tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77214702011-10-12T03:05:41.836-07:00The rantings and ravings of the people who inhabit the bizarre world of sword&spirit ministries, where Christianity is on the edge.Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-33127904120253986682007-07-03T20:42:00.000-07:002007-07-03T20:55:19.759-07:00

One popular thing to do nowadays, at least in the sciences, is to replace the common phrase B.C. (before Christ) with BCE, that is, Before Common Era.Help me not to throw up a little here. In an attempt to rid the calendar of Christ (you know, that mean, fascist monster from the Galilee) some people who know better and/or are frightened of this man have replaced him with a Common Era.Now here is

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1130607110946064102007-07-01T10:13:00.000-07:002007-07-03T20:38:52.873-07:00

I heard someone say a while ago that when he came back from Mississippi from helping Samaritan's Purse in their attempt to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina that someone asked him before asking anything else, "How many did you lead to Christ?"Ahem. Tell me this isn't an intimidating question. What this person is saying is, "I don't really care what you did to help, or how many you helped, or

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-48723016174647839062006-12-29T21:25:00.000-08:002006-12-29T21:29:40.161-08:00

I'll write more on this later (I hope). Right now it's just a rant.But when are the agnostic and nontheistic scientists gonna grow up a little and at least admit the possibility that there is an all-powerful God behind this universe? Crimaney! How much evidence does one need that this place is not a mistake?!It's really frustrating reading all the horsepoop in the literature implying that

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-48391335006046511732006-12-29T21:22:00.000-08:002006-12-29T21:25:08.254-08:00

One positive spin on Saddam's execution. He has known for a while that he would be executed. It has been no secret. He has had plenty of time to get right with God, something he didn't afford his thousands of victims.

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-82101053344735856632006-12-29T21:21:00.000-08:002006-12-29T21:22:48.712-08:00

I haven't seen Steve since that last post, now more than a year later.

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com222tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1130727658729862832005-10-30T18:53:00.000-08:002005-10-30T19:05:16.616-08:00

I just met a man named Steve. He has been sitting behind me in church off and on for the last couple months. He is an asian man with the biggest smile I think I have ever seen. He speaks in a hoarse whisper, and doesn't sing much beyond a gravel-throated attempt. But he always smiles.Last week at church as I sat there before service waiting for it to begin I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1116461133671986942005-10-29T12:56:00.000-07:002005-10-29T10:13:33.383-07:00

I spend a lot of time with my students. Often I genuinely enjoy their company; their energy, their naivete, their... energy. In return I feel compelled to be an example of some sort of moral high road for them - a task which I too often fail at.But recently I was accused of going through a "midlife crisis" because of the time I spent with them. Ahem. This needs to be addressed.There is a clear

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1116209932435663862005-05-15T19:18:00.000-07:002005-05-16T01:30:57.596-07:00

The Lord works in mysterious ways; that is a true statement if ever there was one. And sometimes His ways involve using very subtle means to show us something about Himself - or about others.I teach as a profession. And I see every day about 150 kids. Because there are so many and because there is so little time, it is very difficult, nearly impossible, to be an integral part of their lives. I

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1114380164252176412005-04-24T14:55:00.000-07:002005-04-24T15:26:16.583-07:00

I sit here, with a million things to do and no time to do it, writing about having no time to do things. (?)I was wondering if it is "natural" for us to want to behave supernaturally. As in, I want to do every thing, see every where, be with everyone. I want to finish projects I have now, do projects I'm planning in my head. I want to lecture to all kinds of groups, to listen to all kinds of

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1111905424521110462005-03-26T22:23:00.000-08:002005-03-26T22:39:05.090-08:00

Is there anything positive that can be said about the murder of an innocent handicapped woman? I think so.Maybe there will be dozens, maybe hundreds, of future Terri's out there who will not have to go through state-sanctioned starvation/murder precisely because they were moved by this case enough to fill out a living will. Their husbands or wives will not be able to starve them to death

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1111904578566072682005-03-26T22:13:00.000-08:002005-03-26T22:22:58.566-08:00

Michael Schiavo is not a well-liked man. Some might even go so far as to say they truly hate him. I'm not innocent of having really really bad feelings towards him.But...As I sit here on this Easter weekend I am reminded that my God died an awful death for all of us - including Schiavo. He raised from the dead victorious over death so that we all, including Michael Schiavo, could live. And while

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1111473481213675042005-03-21T22:20:00.000-08:002005-03-26T22:09:24.896-08:00

Here's a dilemma.There is one party who wants to end the life of a brain-damaged woman. She is definitely handicapped. She probably won't have a normal life. Some doctors say she will never have a chance at real recovery. She will have to be fed via a tube at taxpayer's expense possibly indefinitely. She should die, they say.There is another party of people who genuinely love her and want to take

