Sunspots 683

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Christianity Today editorial on immigration.

Christianity Today also reports that multi-ethnic Protestant congregations are becoming more common, especially among evangelicals.


Computing: Gizmodo discusses the frequent failure of governments web sites, and the causes.

Health: (or something) FiveThirtyEight points out that using a phone hands-free while driving can also be dangerous. And so can the car's complicated controls.

Earther reports that, until now, most plastic waste that's recycled goes to China for such treatment. However, the Chinese are clamping down on importing plastic.

National Public Radio reports that an analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that, US county by county, there is a strong correlation between opioid over use and voting for President Trump in 2016. This does not prove cause. Both phenomena may have been caused by something else, such as the local economy.

An article on the use of superlatives in reports of cancer research. Claiming too much happens a lot.

Politics: Sojourners discusses an analysis of word use in Vice-President Mike Pence's recent speech to the Southern Baptist Convention. He used "President" 61 times, "Trump" 12 times, but "God" 9 times and "Christ" twice. Some Southern Baptists, including leaders, were not happy with his speech.

The Washington Post tells us where President Trump got his figure of 63,000 people killed by illegal immigrants. Someone basically made it up.

Science: ListVerse tells us 10 interesting things about salt.

Gizmodo reports on the real cause of the "drip, drip, drip" sound made by a leaky faucet, and on how to stop that sound quickly and easily.

National Public Radio discusses the advantages of increasing the beaver population of the Western US.

Sports: The Associated Press says that pitchers are throwing fewer fast balls, and why.
Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 33

Watson continues discussing reasons to be contented, or "contentation," as he puts it.

1st. excellency. A contented Christian carries heaven about him: for, what is heaven, but that sweet repose and full contentment that the soul shall have in God? In contentment there are the first fruits of heaven. There are two things in a contented spirit, which make it like heaven.
(1.) God is there; something of God is to be seen in that heart. A discontented Christian is like a rough tempestuous sea; when the water is rough you can see nothing there; but when it is smooth and serene, then you may behold your face in the water. (Pr. 27. 19) When the heart rageth through discontent, it is like a rough sea, you can see nothing there, unless passion and murmuring; there is nothing of God, nothing of heaven in that heart: but by virtue of contentment, it is like the sea when it is smooth and calm, there is a face shining there; you may see something of Christ in that heart, a representation of all the graces.
(2.) Rest is there. O what a Sabbath is kept in a contented heart! What an heaven! A contented Christian like Noah in the ark; though the ark were tossed with waves, Noah could sit and sing in the ark. The soul that is gotten into the ark of contentment, sits quiet, and sails above all the waves of trouble; he can sing in this spiritual ark; the wheels of the chariot move, but the axle-tree stirs not; the circumference of the heavens is carried about the earth, but the earth moves not out of its centre. When we meet with motion and change in the creatures round about us, a contented spirit is not stirred nor moved out of its centre. The sails of a mill move with the wind, but the mill itself stands still, an emblem of contentment; when our outward estate moves with the wind of providence, yet the heart is settled through holy contentment; and when others are like quicksilver, shaking and trembling through disquiet, the contented spirit can say, as David, “O God my heart is fixed:” (Ps. 57.7) what is this but a piece of heaven?

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)  

Not turning in an escaped slave? Deuteronomy 23:15-16

Deuteronomy 23:15 You shall not deliver to his master a servant who is escaped from his master to you: 16 he shall dwell with you, in the midst of you, in the place which he shall choose within one of your gates, where it pleases him best: you shall not oppress him. (World English Bible, public domain.)

I was just using my read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year plan, and came across these two verses. I don't recall ever paying attention to them before, but the Bible is like that (or we are). This seems to be saying that an escaped slave, or servant, should not be returned to their master, but should be protected. All the English Bible translations, in the Blue Letter Bible, agreed with this. However, Jamieson's commentary on this passage indicates that it is speaking of Canaanite, not Israeli, slaves. Matthew Henry says that this is talking about slaves from foreign lands. Perhaps. But it's interesting, in any case. The passage doesn't seem to give any support for hunting escaped slaves with dogs and whips.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 682

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: (and politics) The Gospel Coalition, and many others, don't think that Vice-President Pence should have spoken to the Southern Baptist Convention, at least not so politically. See also here. (The SBC strongly adopted a resolution sympathizing with immigrants.)

