A New Birth of Freedom

Advent Conspiracy

2010-12-02T15:03:00.004-07:00

You there.

Yes, you, the one who claims to follow the Lord Christ.

It's time to show the world that Christianity is more than watching your mouth and wearing a witty t-shirt that rips off some symbol from the culture and turns it into a clever slogan for Jesus.

Christmas is fast approaching, the day we (claim to) celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The key to salvation; victory over fear, and sin, and death. Is that what you are celebrating? Or have you bought the lie that the best way to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World is to run around buying people stuff they don't need with money you don't have?

Come closer.

Come closer, watch, and think. Think hard, and then consider your actions this Advent.

Think about it, pray about it, and then do something about it. Do something different this Christmas. Because the very first Christmas, God did something about it, and the world was radically changed, and you and I have hope. It's time we got back to what the essence of this holiday really is. He came for you, to serve you, to give you the gift of life.

So who are you here to serve?

-Matthew 25:31-46

Sunday's Coming

2010-11-05T12:27:00.004-07:00

There are times when you run into something both convicting and funny - in the last few days I have been hammered by a couple different videos, one of which I posted above. Seriously, it's like laughing while someone punches you in the gut. Then milk comes out your nose and you're a mess. But watch the video above, laugh, then spend some time thinking about how we approach the Lord in our Sunday services.

There are two dangers here for us, as Christians. The first is that we self-righteously laugh, not at ourselves but at those who are "doing it wrong," because our church is so much better than their church. We watch something like this, say "that's certainly not my church!" and then we feel pretty good. Except for the part where we do the exact same thing this video is criticizing: we make "the show" more important than the Gospel. Here, the show is lights, and music, and casual dress. In your church "the show" might be the lack of those same things, and you're sinfully prideful about what you don't have instead of what you do. But it's about Jesus, not us, and He doesn't care about your worship style, your dress code, or the other silly things we argue constantly about in Christendom.

The second danger is that we get offended because this humorous warning hits too close to home. If you see this model as the right way to do church because the other guy is sinfully legalistic... listen to what you just said. Repent, stay humble about the crowds the Lord has blessed you with, and use your epic church setup to point people to both Jesus and repentance. Fact is, We all need to ask a few questions as we approach Sunday mornings (or whenever your church meets):

What is the Gospel really about?

What have we made it?

What do we need to do to get back to the Gospel?

What do we need to stop doing that's detracting from His message?

This coming Sunday, enjoy your church, but more importantly, glorify God in your worship: in your learning from His word, your singing and your prayers.

Extremism

2010-09-13T08:28:00.003-07:00

Extremism is defined by wikipedia as"a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards."

Everyone from President Bush (in the days immediately following 9/11), to the imam behind the World Trade Center mosque/cultural center, have told us our problem is not with Islam, but with Islamic extremists. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf expanded the problem when he explained it, saying that extremists from all religions are the problem, and religious moderates just need to come together.

But labeling "extremism" as the problem is a slippery slope. Our society speaks of common moral standards, but rejects the idea that there is a knowable, reasonable and ultimately true ethical norm that we should look to in forming our morality. Morality is what a society actually does; ethics is what a society should do, and with our loving embrace of post-modernism our society essentially turns to its own morality for its morality. If you think this sounds like nonsense, it is; it is a logical absurdity to say that nothing is absolutely true ethically.

The real problem is, if we have nothing to look at but our own morality, and we reject all ethical norms, then anyone who even suggests there is an ethical norm can now be labeled as an extremist. If in church I preach the final authority of the Bible, I am a religious extremist. If in government I preach the authority of the Constitution as it written by the Founders, I am a political extremist. And since we have labeled extremism the problem, I am only safe so long as I never stand up for anything and say "this is truth; we should do this for this reason."

This really defines much of our lives as Americans. We have become a nation where our highest virtue is expressed in the phrase "live and let live." Very few are threatened by Christianity, if all we make it as the church is a feel-good social experience we have on Sunday (Wednesday is also largely permissible). But if we dare to say "as we study Creation we hear the spoken Word of God; here in the Bible we read the written Word of God; here in the person of Jesus Christ we see the incarnate Word of God," we have committed that gravest of cultural sins, extremism. We have said that something is absolutely true - and in a nation of people striving to be seen as caring, knowing and tolerant, we find that this rigid stance on our part cannot be tolerated.

And isn't that intolerance, in the end, just a tad bit extreme?

On the Nature of Sovereignty

2010-04-13T12:05:00.006-07:00

On rare occasions in this life you will encounter art - a book, a film, a poem, a picture - that moves you profoundly. You find truth of such beauty it brings a tear to the eye; for a moment, it becomes hard to breathe.

Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield is such a work for me, historical fiction written about the Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae. The narrator here is the Spartan slave Xeones, and he is giving his Persian captors an account of the battle from the perspective of the Greeks. In the passage I quote below, he is summarizing the last stand of Leonidas, the Spartan King destined to die at the hot gates. Xeones speaks of the man, yes - but beyond this, he speaks of the very nature of sovereignty itself.

I will tell His Majesty [Xerxes] what a king is. A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command men's loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require the service of those he leads but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him.
In the final moments before the actual commencement of battle, when the lines of Persians and Medes and Sacae, the Bactrians and Illyrians, Egyptians and Macedonians, lay so close across from the defenders that their individual faces could be seen, Leonidas moved along the Spartan and Thespaian foreranks, speaking with each platoon commander individually. When he stopped beside Dienekes [Xeones' master], I was close enough to hear his words.
"Do you hate them, Dienekes?" the king asked in the tone of a comrade, unhurried, conversational, gesturing to those captains and officers of the Persians proximately visible across the oudenos chorion, the no-man's-land.
Dienekes answered at once that he did not. "I see faces of gentle and noble bearing. More than a few, I think, whom one would welcome with a clap and a laugh to any table of friends."
Leonidas clearly approved my master's answer. His eyes seemed, however, darkened with sorrow.
"I am sorry for them," he avowed, indicating the valiant foemen who stood so proximately across. "What wouldn't they give, the noblest among them, to stand here with us now?"
That is a king, Your Majesty. A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free. His Majesty may ask, as Rooster [a fellow slave] did, and the lady Arete [Dienekes' wife], why one such as I whose station could most grandly be called service and most meanly slavery, why one of such condition would die for those not of his kin and country. The answer is, they were my kin and country. I set down my life with gladness, and would do it again a hundred times, for Leonidas, for Dienekes and Alexandros and Polynikes, for Rooster and Suicide, for Arete and Diomache, Bruxieus and my own mother and father, my wife and children. I and every man there were never more free than when we gave freely obedience to those harsh laws which take life and give it back again.

In all my studies, I have found many men who attempted to live up to this standard of kingship. In all of human history, there are few men we can look to, men who for a moment or a short period of time attained the ideal.

But there has been only one man - and he, no mere man, which in itself is instructive - in all of human history that lived out the ideal every day of his life: the Son of God, Jesus, the Christ. In Him alone do all the sovereigns of this world find their standard for the governance of those entrusted by God into their care. In Him alone all men find a True Sovereign worthy of their utmost devotion. For it is He alone who, through the brutality of the Cross and the triumph of the Empty Tomb, truly takes our lives, and gives them back again.

National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer

2010-03-24T11:04:00.005-07:00

On April 30, 1863, the country observed a National Day of Fasting and Prayer. It is interesting, as one studies the Civil War (1861-1865), that prior to this date the War went very badly for the Federal government. From April 30th to May 6th, 1863, the Battle of Chancellorsville was fought and won by the Confederacy: their last significant victory of the war, and in which their most impressive offensive general, Stonewall Jackson, was killed by friendly fire in the darkness. Less than 3 months after this proclamation, the Union won the Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, sealing the eventual doom of the South as an independent nation. The struggle continued on until April of 1865, but any hope of victory for the Confederacy was gone.

I confess I do not know how moments such as these are taught from a 'secular' perspective in our schools, but I wonder how one can study the events of our nation's past and not see the providential hand of God working within our nation's history. Perhaps this is the first time you have heard of this particular proclamation. Take a moment and read it. Far from being ancient history, there is much here that is deeply relevant to our modern age.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

Politics - Defined

2010-02-17T12:25:00.006-07:00

politics (1828 Webster's Dictionary)

POL'ITICS, n. The science of government; that part of ethics which consists in the regulation and government of a nation or state, for the preservation of its safety, peace and prosperity; comprehending the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals. Politics, as a science or an art, is a subject of vast extent and importance.

politics (current Merriam-Webster's Dictionary)

Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
1 a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
2 : political actions, practices, or policies
3 a : political affairs or business; especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government) b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices
4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person
5 a : the total complex of relations between people living in society b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view

I felt the need to post this as the culture war heats up moving toward the elections later this year. The first definition came out of a culture seeking truth; the second, out of a culture moving ever closer to a belief that nothing is true. It should not surprise us that the first is an accurate description of God's design within government, and the second removes all mention of Him (or morality/ethics).

As Christians, it is critical that we remember Biblical principles: Barack Obama is not the President merely because he received a majority of the popular vote and enough electoral college votes: he is the President of the United States because God ordained that he be so (Romans 13:1).

While many of us disagree with him on his policies, we are called upon to both submit to his authority and to honor him (Romans 13:2-7, I Peter 2:13-17). This goes beyond just not saying something bad - we must honor him. To be direct: stop the rude jokes, the altered pictures, the crass stories, the twisted Bible verses, and the general hatred. But that is only the beginning: we must pray for him, upholding him before the True Sovereign who rules over all kings. And beyond President Obama, this goes for how we should treat anyone on the "other side of the aisle."

What should our goal be in politics, or any other area of life? Whatever we do, we must do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Tell me - if you can - how mockery of our leadership (or those we disagree with) brings glory to God? How does our typical political discourse lead anyone to knowledge of the Truth we claim?

So, as political discussion intensifies, I dare you to be different. I challenge you, fellow Christian, to be humble. Authority in this world is given at the discretion of God alone, whom we claim to serve, and we must humble ourselves to submission. Our nation needs us now more than ever, but not just to point out problem with the current administration or an opposing view. We need to be able to point our fellow citizens back to the foundation stone of our nation. And this is not merely the Constitution, but something far greater. Consider once again 2 Timothy 2:24-26...

"And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

Merry Christmas! or...

2009-12-17T11:37:00.003-07:00

Yeah, I shamelessly stole this off the Internet to post here, and yeah, its been around the block a few times. But I still think its funny, and its my blog after all...

To My Liberal Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, nor is it the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference.

To My Conservative Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2010 (Anno Domini)!

Golden West Camp 2010 - What is Truth?

2009-12-02T10:54:00.005-07:00

Golden West Camp 2010 will be in Show Low, AZ from July 24th - July 31st. Currently we have begun to work on putting together the program for camp, which we are writing ourselves this year. Please be in prayer for us as we do this, that God would give us the words to reach the hearts and minds of these kids - really, the leaders of the Church here in Arizona over the next generation. At camp we will be discussing Pilate's critical question to Jesus, in John 18:38 - "What is truth?" This is the deep heart-cry of our culture, but so many have given up trying to answer the question. It has become enough to be entertained, or at the very least, distracted... and it is destroying us. The Church, far from reflecting Christ, reflects the culture. If this is to change it will take very deliberate action on our part.

I write this here on the blog because I won't be posting as much as I have been as we work to put this program together. And if you have questions about camp, or would like to assist with either your time or financial support, you can reach me on my cell phone at 623.341.0240.

Thank you for reading, and for your prayers!

Charles Baldon
Camp Director, Golden West Camp

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T15:51:00.001-07:00

Rejoice in this Day of Thanksgiving! For the Lord of the Harvest has open the gates, and His Bounty is shared freely with all:
To the weary he has granted Rest,
The heavy laden have been granted Strength to carry on.
He is a Strong Tower to the oppressed, a Shield against the darkening storms of this world.
In the gift of His Son he has granted Hope to the hopeless,
And His Swift Sure Hand upholds the broken, making them whole once again.
Again I say, rejoice! Praise the High King of Heaven as you sit at the feast, and glory in His repast that nourishes the soul.

A Final Solution for Global Warming

2009-11-24T12:43:00.005-07:00

A Final Solution for Global Warming

The time has come to pull out all the stops; climate change has become an issue too large to ignore. The crisis is dire, and the very survival of the planet is at stake. With this in mind, I lay out my plan for solving this terrible problem.

Step 1: Justice for the Planet is Justice for Everyone

It is an indisputable fact that global warming has a far greater negative impact on women and minorities than it does on white men. In addition, most of the worst contributors to greenhouse gases - machines such automobiles, power plants, or people that exhale - are a direct result of the reprehensible inventive and reproductive behavior of white men. I therefore propose the immediate liquidation of the male Caucasian population, beginning with those in America and Europe, who also form the dominant and repressive majority within these cultures. This particular solution has many additional social benefits, but the primary and immediate effect will be a reduction in the consumption and use of goods which add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. New fields, forests and even rain forests can then be fertilized with this new abundant resource, finally allowing us to restore balance to our fragile ecosystems. With this primary consumer base eliminated, damaged ecosystems (such as rain forests) will have a chance to recover, as they no longer need be plowed under to allow for the destructive expansion of industry.

Step 2: Reproductive Choice is the Only Choice

We must thank the great nation of China for their valuable contributions to the world in reducing greenhouse gases through their revolutionary social policies, and we must learn to follow their example. Abortion as a fundamental human right is, of course, a given; but we must move forward the idea of mandatory abortion. More than 1 child per household means additional population growth, and population growth is crucial to manage if we are to save this planet. 2.2 live births per female allows for a population to maintain it's size. We must get this number down to 1.0-1.2 as quickly as possible (currently much of Europe, and legal population of America, stand at 1.6 or less). The next step is twofold, after the elimination of white males. First, the entire world must adopt a policy of 'one child per family.' Second, those who we have already identified as potential domestic terrorists here in America (that is, those who consider themselves to be 'pro-life') should immediately follow white males as the next to be liquidated. Someday we might have the courage as a race to embrace the third step, that of widespread sterilization, but we must allow for some time for the various cultures of the world to adapt and embrace change. We can lay the groundwork for this new idea in Step 3.

Step 3: Freedom from Destructive Social Institutions

In addition to mandating '1 child' policies among heterosexual couples, we must continue to ensure that the maximum number of children possible are educated in the government education centers. This has the advantage of giving governments one unified voice in reaching these children with the critical truths they need to hear. We must also continue the advancement of homosexual culture in these centers. Replacement of the restrictive social institution known as 'the traditional family' with that of 'the modern family' has several benefits in the fight against climate change. First and most directly, homosexual couples do not produce children, so by definition each of these modern family units will produce lower levels of greenhouse gases. Second, in replacing the traditional family as the basic social unit, we reduce the influence of certain destructive belief systems (as taught by parents) upon the individual. To a large extent this has been accomplished, as most parents seek to have the government educate their children; but many - particularly in America - are not being reached. Many of these even question the necessity of our efforts, and such questioning endangers all of us in the long term.

Step 4: Acknowledging the Equality of the Species

Once and for all, this antiquated notion that man is the pinnacle of nature must be put to the rest. Arising from the destructive teachings Judaism and Christianity, this idea that men and women are somehow different from other creatures - as they would say, 'created in the image of God' - is completely antithetical to what our governing philosophy must be if we are to save the planet. What right do we have to this planet that every other creature shouldn't also have? In addition to the sheer barbarity of killing our evolutionary cousins for food (please note the genetic similarities between humans and cows), we waste tremendous natural resources breeding many animals for just this purpose... not to mention the enormous amount of greenhouse gases produced by the extra animals, themselves, grown only to feed us. We must begin to examine endangered species in this critical light: how do one or more human lives compare, when measured against the extinction of entire species? More widespread use of hydroelectric power may indeed save additional human lives, but what of the ecosystems damaged by this intrusion? We must allow natural selection to take its course, and throw off the chains of 'compassion.' Those that cannot feed or care for themselves must face the consequences without intervention, for the good of all. This further reduction in the human population can only serve to improve the plight of our imperiled planet.

In summary, we have already taken several of the crucial first steps towards this Final Solution. We have a widespread understanding among the culture of our enemy truly is: those of industry. We have the means to continue our education of the next generation in knowledge of the truth, and we must work to weaken the influence of those whose ideas are most destructive to the cause. Darwin in his brilliant theory has given us the framework, within the realm of science, to alter the destructive philosophies that have controlled the world for far too long. We must continue to strive forward, workers across the world! We must unite to save this planet.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-23T12:46:00.010-07:00

And so another holiday season is upon us... seems like Resurrection Sunday was last week, and yet here we are with Thanksgiving 3 days away. Thanksgiving as an annual national holiday began back in 1863. Here is the text of the speech President Lincoln gave:

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

When these words were spoken, the nation was in the middle of a terrible struggle, the Civil War. Why then these words of thankfulness, in such a dark time?

Perspective. Note the language used by our Secretary of State. Can you imagine the current office holder speaking in such a manner, for any occasion? The original purpose behind the day was a moment of reflection, a pause to give thanks to God for his blessings, even in the midst of trial. And that is the perspective we now lack. Ultimately the course our nation takes in foreign policy, health care, union/management relations, or "global warming" is meaningless unless we are building upon the proper foundation. And that foundation is crumbling. Our nation drifts without a sense of purpose, no longer understanding the vision of those who founded it. We either can not or will not acknowledge the great gift our very nation is to us, from God Himself. And as we drift, our sense of gratitude is also fading. Having left ourselves with no greater purpose than our own will, what do we have to be truly thankful for? To whom are we grateful? So much has been given for us. So much has been sacrificed by others so that we have what we have.

This year, I encourage all of us to remember. Implicit within gratitude is memory, the remembrance of what we have been given. Let us thank God even as we ask Him to restore knowledge of Himself to our nation, that our foundation would again grow strong. By His grace we, as the United States of America, have the power to lead the world. But this is not a change that will come about politically. Conservative, centrist, liberal - none of these hold the key. True change will come about as gratitude leads us to greater sense of humility, and humility leads us to knowledge of the Truth.

May God richly bless each of you this day of Thanksgiving, and may he touch your hearts with His wisdom and understanding.

Lies Assaulting Our Ministries, Part 3

2009-10-29T14:20:00.004-07:00

Lie #1 - Darwinian Evolution "A Cosmic Accident"

C) History: Is society evolving or has anything really changed?

A previous post addresses this point in some detail. Please skim that before continuing here, so that this will make sense.

If we take the viewpoint that human cultures are evolving, would we not expect to see a change in human behavior over the course of the centuries? And yet we have not seen this change happen in a positive direction. Just look at war over human history; there was very little peace in the ancient world, the Middle Ages, the 20th century was the bloodiest to date. Nothing has changed, we see people attempting to dominate other people throughout all the cycles of human history. So far within the 21st century, we have seen more of the same. So far we have not experienced the worldwide open conflict as the 20th century, but in Africa we see a continent ravaged by war, with the resulting poverty and famine. We see most of the Western world so terrified of a major conflict that they dance to the tune of petty dictators in North Korea and Iran, calling appeasement 'diplomacy.' I would challenge those who think our efforts in North Korea and Iran commendable study the policies of England and France in regards to Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. The comparison is chilling.

Another interesting point to consider is abortion. In our 'progressive' society, we decided in 1973 that this should be permitted, and our Supreme Court decided it was a Constitutional right. So how does the impact of abortion on society, not to mention the women who suffer through it, differ from the impact of child sacrifice to Chemosh in the Old Testament? Is the impact different on the babies who are aborted/were sacrificed? Either way they are dead. How is it we would label our society 'civilized' but theirs as 'barbaric?' Is the difference in the presence of doctor, versus a pagan priest? Or is the difference between the operating table and the stone altar? I do not ask to mock, I ask in an attempt to reconcile what we seem to believe with reality, as it truly is. We want to say that things are different now, that we have advanced. Where is the evidence?

Now we must acknowledge that technology has advanced, and this is a point I don't deny. I would challenge you to think on technology, and break down the net result of our collective advances. Do some live better, longer lives due to advances in medicine and machinery? Absolutely. Does a majority of the population of the world live better lives? Or has the gulf between the technologically advanced and others led to contempt and indifference? Is a gun superior to a bow? What of nuclear weapons? Have things like iPods and cell phones brought us deeper, more fulfilling relationships? Has the Internet increased wisdom, or merely knowledge? How do we define 'better?' What makes one life better than another? This is not to say we should reject technology; we just need to understand its place in an historical context.

These are critical points to consider. I hope the result of our contemplation is humility, an enlarged sense that we are not better, or superior, to those who have come before us. How can I learn from the lives of those in the Bible? Because they struggled with the same things I do. What motivated them, motivates me. What hurt them, hurts me. And when we start to see ourselves in the proper light, knocked down several pegs and in desperate need of the same grace God has given throughout history, it will change the way we think about our present day world. Without a sense of the past, you cannot properly understand the present. Without a sense of the past, we cannot understand the working out of God's plan throughout human history. Too many of us, as Christians, have no sense of the bigger picture because we deny it even exists. Perhaps we don't deny it in our minds, or our words - but what of our actions?

Lies Assaulting Our Ministries, Part 2

2009-10-26T12:22:00.005-07:00

Once again, we are trying to cover a tremendous amount of ground in a short time. Please email or comment with questions and I will be happy to expand or explain as requested.

Lie #1 - Darwinian Evolution "A Cosmic Accident"

B) What is our identity? Where does it come from?

Ideas have consequences, and here we begin to see that the long reach of Darwinism extends far beyond the science classroom. If we are the result of random, purposeless forces - what is our value as human beings? What is the worth of a single human life? What is the value of an unwanted baby (or fetus, some would prefer)?

"When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Each one values his or her life and fights the knife." Ingrid Newkirk's statement is a chilling one, once you think it through. Reading on from PETA's own website, we find that we shouldn't discriminate, even on the basis of species. An animal should have every right that you do. Now, some would say that PETA is a rather extreme choice for an example of the evolutionary mindset. But taking that viewpoint to its logical end, their ideas makes perfect sense: what is the difference between the species? We are all made of the same stuff, we all come from the same place, and we all have our spot in the natural world. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy; don't bother me with a starving child in Africa when an entire insect species is going extinct. What is the life of one child when measured against the extinction of a species? If I say - as the compassionate heart would like to - that a child is worth more than even millions of bugs, what is my basis for saying so? If I say "Well, in my heart I know what is right," then how do I establish moral superiority over someone like Newkirk, who "knows" a different truth in their heart? Who is right? Where do I go, what truth do I claim, to win this argument? For that matter, from a purely evolutionary mindset, why do I care about a starving boy, anyway? If he can't feed himself, let him die. He was clearly not fit, and natural selection is taking its natural course.

Thank God for Scriptural truth! For we find in the very beginning that man is created in the very image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). His value is innate, his worth established because it is ordained by the Creator. Every unborn child, every starving person on some distant continent - they are all created in the image of God. Human life has greater value than that of the natural world, over which we were given stewardship and authority (Genesis 1:28-29).

We further find that, in addition to being created in God's image, mankind has specific purpose in this world, even before sin entered it (Genesis 2:15-24). Man created to work, woman created to help him; we have distinct roles in both responsibility and relationship.

What does the world say? Just a few days ago, a report on gender (in regards to terrorism) was given to the UN. This viewpoint, that gender is a social construct and not part of who we are created to be, is taught to children everyday in this country in the public schools. And this conclusion follows logically from evolution as well. With the natural world established as the boundary of reality, it follows that there is no behavior that we can engage in that can be considered unnatural. If a man chooses to act as a woman, this is natural. If a woman chooses the life of a man, this is natural. In short, there is no particular role or relationship that cannot be redefined, since these things are merely social constructs in the first place.

Reality doesn't line up with this worldview, however. Read the news, check the Internet. We are surrounded everyday by more and more broken people, wearing themselves out trying to be something they were not created to be. As Christians, this should break our hearts, and here is where we often go wrong: we focus on the sin, and not the sinner. Where we have the chance to show the love of Christ, to show hurting people that it does not have to be like it is, that there is a better way, a plan - instead we judge, so intent on being self-righteous that we forget our own moral corruption. That is, we forget that sin is sin and we are no better than anyone else, we are just saved by grace. None of us are righteous (Romans 3:23). God's grace in our lives is all that separates us from anyone, not that we do anything to deserve it, but that God gives it freely (Ephesians 2:8-9) to those who believe.

In addition to different roles in society, we see different roles within marriage. The Bible teaches clearly that God's order for marriage is the husband in a position of leadership and the wife in a position of submission (Colossians 3:18-39, Ephesians 5:22-33). But here again we need to be careful about using Truth as a bludgeon. The example of our - husband's - leadership is Christ as we witness him here on earth in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Christ willingly surrendered his rights as God to take on the role of Savior, remaining God as He was here on earth but using only the authority given Him by the Father. Jesus set aside everything He was in order to meet the need of a fallen world for a Savior, ultimately dying on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. Somehow I don't think that kind of leadership is a problem for women, were they to see it properly lived out by the men in their lives. As for women, their submission is to be that of the Church to Christ. Christ did not give the Church a list of do's and don'ts, expecting simple mindless obedience. No, a Christian's life should look different because it is a response to a loving relationship almost beyond comprehension. A wife's submission is the loving, respectful response to the husband's servant leadership and sacrifice.

But the toughest aspect within marriage is the call to do our part, regardless of our spouse's choices. As a reflection of God's unconditional love for us, we must be loving to our wives and respectful to our husbands; the direction of the Bible here is clear (Ephesians 5:33) and unconditional. And this extends to Christians within society as a whole: we need to be living out lives full of grace so that others can see Jesus Christ in us. We need to worry about what we can do for others, and not what others can do for us. We need to focus on our responsibility as Christians, and not our rights. We need to follow the two commandments Jesus Himself gave as the greatest: to love the Lord, and love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:28-34).

To review, we have looked at the authority of the Bible in relationship to evolution; that is, the Bible has no authority if evolution is true, because they cannot coexist. The Bible claims perfection, and if this perfection is lost (due to falsehood in the Genesis account) the whole effort is a waste of time, other than perhaps to "feel good" in some vague religious sense.

And if we embrace evolution, we see that society suffers because the roles of men and women are no longer defined in an absolute way. A person has no greater worth than an animal. A man has no different a role than a woman, and in turn neither has a call to be anything more than an animal here on earth. In contrast, the Biblical model for society lived out offers the greatest joy a person can have. A loving father, a caring mother, obedient children, and a family as a whole putting the needs of others before their own. It sounds Utopian, and yet it is society as it was created to be. Will we embrace it? Will we live in such a way that the world will begin again to see the value in God's social order?

Lies Assaulting Our Ministries, Part 1a

2009-10-23T14:21:00.011-07:00

This post is to clarify what is meant by 'evolution' during our discussions.

Evolution is defined as:

Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species.

A reader brought up some good points, which I quote here (originally posted on Facebook):

Hi, Charles. I'd like to read more of what you have to offer, but I think it would be helpful to your point to, at least, shift your terminology in-line with accepted definitions. First, a "species" is a breeding population. Two species may still be genetically compatible, but do not normally breed with each in nature. In addition, typically, the union of two different species often produces a "mule," or a sterile offspring. What is sometimes called "microevolution" - a term that is falling out of favor - is more commonly termed "speciation." Speciation is simply when one species gives rise to a new, novel species. Speciation has been observed in the field and in the laboratory. "Macroevolution" -- again, a term falling out of favor - simply describes evolution over the categories of taxa - species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom. However, really, "macroevolution" is just countless generational "microevolutionary" steps...

The concern I have here is the subtle shift in definition that has attempted to change the argument. As I stated before, we see variations within types of organisms, but we don't see the change from one type of organism into another. Given all the time requested, even billions of years, the small steps still have to result in one type of organism becoming another one (for evolution to be true). This is what we don't see. If we then say that the time required is far beyond that of the human life span, then we have a scientific problem: our hypothesis cannot be measured or observed, and so can never be proven.

And the 'big picture' questions remain: how do random, purposeless forces give us a universe of order? How did the living arise from the nonliving? Why is there something rather than nothing? How is it we can look at systems many times more complex than, say, a desktop PC, and cry 'random chance?' The PC on which you are reading this blog is incredibly complex, but you yourself are many times more so. Yet I know the PC to have been designed and built according to a plan. How then can I say that you are the result of random processes over billions of years? How do we rationally say that complex order arises from chaos? The fact is, we have to try very hard to deny the design we see in systems all over the world. A very good question is: why is it so important to so many for evolution to be true? What are the consequences if it is not? And once we say that no design exists, that all we have are purposeless, natural forces - we swim in some very dangerous waters, as we will explore going forward.

An excellent resource in the evolutionary debate is a book titled Darwin's Black Box, written by Michael Behe, who is not a Christian - just a scientist presenting issues with evolution. A great resource from a young-earth Creationist viewpoint (the one I defend throughout this series) is Answers in Genesis. Their website and other resources are great for teaching the Biblical viewpoint.

Lies Assaulting Our Ministries, Part 1

2009-10-20T13:18:00.004-07:00

This series is taken from a talk I did at the Arizona AWANA Conference 2009 at Palmcroft Baptist Church. Several people asked for information more in-depth than just my handout notes, so here they are.

The purpose of my presentation was to discuss 2 critical lies that face the Church today. These lies come at our families - and the kids coming to our AWANA clubs - from several different cultural places. School, media, the Internet, even sometimes from with the Church... we can't fight knowledge with mere knowledge. 2 hours of AWANA, maybe a couple more hours of church on Sunday can't undo the damage of 80+ hours a week of indoctrination into a conflicting worldview. But we are aware of the effects of the lies in question, and if we truly care about these kids, we can make a difference. The world seeks conformity to its belief system, but it doesn't - and never will - care about these kids as people created in the image of God. We must.

Lie #1 - Darwinian Evolution "A Cosmic Accident"

A) It Erodes the Authority of the Bible

The lie of evolution has probably done more damage in our current America than any other, primarily because of the philosophy marching silently behind it. Many Christians feel cowed by the "scientific" community into some kind of compromise between the Bible and evolution, and many more see it as something that's not worth fighting about. We will first look at evolution in the realm of science, compared to what the Bible teaches: can a Christian who believes Scripture to be inerrant also believe in evolution?

No. In Genesis 1, the Hebrew word for day used is "yom." Yom doesn't always mean a literal day, but when used in conjunction with the phrase "evening and morning," it always refers to a literal day, not a passage of time. A second problem between Scripture and evolution is that, in addition to lots of time, evolution needs lots of death. According to the theory, it takes nearly countless generations for one species to turn into another. A Christian who believes the Bible has another problem at this point: nothing died before Adam sinned. Romans 5 is clear on the point that "through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death by sin." If nothing is dying, nothing is being selected for or against, and thousands or millions of years aren't helping the evolutionary process.

The simple fact of the matter, scientifically, is the lack of any evidence for evolution, anywhere. Finch beaks, dog breeds, moth color - all we can witness are changes within species, not the transformation of one species becoming another. No transitional forms are recorded in the fossil record. We see an earth, as we observe it, where everything continues to produce after its own kind (Genesis 1). And while the existence of a designer cannot be proved according to the scientific method, neither can the purposeless forces of Darwin's theory. The fact comes down to your assumptions before you look at the evidence. Everywhere we look, we see evidence of design, and we believe in the Designer. Proponents of evolution see this same design, complex nearly beyond understanding, and attribute it to natural selection over billions of years. And it is in this moment, as an evolutionist acknowledges that no Designer, no God, exists, that we come to the greatest danger. Evolution is not an assault on true science alone, but on every subject we can study. This is a lie whose reach stretches across the human experience.

How does this all erode the authority of the Bible? We serve a God who claims perfection, in Himself and His Word as it was given to us. If one point of the Bible is false, the whole book is a waste of time. It is not a book of good intentions and tips for living; it is a book of Absolute Truth, or it is a colossal waste of our lives. We don't have the space here to give the whole conflict its just discussion. But you need to understand that your issue, as a Christian, is not with science. Your disagreement is with the false assumptions of many who study science and draw incorrect conclusions because of their prejudice when studying the evidence.

An Open Letter to President Obama on Health Care Reform

2009-10-08T12:53:00.005-07:00

Dear President Obama,

I am writing to ask you specifically to keep your promise. I wholeheartedly agree that a transparent and open government leads to a better society, and that citizens can (and should) contribute to our legislative process.

The issue of our day appears to be health care, and how health care reform should look. A bill will soon come out of the Senate Finance Committee that would appear to save citizens money and reduce the deficit. While I don't like the idea of being forced to have health insurance, and I don't see that the Constitution grants either Congress or the President power over health care, I do believe that additional input and debate would be very helpful to the process.

Let us be candid: those who differ with Democrats - Republicans, some Independents, and other Conservatives - cannot stop the passage of the bill. The Democratic Party at this point in American history can do what it chooses to do because they hold the majority of seats in our elected government. All I can do is ask that you do what you said you would do: maintain that government in an open and transparent manner.

My concern is that the bill out of committee, nicknamed the Baucus Bill, will be heavily amended after committee approval - to the point where what was approved, versus what actually gets voted on in the Senate, are two completely different things. My concern arises from the treatment given to the Stimulus Bill; namely, that an enormous bill which no one could have possibly read before voting on it was passed quickly into law.

Again, I fully acknowledge that you have the power to do what you want to do, and you have been given that power - along with your political party - by the American people, according to proper Constitutional process. To be clear then, here is my request: that the final version of the bill be posted online for a period of at least three (3) weeks prior to a final vote by the House and Senate. I request that any changes from the current draft, which the CBO reviewed, be clearly identified as such in the interest of constructive public dialogue.

Health Care is an enormous and extremely difficult issue that affects every American. I ask simply that this issue be given the careful consideration that it deserves, with proper weight and respect given to the viewpoints of all Americans, regardless of their political or ideological positions.

In addition to voicing my concerns here, I will continue to pray for both you and our lawmakers, as you discuss this important issue. May God grant to each of you His wisdom.

Sincerely,

Charles Baldon, Concerned Citizen

Seeing Red Makes Me See Red

2009-09-30T10:44:00.003-07:00

It's very disturbing to me, as an American, that the Empire State building lights would be used in this way. What, exactly, are we honoring? Communist China's stellar record on human rights? Their forced abortions, allowing only 1 child per family? Their oppression of the Christian church, since it preaches a God (and higher authority) other than civil government?

Sadly, perhaps we do have a reason to honor them. The Chinese are some of the biggest investors in our national debt, buying our Treasury bonds in enormous numbers. From a Biblical perspective, what is the relationship between debtor and lender? And so perhaps, we light the building as a vassal honors its Lord.

A quote from the article: "That doesn't seem right." No, IT ISN'T RIGHT! And so goes another small part of our liberty as we pay homage to monstrous tyranny.

Response to a Health Care Email

2009-09-25T13:54:00.004-07:00

(From an email I got that's been around the Net a few times...)
18 REASONS TO OPPOSE HEALTH-CARE REFORM
1. Although efforts have been made to reform the healthcare industry since 1912, we should not be hasty in doing it.
2. The federal government has no business interfering in people's healthcare decisions, unless a woman is trying to terminate a pregnancy, or the patient’s last name is Schiavo.
3. The government is incapable of running anything efficiently -- but if allowed to offer a healthcare option, will run it so efficiently that it will put private insurers out of business.
4. We already have universal health care: it’s called the Emergency Room. Uninsured people, including illegal aliens, can go there for their health needs, and it only costs the rest of us a few thousand dollars per visi t.
5. The current system, with 47,000,000 uninsured, a million medical bankruptcies annually, 18,000 deaths annually due to lack of insurance, and the highest costs per capita of any first-world country, is working just fine. In fact, we have the best health care system in the world!
6. Many older couples are forced to divorce in order to avoid catastrophic financial losses due to medical expenses -- but it’s the homosexuals who are destroying families.
7. A conversation with your doctor about end-of-life issues (such as how to make out a living will) is an opportunity for your doctor to convince you to kill yourself.
8. We can afford to spend more on our military than all other nations combined, but we can’t afford universal health care.
9. Single-payer, government-run healthcare is good enough for our men and women in uniform, but to offer the same to the general public would be socialism.
10. Pooling our resources to provide roads, schools, clean water, military, police, and fire protection for each other is not socialism. Pooling our resources to provide each other health care is socialism.
11. Socialism is when the government makes any effort to assist needy citizens.
12. Health care is e best handled by individual states; like slavery and racial segregation.
13. We can afford to s ubsidize Iraq and Afghanistan , both of whom have universal healthcare, but we can’t afford it ourselves.
14. Money and corporate profits are more important than people's health. Sure, reforming the companies would save thousands of lives, but shareholders’ portfolios might be damaged.
15. Freeing people from holding on to their dead-end jobs for the insurance and allowing them to become entrepreneurs would bankrupt our country.
16. Someone like physicist Stephen Hawking would have been allowed to die under the wretched British healthcare system. Oh, he’s British? And alive? Never mind
17. We are a “Christian’ nation, but we don’t believe in helping the least among us. Some people just don’t deserve healthcare. Getting sick is God's punishment for doing something wrong.
18. The Obama healthcare initiative is part of the liberal-communist-Nazi-socialist-Islamofascist-gay-atheist-zombie-transsexual-cannibal- sociopath-evolutionist indoctrinating school children agenda to take away your freedom!

My Response:

Point by point thoughts on the email below. I will warn you that God, the Constitution and liberty are discussed in my points.

1. Health care is not a universal human right, and we need to establish this at the forefront of the conversation; I can never be innately entitled to the benefit of someone else’s labor. I am not entitled to the care that a medical professional, or any other caring person, gives me. I see a call as a Christian to care for the needy and the poor as an individual. A government taking from some to pay for the care of others is not compassion, its totalitarianism (or socialism, as we will discuss later). Who then decides how much should be taken, from whom, and to whom should it be given? The poorest of Americans is still roughly 25 times richer than those in most of the world, per capita. Who determines what poor is, or what needy is? Once you have turned from the call of God – because we don’t believe in Him, or because we don’t believe He cares – we are left with civil government. 51% of the vote deciding right and wrong is just as much ‘might makes right’ as a dictatorship; it is the tyranny of the majority.
2. The reference here is to abortion, ruled by the Supreme Court in 1973 to be part of a citizen’s right to privacy, as put forth in the 14th amendment. But this interpretation of the 14th amendment is flawed, in that the 14th amendment’s goal was to make black and white citizens equal before the law. Abortion was never part of the picture when the 14th amendment was passed. In fact, 35 different states had various abortion laws at the time the 14th amendment was ratified, and these remained unchallenged from 1867 until 1973, when a liberal court reinterpreted the Constitution to allow the murder of unborn citizens. In the Schiavo case, we see the natural move from disdain for unborn children moving into disdain for the old and the sick; Schiavo was allowed to die because she was deemed a burden on society.
3. The government has never run a single program efficiently, including its own day-to-day operations. The reason private insurers will go out of business competing against the government is because when private insurers lose enough money, they are forced into bankruptcy and out of business. The government just continues to lose money and literally can print more (the money supply has doubled during 2009). It’s not that the government will suddenly learn efficiency, but that they don’t have to play by the same rules as private industry.
4. The cost to the rest of us is hard to quantify, and there is tremendous abuse of the system. Much of this comes from the fact that we never see exactly how much we spend for medical care. I pay cash for medical needs, despite having the income and ability to afford insurance; among a group of likeminded Christians, we then pay for each other’s medical needs according to a Biblical model (if you have more interest, go to www.samaritanministries.org). Seeing every dollar that is spent makes me more responsible about how I spend my money for medical care. I also don’t run to the doctor for every sniffle because I have an inexpensive co-pay, and I only use a prescription drug when absolutely necessary. The waste in our system comes for the overuse of doctor’s visits and medications by so many people, which will only be further encouraged by a government expansion of the system. The key here is personal responsibility leading to fiscal responsibility, and this problem is not something the government can fix; government involvement assures further waste (see number 3, research this for yourself).
5. Using those same numbers, how is it that we think adding 47 million new patients into the medical system (a number I dispute, but I’ll use it here) will solve the problem without hurting the quality of care, increasing patient wait times, or increasing the cost that we pay in taxes for the program? Simple math would tell us that insuring all these people will cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere. To the second point, people are always going to die, in any system. People die from accidents in hospitals, but do we then say that hospitals kill people, so shut them all down? The problem here is philosophical as much as medical, in that most people no longer believe in anything beyond the current, material world. So our focus has become making this earthly experience everything it can be, since this is all we have. The problem with this worldview is that it is untenable within society; at what point, when my happiness and your happiness conflict, do I have any incentive to put your needs before my own? Again, the truly Biblical worldview answers this tough question with the command to love my neighbor as myself, and do what I can help. Not through government coercion, but through my own actions and giving.
6. I have not seen any statistics that support the first part of this statement, and I fail to see how divorce would help financially. As to the 2nd part, homosexuality is not the core of the problem, sin is. Homosexual behavior is a sin, and it has consequences for societies that accept sinful behavior as the norm. This is not so much a dire warning on my part of some coming judgment, but historical fact. Cultures that have gained the riches leading to lives of vice have generally toppled soon after, having no deeper set of values to pursue as a society than personal pleasure. This is not to say that homosexuals are any worse than any other person; before God we have all sinned, and we all need Jesus Christ equally. Lying, for example, is as much a sin as homosexuality, and just as damaging to culture and society.
7. The language about end of life care has been a hot topic of debate. I think that a society that shows contempt for the unborn and has already begun allowing assisted suicide in some states is not far from wanting to eliminate the biggest ‘burden’ on the system; namely, the elderly. My worldview is that the elderly are to be respected for their wisdom, and cared for by their families – not put into homes and such to die, something I see all too often. Does a conversation with your doctor equate to death camps forming? No, I don’t think so, but I would take into account both the current worldview of your doctor, and how that worldview will change as this system (universal health care) changes over time. At some point, as in Great Britain, someone will put a dollar figure on a human life. Insurance companies do this right now – but this is a system we participate in voluntarily, not a system we are subject to, which is the crucial difference.
8. We don’t spend more on our military than all other nations combined, but I think it amounts to about the next 46 on the list, which is a big number. Could we spend our military dollars in a wiser fashion? I am sure there are ways. It’s not a matter of whether or not the dollars are there for universal health care, but whether the best use of our health care dollars is spent on a government program. The Post Office, the annual operating budget, the Congressional cafeteria, Social Security, Medicare… just show me one program, please, that isn’t losing money and is being run effectively by government officials. The problem is accountability. If we create a government insurance company, the people that oversee it are appointed by elected officials, not stockholders. And how can a President or a Senator serving a limited term be held accountable for what is spent on health care? And when the costs overrun, as they are sure to do (look at Hawaii’s health care system as a state, or Canada, or Great Britain), whose benefits are going to be cut? ‘Well, my kid deserves to be treated’ or ‘my family deserves this.’ It’s the biggest expansion of an entitlement mentality our country has ever seen.
9. Please research the problems with health care for veterans; the system is sadly lacking. Perhaps if it was fixed and running smoothly, this particular argument would show some merit.
10. Socialism by definition is: when a governing body (a small group of citizens) takes from all according to their ability to produce, and redistributes according to need. It is correct to say that we have programs already in place that are socialistic in nature. We have already begun down the path of government care from the cradle to the grave, which is why the health care debate is so crucial; this step, the current one, is the only one we can prevent. We have done nothing for far too long. Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid were and are terrible ideas, stealing individual savings and liberty with the promise that government shall provide. And interestingly, abortion is a contributing factor here, as the average age of a citizen rises due to falling birth rates. This is not to criticize those who participate in the Social Security system, since you have no choice, but rather those who put the system in place. Misguided compassion is very, very dangerous because it has contributed widely to the entitlement mentality in our culture, and eroded any sense of personal responsibility. If you would see someone else’s medical needs paid for, could you not pay for them, yourself? This would be true sacrifice and compassion. Compassion is not forcing government to collect from everyone to help the needy; that is indeed socialism.
11. Charity and meeting the needs of the poor is not the responsibility of the federal government, please read the Constitution for an overview of the limited powers inherent to our central government. I am aware, by invoking the Constitution as it was written, that I have labeled myself as a domestic terrorist. For the record, I am also pro-life. And I read the Declaration of Independence occasionally, also.
12. Again, please read the 10th amendment, perhaps the most crucial among the Bill of Rights. Race relations in America are not helped by turning suffering people into statistics to be wielded in the fight for universal health care. Some states had laws that encouraged racism, but the South did not have a corner on that market. Please look at the riots in New York during the Civil War, due to the fear of whites that free blacks would be stealing their jobs. We spend so much time running around calling everyone racist. God sees the heart, man cannot. I do my best to live at peace with my fellow men and women of any nationality. I don’t know if a person is racist or having a bad day, and perhaps a person of a different ethnic group cut them off in traffic. We are quick to judge, and slow to extend a hand in true compassion. Instead of government programs and mandates, perhaps race relations are best dealt with by individual citizens? Change all the laws you want, you cannot legislate hate out of the hearts of some men. I tend to focus on the fact that I am far from perfect, and that my value (along with every other person’s value) comes from being created in the image of God. Then I can extend the grace and mercy that God has shown me to my fellow man.
13. In short, we should not be ‘subsidizing’ either one. But two wrongs do not make a right. Pointing this fact out does not then mean we should have universal health care in America.
14. This is a slippery slope to head down. Who has the authority to decide who should make money, and who shouldn’t? This is not the role of government. The flaw here comes from the basic assumption that we have a right to something, and rich people from Wall Street are holding us back from it. But it’s too easy to throw around labels like ‘racist’ and ‘corporate greed.’ Are there rich and evil men? Yes! Are there poor and evil men? Yes! To say that reforming these companies would “save thousands of lives” is a careless and irresponsible statement. Which companies? No two are exactly alike. Each are made up of people struggling to provide for their families, pay mortgages, and pay for their own health care. Are there some at the top who make a lot of money? Sure there are. If you worked hard, studied hard, and spent long hours to get to the top, would you not then want the big salary? It is very easy to spend other people’s money. People are people, and not fundamentally different from each other – we all struggle with the same things. This particular comment seems to indicate that those with more money than me are somehow different, and I am entitled to what they have worked for. How would I like that standard applied to me by someone in, say, India, who makes about $2/day?
15. How exactly does government run health care promote the growth of small business? The assumption here is that people will run out and start companies as soon as they ‘leave their dead-end jobs.’ But the bill also penalizes businesses if they don’t offer insurance to their employees, once they have them, in the form of more taxes. I would also challenge the assumption that people will immediately start new businesses. Especially if the cap and trade bill becomes law anytime soon, but that is a whole separate email.
16. Pulling one wealthy man out of the British health care system and stating that he is ‘still alive’ hardly argues that their system is worth emulating. I would encourage you to research how and where wealthy British subjects receive their medical care; many of them come here.
17. We have discussed this already several times. Government insurance for all is not Christian charity, it is in fact a major element of socialism. Christians should be better about helping our fellow men in need, and I agree that we have failed to do a good job in many ways. Please take this as our human failing, and no failing on the part of Christ. But stating that Christians are doing a bad job doesn’t mean that government is going to do a better job. And by the way, Jesus himself spoke against the idea that sickness is always direct result of sin (John 9). We can sin, damage our bodies, and illness is a natural consequence of our foolish behavior; but this is not always the case.
18. Adding numerous mocking adjectives just sounds petty and sarcastic, it doesn’t strengthen the argument. Is universal health care part of an agenda to take away freedoms? I doubt that President Obama would put it that way, but if this passes certain freedoms will be lost. I would no longer be able to share medical needs with other people as I currently do, because by law I would have to either have insurance that I don’t agree with, or pay a big penalty in taxes. I don’t owe a dime to any doctor or hospital, and yet I would lose freedom from this bill. Will some security be gained, by some people? Absolutely. But trading security for liberty is a dangerous game, and throughout human history it has only had one outcome. Freedom in this world, short of revolution such as we saw here in America from 1775-1783, is very tough to come by. When you have it, I would think long and hard about giving it up, even for seemingly good reasons.

