Roundup of stuff the Old Media probably won’t tell you

Cash for Grades?

That controversial “cash for grades” fund raiser at a North Carolina middle school didn’t last too long.

After the scheme to award extra points on tests for $20 appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer, Wayne County district officials today killed the Rosewood Middle School fund raiser.

As easy as it is to mock this school district (what were they thinking?!), my daughters’ schools used to do the same thing, albeit with a middleman of sorts. They would get bonus points for bringing in various things such as supplies for the school. It wasn’t a direct cash payment, but my wallet couldn’t tell the difference.

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Ex-Planned Parenthood Director given cold should at her church — how ironic that her pro-choice “church” doesn’t approve of her choice to quit PP and expose the truth about abortions.  Maybe those folks should participate in an abortion and watch it on the ultrasound. 

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Chinese researchers find that abortion results in 17% increased risk of breast cancer – anyone seen any counterpoints to this?  I know the breast cancer link debate is controversial, with each side thinking it has trump-card studies. 

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PZ Myers has such poor critical thinking skills when it comes to God and morality.  He rants at length as to why there is no such thing as true morality, but like most people positing that he can’t go a paragraph without a moral claim.  He definitely thinks intolerance is wrong.  I tend to agree, if one properly understands the classic definition of the word, but my claim would be consistent with my worldview while his is self-mockery.

Notice his outrage over Christians labeling homosexual behavior as a sin. Well, if there is no real morality saying it is sinful then there is also no real morality saying that it is wrong to call it a sin. He has 0.00 reasons to criticize the morality of Christians.  It is so ironic that they can’t see their hypocrisy.  What a delusional self-parody.  Methinks he doth protest too much.

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Former Gay Youth Leader Re-Emerges to Tell His Dramatic Conversion Story – another one of those (allegedly) non-existent people.

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What causes homosexuality? Is there a gay gene?

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The Telephone Game and the New Testament

Many people are familiar with the telephone game often used with kids to show the challenges and importance of clear communication.  It usually works with a message being given to one person, who has one chance to pass it along to another person.  By the time it gets to the end the message is hilariously (?) garbled.

Sometimes skeptics will use the telephone game analogy to criticize the writings of the Bible, and of the Gospels in particular.  Their premise is that the message was transmitted orally for at least a couple decades (and, by their often convoluted reasoning, many decades), so of course it got changed many times before it was put to paper. 

But that game is different than how the Bible was transmitted orally in many key ways:

1. The Bible wasn’t translated just one-on-one.  There were many witnesses and many people who heard and recounted the events.  People would catch errors instantly.
2. They didn’t get just one try.  In the telephone game you only get one chance, but in real life – and especially with the New Testament – Jesus probably gave the same message many times, and people repeated it many times with overlapping audiences.  Again, errors would be caught quickly.
3. Transmitters were well trained in memorizing stories.  People in that culture – especially Jewish men – were trained to memorize things well.  Many Muslims memorize the whole Koran even in our times. 
4. The message being transmitted wasn’t insignificant.  These people thought they had the words of life, and they worked hard to communicate it carefully.  And they often risked their lives to communicate this message. A good analogy I heard was that if a group of cancer patients went to hear someone describe how they could be cured, they would be inclined to pay close attention and to collectively document the information accurately.
5. The New Testament writers had the benefit of the Holy Spirit to guide them.  I don’t think the Holy Spirit is actively involved in too many instances of the regular telephone game.

A more detailed perspective is available here.

Darwin’s religious beliefs

The conventional wisdom is that Charles Darwin was a Christian whose scientific discoveries led him away from God.  But does the evidence support that view? From Theist, Agnostic, Atheist: Will the Real Charles Darwin Please Stand Up?:

Some , like Alberto Kornblihtt, rather naively claim, “Darwin believed in God and his body is buried in Westminster Abbey.”  The standard rendering of Charles Darwin’s faith, however, is that it was a slow imperceptible slide into unbelief. On that we have Darwin’s own word. On religious matters he said, “I found it more and more difficult, with free scope given to my imagination, to invent evidence which would suffice to convinced me. Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress.”

