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News to Know - Mondays
Dictum Diei - Tuesdays & Fridays
Verseday - Thursdays

Friday, 23 December 2011

Worldviews on Coat Hangers

My very dear friend, Haley, has just launched a blog on Fashion, Worldviews on Coat Hangers.

Go leave her a kind note as she gets started, and be sure to follow her blog, especially if you've never considered Fashion as a vehicle for answering ultimate questions. She has plenty of fascinating things to say.

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Persecution Update: 23 Dec 2011


Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Update:

  • South Sudan -- Attacks Continue in Border Region
  • Yemen--Kidnapped Aid Workers Still Missing
  • Syria--Christians Prepare for Christmas amid Lockdown

READ FULL REPORT

Also see the VOM Podcast Archive

The VOM podcasts are a great resource for staying informed about the persecuted church. You can also subscribe to them on iTunes.
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Monday, 5 December 2011

News to Know: Hitler, Cake, and Pedophiles


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Sunday, 30 October 2011

News to Know: Obama's health care penalizes marriage & Free speech threatened


1ST WORLD CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION:

OBAMA:
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Saturday, 22 October 2011

News to Know: Solyndra, Fake farmers, and government sanctioned kidnapping



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Friday, 14 October 2011

Persecution Update: 14 Oct 2011


Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Update:
  • Iran - Pastors receive death threats
  • Egypt - Violent clashes leave 25 dead
  • Laos - Christian children barred from school

READ FULL REPORT


Also see the VOM Podcast Archive

The VOM podcasts are a great resource for staying informed about the persecuted church. You can also subscribe to them on iTunes.
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News to Know: Attorney General incompetent? & US drug shortages

POLITICS:

HEALTH CARE:

Who says socialized health care doesn't hurt? Well, it's been a while since any Brit can honestly deny that.
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Thursday, 13 October 2011

Verseday Thursday: As the Ruin Falls - Lewis


As the Ruin Falls - C. S. Lewis

All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through:
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin:
I talk of love --a scholar's parrot may talk Greek--
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack.
I see the chasm. And everything you are was making
My heart into a bridge by which I might get back
From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking.

For this I bless you as the ruin falls. The pains
You give me are more precious than all other gains.
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Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Divided, the Movie

Divided Trailer from NCFIC on Vimeo.




See FULL MOVIE free.
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Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Retrial ordered for Iranian Pastor facing death sentence


Story update here.

Haven't heard about Pastor Nadarkhani? See these earlier posts.
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Monday, 10 October 2011

News to Know: Emperor Obama & Nadarkhani Trial



AMERICAN TYRANNY:

NADARKHANI TRIAL:
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Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani Faces Execution for his Christianity


Iranian pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani is facing execution for refusing to recant his Christian beliefs.

Story here: http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2011/09/pastor-yousef-nadarkhani-to-be-hanged.html
Note the link at the bottom to email the Iranian ambassador about Pastor Nadarkhani's fate.

Fox coverage: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/28/iranian-pastor-faces-execution-for-refusing-to-recant-christian-faith/

AFA ActionAlert: http://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=405 Email the Embassy with a few easy clicks.
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Monday, 26 September 2011

News to Know: Obama's Marxism & Communism's silent rise


PRESIDENT OBAMA

COMMUNISM/FASCISM
-
Subscribe to the New Zeal blog at http://trevorloudon.com/ for the political news everyone else is afraid to talk about.


Also see
Patriotism & Nationalism: Country & Government
News to Know: Obama Lawyer admits forgery, IRS tries to lock you up
News to Know: Obama claims 'right' to assassinate U.S. citizens at will
Protesting soon to be illegal in the U.S.?
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Saturday, 24 September 2011

News to Know: Angry Russia & Gay Intolerance



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Thursday, 22 September 2011

Verseday Thursday: Holy Sonnet I - Donne


Holy Sonnet I - John Donne

THOU hast made me, and shall Thy work decay ?
Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste ;
I run to death, and Death meets me as fast,
And all my pleasures are like yesterday.
I dare not move my dim eyes any way ;
Despair behind, and Death before doth cast
Such terror, and my feeble flesh doth waste
By sin in it, which it towards hell doth weigh.
Only Thou art above, and when towards Thee
By Thy leave I can look, I rise again ;
But our old subtle foe so tempteth me,
That not one hour myself I can sustain.
Thy grace may wing me to prevent his art
And thou like adamant draw mine iron heart.
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Saturday, 17 September 2011

Hill Abbey: St. Ambrose @ Summer Hall

I spent the last two weeks in July in Idaho at Hill Abbey. Hill Abbey is run by Wes Callihan (Schola Classical Tutorials) a former teacher, now friend, from whom I took Great Books and Rhetoric in high school. Every year he invites students to stay with him for two weeks in a semi-monastic setting reading through one of the early church fathers. This summer we read through a selection of Ambrose of Milan’s work. Our daily schedule went something like this:

7AM – Morning prayers & gardening
8AM Breakfast & showers
9AM Reading
12PM Trappist hour (an hour of silence and solitude in which to meditate)
1PM Lunch & Free time
3PM Reading
6PM Trappist hour (an hour of silence and solitude in which to meditate)
7PM Dinner & evening prayers & music/stories/bonfire

There were a number of things I appreciated about Hill Abbey; four come immediately to mind.

First, I immediately began to love the morning chores. The gardening drove the sleep from my head and set a meditative pace for the day.

Second, reading Ambrose was a good challenge to my own doctrinal arrogance, and an excellent reminder that Reformed Protestantism, although perhaps the true heir of the early church, is a relatively recent development. Ambrose made me face the fact that I'm not as clever as I think that I am. There are some essential doctrines which I believe but understand so incompletely that I can hardly defend my belief in them. And then there are some which I understand more completely, but have no idea how to defend from Scripture. It's an uncomfortable position to be in, because it leaves no room for pride.

Third, reading Ambrose as a group was a huge help--and what a great group! I often felt like the least intelligent point in our circle (or irregular hexagon, to be needlessly precise). Everyone's comments and the discussions which interrupted our reading helped to fling particular passages off the page and into concrete experience. The passages in Ambrose that I remember and understand best are ones which received some acclamation, explanation, or growl of skepticism.

Fourth, the Trappist hours were precious. I think that if I could only take one experience away from Summer Hall, it would be the Trappist hours. I was surprised to find how many pre-soaked ideas I had--thoughts that I had meant to consider, but hadn't had time or space to do so. I was also surprised to find how difficult it was to cultivate ideas like one cultivates a garden, in contrast to my usual habit of gathering ideas from the wilds of inspiration as I wander haphazardly through the world. Inspiration is easy--as easy as finding a fruit tree in a forest. Cultivating ideas, on the other hand, takes far more effort, but yields a greater intellectual crop. The current circumstances of my life allow me little silence and solitude, but having seen their benefits, silence and solitude have now become priorities, and I can't imagine living a serious intellectual life without them.
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Friday, 26 August 2011

Teaching the time away

Sorry for the delays. I haven't been able to return to my blogging schedule the past several weeks. The school year has just begun and I'm balancing teaching 9 classes between three institutions. It'll take me a few more days to catch up to where I can blog regularly. Until then, thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.
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Friday, 12 August 2011

Persecution Update & News to Know - NHS Rationing, ACORN fraud,

HEALTH:

POLITICS/MONEY:

ISLAM:

MISCELLANEOUS:

PERSECUTION UPDATE
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Friday, 15 July 2011

News to Know - White House Fox hunt, gay history required, pastor may die

POLITICS:
TECHNOLOGY:
EDUCATION:
CHRISTIANITY:
  • Iranian pastor sentenced to death could be executed if he doesn't recant - See post below. Link HERE.
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Persecution Update: July 15


1) VOM Prayer Update:
Iraq--House church leader kidnapped
North Korea--The gospel finds a way
Burma (Myanmar)--Political unrest leads to ethnic cleansing
Read report HERE.


2) Iranian pastor sentenced to death could be executed if he doesn't recant - http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/14/evangelical-pastor-in-iran-may-face-death-if-doesnt-recant/
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Thursday, 14 July 2011

Verseday Thursday: Shakespeare Sonnet 116


Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
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Wednesday, 13 July 2011

News to Know – TSA, bird pecks out eyeball, atheist wears colander

RELIGION:
*Note, this article says he won a right. Rights are by definition things that cannot be won; they can only be recognized. Imprecise speech of this sort is misleading and demonstrates our intellectual feebleness.

GOVERNMENT ENCROACHMENT:
*Note: I have no way of knowing whether the woman was in the right or not. But one thing is certainly clear, the TSA consistently goes beyond reason in the name of safety. If it's a choice between liberty and safety, may safety be hanged. Liberty is never safe, and it is particularly threatening to big government.

Speaking of the TSA, check out this drama:

NOT VERY IMPORTANT NEWS:
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Monday, 11 July 2011

Chastity as Patriotism


Contrary to everything we are taught, the family, not the individual, is the foundation of society and government. The family is a miniature nation: a kingdom in a tiny castle. It is, of course, a monarchy, but monarchies are the only appropriate governments for raising children. Those who are adults morally are able to govern themselves; those who are children morally need to be governed and made to do right. (That is why John Adams famously said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He might as well have said, “Our Constitution was made only for adults; it is unsuitable for children.”)

Just as the freedom of a society is dependent upon its moral adulthood, the quality of a society is determined by its values. Good values make good societies. Bad values make bad ones. These same values determine the health of a nation’s families. As the foundation of society, the state of the family determines the state of society, culture, and government. Therefore, that which affects family life for ill is an attack on the whole nation, and that which improves the family improves the whole nation.

Thus, laws that weaken parental rights are not only anti-freedom, but antisocial. Organizations which lobby for the autonomy of the child (against his parents) intentionally throw a wedge into the family, and are therefore antisocial. Even movies with kid-power propaganda (that is, the message children are smarter than adults––especially their parents) are antisocial.

Although these are all big offenders, the biggest villain is the sexual revolution. The sexual revolution cried that sexuality had been repressed and needed to be liberated from its moral tether. The trouble is that sexuality is not repressed by Judeo-Christian morality, but protected by it. We have discovered that in tearing down the moral wall, we “freed” sexuality but destroyed love. Love’s private garden has been turned into a public park, and the gardener has been fired. It’s no surprise that persons are afraid of commitment. The wall which guaranteed the garden is gone. (See The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom, chapter “Relationships.”)

Sexual behavior is required for the creation of a family, yet also has the most potential to destroy it. Sexuality, in its appropriate expression, unites married lovers and creates families. But anyone who has had an adulterous parent, a cheating spouse, an abusive relative, knows the destructive power of unchaste sexuality. This is no surprise. When perverted, the greatest goods become the greatest evils.

Misused, sex not only destroys present families, but also future ones. As a single person, my sexual behavior now affects the health of my future marriage. The more promiscuous I am now, the less stable my future marriage is likely to be. The less stable my future marriage is, the more likely it is that my children will suffer my divorce and marital unhappiness. And, as studies show, children in divorced homes are more likely to have divorces themselves.

Because families build nations, and sex makes or breaks families, our sexual behavior will either improve civilization or work to destroy it. Depending on how we use sex, we may either be patriots or traitors to the nation. It may be your body, but sexual actions have social consequences, so you may not do with it as you please.
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Saturday, 9 July 2011

Persecution Update: July 8

Voice of the Martyr's Update: June 8, 2011
(Original post HERE)

WEST BANK--Muslims Oppose Christian Youth Center
VOM Sources

A Christian mission in Bethlehem faces opposition from neighbors and city leaders over a youth center it has established in a Muslim neighborhood. Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions (HLM) said his father, Naim Khoury, was summoned to the courthouse recently and warned that carrying out Christian work in the town of Shepherd's Field would lead to trouble. But the trouble had already begun. Muslim extremist neighbors of an HLM youth center have verbally attacked two youth leaders and vandalized the building's locks. They also threatened to attack Pastor Naim and said they would "break the legs" of anyone who enters the youth center. Outreach and prayer meetings are scheduled to begin at the youth center next week. Pray that God will protect those working at the youth center as well as those who attend. Ask God to make the center a shining light in a dark region.

CHINA--Millions Attend Religious Festivals
China Aid Association

China Aid recently reported that a Shouwang Church member who works for the Christian ministry World Vision faced possible dismissal for her participation in the unregistered church's activities. Shouwang Church has attempted to hold outdoor worship services for the past three months, in protest against government interference of the church's worship sites. Church member Xia Xiaoqiu was detained several times in recent weeks after attending Shouwang's outdoor worship services. Xia said the government was urging her employer, the Beijing office of World Vision, to pressure her to quit her job with the ministry. Recently, World Vision contacted China Aid, assuring them that Xia's "job position is secure and that World Vision has not been under pressure by the government of China to change that in any way." Pray for Xia and other Chinese Christians who are under great pressure for choosing to worship at unofficial churches.

EGYPT--Copts and Muslims at Odds Over Kidnapping Case
Assyrian International News Agency, www.thedailynewsegypt.com

Persecution against Christians in Uzbekistan increased last month -- from raids to fines to literature confiscation -- underscoring the need to remember the nation's believers in prayer. Tohar Haydarov, 27, has been imprisoned since his arrest in March 2010 and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for the "illegal sale of narcotic or psychotropic substances in large quantities." It is widely believed that the charges were fabricated as a means of punishing Tohar for his religious activity. At last report, he had appealed the prison sentence but there had been no indication of progress. Pray that comfort and peace will reign in Tohar as he suffers for his faith. Pray that he will be assured that he is not forgotten, but that he is loved and remembered by God and His people. Pray that the charges against Tohar will be dropped and that he will be released.

Re-posted from VOM.
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Friday, 8 July 2011

News to Know - Iran pouts, Obama breaks ban, & kids don't climb

MONEY:
EDUCATION:
ISLAM:
TREE CLIMBING:
(Yes, tree climbing deserves its own category. When was the last time you climbed a tree? I'm ashamed to say that I haven't climbed a tree in at least two months.)
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Wednesday, 6 July 2011

Comment Highlight

My good friend from the Pensamientos blog left a reasonable and thought-provoking comment on one of last week's news posts. Her comment was in response to California's desire to mandate the teaching of "gay history" in schools. This is what she had to say.
I read the article on including gay history in California classroom curriculum, and specifically the suggestion that "slain San Francisco politician Harvey Milk would be an appropriate choice [to study]. Leno contends Milk's fight for civil rights is as worthy of class study as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s." I did some research, curious to see if the concept of teaching gay history in the classroom could be considered more of an attempt not to leave out important, influential people in history simply because they were gay.

However, after reading some about Harvey Milk, I have difficulty seeing how a classroom discussion of him could be appropriate for the high school or middle school audience. Kids don't need to be involved in discussions about the nitty gritty defining lines of sex crimes (a lot of the political controversy surrounding gay rights in the 1960's had to do with laws prohibiting oral sex and similar activities), and while I agree with the thought that the public at large should not believe that all gay men are trying to lure children into sexual abuse (one of the prominent beliefs of the 1970's straight world), do conversations about pedophilia really belong in the high school or middle school classroom? Children don't need to be hearing or discussing these sort of things... and a sanitized version of Harvey Milk's story would simply be another distortion of history.

And an interesting point about Milk's assassination... he was not assassinated for being gay. He was assassinated by a disgruntled fellow politician. How can someone compare Milk's story to Martin Luther King's? Other details confirm that Milk, although perhaps he could be seen as a brave man campaigning for the rights of a minority group, does not have the kind of integrity that a man like Martin Luther King had (such as a story of Milk disclosing the sexual orientation of Oliver Sipple, a gay ex-marine who saved President Gerald Ford from an assassination attempt, against Sipple's wishes, because he felt that it was "too good an opportunity" for the gay community).

These are important issues... but these are not issues that can be presented objectively, without a political slant, nor are they ones that can be taught in a manner appropriate for the age of the audience.
Well said.
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Friday, 1 July 2011

Persecution Updates: July 1

1.
Pastor's Death Sentence Upheld by Iranian Supreme Court - http://www.aina.org/news/20110630192158.htm

2.
Voice of the Martyrs Update July 1, 2011
(Original post HERE)

Pakistan—Evangelists Threatened and Under Investigation
VOM Sources

Muslim leaders in a remote Pakistani community threatened an evangelist recently, telling him to stop his work or he would “see results coming in the future.” The men approached “Salman,” the evangelist, as he distributed gospel literature. They told him, “We are well aware of what you are doing here; you are trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. We warn you to stop these activities.” Unshaken by their threats, Salman boldly replied, “I am here because my God sent me. … When the Lord asks me to leave this place I will do it, but until then I will not leave.” In another Pakistani city, officials visited an evangelist’s office and asked if Christians were involved in converting Muslims to Christianity. The officials also asked about the evangelist’s source of funding. Christians who work in the office are now under investigation, and authorities are also watching their mail. Pray that God will grant wisdom and protection to all those sharing the gospel in Pakistan.

Sudan—Growing Violence in Sudan
Samaritan’s Purse

Intense fighting has erupted along the border between north and south Sudan. Eyewitnesses report that dozens of civilians have been killed and more than 60,000 displaced. Two churches built in the area by the Christian ministry Samaritan’s Purse (SP) were burned, and multiple bombs have been dropped near an airstrip used for SP relief efforts. In addition, attackers looted the home of some of the ministry workers and burned their offices. “Churches and pastors were directly targeted,” one pastor said. The renewed violence comes at a critical time in Sudan’s history, as south Sudan is preparing to become an independent nation on July 9. If the fighting continues, it could escalate into another civil war. Pray for a peaceful transition of power. Pray that Christians in both north and south Sudan will wait in hope on the Lord.

Afghanistan—Christian Beheaded
World Magazine

A recently released video shows four Afghan militants beheading a man believed to be a Christian in Herat province. The militants, who claim to be Taliban, captured Abdul Latif from his village outside the town of Enjeel. In the video, the men, whose faces are covered with scarves, recite verses from the Quran as they pin Latif to the ground. They read an indictment that references Sura 8:12: “Whoever changes his religion should be executed.” One militant stabs Latif in the neck with a knife, and the men shout “Allahu Akbar!” (God is great) repeatedly until he is fully beheaded. They then place Latif’s head on his chest. Afghan Christians warn of dire consequences for believers when American forces leave Afghanistan. “If U.S. troops are not in Afghanistan, the Taliban will come to power,” Afghan Christian Obaid S. Christ told World Magazine. “We will have the same situation we had in the 1990s when the Russians left Afghanistan, when we had civil war and millions killed.” Pray for the protection of Christians in Afghanistan. Pray that other Afghans will find hope and peace in Christ as they anticipate more violence. Pray that God will grant wisdom to those involved in determining Afghanistan’s future.

Re-posted from VOM.
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Thursday, 30 June 2011

Same-Sex "Marriage": Headlines and Essays

Latest headlines on so-called same-sex "marriage."
Here are some articles on the subject which are worth reading in their entirety. They raise excellent questions and drive some hard points.
If you haven't done so already, check out the Manhattan Declaration here: http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx
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Wednesday, 29 June 2011

News to Know - N Korea & Nukes, Lady Gaga Proves the Constition Invalid

UNIONS:
GLOBAL POLITICS:
THE CONSTITUTION:
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Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Mark Steyn on Free Speech at the IPA

Mark Steyn on Free Speech at the IPA from Institute of Public Affairs on Vimeo.

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Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Escapism: Making Man-Babies


I recently saw a National Geographic video clip which revealed to me something profound. The clip shows a man whose uses enormous diapers, a giant crib, pacifiers, and has a live-in nurse. The catch? He has no handicaps or mental disabilities––he even has a normal job.

I know that if I had enormous diapers, a giant crib, and pacifiers, it would be because I was making the world’s biggest pacifier sling-shot, and my live-in nurse would be there just in case the diaper sling didn’t release the ammo properly (like what happened to this poor girl).

But the man on National Geographic wasn’t building medieval weapons out of giant surplus nursery items. For him, wearing diapers, sleeping in a crib, and being taken care of by a nurse are all part of his lifestyle: Infantilism. He finds comfort and stress-relief in pretending to be a baby. Babies have no responsibilities and no worries; their world is one of warmth and love. The real world is a hard place, and this man escapes by living a fantasy. As the man himself admits, Infantilism is Escapism at its fullest.

After watching the video, it occurred to me that all Escapism is Infantilism, which is why Escapism ultimately makes children of men. Escapism is not only an escape from reality, it’s an escape from responsibility, and therefore from adulthood. Our world does not need perpetual children; to shun responsibility is cowardice, and our world is desperately devoid of real heroes.

We become Escapists anytime we flee to imaginary worlds to escape reality. We flee to films. We turn to music. We run from reality by refusing to entertain disturbing ideas: the idea that we’re wrong, that we ought to do some unpleasant thing, that we ought not have done something that we did. We create worlds where we are heroes, where there is no evil––at least no potent evil, where the gods have spoken and declared us perfect as we are.

Of course, not all films or music or imaginary worlds are Escapist in the same sense. Nor should all shunned ideas be considered. (It is good to shun thoughts of murder, for instance. Those who entertain them make dangerous friends.) Sometimes an escape from the cares of the world is a good thing. Everyone needs a Sabbath.

The rule in determining between wrong escapes (Escapism) and right escapes (Rejuvenation) is this: a bad escape is an escape from reality, a good escape is a leap into reality. We may forget ourselves in a movie, but a good film will leave us inspired to live our lives; a bad film will leave us wishing for someone else’s life. A good piece of music will leave us searching the world for beauty, a bad piece will leave us searching the world for ourselves.

Children ignore problems and hope that they go away on their own. That is why they wear diapers. Given a choice, I would rather be an adult.
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Friday, 10 June 2011

News to Know - Shari'a, Yemen, Shield Law, & Money

ISLAM:
YEMEN:

JOURNALISM:

MONEY:
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Friday, 20 May 2011

News to Know - Obama and Bloomberg

Mr. Obama is courting radical Islamic groups. (Yes, again.) Story HERE.

Mayor Bloomberg publicly stated that he can buy votes. Story HERE.
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Tuesday, 17 May 2011

News to Know - Facebook Interrogations

A 13-year old boy is questioned by the Secret Service over a Facebook status. Does that concern you? Me too.
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News to Know - Illegal entry, Pakistan, Unions



Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home - "INDIANAPOLIS | Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes."

Horrifying? Check. Totalitarian? Check. All hail U.S.S.A.?

Pakistan's 'Blasphemy' Laws pose growing threat - "ISTANBUL, May 13 (CDN) — Pakistan’s notorious “blasphemy” laws can put even children at risk, and Christians say the days when they could teach their offspring pat answers to protect them from accusations of disparaging Islam or its prophet seem to have passed."

In case you hadn't noticed, Pakistan is no friend to freedom. They have declared themselves brutal enemies of Christianity.

White House budget staffers seek to join union -"WASHINGTON - Staffers at the White House budget office filed a petition Monday to join a labor union, seeking to gain more input over their working conditions."

Sounds innocuous, right? The trouble is that unionized government workers will press for higher wages (rather than seeking higher paying non-government jobs) which means that more tax money must be spent to keep the government running.

And while it's true that unions arose to protest unfair treatment, today unions exist, not to protest worker abuse, but to pressure companies into artificially raising wages and benefits (that is, raising wages beyond the value of the workers' labor), and to keep companies from firing employees (despite performance). In other words, unions have become parasitic institutions which drain their host companies of profit and productivity, requiring them to artificially increase prices, and rendering them unable to compete in the global market, which leads to bankruptcy. Or, in the case of government (and ours is already bankrupt), unions tend toward higher costs and even greater incompetency. And everybody wants that, right?
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Sunday, 15 May 2011

National Geographic - The Berlin Wall

Never forget how communism in action looks.

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Thursday, 24 March 2011

Ethiopian Muslims Burn Churches

Surprised? Me either.

Story here: Thousands of Christians Displaced in Ethiopia After Muslim Extremists Torch Churches
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Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Who Says Marxists Aren't Reasonable People?

Know why we haven't found any life on Marx?--er, Mars? Well, Chavez seems to know. Too much exploitation by the Martian bourgeois, apparently.

Story here: Chavez says capitalism may have ended life on Mars - Reuters.
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Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Stop Hating; Start Debating


If there’s one thing no one is allowed to question, it’s that homosexuality is a normal and healthy lifestyle. Challenge this sacred cow and you’re immediately blasted with ad hominem attacks. The way Gay activism got started in the first place was by challenging the status quo. And while many people believe that homosexuals are still unfairly oppressed in the United States, an overlooked consequence of the success of Gay activism is that it is killing our ability and right to argue like civilized people.

For instance, have you noticed that the word “tolerance” is often used to silence debates? If someone says that homosexual behavior is wrong, they are immediately labeled intolerant. Debate over. In this context, what tolerance means at its best is this: we can’t get along if we disagree, so let’s pretend like we don’t disagree, okay? But this is a heartless position. It means that nobody cares what your opinions are, just so long as they don’t make anyone cry. But disagreement is never intolerance and arguments are never hate speech. They are precisely the opposite. Tolerance can only exist where there is disagreement, and an argument is an act of respect. To tolerate rap music means to bear it, to suffer it. It does not mean to enjoy it or to agree with it. To argue with someone is to respect her ideas, because an argument is not a quarrel but an exchange. If an argument isn’t a civil exchange of ideas, it isn’t an argument.

Rather than Tolerance, I suggest a position of Hospitality. Take a genuine interest in other people and their opinions. When people offend you, forgive them. Offer your opinions, but listen to the opinions of others. Be fair. Argue, not just passion, but with compassion.

As a nation, we haven’t done this well, especially not in conversations on homosexuality. Instead, there seems to always be a side which insists that having homosexual desires is a choice, but then refuses to listen to the sincere voices which cry, “We didn’t choose our same-sex attractions.” Likewise, there seems to always be a side which will scream “homophobe!” at anything that moves. Unfortunately, the term “homophobe” is a hateful slur, just like any other. As we all know, and as some of us seem to have forgotten, homophobia is an invented condition (and an ad hominem, at that) yet no one gets in trouble for calling someone a homophobe. Besides, one could argue that if some persons are born gay, then maybe some persons are born homophobic. But that’s ridiculous. An “is” does not imply an “ought.” Plenty of babies are born with life-threatening conditions, and there, at least, we have no moral qualms about fixing what “God made.” What a tragic double standard.

In any case, the debate is far from over. We need to step away from the absurd accusations and hateful language, and talk like civilized people. Giving away chicken sandwiches at a marriage conference is not an act of homophobic bigotry, but those sorts of accusations are exactly what bigotry looks like.

So please, stop hating; start debating.
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Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Who cares about human rights? Not us, apparently.

My goodness, the government and media do love their double standards, don't they?

Critics Slam U.S. Government, Media for 'Weak' Response to Anti-Christian Attacks

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/15/critics-slam-government-media-weak-response-anti-christian-attacks/#ixzz1E4qeRchz

"Christians are a moderating force in the Middle East. When they are gone, religious diversity and pluralism goes with them,” she said. “…It ultimately means there will be a setback for our own national security interests and the ability of these countries to peacefully coexist with us.”


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Monday, 7 February 2011

Islam in the News: Feb 2011

I'm so glad Islam means peace. If it meant "submission" rather than "peace" these stories might actually make sense.

1) "Hena, who was sentenced under Islamic Shariah law, was accused of having an affair with a 40-year-old married cousin, although her family and neighbors said the man had in fact raped her. The man's family beat up Hena and then publicly accused her of adultery, the girl's family said."

Story here: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/07/body-of-rape-victim-who-died-after-flogging-is-exhumed-for-new-a/

2) The founder of a Muslim-oriented New York television station was convicted Monday of beheading his wife in 2009 in the studio the couple had opened to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Also see today's earlier post.
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Egyptian Christians Fear Muslim Rule

“About 90 percent of the population here believes that slitting our throats is their way to heaven.”
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Friday, 4 February 2011

Planned Parenthood, A Friend of Sex Traffickers?

Remember the ACORN scandal? Well, it's 2011 now, which means MORE SCANDALS! This time the offender is Planned Pimphood--er, I mean--Planned Parenthood.



More video links HERE.
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Wednesday, 2 February 2011

Too Religious to Home-School

A New Hampshire judge ordered a girl to public school because of her Christian faith.

“The judge,” explained Simmons, “said that Amanda reflected her mother’s rigidity in matters of Faith, and that because of that rigidity she needed to be ordered into government run schools."

Story here.

Stories like these are becoming more and more common.
Make a difference; join or donate to HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association).*

*As far as I know, HSLDA is not involved in this case. Nevertheless, they are frequently involved in home school and religious liberties cases across the country.

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Thursday, 20 January 2011

When God does not Deliver


I recently heard an idea which haunted me for days. It was one of those terrible truths of which I was already aware, but had never expressed, and had thus only seen peripherally. “God does not deliver his people for their temporal happiness.” Those were the offending words that appeared in the middle of a sermon. It was not meant to be a spectacular point, merely an observation, but it is shattering when one is accustomed to musing only on God’s provision and material blessing. It is an offensive thought, but one whose truth is impossible to deny. More Christians are being imprisoned and killed now than ever before.

Our culture is increasingly hostile to Christianity, and I like to be reassured that any future persecutions will be light; I can handle glares and minor inconveniences. I do not mind being purposefully offended for Jesus’ sake. Heck, if offending me was a crime, I could already file ten lawsuits every day. What makes me uncomfortable is any threat of imprisonment, torture, or death. If God is going to deliver me from anything, those are the situations I would like to be delivered from. My happiness and comfort depend much on being free, not-tortured, and alive. It scares me to think that God might not deliver me from oppression, but he often seems to not deliver his people. God even gave his Son over to be killed.

After a few days, I realized what the problem was. I am the problem. All of my concern revolves around my own comfort and what I think is right and best. God too, is concerned about my wellbeing, but I often define “wellbeing” differently than God does. I am not forgetting that the church is commanded to care for persons’ temporal needs, and I am not diminishing the reality and gravity of those needs. Rather, I mean to highlight the two realities: the spiritual and the physical. Both are equally real, but the spiritual reality is greater than the physical reality because bodies die; souls do not. Even if I never know starvation, I will one day be unable to eat. Even if God delivers me from imprisonment or a fatal beating, I am eventually going to die. The question is not if I will suffer and die, but rather, when will I die and to what degree will I suffer?

Furthermore, in requiring God to deliver me from an untimely death, I am guilty of a monstrous arrogance. God’s purposes are greater than my own. As the answer to the first catechism question states, man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. I exist to bring glory to God and I can never place my safety or comfort above that purpose. If God is most glorified in not delivering me from those who have declared themselves my enemies, so be it. I must seek the Kingdom of God more than I seek life.

God’s grace is sufficient (2 Cor 4, 5:1-10, 2 Cor 12:9-10).

[Image source]
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Wednesday, 12 January 2011

A Quote from Bonhoeffer

"In Jesus Christ the reality of God has entered into the reality of this world. The place where the questions about the reality of God and about the reality of the world are answered at the same time is characterized solely by the name: Jesus Christ. God and the world are enclosed in this name. . . we cannot speak rightly of either God or the world without speaking of Jesus Christ. All concepts of reality that ignore Jesus Christ are abstractions."

-Ethics, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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