Category Archives: Current Events

The Weeks News

Here's a collection of news articles that I doubt your local station picked up. They are from both sides of the political spectrum with no real theme – except that I read them and decided to write a comment about them. Tongue out

First Up: Pregnant US man hails 'miracle' BBC

Summary: A lady has a sex change 10 years ago and leaves 'her' female "reproductive system" in place while assuming the role of a man. "He" then decides to have a child, at which point his wife (yes, he is married to a woman) "inseminated him using sperm from an anonymous donor".

Comments: Dude!! This world is crazy!!!! Call me old fashion, but I don't know o
f any lady that would knowingly marry a man who was a former woman…. Sorry, I'm not quite that liberal! Tongue out

Second on the floor: There Is No Gas Shortage – Business Week

Summary: Oil reserves are full. Gasoline supplies are at record highs. Demand is down (due to everyone conserving fuel). And to top it all off, some refineries are scaling back production.

Comments: Can you say "bipartisan corruption"?[@more@]

Third Article: Facts About the Tax Townhall.com

Summary: People in 1943 where paying about 5% of their income to the US Government while we were in the middle of War World II. Today… well, today we are paying a ton more… yet, only 19.4% is going into defense – compared to "27 percent during the Reagan administration and way down from the 44 percent it reached in 1969 during the Vietnam War".

Comments: *silence* *more-silence* *crickets-in-the-background*

Forth Interesting News Article: Barack Obama – The Wizard of Oz Scoop.co.nz

Summary: Barack Obama is corrupted as all get out (well, at least that's what the article claims….)

"John McCain is just drooling waiting for Obama to become the nominee so that he can come out with the trail of dirt that the Democratic party is too afraid to reveal this late in the in the game. If nominated, Obama will not survive a month when faced with the Republican attack machine."

Basiclly the article is claiming that Obama is mixed in with a bunch of rich crime guys in Chicago and has been groomed for the presidency.

Comments: Sounds like the JFK-Mob story that has been going around for years… If what the article claims are true, I'm sure Hilary Clinton would be making the most of it. She is not one to sitting around waiting when information like that is out about her competitor.

And saving the best for last, Number Five is: "Clay tablet identified as asteroid that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah" – World Wide Religious News

Summary: "A clay tablet that has baffled scientists for 150 years has been identified as a witness’s account of the asteroid suspected of being behind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah."

Comment: Cool! Sounds like God got mad at Sodom and Gomorrah. I say a little reminder of that would be in order….. Undecided

Senate Finance Committee & `prosperity gospel'' Christian ministries.

I'm not sure if anyone else has heard, but it seems that two US senators are trying to obtain the financial records from six large Christian ministries:

  • Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church
  • Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International
  • Benny Hinn
  • Kenneth and Gloria Copeland
  • Randy and Paula White
  • Joyce Meyer

Apparently the "ministers' private jets, million-dollar homes, exotic cars and expensive gifts attracted" the attention of Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. Sen. Grassley has a "record of pulling nonprofits before the committee to investigate their management and how they use their tax-exempt status."

All six ministers preach variations of the "prosperity gospel, which says God wants his followers to prosper financially as well as spiritually."

In a letter Monday to the Finance Committee, Dollar's lawyer, Owens, wrote that Grassley's focus on prosperity gospel preachers suggests Grassley's "distaste for, or disagreement with, these churches' theology and religious practices." Grassley has denied he is interested in theology, although in early statements he questioned why ministers would need a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce to spread the gospel.

Owens wrote that Grassley's inquiry into internal church operations amounted to an "unprecedented inquiry into the religious activities of a church.

Dollar wrote to the committee that donations to the church belong to God and should not be evaluated by the Senate, that giving should be private and church members should give to their spiritual teachers.

"As much as we would like to provide information to the Senator, we simply must do everything within our power to protect our Church and its members from public scrutiny and a Congressional evaluation of the validity of our beliefs," he wrote.

Copeland representatives delivered a letter Monday to Grassley reiterating its previous argument — that the IRS, and not a Senate committee, should be dealing with the questions Grassley raised, Gerber said.

Dollar has made the same argument. Baucus and Grassley argue otherwise, saying the Senate has jurisdiction over tax-exempt policy.

Source: AP

[@more@]Other Articles:


My Thoughts:

I have different degrees of feelings… on one hand, I agree with Creflo Dollar in that people gave their money to the church and, therefore, it should be up to the church to spend that money as they will.

