Today's verse

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1 (KJV)

Today's verse

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

Amos 8:11-12 (KJV)

Today's verse

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (KJV)

Today's verse

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:27-28 (KJV)

The not-so-noble lie

I recently came across this quote by Theodore Dalrymple:

In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is...in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.

Watching the recent media coverage of the Orlando massacre I kept thinking about Dalrymple's observation. The killer, Omar Mateen, was a registered Democrat and also was a Muslim. In fact Mateen had pledged allegiance to ISIS before he was killed, yet the media has decided that Christians and the NRA were somehow the real culprits.

The princes of this world are consistent: they will tell any lie so they can stay in power. Will you play along and pretend the evil of the media does not concern you?

Today's verse

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:24 (KJV)

Today's verse

But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

Psalm 4:3 (KJV)

Today's verse

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

Psalm 41:1 (KJV)

Today's verse

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:24 (KJV)

Reading list

The Irrationals: A Story of the Numbers You Can't Count On, by Julian Havil.

Today's verse

Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments.

Psalm 119:108 (KJV)

Today's verse

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (KJV)

Gettin' us a ejumakashen

Wayne State wants to drop its mathematics requirement. In its place will be a course on "diversity".

Key quote:

“We are proposing the creation of specific ‘Diversity’ courses, with students required to take one course in this designation,” said a document from the General Education Reform Committee, which is recalibrating what the university will expect from all students who earn a degree from the state university. It released the proposal in May.

The committee report said, “These courses will provide opportunities for students to explore diversity at the domestic level and consider the ways in which it intersects with real world challenges at the local, national and/or global level.”

We live in an era when Jim Crow has made an ugly comeback in the form of campus "safe spaces", so it is not surprising that mathematics is now on the chopping block. Math is hard - especially since it does not bend to the left-wing ideology that now controls many colleges and universities.

One wonders how much longer parents and taxpayers will put up with this educational malpractice.

Reading list

Search the Sky, by C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl.

Today's verse

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 (KJV)

Today's verse

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Proverbs 14:34 (KJV)

Today's verse

And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (KJV)

Today's verse

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 Peter 2:1 (KJV)

Reading list

The Sword of Antietam, by Joseph A. Altsheler

Today's verse

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV)

Today's verse

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41 (KJV)

Today's verse

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Matthew 7:15-17 (KJV)

Reading list

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Today's verse

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 51:17 (KJV)

Today's verse

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

Psalm 146:3 (KJV)

Today's verse

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:1-2 (KJV)

Reading list

Valley of Wild Horses, by Zane Grey.

Today's verse

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (KJV)

Reading list

The Colony, by John Davis.

Today's verse

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 (KJV)

Today's verse

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

Proverbs 25:25 (KJV)

Today's verse

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

Psalm 22:14 (KJV)

Update on Asia Bibi

600,000 sign a petition calling for the release of Asia Bibi.

Read Asia Bibi's own words.

For those who do not know who she is, here is the story about Asia Bibi's unjust imprisonment and death sentence for "blasphemy" against the Prophet Muhammad.

Please pray for Asia Bibi and her family. Also, please pray for those who are risking their lives to free her.

Reading list

Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne.

Today's verse

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)

When experts fail

Arnold Kling has a good essay on the failure of expert opinion in the realm of public policy.

Key quote:

Expertise becomes problematic when it is linked to power. First, it creates a problem for democratic governance. The elected officials who are accountable to voters lack the competence to make well-informed decisions. And, the experts to whom legislators cede authority are unelected. The citizens who are affected by the decisions of these experts have no input into their selection, evaluation, or removal.

A second problem with linking expertise to power is that it diminishes the diversity and competitive pressure faced by the experts.

I would add another problem to the list: experts often disagree among themselves about the basic nature of a problem, the facts about the problem, and the possible solutions. The notion there is one single "expert" opinion about any given issue is usually false. This problem becomes especially acute when the issue is scientific in nature.

Disagreement among scientific experts is not the problem. The problem is when a biased, scientifically illiterate media picks one side as the One Sacred Truth and ignores (or even demonizes) all other competing opinions.

If you ever read a newspaper story or watch a news report that uses phrases like "scientific consensus" or "a majority of scientists believe ..." it is safe to assume the reporter is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Consensus is not science. Scientific theories are not voted on, they gain or lose credibility by the weight of evidence - something many journalists do not seem to understand or prefer to ignore.

Reading list

Titans, by Edward W. Robertson.

Today's verse

O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

Psalm 30:2 (KJV)