Tuesday
READING THE HEADLINES
WE CAN OFTEN LEARN ABOUT CURRENT
EVENTS BY READING THE HEADLINES
IN OUR DAILY NEWSPAPERS
For example, here are just two headlines picked up
from Internet news sources this week: "Is America
past the point of no return? And this very concise
one, describing our present federal administration:
"Feckless, helpless, clueless."
But more definitive was this headline on the front
page of the "Parade" supplement in last Sunday's
newspapers: "America imprisons 756 inmates
per 100,000 residents, a rate nearly five times
the world's average. About one in every 31 adults
in this country is in jail or on supervised release.
Either we are the most evil people on earth or
we are doing something very wrong."
We probably -- OK, we surely don't deserve to
be called "the most evil people on earth," but the
other option is most certainly true: "we are doing
something very wrong."
To begin with, the prison population of this country is
not our No. 1 problem -- but it is a serious problem,
and it is indicative of an even more serious underlying
problem: that we have departed from ... have ignored
... have rejected the Christian principles which made
up the foundations on which this nation was built, and
in the name of "progress" have substituted a new set
of values for the moral values which have made this
the great nation it has always been.
It doesn't require much research to ascertain the
importance that the nation's founding fathers ascribed
to Scriptural principles. For example, in 1778 James
Madison said, “We have staked the whole future
of American civilization, not upon the power of
government, far from it. We have staked the
future of all our political institutions upon our
capacity to sustain ourselves according to the Ten
Commandments of God.”
And John Adams, in 1798, said of our nation, "We
have no government armed with power capable of
contending with human passions unbridled by
morality and religion. Our Constitution was made
only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly
inadequate to the government of any other."
But we have abandoned our reliance on the Ten
Commandments -- we have made legal the killing of
50 million babies . . . we are taking steps to revoke
God's plan for marriage and the home and are moving
toward the legality of homosexual ("same sex") marriage
. . . we are contemplating the legalizing of certain
drugs -- in the face of our Secretary of State's charge
that our drug use is at fault for the murder spree taking
place just south of us -- over 8,000 murders (including
beheadings) in one year on our borders with Mexico.
And those are only a few indications of our "doing
something very wrong."
What to do about this situation? We cannot rely on
the present administration or the Congress to solve our
problems. The president warned us during his campaign
what he would do if elected -- and he is doing all that.
The Congress -- well, Nancy Salvato, Senior Editor
of New Media Journal, said it well: "The definition of
a citizen is one who is ruled and can rule in turn.
We must have the capacity for both under the law.
Sadly, in today's day and age, those elected to our
legislature do not have to understand the law to
represent their electors. Consequently, this Congress
has proven to be the most constitutionally illiterate
group of people ever elected to office."
No, the response must come from Jesus Christ's own
Church, the Evangelical believers who accept His
challenge that we are salt and light in the world, and
to fulfill His Great Commission to evangelize the world.
It is probably generally agreed that in a national
political sense, the economy is our No. 1 problem.
Or at least it is one of the No 1 problems. There
appears to be a jockeying for the absolute top rank.
But this problem isn't new -- and perhaps some of
the past world leaders on both sides of the Atlantic
understood more about this problem than today's
leaders, again, on both sides of the Atlantic. They
are meeting this week in London. Hopefully some
of the ideas from these leaders of 200 years ago
might surface and be given some consideration.
"When a government is dependent upon bankers
for money, they and not the leaders of the
government control the situation, since the hand
that gives is above the hand that takes. Money
has no motherland; financiers are without
patriotism and without decency; their sole object
is gain." -- Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor
"I, however, place economy among the first and
most important republican virtues, and public
debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared."
-- Thomas Jefferson, US Founding Father and the
third U.S. President
It doesn't seem right to pass over and ignore the
"Global Warming" hoax, now appearing under its
new "politically correct" name: "Climate Change."
This news story from the New Media Journal needs
no comment. It makes the point perfectly clear: "A
United Nations document on 'climate change'
that will be distributed to a major environmental
conclave this week envisions a huge reordering
of the world economy, likely involving trillions of
dollars in wealth transfer, millions of job losses
and gains, new taxes, industrial relocations, new
tariffs and subsidies, and complicated payments
for greenhouse gas abatement schemes and carbon
taxes — all under the supervision of the world body
...The Obama administration has said it supports
the treaty process." Like we said -- no comment
is necessary.
A Founding Father on religion and law: "Far
from being rivals or enemies, religion and law
are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants.
Indeed, these two sciences run into each other.
The divine law, as discovered by reason and the
moral sense, forms an essential part of both. "
-- James Wilson, 1791, Signer of the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Because today is April 1, we felt almost compelled
to refresh your memory with the old story about the
atheists who were protesting to a local church pastor
that it wasn't fair for religionists to have so many
annual holidays, and atheists to have none. They
argued that Christians have Christmas and Easter,
and the Jews have Passover and Yom Kippur. The
pastor referred them to Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1,
"The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God,"
and congratulated them for having a holiday which
is celebrated on a world-wide basis -- April 1, or
"All fools Day."