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1111472427129122172005-03-21T22:06:00.000-08:002005-03-26T22:10:42.266-08:00

I'm looking at the homepage for the website for the National Organization for Women, and well... I must have missed it. There isn't a single mention of Terri Schiavo. Not a single one. Anywhere on their website. There's a lot of anti-Bush rhetoric. But nothing about Terri. Mind you today (21 March) is the day a judge is deciding - again - on whether she should live or die. It's BIG news.So here

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1111467111337699172005-03-21T20:42:00.000-08:002005-03-26T22:12:28.450-08:00

Tonight Michael Schiavo's lawyer said that he (Terri's "husband") really loves his wife.Let's see. He wants her dead. He won't let her parents take care of her. He lives with another woman. He's had children by her. How can that be considered love? Think like a lawyer. Think like a lawyer...I've got it!!! He obviously doesn't love her like he would a wife or his new girlfriend or his new kids. Or

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1111466525593604772005-03-21T20:38:00.000-08:002005-03-21T20:42:05.593-08:00

Just what exactly are we trying to say when we say someone is in a vegetative state? Are we saying Terri Schiavo is a vegetable? Is she no longer human? When exactly did she "devolve" into a plant?What have we become when we can label someone as less than human? I don't get it.I just fricking don't get it.

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1104289557193472852005-01-16T19:05:00.000-08:002005-01-17T00:36:42.466-08:00

Another thing that bugs me. The idea that Christians get off scot-free from any End Times yucky stuff. Let me think about that. The time when the world needs us most, we want to leave. Our fate is sealed, we have been given eternal life, but instead of saying "I know my future, I'm not worried. I'll stay and help if it kills me," we instead think "Cool! I'm outta here." This is where I part

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1104285723097846672004-12-28T17:51:00.000-08:002004-12-28T18:02:03.096-08:00

Didn't take long. It is now three days after the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunamis that claimed tens of thousands of lives, and already the United States is being blamed for not doing enough to help. Some UN schmuck is claiming we should be giving more to the disaster relief fund. Only what he doesn't realize is that - despite our faults - we are THE most giving nation this sin-ridden

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1104285056742320012004-12-28T17:46:00.000-08:002004-12-28T17:50:56.743-08:00

Nothing like a massive set of tsunamis and lots of deaths of women, children, old people, handicapped, and men who support huge families to help me realize that the fact that my car doesn't have the best sound system is absolutely freakin' nothing to complain about. To paraphrase Paul, "I am the greatest of whiners."

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1104284760401230182004-12-28T17:35:00.000-08:002004-12-28T17:46:00.400-08:00

I'm not sure if I should wish everyone a Happy New Year this year. There are people who don't celebrate the New Year with us in the United States. The have different calendars, and different celebrations of the new year! So rather than isolate these people and cause irreparable damage to their already sensitive souls, I will refrain from saying Happy New Year to people this year. As far as that

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1102306363466675452004-12-27T19:54:00.000-08:002004-12-29T18:01:51.230-08:00

Just saw the ad from UCC. The one where big bouncer types in front of an unnamed church are telling people who are homosexuals and non-whites that they aren't allowed in. Hmmm.... Are they saying that churches that are not theirs are bigoted or "intolerant"? Does that other church in their ad toss out the homosexuals because they are merely homosexuals, or because they are wilfully and

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1100371697698466172004-11-13T10:37:00.000-08:002004-11-13T10:48:17.700-08:00

Once upon a time in California there was a man who willfully took the life of an unborn child. Through an act of violence, the life of a little one was snuffed out. What should his punishment be? Should he be tried in court for this killing, tried by a jury of his peers? And if it were found true that he committed this act, should he be convicted of murder? If so, should he then spend the rest

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097993721649314962004-10-16T23:12:00.000-07:002004-10-16T23:15:21.650-07:00

I published this on our forum, but here it is in all its furious glory: I can't listen to Air One Christian music radio anymore. It drives me nuts listening to the same insipid, predictable lyrics with the same four chords (max) put together in the same formulaic way. Sorry that this probably does offend someone, but someone has to say the emperor has no clothes. Just putting Jesus' name in a

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097967008068924952004-10-16T15:38:00.000-07:002004-10-16T15:50:08.066-07:00

Here is an ironic situation. Christians claim to be closest to absolute Truth. (That I believe.) That implies that Christians should be closest to God in understanding Him and His ways. They should be most like Him of all people. He is the Creator; they should be, in His image, little creators. (Not that we can create in the physical realm ex nihilo; there is no claim here to godhood. Put down

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097340247443244352004-10-09T08:58:00.000-07:002004-10-09T09:44:07.443-07:00

OK, after the second presidential debate I thought I'd look at what independent pollsters told us about who won, and then look at the individual online news organizations to see if their audience reflected the scientific polls. The independent poll found it a statistical tie between Mr Kerry and Mr Bush. I see the CNN audience as left leaning and thought their poll would reflect that. I also

