Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

A MORNING PRAYER

One of my most valued possessions is John Baillie's A Diary of Private Prayer.  A couple of days ago I made special note of the morning prayer for Day 26.   I have broken up Baillie's single paragraph into the following segments:

O Thou to whom I owe the gift of this day's life, give to me also, I beseech Thee, the spirit to use it as I ought.

Forbid that I should stain the brightness of the morning with any evil thought or darken the noontide with any shameful deed.

Let Thy Holy spirit breathe into my heart today all pure and heavenly desires.

Let Thy truth inform my mind.

Let Thy justice and righteousness make a throne within me and rule my errant will.

Let Christ be formed in me, and let me learn of Him all lowliness of heart, all gentleness of bearing, all modesty of speech, all helpfulness of action, and promptness in the doing of my Father's will.

Isn't it wonderful? 

SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST-CENTURY SLAVERY AND MODERN SLAVERY

From Justin Taylor:

“In the first century, slaves were not distinguishable from free persons by race, by speech or by clothing; they were sometimes more highly educated than their owners and held responsible professional positions; some persons sold themselves into slavery for economic or social advantage; they could reasonably hope to be emancipated after ten to twenty years of service or by their thirties at the latest; they were not denied the right of public assembly and were not socially segregated (at least in the cities); they could accumulate savings to buy their freedom; their natural inferiority was not assumed.”

—Murray Harris, Slave of Christ: A New Testament Metaphor for Total Devotion to Christ, NSBT (IVP , 44)

VIDEO: UNIVERSITY MAKES DIPLOMA DEPENDENT ON SUPPORTING GAY RIGHTS

We are talking here of Augusta State University and Jennifer Keaton, a student in the counseling program, who was told she must undergo a "remediation program" concerning her biblical views on homosexuality.  Ed Morrissey has the video and offers commentary.

The Family Research Council adds:

Unfortunately, this is not the first such story of political correctness in the counseling profession reaching totalitarian levels. ADF [Alliance Defence Fund] is representing a student who was already kicked out of a similar program at Eastern Michigan University, and another woman who was fired as a counselor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, her story appears on our video "ENDA: The End of Religious Freedom in America?." This radical agenda--not just to officially affirm homosexuality, but to forcefully crush any dissent--is exactly what Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has endorsed. When will they learn that we have no intention of forfeiting our constitutional right to free speech and freedom of religion?

A RESPONSE TO "THE CHRISTIAN DELUSION"

From Justin Taylor:

For those who may have come across the book The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, edited by John W. Loftus, here is a free online book responding to it: The Infidel Delusion. Click here for an overview.

THE LEFT'S SECULAR UTOPIAN RELIGION

It hates heretics:

- Dennis Prager - Why the Left hates conservatives  -  Prager offers three answers:  First, the Left thinks the Right is evil. . .    Second, when you don’t confront real evil, you hate those who do. . .    Third, the Left’s utopian vision is prevented only by the Right.   Me:  This is a short, outstanding MUST READ article. 

It fails to read and understand history:

-- Thomas Sowell - No one is smart enough to carry out central planning.  Failure after failure after failure is the predictable result.  But brainy utopian elites don't read history.

SPERM DONOR KIDS ARE STRUGGLING

Chuck Colson writes:

It’s sad but not surprising—the children of sperm donors are having problems. The Commission on Parenthood’s Future has released a new study titled “My Daddy’s Name Is Donor,” in which 485 adult offspring of sperm donors were surveyed.

Compared with both adopted children and children raised by their biological parents, donor offspring are struggling—and they’re struggling in ways that should have been foreseen.

The authors of the study write, “[O]n average, young adults conceived through sperm donation are hurting more, are more confused, and feel more isolated from their families. They fare worse than their peers raised by biological parents on important outcomes like depression, delinquency and substance abuse.”

They also note, “Donor offspring express significant pain over the loss of their biological father, significantly more even when compared to those who are adopted.”

And as it turns out, sperm donation, which we were supposed to think was harmless, is damaging parents’ lives as well. The study reports that

BRITAIN'S PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON WANTS TURKEY ADMITTED INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Beyond dumb.  Foolish and catastrophic.  Read Pamela Geller's take.

Update 7/28/10:  Barry Rubin in Pajamas Media: In Speech to Turkey, PM David Cameron Goes full Idiot.  

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s July 27 speech in Turkey will not live on in history. But it should, as an example of the decline of Western diplomacy and of suicide by political correctness. It is a textbook example of how not to conduct international affairs. . .  (more . . .)

HONOR KILLING AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

The remarkable Pamela Geller, Executive Director of SIOA ("Stop Islamization of America") says:

Today the SIOA honor killing victims awareness and aid campaign rolled out in New York City.

Stop Islamization of America's (SIOA) next campaign to reach and educate the American people has hit the streets of Chicago, the first in a nationwide campaign: taxitops! I thought it was a perfect medium to get our message to the people who are hungry, tired of the lies and starving for information that the media is too afraid to provide.

Keep reading for a lot more information.

FREEALIM.COM

Petition to Free Alim:

Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao
Chairman of the National People’s Congress, Mr. Wu Bangguo,
Secretary of the Communist Party in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Mr. Zhang Chunxian,
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the United States, Mr. Zhang Yesui, 

Dear Sirs:

We are deeply concerned that Uyghur Christian Alimujiang Yimiti was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for allegedly leaking “state secrets to a foreign individual.” The unfair charge and conviction was based on two private conversations between Alimujiang and an American friend. There is no evidence to suggest their conversations included any sensitive information, pointing to Alimujiang’s innocence.

After he was detained on January 12, 2008, Alimujiang Yimiti was held illegally for over one year without sentence. Originally accused of conducting illegal religious activities, he was finally given the severe sentence of 15 years for “leaking state secrets” in August 2009. The verdict followed two secret trials, the first held in May 2008, and the second in July 2009.

Alimujiang Yimiti is a peace-loving and upstanding Uyghur Chinese citizen. Formerly an adherent of Islam, he has been a Christian believer since 1995. As a house church leader in Kashgar, he was very aware of the ethnic tensions in the region Uyghur people and lived out his faith and ran his business with committment to promoting genuine inter-ethnic harmony and love for all peoples.

Alimujiang’s shocking sentence and brutal treatment is an unjust reaction to his choice of religious belief and his ethnic status. His sentence violates Article 36 of China’s Constitution, which acknowledges religious freedom for all Chinese citizens. Furthermore, the illegal actions of the Xinjiang courts, double-jeopardy secret trials, severe sentencing, and harassment of Alimujiang’s lawyers violate Chinese law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the People’s Republic of China has signed.

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned with Alimujiang’s welfare and this severe case of religious persecution. We pray for the leaders of China, and formally request that you immediately release Alimujiang Yimiti and restore his political rights and freedoms according to the law.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

- - - - -

 China Aid informs us of Alim's current prison status:

Family of Imprisoned Uyghur Christian Alimujiang Denied Visiting Rights

ChinaAid Press 07-19-2010

 Since Uyghur Christian prisoner Alimjan Yimit (Alimujiang Yimiti) was moved in April to No. 3 Prison on the outskirts of Urumqi to begin serving a 15-year sentence, it was expected the normal rules regarding monthly supervised family visits would allow his mother and his wife Gulinuer and children to see him again. After being held for over two years in a detention center in Kashgar and denied all contact with family, the possibility of seeing Alimjan was their sole consolation in light of this extremely harsh and unjust sentence. Now, even that hope has been lost as the prison officials, or more likely higher-ups behind them, perpetuate the abuse. They demand a new letter be brought each visit, written and stamped by the local police verifying Alimjan's wife and mother's relationship to him.  The local police, meanwhile, say it is unnecessary and refuse to cooperate.
 
After the first visit in April, reported on by China Aid, Alimjan was allowed only one other twenty minute interaction with them in May. Alim's lawyers have never been allowed to meet with him since being moved into prison. Each week Gulinuer mails a letter to her husband only two of which she knows he's been given. She has yet to receive a reply.
 
Thank you for upholding Alimjan's family in your prayers. Gulinuer is also very grateful for some of you who have taken the time to e-mail her your words of encouragement and sympathy and sign the online petition at www.FreeAlim.com. These acts serve as tangible evidence of your faithfulness to firmly stand with Alim and his family and the Uyghur church in China through this trial.
 
 Prayer Requests:

1. May God continue to sustain Alim in prison. Nobody has seen or heard anything about him of late.
2. May God give relief to the frustration and powerlessness his family feels and change the hearts of the officials to allow them to visit Alim in prison.
3. May this injustice be somehow set right and Alim be released.
4. May God be glorified through this difficulty and the Uyghur believers be strengthened and multiplied no matter what the outcome.

Visit www.FreeAlim.comto Sign the Petition and encourage Alim and his family today!

Additional Info

• Taking Action 1: SIGN THE PETITION
  
• Taking Action 2: WRITE TO ALIM
  
• Taking Action 3: DONATE (Donar)

Me:  I am glad to know which Congressmen and Congresswomen (listed below) have gotten involved in Alim's case.  It's worth knowing (and respecting highly) those in Congress who are stalwarts for religious liberty.  We need to pray for them as well.

« 19 Congressmen issue Letter to Ambassador Zhou for Alim's release

CHUCK COLSON IDENTIFIES THE "VOLENT EXTREMIST" IDEOLOGY PLEDGED TO DESTROY US

Colson offers a valuable history lesson:

President Obama wants to be kind and gentle to Muslims, at least 90 percent of whom are peaceful and are not at war with the United States. I can appreciate that. But talking about “violent extremism” without indentifying the violent extremists it isn’t doing anyone—including peaceful Muslims—any favors. It only takes our focus off the real threat.

That real threat reared its head a few weeks ago when the radical, American-born Muslim cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki announced that he wants terrorists to target American civilians. Al-Awlaki, you see, is a disciple of Sayyid Qutb and Qutb’s worldview is the root of the problem.

Qutb, an Egyptian, visited the United States in 1949. Here he saw what he considered unspeakable moral decay, which led him to conclude that Christianity had failed completely. When he returned to the Middle East, he was seething with hatred for Christians and the West. In Egypt he was arrested and while in prison he studied not only radical Islamists, but Nazis as well.  And out of these he created a toxic worldview to challenge the West.

Before he was executed, his book, "In The Shade of the Quran" was published, and is now the handbook for the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, there are always going

THE CASE AGAINST CONFIRMING ELENA KAGEN TO SERVE ON THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council summarizes:

It was little surprise that President Obama would nominate someone to the Supreme Court with as limited regard for the U.S. Constitution as himself. However, the radical political and liberal history of Elena Kagan should make even the most diehard Leftist take a step back.

The recent Senate hearings helped expose her disgust for traditional morality, free speech, the military, individual liberty, unborn children, constitutional fidelity, and all things religious. As a political appointee to President Clinton, she was so fixated on protecting partial-birth abortion that she masterminded an effort to substitute her own opinion for that of two medical groups. Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said there was virtually no instance in which a partial-birth abortion was necessary to save a woman's life. When that statement crossed Kagan's desk, she personally changed it to say that partial-birth abortion "may be the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of the mother."

The political and unscientific opinion inserted by Ms. Kagan into what was supposed to be an authoritative medical document was then cited by several judges to strike down restrictions on the horrendous partial-birth abortion procedure.

