Sunspots 588

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

Christianity: A Relevant columnist discusses her experiences with online dating.
 
Benjamin L. Corey re-examines Romans 8:28, the verse that seems to be saying that all things work together for our good.

Relevant tells us that being in the center of God's will isn't always safe.

Literature: Listverse notes 10 important works written while the author was in prison. (Not included: Revelation, and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail.")


Politics: Relevant points out that "Jesus Never Worried About Politics."

Science: Listverse on ten animal species that show real intelligence.
 
Listverse also has an article on ten of the most important crop plants, that had their genomes changed significantly by ancient humans.


Wired reports that horse racers are using DNA testing in developing successful race horses.

Wired reports that there are underwater heat waves, and they are devastating to marine life.

DarkSiteFinder is designed to show us how well we can, or can't, see the stars at night, because of light pollution. It has a link to an detailed map.


Sports: Wired tells us that athletes in most Olympic events are helped by various equipment enhancements, and, actually, are cyborgs, rather than pure humans.


Image source (public domain)

Predestination, foreknowledge and choice

The above graphic is an attempt to illustrate a controversial and complex subject, predestination, foreknowledge, and free choice. (The word, eternity, isn't completely shown in the illustration, on purpose, to symbolize the boundlessness of eternity.) The graphic should serve as a link to the original graphic on Flickr. Flickr members, at least, and perhaps others -- I'm not sure -- can see larger sizes of the graphic, by clicking on the magnifying glass icon above the graphic on its Flickr page. There is no password required to view Flickr pictures.

I believe that the Bible teaches that people have the ability to choose, at least in some areas. Here's some of the evidence.

The Bible also teaches predestination, for example in the verses quoted above, which are from Romans 8:
28 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 29 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified. (World English Bible, public domain)

As I understand things, God is outside of time. Consider this: I think that Jane Smith is going to enter a situation that I wish to pray about, at two in the afternoon, and pray for this at that time. However, without my knowledge, the situation actually occurred three hours earlier. God could have taken my praying into account when influencing the situation, even though I hadn't prayed yet when it happened, because God knew that I would, and, in fact, God had experience my prayer when the event happened. God's knowledge, or foreknowledge, doesn't mean that I didn't have a choice about whether to pray. I did. But God knew that I would.

The graphic incorporates an image of General George Washington crossing the Delaware. I modified it by rotating it horizontally.

Thanks for looking! Make right choices.