Effective Sex Education Means Character Education

Kathryn Jean Lopez weighs in on the latest flapping of liberal sociologists against abstinence-based sex education. There's good stuff here (there always is with Lopez) but here's a couple of my favorite paragraphs:

...It's no shock to anyone who understands human nature, never mind kids, that any virginity pledge that fixates on brute carnal relations is not going to work. Repeating the mantra "Don't do it," even when you've got a teen doing the repeating, isn't enough. How could it work? Popular culture is obsessed with sex. We can't even manage a family dog movie ("Marley & Me") without Jennifer Aniston taking off her clothes. And until that changes, of course, a hormone-mad teenager will be sorely tempted to join in the seemingly ubiquitous fornication, pledge or no pledge.

Does that mean we pass out condoms at school because we're not going to change the culture anytime soon? No. It means kids need support and reasons engage in activities other than sex. Abstinence has to be about saying "yes" to something in order to work. We need to focus on the idea that kids can actually think, and should want more from a relationship than sex. We need to be open to programs that aren't all about copulation, but about character education...

Cuba: "The Longest-Running Failure in the New World"

From an editorial in Investor's Business Daily comes illuminating commentary on Cuba's 5o years of economic disaster and a careful chronology of just how Fidel Castro and his collectivizing criminals managed to mess things up so badly.

New Year's Day marks 50 years of communist rule in Cuba. The Castro oligarchy will trumpet its survival and celebrate. But the reality, up close, is that it's the longest-running failure in the New World...

Its inflation-adjusted gross domestic product is a mere 5% of what it was in 1958, the year before Castro took over, according to Jorge Salazar-Carillo of Florida International University.

"It's a major failure," Carmelo Mesa-Lago, a University of Pittsburgh economist, told IBD. "Cuba is unable to increase food production to meet its needs and now imports 84% of its food. Cuba produced 7 million tons of sugar in 1952. This year, it's 1.5 million tons. This is the result of economic policy of collectivization, killing of individual incentive, inefficiency, constant changes of policy."

Reliable data are hard to come by. S&P refuses to rate the country for that reason. The regime conceals its failures. But if long lines at the Spanish embassy seeking immigration aren't enough of an indicator, the chronology of Cuba's economy tell an important story...

The rest of the editorial, including that detailed (and damning) record of failure is right here.

The NFL's Matt Lepsis: From a Rocky Mountain High to a Dallas Seminary

Kurt Oyer, a fellow Broncophile, passed along this compelling story from the Denver Post about Matt Lepsis. Lepsis was an outstanding prep athlete in Texas, an All-Big 12 standout in football for the University of Colorado, and a stellar performer for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League. But that success didn't keep him from getting hooked on a "Rocky Mountain High" of a much different, much more dangerous sort.

...Eventually, Lepsis made the leap to doing drugs on his way to work. Some time during the high times and fast life of Matt Lepsis, though, he started having moments of reflection. It struck him as odd that he would buy a car and a month later, he would want another one. "I'm like, what's going on here?" he said.

Prior to the Broncos' fourth game at Indianapolis, Lepsis sought out kicker Jason Elam, an ardent Christian, during the plane ride. Lepsis had begun his flight toward a life with Christ, although the takeoff was bumpy.

True story: When Lepsis approached Elam a couple of weeks later, he said he was ready to become a Christian. But could he continue his drug habit?

"As funny as it sounds now, I was completely serious," Lepsis said.

Luckily for Lepsis, but not necessarily the Broncos, the drug habit was easier to break than the embrace of the Lord.

"For the first time in my life, I understood who Jesus was and why he died and the sacrifice he made, and I was completely consumed by it," Lepsis said. "It was a pretty radical thing that happened to me right in the middle of season. I could not concentrate on football anymore..."

Lepsis, now studying theology in a seminary at Dallas, is anxious to tell his story of rescue, revelation and redemption. In fact, here's a couple of other news stories where he does just that: the Seattle Times, the Colorado Springs Gazette, and this particularly detailed story in Winston-Salem's JournalNow.

Caroline Kennedy vs Sarah Palin: A Sad Study of Media Bias

Victor Davis Hanson describes the dramatic contrast in the MSM's treatment of these two public figures in a short piece for NRO's The Corner:

The putative Caroline Kennedy candidacy for senator has had the odd effect of reopening the media can of worms treatment of Gov. Palin. Compared to Sarah Palin's almost immediate immersion into crowds and public speaking, Kennedy seems like a deer in the headlights before the media that is either ignored or asked to submit written questions. Palin was a natural; Kennedy can't finish a single sentence without "You know" or "I mean." Palin's family saga and daily grind were populist to the core; Kennedy is a creature of a few blocks' radius in Manhattan and Martha's Vineyard.

Outsider and lower-middle-class Palin toughed it out in Wasilla for years of politicking on a 16-year slog through Alaskan old-boy politics; Caroline Kennedy in regal fashion apparently skipped voting in about half of New York elections, and has never run for anything.

Reporters swarmed over Palin's pregnancies, and her wardrobe, but apparently took on face value that Caroline's fluff books were really a sign of either erudition or scholarship.

Conservative Palin endured liberal Charlie Gibson's glasses0on-the nose pretentiousness, and Katie Couric's attack-dog questions; insider Kennedy I doubt will meet with either, much less sit down with a hostile questioner like a Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly. Her friendly New York Times "interview" proved an embarrassment—rarely have so many words been spoken with so little content.

But, no, the real embarrassment proves to be the media itself that apparently can't see this weird unfolding self-incriminating morality tale: It is not just that Palin is conservative, Kennedy politically-correct (e.g., pro-abortion, gun control, gay marriage, etc), or Palin a newcomer to public attention, Kennedy a celebrity since childhood. Rather it is the aristocratic value system of most NY-DC journalists themselves who apparently still assume that old money, status, and an Ivy-League pedigree are reliable barometers of talent and sobriety, suggesting that the upper-East Side Kennedy's public ineptness is an aberration, a bad day, a minor distraction, while Palin's charisma and ease are superficial and a natural reflection of her Idaho sports journalism degree.

A few generations ago, Democrats would have opposed Palin but appreciated her blue-collar story, and applauded a working mom who out-politicked entrenched and richer male elites. But now the new aristocratic liberalism has adopted the values of the old silk-stocking Republicans of the 1950s—and so zombie-like worship rather than question entitlement.

Boy, I Sure Want to Get Started in the Pro-Life Movement. How Much Does It Pay?

