All posts filed under: z5

The changing face of pornography

The Economy of Pornography

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When I was six, some curious boys explored an empty house that was being demolished, and I went with them. Inside, one of the older boys called us to see a mail order catalogue that he found. I remember we sat on the floor and a big boy showed us pictures of women in their underwear. I didn’t understand, but I knew we were bad boys and those were dirty pictures. I still haven’t told my parents. The world has changed since then. Now three things are true; 1) products are mass produced and mass consumed 2) sex sells everything and 3) any business that succeeds evolves and expands rapidly. 1) Success is Consumption: Mass production and consumption dominate our economy, and all we need is money. For example, people everywhere eat fast food, made with mass produced sugar, salt, starch, fat, and additives. It’s bad for us, and it’s everywhere. We are struggling to manage this new set of rules. Pornography is one of the most overproduced commodities in the world, and people consume …

Study shows premature babies 22-weeks old can survive outside the womb, and yes it impacts the abortion debate

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[by Dean Smith] Even admitting their recommendations could potentially impact the abortion debate, researchers are suggesting the medical community should re-look at the viability age of premature babies. Up to this point, it is generally accepted babies born as young as 24 weeks can survive outside the womb. However, a recent research project, reported in the New York Times, is now suggesting the age of viability should be reduced to 22 weeks because of growing evidence babies that young can survive, particularly with modern neonatal improvements.

Truth versus perception: CO2 and global warming

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[by Dean Smith] My wife, daughter and I were recently watching a favorite program on Netflix, when I hit the pause button. “I have a simple question for both of you,” I said. It was part of my less than scientific survey on perceptions surrounding global warming. “If we cut out a swath of the earth’s atmosphere made up of 10,000 atoms and molecules, how many of them would be CO2.” What would be your answer to this question?

Has Jesus’ childhood home been discovered?

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[by Dean Smith] In a Biblical Archaeological Review article, archaeologist Ken Dark reports he may have found Jesus’ childhood home in Nazareth. According to the Bible, Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1), raised in Nazareth (Luke 4:16) and eventually moved to Capernaum (Matthew 4:13) where He started ministering. In 670 AD, an Irish Monk named Adomnan from Iona wrote a document called De Loctis Sanctis that discussed the pilgrimage of Bishop Arculf to Nazareth. During his journey, Arculf visited a church at the site of the home where Jesus grew up.

How 38 became 100: The Global Warming math

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[by Dean Smith] You may have heard the recent announcement by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) that 2014 was the warmest year on record. Though news organizations broadcast the story around the world, the Daily Mail reported there was a bit of fine print and funny math missing from GISS’ news release sent out Friday, January 17th, suggesting all is not what it seems.

Another confirmation of Exodus: Has a statue of Joseph been found?

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If you ever watch any movies about the Exodus, they usually portray Ramses as the Pharaoh. One thing secularists have complained about is the lack of extra-Biblical evidence of the Exodus in archaeological excavations in Egypt. The Biblical portrayal of the ten plagues as being catastrophic and national would certainly call for a mention somewhere, they suggest. Well there are such mentions but the problem is we are not looking at the right Pharaoh. The Ipuwer Papyrus, on display in a Dutch museum, lists six of the plagues including water turning to blood and a great darkness. But it dates to a period connected to the Hyksos who ruled Egypt many centuries before Ramses. A second, the Ahmose Tempest Stela, goes into detail on a great darkness that covered Egypt — again dated to the Hyksos period. There is now a third confirmation — possibly a statue of Joseph — also from the time of the Hyksos, but at the beginning of their reign. Who in the world are the Hyksos? Around 2000 BC, a …

Has the place where Jesus was sentenced to death been discovered?

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[by Dean Smith] According to an article in the Washington Post, archaeologists may have discovered the very place where Pilate sentenced Jesus to die on the cross. Fifteen years ago, while working in a building beside the Tower of David Museum, archaeologists discovered a massive structure below the floor boards of the building which had originally served as a prison for the Ottomans and as well the British during the 1940s. As they continued their work, they uncovered what is now believed to be the remains of Herod’s massive palace — including its walls and sewage system. It is generally agreed that Herod’s palace was located on the western side of Old Jerusalem, putting it near the Tower of David museum.

Does an ancient papyrus speak of the Exodus plagues from an Egyptian perspective?

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Español: ¿Un antiguo papiro habla de las plagas del Éxodo desde una perspectiva egipcia? There is an ancient Egyptian papyrus that some believe tells of the plagues that God sent on Egypt during Israel’s deliverance from that land under Moses. Oddly the ancient document hasn’t caught the attention of many Christians simply because it doesn’t fit their time-table of who the Pharaoh of the Exodus actually was. Most believe the Exodus happened under Thutmose III or Ramses II, but this document puts it much earlier than these pharaohs. But it perfectly fits my theory of when the Exodus took place, and I believe this papyrus — written from an Egyptian’s perspective — describes the chaotic days and the plagues associated with Israel’s deliverance. The document officially named Leiden I 344 is on display at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Holland. It was discovered in 1828, but wasn’t translated until 1909, when Professor Alan Gardner discovered it was a lament speaking of a very chaotic time in Egypt’s history. He titled it The …

The lost coins of Jesus?

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Dr. Ronald Stewart, using special imaging equipment, believes coins dated to 33-47 AD depict the life of Jesus. Stewart says the hand-struck coins were part of a popular art form called “Portable Coinage Art”  first introduced by Grecian emperors in 336-300 BC and later popularized by Roman emperors. People of financial means would have sets of coins created to memorialize significant people. These coins would depict notable events of a person’s life in pictorial form starting on one side of the coin and continuing on the other side. 

“I felt like I died” — Patti’s heart-rendering testimony about her abortion

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When the pro abortion movement launched its “1-in-3” campaign calling on women to share their happy memories on abortion, Virtue Media knew it needed to counter this message. The stats showed many women who abort a baby will suffer depression and even substance abuse as a result. The abortion movement will use the pro-choice testimonies in celebrations planned for 32 states. They based the “1-in-3” campaign name on their belief a third of women will have an abortion in their lifetime. At the end of October 2013, Virtue Media released six ads featuring heart-rending testimonies of women and their abortion experience. In this ad, we hear Patti’s testimony about her abortion at age 16. Though it happened years earlier, her grief is still real today.

Babies thinking in the womb

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Researchers from the University of Helsinki discovered unborn children actually remember words spoken before they were born. The study indicated babies are thinking and retaining information much earlier than previously thought. Because the sound processing part of a baby’s brain develops in the third trimester (starting at 28 weeks), researchers decided to test how much is going on in a babies brain prior to birth. To do this, they had a number of mothers play a recording to their babies a few months prior to birth. It was a