Session Notes

Shovel Writings: Faith:

“Friend: what about taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ?
Shovel: consider it thru
Friend: yes, I realize that in the war, we fight ‘from’ victory and not ‘for’ victory
Shovel: how could ANY thought be taken CAPTIVE? … and then consider it says, EVERY thought
Friend: only Christ by controlling our minds can do this job … I want Him to do so!!!
Shovel: yes … it is as we go thru our stuff we are walking by faith … that means having your eyes on something that sounds stupid, foolish to our logical mind
Friend: I know that in Romans 6 that we are to continually reckon ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God, (resting in what is true)
Shovel: yes … doesn’t that sound ethereal
Friend: many legalist believe that this is a ‘work’ to make it true and that is of course a lie from hell ”

It is difficult to comprehend that even our beliefs can be “works”or legalism. This is an excellent point form article showing how spiritual words can be viewed in a fleshy way. “Jesus allow me to see only in the Spirit.”

Shovel Writings: Intro:

“It’s amazing what you hear when you really listen.  It’s not easy because you and I are so used to hearing others from our own perspective — and not from theirs.  Why do you think people pay psychologists so much money to sit back and listen to them answer their own questions?  What if we were to do this with each other, but our questions were driven by the desire ”to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor2:2)“?  ”

This is the key to the Good News. I pray our focus as sin for believers is not the real issue. When we surrender our self-protective feelings there is no need to avoid/defend. Pray our eyes remain seeing Jesus took the offense feared away.

The Psychopathic School by John Taylor Gatto

Schools were designed by Horace Mann and by Sears and Harper of the University of Chicago and by Thorndyke of Columbia Teachers College and by some other men to be instruments of the scientific management of a mass population. Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.

To a very great extent schools succeed in doing this, but in a national order increasingly disintegrated, in a national order in which the only “successful” people are independent, self-reliant, confident, and individualistic (because community life which protects the dependent and the weak is dead and only networks remain), the products of schooling are, as I’ve said, irrelevant. Well-schooled people are irrelevant. They can sell film and razor blades, push paper and talk on telephones, or sit mindlessly before a flickering computer terminal, but as human beings they are useless. Useless to others and useless to themselves.

The daily misery around us is, I think, in large measure caused by the fact that, as Paul Goodman put it thirty years ago, we force children to grow up absurd. Any reform in schooling has to deal with its absurdities.

It is absurd and anti-life to be part of a system that compels you to sit in confinement with people of exactly the same age and social class. That system effectively cuts you off from the immense diversity of life and the synergy of variety; indeed it cuts you off from your own past and future, sealing you in a continuous present much the same way television does.

It is absurd and anti-life to move from cell to cell at the sound of a gong for every day of your natural youth in an institution that allows you no privacy and even follows you into the sanctuary of your home demanding that you do its “homework.”

Ok, some rants just need to be posted — even if written by others.

Think this is the rantings of a cynical lunatic? Think again. This is taken from John Taylor Gatto’s book, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. This speech was given by Gatto on January 31/1990 in accepting an award from the New York State Senate naming him New York City Teacher of the Year. Yes, he’s a teacher.

I just wish we could find another few hundred thousand teachers to stand up and scream the same message…

Shovel Writings: Time Out:

“he error would be to overlook your feelings and to write me off as a confrontational heretic!  For the reality is that our feelings are indicators of what we think and believe.  So, please don’t do the self-righteous, stoic thing by stuffing your feelings and justifying your position!  I know, I’m very well acquainted with the process.  And so my question to you is this:  while your head is filled with offended feelings and the desire to make yourself appear better, do you sense the undercurrent within you that you may actually be fighting against who you truly are?

Back to Top”

He offers an interesting self-examination exercise. However it needs to be looked at regarding the Finished Work of Christ. There is no need to justify as we have been by Him. One just needs to empathize. It is a good way to come to the end of ourselves and rest in who we are in Him.

Shovel Writings: The Issue of Salvation:

“Salvation as an issue will always be up for grabs to whoever presents the most binding case based upon Scriptural proof-texts.


