tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97951852011-07-26T03:37:37.644-05:00Ruah is the Hebrew word for breath or spirit, or it can mean the Holy Spirit. This is where I will write as the spirit--or the Spirit--moves me.Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.comBlogger811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1121634511109292872005-07-17T16:06:00.000-05:002005-07-17T16:08:31.113-05:00

I am now blogging on a new site, http://ruah.dlbwebdev.com.

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1121453103656816812005-07-15T13:30:00.000-05:002005-07-15T13:45:03.666-05:00

This article is via Wesley Smith at Secondhand Smoke. Louisiana's governor has just signed a new bill that prevents the spouse of a disabled person from making a decision to end life support if said spouse is currently cohabiting with someone else or has a history of conviction for violent crimes. Had such a law been in place in Florida, Michael Schiavo, who was living with another woman and

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1121452210723840852005-07-15T13:05:00.000-05:002005-07-15T13:30:10.730-05:00

I've been working on some changes to ruah including a move. Therefore, I haven't been doing any actual blogging lately, but this business about Valerie Plame and Karl Rove is such nonsense, I had to chime in.Valerie Plame was working under "nonofficial cover" (NOC) status, although she had not really been doing any undercover work for years. After her last overseas assignment, she had returned

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1120159331407816712005-06-30T13:01:00.000-05:002005-06-30T18:23:39.106-05:00

I rarely, if ever, agree with my sister or my husband on things political, being the uber conservative that I am, but for once we all agree on something. We all think that this recent 5-4 Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to use eminent domain to seize property for private development stinks.Thought I'd do some checking on what the polls, unscientific though they are, are saying. Here's a

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1119903022059745712005-06-27T14:42:00.000-05:002005-06-27T15:10:22.070-05:00

I hadn't intended that this blog would be on nothing but stem cell research, but every day I keep hearing about how the U. S. is going to fall behind the rest of the world in stem cell research because the President won't let scientists clone embryos or use IVF embryos. I've gone over that ad infinitum elsewhere on this site and won't repeat myself here.Today, I came across another piece of good

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1119662335070963292005-06-24T20:02:00.000-05:002005-06-24T20:18:55.076-05:00

St. Louis made the national news today. A fire and series of explosions occurred in a South City company, Praxair, that processes gasses for industry. It touched off blazes nearby, shook buildings, and sent fiery shrapnel hundreds of yards away. Although the property damage is probably going to be pretty significant, so far there have been no injuries!There are two situations to be a little

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1119641786196543322005-06-24T14:25:00.000-05:002005-06-24T14:36:26.203-05:00

James Thomson, the man who discovered human embryonic stem cells, is a developmental biologist and veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Thomson does advocate loosening of President Bush's limits on federal funding for ESCR; however, he certainly does not believe in lying about what ESCR is, what it might eventually be capable of, and the state of the science today. If you think that I

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1119491164056511352005-06-22T20:30:00.000-05:002005-06-22T20:46:04.063-05:00

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. A husband and wife team from South Dakota, Karen and Bob Tosterud, have come up with a scented candle that is supposed to smell like Jesus! My first reaction when I heard this was pretty negative, but wthen I read what they said about it, I started to change my mind a little bit. The inspiration of His Essence comes from the Holy Bible. Psalm 45:8 tells us

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1119407009690921072005-06-21T21:13:00.000-05:002005-06-21T21:23:29.706-05:00

I know I haven't been blogging a lot lately. The weather outside has been beautiful, and my mind has just not been on it, especially since we've been making some landscaping changes to our backyard. I'm enjoying getting out and digging in the dirt. Must be some holdover from when I was a child doing the mud pie thing.Anyway, we've decided to plant Missouri native wildflowers on our new berm,

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1119301236056231712005-06-20T15:36:00.000-05:002005-06-21T11:25:14.493-05:00

This week's question was:With all things being equal, are schools today producing better, worse, or graduates of about the same quality as they did the day you graduated high school?Please be sure to explain your answer AND let us know when you graduated from high school to give us a frame of reference.Unfortunately, this is going to date me, but I graduated in 1966. I definitely think that

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1118416432109386312005-06-10T10:03:00.000-05:002005-06-10T10:13:52.126-05:00

Apparently, more people are starting to support government funding of embryonic stem cell research. I am sure that many of those people would be against it if the news media would print the truth instead of myths, so I thought I would try to do a little myth-busting. 1. <!--[endif]-->President Bush will not allow stem cell research. <!--[if !supportLists]-->a. <!--[

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1117292300179105902005-05-28T09:40:00.000-05:002005-05-28T09:58:20.933-05:00

I came across this letter to the editor in the Houston Chronicle. President Bush and those who object so vocally to stem cell research on moral grounds evidently have very short memories. About 27 years ago, there was a great outcry against in vitro fertilization as being "against the will of God."Some of those resulting children were used this week to justify not using embryonic stem cells for

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1117211617170111662005-05-27T10:37:00.000-05:002005-07-14T19:59:08.010-05:00

I though we had scientific evidence that the Koran-flushing incident could not have occurred. So we here at the Silent Running Center for Scientific Journalistic Research decided to put this story to an empircal test to prove once and for all if there is any possible truth to it.Now obviously we were not going to use an actual copy of the Quran for this test. For one thing, most of those things

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1117072679850963492005-05-25T20:30:00.000-05:002005-05-25T21:10:01.456-05:00

It's a sad day when even congresspersons who claim to be pro life will vote for a bill to fund embryonic stem cell research with the tax dollars of people who strongly oppose it. It is clear to me (but has obviously escaped their notice) that embryonic stem cell research is being pushed by the pro abortion forces, who can never allow it to be known that human life begins at conception and that

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1117068646321497052005-05-25T19:41:00.000-05:002005-05-25T20:10:18.670-05:00

This week's question from Major Dad was: What do you think about "The Sun" publishing the pictures of Saddam? While I haven't seen all the pictures, the one everyone seems to be talking about is the one of the former dictator in his "tighty whities."Will this event further fan the flames of Islamic hatred for the West and the occupiers of the Coalition? Or will this blow over?I thought that

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1116522227516428522005-05-19T11:48:00.000-05:002005-05-19T12:03:47.526-05:00

All this concern over the Newsweek article and how much responsibility that report bears for the subsequent riots seems to ignore the fact that this so-called "peaceful" religion, Islam, is clearly marked by almost constant violence. Some can see the humor in it, though, as illustrated by this bit of satire from Iowahawk. Although I am a Missouri Synod Lutheran, and this is about the Scandinavian

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1116201226053250392005-05-15T18:38:00.000-05:002005-05-15T18:53:46.056-05:00

This week's question comes from Major Dad and is: I'd like to ask you all if Mr. John Bolton, President Bush's nominee to fill the ambassadorship at the United Nations, nomination should be squashed simply because he's not a very "nice" guy and sometimes hard to work with?If you ask me (and you did), the folks on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are not a very "nice" bunch of people. They

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115928163253241672005-05-12T14:25:00.000-05:002005-05-12T15:02:43.326-05:00

You know, I'm an animal lover, and I hate to see any animal abused for any reason. I also believe that God allows us to use animals for good purposes. Sometimes that purpose is for companion animals. Sometimes it is for food. Sometimes it is for research. When we use animals for food or for research, I believe that we should treat them as kindly as possible. I don't see anything wrong with using

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115665452948526172005-05-09T13:43:00.000-05:002005-05-09T14:07:33.213-05:00

The MSM, as usual, gets it wrong about the Minority Report at the Kansas Hearings. This just in from Angus Menuge, Ph.D., DCA, Author of Agents Under Fire (Rowman and Littlefield, 2004), Professor of Philosophy, Associate Director of The Cranach Institute, Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, WI. He has been testifying at the hearings: The minority report was prepared to make some very minor

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115398500432971162005-05-06T11:44:00.000-05:002005-05-06T12:51:25.926-05:00

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115228351072410922005-05-04T12:13:00.000-05:002005-05-04T12:39:11.173-05:00

Back in 2001, researchers applied a protein extract from a newt--an animal that can regenerate its tail if it gets lopped off--to mouse muscle cells. The mouse muscle cells "dedifferentiated" into stem cells within 48 hours. No one had expected that somatic cells could be regressed to stem cells.The experiment results have been reproduced and have started a whole new field of stem cell research.

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115176390372153412005-05-03T21:53:00.000-05:002005-05-03T22:13:10.440-05:00

British researchers at the Centre for Sight, Queen Victoria Hospital, in East Grinstead, West Sussex have discovered that adult stem cells can be grown in the laboratory into sheets and transplanted onto damaged corneas to restore sight. The really interesting thing that they found, though, is that the stem cells seem to encourage the patient's own cells to repair the damaged tissue, because

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115059389793284462005-05-02T13:29:00.000-05:002005-05-02T13:43:09.796-05:00

A young gentleman from Britain, Chris, tells me that I have inspired him to start his own blog. What a compliment! He has a wide variety of interests, graphic design being one of them, and has a nice sense of style as you will see if you visit his blog,The Insight. He doesn't have a lot out there yet, but then he is in his last year of high school and rather busy at the moment, I expect, with

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1115049436844287872005-05-02T10:43:00.000-05:002005-05-02T12:55:02.063-05:00

On Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner and lecture by Wesley J. Smith. Missouri State Representative Jim Lembke (R-District 85) also was present and spoke a little bit about the bill to ban human cloning in Missouri that he has introduced in each of his three years as a Representative.The food was great, the company was enjoyable, but the messages were somewhat depressing.

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1114715587053074922005-04-28T14:04:00.000-05:002005-04-28T14:39:15.820-05:00

On Tuesday night, the State of Missouri carried out the execution of convicted murderer, Donald Jones. Mr. Jones’ crime was the stabbing and bludgeoning death of his grandmother while he was high on crack cocaine. He then took her automobile and traded it for more crack.Today, as I listened to the radio on my way to work, the drive time personalities were discussing this execution with listeners.

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1114439888499102142005-04-25T09:28:00.000-05:002005-04-25T09:38:08.500-05:00

If you live in the St. Louis Metro area or plan to be in the area on the third Saturday or Sunday of any month, the EarthWays Home is a great place to visit. It is a three-story Victorian home built in 1885 that has been renovated to demonstrate energy efficient systems and waste reduction and recycling practices. Regardless of your world view, if you have an interest in conservation, this is a

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1114396827093218952005-04-24T21:13:00.000-05:002005-04-24T21:40:27.096-05:00

Friday was Earth Day, something I never celebrate and, in fact, would have forgotten about except for the constant reminders by the MSM. Then I found an interesting comment about the whole phenomenon of environmentalism and its unlikely proponents by Greg Koukl at Stand to Reason. He talks a lot about world views and the fact that a world view is a package of beliefs and values. In this

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1114192524419039612005-04-22T12:50:00.000-05:002005-04-22T12:55:24.420-05:00

Derek at Weapon of Mass Distraction found this fun little survey. See how you do. Here's mine:Your Linguistic Profile:85% General American English5% Dixie5% Midwestern5% Yankee0% Upper MidwesternWhat Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1114184461795591352005-04-22T10:19:00.000-05:002005-04-22T10:41:01.796-05:00

If you are in the St. Louis Metro area and have an interest in bioethics, Wesley J. Smith will be speaking at a dinner on April 30, 2005. Wesley Smith is an award winning author and attorney, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington, an attorney and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and a special consultant to the Center for

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1113857640945645362005-04-18T15:17:00.000-05:002005-04-18T15:54:00.946-05:00

For some time, one objection to legalizing gay marriage has been that it would open the door to all sorts of other unions. The gay marriage lobby tries to claim that this is just scare tactics by opponents of gay marriage, but it is happening right now. Polygamists are characterizing polygamy as an "alternative lifestyle choice", just as gay people have done.An article in the National Review by

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1113530457400585232005-04-14T20:56:00.000-05:002005-04-14T21:00:57.400-05:00

Move over Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa...there's a new guy in town. (Hat tip to my husband who got it by way of Metafilter.)

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1113510766972324562005-04-14T15:23:00.000-05:002005-04-14T20:51:35.713-05:00

Despite having been born, baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and having reached the age of well...fifty something, I often feel like I am still a toddler, or even just an infant, in my faith. I seem always to be learning new things or seeing things from a new perspective.We are studying Genesis in Bible class. We've been studying it for months so we are all the way up to

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1112984127134968992005-04-08T12:22:00.000-05:002005-04-08T13:15:27.136-05:00

Karin says:It's a slippery slope. But the hypocratic oath states "first do no harm" and how is refusing care not contradicting this? But I've never heard that birth control pills prevent implantation; I thought the prevented ovulation by simulating pregnancy. I will take the second part first. Birth control pills sometimes work by preventing conception and sometimes by thinning the endometrial

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1112842136263979542005-04-06T21:06:00.000-05:002005-04-06T21:48:56.266-05:00

After Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop, intimated that Jesus was gay, he found himself backpedaling today after the backlash.Whether he meant to imply that or not, he is defending himself by saying that he merely meant to demonstrate that the concept of the nuclear family is new and did not originate with Jesus, and that Jesus clearly led an untraditional lifestyle.Huh?Well, I guess

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1112664928173496472005-04-04T19:54:00.000-05:002005-04-04T20:49:56.020-05:00

In increasing numbers, medical professionals are refusing to provide treatment that violates their personal morals or religious beliefs.Since Roe v Wade, 43 states have enacted conscience clause laws that allow a physician to refuse to perform abortions. Now, 11 of those states are considering expanding the laws. According to an article on AMedNews,New proposals, however, expand this list to

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1112499342520951622005-04-02T21:03:00.000-06:002005-04-02T21:36:33.893-06:00

When I was a youngster, my parents used to talk about various events, laws, and judicial rulings in terms of the "slippery slope". I don't recall that they used that exact terminology, but they felt that certain events would lead to other events until the unthinkable future became the present. It's amazing how many of those things that they worried about have come to pass.Today, there are those

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1112301951573978142005-03-31T14:37:00.000-06:002005-03-31T14:45:51.576-06:00

Now comes this story from Prattville, AL. A Prattville woman Tuesday was charged with planting nude images of her child in her ex-husband's home, just one day after police accused her of conspiring to kill the man over a custody dispute, law enforcement officials said.Shannon Marie Lorenzo, 32, is accused of breaking into her ex-husband's home and taking a picture of her 2-year-old child naked

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1112229372728949342005-03-30T18:17:00.000-06:002005-03-30T18:36:12.730-06:00

Don't you just love politcal correctness? The National Collegiate Athletic Association has a list of 31 schools that have mascots or nicknames that they consider controversial. They have asked these schools to do a "self-assessment" and submit a report to the NCAA by May 1. One of those schools is the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Their mascot is the red-tailed hawk and their nickname

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1111982517499343132005-03-27T22:00:00.000-06:002005-03-27T22:01:57.500-06:00

I promised to write about our cruise. Well, here it is.

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1111808044016752502005-03-25T21:26:00.000-06:002005-03-25T21:34:04.016-06:00

Not that it would save Terri, but I was just wondering. If even half the things I've heard about Michael Schiavo are true, and if there is evidence to back it up--like the nurse's affidavit and the bone scan that supposedly showed all the broken bones--perhaps the Schindlers could file a wrongful death lawsuit against him. Terri will soon be home with the Father. I expect that Michael Schiavo

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1111183294086026722005-03-18T15:56:00.000-06:002005-03-18T16:14:14.493-06:00

