Land of the Brave, Home of the Free.

1 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says

By ADAM LIPTAK 2:57 PM ET

With 1.6 million people in prison, the incarceration rate is now the highest in American history, a new report says.

• Graphic
• Text of the Report

Ashes, dust, Texas wind, and Pneuma

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

Meaning: We come from dust; we return to dust.

Origin: From the English Burial Service. Adapted from the Biblical text, Genesis 3:19 (King James Version):

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

While I don't recommend it, a glimpse at how an embalmed corpse decays inside of an airtight box might change your mind about having your loved ones cremated (or their having you cremated).

My father specified that he be cremated, and his ashes spread over the graves of my mother and sister. It was a very windy spring day on the Texas plains, so we had to dump his ashes in a small pile. One of my young nieces walked over to the pile of ashes as the adults said prayers, and started poking the small mound with a stick. Her mother told her to stop, as those were the remains of my dad. She looked at her mother, then looked back at the ashes, and said, "That's not Grampa Harry."

Truer words were never spoken. Had she seen an embalmed cadaver, she might not have made the important disassociation.

Under our noses... can you smell it?

Christian Quotation of the Day

February 25, 2008

Meditation:
   ... for it is light that makes everything visible. This is
why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and
Christ will shine on you."
   -- Ephesians 5:14 (NIV)

_______________________________________________________________

Quotation:
   We have the means to evangelize our country; but they are
slumbering in the pews of our churches.
   ... John R. W. Stott (b.1921)

_______________________________________________________________

Quiet time reflection:
   Lord, awaken Your people to the need for Christ
everywhere.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

Join the conversation on the CQOD Blog at
     http://cqod.blogspot.com/
See Believer's Desktop Companion 2007
     http://www.cqod.com/cqoddtcb.html

_______________________________________________________________

CQOD Compilation Copyright 2008, Robert McAnally Adams, Curator
CQOD Home Page:    http://www.cqod.com/
Subscription info: http://www.cqod.com/cqodlist.htm
Comments and problems: email to curator@cqod.com

Ask an ambassador.

Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson:

With the emergence of Sen. John McCain as the presumptive Republican nominee, the choice for the Democrats in the 2008 presidential election now shifts to who is best positioned to beat him, in what promises to be a more hard-fought campaign -- and perhaps a nastier one -- than Democrats anticipated.

Sen. Barack Obama's promise of transformation and an end of partisan politics has its seductive appeal. The Bush-Cheney era, after all, has been punctuated by smear campaigns, character assassinations and ideological fervor.

Nobody dislikes such poisonous partisanship, especially in foreign policy, more than I do. I am one of very few Foreign Service officers who have served as ambassador in the administrations of both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, yet I have spent the past four years fighting a concerted character assassination campaign orchestrated by the George W. Bush White House.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the few who fully understood the stakes in that battle. Time and again, she reached out to my wife -- outed CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson -- and me to remind us that as painful as the attacks were, we simply could not allow ourselves to be driven from the public square by bullying. To do so would validate the radical right's thesis that the way to win debates is to demonize opponents, taking full advantage of the natural desire to avoid confrontation, even if it means yielding on substantive issues. Hillary knew this from experience, having spent the better part of the past 20 years fighting the Republican attack machine. She is a fighter.

But will Mr. Obama fight? His brief time on the national scene gives little comfort. Consider a February 2006 exchange of letters with Mr. McCain on the subject of ethics reform. The wrathful Mr. McCain accused Mr. Obama of being "disingenuous," to which Mr. Obama meekly replied, "The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you." Then one of McCain's aides said of Obama, "Obama wouldn't know the difference between an RPG and a bong."

Mr. McCain was insultingly dismissive but successful in intimidating his inexperienced colleague. Thus, in his one face-to-face encounter with Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama failed to stand his ground.

What gives us confidence Mr. Obama will be stronger the next time he faces Mr. McCain, a seasoned political fighter with extensive national security credentials? Even more important, what special disadvantages does Mr. Obama carry into this contest on questions of national security?

How will Mr. Obama answer Mr. McCain about his careless remark about unilaterally bombing Pakistan -- perhaps blowing up an already difficult relationship with a nuclear state threatened by Islamic extremists? How will Mr. Obama respond to charges made by the Kenyan government that his campaigning activities in Kenya in support of his distant cousin running for president there made him "a stooge" and constituted interference in the politics of an important and besieged ally in the war on terror?

How will he answer charges that his desire for unstructured personal summits without preconditions with a host of America's adversaries, from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Kim Jong Il, would be little more than premature capitulation?

Senator Obama claims superior judgment on the war in Iraq based on one speech given as a state legislator representing the most liberal district in Illinois at an anti-war rally in Chicago, and in so doing impugns the integrity of those who were part of the debate on the national scene. In mischaracterizing the debate on the Authorization for the Use of Military Force as a declaration of war, he implicitly blames Democrats for George Bush's war of choice. Obama's negative attack line does not conform to the facts. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I should know. I was among the most prominent anti-war voices at the time -- and never heard about or from then Illinois State Senator Obama.

George Bush made it clear publicly when lobbying for the bill that he wanted it not to go to war but to give him the leverage he needed to go to the United Nations and secure intrusive inspections of Saddam's suspected Weapons of Mass Destruction sites. Who could argue with that goal? Colin Powell made the same case individually to Senators in the run up to the vote, including to Senator Clinton. It is not credible that Senator Obama would not have succumbed to Secretary Powell's arguments had he been in Washington at the time. Why not? Obama himself suggested so in 2004. "I'm not privy to Senate intelligence reports,' Obama said. 'What would I have done? I don't know." He also told the Chicago Tribune in 2004: "There's not much of a difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage." According to press reports, Powell is now an informal adviser to Mr. Obama.

In his tendentious attack, Obama never mentions that Hans Blix, the chief United Nations weapons inspectors, declared that without the congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force the inspectors would never have been allowed into Iraq. Hillary's approach -- and that of the majority of Democrats in the Senate -- was to let the inspectors complete their work while building an international coalition. Hillary's was the road untaken. The betrayal of the American people, and of the Congress, came when President Bush refused to allow the inspections to succeed, and that betrayal is his and his party's, not the Democrats.

Contrary to the myth of his campaign, 2008 is not the year for transcendental transformation. The task for the next administration will be to repair the damage done by eight years of radical rule. And the choice for Americans is clear: four more years of corrupt Republican rule, senseless wars, evisceration of the Constitution, emptying of the national treasury -- or rebuilding our government and our national reputation, piece by piece. Obama's overtures to Republicans, or "Obamacans" as the Senator calls them, is a substitute for true national unity based on a substantive program. His marginal appeals have marginally helped him in caucuses in Republican states that Democrats won't win in the general election. But his vapid rhetoric will not withstand the winds of November. His efforts will be correctly seen by the Republican leadership as a sign of weakness to be exploited. While disaffected Democrats may long for comity in our politics after years of being harangued and belittled by the right wing echo chamber, the Rovians currently promoting Obama are looking to destroy him should he become the nominee. Obama's claim to float uniquely above the fray and avoid polarization will be short-lived. He is no less mortal than any other Democrat -- Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry -- all untouched at the beginning of their campaigns and all mauled by the end. We should never forget recent history.

In order to effect practical change against a determined adversary, we do not need a would-be philosopher-king but a seasoned gladiator who understands the fight Democrats will face in the fall campaign and in governing.

Theodore Roosevelt once commented, "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly."

If he were around today, TR might be speaking of the woman in the arena. Hillary Clinton has been in that arena for a generation. She is one of the few to have defeated the attack machine that is today's Republican Party and to have emerged stronger. She is deeply knowledgeable about governing; she made herself into a power in the Senate; she is respected by our military; and she never flinches. She has never been intimidated, not by any Republican -- not even John McCain.

Barack Obama claims to represent the future, but it should be increasingly evident that he is not the man for this moment, especially with Mr. McCain's arrival. We've seen a preview of that contest already. It was a TKO.

Former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was in the Foreign Service for 23 years, and served in Iraq in the years leading up to the Persian Gulf war. He is the author of "The Politics of Truth." His e-mail is jcwivwdc@yahoo.com.

Your own personal Jesus.

Perhaps you’ve heard the old (1989) Depeche Mode song, “Personal Jesus,” or the version of the same song Johnny Cash recorded on his last album.

Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares

Maybe you think somebody else might have a “personal Jesus”, but not you. Jesus lived a long time ago in a land far away. He left us many great teachings and actions, but he isn’t someone we can actually know today. How could that be possible? You would have to have been born 2000 years ago. How can you do that? The Alpha Course is a way to meet Jesus in a truly personal way.

Reach out and touch faith
Feeling unknown and you're all alone
Flesh and bone by the telephone
Lift up the receiver, I'll make you a believer
I will deliver, you know I'm a forgiver

On the first Easter 2000 years ago, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus was laid and found it empty. Perhaps that’s how going to church strikes you today. You’ve been told that is where Jesus can be found, but it still seems empty to you.

But Mary heard a voice behind. She turned and saw Jesus, alive, calling to her. On the Alpha Course, over a ten week period, you too can stand where Mary stood and see Jesus… not dead in a cold tomb, but alive and reaching out to you personally. This year, why not take Easter personally.

Your own personal Jesus
Reach out and touch faith

I'll drink to that.

Nobama.

I was "Clean for Gene" in 1968. We got Nixon, and more war.

I was a McGovern supporter in 1972. We got more Nixon, and still more war.