Back to Top”

The “It is Finished” argument will be debated until one realizes God’s Spirit is the final authority. That produces fear because there is no law and one is not sure if another’s belief is surrendered.

Shovel Writings: The Religious Formula:

“Such is the religious formula.  And that’s what is being done with
each and every repetition of the ”sinners-prayer“. ”

When we focus on the sin confess cycle we lose sight of that the Biblical letters are revealed as Jesus testimony that He took away sin.

Shovel Writings: A handle on grace:

“ For when
we categorize grace into doctrines, definitions, or nice little sayings
that allow us to avoid the stuff that continues to haunt us we only
learn how to mold it around those hidden fears, guilt and shame. 
No doubt much is learned in the process, but it becomes sterile. 
That’s why we add stuff to Christ even while stating that nothing can
be added.”

This is the point. When we add the words of “life” or call attention to “mistakes” the gospel that Jesus finished sin is lost.

osu.edu

The results showed that, unlike many adult networks, there was no core group of very sexually active people at the high school. There were not many students who had many partners and who provided links to the rest of the community.

Instead, the romantic and sexual network at the school created long chains of connections that spread out through the community, with few places where students directly shared the same partners with each other. But they were indirectly linked, partner to partner to partner. One component of the network linked 288 students – more than half of those who were romantically active at the school – in one long chain. (See figure for a representation of the network.)

Ok, let’s cut through to the core of this: Researchers have finally mapped out the sexual connections of an entire school — proving once and for all it’s not the, “Bad kids,” who are having sex. It’s everyone’s kids. No, they are not doing the whole school and, no, they may or may not even be having full on vaginal intercourse (not that that makes much difference to a virus.) In fact, these teens are so limited in their exploration they are each likely only having sex with two different partners — but they are having sex and it’s strikingly well organized.

In my mind, this is a serious assault on the whole silver-ring-thing movement that regularly claims that teens who take their pledge avoid sex or at least limit sex to a very small number of partners. (Though I fully admit it’s never going to be taken notice of…) Reality check: They are all having sex with limited partners.

Not-In-My-Back-Yard thinking is as prevalent today as it ever was. We have a lot of good luck charms we use to convince ourselves that it makes sense — even in the face of research. One of the most common responses to this is simply, “Oh yes, but that’s not my kid — s/he wears a purity ring — and must be numbered in the smaller percentage of students who were not sexually involved.” It’s usually these same parents who are then fighting against the HPV vaccine being administered to their kids or having their kids taught about condoms. (For a brief synopsis of how well purity rings work — not at all — see a recent study published by Medical News Today.)

It’s really easy to believe it will not be your child — and easier still for the teens to believe it won’t be them considering they are bound to know one of the two or three in the entire school who has MANY sexual partners. Trouble is, with the social pressure not to be seen as taking a friend’s, “Leftovers,” there is a self organizing nature to the sexual networks that ensures that whatever diseases one student has are likely to be systematically distributed to the whole works of them.

Sociologists Peter Bearman and Hannah Brueckner (Columbia and Yale, respectively) found that when virginity pledgers do have sex, they are less likely to use a condom that could save their lives than non-pledgers. So, if they are having sex and it is always with limited numbers, then two questions arise: How can we keep kids from even the limited sex they are having (Seeing as the rings are not working) and/or at least keep them from the unsafe sex the rings are CAUSING. Interestingly enough, these same researchers also found that found that adolescents who make an informal promise to themselves not to have sex WILL delay sex, but adolescents who take a formal virginity pledge DO NOT delay sex.

In my mind, that last sentence is key in answering those two questions:

Parental ignorance, acculturated shame (A.K.A: Purity Balls) and the absence of freedom leads to rebellion — stupid rebellion that gets teens pregnant or dead.

Parental knowledge, shame free involvement, the presence of freedom and the provision of options, when coupled with direct and clear teaching about God’s best for your life, leads children to make decisions for themselves and deeply embed those decisions within their own hearts. Strangely enough, they actually manage to stick to those decisions or at least fail to do so in less dangerous ways.

The number of Christian organizations presenting totally false statistics to back up their ring sales, purity balls and opposition to teens being taught about condoms is staggering. (No, I will not link to them.) Apparently, it’s better to go on marketing the same fictions then to admit that our rather macabre little road show hasn’t worked — and then actually parent our kids.

