CLF Notes

Response to Roger Ebert's Article - Civics:101

2011-08-21T08:30:00.000-04:00

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. ~ Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda.

I like Roger Ebert. He is a great movie critic and I have relied on his recommendations to make movie selections. But when it comes to Civics 101, Roger needs to go back to school.

In Ebert's article published in the New Castle Courier Times last week he made several statements that are simply wrong. But it's not his fault; unfortunately we've been taught a skewed and inaccurate view of American history for decades and now many believe this flawed view to be true.

The prayer rally, while unique in recent years was a common occurrence in the first century of the United States. Between 1622 and 1815 there were over 1,200 prayer proclamations made by presidents and governors including George Washington and John Hancock.

Mr. Ebert ridiculed pre-game prayers asking for victory. Every pre-game prayer I've heard or been involved in asked not for victory but for the safety of all players including their opponents. God may not be interested in "the drift of a field goal kick" but it wouldn't surprise me considering the New Testament story of the fish with a coin in his mouth and the Old Testament story of Gideon and his fleece.

Roger stated that this nation "was specifically not a Christian nation." That flies in the face of statements made by dozens of individuals including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Benjamin Rush, & John Hancock. These individuals, along with several courts and congress itself emphatically stated that the United States was founded on Biblical principles.

Yes, the founding settlers were escaping persecution from nations with state sponsored religions. Which is why they went back to scripture to support revolution against those governments. John Locke wrote The Two Treatises of Government, which quoted scripture over a thousand times to refute the Divine Right of Kings. 100 years later the Founders used Locke's book to create the Declaration of Independence.

If you examine nations, both current and historical, religious freedom and tolerance can only be found in nations founded on Judeo-Christian principles. That's because the founders believed in the free market system and the free exchange of ideas found in scripture. Everyone has an opportunity to share their ideas, products and beliefs; the best ones survive and thrive but the worst ones still have the right to stay in the conversation.

Mr. Ebert also states on more than one occasion that our form of government is a democracy. However, the Constitution guarantees a republican (representative) form of government, not a pure democracy. The Pledge of Allegiance reinforces this concept when we declare, "and to the Republic for which it stands." Many of the founders rejected democracy as one of the worst forms of government. John Adams said, "Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

Roger Ebert has had several challenges in his life, and I appreciate his passion for life. He is more than qualified to critique motion pictures. I just wish he had done his homework in Civics 101.

By the way, in researching the information in this letter, I found that the quote at the top of this letter was never actually made by the Nazi minister of propaganda, Dr. Joseph Goebbels. But it was repeated often enough that most people now believe he said it, which is incredibly ironic.

Don't believe everything you hear or read. Search for and follow the truth wherever it leads. Use original documents as often as possible, if not exclusively. Do your own research. Then teach others.

You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!

It's Time To Pray

2011-08-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

New Castle Courier-Times Christian Perspectives Article for Saturday, August 6^th, 2011

Colossians 4:2 - Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

It's time to pray.

I don't know anyone who likes what has been going on in Washington D.C. I don't know anyone whose heart has not been touched by the scenes from Japan in the aftermath of the tsunami. More than a year later people are still concerned with the desperation found in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake. Families with relatives in Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea, and elsewhere pray every day for their sons, and daughters, and mothers, and fathers serving our country.

2011 marks the driest 7-month period in Texas in recorded history; in Louisiana this is the second driest year ever; Arizona is experiencing menacing dust storms. Locally, farmers have either received just enough rain to save this year's crop, or are looking at losing the whole season's harvest.

It's time to pray - and you have several opportunities to join people across this community, and across the country, for times of prayer. Your first opportunity is today, Saturday August 6^th.

From 11 o'clock this morning until 6 o'clock this evening people will be fasting and praying for our nation - many are gathering at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. In view of the condition of our nation, this solemn gathering is a response to the biblical book of Joel, chapter 2. Ministry and ethnic leaders from around the nation are supporting this prayer event, as are the governors of Texas and Maine.

It's time to pray - a call from New Castle Prays.

New Castle Prays is a group of individuals who pray regularly for our city. They gather at the courthouse at 7 am on the first Thursday of every month to pray; consider this your invitation to be a part of that prayer time. If you would like to get e-mail prayer updates just send a request to Tisha Sledd at tishasledd@yahoo.com.

New Castle Prays is also sponsoring "Pray the Price for Henry County Schools" on Sunday, August 28th. They are calling people to pray at the elementary schools at 2pm and then everyone will meet at the New Castle High School to pray at 3pm. In addition, they are asking churches to join in a day of fasting - choosing one day between August 22 through 28 to fast as a congregation. Let Tisha know if your church is interested in joining them.

It's time to pray - on September 28^th for See You At the Pole.

Students from around the country will gather in prayer circles around the flag pole before school on that Wednesday morning. Teachers and school staff are welcome to attend, but the prayer times must be student led. If you are a student who wants to organize a See You At the Pole event at your school you can get more information at www.syatp.com.

Or you can do what people have done around the world for generations - just pray. Pray for our President, and Governor, and Mayor. Pray for our legislators and judges. Pray for our newspaper editors and TV and Radio news producers. Pray for our families. Pray for our teachers. Pray for our pastors. Pray for other Christians.

The tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on our nation is coming up in a few weeks - pray for our first responders and those serving in the military. Then write or call them and tell them you are holding them up in prayer.

It's time to pray. What will your response be?

Questions or comments? Write me at curt@smdcog.org.

Budget - What Would Jesus Do?

2011-07-27T15:42:00.000-04:00

The poverty rate has remained statistically unchanged for the last 45 years. In view of the billions of dollars the government has spent "helping" those in poverty, it is surprising that the percentage of those below the poverty level has not decreased at all, let alone substantially. What would Jesus do?

A group of ministers called The Circle of Protection, led by Rev. Jim Wallis, would have you believe that the bible commands us to continue these government programs no matter what the cost. I believe that they are misguided, thought well meaning, because they have focused on portions of scripture that have been taken out of context.

This religious lobbying group based in Washington, D.C. faithfully quotes the "least of these" phrase found in Matthew 25. Then they suggest that the government is responsible to obey their interpretation of this phrase.

Setting aside the fact that the full context of Matthew 25 describes a scene of each individual on the day of judgment, as opposed to entire nations standing in judgment, - there are other places where the "The Circle of Protection" becomes skewed.

Luke 4:18-19 is Christ's own description, first revealed in Isaiah, of His mission. ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

When you include Jesus' command to His disciples found in Matthew 28:18-20 you have the mission of the church. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

In condensed form, the mission of the church contains eight objectives: Preach good news to the poor, Proclaim freedom for the prisoners, Proclaim recovery of sight to the blind, Release the oppressed, Proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, Make disciples, Baptizing them, and Teaching them.

The Circle of Protection focuses on just one of these objectives - Preach good news to the poor. If that was the only objective of the church (even though they extend this obligation to the government) then their stance regarding the current budget crisis could be justifiable.

But can anyone look at the history of government assistance programs since the mid 1960's and say that they also accomplish the objective of proclaiming freedom for the prisoners, or that they release the oppressed? In fact the record suggests that, for most individuals who are in poverty, government programs actually keep them enslaved and continue to oppress them.

Another fact that fails to come to light is that the federal government can only provide these services by use of compulsory giving (i.e., taxes). This flies in the face of Paul's direction to the believers in Corinth, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

I acknowledge that the bible says that the government can tax its citizens and that the citizens do have an obligation to pay taxes. But this presupposes that the government is only fulfilling its God-given role and is not usurping the role of God's people.

It would be un-Christian to advocate for a program that for nearly half a century has claimed to be good news to the poor, but in reality has oppressed them and held them captive.

The Circle of Protection has asked "What Would Jesus Do?" in relation to the budget crisis. I think He might point to the church and ask, "Why are you demanding that the government take money from your neighbor to do something that I commanded you to do and gave you the resources to accomplish it?"

Life Is Short

2011-07-23T00:01:00.007-04:00

Psalm 103:15-18 - As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord 's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children — with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

Life on this earth is short.

Tuesday my wife and I drove south on State Route 3. I can't remember if we stopped at SR 3 and Trojan Lane. We were talking about the jump in the price of gas and how we should fill up while we could still find it cheap - not really cheap but cheaper.

While we were pumping gas at I-70 we saw a police car heading north with its lights on.

It seems that just minutes after we safely made it through that intersection in New Castle, another husband and wife did not.

Life on this earth is short.

On March 31^st my father had a massive hemorrhagic stroke - a bleeding in the brain. I flew to Florida and was with my parents and my two brothers for several days. Dad was in a comatose state, but responded occasionally to touch or conversation.

Hospice was called in, and we soon meet with a counselor. She suggested that we talk with dad because he might still be able to hear. She suggested we tell him four things.

Tell him you love him.

Tell him you will take care of your mom.

Tell him you forgive him for anything he has done to hurt you.

Ask him to forgive you for anything you have done to hurt him.

My brothers and I looked around at each other. We could do two of those things, but there was nothing left to be forgiven. My father had left a legacy of settling accounts quickly. Where forgiveness needed to be sought or offered, it had already happened.

Dad died on April 6^th, but what an incredible gift he left for us - a family with a clean slate; nothing left unsaid.

Life on this earth is short.

There are those today who have things to say - important things - but there is no longer anyone to hear them. There are those who have forgiveness to offer, but there is no one left to receive it.

In Ephesians 4:26 The Apostle Paul writes, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." And Jesus said in His sermon on the mount, "Settle matters quickly . . ."

Life on this earth is short.

My wife and I could have been the couple that people are grieving today. Maybe you and your spouse also went through that same intersection a little after 8:00 pm on Tuesday. The question that screams to be answered is, "Why was it them and not us?" But "why" questions are rarely answered to anyone's satisfaction.

The real question is, "What do I have to say that is still unsaid?" Maybe today is the day to settle accounts. Maybe today is the day to lay a solid foundation for a wonderful legacy.

I don't have answers to the 'why' questions, but there are some things I do know and they are true no matter what happens.

God loves us. And He has shown us how to live, because . . .

Life is short, but God is good.

The REAL Problem With The Casey Anthony Verdict

2011-07-16T00:01:00.014-04:00

What happens when we fail to recognize the biblical foundation of our legal system? We get something like the Casey Anthony verdict.

Nobody is happy with the outcome of the trial, except for maybe Casey and her legal team. Everyone knows there is something wrong when a little girl, almost three-years old, goes missing and her mother doesn't report it. When confronted 31 days after the disappearance, Casey lied multiple times. Deep down, everyone knows that this is not the way a mother would normally respond when her daughter was missing for over a month.

So society cries for justice! Go for the death penalty! Prosecutors, equally outraged, give the public what they are crying for - and lose.

After the verdict, most analysts agree that the prosecution's error was in the death penalty. The case was entirely circumstantial, and a "win" was more likely if they had charged Casey with a lesser charge. But the legal system is not about winning and losing - it's about justice. And everyone, including the prosecution team, had forgotten the biblical foundation of our legal system.

This nation, and it's legal system, was built on principles found in Christian and Jewish scriptures.

The concepts of the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances were instituted because our Founders believed and applied Jeremiah 17:9 to real life - "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" If the heart of every human is deceitful, then power must be distributed among several individuals so that power, when it is misused, can be corrected.

The writers of the Constitution applied Deuteronomy 17:15 to real life and required our president to be a natural born citizen of the United States. It states, ". . . be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite."

Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution dealt with the requirements for a conviction of Treason. Deuteronomy 17:6 reads, "On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness." Treason is a capital offence meaning you will be put to death if convicted.

Unfortunately, this foundational scripture was forgotten or ignored when it came time to charge Casey Anthony. There wasn't even one witness willing to testify to the crime (the murder or, if you believe the defense, the cover-up of the accident).

There was no biblical foundation for pursuing the death penalty in the case of Casey Anthony. But charging her with first-degree murder made us all feel good.

There are those who may want to do Casey harm when she is released in the next few hours, but that would be wrong as well. The government has been given charge of meting out justice. Romans 13 reads, ". . . he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves . . . For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

Justice comes in a variety of flavors: social, legal, spiritual, and racial, among others. When we pursue justice driven by our emotions, either by creating law or holding someone accountable to it, we will always end up with the kind of mess we are seeing played out this year in Florida.

But if we stand on principles marked out by scripture, the same principles that the Founders used to "form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare", we may actually "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." That was their dream - a dream based on truths found in scripture.

The Importance of Boundary Stones

2011-06-04T00:01:00.018-04:00

Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you. Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers. ~ Proverbs 22:26-28

I remember talking with an elderly man in our church when I was about 12 years-old. He was very adamant with his warning, "Don't EVER buy ANYTHING on credit!" Mr. Green continued, "I didn't even get a loan to buy my house! I worked hard, and paid cash. Don't ever borrow money to buy something. If you don't have the money, you can't afford it." That was a boundary stone. I wish I had listened more closely. I could have avoided some financial pain and suffering.

Many who lived through the Great Depression set up the same boundary stone. They saw the devastation that visited multiple generations when people bought things they couldn't afford by borrowing money they didn't have. They understood the danger and said throughout their lives, "Here is the boundary. Do not cross it. If you do, you will experience great heartache."

We live with boundaries every day. Don't drive on the other side of the yellow line or you will experience great pain, possibly death. Don't cheat on your test or you may get caught and fail. If you don't get caught, you will have cheated yourself out of learning something new, and wasted your time in the classroom. Don't go swimming in a river at flood stage - you will be swept away with no hope for rescue.

Recently, boundary stones were found along the northern coast line of Japan. They warned, "Do not build a house below this marker." The people who, generations ago, placed the marker were trying to warn their children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They wanted to firmly establish this warning, "Houses built beyond this point will be swept away in a tsunami." They had experienced the devastation of a tsunami and wanted to spare their descendants the same suffering and loss. But boundary stones are often ignored. After all, we've forgotten more than our ancestors ever knew - right?

The founders of this nation understood the parables of Jesus that warned what happened to those who borrowed and could not repay their lenders; the borrowers became slaves. But God did not create men and women to be slaves. We were created to be free. Founders like Thomas Jefferson were very clear about debt and established boundary stones.

"I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy." - Thomas Jefferson

Scripture is very clear about the dangers of debt. Scripture is very clear about the importance of observing boundary stones. To ignore the warnings and to cross the boundaries or move the boundary stones is very perilous; to our spiritual lives, our personal lives, and our lives as citizens of this country. Our time, treasure, freedom and happiness depend on how we respond to the ancient proverb: Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.

Questions or comments? Email me at curt@smdcog.org

Love Wins by Rob Bell - A Review

2011-04-14T08:31:00.000-04:00

Much of the controversy surrounding "Love Wins" by Rob Bell has been created by individuals who issued judgment on a book they had never read. The publisher Harper One and Bell, very skillfully crafted a marketing plan that would generate premature responses from the established church. After reading "Love Wins" it appears that Rob Bell has done what he always does; he walks up to the line between heresy and orthodoxy and, like a toddler, touches the line and looks back at the "adults" to see what kind of response he can generate.

In my opinion, he hasn't crossed the line, but he has asked several probing and uncomfortable questions that many Christians are afraid to ask and few are able to answer.

This is Rob Bell's standard operating procedure - he asks open-ended questions and just lets them hang there for us to wrestle with. I believe that wrestling with these questions can make us better Christians, but some will be left unanswered in this life.

Here are a few passages of "Love Wins" that I question or challenge.

On pages 50-51 Bell suggests that "heaven has the potential to be a kind of starting over." As proof he observes that spiritual transformation doesn't happen overnight. "Our heart, our character, our desires, our longings - those things take time." These suggestions mirror re-incarnation where, if you don't get it right the first time, you get a second chance in a new life. But he never says that heaven IS "a kind of starting over", it just has the potential; Bell suggests that it's possible.

On page 56 he says that people who die are "in heaven, but without a body". As proof he states that "those currently 'in heaven' are not, obviously, here. And so they're with God, but without a body." But his proof assumes that God and eternity are constrained by time. What happens if, when we leave our earthly body, we also leave time as we know it? We could receive our resurrected body "instantly" being outside of time, while time on earth continues for years or centuries to come until the resurrection.

On several occasions, including page 58, Bell asserts that there is a "future coming together of heaven and earth in what [Jesus] and his contemporaries called life in the age to come." As I read scripture there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but I don't read where they come together and become one.

Bell's "social justice" leanings come out on page 75, where he asserts that the rich man in Hades wants the beggar Lazarus to serve him. The suggestion is that social injustice is one reason the rich man is confined to Hades. I don't find this class-warfare in the original story. The story Jesus told does include individuals from two classes, but nowhere does it suggest that the differences in class determined their destination. Is it possible this interpretation has crept up because of a false guilt that many Americans feel, because we've been so blessed?

On page 81 he asserts that Jesus' warnings on the "coming wrath" were for his contemporaries only and not for us. He believes that these warnings dealt with the political uprising that the Romans crushed in 66 _CE. I'm not sure you can defend that position adequately. And haven't we seen that biblical prophecy can speak to several, even all, generations?

In my opinion, the most glaring scriptural omission to the book would have clearly challenged a section on page 108. In this paragraph Bell says that "many have refused to accept the scenario in which somebody is pounding on the door, apologizing, repenting, and asking God to be let in, only to hear God say through the keyhole: 'Door's locked. Sorry.'" However, this is the exact picture that Jesus himself paints in Matthew 24:36-39, and Luke 17:26-27, and again this image is used in 2 Peter 2:4-10.