Two more in our series of notable "One liners":
"Let's face it: conservatism is in crisis. The liberal
media is gleefully pronouncing it dead, and
President Obama and his Far-Left henchmen are
doing all they can to make sure it is marginalized
and silenced." -- Human Events
"The Left’s radical environmentalist agenda is a
bizarre ideology based on anti-capitalism and
anti-humanity sentiments." -- Gary Bauer
Last week we pointed out the new term for
attacks by terrorists, as adopted by our new
Homeland Security Director, Janet Napolitano:
"man caused disasters." Now the Obama
administration has added to the politically correct
vocabulary a new term to replace "global war on
terror" -- it is "Overseas Contingency Operation."
And so our young men and women are risking their
lives, not to combat global terrorism, but to deal
with "Overseas Contingencies."
Reflecting on the UN's "Climate Change" plan:
In Great Britain, they are taking these new proposals
more seriously. Consider this excerpt from London's
Sunday Times: “Jonathon Porritt, one of Prime
Minister Gordon Brown’s leading green advisers,
is to warn that Britain must drastically reduce its
population if it is to build a sustainable society.
Porritt said: ‘Population growth, plus economic
growth, is putting the world under terrible pressure.
Each person in Britain has far more impact on the
environment than those in developing countries, so
cutting our population is one way to reduce that
impact.’” The question arises: how many of Britain's
61 million people will have to be "cut" in order to meet
the new climate control standards? And how do you
do that? Through China's one-child-per-family policy,
or through President Obama's increased abortion-on-
demand policy? Either way is frightening.
A Founding Father on government regulation:
"Wise politicians will be cautious about fettering
the government with restrictions that cannot be
observed, because they know that every break of
the fundamental laws, though dictated by necessity,
impairs that sacred reverence which ought to be
maintained in the breast of rulers towards the
constitution of a country." -- Alexander Hamilton,
writing in the Federalist, 1787
IS THIS THE ONLY VOICE?
IS THIS THE ONLY VOICE CALLING FOR
LEADERSHIP? OR DO YOU SENSE THE
SAME NEED AND WANT TO HELP?
Last week we cited the statement from Bobby Eberle,
expressing concern over the lack of "leadership" --
but his emphasis was solely on the lack of leadership
in the political sphere. We also cited the statement by
Congressman Mike Pence emphasizing his affirmation
of his beliefs, that he is "a Christian, a Conservative
and a Republican, and in that order."
"Politics," per se, is not our primary area of expertise,
nor is it our primary subject for comment -- although
we would be failing in our responsibility as citizens of
a nation founded on Christian principles if we did not
express our concern over our national administration
operating contrary to those Christian principles. Thus,
our primary concern is with the Christian, Evangelical
and Conservative viewpoints -- all applicable terms for
our religious convictions. And, of course, the term
"Conservative" applies also to our political convictions.
In the religious area of life, we Evangelical Christians
are bereft of dynamic, effective eldership. Very frankly,
that lack of leadership played an important role in the
election of an extremely Liberal president in November.
The Evangelical vote, the Moral Majority, which had
twice elected Ronald Reagan with larger margins than
had ever been recorded before, fell apart with the loss
of Jerry Falwell and Jim Kennedy. We faced the
obstacle of so-called "Evangelicals" saying they
would rather not vote at all rather than vote for the
Republican candidate. We are now paying the price
for that attitude.
If we expect to see this resulting situation change, we
who claim to be Evangelical Christians are going to have
to find a new leader, and rally behind him, and reclaim
this nation for God and return to acknowledging those
Christian principles upon which it was founded.
Such a leader does not seem to be in sight at this
moment, but God has never left us leaderless in times
of need -- starting, if you will, with providing Moses
as the leader to take Israel out of Egypt, across the
wilderness so that ultimately they would reach God's
designated land for His people.
This we do know, that He has His man for this need,
and will make him known to us in His time. We must
be faithful in our prayer for such a leader.
And the need is great, because while the major
shortcomings of the Obama administration are in the
political realm, many of those actions have a serious
effect on religious issues. Absent a strong Evangelical
leader those anti-Christian positions will strengthen
and have more devastating results.
