Wrong About Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Of our 1st amendment rights, the two which seem to be most egregiously misunderstood (at least popularly) in our day are religion and speech. It is so obnoxious to hear someone (usually a famous entertainer) talk about how his "freedom of speech" has been violated because he has been ridiculed on talk radio, or uninvited from an engagement, or had his album burned, etc. It has to be said repeatedly that the Bill of Rights delineates restrictions upon government. The regulation is of the relationship of government to man, not of man to man. So, freedom of speech does not equal freedom from criticism. If it's not government action in response to speech then it's not a violation of the first amendment! That is the short reply to such whiners and it is annoying when the conversation wanders beyond this reply without acknowledging it.
Religion is trickier. First, there is the extra-constitutional 'wall of separation' nonsense. This has led to the near total neglect of the second clause, which expressly guarantees the free exercise of religion. Again, this is government to man. Government may not prohibit, but private organizations may. Second, religious freedom has been applied in such a way that the religious sensitivities of the minority (even a minority of one) trump the religious freedoms of everyone else. But freedom of religion is not a guarantee of freedom from religion.
Granted these clarifications I am happy to talk about freedom of speech and religion. Try me.

From Garden to City

As a follow-up to "The Polis of God" I need to add one more thing. It must be noted that the overarching sweep of history is from Garden to City. This is how the Bible opens and closes. In the beginning "God planted a garden in Eden" where He put the man (Gen. 2:8); and in the end "the holy city . . . having the glory of God" comes down, built upon the foundation of "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:10-14). This is what happens when we disciple and baptize as Christ commanded. This is what the gates of hell shall not prevail against. This is what God does through us by His grace. This is the church, the ekklesia, the polis of God.

Daily Mail 101

Some of you may not be "internet savvy" and this blog is new to all of you, so this is a sort of field guide to what's on this page:

• The main column (that's what you're reading right now) displays the last 10 days worth of "posts" or entries. After each post is a link called "comments." Clicking here enables you to leave a comment yourself or read other comments that have been left. "Links to this post" is something I'm not sure about. Clicking on the little envelope and arrow icon allows you to e-mail the post to anyone you would like.
• The sidebar to the right is broken into different headings:

• You can e-mail me by clicking, "e-mail me" under my picture.
  
• "Poll of the Week" is where we have "one man, one vote." Here every vote counts, but only once.
  
• "Keepers" are posts which are worth keeping for some reason. Clicking on these will take you to the entire post from the archive.
• "Archives" is a complete archive of each month. Click on the month to see everything posted that month.
• "Subscribe to Daily Mail" allows you to subscribe to the Daily mail "feed." If you have a news reader or the like, this allows you to receive the contents of Daily Mail in that way.
• "Blogroll" is a collection of blogs I like for some reason. See if you do, too.
• "Websites to Explore" is a collection of internet sites that I like for some reason. From time to time I will highlight one of these and the Blogroll for you to check out. Explore these anytime you like.
  

Agnus Day

This is a funny cartoon, but it's hard to read so let me help out some of you squinters:

Sheep1--You know, this is striking. The grain has to die in order for the plant to live!

Sheep 2--Wait! The grain dies?

Sheep 1--Yes! It's an image that shows us how the death of Christ is the life of the Church.

Sheep 2--So, if it was a really good grain, do you think it might come back as a nice lager?

Sheep 1--I think you're confusing resurrection, reincarnation, and fermentation.

John 12:20-26

Caption Contest

WINNER (from the slim pickin's available): "Our tax dollars at work" submitted by Jeffro. Congrats, Jeffro! You have a great future ahead of you!

Week in Review

These weeks really fly by!

• Learned--that moose are assaulting women in larger numbers than one might expect! Look here for more photos of the above incident, here for the story of incident #2, here for the tv news report of incident #2, and here for a story about incident #3 (scroll down to the paragraph that begins "Even the drive to the lake could be exciting.") Be careful if you're out there in moose territory!
• Winner--The winner of last week's caption contest (below) was hot carl. The new contest is ready for entries, see above.
  
