Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

User talk:The AC

2007-03-13T10:02:31Z

The AC:

Very mature, The AC. You're really helping... [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:30, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

I can't ban you otherwise, I would have done so already. But instead of vandalizing Conservapedia, why not help edit it. That way you can voice your opinion in a constructive way that may even have some permanence. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:33, 13 March 2007 (EDT)
:Thank you. And you're wrong about any attempt to remove bias being fixed. Most of the editing I've done and seen actually supports removing as much bias as possible. Nevertheless, thanks again for stopping the vandalizing. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:41, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

==This site would be good if...==
# ...it changed its name to something neutral.
# ...it toned down all its anti-Wikipedia stance and its competitiveness with Wikipedia and acted as an independent information-souce.
# ...it disassociated itself with being "pro-American" and "pro-Christian" (not that there is anything wrong with them) and just focused on providing accurate, unbiased information.

That would be a great site. And with people like ColinR, it could work.

User talk:The AC

2007-03-13T09:44:18Z

The AC:

Polytheism

2007-03-13T09:30:37Z

The AC:

'''Polytheism''' is the belief in multiple gods. This is in contrast to [[monotheism]], the belief in one deity, or [[atheism]], the belief in no deities. Most ancient religions were polytheistic and in modern times some forms of [[Hinduism]] are polytheistic.

Have faith... In yourself, most of all.

[[Category:Religion]]

Mars

2007-03-13T09:30:11Z

The AC:

God of War.

Liberal

2007-03-13T09:29:08Z

The AC:

Either black or white. Can't remember.

'''Liberal''' is a term used in US politics to describe a person who generally is left-wing in his attitudes towards the government, establishment, and many other laws. The term was first used in reference to a political opinion c. 1801 A.D., in the aftermath of the French Revolution, when it meant "tending in favor of freedom and democracy" — at that time the liberal party was the party of individual political freedoms.<ref>Etymology [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=liberal]</ref>

The term ''liberal'' is used in the United States to characterize the following set of beliefs:

* support of gun control
* taxpayer funding of abortion
* prohibiting prayer in school
* equal rights for men and women, including participation by men and women in the military
* distributing wealth from the rich to the poor
* government programs to rehabilitate criminals
* same-sex marriage
* amnesty for illegal aliens
* teaching of evolution
* increased taxpayer funding of public school
* protection of all of God's creation
* taxpayer-funded rather than private medical care
* increased power for labor unions
* disarmament treaties
* increased taxes
* support of government programs such as welfare
* reduction of military expenses
* support of affirmative action
* government-sponsored education about human reproduction

Liberals in the US typically align themselves with the [[Democratic Party]]. Note, that ''liberal'' in the European context refers to moderate and center-right parties, often with a pro-business stance.<ref>http://www.alde.eu</ref> The same holds for many ''liberal'' parties throughout the world.<ref>http://www.liberal-international.org/</ref>. The US definition of liberal is much more similar to the politics of European [[socialist|socialist or social democratic]] parties.<ref>http://www.pes.org</ref>.

An alternative definition of liberal is anything that is not conservative. For example, the American Heritage Dictionary includes this definition of "liberal":<ref>Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal</ref>

: Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas ...

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Politics]]

Death

2007-03-13T09:28:32Z

The AC:

Death is the end of a living thing's life. What death is and what occurs after death is a matter of some debate, particularly where religion is involved, since due to the inherent nature of religion, it means nobody can agree on anything. Vandalism is freedom.

The most reasonable assumption is that nothing happens after one dies and the body simply rots away (this would imply people do not have spirits or souls). However, since death is something people fear to varying degrees (and is a matter of taboo in some cultures), they require something comforting to help them deal with the idea they will die at some point. Generally this comfort is provided by religions, which deal with the issue in different ways.

Earth

2007-03-13T09:27:28Z

The AC:

[[image:Earthandmoon2.jpg|right|300px]]
'''Earth''' is the name for the planet on which humankind lives. It is the third planet from the [[Sun]].

==The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place==

It orbits at an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million km) from the Sun in an almost circular orbit. It takes light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) approximately 500 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth, i.e. the distance can also be stated as "500 light-seconds." The distance to nearby stars is made by measuring the stellar [[parallax]] between observations when the earth is at opposite ends of its orbit, so the earth's orbit itself is a measuring stick for astronomical distances, and is known as the ''astronomical unit'' (A. U.) It is worth noting that if the Earth were slightly closer to the Sun, it would be too hot for life (just as Venus is) while if Earth were slightly further away from the Sun, water would freeze and life would be impossible. Many [[Christian|Christians]] believe that the Earth is the perfect distance away from the Sun and take this to be evidence of [[God]]'s existence. <ref>http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html</ref>

The Earth is approximately 8000 miles (13000 km) in diameter, so its circumference is approximately 8000·π = about 25,000 miles (40,000 km). Its surface area is approximately 4·π (4000 mi)2 = 200 million square miles (510 million km2). It has been said that Earth should really be called "water:" most of the Earth's surface, about 70%, is covered by water. In fact, the Pacific and Indian oceans alone cover about half of the Earth.

