Ain't It Da Truth

"Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear."
-- Dave Barry

The Only Reason to Own a Cat

"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."
-- Dereke Bruce, Taipei, Taiwan

Probably the One-Tenth

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

John Calvin 
(See! Even Calvin thinks that there is hope for me.)

Consider my consicence pricked!

The other day I had to go get some Sudafed from the drugstore in our area. Now, because the Meth users in our area buy Sudafed in bulk as part of their ingredients list (must be to prevent nasal congestion while getting high), the pharmacies have taken to putting the medicine behind the counter to prevent stealing and keeping a list of those who are purchasing it. All of this I can understand - somewhat.  


So far, so good.


But the amazingly amusing part was that I had to sign a slip of paper "promising" that I would not use this Sudafed to make illegal drugs.


Anyone catch the humor?


Do we honestly think that signing that piece of paper is going to deter me from making Meth? "Dang! I was going to make and sell mountains of Meth until I had to sign that paper! Got to find me a pharmacy that doesn't prick my conscience like that."

Poses Some Interesting Questions

"The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean that if you are happy you will be good."
                                      Bertrand Russell

These kinds of quotations are always fun to examine because they are simple in content yet open the door to a myriad of questions.

Take for instance the word - good. How does Russell define good according to his naturalist worldview? Do his atoms banging against other atoms in a certain way seem "good" to him? And how does he know that these atoms banging together produce a "good thing"? Is it possible that these colliding atoms are not producing "good"? Is goodness a feeling, an idea, a law, and does it have purpose? Can my feelings of goodness change over time? Are the old feelings or definitions not good any more?

What about happiness? If I am only made up of atomic goo, how do atoms make themselves happy? Is happiness defined by my atoms spinning and interacting in a smooth manner?  Is happiness connected to control? If I eat two cookies, I am happy. If I eat forty cookies, I am no longer happy. He puts happiness before goodness - as the precursor. What if the two conflict? Which comes first? When is my happiness no longer good? What if happiness results in someone else's unhappiness? Isn't it possible that one man's happiness could be another man's pain? Is it no longer happiness? How do spinning atoms define happiness? Or for that matter produce goodness? Since in his worldview he cannot define what good is nor can he account for atomic happiness, what is he really saying here?

Russell desperately wants to be happy and good. He knows that these ideas exist. He feels them, and they are real to him. But he cannot nor does he want to go too far beyond the nice pillowy comfort of an esoteric platitude to express his deep longing to be happy. He leads the pack of naturalists who deny the existance of God but cannot account for their own reasoning. They won't acknowledge their frustration with their inability to articulate why they want to be happy and good. They hate the thought of a creator who defines goodness but then borrow from that Creator to explain things like happiness and goodness. When called on the carpet concerning their inconsistent worldview, they retreat to complaining about the Christians and the God that does no good - a goodness they themselves cannot account for themselves. 

Christianity is the only consistent worldview. We are the only worldview that can account for the source, existence, and meaning of goodness and happiness. We can choose to not live consistent with the Christian worldview, but that says nothing of the consistency within the worldview itself. We know we are being inconsistent. They can't see their inconsistency in their lives to their own worldview nor can they see that their worldview is itself unable to account for things like how we know, what is good, and what is reality. 

It is so comforting to know we have a defense to our faith.

Have a Hankerin for Hawaii

Was just looking at pictures from our trip to Hawaii and missing it terribly. Here  --  take a look!

Just what the pilgrims envisioned

Doesn't get any worse for a dog!

Interviews! Humbug!

Yesterday I listened to Dennis Miller's interview of Wilson and Hitchens on his radio spot. I enjoy Miller a great deal but I was disappointed, yet not surprised, at how quickly the interview was over with very little being said. Hitchens did most of the talking because that is what he does. He's bombastic and is not interested in listening at all. It is easy to get frustrated over the fact that Doug was almost shut out of most of the conversation, but as I think it over, it is actually very strategic on Doug's part to remain meek (term used in ancient times to refer to a tamed wild horse)  in all of this. By giving Hitchens the mic in these venues, Doug is allowing Hitchens the opportunity to draw the unbeliever in so that he would want to hear the argument at length and watch the movie where Doug has a better opportunity to explain the truth. I salute Doug's patience. I would be grinding my teeth.