We are on our way. After a wild week of moving the office and meetings and packing, we got on the road on Tuesday. We arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday and spent the night, hoping to do a little sightseeing on Thursday before embarking for the cruise. It was not an auspicious start. The weather was cloudy and unseasonably cold for New Orleans, in the mid 40s. We ended up spending the

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1110511755294819392005-03-10T21:19:00.000-06:002005-03-10T21:29:15.296-06:00

This has been the longest I have gone without writing something here since I started, I think. I can't believe all that has been going on. My husband and I are due to go on a cruise in just a few days. Two weeks ago, one person in my office got sick. A week later, two more got sick. This week one more got sick. There are only two of us left who are healthy. I have been going to bed early

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1110511148068448302005-03-10T20:39:00.000-06:002005-03-10T21:19:08.070-06:00

Lifenews.com published a recent article regarding the results of a Harris Interactive poll conducted between February 8 and February 13. Surveyors erroneously told those polled that the landmark decision made "abortions up to three months of pregnancy legal."In fact, Roe v. Wade made abortion legal for any reason at any time until "viability," the 22-24 week point in pregnancy where an unborn

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109909575414491262005-03-03T21:41:00.000-06:002005-03-03T22:12:55.416-06:00

Early in February, I included Rick Warren in a list of what I considered false prophets. Texasbug said, Why in the world would you include Rick Warren in that list? More people have come to Christ in his church, through his preaching of the Gospel that can be counted...I know some personally. His whole purpose and mission statement is "to help unchurched people become fully devoted followers of

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109737041006883772005-03-01T21:43:00.000-06:002005-03-01T22:17:21.013-06:00

Regardless of your religion or lack thereof, all this controversy over embryonic stem cell research really is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money. All the advances are happening in adult stem cell research. Back in February, SouthernFatherofaDiabeticChild said the following on Weapon of Mass Distraction:If embryonic stem cells do not lead to a cure for diabetes, then parents of children

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109706695672093042005-03-01T13:11:00.000-06:002005-03-01T21:33:01.253-06:00

This weeks question comes from Derek at Weapon of Mass Distraction.Harvard University president Lawrence Summers has been criticized, and may have jeopardized his job, for stating that the gender gap in the sciences and engineering may be due to inherent differences in the way men and women think.Meanwhile, Colorado University is weighing a possible buyout offer to professor Ward Churchill in the

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109560039303476262005-02-27T19:02:00.000-06:002005-02-27T21:07:19.313-06:00

In response to my assertion that persons who died before God's promise was fulfilled were saved by their faith in the promise, Garrett says:I have a real problem with this. If it were simple enough to be saved through the belief in a coming Messiah, then it would be unnecessary to perform the rite of sacrifice that God laid out in His Law. It was that act that cleansed them from sin and thus

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109351975539740402005-02-25T09:03:00.000-06:002005-02-25T11:19:35.546-06:00

If I understand this whole discussion correctly, Garrett has basically argued that it is immaterial whether God directly created other beings as he did Adam and Eve and that God has no need to tell us everything. Therefore, as he argues, Cain may have married his sister or he may have married one of these other beings that God created.I have disagreed with that and would like to clarify my

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109214221885886142005-02-23T20:49:00.000-06:002005-02-23T21:03:41.893-06:00

In a discussion that began on Weapon of Mass Distraction, I made the following remark. Cain obviously married his sister. That is not an unimportant point, as the Bible makes clear in Romans 5:12 and 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 to name a couple of verses. We are all descended from Adam. We are all sinful. Sin was brought into the world by the one man. The redemption of sin was accomplished by one man

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109183684553659452005-02-23T12:02:00.000-06:002005-02-23T12:34:44.556-06:00

I can't add a thing to this impassioned appeal from Terri Schindler-Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler. If you can give money to help Terri's parents with their legal battle to save her life, there is a link within the story. Other ways to help are with prayers and with emails to Governor Jeb Bush to intervene if necessary. He has the authority to take Terri into the protective custody of the state

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1109047105347119602005-02-21T21:52:00.000-06:002005-02-21T22:44:10.436-06:00

