http://rickbeckman.org Being a Light unto the Online World Fri, 16 May 2008 03:32:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en About eight years ago, I was in charge of putting together a website for a group of gamers with whom I was friends. In those days, when we wanted to say something with emphasis on the site, we'd bust out with [code]B[/code]. And it made perfect sense, after all... [code]B[/code] ... http://rickbeckman.org/a-brief-introduction-to-semantic-html/ Leaders get the limelight, the book deals, and the wide-eyed acolytes, but the kingdom of God is innervated by unsung heroes. Anyone serious about seeing new churches grow would give his right arm for people like Dorcas. AJ Vanderhorst http://rickbeckman.org/a-whole-bunch-of-dorcases/ Several months ago, I spent a good deal of time attempting to come up with a name which reflected my personality, my values... A name which I could give this blog (which at the time was known simply as "RickBeckman.org") that would let visitors know what it was about without ... http://rickbeckman.org/now-known-as-kingdom-geek/ The best religious inspiration is humor, not the hell-and-damnation stuff. Barb (or is it Mary?) Religion might thrive on ear-pleasing humor; the same can never be said of true Christianity, for the source of our faith spoke a great deal about Hell & damnation. If we are being honest in fulfilling ... http://rickbeckman.org/that-hell-and-damnation-stuff/ It is not uncommon for me to come across a couple of Web pages each week showcasing churches which are using sermon series on various sex-related subjects in a propagandist move to fill their seats; usually, these pages showcase such churches by pointing out how "idolatrous" such sermon series are, ... http://rickbeckman.org/salacious-sexual-sermon-series/ Relevant WordPress versions: 2.5+. These instructions are invalid for WordPress versions less than 2.5 as built-in avatar functionality did not yet exist. Okay, now that you've got your blog hooked up with avatars, making use of WordPress' built in gravatars feature... Now what? So your avatars are 96 pixels square... but what ... http://rickbeckman.org/tweaking-your-blog-customizing-avatars/ Relevant WordPress versions: 2.5+. These instructions are invalid for WordPress versions less than 2.5 as built-in avatar functionality did not yet exist. Avatars are a very neat feature of message boards; without even the slightest bit of looking for (much less, reading) a user's name next to a post, the avatar ... http://rickbeckman.org/tweaking-your-blog-adding-avatars/ Most of you can likely ignore this post; it primarily exists so that I can easily check whether or not WordPress (or plugins or whatever) is properly handling code. The source of the code is linked to below if you're involved at all with WordPress testing / development. To everyone ... http://rickbeckman.org/posting-code-a-wordpress-plugins-test/ Spawned by a conversation from work today, I just want to briefly throw in my $0.02 in answering the question of what Jesus might have looked like. Most of you likely recognize the above painting; it is Head of Christ by Warner Sallman, and it's about as ubiquitous as could be ... http://rickbeckman.org/what-did-jesus-look-like/ The Book of Mormon. The alien autopsy video. The Priory of Sion. Piltdown Man. The idea of being born gay. If you said that they are all hoaxes, you're absolutely right. If you've bought into the idea that gays are born that way, you may want to reconsider. (Thanks, Chester ... http://rickbeckman.org/what-do-these-have-in-common/ Miley Cyrus goes topless save for a sheet for a magazine photo spread and then goes on to say that she's embarrassed by them. Did she really not expect them to sully her "G-rated" reputation? (And frankly, there's been enough pictures of her spread around the Internet at this point ... http://rickbeckman.org/miley-cyrus-still-a-g-rated-role-model/ I came across a fair share of skeptics online who ask what evidence it would take for a Christian to admit that their faith is vain. Generally I come across that question asked on a static website which doesn't illicit comments, so I'm throwing my answer out here just for ... http://rickbeckman.org/what-evidence-would-make-you-abandon-the-faith/ This is in response to christine, who has asked elsewhere how to intent the first lines of her paragraphs in WordPress 2.5; my response in the comments there was less than satisfactory due to the stripping of my code examples and so on, so here is a slightly more formal ... http://rickbeckman.org/how-to-intent-the-first-line-of-your-paragraphs-in-wordpress-25/ Recent conversation around the workplace has called to mind a few notes I scratched down probably six years ago in hopes that I'd some day give some attention to the subject. Today, that piece of paper is covered with all sorts of things -- doodling, Morse Code dashes & dots, an ... http://rickbeckman.org/more-than-just-friends-ruth-naomi-and-david-jonathan/ Happy Earth Day. May our attentions, our praise, our love, gratefulness, and adoration ever fall upon the blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ, the only hope for this cursed Earth. http://rickbeckman.org/happy-earth-day/