GregWoodard.com

Blog Ending

2005-06-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

For the most part, posting at this blog has ceased. I may still do a review or two, but busy work and family life demand that I take something out of my life.
Blessings to those of you who have read my posts. Check back periodically to see if there is anything new.

Greg

Stop the Masochistic Insanity - The violent response to the report of "Quranic abuse" isn't about faith, it's about intolerance. By Christopher Hitche

2005-05-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Stop the Masochistic Insanity - The violent response to the report of "Quranic abuse" isn't about faith, it's about intolerance. By Christopher Hitchens: "Some of us can be offended at insults to our culture, and we, too, possess unalterable convictions and principles. Many people take the same view of the desecration of Old Glory. But we would never dream of venting ourselves in random assaults on mosques or Muslims, and if anyone on our soil did dare to commit such atrocities, I hope and believe that they would not receive moist and sympathetic treatment in the pages of the American press."

Victor Davis Hanson on Anti-Americanism on National Review Online

2005-05-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

A very good article on the rise of anti-Americanism as evidenced by the description of America as the middle finger of the global hand.
Victor Davis Hanson on Anti-Americanism on National Review Online

Welcome Langa Visitors

2005-05-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all Langa Letter visitors. Nothing much is happening here right now since I started a new job recently and have been very busy with that. Please do check back in the future and see what changes have been made!

National Review Online - VDH - On Being Disliked

2005-04-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Victor Davis Hansen on America being disliked and why we shouldn't worry about it:
National Review Online (http://www.nationalreview.com): "America should not gratuitously welcome such dislike; but we should not apologize for it either. Sometimes the caliber of a nation is found not in why it is liked, but rather in why it is not. By January 1, 1941, I suppose a majority on the planet — the Soviet Union, all of Eastern Europe, France, Italy, Spain, and even many elsewhere in occupied Europe, most of Latin America, Japan and its Asian empire, the entire Arab world, many in India — would have professed a marked preference for Hitler's Germany over Churchill's England.

Think about it. When Europe orders all American troops out; when Japan claims our textbooks whitewash the Japanese forced internment or Hiroshima; when China cites unfair trade with the United States; when South Korea says get the hell off our DMZ; when India complains that we are dumping outsourced jobs on them; when Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians refuse cash aid; when Canada complains that we are not carrying our weight in collective North American defense; when the United Nations moves to Damascus; when the Arab Street seethes that we are pushing theocrats and autocrats down its throat; when Mexico builds a fence to keep us out; when Latin America proclaims a boycott of the culturally imperialistic Major Leagues; and when the world ignores American books, films, and popular culture, then perhaps we should be worried. But something tells me none of that is going to happen in this lifetime."

FOXNews.com - Soldiers Cleared in Italian Agent's Death

2005-04-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is very good news:
FOXNews.com - Soldiers Cleared in Italian Agent's Death

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - A&E: Zell Miller's book praises, slams Dems

2005-04-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Very interesting take on Hillary's chances in the '08 presidential swwepstakes by retired senator, Zell Miller. Recall that Miller, a Democrat was the hero of the 2004 Republican convention.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - A&E: Zell Miller's book praises, slams Dems

VDH's Private Papers :: Winning the War

2005-04-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

As Little Green Footballs says, another Friday, another incisive article from Victor Davis Hanson:
VDH's Private Papers :: Winning the War

www.AndrewSullivan.com & Andrew Sullivan is an A...

2005-04-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

Check this out for a bit of vitriol about the selection of Joseph Ratzinger as the next pope (Pope Benedict XVI).
www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish - Still in Shock

and this from Professor Bainbridge in response:
Andrew Sullivan is an A...