On page 115 he assumes that because the gates of heaven are never shut, "people are free to come and go" from heaven. This assumption takes us where scripture does not go. Just because the gates are never shut, does not mean that people can come and go. It might mean that gates are defensive and after the judgment heaven's enemies will be defeated, so there will be no need for defensive measures. Or it could mean something entirely different; or it could mean nothing at all expect that the gates are not shut.

Pages 128-129 deal with the politically incorrect topic of talking about the "blood of Christ" in today's cultural setting. Bell states that, "what the first Christians did was look around them and put the Jesus story in language their listeners would understand" - namely blood sacrifice. However the first Christians did not have that option; God ordained the time and place for Christ's sacrifice. God established the sacrificial system, and the tabernacle/temple design. God used all of Hebrew history to foreshadow the crucifixion of Christ. It was God's story. If He wanted another analogy used, He would have picked another time and another method.

On page 145 I have a minor quibble with Bell. He states that the "energy that gives life to everything is called the Word of God." While it is a minor point, in the second chapter of Genesis and other places in scripture, the Word of God created all things, the Breath of God made man a living being.

Page 173 contains the assertion that if we die outside of a belief in, or relationship with, God, that God essentially becomes "a fundamentally different being." Is it possible that God does not change, and that we simply did not understand the full nature and character of God?

Finally, this statement from page 182 troubles me: " . . . we shape our God, and then our God shapes us." Maybe it is simply semantics but if we shape our God then He is no god at all. We may not ever fully understand God (how can a finite mind understand the infinite creator of the universe?), but the more we discover the true nature and character of God, the more we can be conformed to His likeness. If we shape our God, we will have little to change in our own lives.

Bottom line: Rob Bell does what he always does. He stretches the envelope; he asks tough questions that make us uncomfortable. Most of his questions he leaves unanswered. However, this kind of questioning can be beneficial to the Christian. If there is anything in my faith-life that can be shaken, it should be firmed up or removed altogether. With brothers like Rob Bell we will more frequently find those shakable areas. Once identified, we have the choice to become more like Christ or to walk away from Christ altogether. Do we want to be safe but shakable, or more firm in our faith because we have struggled with tough questions? The choice is ours . . . choose well.

Trash Talking In Front Of A Minister

2011-04-02T00:01:00.005-04:00

If it wasn't for trash talking in front of a seminary student during a rugby scrum this weekend might be very boring.

Jim was a senior at the Presbyterian College of Theology in Montreal. It was 1890 and one of Jim's friends blurted out a "profanity" during a rugby game. He quickly apologized giving the excuse, "I forgot you were there." Oddly enough, it was this awkward moment that became pivotal in Jim's life.

Jim was a decent athlete as well as a ministry student and began to seriously consider if he could use his love for athletics to minister to young men. He had experienced an internal struggle for a few years; how could he pursue his love for sports and his love for God?

His seminary instructors advised Jim to "leave the evils of the athletic life" and read the books that Christians are supposed to read; to do the things that Christians are supposed to do. The question his seminary peers were asking was, "How could anyone be a good Christian AND play violent sports like lacrosse and rugby?"

But the "trash talking" helped Jim crystallize his resolve. He would have to find a way to use sports to teach biblical truth and morals to people who may not be open to traditional Christian education.

One year later, a few days before Christmas, Jim used his dual passions for ministry and athletics, as well as a challenge from a Physical Education director in Martha's Vineyard and created a brand new indoor game; one that blended the best ideas from several sports including a medieval children's game called "Duck On A Rock".

Within days it became a sensation and it was inexpensive. All you needed was a soccer ball and two peach baskets. It's had a few transformations since then but on December 21^st, 1891 James Naismith organized the first basketball game, and the rest is history.

So this weekend, as you cheer for the Butler Bulldogs in the Men's NCAA Tournament remember that it all started almost 120 years ago, when one man decided to harness his passion for athletics and channel it for use in advancing the Kingdom of God.

By the way, what are you passionate about? Could you harness your passion and use it for the glory of God? You don't have to wait for a trash talking friend. Just Do It!

God Loves Us . . . Really

2011-03-26T00:01:00.003-04:00

God loves us but sometimes it doesn't sound like it. In the second chapter of the Old Testament God says to Adam and Eve, "if you are disobedient you will surely die." The Deceiver whispers, "He didn't really mean you would die." Then we see it in real life.

Six year-old boy Benji Easler died recently when the miniature train he was riding tipped over at Cleveland Park in South Carolina. In one respect it was a tragic accident. But there is more to the story.

The park managers decided to run the train two weeks earlier than normal to take advantage of the warm weather and the crowds that would likely use the train.

Two days before the accident a state inspector filed a report claiming that he had inspected the train and that it had passed inspection. Unfortunately, the paperwork was falsified. The train was never inspected.

Now we learn that the train operator was speeding when the train derailed and tipped over. But who hasn't gone a few miles faster than the posted limit?

There are also reports that the accident occurred on a section of the track that had been repaired last year.

Was it simply an accident or the law of unintended consequences? Did greed play a role in the early opening of the park? Did laziness or deceit regarding mundane paperwork hide the deadly defect? Did someone who ignored silly "speed restrictions" create a dangerous situation? Did shoddy workmanship last year play a role in a tragedy this year?

What went wrong? We have laws that keep greedy companies from gouging their customers. We have inspection plans for amusement parks and we hire state inspectors to do the inspecting. We've established speed limits on roads and rail. We've developed quality standards for acceptable workmanship. Why aren't these safeguards enough?

We have a governmental form of right-living; unfortunately, we also have citizens who lack personal integrity.

Plato, a philosopher who lived 400 years before Christ, saw the same situation in his home of Athens. As one writer put it, Athens had a residual corporate righteousness that "covered up for individual decay . . . Private vice would undermine public virtue."

Personal immorality, no matter how small, can have devastating effects for those around us. The writer of James reminds us that even tiny things like the words that we say can create great damage - it can even change the whole course of our life.

Disobedience to God's law often leads to dreadful results. If God warns us about it, and the Deceiver says not to worry about it, which one is telling the truth? But the deception goes farther.

The Deceiver not only lied about WHAT would happen, he also lied about WHY it happened. He implied that God did not love us. But if God warns us about real danger, and the Deceiver says not to worry about it, which one really loves us?

The moral code laid out in scripture is for our protection and provision. We are also instructed to "count the cost" of our decisions; as individuals, as churches, as communities, and as nations.

So what will be the cost of action in Libya when the defense secretary says, "it's unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve"? Is military action without defined goals going to cost more than we are willing to pay?

What will be the cost in the Wisconsin communities where teachers call in "sick" in order to protest in Madison? Will their students learn that you don't have to tell the truth to your employers as long as you have a good reason? Will they learn to lie in other situations?

The cost of church scandals have permanently scarred many, both by the initial transgression and by the cover-up. Children of broken families are always hurt by situations that usually start with a "wink-and-a-nod".

God loves us. That's why He calls us to personal integrity. That's why He asks us to count the cost. If that had happened, even once, in the last few weeks Benji Easler might still be alive.

We Are Called To Reason

2011-02-28T21:46:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 1:18 reads: "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."

God designed us to use reason to know and establish truth in our culture. And although we enter the 'house of salvation' only by active faith in the risen Christ, God does not require us to check our brains at the door.

Peter tells the church, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." We should be prepared to reason with people regarding the truth of our claims about Christ.

The Bereans were applauded for using scripture to determine that what Paul was preaching was true. Later, Paul used reason to present the gospel to the Greek culture on Mars Hill.

The Founders of the United States believed in reason as well. If everyone has freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, they believed we could discuss, debate, and give reasons for what we thought to be true. And they believed that truth would be discovered if we reasoned well.

This is why they established the "free exercise" of religion, even though they were almost exclusively from Christian denominations. They were confident that when people diligently seek religious truth and are free to reason, the truth will always be found.

However, over many years, the North American culture has abandoned the idea of knowable, absolute truth. Many believe absolute truth does not exist, and even if it does - it cannot be known. As a result we have lost the art of reasoning. The meanings of terms like proposition, argument, syllogism, fallacy, and dilemma are unknown to many adults, but years ago they were taught to elementary students.

When reasoning has been lost in a culture, we resort to physical, emotional, political, or economic force to achieve our desired goals. Consequently society suffers.

Zero tolerance laws have lead to silly situations where students have been suspended from school for bringing a plastic knife to cut a birthday cake. Why? Because adults refuse to do the difficult work of reasoning.

Apple has removed the app for the Manhattan Declaration from its iTunes store. The Manhattan Declaration uses reason to advance the belief that life is sacred, marriage is sacred, and religious freedom is worth fighting for. Apple calls it 'hate speech' and refuses to engage in or permit reasoned discussion.

Recently, legislators have done what many of us do when we face tough decisions - run. Could things have turned out differently if we had stayed and done the hard work of reasoning and wrestling with difficult decisions? Only if everyone was determined to find the truth.