Relevant discusses giving cash to the homeless.

A Relevant writer discusses four commonly used Bible verses that are usually misinterpreted. These include "I can do all things . . ." (Philippians 4:13) and "I know the plans I have for you ..." (Jeremiah 29:11)


Education: Grammarphobia discusses "hogwash" and "claptrap."

Politics: (sort of) Gizmodo reports on a Florida lawsuit. If someone takes a discarded drink bottle and finds your DNA on it, have they invaded your privacy? Stolen from you?

Gizmodo also reports that the Federal Communications Commission is planning to relax its rules, so that Sinclair broadcasting can purchase even more local TV stations, and, presumably, use their news programs for advancing Sinclair's political views.

FiveThirtyEight tells us about the underlying goal of the Trump Administration's actions, or attempted actions, on immigration.

Immigrant camps near the Mexican border have made the Wikipedia's list of Concentration Camps.


Science: Antarctica is losing ice, and at an accelerating rate, says Earther.

Scientific American tells us a lot about orchid seeds, and orchid reproduction, with photos.

UnDark discusses the emotional strain of smiling for customers.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

God uses seemingly random events

Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap,
    but its every decision is from Yahweh.
(World English Bible, public domain)

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 32

Watson' section on not being contented is finished. He now address being contented:

CHAPTER XI
Divine Motives to Contentment.
SECT. 1. The first argument to contentation.
1. Consider the excellency of it. Contentment is a flower that doth not grow in every garden; it teacheth a man how in the midst of want to abound. You would think it were excellent if I could prescribe a receipt or antidote against poverty: but behold here is that which is more excellent, for a man to want, and yet have enough, this alone contentment of spirit doth bring. Contentation is a remedy against all our trouble, an alleviation to all our burdens, it is the cure of care. Contentation, though it be not properly a grace (it is rather a disposition of mind,) yet in it there is a happy temperature and mixture of all the graces: it is a most precious compound, which is made up of faith, patience, meekness, humility, &c. which are the ingredients put into it. Now there are in species these seven rare excellencies in contentment.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)  

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the Bible justifies his actions on immigration

It is no secret ("Build a wall!") that the Trump administration believes that too many people are entering the country, both illegally and legally. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been a cabinet officer that has tried to slow down, or stop, such immigration, with apparent enthusiasm. The Trump administration has drastically cut the number of refugees that will be accepted, and is in the process of deporting previously admitted refugees.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant body in the US, have both recently passed resolutions rebuking the Trump administration, especially for separating young children and their parents at the borders. Other Christians, in groups, and as individuals, have also done so. (See here for Franklin Graham's recent statement.) As they should have, such rebukes have been based on the Bible.

Attorney General Sessions has reacted. His argument is that the Bible teaches that we should obey, and enforce, the law, for the good of the overall society, implying that the recent resolutions of religious bodies and individuals, supporting immigrants and refugees, are not really based on the Bible, but that his actions and policies are.

Really? Consider:
1) In general, Sessions is right. We need to enforce traffic laws, and put bank robbers in jail, for the good of society. But some laws, and/or the penalties for violating them, are unjust. Laws that supported the institution of slavery were unjust, for example. Many people, including some Republicans in Congress, believe that laws that require young children to be separated from their parents are unjust, and even violate basic human rights. President Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a minor drug offense. As far as I know, he didn't say that her sentence was unjust, but perhaps a belief that it was influenced his decision.

2) Some laws are subordinate to higher, and more important, laws. If my wife is desperately ill, and I violate speed limits to get her to the emergency room, I wouldn't expect to be charged with speeding. In fact, if an officer knew what was going on, I would expect that officer to precede me to the hospital with siren and lights on.

It is true that the Bible generally indicates that we should obey the law. See Romans 13:1-5, and 1 Peter 2:13-17. But some laws are more important than others. In dialog with the religious rulers of His day, Jesus and these rulers said that the most important laws from the Old Testament were the two great commandments, namely to love God, and to love other people.

3) The Bible gives directions about how to treat immigrants, aliens and refugees, with kindness and generosity. See here for several Biblical statements on such matters. One such direction was that the Israelites were to provide sanctuary for refugees from another nation, and a nation which had sometimes gone to war with them.

Sorry, Mr. Sessions. You aren't acting and speaking Biblically on this issue.

