Galyn Video Tapes an Off-Road Race While He Runs It

This is a video of Galyn and four of his sons running a 7.5 mile off road cross country race over muddy fields, creeks and hills. Galyn finished the course in 63 minutes.


Here is a video of the same race with the highlights and post race activities with Team Wiemers:



Zac, Jacob, Galyn, Hawkeye, Benjamin

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com/

Triangulation Education Model

I am currently in the process of identifying and structuring the triangulation model of education. Key words and concepts are:

1. Teach (done by teacher)
2. Learn (done by student)
3. Potential (set by limits of realty)

(I will call it the TLP Triangulation Education Model. It can be referred to as TLP-TEM in professional journals. Now, if I can just find that perfect balance of complicating the obvious and over emphasizing the tangents then TLP-TEM might just sweep through the educational world. Wait, I need to get a job at a university and find some research money . . .)

Here is my article:

Any learning environment has unexplored growth potential that is never fully activated, but at the same time it is confined by the student's shadowy limitations set by reality. The three corners of the learning triangle are all powerful contributors to the extent of the educational process. They are:

• teacher and the instructional process,
  
• the student and their freewill (desire, motivation, interest, etc.), and
  
• the natural biological and psychological ability of the student.

To ignore this triangular alignment (or, one of it's corners) is to entertain a vain educational view that strains the other corners beyond the point of logical expectations. For examples:

1. To ignore the importance of the instructional quality will eventually flatten out the student's corner and demand the student do the illogical and teach themselves.
2. To ignore the importance of the student's responsibility will eventually bring pressure on the teacher's corner which burdens it with an endless series of demands, expectations, strategies and staff inservices that can never replace the student's need to care about their own education.
   
3. To ignore the natural ability of the student means the student and teacher will be thrust into an imaginary world that, in theory (and, before qualifying statements are unleashed), claims that all students can learn everything.
   

In the correctly balanced model all three corners must be acknowledged and responsibility assigned and expected. An equilateral triangle must be maintained. Foolish educational theories laced with post-modern values will not only be frustrating for the student, the teacher, the school and the community, but they will prove to be educationally fatal.

Each of the corners has ability to improve its contribution to the educational process. Teacher's can always improve. Always. They can find new strategies, become more acquainted with their subject matter, use different mediums to communicate, bring alongside themselves specialist in techniques or knowledge, ect. Students can find motivation or desire by realizing the importance of education, the satisfaction of education, or simply, the expectation of education. Although, potential, in this theory is a set variable, the opportunity of expansion (therapy, interaction, etc.) up to that set variable from the current available potential is possible.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com/

Hanegraff's Hermenutics

The list below is taken from Norman Geisler's Article HERE.

Hank Hanegraff, and other amillennialist, can allegorize away the literal truth of Scripture. The examples Geisler lists are:.

• The plain meaning of the Bible into a so-called “deeper” meaning
• Literal promises into spiritual ones
• Unconditional promises into conditional ones
• Jewish tribes into Gentiles
• A thousand years into eternity
• A literal resurrection into a spiritual one
• Land Promises for National Israel into spiritual life in Christ
• A literal mark of the Beast into a mere symbol of identity with him
• Physical clouds into mere symbols of judgment
• A literal earthly throne of David into a heavenly reign of Christ
• Two literal witnesses into literary representatives of the Law and Prophets
• Cosmic judgment into the destruction of a small city (Jerusalem)

Geisler writes:

All of this Hank is fond of calling “Reading the Bible for all it is worth.” Well, for all it is worth, this is not reading the Bible; it is a serious misreading of the Bible. So serious a misreading it is that were it a reading on an essential doctrine of the Bible – like the virgin birth, the sacrificial atonement, the bodily resurrection, or the second coming–it would be a rank heresy!

I do not desire to attack amillennialism or postmillennialism (I disagree with their interpretation, but not their love of God and pursuit of the truth), but I certainly want to defend historical premillennialism, and even more, dispensational premillennialism. I want believers to have a chance to analyze the scriptures and consider the Bible from a dispensational premillennial position with out having to academically succumb to the label "heretic" as is applied to them by Reformers, Covenantalist (Supersessionists), or their younger counterparts found among the Evangelicals and Emergers.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com/

CS Lewis Comments on Theology

On our way to and from school each day (total of 50-60 minutes) Jacob and I have been listening to the writings of CS Lewis. We reached chapter 23 of "Mere Christianity" today on the way to school. I have read this book many years ago and listened to it a few years ago. But, it is always amazing to hear Lewis apologize for being a layman, and then, in the next breath make profound statements using simple illustrations and language that cause me to hear things again for the first time. It is as if I know everything he is going to say, but yet, at the same time, know nothing at all. Each time I hear him everything is new information.

