Think!

This is very serious: If you want to be a faithful and godly Christian in college, you must, you must, set up an alternative curriculum giving you some kind of Christian perspective on what you are studying. That means: read more books! But first, you need a philosophy of the Christian mind. On that I strongly recommend several books: JP Moreland, Love Your God With All Your Mind, 2nd ed; James Sire, The Universe Next Door, 5th ed. On a very beginning, but profound, level read John Stott, Your Mind Matters. Then: out-think the world for Christ.

Oh, and if you are really interested, consider our Apologetics and Ethics MA at Denver Seminary.

Love God With Your Mind

I am reading the second edition of JP Moreland's magisterial work, Love Your God With all Your Mind. I have taught from this for years and read it several times. Reading the new edition is edifying, challenging, and motivating. Give up five hours of TV or video games, of pointless texting and read it. It should change your priorities for the better, and God will be pleased.

From Preface to Haddad's Leaving Dirt Place

Love is an inescapable mystery that has stymied many of the best of philosophers, poets, and prophets. Yet love finds its answer--philosophically, theologically, and existentially--in the person of a crucified Jew, who, two thousand years ago, manifested the greatest love of all and who gathers all other loves under his suffering arms. Douglas Groothuis

"We all bear responsibility for every child, because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours, that we’re all parents, that they are all our children. This is our first task, caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged." -President Obama, on the eve of the Newtown Prayer Vigil.

It is pretty hard to take this seriously when he supports abortion on demand, partial-birth abortion, and now has us paying for abortion with our tax money, thanks to his statist takeover of healthcare.

Murder

The most important facts of murder in our country:

1. 54,000,000 human fetuses have been legally killed since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Under ObamaTakeover, your taxes will be paying for them. A one-child policy will likely come within a decade, as in China. That would mean forced abortions.
2. About 90% of all Down's fetuses are aborted: defective stuff, you know. Many view children as products, not as offspring. Shame on us.
3. Many abortions are done on viable fetuses, who are then left to die or actively killed outside the mother's womb. Obama supports this. And do you care, you who voted for him?!
4. In light of this, few care for "the least of these" in our country.
5. Repent, before it is too late.

Revelation 22:15

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

A Plea to all my friends: I haven't watched the television today (I was at the Hobbit with my daughter), and I'm not going to turn it on. I'll read a newspaper, blog, or facebook post, but no TV for me. Please consider, everyone, the harm that voyeurism does to your soul. Ask yourself, do I *really* need to sit here and watch this, hour after nauseating hour? Ask yourself another question. Has the impact of 24/7 news and our insatiable craving to be fed with violence helped control the violence, or perhaps let it out of Pandora's Box?--Pastor Douglas Van Dorn

Christmas kindness: 

Put money in the red pots. Talk to the bell-wringers. Ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, since many work in the cold. Give them a kind pat on the shoulder or shake their hand. Pray for them. Do this all for Christ, who is in them (Matt. 25:31-46).

Here are two recommended courses for the spring semester, 2013, which are a part of the fledgling Christian Apologetics and Ethics degree at Denver Seminary. 

1. Contemporary Apologists. Two credit hours, taught by Dr. Douglas Groothuis. 4:00pm-5:50pm, Wednesdays.

Catalog description: Helps students understand the works of key contemporary apologists so that they are equipped to engage in contemporary world apologetics. Offered spring semesters, odd years. 

Become conversant in the works of current key figures in the field of apologetics, and in the process, sharpen your own skills. 

2. Social Ethics, Two credit hours, taught by Dr. Larry Burtoft. 12:00pm-1:50pm, Tuesdays.

Catalog description: Constructs a biblically rooted paradigm to apply to contemporary social issues, responding to questions such as: What would a Christian social ethic look like? Has the church anything to offer in the way of public policy? Can the church hold definitive positions on issues such as human rights, politics, economics, poverty, racism, sexism, homosexuality, and bioethics? 

Help us spread the word about this program!

