I came across this photo-blog today, of a kid who’s making a violin. Now that’s a sweet hobby! If you’re on dial-up the photos will probably take too long, but if you’re on hi-speed, check it out:

http://s11.invisionfree.com/Stringed_Instruments/index.php?showtopic=16

(2005-11-22) The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has just become informed that Jakarta authorities are stepping up plans to protect Churches against bombings during Christmas holidays, but are making no progress and even abetting other forms of persecution against Christians across Indonesia.

Police in Jakarta are taking an inventory of which Churches are holding Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in order to protect them in the face of a recent upsurge of persecution against Christians. General Crimes Sr. Comr. Moh. Jaelani said the police will be on guard even though Azahari bin Husin, the main bomb maker for the radical group Jemaah Islamiyah, was killed in a police raid last week.

Jakarta’s Police chief Gen. Firman Gani said that the police would evaluate all churches and places of worship to decide how they could best provide security.

“We have to plan specific security measures for each church as they are all different. We will not just focus on traffic over Christmas and the New Year,” he said.

While all this is needed, appreciated and wonderful, it does not address the real problem. There continues to be widespread, ongoing, coordinated persecution of Christians in outlying areas (especially in West Java and in Central Sulawesi). ICC has reason to suspect that this often occurs with government collusion.

There have been approximately 40 violent incidents, including assassinations, stabbings and bombings, directed at Christians in the Poso area in the last two years that have passed without arrests or convictions. In the case of the recent beheadings of three high school girls, ICC earlier reported that Army units only held the main suspects until the seven-day detention period had passed and then released them. Police units re-arrested three of them on their release by the army.

In the 2005 Tentenna bombings, two witnesses who came forward were assassinated. Others that have attempted to raise the specter of government involvement in the persecution of Christians have faced the same fate.

In West Java, there have been approximately 60 Christian Church closings in the last 6 months. Islamic militants work with police and civil servants to close down churches. ICC has documents from mayors and other city officials ordering churches to cease operations. All this happens under legal provisions that are used to target only Christian groups.

In contrast, Muslims worship freely regardless of time or location. Since Christians cannot obtain permits to build churches, they are forced to worship in homes, businesses or hotels in violation of the SKB-69 law (Joint Decree regulating houses of worship). The militants then use this SKB-69 Decree to target Christians with the help of the police and civil servants. There is much discussion of updating these laws but the proposed changes would be worse than the original laws.

The Central Government has allowed persistent, malevolent, and violent persecution against Christians to go unchecked. They have made strong pronouncements of protection for the Christian minority but there have been little concrete results.

The problem of persecution in Indonesia is systemic to the government and legal system. In order to effect change on a government where many key leaders are radical Muslims themselves, there must be a concerted effort by the international community to shine the light on this egregious situation.

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This letter is supposedly from November 13th, so it does not address the alleged beating which took place in the last few days. I have not yet contacted anyone who can verify the accuracy of that report. This letter does however fill in some additional details…

Dear Prayer Partners,

This letter is the sequel of my testimony related to the incident transpired in Laclo on October 08, 2005 and October 15, 2005 respectively.

Being tired of the very slow progress of the investigation, I decided myself to go back to Laclo to know the real name of the leaders of those who barge in the church member’s house and chase us out of Laclo.

November 9, 2005 I went back to Laclo, as I ask some people about the names of those involved, I told them that my intention is for them to show up and settle the problem amicably and I don’t want them the world to know that Militia is still living in Laclo in the context of the violence that happened.

While I was sitting inside the house of the church member Deolinda and Manuel Soares, around 1:00 o’clock PM a mob led by the Village chief of Laku Mesak came and beat me. There are more or less 200 people surrounded the house but only more or less ten men were able to get inside and I don’t know how many people did beat me. One of those young people rescued me covering my head but leaving my back exposed to punching and kicking. They held me hostage in that house for maybe one hour until one of the members slip out to call the Police.

While in agony and half conscious I still manage to drive the motorbike back to Manatuto. I went straight to the Police station and tell the Police Chief (Faria) about the incident. I ask him not to tell the problem to their Head in Dili as I still would like to settle the problem amicably and he told me that there is an order for them to report any incident implicating foreigners. After a brief talk to the phone (maybe a cohort in Dili) the chief proceeded to Dili while one of the police ferried me to the hospital. In the Hospital the nurses treated me well and give me a shot to ease my pain and control my blood pressure. My blood pressure rose to 170/110. I called my friend Jose Soares and he ferried me back to my house. Before I sleep, I pass water and in severe pain I noticed urine flows mixed with blood. A sedative (pill) help me sleep well that night.

