June 2004 Blog Archives
Monday,
June 28
1:47
PM
Counting the
cost.
1:45
PM
Die Zeit posted this photo of Lady Liberty in Colmar,
France. A parable...?

10:47
AM
Praise the
God of Creation!
10:15
AM I just received a copy
of the latest review of my book
Rethinking New
Testament Textual Criticism (Baker Books), which appeared in the
Catholic Biblical
Quarterly.
The conclusion reads:
This book is an excellent
resource for anyone wishing to introduce students to NT textual criticism.
It is also an excellent place for veteran scholars to update themselves on
textual criticism.
The book includes essays by Eldon Jay Epp,
Michael Holmes, J. K. Elliott, Maurice Robinson, and Moises Silva. Many
thanks to Professor John Clabeaux of St. John's Seminary College in
Brighton, MA, for his gracious review.
8:47
AM
God bless the
Catholic University.
8:45
AM
With "stop-loss,"
the draft has already begun.
8:33
AM
Is modesty optional? Here's
one mother's take. (Hat tip:
Buried Treasure.)
8:30
AM
Had a very nice radio interview with Mrs. Kelly
McGinley at the CP convention in Valley Forge. If you haven't visited her
website yet, I hope you
will. Here's a sampling of her excellent
writing.
8:25
AM
Many thanks to John Leone, a Constitution Party
delegate from New Jersey whom I met at the national convention, for adding
a link to daveblackonline at his
website, which promotes "Christian Leadership Principles and
Constitutionally Limited Government."
Here's a
sample.
8:23
AM
Meet John the "Dipper."
8:12
AM
From the mailbag:
...as I've said to you
before, you have "ruined" me. I most likely will not be voting for
Bush. He has demonstrated that he cannot get the job done that is most
important to me: abortion. Not that he doesn't want to; he appears to
be incapable of fulfilling this task. He doesn't have either the
leadership ability or the clout. Most of my friends think I'm crazy
for possibly voting for Peroutka ... but ... while a vote for Peroutka
may (in a very indirect way) be a vote for Kerry in this election,
maybe in four years the Republicans (or some other party) will put a
candidate up for election that I wouldn't feel guilty voting for (like
Peroutka). A vote for Peroutka is a vote for an America that will be
better for my children ... though I may have to suffer under Kerry's
leadership for 4 - 8 years.
8:05
AM
A pastor friend of mine is writing an essay on
Ephesians 6:1, arguing that children ought to be present in worship based
on Paul's use of the vocative of direct address in this verse ("Children,
obey your parents," not "Parents, remind your children to obey you"). I
passed on to him this great quote by William Hendricksen from his
Ephesians commentary:
The apostle assumes that among those who will be listening
when this letter is read to the various congregations the children will
not be lacking. They are included in God’s Covenant…, and Jesus loves
them…. Were Paul to be present with us today he would be shocked at the
spectacle of children attending the Sunday School and then going home just
before the regular worship service. He has a word addressed directly and
specifically to the children.
7:56
AM
Lewis Goldberg, editor of
The Patriotist, and Jonathan
Grubbs, a Christian
Constitutionalist from Florida, were kind enough to post a link to my
latest book on their home pages. Many thanks, guys!
7:35
AM
Robert Lloyd sent me this very kind note:
Dr Dave:
One heck of an inspirational article here. This is so important for our
people in leadership positions to keep preaching and for all of us to keep
hearing... "Not Everyone Has Surrendered"...
God speed in Valley Forge.
Deo Vindice,
Robert Lloyd
7:23
AM
Just back from a five day trip to Valley Forge for the
national Constitution Party convention. As is our custom, we avoided the
freeways, preferring instead to drive the back roads (always looking for
another antique for Bradford Hall!). We spent the first night just outside
of Lancaster, PA and then the next day we explored Amish country. When we
stopped at the local Mennonite/Amish visitor center, I struck up a
conversation with an Amish gentleman. We spoke "German" with each other - I "High
German" and he "Pennsylvania Dutch" (which, of course, has nothing to do
with Holland; it's a variety of German). Though neither of us could speak
the other's dialect, we could understand each other perfectly. I had the
audacity to inquire if he knew of an Amish family we could visit with -
not a tourist trap, but a real working farm. And what do you know - he
did! A relative of his who lives in a nearby valley graciously
welcomed us and gave us a grand tour of his barns and breeder house. I was
again blown away by the Amish and their simple lifestyle - something my
wife and I are trying to emulate on our own farm in Virginia. Child-rearing is
the first priority among Amish parents, and most Amish men prefer to farm
in order to spend their days with their families. And in the less
mechanized Amish existence there are many tasks for the children so that
they quickly become aware of their own validity as persons - an awareness
children in our more "sophisticated" society may not reach nearly as soon.
I've also noticed that the Amish, in keeping with their Swiss ancestry,
have little tolerance for bad manners or for poor workmanship. The local
farmer told me about one of his ancestors who was beheaded in Bern,
Switzerland, for his Anabaptist faith (a 32-stanza hymn about him is in
their hymnal). I plan to add this tidbit of information when I lead my
Reformation Tour to Europe next year.

The convention itself was splendid. I got to
meet many nice people and hear many great talks. The presidential (Michael
Peroutka) and vice-presidential (Chuck Baldwin) speeches were outstanding
in every way. The team is now in place to lead the Constitution Party to
victory in November, and I was both thrilled and humbled to be a part of
this historic convention in such a historic venue.
By the way, Michael Peroutka's acceptance
speech is now available
online.
Monday,
June 21
9:58
AM
Christian Pragmatism 101:
How to grow your own
mega-church.
9:57
AM
From the
conclusion of an excellent study of evangelifishism:
Herein lies the difference. The
Christianity of Christ is a hated gospel. It makes too many demands upon
a human being. Christ’s gospel requires daily mortification of private
sin and lusts, refusal to compromise with the world, and a willingness to
walk away from anything that is demonstrated to be contrary to the Word of
God. The ‘Christianity’ of the modernist, however, is a pleasing gospel.
It is received with joy, promises an eternal happiness, demonstrates
itself in a pleasing and entertaining ‘worship’, and requires little more
than moral living. ‘Jesus’ is a friend, and God is a God of ‘love’.
Compromise permits many things as long as one “feels” good about them, or
can rationalise them as being ‘applicable to the times in which we now
live’. Carnal complacency and the love of entertainment are the signs of
the times to which the ‘church’ has adapted itself.
Read
more.
9:53
AM
You've got to see the ending of
this trailer.
9:51
AM
Getting to the "Brown
and Root" of the matter.
9:45
AM
If you live in the Wake Forest area and
would like to attend my verse by verse study of Philippians this July
6-23, please go the seminary website and download the
syllabus. FYI, here are the course assignments:
1. Read the entire book of Philippians in
at least 5 different translations. Also, purchase and read a commentary
(of your choice) on Philippians. Then list (3-5 pages) at least 25 new
insights you gleaned as a result of your reading and study.
2. Memorize the “heart” of Philippians
(1:27-2:11) in a translation of your choice.
3. Write a 10-15 page paper on a topic of
your choice from Philippians. This must be a new paper and may not
incorporate work done for any other class. Suggested topics include:
-
The historical background of the city
of Philippi
-
The prominence of women in Macedonia
-
The NT teaching about
“overseers/elders” (1:1)
-
Paul’s prayer for the Philippians
(1:9-11)
-
Paul’s fourfold definition of Christian
unity (2:1-4)
-
The Christ hymn of 2:5-11
-
“Joy” in Philippians
-
etc.
4. Your final assignment is what I am
calling a Servanthood Project. According to Phil 2:1-11, Christian
humility is evidenced by selfless acts of service to others. Therefore,
I am asking you to perform at least 3 acts of service for someone in
your church or community (if possible, make it a family project). Then
write a 3-5 page summary of your project.
The class is based on the English Bible and
presupposes no knowledge of Greek. For those of you who have taken Greek
(and still remember it!), my analysis of the structure of the entire book
of Philippians is available
here.
9:05
AM
The latest from
Pat Buchanan:
And so, with no weapons
of mass destruction yet found after 18 months of searching, the second
pillar of the president's case for war falls to earth. Iraq was an
unnecessary war.
Yet, now we have 138,000
soldiers there, with casualties mounting, the cost rising and the
hostility to America's presence growing. Every attack on U.S. troops or
contractors – even when they involve Iraqi dead and wounded – seems to be
cause for jubilation.
7:16
AM
Weekend highlights: singing country Gospel
at the local retirement home for Father's Day...finishing our goat barn
(including milking and birthing stalls)...trying out our new rice cooker
(a birthday present from my wife - I am agog at how well it
works!)...mowing and edging our NC property...cleaning out the horse
waterers...listening to Stroop's fantastic Hodie...watching the
local turkey family snare insects each morning...finishing two books on
the life of George Washington...in-depth textual study of Philippians.
Hope you, too, had a great weekend!
Saturday,
June 19
8:40
AM
As I prepare to teach the Book of
Philippians this summer, I found
these words by John MacArthur to be timely indeed.
8:30
AM
More Republican fallout.
