August 23, 2011

Libya - Gadhafi going down

Libyan rebels have declared that they have seized Gaddafi's compound, and of course, the embattled leader is nowhere to be found.   This marks yet another milestone on the rebels' advance to gain control of the capital city of Tripoli.

Election Day in Montgomery

Polls are open until 7 tonight, as voters in the city of Montgomery are participating in municipal elections.  The mayor's office, as well as 7 contested City Council seats are on the ballot.   Mayor Todd Strange is seeking his first full term after serving former Mayor Bobby Bright's remaining term after being elected to Congress.   2 City Councilmen, Jon Dow and Arch Lee, are attempting to gain election for a full term after being elected to serve out the remaining terms of Willie Cook and Martha Roby, respectively. 

Irene - Category 2 now, taking aim at Carolinas


Hurricane Irene is tracking toward the Bahamas, after leaving downed trees and power lines in Puerto Rico, and could strengthen to a Category 3 by tomorrow.   Projections are showing that it could make landfall somewhere in the Carolinas Friday night, and then move up the Northeast U.S. coast. 

5.9 magnitude earthquake shakes DC

About 1:50pm Eastern time this afternoon, an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale struck about 90 miles southwest of Washington, DC.   Tremors could be felt as far north as Toronto and as far south as parts of North Georgia.   Buildings shook in the nation's capital, New York City, and up and down the Eastern Seaboard.  No loss of life and limited damage is reported.

Chaplains calling for Congressional protection

A group of veteran service members--primarily chaplains--whose faith groups represent thousands of currently-serving military chaplains and several million Americans, sent a letter to the U.S. Congress last week asking key officials to protect military religious liberty from the dangers created by the government’s decision to force open homosexual behavior on the U.S. armed forces through the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” next month.


Noting the robust history of religious liberty in the military, the nearly two-dozen veteran service member signatories request in the letter that Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ensure that there is “a clear, unmistakable perimeter around religious liberty.”

The letter says: “Chaplains and service members have told us they are very concerned they will be marginalized and even punished for being faithful to their religious beliefs in the wake of the repeal. We share those concerns...In fact, some chaplains have already personally experienced the punitive atmosphere this repeal has generated.”

Several of the signatories are members of the newly formed group Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, which states that it is working to ensure that all chaplains, and those whom they serve, are able to freely exercise their God-given and constitutionally protected religious liberties without fear of reprisal.



American Idol - producer pans rival's call for gay declarations

Adam Levine, one of the celebrity judges on the NBC reality show, "The Voice", has basically called out "American Idol", charging that gay contestants are essentially treated unfairly because they are not allowed the declare their sexuality - never mind that an openly gay judge appeared on the program for one season, the lowest rated season in the show's history.

I thought Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe's response to Entertainment Weekly was refreshing, and fairly "non-Hollywood":

You probably saw NBC’s The Voice judge Adam Levine saying Idol should show openly gay contestants. What do you think of that and could that change next season?
To be frank, I didn’t understand why we’re talking about contestants being gay or not gay. I don’t go into my dentist and say, “Are you gay?” I don’t say to contestants on So You Think You Can Dance, “Are you gay?” What does it got to do with me? What does it got to do with anybody? When does privacy stop in this country? If somebody wants to say they’re gay, it’s up to them. You don’t expect us to turn around and say, “Are you gay?” Why would we do that? — “By the way, he’s a Catholic and he supports Obama and here’s his sexuality” — what does that have anything to do with singing talent? Maybe it does for Adam Levine, but not for me.

So the reason nobody has been openly gay on Idol is that it’s up to the contestant.
Did [season eight Idol contestant] Adam Lambert come out?

Afterwards, I believe so.
He must have come out before being on Idol, he just didn’t talk about it on Idol. And why should he? Is every actor going on television going to say, “I’m only playing the part of a straight man, I’m really gay”? There’s no reason that I would see why anybody that goes on television should start coming out with who they are, what they are, what they’re sexuality is, who they’re going to vote for or what their religion is.

