The UmBlog

your angry spouse may buy a billboard to condemn you. sometimes the scarlet "A" doesn't seem so bad.

reported at Yahoo news, titled Sex of any kind can harm teens emotionally , something church ladies have been saying for millenia. unfortunately, these scientists don't endorse Biblical ideas... In particular, the study found, girls were twice as likely as boys to say they'd ever "felt bad about themselves" after having sex, and three times more likely to say they'd felt used. Though the study could not look at the reasons for this difference, other studies have noted that there's pressure on girls to at once be sexually attractive yet resist having sex. "In contrast, boys' sexuality and sexual behavior is generally accepted," Brady and Halpern-Felsher pointed out. "Parents can play an important role in helping to eliminate this double standard by encouraging respect for women and discouraging the use of derogatory sexual terms." The findings are based on a series of surveys given to 618 students at two public high schools, beginning...

i read Bob Robert's Glocal blog and link to it sometimes. This post is a link to an interview that is extremely stimulating. i don't agree with everything he thinks, but he doesn't make me feel stupid for not thinking that way. he is a mega church pastor who really likes micro churches. here are the quotes that got me cogitating... Societies are built on several domains: • The family, from which we get our values. • The tribe, from which we get our culture. • The city, from which we get our livelihood. • The nation, from which we get our security and our trade. Finally, the world. And all of that is within the realm of the kingdom of God. We use the word glocal , meaning the kingdom encompasses all of this, local and global. The number one result of God's kingdom is transformation of all the sectors.... So what's your church's role in this transformation? We're a connection center between believers and all of society's domains. Jesus told his disciples t...

Mike Adams writes Before I left the United Methodist Church to join Scotts Hill Baptist Church, I made a few remarks critical of the United Methodists. Since I officially walked out of the “open doors” of the UMC, I’ve been asked repeatedly about what motivated me to make that decision. Based on my conversations with a number of other unsatisfied Methodists I started to have an increasing number of unanswered questions about the direction in which the church is going. Many of these questions deal with sin in general and sexual sin in particular. Instead of answering the question of “why I left”, perhaps some Methodists who did not can answer some of my questions concerning “why they are left.” 1. A young pastor was conducting a UMC 101 course required of all prospective members of a small Methodist Church. When asked whether there was such a thing as hell, she answered “I’m not sure and I don’t know that it’s important.” Given that Jesus talked about hell more than anyone else in the...

NEW DELHI, February 5 (Compass Direct News) – About 25 members of the Hindu extremist group Dharam Sena (Religion Army) attacked a pastors’ conference in Raipur, Chhattisgarh state, on Friday (February 2), injuring at least 10 Christians. The attack took place at about 3:30 p.m. as organizers were preparing the opening session at the Singh Palace banquet hall in Pandri, a sub-district of Raipur. “When the Dharam Sena barged into the hall, my female manager tried to stop them, but they manhandled her and then proceeded to attack the participants,” Jay Prakash, the Christian owner of Singh Palace, told Compass. The extremists shouted “Jai Shri Ram! [Hail god Rama]” as they beat the Christians with sticks, verbally insulted them and accused them of forcibly converting Hindus.

an article at World Mag sees the glass half empty. there is another alternative, butanol . Butanol vs. Ethanol - Higher energy content (110,000 Btu’s per gallon for butanol vs. 84,000 Btu per gallon for ethanol). Gasoline contains about 115,000 Btu’s per gallon. - Butanol is six times less “evaporative” than ethanol and 13.5 times less evaporative than gasoline, making it safer to use as an oxygenate in Arizona, California and other states, thereby eliminating the need for very special blends during the summer and winter months. - Butanol can be shipped through existing fuel pipelines where ethanol must be transported via rail, barge or truck - Butanol can be used as a replacement for gasoline gallon for gallon e.g. 100%, or any other percentage. Ethanol can only be used as an additive to gasoline up to about 85% and then only after significant modifications to the engine. Worldwide 10% ethanol blends predominate. more on butanol here and here

from WMB According to a ruling by Switzerland's highest court yesterday, people with serious mental illnesses can now join the terminally ill as those who can be considered eligible for assisted suicide in that country. The ruling states, "It must be recognized that an incurable, permanent, serious mental disorder can cause similar suffering as a physical [disorder], making life appear unbearable to the patient in the long term." Dr. Arthur Caplan, chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, asks, "Is the doctor's mission to eliminate difficult and horrendous human suffering by helping people to die?" why search for medical cures if doctors can use death to "cure?"