jeffreymark

NOBEL WINNERS AND LOSERS

Neocon Express offers a glimpse at the winners and losers of the Nobel Peace Prize down through the ages. Interestingly, the only consistency appears to be that Western leaders in particular who believe in peace through a strong defense lose out. For those of us with a spiritual bent, I believe perhaps leaders who offer personal spiritual peace ought to receive notable consideration. After all, a warring soul leads to war between people and nations. 

The prolific evangelist Billy Graham deserves consideration for his tireless efforts to bring spiritual peace. He once penned a book entitled Peace With God The Secret Happiness in which he challenged nations to find peace through God in Christ. My experience as a minister confirms Graham's efforts. Those who discover peace with God through the Savior find both personal and relational healing.

Graham offered a unique twist to his ministry separating him from the Elmer Gantry types who preceded him. First he formed an association entitled Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The organization paid him a set salary and held his evangelistic team fiscally accountable. Second, he always cooperated with the local pastors where he preached. The Billy Graham archives located at Wheaton College explains:

After 1957 Graham generally held three to five crusades a year, while the number of meetings held by the associate evangelists varied more widely. Usually the associates led crusades in smaller cities and towns or even in single churches. Some specialized in different parts of the world. Akbar Haqq and Robert Cunville, for example, regularly held meetings in India and Howard Jones in Africa. All the associates, however, also held meetings in the United States and other countries. From 1964 to 1976, the crusade staff, known as the team, was based in Atlanta, Georgia. Before and after that they were at the main office in Minneapolis. The name of this department was changed from "Team Office" to "Field Ministries " in the late 1980s. Reports on all of Graham's crusades and some of the associates' regularly appeared in Decision and hour long versions of several services from a major crusade would be broadcast on television usually a few months after the crusade close. In major crusades in large cities, both in the United States and other countries, Graham would preach to hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. The BGEA only held crusades in places where they had been invited by a large number of local pastors and laypersons, although the organization received so many such invitations that the evangelists could virtually pick the place they wanted to go. Staff would investigate each invitation to see if there was wide support for the meeting and then a decision would be made whether to accept the offer or not. For many months ahead of time, a crusade director and other staff people from the BGEA would be working with the local executive committee (incorporated as a separate entity), setting up subordinate committees; recruiting choir members, ushers, counselors, and others; making arrangements for the auditorium or stadium; overseeing publicity; etc. In general, local volunteers prepared for the meetings under the guidance of BGEA staff who followed a procedure developed in hundreds of such crusades. The services themselves consisted of singing by the volunteer choir, a testimony from some well known person, the offering, solos by George Beverly Shea and/or other singers, and the sermon. People who came forward at the evangelist's invitation at the end of services to become Christians or to renew their commitment or to get more information were referred to volunteer counselors who would later refer them to a cooperating pastor in their community. They also received a workbook through the mail to help them as they began Bible study.

Hat's off to a marvelous peacemaker whose peace prize awaits him in the life to come.

CONFESSIONS OF A LEGAL ILLITERATE II

Yesterday cartoonist Michael Ramirez inspired me to launch a blog post that implicitly includes empathy in the same category with a self righteous sort of moralism. This moralism is indicative of our national character or lack thereof. Legal blogger John Hinderaker offers us a glimpse of the true meaning of empathy when used in a liberal/political context:

Barack Obama famously says that a key quality he wants in a Supreme Court justice is "empathy." As many commentators have observed, "empathy" is really a cover for lawlessness. But it's actually worse than that, because empathy, as that term is used by Obama, is inherently selective.
Does Obama mean that his nominee will have empathy for the unborn? Well, no. He doesn't have in mind that kind of empathy. How about empathy for taxpayers and small business owners? No, that isn't exactly the right sort of empathy either.