When reason is suppressed or lost, tensions within a culture begin to rise and eventually boil over as we can see in nations around the world, and as we have witnessed in America in race riots and a Civil War.

When the church fails to reason, it can become legalistic with lists of "do's and don'ts" that ignore the truth and drive people further away from God.

But when reason is used as a compliment to faith we see significant advancements in society. Many of our great explorers pursued science because they believed that all truth was God's truth, and that it was knowable. After all, if there is no truth, or if it cannot be known - why pursue it?

Truth was pursued and reason was used to craft documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution; documents that have protected freedom and established justice for individuals here and around the world.

If we value truth, believe that it is knowable, and are willing to do the hard work of reasoning together we can advance the Kingdom of God. We can contribute to our culture in positive ways. We can prevent untold sorrow and suffering.

Centuries ago scripture issued an invitation to people of faith from every generation: "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord.

Why Democracy In Egypt Will Disappoint (And Possibly Threaten) Us

2011-02-09T14:45:00.001-05:00

The current events in Egypt have prompted many in the United States to clamor for democratic elections. More than a few are advocating free and fair elections; pleading that the Egyptians should be able to select their own leaders. What is being lost in the discussion, is that a majority of Americans have a distorted view of the role of democracy. Because of this misunderstanding, and if democracy succeeds in Egypt, many Americans will be confused and disappointed with the nature and character of the government that materializes.

The reason for this confusion is that many people believe that democracy is "the goal", when democracy is actually a tool that can be used for good as well as evil. In fact, a simple democracy was something that the Founders soundly and forcefully rejected.

Fisher Ames - "A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. These will produce an eruption and carry desolation in their way."

Benjamin Rush - "A simple democracy is the Devil's own government."

John Adams - "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

What we find in America is a republic with many democratic elements. But even this form of government is not "good" in and of itself. Our Founders understood that the American Experiment would only work for a "moral and religious people" and that the government would take on the characteristics of the principles found in that religion.

John Adams - "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Noah Webster - "Our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican (i.e. representative) principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament, or the Christian religion."

Any form of democracy established in Egypt will take on the characteristics of the moral code of the people. The same can be said everywhere democracy is established. We are seeing the results of this truth in the frustrations of forming an Iraqi government, and it is exactly why democracy has failed to take hold in Afghanistan.

Many of our former presidents have reminded us, and rightfully so, that the soul of mankind yearns from freedom.

President Ronald Reagan said, "All men and women yearn for the freedom that God gave us all when he gave us free will."

President George W. Bush said, "The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls, or martial laws, or secret police. Over time, and across the Earth, freedom will find a way."

What we often fail to appreciate is that the freedom we champion is a freedom based on Judeo-Christian principles. A freedom based on Islamic principles, or atheistic principles, or Buddhist principles will look very different.

Can we realistically expect that a freedom based on Judeo-Christian values is the kind of freedom that will be established in Egypt? If not, what is the value system commonly held by the people of Egypt? What is that value system based on, and what are the characteristics of that foundation? The answers to these questions will shape the kind of democracy that emerges in Egypt.

Unfortunately, in our rush to "democratize" Egypt, many do not realize that the freedom that emerges will reflect the principles found in the Qur'an and Shariah Law more than the ones found in the Old and New Testaments. We should be careful what we ask for . . . we may just get it.

Chaplains May Be In Jeopardy

2010-11-06T00:15:00.005-04:00

What would you do if you had to choose between keeping God's Word and keeping your job? What if God called you to perform a job, but to complete that job the way you think God wants you to carry it out meant that you would lose that job?

That is the choice many chaplains in the United States military will face if the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is found unconstitutional and homosexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military.

Many of the current chaplains serving in the military believe in the authority of scripture. They echo the words of King David written in Psalm 19:7-11.

"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

Jewish and Muslim chaplains will also find themselves in the same dilemma; follow military regulations and ignore scriptural commands, or minister according to scriptural truth and become insubordinate to a superior officer.

This is already happening in other aspects of chaplaincy service. Many chaplains are now required to submit their prayers in writing to JAG officers for their approval. Some chaplains have even been disciplined by the military for being obedient to scripture causing them to be disobedient to the military command structure.

Many say the solution is to only employ chaplains that will ignore scriptural commands that are in conflict with military policy. But what kind of faith is that? What soldier would trust a chaplain who chose to obey man made laws and ignore God's law? And wouldn't this policy, in effect, be establishing a government sanctioned religion?

The policy makers and media moguls would have you to believe that striking down "Don't ask, don't tell" is a civil rights issue; a sexual orientation issue. In reality, it will be a 1^st Amendment issue. It will be a freedom of religious expression issue. It will be a freedom of speech issue.

Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" will establish an officially sanctioned, government approved belief system. That establishment will destroy the protections found in the 1^st Amendment and impact us personally, whether we serve in the military or not..

What will chaplains do? They will have to make the hard decision between keeping God's Word and keeping their job. What will we do? If "Don't ask, don't tell" is repealed, we will have to decide if we will allow the 1^st Amendment to be ignored, dissolved, and discarded. We can submit to the Church and State becoming institutionally joined, or we can follow the example of patriots and men of faith who fought for their freedom and ours.

We can follow the example of founders like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Fisher Ames, and Benjamin Rush. We can follow the example of George Washington who, in one of his first actions as President, established the practice of employing chaplains in military service.

Will we continue the fight for religious freedom and freedom of speech? The choice is ours. Choose well.

It's Time To Vote

2010-10-30T00:01:00.005-04:00

It's time to vote. As a citizen, it is your duty, privilege, and right. You hold it in your hands; you are responsible for it. It is also a tool that you must use to shape our nation. That is how it has always been used.

When the Founders were forming the U.S. Constitution, they voted. These votes came after long, deliberate, and sometimes heated conversations. They wrestled with great ideas and thorny problems. And then they voted.

They agreed with the passage in Jeremiah 17:9 that states, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" So they decided not to put too much power into any one person's hands. Then they voted on Separation of Powers.

They saw the government envisioned in Isaiah 33:22, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us." With that vision, they separated the powers into the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches of government. Their votes created the first three articles of the Constitution.

The Founders agreed with the wisdom revealed in Exodus 18:21: "But select capable men from all the people — men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain — and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens." So they decided to create a republic, where we select leaders who then represent us and are constrained by the law and the Constitution. And they voted to affirm Article 4, Section 4 of the Constitution.

They understood the command of God in Leviticus 19:33-34 - "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." In obedience, they agreed to an orderly accommodation of foreigners in this new country, Rules of Naturalization. Then they voted and approved Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.

They agreed with the warning found in Deuteronomy 17:15 - "Be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you." In light of this they decided that the President should not be a foreigner. Then they established Article 2, Section 1 by a vote.

Over and over, the Founders used the truths they found in scripture to inform their deliberations and their votes. They weren't perfect. Sometimes they got it wrong. In 1784 Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill in the Continental Congress that would have banned slavery in the entire United States. It was strongly supported by George Washington, Benjamin Rush and many of the other Founders. Unfortunately, it failed to pass by only one vote. The nation became misshaped.

For nearly 200 years this nation would struggle with an issue that led to things like the Civil War, the Birmingham Church Bombing, and the Watts Riots in L.A. Each of these scars might have been avoided if there was just one more vote in 1784. A vote that was informed by the truths we find in scripture. A vote that would have helped shape our nation for the better.

Now it is your turn. How will you use your vote? You hold it in your hands; you are responsible for it. It is a tool that you must use to shape our nation.

Some day you will have to answer for how you used your vote . . . even if you choose not to use it. It's your choice. Choose well.

Another American Icon Advocating Death Panels

2010-09-18T01:00:00.001-04:00

In April 2009, Sarah Palin suggested that the health care bill being debated in Congress would create death panels; Health care would have to be rationed and health care decisions would be made based on your value to society. She was roundly ridiculed for this statement. "How could anyone believe something so absurd?"

That was before it became law.

Two months ago, another icon of American success made a similar statement that nobody is ridiculing. During a conference at the Aspen Institute, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, stated that we should have the discussion about the benefits of allowing someone to die a few months early so that we can save the jobs of ten teachers.

Gates continued, "But that's called a death panel, and you're not supposed to have that discussion. . . because of our penchant for generosity [in our end-of-life decisions] we will be laying off over 100,000 teachers, which, you know, I'm very much against that." ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrJBY2l1MQQ )

I highly value our public teachers. There are many who are underpaid, and whose jobs are in jeopardy. But we live in a dangerous time when celebrities like Bill Gates can advocate a speedy death for some individuals so that others, who are more beneficial to society, can keep their jobs. Where should we stop? Do we refuse to treat terminal cancer patients so that we can pay first responders like police and firefighters? Do we sacrifice Down's Syndrome individuals so that we can build better highway bridges?

Is there any job that is so valuable that we can justify "buying" it with a human life? And what would a society who was willing to make that transaction look like? Would you really want to live in that kind of a world?