Additionally, her pro-homosexual views led her to restrict military recruitment on Harvard Law School's campus, and, as Solicitor General, to sabotage the defense of our federal marriage law and of the current military policy on homosexuals serving openly in the U.S. military. In these instances, she favored her personal ideology and political calculations over the law. Without your help, she may spend 30 or more years doing this same thing as a member of America's most powerful court. Elena Kagan was unfit to be Solicitor General, and she definitely doesn't deserve a lifetime promotion to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Please contact your U.S. Senators today and tell them to oppose Elena Kagan.

Thank you and God bless you.

Please click here to contact your U.S. Senators to oppose President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan

Sincerely,

Tony Perkins
President

ROBERT A. HALL - "I'M TIRED OF . . ."

I received the following e-mail from a friend.  It was written by Robert A. Hall, a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.

I'm 63.  Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am... Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired!  
 
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.  
 

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes."  Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then

"JOURNOLIST" - AN OPEN CONSPIRACY OF LIBERALS TO SLANT THE NEWS

Now we know what has been going on behind the scenes to kill journalism in America and convert it into propaganda instead.  Jonah Goldberg brings us up to speed: 

Just in case you’ve been living in a cave, or if you only get your news from MSNBC, here’s the story. A young blogger, Ezra Klein, formerly of the avowedly left-wing American Prospect and now with the avowedly mainstream Washington Post, founded the e-mail listserv JournoList for like-minded liberals to hash out and develop ideas. Some 400 people joined the by-invitation-only group. Most, it seems, were in the media, but many hailed from academia, think tanks, and the world of forthright liberal activism generally. They spoke freely about their political and personal biases, including their hatred of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. . .

JournoList e-mails obtained by the Daily Caller reveal what anybody with two neurons to rub together already knew: Professional liberals don’t like Republicans and do like Democrats. They can be awfully smug and condescending in their

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

From the Family Research Council:

Two Christian brothers were gunned down on Monday as they were being led in chains from a Pakistani courthouse. The two were on trial for blasphemy against Islam. This latest incident once again highlights the intense persecution of Christians in the Middle East, persecution that is taking place with the tacit support of the government. This is happening under the very government that the U.S. helped establish in Iraq.

FRC senior staff met with several Iraqi Christian leaders (Catholic, Protestant, and Assyrian Orthodox) to learn more about the very troubling situation facing Christians in their country. Clearly, the situation has deteriorated for Christians since the fall of Saddam. Their population of over 1.1 million prior to U.S. military intervention in 2003 is now down to around 400,000 and decreasing daily. Many are having difficulty finding employment and sometimes experience active persecution from Muslim extremists. In recent months, conditions for Iraqi Christians have gotten so severe that many have fled to other countries for fairer treatment, and of the Iraqi Christian refugees who have found their way to the U.S., many are struggling financially.

FRC is urging the U.S. government to call upon the governments in these Islamic countries to recognize the right to religious freedom that even the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges. This is especially important in Iraq where our young men and women have shed their blood to bring freedom to all Iraqi citizens. A number of U.S. Congress members have recognized the importance of saving the Christian communities of Iraq and have taken action toward this end, including Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.). Please write Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to urge her to work with them and fight for Iraq 's Christians. It is critical that the investment of U.S. resources and troops in Iraq not end with the elimination of Iraq 's Christian communities.

AFA: BOYCOTT HOME DEPOT BECAUSE OF ITS AGGRESSIVE SUPPORT OF THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA

It looks like I'll be taking my business to Lowes or my local hardware store.  The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of Home Depot, and for good reason.  AFA writes:

The Home Depot's track record of support for the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage and exposing young children to gay celebrations in public:

• In June 2010, The Home Depot set up a "Kids Workshop" as a vendor at the Southern Maine Pride Festival and parade. Read more.
  


• In 2009, The Home Depot gave over $5,000 to be a major sponsor of the Nashville Gay Pride Festival. It also sponsored parades in Atlanta, Kansas City, Portland and San Diego. Read more.


• The Home Depot offers insurance benefits that cover sex-changes operations for employees. That insurance also extends to same-sex partners of homosexual employees, proving The Home Depot considers gay couples as "married." Source: Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index


• In 2008, The Home Depot sponsored the Durham Pride Weekend with a kid's workshop and parade march. The events include "massages for couples" and "Drag Shows."


• As early as 2005, The Home Depot placed a full-page ad in the Out & Equal homosexual workplace conference program guide.

It's not as if Home Depot hasn't received requests to remain neutral on the issue.  It has, and it point blank refuses to do so.

The Home Depot's responses when asked to stop supporting the homosexual agenda:

"This is an inclusion issue with Home Depot" - June 22, 2010

"At the end of the day here, we're not going to send anything out that forbids our associates to be involved in these pride festivals in any way." - July 15, 2010

"The bottom line is, it just runs counter to our inclusive culture and that's the word I'm getting back and that’s where we stand." - July 15, 2010

More information on the boycott and petitions can be found here.

"BOOK TV" OFFERINGS THIS WEEKEND

I wish our cable system carried "Book TV."  I regard Ayaan Hirsi Ali as one of the most remarkable women of our time.  Here's the announcement:

Saturday 10 PM, Sunday 9 PM,

Monday 12 PM and 3 PM ET 

 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations, interviewed by Paula Dobriansky

In her interview, Ms. Ali discusses her memoir about coming to the United States and the life she left behind.  In this follow-up to her bestselling Infidel, she also mentions how the U.S. should handle Islamic fundamentalism, within and outside its borders.   Ayaan Hirsi Ali is interviewed by Paula Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs and current member of the Leadership Council at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.


