Monday, December 07, 2009
To Raise, Or Not To Raise... That Is the Question (An Act of Worship for Some) -- Imported from Mod-Blog
This is an import from Mod-Blog. After a discussion about the act of raising one's hand's I was preparing to blog on it... however, after reading Nomads post I am merely going to tout this post as something I cannot top or I would at the most equal. So if it has already been done, why not give props where props are due. Plus, I may be a bit lazy right now.
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I come from a conservative background of the Protestant church tradition. My friends and family tend to be non-demonstrative lot at church, with little more than the occasional "A-men!" when we are REALLY moved. So, it has bothered me to see a particular phenomenon from the charismatic/pentecostal tradition starting to appear in church - the raising of hands. This action, usually done during singing, always seemed showy to me and distracting. But, it is important to separate "it bothers me" from "it is wrong." So, I decided to do some research into the phenomenon, and see what the Bible had to say.
First, I found an amazing number of defenses of the practice online. The best explanation of why people lift their hands in worship came from here.
- Lifting the hands is a symbol of surrender.
- Lifting the hands is a symbol of trust.
- Lifting the hands is a symbol of openness.
- Lifting the hands is a symbol of affection.
The "surrender" symbolism is especially significant, it seems to me. In my own observation, I have noticed that the lifting of hands is especially common among women in the churches I have visited. Surrender is something that is culturally-appropriate for women in America - giving oneself to your husband, to your children, to your church, to your friends - but is less culturally-appropriate to the rugged individualism which governs men in our culture.
In looking through scripture, there appears to be three classifications for the raising of hands:
1. Prayer (5 references): 1 Timothey 2:8, Lamentations 3:40-42, Psalm 28:1-2, Psalm 141:1-2, Nehemiah 8:5-6
2. Worship (2 references): Psalms 63:3-4, Psalm 134:1-3
3. Study (1 reference): Psalm 119:48
Going by the pure number of references, it is clear scripture favors the raising of hands as a posture of PRAYER over worship. However, it is equally clear that scripture does call for the lifting of hands in worship. One interesting note from the same article listed above may be significant in this.
The Hebrew word for hand is the word yad; yadah means to “throw out the hand” or to worship with extended hands.Which may indicate that the extension of hands to an object of adoration is simply an assumption of Hebrew culture.
Another article noted one other aspect of the raising of hands - which C.S. Lewis also applies to kneeling in The Screwtape Letters - is that movements and positions of the body influence the attitude of the mind and heart.
But of note also is this article which makes the claim that all raising-of-hands references in the old testament are related to the sacrificial system, and thus are inappropriate to a Christian world where sacrifices have been fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Christ. The author dismisses the 1 Timothy 2:8 scripture as a figurative passage asking for "clean hands" of Christians.
Overall, the middle road here appears to be that the raising of hands is a Biblical practice. It is permitted and encouraged by Scripture, but is not commanded or required. This article does a good job of summarizing what I have come to: worshiping with lifted hands is appropriate and scriptural, but should be done with an eye toward its potential impact on others around you. If you are in a service with people who will find it distracting, or who will be tempted toward showing off, then keep your hands down. If you are in a service where people are comfortable or ambivalent to the practice, go right ahead.
For me, this study has been a comfort. It reminds me that my own prejudices should not rule how I view others, or their relationship with God. Surely, some raise their hands to be showy. But others do so with sincere hearts, looking to praise God and obey scripture.
Posted by Nomad
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I, Papa Giorgio, like to raise my hands, but not lifted up all the way so as not to block the song lyrics or cause a distraction for those behind me. I raise them as an act of reverence and worship to my God, and no other. I would not kneel, lay prostrate,or praise verbally any other as well -- worship should be orderly and composed (1 Cor 14:26-40) and always directed towards God. Good article. 1 Peter 2:8 has the Reformation Study Bible connecting it with Psalm 63:4 and 141:2. A couple of my favorite commentaries speak of this verse in 1 Timothy 2:8 not only as an image of raising hands physically, although in Hebraic and Christian practices of the First century this was actually done, this verse speaks also to the holiness with which one does this act. That is, without contentions, malice, anger, and the like (vv. 1-15). Now, through the Reformational fires of theology (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli -- all the way to today -- Packer, Sproul, Scott, Grudem, Erickson, and the like), we should all know that true "Holy Hands" raised are not made holy by anything we do, but whom we submit to -- Jesus. His righteousness clothes us and we would never be able to raise them on our own accord but through what Christ has clothed us in, swapped out for our stead, finished on the cross in our place. (Hebrews 8:8-13; 9:11-14).
“The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.... When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!We are freed by Christ to what? Serve him... worship is part of our serving him (intimately entwined in fact). Grudem has a great chapter on this (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, pp.1003-1015). Erickson has this to say in one section
Worship
Another activity of the church is worship. Whereas edification focuses on the believers and benefits them, worship concentrates on the Lord. The early church came together to worship on a regular schedule, a practice commanded and commended by the apostle Paul. His direction to the Corinthians to set aside money on the first day of every week (I Cor. 16:2) intimates that they regularly gathered for worship on that day. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers not to neglect the assembling of themselves together as was the habit of some (Heb. 10:25). Although worship emphasizes God, it is also intended to benefit the worshipers. This we infer from Paul's warning against prayers, songs, and thanksgivings that fail to edify because no one is present to interpret their meaning to those who do not understand (1 Cor. 14:15-17).
Worship, the praise and exaltation of God, was a common Old Testament practice, as can be seen particularly in the Book of Psalms. And in the pictures of heaven in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere, the people of God are represented as recognizing and declaring his greatness. In this aspect of its activity, the church centers its attention on who and what God is, not on itself. It aims at appropriately expressing God's nature, not at satisfying its own feelings.
It is important at this point to note the locus of the various functions of the church. In biblical times the church gathered for worship and instruction. Then it went out to evangelize. In worship, the members of the church focus on God; in instruction and fellowship, they focus on themselves and fellow Christians; in evangelism, they turn their attention to non-Christians. It is well for the church to keep some separation among these several activities. If this is not done, one or more may be crowded out. As a result the church will suffer since all of these activities, like the various elements in a well-balanced diet, are essential to the spiritual health and well-being of the body. For example, worship of God will suffer if the gathering of the body becomes oriented primarily to the interaction among Christians, or if the service is aimed exclusively at evangelizing the unbelievers who are present. This was not the pattern of the church in the Book of Acts. Rather, believers gathered to praise God and be edified; then they went forth to reach the lost in the world without.
(Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed, pp. 1066-1067)
I raise my hands to focus in on Him, to lift up my meager praise knowing that it is accepted only because of the work He performed... the only praise worthy even to be lifted on high.
In the concluding sentence (8) Paul returns to the theme of public prayer, drawing attention to three important conditions. First, the lifting up of holy hands suggests a believing approach, true holiness being attainable only through the righteousness of Christ. Secondly, true prayer cannot exist side by side with anger. Thirdly, prayer and disputing do not go together. Our attitude to others does affect our approach to God. (Wenham, Motyer, Carson, and France, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, cf., 1 Tim 2:8)
Democrats Declare "War on Air," Even Though They Hate the "War on Drugs" -- Priorities
(Washington Post) The Obama administration formally declared Monday that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare, a move that lays the groundwork for an economy-wide carbon cap even if Congress fails to enact climate legislation.
The move, announced by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson, comes as the largest climate change conference in history gets underway in Copenhagen. It finalizes an initial "endangerment finding" by the government in April.
Speaking in an ornate room at EPA headquarters, Jackson said that greenhouse gases are "disrupting the natural balance in our atmosphere and changing our climate . . . The overwhelming amount of scientific evidence shows the threat is real."
Jackson said that she did not know when the EPA would reveal detailed plans for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, or if the agency would wait to see if the U.S. Senate passes climate legislation early next year. Jackson said that legislation was still the best way to tackle the problem -- but said she was not trying to prod Congress with Monday's finding.
Instead, Jackson said, the administration was bound to follow the U.S. Supreme Court's order in 2007 to determine if these emissions endanger public health.
"There are no more excuses for delay," she said. "This administration will not ignore science and the law any longer."
...(more)...
Darwinism is Over! Multi-Part Series Linked to My Sister Site
If you enjoy the creation/evolution debate, I just posted a series of videos at my "sister site" (what I use to connect videos to this site) that are sure to make the science apologist happy. The title of the blog is:
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Mammograms, S-CHIP, and California as Models for Socialized Medicine
(HotAir import)
ObamaCare advocates claim that putting government in charge of health care coverage and treatments won’t result in care rationing, while its opponents say rationing will be the inevitable result. The latter can point to California as evidence for their position. Facing enormous budget shortfalls, the state has ended subsidies for mammograms for poor women between 40-50 years of age, and will also freeze enrollments in a breast-cancer screening program for its Medicaid recipients:
The eligibility age for state-subsidized breast cancer screening has been raised from 40 to 50 by the California Health and Human Services Agency, which will also temporarily stop enrollment in the breast cancer screening program.
Advocates for low-income women, whose health care the department helps pay for, say the cuts put a two-tier system in place that is based on money rather than medical standards.
The cuts will greatly harm the clinic’s mammogram program, said Natasha Riley, manager of Vista Community Clinic’s Breast Health Outreach and Education Program.
The clinic and others like it in San Diego County provide reduced-cost care, mostly to low-income people, with money from the state and some private donations.
“More than 50 percent of the women we give breast exams and mammograms to are in their 40s,” Riley said. “The majority of our current breast cancer survivors are women in their 40s.”The state followed the recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force, which claimed that regular mammograms created too much anxiety for women between 40 and 50. It also linked the decision to declining revenues from tobacco sales — no, really — which cut into funding for anti-cancer screening programs:
In its announcement, the state said the cuts were needed because of a projected budget shortfall for the California Department of Public Health, and from declining revenue from tobacco taxes.
...(more)...However, it did not say how much money it expected to save.Gee, what else have we built on the shifting sands of tobacco taxes? I wonder how the S-CHIP program is faring these days.
[Update] 11 Under par for Tiger Woods -- AP: Tiger Woods Is Racist - He Only Cheats With White Women (Political Correctness in Bed) (SNL Skit Added)
UPDATE -- TIGER’S RUMORED WOMEN
1.) Rachel Uchitel. The club hostess was the first of the women to be linked to Woods after the National Enquirer reported that she traveled to Australia to be with Woods during a golf tournament there. So far, she has denied the affair.
2.) Jamie Grubbs. The 24-year-old reality show contestant and cocktail waitress claims she carried on a 31-month-long affair with Woods until his crash last month. She offered a Woods voicemail to prove it.
3.) Kalika Moquin. The 27-year-old club manager from Las Vegas is reported to have had a brief sexual relationship with Woods. She would neither confirm nor deny the report.
4.) Cori Rist. The 31-year-old swimsuit model reportedly met Woods at a Manhattan club last year before they began a sexual relationship that led to Woods flying her out to various secret locations for hook-ups, and her introducing the golfer to her 7-year-old son.
5.) Jamie Jungers. The 26-year-old, who sold her story to a British newspaper, is a former employee of Trashy Girls Lingerie. She said she met Woods in Las Vegas.
6.) Mindy Lawton. The 33-year-old pancake house waitress from Orlando claims she was dumped by Woods in 2007. According to the Post, it was her affair with Woods that was caught on camera by the National Enquirer, when he was snapped dropping her off at her trailer park. The threatening news later led to a Woods Men’s Fitness cover in exchange for the magazine’s silence about the alleged affair, the New York Post reports.
7.) Holly Sampson. The 36-year-old from Los Angeles is a former porn star, who has starred in such films as “OMG, Stop Tickling Me” and “Flying Solo 2.” According to the Sun, she has neither confirmed nor denied her affair with Woods.
8.) Unidentified Alleged Mistress No. 8. A former cocktail waitress from Orlando, Fla. does want to reveal her identity yet, according to her attorney Michael O’Quinn. But this she has said: at the time the affair allegedly began, she was 20 years old and met Woods at the Roxy in Orlando, where she was a VIP server.
9.) Unidentified Alleged Mistress No. 9 is reported to be a “sexy” British TV presenter who was single at the time, but is now married.
10.) Unidentified Alleged Mistress No. 10. is reported in a UK paper to be a “sex-addicted cougar.”
11.) Joslyn James. The star of many, many porn videos was named on the sports blog Deadspin.com as a Tiger regular, but did not respond to the site's call for comment.
....The article that followed labeled the golfer racist not only for "declin[ing] to identify himself as black," but also because of "the race of the women" he's involved with.
On top of this, the AP made the case that America's fascination with Woods's philandering is only because he's cheating with white women (h/t NB reader Matthew Noll):
Amid all the headlines generated by Tiger Woods' troubles — the puzzling car accident, the suggestions of marital turmoil and multiple mistresses — little attention has been given to the race of the women linked with the world's greatest golfer.
Except in the black community.
When three white women were said to be romantically involved with Woods in addition to his blonde, Swedish wife, blogs, airwaves and barbershops started humming, and Woods' already tenuous standing among many blacks took a beating.
The article continued with this theme:
As one blogger, Robert Paul Reyes, wrote: "If Tiger Woods had cheated on his gorgeous white wife with black women, the golfing great's accident would have been barely a blip in the blogosphere."
Wow! So America is also racist because we're only interested in this story due to the color of Woods's mistresses.
But it gets worse:
The darts reflect blacks' resistance to interracial romance. They also are a reflection of discomfort with a man who has smashed barriers in one of America's whitest sports and assumed the mantle of the world's most famous athlete, once worn by Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan.
But Woods has declined to identify himself as black, and famously chose the term "Cablinasian" (Caucasian, black, Indian and Asian) to describe the racial mixture he inherited from his African-American father and Thai mother.
So Woods is wrong for not considering himself black even though he is one quarter Chinese, one quarter Thai, one quarter African-American, one eighth American Indian, and one eighth Dutch?
But there was yet more racial absurdity in this piece:This vexed some blacks, but it hasn't stopped them from claiming Woods as one of their own. Or from disapproving of his marriage to Elin Nordegren, despite blacks' historical fight against white racist opponents of mixed marriage.
So, blacks have historically fought against "white racist opponents of mixed marriage":
"But at the same time we still see him as a black man with a white woman, and it makes a difference," said Johnson Cooper, a 26-year-old African-American from New York City. "There's just this preservation thing we have among one another. We like to see each other with each other."
Wow! So, on the one hand, blacks have fought against "white racist opponents of mixed marriage." BUT, they're against black men marrying white women.
Not only did the AP miss this hypocrisy, it actually defended it:
This tendency may be more prominent due to a relative lack of interracial marriages among average blacks. Although a recent Pew poll showed that 94 percent of blacks say it's all right for blacks and whites to date, a study published this year in Sociological Quarterly showed that blacks are less likely to actually date outside their race than are other groups.
"There is a call for loyalty that is stronger in some ways than in other racial communities," said the author of the study, George Yancey, a sociology professor at the University of North Texas and author of the book "Just Don't Marry One."
The color of one's companion has long been a major measure of "blackness" — which is a big reason why the biracial Barack Obama was able to fend off early questions about his black authenticity.
"Had Barack had a white wife, I would have thought twice about voting for him," Johnson Cooper said.
Wow!So do Woods' women say something about the intensely private golfer's views on race?
"I would like to say no, but I think it garners a bit of a yes," Johnson Cooper said.
So if Michelle Obama was white, blacks wouldn't have voted for her husband?
Somehow the AP missed this racist hypocrisy as well.
Add it all up, and Woods is racist for cheating with white women, Americans are racist because they wouldn't be interested in this story if his mistresses were black, and it's okay for blacks to resent black men that are involved with white women.
Any questions?
PORN star Holly Sampson last night became the seventh woman alleged to be a mistress of golf star Tiger Woods.
The 36-year-old from Los Angeles is the star of such films as "OMG, Stop Tickling Me" and "Flying Solo 2".
She has not yet spoken about her involvement with Tiger, 33.
It follows the emergence of 'mistress number six' Cori Rist, 31, who is said to have met Tiger in a New York club last year.
They allegedly had regular romps and he would secretly fly her around the world.
A source said: "Tiger would get a large suite at a hotel and someone would book Cori an adjacent room."
Meanwhile married Tiger's string of alleged lovers are busy cashing in. At least two have signed big-money deals.
Two more were revealed yesterday. One, curvy Jamie Jungers, 26, was said to have been the girlfriend of an unsuspecting golf fan who wanted her to get Tiger's AUTOGRAPH.
Florida waitress Mindy Lawton, 33, emerged as another of the dad of two's conquests.
Some reports said the total was at least eight.
Mindy said she romped with Tiger under the nose of his blonde wife Elin, 29, who was pregnant. Mindy said: "All he wanted me for was sex."
Another alleged lover, New York socialite Rachel Uchitel, 34, is reported to have sealed a million-dollar to keep quiet.
And Jaimee Grubbs, 24, who claims to have had 20 sex romps with Tiger, is in talks to pose naked for Playboy.
Nightclub hostess Kalika Moquin, 27, is also said to have had a fling with Tiger.
He was injured in a car crash after a 2am row with Elin in Florida ten days ago.
Ace of Spades UPDATE/Import:
December 08, 2009
Tiger Woods Voicemail: The Director's Cut
With lots of bonus footage previously unseen. Link Problem: For some reason this link leads to a sketch about Tetris. Skp that and click on the next clip, the one about Tiger Woods.
Oh My: Confirmed Racial Huckster/Sub-Moron Eugene Robinson: Tiger Woods' Infidelities and Betrayals Did Not Demonstrate Sufficient Fidelity to the Principles of Diversity
Really, really damn funny.
Via AllahPundit's Twitter feed.
Where Are The Minority Women At? It's come to this.
As Ed says, you knew it was coming, but you expected it to come from an unhinged blogger with not a damn thing to do all day but contrive outrage.
Not from the Washington Post.
Here’s my real question, though: What’s with the whole Barbie thing?
No offense to anyone who actually looks like Barbie, but it really is striking how much the women who’ve been linked to Woods resemble one another. I’m talking about the long hair, the specific body type, even the facial features. Mattel could sue for trademark infringement.
This may be the most interesting aspect of the whole Tiger Woods story — and one of the most disappointing. He seems to have been bent on proving to himself that he could have any woman he wanted. But from the evidence, his aim wasn’t variety but some kind of validation.
I’m making a big assumption here that the attraction for Woods was mostly physical, but there’s no evidence thus far that he had a lot of time for deep conversation. If adultery is really about the power and satisfaction of conquest, Woods’s self-esteem was apparently only boosted by bedding the kind of woman he thought other men lusted after — the “Playmate of the Month” type that Hugh Hefner turned into the American gold standard.
But the world is full of beautiful women of all colors, shapes and sizes — some with short hair or almond eyes, some with broad noses, some with yellow or brown skin. Woods appears to have bought into an “official” standard of beauty that is so conventional as to be almost oppressive.Oppressive to whom? The perfectly-qualified minority Denny's-Parking-Lot quick-slams that Tiger overlooked to have unsafe condom-free sex with?
Oppressive to them? Do they have a spokesman and a lobby? Have careers been cut short due to this failure of Tiger to broaden his strumpet candidate search?
Is ten minutes of sex with Tiger Woods a career? Well, you get paid; we know that. But is it a career?
His taste in mistresses leaves the impression of a man who is, deep down, both insecure and image-conscious — a control freak even when he’s committing “transgressions.”Why does Eugene Robinson hate white women?
Gee, a guy has a type he's attracted to. I'm just curious -- how many professional athletes are married to ugly women? Like, um, zero?
How come they don't sample the rich diversity in differing standards of female beauty?
I'm not saying black women are unattractive. I'm saying if a guy likes a type, he likes a type.
I can't believe this nonsense. It's now come to the point where there's a quota system for your skankwhores and pincushions. It's not that you violated your marital vows with so many women, Tiger: It's that you failed to implement a trained Diversity Outreach manager to select your nightcrawling guttertrollops and ensure you were drawing from a racially-conscious pool of talent.
One knock on bloggers -- and it's a valid one -- is that we sit around all day contriving nonsense to talk about, and aren't sufficiently "serious" about stuff, choosing to avoid the serious in favor of the quick, easy, and provocative.
Again: A knock on bloggers which is valid. A knock on myself which is valid.
But, darnit, that professional credentialed media is so, so much smarter and more serious. They exhibit such better judgment.
Don't they?
Don't they?
Am I, Too, Oppressed? How come all these women were willing to have semi-anonymous unprotected "frantic" and "desperate" sex with the same type of dude -- young, fairly handsome, professional athlete with a billion dollars?
Aren't I oppressed, too?
Why aren't these sorts of conventionally-attractive women more dedicated to the principles of diversity? When do they broaden their search criteria to include Ewok-looking bloggers with three cents in their bank accounts?
Four Words: Skankcrumpet. Diversity. Beer summit.
Alternate Headline: A commenter suggests the following:
WaPo: Tiger Woods Exposed as Serial Philanderer; Women, Minorities Least-Hardest Hit
Iran Revolution Redux
So if this picks up again, a site I recommend one to stay in touch with that will not get wrapped up in the Marxist ideology that some other sites try to promote is: The Spirit of Man. Although I do not think he is up on this newer outburst just yet.
- Times Online Opposition proves its still alive and kicking with day of mass protest in Iran - 2 hrs ago
- Guardian.co.uk Iran cracks down on student protests - 3 hrs ago
- Telegraph Iranian police shoot at unarmed protesters - 4 hrs ago
- The Independent Police surround Tehran university protesters - 17 hrs ago
Denmark's Warm and Fuzzy Facts -- Inconviniant Truths in Hopenhagen
1,200 limos + 140 private jets = More Carbon Produced that 60-countries in a year
COPENHAGEN -- Shakespeare's Marcellus was right. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
In this hotbed of homogeneity, where global warming is a sacred assumption for the faithful, 15,000 people will come together from 192 countries to pray for two weeks over what can be done to save the Earth from certain doom. Few places are better suited to handle the throngs of unquestioning believers who will journey from around the globe.
Dissent is not tolerated, and diversity -- in any form other than biodiversity -- is not welcome here.
But it turns out that Denmark's big claim to greenery isn't quite so impressive when you find out that they do not include one of their biggest and dirtiest industries -- shipping -- in calculating their annual carbon footprint.
That's because the last great world climate treaty, Kyoto, does not make them include their nasty shipping business in the calculation. No wonder the Danes liked that so much.
Even if President Obama gives away the farm when he arrives next week and signs some drastic pledge, it will be a treaty that must be ratified by the Senate.
His Democratic majority dwindles to basically nothing without members from coal states, heavy-industry states and other states where people generally would like to find a job.
But this crowd gathering here is far worse than just a bunch of hand-wringing Hamlets dithering in Denmark.
Some 40,000 tons of carbon will be spewed getting this crowd together and keeping them in comfort.
That is the amount of carbon dioxide produced by more than 60 of the world's smaller countries in an entire year -- combined.
Secret Service vs. Bumper Sticker ("Kill Obama-care before it kills you")
According to a retired couple who called into the Michael Medved show (which I heard... to which I will post the audio when I get it), the following occurred:
The Secret Service were dispatched from Omaha Nebraska this week, WHY?
To question a retired couple because of a bumper sticker on their car that was so terrible and threatening that 911 was called by some idiot and the Nebraska Highway patrol pulled them over and detained them until the Secret Service arrived. What did that terrible sticker say,
Kill Obama-care before it kills you!
According to the gentlemen he and his wife were held for 35 to 40 minutes by the Nebraska highway patrol until the agents arrived. The agent commented on the kill Obama stickers until the couple showed him that was not what it said. The agent left with no further comments.
The Secret Service agent commented on the spelling, saying that bot "Kill" and "Obama" were capitalized making it seem like the intention was to "kill obama." The retired gentleman pointed out that "kill" was the first word in the sentence and was capitalized due to its placement as the beginning of the sentence; and "Obama" is a proper name, thus its reason for capitalization. The call was soo funny... the government could have saved money by just sending their agents to Grammar 101.
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Elected an Openly Gay Bishop In The Global Anglican Fellowship
LOS ANGELES - The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles elected a lesbian as assistant bishop Saturday, the second openly gay bishop in the global Anglican fellowship, which is already deeply fractured over the first.
The Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore needs approval from a majority of national church leaders before she can be consecrated as assistant bishop in the Los Angeles diocese.
Still, her victory underscored a continued Episcopal commitment to accepting same-sex relationships despite enormous pressure from other Anglicans to change their stand.
The head of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has said she would consecrate any elected bishop as long as church rules for selection were followed.
The Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the United States, caused an uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Robinson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breakaway Episcopal conservatives have formed a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America. Several overseas Anglicans have been pressuring the Anglican spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to officially recognize the new conservative entity.
The Rev. Kendall Harmon of the theologically traditional Diocese of South Carolina, which recently voted to distance itself from the national church, said Saturday's vote would further damage relations among Episcopalians, their fellow Anglicans and other Christians.
"This decision represents an intransigent embrace of a pattern of life Christians throughout history and the world have rejected as against biblical teaching," said Harmon, an adviser to the diocesan bishop.
The 77-million-member Anglican Communion is a family of churches that trace their roots to the missionary work of the Church of England. Most overseas Anglicans are Bible conservatives....
Jim Naughton of The Chicago Consultation, a group of Episcopal and Anglican clergy and lay people who advocate on behalf of gays and lesbians, called Glasspool's election "a liberation."
"We've been around this issue for 30 years," said Naughton, an adviser to the Episcopal bishop of Washington. "It's unreasonable to expect us to refrain from acting on the very prayerful conclusions that we've reached, especially when we think there are issues of justice involved."
...(more)...
New Years Resolution -- Climate-Gate and Media Institutionalizing of Religion
More than two weeks after ClimateGate broke, ABC's World News finally got around to mentioning it on Sunday evening, but not to explore how the e-mails discredited leading scientists who insist mankind is causing global warming as, instead, ABC declared “the science is solid” and NBC assured viewers “the evidence is overwhelming that man is behind climate change.”
ABC reporter Clayton Sandell merely included, in a larger story about the Copenhagen conference, how “global warming naysayers are claiming that e-mails stolen from” East Anglia University “show climate scientists discussing how to fudge results to promote the idea that humans are altering the planet.” After failing to inform viewers of any specifics the e-mails revealed, Sandell, who didn't utter a syllable about them on Sunday's Good Morning America, concluded his World News piece:
The science is solid, according to a vast majority of researchers, with hotter temperatures, melting glaciers, and rising sea level providing the proof.
By Brad Wilmouth | December 7, 2009
After Snow’s report aired during the 6:00 p.m. hour, Howard Gould of Equator International opined that "I don't see any importance" in the emails, and later asserted: "I think people are making a big deal out of nothing. I think it's the climate debunkers that are out there, it's their last ray of hope, and they're trying to cling on to something. But it's really, you know, I think it's a bit of a joke."
Now, with the above two stories in mind, here is what one columnist has committed himself to do:
.... Here’s what I’m gonna do:
1. I am going to go outside by my pool and spray two full 32oz cans of Aqua Net right at the ozone.
2. I am going to use a gas powered scooter to go from room to room in my house, which will have all the outside doors open wide while the A/C is blowing full blast.
3. I am going to buy a ‘69 GTO with no exhaust system and let it idle for 4 hours a day in my driveway every day until Jesus returns.
4. I am going to fart as much as possible.
5. Speaking of farting, I am going to feed my cows bean dip and only bean dip. 6. I am going to set my thermostat on 85 in the winter and 55 in the summer.