“The gloom among Republicans is deepening
as President Bush falls behind Democratic nominee John F. Kerry,” says
University of Virginia Political Science Professor Larry J. Sabato. At
the heart of the gloom is Iraq. “Bush's presidency is--by his own
admission--inextricably bound to Iraq, and things are going very badly
there,” Sabato adds.
Bush’s Iraq woes
deepened this week when the 9-11 Commission concluded no link existed
between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the
September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. With
the earlier claim of weapons of mass destruction already discredited,
the commission’s finding removed the last of Bush’s questionable
justifications for the war in Iraq.
Even Bush’s father, former President
George H.W. Bush, refuses to publicly endorse his son’s Iraq war and an
increasing number of prominent Republicans and Conservatives are
straying off the reservation.
Read
more.
8:20
AM
Grasping at
straws?
8:04
AM
The blessings of a
Christian society.
Thursday,
June 17
4:05
PM
Arnaud de
Borchgrave does it again:
The tsunami of anti-American
venom unleashed around the world by the Abu Ghraib torture pictures also
has crested and begun to subside. But Mr. Bush is still being pummeled
mercilessly for what Le Monde called "out of control hoity-toity hubris."
A common editorial thread between
the world's most respected journals was that the occupation has weakened
the world's only superpower, both within and without Iraq; that its
strongest alliances have splintered; and that its policies have been
rejected by overwhelming majorities throughout the world. The dominant
emotion seemed sorrow, not anger.
Read
Cakewalkers go AWOL.
4:00
PM Our seminary
email is down, so if you've emailed me in the last 24 hours it may be a
while before I can respond. Meanwhile I've been working on my speech for
the Constitution Party convention in Valley Forge next week as well as
reading a real page-turner:
Washington's Crossing.
Wednesday,
June 16
12:50
PM Here's the
final schedule for the Constitution Party National Convention next
week. Mega-kudos to Debbie Hopper (one of the speakers) for an outstanding
job in coordinating the event.
12:47
PM Michael
Peroutka recently received these comments from a mother concerned about
the draft:
My husband and I voted for
Pres. Bush (were ardent supporters) but we have been so very disappointed
in him. We still pray for him as our leader and as our brother in Christ,
but we will be writing your name on our ballot this year.
My 16 yr old son found your site and showed my husband and myself. I thank
God that America still has some noble men who honour God, family,
Constitution, and yes women.
Read
more.
10:50
AM The
opiate
of the people (and it ain't religion).
10:45
AM On May 31st
Baptists lost a great pastor-teacher. Read his obituary
here.
10:43
AM Yet another
reason to send your kids to public school:
healthy food.

10:01
AM Abu
what????
Two rehearsals for his
primetime May 23 speech were not enough to keep George W. Bush from
mangling the name of the prison that brought shame to the U.S. mission
in Iraq. Tom Shales of the Washington Post noted that "in
addition to a generally lackluster delivery, Bush stumbled over the
crucial name Abu Ghraib, the now infamous prison where grisly torture of
Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops has become an international scandal as
well as an enormous embarrassment to the Bush administration." During
the half-hour televised address, Bush mispronounced the infamous
prison’s name each of the three times he mentioned it while announcing
U.S. plans to tear it down and replace it with a new facility. The
prison, the scene of torture under Saddam Hussein and the setting for
the Iraqi prison abuse scandal under the U.S. military, has a name that
English speakers usually pronounce as "abu-grabe." But Bush stumbled on
the first try, calling it "abugah-rayp." The second version came out "abu-garon,"
and the third attempt sounded like "abu-garah." White House aides, who
described the speech as an important address on the future of Iraq, said
Bush practiced twice on Monday before boarding his helicopter for his
trip to the speaking venue at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.
9:56
AM Aren't you glad
we have James
Dobson to help us all survive adolescence?
Boost Your Daughter’s Walk
with God. What do faith, fashion and fun have in common? Brio magazine!
It’s a monthly dose of positive affirmation that empowers teen girls 13
and up to make godly choices.

9:56
AM
"Bible school has evolved into a massive event that
takes months to plan and organize."
And all we get is a Rickshaw Rally?
9:54
AM No surprises
here. Our
new combat uniform resembles UN blue. (Hat tip:
Southern Cause
Messenger Board.)

9:45
AM Our family is
studiously examining
this essay.
9:23
AM This
home-educated author
writes:
An
honest resolution introduced at the Baptist General Convention that might
address the problem of our nation would end with a call to Baptist churches
to stop watering down faith in God with compartmentalized Christianity.
9:20
AM Three cheers for
the United States, savior of the world.
From
Mrs. Bush:
...One year ago, President Bush stood before the United Nations General
Assembly and pledged that the United States of America would return to
UNESCO as a symbol of our nation's commitment to human dignity. Our
delegation is proud to be here today representing our country and fulfilling
that commitment.