Hello,

I am seeking a paying job in ministry, not just volunteer work. I want to get started in the pro-life movement as this is an issue that is dear to my heart. I attend _________ church here in _______ and it appears that I agree with your doctrinal statement. Who would be the best person to talk to about seeking a position in your ministry?

Christmas Day One 2008

What a Christmas!

First an early breakfast with Mom and friends over at her assisted living cafeteria. Then opening presents in her upstairs apartment while listening to music and exchanging memories of Christmases past.

Then back home to prepare dinner with Christmas music blaring in the background -- Bing Crosby, the Carpenters, the Irish Rovers, the Platters, etc. Then what have become our traditional Christmas guests arrived: Patrice & Linda Kabore (and their children Kevin, Kenania and Kaitlyn), and extended family members Jonathan & Meelom, Patrick, and Innocent & Lynette (and their son Nethania).

When dinner came around it was ham, green beans, Mexican cheesey rice, fresh baked cheese bread, and lime jello/cottage cheese fluff with desserts of Christmas cookies, chocolate chip cookies and individually created ice cream sundaes, complete with a gang of toppings, whipped cream and maraschino cherries on top!

And then there was the lively, warm-hearted conversation, Burkina Faso music, and the entertaining play with the kids. What a Christmas, indeed!

The evening was considerably quieter with first the cleanup, then hot mugs of tea as we watched Christmas in Connecticut. What a terrific film it is with the writing crisp and engaging, the music charming, and the performances of Barbara Stanwyk, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet absolutely first-rate.

Finally, we closed out Christmas Day One with reflections on the delightful Christmas dinner parties we've already hosted this year (5) and some fine-tuning for the 4 still ahead of us. You see, Claire and I celebrate the Christmas season from Thanksgiving on but the "official" festivities involve the Twelve Days of Christmas and Epiphany. So we're anything but through with Christmas yet.

Yesterday will be hard to top, that's true. But you better believe we'll give it a try!

Who Gives You Shakespeare, Dickens, Dumas...and Charlton Heston Too?

New to The Book Den today are an eclectic bunch of posts focusing, respectively, on Charlton Heston, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Harold Pinter and the 1920 poem "Mary's Burden" by Eleanor Farjeon.

But once you zip over there, you may find yourself captured by items ranging from Sherlock Holmes to George M. Cohan, from Donovan to Kon-Tiki, from G.K. Chesterton to the Notting Hill Napoleons.

Check 'em out and Merry Christmas, Day Two!

Tim Tebow's Had Quite a Year...And He Played Some Football Too.

It's been quite a year for Tim Tebow. After all, he spent his spring break as a missionary in the Philippines with his father's organization. He then organized a flag football tournament to raise awareness for orphans in Gainesville and around the world. He also found time for speaking engagements in several prisons across the state of Florida, at a business conference in Croatia, and at the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board in southern Asia.

And, oh yes, the young man plays college football. Had a decent year at that too.

In 2008, Tim Tebow added to an already impressive collection of national football awards. He was a close contender in this year's Heisman (he won it last year as a spohomore) but he walked away with sole possession of the 2008 Wuerffel Trophy, the Maxwell Award and the Disney Spirit Award. And Tebow just might have a national championship to show for the year as well. He will lead Florida against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Jan. 8 BCS National Championship Game in Miami.

Here's more from Baptist Press.

A Christmas Address

Merry Christmas Eve from one of our nation's truly great heroes.

"The Christmas of the Talking Animals"

If a quiet 1/2 hour ever comes along in your hectic holiday schedule, you might enjoy this rural Christmas story I wrote several years ago. I think you'll find it a winsome, wholesome story with a very old-fashioned ingredient; namely, a spiritual moral. It's a story (not strict autobiography, by the way) about a 9-year old boy and his lively imagination who spends a remarkable Christmas at his grandpa's Missouri farm in 1952.

Word got out about the story among our friends and a recorded version ended up playing on KGBI several Christmas mornings. We just thought about it again this year and Claire suggested we burn some CD copies and send it around to a few special people. And we did that.

But she then suggested an even better idea. Embed the recording of "Christmas of the Talking Animals" into our Exposition 101 web site. That way anyone who wants to could get at it. And so we have done that too. We hope you enjoy it.

Merry Christmas!

"Isn't There Anyone Who Knows What Christmas Is All About?"

Here's someone.

Is Global Warming Becoming a Cold Topic?

The Wall Street Journal's Benny Peiser explains four reasons why Europe is "cooling" on global warming. May I trouble you to note the particular relevance of #4? I print it in bold below.

...The Brussels summit symbolizes a turning point. The watered-down climate deal epitomizes the onset of a cooling period in Europe's hitherto overheated climate debate. It may lead eventually to the complete abandonment of the unilateral climate agenda that has shaped Europe's green philosophy for nearly 20 years.

The reasons for the changing political atmosphere in Europe are manifold. First, the global economic crisis has demoted green policies nearer to the bottom of the political agenda. Saving the economy and creating jobs take priority now.

Second, disillusionment with the failed Kyoto Protocol has turned utopian thinking into sobriety. After all, most of the Kyoto signatories failed to reduce their CO2 emissions during the last 10 years. There are also growing doubts about the long-term viability of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme. The price of carbon credits has collapsed as a result of the financial crisis. The drop in demand and the recession are likely to depress carbon prices for years to come. As a result, the effectiveness of the extremely volatile scheme is increasingly questioned.

Third, a number of countries have experienced a political backlash over their renewable energy schemes. Tens of billions of euros of taxpayers' money have been pumped into projects that depend on endless government handouts. Each of the 35,000 solar jobs in Germany, for instance, is subsidized to the tune of €130,000. According to estimates by the Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research, green subsidies will cost German electricity consumers nearly €27 billion in the next two years.

Perhaps even more important is the growing realization that the warming trend of the late 20th century has, for the last 10 years or so, essentially come to a temporary halt. The data collected by international meteorological offices confirm this. This most peculiar fact is rarely mentioned in policy debates, but it certainly provides decision makers with a vital respite to reconsider their climate policy options...

Belarus' Communist Government Continues to Ban Christian Service

Three Catholic priests in the western Grodno Diocese and another priest and three nuns from the Minsk-Mohilov Archdiocese face a ban on religious work in Belarus beginning after Christmas. These latest actions mark a total so far of 28 foreign religious workers officially forbidden from working with local religious communities since 2004.

Marina Tsvilik of the state Office of the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs told Forum 18, "These are not bans. They've just not had their permission to work extended."

