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A forum for discussing matters of moment, from a curmudgeonly perspective. (The ideas posted here do not necessarily represent those of any organization with which I am a part). Rude and insulting remarks will not be published, but civil disagreement is welcome.
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- You Should Know About This Man: Francis Schaeffer
- Oh, It's Exotic!
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- And Obama Did Nothing to Support the Iranian Peopl...
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- Book Review: Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life
- TV Insanity, Take 2000000000000000000000000000000
- Out in the Streets: Matthew 25:31-46
- Book Review: "The Deniable Darwin" by David Berlinski
- Steele Speaks
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About Me
- Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D.
- Nothing on this blog represents the position of Denver Seminary. I am a Christian, philosopher, teacher, writer, and preacher, who is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary. My most recent of my twelve books is Philosophy in Seven Sentences. My magnum opus is Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (InterVarsity Press, 2011). I have published ten others, including Truth Decay and On Jesus. I direct the Christian Apologetics and Ethics MA program at Denver Seminary.
8 comments:
The best thing, from my perspective, about Sarah Palin being cast as John McCain's running mate was that it would make it virtually impossible for me to ever regret casting my vote for Obama. To date, and in light of Sarah's continuing capacity to confound and entertain many in our nation, I have no regrets. Repent? There probably are many aspects of my life that warrant repentance but my vote for Obama is not one of them.
Schuler,
Read the article and stay on topic.
"Doink" - the sound of the Scruton piece trying to penetrate the closed minds of certain individuals. OK...that's just me trying to be funny. But seriously Steve: Did you actually read the article? Please do, it's a good one and Scruton is a fine thinker.
The Palin-rationale you offer is superficial and vacuous. Maybe you know that and are half-joking. But it does raise the question - What exactly is her crime? Being good looking? Stumbling in a Katie Couric interview? Please.
Dear Steve:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Now:
You've been hoodwinked by the bias press. Sarah is not dumb, she is simply not a typical politician; she is pro-life, evangelical, woman Republican, a combination they cannot stand. Further, she would have been vice president, not president. Even more, I rather have her as president than the statist, anti-American, pro-abortion, anti-free enterprise menace now in charge.
This is a classic Scruton line - one which deserves attention:
"Obama is welcomed as a savior: the American president for whom the Europeans have been hoping -- the one who will rescue them from the truth."
Poor Steve, getting picked on again…truly though, you need to stay on topic.(read the article please)
So by voting for Obama and not regretting that decision, are you then prepared for this Government run, and forced, universal health care? Have you then thought out the implications of it?
Let me give you a scenario to ponder then: My friend and mentor, a man with a brilliant mind and a talented teacher of philosophy and a writer is in failing health; his heart is failing. When he is judged “sick enough” he can be put on the list for a heart transplant…yet here is the “rub” so to speak…if we have universal, government run heath care by that point…my friend will be declined because of the risk/outcome/expense ratio: He is too old (61) even though he exercises, eats right, takes care of himself and otherwise in most ways could reach the century mark age-wise based on most standards.
Yet, if the United States continues on our system of privately run health care in place now, he has enough insurance to be able to (if a heart is available) be approved for the operation to possibly prolong his life...No matter what the outcome.
So what system would be better…the Liberals with “…Privileges to be shared by everyone…” and “Welfare provisions are…something we owe to those less fortunate…” or get back to what is called Conservative believes that to me sound a lot like “get off you duff and work!” To remember that no where in the Constitution of the United States of America does it say anything about the government handing anything to me or anyone else heath care on a “silver platter.” We may as human beings have “…certain inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” but that doesn’t mean the federal government has to give that to us…we are free to pursue those things in our free society…to work for it.
So why don’t we use the “muscle between our ears” and teach people less fortunate how to do just that? ( you know...micro-businesses could work here also, not just overseas)
Friends,
I actually had already read the article by Scruton when I chose to pen (type) the laconic rationale I presented to justify my unrepentant vote for Obama. I think I was entirely "on topic" with regards to Doug's exhortation to repentance for those of us who voted for Obama, although I suspect very few people who may have voted for Obama are likely to be reached on Doug's blog. At any rate, I thought that Scruton's article was a superfiscial caricature of the differences between "Liberalism" and "Conservatism" intended only to reinforce what I consider to be sub-adequate talking points in a well worn and very tired mock dialog. I'm not sure that "doink" was the mataphorical sound of the collision between Scruton's brief article and a closed mind or not, but I would like to think that it was not.
To stray further from the topics of Liberalism vs. Conservatism and the question of whether or not repentance is an appropriate act of contrition determined by how one may have voted in the last Presidential election, I can say that I do not consider the somewhat disjointed movement toward universal healthcare in the United States as being antithetical to the concepts of personal social and fiscal responsibility or a reasonable expectation for the role of government to encourage social equity within our nation. While my perspective is admittedly secular in nature it is typically advanced amongst some quarters of the American Christian community, Jim Wallis' "Sojourners" for example. This became a subject of discussion on Doug's blog a couple of months ago which, unfortunately I think, he chose to close comments on.
I harbour no ill feelings towards Sarah Palin and I do not think my assesment of her competence has been unduly swayed by a less than generous portrayl of her ablities by a unreasonably biased press, although I am sure that at times that has been the case. I think it is cause for concern that Palin, Limbaugh, Coulter, Beck, and others of their ilk have become the popular faces and voices of American Conservatism. Perhaps this is yet another unfortunate consequence of the power of contemporary television programming to undermine deeper contemplation of serious matters. Still, I think it is cause for concern for "Liberals" and "Conservatives" alike.
Hi Doug,happy New Year to you and what a good piece and thank you for posting it where hopefully it will recieve more public scrutiny.Obama in my view is one of the most dangerous Presidents,in terms of his attitude to the yet unborn that America, it seems to me to ever to have elected to the White House.Sarah Palin,if I was an American and Sarah had been running for President she would have got my vote, she is pro life, an evangelical,she is a thinker and understands where the present Administration is going.She's a republican and stands for the values that formerly made America great as a bastion for democracy.Sarah cannot be comared against the like of Beck and Limbaugh for their rantings are hardly based on reasoned well founded argumentation.Give me Sarah Palin every time in contrast to the above.The Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision was founded upon lies told to them by Norma McCorvey,the actual name of "Roe" in the case.Sarah I am sure would have done something about that miscarriage of justice which allowed the slaughter of the innocents and also provided other means for women to cope with their pregnancies however concieved.
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