ChosenRebel -- my cultural engagement blog

Bureaucratic Red Tape is Killing the World's Poor.

2011-12-08T18:25:00.006-05:00

An interesting article on how structures that keep the poor from owning private property are keeping the world's poor in a cycle of poverty by burdening them with bureaucratic red tape.The Poor Strangled by Red Tape—Hernando de Soto (1941 – )Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto, founder and president of the Institute of Liberty and Democracy in Lima,1 was listed by Time magazine as one of the

The Coarsening of a Culture or its Effects?

2011-12-01T23:54:00.004-05:00

Up or Down on Chuck Colson's perspective. Is the way we dress a contributor to the downfall of the west or a result?Grooming Counts—Charles Colson (1931 – )Charles Colson is the author of many books (including Born Again, Loving God,and How Now Shall We Live?) and founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship. In 1993, he was awarded the famed Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

One Continuous Miracle from Conception to Death

2011-11-25T12:46:00.004-05:00

Cut and paste this link into your browser. http://youtu.be/fKyljukBE70

Is Pure Secularism the Solution to Terrorism?

2011-11-23T10:35:00.003-05:00

Another article from the Kairos Journal. It is unlikely that the secular drift of western culture will yield the good results promised to us by social theorists on the left. All we have to do to understand this is just a little bit of historical reflection. As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, don't take it for granted that the richest part of giving thanks is that there is truly a God to

Living for the Gospel-Good of Your Family on Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T15:22:00.003-05:00

Here's a great post on making the most of Thanksgiving (or anytime you gather with family and friends) for the gospel-good of your family. ope you have a great thanksgiving praising the One who provides all things.http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/making-the-most-of-turkey-time-thanksgiving-on-mission--2

What Modern Government Is

2011-11-21T13:37:00.004-05:00

"Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us."---Leo Tolstoy

Making the Budget Understandable---and Unforgivable!

2011-11-18T21:30:00.003-05:00

A friend sent me the following illustration that cuts through the media confusion and political rhetoric of our politicians on the economy and the budget. Why is it so hard for the folks in Washington to understand?I love it when complex things are simplified so that we can all understand. Check this out in less than 60 seconds.. U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000. Fed budget:

Challenging Youth Culture Inside and Outside the Church

2011-11-17T00:11:00.003-05:00

Here's a challenging article directed not only at youth pastors and youth culture but at the whole way we go about discipling new believers of all ages.Source: Kairos JournalTeenagers Losing the GospelThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently instituted a new minor for its students: “Christianity and Culture.” Sociologist Christian Smith,1 the faculty member who spearheaded the

The Brutalization of American Culture: We've Seen this Before

2011-11-03T12:15:00.007-04:00

This morning I read of a widow of a one year old who just lost her 11 year old daughter to poisoned Halloween candy. Our culture become more brutal, mean and senseless with each passing week. Violence is everywhere in our streets, our TV's and movies. The popularity of Cage Fighting is a demonstration of the dehumanization of our culture. If we look to history, we can see that we have been here

The Difference Between Rhetoric and Reality in the Obama Administration

2011-10-30T22:37:00.003-04:00

I got this off of the INSTApundit blog and thought it was right on target.OCTOBER 29, 2011Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 11:55 pmVICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Michelle Obama and ‘the Few at the Top.’ “When Ms. Obama charges, ‘Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to just the few at the top? Who are we?’ one wonders, why, then, in the past three years of hard times, did she insist on vacationing,

Starting or Avoiding a Depression?

2011-10-27T13:26:00.005-04:00

Our economy is in shambles but it is not as bad as it was in the Great Depression, yet. But if government makes the wrong moves, a depression like the 20's and 30's is still possible as this article from Kairos Journal makes clear.The Great Depression of the 1930s—A Lesson in What Not to DoThe Great Depression of the 1930s was a nightmare:Some 13 million Americans were unemployed, “not wanted” in

Changing a City's Culture from Violence to Peace

2011-10-20T14:52:00.009-04:00

Whether it is listening to the testimonies of people who have come to faith before a baptism service or reading the biographies of people, it is thrilling to hear the stories of changed lives leading to changed families, work spaces and culture. Here's another one of those kind of stories. the source is Kairos Journal.Misery to Hope; Through the Church!—Rodney Stark (1934 – )Leading sociologist

The Deindustrialization of America and Its Threat

2011-10-13T16:38:00.006-04:00

Here's a link to a new article on what is happening to our economy. it is called "19 Facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind. Read it. Pray for the nation and think about how you can raise children to make a difference."19 Facts about the Deindustrialization of America that Will Blow Your Mind"

How Did First Century Jews View Abortion?