Castro is Still "One Helluva Guy" to Clueless Ted Turner

In a stirring article for Front Page Magazine, Humberto Fontova details just a few of the horrific crimes committed by Castro, Guevara and other Communists -- crimes that are inexplicably ignored or even justified by the likes of such thug apologists as Robert Redford, Stephen Soderbergh, the New York Times and Ted Turner.

During a December 10 Fox News interview with Bill O'Reilly, cable television tycoon Ted Turner, a longtime admirer of Fidel Castro, made the astonishing claim that Castro's Stalinist regime never killed anyone.

O'REILLY: Fidel Castro, do you admire the man?

TURNER: Yes.

O'REILLY: Now, he has murdered people. He's imprisoned people. There are political prisoners now. He won't let his people use the Internet. Nobody can use that. And you admire the guy?

TURNER: Well, I admire certain things about him. He's trained a lot of doctors, and they've got one of the best educational systems in the developing world. And you know, he's still popular with a lot of people down there...

O' REILLY: But he's a killer. He's a killer. He's a guy who…

TURNER: But that has never, to my knowledge, that's never been proven. I mean…

O'REILLY: He's executed political prisoners. I mean, he enslaves people who don't see it the way he sees it. Come on. He runs a dictatorship.

Even the Cuban revolution’s most die-hard apologists have never made so transparently preposterous a claim, and for good reason. According to the Black Book of Communism, 14,000 men and boys had been executed in Cuba by 1964 – the equivalent of more than 3 million executions in the United States. Yet the communist’s defenders continue to march. "VIVA CHE! VIVA FIDEL!" bellowed Jesse Jackson while arm-in-arm with Fidel Castro at the University of Havana in 1984. (Jesse Jackson, by the way, wrote a book condemning capital punishment.)

Indeed, like al-Qaeda generations later, mass murder (often in public), was always key to the Communist quest for and maintenance of power. Communists have always wanted this to be known, as a means to intimidate opposition...

Note that all of Guevara's above quotes are found in his own diaries. Some of these diaries were fashioned into a movie four years ago by Robert Redford (The Motorcycle Diaries). Others provided the screenplay for Che, the four-and-a-half hour “epic hagiography” (as described by the New York Times) directed by Stephen Soderbergh and starring Benicio Del Toro titled, released stateside just last week. Although the above-mentioned directors and producers profess rigid fidelity to Che's diaries, one searches their film in vain for these quotations.

Instead, many of the scenes are altogether fictitious. When Che Guevara entered the Cuban city of Santa Clara during the anti-Batista skirmishes, he promptly ordered the firing squad to murder dozens of “war-criminals” said to be linked to the overthrown government of Fulgencio Batista. This “battle” added up to six casualties on both sides, but Soderbergh and Del Toro – mindlessly sycophantic to their Castroite sources – depict it as a Caribbean Stalingrad that somehow produced scores of war criminals on one side! The New York Times, which “reported” on this “battle” as it “raged,” didn't bother to look into this numerical discrepancy...

The charitable explanation for Turner’s affection for Fidel is that it is fundamentally about business. Back in 1997, when CNN craved a Havana Bureau, Turner's sales pitch was not particularly subtle: "Castro is one helluva guy!" he gushed to a capacity crowd at Harvard Law School during a speech. "You people would like him! Most people in Cuba like him." Within weeks, CNN was granted its coveted Havana Bureau, the first ever granted by Castro to a foreign network. Whitewashing Castro’s record may be good business. But it’s hard to believe that after all this time Turner is really the dupe that his recent remarks suggest.

Ted Turner, of course, has long been an incredibly arrogant person, enjoying the notoriety of his atheism, his disdainful dismissals of Christianity, his opposition to basic American interests abroad, and his mindless defense of America's enemies.

For instance, in addition to the numskull remarks he made to Bill O'Reilly about Fidel Castro, check out this video snippet from a conversation last month with Tom Brokaw. In that program, Turner not only managed to blame the new Cold War on the United States but also came up with this nugget about Vladimir Putin's leadership of the KGB -- "And the KGB, I think, was an honorable place to work. And it, it gave people in the former Soviet Union, a communist country, an opportunity to do something important and worthwhile."

Sarah Palin Compares Well with Margaret Thatcher

John O'Sullivan, the executive editor of Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty in Prague, was a special adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. And it is from his experience in that latter role that he compares (positively, by the way) Mrs. Thatcher and Sarah Palin.

Interesting, hopeful reading.

...Though regularly pronounced sick, dying, dead, cremated and scattered at sea, Mrs. Palin is still amazingly around. She has survived more media assassination attempts than Fidel Castro has survived real ones (Cuban official figure: 638). In her case, one particular method of assassination is especially popular -- namely, the desperate assertion that, in addition to her other handicaps, she is "no Margaret Thatcher."

Very few express this view in a calm or considered manner. Some employ profanity. Most claim to be conservative admirers of Mrs. Thatcher. Others admit they had always disliked the former British prime minister until someone compared her to "Sarracuda" -- at which point they suddenly realized Mrs. Thatcher must have been absolutely brilliant (at least by comparison).

Inevitably, Lloyd Bentsen's famous put-down of Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice-presidential debate is resurrected, such as by Paul Waugh (in the London Evening Standard) and Marie Cocco (in the Washington Post): "Newsflash! Governor, You're No Maggie Thatcher," sneered Mr. Waugh. Added Ms. Coco, "now we know Sarah Palin is no Margaret Thatcher -- and no Dan Quayle either!"

Jolly, rib-tickling stuff. But, as it happens, I know Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher is a friend of mine. And as a matter of fact, Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin have a great deal in common...

An American History Quiz -- And What It Teaches About Intergenerational Dependence

Once upon a time in a land far, far away (west Omaha, to be exact) I tried an educational experiment that yielded some very interesting results about history, experience and the generation gap. Let me explain how it worked.

I was speaking to a group of older Christians at a local church. Most of the folks in the audience were retired from paid employment but they certainly weren't retired from life itself. I opened the meeting with the ominous declaration that I had prepared an American History quiz for them: 10 questions which I wanted them to answer on individual sheets of paper. Well, the reaction to a “pop quiz” is almost always the same, no matter what the age of the crowd or the situation -- groans, looks of shocked dismay, and nervous movements that range from wiggling in the chair to abject flight from the room!

However, after I soothed their fears with the assurance that no grades would be given and no notes would be sent home in case of poor performance, these veteran saints settled down and accepted the task at hand. And they soon experienced the relief (even joyful pride) when they saw the positive results. For after the totals were added up, the average score was nearly 90%. That’s a B plus average. Not at all bad for a test for which there had been no prior study at all. Unless, of course, you understand that merely paying attention to life as you live it counts as prior study. That itself is one of the important lessons to be learned from the experiment.

90%! Pretty impressive historians these guys turned out to be, right? I wonder what the average would be if, say, a younger audience were to take the same quiz. I wonder how YOU would do. Do you? If so - get ready because here it comes. It's the very same pop quiz I gave to those seniors; 10 simple questions about the history of our own country.

1) Who was Jackie Robinson?
2) Who was President of the United States during World War Two? (Look out, this is kind of a trick question.)
3) Who was Benny Goodman?
4) Who was Al Capone?
5) What general led the Confederate armies in the American Civil War?
6) Who led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill?
7) Who was Clark Gable?
8) What was a U-boat?
9) Who was Charles Lindbergh?
10) Who was Wyatt Earp?

That’s it - ten simple questions. And the answers need only be general identifications in order to get credit. I didn’t require specific dates or other details.

How did you do? Did you even get close to the 90% those senior citizens did? If not, then you should take careful note of the second lesson to be learned in this experiment; namely, that older people in our society have a wealth of information about life, culture, history, business, relationships, finance, and just plain living. In particular, young Christians should be honoring and appreciating the knowledge gained by the older crowd and utilizing their knowledge and spiritual gifts to enrich church life. As these older believers showed by this simple history quiz, they are an important repository of learning - a valuable resource that should not be ignored.

Let me now mention the second part of my experiment. A couple of weeks after I had given the quiz to these retirees, I gave the very same quiz to a group of 20 high school students who were nearing completion of an American History course. Most of them were getting ready to graduate. Would you like to know how they fared on the same quiz? Well, they didn’t score as high as the older people did. Not even close. Their average was less than 30%! And that's with at least two of the answers having been included in class presentations just previous to the quiz! Oh, one more thing; these senior high students who fared so poorly on the quiz compared to the elders were enrolled in a Christian high school.

This discrepancy should be viewed as an alarm clock for us all - an alarm to awaken us to the crying need for higher quality education for our youth, including American history and culture. And, trust me, being able to play complex video games, text messaging your buddies, and knowing all of the contestants on American Idol does not qualify as cultural attainment.

So, let’s start shaking things up in order to better educate and inspire our youth. Older Christians should put a higher priority in their own lives on Bible study, reading, listening, conversing, and writing. That way the elders are not only examples to the young; they're making sure that their own minds are being richly furnished so that they'll have something worthwhile to pass on. The older believer must help the younger appreciate the critical importance of investing time and effort in learning. These are practical, necessary and thoroughly biblical lessons.

So, by all means, we need to stop neglecting the wonderful resources we have in our midst, resources quite crucial to the completion of the church's mission. The Bible makes it clear that education of the young is a primary responsibility of the mature, so believers should be far above the world in exhibiting an intergenerational fellowship. We’re singing a lot of songs nowadays about breaking down the walls --- let’s make sure the walls of generation get broken down too.

So old folks, take the time and effort and patience to tell your stories to those following behind you. And young folks, take the time, effort and patience to hear what they have to say. You may just find them more interesting and relevant...and smarter...than you think.

Oh, by the way, need the answers to the quiz?

1) The first African-American allowed to play in major league baseball.
2) Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
3) Big Band clarinetist and bandleader.
4) Chicago gangster of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
5) Robert E. Lee
6) Teddy Roosevelt
7) Movie star
8) German submarine
9) Aviator - the first to fly solo over the Atlantic.
10) Old West lawman and gunfighter

Church Discipline Under Fire

Here's a woman in Florida who is having an ongoing sexual fling with someone to whom she isn't married. That, the Bible clearly explains, is a quite serious sin.

Furthermore, because the woman claims to be a Christian and is a member of an evangelical church, she is subject to church discipline. And no, Katie Couric and company, the church discipline the Bible requires doesn't involve stocks, dunking or branding ala The Scarlet Letter.

It simply means that the church is informed of the backslider's rebellion, the person is prohibited from taking part in church fellowship, and members are discouraged from continuing friendly relations with the offender until such time as there is genuine repentance demonstrated and subsequent restoration by the church leadership.

This is the Bible's teaching: clear, unequivocal and wise. It is a course of action which upholds the church's standards and protects the church's reputation. It also underscores the seriousness of the backslider's waywardness from the Lord, helping them to get right with God. And when there is repentance, the church is taught by Scripture to shower grace upon the prodigal and welcome them back.

And, one other important note -- following this course isn't optional. If a pastor and the church elders are following the Bible, they must be faithful to this teaching as to all others in God's Word. Even though the world scorns it (as the slant in this article certainly indicates) and even if the nanny state tries to force church leaders to abandon the practice, church discipline as taught in Scripture should be carefully, respectfully observed -- both the public censure and the mercy-filled restoration when backsliders repent.

But this article is a case in point of how the world pressures church leaders to forsake their biblical responsibilities. It's been happening for quite awhile now with issues like abortion, homosexuality, evolution, and even the existence of hell. Pastors are roundly criticized for preaching what the Bible teaches on these matters rather than toeing the lines drawn by a secular culture that disrespects (no, make that hates) the Bible's meddling in its affairs.

And even without having to resort to "hate crime" legislation or lawsuits, the secular culture has been successfully winning this contest. Preachers are cravenly caving in, preferring being comfortable, popular, likable, and lazy to being faithful in teaching the "whole counsel of God."

I suggest church leaders reading this article take it as a wake up call of what will be the next attack on the the church's responsibilities to stand for righteousness. They should put the topic of church discipline on the agenda for their next elders or governing board meeting and carefully go over their policies. They should make sure they've got things right according to the text; they should rededicate themselves to praying for purity in their church; and they should consecrate themselves anew to standing on the Lord's side no matter what comes.

Oh yes, one more observation about the gal in Florida...doesn't the hypocrisy and irony just drip from the story? After all, here we have a woman claiming she's being irreparably damaged because the church is shunning her because of her open fornication and yet here she is telling even the sordid details of her actions to a public newspaper?

It emphasizes again the purpose behind the whole affair; namely, a disgruntled woman and a disgruntled secular culture trying to force their sexual standards (or lack thereof) upon the church.

Suicide Rights for Pre-Teens?

Should a pre-teen kid have a protected right to suicide?

Feminist Margo MacDonald, a member of Scotland's Parliament, thinks so. And, no kidding, she's actually introduced legislation to that end.

I think I hear Barry McGuire singing again.

Here's the story from The Herald (Scotland).

