Dear Ms Bradford,
I was thinking of you in a dream today, or perhaps it was National Radio. You were happily chatting with Larry Baldock who seemed confused by your continued smacking/beating equivocation.
Ms Bradford, we live in an age dominated by empiricism — e.g. we test things using logical thinking and evidence in an attempt to gain factual information. I am wondering whether the rules of logical thinking and sound argument apply to you, or do you have your own rules of logic?
I thought maybe we could find out using …

From the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/science/18law.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
“Gravity,” goes the slogan on posters and bumper stickers. “It isn’t just a good idea. It’s the law.”
And what a law. Unlike, say, traffic or drug laws, you don’t have a choice about obeying gravity or any of the other laws of physics. Jump and you will come back down. Faith or good intentions have nothing to do with it.
Existence didn’t have to be that way, as Einstein reminded us when he said, “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.” Against …

Family First NZ is labelling the review on the smacking law released today as inaccurate and misleading.
“The police report claims that, on average, one smacking complaint is being dealt with by the police each week nationwide,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “This is totally false and simply reflects the fact that many calls that police are attending are being deemed so inconsequential that the police attending are not even recording the information in the database.”

…then consider this cartoon from the Herald on Sunday. Note that John Key is allegedly a Jew, so what is this nasty piece of propaganda trying to say? And note the swastika on the helmet.
Sites hosting this cartoon are:
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/node/3627
http://hittingmetalwithahammer.wordpress.com/hi-new-zealand-herald/
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2007/02/a_distasteful_cartoon.html

Hop on over to David Farrar’s kiwiblog to enjoy the rest of these billboards, and the numerous heated comments.
I think the top banner is the pick of the bunch.
Peter Done changed his mind as usual, probably after he figured which way the voters we pointing. And the greens… well, who knows what they have been smoking?!
Some more from Farrar’s blog…
Democracy Attacks Back
The Free Speech Coalition has launched a billboard campaign today against the parties which voted for the Electoral Finance Act.
“The Electoral Finance Act was correctly labeled by the …

Ken Perrott writes here that:
Some theists claim their god, and their holy scriptures, as the source of all human values…..As a non-theist I find these claims insulting because they imply that personal values require a belief in a god; that atheists cannot be moral.

I always find this form of argument intriguing because atheism per se is so patently obviously bankrupt of moral values. Note that I did not say atheists are bankrupt of moral values, but that their beloved system of belief is. I would challenge Ken to explain to …

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1068
Richard Dawkins appears quite comfortable with his status as the world’s most influential apostle of atheism. He can rest his atheist laurels on the reputation of his best-selling book, The God Delusion, and his incessant advocacy of atheism in the media worldwide. To date, Professor Dawkins has demonstrated a take-no-prisoners approach to pressing his case, arguing that parents who inculcate religious beliefs within their own children are guilty of a form of child abuse.
And yet, it seems that Dawkins now wants to call himself a “cultural Christian.” The BBC [British …

My greatest passion in life is to know God and to make Him known. As I travel, God has given me the opportunity to debate prominent scholars with differing worldviews, as well as to lecture to impressionable young adults on university campuses. It’s thrilling to see the impact in changed lives.
During this holiday season, Christians throughout the world will celebrate the miraculous birth of our Lord and Savior. In the midst of our celebrations, we must not forget that we are locked in a battle with formidable opponents. Atheists, secularists, …

Can I recommend this book for the thinking Christian out there. Moreland is one of the great contemporary evangelical thinkers and the first chapter (free to download here) is profound and fascinating. The Kingdom Triangle website has some nice materials here.

Here is the link to order.

Family News in Focus: 11/12/07
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006098.cfm?eafref=1
Doctors say reasoning and explanation don’t work with young children.
Parents who feel their unruly, young children need an old-fashioned spanking now and then have the support of the American College of Pediatricians (ACP). Research from the group finds that spanking “can be a useful and necessary part of a successful disciplinary plan.”
Dr. Den Trumbull, the report’s principal author, said: “Spanking is, at times, necessary with young children, because reasoning and explanation are insufficient in persuading them to have good behavior.

An interesting discussion is happening over at www.uncommondescent.com on whether the four horsemen of atheism, Dawkins et al., should take some responsibility for the recent shootings in the USA.
Link here.

If you want to follow the links please go to the original article here.
Skeptical Scientists Urge World To ‘Have the Courage to Do Nothing’ At UN Conference
BALI, Indonesia – An international team of scientists skeptical of man-made climate fears promoted by the UN and former Vice President Al Gore, descended on Bali this week to urge the world to “have the courage to do nothing” in response to UN demands.
Lord Christopher Monckton, a UK climate researcher, had a blunt message for UN climate conference participants on Monday.
“Climate change is a …

Worldviews are like the picture on the box of a jigsaw puzzle. With hundreds of pieces to arrange, having a well-formed image of what it is you’re piecing together is essential to being able to determine where the jigsaw piece in front of you fits. If you start with the wrong ‘big picture’, getting the puzzle to go together well can be challenging. But, start with the right picture, and it becomes relatively easy to work out what each piece is, and where it fits.
Worldviews are like prescription sunglasses. …

This is a MUST READ for those who are considering worldviews, politics, and the future of this nation.
PhD thesis puts spotlight on evolution of social standards in NZ
(Contact: david@davidlindsey.co.nz)
Garth George
NZ Herald, 11/10/07
It’s not a matter of the separation of Church and state any longer, it’s a matter of the state taking over from the Church as the arbiter of the nation’s truths, morals, ethics and values. That’s the contention of David Lindsey, a PhD candidate at Auckland University, in a proposal for his thesis, which came …

Fossil remains found near New Zealand’s Antarctic Scott Base have been identified as the largest creature to ever walk the Earth.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4320225a12.html
The four to six tonne, seven to eight metre long dinosaur has been dug out of rock and ice at the base of Mt Kirkpatrick near the Beardmore Glacier, 700kms south of Scott Base and in New Zealand’s Ross Dependency.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/12/10/abraham-affair
The firing of a scientist at the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in New England appears to be yet another clear-cut case of employment discrimination because of a researcher’s creationist beliefs, and not his academic qualifications or competence. The dismissal of Dr. Nathaniel Abraham from the institute and his recent lawsuit became public knowledge on Friday with a front page “above the fold” article in The Boston Globe, and is now circulating worldwide (e.g., via the AP and Reuters news services).
Dr. Abraham, a postdoctoral researcher in fish development …

Former ‘No Nukes’ Protester: Stop Worrying and Love Nuclear Power
The only way to rescue our plug-hungry planet from catastrophic global warming is to embrace nuclear power, and fast.
That’s the argument of Gwyneth Cravens, a novelist, journalist and former nuke protester. Her new book, Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy, is a passionate plea to understand, instead of fear, atomic power. In her book, Cravens is guided Dante-like through the entire life cycle of nuclear power — from mining to production to waste disposal — by one …

Reuters: United States Saturday 08 December 2007
An entire California diocese of the United States Anglican Church has voted to secede in a historic split following years of disagreement over the church’s expanding support for gay and women’s rights.
Clergy and lay representatives of the diocese of San Joaquin, Fresno, voted to leave the Episcopal Church, which has been in turmoil since 2003 when it consecrated an openly gay bishop [Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire]. Last year, it elected a woman primate [Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori].
The San Joaquin …