Drakos7

The snow stopped yesterday around 3pm and the plows came at night. Unfortunately the snow plows decided to not even bother plowing out our section of the parking lot. Around 4pm today we finally dug out the the Civic.

I calculated that I shoveled over 320 cubic feet of snow, not including the snow cave construction. No wonder my whole body is sore. As you can imagine, the kids had a blast jumping into piles, throwing boulders around, and dumping snow on the paths that I had just cleared.

The snow cave can now fit the whole family. The most recent addition is a spot for me to sit upright, and a separate kennel for the dog (though we do not have one). It is more of a storage shed for the sled right now. The schools are closed for the next 2 days so I am sure the kids will enjoy it. Ok, I hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Snow continues to fall. 2-2.5ft depending on where measured. Kids are loving it. I still have to clean off the lower sidewalk which will add even more bulk to the cave. This is more snow in one storm than I can remember, even compared to Ithaca.

Feb 3, 2010, 11:50pm. Snow is so pretty at night.

Quote of the night: “Embarrassment is the gateway drug for theological accommodation and denial.” -Al Mohler

I got my one year employment mug today. It is a nice dark cobalt color with my name and start date on it. I hear at five years you get a cupcake. I think I got the better deal. Too bad there is plenty of free coffee and tea in the break rooms but no free hot chocolate.

You will often find that cults use deceptive practices while they attempt to sway you to their point of view. The slickness of the presentation often blinds one from what is going on. Here are some things to think about.

Translation

Why do the Mormon’s go around carrying King James version Bibles which they appeal to for support of their religion, while at the same time say that the Bible is not translated correctly? Shouldn’t they carry around their own “correct” translation instead? They do see it as “a thousand times over the best Bible now existing on earth.” Ask them the next time they come to your door.

More Translation

Lets say an angel came to you, an American, and told you to translate an ancient document. You get out your pen and paper, and start writing in old English: “Thus saith the Lord”. Well, not likely. It would make a lot more sense to write in the common language of the day: “The Lord says”. This brings us to the point: Why did Joseph Smith “translate” the “golden plates” into 1600′s English when he wrote it around 1830? By 1787 the American English language had eliminated most of the flourish of the KJV, as evidenced by preface to The American Spelling Book by Noah Webster. Go ahead and ask them why their chief prophet translated into a language 200 years previous to himself.

Importance

So the Mormon’s come to your door and start trying to convince you that you are not a true Christian because you do not keep the law and that you could experience true faith and a burning in your bosom (another rather old word that people rarely use, but if you are stuck in the 1600′s…) if you trust them as they try to convince you from a KJV bible. Like I mentioned above, they do not consider the KJV to be the best translation. They conveniently fail to mention though, that the Bible is not even their highest authority. They have The Book of Mormon, “another testament of Jesus Christ” which isn’t pulled out until much later. Isn’t this bait and switch? But it gets better. The majority of their doctrine does not even come from the BoM. Instead it comes from the Doctrines and Covenants, where you learn that God was once a man and became God, and that Jesus is the spirit brother of Satan (yes, you read that right). It is rather deceptive, just like in Scientology, to have to jump through a series of hoops, after you get sucked in, to find out what the core beliefs of the group are. But I guess saying “Did you know that Jesus is the spirit brother of Satan?” will not steal as many sheep as saying “Can we talk about knowing Jesus?”

Another year comes to an end, but in many respects it is just another day. For all the resolutions that people make (lose weight, read more, spend more time with kids, have more fun, …) do our resolutions get in the way of the true resolution we need to make? Can we set aside these (usually “good”) things that control our lives and make sure Christ takes primacy? Are we willing to daily live for the glory of God? Not an easy “resolution”. Why not try some of these resolutions to start with.

edit: here is another good read on resolutions.

We managed to locate six candles in the drawer to celebrate Andrew’s 6th birthday. He was very excited, and especially liked the brontosaurus from Poppy. Camille made an awesome cake from scratch. We were all very impressed.

The kids got an extra birthday surprise when the #snowpocalypse began. We got a total of about 22 inches of snow, for which they were very grateful. We stayed inside on Saturday to just enjoy some time playing games and resting.

With everything being closed and canceled, including church, we decided to go outside and have some fun. Sledding was a bit rough to start with in all the powder, but it got better quickly. Then I began the process of digging out the cars, and digging in one snow car. We shall see how long the plows leave it alone. The kids don’t know it yet, but I started carving out the inside of the snow car to make them a fort. School is canceled tomorrow so I need to do something with them.

I have not yet read the Twilight series yet (not sure if I will either). The Twilight series features vampires, and it seems like there are hordes of zombies who have been seduced by it. Given my research into cults, I found this Touchstone article on Mormon Vampires in the Garden of Eden to be rather informative.

An interesting link came across an apologetics list I subscribe to regarding the theological cult Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.. It is a blog that highlights some of the issues that JWs have to deal with being in an overly controlling environment. I found the article on how they are told from on high to deceive people to whom they are peddling their heresy to be especially interesting given some of my prior encounters with them. Head on over to the blog and give them your support.