So, Lythgoe is saying that his TV show is not a platform to further the gay agenda - what does sexuality matter in a singing competition?  And, I would say, when you consider TV shows such as Glee, with 5 homosexual characters, or Modern Family, or any of the other shows that go out of their way to accommodate gay characters and normalize gay behavior, why should scriptwriters go out of their way to write in characters that practice a lifestyle that is only embraced by 2-4% of the population?   There is a distinct agenda - and while I'm not 100% behind all of Lythgoe's comments, it seems that perhaps Idol has doubled down and is resisting the showbiz temptation to embrace wholeheartedly the gay agenda.   Now, let's clean up Steven Tyler's language...

Speaking of television, here are some words of warning from the Culture and Media Institute about the new fall season...

A number of pro-family organizations, including the Parents Television Council and Morality in Media have called attention to NBC's new show, "The Playboy Club"...

Set to air on September 19, 2011, "The Playboy Club" "centers on the Bunnies and patrons of the original Playboy Club in 1960's Chicago," according to the Internet Movie Database page for the show.

But the show has already stirred up controversy as critics like the Parents Television Council called it a "blatant attempt to obliterate any remaining standards of broadcast decency." Morality in Media created an online petition to discourage viewers to from watching the show. Even famous liberal feminist Gloria Steinem has echoed the calls for a boycott. The real Playboy Club, she said, was "the tackiest place on earth."

Other shows with objectionable content include NBC's "Whitney", Fox's "New Girl", and shows that have been known to push the envelope, such as "Glee" and "Gossip Girl".   According to CMI...

Ben Shapiro examined the liberal assault on traditional values in Hollywood in his book "Primetime Propaganda" and in his chapter "Making The Right Cry: How Television Drama Glorifies Liberalism," he observed that, "comedies are anti-morality crusades; dramas are morality tales." Both are intentionally designed to invert traditional ideas of morality. The veteran producers and writers Shapiro interviewed admitted as much.

Fairness Doctrine in the rear-view mirror...

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that the Fairness Doctrine had been removed from its Code of Federal Regulations.    National Religious Broadcasters hailed the announcement, but President Frank Wright urged caution:

"... for the last eight years, NRB has been actively warning Congress that the Fairness Doctrine was not dead because it was still ‘on the books.’ We are delighted that FCC Chairman Genachowski has followed-through on his promise to fully eliminate this pernicious rule, which enabled the FCC to compel broadcasters to air opposing viewpoints on controversial issues that the government decided to be of public importance.

“On this day of genuine celebration,” continued Dr. Wright, “NRB will remain vigilant regarding the concepts embodied in the Fairness Doctrine. While the letter of the law is now dead, we want to ensure that the spirit of this particular law also remains dead. There are many voices calling for increased scrutiny of broadcast programming under the guise of ‘localism,’ and we see such proposals as a Fairness Doctrine in different garb. Therefore, NRB will continue to advocate for the most generous application of First Amendment principles both at the federal level and on the local level, knowing that Americans’ religious liberties are most secure when they are kept out of the hands of government bureaucracies.”

Well said by Dr. Wright, who is wise to not completely buy in to the announcements.   Seton Motley of "Less Government", a contributer to the Big Government web site reminded us of how a high-ranking FCC official has rendered the Fairness Doctrine obsolete, yet supports other means of restricting certain speech.   An FCC commissioner, quoted by Fox News said:

Commissioner Robert McDowell told Chris Stirewalt on Monday's Power Play Live that localism, a proposal that gives the federal government the ability to make sure broadcasters serve their communities, could also be used to wedge in principles of the fairness doctrine.

"The government would be compiling data as to what kind of content you were airing and whether the government thought that was appropriate content," McDowell said. "It could be political speech, it could be shows on baking or gardening. But we don't know where the government is headed."

August 22, 2011 - Thoughts About Trust

While politicians and celebrities who embrace Christianity are routinely panned in the mainstream media, a high-profile actress has claimed that her religion "saved my life".   Kelly Preston, wife of John Travolta, claims that the tenets of Scientology were helpful to her following the death of the couple's 16-year-old son, Jett, in 2009.   While the loss of a child is certainly tragic, and people do need a place of stability and comfort following such a devastating event, turning to a false religion certainly cannot offer a lasting and deep-rooted hope.


