Mark and Erin Leichliter

There you have it, folks! (photo courtesy of Aaron Noble)

Miracles

Mark 6: Familiarity is bad for faith
¹Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him.
²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?
³"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him.
⁴Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household."
⁵And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.
⁶And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.

Christ's ministry was marked by amazing miracles that He performed almost every day. Modern American Christians almost never see such obviously supernatural miracles. Perhaps this is because we (among others) often analyze our theology to death or are chained by legalism, and just as with the Nazarenes, familiarity breeds contempt.

Matthew 16: Scripture is sufficient
¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
²But He replied to them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'
³"And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?
⁴"An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away.

We generally explain the dearth of miracles by saying that we no longer need such signs, as Scripture is complete. If unbelievers do not believe the signs throughout Scripture, they will believe nothing.

What are the true causes?

Are obviously supernatural miracles such as instant healings rare among us because the signs are no longer needed? Or is it because we have no faith in the Miracle Worker? Or is it both? Does Scripture indicate the answer elsewhere?

House passes universal ID card requirements

A national ID card is like a drivers license, except everyone must have one, it's managed by the federal government, and everyone must use it to do a number of tasks in society. Plans to mandate such cards were mainly a concern for Britain, with stiff opposition over there, and had no chance in the U.S. until after September 11, 2001. During the last decade, and even the first couple years of this one, the concept was thought of as a liberal proposal, and was vigorously opposed by conservative groups, as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here. The CATO institute called it "Big Brother's solution to illegal immigration." The CATO institute still sees national ID crds as a bad idea. But now that the idea is supported by Republicans instead of being pushed by the Clintons and strongly opposed by Reagan, Phyllis Schafly and National Review have reversed their position and now support the proposal, ignoring the effects on citizens because it will help keep many illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers' licenses.

Supporters of the current REAL ID proposal say that it is merely an enhancement and regularization of current drivers licenses. Under the proposal, the new licenses will store fingerprint or retinal data in a remotely readable chip. Information linked to the card such as traffic tickets, currently held by states, will be put in a new national database. They argue that it will reduce terrorism by helping keep terrorists off of planes and out of nuclear power plants (although all of the "9/11" hijackers had legitimate ID) and ensure that illegal immigrants cannot receive government services.

It won't be truly mandatory. In fact, states won't even have to comply with the standards, if they don't care about their federal highway funds and enabling their citizens to continue receiving government services or certain private sector services. From the news article: You'll need a federally approved ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service.

continuing,

The House of Representatives approved the package on Thursday by a vote of 368-58. Only three of the "nay" votes were Republicans; the rest were Democrats. The Senate is scheduled to vote on it next week and is expected to approve it as well.

The bill's supporters say that the Real ID Act is necessary to hinder terrorists, and to follow the ID card recommendations that the 9/11 Commission made last year.

National ID cards are nothing new, of course. Many European, Asian and South American countries require their citizens to carry such documents at all times, with legal punishments in place for people caught without them. Other nations that share the English common law tradition, including Australia and New Zealand [and the US, until now, as noted in the Supreme Court's HIIBEL v. SIXTH DISTRICT of NEVADA decision - ed.], have rejected such schemes.

"Supporters claim it is not a national ID because it is voluntary," Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, one of the eight Republicans to object to the measure, said during the floor debate this week. "However, any state that opts out will automatically make nonpersons out of its citizens. They will not be able to fly or to take a train." - C|NET news

How was this done, with practically no warning? The measure was added onto an emergency spending bill for Iraq. It next goes to the Senate, then to the President. I'm emailing my senators.

You won't see the new ID cards for up to 3 years, hopefully enough time for the Democrats to get back in power and kill the measure. I can't believe I just said that about the Democrats. No, wait, this all started with Clinton. Ok, maybe a third party will gain power. (yeah, right).

And you know many "conservatives" will still think the Republicans are their party. Sorry, but with things like this and the No Child Left Behind Act, I can't claim them as my party. (Note: I hold to some liberal positions; I don't necessarily identify myself as a conservative).

Email your senator at DownsizeDC.org.

edit: added description of national ID cards

Dislike of Christianity and Christians

Many non-Christians have a very low opinion of Christians and Christianity. Here is a concise summary, minus the taking over the government and banning abortions/etc. part, also a common theme:

"I was one a poor ungrateful wretched athiest, but was saved by the morality of the Christian religion. I learned from this how I am far superior to others and to show this through my constant moral self-rightousness. I also learned that I owe everlasting thanks to my invisible creator whose only proof of existance is a 2000 year old book with no sources. It has provided me with thoughts, so there won't be a chance of me thinking heretical one, thank god. I'll say, if it wasn't for religion, I might actually contribute something to society!"

(source)

How do you respond, not to me and your fellow Christians, but to the writer and those of similar opinions?

Note: In an attempt to combine my xanga and my blogspot blogs, I'm directing my xanga comments here.