Thou Shalt Not Be Negative - Christianity Today Magazine

2005-04-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

I have not read the book Your Best Life Now, but Douglas LeBlanc has and he provides a pretty sharp critique (I am quite certain that he is right on target):
Thou Shalt Not Be Negative - Christianity Today Magazine

Captain's Quarters - Sgrena Story Still Falling Apart

2005-04-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

A very important post about the Italian journalist whose escape convoy came under fire by American troops. Below are some essentail comments from Captain Ed's post:
"She claimed that the car slowed down for the checkpoint to somewhere around 30 MPH or so, which would equal around 44 feet per second. If the Americans flashed their warning lights at 390 feet, the driver had almost three seconds to recognize and heed the signal before the soldiers fired their warning shots. After the warning shots, the driver had another two seconds to stop the car before the soldiers applied lethal force. Overall, the driver had almost six full seconds to stop the car from the time of the first warning signal to when they fired directly into the vehicle. That sounds like plenty of time, especially for a driver who knew that he was using a highway that American troops regularly patrolled and one which led directly to the strategic Baghdad International Airport."

HughHewitt.com - The Tipping (Away) Point

2005-04-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

A very good post by Hugh Hewitt on the new media and regarding the continued confirmation battle underway in the U.S. Senate. This is an important issue that Hugh is doing his best to bring attention to, both on his blog and on the radio (I linked Hugh's local affiliate where you can listen to a live broadcast stream.)
HughHewitt.com

lgf: Sly Bush=Hitler Reference at SF Chronicle

2005-04-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Ran across this at Little Green Footballs:
lgf: Sly Bush=Hitler Reference at SF Chronicle

ChristianityToday.com - Theologian Stan Grenz Dies

2005-04-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Any of you who have studied theology have probably encountered Stan Grenz's work. And if you are interested in the intersection of historical Evangelical Christian theology with postmodern thought, you are undoubtedly familiar with Stan Grenz. I did a master's thesis on his thought and did not agree with many of his proposals. I did find his writing on theology to be fresh and elegent. I appreciated his work so much that I was known to assign reading from his systematic theology and other books to my college theology courses. They say that scholars the age of Stan Grenz are often times at the height of their scholarly careers. The death of Dr. Grenz is a tragedy for his family and for the larger Christian world. I was always anxious to see what was next. Below is a link to an article from Christianity Today:
ChristianityToday.com

CBS Master's Golf Coverage

2005-04-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am not a golf fan, but like other major sports, I tune in to the last few minutes of championship games or matches. Chris DiMarco lost a sudden death playoff to Tiger Woods. After Tiger won, CBS did an interview with Mr. DiMarco who was holding his one year old daughter. In his Mullings email from Friday April 7, Rich Galen had this observation:

Memo to CBS: You should instruct your hard-edged golf interviewers that if the second-place golfer is holding a one-year-old baby in his arms and the one-year-old baby is grabbing for the microphone the hard-edged interviewer shouldn't look irritated - HE didn't just lose the Masters - he should, instead, ask the one-year-old how proud she (or he) is of her (or his) daddy.

I quite agree!

On Not Mourning the Pope - Thoughts over the grave of John Paul II. By Christopher Hitchens

2005-04-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Quite an article from Christopher Hitchens who reflects on how the non-religious view this morning over the pope's passing. I have quoted the last paragraph of the article. Click the link for the full article.
On Not Mourning the Pope - Thoughts over the grave of John Paul II. By Christopher Hitchens: "Unbelievers are more merciful and understanding than believers, as well as more rational. We do not believe that the pope will face judgment or eternal punishment for the millions who will die needlessly from AIDS, or for his excusing and sheltering of those who committed the unpardonable sin of raping and torturing children, or for the countless people whose sex lives have been ruined by guilt and shame and who are taught to respect the body only when it is a lifeless cadaver like that of Terri Schiavo. For us, this day is only the interment of an elderly and querulous celibate, who came too late and who stayed too long, and whose primitive ideology did not permit him the true self-criticism that could have saved him, and others less innocent, from so many errors and crimes."

Free Books for Bloggers

2005-04-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have just joined as an Exclusive Reviewer for Mind & Media (see the ad on the right). They provide books for any blogger who will blog about them. They have titles from Crossway Books, Baker Books, Advantage Books and other major Christian publishers. Check out their blog at Blog for Books.com and join me as an Exclusive Reviewer.

