I’ll Tell You What…

What on Earth am I Here For?


Day 2 - You Are Not an Accident

You remember Stella Liebeck, don’t you? No, she’s not the “Where’s the beef?” lady from the Wendy’s commercial. She’s the elderly lady who spilled McDonald’s coffe in her lap and sustained 3rd degree burns on 6% of her body. The courts awarded her $2.9 million but it was later reduced to $600,000. The actual settlement amount is unknown, however.

There are a couple of misconceptions about the situation that I thought I’d share with you. I originally posted these answers to a comment posted on WikiPedia concerning the case…

== Answers to common arguments in McDonald’s Coffee Case ==

• McDonald’s coffee is just too hot!

  According to the The Physics Factbook, the best temperature at which to brew coffee is between 85 C and 93 C (176 F to 200 F). These temperature ranges also correspond to just about all home coffee makers sold today. However, the longer the coffee is exposed to those high temperatures the faster the organic matter breaks down. This produces the bitterness so often found in coffee.

  McDonald’s claimed that they brew their coffee between 195 F - 205 F and serve it between 180 F - 190 F. That is within the commonly accepted range.

• McDonald’s keeps their coffee at high temperatures because water expands the higher the temperature. This makes it look like one has more coffee than one actual does.

  The question of expansion is mute since the average temperature at which McDonalds keeps their coffee is approximately the same as coffee makers found in homes today. But, for the sake of argument let’s assume the following:

  • Diameter of an 8 oz McDonalds coffee cup (near the top) is 3 in (7.68 cm).
  • Cylinder height = h
  • Formula for a cylinder’s volume is V_c = h x pi x r²
  • 8 oz (US liquid) of coffee is approximately 2.366 x 10^-4 m³
  • Average McDonalds coffee temperature (T_mc) = 89 C
  • Hypothetical average coffee temperature for sensitive mouths (T_s) = 60 C
  • Volume Coefficient of thermal expansion of water (B) = 210 x 10^-6 C^-1
  • Change in Volume = V_d (delta)
  • Change in Temperature = T_d (delta)
  • Formula for the change in volume is V_d = B x V₀ x T_d

  Plugging the numbers into the formula give us:

  V_d = (210 x 10^-6)(2.366 x 10^-4)(89 C - 60 C)
  
  V_d = 1.44×10^-6m³ or 1.44 cm³
  

  The change in the level of the coffe in the cup (when full) is solved by finding h.
  

  h = V_c / (pi x r²)
  
  h = (1.44 cm³) / (3.1415 x 3.84²)
  
  h = 0.031 cm or 0.31 mm
  

  The change in volume between these two temperatures is therefore negligle.

What on Earth am I Here For?


Day 1 - It All Starts with God

My church is starting a new study of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. This will be the second my church has done this. We were part of the initial 1,500 churches involved in The Purpose Driven Church pilot program.

Today’s the first day so if you would like to read with us feel free to join. I will be posting the schedule daily for the next 40 days.

Here are a few web sites that allow you to search for the best gasoline prices in your area. These free services could save you big bucks!

• GasBuddy.com
• GasPriceWatch.com

Personally, I prefer GasBuddy.com. There appears to more people participating and an increased amount of information available.

I’m not normally a fan of MSNBC but this article by Diane Dimond expresses my feelings towards air travel these days.

My Turn: Defending Our Skies Against the Elderly

As I watched the airport screener search my father, I had to wonder: have we lost our common sense?

Romans 11 is a very revealing and humbling chapter. Paul reminds the Romans that God still loves the Jews and that there are still those who believe in Jesus. For those of us who fall into the Gentile category, Paul reminds us of the mercy of God and from whence we came…

Paul starts off this chapter by addressing a conclusion that readers of the previous chapter may ascertain: God surely has rejected the Jews because of their rejection of Him. Nothing could have been further from Paul’s mind.

So I ask, “God has not rejected his people, has he?” Of course not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he chose long ago. (vv 1-2a, ISV)

What amazing patience God has with His chosen people. The Message paraphrases verse 2a like this: “God has simply been too long involved with Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of them.” That’s an interesting way to put it. But that’s the way all relationships are made. An investment of time is needed to truly develop a relationship and God has obviously spent lots of time revealing Himself to the Jews. Besides the most common answer of “because of fallen mankind” why did God God do this? He did it to speak to the rest of the world.