• Must Read--The best column of the week? Patriots, Then and Now by Peggy Noonan. The stories of several American heroes and how best to honor them today. This even has a connection to Forrest Gump!
• Here's a Number--The Bible says something like, "God said," "The Lord commanded," "The Lord God has spoken," etc. over 5,000 times! The Bible truly is the Word of God.
  
• Parallel Universe--My mother was honored by House Resolution 1656 in the Georgia General Assembly.
  

Bully!

"If I preach to you anything which I do not strive, with whatever haltings and shortcomings, myself to realize, then I am unworthy your paying heed to me."
~ from Realizable Ideals, 1919

I am planning to read Carry a Big Stick by George Grant from the Leaders in Action series, so I may be bringing more about Teddy Roosevelt to the blog. TR was a remarkable man. Homeschooled, he graduated from Harvard in 1880. He served as a New York state legislator, wrote many best-selling books on many subjects, ran a cattle ranch in the Dakota Territories, was U.S. civil service commissioner, police commissioner of New York City, under-secretary of the Navy, a colonel in the U.S. Army, governor of New York, vice-president under William McKinley, a two-term U.S. President, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner all before his 50th birthday!
He was devoted to his wife and family. He raised six children, but lost two of his four sons on the German front in World War I. Although immensely proud, he never fully recovered from their deaths. He died at home less than a year later on January 6, 1919.

Who goes there? An American!
Brain and spirit and brawn and heart,
'Twas for him that the nations spared
Each to the years its noblest part;
Till from the Dutch, the Gaul, the Celt
Blossomed the Soul of Roosevelt

Student, trooper, and gentleman
Level-lidded with times and kings,
His the voice for a comrade's cheer
His the ear when the saber rings.
Hero shades of the old days melt
In the quick pulse of Roosevelt.

Hand that is molded to hilt of sword;
Heart that ever has laughed at fear;
Type and pattern of civic pride;
Wit and grace of the cavalier;
All that his fathers prayed and felt
Gleams in the glance of Roosevelt.

Who goes there? An American!
Man to the core- as men should be.
Let him pass through the lines alone,
Type of the Sons of Liberty,
Here where his fathers' fathers dwelt,
Honor and faith for Roosevelt.
~ Grace Duffie Boylan

"Away With the Atheists!"

The earliest eyewitness account of a Christian martyr's death (outside of the New Testament) is The Martyrdom of Polycarp, circa 155. Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor and had been discipled by St. John the Apostle. By the middle 2nd century Christians had come to be called "atheists" because they worshipped neither Caesar nor the many gods of Rome. In the moving account of his martyrdom, Polycarp is granted by the proconsul overseeing his execution an opportunity to recant of his "atheism" by saying, "Away with the atheists!" The acount continues, "but Polycarp, with a stern countenance looked on all the crowd of lawless heathen in the arena, and waving his hand at them, he groaned and looked up to heaven and said: 'Away with the Atheists.'" Polycarp had turned his recantation onto the crowd of true atheists assembled to revel in his death. Given another chance to "revile Christ" and be let go, Polycarp replied, "For eighty and six years have I been his servant, and he has done me no wrong, and how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

The proconsul continued to threaten with beast and fire, but had no effect on Polycarp. His final prayer is recorded this way:

"O Lord God Almighty, Father of thy beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through Whom we have received full knowledge of thee, the God of Angels and powers, and of all creation, and of the whole family of the righteous, who live before thee! I bless thee, that Thou hast granted me this day and hour, that I may share, among the number of the martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, for the Resurrection to everlasting life, both of soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit. And may I, today, be received among them before Thee, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as Thou, the God who lies not and is truth, hast prepared beforehand, and shown forth, and fulfilled. For this reason I also praise Thee for all things, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee through the everlasting and heavenly high Priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Child, through whom be glory to Thee with him and the Holy Spirit, both now and for the ages that are to come, Amen."