Thinking Straighter - Christianity Today Magazine

2005-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Interesting thoughts on the changing ideas of Anthony Flew - once a leading athiest:
Thinking Straighter - Christianity Today Magazine

ThisisLondon - Royal wedding a 'shambles'

2005-04-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

Oh the problems of royalty!
ThisisLondon

Discovering God - Christianity Today Magazine

2005-04-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Good, uplifting quotes here:
Discovering God - Christianity Today Magazine

The Trinity: The Father: Reading Two

2005-04-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Trinity: A Journal
The Father: Reading 2

Scripture
Who is like you, O Lord? Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11).

Meditation
The preceding phrase asks the same questions twice, "Who is like you, O Lord? Who is like You..." and then follows with these three phrases:

majestic in holiness
awesome in praises
working wonders

Indeed, who is like the Lord? There is none that equal the lord in holiness, none worthy of our praises and none that work the wonders that He does. God is the great "I am." Remember when Moses asked God to identify Himself so that he knew how to present him when he spoke to Pharoah? God said to Moses, say that "I am" sent you. This simple phrase "I am" speaks volumes as to who God is. God offers no other description, he simply says "Say 'I am' sent you." There is power in the simplicity of these words. In our passage, the author writes asking who is like you, O Lord - majestic in holiness (the idea that God is supremely holy); awesome in praises (is the idea here that of God being the most worthy of our praises); and the final phrase is that of working wonders. At this point in Exodus, God had already worked many wonders in showing his power to both the Israelites and the Egyptians.

Prayer
Father God, the past several weeks have been difficult. I have struggled with trusting you. I have felt a distance from you as I struggle with questions of why I am unemployed. Questions of what direction to turn. Questions ofuncertainty. Questions of why the process seems to be taking so long. Questions of why there have been so many closed doors. And then I read a verse where your holiness, worthiness of praise and power to work wonders is extolled. I call out to you as the powerful God, the God who is worthy of our praise and who is powerful enough to change our circumstances. I seek to renew my trust in you. And I know that my trust cannot be contingent upon what you do for me now. You have shown yourself to be powerful and you have done what you have said you will do. As a human being, my faith in future graces depends at least in part upon what you have done in the past. You have shown yourself capable of meeting our needs and there should be no doubt that you will meet our needs in the future. Father God, help me with my lack of faith and trust. Forgive me for not trusting in your power. Help me to believe that you will show yourself strong again and that there is a future of fruitful service ahead for me.

Contemplation
I am taken by the strength of three phrases:

majestic in holiness
awesome in praises
working wonders

I don't need to add much to what I have said above. These phrases remind me that God is in control and is worthy of our trust.

Living by Google Rules - Newsweek Business - MSNBC.com

2005-04-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

I am posting this link only because I find this sort of article fascinating:
Living by Google Rules - Newsweek Business - MSNBC.com

Yahoo! News - Supremacist Hale Sentenced to 40 Years

2005-04-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

Glad to see that Matthew Hale is going to the big house for a looong time!
Yahoo! News - Supremacist Hale Sentenced to 40 Years

Not Posting

2005-04-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Sorry for not having posted in a while. I have been between jobs and the search has really drained me. I am feeling like this time of unemployment is soon to be over and my spirit is picking up. I will try to get back to some regular posts in the next few days.

The Trinity: The Father: Reading One

2005-03-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

The Trinity: A Journal
The Father: Reading 2

Exodus 3:15 "You are the Lord, the God of our fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This is Your name forever, the name by which your are to be remembered from generation to generation."

Meditation
God, I thank you that you are the Lord, that you are the Lord! Your name stands forever, from generation to generation your name, Lord stands! I thank you that your powerful name stands the test of time and that it remains unchangingly powerful.

Prayer
It has been hard to see your power through the fog of my doubt in recent weeks. And yet, my own doubt does not change your power. Your name, O Lord is forever and is remembered from generaction to generation. I proclaim your name and internalize the power that is in that name for my own. I am a child of yours. Will I believe that your power can change our circumstances? Current circumstances must not be enough to make me continue in my doubt. The question before me is "Will I trust in the Lord's power with with my whole heart even in the face of these trying circumstances?" I believe that this is what God is calling me to. Not easy, but necessary.

Contemplation
The idea of the Lord's name being forever and remembered from generation to generation captured my spirit as I contemplated these verses.