My final thought is that health care is a tough topic, and worthy of long discussion. Ultimately I don’t see civil government as the solution to this problem. The major thing that troubles me is how quick we are to run to government for a new law about this, or a new solution to that. Many of our health problems in America stem from our own personal behavior. I am overweight because I don’t eat properly, and I don’t exercise enough (too much time spent writing long-winded emails). Is that society’s responsibility? No, it’s my own. I need to lose weight, and eat more nutritional food. I don’t have a disorder or need weight-loss medication. I need some discipline and hard work. Our lifestyles in this modern age have done much to contribute to our various health problems. Changing how we live, and changing how we think about the health care dollars we spend – our own or the insurance company’s – is the solution to the short term problem, and then perhaps we can look at a long term solution as well. But telling people ‘you need to change’ is much more difficult than telling people ‘we have a program to fix it,’ and so I believe that we will end up with some version of universal health care. But I think it will end up costing us more than we are willing to pay.

Rejoicing in Our Insignificance

2009-09-24T11:56:00.003-07:00

Today I was studying in the Word and it struck me just how little I truly matter in the scheme of things. Not in the sense that God does not care for me, but with a sense of awestruck wonder that He does.

Consider the infinite Being that God is. When your head starts to ache, read on. We have trouble understanding the little He has revealed to us about Himself in His Word, let alone understanding the totality of who He is. Our brains literally can't do it - we can't think in terms of the infinite. I think of Job, standing before God in the midst of his suffering, as God appears and questions him (Job 38-42). Can any of us control a tiny thing - a creature like a dinosaur, the weather - something that God created with barely a thought and a word? Consider that it doesn't take even the smallest fraction of God's power to cause the wind to blow, and yet in all our vaunted wisdom we have barely come to the point that we can track where it blows, never mind the very thought that it blows.

And so this insignificance can lead us down one of two paths: we can react with pride, saying 'I am more important than this!' and live a life based on our wisdom, in the way we think best, doing everything we can to increase our standing in this world. Or we can react with humility that leads ultimately to joyful security: we are nothing compared to the vastness of God! And yet he cares for us, elevating us into relationship with Him as His children should we respond in faith to His calling (John 3:16, Acts 16:31). With the merest whisper of a thought we came into being, and with the a similar whisper we leave this earth. But in between God has a plan for us, because he loves us - not due to our significance, but due to His Grace which surpasses all things. From before the foundations of the world we were chosen by Him (1 Peter 1).

So we can rejoice in our insignificance! God's plans - and His ability to enact those plans - far exceed our ability to understand. May we always remember this, that every human in existence bears His image (Genesis 1), and we can be saved through His grace to spend eternity with Him (Ephesians 2). Why does He choose to do this? I have no idea! But I know that He does, and His promises are true (Psalm 146). Amen.

Economics 101

2009-09-22T12:37:00.004-07:00

Today we'll quickly cover a couple of basic points on wages and taxes:

First, wages. Minimum wage increases are always popular, and only a troll would oppose increasing it, right? But let's look at what actually happens. Raising employee wages increases costs for a company. That company makes a product or performs a service for which they collect a fee. That fee, or price, pays all of their expenses in making the product or performing the service, and it includes the profit the company earns as well. So, when wages have to increase by federal law, does a company a) sacrifice its profit or b) increase the price of its product? And when that price increases (yes, 'b' is the correct answer), what has happened to the buying power of your dollar? The product is not any different than it was, it just now requires more dollars to purchase. So the buying power of each dollar - not just for those who got their wages increased, but for everyone - just decreased, and we call that inflation. So some people are making more money, but the buying power of a dollar just got reduced for every citizen in society.

Second, taxes. "Stick it to the rich guy!" usually translates into higher taxes for both the wealthy and for companies. But can government truly increase the taxes paid by a company? On paper, yes. But in reality, that company has 4 choices when presented by the government with higher taxes: a) sacrifice its profit, b) reduce its other expenses, c) increase its prices, or d) some combination of 'b' and 'c.' For the sake of keeping this simple, we are going to ignore 'd,' but you can see the effects of that choice as we discuss the others. Choice 'a' is as laughable here as it was above (and ultimately, they'll go out of business). Choice 'b' means fewer employees, or fewer benefits for those employees, lower pay, etc. And in choice 'b,' who is truly paying this increase in taxes? Employees, who are individual citizens. Choice 'c' we discussed above - we all, as consumers, end up paying the tax.

So, when you hear about programs - health care, cap and trade, etc. - that propose to give you (or society) a benefit and charge someone else for the cost, remember our 101 class; 'someone else' actually means you.

Waterboarding, the CIA, and Terrorism

2009-09-22T10:26:00.008-07:00

If you haven't been following the most recent developments in the CIA water boarding saga, here is a quick update:

Several former CIA directors wrote a letter to President Obama, asking him to halt the criminal investigation of CIA agents who have used 'enhanced interrogation' techniques in the past. President Obama has declined to get involved with Attorney General Holder's process, stating that he thinks everyone should be accountable to the law, so the investigation will continue.
I have heard Christians come down all over the place on this issue. As Christians who are supposed to love everyone, how could we ever torture someone? How do we balance 'turning the other cheek' with water boarding? Can we treat Islamic terrorists however we want because they don't follow Christ, or because they hate America?

Tough questions all, and we do right in asking them. I think part of the problem for us, as Americans and as Christians living in the 21st Century, is our squeamishness about violence and death. Somehow, in a civilized society of the modern age, death is distasteful (don't miss the irony here, in the fact that the brutal murder of abortion is legal, and even encouraged).

So what does the Bible say? Really, violence is all over the Bible, New and Old Testament, and it's not nearly as prohibited as many believers think. In the Old Testament, Mosaic Law has specific rules about floggings and beatings (Deuteronomy). Samson is granted power from God to destroy the nobility of Philistine society, along with himself (Judges 16). Proverbs speaks repeatedly about rods and fools in the context of discipline. Nehemiah 13 speaks about Nehemiah - considered a wise and just ruler - cursing, beating, and pulling out the hair of his disobedient countrymen in his anger. David spared Saul at least twice, even as Saul sought to kill him (1 Samuel 24, 26), and yet he kills the Amalekite who finally does kill Saul, even though Saul asks to be killed (2 Samuel 1). In the New Testament, Peter kills 2 Christians who give money to the church, but lie about how much of their profit they are giving (Acts 5), and everyone is terrified. Jesus Himself taught us to turn the other cheek when someone strikes us (Matthew 5, Luke 6), and yet He attacks the money-changers in the temple, flipping tables in a terrible righteous anger (John 2, Mark 11) - some Bible scholars think he might have done this twice.

Focusing specifically on David and Jesus, we see the context of what the Bible teaches. When we are wronged, we are to respond in meekness, sparing our enemies and even turning the other cheek. But when God's designs are perverted by evil men and their acts, when others are threatened who are in our care, there is a place for righteous anger. In short, there is a difference between vengeance and justice. Our CIA, acting to secure the safety of America, should have great latitude to interrogate. If the CIA, FBI or the military have good evidence that the suspect knows information that can prove vital to our national defense, then I am in favor of 'enhanced interrogations' far beyond simple water boarding. Death is not too extreme a penalty in this case, depending on the crimes in question. Justice can be served without the proceedings of a court, which is a right specifically given only to American citizens in the Constitution.

In summary, justice must be our goal, not vengeance. We must make wise choices about those who defend us, and then trust their judgment. There is accountability built into our current system, and we should not just wantonly torture anyone. But when tough choices have to be made, we have to give our defenders the ability to defend us, or we will suffer the consequences. President Obama is helping to create a terrible choice for our CIA agents: defend your country and go to prison, or play nice, obey the 'rules,' and bear the terrible responsibility of another attack on American citizens. As a Christian I don't see that torture is prohibited by the Bible, and as an American I certainly hope that we do everything we can to stop evil men from doing evil things.

The Bible is Old! Is It Even Relevant Today?

2009-09-21T12:45:00.006-07:00

This is a very common question, especially from young people inside the church who are seeking answers to tough questions. Several variations include:

What can the Bible have to say about modern day problems?
Society is so different, that stuff can’t apply now.
They were so primitive, we’ve come so far from then – times have changed.

The problem with all these statements is the underlying assumption: that society has altered to the point that the Bible can no longer speak its Truth on the issues surrounding us. This is a lie that comes to us from evolutionary theory being applied not just to science, but sociology and history: the idea that society itself is evolving, and that humanity’s various cultures have become something that they were not in the days of the Bible. When we look at the technologies that rule our lives today, they seem to bear this out: life does look a lot different now than it did in during Jesus’ earthly days. But are we truly superior? Does the ability to quickly navigate the virtual world of the Internet, or deftly manipulate the buttons of my iPod to bring forth sound, really demonstrate that I am a superior being to those of earlier cultures?

If we ask ourselves some hard questions, particularly those of us in urban areas, how many real skills to do we actually have? If the power went out tomorrow and didn’t come back on, could we even survive for a month? Sure, we’ve learned how to use computers, cars, and all sorts of neat gadgets. But do you really believe that if Paul had been shown a computer and given some basic instruction, he could not have used it?

Consider several passages of Scripture:

Genesis 1-2, the account of Creation. Adam and Eve were both created directly by God Himself, prior to the Fall. Has anyone lived in a state of physical perfection since then?
Genesis 3, the Fall itself. Things were perfect until sin, at which point death entered the world. Most people would call that a negative.
Genesis 5-6, the genealogy from Adam to Noah. Are people living longer, better lives today than at the beginning? And when people’s lives were longer, what were they doing with their time?
1 Kings 3:5-14, of the wisdom of King Solomon. The Bible is specific here that no one who ever lived or ever will live has been or will be as wise as Solomon was.
Ecclesiastes 1, written by King Solomon about the nature of man and the world. He tells us directly that there is nothing new under the sun: man does today what man has done from the beginning of time, and he will do it again and again unto the end of time.

So then, if the most physically perfect and wisest have already lived thousands of years ago, and we live shorter lives even more affected by sin and death than those who came before us…
In which direction is time truly marching?

Truly, the very first men struggled with obedience to God and with sin. Sin grew until there was one – one! – righteous man left in the entire world. In starting over with Noah’s family, we watched the cycle repeat (Genesis 11) up until Babel, at which point people and languages were scattered. Now we live the shorter lives that God ordained so that we cannot explore the evil of our flesh to the fullness we did before (Genesis 6:3). Many today would point out that we are moving toward a one-world government; we worry about this new development. But what have we just seen from Scripture? This is not new, it’s been tried (and it failed, we must note)! The fact is that our lives are the same as always. We’re born. We marry. We have families, and try our best to provide for them. We live, and then we die. And what do we struggle with today? Obedience to God and with sin. Technology has given us new ways to express our basic natures, but it’s the same basic nature still being expressed. There is nothing new under the sun, and the Bible is no less relevant today than it ever was. Truly, it is more desperately needed today than it has ever been because history is moving in one direction, and it’s not the one we’d like to think.

Have a Yard Sale, Go to Jail!

2009-09-18T09:20:00.005-07:00

Behold good intentions running wild in the form of big government! The latest installation in our unfortunately ongoing series has to do with dangerous toys and YOU. Is $200 from a yard sale worth $10,000 in fines? Read here to find out more.

The 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a great lesson on unintended consequences, and a great lesson on why less government is generally better government. Unsurprisingly, its original scope has been expanded from new toys to used toys, which means any resaler (and yes, yard saler) of prohibited items can be prosecuted.

Now, will they show up at your yard sale and haul you away? I seriously doubt it. But are you comfortable with the fact that they have the power to do so?

"You Lie!"

2009-09-15T11:51:00.006-07:00

I don't consider Joe Wilson a hero, and his comment (yelled during President Obama's speech) was inappropriate. While conservatives might agree with Mr. Wilson and say that Obama was indeed lying, the accuracy of the statement is beside the point. Wilson's behavior was wrong in the timing of his comment, for which he apologized, as he should have done - an apology that the White House accepted.

That being said, this report is much more disturbing. The implication here is that any criticism of a Black President made by anything other than a Black citizen or Congressman is racist. Joe Wilson is White, President Obama is Black, and so Joe Wilson must be either racist himself, or he is assisting racists in their cause. It puts any of us who are not Black in the impossible situation of having to prove a negative; that is, that we are not racist when we criticize President Obama's policies.

Questions to consider: what about when Black people criticize a White President? Or a Chinese person criticizing a Black? What about a Black from one country criticizing someone who is Black but from a different country? Am I racist for saying 'Black' instead of 'African American?' Why is someone not racist for calling me 'White' instead of Scottish American?

There are no end to the questions, and really no answers to be had either, outside of Christ. We (as Christians) can say that judgment on the basis of color is wrong, because we are all of us created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We can further warn those who would judge the heart that this is not the realm of mankind (1 Samuel 16:7, Revelation 2:23). In other words, we can say that Joe Wilson is wrong, because he broke the rules of Congress. We cannot call Joe Wilson racist because we don't know the workings of his heart. Were we to witness a series of events in addition to this one, then we could begin to see a pattern of behavior that could be accurately labeled (James 2). But instead we see proponents of an ideology - in this specific case, liberals - painting both Joe Wilson and many of the protesters that were in Washington over the holiday weekend with the same broad brush of 'racist.' They are acting in the exact way they accuse Joe Wilson and others of acting, which is a sin (again, James 2).

Let none of us do this ourselves - either in response to this story, or in life. Loving our neighbors and teaching them Truth in gentleness and patience will lead them to Christ (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Hurling insults and labels back and forth - however accurate we think they are - does nothing to advance His Kingdom.

09-11-2001 Remembered

2009-09-11T11:24:00.007-07:00

They'll be many lengthy speeches and opinions given today, which largely serve to elevate the speaker while demeaning the sacrifice of the Americans who died. It is for us, the living, both to remember and learn from what happened, and to study how some of our fellow Americans responded.

I will offer only this, two words that sum up the courage of ordinary citizens thrust into an extraordinary moment:

Let's roll.

Iran: Nuclear Chicken, Part II

2009-09-09T16:31:00.004-07:00

If you needed further evidence that Iran has not been dealing squarely with the US, here it is! Apparently a dishonest man is dependably dishonest.

Good to know I didn't completely waste my 2 hours watching that movie.

Let the Little Children Come Unto Me

2009-09-08T15:42:00.007-07:00

Here is the text of President Obama's speech today, as released beforehand to the AP. This was broadcast in many public schools directly to the students: (makes for a long post, my comments at the end)

Hello, everyone — how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday — at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life — I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that — if you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home — that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer — hundreds of extra hours — to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.
And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education — and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you — you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust — a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor — and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you — don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down — don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Having read the speech, I like the text. Hear me clearly: I see a problem with the government educating all our children, but I don't see an enormous difference between our government's philosophy taught on a daily basis, and having the actual President come and speak to children.

The issue here is greater than the content of one speech, and it speaks to the heart of education: whose responsibility is it to educate your children? And many of us, having turned that responsibility over to our government on a daily basis, are now upset over the direction of that education (at least in this one instance). I would encourage Christians to research what your kids are being taught everyday, not just during one speech.

Iran: Nuclear Chicken

2009-09-07T09:18:00.005-07:00

In searching the most unlikely places for sound wisdom, I came across this gem:

"Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid." -Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

Read here about Iran's refusal to limit their nuclear program, and their claim that all they are trying to do is generate electricity. Then see the first sentence above; should we base our foreign policy with Iran, and perhaps our security against nuclear attack, on the belief that a dishonest man is finally being honest? Ahmadinejad is a liar, a murder, a terrorist, and a fool. He has participated in attacks against Americans, has good friends such as North Korea, denies the Holocaust happened, and has publicly stated his desire to "wipe Israel off the map." Other than that, I'm sure he's a great guy and good with children.
So the right thing to do here is fairly simple: don't trust a word he says. And be prepared to take strong action should he persist in his dream of nuclear power to use against Israel. Er... I mean to keep the lights on at the children's hospital.

Grace, Truth and Love

2009-09-03T19:29:00.004-07:00

I have not posted in a while, having taken some time to reflect on what message God would have me share. I spent some time reading several prominent news sources online (from both CNN and FOX), and examining the comments at the end of the articles. While the content of the articles - in general, stories about government spending and policy - was disturbing, the very saddest part were the comments.

And I am not dividing these comments into camps with labels such as 'conservative' and 'liberal.' If you read nearly anything I have posted here, you know that I am a conservative and a Christian. But in reading these comments from both sides of the aisle, I see a total lack of anything resembling grace or love, with the occasional truth being obliterated by the angry tone of the speaker.

Brothers (and sisters), this is not what we have been called to. Proverbs 3:5-6 and Colossians 2:2-3 explicitly tell us that all wisdom and truth comes from the Lord; why is it we expect wisdom and understanding from those held captive by the empty philosophy of this world? 2 Timothy 2:24-26 explicitly calls us to gentleness and patience as we share the truth with those 'held captive by the devil.' Where is our gentleness and patience? I understand that most of the comments that saddened me came from non-believers, but many came from those identifying themselves as Christians.

So how should this look, when (not if) we disagree with the world on critical issues? I am no paragon of virtue, and I struggle with this like everyone else. I think we should ask ourselves: what are my expectations from this conversation? How do my words reflect Christ? We should disagree firmly, but respectfully. I think the biggest piece that we miss is empathy. This world is held captive - like we were, before Christ - so we need to remember we aren't better than anyone, we are just saved by grace. We did nothing to achieve our salvation; Christ set aside His divine rights to die horribly on a cross. Realizing, then, that our only advantage is Christ within us, it should temper our speech so that God may grant repentance to those with whom we speak (2 Timothy 2:25). Aside from Christ we have nothing to offer.

Israel: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

2009-08-27T09:11:00.007-07:00

Jews. Arabs. Israel. Palestine. What should a Christian living in America think or do about this mess in the Middle East? The current state of Israel has existed since 1948 amidst a sea of enemies, surrounding on all sides by Muslims who are committed to their destruction. But what should we think? Whose side should we be on? Should we just stay out of the whole situation?

We could spend a long time on this, but I will keep to a couple points to consider:

Isaiah 40:1-2 "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. Speak kindly to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." (NASB) -The thought here is that comfort will come for Israel, in the form of the Savior, Jesus Christ. And as members of His church here in this world, representing Him to the nations, our call is to reach out to a world in need with His comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (NASB) -As Christians we are the only ones in the world who can offer any true comfort beyond the temporal. Why should we direct this comfort toward Israel, specifically? Other than the implied command of Isaiah 40:1, I will close with 2 more verses:

Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you [Abram, Father of the nation of Israel] all the families of the earth will be blessed." (NASB)

Romans 15:26-27 "For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things." (NASB)

In closing, we have to remember that while Israel today is largely secular, they are still God's chosen people. God in his infinite grace has also chosen us (Christians) to follow Him; Gentiles share in the spiritual blessing once given to Israel through the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and we can give materially to help them as well. Here is one ministry, Exodus Limited, that our church works with in Israel.

Of Presidents and Paperwork

2009-08-25T11:55:00.006-07:00

President Obama has been in office since January 20, when he was sworn in. Today being August 25, he has been in office for 217 days, or about 7 months. In that time we have seen a Stimulus Bill (1100 pages), Cap and Trade (1200 pages) and Health Care Reform (1000 pages). Notwithstanding the billions of dollars being spent in these programs, who has the time to write all this out? Where are all of these coming from?

3300 pages means that we have 15 pages of proposed legislation from this administration per day in office (assuming no vacations or weekends were taken off). Per business day in office, it jumps up to 22 pages/day. Pick your favorite author - who would be able to churn out the equivalent of 2 Bibles worth of text in 7 months?

This gives me pause. Where is all this truly coming from?

Thoughts on "Inglourious Basterds"

2009-08-21T10:15:00.004-07:00

Being a war movie fan, I have been hoping for another good World War 2 film for a while, now.

This is not it.

I called this entry "Thoughts" on the movie, not a review, because I have not seen the movie. Critics are loving this latest Tarantino film - Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at 89% fresh - and yet what is the point?

Ultimately, the tale here is vengeance. Reflecting on this, and the worldview behind it, I realize that vengeance is all they have. Existing as Hollywood does, in a universe devoid of Absolute Truth, there can be no higher purpose for anything. And that includes the graphic violence of this film. What of heroism? Are we lauding common men called upon to do their best in uncommon circumstances? I think of Tom Hanks' character in Saving Private Ryan, a school teacher called to war, doing his duty to the best of his ability.

I don't see any of that from having read about, and watched multiple previews for, Inglourious Basterds. What I see is that our soldiers (Jewish-Americans, led by Brad Pitt) are 'heroes' because they won by being more brutal and dishonorable in their behavior than the Nazis were. The end here is justified by all the gory means; we won, so our cause was just.

I am saddened, because there are amazing tales to tell from the greatest conflict of the 20th century. There are plenty of men whose behavior in those trying times can call us to virtue, to honor, to be our best. Making Hitler seem a buffoon, and our soldiers bloodthirsty monsters, all for sake of entertainment... it is not right.

I would encourage you to skip this movie. Great war movies abound; We Were Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan, To End All Wars, Gettysburg, Glory, Sergeant York.

Remember that what is seen cannot be unseen.

Grace in All Things, Even Politics

2009-08-13T16:19:00.002-07:00

2 Timothy 2:24-26: "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will." (NASB)

Some of you out there avoid confrontation like the plague. Some of you are more like I am now; a challenge to your principles is a gauntlet thrown down. The eyes narrow, the jaw clenches, and a heat rises inside as you warm to the fight. In our modern, "civilized" age, verbal sparring rarely leads to physical conflict... but the damage of hasty words can far exceed the temporal damage of even a well-aimed punch.

Our call as Christians is clear. We must be ready to answer, but gently. We must correct those who oppose us, but kindly. We must remember the tremendous grace that we have been show by the Sovereign Lord of the universe, and give the smallest part of that grace to those with whom we speak. Note that we are called upon to teach, and to correct; these are not optional for us. Declining to open our mouths because we are afraid shows a lack of faith, and obedience. But when we do speak, we need to remember that we were once deceived, also, and held captive to the Adversary's will.

So how does this all tie in to politics? We have discussed how people use the word "politics" and they really mean worldview. The issues confronting our nation today are nothing less than the ancient battle between Good and Evil, between Truth and Lie, being played out in our culture and our government. We may use the word politics to describe these conversations, but the principles involved run much deeper, to the core of who we are and what we believe. Be ready to teach with gentleness and kindness, and let the Spirit do His work upon the hearts of men.

230 MPG!

2009-08-12T08:59:00.007-07:00

GM recently announced the EPA estimates for the Chevy Volt, their new hybrid coming out for the 2010 model year:

230 MPG!

Compare this to the best selling hybrid out there right now, the Toyota Prius, which gets a downright-pathetic 48 MPG. Of course, the 2010 Prius has an MSRP of $25,800, and it's being built without money from the government (which they get from taxpayers).

But... a couple of questions come up. For one, GM is now Government Motors, who rushed it through bankruptcy without shedding the biggest problems the automaker is dealing with. They reduced debt but still have union contracts to contend with, and now the union has a big stake in owning the company, as well. And the government, last I checked, also runs the EPA. Is there perhaps a conflict of interest in the government giving its own car the highest estimated MPG ever? And this just happens to be the car that this Administration wants you to buy, instead a huge, gas-guzzling SUV. Hm...

The Volt also has a cost to build of around $40,000. Will the much higher cost than other hybrids cancel out the gas savings, even if the gas mileage is that good?

And the final irony is that Volt buyers will be eligible for a tax credit of $7500. So, your money was taken to save a company and retain a strong union presence in its workforce. The car, now built by the government-run GM, costs a lot more to build than its competitors who are not government run. And to offset the higher cost, the government will give you some money back to try to entice you to buy their car.

Can't wait for GM health care!

World War 2 in One Picture

2009-08-11T14:28:00.003-07:00

I have loved this picture since I first saw floating around the web. You can make a very strong historical argument that ultimate victory for the Allies in WW2 began with the unflinching resolve of one man: Winston Churchill. As Prime Minister of Great Britian during the greatest conflict in human history, he would not quit. He would not give in.

Scissors beat paper.

Health Care and... Philosophy?

2009-08-10T12:42:00.014-07:00

In an earlier post I discussed how "political" discussions are rarely truly political anymore, but instead are often a question of worldview. A good discussion on health care reform in America really needs to begin with the philosophy behind the health care. When we say "affordable health care for everyone" or that "no one should be denied coverage," what do we really mean?

As Christians we need to start these conversations at the beginning. Any good dialogue on health care needs to include a talk about the philosophy of those in charge of the decision-making process. Our government (Republican and Democrat alike) has bought the theory of Darwinian Evolution as fact; even President Bush, in an interview just before leaving office, scoffed at the notion of the Bible as literal Truth. Having accepted Evolution, Deism (belief in an uninvolved, irrelevant God) gave way to widespread Scientific Materialism (belief that this physical, material world is all there is, and it exists as the result of random processes over billions of years) and Postmodernism (Truth does not exist, and all philosophies are equally worthy or worthless).

But accepting this theory has significant consequences for us, the governed, as we will soon find out under President Obama's proposed health care plan. Consider the points of this philosophy:

There is no God, no Creator.
There is nothing beyond death - we cease to exist; no Heaven, no Hell.
There is no ultimate purpose or meaning to life, we are free to do whatever we'd like.
There is no absolute, objective basis for morality or ethics - whatever we choose to do, it must be considered as "natural" because the natural world is all that exists.

What would a society look like, operating according to this worldview? There being no God, I would not expect any mention of Him from our government, and government schools would not teach anything about Him to children.
There being no Heaven and no Hell, we would have to do our best to have a great time before we die, so our entire focus should be devoted to our happiness. I would consider myself entitled to the best life has to offer; I only get one trip through this buffet line, so why should I care about anyone else's experience?
With no higher purpose beyond my own happiness, I would do what I want to do. Sex? Drugs? Stealing? Adultery? What good is virtue that won't add one moment to my existence, since my existence is only guaranteed in the here and now?
Since nothing absolute exists (note the irony), I have no basis for telling anyone that anything is wrong. Might then makes right, be that 50% + 1 vote or a dictatorship. Those in charge are free to make the rules, because they are not accountable to any standard other than ones they create and agree to. And if they don't like the standards they create, why not make more?

Bringing the question back to health care:

Even if abortion kills a human being, why does that matter? That baby would have stopped me from having my best life now. If we know the baby is going to have a birth defect, why not kill it and be done, instead of spending a lot of money keeping an unproductive citizen alive? Why would we continue medical treatment for the elderly, or the terminall ill? These have nothing left to offer the rest of us. They are just sucking up resources that could be better spent helping younger people with a higher "quality of life." And who gets to draw the line in the sand, and decide who lives and who dies?

This is the terrifying road that the worldview of our government is leading us down. If there is nothing beyond the material world, there is no accountability for a government other than to its citizens. And they can be bribed, intimidated or coerced into accepting almost anything - human history is clear on this.

Our Founding Fathers wanted a limited government, with the bare minimum of centralized power possible to have the country function. The Bill of Rights itself protects the average citizen from the intrusions of government into civil life. They were wise to do this, for they recognized the tendencies of government since the beginning of time. Philosophy does matter, and not just to old men on university campuses. We are all about to get an enormous lesson in why it truly matters, and that lesson may just be the very literal death of some of us.

The White House Wants YOU!

2009-08-05T14:24:00.003-07:00

Or at least, they want to know about you. Are you daring to exercise your right to free speech, and have you been criticizing the health care bill proposed by President Obama?

How dare you, sir! The White House wants your fellow citizens to report you to them, so they'll be able to take care of the "misinformation" you are spreading. Does this sound too 1984 for you?

Check out this link to the White House's official blog:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

We have discussed many of the problems with government run health care right here on this blog. Feel free to call the White House, I'm right here and I'm not hiding. First they called me a domestic terrorist for being pro-life and for actually reading the Constitution. Now they want to stop me from telling the truth about the health care bill.

I encouraged you to read the bill for yourself, and make up your own mind! (<- dangerous misinformation)

I pointed out in the past that the government has a less-than-stellar record of running businesses successfully! (<- dangerous misinformation)

You probably thought it was extreme to compare modern day America to 1930s Germany. Now do you begin to see it? But I'm sure they mean no harm, they probably just want to re-educate me...

When Republicans Accept the Lie (Letter from John McCain)

2009-07-30T11:06:00.006-07:00

Below you'll read the form letter that my wife received from John McCain's office, after she emailed him about health care reform. Senator McCain has bought the first lie, which is that something has to be done. This has been President Obama's success, even if this current health care bill fails; he has changed the conversation fundamentally. "Fixing" health care is not what our government was designed to do. This is something best left to consumers and the free market, not government. On top of this principle, we have the evidence - look anywhere in the world, and you won't find this idea (government run health care) succeeding anywhere. Australia, France, Britain, Canada... it never works.

But now even the Republicans believe that something has to be done, that there has to be a government solution. And that is the most dangerous thing here; once you've accepted the general principle that government is the solution to the problem, we (conservatives) have lost. Once the government is in charge of health care, it will be a runaway train as government programs always are; lack of accountability goes hand in hand with corruption and waste. This should not surprise us, it is a truth as old as government itself. Have you stopped recently to consider the Bill of Rights? Interesting, isn't it, that the Founding Fathers saw fit to pass 10 amendments that effectively limit what government can do both to and for you. There is deep truth here, if we can but see it.

My questions for Christians are these: can God not care for you? How did Christians cope with illness and death for nearly 2000 years before our current health care system? At what point do insurance and government become the gods we truly serve?

July 30, 2009

Dear Mrs. Baldon:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts and concerns regarding health care reform. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

Our nation's health care system affects every aspect of American life and every component of our nation's economy, accounting for approximately a sixth of our nation's Gross Domestic Product. Also, as you are likely aware, health care spending has risen dramatically in recent years, far outpacing inflation, leaving countless families with difficult decisions about providing care for loved ones. Even Medicare, the vital safety net program for 45 million seniors and disabled individuals, is facing fiscal insolvency and higher out of pocket costs for beneficiaries.

This is simply unsustainable. Health care costs are rising and, if left unaddressed, will undermine Medicare and private insurance. Private insurance currently covers about two-thirds of all Americans and if these programs are undermined or eliminated, it could potentially add to the 48 million Americans currently without any form of health insurance. While the prospects of health care reform are daunting, it must be done, but done right, and in a truly bipartisan fashion.

I believe that there are four pillars that should help guide reform: affordability, portability, access, and quality. No one piece is more important than another, but taken together, I believe that we can create a health care system that can provide affordable, quality health care coverage for all Americans.

Our reform efforts should create a system that enables people to access affordable health coverage that includes high quality health care. Americans want to be able to choose their doctors, coverage, and care, and to have the freedom to seek employment that is not dependent on whether or not insurance coverage is provided. I believe that we can reform the current system to achieve this goal without turning to a government-run plan which would lead to rationed care, creating delays in treatment and eliminating consumer choice.

An increasing amount of our health care dollars and resources are directed towards treating chronic conditions such as heart disease and obesity. Therefore, any new reform must also encourage prevention initiatives that work. Medicare and Medicaid payment systems must also be reformed to promote prevention.

In addition to improving medical care and reducing costs, I believe our health care system should use health information technology to improve efficiency and quality in health care, and that we should find ways to reduce the number of medical malpractice lawsuits, which drive up the cost of health care and make coverage more expensive.

During the recent mark-up of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's health reform bill, I supported an amendment which would prevent health care providers from being required to participate in abortions if doing so would violate their personal moral and ethical convictions. As you may know, I have consistently opposed measures which encourage or lead to more abortions, including the use of any federal funding for abortions.

I was also a strong proponent of an amendment that would have required Members of Congress to participate in the proposed public health plan if one is enacted into law. If the health care reform legislation that is being considered becomes law, it would force millions of people to give up their current forms of health care coverage and participate in the government run program. I believe that Members of Congress cannot expect these individuals to participate in this new public program if they are not willing to enroll themselves and their families in the same program.

On Wednesday, July 15, 2009, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the Affordable Health Choices Act on a party line vote of 13-10. I voted against the legislation because it does little to actually lower health care costs and still leaves 34 million people uninsured. The actual final cost of this legislation to our country and its taxpayers is still undetermined, but the Congressional Budget Office has stated that the bill substantially expands federal responsibility for health care costs without addressing the critical changes necessary to reduce the anticipated federal health spending. While I understand the need for reform and will continue to support meaningful measures that will lower costs, improve access to quality health care and expand coverage, I cannot support this bill in its current form because it spends too much, taxes too much, leaves too many people uninsured and does nothing to drive down health care costs.

Again, thank you for sharing your views on this important issue. Please be assured that I will continue to keep them in mind as Congress considers legislation to reform our nation's health care system. Feel free to contact me on this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

John McCain
United States Senator

JM/dmm

The War for the Unborn: International Update

2009-07-29T08:44:00.003-07:00

Austin Ruse from C-Fam's Friday Fax shared a great interview about the international abortion fight, which you can read here (5 minutes or so):

http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.1328/pub_detail.asp

Coerced abortions, like those described in the interview, are government mandated in China and mandated via blackmail in other places from the UN, itself. President Obama did commit to reducing the number of abortions, while keeping them legal. So far his policies have expanded abortion availability and international funding; as Rocco Buttiglione says, I hope the President does what he committed to doing.

In the links section of my blog, you'll find the "Friday Fax" link - this will get you signed up for the weekly email and you can stay up-to-date on international abortion developments.

Sotomayor Confirmed in Committee, 13-6

2009-07-28T14:19:00.003-07:00

Judge Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court was voted on by committee today, with the vote being 13-6 in favor of sending her nomination to the Senate floor. She is expected to be easily confirmed, due to the Democratic majority of 60 seats. The vote was along party lines, except that Graham (R-SC) sided with the Democrats and voted in favor of Sotomayor's nomination.

Any strict Constitutionalist has major problems with Sotomayor, outside of her comments about race and policy-making from the judical bench. She has had 10 cases be reviewed by the Supreme Court, 8 of which have been overturned - including the recent, famous "firefighter case" where she ruled that a city is justified to throw out test results for promotions if too few minorities pass the test. She believes that being a Hispanic woman with a rich life experience makes her a good judge; I believe a wise person with a Biblical worldview and a humble heart makes a wise judge.

I would prefer a judge who strictly upheld the law and the Constitution, according to the intents and thoughts of the Framers, which is why I am opposed to her nomination. This is yet another reason that Presidential elections are so critical; Supreme Court Justices are appointed, not elected, and they serve for life (or until they choose to retire). This decision will affect laws in our country for decades to come.

Health Care Bill Criticized... by CNN?

2009-07-27T11:22:00.004-07:00

I almost fell out of my chair this morning; the unthinkable happened. A liberal media outlet let loose on President Obama's health care proposal with both barrels, asking some very good questions and pointing out just what we all stand to lose if this bill passes.

Take a look at the article:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/24/news/economy/health_care_reform_obama.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009072410

This type of thinking showing up here, combined with President Obama's falling poll numbers (he is less popular at this point of his Presidency than George W. Bush was; that has to sting) leads me to believe there is hope to stop this. Again, I urge you to make sure your representatives are representing you - find the link on the left and call their offices to see where they stand and give them your opinion. They do work for you, after all.

The True Defender of Our Faith

2009-07-24T16:22:00.009-07:00

The darkness recedes on waves of agony, and reality slams back into focus. Searing pain rips through your midsection, and your hands involuntarily close on the broken spear shaft sunk deep into your belly. The body of an enemy lies nearby, his hand clutching the other part of the shaft, your own sundered blade through his neck. The wound is on fire. Breath comes in short gasps. Glancing left and right, you see that no one lives on this hill - bodies of friends and foe lay all about. For a while, the line had held, but the attacks were relentless. Hours ago the line had been severed into smaller groups, each trying to make a last, desperate stand. A few minutes ago a hard blow had finally split your shield, and that had been the beginning of the end... with your shield gone, it was only a matter of time.
Another wave of pain forces a grimace; this was not the end you’d imagined. The shrieking of the enemy horde reaches your ears - they are massing for another attack, and this time there’s no one left to stop them. Such a sad waste. The shrieking is getting louder, but already the world is growing dim. The pain is getting further away, and you’re getting colder. Try as you might, you can't move your hands from the weapon that has killed you, not even to die with your sword in your hand.
The hatred of their screams hits you like a physical force as the enemy closes. The first of them run right past, but then a pair notice you still draw breath, and they pause to savor their kill. Determined to give them no satisfaction, you stare as defiantly as you can directly into their eyes, and they raise their cruelly barbed spears for the killing blow. The blows descend –
And a shield slams down into place, both spears deflecting wide and leaving the enemy open to your savior's counterthrusts. In the second it takes you to register that you still live, they are both dead.
Down on the ground, you can't get a good look at this soldier, but he seems as fresh as when the battle began. Others of the enemy horde have realized his presence, and you catch just a glimpse of a strong jaw line, of a terrible, righteous anger in the eyes. Shield and sword ready, he stands over you as if made of stone. A sea of enemies converges on your spot, far too many for this one man to stand against.
Yet stand he does! And more than that – the enemy is falling like wheat to the harvest. Every blow is dispatching more of the foe to eternity, but he has to tire at some point. Now the screams of the enemy shift to a cry of recognition – they know this champion, and they come at him in a snarling rage.
For a moment it seemed as if you might live, but your vision is dimming again, and you're shivering with cold even though the sun blazes overhead. No one survives wounds like yours; you've been around long enough to know a mortal wound when you see it. Whispering thanks to this fellow soldier for his efforts, you close your eyes...

-This-
booms a voice above you. You have never heard a more beautiful sound, as if an entire song has been sung in a single word...
-one-
The champion is speaking! Each word trembles with barely restrained power. Opening your eyes again, the world has come back into sharper focus...
-is-
Growing slightly warmer as the words flow over you, you watch as his sword flashes and another enemy spins away. The very air around you bristles with electricity, like a storm about to break...
-MINE!-
The word itself bursts forth as a mighty shout, cutting through the enemy like a scythe. The ground beneath you shakes, and one last thought drifts across your mind as you finally lose consciousness...
Who is this man?

Awakening this time is somehow more peaceful; the pain remains, but something is different. The world around you is silent - the battle must be over! But how can it be? Looking up, you see your deliverer looking down on you, face covered in grime and sweat. He smiles and leans down, and it strikes you that this might be the most genuine, honest face you've ever laid eyes on. Overcome with gratitude, you move to speak. With a gesture he silences you.
"Listen, friend. The wound need not be mortal, but we have to remove the spearhead." He continues, answering the fear in your eyes and the slight shaking of your head. A voice inside screams at you: the spearhead is all that's keeping you alive! If he pulls it out your lifeblood will soon follow! Your shaking hands grip the spear even tighter.
"There is little time left. You have to trust me. Let me help you... let go of the spear. It's killing you." His hand on your shoulder is strong and comforting at the same time, but the voice inside cries out again. No one can save you from this! If that spear comes out, you die!
Looking into his eyes, you try to take your hands off the rough wooden shaft, but the muscles have been gripping it tight for too long. It will take more strength than you have. In a voice barely more than a gasp, you ask him to help. "I-I can't-I can't do it. Can you help me let it go?"
"You had but to ask. I won't lie to you; this is going to hurt." In a single motion he effortlessly moves aside your hands, and pushes the spear the rest of the way through the wound. A ragged cry rips from your lips. Before, you were in pain, but this! You didn't know there was agony like this in all the world –
And then it's gone, so quickly you wonder if you imagined it. Looking down, expecting to see blood pumping from your stomach, you stare for a moment in shock.
Not only is there no blood, there's no wound. Your armor is whole again, and shining like new from the smith. In amazement, you look up again, eyes wide. And then you recognize your deliverer, your champion...your Savior.
"My Lord!" As fast as you had started to sit up, you throw yourself face down on the ground before him. How did you not see it before? Shaking –this time with reverence and awe – your breath is once again coming in short bursts.
"Rise, faithful servant." He reaches down and helps you up to stand before Him, a wry smile on His face. "I think you've spent enough time on the ground for one day," he continues. Was that the faintest hint of laughter in His voice? You can only match His gaze for the briefest moment, and then you lower your eyes in respect. He speaks again, and His voice is a melody that moves your soul to tears.
"You have stood for me this day, and I will remember it. One day all struggles will cease, forever... but until that time, go forth in my Name. And hold fast to this promise: no one who stands for me will ever stand alone.”
A moment passes. Daring to look up again, you realize everything has changed! Where your Lord stood, a bubbling stream now flows up from the ground. Its banks run thick with green grass, lush and inviting. Kneeling to drink, you hadn't realized until this moment how terribly thirsty you were. The water is pure and sweet. Having drunk your fill, you stand up and see the gifts He has left for you: leaning against a nearby tree rest your sword and your shield, restored to gleaming perfection once more. Taking them up, you set your foot on the path before you, in search of your sword brothers.

Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us to take up the full armor of God, that we may stand against the Evil One.

We are never instructed to remove it.

Free Our Healthcare Now

2009-07-23T11:49:00.002-07:00

Please click on the title link and sign the petition - it will take about 2 minutes of your time, and we need the weight of many, many signatures. It is looking more and more like some version of "health care reform" is going to be passed; the Democrats have the votes and this is the President's defining moment.

Please consider the implications for yourself, your family, and your country; take 2 minutes and sign today.

2 Thoughts Today...

2009-07-20T11:30:00.004-07:00

President Obama, champion of public schools and the NEA, who has sworn to make strong public schools a priority... sends his kids to private school.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/21/AR2008112103248.html)

President Obama, along with every member of the House and Senate, will soon be considering how to overhaul health care in America. Unfortunately, even the conservatives believe that something has to be done (read: government money needs to be spent). But... all government officials have their own separate plan, which will remain separate under every single one of the programs being advanced by either side, so the plans they think "will be perfect for the nation!" are not good enough for they themselves to use.

(http://www.opm.gov/insure/index.aspx)

I believe a wise man once said that actions speak louder than words?

What is Card Check?

2009-07-16T11:20:00.005-07:00

Play the game* by clicking above! Learn about this very real threat to the American workplace; the game might seem over the top, but it is sadly accurate.

The Employee Free Choice Act would destroy the traditional American workplace, unionizing virtually any company the unions choose to focus on. This means anything you buy, from food to electronics, will cost more. As in so many parts of our culture, seniority will replace merit as the primary qualification for raises, bonuses and advancement.

Is this truly what we want America to be?

(*the game does use the example of a tattoo parlor as the workplace in question; consider this comic relief but don't get offended and miss the point here)

Politics & Priorities

2009-07-13T12:55:00.005-07:00

So much has been happening in the realm of politics in the last month, and I have posted on almost none of it. Instead, I have been thinking as to what the most effective way is to spread Light in the darkness of this world. Does the world need one more blog out there, decrying the actions of President Obama, of Congress?

I think most people ignore politics - or stay purposefully away from it - because they think either its not their problem, or its not their calling, or its beyond them in some way. Until very recently, probably over the last year or so, I felt the same way. One person cannot really change much, when 90 million people vote... what can I do? What does it matter?

Here is what changed for me: I thought long and hard about my relationship with Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus as my Savior and my Lord - what, truly, does that mean?

Should I be relieved that I am not going to Hell when I die? Yes! But is that enough?
Should I be reading the Word, and praying daily? Yes! But is that enough?
Should I attend church every week? Yes! But is that enough?

