Saturday, November 17, 2012

Commentary on Psalm 127:3

In Calvin's commentary on Psalm 127:3, he once again asserts God's sovereignty in every area of life. (Emphases mine.)

Lo! children are the heritage of Jehovah. Solomon here adduces one instance in which, in a particular manner, he would have us to recognize the truth which he has hitherto asserted generally -- that the life of men is governed by God. Nothing seems more natural than for men to be produced of men. The majority of mankind dream, that after God had once ordained this at the beginning, children were thenceforth begotten solely by a secret instinct of nature, God ceasing to interfere in the matter; and even those who are endued with some sense of piety, although they may not deny that He is the Father and Creator of the human race, yet do not acknowledge that his providential care descends to this particular case, but rather think that men are created by a certain universal motion. With the view of correcting this preposterous error, Solomon calls children the heritage of God, and the fruit of the womb his gift; for the Hebrew word skr, sachar, translated reward, signifies whatever benefits God bestows upon men, as is plainly manifest from many passages of Scripture. The meaning then is, that, children are not the fruit of chance, but that God, as it seems good to him, distributes to every man his share of them. Moreover, as the Prophet repeats the same thing twice, heritage and reward are to be understood as equivalent; for both these terms are set in opposition to fortune, or the strength of men. The stronger a man is he seems so much the better fitted for procreation. Solomon declares on the contrary, that those become fathers to whom God vouchsafes that honor.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Family Voting



Now that I'm old enough to vote, I've been spending a fair amount of time looking into the various measures that are on the ballot for my home state of Oregon. As I was researching, I thought I should call Dad and get his opinion on one of said measures, the thought dawned on me "What if I don't agree with my dad on one of the measures, do I really want to have the effect of nullifying his voice, by voting contrary to him?" That begs the question, what will I do if I disagree with my dad, what will I do? As far as I can tell there are three possible options:

Option 1: Copy how dad votes, and just hope for the best.
Option 2: Thumb my nose at him and vote the way I want to.
Option 3: Work through the issues, and try to come to resolution.

Now, obviously option one and two are absolute non-options (if it were possible to burn bits and bytes, number two at least, should be burned). The third option is the one that I want to elaborate on, which I will procede to do, thusly.
In the unlikely event that we're unable to come to agreement on an issue on which I have a scriptural conviction, I feel that I would have to, as respectfully as possible, cast my vote based on biblical principle.
Thankfully, I don't expect the above situation, and I think that the most desirable outcome would be that through respectful and loving discusion, one of us would be convinced of the others position, thereby bringing harmony.
However, where that isn't possible, I feel that it would be my duty, and my honor, as my fathers son, who, not being married (and thus, head of my own household), is still under his direct authority, to vote the same way as he does, so long as doing so would not violate scripture (i.e. pro-life vs pro-choice). Even if he did not require me to do so, I would not relish the thought of negating the effectiveness of my fathers voice. Praise the Lord that He gave me such God fearing parents, and I think that this voting season will go quite smoothly.

Semper Reformanda!


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Creativity


Have you ever thought about creativity, and how it comes about? I've been trying to come up with an idea for a short film, but story telling has never been my strong suit. I know that there are people from whom stories and strains simply emanate, but that's not me. So I got to thinking, is that sort of creativity always a gift, or a talent, that you either have or don't? Or is it a skill that can be developed like math or writing? If so, how does one go about said daunting task?

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Movie Survey

Over at the Botkin sister's blog: Visionary Daughters (which I would highly recommend), they have a Movie Survey going right now. I just finished taking it, and the results are pretty interesting. It just says that they're gathering intel for a project they are working on, so the more people that answer it, the better!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The Importance of being honest.


My Dad runs a trucking company, so we hear about the administrative things that happen there from time to time. I just talked to Dad briefly on the phone this morning, but I happened to call him just as he was pulling into the shop, and he said that he had two terminations that morning. I asked if a truck had rolled or something (that being a common cause of a termination), but it wasn't an accident. The two drivers had been fudging their logbooks (drivers equivalent to a time card). So they're being fired, not because they did a bad job, but because they were dishonest. So no matter how good of a job you do, if you aren't honest, it's all for naught.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Honoring your Parents

If you ever feel contention between you and your parents, the cause could very well be that you're not honoring them like you should. That was the situation with me not to long ago. There was this ongoing tension between me and my parents, and I was starting to get frustrated because it seemed like they were being unreasonable. However, one day my older brother told me over the phone that the reason they were being strict was because I wasn't honoring their requests, which ment that I wasn't honoring them. That was like a solid kick in the pants. I wanted to argue with him, but I knew he was right. I could think back to multiple instances where I hadn't obeyed, or had drug my feet, when they asked me to do something. As the Lord says in John "If ye love me, keep my commandments." That's true for our relationship with our parents as well.

