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January
2004 Blog Archives
Thursday,
January 29
1:30 PM
This is turning out to be a very bust week.
Not that I'm complaining. On Monday I sent a completed manuscript to my
publisher in Maryland (how about a Howard Dean yeah!!!!!), and today I've
been hard at work on my book comparing Paul's letters with the book of
Hebrews in a potentially vain attempt to get people to rethink their views
of the authorship of "The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews" - so the KJV. To
me, it's like asking: "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?" Like, duh.
Alas, 99 percent of all New Testament scholars think I'm crazy for defending
Pauline authorship. All this to say that
my blogging will not be as - er - consistent as I'd like it to be for the
next few days as I write, write, write. Tomorrow I'm off to work on the farm and then to Norfolk to
teach, but not without a handful of books to read. This weekend's literary
menu includes Thieves in High Places by Jim
Hightower, The Pastoral Epistles by Homer Kent,
and especially The
Transcendent Holmes by John W. Montgomery. Yes, indeed, I am an
incurable fan of the man Sherlock Holmes and the four novels and fifty-six
short stories about him written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Exquisite English
prose, eh? Have a great weekend!

8:00 AM
Another patriotic American sees the light:
I start on a
personal note. I would like for the record to show that, today, I formally
disavow the Republican Party as well as my past support for the Second Gulf
War.
Now, let me be
frank: This is something I didn't see coming a year ago. I only saw things
through a prism of GOP allegiance back then. I'm a year older now -- a year
wiser, I suppose. It shouldn't be easy for an op-ed writer to admit when
he's wrong. But I was. And it is. And in light of George Bush's latest State
of the Union, saying goodbye to the Republican Party is the easiest thing
I've done in quite some time.
Read more
here.
7:15 AM
The State of the Union or the
Deceiving of the Union? Speaking of THE SPEECH, here are lines delivered
when Bush stared into the camera (for news recap and sound bite purposes):
"We ended the rule of Saddam
Hussein and...the people of Iraq are free"..."The United States of America
will never be intimidated by thugs and assassins"..."America will never
seek a permissions slip to defend the security of our
country"..."We will finish the historic work of democracy in Afghanistan
and Iraq so those nations can light the way for others and help transform
a troubled part of the world"..."We understand our special
calling...this
great republic will lead the cause of freedom"..."This economy is strong,
and growing stronger"..."Unless you act, Americans face a tax
increase"..."I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity
system, promote conservation, and make America less dependent on foreign
sources of energy"..."Any attempt to limit the choices of seniors or to
take away their prescription drug coverage under Medicare will meet my
veto"..."Drug use in high school has declined by 11 percent over the last
two years. 400,000 fewer young people are using drugs than in the year
2001"..."Tonight I call on team owners, union representatives, coaches and
players, to take the lead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to
get rid of steroids now"..."Abstinence for young people is the only
certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases"..."Activist judges,
however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for
the will of the people and their elected representatives...Our nation must
defend the sanctity of marriage."
And here are the three lines which, when
spoken, led CNN's cameras to focus on Ted Kennedy (note smug scowl):
"The bill you passed gave
prescription drug benefits to seniors"..."Had we
failed
to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction programs would continue
to this day"..."Starting this year, millions of Americans will be able to
save money, tax-free, for their medical expenses in a health savings
account."
Better than showing Charles Rangel snoozing
through the speech, I guess. Kudos to
Low Culture for
the analysis.
7:00 AM
What a start to the semester, with a
wonderful convocation and a great spirit on campus. This weekend I return to
Norfolk to meet with our New Testament Introduction
students there. Winter weather is due to arrive again later this weekend,
so, please, students, be careful while driving - AND walking! If you need to
miss class, that's fine. Your safety comes first.
Wednesday,
January 28
2:50 PM
As my Intermediate Greek students and I
begin our study of 1 Timothy, we will encounter many interesting and
important textual variants, not the least of which is the one found in 3:16.
This passage is a good test case to see which approach to resolving textual
variants you espouse! For an interesting discussion of this variant, Klicken
Sie
hier and
hier!
Do you agree with their assessment? If not, why not?
2:30 PM
Now this was a fun essay:
Pourquoi
l’homme est-il silencieux?
1:30 PM
Republicans
are becoming more and more outspoken about their opposition to George W.
Bush. His amnesty proposal seems to have been the straw that broke the
camel's back. A sampling from
Citizens Lobby is
instructive:
"Bush will not get my
vote... His amnesty bill is nothing but an outrage."
"YES, President Bush lost my vote for 2004. I feel that strongly about his
misguided proposal. I will now find an Independent candidate…I will actively
work AGAINST a George Bush reelection in 2004."
"I am a 57 year old life-long Republican. I have never voted any way but
Republican for as long as I can remember. That is about to change with this
election. I cannot support a president who supports lawbreakers."
"He has now lost my vote. As a son of a legal immigrant I take exception to
his pandering to the Mexican/Hispanic population in the US. If you are here
illegally you should be arrested and deported…"
"I will not vote for Bush now that I know he plans to give amnesty to
millions of illegal aliens. Bush is spending billions of taxpayer dollars to
defend the borders of other countries, but he won't do a thing about
defending our own borders or enforcing our immigration laws."
"I am a life long Republican. I will never vote for President Bush again. If
there is no viable Democrat, (a very likely situation), I will write in
Congressman Tom Tancredo for president."
"I will not vote for Bush if the amnesty goes through. I voted for him in
2000 but not again. He has let California go to Mexifornia and let Fox take
over America."
"For 28 years I have enforced immigration law, only to have our attempts
thwarted by the likes of special interest groups. Now we have a President
mocking the very laws our Congress enacted by the will of the people. Seems
Mr. Bush doesn't understand who he represents."
"You bet Bush's 'earned stupidity' will affect how my wife and I vote in
November. We will cast no votes for President."
"President Bush's intent to legalize illegal aliens is to legalize the
invasion of the country that I fought to preserve in WWII…He should be
charged with malfeasance of office and impeached."
"I will not vote in 2004, and I will ask my extended family to not support
such a ludicrous program at the expense of our citizens."
"As a lifelong GOP voter, I do have another place to go on Nov 04. Like
almost every other GOP and Dem voter I know, we are no longer buying that
line that a vote for a third party vote is a wasted vote or a vote for the
other party."
"I cried for happiness when Bush won the election. But now I cry out of my
disappointment in Bush. I will not vote for him again. I'll write-in Rep.
Ron Paul."
"I am very conservative, but I will not vote for Bush if he goes through
with this bill. I still feel they could round them up and truck them back to
their borders."
"Now I will vote against G W Bush. Illegal aliens are, by definition,
illegal, and this amnesty policy cannot be tolerated. He must go."
"Bush's administration is a criminal tsunami. I'm a 3rd generation
Republican and I will no longer support the Republican Party."
"I'm a 68 year old hard core Republican that has no intention of voting for
Bush."
"I am against George Bush granting amnesty to illegal aliens. I will
certainly vote against him if this passes."
"I have already saw over a million American jobs lost in the past few years.
A vote to grant amnesty to fill more jobs of American people is absurd with
millions unemployed…I have changed the way I will vote in the upcoming
election."
"Gentlemen: I want to make my position very clear on amnesty for illegal
criminal aliens. NO AMNESTY, PERIOD! Illegal border crossers from Mexico are
criminals. Why in the world would any sane person reward them for ignoring
our laws? I will not vote for those who do not support America and
Americans. Believe it or not, neither will a lot of others, and I will
spread the word."
"I am a member of the Republican National Committee and I have contributed
money to various Republicans who were running for the Senate in order to get
a Republican majority in the Senate at President's request, but I will not
contribute to his own reelection campaign in spite of many requests to do so
because he is giving amnesty to illegal aliens. I may not even vote for
him."
"I voted for Bush to protect us...he has betrayed us....the illegals will
flood California and bring with them corruption and other problems that will
be economically disasterous for America…I will not vote for Bush I will vote
third party!"
"The votes of my family will go to the person who will promise to close the
gates, deport ALL illegal aliens and bring back the America we once knew. I
have been an ardent supporter of George Bush until now."
"I am so angry with our president! Being a Republican, I have such pride,
lets say had. Unless a strong republican candidate runs against Bush, I will
have to vote democrat."
"I'm afraid that unless Pres. Bush changes directions, he has lost my vote.
The invasion from the south is the greatest danger to this nation…"
8:50 AM
A church in Jonesboro, Arkansas has
this to say about
its philosophy of leadership:
Fellowship does not have a
Senior Pastor. Jesus is the head of the church and leads it through elders.
The staff team is just that, a team. Each team member has a specific and
distinct role to play based on calling, experience, gifting, capacity, and
skills. Just as there are no “lone ranger” Christians; there are no “lone
ranger” leaders. Even the pulpit will demonstrate team ministry as the
teaching pastors will share the preaching responsibilities.
Hmmm,
sounds pretty
good to me.
7:40 AM
In memoriam.