On the other side, if a non-profit is abusing their tax-exempt status…well, then I see where the government can step in and investigate.

As far as the ministers are concerned… well, that's a bit tricky. All six of them have done a lot to spread the grace and love of Christ to the world. As David once said, "the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's anointed."

With that stated, I do have a problem with the whole "prosperity gospel" thing. Yes, the Lord does bless His people – sometimes with money. However, there are plenty of Biblical examples and statements that show that money is not the only nor the first blessing God gives to His people. Both Jesus and Paul, for example, were vagabond preachers without much money.

If a believer works hard and saves their money, great – buy a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce. Yet, I have a tough time when a church buys their pastor a Bentley….

That money should be going to feed the poor, house the homeless, preach the gospel, clothes the nakedThis is the heart of Jesus. Not a Bentley.

Energy Savings

The last workshop we held on Sunday evening was about Energy Savings – both in your home and in your business. We had some GREAT guest speakers from Idaho Power and the Small Business Development Center come and share with us. If you’re trying to save money, it might be time to sell mortgage note too.

On a side note, the lady from the Small Business Development Center is helping us reduce the amount of energy used in church. Which is awesome!! If we can lower the church’s electric bill, that means we will have more money to spread the Gospel.

Getting back to the workshop – I wanted to share with you all some of the energy saving tips for home as presented by Idaho Power. While some of the tips are common sense, there are also plenty of clever devices you may not have heard of, like time switches that you can use to automate lighting devices (read more here if that sounds good to you). If you’re like me, you’re probably not even aware of the common sense solutions…

Maybe this year we will all take the time and follow these tips…

Summer Energy Saving Tips

  • Use a ceiling, box or oscillating fan – the moving air cools you, creating less reliance on air conditioning.
  • Close the blinds before the sun gets a chance to heart up the hours, and open windows at night to cool the house down.
  • Replace the furnace filter and clean the outside coil on your air conditioner. If you feel your AC unit has taken a battering over the summer months and it’s not been properly maintained, you might want to learn more about air conditioning maintenance that you can do yourself such as the cleaning of the exterior coil, or hire a professional service (such as the services of a company like Boulden Brothers, more about Boulden Brothers here) and have them thoroughly clean your air conditioning system for you.
  • Don’t drastically turn down the temperature on your thermostat. Your house won’t cool down any faster.
  • Weatherstrip and caulk your doors and windows if you can see light or feel air coming through them.
  • Lower the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees (unless your dishwasher requires a higher temperature).
  • Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.
  • Use water- and energy-saving settings on dishwashers and washing machines.
  • Choose compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs qualified as Energy Star.
  • Unplug your second refrigerator and consolidate all your food into one.

Greater Energy Savings – three key areas

1. Air Conditioning

  • Increase insulation in the attic and walls as wells as the crawlspace, where applicable.
  • Seal around plumbing pipes and electrical wires in the walls and floors.
  • Plant shade tree on south- and west-facing sides of the house

2. Water Heating

  • Get the right size water heater. A unit that’s too large costs more money today and in the long run.
  • Buy an Energy Star washing machine or dishwater. They’re designed to use less hot water.
  • You could also consider installing a mini water heater for certain taps that you require hot water at more often. You can read reviews for them and buy a mini water heater here if you think this would benefit your home.

One item Idaho Power didn’t mention, but I like is to install a time on your hot water heater. It would turn off the power to the heater during the night and daytime when you aren’t typically using hot water (ie. most hot water is used in the morning when folks take their shower). In the interest of full discloser, I bought such a timer last fall but have yet to install it… much sadness.

3. Refrigeration

  • Vacuum the refrigerator coils once a year. Dirty coils make the refrigerator work harder.
  • Replace the refrigerator door gasket if you can slip an envelope between the door and the frame

One additional comment: if you are able, dry your clothes on a cloth line (inside or outside). Not only will your clothes last longer and smell better, you will use less energy (dryers use a TON of power).

More Ideas:

Human-cows and pirated software

Nope – It's not the latest Hollywood flick, but the headlines for April 3rd. (time travel has just been crossed – with help from the world wide web).

Headline #1: Cow-human cross embryo lives three days

It seems that some scientists in England grew a hybrid embryo by "injecting human DNA into eggs taken from cows' ovaries, which had most of their genetic material removed."