Religious terminology carries a meaning antithetical to its political counterpart. Hinderaker brilliantly reveals this truth to us. Empathy, open mindedness, and compassion for the liberal all refer to codewords suggesting forced conformity of thought and seeks to turn the presupposed old outdated moral code on its head. The open minded among us according to liberals will eventually accept the liberal narrative complete with empathy for the less fortunate among us who exhibit bad behavior i.e. pro abortionists, homosexuals, petty thieves, social radicals, and illegal immigrants. 

Empathy when used in a religious context separates compassion from moral judgments. One can       empathize with those who self destruct while at the same time making a moral judgment complete with ethical retribution. 

BISHOP WITH BALLS

This from the Institute on Religion and Democracy:

Britain’s leading ecclesiastical critic of radical Islam is retiring early so as to help persecuted Christians suffering under Islamist regimes. Church of England Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali of Rochester aroused jihadist death threats last year when he publicly warned about encroaching Islamism in Britain. Born in Pakistan and from a family that converted away from Islam, Nazir-Ali has championed Britain’s Christian roots and condemned multiculturalist accommodation towards anti-Western ideologies.

Interesting how in the tradition of prophets Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali receives a much criticism from those he seeks to help as he does his so called Islamic enemies. When life threatening problems confront us we often live in denial. Facing the truth appears too painful. Problem is-the pain becomes broader in scope and more intense the longer we put off the inevitable. Thank God for people like the Bishop who risks their lives for life's sake.  

Read more about Bishop Nazir-Ali's work here.

TRAIL BY FIRE

At the height of WWII came a compelling, provocative Presbyterian preacher named Peter Marshall.  Dr. Marshall came over to this great land from Scotland at the orders of God whom he often called his Commander in Chief. His life came and went like a brief blowing breeze. During his short 47 years Peter Marshall twice served as chaplain of the US Senate. 

Dr. Marshall's powerful voice, Scottish brogue, rugged good looks, and rhythmic cadence produced powerful sermons that impacted many a life torn by war and a depression. Americans today might fare well to hear Marshall's most dynamic sermon Trial By Fire. In the message Marshall addressed materialism and the need for principled, tough leaders. Listen to actor Richard Todd, who hauntingly sounds like Peter Marshall, deliver an abbreviated version of this great message from the movie A Man Called Peter. 

THE NEW STATE RELIGION

President Obama may keep his religious sights on something more fundamental than mere appeasement. First impressions during the campaign left many believing he loved evangelicals and liberal radicals alike. Yet I have discovered that liberal theologians and church attenders often resemble their political counter parts. They major in appearances and wear their elitist attitude on their sleeve. They woo others with mendacious rhetoric pleading for dialog between all faiths including evangelicals. The evangelical community cannot acquiesce to liberals without compromising their principles. Obama cut his theological teeth in the liberal crowd.  I don't think his new proposals favor evangelicals. In fact, Newt Gingrich's take on Obama's "New Religion" reveals the disturbing road so called "open minded" theologians may inadvertently pave:

The first month and a half of the Obama Administration has presented Americans with another choice to make.

The choice is captured best in the administration’s announcement last week that it intends to rescind the Bush Administration rule that allowed doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers to refuse to perform acts that violate their religious and moral beliefs.

I’ll have more to say about this in the future.  But for now, let me just point out what it bodes for religious freedom in America.

The Obama Administration’s reversal of what has become known as the “conscience provision” to protect doctors and nurses who have a moral objection to participating in or performing abortions is a direct assault on religious liberty.

It marks the establishment of a state-sponsored religion of secular leftism.  And it gives this new religion the right to eliminate the religious liberty of all others that it deems inappropriate.
It, too, presents the American people with a choice of two competing futures.  A future of traditional American respect for religious freedom.  Or a future in which the values of the secular left over-ride our religious liberty wherever they come into conflict.

I fear this new administration may attempt to change the very structure of our nation. Looks to me like the checks and balance system may kick in when a few angry citizens begin aggressive litigious procedures ultimately hoping to get on the Supreme Court docket. During the days of New Deal politics the Court saved us from what might have been a complete emasculation of our constitution, by a power hungry, slick talking, momma's boy president.

