Home » Writer's Blogs » Joel-Kontinen

Much Ado About Old Bones

Joel Kontinen ^(2,333) Bronze Level Author

Joel Kontinen

http://joelkontinen.blogspot.com/

Omega 3 - Fatty Acids For Keeping the Doctor Away

Posted Sunday, November 01, 2009 (6 days 19 hours ago.) Viewed 66 times.

Not so long ago we were told that all fats were bad for our health. However, the Inuit people living in the cold north traditionally mostly ate animal fats and few of them ever suffered from heart and respiratory diseases. It was found out that they consumed a lot of fish that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, for instance Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

The eating habits of the Inuit suggested that not all edible fats are equal. Some of them are good and others are bad for our health.

The pioneer who introduced us to omega 3 fatty acids was Johanna Budwig (1908-2003), a German chemist who believed that what we eat has a profound effect on our health. She conducted intensive research in cancer therapy, for instance, and found out that the omega 3 fatty acids in flaxseed oil could significantly decrease the likelihood of cancer and heart diseases .

Dr. Budwig even claimed that her diet of flaxseed oil and cottage cheese could prevent and heal cancer, which naturally prompted the commercial drug industry to try to discredit her. The pharmaceutical industry had invested heavily in developing cancer medicines and it sued her for spreading false hopes but s he stood by her claims and won the court case.

While some of her views are not still not supported by mainstream medical science (and they may well be exaggerated), doctors have increasingly begun to acknowledge that omega 3 fatty acids are indeed beneficial for our heart and brain.

It was later discovered that some deep-sea fish, such as salmon, herring, and sardines, are an even better source of omega 3 fatty acids than flaxseed oil.

Omega 3 fatty acids have become a fad, but not a very bad one. In many cases they might do a better job of keeping the doctor away than eating an apple a day.

Permalink Comments (6)

Hugo Chavez: No Singing in the Shower!

Posted Sunday, October 25, 2009 (13 days 17 hours ago.) Viewed 100 times.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is not actually known for his love of personal freedoms. Recently, in a bid to cut down on electricity and water consumption, he banned singing in the shower.

Perhaps there is some kind of logic behind this ban. It may be that those who are fond of singing O Sole Mio (or whatever the Spanish version might be called) in the shower take longer to shower than those who do not sing.

Like most other countries, Venezuela has felt the ravages of the current recession. Even the South American version of socialism has not made Chavezland immune to the economic downturn that has caused us to tighten our belts.

Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, was no friend of socialism. " Socialism is a good idea, until you run out of other people's money", she quipped, borrowing a saying some sources have originally attributed to Mark Twain.

We should perhaps have to take issue with this definition of socialism. As a term, socialism means different things to different people and it has produced a variety of experiments, from the more radical ones advocated by Friedrich Engels and Henri di Saint Simon, who dreamed of a socialist utopia, to a more realistic Scandinavian welfare society that is basically a mixture of capitalism and socialism.

Now it seems that president Chavez has just introduced a novel aspect of socialism. At least the Venezuelan variety of socialism might not be a good idea for would-be opera singers. The new ban could make it a lot harder for them to practice.

In other words, we should probably not expect to hear of world-famous Venezuelan tenors in the near future.

Permalink Comments (0)

When Man Tests God And What Then Happens

Posted Sunday, October 18, 2009 (20 days 18 hours ago.) Viewed 77 times.

Luke chapter ten includes a touching parable that many if not most Christians know almost by heart. The context is anything but dull: " B ehold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?" (Luke 10:25).

The Greek verb translated as 'tested' is ekpeiradzo, which can also mean 'to tempt'. In other words, the lawyer did not approach Jesus with the best of motives. The same verb is also used in Matthew 4:7 of the devil in the context of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness at the beginning of His earthly ministry.

The lawyer probably thought he was a very clever man as he had the courage to cause inconvenience for the popular travelling preacher from Nazareth.

However, he could hardly have anticipated the consequences of his approach. Jesus, instead of being taken aback, replied by asking him a question, " What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" (Luke 10:26).

The lawyer was not satisfied with merely reciting Scripture. While he answered Jesus' question, " wanting to justify himself, [he] said to Jesus, " And who is my neighbor?" (verse 29).

The ensuing answer was probably a surprise for the lawyer and for everybody else as well. What followed was not a recitation of Old Testament passages defining the meaning of "neighbor" but a moving story: " A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead"

Apart from describing who our neighbor is, The Parable of The Good Samaritan also speaks volumes of Jesus' attitude towards individuals who wanted to ask Him about both " earthly things" and " heavenly things" (John 3:12). He was and still is willing to listen to their questions and answer them, even if their motives were not always laudable.

