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Athanasius of Alexandria, Pastor and Confessor, May 2 (from the CPH Pocket Diary)

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I proclaim that the truth is always worth fighting for. Athanasius of Alexandria is one of those who has gone before us, showing us in his life and in his suffering what "contending for the truth" really looks like.

Athanasius of Alexandria, Pastor and Confessor

Athanasius was born in Alexandria in Egypt in AD 295. He served as a church leader in a time of great controversy and ecclesiastical disagreements. At the Council of Nicaea in 325, he defended Christian orthodoxy against the proponents of the Arian heresy, which denied the full divinity of Jesus Christ. During his 45-year tenure as bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius wrote numerous works that defended the orthodox teaching. His enemies had him exiled five times; on two occasions he was almost murdered. Yet Athanasius remained steadfast and ended his days restored fully to his church responsibilities. The Athanasian Creed, though not composed by Athanasius, is named in his honor because it confesses the doctrinal orthodoxy he championed throughout his life.

Wikipedia page on Athanasius of Alexandria
Catholic Encyclopedia page on St. Athanasius

"I Manipulate," Steve Taylor [lyrics]

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"I Manipulate"
Steve Taylor

Does your soul crave center stage?
have you heard about the latest rage?
read your Bible by lightning flash
get ordained at the thunder crash
build a kingdom with a cattle prod
tell the masses it's a message from God
where the innocent congregate
I manipulate

Take your notebooks, turn with me
to the chapter on authority
do you top the chain of command
rule your family with an iron hand
I dispense little pills of power
from my hideaway ivory tower
from the cover of heaven's gate
I manipulate

Now it's time to fill in the space
where we talk about the woman's place
do you want to build a happy home?
have you sacrificed a mind of your own?
'cause a good wife learns to cower
underneath the umbrella of power
from the cover of heaven's gate
I manipulate

Yes, I know that parable
that's the story of the prodigal
if you question what I'm teaching you
you rebel against the Father too
if he loved him why'd he let him go?
well, I guess I don't really know
but I see it's getting late...

sigh.

The abuse of authority. Makes me cry.

Dinner out

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In retrospect, I should have introduced myself to this gentleman and gotten his name. He inspired my photographic eye -- even if I was shooting just with my phone tonight....

All Abuzz

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Our willow was all abuzz with Spring this morning.

Busy, busy time of year!

Spring photo fever

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Spring

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Chicks at Roswell Seed Company

Spring comes, spring leafs.

Moon, Camera, obligatory photo

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ISO 800, f/8, 1/80s

Harley: A Portrait

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Harley: Some Love

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Harley

A Right to Shame

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CNN Breaking News 8:20 AM (17 minutes ago):
-- Supreme Court upholds Westboro Baptist Church's right to [be jerks and bring shame on the name of Christ and His followers.] (2 Peter 2)

A handful of recent photos

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"The fog beat a hasty retreat back to the Pecos this morning as the sun claimed the day." 23.Feb.2011

"again" 24.Feb.2011

"empty" 24.Feb.2011

Sense

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I'm wondering:

If I start talking nonsense will it make sense to people with no sense?

Getting attention

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I'm wondering if I used more emotion-laden, vague and intellectually vacant wording to describe my .... "spiritual experiences," if more people would read or listen to the stuff I reference.

Reflections on "Emptiness"

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(This is a reflection on my earlier... "poem," "Emptiness".)

... and then we, in community, celebrate intellectual vacancy.

On Twitter

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Twitter befuddles me.

How can so many people say and resay so little about so little so often?

It seems like it would eventually assume the density of a black hole and suck in the whole solar system....

Goodbye T-mobile

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Goodbye T-mobile,

I love you. I promise to return some day -- when I can. I'll be sure to check on your local coverage next time I get a new phone. My love for my phone is just stronger than your signal here. I really have no love for my new wireless provider, but they have a solid, new 3G network here, and it's really nice.

I'm really sorry. I'm glad we can still be friends.

You're the best!

I Don't Like You

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I don't like you

keep in mind that
I did
not
say
I dislike you

I
don't
like
you

There's really no reason
to take offense

I just
don't
like
you

You are a
professional
at
making people
like
you

That's what you
do
You
make people
like
you

You
make people
trust
you

Regardless of
whether
or not
they
should

Your job entails
making
people like and trust
you

So
I reserve the
right
to
reserve
judgment

It's not that I
dislike
you

I'm fine with you
I just
don't
like
you

Maybe I'll like you later

Emptiness

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Emptiness
stacks and stacks of emptiness
volumes
shelves, full of emptiness

shallowness
buckets of it
huge sloshing vats
tanks and earthen dams
filled with shallowness

worthlessness
millions, billions of dollars
spent on it
invested in it
gobbled up by empty, shallow souls

I cry alone

words.

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Sometimes I wonder.... the people who have the least to say use the most words to say it. The people who say the least with the greatest numbers of words have the most listening to them.

If I had the talent....

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as well as having my conscience and moral compass removed, I like to work in marketing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H86ckBYr3mU&f....mbedded

Verizon and Motorola Xoom ad.

Quest for the Living God

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So.... I have this Facebook friend who "liked" "Quest for the Living God." He's been to seminary. He's the son of a Christian preacher. He is involved in ministry in an ostensibly Christian church.... Why would a "Christian" "like" "Quest for the Living God," when Christianity is all about the God who has revealed Himself?

I am confused.

I also know that if I posted this on FB I would be summarily punished for it.

CNN Breaking News -- Unrest in Jordan

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-- King of Jordan appoints new prime minister, a move that comes after protests calling for political reform.

