Tuesday
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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