Book Review- The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

For the non-fiction reading challenge and the Mount TBR pile reading challenge I'll be reviewing Rosaria Champagne Butterfield's book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. There, her partner rehabilitated abandoned and abused dogs. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department’s curriculum. And then, in her late 30s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down—the idea that Christianity, a religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was, an idea that flew in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a “train wreck” at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could.

I've been meaning to read this book for a couple years now and thankfully I've finally gotten around to it. I've got to say first off this is one of the best books I have ever read. It surprised me by not being just about homosexuality but also about marriage, adoption and what it is like to be a Christian. It's one of those books I think every Christian should read but definitely one that I wouldn't just hand to my teenager.  It's mature but not unnecessarily so. It's very real. After reading it you feel like you know Rosaria. She lays out her life, the ups and downs the struggles she went through. Struggles I think anyone can relate to. That's what makes this book so amazing. You may not be a recovering lesbian but you can relate to the struggles Rosaria goes through and learn. Sin is sin.

There's so much to say about this book but really the bottom line is to read it. I'll just close with a few of my favorite quotes.

"I think that too many young Christians fornicators plan that marriage will redeem their sin. Too many young Christians masturbators will redeem their patterns. Too many young Christian internet pornographers think that having legitimate sex will take away the desire to have illicit sex. They're wrong. And the marriages that result from this line of thinking are dangerous places. I know, I told my audience why over 50% of Christian marriages end in divorce; because Christians act as though marriage redeems sin. Marriage does not redeem sin. Only Jesus himself can do that." 

"How do we put Christ at the center? By intentionally holding all things captive to Christ, each moment of each day. By never daring to do anteing without fervent prayer, seeking the Lord's wisdom, counsel, blessing and life-sustaining breath. I learned during those years that the idea that one is ever too busy to pray is delusion of the most dangerous variety." 

"Rahab the Harlot, Mary Magdalene. We love those women between the pages of our Bible, but we don't want to sit at the Lord's Table with them-with people like me-drinking from the a common cup. That's the real ringer: the common cup- that is, our common origin in depravity. We are only righteous in Christ and in Him alone. But that's a hard pill to swallow, especially if you give yourself kudos for good choices." 

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Top Ten Books Every Christian Should Read

The theme for this week's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books Every X Should Read. I decided to replace that X with Christian.

So these are my top ten books every Christian should read. These are in no particular order and taking the Bible for granted here goes.

1. The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin- No I haven't quite finished it yet but I will stand by it and say it is one of the most comprehensive and well written books about Christianity available. The actual original version is two huge volumes each the size of LOTR so I would recommend reading an abridged version. I started reading the huge volumes and changed my mind eventually and switched to an abridged version, which was a good decision in my mind though I don't normally recommend abridged books. 
2. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer- I read this three or so years ago. It is a really excellent book and I loved how straightforward Tozer was in it. He says it like it is, pushing you on in the pursuit of God. Beautifully written. 
3. Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul- A book that made a huge impact in my life at the time. R.C. Sproul is excellent about explaining complicated theology succinctly and this book was no exception. 
4. The Valley of Vision by various Puritans- I read this last year and it is the most beautiful book of prayers. Each one challenged me in my faith and pushed me to ponder God's Word and to worship Him. This is an absolute must read! 
5. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield- I just finished it last week but I know that I will re-read it over and over again in the future. It's about homosexuality, yes, but it's also about so much more: marriage, adoption, and what it means to be a Christian. This was a book that really challenged me to think about my faith, what it means to me and how I can grow in it. 
6. The Westminster Confession of Faith- Sort of like Calvin's Institutes in how comprehensive it is and actually I think maybe more comprehensive. I think I preferred the Institutes though. 
7. Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges- A book about trusting God simply put. One of the best theological books I've read and very meaningful to me as trusting God is definitely something that I've had to struggle with when I my uncle passed away to cancer, or when my Grandma had her stroke or when both of my Grandpas passed away. Trusting God is crucial to a Christina's walk. If you can't trust God... who can you trust? 
8. Christian Love by Hugh Binning- A little book recommend to me by my brother that overturned what I thought about love and how I should be carrying it out. It may have been written by a Puritan hundreds of years ago but it is absolutely relevant in this present day. 
9. What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality by Kevin DeYoung- I read this one this year as well and loved it. It's concise and full of Biblical wisdom. In this present day I think it is so important that Christians can answer this question and this book does a great job. 
10. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis- When I read this several years ago it scared me. The realness scared me. At that point in my life Satan started to scare me and I realized the realness of sin and the constant temptation we are under and that every day, every moment Satan is trying to pry us away from God. This book made me want to cling closer to God but it also made me more aware of the temptations that I face every day. 