7:00 AM
Today we wish a happy birthday to
Major General George Pickett, CSA. He was a
remarkable individual. Some little know facts about the man:
Among the many demerits
earned by Cadet George Pickett at West Point were ordinary 1's and 2's for
dust in his room or not keeping eyes front during meal roll call or late at
Tattoo call. But he occasionally hit the big time with . . . "profane
language - 8 demerits" (August 21, 1842), "highly unmilitary conduct,
attempting to trip up a file marching to supper - 8 demerits" (January 31,
1843), and "highly unsoldierly conduct, walking out on parade grounds,
smoking tobacco and improperly dressed - 6 demerits" (December 25, 1843).
One of the more unusual demerits was for his failure to wear leather stocks
(worn outside shirt collars to stiffen them) during military exercises. The
United States Army had abandoned the requirement years before, but West
Point still considered the leather stock to be part of their dress code.
George Pickett was the
twentieth officer to attain the rank of General in the Confederate States
Army.
General Pickett's warhorse
was named Old Black. She was steady, strong, and sure footed but would allow
no one but General Pickett to mount her. The horse Pickett used for social
occasions was named Lucy, a beautiful little thoroughbred mare.
After the war, General
Pickett declined to accept political positions from old army friends and
chose, instead, to oversee insurance agencies in Virginia, North Carolina,
and West Virginia.

Below: Members of General Pickett's family
were present for the July 1942 dedication of the military installation named
in his honor. Holding the portrait is George Pickett IV.

Tuesday,
January 27
5:45 PM
I might not be the brightest penny in the
pile but for the life of me I can't understand why our government doesn't do
a better job of taking care of our men and women in uniform. (That women
should be serving in combat roles is another question.) If we're going to
send them into harm's way, we had better make sure they have EVERYTHING they
need to do their jobs. The fact is, we aren't - and we don't seem to care.
It's not only stupid, it has cost American lives, as
this report details.
1:45 PM
Plan now to meet us at the first major
reenactment of the year in Aiken, South Carolina (thoroughbred country!). It
brings to life the
Battle of Aiken that
occurred February 11-12, 1865. This year the event is being held February
21-22.
Saturday's
festivities begin with camp tours and presentations from 9 a.m. to noon.
Spectators are invited to take tours of the soldiers' camps and can also
visit period merchants and camp followers, who hawk uniforms, weapons, and
food. Women in period hoop skirts demonstrate crafts and explain the role of
women in the war. The battle commences at 2 p.m., followed by a harrowing
field hospital presentation. A special night fire of artillery is scheduled
for 8 p.m., followed by a period dance. The battlefield reopens Sunday at 9
a.m. The 9:30 a.m. period church service is a personal favorite, and a new
battle scenario starts at 2 p.m. The event ends with a grand pass and review
of the troops at 3 p.m.
Below: The 30th North Carolina sloshing off to
battle at the reenactment at New Market, Virginia (yours truly is fourth
from right). We nicknamed it "Mud Market."

1:00 PM
Now here's a
new book I'm looking forward to reading. It's subtitled,
The Worldly Influence of Modern Culture on the Church
in America.

9:30 AM
You need to, ah, like throw out those, ah,
verbal
crutches if you're gonna like, ah, be a public speaker.
8:00 AM
What some Brits think about our silly
seeker-sensitivity. Hat tip to Covenant News for the link.
7:45 AM
This was my commute this morning:

7:15 AM
When I began my doctoral studies at the
University of Basel, my mentor told us to be very careful to back up our
dissertations. That was because in order to graduate the student had to have
his dissertation published and then have 125 copies of his published work
delivered to the university library at his expense. Naturally we were
very careful to see that we had backups in at least two places. One student,
our professor grimly noted, had not done so, and a house fire had destroyed
his only copy. As a result, no graduation! The punch line, though, was this:
the student felt he had earned his degree and so used the title "Dr."
throughout his career, even though he had never graduated!
Titles are to be earned. But we can go
further: titles, even those that are earned, are hardly necessary among
God's people (please read Matthew 23). As always, it's
character that counts. As Alexander Strauch, author of Biblical Eldership,
reminds us (p. 259):
There were prophets,
teachers, apostles, pastors, evangelists, leaders, elders, and deacons
within the early church, but these terms were not used as formal titles.
For example, all Christians are saints, but there is no “Saint John.” All
are priests, but there is no “Priest Philip.” Some are elders, but there
is no “Elder Paul.” Some are pastors, but there is no “Pastor James.” Some
are deacons, but there is no “Deacon Peter.” Some are apostles, but is no
“Apostle Andrew.” Rather than gaining honor though titles and position,
New Testament believers received honor primarily for their service and
work (Acts 15:26; Romans 16:1, 2, 4, 12; 1 Corinthians 8:18; 2 Corinthians
8:18; Philippians 2:29, 30; Colossians 1:7; 4:12, 13; 1 Thessalonians
5:12; 1 Timothy 3:1). The early Christians referred to each other by
personal names—Timothy, Paul, Titus, etc.—or referred to an individual’s
spiritual character and work: “…Stephen, a man full of faith and of the
Holy Spirit…” (Acts 6:5); Barnabas, “…a good man, and full of the Holy
Spirit and of faith…” (Acts 11:24); “…Philip the evangelist…” (Acts 21:8);
“Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans
16:3); “Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you” (Romans 16:6); etc. The
array of ecclesiastical titles accompanying the names of Christian leaders
today is completely missing from the New Testament, and would have
appalled the apostles and early believers.
7:00 AM
My heart has been warmed by the response to
our essay on the Black
Regiment. One reader had this to say:
I, along with my wife, are
as fed up with compassionate conservatism as you are. We have joined the
black list and will not compromise to vote for Bush, nor any other who,
under the guise of promoting liberty and justice, destroys it. Nor will we
vote for anyone who plunders his own people to give to others. We will
promote voluntary charity as opposed to forced charity. So help us God.
Thank you, dear friend, and may God give
you the strength and courage you will need to keep your vows before Him.
Monday,
January 26
4:45 PM
This day in history: the
day of denials.
4:15 PM
The following goes well with our essay from
today on the Black
Regiment:
Rulers have no authority
[power] from God to do mischief.... It is blasphemy to call tyrants and
oppressors God's minister's... No rulers are properly God's ministers but
such as are "just, ruling in the fear of God." When once magistrates act
contrary to their office, and the end of their institution--when they rob
and ruin the public, instead of being guardians of its peace and
welfare--they immediately cease to be the ordinance and ministers of God,
and no more deserve that glorious character than common pirates and
highwaymen. ~ Rev. Jonathan Mayhew, Boston, 1750
4:00 PM
Ron Holland posted
this
fascinating report at the Swiss Gnomes website. It explains how and why
the rural areas in Switzerland tend to be more conservative than their urban
counterparts. In fact, this tension was the impetus for a civil war in Basel
that led to its breakup into two Cantons: Basel-City, and Basel-Country. I
well remember the (mostly polite) rivalry between these two Swiss states
when I resided near the Rhine (in Basel-City). An excerpt that highlights
this polarization:
They also highlight the
major differences: the cultural divide between linguistic regions, and the
gulf between urban and rural areas, especially in German-speaking
Switzerland.
“We are seeing a growing
polarisation: the cities attract people of liberal and left-wing
convictions, while a conservative, right-wing spirit predominates in the
countryside. The difference is immediately apparent once you get beyond the
agglomerations,” observed Leuthold.
3:00 PM
One of my favorite blogs will soon be
reopening - I think! Now stop your squabbling,
you two.
2:00 PM
Here is an encouraging article entitled
The Aim,
the Reproach, and the Triumph of the Religious Reformer. An
appetizer:
There is a great deal of
this work of reform before the church at the present day. Especially is this
true of the Baptist churches of this country. They are prepared to labor for
a more thorough reformation than any others can undertake. There are forms
of error, productive of incalculable mischief, which none others can
consistently attack....
10:30 AM
Let's see, we've got 234 military golf
courses, 702 overseas bases in 130 countries, 71 military Lear jets, etc.,
etc., etc. Little wonder
Charley Reese wants his republic back.
8:30 AM
The latest reality show from UPN
mocks the Amish. Personally,
I've learned a great deal from them.
8:05 AM
The snow and ice were treacherous this
morning, and a half hour commute took 2 hours, but I finally arrived safely
on campus this morning to begin a brand spanking new semester. This spring I
will be teaching 2 sections of one of my favorite classes (Beginning Greek),
plus Intermediate Greek Exegesis (we'll be translating 1 Timothy) and New
Testament Introduction at our extension in Norfolk, not to mention the Ph.
D. mentoring and
independent
study courses I'll be overseeing. Should be a great semester. Again, if you can join us in chapel tomorrow for our
10:00 am convocation, you'll get to hear our new president speak - plus see
the faculty regaled in their silly-looking academic garb (a REAL
eye-opener!). As we begin this semester, I am reminded of the words of that great man of God A. W. Tozer:
Begin any new undertaking
with God. Bring it under the scrutiny of His all-seeing eye. Many blunders
would never have been made if we had prayed as much in advance as we pined
after the damage was done.
This is good advice, dear students. May
your semester be the best ever! And remember: my door is always open.
Saturday,
January 24
7:05 AM
Yep, the
"mushroom cloud" was nothing but a smokescreen. Take it from
David
Kay.
Read an interview on why he stepped down
here.
7:00 AM
"Unless things get rosy in the next
six months, people are going to leave." And at a rate of
20-22
percent a year.
6:45 AM
A reader sent me
this interesting link on how the GOP stifles conservatism, noting that
President Bush is the all-time big spender on discretionary items. Sorta
like
Bill Clinton on steroids, says Harry Browne.
Friday,
January 23
12:30 PM
From our Today In
History file, an American president announces "peace with honor."
Let's see, where have we heard this
before?