...I'm proud that President Bush has made a massive commitment, $15 billion,
to fight this humanitarian crisis. This is the largest single commitment of
funds in the history of international public health initiative on a specific
disease, and I'm very proud of my husband's leadership to help the children
of the world.
...UNESCO's aptly named Education for All has an ambitious but I'm convinced
attainable goal of ensuring universal primary education and expanding
literacy worldwide by the year 2015. This program closely mirrors the goals
of my husband's No Child Left Behind initiative ....
So much for
the U.S. Constitution.
9:10
AM My long time
friend David Allen, who is the newly installed dean of theology at
Southwestern Seminary and with whom I am co-editing a new book titled
The Text-Driven Sermon, continues to promulgate
the completely myopic and untenable view that
Luke wrote Hebrews.
As the KJV superscription says, "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the
Hebrews." Case closed, brother Dave!
(BTW, on Origen's famous statement that
"only God knows" who wrote Hebrews, see this
essay.)
9:05
AM Carmon
Friedrich's take on things
educational.
8:54
AM Ricky Pittman, a
public school teacher in Monroe, LA, sent me this email:
Dave: I really liked your
article, "Screen of the Scriptures." (Found it via League of the South of
which I'm a member) I've attached a MSW article, "How to Teach the Bible in
Public Schools" which I had printed in Teachers of Vision, Vol. XLIX, No. 1
Back to School 2003. p. 6. (A publication of Christian Educators Association
International.) In this essay, I argue that the public school system is not
the only problem here. Please read it and let me know what you think. I
would love for you to post this article with my email if you like it enough.
I appreciate so much your writing.
Rickey Pittman
Glad to do it, brother. You can reach Ricky
at his website.
Christians have all heard it said from pulpit and in
print, “They (whoever they are) have taken the Bible out of the
public schools and forbidden us to teach us.” Such statements are
nonsense, propaganda, designed to create a fear of and resentment toward
public education. While it is true the Bible does not occupy the
strategic position it once held in education, government, and society,
ANY teacher may teach their students much more about the Bible than he
or she realizes. After teaching English literature in public schools
and universities for nine years, I have learned several strategies that
will help teachers raise Biblical and cultural literacy in their
students.
While law and government policies and societal mores have been a factor
in the Bible’s lost presence in public education, actually, the most
significant cause of the loss of the scripture’s presence is
ignorance. Today there exists an appalling ignorance of the Bible on
the part of teachers and students. There is also an ignorance of the
significant role the Bible plays in understanding the literature of
Western Civilization.
A
teacher today has ample opportunity to teach rich many facts and
insights found in the scriptures simply by the careful instruction of
literature. In fact, I would argue that one can’t fully understand
British and American literature without a Biblical background. Our
literature is full of allusions to Judo-Christian history, people, and
scriptures. To not have a Biblical background is to not fully grasp the
significance of the poetry, short stories, and novels that our
government requires our students to study. Think about the many
allusions filling the works of Milton, John Donne, Shakespeare and even
modern writers, such as Hawthorne and Faulkner. Many times each week as
we study literature in my classroom, I often say something like, “This
line, passage, or word is an allusion to something in the Bible. Who
can tell me what this refers to?” If the students don’t know, and they
usually don’t, I supply the explanation, complete with Biblical
reference. In the teaching of Literature lies a Christian’s opportunity
to teach the Bible.
For example, consider
Singer’s short story, “Gimpel the Fool.” The Jewish and Christian
imagery is rich and complex, and the pathetic story of Gimpel’s cruel
and immoral wife is an obvious allusion to the prophet Hosea. A teacher
can’t teach Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter without teaching about
the Puritans and how their thinking was influenced by their fanatical
Calvinistic philosophy and how their efforts to control sin actually
made sin more powerful.
Ignorance of the Bible is not difficult to discover in the classroom. I
always ask my students, especially the more overtly religious ones,
“How many have read the whole Bible?” Tragically, after nine years of
teaching, I have had no student affirm that he or she has read the whole
Bible. When I share with them how I have read the entire Bible over 200
times and have translated the Greek New Testament into English, they can
hardly believe it. This reveals a significant problem that exists in
even the most fundamental churches in today’s society. Church and home
education have moved away from whole Bible teaching and reading to
trendy topics and issues that focus on the same few scriptures time and
time again. Many of my students are zealous for their faith and very
committed to God, but when I question them regarding the Biblical (both
Old and New testaments) allusions in literature, they are at a loss.
Unfortunately, many of my students confess that much of scriptural
material I present to them is new. As you can see, it is not the
government that has taken the Bible out.