Oh boy! A game from Hill Country Views. We'll give it a try, but y'all are probably gonna think I'm stuck in the 70s. Well, OK, I guess I am stuck in the 70s.10 Random Albums:Squirrel Nut Zippers-HotSquirrel Nut Zippers-Bedlam BallroomSwing Set-Ces't La VieMichael Tilson Thomas and New World Symphony-New World JazzCherry Poppin' Daddies-Soul CaddyThe Brian Setzer Orchestra-The Dirty BoogieBig Bad

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1108590149415617102005-02-16T15:18:00.000-06:002005-02-16T15:42:29.420-06:00

The University of Connecticut Daily Mail had an interesting column yesterday by Mike Hubbard regarding the humanity of the unborn. Abortion is one of the greatest evils in American society. The Pro-life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL) see abortion as, "Just like homophobia, abortion tries to get rid of real human beings who are threatening or undesirable."Many cultures and societies

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1108342204827439712005-02-13T18:04:00.000-06:002005-02-13T18:50:04.833-06:00

A few days ago, I was listening to Issues, Etc., a Christ-centered,Cross-focused talk radio program. The guest for the program was Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason. He was talking about the accuracy of the New Testament versions we have today and how we know they are close to the original even though we do not have those very first copies.Skeptics claim that we cannot be certain that today's New

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1108146062722247182005-02-11T12:17:00.000-06:002005-02-11T12:21:02.726-06:00

Karin says It's true that salvation is by grace, not by works. But I also thought that the salvation was the gift, not the grace because we not only can't earn salvation, not one of us deserves it. Jesus Christ earned it. We are, however, saved UNTO good works and we show our faith by our good works (Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1108141567140418512005-02-11T10:49:00.000-06:002005-02-11T11:06:07.143-06:00

I haven’t written anything in days, but I think I may know why I’m suddenly too busy to write.That Was ThenI work for a doctor of occupational medicine here in Missouri. In addition, I have my own part time business doing medical transcription for a group of nurses who do occupational case management. Things have been really slow for the past couple of years.The last administration here in

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107791185566370172005-02-07T08:37:00.000-06:002005-02-07T09:46:25.566-06:00

Texasbug writes:Why in the world would you include Rick Warren in that list? More people have come to Christ in his church, through his preaching of the Gospel that can be counted...I know some personally. His whole purpose and mission statement is "to help unchurched people become fully devoted followers of Christ" and he present the Gospel message of sin, the Cross, repentance, forgiveness and

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107745278319353662005-02-06T20:00:00.000-06:002005-02-06T21:01:18.320-06:00

Derek Gilbert is talking about Joel Osteen today. Joel Osteen is a very successful preacher (he preaches to about 25,000 people each week) in a megachurch in Texas, but Joel Osteen never mentions sin, never mentions Christ and never mentions the saving grace of the cross. His message is all about self and the power of positive thinking. He, and others like him,try to justify this heretical

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107738066312655922005-02-06T18:38:00.000-06:002005-02-06T19:55:03.463-06:00

It's been a wonderful weekend, weatherwise, here in St. Louis. Yesterday the sun was shining, and it was in the high 50s. So, since I was doing yardwork all day, I missed the sad news. The Chief Diplomad is leaving the blogosphere. There are still two others in the Republican Underground in the State Department, New Sisyphus and Daily Demarche, but I will certainly miss the Chief. Sigh!

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107483447814338592005-02-03T18:58:00.000-06:002005-02-03T20:17:27.813-06:00

I was watching Brian Williams on MSNBC a short while ago. The MSM has largely been silent for these few days following the Iraq election, but today they are coming out swinging again. Mr. Williams was reporting that the numbers of Iraqis trained for the police and military is far fewer than the administration is claiming. Well, whether that's true or not, the election seems to have emboldened

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107369419629903942005-02-02T13:14:00.000-06:002005-02-02T12:36:59.630-06:00