We live in a day and age that says you should own no man as king. We don't understand sovereignty, or what it really means. But if I have asked Jesus to save me, if I have acknowledged Jesus as my Lord, then I am sworn into his service. My life is no longer mine, but His. If there is a thing that I can do to serve Him, either with my life or my death, then that is the thing I have been called to do. Let me put it this way:

As I asked myself if I am doing enough as Christian, I am missing the entire point. I am showing that I don't understand the oath that I swore. For me, I came to realize that I am either a Christian, or I am not. If I am trying to live 50% Christian and hold back 50% for myself and what I want to do, then I am not fulfilling my vow - living that way is no different than living as an unbeliever. Please hear my heart; I am not saying there is anything I can do to be saved, or that Christ's work done at the cross and the grave was not complete. God has saved me by grace, through faith, and I cannot work my way to heaven. But once saved, what is my calling?

I have come to realize that from the morning into the deepness of night, I am either serving Christ or striving against Him. Period. In the realm of eternity, there is no compromise, and the world is truly as black and white as anyone could ever want. The lies of the Adversary, Satan, the Deceiver, are nearly endless. He seeks to confuse everything, to twist and corrupt. But as I turn toward Absolute Truth, the Truth found only in the Creator of All Things, God Himself, I must choose: I serve the Truth, or I serve a lie. And if I serve the Truth, then I must serve the Truth in every way; for if even one small part is a lie, then I no longer serve the Truth.

This is not to say I can live a life of perfection. I fail daily and well I know it. But it speaks to my deeper motivation, that of my heart: what am I trying to accomplish with the thing that I am doing, right now?

As I sit to watch a movie, am I glorifying God in the viewing, or have I just paid to further the lies of the Adversary?
As I speak, are my words reflecting the Light within me, or am I slandering those I should be upholding? Am I speaking truth, or a lie?
As I eat my food, am I caring properly for the temple that my body now is, as the Holy Spirit dwells within me? Or am I satisfying a craving of the flesh?
As I perform each action of my day - be it working for a living, kissing my wife, surfing the Internet, using the restroom... am I serving the Lord in the manner I have sworn to do?

My life has become a wrestling match, it seems sometimes. So many of my prayers now start with "But God, I really wanted to-" or "But God, its only-" and then I think about the questions I just asked, above. And I still fail every single day. But my standard has changed; or to put it more accurately, I finally understand that my standard is a lie. I either serve the Truth of God's Standard, which He has defined in His timeless Word, the Bible - or I serve a lie. There is no neutrality, there is good and evil; all that remains between them is the choice that I must make every second of every day. And sometimes, let me tell you, it is very, very hard. But the difficulty does not change my calling; if anything, it affirms it.

And how does all this relate to politics, and current events? Because politics is just a word for the choices that our leaders are making everyday, the choices that affect us all. If the person making the choice does not believe the Truth, we will be given a lie as policy; we will be given a lie as a new law; we will be given a lie and told that it is true, because the giver dwells in the darkness and does not know the Light. As we cannot see the heart of our fellow man, we must judge their words and decisions: are they fit to lead us? Our politicians are merely reflections of ourselves. If we would change them, we must look within. We have to know what God teaches. We then have to align our beliefs with His Word. We then have to find leaders to represent us that will further God's purposes.

For as I have said here above, we either serve the Truth, or a lie. If our leaders show no interest in Truth, then we should not be surprised with what comes, but we must be prepared. We must find those for the next election cycle (2010) that will stand fast for the Truth, and we must elect them. I, for one, am tired of choosing the lesser of two evils. Let us pray for, and diligently seek, those who will make the best choices - not for us, but for the advancement of God's kingdom. And as we talk about politics, and our differences, let us speak with grace and love. We have to remember that we have been called out of the darkness of this world, but most have not been. As infinite Love has been shown to us, we must show it to others in our words and our actions.

God does have a place in politics; He should be at the forefront, and we should be following him in this area just like every other.

...and Having Done All, to Stand.

2009-07-10T12:49:00.002-07:00

Stand fast! Take your place in the battle line, and hold forth your faith in the Living God as your shield. The day of evil has come; the shrieking hosts of the Evil One attack, screaming their hatred with every step. Look to the right and to the left: encourage and uphold your brothers as we stand together in this place. For it is the Lord Christ whom we serve! He has raised up his standard and with it, Victory.

Stand fast! Let the weapons of the enemy break upon our shield wall, for our faith is in True Justice and Perfect Love, held in the strong sword arm of the One whose very name is both Faithful and True.

Again I say, brothers: having done all else, let us stand!

(inspired by Ephesians 6:13 and Revelation 19:11)

Greater is He who is in us...

2009-07-08T17:20:00.002-07:00

Take heart! We serve the One who is greater than all the kings and rulers of this earth. Truly, greater is He whose Swift Sure Hand upholds us, than our Adversary whose darkness seeks to cover the whole world. Stand fast; the false night cannot prevail against the coming dawn!

(inspired by 1 John 4)

The ACLU, False Men in our Midst...

2009-07-08T17:09:00.004-07:00

How much are you going to allow to be taken from you, before you fight? See the link at the left to call your Congressmen and women to preserve this monument.

You can also visit www.donttearmedown.com and sign their petition.

John 1:5, BEV (Baldon Expanded Version)

2009-07-07T13:28:00.003-07:00

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend it. Those lost in Eternal Night still cling to their false dreams of what this world looks like at dawn, exchanging the bright Truth of Creation for a lie of their own making. And yet the Light reveals Truth, and those who choose to remain in darkness must cringe before it... for the Light burns, it purifies, it refines.

We have been called out of this world's darkness, our hearts warmed by the Flame that is the Christ. We have been chosen, and given purpose! Rise up, O Servants of the Great Light. Blaze, as the Beacons of Hope that you have become!

Lord, let our lights so shine before men, as to reflect the glory of the Light that dwells within us! May the Light ever increase, drawing all men unto Itself. Amen.

And Much of Madness, and More of Sin...

2009-07-06T14:15:00.004-07:00

And Horror the soul of the plot. (Edgar Allan Poe, The Conqueror Worm)

I have always liked this particular poem by Poe. I think this line sums up our current situation in America: the madness has seized hold of so many it can no longer even be recognized as madness.

And yet madness it is: the philosophy that sees borrowing money as the way out of debt, and if that doesn't work, borrow still more. And angels sob, in the poem - elsewhere, the Adversary laughs. He above all knows well the trap that debt lays at our feet, the snare that awaits the unwary borrower.

Here is the article I was reading at CNN.com: http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/06/news/economy/arra_stimulus_payouts/index.htm

Truly? Early signs of progress? We misread the problem, but we are sure the solution that we have in place is the right answer, just give it time? Let me say it as simply as I can put it: you can't fix the economy by running up more debt. One problem, you might solve. But what of the monstrous debt you create? Is that somehow less of a problem?

It does not have to be how it is. I think that many people don't even know what proper government looks like. But what we are doing - giving more and more of our wealth to the government, so that they can fix out every problem in life - this is madness. And we have to stop it. 2010 will be a critical election cycle, as it is our next chance to address this wrong that has been done, and is still being done. We need to find those who would lead us, not coddle us; represent us, not repeal all that our Founding Fathers left us as their legacy.

A Generation Cries Out for a Sign...

2009-07-02T13:28:00.006-07:00

A generation cries out for a sign; a nation weeps for what has been lost, and what cannot now be found in all the land.

Hear then, O Sons of Dust! Hear and remember! Listen, now to the voice of the True Bard, the Goodly-Wise and Father of Bards, the High King of Heaven. For He is generous; His Swift Sure Hand is ever merciful, His Healing Hand ever gracious. Let the weary gather in the shelter of His Presence, and find rest!

You seek a sign, and see the silence of Heaven as proof that no sign will be given. Indeed, many believe that there is none to give the sign.
And yet I tell you this day, the sign has already been given!
Who are we, to tread upon streets of gold and yearn for pebbles?
Who are we, dressed in the finest garments of kings, to steal rags from the back of a beggar?
Who are we, to seek the living among the dead?
Why seek you the wisdom of Heaven among the foolishness of men?

For I tell you, the sign you seek has been given:
I give you the Arrow from the Quiver of Heaven, whose flight shows all men the True Path.
Surely an arrow, once flown, cannot be recalled!
I give you the Word already spoken, Truth that walked among us in the form of a man.
Surely a word, once spoken, cannot be unsaid!
I give you the Water of Life, poured out as the Offering to quench the endless thirst of those come from dust, and to the dust return.
Surely water, once drunk, cannot return to the jar!

Behold, the One who laid the foundations of the Earth knew from before the beginning that the sign was required. It is the glory of kings to seek out a matter, and this matter has been sought by the High King, Himself.

But the folly of men is ever such:
That those with two eyes to see would remain blind,
that those with two ears to hear would remain deaf,
that those with two lips to speak would remain dumb.

Rise up, Men of Truth! Oppose the false men in your midst, and take your stand upon the Rock of your Salvation. For I tell you now that a worthy Lord requires your service, that this world would not fall to darkness. His heel has been bruised by the Great Adversary; but the Ancient One of Evil has been crushed by the Hero-Feat of Righteousness. This, then, is the day foretold, as the ground itself trembles with the trumpet’s call; great armies clash.

Every man must take his place in the shield wall, serving the true Lord, or the false one. A choice must be made, and the battle joined. For the sign given is a call to fight; and the Great Mystery is this:
Life comes only to those who willingly lay down their lives in death. For flesh is born of flesh, and blood is born of blood; but spirit is born of Spirit, and Spirit ever more remains. A life given in this place is but a small thing, given for the Life to come.

Here end the words of the True Bard. Let him hear it who will.

Worldviews vs. Politics

2009-06-29T14:45:00.006-07:00

Politics has become, for many, a weary topic. They would rather it would go away, they don't like to discuss it, and really, what does it matter anyway?

As I reflect on what I have written here, and what I read from both the Bible and our cultural media outlets daily, I have come to realize that very little of what we discuss here in this blog is truly political. Rather, it has everything to do with worldview. Once upon a time in America, Democrats and Republicans approached problems differently, but with the same basic worldview. Our disagreements were policy-based; how best to live out what we saw to be the "right thing to do."

But the divide has grown, and our culture is no longer unified in its basic worldview. We do not agree on whether God exists, or (if He does) what His nature is, or most of the basic questions of right and wrong... or even if there is right and wrong. And so as we disagree on policy, now - what used to be called "politics" - we are really disagreeing on much deeper, more fundamental issues. We are disagreeing at the level of worldview, not politics - and disagreement at such a level leaves no room for compromise.

Take the major issues of our time: Abortion. Homosexual rights. Climate Change. Universal Health Care. They are all worldview questions, first and foremost. Is abortion murder? Are homosexuals truly born the way they are, or is it sinful behavior? Is mankind a steward of the Earth, or the determiner of its destiny? Should an elite few be making life and death decisions for the others on a daily basis? These questions don't lend themselves to compromise.

I believe that Solomon, wisest ever among us here on Earth, had it right in Lamentations 1:1-9. There is nothing new under the sun. The problems that plague our land have plagued lands since Creation, and they will continue to do so until the end. The Bible is relevant to our world today, because nothing has really changed since Adam fell. And when we discuss worldviews, we are really discussing what we believe to be the meaning and purpose of existence. More than any other, these are the conversations we should be having with our fellow men and women; so few have any real hope left. Many have bought the lie of evolution in ways they don't even realize (how often do you hear this: "The Bible just isn't relevant to the 21st Century."). This is evolutionary thinking applied to history, the belief that somehow people and societies are 'evolving' and becoming more advanced over the years. When you step back and think about it, the average American has less useful skills (in the context of history) than most of his ancestors. Do we truly believe that our dependency on electric and battery power makes us smarter than Adam? Keep in mind that the Bible tells us King Solomon was the wisest who ever lived, or ever will live (1 Kings 3:12) - and he has been dead for nearly 3000 years.

And that makes the worldview conversation even more vital. No matter the starting point, we must build the relationships that will allow us to engage in the conversation that matters: worldview.

Let me encourage you that God created you for a specific purpose. There has never been a person like you in the history of the world, and there never will be again. You live in your community, in this time, for a purpose.

My worldview begins with Absolute Truth: God is (Gen 1:1). And God loves us enough that he sent Jesus to die for us (John 3:16). And by accepting what Jesus did for us, and owning Him as our Savior, that we can go to Heaven and be with God when our mortal bodies fail (Romans 10:9).

This is where the Christian worldview begins. Where does yours begin? Until we figure this question out, the answers to the other important questions of our time will elude us.

Cap and Tax... er, Trade Bill in the House

2009-06-26T14:28:00.003-07:00

As I write this, the House sits at 210-210, with 14 undecided on the legislation in question. In short, it would add a tax on all energy use in the USA, in the form of artificial caps put on how much a given company or factory, etc., can pollute over a given time period. Companies that don't pollute as much can sell these credits to companies that do pollute, and over time the amount of the credits available each year shrinks, to force us towards 'cleaner' energy.

What you end up with are massive increases in energy costs, new government bureaucracy (and really, who ever has enough of that?), and people out of work as companies go out of business who can't comply with the law and increased costs. The numbers are in the neighborhood of your energy costing another $4,600/year to run your household, by 2020. Keep in mind that the cost of everything you buy - since it all takes energy to produce - goes up during this period as well.

But hey, it's for a good cause, right? I mean, if we don't do this, we all die from global warming, so paying more is better than dying - isn't it?

This is not about global warming, or increased revenue, or saving the world: this is about power. Who sets the limits on the pollution that can be produced? Who becomes the gatekeeper of our entire economic system? As with health care, the government becomes our surrogate parent, our world, and dare I say - our god. By the end we look to it for sustenance in every aspect of our lives.

At what point are we going to wake up? At what point are we sick of the lies? At what point do we shout from the hills that this is enough, and life should be more than turning to the government to solve every problem, real and imagined, in our land? I tell you, brothers, that I am sick of it all.

Consider these lies:

That our world evolved, and there is no God.
That societies evolve, and we are greater than our ancestors.
That global warming exists, and is a threat to us.
That abortion is not murder, and is beneficial for women and societies.
That homosexuality is not a sin, and is a normal behavior that should be embraced as such.
That cradle to the grave health care is a fundamental human right.
That state education is a fundamental human right.
That this life we have here on Earth is the most important thing we have, and nothing is worth giving it up.

And perhaps the worst lie of all:

If I sit at my desk, or on my couch, and ignore all these problems, someone else will fix them and I can go back to being entertained and worried about my own pleasure in life.

So ignore this post. Do nothing. The world will not end in a fiery apocalypse. In the words of the great Deceiver from Genesis, you will not surely die. The world will simply continue the decline it has been in for centuries, and the legacy you leave your children will be... nothing. And your mark on your nation will be... nothing. And this is the life we so desperately cling to?

Take 5 minutes, and email or call your Representatives, and your Senators. A link on the left side of this site will help you find them. Do not let this bill - the single biggest tax in American history - be passed. Please.

Art

2009-06-24T16:24:00.005-07:00

When asked about evolution sometimes, I will mention Art. How does our appreciation of the beautiful - the enjoyment of our senses in an experience that has nothing to do with the need for simple survival - how do these things reconcile with random biological processes advancing species to 'our level' over billions of years? Great Art elevates us, it gives a glimpse, it shares with us a tiny sliver of a single note of the Song that is Eternity. I submit to you that Great Art is the highest mortal expression of design, and it can be a powerful instrument (pardon the pun) to point us to our Creator.

But Art, like so much else, has become corrupted. Not so much Art itself, but our ability to recognize it, and label it properly. Like all else, Evil hates Art and seeks to corrupt it. Having no ability of its own to create, Evil seeks to distort, to subtly alter.

I am not reflecting on a specific piece of art here, but there are so many examples. As a society we have sacrificed our sense of wonder on the altar of the Now, always thinking more information is better, more input is better, and never focusing on the quality.

We (as a culture) don't have the attention span anymore, thanks in large part to technology. Our collective cynicism bars us from enjoying so many simple things in life. What passes for Art now seems designed to shock, to horrify, to do anything to jar us awake from our apathetic slumber. We have ceased to believe in a Creator, and so we no longer view the created as His handiwork, or ourselves as His image. We explore the dark recesses of the soul without any regard for the consequences of our discovery, thinking only that the discovery itself is what's important. We tear open box after box with speed that Pandora would envy. And with each new horror explored, as we further understand the human capacity for evil even as we deny it in ourselves, the apathy grows to consume that also; soon, we are no longer horrified, and that thought alone should horrify us.

We have become lost, disorientated, and the madness seems to be everywhere-it seems to be normal.

But there is a Compass (though not golden), there is a way to orientate ourselves in the darkness that surrounds us. There is a Light, if we will only be still and see it. For the Creator of all gave us Art; he gave us vision, and ears that delight in music, and minds to consider the great questions of the ages. He gave us mouths, to question and to answer, to speak Truth - His Truth. He gave us the divine spark, our ability to be awed, to look about the creation in wonder of the Creator. It is sad to me how many Christians seek to avoid the Arts whenever possible, instead of engaging in them in positive ways. Writing, music, dance, painting, photography; these have the capacity for some of the greatest Good (and Evil) a society can achieve. Great Art endures by it's very nature, and so we must strive - as Christians, as Americans - to do what we can to create art that both endures, and glorifies the Lord, the High King of Heaven, Creator of all.

When a song, or a poem, or a picture touches your heart, share it with me please. I will endeavour to do the same for you.

State Budgets in Crisis

2009-06-24T10:14:00.005-07:00

19 states do not have 2010 budgets passed yet, with one week to go before essential services begin to be shut down (title link to the CNN article). Not only have people been living beyond their means, but government as well - which makes sense, since any government is just a group of people. The Bible speaks to money issues, as it does everything else in our society: these are not new problems, or even rare ones. And so some verses, for our lawmakers, and anyone who would heed the Word of God; I know I have to hear these repeatedly to get them hammered into my thick skull. And believe me, I am still learning them:

There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up. (Proverbs 21:20, NASB)

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7, NIV)

For THE LOVE OF money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (I Timothy 6:10, NIV, emphasis mine)

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:35, NIV)

Simple rules that can be very tough to follow, and we need to hear them often. Save money in the good times, to cover the bad times. Give, so you might receive - we serve a Mighty God who is ready to bless us in our obedience! Do not love money, but use it wisely.

And... spend less than you make! When was the last time the conversation in government centered on spending less (and sticking to it), versus increasing revenues? More money to spend, without addressing the character flaws that led to the overspending, will always lead to more debt. There is no clever way around this principle.

I am praying for our lawmakers to have wisdom as they finalize these budgets, and I am praying for wisdom as I honestly evaluate my own budget - am I doing what God wants me to do, with my money?

Healthcare, President Obama & ABC

2009-06-23T13:31:00.005-07:00

This story is a big deal to me on 2 levels, and I'll try to be brief in discussing both.

First, the obvious: I don't want the government running health care. Here is my argument:

1) The government has no experience running a successful business - in fact, their record runs in quite the opposite direction. In our current 'economic crisis' they have managed to lose billions of dollars from the stimulus bills and TARP money. Yes, you read that right. They can't account for billions of dollars. But take any government program - Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, GM, Chrysler, the USPS... show me a single profitable entity, or even costs being controlled to the 'break even' point, or even just money not being mishandled and wasted... this is me, not holding my breath.

2) President Obama will come out Wednesday night and say some variation of "Hey, if you like your health care, keep it! We just want something for the little guy, something for the guy who can't afford the stuff you have." And that sounds wonderful, but someone has to pay for it. And someone has to administer it. And consider the effect on the free market, once the government jumps in with a subsidized cheaper alternative which has the perception of being free. Any sane employer will drop or reduce their coverages, knowing that their employees can go this other route. I don't blame the employers one bit for doing this, as they are trying to make a living themselves, and turn a profit (which, by the way, is not a moral evil). But where, then, does the average American end up? With a socialist health care system that does not work (see Canada, the UK, etc). Are we willing to gamble trillions of our collective tax dollars that the government here can succeed where others failed, when the people running the program will have no financial interest in whether or not it is run effectively (i.e., profitably)?

3) You don't have to be trapped in this current system. There is a better way, but it requires a change in your mindset. In the history of the world, health care has never been like it has been over the last 50-60 years. Consider this alternative: charlesfreedom.blogspot.com/2009/05/health-care-reform-as-god-intended.html

On the 2nd level is ABC bending over backward to further the aims of the President with his domestic policy. Here is the danger:

1) The media has striven to set themselves up as the source of objectivity within American culture. Constantly and subtly they remind us that they report the news, somehow placing themselves above questions of worldview, politics and religion. They are gatekeepers of information, they believe, and they further believe they present this information in an unbiased fashion. Sadly, many Americans have bought this lie completely, but that does give the media a certain power - and with that power, a responsibility to use it wisely.

2) When the media (in this case, ABC) does the type of programming that is happening Wednesday night, they are using their alleged objectivity to fundamentally alter the argument. From Wednesday forward, the argument will become not "should the government be involved in health care?" but instead "what should the government do about health care?" As in the 'economic crisis' of the last few months, inaction will no longer be an option, with any action - however ill-conceived - being preferable to the people.

3) ABC is also holding up President Obama in such a way as to transfer their 'objectivity' to him, in the minds of the people. President Obama then goes from one side of the argument, to the referee of the entire argument. He no longer represents just one viewpoint among many, but strength is lent to his words by association.

4) ABC was approached about commercial time by those who disagree with President Obama's plan. Their offers to buy ad time were rejected, due to the content of their ad (which would have been critical to the Obama plan). Read the story yourself, here: www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=49720 What is funny to me is that they "have never allowed advocacy advertising" but here they are, giving an entire program over to advocacy.

And so you may well disagree with me on President Obama's plan, you may think that it is a great idea. I would encourage you to research it for yourself, and look at the results of similar plans in other countries. Like I stated above, the government running a business = disaster. The government running a business + making life & death decisions for its citizens = disaster, squared.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

2009-06-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

Clicking on the title link above will take you directly to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and you can then read it for yourself.

Parents in America, we don't face a single threat today that is greater than this piece of legislation. The US is one of the few members of the UN that has not ratified this convention, and it is vitally important that we never do so.

First, a point of law in America. Foreign treaties trump all US federal and state law, once we become party to the treaty. So regardless of any rights you have as a parent currently, once the Convention is ratified you will have what that document says you have, and no more. Why does this matter? Because of the legal precedents that have already been set in other countries, and international law.

The problem with this Convention is not so much in the specific language of the actual document, but the fact that it is very vague and open to interpretation. Several countries have considered it to say that your child has a right to a state education, such as Germany, where homeschooling is illegal. Parents have been interfered with by the state for 'forcing' their children to go to church; or 'forcing' their religious views on their children (again, versus those views taught in government schools). Discipline can also become very dangerous for parents, in that this document shifts all the concern in discipline to the child's 'self-esteem' and 'emotional well-being.' Any focus on correcting wrongful and immoral behavior is lost, and so tough discipline is seen as abusive once the mindset behind this Convention is embraced.

I would encourage you to go to www.parentalrights.org and sign up for their informational emails. Also, please call or email your Congressmen to ask them to vote against the Convention.

My last thoughts on this are some questions to ask yourself:
*If the UN is truly concerned with the rights of children, why is it the largest supporter of abortion in the world? Wouldn't the right to be born in the first place have to be adequately addressed, before we can speak to these other rights of children?
*If the goal of the Convention is to defend the individual liberties of children, why is it so important that America sign? We have always led the world in the cause of individual liberty (for better or worse). If this Convention does not change anything for American families - which is the main argument from it's proponents - then why is the Convention necessary here in America? Are we not then passing a law just to have a law?