"Jane Roe" of Roe v Wade Has a New Attitude About Abortion

Greg Schleppenbach informs me that one of the centerpieces of the next Virtue Media campaign here in Nebraska will be their spot featuring Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of Roe v Wade.

See the short TV spot right here.

Greg writes, "Last year’s effort was highly successful raising nearly $230,000 throughout Nebraska (including $21,000 from the Knights) which paid for roughly 9500 pro-life television ads reaching most of the state. More than 1.2 million Nebraskans saw these pro life ads at least 6 times including 99 percent of the young women in the most vulnerable age groups. The result was 580 responses from abortion-vulnerable women and 1120 responses from post-abortive mothers."

Vital Signs Ministries also made a donation to this remarkably fine and effective educational outreach ($10,000, for us a really substantial gift) and we are certainly hoping many more will get involved this year. Yes, that means you non-Catholics as well!

If you would like to be involved, please contact us soon.

Colleges Next in Line for Fed Bailouts (But Just a Measly $45 Billion!)

"The line forms on the right" is an old idiom for something become clearer, more understandable. Remember its use as a Bertolt Brecht lyric about Mac the Knife?

Well, the line is now forming on the left, that line in which companies, banks, state and city governments, and just about everybody else that "ain't too proud to beg" (that lyric, by the way, comes from Motown's Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland, Jr.) are waiting for federal bailouts in gargantuan proportions.

But that line also makes something much clearer; namely, that the United States is traveling a suicidal course towards full blown socialism. Particularly because the United States, no longer a secure, productive, independent economy, just can't deliver what everybody's begging for.

The latest in that forming line? Our already-overpriced institutions of higher learning.

Here's the WSJ editorial:

With the Big Three seeking a bailout from Washington, the Big Ten are following suit. Earlier this week the Carnegie Corporation of New York took out a two-page ad in the New York Times, signed by executives of 36 public universities, state university systems and higher-education associations, urging Congress and President-elect Obama to rescue them.

Mr. Obama has already promised to expand federal subsidies to higher education by increasing Pell grants and making student-loan terms more permissive. The university chiefs seek an additional "federal infusion of capital" -- as much as $45 billion -- to build new facilities, especially "green" ones. "To ensure a rapid response, only projects that are shovel-ready or on which construction can begin within 120-180 days should be funded," says the ad.

The Higher Education Investment Act, as the university chiefs call their proposed bailout, would allow them to make an end run around parsimonious state lawmakers: "The dollars should not be subject to appropriation by state legislatures. Federal funds should be conditional on states' agreement not to use these federal funds as an excuse to reduce budgetary commitments to state universities."

Yet American higher education might benefit from more parsimony. Economist Richard Vedder has shown that large government subsidies already contribute to making universities "relatively inefficient institutions partly sheltered from the discipline of the market -- a discipline that provides incentives for cost reductions, product improvement, and innovation." The more subsidies rise, the higher tuitions seem to go. If taxpayers are going to shovel out more money to these schools, the academic executives should at least allow outsiders to perform a cost "restructuring."

Escape from New York? Governor Paterson's New Tax Plan Provides the Motivation.

Where's Kurt Russell when you need him?

Check out the governor's (in office, remember, only because of the previous governor's sexual shenanigans with a call girl) announced plan to improve New York's flailing economy. Sure, the guy's a Democrat so you'd expect to see increased government spending backed by new ways to pick the pockets of taxpayers. A no brainer.

But increasing spending by $1.4 billion?

And introducing the biggest tax hike in history, a tax plan that includes a number of new taxes (137, to be exact) that's shocking even to other Democrats?

Now, that's something.

This New York Post story itemizes just a few of the amazing tax hikes in Governor Paterson's plan:

* An "iTunes tax" of 4 percent on videos, music or pictures downloaded from the Internet.

* A 4 percent tax on taxi, limo and bus rides. That means a $10 cab ride would cost 40 cents more.

* A 4 percent entertainment tax on tickets to movies, concerts and sporting events. That would add nearly 50 cents to a $12 movie ticket or $1.80 to the cheapest $44.50 seat at a Knicks game.

* The tax on beer increases 24 cents per gallon, or more than double the current rate, which means about 30 cents a case.

* An 18 percent tax on nondiet soft drinks, which aims to reduce child obesity. A $1.50 can of Pepsi would then cost at least 25 cents more.

* A 4 percent tax on cable TV and satellite services, raising a $100 bill by $4.

* Hiking the cost of "personal" services - including haircuts, manicures, pedicures, massages and gym memberships - by 4 percent.

* A 4 percent sales tax on clothing and shoes under $500, except for two weeks out of the year.

* Elimination of the law that caps the state sales tax on gasoline at 8 cents per gallon.

* Boosting the average vehicle registration fee for drivers by $11, from $44 to $55. Fees for new or renewed licenses also would increase 25 percent, or increase from $50 to about $62 to renew a license over eight years.

In addition, all drivers would have to get new, "reflectorized" license plates at a fee of $25 each...

Do you think a few New Yorkers might be moving to Jersey this year?

Next in the Washington Merry Go Round

The Heritage Foundation quips, "In a move that will probably not affect his day-to-day duties all that much, Time magazine's Washington bureau chief has agreed to become Vice President-elect Joe Biden's director of communications."

For the Third Time in Three Weeks, Planned Parenthood Caught Covering Up Statutory Rape

A staff member at a third Planned Parenthood abortion business in three weeks has been caught on videotape covering up a potential case of statutory rape. This tape involves in Indianapolis Planned Parenthood and it could lead to a widening of the investigation the state's attorney general has announced.

The first case showed a Charlotte, North Carolina Planned Parenthood covering up an incident of statutory rape. A second tape showed a staffer named Diana telling Lila Rose, a UCLA student who posed as a 13-year-old girl who had sexual relations with a man more than twice her age, that she didn't want to know any more about the incident.

This third, newly-released footage from this past summer shows Rose, who again claims she is an underage girl who had sex with an older man, hearing from employees about her sexual abuse.

This time, two Planned Parenthood employees say they "don't care" about the age difference between a 31-year-old man and the 13-year-old girl he was reported to have impregnated. "We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend," the unnamed Planned Parenthood staff member says. A second Planned Parenthood counselor adds, "I don't care how old he is."

Like the staff member Diana at the first Indiana Planned Parenthood exposed on tape, the staff at the Indianapolis facility tell Rose that she can get an abortion in another state without her parents knowing: "The surrounding states don't have parental consent. I can't tell you anymore."

As was the case with the Planned Parenthood facility in Bloomington, the Indianapolis abortion center apparently did not report the sexual abuse to state authorities as required by Indiana law.

