Saw this item over at CNN.com. A longer article can be found at National Geographic. National Geographic produced a documentary on their unsuccessful attempt to film a live giant squid.
The evidence for the existence of the giant squid have been sightings and dead ones washed ashore. However, photographic evidence of living ones remained elusive for many years. Discovery channel had a documentary which I missed about that search.
Devotional Thoughts: Feeding the 5000
Matthew 14:13-21 is very familiar. In fact, the story of the feeding of the 5000 is one of two miracles recorded in all four Gospels. The other miracle is the Resurrection!
This incident occurred shortly after John the Baptist's death which was described in Matt. 14:1-12 previously. I figure John's death occurred at night since it happened during Herod's birthday party (Matt. 14:6). News of it probably reached Jesus probably pretty quickly because v. 13 said "As soon as Jesus heard the news, he went off by himself in a boat..." And then v. 15 said "that evening the disciples came to him ..." Thus, it seemed likely that Jesus took the boat trip (v. 13) in the morning to try to get away from the crowds but it wasn't long before they found Him (v. 14) and He healed the sick who had gathered around Him. Evening (v. 15) arrived and the crowds were still there and the disciples were worried about feeding them all. Jesus merely said, you feed them (v. 16). The disciples were aghast (v. 17) saying, we only have 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. In vv. 18-21, the feeding of the 5000 occurred.
Familiar passage. Many lessons.
Jesus seeking solitude. In our rush of life, do we make an effort for some solitude to reflect and renew?
Jesus, despite His grief over John the Baptist's death, acting on the compassion He felt for the people who sought Him out. When the Spirit is prompting us with feelings of compassion, do we respond?
When we are hurting, sometimes, it is healthy to deliberately choose to spend some time helping others in need.
Finally, how often do we look at our limited resources (5 loaves and 2 fish) and decide, nope, we can't do anything?
We are to bring to the table whatever we got and trust Jesus for the rest when it comes to meeting the needs of others.
This incident occurred shortly after John the Baptist's death which was described in Matt. 14:1-12 previously. I figure John's death occurred at night since it happened during Herod's birthday party (Matt. 14:6). News of it probably reached Jesus probably pretty quickly because v. 13 said "As soon as Jesus heard the news, he went off by himself in a boat..." And then v. 15 said "that evening the disciples came to him ..." Thus, it seemed likely that Jesus took the boat trip (v. 13) in the morning to try to get away from the crowds but it wasn't long before they found Him (v. 14) and He healed the sick who had gathered around Him. Evening (v. 15) arrived and the crowds were still there and the disciples were worried about feeding them all. Jesus merely said, you feed them (v. 16). The disciples were aghast (v. 17) saying, we only have 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. In vv. 18-21, the feeding of the 5000 occurred.
Familiar passage. Many lessons.
Jesus seeking solitude. In our rush of life, do we make an effort for some solitude to reflect and renew?
Jesus, despite His grief over John the Baptist's death, acting on the compassion He felt for the people who sought Him out. When the Spirit is prompting us with feelings of compassion, do we respond?
When we are hurting, sometimes, it is healthy to deliberately choose to spend some time helping others in need.
Finally, how often do we look at our limited resources (5 loaves and 2 fish) and decide, nope, we can't do anything?
We are to bring to the table whatever we got and trust Jesus for the rest when it comes to meeting the needs of others.
Lessons from the football field: Charlie Weis Keeps His Word to a Dying Boy
If this story doesn't bring tears to your eyes you may need to check if you are still alive.
Excerpt:
Excerpt:
Charlie Weis doesn't usually let anyone else call plays on offense. He made an exception for 10-year-old Montana Mazurkiewicz.God bless Coach Charlie Weiss and Notre Dame and the Mazurkiewicz family.
The Notre Dame coach met last week with Montana, who had been told by doctors weeks earlier that there was nothing more they could do to stop the spread of his inoperable brain tumor.
"He was a big Notre Dame fan in general, but football especially," said his mother, Cathy Mazurkiewicz.
.........
Weis asked Montana if there was something he could do for him. He agreed to let Montana call the first play against Washington on Saturday. He called "pass right."
Montana never got to see the play. He died Friday at his home.
Weis heard about the death and called Mazurkiewicz on Friday night to assure her he would still call Montana's play.
"He said, 'This game is for Montana, and the play still stands,'" she said.
.........
When the Irish started on their own 1-yard-line following a fumble recovery, Mazurkiewicz wasn't sure Notre Dame would be able to throw a pass. Weis was concerned about that, too. So was quarterback Brady Quinn.
"He said what are we going to do?" Weis said. "I said we have no choice. We're throwing it to the right."
.........
"It was an amazing play. Montana would have been very pleased. I was very pleased," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed. I couldn't watch much more."
Weis called her again after the game, a 36-17 victory by the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish, and said he had a game ball signed by the team that he wanted to bring to the family on Sunday.
