It all started on May 15^th. Billboards in our area (the Piedmont Triad of NC) starting going up proclaiming that Judgment day was May 21^st. They included a bright yellow starburst proclaiming that “The Bible Guarantees it”. They looked something like this.

Like many Christians who believe the Bible, this struck us wrong. The Bible is actually very clear that “No one knows the day or the hour…”.

A conversation started on twitter. Here are the actual tweets.

The image Brandon linked to was this one:

Then the twitter conversation continued:

Brandon decided to post this idea to reddit.com. As the screenshot below shows, it got traction.

The conversation continued…

One of the redditors that responded happened to be one of the founders of LoudSauce.com, a crowdfunding ad-campaign web site. Next, Brandon posted a project. As of this writing the project is still online: http://loudsauce.com/campaigns/36-judgment-day-was-awkward-one-day-billboard-s-for-may-22 . He then posted a mock-up of the billboard. This was one of the images that went viral. This image is NOT real. This was the concept design. The real image was yet to come.

On the 22^nd, Brandon replied to a different tweet with this.

So, after church, David hopped in the car with his wife and kids and headed out to find the billboard. David’s wife (Holly) took the picture of the real billboard shown below. When they got home, David cropped the photo and posted it to his FaceBook profile. Then Brandon posted it to imgur.

As of the writing of this email that photo has been viewed over 600K times. That number does not include many of the views of this image on Facebook, blogs, local news etc.

The billboard somewhat speaks for itself, but the point being made is this: You can’t use the Bible to justify your theory when that same Bible specifically states your theory is incorrect.

We have been amazed at just how many people across the internet have identified with that point and shared it across Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. At this point, it’s safe to say the point has been made.

Thank you to those who participated in some form of support.

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(Image Source: WikiMedia)

Recently, I posted a link to an article written by Karl W. Giberson, Ph.D on my Facebook profile.  His article was titled: My Take: Jesus would believe in evolution and so should you.  My goal in this post is to explain some of my current beliefs on the matter of origins, and how I came to believe them.

About me:
For those of you who don’t know me, I want to disclose up front that I have no formal credentials on either side of this discussion.  I am certainly not a scientist, nor am I a theologian or a philosopher.  I am just a curious young fellow who is genuinely interested in understanding where we came from, what we are doing here, and what it all means.

What I have observed:
I have observed that many people seem to be members of one of two large “camps” of thinking on this topic.

One camp is composed of Christians who believe that God created the universe a few thousand years ago.  They believe that God created the entire universe in six literal 24 hour Earth days as described in the Bible book of Genesis.  They don’t believe in the big bang, and they certainly don’t believe in evolution.  Let’s call this the “Either” camp.

The other camp is composed of people who believe in science, and only science.  If you cannot prove it with science they will not believe it.  They believe that the universe is several billion years old.  They believe in the big bang and evolution.  Let’s call this the “Or” camp.

The Eithers and Ors don’t like each other much.  They spend a lot of time making each other mad, and being mad at each other.  If you don’t believe me just go read the comments on the CNN article linked above. 

However, the Eithers and the Ors do seem to agree on one thing.  They believe that everyone needs to take a test.  It is a simple test, and it will help you determine which camp you belong to.  It looks like this:

The Either / Or Official Test:
**********************************************************
Please check only one box:

Either ___ I believe in the God of the Bible
(including the part where he created the universe in six 24 hour days)

Or ___ I believe in science

(including the part about evolution and the big bang)
**********************************************************

For a long time I checked only the Either box.  Not anymore.  After some serious consideration, study (of both the Bible and science), soul searching and prayer I decided to join a very small camp.  I joined the campers in camp “And”.  The beliefs of the campers in camp And are disliked by both the Eithers and the Ors.  The Ands choose to believe in God, AND science.

I think the Either / Or test is pure garbage.  I believe it sets out a false choice.  This false choice has harmed good Eithers and good Ors. 

I think some Eithers have set aside many great things they could have learned from science.  They think that to believe them, they would need to sell out their faith in the God of the Bible.  Now, I don’t believe that is the case at all.