I would submit to you that there is an agenda at work here, and the issue, as always, is power. This Convention places power into the hands of the State at the cost of power from the hands of parents. Biblically, we are called as children to honor our father and our mother, not the village it took to raise us (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3). I do not believe that the order God placed into society from the beginning needs to be changed - raising children is, and should remain, the responsibility of the parent.

PETA - Courtesy of The Onion

2009-06-19T11:12:00.002-07:00

PETA is a logical extension of evolutionary thought taken to extremes... and this "article" is hilarious. Enjoy!

(Click the title link)

Iran, the Tragedy

2009-06-17T07:37:00.004-07:00

What should America do about the Iranian Presidential elections? A very tough question to answer. I believe we will end up doing nothing, given our foreign policy toward Islamic countries to date in this administration; to interfere would be inconsistent with the "apology tour" we saw earlier this year by the President during his visits there.

But what should be done? Iran is an "Islamic Republic," which is laughable but allegedly democratic, at least in the sense that the position of President is gained by a general election. True power is held (and has been since 1989) by the Ayatollah Khamenei, who is the Supreme Leader and appoints most governmental officials. Here is a good article if you are interested in their form of government:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Leader_of_Iran

The voter turnout is said to have hit 85% for this election, and that is remarkable. Current President Ahmadinejad is said to have won by a 62/34 margin, which would be a landslide victory. What really happened? Can we trust these results? Based on past behavior, I would say no. For your consideration:

-Several hostages from the 1980 Iranian hostage crisis remember Ahmadinejad specifically being one of their captors.
-Ahmadinejad has publicly called the Holocaust a "myth."
-He has publicly called for the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel.
-He has persisted in the Iran nuclear development program despite repeated UN demands that he stop.
-He is very close, and has publicly sworn allegiance to, Ayatollah Khamenei (by kissing his ring). Khamenei had also stated, previous to the elections, that he saw Ahmadinejad being President for several more years.
-He has consistently sought closer ties to Russia and other Muslim states instead of the West, and Russia has already welcomed him - since the election - as the President of Iran, recognizing the election results as valid before the recount is completed.

Based on the body of his work, I don't see democracy in action. I see the same type of Oligarchy (where a few elite rule the rest) that is developing here in America. Interestingly, Ahmadinejad has already put in place rules to ration gasoline and he limits the interest rates and fees that banks can charge... sound familiar? There, as it will be here, those rules lead to greater centralized control under the guise of responsible government.

And so what should we do? I agree with taking no action in this situation. Iran is a mess that is unlikely to improve, the basic problem being the impossibility of having both Islam and democracy as the twin pillars of any society. I pray for those few Christians living there. I pray that when the time comes, the US stands with Israel against the Muslim world. I believe Ahmadinejad will remain as their 'President,' and I believe the attacks on Israel will increase, not decrease.

The action I would urge America to take is to stand fast with Israel. The stronger we stand with them, and the quicker we come to their aid in an attack (either terrorist or an act of war), the more stable the region will be. The stance we currently have, which seems to be not taking sides and encouraging reasonable dialogue, will not work. You cannot expect unreasonable and selfish people to suddenly act in a manner both reasonable and unselfish, no matter how flowery the words of your speeches.

Torture vs. Abortion

2009-05-28T12:35:00.003-07:00

The absurdity of moral relativism applied to policy is reaching new highs:

http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.1200/pub_detail.asp

Apparently, those who are against torture should also be pro-abortion, in order to save lives!

Huh?

I don't even know where to begin with this, other than to laugh. Once you have reached the point where dialogue of this type seems logical, then I don't think you and I can have a rational conversation. But Nicaragua is being criticized by the UN Convention Against Torture committee for its strong, pro-life stance. You read that right, or maybe you read that wrong? Because this is very, very wrong.

But how different is our country? Abortion here is legal, and I daresay encouraged around the nation. And yet we decry waterboarding as inhumane torture, and we are doing that to terrorists. If I don't laugh , I'll cry. Waterboarding lasts for seconds, with no permanent damage to anyone; abortion is permanent in its effects, death for one party and a lifetime of regret for another.

3 Simple Rules - for Camp, for Life

2009-05-28T12:20:00.004-07:00

Living the Christian life is difficult, but it doesn't have to be complex. Jesus had an amazing ability to break down difficult truths into simple stories, to make them understandable by anyone. In Matthew 22:35-40 Jesus breaks down the entirety of Old Testament law into 2 simple rules. And to close the final loophole, he gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 (to clearly define who your neighbor is, and what being a neighbor looks like).

At camp, I enforce discipline - and somewhere, Jerry Roussard and Jim Solomon are laughing at me, I know. I believe discipline is easier to maintain when the rules are simple, clear and consistently applied. And so I break it down to 3 simple rules, 2 from Jesus and one from me, Mr. Baldon:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
3. Give me your best in everything, all the time.

The application of these 3 into a life will result in all the other commandments being followed, as all the others just expand on these basic concepts. For the third rule, my own, I believe the entire Bible speaks to the concept of doing your best multiple times. We are created by God for a purpose, and to fulfill that purpose by definition we must give our best. We are to do all things as if we were doing them for God, because we are representing him in all that we do (3:17). As I discussed in a previous post, the lukewarm will be spit out of God's mouth (Revelation 3:15-16), so we'd better do our very best for as long as we are able.Anyway, I again ask for your prayers while we are at camp. These young people are our Christian leaders of tomorrow, and we have so little time to prepare them. Pray for us, that we would use our time wisely.

Getting Ready for Camp...

2009-05-27T18:27:00.003-07:00

Please pray for us, as Golden West Camp 2009 is from June 7th - June 12th. I help run the camp, so the last couple weeks beforehand is always an adventure. I will probably not be posting much between now and June 15th, but I encourage you to keep praying for our country, and also that God would do His will in the lives of these kids at camp.

Check out the links to the left to see the camp website and find out what it's about.

The End of an Age

2009-05-21T11:52:00.004-07:00

The Change has begun to happen so fast, it's hard for a part-time blogger to keep up with. Everyday brings news of changes, and not just superficial changes in policy. These are deep-rooted changes in governing philosophy, designed with permanence in mind. Huge spending bills, government take over of banks, financial institution compensation restrictions, increased worldwide funding for abortion through the UN, embryonic stem cell research, the world tour of apologies by our President, staggering fiscal debts, government and union take over of car makers, cap and trade energy policy, universal health care, tougher fuel economy standards, expanding homosexual marriage, rampant illegal immigration, cracking down on CIA's "illegal" treatment of captured terrorists... forgive me if I have missed something.

It has been 120 days of this Presidency.
1340 days remain in President Obama's first term.
We have 610 days until a more conservative Congress - potentially - could be seated, if the people so choose.

I recently finished re-reading a series on the Fall of Troy, and it led to some reflection on my part. The sack of that city was first described in The Iliad, which has been long debated as being fact or fiction. Either way, we have many other examples of the end of great civilizations in the short history of man upon the Earth. Many a city or state has fallen quickly to the sword through war; but for many of the greatest civilizations, a slow decline marks the end of their culture's Golden Age. Eventually some outside force comes along, and a slight nudge is all that is needed to break the gilded shell of a once-great nation. The shell cracks and the core, being rotten, collapses into dust. The sack of Troy ended the Age of Heroes, and a new age began, for better or for worse.

America has stood for some 233 years as of this writing. Historically, this is a short period of time. But the last 60 years have seen more changes than in the 1000 years before, so given context America has stood through several Ages of this world. We emerged 64 years ago, from the last, terrible World War, as indisputably the most powerful nation on Earth.

But what is the nature of our Power? From what, or where, does it come? Strength of arms? Courage of conviction? A sense of moral superiority? Great wealth? Years of peace and prosperity? Almighty God? Some mix of these factors? These are the questions I devoutly wish every American would seriously consider. Just what is America?

To say "We are America! We have always been great, and we always will be!" is sadly lacking. At some point just 233 years ago, there was no America. It is the height of foolishness to think that we will always be because we are, and yet this is how we now live as a nation. And at some point amidst all this Change, we will no longer be what we once were. What then is our legacy to our children?

The glory of America was once this: that no man is limited by who his father was. The hope we offered the world was a chance to succeed, that hard work could lead to a better life. A better life was never guaranteed, and many died without seeing it, but they died working so that their children could have the chance. And their children saw that same calling as their own, and worked hard themselves.

But we have forgotten our fathers. Freed from the limitations of our family name, we have tragically forgotten our history altogether. Our memories are conveniently limited, for we often remember our rights and often forget our responsibilities. As Americans, we are not free to redefine our country in each new generation, and it is that very fact that grants us liberty. We must remember who we were called to be. Citizens by birth, we must become Americans by choice, and remember what that means. In the issues I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the common thread is the expansion of government into every aspect of life: to nurture us, to educate us, to clothe us, to keep us healthy, to keep us safe.

Is government in America now no more than a surrogate parent, to coddle us in every aspect of our lives?

Perhaps the dream has ended. Perhaps our Age also has scattered in the morning mist, like so many before it. But I am not giving up.

We must teach our children what our nation should be. If you home school, that makes it easier, as you have control over the lessons. In the government (public) schools, the 'education' your child is receiving probably does not conform to your values, if you are reading this. It's an uphill battle there but not impossible. Christian schools can go either way, but even then we cannot allow this responsibility to fall to another. We have to teach our children. We have to teach our friends. We have to ask our families, our communities, the tough questions. We have to talk until our voices are gone, and then speak even louder. It will not be comfortable or convenient. It will not be fun, and at times it will require more than we believe we have in us. But if our legacy to our children is to be more than debt and greed, if we would see this Age continue, if we would see America be the nation God called it to be - it must be done.

Why Nancy Pelosi Should Step Down (by Newt Gingrich)

2009-05-20T08:09:00.002-07:00

The case against Nancy Pelosi remaining Speaker of the House is as simple as it is devastating: The person who is No. 2 in line to be commander in chief can’t have contempt for the men and women who protect our nation.

America can’t afford it. To test how much damage Speaker Pelosi has done to the defense of our nation, ask yourself this: If you were a young man or woman just starting out today, would you put on a uniform or become an intelligence officer to defend America, knowing that tomorrow a politician like Nancy Pelosi could decide you were a criminal? Would you?

This Isn’t About Politics.

It’s About National Security.

The controversy swirling around Speaker Pelosi isn’t political -- she may think it is, other liberal Democrats may think it is, and the media may want it to appear that way.But this isn’t about politics. It’s about national security. At issue is whether Speaker Pelosi was informed, at a briefing by intelligence officers on September 4, 2002 when she was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, that the CIA had used and was using enhanced interrogation techniques -- specifically waterboarding -- on captured al Qaeda terrorists.

From a Question of Memory to a Question of Criminality

Prior to her now infamous press conference last week, Speaker Pelosi insisted that the CIA had not told her in 2002 that waterboarding and other enhanced techniques were being used. At last week’s press conference she went beyond this position to assert that “the only mention of waterboarding at [the September 2002] briefing was that it was not being employed.”In contrast, Leon Panetta, the current CIA director, wrote a memo last Friday to CIA employees in which he stated that “our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of [Al Qaeda terrorist] Abu Zubaydah, describing ‘the enhanced techniques that had been employed.’”And so the question, prior to her rambling press conference, was one of memory: Did Speaker Pelosi remember correctly the briefing she received in 2002? If she had confined the controversy to her memory versus the CIA’s, Speaker Pelosi may have saved herself. She would be guilty of irresponsibility and incompetence perhaps, but that would basically be it. Not good, but not disqualifying.

Pelosi on the CIA: “They Mislead Us All The Time”

But Speaker Pelosi did not confine the question to the reliability of memory. Instead, she made the allegation last week that the CIA intentionally misled her -- misled Congress -- and not just once, but routinely. “They mislead us all the time,” she said.She charged that the CIA, deliberately and as a matter of policy, violated the law by lying to Congress.And with that allegation, Speaker Pelosi disqualified herself from the office she holds. Why Did Pelosi Escalate the Controversy into a Full Scale War With the CIA?And the question that remains is why? Why would Speaker Pelosi escalate the small skirmish she found herself in over the 2002 briefing into a full-scale war with the CIA?Perhaps it’s because if America knew that Speaker Pelosi consented, fully informed and without complaint, to waterboarding back in 2002, it would reveal the current liberal bloodlust over interrogations for what it is: The Left’s attempt to hunt down and purge its political opponents.Remember what America was like in September, 2002, less than a year after 9/11.America was terrified. As I said on ABC Radio last week, our entire defense, intelligence and justice establishment expected that there would be additional al Qaeda attacks, we just didn’t know where and we didn’t know when.

If Pelosi Consented to Waterboarding in 2002, the Bush Policy Is Vindicated

If Nancy Pelosi believed that waterboarding was justified in 2002 -- just like Porter Goss, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and CIA Director Tenet -- then a policy of selectively using enhanced interrogation techniques in carefully circumscribed ways in order to prevent future attacks -- in other words, the Bush Administration policy -- is vindicated. But rather than admit that President Bush, when faced with an array of difficult choices, made the hard choice that kept the nation safe, Nancy Pelosi has instead retreated into the cheap sanctity of ignorance. She didn’t know, so she claims. That’s why she didn’t do anything about it.But President Bush did know. It was his job to know, and he made the tough choices needed to save American lives.It was Nancy Pelosi’s job to know too. But to avoid culpability for the choices she supported, she’s now telling us she didn’t know. And she’s calling the intelligence officials who say otherwise liars and criminals. Shame on her.

Speaker Pelosi Has Made America Less Safe

Speaker Pelosi has damaged America’s safety. She’s made America less secure by sending a signal to the men and women defending our country that they can’t count on their leaders to defend them. And every day they spend worrying about being politically persecuted is a day we are made more vulnerable to a nuclear attack on one of our cities, a biological attack on one of our subways, or a bomb going off in one of our malls.America is losing ground because of Nancy Pelosi’s contempt for those who defend her. Democrats owe it to their country and our national security to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

Your friend,

Newt Gingrinch

(from the HumanEvents.com Newsletter, received via email)

Lukewarm... when Mediocre is Good Enough

2009-05-11T16:55:00.003-07:00

When I was younger, I never fully understood why God had such a problem with being lukewarm. Surely being at least a nominal Christian is better than someone who doesn't follow God at all? The image in Revelation 3 of God spitting us out of His mouth for being half-hearted always struck me as being rather harsh. As always, though, the problem was my imperfect understanding, not with what God said; and while my understanding will never be perfect, I can share with you my thoughts on being that most dangerous of all spiritual states: lukewarm.

Rev 3:15-21

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (NASU)

This is the terrible reality of the American Church in this 21st Century... we are lukewarm. Far from reflecting Christ's love to a broken world that desperately needs it, we reflect the brokenness of the culture itself. We are endlessly divided; you can take any mainline denomination, and follow it's 'family tree' down to smaller and smaller subgroups, and at some point the issues that divide us are microscopic. The problem is that our ability to take offense at a brother in Christ is so hyper-developed that these minor issues become great schisms among us. But the cold, hard truth that we have to return to, should we read the Bible, is that we are all one Church. Jesus didn't lay the foundation for multiple bodies of Christ, but just one, of which every believer is a part. Some of us will be quite surprised at who we meet in heaven, I think... and who we don't.

Individually, we have replaced our calling to service with a desire to be entertained. In our society at large, this has translated as the shift in focus from our responsibilities to our rights. Instead of first asking "what must I do?" we ask "what's in it for me?" Speaking broadly, Christians approach the Bible in one of two basic ways:

1) We read the Scriptures to seek the Lord's highest and best calling for our lives. We read the Bible to learn the nature of God, and how best we can serve Him here on His earth in the time He gives us. Our question is "What can I do for God?" and the focus is on Him.

2) We read the Scriptures to fulfill our own desires, looking for the minimum we can do and still consider ourselves Christians. We read the Bible to learn how serving God can best also serve our interests. Our question then is "What can God do for me?" and the focus is on us.

I have to ask myself every day which path I am going to take. And the great paradox of Christianity, something impossible with men but possible with God, is this:

The less I focus on myself and the more I focus on Him, the more fulfilled I am. This is truly the foolishness of God shaming our human wisdom. But we can see the truth in our daily lives, if we are honest about it: when we focus on ourselves, the pleasure is fleeting. The vacation ends and we dread going back to the daily grind. The movie is over and we have to walk out of the theatre and face real life again. The money we make, no matter how much, is never enough. We might not have experienced this for ourselves (I always thought more money would be the nicer problem to have :)), but it holds true. Look at the wealthy who throw it away pursuing happiness. Hollywood, sports stars, the stories are there to read. Vacations, movies and money aren't bad in and of themselves. The question should be asked, though: where is our focus?

We must honor our commitment: to claim the title of 'Christian' means something. To claim Christianity and then live as the world dictates is hypocrisy of the worst sort, as God makes clear in His Word quoted above. The world, while sinful, is honest in its sin: they don't know any better, so how can better be expected of them? But you and I, those would claim to be Christians - our calling is higher. The expectations on us are greater, and well they should be. We know the Truth and we claim it has set us free. We must not make the Truth of God a lie in our daily lives. We need to approach the Bible humbly, seeking God's highest and best calling on our lives, and then defend the Truth boldly.

The surest cure for being lukewarm is to live each day deliberately for Him.

Happy Islam Day! er...

2009-05-07T15:07:00.002-07:00

Wow! Just... wow. Islam Day, brought to you by the Hawaii State Senate, and less than 2 weeks after 9-11 each year. Governor Lingle, this would be an excellent time to break out that veto.

Read the AP story here: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=520304

/sigh

Health Care Reform... as God Intended?

2009-05-06T16:39:00.004-07:00

One of the next items on President Obama's agenda is health care reform. And looking at the insurance system in America, it is hard to argue that the system may well be broken and in need of repair.

But should the government be doing the fixing? What if common citizens, acting in their own best interests, could also serve the needs of the country and help with this mess? Should a Christian, in good conscience, be part of a health care system that uses his/her premiums for abortions, for surgeries and procedures to 'change genders' and the like? Let me propose to you an alternative to the current system.

First of all, some fundamental points of my argument. We, as American citizens, do not have a right to health care. We do not deserve medical treatment. If we have it, or can get it, that is wonderful; but medical care is not a basic human right. That kind of entitlement thinking is exactly what has caused our current economic mess. America is the land of opportunity, not the land of guaranteed favorable results. One of the problems with the HMO/PPO system currently in place is that the cost is rarely counted by the consumer or the doctor. "Is this test necessary?" becomes "The insurance pays for it, so order it up." The underlying principle here is that spending money is always easier when it's someone else's money. Yes, you are paying monthly premiums to the insurance company, but you are not paying directly for the services. Most people have no idea what some procedures cost, since the price is never disclosed.

Case in point: my son broke his elbow. He ended up at the hospital, where they put him under to set the broken bone. They did not do surgery, but they manipulated the bone back into place. He was in the hospital for less than 5 hours, pre-op to discharge. Total cost, between doctors, hospital and anaesthetic: over $25,000. Before the hospital, we were in urgent care (who took several x-rays which were charged separately, and gave us a $20 cast) for about 3 hours. Total cost there: $1200.

We negotiated the bills through the hospital, down to a total of about $7000. Then we paid cash, because other Christians around the country sent us checks ($200-$300 at a time) to cover the expense. My son also received cards and notes indicating people all over the country were praying for his recovery. No insurance bureaucracy, just a negotiation on my part and the bills were paid by other Christians who were also praying for us. Sound good to you? Read on.

Is there a "catch?" To an extent, yes. I would encourage you to research your options for yourself. Under programs like what I described above, normal "maintenance" care is not covered (although once you enter the world of paying cash, things are not as expensive as you might think). But here are 2 great programs you should look into, and then make a prayerful decision about using:

Medi-share (http://medi-share.org/) or
Samaritan Ministries (http://www.samaritanministries.org/) - this is one we use.

One of the traps we fall into in our thinking is that the way things are is the way they have always been, or that they are supposed to be. Health care in America is very broken. But is government the answer? Or could you join fellow believers in prayer and financial support of each other, while paying cash which reduces the need for layer upon layer of paperwork and management (which in turn, reduces costs)? Just a thought.

Fear

2009-05-01T20:19:00.005-07:00

I have taken a few days off from posting to reflect; I think too often bloggers are quick with the first thing that comes to mind, but that is very rarely the wisest thing to say.

I have been reflecting on fear, the nature of fear and how it can be used to manipulate. Consider just a couple quick examples of what I'm talking about:

Remember how the economy was going to collapse and the end was near if we didn't pass the Stimulus Bill right now? Words like 'dire problems,' 'catastrophe,' and 'worst ever' were being tossed around in every speech, urging us to act now before it was too late. This enormous bill was passed so quickly that those voting for or against it did not even have time to read it. And so far, only about 10% of the money has even been spent. No one is sure exactly on what (similar to the TARP money, of which billions is missing, yes, missing), but the economy hasn't stopped bleeding. I am sure that when it does that the Stimulus Bill will be announced as a success.

Two words: swine flu. For a couple weeks, we were all going to die, thousands of cases, hundreds of deaths, don't travel anywhere, wear a mask, avoid the sick lest you perish. Close the schools, cancel vacations, lock your doors... oh, wait, it's no worse that the regular flu. Per the WHO as of today, 26 people have died, the number of confirmed infected is just starting to approach 1000 in 20 countries, total. While I am not taking these deaths lightly, words like epidemic and pandemic have been flying from the media as fast as they could spit them out. Can we take precautions against illness? Absolutely. Do we need to panic? I hardly think so.

As Christians, we recognize that fear is of the flesh, and we have been called to live by the Spirit. I John 4:17-19 instructs us as to how to conquer fear: love. God's perfect love casts out fear. Frankly, I am saddened for those who insist on struggling through this life without Christ - there is so much to be terrified of. If you live under the belief that this life is the most important thing you'll ever have, you will never risk it for anything. Instead, all ideas and philosophies become equal. Nothing is worth dying for, and so nothing is worth living for... and you worry immensely about everything being fair. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is His perspective while on this earth. We can know what is important; we can know what our purpose is, and that this world is not our end - it's not even our home.

We must live our lives in His love, and with His perspective; the fear then dissipates, and we can sort the truth from the lies absent the manipulation.

President Obama's thoughts on the Constitution

2009-04-29T15:30:00.002-07:00

I picked up a copy of The Audacity of Hope from the local library (this is President Obama's book, written back in 2006). In it there is quite a bit of good information that shows exactly what he thinks about certain issues. Here is a direct quote from page 90, in the chapter titled "Our Constitution:"

Ultimately, though, I have to side with [Supreme Court] Justice Breyer's view of the Constitution - that it is not a static but rather a living document, and must be read in the context of an ever-changing world.

