Sunspots 813

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

The Arts: (or humor) School buses performing from the Nutcracker. Really.

Computing: Gizmodo reports on a study that shows that Google searches are biased toward large news outlets, and against smaller local outlets.

Gizmodo also reports on the most read Wikipedia pages of 2020.

Education: Grammarphobia tells us more than we may have wanted to know about the ampersand (&).

Environment: Gizmodo reports on the deaths of large numbers of birds, at least partly because of climate change.

Humor: (or something) Relevant on how some familiar Christmas songs are really strange.

Politics: NPR tells us about some real bipartisanship in Congress!

Science: Gizmodo reports that a previously unknown population of blue whales was found because of their unique songs.

NPR reports that smoke may carry disease germs into the air, where we can inhale them.

(or maybe Humor) NPR reports that octopuses sometimes punch fish.

 The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking! 

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 65

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color.

But, it may be asked, is it not best to make our wishes known to God, and then to leave it to Him to decide what is best, without seeking to assert our will? By no means. This is the very essence of the prayer of faith, to which Jesus sought to train His disciples, that it does not only make known its desire and then leave the decision to God. That would be the prayer of submission, for cases in which we cannot know God’s will. But the prayer of faith, finding God’s will in some promise of the Word, pleads for that till it come. In Matthew (ix. 28) we read Jesus said to the blind man: ‘Believe ye that I can do this?’ Here, in Mark, He says: ‘What wilt thou that I should do?’ In both cases He said that faith had saved them. And so He said to the Syrophenician woman, too: ‘Great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.’ Faith is nothing but the purpose of the will resting on God’s word, and saying: I must have it. 

To believe truly is to will firmly. But is not such a will at variance with our dependence on God and our submission to Him? By no means; it is much rather the true submission that honours God. It is only when the child has yielded his own will in entire surrender to the Father, that he receives from the Father liberty and power to will what he would have. But, when once the believer has accepted the will of God, as revealed through the Word and Spirit, as his will, too, then it is the will of God that His child should use this renewed will in His service. The will is the highest power in the soul; grace wants above everything to sanctify and restore this will, one of the chief traits of God’s image, to full and free exercise. As a son, who only lives for his father’s interests, who seeks not his own but his father’s will is trusted by the father with his business, so God speaks to His child in all truth, ‘What wilt thou?’ It is often spiritual sloth that, under the appearance of humility, professes to have no will, because it fears the trouble of searching out the will of God, or, when found, the struggle of claiming it in faith. True humility is ever in company with strong faith, which only seeks to know what is according to the will of God, and then boldly claims the fulfilment of the promise: ‘Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’

Sunspots 812

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

Environment: The Trump administration has removed caps on the speed of water output by shower heads.

Ethics: (And politics) An article in The Week considers why President Trump has told so many lies that don't seem to matter. (Who cares whether he called Tim Cook "Tim Apple?" Trump apparently did, and claimed that he hadn't.)

(and health) ABC, and other outlets, report that the Vatican has approved the use of COVID vaccines, even though research to produce these involved use of human cell lines derived from aborted fetuses. The Vatican specifically condemned abortions, however.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight does an analysis of the recent history of the politics of the suburbs.

FiveThirtyEight also says that Democrats and Republicans should argue more, not less, and explains why.

Science: Gizmodo asks some experts if our hearing can become more sensitive, with training. They say that it can.

Sports: ESPN and other outlets report that Tara VanDerveer has now accumulated more wins than any other women's college basketball coach in history.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, public domain. Source: Wikipedia.

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 64

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color.

But the word of the Master teaches us more. He does not say, What dost thou wish? but, What does thou will? One often wishes for a thing without willing it. I wish to have a certain article, but I find the price too high; I resolve not to take it; I wish, but do not will to have it. The sluggard wishes to be rich, but does not will it. Many a one wishes to be saved, but perishes because he does not will it. The will rules the whole heart and life; if I really will to have anything that is within my reach, I do not rest till I have it. And so, when Jesus says to us, ‘What wilt thou?’ He asks whether it is indeed our purpose to have what we ask at any price, however great the sacrifice. Dost thou indeed so will to have it that, though He delay it long, thou dost not hold thy peace till He hear thee? Alas! how many prayers are wishes, sent up for a short time and then forgotten, or sent up year after year as matter of duty, while we rest content with the prayer without the answer.
 

