New Covenant

Naivete... we can believe in

From the album Who's Next? by... The Who:

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

...

Meet the new boss!
Same as the old boss!

- Won't Get Fooled Again

From Townhall, a link to Unbelievable: Obama’s flip flops fly in the face of change. An excerpt,

In the past couple of weeks, however, Obama has transitioned from moderating his positions to downright flip-flopping. Although Obama had previously vowed to filibuster any legislation that would grant immunity from prosecution to telecommunications companies who enabled the Bush administration to break the law and conduct domestic spying operations without a warrant, Obama has since changed his tune. He now supports a so-called “compromise” measure that effectively amounts to another congressional capitulation to the White House. As disconcerting and disappointing as Obama’s rhetorical gymnastics on warrantless wiretapping is, it isn’t the most troubling of his recent waffling.

...

Perhaps Obama isn’t the great change agent we thought he was. Perhaps no one can change the system. Or maybe we expected too much from someone who is, after all, just another politician. Instead of riding a wave of change to the ballot box, we are faced with the age-old “lesser of two evils” paradigm: Perpetual war and inequitable economic policies on the one hand, and spineless triangulation on the other.

From the Free Dictionary:

naive -

1. Lacking worldly experience and understanding, especially: a. Simple and guileless; artless: a child with a naive charm. b. Unsuspecting or credulous

Slain in the Spirit: or not (v. 2)

In 2007 I wrote the post, Slain in the Spirit: or not, which referred to a woman who had sued a church in Michigan because she injured herself falling backwards after being slain in the Spirit. I wrote,

I've often wondered about the Slain in the Spirit phenomenon. Essentially, when one is Slain in the Spirit, one falls to the ground, ostensibly from the power of the Holy Spirit entering your body, flooding you with His presence. While you hear it spoken of, quite a bit, in pentecostal churches, there is virtually no scriptural basis for the practice.

From Touchstone Magazine's Mere Comments comes the post, Mr. Lincoln Injured in the Spirit. James Kushiner writes,

Not slain, just injured, and now the church must pay, or so says Matthew Lincoln, 58, of the Knoxville, Tennessee area, who fell and was injured last June during a church service after receiving the Spirit.

A description of the lawsuit can be found here.

As I said, last year,

If the Holy Spirit was truly involved in dropping this [person] to the floor, then wouldn't it be reasonable to conclude that He would protect [him] as well? Was [he], then, incorrect in believing [he] was Slain in the Spirit, or is the entire notion incorrect? If it is possible for someone to get hurt, possibly seriously hurt, by incorrectly believing they are being Slain in the Spirit, then shouldn't we discourage the practice within the church?

My youngest child still has the habit of moving her body in one direction, while looking in another. It's not a wise practice and, given the laws of physics, does not generally bode well for her body. Letting yourself fall backwards onto furniture and/or the floor is about as smart as not watching where you are going.

On the differences between male and female

From Ron's Bloviating, a link to The freedom to say 'no' (Boston Globe). From the article,

When it comes to the huge and persistent gender gap in science and technology jobs, the finger of blame has pointed in many directions: sexist companies, boy-friendly science and math classes, differences in aptitude.

In other words - cultural influence.

Yet,

Now two new studies by economists and social scientists have reached a perhaps startling conclusion: An important part of the explanation for the gender gap, they are finding, are the preferences of women themselves. When it comes to certain math- and science-related jobs, substantial numbers of women - highly qualified for the work - stay out of those careers because they would simply rather do something else.

Hmmm, you mean that women have minds of their own and are capable of actually choosing what they'd like to do? What a concept!

These studies looked at different slices of the working world, but agree that in a world in which men and women both have freedom of choice, they tend to choose differently.

They have a provocative echo in the conclusions of Susan Pinker, a psychologist and columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail. In her controversial new book, "The Sexual Paradox: Men, Women, and the Real Gender Gap," Pinker gathers data from the journal Science and a variety of sources that show that in countries where women have the most freedom to choose their careers, the gender divide is the most pronounced.

So, does a free culture cause a "gender divide" in choice? Or does a free culture allow an inherent gender difference to flourish?

However, detractors remain.

To some sociologists and many feminists, the focus on self-selection is a troubling distraction from bigger questions of how society pushes girls and boys into different roles.

Rosalind Chait Barnett, at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis, says that boys and girls are not, at root, different enough for such clear sorting to be seen as a matter of "choice."

"The data is quite clear," she says. "On anything you point to, there is so much variation within each gender that you have to get rid of this idea that 'men are like this, women are like that.' "

Except, when they are.

Whining about waiting in line

So John McCain is left to address Phil Gramm's remarks that we have become a nation of whiners who are merely in a mental recession?

What exactly is a mental recession? Well, let's do a little comparison of a mental recession with an economic depression.

