Homosexuality

Homosexual temptation is not necessarily chosen.
Homosexual act, however, is a choice.

Scientifically,
if homosexuality is something one was born with, then no one could ever be "cured" of it.
Untold thousands have been.
If homosexuality is something one was born with, every single one of those "cures" had to be fake.
If even one homosexual truly became heterosexual, homosexuality is not genetic.

And in this case, the inverse does not contradict the proof. According to both Creationism and Darwinian Evolution, heterosexuality is natural. Opposites must mate to propagate the species.

The Sword of Islam

Islam was spread largely through coercion - by the sword.

Jews and Christians had the options of converting to Islam, paying the "Jizya" tax, or being murdered.

Pagans could only convert or die.

To this day, the Saudi Arabian flag has a picture of a sword underneath the Islamic confession of faith: 'There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.'

Men are inherently evil, and can do many things in the name of a particular religion. The point is that Christians, if engaging in wanton destruction or forced conversion, operate against the teachings of Jesus. Muslims, when doing so, are operating according to the teachings of Muhammad.

Islam

has not been hijacked.
90% of Muslims are peaceful, but are largely ignorant of Islamic theology.
10% of Muslims are violent, and largely know Islamic theology well.
Much of this 10%, contrary to incorrect popular belief, is not poor.

Muhammad gave peaceful Qur'anic revelations for 10 years while militarily weak.
He preached warlike recitations for his remaining 13 years once militarily strong.
He "abrogated", or canceled out, previous peaceful verses.
This is known as the Doctrine of Abrogation.

Confusion about true Islam in the West is propagated by the ignorant 90%,
but also by the knowledgeable 10% who are permitted by the doctrine of "taqiyya" to lie if it makes Islam look favorable.

Sources for truth:
www.carm.org
www.answering-islam.org
Islam and Terrorism by Mark Gabriel
Behind the Veil: Unmasking Islam by Joseph abd el Shafi
The Truth about Muhammad by Robert Spencer
Understanding the Koran by Mateen Elass

The Rich and "their fair share"

The government will collect 30.8% of the nation's income in 2008.

The richest 50% of American taxpayers pay 96.7% of the U.S. tax burden.
The richest 5% pay 57.1% of the U.S. tax burden.
The richest 1% pay 36.9%.
The richest 0.1% pay 17.6%.

The poorest 50% pay 3.3%.
The poorest 33-38% of American taxpayers pay no taxes at all.

Our progressive tax punishes success and hurts our economy.
The Rich are paying more than "their fair share".

God

exists. God is a Trinity, which is three subsistences in one God.
The Father - is spirit, the Creator, the Throne.
The Son - is flesh, begotten of the Father. He is the Word. Redeemer and King of the redeemed.
The Holy Spirit - is spirit, the Sanctifier, and convicts the souls of men.

Jesus is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Salvation is found in Him alone.

New format

From now on, relation of truth will be expressed as succinctly as possible.
I will attempt to state pure truth, without much opinion or elaboration.
Debate may take place in the comments, in which my answers will also be as succinct as possible.

In this way, I hope to write more often.

Socialism. Doesn't. Work.

Why don't people see the effects of socialism and understand that terrible economies are, um, bad?

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/05/venezuela-cements-their-economic-doom/

The Law of Diminishing Return in Literature?

The more one reads, the more comprehending one becomes. The litterati, the educated, the reasoning - they are exposed to hundreds of expositions, oratories, exegeses, analyses, treatises and publications. In the modern world, that number becomes thousands, then hundreds of thousands. Mind you, I am not referring to those whom have been termed "pseudo-intellectuals", but people of true acumen.

I have encountered this problem: I strive to be open-minded and understanding of another's opinion; but it is difficult when they commence an avenue of discourse on which I myself could deliver the next 5 minutes of their argument. Once one hears an exhaustion of opinions and investigations into a certain topic, unique thought on the subject approaches zero.

It is thus my problem most recently with a book titled The End of Faith by Sam Harris. I want to read this book, not just because study of opposing viewpoints is critical, but because a very good friend of mine read it and changed quasi-fundamentally. But within 27 pages Harris has knocked over so many "straw-man arguments" that I can't see the grass anymore. His puerile simplification and patent ignorance of the other side makes him straining to read, even if he did have a cogent point to produce.

Thoughts?
Rant finished.

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens is best known for writing a book called god is not great: the case against religion. Despite the fact that I am solidly within the camp labeled 'Evangelical Christian', I am not blogging about this controversial book.

I have said before that I would rather talk with an atheist who is awake, reasoning and thinking for himself than someone who agrees with almost every one of my political and theological points, but agrees so unthinkingly. I believe people like Christopher Hitchens are closer to the Kingdom of God than the nominal, unsaved "Christian" who has gone to church for 20 years. In fact, the latter is in one of the most dangerous spiritual positions of all.

I haven't seen Christopher Hitchens on camera a whole lot, but if this interview (regarding bias in the media) is any indication of the man's careful thoughtfulness, I'd say he's a very intelligent guy.

Enjoy.

Random rantings in run-on or rambling sentences

War
How many missile tests, threats of genocide, pipe dreams of annihilating the Great Satan, America, enriched uranium plants or calls of "Death to America" by the tens of thousands will it take before we stop taking screeching elitists' ridiculous assertions of American imperialism seriously and realize that Iran, or at least those who control Iran, wants a war?

How many times must I keep hearing the empirically false statements about not finding WMDs in Iraq when we DID again and again. 500 tons of yellowcake uranium - and I wish I had Lewis Black here to shout and finger point the rest of this sentence - IS a Weapon of Mass Destruction. This besides the fact that we gave Saddam Hussein 6 months between the time we said we were going to invade him and when we actually did, in which time my sister could have PUSHED their other WMDs across the DESERT into Syria, and still had a few days to get beaten by the locals for not wearing a hijab. You can point out ignorance of the Middle East question when you hear buzz statements such as, "Bush lied about the war," "Our foreign policy caused their violence" or other such nonsensical poppycock.

Government
How many times will I watch the federal government, whose power started extending beyond the letter of the Constitution over 200 years ago, take money that I earn and forcibly redistribute it to other people, many of whom couldn't care less about me or even the government that provides them with free this or that. Yes, the private sector and charities CAN take care of homelessness, unwanted babies or a host of other things our seriously swelled bureaucracy throws ineffective money at right now.

For some of my federalist angst, and the source of my indignity at those who have ignorantly or willfully ignored our Constitution, I recommend The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution by Kevin R.C. Gutzman. Out.