Celebrities have always spoken out on public policy matters, but Gates is more than an icon, he is a wealthy icon who can financially influence public policy decisions. In American society, few are admired more than those who are financially successful. We would do well to listen to Jesus' letter to the church in Laodicea.

"You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." - Revelation 3:17-18

Mother Teresa plainly challenged the idea that life and death decisions can be carried out based on financial considerations. She said, "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

Followers of Christ have an obligation to challenge the idea that any life can be traded for financial or social gain. If the people of God remain silent on this issue, the deaths of some people will be accelerated so that others can take benefit financially. Some lives will be deemed "worth-less" so that our tax burden can be reduced. Other lives will be deemed "worth-more" so that politicians can gain and maintain political power. We must act. We must pray.

Pray for those who make social policy. Pray for financial power-players like Bill Gates. Speak out wherever you find this idea. Stand up for those whose lives are jeopardized by policies that trade human lives for financial or social advancement.

No matter how ridiculous this idea sounded yesterday, it may be public policy tomorrow. The structure is already in place, the battle is now in the arena of public opinion. The choice is yours. Choose well.

Lessons From September 11 - Discipleship

2010-09-11T11:25:00.000-04:00

Events can impact us, but they rarely transform us. Nine years ago we were impacted by an event. September 11, 2001 started as a normal day but ended with thousands dead, all air travel grounded, and a nation in shock.

That morning nineteen al-Qaeda extremists used four commercial airliners to stage an event that paralyzed a nation, but only for a while. Soon we were calling friends and family to assure them that we would be all right. Later, we gathered in churches and synagogues to seek help from God. Then we turned to our first-responders and encouraged them and prayed for them. We were impacted.

I know that many in the church, leaders especially, hoped that this event would bring transformation. Unfortunately, increased airport security and increased limits on carry-on luggage have become the only long-lasting changes. True, we are fighting two wars overseas that we weren't fighting then. But only the ones who lost loved ones, or those who are now sending them overseas, are living lives that have been altered forever. The rest of us were merely, temporarily impacted.

Transformation happens not through events but by living it - daily. For many Americans, including American Christians, life isn't much different than it was on September 10, 2001. American life has retreated to an imaginary world of televisions, computers, and I-Pods. We remember 9/11 simply as a horrific day in history. It impacted us, but only for a time and nearly a decade ago.

But how would the world be different if we could live a life that was transformed rather than simply impacted? Every day would offer new opportunities to live this revolutionized life. We would understand and accept new responsibilities. We wouldn't simply 'think' about an issue; we would be compelled to action. Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated, "We have learned a bit too late in the day that action springs not from thought but from a readiness for responsibility."

This is where many in the church have forgotten the mechanism that God instituted for ensuring that our efforts accomplish transformation and not simply well packaged events.

Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -Matt 28:18-20 "The Great Commission"

In the original language, this passage could read ". . . cause them to learn all of the things that they see that I have instructed you . . ." The mechanism that God established for transformational growth is discipleship; transmitting to others what we learn on a daily basis.

My theological friends are thinking to themselves, "Salvation is what changes someone"; and my holiness friends are saying, "TheHoly Spirit baptism is what brings real change." I agree with both views, to a point.

Here is where I often see a disconnect in the church: we assist people as they experience 'salvation' and an 'infilling' of the Holy Spirit, but that's where the church often stops. We leave these 'spiritual babies' in the delivery room and go look for another 'pregnant' event.

We don't do that with human babies. We understand that, even though we have witnessed a miracle that only God could perform, we have a responsibility to care for and nurture these newborns for several years to come. Likewise, discipleship is the next natural step in spiritual development, yet in many cases it is ignored. No wonder that recent studies have shown no difference between the moral behavior of Christians and non-believers.

This may be why September 11 surprised many in the church. We forgot the power of discipleship.

How could you train nineteen men to live peaceful, quiet, suburban lives for several years, and yet expect them to willingly sacrifice those lives for what they believe in? Discipleship. It's time for the church to reclaim its Commission.

Does The Church Have A Voice?

2010-07-24T00:01:00.004-04:00

"It is high time we broke with our theologically based restraint toward the government's actions - which after all is only fear. 'Speak out for those who cannot speak' - who in the church today realizes that this is the very least that the Bible requires of us?"

Who spoke these words? A right wing crazy? A Pro-life zealot?

Obviously, it was someone who took God's Word seriously. Isaiah 1:17b reads - Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

We are commanded to do this because it is part of God's very nature. We are called to imitate our Father. Deuteronomy 10:17-18a reads - For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow . . .

For the last 40 years the church has been leading the way in speaking out for those who cannot speak - the unborn. In spite of this, over 52 million babies have been aborted legally in the United States since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Soon there will be a new class to speak out for.

Dr. Donald Berwick was recently appointed the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He is also a strong advocate for transforming our healthcare system into one that imitates NHS in Great Britain. A quick glance at the NHS website reveals a chilling reality - the government there uses a formula to assign values to human lives.

A portion of the official website reads: The enormous costs involved mean that choices have to be made . . . To ensure our judgments are fair, we use a standard and internationally recognized method . . . the quality-adjusted life years measurement (the ‘QALY’).

The QALY is determined by multiplying your life expectancy by a number that corresponds to your "quality of life". Your quality of life is determined by an agent of the government. Then, using the QALY, they calculate how much your life is worth. If you are young or have a higher quality of life, then you have great worth. If you are aged or have a lower quality of life, then you are worth less.

How can we reconcile this concept with the fact that our Savior gave His life for ours? Are some lives worth more than others? Are other lives worth-less? There have been times in world history where large groups of people believed this lie, and the consequences were unspeakable.

In those dark times in history, few spoke up for the worth-less. Why should they speak out? After all they were proud, patriotic citizens and these decisions were being made for the good of the country.

Scripture clearly teaches that all life is precious; there are no worth-less lives. Scripture clearly commands us to speak out for those who cannot speak; there are no worth-less lives.

The church has a decision to make. Will we speak out? If this national effort to calculate the value of a human life cannot be prevented, the church will have additional decisions to make. Will we care for those whose lives have been determined to be worth-less? Will we agree by our silence that some lives are worth more than others? Will we allow this cancer to grow unchecked in our culture?

The choice is ours. The worth-less are depending on the church to find and use its voice.

By the way, the words that began this article were penned on September 11^th . . . 1934. They were written by a German pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Eleven years and more than 6 million "worth-less" Jewish lives later, the world was concluding the Second World War; a war that claimed an additional 60 million lives during the conflict. Were all of those lives worth-less? Were ANY of those lives worth-less? How would history have changed if the church had found its voice?

Questions or comments? Write curt@smdcog.org

The Things We Don't See

2010-06-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

Christian Perspectives Article for the New Castle Courier-Times - June 12, 2010

I just got my new issue of Discover Magazine and the theme for the month is the Invisible Planet - The Science We Don't See. It got me thinking; What are the things we don't see in our world?

Have we witnessed the selfless acts of our community's first responders?

Do we think about the positive effects of the various food pantries, the Westminster Community Center, the Christian Love Help Center, Cradles, the Henry County Pregnancy Care Center, and other similar groups?

On the flip side, do we see the damage that drug abuse does to our community or is it invisible to us?

Do we appreciate the destruction that broken families leave in the emotional lives of our children?

Are we aware of the loneliness experienced by our neighbors?

Do we perceive the quality of educators we are losing to cutbacks and retirements?

Do we notice the vacuum created by lost economic opportunities?

Howard Hendricks, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, said something at a conference I attended a few years ago that has haunted me ever since. He said, "It's not enough to see a problem. It's not even enough to be able to articulate the problem. What are you going to do to solve the problem?"

There are a lot of issues that emerge in communities. Some are very visible; some are relatively hidden. Oftentimes we pride ourselves in being able to see these issues and talk about them. But the real question is, "What are we going to do about them?"

James 4:17 reads: Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

What can you do about the issues you know about? Do you have a problem with something happening on a national level? Have you offered a solution? Have you contacted your representatives? For instance, many people are concerned about the oil spill in the gulf. Do you have the ability to offer your time or services to resolve the issue?

Have you noticed our economic hardships? Have you offered to be part of a delegation to secure new businesses for Henry County? Can you help re-train someone who is out of work? Are you able to teach a new job skill? Are you doing what you can to make Henry County appealing to prospective businesses?

Do you appreciate our local heroes; our first responders? Have you told them or shown them in a tangible way? Have you encouraged them or prayed for them?

Maybe one of the invisible things in our community is our identity. When you look in the mirror do you see part of the answer to many of these issues? Don't wait for the President, or Congress to do something. Stop depending on the state or local government to "take care of it." Be part of the solution even if your church is not mobilizing. You and I can be agents of grace, healing, encouragement, and restoration. "We The People" can make a difference, and if you are a Christian you are an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. See the issues and talk about them, but don't stop there. Do something!