But if you read Darwin’s earlier writings you’ll discover that the statement in bold is almost certainly and deliberately false.

This received canon notwithstanding, others are less convinced. Stanley Jaki has noted: “The publication in full of Darwin’s Early Notebooks forces one to conclude that in writing his Autobiography Darwin consciously lied when he claimed that he slowly, unconsciously slipped into agnosticism. He tried to protect his own family as well as the Victorian public from the shock of discovering that his Notebooks resounded with militant materialism. The chief target of the Notebooks is man’s mind, the ‘citadel,’ in Darwin’s words, which was to be conquered by his evolutionary theory if its materialism were to be victorious.”

Go read the whole article.  It is quite compelling.

Is Darwinian evolution compatible with theism? It surley was never intended to be and certainly never intended to be compatible with Christianity, though Darwin was more than willing to enlist religious allies on its behalf.

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So Darwin’s cagey religious minimalism would almost surely have stumped everyone on “To Tell the Truth.” Depending on the question he could appear weakly agnostic or even theistic at times. It is only after looking carefully at his private notebooks and matching his early experiences with his later writings that a coherent pattern emerges. Once identified as an undogmatic atheist or an agnostic atheist the real Charles Darwin can then stand up.

Even in Darwin’s day Liberal “Christians” rushed to support his views.  Darwin wanted his theory advanced by all means, so he accepted the support even while disbelieving in theistic evolution.

Once the theory was accepted,” Wiker adds, “the theistic patina would be ground away by the hard, anti-theistic core of the argument.

Go see the movie Expelled! and note how the Darwinists are still treating Liberal Christians as useful idiots in advancing their worldview.

Whether Darwin was honest about the impact of his religious views on his science is irrelevant as to whether the evidence supports his overall theory (it doesn’t).  But it is useful to explode the myths perpetuated by false teachers who would rather preach on Darwin than Jesus. 

While Darwinism doesn’t require atheism, atheism does require Darwinism.  That is why the New Atheists defend the Darwinian dogma with a ferocity that would make a stereotypical fundie Christian blush.

Roundup of stuff the Old Media won’t tell you about

Visit Certain News Sites? Obama Wants To Know – Why isn’t the ACLU going nuts over this?

Big Brother Obama wants to know what news sites you visit. And he is having the justice department subpoena news sites to find out.

Click here: Justice Dept. Asked For News Site’s Visitor Lists

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The world is upside down, morally speaking.  Newsweek: Terrorist Attack on Fort Hood was bad because it will spark conservative hatred

13 soldiers died at Fort Hood, and Newsweek’s Evan Thomas is concerned about “right wing fears.”

Appearing on NPR, he said, “I cringe that he’s a Muslim. I mean, because it inflames all the fears.”

NPR’s Nina Totenberg agreed, saying, “It really is tragic that he was a Muslim.”

Oh, really? I thought it was tragic that he killed 13 people.

Would it be better if he was an anti-abortion activist, so that you could inflame left wing fears about “domestic terrorism”?

 

Hat tip: Jill Stanek

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Multiple lies from Obama & Co. on abortion and the health care bill – They don’t care what pro-lifers say.  They have every intention of sneaking it back into the bill.  This would not be the status quo, it would be the first time Federal funds would be used to pay for abortions.  Obama always claimed the bill wouldn’t cover abortions, so why does he oppose the Stupak amendment?

I know pro-aborts really like abortion, but does it ever bother them to have to lie so much to get their way?  Apparently not.

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Over 90% of Down Syndrome children still being aborted — Tragic.  Morally schizophrenic and tragic.

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I love when atheists bring up the “Jesus didn’t exist argument.” It is so easy to use the minimal facts approach and put the burden back on them.

I just point to the virtually unanimous position of historical scholars who agree that he lived. If the atheists want to form positions in opposition to historical facts then that is their problem. It quickly disarms them.

