Espresso Shots [09-15-05]
Response to Jack Graham on Abstinence from Alcohol
I actually sat down yesterday and wrote a lengthy response to the Baptist Press articleby Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, on the evils of alcohol but have, for some reason, held off on posting. For now, I'll continue to refrain. In the mean time, there has certainly been some reaction to Graham's claim that abstinence is the only answer for the problem associated with alcoholism. One such reaction is by Joe Thorn of Words of Grace.
I will say that I was disappointed that Baptist Press carried such a story in that Graham's position is one of personal conviction that has been passed off as biblical mandate (regardless of whether or not he is on target with his argument, taking such a stand is a dangerous proposition, in my opinion).
LibriVox: acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
For those who enjoy audio books, you may want to check out LibriVox, a site dedicated to presenting public domain books as podcast
A Federal Boost for Partial-Birth Abortion
Voters in Michigan attempted to have partial-birth abortions banned in the state after the Governor of the state vetoed a measure prohibiting the procedure:
This is an amazingly barbaric procedure in which the child...child...is partially brought out enough for the "doctor" to either crush or puncture the child's head, and evacuate (i.e. suction out) the child's brains. Yeah, we sure don't need any "undue burdens" to try and stop that, do we?
The law attempted to define birth in such a way that any part of the baby's body outside of the womb would qualify and would, at such time, make it unlawful toterminate kill the fetus child.
For a previous Espresso Roast post on the subject, read this.
For the story: FoxNews
GMail: An Extra Hard Drive
For some time now, I have been using my free Google Mail account as an additional hard drive. Since Google gives you like 2 Gigs or so of space, this is a perfect way to use it to store files and free up drive space on your computer. Basically, the Shell Extension application is "a little Windows app that lets you access your Gmail gig in Windows Explorer, as if it were just another hard drive on your computer. Drag and drop big or small files to your Gmail drive, and access them from any computer connected to the web via the Gmail email interface. Think movies, pictures and music."
The application has been updated today, so if you're interested, check out the info here at Lifehacker and give it a go. Since GMail is still operating by invitation only, if you don't have a GMail account and would like one, let me know. I've got quite a few to give out.
I actually sat down yesterday and wrote a lengthy response to the Baptist Press articleby Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, on the evils of alcohol but have, for some reason, held off on posting. For now, I'll continue to refrain. In the mean time, there has certainly been some reaction to Graham's claim that abstinence is the only answer for the problem associated with alcoholism. One such reaction is by Joe Thorn of Words of Grace.
I will say that I was disappointed that Baptist Press carried such a story in that Graham's position is one of personal conviction that has been passed off as biblical mandate (regardless of whether or not he is on target with his argument, taking such a stand is a dangerous proposition, in my opinion).
LibriVox: acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
For those who enjoy audio books, you may want to check out LibriVox, a site dedicated to presenting public domain books as podcast
LibriVox is a hope, an experiment, and a question: can the net harness a bunch of volunteers to help bring books in the public domain to life through podcasting? That is, totally free audiobooks from the public domainYou can check out LibriVox here.
A Federal Boost for Partial-Birth Abortion
Voters in Michigan attempted to have partial-birth abortions banned in the state after the Governor of the state vetoed a measure prohibiting the procedure:
The state Legislature approved a new law attempting to ban the procedure in June 2004. Hundreds of thousands of voters signed petitions that allowed the bill to become law with only the approval of the House and Senate — both of which are controlled by Republicans — after Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed it.Unfortunately, in a ruling on Monday, a federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional because it places an "undue burden" on women who want to have the procedure performed.
This is an amazingly barbaric procedure in which the child...child...is partially brought out enough for the "doctor" to either crush or puncture the child's head, and evacuate (i.e. suction out) the child's brains. Yeah, we sure don't need any "undue burdens" to try and stop that, do we?
The law attempted to define birth in such a way that any part of the baby's body outside of the womb would qualify and would, at such time, make it unlawful to
For a previous Espresso Roast post on the subject, read this.
