Splinters of Silver Scripture declares that the Words of God are pure, as silver tried in a furnace [Psalm 12:6], that God proves us as silver is tried [Psalm 66:10], and refines us as silver is [Zechariah 13:8-9]. I pray through this blog, not my words but, through the reading of the scriptures, through the presentation of thoughts and of comments, splinters of silver may prick and stay with us throughout our lives. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 9 1147 1 7465

Articles from Splinters of Silver

Christopher Hitchens : Militant Atheist? 2007-10-17 14:11:00 “Myers says Hitchens wasn't noticeably drunk, so he doesn't have his usual excuse for inexcusable behavior, such as in this previous instance. In any event, such antics are the logical extension of his increasingly warlike thought. This ex-Trotskyist, whose support for militant secularism led him to idolize the founder and first commander of the Red Army, has gone so over the top with his crusade against all religion that he has come to advocate wiping out entire populations. "Demolish it!" he said, when asked about Iran – with apparently no more moral compunctions about the slaughter of the innocent than one might normally exhibit toward a swarm of midges.”“Hitchens is quite clearly marketing himself as a contemporary Robert Ingersoll, the spokesman for atheism and secularism in the English-speaking world, although, clearly, looking at the bestseller list, he has a lot of competition for that title. If someone with that kind of a public platform should use his status to spre ...

Spiritual Immigration 2007-10-17 10:06:00 I was recently given an article speaking of the Dutch apparently, “have just instituted some of Europe's most stringent requirements for would-be immigrants.” It seems that “Verdonk argues that the Netherlands can no longer afford to welcome immigrants who will not integrate into mainstream society, which is why she has advocated a new restrictive visa system.”I know here in America we have some of the same issues of immigrates coming to America, and rather than adapt into our culture and society, they would rather keep their culture and society, sometimes even demanding we accept and nurture theirs over Americas; But, this is not where I would like to go with this post. I am sure if one would like to argue for/against immigration in America, there are surely an abundant amount of places to visit to have your voice heard.Today I would like to discuss the idea of Spiritual Immigration from a person without God, to a person of God. We understand Christianity is so-called, becaus ...

Heterosexual Titles Terminated 2007-10-16 09:53:00 The Terminator has apparently terminated “from California schools” the use of “"Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife"” according to a recent article from http://www.worldnetdaily.com/. The article proclaims:“Analysts have warned that schools across the nation will be impacted by the decision, since textbook publishers must cater to their largest purchaser, which often is California, and they will be unlikely to go to the expense of having a separate edition for other states. The bills signed by Schwarzenegger include SB777, which bans anything in public schools that could be interpreted as negative toward homosexuality, bisexuality and other alternative lifestyle choices. There are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs, however.Also signed was AB394, which targets parents and teachers for such indoctrination through "anti-harassment" training, CCF said.Thomasson said SB777 prohibits any "instruction" or school-sponsor ...

Bitterness 2007-10-11 10:33:00 “lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled”Bitterness may be defined as, “a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will,” and is a powerful enemy of charity and Christian living. Scripture declares, “grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”Bitterness may arise from burdens, criticism, denial of faults, feeling uncomfortable, unforgiveness, and comparing ourselves to others, failing to acknowledge our own sin, along with many others.We must not allow bitterness to have its way in our lives, for “any root of bitterness springing up trouble” in us, opens the door “thereby many be defiled.” Do we really want to be the reason that many become defiled?Yes, th ...

Burdens 2007-10-10 09:44:00 Burdens, of various types, can bring us down into depths of sorrow, if we are not careful to keep our eyes focused on God. They come in many different forms, being brought on by ourselves or others, and can catch us most unaware; especially if we fail to notice or address the signs at the onset. How quickly bags of leaves can become lead weights upon our backs. Some burdens are self induced, by sin in our lives, and failing to obey the Word of God. Some burdens are created by what others do in sin, which personally affect us.Some burdens are created by what we see around us, in people’s lives, our churches, the communities, our country, and the world.Some burdens are shared, when we are in a position or asked to pray for, counsel, witness, or help someone (whether unaware to them or by their asking).When we become burdened down in the trials and worries of this life, we must not allow our pity party to keep us from God. God is still on the throne, and has promised, “that all things ...

Check Out This 'Fly' By 2007-10-09 15:48:00 Dragonfly or Insect Spy? Scientists at Work on Robobugs.Do we get billed, if we accidentally kill one?“No agency admits to having deployed insect-size spy drones. But a number of U.S. government and private entities acknowledge they are trying. Some federally funded teams are even growing live insects with computer chips in them, with the goal of mounting spyware on their bodies and controlling their flight muscles remotely.” ...

Follow Up To: Do I Make You Feel Uncomfortable 2007-10-09 09:13:00 As a follow up to my recent post, entitled Do I Make You Feel Uncomfortable, a friend of mine suggested that I write an article discussing “the correct ways to do things.” I ponder this may go along with my article, entitled Critical Teardown versus Constructive Criticism. As in most cases, to see what is wrong is a bit easier than to find the right corrective action for it. And I am not sure I have done any better work here.As discussed in my last post, let us consider the topics of witnessing, touching, too personal, and personal space. As posted in red within the right column of my blog, one may note that these are merely my personal thoughts and are not to be used to judge my church, pastor, or its members, and thus the reader is free to agree or disagree with the assertions I put forth. But if you disagree, please suggest a positive alternative.WITNESSING: Although I received a comment, to my last post, “If you don't want to make people feel uncomfortable, consider not pros ...

