bierkergaard

Those of the Conservative persuasion, seem far too comfortable with the premise of war. What has been called "American Exceptionalism" --the belief that the U.S. is the new chosen nation as Israel of old--is deeply ingrained in the American psyche. We believe that the sword we bear is of the Lord.   Yet, we deceive ourselves if we think that we have no sin. In the balance sheet of good vs. evil, the U.S. has historically enshrined the rights of the individual vs. the collective power of authority, be that church and/or state. That has been an positive step forward because the group is not always right. Neither is it always wrong. Too much individualism leads to everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. Tradition and Truth battle it out, for tradition can be untrue, but truth--to be true--has to be grounded in more than just subjective opinion. Your truth vs. my truth devolves into preference and then ultimately to power. It is one thing to admit that we all see thr...

The world teaches us that we are worthy because we have something of worth to give to the system, the structure, society. Despite rhetoric from both Left and Right, and all points in-between, each ideology has the groups or group it hates who are on the outs, as a counter-balance to the ins. For all of the talk of valuing diversity, the truth is that an emphasis on our differences divides human worth, setting people against people. Inclusion in human terms always has exclusion. The unity fractures into fragments, fractions, factions. However, human worth does not exist suspended in the air on wishes but in Jesus Christ dying on a Cross, God suspended in sacrifice, extending worth in His outstretched hands. To all. So when we fail, disappoint ourselves, disappoint others, go back again and again to the sin cycle for another round of beatings, Jesus pronounces our worth emanating from His worth, not our own. We are benefactors of Christ being broken. His torn body/bread and shed b...

I have been reading up on the effects of sugar and simple carbs  (same diff) on the body's hormones. Whereas conventional nutritionists posit that a calorie is a calorie, contrarian research is showing that to view food only in terms of calories is missing the effects of foods on the body beyond mere calorie count. If we correlate our diets with obesity, we are consuming all time highs of sugars and simple carbs. One does't have to be a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry to think there may be a link between the two. I saw a "Big Chill" soda on a sale sign at a convenience store the other day. It is one of those 32 oz sodas. I thought 'Big Chill?" How about "Big Kill?" Calories are surely part of the equation but it is not the only variable.   I am not a fan of low carb diets because such plans cannot be sustained for long. The body needs carbs for energy but the right types of carbs (complex, high fiber like oats) that burn slow in the body. Simpl...