I think some Ors don’t feel like they can embrace a relationship with God without compromising science.  They feel like if they did choose to believe in God, they would also need to believe in things like a few thousand year old universe that seem contrary to modern science.  Again – I don’t think this is correct – it’s a false choice.  It’s a lie.

What I believe now:
I believe in the God of the Bible.  I believe in Jesus.  I believe that Jesus was Gods son.  I believe that he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for my sins, and rose from the dead. I believe that I will spend eternity with him in heaven.  I believe that the same God that who created the universe loves you and me.  I believe that I can pray to him, and he hears me and cares about me.  About now, the heads of those of you in camp Or are spinning around and smoke is coming out of your ears – right?  Ha – hang with me!

I also believe that the universe is billions of years old.  I believe in the big bang.  I also believe in evolution.  I believe that God caused what science describes as the big bang.  I believe that evolution was the process God used to create the amazing diversity of life that we have on earth.  Now the heads of those of you in camp Either are spinning around too.  Good.

How I came to believe this:
Several years ago, a man I respect (as both a Christian, and as a career scientist) introduced me to the idea that I could believe in God, and science.  He helped me understand that the Either Or test was a lie.  I will be forever grateful to him. 

I also read several great books by Hugh Ross, and Francis Collins.  Both are Christians and respected scientists.  While both shaped my thinking on this topic, the best book I read on this subject was The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Collins.

Why would anyone post such a thing on Facebook:
That is a great question!  After all, of my 527 current friends the great majority are probably very happy members of either camp Either or camp Or.  I don’t have much to gain by annoying most of them with the link I posted, or this blog post which will also auto-post to my profile.

I posted the link, and this blog post because I think this is an important discussion.  I think people need to at least be exposed to the idea that you can believe in the teaching of the Bible, and what we have learned from science.  I think it is important enough to risk annoying you with it.

If you are a member of camp Either, I understand where you are coming from.  I grew up in a great Christian church, I went to a great Christian private school.  I honestly never thought about this subject very much.  I checked only the Either box for a long time.  However, as I got older I got interested in science. When I did, I struggled with the supposed opposition of modern science and my Either beliefs.  Perhaps if you are an Either like I was, you struggle with this as well.  If so, I would encourage you to consider the idea that you can believe in both the God of the Bible, and awesome stuff humanity has been able to learn from good science.  Good science is no enemy of the real God.  In the past, at times the Christian church has opposed good science for no good reason at all.   Perhaps, a few hundred years from now this topic will look similar to the heliocentrism fuss a few hundred years ago.

If you are a member of camp Or, I think my brain is wired a lot like yours.  If I had not been raised by a Christian family and come to faith in Christ at an early age, I may very well have joined you in camp Or for part of my life as well.  I would encourage you to consider faith.  Don’t believe the Either Or lie.  You don’t have to check just one box.  Science can answer many of our questions.  However, science alone falls short on some of the really big questions of life such as:

- Where did we come from?  What caused what we call the big bang?
- Why are we here?
- What does it all mean?

Faith in the God of the Bible and his son Jesus Christ has provided me with very meaningful answers to those questions.  Perhaps it will for you as well. 

Regardless of your beliefs I wish you well!
W. David Winslow

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-- General George S. Patton

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Recently, I got to spend a few hours in an airplane for a work related trip.  No internet or email. No kids. No wife.  Just me, and a couple hundred total strangers.  During such trips I like to either read a book or listen to an audio book.  On this particular trip I decided to listen to the book “Decision Points” by former President George W. Bush.  The idea of listening to a recent President discuss some of the most important decisions in his life was fascinating to me.

Rather than writing a typical chronological biography, President Bush took the approach of using each chapter to discuss a particular decision he made.  It was very interesting to hear his rationale, in his own words for many of his important decisions.  This approach made the book easy to follow.

