What an incredible illustration of why abortion for alleged fetal anomalies is such a terrible idea!
This story comes from the British Telegraph about little Kai Purdy who, while still in the womb, was alleged by doctors to have several problems and doctors advised terminating him.
Terminate a child because he has some problems. Think of that the next time your toddler or the toddler of someone you know gets sick or has "some problems." Just terminate him?
Doctors said Kai could have a fatal chromosome defect and a life threatening heart condition. Notice they said "could." A heart condition that could require surgery, and Edwards Syndrome--the presence of an 18th chromosome--with a life expectancy of about four months if he survived birth. Twice doctors counseled abortion and twice Kai's parents rejected it.
Though he spent six months in intensive care when he was born prematurely, Kai is doing well. He has had some problems, but as the picture in the article shows, he's doing fine. And at 9 months old, he's beaten the four-month lifespan he was prescribed more than once over again.
Even with our knowledge and instruments available today, doctors cannot and do not know everything.
In a world of disease and imperfection, sometimes children do die, even before leaving the womb. But sometimes God intervenes, and sometimes doctors were wrong to begin with.
Better to leave life and death up to the Author of Life, and not take death into our own hands by killing innocent children.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Healthy Son Despite Doctors Advice to Abort
Atheist: Africa Needs Christ More Than Financial Aid
By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 30 2008 04:40 PM EST
The problems in Africa cannot be solved with aid money alone, but Africans need to know God, contends an atheist journalist and former politician.
Religion offers change to the hearts and minds of people – something aid cannot do, argues Matthew Parris, a former conservative British member of parliament, in a column for U.K.-based The Times.
“Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts,” writes Parris, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but now lives in England. “These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do.”
He went on to say, “In Africa, Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.”
His seeming epiphany of the positive effects of Christianity on Africa came after a trip to Malawi before Christmas. There, he met with a small British charity that works to install pumps on wells in rural villages to keep the water sealed and clean.
Although the charity, Pump Aid, is secular, he noticed that the most impressive staff members were privately “strong” Christians. While he recalls how none of the charity team members spoke about religion, he says he saw one studying a devotional textbook in the car and another leaving for church at dawn on a Sunday.
“It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work were unconnected with personal faith,” Parris admits. “Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were … influenced by a conception of man’s place in the Universe that Christianity has taught.”
Meeting the Christians working with Pump Aid also triggered his memories of missionaries and Christians he met as a boy growing up in Africa.
He recalls how the African converts to Christianity that he met as a boy “were always different.” Their new religion did not confine them, but seemed to liberate and relax them, Parris says.
“There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world – a directness in their dealings with others – that seemed to be missing in traditional African life,” he recalls. “They stood tall.”
Christianity, he adds, also helps Africans break free from the communal and superstitious mindset that suppresses individuality. Parris criticizes the “rural-traditional mindset” for feeding into the “‘big man’ and gangster politics” in African cities that teach “exaggerated respect” for a “swaggering leader” that has no room for opposition.
But Christianity – post-Reformation and post-Luther – teaches a “direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God” that eliminates mediation by the group or any other human being, Parris notes. It offers a framework of social life for those who want to “cast off a crushing tribal groupthink.”
“That is why and how it liberates,” Parris states.
He concludes by arguing that for Africa to be competitive with other global leaders in the 21st century, it must not only think that materials or knowledge is all it needs for development and change.
“A whole belief system must first be supplanted,” the atheist journalist contends.
He warns that removing Christian evangelism from the “African equation” may “leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.”
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time to Downsize Federal Government
A video from the Cato Institute on downsizing government was brought to my attention by my fellow Red County Blogger Steve Dalton.
For liberals out there who have a hard time understanding our foundational and constitutional mandate of limited government in the United States, let me explain something.
For instance, this video focuses on the need to downsize (dare I say "eliminate"?) the Agriculture Department. I grew up on a farm, the son of a farmer who was the son of a farmer, going back generations. I married into a farming family, with my father-in-law as a rancher going back generations. I appreciate the importance of agriculture.
But agriculture does not need to be regulated at a Department level by the federal government. In fact, it should not be, under our constitution. Agriculture will function much better under a private economic environment...and will cost the taxpayers billions less. Market forces have always been and remain the best regulator of practices in the agriculture or any industry. The government needs to end this Soviet-style central farming model and get its paws out of agriculture.
The insanity of government-run agriculture doesn't just extend to bloated bureaucracy and inefficiency. Our system also fosters egregious inequalities.
The Cato Institute video mentions Riceland Foods, an organization that I mentioned in a Rapid City Journal column I did a couple of years ago on agricultural subsidies. Subsidies are typically there to help "the little guy;" you know, the one socialists are so enamored with (my dad and father-in-law are, incidentally, one of those "little guys). So why does the bulk of the largess from the farm bill go to huge farming operations that don't really need help?
From my 2006 RCJ column:
For example, a 2004 Heritage Foundation report says Riceland Foods, an Arkansas co-op, received $110 million in farm subsidies. Yet Hoovers' business information says in 2006 to date, Riceland made $937 million in sales. We need the farm bill for this?
It's time for this to end. Time to send all our rowdy friends home, pick up the beer bottles, clean up the puke and declare that this party is over.
America has flirted and cavorted with socialism for some 60 years or more. The signs of its failure are legion here at home and internationally.
It's time to return to the free market system that made America great.
Terrorists are Victims
How dare the Israelis defend themselves against terrorism! How dare the Israelis defend themselves against rocket attack!
The kind of total and utter lies and revisionism belched out by Diana Buttu are standard operating procedure.
The only thing about this interview that isn't SOP is that it occurred on Fox News, where these revisionist lies were challenged for a change. Most of the "mainstream" media is simply happy to put a sympathetic arm around the terrorist aggressors and wag a finger at bad ole' Israel.
People like Buttu rely on the axiom that if you speak a lie loud enough long enough, people will accept it as the truth.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
American Minute from William J. Federer
On DECEMBER 31, 1955, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led a nonviolent protest by boycotting the city buses of Montgomery, Alabama.
Rev. King stated: "If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, 'There lived a great people...who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.'"
At the end of the year, 1962, President John F. Kennedy stated: "We mark the festival of Christmas which is the most sacred and hopeful day in our civilization. For nearly 2,000 years the message of Christmas, the message of peace and good will towards all men, has been the guiding star of our endeavors...the birthday of the Prince of Peace."
President Kennedy continued: "To the one million men in uniform who will celebrate this Christmas away from their homes...and to all of you I send my very best wishes for a blessed and happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
At God's Great Judgment Seat
American Minute from William J. Federer
"Oh, East is East, and West is West, And never the twain shall meet, Till earth and sky stand presently, At God's great judgment seat" wrote Rudyard Kipling in Ballad of East and West.