Scriptural content is not only found in literature. A study of drama
reveals that playwrights through the ages possessed an amazing knowledge
of the scriptures. Another interesting issue of the importance of a
Biblical education is seen in the typical high school study of
Shakespeare. I have noticed that the students who could or had worked
through the King James Version had a much easier time with Shakespeare’s
language. I love the modern translations, but in my writing and
teaching, I still use the Authorized Version, for that is the version of
British and American literature.
True, legally, and I think ethically, a teacher must not proselytize his
or her students in classroom situations. Nor do I allow my religious
students to hold an evangelical campaign in my class. My classroom is
designed to promote thought and learning skills; my lessons are designed
to raise the academic abilities and cultural literacy of the students.
When a teacher is heavy-handed in matters of the soul, the pressure
backfires and the teacher is resented and not respected. Additionally,
one should have confidence in the silent power the scriptures possess.
Bible verses can effectively perform their Hebrews 4:12 work on their
own in just the sharing. Students already have state-approved
organizations in public schools, such as the Christian Fellowship of
Athletes, that can help the students as well with their social and
evangelical needs.
An
effective education requires a balance. Knowledge and use of the Bible
will help a student’s education to be well rounded. Yet, though we
often have a great zeal to communicate the scriptures, we must be
careful to avoid a tendency to dismiss or take lightly the other
important elements of education a child needs from history, science, the
arts—and yes, even exposure to views contrary to the Christian view. I
feel secure enough in my beliefs to examine or look at opposing points
of view. If I’m right and my thinking and learning is sound, what is
there to fear? Answering challenges and reasoning through problem areas
should only strengthen one’s faith, not cause its loss. We should
expect such challenges and rise to meet them. Yet, we must be
prepared. It is truly sad when the authors of literature or skeptics
attack scripture and seem to know more about biblical subjects than
Christians do.
Teachers too, need to be well rounded. I know that many
fundamentalists might argue that the Bible is all that is needed
in education. This Puritan notion is ridiculous, a mindset resembling
the Taliban who virtually have banned anything educational, artistic,
and cultural from their society except for the Koran. Everything a
teacher knows can matter in the classroom, including what they know
about the scriptures. Students in this apathetic age need teachers who
know literature and the scriptures, and they need teachers who know how
to use them both effectively to open, probe, challenge, and broaden the
minds of the young disciples they instruct. If the teacher knows and
teaches literature well, he or she has ample opportunity to expose
students to the scriptures.
8:10
AM My good friend
Mark Dankof is now writing for
DixieInternet.
8:05
AM From the mailbag:
I visit your web page
fairly often. I just read your article on the SBC school resolution.
Nice piece of writing. Can I reprint it?
Our church has operated
a Christian School for about 25 years. Both our pastor and his wife
left good paying jobs in the public schools to pastor the church and
lead the school. When attendance overwhelmed our small church,
capacity 80 and also used as a school, we voted to build a school
building before a bigger sanctuary. We have church services in the
gymnasium and may see the new sanctuary someday but I don't see the
imminent need for it other than knowing that the folks getting married
would like to have the ceremony in a more formal setting.
7:45
AM John Kerry -
an echo, not a choice.
7:34
AM The
draft will probably be THE issue of 2005. Only one presidential
candidate will oppose the Selective Service System - the Constitution
Party's
Michael Peroutka. Others may promise what they will, but, like
Ronald
Reagan, they will succumb to militaristic pressures once in office.
Monday,
June 14
11:38
AM It's
spreading like kudzu.
10:54
AM So you like to
talk to your dog....
9:26
AM The myth of Santa
Clause: Not so
harmless.

9:24
AM Validating
homeschooling for
Christian families.
9:15
AM An
age-integrated church?
7:37
AM When does
human
life begin?
7:35
AM
"...by all means, get your children out of
these hedonistic, socialist training camps called government schools!" Read
more.
7:32
AM A reader asks:
Dr. Black,
I have been reading your
blog for a few months now, and have read your articles on Mr.
Peroutka. He seems to be a good man, and would promote many things
that are on our Christian agenda. However, would it be a waste of our
vote to vote for Mr. Peroutka? Would this not take away votes from
Mr. Bush, putting him in a precarious position to lose to a candidate
that would be worse than him? Is it more important for us to support
the lesser of two evils that might win, or the best man assured to
lose? Would you shed some wisdom and light on this dilemma?
Thank you for writing. Please read the
essay by Michael Harrison entitled "No
More Excuses! Why a Vote for Michael Peroutka over George Bush Is Not a
Wasted Vote." I believe it will answer each of your questions
satisfactorily.
Friday,
June 11
12:08
PM Die Zeit asks,
"Warum wollen die USA plötzlich die
NATO im Irak dabeihaben?" Good
question.
