Category Archives: Current Events

As Seen By Hubble: Mystic Mountain (Brand New, Amazing Photo!)

Brand new from Hubble:

Mystic Mountain - click for larger view.

From the official press release:

NASA is releasing today a brand new Hubble photo of a small portion of one of the largest seen star-birth regions in the galaxy, the Carina Nebula. Towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula. The scene is reminiscent of Hubble’s classic “Pillars of Creation” photo from 1995, but is even more striking in appearance. The image captures the top of a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The pillar is also being pushed apart from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks like arrows sailing through the air.

Psalm 19:1-2
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge
Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Creating Pornography for the Blind: An Expression of True Love?

From a story in The Telegraph:

Pornographic Magazine for the Blind Launched

A pornographic magazine for the blind has been launched – complete with explicit text and raised pictures of naked men and women.

The book, the brainchild of Lisa Murphy and called Tactile Minds, is designed to be ‘enjoyed’ by the blind and visually impaired – and is on sale for £150.

The article continues:

“We’re breaking new ground. Playboy has an edition with Braille wording, but there are no pictures.”

She said that she made the book after realizing that the ‘blind have been left out in a culture saturated with sexual images’.

See … this is a project driven by compassion. Lisa simply doesn’t want the blind to feel left out! Her mission to help them center their lives around the pursuit of pleasure is her way of loving them. For her, creating pornography for the blind is a labor of love.

Isn’t it amazing how someone can rationalize unleashing something like pornography on the world by convincing themselves it’s the compassionate and loving thing to do?

This story is indicative of the vast chasm of difference that exists between love as Jesus defines it, and love as the world defines it.

If someone says, “I love you,” do they really if they don’t know Jesus?

1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  The opposite is also true: “Whoever does love does know God, because God is love,” and 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.”

Is it possible to truly love others without knowing the love of God? Are you really loving someone if your “love” is leading them further away from the source of all things good?

What’s the greatest way one person could love another? I believe it’s by leading them nearer to Love Himself – there’s no greater way to love another person.

How come so many contemporary expressions of “love” do just the opposite?

Culture believes Jesus is all about love, and culture is quick to point that out. But does culture understand what that means? Does culture understand what true love is? Does culture understand there is no love outside of God – that He has a monopoly on all things good?

This is worth thinking about.

Oh, and by the way, this story serves as evidence that Jesus didn’t mean for anyone to take Matthew 5:28-29 literally. Even a blind man can lust (sorry Origen – I’ll bet you wish you’d have known that a little earlier in life, huh?).

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Several Universities Accepting One-Minute YouTube Videos from Applying Students

You probably had to write an essay as part of the application process for your school, right? Could it be that the old written essay is on its way out the door?

A new trend is developing in university admissions: accepting video essays in lieu of written ones.

Check out the full story in video form on Newsweek’s site: Starter Kit: College Apps Gone Viral

I’m curious – have any of you used YouTube in ministry? If so, how? If not, can you think of some ways it can be used?

Universities are in touch and are willing to experiment to reach Millennials. Shouldn’t we be too?

Tagged , , , , ,