Does homeschooling measure up to state requirements?

NASHVILLE - Rockwood police officer John Evans may lose his job if a bill validating his homeschooling fails to pass the Legislature soon and, he says, at least six drug arrests he has made would be dismissed.

Three West Tennessee day-care workers have already lost their jobs because of a new interpretation that the state Department of Education has given to what qualifies as the high school diploma required for holding some government-related jobs, according to Rep. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, sponsor of a bill that would revise that interpretation.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/may/07/diploma-measure-still-faces-hurdles/

The Wealth of Nations

I'm not sure how many people have read The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (1776), but I recently read a great article on 'trickle-down' economics which reminded me of the following exerpt:

The Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
"(taxation) may obstruct the industry of the people, and discourage them from applying to certain branches of business which might give maintenance and employment to great multitudes. While it obliges the people to pay, it may thus diminish, or perhaps destroy, some of the funds which might enable them more easily to do so."

When rich feel pinched, others say ouch - Seattle Times
"Economists say recent signs of the affluent cutting back could hurt the economy and deliver even more pain to lower-income workers, who are dependent on their business and fat tips."
full article

Tax cuts for the 'rich' - anyone?

Ethan Haas is right

Perhaps some of you have seen the mystery movie trailer that preceeded the Transformers movie the first week in July. Leaving much speculation of "what is this" all we seem to know is it's directed by LOST's J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions.

Audiences began turning to the web for answers and stubmled upon what appeared to be correlating websites appearing in the same fashion as Abram's LOST websites where fans can hunt for easter eggs and clues to gain a better insight into what exactly is going on.

One of these alleged sites is http://www.ethanhaaswasright.com/ where users are supposed to hunt for clues and decipher puzzles in order to gain the truth.

This is causing quite a stir on the internet - to the point where Abrams himself has had to deny that he has any relation to the Ethan Haas lunacy that has the web so engrossed. Is J.J. Abrams secret movie tied to this perplexing craze or is it the work of an independent genius with good timing? Regardless the website is fun, and if you have the time, GOOGLE it and see what everyone else is coming up with.

Five Myths on Managing Your Boss

From BNET via yahoo:
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/jobseeker/tools/ept/careerArticlesPost.html?post=141

Myth #1: Always be in the office before your boss arrives.
Conventional wisdom: If you're even five minutes late, the boss will think you're a slacker.

Why it's a myth: In an age of flex time, telecommuting, Blackberries, and instant messages, bosses care more about whether you're getting the job done than whether you're warming your seat.

Try this instead: Make sure the boss knows you're putting in extra hours at home or on the road, both by maintaining a rapid-response email or instant message presence, and by hinting at when you're putting in those extra hours.

Example: "I had to work over the weekend on this report, but I think you'll agree the extra effort was worth it."

Myth #2: Ask for permission before bringing up difficult issues.
Conventional wisdom: You want your boss to be in a good mood when you deliver bad news.

Why it's a myth: Thanks to email and cell phones, word travels faster than ever. If you don't tell your boss the bad news, somebody else will, and then you'll look evasive or stupid -- or both.

Try this instead: Deliver bad news in the context of what you're doing to fix the situation or make it better.

Example: "The Acme sale fell through, so we're launching a quick sales campaign with the other customers to make up the revenue loss."

Myth #3: Suggest ways to make the boss more popular with the team.
Conventional wisdom: The boss will appreciate your efforts to improve morale and teamwork.

Why it's a myth: If your boss is unpopular, there's very little you can do to change that perception.

Try this instead: When boss-bashing takes place beyond his earshot, don't join the fray. Instead, give the boss credit for things he does well. When the department spy (there always is one) reports back to the boss, he'll learn that you're an ally.

Example: "Yeah, Joe loses his temper sometimes. But he's really good at defending our interests in front of the budget committee."

Myth #4: Protect your boss from your underlings, and vice versa.
Conventional wisdom: If your boss talks directly to your team members, information could be revealed that you'd rather keep under wraps.

