Benjamin Bryan

2005-06-04 16:24:00
Psalm 1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 

2005-05-13 14:16:00 
Let me introduce you to…

Steve Baehr

The first thing that any person must say about Steve is he loves God. He knows his beliefs, and he’s a black and white person. In fact. This graphic illustrates Steve’s opinion on everything: 

To Steve it is impossible for anything with moral significance to fall on two pixels crossing black and white. It is one side or the other and there is no question that whatever side that it is on it is on the furthest point possible from the non-existent divider between black and white. I have often pondered why Steve can not see gray. The reason is simple and it is a result of Steve’s ability on a Piano. For the majority of his life this is all Steve saw.

As a child Steve knew he could hit a black key, or a white key, but there was no gray key. Anything that was precise enough to hit both black and white hit both keys but since they were two different notes it could not be one gray moral area in music. It was a distinct white and black sound. Anything more precise than that would simply fall through the cracks. Thus Steve grew up thinking black and white which has molded him into a black and white person which is how he will be for the rest of his life.

This guy is a musician. He has an ability to pick up any instrument and play it. Steve recently founded Baehr Studios, a way to share his talents with others. If you need anything musical you should contact him.

And of course Steve has his complement to bring him to completion. Hannah is good at what Steve is not and vice versa. She is one of those girls that is incredibly smart, having a cognizance which allows her to see straight through people. As such she keeps Steve honest to himself, and makes Steve a better Steve. 

Libby – 2005-05-17 01:50:22
Hey, I remember Steve Baehr! We were both in a Christmas play at Immanuel when we were like 9. I forget what the play was called. Most of it took place in “heaven” where there was this angel named Mary Anne (she wore an Angel’s baseball cap…cute, huh?) who couldn’t sing very well, or something, and I think she learns how to sing better…and I’m sure the lesson had something to do with praising God through singing. I don’t know; I can’t remember much about it. I do remember one line from the play though, “Good plan, Mary Anne!” I think Steve said that line. 

Steve – email – 2005-05-17 11:05:36
Actually, her name was Marvel Ann. 
And the line was “That’s the plan, Marvel Ann.” 
I don’t remember what it was called either, but I’ll never forget that play. I had the biggest crush on Marvel Ann…

Libby – 2005-05-17 17:07:15
Ok, so I remembered even less than I thought I did. Still, those were good times. 

Ben – email – 2005-05-17 19:26:53
I think I was in that play too! I don’t rememember much. I think they put me way in the back and I couldn’t see above anyone’s head so i had no idea what was happening. didn’t the red-head girl get to wear a star with christmas lights or something? i think we all wore painted cardboard boxes and got to sing a “we’re the little packages” song… or maybe that was another play.

2005-05-23 23:15:00 
Pirating God’s Word…
NASB is my favorite translation, but it is copyrighted… and I would have to buy a separate license for every copy I have (if I had three computers I would have to purchase the NASB Bible software three times to put it on all three) and would have serious limitations in using it (I could not make copies of large passages without permission). So looking for free alternatives, I have also tried KJV …but other people have a difficult time understanding this translation. Most other versions I have looked at are too wordy or imprecise… what do you use and why? 

Phil – email – 2005-05-24 17:02:39
I’d recommend looking closer at the relevant laws. I’m not sure that they can stop you from using software that you rightly purchased as long as you are only running one copy at a time. Of course, given the shambled state of US Copyright law, this completely reasonable thing may not be legal, but it would be worth checking. 

Also, equating copyright violation with stealing is a huge stretch of the imagination. It’s inaccurate and misleading, though I don’t believe you did it on purpose.

Jon – 2005-05-24 19:03:21
“Also, equating copyright violation with stealing is a huge stretch of the imagination. It’s inaccurate and misleading, though I don’t believe you did it on purpose.” 

*sigh* 

Phil, sometimes I think you don’t listen to anything I say. :-)

Jeff – 2005-05-25 00:16:35
Most of the time, all you have to do is write to the software company and ask permission to use one copy on a network of home computers. Usually they have no problem with this as long as it remains in the same home, and not used for commericial use. If they say its ok to use their software in the prescibed way, its not illegal… Silence or no response can also be taken as giving legal consent. Carry on. 

Ben – email – 2005-05-25 00:40:00
I’m not sure if the big issue is using it on as many computers as I want…the issue is principle. I want the freedom to reprint the Bible and distribute it. I would like the right to copy the Bible in it’s entirety and email it to a friend. I would like the freedom to quote the entire book of Jonah or Jude without being in violation. It seems to me that nomatter how much money I spend, no matter how many licenses I buy I do not have that freedom. 

Here is a link to the NASB restrictions (the same restrictions are noted in my hardcopy NASB). 

http://lockman.gospelcom.net/tlf/copyright.php#nasb

Phil – email – 2005-05-25 12:13:17
I didn’t say copyright violation is not wrong; I said it’s not stealing. Stealing involves depriving another party. 

That’s a good point, Ben. You don’t want to have to think about whether or not what you are doing with the text is ok; you should be able to use it as you please. 

I find for my own use it is often worth going over the KJV even if it seems awkward (The King’s English is the Best English), but I can see how you would be reluctant to offer it to someone else who may not be all that interested in the first place. 

I tried using Young’s Literal Translation a while ago when I was looking around at Bible software. It was mostly a cursory look that I took, but it seemed to be quite readable.