Category Archives: World View

The Terrorism of Legalism

Remembering

september-9-11-attacks-anniversary-ground-zero-world-trade-center-pentagon-flight-93-second-airplane-wtc_39997_600x450Once again we are remembering what happened on 9/11. Terrorist murdered thousands of innocent people in an attempt to make us cower. They wanted to make us fear – and, for the most part, it worked.

No other religion holds as many people in fear as does Islam. We can insult Christians by dipping crucifixes in urine and by court marshaling soldiers for their belief in traditional marriage, but God help us if we draw a cartoon of Mohammed. No one dares offend a Muslim for fear of his house being burned or his throat cut.

Because our nation and our people have refused to admit the reasons for our fears, we will never be able to address them. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are in a religious war – we have been since before Sept. 11 – and we are losing. The enemy has a unifying cause, but we are divided multiple times over – we even boast in our “diversity.”

Comparing the Two

But since this blog deals with legalism (from time to time), I thought today would be a perfect day to point out a painful similarity between terrorism and legalism: fear.

Fear is what keeps the faithful faithful. Those in legalistic environments dare not challenge the status quo for fear of being ostracized, stigmatized, or being separated from fellowship. Even if someone felt it perfectly acceptable to go to a movie, one dare not be seen going to the theater. The woman that wears pants at home wouldn’t dare wear them outside – someone in the church might call them “liberal.”

(The following was added after the original post in response to a tweet) Pants? Movies? Thousands die after the towers fall and all I have to compare it with are pants and movies? To be honest, I wrote the above paragraph while choking back anger and carefully trying to choose my words. I lived for 30 years in fear of others. I saw my father degraded, belittled, and blackballed. I nearly took my own life when I finally felt I could no longer live up to the legalistic expectations of not only others, but myself. Pants and movies were only the tip of the iceberg.

Fear…however it is used to control the actions of others…whether imposed by others or by one’s self…that’s my point.

Legalism is oppressive, freedom-stealing violence against grace.

Legalism, like terrorism, kills.

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Filed under America, Culture Wars, current events, legalism, World View

Wel Come

The Sign

I was being a good son this evening. My mother needed help replacing an air conditioning window unit in her bedroom, so I had been up at her house on the mountain. On the way back I stopped by a gas station to keep from having to walk home.

Wel ComeAs soon as I parked next to a fuel pump, a scrolling sign caught my attention. My little girl, Haley, even though she is dyslexic, said, “Daddy, what is wrong with that sign?”

Honestly, I don’t think anything was wrong with the sign; all the lights worked perfectly. There must have been something the owner of the store was trying to say.

Interpretation

What could it mean? What is Mr. Patel trying to say? This might be a good time to break out my old hermeneutics text book. Or, on the other hand, I could forget the obvious possibilities and think of some more unusual possibilities.

What is meant by “Wel Come“? Here are some ideas.

  • The “L” is missing. In reality, the store owner wanted some privacy to enjoy his collection of beer and nachos, but patrons insisted on wanting to buy things. Therefore, out of frustration, he gave in to their demands to enter and put up a sign meant to say, “Well, just come in, if you insist.”
  • Mr. Patel is praying for a well so that he can keep from buying fuel from the Saudis.
  • It could be an attempt to tell passersby to comb their hair.
  • Maybe it is a Hindu prayer for health?

All I know is that despite the spelling differences, and despite the context, the sign in the window could not mean what we think it means – that’s too obvious. Surely it does not simply mean, welcome.

Too Obvious

This reminds me of verses of scripture that are so obvious, yet people refuse to accept them at face value. They claim textual variances, human writers, and all sorts of things as reasons the Bible could not mean what it says. For example, many people, even so-called Christians, have read “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) and come to the conclusion that it has to mean something, but NOT that Jesus is the “only way.”

Many atheists look at the obvious “design” of the universe and come to the conclusion that even though it looks like a finely-tuned machine, there can’t be a Designer. They come up with every possible solution to the question of origins, no matter how remote, in order to discount the obvious. They say, “Show me the evidence,” then attempt to discredit any given to them.

Welcome

The most logical meaning of the sign in the window, based on every other sign in windows I have seen in my lifetime, is that the store owner was saying, “Welcome!” He may have misaspelicated, but the meaning was obvious.

Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29 ESV). What’s so hard to understand?

You are WELCOME.

