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What Non-Christian History Says About Jesus, His Followers, and His Resurrection

Table of Contents I. Introduction: Personal Notes II.  Sources III.  Facts About Jesus Confirmed From History IV.  Conclusions Drawn from These Facts References I.  Introduction and Personal Notes For almost a year before beginning this research, I had been struggling with my faith in the God of the Bible.   In dealing with past struggles, I had read just enough to make myself feel better, and that has been enough, at least until another challenge came along.  When I began struggling with uncertainty again, I decided enough is enough.  Jesus said “The truth shall make you free.”  The best way to deal with doubts is to pursue them and see if they have any substance.  If doubts proved groundless, then faith would be that much stronger.  If not, at least I would know the truth. At first I didn’t know where to begin, but I finally decided to focus my search on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter 15, says that Jesu
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Singing vs. Drinking: What Music Does for Us

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:18-20 God gives us what we need.   In the final three chapters of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul frequently uses a "not this, but that" formula:  Lay aside falsehood and instead speak truth.  Quit stealing and instead work so you have something to share.  Knock off the rotten speech, and start using your words to build others up.  Replace foolishness with an understanding of God's will.  Over and over, Paul tells Christians not to just give up the trappings of worldliness, but to replace them with God's good things.  The point is clear:  Yes, as Christians we have to leave some things behind.  But God, in His goodness, promises to replace the wo
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My recipe for legendary venison stroganoff

A couple notes: This recipe started from the ancient and venerable "Game Cookbook" by Geraldine Steindler, but it has evolved considerably since I first learned it.  Traditional stroganoff uses the tenderest cuts of beef or venison, but I like to save those cuts for broiling or smoking, so this recipe uses less prime cuts. Also: Amounts are more like guidelines than rules. Don't get too uptight about it. Life's too short. Beyond that, you can tell I'm not a real food blogger, because I'm going to skip my life story, historical notes, and an essay on the spiritual meaning of stroganoff, and just get straight to the recipe. What you need: 2-3 lb elk or deer round , trimmed of all gristle (easier when it's still partly frozen) and cut into small strips or cubes  (beef will work if that's all you've got; I once was told it's good with sage grouse but I'm not sure I believe that) 1/2 c whole wheat flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper. 1/2 c ol
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Assorted Pictures

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 I'm going to use this post as a place to put a few pictures for posting on other forums, with no particular rhyme or reason.  Mostly bow tillering pictures.  Feel free to enjoy if you're interested in that sort of thing.  If you aren't, my feelings aren't hurt. This is a ruffed grouse.  My first kill with a home-made bow!  It was delicious . hickory pyramid bow on the tillering tree After whacking two inches off the top limb: More tillering 12-5-21 Braced. 24" draw.   Full Draw.  Looks a little stiff through the right mid. 12-9 Full Draw. 12-18 Full Draw.  After heat treating hinge on right side fade. 12-18 Full Draw with stiff spot highlighted 12-14 Full draw, after some work with the Gizmo to eliminate the stiff spot. A juniper stave.  My first locally-harvested bow stave.  Excited to try to get a bow out of this one. Attempting to chase a ring on a juniper heartwood stave Sinew on the back! I got it tillered to 30# before tragedy struck. Finally blooded Big Red
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I released a CD. Sort of.

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The world continues to alternately shut down and open, but the music goes on.  I released a CD in March.  Sort of.  I had scheduled a performance right at the beginning of the covid mess, which I had to cancel.  As of right now, there's no realistic prospect of doing a live performance (my lead cellist is about to head off for college, among other things).  This makes me very sad:  Getting all those musicians together to do a live performance would have been absolutely magical. But, onward we go. So.  I actually didn't release it all. But it's done, and it's out there, and I'm fairly pleased with it.  It's been getting some play on Wyoming Public Radio and Pilgrim Radio (the regional Christian station), so that's good for the ego. The album is called Strengthen.  Some of you might remember that I lost my mom a few years ago; these songs were inspired (and a few of them were written) by her.  All of them deal with various aspects of meeting adversity with
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