Recent research studies of religion

Half of children with two religious parents reject church
"Religious belief is declining faster than attendance at services in the UK, according to a new study funded by the ESRC which found that parents' beliefs, practices and affiliations have the biggest impact on children."

"It found that when it comes to religion, parents are the most important influence. The report argues that institutional religion now has a 'half-life' of one generation. In other words:
two non-religious parents successfully pass on their lack of faith;
two religious parents have roughly a 50-50 chance of passing on their beliefs;
one religious parent does only half as well as two together. "

Non-Protestant second-generation Asian-Americans more likely to make personal choice about religion
"The religion preference of second-generation Asian-Americans is more likely to be influenced by their family tradition if they are Protestant but more by a personal faith choice if they belong to other religions."

"Researchers find that families are the primary determiner of individual religious beliefs," said Ecklund, a postdoctoral fellow in Rice's Department of Sociology. "But America's changing demographics may challenge what we know about the place of families in religious transmission. Studying Asian-Americans is ideal for broadening our understanding of family and religious socialization among second-generation immigrant groups because Asian-Americans are one of the fastest-growing new immigrant populations and the most religiously diverse group of new Americans."

Cutting down on spam

I've turned on the word verification feature for the comment section. Your comments are welcome, but anonymous spam is not.

I posted twice yesterday and both were hit with anonymous comments along the lines of, "great blog, check this web site," with a link.

I am sorry for the inconvenience

Science in the Toilet

I across these two items which are just a little too odd for comment.

Scientists harness the power of pee
"Physicists in Singapore have created the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. The new battery will be the perfect power source for cheap, disposable healthcare test-kits for diseases such as diabetes. The research is published today in the Institute of Physics' Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. "

Cows show promise as powerplants
"A new study at Ohio State University suggests that some of the microorganisms found in cow waste may provide a reliable source of electricity. Results showed that the microbes in about a half a liter of rumen fluid - fermented, liquefied feed extracted from the rumen, the largest chamber of a cow's stomach - produced about 600 millivolts of electricity. That's about half the voltage needed to run one rechargeable AA-sized battery,"

OK one quick comment. Can you imagine having too piss on your tester to check your diabetes, or picking up a fresh cow's stomach to recharge your walkman?

There's been a song on my mind

There has been a song on my mind this past week and thanks to Jim Emerson's weblog I now have it before me. Jim posted these lyrics.

Louisiana 1927

What has happened down here is the wind have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline

The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away all right
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline

Chorus
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away...

Jim commented, "It's a sad and beautiful song about memory and loss. And you'll find it on Newman's 1974 masterpiece, Good Ol' Boys."

I didn't know it was a Randy Newman song. I had only heard the version by Asleep At The Wheel. But last night the Katrina telethon opened with Newman singing this song. How appropriate.

My prayers are with those suffering and lost along the Gulf coast. God be with you.

Six-month Evaluation

Six months ago I started this weblog with a vague idea what it would entail and an even vaguer idea of what I hoped to accomplish with it. It seems clear that with only bearly a dozen posts in that time I have not achieved what I had hoped for.

What were my hopes when I started? I had hoped to post daily and by force of habit develop a disciple of writing down my stay thoughts. While my lack of posts may show a neglect of this weblog, it has been on my mind. Beyond finding the time to post, which I have yet to work into my daily routine, is the question not 'what do I post?' but 'what do I have to say?' This points to
another hope in that by creating a weblog I would be able to find a place in the online community. However at this point I can't say I've engaged that community to any significant degree, say nil.

So what I'm I doing? Why am I here? I don't know let's give it another six month and see. OK?

Beatrice's Goat

This is the story of a young African woman by the name of Beatrice Biira and how a goat from Heifer International (link) , a charity in Little Rock, Ark., lifted her out of poverty, allowed her to go to school and win a scholarship to a college in America. The story was reported by CBS 60 Minutes.

Beatrice's Goat Fed A Dream

A couple of years ago I got a Christmas card from my mom informing me that part of a cow had been donated in my name to Heifer International. It didn't say which part, but I'm glad it went to a good cause.

Where's George?

Last week I got a dollar bill from the bank that had www.wheresgeorge.com stamped on it in red ink. It also bore a stamp that said, "see where I've been, see where I go" and then the web site again.

I went to the site and discovered that this bill had entered into data base which tracks each time some one reenters the bill on the web site. There's a box to put in the serial number and a short note on where you got the bill. My bill had entered by "Bill" a week before and had traveled about twenty miles to reach my hands.

As I considered the dollar in my hand I thought about how the little things that come into and go out of our lives touch and affects others. How we are connected. So I took out a bill of my own and entered it into the site. But along with writing the web side, and 'see where I go' on it I added "the Lord bless you and keep you, Num. 6:24." It may not be quite what Isaiah (55:11) had in mind, but it's a thought.