Please
let us know any ideas you have for how
to improve the service. May 31 2005 | Columnist
Jane Eisner sees Rick Warren as the future of church—and politics More
questions are raised here by columnist Eisner than she answers. How does Pastor
Warren's programs for the poor and disease differ from those of evangelical broadcaster
Pat Robertson, for example, or World Vision? What could he have said about gay
choice as a lifestyle that may be less "dignified" than the truth of
that, which can be amply seen by spending five minutes on a Google search of the
words "gay sex"? What deep theological divides exist between Protestants
and Catholics that go beyond the "little" that Warren admits? Having
studied the Catholic catechism rather thoroughly and being steeped in Protestant
and Orthodox history and doctrine, I found "only" eight substantial
parts of departure that all three groups are unable at this time to reconcile.
Yes, they are profound (led by the absolute authority of the Pope over the church),
but in number they are "little," and in history these gaps have not
had the divisive effect they now do. What political insight does she extrapolate
from what she knows of Warren, but only hints at? And why only hint? The headline
promises an article delving another take on Christian influence in politics, but
it fails to delve. Unfortunately, Jane Eisner's article is a thought-provoking
introduction to a substantive study, but falls short of being that. It is of value
for bringing into focus how Rick Warren is being seen "outside" and
perhaps as a precursor of other looks at him to come.
May 30 2005 | Would
the Pope accept a smaller Catholic church to preserve orthodoxy? The
answer is that there's no proof that defending orthodoxy creates lessened devotion—or
numbers—among believers. And the opposite has lots of evidence. All of the
Protestant denominations that have promoted heterodoxy at the expense of orthodoxy
have atrophied; many of those that make the good fight for the fundamental faith
are thriving.
May 29 2005 | Label
'conservative Christian' used to avoid moral debate in stem cell issue This
article was linked as it provides rare insight into the stem-cell research debate
(and the refusal to debate). Writer Charen captures the heart of it all: "denying
the humanity of others is at the root of countless atrocities in human history."
May 28 2005 | Jewish
traditionalist says Jewish leaders of Jesus' time wanted Him executed This
is the second article we've linked discussing David
Klinghoffer's book. Here's the first.
I still find it bemusing that many, apparently, take it for granted that Christians
will be offended to learn that Jews are not Christian. That, I'd think, wouild
be the quintessential no-brainer.
May 27 2005 | 1.5
million Protestants march for Jesus in world's largest Catholic country "The
purpose of this march...is to conquer Brazil for Jesus Christ"? Wait
till the liberals get wind of this!
May 26 2005 | Christian education
is making a difference in British boys, research finds Anecdotal
evidence has often made me wonder if Christian education is making a difference,
so it's reassuring to have at least one scientific confirmation that it is.
May 25 2005 | Children
becoming scarce 'commodities' in most-progressive San Francisco A
big surprise that America's most "European" city also shares one of
Europe's latest distinctions: inability to replace its population (without depending
on immigration from outside)?
May 24 2005 | How
the moral moorings of ‘classic liberalism’ were eclipsed in the 1960s An
explanation of the loss of classic morality in classic liberalism has been long
needed. In a word, of course, it is “abortion,” or to make it three, “acceptance
of abortion.” That was the nadir of the moral revolution and the sexual revolution
that characterized the ’60s decade.
May 23 2005 | NY
Times writers discover that evangelicalism is invading Eastern elite Two
basically unrelated comments: 1. With the anti-Christian mass media the
bottom line is always the bottom line. But it would be a mistake to think their
objectivity can be bought or their bias bought off. (As the Pennsylvania DUI warning
signs say: You Can't Afford It.) 2. Earth to Goodstein and Kirkpatrick:
"Your buddies at Time Magazine discovered Francis Schaeffer in 1960!"
What's the relationship to that and this? I could tell you but you'd be much more
enlightented by letting a Google search fill in the blanks. Even better, I bet
you can afford LexisNexis and that would probably be faster at separating the
wheat from the chaff. And BTW, before she became part of the Bush Administration,
Dr. Condoleezza Rice was an evangelical with a high-paying high-echelon job in
one of America's top ten universities (Stanford) and an active member in an evangelical
church just off that campus that's chockablock with evangelical scholars. And
here's news for you: it has been for decades!
May 22 2005 | US
News: 'An aggressive secularism is sweeping Europe' (much like here) Spiritual
bordom...leads to dwindling population rates. Profound observation. This
is the second lead article I've linked that was inspired by Weigel's book, which
we linked on our front page. But I'm also intrigued by the thesis of Mark Lilla
who "argues...in his forthcoming book, The Stillborn God, that Europe
is experiencing the aftereffects of the failure of the liberal theology that took
shape in the 19th century." This whole article confirms many of the
themes that get played often here. But especially resonant is the concluding thought:
"Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace, fought hard but unsuccessfully for mention of Christianity
in the EU constitution. He is still troubled by the Buttiglione affair and by
the Spanish parliament's moves toward legalizing gay marriage. But standing in
the Vatican on a recent spring day, Martino asked: 'Those Roman emperors who wanted
to get rid of us, where are they today? And Napoleon, he didn't like us either.
And where is Napoleon today?'" It also puts a finger on why this page may
seem to cover European news as an extension of our parochial American socio-politics
(more pointedly, as a bellwether of what the Democrats will be doing next): "In
Weigel's view, American high culture is vulnerable to the same kind of spiritual
and philosophical amnesia that he believes has afflicted Europe."
May 21 2005 | American
media attacks on Christianity haven't fueled riots in 'Bible Belt' Brent
Bozell's points are well taken. My opinion is that if anything has alienated
the toleration and goodwill of American moderates toward the Islamic world it
has been the mass reactions to this "atrocity" everywhere from Pakistan
to the American Embassy in London. The very reaction is strong evidence, I believe,
that Islam practices conversion through coercion, not persuasion. Otherwise, their
concern would be more about the "infidels" who would disrespect a sacred
symbol than the paper and type that constitutes their holy writ.
May 20 2005 | Big
protests at Calvin College against graduation speech by President Bush The
“Calvin College’s
claims to fame” sidebar, provided to the Detroit Press by the
college media relations officer, noticeably omits reference to filmmaker Paul
Schrader, probably a more famous alum than the president of some airline (or for
that matter, any airline). Schrader, in turn, however, is most famous for writing
the screenplay for the blasphemous Last Temptation of Christ. But some
(I) would say he balances that out by also being the writer and director of Hardcore,
a hardcore-Calvinist "Prodigal Son" redemption tale. Of course
these Calvin College protests don’t represent the majority of the Calvin College
community, which for my money is atop the ladder of Christian higher education
institutions in the United States. Admittedly, I’d probably not be impressed enough
by this story to discuss it, were it not for the fact that Calvin would have been
near the top of the college list I would have made for my own children had I been
a position to make such a choice. But the protests give proof to the oft-voiced
speculation that at least a lot of these “Dutch-Americans” are more Dutch than
Americans. It’s one thing to disagree on a President’s foreign policy and another
to demonstrate disrespect for him after his landslide election, which has been
shown to have been an even bigger landslide in the general Christian and, for
that matter, American religious community. You’d think the President had come
out for abortion or some other sin. (The Heidelberg Catechism doesn't mention
war, but defines peace-loving as referring to loving our neighbors. And how could
we as a nation better love our neighbors than to remove the oppressive dictator/despot
Saddam Hussein from their necks?) Can you say “tilting leftward”? This
seems like a retreat from the Christian worldview that Calvin College should rightfully
be famous for, toward sophomoric and unbilical secularist liberalism. And
by the way, neither is the President of the United States, when he's your graduation
speaker, a Republican or a Democrat.
May 19 2005 | Massachusetts
liberals and gays provide porn to schoolchildren It's
a conspiracy to sexualize children disguised as an anti-AIDS campaign and if it
is not successfully opposed through the law and shut down, it will have a more
deleterious effect on American culture than Playboy and all the R-rated
movies Hollywood has ever released. To
reflect that this has been perpetrated by government agents in one of the places
where some of our nation's first schools were established to teach children to
read the Bible, is a national tragedy. Yet
one of the most vociferous claims of gay movement leaders has been that they have
no interest in recruiting among the young. Or that they're any more likely to
abuse children. This
is child abuse, plain and simple, more brazen but no less calculated to recruit
the young than the evil designs of depraved priests and youth ministers. Lord
have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy. UPDATE!
Stephen Bednnett Ministries, which originally broke this story, reports at c.
10 p.m. PDT Wednesday: The Fenway Community Health Center
in Boston has admitted to the distribution of the pornographic homosexual literature
-- and has apologized. SBM worked hand in hand with several major individuals
and organizations to bring the truth to light about "The Little Black Book." Apologies
have been issued by most of the organizations and can be read on SBM's website:
http://stephenbennett.blogspot.com/
. Note: Though this confession lets off the educational agencies suspected
of being behind the distribution, the Fenway Health Center is undoubtedly liberal
in politics and humanist in its philosophy, and the literature is still produced
by gay organizations (albeit probably not for children to see). This mitigates
some of the sentiments expressed above, but only partially.
May 18 2005 | Pat
Buchanan waxes philosophical on how conservatism has failed Lots
of good insight here. But I don’t share Mr. Buchanan’s unbounded optimism. I
think, too, there's a bit of inconsistency in his claim that the social, cultural,
"conservatism" is what really counts, but that President Bush is not
a conservative because he's "liberal" (compared with Buchanan) on immigration
policy and several other issues.
May 17 2005 | Columnist
John Leo: Washington Post is still out to get ‘yahoo’ Christians Ironic
coincidence? This is the same “journalism” corporation which (through its Newsweek
subsidiary) has inflamed rioting throughout the Muslim world over it’s admittedly
false reports about desecration of Islamic scriptures. Isn’t
it? (Of
course I don’t think it's coincidence. These “journalists” have all been trained
from the same perspective in the same cookie-cutter university j-schools and subsequently
mentored by editors with the same biases. The only coincidence is that both of
these outrages have occurred within the WashPost orbit; it could have occurred
in any unthinking so-called liberal-biased journalism organization.) Not
just coincidentally, either, I think, is that this John Leo column, which is excellent,
appears in US News and World Report. Oh,
and the "still" in my headline refers to the anti-Christian outrage
the Post is most famous (and unforgettable) for: a 1993 "news"
story that called followers of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson "largely poor,
uneducated and easy to command." (The Post did, reportedly, issue a retraction.)
May 16 2005 | AP's
75-minute interview with Dr. James Dobson nets 35-line, 533-word story And
out of those 533 words only 121 are directly attributed to Dr. Dobson, leaving
411 to make the writer's case against him, with the help of "Catholic"
Senator Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who (the "journalist wants you not to foget)
called Dobson the “antichrist” and said he was trying to “hijack Christianity.”
One might wonder
if the whole purpose of this 75-minute interview and its being mentioned in some
of Sunday's papers was to provide an opportunity to rehash the pro-abortion party's
charges against the good doctor.
May 15 2005 | Rumors
that Jane Fonda has become a Christian seem exaggerated But
maybe she's on the way. The
"other gospels" and the gnostics who wrote them were labelled heretical
by the first generation of Christians and, as they resurfaced for several more
generations, were subsequently identified as false cult leaders and their writings
untrue and damning doctrines, so being a "Christian" rooted in the gnostic
tradition is to be less than Christian. Still
the quotations attributed to Ms Fonda show an unexpected openness and willingness
to take a fresh approach compared to the Jane Fonda we expected to find. Maybe
something is moving in her and we should wait and see (and pray).
May 14 2005 | Radio
host, former evangelical, 'prophesying' that the church age is over From
evangelical to cult "leader"....make that "misleader." ...we
have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines
in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God [who] spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2
Peter 1:19-21)
May 13 2005 | Mother
sues school that wouldn't let her read child's favorite book to class You
know what the fascist-liberal establishment thinks. "Me" as in "me
week" applies only to interesting people like racila, ethnic, and sexual
"minorities." They already know more than they want to about people
who find the Bible worth reading, thank you. "Fascist"
of course pertains to anyone who believes we must be a unitary society rather
than a cultural-ideal pluralistic one.
May 12 2005 | Dennis
Prager: three reasons secular Jews gravitate to ideologies of the left As
usual, Dennis Prager has amazing and
helpful insights and the gifts to express them.
May 11 2005 | Oregonian
columnist: evangelicals share mainstream values, not extremism Am
I missing out on dialog by consistently calling liberals—at least that “minority*”
among them who oppose pluralizing public education by allowing teaching more than
one view of origins and who disallow vouchers being used at any accredited school—fascists?
Foisting and forcing their views on everyone who refuses to tow their line—fascists?
I
don’t think so. But
if anyone wanted to dialog I’d be willing to hold my "tongue" long enough
to see what that’s like. *99
percent or so by best estimate
May 10 2005 | CBS
News' summation of Pope Benedict XVI: 'whacks dissent, gay rights' What's
most significant here, though hardly breaking news,
is the attitude CBS exhibits of being in the judment seat of the Catholic Church.
The arrogance of the fascistic "liberal" press never diminishes.
May 9 2005 | The
Left's inhumanity credited for the conversion of a once-'radical son' If
the violent death of one innocent bystander
had such a profound effect on one once-radical son, how should the deaths of 30
million immocent infants at the hands of the pro-abortion American Left affect
the rest of us? Lord
have mercy.
May 8 2005 | Judge
says Maryland school sex ed course prefers liberal 'religions' Most
informed people
would call Quakers and Baptists denominations of the Protestant religion, not
faiths in themselves, but far be it from me to quibble. (This may, however, be
a commentary on the assumption of the journalism "profession" that no
expertise about the subject of religion is required to write about it, because
real people could care less. Just a thought. Here's a headline for the AP: "Daily
newspaper circulations are down all over the United States.") This
is a follow-up on our lead story of May 4.
May 7 2005 | Campaign already
underway to make 'sex work' a legitimate profession Legal
polygamy, legal
prostitution, government programs to help "sex workers,"...those are
the dominoes that are waiting to fall in the months ahead.
May 6 2005 | Pop-culture
items trying to help—and/or exploit?—youth purity movement I
have a mixed review for
this phenomenon. It will hurt some who'll find it crass and some who in exploiting
it for their own enriching will lose their souls, and it will help some whose
attention will be caught by something they'll find in this consumer bin who otherwise
wouldn't have been reached. It will help some play with keeping chaste and some
of those may find their way to real holiness. Meanwhile,
here is a related story about new popularity for "Christian-theme
apparel."
May 5 2005 | 'By
its very nature, something is secular when it denies existence of God' As
always, a cogent and thorough presentation
of the issue by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
May 4 2005 | Parents
sue to block 'pro-gay' sex-education classes in Maryland school Though
I support the parents' objectives in opposing the curriculum aimed at sexualizing
their children, I have to offer a slight demurral from their spokesman's overly
optimistic declaration that "radical homosexual advocacy groups...only agenda
is to promote their political goals without respect to the consequences."
On the contrary, they have more on their agenda than winning "civil rights"
for gays. They believe
that if they can sexualize our children early and radically—with the all-too-handy
complicity of the so-called public schools—Christianity will fade here as
it has in most of Europe in the wake of that continent's relatively radical sexualization:
acceptance of "variations," in sexual "behaviors" and lifestyles
generations before they were commonly spoken of and written of widely in this
country. Condom
use may slow the rate of new cases of AIDS, but more important than that almost
incidental goal,
to the anti-Christian sexual radicals,
is the fact that the more widespread use of condoms earlier and earlier in our
children's maturation cycle is the surest and fastest way the left can hope to
win the culture war.
May 3 2005 | A
liberal columnist surveys 'why the left became hostile to religion' The
first time I encountered Tony Campolo, years ago, I was what they used to call
"jazzed." A hip, sharp seemingly serious and orthodox Christian with something
to say about everything in the culture and say it with humor and insight. But
the last time I saw him I was disheartened. He had turned into a shill for the
left, it seemed. How does any real Christian talk about politics without saying
something about the reign of death American leftist politics has wrought in our
midst through abortion? I don't know. I really want to know. Does it mean
nothing to the Tony Campolos that Bill Clinton reigned over the deaths of 9 million
unborn infants (a conservative estimate) during his administration without, not
only raising a voice against it, but actually raising his voice in behalf of its
being "strengthened" and shored up? I don't know the answer and I would like to. But
moving on...what Campolo says here has a surprising and strong core of truth,
I think. "Liberals...heard professors who made fun of the Bible, made fun of religious
faith and they thought that was cool." But that still doesn't explain Campolo's
seeming feeling "called" to save, revive, the Democratic left, and in doing so
save and shore up its reign of death. The
question ought to be, "do we want a Democratic party that 'seems' more amenable
to humanistic and Christian values, but is the same leftist tissue of anti-life
lies, or does it make more sense to tell the truth about their disdain for faith
and "people of faith," the way people like Al Gore, Howard Dean, Bill
Maher, Robert B. Reich, Bill Moyer, et al, have been doing? I lean toward
the second answer.
May 2 2005 | Professor
Domke: 'George W. Bush and the gospel of freedom and liberty' This
lengthy article has so many sound insights
that its turning into an apologetic for gay marriage came as quite a surprise.
Still, anyone who's paying attention knows that writers who refer to "this
president" and "this administration" are speaking from the left,
not the middle, so I knew it would take a turn somewhere. As
for his claim that "this president's" administration opposes the right
of homosexuals "the right to enter into a state-sanctioned marriage"
is absurd. Homosexuals enter into legal marriages every week in the United States
and have always done so with complete blessing and duly issues licenses of the
state. The rub, of course, comes in how marriage is defined. In every civilization
in recorded history, that has been between a male and a female, and so it is in
this country and always has been and, if the right prevails, always will be. Licensed
sodomy has never been approved in any civilization and, please God, a couple of
European backwaters notwithstanding, never will. As for rights for enemy combatants
equal
to those of law-abiding citizens,
no civilization as ever guaranteed that in the past and cannot in any sensible
world.
May 1 2005 | Unbelievers'
hysteria about 'US theocracy' seen as reaching a fever pitch What
could be more fascistic than to propose, as Dowd does, that those who disagree
with her have to be silenced ("a
person’s relationship with God should remain a private matter")?
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