For the story: FoxNews
GMail: An Extra Hard Drive
For some time now, I have been using my free Google Mail account as an additional hard drive. Since Google gives you like 2 Gigs or so of space, this is a perfect way to use it to store files and free up drive space on your computer. Basically, the Shell Extension application is "a little Windows app that lets you access your Gmail gig in Windows Explorer, as if it were just another hard drive on your computer. Drag and drop big or small files to your Gmail drive, and access them from any computer connected to the web via the Gmail email interface. Think movies, pictures and music."
The application has been updated today, so if you're interested, check out the info here at Lifehacker and give it a go. Since GMail is still operating by invitation only, if you don't have a GMail account and would like one, let me know. I've got quite a few to give out.
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 9/15/2005 02:30:00 PM
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3 Comments:
Godd call on the subject of alcohol David.
I have long been a critic here in the UK of all who want to instill their private abstience mores on the rest of us - especially from an llegedly biblical perspective.
The fact is that Jesus drank alcohol (otherwise, why would he have said "People will call me a glutton and an imbiber" if he wasn't 'imbibing'?
What we are called to do is 'not make our brother stumble'. This is the over-riding Scripture here. So we perhaps might need to practcie self-imposed abstinence selectively if it 'causes others to stumble'. This is fair enough.
But to insist on total abstence of drink is simply to go beyond Scripture and deny the reality- that Jesus drank in an age when drunkenness was just as big an issue as now.
I have always taught that one of themost under-used Scriputres is this the one that teaches us "not to think beyond what is written" (note: not just don't go beyond, but do not even think beyond!)
Anything therefore that either adds to or takes away from scriptural teaching - something you Jack Graham is doing (a typical piece of non-biblical piousness if I may say so) may be a 'fine-sounding' argument, but it's realy just extra-biblical tosh.
Well, Peter, it's really a matter of legalism with me. It has very little to do with the alcoholism issue per se and much more to do with legalism.
I am so much against people using Scripture to protect their pet issues even when the Scripture doesn't say what they want it to say. This is one of those "non-essentials" I had spoken with you about. On these issues, we must exhibit grace.
Personally, drinking is a non-issue for me...it is not something that I make a big deal of since Scripture doesn't. I will never encourage anyone to start drinking, but I will not look down, criticize or ostricize mature ADULTS who want to drink so long as they don't give themselves to drunkenness (which is clearly sin). Some say, "but how do you know they will be able to stop before getting drunk? How do you know they will not be alcoholics from that first drink?" Well, I don't...anymore than those people I know who have such an issue with food that they become gluttons and obese, looking to food for emotional stability. Nevertheless, I'm not going to tell them that eating food is a sin just because, to them, it is a big issue...possibly (or probably, at that point) a spiritual one. Like I said, personally, I don't encourage people to start...drinking, that is--I think eating is a good idea for all.
I do stand strongly on the fact that people under age should not touch the stuff even if they claim they are drinking moderately...I don't believe they have the maturity to deal with the possible issues, besides the fact that it's against our laws.
The bottom line is we have to be able to look at these difficult issues and refrain from twisting Scripture to come up with an easy answer; an easy fix and realize that this process of sanctification is tough and sometimes messy. For my denomination, it is much easier to just give some heirarchical edict and be done with it. I don't, before God, believe that is the right approach.
I prefer the integrity of the Scripture and always prefer to look at Scripture honestly and thoroughly. If Scripture said alcohol was a sin, I'd be the first to chime in with Jack Graham or anyone else who has taken a stand against it. The simple fact is, it doesn't, so I don't either.
I don't have it all right, but I know I have this right. Sad thing is, taking this honest approach could easily cost me a job, but if standing on Scripture does that, so be it. I feel I must be true to Scripture. That, too, will be OK...God is sovereign...I must remember that.
I should have pointed out for those unfamiliar with how Southern Baptists function that there is no heirarchical structure within the denomination. Each church is autonomous, yet, unfortunately, that doesn't prevent some prominent pastors or leaders of denominational entities from exerting their influence to state things as if it is authoritative. I don't have a problem with them expressing their beliefs if they are honest in differentiating between personal opinion/conviction and biblical mandate. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen that way.
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