Current Thoughts on Schooling

Background:

• After 14 years, Tane decided to try schooling out.
• He went in at year 11, NCEA1, to a decile 8 or 9 school.

Yesterday:

• He attained over 25% of NCEA1 (at least 22 out of 80 credits).
• He completed his bit-part in the school musical.
• He got cyber-bullied.

Today:

• I’m 80% certain he will choose to come back to homeschooling next year.

Thoughts:

• He’s not failing the school system.
• The school system is failing him.

Christmas 2011 Newsletter

January Sam Soukotta guest speaker @ Elim Creation at The Rock Uncle Ross stayed with us Church in the Community (Stokes Valley Pool) Tree Top Walk with Tane Travel to Londts at Te Puke Ken’s family visit us.
	February WHEN Camp at Brookfields Scout Camp, Wainuiomata Tane @ Basic Chemistry Course, Victoria University Church in the Community (Taita) Vex Robotics Fundraiser Hamish’s 12th birthday Stan Walker Concert Zirka Circus
March Marriage Course at Salvation Army, Johnsonville. Tennis 17th wedding anniversary and celebration Men’s Ministry with Pastor Cornelio Perez
	April Duck Race Fundraiser (for St Johns) Marriage Enrichment Dinner and Course James temporary Team Leader at work Messianic Passover (Knox Church) Outreach at Taita Laundromat
May Tane’s 14th Birthday Captivating Creation Cavemen from Canada (Reformed Church of Silverstream) Fiona @ Celebrate Recovery Adolescence Study with Hamish Tane at FITE Life Group, The Rock Church RAZE Youth Group, Elim Church Traction Youth Group, Newlands Baptist James’s 43rd Birthday High School Musical (at HIBS)	Aimee at Pulse (Kids Church) at Elim
	June WHEN Science Fair Adolescence Study Complete Relationships Course @ Taita Show Stoppers at Chilton St James School Fiona @ Celebrate Recovery Excellent performance appraisal Dot Net Meetups
July Running Relationships Course @ Taita Church Kids 4 Drama Rehearsals of a Midsummer Night’s Fairtale Two Gilbert & Sullivan plays HMS Pinafore Trial by Jury Hamish at Telecom Foundation Workshop James interviewed about home interest rates (just a man on the street) Web training and after party Visiting speaker Cecily Stoneham
	August 1st Plasma Donation Auckland Holiday: MOTAT Rainbows End Auckland War Museum Ice Skating Rotorua & Te Puke The Luge The Londts
September James moved into new Telecom building A2 Drama Class rehearsals Promise Keepers
	October Naomi & Anna Visit Boundaries Course – Participation Completion Boundaries Course – Leaders Commencement Rugby World Cup Interviewing Candidates at Telecom Tane @ ATC Dinner Aimee’s 10th birthday.
November Boundaries Course – Continuation The Real Saint Nick (Rehearsals) Extreme Dance Tap Dancing Performance at Southwards Museum Theatre Smooth Criminal & Thunderstruck St Johns Awards Ceremony Telecom/Chorus Demerger Ceremony
	December The Real Saint Nick (at Elim) Boundaries Course – Completion Christmas Plans

METTLE Monthly Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 12

Volume 5 Issue 12 December 2010

Hippolite Musings	Gentlemen, In December, I: Finished rehearsals for Christmas Production; Attended Johnsonville Christmas Parade; watched Hamish march with St Johns (Aimee was at tap rehearsals); Attended Telecom Christmas Party at TSB Arena (see photos left); Attended Squash Club BBQ; Attended Angela Goodall’s Dance Academy end of year performance of Wonderland;  watched Aimee as a tapping blue caterpillar and Tane as a tapping Card Guard (photos and DVD available for viewing); Attended Elim One Service for Volunteers; Attended my first CAB (Change Approval Board) meeting; got my Change Request approved; implemented my final production change for the year; Gave dramatic performance as King Nebuchadnezzar in Elim production of It’s Cool in the Furnace; Immediately after the production, shaved off my beard; Attended Grenada Village Christmas Carols; Sent Christmas cards and newsletter; Had a Voice Test for a possible professional dramatic presentation (subsequently not awarded); Attended KBK (Kids Bible Klub) end of year performance; watched Aimee in a dramatic play; Attended final Dot Net User Group meeting; went out for final Geek Dinner afterwards; Attended final Squash Committee meeting re: current building crisis; Final Align leaders meeting; Took the kids to a movie; watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Finished work early; took an extra week’s holiday; Prepared house for painting; cleaned the house for guests; tidied up gardens (correction: Fiona and in-laws tidied up the garden; I took the trailer to the tip); Took all three kids to the orthodontist; Pickup in-laws from airport; Farewelled Daryl Burling from Microsoft; Distributed chocolate almonds to homes in Taita; Attended another BBQ; Christmas Eve party at Alan’s; hosted Align Christmas Service; Christmas BBQ at Tansley’s; and Commenced stripping, sanding; priming and painting the house. Blessings, James.
World Outreach	PLEASE PRAY! MOZAMBIQUE:  Please pray for Kotie & Rina Smit, WO missionaries based in Nacala, northern Mozambique.  They have been attacked and robbed of cash, computers, mobile phones, cameras, and other personal effects, by a band of 6 thieves. Kotie now has a broken arm, cuts and some bruising resulting from the attack.  They tried to slash him with pangas (a machete like tool) several times. Rina said the hand of the Lord was on them as Kotie could easily have been killed. She said they had a real sense of God’s protection throughout the whole incident and didn’t sense any fear. Praise the Lord!  One encouraging aspect in all this is that when the local Mozambiquan community learnt of the robbery and assault, family after family visited the Smits to apologize, to pray and encourage them,. Some came from far away villages.  This really blessed the Smits who had often wondered what effect they and their ministry was having in the region. Kotie & Rina are now in Sth Africa getting medical attention. Kotie is experiencing pain and his arm cannot be put in plaster until the wounds are healed.  Please keep them both in prayer as they recover from this terrible and traumatic time. IVORY COAST.  Janvier & Claudine Yokoinele writes: “The country is going through a situation which only prayer can sort out. After this month’s Presidential elections, the country finds itself in a dangerous situation with the two main candidates claiming to have won. One (the incumbent) is officially recognized by the constitutional council and courts, while the other is self proclaimed and supported by the international community. Only through prayer can this national dilemma be solved.  Civil war could easily result.  All schools have been closed for more than a week and people have been told to stay at home. There is a strict night curfew which will remain in place for at least another week.”  The situation is critical. Please pray for the Ivory Coast. NTH ASIA. Please uphold a WO team living and ministering among an unreached people group in N-W Asia. A potential security issue has arisen that could jeopardize the team’s visas and the means for them to carrying on. Pray that all team members will be safe & protected by the Holy Spirit.    BANGLADESH. Bruce Hills, WOI Leadership Development Director, is ministering at a national conference in Bangladesh this week and would appreciate prayer. Bangladesh is a nation that the WOI leadership want to dedicate more time, personnel and resources to in the training & equipping of leadership and church planters. Pray that Bruce will not only enjoy God’s hand of blessing on him during this time, but also that he will have some divine appointments along the way that will play a key part in helping WOI’s future strategy planning for this spiritually needy land. INDONESIA. Sam & Carol Soukotta, along with staff & students at Tawangmangu Bible College (TBC) are now waiting official word from the Central Java government about reducing the gov’ts asking price for buying the leasehold land on which the TBC campus is located. After a recent meeting with the governor, he said that he was impressed with the “professional way” in which TBC was approaching the whole issue.  Sam Soukotta writes, “So for now we continue to pray and believe the Lord will intervene, through ‘our good example’.  It pays to be in the ‘good books’ of the government!”  Please pray that the land purchase price will be reduced to the present 30% deposit that has already been paid.  David Elliott would appreciate prayer for himself and the multi-national team he is leading to the Living Waters base in West Kalimantan, Indonesia this week. Daily the team will be involved in practical work relating to the ongoing building projects, and in the evenings ministering to the 400+ children that are living on the LW base. Please pray for the team’s travel protections and good health during this 2 week period, and that they will be a huge blessing to all they come in contact with.  PRAISE! INDIA. Jess Le Bleu is full of praise to the Lord and wants to thank all who persevered in prayer with her for the India visa that she needed in order for her to go and minister in Bihar province. Jess and companion Michelle, fly into India this week.  Praise the Lord! John Elliott
Why I Am A Climate Realist	BREAKING: Hottest year ever claims based on fake data You hear it trotted out so often it’s tiresome, but for those who still believe the climate scientists who claim 2010 is "the hottest year ever", here’s a wake-up call: the data is fake. (another perspective here) It’s a similar stunt I pinged New Zealand’s NIWA for a year ago. It seems anyone with access to a cereal packet is licensed to be a UN endorsed climate scientist these days. You cannot extrapolate temperatures on a global level from areas where there are no accurate temp readings for hundreds of kilometres. It’s guess work, not science. And just to pre-empt any timewasting by Ken Perrott, who has consistently tried to defend NIWA, may I remind Ken he has offered no coherent explanation for his flawed logic exposed here: Meanwhile, some good news. Air Con Climategate 2010 edition has finally gone on sale in NZ bookshops after we arranged for the US files to be printed locally in Wellington. Whitcoulls and Paperplus are the best places to try first. Posted by iwishart on December 15,
Why I Am A Creationist	Title Adam and His Kin The Lost History of Their Lives and Times Author Ruth Beechick Dr. Ruth Beechick is author or editor of more than 100 manuals, workbooks and other items for Bible learning, as well as several books on education topics.  She is a former teacher and professor of education, and is known for her talent in making complex topics clear and understandable.  Adam and His Kin continues in that tradition. Published Mott Media, Fenton Michigan, Format Softcover, 176 pages Synopsis Journey Through the World’s Forgotten Years History doesn’t have to be drab.  This book is entertaining, informative and remarkably easy to read.  Though not a novel, it weaves into one continuous story information from many sources – including linguistics, archeology, astronomy and other sciences; the Bible and other history; and ancient traditions and religions.  It is neatly arranged within the timeline as given in the Bible  This excursion through an almost forgotten world provides startling insights on many old questions. HAVE history textbooks told us the truth? HOW did mankind learn language? WHERE did the skills of civilization begin? WHY do ancient writings refer to a year of 360 days? WHAT actual events lie behind the mythologies of the world? WHO kept alive the memory of the distant past? Contents Preface The Beginning of Time In the Garden The Punishment Adam’s Children Cain Writing in the Stars The Preachers Noah The Year of 1656 The Great Flood The Calendar Puzzle Starting Up the New World Trouble at Ararat Land of the Two Rivers The Tower of Bel Aftermath Gods and Goddesses The Death of Noah Abram Appendices A. Writers of Genesis B. Genesis 1:1 to 11:27a C. Study Projects D. Annotated Bibliography Review This book builds upon the work of Dr. Henry Morris’ The Genesis Record, which in my opinion is the best commentary ever on Genesis. It is achingly simple to understand.  You could read it to your pre-teen children and they would get it.  We did. It successfully achieves its purpose.  The preface explains the author’s decision to write a narrative because “secular history books do not balk at guessing.”  I like that. When starting with the Bible as your yardstick, the various histories of the world make sense.  Mankind is not evolving.  We are devolving.  We originally were created in the image of God.  Everything since then has been entropy – an increase of chaos, or a decrease of order. 10/10
Why I Am Pro Maori	Get a Grip, People Again with the foreshore and seabed.  I usually like what the ACT Party have to say about personal responsibility and small government, but when it comes to Maori, they haven’t got a clue. The original Foreshore and Seabed Act was racist because it specifically prevented Maori from exercising the rights of any other citizen of NZ, to have their property rights tested in a court of law. The replacement Act has to address that imbalance.  This means some Tribes may be able to prove Customary Entitlement.  This means some land will be cut off from the public estate.  Big deal.  (White) private land owners have been doing that (and profiting from it) for years. To assume that all Maori will immediately snap up prime real estate and sell it to overseas interests, or worse yet, lock it up for spiritual reasons, is blatant scare-mongering. Stop bashing Maori, ACT. James
How to…	Engage the Culture I’ve Been Thinking Fiona and I have resigned from three committees each.  2011 will be our Sabbatical year.  Our responsibilities were: Secretary, Northern Racquets Squash Club Secretary, Grenada Village Residents Association Treasurer, Wellington Home Education Network Membership Secretary, Wellington Home Education Network Budget Advisor, Agape Budgeting Service Librarian, Wellington Home Education Network We will be focussing on our missionary activity at Align Church Taita.  Specifically, we have voiced an interest in and willingness to head up family ministries there.  We already got a Kids Bible Club and Go Girls team running.  2011 we have been asked to put on a pre-marriage/relationships course.  This will be followed later in the year by a marriage course. James
Great Scientists…	…Who Believed the Bible James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) What could be more different than magnetism, electricity, and light? Yet, in the nineteenth century, James Clerk Maxwell showed that these phenomena were simply different manifestations of the same fundamental laws. He described all these, as well as radio waves, radar, and radiant heat, by a unique and elegant system of equations.
Friday Fax	Dear Colleague, You have another day to donate to the Friday Fax and receive a deduction on your 2010 US taxes. Go to www.c-fam.org/donate/ and please give as much as you can. We report today on a recent victory of poor countries over rich ones on the question of homosexuality. We also report on how one abstinence program is saving lives. Spread the word. Yours sincerely, Austin Ruse President Countries Reject “Sexual Orientation” Language in Treaty with Europe By Terrence McKeegan, J.D. BRUSSELS, December 30 (C-FAM) Developing nations recently slapped down attempts by the European Union to add “sexual orientation” to an existing treaty. Seventy-nine countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific islands sent a letter to the European Parliament that is notable for its strong demand that the EU stop pushing its homosexual agenda on developing countries.   Supporters Say Truly Comprehensive Sex-Ed Gets Results By Amanda Pawloski and Samantha Singson NEW YORK, December 30 (C-FAM) Nothing gets the debate burning hotter at the UN than one over sex education for children. Last Fall conservative UN delegations angrily protested a report claiming for children a new right to “comprehensive sexuality education.”
Train a Child	Tane Finished third year tap lessons with Commendation for Consistent Effort.  Was an impressive White Queen’s Card Guard in Wonderland.  We all hated the costume, but that’s show business. Demonstrated his prowess at several BBQ by cheerfully being volunteered by his Dad to do the cooking. Finally completed his (much awaiting, long overdue and completely easy just tedious) maths workbook, thus finally earning him Dad’s hand-me-down HTC Touch (Windows 6.1) cellphone.  He’s happy. Hamish Proudly led St John Cadets in Johnsonville Santa Parade march. I have commenced reading Lord of the Rings to him.  I have accepted his dyslexia unfairly prevents him from earning the right to watch the movies (a prerequisite I placed on Tane).  We are enjoying the journey together.  We finished The Hobbit last month. Has happily accepted Tane’s hand-me-down Pantech 210C cellphone. Aimee Was a competent and very cute blue caterpillar in Wonderland. Is demonstrating responsibility by looking after a friend’s guinea pigs and budgerigar while they are away on holiday. Is having to wear a plate to correct her teeth at present.  This is preventative, to avoid braces later.  So far, she hasn’t been very diligent and has had to have the plate reset twice.  The plate is a source of some fascination at Align Church among the kids.  I can see that their parents are not able to afford good dental treatment.  I see how the poverty cycle can be hard to escape.  It is a source of concern to me.
Why I Am Pro-Israel	Weekly Review: December 26, 2010 Dear Friend of Jerusalem, Here are the latest headlines from the One Jerusalem Blog: Christmas in the Palestinian Authority – A Latma Christmas Carol Islamic War Against Jews, Christians, .. In Holy Land:  Nina Shea has published a troubling, enlightening, and timely essay on the Islamic war against the religions that make this season holy for most of the world. Shea writes:These figures in the Christmas story represent the principal monotheistic religions of… "Israeli War Crimes" in Seattle:  A Seattle bus company has allowed an anti-Israel group to advertise anti-Israel propaganda on Seattle City buses.  A local Seattle media outlet has a poll asking for your vote.  Vote NO!… Sincerely, The One Jerusalem Team
Humour	Husband Learns Love Is More Than Words For the first 15 years of my marriage, I was a terrible husband. Diane held down a full-time job, became my secretary, mothered our daughters, and waited on me hand and foot without ever demanding that I lift a finger to help. I loved my wife very much, but I hadn’t yet learned how to show my love. I had a lesson to learn, and God used a vacuum cleaner to teach it. I learned many things about vacuuming one day. First, I learned that our cat was terrified of vacuum cleaners. That kept me entertained for about an hour. As I vacuumed in one direction, a stripe would appear. Going the opposite direction would create a stripe of a different shade. Entranced, I striped the whole room. Then I went crossways, creating a checkerboard pattern. I got so carried away that I dusted the furniture and straightened the entire house. I was once again embedded in the easy chair, working on my crossword puzzle, when Diane came home. She struggled through the door with a bag of groceries under each arm, kicked the door shut with one foot, and then took in the house with an expert glance. Her mouth dropped open. Slowly the bags slipped from her grasp and dropped to the floor. "Who did this?" she asked. "I did," I said. Without warning, she attacked. Diving on me before I could get out of the chair, she smothered me with kisses and hugs, showering gratitude on me for helping her. The kisses grew more passionate. We broke the chair. It was wonderful! The vacuum cleaner taught me an important lesson that day. Love is expressed with more than just words. —Ken Davis, Lighten Up! Great Stories from One of America’s Favorite Storytellers (Zondervan, 2000), pp. 123-124
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to METTLE.  I’m available for bookings. When What Where Who 8-Jan-11 Robotics Fundraiser (Sausage Sizzle) Noel Leemings, Porirua Hamish 9-Jan-11 Sunday Service Wellington Elim Sam Soukotta 10-Jan-11 Back to Work Telecom, Grand Arcade James 14-17 Jan Missions for Africa Hippolite House Ross Campbell 16-Jan-11 Church in the Community Stokes Valley Pool Align Church 23-Jan-11 Sunday Morning Service Wellington Elim Bruce Corcoran 23-Jan-11 Church in the Community Eastbourne/Beach Align Church 30-Jan-11 Church in the Community Avalon Park Align Church 10-14 Jul-2011 PDC 10 LA Microsoft
Bible Reading	You can look up for yourselves at: http://BibleReader.AlignChurch.org.nz/.
End Notes	METTLE is an acronym for Men’s Evangelical Team Together for Learning Experiences. We are primarily Christian businessmen from Wellington, who meet occasionally in the CBD to encourage each other in our daily walk with Jesus. This Monthly Collaborative Blog (MCB) is our primary means of communication.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this MCB, you are welcome to forward them along. Similarly, if your circumstances are such that membership in this distribution list is no longer relevant, then hit reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE to have it removed. If you choose to respond to any item raised in this MCB, please indicate clearly which items you wish to remain Private, as any correspondence may be considered Public and could be published. If this newsletter has been of benefit to you, why not drop a line and say so.  Or better yet, visit the TVORNZ website to read past issues and add a comment! Published by The Voice of Reason, New Zealand, copyright © 2006-2011.

METTLE Monthly Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 11

Volume 5 Issue 11 November 2010

Hippolite Musings	Gentlemen, In November, I: Conquered the Project Management tool which Telecom uses by entering 3 months actuals and 1 months forecast work for the 8 staff in my team.  I’m a trainee Team Lead! Finished Spring Interclub (Squash) competitions.  Harrumph. Attended Northern Squash prize giving (see photo left). Attended copious rehearsals as King Nebuchadnezzar in Elim’s production of “It’s Cool in the Furnace!” Gave my Creation presentation once again, this time to a men’s group at Elim.  Took great questions.  Very positive experience. Attended Guy Fawkes Celebrations at Frank Kitts Park (courtesy of a BNZ staff friend).  Got out of the rain by going across the road (courtesy of Telecom House access card). Attended another Vex Robotics Scrimmage. Attended a mate’s birthday BBQ.  ‘Tis the season! Sent Aimee for her first camp away from home without us (St. John’s). Ran four Align Bible Club services. Received direction on how to maximise My Personal Performance (MPP) reporting.  This is corporate-speak for complying with my quarterly performance reviews. Fixing up WHEN library database in preparation for handing it over to somebody else.  Yippee! Sat and failed my Windows Communication Foundation exam.  Ah, well, there’s always next month! Studied (before and after exam) materials for said exam. Met with Martin Steel, pastor of Harbourside Church and mentor to Align Church.  Received (more) leadership training.  Asked seriously tricky questions.  Got straight answers. Took ABC class to Heaven’s Gates, Hell’s Flames drama at Avalon AOG. Took final minutes as Secretary for Grenada Village Community Association at AGM.  Presented finances as acting Treasurer. Assisted Fiona to handover Membership Secretary duties of WHEN. Align Leaders Workshop (Praise Centre, Wainuiomata). Guitar lessons. Gave promo of musical production at church. Delivered one project.  Picked up three more.  Christmas is always busy (people trying to get stuff finished before the shutdown period). Blessings, James.
World Outreach	PLEASE PRAY! INDONESIA. This coming Monday, Nov 22 the Principal of Tawangmangu Bible College (TBC) and an attorney of Justice will meet with the Governor of Central Java to request that the authorities reduce their price for the TBC campus land to the 30% deposit that has already been paid. Other land owners on Mt Tawangmangu are also protesting the gov’t’s high freehold fee on their land, with most landowners not willing to pay.  Sam & Carol Soukotta ask that we remember to pray for this very important meeting on Monday, in particular that the favour of the Lord will be toward TBC. Thank you. Please also remember John LeRoy in prayer as he continues to recover after contracting typhoid and dengue fever last month in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. MOZAMBIQUE. A WO team is presently in northern Mozambique ministering to some 400 Koti leaders and they request our prayers. In particular they are asking for wisdom to know how to encourage & guide some of the Koti who sense the Holy Spirit directing them to go and minister among the Mwani people group further north, near the border with Tanzania. Pray too for a rich anointing of the Holy Spirit on the Koti gathering, for healing of bodies that are afflicted with malaria and other diseases, and that the inner working of the Holy Spirit will continue to transform the Koti people from their former pagan ways, and baptize them afresh in the Father’s love.    WO2010. Prayer is requested as members of the WO International leadership meet on Mon, Nov 29 to discuss and sign off on important policies relating to the organization’s journey of change that began back in 2003.  At present 90% of what was targeted to happen by the end of 2010 has been achieved. The Nov 29 meeting will help sign off on the remaining outstanding items. VISAS. Please pray for Jessica (India), Tony & Annette (Thailand) and Jason & Anne (Indonesia) who all need the favour of the Lord for the approval of their visas so they can continue serving the Lord in their respective nations.    PRAISE! THAILAND.  Lorraine Dierck, WO Thailand field leader writes: “Our church-planting teams are doing well with much fruit, and continuing to baptise new believers every day. Outstanding miracles continue to happen as these uneducated brand-new believers step out in faith and pray for blind eyes to be open, lame legs to start walking – and they do! The new churches are now preparing for their first Christmas as followers of Jesus, and as you can imagine, they are wisely planning how they can use the Christmas story to bring their families and friends to faith in Jesus Christ.” ETHIOPIA. Daniels’ father Tammen is an important man who leads 5 mosques in South West Ethiopia.  Through the testimonies and witness of some friends, Daniel became a believer in Jesus Christ and steadily grew in his new found faith even though he experienced much opposition and persecution. He now is pastoring a church in a Muslim community. Recently he witnessed to the leader of the local mosque and the man and his whole family eventually became followers of Jesus Christ.  Within three days of the mosque leader’s conversion his oldest son suddenly passed away. He refused to bury his son in the traditional manner but wanted his son buried at the Christian cemetery.  Some five thousand Muslims attended burial and listened intently to a clear presentation of the Gospel.  Shortly afterwards when at Friday prayers, a Mosque Sheik told his congregation that they should beat the Christians and kill Daniel. As he was about to publicly announce this over the loud speaker system, a heavy rain storm fell on the mosque and surrounding area and nobody could hear the announcement.  Then a lightning strike destroyed the crescent and moon on top of the mosque and part of the building was damaged.  The mosque sheik was shocked and frightened by what had happened so declared, “don’t touch the Christians because their God is more powerful.”   Since then there is peace and Daniel has seen the church grow with more coming to listen to the preaching of the Word of God every week. John Elliott
Koinonia House News	IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES 69 Children Saved From Prostitution Rings November 09, 2010 A three-day federal crackdown on child prostitution rings across the country has resulted in the recovery of 69 children and the arrest of 884 people, including 99 pimps, federal authorities said Monday. There are now 39 Innocence Lost task forces and working groups throughout the country. So far, those units have recovered 1,250 children, and the initiative has resulted in 438 indictments, 625 convictions, 153 criminal enterprises disrupted and 58 successfully dismantled, authorities said. - CNN Bible Distribution Nixed At Michigan Schools November 09, 2010 A school district in southern Michigan is stopping a longstanding practice of allowing the Gideons to distribute Bibles in the hallways of its elementary school after a parent complained to the district’s superintendent. Superintendent Mike Potts told The Christian Post on Tuesday that the district is not taking a stand on whether Bibles are right or wrong but simply following regulations as a government agency. "We cannot condone the passing any literature of that nature regardless of who’s passing it out," said Potts. - The Christian Post China and Russia Vow To Advance Military Cooperation November 09, 2010 China and Russia, vowing to advance military ties, signed an agreement in Beijing Tuesday for developing military cooperation between their two countries. The signing came during a one-day visit to China by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, RIA Novosti reported. A spokeswoman for Serdyukov said the accord involves contracts to supply spare parts for air defense systems, aviation and navy equipment. - UPI Oklahoma Sharia Law Ban Blocked For Now November 08, 2010 A popular new law that bars Oklahoma courts from considering Islamic law, or Shariah, when deciding cases was put on hold Monday after a prominent Muslim in the state won a temporary restraining order in federal court. US District Court Judge Vicki Miles-LeGrange ruled that the measure, which passed by a large margin in last Tuesday’s elections, would be suspended until a hearing on Nov. 22, when she will listen to arguments on whether the court’s temporary injunction should become permanent. - Fox News Intelligent Design in The Hebrew November 06, 2010 In the Hebrew version of Wikipedia, the page on intelligent design translates ID with the phrase "tichnun tivoni," which means something like "intelligent planning." And so it’s translated regularly too in Ha’aretz and other Israeli news sources. The Wiki page is well supplied with the usual distortions that you’d expect from Wikipedia in any language, but never mind that. The question of how to translate "intelligent design" into the language of the Bible is an interesting one. Is there an actual Biblical phrase that captures the idea? - Evolution News and Views
Why I Am A Climate Realist	Climategate video of the year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-uzNBtdYOo James says: This video is a hard-hitting exposé of the tactics used by Climate Alarmists to distort the truth and spread fear, uncertainty and doubt in order to advance, or at the very least maintain their grasp of tax-funded tenures.
Why I Am A Creationist	Pew survey reveals widespread religious ignorance When the Pew Forum surveyed Americans’ knowledge of various religions, no one really scored well. What are the implications for the Church? Gary Bates and Lita Cosner suggest a solution in their analysis. Does chromosome fusion prove common ancestry? Evolutionists claim that evidence of chromosome fusion in humans, who have 23 pairs of chromosomes, proves that we were descended from apes, who have 24 pairs. But Dominic Statham shows that for evolutionists, their interpretation amounts to “Heads I win, tails you lose”. Mammoth burgers served on buns? New Scientist has published new evidence of widespread flour production in ‘stone age’ Europe. In this article, CMI-Australia’s David Catchpoole shows how evolutionary assumptions about the diet of ancient humans caused scientists to completely overlook this evidence. Creation.com classic: The evolution train’s a-comin’ Don’t the small changes we see in living things today prove that, given millions of years, those small changes could add up to evolution? In this classic article from Creation magazine, Carl Wieland says no; because the changes are heading in the wrong direction! Read The evolution train’s a-comin’ (sorry, a’goin’—in the wrong direction). Exciting new feature. Get creation.com on your mobile! Need an answer on the go? Now it’s easy to access our over-7500 fully searchable articles through any web-connected cell phone: just go to creation.mobi. Creation talks by satellite—with a twist… CMI speaker and satellite scientist Dr Mark Harwood has commenced recording a series of 16 sessions of 30 minutes each for an Arabic Christian TV Channel that provides content for satellite-based channels over Australia and New Zealand, plus also for possible Middle East coverage. The interesting ‘twist’ is that the programs will be transmitted by a satellite that Mark actually designed! If you haven’t already got it, we highly recommend Mark’s latest DVD, Elephants in the Room.
Why I Am Pro Maori	KAUMATUA & RANGATAHI RUNANGA REPRESENTATIVE NOMINATIONS Nominations for Kaumatua and Rangatahi representation on the Board of Te Runanga O Toa Rangatira Inc, are now open. The Kaumatua positions are for 1 x koroua, and 1 x kuia The Rangatahi positions are for 1 x kotiro, and 1 x tamatane If you would like to nominate an iwi member to the Board of Te Runanga O Toa Rangatira Inc., please click here to access the nomination form on the Ngati Toa website or contact the Runanga office on the number listed below. Nominations close on 6 December 2010 and nomination forms and supporting documents must be received at the Runanga office by 5pm, Monday 6th December 2010. All nominees and nominators must be registered members through whakapapa, reside in New Zealand and be 18 years of age and over. In the case of the Rangatahi (both kotiro and tamatane), the nominees must be at least 18 years of age and be no older than 27 at election day, that is 18 February 2011. Voting papers will be sent to registered Iwi members. Postal votes will close 6pm Wednesday 17 February. A Special General Meeting will be held Puna Ora, Takapuwahia on Thursday 18 February 2011 where a final opportunity to vote will be available. Voting will open at 10am and close at 3pm.  WE REQUEST YOU SHARE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS EMAIL WITH WHANAU MEMBERS THAT MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO EMAIL OR THE INTERNET. If there are any questions regarding this information contained in this email please phone the Runanga on 04 237 7922 or email runanga@ngatitoa.iwi.nz Missy Te Kahu Iwi Registration Administrator Te Runanga O Toa Rangatira Inc Phone: (04) 237 7922 Email: missy@ngatitoa.iwi.nz Website: http://ngatitoa.maori.nz
How to…	Engage the Culture What struck me as odd this month was the Pike River Mine disaster.  The outpouring of grief; the decision to hold a state funeral; the unprecedented (I was a child and didn’t notice Erebus) public attention.  For 29 coal miners nobody had ever heard of before, at a West Coast mine nobody knew existed. God got a mention.  This was good.  Even the atheists who want to ignore Him, couldn’t resist trying to lay the blame at His feet.  Which is highly amusing, because their faith position offers no hope nor succour to the families of the miners.  Meanwhile, the churches cooperation in Greymouth contributed to a very positive image of Christian unity. And finally, I have to agree with the lone letter to the editor who exposed an (in hind site) obvious contributing factor to the accident: that the Greens value snails over the lives of those men by forcing the mine to tunnel rather than allow open cast mining.  Snails are not taonga.  People are taonga.
Great Scientists…	…Who Believed the Bible Joseph Lister (1827–1912) Imagine making a discovery so important that a whole branch of science dates its calendar by it.  That is what happened because of a Christian doctor.  Joseph Lister’s discovery of antisepsis has led some to divide the history of medicine into the eras “before Lister” and “after Lister.”  His work did more to save lives in the hospital than any other in history.  Surprisingly, it took nearly a generation for his discovery to become accepted.  He faced strong opposition from doctors and surgeons who didn’t believe him and weren’t about to change their ways.  In the end, however, because of Lister’s perseverance in teaching what he knew was right, and from the dramatic success of those who followed his procedures, his ideas finally took hold, and at his death, he was a world-wide hero.
Friday Fax	Dear Colleague, Today Terrence McKeegan reports on the Holy Father’s historic vigil for all unborn human life.  People from around the world participated in their local churches, and 10,000 people participated in Rome.   Amanda Pawloski reports on the UN Youth Conference.  For lack of money, sponsors, and organization the conference might not happen next summer.     Spread the word.  Sincerely, Austin Ruse President Pope Leads Worldwide Prayer Vigil for Unborn Life By Terrence McKeegan, J.D. ROME, December 2 (C-FAM) Last Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI led an unprecedented global prayer vigil for unborn life in Rome that was repeated in countries around the world. Ten thousand faithful jammed St. Peter’s Basilica including many children who were presented to the Holy Father. In his remarks, the pope offered support to those working in the pro-life movement. “I wish to express my thanks to all who have taken up this invitation and those who are specifically dedicated to welcoming and safeguarding human life in different situations of fragility, especially in its early days and in its early stages,” he said.  Dithering Over UN Youth Conference By Amanda Pawloski NEW YORK, December 2 (C-FAM) If present dithering is any indication, the promised global conference celebrating the UN International Year of Youth may not happen after all. As it stands now, governments at the UN cannot decide on a date, sponsor, funding, or venue. However, some fear that a hasty youth conference will be thrown together at the last minute, given the example set by the World Youth Conference in Mexico this past August.
Train a Child	Tane Had rehearsals for his tap class end-of-year production of Wonderland, playing one of the Queen’s guards; Had rehearsals as a guard for King Nebuchadnezzar in Elim’s production of It’s Cool in the Furnace.  Hmm maybe there’s a theme developing here. Started attending The Rock Church’s FITE (youth group) instead of Onslow Community Church’s TYG.  Not sure of the desirability or rightness of changing, but at least he’s wanting to go to something reasonably positive. Hamish Is getting jaded with the hard work of deconstructing and re-building robots now.  Now we’ll see if he has an engineer’s tenacity; Is enjoying learning guitar chords from me, and we can play simple duets now; Has discovered that St John’s award merit badges for community service, and that helping to lead Children’s Church at Align qualifies.  He’s much more focussed there now. We sold his unused, second-hand drums on Trade Me.  He got a reasonable portion of the money.  He promptly chose a replacement toy.  We went to Dick Smith to buy a walkie-talkie set with 3km range.  We discovered the batteries were extra and expensive.  He negotiated a loan with me.  He was not entirely pleased with his new acquisition, until he’d earned some money to extinguish the debt.  Now he’s happy and learned a valuable lesson (so has Dad – I won’t do that again). Aimee Went away on St John’s camp.  Made a friend.  Talked heaps.  Slept little.  A great time was had by all. House was quiet in her absence.  Ah bliss. Was also in Angela Goodall’s Dance Academy production of Wonderland.  Played one of the tapping caterpillars.  Very cute.  As the oldest in her class, was a capable leader.
Why I Am Pro-Israel	Weekly Review: November 28, 2010 Dear Friend of Jerusalem, Here are the latest headlines from the One Jerusalem Blog: He Didn’t Care if Children Died:  No we are not talking about Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin or Mao. We are reporting the words of a teenage Muslim who wanted to blow innocent people up at a Christmas celebration in Portland Oregon.  Mohamed Osam Mohamud is the… Palestinian Blogger Arrested by Fatah:  The press keeps referring to Fatah as moderates, the civilized ones Israel should embrace. One Jerusalem has often documented the uncivil nature of Fatah and its Palestinian Authority (PA). To their long list of incivility to their own people you… Muslims Violate French Law…While the Police Watch:  watch the video Palestinian Authority Denies Jewish Origin of the Western Wall:  Over the years, One Jerusalem has recorded examples of Palestinian leaders denying an ancient Jewish presence in Jerusalem. Well this week they publicly displayed their contempt for Israel’s claim that the Western Wall was constructed by Jews. In an official… Jews Are The Offspring of Pigs and Apes:  That Muslim children in England are learning such drivel is (unfortunately) not a great surprise. But what is surprising and encouraging is that the British news media is treating this story with the contempt it deserves.The Daily Mail, Britain’s largest… Sincerely, The One Jerusalem Team
Humour	She Learned Her Lesson I was the new teacher for the toddler-age Sunday school class, which included my 14-month-old daughter. During a lesson on creation, I’d ask questions like, "Who made the trees?" or "Who made the sun?" and the children would respond, "God did." I was pleased the children learned quickly that God made everything. Teaching lessons at home was more of a challenge. I had tried hard to teach my daughter to pick up her toys, and she wasn’t learning very quickly. One day I walked into the living room to find toys scattered everywhere. In exasperation I asked, "Who made this mess?" My daughter looked at me with a proud smile and said, "God did!" —Carol J. Rivest, "Heart to Heart," Today’s Christian Woman
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to METTLE.  I’m available for bookings. When What Where Who 4-Dec Advanced Students Concert Raroa Intermediate School Tane 4-Dec Telecom Christmas Party TSB Arena N/A 4-5 Dec Angela Goodall’s Dance Academy presents Wonderland Memorial Theatre, Victoria University of Wellington Tane & Aimee Hippolite 10-12 Dec It’s Cool In the Furnace Elim Church Wellington James et al 12-Dec Robotics Scrimmage Scots College N/A 13-Dec Christmas Carols Grenada Village Community Hall All 14-Dec TechNet Unplugged Intercontinental Wellington Microsoft 14-Dec Kids Bible Klub EOY performance Newlands Christian Assembly Aimee Hippolite 15-Dec 2010 Final Wellington Geek Dinner TBA N/A 19-Dec Elim Carol Service Wellington Elim All 25-Dec Christmas Everywhere Everyone 10-14 July 2011 PDC 10 LA Microsoft
Bible Reading	You can look up for yourselves at: http://BibleReader.AlignChurch.org.nz/.
End Notes	METTLE is an acronym for Men’s Evangelical Team Together for Learning Experiences. We are primarily Christian businessmen from Wellington, who meet occasionally in the CBD to encourage each other in our daily walk with Jesus. This Monthly Collaborative Blog (MCB) is our primary means of communication.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this MCB, you are welcome to forward them along. Similarly, if your circumstances are such that membership in this distribution list is no longer relevant, then hit reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE to have it removed. If you choose to respond to any item raised in this MCB, please indicate clearly which items you wish to remain Private, as any correspondence may be considered Public and could be published. If this newsletter has been of benefit to you, why not drop a line and say so.  Or better yet, visit the TVORNZ website to read past issues and add a comment! Published by The Voice of Reason, New Zealand, copyright © 2006-2010