I also like to point out how even skeptics like the Jesus Seminar concede so many of the minimal facts. To come up with the theory that Jesus’ body was eaten by dogs, people like John Dominic Crossan unwittingly point to the significant evidence for not only the resurrection but the empty tomb. I submit that the physical resurrection accounts for the same facts Crossan appears to trust. I just find that the resurrection is a much more logical explanation.

 

An easy way to spot false teachers

False teachers will mock and discount the Bible as the word of God, even as they attend “Christian” seminaries and stand in pulpits of “Christian” churches.  That is a clear sign that they are fakes.  If they were true believers they would accept the word of God as the Thessalonians did.  Read this carefully:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

If you aren’t sure if you are encountering a false teacher, just ask them if they think 1 Thessalonians 2:13 is the word of God.  Then you’ll know.

The Bible teaches over and over just how important sound doctrine is.  When people mock that importance and say that the Bible is not the word of God then they are doing you a big favor.  They are shouting out that they are inauthentic.  Don’t follow them.

“Unbelieving Believers”

Hey, I wrote a forward to a book!  My friend and regular commenter Richard Graves (aka DJ Black Adam) wrote Unbelieving Believers.    Please consider purchasing it here or get it free with a $25 donation to his ministry here.  You can also check out his ministry on Blog Talk Radio. 

Here’s the forward:

I met Richard through the world of blogging and we’ve become good friends.  We agree on a lot and disagree on some things as well, but the discussions are always as polite as they are passionate.  One thing I really admire about Richard is that he doesn’t just reflexively spout the positions of a political party.  He thinks through each issue carefully and forms his own assessment. 

When it comes to the essentials of Christianity and the important topics Richard addresses here we are very well aligned.  His book is a strong and clear reminder of the essentials of the faith. 

Many churches and Christians are running on the fumes of Christianity.  By that I mean that we may do things out of habit and aren’t relying on the real power of God.  We say we believe but our words and actions betray us, or at least shine a light on our lack of confidence.  We’ve become too worldly.

Just as Jesus warned, there are many false teachers – wolves in sheep’s clothing – whose intent is to lead us astray and destroy us.  Sometimes the attacks are more obvious than others. 

Sometimes the subtle attacks are the most dangerous.  As Richard notes, so many people go through life saying, “I believe in God / the Holy Spirit / Jesus / the Bible, BUT . . .”  They let false ideas keep them from living a more vibrant Christian life and transforming the world through the power of the Gospel.

A key to successful living is constantly replacing lies with the truth, and Richard’s book is a great place to start.   Become aware of the lies you’ve let yourself believe and replace those with the eternal truths of God’s word.

Richard isn’t afraid to speak those truths boldly – but what would you expect from an ex-Marine?  When so many who claim the name of Christ either contradict or water down God’s word I am thrilled to be on the side of brothers in Christ like Richard who aren’t ashamed of the Gospel and share it with a balance of grace and truth.

As you read Unbelieving Believers I pray that you will remember many great truths of the faith and recharge your own passion to live in light of eternity.  You don’t want to look back on this life and wish you had participated more in expanding the kingdom.  You want to look back and know you gave it all you could and that you were a “believing believer!”

Super freaks: Pro-abortion clergy

The “Reverend” Chuck Currie posted this Open Letter from Religious Leaders to Members of Congress Supporting Inclusion of Abortion Services in Health Care Reform.  Who needs Syrup of Ipecac when you have religious people not only wanting legalized abortion (bad enough) but wanting to make pro-lifers pay for it?  That isn’t pro-choice, that is pro-abortion.

And who doesn’t realize that once the government is in complete control of health care that they’ll do away with those pesky conscience clauses and force doctors to do abortions?

Before I dive into the letter, I wonder where the “separation of church and state” folks are and why aren’t they frothing at the mouth over this gross intrusion of religious beliefs into our political system?  Oh, yeah, they are pro-abortion, so they don’t care about these religious beliefs being voiced.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with your religious views informing your political views, but a little consistency from the ACLU crowd would be nice.

Dear Members of Congress,

As religious leaders, we support public policies that are just and compassionate and prioritize the needs of those who are poor and marginalized in our society.

Oh, they are so compassionate.  How about justice and compassion for these victims?  They seem more than marginalized to me.

