January 30, 2009
Ted Haggard's Return To The Spotlight
This week, HBO will release a documentary by Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) called The Trials of Ted Haggard. Haggard will also appear on Larry King Live and Oprah Winfrey's show. He has done a two-part interview with U.S. News and World Report. Haggard's is a sad story--the revelation that broke in 2006, the counseling he's since received (which seems to have reinforced a victim mentality), and now his media blitz.
That's what Patton Dodd is saying. Mr. Dodd was employed at New Life Church (where Haggard served as Senior Pastor) for eight years. Dodd observes:
"I was Haggard's writer and editor for eight years, and I don't know anyone who was not shocked that there was such a thing as a secret for him. Haggard's double life was a searing revelation to his family, his church, and his closest friends."Dodd's analysis:
"I was hoping — against hope — that The Trials of Ted Haggard would document his walking into the light. It doesn't. It captures his attempt to reenter the limelight.....Anyone who cares about Haggard, as I do, must see this comeback as a continuation of his tragedy."Read the whole thing.
NBC Rejects Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad
Shamefully, NBC has categorically rejected a positive, uplifting pro-life ad which a private organization wanted to run during the Superbowl. An NBC representative said that they are not interested in "advertisements involving 'political advocacy or issues.'" Inconsistently, however, NBC is in discussion with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA -- an advocacy group for animal rights) about how their commercial might be played, if they tone down the overt sexuality.
Here's the rejected pro-life ad:
Brian Burch, President of Fidelis, the pro-life group which sponsored this ad, observes: “There is nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement. We show a beautiful ultrasound, something NBC’s parent company GE has done for years. We congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the first African-American President. And we simply ask people to imagine the potential of every human life." Burch responded to the rejection further by saying, “NBC claims it doesn't allow advocacy ads, but that’s not true. They were willing to air an ad by PETA if they would simply tone down the sexual suggestiveness. Our ad is far less provocative, and hardly controversial by comparison."
Send your complaints about the rejection of the ad to Victoria Morgan, Vice President, Advertising Standards, NBC Universal, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 1825 E. New York, NY 10112. Call (212) 664-4267 or fax (212) 664-6366 or email victoria.morgan@nbc.com
HT: Mike Poterma
January 27, 2009
John Piper To President Barack Obama
January 23, 2009
What makes abortion plausible? What makes abortion unthinkable?
Dr. Albert Mohler unpacks these questions through the lens of Jeremiah 1:1-10:
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month. Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. "Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant."Check it out.
January 22, 2009
Get Outta My Face! (UPDATE)
Rick Horne, D.Min., serves the Lord as head of the guidance department at Delaware County Christian School in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, and directs the school counseling concentration for the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at Columbia International University. He has just published a book with Shepherd Press called Get Outta My Face!, which is currently selling for less than $4.88 (65% off) at Westminster Bookstore. THIS PRICE IS ONLY GOOD UNTIL NOON EST JANUARY 24, 2009.
A few of the endorsements:
"Rick Horne has invested in teens his whole life. He has learned that he is more like them than unlike them. From years of first hand experience, he knows how to talk with them and his is not afraid of the tough ones. What you will read here is the wisdom of a man who has experienced the courage and hope that transforming grace can give to you and that hard teenager God has chosen for you to be near. This book is a call to action with biblical perspectives and practical steps that God can use to change the teenager and you as well."
- Paul David Tripp, Paul Tripp Ministries and author of Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens
"Rick Horne knows teens—the kind that won't talk and those that won't stop talking. If you have a teenager, you need this book. In fact, don't wait for the teen years! Arm yourself now with the timeless truths from this book that counsels moms and dads with gospel-hope for teenage trials."
- Dave Harvey, Sovereign Grace Ministries and author of When Sinners Say "I Do"
"How do you reach someone who wants to be unreachable? How do you help someone who's not looking for help? Those are questions Rick Horne addresses and addresses well. He knows from life experience how to do what seems impossible—how to connect with teens. If you care about teenagers, if you work with teens, if you live with a teen, this book will help you reach their hearts."
- David Powlison, Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Westminster Bookstore sold 1000 copies of this book in 12 hours. They only have 500 more copies in stock for this special price. Once those are gone, the offer expires.