Seeing that his body could not be consumed by the fire, his executioners stabbed him. His blood extinguished the flames and a dove was seen, and so Polycarp shared in the cup of his Lord.

"And they have conquered him (the great dragon, Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."~Revelation 12:11

• Read the full account of The Martyrdom of Polycarp here.
  

The New Roman Lions

Abdul Rahman, the 41-year-old Afghani man who was threatened with execution for his conversion from Islam to Christianity, has had his case dismissed due to "lack of evidence" and considerable international pressure. The Afghan parliament voted to keep him in the country as a show of disapproval at his release, but he is now in Italy. The case has done much to highlight the problem of Christian suffering at Muslim hands around the world. Or has it? The sad fact is that the Rahman case is far from unique. Everyone knows about Christians being fed to lions in the early centuries A.D., but the practice has spread well beyond the Coliseum. There are currently at least 40 countries around the world in which Christians face serious (including imprisonment, beatings, confiscation of property, death) consequences for their confession of Jesus Christ. The actual numbers are hard to come by since Muslim apostates hardly "advertise," and the persecutors are often not the governments themselves, but "unofficial" angry mobs and the like allowed by the governments.
Still, if we recognize that the problem goes far beyond one man in Afghanistan, the Rahman case has helped. On persecutionblog.com todd_nett speculates:

"Imagine if two weeks ago we'd have taken up a collection and raised a million dollars, then went to Afghan authorities and offered them that money in order to broadcast the testimony of a Muslim convert to Christianity on Afghan TV. What would they have said?

They might have told us that there were no Afghan Christians. And they would have told us there was NO WAY they would allow an Afghan Christian to share his testimony on national TV.

Then Abdul Rahman was taken into custody, and the national television broadcast his answers to questions about his faith:
"I am not an apostate. I believe in God...I believe in the Injil (New Testament) and love Jesus Christ."

How amazing is that? What we couldn't have purchased for a million dollars, God arranged to have happen for free. And it is bearing fruit: workers in Afghanistan report that many Muslims are asking questions about Christianity and Jesus."

• See "The New Roman Lions" at Weekly Standard
• Sites on Christian persecution include: International Christian Concern, The Voice of the Martyrs, and Compass Direct.
  

Caption Contest

Alright, let those creative juices flow and let's hear some prize-worthy captions for this one!

WINNER: "Up went the crotch rocket click, click, click. Down to the pavement came Old Saint Thick." Submitted by hot carl. Congratulations!

W

It is a familiar claim that George Washington was a deist. Deism is "The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation." This claim has been perpetuated by many who are quite eager to discredit Christian assertions about the founding of our country and the relation of church and state. I look forward in this regard to the forthcoming biography of "W" by Peter Lillback. He has argued, by carefully presenting Washington's own words (including private correspondence, and not just matter written for public consumption), that Washington was an orthodox Anglican, Trinitarian in conviction, and that he was not a "secular saint." As one of Washington's family members put it, if you want to question Washington's Christianity, you might as well question his patriotism.

One example of his private writings is an incomplete collection of morning and evening prayers for each day of the week composed by Washington. This is his Sunday morning prayer, which would cause a true deist to cringe:


Almighty God, and most merciful father, who didst command the children of Israel to offer a daily sacrifice to thee, that thereby they might glorify and praise thee for thy protection both night and day, receive, O Lord, my morning sacrifice which I now offer up to thee; I yield thee humble and hearty thanks that thou has preserved me from the danger of the night past, and brought me to the light of the day, and the comforts thereof, a day which is consecrated to thine own service and for thine own honor. Let my heart, therefore, Gracious God, be so affected with the glory and majesty of it, that I may not do mine own works, but wait on thee, and discharge those weighty duties thou requirest of me, and since thou art a God of pure eyes, and wilt be sanctified in all who draww near unto thee, who doest not regard the sacrifice of fools, nor hear sinners who tread in thy courts, pardon, I beseech thee, my sins, remove them from thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept of me for the merits of thy son Jesus Christ, that when I come into thy temple, and compass thine altar, my prayers may come before thee as incense; and as thou wouldst hear me calling upon thee in my prayers, so give me grace to hear thee calling on me in thy word, that it may be wisdom, righteousness, reconciliation and peace to the saving of the soul in the day of the Lord Jesus. Grant that I may hear it with reverence, receive it with meekness, mingle it with faith, and that it may accomplish in me, Gracious God, the good work for which thou has sent it. Bless my family, kindred, friends and country, be our God & guide this day and for ever for his sake, who lay down in the Grave and arose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