If I were to tell my dad that I love him, but then went out and disobeyed everything that he told me to do, do you think he would believe me when I said that I loved him? Why should he?
Our words aren't worth anything unless they are backed by action. And that's precisely what I've been failing at for the last few months. But by God's grace, I have confessed my sin to them, and we can start rebuilding the relationship once more!

So, if I, a sinner, guilty of this sin as well, may give you, my reader, an admonition, it would be this: Honor your Father and Mother, no mater the cost, no mater the inconvenience it may cause you. It will all be worth it. When you are grown and married, and have a great relationship with your parents, which grew out of years of honoring them, you will look back on the times when it was hard, and thank the Lord for giving you those opportunities to honor them.
Semper Reformanda!
Paul

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

SteadiCam and My Absence

Sorry all that I've been gone for so long. I'm spending all my spare time working on my steadicam, which I hope to sell small scale, and I want to have prototype V2 ready by this friday, because my brother Ross and I will be driving to CO for Generations with Vision's Shepherding Conference. I know that there will be some people there more involved with the Christian Independent film market (like Kevin Swanson), so hopefully I'll be able to get some advice, and maybe even some exposure!
We will be leaving this friday, and It's a twenty hour drive from here to there, and we're pretty much going to do it all at once, so maybe I'll have some time then to get some photos up.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Where the Photos went

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted any photos lately. Well, here's why.
I use a program on my Mac called Aperture for all of my photo organization and editing. I have two macs, one's a MBP, and the other I built out of windows parts and got OS X running on it, Known as a mackintosh. My Hackintosh's OS drive got corrupted somehow, and I've just finally got it to the point where I can recover the files and reformat it, but I have to get another 2TB hard drive to copy all the files too. So I can't use that one yet for photo editing. And would you guess what happened to my MacBook Pro's hard drive? Yep! You guessed it! The hard drive went bad! Thankfully I have a backup of it, so After I got a new hard drive, I discovered that my backup had some troubles!! Thankfully I was able to fix all of those, (due to a nifty new program that I just bought) so now (in theory) I just need to restore my MacBooks hard drive from that backup.
Needless to say, I can't really access my photos right now, and even if I could, I've been spending most of my free time trying to get both my computers working.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

More Valuable than Rubies

We value items based on a couple of things. One of those is how much we paid for it. When we get something for free, it's not a big deal if it gets damaged. But if we spend a lot on something, we get really upset if it gets even the smallest of scratches.
How much more then does the Father care for us? He didn't redeem us for free, He paid the price of His own Son's blood as our ransom!

We are so valuable to Him, how it must grieve Him when he sees us not walking with Him, according to His commands and desires?

Just an interesting thought from church this week.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Focus on the lord

Our pastor said this today, and it really struck a chord with me.

"The more preoccupied we are with the lord, the more he can entrust us with physical blessings, without worry of derailing our focus on him."

Friday, August 10, 2012

The Rule of Thirds

Or should I say "The Exception of Thirds"?

To preface this short post, I want to say that I do not claim to be an authoritative commentator on this subject, nor have I even come to a decision myself. I've been thinking a lot about third parties lately due to the fact that the current republican nominee is not looking all that attractive. I will probably do a number of posts on this as I mull my thoughts around in my head, so this is me just thinking out loud.

Third Parties.
They get quite a bit of attention come most presidential elections, but the question always comes up
"What's the point? A third party candidate has never won the presidency, so why throw your vote away on them?"

This is a (para)phrase I hear fairly often from prominent people in the homeschooling/libertarian circles:
"Should we just chose the lesser of two evils?"

But I wonder, is this statement actually valid?

Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Psalms 14:3: They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

So if we vote for a third party, aren't we technically just voting for the lesser of three evils, since all men are evil? So it seems like that statement is, to some extent, invalid.

And to keep the mood light hearted, just remember:
"One must always chose the lesser of two weevils!!" (From Master and Commander)

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Would Someone Please Just Tell Me!?!