METTLE Monthly Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 10

Volume 5 Issue 10 October 2010

Hippolite Musings	Gentlemen, In October, I: Took the kids to Godspace at Hope Centre, Lower Hutt; Went to a Science Fiction themed party at my sister’s house for her grandson (school holidays); Attended and took the minutes of the committee meeting of the Northern Racquets Squash Club; Had a couple of family nights together (first one in ages – played Triominos, Yahtzee, discussed stuff & prayed); Played a couple of games of squash in the Spring Interclub season, all with varying levels of disappointment (some high, some low); Started rehearsals for Elim Church Christmas Pantomime “It’s Cool in the Furnace” playing the over-the-top role of King Nebuchadnezzar; Continued counselling a buddy facing tough marital issues; Received training on the Primavera project management tool used at Telecom; Took oldest son to watch Verdi’s Macbeth at St James; Conducted interviews for a development position here at Telecom; Attended Elim Church Wellington; Attended Align Church Taita; Attended and took the minutes of the committee meeting of the Grenada Village Residents Association; Received counselling for a marital issue of my own; Visited work colleague at home to coo over new born babe; Finally fixed the electric lawn mower (sourced the right fuse with the correct amperage and managed to jam it in); Took my son to battle robots at the VEX Scrimmage at Wellington High School; Attended Latino Fire conference at Wellington Elim to hear Sergio Scataglini speak.  Blogged it here; Attended Wellington SQL Server User Group meeting (first one in ages) on the topic of “SSIS and Powershell focused toward Database Maintenance and Investigation of Common Errors”; Participated in 100 day plan review – starting to become more forward thinking rather than reactive at work; Studied for exam 70-503: “Technology Specialist: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Communication Foundation Application Development” Hosted Fiona’s niece; Attended a Microsoft seminar on “Delivering Business Value with Visual Studio 2010” at the Intercontinental Hotel; Attended and took minutes of the leader’s meeting for Align Church Taita; Took a day off work to spend time with Aimee for her 9th birthday celebration (got a haircut, watched “Legend of the Guardians 3D”, visited Te Papa); Travelled to the Wairarapa (Tauherenikau Racecourse) to learn how the St Johns Youth Competitions are run; and Visited family; Took kids to Halloween Alternative party at Johnsonville Salvation Army. Blessings, James.
World Outreach	PLEASE PRAY! INDIA. WO missionary & midwife Jes La Bleu is still waiting to receive her residency visa so she can join her colleagues in Bihar province where medical assistance will be offered to pregnant village women.  The waiting time back home in the States has not been wasted as Jes has benefited from various ministry events, but she is now ready to go.  Please pray that the authorities will issue her visa in the next few days. PAKISTAN.  The urgent need now for victims of the horrendous floods that covered 1/5th of the country recently, is warm clothing & bedding in time for winter. The floods destroyed so much that all most families had were the clothes they are wearing. World Outreach is hoping that through the generosity of God’s people we can remit  hearty sum of funds by the end of November that will allow our Pakistan flood relief partners to buy blankets & warm clothing for hundreds of vulnerable families.  Please keep Pakistan in prayer. The nation needs the Lord. By demonstrating the love of God to the destitute through kindness, will help open their hearts to receive the love of God. UK / EUROPE. Mary & I covet prayer as we travel to the UK & Europe (Oct 27 – Nov 16) for a series of ministry engagements and World Outreach meetings over 3 weeks. Besides keeping safe and in good health along the way, we desire wisdom, favour and the anointing of the Lord on us for our various appointments and ministry times.    MOZAMBIQUE. Emmanuel & Martha Mulenga are conducting 2 leadership training events this Nov in Quelimane (10-13) and in Nampula (14 – 21) and request that the preparation and the actual programs themselves be covered in prayer. While many of the invited leaders are passionate in serving the Lord, they are also young in their new found faith, therefore solid Biblical teaching & training is essential for them and the people they are discipling. The Mulengas ask that we also pray for travel safety & protection for all involved and that a rich anointing of the Holy Spirit will be present and experienced at both events.  Thank you.   INDONESIA. Sam & Carol Soukotta are truly grateful for the generosity of God’s people who have given to help Tawangmangu Bible College (TBC) secure the ownership of the land where it is located on in Central Java.  They have put a 30% deposit down on land price and in total have received more than 60% of what the gov’t valued the land for. Other people / businesses on Mt Tawangmangu are also in the same position of needing to buy their (leasehold) land from the gov’t, and many of them have appealed against the high valuation that the gov’t has imposed on them. The Soukottas have reported that things are very much in limbo while these appeals are been considered by the gov’t, and ask that we pray that the gov’t will reduce their value price for the TBC land.  The next couple of months will be critical.  Remember too Jason & Anne Kelly and ministry colleagues in the eastern islands of Indonesia. Their humanitarian & community program to poor ‘M’ children in one particular island / village has drawn attention & criticism by some in the local gov’t.  Please pray for the team’s protection and that the work can carry on unheeded.        NZ. Allen & Charlotte Teal write: “We would really appreciate prayer for a Missionary Enrichment Retreat we are conducting, to be held in Taupo from 26th – 31st October.  There are 18 participants and this is a precious time as they take time out for refreshment and renewal.  Please pray for rest and refreshment for the 18  participants, for good bonding and building of trust in the group, for God to meet each person where they are in their experience, and for spiritual, emotional and physical renewal for those who are exhausted.” Thank you.    PRAISE! PAKISTAN. Earlier this month WO conducted a leadership conference in Karachi where some 550 delegates were registered from many parts of the country – see photo attachment. Two of the three night meetings were open to the public with 3000 and 5000 coming respectively.  The numerous testimonies afterwards reveal that the conference was truly a life changing experience for many. On two distinct occasions the Holy Spirit moved powerfully over the delegation for a prolonged period of time, and delegates soaked in His presence. RETREATS. Two separate regional field retreats were conducted for WO personnel in Thailand & Indonesia (West Kalimantan) in the past few weeks.  The respective 42 and 70 field personnel who attended were so blessed, encouraged and refreshed by these “time out” events that saw them step away from busy schedules.      TESTIMONIES. # Along with members of a WO team in Thailand we are rejoicing over the salvation of a Buddhist monk who came to surrender his life to Jesus after his ‘favourite nephew’ witnessed to him and prayed for healing of both the monk’s eyesight and leg problems.  Jesus healed both and today he is passionately following the Lord and studying His Word.  # Lila, a businesswoman & former Hindu before she encountered and fell in love with Jesus Christ this year for the very first time when a friend witnessed to her. With a God given passion she took every opportunity to share Christ with whoever came to talk business, whether or not her business benefited financially. Her boldness caught many customers by surprise. And God blessed her, so much so that in the past six months she has seen more than 150 people become followers of Jesus Christ, some being whole families. She has had the joy of water baptizing each one of them. Her love for Christ and obedience to His Word has also seen numerous healings, miracles and deliverances as she speaks the Word of God over lives. Please continue to pray for “spiritual breakthroughs” for our many and varied WO ministries around the world. All our teams know that unless the Holy Spirit inspires and breathes upon their outreaches / programs / enterprises, then it can be a lot of hard work but little fruit. Our combined longing is to see new souls added to the Kingdom of God!   John Elliott
Koinonia House News	IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES An EMP Spells Disaster – Without The Kaboom October 27, 2010 The sky erupts. Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses. End-of-the-world novel? A video game? Or could such a scenario loom in America’s future? Electromagnetic pulses (EMP) are oversized outbursts of atmospheric electricity. Whether powered by geomagnetic storms or by nuclear blasts, their resultant intense magnetic fields can induce ground currents strong enough to burn out power lines and electrical equipment across state lines. - USA Today Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments in Texas October 26, 2010 Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) in Fort Worth, Texas has just added three Dead Sea Scroll fragments to its existing collection of three, making it the most sizeable group of scroll fragments to be held by an institution of higher education in the US. SWBTS acquired the new fragments from a European private collector through a gift from a friend of the seminary. The new fragments contain parts of Deuteronomy 9:25–10:1, Deuteronomy 12:11-14, and Psalm 22:4-13. - SWBTS Did ‘Molecular Tinkering’ Cause Evolution In the Cell? October 25, 2010 In a study published in the online scientific journal PLoS Biology, the team gathered evidence to support their hypothesis that nuclear receptors evolved through "molecular tinkering." They wrote, "Our findings indicate that NR LBDs evolved their functional diversity by tinkering with a ligand-dependent transcriptional activator." However, the authors overlooked a few important considerations, each of which would make their conclusion premature. - ICR China Denying The West Its Rare Earth Metals October 19, 2010 China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted some shipments of those materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said this week. The Chinese action, involving rare earth minerals that are crucial to manufacturing many advanced products, seems certain to further intensify already rising trade and currency tensions with the West. - The New York Times Extreme Surfers For Christ October 05, 2010 For the 18th year running the extreme sports missions organisation Christian Surfers UK have held their big outreach surf contest, the Jesus Surf Classic. The organisation was able to attract more than 100 of the UK’s top surfers to the North Devon’s Croyde Bay, providing a great opportunity for Christian Surfers ‘to be a Christian presence and witness’ in the inspirational world of the surfing community. - Inspire Magazine
Why I Am A Climate Realist	Dairy Cows Produce Fewer Greenhouse Gas Emissions Than Previously Reported Much has been written about cows’ role in producing greenhouse gas emissions. (Think burps and farts.) A 2006 United Nations report stated that livestock were responsible for 18% of these emissions. To be fair, this statistic also included land use and degradation, deforestation, pesticide use and water pollution. Cow flatulence, however, continues to incur blame (not to mention really dorky jokes). Fear not, bovine lovers: Researchers at the University of Arkansas and Michigan Technological University have found that the dairy industry is responsible for only about 2% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions……………… Read full article at: http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/organic-food/dairy-cows-produce-fewer-greenhouse-gas-emissions-than-previously-reported/
Why I Am A Creationist	Doctor to the Disadvantaged Dr. Lara Wieland (daughter of CMI–Australia’s Managing Director Dr. Carl Wieland) turned down a comfortable career in general practice to provide vital medical care to Australian Aboriginal communities. Her decision was directly influenced by the teaching she received from a young age that all people are equal because we are all in God’s image, and all descended from Adam. Her inspiring story shows the practical results of believing the Bible’s history. Biblical Creation provides answer to problem of suffering If God created the world ‘very good’, why is there death and suffering? Intelligent design advocate William Dembski attempts to answer this by arguing that the Fall was retroactive. But even he admits that biblical creation has a stronger position. Read CMI–UK/Europe CEO Philip Bell’s review of William Dembski’s startling treatise called The End of Christianity. Is Nature a 67th book of Scripture? Some progressive creationists argue that God’s revelation in nature is as authoritative as Scripture. But general revelation functions differently from special revelation. Read our analysis in General and Special Revelation. Who should teach children? In a weekend feedback one correspondent believes that parents should not indoctrinate their children with Christianity. Lita Cosner responds and argues that this is precisely the Christian parent’s most important responsibility. This week’s creation.com classic: “It’s not science”. In this article from 2002, Don Batten explains the difference between origins science, which deals with unrepeatable one-time events in history, and operational science which deals with repeatable and testable phenomena. Understanding this important distinction allows us to answer people who claim that evolution is science and creation isn’t. This is a key article in helping us understand that we do not need to be intimidated by science.
Why I Am Pro Maori	Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu: Māori Stormtrooper
How to…	Engage the Culture My mate Matt has this to say… Hi James and Dave Gentlemen, I thought you might both be interested in the following Stuff article. http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/4237042/Lebanese-Muslims-urge-Christians-to-stay I am unsure of the context for this discussion, so I cannot draw huge conclusions from it. It suggests that this is part of the Bishops’ Synod, so perhaps it is for shaping Roman Catholic policy?? In fact, I find some points made to be confusing. The comment at the end quoting a senior Sunni Muslim advisor to the Lebanese government seems to be nebulous to me.  It is not clear what the intention of the speaker’s statement is. Indeed I find myself asking the question, did the speaker deliberately make a nebulous statement that is open to interpretation? The statement is quoted as: "There is the rise of fundamentalism inside Israel, and in Christian and Zionist movements in the United States, and there is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism also," said Sammak. "This is a negative phenomenon, and not only Christians are suffering from it." A core of the topic is fundamentalism. Does this mean: The speaker considers fundamentalism in itself as an “evil” in all societies and religions? All fundamentalism/fundamentalists are the same? Fundamentalism is negative and causes suffering? That fundamentalism and extremism are always closely aligned positions? Zionism is linked with fundamentalism? Zionism is linked with extremism? Zionism is necessarily negative? Christianity in the United States is linked with fundamentalism? Christianity in the United States is linked with extremism? Christianity in the United States is necessarily negative? Fundamentalism is rising within Israel? Does the speaker mean fundamentalist Jews or extreme right-wing political beliefs? Or even a simple commitment to maintaining Israel as a democratic state The problem I have with this is that there is no clear definition of “fundamentalism”. Moderate Christians, Jews or Muslims might believe in the fundamentals of the Bible, the Torah or the Koran; does this make them instantly aligned with fundamentalists who cause damage? If a person calls themselves a Christian, then they throw a grenade into a mosque full of Koran believing Muslims, because he or she believes that the Bible is instructing them to do so, are they are fundamentalist or merely deranged (probably the latter – please note, I am deliberately making this person a Christian rather than a Muslim or of another particular religion and/or culture)? And do people realise that there is a difference between fundamentalism and derangement? Are the people in the mosque fundamentalists too, if they firmly believe their religious writings and rites? I believe that there is a difference between holding a fundamental belief and being a person so focussed on the fundamentals that people do not matter, to the point that they practice extremist actions. I also believe that someone who truly holds onto the fundamentals of the Bible is a sound person, someone who wants to rely on the precedents and precepts that God has recorded and installed for us. This person might well be referred to as a “fundamentalist”. And a pragmatist. And someone who might also show compassion, love, decency and other Godly attributes. What are your thoughts? James, Dave, please feel free to publish this discussion on your blogs, if you see fit to do so. Cheers Matt James says: I have read that article, and concur that it left me with a vaguely unappealing feeling of the moral equivalence of all religions, or some other such nonsense. Also, in political news: Submissions for the Tax (Income Sharing) Bill has been extended to Friday 10 Dec, so that give us a little more time to make submissions and to lobby politicians. Follow link on http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/MakeSub/9/c/1/49SCFE_SCF_00DBHOH_BILL10125_1-Taxation-Income-sharing-Tax-Credit.htm Interesting to note that the Labour Party at their conference this weekend are now talking about putting in place policies to support at-home parents, supporting investment in parenting and other family friendly measures. The language is getting through!   Here is my submission (reference number PD8GYMA): I believe Income Sharing is the fairest system to support families.  There are already plenty of other systems in place to support solo parents, but two parent, single income families get the rough end of the deal currently.  I have always believed Income Sharing to be fairer, ever since we did a study of it back at secondary school over 20 years ago!  Please support my wife and I to continue being the primary carers of our own children.  Tax redistribution via Working for Families makes little sense when the IRD and WFF adds no value to the process and only "clips the ticket" on the way through.
Great Scientists…	…Who Believed the Bible Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866) Bernhard Riemann developed the concept of non-Euclidian geometry, which was used by Einstein in his development of the theory of relativity. Riemann was also a Christian and had hoped to go into the ministry until he got sidetracked by his interest in mathematics. He apparently made several efforts to prove the validity of the book of Genesis using mathematical principles.
Friday Fax	Dear Colleague, I continue to welcome you to the new and improved Friday Fax. Besides better and crisper writing and editing, we are also running positive stories rather than the continual rasher of negative stories. Today, we report on a near revolt of UN member states against a special report calling for a new “right” to sexual education. It was heartwarming to see so many countries rising up en masse against such radicalism as this. We also report on the phenomenon of the Manhattan Declaration which has nearly 500,000 signers and has inspired similar documents in three countries and one US State. Spread the word. Yours Sincerely, Austin Ruse President Countries Slam Attempts to Create New “Right” to Sexual Education at UN By Samantha Singson New York, October 28 (C-FAM) – Angry delegates took to the UN floor this week to denounce a report that promotes a new human right to explicit sexual education for young children. The African and Caribbean blocs led the widespread hostility toward the report by registering their “strong rejection” and “strong disapproval.”  Read More A Global Movement On The Rise By Amanda Pawloski NEW YORK, October 28 (C-FAM) The authors penned their declaration a year ago not knowing it would spur an international movement. Now nearly a half million backers have signed the Manhattan Declaration, a “call of Christian conscience” originally spurred by concern that U.S. leaders had lost sight of the meaning of religious freedom. In the months since, the declaration has not only reaffirmed Christian values, but has spawned similar movements on two other continents and an unprecedented display of ecumenical unity.  Read More
Train a Child	In October, Tane discovered he doesn’t like opera (but at least he went to see for himself first); he is negotiating appropriate friendships in a Christian youth group setting;  he is experimenting with appropriate disclosure via Facebook. Hamish discovered it’s harder to construct a robot than to deconstruct one; he is learning the value and sheer hard work involved in grooming the yard; he is experimenting with various manual skills at Techni-Craft (wood, metal, fabric) class. Aimee discovered the joy of longing (for her much anticipated birthday at month end); she is settling into her role as junior helper at Align Church; she is so cute in her St John’s uniform!
Why I Am Pro-Israel	Petition to the UN Prosecute Ahmadinejad On September 23rd, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly. While some left the hall in protest, many stayed and even applauded this madman. We believe that the next time Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears before an international tribunal, it must not be as an honored guest before the United Nations General Assembly. It must be as a criminal in the dock of the International Criminal Court. And we have some very important friends who share this belief. We have joined forces with these friends to produce a powerful new video promoting our petition to indict Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the crime of incitement to genocide. We pray you’ll join us too by watching the video and then signing the petition. Click to watch video For the sake of those who died in the Holocaust he denies, For the sake of those who would die in the Holocaust he threatens, For the sake of all who could be victims of future genocides, Sign the Petition Blessings to you and those you love, Pastor John Hagee National Chairman Christians United for Israel David Brog Executive Director Christians United for Israel
Humour	Resourceful Woman Finds Police Portland, Oregon, Chief of Police Mark Kroeker tells this story about when he was an officer in Los Angeles. A woman was upstairs in her bedroom when she heard someone breaking in downstairs. She crawled under her bed with the phone and called 911, but the emergency system was having a problem, and it gave her a menu of options. Realizing that this would take a minute or more, her mind raced for other ways to reach the police. She devised a resourceful plan. She grabbed a phone book and called the nearest Winchell’s donut shop. She asked the employee who answered if there were any police officers in the shop, and the answer was, "Of course!" An officer was put on the line, the frightened woman told him her problem, he sprinted to his car and arrived in time to capture the thief. —Mark Kroeker, from a speech given at a banquet for Multnomah College (March 5, 2002), in Portland, Oregon
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to METTLE.  I’m available for bookings. When What Where Who 3-Nov Why I Believe in Creation Science Elim Church Wellington James 5-Nov Guy Fawkes Celebration Wellington Waterfront N/A 6-Nov Robotics Scrimmage Wellington High School N/A 6-Nov E-Day Westpac Stadium N/A 7-Nov Flexi-Sunday Align Church Taita N/A 9-Nov Gas Bags LifePoint Dunno 13-15 Nov Heaven’s Gates Hell’s Flames Avalon AOG N/A 13-Nov Gladiator Movie Salvation Army Johnsonville N/A 13-Nov Phoenix vs Mariners Westpac Stadium N/A 15-Nov Grenada Village Residents Association AGM Grenada Village Hall Bruce Patterson, James Hippolite 19-20 Nov Flourish Women’s Conference Upper Hutt AOG   26-27 Nov Stayin’ Alive Pro-life workshop for youth Grace Hall, 8 Tongariro St, Paraparaumu Bob McCoskrie (Family First NZ) Brendan Malone (FLI NZ) Greg Flemming (Maxim Institute) 4-Dec Advanced Students Concert Raroa Intermediate School Tane 4-Dec Telecom Christmas Party TSB Arena N/A 10-12 Dec It’s Cool In the Furnace Elim Church Wellington James et al 12-Dec Robotics Scrimmage Scots College N/A
Bible Reading	You can look up for yourselves at: http://BibleReader.AlignChurch.org.nz/.
End Notes	METTLE is an acronym for Men’s Evangelical Team Together for Learning Experiences. We are primarily Christian businessmen from Wellington, who meet occasionally in the CBD to encourage each other in our daily walk with Jesus. This Monthly Collaborative Blog (MCB) is our primary means of communication.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this MCB, you are welcome to forward them along. Similarly, if your circumstances are such that membership in this distribution list is no longer relevant, then hit reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE to have it removed. If you choose to respond to any item raised in this MCB, please indicate clearly which items you wish to remain Private, as any correspondence may be considered Public and could be published. If this newsletter has been of benefit to you, why not drop a line and say so.  Or better yet, visit the TVORNZ website to read past issues and add a comment! Published by The Voice of Reason, New Zealand, copyright © 2006-2010