7. I am going to use all my curly cue fluorescent light bulbs for clay pigeons—and not clean up the mess.
8. I am going to air up my tires on my ‘69 Goat so much that it looks like a frickin’ Macy’s Parade float.
9. When I go grizzly bear hunting in Alaska this spring I am going to add a polar bear to my license and take one of those as well.
10. While in Alaska I will take a blowtorch to a glacier to get my drinking water.
11. In addition, I am going to throw snowballs at seals. It won’t hurt them, but they will understand that the game is back on.
12. And finally, I am going to make certain my girls have Horner’s book Red Hot Lies and Milloy’s book Green Hell so that when their profs and goofy friends open their mouths on behalf global warming they can go Stone Cold Steve Austin on them with the cold, hard facts.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
What is Conservatism?... is it Liberal or Classically Liberal? (Whats the Difference?) -- Robert P. George
THAT conservatism rejects much of contemporary liberalism is clear enough. Yet many conservatives speak favorably of "liberal democracy" and its defense. Indeed, they sometimes seem to speak this way more than contemporary liberals do. They use the word "illiberal," meanwhile, to describe many of the ideas and policies they oppose. Some of those typically labeled "conservatives" go so far as to call themselves "classical liberals." The implication of these usages seems to be that conservatism may stand in friendlier relation to older forms of liberalism.
We posed to four eminent political thinkers the question: Should American conservatism be understood as a branch of liberalism, in that liberal institutions and a liberal society are what it chiefly aims to conserve? Their answers appear below.
Robert P. George
ORTHODOX CONTEMPORARY LIBERALISM, the liberalism of Teddy Kennedy and Barney Frank, combines statist social and economic policies with a fierce commitment to lifestyle libertarianism. An earlier strain of liberalism, embodied by Franklin D. Roosevelt, embraced the statism without the lifestyle libertarianism. In its full flower (think of Hubert Humphrey), this form was strongly committed to civil rights--true civil rights, not "civil rights" as a euphemism for lifestyle libertarianism--and to their advancement through national governmental power. More venerable yet is the "old-fashioned liberalism" of Madison and Tocqueville. No mere relic of the past, it counts many contemporary conservatives among its adherents.
Old-fashioned liberalism embraces neither statism nor libertarianism, whether in social and economic policy or on lifestyle issues. Though it insists on constitutional checks on government to protect honorable liberties and the integrity of the family and other institutions of civil society, it does not regard government as an evil. Rather, it understands well-functioning and limited government as indispensable to the common good. While principle dictates government involvement in some matters and forbids it in others, old-fashioned liberalism emphasizes the prudential nature of most policy judgments concerning the regulation of markets or morals. Though they reject unprincipled pragmatism, old-fashioned liberals prize moderation and caution in the vast range of political decision-making that is not determined by principles alone.
That do old-fashioned liberals support? Religious freedom and other basic human rights; political equality and equality of opportunity; constitutional democracy, wherever possible; the rule of law; limited but effective government; a flourishing civil society (including a healthy marriage-and-family culture, vibrant religious communities, and civic associations); personal responsibility; and the market economy, regulated to function for the common good.
Central to old-fashioned liberalism is a belief in the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every member of the human family. Thus old-fashioned liberals are called conservatives in an age in which not only statism but also abortion, embryo-destructive research, euthanasia, and even eugenics are promoted as progressive causes. Many old-fashioned liberals are Christians or Jews; though prepared to defend their views without appeal to religious authority, they find the scriptural articulation of their core ethical-political commitment in the teaching of Genesis that man is made in God's image and likeness.
How is old-fashioned liberalism liberal? It emerged in opposition to European "throne and altar" conservatism, with its monarchism, corporatism, political inequalities, and indifference or hostility to religious freedom and other basic civil liberties and rights. This brand of conservatism was never salient in America. Our conservatives have respected religion and tradition. But they have rightly regarded freedom of religion as necessary for faith's flourishing in modern conditions, and the traditions they have sought to preserve favor constitutionalism, the rule of law, civil liberties, the market economy, limited government, personal responsibility, and civic order and virtue.
Many contemporary conservatives were once Humphrey-type liberals; some--including Mary Ann Glendon, Leon and Amy Kass, and the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus--were themselves civil-rights activists. It was their commitment to human dignity that led them both into the civil-rights movement and then out of the liberal fold when lifestyle libertarianism became liberal orthodoxy. They did not change their fundamental beliefs; what changed was what counted as liberal. And while remaining loyal to the causes of civil rights and equal opportunity, they came to believe that big-government economic and social policies failed to help, and often actually hurt, their intended beneficiaries by, for example, eroding the sense of personal responsibility and by undermining the marriage culture, thus entrenching the poverty against which great civil rights-era liberals such as Humphrey proposed to wage war.
Old-fashioned liberals can make common cause with contemporary libertarians against statist policies now being advanced by President Obama and the Reid-Pelosi Congress. In some cases, however, the old-fashioned liberal critique will differ in important ways from the libertarian critique. The former will often focus on considerations of prudence, not principle (though prudential judgments are often shaped by underlying principled commitments). Where libertarians see a threat to the individual's freedom to do as he pleases, the old-fashioned liberal may see a threat to the autonomy of the family, religious communities, and other institutions of civil society. This will likely be true of debates over health care, education, and taxation.
On lifestyle issues, cooperation with strict libertarians will be more limited. But a significant minority of libertarians are pro-life, and many oppose (for good libertarian reasons) government sex-education programs and population policies.
Opportunities for cooperation with orthodox contemporary liberals are fewer. The Obama administration and Congress seem determined to advance the causes of abortion and embryo-destructive research, and their social and economic policies would shift authority and resources from families and private enterprises to the government.