Consider the teachings of Scientology.  According to Watchman Fellowship:

 Thus, Man in his true nature is an immortal thetan. However, the thetan is responsible for the creation of MEST. Though the thetan created the MEST, sometimes the MEST collides with the thetan resulting in the acquisition of an engram. Because every engram is accompanied by unconsciousness to a greater or lesser degree, not all engrams are known to exist by the thetan's analytical mind. As a result of the build-up of thousands of known and unknown engrams, stored in his reactive mind, man seems to experience problems throughout his life. These engrams have accumulated not only in this life but in many past lives as well through reincarnation. Thus, it is Scientology's purpose to rid the thetan of these unwanted engrams. How is this accomplished? By becoming Clear.

This is a godless belief system that was developed by L. Ron Hubbard and is promoted by its "evangelists", which include Travolta, Preston, Kirstie Alley, Tom Cruise, and Jennifer Lopez.   No Creator, no relationship with that Creator, man is God, and attains perfection through this mythical state of "Clear", which apparently is some sort of human reprogramming.   It's almost as if man is a machine or some sort of supercomputer.   But, certainly not a means to experience a life full of hope and purpose.

But, people are looking for someone or something to trust, and there is a religious smorgasbord that exists, which offer people an opportunity the convenience of identity without the shackles of accountability to a Creator, Almighty, sovereign God.    This is why Oprah Winfrey has become one of the most, if not THE most, influential spiritual individual of the last 25 years.   Through her embracing of the man-as-God teachings such as "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne and "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and her denial of Christ as the only way to God, she has given credence to belief systems that contradict the truth of the Scriptures.

And, people believe her.   Check out the new Reuters/Ipsos poll, ranking the most and least popular celebrities, as well as the most and least trusted personalities.  Oprah ended up tied for 6th on the "trusted" list.    Betty White was #1 on that list, the most popular celebrity list, and #1 as the person whose endorsement would be best for business.

Here are your most trusted personalities (politicians excluded, as if any of them would have made the list):
1 - Betty White
2 - Tom Hanks
3 - Sandra Bullock
4 - Morgan Freeman
5 - Kate Middleton
6 (tie) - Oprah Winfrey
6 (tie) - Taylor Swift
8 - Clint Eastwood
9 (tie) - Harrison Ford
9 (tie) - Denzel Washington
9 (tie) - Julia Roberts

So, I have to ask the question - why do we trust these people?   Why don't we trust some of the people on the "least trusted" list?   People such as Paris Hilton, Charlie Sheen, Britney Spears, Tiger Woods, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kanye West?   I think that sincerity is a big factor, even accomplishment, and a life that's generally viewed as without scandal.   And even though some of the most trusted don't exactly have the best relationship track record, they are not viewed as the instigators of relational or marital conflict.

But, the takeaway for Christians - what makes us trustworthy?    Are we living our lives beyond reproach, without a hint of behavior or attitude that would damage our witness for Christ?   I think a trustworthy person's word is his or her bond - I have to ask myself, is that my track record?   Am I an instigator for good or for evil?    We gain or earn trust as we seek to be people upon whom others can count.   Can you be counted on?

Once to Face Death...

Across the U.S., there seems to be much celebration about the death of Osama Bin Laden.    And, while I don't think that the loss of life is a cause for rejoicing, especially for someone who dies without Christ, the victims of 9-11 and so many Americans that have that sense of loss in the wake of the destruction 10 years ago can be thankful that justice was served and that the military mission that has been a long-term undertaking has successfully tracked down this mass murderer who, in the name of religion, killed Muslims, Christians, and scores of individuals.

And, this is not the end of the war on terror - Bin Laden incited many radical Muslims to take the lives of others with the promise of eternal rewards from the hand of Allah.  Interestingly enough, he was not one of those who was willing to risk his life for said rewards, but instead lost his life in a heavily guarded million-dollar mansion.

There are many who have the same philosophy and worldview as Bin Laden and they are still alive, perhaps with fresh motivation to undertake their bloodthirsty schemes.   And perhaps they are willing to lay down their lives, as the 9-11 terrorists did.   The interpretation of the Koran to carry out jihad, holy war, on those who do not sell their souls to Allah, who is not the same as the God of the Bible, has resulted and will continue to result in the deaths of many across the world.

Death is no respecter of persons - Hebrews says it is appointed to man once to die, and then to face judgement.   Fundamental Islamic terrorists who give up their lives for this fictitious afterlife now know the truth.    There are 3000 people - innocent victims - who faced death on 9-11.