The Polis of God

In some of the following I am summarizing Dr. Leithart from his book Against Christianity. The most common word used in the NT for the church is ekklesia. Literally this means "the called-out ones," but such etymologies do not always accurately define a term. (Good English examples are "driveway" and "parkway." Based upon etymology, it seems we should drive on driveways and park on parkways; but as we know, the words mean exactly the opposite of their apparent etymologies.) So, ekklesia means "the called-together ones," or "assembly," rather than "called out." In Greek culture ekklesia referred to the public gathering of the citizens of the polis (city). Likewise, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) ekklesia is used of the public assembly of Israel. So, the church, the ekklesia, is presented not as something private and individual, but as something public and corporate. As such, the church was not a small group or sect within the polis, but an alternative ruling body for the polis, God's ruling body for the polis.

This aspect of the Church was not lost on the Church's opponents. Celsus was a Greek writer in the second century who criticized the Church for "behaving like a nation" with traditions and history in competition with the empire and polis. This was a very biblical assessment, as my previous post on The Politics of "Good News" argued. Regrettably, this ecclesiology was not always maintained as Tertullian saw the Church more as a kind of philosophy club, the Alexandrian theology thought of faith as a perfected philosophy, and many monks left the polis for the desert. These were moves toward the "privatized, spiritualized, intellectualized, de-politicized" form of "Christianity" that we see today. To say more on this I will have to talk about "gnosticism," but I'll save that for another day!

Categories: Church History, Ecclesiology, Gnosticism

Guess the Dictator / Sitcom Character

This is an oldie, but a goodie. Go to the site Guess the Dictator / Sitcom Character to see if your computer can guess what character or dictator you are! This is a great way to completely waste time, try to outsmart a computer, and get a few laughs all at the same time. I'll just say that the program is hard to beat if you don't cheat!

Rich Man's Marbles

"I regard golf as an expensive way of playing marbles."

--G.K. Chesterton

Week in Review

Another great week!

• Question--Are those people in Chicago drinking before or after they turn the river green?
  
• Learned--that Jesus has appeared again, this time to the fine folks of LA (lower Alabama).
  
• Added--the "Al Gore Doomsday Countdown to World Destruction" to the blog--bottom right column. Al believes humans may have only 10 years left to save the planet from turning into a total frying pan. The countdown has begun . . .
  
• Reminded--that Justice Scalia is a brilliant jurist. Find out why here . . .
• Perspective--More people have voted in free and fair elections in the Middle East in the last year than in the previous six thousand years of the region's history! Clearly bad news!
  
• Parallel Universe--I've now been named director of retirement accounts for the eastern U.S. by the Standard Insurance Company. Hopefully, this will not delay my U.S. mail delivering, or my blog posting, or take away from my drumming!
  