Why it's a myth: Attempting to control the flow of information inside today's wired-up corporations is utterly pointless.

Try this instead: Cue your underlings to reinforce the message you're giving the boss.

Example: "When the big boss asks what you're doing, be sure to point out how well you're supporting our group's quarterly sales goal. She likes that kind of thing."

Myth #5: Never say anything to the boss when you're angry.
Conventional wisdom: If you're hot under the collar, you're likely to say things you'll later regret.

Why it's a myth: Your emotions aren't the problem; the issue is how you express them.

Try this instead: Don't lose your cool. When you're frustrated or angry, say so -- but without blowing up or exploding. Avoid whiny complaining. Instead, focus on fixing the things you want to change, and ask for the boss's help in changing them.

Example: "OK, I understand we need to get the report done. But let's come up with a plan that doesn't involve everyone working over the holiday."

More Than Meets The Eye

Well, somebody was going to do it so I figured I would.

If it's one movie you see this summer it has to be Transformers. Yeah yeah, I know - what about: Pirates of the Carribean 3, Spidey 3, Shrek 3 and Fantastic Four 2? All pale in comparison to the robot goodness that is Autobot vs. Decepticon.

If you grew up with the denizens of Cybertron the movie fails to disappoint. Optimus Prime is voiced by none other than Peter Cullen himself - who voiced the original animated cartoons. If you pay attention there are plenty of nuggets to pick up on which give tribute to the two-decade long legacy.

Even if you are new to the Transformers tale the movie has just the right amount of action, special effects, plot and yes, even comedy. The star of the film is Shia LaBeouf who has provided comedy relief in several other comic/scifi movies such as I-Robot and Constantine. He will also play Indiana Jones' sidekick in the upcoming IV flick.

The CGI robots are phenomenal and believable. My only complaint is after they transformed from their vehicle modes, they grew considerably (3 stories tall?) I guess that's just the way the 'formers roll. I conned my wife into attending with me with the promise of taking her to Cheesecake Factory afterwords and she left the movie almost speechless. "Wow! Definitely worth the $10.00 admission!" was all she could get out until we were able to squeeze out of the theatre.

Seriously, an amazing movie - and hats off to Michael Bay for staying true to the mythos. This one will bump another title out of my "Top Ten".

No Venom?

As Virgil already mentioned in his blog a group of us took a trip to the Creation Museum this past week. A bit reminiscent of Jurassic Park the facilities had me quoting John Hammond, "Spare no expense!". Really though, the museum was intricately designed and the employees were quite friendly. In the back of my mind I kept wondering if all of the associates understood the theology behind the museum.



Most of you have already seen the pictures and understand how the museum works so I won't really go into detail on the order of things. About halfway through the displays begin to contrast the state of the world both before and after the fall. Most notable (to me) was the lack of venom in snakes, spiders, fish and other creatures before "the rebellion".

This got me thinking about the hows and whys of such global altercations. Yeah, okay so snakes ate tree bark and their hollow fangs were used as straws to slurp up quenching swampwater. Mosquitos sucked on tree sap and spiders wove silk stockings to wear on their eight legs. Although the Creation Museum did its best to provide scripture to prove their positions they just dropped the ball on explaining how nature worked before the Fall.

Usually my oldest son is inquisitive about such matters himself but didn't seem to interested in how snakes functioned before the fall. Of course I could imagine how the conversation might go:

- "Dad, why didn't snakes have venom before Adam sinned"?
- "Well son, AIG says that snakes ate grass before the fall so there was no need to incapacitate the grass".
- "Okay Dad, but what about constrictor snakes like the Anaconda and Boa?"
- "Well son, AIG thinks that they ate grass too and that after the fall God altered their body, muscles, jawbone and digestive system so they could catch, suffocate and swallow other animals."
- "Okay, Dad".

