Mark Coppenger writes a short review of Donald Miller’s book. The entire review is worth reading.
He demeans politics and then pickets President Bush. He is impatient with war metaphors in the Bible, and then he wars against political and biblical conservatives. He condemns judgmentalism, but then praises John the Baptist for calling the Pharisees “snakes.” He’s bigger on feelings than reason, and it’s anybody’s guess where those will take him. He’s indifferent to the homosexual agenda and abortion but zealous for tithing. Go figure. He’s everywhere. He’s nowhere. Like nailing Jell-O to the wall.
I am reminded of this quote from the book ‘Orthodoxy’ by G.K. Chesterton (get it for free from CCEL)
But the new rebel is a Sceptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it.
Orthodoxy was published in 1908. The old rebel was a skeptic too. If you would like to read Brett Kunkle’s paper on the Emerging Church (most would put Miller in that camp) and a response by Tony Jones go here. Kunkle presented the paper a couple weeks ago to the Evangelical Theological Society.
Christian women must learn that justification is not found in long dresses, long hair, gardening, vitamins, or herbal medicine. These are all “things indifferent.” But if you are looking to these things instead of to Christ, seeing your acceptance before God because of these externals, or feeling superior to your Christian sisters who have different methods, then these “things” are no longer indifferent—they have become wicked.
Twelve states and a coalition of environmental groups sued the Bush administration in 2003 for refusing to issue regulations limiting carbon emissions from cars and power plants. On Wednesday, the case reaches the Supreme Court, where justices will hear the arguments on both sides.
Nov. 30, 2006 – Listen to Bethell talk about his book at The Heritage Foundation here.
I read a few chapters from The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science last weekend and thought it was interesting. This review from LibraryThing (first one) is helpful. The chapter on the African AIDS crisis was particularly interesting to me. The infection rates you hear about do seem exceedingly high. For example, see here, the infection rate in women 25-29 is cited at 56% in Swaziland. I have doubts if these infection rates are plausible. Read Bethell’s book if you get a chance. I don’t think Bethell’s point is to make the case that things aren’t bad in Africa, he is just questioning if AIDS is really the cause or not.
You can listen to Bethell and one of his critics (the interviewer might count as two), Chris Mooney, in this NPR interview. Chris is the better speaker by far but I don’t really think he addresses Bethell’s arguments, he simply dismisses them as having no credibility because they are not within the “consensus” of experts. That brought this quote to mind from Muggeridge.
How to have foreseen so clearly those voices canting slogans in unison, on campuses, in Red Square, wherever uniformity was masquerading as unanimity? Download the whole book, ‘The Third Testament’, for free here.
This short article by Tim Challies about a radio station stunt is a must read.
We want to escape our own problems by wallowing in other people’s problems which somehow always seem so much worse than our own. We want to see the sad, pathetic, tragic details of their lives, their personalities, their bodies. The more detail we get, the happier we are.
Make sure you also read the report from Freedom House detailing the Saudi distribution of hate literature in American mosques.
This report is based on a year-long study of over two hundred original documents, all disseminated, published or otherwise generated by the government of Saudi Arabia and collected from a selection of more than a dozen mosques in the United States. The propogation of hate ideology by Saudi Arabia is known to be worldwide, but its occurrence within the United States has received scant attention until now…
Think back to the framers who drafted the Constitution. These were people who literally risked everything to gain the right to govern themselves, certainly risked all their material well-being and risked their lives in the struggle for independence.And the thought that the first thing they would do when they got around to drafting a Constitution would be to say, ‘Let’s take all the hard issues in our society and let’s turn them over to nine unelected people who aren’t politically accountable and let them decide,’ that would have been the farthest thing from their mind.I have enormous respect for the authority carried by the people across the street in Congress. Hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people have voted for them and put their confidence in their judgment. Not a single person has voted for me and if we don’t like what the people in Congress do, we can get rid of them, and if you don’t like what I do, it’s kind of too bad. And that is, to me, an important constraint. It means that I’m not there to make a judgment based on my personal policy preferences or my political preferences. The only reason I’m protected from those political pressures is because I’m supposed to make a decision based on the law. And so I don’t think it would be a good idea to turn all the hard issues over to the courts. Those hard issues belong in Congress, they belong in the Executive Branch.The courts have the responsibility to make sure both of those branches abide by the legal limits in the Constitution, but that’s it.