The following day, November 10, 2005 police officer came to my house twice asking me to appear to the police chief’s office. The third time police officer came back with a police car force me to come to the police office, feeling very heavy I asked my wife to change my clothes as I ca even hardly get up. When I reach there the Police chief (Faria) told me I was a liar screaming at me without giving time to bring my witness. He condemned me and charges me guilty of inventing a story but I vehemently and consistently tell him that I was beaten. I was surprised because as a victim he did not even give me time so I could present my witnesses and deprived of my right to due process. The police chief (Faria) charged me guilty, when he is not a judge.

From the police office the Police chief brings me to Laclo told me that we will investigate the incident. I was very weak, have not drink medicine yet, and haven’t eaten anything. Late when I know the Police chief deceived me because he bring inside the Roman Catholic campus. There the RC priest and lots of people there sitting already. I know I was set up. There I was belittled, mocked, insulted, defamed, jeered, accuse falsely as a thief. The crowd shouted several times that they are willing to go to jail after killing me. The priest told me never to come to that place because if the populace will kill me it is not their fault. The police also warned not to go out from my house as he is not accountable for my safety.

Fernando L. Flores
Pastor, Igreja Baptista Kristaun de Manatuto

As of this writing we are asking the UN human rights commission to intervene. Please help us pray. Please disseminate this letter.

I am also not sure whether the last line of the letter requesting UN intervention was written by Ferdie, or added later. Either way, please continue to pray for this family. I have added a page for the Flores family in our missionary outreach section on PrayWay, at Ferdie Flores missionary page.

As you know, a rumor recently circulated regarding the impending execution of missionary Ferdie Flores. Today I received a report that Ferdie Flores was beaten up by ten Timorese today, and was injured but will be OK. I intend to call the supposed source (Pastor Andales of Lapasan Baptist Church) to confirm the report, but it is presently 3:17AM in the Phillipines, so we will have to wait. I will post an update if I receive any confirmed news.

I recently watched the movie The Five People You Meet in Heaven, on DVD. I have not read the book, but after seeing the movie I’m sure the book is good too.

It’s a made-for-TV movie from 2004, but when you watch it without commercials it really doesn’t feel like a TV movie. I would attribute this to the effort that went into this movie (directing, makeup, etc), and pretty good acting. Jon Voight is a great actor. I’ve seen him in a lot of movies and this is one of his best. It just goes to show that talent really can compensate for a low budget. It’s a tad slow at times (best to watch in a melancholy mood), but overall a decent flick.

First of all, you should watch the movie. It’s a good story and a clean family film.

Second, I’ll say that it’s not an accurate portrayal of heaven. It’s simply an imaginative tale, which has no Biblical basis, but it does make you think about some important aspects of both life and the afterlife.

Third, after you watch the DVD, watch the interviews in the bonus features. It was heartbreaking to hear author Mitch Albom, Jon Voight, and others talk about their beliefs in a way that made it evident that they have absolutely no idea about Jesus and the real heaven of the Bible. You could tell that some of them were sincerely searching for answers (especially Voight), but the way they talked revealed that they probably have not even been presented with the gospel in a relevant manner.

Those people need Jesus. During the making of the movie, many of the participants were doing soul-searching of their own. If just one of them had known the Truth, the entire cast and crew could have been led to the Lord.

If anyone here believes in the six degrees of separation theory, then maybe you know somone who knows someone….who knows John Voight. And if you do, then please tell your friend to tell their friend……to tell John Voight:

John Voight you need Jesus. He is what you are looking for. He is the reason you are still searching, and the reason you’re still not satisifed with the answers. He is the answer. He’s been pursuing you, and all you need to do is come to Him and you’ll find peace like you’ve never known. He’s also the only way to get to heaven. Come to Jesus and then you can meet me in heaven someday too.

We saw him in our back yard this morning. He was licking an empty soda can for awhile…I guess he was hungry or something.

We’ve seen deer and various other wildlife behind our house. One time we had a bear cub in our front yard. Unfortunately we missed it, but it did leave a “present” next to our patio, and our neighbor was nice enough to email us a picture of it…

We attended an excellent concert last night featuring Bethany Dillon, The Afters, and Jeremy Camp.

Bethany Dillon is probably the most talented emerging young Christian artist in the industry. At barely 17 years old, she’s got two awesome albums under her belt and recently wrote and performed the title track for the new movie Dreamer starring Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell. She’s not one of those typical teen pop-princesses. Beth is a real musician–writing her own songs and playing guitar. If you haven’t heard her stuff you should definitely check it out. For a sample, listen to this ecard: http://ecards.emicmg.com/bethanydillon/dreamer/hif/
If you like it, please send the e-card link to your friends.

Being cool with Bethany Dillon

The Afters are another hot new group that you may have heard on the radio lately. They’re awesome musicians, their lead singer can wail, and their music video for Beautiful Love won the MTVu 2005 “Streaming Woodie” Award a few days ago! This makes them the first Christian band to win this prestigious award.

