Mile High Rev

REVelation - New Focus on Peanut Allergies

Most of you have heard the tragic story of the Canadian teenager with a severe peanut allergy who kissed her boyfriend – who had ingested peanut butter earlier - and died due to an allergic reaction.  What a shock.  And hopefully, a wake-up call for many who don’t seem to take such things seriously.  Some of our friends have a young son with a peanut allergy and I’ve been trained (along with several others) in administering an epi-pen.  It’s a sobering reality and should be taken seriously.  ABC News: New Focus on Peanut Allergies

REVealing - Scientists to check Nepal Buddha boy

Reports coming out of Nepal tell the story of a teenaged boy who has supposedly been meditating for six months without food or water, and plans to do so for SIX MORE YEARS! There are many excited people who are referring to him as the “Buddha-reincarnate.” My prediction = scientists will discover that he hasn’t been without food or water for six months, and he’ll die long before he makes it through six years of it, if he’s even existed without anything for six months.  One more thing…he’s been bitten by snakes twice.  If he was “Buddha re-incarnate,” seems as though he’d have figured out how to avoid snakes in a previous life.  Scientists to check Nepal Buddha boy

REVolting - The Loss of Civility in America

Ravi Zacharias was the first one to get me thinking about this a few years ago in a talk he gave.  Now, George Will addresses the same subject. (Hat tip – www.worldmagblog.com)  Manners no longer seem to matter.  Rudeness rules.  People seem to disregard the fact that they are in the presence of other people.  Buffalo News - Manners matter in civil-ization

During the past couple of weeks, Jan and I were at a restaurant on a Friday night at around 8:00 pm for our “date night.”  The restaurant isn’t geared to children and wasn’t fast food.  It was a fine dining option and normally has a very relaxed and intimate ambiance.  Not that night.  As we were seated we noticed the table adjacent to ours.  You couldn’t help but notice because two preschoolers were screaming and tossing food, while their mothers carried on a conversation.  Oblivious.  Until they decided it might be fun to engage with the kids and encourage even more rowdiness.  One of the kids was hiding his head under the tablecloth, and the other was screaming (screeching is probably a better description), eliciting laughter from the other three participants, and then “doing it again.” And again…and again.  Through the whole meal.  The couple at the booth behind us was putting their fingers in their ears to try to shut out the noise.  You couldn’t concentrate on what was happening at your own table, because those four had decided that it was going to be all about them.  And it was.  They left as we were waiting for our check, and as they did I glanced over at the floor around their table and it was littered with food, crayons, and other substances I didn’t recognize.  The mothers made no effort to clean up the mess made by their children. They simply continued their chatter and left the place in disarray.  They left us and the other diners in disarray as well.  They provided a great example of what George Will addresses in the linked article above.  Sad thing is there seems to be absolutely nothing that can be done about it.

REVelation - It’s All about O

Chuck Colson bravely addresses one of my growing concerns in a recent “Breakpoint” article: The Gospel According to Oprah.  I’ve been saying for some time that I believe Oprah is a spiritual guru for more people than anyone imagines.  And her message is all about being positive, finding your “best life” (ala Joel Osteen) and the concept that people deserve to be happy.  While I’m not on a personal vendetta to get Oprah, I suggest that her viewers listen closely to see how far she’s wandered from her “gospel roots.”  I know she does a lot of good.  I know she’s a victim of early childhood abuse.  I know she’s very popular with many Christians…women, in particular.  I also know that she was raised in a church where she heard the good news about Jesus.  But, I fear that she’s drifted from those early tenets of faith in Jesus into a foggy swamp of relativism, eastern mysticism, and narcissism.  A dangerous brew.  BreakPoint | It’s All about O

 

REVolting - Bomber Bloodies U.S. Toy Giveaway

Any religious system that supports OR is silent about such an attack by some of it’s adherents (extremest though they may be) is tragically deluded and impotent.  U.S. Soldiers were handing out toys to children at a Baghdad hospital, and a suicide bomber steered a car packed with explosives right into the crowd.  Of the 53 dead, most were women and children.  Where is the Muslim outrage over such carnage?  Bomber Bloodies U.S. Toy Giveaway  The grieving woman pictured lost a relative in the bombing.  I can’t escape the agony of this photo.  The silence of the world’s Muslims is deafening.

REVelation - Magician Penn (Of Penn & Teller) says There is No God

On the linked NPR site, you’ll find an essay by Penn Jillette (one half of the Penn & Teller comedy/magic team).  Among his personal insights, I found something missing.  It’s really something he needs to know.  I felt compassion as I read his well-written piece.  What he needs to know is that God has addressed his view in the Bible.  Psalm 14:1 – “The fool says in his heart, There is no God.”  It’s sad to see such a bright and talented man place himself in the category of a “fool.”  NPR : There Is No God

REVolting II - Nary a "Merry" Prompts Boycott

This Rocky Mountain News article from yesterday’s issue is making Target look really bad.  No “Merry Christmas.”  And no Salvation Army bell-ringers, either.  Think Target has an agenda?  Seems so.  Easy enough to choose to shop elsewhere.  (As indicated in previous post.)  And, by the way, I agree with the comment below about making sure we keep our Christian testimony if we do happen to shop in any of these “Christmas-free-zone” stores. I’ve actually been having fun responding to “Happy Holidays” this year with “which ones?”  I do it with a smile and hope for some meaningful engagement.  Rocky Mountain News

REVolting - Bye-Bye Merry Christmas

Target, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Sears/KMart, Costco, and Kohls all have a common commitment to political correctness regarding "Christmas" this year.  What does that mean?  It means the salespeople will not be using "Merry Christmas," as a greeting to shoppers in 2005.  On purpose.  So...I will not be shopping for Christmas gifts at any of the above-mentioned stores.  On purpose.

64% of Bostonians believe that political correctness is being carried too far when the city recently renamed their traditional "Christmas Tree" a "Holiday Tree."  The Mayor said he's going to call it a "Christmas Tree," no matter what. 

The "eradication of Christmas"-madness is apparently going to continue this year.

REVved - Preaching the Gospel in China

71 year old Luis Palau preached to overflow crowds in conjunction with President’s Bush’s recent visit to China.  This is “good news” about the “good news.”  Palau Preaches to Overflow Crowd in China Church 

REView - "Walk the Line"

“Walk the Line” tells the story of the first half of Johnny Cash’s life.  It’s a journey through drug dependency, marital infidelity, and heavy drinking.  Cash experienced early life trauma from an emotionally abusive father and over the loss of his older brother when Cash was only 12.  The way the story unfolds, it seems to make sense.  He never processed the pain.  Self-medication was predictable.  But, this passionate story of love for music and a woman leads to redemption.  Literally.  When Cash sings in the live concert at Folsom Prison in 1968, his life makes a dramatic turn – June Carter Cash is his new wife (they were married for 35 years until their deaths four months apart in 2003), and his Folsom live album out-sells even the Beatles.  What started out as a tragedy turns to triumph.  Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon give Oscar-worthy performances as Johnny and June.  They both sing in their own voices – no lip-synching.  Rated PG-13 for language, drug use, and some non-graphic intimacy, it’s not a film for little kids.  But teens and adults will benefit from this revelation regarding one of our generation’s country music icons.  Here’s another review at Christianity Today - Walk the Line - Christianity Today Movies