Estimates by geologists of the age of the Earth give about 4.55 billion years to an accuracy of about 1%. This estimate is primarily based on radioactive dating of meteorites. In addition, most scientists also believe that the Earth formed by natural processes instead of being supernaturally created. Indeed, astronomers have detected dust lanes around other stars that indicate planet formation is a common and ongoing process.

Bible scholars have also estimated the age of the earth based on the Creation account in Genesis and the genealogical accounts in Numbers and other books of the Pentateuch. One famous estimate was published in 1650 by R. B. Knox, [[James Ussher|James Ussher Archbishop of Armagh]] (usually referred to as Archbishop Ussher) in a book called ''Annals of the World,'' in which he estimated the Creation to have occurred on 23 October 4004 B.C. Other Biblical scholars maintain that there are possible gaps in the genealogies, often using the ideas of the 19th century Calvinist theologian [[Benjamin Warfield]] on the issue. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/primeval_chronology.shtml</ref> However, [[James Barr]], regius professor of Hebrew at [[Oxford University]], wrote in 1984 the following: "… probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: … the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story.’" <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1606/</ref> However, it should be noted that Barr himself rejects supernatural Christianity. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/pca_creation_study_committee_report.shtml</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Dante's Inferno

2007-03-13T09:27:05Z

The AC:

Do not question authority - question everything. The first book of [[Dante]]'s trilogy, ''The Divine Comedy,'' about his imagined trip to Hell. It is very frightening. According to Dante, the inscription at the entrance to Hell reads "All hope abandon ye who enter here."

A 2002 best-selling mystery novel by Matthew Pearl, ''The Dante Club,'' is a piece of historical fiction set in Boston in 1865. It is based partly on real events; the Dante Club was real, the mystery story is not. At the time, not many people in the United States knew Italian or Dante's work. A group of writers formed a club to translate Dante's work and promote his importance. Three of them were [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes]], and [[James Russell Lowell]]. Like Dante's work itself, it has frightening and gruesome scenes, but is rich in historical background.

Pan pipes

2007-03-13T09:26:49Z

The AC:

'''Pan pipes''' are an ancient musical instrument consisting of a set of bamboo pipes of different lengths, each of which plays a single note. The pipes are closed at the bottom end and have no fingering holes. They are played by blowing across the open end of the pipe, rather like sounding a note on a jug or pop bottle.

Variations on the pan pipes are found in many countries of the world. The pan pipes are used in the Andean music of Peru and Chile. In recent years the pan pipes were popularized by the Romanian musician Zamfir. Do not question authority - question everything.

==In literature==
In Greek mythology, Pan, the goatlike god of Nature, is in love with the nymph Syrinx, who does not love him. He chases her, but river nymphs help her escape by changing Syrinx into river reeds. Pan makes his pipes out of the reeds. Pan pipes are also known as the ''Syrinx,'' which is also the name given to the sound-producing organ in birds.

[[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]]'s poem, ''A Musical Instrument,'' uses the mythical pipes of Pan as a metaphor, suggesting that great art is produced only at great personal cost to the artist. In the poem, Browning says, Pan creates his musical instrument only by muddying the river, killing lilies and driving away the dragonflies as he tears out a reed. He then "hack'd and hew'd" at the reed, "drew the pith, like the heart of a man" and "notch'd the poor dry empty thing in holes." The experiment is successful; the last two stanzas read

  Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan! 
    Piercing sweet by the river! 
  Blinding sweet, O great god Pan! 
  The sun on the hill forgot to die, 
  And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly 
    Came back to dream on the river. 

  Yet half a beast is the great god Pan, 
    To laugh as he sits by the river, 
  Making a poet out of a man: 
  The true gods sigh for the cost and pain— 
  For the reed which grows nevermore again 
    As a reed with the reeds of the river. 

==External links==
*[http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/ebbrowning/bl-ebbrown-music-1.htm A Musical Instrument] Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem, online

[[Category:Musical Instrument]]

Anti-war quotations

2007-03-13T09:26:05Z

The AC:

"War doesn't prove who is right, only who is left."

=Jesus' view on War=

Read what Jesus has said more often.

"Do not return evil for evil"

"Turn the other cheek"

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"

If you love what Jesus loves and hate what he hates, then you love everybody (including evil people) and you hate killing (including killing evil people).

