The Nihil Rule

  Rev. David Thompson (ELS), the Director of the Center for Apologetics and Worldviews , was On the Line with Rev. Bryan Stecker (LCMS). Let me note that On the Line is quickly becoming a favorite podcast for me, I enjoy the long-form content, and the guests have been on the whole quite interesting. A few months back we talked about Pastor Mike Novotny's (WELS) pronoun equivocation. I spilled a bit of ink focusing on the Biblical aspects of truth and love. WELS Southerner chimed in with his southern charm. Rev. Tyrel Bramwell (LCMS) spent an entire episode of Truth at All Costs , eviscerating Novotny's argument bringing broad swaths of Scripture to bear. Rev. Thompson quickly and simply  cuts to the heart of the matter: "I think we ask ourselves two questions. Number one, is it true that he is a she? The answer is no it's not true, you know God has made that very clear - biology, chemistry, history has made it quite clear. The second question is this: when are we al

  A little late and a little off-topic. Today SpaceX did something pretty incredible - catching the first stage of their rocket on a tower using their "chopsticks". Watch the video and hear the enthusiasm of their engineers. This is a pretty remarkable feat, both because it saves the weight of landing gear (grid fins are necessary to their control scheme and provide a suitable load path) and reusability - catch it, stack it, fuel it, launch it all from the same cradle. Revolutionary, indeed, leaving NASA, ULA and Blue Origin in the dust.  Elon's comment “science fiction without the fiction part” pretty much nails it. As a child I read everything I could about space flight. I was smart enough to know my eyesight and inherited heart conditions prevented me from being a NASA astronaut, but I imagined what kind of work might allow me to live on one an  O'Neill Cylinder  (my small library did have a copy of The High Frontier ). Growing older, married, kids, and spiritually

When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belong to such as these," He took the little children in His arms with their mothers.  He did not say "Let the little children exit the sanctuary with the education director, and do not hinder them, because an age-appropriate experience is needed for such as these" Why is it then that so many of our churches are establishing a "Childrens Church" or Sunday School during the divine service where the kids are removed from worship?   Many such cases: Saint Paul's Muskego offers child care during their services Saint Paul's Onalaska offers child care during their contemporary service Carbon Valley in Firestone Colorado  dismisses kids 5 years and younger for "age appropriate learning" . Divine Savior in Doral, Florida offers "age-appropriate lessons and activities during the Divine Service . I'm sure you co

On the heels of seminary accreditation : our own book publisher, Northwestern Publishing House, is a member of the ECPA. Earlier this year,  Not the Bee  highlighted the ECPA's DEI courses and certifications. Along with that you can peruse their website and see their promotion of diversity in Christian publishing. ...it's good to see the diversity training hasn't had its effect...