And, there are other innocent victims - over 250 in the state of Alabama alone, who woke up on April 27 thinking that perhaps that day would be like any other day, and that span of time ended with the termination of their lives - facing the judgement of God, as the Bible says...I trust they were ready to meet the Lord.   I think it's a bit surreal and ironic that we are renewing our remembrance of the 9-11 victims while we are also remembering the victims of the southern storms, praying for the injured, and helping to provide relief for the displaced.    We are reminded of the temporal nature of our existence here, and that we live in a fallen world.   God didn't cause 9-11, He didn't cause 4-27, but He will use, and has used these occasions to testify to the glory of His name!    He is still sovereign, and while we may not understand His ways sometimes, we can still believe that He is good, He is at work, God is on the move, and He calls on us to entrust our lives into His hands.

Song of the Day:  Selah's "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"

Teen Birth Rates Down, Bristol's Pay Issue

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control shows that teen birth rates are on the decline...a 37 percent drop over the past 2 decades.   This is regarded as good news.   Pro-family advocates attribute this trend to the decisions of teens to postpone having sex.   There are numerous Christian voices speaking into the culture about the importance of abstinence, reinforcing the message that the way to prevent pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases, and emotional instability is to wait until marriage, to engage in sexual activity within the context that God had set up.

CitizenLink had this report.

While many would hail this CDC report as good news, what is believed to be a major factor - abstinence - is regarded as somehow counter-cultural or even harmful.    It is a battle to maintain Federal funding for abstinence-based sexual education, according to Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association:  “One-hundred sixty-nine abstinence-education programs (recently) lost (federal) funding, and over 1 million students lost access to the very programs that can support and encourage the positive trends."


And there are those that tip the hat to abstinence, but then turn around and encourage teens that insist on having sex to use contraception.   This is a mixed message and underestimates the power of choice that teenagers have.    Programs encourage saying "no" to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, believing that young people can make and follow through on those choices - why not abstinence?   

Ironically, this CDC news was released the same day that the mainstream media jumped all over the amount of money that Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, received as a spokesperson for the Candie's Foundation - the total received was over $300,000.   Now, I can't endorse the work of the Candie's Foundation - they do advocate the "abstinence-plus" apporach, but isn't it interesting that Bristol and her family were roundly criticized for her having a child out of wedlock (which is par for the course among the Hollywood crowd - just check out the number of children born to parents who are not married).    Now, that she's learned her lesson and is speaking out about prevention, she's being criticized because of the amount she was paid.    Is it a large amount?   Sure.   Is it an appropriate amount, considering the amount of influence she might have on young girls?   Perhaps.   I mean, just look at the Hollywood types who earn gaudy amounts of money for endorsing their favorite charities.   But, Bristol's message is not politically-correct in some circles - while some would not blink an eye at terminating a teen pregnancy, there is resistance to the message of prevention - because it involves making a counter-cultural choice to the teen mindset.    And, maybe even Bristol won't just keep all that money for herself - maybe even she can invest it to bring an accurage abstinence-based message to more teens and their parents.

Got a (Half) Minute?

If you had 30 seconds to communicate a message to the world, how would you use it? What would be the essence of that message? A church in Southern California answered that question by producing a 30-second commercial and then approached the local movie theater about buying space on its screens to run it prior to the films. It features a number of phrases that people have used throughout the years to try and debunk the story of the resurrection, then invites people to the church to find out the truth. Here's the video, produced by Compass Bible Church:

The theater would not allow this 30-second video to be shown prior to its films, which I would dare say would probably, in most instances, contain more offensive content than this ad.  The Christian Examiner had this piece on the controversy.

Here we have another instance where a media company has chosen to ban the message of the gospel, saying that it was offensive. Sound familiar? I think back on the proposal that Birmingham's Fixed Point Foundation made to Fox television about running a message during the Super Bowl. It merely encouraged people to "look up" the verse whose reference had been seen in the stands at football games, and even in a player's eye-black. This video introduced Fixed Point's "Look Up 3:16" campaign:

Fox told Fixed Point that the commercial could not air during the Super Bowl because of the nature of its content. I like what Fixed Point head Larry Taunton had to say about the 30-second opportunity on this video:

So...you have 30 seconds, roughly 75 words if you were to read straight copy, a handful of images on a screen - Would you want to communicate a message of hope? What would you say? Or, how would you depict it visually? 30 seconds - could you, would you, help change the world?