Interview - Anne Hendershott - The Politics of Abortion
Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In the last couple of weeks, I have been enjoying The Politics of Abortion
CHEDIAK: What got you interested in the history of abortion politics?
HENDERSHOTT: When writing my earlier book, The Politics of Deviance
With all of these behaviors, there was a concerted effort by advocacy groups to define down the deviancy of these behaviors. There was so much on abortion though that I decided to devote an entire book on it - many would be surprised at the lobbying efforts that surrounded abortion in the early days - and still surround it today.
CHEDIAK: Young adults today may find it hard to believe that Democrats were once pro-life. Can you please list some of the salient data which supports this claim?
HENDERSHOTT:There are a number of documents that demonstrate that Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore and Ted Kennedy were strongly pro-life. For example, Ted Kennedy wrote to a constituent in 1971 pledging his support for the unborn - from the moment of conception. I document others in my book. Jesse Jackson compared abortion to slavery.
CHEDIAK: What happened in the Democratic Party? How did its leadership embrace a position that was (it would seem) at odds with at least some of their base? Did they ever lose votes on it and reconsider? Or did their base expand to outweigh any loses?
HENDERSHOTT: Although feminists were not in the lead in demanding abortion rights (it was really two abortion industry profiteers - Larry Lader and Bernard Nathanson - who were out in front in lobbying for abortion in the early days), once feminists got on board, there was no stopping the pro-abortion train. They began to be convinced that this was the only way women could gain "full rights" in employment etc. Democrats began to see this as a lucrative source of funds for them - and a source of new voters. New York led in this area - it was legalized in New York before Roe v Wade. Bobby Kennedy - a pro-life Catholic received a great deal of support from dissident priests in helping him reformulate his abortion stance - I write about that in my book and in a recent Wall Street Journal article. New voters demanding abortion helped put democrats in power.
CHEDIAK: A large percentage of abortion clinics are in neighborhoods with a high percentage of Black and Hispanic women. Is that a coincidence?
HENDERSHOTT: I write about this in an article in Public Discourse (The Witherspoon Institute).
CHEDIAK: Do pro-choice advocates today argue for societal benefits to abortion (such as crime rate statistics)? Or is the main argument that government should "not interfere" in a "personal decision"?
HENDERSHOTT: Other than the Freakanomics author who (in an earlier pubished paper) says that more abortions mean less crime, others realize the problems with such a position. Still, this is the same position that Margaret Sanger advocated when she wrote about the "undesirable classes" or the "dangerous classes".
January 21, 2009
R.C. Sproul - Free Streaming Video Series on Abortion
Dr. R.C. Sproul has a six-part video series on abortion that Ligonier Ministries has made freely available over the Internet.
Each episode is approximately 30 minutes in length - links below go to each individual video. The teaching is excellent (careful, logical, biblical).
What Are the Key Issues?
How Sacred Is Human Life?
When Does Life Begin?
What Is the Relationship of Church and State?
What About Those Who Demand Their Rights?
What Is Your Verdict?
Being Pro-Life Christians Under a Pro-Choice President
That's the title of John Piper's January 17, 1993 sermon (just three days prior to President Clinton's inauguration). The text was 1 Peter 2:13-17:
"Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."An excerpt:
We will honor you by expecting from you straightforward answers to straightforward questions. We would not expect this from a con-man, but we do expect it from an honorable man.Read the whole thing.For example,
1. Are you willing to explain why a baby's right not to be killed is less important than a woman's right not to be pregnant?
2. Or are you willing to explain why most cities have laws forbidding cruelty to animals, but you oppose laws forbidding cruelty to human fetuses? Are they not at least living animals?
Life: Imagine The Potential
HT: Kelly's Musings, JT
Holiness of God Conference: In English and Spanish
The Ligonier Ministries 2009 National Conference is on the theme The Holiness of God. It will be held March 19-21 in Orlando, FL. Yours truly will be joining uber-blogger Tim Challies for live-blogging duties (including the John Calvin mini-conference -- see the full schedule). Karisa Schlehr announces that Ligonier Ministries will also be providing simultaneous Spanish translation during the conference.
