Tidbits

You know how, every so often, you think of a catchy phrase or comparison that you either don't write down or write it down and don't follow up? Here are a few I've heard and/or thought of:

• During a Bible study recently, my mother noted how a verse would often "hit" her. This procured visions of baseball bats and also of verses "sticking." So...the Bible is like a porcupine. When God wills, a verse will come out and stick to you (sometimes painfully) and is hard to remove thereafter.
• A question in that same Bible study asked, "What actions in your life are reflections of this sanctification?" The answers given by other members, all of a sudden, formed an acronym. I give you the Lutheran TULIP (nothing to do with the Calvinist TULIP): Thirst for the Word, Upholding the faith (apologetics), Love for others, Indignation at sin, and a thriving Prayer life. (Other tulips are welcome in the comments!)
  
• According to some studies, the heritability of homosexuality is about 20%. Proponents love this statistic because it implies that, in some cases, one can claim s/he was "born that way." Since the phenomenon occupies such a small segment of the population, one could reasonably assume that it is caused at least in part by a mutation in whatever gene theoretically causes it (not that there is one). Allow me to make an analogy to another disease caused by a mutation plus environmental interaction: Marfan syndrome. Would a person born with the mutation simply say, "I was born that way. Why are you trying to hurt my self-esteem and be intolerant, when I can't change the way I was made?" No?

Two editorial notes:

• Many of those who read my blog don't comment. That's fine; there's no requirement. But if comment moderation is deterring you, please don't worry about that. As of today, I have had to reject a grand total of three comments - one for profanity, the other two for ranting and going off on tangents that had absolutely nothing to do with the post. Three out of 321 total (yes, I'm a statistics freak too) is a badge of honor to my readers.
  
• This summer, The Renaissance Biologist will try to become more of a Biologist. Post topics will shift accordingly.