.... so, does this strike anyone else as "people call for reform: King shuffles cronies?"

CNN Breaking News -- U.S. Heath Care (from yesterday)

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-- A federal judge in Florida has struck down as unconstitutional key parts of the sweeping health care reform bill.

.... well, that's promising.

[quote] knowing

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All men by nature desire to know.
- Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book I.I

It is true that, "all men by nature desire to know," but it is sad that all men do not desire knowledge or wisdom.

Many people will often criticize people who seek knowledge and speak disparagingly of them as "bookworms," or "book smart." It is true that those who despise one type of knowledge do not hesitate to fill their minds and their time with other kinds of knowledge.

The despisers of true knowledge will have their heads full (to the brim and spilling over) with transient knowledge of sports, television shows, gossip, rumors, scandals, conspiracies, pop band names, members and lyrics, movie trivia, ad infinitum. There is no end to the things people will fill their heads with en lu of true knowledge.

All men by nature desire to know.... something. If they despise true knowledge, it leave more than too much room for garbage.

My life with Linux

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It'll be ten years in August since I reformatted the drive on my notebook computer (not this notebook) and installed Linux. In November of that same year, Yvonne had as much of Windows as she could take, and her computer got changed over also. It's been a really good ten years.

Sometimes I marvel at how far Linux has advanced in ten years. Sometimes I grumble that so few companies will release commercial software for Linux.

I do make some sacrifices to run Linux, but all in all it's well worth it. If it wasn't worth it, I would have drown my sorrows in the Apple Kool-Aid by now.

Good to be home

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I can always tell when I'm home (from a vacation) because my internet connection comes back up to speed.

2010 in books

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   1. 100 Ways to Take Better Portrait Photographs, Daniel Lezano, Bjorn Thomassen
   2. The City of God, Augustine
   3. Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptise Children, Daniel R. Hyde
   4. The Car, Gary Paulsen
   5. Aeschylus, Plays by:
* The Suppliant Maidens
* The Persians
* The Seven Against Thebes
* Prometheus Bound
* Agamemnon
* Cheophoroe
* Eumenides
   6. Sophocles, Plays by
* Oedipus the King
* Oedipus at Colonus
* Antigone
* Ajax (Ajas)
* Electra
* Trachiniae
* Philoctetes
   7. Problem of Pain, CS Lewis (Audiobook)
   8. Abolition of Man, CS Lewis (Audiobook)
   9. Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
10. Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
11. Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
12. Alarms and Discursions, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
13. All Things Considered, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
14. The Appetite of Tyranny, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
15. The Innocence of Father Brown, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
16. Irish Impressions, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
17. Manalive, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
18. Napoleon of Notting Hill, G.K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
19. Ten Philosophical Mistakes, Mordimer J. Adler
20. The Odyssey, Homer (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
21. The Iliad, Homer (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
22. The History, Herodotus
23. The New Jerusalem, G. K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
24. A Connecticut Yankee In King Author's Court, Mark Twain (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
25. History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides
26. A Short History of England, G. K. Chesterton (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
27. Christianity and Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen (Reformed Audio)
28. The Secret Agent, Joseph Conrad (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
29. Charmides, Plato
30. Lysis, Plato
31. Laches, Plato
32. Protagoras, Plato
33. Euthydemus, Plato
34. Cratylus, Plato
35. Phaedrus, Plato
36. Ion, Plato
37. Symposium, Plato
38. Meno, Plato
39. Euthyphro, Plato
40. Apology, Plato
41. Crito, Plato
42. Phaedo, Plato
43. Gorgias, Plato
44. Timaeus, Plato
45. Critias, Plato
46. Parmenides, Plato
47. Theaetetus, Plato
48. Sophist, Plato
49. Statesman, Plato
50. Philebus, Plato
51. Laws, Plato
52. The Seventh Letter, Plato
53. Don Quixote, Volume 1, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
54. Don Quixote, Volume 2, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Audiobook - Librivox.org)
55. Concerning Christian Liberty, Martin Luther
56. Categories, Aristotle
57. On Interpretation, Aristotle
58. Prior Analytics, Aristotle
59. Posterior Analytics, Aristotle
60. Topics, Aristotle
61. On Sophistical Refutations, Aristotle

Unfinished:
Physics, Aristotle
On the Trinity, Augustine

Unfinished, probably abandoned:
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Edwin A. Abbot

Quotes from Martin Luther, /On Christian Liberty/

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Finally, for the sake of those to whom nothing can be stated so well but that they misunderstand and distort it, we must add a word, in case they can understand even that.
- Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty

Fight vigorously against the wolves, but on behalf of the sheep, not against the sheep.
- Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty

But take care not to use it in the presence of the weak. On the other hand, in the presence of tyrants and obstinate opposers, use your liberty in their despite, and with the utmost pertinacity, that they too may understand that they are tyrants, and their laws useless for justification, nay that they had no right to establish such laws.
- Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty

Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic

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Ken Samples, theologian and philosopher at Reasons to Believe, did an excellent five-part podcast called, "Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic." The Christian Church for the last couple hundred years has done a very poor job of developing the mind. That's a shame... and a sin. I encourage everyone (even non-Christians) to think logically, and these five podcasts are an excellent place to start.

Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic Part 1
Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic Part 2
Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic Part 3
Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic Part 4
Thirteen Good Reasons for Studying Logic Part 5

time

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All my other clocks automatically changed time with Daylight Savings Time.... wonder what's wrong with this one?

v 2.5.0c

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