Conference speakers include Thabiti Anyabwile, Alistair Begg, Donald A. Carson, J. Ligon Duncan III, Sinclair Ferguson, W. Robert Godfrey, Steven J. Lawson, R. Albert Mohler Jr., R.C. Sproul, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Derek Thomas.
On-line registration is still open.
Great Inaugaration Prayer By Rick Warren
HT: JT
January 20, 2009
A Prayer for President Barack Obama
Albert Mohler offers an oustanding prayer for our new President. An excerpt:
Lord, we pray with thanksgiving for the joy and celebration reflected on millions of faces who never expected to look to the President of the United States and see a person who looks like themselves. Father, thank you for preserving this nation to the moment when an African-American citizen will take the oath of office and become our President. Thank you for the hope this has given to so many, the pride emerging in hearts that had known no such hope, and the pride that comes to a people who have experienced such pain at the hands of fellow citizens, simply because of the color of their skin. Father, we rejoice in every elderly face that reflects such long-sought satisfaction and in every young face that expresses such unrestrained joy. May this become an open door for a vision of race and human dignity that reflects your glory in our differences, and not our corruption of your gift.And another:
Father, we pray that you will change this president's heart and mind on issues of urgent concern. We are so thankful for his gifts and talents, for his intellect and power of influence. Father, bend his heart to see the dignity and sanctity of every single human life, from the moment of conception until natural death. Father, lead him to see abortion, not as a matter of misconstrued rights, but as a murderous violation of the right to life. May he come to see every aborted life as a violation of human dignity and every abortion as an abhorrent blight upon this nation's moral witness. May he pledge himself to protect every human life at every stage of development. He has declared himself as an energetic defender of abortion rights, and we fear that his election will lead directly to the deaths of countless unborn human beings. Protect us from this unspeakable evil, we pray. Most urgently, we pray that you will bring the reign of abortion to an end, even as you are the defender of the defenseless.Read the whole thing.
Live Blog of Calvin Legacy Conference
R. Scott Clark has a full live-blog of the recent Calvin's Legacy conference in Westminster Seminary in Escondido, CA.
Links to posts for each of these topics are at the above link.
Was John Calvin a 16th Century Joel Osteen?
Is There a Difference Between Calvinist and Reformed?
PLENARY 1 - Calvin: Why He Still Matters by W. Robert Godfrey (7:10 p.m.)
The First Session Break
PLENARY 2 - Calvin as Bible Interpreter by S. M. Baugh (8:15 p.m.)
Did Calvin differ with the HC and Canons of Dort?
PLENARY 3 - Calvin and the Reform of Worship by R. Scott Clark (8:40 a.m.)
PLENARY 4 - Calvin on Law and Gospel by Michael S. Horton (9:45 a.m.)
PLENARY 5 - Calvin and Preaching by Hywel R. Jones (10:50 a.m.)
The Lunch Break Saturday
PLENARY 6 - Calvin: The Friendly Reformer by W. Robert Godfrey (12:50 p.m.)
The Assembled Panel
January 19, 2009
God and Race in American Politics
Mark Noll's new book, God and Race in American Politics: A Short History
Religion has been a powerful political force throughout American history. When race enters the mix the results have been some of our greatest triumphs as a nation--and some of our most shameful failures. In this important book, Mark Noll, one of the most influential historians of American religion writing today, traces the explosive political effects of the religious intermingling with race.John Piper has a series of blog posts about this book.Noll demonstrates how supporters and opponents of slavery and segregation drew equally on the Bible to justify the morality of their positions. He shows how a common evangelical heritage supported Jim Crow discrimination and contributed powerfully to the black theology of liberation preached by Martin Luther King Jr. In probing such connections, Noll takes readers from the 1830 slave revolt of Nat Turner through Reconstruction and the long Jim Crow era, from the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to "values" voting in recent presidential elections. He argues that the greatest transformations in American political history, from the Civil War through the civil rights revolution and beyond, constitute an interconnected narrative in which opposing appeals to Biblical truth gave rise to often-contradictory religious and moral complexities. And he shows how this heritage remains alive today in controversies surrounding stem-cell research and abortion as well as civil rights reform.
God and Race in American Politics is a panoramic history that reveals the profound role of religion in American political history and in American discourse on race and social justice.
