Saturday, May 31, 2014

Companion Plants in the Garden.
Companions in Life


Companion plants grow well together and help each other out.

Roses Love Garlic -  a good book to read about companion gardening.

The Wormhaven Gardening Book - Free PDF.

Rose gardeners often grow with garlic or another member of the garlic/onion tribe. My last big rose garden had garlic chives - very aromatic. When I bent over to pick them, the gas hit my face - woo. Garlic chives spread on their own. Garlic itself will spread out from the initial clove.

Insects do not like garlic, so the plant is expected to keep them away and to strengthen the rose plants. They may also add to the health of the roses.

A big mistake is to grow family members together, like onions and garlic in the same area. Or tomatoes and potatoes and eggplant - tobacco, woody nightshade, and deadly nightshade.

Our cousin put tobacco mulch on his tomato plants - and got a wilt on the tomatoes common to the nightshade family. When I told him this, I became the family agricultural genius.

The best known companion plants are - the shallow rooted grass plant and the despised herb called dandelion. They love, love, love each other. Dandelions invade lawns, and grass invades dandelion plots.

This should teach us something. Companion plants are opposites in every way but help each other out.

Famous, successful partnerships consist of opposite types, such as Rolls the salesman and Royce the engineer. If you want to be cool, call it a Royce, not a Rolls. Commoners call them a Rolls. When I get mine, I will call it a Royce and correct the hoi polloi who say otherwise.

As Andy Rooney explained once on TV, there are As and Bs. The As always do things one way, and the Bs the other way. He listed such items as arriving on time versus being a runner at the airport, replacing the TP or not, etc. He said something like this, "Some men are As and some are Bs. Likewise with women. But I promise you this - As always marry Bs. And Bs always marry As."

And they drive each other crazy about those differences from then on.

Corn is a good example of companion planting. Corn grows straight up and loves the sun, but corn is a hog for water and hates to have hot feet. The answer is to plant pumpkins in the corn. The pumpkin plant stays low, filling all the rows with leaves that shade the feet of the corn and help retain moisture. Pumpkins like water too and give that away with wilting leaves. If they want water, the corn needs water. Supposedly the pumpkins keep squirrels and other from eating the ripe corn.

Supposedly Abe Lincoln planted pumpkins in with the corn, helping his dad - and this trick came from the American Indians.

I also grew pole beans, which climbed the corn stalks. Mrs. Ichabod and LI loved raw beans, so there were always customers for them. We grew a lot of edible pod peas in Midland, too.

Corn is a needy plant - sun, moisture, nitrogen, and food. The secret to a good crop is providing all those things. My ultimate corn patch was planted on four feet of compost. Some boys wanted work, so I hired them to dog a large hole, four-feet deep. They were paid in cash and ice cream. I gradually filled the hole with leaves, grass, manure, and some kitchen leftovers. That was a fall project. In the spring I planted Silver Queen corn, pumpkins, and pole beans. The rows were covered with lawn cuttings and newsprint.

Like Noah, I was scorned by the neighbors - until the Big Day - when the corn became ripe. They took a sudden interest in my gardening and asked about the corn. We had plenty and shared it with everyone who asked. My favorite response came from a Dow Agriculture expert.

Corn sugar turns to starch just after picking. That is why corn on the cob is extra good when grown at home.

The ag expert came over just to see my Silver Queen patch - his favorite kind of corn - "white, soft, sweet, like mush." We had to go behind the garage. His eyes went up, up, and up - just after telling me the variety was on the short side. The ears of corn were very large. I used no pesticides and no man-made fertilizers.

I had some insects, but I also had garden spiders. When asparagus beetles threatened, I bought preying mantis egg cases and raised those scary but effective creatures.

Silver Queen corn, white, slow-growing, extra sweet.
Creation gardening is not more difficult, but easier. The cost is much lower, too. My Midland neighbors were shocked that I wanted all their grass clippings, but they were happy to eat my raspberries, corn, and eggplant. They loved eggplant and got the most beautiful examples from my garden. The wife had trouble with my enjoyment in raising them versus my dislike of eating them. She was happy to take them off my hands. "Are you sure?" Yes, I was sure.

I may make a bean/pea teepee for our grandson. The design is simple. Put a pole into the ground, about six feet tall. Surround the pole with cheap garden fencing, such as wire that plants in the lawn easily enough - but leave an entrance opening. Run strong string from the fence up to the top of the pole, making a web. Plant the pole beans or edible pod peas along the fence (abundantly). They will climb the fencing and up the string, as God intended. They will created a shaded tent where the food drops down inside.