Denominationalism 2007-10-08 15:18:00 I was recently given a link to a page entitled, What Denominationalism Does to Christ. The writer lists the following points:Denominationalism mocks Jesus' prayer for unity.Denominationalism produces unbelief.Makes Christ a contradictory Lord.Denominationalism makes Christ a hypocritical Lord.Denominationalism presents Christ as unfair and unjust.Makes Christ the author of confusion.Denominationalism makes Jesus an incompetent Lord.This post is not directed to the individual, which gave me the link, but just my thoughts in reference to the writer of the original page.First, may we simply define a denomination as a religious group, made of local churches, set apart by doctrinal and theological differences, concerning the Scriptures, from another?The writer, under Denominationalism makes Jesus an incompetent Lord, notes “the problem is not the Lord's inability, but the problem is man's unwillingness to accept what is taught in the Bible.” To this, I agree 100%, and this is why we ...

Do I Make You Feel Uncomfortable 2007-10-04 12:57:00 I saw a brief segment of the news Tuesday, and it was talking about the Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill case of 1991. Apparently, this recent interview stemmed from his writing of a book regarding himself, called “My Grandfather’s Son”, and it appears that he has been accused of trying to “re-write history” by doing so. The case of 1991, involves Anita Hill bringing sexual harassment allegations against Clarence Thomas, assumingly which he denies.Although this story caused me to ponder this post, it is not really the topic I would like to discuss. I would rather simply entertain, for a moment, the idea of how we (both men and women) may actually make another person feel uncomfortable, with or without even knowing it.I personally believe a person can become uncomfortable with us or us with them, accidentally, meaning one does or says something innocently, not meaning anything by it, yet it causes the other person to feel uncomfortable. I also believe, there is the intentional act, ...

Humanist Draws Line Between Atheism and Anti-theism 2007-10-01 11:14:00 “While atheism is the lack of belief in any god, anti-theism means actively seeking out the worst aspects of faith in god and portraying them as representative of all religion. Anti-theism seeks to shame and embarrass people away from religion, browbeating them about the stupidity of belief in a bellicose god.” - Greg M. EpsteinWould this not mean that there are atheists, and then there are atheist extremists, aka anti-theists?As in many atheists’ blogs which I have seen (not all), there has been the use of terms such as moderate Christians and Christian extremists (labeled as fundamentalists). In following suit, there must also then be moderate Atheists and Atheist extremists. For there is the atheist which lives their life with a “lack of belief in any god”, then there is the atheist which appears to actively spend their life speaking, writing, blogging, and ranting against every religious thing that takes place.The definition of moderates seems to be, they may concern them ...

A Topic of Race in the Church 2007-09-28 08:38:00 “Perhaps the longest running conversation between Blacks and Whites in America is a conversation about race.”[Article] ...

Does Unbelief Take Faith 2007-09-26 10:36:00 Over at another blog, an atheist says, Atheism Does Not Require Faith.The Claim: “I can count on finding at least a few stories in either the mainstream media or various theist-generated sources claiming that atheism is a religion or that atheism requires as much faith as any religion.”The Rebuttal: “An atheist is someone who does not accept the theistic claim (i.e., a god or gods exist). Like the "agnomist," the atheist requires no faith because he or she is not offering any sort of belief claim. In fact, it is precisely the tendency to seek evidence rather than to rely on faith that typically leads one to atheism.”I left the following comment:“Maybe the faith spoken of, is not so much that you do not believe in God, but the faith to believe in the evolution of everything from a big bang (or other choice besides God); therefore, claiming you have faith in what you believe, not in what you claim not to believe.I understand, you may claim that there is evidence and/or degrees ...

Trying Marriage On For Size, and Canceling at Any Time 2007-09-25 09:03:00 “"I think marriage is the new dating and having kids is the new marriage," she proclaims loudly, as yet another woman dining with her partner turns to stare. "It's true. I wouldn't have married him if I didn't think I could get out of it."”A woman, named Andi in the article, somewhat seems to gloat about how she decided to get married at 27, and decided to get a divorce at 28. She decided, “Within months of promising to love and honor and cherish Tucker forever, she knew she had made a huge mistake. The problem? He was boring.” I can’t help but wonder if Tucker actually changed, or was it merely Andi that despised the ‘C’ word: commitment. As the writer notes, “I know there have been days in my own five-year marriage when I've dreamed of reclaiming my freedom.” “Reclaiming my freedom”, is pure selfishness, in direct conflict with what your commitment to God, your vows, your husband, and your family stands for.Given statistics: “While newly-marrieds everywher ...

Did Tolkien Visit Middle Earth? 2007-09-21 10:43:00 Assumingly most have, at least heard the name, if not read, J. R. R. Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit. In his book, he speaks of a place, he calls, Middle-Earth.But new discovers may have actually found these very hobbits, or the evolutionary trail of their linage, of which he wrote.All this time, we merely thought his writings were of fantasy and fairy tale, but maybe Tolkien knew something the rest of us did not. ...

Who Then Is a Bigot? 2007-09-19 12:50:00 A bigot is, “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.”Bigotry is, “stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.”On a recent visit to a blog, I was reference to being a bigot, because I believe homosexuality is immoral and a sin against God.As concerning homosexuality, the commenter wrote, “There is nothing immoral about homosexuality. In fact, criminalizing it and denying rights to homosexuals is what is immoral. If you are too bigotted to accept that, it is not the school's responsibility to make allowances for your bigotry.”Scripture, as per Romans 1 and elsewhere, declares homosexuality is indeed a sin in the eyes of Almighty God, and therefore immoral and evil.I completely realize that, with the above reference to Scripture, we have two choices:1. We accept that this is indeed the Word of God, with the authority to judge our thoughts and actions righteously; therefore, we conclude ...