10:30 AM
Ousting Saddam Hussein cost us billions and
billions of dollars, and the aftermath of the war will be even more
expensive, as Clay Bennett reminds us.

As usual,
Pat Buchanan
is right on target:
Where Nixon did fitfully
fight Democratic excesses in spending, by impounding funds, Bush has tanked
totally. He has not vetoed a single bill. He is presiding over a budget
deficit of $500 billion and a merchandise trade deficit of $500 billion. We
are borrowing 10 percent of GDP to finance consumption. This is
unsustainable. The only question is when our foreign creditors will decide
to close the lending window and call in the loans.
Moreover, Bush is presiding over a structural crisis in the economy Nixon
never knew – 40 straight months of lost manufacturing jobs and the monthly
attrition of white-collar and information-technology jobs to Asia.
"This is unsustainable" is probably an
understatement. Mmmm, the
gold
market is looking better and better all the time folks....
9:45 AM
9:00 AM

Let me be the first one to
say it: President Bush is on track to lose in November, and it won't matter
who his Democratic opponent is. His fabrications, deceptions, and
prevarications are just too much to stomach. His duplicity rivals anything
in the previous administration, a Republican name plate notwithstanding.
Read Chuck's entire essay
here.
8:45 AM
Thursday,
January 22
10:15 AM
I would like to thank you
for your wonderful articles on both Lee and Jackson celebrating their
birthdays. Your's is the first website I check each morning and you never
let me down. Keep up the good work of spreading the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ and of informing others of their Constitutional duties as citizens of
our great country. Thanks again for all your hard work. Deo Vindice.
The same writer included a link by David
Brownlow that echoes our front page story:
George Bush - The
Greater of Two Evils?
10:00 AM

7:00 AM
Wednesday,
January 21
11:00 AM
The site also contains some thoughtful
book and movie reviews. Highly recommended!
7:40 AM
While conservatives
like to condemn Democrats for their pro-abortion position (justifiably so),
they seldom hold Republicans to the same standard. It seems that most
conservatives only object if Democrats kill babies. Republicans, however,
are able to kill babies with impunity.
7:35 AM
7:20 AM
We could argue over the choice of the votes
that were used in this "Conservative Index," but it will be hard to deny
the huge expansion of our government that has occurred under Republican
control of Congress. Compromise after compromise, big government vote
after big
government
vote, Republicans have saddled us with over a 60% increase in federal
spending, and the accompanying loss of freedoms, just since they
took control of Congress in 1994!
Every single spending bill must originate
in the House, so it is not hard to point to the source of the problem …
and the problem is not the Democrats!
The last word?
Sure, the Republicans have
convinced millions to ignore the evidence and allow the charade to
continue. And they have certainly figured out how to win elections -
simply become just like your opponent and promise everything to everybody.
But we are never going to solve our problems by re-electing the same
people who created this mess in the first place!
Friends,
despite Bush's promises to save the world (including our marriages),
isn't it time to face
our insane and unconstitutional budget policies?
7:00 AM
6:30 AM

Thank you for sharing your
perspective on history and society through your website. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ, a homeschool graduate, and a student of history
and politics. Lee and Jackson are two of my most-admired men, and I'm glad
people like you promote their noble legacy. May the Lord bless you and your
family and your work, and may he give us wisdom and courage to serve him in
our generation.
Thank you, Sir, for writing and for
appreciating your godly Southern heritage. It is very rich indeed and is
vastly wider and deeper than the Second War for Independence. I trust you
will stand your ground as did Jackson at First Manassas.
Tuesday,
January 20
10:45 AM
and the way they so
easily distort the truth, Pastor John Piper once had
this to say:
In January President
[George H. W.] Bush sacrificed the meaning of Matthew 5:14 on the altar of
national pride, when he said to the National Religious Broadcasters in
defense of the Gulf war, "I want to thank you for helping America, as Christ
ordained, to be a light unto the world." What that amounts to is an
outrageous distortion of Jesus' meaning. That misuse of Scripture is
designed for immature babes that are easily swayed by surface words without
thought and discernment. The "light of the world" in Matthew 5:14 does not
refer to Americans bombing Iraq no matter how justified the war may have
been.
10:15 AM
7:45 AM

I commend to you this
short but vital treatise, which captures as perhaps no other book except the
Bible itself the glories of the Christian conception of resurrection and
repudiation of the Hellenic view of the immortality of the soul, a
pernicious view that persists in the Church to this day.
7:30 AM
Meanwhile, it looks like
John Kerry will be the Un-Dean, Un-Clark, Un-Hackneyed, Un-Untested, Un-Bush
Democratic nominee.
Kerry's proven heroism will
make him a formidable candidate against a war-time President. His heroism,
plus his having voted for the resolution authorizing Operation Iraqi
Freedom, will immunize him from the too-naive, too-erratic, too-hackneyed,
too-un-experienced arguments Bush could make against Dean, Clark, Gephardt
or Edwards. The angry, fervent "movement" that initially gravitated to
Dean will support Kerry enthusiastically to avoid the Nader effect that many
of them perceive as having cost Gore the 2000 election. A Kerry candidacy
presents the best opportunity for the country to make a rational choice
between the parties. Kerry's greatest difficulty will be to distance
himself from the vitriolically anti-Bush support he's likely to receive from
the fervent, angry "Dean" wing of the Democratic Party.
6:15 AM
6:10 AM
Brown is not the first to propose that
Christianity is a vast conspiracy by the Vatican and/or others to hoodwink
the world about the true Jesus. He will not be the last. What is surprising
is not that he would boldly label “FACT” what has been so totally refuted by
the evidence. What is surprising is that our culture is so ill-equipped so
as not to be able to discern fact from fiction, misinformed about
Christianity, woefully ignorant of history, and clueless about the Bible –
its origin, composition, preservation, and translation. This novel is based
on such flimsy fabrication that if it used any other setting – an ethnic
neighborhood, a police investigation, an environmental conservation
movement, for example – no one would be able to suspend disbelief long
enough to enjoy the story. That millions of people are not turned off by the
lack of authenticity in The DaVinci Code
is more than surprising—it is sad. That critics and even
news media are so gullible is more than revealing about the state of our
culture—it reveals the tragic truth
that our culture is in need of rediscovering Truth.
6:00 AM
Government is not morality,
government is force – and forcing taxpayers to fund another silly program
will not strengthen the institution of marriage. If Mr. Bush really wants to
promote marriage, he should work to dismantle the soul-destroying welfare
system that rewards out-of-wedlock births. He should work to end the
judicial assault on religious liberty. He should urge Congress to cut
spending and taxes, so that more money can flow into churches and private
charities. The president certainly is correct that marriage is important,
and the need for stable, two-parent families is apparent. We should all be
quite skeptical, however, of claims that government programs can fix the
deep-rooted cultural problems responsible for the decline of the American
family.
Monday,
January 19
2:10 PM