Permalink Comments (2)

Amazing Grace: A Former Slave Traders Confession

Posted Sunday, October 11, 2009 (27 days 19 hours ago.) Viewed 105 times.

Written by a former slave trader in 1779, Amazing Grace is probably one of the most-loved Christian hymns of all time. Its message is still as up-to-date as it was when sailing ships plied the Atlantic, laden with their human cargo.

As a young man, John Newton (1725-1807) was the captain of a British slave ship. In 1743, while off-duty, he was coerced into the Royal Navy. He tried to escape but was caught. The captain of the ship (H.M.S. Harwich) decided to use him as a warning example and ordered him flogged while the rest of the crew – 350 men – looked on.

Humiliated, Newton thought of killing himself but he managed to get over his depression. After that he was put on a merchant ship sailing to the West African coast to obtain a load of slaves.

Newton was still a rather unruly sailor. He soon lost his job and had to work as a slave merchant's servant. He was eventually able to board a ship bound for England. However, a violent storm arose and Newton feared that the ship would sink. When all hope seemed gone, Newton, who up to now had had little need for God, now cried out to Him in desperation.

The ship was spared. Newton regarded that day – May 10, 1748 – as his conversion to Christ. "How precious did that Grace appear, The hour I first believed", he later wrote.

However, he continued to serve as a captain on slave vessels until he suffered a stroke in 1754.

This caused Newton to give up slave trading. He began to study biblical Greek and Hebrew and was eventually granted a Doctor of Divinity degree at the college that later became Princeton University. He became friends with George Whitefield and John Wesley, two prominent Methodist leaders of his day, and together with William Wilberforce fought to put an end to slave trade in the British Empire.

Amazing Grace is John Newton's personal account of his odyssey from a ruthless slave trader to salvation in Christ:

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see…"

Here's a link to country singer Skeeter Davis' version of Amazing Grace on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0d4bxpDHA

Permalink Comments (6)

Skeeter Davis and The End of The World

Posted Sunday, October 04, 2009 (34 days 17 hours ago.) Viewed 93 times.

In December 1931 a girl was born to a poor family in Kentucky living in a two- room log cabin. Her name was Mary Frances Penick but her grandfather soon gave the energetic girl the nickname Skeeter.

She decided to adopt the name when she teamed up with high school classmate Betty Jack Davis to sing country songs. The duo was known as the Davis Sisters. They had early success with their hit I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know (1953) and were signed on by RCA. However, Betty Jack was soon killed in an automobile accident in which Skeeter was injured badly.

The accident almost ended Skeeter Davis' career but after a few years she started singing solo, recording hits like Am I That Easy To Forget, Set Him Free and There's a Fool Born Every Minute for RCA. In 1959 she was signed on the Grand Ole Opry. She went on to write almost 70 ballads and sing duets with Porter Wagoner and Bobby Bare in addition to pursuing a solo career.

She had a wonderful, warm voice. Her greatest hit was a melancholy country /pop ballad called The End of The World (1962), which earned her a gold record. Some of her songs sounded more pop than country but she always thought of herself as a hill-billy singer.

Skeeter Davis was not perfect. All her three marriages ended in divorce. She regarded them as personal failures and her 1964 divorce almost ended her career. However, her good friend June Carter Cash, another Christian divorcee, persuaded her to resume her singing career.

She went through a sort of hippie stage in the early 1970s, but it was more of a "Jesus People" type of awakening. She nonetheless protested against the Vietnam War by recording the anti-war song One Tin Solder.

In 1973 she was kicked out from the Grand Ole Opry for speaking against the police who had arrested some long-haired Jesus people for preaching on the streets.

Those who knew Skeeter Davis said that she was a very friendly and sympathetic person. Her friendliness extended to animals. At one time she had ten dogs and an ocelot in her home.

She did not hide her Christian faith under a bushel. In January 1975 Country Music Magazine described her as " one of the country music community's most outspoken Christians" who was not afraid to speak about her personal relationship with Jesus. She had a childish faith in Jesus and believed that God answered prayer and did miracles even in our days.

At times, Skeeter Davis was criticised severely for her Christian principles and her outspoken evangelism. She performed in several Christian shows and evangelistic outreach events in many countries and recorded inspiring gospel songs like Hand in Hand with Jesus, Amazing Grace and I Won't Have to Cross Jordan Alone.

She refused to perform in night clubs and other places where alcohol was sold and stayed away from tobacco and drugs. Instead, she gladly sang in prisons and nursing homes.

Skeeter Davis' later years brought her more tragedy. She battled breast cancer for 16 years before succumbing to the disease in September 2004 at the age of 72.

However, her faith remained strong to the end.

Here's a live recording of The End of the World on You tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-GpISGBFY

Permalink Comments (8)

Archives:

November 2009
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30
« Oct

All Posts by Joel Kontinen