Born DECEMBER 30, 1865, in Bombay, India, he was sent back to England at age 5 for schooling. Poor eyesight ended hopes of a military career, so at age 16 he returned to India as a journalist, winning acclaim for his poems.
He fell in love with his friend's sister, Caroline Balestier, while visiting in America. They married and settled in Vermont, where two of their children were born. There he wrote Captains Courageous and The Jungle Books.
Once back in England, he declined King George V's offer of knighthood, Poet Laureate and Order of Merit, though accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. His works include: Kim, Wee Willie Winkie, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and Gunga Din.
President Reagan said, December 13, 1988: "As I prepare to lay down the mantle of office...I cannot help believe that what Rudyard Kipling said of another time and place is true today for America: 'We are at the opening verse of the opening page of the chapter of endless possibilities.' Thank you, and God bless you."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Obama Tops Most Admired Poll
Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post
By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Sun, Dec. 28 2008 10:02 AM EST
For the first time in more than 50 years, a U.S. President-elect topped the Gallup Poll’s list of most admired men living in the world today.
Incoming president Barack Obama is the man Americans admired the most in the world, hands down, according to the new USA Today/ Gallup Poll survey. Nearly one out of three (32 percent) Americans named Obama as their top pick, way ahead of distant No. 2 selection President George W. Bush, who had only five percent.
Former Republican presidential nominee John McCain held the No. 3 spot with three percent, and Pope Benedict XVI, the Rev. Billy Graham, and former President Bill Clinton tied for the fourth slot with two percent, according to the annual list of Most Admired Man.
Obama is the first President-elect since Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 to top the list. Moreover his remarkable 32 percent is much higher than the support other President-elects usually enjoy.
When George W. Bush was President-elect in 2000, he was picked by only five percent of Americans, ranking fourth in the Gallup Poll list of most admired man in the world. In 1992, then President-elect Bill Clinton ranked second behind outgoing president George H.W. Bush, with 15 percent.
Americans’ high level of respect for Obama is comparable, but not as high as President George W. Bush’s 39 percent following the 9/11 attacks. At that time, Bush’s job approval rating was at a high 86 percent.
Besides the honor of being America’s most admired man in 2008, Obama will also hold the honor of being the first U.S. president to be presented a Bible by the American Bible Society during his inauguration next month.
Other U.S. presidents have been presented an ABS Bible, but none have had the Bible presented to them during their inauguration.
Obama will be given an official King James Version Personalized Presidential Edition Bible by the 193-year-old American institution.
"This is where faith and culture intersect," said Autumn Black, the public relations director of ABS. "We want to be able to personally support President Obama in his faith walk."
Leading up to the inauguration, a large network of Christians – numbering more than 73,000 – have committed to pray for President-elect Obama to be a good leader during the current times of economic and international turmoil. The presidential prayer effort is organized by best-selling Christian author Max Lucado.
While Obama leads the list of most admired men in the world, his former presidential rival and soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held the top spot for the most admired woman in the world (20 percent) in 2008. Clinton is followed by new political star Alaska governor Sarah Palin, with 11 percent.
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey (8 percent), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (7 percent), and incoming First Lady Michelle Obama (7 percent) rounded out that top five spots on the most admired woman list.
The survey, conducted Dec. 12-14 by USA Today/Gallup Poll, is based on telephone interviews with 1,008 national adults, aged 18 and older. The results were published on Dec. 26, 2008.
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Monday, December 29, 2008
A Meeting to Cut the Budget
This SNL skit on a company holding a meeting about cutting its budget reminds me too much of government attempts (and failures) to force itself to live under restraint.
The similarities: few people seem serious about it, the most serious proposals are the most harmful to the organization, the people being asked for advice are idiots, in the end it never gets done...and sooner or later it's all going to come crashing down.
Now the Abortion Industry Wants In On The Action
As reported by OneNewsNow:
Abortion industry asks Obama for billions in funding
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 12/29/2008 3:30:00 AM
A major abortion provider wants taxpayers to fork over more money, even while the economy is down.
Over 50 pro-abortion groups have submitted a 55-page wish list called "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration" to the incoming Obama administration. Jim Sedlak of American Life League's (ALL) Stop Planned Parenthood, or Stopp International, has tallied the cost.
'They want unfettered abortion. They want the government paying for all of its programs,' he contends. 'In fact, [if] you total up everything that they've asked Obama for, Planned Parenthood and their friends want the taxpayers to give them $4.6 billion next year.'
And why not? Everyone else is clawing for a place at the public teats. Besides, the abortion industry has never had such opportunity as now with the election of a socialist president and congress.
Religion and History in Washington, D.C.
This is a great Fox News Special on Religion and History in Washington, D.C. Newt Gingrich touched on some of this material when he spoke at the FRC Values Voter Summit in Washington D.C. a few months ago.
Every year the fight continues over where nativity scenes and menorahs can be displayed. Join host Newt Gingrich as FOX News uncovers a long-forgotten story of religion in America.
Take Global Warming Hysteria With a Grain of Salt
From our friends at Americans for Limited Government.
Global Warming Model Soon To Be Scrapped
What follows are excerpts from a piece written by Christopher Booker of The Daily Telegraph, London. In 2009, as we face worsening economic conditions world wide, destabilization of the Israeli-Arab conflict and acceleration of Islamic terrorism, we must not exhaust resources chasing after hobgoblins that exist only is some people’s imaginations. Al Gore, et al, have had their say, now let’s get to work on things that matter.
The Daily Telegraph
2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved
Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects.
First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare. Last winter, as temperatures plummeted, many parts of the world had snowfalls on a scale not seen for decades. This winter, with the whole of Canada and half the US under snow, looks likely to be even worse. After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century.
Ever shriller and more frantic has become the insistence of the warmists, cheered on by their army of media groupies such as the BBC, that the last 10 years have been the "hottest in history" and that the North Pole would soon be ice-free – as the poles remain defiantly icebound and those polar bears fail to drown. All those hysterical predictions that we are seeing more droughts and hurricanes than ever before have infuriatingly failed to materialise.
[…]
Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world's most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that "consensus" which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions.
Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world. As we saw in this month's Poznan conference, when 10,000 politicians, officials and "environmentalists" gathered to plan next year's "son of Kyoto" treaty in Copenhagen, panicking politicians are waking up to the fact that the world can no longer afford all those quixotic schemes for "combating climate change" with which they were so happy to indulge themselves in more comfortable times.