The embryos survived for three days and are intended to provide a limitless supply of stem cells to develop therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries, overcoming a worldwide shortfall in human embryos.

[@more@]While I recognize the need for new therapies for certain diseases, I have too agree with the Catholic Church in this case:

The Catholic Church in Britain branded the creations as "monstrous" – a view supported by Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics director Fr Kevin McGovern.

"An almost-human embryo is being created and then it's being destroyed," he said.

"I cannot see that that respects human life or the dignity of human life.

"Human beings – or even almost human embryos – are not just things that you can use in a laboratory experiment.

"What is being created is life.

Headline #2: Record label 'found using pirated software'

The French police raided the offices of Sony BMG and found "almost half of the software used by the company may be unlawfully installed". Almost HALF!!!  This is crazy – especially since Sony has been the biggest zealot in persecuting illegal music sharing.

The police where tipped off after a "Sony BMG employee rang the software company's technical support number for assistance and gave a pirated product key when asked for a customer number".

French company PointDev, which makes applications for Microsoft Windows, claims to have discovered pirated versions of its software installed on Sony BMG computers and is suing the label for €300,000 ($514,910).

What a way to fall…

2008 Greener Gadgets Design Competition

The Greener Gadgets Design Competition was held last month in New York City as part of Core77's: "challenged the global design community to design a "greener gadget"; to create innovative solutions addressing the issues of energy, carbon footprint, health and toxicity, new materials, product lifecycle, and social development."

Some of the entries in the competition are…um… shall we say interesting? In the interest of saving you time, I have reviewed all most some of the applications and came up with:

Ardell's top six Greener Gadgets

  1. Plug-in Watch – forget about having to replace batteries, just plug your watch into your computer's UBS port. Wham!! Instant charge! The thing I don't get is why does the watch double as a memory stick? Now that would be cool!
  2. Washup – have you ever lived in a small house where you wish you could do the laundry while you used the toilette?  Well do I have a deal for you! Now you can re-use the water from your washing machine to flush your toilette! If you order now, you will receive the ultra-cool stainless steel model for no extra charge![@more@]
  3. Digital Tattoo Interface – Forget about carrying a cell phone around with you, install one in your arm. That's right – in your arm. This Bluetooth device is permanently implanted under your skin and runs on your "blood's glucose and oxygen". Let's put those tattoos to work!!
  4. EnerJar  – this is the one device that boggles my mind… I mean, while the idea is simple (ie. pug the EnerJar up to any device and you can find out how much energy it is using), what gets to me is that there are already a billion different products that do the same exact thing on the market!!!  *sigh* I guess the fact that it's a "free-ware" item guarantees it as the 2008 Grand Prize Winner.
  5. Kill-A-Watt Button – Since we all are lazy computer nerds, someone came up with a simple button that will shut down our computer, monitor, save all our files and save the world a ton of electrical power.  It actually looks kind cool…kinda like an Apple mouse.. =/

Ardell's Grand Prize Winner is…

No Gadget by Simone Pallotto of Belgium.

That's right – No Gadget.  Mr. Simone simple said:

"We are currently producing too many not useful things, being for practical or emotional purposes; too much trash we accumulate everyday!"

Way to go Simone!!!

Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union

Over the past few days the remarks of Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, have been splashed on the news networks and around the blogosphere. To a lot of people (including myself), the views held by Rev. Wright have been disturbing – to say the least.

Today on the way to work, the local AM talk radio program announced that it was going to broadcast a live speech by Barack Obama about the Rev. Wright. Needless to say, I was very interested….

As I listened to Obama's speech, one thing caught my attention: the way he expressed the radical divide in this country. He talked about the struggles of the poor, of EVERY color, to over come the challenges in their lives – whether poverty, no education, crime, abuse, loss of jobs, racism, etc – and make something of themselves.

This country has a troubled past. That is a historical fact. I personally believe that we, as a nation, are working through it and are shaping a new future for all races within these borders. We must continue to push through and not fall back on the racism of the past.

Regardless of what you think of Barack Obama's politics, I believe we can all agree with his call for a unified nation.

Speech Summary:

If you didn't hear the speech, you can watch it here or read it here. Or if you perfer to read news articles about the speech or the comments of Rev. Wright – try the Dailykos or CNN or the Jerusalem Post. Smile

I have posted some highlights below under various headings.[@more@]

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Rev. Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain.

Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely — just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice.

Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country — a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America, a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Rev. Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems — two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions — the good and the bad — of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother — a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

We can dismiss Rev. Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Rev. Wright made in his offending sermons about America — to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through — a part of our union that we have yet to perfect.

And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Racial Stalemate

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy — particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction — a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people — that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union…..

And it means taking full responsibility for own lives — by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

The profound mistake of Rev. Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country — a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black, Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old — is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past.

But what we know — what we have seen — is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope — the audacity to hope — for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

A Choice in this Country

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can
tackle race only as spectacle — as we did in the O.J. trial — or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina — or as fodder for the nightly news….

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children…

This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

If you're not wearing BLUE, pinch yourself! No – that wasn't a typo – it was an historic fact.  You see, up until the mid-1700s the color most closely associated with Ireland and St. Patrick was blue, not green. In fact, the Irish Presidential Standard (ie. the flag used by the President of Ireland) shows a Gaelic harp on a St. Patrick's Blue background.

A brief history of St. Patrick

Most folks know the legend of St. Patrick – how he was a slave in Ireland before returning as a missionary, how he sued the three-leave clover to explain the Trinity, and how he drove all the snakes from Ireland… However, I want to focus a bit on some of the lesser known, and in my mind, the more import parts of the live of St. Patrick.

St. Patrick lived from late 300's to the mid-400's, dieing in either 461 or 493 – depending on who you talk to.  He was the son of a church deacon and the grandson of a priest – both of whom lived in British Isles.  We don't know if he was on Roman decent or Celtic – most likely a mixture of both.

The Roman Catholic Church likes to call St. Patrick as one of their own – however, this was most likely NOT the case. Christianity came to the British Isle in the mid to late second century (100s AD) by unknown people. In the third and fourth century (200-300 AD), the British church sent bishops to some of the church counsels – showing the world that Gospel of the Kingdom had spread to the further most areas of known world.[@more@]

During this time, the Church in Rome, as well as in other sees around the Mediterranean Sea, where involved in two things: One, surviving as the Emperors of Rome where trying to kill all Christians. Two, they were fighting among each other for power.  It wasn't until 313 AD that Constantine legalized Christianity. Even then, it took another hundred years before Leo I begin to consolidate power in the Church to Rome (ie. mid to late 400 AD).

Add to this the fact that the British Isles where on the edge of the Roman frontier, and you have a Church that developed independent of 'Rome' or another other 'see' (granted the British church did have some contact as evidence by their presence at the Church Counsels).

As a result of this independence, the Celtic Church under St. Patrick developed into an amazing Church with a strong emphasis on the love of God and relationship with Him versus the work based system that was developing round the Mediterranean. This emphasis really begin to show up in the 6th and 7th Centuries (500-600's) under Saint Columba, who founded the monastery on Iona, and Saint Columbanus, who traveled all across the European continent preaching the Word of the Lord.  

In my opinion, the Celtic Church from 400 to 700 AD was closer to true Christianity (ie. saved by faith, not by works; emphasis on the relationship with the Lord versus earning your way to heaven) then Roman Catholicism at the same time. Unfortunately, Roman Catholicism won out through political power… However, God kept His remnant both in the British Isles as well as else where – like in Armenia (Middle East), Nubia (Africa), and Bohemia (Europe).

Celebrations Ideas

If you're in Boise, I would recommend dropping by the Shamrock Coffee Company at Overland and Maple Grove. This Irish themed coffee and tea house is throwing a St. Patrick Days party:

5:00pm-7:00pm: It's Happy Hour!  All Shamrock signature drinks are FREE! [and they have some awesome signature drinks!!!!]

7:00pm-9:00pm: Irish band An Buille will be performing live at Shamrock Coffee Company's Blackeagle Cafe. CDs will be available for purchase.

If you have never been to the Shamrock, I would recommend giving it a try today. Laughing

Raising Food Prices

As if rising gas prices are not enough, the food we eat is steadily getting more expensive. Take wheat for instance: in the space of one year (March 2007 to March 2008), wheat prices have risen 130%. That's a huge jump that is going (if it hasn't already) to find its way into our pocketbooks.