An analysis well worth reading! In mid February
Jeffrey Kuhner, president of the Edmund Burke
Institute, a Washington, DC think tank, analyzed the
danger we face in a column in the Washington Times
newspaper in February. A few excerpts from that
analysis will point out the similarities between the
administration of Juan Peron in Argentina in the mid-
twentieth century and the Obama administration in
America today: "The disastrous path on which
America is currently embarked was tried in another
country in the Western Hemisphere: Juan Peron's
Argentina. During the 1940s until a 1955 coup
ousted him from power, Peron presided over a
fascist state ... Argentina had a strong industrial
base ... Like America, it served as a magnet for
immigrants from all over the world ... Within 15
years, however, Argentina went from being one of
the richest to one of the poorest countries...This
was due largely to Peronist policies. Upon coming
to office, Peron established a corporatist state
characterized by lavish social spending, elaborate
welfare programs, protectionism, confiscatory
taxation and runaway deficits... Argentina
degenerated into the Latin American basket case
that it is today... Socialism and a sky-rocketing
national debt can permanently impoverish even the
wealthiest nations. America is not immune from the
laws of economics... Mr. Obama is taking the first
dangerous steps toward an American version of
Peronism. His followers see him as a political messiah,
a revolutionary change agent ..."
Frightening? Yes, and Dr. Kuhner concludes with
the very applicable warning from George Santayana,
"Those who fail to learn from history are condemned
to repeat it."
But lest you say: "Oh, those are purely political
issues," pause and remember the promises candidate
Obama made on the campaign trail, and the steps
he has already taken while in office -- steps which
are in direct opposition to, or abandonment of,
traditional Christian principles upon which our nation
was founded. Respect for life has been discarded in
favor of increased provision for abortions, despite
50 million babies killed already . . . his pledge to do
away with the Defense of Marriage law . . . his
promise to support homosexual demands with the
destruction of the concept of family . . . the removal
of the right of moral convictions with the threat of
loss of license of hospitals and medical facilities . . .
the reliance on the unproven "green" theory . . . these
are but a few of the anti-moral, anti-Christian moves
which the present administration is in the process of
enacting.
Our response, our reaction to this need at this
moment can be two-fold; first, to pray for God to
give wisdom to our leaders to do what is right, and
to show us the new leadership we so urgently need,
and second, to protest to our Senators and our
Representatives in Washington when proposals
contrary to our Christian convictions come before
them for action.
And just for the record: The daily Rasmussen Survey
results this week have given President Obama the
lowest Approval Index of his presidency. After quite
a steady day by day decline, the Approval Index this
week slipped to +4. The rating is computed by
subtracting the percentage of "Strongly Disapprove"
from the percentage of "Strongly Approve." The
Index was in the +28,+30 range after Inauguration,
and has declined to this week's new low of +4.
We often quote the nation's founding fathers.
to remind us that this nation was established on
Christian principles. Here is one who is not often
quoted: Davy Crocket, frontiersman, soldier, hero
of the Alamo -- and three times elected to the US
Congress: "We have rights, as individuals, to give
as much of our own money as we please to charity;
but as members of Congress we have no right so
to appropriate a dollar of public money." (1831)
And two other quotes with current applications:
"A fondness for power is implanted, in most men,
and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired."
-- Alexander Hamilton, 1775
"The main vice of capitalism is the uneven
distribution of prosperity. The main vice of
socialism is the even distribution of misery."
-- Sir Winston Churchill
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Continuing our series of "One liners" -- From
Davy Crocket (Congressman, cited above): "I bark at
no man's bid. I will never come and go, and fetch
and carry, at the whistle of the great man in the
White House no matter who he is." A pity that today
we have so few in Congress to speak so boldly as this.
A quick fact, ignored by the liberal media: the
reenlistment rate among our military serving in Iraq is
higher than at almost any time in history. Perhaps our
armed forces know more about what is happening
in Iraq than our liberal politicians and media personnel,
safely ensconced in their stateside offices.
Another new "correct" term for current events:
Janet Napolitano, our new Secretary of Homeland
Security, instead of speaking of threats from terrorists,
now refers to them as "man caused disasters." In
response to a question if that means she thinks Islamic
terrorism no longer poses a threat to America, she
responded "Of course it does." One wonders what
kind of a world she thinks she is living in. And we're
putting our homeland security in her hands?
And another change in a dictionary definition:
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary in its newest edition
has changed the historic definition of "marriage" to fit
the homosexual concept, stating in the new definition
that marriage includes "the state of being united to
a person of the same sex in a relationship like
that of a traditional marriage." It is sad that the
dictionary continues to bear the name of Founding
Father Noah Webster, who relied on the Biblical
concept in defining "marriage."
More scientists oppose "global warming" hoax:
Following the release of reports that the president's
proposed climate plan could cost industry close to
$2 trillion, 59 additional scientists skeptical of the
threat of manmade global warming have been added
to the U.S. Senate Minority Report on climate change,
bringing to more than 700 the number of scientists
around the world who have spoken out against the
hysteria created by Al Gore and other global warming
alarmists. In another note on this subject, the theory
of "global warming" has been called a "cult." Just to
help you keep up on this issue.
Another Founding Father assertion: "Let it be
impressed on your mind that God commands you
to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the
fear of God ... If the citizens neglect their duty and
place unprincipled men in office, the government
will soon be corrupted ... If our government fails
to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must
be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands,
and elect bad men to make and administer the laws."