Throughout the book I was reminded that all of our Presidents are human, just like you and I.  They have feelings, emotions, beliefs, and opinions.  Amid the fog of the constant yelling a screaming in the news, it is easy to forget that.  As a Christian, I was reminded that our Presidents need our prayers.

History will be well served by his book.  I enjoyed it very much.  If you are interested in current events, politics, or history I think you would enjoy it too!

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Recently, I took a great training program from SANS to sharpen my existing I.T. security skills.  This class specifically dealt with performing network penetration tests.  As of yesterday, I have taken and passed the GPEN certification exam.  So, now I am officially a SANS GIAC Certified Penetration Tester (GPEN).  Most of you in the I.T. community are probably familiar with SANS, and possibly familiar with this certification. 

For those of you who are not, here is what this is all about in short.  Most organizations have computer networks that contain sensitive information.  One of the best ways to test the security of those networks is to perform a penetration test.

If you are an I.T. pro considering some I.T. security training, I would strongly recommend SANS.  I have taken a lot of I.T. training, and gathered a lot of I.T. certifications in the past (MCP, MCSE, MCSE+I, MCT, RHCE, etc) and I can say with conviction that this is easily one of the best training programs I have ever taken.  Here are a few reasons why.

• I took this course via the SANS VLive format.  It was perfect for me.  I was able to take these classes in the evenings, which worked great for my schedule.  The class happens live, and you can interact with the instructors and other students via a shared chat session. The live interactions made the class much more engaging than your normal (painfully boring) web based training.  However, if you did need to miss one of the sessions, you could watch the recorded version later.  SANS has this delivery format nailed.

• The instructors (especially Ed Skoudis and John Strand ) are world class subject matter experts.  Learning from these guys was simply great!

• The course content was packed with high value, relevant information which was delivered efficiently.

I would like to thank all of the great folks at SANS who helped to provide such a high quality program!  I enjoyed it very much, and I am confident that I will be able to apply the information to benefit my clients in the future.  Thanks again!

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Believe while others are doubting.

Plan while others are playing.

Study while others are sleeping.

Decide while others are delaying.

Prepare while others are daydreaming.

Begin while others are procrastinating.

Work while others are wishing.

Save while others are wasting.

Listen while others are talking.

Smile while others are frowning.

Commend while others are criticizing.

Persist while others are quitting.

- Poet William Arthur Ward

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The secret of my success is that I bit off more than I could chew and chewed as fas as I could.

- Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)

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Twenty years from now you wil be more disapointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.

- Mark Twain

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What on earth is a computer printed label doing on my cup?  At least sku# 33994 still tastes good.

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There is no security on this earth, only opportunity.

-Douglas Macarthur

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However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.
- Winston Churchill

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<rant>

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  For me, it is a time to stop, spend time with family and give thanks to God for His many blessings in my life.

Earlier this month, I was disappointed to read that several major retailers have decided to open on Thanksgiving day.  Now the hundreds of thousands of people who work in those stores will spend Thanksgiving working rather than spending time with their families giving thanks.  I understand that some jobs necessitate that folks work on a holiday.  I understand that for many people Thanksgiving is more about a day off than any particular "thanks giving".  However, those things aside there is simply no decent reason that a big box retailer *needs* to be open on Thanksgiving day.

From my point of view this is evidence of the low regard that these companies have for the their employees.  Don’t misunderstand me; these retailers certainly have the right to open their stores whenever they want.  Their employees also have the right not to work for them anymore.  This is not an issue of rights at all; to me it is an issue of balance.

I think it is important for a business (of any size) to balance the needs of three groups of people: customers, employees and investors.  This concept is certainly not mine.  One CEO who represents this concept very well is Jim Sinegal of Costco.  Do a search for him if you are more interested in this topic.

While I respect the rights of these companies to open their stores, I honestly think they would be better served by letting their employees rest up and prepare for the busy Holiday shopping season ahead.

I hope that their sales results are poor on Thanksgiving day.  I also hope that their competitors who treat their employees better (like Costco) crush them on black Friday.  Nothing changes the behavior of a cold heartless giant corporation faster than bad financial results.

</end rant>

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