Another program looks great as well:

Saturday 1 PM ET

Book TV's coverage of the 2010 Eagle Forum Collegians Summit:

The Eagle Forum Collegians Summit is a conference that brings together conservative speakers, authors and college students held annually in Washington, DC. Our coverage from this year's forum includes:

Tom Pauken, Bringing America Home: How America Lost Her War and How We Can Find Our Way Back

Larry Schweikart, 7 Events That Made America America -- And Proved That the Founding Fathers Were Right All Along 

Ian Fletcher, Free Trade Doesn't Work: What Should Replace it and Why

George Allen, What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports 

Chris Horner, Power Grab: How Obama's Green Policies Will Steal Your Freedom and Bankrupt America

David Kupelian, How Evil Works: Understanding and Overcoming the Destructive Forces That Are Transforming America 

Michael Coffman, Rescuing a Broken America: Why America is Deeply Divided and How to Heal it Constitutionally

THE SOCIAL CONSERVATIVE REVIEW

Subtitled "The Insider's Guide to Pro-Family News,"  The Family Research Council has posted yet another collection of valuable links to current articles on a variety of themes.   (I have posted a previous edition here.)  Themes include educational freedom, environmental issues, faith and policy, health care, homosexuality in the military, judiciary, family economics, marriage and family, religious liberty, and sanctity of human life.  Be sure to click the "Continue reading" link at the bottom of this post.

Educational Freedom and Reform

• "Which Sex Position Will Your Kid Learn?," Peter Sprigg, Family Research Council
• "Excerpts from proposed Helena, Montana sex ed curriculum," Peter Sprigg, Family Research Council
• "NEA celebrates 'drag queen' teachers," Bill Bumpas, OneNewsNow
• "Authorizing Charters," Terry Ryan, Michael B. Lafferty and Chester Finn, Education Next
• "Tale of Two Cities," Nathan Glazer, Education Next
• "Secularism in Academe," Jordan J. Ballor, The Acton Institute
• "Should States Let the Federal Government Set Education Standards for Schools?," Heather Horn, The Atlantic

THE SPRINT OR MARATHON?

Lucas Parry, worship and missions leader at New Life Community Church in Asheville, NC, makes excellent points in his recent post:

Ideas are like sprints. Ideas come quickly and can disappear equally as fast. Anyone can run a sprint for a second. Danger can cause people to sprint. Urgency, deadlines, panic…all causes for sprinting.

Execution is a marathon. Marathons take time and effort. Marathons takes pacing and diligence. Marathons call for strategy, training, and endurance. No one just goes out and runs a marathon.

Successful creatives learn how to take their sprints, and turn them into marathons. Taking ideas and executing them allow organizations to achieve great things. If all we do is run sprints, we will never have the endurance that is necessary to be successful. Likewise, if all we can do is run marathons, and never develop our sprint skills, when times get tough and the race is close at the end, we will not have the ability to find that extra gear and distance ourselves from the pack.

Ideas are necessary. They are fun. They drive a lot of what we do as creatives. But without execution, ideas are not worth anything.  Execution creates distance between good and great people and organizations.

Me: Very challenging, and not a little convicting!

MIKE McMANUS - SAVING CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES FROM DIVORCE

Mike McManus offers astute comments on the recent Southern Baptist expression of concern over the many divorces seen in its midst.  At the end of his article McManus says:

Every church has couples who have survived marital crises such as adultery or bankruptcy, who could be trained to tell their story of recovery to a couple in crisis, and can save four of five such marriages.

However, how can they be identified and trained to be of assistance?

An Episcopal priest, asked this question any pastor could ask: "Are there any couples whose marriages were once on the rocks, but are now in a state of healing? If so, I'd like to meet with you after the service." Of 180 people in church that day, 10 couples showed up. They developed a 17-step recovery strategy, like the 12 steps of AA, and helped save 38 of 40 crisis marriages.

In my reporting for this column, I have come across similar proven interventions at other stages of marriage: preparation with 93 percent success rate over two decades, and a "Stepfamily Support Group" that saves 80 percent of marriages, which typically divorce at a 70 percent rate.

My wife and I lead Marriage Savers, a ministry which helped the clergy of 229 cities to create a Community Marriage Policy to implement these reforms. We train the mentors. Result: the divorce rate for cities falls 17.5 percent on average and has plunged in half in Austin, Kansas City, KS and its suburbs, El Paso, Modesto, CA and Salem, OR. Cohabitation rates drop by a third compared to similar cities in each state. Marriage rates rise about 16 percent.

To learn more, go to www.marriagesavers.org/  You can reach Mike personally at: [email protected]

MORE ON "FREEDOM OF RELIGION" VS. "FREEDOM OF WORSHIP"

The Family Research Council hits the subject again.  It's that important.  [Bolding mine]

Can one word change the world? President Obama certainly hopes so. Since last year's speech in Cairo, one phrase is subtly worming its way into speeches with high level White House officials. With incredible precision, the President is abandoning the term "freedom of religion" in favor of what he calls the "freedom of worship." Now to most people, that rhetoric is nothing to write home about. But to those of us standing guard for our faith in Washington, the shift is ominous. As Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom said, "[Freedom of worship] excludes the right to raise your children in your faith; the right to have religious literature; the right to meet with co-religionists; the right to raise funds; the right to appoint your religious leaders, and to carry out charitable activities, to evangelize," and perhaps the most troubling, to engage in the public square.

This is the culmination of a 40-year process to expel God from America. First it was taking prayer and the Bible from public schools; then it was driving out the 10 Commandments from courthouses and nativities from town squares. Now religion would be squeezed out of every pocket of society until it exists only within the four walls of the church. This is more than semantics; it's a bold leap forward to completely secularize America. We've already witnessed what the courts and culture have done to alienate faith. President Obama's vision is to codify those decisions in policy--making it virtually impossible for men and women to exercise their religion in public. And that includes any church outreach like homeless shelters or orphanages. If we pursue this to its logical conclusion, America would eventually shut out or constrict anything having to do with Christ. President Obama says plenty of things he doesn't mean. But in this, his pursuit of wiping religion off the map, we should take him at his word.