Here's a scenario: You love doing backflips on your quad using a wooden ramp. However, unbeknownst to you, this made some of your friends, even close friends, nervous because some of the boards looked loose. None could muster the courage to tell you directly (perhaps because you've not taken reproof well in the past), so they eventually brought their concerns to your parents, who intended to relay those concerns to you. However, they hesitated for some time while waiting for the right time to tell you so as to not offend you. However, while they were waiting, the top board of your ramp finally gave way, your quad went flying through the air in an uncontrolled spin, and broke your arm in the landing. So now, you are lying in a hospital bed recovering from reconstructive surgery, and your dad strolls into your luxurious room, sits down in the chair, and this dialog follows:
"Well son, how's your arm feeling?
"Better, but it still smarts somethin' fierce.
"The Doc said that the pain meds should be kicking in soon. Listen, there's something that your mother and I should have told you awhile ago. You see, a couple of your friends expressed concern about the integrity of your ramp, and we were going to tell you, but we didn't want to hurt your feelings, so we waited for the right time to tell you. But it looks like we waited too long."
"What? You were worried that my feelings would be hurt? I think I'd rather been offended than have this broken arm."
"Hmm, good point. Well, what could we do differently in the future?"
"Maybe if I didn't let my feelings be hurt or get defensive when someone comes to me with advice or a reprimand, people would be more likely to voice concerns to me?"
"Son, I think you've hit the nail on the proverbial head."
•  •  •
Ok, now I know that this is NOT one of the best analogies ever devised (nor even close), but I think it gets the point across. If you think that someone else is in error, bring your concern to him. Even if he gets upset, you will have the knowledge that you did the right thing, and then it's up to the Lord to change his heart. Proverbs 24:25: But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
So, there are two morals to this story. Moral 1 is for the recipient of reproof:
Proverbs 15:31: The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
Proverbs 15:32: He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
Moral 2 is for him that offers the reproof:
Titus 2:6: Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.  
Hebrews 3:13: But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Here's the clearest one: 
Proverbs 27:5: Open rebuke is better than secret love.
 This verse, I think, carries a lot of weight in and of itself. Basically, it's saying if you really love someone (as in brotherly love), then you will do what's best for him, rather than what simply makes you both feel good. And in the long run, if he isn't a fool, in the future he will thank you for it.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Tardy Me

Oops! I just realized that I didn't post any pictures this week, or even last week! Well, I have a valid excuse, my family is visiting my brother and me here in Michigan, so we have been super busy. However, they will be flying out tomorrow morning (sniff), so I'll try to post some pictures sometime in the next day or do.
Paul

Sunday, July 29, 2012

What Do You Delight In?

What do you delight in? In Sports, learning, family, friends, God? I did a quick search on the word 'delight' and turned up quite a few results.


Psalms 1:2: But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalms 37:4: Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Romans 7:22: For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

Psalms 119:174: I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.

Psalms 40:8: I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

I feel convicted reading these, because I know that my delight isn't always on the things of the Lord, and that's something towards which I will strive!




Saturday, July 21, 2012

Focal Point

As I was going through my Aperture Library, I noticed that I have quite a few photos where the focal point isn't quite where you would expect it. So here's a few of those.
Oh, and I'm trying to figure out a way to have the EXIF data from each photo show up in the tooltip, but I'm having a hard time finding anyway to do that automatically, and manually inputting all of that data would take a while.





Can you guess what this is?

Monday, July 16, 2012

Overpopulation

Well, I guess that settles it! There's just too many people on this planet! How do I know this? Why, because Jacques Causteau said so! And Al Gore! And we all know that the poler ice caps are melting right? I mean, wasn't florida supposed to be like a third underwater by now?

If you recall from my China post, I am of the opinion that overpopulation is a fictional creation of those with power who would like to gain more power (or money). Nothing will get people to act irrationally than pending disaster.
Overpopulation is also directly related to global 'climate change.' Most of the videos, articles, and books you will find on either subject will inevitably touch on the other.
Here's the video that I found which sparked this post.

On it's face, this video seems to make sense, but there are several fundamental flaws with it's logic (or lack thereof). What do you think that they are?
In the coming days, I'll probably post some more videos on both sides of the argument.
And the list just goes on and on!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

The Wet World Beneath Us

Here's some underwater photos I took last February down in Mexico.










