: