I've moved

I'm currently putting my 'serious' blogs over at townhall.com.

http://chocolateacres.townhall.com/Default.aspx

I cross-post and do some much lighter stuff over at Xanga.

http://www.xanga.com/barnabas_12

Hope to see you there.

More Christian Hatred

Here is an article out of the Seattle Times.  The students unanimously voted to have ‘Ave Maria’ played by the band at Graduation.  Many people consider this one of the greatest pieces of music of all time.  It is one of those classical musical themes that can make you cry.  Anyway, the superintendent vetoed the song because it was too Christian.   Funny thing is, the tune is secular in nature, written by Bach as part of Das wohltempierte Klavier (First prelude from Book 1).  In English, this translates to ‘The well-tempered piano’ – not too religious so far.  ‘Ave Maria’, the words, were put to this music much later by a French Composer named Charles Gounod.  

So, what the Superintendent did was ban the students from playing a secular Bach tune because someone, somewhere along the line, once put Christian words to it.   I suppose if the Superintendent begins to lose the lawsuit, she may plead ‘musical ignorance’.   However, I believe this is another case of, “when blinded by Christian-hatred, the facts don’t matter”.  Seems like there is a lot of this going around.

Schools against chasity

The previous stories got me going, and this story just keeps it up.   Apparently, schools can hand out condoms but will ban chastity rings – but only because they associate them with Christianity.  Anything from any other religion goes.    My daughter wears one of these rings.  Looks like she is a rebel just like these kids.

Power in the name of Christ

Update: Here is another graduation story. It sounds like an urban legend, but it is true.


Recently, I’ve been going through my Father’s things. One thing I found was his graduation program from 1944. Boy, times have changed. The pastor of one church gave the Invocation and Benediction. Another pastor from a neighboring town gave the message, titled “Vim, Vigor, and Victory”. I sure wish I had a copy of that speech. I bet is was great.

In 1984, at the same school, we had the pastor of the same church give the Invocation and Benediction. I had the privilege of giving a speech. Although I was not the valedictorian, my classmates voted me in. It was a small town school, and I gave my life to Christ in the middle of High School. Christ radically changed my life, and they knew at the time I would talk about it. I did, and it wasn’t a problem.

Here is another story. Looks like times have changed. This is about a school cutting off the microphone of the valedictorian because she was planning on taking about Christ in a portion of her speech. Sounds like the ACLU was standing there giving their approval (sort of like Saul watching Stephen being stoned). This web site has an account and is also taking a vote (currently 70/30 in favor of the girl). Think about it, kids rebelling against adults by being Christians.

In case you don’t believe that Christianity is under attack, here is a story out of NY. Apparently, the New York Division of Human Rights thinks that playing Christian music on private property is a violation of human rights. A roller skating rink has ‘Christian Skate Night’ (where they play contemporary Christian music) and include this in an advertisement. Even the newspaper is being charged with ‘aiding and abetting.’ This is a huge assault on free speech. I venture to guess that if they had Muslim or Buddhist skate night, there would be no complaints. However, skating works best if the music has a beat, so I’m not sure how well those would work. Anyway, they are appealing to Governor George Pataki for help. Wonder, why not Hillary?

It looks to me that even though Christianity is under attack, there is power in the name of Christ. Whenever it is mentioned, it sends liberals into a tizzy. With all this power, Christians will certainly win in the end.

Mr. Nice Guy

Update: The worldview article linked below seems to have disappeared. Try this one at World Net Daily.


Although we have free speech, some speech is more free than others, apparently. Christian speech is under fire – all over the world. (Hat Tip to Tongue-Tied).

In the U.S., there is a battle going on for a ‘Choose Life’ license plate in Missouri.

In Canada, a professor is under fire from his school for a letter written to a church Bishop.

And in Australia, they aren’t even allowed to say the words ‘mother and father’ in school anymore for fear of being insensitive.

However, this one got me worked-up enough to blog again. The secret service of my country, the United States, is raiding offices and confiscating gospel tracts. These are not ‘fringe’ groups either, regular evangelical guys.

This is a major assault on religious speech. This is wrong, and this wrong must be corrected. The only question is how. Will the government correct itself, with checks and balances kicking in … or must the church rise up and say “No more mister nice guy”?

Back in the Saddle

My father's funeral is complete, and things are getting back to normal. He died very peacefully. He was a true man, never complained once.

I'm still pretty busy catching up with things. Therefore, my usual blogging will take awhile to get back up to speed.

Going Home

I've been back with my father the last few weeks. He has had health problems for severals years, and it looks like he is losing the battle. Barring a miracle, another WWII vet and member of the greatest generation is going home to see Jesus. It is the world's loss. Please pray for my family.

Bush Was Right

You can see the music video here.
You can read the lyrics here.
Bush was right.

Tar Baby

Here is an interesting story from the near-by city of St.Cloud, MN.    

This guy, Leigh Lenzmeier, in a city meeting, referred to a sticky situation as a ‘tar-baby’.  

A little research on the term shows that this is an appropriate use of the term.  Apparently, most people were exposed to the term through the Br’er Rabbit folk tale, which can be read here.  Here is the folk-tale from the Afro-American Almanac.  Apparently, some claim the story is originally African or African-American in origin.

A Wikipedia search on the term refers to the Br’er rabbit story and a novel by the same name written by an African American author, but does not reference any racial connotations here.

But, you guessed it; some people claimed the remark is a ‘racist slur’ against African Americans.
In an e-mail to the Stearns County board, former president of the St. Cloud Area NAACP, LeRoy Hill Jr., called Lenzmeier's comments "bigoted and insulting" and said he "punched our community in the eye with that remark."
I think his comment is interesting; noting that he did not use the phrase “gave our community a black-eye”.   Seems the injured eye turns the save color as the sticky substance.  We have to be careful when making reference to any substance that has or could have a dark hue.     In the case of the ‘eye’ comment, the easy distinction of the discoloration of the injured portion of the face relative to the rest of the complexion is the actual meaning of the phrase.  Mr. Hill demonstrates that PC sanitization does not enhance public discourse but simply confuses it.

Mr. Hill should be able to recognize that at worst this comment was an honest mistake.  At worst.  However, I also question the sincerity here.  Does Mr. Hill call out everyone that is a ‘punch in the eye’.  What about rappers?  Does he rage against them?  Is he just ‘scoring points’ in some kind of battle?  Will he ever understand that the rest of us are ready to move on from that battle.

I think there are two directions we can go here.  One would be to make a giant list of every term that anyone, anywhere on the planet may find offensive.   Then train everyone, everywhere on the planet about those terms and instruct them not to use them.  Call it the big eraser system.  Such a list can be found on the internet.  Some of the terms are very offensive.  I thought at age 40 I’d heard every profanity out there.  Now, at 41, I’ve seen a few more.  (Since my children read this blog, I will not link the list here.)  However, there are many, many things there that struck me as silly.  Teapot, telephone, and Thanksgiving were a couple examples in the t’s (near tar-baby, which was also listed as a slur in the UK).  There are several problems with this approach, making it a bad idea.  The list itself is so offensive, it would be the worst violation in itself.  Also, the process would equip racist people to be more destructive and efficient with the use of racist terms.  Another problem is that, even if you could erase certain words and phrases from the planet, new racist terms would develop.  This does not address the heart of the problem.

The other approach would be for people to get a thicker skin, give one another a break, and stop the ‘victimhood’ mentality.  Tar-baby is not common racist slur.  It just isn’t.  It may be an obscure slur in another part of the world, but it doesn’t have that meaning in St.Cloud MN (or at least it didn’t until recently).   Perhaps someone in St.Cloud has heard the term used racially before, but I suspect not.  Clearly, the cause of anit-racism is not served by the actions of the professional victims that find racism in innocent remarks.  I would agree that this approach (although much more sound than the other) still leaves us short.

