Sunday reading

"Wherever they went the Irish brought with them their books, many unseen in Europe for centuries and tied to their waists as signs of triumph, just as Irish heroes had once tied to their waists their enemies’ heads. Wherever they went they brought their love of learning and their skills in bookmaking. In the bays and valleys of their exile, they reestablish literacy and breathed new life into exhausted literary culture of Europe.

And that is how the Irish saved civilization."

Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role form the Fall of Rom e to the Rise of Medieval Europe -- page 196

God created the pysical world and called it "Good."

That includes money.

A forehead slapping book that I ought to re-read every year. Written from surveys of over 1000 men, Shaunti Feldhahn (along with her husband Jeff) explain what every wife and woman ought to understand about the men in their lives.

Environment minister Sammy Wilson: I still think man-made climate change is a con

Spending billions on trying to reduce carbon emissions is one giant con that is depriving third world countries of vital funds to tackle famine, HIV and other diseases, Sammy Wilson said.

The DUP minister has been heavily criticised by environmentalists for claiming that ongoing climatic shifts are down to nature and not mankind.

But while acknowledging his views on global warming may not be popular, the East Antrim MP said he was not prepared to be bullied by eco fundamentalists.

“I’ll not be stopped saying what I believe needs to be said about climate change,” he said.

"Most of the people who shout about climate change have not read one article about it...

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/environment-minister-sammy-wilson-i-still-think-manmade-climate-change-is-a-con-14123972.html

Response to Irish Blog Comment

Some of the dancing looks fun on Youtube. My favorite is this one:

Connemara Irish dance group [Not especially modest ~ but a great work out!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHx4guRdniE&feature=related

Like every people group, the Irish have beauty, art, great stories and some mighty people to contribute. But like every group the best thing is Christ.

Lance gave a Sunday School lesson on racism a few weeks ago. He used Marshall Foster’s opening quote at Jamestown describing the European tribes before Christ. The Celts were known to run into battle naked, painted blue and even to eat their enemies afterwards. But then the Bible came. Whenever the Bible is taken seriously, God changes nations. Scotland sent out more missionaries than probably any other nation besides the US.

Ireland, an island that Rome did not bother to conquer, sent men who evangelized all of Europe, working off the tiny Isle of Iona.

The Protestant/Catholic conflict comes partly from when English kings gave Scots free land in Ireland, bringing resentment to an already fractured land.

I am thankful for Obama in that he is a more honest socialist. [That is he acknowledges himself to be a socialist.] And his election is driving people to their knees. An alert and purified church is far more important than who is president, though political messiahs are some of the most dangerous men ever -- combining power with their people's worship.

Irish Reading

An English perspective:

"For the great Gaels of Ireland

Are the men that God made mad,

For all their wars are merry,

And all their songs are sad."

-- Gilbert Keith Chesterton

The traditional Irish wedding toast reflects their worldview before the Potato Famine:

Health and long life to you,

Land without rent to you,

A child every year to you,

And death in old Ireland.