You Won't Get Clean Water in this Hole.

The U.N., Preying on the Weak (washingtonpost.com): "In fact, abuse at these camps went beyond sexual violations: Injustices of one sort or another were perpetrated by U.N. missions or their affiliated nongovernmental organizations every day in the camps I visited. Corruption was the norm, in particular the embezzlement of food and funds by NGO officials, which often left camp resources dangerously inadequate. Utterly arbitrary judicial systems in the camps subjected refugees to violent physical punishment or months in prison for trivial offenses -- all at the whim of officials and in the absence of any sort of hearing. "
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What do you really expect? The United Nations is a confederation of gangster nations, most of which are two-bit dictators who have no regard for what Americans consider human rights. Why should they act any differently when they are wearing a UN ensignia?

The United States Constitution requires the national government to secure a democratic government in each state. This ensures that across the United States there will be some uniformity on what justice and truth are. Why do we belong to an organization that tramples upon what we call our ideals daily? An organization that cries foul if the United States thinks that a dictator like Saddam must go?

Thank God for George Bush. With all the flaws that some of us see in his administration, there is one star that shines so bright that it blots out the other: He would not subject the national security of the United States to the gangsters of the U.N. This is the first duty of the national government: to secure the liberties of the American People.

We just hope and pray that George the Great will do the next essential thing--clean up the judiary, so that the constitution is again the law of the land, not some "international consensus" or the emotional fuzzy-logic opinions of those who would be God.

It Would Have Been SOOO Neat!

It's too bad.  SaveToby is a hoax, say the Urban Legands people.  But it would have been so neat.  I am always willing for a good gimmick to stick to the tree-hugging people.

 

You may have seen it on the news tonight--that Toby, a cute rabbit whose picture appears on the web site, will be slain and eaten if a bunch of money is not paid into the Save Toby fund.

 

It seems that Animal Rights people are all up in the air.  It doesn't matter that thousands of rabbits are eaten or destroyed every year by people and many millions more provide necessary sustenence to wolves, coyotes, weasels, foxes, and vairous other noble creatures created by God with a hunger for rabbits.

 

But I am for anything that will separate these people from their money--the Animal Rights people, that is.  Animal rights is an oxymoron anyway.  Animals are property and have no rights, unlike Terri Schaivo who was recently judicially murdered, without any outcry from the Peta people.

 

It is so sad.  About Toby, I mean.  What a wonderful moral dilemma it would have been for the tofu crowd.

 

Bytheway, it is ok to eat meat.  See my article at BasketofFigs.

CNN.com - Kerry cites voter intimidation examples - Apr 10, 2005: "'Kerry...suggested the United States should spend as much time promoting democracy at home as it does abroad in countries like Iraq.We need to go about the business of making our own democracy in America work better,' he said."
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Translation: "Sniff, sniff. Boo hoo. I'm such loser."

Lobbyist for the DNC?

Quest to get a Republican to fight DeLay may have crossed a line: "On March 24, former Congressman Bob Livingston was sent an e-mail by a New York Times editorial page staffer suggesting he write an op-ed essay. Would Livingston, who in 1998 gave up certain elevation to be House speaker because of a sexual affair, write about how Majority Leader Tom DeLay should now act under fire? In a subsequent conversation, it was made clear the Times wanted the prominent Republican to say DeLay should step aside for the good of the party."

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It is so boring and time-consuming to go out to learn the news;  why bother when you can gin it up?  Liberal rags like the NYT, when they aren't actually printing lies and slander, try to make the news.  If there is no Republican that is opposing Tom Delay, then they try to manufacture one.  The Times needs to register as a political lobbyist for the Democratic National Committee.  Do campaign spending limits apply?

It's The Differences!

Dennis Prager: The Left's battle to restore chaos: Judeo-Christian values: Part X

 

May favorite Jew, Dennis Prager, nails it on this one:  the differences between humanism and biblical values:

1. Good and evil: Central to the Judeo-Christian value system is that good and evil are polar opposites and "Woe unto those who call evil good, and good evil" (Isaiah). Opponents of Judeo-Christian values have made war on moral absolutes, on God-based moral values.

2. God and man: God is God and man is man. There is an infinite gulf between man and God, and God is infinitely higher than man. For the Left, man is God and God is man (these were the very words used by Marx and Engels). Each man is the source of values and the measure of all things, unaccountable to any God.

3. Man and woman: "And God created Adam [i.e., the human being], male and female He created them"

4. Holy and profane: A major separation in the Judeo-Christian values system is between the holy and the profane. Applied to speech, this means, for example, that cursing is regarded far less seriously in those parts of society estranged from Judeo-Christian values. Applied to sex, this means that sexual intercourse has a dimension of holiness unknown to the Left, which regards it as a volitional and health issues.

Read the whole article:  The above is just an outline.

Central to the success of humanist thinking is the acceptance of the idea that the Law of Contradiction is rationalism and cannot be applied to human thought.  This is implicitly to affirm that God can be something other than He is, that there is no certain reality, and lies are unimportant.  If somewhere in the deep reaches of God's being all contradictions are resolved, then why die for truth, or why die or live for anything?  Everything is the same.   I am a Van Tilian, but shame on every Van Tilian who thinks dialectically after Hegel, as if true contradictions can be resolved.  See my links on Van Til at http://basketoffigs.nstemp.org/Apologetics/index.htm

Thank the Lord if you have enjoyed the blog.  It is because we are locked into blizzard conditions today in Colorado Springs, and I didn't preach.

In Memory of Terri Schaivo

Has anyone noticed how strange a country we are--we starve  Terri Schaivo and give Secret Service protection to a duck in Washington D. C. ?  Strange.

Ten Reasons to Be a Calvinist

1. Calvinists tend to wear wool and cotton. Arminians tend to wear lime-green polyester leisure suits.

2. John Calvin moved away from France, setting a good example.

3. Calvin sounds like Calvin Klein..very chic clothes.

4. Calvinists can drink adult beverages.

5. Calvinists can smoke good cigars.

6. Arminians are into prophecy conferences where they talk about Star-Trek eschatology and the mark of the Beast. Calvinsts have conferences on "life and culture," art, social justice and other highbrow things like that. Afterwards, we do to the local pub and talk about philosophy over a pint of Bass ale.

7. Calvinists have close ties with Scotland and Scotland is very cool: you know--Sean Connery, the movie Highlander, Bagpipes, the Loch Ness Monster, Glenlivet 18 year old Scotch, the movie Train Spotting, Brave Heart, etc.,

8. Calvinists think we are smarter than anybody else. We have high self esteem. We talk about supra- and infra- and know what we mean. We know the difference between the Economic Trinity and the Ontological Trinity. We know about the filioque and why Rome was right, although we don't like Rome much.

9. It is more dignified to say, "I go to Grace Reformed Church" than to say, "I go to Washed in the Blood Worship Center," or "I go to Happy Wind Fellowship Believers Assembly," or "I go to the "Latter-Day-Rain Deliverance Tabernacle Prophecy Center," or "I go to the Philadelphia Church of the Majority Text," or to say "I go to the Lithuanian Apostolic Orthodox Autocephalic Church of the Baltic Union of 1838."

10. Calvinists had no choice; it was predestined.

Worship Revisited

Just Do It?

Back on January 23 I published a blog about how you can know that worship is taking place. It was a rather tongue in cheek rant that you can read in the archives by clicking the proper link on the right side of this page.

Since then it has been interesting to see it travel about the web. Other bloggers have referred to it, and have commented on it, and readers of other blogs have commented on it. I don't permit comments on this blog because I don't want to read them all and I am not interested in getting into a "dialogue"--much to feely-meely for me.

Anyway, I have enjoyed what people have written on other blogs that have linked to this one. The most common reaction, it seems, goes something like this: "How do you know whether someone is worshipping or not? That person with hands up, or clapping, or bouncing to the tune may be worshipping in their own way. You don't know people's hearts."

Well, they got that right. I don't presume to know people's hearts, for that knowledge is reserved for God alone--it is off limits even for the devil. [You didn't know that? Maybe there are some other things you don't know.]

But so what? It is a non-sequitur. Not knowing people's hearts has nothing to do with knowing whether a person is worshipping. Doesn't the Bible say anything about worship? Is the theme of the Bible this afterall: "Let everybody just do their own thing?" Then why did God bother, if He did not have some very important things to say about Himself and how He is to be served?

Look up Nadab and Abihu. King Uzziah. King Saul. Ananias and Sapphira. Just for a start. Then try the Second Commandment. If you want more, try to find out what the Apostle Paul meant by "will worship" in Colossians 2:23.

That is, if you are interested in such stuff. How people worship is not important, is it?