11:55
AM The SBC
resolution on public school is
gaining
ground with a
critical endorsement.
11:54
AM The
forgotten war.
9:23
AM
Two recent letters:
Dr. Black
Just wanted to say please keep up the outstanding
work you are doing spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am an avid
Michael Peroutka supporter but have had my hands
full explaining why he is the only
Christian conservative candidate running for president that is worth
supporting. I sometimes feel that most Bush supporters listen to what
they want to listen to and hear what they want to hear...regardless of
the truth. I have went to pro-Bush websites and being called
everything from a liberal to a traitor. Mr. Peroutka has been called
the same and then some. The only thing I know is I am spreading the
word. I will vote my conscience and let God decide the rest. God
bless you and your family.
Dr. Black:
I have only recently become
acquainted with your website, daveblackonline.com, and have found it to be
extremely refreshing. I consider myself a recovering neo-conservative and
have sought news sources where American history is accurately portrayed and
the ideals of our nation's foundation are embraced.
I have become an avid
reader of men like Walter E. Williams and Thomas Sowell and I visit websites
like lewrockwell.com and worldnetdaily.com regularly. But it wasn't until I
found daveblackonline.com that I found someone with whom I so closely
identify.
Like yourself I am a
Southern Baptist. Most importantly, like you, I am committed to the Reformed
faith and desire to see our convention return to its historical theological
position.
It was with the discovery
of daveblackonline.com that I found a resource, for the first time, which
brought together so many of my own deeply held convictions. In just a few
short weeks I have become a fan of your website.
It is for this reason
I felt compelled to contact you. I simply wanted to say thank you for
expressing yourself so well through daveblackonline.com. I have enjoyed it
more than you can know. Also, please keep it up. Your website is the first
place I visit any time I log onto the internet. Again, thank you.
9:15
AM
Good morning, all! We've had a wonderful week, one of the busiest since
moving to Bradford Hall. Some good friends from a farm in western Virginia
helped me celebrate my 52nd birthday yesterday. A formal dinner was prepared
by my wonderful wife (she surprised me with my favorite meal - southern
fried chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, and strawberry shortcake), followed by
a "musikalisher Abend" of piano entertainment in our parlor (she played my
favorites - Claire du Lune, Moonlight Sonata, and Für Elise). The evening
ended with singing around the piano and clavinova and one of my infamous
"Henny, Jenny, Penny" bedtime stories for the kids. Earlier I took the
youngest of their nine children horseback riding at our NC ranch and gave
them a tour of the seminary. On Wednesday the children helped us get up 286
(!) bales, and yesterday they caught bass and blue gill in our new farm
pond. Folks, life doesn't get much better than this. We have lacked neither
bread nor friends. The way is sweet, and our hearts are glad. As I used to
pray in Germany, Grosses hast Du uns getan/Alles in
uns betet an!
Monday,
June 7
4:27
PM
Oops!

1:30
PM
My colleagues at Denver Seminary, Craig Blomberg and Bill Klein, have just
updated their New Testament
Exegesis Bibliography.
10:12
AM
Richard Clarke's tour de force is now available for
francophones. Here's a key excerpt:
Plus tard, dans la
soirée du 12, je quitte le centre de vidéoconférences et je découvre,
déambulant seul au beau milieu du PC de crise... le président. Il a
manifestement une idée en tête. Il fait signe à certains d'entre nous
et ferme la porte de la salle de conférences: «Ecoutez, je sais que
vous avez des tonnes de choses à faire... mais je veux vous voir tous,
dès que
possible,
tout repasser au peigne fin depuis le début, absolument tout. Voir si
Saddam est à l'origine de tout ça. Voir s'il y est lié d'une manière
ou d'une autre...»
Je suis une fois de plus
abasourdi, incrédule, et cela doit se voir:
«Mais, monsieur le
Président, c'est Al-Qaeda...
- Je sais, je sais, mais...
voyez quand même si Saddam n'est pas dans le coup. Regardez encore,
c'est tout. Je veux la moindre parcelle d'information...
- Tout à fait. Nous
allons tout regarder... encore une fois. (J'essaie de bien réagir, de
me montrer plus respectueux.) Mais vous savez, nous avons déjà cherché
à plusieurs reprises si Al-Qaeda recevait des fonds de tel ou tel Etat,
et jusqu'ici nous n'avons pas trouvé le moindre lien concret avec
l'Irak. L'Iran a un rôle modeste, tout comme le Pakistan, l'Arabie
saoudite, le Yémen...
- Cherchez du côté de
l'Irak, de Saddam», insiste le président, irrité, avant de nous
quitter. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty et moi le regardons partir, bouche bée.
