Author Archives: MzEllen

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Spinning again...

I've got a fine thread going and a thicker thread that is a lovely violet/green combo from Zweeliger's (I know I got the spelling wrong) in Frankenmuth.

Spinning is pretty mindless for me, so I can listen to podcasts while I spin.  I don't have a niddy-noddy to skein the yarn (I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow to pick up the PVC pipe to make one - I made a smaller one but I want a 2-yard skein for this yarn.  I know I made one that size but I think it's at work.)

I've got a few dozen yards plyed (three stands of thread twisted together) that I can make into a skein as soon as I have the niddy-noddy made.

Next weekend I'm taking a little field trip to Frankenmuth to drop off alpaca fiber to have it made into roving - I don't want to spend the money on a drum carder that I'll use only a few times - besides, Zwellinger's will wash the fiber for me.

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which doesn't look like those sorts of days that belong to most people.

I can live by my kitchen timer (which has 3 timers - set for 10, 20 and 30 mintues).  Today I have to do reading for my classes, I want to read the book of Galations (format it into a Word document to take notes on) and then listen to White Horse Inn (Galations part 2).

I'm spinning again and Saturday is the day that I either ply or skein yarn so I'm going to do that.  It's a mindless job so I listen to podcasts while I do that.  Expect photos.

"Running"

  • I need to do a little grocery shopping (yogurt, milk, cocoa powder, fresh produce) - I'm trying gluten free so that adds a different twist.  Add hair color to the shopping list. TAKE BACK EMPTIES
  • I need to stop by home depot and get PVC pipe.  I make my own bobbins for putting spun thread on before I ply it into yarn and I want a longer one to put plied yarn on before I skein it.   I also want to make a 2-yarn "niddy-noddy".  Supplies needed are 1-1/2" PVC, 2 "T" connectors and 4 end caps.
  • pick up a prescription (need to order it now)

Lots of laundry - digging through closets and sorting "give away", "throw away", "put away".

Packing books and "stuff", sorting craft notions.

Make coffee for next week (involves a coffee press)

Update craft blog -a list of what I need to buy or make (love that PVC pipe)

How's that working for me?

  1. 20 minutes of plying singles into yarn (several dozen yards of 3-ply)
  2. 1 load of laundry out of the dryer (oh...ate breakfast)
  3. 20 minutes laundry (give away, put away, throw away) sort and fold
  4. 20 minutes of I.E. while formatting Galations and catching up on coffee
  5. 30 minutes reading (Darwin's God; Evolution and the Problem of Evil)

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Discuss whether you see a way around exclusivism, pluralism, and inclusivism that might still keep integrity of each particular religion in place. Discuss how religious language might or might not play a role in your conclusion.

Exclusivism (the doctrine that only one religion is “true”) is the foundation of many religions.  If Scripture is correct, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Whatever a person believes passionately will come out of his or her mouth.  People who believe that their belief system has the only means to salvation; if they believe that souls depend on the truth of that system, that belief will be shared with others. They can fully respect the dignity of other people, and understand the depth of the beliefs of others; they want to share the truth so that all will come to salvation.  One can “witness” or “evangelize” by simply stating one’s belief, while allowing others to share their own beliefs in the same way.

Inclusivism may be compatible with exclusivism, in that (in Christianity, for example) inclusivism maintains that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation, but salvation (through Christ) can be obtained without a specific belief in Christ for salvation, but through the “general revelation” of nature. People who embrace inclusivism have an understanding that people who have never heard the gospel of Christ, may (through general revelation) may come to a saving faith without ever hearing of Christ).

Pluralism maintains that all religions are equally valid and that any religion may bring a person to salvation.  This cannot be compatible with exclusivism (within a person) but may coincide with inclusivism.  Once cannot simultaneously believe that there is only one means of salvation and believe that there are many ways to salvation.