Friday, July 13, 2012

Unspoken Benefit of hospitality

One of the Vision Forum folks has been blogging during the Food Conference, and this quote came up:

One of the Phillips children said, “Mom, we need to have someone come over right away.”“Why?” asked Beall.“Because we’ll get this house cleaned up in no time flat.”
Yep, serious piece of truth there. It's nice to know that we're not the only family that has a house that's cleanest when people are coming over!
~Paul

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Just a Couple

I was reading a post that someone wrote about how the size of your family growing up can effect the size your own family. This is an excerpt of what one of the commenters said.
I have a sister, and the two of us were super close growing up. Now I have two boys, and they are practically inseparable despite the 3.5 yr age difference. I am thrilled. And I feel like I should *want* to be done having children now -- the little one is going to be 5 in three weeks and starting [kindergarden] in the fall, and I am 35.
My first reaction when reading this was "3.5 years? That's isn't very much. I'm that far from my little brother." (who is #4 out of 6)
I don't often read blogs (or comments) on secular blogs, but this one caught my eye for some reason (perhaps because the reason that I found her blog was because she had a blogger how-to), but it was interesting to see that almost all of the commenters (114 at time of writing, note, I didn't read ever single one, but quite a few, ) were voicing an opinion more or less similar to the one quoted above. It was kind of sad to read really. They all had been so influenced by the worlds self-centered view of children, and didn't really view them as blessings. Here's a really good article by one of the moms in our church about children as blessings.
Fortunately, the commenter above did say after this:
But I still want one more baby.
Just keep saying that after each one ok? Your kids will thank you for it! Trust me! :)
I know that most of my readers are probably of a similar mindset as I am on this topic, but do you have any thoughts that you'd like to add?
 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

And With That, Another Year Passes + Graduation Photos

I am, as it would be said in biblical phraseology, The Son of Nineteen Years. (I just learned about that type of phraseology last week.)
Yep, I turned Nineteen last Sunday. I still can't believe that a whole 365 days have passed since July 8 last year. So much has happened in that short time, and so many things have changed, from my theology, to simply how I schedule my day. I got an internship here in Michigan which started in September, went to my first conference (at least, in the last 8 years or so), went to The Achademy, (yes, that's spelled correctly, I'll talk more about that at a later date), deepened my relationship with the Lord and with my family members, made a couple new friends, and discovered that I know almost nothing about theology. ;)

Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Psalm 39:4-5
I'm somewhat of a nostalgist (I know that's not a word, but saying "given to nostalgia" just didn't sound as good), so I enjoy looking at the past and seeing how things have changed from time to time, and birthdays are good mile markers to look back on. In the last year I have:
  • Gotten my first outside-the-home, non-construction (biomedical engineering) job
  • Taken (only counting the one's I didn't delete) nearly 8K of Photos
  • Read more in the Bible than I think I did in the previous 18 years put together
  • Learned how to machine plastic and metal using various large (and expensive) machines
  • Learned what Hermeneutics means ;)
  • Talked with Doug Phillips
  • Paid my own taxes
  • Bought and sold my first car (snazzy 1993 Honda Civic)
  • Switched over to Aperture for photo editing
  • Flown across the country 5 times
  • Learned what Eschatology means
  • Had my last Piano Recital (for now)
And I could just go on an on. I've heard some folks say that young people think that times moves slowly, and that 25 is like eons away. Well, they must not be talking about me. Since I've been here in MI, time has been flying! I remember when 5 months seemed like an eternity away, but now it seems like just a blink!

With that, here are a couple of graduation pictures that my beautiful mother took of me after my piano recital.

My awesome family (well, most of them Son's 1 and 2 are missing)






Yeah, This is what I usually do when I get dressed up!



 I look forward to what the Lord has for me in the coming year! So much has changed in the last one, I can only imagine what will change in the next!
~Paul

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tipping the scales



Have you ever heard the phrase "Don't rock the boat?"
I was reading a book called The Second Mayflower by kevin Swanson , and one of the analogies that he used when talking about politics was that of a balancing scale.

It only takes a couple of people on one of the far ends of the scales to make all the people in the middle of no effect! You don't have to have half the world behind you to make a difference, God almost always works through minorities, but not just any minorities, dedicated minorities. Minorities who know where they're going, and why they're going there

(Quick note, I don't think that the worlds problems will be solved through politics, that can only happen when fathers take their position as servant leader at the head of the family, when the church and  the family get back into their God given positions. But I also don't think that we can simply wash our hands politics and government and think that we'll be able to come back to them later. We've got to fight on all fronts, though we will all have areas of focus.)