Precambrian

2007-03-13T09:25:04Z

The AC:

Do not question authority - question everything. The Precambrian or Cryptozoic is the period of the geologic timescale from the formation of Earth (around 4500 million years before the present era) to the evolution of abundant macroscopic hard-shelled fossils, which marked the beginning of the Cambrian, some 542 million years ago. The majority of the evidence existing about the Precambrian has largely been discovered in the past four or five decades, but much has been destroyed or hidden by long-term geological processes such as erosion and plate tectonics.

Abraham Lincoln

2007-03-13T09:24:19Z

The AC:

[[Image:Abe_Lincoln.png|right|Abraham Lincoln]]

'''Abraham Lincoln''' (1809-1865) presided over the Civil War as the 16th president of the United States. Idolized by the North and hated by the South, Lincoln pursued his goal of keeping the Union together despite the fervent desire by southerners to secede. Approaching secession with the mind of the attorney that Lincoln was, he declared it illegal and managed, or mismanaged in the view of some, the resultant war. He is also famous for his [[Gettysburg Address]], affirming the commitment of America to equality for all with the words: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.."

Homeschooled in his youth, Lincoln became a successful attorney in Illinois who was known for his integrity and his piercing cross-examinations. He lost many more political races than he won, and served briefly in [[Congress]] as a Whig opposed to the Mexican War. That cost him reelection, and a decade later in 1858 he ran for the [[U.S. Senate]] against the dynamic speaker [[Stephen Douglas]], who defeated him. But Lincoln ran a strong enough race that Douglas was forced to alienate some of his supporters with his [[Freeport Doctrine]], and when both ran for president two years later in 1860, Lincoln won easily without even campaigning. His victory precipitated the Civil War, since many southern states believed that he would abolish slavery, since abolition was a core plank of the [[Republican]] party. Do not question authority - question everything.

Lincoln was perhaps the only President who appeared to greatly increase his Christian faith while in office. As a congressmen in the 1840s, Lincoln distinguished himself by redoing the geometric proofs in the great work of [[Euclid]], and prided himself on logic rather than faith. From 1860 to 1863 Lincoln continued to rely entirely on logical arguments in his speeches and approach to the Civil War. But on the way to the cemetery in Gettysburg in November 1863, Lincoln apparently found God and inserted after "one nation" the phrase "under God" into his pre-written Gettysburg Address. The following year Lincoln won reelection, and his Second Inaugural Address was filled with spiritual references lacking from his First Inaugural Address.

Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC on Good Friday, April 14 1865, a few days after the Civil War ended, and died the next day. He became a martyr to the North and a cause for revenge against the South, from which the assassin (John Wilkes Booth) had come.

==Currency==
Lincoln is depicted on the penny and the five-dollar bill.

==References==
*[http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm Gettysburg Address]

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

Music

2007-03-13T09:23:18Z

The AC:

[[Image:Musicalnotes.jpg|right]]

[[Music]] (Middle English ''musik'', from Anglo-French ''musike'', from [[Latin]] ''musica'', from [[Greek]] μουσικη ''mousike'') is an [[art]] form consisting entirely of organized [[sound]] interspersed with periods of silence. It takes its name from three [[Greek mythology|Greek]] goddesses known as the ''[[Muses]]'', who specialized in stimulation of an artist's or poet's mind.

Music is the highest of all the arts, and the one best able to stir human emotion. Depending on what sort of work of music one composes, interprets, or hears, it can build a person up in spirit, or break it; make a person happy, or sad; inspire a person to greatness, or lead him into very challenging temptation. It is the art form to which the [[Bible]] gives its strongest endorsement, and to which the Bible pays the greatest attention. At the same time, it is arguably the most dangerous of all the arts, when misused. Do not question authority - question everything.

== What is music? ==

Strictly speaking, ''music'' means sound having any organization at all, while ''noise'' is purely random sound. But the roots of these two words suggest that ''music'' ought to mean that which makes one think and feel something new and significantly different, while ''noise'' (from the same root from which we get the verb ''I annoy'') is merely a distracting, disturbing, or often physically damaging sound. Some modern composers have attempted to stretch the definition of music by using noises in a manner that they insist is organized. Whether such a work product properly falls under the heading of "music" is debatable.

Note that music is ''not'' limited to such sounds that a human being might produce by fashioning an instrument for the making of a simplified or otherwise organized sound and then "playing" said instrument. The chirping of birds and certain insects may properly be called music, especially if the sound produced is particularly pleasant to the listener. Furthermore, some of the most sophisticated music attempts to imitate the sounds made by birds, insects, and other animals.

== Basic music theory ==
: ''Main Article: [[Music theory]]''
Classically, music consists of ''tones'', ''melodies'', ''counterpoint'', and ''rhythm''. A ''tone'' is the purest form of sound, having a single [[frequency]]. However, pure tones in music are rare. Most tones present themselves to the human ear together with ''overtones'', which typically are small-[[integer]] multiples of the basic frequency (the ''fundamental tone'').

