Things Unseen

I cannot accept that what we SEE is all that there is because there are things going on inside of me that I can't see that I know are important, that are true, that make my life meaningful:

Thought, knowledge, understanding, love, empathy, compassion, a sense of justice, wonder, awe, worship, gratefulness, and appreciation of beauty…

History Lessons

I am currently reading a book by Jon Meacham about president Andrew Jackson call American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

Meacham is not a conservative author by any means by I am struck by the content of his book. Our history is so steeped in Christian heritage that he has spent the first one third of the book describing a moral dilemma President Jackson faced in his own cabinet.

Seems one of his cabinet members, John Eaton, married a woman of poor reputation. It was rumored that she had conceived a child through an adulteress affair and had had many male partners in her young life. The scandal played havoc in his first administration.

My observation is this. If we were not a nation guided by Christian morality there would have been no controversy would there? We had very Christian beginnings.

I'm not condoning or condemning the treatment Mrs. Eaton got. I'm saying there would not have been a scandal had there not been high moral standards in that day.

The standard that they embraced and that was thought to be violated was this: sex was to be enjoyed only in the bonds of marriage. Only in the security of a family should a child be born. In Jackson's day there were no social programs to support someone who strayed from the protection of this moral standard. Destitution defined those who did.

It was also considered a lack of character for someone to engage in reckless behavior for such momentary self gratification when the stakes were so high.

We have come a long way. We think nothing of this kind of behavior now and fully expect too write the check for it. In doing this we encourage the bad behavior. All parties are damaged in the process, including the children born.

Since we cannot teach a strict abstinence morality in schools these days, because you know we are not a Christian nation, we can expect you men to feel at liberty with young ladies. The destitution of fatherless children will continue to grow in our country.

If only we could learn from our own history.

I can't end this without making an appeal to young men. I beg you, do not demean and defame the rites of manhood before you have the substance of character to make good on the commitment required to really go "all the way."

Obamacare Patriotism

Couldn't pass this without commenting.

Michael Moore is making foolish and dishonest defense of Obamacare. It is interesting that he is now admitting there will be longer waits for medical care. I don't remember this being mentioned before the bill passed, at least not by Moore.

Michael Moore defends Obamacare and healthcare programs similar to it around the world. Moore says the only "things you maybe have to wait for" are a knee replacement surgery or cataracts.

"Things that are not life-threatening," Moore said on HBO's "Real Time" with host Bill Maher. "The reason why you have to wait sometimes in those countries is they let everybody in the line. We make 50 million people out of the line so the line is shorter, so sometimes you have to wait as long. If you are a patriotic American, you want every American to be covered the same as you. No, not 'I'm going to get ahead because I have health insurance and they don't,'" Michael Moore explained.

The fact is no one was out of the line. Everyone can get medical care in the US even if they do not have insurance. It is not that we are adding 50 million people to the line, it is that we are reducing hundreds of lines to one. Hundreds of private health insurance providers are being whittled down to one, the US government. And thousands of health care providers are being reduced to who knows how few because the incentive to go into the medical profession has been greatly reduce along with the doctor's income potential.

It's not that there are more in line. It's that there will be fewer lines.

So friends, your patiently enduring a bad policy that will certainly hasten our financial ruin is you mark of patriotism.

I would rather think that saving the country from this disastrous bill would be more patriotic.

Shorter waits for medical care are just a bonus.

Spontaneous Patriotism

I love spontaneous patriotism...

Freedom's Holy Light

I was listening to Ravi Zacharias this weekend and he made reference to the fact that freedom is a moral concept. It is entirely a matter of morality. Not only is it a moral concept, it is governed and sustained by morality. Our Founding Fathers saw freedom as a natural extension of their Christian faith. It is the natural setting for the living out of the Christian life but not necessarily fit for any other kind.

“The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive of the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren, traditionary faith which seems to vegetate rather than to live in the soul.” (Democracy in America by A. de Tocqueville p306)

In the ancient war between good and evil the advent of freedom on the face of the earth was one of the greatest victories for the cause of good in the whole of man’s history. Before the United States became a nation, the world did not know what civil freedoms looked like. Mankind lived from tyranny to tyranny down through the ages with only brief periods of relief.