Suddenly it has become rather less appealing that we should divert trillions of dollars, pounds and euros into the fantasy that we could reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80 per cent. All those grandiose projects for "emissions trading", "carbon capture", building tens of thousands more useless wind turbines, switching vast areas of farmland from producing food to "biofuels", are being exposed as no more than enormously damaging and futile gestures, costing astronomic sums we no longer possess.
Sissy Republicans Run for Cover over 'Barack the Magic Negro' Parody
The liberal are up to their usual kindergarten-level games.
It seems that last week a politically-correct scandal broke over Tennessee GOP leader and RNC chair candidate Chip Saltsman's distribution of a CD with a parody song.
The song, "Barack the Magic Negro," was created by Paul Shanklin and made famous on the Rush Limbaugh show in the past year.
But while liberals are predictably up-in-arms that any prominent conservative might further this hilarious song, the term "magic negro" in connection with Barack Obama was actually first used by liberal black columnist David Ehrenstein in his LA Times column March 19, 2007.
This is what Ehrenstein said about Barack the Magic Negro:
But it's clear that Obama also is running for an equally important unelected office, in the province of the popular imagination — the "Magic Negro."
The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. "He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist," reads the description on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro.
He's there to assuage white "guilt" (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest.
Logically, if someone has a problem with the term "magic negro," that angst should be taken out on, right? But since when has the Left ever been encumbered by logic?
Here are the lyrics to "Barack the Magic Negro" and a video which features the song; note that the song parody's notorious race-bater Al Sharpton as the singer of the song:
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They’ll vote for him, and not for me
‘Cause he’s not from the hood.
See, real black men, like Snoop Dog,
Or me, or Farrakhan
Have talked the talk, and walked the walk.
Not come in late and won!
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.
Oh, Barack the Magic Negro, lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s black, but not authentically.
Some say Barack’s “articulate”
And bright and new and “clean.”
The media sure loves this guy,
A white interloper’s dream!
But, when you vote for president,
Watch out, and don’t be fooled!
Don’t vote the Magic Negro in –
‘Cause —
’Cause I won’t have nothing after all these years of sacrifice
And I won’t get justice. This is about justice. This isn’t about me, it’s about justice.
It’s about buffet. I don’t have no buffet and there won’t be any church contributions,
And there’ll be no cash in the collection plate.
There ain’t gonna be no cash money, no walkin’ around money, no phoning money.
Now, Barack going to come in here and ........
If one was also interested in the truth of the background of this parody, one might recall that it was Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden who said of Obama that "You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."
But it isn't just liberals in the Democrat Party who are having a cat over this parody. Liberals and other sissies in the Republican Party are also running for cover.
If the GOP is this sissified over political correctness, it doesn't bode well for the GOP in the next four years. Sorry, Republicans; in case you missed, the the conservative base of the GOP has low tolerance for PC sissies.
Negro is a perfectly legitimate word to describe people with dark skin and of African descent, unlike the "n word" used to slur people with dark skin.
Is the United Negro College Fund a racist organization? Is the National Council of Negro Women a racist organization? Is the Universal Negro Improvement Association a racist institution? Is the National Association of Negro Musicians?
Or are these organizations merely identifying an ethnic focus?
The author of the column, David Ehrenstein, is himself a liberal. He is also black. But of course who gets the heat for a term he used first? Conservatives, of course. Being liberal, black, and a defender of homosexuality, Ehrenstein is, of course, immune from criticism. Consistency is unknown on the Left; the means to an end supersedes all.
Of course, when black conservatives like Michael Steele or Ken Blackwell call this faux controversy what it is ("hypersensitivity") they are derided as ignorant and considered to certainly meet the definition of an "Uncle Tom" in the playbook of the Left. (Incidentally, I had the honor of having dinner with Ken Blackwell and some other people a few months ago in D.C., and found him to be engaging and witty--not at all the dullard liberals seem to think he is.)
In fact, I think the contrast between the responses of Steele and Blackwell, and the timid response of others in the Republican leadership, separates the men from the boys. I am all-the-more justified in having called for a complete change of leadership in the Republican Party, and for having supported Ken Blackwell for RNC Chairman.
As all-too-usual, Republican leadership is cowering in fear at the prospect of being called names by liberals. Didn't their mama's give them the "sticks and stones" speech when they were little? Weren't they given the "cowboy up" talk at some point?
As usual, ignorance and infantile comprehension reign on the Left. They know they can't best conservatives on the legitimacy and merit of their ideas, so they are left with silly snits like this.
Separation of Church, State Poll
I meant to give the final tally and discuss last week's Dakota Voice poll (or "quiz" for those sensitive about the word "poll") last night, but I picked up a nasty bug sitting in the cold Friday while my children enjoyed some ice skating.
Also had a grueling day yesterday with some unexpected and unpleasant developments that had me running from about 1:30 am for something like 18 hours, with just a few pauses and a couple of cat-naps in there.
The question was:
The phrase that in America there should be a “wall of separation” between church and state appears in:
Most got it right, but there were a few very misinformed answers, especially those who thought it was in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.
Here's how the answers broke out:
George Washington’s Farewell Address (1%)
the Mayflower Compact (4%)
the Constitution (6%)
the Declaration of Independence (3%)
Thomas Jefferson’s letters (84%)
Indeed. "Separation of church and state" appears only in Thomas Jefferson's letters, specifically a letter to some Baptists in Danbury who were concerned about erosion of religious liberty.
Jefferson's letter, dated January 1, 1802, said in part:
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Interesting that secularists and God-haters should use a letter intended to assure a group of Christians of religious liberty should be perverted to attack the very religious liberty the letter defended.
Even more interesting (and sad) that the First Amendment, which prohibits government interference in the free exercise of religion, has been perverted to quash free exercise of religion.
All the more proof that free people must be diligent and alert people, if they want to maintain that freedom. In a fallen world, there is never a shortage of evil men on the lookout to diminish freedom.
The new poll/quiz is up: What does the Tenth Amendment provide?
South Dakota Among Lowest Gas Prices in Nation
According to Black Hills Fox and GasBuddy.com, South Dakota has some of the lowest gas prices in the nation.
I know! It's hard to fathom, isn't it? South Dakota gas prices are normally among the highest you'll see in the middle of the country, with Rapid City higher than almost any in the state.
The article says only Casper, Cheyenne and Gillette in Wyoming have lower prices than Rapid City.
Well, when I went GasBuddy this morning, I didn't quite as good a picture as Black Hills Fox did, but South Dakota was still in the better half for the nation. And Pennington County was indeed the lowest in the state of South Dakota. That alone is amazing.
Now, if our leaders would quit pandering to environmental extremists and get serious about a healthy energy policy for the United States, we could be assured of continued reasonable energy prices!