The above parody reflects what several believe about Genesis & Revelation. That at the end of time our bodies will once again be altered back to the state they were before the fall. No more pain. No more tears. Immortality...etc. What about the sovereignty of God? How could one man's sin cause God to have to rework the entire creation which He deemed "good"; then at the end of time reverse all of these changes to bring creation back to its original state?

Surprisingly, I found myself agreeing with many of the messages showcased at the museum. The exceptions were their literal/tangible reading of Genesis (which no doubt leads to a literal/tangible reading of Revelation) and some of their conclusions regarding a global flood (I would have liked to see more information in the museum on this).



All in all I thought the museum was pretty cool with the Planetarium being the best presentation of the entire visit. The dome-show, through its super-cool laser technology traversed the universe - making you feel quite insignificant; but at the same time explaining that God picked Earth to unveil his Finest work - making you feel pretty darn significant again.

On Amnesty & Illegal Immigration

Yesterday, Robert Rector, a Senior Research Analyst at The Heritage Foundation; released a report titled, "The Fiscal Cost of Low-Skill Immigrants to the U.S. Taxpayer".

This report probably won't receive much press, which is why I believe it even more crucial that we as American citizens read it for ourselves to become a bit more educated regarding the effects illegal immigration is having on our country.
http://www.heritage.org/research/immigration/upload/SR_14.pdf (full document, 75 pages)
http://www.heritage.org/research/immigration/SR14es.cfm (summary)

There seems to be a common perception that illegal aliens actually contribute to our economy by "doing the jobs that Americans won't do". Whether that's even true or not, the report shows that illegal alien households cost American taxpayers roughtly $89 billion dollars a year. Can we say that the American economy is benefiting $89 billion dollars a year from a low-skill illegal workforce? I doubt it.

On top of that, what happens if and when the illegal immigrants are granted amnesty? Low skill, low cost labor now becomes low skill, minimum wage labor. Poof! The barrier keeping your strawberries and lettuce at a low price just burst.

Also, the report goes into great length about the effect on our welfare system.
(exerpt) In reality, the present welfare system is designed primarily to provide financial support to low-income working families. Moreover, welfare is only a modest part of the overall system of financial redistribution operated by the gov­ernment. Current government policies provide extensive free or heavily subsidized aid to low-skill families (both immigrant and non-immigrant) through welfare, Social Security, Medicare, public education, and many other ser­vices. At the same time, government requires these families to pay little in taxes. This very expensive assistance to the least advantaged American families has become accepted as our mutual responsibility for one another, but it is fis­cally unsustainable to apply this system of lavish income redistribution to an inflow of millions of poorly educated immigrants.(/exerpt)

Illegal immigration, and the amnesty to follow will cost our country and her citizens dearly in the upcoming years. The only way of sustaining such a burden is in the form of higher taxes. Under our current tax structure I can imagine middle-class earners having to fork over 50% of their income to the Federal government. I encourage you to read the report and ask yourselves why our representatives are supporting such a bill. In my opinion it appears the politicians care more about the citizens of another country over and above the ones they are supposed to represent.

A TruthVoice Conversation in Widescreen

As the excitement for TruthVoice 2007 sets in I was reminded of what a great time we had last year. Here are one of the many photos taken during the conference at the Marriott's own Mela Urban Bistro:



Left to Right: Terry Hall, Mickey Denen, Dru Snyder, Sam Frost, Virgil Vaduva.

PS. Thanks for lunch, Mick. I heard Sam's paying this year.

Respecting Your Parents

I'm mainly writing this because I'm tired of seeing the past 7 blog entries belonging to Virgil :).

But as long as I have your attention....

My wife and I have proceeded to purchase some land and consider building a house this year. Along with all of the business that goes into such an endeavor comes with it much parental advice. I have come to respect my father's opinion very much as he is one of the most level-headed and strong Christian men I know. My mother is somewhat of an extremist but between the both of them everything balances out nicely.

In certain circumstances throughout my life I've often found myself struggling as to whether I should heed their parental advice or give into the folly of my youth. I must admit that 90+ % of the time they've been right and I could have saved myself a load of headache if I had just listened to them.