-- Noah Webster, 1832
THE DEARTH OF REAL "LEADERSHIP"
THE DEARTH OF REAL "LEADERSHIP"
AFFECTS SO MANY AREAS OF OUR
NATIONAL AND CHRISTIAN LIFE
We begin our discussion with this very applicable
quote from Bobby Eberle writing in "The Loft" last
week. "After thorough election defeats in 2006
and 2008, Republicans are at a crossroads.
Some may see the current state of the Republican
Party, and say there is no hope. Others may see
opportunity for change, for growth, and for a
new vision. I am in the second group. The problem
we face as a party is that in order for us to move
forward, we need LEADERSHIP... real, honest to
goodness leadership. Unfortunately, the one thing
we need is the one thing we are currently lacking."
But just one moment, please: before you reject this
comment as too political, too partisan in nature -- let
us consider it from a slightly different approach. A few
years back, Congressman Mike Pence, Representative
for Indiana's 6th Congressional District, said, "I'm a
Christian, a Conservative and a Republican, in that
order." Those 3 classifications are all important to us.
So let's re-read Bobby Eberle's statement, and apply
it to Christianity, Conservatism and the Republican
party. And let's look at those classifications in the
reverse order.
First, Republican. Mr. Eberle is absolutely correct.
The Republican party is without a strong, capable
leader at this time. It has been that way -- let's face
it -- for the past 8 years.
President Bush was a decent man, with some sound
basic principles. But he lacked strong leadership
abilities, accepted and followed advice from some
erroneously biased and inept sources, and allowed
a spendthrift Congress to run wild, without exercising
presidential veto control. So the party of traditional
moral values, and conservative governing principles
foundered leaderless in the national political arena.
As Mr. Eberle stated, the one thing we need, we are
currently lacking.
The next classification, Conservative -- here, too,
we lack leadership. With no one at the controls in the
political realm, we are in danger of losing the basic
Conservative principles of small government, sound
financial responsibility, free enterprise, and the moral
values of respect for life, respect for family and the
unrestricted enjoyment of our First Amendment rights.
And the most important classification, Christian, also
finds us without a leader of the Evangelical position.
There is a theory currently being expressed to the
effect that the Evangelical cause in America is either
dead or is dying. Nothing could be further from the
truth. On a national scale, one of the recent surveys
depicting the death throes of Evangelicalism, as
published by Trinity College, indicates that 34%
of all American adults identify themselves as Born
Again or Evangelical Christians, and among American
Christians, 45% claim to be Evangelical or Born
Again believers. So when the facts are examined, it
is evident that the Evangelical cause is very much alive,
although sadly lacking in leadership at this point in time.
Certainly there is such a leader, ready to step forward
in God's time, but as yet such a one is not in view.
Reflecting on Mr. Eberle's description of the
Republicans as a party in defeat, one is reminded of a
statement by Winston Churchill after a major defeat at
the polls,"It is the duty of every English party to
accept political defeat cordially and to do their best
endeavors to secure the success or to neutralize the
evil of the principles to which we have been forced
to succumb."
That is exactly the position in which we, along
with Mike Pence, as Conservatives, Republicans and
Christians, find ourselves today. Lacking in leadership,
yes, but not lacking in our reliance on those historic
principles which have always made this nation great.
Reminder: this year's National Day of Prayer is
May 7. But no one has to wait till then to pray for our
nation.
And with respect to our present leadership, it
isn't just domestic issues that are getting fouled up.
According to historian Arthur Herman, President
Obama's first official visit from a foreign leader was a
"diplomatic disaster." The guest was British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, and the president apparently
tried to disregard the traditional close ties with our
staunchest ally through the years. He did not hold a
joint Rose Garden press conference with Brown, the
“usual protocol” when a president and British prime
minister first meet. The president had earlier shown his
disdain for Winston Churchill, ordering that the bust of
Churchill that Prime Minister Tony Blair had presented
to the U.S. after 9/11 be returned to the British Embassy.
This has been described as "a stunning posthumous
attack on the memory of a man who was not only
the living embodiment of the Anglo-American special
relationship, but of its ideological foundations." It
should be remembered that Churchill was half-American,
as is President Obama.
But lots of us ordinary Americans respect Sir Winston,
and some of us are old enough to remember how much
our nation owes to his leadership in World War II. The
British view of our president's treatment of their prime
minister? The national newspaper, the London Daily
Telegraph said of the event: "Obama has been rudeness
personified toward Britain.”
A memorable thought from a founding father:
"The aim of every political constitution is, or ought
to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess
most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue,
the common good of the society; and in the next
place, to take the most effectual precautions for
keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold
their public trust." -- James Madison, 1788
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
One more "Don't you just love one-liners?" From
Ann Coulter on the cost of a magazine subscription
on investments: "After Obama gets done driving down
the value of the dollar it wouldn't be enough to buy
Governor Rod Blogojevich a haircut."