There are so many theology books I want to read in the future... My list just for the ones I want to get to this year is already long. I'm sure this list will change in the future as I read more books but for now these are the top ten books I think are must reads for Christians. 

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Book Review- What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality

For the non-fiction reading challenge and the mount TBR reading challenge I read Kevin DeJong's book What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality.

Synopsis from Goodreads: In this timely book, award-winning author Kevin DeYoung challenges each of us--the skeptic and the seeker, the certain and the confused--to take a humble look at God's Word regarding the issue of homosexuality.After examining key biblical passages in both the Old and New Testaments and the Bible's overarching teaching regarding sexuality, DeYoung responds to popular objections raised by Christians and non-Christians alike, making this an indispensable resource for thinking through one of the most pressing issues of our day.

I absolutely loved this book. Kevin DeYoung does an incredible job laying the information out in a clear and concise manner. This is a Christian book and it addresses the issue of homosexuality from a biblical viewpoint but as the author himself points out it is applicable to read for anyone who wants to learn more about this issue.
First it addresses all of the Bible verses having directly to do with homosexuality and the arguments that people will use to disagree with it and then he refutes those disagreements and points how those verses are still applicable and relevant. Next he discusses the most common arguments people use for homosexuality still being okay. These include arguments about God being a God of love, being on the wrong side of history and what about gluttony and divorce? These are all carefully looked into and discussed. I was very impressed at how thorough DeYoung was. It was obvious he had exhaustively researched the subject but then had meticulously combed through all the information and condensed it into this book. At the end of the book he has a list of other great books to go to if you want to learn more as well. One of the great things about this book is that while yes it is looking at homosexuality specifically it is also looking at Christianity overall.
I entirely enjoyed this book and no matter where you are with your view on homosexuality I highly recommend this book but I especially recommend it to Christians wanting to further understand this issue from a biblical viewpoint.
To close here are a few of my favorite quotes.

"Agree to disagree," sounds like a humble "meet you in the middle" compromise, but it is a subtle way of telling conservative Christians that homosexuality is not a make-or-break issue and we are wrong to make it so. No one would think of proposing a third way if the sin were racism or human trafficking. To countenance such a move would be a sign of moral bankruptcy. Faithfulness to the Word of God compel us to view sexual immorality with the same seriousness. Living an ungodly life is contrary to the sound teaching that defines the Christian. 

When we tolerate the doctrine which affirms homosexual behavior, we are tolerating a doctrine which leads people further from GOd. This is not he mission Jesus gave his disciples when he told them to teach the nations everything he commanded. The biblical teaching is consistent and unambiguous: homosexual activity is not God's will for his people. Silence in the face of such clarity is not prudence, and hesitation in light of such frequency is not patience. The Bible says more than enough about homosexual practice for us to say something too.

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Book Review : The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most fascinating and well written books I have ever read. Philosophically it is thought provoking and often heretical. It is hard to put into words how I felt about it but I will attempt to.

I will include some spoilers in my review but will not give away the entire story. 
The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of a young man (Dorian Gray) who is handsome... essentially beautiful with a youthful and pure look and character. When the reader is first acquainted with him, his pictures is being drawn by Basil Hallward, an artist who is somewhat infatuated with the beauty and innocent appearance of Dorian and how it is portrayed in his artwork of him. The last day of Dorian sitting for the picture is when the story begins. Basil tells his friend Lord Henry of the man he is drawing (Dorian) after Lord Henry expresses that it is the best picture he has drawn yet. Dorian himself arrives and as Basil finishes up the picture, Lord Henry converses with Dorian, introducing to him philosophical ideas that turned Dorian's naive mind and then finally stating the sentence that changes Dorian, "You have the most marvelous youth, and youth is the one thing worth having." After Basil finishes the picture, Dorian looks at it in mind of what Lord Henry had just told I'm and says, "How sad it is! I shall grow old and horrible and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June... If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everything! Yes there is nothing in the world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" In that statement he essentially makes "a pact with the devil" and from that point on, he never grows old but the picture changes as his soul changes. Under the influence of the ideas of Sir Henry, Dorian goes down a path of sin. The sin lasts for eighteen years and while we are not clear on what all sin it was, we can pick up that it involved adultery, drug use, and possibly homosexuality. There is a quote that I saw from Oscar Wilde that reads;  "Each man sees his own sin in Dorian Gray. What Dorian Gray's sins are no one knows. He who find them has brought them." As Dorian's sin goes on his picture, which he has now hidden in his attic so no one can see it, continues to change, resulting in a hideously evil looking old man.
How the story concludes, I leave you to find out. The ending, in my opinion, was perfect though. I highly recommend the story as not only a cautionary tale but also a book with philosophical implications. The philosophy in it is not necessarily to be emulated though but should be pondered on. I don't recommend giving it to anyone younger than high school because of some of the mature themes that it centers on.
I would also encourage you to read this review of it by The Gospel Coalition.
Please leave a comment letting me know you think of this book as I would love to here other people's thoughts on it. :)

