Oh, you have GOT to be KIDDING me

Sent to you by mattharmless via Google Reader:

Oh, you have GOT to be KIDDING me

via Pyromaniacs by DJP on 3/19/08

by Dan Phillips

In the meta to my previous post, Mike Hall pointed me ultimately to something that had me literally slack-jawed.

Step away from sharp objects, sit down, have your heart-medicine at hand, take a few deep and slow breaths...

...and read this.

You'll see "A Special Note About Easter" which, according to pastor Blake Hickman, came from the First Look Sunday School publishers.

In the letter they explain how — you are sitting down, right? I wasn't kidding. They explain why they are leaving Easter out of their Easter materials. They've decided that the story of the Cross is too violent and disturbing for young children, and the Resurrection wouldn't make any sense without it, so they "are focusing on the Last Supper, when Jesus shared a meal and spent time with the people He loved."

I just... is this Scrappleface? Is this some sort of joke?

See further comments:

Tom Ascol
Tim Ellsworth
Russell D. Moore

Do any of you use this curriculum? Are they barking-mad in other ways as well?

At this point, I run out of post-conversion, sanctified vocabulary. Over to you.

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how to minister

Petition for California Homeschoolers

I also stole this one from Paul.

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Petition for California Homeschoolers

via approaching North by Paul Fuller on 3/7/08

Please read these 2 articles which describe a California Court of Appeals recently published opinion which baldly states that parents do not have a constitutional right to teach their children at home: San Francisco Chronicle Article Los Angeles Times Article

After reading that, please consider signing this petition which is requesting that "the Supreme Court of California depublish the Court of Appeal opinion".

More information on this ruling can be found at the Focus on the Family website.

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Be With God

I wanted to post about this myself, but my wife did such an amazing post about it, I just decided to re-direct you to her blog.

"Be With God"

What Is Eaten In One Week Around The World

I stole this from Paul

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What Is Eaten In One Week Around The World

via approaching North by Paul Fuller on 2/25/08

Update since original post:
Some friends have asked me where I got these pictures. A good friend of mine, Cory Rintala, emailed them to me. When I was queried about their origins, a little googling unearthed this info: The photos are from a book called "Hungry Planet" by Pete Menzel. You can find out more about his photo essays on his website and through this article from NPR's Michele Norris.

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

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United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
(note the nutritional content on this table!)
Food expenditure for one week $341.98

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Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

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Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

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Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

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Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

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Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

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Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

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Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

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π !!!

leading up to π day... (part 2)

In case you were still wondering about π...

Here is π to 1 million digits.

leading up to π day...

In case you didn't know, π day is coming up. (It is 3/14... get it?) To lead into π day I thought I would throw in some random mentions of π.

The first one is from an identity called Euler's Identity. It is an equation that involves π and a few other prominent numbers. Maybe even the most prominent and important numbers. Here is that equation:


Here is a clip from Wikipedia that does a pretty good explanation of this amazing equation:

Euler's identity is considered by many to be remarkable for its mathematical beauty. Three basic arithmetic operations occur exactly once each: addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. The identity also links five fundamental mathematical constants:

• The number 0.
• The number 1.
• The number π, which is ubiquitous in trigonometry, geometry of Euclidean space, and mathematical analysis.
• The number e, the base of natural logarithms, which occurs widely in mathematical analysis (e ≈ 2.71828).
• The number i, imaginary unit of the complex numbers, which contain the roots of all nonconstant polynomials and lead to deeper insight into many operators, such as integration.

Furthermore, in mathematical analysis, equations are commonly written with zero on one side.

Whether you are a mathematician or not, this is amazing. the five most important numbers all in one equation with all of the basic mathematical operations... Weird.

The Taste Test

The taste test is a great idea with food, but it isn't always the best idea in the rest of life. I saw the following quote and thought it was really true.

"Don't taste what you don't want to hunger after."
Ravi Zacharias

Black and White Words

I received this as a comment, but I wanted to move it up to the "post" level.

Dear Son-in-law,

I was reading your blog and my heart was touched when you were talking to the boys about abortion.

I do not recall sharing this with you...It was back when I was nursing at the hospital...I went into a room to care for the lady in the second bed...I was in the room for a good hour. I was not aware that the lady in the first bed has received a radium insertion that AM. There should have been a warning posted on the door...but there was not. It was being posted as I left.

My heart immediately filled with fear. Just days before I had been informed, I was with child. I was well aware of the deformities and health problems this meant for the little person growing inside me. I immediately went to the OB Doctor, who advised me to get an abortion and the sooner the better.

Needless to say, for the next 7 months Dad and I spent many hours on our knees asking God to please give us a healthy baby...We still praise Him...Nothing is too hard for our God...He gave us a little girl called Charity.

If I had listened to Dr. Mason, we would have never known the joy of seeing our precious daughter grow into the beautiful person she is becoming...You would have never known her as your wife and the Mother of those two boys I call my Grandsons.

Thank you Matt for teaching my Grandchildren that God's Word has all the answers they will ever need in this life....I love you for standing for what is right, even when it is not popular.

Love Mom Lathrop

Lots of guys gripe about their mother-in-laws, but I don't get it. I have a mother-in-law who is seeking after God and is growing in His grace all of the time. One thing that we have in common is that we are both very black and white. Now, we are willing to change, but we won't change on a whim or a passing thought. We are in reliance on the scripture and we will believe and listen to what it has to say and align ourselves accordingly.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass that along.