Rose tells LifeNews.com the additional videotape is very concerning because is shows an emerging pattern of abuse, as more abortion center counselors evade their legal responsibility to report the statutory rape of young girls...

More from this LifeNews.com report can be found here.

Grinch Alert

Chuck Norris has a few incisive comments about the War on Christmas, particularly the mean-spirited displays erected by atheists that state governments have cravenly allowed as accompaniments to menorahs and creches. It's a fine piece containing a good dose of rationality, history and humor.

Atheists from England to the West Coast of America are stepping up their efforts this year to make a bigger antagonistic splash on the Christmas scene. From London and Washington, D.C., buses to Colorado billboards, skeptics are skewering religions with little respect to the adherents of the religions.

At the forefront is a group's government-sanctioned posting of a sign by a Nativity scene in the Capitol of Washington state (and now also in Wisconsin and Illinois): "At this season of THE WINTER SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

I am a patriot, and I believe that atheists are free to believe, speak and post whatever they want. This is America, and that's their First Amendment right. But to do so with harassment and hatred under the guise of free speech is despicable. An anti-religious poster filled with spite is in no way equal to a religious symbol, such as a Nativity scene.

Where are the political correctness police when religious followers are the victims? If such words were written against any social minority group, protests would be ubiquitous. But anti-religious bigotry is in vogue these days...

Today's Posts

More Than 3 Children Die of Abuse in England and Wales...Every Week

"A Tale of Two Churches"

Dissent = Treason? Russia Cracks Down Yet Further.

Obama Wants a Holder Over Us

"To His Great and Enduring Credit, Our President Didn't Quit"

Our Santa Claus Congress: Ho, Ho, Horrible

More Than 3 Children Die of Abuse in England and Wales...Every Week

Labour Party MP Barry Sheerman said, "You have brought to us the most horrific figures I've ever seen brought into the public domain."

Conservative Party MP Graham Stuart lamented that there was "something profoundly wrong with our society."

What were they referring to?

The news that more than three children a week are dying in England and Wales as a result of child abuse!

And the revelations of how pitifully inept and uncaring has been the performance of Ofsted, the government agency designed to protect children, is also just as shocking.

Read the Telegraph (U.K.) report here.

And you say you still refuse to believe that European culture hasn't been severely weakened by its "open" abortion and euthanasia attitudes, its penchant for violence in entertainment, its liberal ideas on marriage and divorce, and its marginalization of the Christian religion?

Then you tell me -- why is this happening?

"A Tale of Two Churches"

One of today's must-reads is Doug Patton's "A Tale of Two Churches," a sharp comparison between Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ and Sarah Palin's Wasilla Bible Church. In his article Doug looks at the character and ideology of the two churches, the media's remarkably biased treatment of the two, and finally, his musings on how Wasilla Bible's response to being firebombed is markedly different than what would have been the case had Trinity United been so victimized.

Very good.

And while we're on the subject, it looks like the arson attack on Wasilla Bible Church, as horrific as it appeared at first glance, was something even more sinister and violent. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explained yesterday that an accelerant had been poured at several locations around the church, including the exits. This, even though a group (including two kids) were inside the building when the fire was set off.

No, whoever set this fire wasn't looking to play a prank or even make a political or religious "statement." They were looking to kill people.

Dissent = Treason? Russia Cracks Down Yet Further.

There are some who may have thought my opinions too strong in yesterday's post ("The Old is New Again in Russia: Police State, Controlled Media, Rollback on Democratic Reforms") suggesting as I did that Russia had returned to its dictatorial, corrupt, Cold War ways...if, that is, it had ever really left them.

The evidence of the last several years, however, fully justifies my conclusions.

As do the latest moves of the Kremlin in expanding the definition of treason to include mere criticism of the state!

Indeed, Duma member Andrei Lugovoy (the man many believe is responsible for the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko) is publicly arguing that anyone "damaging the interests" of Mother Russia should be killed.

“If someone has caused the Russian state serious damage, they should be exterminated. Do I think someone could have killed Litvinenko in the interests of the Russian State? If you're talking about the interests of the Russian State, in the purest sense of the word, I myself would have given that order. I'm not talking about Litvinenko but about any person who causes serious damage.”

Here's the story about the brazen new law, Lugovoy's outrageous comments and the latest crackdowns on peaceful protest from this past weekend as explained by Tony Halpin, the Times (U.K.) reporter in Moscow.

Obama Wants a Holder Over Us

President-Elect Barack Obama’s nomination of Eric Holder to be attorney general surprised many. There are reasons that Holder ought not to be confirmed, but regardless of that, his nomination tells us quite a bit about Obama and the Supreme Court he will likely give this country...

...And that tells us two things about our next president.

First, he is doubtless only trying to nominate Holder because the Democrats have at least a 58-42 advantage in the Senate. Only nine cabinet nominations have been denied by the Senate in all of American history. While others have been withdrawn for various reasons, you can count on your hands the number that failed when the president decides to demand a vote.

The fact that Obama is willing to ignore the “Do No Harm” rule that usually accompanies cabinet picks shows that he is going to push the envelope on a number of issues.

This nomination might also shed light on the kind of policies Obama will pursue. Despite Obama’s new lip service to the Second Amendment, Holder signed onto a brief earlier this year reaffirming his long-held position that the Second Amendment confers no rights whatsoever to private citizens, and that the Supreme Court should have upheld D.C.’s absolute ban on handguns, even in homes. Holder also has far-left views on unrestricted abortion, and opposes the death penalty. And, in a war on terror, Holder believes that all the rights that U.S. citizens have in civilian courts should be extended to foreign terrorists captured abroad.

A president’s pick for attorney general also foreshadows the kind of judges the president will nominate. By picking Eric Holder, Obama is showing that he is dead serious about his campaign promise to appoint far-left judges like Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, plunging this nation further into a regime where unelected, unaccountable jurists impose their personal political views on the rest of us through the courts, declaring the Constitution to require whatever they think the public policy should be.

(Ken Blackwell, "Telling Nomination" in Dec. 16 National Review Online.)

"To His Great and Enduring Credit, Our President Didn't Quit"

On Sunday, President Bush ducked two shoes hurled toward him in Baghdad. But he never ducked his responsibilities in Iraq.

A great deal of justified criticism can be leveled at the Bush administration, but to his great - and enduring - credit, our president didn't quit as mistakes made by his subordinates mounted and the prognosis in Iraq turned dire.

And the "shoe incident" shows how the results vindicated his stubbornness...