Today Lewis introduced the topic of theology. What he said is quoted below:
(From: BOOK FOUR: BEYOND PERSONALITY : or FIRST STEPS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY
CHAPTER 23--MAKING AND BEGETTING)

Everyone has warned me not to tell you what I am going to tell you in this last book. They all say `the ordinary reader does not want Theology; give him plain practical religion'. I have rejected their advice. I do not think the ordinary reader is such a fool. Theology means 'the science of God,' and I think any man who wants to think about God at all would like to have the clearest and most accurate ideas about Him which are available. You are not children: why should you be treated like children?

In a way I quite understand why some people are put off by Theology. I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, `I've no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I'm a religious man too. I know there's a God. I've felt Him out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who's met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal !'

Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.

Now, Theology is like the map. Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experience of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God-experiences compared with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused. And secondly, if you want to get any further, you must use the map. You see, what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting, but nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. There is nothing to do about it. In fact, that is just why a vague religion-all about feeling God in nature, and so on-is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that way, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music. Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map.

In other words, Theology is practical: especially now. In the old days, when there was less education and discussion, perhaps it was possible to get on with a very few simple ideas about God. But it is not so now. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones - bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties to-day are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected. To believe in the popular religion of modern England is retrogression - like believing the earth is flat.

Thank you C.S. Lewis.

(Read the whole text here. Read all of "Mere Christianity" from 1941-1944 by C.S Lewis here.)

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Geroge Barna on Remnants

The question and answer below was taken from an interview with George Barna concerning his 2009 book "The Seven Faith Tribes":

Question for Geroge Barna: With the Casual and Captive Christian tribes cumulatively reflecting more than 80% of the adult population, do non-Christian tribes have any real hope of influencing the nation if those two tribes concur on a matter?

Barna: One of the beauties of living in a democratic republic is that everyone has a chance to influence the development of the nation. A group that is small in numbers but has big ideas and internal unity can have amazing success at shaping the will of the public. We have repeatedly experienced this in recent decades. The sexual revolution of the sixties was driven by a minority. The establishment of equal rights for blacks was accomplished by a tiny minority. The movement toward gay rights is being driven by a segment that is just 3% of the population. The urgency and intensity required to introduce seminal change is often accessible only to tightly-knit, manageable, finely focused bands of vision-driven comrades – what the Bible refers to as a remnant.

Galyn' comment:It is ridiculous that the Christian's have let themselves fall away from God. As a result the nation has lost direction. My generation inherited a Christian culture that was more than 80% Christian. If American history were divided into four quarters and compared to a basketball game, then we are the players on the floor for the fourth quarter. We took the floor in a blow out game ahead 90-10 with 8 minutes to go. In a matter of moments we have managed to blow an 80 point lead. Point: We are emotionally and intellectually (but, not numerically) the remnant now. But, historically smaller remnants than us have turned the tide for the nation. We can make a difference: 1) if we care, 2) if we are not driven by selfishness, 3) if we educate ourselves in areas such as history, worldviews, culture, constitutional government, etc. and our specific areas of influence. The Truth will set you free.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Blame Pastors and Parents, Not Schools and Sitcoms

Pastors and parents often try to blame the government and public schools for the cultural decline of our American society. They also throw sitcoms and Hollywood into the boiling cauldron of responsibility. But, the truth of the matter is our children have been lost long before sitcoms, schools and socialism got a hold of them.

Only 19% of a group who call themselves born again have a Christian worldview? (See Barna Research) If pastors were actually teaching the Bible maybe people would believe in absolute truth, a creator, biblical principles of society, sin, the sin nature of man and the existence of evil. Read this except from Barna's report and maybe you can see how far gone we are as a society. If you do not understand this ask your pastor to explain it. He will not be able to and, most likely, will disagree with it, which is why you can kiss your way of life as you know it good-bye!

The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults.

0.5% of people ages 18-23 believe in absolute truth, a creator, sin nature, the existence of evil, marriage, family, etc. Now, the argument would be that they once did before they graduated from our public schools, went to our morally corrupt universities and started seeing Hollywood movies. But, you do not have the numbers to support this. These kids are lost before their parents are done with them.

Research shows that 89% of Christian children do not have a Christian worldview when they leave their Christian home for college. But, don't blame the public schools because 40% of children from Christian homes do not have a Christian worldview when the leave elementary school. This means that the secular universities only have to tear down a Christian worldview in 11% of their students because "christian" parents in their "christian" homes have already trashed 89% of the "christian" children.

The failure of our society is the result of incompetent pastors and irresponsible parents. Pastors and parents provide the loudest voices of complaint as they daily lay the blame at the door of the school, the ticket box of Hollywood and legislative hall of a representative government. Experience and research indicates that these numbers are instead the result of the failure of pastors and parents.

Fix the pulpit and the parent and you will fix society.

A corrupt pulpit and a compromised parent will end a Christian culture.

The pulpits and the parents will blame the public school, television and government, but what else would you expect from irresponsible people with no Christian perspective.

More Barna Research

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com