Therefore we are opposed to attempts – many made in the name of religion and morality – to exclude abortion services from health care reform. While our reasons for supporting the inclusion of abortion services in health care are diverse, they are grounded in the teachings of our faith traditions and our commitment to social justice.

What nonsense.  I’ll be glad to debate Chuck over what the Bible says about taking innocent human life any day.  Justice is about protecting the innocent, not harming them.  I usually present the pro-life cause without the Bible.  It is rather simple, given the scientific fact that life begins at conception and that it is immoral to take innocent human life for 99% of the reasons given for abortion.  But if people claim to believe the Bible then the case is even easier.

The majority of faith groups in America have affirmed that abortion is a decision of conscience that should be safeguarded by government. Further, these faith traditions affirm that health care services, including abortion, must be available to all, regardless of income.

Got any Bible verses for that, Chuck?  I’ve read the Bible many times and noted that Jesus never told us to petition Caesar to take money by threat of force and loss of freedom from neighbor A to give to neighbor B for anything, let alone abortions.  He taught to give our own money to help others.

If coverage for abortion is eliminated from health care reform, the poor and communities of color will bear the consequences.

Yeah, they won’t have killed their children.  Hey Chuck, ever been outside the U.S., where 90% of the people make the poor in the U.S. look rich?  Are you saying that all those people should have been aborted?

And what naked racism!  These pro-abortion plans will only increase the three-to-one ratio of black abortions to whites.  That will further the inequality and genocide of the black community.  Fact: More black human beings will die under Chuck’s plan.

Already, a low-income woman is four times as likely to have an unintended pregnancy and five times as likely to have an unintended birth as her higher income counterpart. Lack of access to abortion services perpetuates inequality and compromises the future of women, their families and their communities.

Then why don’t you just kill those pesky poor children outside the womb?  The size, level of development, environment and dependency of a human being should have no bearing on her right to life.  The “inequality” buzzword implies that someone forced these women to get pregnant.

In this religiously pluralistic nation, our health care system should be inclusive and respectful of diverse religious beliefs and decisions regarding childbearing. One in three American women has an abortion by age 45, making it one of the most common medical procedures in the nation. Ignoring this truth belies the rhetoric of comprehensive, accessible health care.

Oh, so if lots of people commit a sin then we should fund it?  Great logic, Chuck.

And you aren’t being respectful of religious beliefs that oppose taking innocent human life.  Why are you forcing those people to pay for abortions?  Why not just give the money yourself to help these women have their unborn children destroyed?

A health care system that serves all persons with dignity and equality will include comprehensive reproductive health services.

Here’s some dignity and equality for you, Chuck.

We call on Congress to preserve the current standard of reproductive health care and ensure that millions of uninsured and underinsured women will have access to these services.

What satanic wordsmanship.  “Reproductive health?”  Not too healthy for the human being destroyed in the process.  “Preserve the current standard?”  No, they are asking for a major change.

Chuck is such a great poster boy for these fake religionists.  Just a few tidbits about this “Christian Reverend.”

• He did a whole sermon on how John 14:6 is wrong about Jesus being the only way to salvation.  His fake seminary was so bad that they didn’t even tell Chuck that there are 99 other passages with the same message, not to mention the endless Old Testament references commanding us not to worship other gods.
• He is pro-oxymoronic “same sex marriage” and says homosexual behavior is not a sin, despite the fact that 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior denounce it as sin in the clearest and strongest possible terms, 100% of the verses referencing God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman, 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children) and 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions.
• He preached a whole sermon praising Charles Darwin (he knows less about science than he does Christianity) and didn’t mention Jesus once.
• He is a serial, unrepentent liar.   He knows it.  I know it.  He knows that I know that he knows it.  He deleted a comment of mine once (no biggie) but when I pointed that out he lied and said it had “racist, sexist, homophobic, offensive language and more.”  But despite a couple dozen requests he has never backed up that false claim.  He thought he could get away with that lie and is now too proud to ‘fess up.  Great example, “Rev!”  You’ll repeatedly lie like that but we can totally trust you on everything else, right?
• The whole pro-abortion thing.