The Politics Of "Good News"

Some may wonder as to whether my previous post might be regarded as "political" in nature. My answer would be, "Absolutley!" But not in the sense of Democrat and Republican, or even liberal and conservative. There is little distinction between these types of labels when it comes to the "politics" I am thinking of.
I have spent a good deal of time in the book of Romans over the last few months. One of the things that emerges immediately, and becomes clear throughout Romans (and the rest of the NT), is the profound political nature of the gospel. In the first six verses the "gospel of God" is described as having been promised beforehand and is about Jesus, the son of David who has been declared to be the son of God by his resurrection from the dead. This Jesus is, thus, "Messiah" and "Lord." The profound political nature of these statements becomes clear when we understand what "gospel"
means.
The word translated "gospel" literally means "good news." What we lose in being so far removed from the political context of the 1st century is that"gospel," or "good news," was the term used by the Roman Empire to refer to the coming to power of caesar. It was "good news" that ceasar reigned, and the cult of caesar worship was spreading rapidly throughout the empire in the 1st century. But Paul, in his letter to the small church in the very capital of that earthly empire, declares that the Roman "gospel" is but a parody of the true good news, and caesar's claim to divinity is but blasphemy against the true King of the nations. Followers of the true King, so known by their sharing in Christ and His Spirit by faith, are gathered as the church, the Body and Bride of Christ. The church is not a place to hope for salvation, nor is it simply some support group for the saved; the church is salvation.
So, the true good news coming out of Iraq is not about elections, nor restored power, nor schools opening, though these are all good things and deserving of full media concern. The real good news is the establishment of more and growing outposts of the true Empire ruled by the true King, and that is the church, the kingdom of God.

Helping the Mainstream Media

I know that the mainstream media have been working tirelessly to bring us round the clock coverage of all the good news in Iraq. The thought that there is even a molecule of goodness in Iraq that they have failed to report is crazy, I know. But I think they might have missed this one (perhaps their forces are "spread too thin" and ought to "redeploy"), and so, I will report it to you myself. Did you know that so far there are four classical Christian schools operating under the name "Classical School of the Medes" in Duhok, Arbil, Kirkuk, and Sulaymania in Iraq? These are the goals of the schools as listed on their website:

"The classical model used at CSM incorporates a Christian worldview. Historically, Christian worldview has served as the foundation for constitutional democracy, religious freedom, tolerance, and many other aspects of modern civilization. CSM presents this perspective in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner, e.g., by teaching personal character traits using a variety of sources, including the Bible. All of this is done with full knowledge and approval of parents and government authorities."

"The goal of CSM is not simply to create and resource schools, but rather to impart to the nation of Iraq a tool they can use to help reform and rebuild their society.

* Regarding students' heritage - instilling a sense of respect;
* Regarding students' present - injecting a sense of responsibility;
* Regarding students' future - inspiring a sense of destiny for their lives and nation.
* Guiding students into the joy of lifetime learning, thinking, and self-expression;
* Guiding students to love and serve God, their family, and their nation;
* Training of indigenous teachers & administration unto the establishment of a primarily nationally-led program."

Stay tuned, I'm sure there will soon be an extensive feature on this movement coming to an evening news broadcast near you! Until then you can click here. I will have more to say about this later . . .

Crummy Church Signs

Wow. Do you think that could possibly be misunderstood?!? Check out the Crummy Church Signs blog for more of the same. Then, after you've learned what constitutes a really crummy church sign, you can go over to the Church Sign Generator to create your own masterpiece!

How God Used a Dog to Lose and Find a Boy

“God, the great Creator of all things, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.” So states the Westminster Confession of Faith in Chapter 5, “Of Providence.” This is the doctrine that God is not a “watchmaker” God who creates and “winds things up” only to withdraw from His handiwork. No, God is involved in the intimate details of all His Creation. He cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, how much more does He care for one of His children! (Matthew 6:25-34). There are multitudes of biblical examples, but perhaps this personal account will help to explain God’s providence.
Several years ago I went to my mother’s house on a summer day. She was not home, so I walked down to my Nana’s house, which is three doors down. My mother’s dog, Brandi, followed. When we arrived down the street, Brandi proceeded into the backyard and into the woods. I had heard tale of how she would wander off for long periods of time, so I was (unusually) curious to follow her and find out where she would go. She very purposefully trotted through the woods as I struggled to keep up. Kindly she waited for me on several occasions as I called out to her. Soon we arrived at a neighborhood on the other side of the woods. I had been in this neighborhood before, but had not realized how close it was as the crow flies (or as the dog runs) to my old neighborhood. I tried to get Brandi headed back from where we came, and she headed generally in that direction, but we were off by a few degrees and ended up in another neighborhood and I had to climb a fence in the presence of four barking dogs before we made it back to where we started. What an adventure! No wonder Brandi would disappear for hours.