Sur ces entrefaites
arrive Paul Kurtz, croisant le président qui s'en va. Voyant notre
tête, il demande: «Bon Dieu, qu'est-ce qui se passe ici?
10:10
AM
Nope, we watch no TV at Rosewood Farm. "What in the world do you do in your
spare time?" we're often asked. Well, nothing so unusual. Simply
what they did before TV.
9:25
AM
Look who's paying only
5 cents a gallon for gas.
9:21
AM
The problem with
Ebonics (scroll down to picture of Bill Cosby).

9:18
AM
My prayers are with
these families and this school.
9:16
AM
"In the context of 9/11
it may not have
been the best way to promote their religion."
9:14
AM
Auburn Baptists to Pinckney:
Take a hike.
9:05
AM
So much for our
pre-war intelligence.
8:45
AM
Last weekend my eldest son was listening to NPR's interview with gay Bishop
Gene Robinson. Nowhere in the discussion were the Scriptures referenced, so
my son called the program. When he told the screener he wanted to read from
Romans chapter 1, he was rudely cut off. He called back, with the same
results. In this essay on
homosexual marriage,
Lon Mabon ably defends the Bible and the Constitution.
7:56
AM
Lest we forget:
Simply
stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction.
- Dick Cheney, speech to VFW National Convention, Aug. 26, 2002
Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for
the production of biological weapons.
- George W. Bush, speech to UN General Assembly, Sept. 12, 2002
No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the
security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of
Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
- Donald Rumsfeld, testimony to Congress, Sept. 19, 2002
The world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed
by Iraq.
- George W. Bush, Nov. 23, 2002
If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is
once again misleading the world.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Dec. 2,
2002
We know for a fact that there are weapons there.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Jan. 9,
2003
What we know from UN inspectors over the course of the last decade is
that Saddam Hussein possesses thousands of chemical warheads, that he
possesses hundreds of liters of very dangerous toxins that can kill
millions of people.
- White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, Jan. 26,
2003
Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the
materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve
agent…. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently
sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
- George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003
We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass
destruction, is determined to make more.
- Colin Powell, remarks to UN Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003
We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized
Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons - the very weapons the
dictator tells us he does not have.
- George W. Bush, radio address, Feb. 8, 2003
If Iraq had disarmed itself, gotten rid of its weapons of mass
destruction over the past 12 years, or over the last several months
since [UN Resolution] 1441 was enacted, we would not be facing the
crisis that we now have before us.
- Colin Powell, interview with Radio France International, Feb.
28, 2003
So has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of
mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad?….I think our judgment has
to be clearly not.
- Colin Powell, remarks to UN Security Council, March 7, 2003
Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that
the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal
weapons ever devised.
- George W. Bush, address to the U.S., March 17, 2003
The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live
at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons
of mass murder.
- George W. Bush, address to U.S., March 19, 2003
Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that
Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical
particularly…..All this will be made clear in the course of the
operation, for whatever duration it takes.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleisher, press briefing, March 21,
2003
There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of
mass destruction. And….as this operation continues, those weapons will
be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and
who guard them.
- Gen. Tommy Franks, press conference, March 22, 2003
I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass
destruction.
- Defense Policy Board member Kenneth Adelman, The Washington
Post, March 23, 2003
One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a
number of sites.
- Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clark, press briefing, March 22,
2003
We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad
and east, west, south, and north somewhat.
- Donald Rumsfeld, ABC interview, March 30, 2003
Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of
mass destruction U.S. forces find - and there will be plenty.
- Robert Kagan, The Washington Post, April 9, 2003
But make no mistake - as I said earlier - we have high confidence that
they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about
and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, April 10,
2003
We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi
scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he
destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them.
- George W. Bush, NBC interview, April 24, 2003
There are people who in large measure have information that we need….so
that we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country.
- Donald Rumsfeld, press briefing, April 25, 2003
We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so.
- George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 3, 2003
7:15
AM
Rachel Layne sent me
this piece on dogs. Yes, it's sloppy sentimentalism, but dog lovers ARE
sloppy sentimentalists. Just last night I was sitting in my library at
Bradford Hall reading with my son and listening to our "Great Organs of
Baltimore" CD when my attention was drawn to our beautiful Sheltie Shiloh
curled up at my feet, sound asleep. I thought to myself what a blessing it
is to have a dog, even though you know one day you will have to part with
your faithful friend. That's the inevitable fate every dog lover faces, but,
we would all agree, it's well worth it. My father-in-law (another sloppy
sentimentalist) once asked me if he'd meet his dogs in heaven. "How can it
be heaven without them?" he asked. The only answer I could think of was C.