Any questions or comments? Email me at curt@smdcog.org

Does It Really Matter What Truth Is?

2010-05-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

What is truth? Philosophers have asked that question for centuries. Roman governor Pontius Pilate asked Jesus the same question. What is truth?

In recent years the question has changed. Does real truth exist? Is there absolute truth? Is your truth the same as my truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

When you go to the bank and ask for your bank balance, do you want the truth? Do you want your truth or the bank's truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

Imagine that you are in a severe car accident with your family. When you wake up in Recovery, you ask about your spouse and children. Do you want the real truth? Does it really matter what the truth is?

Modern philosophy says that what's true for you may not be true for me; what is really meant is that your perception of truth is different from my perception of truth. In this world there is only One Truth. Everything different from that One Truth is someone's perspective on truth. But eventually perspectives will be compared to the One Truth.

That's what is beginning to happen in climate change science (formerly global warming science). Actually, climate change is not science at all; a leading advocate for climate change studies readily admits it.

Recently, Christian British blogger, Kevin McGrane uncovered quotes from Mike Hulme. Mr. Hulme is founding director of Tyndall Centre and Professor of Climate Change at the University of East Anglia and has prepared climate change reports for the British government, the European Commission, and the United Nations.

Hulme explains that climate change science is not "normal" science, but post-normal science. Post-normal science discards conventional methods of scientific discovery, and advances a pre-determined political or social agenda.Hulme acknowledges that post-normal "scientists", himself included, are not searching for truth, they are searching for power.

Or take the recent Arizona Immigration Law. Dozens of people, from politicians to entertainers to clergy, have publicly condemned the law only to later admit that they have not read it. It's hard to believe that they really care about finding the truth. If they do care, how can they criticize something they haven't read?

In the 1981 movie, Absence of Malice, Paul Newman's character debates truth with Sally Field's character. They come to the conclusion that something can be true but not accurate; certain facts are true but they don't tell the whole story. At least twenty years ago we were concerned with accuracy. Today, in many ways, we will trade the truth we know for the lie that we want to believe. In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he calls that sin.

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised."

I can trade juicy information about my neighbor; it's not really gossip. Really?

We can spend our way out of debt. Does that even make sense?

I can commit adultery; it won't really hurt anyone else. Does it really matter if that is true?

God is truth. Everything that is true flows from who God is. Everything that is untrue is opposed to God. At the core of everything we call "sin" is a transaction; we trade truth for a lie. Then we act on that lie and not on the truth.

When we act on a lie, disregarding truth, we sin and there will be consequences. When a church acts on a lie, ignoring the truth, it sins and there will be a cost. When a nation acts on a lie, closing its eyes to the truth, it sins and there will be a price to pay. But, does it really matter?

I believe it does matter. We must be people who seek the truth wherever it leads. We must be churches who are obedient to the truth whatever the cost. We must be a nation who believes that there is real truth, values that truth, and acts on the truth.

Do you know the truth? Or does it really matter?

Questions or comments? Write curt@smdcog.org

Revisiting The Warning Sign of Columbine - Eleven Years Later

2010-04-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

Published in the New Castle Courier-Times, April 10, 2010

April 20th marks the eleventh anniversary of the warning sign of Columbine. Do you remember the shock following that day of horror? Everyone was seeking answers that at first glance appeared elusive, but could be found in what the Founding Fathers called Natural Law.

Scripture lays the foundation for Natural Law: ". . . 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." Rom 1:19-20 (NIV)

C. S. Lewis talked about it in "The Abolition of Man". Lewis maintained that every culture has a basic understanding of right and wrong. His book was a response to an effort by some educators to undermine a belief in Natural Law and to establish a secular understanding of morality.

Lewis believed that Natural Law should be taught to every generation so that these 'first principles' could enlighten the intellect, and restrain the animal nature of a person. Much of what Lewis wrote echoed our Founders.

"I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws . . ." Benjamin Rush - signer of the Declaration of Independence.

"Why then, if these books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the bible regain the place it once held as a school book ? Its morals are pure, its examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred book, that is thus early impressed, lasts long; and, probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind." Fischer Ames - suggested the wording for the First Amendment.

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scripture ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evil [that] men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." Noah Webster - the Father of American Scholarship and Education.

Amazingly, in the wake of Columbine, most people ignored the conclusions of the Colorado State Board of Education:

"Finally, we must remember, respect, and unashamedly take pride in the fact that our schools, like our country, found their origin and draw their strength from the faith-based morality that is at the heart of our national character . . . Today our schools have become so fearful of affirming one religion or one value over another that they have banished them all. In doing so they have abdicated their historic role in the moral formation of youth and thereby alienated themselves from our people's deep spiritual sensibilities. To leave this disconnection between society and its schools unaddressed is an open invitation to further divisiveness and decline."

Natural Law is just as real as the laws of physics and we ignore them both at our own peril. The inalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence are based on a belief in the Laws of Nature and Nature's God. If Natural Law is rejected, then our rights disappear as well. If Natural Law is discarded, rights could be granted or removed at the whim of whoever holds political power.

Ideas have consequences. This nation was birthed because of a common understanding of Natural Law and an acknowledgement of a Creator. If we abandon Natural Law and reject the idea of a Creator, there will be consequences as well. If we fail to teach the laws of Nature and Nature's God, we will continue to experience events like Columbine. But do we really need another warning sign?

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There Is No Such Thing As a Free Dog

2010-04-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

There is no such thing as a free dog. Our family discovered that three years ago. We received a curly-haired, black bundle of joy called Teddy as a Christmas gift - absolutely free . . . or so we thought. Three years later, he has become the beloved beta-male of the Ferrell pack, but he has come with a price.

We feed him and take him to the vet. We purchase flea, tick, and heartworm medicine monthly. We purchased a cage for use while he was house trained and a series of ceramic bowls for him to sleep in. I don't know why he liked sleeping in ceramic bowls, but every few weeks he grew out of the old bowl and needed a larger one.

Eventually he grew out of his small cage and we purchased a bigger one. Now he sleeps on top of it and dreams of being Snoopy chasing down the Red Barron! Add up all of the toys, snacks, food, medicine, collars and leashes, and we could put a good down payment on my daughters' college education. There is no such thing as a free dog.

In addition, we have lost some of our freedom as a family. When the 'pack' travels and stops at the Speedway or Wal-Mart, we can't all go inside; someone says behind with Teddy. When we travel without Teddy, we find someone to take care of him while we are gone. We cannot go too far away or for too long, because Teddy must be cared for. We can no longer play card games on the living room floor because Teddy lays down on the discard pile. He just wants to be the center of attention.

While I dearly love our little fuzz ball, if we had known the expense and the loss of certain freedoms we may have thought longer before accepting the 'free Christmas gift.' We may have recalled the words of Christ, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?"

Unfortunately, our nation seems to have made the same mistake 'the Ferrell pack' did, only on a grander scale. The idea of universal health care is wonderfully exciting! No more pain, no more sickness, no doctors performing unnecessary tonsillectomies in order to buy a new yacht; or so the rumor goes in Washington. But have we counted the cost? Do we have the money to pay for this 'free gift?' Have we listened to sound advice from scripture?

Scripture teaches that a blessed nation "lends to many nations but will borrow from none." How does that square with our position as a nation? Scripture says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Yet we have clearly given up our freedom of choice in exchange for the illusion of security. We are advised to "defend the cause of the weak and fatherless," yet we have affirmed legislation that will provide funding for abortions, unaffected by any Executive Order.

Over just a handful of decades the church has accepted the idea, an idea that was foreign to the founders of this great nation, that faith has no place in the public square. And Christians, in particular, cannot and should not try to influence political thought. God save us from our own ignorance! There is no such thing as a free dog, and there is no such thing as free health care. Freedom itself isn't free; it was given to us by our Creator and defended with the blood of hundreds of thousands of men and women who laid down their lives so that we could experience freedom.

If the events of the past few weeks stand unchallenged, we may come to love and appreciate our new-found security. But at what price? We have exchanged the gift from our Creator for the gift from our government. We have exchanged our freedom for security. But at what cost?

There is no such thing as a free dog.

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Forgotten US History and the Church

2010-03-15T10:46:00.000-04:00

Would it surprise you to know that George Washington refused to call anyone a patriot who worked to remove religion and morality from public and governmental life?

What would you say if I told you that the United States Congress tried to import 20,000 bibles from Europe, but then decided to endorse a version printed in America and recommended that version to every American?

Did you know that 27 of the 39 signers of the U.S. Constitution had seminary degrees?

Each of these statements are true, but they have been cleanly scrubbed from our history books and from our public memory.

If you become a student of pre-1900 U.S. History, you might be surprised at how influential Christianity has been in the foundation and maintenance of the federal government. Christianity was not only foundational to the United States, it was strongly promoted by many of the Founding Fathers, sometimes using government funds to advance the faith.

