Archive for December, 2011

The God Particle

Friday, December 9th, 2011 by JEL

Theoretical physicists have been living with the Higgs boson for fifty years, and actively looking for it for 30 years. What is it? Well, it’s waaay over my head, but its existence would help to explain why particles have mass. Two groups, one outside Chicago and the other in Cern, Switzerland, have been in feverish competition to be the first to locate the Higgs. And next week there might be an answer:

The teams are sworn to secrecy, but various physics blogs, and the canteens at Cern, are alive with talk of a possible sighting of the Higgs, and with a mass inline with what many physicists would expect.

Click to read the whole article, and be sure to watch the short video. It will be huge if they find and it and huge if they don’t…

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Ashamed

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 by JEL

If you can stomach it, try getting through the following new campaign ad from Republican candidate Rick Perry. I keep wondering where all the statesmen (and stateswomen) in this country are. Here’s a doozy from the ad:

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”

Perhaps Governor Perry is unclear about the meaning of “equality” and “discrimination.” Letting gays serve openly in the military means that every American now has the right to defend the country. And the possibility to die trying. As for letting kids openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school, perhaps Perry should brush up on his 1st Amendment knowledge.

You don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when people like this run for president and actually get listened to. Governor Perry may not be ashamed to admit he’s a Christian, but I’d wager Jesus might have a differing opinion.

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Is “Happy Holidays” a Dirty Word (or two)?

Monday, December 5th, 2011 by JEL

The holiday season is upon us, shopping is in full swing, the house decoration contests have begun, and we just got our first Christmas card of the year. Which means soon the media will be filled with stories about the “attack on Christmas.” You know, all those terrible people who greet you with “Happy Holidays” because, well, they just might want to be inclusive.

Anyway, for all those people who get their undies in a knot over “HH” vs. “MC,” please read this great post from Jennifer McGrail’s “The Path Less Taken:”

The only one who can take your Christ out of your Christmas is you.

How do you take Christ out of Christmas?  You take Christ out of Christmas every time you:

Don’t take the high road.

Are less than loving, and patient, and kind.

Gossip, complain about, and judge others.

Are slow to listen and quick to anger.

And yes…. grump and moan and cry about everyone taking Christ out of Christmas, instead of simply showing the people kindness and goodwill and grace, and letting them see through your actions that Christ cannot be taken out of your Christmas because Christ is living in you.  No one can take that away from you, no matter what they believe or what they celebrate or WHY they celebrate.

The post is terrific from start to finish, so please read the whole thing.

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Christians In and Out

Thursday, December 1st, 2011 by JEL

Lots of people become Christians, some by birth and others by conversion from a spectrum of influences. But many people also leave the Christian faith. Did you ever wonder why? Is Christianity not providing the spiritual meaning they seek? Are they dismayed at the un-Christian behaviour of their supposed peers?

This study looked at why Christians leave and found a very interesting answer:

A majority (42 out of 50) of the deconverts that we studied did mention frustration with the Christians they knew, but it usually wasn’t misbehavior, per se, rather it was something that I never would have guessed: Frustration with how their fellow Christians reacted to their doubts.

The way that Christians react to the doubts of others can, inadvertently, amplify existing doubt. Many of the writers told of sharing their burgeoning doubts with a Christian friend or family member only to receive trite, unhelpful answers. These answers, in turn, moved them further away from Christianity.

Pastors were among the many giving unhelpful answers. Interesting stuff; read the whole thing.

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