The UmBlog

This isn't a joke but a legitimate issue. Christians want to balance "turning the other cheek" with protecting the weak and vulnerable. After the recent Colorado shootings some of us supported the church security guard using bullets and some of us were appalled and thought volunteers should absorb all bullets. One force is active and one is passive. What if a combined response was possible? Is there something that could actively hinder a shooter while also capable of taking on some lead? There is something that police departments are already using. And they are expensive. Guns are cheap. Humans lives are priceless. What about trained guard dogs? They are trained to subdue identified threats non-lethally, some wear body armor, and if they die to save a life it would be a worthwhile trade. There are plenty of retired, cheaper police dogs for smaller churches.

I found the announcement in a state newspaper . A google news search turns up more. The Rudd Labor government will formally say sorry to members of the indigenous stolen generation when federal parliament resumes in Canberra next month. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will deliver the apology on February 13, more than 10 years since the Bringing Them Home human rights report recommended the government say sorry for the policy of removing indigenous children from their parents. It will be the first item of business for the new parliament. An Aboriginal welcome to country ceremony will take place as part of the opening proceedings for parliament the day before. - The Age For background information I recommend watching Rabbit Proof Fence which I reviewed two years ago..

This is a continuation of the Song of Songs series . This is a look at 2:8-17, Lover takes Beloved with him on spring break for physical and emotional love making. Italics indicate the NET Bible assumption of who is talking. All Bible quotes from the NET . The Beloved about Her Lover: 2:8 Listen! My lover is approaching! Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills! 2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice. In the previous verse Beloved warns the maidens not to awaken love until it so desires. It seems that Lover has desired and is coming to visit. There is a sound he makes that excites her. It probably isn’t a gastro-intestinal sound either. Perhaps it is the sound of his royal chariot. He is undeterred by the obstacles that hinder his goal of her company. She has waited for him and he comes to find her at full throttle. As mentioned earlier, gazelles ...

A cool Google mash up by my friend Anton, ApologeticsSearch.com . It currently searches 13 apologetic sites with more coming.

This is a continuation of the Song of Songs series . This is a look at 2:4-7, Beloved's amazing time with Lover and her exhortation to the maidens of Jerusalem. Italics indicate the NET Bible assumption of who is talking. All Bible quotes from the NET . The Beloved about Her Lover: 2:4 He brought me into the banquet hall, and he looked at me lovingly. Lover is at work in his romancing. "Banquet hall" is a translation option. As the NET Bible notes a literal translation is “house if wine.” Now “house of wine” can refer to a vineyard. Back in 1:14 she referred to the vineyards in the oasis of En Gedi and this location has provided a source of the recent foliage and flower poetry. Thus, perhaps, we are not at a new location but still in the vineyard. She could be saying, “He brought me to the vineyard…” which fits in with the metaphorical activity before these verses and the explicit activity forthcoming. Regardless of location her husband is gazing at her with love. The tr...

I've been thinking how all the yurts top out at 30' diameters. That must be approaching their strength limit. But I know domes can be much larger. So I searched for portable dome homes and found Pacific Domes. The website isn't too helpful but their blog is better . They offer a 44' diameter dome with more headroom. It can be built in a day. Cool.

This is a continuation of the Song of Songs series. This is a look at 2:1-3, a short interchange between Beloved and her Lover. The entire series can be found here . Italics indicate the NET Bible assumption of who is talking. All Bible quotes from the NET . The previous verses left them laying together intimately under the cedars. As she adores the nature around them she notices the flowers… The Beloved to Her Lover: 2:1 I am a meadow flower from Sharon, a lily from the valleys. Remember her self-confidence? She believes her Lover’s compliments and abides in them. Yet she doesn’t overshoot and step into vanity. She considers herself one flower among a meadow. Not that a flower is any less beautiful because it keeps company with a million others. Sharon is a well watered area and vegetation including flower meadows would be found there. The NET Bible notes a proposal for the sole member of the lily family that grows in Palestine, Israel’s chamomile. There is a neat photography blog ca...