Jeff Ragan > Recent Status Updates

"As vernal pools are wet only seasonally, they typically lack predatory fishes. This is critical for the survival of the multitudes of amphibians and invertebrates that rely on vernal pools to complete their life cycles" (47).

"The question posed by the unbelief of Israel as a people pervades this section of the epistle." Yet the author goes on to treat the section as if it's referencing the salvation or condemnation of individual people.

"I learned at twenty-one how a man feels when he has been given a job but complete confidence has been withheld. It couldn't work...in later years, when I had carefully selected a man for a job I left him completely alone, knowing that either I had been right in my selection or I had been wrong. But he had to have a freehand to show which" (68).

"All things are dull that are remote and obscure; and things Japanese will remain obscure to us until we can completely forget our Western heritage and completely absorb Japan's" (891).

"Peter took responsibility for moving the church forward, summarized the background of the situation and the reasons change was needed, referenced Scripture to support his actions, and shared his opinion about how the church should proceed. He then engaged the church's participation in the nomination and selection process and guided the church to implement its ultimate conclusion" (115).

"The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name, 'The Lord.' The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty...'" - Exodus 34:5-7

"You're applying facts & evidence & logic to it...It's all about power. That whole kangaroo court thing...wasn't about who was guilty or innocent...but about who gets to use the power...those college students are going to leave there & go back to their shitty, cold dorms & be back to having no power again. But for a little while...the people...lent them some power...& they took it out on that poor guy" (101).

"Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp...he called it the tent of meeting...Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents...When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses." - Ex 33:7-9

"The neighborhood watch concept had changed significantly since the Split. Before, it involved neighbors reporting to the police on suspicious criminal behavior by outsiders. Now, designated residents reported to the PBI on the activities of other neighbors. Racism, sexism, and deviant behaviors like religious activity were of particular interest" (85).

"Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered if for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain." - Ex 24:15-18

"All I know is that if you got money and know the right people you can buy what you want and you don't need a ration card. I remember before the Split there was plenty, maybe too much. And now there isn't any" (61).

"For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." - Exodus 11:12-13

"God did not tempt me and I would not tempt Him. There was no manipulation, no coercion in our relationship. He was God Almighty and I was His beloved son. I could still hear those words. Whatever He gave me, He gave me. I didn't take it. I waited on His gifts" (123).

"We always knew the blue model would fail. It was just a matter of time. We kept the farms and the fuel, and they kept the moths to feed in the big coastal cities. They won't exploit their resources - the still buy most of their energy and food from foreigners, and they are running out of credit. They picked on the people who did the hard work, and those people came here" (31).

"There can be no nastier or more wearing a way of getting about the ocean than motoring in a small boat" (466).

"Outside of working hours I was beginning to lose my interest in boyish 'play.' Instead, I conceived a very deep and lasting affection for the newest arrival in our household, another brother, August Harold Hilton...I walked him, pushed him, pulled him, and 'bubbled' him...and found that the ability to bring actual happiness to another being's face...made me feel ten feet tall" (48-49).

Of Japanese poems; "Born in a courtly atmosphere, they are fashioned with an almost haughty restraint; they seek perfection of modeling rather than novelty of meaning; they suppress rather than express emotion; and they are too proud to be anything but brief...it is as if the poets of Japan had had a mind to atone by their modesty for the braggadocio of her historians." (879)

"We are not to regard confession and faith as having the same efficacy unto salvation. The contrast between mouth and heart needs to be observed. But we may not tone down the importance of confession with the mouth. Confession without faith would be vain. But likewise faith without confession would be shown to be spurious" (55-6).

"Both armadillos and javelinas are among the many animals that moved between North and South America as part of the Great American Interchange, a shift that occurred when the Panamanian Isthmus formed between the two continents nearly 3 million years ago" (27).

"Most of the small business that had lined Pico were long gone, some boarded up, others just abandoned when the owners fled east - they were usually referred to as 'worms,' the ones who were beneath contempt for rejecting the paradise that progressivism offered. Now piles of trash lined the sidewalks, and a few people squatted in the urine-soaked doorways, glaring at those lucky enough to have cars" (12).

"But Moses said to God, 'If I come to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?" what shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I am Who I am.' He said further, 'Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you."'" - Exodus 3:13-14

"The key feature of a democratic republic is less that each participant has the capacity to win than that each participant has the capacity to lose and accept that loss. They...believe they have been heard, that the system is fundamentally fair, that it is not rigged. So when they lose, they accept their loss and continue to press for their preferred candidates and policies through the existing system" (9).

"But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.' In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them." - Genesis 50:19-21

There's something innately expansive about truth, as though it has a mind of its own and demands to be shared. And yet, at the same time, truth often demands self-denial and containment. Truth can create an unbelievable tension. It can be a terrible burden" (110).

"Jesus prophesied that Peter would die a martyr's death by crucifixion. This implies three things. First, Peter would remain faithful from this point forward in his life. Second, Peter would remain steadfast through a death involving prolonged suffering. Finally, Peter would die as a martyr - faithful to the end and an example of self-sacrificing commitment" (104).

"Traveling with Father was like traveling with the barker for a full-fledged circus. Mother's idea of 'proper travel' was to cross her feet tidily at the ankles, see that we did the same, and above all warn us 'not to talk to strangers.' Father talked to everyone. He was back-slapping, jovial, gay. He introduced Mother to these 'strangers' as though he had known them all his life" (41).

"Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find anyone else like this - one in whom is the spirit of God?' So Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.'" - Genesis 41:38-40

"Do not let a day slip by without enjoyment...Do not allow yourself to be tormented by the stupidity of others...Remember that from its earliest beginnings the world has never been free from fools...Let us not then distress ourselves, nor lose our pleasure even though our own children, brothers and relations, happen to be selfish, ignoring our best efforts to make them otherwise..." (870).

"Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint...But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go, unless you bless me..." Then the man said, 'You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.'" - Gen 32:24-28