Now, since God revealed Himself to us, the gentiles, through the Hebrews, we are not native. Elsewhere in the New Testament Pauls refers to this relationship as an adoption. Here, Paul compares it to a branch from one tree that is grafted onto another tree. But there is a twist to this comparison. It’s all well and good that we have been grafted into the family of God but we should not become so arrogant as to think that we are preferred over the Jews.

Now if some of the branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast about being better than the other branches. If you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were cut off so that I could be grafted in.” That’s right! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you remain only because of faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid! For if God did not spare the natural branches, he certainly will not spare you either. (vv. 17-21, ISV)

Paul sums it up this way: “And don’t get to feeling superior to those pruned branches down on the ground. If they don’t persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in. God can do that. He can perform miracle grafts. Why, if he could graft you – branches cut from a tree out in the wild – into an orchard tree, he certainly isn’t going to have any trouble grafting branches back into the tree they grew from in the first place.” (vv. 22-24, MSG)

Remember, then, that Israel is still the Chosen People and God’s grace is still offered to them just as it is to us. We all make mistakes and rebel every once in a while. Some, like me, more than others but God knows us better than we know ourselves. How He can continue to love me knowing all my short-comings is way beyond my understanding. But He does love me and that’s something that will never change..

From a Gospel for Asia newsletter:

GFA Nepali missionary Besh’s life is in danger as radical insurgency group Maoists forcibly abducted him a week ago for their purposes. This morning we received the urgent news. Though we do not know the details of the kidnapping or where he has been taken, we know our brother’s life is on the line. He is well known in the community as a Christian pastor and evangelist, and authorities in an area where he was ministering a year ago noticed his activity and asked him to leave…

“In the past, more than 200 people—teachers, students, village officials and commoners—have been abducted by the Maoists and killed without mercy. Some 9,000 lives have been claimed since the insurgency began in 1996. Missionaries are even more at risk as they travel to share the Good News. This has hindered our missionaries in their travels to reach needy villages for Christ. Elsewhere in Nepal, authorities have ordered two of our brothers, Pastor Basu and native missionary Imansingh, to vacate their area of ministry within a week.”

Please pray earnestly with us for our missionary Besh’s protection and safe return. Pray for courage for Besh and other Nepali believers in the face of persecution. Lift up the persecutors in prayer, that they may come to know the Lord. Pray also for the 200-plus pastors and their churches, and our 356 native missionaries in Nepal. Pray especially for the congregations that must continue on without their pastors.”

Here is an exceptionally well-written article by Rabbi Daniel Lapin. Wise words indeed.

One-time girlfriend of quirky California Gov. Jerry Brown in the ’70s, singer Linda Ronstadt has been busy lately. She dedicated her song “Desperado” to Michael Moore and his bogus-mentary, “Fahrenheit 911,” she got herself tossed out of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas, and she gave an interview to a newspaper. Although I doubt this was her intention, she has actually taught us three lessons: One, she and many of her fellow entertainers do have a religion – I’d call it “secular fundamentalism.” Two, it’s open season on Christians, the last unprotected minority in America. Her third lesson, well, I’ll tell you that in a minute…

When loud protests greeted her sycophantic tribute to Moore and his anti-Bush movie, she got thrown out of the Aladdin. The casino management ejected her, not because they are all Republicans but because they are all businessmen. Given current political demographics, it is likely that at least half of any randomly chosen audience is conservative, and business professionals dislike their hired entertainers insulting half of their customers.

How could someone who has been entertaining professionally for 35 years not know that people come to a Las Vegas show to be entertained not to be politically polarized? The answer is of course she knows this, but she is serving a higher cause than her career. She has found religion, the religion of Secular Fundamentalism.

Any seriously committed Jew or Christian would put faith before career. Like countless Orthodox Jews over the centuries, I would unhesitatingly jeopardize my career to stand up for my faith. My many Christian friends would do no less. So why should anyone be surprised when Linda Ronstadt also puts her faith ahead of her career?

Just as both Judaism and Christianity each puts a face on evil, so does Secular Fundamentalism. At this stage in America’s second civil war, the face belongs to George W. Bush. Linda Ronstadt, as one of the priestly class of entertainers, feels the call to denounce the face of evil, and that call of her faith is more important to her than her career.

