Gog & Myblog

Image 0 . What could be your best adventure this year. Image 1 . Begin at Colonia Altamira. If you want to get from San Pedro Sula to Cusuco National Forest , most people will recommend you a) find a tour guide and just let them take you there or b) take the highway to Cofradia and go up that way. While I did attempt to find a tour guide before my trip last February (2019), spending a few hours on Google Earth convinced me that taking a 4x4 truck over the mountains directly to the west of SPS would be a lot more fun. This post will explain exactly how you can get to Cusuco from SPS in less than an hour (assuming you don't miss a turn), breathing fresh mountain air and snapping pictures of jaw-dropping views.  First off, you will need a few things to do this. It is absolutely essential that you take a four-wheel drive vehicle. I rented a diesel 4x4 Nissan Frontier with a manual gearbox. The roads you will be taking are all dirt. There are occasional potholes, and a

For most commentators, the answer is an emphatic “Yes! Thiselton (2000) quotes Rousselle (“Body Politics in Ancient Rome”), “A veil or hood constituted a warning: it signified that the wearer was a respectable woman and that no man dare approach her,” i.e., as one potentially or actually sexually “available”. Thiselton later draws what he sees as an application: “To employ a dress code which hints at sexual availability while leading worship is unthinkable.” While that certainly is “unthinkable”, so is a woman leading the worship of the church, regardless of her wardrobe (14:34-38). Despite spending 48 pages commenting on this section of Scripture, Thiselton does not cite a single primary source to confirm his assertions about the covering in Corinthian culture. Blomberg (1994) says, “If an external head covering is meant, Paul probably wants married women to wear a shawl over their hair and shoulders, as many Greek women still did in public, and not to resemble those who discard

Tuskeegee National Forest is about 10 minutes from where I live. At around 11,000 acres, it's the smallest national park. I frequently find myself driving around its dirt roads in order to get some fresh air and meditate. I've also done a good bit of running and hiking around its trails. In 2012, while I was training for a marathon, most of my "long runs", anything over 10 miles, were done there on early Sunday mornings. The forest is regularly logged and you will see very few large trees, but most of the land is wooded with young (less than 20 year old) pine. There is a decent variety of wildlife but it is rare to see anything in my experience. A couple of times I have seen whitetail deer and once I saw a dead boar. I found a skull one time which seemed to belong to a fox or coyote. Interesting links: Some info about the fores t Trail map Bigfoot sighting...

Was Jesus primarily the same as or different from mankind? However we answer will define the rest of our lives. We will only answer that question by simultaneously answering two other questions: "What is the true essence of mankind?" and "What is the true essence of Jesus?" It might be considered a natural consequence of legend-making that while he lived on earth Jesus seemed nothing more than a man but after he died he seemed nothing less than a god. But those who think such things willfully ignore that the perspective of his followers changed not decades but days after his death. This leaves no time for mythological evolution, but it does make the title question more difficult to answer. It also produces the urge to frame that answer with temporal caveats: "Before his death he was primarily the same as, but after his death he is primarily different from mankind." But these are turbulent philosophical waters in which to swim. If such a basic question cann

The above quote is from Tacitus, the first century Roman historian, speaking of the funerary celebrations of the emperor Augustus. Tacitus records that some men only praised Augustus for political reasons: they wanted to win Tiberius' favor. But sensible people knew there was both good and evil in the late emperor. It's too easy to make modern applications. It is a foolish man that cannot see that no political candidate or office-holder is completely good.  This is because no human is completely good. There is no human Messiah, and those saying otherwise tend to have much to gain from our being deceived. Nor is any human or politician completely bad. At least none are created that way. It does nothing to hide our littleness of mind when we can only see the bad in someone, however disagreeable their ideology.  Be sensible.

Last year a highly-credentialed psychologist/professor at the University of Toronto popped into the social scene after publicly decrying a piece of Canadian legislation intending to make illegal the use of certain pronouns in certain contexts. His name is Jordan Peterson. I've since grown to appreciate and be thankful for the way he is able to elucidate profound cultural subjects. I'm generally grateful for people who are able to talk reasonably and logically about difficult and divisive issues. It is sad to see the deep fissures that segment our nation and every nation. This is a divided world but there are some people who genuinely want to create positive change. I'll probably post more about Dr. Peterson in a future entry.