There is so much more, but you get the idea.  There is a bright side to false teachers being so over the top with their heresies and blasphemies:  It makes them easy to spot.  They don’t even bother masquerading as angels of light; now they are out of the closet as angels of death.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence?

Carl Sagan famously uttered the title, sans question mark.  I’d say he is in the right direction, as a corollary to Ockham’s Razor.  Things that are especially unusual or impactful deserve more scrutiny.

But I prefer Greg Koukl’s take, which is that extraordinary claims require adequate evidence or justification.  Just because the Bible makes claims of miracles doesn’t mean God needs to perform one for you on demand. 

I’m glad to stack up the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus — even just the parts that almost all historians agree with – against the atheistic theories about the creation of the universe and how life came from non-life.  Those are wildly extraordinary claims that go begging in search of evidence.  They not only don’t have extraordinary evidence, they have no evidence at all — just atheistic presuppositions. 

Sadly, it appears that Carl ignored the evidence for God:

Romans 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

So if anyone quotes the title to you, be sure to point out who has the best evidence for their extraordinary claims. 

More information

Could life have emerged spontaneously on the early Earth?  Short answer: No.  But that doesn’t stop some from believing it.

Does God exist? Is there any scientific evidence to prove that God exists?   Yes and yes.  We not only have scientific evidence, but logical, historical, moral and more.

Give people the benefit of the doubt. You can always overreact later.

I sometimes use the line in the title with my team at work and when giving leadership and management presentations.  It is a corollary to the one bad argument can undermine ten good arguments truism.  Charity about the motives of others is usually a win-win proposition, and you don’t want to lose credibility by making mistakes.  When performing audits or investigations we don’t want to make false accusations.  Our initial assessments are almost always right, but if you are wrong people will remember it for a long time and not take your views as seriously as you’d like. 

The reactions to the Ft. Hood shootings make an interesting study.  Many were so quick to avoid assuming it wasn’t Islamic terrorism that they swung the pendulum too far the other way and insisted that it wasn’t.  They had no evidence for that, and it appears that they were wrong.  They had no qualms about saying it was probably post-traumatic stress disorder, even though the guy had never experienced the original stress that this malady requires.  If it is good not to speculate, then why speculate about potentially non-Islamic related causes?

Side note:  Looks like the Army dropped the ball on this one.  I wonder how much political correctness influenced it?  This isn’t religious discrimination, it is common sense.  Regardless of your type of organization, you should not employ members of ideological groups bent on your destruction.  If churches would have booted false teachers 100 years ago we wouldn’t have the anti-Christian nonsense taught in countless churches today.

Side note 2: Hopefully many peaceful Muslims and Muslim countries around the world will denounce these actions.  The Koran does indeed teach to harm enemies of Islam, but I am grateful for disobedient Muslims who don’t follow that teaching.  If they have created a new religion that ignores those teachings, good for them.  They should call out their “false teachers” the same way that I and others freely point out the errors of fake Christians.  You do your movement no good to have false unity with those who believe the opposite of what you do.

Oh, and there is a is just one major problem with the the peaceful Islam message: You can never be completely sure if those denouncements are authentic because Muslims are allowed to lie to advance their faith.  So CAIR’s repudiation of the actions might be advancing a distorted (i.e., better) view of Islam. Or they might be advancing the real Islam and just using their free ticket to lie.

Men wrote the Bible, so it must have mistakes?

A common objection to the assertion that God inspired the writings of the Bible is that men wrote it, so it must have mistakes.  Sadly, I have often heard this from committed Christians.

The argument usually goes like this:

Premise 1: Men wrote the Bible.

Premise 2: Men make mistakes.

Conclusion: God didn’t write the Bible.

But note that premise 1 is just another way of stating the conclusion.  If you are trying to determine who ultimately authored the Bible, your first premise can’t be that men were the sole authors.  So this “argument” doesn’t prove that God didn’t write the Bible, it assumes it. 

Here is another syllogism you may have heard:

Premise 1: Men wrote the Bible.