 

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Filed under Faith, General Observations, translations, World View

Making Us Thankful

Close Calls

I have three girls. I know what it is like to wonder if a child is going to live through a crisis. One nearly died twice from health issues, not to mention the time she ran from me while holding a steak knife. I know what it like to worry.

I also know what it is like to feel the relief of knowing everything would be OK. The time Katie ran from me after sneaking a steak knife out of the dishwasher, I couldn’t catch her before she darted around the corner on hardwood floors, only to fall face-forward. My heart stopped. When I got to her she was still laughing as she lay on the floor with the knife at her side – sticking straight up.

When Haley was barely a year old I saw her sitting in the living room staring straight ahead. She looked strange. That’s when I noticed she wasn’t breathing. I ran to her, picked her up, and when I did blood gushed from her mouth and nose. She had found a small funnel and had fallen on it in her mouth. The small end punctured her pallet. Fortunately, we got her to the ER in time and she healed up fine.

There have been many close calls, and each time I have been thankful it didn’t turn out worse.

“Oh, crap!”

Several years ago, when we still lived in Kentucky, the sky turned green as sirens started to wail. I had never seen a tornado in person, but I had heard one. This time there were no winds, no roaring, and no warning, just a green, darkening sky, and those sirens.

My wife and girls went to get into the shower, but on the way Haley, only 4, grabbed a white dress, her little purse, and her little Bible. Even in the confusion my wife asked her what all that was for, that’s when Haley answered, “If I die, I want to be in my pretty dress and have my Bible…but if we don’t don’t die we may need some money.” Spiritual and practical.

Like an idiot, I went outside. The first thing I saw were people in the cul-de-sac looking up at something behind me. When I stepped off the porch and turned around, that’s when I saw it, too. It was a huge, black, round cloud – much like the cloud that the first alien spacecraft came out of on the movie Independence Day – and it was passing directly over us. All I could say was, “Oh, crap!”

Nothing happened to us, but the next morning we found out that  a tornado touched down just two miles beyond us. Several homes and a church, along with a gymnasium, were completely destroyed. Again, we were thankful.

“We lost everything…”

I was watching the news about Moore City, Oklahoma. Several people being interviewed said, “We lost everything.” But I will never cease to be amazed that even in the midst of all that tragedy, so many who have lost everything go on to say, “but I am so thankful.”

One video showed a family exiting their storm shelter into a scene total destruction. A family member said, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.”

One man I heard talked about losing everything but his wife and girls. For that he thanked God. I thanked God, too.

Be Thankful

Some families will not see their loved ones again. Many children died while seeking shelter in doomed elementary schools. But many more did not die. Many miraculously survived.

Did you wake up this morning? Did your children wake up and complain about going to school? Did your husband or wife roll over, give you a kiss, and say, “Good morning, dear?” Some were not as fortunate as you.

Be thankful.

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” – James 4:14 KJV

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Filed under current events, Parenting, places, Relationships and Family, Thanksgiving, World View

A Call to Engage

Engage Atlanta 2013

About a month ago (April 17) I had the opportunity to attend a one-day conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a call for Christians to engage our communities, not run or cower. It was a time of teaching and equipping.

The conference itself was sponsored mainly by Summit Ministries, the Manhattan Declaration, and World Magazine. It was the first conference of its kind.

The keynote speakers were:

IMG_0286

Marvin Olasky and myself

  • Jeff Myers, Ph.D., President Summit Ministries
  •  Marvin Olasky, Editor-in-Chief, WORLD Magazine

Other speakers were:

  • John Stonestreet — Speaker and Fellow, Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview
  • Warren Smith — Associate Publisher and Editor, WORLD Magazine
  • Jeff Ventrella — Senior Vice President, Alliance Defending Freedom
  • Scott Klusendorf — President, Life Training Institute
  • Eric Teetsel — Executive Director, Manhattan Declaration

A Non-Religious Response

Myself and Eric Teetsel

Myself and Eric Teetsel

One of the speakers, Eric Teetsel, gave a very compelling argument in support of heterosexual marriage – from a non-religious point of view (believe it or not, there are actual scientific reasons to oppose homosexual marriage). In this post I would like to share with you the audio from Eric’s lecture, along with a link to the slides he used.

For the Good of All: Restoring Marriage Ethic Across Society (by Eric Teetsel)

Click here to see the slides that accompanied Eric’s presentation.

