Tag Archives: Television

Bible

The History Channel and the Bible

13 Comments

I’ve had a couple queries about the upcoming History Channel special on the Bible.

I tend to be skeptical of anything on TV related to the Bible.  The TV preachers are mostly false teachers, and the allegedly mainstream channels usually pull out all sorts of theological Liberals (read: non-Christians) and present them as mainstream experts.

Based on names supposedly associated with the production (Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Della Reese, and more) I’m even more skeptical.  But this interview with the makers made it sound like they were trying to be true to the text.

Having said that, it might be good to watch.  Remember, just because we disagree with something on TV doesn’t mean we can’t use it as a segue to truths about the Bible.  If the shows are realistic depictions of the text, then that’s great.  Get people to talk about it.  If there are errors, you’ll have a chance to point them out.  Even if you don’t watch it you can ask people what they thought about it and take the conversation from there.

In short, use this as an opportunity to share the truth: The original writings of the Bible turned out just as God and the human writers wanted them to, and they have been passed down to us in a highly accurate fashion.  Therefore, we should all study it carefully and seek to meet God on his terms, not ours. 

—–

Updates — Here are a couple reviews that go into more detail.  Sounds like they took a lot of poetic license with the text.

The Word Made . . . for Television?

The Bible … on the History Channel? A review of the TV series The Bible

Christian worldview

Giving the benefit of the doubt

5 Comments

Saw this on Facebook a while back:

The girl you just called fat? She is overdosing on diet pills. The girl you just called ugly? She spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her. The boy you just tripped? He is abused enough at home. That guy with the ugly scars? He fought for our country. The guy you just made fun of for crying? His mother is dying. Think before you speak. You never know the “whole story” of that other person’s life.

I was just thinking of that lately. Sadly, the secular world tries to prop up the “self esteem” movement while denying God. But if we aren’t made in the image of God then the world is right: Shiny, happy people are worth more, which is why they are the ones on TV and on magazine covers. The people described above really are less valuable.

Thank God that isn’t the way the universe really is!  We have good news for those people.  And it really is good to give people the benefit of the doubt.  You have no idea where they came from.

Christian worldview

Man, are they stupid. Here’s more proof.

7 Comments

Can you believe that anyone takes Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann seriously?

Oops, I meant Obama and Biden.

The problem isn’t Obama, it is media bias.  Did you see those clips played endlessly on the news or on SNL?  This video should be required viewing to be able to vote.  It exposes the viciousness and bias of the Leftist mainstream media.  Don’t be suckers.  Broaden your media horizons and get informed.  Vote based on real experience, what kind of judges candidates would select, etc.  Don’t let the media put up strawmen about who is smart and who isn’t.

Hat tip: Hot Air

Christian worldview

“I’m from Australia and I’d really like some insight into why there is this visceral hatred of Palin from left liberals – it’s complete bizarre”

5 Comments
The title of this post was a comment left on someone else’s Facebook post on Sarah Palin.  Here’s one response I liked:

As one female caller to a talk radio show said the other day, “She is smart, she is athletic, she loves the outdoors, she hunts, she fishes, she raises kids, she is on TV, she has been a governor of a state, she writes books, she blogs, AND she is pretty. What’s not to hate?”

Here was my answer:
‎90% of people abort Down Syndrome children, but she gave birth to hers. Her pro-life position makes Liberals absolutely hate her. You could agree with radical feminists on literally every issue possible except unrestricted abortion and they will hate you with a passion. Seriously.
On a different Palin post on my FB page, someone noted this:
 SP [Sarah Palin] is a stupid moron.
How eloquent, and how right off the the mainstream media script.
Update: Turns out she writes like most CEOS, and better than the expert who was hoping she’d come off as illiterate.
Fitness

P90X follow up

2 Comments

Well, I finished the 13 weeks.  I’ll definitely do the routine again but with a few modifications.  The jumping bothered my neck so unfortunately I need to cut out the plyometrics and a couple other moves.  But I’ll just substitute a biking / stair stepper day and a couple other exercises.

I will mix in some more traditional weeks of lifting, but one thing P90X has done is get me to pick up the pace of my workouts.  I’ll try to rest less between sets.  I’ve learned lots of new exercises that I plan to work in.

I’m going mix in weeks of traditional workouts with another round of P90X, but I can already tell that I’ll miss Tony Horton pushing me and setting a faster pace.  Working out to the DVDs really is a bit like having a personal trainer.

I finally broke down and ordered a heart monitor watch.  I think my rate gets too high when doing the legs & back routine.

I had already been working out steadily so my changes weren’t that dramatic, but I am a lot more flexible and my chin-ups are at all-time highs.  I’ve had periods when I was younger and could lift more raw weights, but as far as overall fitness goes this is probably the best I’ve had.  The variety of moves and coverage (strength, cardio and flexibility) is outstanding.