And a far more telling quote from page 93:

It's not just absolute power that the Founders sought to prevent. Implicit in its structure, in the very idea of ordered liberty, was a rejection of absolute truth, the infallibility of any idea or ideology or theology or "ism," any tyrannical consistency that might lock future generations into a single, unalterable course, or drive both majorities and minorities into the cruelties of the Inquisition, the pogrom, the gulag, or the jihad. They were suspicious of abstraction and liked asking questions, which is why at every turn in our early history theory yielded to fact and necessity.

This is at the core of the Conservative's disagreement with President Obama; the above quotes could not be more wrong, however well intentioned. The Constitution does not reject absolute Truth, it appeals to it. The Founders appeal for our "unalienable rights" was to the absolute power of Nature's God; if there is no higher, absolute truth than our civil government, then we had no right to rebel in the first place. The struggle of reflecting God's higher, moral law into the laws that govern civil society should not be mistaken for compromise. The Founder's struggles were for principle, namely which principles to strive for when building this Republic. It was not about theory versus necessity, it was about the fundamental rights and responsibilities of men and governments.

We are living now in a country with a foundation of sand; to say that the Constitution is subject to interpretation by each successive generation is to rob it of its very meaning in the first place. If our Constitution is merely a social contract, arbitrary laws subject to the whims of men, then we have no foundation to stand upon when the storms of adversity come.

I hold our Constitution to be a standard for behavior, a standard for law. Far from being subject to our whims, we must hold firm to what it teaches, and go where it leads. The President swears to uphold the Constitution, to protect the standard so that it remains for all time; he does not swear to recast the meaning of the document to fit the circumstances of our time. The difference in philosophies between the Conservative and President Obama (as Mark Levin would call him, the Statist) is one of perspective. I start at the Constitution and argue how best I can live within its tenants; the Statist starts with himself, or the individual Citizen, and seeks how best the Constitution can serve his needs.

The danger for our nation is that tyranny often flows from "necessity;" that our only chance to survive and flourish is the sacrifice of some small liberty. But these small liberties, once dead, are nearly always gone forever. We must fight for our liberty at every opportunity, with our words and with our votes.

"Torture," and a Step Too Far

2009-04-22T07:35:00.005-07:00

You won't find any links today, there is plenty available to read online about this topic of "torture." Extreme measures, enhanced interrogations - call them what you will. I am saddened and disappointed... not by the brave men and women of the CIA who defend us everyday, but by a President who would sell them out to gain some political points with the far left at home and abroad. To this point, should you read my previous posts, I have always respectfully disagreed with President Obama on matters of policy. I have always said I believed his intentions and motivations were pure, but that he (from my perspective) is misguided.

No more.

I cannot respect a man of so little character that he and his administration would attack the very people whose lives are on the line defending us from terror in an effort to appease radicals who fail to understand the nature of this conflict. This is monstrously wrong, and this will end badly for all of us. Even our national security is not above petty politics to this man. Make no mistake, I am very angry. I am upset. I think former Vice President Cheney had some very good questions (on Fox News): why were some documents detailing this "torture" released, but very few that show the positive results of these interrogations? Mr. Cheney has called publicly for the release of additional documents, and I truly hope those are brought forth, and I hope that all involved avoid legal problems from this. They won't of course; this is a witch hunt, after all. But I hope and pray they do.

A word on "torture:" what we have done to these terrorists does not even qualify. Sleep deprivation, loud music, forced hygiene (I am not making this up), a member of the opposite sex being in the room with you, even water boarding which simulates drowning - if only our captured soldiers, civilians and agents were so generously treated in captivity. The standard of our enemies should not become our standard for the sake of reprisal, but I ask those who go on and on about how we shouldn't "torture:" with all the time and angst you are spending defending the rights of these animals, how about the rights of their victims? Who - in this day - is standing up for the rights of the 2,996 dead Americans from September 11th? If we were treating these terrorists roughly for our own general amusement, I would join the chorus of voices saying it is wrong. We must not become the monsters we are fighting. But there are principles at stake here; these interrogations are not about the end justifying the means, but about something more.

Here is a direct quote from the White House website, the Homeland Security page:

"The first responsibility of any president is to protect the American people. President Barack Obama will provide the leadership and strategies to strengthen our security at home."

How does throwing CIA agents under the proverbial bus assist in this commitment? I agree with the 1st sentence of the quote. The principle here is that the American President has the responsibility to protect the American people. President Bush did an excellent job of this in the wake of September 11th. The second sentence has become a sad, sick joke.

Our enemies are rejoicing as this administration assists them in weakening our national defenses. I pray that someone you love does not have to pay with their lives for this folly.

Abortion at the UN - How You Can Help

2009-04-21T08:31:00.004-07:00

We have an ally at the UN that we need to stay in touch with. You can click below to join the Friday Fax, part of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute. They are defending the rights of the unborn everyday at the UN. These brothers in Christ believe in the sanctity of human life and they are in the room defending it. When you sign up, you will begin receiving an email once or twice a week containing a couple short articles to keep you informed as to what is happening at the UN meetings.

http://www.c-fam.org/Programs/id.133/default.asp

I have been keeping up with the journalism of Austin Ruse through the Friday Fax, and I have found him to be both informative and morally principled in his words. I encourage you to sign up for this newsletter to stay informed. If you feel so led of the Lord, I am sure they could also use your donations.

Passing the Baton - Dr. Jeff Myers

2009-04-20T15:11:00.003-07:00

Dr. Jeff Myers' ministry is dedicated to working with families, churches and schools to train up the next generation as Godly leaders. I had the privilege of hearing him speak at the Arizona Homeschool Conference several years ago, and I have stayed on his email list ever since. I don't have first hand experience with the materials, but I have listened to many of his audio CDs and his ideas are Biblical.

Christianity has always been a generational movement; we as parents and leaders in the community have a Biblical obligation to teach the next generation what God teaches and why we believe it. This is one great tool among many. I don't think that Dr. Myers' program contains a magical formula, but it is a great resource for equipping the next generation. Check it out here:

http://www.passingthebaton.org/

Even if you won't be using the program, I recommend being on Dr. Myers' email list. You can sign up here:

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001EYE_9pNc5E309b737_XpPw%3D%3D

We need to do anything we can to equip the next generation - I hope these tools help, and if you have any other suggestions, please post them in the comments or email me.

A review of Liberty and Tyranny

2009-04-20T08:39:00.004-07:00

If you want a very clear, detailed description of how things have gotten to this point in America, read Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin. He clearly lays out the conflict between Conservative and Statist (or Liberal), explains what has been happening over the last 70 years, and discusses what is happening now. Mr. Levin goes point by point through each aspect of society, explaining both how the Founders envisioned America, and how the Statist has sought to distort this vision. The book can be a little dry - this is not a novel, but more an essay - but it is well worth reading for the excellent information.

So if you decide to read one book on politics this year (or decade), read this one.

Anderson Cooper Should Apologize

2009-04-17T10:43:00.004-07:00

Click the title link to read about Anderson Cooper of CNN's comments in regards to the Tea Parties held on April 15th.

I will warn you about googling "teabagging" should you not be familiar with it; it is a crude term to describe a sexual act.

One nice thing about Mr. Cooper's comment is that it shows the objectivity of CNN's programming: namely, that there is none. If you think I am accusing Mr. Cooper unfairly, I would encourage to read (or view) his comments in their original context.

This is not the type of behavior that can be considered acceptable among the mainstream media. And yes, if a "right-wing" personality had made this type of reference in regards to President Obama or Democratic voters, I would be demanding an apology as well. Our discourse must be founded on principle, not personal attacks, or we become just another voice shouting into the wind.

Anderson Cooper should apologize for his comments about the American citizens who went to the Tea Party rallies held independently across our nation. And if you went to one, leave me a comment on your experience - I would love to hear about it.

A Possible Solution - Step 2

2009-04-15T15:15:00.004-07:00

Step 1 - We ourselves need to be in the Word, and know what we believe. This is our duty as a Christian.

Step 2 - We need to be familiar with the basic principles of our Republic. This is our duty as an American Citizen. I think most of us have done ourselves an extreme disservice, in that our citizenship as Americans has cost us nothing. And that is exactly how we treat it: as something that is worthless. But although this gift is free to us, it has been paid for in the blood of patriots since 1775. Countless men and women have given their lives so that we can live free in this day and age. That should mean something to each of us.

And yet when was the last time we spent a Memorial Day at a graveyard, paying respects to the fallen? At a VA hospital, thanking the wounded? Even going online to thank a soldier with an e-card (which you can do at several websites, just google "email a soldier")? I know I am guilty of spending my Memorial Days enjoying my freedom, but rarely - if ever - thinking about what it cost.

We should know what the famous documents of American history are, and what they mean. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are readily available online. They are shorter to read, and more interesting, than you might think. We should also know who our representatives are and what they believe in. Do you agree with them? Should you vote for them to remain in office, or watch for a different candidate that reflects your beliefs?

What are the powers (I will say, what should be the powers) of the various branches of government? For example, the President has the tremendous privilege of appointing Supreme Court judges. Did you know that the members of the Supreme Court serve for life, or until they step down? It is critical to have Justices that adhere to the Constitution as written; President Obama may well appoint several over the next 4 years. Will he appoint Justices that do so, or Justices that interpret the Constitution according to a liberal social and economic agenda?

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 1 of the 14th Amendment covers the right a woman to have an abortion in the Roe v. Wade ruling. The lesser known Doe v. Bolton was decided at the same, and essentially opened up the door for an abortion into the third trimester, provided the 'health' of the mother was at risk. The problem with their ruling from a legal standpoint was that several states (36) had criminal abortion laws on the books when the 14th Amendment passed. None of these laws were challenged for over 100 years, so at the time it became part of the Constitution, the 14th Amendment clearly had nothing to do with abortion.

This case illustrates what can happen, though, when citizens are not vigilant about protecting their freedoms. The essential ruling here is that the convenience of the mother supersedes the right of an unborn child to life, a concept so alien to our Founders as to be ludicrous. And yet 36 years later we see an advancement of this agenda that has barely slowed down. The social and economic consequences to our society - and the free world - have been dire. This is the kind of thing that cannot be allowed to happen again. We have to hold our elected leaders to the standard of our government as it was formed. And to do that, we have to know what our Republic truly is.

At the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked as he left: "Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

He replied “A Republic, if you can keep it.” Amen.

Islam is Not the Enemy... but You Could Be!

2009-04-15T11:08:00.003-07:00

The link above will take you to the document that has generated a lot of conversation over the last 2 days. As I write this, the Obama White House is attempting to distance itself from the report, which is humorous given the contents of the report and President Obama's own comments while abroad.

Do you:

* Own guns? Want to buy a gun, because you can see a day in the future when this administration would restrict gun ownership?
* Believe abortion is a moral evil? Do you *gasp* discuss this on the Internet?
* Do you think this current government is expanding federal authority beyond its Constitutional limits?
* Do you believe that immigrants should come to the US legally?
* Do you believe that the growing economic and nuclear power of countries like China and Iran could lead to problems for the US (and the world)?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then welcome to Right-Wing Extremism! Grab a chair and a name tag. President Obama last week took great pains to tell the world that the US is not a religious nation of any kind, that we are not at war with Islam - just certain extremists. Ah, but there is that word again. Extremist. Extremism. He who defines the language has great control in the society. And we are being defined. The same word is being used to describe a person who blows up women and children in the name of his god, and those who believe in the basic principles of the Constitution. I encourage you to read the 10 page document, and see what it says for yourself. Please forgive the rhetoric (speaking of the historical Presidential election, page 4) and the lack of a word or 2 (on page 6, it should be illegal immigrants crossing the border, not just 'immigrants' - note also how violence against illegal immigrants becomes violence against Hispanics. I don't condone violence against either group, but the word choice here speaks volumes to the worldview behind the report). But you need to know what is going on in your country's government.

Today the TEA party rallies are on in full force. They are being shredded as a plot, a conspiracy, another right-wing led protest... (check CNN, MSNBC, etc) and here I thought peaceful assembly was a Constitutional right, also. These are average Americans, like yourself; but they have had enough. Have you?

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

A Possible Solution - Step 1

2009-04-13T12:22:00.004-07:00

I feel sometimes like all I am doing is complaining - discussing problem after problem and never discussing anything like a solution. I have shared some of my Bible reading, and tried to be encouraging in some posts :). But here, I will begin to share my ideas about "fixing" this mess. I hope to make my argument clearly, and point by point, but please comment/email with questions or challenges - I would love to hear what you think as well. I cannot think of every objection and differing point of view.

To preface anything else I say: I hold the Bible to be inerrant, the final authority given by God on any problem faced by men and women, at any point of human history. It is not a book that is (or will become) obsolete, because the basic problems affecting the lives of men and women have not changed since the beginning of time. Our basic sin natures are the same. Technology does create some interesting questions and situations, but the basic issues we struggle with are no different now than in 4000 BC.

1. Any solution has to begin with the only thing we can completely control in this world - ourselves. We need to know exactly what we believe, and why we believe it. We have to know what the Word of God says about the issues - not what the latest, greatest Christian novel thinks, or what your pastor thinks, or some off-his-rocker blogger thinks, but what God says. There are numerous sources that can help us understand what God says in the Bible, but we need to be in the Word ourselves. I myself struggle mightily with reading the Bible consistently, so this is not easy to do, and I am by no means a great example of it. But if we would know the mind of God - to the extent that we can know it - we have to read what He wrote to us. We have to be on firm footing before we tackle the big issues. We have to understand what shapes our worldview - the way we interpret everything that happens both to us and around us in life. As I examine the world that God made, I see design and purpose. In my own life, I see design and purpose. I live in this moment in history, and at this specific place in the world, because God has a plan for my life. You live in this moment at your place for a reason also - do you know what it is? Have you asked God to reveal it to you? There is something God created you to do that only you can do, because you are unique. And that is a tremendous privilege, and a tremendous responsibility.

I find Luke 12 to be excellent in laying out the basic steps:

v 7: Do not fear, God is in control.
v 8: Remember whom you serve, and proclaim Him.
vv 11-12: As you need words, they will be given to you.
vv 13-34: Focus on what really matters, not what the world focuses on (God's priorities vs. ours).
vv 35-48: Be ready - your chance is coming, the day when you will serve.
vv 49-59: Jesus' words divide. This does not mean the church should be divided (though sadly it is), but rather that the church will be separate from the world at large. This is logical, as we have different priorities: while they seek peace and financial prosperity, we seek Truth, that all men may know Him.

President Obama in Turkey

2009-04-10T10:16:00.003-07:00

Thoughts on the video I posted a few days ago:

How can we be unified by principles and values if there is no objective source of these principles and values? If we are not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim in our national structure, what happens when these viewpoints clash?

In the conflict between worldviews - in the absence of God, since most do Him lip service but refuse to believe He has any real power - who becomes the judge of right and wrong?

All we are left with at this point, with God out of the picture and all religions equal, is government. Should civil government be the "solution" to moral, economic, and societal problems? Should officials of a government be free to interpret the law in a way that reflects their own worldview, or should they remain true to the vision of the founders of that government? If there is no objective truth, how can these questions even be answered?

President Obama: "We are not a Christian Nation"

2009-04-09T17:45:00.001-07:00

For today, just watch - we can discuss this tomorrow. (Next post)

President Obama and Islam

2009-04-07T12:09:00.006-07:00

Please take a moment to read the title link, as it is vital to understanding the mindset of our sitting President.

I have several questions to consider (I would love to ask/hear someone ask Mr. Obama):

"Will never be at war with Islam" seems like a very broad statement - is that truly what you meant to say?
What are our "mutual interests?"
How has Islam "shaped the world for the better?"
How has Islam "shaped America for the better?" (including my own country)

In my next post we will begin discussing Islam, since we hear so much about peaceful Islam vs. Radical Islam. What does Islam truly teach? In the same way I would not want Christianity to be judged by the rise and fall of the latest televangelist, I don't want to misjudge Islam. Were the 9/11 attackers extremists, or were they acting out their faith in a way consistent with its tenants?

These questions are critical to answer. President Obama believes (from his comments) that most Muslims are peace loving citizens, like the average Christian. They want to make a buck, raise their kids, and live in peace. It's the extremists that are the problem, and he is hoping to make nice with the mainstream Muslims, being careful to explain to them that America is no longer lumping the Muslim world all together. This is either disastrous for our foreign policy, or it is brilliant.

But again, we need to evaluate Christianity by reading the Bible, not by watching the lives of so-called Christians (unfortunately). So we will look at what the Qur'an teaches...

***edit 4/13/2009 - we will return to this issue, but I wanted to go a different direction for now ***

The Cars President Obama Wants...

2009-04-03T13:35:00.002-07:00

I think it was safe to say that this was coming at some point, as it fits with the 'green' agenda that this particular administration finds to be very important (we'll cover the 'green' issue separately). Today, we need to talk about a business model. The first goal for GM - since you and I are now paying for their company to remain in business - should be profitability. Making 'green' cars that have (historically) low profit margins and small market shares is not the path to making money.

And here is the conflict: by far, GM's most profitable vehicles are it's full size SUVs, which are hardly the Sierra Club's cars and trucks of choice. So, should they be producing green cars for some future potential profit, or cars that have potential for profit now?

I honestly don't think it matters what GM makes at this point, they have too much dead weight in the form of union contracts, pensions, and benefits. Most of the people getting paid by GM don't work there anymore. But the sad part is that profitability doesn't matter to the government which decided to "bail out" GM in the first place. This company is being used to promote very liberal policy - in this case, 'green' policy. And you and I get to pay for it.

The Wise Man Built...

2009-04-03T12:48:00.003-07:00

I heard a sermon last week on this passage (click above), and it got me thinking - praying, actually, in the context of today's world. A lot of us sang this song as children, and are familiar with the story. Just a couple points to consider:

1) I noted how the storm is inevitable. It doesn't say if the rains come, the house might fall or stand. Jesus said exactly what He meant to say: the storms are coming. You weather them upon Christ's foundation, or at some point you fall. And the beautiful part about the storms coming to both the saved and unsaved is the freedom it gives us, the freedom of will.

If I walk up to you and offer you a) a bullet to the head, or b) 1 million dollars, I have not given you a choice. I have given you a million dollars. In the same way, if the Christian life was instantly sunshine and roses upon accepting Christ, and the unsaved still had to struggle through this world everyday - what would everyone do? Would they embrace the Christian life out of love and obedience to our Savior? Or would they embrace the Christian life as the "easy street" that it would then be? While I don't enjoy the storms, I am amazed at a God who loves me enough to send them my way.

2) If a house is going to protect you in a storm... you have to be inside it. And while this sounds dangerously like common sense, I know I don't do a very good job at obeying it. I stray constantly from where God wants me to be. Daily I fail the tests of obedience, but God continues to graciously give me another day to try again. We have to seek His Will in our lives, and understand what he would have for us, the house he wants us to dwell in. Think of the man who tries to weather the storm on the rock, but without a home. He may survive it, but he'll struggle in many ways he would not have had to, if he'd only stayed inside.

Just a couple things I pondered, hope they had some value.

And you know it was fun to yell "SPLAT!" at the end of the song. :)

North Korea - A Coming Showdown

2009-04-02T11:44:00.003-07:00

There are indeed monsters in this world, and one of them is the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-il. In the next couple of days he is readying to launch a missile capable of reaching the United States. The UN has condemned North Korea, and the US has threatened "stern action." What exactly the UN and the US will do is up for debate. Given our foreign policy so far of making nice with evil men bent on destruction (see Iran, the Taliban, and our refusal to connect the words "Islam" and "terrorism"), I don't hold out much hope that our response will be much at all, giving yet another round of this ongoing conflict to Kim Jong-il.

The simplest statement of both logic and diplomacy is the "if-then" statement. If party A does X, then party B will do Y. It is now time to lay out our response to Evil in the simplest, clearest terms available. "If you launch this missile, the full military might of the free world will descend upon you until you and your evil cronies are dead." This is the exact statement we, and the UN, have been loathe to make. It is exactly the kind of statement that you will always be loathe to make if you do not have guiding principles in your life beyond a vague desire for peace, because then everything is just a matter of compromise between the two parties involved.

I will pause here for a moment - please take some time to search the name Neville Chamberlain and the name Adolf Hitler. Hitler you know; Neville Chamberlain was the British Prime Minister before - and during the early days - of WW2. His successor you have heard of: Winston Churchill.

Here is a starting point, comments made by Mr. Chamberlain less than 1 year before WW2 began:

http://www.historyguide.org/europe/munich.html

"Peace in our time" is the phrase for which Mr. Chamberlain is famous.. He met with Hitler again and again in the 1930s, refusing to interfere with Germany's growing evil and aggressive expansion. I fully understand that the souls of the millions of dead from WW1 haunted England and France in this period, and their terrible memory paralyzed England and France from acting against Germany. What a lot of people don't realize is this: In the late 1930s, as Hitler became increasingly bolder in his lust for power, his military might was a sham. If even just England or France individually as late as 1939 had called his bluff, he would have had no choice but to back down. But Hitler knew his opponents. He correctly judged their reluctance to act, and the world paid a heavy price.

So here we go again. Don't kid yourselves; the Islamic world is watching this also, judging the response of the West to this threat. At some point we have to draw the line, and we have to be prepared to back up our words with action. We cannot afford to let the containable evils of this world - such as North Korea - become uncontainable. And we cannot afford to allow our enemies see that we are weak, unwilling to act.

As Americans, are we called to peace, or are we called to defend freedom and uphold justice? Endowed by our Creator will certain unalienable rights, do we have the moral responsibility to ensure that freedom to others when it stands within our power? I do not want war. I do not seek war.

But neither do I seek peace that comes at the price of selling our collective soul. Kim Jong-il is an evil man, the head of an evil regime. The people of North Korea suffer under his yoke. The line must be drawn here. And our response, should that line be crossed, must be decisive.

Irony

2009-04-01T15:36:00.002-07:00

I am really trying to be respectful of our elected officials, and the leaders of other nations around the world. Maybe you could use a laugh, though - I sure could. Check out the title link for an article on today's summit over in London.

Now, don't you think its just a tad bit ironic that the leaders of the G20 nations chose today of all days to have this meeting?

Happy April Fool's Day!

Principle & Foreign Policy - the Taliban, Clinton & Obama at the G20

2009-04-01T12:15:00.003-07:00

Here is what Mrs. Clinton had to say to the Taliban in Afghanistan:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090331/ts_nm/us_afghan_conference

And here is what they had to say in return:

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSISL477487

It's scary to be agreeing with the Taliban on anything, but the offer was lunacy. But here again we see a liberal mindset at work; I truly believe Mrs. Clinton was surprised at the rebuff of her diplomatic efforts. As I have stated before, there is Good and Evil in this world, and you cannot negotiate with Evil. It may tolerate you for a time, to further it's own ends - but at some point it will devour you. Afghanistan has been unruly since Alexander tried to subdue it in 330 BC. He succeeded, after a fashion; he spent 3 years fighting a 3 month campaign, and "married" a warlord's daughter to finally save face and escape with his dignity.