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Frustratingly Spoiled

Two of Mama Kat's writing prompts this week were "write a blog post inspired by the word 'spoiled'" and "Something that frustrates you." Well, I thought that combining those two wasn't that hard so why not? One of the thing that frustrates me the most and has to do with spoiled is lazy people in college... don't tell me they aren't spoiled.
The fact that they are in college using my tax payer dollars to be there is a big part of the aggravation to me. I'm going to make a few stereotypes here but in my experience, they're true. A vast majority of the students I meet at college, even some of the better ones, go out and drink, experiment with drugs, cheat on their tests, don't actually write their own papers, don't show up to class, and in general are just lazy... then wonder why they are failing their classes and complain about it! Honey, you aren't in high school anymore... not that your high school should have been like that either. You go to college to go to college! If you want "the college experience" then don't spend my tax dollars... or your parent's money either. I feel like we are fostering a bunch of spoiled and lazy children (and I mean children) in colleges anymore. If you're in college, you should be acting like an adult. I started attending my local community college when I was sixteen and people didn't believe I was really that young because I acted more maturely than most of my fellow students. That's sad.
I know my experience has been limited to a community college but from what I've generally heard, it isn't too much different at state colleges. If college students put half the work into their classes that they put into achieving the next level of Candy Crush, they wouldn't be failing.

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TV Shows

I've mentioned quite a lot on here about the different TV shows I watched so I thought I might share a little about them as well as mention ones I want to watch in the future.

Monk

Is the first modern TV show I ever watched. It follows an obsessive compulsive detective as he solves crimes while ultimately trying to figure out who killed his wife. This show has occasional mild bad language, some not the most modest clothing at times, a couple episodes where there was some suggestive speech, and of course a little gore. I would consider it very family friendly though. My younger siblings are always allowed to watch these as long as we have screened it before. There are just a couple episodes that I would really consider not worth watching and as for the rest they should be fine depending on maturity level. 

Psych

Follows Sean Spencer, a private detective who has convinced the world he is psychic to explain his incredible observation skills taught to him by his ex-police officer father. This show has more occasional mild bad language, some not the most modest clothing at times, some suggestive speech a few iffy scenes, and a little gore. There are only a couple episodes I can think of off the top of my head that one of them I wish I hadn't watched and the other I was warned not to watch and didn't. Psych is definitely for a more mature audience but is still relatively clean. 

Castle

Follows Rick Castle, an author of mystery novels who is called in to consult after a murder uses a method described in one of his books to kill somebody. Of my three cop shows that I have watched, this is the least clean. I have put them in order of cleanest to least clean. This show has more occasional mild bad language, more not so modest clothing at time, some suggestive speech and some suggestive scenes, and some gore. I have not watched all of Castle. I have watched the first season and part of the second as well as random bits here and there. Because its not always the cleanest its hard to consistently watch it and while I do like Castle, there are shows right now that I enjoy more. You are more likely to find episodes in Castle that should be skipped. 

Human Target

Only ran for two seasons which made me very unhappy. It follows an ex-assassian who reformed and now saves people with the help of another ex-assassian and an ex-cop. This show has occasional mild bad language, some not the most modest clothing at times, a bit of suggestive speech, and some gore and violence. For its subject matter, this a pretty clean show. I always really enjoyed it and it is so disappointing that it only ran for two seasons.

Foyle's War

Take place during World War 2 and follows a police officer solving crimes during that time period. This show has occasional mild bad language, some more mature themes, and some gore and violence. This was a pretty clean show as I recall and quite historically accurate. I was watching through it during my first semester at Butler but stopped and I can't remember why as I know I really liked it. Someday I need to finish it. 

Sherlock

Is amazing! It is the modern day telling of the story of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. In this show off the top of my head here's what I can think of; some british language, some references to homosexuality and some gore. This is all omitting the first episode of the second season that should NOT be watched. I haven't seen it but I have been informed by everyone that it is inappropriate so I'll take their word for it and skip it. 