Perhaps the answer lies with a third solution.  This one will work because it comes from Christ.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  And “the standard which you judge other, so to you will be judged.”  Preaching these will affectively combat those other problems without creating additional ones.  The left, who are constantly reminding us of the problem, will have no part of the only solution that addresses the real problem, which is the hearts of people.  They seems to want everyone in a state of anger toward one another and staying there.  Sort of the opposite of God’s love.  I wonder where that comes from?

Rebel Attack

Easter Bunny Update:
As predicted, the ‘rebels’ did show up. (Read the last part of my previous entry).  You can read their story here.  

Another Martyr update

In my original article on the issue of the Afghan martyr, I stated “Something tells me this martyr is going to impact the world.” Well, it looks like it is starting to happen. This article tells of a surge in interest in Christianity in Afghanistan. It’s a good, quick read.

One story of interest:

Andaryas recalled instances like the one in which a father and two sons all became Christians independently of each other, but were so careful about keeping their new faith secret that more than a year passed before each became aware of the others' conversion.

It concludes:

Andaryas' own journey took him from Afghanistan to Iran, where he said he was caught communicating with a local Christian and arrested. In detention, he was cut with a knife and beaten with a rod bearing the words "confession or death" in Farsi."The three days and nights of torture in Iran brought me to understand that God cannot be like that, that God does not need protection for His religion, His way," he wrote later.

I agree, and I think that most Afghans will be able to apply the same logic. This may lead to revival in Afghanistan. It could happnen.

This Will Make You Proud

I usually don’t pass on tear-jerker stories. Many that you see aren’t even true. However, here is a good read that will indeed make you proud. It is completely a true story. READ IT! I guarantee that you will be glad you did.

Bad day in the Twins

This is scary (From the Minneapolis Star Tribune here in the Twin Cities – Hat Tip again to the guys at Tongue Tied). A teacher in Minneapolis did a demonstration on censorship, and ‘pretended’ to put a Koran in a burning trash can (the fire was fake). Well, now he is in trouble.

“A ninth-grade student, who is Muslim, was offended by the librarian's remarks and actions, sparking calls to the school from her parents and the Muslim American Society-Freedom Foundation. … Using the Qur'an, a book that is holy to 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, was "misguided," said Murad Mohammad, a director for the Muslim foundation's Civil and Legal Rights Department.”

Needless to say, everyone is running scared and tripping over themselves apologizing, All will definitely be sent to sensitivity training.

“Muslims living in a post-9/11 world face daily questions about what Islam stands for, Mohammad said. And with a worldwide controversy sparked by Danish cartoons illustrating the prophet Mohammed, it should be obvious that using the religious text held sacred by Muslims would evoke a strong sentiment, he said.”

This is the scary part. He seems to be saying ‘Haven’t you learned your lesson yet? Do we need to repeat the reaction to the Danish Cartoons here? You do something we don’t like, you die.’

And what respect is our culture showing to other religions? A look at the other paper in the Twin Cities (the St. Paul Pioneer Press) shows us this article.

“A toy rabbit decorating the entrance of the St. Paul City Council offices went hop-hop-hoppin' on down the bunny trail Wednesday after the city's human rights director said non-Christians might be offended by it. ... The decorations — including the stuffed rabbit, Easter eggs and a handcrafted sign saying "Happy Easter," but nothing depicting the biblical account of Christ's death and resurrection — were put up this week in the office of the City Council by a council secretary. … "I sent an e-mail that Easter is viewed as a Christian holiday and advised that it be taken down," said Tyrone Terrill, the city's human rights director.”

But that guy is an idiot, blinded from truth by his hatred for anything resembling Christians or Christianity. There is obviously nothing religious about any of that.

“As for the Easter bunny, the disputed rabbit has its origin in pre-Christian beliefs in Europe, according to theological historians. The hare was the most fertile animal known and served as the pagan symbol of new life during the spring season.”

And

And the name Easter comes from the "pagan fertility goddess Eostre", to quote Wikipedia.

The guy would have more credibility demanding them to change the name of the city (Saint Paul?). It's only a matter of time.

Thank God for the rebels, standing up for truth.

