The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

I got this from a good friend in an email today. It is fantastic, funny, you got to love it.

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.

Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.

Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one badapple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden....
Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except forMethuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.


God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff.
Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.

There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats.

Jesus also had twelve opossums.
The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.

But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Gmail Finally out of Beta

Gmail Finally leaves beta

Florida Court Sets Atheist Holyday

I got sent this in an email so I thought I would share it with you.

In Florida an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days.
The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honour, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."
The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned.

You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

Well that's a nice story. But according to this article, it is a FALSE rumour. Oh well it was nice while it lasted. But wouldn't it be great if our court systems and our justice system was indeed just and Godly. But I suppose that this is wishful thinking.

Perhaps not wishful thinking but an opportunity to pray. Pray for our country and pray for our government. Pray for our leaders. Pray for the crime rate and the innocent victims.

Kit and Caboodle: Is Home School Better Than Public School?

Kit and Caboodle: Is Home School Better Than Public School?

The Eye of God

Bette Midler sings a song, entitled, “From a Distance”, in which are the lyrics, God is watching you, God is watching you, from a distance. This song takes on an eerie truth when considered in light of the recent pictures taken from our galaxy. Take a look at the Helix nebular.

A new spectacular image has been taken of the Helix nebula – many consider, my self included, the Helix nebula to be one of the most awesome objects in our universe.

Picture from skynews

The photo was taken at the European La Silla Observatory in Chile using a special camera attached to a telescope. The Helix is a sun-like star and is in its final explosion stage before it retires into a white dwarf.

For more, go to my other blog post, The Eye of God, and listen to the Bette Midler's Song "From a Distance" while enjoying the picture. Yes I know that the Bette Midler song is not spiritual per say, but the song does fit well with the picture don't you think.

Is Ray McCauley a Liar?

A few weeks ago Ray McCauley and Rehma church were criticised by many for politicising the church of God when they invited Jacob Zuma to address the congregation. Many people walked out, believing that the church is a place of worship for God, and not a place of political fronting.

Many blogs post, including my own, were written criticising the actions of McCauley and Rehma. When interviewed by 702, McCauley said that all political parties were welcome in his church and he would consider other political parties to give an address to the congregation and he would afford them the same opportunity as he did Zuma and the ANC.

Other political parties, including Holomisa’s UDM, and the ACDP called on Rhema’s senior pastor Ray McCauley to accord them the same platform.

The Rhema Bible Church has turned down United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa’s and other political parties request to speak from its pulpit.

“Frankly, it begs a question about the integrity of some church leaders who decide for their congregations which political parties they should support or be exposed to,” Holomisa said in his letter.

Ray McCauley where you lying? Are you selective in you political parties, and who you allow to speak from a political point of view? Why not allow other political parties the same time you afforded Zuma.

McCauley said that he and Rehma do not endorse any political party. Why them be selective as to who you allow to preach from your pulpit? Afford the other parties the same time.

"If you want to be viewed as independent and unbiased it is a simple choice: either you allow equitable election campaigning from your podium or you don't allow any campaigning."

Many people are noticeably upset at the double standard that McCauley and Rhema have taken.

"McCauley is a power-hungry, egocentric and arrogant individual. Come on now – don’t for a minute think Zuma was invited out of the goodness of McCauley’s heart – there is a hidden agenda. Anyone, apart from those innocent congregants that believe all they see and hear on Sunday, that has had any dealings with “HyperRhema” will know this to be true….just a pity that the truth about this organization never comes out – (Money buys silence). Bantu do you really want to share the platform with the like of McCauley, he couldn't spell integrity with the help of his entire board." - David.

I would encourage true Christians around the country to pray for our leaders. The Bible encourages us to "pray with out ceasing". We also need to pray for those whom we believe have done contrary to biblical teaching.

As for the state of our churches we surely need to echo 1Th 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.

How the Dinosaurs were wiped out.

Many have wondered how the dinosaurs were killed and became extinct. There are many different theories. But is there any physical evidence of their demise.

Well let’s consider the physical evidence.

The moon is moving away from the earth at 3.8cm every year. Currently the moon sits at 384,000 km away.

Do the math and you will clearly see that 85 million years ago the moon was orbiting the earth at a distance of about 452 cm or 4.5 meters from the earth’s surface.

This would explain the death of the dinosaurs; the tallest ones, anyway. The rest were squashed when the tall one fell on them.

Bless the little children.

While reading the dBASE news group, I came across some really funny things and jokes about kids. This will surely light up your day.

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.
The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.
The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah'.
The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?'
The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him'.

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing.. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work.As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.'
The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.'
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.
After explaining the commandment to 'honour' thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?'
Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, 'Thou shall not kill.'

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, 'Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?'
Her mother replied, 'Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.'
The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, 'Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?'

The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture.
'Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'
A small voice at the back of the room rang out, 'And there's the teacher, she's dead.'

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.'
'Yes,' the class said.
'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?'
A little fellow shouted, 'Cause your feet ain't empty.'

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray:
'Take only ONE . God is watching.'
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies....
A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples.'

Zuma - You're welcome in our Church, but not in our Pulpit

On Sunday, Jacob Zuma addressed the Rehma congregation from the Puplit of the Rehma Church. Afterword Ray McCauley prayed for him.

What I find most disturbing, is not the fact that Zuma attended church, for I myself pray for him that he might be saved and find a bible believing church to attend, but that McCauley gave him opportunity to address the congregation from the pulpit.

Rhema, which claims to be a Bible church, seems, in this case, not to follow the Bible. Where it clearly teaches that there is separation of state. If you want to use your church as apolitical platform, don't call yourself a Bible church.

If Zuma came to our church, I would treat him just the same as I would treat anybody. They are a sinner in need of salvation, and if they are saved through faith by Jesus Christ, then they are still sinners, saved by grace. This goes for the Pope, Zuma, Obama, or the man in the street. God is no respector of persons. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

The second thing is, if I would give Zuma opportunity to speak from our pulpit, as though he is an authority in our church, I would make sure of a few things.
Is he Saved?
Is he Leading a Christian Life?
What Doctrine does he hold too?
Are they the same as we hold in our church?
Does he believe the Bible?
What is his Biblical Interpretation like?
Has he proven himself a spritual leader, a lover of God and Jesus, and the Gospel?
Does he have humility?

The list can goes on.

Jacob Zuma has demonstrated that he is none of these, and it would seem that he is just trying to garner political support. I believe that if Christ was present, he would have delt with Ray McCauley as he delt with the Pharisees and Sadducees in His time.

When McCauley, prayed for Zuma, did he actually pray for his salvation? I don;t see that mentioned anywhere. Isn't our mission as a church to present the Gospel to all, not a platform for political showmanship. Yes, we must pray for our Government and its leaders, but surely McCauley could have mentioned that himself. He shouldn't need Zuma to do it.

This act just confirms my belief that Ray McCauley is not Biblical in his belief. Ray MCCauley's Love for money and power at the expense of biblical doctrine is testimony to his so called Christianity. But then again, who am I to Judge, God alone knows.

I pray for Zuma, that he gets saved. I pray for Ray McCauley, that he too repents and if he is not saved, that he asks Jesus to save him. I pray that his eyes might be open and that he sees the truth in the Bible.

Perhaps McCauley should read 1Timothy, and Titus 1.

Ray McCauley, since you invite anybody to your pulpit, irrespective of their faith or belief, I would like the opportunity to address your church as well.

2Ti 4:1-2
(1) I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
(2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Churches hold Darwin conference - What nonsense

A group of churches in Oxford is hosting a conference to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of scientist Charles Darwin. I could not believe this when I read it. Church and evolution, God and Darwin. It is blasphamis

The event seeks commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwins book "the Origin of Species", on the theory of evolution. But hey, I thought the origin of Species is explained in the bible, in Genesis. "In the beginning God Created ..."

Organiser reverend Tim Stead said it wanted to explore the relationship between science and religion. I am not disputing any relationship between science and religion. But when that science is purely circumstantial, at best, theoretical and seeks to do away with God. How can the two meet.

He said evolution was one of the "most influential scientific ideas ever". Well he is totally wrong there. Evolution might be influential, but then so was Hitler and Nazism, but it is not scientific at all.

Reverend Tim Stead said: "It impacts on our entire understanding of the world. I can't believe this trash. Our understanding of the world needs to have the creator of that world as its basis, that being God.

The Reverend, I cringe when I say that, said: "One of our aims in holding this conference is to go some way towards redressing the impression that some of the general public have that Christians are anti-science and anti-Darwin." Hey I am not anti-science. I am anti evolution, anti Darwin. Christianity and evolution cannot co-exist. The one says says God created us all, the entire universe, the other goes totally against God, leaves him out, and says we evolved out of a pool of muck.

"This is a chance to set the record straight and to explore how it is possible for faith to sit alongside Darwins views," he said. What a load of tripe. How can one have faith in God, and sit alongside Darwin. Who's theories totally disregard the Bible and God.

Can a Christian really believe in evolution and call himself a Christian? Its like black and white. You telling me you believe the Bible, and Believe God wrote the Bible, but only up to a point because some nut head thinks he is better than God, knows more than God, and knows how the world began.

I think it is a load of cods wallop.

In God We Trust

If you can't trust God, then who else can you trust. You can't trust your boss. You can't trust your friends, you cant trust your family. You can't even trust your wife or husband. Why? Because at some point they will all let you down. But God has promissed never to leave you nor forsake you.

In this time of economic crisis, we can't even trust our money, bank or possessions. Because at the end of the day, they can all dissapear into thin air. Leaving you high and dry.

I lost my job a few months ago. The debt is just increasing as we are battling to pay the outstanding bills and make ends meat. The bank is way overdrawn to the tune of R50000. Credit cards are bouncing. Everybody wants their money, and I cannot give it to them. When I had money, and did not need a credit card. Every bank was willing to bend over backwards to give me one. Now when I do not have money, no one wants to help. They are now sharks.

If that is not enough, the battery in out citi Golf gave up the ghost. Dead as a brick. To replace the battery, R800. Along with that, no food.

Well what do we do. I am working myself to the bone, trying to get work developing websites. But not easy.

So the only thing to do is trust in the Lord. I have prayed and prayed for Gods help and guidence. Expecting some mirracle to occure. But instead He answers our prayers by blessing others as well.

We went ahead and bought the battery on the credit card. Phew it went through. Then as I got home a lady from our church gave us money towards the battery. Then while visiting some good friends of ours, the wife took my wife out to the shop to buy some groceries for us.

Without asking them or mentioning this to them, our needs are being met. Perhaps not in a way that I might have imagined, but enough to be eternally greatful and thanful, and to realise that God is great, and that He will meat our needs.

So I could not trust my boss, nor my friends, nor my wife. God, and God alone was able to help and meet my needs. My prayer is that you reading this blog, might be blessed as well.

If you have experienced something similar, let us know.

You know you are a homeschooler when …

If your child get's drugs at school, it's probably Panado.

At the end of a long day you can tell how the science experiment went just by looking at the house

You have meal worms growing in a container....on purpose

If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a PTA meeting.

Talking out loud to yourself is a parent/teacher conference.

You take off for a teacher in-service day because the principal needs clean underwear.

You can't make it through a movie without pointing out the historical inaccuracies.

The teacher gets to kiss the principal in the faculty lounge and no one gossips.

If your child claims that the dog ate his homework, you can ask the dog.

School clothes have more holes in the knees than play clothes.

The principal can give the teacher a pat on the behind and it's not harassment.

Your neighbours think you are insane.

Baking cookies for friends and family counts as math, science, geography, history, and social studies.

You’ve done a week’s worth of school in one day.

The only dress code is, “No Nudity”

School starts at 8:30, 9:05, 7:16, 8:43, … or whenever you get up.

You got out of bed after 10 and still been done with your schoolwork before the public school kids get home

You realize it's noon, and you're still in your pyjamas

You still hang out with your 12 year old brother, even though you're 19

Watching the history channel counted as history class

You come first in your class every year.

You learned all your vocabulary from reading King James Version of the Bible

You greet your friends by saying, “How art thou this morning …”

You finish your school, and then think to yourself "Yikes! today is Saturday!"

You still go to school even when you're sick.

If you have any more, please add some in the comments. Would love to hear them.

Related: Check out Is home school better than public school

Technorati Tags: Home School

First Day at School Interview

First Day at school interview by zoopy.com.

The first day at school for children of the Western Cape and Zoopy was there to cover the big day. They spoke to the pupils and their parents to find out what their first day of school meant to them.

The video interviews grade 1 pupils on their first morning at school before the bell rings. Some of these toddlers talk of their future careers and their parents talk about their school lunchbox lunch for their first day

Thanks to Zoopy.com

Wrong report cards given to matric students.

So your child brings home their report card at the end of last year. To your shock and horror you find out that they have failed and need to repeat the year. You blow your top. Your child insists that there must be some mistake, because they studied for the finals. But you point to the hard copy of the proof in front of you. They are punished, grounded, no Christmas gifts etc.

This must of been the general feeling amongst many South Africans last year. But the surprises are not finished. After the first day at school your child gets another surprise. The report card that they gave them was the wrong one. In fact your child actually passed.

This actually happened, and with some devastating consequences. We hear from friends who’s children were involved in this debacle. They told us that they know of students who tried to end their lives but taking an overdose of pills. Landing them in hospital for the Christmas season, and having them go to counselling.

All because of incompetent schools and teachers who could not be bothered to check whether they are giving out the correct results. How do you measure such a mistake. What about the emotional stress suffered. Let alone the medical bills of those poor children who saw a need to end their lives. Were some of them actually successful.

I am so glad that we home school. Where I am in control of the education of my child. I get to choose the curriculum for them. Have hands on as to what they are learning. Have experience in their education.

What are your thoughts? What would you have done in this situation? Would you have believed your child? Do you home school? What do you think of home school?

Let us know by dropping us some comments.

Technorati Tags: School,Education,Home School

How was your first day at school?

How was your first day at school? I mean you not you children. It seems that there are more emotional parents on the first day of school than there are children. It also seems that parent are more upset than their kids about going to school.

After the nice long break its back to the mad house. In our case that is more literal than one would think. As we home school. Our first day started on Monday. By that evening I had a real headache. We had a new curriculum to install onto the PC. We had to figure out how it works. It was rough.

But it has slowly turned to dome form of craziness. Yes, that is somewhat better than madness. A touch, not much though.

Home schooling is tough, despite what some might think. There is a lot of preparation, and work that goes in to it. Many choices to make. Huge responsibility.

We chose the “Switched-on Schoolhouse” Computer based curriculum this year. In the six years that we have done home schooling we have gone through three curricula. Wow I got that right See what home schooling can do for you.

Back to the curriculum. We have changed, not because the curriculum was bad, but because it did not suite us and our children. The toughest choice in a home school is what curriculum to use. Most of all I believe that it has to be one that suites your child’s needs, suites their character, and aids the parent in teaching. I will write more about curriculum choices later.

But what about you? What do you think of school in our country? With the debacle of the matric results. I mean, I know of a school where only 3 pupils passed in the entire matric class. Three, that's a disgrace.

And what about those pass results can we take them to heart. I believe a pass mark is 35% in most subjects. Wow. Would you like a doctor to work on you who knows only 35% of what he supposed to know. It does not give you any confidence in the future of our country.

We truly will become a third world country, with third world knowledge.

Our home school curriculum has set the pass rate at 70%. That means if our child gets 69% he fails. There is something about setting high standards and helping you children reach them.

Do you home school? If not would you ever consider it, and why? I would lover to know. Please drop us a comment I am sure the other readers would like to hear your side of the story.

If you have particular sad or funny or memorable story of your first day at school, share that as well.

Technorati Tags: Education,school,home school

Robbers Hit Northgate - While I was there.

Two people were shot and wounded in armed robberies at the Northgate shopping mall today, Friday. Now this might not seem alarming to many, as we are so used to crime now days. But the thing is, I was there in the mall with my family, wife, 2 year old daughter, 11 year old son. It could have been me that was shot, or my wife, or God forbid, my kids.

A man was shot in the chest and was in a critical condition. Four robbers fled the scene in a white Opel Astra. No arrests were made but police were investigating a case of armed robbery and attempted murder.

Last week we were at a steers drive through, when just in the next shopping centre, about 200m away, robbers hit the shopping centre. The same gang might have even hit the petrol station the day before in the same shopping centre as the steers drive through.

A week before that, a high jacking occurred not 200m away from where we stay, a person was shot.

A few months before that we were rocked awake in the early hours of the morning by a loud bang. The ATM at the shopping centre up the road from us was bombed.

These criminals are more and more brazen as they start to attack, rob, high jack, and murder during the day and even at the most populated places.

I am proud South African. The government says that the crime rate is falling. Problem is, I do not experience that. I have been in the vicinity of more dangerous life threatening crime in the past six months than in the last two years.

I married a beautiful British girl. Their parents were forced to move back to Britain because they were robbed while they slept, and held up at gun point in the middle of the day. Two separate incidents weeks apart.

I fear for my life and the life of my family. My wife is always nagging me to move overseas, to England. Where its safe.

With the current crime rate, statistics say, its just a matter of time before something like this happens to me. I do not want to take that chance. With all these crimes going on around me, those stats do not seem so far off.

Yes there is crime all over the world. But the blatant disregard for life in this country is beyond explanation. In England, yes they might rob you, but they won't sommer just shoot you and kill you for nothing.

I am a programmer, I develop websites. My site is Integralwebsolutions. I work from home, and my servers and sites are hosted in the states. I don't need to actually live in this country to carry on working.

But I love this country. I love the weather, I love the sport, I love the law abiding people. But it seems like this country does not love me any more.

Just this week, an armed robbery and high jacking took place in Kempton Park. The black police inspector from Tembisa said, "It's time you whites packed your bags and f***d off." Calling the victims dogs and vowing that he would see to it that the white police woman would be shot in a robbery. Cocking his R5 rifle he told the white victim to pack his bags and F*** off as he refused to arrest the criminal or open up a police case of the robbery and high jacking.

With the current brain drain in the country, the lack of skills, the high unemployment rate, and the high crime rate, it is only going to get worse. With criminals running our country, I mean literally, criminals in the government. One might not be surprised at the way this police officer behaved.

If they want me to leave, if they do not want any web developers and programmers in the country, I might just leave. Over time, I would probably get better respect in England, the state hospitals are better, there is better social support, the crime is not as violent. It sure does seem a tempting proposal.

The only difference is, I got God on my side. AS I look at what has happened over the last few months, I am so grateful that God is with me. I certainly believe that he has protected our family. I certainly believe that if it was not for God, we might have even been part of the statistics.

I am encouraged by the verse: De 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God, he it is that does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you.
Yes, God is able to protect us even in the most violent situations.

With the rise in crime, one wonders, has God left South Africa. The answer is no. Its the Christians that have forsaken God. We have stopped praying, stopped obeying, stopped following Gods word. 2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Such a wonderful verse, but we do not take it literally. It's not the crime line that is going to stop crime, not even the police can stop the crime. It is the praying Christian that is going to stop crime. The problem is, crime is increasing, which probably means that we as christians are not praying or not praying enough or not praying effectively.1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Are you praying?

Is Google's G1 Better Than The iPhone?

Internet giant Google has launched its much-awaited mobile phone. Many claim a direct challenge to the supremacy of the iPhone.

The G1 was unveiled in New York last month and was put on sale in the UK early November. The G1 has been released exclusively by T-Mobile.

It is stipulated that it will go head to head with other mobile products such as Apple's iPhone, the Blackberry and other smartphones from makers such as Nokia, Samsung.

The G1 uses Google's open source mobile software, Android. Many have stated that it is a phone with the capability of a hand held computer. Is it a phone or is it a palmtop, with telephony as one of its functions?

The G1 is a touch-screen mobile phone and includes a QWERTY keyboard when you slide the phone open. Included are applications such as Google Maps with StreetView, Gmail, YouTube and GoogleTalk. mmm Lots of Google stuff. Not surprising.

Is it then a phone or a dedicated smart fancy electronic wireless browser? Is it a way for Google not only to challenge iPhone, but in the same breath to capture and increase their Internet user market. Maybe not only are they trying to stick it to Apple, but Yahoo as well. What is Google doing in the mobile market. I thought it was an Internet giant, a search engine. But then again I have been wrong a few times before.

Not only does it have a keyboard, but the G1 also has a trackball for more precise, one-handed navigation. That's not all, it also sports a 3-mega pixel camera.

But despite the popularity of the Google brand, the G1 isn't 'cool'. It does not strike me as a 'Geek' phone. The same coolness and Geekness that the iPhone 3G had which was a massive success for Apple.

One thing though which might sway the masses towards the G1, is cost. The G1 will in fact be cheaper. Over a two year contract the G1 will be in the region of $380 cheaper. Included will be unlimited mobile internet browsing. Some plans will not only include unlimited data but unlimited texting or SMS.

However the iPhone comes to its own when we talk capacity. Sporting a massive 8GB-16GB as opposed to 2GB-8GB for the G1. This will win over the huge music fans, because if you do the math, you can fit more mp3's, more video and more pics onto the iPhone as opposed to the G1. Seems that the iPhone is more geared towards multimedia, despite the 3 mega pixel camera for the G1 as opposed to the 2 mega pixel for the iPhone.

One thing is for certain, the G1 was designed to bring new possibilities to the art of online communication. The problem now is, can you ever say, "I never got that e-mail".

What ever the case might be. Whether you are a iFan or a Gman, the Gadget wars have just begun.

CNN's Hologram. Real or Fake?

CNN made huge waves on Tuesday night by incorporating, what they claim to be, a three-dimensional hologram into its coverage of the U.S. election. The question I first asked when I saw this was, "was it really a hologram"?

I'm sure that whatever it was, it was very sophisticated. But no hologram. The technology is so complex and computing power is so powerful, that we are not there yet.

At about 7 p.m. EST USA, reporter Jessica Yellin, who was in Chicago, spoke with New York based anchor Wolf Blitzer live "via hologram," CNN said.

She seemed to appear a bit fuzzy as her image was apparently projected a few feet in front of Blitzer. The image appeared to glow around the edges as well. "You're a terrific hologram," Blitzer said to her. Making good use of the power of suggestion.

"It's like I follow the tradition of Princess Leia," she said, making reference to the Star Wars character and obviously some reference to the holograms in the movies. Which also seemed to glow around the edges and appear a bit fuzzy. Kind of coincidental, don't you think?

Was CNN playing on our minds and our infatuation with sci-fi and the likes of Star Wars?

Apparently her image was being filmed in Chicago by 35 high-definition cameras. These cameras were set in a ring inside a special tent. The images were then processed and synchronized by 20 computers to the cameras in the New York studio.

Sources tell me that the CNN anchors were not really speaking to three-dimensional projected images, but rather empty space. The images were simply added to what viewers saw on their screens at home, in much the same way computer-generated special effects, like the hologram of Leia, are added to movies, like Star Wars, as suggested in the interview.

These images were tomograms. Tomograms are images that are captured from all sides. Then reconstructed by computers. Finally displayed on screen. Much like what happened in the movie "The matrix".

Holograms, on the other hand, are projected into space.
Sources tell me that holographic images are generally captured and projected using coherent light such as lasers. A laser would need to be more than six feet in diameter to capture a person's image, which I believe is impossible. Probably because such a huge light source would be blinding.

I also believe that our current hologram technology requires some sort of floor pad or plate, which is absent from the CNN footage.

CNN reporting that this is a hologram, was this then a lie or the truth? Where then does the line stand between truth and lies? Should journalists and news companies be able to lie about news and technology, in order to gain viewers or readership? Should they twist the truth to increase their rankings in the viewers poll. Should they be sensationalists with no regard to accuracy and facts.

Why would CNN lie about this being a hologram? Is its cheesy reporting, aimed to capture your attention no matter what the truth might be?

The real question is. Do you really care? Are you actually concerned that this type of deception is going on, or are you captivated by the entertainment?

What do you think about this? Did you believe that it was a real hologram? Were you amazed?

Let me and others know. Leave your comment. what did you think?

BTW, CNN could not be reached for comment.

The Super Movie Computer.

Ever watched a movie and seen how ridiculous the computer interaction is or how computers behave, unlike normal computers in real life.

I came across a site which lists 28 of some really funny and unbelievable things computers and people do. http://www.geekpolice.net/jokes-fun-stuff-f1/things-computers-can-do-in-movies-t3806.htm

Here are a few of my favourites.

1. You never have to use the space-bar when typing long sentences.

2. You can also infect a computer with a destructive virus by simply typing "UPLOAD VIRUS". (See "Fortress".)

3. All computers are connected. You can access the information on the villain's desktop computer even if it's turned off.

4. People typing on a computer can safely turn it off without saving the data.

5. A hacker is always able to break into the most sensitive computer in the world by guessing the secret password in two tries.

6. You may bypass "PERMISSION DENIED" message by using the "OVERRIDE" function. (See "Demolition Man".)

7. Computers only take 2 seconds to boot up instead of the average minutes for desktop PCs and 30 minutes or more for larger systems that can run 24 hours, 365 days a year without a reset.

8. Complex calculations and loading of huge amounts of data will be accomplished in under three seconds. Movie modems usually appear to transmit data at the speed of two gigabytes per second.

9. Computers can interface with any other computer regardless of the manufacturer or galaxy where it originated. (See "Independence Day".)

10. Computer disks will work on any computer has a floppy drive and all software is usable on any platforms.

11. The more high-tech the equipment, the more buttons it will have (See "Aliens".)

12. Most computers, no matter how small, have reality-defying three-dimensional active animation, photo-realistic graphics capabilities.

13. Searches on the internet will always return what you are looking for no matter how vague your keywords are. (See "Mission Impossible", Tom Cruise searches with keywords like "file" and "computer" and 3 results are returned.)

What are your favourite great movie computer moments. Leave us a comment.

Should Christians Support Halloween?

It’s 31 October and for many people, especially our American and British friends, its Halloween. Its trick or treat time. This has been seen as a harmless celebration over the years. It has not been much supported in South Africa, but support is growing. As we become more connected, as we are influenced by American culture, through television and friends. The participation in Halloween increases.

But as a Christian, should you be participating in this event. With no clear direct references to Halloween in the Bible, resolving the age old debate can be a challenge. How should Christians approach Halloween and is there a biblical way to observe this secular holiday?

Christians have been strongly divided on the observance of Halloween. Some believers feel complete freedom to observe the holiday, others run and hide from it, many boycott or ignore it, a number celebrate it through more positive and imaginative observances or Christian alternatives to Halloween, some don’t even know about it and wonder what all the fuss is all about, and still others choose to take advantage of Halloween's evangelistic opportunities.

The origins of Halloween are from a strong Celtic tradition. Halloween has pagan roots originating from the ancient Celtic festival, Samhain. The Celtic people were very spiritual and were conscious of another world, the spiritual world. They had their own ideas of how they could gain access to it - such as by helping their over 300 gods to defeat their enemies in battle, or by imitating the gods in showing their intellect and cunning.

Their two main feasts were Beltane at the beginning of summer (May 1), and Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween) at the end of summer (Nov. 1). They believed Samhain was a time when the division between the two worlds became very thin, when hostile supernatural forces were active and ghosts and spirits were free to wander as they wished.

"During this interval the normal order of the universe is suspended, the barriers between the natural and the supernatural are temporarily removed, the sidh lies open and all divine beings and the spirits of the dead move freely among men and interfere sometimes violently, in their affairs"
(Celtic Mythology, p. 127).

This harvest festival of the Druids ushered in the New Year, beginning on the evening of October 31, with the lighting of bonfires and the offering of sacrifices. As the Druids danced around the fires, they celebrated the ending of the summer season and the beginning of the season of darkness. This is not applicable to southern hemisphere residents, as our summer begins in September. Perhaps this is why South Africans took so long to latch on to the celebrations.

It was also believed that at this time of year the invisible "gates" between the natural world and the spirit world would open, allowing free movement between the two worlds.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. During their rule of the Celtic lands, Roman festivals were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The Romans observed the holiday of Feralia, intended to give rest and peace to the departed. Participants made sacrifices in honor of the dead, offered up prayers for them, and made oblations to them. Another festival was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV introduced All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs, to replace the pagan festival of the dead. It was observed on May 13. In 834, Gregory III moved All Saint's Day from May 13 to Nov. 1 and for Christians, this became an opportunity for remembering before God all the saints who had died and all the dead in the Christian community. Oct. 31 thus became All Hallows' Eve ('hallow' means 'saint').. However, some of the pagan beliefs and practices associated with the celebration have persisted.

In 1517, a monk named Martin Luther honored the faithful saints of the past by choosing All Saints Day (November 1) as the day to publicly charge the Church heirarchy with abandoning biblical faith. This became known as "Reformation Day," a fitting celebration of the restoration the same biblical faith held by the saints throughout church history.

So what has that got to do with celebrating Halloween today. Surely those historical tractions have been long forgotten, and have no significance to us today. To find out if Halloween has any real religious connotations today, we need to research the Religions of Satan.

Our research brings us to Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft. What does it have to say about Halloween? Perhaps they viewed the day as a simple fun and innocent neighbourhood activity?

To our shock and dismay we found that Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day.

There is no question that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world.

Deut 18:10-12 “10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

These verses are pretty clear on what a Christian should not do. But you say, I’m not sacrificing my children, I’m not calling on the spirit of the dead. I’m not worshipping the devil. How many Christians are sacrificing their sons and daughters as a burnt offering on Halloween? How many are calling forth the spirits of the dead? The verse does not say that "trick or treating" disgusts the Lord.

However, what if you have come to the Christian faith from a background in the occult? What if, before you became a Christian, you did practice some of these deeds associated with witchcraft and sorcery? Perhaps refraining from Halloween and its activities is the safest and most appropriate response for you as an individual.

We need to be circumspect as to how our deeds and actions affect others. Often times there are no clear cut answers as to how to behave in the bible on certain issues. But one thing is clear. If it causes my brother to fall ,I should abstain.

Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother‘s way.

1Co 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

How then does this affect us as Christians. Well the bible does tells us to avoid all appearance of evil. 1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

But it also tells us to be all things to all men. 1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

Does this then mean we are to embrace the very evil things that men might do in order to win them to Christ. Absolutely not.We are to resist the Devil. we are to be in this world not of this world. But we are also told not to love the things of this world.

1Jo 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

There are many verses in the bible that in principal warn against such things as Halloween. Sure, the Bible does not say “Thou shalt not celebrate Halloween”. But it does say to honour God, resist the Devil, flee temptation, do no evil.

1Thes 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

3John1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

1Cor 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Clearly Halloween is a worldly festival rooted in paganism. Clearly it is stooped in Devil worship. We should have no part in it. What we as Christians need to do is ask ourselves, are we doing justice to the cause of Christ by celebrating Halloween? If not, what then are we to do? Do we just ignore it, hide away, or run?

The answer I believe is No. Do not ignore or run away. Embrace the opportunity to spread the Gospel. I’m not advocating trick or treating. But have you ever considered the people that would potentially knock at your door, opening themselves up to a short gospel message. You do not have to go trick or treating, but you can give your testimony to those who are willing to come to your door. Along with your sweets you could also give some gospel tracts. Or how about creating a gospel message around some of those sweets.

Have you ever heard of the “Wordless Book” It has five colours representing the Gospel. Black – Sin, Red – Blood of Christ, White – Salvation, Yellow – Heaven, Green – Growth. What about Sweets or treats based on those five colours. As you hand them out, you can share the Gospel.

As Christians you and I are placed in this world to be a light in a world of darkness. There is no lasting benefit to ignore a holiday that exists around us, but it also does harm to celebrate Halloween as it has originated and grown over the centuries.

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