Quote of the Day: A Simple Homogenous Globule"

"The cell is a simple homogenous globule of plasm" - T. H. Huxley - "Darwin's Bull Dog".

Back in the days when Darwin was hypothesizing that maybe, just maybe, all of the wonders of creation could be explained by purely natural processes (which still would not kick God out, because Christians have always affirmed that God is the Author of all things, including natural processes), the origin of life was not considered particularly worrisome. After all, people of that unsophisticated era believed that life was so simple that it could just spontaneously generate from non-life. Not a biggy.

Except that the entire materialistic darwinian house of cards depends on it. In the materialistic world view, there is simply no room for a divine foot in the door. Mind. Closed.

Fast-forward 150 years. We now know that even the simplest life form is characterized by a world of complexity -- and there is no viable naturalistic explanation for the origin of life on the table. So what we currently have is a house of cards with no table underneath it. But, give us time, brother, give us time. Keep the materialistic faith.

Committed atheists are stuck with believing, against the evidence on the table, that purely natural processes explain everything -- unlike Christians, who can afford to be open-minded, and genuinely inquisitive about natural causes, because Christians attribute natural processes to God. (Indeed, it was this conviction that God, a rational being, was the cause of natural processes that propelled the growth of science in predominantly Christian Europe.) So, whether life emerged from purely natural processes (as some Christians assert), or whether life was the result of explicit divine activity (as I believe), the Christian can afford to be generously open-minded about the question of origins of life and species. The atheist fundamentalist, on the other hand, must be narrowly, dogmatically and harshly closed to a predetermined conclusion.

The cell a "simple homogenous globule of plasm"?

Not true, but even if it were, even Jello has a creator.

*+*

Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer -- check this video out at

http://tinyurl.com/lm6q83

And that's the way the designer Ball bounces.

A Cancelled Past or a Cancelled Future

There are basically two world-views that compete for the western mind's allegiance -- theism and atheism. One says that reality is bigger than what we see; the other says it is smaller -- externally, the evidence of design around us is illusionary; internally, the aspirations of the human heart for significance, meaning, and life beyond death, all false and pointless. One stresses the supremacy of human-initiated and controlled inquiry for apprehending reality; the other confesses that, apart from revelation, our knowledge and experience of reality is stunted.

Both claim to be liberating -- one a liberation from God, the other a liberation by and in God. For Christians in particular, there is the liberation of having our sins (of which we confess we are guilty and justly deserving of God's wrath and condemnation) graciously removed by Christ. A cancelled past -- that's good news! It gives us a future hope! But, only for those willing to admit they fall short of perfect righteousness.


Which brings me to this thought:


"The believer has a cancelled past; the unbeliever has a cancelled future."


A cancelled past is better.


Because I've got a cancelled past, I've got a future -- how about you?



And that's the way the forward-looking Ball bounces.

Join us for the Second Annual “Muslims of Tomorrow” Conference

Every year or so I learn about something happening in Canada where my first reaction is one of disbelief, as in "this can't really be happening". Like the first time I saw an ad for the CBC's Little Mosque on the Prairies. Thought it was a joke or a hacker attack on the CBC's website. It wasn't. It was the CBC's way of countering the real threat of ongoing Islamic terrorism with fictional leftist feel-good stereotypes.

Tonite, another one.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police - the RCMP - are hosting a “Muslims of Tomorrow” conference. Free registration and even a free lunch. At taxpayer's expense.

Try substituting any other religious group and see how it sounds. Can you imagine the police, an armed agency of the state, hosting a Catholics of Tomorrow Conference? Jews of Tomorrow Conference? Mennonites of Tomorrow Conference?

Why focus on Muslims?

Oh.

Yeah.

You might think it's because some wacky young Muslims recently tried to implement a plan that included hacking off our Prime Minister's head and the RCMP want to lay down the law.

And you would be wrong.

It's because some Muslims feel that as a result of some er, recent unfortunate events, they're been getting a bad rap in the Canadian media.

Have we gone bonkers?

There was a time when the role of law enforcement was to uphold the law.

Looks like, when it comes to dealing with the integration (or, better, non-integration) of Muslims into society, Canadian law enforcement is going the way of the UK.

And that's not good.

And that's the way the definitely-not-halal-Ball bounces.

Blitzburgh!

Pittsburgh wins the Cup!

Got Anything To Declare?

I've crossed the border between Canada and the US dozens of times; crossed a lot of international borders over the years; been asked lots of questions. Even had our dog food confiscated by US Homeland Security once (It wasn't halal or something).

Which brings us to the latest news.

Two Japanese citizens were detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion in U.S. bonds over the border into Switzerland.

Italian police apparently found the bond certificates concealed in the bottom of their luggage.

Anything to declare? "Nope".

The fine for saying nope could be 40 percent of the total. Let's see. 10% of 134 is 13.4. 13.4 * 4 is 53 and change. That's a possible 53.6 billion dollars.

Ouch!

53.6 billion buys a lot of dog food.

And that's the way the have-you-got-anything-to-declare? Ball bounces.

5DWE: Can We Do It? Zimbawecan!

I was in the middle of teaching a software engineering seminar Tuesday when it hit me -- I've got the rest of the week off -- this means... the FIVE DAY WEEKEND HAS ARRIVED!!!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Obama has done it. The oceans are receding, my hairline's -- what's the opposite of receding? -- and the five-day-weekend has arrived!

It's like you have Monday followed by Friday! How great is that?!

So, you have Monday, then Friday, followed by the five-day weekend: Yesweday, Wecanday, Obamaday, Saturday, and then Sunday!


All we have to do is print money -- and we know that works: think Zimbabwe.

Can we do it?

Zimbawecan!

Fresh Air Fund -- A note from Sara

Hi Richard,

I thought you would be interested in helping out The Fresh Air Fund by posting a mention of this exciting news on The Way The Ball Bounces. The Fresh Air Fund received a tremendous offer by some very generous donors. Any gift given from now until June 30th will be matched dollar-for-dollar. We are so excited and thought you could help by posting a mention, tweet, or by putting up one of our new banners on your site. I've set up this news release which explains everything, so please feel free to use any of the images, logos, videos, banners, buttons, etc:

http://freshairfund-newsrelease.com

We are also still in need of hosts for this summer. Host families open their hearts and home to a child to give a fresh air experience that these children never forget. Please let me know if you are able to post and if you could send me the link that would be fantastic.

Thank you so much,

Sara

--
Sara Wilson,
The Fresh Air Fund
www.freshair.org

The Five-Day Weekend: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Overheard in a Phoenix restaurant: "I need to start taking a five-day weekend."

Once unthinkable, a five day weekend is now eminently possible now that Obama is in the White House, the oceans have started receding, the earth has begun to cool, and even the birds have resumed their chirping. Yes, chirp, we, chirp, can!

How would it work? Thursday through Monday? Friday through Tuesday? The person I overheard suggested Wednesday through Sunday.

If this is what it takes to stimulate the country and get America back on track, I'm willing to try it.

I may need to stay home from work just to think about it.

And that's the way the Eight-Days-A-Week Ball bounces.