1:30 PM
Ten years ago this month,
worshippers at a small church a stone's throw from this city's airport began
laughing uncontrollably. They also made
animal
noises -- braying, barking, howling and roaring. They collapsed to the
floor, staggered about as if drunk, shook and jerked; wept, wailed and
yelped. Faces contorted with tics. Groans and guffaws hung in the air.
Bodies lay prone on the carpet.
Read more
here.
10:50 AM
William Buppert, a retired
Army officer, lives on a ranch in the Inland Northwest with his wife and
their three homeschooled children.
10:30 AM
I enjoyed your pages on
General Lee very much, and I appreciate the time and effort that you have
taken to help expose the real man. The general public knows very little
about the man and most view him only from a military standpoint, and then,
only in one the one conflict of the north and the south. I found a prayer
several years ago that was attributed to General Lee and have found great
comfort in praying it when the burden seems too great. I will do my best
to send you a copy of it this evening.
Thank you, and may your tribe increase!
7:45 AM
There is no more fun time,
golf time or couch potato time. There is only time to get organized and
demand your governor, with the assistance of your state legislature, seal
up your border with Mexico. Since the White House is determined to allow
wholesale invasion, the sovereign states of the Union have every legal
right to stop it. There is no other alternative. "Elect a conservative
Republican" is about as effective as mammary glands on a bull.
As sovereign republics, the
individual states of the Union have the right to repel any invasion when
the federal government refuses to perform their lawful duty. There is no
doubt about the intentions of Washington, DC, so it IS the duty of the
citizens to demand their governor and their local sheriffs go after these
illegals and deport them or they will feel the wrath of their citizenry.
7:40 AM
7:30 AM

7:15 AM

7:00 AM
Friday,
January 16
12:45 PM
The first German serviceman
killed in WW II was killed by the Japanese (China, 1937), the first
American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians (Finland, 1940), and
the highest ranking American killed was Lt. Gen. Lesley McNair, killed by
the U.S. Army Air Corps. So much for allies.
At the time of Pearl Harbor
the top U.S. Navy command was Called CINCUS (pronounced “sink us”), the
shoulder patch of the US Army’s 45th Infantry division was the Swastika,
and Hitler’s private train was named “Amerika.” All three were soon
changed for PR purposes.
More U.S. servicemen died in
the Air Corps than the Marine Corps. While completing the required 30
missions your chance of being killed was 71%.
It was a common practice on
fighter planes to load every fifth round with a tracer round to aid in
aiming. This was a mistake. Tracers had different ballistics, so at long
range, if your tracers were hitting the target, 80% of your rounds were
missing. Worse yet, tracers instantly told your enemy he was under fire
and from which direction. Worst of all was the practice of loading a
string of tracers at the end of the belt to tell you that you were out of
ammo. This was definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy.
Units that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly double and
their loss rate go down.
The German submarine U-120
was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.
Among the first “Germans”
captured at Normandy were several Koreans. They had been forced to fight
for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians and forced
to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and
forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the U.S.
Army.
Following a massive naval
bombardment 35,000 U.S. and Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska, in
the Aleutian Islands. Twenty-one troops were killed in the firefight. It
would have been worse had there been any Japanese on the island.
10:30
AM
The way I see it the book
encourages and sanctions a form of selfishness as part of one's
relationship with God. Prayer is to have us learn the will of God and
that our will would agree with the will of God. If my prayer does
not line up with
God's will as revealed in the Scriptures, then I need to ask Him to change
my heart. Molding us by changing our desire is part of the sanctification
process. What is ignored is for God to change our hearts in Wikinson’s The
Prayer of Jabez. Selfishness is encouraged although he states it in such a
way that to further the kingdom it must run through us.
10:20 AM
7:45 AM

7:30 AM
Many federal politicians
claim the Constitution is a living document that should be liberally
interpreted to fit the needs of modern society. This is an open invitation
to tyranny. Not only would this make politicians and the federal judiciary
supreme and above the Constitution, but it would make the Constitution
trivial as a written document, because political ideology would determine
its meaning. This would also convert the federal government from a
government of laws, to a government of men.
The Framers created a
mechanism for granting the federal government additional power. That
process is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. The Constitution is
a living document only in the sense that it can be modified, at any time,
by way of the amendment process noted above. Unfortunately, most federal
politicians cannot be bothered with this process, when it comes to
expanding their power. They prefer the judicial re-interpretation and
expansion process to the constitutional process. Politicians simply pass
the law and hope it will not be challenged or their political appointees
in the federal judiciary will find a way to make the law "comport" with
the Constitution.
7:15 AM
7:00 AM
The moves on both sides of
the Atlantic show that the row over homosexuality is far from settled and
the threat to split the Anglican communion is stronger than ever, giving the
commission little chance of success in keeping warring factions together.
Thursday,
January 15
4:30 PM
Religious publishers keep turning
out nonsense under the name of "scholarship," reminding me that it is so
easy for a person to be educated beyond his intelligence. There is no place
in biblical studies for the kind of
arrogance that characterizes much of what passes as religious fare these
days. The old Scottish proverb says its best: Greek, Hebrew, and Latin all
have their proper place, but that is not at the head of the cross, where
Pilate put them, but at the foot of the cross in humble service to Christ.
How thankful and humbled I am to be part of a seminary family that knows the
proper place of biblical scholarship, and that is to serve the Lord Jesus
Christ and to obey His commission to make disciples of all the nations. I am
sure that our new president (elected 30 minutes ago) will continue this
emphasis that has made Southeastern unique among institutions of higher
education. Heartiest congratulations, Dr. Akin, and welcome to SEBTS! May
the Lord bless you and your precious family and use you mightily in the
years to come!
4:20 PM
Once saved,
always persevering.
This is an excellent essay by one of my colleagues at Southern Seminary in
Louisville.
4:00 PM
Osama has been FOUND!

2:00 PM
The Sundance Film Festival starts
today with a surfing movie on big wave riding entitled
Riding Giants, a look at
the people behind the extreme sport of tow-in surfing. I
remember
searching for the ultimate wave while growing up in Hawaii. To me, the nearest I ever got to perfection
were the 20-25 footers at Pupukea (next to the Banzai Pipeline). For me,
surfing was never about man against wave but the attempt to establish a
partnership, much as it is today between
me and my horses.
1:30 PM
Five U.S. military lawyers have the
courage to
challenge the government's unconstitutional military tribunals.
Thankfully, the high court is willing
to listen.
They will argue that, in
banning defendants from appealing to the civilian courts, President George W
Bush is claiming "monarchical" powers, to act as the defendants' ultimate
prosecutor, judge, jury, final court of appeal and, potentially,
executioner.
Unless prisoners have
recourse to civilian judges, they are being thrown into a legal "black
hole", say lawyers.
Over Bush administration
objections, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear actions challenging Mr
Bush's treatment of Americans and foreigners designated "enemy combatants".
Folks, the U.S. Constitution is
not something to be tampered with, unless you think you are above the
law!
10:00 AM
Never
one to miss a good photo-op, the president says we are going back to Mars,
even though it will waste
millions of
taxpayers' dollars which the government has no constitutional right to
spend in the first place.

7:45 AM It arrived
yesterday! Our Certificate of Occupancy, that
is, after two long years of work on our new house on the farm! We modeled it
after a two-story 1820s Southern plantation home, and it really does have a
warm, old feel. We plan to dedicate it to the Lord as soon as the weather
warms up a bit. More details later....
7:30 AM Top of the morning,
folks! My good friend Mike Tuggle just sent me
this wonderful piece by
a 17-year old who loves the South, as I do. I first met this gracious
Southern lady when I spoke in Salisbury last year. I haven't visited
historic Seabrook Island yet but I will after her report. She also spent
some time in Charleston, where my family and I will be going this April to attend the
Hunley reburial. I plan to march, in uniform, in the parade to the
cemetery, and then take my father-in-law on his first visit ever to Fort
Sumter.
Speaking of South Carolina, I hope those of you who live near Aiken will
come out and visit us during the
annual reenactment there. We
have a great time playing bang-bang and doing living history on the story of
Sherman's march to the sea. Homeschoolers, I extend to you a special
invitation! Come, enjoy, and learn!
Wednesday,
January 14
11:30 AM Looks like
John Debney
will score Mel Gibson's Passion after all.
Remember, he was the guy
who scored Bruce Almighty, a blasphemous
caricature of God starring Jim Carrey. The movie featured various
"God-related" songs performed by artists such as Fatboy Slim, Mick Jagger,
and Joan Osborne. O well....