METTLE Monthly Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 8

Volume 5 Issue 8 August 2010

Hippolite Musings	Gentlemen, In August, I: Was blessed to attend the inaugural meeting of the re-booted Elim Maori group; Presented the Treasurer’s report to the Wellington Home Education Network AGM; Attended a function to welcome the new Israeli ambassador to NZ; Failed (twice) to install my sister’s wireless modem; Took the minutes at a special general meeting of the Grenada Village Resident’s Association; Went skiing with Tane (son) and Duncan & Jamie Cowan at Whakapapa Ski Field; Removed the kids savings from a pathetic interest bearing account which gets taxed and put it all into Bonus Bonds; Celebrated a friend’s 40th; Survived three days at home with the kids while Fiona was at Manifest Conference @ Hope Centre in Auckland; Assisted (successfully) two friends with their home PC issues (no, I’m not taking bookings); Farewelled one staff; welcomed another; Received Fire Warden training; Introduced Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph to 11+ kids at Align Bible Club; Participated with Hamish (son) at Vex Robotics Scrimmage; and Was recognized at work for my excellent attitude. Blessings, James.
World Outreach	PLEASE PRAY! PAKISTAN.  World Outreach has established a “Pakistan Flood Relief Fund” partnering with Pakistan Sunday School Ministries (PSSM), led by director Adnan Azhar, an organization that WO has partnered with before in both ministry and relief programs.  PSSM is initially targeting 2,000 families who have lost everything with food, clothing and temporary shelter. The first financial goal is to raise USD60,000.00 to this end.  As more funds become available then more can be done and more people can be helped. (See attached photos of food distribution and flood conditions). Adnan writes, “Many roads are destroyed but our team continue to persevere in distributing food items at this time.  The needs are great almost overwhelming. We feel very sorry for those people who have lost their houses, livestock and house hold items.  Please let churches and your friends know about this crisis that they may help these people who have lost almost everything and who can be found sleeping on roads, in railway stations and govt. school premises.”  Check out the WOI website www.world-outreach.com for more information. Donations can be made via the website or via cheque made out to World Outreach and forwarded by post to your nearest World Outreach office. Please designate on the back of the cheque ‘Pakistan Flood Relief.’  Thank you.   INDIA.  Please pray for Jes La Bleu, WO missionary to the province of Bihar in northern India. Jes and colleague Michelle are due to fly into India this August 26. Michelle’s visa has been approved but not so for Jes. Please pray that it will be issued in the coming few days so that both ladies can arrive on schedule. Rachel Higham, WO missionary to Kolkata, flies into India this Monday, August 23 to take up an appointment with ‘Freeset’, a ministry to rehabilitate former prostitutes and teaching them work life skills to support themselves. Pray that Rachel will adjust quickly to life in India and fit quickly into her new ministry role. KENYA. Please uphold Chris & Nadine Brittain as they settle into their new ministry base of Nairobi. The Brittains will head up the WO cross cultural mission awareness and mobilization training for East African churches / believers. Please pray that will know and experience the favour and blessing of the Lord.    PERSONNEL. Please keep Hendrik & Bets Vermooten in prayer as they continue to adjust to life without their only son Adriaan (19yrs), who passed away suddenly in Sth Africa just over one month ago.  Pray too for Janvier Yokoinele who is recovering from exhaustion in the Ivory Coast. PROJECTS. A number of WO personnel have end of year projects that need an infusion of finance in order to see their ministry goals for 2010 realized. Please pray with us that the Holy Spirit will release resources both in manpower and finance that will allow these projects / programs to be achieved.        John Elliott International Director
Koinonia House News	IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES Israel Will Defend Its Citizens Ayalon Tells Iran August 24, 2010 Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon this week told the Iranian people by radio that a regional war initiated by Teheran was a distinct possibility, adding that "Israel is committed to defending its citizens and if attacked will act accordingly." "A fear exists that Iran – as it becomes more pressured by sanctions – will goad those under its patronage in Hizbullah and Hamas to initiate military action against Israel. There’s also a possibility that Iran will make a military move against the Arab Gulf states and harm the flow of oil to the world, in which case the entire situation will degrade into widespread confrontations." - The Jerusalem Post US Must Hold The Course In Afghanistan August 24, 2010 The man in charge of the United States Marines, who has just returned from a tour of Afghanistan, has said President Obama’s plan to start withdrawing troops next summer has given sustenance to the enemy. General James Conway said that it will be a few years before the time is right to hand over to Afghan forces in some key areas. He says America is growing tired of war, but his troops sense conditions are turning their way. He said their only concern was expressed by a person who told him to not let the country go wobbly on us. - BBC News Arabic To Be Required Study In Israeli Schools August 24, 2010 The Israeli authorities are introducing a new scheme to make Arabic-language classes compulsory in state schools. The programme, which will start in 170 schools in northern Israel, will make lessons mandatory for fifth graders. Education officials hope the scheme, called "Ya Salam", will turn language into a cultural bridge and promote tolerance between Jews and Arabs. Arab students currently are required to learn Hebrew while Jewish children can take Arabic as an additional language. - BBC News So You Want To Homeschool? August 24, 2010 The new school year looms, but you’ve decided that, for the first time, you and your student aren’t going to be a part of it. No more brick-and-mortar institution for you guys. Excellent. Making your decision is, in fact, the first step. Don’t underestimate the importance of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. Some regions are home-school friendly and encourage parents who are taking responsibility for their children’s education. On the other hand, some regions require home-schoolers to toe the line very carefully. You can save yourself a lot of grief simply by being well prepared… - The Washington Times The Ground Zero Provocation August 20, 2010 Radical Islam … has changed the course of nations and affected the lives of millions. It is the reason every airport in the West is an armed camp and every land is on constant alert. Ground Zero is the site of the most lethal attack of that worldwide movement, which consists entirely of Muslims, acts in the name of Islam, and is deeply embedded within the Islamic world. These are regrettable facts, but facts they are. And that is why putting up a monument to Islam in this place is not just insensitive but provocative. - National Review Online
Why I Am A Climate Realist	From Pastural Farming Climate Research Landcare Research scientist joins Dairy NZ scientist in being unable to clarify their confused and contradictory positions. Scientists from both organisations maintain that methane from a steady source does not result in an increase in the atmospheric concentration of methane. David Whitehead of Landcare Research likened it to a bath tub filled with water (or methane). When the inflow matches the outflow the water level remains the same.  The only way the level in the bath can increase is if you increase the inflow without increasing the outflow. So methane in the atmosphere can only increase if you increase animal production. As such there can be no global warming from enteric methane produced from a stable source. But the same scientists from the same organisations also state that because ruminant digestion converts CO2 to CH4 and that CH4 is 21 times more potent as a greenhouse gas, a steady source of enteric methane does cause global warming. So on one hand they are saying that if the source of enteric methane is constant there is no increase in methane levels and therefore no global warming. They are also saying that net warming occurs when the source of methane is constant because of the difference in global warming potency of CO2 and CH4 These two positions are in contradiction with each other because with no net increase in methane there is no warming.  They have both so far been unable to clarify their contradictory positions. What really concerns me is that Dairy NZ is an industry good organisation. It is funded by farmers for farmers. They are well aware that their two contradictory positions highlight the fact that one of these positions is wrong. So why are they not out there seeking the truth on behalf of their farmers, instead of continuing to mislead their farmers with Government propaganda? Dairy NZ is happy to promote farmers by funding ‘Go Dairy Campaigns’ but it will do nothing to investigate and put right the contradictory and false information it broadcasts about the impact dairy farming is having on global warming.  Did they ever consider that without the continual bad press dairy farming gets about global warming they might not need to do a ‘Go Dairy Campaign’? If you have access to your Dairy NZ rep you might want to drop them a line and ask them about Dairy NZ’s curious position on enteric menthane and global warming. Visit the website: http://www.farmcarbon.co.nz/
Why I Am A Creationist	Does the ‘God spot’ research prove that religion is all in our heads? Neurologists studying the right temporal lobe have created religious feelings in their subjects by stimulating a certain spot. Does this mean all religious experience is counterfeit? Help CMI’s The Voyage Have you seen and appreciated CMI’s Darwin documentary The Voyage that Shook the World? If so, it can help greatly if you could quickly give it a rating on the Internet Movie Database. Hardly anyone has voted for or reviewed the film at the time of writing this, which is not helpful for broadcasters still deciding whether to show it or not but without the time to view it themselves. To comment, vote or add a review you will need to create an account with The Internet Movie Database. It’s free. Can science ever prove the existence of God? A correspondent asks if science can prove the existence of God. But can science even address this? See this answer by CMI’s Dr. Mark Harwood. Bathybius haeckelii: deliberate deception or sloppy science? Bathybius haeckelii was one of the first instances of a false evidence being used in support of Darwin’s theory. But was it a case of deliberately fudging the data, or simply letting presuppositions influence the way the evidence was perceived? See Bathybius haeckelii and a ‘reign of terror’. Evolution’s pesky flea Dawkins is fond of being called ‘Darwin’s Rottweiler’, so when Jonathan Sarfati’s latest book, The Greatest Hoax on Earth? Refuting Dawkins on Evolution, came out, he simply called him ‘the latest flea.’ Other evolutionists gave similarly spiteful comments. But tellingly, none attempted to actually address Dr. Sarfati’s arguments. See Evolution’s Pesky Flea. Genesis in the New Testament Why is a person’s view of Genesis important for New Testament studies? See our article on The Use of Genesis in the New Testament.
Why I Am Pro Maori	I usually read Muriel Newman’s NZ Centre for Political Research I wrote this reply to their latest article “Tribalism vs Democracy” Muriel, I usually agree with your views, but on Maoridom, I do not.  Nowhere in your article do you acknowledge that land was stolen and needs to be returned.  Nowhere do you acknowledge that Maori may have a legitimate claim to any part of NZ.  The Foreshore and Seabed Act had to be repealed, because it prevented Maori in particular from "having their day in court" and was a racist policy.  As for "spiritual values impeding progress," what, like ethics preventing embryonic stem cell research but approving adult stem cell research?  I have no issue with "spiritual values", thank you very much.  Your blinkered opinion that the pakeha way (the tyranny of the majority) is the only right way is precisely why laws are made to prevent your opinions from further victimising minorities.
How to…	…Engage with Jehovah Witnesses I was asked to respond to the following questions: Why do we use Lord, God, Almighty instead of Jehovah in our prayer.  In the bible, Jehovah/Yahweh is the proper name. The word Trinity doesn’t exist in Bible – where did it come from. The word ‘stick’ is used by JW instead of ‘cross’  Since Jesus sits on God’s right Hand, they are considered 2 ‘beings’ – how then can Jesus be One with God Christmas is [pagan] practise. Doesn’t exist in the bible – let alone 25th Dec.  Christmas is ‘daily’ celebration. These were my answers: God is not a man, that He has a proper noun.  Jehovah (or Yahweh in Hebrew) is still just a descriptor, same as Lord, God, Almighty.  While it is good to study and reflect upon the various forms of His Name (and therefore His attributes e.g. Jehovah Jirah = Our Provider) to claim that adherence to one form of His Name (in one particular language) is folly. The word Trinity does not appear in the Bible, correct.  It is a doctrine that was worked out from the triune nature of God. In other words, it became obvious that God sent His Son and then His Holy Spirit and thus had three Beings, but was still one Person.  The Nicene Creed is a succinct, brilliant summary of the teachings from the Bible.  It’s an attempt to describe the almost indescribable.  The Trinity is a handy descriptor, nothing more. It is news to me that the JW refer to a stick rather than the Cross, but not particularly surprising.  They are not the only ones who cannot handle the message of the Cross.  The Mormon’s similarly have the same hang-up.  That message is, that "It is finished."  No other works of man can purchase/bargain/make up for the sins of man.  The Blood of Christ is all sufficient.  We are saved by Grace alone.  So adherence to a particular Church or Denomination or Cult does not make you any more holy in God’s sight.  His Blood makes us all equally clean in His eyes. Jesus is the 2nd Person in the Godhead, the One Being Who is God.  That’s the crux of the Trinity.  I like to think of it this way:  Water has three states: solid, liquid and gas.  We call solid: Ice; liquid, water and gas, steam.  God has three Persons: Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  Each is God, but there is only One God.  Similarly, you are body, soul & spirit.  It’s called a mystery by some, but I don’t think so.  Makes perfect sense to me. Admittedly December 25 is a celebration of a northern hemisphere Winter solstice.  Admittedly, the pagans turned it into something else.  But before it was pagan, it was a natural planetary observation.  So Christians can redeem that which pagans have corrupted.  Look at it another way: why shouldn’t we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, on a day of New Life?  There were no accurate written records to calculate His actual birth date, and even if there were, His actual birth date is irrelevant.  Yes, we should celebrate Christ’s Mass every day and we do: with communion, with grace before meals, with prayers before bedtime.  But to shun public celebration totally misses the father heart of God, who instigates feasts for the Hebrew people (almost) left, right & centre!
Great Scientists…	…Who Believed the Bible Joseph Lister (1827-1912) Joseph Lister founded antiseptic surgical methods. Lister’s contributions have probably led to more lives being saved through modern medicine than the contributions of any one else except Pasteur. Like Pasteur, Lister was also a Christian and wrote, "I am a believer in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity."
Friday Fax	Dear Colleague, We report today from the floor of the UN conference on youth that commenced this week in León, Mexico. The scene is one of almost total chaos and ideological rigidity. The sexual left are also on the hunt for what they call “infiltrators.” Heck, I thought these UN conferences were democratic and welcomed all points of view. We also report on how the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights actually campaigned for homosexual marriage and adoption in Mexico. The Deputy High Commission actually said the UN has always supported these things. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sexual orientation has never been approved by the General Assembly as a category of non-discrimination. The Deputy High Commissioner knows this, too. Spread the word. Sincerely, Austin Ruse President Chaos and Ideology Reign at UN Conference on Youth in Mexico By Austin Ruse, Samantha Singson and Terrence McKeegan, J.D. LEÓN, MEXICO, August 26 (C-FAM) Early reports from participants at the World Youth Conference that commenced this week in León, Mexico are that the conference is the scene of ideological rigidity and yet almost total chaos. There seem to be four conferences going on at once, one for youth, one for governments, one for parliamentarians, and one called the Global Interactive Forum. A measure of the chaos at the governmental forum is that early yesterday it was announced the president of Mexico would appear and speak. The room gathered, quieted, music played, and then nothing happened and no one explained anything. The president never appeared, at least as of this writing.   UN Bureaucracy Campaigns for Homosexual Adoption in Mexico By Amanda Pawloski Co-authored by Dianelle Martinez NEW YORK, August 26 (C-FAM)  In the midst of a controversial judicial consideration of homosexual adoption earlier this month, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ran an ad campaign that appeared to support the effort to overturn Mexico City’s law against homosexual adoption. According the website of the Office of High Commission, an estimated 5 million people a day carried subway tickets with the message, “Embrace diversity; End discrimination.” The purpose of the campaign was to remind citizens of Mexico City that they “are entitled to the full range of human rights.”
Train a Child	In August, Tane learned to ski.  He goes fast.  He doesn’t stop.  Great fun.  He’s also got girls batting their eyelashes at him.  It helps that he’s shot up to 1.7m (and growing).  We are monitoring the situation closely. Hamish leads his guitar class (it helps that he’s the oldest) and loved Vex Robotics Scrimmage. Aimee makes friends quickly and they seem to be lasting.  She can be a good friend, indeed.  She’s a little evangelist, too.  If not her first question, “Are you a Christian?” can often be heard to come out at some stage.
Why I Am Pro-Israel	Dear Friend of Jerusalem, Here are the latest headlines from the One Jerusalem Blog: Mosque Developer Starts Public Relations Offensive A few weeks ago, we met with Alan Craig, the man who launched the successful campaign to defeat a proposed Mega-Mosque in London (across from the Olympic Stadium.) Mr. Craig told us that when he started making his points about… Obama, Abbas and Netanyahu: What Can We Expect?  This week, the Obama Administration will host the re-launching of the "peace talks" between Israel and its neighbors. Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas will meet this week with President Obama and Secretary of Sate Clinton. Then negotiators will… Civil Libertarian Nat Hentoff Opposes the Mosque Unlike Mayor Bloomberg, Nat Hentoff looks at all the facts and comes to the conclusion that the Mosque is a bad idea. You can read his essay here. Hat Tip: Andy McCarthy…. Mayor Bloomberg Hosts Muslims and Defends 9-11 Mosque The Wall Street Journal reports that Mayor Bloomberg defended the Ground Zero location of the proposed mosque. The Mayor did this at a dinner he hosted for  Muslims, including the owner of the site and the wife of the Imam…. Obama and 9-11 Imam Have A Long-Term Relationship Our colleague Gateway Pundit reports that Imam Rauf has claimed that he was the author of the main concepts in Obama’s much publicized Cairo Speech.Do you remember these concepts? The ones where the President of the United States proclaimed the… Is Jerusalem In Play? When Secretary of State Clinton announced the planned resumption of talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, we immediately searched for information about the meeting’s agenda. Our research concluded that the talks are expected to go on for a year… Wife of Imam Compares Opposition to Mosque to Anti-Semitism Appearing on an ABC news  with a Jewish adviser to the Mosque project, the Imam’s wife said, "We are deeply concerned, because this is like a metastasized antisemitism," said Daisy Khan, who is spearheading the project with her husband, Imam Feisal… Sincerely, The One Jerusalem Team
Humour	Daddy’s Girl My husband admired our 6-year-old daughter while she was dancing around the kitchen. Finally, he stopped her with a hug. "You know," he said, looking Amy in the eyes, "you’re cute–just like your father." Amy was silent for a moment. "You mean my heavenly father or you?" —Jane Stanford, Fort Fairfield, Me. "Kids of the Kingdom," Christian Reader.
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to METTLE.  I’m available for bookings. When What Where Who Wednesday 1-Sep-10 12pm-1pm Business Leaders Meeting Elim Auditorium Bob Hartley Thursday 2-Sep-10 12pm-1pm Business Leaders Meeting Elim Auditorium Bob Hartley Friday 3-Sep-10 7-9:30pm A Weekend of HOPE Elim Auditorium Bob Hartley Saturday 4-Sep-10 10-12:30pm 2:00-4:00pm 7-9:30pm A Weekend of HOPE Elim Auditorium Bob Hartley Sunday 5-Sep-10 09:00 A Weekend of HOPE Elim Church Juan & Beulah Swart Sunday 5-Sep-10 10:45am A Weekend of HOPE Elim Church Bob Hartley Friday 10 Sep 7pm-10pm Promise Keepers Conference Upper Hutt Christian Fellowship Lots Saturday 11 Sep 9-1pm Vex Robotics Scrimmage Wellington College None Saturday 11 Sep 1:30-5:15pm Promise Keepers and Transition Upper Hutt Christian Fellowship Lots Monday 13 Sep 7:30pm Grenada Village Committee Meeting Patterson Residence All Fridays @ 7pm Align Foundation Course Taita Community Hall Isimali Tukua Friday 17 Sep @ 7:30pm Kids 4 Drama Musical Theatre Production TBA Hippolite Kids Thursday 23 Sep @ 5:30pm Final-Year Project Demonstrations Victoria University Engineering & Computer Science students
Bible Reading	You can look up for yourselves at: http://BibleReader.AlignChurch.org.nz/.
End Notes	METTLE is an acronym for Men’s Evangelical Team Together for Learning Experiences. We are primarily Christian businessmen from Wellington, who meet occasionally in the CBD to encourage each other in our daily walk with Jesus. This Monthly Collaborative Blog (MCB) is our primary means of communication.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this MCB, you are welcome to forward them along. Similarly, if your circumstances are such that membership in this distribution list is no longer relevant, then hit reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE to have it removed. If you choose to respond to any item raised in this MCB, please indicate clearly which items you wish to remain Private, as any correspondence may be considered Public and could be published. If this newsletter has been of benefit to you, why not drop a line and say so.  Or better yet, visit the TVORNZ website to read past issues and add a comment! Published by The Voice of Reason, New Zealand, copyright © 2006-2010