For me, the final irony is that the purity ring was initially a beautiful original creation of Jack McLemore, a Mississippi jeweler, who actually did love, engage and teach his daughter and intended it as a special symbol meant only for her. He never intended it to become a mass marketed control tactic or a quick-fix Bandaid that allows parents to hide their heads in the sand.

How to Treat Food Poisoning - eHow.com :

“You can use over-the-counter medications to control vomiting or diarrhea, but it is usually better not to use anything for at least the first 6 or 8 hours. The bacteria or virus causing the problem will pass from your body faster if you don’t try to slow it down.”

Anger Busters for Kids:

“Model anger management. ”Mommy is feeling very angry right now, so I’m going to take time to be alone and get some self-control.Show respect. Don’t participate by calling names or getting physical.Give them words to express their anger. “I know you are disappointed, or sad or frustrated.”Identify with their pain. “I remember when I didn’t get to go to a party…”Set positive limits. Instead of saying, “Don’t you throw that doll,” say, “After you put the doll on the table, we can go have snack.”Redirect energy bursts that often come with anger. Encourage positive outlets like running, jumping, blowing into a horn or painting.Avoid power struggles with your child. They’re always lose-lose situations. If your goal is to control, you will teach him to control others.“

This article is excellent for mother, particularly with girls because one has to model it. In my opinion, time outs, focusing on the positive show grace not that a child has won. If one tries to control them by always having your way, they may tend to overcompensate by attempting to control their siblings/friends/you.

Understanding Biased Perceptions:

“ although it is often biased perception that makes an alternative seem more satisfying, it is possible to become attracted to someone who actually would be more satisfying to you than your mate. There may be something missing in your marriage that you desperately want, and although it might develop later, it also might not. It’s painful to have this realization. It can also make you resentful and angry. If that’s your situation, it’s better to acknowledge it and grieve for the loss rather than letting it erode your dedication to your mate. Otherwise, you could lose all you have built together.”

This is a good article stressing the need to focus on that Jesus took away the bad in your spouse. There is no need for revenge or judgement.

Libertarian party of Canada.

“The best government is one which shall restrain men from injuring one another, but leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread that it has earned.” - Thomas Jefferson

Probably not a political philosophy that will ever run a country but having them as a solid opposition party could really help…

TimesOnline

But this time, we know what it’s all about, don’t we? Not joyful, simplified Christianity but a pulling-up of drawbridges. Anglican archbishops in Dar es Salaam are struggling to avoid “schism” in their vast communion over the issue of ordaining, or indeed tolerating, Christians whose unsought orientation is to pair up with others of their own gender. And it will be the illiberal, genitally-fixated wing of Anglicanism that sidles towards unity with Rome. It will do this because it thinks — accurately, more’s the pity — that Rome is where you find the most intolerant attitudes towards homosexuality.

It always intrigues me to watch liberal/postmodernist columnists going to war against fundamentalism on issues of sexuality. They start out with all the fire and fury of their supposed passionate love for the broken hearts of others and their desire for, well, something or other… They then vent their frustrated rage at the Churches’ incurable obsession with genital sexuality which, they hold, “Cripples every good intention, impedes every good work,” as though it were definitively the core of the problem that is causing the pain of those they claim to defend. Then, they present their solution:

The irony is, their solution is simply, “Let’s not talk about it.” They state that, “Christianity could just grow up, and stop treating sex as if it were innately toxic or radioactive and yet irresistibly interesting,” ignoring, for a moment, that these voices may actually have noticed something real. (Not that sexuality is innately toxic, but that there may actually be some seriously broken hearts resulting from the misuse of sexuality…) How do they substantiate this position of willful obliviousness?

The present Pope’s use of expressions such as “objectively disordered” is not only cruel, but unfounded in any solid fact. Nor is real homosexuality, as evangelicals love to claim, “curable”. You can persuade, inspire or bully people out of committing crimes, but not out of perceiving a particular kind of beauty, loveability, caressability and companionableness more in one sex than another. You can condemn people for doing bad things, but you cannot dictate where they will see beauty, a reflection of divinity.