“Before Christmas 2001, Council Member Jim Reiter and a Ramsey County district judge sneaked a half-dozen red poinsettias into City Hall — which also serves as the Ramsey County Courthouse — leaving them near the "Vision of Peace" statue that dominates the lobby. Red poinsettias had been banned as being too connected to Christianity. Instead, the City Hall-Courthouse was displaying white poinsettias during Christmas that year.”

Looks like it was a bad day in the Twin Cities for free speech.

Relating the Stories

Looking at my own two posts below, I began thinking about a challenge I heard in a sermon years ago.

If being a Christian were to suddently become illegal, would there be enough evidence in your life to bring you to conviction?

This is real for the Afghan guy, but only hypothetical for us. Here, it looks like it would be easier if the ACLU were the judge. All you need is a few traditional values. However, God will be our judge. I think I'm going to try to leave some evidence out there today.

Where will we go from here

It’s hard to know where to start with this story (Another Hat Tip to Tongue Tied – the best blog on the net written by an atheist). It used to be that you had to at least mention religion, faith, or a creator to violate the establishment clause. Now it looks like, at least according to some Yankees, that all you have to do is come from South Carolina and value abstinence for children. You can read the article here.

"Lawyers at the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union first complained last year that a now-abandoned textbook used by Heritage of Rhode Island taught students that girls should wear clothing that doesn't invite "lustful thoughts" from boys. The book described men as "strong" and "courageous" while women were called "caring."....

Pawtucket's top school official complained that he was duped by Heritage officials and halted the program even before a parent complained to the ACLU. "We really don't promulgate any religious opinion in this school system” …

"Out of the box from South Carolina, things just didn't translate here," Plante said."....

My atheist friend at Tongue Tied made the best comment:

It looks like we REALLY have an established church in Rhode Island. You can teach feminism but not traditional values. And describing traditional values as "religious" is just a ploy. I am an atheist and I have similar values so it is nonsense. It is a partisan attack on the values that got us to where we are today, full stop. But Rhode Island clearly bows down to the established church of Leftism.

Where will the country go if all Christian values are banned?

Afghan Martyr update

Update: Fox news, and apparently President Bush, have picked up on this story. You can read an update here. The highlight is more ‘Baghdad Bob’ type comments.

“The constitution of Afghanistan provides protection for freedom of religion. The government of Afghanistan will ensure that the constitutional rights of its citizens, international principles, and the due judicial process are respected and implemented," the embassy statement said.”

Oh yea, then why is the guy on trial? They explained.

“Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said in a press conference that the Afghan government has "nothing to do with" the prosecution.”

What!?!

Anyway, my new hero appears to be still standing strong.

“…in a recent court appearance, the defendant appeared entirely cogent as he thumbed through his translated Bible and testified once more to his faith.
"I believe in Christianity. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I am a Christian," “
Good boy. Taking the good book anywhere takes guts. Taking it to your death penalty trial for becoming a Christian is another matter. They are using his Bible as evidence against him.

Tonight this story is on Nightline. Afghanistan has itself in a political mess. It appears their strategy out is to declare him ‘mentally unfit’ for trial – thus letting him go but not declaring conversion OK. This guy has the power of the Holy Spirit. He’s the only one ‘mentally fit’ in the bunch.

The Battle for Texas (again)

Looks like we can chalk one up for the good guys (Hat tip: Tongue Tied). A school district in Texas has a web site that lists the student clubs with a description. Nothing unusual. Apparently, one day they decided to wipe out the listing for the Bible club. You can read the story here. It looks like the students didn’t back down, but filed a lawsuit. The school must have decided one religious discrimination suit at a time was enough. They decided to back down, as you can read here.

You have to wonder about that school. Obviously, there are some Christian-haters there. This time they didn’t win, but they won’t give up soon. We need to keep fighting the good fight.

Another Martyr

Now here is a real Christian.

Apparently, this guy in Afghanistan converted to Christianity, and is now facing the death penalty. The most amazing quote is below:

“We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law," the judge said. "It is an attack on Islam.”

Love the disclaimer, like Hitler saying “I’m not anti-Semitic, but …”

You have to like converted guy, though. He’s sticking to his new faith.

"He would have been forgiven if he changed back. But he said he was a Christian and would always remain one," Wasi told the AP. "We are Muslims and becoming a Christian is against our laws. He must get the death penalty."

Something tells me this martyr is going to impact the world.

Abuse Of Power

Yesterday, Doug over at SCO pointed to two stories not being reported by the news media.  The first one is a discussion of the new tapes and papers found in Iraq that are now being translated.  They detail several things, including Saddam’s plans to hide his WMD and fool those silly inspectors.  It looks like all those ‘Bush lied’ people need to scrape off their bumper stickers and apologize.   Perhaps they will realize that those leading the ‘Bush Lied’ charge were actually the ones lying.   Now they will put on new bumper stickers saying ‘Howard Dean Lied’ or something like that.  

The second one (registration required – sorry – but it’s free) is about Valerie Plame.  Apparently, she wasn’t actually an undercover CIA agent.  She had an embassy as her official address.  It looks like all those political mudslingers misled the American people on this one as well.  In a sense this really isn’t news.   Scooter Libby isn’t under indictment for breaking her cover, he is in trouble for perjury (which is not really a crime for Clinton supporters).  This story is just the final word on Plame.  The jury is back, and Plame was NOT an undercover agent.  

But to me, the interesting thing is the connection between the two stories.  Deeper in the first story, you will also see there are records of Saddam attempting to buy Uranium from Africa.  If you remember, Plame’s claim to fame was that she recommended her husband, former ambassador Wilson, to investigate this story (Can you say nepotism?  Can you say ‘taxpayer funded witch hunt’?).  He did, and supposedly determined that it wasn’t true.  (He intended to find nothing, and miraculously, he managed the accomplishment.)  So, it turns out that not only was Plame not an agent, but Wilson’s original report was also wrong.  

The question is, ‘Does the truth matter?’  Lots of political points were scored against the President.  That seems to matter.  Lots of newspapers were sold.  That seems to matter.  Bush’s approval rating is down from all time highs to all time lows.  That seems to matter.  Bush was accused of abusing power.  The truth is that Bush was right.  The MSM and others need to correct the wrong they have done to Bush.  Otherwise, they will be the ones guilty of abuse of power.

Pleasant Surprise

I had a rough week last week.  I spent the week on business near Toronto.  Friday night my flight got cancelled, leaving me stranded in Milwaukee.   Saturday, after getting home, I went to dinner with my wife.  I must have eaten something that did not agree, because last night I woke in the middle of the night with stomach problems.  At 1:00 am I turned on my new TV to one of  the PAX channels, and I was amazed.  A documentary on the life of Ronald Reagan was on called ‘In the Face of Evil’.  (Check out their web site here).

What stood out was the country’s strategy of ‘Détente’ with the Soviet Union.   ‘Let’s try to compromise, make deals, not offend, understand, stay balanced, etc.’  However, each time we gave in to something, the Soviets rewarded us with more aggression.  Reagan had a much different vision; to end communism and remove the Berlin wall.  He wanted to win the cold war outright.    I could not stay awake to the end.  But if I remember correctly, he does, and the world is a much better place because of this great leader.

I could not help noticing the similarities with today’s response to terrorism from Muslim extremists.    Many are embracing the failed policy of Detente.  However, I think we need to think more like Reagan.  We will never be able to move on until we defeat this.  

Anyway, I still hope to see the end of this remarkable presentation.  I do have a birthday coming up.  Perhaps my sweet wife will read this and get the hint.  I can only hope.

DaVinci Strategy

Hugh Hewitt has some great commentary on the DaVinci Code at a site called The DaVinci Dialogue. Hugh suggests preparing for discussions on the topic strategically. He has some general good advice for winsome point making there as well. Worth a read.

Message to ECI: Be Careful

As a Christian, I’ve been following the Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI) closely. Doug over at Stones Cry Out thinks most closely to me on this issue. You can see his postings and some comments by me here. Like it or not, the ads will be running soon.