"He's a very neat man. Very compassionate," she said. "I just thanked him for using that play, no matter the circumstances."
The comment bag: responding to the response citing Spinoza
I'm always pleasantly surprised to check my site-meter and find out people do visit this little blog.
And I'm thrilled to receive comments. Am not thrilled by the SPAMMER comments. I try to delete those as soon as I find them. If I missed any, please let me know!
But it is great to receive real comments. And I was happy to see that someone from Finland left some thoughts on this blog post.
I'll reproduce it here below:
So I went to my one volume encyclopedia to check out Spinoza. It said that Baruch (or Benedict) Spinoza (1632-1677) was a Dutch philosopher. He didn't accept the concept of free will but believed human actions are driven by self-preservation. He thought that mind and body, ideas and the physical universe were just different aspects of the same substance he called god and nature interchangeably.
This sounds like pantheism?
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity described it this way:
But with that view, what else is god?
Don't mean to be crude ... but the axe-murderer is god if god is in everything. The only way to avoid that consequence is to put god apart from the physical universe. Lewis explained:
Thanks for dropping by this blog and feel free to leave comments. I do enjoy them. I aim to be hospitable. I hope we can all think things through together in a fair minded way and reach some clarity whether in the end we agree or not.
And I'm thrilled to receive comments. Am not thrilled by the SPAMMER comments. I try to delete those as soon as I find them. If I missed any, please let me know!
But it is great to receive real comments. And I was happy to see that someone from Finland left some thoughts on this blog post.
I'll reproduce it here below:
Spinoza has said that even a stone, if it would have consciousness, would think it is it's own choice to fall down when it is dropped. Same way we people think we choose to drop the stone, but it is just actually law of physics or God if you may (I actually think of them as the same thing - nature and God).I'm a molecular biologist not a philosopher so I'm not up on my Spinoza.
So I went to my one volume encyclopedia to check out Spinoza. It said that Baruch (or Benedict) Spinoza (1632-1677) was a Dutch philosopher. He didn't accept the concept of free will but believed human actions are driven by self-preservation. He thought that mind and body, ideas and the physical universe were just different aspects of the same substance he called god and nature interchangeably.
This sounds like pantheism?
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity described it this way:
Patheists usually believe that God, so to speak, animates the universe as you animate your body: that the universe almost is God, so that if it did not exist He would not exist either, and anything you find in the universe is a part of God.What is the consequence of a pantheistic view of the world? Lewis said this:
If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, then it is easy to say that anything you find in this world is a part of God. But, of course, if you think some things really bad, and God really good, then you cannot talk like that. You must believe that God is separate from the world and that some things we see in it is contrary to His will.One current pop culture manifestation of pantheism is well illustrated by the Star Wars films. The Force is in everything. It is kind of romantic to think about god in everything. You see a babbling happy baby and you see god. You smell the flowers and there is god. You hear the chirping of birds and that's god too.
But with that view, what else is god?
Don't mean to be crude ... but the axe-murderer is god if god is in everything. The only way to avoid that consequence is to put god apart from the physical universe. Lewis explained:
They (Christians) think God invented and made the universe -- like a man making a picture or composing a tune. A painter is not a picture, and he does not die if his picture is destroyed.What do you think?
Thanks for dropping by this blog and feel free to leave comments. I do enjoy them. I aim to be hospitable. I hope we can all think things through together in a fair minded way and reach some clarity whether in the end we agree or not.
Devotional Thoughts: Do I Want Hell to Exist?
Like most people I don't like to think about it. Don't like talking about it. And am not thrilled to blog about it.
But when I read a passage like Matthew 14:1-12, I found myself thinking about it.
Excerpts:
For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife ... But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." ... He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
Gruesome.
Do you think Herod, Herodias and Herodias' daughter belong in hell?
What are the alternatives to hell?
(1) If there is an afterlife and there is no hell then we will be sharing "a cloud and a harp" in heaven with these three people?
(2) If reincarnation is the next part after this life then what will these three come back as? Will they suffer for their sins? However, in reincarnation, one doesn't know what the previous life was like? They would suffer but not know what they did in a previous life that caused their suffering?
(3) And if there is no afterlife ... they get away with it and die and are no more.
The idea of hell as a place in the afterlife to punish the wicked is a difficult concept to accept. However, how does it compare to the other three alternatives?
But when I read a passage like Matthew 14:1-12, I found myself thinking about it.
Excerpts:
For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife ... But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." ... He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
Gruesome.
Do you think Herod, Herodias and Herodias' daughter belong in hell?
What are the alternatives to hell?
(1) If there is an afterlife and there is no hell then we will be sharing "a cloud and a harp" in heaven with these three people?
(2) If reincarnation is the next part after this life then what will these three come back as? Will they suffer for their sins? However, in reincarnation, one doesn't know what the previous life was like? They would suffer but not know what they did in a previous life that caused their suffering?