1. Agonizingly Both-And: God and Race as the Inauguration Approaches
2. Just When You Die for Them, They Lynch Your Nephew
3. Noll Wisely Risks the Un-sensible
4. How the “Fierce Caucasian-Gentile-Visigoths” Flunked
5. Christianity Is the Best Explanation
The House Democrats $825 Billion Stimulus Plan
Jennifer Rubin has the details:
1. The House Democrats’ bill will cost each and every household $6,700 additional debt, paid for by our children and grandchildren.
2. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government.
3. President-elect Obama has said that his proposed stimulus legislation will create or save three million jobs. This means that this legislation will spend about $275,000 per job. The average household income in the U.S. is $50,000 a year.
4. The House Democrats’ bill provides enough spending — $825 billion — to give every man, woman, and child in America $2,700.
5. $825 billion is enough to give every person living in poverty in the U.S. $22,000.
6. $825 billion is enough to give every person in Ohio $72,000.
7. Although the House Democrats’ proposal has been billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality only $30 billion of the bill — or three percent — is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office said that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year, making the one year total less than $7 billion for infrastructure.
8. Much of the funding within the House Democrats’ proposal will go to programs that already have large, unexpended balances. For example, the bill provides $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which already have $16 billion on hand. And, this year, Congress has plans to rescind $9 billion in highway funding that the states have not yet used.
9. In 1993, the unemployment rate was virtually the same as the rate today (around seven percent). Yet, then-President Clinton’s proposed stimulus legislation ONLY contained $16 billion in spending.
10. Here are just a few of the programs and projects that have been included in the House Democrats’ proposal:
* $650 million for digital TV coupons.
* $6 billion for colleges/universities — many which have billion dollar endowments.
* $166 billion in direct aid to states — many of which have failed to budget wisely.
* $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.
* $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters.
* $200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting.
* $400 million for “National Treasures.”
11. Almost one-third of the so called tax relief in the House Democrats’ bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief makes up only 24 percent of the total package — not the 40 percent that President-elect Obama had requested.
12. $825 billion is just the beginning — many Capitol Hill Democrats want to spend even more taxpayer dollars on their “stimulus” plan.
Read the whole thing, which includes her assessment of how the GOP needs to respond.
Open Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama
Ron Jones, senior pastor of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia, pens an excellent open letter to President-Elect Barack Obama.
(HT: JT)
The Politics of Abortion -- Anne Hendershott
In this 2006 volume, sociologist Anne Hendershott gives an excellent history of The Politics of Abortion
1. How, via Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court advanced a particular agenda by effectively silencing the normal, political debate on abortion at the state level (even though some states had already passed pro-choice legislation).
2. How abortion-industry capitalists teamed up with radical feminists in the late 1960s to define abortion as a basic right.
3. A clandestine meeting at the Kennedy home in Hyannis Port, MA in the summer of 1964 where leading Catholic theologians and professors helped Senator Ted Kennedy (of MA) and Robert Kennedy (then running for a NY Senate seat) and others in their family accept and even promote abortion with a "clear conscience".
4. How academic leaders in the Catholic community have been enlisted to promote the pro-choice position, in spite of the official Catholic teaching against abortion (giving cover and talking points to leaders such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden).
5. How large sums of campaign money lured Democratic leadership into pushing aside pro-life democrats. For example, Governor of Pennsylvania Robert Casey was denied a speaking role in the 1992 Democratic National Convention in spite of his impressive record of accomplishments. Others lost elections due to insufficient financial support. Hendershott also discusses the pro-choice lurching every four years in the Democratic primary, as candidates seek to out-maneuver one another in loyalty to the pro-choice cause (often, as in Al Gore's case, having to recant and distort their public record).
6. The pervasively racist leanings of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood.
7. The deep ambivalence regarding abortion on the part of Democratic politicians well into the 1980s. Jesse Jackson once observed that the "privacy" argument used to justify the Roe decision was "the premise of slavery."