First, there was "Watergate," the political scandal
in the Nixon administration. Then there was the
"Travelgate" political scandal during the Clinton
administration. Now we have "Jetgate," the political
scandal dogging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during
the Obama administration. Judicial Watch, a nonprofit
organization that exposes government corruption and
waste, has disclosed that Ms. Pelosi has been treating
the United States Air Force as her personal airline,
blocking out multiple flights, cancellations at the last
minute after planes and crew are prepped and ready,
and expressing outrage when the military aircraft aren't
available. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said,
"Not only does Speaker Pelosi issue unreasonable
requests for military travel, but her office seems
unconcerned about wasting taxpayer money with
last minute cancellations and other demands."
No comment is needed.
Just a brief note about the growth of the Christian
Church in Africa: it grew from 10 million Christians in
1900 to 360 million in 2000. It is growing still. Thank
God for those early jungle slogging missionaries who
first planted the seeds of the Gospel in Africa.
And here is an interesting contrast: Contrary to
some recent media reports suggesting that the country's
economic troubles have led to higher levels of church
attendance, a Pew Forum analysis of polls by the Pew
Research Center for the People & the Press finds that
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost over
half its value since October 2007, there has been no
increase in weekly worship service attendance during
the same time period. Perhaps a missed opportunity
for the Church in America.
A founding father's view of lawyers in Congress:
"If the present Congress errs in too much talking,
how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people
send 150 lawyers, whose trade it is to question
everything, yield nothing, & talk by the hour? That
150 lawyers should do business together ought not
to be expected." - Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography,
1821
THE 'OUTRAGE' CONTINUES
THE 'OUTRAGE' CONTINUES, BUT THERE
ARE ALSO REASONS TO REJOICE
Last month we cited California Ph.D.scholar,
Alisa Wilson's comment: "I am outraged that my
country, the United States of America , is in a
state of moral and ethical decline." Judging
from the responses from our readers, Ms. Wilson
expressed the views of many American Christians.
From the beginning, at his election as president,
we have urged Christians to pray that God would
give wisdom to President Obama to do what is
right for our nation. We continue to urge that
kind of prayer support. Early on we took the
position that until he actually began to do things as
president, we would not commend or criticize just
because he was a Democrat and a Liberal, and
was essentially unknown to us.
Now he has begun to do things, and thus far there
isn't much that he has done which we can commend.
Granted, he came into office as a major recession
was forming. His solution thus far has been to follow
the lead of Franklin D. Roosevelt who took a similar
recession and nurtured it into a full blown depression
lasting for 10 or 11 years. So disastrous was the
Roosevelt administration that just two years after his
death Congress passed an amendment to limit future
presidents to two terms, and the ratification of the
22nd amendment was accomplished in 1951. Yet
the Roosevelt method of solving financial problems
by pouring government money into the private sector
has been developed and refined by President Obama
to its present catastrophic proportions.
And these financial blunders have been accomplished
with virtually no executive level economic team in
place, aside from the to-date totally ineffective
Secretary of the Treasury, labeled by the pundits as
"Tiny Tim" Geithner.
Instead, the president has focused on putting into
positions of leadership executives who hold to his
extremely Liberal, anti-Christian views -- for example
as Secretary of Health and Human Services he chose
a true abortion zealot, former Kansas Governor,
Kathleen Sebelius. His first act in this area has been
to authorize federal funding of embryonic stem cell
research, which relies on the killing of more babies to
permit experimentation in this field.
Speaking to this problem, Randy Thomasson of
SaveAmerica.com wrote: "Obama is making us
pay to kill little humans. He is changing us from
a culture of life into a culture of death." The story
further reminds us that this decision follows several
other executive decisions to fund the destruction of
human life at taxpayers' expense. and points out
that this is funding of an immoral science that has yet
to yield a single success.
In his remarks at the signing of the measure, Obama
said he would seek to “ensure that our government
never opens the door to the use of cloning for
human reproduction.” But neither in his remarks nor
in the executive order itself did he say anything about
stopping the cloning of human embryos in order to
extract their stem cells for research.
This assault on traditional Christian convictions, is
added to his support of homosexual efforts involving
same-sex marriage, and restrictions on federal funds
available to religious groups and enforcement of the
requirement that doctors and hospitals opposed to
abortion must perform such procedures or face loss
of their license.
These acts, and others, are of serious concern
to American Christians. We Evangelicals have lost
our leadership in the past few years, but the heritage
of this nation is firmly Christian in principle, and it is
up to us to develop new leaders to reclaim America
for God and the Christian faith.
And what do the opinion polls show? The reliable
Rasmussen Reports, which conducts daily surveys
instead of occasional ones, reports that the president's
approval index has declined steadily since the week
of his inauguration.The index is calculated by subtracting
the strong disapproval rating of the president from the
strong approval rating, and varies as those two ratings
change. During inauguration week the rating was in the
strong +28 to +30 range, but has declined steadily to
the beginning of this week when it hit a new low of
+6. And both Consumer Confidence and Investor
Confidence ratings are at all time lows. Despite the
defensive spin concocted by the Democrat leaders,
it is difficult to disagree with the facts.