I hope that you find this information useful and thought-provoking. Please, take the time and check out the other links available. They are being provided with no restrictions on sharing. Click the image below and find links to all the audio from the conference.

engagelogo2

 

Note: I would like to add that I found Mr. Olasky very soft-spoken and humble. I also found Mr. Teetsel to be kind and gracious. It was an honor to be able to speak with them. Their work is very much appreciated.

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Filed under America, Apologetics, Christian Living, Christian Unity, Culture Wars, current events, Defending Traditional Marriage, Defining Marriage, politics, Relationships and Family, World View

Mad World

(Guest Post by David Welford)

When I was born I joined a special club. It is not a club I had any choice in joining, but it has an exclusive membership conferred on those who join through the occupation of one, or even both, of their parents. You see my father was a preacher. Actually my father still is a preacher. He still has Rev. in front of his name, and at eighty-two years of age he is still preaching in a small Methodist circuit in South Devon in the United Kingdom. At the time of my birth Dad was in his very first church, and I was the first of four preacher’s kids (PKs) born to my parents.

The first time I was aware of being a PK was when I started school. One of the older girls who attended church decided to take me under her wing. As time went on various comments by friends made me aware that there was something different about me. Something I didn’t understand at the time. When I started secondary school I soon identified the problem. It was my father’s occupation. But why would the fact that my father was a preacher make me some kind of pariah at school? I could understand why teacher’s kids and police officer’s kids were selected for special treatment, but what had preachers ever done to cause their offspring to be singled out?

A comment on a previous blog that referred to life as a PK made me sit up. Heather Mertens said; “I’m not a PK but just being His kid makes me feel like the world doesn’t get it.” If we are His kid, then the world is going to treat us the way that many PKs get treated at school. Being His kid makes us different and the world sees it and hates it. The world hates the fact that His kids have been changed by the experience of sitting at His feet, and the world will do all it can to drag us away from Him. The battle never ends. The pressure is relentless. The world just doesn’t get why we follow Him and want to be part of His family instead of indulging in everything that it, the world, has to offer. I couldn’t choose not to be a preacher’s kid when I was growing up, but I could choose to walk away from God and back into the arms of the world. But why would I when God has made me so aware of how special I am to Him?

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10 NIV

(Guest Post by David Welford)

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Filed under Guest Posts, Preaching, Relationships and Family, self-worth, World View

Prayers for Boston and America

April 15, 2013

The question of who is responsible will be debated for a while until all the details come out. Initial reports will place blame everywhere. The government, sadly, will probably use the sad event to push forward some new restriction on freedom as they it blames its adversaries. Of course, there will be floods of conspiracy theories. But what we should do now is pray.

Pray? Yes, pray.

Some of us may be able to immediately assist with the wounded in Boston. Others will need to track down those responsible for this cowardly act of murder (and terror). All of us will need to be a little/lot more vigilant. Yet, we still need to pray.

Some of you may not believe in God, and that’s your right. In that case, just sit back and contemplate the whole situation for a while. Dwell on the goodness of humanity and the innate love within all mankind. Then, meditate on the wonders of relativistic morality and rights of those who feel oppressed to act out bombastic rage. While your at it, blame all of this on religion. [See NOTE below] The rest of us need to pray.

Pray for wisdom. Pray for open eyes. Pray for those who are wounded. Pray for the families of those wounded and killed. Pray for the safety of those searching through the rubble for more explosives. Pray for the innocent, that they will not be blamed in an attempt to force an agenda. Pray for changed hearts.

Pray. Pray for boldness, for courage, and for endurance. Pray for the strength not to yield to those who want us to hide and cower in a corner. Pray for renewed awareness that there are enemies of freedom and peace. Pray for clarity to understand who the enemy is.

And while you are praying, on behalf of your nation, before a Holy God, confess and repent. Then, as so many of our fathers have done before us, we can pray with a clearer conscience, “God bless America!

NOTE: Any notion that I have attempted to label atheists as terrorists in paragraph four is misguided. I am sure there are terroristic atheists just as much as there are terrorists who kill in the name of any number of gods, but I am not labeling all atheists as terrorist any more than I would label all deists terrorists. The accusation that I would do so is silly. However, my apologies go out to all of the atheists who might have been offended by any offhanded or unintentional mischaracterization.

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Filed under America, current events, World View

Sinister Initiations (Re-blogged)

You may have read somewhere in the news about a Florida professor asking his students to stomp on the name of Jesus. Here, in an excellently worded piece, Rob Stroud points to similar instances in the past that were not so academic.

