"If a book be false in its facts, disprove them;if false in its reasoning, refute it. But for God's sake, let us freely hear both sides if we choose."
- Thomas Jefferson
The Perfect Number of Children
I had so many hits on my last post, "New Life at Our House," I was suspicious that people thought it was an announcement that we were having another baby. Well, it wasn't; but this is! The perfect number is seven, thus we now have "the perfect number of children." I'm sure you know I don't mean that seven is the perfect number of children to have. But that brings up a good question and provides an opportunity to explain why we have so many children. How many children should a couple have?
There are many cultural assumptions that cause people to answer this question very differently than we do. (You all can check back with us in about 20 years to see whether any of our children starved to death, were neglected, or received an inadequate education). The perfect number of children for each couple is the number that God blesses them with when they start with the principles of Scripture and allow God to lead them in discerning how those principles apply to their own lives. That is our confidence and conviction in the face of criticism. It is important that believers in our present culture dig deeply into their reasoning and assumptions and be sure they are openly following the teaching and leading of God and not drifting along with the masses.
Third Party Politics
In 2004 there were 72 million registered Democrats, 55 million registered Republicans, and 42 million registered independents. The independents were made up of .37 million in the Constitution party, .31 million in the Green Party, and .2 million in the Libertarian Party. Throughout the history of our nation, politics have been dominated by two parties. Because of this, we often do not know much about what third parties stand for. They exist because they believe that neither of the two dominant choices we have are satisfactory. There are collectively a large chunk of independents, so it is important to know what they are looking for. I assigned my Discourse in Politics and Religion class the following third party web pages in order to learn more about them: Constitution Party Platform
the birchbark letters
I was wading in the New River with my buddy Dustin and my kids. He had already explained the currents of the water and the best spots one might find a trout if he had a mind to. I had also learned the names of various plants and trees. He called the kids over, reached into the river and pulled up a rock. He pointed to the surface of the rock and identified little infantish bugs squirming about on it. If I had picked up that rock, I would not have seen them. He explained the amazingly brief life cycle of these tiny creatures and how they fit into the complex economy of river life. It was an interesting lesson of how much I don't see, because I don't know it's there and don't know how to look for it.
Well, my naturalist friend has launched a creative new website called "the birchbark letters." If you love the outdoors and reflections on God's creation, or if you just enjoy creative, thoughtful writing, you will enjoy "the birchbark letters."
Here's the intro of one of his posts:
"I clearly remember the day I became a man. Well, at least in my own mind. The wind whipped in from the north on that January day. The sky was raw, clouded, and very, very cold. The grass was brown and the apple trees in our backyard were barren, hunkered against the wind. I was 10, wearing a tri-cornered cap my grandparents had given me. A Patriot I was, born of the American Revolution, fighting the Redcoats beside the dog-lot. . . . "
You Know What Assuming Does . . .
"One of the major failings of our educational system is the inattention paid to the role assumptions play in thinking. This means that as the products of the system, students are unlikely to have given this key topic any thought whatsoever. Instead, students blithely go through life in happy ignorance of the assumptions that form the foundation of their knowledge of themselves and the world around them." "Assumptions are presuppositions that make possible the thoughts and activities we construct based upon their presumed truth."
- Raymond S. Ruble, The Theory and Practice of Critical Thinking