The Message of Hanukkah
American Minute from William J. Federer
The first President to light the National Menorah, Jimmy Carter, speaking of hostages held by Islamic terrorists in Iran, 1979, said: "Commitments to be free are ever present in the hearts of all Americans because 50 of our fellow citizens are not free."
Ronald Reagan, the second President to give a HANUKKAH Message, 1983, remarked: "Whether we be Americans or Israelis, we are all children of Abraham, children of the same God. The bonds between our two peoples are growing stronger, and they must not and will never be broken."
In his 1991 HANUKKAH Message, George H.W. Bush stated: "When Judah Maccabee and his followers prepared to rededicate the Temple in Jerusalem, they found...only enough oil to light the menorah for one night. Miraculously, it lasted eight."
Bill Clinton, in his 1993 HANUKKAH Message, said: "The eternal lesson of HANUKKAH-that faith gives us the strength to work miracles and find light in times of darkness."
President George W. Bush said in his 2001 HANUKKAH Message: "For the first time in American history, the HANUKKAH menorah will be lit at the White House residence...America and Israel have been through much together...A better day is coming when this Festival will be celebrated in a world free from terror."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Support for Armenia Born Out of Faith
American Minute from William J. Federer
Armenia was the first nation to become Christian, with its capitol of Ani called the "city of a 1,001 churches."
Muslim Turks began invading in the 11th century, making Christian second-class citizens called "dhimmi" and forcing boys to convert and serve the Muslim army as "Janissaries."
When the Ottoman Empire declined in the 1800's, Greeks, Serbs and Romanians won independence, but Armenians were trapped by Sultan Abdul Hamid, who killed 100,000.
During World War I, "Young Turks" murdered over a million men, women and children in a jihad, marching them into the desert without water, throwing them off cliffs or burning them alive. Armenian cities of Kharpert, Van and Ani were leveled. Russia came to their aid till the Bolshevik revolution began.
Armenia's pleas at the Paris Peace Conference led President Wilson in a failed effort to make Armenia a U.S. protectorate. Woodrow Wilson, who was born DECEMBER 28, 1856, told Congress, May 24, 1920: "The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has established the truth of the reported massacres and other atrocities from which the Armenian people have suffered... Sympathy for Armenia among our people has sprung from untainted consciences, pure Christian faith and an earnest desire to see Christian people everywhere succored in their time of suffering."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Gods of Liberalism Revisited
Painting from the Cistine Chapel, by Michelangelo.
A recent Dakota Voice post, The Gods of Liberalism, generated a lengthy discussion in the comments section that some readers may find interesting. But, unfortunately, the conversation strayed far from the subject of the original article.
In the original, the main points were the similarity of some socio-religious beliefs today that are strikingly similar to the ancient beliefs of Baalism: "The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism (reverence of creation over the Creator)." (Recommended reading for those who haven't read it.)
In Genesis 3:4,5 Eve is tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent, saying to the woman "You surely shall not die [for disobeying God]!" And then Satan promises the woman that by disobeying she will become "like God." Satan's promises were that 1) God will not actually do what He said, that is, God's Word is unreliable and 2) you can be a god, i.e., save yourself from death, through your own actions or works.
Readers of these posts may have read my story about coming to some kind of vague theism after studying anatomy, physiology and microbiology in medical school. Prior to that I was a committed atheist. My theistic beliefs allowed for some intelligent being behind the incredible design that is manifest in nature, but I was still a long way from accepting Jesus as Lord. It wasn't until almost 30 years later that I surrendered to His will and became a Christian. That conversion is quite a story that perhaps someday I'll tell in this forum.
Between theism and Christ I explored many different religions and theologies. I learned a little about Buddhism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, shamanism, and Celtic Druids to name a few. I found all of them interesting and all seemed to possess some truth that I easily accepted. Notice that I devoutly stayed clear of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I was raised a Roman Catholic and attended Mass daily through the eight years of my parochial education and less frequently for another five or six years. I thought I knew all about God and Jesus and there was no point in pursuing that any further. Besides, these exotic ancient religions were so much more esoteric and satisfying to my arrogant mind.
One day, out of boredom more than curiosity, I picked up the dusty Bible that occupied a space on my bookshelf beside the Bhagavad Gita. I began reading in Genesis with a mind to find inconsistencies and outlandish tales that would confirm my decision to reject the Bible as a source of spiritual wisdom.
In reading the passages mentioned above something struck me as novel and interesting. What Satan was saying is basically the same thing that all religions hold true, save Christianity and Judaism. In some fashion or another every other religion denies God and His Word, alleging that the Bible is just a collection of occasionally wise sayings written by men of the ancient past; implicitly claiming that God, Yahweh, is not true to His Word. Secondly, all the other religions promise eternal life (or nirvana, filial piety, or whatever) as a reward for deeds done in this life. From human sacrifice to one’s Easter Duty, they all depend upon self actualization and the reward is to become “like gods.”
Satan’s lie in the garden had taken root in man once man willingly disobeyed God, and lives with us even today. Even atheism embraces this paradigm. By denying any Supreme Being (and, of course, God’s Word), that makes man the Supreme Being; all gods within the cosmic consciousness. Humanism and New Age theology state this explicitly.
Satan continues to deceive man with the same lie that he told in the Garden. And most of the world continues to believe it.
Outrage Follows Christmas Address by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
By Aaron J. Leichman
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Dec. 27 2008 09:28 AM EST
The holiday message delivered by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for Britain's Channel 4 television station drew a wide range of critics this week.
Although each year Channel 4 features an often controversial counterpoint to Queen Elizabeth II's traditional annual message, many disagreed with the network’s selection of Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust, advocates the destruction of the sovereign state of Israel, and executes children.
"Outrage doesn't begin to explain it,” commented Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to London.
In Ahmadinejad’s message Thursday, the Iranian head of state didn’t refer to rival nations or leaders by name but said Jesus Christ would undoubtedly “stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers.”
"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over,” he said, according to the English translation of the Farsi-language speech.
"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as He did in His lifetime," he added.
Following the broadcast, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which represents the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, expressed how offensive the Christmas Day message was.
"To invite him to deliver a Christmas message, even a so-called alternative one, fills me with disgust," the group's president, Henry Grunwald, told The Associated Press.
Channel 4 was "aiding and abetting a tyrant," added British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
"This is the equivalent of giving [Zimbabwean ruler] Robert Mugabe a prime-time television slot to promote his propaganda," he said.
In response to the outcry against Ahmadinejad’s inclusion in this year’s broadcast, Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4's head of news and current affairs, said the Iranian president was picked because he is “enormously influential” as the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East.