2011-10-13T10:57:00.005-04:00

Another election is approaching. Another year rolls away from 1973 when we as a nation began the wholesale devaluation of life created in the image and likeness of God. And as another year and election comes, we have the opportunity to repent of our wickedness and turn to a God who will forgive. Abortion is collecting weight on our entire culture for the judgment of God if we do not repent and

Is the ADHD "epidemic" a Myth?

2011-10-03T13:37:00.005-04:00

I would love to hear from teachers on what they think about this video. I saw it about a year ago and recently it was sent to me by a friend. What do teachers think about this perspective?

The Absurdity of President Obama's Jobs Plan

2011-09-19T21:06:00.004-04:00

"Mr. President, your jobs bill doesn't make sense."This is simple math. You don't have to be Republican (I'm not), Democrat (I'm not), a Tea Partier, a Green, or a Marxist (I'm none of those either). Just divide the number of jobs the new taxes are supposedly going to produce into the cost.Last Thursday night, the President said that his so-called American Jobs Act would cost $447 billion dollars

Cold Hard Reality to Cut Through the Media and Political Doublespeak

2011-09-17T17:51:00.004-04:00

Vote for whoever you want. All of the candidates are flawed and have had their share of gaffs. But the Governor from Texas, this Rick Perry fellow, was absolutely right in calling the present social security system a Ponzi scheme."When Social Security began making monthly distributions in 1940, there were 160 workers for every senior receiving benefits. In 1950, there were 16.5; today, three; in

Marching Toward the Oblivion of the West

2011-09-15T21:22:00.005-04:00

Here's a controversial post that shouldn't be. It will be controversial because it goes against the media literati and the liberal politics of our educational institutions. And while some might quibble about some of the particulars, the overall picture seems to be accurate. Source: Kairos Journal.The Long March Smoke was still rising from the ruins of the Twin Towers when liberal icon and

US Courts Have "No Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction"

2011-09-08T16:11:00.004-04:00

Increasingly, our public life is becoming more and more hostile toward Christians and Christian engagement in the public sphere. But such hostility toward the church and juridical interference with church polity and practice has never been the norm in the USA. The following quotes from earlier courts makes this clear. Pray that such understandings would not become a thing of the past. Source:

Ammunition for Defending the Sanctity of Life

2011-08-18T12:39:00.003-04:00

Source: Kairos JournalThe defense of the sanctity of human life is an issue we simply can't let become a "back-burner" issue. Every quality of a civilized society is at risk on the fringes of this issue. With that in mind, here is more ammunition for your defense of human dignity and life.Protecting the “weakest and most vulnerable of human beings”—Gilbert Meilaender (1946 – )Gilbert Meilaender1

A Nazi Fighter Paves a Path for Our Budget Crisis

2011-08-12T11:08:00.005-04:00

Economic ideas are in the news; they are hot topic issues. With the budget crisis, a volitile stock market, continuing unemployment of millions of able bodied men and women willing to work, and a growing national debt, sometimes it is hard to sort it all out. It is good in these times to look at history and learn. Here's one of those looks back that can illumine our present path. The source is

The Difference Reality Makes: Raising Children to Love Christ

2011-08-05T20:01:00.003-04:00

Another great little article from Kairos Journal . If you ever wondered if there was real evidence on the whole "the family that prays together stays together" quote, here's what you have been waiting for. Don't buy what the media sells. Serving Christ, loving Christ makes a real difference in the quality of everything in life. Time Well Spent: Enhancing CivilityClichés certainly can be annoying.

The Intoxicating Power of the Gospel

2011-08-04T13:15:00.005-04:00

Here is a great story about the power of the gospel to change lives and transform a society. The country of Chile is being re-designed from the inside out through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't miss this story and then praise God for what he is doing. Then ask him to do the same thing in your life and community. Source: Kairos JournalA Radical Break with the Past—Arturo Fontaine Talavera (1952

Lessons from Obscure Persons in History

2011-07-21T19:07:00.004-04:00

I recently had the great delight of reading Fly Boys by James Bradley. It is the compelling story of what happened to the men who flew with President George H.W. Bush during WWII. Their stories were never told, wrapped in secrecy by the military because the brutality of their treatment by their captors was deemed to explosive for post-war hearts. It is a fascinating history not only about those

What is the Cause of Economic Depression?

2011-07-14T11:23:00.002-04:00

The following is from Kairos Journal. There is so much to read and the issues are so complicated when it comes to the economy that many people just chose the "guy they trust" and run with whatever he or she tells them is the "truth." But when things get complicated it is important to stop and learn from the past. Here's a brief article that helps to put the current economic crisis in perspective