The Symposium XI question for this week was posed by Redhunter.Do you think that the elections in Iraq vindicated President Bush's decision to invade Iraq?I don't think that President Bush's decision required vindication. Saddam Hussein failed to comply with UN Resolution 1441. Contrary to what the MSM and the Angry Left keep harping on, that resolution contained far more than weapons of mass

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107367760824671752005-02-02T11:52:00.000-06:002005-02-02T12:10:11.140-06:00

Whew! I'm better today than I was yesterday. Usually, the moonbats at Democratic Underground are good for a laugh, but I had to check out Scott Ott at Scrappleface this time to get me laughing. News reports of terrorist bombings in Iraq were marred Sunday by shocking graphic images of Iraqi "insurgents" voting by the millions in their first free democratic election.Mr. Ott comments on John

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107293435872333212005-02-01T15:11:00.000-06:002005-02-01T15:30:35.873-06:00

How does one rein in the anger? Boy, our Lord sure makes it obvious how impossible for us to follow our Father's will. He loved and prayed for his enemies, as we are supposed to do, but I just want to shake and punch some people after reading this post from the Democratic Underground discussion boards. It's really hard, REALLY HARD, to love people who could say such hurtful things about the

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107117229328145552005-01-30T14:21:00.000-06:002005-01-30T14:33:49.326-06:00

This morning, CNN was polling viewers, asking them to respond to the question of whether the war in Iraq was worth it. Just now, I was reading today's posts by Omar and Mohammed at Iraq the Model and their brother, Ali, at Free Iraqi. I've got tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Good thing I know how to touch type. From Mohammed and Omar:I couldn't think of a scene more beautiful than

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1107006186881941662005-01-29T07:08:00.000-06:002005-01-29T07:43:06.880-06:00

As we have seen time and again, the pro-abortion forces use language that masks what they are talking about, because it's the only way to make abortion palatable to most people. Today I want to concentrate on the two words contraceptive and abortifacient. It's really quite simple. A contraceptive is something that prevents conception from ever taking place. An abortifacient is something that

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1106875991149147912005-01-27T19:22:00.000-06:002005-01-27T19:33:11.150-06:00

Why is it that Bible-believing Christians who are socially and politically conservative suddenly go all PC when it comes to their faith? Do you believe what you profess to believe or don’t you? The Bible says:John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.If you believe this, then you must believe that anyone who does not believe

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1106678695031206432005-01-25T13:42:00.000-06:002005-01-25T12:50:33.220-06:00

This weeks’ question is a lighthearted one: "I've notice that a seemingly large proportion of the blogosphere is composed of "cat bloggers." What are the political parties your cats belong to, and how did you derive their determination? Please reply for each cat, with examples. If you do not own a cat, could you post on how you think cats determine their political affiliations (purely speculative

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1106359541313630062005-01-21T20:05:00.000-06:002005-01-21T20:09:00.163-06:00

Was there anyone who couldn't see the handwriting on the wall when California passed Proposition 71, which set aside $3 billion for embryonic stem cell research over the next 10 years? Now New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Massachusettes are working on packages of their own and Nebraska is considering a bill that would allow cloning and embryonic stem cell research. The MSM is

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1106101593932380102005-01-18T19:34:00.000-06:002005-01-18T20:53:43.006-06:00

Well call me a religious fanatic. I am having trouble getting my mind around this, and it must be because I can't see past my religious point of view. Last Thursday, Judge Clarence Cooper ordered Cobb County, GA school officials to remove stickers from science textbooks that stated that evolution was a theory, not a fact, which, last time I checked, is true. Evolution is theory. If it is fact, I

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105932055497934772005-01-16T21:19:00.000-06:002005-01-16T21:20:55.496-06:00

Psalms 139:13-16 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, {and} skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105732189031338232005-01-14T13:37:00.000-06:002005-01-14T13:49:49.033-06:00

There is a great post today at American Thinker by Steve Feinstein. He says that we really have to judge the justness of the war in Iraq on the basis of the intelligence we had at the time we started, not on the basis of what we now know. He shows just what he means by comparing it to World War II--for which most people would agree there was ample justification--and the differences between what