I highly recommend this post by Mr. Stroud, and I would encourage you to check out his blog, Mere Inkling.

robstroud's avatarMere Inkling Press

fumieSomething unbelievable just happened in America. Something offensive, abusive, and utterly intolerant.

At Florida Atlantic University, one of the professors taught a lesson so distasteful that, had it maligned any faith other than Christianity, it would have led to his dismissal. Instead, the student who challenged it was suspended from the course.

The class is entitled “Intercultural Communication,” and the instructor happens to be the county vice-chair of one America’s major political parties.

So, what was the malicious class exercise? The students were instructed to write the name “Jesus” in large letters on a piece of paper which they laid on the floor in front of them. Then, they were directed to stomp—yes, stomp—on the name of the person millions of people throughout the world regard as their Savior.

It’s difficult to comprehend anyone would design such an offensive “lesson,” let alone that they would actually attempt to implement it…

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We’re Easy Targets

Old Accusations

If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times: “Christians are hateful, dangerous, bigoted, right-wing warmongers who are responsible for all the wars and violence in the world.” At least that’s the long version.

Sure, there are the occasional fruitcakes and fringe kooks that give ordinary Christians a bad name, such as the Westboro Baptists. But for the most part, Christians believe what they believe without harming others. We try to convince others that what we believe is true, but what is wrong with that? Aren’t atheists trying to do the same thing?

In general, Christians are the most harmless bunch of people you will ever meet. That is why it is fun for certain people to attack, make fun of, and offend them. Case in point: NBC and Saturday Night Live.

“Djesus Uncrossed”

A fake movie trailer aired this week on SNL. It pictured Jesus running around with guns blazing, killing people, and even chopping their heads off. One line in the parody had the announcer saying, “I never knew how much Jesus used the N-word.”

Now, do you think it ever crossed anyone’s mind that a true follower of Jesus Christ might get offended? Get real! Of course it did, but nobody at NBC cared. What are Christians going to do, boycott? Ooooo! Scary!

What happened to painting Christians out to be so dangerous, at least in America? Maybe, just maybe, the really dangerous people aren’t Christians.

Do Another Parody

I think that the people at NBC and SNL are a bunch of cowards. If they are not just singling out Christianity, and if Christians are dangerous, yet they still air something as vile as “Djesus Uncrossed,” why not do a parody with Mohammed?

I think Todd Starnes at Fox News put it very well when he said…

“It’s open season on those who profess personal faith in Jesus Christ and pattern their lives by biblical morality,” he said. “Evangelical Christians are treated with contempt and targeted for ridicule.”

We’ve seen the networks and national news publications denigrate the Christian faith with great flair — from the “Good Christian B****es” of ABC to Newsweek’s Christmas essay about the “The Myths of Jesus.”

I find it interesting that the networks always mock and ridicule Christianity – but they give other religions a pass.

Why aren’t the writers at SNL churning out weekly skits about Islam – or the Prophet Mohammed? Where’s the mock movie trailer for “Jihad Undetonated?” Where’s the television show called “Good Muslim B****es?” Or the magazine essay about “The Myths of Mohammed?”

I suspect we all know the answer to why.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” – John 15:18-19 NLT

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/02/19/nbc-declares-war-on-christians/#ixzz2LN2Upjqu

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Filed under America, Christian Unity, Culture Wars, current events, World View

Time to Tour the Camp

WARNING:

The following post contains GRAPHIC language and material and is NOT suitable for all ages.

Buchenwald

In April of 1945 the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald was liberated. Just outside the camp were German civilians who refused to believe the atrocities they were told of actually happened. Therefore, something had to be done.

On April 15 allied soldier brought the residents of the surrounding community inside the camp for a tour. It took actually seeing the corpses of dead Jews, stacked like wood, for them to believe what they had heard. The average response was, “We didn’t know.”

Buchenwald01As we look back on those horrendous days, we find it hard to believe that the citizens of Buchenwald could actually go about their daily lives and never know anything about what went on inside those death camps. Yet, 40 years ago today, a virtual death camp was erected into law, the results being the slaughter over 50 million human lives, and people still deny the horror.

I believe it is time to tour the camp.

The Womb

On Sunday the 20th I stood and proclaimed without compromise that I think abortion on demand is immoral and nothing short brutal murder. I publicly took that stand because of my belief that human life begins at conception, and that human life, especially the innocent in the womb, is precious.

