Seder Meal

Last Sunday, the building our church holds services in (a building called the Campbell Train House) was being used for an Easter event, so we had our service at the house of one of our church families.
After the church service, we conducted a Seder ceremony (a Passover meal, but ours was a little different than one an orthodox Jew would hold).  This is not a required thing anymore although it was for the Jews long ago (which is why Christ celebrated a Passover meal with his disciples); there are just two sacraments today - baptism and the Lord's Supper.  However, it holds a certain amount of significance when viewed as symbolism for Christ and the gospel, and as a precursor to communion, which replaced it.
The whole thing lasted quite a while after our regular church service was over, but it only happens once a year.
I didn't find the Jewish humor very amusing ("raise the cup to your mouth - ok, put it down again"), but whoever thought of the idea must be rolling over in his grave with laughter.
Every person had their own cup for grape juice, so everyone didn't have to share the same cup (even in the same family), as I heard some Catholics do.


-Max out  
   

A very useful program

I don't remember if I said something about this before, but if not, check out Format Factory here:
http://www.formatoz.com/index.html
I use this all the time...it can convert one kind of music file to another (m4a to mp3, etc.), convert a video to mp3, create an ISO (disk image) from a CD-ROM, convert one video format to another, one photo format to another, and more.  Best of all, it's free.
This has been incredibly useful for me; maybe you'll think it's handy also.


-Max out

What the Bible Says About Healthy Living

I've just finished reading a book called What the Bible Says About Healthy Living, by Rex Russell, M.D.
It gives three biblical principles that, if followed, can make you much healthier.
Here are the book's three principles:


Principle I: Eat only substances God created for food.  Avoid what is not designed for food.
Principle II: As much as possible, eat foods as they were created - before they are changed or converted into something humans think might be better.
Principle III: Avoid food addictions.  Don't let any food or drink become your god. (from page 29)


To follow principle #1, try to avoid animals designated "unclean" (including pork, shellfish and others).
They were designed for purposes such as being cleaners.   
As to following principle #2, try to avoid eating genetically modified foods, processed foods, etc.
For the third, the author recommends periodic fasting.  Does it strike you as slightly odd that some Christian denominations or groups condemn drunkenness but neglect to mention gluttony, which is also a sin?  

Upcoming Trip

I should be heading to California with my dad for a week in around three weeks.
I will try to post updates if anything interesting happens after I arrive.


[4-5-10 Update:] Off to the City of Angels on April 6...tomorrow!
In just around seven hours we'll be heading out to the airport.


-Max out


Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 
Unfortunately, I sure get weary (maybe not faint, though) after running only three miles.

Ford Mustang Mustang Edition

Here's an article I found amusing when I read it before - it talks about ideas for a Ford Mustang (as you might have noticed, this is before the new model came out)...even if you don't like cars, this whole thing is a joke, so take a look.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/08q2/five_future_mustangs_we_d_like_to_see-feature/five_future_mustangs_we_e2_80_99d_like_to_see_page_6

The Providential History in the Founding of America Conference

On Thursday evening, all day Friday, and this morning, my family and I attended the Providential History in the Founding of America Conference.  The speaker was Dr. Joe Morecraft, and his talks were both very interesting and informative.  The sessions developed the theme that Biblical concepts from ancient times and Christianity since the time of the early church and especially the Protestant Reformation greatly influenced the American mind of 1776.  An important thing to remember is this: At the time of the American War for Independence, most American non-Christians thought like Christians, whereas today, most American Christians think like humanists.  Perhaps I should first explain why I call the "Revolutionary War" the "War for Independence."
According to Dictionary.com, a revolution is "an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed."


The French Revolution was a true revolution, since it sought to overthrow the existing form of government and establish another, but the so-called American Revolution was not a revolution, because the colonies sought to break away from a tyrannical king's rule and form their own country - not to overthrow


And while I'm talking about correct terms, I should mention that the American Civil War was not a civil war.
As you probably know, the Southern states seceded from the Union and created the Confederate States of America.  The CSA was a separate entity, not part of the Union, so the term, "Civil War" isn't very accurate.
"The War Between the States" is a much more fitting term.
The main cause of the American Civil War (or "The War Between the States") was probably not what you think it is.  It wasn't because of slavery, or even to preserve the Union.  
Here it is: the Unitarian Conspiracy.
The Unitarian Church (which you may know as the Unitarian Universalist Church) believed (and I think they still believe) in the perfectibility of man; meaning, that people aren't inherently sinful and can be truly good just by being taught and trying hard.  Their method for accomplishing "social perfection" was to get the federal government to control all of society, including things like mandatory public education and basically, government enforcement of their morality.
However, one thing stood in their way: the South.  After the Scottish Reformation, many Reformed Scottish preachers emigrated to the Southern states to escape persecution or for other reasons.
Their influence in the South was a "thorn in the side" to the Unitarians, who had a strong hold in the North, and the Unitarians knew something had to be done to crush the South so they could have their way in the country.  They devised a plan that utilized a man named John Brown, whom you've likely heard about.
I can't remember exactly what John Brown did,  but he may have been one of the men who fired on Fort Sumter (I'll have to brush up on the details).  Anyway, the intent was to get the North to invade the South and "break the back" of the South.  The excuse was, "We need to preserve the Union at all costs!" even though states had the right to secede at the time.  As you can see, the South lost, and now the federal government has become and is becoming increasingly totalitarian as a result.


Other things were quite interesting as well, such as hearing how the missionaries from the Island of Iota traveled all over the world (around 600 A.D., I think), and may have been some of the first Europeans to discover America (many centuries before Columbus and others did).         








      









[to be continued]


"revolution." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 10 Mar. 2010. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/revolution>.

-Max out