Within a group of people, discussions can take place that allow sharing and debates of beliefs.  These discussions can get passionate and even heated at times, and they depend on the ability of others to present their convictions and listen to other people and maintain respect and civility for the other people, even if they do not respect the other religion.  If respect and civility are not present, the “doctrine of ‘just shut up’” might come into play.

...continue reading →

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Looking back at Tiger Woods

One of the "bad" things about reading blogs the way that I do is that I end up with a lot of open tabs.  The upside is that I end up with different perspectives and/or a running commentary from different sources.

Truth in Advertising (Parchment and Pen)

If You Can Find a Better Deal, TAKE IT! (Ann Coulter)

Climategate

There May Be More Errors- can we please stop calling them "errors"?  If you repeat a lie, it doesn't make it an "error", it makes a lie that you're repeating.

I Knew the Data Hadn't Been Verified - can we stop calling it "not verified"?

President Obama's pro-abortion record

(no, not "pro-choice)

On Haiti

What Pat Robertson Should Have Said

Who Will Be Left...? (I love the Hillbuzz guys!)

Doctrinal Issues (could be research paper fodder

Why I believe the Canon is Fallible and Am Fine With It (Reclaiming the Mind)

Case Studies...

Michigan Politics

In one of the worst economies in the country...our Senator Levin says that "unemployment has not been his focus."  Thanks for all the "help", Senator.

Tim Keller reviews "The Shack"

Yeah.

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Really had a tough time this week.

- I am learning that allergens do really bad things to me.

I overloaded on wheat yesterday and I'm having a really hard time with respiratory stuff.

- I learned that I should not even put 1 quarter in the candy machine

because that leads to putting 3 quarters in the candy machine.

- I learned that I need to fix my lunch the evening ahead of time

or else I'll put stuff in it that's quick, but not terribly healthy.

- I learned that I need to attach my keys to my lunch...

Or I leave it hanging on the door knob (which leads to the overload of wheat and quarters...

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On Free Will and the Sovereignty of God

1. Explain the difference between a libertarian and a compatibilist conception of free will.

My study of compatibilism, will, free will and libertarian free will goes deeper than the readings from the textbook…and I believe that how a person defines these terms (and how that person feels about those definitions) affects how he or she views the sovereignty of God.

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I'm odd.  The two classes this semester...GOODIE!  I get to do research papers!

10 pages each for the finals - one on the Philosophy of Religion and the other on a subject of Deafness.

Possible - linguistic development of deaf children (including brain scans on the language center of the brain) or the development of accommodation technology.

On the other hand..."the problem of evil" or "free will."

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Philosophy reflection paper:

January 19. 2010

Is Religion Necessary?

John Piper once said, “Words don’t mean things…definitions mean things.” In order to answer the question, “Is religion necessary?” we must first define “religion”. Some definitions say that “religion” is “the service and worship of God or the supernatural” (Merriam-Webster) or “the belief in a god or gods and the activities that are connected with this belief” (google dictionary).  Others define “religion” as "a set of symbolic forms and acts that relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence” (Robert Bellah, professor at the University of California, Berkley).

Huston Smith noted that the oldest artifacts found by archaeologists have religious significance.  In ages past, before more recent scientific advances, the world around us must have seemed far beyond human comprehension…and yet creation got here somehow…and so did we.

All (or nearly all) cultures around the world, past and present, have had some sense of “religion”. Even today, many cultures do not have a mandated religion, yet most people have access to at least one belief system called “religion”. Whether the worshippers wanted salvation from the physical world around them or whether they wanted access to an afterlife, it seems that human beings are programmed to seek something (or someone) larger than themselves.

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One of my professors is deaf; she became deaf at such a young age that she doesn't remember every being able to hear.  For her, being deaf is not a handicap, since she doesn't know what "hearing" is.  For her, not having a sense of hearing is "normal".

I have the feeling that it's that way in many churches today.  If the gospel (first importance) is not preached from the pulpit often enough so that it's missed when it isn't there...the flock doesn't miss it...can't have the realization that they are hungry for it, since they don't know what they're hungry for!