Her soul told her to say, “The Bush administration is awful, and so lying and so deceitful. And they’re doing so much harm. They’re making it more dangerous for us. They have to be stopped, I think. We have to throw the neocons out.”

Then, in a remarkably candid interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, the entertainer said: “It’s a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment.”

What do you suppose might be the reaction if an entertainer would say, “It’s a real conflict for me when I find out someone in the audience is Jewish. It can cloud my enjoyment”? Or what if some politician had once announced, “It’s a real conflict for me when I find out that someone in the audience is homosexual. It can cloud my enjoyment”? Of course almost no entertainers or politicians would ever say anything as bigoted.

But singer Linda Ronstadt did. The point is, however, that she didn’t insult protected minorities like Jews, homosexuals, Muslims or blacks. She insulted what she calls “fundamental” Christians. (Note to Linda: the term, if you must use it at all, is “fundamentalist.”) To quote a line from the lyrics of your song “Desperado,” Linda, “Lighten up while you still can, don’t even try to understand.”

The media and the do-good-kiddy-clubs all explode in paroxysms of righteousness any time a public figure inadvertently insults one of the protected minority groups, but nobody ever demands an apology when a secular celebrity demeans Christianity. That is because many Americans view Christianity as a problem, an execrable obstacle to America’s progress. The rest of us, including many serious Jews, view Christianity as part of the solution to America’s problems. We think “progress” is the problem, and what we need is a return to traditional morality. That is largely what today’s civil war is all about, and Ronstadt has shown us on which side she fights.

Oh, and I did say that I’d tell you the third lesson we can learn from Linda’s antics. It is that she herself has learned little since those far-off days when she consorted with Gov. Moonbeam. She backed losers then and she is backing the losing side now. To quote another line from that song she sang before being banned from the Aladdin Hotel: “We may lose and we may win, though we will never be here again.”

Radio talk-show host Rabbi Daniel Lapin is president of Toward Tradition, a bridge-building organization providing a voice for all Americans who defend the Judeo-Christian values vital for our nation’s survival.

Courtesy of Concerned Women for America:

When you visit your congressman, be cordial, polite, dress appropriately and thank him for taking time to visit with you.

Be sure to thank him for any pro-family votes, and express your disappointment about any votes with which you disagreed. Then let your representative know about future legislation that is important to you as a voter.

Give simple, concise requests and explain that it matters to you which way they vote.

At the conclusion of the meeting, thank your congressman. Let him know that you are praying for him and that you believe he performs a valuable and important service to you and your country.

Also, request a meeting with him during the next recess.

From a Concerned Women for America email:

CWA recognizes the tragic reality of abortion and as one step in the process of overturning abortion laws we are working to alleviate the pain of the unborn while reminding women of the humanity of their unborn child. For women who are considering having an abortion, CWA is working to ensure that they know the truth about the pain that abortion procedures will cause for their unborn child, thereby encouraging some women to decide not to have the abortion.

• Urge your Senators and Congressman to cosponsor this potentially lifesaving legislation.

CWA is immensely grateful for the hard work of our members. Your continued action and support greatly encourages us. Please take advantage of the next few weeks while Congress is home. We look forward to seeing how God works through you to influence our country!

• For more information about how to lobby from your kitchen table, click here to download our brochure.
• Plus, for information for pastors and churches on involvement in the political process, click here.

From a Concerned Women for America email:

Current law gives the IRS the power to revoke a church’s tax-exempt status if that church produces any material deemed ’’too political’’ - thus giving the government the power to suppress the church. H.R. 235 preserves religious liberty by reversing that policy.

• Urge your congressman to cosponsor the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act.
• Also, ask your pastor to write a letter to your Congressman on church letterhead supporting this bill. For a sample letter, click here. Hearing from local pastors and the congregations they represent will send a powerful message to Capitol Hill. (Also, please send a copy of your letter to Rep. Walter Jones, 422 Cannon House Office Building, Washington DC 20515).

Visit this link for a CWA paper on H.R. 235. You can view talking points on H.R. 235 by clicking here.

You may also visit this informational website: http://www.hr235.org/