11:00 AM My friends at
Dixie Internet just linked to this
essay on
Civil War chaplains who often served without pay. The religious dimensions
of that war are often overlooked by historians, even though many generals
and other soldiers were devoted Christians.
Two men
who had a simple faith in their God were
Lee
and Jackson.
6:35 AM Whatever you think
about Howard Dean, you can't gainsay his
savvy. So why
shouldn't patriotic constitutionalists become Masters of the Internet? Start
your
own website today!
6:30 AM Ouch! Please
stop it already,
Berit!
Tuesday,
January 13
2:45 PM Residents of Quebec
spend ten years of their lives in front of their television sets. Sadly, for
many North Americans the boob tube has become
their best friend.
11:30 AM For all my neocon
friends who still believe the Iraqi war was necessary comes
this report based on the findings of the US ARMY WAR COLLEGE! Read it
and weep.
The United States' top
training institution for military leaders has criticised the Bush
Administration's handling of the war on terrorism.
The Army War College
accused the Administration of taking a detour into an "unnecessary" war in
Iraq and pursuing an "unrealistic" quest against terrorism that might lead
to US wars with nations that posed no serious threat.
Its report warns that as a
result of those mistakes, the US Army is "near breaking point".
As I have
reported ad nauseum, our unconstitutional "nation building" is unbelievable
hubris!
11:15 AM Folks, you can
forget everything I've said about third party candidates this election
cycle. I've finally seen the light!
Vote Republican
and save America!
11:00 AM In London, the
plunge in church attendance continues unimpeded. Maybe Londoners should
read what the great Baptist preacher (and fellow Londoner) Spurgeon had to
say about perseverance.
That is what falling away
is. It is not to sin temporally. A child may sin against his father, and
still be alive; but falling away is like cutting the child’s head off clean,
Not falling merely, for then our Father could pick us up, but being dashed
down a precipice, where we are lost for ever. Falling away would involve
God’s grace changing its living nature; God’s immutability becoming
variable; God’s faithfulness becoming changeable; and God himself being
undeified. For all these things falling away would necessitate.
8:00 AM David Hackworth has
something to say about Bush's plans to send men to the moon. He is
absolutely right:
Our country’s service
heroes must be properly looked after before the rest of the world gets any
more goodies. And certainly before the powers that be give another thought
to colonizing the moon or Mars.
7:30 AM Devvy Kidd has just
published part two
of her series on the IRS. This is a must read!
There is a revolution going
on in America. A revolution by freedom loving Americans who have simply
had enough of being forced against their will to volunteer into programs
that may have seemed for the “good of the people” at the time, but over
time have proven to be nothing more than steps towards a complete
communist state. This transition won't happen overnight, but it will
happen.
Mr. Bush and Congress: Tell
the American people the truth. You must honor those who depend on this
program, but unless you come clean, the social security system will
continue to be nothing more than a political football while it
spasmodically jerks towards an inevitable death.
Monday,
January 12
4:45 PM
Izzy Lyman just linked to this great
story. From one Hawaiian surfer to another, I'm proud of you,
Bethany!

4:20 PM Bush supporters,
don't go HERE!
4:15 PM WMD are still MIA
in Iraq. Who woulda thunk it? You might guess that could spell
RIP for the Bush doctrine.

