Book Review – Atlas Shrugged

About the Author

Atlas Shrugged is one the most well-known work by author Ayn Rand, a Russian immigrant who was a prolific writer and the quintessential queen of the Libertarian movement. She studied history and philosophy along with social pedagogy. She was born in 1905, became an American citizen in 1931, and died in 1982.

A “Brief” Synopsis (spoilers)

Atlas Shrugged is 850-1100 pages long (depending on the format), so to do it justice in one post is a challenge, but here it goes.

Non-Partisan (no, really) Christian Voter’s Guide 2016

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Greetings, my many secret readers who I imagine exist. Election day is nearly upon us. Many of you have already voted, and that’s fine, but here are some things to consider for Christians who have not voted yet.

Don’t Vote for a Candidate

DEBUNKED: “The Power of Language” @Enlightenment4today

So I came across this video posted by Enlightenment, a Facebook page whose About section confidentially states “Your Mission on this planet is to save your soul from re-cycling back to the 3rd dimension. I’m here to help you with that process. Be Enlightened!” (spelling and capitalization errors in original). Now, if you’re like me, keeping your soul from recycling back to the third dimension isn’t at the top of your to-do list. But just in case it is, you can check out the video I debunk here. (I would suggest you do go and watch it before proceeding, lest your soul recycle back to the third dimension while you read this).

See the video here

When God Plans Your Pregnancy

Here’s a great post from my cousin’s wife, a woman wise beyond her years. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, you can take some encouragement from this

An Audacious Poet

Where to begin?

In July, two tiny lines on a home pregnancy test took us completely by surprise. It was earth-shattering news to us – nothing was ever going to be the same again. How was this going to work with my husband working as a waiter and myself as a receptionist? What about our five year plan of frugal adventures in the plane my husband is building? How’s he going to even finish his plane? We’ve only been married a year and a half, why can’t I have my husband to myself for a while longer? Lord, what are You thinking? And how the heck did this even happen? (Yes, I know this is a humorous question on some level, but really… how is there suddenly a tiny human inside me when it seemed we had made certain we would wait a while?)

Wow. Breathe. Then the guilt hits…

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“But abortion isn’t the most important issue…”

If you believe the title of this post, you may love Hitler and Stalin.

As a Christian, I’m appalled when I talk to my beloved Christian friends who are politically Liberal. And while we can go back and forth all day about whether people should have to work for a living and whether or not it’s greedy to want to keep what you earn but not greed to want what somebody else earned, my trump card is always: “but what about abortion?” Then they go on to tell me “there are more important issues at play here.”

What? Excuse me?

The Appalling Truth

Why the testes are outside the torso

One of the favorite arguments of believers in the theory of evolution is that if there really was an Intelligent Designer, then He would have designed us better. Maybe with bones that are more durable, arteries that won’t clog, etc. And while we can go back and forth all day about the relative value of having stronger bones verses lighter bones, and whether or not, one way or another, hedonistic people would find a way to clog their arteries, I’ve often, in the past, wondered why God put the testes on the outside of males, rather than the inside where they would be protected.

Those who believe in the theory of evolution would point to this as a design flaw that all but destroys any possibility of there being an Intelligent Designer, and of course, it is well understood in the community of medical scientists and the educated world at large that sperm need an environment with a temperature of less than 98.6 degrees in order to develop. For a while I simply accepted this and moved on.

What’s the most oppressed minority?

We hear all about minority oppression, suppression, discrimination, and more in every single news cycle, it seems. I’m not trivializing these instances. Sure, many of them may be people exhibiting overly sensitive behavior, but we all know there is still genuine racism, sexism, and other isms and phobias that are untrue, unnecessary, unfair, and unethical.

But which minority is the most discriminated against? I promise you, it’s not what any of you, not a single one of you, is thinking.

Organic Fruits of the Spirit

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From Mind Wandering…

Not long ago, I was sitting in church, listening to a sermon entitled “The Two Trees”, which highlighted the dichotomy between the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. The message was good, covering the fundamentals of the choice and subsequent fall, the redemption, and the restoration. As a long-time believer, it rehashed a lot of ground that I’m very familiar with and already know.

6 Arguments for and Against Hipster Culture

I realize I’m a little late to this party, since hipsters have been around for than 12 times the length of one of their polyamorous relationships, but in the year 2016, they’re still around, so this is still relevant.

Let’s list 6 bad things about hipsters. (If there’s one thing the Internet loves, it’s lists):

A Message to Would-Be Immigrants

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There’s been a lot of noise about Syrian refugees in the news, and well, everywhere, lately. There’s been accurate coverage of both sides of this issue elsewhere, and I’m not about to waste any more time on another stale analysis rehashing the same arguments.

That’s right: I’m not going to wax eloquent on whether a Muslim horde of largely adult males who have no verifiable records and who are obviously infiltrated with ISIS members should get your tax dollars