The teepee needs flooring to keep from growing a wild area of tall grass and weeds. This can be done with grass clippings, newspaper, or an old circular rug.

http://joyfultoddlers.blogspot.com/2011/06/time-to-play-outside.html




Friday, May 30, 2014

Virtue Online - Archbishop's Secretary Sounds Like the WELS Lavender Lobby -
Banning and Threatening Those Who Disagree with Them

"Sue Ichabod for reporting on your graduation. Silence Ichabod!
Quoting Dear Leader's Pornographic Slander is...well...slander.
We can get the American Civil Liberties Union to deny his civil liberties."
Ex-Gay Anglican Blogger Says Archbishop Welby’s Gay Secretary Blocks Information to ABC
Welby’s secretary deliberately blocks anti-gay correspondence he doesn’t want Welby to see, blogger charges

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
May 30, 2014

An ex-Gay Anglican blogger in England is charging that Archbishop Justin Welby’s secretary is gay and is deliberately blocking correspondence that might help gays break free of homosexuality from the evangelical archbishop.

The blogger is Phelim McIntyre http://aflame.blog.co.uk/ who describes himself as an ex-gay who once worked in gay youth groups and support groups for those who are HIV positive before his own surprising change in orientation. He wrote in his blog post that he was forced to speak out when Archbishop Welby came out in support of an organization known as Stonewall whose anti-gay bullying resources conceal its true agenda -- pushing homosexuality contrary to church teaching and statements from General Synod.

McIntyre says that while he is opposed to bullying of all types, Stonewall’s position on homosexuality is in opposition to the traditional teaching of the Church, as well as the statements from General Synod.

“Stonewall's resources are contrary to science as it speaks of homosexuality as unchanging and fixed when research shows us that 98% of those who identify as homosexual at the age of 16 identify as heterosexual at the age of 17. Stonewall's resources run the danger of forcing a sexual identity on young people before their sexual identity is actually fixed.”

McIntrye, 42, charges that Stonewall classifies as homophobic any teaching that is not pro-gay, including deeply held religious views and views on the dangers of gay sexual practices obtained by careful study of the research, thereby stifling any discussion on the subject.

“By emphasizing the issue of homosexual feelings Stonewall gives the impression that this is worse than other types of bullying.”

McIntrye said he tried to get in touch with Archbishop Welby and warn him of the dangers of Stonewall’s real agenda, but got stonewalled by Andrew Nunn, the Archbishop's correspondence secretary. He described Stonewall as an “unrighteous gatekeeper”.

“I asked Archbishop Welby to consider alternative resources, and I provided introductory information about the Acception course (http://www.acception.info/APCirriculumPreview.pdf). I also asked whether it would be possible to meet up with him or a representative to discuss my concerns and alternative resources. 

“After a couple of months I emailed Lambeth Palace to check for a response. What I received was a curt email from Dr. Welby's correspondence secretary stating that no meeting could be arranged and that my concerns would not be considered. When I emailed to explain my concerns, from personal experience, I discovered that the gentleman who replied to me was not only openly gay but also aggressively anti-ex-gay. (VOL has since learned that the man in question is Andrew Nunn). My letter and the preview of the Acception Course had not even reached Dr. Welby or his team because his correspondence secretary had deemed it unsuitable - despite it dealing with all bullying and being closer to both the science and the position of the Church of England.”

McIntyre said that after an exchange of emails, he decided to share the conversation with a number of contacts within the Church of England. “With my permission this was passed on to someone who was on General Synod who has started asking questions about what it going on. But the response I got from my contacts was a ‘so that's why everything we have sent on this subject doesn't get to Dr. Welby’."

Organizations such as Christian Concern have asked their members to write to Dr. Welby to complain about the use of Stonewall's resources in Church schools. If my experience is anything to go by, those letters with be "filed" in the bin.

Lambeth Palace spokesman Ed Thornton said the archbishop would not comment.

---

This article appeared with VOL not bothering to contact me, despite taking my picture from Facebook they did not (unlike Church of England Newspaper and others) attempt to message me to either ask whether I had anymore correspondence with Mr Nunn or to ask whether I was willing to publish the correspondence to back up my claims. 