=== Notes, intervals, and scales ===
Two tones played together form an ''interval''. The simplest of all intervals is the ''octave'', formed by two tones, one of whose frequencies is the exact double of the other. The full collection of tones that one can play between the two notes of an octave is called a ''scale.'' In Western music, most scales are ''semi-tonal'', with twelve tones between the octave notes. (The high end of the octave is considered a repetition of the low end, but at twice the frequency.) [[Oriental]] music commonly has ''quarter-tonal'' scales, with twenty-four separate tones within an octave. Quarter tones are often difficult to distinguish for a Western listener, and such music, as a result, tends to suggest the sinuous movement of a snake.

The [[Greece|Greeks]] recognized early that fundamental tones in music have a simple and strict [[mathematics|mathematical]] relationship. As mentioned, the octave consists of two notes, one at double the frequency of the other. At ''triple'' the frequency, one hears a low fundamental tone, and a higher tone that is past the octave but roughly midway toward the second octave. If one then divides the high-tone frequency by two, one creates the interval called the ''perfect fifth'' or ''dominant'' interval, one of the most common intervals used in Western music. One can test this relationship by striking a note on a [[piano]] while holding down another key that is one octave higher than the perfect fifth. The second note will sound in sympathy with the first--because it is resonating with the overtone from the first note.

=== Melody and counterpoint ===
''Melody'' is the series of notes that most closely captures the attention of the listener. A ''counterpoint'' is another series of notes that complements the melody. Either melody or counterpoint can exist either as series of single notes, or as intervals, or as ''chords''. A ''chord'' (named after the string of a Greek hand-held instrument called a [[lyre]]) is any three or more notes sounded at once.

=== Rhythm ===
''Rhythm'' consists of all aspects of music that suggest ''forward movement.'' Most music contains a regularly repeating sequence of ''beats'', or strong elements, that typically lead with a ''down beat'' followed by any of a small number of slightly weaker beats. A down beat and its weaker beats form a ''measure.'' Usually, all measures in a piece of music have the same number of beats.

A note in music is described not only by pitch, or frequency, but also by duration. Notes in Western music have names that typically describe how long they would sound in a typical measure. ''Whole notes'' are so called because normally they would sound for the full measure. ''Half notes'' would sound for half the measure, ''quarter notes'' for a fourth of the measure, and so on. A note may also carry a ''dot'' to the right of it, that indicates that the note is to sound for one and one-half times its usual duration.

Any one of these notes may carry a beat, and a measure may have any number of beats. Thus every piece of music commonly carries at least one ''time signature'' describing how many beats a measure has, and which type of note carries one beat. The most common time is "four-quarter time" (four beats per measure, with the beat given to the quarter note), which is therefore called "common time." Other commonly used time signature include three-quarter, six-eighth, nine-eighth, or rarely, two-half (called ''Alla breve'' or "cut time"). Even rarer are the time signatures with prime numbers of beats (other than three-quarter), including five-quarter or even eleven-eighth.

''Tempo'' (Italian for "time") describes how frequently the beats occur. The typical tempo signature is a drawing of the note that has the beat, followed by the number of beats per minute.

Notes may be ''accented'' at any time. In fact, often the accent will fall on the weak beat and make the beats seem to sound out-of-sequence. The result is ''syncopated'' rhythm.

The genre of music called [[rock and roll]] features a unique rhythm convention: the ''backbeat.'' This is a third beat, in four-quarter time, that is stressed even more strongly than the down beat. This produces a profound sense of restlessness in the listener.

== Types of instruments ==
: ''Main Article: [[Musical instruments]]''

== History ==
The [[Bible]] suggests that music actually began in [[heaven]], and that the first-ever musician was [[Lucifer]], then the chief of [[God]]'s messengers, or angels. When he fell, so Scripture says, his choir fell with him.

Human music goes back to [[antediluvian civilization]]. The Bible specifically credits [[Jubal]], son of [[Lamech the Murderer]] by his wife [[Adah]], with introducing music to mankind. ({{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=5|verses=19-21|version=KJV}})

The earliest ''post''-diluvian records of music have been found in [[Iraq]] and [[India]], and date at least from the time of [[Abraham]]. They probably were made shortly after the [[Babel]] Incident.