“As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view," Byrne told the press.
Since 1993, Channel 4 has broadcast an "Alternative Christmas message" featuring a contemporary celebrity delivering a message in the manner of Britain’s queen. Past message presenters include activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Scottish male comedian playing Princess Diana (less than a year before her death), a celebrity chef, and Marge Simpson from The Simpsons cartoon series.
Byrne said Ahmadinejad’s message Thursday continued "a long tradition of offering a different perspective on the world around us."
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Focus on the Family Pulls Interview with Glenn Beck over Theological Conflicts
Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post
By Eric Young
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Dec. 27 2008 09:11 AM EST
Conservative ministry Focus on the Family has removed from its website an article about the latest book by former CNN host Glenn Beck in response to complaints over his Mormon ties.
“Mr. Beck is a member of the Mormon church, and … we did not make mention of this fact in our interview with him,” reads a statement prepared for the ministry’s receptionists, according to Joel Campbell, the Mormon media observer for the MormonTimes.
“We do recognize the deep theological difference between evangelical theology and Mormon theology, and it would have been prudent for us at least to have pointed out these differences,” receptionists are instructed to say to those who call in about the missing article on the ministry’s CitizenLink website. “Because of the confusion, we have removed the interview from CitizenLink."
Since last week, Beck’s interview had been featured on CitizenLink and claimed that Beck “is hoping to spread a more eternal sort of gospel through his new book, The Christmas Sweater.”
“I just want the people to understand that the message is true,” Beck said in the interview, which CitizenLink noted as being the product of a freelance reporter in Colorado Springs and not the ministry.
“Sometimes redemption has been made into a word that people don’t understand. They need to know it’s true, it’s real. It’s not a word, it’s a life-changing force,” the author continued. “It’s transformed my life, who I was to the very core of my being. If it wasn’t for me accepting the gift that the Lord gave to me, I’d be dead today.”
Since the interview was published, Christians throughout the blogosphere have raised flags and sounded alarms, concerned that Focus on the Family was compromising central doctrinal truths to win the culture war.
“They use Mr. Beck's story as a way to show that hope can be found in God, which is true enough; the problem is that Mr. Beck's god is not the Triune God of the Bible nor is his Jesus the Jesus of the Bible,” commented Dustin S. Seger, pastor of Shepherd’s Fellowship of Greensboro, N.C.
“I strongly discourage you from giving money to any religious organization that is so committed to a social agenda that they are willing to ignore the vast difference between biblical Christianity and the cult of Mormonism,” he wrote to readers of the co-authored blog “Grace in the Triad” earlier this week.
Though Beck’s social views are regarded as mostly compatible with many Christian views, his beliefs in Mormonism have been distinguished as not.
Aside from rejecting the Trinity and their belief in many gods, Mormons believe their prophet, Joseph Smith, was “the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam,” according to the Mormons’ History of the Church.
“Every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, Junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are," claimed Brigham Young, a 19th century president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Clearly, Mormonism is a cult,” the ministry Underground Apologetics expressed in a statement opposing Focus on the Family’s promotion of Beck.
“Through the years, Focus on the Family has done great things to help the family and has brought attention to the many social ills that are attacking the family,” the ministry stated.
“However, to promote a Mormon as a Christian is not helpful to the cause of Jesus Christ,” it added. “For Christians to influence society, Christians should be promoting the central issues of the faith properly without opening the door to false religions.”
Since the debut of Beck’s The Christmas Sweater six weeks ago, the 284-page hardcover has not only hit the New York Times Best-Sellers List but has also climbed up to No. 1 multiple times.
In addition, a “living play” of the book also debuted in 420 movie theaters nationwide last week featuring theatrical animation, specially-created projections and a Christmas musical score from a 10-piece orchestra and Broadway gospel singer.
Based on a personal true story, The Christmas Sweater is a narrative of a boy named Eddie who embarks on a dark and painful journey on the road to manhood.
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Cosmos Erected Out of Harmonies
American Minute from William J. Federer
An attack of smallpox when he was four-years-old left him with crippled hands and poor eyesight. Overcoming those handicaps, he studied Copernicus' works and at age 23 became a professor of astronomy. His name was Johannes Kepler, born DECEMBER 27, 1571.
His laws of planetary motion, known as Kepler's Laws, helped Newton formulate the theory of gravity.
In his work, "The Harmonies of the World," book five, Kepler stated: "O, Almighty God, I am thinking Thy thoughts after Thee!...The book is written, to be read either now or by posterity, I care not which. It may be well to wait a century for a reader, as God has waited six thousand years for an observer."
In comparing celestial orbits of the planets with polyphonic harmonies in music, Kepler wrote: "Holy Father, keep us safe in the concord of our love for one another, that we may be one just as Thou art with Thy Son, Our Lord, and with the Holy Ghost, and just as through the sweetest bonds of harmonies Thou hast made all Thy works one,"
Kepler continued: "and that from the bringing of Thy people into concord, the body of Thy Church may be built up in the Earth, as Thou didst erect the heavens themselves out of harmonies."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
The awkward co-dependence of blacks, liberal Democrats
BY STAR PARKER
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
COALITION ON URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION
What does Caroline Kennedy have in common with black America? If your answer is not much, I'd tend to agree with you.
When I think of Caroline, I think of Manhattan and Park Avenue, not the Bronx and Brooklyn. I think of Brentwood and Beverly Hills, not Watts and South Central Los Angeles.
But there is something that Caroline and black America do have in common: The Democratic Party.
Whether or not Kennedy succeeds to slide into Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat will have little to do with her Democratic Party bona fides. Per her policy positions ticked off the other day, she is in perfect and predictable liberal alignment with party boilerplate. If she fails, it will be for reasons other than her views.
So what exactly is the common political ground that Kennedy blue bloods share with the 90 percent of America's blacks who vote for Democrats?
A careful look shows the deep internal contradictions of the Democratic Party and the complexity of the political psyche of black Americans.
Ironically, despite Democratic Party rhetoric about economic inequities and wealth and income gaps in America, those gaps are more pronounced inside the Democratic tent than in the Republican one.
According to exit polls from November's election, Barack Obama captured the vote of America's richest and America's poorest. Fifty-two percent of those with incomes over $200,000 voted for Sen. Obama, and more than 60 percent of those earning less than $30,000 did as well.
Our wealthiest senator, John Kerry, is a Democrat, as is our wealthiest House member, Jane Harman.
The nation's two wealthiest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are both, by all indication, Democrats.
What political aspirations can black Americans, whose median income lags the nation's, share with these multimillionaires and billionaires?
There is little common ground regarding values.