I have contacted Virtue On Line to complain about the tone of the article and their lack of effort to contact me having attempted to post a comment stating that - as the blogger in the article - I do not agree with the tone of the article and that they did not contact me for verification of claims, a comment that was not allowed to be posted. This comment, the full correspondence and the apology I sent to Mr Nunn concerning the VOL article and the tabloid tone it has taken is now in full on my blog.


Phelim McIntyre

Fantasy on Justification Based on Lyle Lange, WELS




Wikipedia on Limited Atonement

Comparison among Protestants[edit]

This table summarizes the classical views of three different Protestant beliefs. 1.
TopicLutheranismCalvinismArminianism
JustificationJustification of all God's people completed at Christ's death.Justification is limited to those elected to salvation, completed at Christ's death.Justification possible for all, but only completed when one chooses faith
  1.  Table drawn from, though not copied, from Lange, Lyle W. God So Loved the World: A Study of Christian Doctrine. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2006. p. 448.

Questions - Where Does This Church Come From?
The Pastor Was a Favorite Student of...?

Illumine Cycle.png
Illumine is a new church. We started in May of 2013 and officially launched public worship services on April 13th, 2014. We exist so that Christ may shine brilliantly on us, in us, and through us. To that end, we focus on worship (Christ shining on us), education (Christ shining in us), and community service (Christ shining through us.) On a given day, you might see us volunteering, gathering in a home or conference room for a class, preparing for worship, or praying together for each other and York County. 
Illumine welcomes everyone. Everyone needs a chance to refresh - that's our Sunday morning. Everyone deserves a chance to grow and be more than they were before - that's our education goal. Everyone benefits when we serve those around us - that's why we aren't working unless we're reaching out to the community. We'd like your input in this process. We'd like your help with this process. We'd like you engaged in this process. Get in touch anytime: illuminechurch@gmail.com & (803) 810-9398.

***



GJ - The symbol - Trinitarian? I think not. We have an energy saving light to represent the fight against global warming, a flame to represent process, and an old-fashioned toilet bowl chain to flush this down.

Process means, "We will keep talking until you agree." Diaprax.

My informants say this is a WELS congregation, that the pastor (or should I say facilitator) is a favorite of James Centerline Tiefel.

More Than a Lump of Humus - Fun with Compost

This was the first hardware I bought for the Springdale house - chicken wire for composting.

Free PDF - The Wormhaven Gardening Book
I keep the compost pile in the shade, as much as possible, unlike the one shown above. Compost is often layered with green materials, manure, soil, leaves. But the entire pile can be leaves, and it will also decompose.

Humus is a sponge. Any compost pile will trap moisture inside it, so the core will support plant growth if it is not too hot from new nitrogen materials - such as a lot of fresh grass or weeds added.

I added sunflower seeds to the top of the compost, so they can grow out of it. If they do well, the birds and squirrels will enjoy the feast. The roots will become part of the compost and help aerate it to some extent.

I am also planting Atlantic Giant pumpkins in the soil and in the compost. The vines will leave the compost area and attack the yard. The gourds can weigh 1,000 pounds or more. Even the smaller ones are big, ugly, and intimidating.

I have some Creation-friendly seeds coming, such as Butterfly Weed. I already planted dill and borage near the roses. Dill seeds itself forever - so does borage.

Borage is called bee bread because the bees love it so much.

I am shocked by the small size of the Park Seed envelopes. I used to buy Harris Seeds and get 8 ounces or more of each type. I will probably go back to that style - far more economical. You can never have too much compost or too many seeds.

Mrs. Ichabod is already putting in orders for vegetables for next year.



Thursday, May 29, 2014

Virtue Online - The Church of England Will Have Women Bishops



LONDON: Church of England on Brink of Letting Women Serve as Bishops
One major hurdle stands in the way to changing centuries of church practice

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
May 29, 2014

The Church of England’s governing body - General Synod - voted in February to send draft legislation allowing female bishops in its 44 dioceses. This past Friday the church voted all in favor with Manchester, the last to do so, deciding Thursday.

The Church of England has grappled for years with whether to admit women to the episcopacy. The legislation will now go back to the Synod in July for a final vote.

The issue of the ordination of women to the episcopacy has long divided the Anglican Communion with significant numbers of Anglican provinces in the Global South not ordaining women to the episcopacy let alone the priesthood. The Province of Nigeria, the largest province in the Anglican Communion with 20 million adherents does not ordain women to the priesthood. The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian denomination in the world with some 77 million adherents.

Anglican provinces in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States already have women serving as bishops. The U.S. has an avowed lesbian in its ranks.