VIDEO: LYING POLICE REPORT FILED IN DEARBORN, MICHIGAN

As the current phrase blandly puts it, "This is unacceptable."  No, it's more than unacceptable.  It is infuriating and maddening, and must not be tolerated!  When police arrest someone, and then blatantly lie about the circumstances and reason for the arrest, all American citizens must protest and demand that the corruption be cleaned up immediately -- and those responsible pay a steep price!  Dearborn, Michigan has become an unsafe place for anyone but Muslims.   One wonders what tick in the brain has infected the Mayor and police department to suppose they can deprive ordinary citizens of free speech and the rule of law.   The United States must never allow sharia law to trump the freedom of American citizens anywhere in this nation. 

Pamela Gellar posts:

Back in June, four Christians were arrested and their cameras confiscated at an Arab festival for passing out leaflets. Yes, the lefties, the Muslims, the commies, can go berserk at their hate protests, but decent Americans, OTOH, are living in a police-enforced sharia state. The Christians are being represented by the same brilliant legal team that brought my free speech lawsuit against Detroit, The Thomas Moore Law Center.

David Wood and Acts 17 finally got their video cameras back yesterday, and the police didn't even erase the footage. They have them lying about a dozen or so times. They will be posting the footage over the next few days. Here's a video of Negeen's arrest (apparently for telling police officers not to touch her).

Negeen's Arrest at Dearborn Arab Festival

Here's the video footage from Negeen's camera while she was being assaulted by Dearborn Police. In any other city, in any other state, police officers would recognize her Constitutional rights. But this is Dearborn. They can accuse a Christian of anything, and violate her rights in any way they see fit.

If this doesn't make your blood boil, nothing will.

It is reported that more footage is on the way.

RIFQA GRADUATES!

News via Atlas Shrugs:

Pamela Gellar says:

Finally some sweet, happy news to report on Rifqa Bary, the besieged Christian convert out of Islam who was dogged and hounded for her apostasy. The straight-A student graduated with honors.

She turns 18 in August, still without the immigration status that her lawyers have been promising her for months, but her life will be her own and we will continue to pray for her health.

Me:  This announcement leaves me with a lot of questions.  I had assumed she was doing her school work independently.  Maybe she was.  I just wish Pamela had posted more information.

HUGH HEWITT INTERVIEWS CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS ON HIS NEW BOOK, "HITCH-22: A MEMOIR"

As I posted earlier, Christopher Hitchens, a leader of the "new atheists" and a remarkable journalist in his own right, has come down with esophageal cancer.  In this new interview, Hewett asks him how he feels about people praying for him ("touching to be thought of in that way") and a lot of other questions besides.  I found it a fascinating interview.  On Saddam Hussein's Iraq, for example, Hitchen says:

I say in my chapter on Iraq in the book that a horrible realization came to me one day after I’d been visiting the country for a while during the Saddam era that the Iraqi police are always hunting down misfits and psychopaths and child molesters, not in order to imprison them, but in order to employ them. And that’s one of the definitions of a fascist system. It gives privileges and rewards to people who are potentially or actual torturers and sadists, and then puts them in charge of things. Yeah, and it’s not, it’s depressingly easy, unfortunately, to recruit a force of that kind.

Hitchens' advice on drinking:

“Don’t drink on an empty stomach. The main point of the refreshment is the enhancement of food. Don’t drink if you have the blues. It’s a junk cure. Drink when you are in a good mood. Cheap booze is a false economy. It’s not true that you shouldn’t drink alone. These can be the happiest glasses you ever drain. Hangovers are another bad sign, and you should not expect to be believed if you take refuge in saying you can’t properly remember last night. Avoid all narcotics. These will make you boring rather than less, and are not designed, as are the grape and the grain, to enliven company.”

Me:  Note also David Horowitz's reflections on Hitchens to which I called attention earlier.

OBAMA AND ISLAM: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF OBAMA'S IGNORANCE OF HISTORY

Jim Hoft offers a daily stream of must-read posts on his blog, Gateway Pundit.   Of today's many posts, I cite but one:  "Obama’s NASA Muslim Strategy Echoes His Nutty Cairo Speech."

Hoft writes:

Student of history, Barack Obama, spoke to the Muslim World in Cairo last year.
During his speech Obama congratulated the Muslim World for their many accomplishments.
Obama’s Cairo Speech – The Transcript:

“As a student of history, I also know civilisation’s debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.”

Unfortunately, Dear Leader was once again repeating Far Left talking points and not facts.
Here is what he forgot to mention:

** The compass- The use of a magnetic compass as a direction finder occurred sometime before 1044, but incontestable evidence for the use of the compass as a navigational device did not appear until 1119 in China. The earliest reference to an iron fish-like compass in the Islamic world occurs in a Persian talebook from 1232- Wikipedia.

** The pen- Ancient Egyptians developed writing on papyrus scrolls when scribes used thin reed brushes or reed pens. The quill pen was used in Qumran, Judea to write some

CHUCK COLSON'S CHILLING DREAM (NIGHTMARE)

  Colson's dream deals with America's debts, Chinese action, and government martial law.  Colson contends "This country’s national debt is profoundly immoral. But the debt is also profoundly dangerous.

To explain that, let me paint a picture for you.

Patty and I love to watch the Fourth of July festivities from Washington on TV. But this year, as we listened to the glorious patriotic music and saw the marching bands and bombs bursting in air, my mind kept wandering to an imaginary, but very disturbing scene. There was the President, staring grimly and speaking into the camera.

“My fellow Americans,” he said, “as most of you know by now, President Hu of China announced that the Chinese government is selling U.S. treasuries. There was no warning. Markets around the world have tumbled. The DOW dropped 50 percent before the exchanges were closed. Banks across the country have frozen assets.”

Then, in my dream, the President continued: “The Fed will continue to put money in the market, but this is costly, the value of the dollar being half of what it was 48 hours ago.

“There are reports of rioting and looting across the country. But this is no time for such behavior. This crisis will be settled; central bank executives are

ARE SEX EDUCATORS SEX-CRAZED?

