Dude, Where’s My Car?

Please pray for the miscreant that broke into and stole our car last night that he/she might turn from his/her criminal ways. Pray also that we can acquire another vehicle soon.

My wife has been working on-call hours as a lab technician for a drug study. She was called in yesterday to work. She parked the car on Bayard between Tennyson and Ruskin. As often as needed, she came out to feed the meter. After 6PM, though, that was no longer a problem. When she was done workat around 2AM, all she wanted to do was go home and sleep. She walked to where the car was parked and found only broken glass. Thankfully, she was able to get a ride home from a generous security guard at the hospital (who deserves prayers on his behalf for whatever his needs and intentions are).

This sucks. It’s taken the wind out my sails, so I might be delayed in posted about Blogfest 4 (which was fun, by the way).

Update 11/18/05: We have the car back. Remind me to tell you folks the odd and amusing of what happened to it while it was gone.

My Religious Experience is More Valid Than Yours. Nyah! :-p~~~

Riffing on a comment made in response to my post about the validity of religious experiences , I have a question to ask you folks.

If I have a mystical experience (or some other theophany), I say that I experienced some aspect of the Holy Trinity. A Hindu might say that he experienced Vishnu or Ganesh. A New Ager might say she saw a ghost. A conspiracy nut might say he was abducted by aliens. Let's assume for a moment that everyone who claims to have had a religious/mystical experience has actually had one. How do we know who's attribution is correct? Specifically, how do we Christians know that we are experiencing God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit? What proof have we that we are more right than the equally convinced adherents of other religions?

Discuss.

Leap of Faith

Sean, a buddy of mine and long-timer reader of this blog, made a comment that I think ought to be highlighted. Responding to my post about an atheist’s argument against the veracity of Jesus Christ’s claims, and a mutual friend’s comment, he wrote the following.

"My God isn’t some pie in the sky, and He’ll change your life if you’ll let him."

This gets to the root of why I’m not religious. Everyone says something long these lines. Everyone wants me to make a leap of faith, but no one has been able to give me a reason to leap into their religion over the other ones, without out first making a leap of faith. (I hope that paragraph isn’t too contorted)

Nope, it’s not too contorted. You don’t want to look before you leap, especially since most if not all religions claim to be exclusively true. They can’t all be right. To which should you leap?

I’d like to open this up to discussion. What reasons would you give Sean to have faith? Why is Christianity right while other religions are wrong (or at least less right)? I’m sure Sean will let us know which reasons have been beaten to death and carry no currency with him, so let’s avoid the well-worn apologetical arguments. Perhaps some of you are fomer atheists or agnostics yourselves. What convinced you?

Pittsburgh Blogfest 4!

Be there or be square. 🙂

Put on your Sunday’s best kids, we’re going to Finnegan’s Wake!

WHAT: Pittsburgh Blogfest 4

WHEN: Wednesday, November 9th 2005, 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM and beyond!

WHERE: Finnegan’s Wake (near PNC Park, 20 General Robinson St., North Shore, 412-325-2601), in the Pub Room

WHO: All of you bloggers!