Ephesians 5:16..."Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

I Heart New Words

When does a word become official? Perhaps it's when it makes the Oxford English Dictionary, which just added some 900 new words and meanings to its ever-growing stable of terms, which now has surpassed the 45,000 mark. Even sets of initials that have become so common have now been added, such as LOL (laugh out loud), BFF (best friends forever), and one of my least favorites, OMG (Oh, my G-- or gosh) are part of this ever-growing lexicon. These are common shortcuts that are used in the text and e-mail world.

The Associated Press has the scoop.

The newest edition also uses the word, "heart" as a verb, presumably as in, "I heart so-and-so", instead of the word, "love".

Words are powerful tools, and can communicate a variety of facts and emotions. And, it's important to freshen up our vocabulary. But, as Christians, we are cautioned to use our words wisely. James 3:2 says," For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well."

Jesus said that improper thoughts and emotions negatively influence the words we speak - perhaps there are negative words that flow from areas in our hearts that need to be dealt with. Choosing words wisely and eliminating idle or useless words from our vocabulary can be helpful as we seek to comply with the Scriptural admonition to speak the truth in love. What are we adding to, or subtracting from, our vocabulary that can bring us in greater conformity to Christ?

Values Voter Update - November 2010

The voters spoke out in the most recent election, this past Tuesday, and the U.S. House of Representatives will now have a Republican majority. The Senate will have a more balanced makeup as a result of the vote. A number of governor's races went to Republicans, as well, plus state legislatures are seeing an increase in Republican representation.

But is this a Republican resurgence? Not necessarily. One can interpret that the election represented a repudiation of the current course of our government. There was a definite anti-incumbency and anti-establishment feel in the results. Polling data showed that voters were distressed with Democrats, but not necessarily enamored with Republicans, either. The clear signal was that voters wanted a change, and definitely not the type of "change" that had been the mantra of the campaign in 2008.

The attitude of change and a call to governmental responsibility in the face of seemingly uncontrolled, or at least excessive, spending has been personified in the "Tea Party" movement, which is generally thought of to be an economically-based thread of our nation's populace. But many of the "members" of the grassroots movement also possess strong evangelical credentials. In fact, a poll released by the Faith and Freedom Coalition shows that 52% of self-identified Tea Party members are also evangelicals.

The influence of "values voting", and more specifically, faith-based voting, was greater in this year's election that in 2008. According to that survey, the largest single constituency in the electorate in the 2010 midterm elections was self-identified evangelicals, who comprised 29% of the vote and cast 78% of their ballots for Republican candidates.

And while much of the general news coverage focused on how economic factors would affect the 2010 vote, the life issue definitely played a significant role. The Susan B. Anthony List proclaimed this year "The Year of the Pro-Life Woman", and a number of the female candidates it supported were successful in their election bids. The List also sponsored its "Votes Have Consequences" project, in which it was active in races in districts where so-called "pro-life" Democrats who supported the health care reform legislation, which contained taxpayer funding of abortion, were running for re-election. The results are impressive: 15 of 20 of those Democrats proclaiming themselves as pro-life while supporting health care reform lost their elections. LifeNews.com has this guest column. You can also visit www.sba-list.org/scorecard to learn how SBA List-supported candidates fared on Election Day. And, here's a summary of the election of pro-life women from LifeNews.com.

I made the point in a recent interview with former U.S. House member Marilyn Musgrave, who headed up the "Votes Have Consequences" project, that candidates that have a foundation of being pro-life tend to hold a Biblical view on other issues, such as marriage and even the economy. A number of the Tea Party candidates, who spoke forcefully on economic issues and governmental restraint and stewardship, were at their core socially conservative, as well. Pastor Jim Garlow spoke with me and discussed that he believes that Christians, especially Christian pastors, will be speaking out increasingly on economic issues, including the concept of government within its means. Perhaps this election can send the message that a Christian view of government and public policy can yield effective solutions to the daunting issues that we face as a country.