The following attached story highlights the dangers of women being ordained to the ministry. In the 20 years women have been priests in the UK, there is no record of more conversions or any church growth. No U.S. bishop is on record as faithful to Scripture in the area of human sexuality. The former Suffragan Bishop of New York Catherine Roskam was an attendee and regular supporter of Gay Pride Parade days.

Church of England Dioceses Go For Gold!

LONE STAR PARSON
http://lonestarparson.blogspot.com
May 28, 2014

Church of England traditionalists were routed last week, with all of the shrinking denomination's dioceses voting in favor of legislation to make women bishops. The Women Bishops Measure will now go to the member-short Church's General Synod for final approval in July. Maybe, then, 2000 years of patriarchal oppression will be broken and England will experience a new dawn of faith as the people of the Sceptered Isle flock back to church to see women bishops. That's the way it's been in America.
















The next generation of women priests in the Church of England several of whom will be bishops.





















The Episcopal Church has had Jane Dixon of Washington!





























Bishop Tom Shaw with Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts



























Lesbian Bishop Mary Glasspool of Los Angeles



















The big enchilada – Katharine Jefferts Schori who famously said that personal conversion is a Western heresy.

The Episcopal Church, which bravely pioneered women bishops, is losing an average of 50,000 members a year.

Good luck, CofE.

END
"We will never bow down to a...
Oh - hi Your Holiness, Your Eminence, Your Grace."


The Ascension of Our Lord. May 29, 2014.
Holy Communion

Ascension Day - May 29, 2014



Unless you believe as a child, you will not enter the Kingdom of God. Norma Boeckler.

Ascension Day

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn #215                              Draw Us to Thee                               1:3
The Order of Holy Communion, p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 
The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #652     I Lay My Sins on Jesus          1:24

Of Righteousness, Because I Go to the Father

The Communion Hymn #308     Invited Lord                  1:63 
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #225         Come Holy Spirit Come                1:39  

KJV Psalm 47:
1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

KJV Acts 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

KJV Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Sunflower Garden Planted


My sunflower patch will not match the one above.

Freed PDF - The Wormhaven Gardening Book.

We dug a shallow trench on the sunny side of the house, which was going to host more roses. I used mushroom compost on top to amend the soil, then covered the row with wood mulch. Accuweather predicted rain, so I watered the row. No rain fell.

Mrs. Ichabod correctly observed that roses should be in the front where she could enjoy them, not hidden on the side of the house with no windows.

Dreaming - Sunflowers - Corn
Dreaming is an important part of gardening. No muscles are strained. No dollars are spent.

I decided the putative rose garden extension would make a good sunflower patch. I had just enough seed for a row along that side of the house. Most plants do not like to bake in the sun, but corn and sunflowers use sun power more effectively and unreservedly than any other plants. They convert solar energy into nutrition too.Sunflower seeds are packed with nutrition and oil.

Americans burn up corn alcohol so they can drive to the store to pick up Fritos.

That part of the yard is ideal for corn, since it is great for sunflowers. However, corn in the front yard seems
extreme. The alternative is the area near the compost pile.

Ideal Compost Production
Compost needs soil, dampness, shade, and organic material.

High nitrogen materials like green grass and rabbit manure will heat up the compost and break it down faster. That happens because the bacteria that likes the nitrogen heats up the pile of leaves, grass, soil, and manure. A pile of sod turned upside down will shrink and warm up as it composts. High nitrogen materials will grow so hot that "steam" will rise up from the pile.

Large heaps of wood and coal of will catch fire - one of the theories behind the extreme speed of the Titanic, by the way. The ship was racing to burn up coal because the Titanic had one of those common coal-bin fires. They doused that fire by sinking.

Soil helps because a soil floor or layers of soil will provide bacteria and soil creatures to decompose the organic matter. Manure (not dog or cat, because of transferring disease to humans) is good for bacteria and organic compounds. Cow manure is cool (low-nitrogen). Chicken and rabbit manures are hot (high-nitrogen).

Since you asked - my grandfather earned an agriculture degree at the University of Illinois.

Shaken, not stirred.

Decomposition is increased by aeration and by heat. Some people stir or mix their compost. There is even a compost shaker, seen above, being dedicated at Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, ELCA. LSTC may go bankrupt, but they still have their compost turning drums. Amen? Amen!

The big guys stay out of the way when the compost is heating up. The bugs and finally the earthworms arrive to feast on all the good stuff inside compost. The bugs are not pests, but the very creatures God designed to take care of garbage and manure, reducing it back to an aromatic soil-friendly amendment.