Cushie Chair

Too lazy to find a chair!

Wilson and Hitchens on The Laura Ingraham Show

Here is an hour long dicsussion on Laura's show.

Laura Ingrham's Show

Failed Attempt to Join the Lazzy Dog Club

Here's one poor dog who attempted to join the Lazzy Dog Club but, under closer scrutiny, failed due to the inability to truly relax.
Sleepwalking Dog

Barking Calvin

"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."


John Calvin

Cross Breeding

Pointer + Setter =
Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet


Kerry Blue Terrier + Skye Terrier =
Blue Skye, a dog for visionaries


Great Pyrenees + Dachshund =
Pyradachs, a puzzling breed


Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso =
Peekasso, an abstract dog

Can't believe this is fat free!

Love this guy!
Kevin James on Muffins. Watch this!

Trip to the Vet

Check out the trailer for Doug Wilson's and Christopher Hitchin's movie Collision  here

Back from my Walkies

Okay, now I feel guilty again. July was my last post. I feel like a father who is neglecting his family. I think I'm a little warped. To plead my case just a little, I do work two jobs and have a wife and 3 kids. My life is very busy, and I am prone to laziness anyway - hence the name of the blog. So there! I feel better.

Milk Bones

Okay, I'm having fun! Here's another one:

How dogs and men are the same

1. Both take up too much space on the bed.

2. Both have irrational fears about vacuum cleaning.

3. Both mark their territory.

4. Neither tells you what's bothering them.

5. The smaller ones tend to be more nervous.

6. Both have an inordinate fascination with women's crotches.

7. Neither does any dishes.

8. Both fart shamelessly.

9. Neither of them notice when you get your hair cut.

10. Both like dominance games.

11. Both are suspicious of the postman.

12. Neither understands what you see in cats.

Milk Bones

Someone told me a joke the other day. So here it is.

"Do you want to know who your true friend is? Lock both your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for about 6 hours. Open the trunk and the one happy to see you is your true friend."

Milk Bones

Want to read what Calvin says about exhortation? Check this out:

"God works in his elect in two ways: within, through his Spirit; without, through his Word. By his Spirit, illuminating their minds and forming their hearts to the love and cultivation of righteousness, he makes them a new creation. By his Word, he arouses them to desire, to seek after, and to attain that same renewal. In both he reveals the working of his hand according to the mode of dispensation. When he addresses the same Word to the reprobate, though not to correct them, he makes it serve another use: today to press them with the witness of conscience, and in the Day of Judgment to render them the more inexcusable. Thus, although Christ declares that no one except him whom the Father draws can come to him, and the elect come after they have "heard and learned from the Father" [John 6:44-45], still Christ does not neglect the teacher's office, but with his own voice unremittingly summons those who need to be taught within by the Holy Spirit in order to make any progress. Paul points out that teaching is not useless among the reprobate, because it is to them "a fragrance from death to death" [II Cor. 2:16], yet "a sweet fragrance to God" [II Cor. 2:15]."

Beautifully written! I especially enjoy:
"By his Spirit, illuminating their minds and forming their hearts to the love and cultivation of righteousness, he makes them a new creation. By his Word, he arouses them to desire, to seek after, and to attain that same renewal."

There is a lot more. Just whetting your appetite.

Back from my Walkies

Ever have one of those times in your life where you have been through a long winter and wondered what was the purpose of all that? Then God gives you a glimmer of insight where you then say "Oh! I can see why you did it that way." I am having one of those. It is a blessing but at the same time it is bothersome that the reason for the winter is because if I had not gone through it, I would not have responded to a current situation with very much grace. What an all-knowing God we have!

"Advancing still from strength to strength, I go where other pilgrims trod til each to Zion comes at length and stands before the face of God..."