Want more of this Ralph Peters' article? You should!

It's right here at the New York Post.

By the way, for a few glimpses into just how shameful has been the reaction of the Arab world to this disrespect to the U.S. President, give your attention to this report (a bit slanted yet still revealing) from the International Herald Tribune.

...In Syria, he was hailed as a hero. In Libya, he was given an award for courage.

Throughout much of the Arab world Monday, the shoe-throwing incident generated front-page headlines and continuing television news coverage. A thinly veiled glee could be discerned in much of the reporting, especially in the places where anti-American sentiment runs deepest...

The incident has been a source of embarrassment for the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who, in a statement Monday, called the shoe throwing a "a shameful savage act" and demanded a public apology from Al Baghdadia, the independent satellite channel that employs Zaidi. "The act damaged the reputation of the Iraqi journalists and journalism in general," the statement said.

As of Monday night, no apology from the station was forthcoming. Instead, the network posted an image of Zaidi in the corner of the screen for much of the day. Telephone callers were invited to phone in their opinions, and the vast majority said they approved of his actions...

Our Santa Claus Congress: Ho, Ho, Horrible

Cal Thomas, commenting on the $73 billion dollars that the U.S. Conference of Mayors is begging be handed them from the federal government, describes how the both the U.S. Constitution and economic reality have been thrown into the trashbin of history. In their place, we've created the myth of a Santa Claus government, a wildly expensive myth that poses serious dangers to our future.

Last Monday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors sent its list of wishes to the political equivalent of Santa Claus: Congress. The mayors apparently figure with all the talk from President-elect Obama about infrastructure repair and job creation, they might as well try to pile onto Santa's lap, too.

The mayors claim the economy will be stimulated if their wishes are granted. What do they want? The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has analyzed the 72-page list. Here are some of the lowlights.

-- $1.102 billion in projects involving sidewalks;

-- $1 million for annual sewer rehabilitation in Casper, Wyo...;

-- $6.1 million for corporate hangars, parking lots, and a business apron at the Fayetteville, Ark., airport.

-- 15 projects with the term "stadium" in them, including a $150 million Metromover extension to the Florida Marlins' baseball stadium; and

-- 81 projects mentioning "landscaping" and/or beautification efforts.

Kristina Rasmussen, NTU's director of government affairs, offers more analysis of the mayors' report on NTU's blog: "Total cost of the wish list is $73,163,299,303. They claim this will create an estimated 847,641 jobs in 2009 and 2010. Divide that out, and you get a cost to taxpayers of $86,314 per job. Not exactly a great deal."...

Democrats, especially, used to talk about "mortgaging our future" by irresponsible spending. Now the Congress is behaving like a bank gone wild, handing out money to almost anyone that asks for it with few strings and no sense attached.

The so-called "jobs" the mayors claim will be created will only last for a brief time. Then what? Those who take them are likely to be back where they were when the projects are finished: out of work and waiting for the next government rescue...

Today's Posts

New on The Book Den

It's Always a Matter of "Volition"

The Old is New Again in Russia: Police State, Controlled Media, Rollback on Democratic Reforms

Yet Another Case of Wikipedia's Inefficiency...and Ugly Bias

The Media's "Double Standard" -- That's No Longer a Strong Enough Denunciation

“Monroe Certainly Would Be Rolling Over in his Grave”-- China, Russia and Iran Make Big Moves on Latin America

New on The Book Den

Just a note to let you know there's a few fresh entries over on The Book Den that the literary among you might find of interest.

They include a review of Richard Paul Evans' Finding Noel -- "I Found Noel. Have You?"

A practical defense of romance, coincidence and happy endings -- "Again with the Schmaltz"

"On Condescending Writers"

"Two James Hilton Gems"

Not every book I try to read is a good one -- "On “Reworking” Bible Characters"

and, from a couple of weeks ago, a couple of Top Ten lists (one fiction, one-non-fiction) for you to scan -- "From 2008's Reading -- Two Top Ten Lists"

Why not also use the "Christmas" section over in the Topics on the right sidebar there at The Book Den to discover a few seasonal reading opportunities (including poems) you might otherwise miss. Have fun.

It's Always a Matter of "Volition"

Randy Alcorn's blog alerted me to the poignant and profound 15-miute film, Volition. Written and directed by Tim Morgan, the film is a powerful statement about the moral priorities and spiritual rewards involved in "doing justice" -- even when it requires courage and sacrifice. Emphasizing the perils which threatened the sanctity and inherent dignity of human life in the days of American slavery, Nazi Germany and which still endanger the innocent in our modern world, the makers of this film have done a tremendous service.

With provocative lighting, a haunting musical score, a marked brevity of dialogue and several other distinctive cinematic features, Volition is a very effective, very memorable film.

And they tell me it was shot in three days?

Impressive, indeed.

I encourage you to watch it and pass it on to others.

The Old is New Again in Russia: Police State, Controlled Media, Rollback on Democratic Reforms

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, a key leader in the Other Russia movement, was roughly arrested and jailed yesterday along with 130 others in Moscow. The reason? They were participants in a peaceful (but prohibited) rally protesting the government's plans to redo the constitution in a way that would extend still further the dictatorial powers of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his corrupt Communist pals.

There were also protests in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok.

News reports of these major incidents were completely absent from the main television networks last night.

One is forced to wonder -- just how long before those Stalin statues go back up?

The Media's "Double Standard" -- That's No Longer a Strong Enough Denunciation

It's not just in election coverage that the double standards of the mainstream media are utilized. In fact, even the term "double standard" is hardly strong enough to describe the media's games. Here's a few examples just from this weekend.

* completely misrepresenting the facts in order to push an ideological agenda (i.e. this A.P. reporter hyperventilating about humankind about to become extinct because of global warming);

* giving Democrats a free ride when it comes to corruption, sex scandals and broken promises (i.e., the 60 Minutes puff piece last night describing the scandalous homosexual Barney Frank as "the smartest man in Washington;" the failure to pursue illegal contributions to Democrat candidates; and NBC characterizing Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's incredible corruption as simply his falling victim to history");

* failing to pursue positive stories involving Republicans (i.e., refusing to give credit where it is due for the calm, self-deprecating and agile response of President Bush to a scary attack on him by an Arab Muslim in Baghdad. Instead, most MSM coverage has skipped quickly over the President's composure in order to get to a venting of why the attacker was so ticked at Bush and how he is a hero today in the Arab world.);

* failing to headline stories because they might invoke suspicion of the Left or otherwise inspire sympathy for conservatives (i.e., the remarkably under-reported arson attack on the church Sarah Palin attends, an attack involving not only a million dollars in damages but which was set when people were in the building.);

* preferring liberal voices over conservative ones, even to the point of outright censorship (i.e., the NY Times still smugly defending its refusal to print a John McCain op/ed piece during the election season even though it had opened its editorial pages the week earlier for Barack Obama and even though it saw fit this weekend to give editorial space to a lengthy op/ed piece by unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers.)