Well, never mind that the very man that removed Homosexuality from the DSM has released his studies stating rather conclusively that homosexuality can be changed. Never mind that there are thousands of persons world wide who’s personal journeys beg to differ with this position. Let’s ignore all the research and just make a raw batch of categorical statements about your own opinions. In other words — they just don’t substantiate it — in fact, they don’t even engage any research that disagrees with them while upholding research as that which will vindicate them.

Ironically, the solution they offer — just ignoring the broken hearts of those trapped in this lifestyle — is exactly the same solution actually being currently practiced in the fundamentalist churches they rail against. In fact, it’s the solution nearly exclusively practiced on both sides (except for a very few.) While one side rails against behaviors and the other side praises the same, the real problem is that neither side is prepared to engage the broken at a level that actually matters.

And, what would engaging them look like? It would start with reading Romans and Galatians again for the very first time, walking away from the idiocy of our ethical revision of Christianity and figuring out that there is no other way to describe Christianity but with the word, “Freedom.” It would continue with the recognition of the dignity and sonship/daughtership of every child of God (regardless of their behavior) and a reexamination of the radical nature of both love itself as well as the call of Christ to do so. It would continue with an honest recognition of the reality of human broken hearts — especially in the case of those who are settling for so much less then what they were created for. Then it would require figuring out that love doesn’t tell a person who is settling for such that that’s all they can expect for their lives.

Just maybe, somewhere in there, the church might discover the point Paul was making back there: That love, grace, freedom and an intimate relationship with God/others can heal what no amount of hiding our heads in the sand or shouting our judgments at the broken will ever even touch.

But then, that would require us to actually go into the dark places of the human heart that Jesus hung out in — instead of acting like the damage is beautiful or, conversely, too evil to do anything but mark the person as fuel for the fires of hell…

Oh wait… Never mind… That would cut into the stained glass window budget…

How to Arrange a Kids Craft Party! - weHow.com :

“Decorate T-shirts or pillowcases: Give each child a white T-shirt, or request on the party invitations that kids bring a white T-shirt that can be decorated. Cover an area of floor with thick cardboard from the sides of large boxes. Insert a thinner, smaller piece of cardboard inside each T-shirt to keep paint from running through to the back. Tape the shirt and thin cardboard down to the heavier cardboard, keeping the front surface flat. Have kids decorate their T-shirts with non-toxic fabric paints. Allow the T-shirts to dry and let guests wear the shirts home at the end of the birthday party. ”

Age 10 prob max

Shovel Writings: Devotion fading in view of Christ?:

“ I have had far more times
of awareness of Christ as being my life by NOT trying to make it
happen.  I have seen it when running to the beach to take photos of the
sunrise, or watching movies, or examining the legal system of the world
around me … even though I did not stop to pray or read the Bible
first.  I still love reading the Bible - at times, that is - and have
often found encouragement in the reading.  From time to time I have
caught myself wondering when the last time I prayed might have been,
often only to realize that I had been speaking to him already.  The
only thing that really kills my taking everything to God is when I
think I have to schedule it in order to make it happen.  You know,
scheduling things is probably not the source of the problem, rather it
is more than likely our belief in the power of scheduling, as if
scheduled life is true life.  I think he is found both in the schedule
and out of it.”

I like that this article points to the value of both positions. It is wise not to force our leadings of God. However their is also “Life” in some rituals. I believe that the confession one, which I do not agree with, has caused others to fear direction from a genuine relationship through grieving and surrender.

Togetherness: Making It Work:

“hings changed on their third anniversary. They made a commitment to each other: No matter what, they would learn how to connect and develop intimacy. They began studying the Bible and praying together, and attended every marriage conference they could find. They made spending time together a hobby; where you saw one, you’d see the other. They took up golf and skiing. For the next 20 years they would have at least one date a week.”

This is a good article. However one needs to surrender the relationship to God to allow Him to develop the closeness in His timing.