More gaffes - Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton:
further proof that inexperienced amateurs should not
mess around with international politics. In a recent
meeting with the Russians in Germany, Vice President
Biden made the remark that the two countries should
press the "reset" button So Secretary of State Clinton
followed the lead of her leaders and presented Russian
Foreign Lavrov with a red pin, bearing the English
word "Reset" and a Russian word having the same
meaning, which Clinton said they had worked hard to
choose the correct word, and said she hoped they got
it right. Lavrov's reply was frank:"You got it wrong."
The Russian word our State Department experts chose
was "overcharged.."
It hasn't been the best week for Secretary Clinton. Earlier
she pledged $900 million (that's almost a billion) to the
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Now several members of
Congress are objecting to this massive handout to these
dedicated opponents of Israel and the West -- notably
America.
Two applicable comments: from Winston Churchill,
"To build may have to be the slow and laborious
task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless
act of a single day." And from H.G. Wells,
"Human history becomes more and more a race
between education and catastrophe." At the
moment, in the international race in which we are
engaged, catastrophe appears to be winning.
But there are occasional hopeful signs that evil
is not in complete control. The U.S. Supreme Court
has taken a big step to protect Ten Commandment
monuments on hundreds of county courthouse lawns
and other public land across the nation. In a unanimous
decision, the main opinion was written by Justice
Alito, who drew a line between "government speech"
-- choosing which privately donated monuments to
display on public land -- and "private speech" in a
public forum. The First Amendment protects the latter
but doesn't restrict the former, he said.
And in another court decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a ruling that held the
Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church, in Montana in
violation of law for speaking about the state's marriage
amendment. The charge was brought by a homosexual
activist group."Churches shouldn't be penalized for
expressing their beliefs," said Alliance Defense Fund
legal counsel, arguing that "They should never be
forced to forfeit their free speech rights just because
the government decides to enact unconstitutional
laws requiring them to remain silent on social issues."
The court ruled the law is unconstitutionally vague and
its application in this case violated the church's First
Amendment rights.
The real Founding Father on international trust:
"There can be no greater error than to expect, or
calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation.
It is an illusion which experience must cure, which
a just pride ought to discard." - George Washington
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
A new word in our vocabulary -- perhaps not yet
in every dictionary, but doubtless will be soon. It is
Celebutards, defined as: "A compound of celebrity,
debutante, and retard, this blunt term describes
lazy and egotistical stars with too much money,
fame, leisure time, and media attention, but too
little common sense or knowledge, who love to
spout off on topics about which they have zero
expertise." Seems like a useful new term. Not
unsurprisingly, Celebrities Barbara Streisand, Sean
Penn and Al Gore are among the first honorees of
the new designation. Award winning New York
Post columnist Andrea Peyser also included Rosie
O'Donnell and Madonna, among others.
Oooops! Error in re "Global Warming" -- Al
Gore and his pseudo scientific arguments in favor of
his theory of "Global Warming" ran head-on into a
huge error concerning their much heralded melting
of Arctic ice. The error began in early January and
persisted until mid-February, and caused climate
scientists to under-estimate the extent of the ice to
an extent larger than California, whose area is about
163,700 square miles. The admission of the error by
the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
stated: said: "Upon further investigation, we found
that data quality had begun to degrade over the
month preceding the catastrophic failure. As a
result, our processes underestimated total sea ice
extent for the affected period ... this underestimation
grew from a negligible amount in early January to
about 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square
miles) by mid-February.” Perhaps errors like this
have helped lead to the adoption of a new name for the
Gore theory: "Climate Change" instead of the original
term: "Global Warming.".
A new item of concern for Christians: in her recent
visit to Israel, Secretary of State Clinton conveyed a
message to Israeli officials, making it clear that the
movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian
state is -- in her words -- "inescapable.” Simply stated,
she is advising President Obama to use all of the power
of his office to pressure Israel to divide Jerusalem, and
give away Judea and Samaria. If she succeeds, East
Jerusalem, where our Lord was crucified and arose
from the grave -- important sites in the Christian faith
-- will become an Islamic fundamentalist capital, and
neither Jews nor Christians will be welcome there;
not pleasant decisions from the new administration.
An unpleasant note on which to close: In the latest
American Religious Identification Survey released this
week, the percentage of Americans who claim to be
Christians dropped by 11 points, from 86% of the
population in 1990 to 76% in 2008. But if that doesn't
disturb you, perhaps this report will: the number of
Americans who claim no religion at all, now outnumber
every major religious group except Catholics or Baptists,
and now represent 15% of the population, double the
number from the 1990 survey. It seems that a re-
dedication to fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus
Christ might be in order.
