September 2009

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

-C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain, 1940

“The family is where parents and children learn to love sacrificially, to put others’ needs before their own desires, to sacrifice for the welfare and protection of the whole. If this does not begin with one’s own home and loved ones, it does not begin at all.

-Stephen Baskerville, in “Married to the State,” a must read column in The American Conservative

From BP: “A leading nonpartisan fact-checking organization says President Obama was incorrect when he said the congressional health care plans could not lead to government-funded abortion.”

Read the original piece here.

A while back, you may recall my mentioning the new book,Why We Love The Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion

The summary stated: “The authors of the award-winning Why We’re Not Emergent return to tackle another set of theological innovators. Whether committed, disgruntled, waffling, or disconnected from the local church, this book will help you love the bride of Christ.”

In the face of the Emerging Church’s “we love Jesus but dislike the church” sentiment comes this breath of fresh air. Though I’m less than halfway, I can see this book surpassing the authors’ superb Why We’re Not Emergent: by two guys who should be.

I intend to write a full review upon finishing. As a preview, I’d like to quote respected Christian scholar and author J.I. Packer, who said of the book: “As I read, I wanted to stand up and cheer.” I know just how you feel, Dr. Packer.

From the Baptist Press:

Irene Vilar’s “abortion addiction,” as she describes it, resulted in 15 of the lethal procedures in 16 years.”

If Vilar is sensing hatred, Tom McClusky, vice president of Family Research Council Action, wrote on the organization’s blog (www.thecloakroomblog.com), “I doubt it is coming from anyone in the pro-life movement.”

After reading the ABCnews.com article, McClusky wrote, “I am sure many would have the same reaction as me, one of pity for this poor woman who has had a troubled life, compounded by her multiple abortions.”

Amen. We do aim to be compassionate conservatives, after all. Read the rest here.

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I just read an article about actor Gavin McLeod who played Captain Stubing on The Love Boat along with other television and movie roles including Murray on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He is starring in a newly release movie called The Secret of Jonathan Sperry.

I’ve never heard of the movie until I read this article. Apparently it is affiliated with the same people who produced Fireproof and Facing the Giants. I found out it is being shown this weekend in Oklahoma City. I plan to see it and will give a review. To find out more about the movie go to www.sperrymovie.com

“We may, indeed, indulge in sport and jest, but in the same way as we enjoy sleep or other relaxations, and only when we have satisfied the claims of our earnest, serious task.”

-Cicero

“INDIANAPOLIS (BP)–Planned Parenthood of Indiana will shut down five of its clinics in the central part of the state.”

“Clinics in northwest Indianapolis and in Anderson, Franklin, Kokomo and Shelbyville will close during the next six months due to a projected shortfall in federal assistance, according to the Associated Press, but no abortion services are provided at the five locations.”

Read the rest here.

The media silence has been deafening in the wake of the recent murder of a pro-life activist from Michigan. Here is the Associated Press story that has received almost no coverage that took some digging to find:

OWOSSO, Mich. (AP) — A man fatally shot an anti-abortion activist near a Michigan high school Friday, drove to a gravel pit and shot its owner to death and planned to kill a third man, but was arrested before he could act, a prosecutor said.

Harlan James Drake, 33, was charged Friday with first-degree murder in the deaths of James Pouillon, 63, and Mike Fuoss, 61, said Shiawassee County Prosecutor Randy Colbry.

“The defendant had ill will toward these three individuals — not for the same reason necessarily, but had a grudge,” Colbry said.

Before classes were to begin Friday, Pouillon was protesting across the street from Owosso High School about 70 miles northwest of Detroit. Drake then drove by the school and shot Pouillon several times in front of horrified students and parents, officials said.

Owosso Police Chief Michael Compeau said he also believed Pouillon was targeted.

Here is more coverage on The Washington Times: http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/sep/11/national-right-life-committee-withholds-attack-unl/

Tell me: had you heard about this until now?

“Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness.”

-C.S. Lewis

“To the vast majority of Americans, the purpose of health care is to protect, improve and lengthen life. Life is the primary goal; issues of health care financing are secondary.”