Growing in Oneness:

“Is that how Jesus became ”one“ with His disciples? No. He understood the value of spending time with them, talking, teaching, dining, and experiencing happy and challenging moments together. There were times when Jesus needed to be alone, but He understood the value of being with His followers, too. In the end, He gave His life for them and they gave theirs for Him — the ultimate testimony of oneness.”

This is a good article discussing that having someone over or being away from your spouse a lot does not build the closeness both desire but are afraid to create.

Feelings of Doubt and Uncertainty:

“Though she was certain Ted was the man God had chosen for her, Nicole missed her independence. Often she felt sad, conflicted, confused — wondering whether she’d made the wrong decision about marriage. She loved Ted and was thankful for him, realizing she couldn’t have asked for a better man. But she struggled with having to give up her ”alone time“ and sense of freedom. After praying, studying the Bible, and getting direction from Christian friends, Nicole began to see that her feelings were normal and that most people experience them.”

I went through those feelings of the loss of my singleness that needed to be grieved. The transition from independence to interdependence is difficult but necessary.

Viewing Your Spouse in a New Light:

“Desire. You viewed your husband during courtship as you wanted to see him. We tend to construct a person in our minds to match the excitement we want to feel. We mentally create that person in a way that will make us happiest.”

This is a good synopsis as the reasons that romantic love turns into the friendship stage. If grace isn’t given/received it is unlikely to mature.

www.kget.com

BAKERSFIELD - A family is turned away by a local pediatrician, they say because of the way they look.

The doctor said he is just following his beliefs, creating a Christian atmosphere for his patients.

Tasha Childress said it’s discrimination.

She said Dr. Gary Merrill wouldn’t treat her daughter for an ear infection because Tasha, the mother, has tattoos.

The AMA backs this character and, one one level, I have to agree. It is a free country and the USA has some things figured out here as to freedom that Canada is in grave danger of loosing.

That being said, perhaps he would like to hang another few verses on his wall:

“First, do no harm.” (Hippocrates)
“Suffer the little children to come unto me,” (Jesus)
“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Jesus) (If, even under Old Covenant theology, you can somehow make a bit of ink on your hide into a sin.)

It’s totally amazing what we will manage to rationalize under the law. You would think a “Christian” rulekeeper would AT LEAST feel like he was sinning if he failed to love a child — apparently not though. It seems that the Gospel somehow teaches it’s OK to let a child suffer. Really, that’s what irks me about him — he has the nerve to try blame it all on Jesus.

Yes, the same Jesus that turned water into wine and spent so much time hanging out with hookers, thieves and sinners that he got a reputation as a drunk. (This simple fact alone should nominate him as everyone’s a personal Hero…)

Ok, seriously, this is one incredibly weird guy’s personal bias. This Doctor’s logic goes against every teaching in the Christian faith and his idiocy is similar to what fuels much of the strife in the world today. If he wants to treat people like this — fine. It’s a free country and he’s free to be an ass. Just grow a spine, take responsibility for your own stupidity and DON’T TRY TO BLAME IT ON JESUS.

I just hope his Christian patients also stand up in their own free country and vote with their feet by walking out the door.

FrontPagemagazine.com

Throughout the Islamic Middle East, men and women are taught to be vehemently opposed to pleasure, especially of the sexual variety. Men are raised not only forbidden to touch women, but to even look at them. Sex before marriage is not just a sin — but a criminal offence. It is punishable by a severe beating at best, and an execution at worst.

The sexual privileges that are allowed in Islamic cultures are permitted to men. Women’s sexuality and social independence represent major threats to male supremacy and are tightly controlled. Thus, as the Moroccan feminist Fitna Sabbah reveals in her book Woman in the Muslim Unconscious, there is a disturbing conflict in the Middle East between sexual libido and repression. A deep-seated fear of, and hostility to, individuality prevails, and its main expression exists in misogyny.

Ok, this is a disturbing article. Jamie Glazov writes about how deeply embedded same sex sexual abuse is within fundamentalist Islamic cultures identifying how the seeds of rage and fear combine to produce a hyper-masculinization (based upon conformity) that renders the affected male both powerless and controllable — even to the point of death.

His contention is that this damage is both legitimized and then rationalized by a society that teaches that the damage is nonexistent and understands the inflicting of such as a need.