Note: In many cases, law enforcement personnel must choose which laws to enforce. There are so many laws, covering so many aspects of life, and limited resources to enforce with, that it would be impossible to discover violations of all laws, and punish the law-breakers. The Justice Department, and other branches of the current administration, appear to have chosen to rigorously enforce laws relating to immigration, while other types of laws are not. All administrations have to make such choices, but which laws are attended to says something important about the law-enforcers.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 681

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Relevant celebrates the products of Pixar studio.

Christianity: Sojourners says that we worship the rich.

Relevant has some good advice for married couples who don't engage in sex very often.

Christianity Today warns churches that the church, itself, may be groomed by sexual predators.

Health: It really is harder to think in summer heat.

History: Listverse on the origin of 10 common articles of clothing.


Politics: (or something) Domino's pizza has decided to start fixing roads, so that their pizzas won't be damaged during delivery. Really.

Science: Gizmodo reports the honeybees may be able to comprehend zero -- the absence of something. Ancient human mathematicians didn't seem to comprehend this, by the way.

Gizmodo also explains (as far as we can, at the present) why some scientists believe that there is dark matter, and what that matter might be.

Todd C. Wood, a respected young-earth creationist scientist, reacts to a recent scientific article that claims that all species of animals are about the same age. Wood is not convinced.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

Answers in Genesis: There really is a red shift, and the universe is expanding

Two articles by Danny Faulkner, head astronomer of Answers in Genesis, the leading young-earth creationist organization, have recently been published. They both appeared in the science-oriented on-line periodical of Answers in Genesis, Answers Research Journal. They may be found here and here . (Note: these are technical papers. I'm a scientist, but not an astronomer, and I didn't understand some parts of these articles.)

The sum and substance of these two articles is the following, from the abstract of the first paper: "Many recent creationists appear to oppose the Hubble relation, the expansion of the universe, and/or cosmological redshifts of quasars. Here I examine these three topics. There are good reasons for accepting all three."

I appreciate Faulkner's honesty, and that of Answers Research Journal, in publishing these articles. Faulkner has not suddenly given up young-earth creationism, but he has challenged his fellow young-earthers to critically examine their beliefs about cosmology, and to explain an expanding universe within the framework of a recently created universe. (I'm not sure that that is possible.)

See also my post, "What's wrong with young-earth creationism," which was written before I knew of Faulkner's work in this area. Thanks for reading.

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 31

Watson has been writing about excuses for not being contented. He concludes this section:

The twelfth apology that discontent makes for itself, is this, it is not my trouble that troubles me, but it is my sins that do disquiet and discontent me.
 
Be sure it be so; do not prevaricate with God and thy own soul; in true mourning for sin when the present suffering is removed, yet the sorrow is not removed. But suppose the apology be real, that sin is the ground of your discontent; yet I answer, a man’s disquiet about sin may be beyond its bounds, in these three cases. 

1. When it is disheartening, that is, when it sets up sin above mercy. If Israel had only pored upon their sting, and not looked up to the brazen serpent, they had never been healed. That sorrow for sin which drives us away from God, is not without sin, for there is more despair in it than remorse; the soul hath so many tears in its eyes, that it cannot see Christ. Sorrow, as sorrow, doth not save, that were to make Christ of our tears, but is useful, as it is preparatory in the soul, making sin vile, and Christ precious. O look up to the brazen serpent, the Lord Jesus! A sight of his blood will revive, the plaster of his merits is broader than our sore. It is Satan’s policy, either
to keep us from seeing our sins, or, if we will needs see them that we may be swallowed up of sorrow; (2 Cor. 2. 7) either he would stupefy us, or affright us; either keep the glass of the law from our eyes, or else pencil out our sins in such crimson colours, that we may sink in the quicksands of despair.
2. When sorrow is indisposing, it untunes the heart for prayer, meditation, holy conference; it cloisters up the soul. This is not sorrow but rather sullenness, and doth render a man not so much penitential as cynical.
3. When it is out of season. God made us rejoice, and we hang up our harps upon the willows; he bids us trust and we cast ourselves down, and are brought even to the margin of despair. If Satan cannot keep us from mourning, he will be sure to put us upon it when it is least in season. When God calls us in a special manner to be thankful for mercy, and put on our white robes, Satan will be putting us into mourning, and instead of a garment of praise, clothe us with a spirit of heaviness; so God loseth the acknowledgement of mercy, and we the comfort. If thy sorrow hath turned and fitted thee for Christ, if it hath raised in thee high prizings of him, strong
hungerings after him, sweet delight in him; this is as much as God requires, and a Christian doth but sin to vex and torture himself further upon the rack of his own discontent.