Soil is a great antibiotic. In fact, some of the antibiotics we taken for infections come from the soil itself. If the compost smells like a sack of garbage or a pile of manure (ammonia), not enough soil is layered in or on top.

Organic gardeners do not put meat in compost, because that attracts the wrong critters. Raw meat would add a lot of nitrogen. That nitrogen can come from manure - and will definitely come from the tragic deaths of thousands of earthworms as they complete their life-cycles in that earthly paradise.

Springtails are tiny helpers in reducing organic material.
Alas, they are preyed upon, and their predators are also preyed upon.

Why Is Compost Good?
Compost is loaded with live earthworms - and more importantly - their egg cases. The egg cases survive a long time. So using compost means distributing the progeny of those venal earthworms.

Since earthworms multiply in rich soil, distributing compost will enhance the lifestyles of those earthworms, who constantly improve, plow, manure, aerate, and rain-enhance the soil. A hard rain will run off baked clay soil, but soil softened and tunneled by earthworms will soak in the rain.

Earthworms are a synecdoche - a part for the whole. Gardeners judge soil by the number of earthworms because that means all their soil-buddies are hard at work as well. Some are 1/25,000th of an inch long, so they are difficult to see. Others, like the springtails, are more abundant than all the humans on earth put together, but the hexapods do their work without seeking or receiving recognition for it.

The soil is healthy when it contains a lot of humus, and compost is very rich in humus. Soil without humus is either a brick for the kiln or sand for the sandbox. Sandy soil will humus added will grow a lot. Clay will be even more productive. God planned it this way at Creation.

Humus is jelly-like, which means super-rich soil will feel jello-like when walked on. Rich soil will also stay warmer and hold moisture better.

 Corn and Spinach in the Future
I can prepare the future corn patch in the fall. I will do that by spreading out compost and mulch to kill off the turf, making it easy to turn over in the spring (I hope). It will also be rich in earthworms and humus.

I can open up the compost pile (chicken wire in a circle) and spread it out.

Another area will be reserved for fall spinach planting. The spinach plant is very hardy in cold and sad in hot weather. The answer is to start spinach in the fall, cover it with leaves when frost approaches. The leaves can be pulled away in the very early spring. When the spring rains arrive and the bugs have not yet hatched, spinach will grow up and be crunchy with moisture.






We Need More Anonymous Confessional Lutherans


We need more anonymous Confessional Lutherans - the ones who post messages and send long sanctimonious emails without using their real names.

If enough of these people lay low and offer their insights in stealth mode, everything will turn out just fine.

The people who cannot stand up for justification by faith (while deceitfully using that term) will lie down for anything.

So - Bottoms Up! Confessional Lutherans. Judgement Day is here.

Schone Shut Down Inherit the Wind and Student Blogs.
What about the WELS GLBTQA Facebook Page?

MLC's Jeff Schone models "What Not To Wear at a WELS Convention."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WELS.GLBTQA/permalink/447899308566974/


MLC Vice President of Student Life Jeffrey Schone told the New Ulm Journal that, since the school trains WELS ministers, the college’s administration had a legitimate interest in expressing “concern” about its students being associated with the play. The denomination is committed to an absolutely literal interpretation of Genesis and the creation story, so even the slightest involvement of MLC students with a play that suggests the crazy notion that evolution is real might taint the college’s brand:
Schone said MLC was concerned about making it absolutely clear to its students, WELS members and the public about its beliefs and teachings on creationism. He said he recognizes the subtext of the play, but feels it is unfairly critical of creationism and that most people would only see the criticism.
“We felt it was not compatible with what [the school] teaches the Bible says about the universe and the world,” said Schone. “This is a ministerial school. People employing our students need confidence about their views.”
Zach Stowe said that he believes in creationism, but was disappointed that MLC involved itself in a community theater production.
He said he believes open discussion about the topic is essential to proving its validity.
“The play does not just say evolution is right. It treats Christians with respect. The entire point of the play is both sides need open, free discussions,” said Stowe. “But, I don’t have any negative feelings about it. Everyone acted how their conscience directed them in this situation. I can respect it.”
And he’d darn well better respect it if he knows what’s good for him.
Interviewed during a 1996 Broadway revival of the Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence said that he and co-author Robert E Lee
“used the teaching of evolution as a parable, a metaphor for any kind of mind control … It’s not about science versus religion. It’s about the right to think.”
And now the good people of New Ulm, Minnesota, have learned a valuable lesson about the value of freedom of thought.
***
GJ - Did Jeff Schone make a deal with Zak Stowe? Some want to debate that. Schone has no trouble kicking students out of MLC for the slightest pretext. That strikes me as federal student loan fraud, putting teens into debt, then making that debt worthless by expelling them for thought-crimes. That may be why Schone withheld the avenging arm of the WELS Law.
The real question concerns the vast gulf between traditional Christianity and the goals of this inter-campus (Martin Luther College/Bethany Lutheran College) group. Wisconsin Lutheran College carries water for the MLC Left as well, so the paradox remains.
WELS and the Little Sect on the Prairie hold themselves far above the grungy tattooed ELCA rads, but the WELS/ELS have their own lobby - which also seems to be getting its way. The WELS/ELS Facebook page offers a glimpse.