Indeed, Obama, Reid, and Pelosi represent contemporary liberal orthodoxy in its purest distillation. Carter, Clinton, and previous Democratic congressional leaders cannot begin to compare. It is as if the country were being run by Ivy League faculty. In fact, strike the "as if."
So old-fashioned liberals will likely have little choice but to oppose the Obama administration and Congress at virtually every turn, for contemporary liberal orthodoxy is the antithesis of the old-fashioned liberal brand of conservatism.
Mr. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and a member of the Hoover Institution Task Force on the Virtues of a Free Society. He is the founder of the American Principles Project (www.americanprinciplesproject.org).
A-Bomb Dropped on BBC -- Climate Change Bringing Out Religious Fervor
(HotAir h/t)
"...I’m giving you the full clip so that no context is lost — Morano, the skeptic, does bait him a bit with mocking laughter and by talking over him — but the fireworks come in clip two if you’re pressed for time. Watch, if only to enjoy the nuance of a scientist complaining about 'character assassination' mere seconds before indulging in a profane ad hominem." ~ HotAir
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Two Muslim Stories -- Both Imported from Libertarian Republican
(Libertarian Republican imports)
Nidal Malik Hasan and Rifqa Bary's family shared the same Imam at Radical Mosque in Columbus
RIFQA BARY UPDATE!by Denise Clarks
It's tough to get some Americans to see that we are waging a jihad against a philosophy that promotes the barbaric notion of sharia law. What will it take? Will it take an act of terrorism on the part of some martyr wannabe that affects their families? How about having their children recite koran verses in school to promote "understanding"? The kumbaya crowd has no clue about the very real danger the West faces from the fascist regimes of muslim countries.
Rifqa Bary, the teenager who fled her muslim family over the summer for fear of being the victim of an 'honor killing,' continues to be a prisoner of the state of Ohio. In foster care, Rifqa's phone calls and internet usage are monitored as directed by the presiding judge in her case. I assume the ACLU is too busy trying to get a nativity scene removed from a public park somewhere to address this issue.
Now this shocking news...
According to Jihad Watch, the imam at the mosque where Rifqa's family is indoctrinated, I mean worships led a hajj to mecca in 2002 with the radical jihadist imam of Major Nidal Hasan, the nutjob who killed 14 and wounded over 30 in a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. But Rifqa's not in danger. No....we all know islam is such a peaceful religion.
On December 22, 2009, another rally will be held in Columbus, Ohio, in support of Rifqa Bary. This is the day where another hearing will be held to determine whether she returns to her family. Depending on the ruling, she could immediately be handed over to her potential killers.
Rifqa Bary, the teenager who fled her muslim family over the summer for fear of being the victim of an 'honor killing,' continues to be a prisoner of the state of Ohio. In foster care, Rifqa's phone calls and internet usage are monitored as directed by the presiding judge in her case. I assume the ACLU is too busy trying to get a nativity scene removed from a public park somewhere to address this issue.
Now this shocking news...
According to Jihad Watch, the imam at the mosque where Rifqa's family is indoctrinated, I mean worships led a hajj to mecca in 2002 with the radical jihadist imam of Major Nidal Hasan, the nutjob who killed 14 and wounded over 30 in a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. But Rifqa's not in danger. No....we all know islam is such a peaceful religion.Salah Sultan, formerly of the Noor Mosque in Columbus, Ohio, (before he himself was barred from entering the United States), and Anwar al-Awlaki, Nidal Hasan's jihadist imam, led a Hajj trip together in 2002.Despite the willingness of the left -- particularly the muslim-in-chief -- to capitulate to those who call us 'islamophobes,' there are those who get it. Our brave soldiers who continue to fight for the freedom of people to live in a free country instead of a theocracy get it. Those families who lost loved ones on 9/11 and at Fort Hood get it. And one very brave teen in Ohio gets it.
On December 22, 2009, another rally will be held in Columbus, Ohio, in support of Rifqa Bary. This is the day where another hearing will be held to determine whether she returns to her family. Depending on the ruling, she could immediately be handed over to her potential killers.
For details on the rally visit Pamela Geller's Atlas Shrugs.
From Cliff Thies:Now we learn, Maurice Clemons, the perpetrator of the Lakewood, Washington Cop Killing spree, may have been a jailhouse Muslim (“Nation of Islam”) convert.
From Gateway Pundit:
However, some Islamicists have said he is a Muslim martyr. A website called Black Male Felon, which has since been taken down by Wordpress for "Violation of Service Agreement," posted an obscene and highly offensive post earlier in the week:
Here’s the point: We libertarians say the coercive force of government should be used defensively, to protect us from criminals, as well as to adjudicate disagreements among law-abiding citizens.
Fuzzy-headed people, like Obama and Huckabee take a largely soft on crime approach.
Our police and military, thank God, can protect us from the criminals. Who will protect us from the do-gooders?
From Gateway Pundit:
The Last Crusade reportedly has learned from an Arkansas law enforcement official, became a member of the Nation of Islam while serving time in the Cummins Prison.To be sure, we can’t blame this one on Islamic extremism. He was already a hardened criminal before his conversion.
However, some Islamicists have said he is a Muslim martyr. A website called Black Male Felon, which has since been taken down by Wordpress for "Violation of Service Agreement," posted an obscene and highly offensive post earlier in the week:
“Who’s Your Favorite Officer Down: Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Greg Richards or Ronald Owens;” Seattle Black Foot Soldiers: Shootings a Preemptive Strike on [Cop] TerroristsAnother related site, called Seattle Blackfoot Soliders, also taken down by WordPress, created a graphic of Maurice Clemons with a crown on his had, and the caption: "Celebrate Maurice Clemons Daring Stand Against White Police Terrorism."