James Pinkerton offers this provoking statement in his column “Why Obamacare Will Fail and the Media Will Fail to Notice Its Flaws.” He also points out an alarming perspective given by the Washington Post as the paper analyzes President Obama’s health care plan slipping in approval ratings because the president’s “opponents seized control of the discussion, elevating side issues such as abortion and end-of-life counseling.”

Sanctity of Life should always be valued. Affordable health care is a reasonable pursuit, but not at any cost. Lowering the level of care so that “everyone” can be covered should not be the primary goal.

If you are a fellow Sooner fan, you still feel awful after Saturday’s loss to BYU in Dallas. All the high hopes of the 2009 season have greatly been tainted by the result, even though all is not lost for experiencing success this year.

The biggest flaw in OU’s performance was obvious to anybody who watched the game. The offensive line was the culprit, committing multiple penalties from start to finish, on key drives and at critical moments. The lack of coverage led to quarterback Sam Bradford’s injury and prevented plays from developing.

Listening to Todd Blackledge’s commentary, I agree with his assessment of the Sooners’ formation schemes. Linemen, especially inexperienced ones, don’t like being down in the stance that long. It affects their psyche. They want to go to the line, snap the ball and execute.

I respect Bob Stoops, Kevin Wilson and the OU coaching staff. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the teams. I don’t have the familiarity of the personnel.

I was impressed with how well last year’s offensive squad performed in the no-huddle, hurry-up offense. I even remember the very first play last year against Chattanooga, sitting up in the north endzone stands and thinking aloud “Hey, they’re in a no-back formation. This is interesting.” And I continued to be impressed with how well Sam Bradford and his crew performed throughout the season.

I say this because I know the coaches are very capable of designing success. No way will I ever say I know more than Coach Stoops and staff. Blaming coaches and calling for their heads after a loss is pretty shallow.

I would like to offer a suggestion of revamping. Utilize huddles and quicker snaps once in formation. I do understand the desire to read defenses and prevent substitutions, but it appears the personnel lacks the experience to do this effectively, at least on every play.

Huddles would benefit both Landry Jones and the linemen, especially if Jones were to take snaps on the road. As I already said, linemen want to block and don’t want to be held at point. Since opponents are familiar with OU’s fast-break approach, I wonder if it would throw them off in reverse if the Sooners did huddle and hike the ball quicker than expected?

You may recall when Pilgrims Progress blogger Chris Doyle implored us to pray for Barack Obama. A new Baptist Press piece condemns a hate-filled, so-called prayer spewed by a non-Southern Baptist preacher from Arizona, then reminds of us how we ought to pray:

“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”(1 Timothy 2:1-4).

In short, our prayers for the president must be directed for his ultimate spiritual good, not his condemnation.

“To be bred in a place of estimation; to see nothing low and sordid from one’s infancy; to be taught to respect one’s self; to be habituated to the censorial inspection of the public eye; to look early to public opinion; to stand upon such elevated ground as to be enabled to take a large view of the widespread and infinitely diversified combinations of men and affairs in a large society; to have leisure to read, to reflect, to converse; to be enabled to draw and court the attention of the wise and learned, wherever they are to be found; to be habituated in armies to command and to obey; to be taught to despise danger in the pursuit of honor and duty; to be formed to the greatest degree of vigilance, foresight, and circumspection, in a state of things in which no fault is committed with impunity and the slightest mistakes draw on the most ruinous consequences; to be led to a guarded and regulated conduct, from a sense that you are considered as an instructor of your fellow-citizens in their highest concerns, and that you act as a reconciler between God and man; to be employed as an administrator of law and justice, and to be thereby amongst the first benefactors to mankind; to be a professor of high science, or of liberal and ingenious art; to be amongst rich traders, who from their success are presumed to have sharp and vigorous understandings, and to possess the virtues of diligence, order, constancy, and regularity, and to have cultivated an habitual regard to commutative justice: these are the circumstances of men that form what I should call a natural aristocracy, without which there is no nation.”

-Edmund Burke