Christian Apologetics and Ethics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DenverSeminaryApologetics

Official website: http://www.denverseminary.edu/apologetics/

An Argument Against the Koran from the Koran

AN Argument Against the Koran from the Koran

Summarized from “The Challenge of Islam” in Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics

1.     The Koran says to check the Bible for the Koran’s own accuracy.

2.     We have copies today of Bibles from the time of the writing of Koran.

3.     These Bibles are essentially the same as what we now have in contemporary translations.

4.     Our Bibles affirm the distinctive beliefs of Christianity that Islam denies:

a.     The Trinity (Matthew 28:18-20)

b.     The deity of Christ (John 1:1-3)

c.      Salvation by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8)

5.     Therefore (A), the Koran refutes itself when it can be verified by the Bible.

6.     Therefore (B), The Koran is false in its defining beliefs (denying the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by faith alone).

7.     Therefore (C), Islam is a false religion (1 John 4:1-6).

The Strange Case of Dinesh D'Souza

Successful author, speaking, and film-maker, Dinesh D'Souza recently resigned as President of a Christian College two days after he spoke at a Christian worldview conference, accompanied by a woman he introduced as his fiancee. The problem was that DD was not yet divorced from his wife of twenty years. A report in World Magazine claimed he spent the night with the woman in the hotel of the conference.

While much could be said about this, one point suffices. DD says in an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, that his career has never been better. Apparently, divorcing your wife of twenty years and introducing another woman as your fiance before the divorce is final does not detract too much from one's success.

Paul said to Timothy, "Guard your life and doctrine carefully." In God's eyes, worldly success means little if one's moral life is in decay, and if repentance has yet to emerge. Let that be a lesson to us all.

The Phenomenology of Angst

Fragmentation, acceleration
Peter Brotzmann
blasting, howling,
the world's sorrows and beauties
in my car.

Then...inside the store
Kenny G mangles an already
treacly Christmas song.

I fantasize:

The Highest Aesthetic Authorities apprehend G.--should have been done long ago...
They shear him of all hair above his neck.
They tie him to a wooden chair
in a room
with
Peter Brotzmann,
who proceeds to play every reed instrument
for two hours
with his trio.

What's left of G is
better for our world.
And I am vindicated.

Where We Are

Here is the very big picture.

Western Civilization has lost its theological, moral, and aesthetic roots. It is deracinated and living on a fading memory of incomparable truths, which it cannot support without Judeo-Christian knowledge.

2. The state, in the absence of strong religious knowledge and culture-building and culture-sustaining, will absorb the function value-creation.

3. Since there is no law above the law, the state is directed by "the will to power" (Nietzsche) more than anything else.

4. The state, having abandoned "the doctrine of objective moral value" (C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man), become an Innovator. It creates values ex nihilo. As such, it conditions humanity; it does not and cannot persuade that its actions serve objective moral values.

5. Given technological developments and statism, the state seeks to ape God's omniscience, requiring total knowledge of its servants (not citizens, and outmoded concept, given the death of objective value).

6. Therefore, as the state absorbs health care, limits personal proper rights, regulates more and more institutions, it takes away our Constitutional freedoms, since the Constitution has no moral authority, given what the Innovators claim. See Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto.

7. This is what is left of America. It may be a mortal wound--but not to the Kingdom of God

‎"The Christian worldview is not proven in one or two strokes but is rather verified by appealing to a wide and compelling variety of converging arguments. Christianity is shown to be the best explanation for the origin and nature of the universe as well as the human condition and the facts of history." -Douglas Groothuis

Obama-men Say

Obama-men

1. Yeah, the state owes me a living, health care, and long vacations.
2. The US is nothing special.
3. The unborn are nothing special.
4. Religion has to be watched and controlled so it doesn't take over the role of the state.
5. Same-sex marriage, polygamy, and the rest should all be recognized by the government. Love is love. Who are we to judge?
6. Debt is relative; we can rename it; put it off. Who cares? In the long run, we're all dead anyway (Keynes).
7. The state defines conscience, not individuals or churches. This means unity!
8. We are post-truth. Get over concern for objective facts and arguments! How boring!
9. We can demilitarize and the world will follow. Wage peace!
10. Islam is the model religion: peaceful, comprehensive, and deserving of the respect it was denied for so long. No Muslim actually kills for Islam, but only for their misunderstanding of Islam.

How to be a Curmudgeon

1. Care about truth
2. Care about grammar
3. Care about eloquence in speaking

4. Develop refined tastes in everything you can.
5. Develop masterful BS detector
6. Speak truths that no one else will, but which need to be heard
7. Never flatter
8. Don't sell character for success
9. Be skeptical of whatever "the herd" likes.
10. Do not watch TV. In fact, turn them off whenever possible.
11. Lament stupidity inanity, and insanity. They are everywhere.

Letter to a Young Conservative (short version):

Letter to a Young Conservative (short version):

Dear Friend:

The Republicans did not just lose an election, the United States of American may have signed its own death warrant. We are now on thin life-support:

1. The President believes in neither the truth of the Constitution nor in American exceptionalism; he does not support the Protestant work ethic or respect Christianity. He respects Islam, the most violent and intolerant religion in history, more than Christianity. See Robert Spencer, Religion of Peace?
2. America is now a slave to its lenders; as such, it is losing its credit rating and using euphemisms to hide its monetary irresponsibility.
3. It is harder to be conservative now, since slogans suffice for most who deny its wisdom.
4. Principled conservatism itself takes more thought and work than liberalism: know the founding documents, understand something of economics; stand up to intellectuals who are ignoramuses about conservatism.
5. Christian conservatives will now have to right harder to show that socialism is not the way of the Kingdom of God and that we should not be a-political. Expect to lose friends. I have, sadly.
6. Continue to out-think the liberals. Read read conservative documents and publications. Know your Declaration and Constitution. A good, but simple, start is Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto. Hillsdale College also offers free courses.
7. Think hard about what the loss of our Republic means to you, your family, the church, and the Kingdom of God. No, we are not a chosen nation, and God will demonstrate his Kingdom with our without a free and American America. But so very much will be lost spiritually, economically, and morally. It is a time to lament.
8. We are increasingly The Remnant.

“Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.” ~C.S. Lewis 

A Newly Discovered Screwtape Letter

My Dear Wormwood:

We have succeeded in convincing the vermin that technological progress is the same as moral progress. How delicious! Your man thinks that the more technological "connections" (how they love that now mindless word) he has, the larger he is, the more urbane, and up-to-date. But one of he enemy's writers complained that "homo-up-to-datum is a dunce." Gladly, few have read that book (it is on our list of forbidden books), and we have little to worry about. But we are very busy on the electronic books front. More on that later...

May your little cyborg feel that he cannot be alone with his thoughts. That is a waste of time, dead air; he is being, the Enemy help him, unplugged. Don't let it enter his overstimulated  and over-saturated brain that being unplugged is a way to still the soul and listen to the insistent whispers of the Enemy, who (what nerve!) calls him self the Logos and even commands silence on occcasion. But as I have previously written, we will drive out all silence and true music in the end.

No, no. Give him his gizmos, devices, his toys; keep him lusting for more, more, more, so that he ignores his fellow man next to him on the bus, in the classroom or in the bedroom. Then, we will have him! Our Father below is, after all, "the price of the power of air." The Bad Book at least got that right.

Your affectionate Uncle,
Screwtape

Most Americans cannot or will not think about the things that matter most. Unless that changes, the Machiavellian candidates will have the advantage. I honestly have little hope for America, but know that the Kingdom of God transcends it.

My worst fears are realized:

American does not know how to think,
has no moral or political principles worth having,
is manipulated by images and slogans,
does not fear the idol of the State
does not give a rip about unborn children;
we will be taxes for their murders,
does not believe in its own God-given greatness.

American has no fear of God.
Without that, nothing remains, but a
persecuted remnant.

Everything will change, for the worse, for the rest of our lives. This was a turning point, and we turned toward Hell.

Daniel--and US

9 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes^[a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian^[b] kingdom—² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. ¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn awayyour anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive!Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

The Seventy “Sevens”

²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lordmy God for his holy hill— ²¹ while I was still in prayer, Gabriel,the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:

²⁴ “Seventy ‘sevens’^[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish^[d] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.^[e]

²⁵ “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,^[f]the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.^[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’^[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’^[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple^[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.^[k]”^[l]

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 9:1 Hebrew Ahasuerus
2. Daniel 9:1 Or Chaldean
3. Daniel 9:24 Or ‘weeks’; also in verses 25 and 26
4. Daniel 9:24 Or restrain
5. Daniel 9:24 Or the most holy One
6. Daniel 9:25 Or an anointed one; also in verse 26
7. Daniel 9:26 Or death and will have no one; or death, but not for himself
8. Daniel 9:27 Or ‘week’
9. Daniel 9:27 Or ‘week’
10. Daniel 9:27 Septuagint and Theodotion; Hebrew wing
11. Daniel 9:27 Or it
12. Daniel 9:27 Or And one who causes desolation will come upon the wing of the abominable temple, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolated city