Below is a photo (courtesy Yahoo!News) in which we see people queued up... waiting.

Now take a look at a photo (courtesy National Park Service) in which we see another group of people queued up... waiting.

The difference?

In the first photo, the people are waiting to buy the latest iPhone (circa 2008), while in the second photo, the people are waiting to be given something to eat (circa 1930s).

First photo = mental recession.
Second photo = economic depression.

First photo = nation of whiners.
Second photo = nation of those eager, but unable, to provide for their families.

America Alone (v. 7)

Mark Steyn's book, America Alone, isn't a call for more war, more bombing, or more killing, but for more will. Herein follows a series of posts either highlight Steyn quotes, or listing current events which, indeed, indicate that America is alone in her fight against Islamic terror.

Re: the aging demographics in Europe, and the west.

Ron's Bloviating, Where are the children? 

Japan celebrated a national holiday on Monday in honor of its children. But Children's Day might just as easily have been a national day of mourning.

For this is the land of disappearing children and a slow-motion demographic catastrophe that is without precedent in the developed world.

The number of children has declined for 27 consecutive years, a government report said over the weekend. Japan now has fewer children who are 14 or younger than at any time since 1908.

Jennifer Roback Morse, Collapse of the Family in Europe.

The Times of London reports on this massive EU study of the family. Highlights:

It said that almost one million fewer babies were born in the 27 EU countries last year than in 1980. There were six million more over65s than under14s in Europe last year, against 36 million more children than pensioners in 1980.

The institute said: “Europe is now an elderly continent.” Almost one in every five pregnancies ends in abortion. The marriage rate fell by 24 per cent between 1980 and 2006. Two out of three households have no children, and nearly 28 per cent of households contain only one person.

Crunchy Con, Demographic winter chills financial markets.

The aging pensioners of Europe and Asia must find young people to pay interest into their pensions, and they do not have enough young people at home. Germans aged 15 to 24, on the threshold of family formation, comprise only 12% of the country's population today and will fall to only 8% by 2030. But one-fifth of Germans now are on the threshold of retirement and half will be there by mid-century.

SmartChristian, Population declines in Europe.

There is a major natural population decline in Europe, but not in immigrants. Many of these immigrants are Muslims. Europe faces a shaking future.

Jennifer Roback Morse, The Empty European Village.

The average woman’s age at first marriage has increased from 23 in 1980 to almost 29 in 2005. Not all those women are living celibate lives. Some are sexually active in situations that can not possibly support a pregnancy. Nearly one out of every five pregnancies ends in abortion, making it the leading cause of death in the European Union. The number of abortions across Europe each year equals the entire population of Slovenia.

One out of every four European household is a lone individual. Two out of three households have no children. Half of European children have no siblings. So much for the Fraternity part of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Black is Black

Q. When is a Black Hole not a Black Hole?

A. When it's in Dallas County. (HT: Malkin)

From the article,

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections “has become a black hole” because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud “Excuse me!” He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a “white hole.”

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Tell you what. How about we just admit defeat and throw in the towel? How about we just let the race card be the ONLY card?

So... from now on, learn the new, racially insensitive vocabulary, such as:

Black Friday,

jet black,

men in black,

black comedy,

black tie,

black & white (photography),

black & white (police),

black out,

black gold,

Black Sabbath,

black coffee,

black project,

pitch black,

the black market,

Shirley Temple Black,

in the black,

black & blue,

the Black Forest,

blackbird,

Black & Decker,

black sheep,

black widow.

Or, how about, instead, we expand the definition of the word "moron"?

Have a Happy Independence Day!

- image, © 2008 A. R. Lopez

Pregnant Fashion

Is it just me or is anyone else a bit put-off by the (apparently) current style of tight, form-fitting maternity clothing? Whether at public events, work, or at church (on "worship-teams", no less), it seems that pregnant women must now wear clothing that outlines virtually every intricate contour of their bodies.

Do I really need to know that a senior manager at work has an outie belly-button?

The Mainstream Media, truth, and hoaxes

From HotAir, French court rejects Al-Dura hoax,

French broadcaster France2 lost its case and a large portion of its credibility yesterday when its appeals court called their Al-Dura story a hoax and reversed a lower-court ruling on a defamation case. Philippe Karsenty was vindicated in his criticism of France2 when he called their video of a supposed murder of a Palestinian child [Muhammad al Durah] by Israeli soldiers staged for propaganda purposes.

Don't recall the Muhammad al Durah story? From Wikipedia,

Muhammad Jamal al-Durrah (1988–2000 (aged 11–12); Arabic: محمد جمال الدرة‎), was a Palestinian boy who became an icon of the Second Intifada when he was filmed crouched behind his father during a violent clash between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip.

