September 27, 2008
Ligonier West Coast Conference - R.C. Sproul - II
The last message of the conference was given by Dr. R.C. Sproul. He began by announcing a pop quiz. We were each to privately answer the question: What is the Gospel? [That happened to also be the title of Dr. Sproul's message.] He read to us from Romans 1, culminating in verses 16-17. Then R.C. took us over to Galatians 1:6ff. Paul was "set apart" (vs. 15) unto the gospel of God. The gospel is a message that is authored and owned by God.
THREE USES OF THE WORD GOSPEL
How should we understand the word "gospel". There are three uses:
1. The word "gospel" is used to describe a literary genre. (As in the "four gospels" in the New Testament.)
2. A word to describe the kingdom of God in its present state. "The gospel (the good news" of the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God has come in the first Advent of Christ. This is what John the Baptist announced, necessitating that the Jews of that day repent and be baptized. John noted that the kingdom of God is "at hand." The "ax is laid at the root of the tree." One more chop and it is going down. Then he saw Jesus coming to be baptized and identified Him: "He must increase, and I must decrease." Jesus tells people about the characteristics of the kingdom of God. (Even though in another sense, God has been King since eternity past.)
We sometimes pay little attention to the Ascension. But that was a kingly coronation. It was good for the disciples that Jesus left. Jesus is reigning right now. He bears invisible witness in the lives of His people.
But we see in the New Testament that this "gospel of the kingdom" is now the "gospel of Jesus Christ."
The gospel has an objective content at its inner core with a subjective element around that inner core.
3. The gospel is the good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We do not want to denigrate personal testimony, but our personal testimony is not the gospel. The gospel includes the affirmation that Jesus is the Christ. Part of the gospel is the good news of a mediator who has come on our behalf. But not only are we excited about this God-man who has come, we recognize that He was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). No gospel without resurrection. The gospel is about who Jesus is and what Jesus did. We have to tell people who Jesus is (in His person) and what Jesus did (in His work).
THE POWER OF GOD IS IN THE GOSPEL OF GOD
Sadly, we often look for power everywhere but where God has placed it. We look for it in elaborate programs. But we are powerless to bring others to faith. We can generate professions of faith, but these do not guarantee the possession of faith. Only God can generate conversions.
And the good news is that in spite of the fact that although we are unable to live up to God's standards, we can receive the righteousness of Christ by faith. This simple, clear message, unfortunately, has been altered and "enhance" in every generation over the last few hundred years. It went totally into eclipse in the Middle Ages.
CONCLUSION
Paul is rightly consternated over the fact that the Galatians were wandering away from the path God has delineated. Paul was not seeking to please man. If he was, he would not be a servant of Christ. Don't ever turn the good news into bad news, because it is God's gospel.
Ligonier West Coast Conference - Ligon Duncan - II
THREE REASONS TO BE INFORMED ABOUT POSTMODERNISM
The topic of Dr. Duncan's second message was Should the Church Embrace Postmodernism? Dr. Duncan gave us three reasons why we should study postmodernism (though he noted the church ought not to embrace it).
1. It is pervasive in our culture today. We need to know what is out there.
2. If someone truly embraces the tenants of postmodernism, it makes it more difficult to hear the claims of Christ that are being addressed in the gospel. For believers that dabble in the ethos of postmodernism, it weakens their discipleship at critical points.
3. Many church leaders today believe that in order to speak into a postmodern milieu, the church needs to itself embrace aspects of postmodernism.
DEFINING POSTMODERNISM
One of the main features of postmodernism is a commitment to a relativistic stance toward truth claims. Something can be true for you, but not for me. Truth is socially constructed. As Christians, we have to be careful to note that we have a message that is both true and relevant.
DESCRIBING POSTMODERNISM
Let's try to understand postmodernism in contrast to modernism. Modernism believes in rational, scientific, and logical means for knowing the world. Postmodernism is skeptical about these three means for knowing. Modernism is optimistic that we can understand the world around us. Postmodernism is pessimistic about such a large-scale endeavor. For modernism, there is absolute truth that can be determined by rational inquiry. But for postmodernists, truth is socially constructed. For modernists, humans are physical machines; spirituality is not real. Postmodernists see this as incomplete: they are very open to spirituality (as long as there are no absolute truth claims). For modernists, humans are progressing through science and reason. For postmodernism, progress is a way to justify the domination of European culture over other cultures. It is a tool for exploitation. In modernism, history is a narrative of what happened (from a point of view and ideological vantage point). In postmodernism, history is all a power-play to present the interpretation of one group for their own purposes.
SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERNISM
Postmodernism is an ethos and a mood as much as it is a worldview. It tends to be a reaction to a worldview. Or a taking of a worldview to a logical extreme. Jim Sire gives us seven helpful points for understanding postmodernism. These can be found in his chapter The Vanished Horizon in the latest copy of his book The Universe Next Door.
1. The first question that postmodernism addresses is not "what is out there" (ontology) nor "how do we know what is and exists" (epistemology). Rather, it asks how language functions to construct meaning. Truth is a social construct.
[Sidebar: Deconstructionism is an outgrowth of this. Postmodernists think that texts do not inherently have meaning (authorial intention), but rather that in our interaction with texts, we derive at "the meaning." Because, for them, seeking to know the truth about a text is a power game. Being able to define terms is about gaining and asserting power over others.]
2. The death of truth. Truth is forever hidden from us; we can only tell stories.
3. Stories give communities their cohesive character.
Some say "We like postmodernism because of its emphasis on stories." But in response, was there ever a time when people did not like stories? Liking stories is not postmodern, it is human. What is different is that postmodernism says "It is about the story; it does not matter if the story is factually and historically correct." Historic Christianity says, "Oh no, if the story is not true, then it is not helpful." But postmodernists resist "meta-narratives" (large explanations for stories, or over-arching truth claims). In light of this, we need to remember that we believe Christianity not because it is likable (though it is), but because it is true.
4. Language is power. (I define things, and use them against you.)
5. There is a death of self. Existentialism is a step toward postmodernism.
6. Postmodernism is about being good without God. Being good has to do with morality, which is a social construct. They are unable to make any firm truth claims. (Rejoinder: But what about Germany in WWII days?)
7. Postmodernism is constantly in flux.
WAYS THAT POSTMODERNISM, IF EMBRACED, WOULD IMPACT CHRISTIANITY
1. Would assert that all religions boil down to the same thing (since we cannot make absolute truth claims, all theologies must be alike).
2. All truths are relative. [Many young people are reluctant to believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation for everyone.]
[See Chris Chrisman Goes to College: And Faces the Challenges of Relativism, Individualism and Pluralism
3. All religious systems followed sincerely will lead to the same end.
4. No religious assertions can claim to be absolutely true. All are subject to revision.
5 . Making truth claims are about attempts to impose our assertions are others.
6. Religious truths are important only in so far as they help everyone to live in harmony. If you hold some idea to be true that preferentially favors one group over others, watch out. For example, if you think that homosexuality is immoral, that is divisive and unhelpful.
I CORINTHIANS 1
Notice that I Corinthians 1 is set in a multicultural setting (Jews and Greeks). One group wanted signs and thought a crucified Messiah was weak. The other group wanted wisdom and through a crucified Savior was foolish. But Paul proclaimed Christ as the power and the wisdom of God. We need to remember that we do not get our marching orders from the culture. We should want to understand our culture, but we need to speak the truth to our culture.
Ligonier West Coast Conference - Q&A Session II
DOES RESPONSIBILITY EQUAL ABILITY?
One asked: "How can man be responsible to believe in Jesus Christ if he is not able to do so?"
The response was that man is unable to believe in Christ, but he is responsible for that inability. The command that people repent and believe remains. Dr. Duncan referred us to Martin Luther's The Bondage of The Will. Also, see the objection that Paul anticipates in Romans 9.
CAN CALVINISTS AND ARMINIANS FELLOWSHIP IN A LOCAL CHURCH?
Another asked how we can maintain fellowship with Arminians in a local church setting. Dr. Duncan responded that we ought to adorn our doctrine with love and grace, but we ought not to equivocate on what we believe. Dr. Sproul noted that historically the Calvinism-Arminianism debate has been understood as an "intramural" debate--a debate among fellow Christians. But extreme forms (like open theism) preclude fellowship. If someone wants to join a Calvinistic church and wants to simultaneously spread the word that Calvinists are "heratics", that person will disturb the peace of that church. Such a situation should be avoided. But many Arminians, Dr. Sproul noted, are well-intentioned in their attempts to reconcile human volition and divine sovereignty.
CLASSICAL APOLOGETICS UNPOPULAR AMONG REFORMED CHRISTIANS?
Sproul acknowledged that presuppositional apologetics is the majority report, but he is not sure why. Presuppositional apologetics is "easier" and requires "less thought", since it allows us to simply tell the non-Christian that he has the "wrong presuppositions" (and that he needs to start with the presupposition that God exists, etc.). Both Ligon Duncan and R.C. Sproul hold to classical apologetics view (as did Hodge, Warfield, and many others).
DOUBLE PREDESTINATION
Sproul rejected the "equal ultimacy" view (whereby God symmetrically acts in the lives of both the elect and the reprobate--actively softening the elect and actively hardening the reprobate). Rather, God positively (actively) intervenes in the life of the elect. However, he leaves the reprobate (passively) to their own devices. Double predestination is asymmetrical. He does not create fresh evil in the hearts of the reprobate. They are already sinful and heading away from God. They need no assistance in doing so.
EVANGELISM
A woman noted that as an Arminian evangelizing was easier and simpler. Now, as a Calvinist, she feels that she has a ton to say to a non-Christian, and she doesn't know how to condense it into a brief word.
Dr. Sproul responded that in a brief period of time we can talk to people about the holiness of God, and (hence) our unholiness, and (hence) our manifest need for a Savior. Also, the apostles in Acts give us a great model for evangelism. John MacArthur spoke of the thief on the cross, the only person to whom Jesus granted assurance of salvation. That man, in a relatively short period of time acknowledged Jesus was going to outlive the crucifixion, enter a kingdom, and that he was going to face judgment. He had a lot of sound theology. John suggested we first go after the sin issue and then the offer of forgiveness in Christ. Evangelistically, we should look for those in whom God is doing a work of conviction regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment.
DEALING WITH MORMONS
Go after the works issue (salvation by works -- at least to the "highest levels of heaven"), go after the polytheism issue. They are anything but Christians. Duncan noted that they "play it both ways": they teach that evangelical Christians have corrupt teaching and that they (Mormons) alone have the "true teaching," but then they turn around and want to give every appearance of being just like evangelicals.
SAVED THROUGH CHILD-BEARING? (I TIM 2:15)
Dr. MacArthur noted that women are "saved" from any stigma that comes from society in their (God-honoring) decision to invest in the lives of their young children.
LIMITED ATONEMENT
The issue is what was God's intention in sending His son to die for sinners? Was God's desire to make salvation possible for everyone, but guaranteed for nobody? Or was it to guarantee the salvation of the elect? So the death of Christ is sufficient for every person to be saved, but it is efficient (effective) for the salvation of the elect [and the latter was God's intention].
John pointed to the verse "Savior of all, especially those who believe." God is a Savior at heart. He grants common grace for the non-Christian. He preserves lives. He tells Adam "on the day you eat, you shall surely die" --- but then allows Adam to live 900 years. [If "savior" is eternal in this verse, then you have universalism in the first half of the verse, and you cannot explain the second.]
BIRTH CONTROL
Is it OK? Sproul noted that some forms of birth control are abortive, and these are not OK. Beyond that, Sproul noted that he (personally) is concerned with a pro-birth control mentality which says "children are a burden, we do not welcome them." So he is uncomfortable with its widespread use (even in its conception-prevention forms). John noted that when God gave women a cycle whereby they can only conceive children at certain times each month, He was granting us a measure of control over how many children to have. And it is a decision that couples need to make together before the Lord.
Ligonier West Coast Conference - John MacArthur - II
After singing six verses of The Church's One Foundation, Dr. John MacArthur gave a message on the question Is Jesus the Only Way? John noted that, in our day, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ is not an obvious truth for many professing evangelicals. When he began his ministry, John had not anticipated such an attack on the gospel from within the church itself.
Today, an ambiguous gospel is being promoted by many. But we cannot get this issue wrong without eternal consequences. True Christians have always believed that unless you hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ you cannot be saved.
PAUL REGARDED JEWS AS LOST APART FROM FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
John had us open to Romans 10. John wants to show us this morning what the Bible says about any other path of "salvation." In Rom 10:1, Paul notes that his prayer and longing for ethnic Israel is that they be "saved." Such language assumes that they were not, presently, saved. Yet some today (e.g., John Hagee) have the audacity to say that Jews in our day can be saved in some other way than faith in Jesus Christ. But Jesus himself viewed the nation of Israel as apostate--even though they read and taught from the Old Testament. They had a "zeal for God but not according to knowledge."
The Jews thought God was less righteous than He really was, and that they were more righteous than they really were, so "being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness" (Rom. 10:2). But the only way we will ever be righteous is through the One who satisfied the law perfectly. And this righteousness is available for everyone who believes.
Later in Romans 10 Paul makes clear that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be heard if it is to be believed, and must be believed if one is to be saved. This "ambiguous" gospel today is an assault on those who gave their lives for the true gospel. Was all this loss of life unnecessary? A waste? Ironically, in this day when we have greater means than ever to spread the gospel all over the world, in many circles we have less interest in doing that because we think that people are going to be OK even without hearing the gospel. This is an embarrassment. But it is being defended by various theologies. Such as:
NATURAL THEOLOGY
Man can discover the existence, nature, and attributes of God by human reason. Human reason can understand cause-effect, and will ultimately trace things back to their source. (All this is true, from Romans 1). But then they go further and say that man can understand enough about God to come to Him and be saved without special revelation.
An example of inclusivism being rampant in our day is the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope recently taught that people can be saved by living good lives, regardless of whether they profess Christ and join the Catholic Church. In addition, Dr. MacArthur quoted from an interview between Billy Graham and Robert Schuller in which these men discussed "members of the body of Christ who are outside the church and have never heard of Jesus Christ....they respond to the light they have and live a very different life than those around them."
Sometimes this kind of thinking is called "wider mercy." We are to look to other religions to find out "what God is is doing there." We should "humbly" recognize that God "got to them before we did." But this is preposterous in light of the clear teaching of Scripture (e.g., John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Yet some today (e.g., Clark Pinnock) teach that the majority of the world is saved through other means (e.g., Hindus saved within Hinduism). Others teach that God looks upon them as having lived "in an Old Testament era," and then saves them apart from Christ.
ROMANS 1
Yes, man can know certain things about God (e.g., His power) from general revelation, but this knowledge is insufficient to save--it is only sufficient to damn. What man does with this knowledge (because he is dead in sin, Eph. 2:1) is suppress it in unrighteousness. The information is enough to damn (be "without excuse", Rom. 1:20). John noted that the most foundational issue in a biblical understanding of man and God is this: Apart from God, man is totally incapable of being saved or moving toward God.
Where do they wind up, suppressing the knowledge of God? This is the story of history: pursuing their own passions, living for various idolatries rather than the true God. This is where "natural theology" leads us. People do not follow the "light they have" (though they do have some light) to "more and more light". Rather, they move toward darkness.
I CORINTHIANS 1
I Corinthians 1 notes that even when presented with the message of the cross finds it to be "foolishness". So apart from special revelation, man cannot move toward God. And then when informed of the one way of salvation, he finds it foolishness---except those whom God is saving. Paul says "line up all the great folks." Note: Did they come to God by their wisdom. MacArthur recommended the book Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky (P.S.) by Paul M. Johnson, which chronicles the wisdom of these leading thinkers (both in the ancient and the recent past), who were nevertheless most vile.
I Corinthians 1 shows that the only ones who can believe are those whom God calls--those who are chosen. We are saved first to last by God. Why is it this way? So that nobody can boast. It is God's proclaimed word reaching in and penetrating the heart of particular sinners.
I CORINTHIANS 2
Natural men cannot understand the things of God, because they are spiritually discerned. You must come to Christ for salvation, but you cannot do so without God opening your heart.
ACTS 17 (AND A FEW OTHER TEXTS)
John read from the account of Paul's sermon on the Areopagus, where he noted that they were very religious. Toward the end of his recorded statement, Paul notes: "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent." So Paul told the Athenians that they must repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ.
In I Corinthians 10, we see that people offer to idols are in fact offered to demons. Demonic activity is behind all false religions. Muslims and Hindus worship demons. They are not doing "the best they can to worship God." See also II Corinthians 10:3-5, Psalm 106:37, Deuteronomy 32:21ff.
In closing, John went to II Thessalonians 1:7-8. Those who do not know or obey God are to receive "flaming fire." John shared that it breaks his heart that we undercut missionary endeavor in our day with inclusivist teaching stemming from natural theology.
Ligonier West Coast Conference - Photos - Day 1
Photos courtesy Lukas VanDyke.
Ligonier West Coast Conference - R.C. Sproul - I
The speaker this evening was Dr. R.C. Sproul. Dr. Sproul is respected worldwide for his ability to help Christians provide the reasons for what and why they believe. In addition to his duties as the founder and president of Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Sproul can also be heard daily on the radio and Internet program Renewing Your Mind. He also serves as the senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Fla., and he has authored over sixty books including Now, That's a Good Question!, Defending Your Faith, and Truths We Confess.
The title of Dr. Sproul's message is If God is Sovereign, How Can Man be Free? Dr. Sproul read from Genesis 50:15ff. He then walked us through the story of Joseph's faithfulness in the midst of various trials whereby he was treated unjustly first by his brothers, then by Potipher's wife, then by a fellow prisoner.
MAN FREELY CHOOSES EVIL, GOD PURPOSELY USES IT FOR GOOD
As his brothers beg for forgiveness (possibly motivated by a fear of punishment), they acknowledge that their actions toward Joseph were evil. Joseph asks them the question, "Am I in the place of God?" Joseph acknowledges that his brothers' intentions were evil. But he also recognizes that God was intimately involved in the evil that He experienced at the hands of his brothers. Joseph recognizes that even the treachery his brothers committed would be used by God for the good of those who love Him. Nevertheless, the acts committed were themselves evil. Evil behavior. Evil intentionality. But over and above the human intentionality, God was purposefully at work to bring about good.
Why do we call the day on which the most egregious act of injustice was committed "good Friday"? Because of God's intentionality.
Sproul noted that were it not for Joseph's coat of many colors--which pushed his brothers over the edge, prompting them to sell him into slavery--there would be no Potiphar, if no Potiphar, then no Potiphar's wife, and no going to jail, and no getting elevated to Pharoah's right hand man. But God is involved at every stage in this chain of events.
Inevitably, the question of God's sovereignty and man's freedom comes up. But it is not that hard if we remember: What is the difference between human beings and a Supreme being? One is Supreme. God is a volitional Being. He has a divine faculty whereby He makes decisions, undergoes choices. We humans are also volitional beings; our Creator has endowed us with a faculty of choosing. We have the ability to make choices.
There was a leading philosopher named Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). There was a big question in his day on the issue of "personalism". What is it that makes we humans "persons"? The answer Husserl submitted is that we have the ability to make choices. One of his disciples became a leading atheistic thinker: John Paul Sarte.
HUMAN FREEDOM OR HUMAN AUTONOMY?
Sarte argued that human freedom meant God could not be real. But Sarte's conception of freedom was autonomy. And unless you were free in the sense of autonomy, you could not be free. What does autonomy mean? Well, "auto" means self. And "mobile" is something that moves. So "auto" means self and "nomos" means law. So "autonomy" means, literally, "self law" or "self rule". So Sarte's idea was this: To be truly free we must have automony. We must have no accountability to anyone outside of us.
A true antimony (impossibility) would be reconciling God's sovereignty and man's autonomy. Those two are truly mutually contradictory. Human autonomy is the illegitimate, illicit reach of dependent creatures who want to elevate themselves to the level of God. In reality, God is free, His creatures are free - but in the Scriptures we see that God is freer than humans. If we say "God's freedom is limited by human freedom," we're actually making humans sovereign.
THE DOCTRINE OF CONCURRENCE
We talk about the doctrine of concurrence at this point. Joseph's brothers, in selling Joseph into slavery, did exactly what they wanted to do. Nobody forced them to do it. That said, we never limit God's freedom. God can always thwart human designs. Though we choose according to our desires, our very actions are made under God (with the enabling that God grants us). God's freedom is always larger. We are never autonomous.
On a moral plane, we are born into this world as slaves of sin. We are not morally able to do that which is truly good. We will act according with our desires, and in the manner that is according to our strongest inclination. And even when our desires are evil, God will work through them to bring about good.
You may have heard: "God saves everyone that He possibly can. He does the best He can, but He will never violate your will." The problem is that before God invaded our hearts, we were slaves of sin. In regeneration, God elevates our wills.
Ligonier West Coast Conference - Q&A Session - I
The first Q&A session was held after a short break. A variety of questions were asked. Early on, there were a few questions on intelligent design (ID) and creation. Dr. Sproul pointed out that the metaphysical assumption behind all science is that the universe is knowable. When the scientist wants to rule out intelligence in the origin of the universe, he's ruling out the possibility for science. Dr. MacArthur said that ID is a "middle ground" for those not satisfied with evolution but also unwilling to embrace the Genesis account. MacArthur encouraged us to embrace the Genesis account.
Someone asked Dr. MacArthur if there is a difference between God "allowing" evil and "willing" evil. Is it passive or active? MacArthur noted that in Rom. 9:22-23, God takes all responsibility for the vessels created for His glory, but He speaks passively of those formed for destruction. [Editorial note: Dr. Sproul also deals with this matter in his excellent book, Chosen By God.]
Dr. MacArthur was asked about his dispensationalism. He noted that "the extent of his dispensationalism" is that he believes there is a future in God's redemptive plan for ethnic Israel. Someone asked about the extent to which doctrine can divide folks (noting that Dr. MacArthur disagrees with Drs. Duncan and Sproul on several matters). Dr. Sproul noted that a church that doesn't care about theology is a dead church. Dr. MacArthur noted that his church had a 14-15 page doctrinal statement called "What We Teach" not "What We Believe" (because they don' t all believe that). John's point is that he wants to recognize that people are in a process (theologically, in their own discipleship).
Someone asked Dr. Sproul about Soren Kierkegaard. Sproul noted that he, too, enjoyed Kierkegaard, but that we should be careful. Truth is not subjectivity.
Someone asked about God's wrath: Who is He made at? MacArthur note that God is not angry the way we are angry. God is always angry towards evil and is also always loving. All of His attributes are in operation all the time. His anger is always righteous anger. Dr. Sproul noted that God ordains that evil exists, but that does not make evil good. Rather, the goodness of God is manifest even in the presence of evil.
Someone asked if it was permissible for a terminally ill Christian to withhold medical treatment. Dr. MacArthur said that was fine, since for Christians our true home is heaven. (For a non-Christian, MacArthur added, he would want to extend treatment as long as possible, so as to extend the opportunity for repentance.)
Someone asked how to speak to someone suffering at this very moment. Sproul and MacArthur both answered that the only hope we Christians have in those times is that God is present and that He is orchestrating this suffering to bring about good. If God is not in control, we have no source of hope in a time of suffering.
The last question was about a Christian's role in culture. Sproul noted that many pray for revival. Revival is a process of rebirth. And reformation, starting from within the church (i.e., among those who have been revived), changes the structures of society, because the Christian faith has implications for economics, for political thought, for aesthetics and for all of life.
September 26, 2008
Ligonier West Coast Conference - John MacArthur - I
The second session this afternoon was given by Dr. John MacArthur. Dr. MacArthur has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., for nearly forty years, and his teaching is available worldwide on the radio, Internet, and television program Grace to You. Dr. MacArthur provides training to pastors as president of the Master's College and Seminary as well as through the annual Shepherd's Conference. His prolific writing ministry includes numerous pamphlets and books such as The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception
The title of Dr. MacArthur's message was Why Does God Allow So Much Suffering and Evil? John mentioned that Larry King likes to go back to this question a lot. Many skeptics simply cannot get past this question: How can God be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good, and yet evil is pervasive in our society?
EVIL EXISTS, AND GOD IS NOT TAKEN BY SURPRISE
But the Bible gives us an answer. It is not "Well, God is off the hook, Adam and Eve did it." The follow-up to that question would be "Well then, why did God make them that way?" Or what about, "Well, Satan is to blame?" But then a skeptic would ask, "Why did God make angels with the possibility that one of them would fall and take a whole bunch of other ones with him?"
Ultimately we have to go back to God.
1. Evil exists. [Only the leaders of Christian Science would deny such things.] Evil exists in a dominating way today. It goes far beyond what we see on the news. It is systemic and pervasive in our world.
A. There is natural evil in the world. This form of evil is impersonal and external (diseases, tidal waves, viruses, volcanic eruptions).
Dr. MacArthur read The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history
B. There is moral evil in every human heart. Man is driven by lusts that produce sin and death. Man is evil to the core, leading to all kinds of pain from broken marriages to ruined friendships to wars between nations.
C. There is supernatural evil - demonic evil. Demons are lying spirits, and the whole world lies in their power (I John 5:19). They infest our lives at times, as we learn from Job, Peter and Paul. They promote false religions throughout the world. One of the most dangerous in our day is Mormonism, which is making an all-out effort to pass for a legitimate form of Christianity. But it has more in common with Hinduism than Christianity. The more Mormonism seeks to look benign, the more deadly it is. Our struggle, as Paul said, is "not against flesh and blood."
D. The eternal evil of hell - a horror to those who will abide there forever.
2. God is real, and He is absolutely sovereign. He created everything, controls everything, and is governing every minute detail in the universe, including the ultimate consummation of our planet by fire (prophesied in Scripture). Psalm 115:3, "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." Those who struggle with the sovereignty of God might consider the intellectual difficulty of God not being sovereign. God is not trying to get "off the hook" on His being sovereign and allowing (and planning) for evil. He is the only Potentate, the Sole Ruler of the universe. [Dr. MacArthur then cited numerous Scriptural passages that show that God takes ultimate ownership for the existence of evil. He takes full responsibility for the existence of evil, and its unfolding in this world.]
Sidebar: Armenians are OK with the existence of evil, nor do they want to deny power, knowledge or goodness to God. However, they don't want responsibility for evil to fall upon God so they diminish God. They say God either lacks the power to stop evil or He "chooses" to limit His power. Or, He has the power, but He is limited in His knowledge. Evil takes Him by surprise when it happens. [John then briefly described, and severely castigated, process theology. He then humorously debunked open theism.]
3. God wills evil to exist, though He Himself is not its author.
Well, what explanation for this should we use?
A) There "needs" to be a certain amount of evil to "balance out" the good God (yin and yang -- for every plus there has to be a minus, that sort of thing). Evil is "just there" -- because it has to be there to contrast the good. [Though this answer falls short, there is a sense of truth to this: Evil is a deprivation -- a distortion of the good.]
B) You just cannot have a God that takes away our free will. Free will is more important to God than precluding the possibility of evil. [But then you still have to answer why did God make people that could use their free will to do such evil?]
WHY DOES GOD WILL FOR EVIL TO EXIST?
The Westminster Confession reads: "God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." (Chapter 3, Sect. 1)
God appears infinitely more glorious because of the existence of evil. We praise Him all the more because of what He has done to overcome evil. At the cross, the righteousness of God was displayed in the wrath of God being poured out on Christ. Look at Romans 9:22: "What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction." God gets glory from His wrath and judgment. But He has also made known His mercy. God is demonstrating the full range of His glory by putting the full spectrum of His attributes on display. God puts His righteousness on display in the way He confronts evil (Rev. 15:3-4). The greatest evil ever perpetrated (the murder of Jesus) was orchestrated by God to accomplish great good (Acts 2:22-24). God answered Job (chap. 38-39) with a survey of His omnipotence and exhaustive knowledge. It is foolish to assume that God has to justify to us His decisions in this regard.
Ligonier Ministries West Coast Conference - Ligon Duncan I
After a packed sanctuary sang For All the Saints, Chris Larson opened with prayer and a reading from I Corinthians. Mr. Larson then introduced the speaker for the first session, Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III. Dr. Duncan is the senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Miss., and adjunct professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Dr. Duncan has written and edited several books including Women's Ministry in the Local Church, The Westminster Confession into the 21st Century, and Should We Leave Our Churches?: A Biblical Response to Harold Camping.
The topic of Dr. Duncan's address was Has Science Disproved the Existence of God? -- a fascinating topic in light of the recent slew of books for and against atheism. Ligon noted that we need to be able to give an answer for the hope that is in us. Just as there is a greater openness today toward spirituality, antagonism toward the Christian message of Jesus Christ as the only way to God has increased. The leading atheists make the case that religion is downright harmful for society and must be eradicated.
WAYS PEOPLE SPEAK OF SCIENCE "DISPROVING" GOD
It is important that we understand the question: Don't you think science has disproven the existence of God? The one posing this question could mean that naturalism (or materialism) is in conflict with Christianity. The answer is yes, it is in conflict, and Christianity has the upper hand in that debate. However, people generally have one of three topics on their mind:
1. They may be thinking about Christian origins versus evolution. They may suppose science has proven that God does not exist.
2. They may want to argue that miracles are impossible, and hence Christianity must be false.
3. They may suppose that archeological and astronomical developments seriously challenge the Christian faith. For example, the Bible teaches (so they say) that the sun revolves around the earth, and many religious people once believed such things. Now that we know such scientific ideas are false, we can dispose with Christianity altogether. In addition, people attack the Bible on the issue of inerrancy due to archeological developments. For example, it was common in the 19th century for people to criticize the Old Testament since we lacked archeological evidence for the existence of numerous tribes (such as the Hittites). But since then, we have obtained extensive archeological evidence for the historicity of many of these tribes. [This represents one of the limitations of science in settling ultimate questions. Scientific knowledge, by its very nature, is progressive, so it is always incomplete.]
On the other hand, sometimes the Bible uses telecentric language (e.g., speaking of the "sun rising and setting" -- even though it is the earth that rotates). The Bible uses the normal language of human discourse. And miracles? Doesn't the very claim for miracles undermine Christianity, since we "know" miracles do not occur? In response:
1. Miracles are not meant to be easy to believe.
2. Miracles in the Bible are not intended to occur on a regular basis. They are intended to be out of the ordinary. Those observing them understood that such things were highly unusual (e.g., a virgin giving birth). When Moses recounts the parting of the Red Sea he fully understands that such an event was singularly unique. We cannot walk away from the supernatural core of our faith. Without the miracle of the resurrection, we are without hope. And there is massive evidence that substantiates the Scriptural account of the resurrection. But we have to confront an ideology which assumes that miracles cannot occur. The Bible, by contrast, begins with the assumption of the supernatural in its very first verse (Gen. 1:1).
But sometimes the question is in the form: Hasn't evolution called into question the claim that God made the heavens and the earth? The answer is no. Every aspect of evolutionary teaching is a description of the mechanism whereby life (in its present form) came to be. But it does not seek to explain or answer the ultimate foundational question of the origin of the universe. If you boil down the theories on the origin of the universe, there are three:
1. There was nothing, and then there was something.
[Problem: If something now exists, we are driven to the conclusion that something always existed.]
2. There has always been something. This impersonal something contained all power and potentiality to create life in all its current forms.
[Problem: Why doesn't this external existence of "something" not also trouble the modern secularist? This "something" already has some of the properties of God.]
3. There has always been a sovereign, personal God though there has not always been a universe, He brought it into being. (And science cannot disprove this.) Before the universe was here, God was.
INTELLIGENT SCIENTISTS HAVE OFTEN BEEN CHRISTIANS
An objection from sociology is sometimes raised: You cannot be an intelligent, educated scholar and still believe the Bible. The problem with this is that the encyclopedia is filled with scientists who were bright, made important discoveries, and who were Christians. Francis Bacon, Keplar, Pascal, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and many others.
In the 1920s, 40% of leading scientists believed in the existence of a personal God. These statistics have not changed much in the last seventy years. Unbelieving scientists today generally bring their unbelief to their science. They reject Christianity for non-scientific reasons. Generally, science does not lead people to unbelief.
We are limited by the questions science can ask or answer. The way that we know something depends on what we're talking about. If we want to know if we have Cheerios, we go check the cabinet. But how do we know that someone is a good friend? Science is not equipped to address that one. Nor is science equipped to answer the question about the origin of the universe.
STANDING FIRM
We must maintain the assertion that God is our Maker (Acts 17:24ff). But the world is not divided between worshipers and non-worshipers. We all worship something. Christians worship the God who made us. Everyone else is worshiping something else. If we look hard enough, we can find what is "at the top" for them (and usually it is themselves).
The nature of God (a spirit) is such that we must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4). You can only get to know a spirit if that spirit wants you to know Him. This God who is spirit is revealed both in His creation and in His word. Romans 1 tells us not only that God speaks through His creation but that His message gets through ("God made it evident to them"). They reject it anyway not due to lack of evidence or rationality but because they are sinners and they want to stay on the throne.
September 25, 2008
Sovereign Grace Music: The Psalms Album
I have been finding this album to be an immense blessing over the last couple of months. It just may be the best album that Sovereign Grace Music has produced to date. Each of the twelve songs is an articulate reflection on the main theme of a particular psalm. Each song is "vintage" Sovereign Grace Music: Lyrics filled with theological clarity set to generally upbeat musical themes played with excellence and creativity. The twelve songs plumb the depths of Psalms 90, 150, 46, 68, 96, 23, 145, 84, 130, 34, 51, and 32. The last two are penitential psalms, written by David after the Bethsheba events. Psalm 34 is a praise of God's deliverance (written by David, when his life was saved before Abimelech by the means of David appearing insane).
One of my favorites is Praise the Lord (Psalm 150), which features the refrain "Everything that has breath, praise the Lord". This song is available as a free download. Others include Glorious and Mighty (on Psalm 96) and The Lord Is (Psalm 23). Both of these songs feature beautiful, slow melodies, which make them ideal for singing along in the car or around the house.
From this link, you can click on the title of any song and read the lyrics. You can also get the guitar chart or purchase the accompaniment for $0.99. From this link, you can hear a pretty long clip of each song on the album. Any song can be purchased for $0.99. The entire album is $12 -- with free shipping in the continental United States. A fabulous deal.
"Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting" (Ps. 147:1).
September 24, 2008
The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It
Writing for Christianity Today Magazine, Todd C. Ream and Sara C. Ream offer a brief preview of The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It
September 23, 2008
Barack Obama and Bill Ayers
Stanley Kurtz, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, was (after repeated attempts) finally allowed to view the archives of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), an education foundation which poured $100 million into community organizers and education activists in Chicago. From 1995 to 1999, the foundation was led by Barack Obama, and he remained on the board until 2001. CAC was founded by Bill Ayers, a man who corroborated to bomb the Pentagon and has never expressed regret. Kurtz has done a fantastic job exploring the relationship between Obama and Ayers, which is far deeper than Obama cares to admit. Today, Kurtz published an op-ed piece that looks at the impact Obama and Ayers had on advancing leftist ideas in the Chicago area education system (while declining to fund groups that focused on math/science achievement).
Peter Kirsanow summarizes a more lengthy essay that Kurtz just published in National Review online:
1. Obama had a long-term working relationship with William Ayers.Read the whole thing.
2. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge ("CAC"), the only executive experience on Obama's resume, was an objective failure despite the expenditure of millions of dollars.
3. Through the CAC, Ayers and Obama financed radical organizations, including one with a history of engaging in voter fraud.
R.C. Sproul on Prayer
The Ligonier Ministries blog is posting consecutive excerpts of a short book Dr. Sproul wrote entitled Does Prayer Change Things? Their short description:
God does listen to our prayers, as He listened to Jesus' prayers for Himself and as an intercessor for believers. Jesus even instructed His disciples how to pray; and Paul calls us to pray without ceasing.Recent posts:
The Place of Prayer
The Purpose of Prayer (Pt. 1)
The Purpose of Prayer (Pt. 2)
Protecting Marriage => Protecting Children
David Blackenhorn, a self-professing liberal Democrat, writes a great op-ed piece in today's Los Angeles Times on why he does not favor same-sex marriage. He makes what I believe is the most convincing secular case: heterosexual marriage is the best for children, and hence for society. An excerpt:
Marriage as a human institution is constantly evolving, and many of its features vary across groups and cultures. But there is one constant. In all societies, marriage shapes the rights and obligations of parenthood. Among us humans, the scholars report, marriage is not primarily a license to have sex. Nor is it primarily a license to receive benefits or social recognition. It is primarily a license to have children.Read the whole thing.In this sense, marriage is a gift that society bestows on its next generation. Marriage (and only marriage) unites the three core dimensions of parenthood -- biological, social and legal -- into one pro-child form: the married couple. Marriage says to a child: The man and the woman whose sexual union made you will also be there to love and raise you. Marriage says to society as a whole: For every child born, there is a recognized mother and a father, accountable to the child and to each other.
These days, because of the gay marriage debate, one can be sent to bed without supper for saying such things. But until very recently, almost no one denied this core fact about marriage. Summing up the cross-cultural evidence, the anthropologist Helen Fisher in 1992 put it simply: "People wed primarily to reproduce." The philosopher and Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell, certainly no friend of conventional sexual morality, was only repeating the obvious a few decades earlier when he concluded that "it is through children alone that sexual relations become important to society, and worthy to be taken cognizance of by a legal institution."
(HT: Thabiti Anyabwile)
Related: The Purpose of Marriage: Children and Societal Stability
September 21, 2008
Mark Dever on Various Theological Luminaries
Mark Dever offers a brief assessment on Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Richard Sibbes, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Carl Henry, John Stott, J.I. Packer, D.A. Carson, R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Al Mohler, Ligon Duncan, Tim Duncan, and John MacArthur. (The above is an excerpt from a longer interview of Mark Dever conducted by C.J. Mahaney.)
Lies in Obama's New Infanticide Ad
John McCormack exposes the lies in Barack Obama's new ad (itself a response to this 527 ad).
September 20, 2008
A Man With No Limbs Seeking To Glorify Christ
(HT: David Michael, in this sermon)
Sep 26 Presidential Debate: Foreign Policy
I haven't posted on politics for almost a week. Yes, the Sarah Palin excitement is starting to wear off, and yes, Obama has seen a little bump in the polls (such that McCain is no longer ahead). That was probably to be expected. But I interrupt the silence to report something totally unexpected (at least by me): The topic of the first presidential debate, scheduled to take place on Friday, September 26 at The University of Mississippi, has been suddenly changed from domestic issues to foreign policy. Wow. Why is this interesting? Because most polling indicates that domestic issues favor Obama while foreign policy issues favor McCain. So one would have to think this move favors McCain. But, of course, the switch had to be agreed upon by Team Obama as well, so they must have their reasons. Anyway, domestic issues move to the subject of the final debate, on Oct. 15, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
Zack McMillin of Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:
Whether it was John McCain's campaign pushing to switch the topic of the first presidential debate to foreign policy and national security or Barack Obama's campaign relishing the chance to go after McCain's perceived strength, the University of Mississippi's preparations for the Sept. 26 event received a curveball on Thursday.For months, the Commission on Presidential Debates had assured Ole Miss that the focus of the debate at its Gertrude C. Ford Center would be on domestic issues. However, a joint announcement Thursday from the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns said negotiations on the debates had resulted in a switch.
(HT: John Mark Reynolds)
Tough Questions Conference Webcast
The Ligonier Ministries' West Coast Conference on the theme Tough Questions Christians Face is less than a week away. I've been looking forward to live-blogging this event, which features speakers Ligon Duncan, John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul. Since the September 26-27 event is sold out, Ligonier is offering a live stream. The cost to participate is a nominal $5 (to help defray the cost of the webcast). Check it out.
September 17, 2008
Thinking Biblically About the Banking Industry Collapse
David Kotter, Executive Director of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, holds an MBA degree and was formerly a finance manager for Ford Motor Company. He gives a fantastic interview with Justin Taylor on how Christians should think and pray about the large-scale problems currently being experienced in the banking sector of the US economy. This interview is particularly helpful if you have zero economic background. Kotter gives clear, simple explanations for:
1. What is happening in the present banking crisis?
2. Why is this happening?
3. What effect will this have on the wider economy?
4. What effect will this have on individuals?
5. Is it right to pray for the economy?
Related: I also pointed to Mr. Kotter for wisdom on how to think about the economic stimulus package that the federal government gave out a few months ago.
September 16, 2008
Michael Horton on Christless Christianity
Dr. Michael Horton, the J. Gresham Machen professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California, main host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast and editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine, is coming out with an intriguing book entitled Christless Christianity. The product description:
Is it possible that we have left Christ out of Christianity? Is the faith and practice of American Christians today more American than Christian? These are the provocative questions Michael Horton addresses in this thoughtful, insightful book. He argues that while we invoke the name of Christ, too often Christ and the Christ-centered gospel are pushed aside. The result is a message and a faith that are, in Horton's words, "trivial, sentimental, affirming, and irrelevant." This alternative "gospel" is a message of moralism, personal comfort, self-help, self-improvement, and individualistic religion. It trivializes God, making him a means to our selfish ends. Horton skillfully diagnoses the problem and points to the solution: a return to the unadulterated gospel of salvation.The Westminster West seminary bookstore is running a special: for a limited time, the book & a related DVD are both available for only $5 (plus another $5 for shipping).
Endorsements:
Horton has ably helped us see the train wreck that is some much of popular Christianity...A more important and timely volume could not have been written."
-Thabiti M. Anyabwile, Senior Pastor,
First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman
"His wide ranging carefully researched examples show how our churches and megachurches have pandered to the culture with...moralistic and self-help heresies bereft of the saving action of Jesus Christ."
-Rt.Rev. Christopher FitzSimons Allison,
Episcopal Bishop
Dr. Horton gives a five-minute primer in this video:
Born Alive Ad - Now Airing in New Mexico and Ohio
September 14, 2008
Great Advice For Those Starting College
John Mark Reynolds, Director of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University, offers some great advice for those starting college. Excerpt:
* Attend music and sporting events. Study hard. Especially if you are going to a big ticket, private, or prestigious school/program, get everything you can out of it. Laziness is just as ugly in a college student as it is in an adult.Read the whole thing.
* School is your full time job, put fifty hours a week into it or go home.
* Do not be obsessed with “getting out fast” at the expense of quality.
* AP classes, CLEP, or IB classes are not equivalent to good college classes. If they are at your school, you should have picked a better school. Use those units to get into good (hard) classes and not to hasten the rest of your life.
* If you are obsessed with getting out fast, go all the way and do alternative college from home while you work.
* They are not going to let you go to college again. Enjoy it. On the other hand, five years for most students is long enough. Peter Pan the College Student is not so attractive.
September 13, 2008
RC Sproul Videos - 5 Things Every Christian Needs To Grow
R.C. Sproul introduces his most recent book, 5 Things Every Christian Needs To Grow (Revised and Expanded):
R.C. Sproul identifies Bible Study as the first thing every Christian needs to grow:
R.C. Sproul identifies prayer as the second thing every Christian needs to grow:
R.C. Sproul identifies worship as the third thing every Christian needs to grow:
R.C. Sproul identifies service as the fourth thing every Christian needs to grow:
R.C. identifies stewardship as the fifth thing every Christian needs to grow:
Related: Text of an R.C. Sproul interview on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3).
September 12, 2008
R.C. Sproul Interview - 5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow: Part 3
Posting that new Obama ad reminded me to post part three of that three-part interview with Dr. R.C. Sproul. You'll see why in a moment. We're talking about his most recent book, Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow. You might want to read Part 1 and Part 2 first.
CHEDIAK: In the course of your ministry, do you think Christians in general have gotten better or worse in regards to their preparation for corporate worship?
SPROUL: Throughout church history there was always a strong sense in the church that worship is not something that you do just on the fly, but it’s important to prepare yourself for it, to prepare yourself for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, to prepare yourself for coming into the presence of God, and that sense of preparation has all but disappeared. You know, they tell us that the number one reason why people come to church today is for fellowship. Now, fellowship is important, and I could add that as a means of grace. I believe that fellowship is very important for the Christian to grow. You don’t grow in isolation from the body of Christ. We need each other, and it’s a wonderful thing to have choice fellowship on Sunday morning or during the rest of the week at our church, but that’s not the primary reason why we come to church or should come to church. The primary reason we come is not to be involved with each other but to be involved with Him, to enter into His presence.
I believe a church building involves a threshold. It’s a symbol. You leave the secular. You enter the sacred. You leave the profane. You enter the holy. You leave the commonplace, and you step into the uncommon. But we’ve lost that sense of sanctity, and I think it’s important that we recover it.
CHEDIAK: Now let me ask you a couple light-hearted questions. Some people wonder why you are resistant to the use of computers, but yet you seem so deeply immersed in the understanding of TiVo?
SPROUL: I get razzed a lot about my lack of computer ability. I am computer illiterate, although I’ve written several books on the computer, using them strictly as word processors, and so I’ve been assisted from that perspective. I’m not against computers. I just don’t know how to use them. Fortunately I have wonderful people at Ligonier who help me if I need some information from the Internet on research, they’ll look it up for me and give me the hard copy. I use, of course, computerized technology recording football games on TV, but as far as an actual computer, I don’t have one. That’s not because I think they’re evil things. It’s just because I’m so challenged electronically.
CHEDIAK: Do you think your love of football just forced you to work through the discomfort of learning how to program TiVo, because that looks to me more intimidating than computers.
SPROUL: Well, you know, it took me a while to get into TiVo. But I think TiVo’s the greatest invention of the modern age. I had never in my life recorded a TV program until a friend of mine showed me how TiVo operates. I got TiVo so that I could look at the list of upcoming movies and athletic events, record them while I sleep at night, and then watch them at my leisure. It’s an amazing thing, that this thing is recording programs while my TV’s off. I don’t understand how they do it. It amazes me, but I’m glad that they do.
Related: Interview with R.C. Sproul - Part One; Part Two; Short Videos
Worst Campaign Ad Ever
Why alienate many Americans over 50, like my father (a medical doctor nearing retirement)? I doubt they will like it. This ad plays to Obama's "youth base," but it doesn't expand his support among the diminishing number of undecided voters (who will ultimately determine the election's outcome).
Update: The reason Senator McCain cannot type proficiently is that his fingers were tortured during his time as a POW.
Open Letter to The Religious Right
Joe Carter pens a (predictably) outstanding open letter to the Religious Right.
(HT: JT)
Gibson Interview of Sarah Palin
I think Gibson was a bit unfair on the religion bit, but she handled herself well on that one. Yuval Levin gives a balanced perspective.
September 10, 2008
Sarah Palin Biography: 250,000 Copies Available
Epicenter Press has shipped roughly 60,000 copies of Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down
HT: Challies
John Mark Reynolds on Obama's "Lipstick" Gaffe
John Mark Reynolds offers a wise perspective on Obama's blunder. Excerpt:
Listen to the audio. The crowd took Obama to be speaking of Palin . . . and made it about Palin by their reaction. They thought he meant Palin as did some in the press. Senator Obama either did not notice (too locked into his own thoughts) or like many speakers felt good about the big local reaction. He went with the crowd flow . . . and an innocent remark turned toxic.Read the whole thing. Reynolds goes on to offer some thoughts on how this sort of behavior might hurt Obama in the debates, and correctly notes that McCain is not immune to "blurting" off-message comments to his own detriment.The problem is that Obama allowed it to remain toxic. Obama is not aware of the invisible audience watching on video. He locks in on his interlocutor (see his interview with O’Reilly) and the crowd present. This is a strong skill in little league politics, but can be a fatal weakness in national politics.
That is not good campaigning, but it is not the worst crime in the world. It is, however, how gaffes are made (see poor Ford on captive nations in 1976 for an example). You did not mean to say something, but you were betrayed by a bad formulation of words or by the audience. If you want to be president, then you MUST monitor your every word.
McCain Whacks Obama on "Lipstick" With New Ad
Launching this ad was a mistake, in my opinion, resulting, predictably, in this response from Obama.
Roger Kimball on Obama's "Lipstick on a Pig" Remark
Even if the worst is true about Obama's motives in making the remark, I agree with Roger Kimball that McCain's folks should let it go:
Was this a “mega gaffe“? Maybe it will turn out to be, but I for one hope that the McCain camp gives it a rest. Of course it was a reference to Sarah Palin’s line about the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was that the hockey mom wore lipstick; and of course Obama intended a some of that porcine unpleasantness to rub off on S. Palin, Governor of Alaska. He was doubtless also, I am reliably informed, alluding to the colloquial phrase about putting lipstick on a pig, i.e., “slang for when someone tries to dress something up, but is still that something.”By dropping it, McCain-Palin take the high road.
And as Yuval Levin points out, between Obama's gaffe and Biden's ugly reference to Palin’s Down syndrome child and stem cell research, these two are on the way to a meltdown.
Undignified Obama Continues To Attack Palin
Contrary to expectations promoted by Team Obama, the McCain-Palin ticket is spreading like wildfire among women, especially white women. A recent ABC poll found:
White women have moved from 50-42 percent in Obama's favor before the conventions to 53-41 percent for McCain now, a 20-point shift in the margin that's one of the single biggest post-convention changes in voter preferences.So what does Obama do? He goes on the attack--not on McCain, but Palin. Nevermind that (a) vice-presidential candidates and surrogates typically do the attacking, not the top of the ticket; and (b) such behavior is likely to drive even more women (and men) to McCain-Palin.
Kirsten Powers writes a great piece in the New York Post on how Obama blew it:
No, Obama didn't engage in the mass sneering at Palin - but he did fall into the trap of disrespecting her. When McCain chose her, the Obama campaign's first response was to ridicule the size of her town. Then the candidate himself began referring to her as a "former mayor" when she is in fact a sitting governor.Read the whole thing.When she retaliated (justifiably) by mocking his stint as a organizer, the Obama camp was clearly rattled. Obama himself actually began arguing about the importance of community organizing. His supporters amplified this cry - claiming Palin's attack was a racist slur and passing around e-mails titled "Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor."
Meanwhile, the rest of the country was probably wondering what being a community organizer has to do with being president.
Lured by the McCain camp, Obama supporters engaged in an argument about who had more overall experience - the top of the Democratic ticket or the bottom of the GOP ticket. This diminished Obama.
Michael Horton and R.C. Sproul on Christless Christianity
An interesting and wide-ranging discussion on current theological trends in church life.
(HT: Chris Larson)
September 09, 2008
McCain/Palin on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
John McCain and Sarah Palin co-authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal reacting to President Bush's decision to bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I think they are on the mark with their assessment. This approach will help them make gains on economic issues (which Obama has generally been doing better on). The GOP ticket call the bailout an "outrageous, but sadly necessary, step". They blame the crisis on Congress failing to act, and promise change. An excerpt:
We promise the American people that our administration will be different. We have long records of standing up to special interests and providing the leadership to change government and make it more accountable to the American taxpayer. In our administration, every agency and department will undergo rigorous oversight and review. We will require the highest standards of accounting, reporting and transparency ever demanded in government.And a few specifics:
Treasury has broadly followed the McCain plan, outlined months ago, and gets at the short-term heart of the problem. That plan reinforces the federal commitment to meet our obligations and get this mess behind us. It replaces management and board members. It requires that shareholders take losses first. It puts taxpayers first in line for any repayments. And it terminates future lobbying, which was one of the primary contributors to this great debacle.Read the whole thing.
September 06, 2008
R.C. Sproul Interview - 5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow: Part 2
This is part two of a three-part interview with Dr. R.C. Sproul over his most recent book, Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow. You might want to read Part 1 first. Part three will be posted sometime next week. [Update: Part 3 has been posted.]
CHEDIAK: You write that the third thing every Christian needs to grow is worship. Is there a relationship between worship and evangelism? Because I noticed you did not specifically mention evangelism as one of the five things every Christian needs to grow.
DR. SPROUL: I consider the third step for growth in the Christian life to be that of worship. I think we’re living in a time of incredible crisis even of our understanding of what worship is. David Wells shook the Christian world several years ago with the publication of his book, No Place for Truth, in which he chronicled the superficial style of so much that passes for worship in our day. Much of Christian worship today has degenerated into entertainment or pop psychology, involving anything but offering a sacrifice of praise and reverence to a holy God. I know that there are all different kinds of styles and shapes and forms of worship, but however our worship is framed, it must focus on God, on His holiness, on His transcendent majesty. Our spirits must be moved to a sense of awe and reverence for Him. God is seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Spirit worship — spiritual worship — is not worship that is done by rote. Spiritual worship comes from the heart. It’s not empty. It’s not formalistic or ritualistic. That doesn’t mean we despise the forms or we despise the rituals. Those are important. But they have to be filled with the affection of the heart. Also, our worship is to be true. It is to be according to truth, according to the directives that God Himself gives to us in Scripture. I explore that to some degree in the book. Now, I also believe that we distinguish among these different steps, but can’t really separate them. Prayer is a necessary element of worship and when we worship we are there to hear the Word of God. We think for example of witnessing, our outreach to the community. Our evangelism, for example, is an expression of our belief in the truth, of our prayer life, and of our worship.
CHEDIAK: The fourth is service.
DR. SPROUL: The fourth category that I explore in this book is the category that I call service. In Biblical terms, all of the ministries in the Bible, including that of the apostle, that of the prophet, that of the missionary, that of the preacher, the teacher, the steward, the administrator—all of these were considered offices of service, of diakonia. Even the deacons, who were distinguished by that word, manifested this whole operation of being engaged with the community, in being involved in what we call mercy ministry making sure that the naked are clothed, that the prisoners are visited, and that we care for the people who are lonely and wounded in our community, particularly the widows and the orphans. Jesus came to serve us and the servant is not above his Master. We, if we are to grow in our Christian life, have to be engaged in the Christian life and that means to serve--to serve Him and to serve His people.
CHEDIAK: The fifth category is stewardship, which I’m assuming includes tithing and using our gifts?
DR. SPROUL: The last category that I explore briefly in this little book is one of stewardship. A steward is by definition someone who does not own what he governs. A steward in the biblical framework was one who would be hired to manage the affairs of the household. He didn’t own the house. He worked in the house. He managed the house.
All that we possess belongs to God. And the Bible calls us to be stewards of the gifts, the talents, and the things that He has provided for us. Our very lives are on loan from God. I have to be a good steward of my life, what I do with my life. I have to make a careful examination of the gifts and talents that God has given to me, and understand that these abilities are not something that I can take credit for ultimately. They are gifts. And I am called to use them in His service. The more I exercise the gifts that God gives to me in ministry, the more I grow. We often think of stewardship almost exclusively in terms of finances and of tithing, and there’s a crisis there. In the Old Testament, God required that His people give a tenth of their earnings of a given year, a tenth of their gain back to Him. That was right off the top. This wasn’t any clever “mathemagics” to trim that one-tenth or the tithe that they were giving. And yet I hear all the time from people now who say, “that was an Old Testament responsibility; that we live in the New Testament and we’re not bound by that responsibility of tithing.” There is some truth in that but on the other hand, the New Testament makes it clear that the new covenant is a better covenant. It gives us more than the people of old received in Israel. And if anything, the responsibilities for financial support of the work of the kingdom are greater in the New Testament than they were in the Old Testament.
I read an article that said of all of the Christians who called themselves "born again", only 4% practiced tithing. If that’s true, and if what Malachi says at the end of the Old Testament is true, that means 96% of us as professing Christians are routinely, continuously, systematically, impenitently robbing God. I have to say that to learn to be a tither is to experience a whole new joy of being a Christian. I have yet in my lifetime to meet somebody who tithes his or her income, and regrets it or is upset about it. I hear from people all the time. I wish that people would understand that you cannot out give God. The reason why we are called to stewardship is for the work of the kingdom. Somebody has to finance it and it’s our responsibility to do that.
Related: Interview with R.C. Sproul - Part One; Part Three; Short Videos
September 05, 2008
John McCain: Plain Spoken Heroism
John Mark Reynolds said it well:
He is a quiet fighter for a changed Washington. He is running to be a servant leader and not savior of America.
Obama/Biden in a Trap Over Sarah Palin
CNN.com grades the political speeches and often has little surveys on the side tab. Given typical survey results, I think their readers are generally center-left. Well, the grade report card for Palin's speech indicated one B and four A grades. And at the moment Palin is up by 9% in their survey of whether her speech was "thumb's up" or "down".
A trenchant observation from Dick Morris in the New York Post today:
Now the Democrats are stuck in a trap. They've demeaned, patronized and smeared a woman who's well on her way to becoming very, very popular. Her speech will create legions of fans; the Democratic smears of the last few days will create, for Obama, legions of enemies.Morris believes that single moms are an important swing vote constituency in this election. And that in Sarah Palin "they're finding...an advocate whose life isn't far different from their own and whose priorities mirror theirs'." Read the whole thing.This man who dedicated two years to stopping a woman from being president now has to answer for spending two months stopping one from becoming vice president - a task he hopes to accomplish using women's votes.
September 04, 2008
Gov. Sarah Palin's Biography Video
She sounds like an amazing, visionary leader, yet refreshingly straightforward, decent, and down to earth. Those sets of character traits rarely come together in one package. This five minute biographical video of Sarah Palin was played tonight at the GOP Convention:
Tidbits on McCain's Speech (and Palin)
Thirty-seven million viewers tuned in last night to hear Gov. Sarah Palin's address. That is only one million fewer viewers than Obama had last Thursday. My guess is that more people will remember Palin's speech than remember McCain's.
McCain was not in his favorite venue tonight, and that green background at the beginning was odd. But I think McCain did what he needed to do: spoke from the heart to independents and undecided voters. He was able to (in a tactful manner) contrast himself with the Bush record when he spoke of using the veto pen, challenging corruption, and of course that stirring paragraph when he blasted the Republican party for being changed by Washington rather than being change agents. He also contrasted himself effectively with Obama, giving specifics on "kitchen table" issues like education and health care. I thought McCain's personal story about how he was transformed from a hot-shot pilot into a patriotic, servant-hearted, country-first man during his time as a POW was very powerfully delivered.
Palin effect? CBS (whose polls generally lean left) has McCain and Obama tied in a post-Palin poll.
Obama Camp Reduced to Attacking Palin Speechwriter
Sarah Palin's speech was so good that the Obama camp is reduced to having to attack the speechwriter (because he's previously worked for President George W. Bush). Why even release a statement? I do not believe McCain's team released a statement on Joe Biden's speech. I thinkTeam Obama is scared of her.
And as for the speech writing, as Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard notes:
I'm told -- and was told before the speech -- that she had a strong hand in writing and rewriting the speech, working on [it] for several hours over the past three days. And one of the loudest applause lines in the entire speech was her joke -- which Bill Kristol previewed here two days ago -- that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick, was [a] line she improvised when delegates from Michigan, all wearing hockey jerseys, applauded loudly at her initial mention of being a hockey mom.Indeed, the lipstick line is not in her manuscript prepared for delivery.
September 03, 2008
Video/Text of Sarah Palin's Address to the RNC
The full text of Gov. Palin's outstanding speech. I think there will be a substantial bump in the polls for McCain-Palin.
R.C. Sproul Interview - 5 Things Every Christian Needs To Grow: Part 1
I previously mentioned that I had the honor of proof-reading this outstanding book. As I've done with a few other authors, I thought I'd try to interview Dr. Sproul. It turns out that Dr. Sproul is averse not only to e-mail but to computers in general. Consequently, someone on his staff printed out the questions, conducted an audio interview with Dr. Sproul, then transcribed the conversation and sent me an MS Word file. Wow, I'm very grateful that Dr. Sproul and his staff were willing to give so much time and effort for this interview. Given the length of some of Dr. Sproul's replies, I will post this interview as a three-part series. I'm told that a few You Tube videos will also be forthcoming; I'll be sure to post those as well.
CHEDIAK: So I heard you've got a new book out?
DR. SPROUL: Yes, I’m happy about one of the newest projects that we’ve been able to complete. My book called Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow has been re-released through Reformation Trust Publishing. I want to tell you a couple of things about that before we look at the five things in particular.
In the original draft of that book, I used the number five because of the episode in the Old Testament of the battle between David and Goliath, which David saw as a battle between the people of God and an infidel. You know the story that when David went into battle against this giant, he went to a nearby brook, and he selected five smooth stones. He took those five stones as ammunition for his sling. When the story unfolded, it only required one stone for David to slay the giant. I was trying to draw the analogy there between David’s combat with the giant and our fight and struggle as Christians with the world, the flesh, and the devil. That introduction of the five stones was eliminated by the editor because they thought it had too much of a militaristic overtone. I was thinking: Well, the New Testament uses the metaphor of war and battle all the time for the Christian life. I wrote this book in the first place not as an academic study for theologians, but rather as a simple guide for the beginning Christian to help him or her understand what the means of grace are and the tools that God provides for each one of us to grow spiritually and to grow into conformity with Christ.
CHEDIAK: The first thing that you’ve identified is Bible study. Why is that one of the most crucial five things?
DR. SPROUL: I believe that a Christian is only as strong in his faith and in his spiritual life as his mastery of the Word of God. Jesus Himself said that we don’t live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God. When I was first converted, I joined a little prayer group in our college community. Maybe two or three weeks after I’d been converted they had a visitor on campus who was dating one of the girls in our group, and he was a seminary student. He pulled me aside in one of these prayer meetings, and he said to me, “R.C., get in the Book.” I never forgot that because I was nurtured in the Bible, not only in Bible classes in college, but every night I spent 45 minutes to an hour going through the Bible, book by book, and verse by verse, and I believe that the first virgin reading I had of the Bible from cover to cover had the greatest impact of my Christian life, then and on to this day.
I’m also convinced that when we’re studying the Bible, we are studying not the collected insights of ancient thinkers or prophets, but I believe that the Bible is nothing less than the unvarnished Word of God. Remember when Jesus encountered Peter after the resurrection, and he asked him three times, “Peter, do you love me?” And Peter, who had denied Him three times, now affirmed three times his profound affection for his master. But you could see that he was getting increasingly agitated as Jesus repeated the question. The answer each time when Peter said, “Yes, you know that I love you,” was “Feed my sheep.” His sheep are believers. And believers, in order to grow, need to be nurtured and they need to be fed. We get that feeding from our pastors and from our mentors and family circumstances, but at the same time, each person has to get deeply involved in the Word for himself or for herself.
CHEDIAK: The second category is prayer. You specifically discuss Kingdom-focused prayer. Can you please tell us what that is, and how you go about praying not so much for yourself, but for the Kingdom?
DR. SPROUL: I believe the second most important step for Christians to grow is to cultivate a deep and profound prayer life. I meet Christians all the time, who have been Christians for many years, but still sense a frustration about their lack of a powerful prayer life. One of my favorite little books on this subject is a book written by Archie Parrish called A Simple Way To Pray. What Archie does is he goes through the Scriptures and through church history and shows that the most powerful prayer that you can find anywhere are those prayers that focus not on our own private needs or desires, but prayers that focus on the Kingdom. We look, for example, at how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He said, “When you pray, pray like this: Our Father, who art in heaven.” And that’s the address. The first petition that Jesus told us to pray about was that the name of God would be regarded as holy. “Hallowed be Thy name.” And then “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We know that the Kingdom has come in its fullness already in heaven, and God’s will is done with perfect obedience in heaven. Our petition is that Kingdom would be made manifest here. That people would reflect obedience to that Kingdom here on earth as it exists right now in heaven. One of the things that I found fascinating when I preached recently through the Lord’s Prayer is when I got to the end of it. “Thy kingdom come. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” I consulted ten commentaries, and nobody gave more than one paragraph’s attention to that. Yet I believe that the end of the Lord’s prayer, whether it was in the original or not, is one of the most important teaching guides on how to pray because we understand and acknowledge that the kingdom does not belong to us, that the kingdom belongs to Him. God’s work is not accomplished in this world by our power, by our programs, or by our ingenuity, because the power is His power, and obviously He will share His glory with no man. We have to be reminded when we pray that it is His glory that we are praying for. I believe that as we grow to a deeper understanding of prayer by studying what the Bible teaches about prayer, by studying the Psalms, for example, more and more of our time in prayer will be in adoration, and less and less in basic petitions for our own benefit.
Can I say one more thing about that? I think the most important thing about prayer, however, is that when we enter into prayer, that we remember two things. We have to remember Who it is we are speaking to in prayer, and we have to remember who we are. If we remember those two things, then there will be a natural sense of reverence and adoration and humility that will cover our prayer.
Related: Interview with R.C. Sproul - Part Two; Part Three; Short Videos
McCain Ad: Palin More Experienced Than Obama
Underestimating and Belittling Gov. Sarah Palin
While I concede that nominating Governor Palin was a risk in some sense, I find the ridicule she is receiving to be overdone. It was a calculated risk (like many in politics) -- and one based on sound reason and (I believe) thorough vetting. If neither Obama nor Biden want to touch her daughter's pregnancy with a ten foot pole, why does the media not stop talking about it? (1) It is salacious, and therefore drives up ratings. (2) It supposedly pours cold water on Gov. Palin's wholesome image. (3) They suspect it divides evangelicals, or otherwise embarrasses them. Furthermore, the mainstream media does not seem to understand why she so electrifies the conservative base.
Christopher Orr, writing in the prominent liberal blog The New Republic, compellingly presents "The Case Against the Case Against Palin". It begins by describing how Sarah Palin ran against incumbent governor (and former three term senator) Frank Murkowski. Orr is recounting advice he gave to a friend who became a speech writer for Palin in 2005, when she was gearing up to take on Murkowski in the Republican primary:
It was utter folly. "Wait until the big money starts coming in for Murkowski," I said. "Wait until the party machinery goes to work on Palin. They will eat her for lunch."Orr goes on to chastise Democratic leadership for expressing the same folly today.Murkowski, for his part, expressed a similar view. "If I decide to," he said, "I will run and I will win. It's that simple."
The folly, of course, turned out to be my own (and Murkowski's), as Palin slaughtered the incumbent in the primary--posting a 30 point margin of victory--and went on to win the general (over a former Democratic governor) without seeming to break a sweat. She then quickly fulfilled an implicit campaign promise by slapping down ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips in negotiations over a proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline, even though they, too, by all accounts, were well prepared to dine on her tender little frame. Not bad for a lightweight.
Barack Obama’s spokesman, Bill Burton, put it this way: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." Former mayor? If you're going to skip over her job as governor and, before that, her job heading the commission that oversees production of the largest petroleum reserves in America, why not "former high school student"? Bah, what does it matter: She's just a small town mayor, just a hockey mom, just a beauty pageant queen. Palin has never shunned these belittling monikers, in part, I imagine, because the camouflage has served her so well. Soothed by the litany, her opponents tend to sleep too late, sneer too much, and forget who it is that hires them.Read the whole thing.
It seem Barack Obama is making the same error: underestimating Palin and belittling her record.
In response to Senator Obama's misleading comparison, Byron York points out:
Alaska's FY2008 operating budget is $11.2 billion, and the state employs approximately 15,000 people. Those certainly aren't huge numbers in federal terms, but they're a good bit bigger than the Obama campaign.
GOP Convention, Tue Night (Brief) Summary
I agree with much of the conservative media: Fred Thompson did a terrific job while Joe Lieberman had some good lines but went a bit too long. That said, I do admire Lieberman's bravery. I imagine he'll be getting a chilly response from his Democratic colleagues. Indeed, many are noting that his days of caucusing with the Democrats may be waning. My guess is that he switches to the GOP if McCain wins (and maybe even if he doesn't). CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen called it a strong opening night. The videos are all here.
Obama Goes After McCain on Abortion
I agree with Ramesh Ponnuru: Obama is making a big mistake by airing a new radio ad blasting McCain for his pro-life position. Seems to fly in the face of Obama's efforts to court evangelicals. May I add: It seems like someone is a bit scared that he may be losing moderate female votes to McCain-Palin. Ponnuru notes:
I think Obama is making a mistake. There's a reason John Kerry didn't run ads on this issue, or bring it up in his convention speech. The McCain campaign should hit back by pointing out that Obama supports taxpayer funding of abortion—something a Democratic Congress might try to do, unlike banning abortion.
Ronald Reagan Tribute - 2008 Republican Convention
September 02, 2008
Mark Steyn: Lights Out on Liberty?
Mark Steyn, a widely published columnist, is the author of America Alone: The End of The World as We Know It. For those unfamiliar with this outstanding book, it presents a compelling case of how western culture has increasingly been willing to exchange religious liberty for the temporary appearance of peace/stability in regions with growing Muslim populations. Steyn gives a primer for this best-selling book in a recent essay published in Imprimis. An excerpt:
We now have Muslim "honor killings," for instance, not just in tribal Pakistan and Yemen, but in Germany and the Netherlands, in Toronto and Dallas. And even if there were no battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if no one was flying planes into tall buildings in New York City or blowing up trains, buses, and nightclubs in Madrid, London, and Bali, we would still be in danger of losing this war without a shot being fired.For more on this book, see this excellent review that my wife Marni wrote.The British government recently announced that it would be issuing Sharia-compliant Islamic bonds—that is, bonds compliant with Islamic law and practice as prescribed in the Koran. This is another reason to be in favor of small government: The bigger government gets, the more it must look for funding in some pretty unusual places—in this case wealthy Saudis. As The Mail on Sunday put it, this innovation marks "one of the most significant economic advances of Sharia law in the non-Muslim world."
What McCain Needs To Do With His Speech
McCain may lack the oratorical skills of Obama (with all its finesse), but he can speak from the fullness of his heart--from the overflow of a life in public service. Voters generally pick the candidate who seems most genuine, not necessarily the one who is more articulate. (How else did our current President get elected?)
For example, McCain outdid Obama at Saddleback not just because it was a friendly audience (after all, the TV audience dwarfed those in live attendance) but because he dug deeper. The answer he gave as to his greatest moral failure left the crowd momentarily speechless. He displayed gravitas, clarity, and simplicity, whereas Obama appeared scholarly and evasive.
Peter Robinson, writing in the Wall Street Journal, explains:
If he sometimes treated his 2000 campaign as a mere attempt to move up the ladder, Mr. McCain treats this campaign as a duty. And this, I think, represents the underlying reason Mr. McCain has been able to defy the odds, keeping the presidential race wide open. Whereas Mr. Obama remains a complicated, enigmatic figure -- in the profile it published the day he delivered his acceptance speech, the New York Times called him "elusive" -- Mr. McCain has come into focus, becoming a candidate voters can understand.For conservatives (like myself) who sometimes disagree with McCain, Robinson notes:
The man is a patriot. Grasp that and you have grasped John McCain. Refusing 40 years ago to accept early release from his imprisonment in the Hanoi Hilton and running for president today -- both are of a piece. Seen in this light, even Mr. McCain's shortcomings make a certain kind of sense. McCain-Feingold? Bad legislation. But you can almost understand why he backed it.I think this also explains why McCain doesn't quote a lot of Bible or talk very much about his religious faith. For one, he's of a generation that is not given to effusive expression on personal or spiritual matters. And secondly, it would probably be disingenuous. When I was at the Saddleback Civil Forum, several associates close to McCain helped me understand why McCain launched into the story of the cross in the sand when asked by Warren what it means to be a Christian. I had been hoping McCain would tell us how his faith sustains him today, not forty years ago. But it seems that McCain's faith is largely structural, rather than pervasive and overt (as in Governor Huckabee, for example). But McCain's reticence to talk about faith matters, then, is also evidence of integrity. Robinson's conclusion is spot-on:Mr. McCain sees the money sloshing around Washington as an insult to America -- and he takes such insults personally. Patriot though he is, Mr. McCain is too imbued with the military ethic (which of course eschews ostentatious displays) to trumpet his patriotism.
Mr. Obama may be able to offer voters all the attractions of high rhetoric, but Mr. McCain can offer something else: an uncomplicated love of country.Read the whole thing.
Meghan McCain on Bristol Palin
Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator John McCain, writes:
The first political convention I ever attended was when my mom was pregnant with me in 1984 and the Republican Party nominated Ronald Reagan for a second term as President. I have been on political stages and in campaigns since before I could walk or talk. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that it is difficult to establish your identity and independence as the son or daughter of a politician. When I was 14 years old, a reporter questioned my father about me having a hypothetical abortion, had I been pregnant at 14. This reporter's question single-handedly changed my life. This story comes up in almost every profile written about me and in almost every interview. It's a rough go being the son or daughter of a politician. I have not known Bristol Palin very long, but there is a certain kinship I feel to her as I do other political daughters such as Chelsea Clinton, Jenna and Barbara Bush and Mary Cheney. You can't fully understand it unless you have lived it. So I just wanted to let it be known that I support Bristol and the entire Palin family.
September 01, 2008
The Palin's Decision to Have a Down Syndrome Baby
Andy Crouch, author of the highly reputed new book entitled Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, suggests that the best thing about Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate is that it will increase public exposure to her (and her husband's) decision to not abort their Down Syndrome baby born several months ago. According to the peer-reviewed journal Prenatal Diagnosis, about 85% of parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome elect to terminate the pregnancy. Other studies find that figure exceeding 90%.
What is odd about that statistic, Crouch writes, is that Down Syndrome people (rare as they may be today) are generally happy. Crouch's closing thoughts:
The fact that this syndrome has become a reason for termination is evidence of the terrible power of culture. A culturally neutral artifact (prenatal diagnosis of congenital diseases) combined with a culturally tragic artifact (elective abortion) begins to make it plausible that parents should avoid the challenges and risks of a Down pregnancy by ending it. The decreasing number of children born with the condition begins to make it more difficult to imagine that “normal” families can absorb the stresses of raising such a child, and undermines public support for public programs that support families who have made that decision. Which, over time, makes carrying a Down Syndrome baby to term ever more inconceivable, leading to increased rates of termination, leading to decreasing plausibility . . . until one day the burden of bringing a Down Syndrome child into the world is seen as so grave that less than 10 percent of parents take the risk.Read the whole thing.But Sarah and Todd Palin have done it. I cannot think of any other public figures in my adult life, at least of the prominence they are about to enjoy or endure, who have made this decision. They will cause many, many families to reconsider the horizons of the possible. Their public example could very well lead to a cultural sea change—a dramatic shift in the “horizons of the possible.” That phrase from my book is no metaphor. Those horizons are so real that, for a future generation of children and their parents, they are quite literally a matter of life and death. For this reason, which utterly transcends politics and this year’s election, the sudden prominence of the Palins is, in the deepest sense, an extraordinary act of public service.
(HT: Tullian Tchividjian)
The Google Ads - A Quick Word
Dear Readers,
With a brother-in-law and a cousin-in-law both being employees of Google, I've decided to give google ads a try. I've been assured that no elicit content will appear there (though ads for Obama may appear, given how much he's been discussed here in recent weeks). The sponsor section has not gotten any larger; I just bunched them up more. I welcome any input, specifically any concerns you may have. This is a brief experiment; I'll get rid of it if there is any decrease in user enjoyment.
Thanks,
Alex
John McCain Interview 08-31-08
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