My favorite verse on Lecrae's "Anomaly"

In high school

we tried to act all tough

I remember a couple times

I couldn't back that up

Like when I ran from them vatos, scuffing up my zapatos

Scared of losing my hide

I was so embarrassed inside

If I could go back in time

I would stand and say something like

I ain't never scared, 

never scared, never scared

I'm lying, I'm scared of these thoughts in my head

I'm scared of possibly pushing people right over the ledge

When I say I pledge allegiance to the struggle

Then, I turn around and buckle

Under stress and under pressure

Bible on my dresser that can teach my pain a lesson

But I rather not address it

Address that's in depression

I'm scared if I confess it

That you gon' look at me like I'm something less

And I'm such a mess

"Fear" by Lecrae, from the "Anomaly" album

My favorite Ceelo verse

Struggling's just a part of my day

Many obstacles been placed in my way

I know the only reason that I make it through

Is because I never stop believing in you

Some people wonder why we're here in the 1st place

They can't believe because they ain't never seen your face

But even when you pray, the next day you gotta try

Can it wait for nobody to come down out the sky

You've got to realize that the world's a test

You can only do your best and let him do the rest

You've got your life, you've got your health

So quit procrastinating and push it yourself

You've got to realize that the world's a test

You can only do your best and let him do the rest

You've got your life, you've got your health

So quit procrastinating

~Ceelo, From Outkast's "In Due Time" 1997

Lecrae's "Anomaly" remains just that despite contemporary influences

Albums exist in the idiom of their times.

Lecrae's new album, "Anomaly," is no different. It is very Outkast-ish on a few tracks, Ludacris-like on one song, Drake-ish on the hook of one song, parts of one song has a 2pac/West coast feel, and towards the end of the album it's gets pretty contemporary Christian; but to mention all of those is highly misleading. 

"Anomaly" remains very original even in those few--I stress the word "few"--times the beats, hooks, bridges (or whatever you call them) remind you of something off Aquemini or someone contemporary.  Lecrae's delivery sounds like his own for most of the time, except when he's interacting with a popular song, or at least using something modern to accomplish his own purposes. Overall, the album was more cohesive and polished than "Gravity." Still less theological than "Rebel" and not as raw. But it is a job well done. 

I'd give it an 8.5/10 at best, and reluctantly give it a 7.9/10 at worst. Reluctantly. 

John Owen on the Mortification of Sin

"Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, to the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world." ~John Owen, The Mortification of Sin

Foreign Policy: It's time to give up Washington Wizardry

Just two weeks ago, President Obama didn't have a plan for fighting the terrorist group ISIL. Now this evening at 9 P.M., on TV screens and live streams everywhere, he will be giving us a plan for how the U.S. Military will be involved for 3 more years in the Middle East.

This means that since last week the best and brightest witches, warlocks and wizards in the Cabinet have steadily been adding all sorts of ingredients to the White House kitchen cauldron, all of which have been in the White House fridge since the Bush years.

"Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." ~Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1

But the lesson from the Obama presidency should be that politicians can't plan the outcomes of war anymore than they can plan the outcomes in the economy. The only person with intelligence that great is God.

Central planning, both in the realm of foreign policy and domestic policy, has evidently failed before our eyes these last 14 years. What hasn't been tried is freedom.

It's time to give Washington wonkery up.

The empire ain't loyal: The U.S. switch on ISIS

America is an empire in decline.

George Carlin was somewhat right when he said, "We like war, because we are good at it." Actually, we're only good at bombing random targets, as of late. We didn't win Iraq, for it's being taken over. We won't win in Syria. We won't win in Iran or any other country. We won't win against ISIS in whatever country they are in, at least not through the Empire's usual methods. And just think, ISIS was our partner just last year in the fight against Assad. One can only wonder when we are done with ISIS if we are going to then turn the gun on our potential partner Assad?

These bureaucrats ain't loyal.

To me Assad seems like another Saddam Hussein: if the U.S. Government ever decides to oust him again, which they did just last year, then something worse will come and fill the vacuum; and then soon we will be tempted to fight whatever comes to fill the vacuum -- just like we are tempted to fight ISIS in Syria now.

What seems to be occurring are modified versions of Bastiat's "Broken Window Fallacy," also referred to as the fallacy of the "seen and the unseen."