(3) And if there is no afterlife ... they get away with it and die and are no more.
The idea of hell as a place in the afterlife to punish the wicked is a difficult concept to accept. However, how does it compare to the other three alternatives?
Wait until next year
Dodgers have been done for a while already but it is offically over as they are too far behind and there are too few games left.
It is one of those "what if" seasons with too many injuries.
One of them is Gagne. He probably pitched too many innings in the pennant drive of 2004 but would they have won the NL West if he hadn't pitched so much? He went into 2005 not quite right and started the season on the DL and may have got back in too soon. He soon returned to the DL and eventually required season ending surgery.
In today's ESPN.com e-ticket is the story of Robb Nen. As a Dodger fan, it is reflexive to root against the Giants but reading the story of Nen, all you can do as a fan of the sport is to tip your hat in respect to the guy for leaving it all out there.
In addition to Gagne, Drew was lost for the season due to getting hit on the wrist by a pitch. Werth was also hit by a pitch on the wrist but eventually returned to the line up but was never quite the same. Bradley was injured most of the season and with off-the-field and in-the-clubhouse issues is probably not coming back. Valentin messed up his knee and eventually returned but was ineffective. Izturis, spent time on the DL and eventually had season ending surgery as well.
The Dodger brain trust has some big decisions to make.
Do they take a chance on Bradley?
Do they try to re-sign Weaver who turned into this year's pitching workhorse?
If they go with a youth movement, how will they package Kent to ship him off to a contender for a shot at the MLB championship to cap off a remarkable career?
If they keep Kent, how much money are they willing to take from the piggy bank to bring in a big bat and proven pitcher for the starting rotation to make a championship run in 2006?
The bright spot has been the play of some of the rookies. Navarro at catcher, Aybar at third, Robles at short, Repko in the outfield, Schmoll in relief and Houlton as a fifth starter.
Wait until next year to find out.
It is one of those "what if" seasons with too many injuries.
One of them is Gagne. He probably pitched too many innings in the pennant drive of 2004 but would they have won the NL West if he hadn't pitched so much? He went into 2005 not quite right and started the season on the DL and may have got back in too soon. He soon returned to the DL and eventually required season ending surgery.
In today's ESPN.com e-ticket is the story of Robb Nen. As a Dodger fan, it is reflexive to root against the Giants but reading the story of Nen, all you can do as a fan of the sport is to tip your hat in respect to the guy for leaving it all out there.
In addition to Gagne, Drew was lost for the season due to getting hit on the wrist by a pitch. Werth was also hit by a pitch on the wrist but eventually returned to the line up but was never quite the same. Bradley was injured most of the season and with off-the-field and in-the-clubhouse issues is probably not coming back. Valentin messed up his knee and eventually returned but was ineffective. Izturis, spent time on the DL and eventually had season ending surgery as well.
The Dodger brain trust has some big decisions to make.
Do they take a chance on Bradley?
Do they try to re-sign Weaver who turned into this year's pitching workhorse?
If they go with a youth movement, how will they package Kent to ship him off to a contender for a shot at the MLB championship to cap off a remarkable career?
If they keep Kent, how much money are they willing to take from the piggy bank to bring in a big bat and proven pitcher for the starting rotation to make a championship run in 2006?
The bright spot has been the play of some of the rookies. Navarro at catcher, Aybar at third, Robles at short, Repko in the outfield, Schmoll in relief and Houlton as a fifth starter.
Wait until next year to find out.
Three new sites I'm keeping an eye on
Hugh Hewitt has organized a collaborative blog with Albert Mohler, a baptist seminary president, John Mark Reynolds, a philosophy professor, Mark D. Roberts, a prebyterian pastor, Amy Welborn, a Catholic author and David Allen White, a literature professor.
One of my very good friends has entered the blogsphere. If you love dogs, you'll love her poem about playing fetch with her dog. I'm now mulling over her thoughts on whether we live in "the Matrix" or not and can we tell the difference.
Finally, Blogs4God has returned! Apparently, the aggregation site was over-run by spammers and needed a major overhaul to defend against spammers and to capitalize on new protocols for aggregating blog posts. A great one stop place to see what Christian bloggers are writing about.
Also, please note on the right column that this blog has joined the Evangelical Aggregator.
One of my very good friends has entered the blogsphere. If you love dogs, you'll love her poem about playing fetch with her dog. I'm now mulling over her thoughts on whether we live in "the Matrix" or not and can we tell the difference.
Finally, Blogs4God has returned! Apparently, the aggregation site was over-run by spammers and needed a major overhaul to defend against spammers and to capitalize on new protocols for aggregating blog posts. A great one stop place to see what Christian bloggers are writing about.
Also, please note on the right column that this blog has joined the Evangelical Aggregator.
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