Premise 2: Men make mistakes.

Conclusion: The Bible has mistakes.

This one has a major problem as well.  It assumes that just because people can make mistakes that they will always make mistakes.  But lots of things get done without mistakes – perfect scores on tests, 300 games in bowling, diseases cured, etc.  If God was the author then an error-free Bible would be expected. 

Of course, this doesn’t prove that God did inspire the Biblical writings, just that these are bad arguments to use against the inspiration of the Bible.  We have separate, robust reasoning for why we can trust that it is God’s Word.  More on that another day, or just peruse the Apologetics links to the right.

P.S. Keep in mind that claims of inerrancy relate to the original writings, not to copies or translations.  If making a copy error invalidated the inerrancy claim, then any atheist could make a deliberate “mistake” and claim that it disproved the Bible. 

Hat tip: Stand to Reason

Roundup of stuff the Old Media won’t tell you

Two items of note about the Planned Parenthood Director who quit after seeing an ultrasound of an abortion:

1. Gross media bias: Search FoxNews.com and you’ll find the story.  Search MSNBC or CNN and you’ll get crickets chirping.  They have nothing about it.  Yes, CNN sucks.  MSNBC, too.  They don’t think you need to know about this at all.  Shocking.
2. Planned Parenthood has abortion quotas.  Go figure.

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The Obama Administration counts raises as “jobs saved.”  Sure, it is a gross lie, but you can totally trust them with pre-paying your health care via taxes.  They won’t ration your care or give you lousy service.

“If I give you a raise, it is going to save a portion of your job,” HHS spokesman Luis Rosero said.

Another reason we need people with real business experience running the country. 

Hat tip: Verum Serum

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More from the Nancy Pelosi is a liar and thinks you are stupid category.  The health bill covers abortions but pretends not to by adding a middleman to pass along the cash.  Gee, that makes it OK!

The Ellsworth language is a political fig leaf made out of cellophane — it directs the federal Secretary of Health to hire a contractor to deliver to abortion providers the payments for elective abortions, payments that are explicitly authorized by the bill [on page 110]. This is a money-laundering scheme — a federally funded ‘bag man’ will deliver government funds to abortionists. This is federal funding of elective abortion.”

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Pro-gay lobbyists up to their usual tricks, trying to destroy anyone who dares to question their agenda.  As noted here:

“Don Mendell, one of our spokesmen who appeared in a television ad for Stand for Marriage Maine, has come under attack by our opponents.

“Don is a high school guidance counselor and licensed social worker. His appearance in the television ad prompted a complaint to the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation – requesting that his license to practice social work in the state of Maine be stripped away – simply because of his personal opinion on marriage.

“It is ironic that those who claim tolerance as their highest value prove themselves to be so intolerant that they would go so far as to threaten a father’s career and put his family’s future at risk. This latest attack highlights the true agenda of those who demand that marriage be redefined.”

Liberals are all for free speech, as long as you agree with them.

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“Free will” is often misunderstood concept.  Check out Stan’s post for a clear and concise analysis.

Roundup

Did the divinity of Jesus emerge slowly after many years of embellishments?  Short answer: No, and we can prove it.  Read this important piece about how we can use data that even skeptics agree with to demonstrate how Jesus’ physical resurrection and divinity date to the earliest years of the church. 

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Al Gore Exploits Envirofascism for Fortunes – what a shocker — Al Gore making tens hundreds of millions off of his global warming propoganda.  Follow the money, people.  Do you really think that greed is a sin committed by Republicans?  Don’t be naive!

And he’s only a Socialist when he’s trying to control your life and increase your expenses.  Mr. Hypocrite is fine with business when he’s the beneficiary:

Do you think there is something wrong with being active in business in this country?  I am proud of it. I am proud of it.

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Excellent overview of Calvinism vs. Arminianism resources by Randy Alcorn.  I enjoy debates between civil, well qualified people on this topic.

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Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment – glad to see the system work here.  That should be the punishment for all pedophiles.

Election stuff — hopefully the Republicans learned some good lessons!