The Afters being themselves…

Jeremy Camp put on a great show and glorified God at the same time. He’s the current Dove Award male vocalist of the year and rightly so. What else can I say? The guy’s got a voice like none other, and he knows how to lead people into a rock worship experience. Be sure to check out his song in the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, and pick up a copy of his Live Unplugged CD which was released TODAY!

The next time me and Jeremy flex together I promise my biceps will be bigger than his. OK maybe not, but they will be bigger.

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First of all, let me give a disclaimer about this blog entry. As you may know, part of the mission of this “ugly blog” is to break the stereotype of Christians being fanatic arguers who all use their blogs primarily as a means to rant about hot button issues like abortion and evolution. Well today I’m going to digress slightly from that mission and talk a little about the evolution debate. However, hopefully you will realize I’m not an angry Christian arguing out of blind faith (although I’m not dissing those Christians either), but rather out of genuine concern for the upholding of the scientific method as it relates to the education of our society regarding the origins of the earth and humanity.

In Pennsylvania eight families are suing the school district to get them to stop presenting Intelligent Design, as a possible creation theory, before teaching evolution to 9th grade biology students. In fact the teachers are hardly even required to present it. From what I’ve gathered, they basically just have to read a statement disclaiming the certainty of Darwinian evolution and mentioning the possibility of Intelligent Design. Here’s the article to fill you in on the details before I add a few more comments about the situation…

By MARTHA RAFFAELE, Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A biology professor who supports classroom discussion of “intelligent design” testified Friday that major peer-reviewed scientific journals shun articles on the concept because it is a minority view.

To endorse intelligent design comes with risk because it’s a position against the consensus. Science is not a democratic process,” University of Idaho microbiology professor Scott Minnich said under cross-examination.

Minnich testified on behalf of the Dover Area School Board, which is defending an October 2004 decision to require students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution. Teachers opposed the statement, which says Charles Darwin’s theory is “not a fact” and has inexplicable “gaps,” and refers students to the textbook “Of Pandas and People” for more information.

Eight families are suing to end the practice, saying it violates the constitutional separation of church and state because it essentially promotes the Bible’s view of creation.

Intelligent design supporters argue that natural selection, an element of evolutionary theory, cannot fully explain the origin of life or the emergence of highly complex life forms.

Minnich testified that intelligent design is based on science and doesn’t require adherence to any religious belief. He also praised the prescribed statement to students.

Like some other advocates of intelligent design, Minnich acknowledged that he believes the designer is God, but he stressed that is a personal belief, not one based on science.

The trial, which began Sept. 26, is being heard without a jury and was expected to conclude with closing arguments Friday afternoon. The judge was not expected to rule immediately.

The plaintiffs are represented by a team put together by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The school district is represented by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Thomas More Law Center, which says its mission is to defend the religious freedom of Christians.

It’s my blog so can I just say this? Stupid parents! They wouldn’t know the scientific method if it hit them on the head. They would rather their children grow up and learn an outdated, flawed theory as fact, then to allow them to be exposed to a scientific theory which happens to be held by many of Christians. I should add that this alternative viewpoint also happens to hold an abundance of scientific evidence. Oh, and its not like their kids will even be subjected to an entire day of Creationist teaching–they simply get to hear a statement from a teacher who may or may not inflect seriousness into its reading.

The problem with these parents is they assume Intelligent Design is only for Christians, and that Christians are promoting it only as a means of infiltrating the public school system with their religious beliefs. That’s got to be either straight up ignorance, or else it’s clouded judgment and mass deception which the Bible warns will come in the end times. Nobody is trying to lead their children in a 9th grade biology class sinner’s prayer, or make their children subscribe to a Christian world view. While it has unfortunately been the Christians who have had to fight just to keep science-related education accountable, they’re simply trying to keep this important part of science what it is: science!

To say that the Intelligent Design theory has no place in the classroom during the teaching of evolution takes the science out of science. It turns that evolution education into a belief system and not a theory which should be tested by the scientific method. Yes I am well aware that there is also a contingency who say that evolution is a fact and not theory, or that it’s a fact and a theory (easily found on the internet by the well publicized and widely disseminated articles by the likes of Laurence Moran). What can I say about those scientists? The same as I’ll say for the stupid parents…sure they’re smart people, but they’re either ignorant to the facts of Intelligent Design, or they’re clouded by the gross darkness of “end times deception” (which I suspect is more likely the case).