Now, on the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, I want to state my conviction here. I know some of you will disagree, maybe even in anger. I know some of you will stop reading this blog. But I cannot remain silent about such a controversial subject all for the purpose of maintaining subscribers. People have to know how horrible the act of abortion really is.

I believe that, as with the citizens of Buchenwald, if more people were exposed to what actually goes on with the most common type of abortion, minds and hearts would change. The truth is so disturbing and sickening that I refrained from reading in my church what I am about to reveal to you, now.

The following lengthy quote describes how to perform a Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) abortion (82.3% of all abortions in 2009). Keep in mind less that 2% of abortions are done in the cases of rape, or for the need to save the life of the mother. The rest of the 1.5 million abortions performed in America are done other reasons – some of which are said to be in the baby’s best interest.

The surgical portion of a D&E abortion begins with the insertion of the speculum. “Late in the second trimester,” the NAF notes, “a weighted speculum accommodates larger fetal parts and allows more angulation of the forceps.”60 Throughout the procedure, “strong and steady traction” on the cervix must be maintained with a tenaculum.61 This allows forceps to be inserted through the dilated cervix for the dismemberment and removal of the human fetus. Ring forceps require a minimal cervical dilation of 10-12 mm, but are not sufficient for gestations beyond 17 to 18 weeks, when longer and weightier forceps must be used. The NAF reports that “Bierer forceps are the weightiest and largest-jawed [with] fenestrated and sharply serrated jaws (to) provide the most traction.”62 The NAF recommends that ultrasound guidance be used “in cases that require a considerable degree of force to remove fetal parts.”63 This helps ensure that the abortionist does not accidentally grasp and tear the myometrium (uterine wall) while grasping and tearing apart the fetus.

The National Abortion Federation instructions for a D&E abortion are as follows:

Once the forceps has passed through the internal os, open the jaws as widely as possible to encircle the fetal tissue and avoid pushing fetal parts deeper into the fundus… After 16 weeks’ gestation, fetal skeletal development is such that the surgeon can manually sense the presence of fetal parts within the closed jaws… After grasping a fetal part, withdraw the forceps while gently rotating it. This maneuver brings the fetus into the lower uterine segment before the grasped fetal part is separated (if necessary) and removed from the cervix… If a fetal extremity is brought through the cervix without separation, advance the forceps beyond the extremity to grasp part of the fetal trunk. Bringing the fetal trunk into the lower segment markedly reduces the number of instrument passes into the fundus… During the procedure, try to identify and keep track of fetal parts as they are removed. A “pouch’ or surgical pan at the edge of the gable to catch fetal parts can assist this process.64

Warren Hern, who the NAF credits as being an “American innovator”65 in D&E technique, offers the following instruction:

It is better to use smaller forceps and take smaller amounts of tissue each time than to deliver fetal parts intact while traumatizing the cervix… At 16 to 17 weeks, fetal tissue is much more easily identifiable with the forceps and in some ways is easier to grasp and remove than in earlier gestations. The [skull] is about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and usually can be grasped readily with the Bierer. Collapsing it gives a definite sensation… At 18-19 menstrual weeks… fetal parts are significantly larger and more difficult to morcellate (tear into pieces)… [Abortion after the] 20-week gestation… can be a significantly more difficult procedure accompanied by unnerving hemorrhage. Forceps use must be sure and relatively rapid. There is frequently not much time for exploring the nuances of different tissue sensations. Grasping and collapsing the [skull is] often difficult. Stripping the [skull] of soft tissue is sometimes the first step in successful delivery of this part, followed by dislocation of parietal bones. In this case, care must be taken in removal because ossification is occurring and the edges are sharp… Regardless of the amount of dilatation, delivery of the [skull] and pelvis is sometimes difficult… The advantage obtained by having a softened cervix could become a disaster if a laceration develops at the level of the internal os as the result of too much force… The procedure changes significantly at 21 weeks because the fetal tissues become much more cohesive and difficult to dismember. This problem is accentuated by the fact that the fetal pelvis may be as much as 5 cm in width… [The skull] can be collapsed. Other structures, such as the pelvis, present more difficulty… A long curved Mayo scissors may be necessary to decapitate and dismember the fetus, since it may be impossible to apply forceps or to do so while avoiding the thinned-out cervix.”66

After the abortion takes place, fetal parts must be examined “to verify complete evacuation.”67 A foot of the aborted fetus is often measured to “estimate gestational age after abortion.”68 Postoperative observation lasts for an hour or more so that the patient can be observed for “bleeding or pain that may signal uterineatony, retained tissue, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, or uterine perforation.”69

Source:  http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/

For too long the media has avoided the reality of what goes on when a baby is aborted. If more people would read the above description they would refuse to allow this to go on. The argument, “Well, it’s just a lump of tissue,” would become absurd.

