| October 31 2005 | A
Luther-based Christian worldview sees all in terms of 'two kingdoms' It's
rare to find the rudiments of a whole Christian worldview in a single article,
which makes the one linked significant. Veith's "two kingdoms" was superseded,
however, by Abraham Kuyper's "sphere sovereignty" over a century ago,
so it's curious that Veith and his publisher (World magazine) opt to promote
a less developed and less academically attractive matrix. Since Schaeffer's worldview
was derivative of Kuyper's, it's mysterious indeed why Veith would "leapfrog"
back over Kuyper and Calvin to attribute his framework to Luther.
October 30 2005 | Three-quarters
of rock's U2 called consistent believers in Jesus, the Bible We've
had previous links to articles about U2, but they focused primarily on Bono. This
one gives more insight in the group's other members.
October 29 2005 | Writer:
Russia's post-Communist religious resurgence far from moribund Though
Russian Orthodox try to curtail "non-traditional" sects from proselytizing,
I hope as Orthodox that they fail in that effort. There's nothing Orthodox needs
more than competition in both personal and social spiritual growth.
October 28 2005 | Court
restores another citizen's speech rights abridged by public school More
proof, as though any is needed, that "public schools" as currently constituted
are enemies of most of the "publics" they allegedly serve. If they aren't
teaching—both in word and in example—the meaning of our Constitution
and its First Amendment to our society, who is? And just what is their job?
October 27 2005 | Research
finds Americans not as taken in by 'science' as 'science' assumes Those
wonderful people who brought us the Holocaust (secular humanist "scientists")
still need to work on their public image. The fact that they are willing to misrepresent
embryonic cloning as "therapeutic" cloning to get what they want (research
buck$ and public acceptance) proves that they are of the same father as their
Third-Reich predecessors.
October 26 2005 | MIT
study claims that church attendance promotes well-being, prosperity I'm
not a suppporter of the "prosperity gospel," but we'll take good news
where ever we find it.
October 25 2005 | NY
Times gives in-depth treatment of Starbucks' use of Christian quotes If
you're looking for a better conspiracy theory than the Times presents here,
I think this is the only New York Times story I've seen online in recent
years that didn't have a Starbucks advertisement attached to it (they are "partners").
I wonder if there are some Starbucks in the United States that don't have the
New York Times on sale today? Not that I care, but I'm slightly
bemused that the NYT is perpetrating the image of Starbucks as the purveyor of
the $5 cup of coffee. Actually, a regular coffee in Starbucks is no more expensive
than its much weaker counterpart in the average restaurant, and less expensive
than the same at the "independent" coffeehouses across the street that
dispense the same from vacuum pumps.
October 24 2005 | Newsweek:
Queen of the occult Anne Rice has found God for next book Sorry
if my heading sounds a bit skeptical, but celebrity conversions have proven worthy
of some reservation. At least Dylan never (so far as I know), disavowed his earlier
conversion testimony (unlike B. J. Thomas, who did), but became very, very quiet
about it. Let's see how Rice's Jesus-at-seven book sells. And can that
premise be turned into a novel without becoming blasphemous? Just wondering.
October 23 2005 | 'Attitude
Check' school assemblies under attack as 'Christian' from ACLU The
article later gets to the real issue: "...the program speaker believes the
real issue in this dispute is not the Constitution at all; rather, he says, the
issue is that the ACLU simply does not want Christians speaking in public schools.
"They talk about separation of church and state," he says, "but it's not separation
of church and state at all. They really do have an agenda to dismantle Christianity
or any belief in God in this country." Vigneulle says the ACLU and their atheistic
supporters "don't want God in the pledge; they don't want God in our textbooks;
they want to take out our religious heritage that this country was founded on.
They want separation [between] God and country -- a secular society, one hundred
percent."
October 22 2005 | Buckley
takes on NY Times' equating of Islamic, Christian views of justice How
quickly they forget.
October 21 2005 | Students
at Scottish university vote to ban free Bibles in dormitories They
may argue that the ban isn't "anti-Christian,".but no one could argue
that it is not anti-liberal-education. The point of a university and an education
is what, again? The point of books of any kind? And on the media watch front,
what other book would you imagine being cited by name without an initial capital
letter?
October 20 2005 | Starbucks,
other companies put God-conscious quotes on packaging Three
cheers for pluralism at Starbuck's. Now if we could just get USAToday behind
it, too, and off its holier-than-thou-Christians high horse, we'd have something.
October 13 through October 19 2005 |
Vacation Gone fishing!
Hope to see you back here on Thursday, October 20. (Lord willing and the Blacklick
Creek doesn't rise.)
October 12 2005 | Post-moderns:
Australian children know little about Jesus, less of the Bible The
schools director added: Through
their primary schooling, they learn bits and pieces but with little continuity
of understanding they get Jesus and Moses all mixed up. If their understanding
of literacy and mathematics were as disjointed as their religious beliefs, then
they would be illiterate and innumerate.
Not sure I've
encountered "innumerate" before, but I like it.
October 11 2005 | Christians
in UK rally in opposition to planned religious hatred law
Rule of thumb on any legislation: No bill that has the words "likely to" do anything
should be roundly defeated. The problem with such well-intentioned but bleeding-heart
legislation is that its enforcement is entirely subjective. It is effectively
turning the state into a police state, asking the police to choose their enemies
and throw them in jail. Not a good idea. This is the apex that a century
of liberalism has attained?
October 10 2005 | Madonna
under fire from rabbis who are unhappy with one of her songs
Big deal? Admittedly...a slow news day. It's about time to take a vacation.
October 9 2005 | PETA
takes on God and various organized religions in recent campaigns
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things,
even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is,
its blood. Genesis 9:3-4
Everyone
conversant with Judaism knows that eating the Passover Lamb was a sacred annual
obligation (Mark 14:12), so to claim that Jesus was a vegetarian is either an
outright lie or someone has been misled. Furthermore a major teaching of the New
Testament is a detailed account of how the new Christian church was told that
former restrictions on some kinds of animals (considered "unclean" in
Judaism) no longer pertained to them (Acts 10).
October 8 2005 | Uproar
at Dartmouth College over student leader's citing Jesus in speech
Hasn't anyone from the younger generation (other than Noah Riner) heard of the
First Amendment? How about Academic Freedom? Free exchange of ideas? Discourse?
October 7 2005 | Marvin
Olasky: Miers' nomination is classic Bush, a paradigm changer
This article represents the best original thinking on the conservative ambivalence
on Harriet Miers' nomination that I've seen. I hope it's on the mark, but only
time will tell. And I wouldn't be surpirsed if it were the case that even Miers
doesn't know what kind of judge she will be.
October 6 2005 | Disney
adaptation of C.S. Lewis novel may stand or fall over four sentences
Since we're still waiting for Disney's "verdict," the main significance here is
Time's level of keen interest in the movie and its potential appeal to
Christian audiences.
October 5 2005 | Evidence
from Canada that Clinton's lifestyle has changed teens' morality
Did someone say character counts? It's always been my contention,
based on Old Testament history, that the main qualification for national leaders
is ability to demonstrate moral leadership. Everything else is just politics.
October 4 2005 | Mattingly:
new use of language makes Jerry Falwell defender of 'gay rights'
I find it hard to believe Falwell meant what Mel White is claiming, but the words
and the refusal of Falwell's spokesman to retract or reinterpret them, are hard
to dispute. Calling homosexuals a class under civil rights law, based on sexual
preferences, behaviors, or even genetic predisposition (which isn't proven but
is often claimed) is a step short of buying the whole gay agenda. Does Falwell
mean that landlords have to rent to all applicants without considering their sexual
activities or proclivities? If not, some clarification is in order. If so, it
is certainly a new departure for the founder of the Moral Majority.
October 3 2005 | Guardian
columnist: indifferent tolerance has replaced love for neighbors
Some interesting point that apply to post-moderns everywhere, not just in Britain.
And I go a step farther than Jurgen
Habermas. Though I'm no expert here, my inclination is that Europe should,
1. acknowledge its Christian heritage in its Constitution and, 2. Invite Turkey
to join the Union providing that isn't too upsetting for Turkish Muslim sensibilities.
It is, after all, just a recognition of historical fact, not a confession of faith
or setting any future course. And as a wouldbe tourist to the Agia Sophia, at
least it would be "European" if not Christian again in my scenario.
October 2 2005 | Professor
surveys differences in Christians in academe, Christian academics
An excellent talk on one of my favorite topics. Very well argued...but the critique
by the respondent "huntly" also deserves consideration.
October 1 2005 | Russian
Orthodox bishop appeals for Catholic-Orthodox alliance for Europe
Of all the East-West ecumenical proposals I've seen since becoming Orthodox, this
one strikes me as the most worthwhile and promising.
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