There were lots of important lessons from election night.  Despite the spin of Democrats and Obama pretending not to care about the results, they stumped heavily for losing candidates.  Obama could not get them re-elected.  That should tell the Blue-dog Democrats not to cave in when standing up for life and against the health care bill.  Obama can’t save them from losing their next elections.  The magic is gone.

In New York, the Hoffman story is powerful – even though he lost a close race.  But will the Republicans learn?  They wasted ~ $1m on a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who endorsed the Democrat after she dropped out.  Remember Arlen Specter?  In one of Bush’s biggest mistakes he campaigned for Specter’s re-election, only to have Specter switch parties when it was convenient for him.  We all knew he was a RINO to begin with. 

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party outsider, annihilated the liberal Republican — despite the fact that the RINO was propped up with huge quantities of GOP cash. Then, after the turncoat Republican dropped out, Hoffman delivered a strong showing against the Blue Dog Democrat, who enjoyed the full support of the White House.

. . .

Conservatives know they need the GOP, and the GOP is surely beginning to understand how much it needs conservatives. So there can be no more million-dollar campaigns for ACORN-backed, tax-and-spend, secret-ballot-bashing turncoat RINOs who are to the left of Obama on social issues.

Liberty is the only alternative to tyranny, and conservatives will always fight for liberty. That fact needs to sink in with the GOP…pronto.

Republicans need to vote on principles and get real, live conservatives in office.  They can win! 

Be sure to read Michelle Malkin’s analysis. 

Update from a pro-life perspective:

What do Dede Scozzafava, Creigh Deeds and Gov. Jon Corzine have in common? All were endorsed by abortion mammoth Planned Parenthood. All 3 candidates were virulent supporters of abortion rights and opponents of human personhood…. 

The humiliating loss by Scozzafava was a particularly hard blow for PP as she was clearly the “poster child” of PP political candidates. The long-time PP supporter, board member, and Sanger Award winner had such a poor showing she was forced to resign from the campaign the week before the election

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Maine voters latest to turn down gay marriage – nice to see that even Liberal states know an oxymoron when they see one.  Real marriage won despite being outspent two-to-one.  Be sure to book mark Mass Resistance to keep up on the unethical antics of the pro-gay lobby and the Liberal freaks who think that there is nothing wrong with homework assignments requiring 11 yr. olds to draw an ejaculating penis.

Remember that the losers’ “lies and fear” rhetoric is just that: Rhetoric.  No one is denying the right for gays to have relationships.  It is simply a matter of noting that the word “marriage” does not apply to same-sex unions.

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Also see The Love Affair is Over: In 2008 Independents Proved They Weren’t Racist by Voting Obama. In 2009, Independents Vote GOP to Prove They Aren’t Socialist.

He’s got a lot more ripping to do

As noted in Actor rips anti-homosexuality pages out of the Bible, Ian McKellen of ‘Lord of the Rings’ thinks it is swell to rip Leviticus 18:22 out of hotel room Bibles.

Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Here are some observations.

Seems kinda like book burning.  Aren’t Liberals supposed to oppose that?  Oh, that’s right, free and open speech is just for people that agree with them.

Should Conservatives do this with literature we don’t agree with?  I’d only have some of the comics plus a Post-It note sized piece of the Houston Chronicle left each day.

Hey, at least he realizes what the Bible really says. If he’d just hang out with theologically Liberal (read: fake) Christians, they’d tell him that the Bible doesn’t really say that homosexual behavior is wrong.  He should just chat with Dan, ER, Geoffrey, Alan, Chuck et al and they’d straighten him out.  When it says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” what it really means is, “Go ahead and lie with a male as with a woman.  God made you that way, so He approves of it.” / sarcasm

Also, he has a lot more tearing to do besides Leviticus 18:22:

• 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior denounce it as sin in the clearest and strongest possible terms.
• 100% of the verses referencing God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
• 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
• 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions.

By tearing out that page he also tears out the following, among other things.  Does he think those behaviors are acceptable?

Leviticus 18:20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her.

Leviticus 18:21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 18:23 And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.