Fast forward nearly a year to the following spring. I was at my mother’s house with my boys Drew and Jacob. Drew was nearly three years old and Jacob was about a year old. After awhile, we all, including my mother and stepfather, J.D., decided to head down to Nana’s house to visit. I had to take something down to the house so I sent the boys with J.D. Jacob was in the stroller; Drew was walking. Brandi went with them. I was not far behind, but when I got to Nana’s house I saw J.D. and Jacob, but no Drew. “Where’s Drew,” I asked. “He went around back with Brandy,” J.D. said. I hurried to investigate and saw neither dog nor child. “Drew! Drew! Drew!” It was beginning to get dark. I looked as far into the woods as I could, but saw nothing. I heard no reply to my calls. (Marian loves to watch all of the forensic shows on A&E and Court TV, etc. Murders. Kidnappings. Thoughts of these do nothing to allay one’s fears.)
I was somewhat panicked as I shouted out instructions to J.D. and my mother, who had arrived, and Nana. Nana watched Jacob; Mother went down the street; J.D. and I split up in the woods. My greatest fear was a pond in the woods which I hoped Drew would not fall into. Vaguely familiar with its location because it can be seen from the road, I ran there first. Nothing. I ran out to the road because I heard my mother calling. She had seen no signs of Drew. I quickly scanned the backyards along the edge of the woods, but still no Drew. The only thing I knew to do was retrace my jaunt with Brandi the previous year. Hopefully, she would follow the same course.
I ran as best as I could remember. Everything looked so different! Or rather, it all looked the same! Endless pine trees and a pine straw covered forest floor! Which way had I gone with Brandi? Finally, I found a familiar looking spot on the other edge of the woods. This was the neighborhood Brandi had taken me to! I ran out to the street and up the hilly road. My next fear was that Brandi would lead him down to the busy thoroughfare beyond the neighborhood. No signs of them down there. I headed back up the hill from the busy road and . . . there they were! A woman was with Drew asking people if he was their’s. She saw me and asked. I was hot and sweaty. I said, “Yes,” and hugged my boy. I don’t know how much time had elapsed; it had seemed forever. We retraced the way to Nana’s and were happily able to call off the search. The police where just about to have been called. And Marian (auspiciously) only learned of things after the fact! Drew, of course, did not understand the big deal. When told not to go off by himself like that anymore, he responded, “I wasn’t alone; Brandi was with me.”
Yes, and God was with him, too, as He had providentially been with me that day when I curiously followed a dog into the woods. I don’t know how things would have ended otherwise. Drew was not far; we probably would have found him safe anyway. But I was incredibly awed and comforted knowing that my God had prepared me for that evening. He had chosen to work my son’s recovery by my educated search through the woods because I had followed the family dog a year earlier! God’s providence is not some stale dogma formulated by a bunch of “dead white men.” It is the living and active care of the God who created the universe and cares for each of His creatures. May He be praised!

Week in Review

Each week I will highlight some of what I have taken in that week. Some will be serious; some not. I will try to give a link so that you can benefit as well. And as always, feel free to discuss them here.

• Learned--that Lutherans know more about Reformed folk than Reformed folk do, especially about election and God's Word.
• Confirmed--my suspicion that Keith Olbermann is in fact fully impressed with himself.
• Reminded--God answers prayer.
• Learned--that Jesus "broke every possible religious rule of his time" and was "actively opposed to everything religious in his own day." Huh.
• Did you know?--there are "powder rooms" in heaven!
• Parallel Universe--I play drums for a band called Big City Sunrise. Here is "my band's" website.