METTLE Monthly Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 7

Volume 5 Issue 7 July 2010

Hippolite Musings	Gentlemen, In July, I: Played in a squash tournament (lost utterly, but at least I competed); Celebrated the wife’s birthday; Release my daughter for a sleepover (slumber party); Watched the All Blacks decimate the South Africans; Hosted my big brother and his new family at my home (for the first time ever); Got some outside advice on improving my marriage (always a good idea, guys); Attended a fund-raising movie night (the chick-flick The Blind Side, was very good); Learned to strum the chords for “Hotel California” and “Stand By Me” on my guitar; Hosted my wife’s best friend from primary & secondary school in our home for the first time; Attended my two son’s school holiday programme drama production “Turn Back the Clock”; Attended a mid-winter Christmas party put on by our neighbours at the Grenada Village Community Hall; Blessings, James.
World Outreach	PLEASE PRAY! BEREAVEMENTS.  Dorothy Chismon’s 88 year old Mum passed away un-expectantly in NZ this week from a suspected brain aneurism.  Dorothy has been able to change her schedule so as to arrive in time for the funeral this Saturday.  Please uplift Dorothy (& family) in prayer during this sad time. Also remember to keep Hendrik & Bets Vermooten before the Lord in prayer as they adjust to life without their precious (& only) son, Adriaan (19yrs), who passed away suddenly earlier this month. EAST AFRICA.  Chris, Nadine and Matthew Brittain have just completed the WO 6 week NATIONS training course in Thailand and are about to touch down in Kenya to set up home and the new WO East Africa base.  They write:  “Can we ask the WOI family to pray for us as we arrive in Kenya this coming Monday to begin mission mobilization. We are very grateful for the Nations course which has been excellent preparation.  We would like prayer for finding suitable accommodation, a car and that we start well.  Thanks.” S’PORE.  This August 02-05 the World Outreach International Vision Team meet to sign off on a number of policies /  procedures / programs that are outcomes of our WO2010 journey.  The following week (Aug 10-13) the WOI Mission Council meets as part of its 2 annual gatherings. Please pray for all those involved and pray that these two weeks of leadership meetings will be mightily blessed of the Lord resulting in great outcomes that will help the many ministries in WO go forward with greater confidence and effectiveness – Praise the Lord!    INDONESIA. Continue to pray for God’s provision for the purchase of the campus land on Mount Tawangmangu in Central Java. Sam & Carol Soukotta are very grateful to those who are praying and who have contributed to the fund to buy the land on which the Tawangmangu Bible College premises are located. To date around half of USD330K has been received / pledged.  The deadline for full payment is January 2011. Please keep praying that the necessary funds will be forthcoming and this marvellous facility will continue to be used to train up Godly men & women for ministry service in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim populated nation.  PRAISE! THAILAND. Testimonies from the 19 ‘students’ at the recently concluded 6 week WO Int Nations Training Course (NTC) in northern Thailand, are full of praise for how they all benefited from these studies.  Participants were from Nth India, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, and all raved about the excellent material.  Lorraine Dierck who heads this WO training ministry, says that this course was the best yet.  The next 6 week NTC is set for Christchurch, NZ mid January to 3rd week of February. Email Lorraine lorraine@goodnewsteam.com for more info. Blessings. John Elliott International Director
Koinonia House News	IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES Olympia Food Co-op Is Boycotting Israeli Products And Tutu Agrees  July 28, 2010 South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday that he supports the Olympia Food Co-op’s boycott of Israeli products. The Olympia Food Co-op, located in Olympia, Washington, announced last week that no Israeli products would be sold at its two grocery stores in the city. - Haaretz Christian Graduate Counselling Student Expelled for Opposition to Homosexuality July 28, 2010 A federal judge has ruled in favour of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counselling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday’s ruling, according to Julea Ward’s attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views. "Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs," said ADF senior counsel David French. "To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code." - Fox News Judge Puts Damper on AZ Law July 28, 2010 A federal judge stepped into the fight over Arizona’s immigration law at the last minute Wednesday, blocking the heart of the measure and defusing a confrontation between police and thousands of activists that had been building for months. Coming just hours before the law was to take effect, the ruling isn’t the end. It sets up a lengthy legal battle that could end up before the Supreme Court — ensuring that a law that reignited the immigration debate, inspired similar measures nationwide, created fodder for political campaigns and raised tensions with Mexico will stay in the spotlight. - AP Boy Scout Jamboree This Year Celebrates 100th Anniversary July 28, 2010 Franks said Fort A.P. Hill becomes a city of 90,000 people every four years when the jamboree is held there. Scouts from throughout the world participate in hundreds of activities like scuba diving, camping, shooting and other outdoor activities associated with scouting. Scouts have the opportunity to work toward any badge offered by the organization including alpine skiing, Franks said. "This year is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of scouting," Franks said. "Traditionally, the jamboree is a way of bringing scouts across the country together to share in scouting skills and share in the fellowship of scouting." - The Daily Reflector Ahmadinejad Ready to Negotiate July 27, 2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abandoned preconditions for talks over Iran’s nuclear program late Monday, saying talks would start in early September regardless of the conditions he had set. Ahmadinejad last month gave conditions for talks with the UN Security Council and Germany including their stance on Israel’s nuclear program and Iran. Ahmedinajad told state TV late Monday, however, that Iran would "follow negotiations" whether or not the conditions are met. - The Jerusalem Post Obama Chooses The View Over the Boy Scouts July 26, 2010 President Barack Obama, the honorary chairman of the Boy Scouts of America, will not speak in-person before the group on Wednesday at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, as part of the organization’s 100th anniversary celebration. However, the president is sending a videotaped message to the scouts for Wednesday, the same day he will be in Manhattan to tape an appearance for ABC TV’s talk show "The View." - CNS News
Why I Am A Climate Realist	Climate Conversation Group Gluckman’s disreputable science The government’s Chief Science Advisor (CSA), Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, treats climate questioners as "deniers." Such tactics are the antithesis of science and deserve the firmest reproach. His attitude emerges from an analysis of a headline speech he gave on June 9, entitled "Integrity in Science: Implications from and for the Climate Change Debate" in which he raised the topic of people sceptical of the science of global warming, justified labelling them "deniers" yet gave no evidence of the reality of dangerous human interference in the climate. The analysis, by Richard Treadgold, Convenor of the Climate Conversation Group, in association with scientists of the NZ Climate Science Coalition, is available at Gluckman stumbles, Part 2 – Sludge. Or at a shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/22nw8o7. At the same time, in a related and astonishing development, the CSA and the Royal Society reveal that they refuse to talk seriously to people about climate change. Since early this year, Dr Doug Edmeades, on behalf of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, has been trying to engage our CSA, Sir Peter Gluckman, and/or the Royal Society in a conversation about global warming. Regrettably, they have just confirmed their refusal even to talk to us, so it is time to bring the matter to the public. It is clear there have been serious failures in our public science framework in its handling of climate change. We now reveal to the people of New Zealand just how unkindly and unjustly their top scientist deals with those who disagree with him. Many will be surprised to hear the unscientific details. Richard Treadgold Convenor Climate Conversation Group Murrays Bay Auckland, NZ. 09-479-3396 0275-340-641 richard@wordshine.co.nz www.climateconversation.wordshine.co.nz
Why I Am A Creationist	As you read this thousands have already been reached After many years in the planning, we are incredibly excited at something that is taking place right now. CMI’s Dr David Catchpoole is currently in the early stages of a two-month ministry tour delivering the creation message in Indonesia. He is preaching in Indonesian—David spent many years working in Indonesia, and his wife Esther is Indonesian, and through attending an Indonesian-language church the last few years, his language skills have been refreshed and honed. After just a few days there, David has already spoken to over 3,000, but by the end we estimate that approximately 20,000 people will have heard him speak (and quite possibly more). Read The (long) road to Indonesia. A call to prayer Many don’t realize that the islands that make up Indonesia (one of Australia’s closest neighbors) constitute the world’s most populous Muslim nation. But with a total population in excess of 200 million, the Christian minority is nevertheless huge, and feeling pressure for their faith from many directions—not the least being the increasing teaching of evolution that challenges the foundations of the gospel. The hunger, and the excitement at the message, has been immense already. Please pray for David and his wife during this long arduous tour, and also for their children who remain back home in Australia. Their tour schedule can be viewed here. A special effort Hearing the message is one thing, but CMI’s ministry methodology has always been about getting resources into people’s hands. We know from over 32 years of ministry feedback that the life-changing resources we take along multiply the ministry outreach when they get shared around among family members and friends. For this reason CMI commissioned special translations of the Creation Answers Book and Stones and Bones for this trip, locally printed and suitably priced. The hunger with which they were taken up in the early meetings looks like we will have to reprint to meet demand on this tour. Praise God! You can read an article and early report on this incredible ministry opportunity called The (long) road to Indonesia that provides more insight than we can explain in this short Infobytes. It also contains short clips on David speaking in Indonesian and a video from a young Indonesian man who shares how David’s ministry impacted his life. He wrote: “I am so grateful to Dr David Catchpoole … because he was able to help me to understand that the creation by God in the book of Genesis is indeed the truth and fact, therefore, it is not a fairy tale, and it cannot be denied by anyone even by evolutionist.” “All the sermons and seminars run by Creation Ministries have helped me immensely and I am certain it will also help our friends in Indonesia to have a better understanding that evolutionism is truly misleading. I honestly worry because evolutionism is still taught at every school in Indonesia, started at primary level all the way to high school level even to university level.” Another CMI initiative Although CMI speakers from our various offices have ministered in many countries around the world as diverse as Namibia, Holland, Romania, China, Russia, Fiji, Malaysia, the scope and potential of this Indonesian tour is huge. We thank you for your support of all of our offices that allows such exciting opportunities to happen. In fact, CMI’s Dr Rob Carter only just returned from a ministry trip to Dominica (an island nation in the Caribbean Sea). Stay tuned for his report on that soon.
How to…	…Engage the Culture Chicken Came First! Hi James Check this out. http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/3919550/Chicken-or-egg-question-finally-answered If evolution was accurate and true, then the egg ought to have come first. Evolution means the change from evolution is passed to the surviving species, which means gradual change at the time an egg is laid. However, it is now seen by scientists that the chicken came first – meaning scientists cannot explain in evolutionary theory how the chicken came to exist first. Creation science, however, believes in God’s divine hand in creation. That would concur with the concept that the chicken came first. Matt
Great Scientists…	…Who Believed the Bible William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) Lord Kelvin is considered one of the all-time great physicists. He established thermodynamics on a formal scientific basis, providing a precise statement of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Lord Kelvin was a strong Christian, opposing both Lyellian uniformitarianism and Darwinian evolution. In 1903, shortly before his death, he made the unequivocal statement that, "With regard to the origin of life, science…positively affirms creative power."
Friday Fax	UN Committee Attacks Motherhood, Demands New “Rights” for Women By Terrence McKeegan, J.D. NEW YORK, July 29 (C-FAM)  A United Nations (UN) treaty committee notorious for its promotion of abortion and ideological positions not supported by UN treaties, concludes its session this week after launching attacks on motherhood and traditional gender roles, while calling for an ever-expanded array of new sexual and reproductive “rights”.  The session was especially notable for the statement by the Russian Federation, which reported that decreasing abortion rates were helping to decrease the overall maternal mortality rates in that country.  Latin American Economic Summit Promotes Abortion, Condemns “Lesbophobia” By Amanda Pawloski and Susan Yoshihara, Ph.D. NEW YORK, July 29 (C-FAM)  A recent gathering of Latin America’s top economic commission issued a document praising secularism, condemning "lesbophobia," calling for redistributive social systems, and liberally promoting sexual and reproductive rights. Delegates from more than 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries attended the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) Eleventh Session of the Regional Conference on Women in Brazil. The purpose of the conference was to address gender equality and women’s empowerment in economic terms. The delegates were mainly “gender” advisors, representing the government of member states.
Train a Child	In July, Tane & Hamish enrolled in a school holiday (ironic) programme.  They learned a new drama, called Turn Back the Clock.  They performed it at Newtown Community Hall. Aimee had a couple of sleepovers.  I was gently rebuked by a stranger for my attitude (disparaging) towards daughter.  This will improve.
Why I Am Pro-Israel	Dear Friend of Jerusalem, Here are the latest headlines from the One Jerusalem Blog: A Muslim Visits Jerusalem For The First Time:  He writes:"Palestinian, Arab and Muslim narratives of Jerusalem’s recent history, however, is a denial of what my experience affirms, and the larger denial of Jewish rights that is the source of conflict here."  Read the whole article here…. Liberal Opposition to the 9-11 Mosque:  We are usually on the opposite side of the Anti-Defamation League’s position on most issues. But the other day we were pleasantly surprised by the ADL’s opposition to the proposed 9-11 Mosque. The ADL shows that you can be in… Caroline Glick: Iran and Israel, After the Bomb:  watch the video Pataki: Cuomo can probe the nun but not Ground Zero Mosque?:  Israel’s Very Bad Week:  On July 22nd the International Court of Justice recognized Kosovo’s independent status. As we have stated the Kosovo model declaring an independent state without consent of Serbia is the model being pursued by the Palestinians. The decision by the ICJ… Sincerely, The One Jerusalem Team
Humour	Worried your Super will run short? Senior health care solution So you’re a sick senior citizen and the government says there is no nursing home available for you – what do you do? Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot 2 MP’s and 2 illegal immigrants!   Of course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating,  air conditioning and all the health care you need!  New teeth – no problem.  Need glasses, great.  New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart?  All covered. (And your kids can come and visit you as often as they do now). And who will be paying for all of this?  The same government that just told you that you they cannot afford for you to go into a home. Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don’t have to pay any income taxes anymore. IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?
Humour	New Job At The Zoo A bloke starts his new job at the zoo and is given three tasks. The first is to clear the exotic fish pool of weeds. As he does this a huge fish jumps out and bites him. To show the others who’s boss, he beats it to death with a spade. Realizing his employer won’t be best pleased he disposes of the fish by feeding it to the lions, as lions will eat anything. Moving on to the second job of clearing out the Chimp house, he is attacked by the chimps who pelt him with coconuts. He swipes at two chimps with a spade, killing them both. What can he do? Feed them to the lions, he says to himself, because lions eat anything. He hurls the corpses into the lion enclosure. He moves on to the last job which is to collect honey from the South American Bees. As soon as he starts he is attacked by the bees. He grabs the spade and smashes the bees to a pulp. By now he knows what to do and throws them into the lion’s cage – because lions eat anything. Later that day a new lion arrives at the zoo. He wanders up to another lion and says, "What’s the food like here?" The other lions say, "Absolutely brilliant. Today we had fish and chimps with mushy bees."
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to METTLE.  I’m available for bookings. Date Event Venue Speaker 2-Aug-10 Maori Group Elim International Christian Church Regina Tito 9-Aug-10 Grenada Village Residents Association Meeting Grenada Village Community Hall Bruce Patterson 12-Aug-10 WHEN AGM WHEN Library All 18-Aug-10 James and Tane leave to go skiing! National Park None
Testimony	Gave this testimony at Align Church What it means to me to be a Maori Christian Introduction (2 min) Gave my mihi last month I want to share about my (on-going) journey of discovering what it means to be a Maori Christian Not holding myself up as a model Maori at all: don’t korero (much) But I have researched and talked through this subject with some kaumatua[1] I respect and have something to say. Do I have to give up my Maori-ness to be a Christian? (3 mins) No more so than any other culture! E.g. shellfish: we are Gentile believers, not Jewish. Therefore: not saved by works but by grace alone. E.g. carving: like English photographs of ancestors. Not automatically evil. Not necessarily an idol. Can become one, like a photograph can be pornographic. I have been to South Africa. I have met black SA Christians and white SA Christians. Both sides are amazed that the other side calls themselves Christian! E.g. waste vs. theft. Are any parts of Maoridom absolutely opposite to Christianity? (2 mins) Makutu: cursing can only come from Satan Drugs: desecrating the temple of the Holy Spirit Sex before marriage: not God’s plan for a holy family What parts of Maoridom are God-honouring? (3 mins) Art: (carving, singing, dancing, etc.) can bless or curse Oral tradition: an example from Genesis Whakapapa: mine goes back to 30AD! Whanau: including te awhina ora (maori adoption) are examples of extended family, particularly biblical [1] Sam Chapman, Monte Ohia, Kim Workman
Bible Reading	You can look up for yourselves at: http://BibleReader.AlignChurch.org.nz/.
End Notes	METTLE is an acronym for Men’s Evangelical Team Together for Learning Experiences. We are primarily Christian businessmen from Wellington, who meet occasionally in the CBD to encourage each other in our daily walk with Jesus. This Monthly Collaborative Blog (MCB) is our primary means of communication.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this MCB, you are welcome to forward them along. Similarly, if your circumstances are such that membership in this distribution list is no longer relevant, then hit reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE to have it removed. If you choose to respond to any item raised in this MCB, please indicate clearly which items you wish to remain Private, as any correspondence may be considered Public and could be published. If this newsletter has been of benefit to you, why not drop a line and say so.  Or better yet, visit the TVORNZ website to read past issues and add a comment! Published by The Voice of Reason, New Zealand, copyright © 2006-2010