In this culture, males sexually penetrating males becomes a manifestation of male power, conferring a status of hyper-masculinity. It is considered to have nothing to do with homosexuality. An unmarried man who has sex with boys is simply doing what men do. As the scholar Bruce Dunne has demonstrated, sex in Islamic societies is not about mutuality between partners, but about the adult male’s achievement of pleasure through violent domination.

I am unsure of the accuracy of this, though the author is rather prestigious. It has had me reeling intellectually for most of the day — first to assess, then to evaluate this info (and previous experience living in a predominantly Islamic culture) and finally to rethink the implications of such. I’ve run this past a number of evaluators this afternoon and all have — disturbingly — either confirmed or been unable to deny it. Additionally, those who have posted against it seem to be limited to nothing more substantive then mocking the author. (It sickens me to admit it but I have to wonder if Bush was right to invade Iraq — even if his stated reasons were nothing more then an attempt at thought control…)

Given the work I have done with the victims of the damage therein described, this article has a strange ring of truth. We know even from Biblical history that this twisting of sexuality and culture was well under way thousands of years ago. History has a way of repeating itself…

So many authors have recognized that negotiation with the Islamofascist world is nothing more then, “Allowing both sides to reload.” Perhaps it has something to do with an internal sense that to negotiate is to be penetrated again — and nothing will stand in the way of defending against that abuse. War driven by this deeply embedded of a wounding is irrevocable, nonnegotiable and to the death.

The spread of Islam across most of Africa was done under the banner of:

“Know that paradise is under the shades of swords.,” Narrated by Bukhari, Vol.4, book 52, 73

If so, democracy and North American culture/civilization is very possibly not going to stand against Islam for we clearly lack the backbone to exercise the only option we have: All out war to take out a culture (and likely, with it, a religion) and then hold it (as we did with Nazi Germany) for at least a generation to stop this abuse and, thus, the insanity.

*****************************************************
BTW: anyone who is going to email to tell me that Islam is a religion of peace should take note of the following:

“Islam spread by means of proof and evidence to those who listened to the message and responded to it, and it spread by means of force and the sword to those who were stubborn and arrogant, until they were overwhelmed and became no longer stubborn, and submitted to that reality.” Sayed Qutb: Fiqh Al-Da’wa, 217-220 – Fatawa Al-Lajnah Al-Daaimah 12/14

“I have been ordered to fight people till they say, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah”, and whoever says, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah”, his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his reckoning will be with Allah, (either to punish him or forgive him). Narrated by Abu Huraira, Buchari, Vol.4, book 52, 196

All anyone has to do is watch his or her television to figure out that this, “Religion of peace,” will only be at peace when they have killed or subjugated everyone who disagrees with them.

How to Embrace Your Messiness - weHow.com :

“ Collecting can be fun and rewarding, financially and otherwise. So if you feel a particular object or set of objects is important or reminds you of a meaningful time or event in your life, don’t feel guilty about keeping it around. It brings you joy. So what’s wrong with that?”

calgary.ctv.ca

“There is somebody right now watching, and God is speaking to them about RRSPs. They’ve got RRSPs, and they’ve got a sizable amount, and it’s a security thing. Well, it’s not a security thing; your security is in God. And God’s speaking to you to cash those in. And I dare you to do it,” the host said.

Owners of the station have applied for the right to set up transmitters in Calgary and Edmonton that would broadcast the channel over the air for free, an important move that would allow it to reach more viewers.

A CRTC hearing starting Monday will consider the application to expand the station’s broadcasting power. But the regulator will also look into whether The Miracle Channel has adequately responded to complaints about high-pressure tactics and promises of a windfall after money is given.

The CRTC has just discovered a slight problem with our current Christian push to avoid evil… We are it. Evil doesn’t look like a thug in a back ally — it dresses in a business suit, chants, “Thank you Jesus,” promises healings for money and holds meetings with the CRTC.

I just hope the CRTC has enough sense to do what the churches of our nation have failed to do — shoot this scam dead.