The BBC recently interviewed six families in different countries around the world about what types of food they buy and how much they spend. I found the results interesting:

Country     % of income per mo.    $ per mo.
Guatemala                 40%                     $250
UK                             10%                     $200
India                          20%                     $100
China                         16%                     $100
Kenya                         7%                     $228
Egypt                         80%                 unknown

*Note: the family in Kenya had two incomes – hence the low % of income per month.

** More graphs can be found here

Why the rise in global food prices? [@more@]

While there are many reasons for the price increase, here are the top four:

  1. Growth in the world's population – over 6 billion and growing
  2. Emerging economies in developing nations, such as China and India (basically, the more money you have, the more food you tend to eat)
  3. Desertification, flooding and changing rainfall patterns have impacted agricultural production around the globe (especially in China and sub-Saharan Africa)
  4. Biofuels – corn previously used for food is now being turned into ethanol; pushing up the cost of corn flour

Summary:

I, for one, am planning on starting a garden this year so I don't have to continue to purchase any vegetates. Plus I get the added bonus of knowing how they where raised and what chemicals (if any) have been used.

As for flour… *sigh* I think I will have to bite the bullet and continue to buy wheat and corn flour as I don't think I will be grinding my own this year. Next year…maybe… Wink

Was Moses using drugs to write the Torah?

In the latest attempt to discredit the Bible, Professor Benny Shanon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has published a theory stating that Moses wrote the Torah while drugs. (quotes from haaretz.com )

“And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking.” Thus the book of Exodus describes the impressive moment of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

The “perceiving of the voices” has been interpreted endlessly since these words were first written. When Professor Benny Shanon, professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reads the verse, he recalls a powerful hallucinatory experience he had when he visited the Amazon and drank a potion made from a plant called ayahuasca. “One of the things that happens when you drink the potion is a visual experience created via sounds,” he says. Not too dissimilar to the experience that one might have were they to consume mushrooms (like these – https://cbdandshrooms.com/product/penis-envy/) which have been the source of innumerable profound visions. This is not to say that everyone should rush out to try it but some people do find their effects helpful in a therapeutic capacity.

The burning bush is also under fire for being a “hallucinogenic vision, something that many people may have experienced whilst consuming 1 gram of shrooms“:

“Moses ‘looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed,'” Shanon quotes from Exodus 3:2. Time passes differently when under the influence of the plant, he notes. “That’s why Moses thought the bush was not consumed. It should have been burned in the time he thought had passed. And in that time, he heard God speaking to him.

“But not everyone who uses a plant like this brings the Torah,” Shanon concedes. “For that, you have to be Moses.”

My conclusion is that Professor Shanon has been eating too many mushrooms himself.

Shanon, former head of the Hebrew University psychology department, said his first experience with ayahuasca was in 1991 when he was invited to a religious ceremony in the northern Amazon in 1991 in Brazil – similar experiences can be found at this Peruvian ayahuasca retreat should you be seeking transformative healing yourself in a safe and supportive environment. “I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations,” he says. Since that time, he has used it hundreds of times, and has published a book about the plant.

The “Poverty and Justice Bible”

When I first read about the Bible Society of the United Kingdom's new “Poverty and Justice Bible”, my gut turned… how many more Bible editions do we need?   In fact, I even replied to P***, who email the story to me, stating:

"It's a sad day when people think they need to publish a political Bible – even if it promotes taking care of the poor."

Then I got to thinking… what if God uses this Bible to change someones life? Maybe there someone out there who needs a study Bible to point out all the verses about God's love for those in poverty. Who am I not condem His work?

Oriingally, as I read the article about the “Poverty and Justice Bible", I was upset that someone would release a Bible with a  "political agenda"…. Then God conflicted me.  How many sother study Bibles are out there with political or theological agendas?  Do I get upset about a study Bible with charts or articles about premillenianism? how about postmillenianism? or pre-trib? post-trib?[@more@]

How come I only get upset about study Bibles that deal with the enviroment and poverty? Is God not concerned about these issues?  Does He only care about end-times theology? 

To top it all off, here am I, someone agree with some of the concultions the editors made, condeming a Bible edition that helps people see a different side of God…  The old flesh dies hard… Undecided

Mark 9:38-41 (The Message)

38John spoke up, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn't in our group."

39-41Jesus wasn't pleased. "Don't stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he's not an enemy, he's an ally. Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice. 

Various articles and sites about the new PJB (both for and aganist):

Townhall.com 

Poverty and Justice Bible homepage 

Ethicsdaily.com 

Christiantoday.com