Far to often, people on the right (but more likely just a little right of center), are concerned about picking someone who's 'electable,' rather then someone who will upset the status quo, which is why said 'Republicans' seldom get anything done! The liberals on the other hand tend to push candidates, bills, and legislation that most would consider 'extreme,' because know where they're going, and they have a plan to get there, but it's not a place where I would like to be.

If we want to win the battle in the political sphere, we need to have a goal in mind, and path in sight, and determination to do what it takes to stick to that path! Get on the end of the seesaw!!!

Semper Reformanda!
Paul

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Young Folk

Call me weird, but I just love little kids! One thing I really enjoy is when they will carry on a long conversation, and tell you everything about the world as they see it, from two feet off the ground. And sometimes they have real nuggets of wisdom, or just tell it like it is, without the worry of offending anyone!

Caleb

Caleb again, He's very Photogenic.
Elijah and Caleb
Josh and Faith.
And of course Gabe Cornelius, styling his daddy's studly sunglasses.

Furthering the Journey

Today I just started reading Always Ready by Greg L. Bahsen, thank Pinecone for the recommendation!
I read the first three chapters today, and so far, it's really good! He's very thorough and gets his point across in a clear way that even I can understand!
Along with afore mentioned book, I've also been listening to a couple different MP3 series on Dispensationalism and amillennialism.
The Series on Dispensationalism can be found HERE, and the millennialism ones HERE (the third series). They're quite interesting, and both sides make some good points. I need to find a good audio series on Post-millennialism. Could anyone recommend one?

Semper Reformanda!
~Paul

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Moments in Time

Knotty Knotty!
Backlit
Point of Focus
Patterns
Look Ma! No Hands!!
My Lovely Sister!
My Beautiful Mom, and Handsome Dad!
Cracks in the Road



Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Of Coat Tails and Theology


Have you ever heard the phrase, "hanging on your parents coat tails?" It's usually used to imply that someone just takes what his parents have taught him without really giving any thought as to why. When it comes to what you believe about salvation and theology, that can be dangerous, not because your parents might give you misinformation, but because if you don't know why your parents told you something, it will be very easy for someone else to flip your boat by questioning it.

(Quick note, I think that what your parents tell you is really important! If you have godly parents, don't ever underestimate how valuable that is!)

Which is (one of the reasons) why it's important not just to know something, but to know why you know what you know.
It's like this:
It's really important not just to know what you know, but to know why you know what you know. Because if you know why you know what you know, then you know that anyone else who doesn't know why you know what you know won't know how to rock what you know because you know why you know what you know! It's that simple!
Ok, anyway,
So that's the road I'm on now. I, as we all do, have presuppositions and assumptions that I sort of absorbed while I was growing up as far as theology is concerned. In the circles that I was raised in, theology was sort of a tainted word. For the most part, it was considered something that only the high minded people in seminaries ever thought about, and they usually eventually went off the deep end (at least, the ones that I heard about). So we didn't study theology, and just 'believed what the Bible said.' While that sound nice, the problem with it is that we ALL have a theological worldview, wether we like it or not. Saying that we don't simply means that we're less epistemologically self conscious than the "theologians" are.

Over the last year or so, I've been realizing that the world of theology is a bit more complicated than I had previously thought, and that I don't really know what I believe. I'm what would be called a 'theological light-weight.' Now don't panic, I'm not questioning my Christian faith, or wondering wether the Bible is true or not. I know why I believe the Bible is true, and that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way. But as far as the finer points of Christian beliefs are concerned, I don't know what I believe. Am I pre, post, or a-milleniel? Do I believe in Covenant theology or Dispensationalism? Am I "Reformed?" Questions, questions, questions. I have opinons on some of the afore mentioned views (and many, many more), but I have yet to come to a really solid conclusion on any of them (perhaps aside from wether or not I'm "Reformed"). 


"So why is he telling me all of this?" you might wonder. Well, I tell you this because I think I'm going to document some of my theological journeys on this blog. So if you're the type who can't stand being around people that you disagree with, here's your heads up! However, I do hope that you are the type of people who like to discuss things with others, even when they disagree with you. I read a lot of books, and listen to even more audiobooks and sermons, so I'll probably post my musing and thoughts here about what I've been reading/listening too.