I believe if Barack Obama is nominated for U.S. President, we will have John McCain, and more wars.

Here's why I believe this.

Not Ballantine's day.

- Jasper Johns

It's a good day to take an arrow for a loved one.

- Jim Dine

God in the box.

Pictured above is the Great Coxwell Barn, a large 14th century tithe barn in England. It is not a church, and never has been one. Its architectural similarity to a Gothic church lies in the construction technology available to build a large, open space.

Today, if you build a church that looks like a warehouse, you might get criticzed by traditionalists. I guess it’s all a matter of which worship model you subscribe to:

Gothic Cathedral Model
God: Worship Leader
Clergy & Choir: Worship Performers
Congregation: Worship Audience

Big Box Model
God: Worship Audience
Clergy & Choir: Worship Leaders
Congregation: Worship Performers

It’s fascinating to notice that the only major difference between a Gothic Tithe Barn and a Gothic Church in England is that the church has a steeple and movable chairs. “Plain Big Box” worship has a long history in Christendom.

Osmosis vs. Immersion

Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a cell wall or membrane or any semi-permeable barrier from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration, up a solute concentration gradient. It is a physical process in which a solvent moves, without input of energy, across a semi permeable membrane (permeable to the solvent, but not the solute) separating two solutions of different concentrations.

Immerse (third-person singular simple present immerses, present participle immersing, simple past immersed, past participle immersed)

1. (transitive) To put under the surface of a liquid; to dunk.

   Archimedes determined the volume of objects by immersing them in water.

2. (transitive) To involve deeply

   The sculptor immersed himself in anatomic studies.

I do not believe in conversion by osmosis. I believe in conversion by metanoia and immersion... in total baptism from above.

Natural Christianity.

What does the purest form of being a follower of Jesus the Christ look like? Sound like? Feel like? Taste like?

I have some ideas and some examples, but mostly, I have man-made traditions to overcome. I hope this rambling site has been an attempt to address the search for natural Christianity at times (hopefully, more often than not). Too often, I fear, it has been a search for the natural man.

If you click the title above, you'll be linked to a program I feel promotes natural Christianity.

if you click here, you'll find a blog titled Natural Christianity. This is not a recommendation, but an observation.

The Nostrils of God.

Psalm 141

O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me.
Hear my voice when I call to you.

May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

The current understanding of how our olfactory senses work has changed from what was believed just a few years ago. Then, it was believed that we "smelled" things by way of chemical communication: a particle of matter would enter our nose and become lodged in the "sensing" area. The particle (of strawberry, say) would emit a chemical signature (or, odor) and the smell receptors would then send the bran a message that strawberries were nearby.

Today, we understand the phenomenon a little differently. The item's molecules enter the nasal passages, where they are caught by a receptor that has a very similar shape to the molecule's. Once lodged in placed, the olfactory sensor begins to vibrate, measuring the resonance of the trapped molecule. The readings are "decoded", and information is sent to the brain ("We're rolling in strawberries!"). The key here is that the nose doesn't wait for the molecule to announced it's composition, but instead it performs an examination.

Holy Scripture talks about God's nostrils. When we pray, God breathes us in. We enter into his "nostrils" where there are receptors shaped like we are. We lodge into a cubby-hole that's about right for us, and God then runs his examination on us. We are analyzed, scanned, and categorized.

The point of this "up the nose of God" entry is this: God made us, each one of, intentionally and deliberately. Not only did he form us as unique creatures, he formed receptacles in his nostrils for us. Unique, individual, and personal.

"For God so loves us, that he gave his only Son..."

Forty Days X 100.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.

Appalachian Snake Handlers

Nairobi Trio

Law and Gospel.

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

John 6:15

For years, I couldn't figure out this passage from the Gospel according to John. Didn't Jesus want to be King? Was the crowd going to grab him and and force him to be King against his will? What was he afraid of?

What I didn't really understand was that the crowds "didn't get it". They'd missed the point of Jesus' gospel message. For a long time, I didn't "get it" either.

But it slowly dawned on me – if you can call the breaking of the sun (Son?) over the horizon, shining light into the darkness, "slow". Jesus had said it to Pilate plain enough: "My Kingdom is not of this world." Forcing the Kingdom was not only implausible... it was against God's will.

Herein lies the problem with thinking we can become a "Christian nation" by passing legislation. It's simply a return to the Law, which we are hopeless to follow (but good at both faking it, and pointing out other's failure to obey). Jesus himself would not allow his name or his power to be used for political purposes.

The change in people must come from the inside by way of God's life-giving Holy Spirit (to be born a new man/woman), not from the outside by the imposition of the Law. The exterior change is only a whitewashed tomb.

When we try to impose God's will (The Law) by human initiative, Jesus withdraws from us. Stage left, or stage right, he leaves us to our own devices.