The “proposition” that men and women could govern themselves without a sovereign to “manage” them, was born here. We “discovered it” and employed it. In the running of this experiment an additional discovery was made. When men and women are given the chance to pursue a dream of their own conception, they make of themselves much more than they would otherwise have accomplished. And in the pursuit of their dreams they often take others with them to a better life. That is the basis of American freedom, the genesis of the American Dream.

Unfortunately we now have a large group of men and women in government who are more committed to the “management” (tyranny) of men and women than they are to the proposition of American freedom, the cradle of greatness. In the name of helping people they are creating a society that enslaves us and traps us in a “no advancement” situation that will ultimately lead us to the riots we are now seeing in Europe. Out of sheer frustration the population there is striking out at those in a better station of life than they hold. When there is no chance for an individual to step out and channel their energies into realizing a dream, despair is the result. Resentment rises up with its violent cousin vengeance and you have the recipe for a riot.

Those who have a vested interest in tyranny by all means want to stop the revival of morality, especially Christian morality in our culture. I say Christian morality because it is Christian morality that inspired and guided American freedom to greatness. Greatness that is, until we began to abandon this morality in the nineteen sixties. It is Christian principles and truths that truly make men free, a freedom that comes with the burden to do what is right. No honest government has anything to fear from this kind of freedom or morality.

It is the illegitimate kind of government, the one with management of men as its goal, that has something to lose from this kind of morality.

“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in the republic which they set forth in glowing colors than in the monarchy which they attack; it is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie is not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people who are their own masters if they are not submissive to the Deity?” (Ibid p307)

De Tocqueville lays it out pretty clear here. Faith in a moral God who governs in the affairs of men is the only guard to real freedom. But…if it is freedom from morality that we are seeking, the chains of despotism await us. It is important to state here that the opposite could also be said, that monarchs will have something to fear from a people who hold Christian morality in high regard. (King George III is the example here.)

Robert Winthorp, once the speaker of the House of Representatives said of this subject:

"Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or a power without them. Either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet."

There is a choice before us Americans (and I call you Americans with the greatest of affection and hope of continued greatness), seek what is Good and pursue it or wait submissively for chains to completely master us. Freedom under the guidance of Christian truth is liberty indeed. It leads to the greatness that is the blessing of God.

One more quote from de Tocqueville in which he refers to religion which in this case is most certainly Christianity:

"Liberty regards religion as its companion in all its battles and its triumphs, as the cradle of its infancy and the divine source of its claim. It considers religion as the safeguard of morality, and morality as the best security of law and the surest pledge of the duration of freedom.”
(Democracy in America- de Tocqueville p 44)

There is no hope of freedom where there is no moral clarity. The clarity to see what is harmful versus what is wholesome to individuals and society. When every citizen has the ability to discern this and act correctly, liberty is assured.

In Ravi Zacharias’ radio message he mentioned the following stanza of My Country Tis of Thee. It sheds light on how we used to understand where freedom came from and how is it sustained.

Our fathers' God, to thee,
author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.

There is no earthly reason why we should not entrench freedom in our culture, through Christian moral revival, for us, for our children and grandchildren…for the world. Morality and goodness are not dirty words. They are an assurance of freedom.

Americans, imagine a stranger planning your daughter’s future. Imagine receiving in the mail a letter from a foreign or government official directing your son where to live and where to show up for work on a designated date. We have lived in freedom’s holy light so long we can’t even imagine what the darkness is like.

War Is Not Pro-Life

I thought I had shared this before. If I have, my apologies. It's worth another look. Thought about it while reading over at The Clue Batting Cage.

It is a letter to the editor I wrote back in 2005 that actually got published in our hometown paper about the time the Left was ramping up their anti-war rhetoric. Hope you enjoy.

I was driving to work last week and saw a bumper sticker that I have to take issue with. When I first read it I thought it a clever argument against the War on Terror and conservatives in general. It read “War is not Pro-life.” It seemed like a reasoned argument at first glance. “Wow,” I thought, “how do you respond to that?” After some thought, I realized that it had to be responded to.