Thomas Jefferson, the author of the supposed "wall between church and state", authorized payment of funds by the United Sates to the Kaskasia Indians to help them build a church. He also approved seven years of financial support out of the government's coffers to pay for a priest! So how does this square with Jefferson being the creator of the concept of the separation of church and state?

By the way, the words "separation", "church" and "state" cannot be found in the First Amendment, the Constitution, or any other official founding document.

Why is it important to discover, recover and remember this information? Because the founders of this nation understood that a republic, like the United States, would never work, and would eventually fail if the People rejected morality and a Judeo-Christian understanding of God.

John Adams, the Second President of the United States and a crafter of the Declaration of Independence, stated, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other [people]."

Unfortunately, there has been a consistent attack on the public demonstration and declaration of our faith for several years, sometimes by people who have sworn to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution." There are even some, in the highest offices in the land, who think that the constitution is fundamentally flawed and that we need to break free from its basic limitations.

However, the Constitution was written and designed to list a handful of things that the Federal Government had the power to do. Any authority, action, or power, other than those things specified in the Constitution, was to be determined by the States or the People. In short, it was intentionally designed to limit the power of the Federal Government. Modern political thought seeks to limit the People and give power to the Government.

The church has an opportunity to speak into this culture and remind it of the moral and religious foundation of the nation. No one else will do it. And when we do, we will not be wrapping the church in the American flag. Instead we will be wrapping America in the truths found in Scripture.

Truths like, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

"For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure."

"Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts."

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. "

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people."

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

Consider these parting words of George Washington: "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."

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How Do You Love?

2010-02-13T00:01:00.003-05:00

New Castle Courier-Times Article for Saturday, February 13, 2010

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. . . Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:10, 18

While New Castle slogs through the heaviest snows of the winter season, I am in Florida with my parents. My father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and my local congregation has graciously allowed me to travel to Florida and help them navigate the trailhead of this new and uncertain journey.

As I learn about Alzheimer's and what is required of their caregivers, I'm realizing that my mom will not be able to walk this road alone. She will need respite from providing care. She will need sleep and good health. She will need a shoulder to cry on and friends who will listen. In short, she will need a loving community of support.

But the passage I began this article with, from John's first letter to the churches, leaves me with a nagging question: are our churches, in truth, loving communities of support?

I know we say we love each other. We say we are praying for each other, and prayer is certainly not passive or useless, but I wonder if that is the extent of our concern.

Some friends of mine were in the final days of a pregnancy when the first of these two snow storms rolled through Central Indiana. I know people were praying for them, but what they really needed was a snow plow. Two individuals offered to provide a snow plow, but fortunately my friends didn't need the snow plow; baby Cohen came between storms.

A pastor friend and his family is walking through the dark valley of the shadow of death and I know there are thousands of people praying for them, but is anybody providing care for them? I know of some that are.

Other people in this community are grieving the loss of a loved one and prayers have been said and continue to be said for those who grieve, but is anybody expressing their love for those who grieve in deeds and not just words?

DC Talk was right several years ago when they released a song called "Luv Is A Verb". Love isn't something we say, it's something we do. Love isn't something we feel, but something we WILL. Remember the classic wedding vows? For better or worse; in sickness and in health?

In better and healthy times it is easy to FEEL love. But in sickness and worse times we often must WILL ourselves to love.

This passage from 1 John challenges me. Am I truly loving or do I just say that I am loving? John is really saying, "Let your actions speak for themselves. Shut up and show that you love each other."

How do we know that Mother Teresa loved the people she ministered to? It's not because of her sermons or speaking ability. We know she loved the people of Calcutta because she gave her life for the dying and destitute of Calcutta. She didn’t have to say anything.

A friend of mine plowed my driveway three times this year, without me asking him to do it or expecting me to pay for it. I know he loves me and my family. My church gave me several days to travel to Florida so that I could express my love for my parents. I know that my church loves me and my family.

The question that haunts me today is, "If people only looked at what I did, and ignored what I said, would they think that I love them?"

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and it is Sunday, a day when we celebrate the Author of Love. As we gather in our churches, will we heed John the Apostle's words? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Any questions or comments? Write me at curt@smdcog.org

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An American Journal In the 21st Century - Thursday, January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T13:50:00.001-05:00

Thursday, January 14, 2010 - A new foundation Is being laid for at New America. Those who truly understand this new foundation have hidden it in the 2000-plus pages of the Health Care bill being re-written in Washington D.C. Here's something you need to know about that new foundation.

The President's first choice for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. After losing his re-election bid in 2004, Mr. Daschle wrote a book about his view of the condition of healthcare in America and his desire to see it improved. The book is titled "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis".

In the book, Daschle argues for a single-payer (government controlled) healthcare system. Daschle concedes that pushing for a single-payer system in the United States would be politically problematic and that it would indeed result in socialized medicine. On March 3, 2008 Daschle said in a Huffington Post article, "I have proposed a Federal Health Board that would be a foundation from which we could address all" healthcare problems.

About a year ago, Tom Daschle had to remove his name from consideration for the HHS post because of reports of inappropriate financial dealings and tax issues. The President then selected Kathleen Sebelius to head the HHS, but the administration was still committed to the blueprint found in Tom Daschle's book - a single-payer system with a Federal Health Board that controls it all.

In the current House Bill H.R. 3962, Section 241 (a) it reads: "There is hereby established, as an independent agency in the executive branch of the Government, a Health Choices Administration". The newly created Health Choices Administration is responsible for "the establishment of qualified health benefits plan standards under this title, including the enforcement of such standards".

This is the "foundation" that Tom Daschle was talking about. In his book, Daschle states that this board should be modeled after other nations like Great Britain. "In Great Britain, for example, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which is part of the National Health Service (NHS), is the single entity responsible for providing guidance on the use of new and existing drugs, treatments, and procedures." So how does it work in Great Britain?

Let's look at the explanation found on the website for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE):

With the rapid advances in modern medicine, most people accept that no publicly funded healthcare system, including the NHS, can possibly pay for every new medical treatment which becomes available. The enormous costs involved mean that choices have to be made.

It makes sense to focus on treatments that improve the quality and/or length of someone’s life and, at the same time, are an effective use of NHS resources . . .

To ensure our judgments are fair, we use a standard and internationally recognized method to compare different drugs and measure their clinical effectiveness: the quality-adjusted life years measurement (the ‘QALY’) . . .

A QALY gives an idea of how many extra months or years of life of a reasonable quality a person might gain as a result of treatment (particularly important when considering treatments for chronic conditions) . . .

Generally, however, if a treatment costs more than [$32,290 to $48,435] per QALY, then it would not be considered cost effective.

In other words, medical treatment under the proposed healthcare system will come down to a mathematical equation based on cost effectiveness and an arbitrary judgment on your anticipated quality of life and how many years you have left.

Why should you care?

Regardless of what the "talking-heads" say on television, the final decision on your health care choices will be made by the Health Choices Administration. That decision will be a cost-based decision (i.e. is it worth the cost for the United States Government to approve payment for this treatment?). The question for you is, is the proposed healthcare system worth giving up your freedom to make your own health care choices?

What can you do? Here are four ideas. If you have more ideas, please send them to me so that I can pass them along in future journal entries.

1. You can write or call the offices of your Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen. Ask them to explain the Health Choices Administration and on what basis, this newly created government agency will be making decisions for you.

And don't stop with just one phone call and one letter or email. Contact your representatives weekly or twice a month. At the very least, your representative will know that you are watching.

2. You can pass this journal entry on. It is the first of many. Hopefully it will educate and stimulate a good and noble people to action; the very same people described in the constitution as "We the People . . ." You are free to make copies and distribute them by hand or 'snail-mail.' Please make sure that the last paragraph of this journal is included with your copies so that individuals can contact me with comments or questions.

If you forward this in e-mail form, please remove the "FW:" from the subject line. Many people delete Email Forwards without even opening them up. Also, take the time to e-mail it to one or two individuals at a time. You are encouraged to send this to everyone in your contact list, but many spam filters block emails that contain too many addresses in the "To:" box.

3. Organize a trip to your representative's office (local or in Washington D.C.). By carpooling you can share the expense while making a stronger impact by arriving in greater numbers. By the way, if you haven't done so already, you should make at least one trip to D.C. in your lifetime. Go to the memorials; read the inscriptions on the walls; examine the statues and paintings. You will discover a strong Godly heritage, clearly on display and quite possibly forgotten by your representative.

4. If you are a person of faith, pray. Pray fervently for your nation and for her leaders. Pray daily or hourly. Pray for a good and noble people to wake up and take action. Pray also for those who wish to reshape America in a Progressive image - pray for their safety and protection, but pray that their efforts will be thwarted.

