tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post3064848488359998689..comments2024-02-13T08:49:07.287-04:00Comments on 'Thought & Humor!': UNC Med School Incident!Professor Howdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-64933973660054906872008-05-01T11:43:00.000-03:002008-05-01T11:43:00.000-03:00Per il dio così amava il mondo intero che ha dato ...Per il dio così amava il mondo <BR/>intero che ha dato il suo soltanto<BR/> figlio in modo che se chiunque <BR/>crede in lui - mai perirà ma non<BR/> vivrà per sempre.Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-32659376618263739772008-05-01T10:37:00.000-03:002008-05-01T10:37:00.000-03:00A man received a phone call one day, and the calle...A man received a phone call one day, and the caller asked <BR/>if he had lost a parrot. He said that he had indeed lost <BR/>the bird, but wanted to know how the caller located him. <BR/><BR/>The called said that the bird had landed on his balcony <BR/>and kept repeating, "Hi, you have reached 555-1234. I <BR/>can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message <BR/>at the tone."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-22726906309293707942008-05-01T10:34:00.000-03:002008-05-01T10:34:00.000-03:00The first carload of Boy Scouts had left my house ...The first carload of Boy Scouts had left my house minutes <BR/>earlier, bound for our three-day wilderness trip. As I <BR/>backed my own vanload of Scouts out of my garage, I noticed <BR/>a pair of hiking boots on the back steps, so I stopped to <BR/>retrieve them. <BR/><BR/>An hour later, we caught up with the first car, which was <BR/>parked at a highway rest stop. Seeing me pull up, my assis- <BR/>tant Scout leader rolled down his window. "Your wife just <BR/>called on my cell phone," he said. "She asked if you knew <BR/>anything about the plumber's boots that were on your back <BR/>steps."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-568861391270580972008-05-01T10:32:00.000-03:002008-05-01T10:32:00.000-03:00My 17-year-old niece asked me if she could use my ...My 17-year-old niece asked me if she could use my name as a <BR/>reference on her resume', which she planned to submit to a <BR/>local fast-food restaurant. I agreed. <BR/><BR/>A few days later she called and asked me to meet her at the <BR/>restaurant later that afternoon. When I asked her why, she <BR/>replied, "The manager wants me to come in for an interview, <BR/>and she told me to bring my references."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-67355768105493483642008-05-01T10:16:00.000-03:002008-05-01T10:16:00.000-03:00*The real measure of your wealth is how much you w...*The real measure of your wealth is how much you would be worth if<BR/> you lost all your money.<BR/><BR/><BR/> ===============<BR/><BR/> *1760: "The Poor Robin's Almanack" Published April Fools' Issue<BR/><BR/> "The Poor Robin's Almanack" published one of the first<BR/> celebrations of April Fools' Day. Some believe April Fools'<BR/> started independently in different countries to celebrate the<BR/> Spring Equinox. Others say it celebrated New Year's Day, which<BR/> fell on April 1st in the Julian calendar.<BR/><BR/>==============================<BR/><BR/> The Crucifixion Swoon Theory:<BR/> The Case for Christ<BR/><BR/> Forensic evidence: How many times has it helped solve<BR/> a medical mystery -- determining how someone really died?<BR/><BR/> Well, Lee Strobel covered many trials during his<BR/> journalism career where a jury's decision hung on the<BR/> medical evidence. So, was it possible, he wondered,<BR/> to examine 2,000-year-old medical evidence and<BR/> determine if Jesus really died on the cross?<BR/><BR/> If so, science could deliver a knockout blow to one<BR/> of the most persistent claims against Christianity:<BR/> that the resurrection of Christ, which we celebrated<BR/> yesterday, was really just a hoax.<BR/><BR/> For expert opinion, Strobel went to Dr. Alexander<BR/> Metherell, a research scientist. Metherell had<BR/> studied the medical data concerning Christ's death,<BR/> and he's convinced there's no way anyone could have<BR/> survived what the Romans put him through.<BR/><BR/> First, there was the flogging. Soldiers used whips of<BR/> braided leather thongs. The metal balls woven into<BR/> the lash caused deep bruises, which broke open during<BR/> the torture. Often the victim's back, in such a<BR/> beating, was so shredded that his spine was exposed.<BR/><BR/> Those who didn't die from the flogging went into<BR/> hypovolemic shock, brought on by blood loss. There<BR/> would be a loss of blood pressure, leading to<BR/> faintness and collapse. And the loss of fluids would<BR/> result in tremendous thirst.<BR/><BR/> The gospels indicate that Jesus was in shock as he<BR/> carried his cross to Calvary: He collapsed in the<BR/> road, and Simon of Cyrene had to carry the cross for<BR/> him. Later, Jesus said, "I thirst."<BR/><BR/> And then there was the agony of the crucifixion<BR/> itself. The Romans drove spikes through the wrists<BR/> and feet of Jesus -- spikes that traveled through the<BR/> median nerves. This caused such enormous pain that a<BR/> new word was invented to describe it: "excruciating."<BR/> The word literally means "out of the cross."<BR/><BR/> Metherell believes that Jesus, like other crucifixion<BR/> victims, eventually died of asphyxiation. The<BR/> stresses on the muscles and diaphragm put the chest<BR/> in the inhaled position; in order to exhale, the<BR/> victim had to push up on his feet to ease the tension<BR/> in the muscles for just a moment. It would be<BR/> enormously painful, and exhaustion would eventually set in.<BR/><BR/> As his breathing slowed, the victim would go into<BR/> respiratory acidosis, leading to an irregular<BR/> heartbeat and eventual cardiac arrest. Then, in the<BR/> case of Jesus, to ensure that he was dead, a Roman<BR/> soldier thrust a spear into his side.<BR/><BR/> The flogging, the massive blood loss, the shock, the<BR/> crucifixion, the stabbing: Could Jesus have suffered<BR/> all this and survived?<BR/><BR/> Not a chance, Metherell told Strobel. Besides, Roman<BR/> soldiers had good reason to make certain Jesus was<BR/> dead: Had he survived, they, themselves, would have<BR/> been executed.<BR/><BR/> In the weeks before and after Easter, we often see<BR/> the usual spate of articles by so-called experts<BR/> claiming that Jesus didn't really die on the cross --<BR/> and, thus, is not the Son of God.<BR/><BR/> If your friends mention these articles, explain that<BR/> forensic science goes a long way in disproving these<BR/> ideas. And give them a copy of Strobel's book, The<BR/> Case for Christ. The better the science the greater<BR/> the support for what Christians have long believed in<BR/> faith: that love drove Jesus to willingly endure an<BR/> excruciating death -- so that you and I might live.<BR/><BR/> For further reference:<BR/> Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, MI:<BR/> Zondervan, 1998.<BR/><BR/> Should We Have Perfect Bodies?<BR/> What Intelligent Design Really Says<BR/><BR/> It's a humbling experience we've all had on the way<BR/> to the morning shower -- looking at our bodies in the<BR/> mirror. Even the physically fit can spot areas for<BR/> improvement. And some of us, of course, don't need a<BR/> mirror to tell us what needs fixing!<BR/><BR/> We're not perfect creatures. But do our imperfections<BR/> prove that we're evolved by natural selection, and<BR/> not created by an intelligent designer? Well, a<BR/> recent article in the magazine Scientific American<BR/> makes that very claim.<BR/><BR/> Entitled "If Humans Were Built to Last," the article<BR/> by S. Jay Olshansky, Bruce Carnes, and Robert Butler<BR/> argues that the human body reflects the mindless<BR/> process of natural selection, and not purposeful<BR/> design. Olshansky and colleagues write that many of<BR/> our physical shortcomings exist because natural<BR/> selection causes us to survive "just long enough to<BR/> reproduce." Once we've passed on our genes, they say,<BR/> our bodies start to fall apart.<BR/><BR/> If we had been intelligently designed, they argue, we<BR/> should last much longer. And we wouldn't choke on<BR/> food, suffer detached retinas, or a host of other ailments.<BR/><BR/> Well, this argument for naturalistic evolution dates<BR/> back well before Darwin. The eighteenth-century<BR/> philosopher David Hume, for one, argued that the<BR/> miseries of human existence are best explained by<BR/> "blind nature," not design. But this misrepresents<BR/> what intelligent design really says. It also<BR/> overlooks the powerful insights of the Christian worldview.<BR/><BR/> First, intelligent design does not say that any<BR/> currently existing organism, including human beings,<BR/> should be perfect. Every designed system in our<BR/> present universe is subject to physical laws, and<BR/> involves trade-offs with a wide range of functional requirements.<BR/><BR/> Consider, for example, your throat. The esophagus<BR/> (the passage to the stomach) and the trachea (the<BR/> passage to the lungs) come together at the top of the<BR/> throat. When you swallow, a structure called the<BR/> epiglottis closes to cover your trachea. You can feel<BR/> this if you put your finger on your Adam's apple and swallow.<BR/><BR/> Sometimes, when people take excessively large bites<BR/> of food, or if they're inebriated, the epiglottis may<BR/> not close properly, and they choke.<BR/><BR/> Now, Olshansky and company argue that if our throats<BR/> had been intelligently designed, this wouldn't<BR/> happen. They suggest that a better design would have<BR/> placed the trachea higher, near the nasal passage.<BR/> .. . . Maybe, but maybe not.<BR/><BR/> You see, it would be impossible to speak if air only<BR/> passed through your nostrils, not your mouth.<BR/> Catching a cold could be a life-threatening illness,<BR/> because congestion would block the only pathway for<BR/> oxygen. And if you needed more air -- running to<BR/> catch the bus, for example -- sorry, opening your<BR/> mouth for extra oxygen won't help.<BR/><BR/> Yes, humans occasionally choke. But there is<BR/> absolutely no evidence that another system would work<BR/> better. It's easy to speculate about what an<BR/> intelligent designer would have done, but there's a<BR/> world of difference between speculation and science.<BR/><BR/> The Christian worldview tells us not to expect<BR/> perfection. While God created the world, it's also<BR/> fallen -- a world with illness and pain, waiting to<BR/> be redeemed by God's new creation.<BR/><BR/> So remember that the next time you look in the<BR/> bathroom mirror. If your current model is due to<BR/> expire, don't worry about it: There's an incomparably<BR/> better one coming!<BR/><BR/><BR/> For further reference:<BR/> Hume, David. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.<BR/> Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, [1776] 1980.<BR/> Olshansky, S. Jay, Bruce A. Carnes, and Robert N.<BR/> Butler. "If Humans Were Built to Last." Scientific<BR/> American, March 2001, pp. 50-55.<BR/><BR/><BR/> As you read the Scriptures with your family, I hope<BR/> you'll have a new appreciation for who the "Word made<BR/> flesh" really is: He's the Creator who existed before time.<BR/> He's the Logos who made heaven and earth, and who<BR/> steers the stars in their courses. He is the Truth that is<BR/> ultimate reality. He is the 'Babe of Bethleham & the<BR/> 'Word' of John 1. If you know of others who would<BR/> enjoy receiving BreakPoint in their E-mail box each<BR/> day, tell them they can sign up on the Web site at<BR/> www.breakpoint.org. If they do not have access to<BR/> the World Wide Web, please call 1-800-457-6125.Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.com