Stargate SG-1

I just started this last month and I am steadily working my way through it. Do NOT watch the first episode of the first season. Besides that, so far what to look out for is some not so modest clothing at times, some mild bad language at times and some suggestive speech/scenes in a couple episodes that isn't terrible but I'd just fast forward through. This is my first sci-fi show to watch and I am enjoying it so far. I really can't think of a good synopsis so maybe you should just look it up on Wikipedia. :)

Shows I want to watch/thinking about watching

Doctor Who

I know you can't believe I haven't watched that yet. That is what I plan to watch next and I am really looking forward to it. 

Call the Midwife

My library just got this recently but then someone checked out the first season before I could run it by my Dad. But it looks very interesting and I am going to give it a try. 

Elementary

This is also a modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes but it takes place in America.

Stargate Atlantis

This follows after Stargate SG-1.

What are your favorite TV shows? Any other recommendations? Warnings? 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

How Many Bad Words can I Cram into One Sentence?

If you go to a secular college like I do, you'll have heard those people who can't seem to be able to talk unless they have a few bad words thrown into each sentence.  To you people, I just want to let you know, you sound like idiots.  If your vocabulary is so severely limited to the "top ten dirtiest words", then I think you just might need to expand it... and not to the "top twenty dirtiest words" please.  Additionally, there is no more inane reason to use a million bad words, then over a tiny little incident... like your phone isn't working fast enough, or you dropped your phone and it broke (but you're going to get a replacement tomorrow), or you have to pay for your own phone, or really, anything to do with your phone.  People did live without phones once upon time.
And there are those students who talk about their parents using plenty of colorful language.  They are your parents, show them a little respect. I hear students say something very similar to this all of the time: "So my parents told me that if I wanted to use their car I would have to pay for gas and I was like 'explicative deleted'."  WHAT????
Only today I heard some girls talking outside our classroom and they were seriously talking with at least one bad word per sentence, if not more. Is that a rate now? Bad words per sentence... BWPS.  Because I think they just broke the limit and I am all for giving them a ticket.
To sum it up, whenever you use bad language, not only do you sound uneducated, but it is rude and offensive. So next time you are frustrated or at a loss for what to say, don't think "How many bad words can I cram into one sentence," instead think of this quote from P.G. Wodehouse, "...The richest and most varied language the world has ever known, crammed full from end to end with red hot adjectives..."
Enough said.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

The Myth of Neutrality

That's right, neutrality is a myth, so no matter how much you try to be a "good open-minded American" you aren't.

More than ever I see it in comments on Yahoo articles or on Facebook the word bigot.  Gay marriage is normally the context of that word being thrown around.  If you aren't a proponent of gay rights, you are a cruel, closed-minded person.  You are denying people happiness.  How could you do that?

As a Christian, I don't find it very hard.  I look at the Bible, and I see what God says about homosexuality and that's that.  I am not going to list out a whole bunch of verses for you to read about this issue, y'all can look them up yourselves, because in this post I am going to focus on the myth of neutrality.

So back to the myth of neutrality.  Americans think that they have to be all accepting of every idea, every action, and every religion (except Christianity of course).  However, neutrality isn't an option.  Every person has a set of beliefs and many different people's beliefs conflict.  Christianity conflicts with EVERY other religion and so does Islam for that matter (i.e. we Christians aren't the only "non-neutral" religion).  The idea that we could be neutral to every religion is really almost humorous.  Yes, let's be neutral to people who crash airplanes into American buildings, yes, let's be neutral to serial killers.  Why not?  It's their beliefs, we should all just welcome them into the family and embrace their ideas.

NOT

See the devastating consequences of neutrality?  You start being neutral about a few things and all of a sudden you are being asked to accept murder, stealing and rape.  I think I am probably right in saying that however neutral you may be trying, you won't be accepting murder, stealing or rape.

Do you still want to be a good "open-minded"American"?