FrontPagemagazine.com

We in the Western world did not reason our way to religious freedom. We accepted it (often very reluctantly) because we got tired of fighting religious wars. In his Letter on Toleration in 1689, the philosopher John Locke did not talk about the right of free inquiry or the beauty of diversity. He founded his argument for toleration on one promise: social peace.

“[It is] the common disposition of all mankind, who when they groan under any heavy burden endeavor naturally to shake off the yoke that galls their necks. . . . There is only one thing which gathers people into seditious commotions, and that is oppression.”

The Western world learned its lesson the hard way, but we learned. Over the years, many had hoped that the Islamic world and the Middle East could profit from the ghastly example of the West: that peace and justice are achieved not by “commanding right and forbidding wrong,” but by establishing equal laws and respecting all who live by them.

This article is post-worthy for three reasons:

Firstly, it is as clean and accurate of an assessment of what is going on in Bush’s little holy war as I’ve ever found. (Read it if you like.)
Secondly, it is an unintended but brilliant commentary on the state of Fundamentalist Evangelicalism in North America.
Thirdly, it is just as relevant a commentary upon the liberal left and their endless political correctness.

For nearly the past decade, the political landscape of North America has been reduced to a battle between the liberal left and the fundamentalist Christian right — often to the near total obscuring of any real issues. This single minded and rather absurdist battle has been waged for one simple goal: Control.

On the left we have the social liberals. Their goal is simple — the legitimization of nearly anything (Multi-species polyamorous love anyone?) — coupled with the censure of anyone who would stand in the path of said legitimization (Read, “Christians.”) Political correctness and the climate of hatred for Christianity in the universities of today are the pulpit from which this gospel is preached. They seek to command right and forbid wrong — the, “Right,” of a philosophy that says, “If I wanna do it, it’s good for society,” and the, “Wrong,” of believing that anything is wrong. Their enforcement agencies include the courts and human rights tribunals.

On the right we have the nearly endless comedy gold of Fundamentalist Christianity which includes everything from throwing perfectly competent teachers who also happen to be authors who write stories of vampires (which happen to include sex) out of classrooms, charging teens who email naked pictures of themselves to another teen as child abusers/child pornographers (Apparently you can sexually abuse yourself) and almost twilight zone commentary out of Jerry Fallwell who insists that Sept 11th was God’s judgment on America for Porn. Their pulpit is the church and the caricatures of her we know as televangelism. They too seek to command right and forbid wrong — the, “Right,” of the abysmal and (increasingly creepy) failure we call abstinence education and the, “Wrong,” of homosexuality and gay marriage {www dot godhatesfags dot com}. (No, I will not even offer a live link’s worth of support to this order of evil.) Their mechanism of enforcement is aggressive activism at the community level as well as political pressure through funding (hence the Republican party.)

Sadly, both sides seem to have lost the core understanding of what makes a democracy function: Good people uniting to establish good, fair and egalitarian laws which create safety and justice for all. When they lost such, they embarked on a path of attempting to enforce, not justice, but values on others.

Values have a place in the discourse of a society. They are to be promoted, debated, encouraged and even advocated for the betterment of those who would experience increased quality of life should they chose to freely align their lives and decisions within the parameters of such. They are always a function of some order of religion — yes, secular humanism is very arguably a religion — and are usually promoted along with that set of beliefs which seek to provide a rationale for such. None of the above has any business being enforced. By anyone!

Fundamentalist Evangelical Christianity and the Liberal Left both agree on one key point: Islam’s, “commanding right and forbidding wrong,” will never create justice or peace for anyone. But yet, they still somehow manage to believe that their own versions of the same will.

In the last part of the above quoted article, the author laments the fact that the foundational ideals of American democracy have not been absorbed by Islam. He’s right. Perhaps it has something to do with the reality that we have so forgotten those foundational principles that Islam is unable to look across the ocean and see anything different…

Guardian Unlimited

Busch is suing Robertson for what he says is misappropriation of his image to promote Robertson’s protein diet shake.

Robertson has been touting his “age-defying” weight-loss shake for five years on his Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network talk show “The 700 Club,”

And also:

This is not the first time Robertson has been accused of threatening an adversary.