STATE APPROVED PRAYERS

Apparently President Obama wants to become our theologian in chief. Bob Mohler of Southern Baptist Seminary reports that recently those pastors invited to pray at Obama's events must submit their prayer to the White House for approval. And a few moral courageless pastors even submitted prayers refusing to mention the name Jesus for fear of offending someone. God help us. 

I agree with Mohler when he opines:

An ardent and radical Church/State separationist, Barry Lynn has argued that no prayers at government-sponsored events or ceremonies should be delivered, citing both constitutional and theological reservations.  I rarely find myself in agreement with Barry Lynn, but I am with him on this issue -- at least with respect to his argument that this practice "entangles the White House in core theological matters."
Of course it does.  When a White House approves or edits prayers, it has entered theological territory and takes on a theological function.  The President of the United States is our Commander in Chief, not our Theologian in Chief.

Mohler's piece explicitly demonstrates the contextual purpose the "religion" clauses in our constitution.

Read Mohler here.

THE HUMAN PROBLEM

Genesis chapter 3, for the Christian and Jew alike, provides a narrative and theology of sin. At its essenc one defines the ancient word as seating self in place of God on the personal throne of life. A new apparent thought provoking book entitled Generation Me may provide a contemporary look at definitive, but archaic language used to express a universal truth. Here's a synopsis from the publishers:

In their 2000 book, Millennials Rising, Neil Howe and William Straus argued that children born after 1982 will grow up to become America's next Greatest Generation—filled with a sense of optimism and civic duty—but according to San Diego State psychology professor Twenge, such predictions are wishful thinking. Lumping together Gen-X and Y under the moniker "GenMe," Twenge argues that those born after 1970 are more self-centered, more disrespectful of authority and more depressed than ever before. When the United States started the war in Iraq, she points out, military enlistments went down, not up. (Born in 1971, Twenge herself is at the edge of the Me Generation.) Her book is livened with analysis of films, magazines and TV shows, and with anecdotal stories from her life and others'. The real basis of her argument, however, lies in her 14 years of research comparing the results of personality tests given to boomers when they were under 30 and those given to GenMe-ers today. Though Twenge's opinionated asides may occasionally set Gen-X and -Yers' teeth on edge, many of her findings are fascinating. And her call to "ditch the self-esteem movement" in favor of education programs that encourage empathy and real accomplishment could spare some Me-ers from the depression that often occurs when they hit the realities of today's increasingly competitive workplace.

A new book tackles the 18-to-35-year-old generation's problems--those they face and those they create.Twenge's book is comprehensive and scholarly, filled with statistics and thoughtful observations about the group she's dubbed Generation Me. These young people were raised with the idea of self-esteem being more important than achievement, which has caused them to place the self above all else. Such beliefs also have created a generation of young people who believe every dream is attainable but who aren't prepared to deal with discovering it isn't so. Twenge notes that today's young parents are especially lenient with their children and reluctant to discipline them, suggesting that perhaps the next generation will be even worse off. Twenge believes Generation Me would benefit from a heavy dose of realism. Accessible and a must-read for the generation they address.

See the author's website here.

A PRAYER FOR OUR NATION

From a reader:

Well, Lord, I thank you for this day – for life and health and strength, for the relationships and opportunities and interests that fill my life with joy and excitement.  I’m thankful today that President Bush’s hard service is over, and that now perhaps that good man can retire in peace to enjoy his family and cultivate his faith and whatever other interests he chooses.  Protect him, Lord, from those who want to continue to persecute him.  He didn’t lie.  He didn’t torture anyone. He did the best he could with the information and tools he had to protect all of us.  Bless him, Lord, and may he feel love and respect today.

Lord, I pray for our future.  I pray that somehow Barak Obama will serve as Your instrument for peace in this world.  I pray that somehow he will stand for freedom and opportunity and justice for all people.  I pray that by the power of Your Holy Spirit you will help him hear Your voice above the shrill cacophony that assails him from the left, and that you will give him grace and courage to follow Your voice and ignore the lesser ones.

I’m afraid for freedom, Lord.  The US has for decades represented the last hope for freedom in the world, and now we seem headed down the path to socialism.  We seem headed down the same path that led France and England, Germany, Russia, and Spain from the heights of greatness to the plains of poverty and decline.  I thought we weren’t like them.  I thought that Americans prized freedom above all else.  I thought that when we were tempted with promises of a government that could “take care of us” we would collectively say, “No thanks.  We’d best take care of ourselves.”  I thought we’d understand that depending on government for everything means surrendering our freedom.  And, Father, if we surrender our freedom, the world has no other chance at freedom.  No place to go.  No place to look.  No chance at freedom.

I’m thinking today of Pat Tillman, the NFL football star who sacrificed fame and fortune to fight terrorism, and ultimately sacrificed his life.  If he’s looking down from heaven today, he sees his Arizona Cardinals preparing for their first Super Bowl, but he sees his country flirting with forgetting the principles for which he gave his all. 

I’m thinking today of Paul Revere’s ride. Of the patriots who risked everything and gave all to found a new nation that would be different from all others – a nation where people could live free, pursue happiness, and keep the fruit of their own labors.

I’m thinking today of D-day, when hundreds of thousands of America’s best put everything on the line to defeat evil and preserve the possibility of freedom and prosperity for Europeans, and secondarily themselves.  I thank you, Lord, that many who served in that greatest generation, who survived WWII,  got to see the world experience freedom and prosperity as they have lived out their lives.

I’m thinking of those who died in the Civil War, which brought an end to slavery here.  I’m thinking of Viet Nam veterans and their families, of the abuse they suffered at war and then doubly at home after the war.  I’m thinking of New York, September 11, 2001.

Lord, so many people have sacrificed so much to make the USA the greatest, freest, most prosperous nation ever.  Can it be that we’ve decided we’re not so special?  Can it be that we’ve decided nothing is worth fighting for?  Can it be that we’re so panicked by an economic recession that we’re willing to go on the government dole?  Are we willing to accept guaranteed bread in exchange for a chance at steak?  Are we willing to leave hundreds of years worth of coal and oil in the ground and reduce our standard of living because of an alleged “climate crisis” that never existed and is already being disproved?

Lord, please don’t let us give away our freedom and prosperity.  You have blessed our land so richly.  Don’t let us throw it all away.  Others are counting on us, Lord.  If half of us go on welfare and taxes go sky-high on the rest of us, then who will give to the world’s truly poor?  Who will give for the spreading of the gospel?  Father, if we become like France, the world has no hope.
I believe Barak Obama has faith in You.  I believe he is a Christian in the true sense of the word.  Please speak to him, Lord.  Be his God!  Give him ears to hear You, and give him a heart to follow You, and preserve this land of freedom for your sake and the gospel’s. Amen.

FATHER RICHARD JOHN NEUHAUS RIP

Influential Christian and cultural leader Father Richard John Neuhause died yesterday. His intellectual commentary and publication First Things, served to bring Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals, and Liberals together. No one else could accomplish this daunting task as profoundly and effectually as Father Neuhause. For more on this remarkable man's accomplishments go here. 

HARD TIMES IN HOUSES OF THE HOLY

"Yea, financial stress shall cometh upon the faithful," saith the Lord, "when they engage in building modern day Towers of Babel:" 

During this holiday season of hard times, not even houses of God have been spared. Some lenders believe more churches than ever have fallen behind on loans or defaulted this year. Some churches, and at least one company that specialized in church lending, have filed for bankruptcy. Church giving is down as much as 15% in some places, pastors and lenders report.
The financial problems are crimping a church building boom that began in the 1990s, when megachurches multiplied, turning many houses of worship into suburban social centers complete with bookstores, gyms and coffee bars. Lenders say mortgage applications are down, while some commercial lenders no longer see churches as a safe investment.

Evangelical pollster George Barna concurs.