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Lazy Part 2

After writing my last post (Lazy) I thought a lot more about what I wrote and also saw some more examples of the laziness of today's society.  Thus, part 2.
One of my thoughts has been about how low standards have become for many things, but especially with school.  Not much is expected from students, I have found, but if it is, those students expect that you REALLY don't expect them to get it done.  Like showing up to class, reading the textbook, or taking notes, or not having your highest expectations for the class just passing... meaning a C (and yes, I have talked to students who have said that).  Before class the other day I heard behind me a student complaining to another student about how her teacher had assigned her class this homework and how she just couldn't believe that her teacher had assigned them all of that homework (and it was NOT that much).  It was as if she was complaining about her teacher expecting them to do WORK.  To this student: I don't know if you if you know this, but work is part of college.  Honestly, I am at a community college where everything is a lot easier.  How would these students make it at university colleges?  Or do they ever even get there?
One out of four students in the U.S.A. failed to graduate from highschool in 2012.  I am sorry, but highschool cannot be that hard... especially with these lowered standards.  Something is going down hill and I am pretty sure it is the education system.  And I know what you're thinking, "But Lois, of course you say that because you were homeschooled so you're biased."  Yep, that's true, I was, and probably that is why I am saying that.  However, I have been able to experience both homeschool and public school (at the community college).  First off, I can readily assure you that from talking to students who went to public schools that more was expected of me in my homeschool than was expected from them, therefore, I worked harder.  I was pushed far harder than most students, which was how I got to where I am.  I have never called myself good at math but because my Dad kept me going I was able to get up to Calculus 1.  I think (and this is just my opinion), that public schools are just a pathway to being lazy.  And don't get me wrong, I have met many smart public schooled kids, but I have so many mediocre public schooled kids, and a sad amount of public schooled kids that were so ignorant that I was sincerely hoping that it was just a joke.  Those students from the last group are the ones who didn't know what extrovert meant and thought it was an insult because it was a big word, which it isn't even that big.
To all of you lazy students out there: Take your earphones out of your ears and put your cellphone away, you're in school, it's not time to be lazy, it's time to work.


Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Lazy

We are incredibly spoiled in today's society.  Getting up so I can to work at eight is a major league chore for me, but it SHOULDN'T be.  If today's teenagers were told they had to get up when farmers did and still do, they would get the shock of a lifetime.  If today's teenagers were told that chores came before recreation their jaws would drop.  We have become so lazy and today's society displays this.  Going out to eat is a no brainer anymore because we are unwilling to take the time to make a meal that would actually most likely cost less and be healthier.  Texting people is now the preferred mode of communication because actually talking face to face with people is just WAY too difficult.
Working hard is not something that is emphasized anymore, which is why I meet so many lazy college college students.  I have talked to students who say that they would be perfectly happy with a C and if they got a B that would pretty much be heaven.  Standards are so low that no one really expects much of you.  When I was in highschool taking classes at the local community college, I was considered a genius because I was so young but taking those upper level courses.  I am not a genius by any stretch of the imagination, I just work hard.
A little (no make that a lot) leadership needs to be taken by today's youth.  We need to take responsibility for our own actions and buckle down and work hard.  I am not exempting myself from sometimes being lazy, aren't we all?  However, I do work hard.


Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Wisdom

A friend once told me that wisdom is experience, which I think is a good simple example but one that definitely needs to be expanded on.  What is wisdom,  why should you want wisdom, and how do you obtain wisdom?  Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, these three questions all intertwine.

Wisdom, according to the dictionary is, "The quality of having experience (as mentioned before), knowledge, and good judgement."   That is more or less the definition also given in the Bible.  However, there still is a difference between what the world calls wisdom, and God calls wisdom.  Several times throughout the Bible the differences between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God are shown. In 1 Corinthians 1:20 Paul writes, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"  In Chapter 3 of the same book in verse 19 Paul writes, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God."  So we can see what the wisdom of this world is, foolishness, but what is the wisdom of God like?  1 Corinthians 2:6-8 says, "Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory..."  God's wisdom is something we cannot understand, it is mysterious and unknown.  Romans 11:53 reiterates this giving more insight, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"  What are the limits to God's wisdom?  There are no limits; they are unfathomable!  Solomon was the wisest man ever to live but did he have limits? Yes.  God is not like man; His wisdom has NO boundries. In Ephesians 9:10 it mentions the "...manifold wisdom of God..."  Manifold, numerous, how great is the wisdom of our God!

So now that you understand what wisdom is, why do you want wisdom?  Proverbs 1:7 says- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." It is obvious from this verse that as Christians we are called to pursue knowledge.  If we do not we are fools, and nobody wants to be a fool.  In Chapter 13 of Proverbs it talks about how blessed a man is who finds wisdom and how wisdom is better then precious jewels and nothing compares with it.  
 How does one obtain wisdom? The short answer is in Proverbs 2:6 where the Bible says that the Lord gives wisdom.  James 1:5 says, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."  In John it says "ask and you shall receive."

Now you know what wisdom is, Godly wisdom, you know why you should want wisdom, so we aren't fools, and now you know how to obtain wisdom, through God.  Broken down it all looks so simple but as you and I know the Christian's walk isn't simple.  It is all very well for you to read this (or for me to write this) but it is the action that really counts.  Wisdom isn't easy, I know, but through God, all things are possible.  