They can tear out all they like, but the word of God isn’t going anywhere.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Also see flaws of the shellfish argument, which addresses errors people make when trying to rationalize away Leviticus 18:22.

Also see Problems with pro-gay theology, which addresses the three primary ways the pro-gay theology crowd gets it wrong.

Good news: Planned Parenthood director sees abortion ultrasound and quits

More at Jill Stanek – Planned Parenthood director sees abortion ultrasound and quits; PP files restraining order

Ultrasounds have saved countless lives at crisis pregnancy centers.  We see it all the time at CareNet Pregnancy Center.  Many women believe the lie that the unborn is just a blob of tissue — until they see her heart beating and limbs moving on an ultrasound.

Now an ultrasound of an abortion has changed the heart and mind of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director.  Johnson was pressured to increase abortions to raise money.  See the link above for video of Johnson and for more information.

Planned Parenthood isn’t pro-choice, it is pro-abortion.  It encourages promiscuity.  PP hides statutory rape over and over, yet its supporters in Congress keep funding it.

Rochelle Tafolla, a PP spokesperson issued the following statement: “We regret being forced to turn to the courts to protect the safety and confidentiality of our clients and staff, however, in this instance it is absolutely necessary.”

The temporary restraining order contends that PP would be irreparably harmed by the disclosure of certain information . . .

No kidding.  And great!

From Fox:

Abby Johnson, 29, used to escort women from their cars to the clinic in the eight years she volunteered and worked for Planned Parenthood in Bryan, Texas. But she says she knew it was time to leave after she watched a fetus “crumple” as it was vacuumed out of a patient’s uterus in September.

Remember, Planned Parenthood was firmly pro-life, until they realized how much money was at stake.

It is tragic that so many professing Christians support Planned Parenthood out of ignorance or as part of their fakery.

Pray that many more Planned Parenthood employees, volunteers and supporters will see the light.  Pray that people involved in any way with abortions will learn that forgiveness and healing are possible in Jesus.

Hat tip: Bret

Roundup

Simple and important reminder by Mike that we shouldn’t just pray for people, we should pray with them.

After talking with Shirley for about 5 minutes or so, and as I saw the tears in her eyes, I asked Shirley if I could pray with her. Not simply FOR her, but WITH her. She nodded her head and held her hands to her face, shielding me from her now-falling tears. I prayed a short prayer right there in the restaurant with her, and when I finished she wrapped her arms around me, put her head on my shoulders, and cried. And cried, and cried, and cried. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. I just comforted Shirley for those few raw moments. Neither of us seemed to care much about whatever else was going on around us.

Read it all.

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It occurred to me that Obama is “That 70’s President,” deftly combining the bad ideas and ineffectiveness of Carter with the ethics and paranoia of Nixon.  Just sayin’.

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William Lane Craig debates radical skeptics on the resurrection of Jesus – great apologetics post, as usual, by the Wintery Knight.

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Australia considers bill to criminalize free speech by Christians – as I often say, coming soon to a country near you.

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Check out some of the sample articles of Salvo, a phenomenal magazine.  Great content and presentation on key issues of day.  I think it targets college aged / 20’s types but could be of interest to anyone.

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The abortionist and his #1 foe — Late-term abortionist Larry Carhhart and pro-lifer Troy Newman are analyzed. CNN owes me a new irony meter, because these quotes broke it:

He glances at the poster of [murdered late-term abortionist George] Tiller. “I don’t want his death to be in vain.”

“I have abortion on the front of this building, because I think abortion isn’t a four-letter word. It’s a part of life.”

Tomorrow, just before and after performing abortions, Carhart will pray at the bedside of his patients.

And did I miss it, or did CNN fail to mention the pesky fact about the pro-lifer who was recently murdered?

This quote makes more sense:

What part of wanting to save a baby’s life is so bad that it makes people hate me?
–Troy Newman

The answer is that abortion makes a lot of money for some people and gives a false illusion of sexual freedom and equality for others.

(Hat tip: Theobromophile)

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Are abortion proponents smarter than a 2nd-grader? (um, no)

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