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105723816734632292005-01-14T10:01:00.000-06:002005-01-14T11:30:16.733-06:00

Homespun Bloggers posted this question of the week.What, in your opinion, are the moral responsibilities of the individual citizen in the United States (or your own country) today and how do you believe people should act upon (or react to) those perceived responsibilities?According to CJ from The Unmentionables, who posed the question, it is not asked from a religious point of view. Since I hold

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105585314858469342005-01-12T20:53:00.000-06:002005-01-12T21:01:54.856-06:00

A post election survey conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health showed that only 21% believed that government funding of stem cell research should be a priority. The results made stem cell research funding the 12th most important health care issue of twelve named by Kaiser in the poll. Americans were vastly more interested issues such as lower the cost of health

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105584557311135832005-01-12T20:46:00.000-06:002005-01-12T20:49:17.313-06:00

Scientists have gone begging to the government for funds to continue embryonic stem cell research because the private sector will not fund it. Private interests know that adult stem cell and cord blood stem cell research is already producing results, which means they will soon be getting a healthy return on their investment. Meanwhile, embryonic stem researchers have yet to figure out how to

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105503052484567042005-01-11T21:47:00.000-06:002005-01-11T22:10:52.486-06:00

Following California's approval of Proposition 71, New Jersey Governor Richard Codey has announced plans for his state to spend $380 million on a new facility to conduct embryonic stem cell research. Meanwhile, Massachusettes, Illinois, and Maryland are also considering state funding for such research. How sad that taxpayers will be forced to pay for such facilities regardless whether they

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105389355219346682005-01-10T14:33:00.000-06:002005-01-10T14:38:26.983-06:00

Just found another new blog, courtesy of American Thinker. Dutch ExPat is funny!

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105377562712375052005-01-10T11:16:00.000-06:002005-01-10T11:19:35.776-06:00

A new blog has started up with an impressive list of writers. Thanks to one of my favorites, Diplomad, I found The Counterterrorism Blog today. It's definitely worth checking out.

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105301359914194082005-01-09T13:01:00.000-06:002005-01-09T14:09:19.913-06:00

Last week, President Bush traveled to Illinois and made a speech criticizing "judicial hellholes" like Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois. He is promoting tort reform that limits the amount of money a plaintiff could collect in a malpractice lawsuit because of the effect it is having on doctors. Their malpractice premiums are skyrocketing and many of them are leaving the state or quitting

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105205126587290192005-01-08T10:51:00.000-06:002005-01-08T11:25:26.586-06:00

Michael Newdow, the atheist physician and attorney who tried to have the words "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, is at it again. He lost last time because, as the Supreme Court justices ruled, he didn't have standing to sue. He was suing his daughter's school but the child's mother was the custodial parent and did not join him in the lawsuit. Now he has found eight others, all

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105201330487509112005-01-08T09:10:00.000-06:002005-01-08T10:27:29.776-06:00

There is a nice editorial in yesterday's Chicago Sun Times regarding how the MSM ignores all the good news from adult stem cell research in favor of greatly inflated news of embryonic stem cell research in animals. There were no headlines or editorials, for example, when Song Chang-Hoon, a professor at South Korea's Chosun University's medical school, told the story of Hwang Mi-Soon, a 37-

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105110136050080212005-01-07T08:50:00.000-06:002005-01-08T09:07:15.200-06:00

While the uninformed or deliberately obtuse continue to moan about the lack of taxpayer-supported funding for embryonic stem cell research, the adult autologous and cord blood stem cell research crowd scores again! Scientists have induced heart attacks in rats and then injected human stem cells from cord blood into the heart muscle an hour after the heart attack. Four months later, the rats

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9795185.post-1105109426992773452005-01-07T08:47:00.000-06:002005-01-07T09:05:37.463-06:00

I've decided to relaunch my blog. I wasn't happy with it. So here we go. If at first you don't succeed...

Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00708743956706575091noreply@blogger.com0