The Marriage Equality Sham

We live in Indiana. The State legislature is considering a constitutional amendment to define marriage as union between one man and one woman. The other evening we received a telephone call from some group pushing for marriage equality and wanting to add our names to the list of all fair minded, right thinking Hoosiers everywhere.

It is a sham. From both directions.

I didn’t answer the phone. My wife did. I hope I get to the next time.

“Hello sir, do you support marriage equality?”

“No, I certainly do not. And you probably don’t either.”

“Well, sir, I most certainly do.”

“Really? So you support the right of 40 year old man to marry an 11 year old boy?”

“Well, sir, that involves a minor so…”

“But you do support the right of one man to marry 3 consenting women? Or 4 consenting men? Or a consenting horse? What with you supporting marriage equality and all…”

“Thank you for your time sir…”

No one supports marriage equality. “Equality” is a sham. “Legislating morality” is a straw man. “Thou shalt not judge” is hogwash. Everyone judges. Everyone. That is why we are told to judge with right judgment. Jesus said that. Everyone judges. No one supports marriage equality.

But I am not too impressed with those politicians pushing for the passing of this legislation. I’m pretty sure they know any such passage wouldn’t stand for more than two weeks in the current judicial climate. I mean, I know it, so I am just assuming people who are doing this for a living know it too.

No Statehouse is going to remedy what ails this land.

 

 

 

Overlooked in all the Rob Ford Shenanigans

He is a mayor!

He is an elected official!

What kind of city must Toronto be?

And why do college kids go south for Spring break instead of north?

God and America the Exceptional

This is the exultant city that lived securely,
that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts!
Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!
She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD;
she does not draw near to her God.

Her officials within her are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.

Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law.

The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but the unjust knows no shame.

“I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate, without a man,
without an inhabitant.

I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction.
Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.’
But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.

The problem with the Morgan Freeman Quote on Newtown…

…is that it is materially correct: even if the source is a complete fabrication.

The president says things must be done now to address this problem. How many of these gunmen have expressed a desire to be famous? There were reports of “someone” in CT of a posting along these very lines the Wednesday before the shootings. How about any news outlet that releases or reports the name(s) of the next perpetrator of such violence is fined 100 million dollars for each victim with all of the money to go to the families of the victims and first responders? We know it happened. Does it really matter who did it?

A side benefit of these fines would be better reporting. In their rush to be first news agencies reported the wrong ID of the killer along with many other factual errors. If they were faced with such punitive damages there would not be any need or desire to be first to report such a detail.

Obviously this would probably have to be waived if the perpetrator survived the event and was able to be prosecuted. But giving so much attention to homicidal, suicidal maniacs only encourages others in similar states of mental ill-health to commit the same acts.

Hey Christian, stop trying to be popular, accepted, relevant, etc. etc.

Carl Trueman:

Christianity is doomed to be a sect because not only do we refuse to give the answers to life’s questions in terms the world finds comfortable; we also refuse to allow the world to set the terms of the questions.    The sooner we grasp that, the better it will be for all of us.  Our ministers might then spend more time on theology (perhaps even do a bit of reading ‘within the tradition’ before finding it helpful to ‘read outside the tradition’), more time being different to the leaders in the surrounding culture, and much less time worrying about how the world sees us.  Trust me on this: it sees us as a cranky sect. Now keep calm and carry on.

Biblical Thoughts on the Election

Come now, let us reason together…

In polls that I have seen, just under 60% of people agreed the country was on the wrong track. And yet there were no real changes in any direction. The White House, Senate, House, and Governorships remain unchanged. How can 60% of the people say the nation is on the wrong track and then vote to keep it on that track? Are we a nation of masochists?

A similar percentage (+/- 60) said the economy was the most important issue. Yet we voted for a man with a track record of economic futility over a man with a record of economic success. Do we like struggling to make ends meet?

Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female…

Prior to last night, biblical Christians could somewhat comfort themselves in the knowledge that in the 30+ times homosexual marriage had been put on ballots it had failed. All the advances came from legislatures and the judiciary. Now the people of  2 States, and possibly 4 have “officially” embraced the homosexual agenda.

