Christianity and the Survival of Creation

Even though this story practically put me to sleep, there were some parts where he was pretty sarcastic and it made me laugh. He says that the anti-Christians try to criticise the Bible, but they skipped over the first rule, that they actually have to read it first! He also says that he and no other sane person could expect any government figure sitting and listening to what Jesus has to say when he talks about "loving your enemies, and doing good to them that hate you." I couldn't see that happening either.

I don't agree with Berry when he says that "such sacrifice is a refusal to allow the body to serve what is unworthy of it." People who murder, and rape are still out there doing more unworthy acts. I also don't think that he listens to the new christian music that he talks about. He says it "attests to the general assumption the religion is no more than a vaguely pious emotion." I listen to christian music every day and I love it. It sends out a great message to a person of any age.

The Argument Culture

"The best way to discuss an idea is to set up a debate". Not necessarily. If everyone keeps arguing with each other, its not going to get anywhere. People are actually going to have to agree at some point to find a resolution to the topic. Arguing does make us distort facts and encourages us to lie just so we can end up winning the argument. I know, I do it all the time! Then once you do lie, you'll end up just arguing about that instead. Its an ongoing cycle where no one gets their way in the end. Everyone just compromises.

Road rage is a great example of how "dangerous the argumentative culture can be". Shouting at each other for some silly reason creates risk for them, and for the other drivers around them. It also makes us waste valuable time that we could be using to actually make a difference. We should take in the idea of taking a point of view from three things instead of two. By doing this we wont get the constant one against the other. In the end, arguing is pointless, but everyone still engages in it.

Its Time to Ban Handguns

They should be banned. I don't like the idea that anyone can have a gun and use it at any time. It is so unsafe that I'm surprised more people aren't dead yet. Having a gun to go hunting with is okay or to just have to practice shooting is not that bad. Having a handgun that can be hidden and used at any moment is very dangerous. People that have them, the normal ones anyway, can "sometimes get drunk and shoot other good guys in a rage, or blow their own heads off". This happens way too much. Parents that have guns are the worst because their children can get their hands on a gun at any moment and kill themselves. It can happen to anyone.

They need to start making more laws against handguns. The National Rifle Association really needs to buckle down and stop expecting things to turn out a certain way, "like they always do". The murder rate would surely go down if less people owned guns. Less presidents would be assassinated, less banks robbed, and less innocent bystanders killed during a random shooting.

Leave No Child Inside

"Yes, there are risks outside our homes. But there are also risks in raising our children under virtual house arrest" (16). Kids these days are only interested in the newest video games like the Wii, Guitar Hero, and War video games. When I'm outside, I only see about ten kids outside; when I was a kid everyone in the neighborhood would be outside playing with each other in the wilderness. We need to get together like the retired biophysicist and start more outdoor-education programs to get kids back involved with nature. "No one among us wants to be a member of the last generation to pass on to its children the joy of playing outside in nature" (20). We also need to show kids that we ourselves, even when were older, like to go outside and be one with nature.

I think its great that parents found out that their hyperactive child found calmness when being outdoors. More people should try this method, and will most likely like the outcomes. "Young children learn through the sounds, scents, and seasons of the outdoors" (18). By going outside, they can learn this firsthand instead of reading how it smells and feels from a book, while sitting inside, on a couch!