We see, for example, the bombs deployed, the targets in Israel hit, Osama Bin Laden killed, etc. That is, we fall victim to "the persistency of a given policy, or it's effects only on a special group, and neglect to inquire what the long-run effects of that policy will be not only on that special group but on all groups. It is the fallacy of overlooking secondary consequences." 

But what we don't see are the those long-run effects: more hatred of America, more potential blowback, more leverage for the recruitment of Jihadists, all of which will be used to bomb more people and accelerate the cycle of violence.

And all of this attests to one thing: whether it's economic policy or foreign policy, which the economics should always be considered, the big wigs in Washington still have absolutely no clue what they're doing. 

Calvin Knox Cummings on the Separation of Church and State

"The state is not to govern the church; Christ governs the church through the leaders he chooses. The church is not to rule the state; it is to instruct the state to encourage and protect righteousness (1 Peter 2:14; Proverbs 14:34; Deuteronomy 18:28,19)." Calvin Knox Cummings, "Confessing Christ"

How I beat Amazon and bought nine books for $6.00 at the Library

Libraries can be a great resource for finding books at dirt cheap prices.

I went to the library this past Saturday with no intention on buying books. In fact, it didn't even cross my mind that I could buy books there. I haven't bought a book from a library since 2010 -- and that was in South Carolina, not a Maryland library (I did buy some used books from my university in Pennsylvania  that year and they did have to collect money via cashier. I discuss the drop box vs. cashier factor below.). All I wanted was a place to conduct quiet study, but then I noticed there was a book store within the library.

The books I picked up were written by some of the best authors of all time (of course, with time, all "all-time greatests" lists keep growing with the number of books that come out.)

My local library had a 3 paperbacks for $1.00 sale. And sold each paperback for $0.50. Each hardcover book was a dollar each.

Here is what I picked up:

$1.00 each

-Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict by Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes

-Selected Poetry and Prose by Percy Bysshe Shelley

-Collected Poems: 1909-1935 by T.S. Eliot

-Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens

3 Paperbacks for $1.00

-Eight Tales of Terror by Edgar Allen Poe

-The Last Battle (Book #7 of the Chronicles of Narnia Series) by C.S. Lewis

-Foundation (from the Foundation Series) by Isaac Asimov

$0.50

-Perelandra (Book #2 in the Space Trilogy) by C.S. Lewis

-The Nature of Greek Myths by G.S. Kirk

The total amount spent was $6.00.

One of the benefits of spending an extra 10 minutes perusing through the used book shelves was that I found a book that I always wanted to read that was at a much higher price when it first came out or at was least closer to the original publication date. That book was Trillion Dollar War.

There are three ways this sale beat Amazon. 

First, there was no shipping and handling. Even though there is a copy of Trillion Dollar War for $0.01 in the used book section on Amazon.com right now, the $3.99 shipping and handling would have pushed up the total amount spent.

Second, I can preview the inside of a used book. If I didn't like it, if it had too many markings that would have distracted me from my personal study and note-taking process, then I could have put it down. You can not do this with Amazon purchases. Rather, you are left to put faith in the description of the product. For example, the penny book mentioned above, which would have no longer been a penny once shipping and handling kicked in, has the following description on Amazon: "Used may contain ex-library marking, notes or highlighting, may no longer have it a dust jacket." (I didn't correct the grammar.) In other words, you wouldn't know what condition it came in. I've never tried it, although I have thought about it, but perhaps you can ask an Amazon dealer what exactly is in the book. Again, I never tried that route. But that could potentially take forever.

But then comes the price factor: the library book would still be cheaper and you would have it immediately. Literally, at this library in Maryland and the library in South Carolina there were money drop boxes next to the used books shelves. You would virtually walk away from the book shelf with your book. And please, don't steal (Exodus 20:15). In both of my experiences there were no receipts, cash registers, or cashiers involved.

Third, there is no shipping and handling for all books combined. This is important because Amazon (or the dealer through Amazon) charges $3.99 per book, even if the books are coming from the same seller. I could be mistaken, but I have yet to see an exception to this. So nine books at $0.01 each would still be $35.91 in shipping alone through Amazon. When you add the nine pennies (the price of the books combined) that's $36.00.