4:00 PM David Mewbourne
sent me this email today.
Dave,
Regarding your column today, there is a third party who puts its hope
for a free America in the hands of God.
Please check out the
Constitution Party at
http://www.constitutionparty.com
You and I both know that America will never be
free due to any political party - but only when we, as a people, return to
God. The Constitution Party would not impede such a revival as the current
parties would.
Thanks,
David Mewbourne
3:45 PM Once again, the
foreign press has insights often missed by U.S. news carriers. This essay
from Le Monde is a case in point. Entitled L'Amérique divisée, here's
an excerpt:
Comme aucun président avant
lui, il a exacerbé la ligne de fracture américaine : sur les côtes et dans
les grandes villes, une tradition politique plutôt libérale, faite de
tolérance en matière de mœurs, où l'on n'est pas convaincu que le pays
incarne forcément le Bien et la Vérité ; au sud et à l'intérieur, une
culture politique de plus en plus empreinte de religiosité, où les valeurs
familiales traditionnelles sont portées aussi haut qu'un patriotisme
hyper-nationaliste, où la Bible et la bannière étoilée tiennent lieu de
programme. D'un côté, le pays démocrate ; de l'autre, le pays républicain.
Et, entre les deux, de moins en moins de passerelles.
Jusqu'à la fin des années 1970,
les politologues qualifiaient le pays de nation 40-40-20 : 40 % démocrate,
40 % républicaine, les 20 % restants étant composés d'électeurs
indépendants. Le succès électoral était acquis au centre, en séduisant
plus d'indépendants que l'autre camp. Aujourd'hui, c'est la nation 50-50,
ou presque. La victoire ne s'obtient plus en pêchant l'électorat indécis ;
sur fond d'abstentionnisme massif, elle s'enlève en mobilisant le noyau
dur de son propre camp. D'où l'importance de certains marqueurs
idéologiques comme la question de l'avortement, du mariage homosexuel ou
de la place de la religion dans la vie publique.
Longtemps, la politique
américaine a été le fait de compromis bipartisans au Congrès. Ce n'est
plus que rarement le cas : au Sénat et à la Chambre des représentants
d'aujourd'hui, l'opposition entre la majorité républicaine et la minorité
démocrate est de plus en plus radicale. Elle ne s'est estompée que devant
les choix du président dans la lutte contre le terrorisme, de
l'Afghanistan à l'Irak. Sur le reste, le fond politique comme la manière
de l'homme, on aime, passionnément, ou on déteste, absolument, M. Bush.
C'est parce qu'il a su rejeter George W. Bush en bloc – des baisses
d'impôts à l'Irak – que M. Dean incarne le mieux la colère de l'électorat
démocrate. Mais dans un pays où l'on croit que chaque problème a une
solution, il lui reste à proposer autant qu'à s'opposer.
I thought this comment was particularly
interesting: "...on aime, passionnément, ou on déteste,
absolument, M. Bush." Would you agree?
11:30 AM The
Five Hundred.
8:00 AM
From
reader Roy Nunn, who once studied in Germany, come these remarks in response
to my essay, “Immigration
Madness: Not Limited to Switzerland”:
Nice article. Something else to think
about. You didn’t mention any other countries, however, such as
Germany. And I’m not talking about their Gastarbeiter [guest workers]. I’m
talking about the same thing you wrote about: Scheinflüchtlinge
[counterfeit refugees] und illegaler Einwanderer [illegal
immigrants]. What a shock to me when I discovered it during my visit to
Germany about a year ago. Is this an epidemic?
I was saddened to see it
happening. Unregulated immigration, much like here. Even worse, I
discovered that it wasn’t polite to even talk about such things. After
all, you don’t want to be wrongly accused of being a Nazi or
Neo-Nazi. Germans are expected to pay for their sins, to pay for what
their forefathers did to the Jews. Or so they’ve been taught. So Germans
don’t talk about common sense issues such as immigration. One doesn’t
talk much about German heritage or show German pride. If at all, then
delicately. They’ve learned well the new ways of American
freedom: political correctness. A German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche,
once taught to ask the question: Freiheit, wozu? People could also ask
themselves: political correctness, wozu? Where will it lead?
While walking along a beautiful stream
beside the edge of a forest in den schwäbischen Alp, I came upon an old,
run-down, boarded up building. It had once, not that long ago, been used
by the famous Goethe Institut as a language school and to teach German
culture to foreigners. As I was wondering what had happened to it, why it
had been closed down, an older couple appeared on the trail and greated me
with the traditional “Grüß Gott.” We talked. Apparently, the government
had decided it was more important to discontinue supporting cultural
organizations such as the Goethe Institut, and to use those tax monies,
instead, to support die Scheinflüchtlingen und illegaler Einwanderer. In
fact, as I learned in our conversation, the government had recently build
a very nice apartment complex just down the road a ways to house Scheinflüchtlinge. According
to the German Constitution, Germany must accept Asylbewerber, although
everyone knows that the majority of them aren’t really fleeing
anything. That’s basically what Scheinflüchtlinge means.
Just then a Sub-Saharan African came riding
by on his bicycle from the apartment complex from down the road, mumbling
some gibberish at us. The old German couple was visibly upset, saying that
these immigrants had no interest in German culture, wanted a free ticket
to a better life, and worst of all, consistently insulted them by yelling
profanities at them and yelling out “heil Hitler,” ”sieg Heil” etc. To top
it off, they had never experienced any crime until these Africans moved
into the complex. I apologized to the couple if I had been too impolite by
asking too many questions (they were very interesting people to talk
with). Then I decided to walk on down the trail to this new immigrant
apartment complex. When I got there, it was frightening. This new complex
had been destroyed by the Africans. The floors were full of liter, the
intercom system was pulled out of the walls, spray paint everywhere,
broken lights, and it stunk. What a beautiful site at the foot of the
mountain, and it looked like “s--t.” What an insult to Germans.
But do the Germans do anything about
it. No. They immulate the U.S. They take in more and more
Scheinflüchtlinge und illegaler Einwanderer. Why? Why don’t they do
something about it? Well, I’d like to know. Why don’t Americans do
something about it? Probably for the same reason: political
correctness! And fear of punishment, fear of free speech. Fear of the
word “race” when it applies to the white race. You could be a Nazi! If
you don’t believe in illegal immigration, if you don’t believe that
everybody else in the world has the right to simply immigrate to the
United States, ...and be supported by your tax dollars, ...maybe you are a
Nazi? Pres. Bush supports illegal immigration. He says, immigrants fill
up the jobs that Americans don’t do. With that kind of lame propaganda,
it proves that Americans don’t think, can’t think things through to a
logical conclusion. But illegal immigrants can! They know a good thing
when they hear it. And Bush knows they do. They’ll vote, ...they’ll
vote, legal or not! The question on a politician’s mind is: for whom will
the illegal immigrants vote? Not if it’s illegal, not if we have rule of
law and justice this country.
Think of the children, ...think of the
immigrants’ children. Then yours. In that order. The children of these
immigrants will get placed in our universities before your American
children, ...and you will pay for it too, right through your nose, for
their living expenses, for their social service expenses, for their
medical expenses and their college educational expenses! If you have any
money left, and you’re lucky, you can pay for your kid’s education. This
isn’t theoretical, it’s already happening. Sub-Saharan Africans already
get priority over your white children for college admissions. It’s
“American” policy. Mexicans, should too, right? What about every other
race? Any argument against this idea is a “hate crime” one way or another
to the politically correct. One other little matter of no concern
today: do these immigrants want to even be American?
Or what about this argument for a change:
are you Christian? Do you want this nation to be Christian? It WILL BE
SOMETHING in the long run. There’s no arguing that. So what will it
be? Christian, Muslim, Atheist, or whatever? Or what culture? Black
culture, white culture, Mexican culture, or whatever? It WILL BE SOMETHING
in the long run. What do you want for your children? My kin fought with
George Washington, fought again against the British in 1812, fought
against Lincoln, fought in WWI and WWII for America, for American values
and American culture. Not for African culture, not for Mexican culture,
not for any other culture. Do you think American culture is what they’d
want us to preserve? For whom and what did your ancestors fight? Did they
fight for their country? Or do you think they fought for Scheinflüchtlinge
und illegaler Einwanderer and their cultures and their religions?
Good luck with this battle. If you have
time to send me information regarding Switzerland’s problems in this area,
it would be appreciated. I’d be interested in learning more about their
experiences in this area.
7:30 AM Good morning one
and all! Preached at "the barn" again yesterday in the mountains of Virginia
and enjoyed fellowship with a wonderful group of committed homeschool
families. Folks, politics offers no solution to the cultural problems in
America. We must understand that reform begins at the home level first,
starting with our own families. It doesn't do any good to rail against Bush
or anyone else in government unless we begin reform at the ground level, in
our own homes and churches.
In
his 52 years this writer has left undone much that he ought to have done,
but he is finally learning to live, one day at a time, not a changed life
but an EXCHANGED life - not I but Christ (Gal 2:20)!
May the words of that great North African
Christian Augustine, from his Confessions,
be as great an encouragement to you this week as they have already been to
me this morning in my devotions:
Entrust the past to God's
mercy, the present to His love, and the future to His providence.
Man is a great depth, O
Lord. You number his hairs, but the hairs of his head are easier by far to
count than his feelings, the movements of his heart.
I am ashamed that my tongue
cannot live up my heart.
O greedy men, what will
satisfy you if God Himself will not?
Now let us hear, brothers,
let us hear and sing; let us pine for the City where we are citizens. By
pining we are already there; we have already cast our hope, like an anchor,
on that coast.
A fellow pilgrim and stranger on earth,
Dave
Friday,
January 9
2:20 PM Speaking of
secession....
1:00 PM All the recent
hubbub in North Carolina by Christian parents about sex education in the
public schools seems a little misplaced to me. Government schools have been
in rebellion against God almost since their inception. Genuine knowledge of
any subject always begins with reverence toward and submission to God,
attitudes that are completely absence in our public schools. No one has put
this better than
Gary
North:
The modern institution that
is most self-consciously built in terms of the myth of neutrality is the
"public" school, meaning the government school, meaning the
taxpayer-financed school. Its legal foundation is the myth of
neutrality. No religious or sectarian views are supposed to be taught in a
public school, because people of many different religious beliefs are
required by law to support it financially. Expenditures of tax money are
supposed to be neutral, non-religious expenditures.
All this talk of neutral
education is sheer nonsense. You cannot teach without ultimate concepts of
true and false. Label one idea false-the evolution of the universe out of
random matter that exploded with a big bang 15 billion years ago-and you
have attacked some taxpayer's deeply held religious convictions. Label
another idea true-the evolution of mankind from lower animals, for
example-and you have attacked a different taxpayer's deeply held religious
view. You are using his money to indoctrinate his children with ideas that
he despises. Without exception, the major victims today are conservative
Christians whose children are under deliberate religious and intellectual
attack by taxpayer-financed schools.
But, you say,
aren't vouchers the solution? If you feel your child is trapped in an
under-performing government school, I can guarantee you that a
government-sponsored voucher system will only add to your woes. Never forget
that every dollar of federal funding has a sizeable string attached to it.
Though it may take longer than with most federal programs, once the
government’s fingers touch the dough, it can and will insist that its own
“standards”—as interpreted by its own educational bureaucrats—be followed.
The solution
is simple, folks.
Get 'em out, and get 'em out now!
12:30 PM There you have it:
We were lied to. Take it from
Mr. Kay himself. By the way, lying a nation into war is an
impeachable offense, wouldn't you think?
8:00 AM Winter has finally
arrived in the Triangle. Please be careful out there!
![[photo]](http://www.newsobserver.com/ips_rich_content/671-snow1.JPG)
Thursday,
January 8
4:30 PM Icky's
blog just linked an interesting
read on an exurbanite family living on a
122-acre spread in Northern Virginia (pictured below) that has relocated
back to the city. Seems
country
living was more than they bargained for. Having owned a rural property in
North Carolina for six years and a 123-acre farm in Virginia for over
two years, I can only suggest that the problem is often unrealistic
expectations. For this kind of move to work, you've got to be willing to
adopt a rural mentality and lifestyle. Perhaps we could say that the main
difference is between a rural gemeinschaft
mentality, and an urban gesellschaft outlook,
and these are widely different perspectives indeed. The result is often an
unbearable dissonance and a return to suburbanism, especially the ugly
pseudo-village design so commonplace today. I can only say how much we truly
love and enjoy country living, and we are doing all we can to be able to
grow our own vegetables, produce our own meat supply, etc. Sure it's hard
work, but there's nothing quite like working with one's hands in the
historic soil of Virginia! The concomitant, of course, is a growing sense of
identity and community, where neighbors are neighbors indeed. It's the best
of both worlds, really. Try it, you might like it!
4:00 PM The
latest from Ever
Vigilant's Lee Shelton reminds us that the best offense is often a good
defense.
Unfortunately, the strong offense we had nurtured
so diligently over the last 60 years or so proved to be completely powerless
on Sept. 11, 2001. In the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, 3,000
people lost their lives, and the prime suspect, Osama bin Laden, is still at
large.
Now, the Bush administration and its
neoconservative apologists are pushing for an even more offense-centric
approach to foreign policy and homeland security. The core of their
philosophy is the "doctrine of pre-emption" - that is, attacking any nation
that could one day pose a threat to the United States. On the heels of our
successful effort to bring about regime change in Iraq, the neocons are
calling for more of the same in countries like Iran and Syria.
The problem is that while government officials
recognize the need for a shift in foreign policy and homeland security, they
are subscribing to the increasingly antiquated notion that an even stronger
offense is needed in order to better protect our shores. In doing so, they
are ignoring key defensive measures that need to be addressed if we are to
be truly more secure.
3:00 PM From the Institute
on the Constitution's
website comes these excellent questions to ask anyone running for public
office in America:
Do you believe the U.S.
Constitution is a "living document"? If so, what does that mean?
Do you believe the
Constitution should be construed according to the intent of the Framers?
Do you believe the federal
government has all powers except those prohibited by the Constitution, on no
powers except those delegated by the Constitution?
Do
you believe our constitutional republic is still workable today? If not, how
would you change it?
Do you believe the
Constitution prohibits state governments from acknowledging God and His Law?
Do you believe the
Constitution provides for separation of church and state? If so, where is
that provision, and how is it worded?
Do you believe Article III
Section II gives Congress the authority to limit the appellate jurisdiction
of the Supreme Court? If so, under what circumstances would you vote to
invoke that authority?
Do you believe the Second
Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms?
Do you believe the
Constitution guarantees a right to privacy? If so, where is that right found
in the Constitution? Does it include such practices as abortion and sodomy?
Do you believe the
Bible has a proper role in the formulation of law and policy? If so, how?
What, in your opinion, is the
purpose of government?
I'm
wondering, if we ever got serious again about the Constitution,
what kind of
a president would we have in this great nation of ours?
12:35 PM
Our conservative
president just
doesn't
seem to get it. The solution to illegal immigration is most certainly
NOT to cave in to radical Hispanic militants. What's really behind the
Bienvenidos and Bush's amnesty plan? Go
here
and find out. A sampling:
The new Bush amnesty would
be far worse than previous amnesties, says Nelson, who served 25 years in
the Border Patrol and INS. “The paperwork alone will be a killer,” he notes.
“The IRCA amnesty program ate up much of the INS budget and tied up an
extraordinary percentage of INS personnel.
How will they process several times that number of applicants? The reality
is that tightening budgets together with personnel overload and political
pressure to speed the process will result in rubberstamping not only
millions of current illegal residents, but millions more who will come to take advantage
of the opportunity. Besides all of the usual economic and social problems
this will cause an incredible security problem. Homeland security? This is
absolutely ludicrous.”
Rep. Tom
Tancredo (R-Colo.), a leading congressional champion of immigration control,
was likewise appalled. “I can think of few things that could be more
dangerous for homeland security than granting amnesty to 8 to 12 million
illegal aliens,” said Rep. Tancredo, in response to Secretary Ridge’s
remarks. “Perhaps the administration ought to dedicate more energy to
enforcing our existing immigration laws and less on finding ways to allow
millions to skirt them.”
12:15 PM
193,959
and counting.
8:00 AM
It was 18
degrees when I left the house this morning, and we're expecting light snow
tonight. My Greek students are doing quite well, with several receiving
scores higher than 100% on their first quizzes. That's fantastic! Keep up
the good work. Set your sights high; you'll never reach higher.
Wednesday,
January 7
7:30 AM
My friend
Charles Porter just told me about
this
essay on Bush's faux-conservatism and why abortion is NOT a non-issue in
this year's elections. A key excerpt:
In 1995, James
Dobson of Focus on the Family publicly repented on air and in his March
newsletter for having supported somewhat pro-choice politicians. “Perhaps
this explains the statement I made on the radio last month, which some of
you questioned. Let me express it once more,” wrote Dobson. “I am
committed never again to cast a vote for a politician who would kill one
innocent baby… Never will I use my influence, however remotely, to
support the shedding of their blood.”After the election, James Dobson
admitted that he voted for Howard Phillips, the Constitution Party’s
Candidate for President.
It’s time that Christians
make the same vow: never again will we use our influence or our vote or a
single red cent to encourage one drop of innocent bloodshed. We will draw
a line in the sand far enough to the right that no baby-killers,
sodomites, or God-haters can win our allegiance. Like Gideon’s Army, the
Lord may dwindle us down to a zealous few before the victorious battle,
but it will be a few out of whom God can get some glory.
We've been shouting
this
message from the rooftops for over a year now:
Christians face, at this
hour in our nation, Joshua’s choice: Whom will we serve? Will we serve the
false gods of liberal do-goodism, or the Lord God of Israel? Sadly, we
have put our faith in political parties and in individual men to rid our
country of our moral decadence. We have exercised faith in the unfaithful,
trust in the untrustworthy, and hope in the hopeless. But this can
and must change.
May we declare today, in
our house, in our nation, that we will serve the Lord of
Life, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7:00 AM
You might as
well forget my advice to vote third party this year. It's already a
done
deal. God has told Pat Robertson that
Bush will win
in a a blowout.
Tuesday,
January 6
4:00 PM
Some excellent
thoughts from John Piper and the Desiring God Ministries website for your
evening enjoyment:
That is why we exist - to
display the glory of God. Human life is all about God. That is the meaning
of being human. It is our created nature to make much of God. It is our
glory to worship the glory of God. When we fulfill this reason for being,
we have substance. There is weight and significance in our existence.
Knowing, enjoying and (thus) displaying the glory of God is a sharing in
the glory of God. Not that we become God. But something of his greatness
and beauty is on us as we realize this purpose for our being - to image
forth his excellence. This is our substance.
Not to fulfill this purpose
for human existence is to be a mere shadow of the substance we were
created to have. Not to display God's worth by enjoying him above all
things is to be a mere echo of the music we were created to make. It is to
be a mere residue of the impact we were created to have.
To read John's
entire essay, go
here. Meanwhile, winter weather has returned, so yall be careful in the
cold and (possible) snow later on this week!
7:10 AM
Phyllis Schlafly
reviews
the latest feminist fantasy:
Proclaimed by CBS-TV as
"the best picture of the year by far," "Mona Lisa Smile" is a sanctimonious
feminist homily preaching salvation through modern art and making one's own
career choices just so long as career does not mean marriage and motherhood.
But the sermon boomeranged on reality, and the movie proves again that those
who follow that commandment travel a dead-end road.
If you want
to see a really good movie about overcoming odds, try
Seabiscuit.