Wednesday, May 28, 2014

WELS GLBTQ and Allies



Hey Greg,
How come I didn’t hear about this on Ichabod?
Found it when I went to Zak’s FB page.

Bizarre! 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WELS.GLBTQA/

There’s not much on Zak’s page – not that I saw, anyway.
But you should be able to go the WELS GLBTQ&A page as it is “open.”
Some of the last names among the members are quite interesting.

Weird! 



***

GJ - I try not to keep up with these groups. Enough comes over the transom already, without looking for it. Your email is a good example.

Nothing was done about the mattress room incident at Mequon. Nothing was done about Party in the MLC- except to reward all the participating plagiarists.

The train has left the station. Your pal Mark Schroeder makes Obama look strong and decisive.

There are not any hills left to die on - in WELS, LCMS, or the Little Sect on the Prairie. I am just writing the obituaries.


Pipe Organs and Creation



Pastor Jackson,
I really enjoyed the post about the theatre organs. I visited theatreorgans.com where they had a very good explanation of the venerable Hammond B3 organ. When reading about how the draw bars created the many different sounds - flute, oboe, clarinet, etc., it was expressed in terms of the shape of the waveform. Since I know so little about musical instruments, I had always assumed that most instruments produced something close to pure sine waves.

The wind instruments actually generate square waves, triangular waves, sawtooth or any number of other types or possibly, some combinations. The explanation of the tone wheels, draw bars and the generation of odd harmonics struck a chord with me (pardon the bad pun). In engineering parlance, that is called Fourier Analysis. The idea is that any waveform that is not a pure sine wave can be expressed mathematically in terms of a progression of sine waves and their multiples, or harmonics.

I often marvel at this allegedly old technology and the craftsmanship involved in making it. I understand that a harpsichord is more like a guitar where strings are plucked rather than an acoustic piano where the strings are hit with hammers. Yet the sound of the harpsichord is so unique.

I do not often engage in complicated arguments with atheists,  agnostics, and evolutionists. The wonders of creation are so numerous that they cannot be counted. When you post on Ichabod what the soil creatures do to make the soil rich, I cannot help but be awed by this process.

Another part of the creation are the laws of physical science. I have spent my entire working life dealing with this in some way or another. Yet, many do not see our Creator's hand in the numerous physics and engineering books that can only express that which was created in such an orderly and consistent manner.

In Christ,
Randall Schultz

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In music we try to reproduce the singing of birds - the Goldfinch Concerto for flute is wonderful to hear, over and over.

In architecture we try to copy the grand design of the Creator.

The cooperation of all the elements of nature is an on-going spectacle. Planting 16 roses and covering the ground with mulch seems to have drawn more songbirds to the yard.

The mulch itself is Hungarian goulash for birds. Anything can be moving under the fragments of wood and paper. I was amused to find one patch of newsprint obviously torn up by a beak. Moisture plus rotting organic matter means that something alive will be just under that layer, or just under one fragment of it.

Starlings are known for strolling along the ground and spotting a creature to eat. They also devour weed seeds. Grackles seem to dig deeper for grubs. When I find a fat, white grub while digging, I put it on a stump to be seen and eaten.

A bird-friendly yard attracts an appreciative crowd that coos and twitters when I come out to feed them or work on the plants.

Humans try to keep treasure to themselves, although they do talk loudly about good eating places. Birds tweet to their flocks that they found something. The more food, the louder the chatter, the more that arrive. The social birds - like sparrows, starlings, and doves - will gather in noisy flocks. They do not eat everything, but leave some for others.

This cat found some pollen.