So in case you’re one of those stupid parents, here are some basics about the scientific method which I pulled from this website which is a resource for a Physics 7 class (Relativity, Space-Time, and Cosmology) by UC Riverside Proffesor Jose Wudka:

The scientific method is the best way yet discovered for winnowing the truth from lies and delusion. The simple version looks something like this:

1. Observe some aspect of the universe.
2. Invent a tentative description, called a hypothesis, that is consistent with what you have observed.
3. Use the hypothesis to make predictions.
4. Test those predictions by experiments or further observations and modify the hypothesis in the light of your results.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between theory and experiment and/or observation.

When consistency is obtained the hypothesis becomes a theory and provides a coherent set of propositions which explain a class of phenomena. A theory is then a framework within which observations are explained and predictions are made.

The great advantage of the scientific method is that it is unprejudiced: one does not have to believe a given researcher, one can redo the experiment and determine whether his/her results are true or false. The conclusions will hold irrespective of the state of mind, or the religious persuasion, or the state of consciousness of the investigator and/or the subject of the investigation. Faith, defined as belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence, does not determine whether a scientific theory is adopted or discarded.

A theory is accepted not based on the prestige or convincing powers of the proponent, but on the results obtained through observations and/or experiments which anyone can reproduce: the results obtained using the scientific method are repeatable. In fact, most experiments and observations are repeated many times (certain experiments are not repeated independently but are repeated as parts of other experiments). If the original claims are not verified the origin of such discrepancies is hunted down and exhaustively studied…

As you can see, the scientific method by its very nature discludes faith as a means of determining theories. It also does not provide an “ending point” to the flow chart, wherein we should infinitely discontinue testing theories or even physical laws (facts). Any scientist will admit that commonly held theories have been disproved throughout history.

How should we apply this to the teaching of evolution and Intelligent Design? The evidence should be presented. The theories should be presented without bias. Where a theory is known to be fallible, it should be made known. The scientific process should continue with the next generation. It should not hit a dead end because of stupid parents trying to suppress a theory which differs from the one they adhere to.

In general, even secular-worldly parents will agree that their children will be better rounded for learning about differing viewpoints in any arena. It may help broaden their perspective, expand their horizons so to speak, and even (gasp) make them more tolerent of others beliefs. See for some reason, many of those same parents would probably be fine with their children taking a world religions class in which many different faith-based belief systems are introduced. But for some reason they don’t want their children to get a well-rounded perspective in the arena of science, perhaps because they’re afraid their child will hear the statement read by the teacher and instantaneously drop to their knees and convert to Christianity. I can see it now…revival breaking out in the lab, teachers baptizing students with beakers, recitation of the Genesis account, a student breaks out his guitar and leads the class in a few hymns…

That’s probably not going to happen (unfortunately). Even most Christian teachers probably won’t even take the court-approved momentary opportunity to emphasize the value of the Intelligent Design theory. I learned that lesson in 9th grade Earth Science class. One day, the school brought in a guest speaker to talk to our class, actually it was two classes combined into one classroom for this special event. He proceeded to tell us about the magical and spiritual powers of crystals, how they had saved his life on occasion, and passed a “living” rock around the room for us to squeeze and feel its energy. I distinctly remember what I said when I raised my hand to speak out…

“Rocks are not alive,” I said. “Do you actually think that rocks are alive?”

Our guest speaker graciously disagreed with me and took the opportunity to further explain the energetic qualities of crystals.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but rocks are not alive.” At that point my teacher asked me to be quiet.

When the presentation was over and the guest speaker had left, my teacher made a point of singling me out in front of the class and reprimanding me for my lack of respect for our guest speaker. You see, this teacher had a sign above the blackboard in the front of the classroom which said,

Respectfully Question Authority

In retrospect, the lesson of respecting authority was a good one, and the phrase has stuck with me even if it was embedded for the wrong reasons. I wish that I had been able to explain to my teacher that the guest speaker was by no means a scientific authority, and was teaching us no less than unadulterated New Age Spiritualism in a class that was supposed to be about Earth Science. The part that hurt the most was that this teacher was known for being a Christian. I was actually excited to be in his class for that reason. Then he (who was rightly the authority as my teacher), humiliated me in front of my peers instead of backing up my freedom of expression as I would have expected a fellow Christian to do. He should have been sending us home with a note of apology for teaching Spiritualism in a science class, but instead he decided to point the finger at me to distract from the failure of that day’s educational value.

Today I don’t regret the experience because it caused me to grow, but it also heats me up about science education. If Christian teachers won’t even take given opportunities to hint at the Truth, how can we sit back and watch as a handful of stupid parents try to take away what tiny bit of ground we’ve gained for Truth in the classroom?

For a great blog by an Intelligent Design proponent (reformed nuclear physicist), check out He Lives.

If you’re sick an tired of the ACLU, consider supporting the ACLJ, an organization committed to protecting your religious freedom.

Obviously this entry has not been an unbiased opinion, but it’s my ugly blog, so you can take it or leave it. -Eric