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the history of the legal and political battles on abortion. For a primer, see this recent Wall Street Journal essay by Hendershott. Lastly, Dr. Hendershott has graciously agreed to an interview, which will hopefully be posted on Thursday, January 22, the thirty-sixth anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
The White House released this statement on January 15, 2009 from President Bush. Read it carefully - short of a miracle, you are unlikely to see anything like this from the White House in the next few years.
National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.
The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.
America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.
The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
GEORGE W. BUSH
(HT: James Grant)
January 17, 2009
4D Images of Human Development
These are some of the most amazing images of pre-birth human development that I have ever seen.
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." - Psalm 139:13-16
On abortion, consider Prov. 24:11-12:
"Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?"(HT: Brian Bill)
Barack Obama Making Christ a Minister of Condemnation
At Barack Obama’s request, tomorrow in the Lincoln Memorial, Gene Robinson, the first openly non-celibate homosexual bishop in the Episcopal Church, will deliver the invocation for the inauguration kick-off.Read the whole thing.This is tragic not mainly because Obama is willing to hold up the legitimacy of homosexual intercourse, but because he is willing to get behind the church endorsement of sexual intercourse between men.
It is one thing to say: Two men may legally have sex. It is another to say: The Christian church acted acceptably in blessing Robinson’s sex with men.
The implications of this are serious.
It means that Barack Obama is willing, not just to tolerate, but to feature a person and a viewpoint that makes the church a minister of damnation. Again, the tragedy here is not that many people in public life hold views (like atheism) that lead to damnation, but that Obama is making the church the minister of damnation.
January 12, 2009
Joshua Harris: The Next Generation
Writing for TableTalk magazine this past April, pastor Joshua Harris reflects on the value of a mentor in his life:
When I turned twenty-one, my dad gave me this simple advice: “Find men that you want to be like and then sit at their feet.” As I launched into manhood, he was reminding me that the lessons I needed most wouldn’t be found in a textbook — they’d be written in the heart and life of a godly man. I needed to get close enough to this man that I could observe his character and be shaped by his example. I needed a mentor.Read the whole thing.
January 11, 2009
Gospel & Culture: Tim Keller, John Piper, and D. A. Carson
This dialog occurred at The Gospel Coalition conference in 2008.
January 10, 2009
Christ and Culture Revisited -- D.A. Carson
Professor and author Dr. D.A. Carson is a compelling and engaging thinker on a wide array of topics ranging from technical exegetical matters to devotional reflections, to controversial matters in church life. So I was happy to receive a copy this week of Christ and Culture Revisited. Two noteworthy endorsements:
"Don Carson here writes clearly, carefully, and helpfully about the timely topic of how Christians should engage culture. Well-suited to write such a volume, Carson exposes and explodes 'egregious reductionisms' whic he says too often afflict Christians. We can't reduce the relationship of Christ and culture to one model (Niebuhrian or otherwise). Reading this book has sharpened my own understanding. So buy the book you're holding. Read it. Pass it along to folks in your congregation. And reduce 'egregious redutionisms'!"
- Mark Dever, Pastor of Capitol Hill baptist Church, Washington D. C.; Author of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
"There is no more crucial issue facing us today than the relationship of the church and the gospel to contemporary culture. Don Carson's treatment of this issue is the most balanced one out there. Rather than grinding an ax or pushing his own paradigm, he listens carefully to the Scripture and brings us in the end to a sophisticated simplicity about these matters. I highly recommend this book."
- Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City, Author of The Reason for God
How Support for Abortion Became Commonplace for High Profile Democrats
Dr. Anne Hendershott is a professor of urban studies at The King's College in New York. She is the author of The Politics of Abortion
Even Ted Kennedy, who gets a 100% pro-choice rating from the abortion-rights group Naral, was at one time pro-life. In fact, in 1971, a full year after New York had legalized abortion, the Massachusetts senator was still championing the rights of the unborn. In a letter to a constituent dated Aug. 3, 1971, he wrote: "When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception."Read the whole thing.But that all changed in the early '70s, when Democratic politicians first figured out that the powerful abortion lobby could fill their campaign coffers (and attract new liberal voters). Politicians also began to realize that, despite the Catholic Church's teachings to the contrary, its bishops and priests had ended their public role of responding negatively to those who promoted a pro-choice agenda.
(HT: JT)
January 08, 2009
Obama Serves Reid Taste of Chicago Way
John Kass of the Chicago Tribune beat me in predicting what is now obvious: Roland "Tombstone" Burris will be seated as an Illinois Senator. That much is increasingly clear now that President-Elect Obama played hardball with Harry Reid in a phone call:
Now Tombstone has President-elect Barack Obama behind him, muscling Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid in a phone call earlier in the week. So much for transcending the old politics.What happened? Read the whole thing.Only a week ago, Obama, Reid and other Democratic leaders were adamant that they'd block any Senate appointment made by tainted Illinois Gov. Rod "Dead Meat" Blagojevich, who has been charged with trying to sell Obama's seat to the highest bidder.
January 05, 2009
Sammy And His Shepherd: Seeing Jesus in Psalm 23
I first read Sammy and His Shepherd in manuscript form, but now that it is published, we've been reading it to our almost three-year old daughter and sixteen-month old son. The chapters are short, which is helpful for young kids like ours, as we can cover a chapter in 5-10 minutes (allowing time for picture-gazing, too). Since that's about how long their attention span lasts, it works pretty well. For 4-6 year olds I'd imagine parents could cover a pair of chapters a night, or maybe more. There are 11 chapters in all, and at the end of the book there are great discussion questions that go with each chapter.
The story seeks to show the character of Jesus Christ, the good Shepherd, in Psalm 23. The title of each chapter is about half a verse in the psalm. The book follows the story of a lonely sheep with a harsh master who is rescued and purchased by a kind, loving, Jesus-like shepherd. This shepherd adopts her, names her Precious, and adds her to his flock. Through conversations and experiences with the other sheep, Precious learns to trust in the good shepherd, and to rest in His care, even in the bad times. The questions at the end of the chapter help children make the connections between the story of Precious and our story as God's children, the sheep of His pasture. An excellent read for children of all ages.
The endorsements:
"Susan Hunt leads children through Psalm 23, one verse at a time, looking in detail at a shepherd's care through the eyes of his sheep. Sammy and His Shepherd explains important doctrines in simple and concise terms and points out how those doctrines about our Shepherd should impact the everyday lives of His sheep. This is a visually attractive book that sets forth the beauty of our Lord."
- Starr Meade, Author, Keeping Holiday and Training Hearts, Teaching Minds
"Sammy and His Shepherd is a delightful book for children. Written as an imaginative story narrated by a young lamb, this book does a skillful exposition of Psalm 23. It even includes some great talking points for each chapter. Susan Hunt's skills as a writer and rich theological insights are beautifully crafted into this story. Here is a book children will grow into and never outgrow."
- Tedd Tripp, Pastor, conference speaker, and author, Shepherding a Child's Heart
"I gave Susan Hunt's latest book the real test: I began reading it out loud to my rambunctious five-year-old. He was immediately charmed by her storytelling ability and would not let me stop. Sammy and His Shepherd combines rich, theologically informed understanding with sanctified creativity to reveal the green pastures of God's sovereign grace in all its loveliness."
- Douglas Bond, Author, Crown & Covenant series, and Faith & Freedom trilogy
"In this lovely book on the best-loved psalm, Susan Hunt engages the attention in a delightful way. I would encourage families to use this book and take advantage of the clear teaching, which points to the Good Shepherd who loves children and demonstrated that love so gloriously at Calvary."
- Carine Mackenzie, Author, Bible Time series and Bible Wise series
January 04, 2009
More than 70,000 Christians displaced in Orissa, India
According to Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), more than 70,000 Christians have been displaced and forced to live in refugee camps:
"At the Peyton Sahi relief camp which houses 35 families and 130 distraught tribals, Chabila Naik, a man who ran an orphanage for 50 children in Sarangada spent three days in the forest after their houses and churches were razed [with fire]. He has not been reunited with the children," VOM sources said.Of the situation in India, VOM Director Tom White makes these staggering remarks:Stories coming from persecuted believers in Orissa are heartbreaking. Christians spent days hiding in the forest following the attacks that erupted on August 24, after the murder of a prominent Hindu leader by Maoist extremists. “One family which did not want to be named said they had to leave their elderly mother in the jungles while the others walked through rain and darkness for 60 hours to get out of Kandhmal,” VOM sources added.
"We had no choice; I could either save my wife and two kids, or stay with her and ask for death for all of us. But, I am sure God has saved her, though I have no idea where she is," the man told VOM sources with tears in his eyes.
VOM is assisting displaced believers in Orissa and other areas in India where persecution has spread. Pray for believers who face these intense hardships and have in some cases lost contact with family members. Ask God to protect them and provide for their needs. Pray their testimonies will draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Him.
"In India in the last five years, more Christians have been beaten or killed and more houses and churches burned than in all other countries of the world combined. What has happened? Why have so many fanatics arisen among the Hindus? Thousands of Dalits (formerly untouchables), have found Christ. This is a threat to their masters, the land-owning higher caste Hindus. Still, opposition such as anti-conversion laws in India have not stopped the evangelistic explosion there."
January 03, 2009
Thinking Biblically About Facebook
Justin Buzzard offers some wise thoughts.
[Full disclosure: I occasionally get on (find someone, add a friend), but I mostly read the occasional notes in my e-mail. Per my choice, my wife has my Facebook password and time on the site is strictly monitored. Otherwise I simply cannot control the vortex!]
Good Theological Books For Kids
Andy Naselli has a helpful list, with some good commentary on each of them.
Undoubtedly, the best one-place to get these kinds of books is Westminster Bookstore.
The Doctrine of Vocation
The folks at Monergism have put together a helpful list of articles on the topic of doing all your work to the glory of God. A couple quotes from their site:
"Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever; and man carries out that function when he does what God sent him into the world to do. Work well done rises like a hymn of praise to God." - William Barclay
"Therefore I advise no one to enter any religious order or the priesthood, indeed, I advise everyone against it - unless he is forearmed with this knowledge and understands that the works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all works are measured before God by faith alone."- Martin Luther, from The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)Yours truly also wrote a short article on this topic with Boundless this past year.
HT: James Grant
Scripture Memorization
Here is a good Scripture memorization plan for 2009.
John Piper unpacks six reasons for memorizing Scripture:
1. Conformity to Christ
2. Daily Triumph over Sin
3. Daily Triumph over Satan
4. Comfort and Counsel for People You Love
5. Communicating the Gospel to Unbelievers
6. Communion with God in the Enjoyment of His Person and Ways
January 02, 2009
How To Argue Like Jesus
Hot off the press (as in, today) is this new book by Joe Carter and John Coleman, How to Argue like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History's Greatest Communicator
Uses Jesus’ words and actions found in the New Testament to systematically evaluate his rhetorical stylings, drawing real lessons from his teachings that today’s readers can employ.Sounds like an interesting read.Jesus of Nazareth never wrote a book, held political office, or wielded a sword. He never gained sway with the mighty or influential. He never took up arms against the governing powers in Rome. He was a lower-class worker who died an excruciating death at the age of thirty-three. Yet, in spite of all odds—obscurity, powerlessness, and execution—his words revolutionized human history.
How to Argue Like Jesus examines the life and words of Jesus and describes the various ways in which he sought—through the spoken word, his life, and his disciples—to reach others with his message. The authors then pull some very simple rhetorical lessons from Jesus’ life that readers can use today.
Both Christian and non-Christian leaders in just about any field can improve their ability to communicate effectively by studying the words and methods of history’s greatest communicator.