If you’ve thought about trying it, give it a go.  But heed the warnings below and on the DVDs!  Just compete with yourself.  If you can only do 2 push-ups but you work up to 3, then 4, then 5, then you are winning.

Original post

I’m almost halfway through the 13 week P90X fitness routine and wanted to share some thoughts on it.  I’ve exercised regularly for 30+ years, almost all just self-training — mostly lifting plus jogging/exercise bike type stuff.  When I see “As seen on TV” I take it as a reason not to buy the product in question.  But I heard of several people at work and on Facebook who used P90X and liked it so I decided to give it a try.

My philosophy on fitness is that God has numbered our days but that our choices make a big difference in how we live those days.  Narcissism and excessive exercise aren’t good, but letting ourselves go doesn’t optimize our work for the Kingdom either.  Illness can strike anyone, but I want to accomplish as much as I can with whatever days I have left and I want to minimize any burdens on my family.  I like to stay on the giving side of the giving/receiving equation as much as possible.  Exercise is also a great stress relief.  Therefore, I strive to stay fit.

Observations

Continue reading P90X follow up →

Fitness

P90X: The “X” stands for, “Wow, this is really quite difficult.”

Leave a comment

I’m almost halfway through the 13 week P90X fitness routine and wanted to share some thoughts on it.  I’ve exercised regularly for 30+ years, almost all just self-training — mostly lifting plus jogging/exercise bike type stuff.  When I see “As seen on TV” I take it as a reason not to buy the product in question.  But I heard of several people at work and on Facebook who used P90X and liked it so I decided to give it a try.

My philosophy on fitness is that God has numbered our days but that our choices make a big difference in how we live those days.  Narcissism and excessive exercise aren’t good, but letting ourselves go doesn’t optimize our work for the Kingdom either.  Illness can strike anyone, but I want to accomplish as much as I can with whatever days I have left and I want to minimize any burdens on my family.  I like to stay on the giving side of the giving/receiving equation as much as possible.  Exercise is also a great stress relief.  Therefore, I strive to stay fit.

Observations

Overall, I’ve been thrilled with it. It was sort of like having a personal trainer / class to participate in, but on my schedule and at a fraction of the cost.  I love the challenge.

Lots and lots of push-ups and pull-ups (many varieties of each), though you can use a chair to help on the pull-ups or use exercise bands.

Great variety of exercises: Lifting, stretching, plyometrics, yoga (just the stretches / moves with no religious stuff and actually a nice bit of humor — I wish they’d give it another name), core training and more.

The big theme is “muscle confusion,” where the routines change often and there is a lot of variety in the routines.

You need to be in shape to do this.  Seems counter-intuitive, eh?  But it is very demanding.  It isn’t just the exercises, it is the pace.  Those warnings in the beginning of the DVDs are no joke.  You do not want to dive straight into this.

Hardest routine for me: Legs and back.  One-legged squats followed by another thigh exercise followed by chin-ups will leave you breathless, especially when you do many cycles like that with little rest.  Honorable mention: Plyometrics.  Lots and lots of jumps.  Took me a while to be able to get through it without pausing.

Easiest – er, uh, I mean least difficult — Kenbo kick boxing.  Lots of variety and challenging, but at a fairly even pace.  Truly a fun workout.

You need to put your ego on the shelf and just do what you can in the beginning.  Follow the exercise, but do less repetitions or with less intensity.  Hit the pause button.  The people in the videos have been through the routines so of course they can do them better than you.  But you’ll make progress quickly.

Compete against yourself, not those in the video.  If you have to hit the pause button 10 times the first week and only 8 times the second, then you are winning.

The cost is reasonable — $140 for the program with 12 DVDs plus whatever you spend on bands / dumbbells, etc.  Not cheap, but way cheaper than a personal trainer.

I put the audio onto my iPhone so I can use it at the gym or if I travel.  Once you have watched the DVDs enough you know how the technique works.  I obviously can’t travel with dumbbells but the bands will suffice.  One of my employees did this while traveling, but apparently the person on the floor below didn’t appreciate him doing plyometrics (hence the call from the front desk)

The instructor (Tony Horton) He does a good job of explaining the technique and repeating it.

The warm-up and cool down periods are very thorough.

If you are just beginning I recommend skimming through the workout DVDs before you start.  It takes some of the mystery out of it and helps you get ready.

Their website and Facebook page have lots of good tips.  They try to sell supplements but I mainly go with my Veggie Boy smoothies.  I did try their protein bars — tasty, but on the expensive side.

I generally eat pretty well but I’ve taken it up a notch.  It wasn’t by design, more of just a thought that if I’m doing all this extra work I might as well do everything else I can.

It does take more time than I’d normally set aside for fitness.  The routines are 60-75 minutes and you do them 6 days a week.  But I definitely have more energy every day, so the investment pays off.

I really appreciate their philosophy: No gimmicks, no silly promises of quick weight loss with no effort, no fad diets, etc.  Just hard, consistent work and good eating.  And it works.

Be sure to check out their Facebook page!