Yes, judging from the curriculum they are putting out and defending.  It's unbelievable.  The Family Research Council reports that Tuesday night parents in Helena, Montana (not exactly New York City!) will be responding to

an outrageous new K-12 health curriculum (pages 45-50) that's been proposed there. It would teach kindergarteners the names of male and female sex organs, first graders about homosexuality, and fifth graders about "oral or anal penetration." It would also teach sixth graders about sex changes, and high schoolers would be taught to "understand erotic images in art." These lessons aren't age-appropriate, and may result in more confusion than understanding. For example, in elementary school virtually all children like their own sex better than the opposite sex--we should not be planting the idea that this might mean they are "gay." In fourth grade they would learn that "taunting" and "teasing" may be illegal sexual harassment. Sadly, teasing and taunting are sometimes a fact of life for fourth graders, but they have nothing to do with sex. And here's the kicker--the program's implementation may be paid for with federal "stimulus" money. 

If you live in Helena (or even if you don't), let the school system know they should scrap this curriculum. Email Superintendent Bruce Messinger at: [email protected].

Me:  An individual in favor of such a program is either totally nutty, or sex-crazed.  I don't see any middle ground.  Peter Spring and Logan Levkoff square off on Fox & Friends.

C.S. LEWIS ON BEETHOVEN

From a letter to his friend, Arthur Greeves:

How tonic Beethoven is, and how festal--one has the feeling of having taken part in the revelry of giants.

Me:  I find that stunning, an apt illustration of what makes Lewis so attractive to so many:  a mind alert, vigorous, and colorful, ready at a moment's notice with the perfect analogy or metaphor.

THE U.S. DEBT CLOCK

Depressing and mind-blowing.  Click here.

GREAT BRITAIN HAS 85 SHARIA COURTS IN OPERATION

See Mark De Young's article.  Excerpt:

. . . Imams and mosques are performing marriage ceremonies that are not registered under English law.

As a direct result, about two-thirds of Muslim marriages are not registered. Consequently, women in such marriages have no choice but to go to sharia tribunals.

A more disturbing result of affording marriage arbitration to sharia courts is forced marriage. 2008 (the year after the establishment of the Muslim tribunals) saw an 80 percent increase in forced marriages. A government unit reported 8,000 forced marriages that year, including girls as young as 13. . .   [more...]

EATING HEALTHY FOOD NOW CALLED A MENTAL DISORDER

This is yet another indication of the world going mad. Mark Adams reports:

(NaturalNews) In its never-ending attempt to fabricate "mental disorders" out of every human activity, the psychiatric industry is now pushing the most ridiculous disease they've invented yet: Healthy eating disorder.

This is no joke: If you focus on eating healthy foods, you're "mentally diseased" and probably need some sort of chemical treatment involving powerful psychotropic drugs. The Guardian newspaper reports, "Fixation with healthy eating can be sign of serious psychological disorder" and goes on to claim this "disease" is called orthorexia nervosa -- which is basically just Latin for "nervous about correct eating."

But they can't just called it "nervous healthy eating disorder" because that doesn't sound like they know what they're talking about. So they translate it into Latin where it sounds smart (even though it isn't).

MARK DEVER ON THE INERRANCY OF THE BIBLE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dever offers a fine, informative bibliographical essay.  Justin Taylor, who provided the link, writes:

Kevin DeYoung offers some good quotes from J.I. Packer on why we should use the term “inerrancy,” despite common misunderstandings. (Packer’s whole book, Truth and Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life, is available online for free.)

Mark Dever once put together a document called “Inerrancy of the Bible: An Annotated Bibliography.” In it he gives his top recommended book on inerrancy:

I’ve saved the best for last. If I could just recommend one book on the inerrancy of the Bible it would undoubtedly be this one—John Wenham, Christ and the Bible. . . .

Wenham’s book . . . makes the simple point that our trust in Scripture is to be a part of our following Christ, because that is the way that He treated Scripture—as true, and therefore authoritative. . . .

In Christ and the Bible, Wenham, who taught Greek for many years at Oxford, an Anglican evangelical, has done us all a great service in providing us with a book which understands that we do not come by our adherence to Scripture fundamentally from the inductive resolutions of discrepancies, but from the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Only because of the Living Word may we finally know to trust the Written Word.

May God use these resources of those who’ve gone before us to equip and encourage us in so trusting.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

From Atlas Shrugged:

--  Muslim  hordes kill wife and 4 children of Christian man in Pakistan

From Wintery Knight blog:

--  Socialist Sweden tightens laws against homeschooling

--  Bobby Jindal [Governor of Louisiana] signs major abortion reforms into law

CANADA RECOVERS JOBS; THE U.S. STAGNATES IN THE CELLAR

Ed Morrissey over at HotAir posts a stunning contrast of two charts.  Here's the chart showing Canada's recovery:

Unfortunately, the U.S. chart (it's a non-recovery chart!) won't quite fit on my blog so I urge you to go to the HotAir post to see the chart for yourself and read the explanation. 

In short, why such a dramatic  difference?  The answer:

Instead of using a blizzard of government spending to correct a downturn in unemployment, Canada tightened its belt and rode it out.

Read the whole article...

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES

Yesterday I received the following from the Family Research Council.  The list of articles is a bit daunting in its comprehensiveness, but exceedingly useful at the same time.   FRC calls it The Social Conservative Review: The Insider's Guide to Pro-Family News.  Here one may find significant, recently published articles under the following topics:  "Educational Freedom and Reform," "Environmental Issues," "Faith and Policy," "Health Care," "Homosexuality in the Military," "Judiciary," "Marriage," "Pornography," "Religious Liberty," "Sanctity of Life," and "Stem Cell Research."  - Be sure to click the "Continue reading" link at the bottom of this post.