There is now no  fundamental reason why polygamy, incestuous marriages, or even bestiality should be outlawed. The only legitimate argument against such practices is now, “It grosses me out.” As a nation we have thrown of God’s natural and revealed law. There is no reason to believe the rebellion will not stop at homosexuality.

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city…

According to Al Mohler, the single most telling demographic statistic was not race, gender, or income: it was regular church attendance. The more faithfully a person attended church, the more likely they were to vote for Mitt Romney.

Overlay that fact over the county-by-county election results. What was the largest urban area to vote for Mitt Romney?

The church has failed the city.

Suppose ten are found there…

President Obama received 9 million fewer votes in 2012 than he did on 2008 (59.9 million vs. 69.4 million). But Romney received 2 million votes fewer than John McCain (57.3 million vs. 59.9). This election was not won because the Left was too strong. It was lost because the Right was too weak.

 I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Amen.

I performed a miracle today!

Okay. Maybe just participated in one.

Shortly after 6 a.m. I scraped the frost off the minivan windows, drove down the road, and stood in line to vote.

For over two hundred years we have been doing this. Has it been perfect? No. For some time it was only white, male, property owners. For a time it was only white males. For a time it was only white people. It’s been a struggle to get it right. But it has been, for the most part, a peaceful struggle.

There was no echo of artillery fire this morning. No enforcers making sure you voted for the “right” man. No “ballots” with only one candidate. No riots. The only thing mumbled against was the lack of coffee. (And come on, we’re standing in line at 6 in the morning!)

No this nation and its history is not by any means perfect. As a nation it shares the fate of all other kingdoms not Christ’s: utter destruction. But I think history, whatever may be left of it, will judge that we gave it a valiant effort. It was fun while it lasted.

State Department Report on Religious Freedom: Kettle, Pot; Pot, Kettle

The State Department has released its newest report on religious freedom around the world and it is “sobering.”

This from the same administration that has mandated religious organizations provide for medical treatments and procedures that violate their beliefs.

This from the nation that condemns the CEO of Chick-Fil-A for expressing the traditional Christian beliefs about homosexuality, marriage, and morality.

This from the same country that criticizes the church of Rome for appointing a bishop over San Francisco who is staunchly against the homosexual agenda.

Is it any wonder why the rest of the world increasingly hates America? Is it any wonder why many Americans increasingly detest America?

Obama under fire over collapse of Chen deal

I don’t really want to hear Republicans pile on Obama when George the 1st just sat back and watched the Tiananmen slaughter.

Capitalism, Socialism, and Pornography

Consumer capitalism instills an attitude toward things and toward people which is essentially anti-human. And, therefore, since we already tend to look at people as disposable things, why not take the next step and do all kinds of prenatal interventions and medical magic. It’s only a mechanism you’re dealing with anyway. So I think we’re already moving along that path. . . . Pornography is ultimately the depersonalization of sex—the subtraction of the personal from the sexual. I think that as Christians, whatever else we emphasize, we can emphasize that this is a relationship of persons who are both created for the purpose of expressing and experiencing love. . . . My theological and biblical basis has led me to being a socialist. I don’t think it’s possible within capitalism, especially the form of capitalism we now have which is a monopoly-consumer capitalism, to get people away from thinking of other persons as things. It’s built in. It’s a necessity to the system.[1]

As initially appealing as such argument sounds, it does little to explain the phenomenon of pornography. Well, the speaker does an alright job explaining what pornography is; but he certainly falls flat in trying to identify the cause of it.

Were I interviewing Dr. Cox, which would have been a remarkable feat in itself since I was only 2 years old at the time, I would have asked him how many examples of fornicating socialist movements might have to be given for him to reconsider the point. Such logic is easily turned against the speaker. Radical socialism that teaches group ownership demands open marriage, polygamy, etc. Consistently held socialism contradicts and disallows the notion that a husband belongs to his wife and a wife belongs to her husband (cf. 1 Cor. 7:1-5).

As long as pornography is considered the result of an economic system, there is no hope for destroying it. Hugh Hefner has certainly benefited monetarily from capitalism. But he would have been just as lecherous had he grown up as Huhtolly Hefnov.

Capitalism is not the answer. But it is not the problem either.

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[1] Harvey Cox. “Door Interview: Harvey Cox.” The Wittenburg Door, Aug-Sep 1976, 7.