Church attendance correlates reliably over time with party affiliation, and this remained true in this last election. Those who attend church frequently vote Republican. Those who don't vote Democratic – except blacks.
Blacks, in fact, have the highest church attendance in the country. Seventy-six percent of black Democrats attend church at least monthly. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans do and 50 percent of white Democrats do.
A recent Gallup poll shows blacks more aligned with Republicans than Democrats on social issues – moral acceptability of homosexuality, abortion and sexual promiscuity.
On energy and environmental issues, blacks poll more closely with conservatives than with liberals. It's because these are pocketbook issues. Working blacks have little interest in paying the higher taxes and bearing the higher costs that will result from chasing global warming windmills and displacing cheap hydrocarbon energy with exotic government subsidized alternatives. Lower energy costs also put blacks on the side of offshore drilling for oil and gas.
How about education? Wealthy liberals, despite having their own kids in private schools, oppose school choice. When blacks are given the opportunity to pull their child out of a failing public school and send him or her to a church school or another alternative they are grateful.
So where's the common ground? Income redistribution. A recent Zogby poll shows 80 percent of Democrats, 90 percent of liberals, and 76 percent of blacks support taxing the wealthy to give money to low-income Americans.
Despite everything else, blacks vote to stay on the liberal plantation. Pop psychologists would call the relationship between wealthy liberals and blacks co-dependence.
Republicans are wrong if they think they'll win blacks on social issues alone. They need to help blacks understand that limited government provides the economic mobility and opportunity they need and that the welfare, redistribution state does the opposite. They must help blacks gain self-confidence so that they can enjoy the benefits that can only come from freedom.
So far Republicans have failed to do this – which is another reason why they now sit on the outside looking in.
Star Parker is president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith and market-based alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Michael Woodring at Red County
Michael Woodring of the Constant Conservative has joined me as a Red County blogger. His premier post, "Little Among the States" is now available at the Pennington County site.
Michael's posts at Constant Conservative are consistently among the highest quality available in the South Dakota blogosphere, and I'm sure Constant Conservative will grow immensely in exposure and stature in 2009.
It's an honor represent South Dakota with Michael at Red County.
The Conspicuous Hand of Providence
American Minute from William J. Federer
The first six months of the Revolution saw the Continental Army chased from New York, New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Ranks dwindled from 20,000 to 2,000 exhausted soldiers- most leaving at year's end when their six-month enlistment was up.
Expecting British invasion, the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia and sent the word "until Congress shall otherwise order, General Washington be possessed of full power to order and direct all things."
In an operation with the password "Victory or Death," Washington's troops crossed the ice-filled Delaware River at midnight Christmas Day.
Trudging in a blinding blizzard, one soldier freezing to death, they attacked the feared Hessian troops at daybreak DECEMBER 26, 1776, capturing nearly a thousand in just over an hour. A few Americans were shot, including James Monroe, the future 5th President.
Washington wrote August 20, 1778: "The Hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this-the course of the war-that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more wicked that has not gratitude to acknowledge his obligations; but it will be time enough for me to turn Preacher when my present appointment ceases."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas Still More Popular Than Happy Holidays
By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Dec. 24 2008 09:49 AM EST
A vast majority of Americans still say “Merry Christmas” instead of the more politically correct greeting “Happy Holidays,” a recent poll shows.
More than three out of four Americans (77 percent) say they greet with “Merry Christmas,” according to a Fox News poll taken Dec. 9-10. And 21 percent say they feel obligated to say “Happy Holidays,” a more inclusive greeting that can also apply to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other celebrations.
“I feel better when someone greets me in a store with ‘Merry Christmas’ because Christmas is about the birth of our Savior Jesus,” said Steve Krotoski, who leads Pray Daily America – a ministry that prays for the country everyday.
“Without Jesus, people have no hope and are dead in sin,” he added. “The true meaning of Christmas is important.”
Regular churchgoers (82 percent), rural Americans (83 percent), and Republicans (87 percent) are the most likely to say “Merry Christmas,” the poll found.
The groups most likely to say they feel pressured to use a generic “Happy Holidays” greeting are Democrats (28 percent), urbanites (28 percent) and Northeasterns (25 percent).
Results from the Fox news poll are comparable to a survey by The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in 2005.
In the Pew survey, most Americans (60 percent) said they prefer that stores and businesses greet customers by saying “Merry Christmas.” Only one-in-four (23 percent) preferred the use of terms such as “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings,” while 17 percent of respondents said they do not care which greeting is used.
The Pew survey also found that a large majority of Americans (83 percent) said displays of Christmas symbols should be allowed in public places. But less than half (44 percent) said they approve of Christmas symbols being displayed alone, without Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other holiday symbols.
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Christmas: A Time to Open Our Hearts
American Minute from William J. Federer
President Hoover wrote in 1932: "Your CHRISTMAS Service held each year at the foot of a living tree which was alive at the time of the birth of Christ...should be continued as a further symbol of the unbroken chain of life leading back to this great moment in the spiritual life of mankind."
President Eisenhower remarked in 1960: "Through the ages men have felt the uplift of the spirit of CHRISTMAS. We commemorate the birth of the Christ Child by...giving expression to our gratitude for the great things that His coming has brought about in the world."
President Carter commented in 1977: "CHRISTMAS has a special meaning for those of us who are Christians, those of us who believe in Christ, those of us who know that almost 2,000 years ago, the Son of Peace was born."
President Reagan stated in 1983: "CHRISTMAS is a time...to open our hearts to...millions forbidden the freedom to worship a God who so loved the world that He gave us the birth of the Christ Child so that we might learn to love."
Reagan continued: "The message of Jesus is one of hope and joy. I know there are those who recognize CHRISTMAS DAY as the birthday of a wise teacher...then there are others of us who believe that he was the Son of God, that he was divine."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Merry and Blessed Christmas
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord.
12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
(Luke 2:1-14)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A Muslim Giving a Christmas Message on British TV
This seems like something out of a George Orwell novel...or a Monty Python movie...or an Airplane sequel...or some such weird thing.
The president of Iran giving a Christmas message on British TV.
No, Matilda; you're not dreaming. It's just modern suicidal "multiculturalism."
(But that's not the only wacko stuff on the Grapevine--wait until you hear the "global warming" segment)
Evolution Theory Is Not Scientific
Calvin Smith has a good piece at Creation Ministries International on whether evolution theory measures up to the definition of "science" as defined by evolutionists themselves.
So is evolution "scientific?"
Smith made a short list of the elements of criteria laid out by the pro-evolution National Science Education Standards (NSES):
1-Observational data
2-Accurate predictions
3-Logical
4-Open to criticism
5-Accurate information
6-No presuppositions
Sounds reasonable, right? So how does evolution theory measure up?