Abortion After Obama
Joseph Bottum, writing for First Things, pens a compelling, thoughtful essay on what is to become of the pro-life rationale now that Obama has won. He interacts with those who think the issue should "just go away", and gives a prediction on where Obama will go with regard to these matters. On Obama:
On abortion, Obama is the complete man, his support so ingrained that even his carefully controlled public speaking can’t help revealing it. He’s not a fanatic about abortion; he’s what lies beyond fanaticism. He’s the end product of hard-line support for abortion: a man for whom the very question of abortion seems unreal. The opponents of abortion are, for Obama, not to be compromised with or even fought with, in a certain sense. They are, rather, to be explained away as a sociological phenomenon—their pro-life view something that will wither away as they gradually come to understand the true causes of the economic and social bitterness they have, in their undereducated and intolerant way, attached to abortion.After acknowledging that Obama's Cabinet is not as radical as some feared, Bottom explains that in 1992 President Clinton gave social policy decisions at the United Nations to the far left wing of the party "as part of its spoils in the Democratic victory, and the first signs suggest that the Obama administration will do the same". Then he notes:
All this means that Obama is unlikely to resist when the abortion extremists in Congress hijack or extend the White House’s new economic and social legislation. Nancy Pelosi in the House and Dianne Feinstein in the Senate, for example, are certain to include, in health-care reform, provisions that mandate abortion training for doctors and abortion services for hospitals. And while Obama’s political advisors may regret the political objections that will result, the president himself will see it only in those terms: a problem of electoral politics, rather than a problem of constitutionality or ethics. Resist the far left on some things, but pacify them with complete support on the life issues—that seems, so far, the method of the Obama team, and it is a method wholly in keeping with what we know of the new president’s own predilections. He has already said that his Supreme Court nominations will begin with the litmus test of support for Roe v. Wade.Bottum's conclusion:
After every election, out in full howl come the voices declaring that the fight over abortion is over. And, after every election, those voices prove wrong. That’s because, in the long run, the fight will never be over until the slaughter of the unborn ceases. And it’s also because the supporters of abortion will not rest with their electoral victory. They are going to push and push until, at last, we stop them.Read the whole thing.
(HT: JT)
R.C. Sproul: Principle vs. Pragmatism
Ligonier Ministries has posted Dr. R.C. Sproul's article from the January 2009 issue of Tabletalk. Dr. Sproul observes:
What is pragmatism? Pragmatism is the only philosophy native to America. Pragmatism eschews any hope of discovering ultimate truth. It is skeptical with respect to objective principles of righteousness and defines truth as “that which works.” In this philosophy, the end always justifies the means. The driving force behind decisions within the scope of pragmatism is the force of expediency.Sproul's closing paragraph:
Expediency is an obscene word. It is the word that is ever and always at war with principle. A person who is a Christian is called of God to live by biblical principles. The principles that the Bible reveals to guide our steps are the necessary elements for authentic righteousness. Take away principle, and righteousness is slain in the streets. We need an awakening in the culture and in the church to principle — to working according to truth and to living according to biblical revelation. Without principle, the church as well as the culture will decay, and the church will become a mere echo of the unprincipled pragmatism of secularism.Read the whole thing.
Richard John Neuhaus Has A Serious Form Of Cancer
Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief of the highly reputed journal First Things, was recently diagnosed with a serious cancer. Tim Bayly passes on a group e-mail sent to him by managing editor Joseph Bottum:
Please forgive this group email, but so many have asked after the health of Richard John Neuhaus that is seemed best to send out this single message to all our friends.Fr. Neuhaus is in the hospital here in New York. Over Thanksgiving, he was diagnosed with a serious cancer. The long-term prognosis for this particular cancer is not good, but it is not hopeless, either, and there is a possibility that it will respond to the recommended out-patient chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, over Christmas, he was taken dangerously ill with what seems to be a systemic infection that has left him very weak. Entering the hospital the day after Christmas, he was sedated to lower an elevated heart rate and treatment was begun for the infection. Over the last few days, he has shown some signs of improvement, and there is a reasonable expectation that he will recover from this present illness—sufficiently, we hope, that he will be able to begin the chemotherapy for the cancer.
Fr. Neuhaus is not able at the moment to receive visitors or speak on the telephone or answer his mail, and he has requested that no flowers, candy, or other get-well presents be sent—just your prayers for his quick recovery. Further bulletins will be sent when there is news to report.
Please share this email with anyone you think would be interested. May we all have a blessed New Year.
(HT: James Grant)
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Recent Posts
- Ted Haggard's Return To The Spotlight
- NBC Rejects Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad
- John Piper To President Barack Obama
- What makes abortion plausible? What makes abortion unthinkable?
- Get Outta My Face! (UPDATE)
- Interview - Anne Hendershott - The Politics of Abortion
- R.C. Sproul - Free Streaming Video Series on Abortion
- Being Pro-Life Christians Under a Pro-Choice President
- Life: Imagine The Potential
- Holiness of God Conference: In English and Spanish