Here’s the point: We libertarians say the coercive force of government should be used defensively, to protect us from criminals, as well as to adjudicate disagreements among law-abiding citizens.
Fuzzy-headed people, like Obama and Huckabee take a largely soft on crime approach.
Our police and military, thank God, can protect us from the criminals. Who will protect us from the do-gooders?
Obama Czars -- “Safe Schools” Chief Recommends Child Porn for Classroom Reading
(WorldNetDaily import)
A new report is raising alarms that the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, a homosexual advocacy organization founded by Kevin Jennings, now head of the U.S. Office of Safe Schools for the Obama administration, is recommending XXX-rated sex writings for children as young as preschoolers. "
We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren't merely X-rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between preschoolers; stories that seemed to promote and recommend child-adult sexual relationships; stories of public masturbation, anal sex in restrooms, affairs between students and teachers, five-year-olds playing sex games, semen flying through the air," said the report.
"One memoir even praised becoming a prostitute as a way to increase one's self-esteem. Above all, the books seemed to have less to do with promoting tolerance than with an unabashed attempt to indoctrinate students into a hyper-sexualized worldview," it advised. The report was posted online by Jim Hoft at the Gatetway Pundit blog after it was obtained from Breitbart.tv co-founder Scott Baker, who said the recommended children's reading assignments need attention. The team whose members assembled the report said a handful of books from the more than 100 titles on GLSEN's recommended reading list for school children were picked randomly.
Writings were reviewed with titles such as "Queer 13," "Being Different," "The Full Spectrum," "Revolutionary Voices," "Reflections of a Rock Lobster," "Passages of Pride," "Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian," "The Order of the Poison Oak," "In Your Face," "Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son" and "Love & Sex: Ten Stories of Truth." "What we discovered shocked us. We were flabbergasted. Rendered speechless," the report said.
"Read the passages … and judge for yourself … The language is explicit, the intent is clear," the report said.
WND has reported previously on Jennings' background and agenda, including when it was revealed a publisher of "gay erotica" sought him out to write a book aimed at encouraging homosexuality in high schools and colleges. The result was "Becoming Visible," which opens with, "Why teach gay and lesbian history? … Indeed, as lesbian and gay studies has emerged as a discipline over the last two decades, its dramatic discoveries have shown it to be one of the most exciting fields in contemporary historical scholarship." Researchers at Mass Resistance reported Sasha Alyson of Alyson Publications sought out Jennings to do the book.
In Jennings' acknowledgments for the book, he writes, "Writing this part of the book has caused me more anxiety than any other. It simply is not possible to express my gratitude to the many people who have helped make this book possible. ... With apologies to anyone omitted, here we go! The obvious place to begin is with Alyson Publications. First, Sasha Alyson had the vision to conceive of this project, and I had the good luck to be the person he sought out to complete it. I am deeply appreciative of being afforded this opportunity."
WND also has reported concerns by Mission America over subject material in books recommended by GLSEN for school children. The group's Linda Harvey warned, "GLSEN believes the early sexualization of children can be beneficial. This means that virtually any sexual activity as well as exposure to graphic sexual images and material, is not just permissible but good for children, as part of the process of discovering their sexuality." Her report cited one passage from a book recommended for students in grades 7-12: "I released his arms. They glided around my neck, pulling my head down to his. I stretched full length on top of him, our heads touching. Our heavy breathing from the struggle gradually subsided.
I felt …" What follows in "Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian" by Malcolm Boyd is a "graphic description" of a homosexual encounter. The new report posted on Gatetway Pundit explained the material is what GLSEN wants children to read and learn about. "GLSEN's stated mission is to empower gay youth in the schools and to stop harassment by other students. It encourages the formation of Gay Student Alliances and condemns the use of hateful words.
GLSEN also strives to influence the educational curriculum to include materials which the group believes will increase tolerance of gay students and decrease bullying," the report said. "To that end, GLSEN maintains a recommended reading list of books that it claims 'furthers our mission to ensure safe schools for all students,'" the report said. "In other words, these are the books that GLSEN's directors think all kids should be reading: gay kids should read them to raise their self-esteem, and straight kids should read them in order to become more aware and tolerant and stop bullying gay kids."
The organization also offers online links to buy the books. "We can only vouch for what's in these 11 books, since these are the only ones we've read through," the report said. "Are there other books on the GLSEN reading list that are similarly outrageous? We can't say for sure, but it seems very likely." The review team said the issue isn't about homosexuality or censorship. "It's about deciding what constitutes appropriate reading material for children.
We're perfectly OK with these books existing and being read by adults; we only start to worry when these books are assigned to children," the report said. "According to Kevin Jennings and GLSEN, books about a 13-year-old getting 'my c--- sucked and my a-- f-----' are not just acceptable, they're highly recommended." The website notes, "All BookLink items are reviewed by GLSEN staff for quality and appropriateness of content." Most of the objectionable excerpts cited in the report cannot be included in a WND report. But among the mildest:
- From "Reflections of a Rock Lobster:" "My sexual exploits with my neighborhood playmates continued. I lived a busy homosexual childhood, somehow managing to avoid venereal disease through all my toddler years. By first grade I was sexually active with many friends. In fact, a small group of us regularly met in the grammar school lavatory…"
- An illustration in "Revolutionary Voices," shows two Boy Scouts pointing at and looking at two adult men engaged in sex.
- From "Queer 13:" "Soon I was spending a great deal of time hanging out in shopping malls and cruising the rest rooms for sexual encounters."
....(read more)....
Stephanopoulos Defends Kevin Jennings On "Hannity"
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