Smith cites vociferous evolutionist Richard Dawkins to indict evolution theory in the area of observational data:
After being chided recently by a creationist on a UK TV program about his comment; ‘Evolution has been observed. It’s just that it hasn’t been observed while it’s happening’, Dawkins attempted to parry with a prepared comment:
‘The refusal to believe in anything you can’t see yourself is absurd. Think about it, I never saw Napoleon with my own eyes, but that doesn’t mean Napoleon didn’t exist.’
And Bible believers everywhere said, Amen! However, I’d reckon atheists were figuratively banging their heads against their TV sets because of Dawkins ‘letting the cat out of the bag’. The existence of Napoleon or Jesus Christ can only be known through historical records, not operational science. So the scientific method cannot be invoked.
Once again the world’s most vocal champion of evolution and the outgoing Oxford University Chair for the Public Understanding of Science has revealed that evolution hasn’t been observed! So according to the NSES, (‘ … all scientific ideas depend on experimental and observational confirmation … ’) evolution fails their first criteria as being scientific.
But apostles of the religion of evolution can make "accurate prediction" and thus fulfill criteria #2, right? Well, not really.
The fossil record has never panned out as Charles Darwin hoped it would. Smith cites a recent National Geographic article which admits:
‘Illuminating but spotty, the fossil record is like a film of evolution from which 999 out of 1,000 frames have been lost.'
Wow. That's a lot to build a sound theory upon, isn't it? One frame out of 1,000? Uh huh.
Speculation about vestigial organs has proven to be all wet, too. Hmm. Maybe evolution can't make the predictions we thought.
But hey, at least it meets criteria #3 and is perfectly logical, right? Well....
Imagine you open your front door and see a robot walking on two legs along the street carrying a package on its shoulder. The package is marked with an address, that the robot has followed and arrived at.
Glancing at your neighbour you say ‘Who do you think made the robot?’ To which he says ‘I don’t think anyone made it, I think it made itself!’ With even a lay person’s knowledge of basic engineering, would this be a logical conclusion?
Okay, but evolution theory and evolutionists meet #4, being totally open to criticism. After all, they have all the facts on their side. They have nothing to fear. This issue was settled a long time ago, so criticisms are no problem, right? Well...
The newly released documentary Expelled blows the whistle on what many evolutionists have been doing for decades, which is brooking no opposition to anything that challenges Darwinian dogma.
The movie reveals that even Darwinists themselves, when attempting to be open-minded, are often removed from their positions for daring to allow other points of view. A recent example is evolutionary Prof. Michael Reiss, the Royal Society’s former director of education, who resigned within a couple of days after suggesting that creationism and ID should be discussed in classrooms.
Hmmm. Okay, so evolution theory has miserably failed four out of the six criteria, so far. But it can still pull in the big win with the last two, right? After all, what we know and teach about evolution relies on completely accurate information, right? At the risk of sounding repetitive, "Well...."
Those that have been around the creation/evolution debate are usually familiar with hoaxes like Piltdown Man, Archaeoraptor (the Piltdown Bird!), Nebraska man and the Staged photos of peppered moths, all fraudulent ‘evidences’ used to promote the theory of evolution.
One such fraud refuses to die it seems. I was shocked days ago when flipping through my daughter’s science text book to find Haeckel’s forged embryo drawings! I knew these had still been used in textbooks up to a short while ago but couldn’t believe my eyes to see it used in 2008 science curricula. This false ‘evidence’ was created in the 1860’s
Alright, but hey: at least it isn't full of presuppositions like creation science and intelligent design theory is. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllll...
In order to be truly neutral (hold no presuppositions) regarding the theory of origins, one would have to be open to the view that life could have arisen completely naturalistically, while simultaneously accepting that it may have been intelligently designed. You would then conduct investigations to see which hypothesis is better supported. But many evolutionists are atheists or were taught by atheists. By definition an atheist is;
A person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.13
So how can an atheist be unbiased or hold no presuppositions when their world view pre-supposes ‘no-God’?
Smith also cites this admission of bias from evolutionist Richard Lewontin:
‘It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.’
Author Aldous Huxley, grandson of "Darwin's bulldog" T.H. Huxley, admitted the license of Godlessness was central to his acceptance of this worldview:
‘I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves. … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.’
Smith's article also mentions a very interesting 1983 quote from the Official Journal-American Humanist Association
‘I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly view their role as the proselytizers of a new faith … The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new; the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of Humanism …
Notice that this humanist at least had the intellectual integrity to admit that humanism is a faith, a religion?
Well, it looks like evolution theory fares no better than creation science or intelligent design in these six criteria put forth by the NSES.
So if both evolution theory and creation science can now start on a level playing field of consideration, the next step is to examine the theories and contentions of both and see how well they fit the evidence.
Interestingly, evolution does pitifully here, too. I won't take time to go into the details (which can be found easily across the internet) and make this post any longer, but the elementary implications alone are enough to doom evolution theory before it gets off the launch pad.
There are a great number of hinge-pins required to make materialism/naturalism/evolution a workable theory. They include a universe that sprang from absolutely nothing (in violation of scientific principles) with no cause (in violation of scientific principles), and required stars and other planetary bodies to form (in violation of scientific principles), and life to spring from lifeless matter (in violation of scientific principles).
And since evolutionists make an a priori insistence that there cannot be supernatural intervention or causation, they are left with events which must happen without supernatural help...yet are impossible according to the laws of nature.
Creation, on the other hand, assumes an infinite, all-powerful creator who spoke a universe into being, and had it completely ordered and fully functional--including human life--in six days.
The science of such a feat definitely inspires curiosity and wonder. Yet if one can believe Genesis 1:1, then every other truth-claim in the Bible is very easy to accept.
To put it simply, the claims of creation science are entirely possible within its own framework.
The claims of evolution, however, are impossible within its own framework.
What Passed You By While You Were Sleeping?
Dakota Voice contributor Paul E. Scates emailed me with links to this material this morning.
It's a powerful song from Casting Crowns called "While You Were Sleeping".
An excerpt from the story behind the song:
’While You Were Sleeping’ took me nine years to finish. The year was 1996. I was trying to come up with something new to sing to the Lord for Christmas. I wanted to compose a new arrangement to the famous hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem." I set out to use the hymn’s original lyrics but to spin them into my own version with different chords. I didn’t even make it to the second verse. I was playing with some chords and realized halfway through the first verse that I was 27 years old and had been singing the song since I was a kid without grasping its meaning. Halfway through the first verse, the whole point of the song hit me: They missed it! Bethlehem missed it. They never knew what happened. They had no idea their Messiah, the Savior of the world, had fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and was sleeping in a feeding trough in their very village. They slept through the whole thing...