Sunspots 811

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

Christianity: A Christianity Today article indicates that, although many people are cautious about altering our genes, evangelical Christians are more skeptical than the general public.

A Relevant article considers the question of whether God may have created (or allowed) intelligent beings on other worlds. (There are about 2 trillion galaxies, and it is supposed that there are many possibly habitable planets in most or all of these.

Relevant also reports that Beth Moore, an evangelical leader, has spoken out against "Trumpism." (And "Bidenism.")

(And politics) Relevant also has an article discussing Christian Nationalism.

Environment: According to a USA Today article, the total mass of all human-produced objects on earth is now greater than the total mass of living things.

(and politics) Gizmodo reports that Ryan Zinke, formerly Secretary of Interior, who facilitated removing over a million acres from Bears Ears national monument, has had an official portrait, featuring him on a horse in that monument.

(and politics) NPR reports that contractors are pushing to get as much of the border wall erected as possible, before Donald Trump leaves office. Environmental groups, and others, are against this.

(and politics) President Trump has done less to protect endangered species than any President since Johnson, according to Gizmodo.

Health: A tool to let you see how full your local hospitals are, and how many COVID patients there are.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight provides a thorough discussion of Presidential pardons.

Science: Some bees have been found to add to their colony defenses by spreading animal feces near the opening. Scientists aren't sure why this works, or if it would repel so-called murder hornets.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 63

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color.

... the Lord warns us against the vain repetitions of the Gentiles, who think to be heard for their much praying. We often hear prayers of great earnestness and fervour, in which a multitude of petitions are poured forth, but to which the Saviour would undoubtedly answer ‘What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?’
If I am in a strange land, in the interests of the business which my father owns, I would certainly write two different sorts of letters. There will be family letters giving expression to all the intercourse to which affection prompts; and there will be business letters, containing orders for what I need. And there may be letters in which both are found. The answers will correspond to the letters. To each sentence of the letters containing the family news I do not expect a special answer. But for each order I send I am confident of an answer whether the desired article has been forwarded. In our dealings with God the business element must not be wanting. With our expression of need and sin, of love and faith and consecration, there must be the pointed statement of what we ask and expect to receive; it is in the answer that the Father loves to give us the token of His approval and acceptance.  

On Republican response to the Presidential election

A recent poll indicates that less than 25% of Republican respondents believe that the 2020 Presidential election was fair.

When our emotions guide our beliefs, it takes more than facts to change our minds. Most Republicans want to believe that the election was rigged. It's no wonder, when the head Republican warned everyone about this months and months ago, and hasn't stopped yet. He is a fount of misinformation, but his followers don't seem to realize this, or care. Mr. Trump, for example, said that, after November 3rd, the COVID pandemic would drop out of the news, implying that coverage of the pandemic was some sort of plot against him. I wish it had been. News about it has increased, not gone away.

But consider some facts: 1) Lawsuits from Trump's followers, and his legal team, have mostly been lost. And the judges involved have been, quite often, Trump appointees.

2) William Barr, attorney general, and head of the US Justice Department, has said that his Department has found no evidence of rigging, etc., during the election and vote counting. Other officials, national and state, many of them, like Barr, Republicans, have said the same thing. One of them was fired because he said that.

3) The Democrats lost seats in the US House (although they still have a majority), and they probably will not have the same number of Senators as the Republicans (meaning that Vice President Harris can break ties). What kind of conspiracy would diminish votes for Trump, while at the same time hurting Democrats?

4) All the complaints about the election have been that somehow Democrats got more votes than they should have, and/or Republicans got less votes than they should have. Again, it seems preposterous to suppose that there was massive fraud, all committed by Democrats. If they changed, say, 8,000,000 votes, wouldn't it be reasonable to suppose that a comparable number of Democratic votes were changed. Surely, if there was cheating, there would have been some on both sides.

I doubt that the number of Republicans who believe that the election was fair is going down much in the foreseeable future. That means that a significat fraction of the electorates won't believe in the process, and they may turn to some sort of coup, or to violence against Democrats. I hope not. 

Most Republicans don't want to believe that the election was fair.