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

The Ultimate Proof of Creation

This is a great video that puts Evolution to the test with the presuppositional apologetics method.  It is a long video but well worth the watch.  Please comment with your thoughts as I am always interested in what my readers have to say (though I know there isn't much I wrote for this post, it is the video you should be looking at).

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

The Greatest Evidence Against Evolution

     In my studies of Creation vs. Evolution I have come across many proofs against evolution but the proof I have found the strongest and also  the easiest to explain is that of mutations.  Supposedly mutations is how Evolution is to have occured.  Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA and are quite real, but are they capable of evolutionary change?  To make the answer short, NO!  To explain: There have been no mutations observe to this day (and there have been many observed) that have ADDED information, only mutations that have LOST information.  I guess that would be evolution going backwards. :)
To conclude, Evolution is impossible because there is no method by which infomation is added to the genome.  Evolution: DEBUNKED.

Information gleaned from videos and articles produced or published by CMI and AIG.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Movie Review- Soul Surfer

     This is my first movie review I have written so don't mock me. ;)  If you know anything about Soul Surfer you will know that it most certainly came out a few months ago.  Well, that is true.  However, due to my not wanting to see it, I did not see it until a couple days ago when I was given the opportunity to view it, which wasn't exactly my idea but there it is. :)  However, I can now say I have watched and I am not just making up criticisms without having actually watched it. :)
     So as you may have gathered, no, I didn't enjoy the movie.  Score- AnnaSophia Robb's acting was absolutely incredible and she really moved the story, score- the cinematography was incredible, and score- I thought the movie showed the family closeness very well especially between Bethany and her brothers, but there the scores pretty much end.  This has been called a wonderful Christian movie but NO it is not.  The story pretty much goes like this: Beginning- Surfing is God, she loses her arm- surfing is still God, she goes on a mission trip (which you wouldn't know was an mission trip except that they call it that)- love is God, she comes back and makes the decision to continue surfing- surfing is pretty much back to being God, competition is over- surfing and love are God together.  Then of course there was Carrie Underwood who was cast as Bethany Hamilton's church's youth leader.  Her acting was about as bad as it gets.  Because of that and the role she played as an important spiritual influence in Bethany's life, the Christian aspect was downplayed even more.  Then of course there was the immodesty, which was pretty bad, not as bad as it could have been but nonetheless bad.  I would shudder to think of my teenage brothers watching Soul Surfer with the the multiple scenes of females (girls and women) in bikinis not to mention a photo shoot that Bethany's best friend poses for in quite sultry positions.  Also, there was a scene where Bethany and her best friend go out night surfing without asking her parents (assuming they would say no).  Of course her mother finds out and is quite upset.  However, no discipline and she pretty much gets away with it.  I thought that whole scene was really unnecessary.  If there had been a redemptive purpose I would have found it much more bearable but without that it just confirmed my already negative views of the film.
     Overall I was quite disappointed with the movie.  I am discouraged that so many Christians look up to this movie as a good Christian movie.  Let me know what you think!!!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Literal 24-Hour Six Day Creation

     I am a Christian, which you have probably noticed if you have read my blog at all.  I believe in a literal 24-hour six day creation and I am going to explain why.  In a later blog post I will try to take the time to explain why I believe in creation at all but for today I am going to focus on the controversies surrounding a literal six day creation.  I am not a scientist so my knowledge is stolen from multiple CMI (Creation Ministries International) and AIG (Answers In Genesis) videos and articles as well as from Apologetics Press's articles.  I will include the links to all of the articles I use at the bottom of this post and will put in quotations anything that is not in my own words.  I hope that as I am a non-scientist, my arguments will be clear to everyone.

     To begin with, why do theistic evolutionists even doubt the literal 24-hour six day creation account in Genesis 1?  According to an article posted on Creation Ministries International's website, "If people use Scripture to try to justify that the days of creation are long periods of time, they usually quote passages such as 2 Peter 3:8, ‘… one day is with the Lord as a thousand years …’. Because of this, they think the days could be a thousand years, or perhaps even millions of years. However, if you look at the rest of the verse, it says, ‘… and a thousand years as one day’. This cancels out their argument! The context of this passage concerns the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This particular verse is telling people that with God, waiting a day is like waiting a thousand years, and waiting a thousand years is like waiting a day because God is outside of time—He is not limited by natural processes and time. This has absolutely nothing to do with defining the days of creation. There is no reference in this passage to the days of creation."