I thought, 'We’re doing the same thing. We’re missing it. We’re missing the Answer. We’re missing the Savior.' Instantly the second verse took the song in a radically different direction...
It is amazing and sad what wonders and opportunities can slip past us while we're unaware and sleeping.
This Christmas, don't let the ultimate opportunity slip past while you are sleeping...
Just wanted to share a Christmas video I created in 2005 for Casting Crown's "While You Were Sleeping". Think about all the things we let slip by while we have become so complacent in our lives.
In His Service,
Brian
Comments Down for the Holidays
I'm shutting comments down at Dakota Voice for the next day and a half.
Family is already arriving for Christmas, and I don't have time for comment moderation, nor do I have time to argue with the obstinate. Dakota Voice is not a platform to spread liberal lies, and comments promoting them will not be published here without challenge; the "mainstream" media provides more than enough unchallenged liberal lies to our society.
Only blog authors will be able to comment during this time.
In the meantime, let's all take the time to slow down, do some reflection, and ponder the meaning and significance of Christmas.
It's not about Santa Claus, Christmas trees and Christmas lights.
It's the time when we celebrate the incarnation of the Living God in human form. It's the time when we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the human race, when God took human form to live among us but without sin, to give his life to save us from the punishment our sins deserved.
Short of the cross and the resurrection, it's the most significant event in human history. Let us afford it the consideration and reverence it is due.
Merry Chrismas!
Pope: Non-Heterosexual Behavior Destroys God's Work
Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post
By Jennifer Gold
Christian Today Reporter
Tue, Dec. 23 2008 04:06 PM EST
Saving mankind from homosexual and transsexual behavior is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction, said Pope Benedict on Monday.
In an end-of-year address to Vatican officials, the Pope said the Catholic Church “should also protect man from the destruction of himself.”
A “sort of ecology of man is needed,” he said.
The Catholic Church strongly opposes homosexual relationships and same-sex unions.
“The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less,” he said in the address, which was later released to the media.
In an attack on transsexuals, the Pope said, “It is not man who decides who is a man or woman but God.”
Non-heterosexual behavior was “a destruction of God’s work,” he said, adding that humanity needed to “listen to the language of creation” to properly define the roles of man and woman.
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
America Has Demonstrated the Fundamental Unity of Christianity and Democracy
American Minute from William J. Federer
On Christmas eve, DECEMBER 24, 1492, Columbus' ship, the Santa Maria, ran aground on the island of Haiti. Columbus left 40 men and named the settlement la Navidad, promising to return the next year.
He wrote that day to Spain's King and Queen: "In all the world there can be no better or gentler people. Your Highnesses should feel great joy, because presently they will be Christians, and instructed in the good manners of your realms."
On DECEMBER 24, 1946, lighting the National Christmas Tree, President Truman said: "Our...hopes of future years turn to a little town in the hills of Judea where on a winter's night two thousand years ago the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. Shepherds keeping watch by night over their flock heard the glad tidings of great joy from the angels of the Lord singing, 'Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth, peace, good will toward men.'"
President Truman continued: "If we will accept it, the star of faith will guide us into the place of peace as it did the shepherds on that day of Christ's birth long ago...Through all the centuries, history has vindicated His teaching."
Truman concluded: "In this great country of ours has been demonstrated the fundamental unity of Christianity and democracy."
William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.
Some Consider the Stark Realities Behind Christmas
By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 23 2008 12:19 PM EST
Stages are set, sermons are ready, and tickets are nearly all reserved for the thousands of seats in megachurches across the country as they begin numerous Christmas services this week.
But while everyone anticipates a joyous and grand Christmas observance, many preachers are rejecting the hoopla around the season and pointing people to a moment in history that's far humbler and darker than people typically hear about.
"Christmas time is all about the announcement," said Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C. "There's this triumphant 'joy to the world, the Lord has come.' Christmas is about the greatest announcement ever made."
"But there's something not often said about the Christmas story," the pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in the country told congregants Sunday.
That includes the situation of the virgin Mary.
"When God finally spoke out of 400 years of silence to Mary, He didn't drop the messiah out of the sky on the wings of an angel ... He chose a virgin girl in a hick town and He said 'I'm about to bring the Son of God into the earth,'" Furtick explained.
But it wasn't necessarily good news to Mary, who is believed to have been a teenager at that time and was engaged to Joseph.
"How do you think it went over with Mary?" the pastor posed. "You think she wore the scarlet letter?"
"This is about the most devastating news that a teenage girl can get," but Mary still responded with faith and obedience.
Over in Birmingham, Ala., at another fast-growing megachurch, Pastor Chris Hodges also called congregants to look beyond the celebrations and deeper into the Christmas story.
"The whole story centers around a time that was incredibly dark," said Hodges of Church of the Highlands on Sunday. "If there was ever a time of hopelessness, it was during that time."
"God intentionally sends His son during a time of hopelessness because I think it's one of the major messages of Christmas," he added.
The Birmingham megachurch already held on Monday two of its seven Christmas services. And like the past 25 years, Hodges is making sure this year's Christmas worship experience is all about Jesus.
Evangelist and Pastor Greg Laurie at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., is making a similar effort to help believers see past the commercial Christmas and know the real message.
On Sunday, Laurie officially canceled "Christmas" – at least the hyped version that many people "buy into" today.
"The very word 'Christmas' has been pirated, emptied of its meaning," Laurie told thousands at his megachurch Sunday. "Some prefer to use the more politically correct terminology (i.e. Happy Holidays)."
"But I actually think those things are not as bad as those people who say 'Merry Christmas' and not know what it means," he said.
"I suggest we cancel Christmas and instead celebrate the birth of Christ."
The primary Christmas message is that "God came to us," said Laurie. "That's a staggering thought."
And while other religions call followers to follow a creed or do certain works to find peace or reach heaven, Christianity says "it's done ... for you at the cross," Laurie reminded congregants.
"The message of Christmas is ... God is not only with us but God comes in us. Being a Christian is not merely following a creed, but having Christ himself live in you."
Also recognizing the challenges many face today during hard economic times, the pastor encouraged Christians that even if the holiday does not deliver the harmony or peace or even gifts that people expect during this season, what this "sin-sick world" needs is only Jesus.
"We don't need good will, we need the messiah. We don't need presents, we need His presence," he said.
Many churches are observing Christmas on Dec. 24 with special services, with some of the larger churches holding additional worship times in the days leading up to Christmas Eve to accommodate bigger crowds.
Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