Geek Post Monthly Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 7

Geek Post

Volume 2 Issue 7 July 2010

Hippolite Musings	Tena Koutou Katoa, In July, I: Added the new GST rate (effective 1-Oct) to a major pricing database; Farewelled a long-term contractor; Took back ownership of all his project work; Progressed a major data conversion project; Secured major funding for my team (sufficient for a new full-time equivalent) through negotiating a Maintenance Support Work Packet internally with other Telecom business units; Attended the Internet Industry Awards 2010 at Parliament; Blessings, James
Community Development	Grenada Village Online The Association has been involved in a legal dispute over the proposed use of newly cleared land in our area.  This is heading to a show-down.  A public meeting will be called soon.  I can’t say too much more than that.  Stay tuned.  Keep an eye on late-breaking news on the website link above.  It should all come out by next month. Align Church Online I’m stuck on adding functionality which will enable me to display photos (not hard) and insert photos (not hard) and add photos to an existing record (finding it difficult to do this in a GridView). I’ve also been asked to remove functionality for “security” reasons.  Bah humbug. I also don’t listen to the users (my wife) carefully enough (apparently) and misdiagnosed a function and have to re-do it.  Grrrr <Columns> <asp:BoundField HeaderText="Name" DataField="Name" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText="Birthday" DataField="BirthDate" DataFormatString="{0:d}" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText="Mobile" DataField="Mobile" /> <asp:BoundField HeaderText="Comments" DataField="Comments" /> <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Photo"> <ItemTemplate> <asp:Image ID="PhotoImage" runat="server" ImageUrl='<%# Bind("imgFile") %>' Width="100" /> </ItemTemplate> <EditItemTemplate> <asp:FileUpload ID="fileUpload1" runat="server" /> </EditItemTemplate> </asp:TemplateField> </Columns> Wellington Home Education Network I’m manually editing PHP in Visual Studio without the use of a PHP editor.  Managed to reduce the size of the email which is sent from the Application Form, by eliminating the fields that aren’t actually used. Managed to find the magic Headers which turn a Plain Text email into HTML. Instead of tabs between field name and value, now I’m outputting a table.  Much tidier. function FindVal($fieldName, $varName) { if(isset($_POST[$varName])) { $varValue = $_POST[$varName]; if($varValue!="") return "<tr><td>$fieldName</td><td>$varValue</td></tr>\n"; else return ""; } else return ""; } $from = $HTTP_POST_VARS['EmailAddress']; $headers = 'MIME-Version: 1.0' . "\r\n"; $headers .= 'Content-type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1' . "\r\n"; $headers .= "From: $from"."\r\n"; Wellington SQL Server Users Group We had Chandima Kulathilake from Knowledge Cue Ltd come and tell us about SharePoint 2010 Databases – What are they and why are they required? Wellington Dot Net Users Group Bevan Arps from Reserve Bank came and told us about Build Automation with NAnt. Kirk Jackson (Xero) and Graeme Neilson (Aura Software Security) came and told us Tales from the Crypt0 Bohdan Szymanik from KiwiBank came and told us about F# in Action
Developer News	SSMS Add-In This http://www.ssmstoolspack.com/ may be of use.  Martin particularly likes the window connection colouring, search in grid results and generate insert statements.
Study News	Not much has changed from last month. Still working my way through MCTS Exam 70-503 – Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Communication Foundation. Up to chapter 8. Very slow going.  Lab examples suck.  Even with a Virtual Machine with exactly the right environment, the labs fail.  Security is soooo hard to get right.
Telecom News	As alluded to in my opening paragraph, the financial year ended in June, and a new one commenced.  A round of budgetary begging occurred.  I contributed.  My team won some well-earned dosh. This probably means I’ll be doing more support work (officially) and less new developments, which is probably for the best in the current environment.  Nobody knows about Physical Separation, so investment in new development work (especially across business units) will have to slow down. This is all speculation, but hopefully interesting speculation.
Microsoft News	A summary of significant Microsoft chatter: Not going to Tech-Ed next month (sniff).  Not my turn. Reading about the Model-View-ViewModel (MSDN Magazine, March 2009 & July 2010).  I need to be doing this stuff, in order to separate code from implementation and improve testing. Not coding F#, but still straddling C# and VB.NET. I was an Imagine Cup mentor last year, but as all the meetings were held in Auckland, there didn’t seem a point to re-sign up for it this year. Windows 7 Dev?  Not on my radar. IE9?  Telecom only just upgraded to IE7!
Situations Vacant	Analyst Developer .NET Make it happen Work with industry leading technology, tools, and methodologies and let your talents shine.  Join a productive team that provides both development and support for some of Telecom’s core applications.  You’ll own enhancements to the functionality of the existing application, plus have the benefit of experienced developers to mentor your progression through your career milestones! Work with customised technologies, in a dynamic and collaborative team environment, where your actions have a direct impact on what happens in the wider business.  Support and enhance the application as you troubleshoot, overcome incidents and diagnose issues.  Get involved in projects as you take a concept from brief to reality, actioning enhancements.   You’ve gained credible commercial .NET development and coding experience in a large scale environment.  You’re hungry to continue learning and build on your qualifications.  Technically savvy with HTML, SQL and Sharepoint, you’re known for commitment as you take ownership of the issue until it’s been efficiently resolved while keeping all who are impacted up to date.  In this Wellington based role you’ll join our Application Delivery team who work with both an operational and project focus to produce accurate and efficient code.  We design, develop and implement quality business solutions to support Telecom’s strategic business objectives Want to work where it all happens?  Apply today.   Senior Technology Consultant You’re the expert It’s a great feeling to be valued for your expert knowledge and advice. Customers and colleagues alike look to you to show them the way. Join our Consulting and Design team and get the recognition you deserve.   Your customers look to you to match high quality technical knowledge to their business drivers to create valuable technology solutions.  Be the most trusted of advisors as you consult on the issues that matter to them. Work at a variety of levels, from presenting whitepapers to the nitty gritty of technical designing. Significant experience in an ICT vendor environment is a given. Your knowledge of Microsoft networking, virtualization, thin client and storage technologies and ideally Citrix is robust.  Equally important as your superior technical design and delivery skills, is your ability to relate technical solutions to business outcomes. You have excellent communication and written skills plus a strong customer focus. Your experience with infrastructure strategic planning and technical evaluation is impressive. Providing a breadth of services unparalleled in the New Zealand market, Gen-i is NZ’s ICT market leader.  This Wellington-based role sits within our high-performing Consulting and Design team.  We help organisations generate greater value from their IT spend by offering innovative solutions for the issues important to them. Be valued for your expertise.  Apply today.
Training News	A summary of Signification Microsoft Learning Chatter July is an exciting month where Microsoft Learning just announced the brand new MTA Certification for academic students, New OneNote Trainer Packs that enable MCTs to prepare for courses and to take and share notes AND we are getting ready to launch a completely revised Courseware Library. Microsoft is pleased to announce the launch of Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) 2010. Review the planned MOS 2010 exams and get ready to certify for MOS 2010. Keep your technical skills up to date with help from the latest training opportunity for SharePoint 2010. In this new training course on Channel 9, you’ll explore design considerations to keep in mind as you start creating SharePoint solutions targeting SharePoint 2010. Additional videos, labs, and code available to help you learn more about SharePoint testing, deployment, and security.
INETA News	A summary of Significant Dot Net User Group Chatter Developer NetBook (6 replies) .NET Express Edition & Commercial Software (10 replies) Integrated EFTPOS (5 replies)
PASS News	A summary of  Significant SQL Server User Group Chatter DB Compare Tool (10 replies) DB Script Extract Tool(13 replies) MSSQL and Schemas (6 replies)
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to Geeks.  I’m available for bookings. Date Event Venue Speaker 11-Aug-10 Windows Phone 7 Wellington .NET, Xero Kevin Daly 25-Aug-10 Advanced Azure Techniques Wellington .NET, Xero Dave Fellows 29-Aug-10 Code Camp (TBA) SkyCity Convention Centre, Auckland Lots 30-Aug-10 to 01-Sep-10 Microsoft TechEd 2010 SkyCity Convention Centre, Auckland Lots 8-11 Nov 2010 PASS Summit 2010 Seattle, Washington, USA Lots April 2011 ALM Conference Wellington Various
Humour	HOW TO PUT THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE RIGHT JOB Put about 100 bricks in some particular order in a closed room with an open window. Then send 2-3 candidates into the room and close it from outside. Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours, and then analyze the situation: If they are counting and recounting the number of bricks – PUT THEM IN ACCOUNTS. If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks – PUT THEM IN ENGINEERING. If they are arranging the bricks in some other order – PUT THEM IN PLANNING. If they are throwing the bricks at each other – PUT THEM IN OPERATIONS. If they are sleeping – PUT THEM IN SECURITY. If they have broken the bricks into pieces – PUT THEM IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. If they are sitting idle – PUT THEM IN THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT. If they have thrown the bricks out of the window – PUT THEM IN THE MATERIALS DEPARTMENT. If they have already left for the day – PUT THEM IN MARKETING. If they are talking to each other and not a single brick has moved – PUT THEM IN TOP MANAGEMENT !!!!