As I age, I become a little more wise (at least I hope so) and my parents get a little bit older. I become more capable, and the fear of their senility begins to haunt me (they will be in their 70s soon). I realize the torch of responsibility is being passed from them to me and I now find myself relying on all of the wisdom they've passed on to me to better care and protect - not just myself and my family - but them as well.

No, of course you don't have to take every piece of your parents advice, but I've found that doing so much of the time not only spares you from negative consequence, but is also a pleasant demonstration of respect.

Banning LEGO - A Lesson on Ownership

As many of you know I am an avid fan of LEGO bricks, so when I heard about an article floating around where an afterschool Children's Center banned LEGO I was forced to investigate.

The teachers/stewards at an afterschool kid's center outside of Seattle observed some of the older children coming together to build a life-like town made out of classroom supplied LEGO bricks. If they were anything like me they took pride in their building skills, continually strived to improved their designs and as the article mentions - jockeyed to obtain the more rare of pieces. As their city grew, other kids wanted to participate but the bricks were becoming scarce. The children who originally founded LEGOLAND became very possessive of the buildings they had already constructed and discouraged newbies from participating. Teachers noticed the exclusiveness and laid waste to LEGOLAND the next day.

Disappointed with the lack of sharing in the classroom the teachers decided to turn their afterhours venue into a social experiment by subjecting the kids to various games and tests designed to apply the concept of sharing to the social philosophy of collectivism & private property. You can read how it all turned ot here:

http://www.bizzyblog.com/WhyWeBannedLego_RethinkingSchools_Wtr2006.html

The Synod of Yahoo!

Lately there is a effort in some PretCircles to form a council of sorts to better define what the gospel is. I believe anytime we step back from our paradigm to study scripture and its context it can only strengthen our relationship with God. As a matter of fact this is a very Postmodern thing to do - as long as we do such things out of a truth-finding & loving spirit rather than to fabricate a measuring stick for others. As far as I'm concerned though, the apostle Paul lays out the gospel quite well in 1 Corinthians 15. Since I do not have the space to include the scripture nor the ability to keep your attention that long I'll provide cliff's notes:

- Christ dying for our sins
- Christ buried
- Christ raised (from the dead) 3 days later
- Christ appearing to Peter and the disciples
- Christ appearing to 500 brethren
- Christ appearing to James & then all of the apostles
- Christ appearing to Paul
- Christ reigning & putting enemies under His feet
- Resurrection of the Dead
- Resurrection of the living (aka Rapture, Eye-Twinkling)
- Christ abolishes sin and puts all things into subjection
- Christ puts himself into subjection under God
- Christ hands over the keys to the Kingdom to God
- God is now all in all

That's the good news, folks.

Calvin & Generous Orthodoxy

I wanted to point out some recent insights regarding Virgil's recent column titled: "The Right to Heresy" where he presented his personal studies regarding John Calvin. For many this was information not previously known; to others it appeared as an attack on Calvinism. For me, it was an example on what generous orthodoxy is NOT.

Never-the-less the recent discussion that ensued revealed an interesting defense of Calvin's darker dealings under the guise of historical context. One author wrote an article painting John Calvin (and other Reformer figures) as a newfangled Elijah, smiting the prophets of Baal. Excuse me while I make plans to off Benny Hinn.

I've regretfully concluded that those adhering to Calvinist doctrine are nothing more than desperate to find a justification for their inherited, depraved sin nature.

Their defense?
- Moses commanded the Israelites to kill babies
- Samuel hacked Agag to pieces
- Elijah destroyed 450 prophets of Baal
- Elisha summond bears to maul some wise-cracking youths
- The Mosaic Law executed people for breaking some of its laws

What they fail to realize is the above persons were elected agents of God performing His will.

Sound familiar? It should - Calvinsts believe themselves to be (the modern) elected agents of God. It's no surprise then why they feel perfectly justified when it comes to their self-righteous behavior.