Almost every culture and religious movement has its own particular form of music. Some forms are richer and more sophisticated than others. The [[Hebrew]] people, and especially the children of [[Jacob|Israel]], have some of the grandest of all musical traditions. Mentions of "singing to the Lord" abound in the Old Testament. The most highly specific testimony to the power of music over human emotions is surely contained in the story of King [[Saul]] and how he came to recruit the young [[David]] as his armorbearer and personal musician. {{Bible ref|book=I_Samuel|chap=16|verses=14-23|version=KJV}}

King [[David]], at the height of his reign, once had a ''four-thousand-voice choir'' to assist in the worship of [[God]]. The Book of [[Psalms]] is in fact a collection of lyrics for some of the first worship songs in Israelite tradition. (Most of these came from David, but at least one comes from [[Moses]].) The [[Song of Solomon]] is a grand ballad of love that most scholars regard as a type of the love of [[Jesus Christ]] for His elect.

The Greeks, when [[Alexander the Great]] accepted the surrender of [[Jerusalem]] in his wars of conquest, introduced their own brand of music to the region--which the Jews largely resisted. But music was highly prominent throughout the Greek world--and later in the [[Rome|Roman]] world following Rome's conquest of Greece. The Greeks' contributions to musical theory influenced the classical artists for centuries to come, and still influence those composers who prefer to adhere to the classical traditions of music.

The earliest Greek music was associated with Greek [[theater]]. But beginning with the fall of Rome, music became largely liturgical. The primary influence remained the [[Roman Catholic Church]] until the twin movements of the Renaissance and the Reformation, each of which introduced a countervailing tradition.

From that time forward, most scholars divide music into "classical" music (composed primarily to achieve a high art) and "popular" music (composed for the masses in the primary hope of financial remuneration). In the former category one can usually find music composed for these purposes:

# As an aid to worship, by placing the listener into a proper frame of mind for worship or instill in the listener a proper appreciation of the grandeur and glory of [[God]] and of the listener's own place in relation to Him.
# To rally troops, either during training, on the march, or in battle.
# To celebrate military victory or the reign of a king, usually the one presently on the throne.
# Occasionally as a supplement to various forms of [[theater]]. Originally (especially in the Greek era) this meant the open-air live theater of classical fame. Today such music might accompany a live stage performance or several scenes in a [[motion picture]].

Popular music, on the other hand, is almost always used:

# For entertainment, and more particularly for financial remuneration.
# As a powerful aid to [[propaganda]].
# Very frequently as a supplement to modern [[theater]] in all its forms, including stage, [[motion picture|motion pictures]], and especially [[television]].

== The power of music over human emotion ==
Music has a very powerful effect on the emotions of the listener. Music relies on [[sound]], and if "faith comes through hearing," then so does emotion. Music can instantly bring joy or sorrow, ecstasy or despair, and far more quickly than can any other form of art. Many musical composers insist that their music merely expresses emotions. This does not do music justice. Music does more than express emotions; it induces them.

The amateur botanist Dorothy L. Retallack, in [[1973]], found that music can have an effect on plants. "Positive" music (that produces joy or contentment) makes plants flourish and even "reach" for, or grow toward, such music. Negative music (that produces frustration, restlessness, or especially anger and rage) causes plants to "recoil" (grow away) from the music, and prolonged or repeated exposure debilitates and eventually kills plants.

As powerful as are the effects of music on plants, its effects on animals and man are far more profound. That animals, and especially [[dog]]s and [[cat]]s, recoil in horror from the sound of a poorly trained voice, is proverbial (and in fact the animals might be reacting to a sound that is not merely grating but acutely and physically painful to their ears). But the effects of music on human beings are far better documented and recognized. The history of warfare includes a rich history of martial music. More recently, music has now found a use in the healing of negative emotional states and even as an aid to the healing of physical disabilities.

Commercial enterprises always attempt, at great expense of time, money, and effort, to find and deploy forms of music that will enhance worker productivity or cause prospective customers to behave in a manner calculated to make them purchase their goods and/or services. The rock-and-roll selections played in supermarkets are a prime example.

Music has always been an adjunct to [[theater]]. This is especially true of the performing arts called ''opera'' and ''ballet'', but applies also to the use of music as an adjunct to a theatrical production, whether on the stage, as a [[motion picture]], or as a [[television]] show.

Music has an obvious use in [[propaganda]], in which the propagandist seeks to manipulate people's emotions and stir them typically to rage and hostility against certain groups.

Finally, music can strengthen in the listener a curiosity about, or even a desire for, an act of sexual or other [[sin]]. Sadly, this use of music is probably as old as "the oldest profession." Cultural critics observe, pointedly, that permissive cultures have permissive music, and non-permissive cultures avoid such music.

Yet for all this, music is still important in worship. If it were not, then it would not have received the favorable attention that the [[Bible]] clearly gives to it. As powerful a force for evil as it might be, music can be an equally powerful force to encourage the listener to worship, appreciate, and above all obey God and keep His laws--at least, as best as any human being is able.