METTLE Monthly Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 6

Volume 5 Issue 6 June 2010

Hippolite Musings	Gentlemen, In June, I managed to: Wish farewell to several staff here at Telecom; Watch a locally made file “The China Cup”; Attend a mediation between parties in a dispute; Participate in the Wellington Home Education Network annual Science Fair; Take minutes at Northern Racquets Squash Club committee meeting; Take minutes at Grenada Village Residents Association committee meeting; Fully engage in Align Church leaders meeting; Convince my manager to shell out for a team lunch; Witness my niece’s baptism; Protest the Emissions Trading Scheme (with 100 farmers); Walkover site of land in dispute; and Be blessed by a couple of my wife’s most excellent dinner parties. Blessings, James.
World Outreach	PLEASE PRAY! BANGLADESH. David Elliott is leading a team of Bible College students on various outreaches in Bangladesh at this time and would appreciate prayer for the team’s well being, for favour with locals as they share, for a rich anointing of the Holy Spirit to be on their ministry times and that they will be a great blessing and encouragement to all they come in contact with. Shuken & Puspa, leaders of Generation Ministries in Bangladesh, ask for prayer for their annual “Teen Time” conference starting July 01. They and the whole Gen. Ministries team are very excited about this event and ask us to pray with them that hundreds of young people will come to find and follow Jesus.  Vijaya Chowdhuri would also appreciate prayer as she continues to come to terms with the loss of her precious Biswanath (last February) and the challenges of taking up his directorship role of Christian Discipleship Centre in Dhaka.  INDONESIA. Continue to pray for God’s provision for the purchase of the campus land on Mount Tawangmangu in Central Java. Sam & Carol Soukotta are very grateful to those who are praying and who have contributed to the fund to buy the land on which the Tawangmangu Bible College premises are located. To date around half of USD330K has been received / pledged.  The deadline for full payment is January 2011. Please keep praying that the necessary funds will be forthcoming and this marvellous facility will continue to be used to train up Godly men & women for ministry service in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim populated nation.  KEY POSITION. Please keep praying that the right person will be found soon for the position of WO Operations Director.  We believe the Holy Spirit is already stirring someone’s heart in preparation for this call!   Please direct any interest to Luke Chong luke.chong@worldoutreach.org.sg in the first instance.  The role of an Operations Director is a very key & important position in WOI, especially so with the organization steadily growing each year in both field personnel and ministries.  Please be praying with us for the right person. STH AFRICA.  Many international & local Christian groups and organizations are in Sth Africa for the football World Cup targeting fans with the hope of sharing the Gospel.  Pray for a mighty harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God. Pray too for Sth Africa that this world cup event will be a means for the Holy Spirit to do something very special in this great land.   IVORY COAST.  Janvier & Claudine Yokoinele write: “Our new school bus in now operational in our mission school here in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.  Please pray that we may raise the remaining Euros 6000 to complete payment for the bus and original set-up cost for the school.  We are ministering to many children who would not have had a chance to hear the gospel or see it modelled.” BURKINA FASO. Joseph Dayamba writes: “We will gather more than 600 to 700 children in our camps this year. Please pray for the children and the teenagers as we are preparing them to reach out to the LRP in their areas, pray too for their physical and spiritual protection, that God opens their eyes to find the people of peace who the Holy Spirit has prepared their hearts, and pray that my ministry team will trust the Lord for all the challenges before us. CONGO.  Gavin Porter writes: “I will be leaving on 1 July to Democratic Republic of Congo to teach God’s Vision God’s Mission to about 100 pastors in Lubumbashi. There are 5 people travelling with me. They will attend the classes as well as help with teaching and preaching in local congregations.  We are travelling the full distance by public transport via Zimbabwe and Zambia. We return again to Pretoria by 13 July.   Please pray for sufficient finances for each of the team members, for all the arrangements for accommodation and travelling, for a safe journey and God’s hand to be upon us, for the anointing of the Holy Spirit as we minister, for the pastors and leaders to be receptive to the Spirit and Word of God, and that God would confirm His word with signs and wonders as we minister in churches.” NTH INDIA.  WO church planting teams in Manipur report that tension is increasing in the province. Some of our WO team have received death threats.  Please pray that law & order will be maintained, that Godly wisdom will prevail & for protection on those involved in sharing the Gospel.    GERMANY.  Stefan Ross, friend of WO and Kairos National Coordinator for Germany, suffered a minor heart attack last week.  He is now recuperating but will need to go to a Rehabilitations Hospital for 3 weeks.  Please pray with us for Stefan’s full recovery and pray for his wife Helga that both will know the peace & presence of the Holy Spirit.
Koinonia House News	IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES Fifth Century Paintings Of Apostles Found In Catacombs June 23, 2010 Using new laser technology, archaeologists and art restorers have discovered what they believe are the oldest paintings of the faces of Jesus Christ’s apostles. The images in a branch of the catacombs of St Tecla near St Paul’s Basilica, just outside the walls of ancient Rome, were painted at the end of the 4th century or the start of the 5th century. The paintings have the same characteristics as later images, such as St Paul’s rugged, wrinkled and elongated forehead and balding head and pointy beard, indicating they may have been the ones which set the standard. - AP Israel Will Not Boycott Turkish Goods June 23, 2010 Israel’s biggest supermarket chains – Super-Sol, Blue Square and Rami Levy – will not boycott Turkish goods, they advised the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Earlier this week ministry director general Sharon Kedmi had asked the retailers to continue to sell Turkish products despite the mounting tension between Jerusalem and Ankara. - Haaretz The Bible In Every Language Expected By 2025 June 22, 2010 A Christian endeavor of almost 2,000 years could be substantially completed by 2025. Protestant translators expect to have the Bible — or at least some of it — written in every one of the world’s 6,909 spoken languages. "We’re in the greatest period of acceleration in 20 centuries of Bible translation," said Morrison resident Paul Edwards, who heads up Wycliffe Bible Translators’ $1 billion Last Languages Campaign. Portable computers and satellites get the credit for speeding things up by about 125 years. - The Denver Post Bush Criticizes North Korea’s Kim June 22, 2010 Former US President George W Bush on Tuesday accused North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il of wasting his country’s precious resources on personal luxuries and nuclear weapons programs. North Koreans have been suffering since the Korean War ended, Bush told a prayer meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of the war’s outbreak. "While South Korea prospers, the people of North Korea have suffered profoundly," he said, adding communism had resulted in "dire poverty, mass starvation and brutal suppression". - AFP Israel’s Bee-Keepers Used The Best Bees June 07, 2010 The Bible didn’t dub it "a land flowing with milk and honey" for nothing. Not only are the oldest known beehives in the world in what is now Israel, but bee-keepers of the time selected the best bees for the job. - NewScientist
Why I Am A Climate Realist	Hello again Climate Realists, Well, it’s been a busy two weeks! First of all, may we say a very grateful thanks for all the messages of support we have received over the last little while. It’s great to know there are so many people who  are on our side! Some of you have indicated that you feel quite alone in your views- but please be encouraged, there are people all over the country who feel the same way. The protest march in Wellington is over- here’s the report: Firstly, a great big thank you to all of you who made the effort to be there- people from Auckland and even further north, a contingent from the Waikato,  friends from Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Taihape, Blenheim…. and those were just the ones we spoke to! Special thanks to Bob McCoskrie (Family First), Don Nicolson (Federated Farmers),  Vapi Kupenga (Maori Affairs-Kiwi Party), Robin Grieve (Pastural Farming Climate Research) and John Boscawen (Act MP) who spoke about the effects of the ETS on various different sectors of society. Thanks for making the effort! Over the four days of the Fieldays we collected signatures for a large card which was presented to Rodney Hide and John Boscawen at the Tuesday protest. Heather Roy and David Garrett were also there in support. Why is it that only Act MP’s feel able to meet us? The card simply stated: "Please scrap the ETS" and had the picture often seen in parks when encouraging people to place their litter in bins- a person dropping a sheet of paper into a wire rubbish bin. We painted ‘ETS’ on the paper for good measure. Inside the card were well over 2,000 signatures collected over the four days of the Fieldays. We found it generally fairly easy to collect signatures- about 50% of people willingly signed. 47-48% had no idea what the ETS is about. A very small 2-3% were definitely opposed to us and the stand we are taking. Grateful thanks for those on the network who helped collect signatures; also those who circulated around the grounds distributing flyers about the protest. Thanks are also due to the Act Party for allowing us to share their Fieldays booth at very short notice. The protest started with at least 110 people (we counted!) and it was very heartening to discover that as we marched, some of the people on the streets joined in as they realised what we were on about. There were even more already waiting at Parliament. The numbers weren’t as great as we had hoped, but we are certainly grateful to all those who made a sterling effort, and we applaud Brian Anselmi of Piopio who was the main organiser. Thanks to Renton McLachlan who filmed the speeches and put them on Youtube- the links are below: Scrap the ETS! PART 1. March on NZ Parliament http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrVcXSm3MQ8 Scrap the ETS! PART 2. March on NZ Parliament http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCLI_xYfdq8 Here are some good pictures of the protest http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1006/S00161.htm Garth George mentions it…. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10653908&pnum=0 another article or two http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3840701/Anti-ETS-protesters-march-on-Parliament http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/rural/3840294/Flight-of-the-discords
Why I Am A Creationist	Synthetic life—the death-knell of the Bible? Many headlines have proclaimed that genome researcher Craig Venter made artificial life. We saw a number of atheopaths crowing that this disproves God. But the DNA software sequence was planned after analyzing an already existing microbe, the components joined with intricate chemistry largely based on proteins from living organisms, and the product was read with already existing cell machinery. Furthermore, even if a genuinely synthetic life form were made in the future, it would require intelligence, planning and foresight, not time and chance, so it would support the biblical creation model. See Was life really created in a test tube? And does it disprove biblical creation? by Jonathan Sarfati (Ph.D., chemistry), as well as our Questions and Answers page on Origin of Life. It’s conclusive. Neandertals are human About ten years ago, the human genome was sequenced and published. It cost about 3 billion dollars and took a decade to finish. Genetics studies have advanced considerably since then, and we are now able to sequence DNA thousands of times faster for much less money. This has ushered in an age of ancient DNA studies that was unimaginable just a few short years ago. Ancient DNA is highly degraded and in old bones it is invariably broken into millions of short pieces. We can now sequence this DNA and on the forefront of this new wave was the recent publication of the Neandertal genome. When we say “Neandertal”, what do most think? Primitive cave man? A half man/half ape creature living in a cave and walking all stooped over? Evidence against such ideas has been mounting for decades, but the Neandertal genome has finally put them to rest, for the Neandertal was human. And we don’t mean a little bit human, but fully human. And, according to the data, they were related to present-day people living in Eurasia! Find out more in our recent article published on creation.com: neandertals—just like us by Dr Rob Carter. The most precise clocks in the universe It’s exciting to see creation scientists at the forefront of technological advances. For example, Dr Raymond Damadian pioneered MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanning technology that has revolutionized diagnostic medicine and helped save many lives. Now university professor and CMI speaker, Dr John Hartnett’s work in developing atomic clocks (like the ones used aboard the International Space Station) has been recognized in the secular journals—even winning awards. Dr Hartnett is also author and co-author of the books Starlight, Time and the New Physics and Dismantling the Big Bang available from our store along with several of his DVDs. For more on this mind-blowing technology and what it means read It’s about time. Why aren’t there more people? According evolutionists homo sapiens appeared anywhere from a million years to tens of thousands of years ago. If that’s the case, even using conservative growth rates there should be trillions of people around today. Population numbers have long been a problem for evolutionists. Read this short article Where have all the people gone? A ‘key’ resource article for all creationists Dr Don Batten’s article 101 evidences for a young age of the earth and the universe has become somewhat of a staple, that is, a key resource for creationists everywhere when defending the biblical creation dates. We have seen it referenced in quite a few other creationist articles. And yes, this concise article lists over 101 easy-to-understand evidences that you can use to defend the faith. Moreover, just like all the articles on creation.com you can print it out and copy it as many times as you want. There could be few better articles with which to do such a thing.