The father and son were filmed sheltering during a crossfire between troops at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) outpost and Palestinian police and gunmen shooting from a number of locations. After a burst of gunfire, the two slumped into prone positions. Al-Durrah was reported to have been killed and his father severely injured by Israeli gunfire. The footage, which was filmed by the French television station France 2, was re-broadcast around the world and produced international outrage against the Israeli army and the government. Images from the footage became an iconic symbol of the Palestinian cause and al-Durrah himself was portrayed as an emblem of martyrdom; the footage was shown repeatedly on Arabic television channels and al-Durrah was publicly commemorated in a number of Arab countries.

Here is the iconic image.


The truth, it would appear, is that the entire incident was staged (video below, or link here).



How gullible is a liberally biased mainstream media? And how does that gullibility result in blatantly false reporting?

America Alone (v. 6)

Mark Steyn's book, America Alone, isn't a call for more war, more bombing, or more killing, but for more will. Herein follows a series of posts either highlight Steyn quotes, or listing current events which, indeed, indicate that America is alone in her fight against Islamic terror.

Re: the continued assault on Europe - has it begun to wane?

Waging the incompetent jihad in London

The attack serves as a reminder that London remains a high-priority target of the radical Islamists. However, their resources appear to get thinner and thinner, which shows that radical and violent jihad may have lost its luster as much in Europe as it has in Iraq.

Terrorism on the decline and the surge is working: UN

Global terrorism has declined over the last several years despite gloomier analyses by think tanks, the UN stated yesterday, because of the inclusion of data from Iraq. Calling the consensus “misleading”, the elimination of data from Iraq shows a steady decline in attacks and deaths. And when Iraq does get included, the data show that the surge is, well … working...

Feminization story continues

at Intellectuelle. Bonnie gives us an example of a work that is, at one point, dead-on in its detachment from culture while, at another point, reattaches itself. I wonder, though, how detached or attached are those who make the judgments of detachment and attachment?

Narnia, Aslan's timing, and God's Plan

My family and I went to see Prince Caspian, this morning. It was a delightful experience, despite the fact that the storyline deviates significantly from that of the book (justifiably so, considering the manner in which the story is presented in print). Two divergent (re)views can be found by Joe Carter (pro) and Amy Hall (con). I tend to agree with Joe's take on the nobleness portrayed in the movie, although I do agree with Amy in that I think Aslan should have had more screen time.

Apart from the contentions of differing movie critics, however, I'm still taken by Lewis' excellent portrayal, throughout the Narnia series, of the phenomenon of God's timing and the part we play within God's plan. In our existence, as in fictional Narnia, we must always be about coming to grips with the timing of God. Despite our impatience, however, God is fully aware of what He is doing, and when He is going to do it. And, despite the fact that we are obliged to act, the battle has been, and always will be, His.

On teaching a life of virtue

From HotAir, a reminder that we live in a new age,

Bare midriffs and piercings apparently haven’t made teenagers provocative enough to compete with celebrities for local attention. According to the University of Minnesota, teenage girls have begun using personal-networking technology to send nude pictures of themselves to their friends, emulating the sexualization they see in the national media.

...

Gee, I wonder where teenage girls get the idea that they have to shed their clothes for attention? It didn’t start with Miley Cyrus; Brooke Shields made an unforgettable commercial almost 30 years ago at the age of 15, saying, “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” The sexualization of teens and pre-teens continues today with the execrable Bratz Girls dolls and a national media that cannot let children have a childhood.

Several weeks ago I commented on a post at Virtue Alert, a blog maintained by author Vicki Courtney, which had to do with another case similar to that referenced above. While the post rightly addressed the issue of inappropriate photos being sent via cellphones, I thought the attitude Courtney expressed regarding teenage indiscretions was a bit too flippant. Reference the following excerpt from her post,

Now, take a minute to think back to your own days of youth... Maybe you were in the .00000001 percent of the population that made it to your 18th birthday without being exposed to a game or two of "Truth or Dare" or participating in a skinny-dipping session in your best friend's pool. Hats off to you if that's the case. Now, for the rest of us,...

In my comment I wrote,

Do you really believe that essentially 100% of the people out there, as teenagers, went skinny-dipping in their friend's pool? Maybe some research on how different personality types respond to peer pressure is in order. As for myself, I was (and still am) never the type to blindly follow whatever the crowd was doing, much less do whatever was "truth or dared" of me (and, no, I have never participated in that game, or skinny-dipped in a friend's pool).