Why is President Trump continuing to fight a losing battle? I can only speculate. Perhaps he really believes that he won the election. Perhaps he is just raising money for a run in 2024. Only time will tell. God help us all.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 810

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

The Arts: Christianity Today reports that Walter Hooper, who spent most of his life editing and publishing the writing of C. S. Lewis, has died.

Christianity: Christianity Today on the most commonly read Bible verses of 2020.

Relevant points out nine myths about Christians that many Christians believe (such as that there were three wise men.

Computing: Relevant discusses a New York Times report on sexual exploitation of children, and other bad stuff, on the most widely used source of pornography on the Internet.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that all major US banks have indicated that they will not finance oil drilling in the Arctic.

Elephants are making a comeback in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Gizmodo.

Gizmodo also reports that "The Old Arctic is Gone," for centuries, probably.

Food: (or something) NPR reports that service workers, such as those who make deliveries, are getting smaller tips, and are more likely to be sexually harassed, since the pandemic.

Health: Gizmodo reports that the Centers for Disease Control has updated its recommendations on length of quarantine stay, relative to COVID. The recommended lengths have been shortened.

The obituary of Marvin J. Farr, a veterinarian who died from COVID, as so many others have, has gone viral. With good reason.

Politics: A Trump election lawyer has called for the execution of Chris Krebs, who was fired for saying that the 2020 Presidential election was free from anything close to lost or changed ballots, according to Gizmodo.

Science: TheScientist discusses the use of messenger RNA vaccines. (The most promising COVID vaccines are mRNA injections.)

(or something) Gizmodo reports on how a capsized cargo ship, with a few thousand autos on it, is being cut up and removed.

(And Christianity) The Wikipedia has an article on the star of Bethlehem, which considers several possible explanations, including the purely miraculous, and some astronomical phenomena.

Gizmodo has a slide show about the "most intriguing" archaeological discoveries of 2020.

Relevant and other outlets report that there will be a "Christmas Star" conjunction on December 21, and for a few days later.

Sports: FiveThirtyEight reports on findings that elite professional athletes are likely to be younger siblings.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!

With Christ in the school of prayer, by Andrew Murray, 62

This post continues a series of excerpts from With Christ in the School of Prayer, by Andrew Murray. I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this public domain work available. To see their post of the book, go here. The previous post is here. As usual in this blog, long quotations are in this color.

And yet how much of our prayer is vague and pointless. Some cry for mercy, but take not the trouble to know what mercy must do for them. Others ask, perhaps, to be delivered from sin, but do not begin by bringing any sin by name from which the deliverance may be claimed. Still others pray for God’s blessing on those around them, for the outpouring of God’s Spirit on their land or the world, and yet have no special field where they wait and expect to see the answer. To all the Lord says: And what is it now you really want and expect Me to do? Every Christian has but limited powers, and as he must have his own special field of labour in which he works, so with his prayers too. Each believer has his own circle, his family, his friends, his neighbours. If he were to take one or more of these by name, he would find that this really brings him into the training-school of faith, and leads to personal and pointed dealing with his God. It is when in such distinct matters we have in faith claimed and received answers, that our more general prayers will be believing and effectual.

Sunspots 809

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

The Arts: Speculative Faith considers the question of whether a story that doesn't mention God, or the Bible, can glorify Him. Answer: yes.

I know nothing about the music, or the performers, but Gizmodo reports on a production, using 200 drones, that made a giant face in the sky, that lip-synced with some music. Amazing.

Christianity: (And politics, I guess) Christianity Today on the recent Supreme Court ruling on whether state or local governments can regulate attendance at churches. More than one aspect of this is discussed.

Education: Grammarphobia discusses uses of and, as in "try and stop me," rather than "to," as in "try to stop me."

Environment: The Trump administration has rejected a project in Alaska that would have been environmentally dangerous. Good for them.

Politics: (and History) NPR on the length of time between the Presidential election and the inauguration.

Politics (and health) The Atlantic has documented all of President Trump's wrong statements about COVID. There were a lot of them.

Science: In case you didn't know it, the earth occasionally has an asteroid orbiting it, a "minimoon."

Science Alert reports on the discovery of a large swarm of eels in the deep Pacific ocean.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!