A pertinent word of warning from a Founding
Father: "If Congress can do whatever in their
discretion can be done by money, and will
promote the General Welfare, the Government is
no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated
powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular
exceptions." -- James Madison, 1792
WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?
LAST WEEK, VERY QUIETLY, LENT BEGAN.
The nation was so enthralled (or whatever) with the
president's speech the night before, that the period of
the year leading to the death, burial and resurrection
of our Lord -- the rock of belief upon which He said
He would build His church -- it just quietly began to
take place. The wild revelry of Mardis Gras in New
Orleans is over, and in whatever manner the various
elements of the Christian church observe this period
of time, Lent has begun. Our newsletter headings
reflect the appropriate liturgical color of Purple. And
now we look forward to Sunday, April 12, when we
shall celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.
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WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?
We have made it clear that we are not experts in
economic matters, or military matters, or political
matters. In time, there will probably such experts in
the Obama administration. On the economic front,
the present Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner,
(labeled "Tiny Tim" by commentators after his initial
presentation of his program was such a colossal
failure), has not yet demonstrated any such expertise.
On military matters, Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates seems to be a capable expert -- one who listens
to the recommendations of generals in the field, rather
than heeding decisions made in a Washington office
by men who have never served a day in uniform. But
even so, as more troops are deployed in Afghanistan,
many observers describe that venture as "Obama's
Viet Nam."
And on political matters, the Obama Chief of Staff
is Rahm Emanuel, who has had much political
experience, and is schooled in Illinois politics, under
the tutelage of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, the
son of a former Chicago Mayor of the same name.
No -- those are not our fields of expertise, although
they are certainly areas for concern by every American.
In spiritual matters -- decisions and actions of interest
to Christian believers -- there we can speak with much
more authority. And it in these areas that we not only
have great concern, but also have strong feelings of
"outrage" -- a new term being increasingly used by
Conservatives.
A quick review of American outrage: in July,
2008, financial expert John Grant wrote an article
for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a media voice
arguably America's most respected newspaper. His
subject: "Why No Outrage?" Two weeks later, on
July 31, Arthur C. Brooks, now President of the
American Enterprise Institute, followed with an
article "Where's the Outrage? Really."
Acting in response to those articles on the national
angst (defined as a feeling of anxiety, apprehension,
or insecurity) a California Ph.D.scholar, Alisa Wilson,
wrote a contrarian article titled: "You Cannot Wake
Up Late on the Day of Battle and Expect Victory."
Her theme was expressed well in this one statement:
"I am outraged that my country, the United States
of America , is in a state of moral and ethical
decline."
The problem that Ms. Wilson so well articulates is
that among the people who should (and probably
secretly do) share that outrage are literally sleeping
late on the day of battle.
The attacks on America's Christian heritage
have been expressed in these pages, again and again.
Some of these concerns appear to be taking root,
nationally, as polls report Consumer Confidence
sinking to new lows, and the president's approval
rating drifting lower, as is the national satisfaction
with decisions of Congress, in view of record spending
bills -- the latest one contains nearly 9,000 "earmarks"
-- an aberration which President Obama had promised
would not occur in his administration. (Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel has announced that the resident will
sign the bill even with all those earmarks.) The latest
Rasmussen Reports national survey found that 73%
of adults nationwide trust the judgment of the
American people more than that of the nation's political
leaders. Only 13% put more trust in the judgment of
the politicians.
An illustration of the problems the Christian church
is facing was dramatized this past week in statements
from Catholic leaders in New York State, summed
up in this assessment: Democrats have declared war
on the Catholic Church with new laws that threaten
to bankrupt Catholic schools, hospitals, charities and
parishes. The Democrats seem to be attacking on 3
fronts: (1) a proposal to require all hospitals to perform
abortions or lose their license. This would put Catholic
hospitals out of business. (2) Major funding for Catholic
schools force them to run state-mandated programs at
their own expense. (3) An attempt to abolish the time
limit on sexual abuse cases against the Church enabling
suits to go forward when all persons involved are long
deceased. It is interesting that the proposed sex-abuse
law applies only to private institutions such as the
Church and the Boy Scouts. Public schools are exempt,
yet sex abuse is more common in public schools than in
private institutions.
Our government's encouragement of abortions is not
the only area of opposition the Christian church is
facing. The administrations support of same-sex unions,
whether or not called "marriage," and the president's
pledge to void the Defense of Marriage Act, are also
elements of the concern -- and outrage -- all of us
Christians should be sharing.
A Warning from a Founding Father: "Occupants
of public offices love power and are prone to abuse
it." -- George Washington, in his Farewell Address
Just two more views of our current administration:
(1) The news source "Politico" reported on the recent
address by the president to the joint session of Congress:
“The 52-minute address outlined more commitments
by the public sector [government], more intervention
into the private economy, and more spending than
anything Washington has undertaken at least since
the Great Society and more likely the New Deal.”