Imagine. If it was a noted liberal's church which had been sent up in flames, every network anchor would be reporting from the spot. If it were a Democrat politician who showed President Bush's cool at the podium, it would become the stuff of legend. If it were facts that really mattered to the MSM they'd be telling the American people the real story about climate change and the way the "manufactured crisis" is being exploited for political purposes.

But the way things are, I guess that's all we can do...imagine.

“Monroe Certainly Would Be Rolling Over in his Grave”-- China, Russia and Iran Make Big Moves on Latin America

Joshua Goodman, writing for Bloomberg, has an important, compelling report on the strategic shifts in ideology, alignments and trade deals going on in Latin America as leaders there turn away from the United States and towards Communist governments and others who support terrorism.

Goodman cites the regional summit beginning tomorrow which excludes the U.S. but then shows that this is but one milestone in what has definitely become a dangerous course.

...Almost two centuries after President James Monroe declared Latin America a U.S. sphere of influence, it is breaking away. From socialist-leaning Venezuela to market-friendly Brazil, governments are expanding military, economic and diplomatic ties with potential U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran.

“Monroe certainly would be rolling over in his grave,” says Julia Sweig, director of the Latin America program at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington and author of the 2006 book “Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century.” The U.S., she says, “is no longer the exclusive go-to power in the region, especially in South America, where U.S. economic ties are much less important.”

Since November, Russian warships have engaged in joint naval exercises with Venezuela, the first in the Caribbean since the Cold War; Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a free-trade agreement with Peru; and Brazil invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a state visit.

“While the U.S. remains aloof from a region it no longer sees as relevant to its strategic interests, other countries are making unprecedented, serious moves to fill the void,” says Luiz Felipe Lampreia, Brazil’s foreign minister from 1995 until 2001. “Countries in the region are more aware than ever that they live in a globalized, post-American world.”...

“A lot of this is designed to stick it in the eye of the U.S.,” says Peter Romero, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere from 1999 to 2001. “But underlying the bluster, there’s a genuine effort to exploit the gap left by a distant and distracted U.S.”...

Bolivian President Evo Morales last month expelled the Drug Enforcement Administration, alleging that DEA agents were conspiring to overthrow him; U.S. President George W. Bush dismissed the charges as absurd and suspended trade privileges for the Andean nation.

In Ecuador, meanwhile, President Rafael Correa has refused to renew the lease on the U.S.’s only military outpost in South America, a critical platform for the U.S. war on drugs...

The real battle is for a larger share of the region’s abundant resources and expanding economies, and China has led the way.

Two-way trade with the region shot up 12-fold since 1995 to $110 billion last year, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. China’s share of the region’s imports also jumped, to 24 percent from 9.8 percent in 1990, while the U.S. share shrunk to 34 percent from 43 percent. Two years after reaching a bilateral free-trade agreement, China’s demand for copper made it Chile’s biggest export market in 2007, replacing the U.S...

Today's Posts

Under Pressure, Richard Cizik "Reluctantly Resigns" from the NAE

Leave It In the Garage: Americans Are Driving Less

Look Out America, Here Comes Obama's Global Warming Police

Ideology Effectively Presented: How Republicans Can Get Back in the Game

Obama "Saddened and Sobered" by Blagogate. Thanks, But Where's the Outrage?

Under Pressure, Richard Cizik "Reluctantly Resigns" from the NAE

A few thoughts on the resignation yesterday of Richard Cizik as the Chief Lobbyist and Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals:

1) I am very glad Cizik resigned. I've been urging his removal for a year and a half. (See Wednesday's post.) However, I remain frustrated about NAE President Leith Anderson's attitude towards the matter. Even with Cizik's increasing liberalism (theological as well as political) and despite Cizik's arrogance and irresponsibility (getting paid to represent the views in Washington of the NAE membership yet on many crucial points ignoring those views), Anderson was reluctant (his very word) to ask Cizik to leave.

Said Anderson, (quoted in the NY Times) “It was a mutual agreement that he resign, but there was a reluctant mutuality. He was reluctant to resign, and I was reluctant to see him resign.”

And this AP report quotes Anderson as saying, "He wishes he could do the [NPR] interview again. I wish he could do the interview again. As we discussed it, he realized how difficult this would be and resignation was probably best for him and NAE."

Huh? Wishes he could do the interview again? So he could better hide his liberal views on homosexuality, abortion, the authority of Scripture, etc. from the NAE membership? And this cluck's resignation is "probably best" for the NAE? Good grief. Such timidity and imprecision, particularly with the issues involved, does not speak well for this stumbling organization.

2) The spin is already in that Cizik is simply a victim of those hard-shell, intolerant fundamentalists who are against clean air and water. The AP report mentioned above is a case in point. Cizik is presented as a hero there for pushing evangelicals into environmental action. The AP reporter calls it broadening the agenda.

But, in truth (and for now foregoing a discussion of the lack of sound scientific reasoning for Cizik's left-leaning brand of environmentalism), Cizik wasn't broadening the agenda at all. He was, like other neo-evangelical liberals, shrinking that agenda by downplaying (when they're not actually removing all together) such critical moral issues as killing preborn children.

3) If you responded to Wednesday's post here on Vital Signs Blog (or any other place that detailed the opinions shared by Rev. Cizik on that NPR radio interview) by praying for his removal from the NAE or, much better still, accompanying your prayer with a polite letter, e-mail or phone call to the organization, aren't you particularly pleased? You were a light for righteousness, a voice for truth and justice, a watchman on the wall whose convictions on the Bible's authority moved you to action. Way to go!

That's a key reason for the very existence of this blog, to help you act in behalf of your beliefs, your political philosophy and, most of all, your Faith.

If, however, you're a frequent visitor to Vital Signs Blog and haven't yet started using it to help you be a better advocate for your convictions, please start now. Together we can truly make a difference.

And finally, 4) Now that Richard Cizik is gone from the NAE, look for his liberalism to find its full voice. Like a Tony Campolo, or a Franky Schaeffer, or a Bill Moyers, Cizik is destined to become, especially as the legend grows of his being a victim of the Religious Right, a real darling of the Religious Left.