The Social Conservative Review: The Insider's Guide to Pro-Family News--July 8, 2010 July 08, 2010 | | Share with Friends Educational Freedom and Reform The Hoover Institution's Education Next journal is a provocative publication designed to encourage unconventional thinking about how we can best educate America 's young people, today and in coming decades. Take a look at Education Next. "Later School Start Times May Foster Better Students," Jim Liebelt, Crosswalk "Where School Choice Is Not a Panacea," Frederick M. Hess, The American "Propping up the Teachers Unions," James Hall, The Foundry "Are There More Girl Geniuses?," Christina Hoff Sommers, The American

ARTICLES WORTH NOTING

Andrew C. McCarthy - Elena Kagan's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Sharia Policy.

Me:  Anything McCarthy writes is worth reading.  His judgments prove uniformly informed, temperate, and relevant.  And courageous.  95% of people in the West have at best only a vague knowledge of sharia law.  McCarthy's article helps remedy that defect.

Anthony O'Hear - Why Doesn't Britain Have a Tea Party? 

Me: Good question.  It would be immeasurably better off if it had one.  It's great fun to read an outsider's assessment of your own country and compare it with his own.

Thor Halvorssen - Why Hugo Chavez is a Rat Fink.

Me: No, that's not the title of the article, but it fits.  If only starry-eyed "progressives" would acquaint themselves with the actual behavior of their heroes it would disabuse them of illusions, and teach them valuable lessons about evil.  Halvorssen:

In order for world opinion to mobilize against Chávez, he must be revealed as the petty authoritarian and enemy of individual rights that he is. This is a far more accurate view than the heroic champion of the poor and enemy of capitalism and Yankee imperialism as his apologists (most recently Oliver Stone) have tried to disguise him

David Horowitz offers reflections on his friend Christopher Hitchens

Me:  I agree with Horowitz: Hitchens is a complex man who has shown great courage in the battle against totalitarianism, but in the case of religion,

Unaccountably for some whose mind is otherwise so wonderfully alert and alive, Hitchens is impervious to the way religion speaks to needs that are timeless and provides comforts that are beneficial; and has contributed to the most spectacular achievements of human culture, including those that are scientific. The very concepts of individual rights and democracy so dear to Hitchens are also contributions of religious thought.

Horowitz takes Hitchens to task regarding his views on Israel as well.

HAYLEY WESTENRA SINGING "AMAZING GRACE" AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE WORLD GAMES IN 2009 IN KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN

At the moment this is probably my favorite music video.

GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA - 101 YEARS OLD

George Beverly Shea, soloist for Billy Graham for many, many years, served as the Grand Marshal in the Fourth of July (2010) parade in Montreat, North Carolina.  Looking good!  Article follows.

 

Article follows:

MOVIES

I'm not much of a moviegoer, but I am something of a "data collector" so this Justin Taylor post might prove useful sometime in the future:

  Films to Watch While Reading Meaning at the Movies

If you’re going to read Grant Horner’s new book on film art, Meaning at the Movies, he strongly suggests that you watch certain films before reading the chapter in which they are discussed. If you don’t, you’ll find spoilers (which is inevitable in any serious analysis of a story) and it will lessen the impact of the film itself.

I thought it might be helpful to break down his suggested movie watching in conjunction with the chapter and genre he’s discussing:

Before you read chapter 4 (“A Time to Laugh: A Theological Approach to Comedy“), watch

• City Lights [1931] and
• Dr. Strangelove [1964].

Before you read chapter 5 (“Exorcising the Psycho: The Invention of Fear for Pleasure“), watch

• Psycho [1960] and
• What Lies Beneath [2000].

Before you read chapter 6 (“Hollywood Invents Romance: Of All the Gin Joints, in All the Towns, in All the World, She Walks into Mine“), watch

• Marty [1955].

Before you read chapter 7 (“Film Noir: The Dark Side, or Solomon Goes to Hollywood“), watch

• Double Indemnity [1944],
• Sunset Boulevard [1950], and
• Scarlet Street [1945].

Before you read chapter 8 (“The End of the Matter: Movies and Meaning, Memory and Man“), watch

• Citizen Kane [1941],
• 2001: A Space Odyssey [1968],
• Blade Runner [1982], and
• Memento [2000].

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "FREEDOM OF WORSHIP" AND "FREEDOM OF RELIGION"?

Chuck Colson thinks so.  [Update: see Colson's 4 minute video] So does Christianity Today:

"Freedom of worship" has recently replaced the phrase "freedom of religion" in public pronouncements from the Obama administration. Experts are concerned that the new rhetoric may signal a policy change.

"Freedom of worship" first appeared in President Obama's November remarks at the memorial service for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting. Days later, he referred to worship rather than religion in speeches in Japan and China.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed the shift in language. In a December speech at Georgetown University, she used "freedom of worship" three times but "freedom of religion" not at all. While addressing senators in January, she referred to "freedom of worship" four times and "freedom of religion" once when quoting an earlier Obama speech.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom noted the shift in its 2010 annual report. "This change in phraseology could well be viewed by human rights defenders and officials in other countries as having concrete policy implications," the report said.

Freedom of worship means the right to pray within the confines of a place of worship or to privately believe, said Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom and member of the commission. "It excludes the right to raise your children in your faith; the right to have religious literature; the right to meet with co-religionists; the right to raise funds; the right to appoint or elect your religious leaders, and to carry out charitable activities, to evangelize, [and] to have religious education or seminary training."

The State Department does acknowledge that worship is just one component of religion, said spokesperson Andy Laine. . . [more . . .]

Writing in First Things, Ashley Samelson notes:

Any person of faith knows that religious exercise is about a lot more than freedom of worship. It’s about the right to dress according to one’s religious dictates, to preach openly, to evangelize, to engage in the public square. Everyone knows that religious Jews keep kosher, religious Quakers don’t go to war, and religious Muslim women wear headscarves—yet “freedom of worship” would protect none of these acts of faith.