My name is Curtis Ferrell, and this is An American Journal In The 21^st Century. You can find additional journal entries at http://clfnotes.blogspot.com. You can contact me at American_Journal@sbcglobal.net. If you do not wish to receive these journal postings, please email me so that I can remove you from my contact list or click here: Remove

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An American Journal In the 21st Century - Thursday, January 7, 2010

2010-01-08T16:23:00.001-05:00

We are awakening to find ourselves in a topsy-turvy world. Each new day, starting before the election in the fall of 2008, we have seen actions by government officials which not only anger and frustrate us but are hard to comprehend. Their actions cause us to say things like, "What are they thinking?" or "How can they think that will possibly work?" and "It just doesn't make sense."

I am convinced that our officials are intelligent people; they are not stupid. I am also convinced that they believe that their actions will bring about a better America; they are not suicidal. So if they are not stupid and they are not suicidal, why are they convinced that their actions will "fundamentally transform America" into a better place, while many of us believe they are destroying the America that we know? Why are they convinced that their actions will solve our problems and we believe that their actions are irrational?

Worldview.

I am not a conspiracy theorist. I am not convinced that there is a secret group of individuals using well-known-faces as puppets to "take over the world." It is possible, but not very probable; there's always a snitch that squeals and the plot is revealed, or a deathbed confession, or memoirs that are published after someone's death.

What IS possible (and, in fact, irrefutably true) is that everyone has a worldview; a fundamental way that a person sees the world and how it works, or how it should work.

For years in America, the predominate worldview was biblically based. In fact, America was founded on a God-centered worldview: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

But there are competing worldviews in America, including Progressivism. A person with a Progressive worldview typically believes in economic and social justice. Economic justice, for Progressives, means that we should take from those who have too much and give it to those who have too little. (Who will decide what is too much and too little?) Social justice, for progressives, means promoting policies that say that a woman has a right to her own body (as well as to the life or death of the one in her womb). Social justice also asserts policies that say there are all kinds of families (meaning straight families and gay families) and that they need to be recognized and celebrated equally.

What we are awakening to is the reality that many of those who wield political and social power in this nation subscribe to a Progressive worldview. And, just like one who rubs the sleep out of his eyes in the morning to make his surroundings clearer, the picture that is becoming clear to us is that a Progressive worldview is contrary to a God-centered worldview and contrary to the worldview that founded this nation.

Again, I am not a conspiracy theorist; I don't believe there is a grand "master-planner" who seeks to dominate the world . . . at least, not one that is human. And I don't believe this is a Republican or Democrat plot. What IS happening, from my perspective, is that many individuals, regardless of party affiliation, all wielding considerable political and social power, and all with a similar Progressive worldview, are now in a position to make decisions and establish policies that "fundamentally change America" and make it the "way it should be." In fact, Progressives from both major parties, beginning with Republican President Teddy Roosevelt and continuing down through our current President, have been making decisions based on this worldview for more than 100 years.

I also believe that, if the recent decisions and policies of Progressives are allowed to take place and mature, we will witness the greatest crisis this nation has faced since the Civil War. If we do not change our course, we will wake up in a society that is not only frustrating and confusing, but unrecognizable as the nation that was founded nearly 234 years ago. In essence, we will suddenly become citizens of a very different nation - immigrants in our own country.

If we fail to act, we will witness what one Progressive hero called, "Act II of the American Revolution." This Progressive hero was the subject of our current Secretary of State's senior thesis when she was attending Wellesley College. Our President valued the thoughts and ideas of this Progressive hero so much that he taught a course promoting his hero's philosophy and worldview. And on December 23, 2009 an MSNBC's news anchor, while interviewing the only socialist Senator in the US, affirmed that Saul Alinsky, the Progressive that penned the quote above, was one of his heroes as well.

Why should you care?

Saul Alinsky's worldview is clearly articulated in his most popular book, Rules for Radicals. As I read it, I was shocked that this worldview was admired and emulated by some of the most powerful people in our nation's capitol. On the page following the dedication, Alinsky praised "the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom - Lucifer." On the final pages of this book, he calls for "Act II of the American Revolution" and likens it to the "revolution of the soul."

On the pages between these bookend quotes, Alinsky makes statements like these: "[A person] should ask of ends only whether they are achievable and worth the cost; and of means, only whether they will work." "He who sacrifices the mass good for his personal conscience has a peculiar conception of 'personal salvation'; he doesn't care enough for the people to be 'corrupted' for them." "The third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war, the ends justifies almost any means." "Ethical standards must be elastic to stretch with the times." "Reviewing and selecting available means is done on a straight utilitarian basis - will it work?"

In short, many of our political and societal leaders revere a man who said, in essence, that when it comes to political power there are no morals. Many of the current influencers in our society are agnostic or simply religious in name only. They do not believe that there are unalienable Rights given to us by a Creator; they believe that rights are given and taken away by those who have the political power and the will to do so. If they proceed, unchecked, they will succeed in "fundamentally transforming America" by re-laying a foundation for our nation; one without a Creator, with a less restrictive Constitution, and a more powerful centralized federal government that does not have a moral compass.

What can you do? Here are four ideas. If you have more ideas, please send them to me so that I can pass them along in future journal entries.

1. You can pass this journal entry on. It is the first of many. Hopefully it will educate and stimulate a good and noble people to action; the very same people described in the constitution as "We the People . . ." You are free to make copies and distribute them by hand or 'snail-mail.' Please make sure that the last paragraph of this journal is included with your copies so that individuals can contact me with comments or questions.

2. You can write or call the offices of your Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen. How can you pay for the phone charges and postage? You could pay for the calls by dinning out one less time a month. How can you find the time to write? You could find the time by sacrificing one of the TV shows or movies or video games that consume a good portion of our lives.

And don't stop with just one phone call and one letter or email. Contact your representatives weekly or twice a month. At the very least, your representative will know that you are watching.

My name is Curtis Ferrell, and this is An American Journal In The 21^st Century. You can contact me at American_Journal@sbcglobal.net. If you do not wish to receive these journal postings, please email me so that I can remove you from my contact list or click here: Remove

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Thanks for reading!

Choose Well, Choose Life

2009-12-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

Article for The New Castle Courier-Times, Christian Perspectives, December 26, 2009

And in despair I bowed my head,
“There is no peace on earth,” I said.
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

It’s the day after Christmas, and this article is sharing the newspaper with stories of current events that impact our community. Inside its pages you will likely find a section filled with names and photos of individuals who have died in the last 36 hours. You’ll see stories about the war in Afghanistan, a tragic fire or domestic assault. You likely read a story about political squabbling or mudslinging, and one of our superstars may be in the news again – for all the wrong reasons. Maybe today will be the day when the annual “Grinch” story will be written about this year’s hard-hearted person who stole all of the Christmas presents from under the tree.

It’s clear, even as you examine this paper, that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was right. Hate is strong. In these “United” States, we are experiencing more animosity and division than we have in several years as politicians pit the Haves against the Have-Nots. The threat of a nuclear Iran is foreshadowing a handful of responses, all of which make Sodom and Gomorrah pale in comparison. The "good-old-days" of abortion on demand have mutated into today's headlines of a Virginia woman being able to kill her own live-born daughter without consequence because "the mother and baby were still connected by the umbilical cord."

This day is not unlike the days following the first Christmas. The part of the advent story we seldom read in our "sanitized" version of the Christmas story was very dark and tragic. Herod, the king, was so afraid of this new born King that he had every male child under the age of two slaughtered. Mothers and fathers across Judea wailed in anguish over the loss of their sons.

"There is no peace on earth," I said.

But, what is the source of this animosity, these dark-days, this war that is waged every day in our neighborhoods, and political parties, and churches, and families? Could it be that the source of this ill-will can be found in our freedom of choice?

Of all people, Americans should have the most intense understanding of the power we find in the freedom of choice. Our nation was founded on this freedom-of-all-freedoms. We are free to choose our own paths as we “pursue happiness.” We are free to choose how we will live. It is with this power, our freedom of choice, that we can transform the world both for good and bad.

Examine a passage of scripture common to Jews, Muslims, and Christians says, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life!” This may come as a shock to some right-wing individuals who have invested far too much energy in the wrong argument of the abortion debate, but God is pro-choice. Before us every day are countless decisions. In each one we can choose between blessings and life, or curses and death. God wants us to choose life. He commands us to choose life. But the choice is ultimately ours, and so are the consequences.

The angels on the hillside announced "Peace on earth, good-will toward men." But that is just God's side of the equation. What is our side of the equation? Are we choosing life over death? Are we choosing peace over conflict? Sadly, I think not.

All too often we choose the things that promise hope, only to be disappointed. Herod promised peace as long has he was in control. But when his power was threatened, even by an infant, pain and anguish replaced the stillness found in Bethlehem. God never asked us to choose hope; he asked us to choose life, even if choosing life meant a life of challenge.

Longfellow's final stanza reminds us what can happen if we choose life; if we choose right; if we reject wrong. He reminds us that we must fight for what is right and reject what is wrong. The choice is ours. Now is the time. Choose well.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
God is not dead nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, goodwill to men.

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