On the day Ron Nikkel, President of Prison Fellowship International, and I visited San Pedro prison, right in the middle of that throng of hungry prisoners coming up with their bowls was a little girl. She couldn’t have been any more than three years old. Working her way up to the big pot just like she was one of the crowd, she held out her bowl. Hot and full, the bowl shook a bit in her tiny hands as she took just a few steps away from the line, and then, unable to go any further, set it down on the ground. My mind snapped a mental picture of that moment, one I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life, of a little girl in prison, and her bowl of food for the day. . . .
Listen to this NPR report about Fellowship of the Woodlands.
Church attendance in the United States is on the decline. But one young pastor is finding innovative ways to get people back into the pews. Among the strategies: live elephants and cooking demonstrations.
So far, the approach seems to be working — the Fellowship of the Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, now has more than 14,000 congregants.
Babies born at or before 22 weeks should not be resuscitated or given intensive care, a new report says. … For those born after 23 weeks, the recommendation is that doctors should review the situation with the parents and take their wishes into account. The report has been released after two years of research. … But it also arrives in the wake of greater information about the number who either do not eventually survive, or go on to have disabilities. … Its inquiry also looked at longer-term support for families, and resource implications for the NHS.
In his new book, Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, Richard Sloan examines the claim that prayer and religion can heal the sick. Using the scientific method, he shows that there is no compelling evidence that religion can actually cure medical ailments.
Greg Koukl from Stand To Reason actually addressed this topic over 10 years ago, ‘Can Science Test Prayer?‘.
At one point (15 min.) Sloan recounts the story of a father whom remarked that his daughter’s biopsy results came back negative because “we’re good people, we deserve this”. Another patient awaiting her biopsy results was also in the room. Sloan feared that the other patient would infer that she was “not good” when her biopsy came back positive. I think the father’s remarks are completely without theological justification from a Christian perspective. However, what would Sloan have said to the women to comfort her? What would he have told her about the possible effect of the prayers of her love ones?
I am convinced that stories such as this only work to discredit religion as having any scientific relevance. This allows the left to discredit dissenting views by labeling them as religious or scientfic (stem calls, intelligent design, abortion).
I am reading ‘The Underground History of American Education‘. It contains this stunning account of David Farragut. I question if I am raising the type of son that could have stood shoulder to shoulder with Farragut (at the age of 12). I am pretty sure that no matter how well I do, the David Farraguts of our world are far and few between. However, I also believe that modern American culture is almost entirely antithetical to the process.
When I was a schoolboy at the Waverly School in Monongahela, Peg Hill told us that David Farragut, the U.S. Navy’s very first admiral, had been commissioned midshipman at the ripe old age of ten for service on the warship Essex. Had Farragut been a schoolboy like me, he would have been in fifth grade when he sailed for the Argentine, rounding the Horn into action against British warships operating along the Pacific coast of South America.
Farragut left a description of what he encountered in his first sea fight:
I shall never forget the horrid impression made upon me at the sight of the first man I had ever seen killed. It staggered me at first, but they soon began to fall so fast that it appeared like a dream and produced no effect on my nerves.
The poise a young boy is capable of was tested when a gun captain on the port side ordered him to the wardroom for primers. As he started down the ladder, a gun captain on the starboard side opposite the ladder was “struck full in the face by an eighteen-pound shot,” his headless corpse falling on Farragut:
We tumbled down the hatch together. I lay for some moments stunned by the blow, but soon recovered consciousness enough to rush up on deck. The captain, seeing me covered with blood, asked if I were wounded; to which I replied, “I believe not, sir.” “Then,” said he, “where are the primers?” This brought me to my senses and I ran below again and brought up the primers.
The Essex had success; it took prizes. Officers were dispatched with skeleton crews to sail them back to the United States, and at the age of twelve, Farragut got his first command when he was picked to head a prize crew. I was in fifth grade when I read about that. Had Farragut gone to my school he would have been in seventh. You might remember that as a rough index how far our maturity had been retarded even fifty years ago. Once at sea, the deposed British captain rebelled at being ordered about by a boy and announced he was going below for his pistols (which as a token of respect he had been allowed to keep). Farragut sent word down that if the captain appeared on deck armed he would be summarily shot and dumped overboard. He stayed below.
So ended David Farragut’s first great test of sound judgment. At fifteen, this unschooled young man went hunting pirates in the Mediterranean. Anchored off Naples, he witnessed an eruption of Vesuvius and studied the mechanics of volcanic action. On a long layover in Tunis, the American consul, troubled by Farragut’s ignorance, tutored him in French, Italian, mathematics, and literature. Consider our admiral in embryo. I’d be surprised if you thought his education was deficient in anything a man needs to be reckoned with.
Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, The Middle East Media Research Institute has monitored, translated, and recorded what was said in the Arab and Iranian press about that day. Prominent journalists, members of academia, leading religious figures, and even Arab government officials helped shape conspiracies about what “really” happened.
The carefully documented collection is now available as a PDF and includes a compilation of articles and editorials from the mainstream Arabic and Persian language press, as well as transcripts from television programs.
A documentary film about the Arab and Iranian reaction to 9-11 incorporates footage from various TV and satellite stations in the Middle East. It was made with Interface Media Group and narrated by acclaimed actor Ron Silver.
New York Times bestselling author and Islam expert Robert Spencer offers an honest and telling portrait of the founder of Islam – perhaps the first such portrait in half a century – and draws out what his life implies for reforming Islam and repulsing Islamic terrorists. He relies solely on primary sources considered reliable by Muslims and evaluates modern biographies to show how Muhammad has been changed for Western audiences, lulling them into consoling but false conclusions. With extensive documentation, Spencer details Muhammad’s development from a preacher into a political and military leader and recounts a life that has come to affect our world today. Recognizing the true nature of Islam, Spencer argues, is essential for judging the prospects for large-scale Islamic reform, the effective prosecution of the War on Terror, the democracy project in Afghanistan and Iraq, and immigration and border control protection of the United States from terrorism.
Anyway, I can report that “Borat,” the number one movie for weeks, is over-rated. Yes, it is funny, but it is not a good funny. It is rude, crude, unspeakably vulgar and tasteless. I know, that might recommend it these days. But it represents the rebirth of the rude, crude, vulgar, tasteless ethnic joke. We are laughing at eastern Europeans, Jews, rednecks, Southerners, and other people made to seem below us. It is humor that is cruel and degrading, both to the targets and to those of us who laugh at it.
The top-rated comedy is making thousands of high school and college students laugh — and inspiring some of them to imitate the eponymous character’s offensive behavior to women and Jews.
Arriving in character as fake Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev, Cohen said he hoped his comedy would win an Oscar for “best anti-Jewish film”.
However, he said he faced “very fierce competition from your Melvin Gibson” – a reference to the Australian-raised actor’s recent anti-Semitic remarks.
We are concerned, however, that one serious pitfall is that the audience may not always be sophisticated enough to get the joke, and that some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry.
My question in question, “Why do Christians who advocate “salt and light” not send their children to the Islamic School of Jihad for evangelizing? Wouldn’t tuition fees count as giving to missions?” is my way of calling Christian parents to intellectual honesty. If you are really sending your kids to school to be “salt and light,” why not put your money out for the cause? Why not send your kids to a Jewish Day School? A Catholic school? Each non-God-fearing institution is in need of the Good News. Why do you only choose the “free” one? (By putting the word “free” in quotes, I’m pointing out that robbing citizens of their money isn’t free. If one would disagree with me on this, try not paying your property taxes on a house that you own. But I’m digressing here.) Why not get serious and send our Christian 5-year-olds to Islamic schools?
To deny that the public schools have an agenda to indoctrinate your child into a drone of the secular state is dishonest. See John Taylor Gatto’s The Underground History of American Education.
I caught this, “Recording the Living History of WWI Veterans“, on NPR earlier today. I think it is about 8 minutes long. Listen if you get a chance, it is amazing to hear the voices of WWI vets that are still alive today!
I found this WWI propaganda poster at firstworldwar.com. The Bible tells us that there is another Great War occurring which is of the greatest significance. I want to encourage every Christian to read Holiness by J.C. Ryle. You can download it from CCEL for free. I hope these quotes from chapter four “The Fight” peak your interest.
But there is another warfare of far greater importance than any war that was ever waged by man. It is a warfare which concerns not two or three nations only, but every Christian man and woman born into the world. The warfare I speak of is the spiritual warfare. It is the fight which everyone who would be saved must fight about his soul.
This warfare, I am aware, is a thing of which many know nothing. Talk to them about it, and they are ready to set you down as a madman, an enthusiast or a fool. And yet it is as real and true as any war the world has ever seen. It has its hand–to–hand conflicts and its wounds. It has its watchings and fatigues. It has its sieges and assaults. It has its victories and its defeats. Above all, it has consequences which are awful, tremendous and most peculiar. In earthly arfare the consequences to nations are often temporary and remediable. In the spiritual warfare it is very different. Of that warfare, the consequences, when the fight is over, are unchangeable and eternal.
…
The principal fight of the Christian is with the world, the flesh and the devil. These are his never–dying foes. These are the three chief enemies against whom he must wage war. Unless he gets the victory over these three, all other victories are useless and vain.
As a father I am also obligated to teach my children about this war. I must admit that I struggle with complacency at times and neglect my duty. However, it is frequently on my mind, and I am going to post a small image of that poster on my refrigerator so that I am continually reminded of that duty. If you are a father and you are looking for a way to begin this fulfilling your duty I encourage you to listen to this conference. The messages by Rich Lambert are especially helpful.
Greg Koukl from Stand To Reason responded on his radio show last week to the ideas presented in the recent Newsweek article “An Evangelical Identity Crisis: Sex or social justice? The war between the religious right and believers who want to go broader.“. Greg was actually interviewed for the article but his thoughts did not make the cut. As Greg expresses in his commentary, this is likely because his ideas did not align with the story the authors had already decided to present. The commentary is (as usual) concise and clear. Listen to the first 20 minutes of the show if you get a chance.
STR Broadcast Archives (listen to Nov. 5 show), registration is required. You can also subscribe to the podcast from itunes.
…wherein I referenced my study of the 489 wars listed in the Wikipedia, in which only 53 were determined to have had religious causes if each Crusade was counted separately. Thus, it is clear that even if all religion was eliminated from the world tomorrow, Man would remain occupied with what has historically proven to be one of his favorite pastimes.
In the 1940’s, a missionary’s daughter disillusioned with traditional Christianity invented a new ministry called “inner healing.” … Sanford gained her inspiration from very questionable sources such as Theosophy, New Thought, the depth psychology of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, …
The primary idea of inner healing is that undesirable aspects of one’s life are caused by conscious or unconscious memories. This thesis is propped up by theories such as the pristine “inner child,” the unconscious mind, the collective unconscious, repressed memories, or more recently “interpretations of first memory events” (Theophostics). A corollary to these theories is that some newly discovered process (not found in the Bible) must be used to deal with memories. From Sanford’s original heretical teachings until today, dozens of ministries have arisen to heal memories, the need for which was not even discussed by most Christians until the 20′ century.
Next read this article from Wikipedia about Carl Jung. Make sure you check out the “Influence on Culture” subsection. Perhaps someone needs to add an “Influence on Christianity” subsection!
Now finally listen to the reason given for a young man’s porn addiction. The answer is provided by participant with a seminary degree on a church panel.
Did you catch the assumptions? Addictions are caused because we have pain to numb. These pains need to be “uncovered” and “faced” i.e. they are hidden past pains. She also takes John 8:31 (“the truth will set you free”) and equates that with “being honest with yourself”. I don’t mean to imply that the reasoning is totally improbable but the response sounded a whole lot more like J-U-N-G than B-I-B-L-E.
Also of interest, Myers-Briggs tests were influenced heavily by Jungian thought. I dislike these tests. I think the tests accurately predict strengths and weaknesses that different personality types experience when interacting. However, I wish that Christians would give more thought to Biblical issues as they relate to a particular personality type or trait. Does one personality trait tend to express selfishness or pride more often than another? Is one type given to complaining? If the test suggests that you are a good leader, are you leading in the right places (like your family, Deut. 6:6-7)? This type of analysis is not typical.
Finally, if you are interested in learning about some of the different takes on Christian Counseling this series of posts is a good place to start to get some background.
HT: Slice Of Laodicea
Yesterday I listened to the most recent Supreme Court Oral arguments on the topic of Partial Birth Abortion (Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood and Gonzales v. Carhart) on C-SPAN radio. The audio is still available at the time of this posting. This is worth listening to if you get the chance.
In different ways, this same issue is going to come up again and again. You want Christians to quit behaving in certain ways. But why? You want them to write nice letters, and you want them to stop turning America into a big, dumb theocracy. But why? If there is no God, what could possibly be wrong with theocracies? They provide high entertainment value, and they give everybody involved in them a sense of dignity and high moral purpose. You get to wear ecclesiastical robes, march in impressive processions to burn intransigent people at the stake, you get to believe you are better than everybody else, and, at the top of the doctrinal heap, that God likes you. Further, the material universe doesn’t care about any of this foolishness, not even a little bit. So what’s wrong with having a little bit of fun at the expense of other bits of protoplasm? Hitler, Ronald Reagan, Pol Pot, Mother Teresa, Mao, Nancy Pelosi, Stalin, Ted Haggard, and the Grand Inquistor are all just part of a gaudy, and very temporary, show. Sometimes the Northern lights put on a show in the sky. Sometimes people put on a show on the ground. Then the sun goes out, and it turns out nobody cares.
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