Those who would limit religious practice to the cathedral and the home are the very same people who would strip the public square of any religious presence. They are working to tear down roadside memorial crosses built to commemorate fallen state troopers in Utah, to strip “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, and they recently stopped a protester from entering an art gallery because she wore a pro-life pin.

The effort to squash religion into the private sphere is on the rise around the world. And it’s not just confined to totalitarian regimes like Saudi Arabia. In France, students at public schools cannot wear headscarves, yarmulkes, or large crucifixes. The European Court of Human Rights has banned crucifixes from the walls of Italian schools. In Indonesia, the Constitutional Court is reviewing a law that criminalizes speech considered “blasphemous” to other faiths. Efforts to trim religion into something that fits neatly in one’s pocket is the work of dictators, not democratic leaders. So why then have our leaders taken a rhetorical scalpel to the concept of religious freedom?

This shift in semantics could have huge implications for how the United States promotes religious freedom in countries such as these, as well as how we engage in international institutions regarding the ongoing efforts to restrict religious expression around the world.

In just a few weeks, the Human Rights Council will once more review the “defamation of religions” resolution in Geneva. The resolution, passed every year at the United Nations since 1999, claims that speech deemed offensive to another faith is a violation of international law. While the resolution is relatively toothless, it provides cover for domestic blasphemy laws used to restrict proselytism and religious speech around the world. However, the Ad Hoc Committee on Complimentary Standards, a rogue UN body with a nebulous and expansive mandate, is currently reviewing a proposed amendment that would criminalize defamation of religion to the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), a treaty to which the United States is a signatory.

Given that a fundamental element of any religion are truth claims that by nature may conflict with or offend those of another faith, the efforts of international institutions to restrict expression of these claims go right for the religious jugular. And in reducing freedom of religion to “freedom of worship” in its political and diplomatic pronouncements, the United States can no longer invoke the First Amendment and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, thus weakening its ability to combat the international movement to criminalize religious speech.

This early, one is left only with conjectures as to why “freedom of worship” seems to be the favored phraseology of this administration when discussing religion of late. It could just be sloppy work coming out of someone’s press office. But rhetoric matters—particularly when one is the leader of the free world. In Secretary Clinton’s Georgetown address she said, “Freedom doesn’t come in half measures.” The Obama administration should heed its own words when it comes to religious freedom.

GLEANINGS

--  It Begins. Team Obama Now Strong-Arming Outspoken Politicians & Detaining Reporters Near Oil Spill

--  Planned Parenthood Celebrates Independence Day By Pushing For Military Base Abortions

--  Byron York - Obama’s new mission for NASA: Reach out to Muslim world

--  Dennis Prager explains how “world opinion” is a creation of the Left, reported by the Left.

--  Pamela Gellar - Congressional Muslim staffers on capital hill

SYRIAN-BORN WAFA SULTAN: COURAGEOUS FREEDOM FIGHTER

Anyone interested in Islam needs to read the interview (below) Wafa Sultan gave a few days ago to a Dutch journalist.  Sultan, a medical doctor and former Muslim (and author of A God Who Hates reviewed here) is in the Netherlands to provide expert testimony in the Amsterdam Court "show trial' of Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV (Freedom Party) and courageous critic of Islam.

From Atlas Shrugged:

. . . Interviewer: What do you make of his [Geert Wilder's] message?

Wafa Sultan: It is very good. It is very good for someone to stand up against the violent Islamic teachings and try to protect his country and his values, his freedoms, his way of life. I admire every man who does what Mr Wilders is doing. You need to stand up and speak up against it.

Interviewer: What do you make of this trial against him?

Wafa Sultan: It is scary. It is a very scary message that you are threatened, that Islam might be able to take over. You accuse, I mean you know, the Dutch Court accuses Mr Wilders of hate speech and I wonder why they don't call the Qur'an a Hate Message. When you read the Qur'an do you consider it a Love Message? So why do you allow Muslims to teach their violent teachings to their young children while you don't allow people like Mr Wilders to criticise those teachings? This is the question.

Interviewer: I don't know exactly what the Judge will ask you tomorrow but Mr Wilders is well known here for saying that Islam is a backward culture and he has said many times in public that he has, as far as he is concerned, the Qur'an should be banned. And people wearing headscarves should be taxed accordingly.

Wafa Sultan: I 100% agree with him, because he knows a great deal of what the Qur'an is about. Once you know, you are going to take a stand, the same way he did. Because I believe, you, the Dutch, won't allow someone to destroy your way of life. So my message to the Dutch people, get familiar with the Islamic teachings. Read the Qur'an and

MORE NOTABLE POSTS FROM WINTERY KNIGHT

I am late in putting up posts honoring the 4th of July and America's founding.  From Wintery Knight's website:

-- The Declaration of Independence written and spoken

-- Dinesh D'Souza - What's Great About America  (An immigrant's perspective; video) 

-- Fox News documentary by John Stoessel on what's great about America

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS HAS ESOPHAGEAL CANCER

This is very sad news.  Hitchens is the author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. 

Allahpundit looked up esophageal cancer in the Merck handbook and read this:

Because esophageal cancer usually is not diagnosed until the disease has spread, the death rate is high. Fewer than 5% of people survive more than 5 years. Many die within a year of noticing the first symptoms. Because nearly all cases of esophageal cancer are fatal, the doctor’s main objective is to control symptoms, especially pain and the inability to swallow, which can be very frightening to the person and loved ones (see Death and Dying: Difficulty Swallowing).

Me:  Let us hold Christopher in our prayers.

Lindsey Graham: Tea Party Will Die Out – Republicans Will Move Away From “The Fringe”

I'm putting this in the "hard to believe department."  Is Lindsey Graham really so out of touch?  I would wager he will be gone before the tea party is gone.  Read the report here.