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097304035007347252004-10-08T23:26:00.000-07:002004-10-08T23:40:35.006-07:00

Tonight on television, George W Bush took his political life into his hands by confessing in no uncertain terms, his support for unborn children. That will cost him votes, to be sure, but he did it anyway. I am shocked - shocked! I say - that nowadays, when the political climate is filled with the bouquet of "choice," that a politician bent on getting four more years in the highest office in the

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097303119827452492004-10-08T23:17:00.000-07:002004-10-08T23:42:35.433-07:00

Sorry, another political statement ahead. But don't you find it weird that for the umpteenth election in recent deacdes, a president will be elected by less than half the votes, less than 50%? Isn't that sort of like taking the World Series by winning 3 out of 7 games? And don't get me started on that electoral college prehistoric nonsense that just makes this all worse. I did not vote for Al

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097302652768540712004-10-08T22:58:00.000-07:002004-10-08T23:17:32.770-07:00

I heard a lady tonight say she was scared (truly terrified) that George W Bush lets his faith influence his decisions. I almost fell out of my car and into oncoming traffic. This lady clearly has ZERO idea what faith is all about. One's faith, if a true faith, is core to one's existence. Being part of the core of a human being means that faith influences decisions. What she wants is either a

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1097301419196848702004-10-08T22:38:00.000-07:002004-10-08T22:56:59.196-07:00

I've been watching all the daily hoopla over the upcoming elections and have come finally to a peaceful conclusion: We live in a land where a president is not a king. That really does make me feel better. Not because we can vote for our leaders, although that is a nice thing. I'm happy that whoever becomes president in the next four years isn't going to rule the land like a Saddam or Edward I or

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1094331508500487542004-09-04T13:43:00.000-07:002004-09-04T14:04:53.470-07:00

They have to be. From the Phillipines to Chechnya to Iraq to Saudi Arabia to Israel to the genocidal killing fields of the Sudan, those Islamic fundies are doing an amazing amount of killing of noncombatant non-Muslim innocents, all of which they justify as holy and sanctioned by Allah. Since it isn't holy, since, as far as what I have been told, the Koran is a book of love, and Islam is all

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1094330615346368472004-09-04T11:28:00.000-07:002004-09-04T14:06:11.533-07:00

We all know about the "Psalms that Nobody Reads." The ones in which the psalmist rants about how his enemy should be mangled and killed, how the Lord should smack them around, and that there should be no mercy for them. I know how the psalmist feels. After yet another attack on innocent victims by Chechnyan separatists, I've come as close to actually hating people as I can remember. It's not

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1092799950343810862004-08-17T20:12:00.000-07:002004-08-17T20:32:30.343-07:00

I was listening to U2's Pride in the Name of Love today and started thinking about Martin Luther King... and then Abraham Lincoln. And I got to thinking WHY DOESN'T ANYONE WRITE THINGS WORTH ARCHIVING ANYMORE??? Both of these gentlemen (and some others) wrote brilliant works of literature that move us even today. Where have these people gone? I read on a news site that Peggy Noonan was back

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1092297473317107882004-08-12T00:41:00.000-07:002004-08-12T00:57:53.316-07:00

Just a quick thought. When it says in The Revelation that all would see the return of Jesus, what does that mean? Many Christians (including myself years ago when I was part of the "Jesus will be back by 1986" crowd) tried to put a technical spin on it by saying that we would all witness it via satellite or some other future invention - like the internet. After all, the Earth is a sphere and if

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1092002340283847462004-08-08T14:53:00.000-07:002004-08-12T00:39:47.700-07:00

I used to think all the bad news I heard of how horrible the world was could be explained by a little science. It went like this: The media pretty much only report the crud that goes on. If it weren't for them - if we didn't read papers or watch the news or listen to the radio - the only world we would know is the one around us; our neighborhood. And our neighborhood isn't that bad. Therefore, I

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-109129217315107732004-07-31T09:29:00.000-07:002004-07-31T09:42:53.150-07:00

I don't doubt Mr. Bush is a real, nonpolitical, Christian. I agree with many of the values he holds. I think even when he is wrong that he probably meant well (I least I give him the benefit of the doubt on things like WMDs). I believe for those reasons and more that many evangelical American Christians are openly pushing for his re-election. I've seen and read opinions that say that all of us

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721470.post-1091227789506447252004-07-30T15:36:00.000-07:002004-07-30T15:49:49.506-07:00

And the point of watching one is...? Let's see, I get to watch a lot of like-minded people in a love fest, the outcome of which is predestined. I can watch famous people who apparently by the virtue of celebrity know what is right and what is wrong so that we can follow them like sheep AND then tell our friends that So'N'So is one of us. I get to see wives go on and on about how wonderful their

Ritterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09228188092367833728noreply@blogger.com2