How to…	Engage an Atheist I offer this dialogue, by way of example.  It took place via Twitter, an on-line chat service.  I am JamesHip.  “GodlessAtheist” was his chosen nom-de-plume.  At the end of this dialogue, I learned several things.  Enjoy! Time From Comment 28/06/2010 13:56 JamesHip Can any atheist please explain how the creation of artificial life in a controlled environment by intelligent design disproves the Bible? 28/06/2010 14:02 GodlessAtheist Hi James. It doesn’t. The bible is flawed historically, mathematically, scientifically and biblically. 28/06/2010 14:07 GodlessAtheist Happy to answer any question you have for an atheist (fellow kiwi) if they are long go to http://formspring.me/godlessatheist 28/06/2010 14:13 JamesHip "The Bible is flawed… biblically"? That’s a neat trick. Only an illogically training atheist could think that up. 28/06/2010 14:15 GodlessAtheist What I mean by that is that the bible contradicts itself. This is a sign that either it is not a holy book or was mis… 28/06/2010 14:17 JamesHip So, just as your pithy statement required unpacking, so too does any apparent contradiction in the Bible. 28/06/2010 14:20 GodlessAtheist What do you mean by unpacking? Is that another word for spin? or something else? 28/06/2010 15:12 GodlessAtheist Most Christians say the resurrection is the most important story of the bible. Would you agree with that? 28/06/2010 22:53 JamesHip I would tend to argue that literal creation is at least as important as the resurrection, but I’ll go with you on that one. 28/06/2010 22:59 JamesHip BTW thanks for being honest and admitting that artificial life does not negate the Bible. 29/06/2010 5:51 GodlessAtheist According to the bible there are many different stories of what happened in the discovery of the Jesus’s tomb. Why? 29/06/2010 5:52 GodlessAtheist Not a problem. 29/06/2010 7:32 JamesHip Different eyewitness accounts. If they had exactly matched, you would have concluded collusion. QED reliable testimony. 29/06/2010 9:33 GodlessAtheist James you know better than to say that 4 stories that don’t match up proves they are reliable. 29/06/2010 11:10 JamesHip One person saw two angels. A second person saw only one. It’s a reasonable inference there was at least one. 29/06/2010 11:22 GodlessAtheist First things first. Does having 3-4 contradicting stories mean the evidence is reliable? 29/06/2010 11:51 JamesHip That’s precisely why we have trial by jury: to ascertain reliability. Contradictory or complementary? We are stalemate. 29/06/2010 11:58 GodlessAtheist You said "QED" because they vary they were reliable. I wanted to give you the chance to withdraw that. 29/06/2010 12:04 GodlessAtheist Here are a list of some of the contradictions about the resurrection http://ht.ly/24soy 29/06/2010 12:24 JamesHip I said "QED" because it sounds brainier than "ergo". Mea culpa. 29/06/2010 12:31 JamesHip If that list had reasonable answers, would that matter to you? I suspect not cos you have Materialistic Faith. just sayin’ 29/06/2010 13:52 GodlessAtheist It would not convince me.What I am trying to understand is why you are not worried about these or the hundreds of others? 30/06/2010 6:46 JamesHip I am convinced there is a reasonable explanation for each and every one of them, that’s why. It’s called Faith, admittedly. 30/06/2010 6:47 JamesHip But not a blind faith in random processes, like yours. Mine is a reasonable faith, I contend. 30/06/2010 10:49 GodlessAtheist If you have a reasonable explanation then faith is unnecessary. Faith is only required when evidence is insufficient 30/06/2010 10:50 GodlessAtheist Do you agree that if evidence is sufficient then faith is not required? 30/06/2010 15:41 JamesHip evidence is sufficient = "reached a conclusion" = "trusted the source". See the problem? Requires faith. 30/06/2010 16:43 GodlessAtheist Is it better to say "I don’t know" or "A magic man did it"? 30/06/2010 16:43 GodlessAtheist Scientists publish there findings &others try to show their mistakes. Creationist are afraid to publish. 30/06/2010 17:43 JamesHip Creationists publish and are ostracised ref: "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" 30/06/2010 17:44 JamesHip There are two types of science: empirical vs. forensic. Empirical = testable, repeatable, observable. Forensic is not. 30/06/2010 17:48 GodlessAtheist There are times when we have to say we don’t know. It doesn’t mean that the god hypothesis is correct. 30/06/2010 17:49 JamesHip Origins debate is forensic. Darwin was spinning a yarn, which doesn’t hold up without huge leaps of faith. 30/06/2010 17:51 GodlessAtheist Example? 30/06/2010 17:52 JamesHip I would say, we are both logical, reasonable guys, who differ only in acceptance of worldview, not flaws in logic. 30/06/2010 17:56 JamesHip Example of Darwinian leap of faith? How did the first living (self-replicating) cell come into existence? 30/06/2010 18:59 GodlessAtheist Which book of Darwin have you read. He only ever talked about evolution not abiogenesis. 30/06/2010 20:55 JamesHip Surely you’re not trying to be disingenuous, after all the complements I’ve given your intelligence? 30/06/2010 21:24 GodlessAtheist No. Darwin’s work was about how animals evolved. He never made claims about the origins of life. At this point, I chose to disengage, because I realised several points: I’m not as clever as I’d like to believe.  He called me on my “QED” misquote. He was being disingenuous, and not really being intellectually honest.  After all, the title of Darwin’s book is “On the Origins of Species…” He had already confirmed my original question: that artificial life in the lab doesn’t disprove the Bible. He didn’t like what I had to say about his belief in Atheism is no less a religious faith than mine. I found this exchange worth-while.  I have to believe that of the combination of his followers and mine, that somebody was edified by my stand. That regardless of whether I win or lose a battle, at least I’m engaged!
Great Scientists…	…Who Believed the Bible Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) Louis Pasteur was the father of bacteriology. He established the germ theory of disease. His persistent objections to the theory of spontaneous generation and to Darwinism made him unpopular with the scientific establishment of his day. He was a Christian with extremely strong religious convictions.
Friday Fax	UN Office of Human Rights Continues Drum Beat for New Human Right to Maternal Health By Samantha Singson GENEVA, June 24th (C-FAM)  The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) has presented a new report to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on "Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights" that calls for a new “right” to maternal health. The pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) heralded the new report and boasted of having a "leading role" in getting maternal mortality put on the human rights agenda. CRR organized three panels on implanting a “human rights-based approach” to reducing maternal mortality at the recent Women Deliver 2 conference.     US Administration Launches All-Out International Homosexual “Rights” Offensive By Terrence McKeegan, J.D. WASHINGTON DC, June 24th (C-FAM)  United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed a reception at the State Department, proclaiming that “human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all.”  The reception celebrated “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month,” as was officially proclaimed by President Barack Obama for the month of June, and follows a recent incident at the United Nations (UN) where U.S. representatives made loud demands for immediate action on accrediting a homosexual “rights” group to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Train a Child	In June, Tane is learning to be a great big brother, and not just to his own siblings.  At many WHEN events, he is looked up to (literally and figuratively).  At swimming lessons, he is learning to play water polo.  He has surpassed Fiona’s height.  Now that his bedroom is downstairs, I have to be careful not to exclude him from family matters.  I have to make a conscious effort to remember (and remind him) that he matters to us. Hamish participated in the Wellington Home Education Network annual Science Fair.  He created a presentation around his plasma lamp.  He researched (Googled) what a plasma lamp was, how it worked and demoed putting an ordinary (unplugged) light bulb in close proximity to the plasma lamp.  His little friends were delighted to see the unplugged lamp glowing.  Hamish was able to explain how the slight radiation around the plasma lamp excites the gasses inside the other bulb. Aimée continues to excel at reading, handwriting and art (all the fine-motor skills).  Having to force her to go to her own bed to sleep (had a sleep-over in Hamish’s room recently), but she talks too much for him.  He likes his sleep.
Why I Am Pro-Israel	Dear Friend of Jerusalem, Here are the latest headlines from the One Jerusalem Blog: True Freedom Flotilla – NY Jews Set Sail for Gilad Shalit:  Despite scorching 100 degree weather, and very little advance notice, hundreds of Jews and Christians from New York set sail aboard sevral boats on what the organizers described as the True Freedom Flotilla.  The purpose of the flotilla was to… Stay Connected on Twitter & the Updated Forum!:  We have upgraded the One Jerusalem Forum with a new look, feel, and back-end engine. Please visit the Forum, register, and post your thoughts! Want to get breaking One Jerusalem headlines, faster than email hits your Inbox? Follow Us on… (read more) Don’t Let this Happen To Ground Zero!
Humour	PUNS FOR THE EDUCATED A thief broke into the local police station and stole all the toilets and urinals, leaving no clues. A spokesperson was quoted as saying, "We have absolutely nothing to go on." Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. Unfortunately, all the Swiss league records were destroyed in a fire… and so we’ll never know for whom the Tells bowled. A man rushed into a busy doctor’s office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I’m shrinking!" The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You’ll just have to be a little patient." A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of seagulls. One day, his supply of the birds ran out so he had to go out and trap some more. On the way back, he spied two lions asleep on the road. Afraid to wake them, he gingerly stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and charged with transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises. Back in the 1800′s the Tate’s Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products, and since they already made the cases for watches, they used them to produce compasses. The new compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression: "He who has a Tate’s is lost!" King Ozymandias of Assyria was running low on cash after years of war with the Hittites. His last great possession was the Star of the Euphrates, the most valuable diamond in the ancient world. Desperate, he went to Croesus, the pawnbroker, to ask for a loan. Croesus said, "I’ll give you 100,000 dinars for it." "But I paid a million dinars for it," the King protested. "Don’t you know who I am? I am the king!" Croesus replied, "When you wish to pawn a Star, makes no difference who you are." An Indian chief was feeling very sick, so he summoned the medicine man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a long, thin strip of elk rawhide and gave it to the chief, telling him to bite off, chew, and swallow one inch of the leather every day. After a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was feeling. The chief shrugged and said, "The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on." A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted on complaining to the local civic official who apologised profusely saying, "I must have taken Leif off my census." There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deer skin, one slept on an elk skin, and the third slept on a hippopotamus skin. All three became pregnant. The first two each had a baby boy. The one who slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys. This just goes to prove that… the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides. A sceptical anthropologist was cataloguing South American folk remedies with the assistance of a tribal Brujo who indicated that the leaves of a particular fern were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the Brujo looked him in the eye and said, "Let me tell you, with fronds like these, you don’t need enemas."
Events Schedule	In this section, I highlight dates, times and venues of events either I am presenting at, or of interest to METTLE.  I’m available for bookings. Date Event Venue Speaker 3-Jul-10 Intermediate Student Concert Raroa Intermediate School Tane (Sax) 7-Jul-10 Align Church Prayer Meeting Hippolite Residence All 8-10 Jul Northern Squash Tournament Newlands College N/A 17-Jul-10 Ella and Duncan’s Engagement party Studio 6, Wellington Elim Church N/A 19-Jul-10 The Blind Side charity movie screening The Light House Cinema, Petone N/A 21-23 Jul Turn Back the Clock Show Newtown Community Centre Kids4Drama 24-Jul-10 Beginners Student Concert Raroa Intermediate School Hamish (Guitar) 5-Aug-10 WHEN AGM WHEN Library All
Book Review	None Too busy
Bible Reading	You can look up for yourselves at: http://BibleReader.AlignChurch.org.nz/.
End Notes	METTLE is an acronym for Men’s Evangelical Team Together for Learning Experiences. We are primarily Christian businessmen from Wellington, who meet occasionally in the CBD to encourage each other in our daily walk with Jesus. This Monthly Collaborative Blog (MCB) is our primary means of communication.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this MCB, you are welcome to forward them along. Similarly, if your circumstances are such that membership in this distribution list is no longer relevant, then hit reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE to have it removed. If you choose to respond to any item raised in this MCB, please indicate clearly which items you wish to remain Private, as any correspondence may be considered Public and could be published. If this newsletter has been of benefit to you, why not drop a line and say so.  Or better yet, visit the TVORNZ website to read past issues and add a comment! Published by The Voice of Reason, New Zealand, copyright © 2006-2010

WHSA Family Camp

Wellington Home Schoolers Association

Inaugural Annual Family Camp

At: Brookfields Scouting Camp

On: Wednesday 19th & Thursday 20th November 2008