Please, before anyone starts screaming about the mother’s choice, do you think she would choose abortion if she could actually understand what goes on? If it is so horrible of a procedure, then why not tell her, unless of course we want her to stay in the dark, like the citizens of Buchenwald? Do we not care for the “health” of the mother?

Scars

It has taken many years for Germany to recover from what she did to the Jews and many others in those concentration camps. I can’t imagine the nightmares that came after witnessing the results of Hitler’s “final solution.”

But for women who have an abortion, there are also scars. I know this has been a long post, and one I am sure will result in the deletion of some hateful and vulgar comments, but I would like to leave you with one more quote…

Dr. Julius Fogel, an obstetrician-gynecologist and psychiatrist who performed more than 20,000 abortions during his career, perhaps explained best the psychological situation confronting many women after an abortion. He states, “There is no question about the emotional grief and mourning following an abortion. It shows up in various forms. I’ve had patients who had abortions a year or two ago … but it still bothers them.… There is no question in my mind that we are disturbing a life process.… Often the trauma may sink into the unconscious and never surface in the woman’s lifetime.… [But] a psychological price is paid. I can’t say exactly what. It may be alienation, it may be a pushing away from human warmth, perhaps a hardening of the maternal instinct. Something happens on the deeper levels of a woman’s consciousness when she destroys a pregnancy. I know that as a psychiatrist” (McCarthy, 1989).[1]

God, please have mercy on this nation. Many “do not know what they do.” Open their eyes. Help them to see. Change their hearts. Heal the wounded.


[1] Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counseling, ed. David G. Benner and Peter C. Hill, 2nd ed., Baker reference library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 886.

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Filed under America, Culture Wars, current events, politics, Uncategorized, World View

Going to Hobby Lobby

The Story

HobbyLobby_tAP768526122694_620x350I won’t go into much detail about the reasons behind what is going on with Hobby Lobby. You all know that President Obama’s healthcare laws are forcing Hobby Lobby, a privately-owned company, to offer certain additions to their health insurance plans, additions which completely contradict long-held religious convictions.

The irony about all of this is that the ones complaining, attacking, vulgarizing, and spewing hatred against a private company are the same ones who preach “freedom of choice” at every turn. They continually complain that the “religious right” wants to force “religion” down their throats. Maybe we should consider the definition of the word “force.”

Force:

As a noun…1) physical strength or energy as an attribute of action or movement; 2) coercion backed by the use or threat of violence; 3) mental or moral power; influence; 4) an organized body of military personnel, police, or workers.*

As a verb… 1) make (someone) do something against their will; 2) make a way through or into by force.*

The Obama administration is using force (noun) to force (verb) the Green family (owners of Hobby Lobby) to either pay for medication which can induce an abortion, or pay $1.3 million a day in fines. What happened to that “freedom of choice” thing? Who are the actual bullies, here?

My Choices

Since it is still America, at least for the time being, I am going to exercise my right to drive 21 miles to a Hobby Lobby store and show my support by spending money (which I have very little of). Those who don’t want to support Hobby Lobby don’t have to go there.

Secondly, because I know that there are some of you who will read this post and react in predictable, hateful, vulgar ways, I am not going to allow any comments which are meant to insult, defame, belittle, or condescend. This is not a government-funded blog, nor is it a place where anyone can say whatever they want. I don’t have to put up with any angry, anti-religious, anti-God, pro-death, ego-intellectual nonsense.

My Recommendations

If you do not want the government of the United States forcing people of faith to do things which directly contradict their long-held beliefs, make your voice heard. The longer you stay silent the sooner the right to speak out will disappear.

On the other hand, IF you support the Obama administration’s utter disrespect for the rights of Christian-owned businesses, DON’T shop at Hobby Lobby. That’s your choice. No one will force you to go there.

THEN, once Hobby Lobby can no longer employ their thousands of workers in over 500 stores in 41 states, who make decent livings and already had health insurance which was better than what was offered by many other companies, YOU hire them.

Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

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