The true shame of the matter is many of these Calvinists are Preterists. Admittedly God's redemptive work is finished - which explains why the Holy Spirit is no longer sent to reside within persons (we now have Christ residing). They should know that the Old Testament laws regarding vengeance and retribution have no place in the life of God's people now because the New Testament leaves those things to God and calls on us to forgive, to love, and to bless our enemies - this is what Generous Orthodoxy is all about.

Of Donkeys & Oxen

We are all familiar with the passage in Luke (13:10-16) which some people use to argue for or against working on Sunday:

And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.

When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness." And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, "There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"



But I can't help but think perhaps we missed something. I was always intrigued as to why Christ picked this particular example of illustrating work: Removing the donkey from its stall and leading them to water. Why not something else - another example?

There is a bigger message here. Christ is demonstrating to the synagogue official and the crowd around them the whole purpose of why He came:

To lead mankind out of its stall - emprisonment of the Old Covenant - and to lead them to drink of the living water - the freedom of the New Covenant.

As usual the officials involved in regulating and enforcing the Law didn't get it. They'd much rather keep the Jewish people in bondage to the Old Covenant - a covenant built to measure sin. Christ liberated us by conquering sin (and death) so that we may now partake of the New Kingdom.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

The theme of this year's TruthVoice conference is "Love Wins". I think most of us know what that means, but there are a few who ridicule this statement. I don't claim to know their reasoning but their actions speak volumes. Perhaps its because they believe fallen man is incapable of love - that we shamelessly live in filth and stench every day of our lives. But I believe there is much, much power in love and I'd like to share a few things I've been searching out the past few days.

It's easy to get our idea of love from movies, song lyrics or even each other; but what about looking to God's word for how we should conduct ourselves in the promise of love?

Corinthians 13:4-5 - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

Bob Deffinbaugh has made some great points I'd like to share here as well:
(I'm going to make it easy and quote some of the verses for you - otherwise I'll ask you take the time to look up the reference/s)

- The whole Old Testament Law is summed up by the one word, “love” (see Leviticus 19:17-18; Matthew 19:19).

- Love sums up the Christian’s responsibilities in the New Testament
Romans 13:9 - "The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

- Love is the capstone, the crowning virtue, the consummation of all other virtues (2 Peter 1:5-7; Colossians 3:12-14 Galatians 5:22-23).

- Love is the goal of Paul’s instruction.
1 Timothy 1:5 - "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

Love is the distinguishing mark of the true Christian.
John 13:35 - "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

- Love is easily lost, without one’s even being aware of it (Revelation 2:1-7).

- Love is vitally important to Christians, for it should govern our relationships with other Christians, especially those with whom we strongly disagree.
1 Peter 1:22 - "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."

So does love mean we call each other names, ridicule each other, burn bridges and hold grudges? Is love supposed to hurt? How far can God's kingdom spread if we are constantly hurting each other? I suppose the critics reading this entry will demonstrate their version/s of love; but my intent is not to antagonize them - its to appeal to those of you who already have a firm grasp of what love truly is. I want to encourage you to put that love to good use as we transform this world into the kingdom God desires.

1 John 3:14 - "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death."

The Preterist Inquisition: Another One Bites the Dust

"Are you ready, are you ready for this
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?"

Much like Queen's 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust" I can't help but feel the pulse regarding the latest happenings in the Preterist community. One community in particular continues to grab my attention in the same bittersweet way tacky daytime soaps suck you in unawares. Members there are good at sniffing out those who may disagree with them. Once discovered you are subjected to a bombardment of disjointed questions and allegations. If you cave in to their inquisition, admit you were wrong and agree with their positions, you are released and sent back to lurking. However, if you choose to either remain in your current understanding or flat out refuse to answer their questions prepare to be tied up and whipped until you concede - else they'll lop your head off (kick you off the forum).


"And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust"

1 Corinthians 13:2 - "And though I...understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing."