The Brownie Story

Some years ago, I walked into my office after a Sunday morning service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chocolate brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for chocolate had placed them there, along with a piece of paper that had a short story written on it I immediately sat down and began eating the first brownie as I read the following story:

Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had seen.

After reading some reviews about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request.

"Aw dad, why not?" they complained. "It's rated PG-13, and we're both older than thirteen!"

Dad replied: "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality as being normal and acceptable behavior"

But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That's what our friends who've seen it have told us. The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film! It's based on a true story, and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice. Even the movie review websites say that!"

"My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection. But you will not go and watch that film. End of discussion."

The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies. Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that movie after all."

About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was eating and the brownies in the story. I kept reading...

The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm brownies which he offered to his kids. They each took one.

Then their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much."

The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was softening."That is why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made them from scratch. Most of the ingredients are even organic. The best organic flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic sugar. Premium vanilla and chocolate."

The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become a little impatient with their dad's long speech. "But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from our own back yard. But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies. The amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think."

"Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we eat?"

"Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You won't even taste it."

"Come on, dad; just tell us what that ingredient is."

"Don't worry! It is organic, just like the other ingredients."

"Dad!"

"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop."

I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out into the waste basket by my desk. I continued reading, now fearful of the paragraphs that still remained.

Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began inspecting their fingers with horror. "DAD! Why did you do that? You've tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell us that you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!"

"Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients. You won't even taste it. It has the same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!"

"No, Dad...NEVER!"

"And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie. You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something that will imprint a sinful image in our minds that will lead us into temptation long after we first see it?"

I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the entire untouched third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute go had become detestable. And only because of the very slim chance that what I was eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it wasn't...but I couldn't convince myself.) What a good lesson about purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit of leaven from their homes. Sin is like leaven - a little bit leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6). (1 Cor. 5:7), faith and sin, don't mix.

I miss my cottage

When I had my cottage on Second Life (SL) it was very easy to share my faith visually. As you can see in the picture below, I had a large cross placed on the chiminey and illuminated by a hidden light source. With my current land configuration the cottage is gone and a prominent place to display the cross is gone with it. Displays of faith are rare in this game while examples of hedonism, gross displays of immorality, and other un-Christian behavior abounds. When I joined SL I wasn't surprised to find the occasional Christian community but the scarcity alarmed me and still does. Something I have to work on, I guess.

Pagan Violence

"It emphasizes a connection with one's ancestors and values honor, loyalty, generosity and truth."

That sounds laudable for any religion, but it seems that Asatru (sometimes called Odinism) also emphasizes violent death for non-adherents.

"Michael Lenz is scheduled to die Thursday for the death of Brent Parker, who was stabbed dozens of times at Augusta Correctional Center during a gathering of inmates devoted to Asatru, whose followers worship Norse gods. At his trial, Lenz testified that Parker had not been taking the religion seriously and had to die to protect the honor of the gods" (source).

It is very easy to misinterpret the tenets and goals of any religion and much easier to misinterpret it's writings, but in this instance I sincerely believe that such a violent act is not at all condoned by Asatru or any viable religion would support. True, Christianity had the Crusades and the Inquisition, but these were acts committed by men without the sanction of God.

The article cited above over emphasizes the aspect of paganism. Rather it should focus on man's inhumanities to man. Until this problem is solved, no one is safe.

The Evolving Debate

Normally I loath publishing verbatim other material from the Internet, but the following is significant enough that I wish to save you the trouble of going to the source.

Finches on Galapagos Islands evolving
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Thu Jul 13, 9:17 PM ET

Finches on the Galapagos Islands that inspired Charles Darwin to develop the concept of evolution are now helping confirm it — by evolving.

A medium sized species of Darwin's finch has evolved a smaller beak to take advantage of different seeds just two decades after the arrival of a larger rival for its original food source.
The altered beak size shows that species competing for food can undergo evolutionary change, said Peter Grant of Princeton University, lead author of the report appearing in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Grant has been studying Darwin's finches for decades and previously recorded changes responding to a drought that altered what foods were available.

It's rare for scientists to be able to document changes in the appearance of an animal in response to competition. More often it is seen when something moves into a new habitat or the climate changes and it has to find new food or resources, explained Robert C. Fleischer, a geneticist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and National Zoo.

This was certainly a documented case of microevolution, added Fleischer, who was not part of Grant's research.

Grant studied the finches on the Galapagos island Daphne, where the medium ground finch, Geospiza fortis, faced no competition for food, eating both small and large seeds.
In 1982 a breeding population of large ground finches, Geospiza magnirostris, arrived on the island and began competing for the large seeds of the Tribulus plants. G. magnirostris was able to break open and eat these seeds three times faster than G. fortis, depleting the supply of these seeds.

In 2003 and 2004 little rain fell, further reducing the food supply. The result was high mortality among G. fortis with larger beaks, leaving a breeding population of small-beaked G. fortis that could eat the seeds from smaller plants and didn't have to compete with the larger G. magnirostris for large seeds.

That's a form of evolution known as character displacement, where natural selection produces an evolutionary change in the next generation, Grant explained in a recorded statement made available by Science.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

# # #

This reminds me of a study from a few decades ago that tracked changes in moth populations in the United Kingdom. Admittedly a less formal study than this with the finches, it nonetheless clearly showed the advantages of species evolution. Lighter-color moths predominated in the study area until industrial pollution darkened walls, trees, and other surfaces favored by the moths. This meant that lighter-color moths stood out more easily to predators. Circumstances favored darker-colored moths and so that variation predominated ... survival of the species. Observers noted the change back to nature favoring the lighter-color as pollution was cleaned up.

All in all, I don't see why Evolution can't be part of God's plan. The theory provides a convenient mechanism to explain a number of things. Rather than fight it, there should be a way for Christians to reconcile it with our faith.

Nice Visit to Church Today

For a change of pace, I went my good friend and neighbor's church, Hope United Methodist. My first time in a church of this flavor (outside of weddings), I was a wee surprised to see they celebrate Communion. Nothing wrong with that, I've just never seen it in person outside Catholic churches.

Of course, my primary reason to go was to make sure Andy went. The last few Sundays he's been at home and I thought that if I offered to go with him he would get out of the house. And we had a good time, too. The Vacation Bible School kids put on a brief production to show what they have learned so far and the pastor had an interesting message about interpreting Matthew 24 & 25 in terms of how 1^st Century weddings worked.

And I got home in time to listen to Car Talk on NPR. A win, win, win in my book.

Questioning Psalms

What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Psalms 117

What is the longest chapter in the Bible? Psalms 119

Which chapter is in the center of the Bible? Psalms 118 -
There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118. There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118.Add up these numbers and they equal 1188.

What is the center verse in the Bible? Psalms 118:8

Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives? The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word!

Psalms 118:8
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

Now isn't that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it)?

What the Bible says about Mothers...

• Gen 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
• Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
• Lev 19:3 "'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
• Deu 5:16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
• 2 Ki 4:30 But the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
• Prov 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
• Isa 66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."
• Ezek 16:44 "'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter."
• Luke 1:43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
• Luke 2:51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
• John 19:26-27 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

(source)

"Cross-Shaped Ruin to Stay at Ground Zero"

The foundation in charge of developing ground zero's memorial and museum pledged to permanently display the two pieces of steel left standing in the shape of a cross after the World Trade Center collapsed. WTC Memorial Foundation President and CEO Gretchen Dykstra agreed to find a place for the artifact at the site, though she acknowledged it's a delicate issue and viewers should be allowed to draw their own conclusions about whether it has religious significance (Yahoo! News).

Draw your own conclusions, of course, but if this isn't a sign of some sort, then I don't know what would be a sign.