After the failure of an earlier Robertson commercial venture featuring Bible study courses and discount coupon books, the broadcaster fired Mark Peterson, the venture’s top executive.

The two feuded publicly, blaming each other for the failure. Peterson sued Robertson in 1995, alleging that Robertson made a veiled death threat in a telephone conversation with Peterson’s sister.

Apparently the whole turning, “My Father’s house into a den of thieves,” selling health food milkshakes routine just isn’t twisted enough — without adding in the drama of a death threat or two for marketing purposes.

Isn’t it delightful to hear the thunderous roar of his former followers now shouting for his removal from the airwaves — oh, uhh, wait… Never mind.

The Truth About Domestic Violence:

“ A woman in a cohabiting relationship tends to see moving in with her mate as a step towards marriage, while a man tends to regard the relationship as more of a sexual opportunity without the ties of long-term commitment.9 If a woman views a live-in relationship as the developmental stage toward marriage, and a cohabiting man hangs on to his ring-free, wild weekends with his buddies, great potential exists for conflict to develop over defining relationship boundaries. Too often in cohabiting relationships, conflict escalates into violence.”

This is a good article showing how different expectations, not necessarily wrong ones can lead to controlling violence. These expectations needs to be surrrendered to the Lord so He best will emerge in His timing.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

Look, I’m an evangelical Christian who firmly believes that sex should be reserved for marriage. But I just can’t imagine going about it this way with any of my four kids, son or daughters.

For starters, something like a ”purity ball” essentially minimizes a young woman’s very humanity. But, of course, if we value her we know that her sexuality and the choices she makes about it as an adult are hers.

Besides, I can’t help but wonder if a single-minded focus on virginity is an ironic, and unintended way, of sexualizing youth in a different way.

In any event, what bothers me most is that these dads and daughters may be falling for the misperception that ”the sin is in the thing” instead of the heart, or conversely, that some sort of righteousness is inherent in the status of virgin, or any outward appearance of propriety.

But what if that same virginal girl has a heart full of bitterness, envy, lust, greed? Would her dad still be proud? Would she? Should they be?

Somehow, I just feel this is worth a little recognition: The stunning emergence of common sense from an evangelical columnist — and in the Times no less.

USATODAY.com

Our young friend, in a moment of teenage brilliance, decided to post some naked pictures of herself to the internet and (GASP) kept copies of said pictures on her computer.

She has been charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography.

Puritan ethics and the American legal system unite in stunning wisdom to create this heart warming example of common sense guidance for a child. (I’d assign 10:1 odds they are also going to add her name to the sexual offender’s list and force her to continually report her address for life.)

For one thing, I can’t help but wonder where we as a society finally lost our collective mind and our ability to differentiate between the stupid pranks of a kid and real criminal behavior. Reality is, by charging her, we have reduced the charges and likely the sex offender registry to an absurdity. Next stop, let’s ban mirrors from homes…

Darker then that though, our sex negative society has finally spoken — her naked body was so evil and offensive that taking self portraits of such is abusive. Even simply owning (forget looking at) those pictures of herself must be charged as a crime.

All things considered, the sexual revolution appears to have been a bust: It managed to take a society where the human body was evil and dirty and sex wasn’t done and make it into a society where the human body is evil and dirty and sex IS being done (By evil and dirty people). Then, we taught our little girls that sex was all they had to offer and that the same freaked out shame is modesty — all the while telling them an inverted flaunting of such is normal. The sexual revolution totally ignored the shame based core of the problem.

This little girl has a problem: her parent’s modeling (and inability to monitor her internet usage) appears to have conspired with society at large to create a hyper sexualized child. She’s a kid who’s obviously hungry for love and is willing to settle for so much less. All of them — especially her parents — need to get help before it’s too late.

Oh, I forgot. Never mind. That would require dealing in reality. It’s more fun to charge her as a child abuser anyway…

Substance Abuse:

“Other siblings negatively affected because the family is preoccupied or overwhelmed by consequences of drug user’s behavior.”

This is a good article outlining the progression which can happen if grief and our ways are not given to the Lord. An adult child may feel overwhelmed, shutdown, and not reach out for support if he/she has been neglected or worried about the parent’s emotions.