The person driving that car probably won’t get this, but I think someone has to remind us that nearly every war, that the United States has been in, has been pro-life. Think about it. The Civil War secured the lives of Black Americans to live in freedom. The First World War secured the lives of millions of Europeans to live in freedom. Ask the Jewish survivors of WWII if that war was pro-life. Ask the Polish, who lived with the Nazi boot on their neck for some four years. The occupied of France would surely agree that WWII was pro-life. The people of southwest Russia, the Czech’s and the Dutch would also agree with me. What about the Korean War? Ask the people of South Korea which side of the 38th Parallel they would rather live on. How about Vietnam? Unfortunately, we lost heart in that war and managed it poorly, so we can’t ask anyone in Vietnam whether or not they were fighting for Life. We made a similar mistake in Desert Storm leaving thousands of Kurds and the Shiites to incur the wrath of Saddam for daring to help us. Just the same, I think I know how the Kuwaiti’s would answer the question. What about the war on terror? Now the Afghanis are free to answer, “Was the war to liberate your country pro-life?” Don’t take my word for it, ask them. Iraq has now been liberated. I wonder who they would say is the most pro-life, Saddam or the U.S.

If we can’t agree that Evil in our time, as in every other, has to be overcome by Good in order to enjoy Life as only free people can, then we are in a crisis of existence. When Evil goes to war Good must engage it on every front or risk extinction. We didn’t ask for this war or want it, but we have to win it.

So after some deliberation I realized that the bumper sticker was a petty slight to conservatives, and more importantly to the men and women fighting to keep us safe and win the freedom of oppressed masses. Americans have developed a time honored and sacred tradition of fighting, bleeding and dying for the freedom of others. It chills my blood to know that some in our country think so little of their sacrifice that they would insult it to try to make a political point.

“That’s all I have to say about that.”

Small Arms Treaty

This is just an addendum to the previous post: Everything's Under Control, Rest Easy Friends

One of the individuals in the Kitchen Table Talk meeting mentioned this treaty and I knew nothing about it. Here is a link to read for yourself about the treaty. BTW I am against any international treaty that encroaches on American freedom. This one appears to be a big over reach.

U.S. Debt

If there was any question about us filling out the new debt ceiling, we are off to the races to hit the new ceiling in record time.

Friends, this is going to end very badly for us if it is not stopped.

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/08/05/us-debt-now-surpasses-2010-gdp/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email

Everything's Under Control, Rest Easy Friends

After all the furor in the last week about raising the debt ceiling, lets get some numbers straight before I tell you about my visit to the Mc Kaskill Kitchen Table Talk meeting in my home town.

14 trillion in debt now

2.4 trillion added by new debt ceiling

10 trillion added to debt over next 10 years due to base line budgeting

26.4 trillion total debt in 10 years

-2.1 trillion negotiated cuts over next 10 years

24.3 trillion is the projected total debt in 10 years according to this new debt ceiling deal.

Senator Mc Kaskill must be a very busy person. I thought at first she would be there so I was disappointed to find out it was just a staffer there to run the meeting.

There were about 12 people in attendance. I was the youngest person there (I'm 47) by at least 20 years for the first half of the meeting. Then a man that looked younger than I arrived late.

The staff person went around the room to ask if anyone had concerns. I was encouraged when the first person began complaining about the debt ceiling deal. But I'm afraid my jaw dropped when the complaint was fully stated. She was angry that the republicans got everything they wanted and Obama was just letting everyone have whatever they wanted and he just went along. "He has to stand for something at some point," she said disgusted. She knew that Senator Mc Kaskill and the president were close allies so could she please hold the president to account? The staffer said he would make her aware of this concern.

The next person wanted to know why the people who are making more money than they need are allowed to get social security. Why couldn't the cap be put in place to keep the rich from drawing social security when the don't need it?

Then the third person (who I think was the spouse of the second person) made a good point I thought about social security. He wanted to know "Why the $@&% do they call social security an entitlement? I've paid into it all my life. That's my money I paid in." The small group liked this. I thought he pretty well answered his wife's question myself.

The next guy was a hoot. He was a story teller I could tell. He started by complaining about all these adds against Claire Mc Kaskill and no one has answered them. With dramatic flare he asked, "You know where all the money for these adds is coming from don't you? Texas! There are groups out of Texas funding this add campaign." Then dramatically, like a lawyer pressing the jury to convict, he announced, "And Carl Rove is the one organizing them." He looked around the room to see the looks of horror on the faces of those present. He then went into a lecture on how the rich need to pay more taxes because they can afford it. The president should raise taxes on these people to help pay the deficit. I began to feel a little overwhelmed at the magnitude of the challenge to help people like this understand how big a problem we are facing. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY8LKII_MNA ) The story teller then swerved into the fact that the first trillion dollar deficit, "was run by none other than..." pausing for dramatic effect... "Ronald Reagan!" he exclaimed dramatically. To the staffer's credit he interrupted the mini-lecture to move the meeting along.