Sure, Christians should be treating the earth well. God has called us to ‘fill the earth and subdue it’. I like the idea of nuke power, E-85 Fuel, and Bio-diesel. My company is huge into solar (I think we are #3 in the world and climbing fast). We need to be doing things that make sense, and continuing to develop new technologies. However, I’m not comfortable with a few things going on here.

Overall, I don’t think their statement is well worded. In point 1 it claims:

“those in the scientific community most seriously engaged with this issue that climate change is happening and is being caused mainly by human activities.”

1. The sentence is a little ‘run-on’.
2. Who is the ‘scientific community’? Atheists and others use the phrase ‘scientific community’ to lend credibility to their claims. Now this group of evangelicals is using the same technique.
3. Many in the ‘scientific community’ believe otherwise.

The ‘scientific community’ used to believe the earth had long cycles, global cooling was the problem, and that we were headed toward an ice age.

Now they believe the planet is warming, and have created a model to ‘prove’ it. Well, like most things, the global warming model is flawed. You can see some ponderings examples in one of my previous blogs here. Some other critiques can be seen here and here. (I’m sure there is other stuff, but I’m not going looking tonight). Of note:

Computer simulations, for example, indicate that over the past century the
"enhanced greenhouse effect" should have increased the temperature globally by
about one degree Celsius (or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). But, Baliunas notes, "the
actual temperatures have not cooperated with the computer models." Records
reveal a temperature rise of 0.5 degree Celsius over the past 100 years, peaking
before 1940. After that, the Earth's average surface temperature decreased until
the 1970s. Baliunas reminds us that was the time that doomsayers were warning
about an impending ice age! Since the 1970s the temperature has risen modestly
0.2 degree Celsius until now.
What is most significant about this brief
summary of global temperature patterns is that the warming of the Earth prior to
1940 must have been from natural causes, since more than 80 percent of the
manmade carbon dioxide has entered the air since the 1940s. No significant human
influence on climate existed in the early decades of the 20th century.

I’m a firm believer in data. Overall, I believe that the sun determines the temperature of the earth (Warmer sun, warmer earth, and vise-versa). Pretty radical, but you can read more here.

Also, I’m not comfortable with the spirit of the website. They seem very self-absorbed, relishing in the media coverage they are getting. On their home page, they link a video speaking of the ‘break’ from Bush. Are they delighted that they are scoring points against the president?

I liked Rick Warren’s book. However, today I’m disappointed he has cast his lot with these radicals. As I warn at SCO, he and the others are risking much. Sadly, the risk is unnecessary. I know that they could have put out a message saying ‘Take care of the planet’ without getting into bed with the extremists.

I’m not losing sleep over this. Overall, the cause of Christ will be in His will, not dependent on Warren or any of the ECI guys. Ultimately, I believe God will take care of the planet also, but that’s just me.

KSTP - Supporting the troops

The KSTP/ MidWest Heroes story is HUGE in the blogosphere. Being MN based, I can’t ignore it. The biggest blog that has been following closely is Powerline. You can see stuff here, here, and here. Make sure you go to MidWest Heroes site and check out all the videos. If you want even more encouragement, surf over to the parent site and check out the additional stories here. This woman is launching a personal jihad against KSTP. I hope she gets far. You can write Hubbard here.

I’ve been watching these commercials during the Olympics on KARE11. They are fantastic. KSTP was my favorite station, mostly because their radio station is pretty well balanced. I suppose Hubbard has a right to refuse these commercials. I have a right to make KARE11 my new favorite station. However, there is a portion of the story that bothers me. Hubbard says the allegation that the media doesn’t give the whole story isn’t true. Well, who better to tell the whole story than the soldiers themselves? I would claim they should be at least a part of the whole story. By blocking their story, Hubbard proves their point, and proves true that which he claims in untrue. I’m sure the irony is lost on the liberals, however. The other have is the Democrats. They loved the Sheehan protest and celebrated it as free speech. Now, they want to block the free speech of the soldiers and their families. It shows they do not defend freedom, but value political gain above all. This protest, however, will backfire on them. The Heroes message will go forward in power, and the hype behind the protest will only HELP send the message forward. Thanks Democrats and Hubbard. You’ve finally figured out how to help support our troops.