(2) Joe Biden, our Vice President and appointed as
the “Stimulus Czar,” was asked on national TV to
explain how the trillion-dollar stimulus bill will help
a small business owner. Read, and try to understand
Czar Biden's reply: “For example, it may very well
be that she’s in a circumstance where she is not
able, her customers aren’t able to get to her,
there’s no transit capability, the bridge going
across the creek to get to her business needs
repair, may very well be that she’s in a position
where she is unable to access the -- her energy
costs are so high by providing smart meters, by
being able to bring down the cost of her workforce.”
It's helpful to learn from the official in charge just how
the trillion dollar "Stimulus Plan" will help the nation's
small businesses.
On another and more important subject: If you
remember our three-part essay on the meaning of
the terms "Evangelical" and "Evangelicalism," you
will recall the importance we placed on the basic
theological principles which must be included in any
understanding of the meaning of those terms. For
example, the "Apostolic Mandate" expressed by the
late Rev. Louis Evans offers a 4-point definition,
starting with the affirmation of the authority of the
Scriptures. In February, Richard Turnbull, Principal
of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, addressed a conference at
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and in
making the point that the Evangelical movement must
return to its confessional heritage, stated that:
"Evangelicalism has failed in the matter of
discipleship. We have omitted to teach our history
and our doctrine. The outcome is a scandal: less
Bible knowledge, less Bible reading, less providential
dependency upon God." He set out a four-point
definition almost identical to the factors used by Louis
Evans, based on these focal points: "authority, doctrine,
spirituality and transformation." To which we add
a hearty "Amen" in view of a continuing concern about
the present Evangelical movement.
A Founding Father's view of the Christian Gospel:
"If moral precepts alone could have reformed
mankind, the mission of the Son of God into all
the world would have been unnecessary. The
perfect morality of the Gospel rests upon the
doctrine which, though often controverted has
never been refuted: I mean the vicarious life and
death of the Son of God." -- Benjamin Rush, 1798,
Signer of Declaration of Independence and Ratifier
of the US Constitution.
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Remember the 3 "RINO" Senators who voted
to pass the "Stimulus Bill?" One was Arlen Specter,
the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. This
week he said that he had never seen such opposition
from voters on any issue -- 11,000 letters, messages
and phone calls flooded his office, opposing approval
of the president's nomination of David Ogden as
Deputy Attorney General. But when the nomination
came to a vote in the committee, Specter joined with
the 13 Democrats and voted for Ogden. All of the
other Republicans on the committee voted against it
It has been said that this approval by the committee
dealt a severe blow to the nation's cultural morals. Mr.
Ogden opposes restrictions on both abortion and
pornography, and has represented Playboy and
Penthouse in court. He has filed a brief before the
US Supreme Court in support of child pornographer
Stephen Knox. But he is President Obama's choice.
One has to ask "Why" Senator Specter votes the way
he does. Maybe we don't really want to know. But
this is a great reason to call your Senators -- the vote
before the full Senate can come at any time. The Capitol
switchboard number remains the same: (202) 224-3121
Almost lulled to sleep by the media: last week we
were assured that the "Fairness Doctrine" bill had been
rejected in the Senate by an 87-11 vote supporting
the Broadcaster Freedom Amendment. The Liberal
media spin was that the "Fairness Doctrine" was dead.
Wrong! Senator Durbin (D, IL) offered an amendment
which opens the way for the silencing of Conservative
speech through FCC regulation. Actually the Durbin
amendment requires the FCC to “take actions to
encourage and promote diversity in communication
media ownership.” It empowers the government to
censor and control the airwaves through backdoor
policies that would almost certainly be expanded to
include television, newspapers and the Internet. In
other words, the Durbin amendment actually expands
the threat beyond Talk Radio to include other aspects
of free speech. It is clear that for Christians and
Conservatives there are difficult times ahead. Now is
the time for us to be active!
Reflecting the Catholic problem in New York,
on Feb. 27 the Obama administration announced
plans to rescind the Bush adopted regulations that
allow healthcare workers to abstain from performing
medical procedures they object to on moral grounds.
The rule was designed primarily to shield those with
religious or moral opposition to abortion. Dr. David
Stevens, the CEO of the Christian Medical Society,
says the Obama administration is threatening the civil
rights of medical practitioners. It is Dr. Steven's view
that it is likely the most important bio-ethical issue that
Christians face in the medical field. The proposal to
rescind the Bush regulation will be posted for a 30
day public comment period on the Health and Human
Services website. If you are concerned about this --
watch for the announcement and let your voice be
heard. (It might be noted that President Obama's
choice to head HHS is Kansas Governor Kathleen
Sibelius, a strong pro-abortion advocate.)
The 2nd US President's view of a Christian nation:
"Suppose a nation in some distant Region should
take the Bible for their only law Book, and every
member should regulate his conduct by the precepts
there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in
conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry;
to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow
men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward
Almighty God ; What a Eutopia, what a Paradise
would this region be." John Adams, 1801
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