Summarizing the rest...One was concerned about veteran's benefits. Another voiced concern over the small arms treaty Hillary Clinton was involved with (which I still know nothing of and neither did the staffer.) The person that came after me wanted to know how the debt ceiling deal would affect the state of Missouri. (The staffer said this was not understood until the cuts were determined.)

For my turn I presented the above numbers and ask the staffer if Senator Mc Kaskill was involved with or knew of any plan to get our debt problem under control. He said in essence, other that the cuts that were agreed upon in the debt ceiling deal he knew of no other plan for cuts.

I explained to the best of of my ability that the debt problem will make all the other concerns everyone in the room had, pale in comparison. The destruction of the dollar would make pension and social security checks worthless. We DO NOT HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM! WE HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM. (I directed this statement toward the story teller. To his credit he nodded in agreement. ) Raising taxes would only discourage the very thing we need, economic growth. The staffer assured me he would make Senator Mc Kaskill aware of my concern.

There you have it. Don't get your knickers in a knot. It's all under control friends. No worries.

A Balanced Buget Amendment

I listened to the Mark Reardon Show on KMOX this afternoon and of course the discussion was about the debt ceiling debate. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D) was one of the guests. He made a statement that I will roughly quote in response to whether a balanced budget amendment should be included in the negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. He in essence said, "A balanced budget amendment just isn't practical."

Here we see why we are at the verge of financial oblivion. A balanced budget just isn't practical. Even if he meant not practical to include in the debt limit legislation HE'S DEAD WRONG. It's exactly what we need to avert catastrophe (if that is still possible.)

There is coming a reckoning. Folly's consequences always find there way home.

The Right to Expect Something

Well it has been a long quiet spell here due to several causes, vacation, kitchen renovation, kid’s events, work and just plain lack of zeal. So let me start up again saying I hope everyone is having a great summer.

The question that has been rolling around in my mind for the last few weeks is this: Do I have a right to expect my neighbor to behave morally and responsibly? Should I expect something from my fellow citizens? Do I have a right to expect them to be responsible, honest, respectful, free from dangerous and illegal substances? Should I expect them to teach their children to be responsible and respectful other’s property, to learn how to work to provide for themselves and their family? Do I have that right, the right to expect a certain standard of behavior form my fellow citizens?

If the answer is yes, it is way past time to exercise that right. If so, I need to start demanding good moral/ethical conduct from those around me and expecting them to be responsible. I’m ashamed to admit I gave up on this idea of "expecting" others to behave morally in college when I was bludgeoned with the, “Don’t force your morality down my throat” mentality that prevailed at the time. But now, 30 years later (actually earlier but I haven’t said much about it until now), I see the error of my ways.

So if you answered my question above by saying NO! I do not have a right to expect anything from the behavior of my fellow citizens. You still say, “don’t force your morality down my throat.” Or, I have no right to expect them to behave based on some basic morality. If you are in this crowd let me ask you a couple of questions.

Is the person on welfare expecting anything from my behavior? (Are they expecting a standard of behavior from me e.g. to go to work, after 8 years of exorbitant education costs and sacrifice by my family, to give over a substantial percentage of my hard earned income to support them?) If they’re not expecting this, let’s cut welfare spending right now.

Is the person receiving public assistance of any kind expecting anything from my behavior, e.g. to fund the government coffers that pay them to stay home and do _______ (you fill in the blank)?

The suggestion that welfare recipients take drug tests routinely puts some light on this question. If you expect something from your fellow citizens (public assistance) then your fellow citizens have a right to expect something from you.

Seems fair to me.

If I have no right to expect anything from them, well… they have no right to expect anything from me.

Father's Day

It must be my age. I'm getting to an age where I see the need for and often take the opportunity to say the things that are not commonly said. Yesterday I took the time to tell my wife and kids some things that needed to be said. I have three great kids and a wonderful wife. It is not every day that I make it a point to tell them that in a special way. I did yesterday.

I'm sure it took them by surprise. I think they will remember this Father's Day. So will I.

Socialism Addressed Again.