Not Jesus

The Blaze claims that 1.6 million Americans will write in "Jesus Christ" for President. For Jesus' sake, do not do this. He is Lord of the cosmos, but not running for earthly office. Be a good citizen of heaven and earth and vote for the candidate who most adheres to America's Judeo-Christian Values: Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Sarah Palin for Mitt!

Sarah Palin · 3,483,639 like this

12 minutes ago · 

• This Tuesday our country’s future is in our hands.
  
  What’s past is prologue. We know what we will get from a second Obama term because we’ve all endured his first term. We know how well he kept his 2008 campaign promises. Do we really believe he’ll keep his 2012 promises?
  
  Do we believe the word of a man who promised he wouldn’t raise taxes on the middle class, but then slammed the middle class with a massive tax hike in the form of Obamacare (and don’t forget that his own lawyers argued before the Supreme Court that the individual mandate is a tax)?
  
  Do we really believe he won’t raise taxes even more on every American in order to pay for his wasteful spending and his crony capitalism?
  
  Do we believe that the same president who increased the debt in his first term by more than all the first 41 presidents combined will suddenly decide to cut the deficit in his second term?
  
  Do we believe that the president whose reckless spending led us to the first credit rating downgrade in our nation’s history will suddenly become a responsible fiscal manager if we reelect him?
  
  Do we really believe that a president who promised us that job creation was his number one priority despite month after month of dismal job numbers now has a credible “plan” for the job growth that eluded him for the past four years?
  
  Do we believe that the same president who shut down the Keystone Pipeline and blocks domestic oil and natural gas development at every turn is somehow going to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and lead us to energy independence?
  
  Do we really believe that our country’s national security is safe in the hands of a president whose administration denied security and assistance to our consulate under attack on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on America, and then blamed that consulate attack and the death of our ambassador on a “spontaneous” protest over an obscure YouTube video despite all the real time evidence to the contrary?
  
  Do we believe that a president who was caught on a hot mic telling the Russian president that he would have “more flexibility” after his reelection is being honest about his plans for a second term?
  
  We know what we will get from a second Obama term. We will get the same failed policies. We will get Obamacare locked into law without any chance of undoing this dangerous legislation and any chance to seek real patient-centered health care reform. We will get a debt crisis. We will get more inflation and higher gas prices. We will get tax increases. We will get fewer jobs. We will get more small businesses collapsing under the weight of higher taxes and unfair regulation. We will get more corruption and crony capitalism favoring the Obama administration’s friends. We will get less domestic energy development and increased dependence on terrorist sponsoring foreign regimes for our energy needs. We will get a “blame America first” foreign policy that bows to our enemies and snubs our friends like Israel and leaves America and the world less safe. We will get less opportunity and security for ourselves and for our children.
  
  In 2008, Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform America. And for all his failures and broken promises, that’s the one thing he has delivered on. He’s transformed us from a nation of hope to one of anxiety. It doesn’t have to be this way.
  
  Tuesday is our chance to turn things around.
  
  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have offered a credible alternative to Barack Obama’s failed policies. Governor Romney understands how the free market works. His pro-growth economic policies will benefit all Americans. He has promised to move us toward energy independence, deficit reduction, and responsible entitlement reform that honors our commitment to our seniors and keeps faith with future generations. Governor Romney deserves a chance to lead. President Obama had his chance. He’s failed, and we can’t afford to go backwards.
  
  We must also remember the many good Republican candidates who are running for the House and Senate this year. They deserve our support as well. If you are like me, you have watched these campaigns, learned about the candidates, and know where they stand despite the skewed lens of a partisan media bent on keeping liberal leadership in power. We saw the destruction a Democrat controlled White House, House, and Senate brought us after the 2008 election. Our country can’t afford that again. Your vote is the only safeguard against that happening.
  
  On Tuesday, please vote for Governor Mitt Romney and the commonsense conservatives running for office in your states.
  