     Theistic evolutionists will make the claim that the 6 days of creation depicted in Genesis 1 were not literal 24-hour days.  However, there is a great deal of evidence that refutes this already rather far out claim.  "Yom", the Hebrew word used for day in the Bible, when used with a numeral in front of the word always means a literal 24-hour day.  In Genesis 1, there is ALWAYS a numeral in front of the word day.  Also as Apologetics Press says, "The words “evening” and “morning” are used together in the Old Testament with the word yom over 100 times in non-prophetic passages, and each time they refer to a 24-hour day. Furthermore, if the “days” of Genesis 1:14, were “eons of time,” then what were the years? And, if a “day” is an “age,” then what is a “night”?"  In Mark 10:6 and Matthew 19:4, Jesus teaches that God created them male and female from the beginning.  A non-literal 24-hour six day creation is also a scientific impossibility because, as Apologetics Press says, "...if the “days” of Genesis were not days at all, but long geological periods, then a problem of no little consequence arises in the field of botany. Plants came into existence on the third day (Genesis 1:9-13). If the days of Genesis 1 were long geological ages, how did plant life survive millions of years of total darkness? Also, how would the plants that depend on insects for pollination have survived the supposed millions or billions of years between “day” three and “day” five (when insects were created)."   Answers in Genesis, in an article on their website say, "... in Exodus 20:8–11 God commanded the Israelites to work six literal “days” and rest on the seventh because He created in six “days” (using the same Hebrew word)."  Again we see the impossibilities of theistic evolution being true. 

I will close with some words from Apologetics Press, "Finally, one must ask, if God wanted us to know that He created the world in six literal days, what words would He have used? Or if a person wanted to explain to someone else that God created all things in a literal six days, what words would he use? The answer?—the exact words used in Genesis 1."

If you have any questions about a literal 24-hour six day creation take a look at these great articles, which I posted the links to below and/or go to Creation Ministries International's, Answers in Genesis's, or Apologetic Press's websites for more such articles.  Hail to the King!

http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=824&topic=64

http://creation.com/the-necessity-for-believing-in-six-literal-days

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v5/n2/six-literal-days

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Confrontations That Have Taught Me

Senior year is probably a pretty hectic year normally, however, when you top it off with taking thirteen dual credit hours at the local community college it steps up to a whole new level of hectic.  I have to say I am enjoying it though, despite it sometimes being a bit of a culture shock.  My whole time at BCC has been very interesting.  I have met people I will never forget, some because of how much they annoyed me but other because of how good of friends they were.  As a Christian, I was for about the first time confronted with people who disagreed with my religous views.  Thankfully, I had parents and a church that had well prepared me for confrontation.  

My first confontation was with my lab partner in my basic chemistry class.  I found out he was homeschooled also and, as most homeschoolers are, I asked him if he was a Christian.  I was surprised to hear a negative response.  Well I asked him what he did belive then.  His answers were very wide and distorted.  However, his main points were, he belived there was a "god" but he didn't belive we could know anything about him (kind of like a deist), and he belived that this "god" had set off evolution.  However, he did say that he didn't believe evolution was logical, but it was cooler then creation, so he chose to believe it.  I realized about then that he was really illogical.  In fact, he told me he was really logical.  I figured that was about he only logical thought he'd ever had.  My lab partner and I had many discussion about religion and evolution and I found it very difficult to engage in these conversations mostly for the reason that he was extremly illogica and couldn't follow my reasoning.  I will admit, I am not great logician, but I do know the basics, which was more then I could say for him.  However, despite our many arguments, my lab partner and I still remained friendly towards each other.  If I had felt like it was really aggravating him, I probably would have stopped.  

My second confrontation was with my Comp 1 teacher.  You may have read my blog post "Is Language Sexist."  That was him.  He seemed like a pretty nice guy when I first started taking his class.  A warning signal went up in my mind though even the first day, though I tried to disregard it.  The whole class was introducing themselves and we shared our favorite book/movie.  Well my favorite book has always been Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  My teacher said (something like this), "Oh yes, Jane Austen writes really good books about young women moving past the rules of society to get what the truly want."  I about gagged.  If Jane Austen's novels had been about that I never would have read them.  This rather feminist remark though was just a taster of what was to come.  I am not going to restate what was in "Is Language Sexist," you can check it out for yourself but that was a whole big "issue" we talked about.  Anyways, I had the whole "Is Language Sexist," his talks about homosexuality being okay, and his thoughts on decriminalizing prostitution.  Sometimes the class's discussions on the decriminalizing of prostitution turned disgusting and/or disturbing, which really aggravated and shocked me.  I really was wondering sometimes if I was in the right class. It sure didn't seem like a Comp 1 class to me. The worst part of the whole discussions was that my Comp 1 teacher would always bring up the subject, pretend he wasn't sharing his opinions, ask our opinions, bash our opinions, and then say he wasn't bashing our opinions.