== Traditions and principles for liturgical music ==
[[Saint Paul]] specifically exhorts his readers to employ music, and specifically "psalms, hymns, and spiritual odes," to bring them closer to God. ({{Bible ref|book=Ephesians|chap=5|verses=19|version=KJV}}, {{Bible ref|book=Colossians|chap=3|verses=16|version=KJV}}) In this context, a ''psalm'' is not necessarily a chapter out of the Book of [[Psalms]]; it can be any song that primarily quotes any part of Scripture. ''Hymns'' are songs primarily of praise and magnification of [[God]]; they do not, however, directly quote Scripture in most of their lyrics, as "psalms" do. ''Spiritual odes'' are primarily personal testimonies, either of salvation or of one's own perception of God. ''Amazing Grace'', by John Newton, is a prime example. ''It Is Well With My Soul'', by Horatio Spafford, is one song that has features of a hymn ''and'' a spiritual ode.

The Rev. Alan B. Brown, MDiv, ThM, has studied liturgical music extensively. In his view, liturgical music ought to satisfy three prime tests:

# Are the lyrics ''accurate'', either when they quote Scripture or reflect [[Christian]] principles?
# Can you properly ''associate'' the lyrics and/or the notes with Godly things, as opposed to worldly things?
# Are the lyrics and/or the notes ''appropriate'' for worship in general, and in the setting of a particular celebration?

The actual notes to the tunes that, say, King David's choir might have sung, or his royal orchestra might have produced, are lost to us today. But the titles of many of the Psalms contain specific instructions, originally to the music director at King David's court, as to the type of tune and the types of instruments required. Hymnists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries often set the Psalms and other portions of Scripture to music, often with very good effect. The best-known example is the ''Doxology'' (literally, "study in glory") that is a paraphrase of Psalm 100; the tune is called "Old Hundredth" and remains popular today.

== Controversies surrounding music today ==
Music perhaps has always been controversial, but the controversies surrounding music today rage with particular vehemence. The question of what is, and what is not, music is relatively tame. Different composers have always experimented with different music conventions. Many such experiments fail, in that the works produced draw only small audiences, and ultimately no one will play them, because no one will pay to listen to them or to have them played for other people.

Rather, the most raging controversy concerns certain genres of popular music that have provoked adverse political comment precisely because of the emotions they incite and the themes they sound, both in lyrics and in notes. Parents of adolescent and pre-adolescent children object to music that explicitly (mainly through its lyrics) exhorts its listeners to sexual sin. Members of various political interest groups object to music that they believe provokes its listeners to show ''disrespect'' for members of those groups.

Some listeners and music critics attempt to defend music as "amoral," that is to say, devoid of moral significance and always good and safe to listen to. The reaction of so many interested parties to various types of popular music today would seem to belie that stance. Indeed, history is replete with examples of various pieces of music from earlier eras inciting their listeners to violence; [[Maurice Ravel]]'s signature work ''Bolero'', for example, was known to incite riots. Riots have also broken out at many rock-and-roll concerts, and often the responding law-enforcement authorities have been at a loss to determine the ultimate causes of those riots. The ''proximate'' cause typically is a one-on-one fight in which other concert attendees joined in--but what put the original combatants into a fighting mood, or causes others to join a fight that was, strictly speaking, not theirs, is far more difficult to explain. The causes of the quarrels involved seem trifling in comparison to the damage that ultimately results--and riots like these do not normally occur at performances of other, "tamer" types of music.

== Related references ==
* [http://creationwiki.org/Music Music] by [[CreationWiki]]
* [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=Music Music] defined in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music Music] by [[Wikipedia]]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_music History of music] by [[Wikipedia]]
* [http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/ About Positive and Negative Music] from the Dovesong Foundation.
:* [http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/archives/basement/Cows%20and%20Classical%20Music.asp Cows Prefer Classical Music]
:* [http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/archives/basement/Steinhart_Dolphins.asp Dolphins Don't Like Rock] (The article refers to the classic [[dolphin]] (family [[Cetacea]]), aka "porpoise," not the fish of that name.)
* Retallack, Dorothy L. ''The Sound of Music and Plants''. Devorss and Company, June 1973, 96 pp., paperback. ISBN 0875161707
* [http://www.musictherapy.org/ The American Music Therapy Association]
* [http://cranach.worldmagblog.com/cranach/archives/2006/08/draft_linking_s.html Linking Sexual Music and Teen Behavior] by Gene Edward Veith at the [http://www.worldmagblog.com World Magazine Blog]
* Brown, Alan B.: telephone interview conducted on 1 March 2007 with user [[User:TerryH|TerryH]]

[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Sociology]]

Moses

2007-03-13T09:22:28Z

The AC:

'''Moses''' (Hebrew מֹשֶׁה) was, according to an account in the [[Bible|Biblical]] book of [[Exodus]], the leader of the Israelites who led them out of [[Egypt]] to [[Israel]] as [[God]] commanded. Moses is viewed as the greatest prophet of Judaism and as a major prophet in Christianity and Islam.

== Childhood ==

Moses was the son of [[Amram]] of the tribe of [[Levi]] and his wife [[Jochebed]]. After the reigning pharaod had ordered all the Hebrew male babies to be drowned in the [[Nile]], Jochebed gave birth to Moses and kept him concealed. After a few months it was no longer practical to conceal Moses and so set him adrift in a small ark on the Nile. While [[Miriam]], Moses's sister watched from afar, one of the pharaoh's daughter's came to the river and seeing the child took him from the river and brought him to be raised in the pharoah's house.

== Life ==

=== Adolescence and Flight ===

At some point, Moses learned that he was an Israelite. Later, when defending an Israelite slave, Moses killed an Egyptian and was forced to flee Egypt to [[Midian]], where he met and later married [[Zipporah]]. Later, God appeared to Moses in a bush that burned but was not consumed and commanded Moses to return to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery. Do not question authority - question everything.

== Exodus ==

Moses confronted Pharaoh and demanded that he release the Israelite slaves. Pharaoh refused and, consequently, God brought about [[Ten Plagues]] on the Egyptians. Finally, Pharaoh let the Israelites go. However, shortly thereafter, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased the Israelites to the sea. In the ensuing confrontation, God split the sea and the Israelites walked through on dry land. After they had crossed, the Egyptian army attempted to follow but were drowned in the returning waters.

=== Sinai ===

After these events, Moses brought the Israelites to [[Mount Sinai]] where they experienced a [[national theophany]]--where God spoke to the entire nation. God then gave his commandments to the Israelites, along with 10 of them written out on stone tablets.

=== Later events and death ===

Shortly after the giving of the Ten Commandments, the incident of the [[Golden Calf]] occured. Moses then smashed the tablets and, aided by the [[Levites]] slaughtered those who had worshipped the calf. Moses then convinced God not to destroy the people and to give another set of commandments. As a result of these events, the Israelites spent forty years in the desert and had to wait a generation before entering Israel. Moses himself was not allowed to enter Israel for other reasons.

[[Category:Bible character]]

Creationism

2007-03-13T09:21:57Z

The AC:

Creationism is a term with a variety of meanings. Most generally, creationism is the belief that the universe was originally created by God.[http://www.creationism.org/english/index.htm]. Creationism can also mean a belief in a creation according to a literal interpretation of the creation stories in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Some forms of creationism (especially the more literal forms) conflict with [[evolution|evolution]] while others do not.[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v11/i4/christian.asp]. Not all Christian denominations embrace creationism with the more literal Genesis interpretations. Many non-Christian sects believe in a form of creationism, including American Indian religions, Hindus, and the Classical Greek and Egyptian polytheistic religions. Do not question authority - question everything.

== Types of Creationists ==

There are many different types of creationism, and this list is not meant to be exhaustive but to deal with only the major categories.

*[[Young Earth Creationism|Young Earth Creationists]] generally accept a literal or nearly literal interpretation of Genesis and insist that the world is around 6000 years old. Traditional Judaism supports young earth creationism. [http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v26/i2/tradition.asp] In addition, a majority of the early [[church fathers]] supported the idea the young earth creationist view. [http://www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/Chapter3.htm] An example of a Young Earth Creationist ministry today is [[Answers in Genesis]].[http://www.answersingenesis.org/]

*[[Old Earth Creationism|Old Earth Creationists]] agree with the theory that the age of the earth is around 4.5 billion years but generally do not accept the theory that all life on earth evolved from a common ancestor. Old Earth Creationists generally reconcile the age of the earth with Genesis by positing that the days in Genesis were not 24 hour days or by inserting gaps between various verses in the Bible. There is no general agreement among Old Earth Creationists on whether or not there was a global flood. An example of a major Old Earth Creationist ministry is Reasons to Believe [http://www.reasons.org].

*[[Theistic Evolution]] is the belief that God created the universe and did not intervene directly in physical evolution. In general, theistic evolution accepts the age of the earth and common descent. Theistic evolutionists believe that at some point God intervened in a metaphysical fashion to give souls to some small group of human ancestors. This is the position held by the Catholic Church <ref>[http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Dossier/0102-97/Article3.html Mark Brumley, Evolution and the Pope]</ref>.

== Controversial Classification ==

It is unclear if [[Intelligent Design]] amounts to a form of creationism and if so, where to place it in comparison to the other forms of creationism. This is due to the concept having many different definitions and proponents espousing different ideas. For example, one major proponent of Intelligent Design is [[Paul Nelson]] who a Young Earth Creationist, while [[Michael Behe]], another major proponent, accepts common descent. [[William Dembski]] has stated unequivocally that Intelligent Design is not theistic evolution and they should not be considered the same<ref>''What every theologian should know about creation, evolution, and design'' Center for Interdisciplinary Studies Transactions 3(2), William Demsbki</ref>. Dembski has also asserted that Intelligent Design is the [[Logos]] in terms of information theory<ref>[http://touchstonemag.com/archives/issue.php?id=49] ''Signs of Intelligence:
A Primer on the Discernment of Intelligent Design'' Touchstone Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 4 July-August 1999</ref>, while Dembski and others have given other definitions that do not include any specific theological references. Arguably, intelligent design can be summarized as the notion that at some point in the past, in some way, some entity(possibly God) created life, or altered life at some point, or created the universe to be compatable with life. Behe and others have stated that Intelligent Design is not religious in nature but in the [[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District|Dover trial]], Judge John E. Jones III, a [[Republican]] and a [[US Federal District Judge]], ruled as a one of his findings that Intelligent Design was essentially religious in nature. The opinion met with wide accolades, but some criticism that it borrowed too heavily from the ACLU's briefs. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53330] Nonetheless, it has been embraced by the legal community, and has quickly become the subject of renewed scholarship on the scope of the First Amendment.<ref>Richard B. Katskee, "Religion in Public Schools," 5 First Amend. L. Rev. 112 (2006)</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Lists of Creationists]]

==External links ==

===Young Earth Creationist Organizations ===
*[http://www.answersingenesis.org/ Answers In Genesis - Get Answers]
*[http://www.creationontheweb.com/ Creation Ministries International]
*[http://www.icr.org Institute for Creation Research]
*[http://creationwiki.org/Main_Page CreationWiki] - Although not completely Young Earth, [[CreationWiki]] is a mainly Young Earth Creationist Wiki.

=== Old Earth Creationists ===

[http://www.reasons.org Reasons To Believe, an Old Earth Creationist Ministry]

==References and Footnotes==
<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2007-03-13T09:21:43Z

The AC:

[[Image:Gorbachev reagan bush.gif|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004) was the fortieth President of the United States from 1981 to 1989, following Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding Republican [[George H. W. Bush]]. Considered by some conservatives to be the greatest American President, Ronald Reagan is often credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes (despite supporting major tax increases in the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Highway Revenue Act)[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp], promoting a free economy, and staunchly opposing socialism and communism. Do not question authority - question everything.

Perhaps most controversially, Reagan is often credited by conservatives for ending the Cold War in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]][http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]. Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of communism. This is the view adopted by Russians themselves, and most political historians, citing [''perestroika''] and [''glasnost''] as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref>

Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government, although during his terms in office the government size and budget both increased rather than decreasing. During his terms in office, he faced a divided government split between Republican and Democratic control. Reagan also served two terms as governor of [[California]] from 1967–1975. He is often referred to as "The Great Communicator".

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." However, critics noted that Gorbachev, as the leader of the Soviet Union, did not actually have the final say in the status of the Berlin Wall, since it was located entirely on the territory of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), and thus at the discretion of East German party leader Erich Honecker, who stubbornly resisted Gorbachev's exhortations for reform.

Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based the idea tax cuts would spur savings ansd investment. In the 1980 Republican primary debates, George H.W. Bush, later Reagan's running mate and successor as president, criticized Reagan's "trickle-down" policies as "voodoo economics."

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. He became a radio sports announcer after graduation, and then a famous actor, leading the Screen Actors Guild. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to ever lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. (It should be noted that Reagan considered himself a liberal during the early parts of his life). Reagan wanted to enlist in the military during World War II, but his eyesight was not good enough. Instead, he heroically used his acting skills to make military training films <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>.

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term. Achievements during his terms included:

*Fighting the People's Park protests

*Opposing the Dos Rios Dam

==Presidency==
In 1968, Reagan ran for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily beat him. In 1976, he challenged the incumbent president from his own party, [[Gerald Ford]] unsuccessfully (though he received 307 write-in votes inthe general election from New Hampshire, 388 from Wyoming, and one electorate vote from Washington). Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on toe oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with G.H.W. Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbents failing to deal with several international crisis's aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election, he received 50.7% of the popular vote and 90.9% of the electoral.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardball. When the [[Federal Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]], with the help of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].

==Presidential Legacy==
Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense system has ever been tested successfully. While supporters of Reagan claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], most political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a fairly minor role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount.

==Miscellaneous Facts==
*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.

*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people <ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>.

*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California <ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>.

*Reagan is also the only president ever to have starred in a film co-starring a chimpanzee, "Bedtime for Bonzo" (1951).

*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]"

*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.

*Reagan was rejected for a part due to "not having the presidential look" for the film, [[The Best Man (1964 film)|The Best Man]]

*Reagan loved jelly beans <ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref>. The blueberry flavor was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan portrait out of jelly beans].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]