Below is an article worth reading. I ran across it at wallbuilders.com. Great rebuttal to the nonsense that the budget crisis is justified by Christian morality.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1365610

The Only Way to Keep from Dying is to Commit Suicide

I guess I don't learn very fast. I am still trying to make sense of the democratic/liberal stance on our national debt. A recent conversation stimulated this attempt to understand their policies.

So let me get this straight: 1 Almost everyone agrees we are spending ourselves into national suicide. 2 The liberal position is we cannot cut spending or taxes (on the rich) to raise revenue. 3 If we cut spending or fail to raise the debt ceiling (according to liberals/dems) it will be death by Armageddon. 4 If we raise the debt ceiling it will allow us to accomplish #1

So in summary the democratic/liberal position is that if we commit suicide (by continuing to spend) it will keep us from dying (in a financial Armageddon.)

I think there is another option.

Back From the Wilderness

This is my first full day back. I took a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. If you've never been there I would encourage you to take a trip. It is not for the physically unfit. I prepared for it by exercising for three weeks.

It is a well preserved wilderness that offers the real deal experience of being in the untouched wild. There is no communication while in the park. You are truly cut off from the world for the duration.

This was my second visit and turned out to be a real adventure. We decided to break camp Wednesday morning and head for home. In the Boundary Waters the weather can change in a matter of minutes so it was not a real concern that a storm was blowing in. The wind had been blowing through the night on Tuesday and continued Wednesday morning but in the wilderness you can't tell how or if the wind is blowing on other lakes in the park. We found out the hard way it was blowing over the entire park and before we were to make the entire twelve mile paddle out it was gusting up to 50 mile per hour.

For six and a half hours we paddled for twelve miles and crossed 5 portages (it would normally take 4 1/2 hours.) The wind was gusting, driving rain and in places the whitecaps washed into the canoe. At one point, in the middle of Knife Lake, while we were about a quarter mile from shore a gust of wind hit us broad side at 40-50 mph. It nearly capsized us in the middle of the lake. My friend and I paddled endlessly with everything we had directly into the wind. We finally made it to shore on a rocky outcropping and bailed out the canoe. At one point we were paddling nosed into the wind to take the waves head-on creeping along shore at a 45 degree angle. I've never move forward at a 45 degree angle before in a canoe. At its worst we struggled to stay upright with every wave.

Several times we discussed stopping to set up camp and wait out the wind. Each time we optimistically thought it would be getting better. Not. It was a harrowing experience to say the least. We had set up a pick-up time with the outfitters before hand to pick us up at noon on Wednesday. One of the canoes in our group arrived at the pick-up point just as the outfitter arrived. It was then that we learned of the 50 mph winds. The boat driver said he was amazed but thankful to see us. He was afraid we would not make it back to the lodge without our weight in the boat. He then went looking for his life jacket. "Where is da ting," he said with northern exposure accent. "I've never worn it before." You should have seen everyone in our group grabbing their life jackets.

For the last 2 days in my warm, dry home I have been living on that "I'm glad to be alive" feeling. I wouldn't have missed it for the world but I never want to do it again.

It's good to be home.

Oppression, Worse Than Death

Patrick Henry once ended a famous speech, "Give give me liberty or give me death." I attended public school when this was taught in history class. Lately it has brought to mind a line of thinking we should all revisit. I think our Founders had a great sense of things that would be worse than death. I thought I would try to put together a meaningful list based on inspiration from them.

Liberty must have been very dear to them for good cause. They, more than us, had an understanding that some things are worse than death. To give a little more context to Patrick Henry's famous speech let me include a few more lines:

What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

In the Declaration of Independence they closed out this monumental document by saying, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They risked everything for freedom. They understood the excellence of life lived free from the oppression of a tyrant who is incapable of understand the potential of a single soul.

1. Living in oppression is worse than death.

A Note to the Tea Party

When did our Founding Fathers become free?

They were living under the rule of a micromanaging monarch who progressively claimed more of their income and reduced their rights to share in the governing of their affairs. Thus the phrase "no taxation without representation" was the battle cry for independence. (The taxation King George levied was kid stuff compared to what we face today.)

The Declaration of Independence eloquently enumerates a long list of grievances the colonists endure and had appealed to England to change with no effect. I am including a small sample of them here:

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative Houses repeatedly for opposing with manly firmness his invasion on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within.

To read the entire document see: www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=25685

So when were the founders free? When were they really free?