Here is what President Obama had to say at the G20 meetings, when asked about whether or not the worldwide economic crisis is America's fault (the article covers several issues, my concern here is towards the end):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/01/barack-obama-g20-global-recession

America has long been blamed for just about everything that is wrong with the world. It is sad to have a President that is agreeing with those people. When you combine these comments with our foreign policy as detailed above (coupled with the speech to Iran earlier), how strong do we look? How decisive do we look in the war on terror (excuse me, overseas contingency operations)? In your opinion, do we look justly humble, or just weak?

I would agree with his comments that our economic and political models are sound, but in just 70 days after President Obama has taken office, they have begun to radically change. If the model is sound, why so much drastic change?

To Uphold the Law

2009-03-31T09:37:00.002-07:00

3/21 was the worst day in history for the Oakland Police Department, as four officers gave their lives in service to the Law. Please take a moment to pray for the families of Sgt. Daniel Sakai, Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt. Ervin Romans, and Officer John Hege. These men are heroes.

I have struggled for days to find some way to honor them in words. Nothing is adequate. The truth is that a law enforcement officer dies every 57 hours in America, according to Chuck Canterbury, president of the national Fraternal Order of Police. Imagine - every day people you don't even know risk their lives to protect you. Personally I am ashamed when I consider my thoughts at a "routine traffic stop." Now we have a tragic insight into what is going through their minds.

The best I can say for these men is that they did their duty: they died doing what they had solemnly sworn to do. In this crass age of moral relativism and selfishness, these men showed us the meaning of Honor.

Jesus himself, in John 15:13 said "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." (NASU)

Most of us never had the chance to call these men friend: but they proved their love for us beyond all doubt. We will miss you. May God bless your families in this incredibly difficult time. We will uphold them in prayer, and remember your sacrifice.

Per ardua ad alta
***

Here is a great story about one of the officers, who gave even more in death:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/25/MNSR16N0JT.DTL&type=health

A New Birth of Freedom

2009-03-27T16:28:00.002-07:00

Clicking on the above link will take you to the text of the Gettysburg Address, and the phrase within that named this blog. It's a quick read and I recommend you bookmark it. It helps me to remember that the cost must be counted, that principle has its price. Six hundred thousand men from all over the country paid that price during the Civil War, and Lincoln's few words spoken at Gettysburg ensured that we would never forget.

After 80 years of existence, the two parts of our country were growing further and further apart; compromise after compromise was proposed on the issues facing North and South, and some of them succeeded... for a time.

The election of Abraham Lincoln (the first Republican president, by the way) was the final straw for the deep South. His name did not even appear on the ballot in 1860 in several Southern states, but with candidates running separately in the North and South, the Democratic party was hopelessly split and Lincoln won by default. Several states seceded from the Union, then several more followed, and the rest is history. By 1865 the war was over, the Union was restored, but Lincoln was dead. Slavery was forever banished in our United States, and the black man was the equal of the white, finally, before the Law.

What no war can change is the hearts of men. Nearly 150 years later, some hatreds still run strong in our nation. We have made progress, but I am not naive enough to think that the problem has been solved. And some people don't want to hear this, but the problem never will be completely solved. As with poverty, disease, and war, hatred will always be present on this earth until it's end.

And here is the point: this is part of our legacy as Americans. The Civil War, more than any other event in our nation's history, defined who we are. The pride of our youth fought and died for their principles. Was the South wrong? On the issue of slavery, absolutely. But don't think for a moment that the South had the market cornered on racism; there was plenty to go around. We were a flawed nation then, and we still are. No nation founded by men is going to be perfect, but it can strive for perfection.

Those boys buried at Gettysburg - the Blue and the Gray - died for something. Not for money, not for policy, but for principle. Their conflicting ideas of what America should be meant so much to them that they died for them. A true American stands on principle, and there is a point in time when he will fight to uphold those principles.

And here is where this all ties in to the problems facing our nation today: we have to identify our principles, and we have to fight for them. Not necessarily with guns, but with our votes, and our voices. The sad truth is that most of us don't know what our principles are. We don't know where our line is that cannot be crossed - or where it should be.

Is life sacred from the moment of conception until natural death?
Should the family unit be redefined from father, mother, children into father, father or mother, mother?
Should the government take from some to give to others?
Does the Constitution - at one time our guiding document - still matter?

Answering the basic questions of principle simplifies any debate over policy. If any part of a policy violates the principles we hold dear, it cannot be the right thing to do. If life is sacred from conception, no policy - or candidate - who opposes this viewpoint can be the solution we are searching for. If we believe that government should not take from some to give to others, then no bill or policy that does this can be correct. Principle must guide policy. We must learn what our principles are, and quickly.

There can still be a new birth of freedom.

AIG Bonus Outrage... but are you directing it at the right people?

2009-03-26T11:33:00.005-07:00

AIG employees got bonuses, and the country is outraged! And well you should be, but not at anyone who works for AIG. Save your outrage for the right people...

When AIG was given taxpayer money (always remember that the Government does not have any money to give out to anyone, they are merely stewards of your money to be spent for the common good) as part of the $787 billion bailout package, there was a specific amendment inserted by lawmakers at the Capitol that excluded limiting bonus payments on pre-existing contracts, the so-called "Dodd Amendment." The above article gives a good breakdown on the rules in place now for any payouts going forward.

But now these employees, who signed contracts prior to this mess, and are merely being compensated according to those contracts, have a huge target on their backs from Congress, the press, and much of the public. But there are several things to understand:

This 800 page spending bill was passed without the chance to be read or reviewed by anyone - the call was "we have to pass this now, you don't need time to read it!" From introduction to passage was literally 1 day. I read fast, but not that fast. But now, responding to public outcry fueled by media coverage over the bonuses, lawmakers want to retroactively tax the bonuses at 90% rates. After other state and federal taxes, many employees would owe more in taxes than they would get on the bonus; the bonus would actually cost them money.

As if that wasn't enough, ACORN helped sponsor a protest tour of the homes of the people who received the bonuses:

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fc/hc-aig-tour-bus-0322.artmar22202310,0,1283060.story

ACORN, per it's own website, admits its ties to our President, specifically endorsing him for the Presidency: (while denying any wrongdoing in its voter registration drive, which has been challenged in court)

http://www.acorn.org/?id=17856

Here is where MSNBC, no conservative bastion, reviews ACORN's record:

http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/14/1544574.aspx

Notice how CBS doesn't even mention ACORN in this article on the subject at hand:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/21/national/main4881366.shtml?source=RSSattr=Business_4881366

So in other words, you have a group that does federal work organizing a protest against private citizens at their homes, and at whom the government is attempting to impose a very specific retroactive tax. You might still be saying "Yahoo! It is high time to stick it to the rich!" at this point. With media, government and some private citizens all aiming their wrath at a small group of citizens, why should you be concerned?

Let's break this down again. The government rushed legislation through that they did not even read, nor understand. Private citizens who had signed contracts got the money committed to them in the contracts, that the government specifically said was fine, in the legislation the government didn't read. Then government had the audacity to get mad at the people taking those bonuses (even though they specifically allowed it), and after the fact they changed their minds and decided to tax the money so they would get it all back, and then some. Today it is AIG, but what population group will the government next target for the "public good?"

And if that question sounded dangerously paranoid to you, look at the power for which Timothy Geitner, Secretary of the Treasury, is now asking for:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/26/news/geithner.house.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009032611

This boils down to the government seizing "too-big-to-fail" non-banking firms before they fail. This should scare you. Combine this with a mindset that thinks the end justifies the means, and you have the government seizing whomever them deem necessary at their discretion and with no recourse for the seized.

Many AIG employees are giving the bonus money back, because it really isn't worth the hassle. And that makes a 90% tax into a 100% tax, with that tax having been gained through intimidation by both government and media.

And so you absolutely have every right to be outraged... just not at AIG.

Answering Tough Questions - What does it mean to be an American?

2009-03-26T10:27:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we asked tough questions. It is time to beginning answering them, in the time we have left. With every bit of news that comes from Capitol Hill, another of your freedoms, another piece of who we are as Americans erodes. A one world currency is being discussed. Gun control is being suggested as the answer to the Mexican drug cartel violence along the border. Nationalized health care is being discussed as one solution to our economic woes. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child inches closer toward being adopted in the US, while at the same time more money is being committed to fund abortion than ever before (and yes, this irony is lost on those who endorse these positions). So we may have very little time left, but we will use it wisely.

Our country was founded upon a strong Christian ethic. This is crucial, because for a society to be ruled by Law, that Law must have an objective source outside (and indeed above) that society. Otherwise we can make up the rules as we go along, and the majority opinion becomes that source of "right" and "wrong." But there must be an objective standard to which we aspire; there must be a thing that is right, even if every person stands against it; and there must be a thing that is wrong, should every person favor it. To fall under the sway of simple majority rule is to hand the Republic over to a mob.

While not all of our founding fathers were Christians, they lived their lives heavily influenced by a Christian worldview. Read the Declaration of Independence, here:

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

The entire idea behind this document is that a King cannot violate the Law of Nature's God with impunity; that even a King is accountable for his actions to the Almighty. It is to our Creator that the founders appealed for the right to form their own government. If our rebellion was merely based upon our whims and wishes - on what a simple majority believed to be true - then we should crawl back to England right now begging forgiveness. But it was not; we believed then (and I believe now) that there are higher virtues than Earthly government to which all men are accountable, and must be accountable. Some thing are always right, and some things are always wrong. The world does indeed conform to certain absolutes, to Good and Evil. This is something that should be fundamental to every American: there is a Creator, and he has endowed us with certain unalienable rights. Most Americans now would agree with me on this point. But the other half of this statement, unspoken in the Declaration but borne out in the lives of those who wrote it, is this: our Creator has also endowed us with certain unalienable responsibilities.

To be a citizen, to be an American, is to have the right to life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But it too often goes unsaid that there is a price to pay, and I am guilty of ignoring the cost of this for nearly my whole life as well. Read the last lines of the Declaration: they pledged their life, liberty and their honor to defend their rights. They knew there was a price to pay, and many of them paid it.

Much like those of us who grew up in Christian homes and often take our Christianity for granted, we as Americans take our liberties for granted because they cost us nothing. Now those basic liberties are being threatened because we elected officials who are taking them away from us. We need to get informed and be aware of who or what we are voting for when we vote. We need to be aware of the laws Congress are passing, and the laws they are considering for passage. It is not just a right, but a responsibility to be involved in the process, and we must take it seriously.

Daniel Hannan - EU Parliament

2009-03-26T10:22:00.004-07:00

I long for the day that a single member of the House or Senate would stand up and deliver a variation of this speech to President Obama.

"You cannot spend your way out of recession, and you cannot borrow your way out of debt."

AMEN!

Watch this 3 minute video, well worth your time.

Who are we?

2009-03-25T12:27:00.002-07:00

As Christians, we know exactly who we are - I spoke about this in a previous post. We serve Christ, and the freedom that comes from knowing His boundaries - of being His follower - is the most amazing paradox of this world.

But what is an American? Who is an American? What does an American believe? What does he/she trust in? What are the boundaries of his culture? What are the dictates of his tradition? What inspires the heart of an American? What does he celebrate?

I watch the news, I listen to the radio, and the greatest thing that fills my heart is sadness. Is this what we have become? To what do we aspire? Has money truly become the most important thing in our collective world? Do we truly lack any notion of honor? Of greatness? Of courage? Do we believe our freedom is worth dying for? Our principles?

It seems now that we live to tear down and destroy the great among us. What is this all-consuming pettiness in our collective spirit? We can blame the media for some of this, and the government for some of that, but in the end our leaders and our entertainers are merely reflections of ourselves. When we look in that mirror, are we satisfied with what we have become?

America has been pushed - and pushed itself - to the very brink before. We have always responded with hope, and a spirit that has left us stronger for the struggle. But this enemy is not an outside force, against which we can push back; this time it is a sickness, a cancer within.

In the days to come we will talk about the news, because we must remain aware of our environment. But the first step to winning this struggle is to know why we fight. We must look inward individually, and inward collectively. We have to begin to live deliberately, and take actions consistent with our beliefs. We serve Christ as Christians, and that means something. We must also know as citizens what it means to be an American.

Back from vacation...but the fun isn't over!

2009-03-24T08:17:00.003-07:00

Vacation put me in a light-hearted mood, and so I thought my first post back should be equally so. If I had posted the above link in a couple more days on April 1st, you would have thought it some clever hoax (or maybe even not so clever). Once the laughs have subsided, though, you have to face the fact that this is real.

And so today's question to ask yourself: where does big government end, and absurdity begin? I believe the line has been crossed for legislation such as this to even be proposed, but once it passes (and in time, it will) the line will have been obliterated.

I used to laugh so hard I cried. Lately it seems I have been crying so hard I have begun to laugh. At least this is from the EU, not our own government... but we are charging hard to catch up.

Vacation!

2009-03-13T22:45:00.002-07:00

I will be gone for about a week, I can't wait :).

Rome will have to burn without me... I'll be busy learning to fiddle. Or snorkeling. Or diving.

See you on the 23rd!

Cease Striving... and know that I am God

2009-03-12T11:44:00.003-07:00

The darkness writhes; clouds rage across the sky. The full fury of this world's storm is breaking upon us. The very act of drawing breath takes effort; hope is a distant port that can't be seen through the waves and the darkness.

And at exactly this moment - when all that we have left is to strive like we never have, against the darkness, against the powers of this world - we must cease.

Cease, and reflect. Do we not serve the God who created this world, and everything in it? His command to us in Psalms (linked above) holds true to this day. He will be exalted. There is no maybe. This is not negotiable. Even though His ways are not our ways, and we don't understand the plan...

There is a plan.

We serve the Living God, who freed His people from the bonds of slavery in Egypt. He fed them food from his table in the wilderness, when no human hand could have provided for them. He gave them a land three thousand years ago, and then he gave them a land again. And though they are surrounded by enemies to this day, he sustains them. He gave us His Son, and barely three hundred years after Jesus' death, even though the persecution of the Church was legendary, Christianity became the religion of the Western World. Though we are surrounded by troubles - jobs, bills, politics, economics, morality - our God sustains us. At this point you should be out of your chair, yelling and shaking your fist! God has built his Church, and we are of it, and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against us.

And so you will struggle in this world. You will have trials. The enemy will make every effort to break you in body and spirit. But if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?*

The God that stood with David stands with you:

Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.

You are sworn in service to the High King of Heaven. Go forward in His name, and without fear.

*check out the song by Matt Redman, "You Never Let Go"

Employee Free Choice Act (Card Check) - Critical Call Needed to your Senators

2009-03-11T09:18:00.005-07:00

*** The title link above is a great website to find out who your Senators are, along with their office phone numbers. Please always be polite, and don't expect to speak directly with your Senator, but communicate to his/her staff what you would like him/her to hear from you. Also ask what their position is on the bill in question. ***

President Obama is about to keep his word to labor unions: Card Check legislation (The Employee Free Choice Act) was introduced into the Senate on March 10th, with 223 co-sponsors in the House and 40 in the Senate (you can think of those co-sponsors as "yes" votes for the bill).
Current labor law gives employees the right to hear about unionizing from both their management and reps from the labor union, with the issue then being decided in a secret ballot vote. In my opinion, this is a fair and balanced way to handle what could be a very volatile situation at some companies. Unions criticize the current policy as allowing management to take action against employees that are trying to rally others to the union cause - they think that the "balance of power" is with management. Card check would definitely swing this balance to the other side.

Card check changes the current system, and allows union reps into workplaces to sign employees up for the union. Once 51% have signed up (by signing certain cards, hence the name), the company is unionized without any secret ballot (or even public) election. Critics of card check - myself included - see a lot of potential for union reps to pressure employees publicly, in front of their co-workers, to sign their cards. Peer pressure becomes the driving force, instead of sound and reasoned decision-making.

Why is this issue critical to you, as an American citizen and a Christian? 3 reasons:

#1 Unions gave around $100 million to Democrats during the last election cycle. Currently unions only represent about 12% of the workforce (teachers, auto workers and government employees, for the most part). Look then at the moral and political causes and issues that union dues go to support. Do you want further money and support for these things? Again, the Democratic party has made homosexual marriage and abortion "rights" core issues within their party. They have chosen to stand for these things, and union dues overwhelmingly go to support their party and these causes. Is this what we want, millions (if not billions) more spent supporting these causes?

#2 Economists are estimating severe job losses from this legislation - good article to read here:

http://www.openmarket.org/2009/03/05/new-study-shows-job-loss-data-under-card-check/
Shouldn't the focus of legislation right now be to create new jobs and stimulate the economy? Take the example of Walmart, which has a very small profit margin - they make a lot of money, but their profit as a percentage of all their sales is very small. In short, higher costs to them = higher costs to you. Card check would result in significantly higher costs. This would indeed make life better for some who work at Walmart, as they might make more money... but anyone who shops at Walmart will experience higher prices. The higher wages also mean that less people will be able to have the now-fewer (but higher paying) jobs. So why would something like this be important to pass now, early in the administrations tenure, when the economy is already so bad? A good question to ask yourself, and it leads to point #3...

#3 This point is completely my opinion, I am answering my question from the end of #2 (in the interest of full disclosure). But if you look at the spending in the stimulus bill, the spending is focused in industries that typically have unions, and the job created are in those fields. Also, the money is released during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. I don't believe this is an accident. Taken together with this card check program which will exponentially increase the power and money available to unions (and the politicians/causes they support), I see an agenda at work here. Not a conspiracy theory, or anything crazy, but a logical assault on our political system. In summary, the Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. They are taking steps to consolidate this power, so as to remain in power for the long term. The outrage from the country will have evaporated by 2010, or 2012. But the money will be flowing from Washington, and in 1-3 more years our thinking will be a bit more conditioned by a very sympathic media (sympathetic to this administration). People who bring up then what is happening now will be "living in the past." Sadly, the Republicans could use all this to unify, and show the country a better way, but they have not. Some of them seem to have the fortitude for this battle, but others are content with the bones they are thrown from the table.

Pray about these issues, and seek what the Lord would have you do. But I would highly recommend that call to your Senator. If it's possible, this Act, and the agenda it is part of, must be stopped. The next issue is nationalized health care, and it will be up to vote on very quickly.

We must act now.

$410 Billion More in Government Spending

2009-03-10T16:47:00.004-07:00

3 significant things to note here: (from the short article in the title link)

#1 It seems like a pretty good deal, perhaps, if only $8 billion out of $410 billion is earmarks. To put that perspective anyone can understand, though, let's breakdown how much money $8 billion really is to us, in our lives. If you make $75,000 - good money - you would have to work for 106,667 years to make $8 billion (maybe a few years less, inflation would kick in). The numbers have gotten absurd at this point, really. 8,000 different earmarks (pet projects for specific Senators and states) are in the bill, which leads to point #2...

#2 The 62-35 vote to end debate - you need 60 Senators to bring a bill to vote, and the Democrats only have 59 seats. So, the sad part is that several Republicans crossed the aisle and had their own projects in this bill; essentially a bribe of cash to be spent in their districts in return for a yes vote. So the Republicans blew a huge chance to show that their party is different, and will be fiscally responsible. Not terribly surprising (several crossed the aisle to pass the stimulus bill also), but very disappointing.

#3 President Obama promised not to sign bills into law that contain earmarks; this was a big part of the "Change!" he was bringing to Washington. Note the comments from his administration in the end of the article, the loophole if you will. I see a couple reasonable conclusions from this behavior, either a) Mr. Obama will not do what he said he would do, or b) Mr. Obama will use every loophole he can to spend money he deems worthy, while not technically breaking a campaign promise. Either is very disappointing, even from a President whom I oppose ideologically.

All sarcasm aside - which is taking some effort - I would just like one person to explain to me how spending more money we don't have is going to solve the crisis facing America today that was caused by people spending money they did not have. Christian or otherwise, Democrat or Republican - even you Libertarians and Greens could jump in here? How can the solution to the problem be what caused problem? I am dizzy even trying to follow the logic.

Free piece of advice, from Larry Burkett (may he rest in peace). This goes for people, corporations, governments, and you really can't go wrong following it:

Spend less than you make.

A review of The Shack

2009-03-10T09:46:00.002-07:00

Yes, the question in my last post was intended to be posted just prior to this discussion. If the implication sounds harsh, keep in mind I am not speaking to the author's intentions. I have no idea where Paul Young is at, himself; I hope he has grown past the views and opinions expressed in his book, The Shack, because they are tragically, subtly flawed.

Having no desire to reinvent the wheel, you can follow this link for an excellent review of the book and its issues, from a Biblical perspective:

http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/a-review-of-the-shack-download-it-here.php

At the bottom you can download the .pdf copy, which I would encourage you to do. We should be ready to give an answer to others who may read the book.

I asked the question in the previous post because direct attacks upon Christians have not worked - for the most part - throughout history. The early church was mercilessly persecuted... and Christianity became the official religion of the Empire within a couple hundred years. So the plan of our enemy changed, and he has become much more subtle. Why risk a frontal assault on the Church, when subversion can be more effective, and harder for Christians to spot?

To be clear, I am strongly against this book. Work of fiction it may be, but it was intended to teach spiritual concepts, not entertain. I would counsel Christians to stay away from it, and be aware of the stealth with which Satan can strike.

If you were Satan...

2009-03-10T09:13:00.003-07:00

Now that I have your attention, here is today's question to get you thinking:

If you were Satan and your goal was to destroy both Christians and the Church as a body, how would you do it?

The Bible and Fairness, Part II

2009-03-09T12:16:00.003-07:00

I think that often we mistake our American perspective for a Christian perspective, and that can be a subtle difference but it's an important one. I was sent a link, which is the title link above, which explains very well what Jesus had in mind in the New Testament in terms of our relationship with Him. Take a moment to read it, then continue...

The concept of slavery is revolting to consider, as an American. The African slave trade was a tragedy in American history, and by no means do I advocate the superiority of one race over another. But this is one of those issues in which our American perspective can hinder us. In order to look at what the Bible says, we need a Biblical - or Christian - perspective. Jesus never stood against slavery because the true issue is one of the heart, not the social or economic policies that flow from it. Democracy is great; but a dedicated Christian monarchy would be preferable, from an eternal perspective, to an intensely secular representative government. Democracy is merely a way to ensure religious liberty within our society.

And the great irony of our Christian faith is that we willingly choose slavery, because it is the only way to true freedom. Jesus speaks of how a slave should treat his master, and how a master should treat his slave. The fact that the one is a master and that the one is a slave is irrelevant from an eternal perspective. And if the master treats him well, history has many examples of slaves willfully following their masters even unto death (The Spartans at Thermopylae, several written accounts from our own Civil War, to quickly give two). Is there any way that Jesus could possibly treat us better than He already has?

The great tragedies of the American Civil War were the deplorable treatment of many slaves by their masters, and the inherent racism that went hand in hand with American slavery. The war ended slavery as an institution, but it did almost nothing to fix these 2 problems. So I do not say that slavery is something to be lauded (in the context of society), but we need to think about things from God's perspective, not our own limited viewpoints. In the way that truly matters, I am a slave, and happily so. I know exactly where I stand, who stands with me, and what I must stand for.

In a world of uncertainity, that is truly priceless.