And thus I hope I have answered the most material objections and apologies which this sin of discontent doth make for itself. I see no reason why a Christian should be discontented, unless for his discontent. Let me, in the next place, propound something which may be both as a loadstone and a whet-stone to contentation.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)  

Sunspots 680

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (Including pornography -- never mind whether it's art or not!) An article in Speculative Faith warns that thinking you are oblivious to pornography and questionable visual stimuli is not a sign of Christian maturity. For part 1 of this series, see here.

Computing: A primer on typography, for those not expert in the selection and use of typefaces.

UnDark debunks the idea of "technology addiction."

Gizmo's Freeware tells us how to delete the conversations we have with digital assistants, such as Alexa.

Gizmodo considers the question of how many social media users are real, and how many are not.


Education: Scientific American debunks the value of so-called "learning styles."

Health: Gizmodo reports on studies of the effect of dietary supplements on heart health, which found that such supplements did not have a positive effect.

Gizmodo also reports that one-fifth of 20-30's deaths in the US are now caused by opioids.

Politics: (or something) Relevant reports that some Liberty University students and staff are working with a producer who is filming something called The Trump Prophecy. It is claimed that this film won't be political, which is hard to imagine.


Sports: FiveThirtyEight analyzed the loss of the Houston Rockets to the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association's western conference final series, seventh game, where the Rockets, usually a good 3-point shooting team, missed 26 3's in a row.

FiveThirtyEight also discusses Kevin Durant's propensity to lose a shoe during an NBA game.

Thanks for looking!

Image source (public domain)

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 30

Watson has been writing about excuses for not being contented. He continues:

The next apology is, the troubles of the church. Alas, my disquiet and discontent is not so much for myself, as the public! The church of God suffers.

I confess it is sad and we ought for this “to hang our harps upon the willows.” He is a wooden leg in Christ’s body, that is not sensible of the state of the body. As a Christian must not be proud flesh, so neither dead flesh. When the church of God suffers, he must sympathize; Jeremiah wept for the virgin daughter of Sion. We must feel our brethren’s hard cords through our soft beds. In music, if one string be touched, all the rest sound: when God strikes upon our brethren, our “bowels must sound like an harp”. Be sensible, but give not way to discontent. For consider, 

1. God sits at the stern of his church. (Ps. 46. 5) Sometimes it is a ship tossed upon the waves, “afflicted and tossed! (Is. 54. 11) but cannot God bring this ship to haven, though it meet with a storm upon the sea? This ship in the gospel was tossed because sin was in it; but it was not overwhelmed, because Christ was in it. Christ is in the ship of this church, fear not sinking; the church’s anchor is cast in heaven. Do not we
think God loves his church, and takes as much care of it as we can? The names of the twelve tribes were on Aaron’s breast, signifying how near to God’s heart his people are; they are his portion, (De. 27. 9) and shall that be lost? his glory, (Is. 46. 13) and shall that be finally eclipsed? No certainly. God can deliver his church, not only from, but by opposition; the church’s pangs shall help forward her deliverance.

2. God hath always propagated religion by sufferings. The foundation of the church hath been laid in blood, and these sanguine showers have ever made it more fruitful. Cain put the knife to Abel’s throat, and ever since the church’s veins had bled: but she is like the vine, which by bleeding grows, and like the palm-tree, which the more weight is laid upon it, the higher it riseth. The holiness and patience of the saints, under their persecutions, hath much added both to the growth of religion, and the crown. Basil and Tertullian observe of the primitive martyrs, that divers of the heathens seeing their zeal and constancy turned Christians: religion is that Phoenix which hath always revived and flourished in the ashes of holy men. Isaiah sawn asunder, Peter crucified at Rome with his head downwards, Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and Polycarp of Smyrna, both martyred for religion; yet evermore the truth hath been sealed by blood, and gloriously dispersed; whereupon Julian did forbear to persecute, not out of pity, but envy, because the church grew so fast, and multiplied, as Nazianzen well observes.

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, God willing, will post excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.
  
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it. (World English Bible, public domain.)