Was is when the Treat of Paris was signed in 1784?
Was it when they won the Battle of Yorktown and Cornwallis surrendered in 1781?
Was it at Trenton New Jersey on Christmas of 1776?
The signing of the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776?
During one of the countless speeches for independence in the years before the Declaration?

Real freedom comes when conviction in the heart boils over into definitive action in defiance of the onerous will of a tyrant. When you stop obeying and start defying the tyrant's or master's will you are free. Deciding for yourself how you will conduct the affairs of your life is freedom. The action you take may result in death quickly (and in the past and present this is often the case) but I am persuaded that if that course of action results in death, you die a free man or woman.

With this backdrop let me ask you when does a man or woman become a slave?

Could it be when in your heart by apathy, distraction or ignorance you obey the onerous commands or encroachments of a tyrant?

This administration is imposing by policy an indentured state on us and our children.

The Tea Party is a freedom movement born anew. It embodies conviction in the heart boiling over into definitive action in defiance of the onerous will of a tyrant.

Americans, freedom is in your DNA, in the core of your soul. Take action against the indenturement of debt, policy, so called security precautions, regulations by unelected bureaucracy appointees, government encroachments into health care...

What about you?

Our Founders taught the world what freedom was. We have to relearn it ourselves and take action before it's too late.

1) I think we might have one chance to avert financial enslavement. We must see that the debt ceiling is not raised. Spending cuts could be forced using the debt ceiling.

2) Call your state representative and senator now to get a bill started in your state that requires a photo ID to vote. Only those trying to subvert democracy oppose this requirement.

If ever we needed a national Tea Party, it's now.

Consensus is Building...

Just a quick note about an interview I read at:

www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=331

I mentioned in a previous post that the terrible consequence of taking God out of our public discourse and government is the loss of our GOD given rights. The Declaration of Independence rightly identifies the source of our rights as being God Himself. As I just learned, Gingrich agrees...

Lofton: What in your opinion ought to be the relationship between God and government.

Gingrich: Well, I think it’s pretty clear in the original document, the Declaration of Independence of the Founding Fathers, that we are endowed by our Creator certain inalienable rights which are the rights of liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness. And I think what every listener needs to understand is that in the minds of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the people who wrote that document, they literally meant that your rights come from God, that you then loan them to the government, which is why the Declaration of Independence begins “We the people…”. And therefore if we drive God out of the public square we drive out the source of our own rights and our own source of power. And that’s why I started from that premise that if you don’t have some understanding that your rights are a gift from God, and you, not the politician, you and not the liberals, you, not the bureaucrats, are the center of the society, I think you can’t explain America.

I haven't really been a fan of Gingrich for the 2012 run but he is sounding more and more presidenttial and right. Check out this clip...


http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qtjfMjjce2Y

Easter Apologetics

Some of you know the meaning of the word apologetics. It is not to say I'm sorry about Christianity. It is to give a defence of Christianity. This weekend I am part of a panel that will give a defense of the biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The reason I am writing this is to share a resource I have rediscovered.

If you have never read "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist" by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler I highly recommend it. It is encyclopedic in its defense of Christianity including the Resurrection. It is very compelling.

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntt=i+dont+have+enough+faith+to+be+an+atheist&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCN&nav_search=1&cms=1&search==


I would also like to mention another resource. I have just recently finished a book that helps with understanding the significance of the Resurrection. "The Message of Pain" starts from the beginning and explains the significance of the the Cross and the Empty Tomb in terms that relate it to us as individuals. (If I may recommend it to you.)

http://themessageofpain.com/order_264.html

God bless everyone reading this and may you receive the blessings that come from the One who overcame the power of evil to offer life to all.

The Paradox of Love

I have just finished listening to a CD recording of John Lennox review of Steven Hawkings book, The Grand Design. Steven Hawking recently released this book in which he claims the the Laws of Physics are all that are necessary for the universe to have come into existence. His claim is that since we have the Law of Gravity the universe can and will create itself. There are a number of problems with this claim alone and I will leave that discussion to Dr. Lennox. You can get the CD from RZIM in Atlanta, GA if you would like to hear it. Dr. Lennox dismantles Dr. Hawkings claims with clear logic. In any case, This CD got me started...

If what atheist say is true and we are here by evolution (chance, time and matter interacting) then Love is an aberration, a notion that does not fit into the logical progression of this thinking. It defies the survival of the fittest doctrine of evolution. It cuts through the rationality of self interest to connect with someone out of own skin.