Courtney responded, evidently thinking I was simply questioning the numerical value she had listed. Courtney's attitude was reiterated by another commenter who stated,

...I had to get a little kick out of Rusty's comment, bless his heart. I knew you were being tongue and cheek in saying things, however many of us (be honest girls...did the truth or dare or skinny dipping things when we were young, (Sorry Rusty.)... (emphasis added)

I wrote and submitted a response which, for reasons unknown, did not get published at Courtney's blog. Unfortunately, I did not copy the text I submitted, but the following is an approximation of my comment,

I wasn't picking nits with the actual decimal point value you stated - I realize that you were being tongue in cheek. What I take issue with is the notion, which I infer from your tongue in cheek remark, that most, if not all of us, have engaged in the types of acts exemplified by the playing of "truth or dare", or of skinny-dipping in a friend's pool. What I gather is that you're implying, "let's be real - we've all engaged in this behavior", and that seems to be further reinforced by Anonymous' comment, "Let's be honest, girls". So, if I'm to follow Anonymous' logic, were one of the "girls" out there to disagree with her, then said girl would be... dishonest? In other words, if any adult claims to not have engaged in the abovementioned activities, then said adult is being dishonest (i.e., lying). This is, in fact, the type of response I've sometimes received when I mention that I never got drunk in college (or in my life, for that matter - sorry Anonymous) despite the fact that I lived 200+ miles away from home while at university (thereby providing me with ample opportunity to "sow my oats" if I so desired). 

I think that rather than approach the topic of this post with a "we've all been there" so "let's be honest" mindset, perhaps it would be more prudent to teach humility, self-respect, dignity of action, abstinence (in multiple areas), integrity, self-control, and independence, to name just a few virtues. What type of impact do you think that would have on the next generation, and their children? Imagine the impact it would have on a child, upon asking her parents, to find out that they did not engage in foolish acts when young. Imagine actually taking the book of Proverbs seriously for what it is - a guidebook from God on how to live life.

While Courtney is to be commended for bringing such issues to light, I think we've really got to get beyond the Nobody's Perfect mentality, where we're all being honest and not being judgmental. How about being truly honest and righteously judgmental? Let's not only teach that virtuous actions are morally right and attainable, but that non-virtuous actions are... wrong.

The continuing feminization story

Bonnie has posted another installment in her feminization and the church series.

Why evolution can't win (v. 2)

Attempt to expel Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed from movie theaters because it used two lines from John Lennon's song Imagine.

Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too

Imagine.

Homeschool ignorance

Over at Phat Phree, this ignorantly imbecilic attempt at humor,

I cannot believe Harvard rejected my application! What does a home-schooled guy have to do? Show me another application so full of blessings from Jesus and I will show you lucky man. My mom tells me not to let it get me down, but I can't help but feel that this is somehow the fault of the homosexuals.

Dana effortlessly performs a smackdown.

Respect: earned, and obliged

A few nights ago our Senior Pastor had a meeting at church with the parents of teenage children, as well as those others interested, regarding the direction the youth ministry would be going. It seems that the current youth pastor, for various reasons, has decided to leave the church.

During a Q&A time, at the end of the meeting, the Senior Pastor fielded several comments from individuals who, evidently, were not pleased with the direction the church is going. One comment, in particular, struck me as odd. A twenty-something male stated, with regards to any individual intending to guide the youth,

You have to earn their respect!

The comment was echoed by at least one other person during the meeting.

Now, I don't disagree that anyone teaching and guiding a group of people, regardless of whether or not they are in an age-specific category, has the responsibility to extend respect to the group they are shepherding. But I was intrigued by the fact that no one offered up just what responsibilities the youth have with regards to those placed in leadership of them.

Respect is not a one-way street, and the fact that one is a teenager young-adult does not excuse them from having responsibilities of their own.

Role Model, Suckers

Read about it, here, here and here (if you've got absolutely nothing else to do today).

What if we win? (v. 12)

From the Long War Journal, Taliban field commander killed in Helmand province

Afghan and NATO special operations forces have killed a senior Taliban commander during a joint raid in Helmand province, according to the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Mullah Abdul Bari, along with 29 Taliban fighters, were killed in a "five-hour coordinated attack on four targets" in the region between the Musa Qala and Kajaki districts of Helmand province, News.com.au reported.

Missile strike kills 20 in South Waziristan

A devastating explosion destroyed the fortress-like home of a tribal elder in South Waziristan on Sunday, killing up to 20 people and leaving five others injured today, state-run Pakistan Television announced. Foreign fighters and Taliban insurgents are believed to be among the dead.

From HotAir, US: Foreign fighters flee Iraq,

Foreign fighters have become disillusioned with jihad in Iraq and have begun to exit the theater, US military officials reported yesterday. These fighters comprise al-Qaeda in Iraq’s best resource for suicide bombers, and their loss gives them much less operational capability. AQI leadership has not yet given up the fight, but prospects for replacements look grim...

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (v. 2)

From my review of Meg Meeker's Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, I wrote:

Because of our culture's decadence, you need to actively protect your daughter from its influence.

This type of behavior, by both you and your daughter, is not protecting her from the decadent influence of culture.

I hope no one fell for the Hannah Montana wholesome role-model nonsense.