  Voting is our duty and our right. We must never forget the immense sacrifices generations of Americans, including our brave men and women in uniform today, have made to give us this right. And we must never forget the duty we owe to generations of Americans yet to be born to exercise our right to vote prudently. The White House and control of the Senate is in the balance in this election, and every vote will count.
  
  I firmly believe it is our responsibility to restore this country and secure the blessings of liberty and prosperity for our children, just as it was secured for us. This is our sacred duty to the past and to the future. We will succeed in this so help us God.
  
  God bless you and God bless America.
  
  With an Alaskan heart,
  
  Sarah Palin

To my Christian Readers

To my Christian readers.

You are a child of heaven but also a citizen of earth. You are to seek the welfare of the city to which you have been exiled (Jer. 29:7) and be "salt and light" in this broken world (Matthew 5:1-18) We are to render to state what is the state's (which is not everything) and to God what is God's (Matthew 22:15-23). We are to see the welfare of "the least of these" (Matthew 25:31-46).

1. Being apolitical is being apathetic about how God's world is governed in the civil sphere. Not everything is politics, but politics is crucial to our life together on God's earth. Some political views are closer to a biblical ethic than others. Therefore:
2. Seek the good of the city, the least the last the lost, by voting for candidates that deny statism (see Ezek 28:1-10). This idolatry and bad news for any society.
3. The state does not create wealth; people and other institutions do that. Let the people and voluntary assembles thrive (under the rule of Law, not the rule of men).
4. Putting more and more souls on welfare and food stamps does not dignify them or help solves their problems. Happiness is earned, it is not derived from state handouts. That fosters a parasite mentality.
5. Allowing over one million unborn human beings made in God's image to be killed each year through abortion is morally wrong. Fifty-four million (54,000,000) have been so killed since Roe v. Wade in 1973. We have blood on our hands and are tracking it into our churches, homes, and schools. We need to be watchman, prophets who call out sin for those who cannot: the unborn. You cannot make your cheap peace with a President that would expand "reproductive rights" (abortion on demand) and insure that abortions are paid for with tax money, that would make religious organizations insure for abortion.
6. The Bible teaches that debt is unhealthy. It should be limited not protracted. We must get our debt under control, or it will control us, and crush the life out of our economy and our spirits.
7. The state has "the power of the sword" (Romans 13:-17) and has the right to protect its people by force. This is a hostile and dangerous world. Cutty back on the military and not protecting our citizens abroad (Libya) is a dereliction of duty and a disgrace.
8. Be not deceived, but judge properly (see John 7:24). The political language of compassion, it not the same thing as real policies that give the poor a chance. Moreover, since the state is an impersonal agency based on coercion, it cannot be compassionate, but it can be just. Individuals, churches, private groups can be compassionate, and should be. When they are taxes up to their eyeballs, they have less to give.

In light of (1)-(8), please vote knowledgeably, wisely, and prayerfully.

Bob Dylan, 1979.

"When You Gonna Wake Up ?"

God don't make promises that He don't keep
You got some big dreams baby, but in order to dream you gotta still be asleep.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?

Counterfeited philosophies have polluted all of your thoughts
Karl Marx has got ya by the throat, Henry Kissinger's got you tied up in knots.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?

You got innocent men in jail, your insane asylums are filled
You got unrighteous doctors dealing drugs that'll never cure your ills.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?

You got men who can't hold their peace and woman who can't control their tongues
The rich seduce the poor and the old are seduced by the young.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?

Adulterers in churches and pornography in the schools
You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?

Spiritual advisors and gurus to guide your every move
Instant inner peace and every step you take has got to be approved.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?

Do you ever wonder just what God requires ?
You think He's just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?

You can't take it with you and you know that it's too worthless to be sold
They tell you, 'Time is money' as if your life was worth its weight in gold.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?

There's a man up on a cross and He's been crucified for you
Believe in His power that's about all you got to do.

When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?

Dems: don't forget to vote on November 8!

The Cross in the Class

Metro student: Jesus taught to love your enemies, but did he love them while on the Cross. Student laughs and pantomimes being on the Cross.

Teacher: The Gospels say that he did, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."

Student:....

Here are three frightening propositions, when taken together:

1. There are no good reasons or any evidence to vote for Obama.
2. Many people do not make their most important decisions (such as voting) with any sense of reason or evidence.
3. Many are still under Obama's spell: cult of manufactured personality.

My puppy needs a bath; so does America: vote Romney-Ryan.

If...

If you vote for Obama you are:

1. Supporting tax-payer funded abortion and embryonic stem cell "research"--killing them
2. More unemployment for the poor and others
3. A weakened American military in an increasingly dangerous world: Russia, not just militant Islam (Iran, etc.).
4. Impossible debt levels which will cripple the economy for decades.
5. Amnesty for illegal aliens and permeable border

s.
6. Same sex marriage.
7. Arrogance and egotism at the White House.
8. Joe Biden as a heartbeat from being President.
9. Higher energy prices.
10. Wasteful government programs for "green" (meaning non-existent or impractical) energy.
11. More civil government interference in the auto industry.
12. More and more unconstitutional Czars and Executive Orders.
13. More appeasement of radical Islam and Islam being honored more in the White House and by the President than is Christianity or Judaism. A Dearborn, MI, newspaper just endorsed Obama because of his foreign policy. Think about it.
14. More movement toward a single-payer health system: meaning: the state take over of medicine.
15. Too tired to go on, but I will fight until the end.

Romeny, abortion

Romney and Abortion

by David Kincade

Here is an analogy recently made by a Romney critic who plans to vote third party because in allowing exceptions to abortion for the reasons of rape, incest, and mother's life, Romney is not sufficiently pro-life:

"Suppose a man wants to kill all the children in the school down the street. Suppose another man calls and says he will go and try to save the rich white children, willingly leaving all

 the others to die. I suppose you might be thankful if he saved any children (but do you really believe him?), but do you call him a great hero? Is he a saint?"

Here is my reply:

"Your analogy about the school children is erroneous. Here is a more accurate analogy. A fire is raging that threatens the lives of 100 children. Three men apply for the position of fire chief. The first applicant states he will not try to save even 1 of the 100 children, and in fact wants to use public funds to pay for the scorching of the children. The second applicant states he will work to save 97-98 of the children from the fire and opposes public funding of the fires. The third applicant vows to save 99 of the children, but in further review, this man is actually on the other side of the country and cannot possibly physically arrive in time to try and rescue the children. Given such a choice, please tell me why it would be wrong to pick applicant #2, realizing that he is wrong about the 1 to 2 additional children he is willing to allow to die in the fire as opposed to just the 1 child who #3 would be willing to allow perishing."

Douglas GroothuisView my profile page

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Vote Obama, if...

Vote Obama (or throw away your vote on a third party), if you like:

1. More regulation of the auto industry: smaller, more dangerous cars; the feds tell them what to make and not make, not the market.
2. Higher gas and oil prices, since O doesn't like to drill into the sacred mother earth (at least in the US).
3. More attacks on US citizens abroad, since O does little to protect our own embassies and is cutting back the military.
4. Sustained high unemployment, since Keynesianism never produces new jobs (except for the bureaucrats).
5. If you want to pay for abortions and Obama appoint 2-3 pro-abortion Supreme Court justices.
6. If you support same-sex marriage and think that humans define what marriage means. If so, anything goes.
7. If you want less religious liberty.
8. You want Joe Biden a heartbeat from the presidency.

If not, Vote: Romney-Ryan.

It is not enough to not vote for Obama.
You must vote for Romney. 
Otherwise, if you vote third party, you waste your vote, or:
You withhold a vote from the only person who can win against statist, pro-abortion, incompetent-to-protect-our embassies, debt-mongering Obama is office for four more years. After that, it will be too late to turn back

Rolling Excrement

Every once in awhile I get up the nerve to buy a copy of Rolling Stone. I am disgusted by its intellectual flippancy, scatology, and general bad taste. One benighted bloke writes that because he is sick of election politics, the state should limit campaigns to six weeks and ban polls. Has he ever heard of the First Amendment: freedom of speech? One wonders. Moreover, the electioneering does not bother me since I do not watch TV and make my decisions based on the candidate's political philosophy and track record. But that is, well, old fashioned. Better to have the state take over the whole blasted thing, so as to not upset the entertainment addictions of addled journalists.

Voting for Romney: One Last Stand Before Election Day

Voting for Romney: One Last Stand Before Election Day

by Sarah Geis, MA

I mailed in my ballot about a week ago, which contained a vote for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Many conservative voters have been hesitant to vote for Romney, and some have decided to support third-party candidates instead. There are many reasons for this, but I am convinced that the Romney-Ryan ticket is the right choice, despite the fact that I do not consider Governor Romney to be a true conservative. While this little essay may be an exercise in futility, I hope it will serve as an explanation of why I believe that conservatives and Christians can and should vote for a politically moderate Mormon (this time around, anyway).

The first step in my argument is to address just what I hold to be the purpose of post-primary voting. Many people, including individuals whom I know and respect, believe that we should vote for the person who most closely aligns with our values. But this is not always so. If voting equals support for the person most closely aligned with our values, then we should not feel confined to voting within the two-party majority. The problem is, why limit your selection to the people listed on the ballot? Is not the person most closely aligned with your values you yourself? It seems that this view would at the very least allow, if not compel, people to write in themselves (or at the very least their best friends) at the voters block. Take care not to misunderstand here, for values is still a vital consideration. However, it is not the only consideration.

In addition to considering the candidates’ values (such as ethical theory, political philosophy, voting record, religion, etc.), the other main quality to consider is electability. In my estimation, this is the most important principle of major voting decisions. The reason for this is simple: if we assume that all candidates are imperfect (a safe assumption, that), I am most concerned that my vote represent one less vote for the candidate whom I believe to have a real chance to do the most damage to the country. In other words, we should vote against the greatest of the evils. After the primaries, according to this view, voters have the responsibility to find out who is the most dangerous of the frontrunners, and do everything in our power to ensure that the worst of the lot does not get elected. This requires a very different approach to the vote. It requires that we not view a vote as an endorsement, as a claim to identify with a certain candidate, nor as even a vote for. Rather, it is a strategic vote against. A vote, in this view, is a strategic move to ensure the preservation of our country.  In the two-party system, the only way to take votes away from the worst candidate is to vote for the other major contender. Thus, to those who hold to this view, a vote for a conservative third-party candidate is, in fact, a vote taken away from the Republican candidate, and therefore, increases the gap between the Republican and the Democrat candidates. This is how voters of this mindset can, in good conscience, say that a vote for a conservative third-party candidate is a vote for the Democrat (in this case, Obama).     

The next task becomes to determine who is, in fact, the worst candidate. This season, we have a major candidate (Obama) who poses a direct threat to our Constitutional system as we know it (my purpose is not to convince the reader of this here—the evidence is all around for those who care to responsibly research), and the other major candidate (Romney) represents a religious group-- theologically a cult-- which is fundamentally opposed to historic Christian orthodoxy. However, Romney does still believe (generally) in the founding political principles of this nation. What is a politically conservative Christian to do? Are we not to oppose all perversions of the faith? Yes, the Christian should of course be primarily concerned with preserving and defending historic, biblical Christianity. However, without the religious freedom provided by our Constitutional system, the defense of the faith becomes exponentially more difficult. Moreover, the role of politicians is to protect and uphold the Constitution, not to defend the Christian faith. The uniqueness of the Constitution is that it is a Natural Law document. The candidate who believes that all rights come from God, not from the almighty State, is going to be more predisposed to limit the role of the federal government. When rights are believed to be given by the State, then those rights can also be revoked by the State. Given these considerations, the greatest threat to America is the candidate who believes (at least in practice—deciphered by past speeches and voting record) that rights come from the State, not from God. That candidate is Barack Obama. Yes, Mormonism is heretical, and idolizes America and the Constitution for religious reasons. However, it is better to vote for a non-Christian who makes the mistake of too much reverence for our Country and founding documents than a (possible, but unlikely) Christian who wants to “fundamentally transform America” and believes the Constitution to be outdated.

So, I am not voting against my conscience. My conscience tells me to preserve the American experiment as long as possible, for although ailing, it is America qua America that is the last great stronghold of religious freedom, justice, and economic prosperity. A vote for Romney-Ryan is intended to stop the bleeding, and set us up for greater reform later. A vote for Obama—whether directly or indirectly—is a vote to pull life support, and we may not have the chance to reform later. Therefore, I voted strategically for Romney, even though I do not endorse him politically or religiously. And given the reasons discussed, I am not compromising my values by so doing.