6:40 AM
Where can you
find feature stories on the Republican Party as the new welfare state party,
the limits of U.S. plans for democracy in Iraq, the culture wars, the GOP
sell out on Medicare, and critiques of National Review, The Weekly Standard,
and The Wall Street Journal? At the ACU
website, that's where.
6:20 AM
Friends,
if you haven’t read the U.S. Constitution in a while, please go
here. It is an
amazingly
simple document. It will remind you that the United States was founded on the principles of individual freedom, free markets, private
property, and limited government. Once you’ve read it, you’ll find yourself
less apt to be seduced into believing that you cannot live without the
political paternalism promised by our politicians.
6:05 AM From Eric Margolis:
A danger greater than
al-Qaida:
Criticizing U.S. foreign
policy run-amok and George Bush does not equal anti-Americanism. It is the
citizen's birthright, and the friend's duty.
This writer has witnessed nine colonial
wars and saw how they corrupted the armies, and then the nations, that
waged them, brutalizing conquered and conqueror alike. Iraq is the latest.
Mankind's three worst scourges are
religious fanaticism, nationalism and imperialism. Each of these three
evils has been whipped up by the Bush administration to justify domination
abroad, repression of dissidence at home and, of course, re-election.
Those who truly love and respect the United
States, like this writer, a conservative and U.S. Army veteran, see the
very qualities that made America a beacon to the world - its very soul -
now under heavy assault by a cabal of religious fanatics, foreign-leaning
ideological extremists, and self-enriching Enron-Republicans. That is a
danger considerably greater than al-Qaida.
6:00 AM Think being a
Republican makes you a conservative?
Think again.

Monday,
January 5
11:55 AM In light of the
current "stop-loss"
stint extensions in the Army, I just had to post Bennett's latest:

11:50 AM To let go of the
doctrine of justification is to let go of God. Read more from the latest
issue of the Founder's
Journal.
11:35 AM In her
latest posting
at Lew Rockwell, Linda Schrock Taylor expresses my sentiments exactly: vote,
but vote third party. At least be honest enough to admit that the Republican
Party no longer represents true conservatism. In my forthcoming book
Why I Stopped Listening to Rush, I put it this
way in chapter 3 ("When the Horse Dies, Dismount: The Demise of Conservatism
in the Republican Party):
Today’s Americans are bound by the shackles
of government interference as never before, and our taskmasters are not
just Democrats but Republicans. Socialism and her handmaidens, imperialism
and secularism, are being promoted by the Republican Party just as much as
they were ever flaunted by the Democrats. Gone forever are the days of the
clear-eyed, free-market conservatism of Ronald Reagan, who actually sought
to limit government, to lower taxes, to promote biblical values, and to
create a climate of self-reliance and self-restraint.
Today the differences
between America’s two major parties are purely cosmetic. As the 2000
Constitution Party presidential candidate Howard Phillips put it, the
choice voters face is between two evils, adding that the Republican Party
“is the greater of the two evils, because it flies a false flag.” Phillips
is right.
How can Americans reconcile the difference
between candidate Bush who claimed to espouse traditional American values
and President Bush who gave adoption rights to homosexual couples in D.C.
and who appointed numerous open homosexuals to high office within his
administration? What should Americans think of a president who campaigned
on a promise to avoid nation building and then launched invasions of
Afghanistan and Iraq? And what happened to candidate Bush’s promises to
practice a “humble” foreign policy? They are now scattered about like the
debris of a messy divorce while the U.S. brazenly flexes its military
muscle throughout the world (“Bring ’em on!”).
My
conclusion is the same as Ms. Taylor's:
The next time you vote, ask yourself the
question: What’s the difference in God’s eyes between “evil” and
“completely evil”? The only difference between the GOP and Democrats is
the degree of evil they support. Do you really believe that God would have
you vote for a party that knowingly consents to the continuation of 1.5
million abortions per year and that will appoint judges to decree that Roe
v. Wade is legitimate? Am I the only one who thinks there’s an alternative
to the brutal dehumanizing calculations of the socialism that pervades our
land or to the materialistic worship of the state that big government
brings us?
Thomas Paine once said, “Moderation in
temper is a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice.” I urge
Americans to set a higher standard this election than they’ve ever set
before. If we continue in our pragmatism, we will get what we
deserve—men-pleasers instead of God-fearers. This includes so-called
“religious conservatives” who are more inspired by televangelists than by
the Scriptures. Let’s elect people who are humble enough to submit to the
supreme law of the land, the U.S. Constitution. If we don’t, the current
batch of spoiled intellectuals and starry-eyed executives will continue to
wreak havoc upon the land of the free with their radical egalitarian ideas
and ethic of unlimited personal hedonism.
11:15 AM Our first Greek
session this morning was a smashing success, despite the uncontrollable
laughter after the instructor sang the alphabet song. Students: Be sure to
go to my Reading Room and check out the section on
New Testament Greek for links to a variety
of helpful bells and whistles, including audio files of the Greek New
Testament. My own reading of the Greek alphabet, vocabulary, and translation
sentences is available at the seminary AV department for the great price of
only $2.00. I am available every day for help and guidance as we begin the
mastery of this wonderful language.
For anyone else who might want to learn to
read New Testament Greek, my
beginning grammar covers all of the important bases and includes a key
to the exercises for self-instruction. I am also available for assistance as
you tackle this language.
7:45 AM Bloggers are
rewriting the rules of journalism. Well, why shouldn't they?
7:35 AM Seminarians tend to
be as poor as church mice. They probably need to become a little more frugal
than they are (no, I don't mean becoming cheapskates). This is serious
business, especially when running up tuition debt. Of the many reasons to
practice frugality, financial concerns is probably the least. Carmon
Friedrich is an experienced homeschool mom whose advice is well worth
hearing - and heeding. Her suggestions on pinching pennies may be
found at her weblog,
Buried Treasure. Her tips are aimed at saving your credibility as well
as your money, which, in many ways, go hand-in-hand. Read and learn!
7:30 AM Paul Proctor is
spot on about evangelicals' misguided trust in big government do-goodism:
Since the twin towers fell
and our troops were sent overseas to do battle with the “enemies of
freedom”, a new “Christian conservative patriotism” has emerged into the
mainstream. Though it is indeed encouraging to see liberals largely on
the sidelines these days, I find many of the emotionally-charged events
choreographed into photo ops and crowd-pleasing rhetoric, a lot like the
new spirituality behind the purpose driven, seeker-sensitive, church
growth movement that is currently sweeping the country – an inch deep
and a mile wide – powered by pragmatism, pleasure and pride, with a
mesmerized following that will cheer and support, right or wrong,
biblical or not, almost anything implemented by its leaders, merely
because it has been labeled “Christian”, “conservative” and/or
“patriotic”. Like the zealots of old, I fear we are co-opting Christ for
our own ends rather than abandoning our causes for His. Let’s face it –
because of our fallen nature, we are all control freaks facing the
greatest personal challenge known to man – surrendering the throne of
our lives to the only One worthy of it – Jesus Christ. As Judas
demonstrated so well for us – being CLOSE to Jesus is a lot different
than following Him.
Read Paul's
latest essay
here.
7:15 AM At least 6 female
soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began. Writes the
Miami
Herald:
Military women in Iraq say
they are doing their jobs just like their male colleagues. Sgt. Erin
Edwards, 23, often travels in armed convoys as part of her work as an aide
to a commander of the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit.
Edwards left her 3-year-old son and infant daughter with her in-laws
because her husband serves in the Army in South Korea.
''I would love to be at home
with my kids, but I'm doing this for them. I wouldn't want to do anything
else,'' she said.
Just doing her
job? This is pure
folly, ain't it?
The assignment of women to combat can be
justified only in the direst of emergencies where the nation’s very
survival is at risk and there is no reasonable alternative. Absent these
conditions, there is no military need at any time to place women in harm’s
way.
Americans ought to be ashamed of hiding
behind the skirts of women while fighting our battles. I call upon
Congress to reverse its policy on women in combat.
7:00 AM It doesn't get much
better than this, folks! Had a wonderful time enjoying fellowship and
ministry in Virginia, the balmy summer-like weather (I could have sworn I
was back in Hawaii), and working on the farm. I've also never been more sore
in my life, though it's a good kind of soreness. My son and I dug and set 64
(!) cedar posts and began construction of our new goat barn, all of this in
78 degree weather. We visited the shut-ins, attended a funeral, and wrapped
things up by enjoying a great Mexican dinner.
There is
nothing like country living. In fact, I ought to write an essay someday on
the benefits of agrarianism. Come to think of it,
I already have!
In church, I
shared with the congregation my two favorite New Testament texts: Romans 8
and Ephesians 2. Romans 8 reminds me of the absolute sovereignty of God - a
God who is so sovereign He can even bring good out of evil. And Ephesians 2
reminds me that I contribute absolutely zero, zilch, nada to my salvation.
It's all by the the grace of God. In this new year, my prayer for you is
that you might trust God FULLY in every circumstance of life, and draw from
His unending supply of grace for your every need. May this year be the
greatest one ever in your marriages, families, churches, and communities!
Friday,
January 2
11:30 AM
As we enter a new year, the maxims of a great American patriot come to
mind.
Here's a sampling:
To read more maxims of Stonewall Jackson,
go here.
11:00 AM How guerrilla wars
are
won or lost.
10:30 AM Yet another great
column by Berit
Kjos on the seeker-sensitive movement and the "Message" it employs. I
agree:
The Bible is very clear
about “seekers.” They don’t exist. Scripture says, “There is no one
righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks
God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no
one who does good, not even one” (Rom 3:10-12). “All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way....” (Isaiah 53:5). Yet we
plot the course and expect God to follow it. We prefer meeting “felt needs”
to proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We focus on man rather
than on God. Our whole concept of church is market-driven and based on a
materialistic mindset, as if we could manipulate the work of the Holy
Spirit.
10:15 AM A few tidbits from
AlterNet:
There have been no publicly
revealed terror attacks foiled on U.S. soil since 9/11 – only the trumped-up
cases of a few homegrown Muslim fantasy warriors. But state power and
erosion of civil liberties and the Bill of Rights continues to expand, in
the name of 9/11 and "terrorism." A leaked draft of a proposed "PATRIOT II"
bill caused a public uproar early in the year. A major provision was then
snuck through Congress anyway – the right to seize and examine any
business's records, no warrant, judge or jury needed. Guantanamo's prisons
continue to expand, allegations of torture and border brutalizations keep
cropping up in foreign media, and John Ashcroft still has a job. The good
news: Increasingly, courts are telling Bush to back off. The bad news: If
reelected, Bush will likely get to pick two or three new Supreme Court
judges.
I had predicted as much back in September (The
Patriot Act Is An Assault Not Only On the Constitution But On God):
“Propaganda” is an
interesting word. It includes connotations of deliberately distorting
facts and appealing to the prejudices of an audience in order to win
their support for an undeserving institution or cause.
As an example of this,
consider John Ashcroft’s campaign to convince the American people that
surrendering their God-given liberties for the sake of
government-guaranteed “security” is in their best interest. The United
States Justice Department functions with impunity, gradually curbing
religious and other freedoms while imposing by force of law a
totalitarian ideology on the populace. All this in the name of the
Constitution, no less!
I'm wondering: Couldn't we put a stop to all
of this if in the next election we voted our convictions rather than our
fears?
10:00 AM I'm really looking
forward to J-term Greek, which starts on Monday. We meet from 8:00 am to 12
noon, Monday through Friday, for three weeks. Intensive, yes, but many
students learn best that way. We'll probably have about 35 in the class,
plus some audits. If you are a student and haven't seen the
course syllabus yet, you can go to the
seminary website and print it. On Monday we'll cover the Greek alphabet
and teach you my world famous Greek alphabet song (to the tune of "Mama's
Little Baby Loves Shortening"). What fun!
9:30 AM
Been having a wonderful
time working at the farm and enjoying the goats, the chickens, our Sheltie, and our newly
adopted barn kitten. We've decided to thin out our
chicken
collection (too many roosters), so today is chicken-picken day. We only have two floors left to lay in the new
house, but the weather is so beautiful I think we may work on the fencing
for our new goat pen instead. We're using our own cedars for the fencing,
and for the flooring in the house we are using pines that we cut, sawed, and
planed. It's a lot harder doing it this way but much more satisfying. The
different board widths (up to 20 inches), plus the old cut nails we are
using, really make our flooring look old!
December 2003 Blog Archives
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