These two confrontations were very frustrating at times but as I look back I think they also taught me.  If I could go back in time I would get a different Comp 1 teacher, but I would stay with my basic chem class plus lab partner.  Yes those two experiences taught me a lot, but while one of them was more on a friendly level, the other was just ridiculous and oftentimes disgusting and disturbing.  Did they teach me?  Yes they did.  Would I repeat them?  Maybe one, but not the other.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Calvin and Hobbes: The More Times You Read It the Better It Gets

Well first off, I love Calvin and Hobbes.  I loved them ever since I first started reading them about eight years ago or so.  At first I loved them because I found them humorous (of course), and then I began to see other great aspects to them.  It is amazing how much Bill Waterson was able to insert great elements of philosophy and theology into this simple comic strip.  One of my favorites is when Calvin is talking to Hobbes about how he had a test in school that day and he couldn't decide whether to cheat on the test or not.  Hobbes asks him what he ended up doing and Calvin says he ran out of time, the bell rang and he ended up handing in a blank paper.  "Anyways," he adds, "It just seemed wrong to cheat on an ethics test."  It is a humorous but thought provoking strips like that that I love to read.  However, beware giving your younger children these as there is some slight bad language in them.  Besides that, though, I would whole heartedly recommend them.  I enjoy them especially when I don't feel well and I really need a good laugh to put me in better spirits.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Is Language Sexist?

"Is language sexist?"  That is what my comp 1 teacher asked the class.  My teacher went on to explain his point by putting up on the board "proof."  For example, you can't use "she" without "he", "woman" without "man", female with out male.  Personally, I hadn't really thought about it.  But when I did, I realized it all made sense.  In Genesis 2:22-23 it says, "The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”  If you look at the "is language sexist" issue with biblical glasses it all makes sense.  Woman is called woman because she was taken out of man.  Anyone who wants to dispute this is going against God's word.  My Comp 1 teacher DID dispute this when I gave this simple explanation.  He (yes this was a male teacher) said, "Well the Bible was written by men so we can't trust what it says, that automatically makes it sexist" (that's a paraphrase but essentially that was what he was saying).  I had never heard anyone say that before and frankly I was shocked.  "The Bible is the inspired Word of God," I said.  "The men that scribed the Bible were divinely inspired by God.  It was not their word but God's Word."  I didn't figure anyone could dispute that argument.  However, my teacher did.  "But it was written by man."  We went back and forth for some time about this.  It shocked me how illogical one can be when they don't want to accept the obvious truth.  Anyone that says the Bible is not the divinely inspired Word of God has every reason not to trust it.  However, the Bible IS the divinely inspired Word of God and we can trust it.  So is language sexist? NO!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Evolution, it makes me laugh...

You can tell it is summer because instead of being outside in the heat I am inside with the air conditioner.   A record high was set the other day in Kansas, which didn't manage to thrill me to much.  Why not a record low?  However, throughout the sweltering temperatures and dry grass, I can still see God shining through nature.  Summers like these remind us whose in control; we don't have authority over the weather, only God does.  This weekend I had the amazing privilege to attend the Heartland Creation Conference where Dr. Jonathan Safarti spoke on how it is utter foolishness to believe in the myth of evolution for "the heavens declare the glory of God."  One thing he said over and over again that really was at the core of the issue was "you can't prove the bible with science; you have to prove science with the bible."  His point was, if you put science as a higher authority over the bible you are saying that what God said isn't as important as the deductions of fallible scientists.  Man is evil, born in sin, and will make any excuse it can conceive to get out of obeying the one true God, even something as utterly ridiculous as evolution.  Today evolution is taught in the schools as truth.  That's putting it as an equal to the bible right there.  In "Expelled", when Richard Dawkins (notorious Evolutionists and author of "The Greatest Show on Earth" which by the way was refuted in Dr. Jonathan Safarti's book "The Greatest Hoax on Earth") is pushed back and pushed back as to where the first life came from he finally has to resort to (get this, it is too funny) aliens!  Aliens?  That's how silly the whole evolution movement is.  They have no evidence so they have to say aliens.  Intelligent men saying aliens?  You can laugh with me if you want.  Now, I am not a scientist, or anywhere close, but I do know one thing, you can't get something from nothing and the evolution movement, well it makes me laugh...

By the way, where did the aliens come from? :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.