S. Lewis's: If having our dogs with us in heaven is necessary for our
happiness, you can be sure they'll be there.
Groucho Marx put it this way: "Outside of a
dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
7:15
AM
George Lansing writes:
Dave,
We have not seen the
first snake since getting our guineas six or seven years ago. We have
a great story of my wife reaching in to get the eggs from the nesting
box and almost grabbing a 6' King snake instead! But that was before
guineas. They are well noted for eating ticks and fleas, but have
done a great job on snakes as well. I usually am able to keep 10 to
20 around, but lose more some years than others to predators.
Thanks for
writing, George. We currently
have a hen sitting on six guinea eggs a neighbor gave us. They're due to
hatch out in a week. I'll let you know how things go.
7:10
AM
The truth about
Reagan.
7:06
AM
397 miles, 9 and a half hours, and a drive through the beautiful
Appalachian Range brought us to the Clemens farm near the West Virginia
border to pick up our goatlets. Such magnificent scenery takes one's
breath away. The Clemens, a homeschooling family, gave us a deal we
couldn't pass up (Nomen est omen: Clemens is Latin for merciful).
The newly weaned Boer/Spanish does are now safely ensconced in their new
pasture at Rosewood Farm. I was glad to see how eagerly our other goats
welcomed their new companions.
By the way,
if you ever find yourself on Highway 220 south of Rocky Mount (as we did
half way through our trip), do plan to stop at Big Papa's diner for some
great Southern cooking. $5.50 for a complete buffet, including sweet tea
and coffee.
Friday,
June 4
5:06
PM
Aloha au i uka me/Ke
kahakai o Pupukea: "I love the uplands/and the seashore of Pupukea."
(Sorry, folks - I'm in a nostalgic mood again, but Pupukea was probably my
favorite break in all of Hawaii. Aloha, and have a great weekend.)

3:10
PM
Lest we Southern Baptists forget, home-schooling is
God's idea, not Pinckney's.

3:07
PM
Public education
IS religious!
3:05
PM
Socialization,
schmocialization.
3:00
PM
Secrets of a happy home
life (1894 style).
12:05
PM
As usual, David Brownlow is
right.
11:58
AM
Beware the
back-door draft.
11:48
AM
A fellow blogger no longer
wants to be called a "conservative."
11:45
AM
Nice
site: "Here I Blog."
9:55
AM
A public baptism is
sparking controversy in my adopted home state of Virginia. Reflecting
on the past, I've always thought it ridiculous that Hawaii (where I was
hatched and raised) should have an "Interstate Highway" or that churches
on Oahu should have baptistries. I was baptized in a public ceremony at
Kailua Beach Park when I was eight. Later both of my sons were baptized
there. After all, it was a "public" park!
9:43
AM
The secular
case for
home-schooling.
9:35
AM
Fed up with
the myth of Republican conservatism, Ron Holland
endorses
the Constitution Party of Peroutka and Baldwin:
My point is the Nader
third party candidacy cost the Democrat Party the 2000 Presidential
Election and today you see Kerry and the other Democrats bowing and
scraping toward Nader and his liberal supporters in their rhetoric, issues,
platform and voting records. Don’t fool yourself, the Democrat
Party leadership doesn’t care one way or the other about Nader’s
political philosophy or views. They are 100% concerned with winning
elections and the 2000 Presidential Election taught them to pay
attention
to and deliver on the promises made to their liberal supporters or else
suffer the consequences and political defeat at election time with a
defection of their voters to a leftist third party effort.
In the 2004 Presidential
Election, Christian conservatives and constitutionalists need to teach
an identical lesson to the Republican Party leadership if we want them
to remember us after the election. To date, our sheep-like voting
behavior of voting Republican based on future promises instead of past
actions over and over again has conditioned the GOP leadership to
neglect us, our agenda and break their campaign promises after every
election.
9:22
AM
Thank you,
brother seminarian, for this very kind note:
Brother Dave,
I sure did enjoy your
class on 1st Timothy this spring and continue to enjoy the wealth of
information on your website. I praise and thank God for your
family and your ministry to so many.
9:20
AM
It's great to be back in
the office today after working feverishly at the farm trying to
finish our two-story goat barn for the Boer/Spanish-cross does we will pick up
today in western Virginia. I'm glad to report that the new calves are doing
fine,
as are the newly hatched chicks. Yesterday we shot a huge copperhead that
had been sneaking into the hen house and eating our eggs. Thankfully none of
the chickens were harmed. Seems we've got oodles of rabbits, squirrels, and
snakes this time of the year. They join the deer family that graces the hay
field next to Bradford Hall every evening (how DO they know it's not deer
season?). At any rate, hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the
beautiful summer weather.
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