In other words, I paid $6.00 in the library for what could have costed me $36.00 online.

Just a side note: I recently attempted to purchase a "New" or Used but "Like New" book on Amazon from a dealer and it never came after 20 days. I purchased it July 15. Amazon told me it would arrive on August 5. I waited and complained maybe a day or two later. I didn't even get a shipping notice there entire time. The dealer was new. I canceled and they never deposited my money anyway. Amazon was very fast investigating my claim.

Other benefits of buying from the library include being able to find books from famous authors that you never heard of before. Everyone has heard of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield (I think), but I had never heard of Martin Chuzzlewit (perhaps I'm showing my -- lack of -- Dickens knowledge here). Granted, that seems to be the oldest book from above stack. It certainly smells old. But that's the price I paid. All of the other books were in great shape. All but one of the books had markings in them (and the mind chap had the courtesy to write in pencil). And all except one of them had that "old book" smell. But even after I opened it up a few times, the smell went away. 

I now have books from some of the greatest authors ever, for cheap.

Why can't we all just get along?

Why can't we all just get along?

Because we all have worldviews that necessarily conflict.

And if a worldview is true, and something within that worldview requires its holders to spread and impose that worldview, then it must.

I have I no objection to that...

...because I have no objection to truth.

So if the violent Christian-beheading Muslims within the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) want to impose their view through the sword -- or the gun -- I have no objective objection to that outside of the objective truth of Christianity, for I would only have my subjective opinion.

But it's precisely and only because I am a Christian that I can condemn tyranny. It is on those grounds that I can say that ISIS is departing from "The Way," that they are sinning.

The person who believes that no one should believe in conquest himself believes in conquest; it's just conquest by another name: secularism.

If secularists were really consistent then they would have been the secular version of what I was for three years: a libertarian anarchist. They can't simultaneously oppose theocratic imposition of values through the government, but then turn around and want to impose their own. (Of course, on secular terms it's really impossible to be consistent about anything)

But look at the alternative view of Christianity. Jesus advocated conquest, too. But it was a conquest by discipleship, love, Kingship, and stewardship -- all of which starts with God regenerating the individual through the Holy Spirit.

But isn't Christianity a matter of subjective opinion to the Christian as much as Islam is a subjective opinion to the Muslim?

No. Because the God of the Bible is the true one. His and only his opinion is objective in any meaningful sense of the word. Only one God is the author for external reality.

Video: C-SPAN hosts Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth for 40 minutes

I never thought I would see this on C-Span. 

But C-SPAN gave 40 minutes to Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth founder to explain why he (and many) thinks that it was highly unlikely that Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapsed because of an office fire -- the official explanation for the collapse of the only building that didn't get hit by an airplane on September 11, 2001 -- and floated the idea that it was destroyed by controlled demolition. He definitely wants an additional investigation and reports that people that have looked into it already believe that the 9/11 Commission report of the early 2000s was rigged to fail.

His group has 2,000+ architects and engineers across the world that dissent from the official story. (Reminds me of the Dissent from Darwin crowd)

For the Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth Website Click Here

Watch the Whole Architects and Engineers 9/11 Documentary Here

The fact that a major respectable publication such as C-SPAN is giving them a voice is HUGE.

And let's not forget that -- as Gage himself points out -- we started the longest war in American history because of this event.

I think that's it's an important issue but it's down the priority list if I was POTUS in 2016. The economy and the debt is always first. But I think that it should be pursued.

There are several very smart people that don't believe the official story. In fact, it was Paul Craig Roberts, a former official of the Reagan Administration, that tipped me off to the video in an August 3, 2014 blog post.

Gary North also thinks that the whole thing is fishy.

Read Gary North's Column "Of Course the Government is Lying About 9/11"

I'm recently discovering this within the last 10 minutes but Roberts wrote a column reviewing David Ray Griffin's book "Debunking 9/11 Debunking." The column is well worth a read either before or after watching the above video. There is a least one website that sets out to "Debunk" 9/11 truthers, the people who don't believe the official story they were told about 9/11. Griffin's book indirectly addresses them, I assume.

Read Robert's Review of "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" here

Read Roberts' review first. Then watch the video. Then read North's column.

Palindrome: An Atheist's view of Life vs. A Christian's View of Life

I found this is 2013.