So there you have it! Please tag along with me on my search for truth!!!


Semper Reformanda!!!  


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Photo Saturday

So I've finally decided to do it! Every Saturday I will try to post at least five pictures that I've taken. Eventually I'll probably add categories, and the like, but for now, I'll just post some that I like.
Don't be shy to give me what for, and tell me what you think, which ones you like, which ones you don't, what you do and don't like about each one, etc. Be brutal!
For now, these will be just from whenever. Eventually I'll have worked through all of my past good ones, and the photos will all become more recent.
Akumal Bay in Mexico
Mmmmm (I think find the focus interesting in this photo, where it's on the bowl, instead of the baby)
Iguana In Mexico
Tulips at the Oregon Tulip Festival
My studly older brother riding in Central Oregon He did an IronMan by the way! (I took this photo from a moving car.)
(Oh, And I need to come up with a more clever name. Ideas?)

Ask, Seek, and Knock




Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 
Matthew 7:7-8 

I've heard this verse many times, so much that it almost gets to the point where it looses its potency. But over that last few days, I've been meditating on it quite a lot. There are some big decisions that I have to make over the next couple of weeks, and I am so thankful that I don't have to make them on my own, that I have a Father up in heaven who is sovereign that I can run to!
So I'm going to keep asking, knocking, and seeking Him!!
~Paul

Friday, June 15, 2012

Overpopulation in China

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly
in the earth, and multiply therein.
Genesis 9:7: 
My Cousin (who is a really good writer) is on a site called "Figment," which is kind of like facebook for writers.
Anyway, she is also ardently pro-sanctity-of-life, and has been fairly vocal on Figment about her views, and has gotten some flack for it (imagine that!). So Bravo Sara-Anne!!
One of the threads that she brought to my attention, and eventually got me to join Figment so that I could respond to it, was one someone had started about China, and it's "overpopulation" problem.
I did some research to make sure that my facts were accurite, and then wrote a response on that thread addressing the myth of overpopulation. You can see the thread here. Start at the beginning, and then read to the end. It's only two pages at the moment.
I got some of my quotes from this video, which gives a really good 30,000 feet overview of the whole "running out of food" issue.


Here's my response on Figment:

@acrosstheuniverse1211, Poverty is not caused by over population. Poverty is brought about by a plethora of different sources. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), and the World Food Programme "There is enough food in the world today for everyone to have the nourishment necessary for a healthy and productive life." The problem as they state it is "The world currently produces enough food for everybody, but meny people do not have access to it."
(Quick fun fact: Africa, if cultivated using modern farming techniques, could feed the whole planet, according to some experts.) 
The Word Food Programme lists key causes of Hunger, and they are:
*Poverty
*Conflict (War)
*Natural Disasters
*Over-Exploitation of the Environment
*Poor Agricultural Infrastructure
No where on that list is overpopulation.
I find it interesting that China gets all of the attention when it comes to overpopulation, considering that their density of people per square mile is actually not that high, Just 363, according to the UN World Prospects Report 2005. Lets compare that to a few other countries.
Taiwan: 1,660
The Netherlands: 1,460
India: 953
Japan: 873
Germany: 593
Italy: 518
And just for fun, let's throw in Singapore, coming in at a whopping 18,513 people per square mile!!
So why isn't there an uproar about those countries?
There are three main reasons:
*The population is well distributed over the land mass
*The supply chain of food is modern and well established
*They have more personal liberty (Thus allowing them to make more money, allowing them to buy more food)
 Now, whenever you read about overpopulation in China you undoubtedly see pictures like this:
 Packed City in China
I highly doubt they show you pictures like this:
 
That is southwestern china. Not a lot of people there. Chinas real problem is population distribution. A very large portion of their population is crammed into cities! Now If I were to show you a picture of Time Square such as this:
 Packed N.Y.C.
I could write a very compelling piece about how overpopulated N.Y.C. is. Or I could show you a picture like this:
 Empty N.Y.C
And I could talk about how the population in N.Y.C. has dropped dramatically in the last few years.
China is not overpopulated, it's population has simply been packed into large metropolitan areas. The fact that it has a communist government which forcibly keeps their currency undervalued (which, by the way is why almost everything here in America is made there), thus making them less able to trade with other countries for things like food.
Which brings me back to the quote from the Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.) "The world currently produces enough food for everybody, but meny people do not have access to it."
~Paul


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