"Ye have turned judgment into gall..." Amos 6:12

Hannity.com: "Landmark president Mark R. Levin said, "...Starting with the vicious attack on Judge Robert Bork's character in 1987, and continuing with several of President Bush's nominees, Kennedy, working with People for the American Way and other groups, has sought to tear down the reputations of justices, judges and judicial nominees with whom he disagrees.'"

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It is time that good people began to fight back against Kennedy and his cronies.  It is an old tactic, devised by the devil himself in the Garden of Eden:  accuse your enemies of what you are doing yourself.    Satan accused God of using deceitful and manipulative words [see Genesis 3].  Democrats are now accusing Republicans of trying to overthrow the rule of law and the courts, when they have been overthrowing the rule of law and corrupting the judiciary as long as this preacher has been alive.  I can read the Constitution of the United States of America.  I understand what it says, and no corrupt men and women in black robes can make it say what it doesn't.  It protects our life, liberty, and property, and yet corrupt judges from the Supreme Court on down deliberately starved to death Terri Schaivo, because a death-loving lobby convinced a judge that her life did not have enough quality to permit her to live.

 

Americans think they are secure in the their life, liberty, and property.  But property is taken without due process all across this country in the name of eminent domain and zoning and environmental protection and a thousand other ways; money is taken to buy votes, coddle criminals, conduct social experiments, and a thousand other ways thieves reach into the pockets of American citizens through court and judicial decrees; liberty to use property, bear guns, buy political ads, speak from the pulpit on moral issues, liberty to speak and think freely is curtailed on a thousand college campuses in the name of political correctness; the IRS snoops into every detail of a citizens personal and financial life, but a mother's privacy is respected when she murders her unborn.  Rats and mice and other rodents cannot be starved because the quality of their lives is greater than Terri Schaivo's.  All by a judicial system that has been corrupted by the likes of Ted Kennedy and his liberal, lawless, gangsters.

 

Liberals know no law but the law of power, power in their own hands, meddling in the affairs of others in order to protect their own immoral and wicked lifestyles.  They will lie and slander good judges to keep them off the high courts so that selfish pleasure-loving fornicators can murder the fruit of their fornication and adultery.  They will destroy the character of fine judges to deny them a place on high courts so that drug lords and thugs can be secure in their civil rights and continue to vote for liberals.

 

No judge has the right to decide that any living human being is unworthy of life except in the case of capital crime, according to the law of our Creator.  Any judge who makes and enforces such a decision on any human citizen is a criminal and ought to be impeached and tried in a criminal court.

 

Has life become so cheap to us that it means nothing to us that Terri Schaivo, whose only offense was not being able to speak, was put to death because someone decided she was not conscious and therefore not fit to live?  Is this the Final Solution for the weakest among us? 

 

Why are not more people, especially Christians, outraged by this?  Are we stumps and blocks, sans eyes, sans taste, sans feelings?  Has the church lost all moral compass? 

 

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Jer 5:4  Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.

 

Shame, shame, shame, shame!

Hurrah for the Second Amendment!!

Yahoo! News - Florida eyes allowing residents to open fire whenever they see threat: "Florida's legislature has approved a bill that would give residents the right to open fire against anyone they perceive as a threat in public, instead of having to try to avoid a conflict as under prevailing law. "

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Hurrah for the Second Amendment.  There was a time when Americans could be expected to defend themselves; they didn't whimper about calling the cops.  It was a simpler time, but not a more violent time.  A man could go anywhere in America he wanted to.

In Memory of Terri Schaivo

The following are quotations from an interview with R. C. Sproul: 

 

"What happened to Terri Schiavo is symbolic and illustrative of a significant shift in the structure of our culture. Though there are many complex issues here that we can discuss, what we've just witnessed is the willful starving and dehydration of a living human being. If we did that to one of our pets, we would be arrested. If we did that to a convicted killer on death row in one of America's prisons, we would be charged with cruel and unusual punishment."

 

"There is no more fundamental civil right according to the Constitution than the right to life. And if the government cannot be involved in this, then the government should not be involved in anything. The issues here are so much larger and more serious than the life of one person, as serious as that is. What I've seen is the serious threat to the whole principle of the balance of power in the government of the United States."

 

"A reasonable response to this tragedy would include within it an emotional response, because a heart that is not moved by understanding is really not rational. I think there should be a cry of mourning but also a cry of protest throughout the land. We have an ethical crisis in this country that is not going to go away with respect to the sanctity of human life."

 

You can hear the entire interview at: 

 

http://www.ligonier.org/

Want to Fix It?

MSNBC - Charities used as tax dodges, IRS chief says: "Charities and other nonprofits exempted from taxes because they serve a public purpose have become a hotbed of tax evasion and abuse, according to the head of the Internal Revenue Service."
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The Internal Revenu Service is the most corrupting influence in America. It would be easy to fix. Simply replace it with a national sales tax. People who spend would pay more. Too simple, because the true reason for the Income Tax is to control people and behavior, not raise money.

Centrist Democrats warn liberals - The Washington ...

Democrats Want to Find Out Who They Are!

 

Centrist Democrats warn liberals - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - April 04, 2005: "But party liberals last week dismissed the DLC's advice as warmed-over Republicanism.

"'I can't tell the difference between the positions the DLC puts forward and Republican policy,' said Jack Blum, counsel for the liberal Americans for Democratic Action.
'I've read this before and I am not carried away by it. Nobody in the Democratic Party, and that most especially includes the liberals in the Americans for Democratic Action, opposes fighting the terrorists.' "

----------------

Hoo, boy.  Go for it.  Let's have the ruckus.  Blum and his crowd have a very strange way of fighting terrorism:  "It's all America's fault.  We need to have the French and Germans teach us how to be more 'sensitive' to their needs and our incipient nazism.  If we can just get the world to love us, they won't hate us so much.  We need to learn how to bite our lower lip, not keep a stiff upper one."

 

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - 12 Nabbed in Spain Train Blasts Probe: "The Interior Ministry said six Moroccans, three Syrians, one Egyptian, one Palestinian and one Algerian were arrested in raids in and around the city."
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Hmmmm. Would it be bigotry to suggest that there is something that these people have in common?

Katie Blog

Check out my Katie Blog today on Very Good Figs. Click the link on the right. Life goes on for all of us except Terri Schaivo.

Dedicated to the memory of Terri Schaivo

If you do not know why it is wrong to commit suicide or to withhold life from the weak and helpless, then you are wasting the life that God has given to you.

Proverbs 8:36 "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."

Canadian seal cull sparks protests - Yahoo! UK & Ireland News:

The hunt is expected to bring poor coastal communities millions of dollars but has been condemned by animal rights activists as barbaric."
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In memory of Terri Schaivo. Wasn't her life as important as a seal?

In Memory of Terri Schaivo:

Jer 22:3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

FrontPage magazine.com :: Lying about Terri Schiavo by Nat Hentoff: "So intent is Michael Schiavo on having his wife die of starvation that one of his lawyers, after the governor's order to reconnect the feeding tube, faxed doctors in the county where the life-saving procedure was about to take place, threatening to sue any physician who reinserted a feeding tube. The husband had immediately gone to court to get a judge to revoke what the legislature and the governor had done. "
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Nat Hentoff is no conservative, and he is no part of the religious right, but he is telling the truth about Terri Schiavo. Read this and weep.

Within a short time, from the point of view of my consciousness, the body of Terri Schaivo will be so deprived of water and food that it will no longer be a fit instrument for the soul, and her soul will depart to be with, as her husband puts it, "Jesus."

The post is not concerned about the question of the immortality of the soul [which I accept], although it is a related issue.

The basic question that has concerned the world over the past weeks is the question of consciousness. Michael Schaivo's lawyer, who sits on the board of the hospice that "cares" for her, is a self-proclaimed "right-to-die" activist and has argued, along with his "experts," that she is in a state of "euphoria." He also argues that she is not conscious. That raises a problem for if "euphoria" is a sense of well being and Terri Schaivo is in such a state, how does she know that she is in such a state? If she is not conscious then she is not aware of anything. So how could she feel ok? Is this some kind of voodoo? Slight of hand mumbo jumbo?

From a scientific viewpoint, we do not even know what consciousness is. Is there such a thing? Are there various states of consciousness, and have the courts of the United States been snookered into establishing an eastern religious view of consciousness in order to justify the mercy-killing of Terri Schaivo?

Can one be conscious without sensory perception? Is consciousness simply the sum total of the signals that the body sends us, which the brain sorts out? Are dreams a form of non-sensory consciousness? How is consiciousness unified, so that the dog that runs toward us is perceived to be the same dog that we later see running away from us, which we think of as the same dog we saw yesterday. Is the woman I went to bed with the same one I woke up with? How do I know?

How can it possibly be moral to kill someone's body, as in the case of Terri Schaivo, when we do not know whether or not she is consicious, and we cannot know whether she is conscious unless we know what constitutes the relationship between the sensory perception and consciousness, or if there is even one at all, or even if there is such a thing as consciousness as we commonly think of it? How do you even know that this is the same article that you started to read a few minutes ago?

If a person can be conscious without sensory perception, then how do we know that Terri Schaivo has not been conscious? How do we measure it? Did she know she was being starved to death while not feeling it?

Is it justified to murder people if they don't feel anything? If so, building bigger bombs might be a most humane solution to many of the world's problems. Ovens and other "final solutions" might be imagined that would give many low quality lives a sense of euphoria while their bodies are consumed.

Do angels and demons exist? If so, how do they relate to the sensory world if they have no bodies? With no bodies, how could they emit brain waves or speak? Can human beings be conscious without their bodies? Are spirits just electromagnetic or some other collection of electrical charges that can be vacuumed up and filed away in the basement of Ghostbusters, Inc.?

This writer maintains [admittedly on Christian grounds] that a person is alive as long as the soul resides in the body. Consciousness is something apart from the body and may exist apart from the body, though it is closely connected to the body while the body lives. See my article on "Where Is the Soul." Click

The murder of Terri Schaivo is the natural and logical result of a mechanical and materialistic view of reality that denies spirituality except in terms of materialistic principles. Science does not accept the existence of anything that cannot be measured by the senses. The same principles that operate through out the culture of death which is the abortion industry are exactly the same ones that operate in the right-to-die industry.

I suppose the partial-birth victim also experiences euphoria while his little body is being torn apart and ripped from his mother's womb. Who are these monsters among us?

Unless science can demonstrate what consciousness is and that a person ceases to exist when the body dies, then the killing of Terri Schaivo is not justified. Who are these people who presume to know that she is not conscious of what people are doing to her? Do gods again walk among us?

Mt 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Luke 15:22-24 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

It is God who determines the value of a life, whether of a rich man or a begger covered with sores. He will judge both Terri Schaivo and her tormentors.

TERRI SCHIAVO TO DIE IN ATTORNEY'S "DEATH FACTORY"? SUNCOAST HOSPICE BOSS WAS GEORGE FELOS...: "Terri Schiavo, an incapacitated but warmly responsive young woman, is in the care of 'The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast' ('Hospice House Woodside') at 300 East Bay Drive, Largo, Florida. But unknown to her advocates, all of Terri's medical care has been influenced by a Past Chairman of the Hospice's Board of Directors - George J. Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, and self-described 'right-to-die' advocate."
++++++++++++++++
Be not deceived. This case is not about Terri Schiavo. It is a right to die case, engineered by those who love death and hate the wisdom of God. That wisdom is described in Proverbs 8:

32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Lawyer Invokes Easter in Call for Terri Schiavo's Death -- GOPUSA: "(CNSNews.com) -- Prior to a new hearing by the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, the attorney for Michael Schiavo invoked the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ while calling on Terri Schiavo's parents to end their efforts to save their daughter's life.

"'We believe it's time for that to stop as we approach this Easter weekend,' noted 'right-to-die' attorney, author and activist George Felos told a throng of gathered television cameras, 'and that Mrs. Schiavo be able to die in peace.'"
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"By your words you will be condemned," is the way Jesus put it. So it's "Mrs. Schiavo," huh? Dying "in peace" it is, eh? Who are these apostate and depraved lawyers and "scientists" who have the wisdom and knowledge to decide when life is of such low quality that it can be terminated? Terri Schiavo's only crime is being unable to tell the world what a scum her husband is. So she must die. She is being starved to death. Every judge who remained silent these past days is complicent in her murder.

I think we ought to remove life support from Charles Manson. There are some others who come to mind, also. Sirhan Sirhan? Pretty low and depraved people whose lives are far below the value of Terri Schiavo.

Why limit abortion at all? Let's extend it to sixteen years old at least, for many teenagers live lives of limited value. Why should parents be constrained to feed and clothe and tend these hideous people? Why are they allowed to crawl between heaven and earth?

And the nursing homes? Ever been there lately? Why should these people be allowed to live lives of such low quality? Many of them cannot breathe on their own and carry oxygen bottles from place to place. I spare you more disgusting details. We need to kill them all, if we are ever going to have a beautiful and good society.

Let release Jack Kevorkian from prison and put him on the Supreme Court, and his picture on our currency and coins. He is one of the few among us who knows when people ought to die and we should take advantage of his expertese.

But what if they are innocent? and justice has miscarried? Yes, and what if Terri Schiavo is conscious at some level? But so many learned people have entered evidence in her case? Yes, and what if they are wrong. Why bleed for these others and not bleed for her?

She has been of some value, however. Her husband will inherit a good deal of money, and she has caused America to look at who is really governing America. Is isn't the Bushes and it isn't the state legislature and not the federal legislature. Rotten, depraved judges, whose lives are of far less worth than Terri Schiavo's. These are the scum who have stolen our livlihood and property for spotted owls and preble jumping mice, given us abortion on demand, corrupted our schools with evolution and communism, protected outlaws who call themselves college professors, refused protection for our borders, placed our laws under foreign philosophies and corruption, extended American rights to terrorists and prisoners of war and those who would destroy those rights, and destroyed our families and Christian marriage. They have turned our schools into advocacy for the sodomite agenda, for international socialism, and confiscation of wealth.

If the Republicans do not do whatever is necessary to get decent judges, then America, instead of being the hill from which light goes to all the world, will be the hill where antichrist dwells, who kingdom corrupts the whole world, filling the world with sodomy, persecution, blood, theft. The judges are in contempt of Congress and the President and it is high time for both these branches of government to return the nation to a true division of power, by limiting the jurisdiction of federal courts, and scrapping those courts that do not comply. They have these powers under the Constitution and they need to assert them, by force if necessary.

The Republican Senators, instead of worrying about the future of their own little precious club, need to be thinking about the future of the republic, of their own famlies and friends. Do you think that Ted Kennedy, Howard Dean, Hilary, and the rest of the internationalist socialist sodomite lying lobby will spare any conservative and Christian ideal if they ever gain power back through the corrupt judiciary? It is time for Republicans to stop worrying about being liked by liberal senators who have no morals and no faith and do what needs to be done to restore the fundamental liberties of life, liberty, and property, for without these there is no pursuit of happiness.

If we are descended from the scum in a prehistoric pond, why does any life have any value? Why get excited about school children killing each other? Why care how anyone lives their lives? Why get excited if school boys don Nazi dress and think about guns and death constantly? Stalin is equal to Hitler is equal to Richard Nixon is equal to FDR is equal to Mother Teresa is equal to Buddha is equal to Saint John. It all comes from that prehistoric scum. We are all scum, we act like scum. Scum we are and to scum we will return. Why should parents feed their kids? Just because of some inherited instinct from baboons? Why does any life have any meaning?

Revelation 12:12 "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

Excite News: "Sung, who has not been involved with the case, said of Cheshire that 'unfortunately his feelings, and possibly his religious beliefs, are affecting his medical decision.' The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, which notes on its Web site that it was founded by Christian bioethicists, lists Cheshire as its director of biotech ethics."
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And we certainly don't want any religious beliefs affecting our view of whether or not someone is alive now, do we.

O, Lord God. Have mercy upon the poor blind people of this once great nation that was once a moral light to the world. We rejected the moral and spiritual darkness of Europe once, and may we find the faith to do it again! Have mercy upon us!

Excite News: "The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted, rejecting a desperate appeal by her parents to keep their severely brain-damaged daughter alive."
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Well, at least they are consistent: kill the unborn; kill the old; kill the weakest among us. Who needs life? who needs God? who needs the Resurrection? The New Order of death, of shrouds, of the macabre, the abortionist, the sodomite, the gayless, childless, sodomite marriage is upon us.

Does anyone now doubt that the Republicans need to step up to the plate and get the courts under control? If the Republicans do not seize this opportunity to get Bush's court nominees through the confirmation process--and they have opportunity through the "nuclear" option--then I will never be persuaded again that they are the party of opportunity.

Put a shroud around the Statue of Liberty; break the liberty bell in pieces; if citizens do not have the unalienable right to life, what else is there?

Do not look for the judgment of God. It is already upon us. The soul is already gone from the body politic. We are worse off than Terri Schaivo. America is truly in a vegetative state, with no soul in the body.

Where the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

Happy Easter.

Herald.com | 03/21/2005 | IRS probes politics at church: "A Liberty City church's tax-exempt status is in jeopardy as the IRS has launched a probe into a visit by former candidate John Kerry last fall. Some wonder if the probe is politically motivated."
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Hey, so what's new? Conservative churches and conservative religious organizations have been harrassed for years for the slightest reference to political matters. If Republicans are harrassing the liberals, there is something in me that says they deserve it. But a much stronger something says, "All of you butt out. Let's restore freedom of speech to the churches."

News: "``The U.S. leaders - the president, vice president and other key leaders - were hiding up to three days after the Sept. 11 attacks,'' Khamenei said. ``We are not like that. If a bitter experience occurs for this nation, God forbid, or if it is tested, we will wear military uniforms at the front of the nation and prepare for sacrifice.'' "
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Anyone want to bet that he would be in a hole like Saddam or whats-his-name hiding in Afghanistan--or already rotting in his hole?

Dennis Prager: Part VIII: Judeo-Christian values are larger than Judaism or Christianity: "Of course, most Protestant Christians who hold Judeo-Christian values continue to believe that there is no salvation outside of faith in Christ. But precisely because they do hold Judeo-Christian values, they work hand in hand with others whose faith they deem insufficient or incorrect (e.g., Jews and Mormons). So while they theologically reject other faiths, evangelical Christians are the single strongest advocates of Judeo-Christian values."
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And so Dennis Prager [my favorite Jew] continues with his wonderful series of essays on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. Everyone needs to read this series of articles.

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "Here's both a political and a public-relations reality: The Republican Party controls the Senate, the House and the White House. The Republicans are in charge. They have the power. If they can't save this woman's life, they will face a reckoning from a sizable portion of their own base. And they will of course deserve it.

This should concentrate their minds.

So should this: America is watching. As the deadline for removal of Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube approaches, the story has broken through as never before in the media.

There is a passionate, highly motivated and sincere group of voters and activists who care deeply about whether Terri Schiavo is allowed to live. Their reasoning, ultimately, is this: Be on the side of life. They remind me of what Winston Churchill said once when he became home secretary in charge of England's prisons. He was seated at dinner with a jabbery lady who said that if she were ever given a life sentence she'd rather die than serve it. He reared back. No, he said, always choose life! 'Death's the only thing you can't get out of!'"
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Republicans, are you listening? Maybe one of the greatest moral issues of our day is the life of Terri Schiavo. Is being pro-life being willing to care as much for starving a human being as for a mouse in a school house? Where is the humane society?: I once got a letter from the humane society because a boy brought a live mouse to school to feed his pet snake. Is Terri Schiavo's life worth as much as a mouse?

Are we going to watch the slow starving of a human being, an agonizing death that we would not tolerate in a pet dog or pet cat? If people go to jail for setting a cat on fire, shouldn't the people who removed the tube this afternoon be worthy of at least a public flogging?

Have we lost our moral sense and compass?

May God have mercy on our national soul.

De 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Yahoo! News - Professor Charged With Faking Grant Info: " A former medical school professor was accused Thursday of fabricating research data on closely watched topics such as menopause, aging and hormone supplements to win millions of dollars in grant money from the federal government. "
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Now let's see. Following the logic of the liberal media, our conclusion should be something like this. Just as crooked tele-evangelists like Jimmy Bakker indicate that all preachers are religious quacks who are out to get the money of widows and orphans, it is evident that Dr. Eric T. Poehlman is evidence that all who labor in modern science are fakes and are out to get the government's money.

But why should Poehlman be different from so many other illustrious scientists who faked their results, like Margaret Mead, Sigmund Freud, Masters and Johnson, Darwin and so many others who built the modern house of cards that evolution and moral corruption rests upon.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Dish It Out, Ladies: "Men take professional criticism more personally when it comes from a woman. When I wrote columns about the Clinton impeachment opera bouffe, Chris Matthews said that for poor Bill, it must feel as though he had another wife hectoring him. "
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Speaking of repealing God's law, poor Maureen Dowd is in the same fix as the judge in my previous blog. Can't do it, poor little Maureen. God has given authority to the man as Paul, the great Apostle of liberty, wrote in 1Cor. 11:3, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."

You can't repeal this law any more than Judge Kramer can repeal the one about sodomites.

People should remember the crucifixion of Christ. Just when they thought they had won, the forces of evil experienced their greatest defeat of history. Satan's kingdom is at its most vulnerable when God's people are weak and helpless and under the thumb of tyranny. God loves to show Himself strong in behalf of his downtrodden saints.

But Maureen Dowd will keep spitting into the wind. She is a slow learner.

My Way News: "In the eagerly awaited opinion likely to be appealed to the state's highest court, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer said that withholding marriage licenses from gays and lesbians is unconstitutional."
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Interesting, huh. Somebody needs to tell Judge Kramer that what his is trying to do has been tried before, with predictable results.

I mean repealing the Law of God. The Law of God is not an abstraction, but is binding upon every man everywhere, whether he agrees with it or not, for the Law of God was not passed by human legislators, but was written with the finger of God on two tables of stone [Read Exodus 20].

Jesus reaffirmed it when he said, "Scripture cannot be broken...." John 10:35.

It's an old, old story, begun in the Garden of Eden and the last chapter has not been written yet. But we know how it will turn out. No mystery here.

People's Daily Online -- "I don't think US should be the leader of the world": "Another source of the resentment is the perception that Bush administration wants to act unilaterally in the world, outside of alliance that traditionally governed the ways Bush made foreign policy decisions. In some ways the core of perception problems is centered on 911 terrorist attacks in 2001 in which the US government and Bush administration reacted by deciding that the country would make decisions in foreign affairs that respond only to US interests. They were not going to consult very widely, and not to compromise in making those decisions. That caused rift even among the US allies. So it is natural to see that the image of America is the lowest in public opinion. "
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So who do you want, Mr. Phillip Bennett? The Chinese? The French? the Russians? Oh, I get it. You think American newspapermen should be the real leaders. When are you libs going to realize that you and your philosophical ancestors going to realize that you have been wrong on every major issue in the Bolsheveks rose to power by murder, rapine, and terror during WW I? You have been wrong about Cuba, Russia, China, North Korea, Bosnia, Africa, Vietnam, and Central America. Seems there is a pattern here. Every time a communist arises, you begin to salivate, and hope for the salvation of the world.

But you are clever. You form the perception and then you say it is too bad that people think like this. It isn't that Bush didn't consult; you know that, of course. He just refused to submit American interests to the French and the Germans and the Russians. The world doesn't regret it, Mr. Bennett. It is you and your liberal friends who have found your dream lying in the ashes of the Twin Towers. You and your liberal friends lie and lie and lie, and deplore the fact that people have a "perception." But we get it. That's why thinking Americans don't believe the newspapers anymore.

But the jig is up. The American people understand it now, and they understand you. You cannot buy them any more with bread and circuses. 9/11 changed all that, even if it did not change you. Those bombers might be gallant warriors to you and your kind, but they were murdering representatives of a murdering sect. Americans are slow sometimes, but beware when they finally get it. Americans aren't perfect, but they didn't stand for Hitler killing Jews or the Taliban shooting women on the soccer field, or Saddam enjoying his rape houses. You may have a stomach for it. It was your hero Joseph Stalin who said that you have to break eggs to make an omelet.

No thanks. We don't like the omelet, and we don't like people who would rather get good press in China than in Colorado Springs.

Dennis Prager: Hate evil: Case for Judeo-Christian values, part VII: "Much of humanity doesn't. But if you embrace Judeo-Christian values, you must."
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Must what? Read the article.

Regular readers of this blog know that my favorite Jew is Dennis Prager. If you link to townhall.com you will find a series of articles making the case of Judeo-Christian values [meaning the Ten Commandments, of course]. He makes a much better case for Christianity than many Protestant preachers.

Hating evil is the flip side of loving good. Ps 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

The best is to love the good and hate the evil. Second best is to love the evil and hate the good. Worst of all is to refuse to see the difference. According to Revelation 3:16 such people make God sick to His stomach. [This is a figure of speech of course, as should be obvious, even to Biblical literalists. But that is another blog.]

The reason that God gets sick to his stomach over such people, is that they are so santimonious about their superior intelligence and fine sensitivities. They are above good and evil, because they love everybody so much. How could they be judgmental? Judgmentalism is so red state. In this they take their God-given intelligence and ability [which they deny because they think these things are their own] and allow them to be used in the service of evil. As Hosea puts it, Ho 2:8 "For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal." The good gifts of God come from Him, and it is a frightful thing to turn these things to the use of evil, especially while you are pretending to be above good and evil.

A man may choose which ideas he is going to believe, but he is not free to choose the consequences of his choice. Life is something like those little books that children read where they come to a place where they make a choice and then are directed to a page where the story proceeds according to the choice they made.

That's why man's misery is so great, as Solomon put it. Ec 8:6 "Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man [is] great upon him." The consequences of our choices reveal the nature of our purposes, and because man's natural purposes are sinful, when the time and judgment arises man's misery of great.

A man may choose to believe that men are naturaly good. He will then conclude that man must be free to live his life according to his good impulses. The experiment will fail, as it has for the last two or three generation of Dr. Spock America. The public school system, based upon that desperately rosy and unrealistic expectation of human nature, is an unmitigated disaster, and everyone knows it, except the teacher's union and politicians bought and paid for by the union.

But people hold to their delusions, as Solomon again put it: Pr 17:12 "Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly." People don't mind being wrong, but they hate to have their folly exposed. A man may play the fool, but he hates to have it pointed out. A man's ideas are so dear to him that the anger of a mother bear is safer than his.

Augustine had the grace and character to write his Retractions near the end of his life. Unfortunately, Rousseau and Dewey and other fathers of liberal thought did not live long enough to see the unmitigated disaster their ideas have wrought. But they will know at the Day of Judgment.

Ideas have consequences and men have no choice in the matter of consequences.

Strongly urge all to to visit Dead Men's Voices, Wheat and Chaff, and Two Edged Sword. The links are on the right. Very good stuff.

There isn't any question about it. We were all born naked into the world, but we were not born into a naked world. A lot of stuff was going on before we ever saw the light of day.

Most of us don't realize this right away. We think the world began with us. But it didn't, you know.

There were people who lived long ago who were doing some important things. People like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Moses, of course, and the Apostles, Matthew, John, Peter, and Paul.

What are you going to do with these people? There are millions of people who firmly believe that these people spoke the word of God, and try to live by their words. What you do with their ideas is important.

Most important of all is Jesus Christ. What do you do with Him? You have to do something, because the world of today is very much shaped by His teachings and His life. Who was He, anyway.

You can say that He was a poor, misguided person, who was probably mad and said some good things. Of course, you have to say that a bunch of people are idiots for following such a person. But if you say that, then you have to say that human nature has something wrong with it, the fundamental premise of the teaching and the work of Christ. If He was right about that, then maybe you ought to consider some other things He said.

You can say that He never lived, that some people made Him up. Then you are still stuck with the human nature question. But what about the genius of the people who made Him up? To be able to generate and perpetuate such a fraud is incredible. Anyone who thinks that a conspiracy of that magnitude could be imposed upon the people of the world is bound to have a most gloomy view of the world and history. Is is egotism or naivte that would believe that everyone is subject to the mother of all conspiracies except you. Would that then influence everything you think about the world and history? Something to think about.

You can say that He is the Son of God, as He said He was. But then you still have a great problem: if He is the Son of God, His teachings require you to make some major moral and spiritual changes, both inwardly and outwardly. It could be revolutionary.

But not as revolutionary as to think you can ignore Him. Everyone must make a decision about Christ. Not making one is a decision.

Police Arrest 8-Year-Old After Alleged Outburst in Williamsburg Elementary School: "James City County Police arrested an eight-year-old boy who allegedly had a violent outburst in school."
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What does this story have to do with Bush's judicial nominations? Everything.

No one would have called the police when I was a kid. I remember the afternoon our school bus driver put an unruly kid off the bus on a country road about three miles from his home. [I think the kid was named Powell, but was no relation to me]. The kid was about 10 years old and he did get off the bus and then suddenly burst back in through the open door, crying, and began to throw fists at the driver. Guess he didn't want to walk home. The driver said he could sit down--he did, and was taken home, very quiet and subdued.

The point? No one even thought of calling the police. The school handled it. I don't know what they did, but the kid was ok after that, although still a pain in the neck sometimes to me.

It's a civil rights thing nowadays. Schools cannot discipline kids; kids know they can't be struck. We know we could be "licked," if we were naughty and it acted as a restraint on me and others. But judges have eroded discipline in all areas of society in the name of "civil rights." The erosion was not done by the legislatures or the executive branches of the government--but by anarchic judges who impose their private opinions and feelings on a "living constitution," finding rights where none exist, and finding "halos" and "Penumbras" and, if necessary, appealing to "world opinion" [meaning elitist overseas opinions] to impose their tyranny upon us all. It is time they went away.

Side note: [My parents would have been embarrassed and chagrined if I had ever been whipped at school, and I would probably have gotten another whipping when I got home. But that was another day. Teachers were respectible, didn't use drugs or have sex with kids. They knew their A,B.C.'s and loved their country. At least where I went to school. Most of them went to church and had respect for church. They thought their job was to teach readin', 'riting, and 'rithmetic. They thought that was enough to change the world. The next generations of teachers had a different agenda. What good is reading if you can't save the whales? The courts protected these idiots and now families are enslaved by them.

But mostly the schools are more and more enslaved by the kids. Who needs a lawsuit? Call the cops and let them handle it.

Please see the new blog at "Good Figs." Use the link at the right.

So now five members of the Supreme Court, taking in consideration "world opinion," has decided that it is unconsitutional for states to execute axe murderers, serial killers, cop killers, and other cold-blooded psychopaths who have accidently not attained the age of 18 years.

Where do they find this in the constitution? In the same place that theological perverts have found that the Bible permits women to be deacons, elders, and pastors, that God is "open" and yields to man's freewill, that good works get you into heaven, that Jesus is not God, and that you can do whatever you want in "worship." If the theology of the Bible does not bind us shall we be bound by the lilliputian cords of man's law? Let's rock 'n roll, baby!

But I guess a lawless Supreme Court has a great deal in common with axe murderers, serial killers, cop killers, and other cold-blooded psychopaths. Both are without law.

If the Bible is not a contract that binds the people of God in ethics and theology, then why should we be bound by our own constitutions? What does a covenant mean, anyway, if nothing binds me but my own reason? If the Bible is a "living" document that means whatever a generation wants it to men, then why should the constitution be treated any differently? Hallelujah! The Constitution lives! at least in the perverted imaginations of five old people on the Supreme Court.

On the other hand, if God is a Rock [Ps. 18:31]and Scripture cannot be broken [John 10:35], then there might very well be gloomy days ahead unless the other branches of government find the will and convictions to reign in this tyrannous court, as the constitution says they can.

Two-Edged Sword: "When one holds to doctrinal development what use can a creed that does not develop have? Why should one be bound to such an old formula? When one sees that history move and doctrine does as well (as they claim) creeds must be abandoned. The key phrase will be 'liberty of conscious' [sic ] to choose the 'historic tradition' that best fits you. "
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Good for you, Lee. We either have the "faith once for all delivered to the saints," and we build upon that. learning to understand it more and more, or we are in a world of flux and there is nothing to hold to.

mtv.com - News - Hunter S. Thompson: Shutting The Door, Painting The Windows Black, By Kurt Loder: "In the 1970s, Hunter Thompson inspired a legion of young journalists to believe that the best way to cover a story was to get tanked to the gills on drugs and alcohol, present oneself in a state of near-psychotic meltdown at the scene of whatever one was covering, and record the affronted and sometimes violent reactions of the people one encountered. Concepts like 'facts' and 'objectivity' were to be regarded as quaint, if not entirely notional. The author became the story. This was 'gonzo journalism.'"
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I guess this is what Dan Rather has been practicing all these years. Hippy, biased journalism. "Facts" and "objectivity" are quaint, huh? But you know, facts are stubborn things, as Bush the Elder once famously said. I guess that if you are a "gonzo journalist," if the facts get too depressing and quaint, you just blow your brains out.

You know, some ideas that people promote and profess to live by, don't seem to wear very well after a while. They don't die well living by them either.

Telegraph | News: "UN inspectors in Iraq spent their working hours drinking vodka while ignoring a shadowy nocturnal fleet believed to be smuggling goods for Saddam Hussein, a former senior inspector told the US Senate yesterday."
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Good! Good! Good! Don't trust God. Don't trust your own power of self-defense. Trust these guys.

A few years ago, Student Lee Johnson, who is now an intern in Herried, SD, wrote a short piece on the Da Vinci Code which I intended to post on the web. Now that the Da Vinci Code is back in the news I thought I would reproduce it here.

Da Vinci Code Critique

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, is a novel about which Christians should be aware. This is not on account of the suspense-laden chapters or the who-dun-it mystery that enfolds, but because the false information about Christianity inside has taken hold of many minds and could lead people astray.

The plot of the book is simple enough. The four leading members of a secret society are killed, but before dying, the society’s grandmaster leaves a message and a series of clues to his granddaughter in the hope that the “secret” of the secret society does not pass out of existence. The secret is the location of the Holy Grail, however, it is not the Holy Grail as in the Cup of Christ, instead, it is documents and other assorted items that prove the secret nature of Christianity.

The author explains as the book goes along that the Holy Grail is a recovery of the “sacred feminine” within Christianity. The embodiment of the “sacred feminine” is Mary Magdelene, who was not only the wife of Christ, but also the mother of his baby and the rallying point for Christianity after his death. Furthermore, the author asserts that Jesus Christ was only a man who never claimed to be God. According to the book, this was all common knowledge until the council of Nicaea, when Constantine persuaded the church to elevate Christ to the level of God. Then Constantine supposedly created the modern Bible by removing some 80 gospels, which included references to Christ’s manhood and marriage, and leaving only the 4 that we have today, which included references to Jesus as God and Mary Magdelene as a prostitute. The author claims that the knowledge of the true nature of Christianity, including the identity of Christ’s descendents, was guarded and protected by this secret society. Leonardo Da Vinci had been a grandmaster of this society, and he included clues to the secret in his paintings. The clues that lead our two “heroes” to the “truth” are hidden in Da Vinci’s work. What Da Vinci really believed, I cannot say. For the sake of his soul, I hope it was not what is portrayed in this novel.

The idea that the true religion is passed down through secrecy is a Gnostic idea. The author even quotes heavily from the Gnostic Gospels, which he claims contain the truth about Christianity. The Bible, then, is a man-made document written purposefully to repress women and promote the idea that Jesus is God. The author merges Christianity with paganism, even implying that sex rituals lead to a greater understanding of truth. These are just a few of the disturbing falsehoods that Brown advocates in his novel. His historical accounts are easily repudiated with the writings of church fathers such as Eusebius or Tertullian. However, the church should be prepared for continuing assaults on the historicity of the Bible and the divinity of Christ in coming years.

This book is written in a very convincing manner, and for that reason is a danger to the uninstructed. The book even begins with a “Fact” page where it’s stated that, “All description of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate”, which contributes to the notion that the Christian cover-up about the “sacred feminine” is real. It is not. This book has been a bestseller for months, and people are believing these lies. May God be glorified, and may his truth bring to light this latest stream of lies.

Tsunami victims to sue French hotel chain Accor, Thai govt, US authorities Messenger | Yahoo! Finance-: "Tsunami victims to sue French hotel chain Accor, Thai govt, US authorities"
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Ain't that ducky? We have now come to the complete circle of free-will theism. God doesn't control anything or bring anything to pass, and therefore man has complete free will to make his choices, right? He is therefore responsible for himself, right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! This writer has maintained for many years that the true human responsibility cannot be maintained in a chance environment. If man has absolute freedom, then he is on his own. He is responsible for nothing, for things are always happening to him that somebody else should have taken care of. If he gets cancer from smoking, it just isn't his fault, it is the mean tobacco companies, and politicians, and the gov'ment and probably his mother and father who should have taken better care of his education. Do you wander that those who maintain the greatest lattitude to free will are always trying to tell you what to do, or trying to get the church to tell you what to do, or trying to get the gov'ment to tell you what to do? A pox on the whole bunch of them.

If he gets fat and sloppy from living on Big Macs, same story. If the tsunami comes and washes him away, same story. The United States--for if there is no God in your world, you look to the biggest and richest thing you can see--should have done something about it. Just sue the devil out of everyone in sight.

Do you still doubt that the Senate did a good thing last week by passing tort reform?

The elephant in the room that depraved men [that's all of us] refuse to see and will not see apart from the grace of God is a big one: God is the Creator, sustainer, upholder, and causes all things to come to pass for His glory. Every man is therefore responsible before the God who made him--not for the events that take place, but for his reaction to them. All things work together for good, but not for every men--only for those who love God and who are the called according to His purpose.

For good reading on this subject, click the Trinity Reformed Church link at the right and go to Creeds and Confessions and read the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession, and look up the Scripture references. You might learn something.

Bloomberg.com: U.S.: "New York City doctors have discovered a man with a previously unseen strain of HIV that is resistant to three of the four types of anti-viral drugs that combat the disease, and progresses from infection to full-blown AIDS in two or three months, the health department said.
``We've identified this strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears to progress rapidly to AIDS,'' said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. ``We have not seen a case like this before. It holds the potential for a very serious public health problem.''
The case was diagnosed in a New Yorker in his mid-40s who reported multiple male sex partners and unprotected anal sex -- often while using the drug crystal methamphetamine. "
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Question. [Do I win the $64,000 for posing it?]. If people get all up in the air because people smoke tobacco and cause health care costs to rise, what about sodomites who engage in behavior that is far riskier? Hmmmm?

News: "``This is the Abu Ghraib defense, that a few renegade soldiers are responsible for their own behavior and the commanders are not accountable,'' said Durbin. His remarks referred to claims by military officials that a few low-ranking enlisted personnel were responsible for the shocking abuses at a U.S.-run prison in Iraq. "

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Ain't it just wunnerful? We Democrats are nice guys who don't say anything bad about you nasty Republicans. You are the ones who tortured the prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and are really terrible people and you gotta just stop saying bad things about us nice Democrats. How can you expect to get a long with nice people like us when you are liars and thieves and namecallers and nassty, nassty. You gotta quit callin' us names and things.

Does anybody see anything wrong with this? Read the article. The Democrats are in such disarray that now they insist that Republicans lay off attacking them. Reminds me of the little boy who ran to mother, "But it all started when Jimmy hit me back."

New Genetic Study Undermines Gay Gene Theory: "A study to be published in the March 2005 issue of the journal Human Genetics, and available online now, actually undermines the commonly held view that homosexual orientation is determined by genetic factors."
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Don't believe the Bible, believe science. This is what we are told. Really? The scandal of the scientific community is the falsifying of research, sloppy research, and biased reporting. Freud falsified his data of female hysteria to protect a child-molesting colleague; Margaret Mead was the laughing stock of Samoa for her phony book on life in Samoa, science has laughed at "flat earth" Christians every since Washington Irving invented the idea. And so it goes.

Homosexuality is not a genetic issue; it is a moral one. It involves choices, not chemistry.

Galileo was not persecuted by Bible believers; he was persecuted by an antichristian church spouting the phony scientific theories of the day, which they had baptized into the Christian faith, just as many churchmen are doing today.

Check it out. Just remember that somebody told you.

Richard Nixon's Revenge
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I don't much admire Pat Buchanan, for his philosophy is more reactive than creative. But he has nailed this one. Clever title: Richard Nixon's Revenge. Or it could be titled, "How Spiro Agnew brought down Dan Rather." Hee, Hee, Hee. One great quote, "Somewhere Richard Nixon is smiling. Somewhere Spiro Agnew is laughing. I will not ask Dan Rather where they are—as he and CBS are just not “fair and balanced” on this question."

Dennis Prager: The left is worth nothing: "About 60 percent of the Iraqi people went to vote despite the fact that every Iraqi voter risked his or her life and the lives of their children, whose throats the Islamic fascists threatened to slit. Yet, the Left continues to label the war for Iraqi democracy 'immoral' while praising the tyrant of Cuba.
Leftists do so for the same reason they admired Ho Chi Minh and Mao Tse-tung and condemned American arms as the greatest threat to world peace during and after the Cold War. The Left 'does not know the difference between good and evil.' And that is why it is worth nothing."
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Amen. See my next post. The problem with liberals is this: they have no transcendent idea of law and morality. They recognize no God except one who is fully enclosed in the history of the world, one who could not give the Ten Commandments. They certainly cannot recognize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, One who came down from above. There is no "above" for liberals. Whatever God there is cannot speak except in the history and consciousness of the human race. Because of this denial of transcendent law, every human experience is equally valid--and equally invalid. Who can say that Muhammed's Koran is not equal to Paul's Romans? Why cannot the religious excitement of the Hindu be equal to the regeneration of John Huss? By what standard do we evaluate truth?

These nothing-people are therefore incapable of discerning the difference in the value of a life compared to another. They will not blink at the murder of innocents in the womb, but wax hysterical over the most just deaths of Saddam's most evil sons. They cannot see any difference between the rather mild humiliation of thugs and socio-paths by US Marines in military prisons in Iraq and the rape and murder houses of Saddam. The very idea of evil is a concept they reject and they reject those who think that such a concept could be valid.

But why should we be surprised? These are the same people who defended communism and the wholesale slaughter of the gangster regimes of the USSR, Cuba, Red China, North Korea in the 20th centuries, just as their political ancestors defended Hitler and racism. Why shold we trust their moral judgment now? John Kerry was not able to know if the Iraqi war was worth it until "we know how it turns out." So much for moral clarity!

Naysayers tight-lipped since success of Iraq vote - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - February 02, 2005: " Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown, who has consistently opposed Mr. Bush and the war in Iraq, wrote for yesterday's edition that 'it's hard to swallow,' but 'what if it turns out Bush was right, and we were wrong?'
The Chicago columnist wrote that he was struck by 'television coverage from Iraq that showed long lines of people risking their lives by turning out to vote, honest looks of joy on so many of their faces.'
'If it turns out Bush was right all along, this is going to require some serious penance,' Mr. Brown wrote. "
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As refreshing at it would be, and is, to hear the deafening silence from the "naysayers," after the heroic performance of the Iraqi people in the election, this quotation from Mark Brown shows the moral bankruptcy of the left.

What courage Jimmy Carter and his "Carter Center" showed by their cowardice in not going to monitor the elections, choosing rather to stay in Jordan. Those aged and crippled Iraqis who were carried to the polls had more guts than the whole bunch of carping crybabies in the blue states.

But the worst is the pragmatic ethics of Brown and the rest of his band of brothers. "If it turns out that Bush was right..." What a revelation of Brown's ethical temperature. If it works it's right. How far we have come from Patrick Henry and Nathan Hale.

Modern Pasty Henry "Give liberty unless it carries a risk of death. Then, don't bother. I won't fight for liberty unless I can be assured that I will win the battle and come out o.k."

Modern Nathan Hell: "I regret that I have only one life to give for my country. Because I have only one life, why should I give it for my country? What good will that do me? I won't be around to enjoy my country and don't enjoy it much now anyway. The war in Iraqi is for oil and what good does that do me. What a stinking world we live in."

But history does not belong to the morally bankrupt. I would rather be a Islamic fundamentalist fighting for Allah than one of this crowd that lives for nothing. Shame, shame, shame. It is better to die for something than to live for nothing.

OpinionJournal - Extra: "It's not just the terrorists who, according to His Eminence, are creating problems for Iraq: Elections in January 'will be a starting point for a new Iraq,' he says. Yet 'Western newspapers and broadcasters are simply peddling propaganda and misinformation. . . . Iraqis are happy to be having elections and are looking forward to them because they will be useful for national unity. . . . Perhaps not everything will go exactly to plan, but, with time, things will improve. Finally Iraqis will be given the chance to choose. Why is there so much noise and debate coming out from the West when before, under Saddam, there were no free elections, but no one said a thing?' "
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The Archbishop of Kirkuk gives a quite different picture of Iraq on the eve of elections. But of course, he is a Christian in Iraq, supported by the Wall Street Journal and other bastions of captalism. What would he know about democracy that the Oil for Food program, the UN, and the Germans and French don't know? They had no financial interests to support Saddam or that would make them look with nostalgia on the good old days and hope for the failure of the elections on Sunday, did they? When have the French or Germans ever sought narrow self-interest? Ask the New Republic which continues to spread gloom and doom. But of course, there is little joy is liberalism nowadays. The old liberalism of FDR, HST, and JFK has been dead a long time, and those who are left [no pun intended] are as sour as a green persimmon. Anything good that happens or could happen is a refutation of their world view, which can be summarized, "Everything stinks."

CF&P E-mail Update, January 27, 2005: "Today's update illustrates why tax competition is so important. Many of the pro-growth tax reforms around the world are taking place because nations are being compelled to compete."
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Ah, competition. What a wonderful word and concept! Instead of cussin' the multinational corporations, let them get credit they deserve for keeping taxes low. If a country raises taxes, the businesses do not build plants or offices there.

Did you notice that the formula for revitalizing businesses in the blue-state liberal east coast included a hefty chunk of tax decreases or tax incentives. Wonder why?

Signs that there is true worship taking place in the church.

1. There is a good sound system.
2. The worship leader is really hot.
3. A lot of young people attend the church.
4. You can feel the love.
5. The music is really loud.
6. There are no organs.
7. People say things like, "O yes." "uh, HUH" "Yes, Jesus"
8. People are not looking down at a hymnbook; they are looking up at a screen.
9. People have their hands raised.
10. There are guitars.
11. People have their eyes closed.
12. Only a few words are sung, and these are sung over and over.
13. People roll their eyes a lot while they are doing it.
14. The worship team is really hot.
15. People roll their eyes while looking at the screen.
16. People clap their hands while they are doing it.
17. People say things like, "O yes." "uh, HUH" "Yes, Jesus" over and over.
18. Some people clap their hands AND have their hands raised.
19. You can feel the love.
20. There are a lot of women doing it.
21. There are people who roll their eyes while they have their eyes closed.
22. People stand and sway while they are doing it.
23. Many men seem embarrassed by it. They are there because their wives won't let them go anywhere else to church.
24. The worship team is very young and sexy.
25. You can feel the love.

It just doesn't seem to be enough. Faith, I mean.

Humanistic faith is well promoted. "Ya gotta believe." "Believe in yourself." "Have confidence in your own heart." "Trust the child within." "How you live is more important than your creed." "There is no difference between obedience and faith."

Too often in the church there is fear that faith will prove to be vain or empty, or worse, irrelevant. The worse that can happen in the modern trendy church is for "faith" to become irrelevant. Christian are really up to date in these churches: they are happier, more fulfilled, make more money and even have better sex lives. What do they believe? Not that old fashioned stuff, you can be sure of that. People would no more be caught believing an old faith than they would in caught wearing bell bottom trousers.

There certainly is no doctrinal test for faith, as though it must be grounded in any idea that can pass as true. That implies an idea of what true is, and we don't want to get into THAT. We want a place where everyone can worship. Don't we?

In the Bible, the thing that matters is that faith be true faith, that is, confidence that the doctrine of Christ is true doctrine. 2John 1:9 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." But who wants to hold to dead formulas that have lost their meaning?

Certainly not the modern existentialist church. Having Jesus in your heart, or Christ in your life, or being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn't mean anything doctrinal or anything subject to a biblical test. How do you test existentialism? Existence is before thought and knowing Christ is only marginally connected to the Bible. The Bible plays a certain role, of course, but only that of introducing us to the experience that is Christ. It must not play any part in critiquing the experience, for how can thought critique experience? Didn't the blind man say it all, "Once I was blind, but now I can see." But woe to the modern "biblicist" who asks "What is it you think you see?"

So simple faith in the message of the Bible, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, with all the implications that this faith has for the Bible, for the nature of God, for eternal punishment and reward, for the nature of the church, worship, creation, office in the church, etc., is minimized in favor of an existential reading of the text. Feeling the text replaces understanding the text. Faith in experience replaces faith in the promises of God.

So, the modern church is very apologetic about the Bible, apologizing for that six day creation stuff, predestination, God's kingdom over all things and His judgment of the world, Paul's hatred for women, the Bible's paranoia about sodomy and lesbianism, and countless other stuff. Most important, the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible are the first doctrines to go because how can there be an existentialist test for THAT? The faith, therefore, of the modern church, being cut off from the root of faith, is left with a faith that is of a different genre than that taught by the Lord Jesus, who taught that Scripture cannot be broken.

But then, it would be non-existentialist to derive our doctrine of Scripture from Scripture, wouldn't it?

This sorry and impotent faith must be strengthened by making it relevant, up to date, moralistic, and robust, strengthened with man's zeal, recruiting fervor, and social concerns. A whole smorgasbord of offerings for every person's whim or desire. "Come on in," is the message and we are very careful NOT to tell folks what they are coming in to. Because the young are the most existential of any age group, these are "youth oriented" churches. "The young are the church of tomorrow," goes the slogan. Heaven forbid that we should expect them to grow up to prepare for leadership in the church! Especially if mature thought is involved.

The bible is taught everywhere, of course, but in the context of "what does this verse mean to you?" Redemption becomes transforming the culture [in the name of evangelism bringing the culture of the world into the church], worship becomes feeling the presence of God [let's all roll our eyes and clap and stomp], and preaching becomes helping everyone find his/her own "ministry," from roping horses for Jesus or motorcycle gangs for Jesus or gangsta rappin' for Jesus.

Isa. 29:8: "It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite...."

What ever happened to the relevance of repenting of your evil deeds and ungodly life-style and turning to the Living God and His Son Jesus Christ, who alone can save the soul from the fires of hell?

I wonder if John the Baptist had a satisfying sex life.

Wheat and Chaff: "Only the context of eternity can teach me the truth of what happens on earth. Trying to understand the events of this world without an eternal perspective is like using a tape measure with no numbers on it. You might know which dash the end of the board falls on, but you don't know what the dash means, or how it relates to anything else. When we measure the world without the eternal perspective, all we're left with is the judgments of man, and so we think a church with 4000 people in it is more blessed than the one with 75."
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Very good article from Son Matthew. Read the whole thing.

Dennis Prager: The case for Judeo-Christian values: Part II
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My favorite Jew has done it again. I wish a Christian had written this, but many of them are incapable of it. But many of us are saying it. Without God there is no morality, just preferences. A man who does good because it is nicer [ala Mammy Yokum] may be a man of taste, but he is not moral.

God is not confused. He knows when we are worshipping ourselves rather than Him. He is not amused, either.

George Will: Warp speed: "Dec. 26, 2004, brought another geological challenge to the biblical notion of an intervening, caring God."
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I'm sorry, Mr. Will, but you know nothing of what you speak. December 26 did nothing of the sort. What is challenged is the humanist notion [not Biblical] that God must act according to our sentimental affectations. The modern sentimental idea of God, the result of two or three centuries of unbelief and humanistic attacks on the Bible, has nothing to do with the Bible.

Isaiah gives another perspective of God: 2:17-22 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

The fact that you, Mr. George Will, do not know the God of the Bible, does not mean that the God of the Bible does not know you. What December 26 did was show the world that our sentimental and shallow view that God as a benevolent grandpa that will rush to serve up whatever we want, in spite of our denial of His Word and appointed Savior, is sadly out of tune with reality. It never was true and it isn't true now. It is humanism and humanistic sentimentality that is exposed.

How dare you, Mr. Will, attribute man's fancies to the bible and then condemn them as though they were God's word! Do you think that the heavens are blind and deaf?

Isa 24:18 "And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake."

This is the God of the Bible, the God cannot deny Himself. He is the Creator of all things and the source of all things. Do you think you can tweak His beard and He will not pay attention? Do you think that you can turn your back on His Son and His love and not experience His wrath. The fact that you do not believe in His wrath does not make it go away.

What 9/11 and 12/26 really shows us is that God has His dark angels that know nothing of grace and mercy [Ex. 12:23 and 1 Cor. 10:10]. God's love is wrapped up in Jesus Christ [Roman 5:8], and those who reject God's Beloved Son, will someday meet these other angels. They will not like it.

Amos 9:1-4 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them: And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

Hebrews 10:28-31 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The beloved of God, who believe in Christ and trust Him, did not perish in the waves, but were transported by angels into the bosom of Christ. What was a terrible calamity to others was a homegoing to them. Not so the ungodly.

But if you do not repent, you will likewise perish.

Elaine Donnelly on Women in Combat on National Review Online: "Forget feminist legends about Amazon warriors and push-button wars. The modern land-combat soldier carries weapons and high-tech equipment weighing 50 to 100 pounds, with body armor alone weighing 25 pounds. Such burdens would be disproportionately heavy for average female soldiers, who are certainly brave but shorter and lighter, with smaller hearts and bones, 25 to30 percent less aerobic capacity for endurance, and 40 to 50 percent less upper-body strength. "
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This is reality. Women do not belong in combat. The Bible forbids it, and common sense is appalled by it. Why kind of men will send their women off to war?

Dennis Prager: Better answers: The case for Judeo-Christian values: "The oft cited charge that religion has led to more wars and evil than anything else is a widely believed lie. Secular successors to Christianity have slaughtered and enslaved more people than all religions in history (though significant elements within a non-Judeo-Christian religion, Islam, slaughter and enslave today, and if not stopped in Sudan and elsewhere could match Nazism or Communism)."
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A great and sober argument from my favorite Jew, Dennis Prager, for Judeo-Christian values.

You need to read these articles from my favorite college professor.

Mike S. Adams: The abolition of tenure: "Many of those who are unfit for any job besides that of a tenured professor would be unemployed and homeless if we abolished tenure tomorrow. Without tenure, these people would not be such an irritation at work, although they would probably be just as irritating as panhandlers once their unemployment checks ran out. "
*****
Mike S. Adams: My new life difficulty grading scale: "As controversial as it may seem, my new life difficulty grading scale will help us to achieve a goal that should make all of us feel comfortable. That goal is nothing less than the destruction of the antiquated notion that people should work to overcome life's difficulties with no advanced guarantee of the outcome they desire."
*****
Mike S. Adams: My last lecture: "Dr. Adams' alarm goes off and he awakes from a pleasant dream. After a shower, two cups of coffee, and 12 more pages of Atlas Shrugged, he kisses his wife goodbye. After he blows a kiss to his Ann Coulter Action Figure, he heads out the door for another semester. To be continued..."
*****
Mike S. Adams: From each according to his need: "By implementing this plan, I will be doing my part to reverse the harmful effects of socialism upon our great nation. If others follow, we will soon see the emergence of a large gap between the needy and the achievers in our society. But if we stay the course, we will see many of our needy brothers join the class of the achievers in the future. If they do not, we can at least say that we provided them with an opportunity to achieve. We have no other obligation. "

Make sure you check out the new posts on Political Figs and Theological Figs. Use the links on the right.

Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Opinion / Op-ed / In the footsteps of FDR, Truman, JFK: "'THE SAME revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought' -- the president was speaking in Washington -- 'are still at issue around the globe: the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.'"
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The words are not the words of George W. Bush--but they could be. The words are those of John F. Kennedy in 1961. The idea that rights come from God comes from Western Christianity with touches of the enlightenment and the Reformation. In fact, without John Calvin and Geneva, the concept is unthinkable as a political foundation for a state.

Jesus said to "Ask, Seek, Knock," not from the state or church but "from your Father in Heaven." Those who do not have a Father in heaven will never get it. They can see no higher than the state.

Dennis Prager: In defense of the 'commercialism' of Christmas: "Imagine that Christmas came around, the stores put up no Christmas decorations and no one bought gifts. Would we be a better society? To me, and I suspect to most Americans, the question is rhetorical. Of course we wouldn't. Why on earth would we be a better society if Thanksgiving to Christmas were no different than a month in October or August? Not having a special time of year such as Christmas time, a major part of which is gift buying, would be an incalculable loss to society.

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Way to go, Dennis Prager, my favorite Jew!

I love Christmas, every part of it. You should read my article.

Prager again: "When you buy Christmas gifts, you bring joy to the recipients, you feel good about giving, you have spent time thinking about what the recipients would like, you keep many businesses alive, and most of all, you honor the holiday. It is incredible that all this is not obvious to everyone who cares about Christmas and about American society."

Principle as Narcissism - How President Bush gets to believe what he does about Social Security. By Timothy Noah: "Until now, Bush has seemed either too dumb or too stubborn to recognize that Social Security privatization will necessitate either hitting up taxpayers or reducing Social Security benefits. "
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Amazing! These guys think that George Bush invented Social Security and what's wrong with it is his fault. Actually, wise men said when I was a boy that Social Security was not viable and that computing the numbers shows its won't work. But Roosevelt and Democrats bought votes with it for years, and those brave enough to touch the "third rail" lost elections and disappeared from the public screen. Until now.

President Bush is a man of principle--which is "narcissism" to those who have no principles and feel good about not having any. He is also cynical about the press, perhaps, and is not going to throw any blood in the water for the sharks to feed on. Drives them crazy you know.

I suspect that private accounts for Social Security and a booming econmy will take care of the so-called cost of the small percent that will be "diverted." I dunno. I am not an ecnomist, but those guys don't have a great track record on such things. Choose your own witch doctor.

Yes, yes, I know, and I apologize to you faithful you have been returning here day after day for the past three weeks or so. The truth is, it has been a hectic time.

The wife and I travelled to Iowa to be with son Jim for Thanksgiving. It was a great time, but on the return we had to spend an extra day at North Platte [what's that?] Nebraska because of the snow. Got home Monday night and spent the week in bed with a bad case of a cold or flu or some idiot thing. Then back to Wichita, KS, to conduct the funeral of a dear friend, then back home to attend to duties at New Geneva Seminary and Trinity Covenant Church. Very busy, very hectic, no time to blog. No real end in sight until the end of January, when regular classes begin at New Geneva again.

I have taken time to read Wheat and Chaff and Dead Men's Voices. Excellent stuff. You should go to these sites every day, for intellectual and spiritual stimulation.

My good friend Reverend Gene Sawtelle from Greeley is suffering from acute back pain and Andy McIntyre has been travelling up there to fill the pulpit. Leaves us a little short here at Trinity because he teaches the adult Sunday School here. Richard Stetler has been gracious to fill in for him and has done a fine job.

Tomorrow is Christmas Sunday. I love every bit of Christmas. The Bible doesn't tell us how we are to celebrate Christmas, or even if we are to celebrate it. The New Testament warns us about holy days and such things, for they can become a snare. But it does leave us free to enjoy and have fun remembering the birth of our Savior. Christmas it not a day enjoined for worship, but it is a great family day and a great season of good cheer and happy memories. People who cannot enjoy Christmas have a great empty place in their hearts, perhaps. If you have no good memories of Christmas, where are your good memories? I have a bundle of them.

I don't worship Santa Claus, and don't know anyone who does. But, he is a jolly old elf that provides enjoyment right up there with Winnie the Pooh and Aragorn. I believe there is a real devil, and he is not much into good cheer and happiness. You are more apt to find him in a jihad than a Christmas celebration.

God bless you all. I expect to be posting to all my sites on a more regular basis over the next few days.