What a contradiction it is for an atheist to marry, have children, take care of their parents in old age... But their actions betray them, they do marry, have children, take care of their parent in old age... Why?

Because it may just be that in the psyche of every human being there is a place for, a desire for, and a reverent respect for Love. Everyone wants to be loved whether they admit it or not. The heart craves it. No one consistently rejects the efforts of someone else to act on their behalf for their good (love). They may try because they recognized the danger of accepting Love from someone; if you are loved and love someone you are admitting the existence of Goodness and the need for it and defying the doctrines of evolution.

The strongest argument for the existence of good is Love. An experience of Love is a powerful influence on behavior. Consider what life would be without it. What percentage of the population in prisons say they were from a loving, supportive family where they felt loved and respected? This is just a guess but I bet it's less than ten percent.

Love makes a difference. Love makes sense when you believe the there is a God. An experience of love opens the mind and heart to the possibility that there is something more than the survival of the fittest at work in the universe. A genuine experience of Love opens up the heart to the possibility of the the super natural because friends, Love is not natural. It directly contradicts the naturalist's line of thought (survival of the fittest). In the naturalist's mind, Love does not compute. A real experience of it then gives evidence of something greater than or at least different from the natural world.

Yet, the atheist continues to tell us that love is just a glandular secretion influencing our behaviour. No, Love changes things. It may be the only thing that makes things better.

The Christian world view is founded on Love. The main Character of scripture is Jesus Christ. He was asked once what is the greatest commandment in Scripture...

Mat 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Love is the foundation for the teachings, rules of interaction, and principles of Christianity. So profoundly is this ingrained in the teachings of Christ that in this passage He states the second commandment is like the first. Does He mean it is like loving God to love others? I think so. He says a couple of chapters later in Matthew...

Mat 25:34-40 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (ESV)

Yes, according to the Bible the Creator of the universe says that love is important; that it changes things; it makes a difference. And when we love others it is like loving Him.

So if there is no God, Love does not makes sense. It will require sacrificing of your resources for the benefit of another. That doesn't compute with the survival of the fittest.

The experience of Love keeps atheism from making sense. Does love and good make sense or does atheism make more sense?

I'm bias. I have experienced His love. It has made a difference in my life.

1Jn 4:7-12 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (ESV)

Yeah, I believe love changes things. It is powerful in that regard. Nothing can stop it when it is expressed in the purest of motives.

The Budget Debate

It seems the Dems only want to discuss a budget if the Republicans are drafting one. Otherwise forget about it. They lost all credibility for debate when they failed to pass a budget when it was their responsibility. Of course no documented budget meant no accountability. Don't get me wrong the Republicans are not saints on this topic, but for the Dems to show up and say yay or nay about a budget now is beyond hypocrisy.

They want NOTHING cut. ANY cut is a tax cut for the rich or an attempt to starve seniors or children. So their stance is that America MUST go bankrupt, no exceptions, no alternatives. That should tell voters who they put in office. It is of no satisfaction to me to see us come to this.

All this said, I want to encourage everyone. America, the original spirit of the United States, is not financial or material in nature. She is a nation of ideals, principles, standards and morals that proved superior to all others. It is because of these values that we embraced at our birth that financial and material wealth was amassed more than in any other country in history.

Even the Chinese have come to understand this now.

www.ionainstitute.ie/index.php?id=1336 (Hat tip to dyspepsiageneration.com/)

Even if we are driven off the precipice of financial ruin, all we need to do is reaffirm those values and acknowledge the God from whom they came and we will lead the nations once again in every pursuit known to mankind. (If only we can do this before complete disaster.) A nation that discerns good from evil and pursues good has everything to look forward to and nothing to fear.

I'm Back

My apologies to all. I have been on hiatus for quite some time. I have been finishing a book, The Message of Pain, which I am very relieved to say is now available at Westbowpress.com . I am now back in the blog business. I will with my first blog shamelessly plug the book.

It is an apologetic approach to the experience of life changing pain. I look at the Biblical teaching on the meaning, purpose and origins of pain. The ultimate aim is to help others avoid the mistakes I have made.

Here's a direct link if you are interested.

www.westbowpress.com/Bookstore/BookSearchResults.aspx?Search=the%20message%20of%20pain